Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 205 Deja Vu
"Beep beep~ Luoshan High School requests a timeout!"

Just after Sakuragi Hanamichi completed a slam dunk across the court, Shirogane Eiji called a timeout immediately.

“Oh oh oh oh oh!!”

"Shonan will win!"

"Shonan will win!"

As time entered a timeout, the fans on the sidelines cheered enthusiastically. Although Shonan High School was still four points behind, the overall momentum was already on the rise.

"If this continues, Kaneki Ken won't have to play..." Midorima Shintaro sighed solemnly, "Akagi has completely withdrawn from the zone... But Sakuragi Hanamichi and Ogiwara Shigehiro are in great shape now..."

"What are you doing, Akashi?" Netani Takenaka grabbed Akashi Seijuro's collar and shouted angrily, "Such a simple pass, even a junior high school student can easily steal it, right?"

"Yongji, don't be like this..." Mibuchi Rei hurriedly stepped forward to comfort her, "Xiao Zheng doesn't want this to happen..."

"Really..." Takeyoshi Netani looked at Akashi Seijuro's disheartened expression, pushed Akashi Seijuro away with a sense of pity, and kicked over the bench.

……

"You did a great job on the court just now, Sakuragi-san!" On the bench of Shonan High School, Akagi Haruko excitedly came to Sakuragi Hanamichi and said, "You really are the savior of our Shonan High School!"

"Huh..." Sakuragi Hanamichi's expression was extremely serious, "Of course, because I love basketball the most!"

Then, Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Akagi Haruko with burning eyes and said, "I will never lie!"

"Sakuragi-san..." Akagi Haruko looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi's determined eyes and her heart suddenly trembled.

"Oh, oh, oh~" Anton Mitsuyoshi stood up, walked to the front of everyone and said cheerfully, "Let's continue playing like this. Before Kaneki comes on the court, the score difference must be maintained within ten points!"

"Don't worry, coach!" Miyagi Ryouta took a sip of water and looked up at Anton Mitsuyoshi with an extremely firm look, "Because we are the strongest!"

"We are the strongest!!!" everyone from Shonan High School said in unison.

……

"Is Xiao Zheng okay?" Mibuchi Reo looked worriedly at Akashi Seijuro who was sitting there without saying a word, and asked Hayama Kotaro beside him, "If Xiao Zheng wasn't there for this game, we would have died here..."

"I don't know, Sister Lingyang..." Hayama Kotaro also looked worried, "I really didn't expect that Akashi would be so fragile..."

"Fragile?" Shirogane Eiji listened to the players' restless discussions and looked at Akashi Seijuro with concern. "Although it seems that the always strong Akashi Seijuro is indeed not associated with the word fragile, but Akashi's performance on the court just now was a bit too out of control..."

"Really..." Just when everyone at Rakusan High School was at a loss, Dai Chihiro sighed with some disdain, came to Akashi Seijuro's side and looked down at him and said, "What the hell was that you just hit? What did you say when you asked me to join the basketball team? You said you would lead me to become the champion of Japan! But what about now? Look at how timid you are. How can you be the captain of a wealthy team!"

"Senior Dai?" Kotaro Hayama was stunned for a moment when he saw Chihiro Dai cursing at Seijuro Akashi.

"An ace has the destiny of an ace. If you win, you are the strongest. If you lose, you will face the ending of defeat!" Dai Qianxun continued to output, "You look down on this and that all day long, but when faced with disadvantages, you shrink your head like a turtle? Who are you to be so fragile? Are you still the self-centered Akashi Seijuro?"

"Who... am I..." Hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar question, Akashi Seijuro raised his head and looked at Dai Chihiro, repeating it mechanically, as if he was asking Dai Chihiro, or as if he was asking himself.

"You are my weakness."

The voice that had been silent in Akashi Seijuro's heart since the end of the last round of competition began to speak.

"How is that possible? How could I be a coward? How could I, who always win, be a coward?" Akashi Seijuro looked at Akashi and retorted unwillingly.

"Have you not realized yet? Ever since Qingfeng blossomed, you have gradually been born in my mind." Akashi in the shadows raised his head and looked into Akashi Seijuro's eyes, "Until the duel with Murasakibara Atsushi, you completely stepped to the forefront."

