"Shin-chan, if you could enter the Zone, would we have a chance to turn this around?"
Midorima abruptly lifted his head and met Takao's gaze. "If it were me in the Zone… just how strong would I be?" Midorima removed the glasses from the bridge of his nose and wiped them, then looked at Takao seriously. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never entered the Zone. But without a doubt, for me, it would be an entirely new realm."
Takao picked up a bottle of water and handed it to him, grinning. "If that's the case, then isn't our next tactic pretty obvious? Those monsters get into the Zone so easily, one after another; even that baby-faced guy from Kaijo can do it. There's no reason you can't!"
Takao turned his head toward Kaijo's half of the court, his brows tightening. "Just go all out. Whether you need screens or the ball, whatever it is, next, we'll all be working for you alone."
The timeout ended with the score at 47 to 41, Kaijo in the lead.
"Your coach really doesn't hold back, huh? Two timeouts in such a short span," Kota said, adjusting the tightness of his wristband as he teased Takao.
Takao shrugged and sighed. "Can't be helped. You guys are playing way too fiercely. If we don't struggle a bit, we'll be clocking out by the third quarter."
Kota quietly observed Takao for a moment. As for the dejected talk coming out of his mouth, Kota didn't believe a single word of it. After the timeout, Shutoku still had possession. Takao barely completed the inbound before handing the ball straight to Midorima.
...
Seeing this, Kota didn't hesitate. He immediately turned and chased after Midorima, switching defenses with Yuki. However, just as he reached Midorima's front, a frivolous voice sounded from his right.
"Hey, not even a glance my way? That really hurts, you know."
As the voice rang out, Takao planted himself firmly at Kota's side, setting a solid screen head-on. At the same time, Midorima's eyes sharpened as he immediately used the screen, raising the ball into a shooting motion.
"Yuki!" Kota barked sharply. Yuki, who had already switched onto Midorima earlier, immediately closed in on him again. Within Kaijo, Yuki's defensive ability was second only to Kota's. To be honest, this was Yuki's first time on the court directly facing a Miracle-level player.
Yuki locked his eyes onto Midorima's footwork, calculating every inch of Midorima's offensive space. If he were facing an ordinary shooting guard, this would've been the perfect setup for a highlight defensive stop. But unfortunately, this was Midorima.
Midorima judged the strength of Yuki's defense. "This guy… he's sealed off every step forward for me?" Realizing that a standard attack would likely be ineffective, Midorima pushed the ball with one hand and changed direction, driving toward the half-court line instead!
Yuki froze. This was the first time he had ever seen someone drive away from the basket. In the brief moment Yuki lost focus, Midorima adjusted his takeoff balance. He drew in a deep breath and leapt, snapping his elbow and wrist to release the ball. The basketball transformed into an orange streak of light, flying toward Kaijo's basket in an absurdly high arc.
Swish.
"W-What the hell was that?!" Yuki's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Watching from the sidelines and guarding him face-to-face were two completely different experiences.
Kota smiled helplessly and walked over, patting Yuki on the head. "Kid, you've still got a lot to learn." He turned to look at Takao and clicked his tongue. "Seriously, calling for a screen? What kind of hero does that? If you've got the guts, come at me one-on-one like a real man."
...
Shaking his head, Kota took the inbound pass. He shouted toward Takumi from far away, "Takumi! Get over here and set a screen for me!"
With their shared Zone mode, the two were perfectly in sync. Takumi set the screen at Kota's favorite driving angle, and Kota didn't disappoint, draining a three-pointer. The gap widened back to six.
In the final moments of the second quarter, Midorima tried to isolate against Kota once more. Without a screen, he couldn't tear through Kota's defense, and the two teams headed into halftime with an eight-point difference.
With Shutoku's Taisuke off the court, Kaijo's interior pressure was light. Kota subbed in Morikawa and Shimamura from the bench to adapt to the rhythm of facing a strong opponent. The pace of the third quarter remained steady, with Shutoku revolving around Midorima in a four-protect-one strategy.
The only incident came at the end of the third quarter. Midorima's movements suddenly became far more coordinated. Kota immediately noticed the change. Without the slightest hesitation, he made a snap decision to forcefully interrupt Midorima's attack. The referee's whistle blew, calling a defensive foul on Kota, but Kota felt no regret.
Give the opponent even the slightest chance to breathe, and who knows what trick those freaks will pull out, Kota thought.
...
Midorima didn't show any anger at the start of the fourth quarter. He took the ball to isolate against Kota again, trying to reclaim that smooth feeling from the end of the third. Unfortunately, Kota gave him no opportunity. Whenever Midorima's aura changed, Kota would immediately step in to break up the attack.
In just three minutes, Kota racked up three fouls and one flagrant foul. Including the foul from the third quarter, he now had four personal fouls and one flagrant. One more of either would result in him being sent off.
Although the Shutoku players, especially Takao, were doing everything they could to force Kota into picking up that final foul, a seasoned court rogue like Kota was never going to give them that chance. Right up until the final minute of the game, Kota's foul count remained unchanged.
Midorima, whose rhythm had been constantly disrupted, ultimately failed to enter the Zone. With thirty seconds left, the score difference was still six points. Shutoku's coach, Nakatani, had no choice but to sub out the starters.
...
Amid the roaring cheers, Kota and the others exchanged hugs with the Shutoku players, securing their second semifinal victory. When it was Kota's turn to embrace Midorima, Kota smiled and patted him on the back.
"Don't call me underhanded, okay? I really didn't want to face you in the Zone. If I were watching from the stands, I'd actually love to see it."
By the middle of the third quarter, Kota had seen through Midorima's intentions. It was just bad luck for Midorima; if his opponent had been someone like Aomine or Kagami, they would have let him enter the Zone to face him head-on. But Kota was never a hot-blooded protagonist. He preferred victories that were firmly in hand.
"It's fine, Kota. Fouls are part of the game too," Midorima said, looking at him seriously. "Good luck in the finals."
"Yeah. Thanks. I definitely will."