Page 157

After the warm up, the five starting players of both teams lined up in the middle of the court with a referee standing in between them.

From Bonyari High School, Yanagi stood nearest to the referee as the team captain. Then to his side were Asahina Kenji, a tall, lean-figured second year student and shooting guard of the team, and Tateyama Ichiro, a muscular, built young man as well as another second year student.

Then there was Ishikawa Suzuki, the tall, built, promising first year rookie who will be playing as the small forward.

And lastly, Yuuji, who will be playing as the point guard.

After the practice sessions he had done with the team, Yuuji had inadvertently showed off his skills.

The members of the basketball team were all instantly impressed by his speed, his techniques, his power, and stamina, all of which surpassed any high school, or perhaps even, adult athletes they've ever seen. By these alone, he could easily fit into any position and excel tremendously.

But Coach Haguchi noticed something in Yuuji that was even more valuable than his almost superhuman-like athleticism.

His space awareness.

As he observed Yuuji playing, he noticed how perfectly he could grasp his enemies and his allies' positions, and exploit it to gain the advantage. It was as if he could see the court from a bird's eye perspective.

And with that information, he passed the ball with perfect accuracy and impeccable timing that would actually improve the accuracy and performance of the player.

In addition to his dribbling skills that have caused many of the other members of the club to get ankle broken, there was simply no one more ideal to take up the point guard position than him.

Kasamatsu, Koji, Yoshitaka, Shinya, and Kise also took their position and lined up before the Bonyari team.

And as Kise stood before Yuuji, he couldn't help but stare at him with narrowed eyes.

Now that he could see him up close... he looked even more immaculate than before, which made him wonder even more, why would he not use his looks and take the modeling and fashion industry by a storm?

He could easily get brand deals and incredible contracts that offered money no regular high school student could even dream of.

Is he the son of a millionaire or something? Was he so rich that money doesn't even interest him? He does have this air of nobility and elegance, so that might be the case...

The two teams bowed at each other and began going to their respective side of the court to take up position for the tip off, except for Yanagi and Koji.

But as Yuuji was about to go to his position, Kise suddenly called out to him.

"Hey, you! Have... Have you ever thought of modeling for a magazine?"

Yuuji turned towards the blonde-haired guy and tilted his head in confusion.

Modeling for a magazine...? Why would he do that? Why would he want even more attention to himself? If he became a model, wouldn't that just make it harder to go out with his family or go out in public in general?

He's already having a hard time right now. It'd be a nuisance if he got even more attention by being a model.

"No."

Kise's jaw dropped from the sheer disinterest, and even rejection, Yuuji showed with his answer.

"W-Why...?!"

"...I'm just not interested."

"But-"

"Oi, Kise!!! Get your ass here!"

Kise flinched and immediatley turned around to go to his position after hearing his captain's shout.

But then, he stopped for a moment and turned around towards Yuuji one last time.

"L-Let's continue this later!"

"KISE!!!!"

"Y-Yes!!!"

Yuuji watched the blonde-haired guy, apparently called Kise, and looked at him strangely.

But, he simply shrugged his shoulders and went to his position, refocusing his attention to the game.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

The two centers from both teams stood in the middle with the referee holding the ball up in between them.

A tense silence filled the air. But it was soon broken when the sound of the whistle resounded throughout the gym.

"Begin!!!"

*WHISTLE*

"Haaah!!!"

"Kuh!!!"

The ball flew high into the sky when the referee threw it for the tip off, and the two centers leaped up into the sky at the same time.

They reached their hands up towards the ball, and although they were both quite similar in terms of height, Koji managed to reach his peak faster and tipped the ball towards Kasamatsu.

"Go!!"

Immediately, Kaijo charged forward and invaded Bonyari's side of the court as Yanagi and the rest scrambled to form some sort of dense against their offense.

With all of his team charging forward, Kasamatsu quickly followed suit and make a run for it. This was a chance to score easily while their enemies had not yet formed a solid defensive line.

But all of a sudden, before he could even move past the center line, a figure stepped right in front of him that immediately stopped him right in his tracks.

