129 Chapter 129 : It's Over

Furihata closed his eyes tight, covering his face with a small towel while his mind wandered around. He finally got subbed off right after scoring against Murasakibara, with Izuki as his replacement. At first, he didn't realize how exhausted he was. But the moment he sat on the bench, he suddenly started to hyperventilate, panting heavily as if he just drowned in the sea.

"Haaaa…."

He took another deep sigh, trying to ignore everything that happened on the court. He didn't want to open up his eyes, not wanting to see Yosen High obliterate his team after all of the things he had done. To be exact, he didn't want to see how his teammates waste the opportunities he created with a lot of struggles, as he didn't want to think of them badly.

Inwardly though, he cursed himself, at how weak he was as he couldn't stay longer on the court. Even though his brain knows he has done everything, possible, his heart still rebelling, thinking that he could have done more than this.

"You know it is not your fault, right?"

A soft voice suddenly snapped Furihata from his thought. When he raised a part of the towel on his face to take a peek, he was a little bit surprised to see Riko smile at him softly.

"I know." He finally spoke. "That doesn't make it easier though. My mind keeps repeating the game over and over again, thinking of what I should have done to make it better. I swear, the what-if scenario that lives inside my head right now would kill me before I left this building."

Riko just snorted at that.

"Well, don't let it get through your head too much. You are incredible." Then, her face softened a bit before she added, "Even though facing the injustice I have put on you, you still come out as our best player today. I owe you an apology too for how poorly I handled your conflict with Kagami-kun."

Furihata didn't expect he would receive that apology right now. He wanted to say something snarky toward her. However, he didn't have enough energy to even think about what to say. He could only nod slightly, accepting her apologies silently.

Riko took a deep sigh, relieved that Furihata accepted her words easily. They both spend a few seconds in silence, as Furihata shuts his eyes down once again, not wanting to watch the game anymore.

"I wouldn't blame you if you think of this team so lowly right now." Riko suddenly speaks once again. "You work harder than everyone else, yet no one on the team can convert the chance you created. You must be disappointed."

Furihata took a little glance with the corner of his eyes, kist to see Riko taking another deep sigh. He pondered for a moment before shrugging it out.

"Well, even though it is true, I wouldn't be that harsh. Even if we lost, we still put up a decent fight today."

She snorted once again. "You are too kind, Furihata-kun, it is not like you. Everyone who has eyes knows that it is not us who put up a decent fight. It is you who carried us all over the way until it was this close, just for the other to choke once again. Just look at the box score."

Furihata couldn't help but cringe at the box score, knowing what she said was indeed true. Even though he puts up big numbers as his final statistics, the gap between him and the other players is too wide, something that he realized pretty well since he opened his zone state.

He glanced a little at the box score, trying to see his stats.

Kouki Furihata: 47 pts, 12 asts, 7 rbs, 6 stls, 3 blks, 3 TOVs, 17/27 FGs, 8/13 3PTs, 4/4 FTs 32:33

It was an incredible statistic. The best he had ever done with Seirin. However, all of that feels hollow when he remembers they are still losing. He took a look at his teammates' statistics and cringed a bit, finding how horrendous it was.

Junpei Hyuga: 13 pts, 2 asts, 3 rbs, 0 stls, 0 blks, 2 TOVs, 5/11 FGs, 2/5 3PTs, 2/3 FTs 34:15

Tetsuya Kuroko: 10 pts, 8 asts, 3 rbs, 5 stls, 0 blks, 5 TOVs, 5/5 FGs, 0/0 3PTs, 0/0 FTs 20:19

Taiga Kagami: 13 pts, 0 asts, 6 rbs, 0 stls, 2 blks, 3 TOVs, 5/18 FGs, 1/2 3PTs, 2/2 FTs 36:01

Teppei Kiyoshi: 0 pts, 1 asts, 4 rbs, 0 stls, 0 blks, 5 TOVs, 0/4 FGs, 0/1 3PTs, 0/0 FTs 18:47

Rinnosuke Mitobe: 15 pts, 3 asts, 3 rbs, 0 stls, 1 blks, 2 TOVs, 6/11 FGs, 2/5 3PTs, 1/3 FTs 20:12

Yeah, besides him, the best scorer on the team was Hyuga with only 13 points for the game and Kagami, the self-proclaimed ace of Seirin also with the same 13 points. However, the next best scorer was Kuroko who averaged less than 5 points per game. In this game, he scored 10, his career-high point. This just shows how terrible Seirin was today.

