Kuroko's Basketball: I'm not the boss?

At the top of the arc, facing Kise's attack, Xiangyang spoke first with a smile.

With 20 seconds left in the game, the score is 61-61, and Team Kise has a chance to win the game.

If this ball continues to connect between Yuuki and Kise, there's a high probability it won't be able to be defended, so... Xiangyang decides to take a gamble!

"Isn't it time for the two of us to have some fun, Ryota?"

Xiangyang licked his lips and gestured for his teammates to separate. As a defender, Xiangyang's meaning was self-evident.

I challenge Kise to a duel!

"I still prefer you to call me genius, Xiao Xiangyang."

Kise has a high basketball IQ, so he could naturally see through Xiangyang's thoughts.

Rather than gambling on a 10% probability

If the team can defend against their attack, why not gamble on the 30% chance of single-handedly defending against Kise?

That sounds interesting! Let's give it a try!

A hint of excitement flashed in Kise's eyes. He also made a gesture of spreading out to his teammates. Facing Xiangyang, he pulled the ball back with one hand and waited for time to pass.

Seeing this, the crowd of people from the sidelines started to cheer and jeer.

The internal struggle between the team's two strongest members is truly exciting!

Kise even had the leisure to wave to the fans in the audience, his face full of smiles, looking very relaxed.

Xiang Yang remained calm and composed, not pressing forward to steal the ball, but maintaining a position where he could interfere with Kise. He was willing to bet that if he tried to steal the ball because Kise was pretending to be distracted, he would be the one who got beaten!

The two stood facing each other like that, and finally, with only 8 seconds left on the clock, Kise made his move!

With a swift backstep, he broke through, instantly closing the distance to Xiangyang by half a body length. Even without entering "zone" mode, Kise's explosive power should not be underestimated!

Xiangyang frowned slightly, turned around and immediately followed. However, Kise's first step was more explosive than he had imagined. Without adjusting his defensive position, Xiangyang inevitably gave Kise space.

His pupils contracted slightly, and Kise seized the opportunity with keen insight. He immediately stopped and pulled up for a jump shot!

Xiangyang, who was in a defensive position, also noticed Kise's movement immediately, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

It was such a small mistake, but the outcome was already decided...

Swish!

As expected, under everyone's watchful eyes, the ball went into the net cleanly without any surprise.

Kise scores two points, that's a good result!

The referee immediately stopped the stopwatch. Because Kise released the ball very quickly, there were only 5 seconds left, but it was almost a death sentence for the Hikaru family.

As he opened his arms to welcome the cheers of his teammates and fans, Kise gave Xiangyang a smile.

In one-on-one duels within the team, Kise once again proved his status!

Even Xiangyang, who has the strongest one-on-one defense in Kaijo, can't stop him!

In the final moments, Kise gave Xiangyang no chance at all, sticking to him tightly. Although Xiangyang finally managed to get a chance and force a shot, it was still too difficult for him to score the winning goal under Kise's interference!

The training match ended with Kise Ieya winning 63-61!

Xiangyang stood in the midfield with his hands on his hips, looking at the score with a melancholy expression, yet his eyes revealed a hint of relief. Although they had lost, having such a strong teammate in a team sport was truly reassuring.

At that moment, Kise, having finished high-fiving his teammates in celebration, took a running start and jumped onto Xiangyang, jokingly saying with a smile, "What's wrong, Xiangyang? It's okay~ Losing to me isn't shameful~"

Xiangyang: ...

"You bastard, do you want to die?"

With a sharp shout, Xiang Yang grabbed Kise before he could react and slammed him to the ground.

Kise reacted quickly, and after realizing Xiangyang's intention, he immediately jumped down, activated his speed boost, and began to run at high speed around the basketball court, dodging Xiangyang. The two of them thus staged a scene of cops and robbers on the basketball court!

The onlookers didn't step forward to stop them, but just stood there happily watching the two of them bicker. After Kasamatsu-senpai left, the overall atmosphere at Kaijo became even more cheerful. Of course, this wasn't necessarily a good thing. If the cheerfulness went too far, it would become too relaxed!

At this moment, in a corner of the Kaijo Gymnasium, where no one was paying attention, Hashimoto Yuki stood there.

He looked at Xiangyang and Kise, who were still fooling around in the center of the stadium, and a struggle flashed in his eyes. The determination he had just made was now gone.

Finally, a soft sigh escaped.

"Stop, stop, stop! Xiao Xiangyang! I suddenly remembered something!"

After a long chase, Kise was cornered by Xiangyang. He suddenly looked like he had just realized something, which earned him a cold snort from Xiangyang.

Kise panicked and quickly said, "I'm serious! Yuuki needs to talk to you! Go ask her if you don't believe me... Hey? Where's Yuuki?"

Chapter 138 There's Always a Scoundrel Trying to Rise to Power

Where did Yuuki go?

