Chapter 5: Nationals Kotaro Vs Reo
[Boukadon Middke School]
*Ring Ring* A Great King Reo Mibuchi was resting after shooting a couple hundred free-throws.
"What's up Kotaro?"
An excited voice started shouting over the phone. "Reo, Kiyoshi just mopped the floor with Nebuya!! It wasn't close!" Reo just huffed and sighed.
"We all know Nebuya has little skill. He just relies on his physical capabilities. There was no way he was going to beat Kiyoshi unless his physical skills were in a completely different level."
"But..."
"You should be worrying about your next game against ME." The Night Demon let out a smirk.
"Re-" *Beep*
[Royasta Middle School]
"Big sis Reo hanged up on me! Humph, In any case, I should prepare for the semifinals."
Kotaro took a deep breath, and sighed. "It seems that Reo has something new up his sleeve."
"Hayama, you're in." Hayama subbed in for the mini game and received the ball. *Boom*Boom*Slam* Kotaro dunked with a smile as he thought to himself that everyone's put in work to win Nationals this year. He couldn't wait to show them a new and improved Lightning Dribble.
[Nationals Stadium]
Reo Mibuchi walked towards Kotaro Hayama.
"Kotaro, I hope you're prepared to face me." Kotaro simply laughed. "How can anyone stop your shot unless they know the flaw even then it's hard to stop."
Reo scoffed and replied with the same tone.
"Well, the same goes for you Kotaro. After all most people cannot stop your drive, but it has a flaw as well."
The banter increased until the warmups started. Soon it was time for the game. Just before the game started N arrived to watch.
"Players into position. Nice clean game, alright." Both captains nodded, and the Ref tossed the ball for the tip-off. Royasta won and immediately passed to Kotaro who was marked by Reo. The commentators speculated how the duel will turn out.
"I think Kotaro's going to win with his unstoppable drive."
"Well, whoever wins will gain the momentum and boost their team's morale, that's for sure."
*Boom*Boom*Boom* As Kotaro dribbled, Reo wondered about how he could exploit the Lightning Dribble's flaw. "I should let him pass me, but be ready for the block since he tends to slow down slightly after getting the ball dribbled back into his hand due to enormous strain from dribbling the ball that hard and fast. Normal players can't keep up, but we Kings can. The window is small, but it's my best bet to stop him."
*Boom* "Lightning Dribble level five!!" When Kotaro shouted that, Reo realized that Kotaro had improved his dribble to a whole new level. *Boom*Slam* Kotaro finished the play with a dunk over the Boukadon center.
"Lightning Dribble level five? When did he develop that? It's on a completely different scale compared to level four! Ah, well, I guess I ought to show him something special then." Reo asked for the ball to take down the court, and his teammates fully understood what he wanted to do, a one on one with Kotaro Hayama.
Reo looked at Kotaro while complimenting his dribble. "Kotaro, your dribble has improved vastly since our last one on one."
"Aw shucks, thanks for the compliment Reo. I try my best." Reo just smiled as he went for the shot.
"Reo's shooting a normal jump shot? That's pretty easy to block." As Kotaro tried to block the shot, he couldn't jump at all. It was like all the energy vanished from his legs. "Why?! Why can't I jump!?" *Swish* Reo's three was perfect giving Boukadon a one point lead.
Reo walked back to his hoop while commenting that Kotaro's not the only who's being improving their game. "Oh, by the way, I call that the Void shot." Kotaro could only respond back saying that the game was going to be wild.
Back and forth the game went, without either Kings being able to stop the other until Kotaro got the ball stolen from him by a pincer attack set up by Reo and his center. It exploited the flaw of Lightning Dribble.
