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Chapter 89 - 93

"Having fun out there, genius?"

On Kaijo's bench, Kota lay sprawled out on the seat, grinning at Kise.

"At first, it felt like I was back in middle school… but after that? Honestly, it got boring real fast."

Kise spoke calmly.

To him, Haizaki was no longer a rival. No matter how hard he flailed, he simply couldn't touch him.

"Jeez, that's cold. If Haizaki heard you say that, he'd be grabbing your collar again."

Kota chuckled, then stood up and started loosening up his body. It was almost time for him to check in.

...

Fukuda Sogo Bench

After a long silence, Ishida finally opened his mouth to analyze the situation — but Haizaki wasn't listening.

Eyes bloodshot, tongue licking his lips, he glared at Kise with unblinking intensity.

The sight was disturbing enough that no one dared talk to him.

Halftime ended quickly.

Kota finished his stretches and leisurely walked onto the court, taking the ball from Kasamatsu as the new point guard. Kise, catching the switch, looked visibly relieved. With Kota running point, he could ease up and dropped Perfect Copy mode, returning to his normal state.

Across the court, Haizaki noticed. And smiled—a twisted, unsettling smile.

"Here it comes… my chance."

Fukuda Sogo's offensive possession began, and for once, Haizaki didn't snatch the ball from his teammates. He let them play on their own.

Meanwhile, Kota had already located his prey — the weakest scorer on the opposing side — and moved over to him to activate Target the Weakest Link.

But even with Haizaki standing still, something didn't sit right.

"Did he give up?" Kota frowned. "No… he's still got that look in his eyes. He's planning something."

The air felt dry. Kota rubbed his neck—there was an uncomfortable tension hanging in the gym.

On the court, Fukuda Sogo's offense was stuffed by Kobori's block. Kasamatsu grabbed the rebound and darted up the court for a fast break. Kise mirrored him on the opposite wing. Kota stayed behind—fast breaks weren't his style. Besides, Kasamatsu and Kise were more than enough.

Only one Fukuda player reacted in time to defend—

Haizaki.

He shadowed Kise's trail like a hunter.

And Kota's eyelid twitched.

"Huh...?"

He caught a flash of Haizaki's grin—twisted and malicious.

"Danger."

Too late.

Kasamatsu lobbed the pass.

Kise soared. A clean, explosive slam dunk.

"He jumped so high… but he still has to land."

Beneath the hoop, Haizaki's smile warped into something grotesque. He shifted forward, eyes locked on Kise's landing spot, right foot subtly sliding under—

A textbook undercut.

Kise's landing wobbled.

Luckily, he managed to regain balance without injury.

But as he looked at Haizaki standing way too close, he couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"What's this guy doing? That was dangerous..."

"Oops, sorry, got caught in your speed. Couldn't stop in time!"

Haizaki offered a fake smile — his tone sheepish, his eyes cold.

"…Whatever. Just be more careful next time."

Kise waved it off and jogged back to defend.

"Idiot… he actually bought that?"

Kota spat on the ground, glaring at Kise like a disappointed parent.

"What? Do I have something on my face, Kota?"

Kise smiled, still clueless.

"Nah, you're looking good today. Just… maybe stay outside the paint for a bit. Stick to shooting."

Kota didn't explain. But he knew. That little trip? That undercut?

It was intentional. No doubt.

Still, he wasn't going to blow the whistle.He'd take care of it his own way.

He gave a small hand signal to the team — more outside shots. Kota wasn't letting anyone get injured in the Top 16. Kaijo was aiming for the national title. Any loss of manpower was fatal.

On the next play, Kota calmly dribbled past half-court, eyes fixed on Haizaki, who was still clinging to Kise like a tick.

He raised a hand — Kise started moving.

They'd run this play countless times. Kise curved around the arc, then suddenly cut toward the paint.

Purple light sparked in his eyes — he surged forward, blasting past Haizaki with raw speed.

Haizaki didn't panic. He just smiled again.

"Yes… that's it. Drive. Go in for the dunk. And then... it's over for you."

Kota's expression didn't change.

He raised his arm — faked a pass.

Kise shot his hand up, signaling for the alley-oop.

He was even in position for a mid-air reverse slam.

Everything going exactly according to Haizaki's plan—

But then...

The pass came in low. Way off.

Not only did it miss Kise entirely—it flew straight at Haizaki.

"Huh? A bad pass?"

Eyes on Kise, Haizaki barely registered the orange blur coming his way until—

THWACK.

Right in the face.

The basketball slammed into his face with full force, knocking him off balance and sending him sprawling.

Kota's pass speed was maxed out — just shy of Kuroko's bullet pass. Taking one to the face? That hurt.

"Oops! Sorry, that came out faster than I expected. My bad, I've got terrible passing skills! Hahahaha."

Kota rubbed his hands together, grinning innocently as he walked over and helped Haizaki up.

He looked genuinely apologetic — like it really was a fluke.

But Haizaki wasn't buying it.

His face burned. There was even a faint imprint of the ball on his cheek.

He stood up, ready to snap—

"Just saying hi" Kota said, still smiling. "That move earlier — you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

His tone? Calm as ever. His words? Ice-cold.

Haizaki froze.

Then sneered, baring his teeth.

"So you're stepping in for Kise now?"

Kota didn't answer.

He turned away, expression blank.

There was no satisfaction in trading insults with scum like Haizaki.

Only fists would bring peace of mind.

In the stands, Akashi sat up.

He'd seen it all — Haizaki's dirty move and Kota's "accidental" payback.

"A mistake? Please. Unless I've got dementia, I'm not buying that nonsense for a second. Kota never misses passes—not even punctuation marks."

"Feels like the rest of this match… might be more interesting than the actual basketball."

Akashi smiled.

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