"Hey, hey~~ what's going on here? The game's barely started and it's already turning into a fight?"
"Those bastards from Kirisaki Daiichi are at it again, huh? Pulling their dirty tricks already!"
In the audience, a group of high schoolers wearing various team uniforms sat with dark expressions. They came from different schools, but there was one thing they all had in common,
Each of them bore some mark of injury.
Some on their faces.
Others hidden beneath their uniforms.
All of them had one shared experience they'd once gone up against Kirisaki Daiichi.
"Seiho's in danger now!"
"Yeah! Didn't expect those bastards to start this early. The match just started, and there's still forty whole minutes left. Seiho's gonna have a rough time."
"Damn it! Those scumbags don't even deserve to play basketball."
============
"Well then, let's carry out the plan as discussed."
Since Seiho already knew about Kirisaki Daiichi's foul play, they had prepared countermeasures.
Kasuga Ryuhei brought the ball up the court. Just as he crossed the three-point line, two players from Kirisaki Daiichi suddenly rushed in to trap him.
On the surface, it looked like a standard double team. But at the same time, two other Kirisaki players quietly stepped into position, right between the referee and the play, blocking his view.
"Heh~~"
Everything was set.
Hanamiya Makoto's lips twisted into a cruel smile. The next instant, he and Furuhashi Koujirou lunged in, reaching roughly for the ball.
It was hard to say if they could actually steal it, but one thing was certain: that swing was going to hit Kasuga's body.
But just before Hanamiya's hand connected,
Kasuga suddenly flung himself backward, crashing to the floor with a pained expression.
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
He howled dramatically as he landed.
The referee, his vision blocked, hadn't seen what really happened. But seeing Kasuga sprawled on the ground, he immediately blew the whistle.
FWEEEEET!
"Kirisaki No. 4, defensive foul!"
============
"Damn it, those Kirisaki Daiichi punks are out of line!"
The teams sitting in the stands erupted in outrage. Having all faced Kirisaki Daiichi before, they knew better than anyone how vile their playstyle was.
No matter what happened on court, their first assumption was always the same Kirisaki must've done something dirty again.
============
But on the court, Hanamiya and Furuhashi both froze.
They knew perfectly well, they hadn't even touched the guy. Yet their opponent was already on the ground. In all their years of dirty play, this was a first.
Then Hanamiya suddenly covered his face and started laughing.
"Hehehe~~ what's this? So even the so-called 'Kings' resort to cheap tricks now?"
Kasuga, having already stood back up, shot back without hesitation.
"Learned it from you guys."
The game resumed.
Following that foul, Seiho successfully broke through Kirisaki's defense. This time, remembering what happened earlier, both Iwamura and Akashi avoided dunking, they opted for short jump shots instead.
Swish!
Score: 4–0.
============
Kirisaki Daiichi went back on offense.
Their small forward, Hara Kazuya, moved inside for the rebound. With long hair covering his eyes and a stick of gum always in his mouth, he looked refined, almost harmless.
But when it came to rebounding, he was the type to step on opponents' toes to stop them from jumping. And every time he snagged the ball, he'd "accidentally" drive an elbow into Iwamura or Akashi's face.
Rough, yes, but undeniably effective in limiting Seiho's inside play.
Even trying to draw fouls didn't work.
Because under basketball rules, the area beneath the basket was considered a "reasonable contact zone."
High school tournaments didn't officially have that rule, but referees generally applied leniency there. Collisions under the rim were too frequent to call everything.
Even so,
Seiho maintained their lead.
Kirisaki's roughness made it harder to call fouls beneath the hoop, but on the perimeter, things were different.
Thanks to Seiho's acting skills, Kirisaki's outside players were being called for fouls one after another.
============
"Uhh~~ is it just me, or does something feel off here?"
By the second quarter, even the players in the stands who'd once been Kirisaki's victims were starting to notice something strange.
Kirisaki Daiichi's foul count was unusually high.
Normally, that wouldn't raise eyebrows. Given their usual dirty play, it'd be no surprise if the entire team fouled out in one game.
But the odd part was, despite all those "fouls," Seiho's players didn't look hurt at all.
Sure, they screamed dramatically every time they went down…
but moments later, they'd bounce right back up, full of energy.
"Yeah, if we'd been that smart back then, maybe we wouldn't have lost," one player muttered in regret.
It was clear that Seiho's tactic wasn't hard to figure out,
They were flopping.
Or rather they were exposing Kirisaki's habitual fouls to the referee's eyes.
"But come on, isn't that ref a little too cooperative? He calls a foul every single time Seiho hits the floor. Hasn't he noticed something's off?"
"Of course he has," another player said flatly. "He's just helping Seiho. Do you really think any ref actually likes Kirisaki's scumbag team?"
"Yeah, we were idiots to forget. Kirisaki pulls dirty tricks every match. Even if the refs can't see it during play, they definitely know afterward."
"But without hard evidence, a referee can't call it. What Seiho's doing now isn't just exposing their opponents, it's giving the refs justification to finally punish them."
============
After weeks of practicing their acting skills, Seiho had it down to perfection.
By now, every Kirisaki perimeter player had racked up at least three fouls each.
Perhaps realizing their foul count was getting dangerous, Kirisaki's dirty plays noticeably decreased midway through the second quarter.
Seiho's players began to relax, thinking the danger had passed.
But with thirty seconds left before halftime,
An accident struck.
Kasuga Ryuhei was driving into the lane when Hanamiya and Furuhashi once again closed in to trap him. Seeing them, Kasuga's instincts flared,
A leopard never changes its spots.
Even though Kirisaki had toned down their rough play, Seiho stayed alert, thanks to Akashi's constant reminders.
And sure enough,
Just as Kasuga tried to break through, Furuhashi, under a teammate's screen, suddenly slammed into him with brute force.
Seeing the contact, Kasuga didn't hesitate, he fell back, exaggerating the motion.
But this time,
Furuhashi didn't stop.
He followed through the motion, crashing down on top of Kasuga.
Before Kasuga could even process what was happening,
A sharp elbow flashed in front of his eyes,
BAM!
And everything went white.
=============
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