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43.75% Kuroko no Basket : The Sixth Man of the Seirin Basketball Team / Chapter 70: Chapter 70 : VS Toō Academy III : Getting Dominated

章 70: Chapter 70 : VS Toō Academy III : Getting Dominated

In Seirin's bench,

"Coach, do you think this game is way too fast?" Tsuchida asked Riko with a frown on his face. "Furihata-kun just recovered two weeks ago. If we keep the intensity of the game like this, he would collapse before the final quarter starts. And not just him, everyone else would be in the same condition."

Riko nodded, also has the same worried expression.

"I know about that." She admitted. "But this is probably the best strategy I can think of right now. We cannot stop Aomine completely, so the only way to keep us in the game is to outscore them. And the best way to tear their defense right now is from the fast break. Let's just hope they can survive this game."

"Yeah, let's just hope.." Tsuchida muttered to himself, turning his attention back to the court.

Back to the game, it is Seirin's time to go on offense right now. Izuki is holding the ball, trying to navigate his teammates in the direction he wanted. Meanwhile, Furihata is doing the same as in the last play, just standing in the corner area and doing nothing, attracting Aomine from the ball.

"I am disappointed." Aomine started talking. "Unlike all the things that Satsuki babbled about you and how you played against me the last time, now you are just sitting in the corner like a coward. You are all bark but no bite, just like the other."

Furihata raised his eyebrows slightly while rolling his eyes inwardly.

'Cheap provocation. Why the hell would I go one-on-one against you, the best players on my opponent's team?'

And just like that, Furihata ignored Aomine's provocation and turned his full attention back to Izuki.

The second-year point guard signaled Mitobe to come over and set a screen for him. And right after Mitobe did just as he was asked for, Izuki tried to sneak into the screen and get into the free throw area. However, Imayoshi has already seen that coming. Right the moment he noticed Mitobe is setting the screen for him, the glasses point guard lowered his body and push Mitobe's waist slightly before he escaped from the screen.

'Tch.' Izuki clicked his tongue. 'Just like Furihata-kun said. Except for Aomine, all of them listen to what Momoi-san said, and she knows my habit to do a pick-and-roll play with Mitobe. Troublesome.'

However, Izuki didn't show any sign of panic. Right when Imayoshi is about to poke the ball from behind, he shifted the ball to his other hand with a behind-the-back crossover, and right after that, he shifted his eyes toward Furihata in the corner. It was just a moment, but almost all of Toō's players noticed the eye contact between him and Furihata and they moved in Furihata's direction.

And that is what Izuki wanted.

Right after he made eye contact with his kouhai, he sent the ball in the other direction where only Wakamatsu is there. Toō's center is looking at the ball that went straight in his direction with a confused face. However, right before he could grab the ball, Kuroko suddenly appeared in front of him, slapping the ball to the right-wing area where Hyuga is waiting.

'What? Since when?!'

Wakamatsu widened his eyes in shock. Even though he was getting warned several times by Momoi that Kuroko likes to sneak into the paint area, seeing it right in front of his eyes is a completely different thing. However, he couldn't do anything as now, Hyuga is having a good position without anyone guarding him.

*Splash!*

"Nice one, Captain!"

"Nice assist, Kuroko-kun!"

"Good play, Mitobe! Izuki!"

Meanwhile, on Toō's bench, Momoi pouted at the last play.

"Mou… I have already told them about Tetsu-kun's habit.. Why is he still getting fooled?"

"Cut him some slack, Momoi-san." Katsunori Harasawa, a long curly-haired man who acts as Toō's coach spoke to her. "Knowing what is going to come and experiencing it is a different matter. At least, Wakamatsu would be more prepared for the same play next time."

Momoi nodded but was still not satisfied.

"What about Ryou-kun and Susa-san? Why would they come to Dai-chan's direction? They know Dai-chan could handle Kouki-kun easily."

"Well, regardless of whether they trust Aomine-kun or not doesn't really matter. They didn't even know who Seirin's point guard is having eye contact with. They just see that and their body is trained to react according to it in a second or their opponent would score. you cannot blame them for getting fooled by that eye contact. Remember, they are not your former teammates."

Seeing the still dissatisfied expression on Momoi's face, Harasawa sighed tiredly.