Reo poked the ball out and grabbed it going for the drive with 7 seconds left before the half. Kotaro closed out fast, ready to block the shot, but Mibuchi pulled up for the Heaven shot. Kotaro knew that he couldn't possibly reach the Heaven shot with his momentum going the opposite way. "Dammit! I won't reach in time!". *Swish* Reo Mibuchi banged home the three giving Boukadon a four point lead going into the half. *Beeeep*
"Ha... those guys really have improved past their old selves. I didn't expect all of them to unlock all their original skills in their first year. Lightning Dribble and Void, now it's up to them to develop the new parts of their game. No more prodding or personal skill showing from me." N walked onto the court for the warmup to play against Kiyoshi after the first semifinal game. After the warmup, N approached both Reo and Kotaro wishing them luck for the second half.
*Beeeep* Possession went to Royasta, and Kotaro performed his dribble. As the pincer attack closed onto him, he passed to the open man which shocked Mibuchi. *Swish* The lead was cut down to two. "I can't believe he made that no look pass. What court awareness!"
On the other side of the court, Reo received the ball, fully intending to shoot when he was double teamed by Kotaro and the Royasta shooting guard. Reo's teammate called out for the pass and Reo obliged. As soon as the Boukadon PG jumped up for the shot, Kotaro closed out on him.
"What speed! He closed out on me so fast!" *Smack* Kotaro blocked the shot and performed Lightning Dribble to get past everyone. As he jumped for the dunk, Reo came from the side for the block. "I was expecting you to be ready Reo-Neechan, and I'm extremely happy to show you this." Kotaro pulled down the ball and switched to his left hand for a hook shot. The ball rolled around the hoop and went in. *Whistle*
"Shooting foul, Number 8! Basket counts, one free-throw!" Kotaro made the free-throw giving Royasta a one point lead. Reo had been shut down, and he could only look at the ground while gritting his teeth. As Kotaro walked to his hoop, he looked at Reo with a sad expression.
"Am I going to lose? Will I lose today? I'm far from finished, so don't you dare think you've beaten me Kotaro!" Mibuchi received the pass and went into an Earth shot.
"Reo's going to use an Earth shot, so his jump is delayed." But instead Reo jumped up on the fake. "Shit! He didn't delay his jump!" *Swish*
"I'm far from done Kotaro." Reo smiled and with that the lead went back to two for Boukadon.
"You always surprise me Reo. You're even better than before with your shot selection. It's no surprise you just beat the double team."
Reo and Kotaro went for a one on one.
"No double team Reo? You can't stop me by yourself! Lightning Dribble level five!" *Boom*
"Pincer attack!" When Kotaro heard Reo shout that, he passed to the open center who jumped for the dunk. *Smack* Mibuchi came flying in smacking the ball off the backboard, and he quickly dashed to the other hoop for a fast break. He went into the motion for an Earth shot pump fake, and Kotaro fell for it. From the stands, N looked on with surprise. "What a beautiful fake, I completely thought he was going for the shot. Mibuchi really has improved Earth to another level, even I'm impressed. *Whistle*Swish*
"Basket counts, one free-throw!" Mibuchi made the free throw increasing the lead to 6 points. Kotaro used Lightning Dribble again and tried to angle sideways. But Mibuchi caught up and stole the ball.
"Fast break!" Reo chucked the ball down deep to his PG who scored a lay up.
"Kotaro, I figured out your dribble. You can only cut straight towards the basket. If you go sideways, people like me can keep up and steal the ball when you're temporarily stiffened from the dribble. If you go inside, we'll use the pincer attack to force you to pass since the distance between me and the open center is manageable for me. I may not cover as much ground as you do, but that short distance is easily covered."
Kotaro remained shut down for the last one and a half quarters while Mibuchi racked up three after three along with many steals.
"You fought well Kotaro, but it wasn't enough." Mibuchi moved into a Void shot.
"Shit, it's Void again!"
*Swish*Beeep*
"Boukadon Middle School wins 143 to 90. Please line up and bow."
"Thank you for the game." After the game, Kotaro shook Reo's hand and then ran into the locker room. He sat in the locker room crying over his loss with a towel over his head while vowing to win next year. Mibuchi walked up to the stands to watch the next game between Kiyoshi and N.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Anonymous_Miracle
Anonymous_Miracle I put in a lot more detail into this one, and wrote in a style that was more comfortable for me. Hope you like it!
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