"Wouldn't it be good for me to step to the front? Only after I step to the front can we continue to fight side by side with that group of talented friends and achieve victory after victory!" Akashi Seijuro retorted.

"Maybe..." Akashi smiled gently, stood up, and gradually walked from the endless darkness to the light. "We were born into a wealthy family, so we had to do our best in everything. We used to have our mother as our safe haven, but since she passed away, all we have left is basketball..."

"What do you want to do?" Akashi Seijuro said as he looked at the approaching Akashi, "You have already failed, what else can you do now?"

"Yes, Shonan is indeed very strong now. Maybe my appearance can't change any facts." Akashi smiled indifferently, "Your existence is obviously my existence so that I can continue to fight side by side with them as a friend. The funny thing is that now I am drifting away from them..."

As Akashi spoke, he approached Akashi Seijuro, his gentle voice becoming clearer and clearer in their minds: "Obviously, I should have stayed in that dark corner and never come out, but maybe it's because my opponent is Kaneki, I don't want to sit here and wait for death. Let's take it as atonement, I'm going to fight hard once!"

"Om~"

With a flash of white light, Akashi and Akashi Seijuro gradually overlapped, and the two exchanged control of their bodies again.

"Haha, what are you talking about, Dai." Akashi Seijuro smiled gently, stood up, and looked into Dai Chihiro's eyes with his two crimson pupils gently and said, "Of course I am Akashi Seijuro."

"Xiao Zheng..." Mibuchi Reo looked at Akashi Seijuro in surprise, "This..."

"I'm very sorry for holding you back in the previous match." Akashi Seijuro bowed slightly, "Shonan is very strong, but the match isn't over yet. I sincerely ask everyone to lend me some strength, so that we can fight again."

"Haha, of course, Akashi!" Kotaro Hayama was also infected by the gentle but firm aura of Akashi Seijuro. He stood up, patted Akashi Seijuro's shoulder and said.

"Hmph! When you come on the court, I'd be thankful if you don't perform as poorly as before!" Negaya Takeyoshi said sullenly.

"Buzz~"

As the timer buzzed, the timeout ended.

"Well, the past is the past, and we are still ahead now." Akashi Seijuro smiled and encouraged everyone, "Let's go together!"

"Yes!" Everyone at Luoshan High School responded in unison.

"Hmm?" Aomine Daiki looked at the people of Rakusan High School with interest, "Have you recovered your morale so quickly? It looks like there's still a fight to be had~"

"It's too early to be happy. The morale of Shonan High School is not weak either." Midorima Shintaro said in a deep voice. "Akagi!"

As the game resumed, Takeyoshi Netani kicked the ball from the baseline to Seijuro Akashi.

"Thank you." Akashi Seijuro took the basketball, slowly advanced with the ball, raised his arm and shouted loudly, "Don't panic, play steadily, and score a goal first."

"?" Huang Lailiangta looked at the field in surprise, "Xiao Akagi actually took the initiative to say such a thing?"

After he finished speaking, Huang Lailiangta looked around and saw that no one responded to him. He patted Qingfeng Daiki's shoulder in disbelief and asked: "Don't you think this is not in line with Xiao Akashi's style?"

"What do you know as a newcomer?" Aomine Daiki looked at the court with a playful look and said, "Before you came, Akashi always played like this."

"I don't know what you're up to, you show-off monkey..." Sakuragi Hanamichi clearly felt that Akashi Seijuro in front of him was different from before, so he immediately stuck in front of Akashi Seijuro and said, "But our Shonan High School will definitely win!"

"Hey, it's Sakuragi-san~ It's our first meeting, please take care of me." Akashi Seishiro had a gentle smile on his face, "But I won't give up the victory of the game easily!"

As Akashi Seijuro's voice fell, the sound of the basketball hitting the ground rang in Sakuragi Hanamichi's ears.

"First meeting? What is he talking about..." Sakuragi Hanamichi thought, and quickly adjusted his body to keep up with Akashi Seijuro's change of direction.

"What happened... Sakuragi-san... wasn't knocked down this time?" Ogiwara Seihiro, who was about to step forward to cooperate with Sakuragi Hanamichi in stealing the ball, stopped abruptly.

