BOOM!
A dull, heavy thud echoed across the court, and for a moment, everything fell silent.
It wasn't until a streak of bright red slid down Kasuga Ryuhei's cheek that the Seiho players snapped back to reality.
"Kasuga!!!"
"Kasuga-senpai!"
The team rushed toward him, surrounding their fallen point guard. At the same time, Furuhashi Koujirou slowly stood up. From his right elbow, a thin trail of blood dripped to the floor, each drop bright and jarring.
"Ara~ my bad. Looks like you got hurt."
Hanamiya Makoto's lips twisted into a warped, insincere smile as he stepped toward the Seiho players, pretending to look apologetic. But as he drew close to Akashi Asuka and Tsutomu Iwamura, his tone dropped to a low, sinister murmur that only the three could hear.
"You didn't really think a few fouls would stop us, did you? Basketball? Competition? I couldn't care less about that. I just want to destroy you so-called 'Kings.' Completely."
"You bastard! You hurt Kasuga-senpai?!"
Tsugawa Tomoki's eyes burned with fury as he looked at Kasuga, whose face was half-covered in blood. He was about to charge when a strong hand yanked him back.
"Akashi, don't stop me! I'm going to!"
But the words died in his throat the moment he looked up.
Akashi Asuka didn't speak. His expression was calm, too calm.
In all their years as teammates, Tsugawa had never seen this kind of expression on Akashi's face before.
It was like the sky right before a storm.
Silent, yet brimming with suffocating dread.
"Iwamura-senpai," Akashi said evenly, "take Kasuga-senpai to rest. As for the second half… leave all the plays to me."
============
Halftime.
No one from Seiho sat in the lounge. They all stood outside the infirmary, waiting anxiously.
A few minutes later, Matsumoto Yukinori walked out.
"The initial checkup's done," he said. "It looks worse than it is. Kasuga managed to dodge at the last second, just a surface cut on the forehead. The bleeding looked bad, but it's nothing serious."
"Phew~~"
Everyone exhaled in relief, tension easing from their shoulders.
But Matsumoto's expression remained grim.
"Still," he continued, "we'll shift to a defensive focus in the second half. I miscalculated, they actually attacked after Kasuga had already fallen. Those bastards… they're not here to play basketball."
"No, Coach," Akashi said, stepping forward. "Let me handle the second half."
Matsumoto shook his head sharply. "Absolutely not. They're too dangerous."
"It's fine," Akashi replied quietly. "I was too naïve before. But now…"
A wicked grin curved across his face.
"I'll show them what real danger looks like."
For a moment, his calm, composed demeanor vanished, replaced by something darker, almost demonic.
============
The second half began.
Hanamiya immediately noticed the change in Seiho's formation.
"Oh? Interesting. You're going to face us alone now?" He smirked. "Even geniuses, once they're broken, are nothing but trash."
But Akashi didn't even glance his way. He simply walked toward the paint. Now, Seiho's defense under the basket consisted of only him.
Kirisaki Daiichi opened the third quarter on offense.
Hanamiya dribbled forward, but oddly, there was no real drive behind their movements.
Two Kirisaki players, Furuhashi Koujirou and Hara Kazuya, moved in to sandwich Akashi beneath the hoop. One blocked the referee's line of sight, the other pretended to defend the rest of Seiho.
Taking advantage of the blind spot, both began their dirty work beneath the basket, elbows, knees, feet, anything they could use.
But every strike and shove hit nothing but muscle. Akashi's solid frame barely budged.
"Hey~" Akashi said suddenly, glancing sideways. "If I'm not mistaken, you've already got four fouls, right?"
Furuhashi's dull, lifeless eyes flicked toward him. "So what? You think that'll make me stop?"
Akashi's gaze lifted toward the incoming rebound, calm as ever.
"No," he said quietly. "I just mean… since you're one foul away from being benched, I might as well start with you."
With that, he broke free from Hara's sneaky foot trap, powering up between the two of them to snatch the rebound.
The sheer force of his jump stunned even his opponents. But rather than despair, Furuhashi and Hara's eyes glimmered with twisted excitement.
"Idiot! You really dare go for that rebound? I'll end you right here!"
Both moved at once, Furuhashi extending his foot to trip him mid-air, Hara bending his knee to strike upward.
They weren't just aiming for Akashi's ankle.
They were going for his knee too.
The referee's view was blocked once again.
But Seiho's players saw everything clearly, and their faces went pale.
"Akashi, watch out!"
Tsugawa's shout came a second too late.
Akashi's foot came down, landing squarely on Furuhashi's foot.
Both of them hit the ground almost simultaneously.
"Ah!"
"Ahhh~~!"
Two cries rang out at once.
The first, a pained wail, from Furuhashi.
The second, a startled grunt, from Akashi.
Feeling the uneven surface beneath him, Akashi's body lurched out of balance. To steady himself, he instinctively twisted mid-air,
And his left elbow just so happened to smash straight into Hara Kazuya's face.
CRACK!
A sharp, sickening sound echoed.
Pain exploded through Hara's skull, he could hear the bones in his face fracture.
But it didn't stop there.
Losing his balance completely, Akashi toppled forward, his full weight, nearly two meters tall and all muscle, crashing down onto Furuhashi.
THUD!
In that instant, his right elbow instinctively struck downward, an unconscious reflex from martial arts training. It was a perfect "Piercing Elbow", executed with terrifying precision and force.
CRUNCH!
A faint crack echoed once more.
Furuhashi's lips went numb instantly, his mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood.
The entire stadium froze.
Then chaos erupted.
Spectators gasped, some screamed. The referee's whistle blared wildly, calling for a timeout.
For several seconds, there was only silence,
Until the sound of three people writhing and crying out broke through it.
"GYAAAAHHHH!!!"
"AAAHHHHH!!!"
"OOOHHHHHH!!!"
Three voices, three different tones, merged into one deafening wail beneath the basket.
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