26 The Finals (Part 1)

"Grandpa, where are we going? My feet are hurting!", complained a young immature voice.

"Don't complain! I heard that there is a basketball challenge happening in Ebisu tonight so I thought of taking a quick peek", this time it was an elderly voice that spoke.

"Huh?! Basketball again? Aren't you on vacation, grandpa?!"

"I only followed you to Ebisu because you promised to buy me lots of sweets! What's so good about basketball anywa-",before that young voice could finish, he was forcefully interrupted.

Dong!

A large fist fell upon that youth's head to stop him from further speaking.

"Ouch! What are you doing, you stinky grandpa?!"

"Hmph! To disgrace our national sport like that, it seems like I have been too easy on you lately! Wait and see how I handle you later!", that elderly voice spoke in a stern tone.

In the outer parts of Ebisu, a young boy who appeared to be in middle school and an elderly man calmly walked along the streets as they argued like how a normal grandpa and grandson would.

However, they soon stopped arguing as they heard cheers coming from in front of them. When the old man heard this, his eyes glittered.

He had found the place that he was looking for!

"Come on, let's go! If we are any later, we might just miss it!", the old man said as he dragged his grandson along.

Meanwhile, the grandson was grumbling internally as his grandpa dragged him along.

'Grandpa is too much of a basketball addict! Why are we even here in the first place?!'

'The skills of these Shibuya people are too low to even enter our school's basketball club'

Still, he kept his mouth shut and followed his grandpa the rest of the way. He didn't want to get knocked on the head again.

So, as they walked ahead, they soon came upon a standard outdoor court with many people surrounding the court as their cheers sounded loudly.

'Seems lively. There must be some good talent here!', the old man thought excitedly as he made his way to the front of the crowd.

When that old man finally made his way to the front, he was a bit stunned by what he saw.

In the court, Mibuchi was facing against a middle school player as he panted loudly with his eyes looking around for possible openings.

'An elementary school student facing against a middle school student? How exciting!', the old man felt his blood boil a little when he saw this.

It was not common for an elementary school student to face off against a middle school student and while Shibuya had a low talent pool, such cases were still rarely found.

Looking at the score, the old man found himself in shock once again.

A score of 4-2! This was simply miraculous!

Now, with his initial excitement gone, the old man began to evaluate Mibuchi's play seriously.

On the court, Mibuchi's muscles loosened as he started adapting a loose form with which he dribbled the ball with as he stared down his opponent. His opponent wasn't a rookie so even with Mibuchi staring him down, he didn't let the pressure get to him as he still continued blocking Mibuchi.

However, it was a real pain in doing so. With Mibuchi's loose free form, his opponent was having trouble reading Mibuchi's moves and to devise a proper blocking technique.

Then, all of a sudden, Mibuchi dashed forward.

Seeing Mibuchi dash forward, his opponent couldn't help but be fully on guard as he saw Mibuchi dive to the right. Immediately, without any pause, he proceeded to dive after Mibuchi.

However, once he was only a distance away from where Mibuchi was supposed to be, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Because Mibuchi wasn't where he was supposed to be! Instead of continuing forward, Mibuchi had instead taken a step back and got into a standard shooting position.

Then, without a single hitch, Mibuchi scored a solid basket to which his opponent couldn't react at all.

"Woah!!!",the crowd roared at the game-ending shot.

"That was such a good fake! His opponent couldn't react to it at all!", someone couldn't help commenting.

When the old man heard this, he couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. That fake was good but that was only considered with a beginner's standard.

'His loose form makes it hard for his opponents to read him and while this is good for now, he will surely hit a roadblock when he advances to a higher level'

'Judging by his current speed and maneuvers, I should say that he is approaching his limit soon'

Thinking about this, the old man couldn't help but shake his head.

If this boy could further improve his technique, he would surely become dangerous in a team fight. Unfortunately, it seems like his technique could only be polished but not improved.

Then, just as Mibuchi finished the round, Jax made another announcement.