"I hope you haven't given up on this team, though." Riko's voice once again snapped him from his daydreaming. "I know it looks bad. But I have already talked with Alex-san. I swear we will make things right, and make you and everyone else proud to wear Seirin's jersey."

Furihata just stared at the court blankly, not sure if her words were registered right through his head. As time went by, he closed his eyes once again, waiting for the last buzzer to ring to end the game.

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Ultimately, it was the right decision for Furihata to close his eyes on the game. Without him on the court, Seirin suddenly lost their big gun to point at Yosen, and with their exhaustion level, they started to crumble in time and got obliterated by their opponent.

"Back down, Kagami! Screen!"

"Damn! Senpai, cover!"

"I got it!"

*Splash!*

"YOSSHAA!!!"

It was another three points for Yosen, and this time, Fukui pulled it up beautifully from the corner area. In total, this was the fourth three-pointer Yosen players pulled out since Furihata was out of the court, widening the gap once again into 15 points and making all of his efforts to make the game closer vanished in a blink, and that was even after Murasakibara being subbed off for another player.

'Speaking of which, where is that bastard?'

Furihata snorted a little when he looked over at Yosen's bench. He could see the giant center with a mask covering his eyes, sleeping with an awkward sitting posture on the bench. For someone who just had a big performance, he sure can sleep that easy as if he didn't do anything worth mentioning at all.

'Well, maybe he does think that way, with how insane his former team is' Furihata shook his head. 'Whatever. Not my business here. Let's not think about him anymore.'

He cringed once again when his eyes landed on the court, watching his teammates getting outmatched in a rebound by Okumura. All of the stamina they preserved when Murasakibara was on the court is coming in handy now, as no one from Seirin could keep up with them anymore. Yosen really knows how to take advantage of their best player.

He had to give big props though, toward two of the Yosen players, Fukui and Okumura. Even though both teams had already treated the game as a garbage time, they still played seriously, hustling every ball and shouting and encouraging their teammates.

Furihata knows that last year, they both were still Yosen's best players, with Okumura being the defensive player of the tournament both in the Inter-high and the winter tournament. Being replaced by their kouhai and their roles reduced greatly into cannon fodders like this, it must hurt their pride. But here they are, still giving all of their might for the team.

Just like Hyuga in his team, they both were the backbones of Yosen High.

'They are lucky they have really good veterans there.'

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As time went by, one by one people in the audience seat started to walk off the gym. And it was such a trend right after Furihata and Murasakibara were subbed off earlier, as anyone could realize there would be no surprise anymore. Even though the game is still going on, a lot of people lost their interest in how it would end.

As time goes by, so does the game. It started to slow down, as everyone had already known the final result. For such a tight game, this sure is an anticlimactic ending. Not that any of the audiences would protest though, as they watched a lot of incredible actions from both teams. However, just like in another game, there will never be two winners, and this time, Seirin had to be satisfied coming up as the loser.

Only twenty seconds left before the game was over, and Fukui finally took a break. The third-year point guard put the ball slowly to the floor, respecting Seirin by not attempting to score a meaningless buzzer-beater.

*FWEEEEEEEE!!!!!*

The buzzer finally rang, ending the ever-long game. One by one, all of the players with Seirin jerseys on the court fell on the floor, having their shoulders slumped depressingly. A hint of tears here and there could be seen on many faces, showing how hard this loss hit the team.

Furihata closed his eyes tighter than before and tried to close his ears too, not wanting to see the desperation on his teammates. However, he was stopped by two Yosen players who approached him, startling him for a second.

"Good game." Fukui, the third-year point guard from Yosen offered a handshake. "You really put big numbers today. Not many could say they did it against us. So, be proud of it."

Furihata nodded a little, accepting the handshake with a confused face.

"Yeah, you should be proud of what you did." Okumura patted his shoulder. "You trashed both Fukui and Himuro, something that you could and should brag to your teammates."

"Shut up, Okumura!"

"You know it's true."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Furihata could only have his mouth gaped like a fish, confused at getting caught between the bickering of two Yosen players. After a few moments, they finally noticed his presence again, looking at him sheepishly.

"Aah… Sorry… We got carried away again…" Fukui rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "What we want to say is… Uh…" They both looked at each other hesitantly before Fukui finally said the words, "Thank you."

Furihata was stunned, not expecting what was coming. After a few seconds, he shook his head slightly before asking, "Thanks for what?"

"For picking up a fight with him and putting your best in it," Okumura answered his question shortly as if it explained his confusion.

