Chapter 124 : VS Yosen High XV - On the Verge of the Death

"Damn!" In the audience seat, Kasamatsu cursed out loud, disliking how the game between Seirin and Yosen went through. "Oi, Kise! Why the hell is your teammate acting so strange today? He defied all of our intelligence!"

Even though the blonde next to him knew it was just a rhetorical question, he still gave his captain an answer.

"I don't really know. But if I had to take a guess, I would say it was because of Akashicchi."

Kasamatsu frowned a little. "Your former captain?"

"Yeah." Kise nodded. "I don't know the history between those two, but regarding his basketball career, Akashicchi is the only one that Murasakibaracchi is willing to listen to." After pondering for a second, the blonde shook his head. "No, that is incorrect. It is more like Akashicchi is the only one whom Murasakibaracchi would follow without making a fuss. So, whenever something strange happened to him on the court, we would just blame it on Akashicchi's order and let it go."

"So, you mean this strangeness is your former captain's order? Why on earth does he still listen and follow that? Aren't they in a different team right now?"

Kise couldn't fault the ridiculousness on his captain's face. But what makes him confused is when he sees a hint of concern in Kasamatsu's eyes.

"Well, just like I said, I don't really know their history." Kise shook his head, trying to ignore his own confusion. "And it doesn't matter if they are in a different team. In fact, we were all surprised when they didn't join the same team. With how devoted Murasakibaracchi is toward Akashicchi, I thought they would join forces together."

"And what about you and the other Generation of Miracles? Are you still listening to his order too?"

'Ah, so that is his concern….' Kise murmured inwardly, realizing why it was a big deal for Kasamatsu.

Well, he couldn't blame his senpai at all this time. If he was on Kasamatsu's feet, knowing that the best player on his team could still be controlled by his former captain even though they were on the opposite side of the court, he would be concerned, if not panicked about that. Fortunately, it was not the case this time.

"Don't worry, Senpai." He tried to appease Kasamatsu. "The only one who will still follow Akashicchi's order is Murasakibaracchi. Midorimachhi and Kurokocchi might heard his words too, but they would only see that as a piece of advice. As for me and Aominecchi, well…. Akashicchi saw us as lost causes and never bothered to order us around after our third year, so I doubt he would start now."

Kise said the last part with a bitter smile, remembering how hurt it was when Akashi ignored him completely when they were in their final year in Teiko. It was only because Momoi was brave enough to ask for Aomine that he knew Akashi's opinion toward him.

While he was contemplating his time in Teiko, Kise didn't notice the bewildered expression on his senpai's face. As for Kasamatsu, hearing that, he couldn't help but think,

'It seems the dynamic between the Generation of Miracles is more complex than I have thought before. I need to speak to him later to find out if there is still anything that could harm the team in the future.'

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Back to the court, if anyone sees carefully, they will notice the exhaustion on the pink-haired center wearing Yosen High's jersey. He sighed out loud while wiping the sweat on his face, cursing Akashi for his order.

'Damn, Aka-chin! If you want to test them out, do it yourself! Why do you always drag me into this kind of situation?'

Yeah, for all of his monstrous physique that put all of his opponents in fear, Murasakibara had one glaring weakness. His stamina.

Oh, don't get him wrong. Back when he was still in his first two years in Teikou, nobody could compete with him in four quarters games, what, with all of the training he was forced to endure by Akashi. But since he dropped his regular training in his final year in middle school, he has never played in such a competitive game like this, where he needs to put his 100 percent effort in both offense and defense for the entire game.

'Aaaah…. I want to go home right now.. Why the hell am I doing here? Oh, right. Aka-chin's order.. Troublesome….'

Well, his exhaustion seems to be noticed by his teammates, as Fukui approaches him directly.

"Oi, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Murasakibara waved his hand lackadaisically. He knows that question was thrown not out of concern. Fukui was just there to make sure he would still be able to play, and if he couldn't, the third-year point guard would tell that to their coach. "I will be fine. Just make sure the ball would go to my hand."

Fukui stared into his eyes searchingly before he nodded.

"Good. You have said you would bear the responsibility of this game. Just make sure you do that or get out of here."