'He's fast...! When the hell did he get here?!'

Yuuji appeared right when he was about to charge, completely ready in a defensive form.

It was as if he was already waiting for him there... That was how fast he was able to appear before him.

Kasamatsu dribbled defensively as he tried looking to find an opening to pass him. His eyes looking around once in a while as he kept his focus on the handsome first-year student before him.

He did not know what he was capable of... But the feeling he got from him, in addition to his coach's warning, put him on high alert.

At that moment, he noticed Koji approaching from Yuuji's blindspot with his arms in front of his body. A form indicating that he was going in to screen Yuuji for him.

The moment Koji got into position, Kasamatsu burst into speed and rushed to his right!

With Koji there to block Yuuji's path, he'd be able to go through unscathed and take the first point!

But from the corner of his eyes... Kasamatsu noticed something and widened his eyes in shock.

The moment Yuuji was about to pursue him, he actually turned around instantly, avoiding Koji who was standing right in his blind spot, as if knowing he was there.

And in but a split second, Yuuji was right there before him once more, blocking his path, and completely unaffected by the screen.

"What the-?!"

Kasamatsu halted abruptly. And in that moment of lapse and shock, his body froze for an instant, locked in place.

But his eyes continued to track Yuuji's swift movements, albeit barely. He saw Yuuji reaching his hand to the ball, and tapped it off his hands mid dribble.

In the next moment, the slowed time returned to normal as Yuuji was no longer before him, and was already dribbling the ball towards the other side of the court.

"Kuh...! Defense!!!"

Kasamatsu shouted, snapping all members of Kaijo out of their shock, and ran back to their side of the court.

But no matter how fast they run, the gap between them and Yuuji only grew. And before they could do anything, Yuuji jumped slightly from under the ring, and scored with a simple layup.

*WHISTLE!*

Kasamatsu, Koji, Moriyama, Nakamura, and Kise all stood in shock, their widened eyes staring at Yuuji in disbelief as he ran back to his side of the court along with his team congratulating him.

"What was that...?"

"What just happened...?"

"..."

Even Kise, who had seen and played with monsters, couldn't help but look at Yuuji in shock...

To dodge a screen to his blind spot, as if he was already aware of it. And stealing the ball with such speed and perfect timing. Did he possess the same eyes as Akashi...?

In addition, that speed... It was as if he was looking at Aomine for a moment.

A terrible gut feeling sank to the pit of his stomach.

This... This still might be a fluke. He might just have above average speed and reactio time that caught them off guard since they were underestimating Bonyari.

Moreover, The game had only begun.

Kasamatsu, although careful, might not have expected anyone from the Bonyari high school team to be this aggressive and got a bit careless as well.

Yes... That must be it.

Kise rationalized it in his mind. But for some reason... he could feel a child slowly creeping down his spine. It was a dreadful feeling.

Was this... how their opponent felt all this time when facing "them"?

Kise shook his head and tossed all his delusion away, focusing himself on the game.

'I need to focus...'

The game continued. And although the flow of the game was not what they had expected, Kaijo managed to rake up points and slowly recover their pace.

But everytime their confidence was rebuilt, they witnessed something that destroyed it again and again.

Though his body was slightly leaner than Yanagi, Koji managed to gain the upper hand in a contest of strength under the ring,thanks to his superior technique, skills, and experience.

The moment he got the ball, he pushed Koji off of him and jumped high towards the ring.

And as he was about to dunk the ball in... something flashed across his eyes. And the ball was no longer in his hands.

He landed back onto the ground dumbfounded, and Yuuji landed to his side with a tap on the ground.

His eyes widened in shock. And in that moment, he didn't realize that the ball Yuuji swatted away from his hands, had fallen to Bonyari's shooting guard, Kenji's hands, and they'd already made a break for it.

"Dammit!"

"Go back!!!"

Kasamatsu's shout drove all of Kaijo to run back to hold a defensive line against Bonyari's break.

Kenji passed the ball to Yuuji. And just as Kasamatsu held his ground to face him, Yuuji redirected the ball with one hand and made a swift pass towards the power forward of Bonyari, Ichiro, who was already charging towards the ring.