Following Kise's gaze, Xiangyang also couldn't find Yuki. He turned his head and looked at Kise with a probing gaze, asking, "What's wrong? What does he want with me?"

"No, I don't know what happened either. But what I'm sure of is that the child is in a state of confusion right now."

Kise shook his head and went offstage to confirm Yuki's whereabouts with everyone around him.

"Yuki? She was just standing here a moment ago, huh? Has she already left? I didn't even notice her!"

A Kaijo player who had just seen Yuki provided information, and then he hesitated and said, "That's strange. Normally, before Yuki leaves, she would greet us very respectfully and say something like, 'Goodbye, senpai!'"

Yes, that's indeed Yuki's normal reaction, but in other words, Yuki isn't normal right now...

Kise frowned slightly, making up his mind: no matter what, I should call Yuki first.

He had just reached for his phone when Xiangyang grabbed his hand as it was being put into his pocket.

Kise looked up in confusion, only to see Xiangyang calmly shake his head and say, "I'll do it."

……

……

"Moshi Moshi... Senior Xiangyang?"

Since they had exchanged phone numbers before, Yuki recognized Hikaru's number.

Hearing Yuki's somewhat unnatural voice on the other end of the phone, Xiangyang's heart sank slightly.

"You're gone?"

"…Um."

After a brief silence, Yuki softly answered Xiangyang's question with an "Mmm".

Kise, who was standing next to Xiangyang, heard Yuki's voice on the other end of the phone and looked worried. He could tell that something was wrong with Yuki.

"Who let you leave? I remember it wasn't dismissal time after the training match, right? And you didn't even say goodbye to me."

Xiangyang glanced at the clock in the arena. Just two minutes ago, he announced the disbandment of the team. At this moment, only he and Kise were in the arena. Oohara Hiroshi originally wanted to stay, but Xiangyang called him home.

"Smith Marseille, Senior Xiangyang..."

Faced with Xiangyang's questioning, Yuki could have easily shut him down by simply saying, "I'm not feeling well." However, whether Yuki hadn't considered this or it was due to his personality, in the end, he simply apologized to Xiangyang and didn't say anything more.

"Come back to the Haichang Stadium, I have something to tell you."

"Huh?? Now?"

"That's right, you haven't gone very far in this short time, have you?"

After saying that, ignoring Yuki's reaction, Xiangyang hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

"Little Xiangyang...you won't be very fierce later, will you?"

Kise cautiously observed Xiangyang's expression, a conflict forming in his mind: What should he do if the two of them started arguing here?

Xiangyang rolled his eyes at Kise and said thoughtfully, "Don't worry, I'll handle it. I roughly know why that kid is like this."

The once-proud prodigy is now being suppressed in a new environment, and is even seen as an "ordinary person" by others. Yuki's current situation is within Xiangyang's expectations.

Seeing that Xiangyang seemed to know what was going on, Kise breathed a sigh of relief. He patted Xiangyang on the shoulder with a grin and teased him.

"Then I'll leave it all to you, Captain!"

"I can do it without you telling me. Captain Haichang is always reliable."

……

……

Haichang School Gate

Yuki, who had returned, looked at the familiar gate, suppressed her anxiety, and slowly stepped inside.

Since it was past dismissal time, there were hardly any people to be seen on campus, except for a few club members who were staying for an extended period.

This rare quiet environment made Yuki feel a little relieved, as he was not good at dealing with crowded places.

Finally, Yuki stopped at the entrance of the Kaijo Basketball Hall. Looking at the door, he couldn't help but feel flustered.

I left early and got caught... and I didn't even ask my seniors for permission... Senior Xiangyang is definitely going to give me a good scolding...

Yuki mentally simulated all the possible scenarios that might happen later. Finally, she swallowed hard, steeled her resolve, pushed open the door, and went inside.

With a creak.

The door opened with a sound, and the light shone on Yuuki's face, making him feel somewhat dazed. In the dim light, he could see the figure of Senior Xiangyang standing quietly in the middle of the stadium, waiting for him to come over.

Is Kise-senpai not here?

As Yuki walked toward the sun, he looked around and couldn't help but feel puzzled. He had thought that Kise-senpai would be here too.

In an instant, most of the simulation he had before entering the room was erased from his mind.

He hasn't had a chance to spend time alone with Senior Xiangyang yet.

What should I do? Was it specifically instructed by Hikari-senpai that Ryota-senpai wasn't here? Am I going to get a severe scolding?

As Yuuki's thoughts raced, his expression grew increasingly anxious. He strode up to Xiangyang, stood with his hands behind his back, head slightly bowed, awaiting the impending storm.

"You're so slow! You made your senior wait for so long."

In the quiet stadium, Xiangyang's voice rang out. Because Yuki had his head down, he couldn't see Xiangyang's expression, but judging from his tone, he was definitely going to scold him.

“Smith Marseille, Senior Xiangyang.”