Chapter 131: Chapter 131 : Copying Aomine
"What was that?!" Kagami exclaimed in surprise. Not only him, everyone, even Kuroko had dumbfounded expressions on his face. "One moment Aomine had the ball, and suddenly it was out of his possession?! Is this another kind of superpower bullshit that only Generation of Miracles had?"
"I don't know," Kuroko admitted, still with astonishment in his face. "I know it was Kise-kun's doing, but I don't know what is it."
"It is our mistake, I guess." Riko suddenly chimed in. "We were too focused on Aomine and somehow accepting the fact Kise couldn't match him, not expecting Kise's sudden unexpected play. We underestimated him."
Several of them nodded in agreement, a bit embarrassed to admit that Riko is right. They didn't expect for Kise to stop Aomine, especially in a fastbreak attack when the tanned skin boy had been running first.
"But how could Kise suddenly do that?" Kagami asked once again. "I know that we underestimate him, but look at everyone else. They seem surprised just like us, not expecting Kise to be able to do that too. That means it hasn't happened until now, right?"
Even though they hate to admit it, all of the Seirin members there know Kagami is right. Based on the audience's reaction, this was probably the first time Kise stopped Aomine today. That begs the question, how could he do that?
"I had a rough guess." Kuroko suddenly spoke, gaining everyone's attention. "And if my guess is right, this would lead us into an incredible matchup between those two."
Riko and the others looked at each other confusedly, trying to guess what Kuroko meant. But seeing the blue-haired boy didn't intend to explain, they all sighed, decided to watch the game more carefully.
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"So, you are finally here, huh?"
"Yeah, sorry to make you wait, Senpai." Kise smiles at his captain. "Don't worry, I will take care of him from now on."
"Good." Kasamatsu nodded in approval. "It has been for too long we let him roamed freely at our territory. Now, it is time for us to show him his place."
"Yeah. Oh, and please, let the left side empty. I will trap him there in the next time."
Even though Kasamatsu didn't have any idea of what is Kise's plan, he nodded slightly, deciding to trust his blonde junior, especially at how confident he was.
"Just make sure you did it right, okay?"
"Sure."
The game is resumed again, still with the ball in Tōō's possession. It went straight to Aomine once again, as he initiated their usual isolation game against Kise. This was a normal scene in this game, as it has already happened so many times before.
However, this time, Aomine didn't dare to do it recklessly. After the last play, he knows there is something different with Kise. So, he dribbled carefully, trying to test the water. After a few seconds passed with nothing happened, the tanned skin power forward finally lunged forward, trying to force his way toward Kaijo's area.
What Aomine was not expecting was how Kise seemed to be able to follow his movement effortlessly. It was not like before, when Kise could only guess where would he go or what he would do. Right now, it is like Kise could see everything he wanted to do with naked eyes. Even his triple layered fake movement couldn't sway his way, as the blonde-haired boy keeps pestering his former teammate tightly.
"You finally make this game interesting, Kise!" Aomine grinned widely, excited about this prospect. "Let's see if you could stop this!"
At the same time, Kise also grinned, as he was finally able to grasp Aomine's chaotic rhythm. This was the first time he managed to do that, which opened up his way to copy all of Aomine's movement.
Yeah, just like the other abilities he had ever copied, there would always be some sort of difficulty level that followed. For example, Furihata and Midorima's super long shoot three belongs to the A-level difficulty. That was because while it was hard as hell, once he hit the shoot well, his insane hand-eye coordination would do the rest, allowing his body to remember the feeling and use it in the future. The only reason why he never tried doing that was due to his respect for Midorima for the time the shooting guard mentored him patiently in middle school.
As for Aomine's skill, it belongs to the highest difficulty, S level. It was because not only the dribble series was far too complex, but the erratic rhythm was also far too difficult to follow. And the second reason was why Kise wasn't able to copy Aomine in the past. With his unpredictable movement, it is as if Aomine had two brains to think, which could switch whenever it takes. That's why copying his rhythm was almost impossible.
At least, until now.