The ball landed snuggly in his hands, and the tall, muscular power forward launched into the air and dunked the ball into Kaijo's ring.

'T-That pass...! It looked like Kuroko's...!"

The shadow, sixth man of the generation of miracles... Kise never thought he'd be able to see someone do a pass like him.

But that looked so similar... no, even better. Although it was impossible for Yuuji to have such a thin presence like Kuroko, he more than made up for such a pass with sheer speed and accuracy.

Before anyone realized what he had done... The ball was already in the hands of his teammate.

Such a thing...

'Seriously... Just who is this guy...?'

Kise had played against teams from numerous schools known for their basketball, and even more skilled players. He had also played with the best players in his generation.

But... he did not expect to find another one on par with "them" in this place...!

The score continues to widen... And no one expected it to widen in Bonyari's favor.

Kise went and charged forward with the ball in his hands. With him not being marked by Yuuji and making sure he was as far away from him as possible, Kise dribbled past several members of Bonyari easily.

And when he reached the two-point land, the first year promising rookie appeared before him.

"I'll stop you!"

Kise smirked slightly, and stretched his arms towards Moriyama, who was standing by at the three-point line, to pass.

"I won't let you!"

Suzuki immediately reached out to block it. But the moment he took a step too far away, Kise pulled the ball back, took a step backward, and jumped into a fadeaway shot that scored them two points.

*WHISTLE!*

Kaijo quickly made their way back to their side of the court after the score. And as they did, Moriyama approached Kise with a smirk.

"Nice shot. Though I would've totally made that too."

"Thanks, senpai. But that handsome guy was already eyeing you from afar. I had a feeling he'd steal the ball when I tried to pass it, so I took the shot."

"Eh? Seriously? Damn... I didn't notice it."

Moriyama's eyes narrowed at Yuuji's figure.

He... was definitely awed by his monstrous skills... But at the same time, he was extremely jealous of that ikemen!

After all... he noticed that all those supremely beautiful girls he had his eyes on the moment he came in were all cheering for him and shouting his name whenever he even so much as touched the ball!!!

How envious... He was so envious of him!!! He wanted beautiful girls to cheer for him as well!!!

Kise smiled softly, but a frown quickly reappeared in his face.

That was... extremely close. If he hadn't realized Yuuji's movement in time, he would've completely passed to Moriyama. In fact, he almost did.

And from everything Yuuji had shown him... Kise could easily imagine him being able to react and move so quickly as to steal the ball from mid air when he passed to Moriyama.

'Seriously... What a monster...'

The ball was back into Bonyari's possession, and it was currently held by Yuuji.

Yuuji charged forward and dribbled with immense speed.

Kasamatsu held his ground against him, spreading his arms wide, keeping his hips low and his heels above the ground, allowing him to move at any direction at a moment's notice.

But to his shock... Yuuji stopped.

He held the ball with both of his hands... and turned towards Asahina, who was on the right side of the court, along the three-point line.

Kasamatsu immediately reacted and reached out to block him the moment Yuuji made the motion to make a pass.

But just before the ball left his hands... Yuuji took it back, made one step backwards, and made a fadeaway shot.

'T-That was...!'

'T-That's... The move I just did...!'

Kasamatsu, Kise, and all Kaijo members, including the coach, all widened their eyes in shock as they witnessed Yuuji executing the same exact move Kise had just done.

And the moment the ball pierced through their ring, they all stood there dumbfounded in silence.

"Did... that just happened...?"

Moriyama mumbled in disbelief...

They've seen Kise "copied" other player's movements and shots... But this was the first time they've seen someone "copy" Kise instead. And to such... a terrifying degree.

Not only was it similar... Yuuji's movement seemed even more seamless and... Better. They could hardly believe their eyes...

*Whistle!!!*

The loud sound of the whistle echoed throughout the gym, snapping Kaijo out of their daze.

"Timeout! Kaijo!"

Still in a bit of shock, they all turned and looked towards their coach, who was standing in front of the shocked first year-students sitting on the bench, making a "T" with his hands.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------