For all the talk about how she wanted this team not to act like her former team, she sure pushed everyone to play to their standard. Having both Momoi and Aomine who keep challenging his rule sure can be really troublesome.

'They are lucky they are good and get vouched by the headmaster, or I will kick them out from the team since the beginning.' He muttered to himself.

Back to the court, now, Aomine is holding the ball, facing Furihata in an isolation game again. Knowing Aomine likes to drive forward, Furihata gives himself a bit of space and spread his arms wide so he can react and stop Aomine anytime he makes a move.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you don't want to face me." The power forward spoke to Furihata, still dribbling the ball. "Instead, I will force you to show your fang!"

And right after that, Aomine charged quickly to the left side, trying to force his way toward the paint area. Furihata slides his body slightly, trying to block Aomine's path. However, he was still fooled by the subtle movement from Aomine who raised his head slightly toward the basket as if he wanted to take a shoot.

This is the problem that a lot of athletes suffered from.

In Furihata's mind, he knows it is just a hesitant move from Aomine. Yet his body reacted faster than his mind could process. When he saw Aomine's movement, he moves forward quickly to close the distance and raised one of his arms to block Aomine's eyesight. And that reaction is enough for Aomine to drive forward again, getting away from his guard.

'DAMN!'

Furihata gritted his teeth, trying to recover quickly and go back to follow Aomine. However, the moment he turned his body toward Aomine, the blue-haired boy hit the brake with a sudden crossover, shaking Furihata's balance.

'ANKLE BREAKER! SHIT!'

The moment he fell into the floor, he could see a little smirk form on Aomine's face as he muttered,

"Goodbye, bastard."

Before Aomine charged forward again, leaving Furihata alone on the floor. Mitobe and Hyuga are trying to cover Furihata's defense. When Aomine entered the paint area and jumped, they both also jumped at the same time, trying to stop the power forward to score.

"Don't let him go away, Mitobe!"

However, Aomine once again showed how crafty he is by spinning in the air, having his back facing the basket before he flicked the ball toward the basket.

*Splash!*

A no-look turn-around layup!

And not only that, the moment the ball went into the basket, they all could hear the referee blows the whistle!

"Seirin #4 defensive shooting foul, one free-throw for Toō Academy #5."

And then, cheers erupted from the audience.

"LET'S GO, AOMINE!!"

The claps are getting louder to the point it deafened Furihata for a second as Aomine waved both his arms high, asking for the audience for more cheers. However, he ignored it as he raised from the floor with Izuki's help.

"Are you alright, Furihata-kun?" His senpai asked with a concerned face.

"Don't worry, Senpai." He shrugged off the dust on his pants. "I am alright. And I almost get his rhythm now. If you give me two or three more chances, I will be able to follow his movement."

Izuki is stunned by the sudden declaration before he burst out of laughter.

"That's the spirit, Furihata-kun!" He slapped Furihata's back pretty hard. "And don't be shy to ask for help, okay? God knows how hard this game is without Kagami-kun."

Furihata nodded his head at his senpai, sending him a grateful face.

A second later, Aomine executed the free throw flawlessly, giving Toō the lead back to 2 points. Before the game restarted again, Furihata grabbed Kuroko's arm to speak to him.

"Phantom, the next play, try to stay away from me." Seeing the confused face from Kuroko, he added quickly. "You provoked Aomine enough this quarter. If I don't do anything noticeable, I think he would target you next. You know what I think, right?"

"You want to use me to create space for yourself." The blue-haired boy answered with a realization on his face. Furihata just nodded his head shamelessly.

"Yeah. Do you think you can do that?"

In answer, Kuroko nodded his head without any slight hesitation.

"I doubt it can fool Aomine, but it's worth a shot."

And true to his predicament, even though Aomine is still on him, he could feel Aomine's focus is not entirely on him. In fact, Furihata noticed Aomine keeps stealing a glance from time to time at the other side where Kuroko is trying to sneak in.

And right at the moment when Izuki is about to pass the ball to Kuroko, Aomine charged into Kuroko's direction without hesitation, leaving Furihata alone in the corner area.

"Don't think you can do it again, Tetsu!"

However, the ball doesn't come to Kuroko. No, when Aomine started rushing toward Kuroko's direction, Izuki noticed it immediately and sends the ball toward Furihata's direction.