'He would turn around and act as if he would pull up a fadeaway, but it would be a fake. His second, no, it is a fake again. The third? No, he would force to drive until the baseline and did that crazy high throw to get in from behind the board. Yeah, there it is!'
This is the first time Kise could predict all of Aomine's movements like that, and when Aomine did as he thought, Kise jumped high at the last moment, tipping the ball to change the route slightly.
*Clank!*
"Ooooh!"
"He finally did it!"
"This is Kaijo's generation of miracles, Ryota Kise!"
"Come on!"
Cheers exploded from a small section of the audience seat that was filled by Kaijo's supporter. After difficult first quarter when they saw Kise getting bullied by Aomine, they finally could cheer the blonde excitedly, as this was the first time he was able to stop Aomine.
But it didn't stop just like that.
After the ball hits the board, it bounces a bit far, but still alive. And Kise's teammates didn't disappoint, as Kaijo's center, Kobori box-outing Tōō's center, Wakamatsu quickly, allowing Hayakawa, Kaijo's power forward to grab the rebound easily in the air.
"HORYAAA!"
"Senpai!" Kise who saw his enthusiastic senpai grab the rebound asked for the ball immediately. And in a second, it went straight to his hand, as he tried to initiate a quick fast break.
However, it was not without any difficulty. Aomine who fell to the ground a second earlier shows off his amazing recovery speed as he is already on guard, sticking on Kise closely. They danced around with a speed that no ordinary eyes could follow as if they were alone on the court. As for the other players, they could only have their omuth gaped wide, with Tōō players as the ones who were shocked the most.
"Holly hell! This is like watching two Aomine! Is that what Aomine meant by the only one who could beat him is himself?!"
After fooling around for a while, Kise finally entered Tōō's area, still with Aomine following him. But then, when Kise saw two of Tōō players on the low post area, he suddenly had an idea. With a quick double crossover, he changed his rhythm erratically, driving directly to the crowded area.
Those two Tōō players, Sakurai and Imayoshi were startled when they saw both Kise and Aomine coming in their direction. At first, Imayoshi wanted to use this opportunity to surround Kise. But a subtle glare from Aomine told him that he didn't belong there. He signalled Sakurai to move quickly giving Aomine space to stop Kise.
But before they could do that, Kise suddenly took a step back into the corner area, and Aomine who didn't expect Kise would do that against him bulged his eyes out.
'Damn! Is that mine?!'
And Kise not only copying his movement and rhythm, but even his release speed. That's why even though Aomine had a quick reflex, he still couldn't stop the shoot, as it released quickly from the blonde's hand.
*Splash!*
Kise's first pointer went straight to the hoop! And he did it in such an Aomine's way that it left Aomine himself stunned!
"Let's fucking go!" Kise roared, followed by his teammates who high-fived him.
"Nice one, Kise!"
"Keep it up!"
"As expected." Kuroko suddenly spoke again. "Kise-kun finally managed to copy Aomine-kun's movement." The other Seirin members widened his eyes at his words, not expecting this kind of development.
As for Aomine, his grin couldn't be any wider, as he also finally realized why Kise is different.
"So, he finally managed to copy me, huh? Interesting…"
A few seconds later, the game is restarted once again, with the ball is back to Aomine. He dribbled it slowly, trying to set up his tempo. And just as usual, the moment he passed the half-court line, Kise approached him immediately, not giving him any space to be comfortable.
"So, you finally able to copy me, huh?" Aomine spoke casually. "Well, this would be interesting. Let's see if the imitation could stop the original version."
Fully determined, Aomine charged forward. He went straight to the left, with Kise following him tightly. It was quite open there, as Kise had already requested to leave that space for him. Seeing Kise is undeterred, Aomine did a quick spin which was followed by a behind-the-back dribble. However, Kise was still able to keep it up, not giving Aomine a chance to get away.
This didn't dissuade Aomine from continuing though, as he did a quick crossover, followed by the second one. However, Kise who was able to grasp his rhythm was not shaken off by fake after fake that Aomine kept throwing.
It was unbelievable for all those watching.