And to be perfectly honest, it was. Based on how they reacted right now, Furihata could guess Murasakibara probably has an attitude problem, just like Kagami for his team or Aomine for Too. And to receive their thanks, it seems they could see a major improvement in their problem.

"Well, happy to help." Furihata shrugged. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

Fukui snorted at his question. Even though no one speaks of a name, they all understand who they are talking about. "Of course, he left first before anyone else. There is no way he would be here willingly, especially for this kind of silly thing."

What Fukui meant by silly thing is offering handshakes toward the opponent. It was not a mandatory thing, just something that was promoted strongly in Japan to encourage sportsmanship among the players. And Furihata could see for such a prideful player like Murasakibara or the other Generation of Miracles, they would never humiliate themselves by offering a handshake toward the opponent they just defeated.

"Well, we just come here to say hello." Okumura patted his shoulder once again. "It is an honour for us in our last year to meet a strong opponent like you. I have no doubt you will become a force to be reckoned in your next tournament."

"Yeah." Fukui nodded in agreement. "We hope to see you well and succeed. Just don't think you can beat our alma mater, okay?"

Furihata snorted lightly at that.

"Well, we have to go first. Bye!"

"See you next time!"

Furihata could only stare blankly as his eyes followed both Fukui and Okumura who walked away from the court. To be honest, he is still trying to comprehend, what just happened.

"Hey, you okay?" A voice suddenly came from behind, and when he turned around, Furihata could see Tatsuya walking toward his direction. "For someone who just lost, you seem not to be bothered enough. It hasn't sunk down yet?"

Furihata could only smile dryly at that. "What do you want to see? For me to be devastated? Upset? I played well enough today, and if not for the end result, everything would be perfect. There is no need to be depressed."

Furihata cringed a bit, knowing that it was a weak reason. He knows pretty well that Tatsuya is right, the result hasn't sunk into his brain yet, and he sure knows that he would be devastated later when all of the crampes and exhaustion in his body finally hits in.

"Well, if you say so." From the tone, Furihata could see Tatsuya didn't buy his word. "I just think maybe you would be as upset as your other teammates. I cannot say I am not disappointed."

"And by my other teammates, you talked specifically about Kagami, right?" Furihata smiles wryly at Tatsuya's innocent shrug. "What did you say to him?"

"Don't worry, just the bragging stuff like usual. There is no way I would let the chance to rub this off his face go away easily. He would be upset, but it wouldn't be my problem. Nice revenge, right?"

Furihata snorted as he saw Kagami look at them with an upset face as if he betrayed the team by talking with Tatsuya.

"Yeah, him throwing a tantrum would be my and Alex-san's problem for tomorrow. You are a terrible person, Himuro-san."

"Why, thank you."

Furihata just rolled his eyes at Tatsuya's infuriating smirk.

"By the way, I could see that you have a problem with him and your team. Do you want to be transferred and join us?"

Furihata stares blankly, trying to determine if it was a joke or not. After a few seconds, he shook his head, smiling amusedly at Yosen's shooting guard. "Nah, too much problem. Akita is way too far for my liking, and I wouldn't be able to avenge my loss today. Good try, though."

Tatsuya shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I have to try at least, right? You are amazing today. If not for your teammates hinder your progress, you would be able to compete more." Furihata just smiles wanly, not agreeing nor denying his statement. "Oh, I have to say goodbye, or the other would leave me alone. Thank you for this awesome game, by the way. Looking forward to meeting you next time."

Furihata snorted. "You just look forward to beating Red once again, right?"

"Ha! You got me! Bye!" Tatsuya walked away, leaving him there with his teammates.

As the crowds started to walk away, it started to sink in, the frustration of the loss. Not only that, the exhaustion that was hidden beneath the adrenaline finally hits him hard. He could feel his hands trembling, and his knee melting down, asking for a rest.

For a moment, Furihata froze on his spot, not knowing what to do. It was Hyuga who finally snapped him from his thoughts, tapping his shoulder to wake him up from his daydreaming.

"It is over, Furihata-kun." When he turned around, he could see the state of devastation his teammates were in, as everyone still bowed down, trace of tears could be seen on their faces. He couldn't see Kuroko and Kagami and suddenly thought those two couldn't handle this defeat as well as the other did and decided to walk away earlier than the team. After seeing the soft expression from his captain, Furihata finally nodded, looking at the court for the last time.

"Yeah, it is over. Let's go home now."

And with the Seirin team leaving the gymnasium, the game finally ended with the score 115 – 96 for Yosen High's win.

Seirin High, eliminated from the Inter-High tournament!

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Author note :

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-Zeta Faes-