"An outstanding finish by the Loose Cannon! With that, we will now conclude the semi-finals!"

"We will be taking a short 10 minute break for our stars to recuperate but remember to not go anywhere! You wouldn't want to miss the epic showdown between the Loose Cannon and the rising dark horse!"

The old man immediately felt excited when he heard this. If there was one thing people loved more than anything, it was the appearance of a dark horse.

However, there seemed to be a problem. He didn't know how this dark horse looked like!

As such, he could only turn to a random stranger to ask them about it.

"Huh? The dark horse? He's right over there", one of the spectators pointed towards the crowd.

Looking in the direction of where that person pointed at, the old man found himself staring at a young boy who looked around 11. This boy was naturally Reo.

As the old man looked at Reo, he couldn't help but feel confused.

'Below average height, normal muscle build....This boy is a dark horse?', the old man couldn't help but find this a bit strange.

Logically, this boy should only be an average player at best but for some reason, everyone said that he was a dark horse.

'There must be something special about him', the old man concluded. As such, he couldn't help but want to see Reo's skills up close in person.

What moves would this so called dark horse show him?

"Zenji, looks like there might be someone interesting here this time", the old man said to the boy next to him.

However, when he looked down at his grandson, he found him staring into space with a bizarre look on his face.

The old man felt question marks appear above his head. What happened to his grandson?

So, following Zenji's line of sight, he found out what his grandson was staring at.

A girl. To be more specific, it was a girl that was talking to Reo.

It was Mikasa.

When Zenji first saw her, he had been wonderstruck.

'S-So beautiful!'

Unlike Mibuchi who had already preplanned his marriage, Zenji was a bit more mature. After all, he was in middle school.

So, instead of planning for marriage....He planned to date first!

However, as he was thinking this, he saw Reo talking to Mikasa like it was no big deal. Immediately, Zenji felt his position being threatened.

Reo had already made contact with Mikasa early on so this was a severe disadvantage to Zenji.

'No, I must make my move quick! Otherwise, my chances will be getting lower and lower!', Zenji thought.

Then, just as he was about to walk towards Mikasa, he saw something that made his face turn extremely sour.

Just then, Reo had said something to Mikasa with a cheeky look on his face. In response to Reo, Mikasa's face turned bright red as she rained down her tiny fists onto Reo in embarrassment.

Although it looked like a friendly exchange, Zenji thought of something else entirely.

'Such blatant flirting!', Zenji was enraged.

How could they flirt at such a young age and in public?! This was degrading to the already ruined Japanese morals!

It was because of such people that the state of Japan was declining with every passing day!

Although it was a simple move, Zenji had already started making a big issue out of it like how Japan would be frowned down by the other countries and they would then isolate Japan to prevent the infectious attitude from spreading.

Honestly, it was all nonsense but for some reason....It made sense it Zenji's head.

Seeing his grandson glaring at the duo, the old man could already conclude that his grandson had become jealous of Reo.

Such reaction was expected. Mikasa could very well qualify to become one of the top 3 beauties in Zenji's school although she was in elementary school.

One could imagine how gorgeous she would turn out when she fully matured.

Initially, Zenji had wanted to start up a conversation with Mikasa but after seeing Reo's blatant flirting in public, Zenji didn't have the guts to approach them anymore.

As such, he could only stare hatefully at Reo as the 10 minute break quickly passed by.

When the break finally ended, Jax didn't forget to rile the crowd up as he announced the final match.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's the time you've been waiting for! The final showdown of tonight's Street Ball Rumble!"

"This time, we have witnessed something spectacular that hasn't been seen in over a year! A new dark horse! Will he become a potential star in the future or will his luck run short in the finals?!"

"Give it up for Reo Fuji!!!"

As Jax introduced Reo ,one of the spotlights pointed over to Reo's location as it revealed a small silhouette walking slowly to the court. Even though his steps were soft, the crowd felt that they could hear the confidence ringing out with every step Reo took.

Seeing Reo make his entrance, Jax couldn't help but let out a small grin.

