133 Chapter 133 : Put More Pressure on Aomine!

"Good job, Kise!" Kasamatsu slapped the blonde's back excitedly. He and the other Kaijo players are still drunk in celebration of the last play. "You keep it up, and we will be able to win the game!"

Seeing the others nod in agreement, Kise could only smile wanly as he took a bottle of water that was offered to him. However, out of everyone on his team, he knows Aomine the best. There is no way this kind of setback would discourage him. Instead, the tanned skin power forward would take him passing the ball as an insult and go more berserk for the next time.

His worry was seen by his coach, Takeuchi Genta, who coughed a little loud, gaining the attention of his players. "Kise-kun, is there anything you wanted to say?"

The happy and excited atmosphere suddenly vanished as everyone suddenly turned their heads on Kise. He was a bit surprised by the sudden attention he received. However, after thinking for a second, he feels silly to have that thought.

'Of course, they would be able to switch this fast.' He berated himself. 'This is Kaijo, after all.'

Yes, this is Kaijo High, the fourth-best team in the national tournament last year, and aimed for the best this time. They might go crazy and celebrate a good play wildly. However, they also know how to switch the gear into business mode, and this is one of its examples. Kise thought he should know better, especially considering he was also a part of the championship team in middle school.

"Well…." After thinking about how to word it, he thought it would be better to be frank. "I just want to remind you all, that the more motivated and insulted generation of Aominecchi means the more aggressive and dangerous he would be."

His words seem to wake up all the players, as the atmosphere is getting heavier.

"Kise-kun is right," Kasamatsu spoke. "We shouldn't grow complacent just because of one or two good plays. Anything could happen today, and we better be prepared for the worst."

Takeuchi Genta couldn't help but feel proud of his team. Even though they are still high school students with explosive emotions, they would always be able to calm down and stay composed. It is almost like they had a big switch button that could change the atmosphere whenever it was Tōō high or Tōō low into a steady one.

'It shows how big their heart is….' Takeuchi Genta smiles fondly at his team. 'It would be a pity if I couldn't win anything with this kind of team. They have the best temperament out of all the teams I managed. They have this championship temperament on them.'

Determination suddenly sparked inside his heart as he thought of the championship. Seeing how his players turned around at him with expectant gazes, waiting for his instruction, he suddenly felt that maybe, this would be the team that would lead him to the national thropy.

*Cough!* He cleared his throat, trying to snap his daydreaming. 'This is not the best time to think about it. Now, I need to make an adjustment for them.' Nodding to himself, he finally started to speak.

"Okay, listen up, everyone… This is what we are going to do."

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"Dai-chan…."

"Not know, Satsuki." Aomine refused the bottle of water that was offered to him, emotions still running high. "I need to calm myself down or I will do something terrible."

Momoi just looked at Harasawa helplessly as Aomine seemed to be more unapproachable right now. She cringed a bit when she saw the displeasure from the other players directed at him, knowing that this would be a problem in the near future.

'Oh, Dai-chan.. Why are you so troublesome like this…' She sighed. 'If you are always like this, I wouldn't be able to protect your name anymore…'

Yeah, after the last boycott episode where several members of the team and even the head coach reported Aomine's bad behavior, she tried very hard to clean his name. She even got dragged through the mud, hearing how her name was associated with a delinquent and being called such a hurtful nickname as a 'slut' or something similar.

At first, she didn't want to give up on Aomine. He is still her childhood friend. However, seeing him didn't care about his name and even ignored the bullying she received from her peers, she didn't know what to do anymore.

"Come on, Momoi-san." Imayoshi patted her shoulder. "You have done enough for him. It is not your fault if he couldn't recognize your effort and change."

Momoi looked at Tōō's captain hesitantly before nodding. She saw Aomine for the last time, saddened that he didn't care about the isolation he received. But like Imayoshi said, it was not her fault that he didn't change.

As for Aomine, the tanned-skinned boy just closed his eyes tightly, anger boiled inside him.

'How dare he copy me and just pass the ball like that!' He gritted his teeth frustratingly. 'Just you wait, Kise. I will destroy you in every way possible until you cannot stand up anymore!'

Yeah, just like Kise thought, Aomine feels insulted, seeing Kise copying his playing style and yet still passing the ball to score. He felt that Kise sullied his superior playing style which was the worst crime possible in his eyes.

