Chapter 26 : Kagami VS Furihata III

"Impressive." Furihata praised Kagami, triggering a smug smile forming on the red hair's mouth.

And this time, Furihata didn't praise him just for the trash-talk, psychological warfare, or for some sort of hidden intention. No, right now, Furihata is genuinely impressed with what Kagami just did.

'The first time he decided to take my words seriously, he could stop me with ease. The technique is not perfect and there is still a lot of room to improve. But, he uses his head for defense now. I will take that as my win.'

Even though Furihata didn't have the intention to lose, he is still happy to see the improvement of probably Seirin's best player right now. After all, if Kagami is improved, it would be more beneficial for the team.

However, the game is still on, and he is in the lead. The question is, can he stop the red hair?

'Of course, I can.' Furihata thought inwardly, licking his own lips in excitement.

He throw the ball straight to Kagami, decided to just observe his first possession. What would he do? Using power play? Or would he do something fancy to retaliate against his earlier attack?

Unsurprisingly, Kagami decided to take the second option, as right after he received the ball from Furihata, he throws it hard to the board and follow it up with a run the ball.

'A self-alley-oop dunk? Not bad.'

When the ball bounced back to Kagami, the red hair is already hanging in the air, grabbed it with both hands and slammed it with all of his power.

*BAM!*

"YOSSHAA!!"

6-1

Furihata sweatdropped a little, wondering why is it that every time Kagami makes a dunk, he would roar like he just solves all the hunger problems in the world. But before he could say anything, what he heard next from Kagami's mouth really makes him want to pummel the red hair to death.

"Is this really the defense that stopped Kise twice? If that is so, I could just stop him anytime I want." Kagami said while showing a mocking smile.

Sometimes, Furihata really admired Kagami's ability to say something so shameless as that and forget about anything happened before. But all of his annoyance suddenly vanished, replaced with a smirk as if he just realized something.

'Is he trash-talking at me? Ooohh.. This would be interesting. But that means I don't need to show him mercy after this. Ooh.. This is what I am waiting for,' He grinned as the wild thought ran through his mind.

He turned around to Kagami and said,

"Don't worry. The score is still 6-1. Moreover, this defense was doing something better than letting Kise score 45 points. In terms of defense, you are still amateur compared to me."

Looking at the fuming Kagami, Furihata showed a feral grin as he managed to rile Kagami. If it is about trash-talking and psychological warfare, he has the absolute confidence to win against Kagami, a teenager with five years old maturity.

After that, the game started again with Furihata throws the ball to Kagami. But unlike the last time, he took a step back, creating more distance between them while smirking as if inviting the red-hair to take a three-point.

'Is he still mocking me? Bastard! Should I take it? But my three is not that good. If it missed, I would be the new laughingstock among the team. What to do? Shit! I really want to punch that smile.'

His inner dialogue was interrupted by Furihata, as the point guard says,

"Come on, Red! Take the three! Is this really the player who scored 37 points against Kaijo? Just like I thought. You are nothing without me, Izuki-senpai, and Phantom to create chances."

"HAA?!!"

Now, all of the rational thought inside Kagami's head vanished, and the agitated mind clouded his judgment. Seeing the daring smirk from Furihata, Kagami decided to dribble forward to get closer to the three-point line before he pulled up a shoot from his position.

*Clank!*

*Clank!"

The ball bounced from the rim to the board, back again, and spun around the rim as if teasing the spectators before it finally decided to fall into the net, resulting in two more points for Kagami.

"HA! TAKE THAT, BASTARD!"

Furihata could only smile wryly at the last play, cursing the luck that sided with Kagami.

'Tch. Beginner luck.'

The shoot itself is shaky, and the release speed is kinda slow. The chance of the shoot going into the net is low, so, even if Furihata could just block it if he wanted, he decided to not do that to save his energy. In the end, he was slapped by reality as the universe suddenly decided to take sides with Kagami.

'What the hell! Why in the seven hells would I suddenly become like Midorima? Believing something like the universe siding with someone and some shit like that? That's enough Twitter for this week, I guess.'

The game started again with the ball still on Kagami, now the score is 6-3. And like the last time, Furihata took a step back right after he throws the ball, daring Kagami to take another three.

'Tch. I guess he is not convinced with my three. Should I do the same? Wait! His right side is open! Maybe I can do the same like him, let him taste his own medicine.'

In the triple threat position, Kagami raised the ball in his hand as if he would shoot to invite Furihata to come forward and block it. However, Furihata didn't bulge even for a second as he just stares into his eyes closed, didn't have any intention to stop his shoot.

'Either he knows my plan to drive or he took the gamble and let me take every three I could do. Well, no need to think hard. Let's drive.'

Right after he finished his inner dialogue, Kagami lowered his hand while leaning his body forward, ready to drive at full speed.

Then, he dribbled the ball forward, pushing Furihata's body to get rid of his defense. However, he couldn't help but frown as he suddenly realized something weird.