This kid didn't let him down after all. All that promoting was worth it in the end.

With that, he started introducing Mibuchi as well.

"And his opponent, you've seen him mess with giants easily with his extraordinary form! Will he retain his crown as one of the rumble kings or will he pass the throne over?!"

"Give it up for our star, Mibuchi Daiki!!!"

When Jax had finished introducing Reo and Mibuchi, the crowd started to cheer crazily for the two of them.

"Go Mibuchi-san! Go Reo-san!"

"Oi, can't you pick who you want to support?!"

"Pick?! Only kids choose! I want them both!"

"Want both?! Keep dreaming, Reo-san is mine! He's not only skilled but handsome as well! He will surely win the Street Ball Rumble!"

"Hah?! Are you looking down on my Mibuchi-san?! Do you want a date with my slipper?!"

Cheers, arguments and squeals broke out from within the crowd. However, there was really nothing to worry about. This sort of thing always happened whenever two stars faced off.

The only difference this time was that instead of a star, there was a dark horse instead!

On the other hand, Reo's face scrunched up when he heard Jax mention Mibuchi's name. He was not comfortable with the name 'Daiki' being used by a total noob.

As Reo made his way to the court, the system began to talk to him.

[Oi, brat. Remember that this guy has a higher talent level than you so you must be careful!]

[Although his talent is still developing, he is still a 'C-' ranked talent after all. While he has not reached that threshold yet, it will definitely not be easy to beat him]

Reo was a bit surprised. Did this system enter into it's 'mother phase'?

'Huh? I'm surprised that you suddenly care so much about me', Reo thought cheekily.

The system immediately became angry when it heard Reo's cheekiness.

[Huh?! W-Who cares about you, you corkhead!]

[I wanted to help you since there is a little bonus for this match but since you don't want it, then I wont tell you!]

Reo immediately became speechless.

Since when did he say that he didn't want it?! This system was becoming delusional!

Seeing that the system was really not going to tell him, there was only one thing he could do.

Fawn and beg!

'Now, now system. Such arrogance is unbefitting of such a handsome system. Where is the pride of a noble system?', Reo asked.

When the system heard this, it almost fainted into deactivation.

What arrogance? What pride?

This fella actually dared to bring up such topics with it?!

[You bumhead! It doesn't matter about me but I can tell you that you're pride has completely shattered!]

[Good luck finding out what the bonus is!]

With that, the system shut itself off from Reo in a fit of rage.

This fella and it always argued like cats and dogs so for the system to see him begging it in such a shameful manner made it utterly was speechless.

What was shame? What was pride? Did this fella even have any of it?!

Seeing that the system had actually ignored him again, Reo huffed in frustration as he dropped his fawning attitude.

'Stupid system! You don't want to tell me? Fine! It's not like I need you to tell me anyways!'

'I can find out by myself! That way, at least I will be more useful than you!'

When the system heard that, it wanted to curse Reo's mother but upon recalling that it wasn't going to speak to Reo, it frustratingly swallowed it's anger and stared murderously at Reo from the void.

While Reo and the system had their usual bout, Mibuchi and the referee were already waiting for Reo.

Mibuchi had been given the first opportunity to decide his coin's side. However, it had unluckily been in Reo's favor.

As such, it was Reo's turn to start the match.

Then, with the referee signaling the start of the match, Reo started dribbling the ball.

As Reo dribbled, he was thinking of his gameplay. While he and the system argued often, he was not dumb enough to completely ignore it's advice.

When facing an opponent like Mibuchi who could overwhelm him at any time, he needed to play it safe and strike when he least expects it.

Because in this match, every point counts.

So, without any delays, Reo straight away got into a shooting position and jumped.

He planned to take the first point by surprise.

Mibuchi who was not expecting a sudden shot, couldn't react in time to Reo. Even though he jumped after Reo, there was still a delay due to Reo jumping way earlier.

As such, he couldn't even reach Reo's height as the ball soared through the air and entered the rim cleanly.

