Hesitation Leads to Defeat

"If we can't get past this hurdle, we're dead." Kagetora Aida's faint voice reached Reiko Aida's ears, causing her heart to clench inexplicably. She looked worriedly towards Shibuya First Junior High's bench.

"What do I do... what should I do..." Keisuke Kobayashi had called a timeout, but looking at the situation before him, his mind went blank. "The strongest Kotaro is being suppressed, and Daisuke can barely handle himself..."

"Hey, hey, hey, what's with everyone? Why do you all look like the world is ending?" Daisuke Narumi saw everyone's pale faces and stood up, shouting, "The game isn't over yet, we haven't lost! Play hard, there's still hope to win!"

"Daisuke's right!" Kotaro Hayama took a big gulp of water. "We still have hope! Didn't we make a comeback just now? Even if it's not for ourselves, we have to win for the captain!"

"Yeah!" Encouraged by the two, a flush of color returned to the faces of the Shibuya First Junior High players, and their panicked feelings gradually calmed down.

"Hoo~~" Keisuke Kobayashi patted his face, forcing himself to calm down, and let out a long sigh. "Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to fight with our backs against the wall! Later, you guys create space for me, I'll take a few shots first. If the outside game opens up, Kotaro, you keep an eye on the cuts, I'll pass to you! If the outside game doesn't open up, Daisuke, that big guy with purple hair isn't much taller than you, so I'll leave the rebounds and second chances to you!"

"Yes!" Kotaro Hayama and Daisuke Narumi nodded heavily.

"Captain..." Keisuke Kobayashi turned to Kazuhiko Yamanaka, but the words caught in his throat, as if he was considering how to say it more tactfully.

"Just say it, it's fine, Keisuke." Kazuhiko Yamanaka smiled and punched Keisuke Kobayashi's chest. "After I leave, you'll be the captain. You can't be so wishy-washy all the time."

"Captain, then I'll be direct." Keisuke Kobayashi followed his advice. "I know that defending Shuzo Nijimura is a difficult task for you, but even if you can't stop him, you must limit his shots. You can even let him drive, we'll help you with the rotations."

"Okay, I'll do my best." Keisuke Kobayashi felt the strength of Kazuhiko Yamanaka's hand on his shoulder increase, as if it was both a response to him and encouragement to Kazuhiko Yamanaka himself.

"Mr. Liu." Keisuke Kobayashi looked at Wei Liu and said concisely, "Do your job on defense and rebounds. Shoot if you have an open look."

"Yes!" Wei Liu said in a deep voice.

"He's doing a pretty good job!" Kagetora Aida watched Keisuke Kobayashi setting up tactics with a hint of boredom. "If they don't run into Ken Kaneki and the others, maybe they actually have a shot this year."

Reiko Aida didn't speak. Although she couldn't see clearly, she could vaguely sense that Teiko Junior High School's players not only had far superior basic physical stats to Shibuya First Junior High, but their current condition was also much better than Kotaro Hayama's.

"Come on! Even if you can't win... don't give up..." Reiko Aida mumbled, her voice too quiet for even Kagetora Aida, sitting next to her, to hear.

"Buzzz~" With the buzzer of the timer, the timeout ended, and both teams' players returned to the court.

"Keisuke, catch!" Daisuke Narumi inbounded the ball to Keisuke Kobayashi, while he himself went to battle under the basket with Atsushi Murasakibara according to the original plan.

"Are you starting to take over the ball?" Shintaro Midorima walked expressionlessly in front of Keisuke Kobayashi. "Not bad, that's more like you."

"You seem to know me very well..." Keisuke Kobayashi rolled his eyes speechlessly, dribbling the ball while carefully observing Shintaro Midorima's defensive stance – a typical Shintaro Midorima style, stable and watertight.

"It's just that Ken did his homework beforehand." Shintaro Midorima said in a deep voice. "Honestly, I admire him for doing his best to this extent. It would be even better if he looked at the morning horoscopes like I do."

"Then you're out of luck today." Keisuke Kobayashi, unable to break through for a long time, decided to shoot. "Because I have a good feel for the ball today."