"Your breakthrough has become weaker, showoff..." Sakuragi Hanamichi unconsciously changed the way he addressed Akashi Seijuro.

"Breaking through is just a means of attack, Sakuragi." Akashi Seijuro smiled, "But I... am a point guard!"

As the words fell, Akashi Seijuro's right hand trembled, and a hidden ground pass from under the crotch led Mibuchi Reo to the open space at the top of the arc on the three-point line.

"It's amazing, this feel..." The moment Mibuchi Reo received the ball, she felt the power of this pass, "Whether it's the texture of the ball, the force or the angle of rotation... they all fit my strength perfectly!"

While Reo Mibuchi was still thinking, Akashi's pass had already led him to jump up instinctively.

"Don't even think about scoring a goal!" Mitsui Hisashi immediately came to Reo Mibuchi and jumped up.

"Don't think I'm a pushover just because I speak softly, little Shou Shou!"

It seemed as if Reo Mibuchi didn't notice Mitsui Hisashi blocking her way. She gently flicked the ball with her hand, and the basketball drew a perfect arc and flew towards the basket.

"Shh!"

As Mitsui Hisashi looked shocked, the basketball went into the net.

"That was a good shot just now, Reo." Akashi Seijuro, who was returning to defense, took the initiative to reach out his hand towards Mibuchi Reo and said.

"Pa~" Reo Mibuchi instinctively high-fived Akashi Seijuro to celebrate.

"Defend well and widen the score!" Akashi Seijuro reminded.

"I never thought... Xiao Zheng would actually support his teammates!"

Unlike the others, Reo Mibuchi did not respond loudly to Akashi Seijuro's reminder. His eyes kept moving back and forth between Akashi Seijuro and his right hand, and the smile on his face became more and more obvious.

"What? It's getting more and more exciting!" Mibuchi Reo put down his hand, looked firmly at the aggressive Shonan High School, and shouted, "Come on, the game has just begun!"

"Midorima, that pass that Akashi just made..." Aomine Daiki looked at Akashi Seijuro thoughtfully, and asked Midorima Shintaro beside him, "Do you feel it's familiar?"

"Yeah." Midorima Shintaro held his eyes and said softly, "It's the same kind of pass we received before."

"Hahaha, it looks like Akashi is back..." Aomine Daiki suddenly laughed heartily, "I really miss this. When I received a pass like this before..."

"Pa~" As Miyagi Ryouta's pass was intercepted by Akashi Seijuro, all the members of Rakusan High School launched a fast break again.

"Stop right there, you showoff!" Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes flashed with lightning, and in a flash he crossed nearly 3/4 of the field and blocked Akashi Seijuro again.

"You are really fast, Sakuragi."

"Second time~"

The sound of lightning rang out again, and two crimson rays of lightning burst out from Akashi Seijuro's eyes again.

"Zone?" Sakuragi Hanamichi became alert immediately when he saw Akashi Seijuro entering the zone state again.

"Don't be nervous, Sakuragi Hanamichi." Akashi Seijuro said with a smile, "As for me personally, my performance will not be better than the previous game..."

"呲呲..."

"What!" As familiar lightning sounds came one after another, Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at the players of Rakusan High School behind him in shock, "These guys actually..."

"But I can't guarantee what others will do!" Akashi Seijuro's voice came from behind Sakuragi Hanamichi, and the basketball turned into a red light and flew into the hands of Takeyoshi Netani in the inside.

"Ahhhhhh, look at my muscle dunk!" Takeyoshi Netani jumped up after catching the ball.

"Stop making so much noise, you guy!" Shigehiro Kabaji's defense was also very timely. He took a step in front of Takeyoshi Netani, stretched out his long arms and jumped up.

"Yeah, yeah~" Akashi Seijuro couldn't help but say Kaneki Ken's catchphrase, "I thought you should be very familiar with this situation, Karachi... the restricted area now... doesn't belong to you anymore!"

"boom!"

As Akashi Seijuro finished speaking, the sound of the basket whirring began to sound. Neya Takeyoshi suppressed Kabaji Shigehiro in this round of competition and stuffed the ball into the basket.

(End of this chapter)