'What happened? No resilience? Whatever. This is a wide open position. Let's make a show, baby!'

He stopped dribbling at the spot near the free throw area before he takes off from the ground, doing a tomahawk dunk. However, when all eyes are on him, everyone could hear a sound from the position below Kagami.

*Bugh!*

Kagami shrugged it off as if it was nothing and slammed the ball hard once again, making him roar loudly.

"THAT'S IT, BABY! I AM ON FIRE TONIGHT!"

However, all of his excitement was taken away by Riko's statement from the sideline,

"Kagami-kun offensive foul charging. Possession change. The score is still 6-3."

Then, when Kagami looked down at the floor, he could see the annoying smile of Furihata screaming,

'This is how you do defense!'

And he snapped.

"What the hell, coach! How could it be an offensive foul?" Kagami protested, clearly showing his displeasure at the decision. However, Riko didn't bulge for a second. Instead, she pointed at Furihata who is still lying on the floor.

"You made a contact with him when he has already planted both his feet on the floor and locked his position. If you did a second earlier when he was still moving, it would be a blocking foul and one free throw for you."

After hearing the explanation, a revelation suddenly comes through Kagami's head, as his mind rewinds everything from the last play.

'He opened his right side deliberately! He knows I prefer taking a drive instead of shooting a three! Ha toyed with me! Shit!'

The smirk on Furihata's face really infuriated him. However, he couldn't deny that the defense trick was executed very well. However, he wouldn't admit it loud, because he still has a game to win.

"So, what do you think? Still confident in beating the Generation of Miracles? I am not that strong compared to them; you know?"

Furihata keeps talking right after he received the ball. He dribbled the ball slowly, trying to get close to the three-point area.

It really annoyed Kagami how Furihata is still having this nonchalant attitude even in the middle of the game. But hearing Furihata insinuating he is weaker than the Generation of Miracles, the red hair suddenly snapped,

"Shut up! When I am done with you, I will-"

However, before he could finish his rant, Furihata make a sudden step back to create more space between them and pulled up another three. Kagami couldn't react in time, and the shoot produced the familiar sound when it hit the nets,

*Splash!*

8-3

"HEY! That's not fair!" Kagami is trying to protest, but everyone is bewildered at his reaction, confused at what Kagami is protesting about. Furihata could only be deadpanned at him as he muttered,

'This is probably his first time facing a trash-talker. It's good it happened in a scrimmage and not in the real game.'

His thought snapped at the voice of Riko scolding Kagami.

"What do you want me to do? There is no foul in here! Even though what Furihata did was dirty, he didn't commit any foul, and he didn't say something offensive here. It is your fault you fall into his trash-talking. What do you expect him to do? Waiting for you to finish your rant?"

Seeing as Kagami just clenched his fists and couldn't give any proper answer, Furihata let out a tired sigh.

'He still hasn't improved in the emotional control department. It would take a long time for us to fix this. Whatever. Let's not prolong this game anymore.'

When he saw Kagami's enraged face, he raised his eyebrows slightly.

"What happened? Did someone just boil your head?" He could hear a snicker from the sideline. However, what really surprised him is Kagami's snap.

"Shut up! You only win with your dirty tricks! I dare you to score without your trash-talk!"

Furihata rolled his eyes in exasperation.

'What is this provocation? Is he really a five-year-old kid trapped inside a teenager body?'

However, he decided to make things interesting for the spectators and nodded at Kagami.

"Sure,"

Right after he received the ball, he drove forward to the right side without waiting for Kagami to close the gap. Kagami was taken aback a little, but he could react in time as he followed Furihata immediately. Furihata keeps driving forward without hesitation, and even when he is already five meters from the basket, he didn't slow his speed.

A wild thought suddenly comes into Kagami's mind.

'Is he going to take a head-on approach without any trick? With me guarding him? How dare he!'

Right under the basket, when Furihata jumped for a layup, Kagami did the same, trying to block the shoot.

'HA! You have no way to escape now! Got you, Bastard!'

However, having been drained by three three-point shots in this game, he forgot how crafty Furihata is. Right a second before Kagami could reach the ball, Furihata lowered the ball and shifted it to his left hand before he flicked it toward the basket.

A jelly layup!

And before he landed on the floor, Kagami's body make a contact with him, resulting in another whistle getting blown by Riko. He didn't have time to see what happened to the ball, but he could hear it bounce twice on the rim, and the sound of the ball make a contact with the nets confirmed the rest.

"Defensive shooting foul Kagami. Furihata has one free throw chance."

The court descended into a dead silence as Furihata took a step to the free-throw spot. When he heard the splash sound from his free throw attempt, Riko broke the silence and said,

"10-3. Game for Furihata-kun. Good game, both of you."

And before he could say anything, he was swarmed by his teammates, congratulating him on the win.

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Author note:

NEXT CHAPTER: Preparation for the Inter-high!

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