'Just you wait, Kise. You will face the worst humiliation later…'

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A minute later, the players from both teams Tōōk their places as the crowds began to cheer again, they were more than set to keep watching the game unfold. That was how much excitement Kise and Aomine had been able to spark, especially after Kise managed to copy and read all of Aomine's movements.

A moment later, the game continued with the ball in Aomine's hand. He dribbled straight toward Kise's direction, looking forward to returning the favor to the blonde for the earlier play. With a sequence of complex dribble movements, he got rid of his former teammate immediately, ready to attack the paint.

However, his unhealthy obsession with Kise makes him sloppy. He didn't realize that it was not him getting through Kise, but it was Kise who let him drive forward, where two other Kaijo players had already waited for him.

"Don't think Kaijo is just Kise, you Brat!"

It was Kasamatsu and Moriyama who surrounded him immediately, not giving Aomine space to move freely. Their role is not to stop him, but to force the tanned skin power forward to go to the corner area where Kaijo's power forward, Kobori, had waited for him Tōō. Kaijo wanted to suffocate Aomine to death, not letting him get enough space to shoot.

'Tch! How could they all gather here just to stop me? Where the hell are my useless teammates?' Aomine scowled in annoyance.

What he didn't realize is that no matter how good the other Tōō players' off-the-ball movements are, they couldn't stretch out Kaijo's defense as they all know Aomine would never pass the ball.

And now, being surrounded by three players in a pretty tight space, Aomine didn't have enough choice but to take a shoot from a very awkward angle.

'You think these three trashes were enough to stop me? Damn, you underestimated me Tōō much, Kise!'

For a ball hogger like Aomine, being double or even triple-teamed like this is not something new. There was even a time when all five opponent players had to surround him just to slow him down/ So, facing this kind of defense, he didn't panic even for a bit. Before those three could close down enough space for him to shoot, Aomine flicked the ball from below, startling everyone on the court.

'An underhand layup?!'

Normally, it was an easy layup to stop. Due to the low release point, no one is sane enough to do it in a crowded area, as the chance of it getting blocked is pretty high. But this is Aomine's specialty. Doing something unpredictable in a crucial moment, he likes to shock the opponent and make them act like a fool.

And just like right now, when he released the ball, the three Kaijo players froze, didn't expect that he would do an underhand layup. And when they finally realized what happened, it was Tōō late, as the ball was already high enough for them to stop.

'Damn!'

Unfortunately for Aomine, after facing those three, he forgot the presence of the most important player for Kaijo on the court. And he was punished severely, when a blonde suddenly flashed before his eyes, leaped through the air with an incredible jump, and tapped the ball slightly to change its course.

'Damn! I forgot about him!' Aomine cursed at himself inwardly. As for Kaijo players, they all clenched their fists in excitement as their strategy worked pretty well.

"YOSSHAA!!"

"Nice block, Kise!"

"Rebound!"

Yeah, from the start, it was always Kise who was designed to stop Aomine. The three players' roles are just to slow him down and take away his attention from the blonde just for Kise to show up once again in the crucial moment. And it worked pretty well, as the ball hit the rim once before it bounced wildly.

"I got the rebound!"

"Goddamnit!" Wakamatsu growled in annoyance after getting box-outed by Hayakawa once again. He didn't have time to lament his failure, as the ball had already changed its possession into Kise's hand.

"FAST BREAK!"

"Go back! Defense!"

Aomine was the first one who reacted, as he chased Kise desperately from behind. However, right before he could reach the blonde, he was hit by a screen from Moriyama, and after he got rid of it, the ball disappeared from Kise's hand, changing its possession once again to Kasamatsu on the opposite side of their area.

"Nice pass, Kise!"

Sakurai who was the closest to Kaijo's captain tried to slow him down. However, Kasamatsu ignored the pressure from the first-year shooting guard and dribbled a little to get close to the basket before pulling up a mid-range jumper.

*Splash!*

"YOSSHAAA!!"

"Nice shoot, Captain!"

"Keep it up!"

"Let's do it again!"

"Come on, Kaijo!"

As the cheers exploded from the audience, Kise smirked a little at Aomine's distraught state.

'Yeah. No matter how good Aominecchi is, he couldn't cover the entire court alone.'