There is no hint of love or respect in Fukui's tone, yet no one makes a fuss about that. All of Yosen's players know that Fukui hates Murasakibara's gut since the beginning, with how he acted like he owned the team. Meanwhile, Murasakibara couldn't care enough about the people he considered untalented, and unfortunately, Fukui fell into that group.

The reason why no one said anything about that is because both Fukui and Murasakibara are smart enough to tolerate each other. Being the receiver of the sports scholarship, they both know they need each other to win the championship.

"You alright, Murasakibara-kun?" Tatsuya's voice suddenly registered through his ears, snapping him from his thoughts. "If you feel tired, you could just give the ball to me. You don't have to attack them alone, you know?"

Murasakibara hummed slightly, pondering about Tatsuya's proposal. After a few seconds, he opened his mouth and started speaking slowly,

"Well, Muro-chin… I think your idea is quite merit here…."

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On the Seirin's side, everyone is still trying to lift up each other's spirits.

"Come on! This is not over yet!"

"Yeah! It is our turn for offense!"

"Let's score first, and we will think about Murasakibara later!"

"Yeah~!"

The game restarted soon with the ball is in Furihata's hand. He dribbled slowly, scrutinizing the entire court carefully. Having seen Murasakibara's freakish reflex, he didn't dare to lower his focus even for a second.

However, before thinking about that pink-haired center, he first had to rack his brain on how to tear down Yosen's tight defense. The hole that Kuroko created in the first quarter had already been restored, and now, with all the Yosen players besides Murasakibara pushed them down to the half-court line, he had to find a way to escape and get rid of their high pressing quickly.

"Furihata-kun!"

He perked up at the shout of his name from the left side. There, he could see Hyuga back down from the corner to help him get away from his guard. But when he saw two of Yosen's players, Tatsuya and Wei Liu, sneaking from his blind spot, he resisted the urge to pass the ball to his captain.

'Damn! They probably want to cut off the pass route!'

Knowing that, instead of passing the ball, Furihata reacted quickly, faked it with a simple hesitation move and drove forward to the opposite side of his captain, fooling both his and his captain's defenders.

"Ooooh!"

"Nice, Furihata-kun!"

When he saw Mitobe on the wing side, Furihata handed the ball toward the quiet senpai and immediately set up a screen to help him escape from his guard. Mitobe who is already used to Furihata's playing style knows his kouhai's intention, and right after he gets the ball, he cuts inside from his spot toward the free-throw area, leaving Okumura with Furihata behind.

"Damn!"

"Cover! Don't let him shoot!"

Now, it was only Mitobe and Murasakibara alone in the paint area. He had several options. He could just attack Murasakibara directly, which was a foolish decision if he did that, or he could use Kagami and Kiyoshi whom he caught moving from the corner of his eyes as distractions.

'Or, I could just release the ball here and see what happens next.'

One of Mitobe's strongest abilities other than his hook shot is his floater, which was deadly enough to be considered as an option in a desperate moment like this.

'Only three feet away from Murasakibara. If I didn't release the ball now, he would be able to block it. Screw it!'

Mitobe is about to raise his hand, taking a stance for a floater shot. However, he made a mistake by making eye contact with Murasakibara. Faces the murderous intent under the azure blue eyes, sweat rolling down his spine, as his instinct screams danger.

It was the exact same vibe that he felt whenever he played against Kagami in practice. The feeling as if he is prey under the predator who plays with its food before killing it.

Under such tremendous pressure, his mind unconsciously reached one absolute conclusion,

'Damn, he would kill me here!'

Even though Mitobe knows that he has to release the ball now or never, his instinct suddenly kicked in, as instead of aiming at the basket, he lobbed it into Kagami's direction who sneaked from the baseline. Unfortunately, due to the pressure he was under, he flicked the ball a bit too hard, resulting in it being deviated from the route Mitobe wanted, and instead of going to Kagami's hand, it went out of the court.

"DAMN!"

"Ooooh! He panicked!"

"Who wouldn't be? If I faced Murasakibara head-on, my legs would be melted before I could do anything!"

"Yeah, he is insanely good!"

"But I don't get it. Why would Furihata pass the ball? He could get it done himself!"

"I know, right?! His teammates are useless and I feel bad for him!"

Mitobe and the other Seirin players could only lower their heads in shame when they heard the murmurs that go around the gym. Even Kagami who usually had a high self-esteem bowed his head down, influenced by the negativity that was uttered by the audiences. It is as if they have already given up right now.