"Woah!!!",the crowd roared in excitement.

They didn't think that Reo would take the first score totally by surprise.

Meanwhile, that old man in the crowd was surprised as well.

'Good judgement!', the old man praised internally.

Seeing Reo being able to make the correct judgement and score an early basket made the old man think highly of Reo. Only players with high awareness on the court were able to make such precise judgement based on their opponent's movements.

This was to say that Reo was similar to those regular players who analyzed everything before making their move.

However, how old was Reo and how old were those veteran players? For a kid to have that much awareness on the court made the old man's eyes sparkle.

If trained properly in this aspect, this boy would surely be a formidable point guard in the future.

Back to the court, when Mibuchi saw that Reo had gotten the first point right off the bat, he couldn't help but sound his disappointment.

"Tch!"

'I was too careless! I promise that it wont happen again!', Mibuchi thought furiously.

So, when they got back into their starting position, Mibuchi took a deep breath as he kept his guard up.

Seeing Mibuchi get serious, Reo knew that he would not fall for the same trick twice.

As such, when he started dribbling, he didn't go forward but went back instead!

Mibuchi was a bit shocked when he saw Reo moving back instead but that only lasted for a moment before he figured out what Reo was up to.

Since it was a bit difficult going past Mibuchi, he might as well score a normal 2-pointer.With that, Reo started jumping up as he got into a shooting position to score the basket.

However, Mibuchi wasn't going to allow it so easily. He would not fall for the same trick twice.

As such, when he saw Reo jump, he jumped as well!

'I got him now!', Mibuchi thought as he stretched out his hand to block the ball.

However, there was something weird going on. When Mibuchi jumped, he noticed that he was the only one rising and as for Reo....he was falling instead.

That's right....It was a fake!

With only his heels leaving the ground, Reo planted his toes firmly on the ground as he made that fake.

When he saw Mibuchi already in the air, he didn't hesitate and immediately dribbled past him at lightning speed.

Once Reo arrived at the hoop, he didn't waste time as he jumped and scored with a layup accordingly. It looked all too easy for him.

"What?! What was that?! A fake?!"

"A fake! It's a fake for sure but it looked so clean!"

"My god, this dark horse is really skilled!"

Numerous exclamations could be heard from the crowd as they witnessed Reo's fake. It was just too clean.

Meanwhile, while everyone was fussing about Reo's fake, Reo himself felt like crying.

'It hurts!', Reo complained as his calf muscles burned in agony.

Reo had previously seen a move like this made in the NBA which was just mind blowing for him. Reo had initially thought of performing like that NBA star but once he executed that move, he realized how tough it really was.

For someone to move so fast and put so much pressure on their calf muscles all of a sudden was just too much for him.

The people who he witnessed doing those moves were NBA stars and for him, a mere 10 year old to do so was no different than direct muscle suicide.

Thankfully, he had the system which had strengthened his muscles to a certain extent. While it did hurt, it was better than his muscles snapping which was what would have happened if he didn't have an increase in 'Physique'.

Apparently, the system was aware of this as well as it didn't hold back in cursing and scolding Reo like a dead dog. By the time it finished scolding Reo, Reo's eyes looked like he had lost all hope in the world

As for Mibuchi, he really wanted to curse his heart out. Just looking at the score of 2-0 made him want to bang his head against a wall.

This was supposed to be his rival in love. Yet now, it looked more like a one sided beating.

It was like Mibuchi had never stood a chance.

'Damn it! This is getting worse and worse! All I need is just one chance!', Mibuchi thought furiously.

Maybe it was just luck but Mibuchi felt that God had answered his prayers at the very next second.

Just as Reo was about to do another standard shoot, Mibuchi had got lucky and jumped just a couple of milliseconds earlier.

In turn ,he was finally able to get a finger on the ball which drove it off it's course and out of bounds.

With the ball out of bounds, Mibuchi finally had the ball in his hands at the starting position.

It was finally his turn. He was going to show Reo why you should never mess with a star!