"Aaaahhh!!"
A miserable scream echoed from under the hoop, halting everyone's movements on the court. The referee quickly blew his whistle with practiced ease.
The audience around the gym barely reacted to the new "accident."
Not because they weren't surprised, just that too many bizarre things had already happened in today's game.
This time, the one who screamed was Kirisaki Daiichi's center, Seto Kentarou. He was known as a high-IQ player, his intelligence rivaled Hanamiya Makoto's.
In the original story, he and Hanamiya worked together to thoroughly outsmart Seirin High's main team. But in today's match, their intellect had done them little good.
Because the intensity of this battle had far exceeded anything they'd expected.
Under the hoop, Seto Kentarou lay writhing on the ground, clutching his ankle and howling in pain.
Akashi Asuka stood nearby, both hands raised innocently, silently signaling that it had nothing to do with him.
The string of "accidents" was giving the referees a massive headache. Earlier, to maintain game flow, they'd been lenient with their calls.
Who could've guessed that leniency would turn the game into this?
There had been a pile of bodies under the basket just now.
Ever since Hara and Furuhashi were forced off, Seiho's Tsutomu Iwamura and Omuro Yoshikasu had returned to the paint. Together with Kirisaki's players, there were at least six or seven players battling for the rebound when the "accident" occurred.
The referee could only resort to the video replay to identify the culprit.
A minute later,
No surprise, the foul went to Akashi Asuka.
Apparently, he had been the one who deliberately stepped under Seto's landing spot. Foot traps like that didn't require skill, if Hanamiya could do it, Akashi sure as hell could too.
In fact, right after Seto went down, Akashi had even thrown in a little "finishing kick" for good measure.
Naturally, Kirisaki Daiichi called for a timeout.
Partly to treat Seto's injury, but also to rethink their game strategy.
============
As both teams returned to their benches, the injured players from other schools sitting in the stands exchanged looks, and then went eerily silent.
This time, none of them spoke up in Akashi's defense. Instead, something strange dawned on them.
"Hey, is it just me, or do Kirisaki Daiichi's players getting injured feel… less like accidents?"
"Actually, you could just remove the words 'is it just me.'"
"Pfft!"
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I just thought of something really nice."
"Pfft!"
"And now you're laughing?"
"Yeah, I thought of something nice too." One of them covered his mouth, but the laughter still shone through his eyes.
"Anyway, when this game's over, I'm buying Seiho's team dinner. Anyone got suggestions?"
"Good idea!"
It was clear, not everyone could be like Kiyoshi Teppei from the original series, who could smile after being hurt and even invite his opponents to a "rematch next time."
Normal people, when hurt by scumbags like Kirisaki Daiichi, would obviously think of revenge.
So when they saw Kirisaki Daiichi's players drop one after another, they couldn't suppress their "sympathy" any longer, and burst out laughing.
============
Meanwhile, over in Seiho's bench area, the team stared at Akashi Asuka, who was calmly hydrating, with a mix of awe and mild horror.
"Why are you all staring at me like that?"
"N-nothing," Sakamoto Kenjiro stammered, then added hesitantly, "It's just… we were wondering if those three Kirisaki players getting taken out was, uh… intentional?"
"Of course. Why?" Akashi replied casually. "Did you think I was being too harsh?"
"N-no, not at all!"
Everyone waved their hands frantically. But their expressions… were changing.
"We're no saints," one muttered. "We're just… curious how you got that kind of skill."
Akashi tilted his head in confusion. "Skill? You mean those little moves? Don't they come naturally?"
Holy crap!
Wait a second, who's the real villain here?!
The Seiho players were completely stunned. Before the match, and even through the first two quarters, everyone, including the coach and manager, had firmly believed Kirisaki Daiichi were the bad guys.
But in just ten minutes of the third quarter, Akashi Asuka had turned that belief upside down.
After seeing his methods and comparing them to Kirisaki's "dirty play," they realized something terrifying…
Kirisaki Daiichi might not have been that bad after all.
Especially now, barely seven minutes into the third quarter, and Kirisaki already had three injured players. Some of the Seiho members were actually beginning to pity their opponents.
So the real Evil… was beside me this whole time?!
"Ahem, Akashi-kun," Coach Matsumoto cleared his throat, sensing the strange tension. "You did great out there, but from here on, you might want to tone it down."
"I understand," Akashi nodded calmly. "After so many 'accidents,' the referees will probably tighten their calls from now on."
============
Just as Akashi and the coach predicted,
Once the game resumed, the referees' standards immediately became stricter. In the remaining three minutes of the third quarter alone, they blew six violations.
Four of them against Seiho.
And for once, it wasn't bias. Kirisaki's substitute players were so terrified of Akashi that they played like cowards, hesitant on both offense and defense.
Meanwhile, Hanamiya, still recovering from Akashi's earlier Back Elbow, had been forced into honest point guard play, dropping his usual dirty tricks altogether.
As for Kirisaki's last remaining starter, shooting guard Yamazaki Hiroshi,
He picked up two quick fouls soon after, reaching five total and getting disqualified from the game.
But unlike Furuhashi, Yamazaki's fifth foul looked intentional, not as a trick, but more like a desperate attempt to escape the match.
Akashi found his decision to "flee" slightly disappointing, but not unexpected.
Sure, one escaped, but Yamazaki's main role had been blocking the referee's view. Legally speaking, he was just an accomplice.
Not a big loss.
Still, his cowardice gave Akashi an idea, he tightened his defense on Hanamiya even more, not just to stop his tricks, but to make sure Hanamiya didn't run away like Yamazaki.
Their game wasn't over yet. Letting him flee now would be a huge waste.
Yamazaki… I swear, I could just kill you for this!
Overall, though Seiho drew more technical fouls, the situation had shifted decisively in their favor.
After all, in terms of raw strength, Seiho had always been the stronger team. And now, with Kirisaki's five-man lineup reduced to four substitutes and one survivor...
It was no contest.
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