"You're wrong." Shintaro Midorima replied. "For a shooter, you do your best and leave the rest to fate. You've done your best, and fate... today's Cancer sign has the best luck!"

As he finished speaking, Shintaro Midorima lunged forward and blocked the ball before Keisuke Kobayashi could even shoot.

"As a shooter, you hesitated just now." Shintaro Midorima picked up the fallen ball and immediately launched a fast break. "And hesitation leads to defeat!"

With those words, Shintaro Midorima, who had just crossed the half-court line, decisively jumped up and shot the ball towards the basket.

"No way!" Keisuke Kobayashi, who was retreating on defense, didn't expect Shintaro Midorima to shoot from such a distance. "He dares to take a logo shot on a fast break?! Isn't that too reckless?"

In Keisuke Kobayashi's shocked eyes, the basketball drew a perfect and high arc, falling towards the basket like a meteor. With a swish, the ball went in.

Seeing his hard-practiced logo shot succeed for the first time, Shintaro Midorima gently pushed up his glasses with his left hand and turned around without looking at Keisuke Kobayashi. "I told you, I've done my best."

Beneath his glasses, the golden light in Shintaro Midorima's eyes shone like lightning in the night sky, and the previously imperceptible green light began to flicker.

"Are you alright, Keisuke?" Kazuhiko Yamanaka walked over and asked with concern.

"I'm fine, Captain. It was just a bit unexpected." Keisuke Kobayashi shook his head, suppressing the unease in his heart and feigning calmness.

"That's terrifying..." In the hospital, Shoichi Imagawa stared at the game on the TV broadcast and exclaimed. "He's that confident from that distance."

"That's natural. Would a mighty lion associate with wild dogs?" Makoto Hanamiya, who had finished changing his dressing, sneered at the screen. "If it weren't for that Chinese exchange student's pick-and-roll, Keisuke Kobayashi wouldn't have been able to score on that kid with green hair... See? He blocked him again, didn't he?"

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Keisuke Kobayashi, having been blocked again, was extremely annoyed. To save face, he stuck to Shintaro Midorima like glue, not giving him an inch of space to shoot.

"Oh? You're only defending my shot? Interesting." Shintaro Midorima's lips curled slightly. He used a pump fake to create space and, before Keisuke Kobayashi could react, broke through him with a simple crossover step.

Seeing this, Keisuke Kobayashi quickly adjusted his balance, trying to keep up with Shintaro Midorima's steps. But as if foreseeing his move, Shintaro Midorima used a simple behind-the-back dribble and step-back to get to the three-point line.

Seeing Keisuke Kobayashi completely shaken off, Shintaro Midorima confidently shot, sinking the three-pointer steadily.

"I don't quite agree with your assessment." Shintaro Midorima looked down at Keisuke Kobayashi in front of him. "I only shoot threes, but I don't only shoot threes. You underestimate me."

"Good job." Ken Kaneki also walked up and patted Shintaro Midorima's butt encouragingly. "Honestly, I was surprised too."

"Hmph." Shintaro Midorima snorted. "That's natural. I'm the best shooter at Teiko Junior High School."

"Is Green-chin being tsundere?" Atsushi Murasakibara said bluntly. "I saw you sneak into the gym to watch Ken-chan's afternoon practice not long ago."

"You're talking nonsense, I didn't!" Shintaro Midorima's expression became a little unnatural. "Why are you slandering me out of thin air?"

"Huh? Slander?" Atsushi Murasakibara retorted. "I was buying potato chips that day and saw you peeking at Ken-chan's afternoon practice at the door. Then the security guard thought you were a thief and chased you."

Everyone burst into laughter. Shintaro Midorima looked at the laughing crowd, becoming even more flustered, muttering things like "just passing by" and "I just heard the sound of the gym, I was curious." For a moment, the court was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"Play your own game, Murasakibara!" Shintaro Midorima said, uncharacteristically angered.

"That's natural." Atsushi Murasakibara stretched his shoulders, his face filled with excitement. "I can't wait!"