"Nice pass, Senpai!"

Furihata grabbed the ball, ready to launch the ball without anyone guarding him. But the second he raised his stance for a three-point shoot, his sight is blocked by the sudden appearance of an arm in the air.

"I am sorry, Furihata-san! But not today!"

Yeah, it is Sakurai who comes quickly to cover Aomine's defense. Unknown to Seirin, it is not the first time Aomine abandoned his post in defense when he saw something interesting from his opponent, and Toō has already prepared for this kind of situation.

"Tch!" Furihata clicked his tongue in annoyance.

With him in the corner and how close Sakurai is right now, he has no doubt that with only a slight push from Sakurai, the ball would go out-of-bound. So, without thinking, he changed his stance from shooting to passing pretty quickly and sends the ball with an overhead pass back to Izuki.

Yet once again, Toō showed how prepared they are by anticipating his pass as well. Right when he released the ball, Imayoshi suddenly appeared in between his and Izuki's path, blocking the route of his pass.

"DAMN!"

Furihata cursed himself for not checking his surrounding before passing the ball. However, the damage is already done and all he could is go back to slow down the fast break. However, right before he could stop Imayoshi, the glasses point guard showed his fangs by making a sudden stop in the logo area, catching Furihata off guard.

"This is your signature move, right?"

And when he pulled up a shoot from way downtown, a dreadful feeling crept Furihata's back as he knows what Imayoshi is about to do.

'Shit! He is about to spite me right in my face with my move, huh?!'

He tried to jump and stop the shoot. However, instead of stopping the shoot, he only makes it worse by accidentally slapping Imayoshi's wrist, causing the referee to blow his whistle. And a second later,

*Splash!*

"Seirin #12 defensive shooting foul, one free-throw for Toō Academy #5."

And when Furihata turned around, he could see a smirk on Imayoshi's face.

"How about it? Nice shoot, right?"

And then, Tokyo Gymnasium went crazy for the cheers to Toō Academy.

-------------------------------------------

Author note :

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

You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 90 on that page. Thank you! :)

-Zeta Faes-


章 71: Chapter 71 : VS Toō Academy IV : Down by 15!

In the audience seat,

"What the hell!" Kagami exclaimed in surprise after seeing Imayoshi's play. "Oi, Midorima, why the hell is your very long-distance three-point become more common nowadays?"

"Don't ask me that." Midorima snarked with a distasteful expression pointed at Imayoshi on the court. "It is just him being his usual bastard."

That statement gained Takao and Kagami's attention besides him.

"You know him, Shin-chan?" Midorima nodded at Takao's question.

"We played against him in my first year in middle school. He likes to use a lot of tricks to shake your mental state, including using his opponent's move like this. I swear he gave me and Akashi a big headache at that time."

Kagami snorted a little at that.

"So, he is basically like Furihata, right? Then he wouldn't be a big problem."

"Well, except he has more experience than your teammate. IF two players have similar playing styles, you know experience would be a key factor, right?"

Kagami frowned, knowing that what Midorima said is true. However, he still believes that Furihata wouldn't lose easily in his own game. So, instead of making another argument, he decided to turn back his attention to the court.

Back to the game, right after Imayoshi executed the free throw flawlessly, Toō widened the gap again with a steal and a powerful dunk from Aomine before Riko stood up from the bench and asked for a timeout. She could see her players sweating profusely due to how high the tempo of the game is.

"Okay, everyone!" She clapped her hands, gaining her players' attention. "This is still the first five minutes of the game, but the tempo is way too high for us to handle. We will try to slow the pace down for a bit. Any thought? Yes, Furihata-kun?" She pointed her fingers at her kouhai who raised his hand.

"I don't mind slowing down the game. But you also noticed that our best chance to score is right after Aomine pulled his crazy stunts, right? If we are too slow, he would be able to participate in defense, and he wouldn't stop by only guarding me. I mean, in the last play, he left me alone and charged in Phantom's direction, right? Who could say he wouldn't do that to any of us?"

Several players grimaced at the image of Aomine rushing toward their direction.

"I know." Riko nodded, her face showing a grim expression. "But I think you also notice how he could bait you to draw a foul and slow down the game at their own pace, right? Instead of forcing the game to be fast, let's slow down for a bit and save our stamina. If we can keep the game close, this would be a very long game."