This was the adjustment strategy that was crafted by Kaijo''s head coach to protect Kise. Everyone in Kaijo knows the hardest part about Kise's perfect copy is to maintain his stamina for the entire game. Even for an easy copy such as a layup, it was pretty exhausting for Kise, considering he had to mimic the entire body movement to do so. That's why he usually only copies opponent movement twice or three times a game, just to give them psychological pressure.

But this time, in order to stop Aomine, Kise had to copy him all the time, reading Aomine's movement even faster than Aomine himself. And this drained his stamina way faster than usual. That's why the new arrangement from his coach is just to read Aomine when he is about to shoot and prevent him from scoring, no need to copy him all the time.

As for the offense, he just needs to occupy Aomine's attention and let the ball move faster, no need to do it alone. After all, Aomine alone wouldn't be able to cover the entire court, and even with Tōō players trying to defend, Kaijo is still one of the best teams in the tournament. Put Aomine out of calculation, and they are a far superior team compared to Tōō Academy.

'Heh.. It seems Kurokocchi's style is contagious.' Kise smirked ironically, wiping out the sweat that rolled down his face. 'Use teamwork to preserve energy, huh? Glad I had a decent team.'

And this strategy worked perfectly.

Kise could see the frustration on Aomine's face after the third time the tanned skin boy failed to score. Twice he was cornered into a tight space and stopped by Kise, and as for the last one, he couldn't even shoot the ball, surrounded by four Kaijo players, resulting in a shot clock violation turnover. m

It was not better for defense either. Even though he tried to guard Kise, there was a slight hesitation in his movement. He had no idea what Kise would do. Whenever he was sure Kise would take a shoot or drive forward, the blonde would move the ball toward the other Kaijo players, and whenever he thought Kise would pass the ball, it would end up with a shoot.

Kise reads Aomine like an open book and uses all of Kaijo's players to toy him, and Aomine doesn't like this feeling at all.

"Come on! He is cornered!"

"Kobori, don't let him shoot!"

"He went outside! He wanted to do his weird shoot again!"

*Slap!*

"YOSSHAAAAA!!!"

"Nice block, Kise!"

This was the fourth time in a row Aomine was stopped by Kaijo. No matter how fancy and unpredictable his dribble was, he couldn't get near the basket, and whenever he wanted to pull up a mid-range or three-point shoot, Kise would always be there, trailing him from behind.

"Damnit!"

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to think, as Kaijo had already moved the ball. This had been Kaijo's modus operandi, fasten the tempo and not let Aomine catch a breath. And seeing how exhausted he is, they could say the strategy was successful.

"Come on, Kise!"

"20 seconds left! Close it with a bang!"

Unlike before, now Kise slowed down for a bit, letting the clock run for a while. He wanted this to be the last play of this quarter, so he didn't mind Aomine catching up with him. After all, he would never be able to escape from this confrontation.

'What is it that Furihatacchi said? If you have to fight, do it on your terms. Huh, I like that.'

When the clock hits 00:07, he begins to run, as Kobori sets a screen for him. Aomine trailed from behind, but there was an obvious hesitation in his movement. After getting toyed several times, he didn't know what Kise would do. Would Kise pass the ball or execute the play by himself?

And that second of hesitation from Aomine was enough for Kise to exploit, as he suddenly accelerated at his full speed, leaving Aomine behind.

"Damn! He is coming!"

"Wakamatsu, be ready!"

Wakamatsu and Susa, two of Tōō's big men stood up in front of Kise, trying to prevent the blonde from getting closer to the rim. However, before they could close the distance, Kise suddenly flicked the ball from below as if he tossed the ball for an alley-oop pass. However, all of the players on the court know it wasn't a pass.

And a second later,

'*Splash!*

As the ball went through the hoop smoothly, the sound of the buzzer rang loudly, indicating the end of the second quarter. However, for a moment, no one reacted, as They widened their eyes in shock and astonishment, not believing Kise would pull up something like this in a final second.

'That's the underhand layup that Aomine tried to do before!'

And right after that, Kise turned around, walking slowly as if he did nothing special, passing Aomine without taking a glance at his former teammate, leaving the blue-haired boy in daze.

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Author note :

If you want to support me more, you can visit my Patreon page on patreon(.)com/ZetaFaes

You can read this fanfiction up to chapter 153 on that page. Also, you can read my other fanfiction, Diamond no Ace: The Prince of Hitter up to chapter 12 too.

Thank you! :)

-Zeta Faes-