"Damn!" Kagami clenched his fist frustratingly on the audience seat. After the defeat against Yosen and seeing the incredible performance by Kise and Aomine from afar, he finally realized how big the gap is between him and top players like those in Generation of Miracles. "I need to practice more!"
However, despite the excellent defense from Kise, Aomine still kept pressing forward. This led those two to steer to the corner of the court without realizing it.
'Yeah!' Kasamatsu and Moriyama who watched carefully from the perimeter area clenched his fist in excitement, ready to celebrate. 'There is no way he would be able to-"
Moving just as fast as ever, Aomine suddenly did a quick spin to face the basket, at which point he threw the ball from his spot. It was the same shoot that Kise managed to stop earlier. However, this time, even though Kise jumped with all his might, the blonde boy knew he wasn't going to make it.
*Splash!*
The ball slipped from his hand, as it flew beautifully, creating a high arc before it went directly through the hoop without anything interfering.
"Yosshaa!"
"Nice shoot, Aomine!"
"Keep it up!"
Aomine smirked as he was bathed in praise. Doing the exact same play that was stopped before, he wanted to make a point to Kise that even though the blonde was able to copy him, it was still an imitation. The original would always be better.
However, it didn't discourage Kise even for a bit. He grinned excitedly, as this was what he expecting for his game against Aomine.
'Yeah, it would be boring if it is too easy.'
The game is restarted, and the cheers from the audience are getting louder as the ball goes to Kise once again. Now that Aomine upped his game, everyone was excited to see what would Kise do.
And Kise didn't disappoint.
Right from the start, he drove forcefully, trying to make it a strength contest. He didn't even wait for his teammates to get ready, just charging blindly into Tōō's area. But it was just his disguise, as right before he passed the three-point line, he did a quick crossover in the same manner as Aomine did just in the last play.
Seeing Aomine is about to poke the ball from his hand, Kise did a spin move and tried to drive once again. But seeing as this was Aomine's trick, there is no way it could fool Aomine that easy. The tanned skin boy sticks himself into Kise for a while, keeps pushing the blonde boy outside of Tōō's area.
He even managed to poke the ball out of Kise's position. Fortunately, Kise managed to recover it before the ball could pass the half-line court and make it a backcourt violation turnover for him. Now that there are only 7 seconds left before the sequence is over, he needs to do something, or it will end up as a shot clock violation and Tōō will gain the possession back without him doing anything.
The problem is how to get through Aomine's defense. Even though Kise was able to copy him, he is facing a motivated Aomine right now, and if there is anything that he learned from his time in Teiko, a motivated generation of miracles is the worst opponent possible to play against.
"So, what would you do?" Aomine asked provocatively. "I'll let you see, that your cheap imitation trick wouldn't be enough here."
When the clock showed 3 seconds left, an inspiration suddenly struck inside Kise's head. Still on the spot near the half-court line, he suddenly smirked, thinking about the Seirin friend he just made for three months.
"Sorry, Furihatacchi. I will borrow your move."
On the verge of death, Kise suddenly changed his stance, from dribbling to suddenly pulling up a shoot. Aomine widened his eyes, knowing what Kise was about to do. However, Furihata's shooting release time is among the fastest ones they ever known, maybe on par with Midorima. And that is what Kise is copying, as before Aomine could disturb him, the ball has already flown from his hand.
And as the buzzer rang loudly, ending Kaijo's sequence, the ball finally fell down, hitting straight through the hoop without hitting the rim.
*Splash!*
A clean shoot!
All of the Seirin members in the audience seat gasped at the shoot they were familiar with.
"Is that?"
"Yeah." Kuroko nodded solemnly at the silent question. "That is Furihata-kun's super long three-point shoot. And it was done perfectly."
As the ball finally landed on the floor, Kise looked up into Aomine's eyes boringly before he finally spoke, "Sorry, Aominecchi. What did you just say? My cheap imitation wouldn't be enough? Are you sure?"
And then he turned around without waiting for the answer, leaving fuming Aomine behind.
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Author note :
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