Furihata nodded reluctantly.

"As for our offense," Riko continued, ignoring Furihata's expression. "Except for Aomine, they tend to have 1-2-1 zone defense with Imayoshi guarding the perimeter area, Susa and Sakurai supporting Imayoshi and covering for Aomine at the same time, and Wakamatsu on the paint. Dealing with Aomine would be tricky as he is too volatile right now. But if he is still on Furihata-kun, Kuroko-kun, I need you to create space for Junpei and Izuki on the outside. Keep luring them until they go out of position and when you all see any chance, send the ball to the paint area. Mitobe is our best bet right now."

"What if Aomine-kun is not on Furihata-kun anymore?" Kuroko asked. Riko pondered for a moment before she replied,

"If he changes his target, just attract him to go far away from Furihata-kun. If not Aomine, I think he can deal with his guard easily, right?" She turned her head to Furihata, asking for confirmation.

The one who was asked just nodded slightly without saying anything. But it was enough for Riko to trust that Furihata would be able to perform his task if Aomine is not onto him.

"Good." Riko nodded. "As for our defense, even though Aomine looks unstoppable, I don't believe he would be able to maintain this performance for all day. Kuroko-kun and Furihata-kun have already said from the beginning, that he will be bored eventually if nobody can stop him. Just let him run amok and don't let anyone help him. Also, don't give them a foul easily. Keep the score close, and the chance would come for us. Understand?"

"Yes, Coach!"

And right after that, the buzzer rang loudly, indicating the end of the timeout. It is time for Seirin to go on offense, and Izuki is the one who is holding the ball. However, unlike before, now Aomine is not guarding Furihata. Instead, he played like a traditional power forward, guarding the paint area together with Wakamatsu.

'Well, it seems for once he decided to listen to Momoi-san. Now he knows Phantom likes to sneak into the paint area, he decided to keep his eyes on it. But wait! That means I am free!'

As if getting hit by lightning, right after that sudden realization, Furihata who is standing on the corner suddenly rushed toward Izuki and asks for the ball. However, he was followed by Sakurai who is the nearest Toō player to him. But Furihata ignored him and keep running without slowing down his pace.

'You want a contest, Sakurai-kun? Follow me!'

Furihata keeps running while getting followed by Sakurai. However, the moment they are getting near Izuki and Imayoshi, Sakurai stopped following him, and the reinforcement is a bit late to follow Furihata. It triggered a smirk on Furihata's face as his mind wandered,

'As expected of the zone defense system. If the players are still new to the system, it is so easy to exploit it.'

What Furihata means by that is if a team has zone defense for their defense system, all their players have a small zone for each other to defend. If the opponent crossed from one to another zone, the players need to communicate to each other whether they would keep following the opponent or switch the defense to the player who is guarding the other zone. But if they are still new to it, communicating that would take time, which can be exploited pretty easily by a fast player like Furihata.

And it shows right now by how late it is for the other Toō players to switch the defense and guard him. Furihata who is running alone has enough time to think about what to do. And when he is getting near enough to Izuki, he yelled,

"SENPAI!"

Izuki turned his head at him and is ready to hand the ball. However, when he saw Furihata didn't slow down for a bit and pointed his fingers forward, Izuki knows his kouhai's intention. So, instead of handing the ball, he bounced it to the opposite side and set a screen immediately to let Furihata get the ball without Imayoshi stopping him.

"Nice one, Senpai!"

Furihata grinned as he is about to get the ball. However, right before his hand could grab the ball, Aomine suddenly flashes in front of him and get the ball first.

"WHAT?!"

Aomine's movement is so sudden that it caught Furihata off guard. And in a second, Aomine is already in Seirin's area alone without anyone to stop him. The power forward put the ball easily to the basket, resulting in another two points for Toō Academy.

7 – 17

And when his eyes meet Aomine's, Furihata could see a smug smirk on Aomine's face as the power forward mouthed at him,

"Got you, bastard."

Furihata is too stunned to react, and it took Hyuga smacking his head to snap him from his thought.

"Wake up, Furihata!" The captain scolded him. "If we don't change the flow of the game, the score would get worse for us. Come on! It is still too early to give up!"

Once he regains his composure again, Furihata nodded at his senpai.