However, their attention was snapped by the sudden shout from Furihata.

"What the hell are you doing there?!" The first-year point guard shouted; a hint of irritation could be heard in his voice. "Snap it out! We need to defend! If you are not done with your self-pity party, get out of here!"

Looking at the determination that is still burning in his eyes, all of the players on the court know that Furihata hasn't given up the game yet. Even though his time is starting to run out, and the score gap still widened in every single Yosen offense play, he is still unwilling to give up the game yet.

"He is right." Hyuga suddenly spoke. "The game is not over yet! We cannot give up now! Let's end it and leave with our heads high!"

And it was enough to trigger the reaction from the other Seirin players. They started running back to their own area, kept shouting to encourage each other.

"Yeah! This is not over!"

"Kagami-kun, protect the paint!"

"Mitobe, switch with me!"

"Don't let them get through your defense that easy!"

"Give them hell!"

To be honest, just with a glance at the scoreboard, they all know it was almost impossible for Seirin to chase down or even reverse the score. 79 – 60 for Yosen's lead with four minutes before the third quarter ended, no one believed they could do anything against Yosen's tight defense.

It was only because of the fragile pride that was still left inside them that made all the Seirin players move. For the senior members, they don't want to repeat the disaster they suffered last year. And for Kagami, giving up against Murasakibara and Tatsuya is a big no in his dictionary.

So, here they are, still running even though they know their hope to win is pretty close.

"Senpai, defense!"

Now that Tatsuya had the ball, Hyuga and Furihata pit their guards at their highest. Even though it was a bit unusual considering the last few balls would go to Murasakibara, they don't have any time to question that.

"You choose to fight?" Tatsuya murmured, dribbling the ball slowly. "Admirable, but we will show you how foolish it was!"

Right after that, Yosen's shooting guard lunged forward, trying to drive forcefully toward Seirin's paint area. However, he was followed tightly by Furihata, who didn't give him enough space to create a shoot comfortably. After a few seconds of dancing around with no result, Tatsuya gritted his teeth in frustration before sending the ball straight into the paint area.

At first, Furihata didn't know what is Tatsuya's intention. With all the pass routes between him and Murasakibara already cut off and Okumura not ready to receive the ball, it is as if Tatsuya just gave up the possession to Seirin's side.

However, when he saw Murasakibara twirling around from the baseline through the spot under the hoop, Furihata could see where the ball would go.

"BIG MEN! THE BALL IS COMING!"

In a panic state due to the fact that Murasakibara could still get the ball even with them guarding the center pretty tightly, Kagami and Kiyoshi jumped at the same time, trying to stop the pink-haired center from scoring again.

However, what they didn't expect was for Murasakibara to not jump immediately after he got the ball. No, when he saw two players with Seirin jerseys jump recklessly in his direction, the pink-haired center ducked quickly, trying to avoid a collision. Even though he had confidence that he could overpower those two at the same time, he had no desire to risk himself an unnecessary injury.

And it worked pretty well, as Kagami and Kiyoshi collided with each other in the air, resulting in both of them falling onto the floor awkwardly.

*BRUGH!*

"Oooow..."

Almost all of the people in the gymnasium winced at the harsh sound of those two hitting the floor. Even if they didn't end up with an injury, no one doubts the fall would hurt like hell.

As for Murasakibara, right after avoiding those two, he had an easy time scoring, as no one disturbed him right now. He jumped a little, raising both his hands to slam the ball down through the hoop.

However, right before he could reach the basket, he could feel someone climb his back, using his body to elevate himself through the air. Before he could notice what happened,

*SLAP!*

*Clank!*

The ball vanished from his hand, and by the sound of something hitting the board, anyone could guess immediately that it was a clean block. However, no one reacted fast enough, still dumbfounded at what happened. And as if saying the surprise is not over, a second later, the ball flew through the air, going straight through the Yosen's hoop.

*SPLASH!*

Silence descended upon the gymnasium, as all the eyes fell into the source of the last play. And when they all stared at Furihata, they could feel the imaginary black lightning flashes through his eyes.

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Author note :

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You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 144 on that page. Thank you! :)

-Zeta Faes-