"Thank you, Captain." He said. "But for now, we need to stick in you and Mitobe-senpai. With Aomine keeping his eyes on me and Phantom, we wouldn't be able to do a lot here."

Hyuga nodded in understanding.

"Okay, we can discuss it later. But for now, we need to restart the game."

A second later, the game restarted with the ball in Furihata's hand. Even though it is risky, he reassured himself with one thought in mind.

'If Aomine is still going to keep his eyes on me, better make him get closer so I can use Phantom instead of letting him wander around and catch us off guard again.'

And right to his thought, unlike the last play, Aomine is back again to guard him.

"So, you finally going to do it, huh?" The power forward showed his feral grin. "Let's see if you can pass me again."

Furihata takes a deep breath before he charged forward. As expected, Aomine is able to follow his movement easily. When they are about to enter the free throw area, Furihata tried to do the same trick as Aomine, raising his head slightly to bait Aomine to block the shoot. However, Aomine didn't bulge for a second and kept following him.

Furihata know that it would happen. So, he didn't just raise his head to drive forward. No, he bounced the ball toward the low post area before he runs again. And this time, he runs in the opposite direction, knowing that the ball would go back to his hand again.

"PHANTOM!"

And right after he yelled, Kuroko suddenly appeared, sneaking into the paint area where Mitobe and Wakamatsu is standing and sending the ball back to Furihata. Yet it is not enough for Furihata to escape from Aomine's guard. So, he did the best thing he could do right now, kicking the ball out where Hyuga is standing on the wing side.

"Captain!"

"Nice pass, Furihata!"

Hyuga took a stance to shoot a three-point shoot immediately. However, he was closed down by Susa immediately, not allowing him to take a shoot easily.

"Tch!" Hyuga scowled for a moment at his guard before he lowered his stance and took a step to the left side, ready to dribble. And when his guard reacted to his movement, he smirked as he retreated his foot back immediately and drive to the opposite side.

A fake jab step!

And now, without anyone close enough to stop him, Hyuga is ready to pull up a shoot.

Or so he thought.

However, Susa showed his capability as Toō's defensive anchor by reacting pretty quickly after getting fooled. And when Hyuga is already in the air, he snatched the ball with a nasty block from behind before it could leave Hyuga's hand.

*Slap!*

"What?!" Hyuga widened his eyes in surprise. Before he could react, all Toō players shouted in enthusiasm.

"Nice block, Susa-Senpai!"

And before the ball went out of the court, Imayoshi picked it up and initiate a fast break immediately.

"FAST BREAK!"

"GO BACK! DEFENSE!"

All Seirin players are running back to their side in panic, trying to organize their defense as quickly as possible and stop the fast break from Toō. However, before they have the chance to stop them, Imayoshi bounced the ball quickly to the paint area where Aomine suddenly appeared and jumped.

Mitobe is also doing the same, trying to stop Aomine. However, the power forward is far stronger in a physical confrontation. And a second later,

*BAAM!*

A posterized dunk on Mitobe!

And as if it is not enough, when Izuki is trying to start the game again quickly, all Seirin players are getting pressured right at their own side.

"Damn!"

Izuki gritted his teeth in frustration as he saw Furihata being guarded by Sakurai pretty tightly, and with Aomine keeping his eyes on Kuroko, Izuki didn't dare to pass the ball to the small forward.

His eyes lightened for a moment when he saw Hyuga recover from the last play already and ask for the ball in the middle court.

"JUNPEI!"

Izuki threw the ball far into the middle court where Hyuga is waiting for it. However, once again, Susa appeared and snatched the ball from him, resulting in another turnover for Seirin.

"DAMN!"

Hyuga gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to steal back the ball. However, Susa is faster as the third-year small forward passed the ball immediately to the corner area. And a second later,

"I am sorry!"

Sakurai launched the ball pretty quickly before Furihata could close him down. And looking at the trajectory of the ball, Furihata knows what would happen next.

*Splash!*

Another three!

7 – 22

The gap between them is 15 points now! This is the biggest gap Seirin has suffered since the tournament began, and if they couldn't find any solution for Toō's offense quickly, they would be in deep trouble this game.

-------------------------------------------

Author note :

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

You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 91 on that page. Thank you! :)

-Zeta Faes-


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