"Guys, listen up," Sasaki said, squatting in front of the players on the bench. "I overheard their strategy."
"You what?!"
"Shush," Sasaki shot a look at Riko, "This is important. Okay, so basically their game plan is to get us as hurt as possible in the first half before switching to stealing balls in the second half. If we are driven by anger and resort to simple plays, it makes it that much easier for them because they have two players on their team who are geniuses as in the IQ kind: Hanamiya and the one that's taking a nap over there," Sasaki gestured with his head towards the Kirisaki Daiichi bench.
"That's insane!" Izuki gaped, and Sasaki shrugged.
"It's pretty efficient for them. If we break down because of the rough play, so much the better for them not having to work as hard in the second half. If we get mad, they use it to their advantage to narrow our options and stealing as many balls as possible. And they can always keep roughhousing even during the second half just to keep things going the way they want. It's quite thought out and impressive if you think about it."
"The only thing impressive about that," Riko scowled, "Is how twisted it is."
"Yeah, it is pretty bad, isn't it," Sasaki agreed.
"Kagami, Sasaki," Kiyoshi spoke up suddenly, gaining their attention. "Attack from the outside when we're on offense. You don't need to get rebounds on defense, either."
Sasaki's eyes widened as he realized what Kiyoshi was trying to do. A sacrificial lamb, huh? This new development also managed to get the attention of the other two starters.
"I'll play the inside myself. You four cover the outside," Kiyoshi instructed.
"One in, four out?" Sasaki reiterated, turning his back so that he didn't have to see the one that suggested it.
"What are you saying, Kiyoshi?" Hyuuga burst as Sasaki knew he would. "The rough play's the most brutal on the inside! If you do that, they'll focus all their attacks on you!"
"It's better than seeing my friends hurt," Kiyoshi agonized, not looking him in the eye, instead opting to gaze at the floor.
"Hey, you leg is already injured. You can't do that!" Riko forbid, but the center wasn't having it. "If anything, we should sub-"
"No, I'm doing it. Sorry, Riko."
"But-"
"This is what I came back for," Kiyoshi held her gaze, "If you switch me out now, I'll hate you for the rest of my life," He swore, and the burning in his eyes showed that he meant it. Sasaki ground his teeth together, knowing that it Kiyoshi did that, it'd make it that much easier to manipulate the other team and injure them, but in the mean time, Kiyoshi would also be getting hurt.
The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the time out. "Now.." Kiyoshi stood up, "Let's have some fun."
It was anything but fun as Sasaki witnessed Hyuuga miss another shot, causing Kiyoshi to get hit a few times before they went up for the rebound. He managed to snag it and slam it into the basket, but he was getting pretty hurt while doing so.
"Kiyoshi!"
"I'm fine," He assured Hyuuga with a smile. "This is nothing. Leave the area under the net to me."
Soon enough the score was twenty eight Seirin to twenty one Kirisaki Daiichi, with four minutes left on the clock for the first quarter. So far, Kiyoshi was handling offense and defense well by himself, even while he was brutalized. It didn't take long for him to turn black and blue from all the rough play, panting.
"Damn it. Can we really keep doing this?" Kagami demanded from beside Sasaki, but Sasaki's attention was elsewhere. As Hyuuga was coming back towards them, one of the Kirisaki Daiichi people were heading across the court towards Hanamiya.
Let's do some damage, Sasaki thought as his eyes glinted dangerously. "Uh, Sasaki?" Kagami called, then suddenly whipped to where that same player had just faceplanted onto the back of Hyuuga's shoe. He'd most likely have a broken nose, if not brain damage from the impact.
(For those of you who don't understand, here's how I'd picture it)
"Referee time!"
"Uh oh, looks like one of your players got trashed," Sasaki stood behind Hanamiya as the captain tensed. "Too bad. What was it you said? Who'd be getting turned into trash?" He snapped his fingers. "Clumsy people who trip on air have no place in competitive basketball."
"Is that so?" Hanamiya chuckled, finding the whole situation amusing. "How interesting. I completely agree. Matsumoto wasn't suited for this sport, it seems. I wonder who else you'll root out," They turned to face each other, their gazes blazing. "Sasaki Hayate."
Play started up again, and Hyuuga missed another shot. "Hyuuga-san, you're not yourself right now! Calm down!" Sasaki yelled, "I get you're mad, but you haven't made a single shot yet! You're not helping at all by acting reckless!"
"What'd you say?!"
"MAN UP AND GET US SOME POINTS!" Everyone near Sasaki flinched as he roared that, and even those on the stands could completely hear and understand what he'd just said with how loud he'd said it. "Otherwise, you're practically useless. What good's a shooting guard who can't shoot a single basket while being wide open?"
"That was really mean, Hayate-kun," Kuroko stepped up, but Sasaki wasn't going to listen to him.
"He needs the sense knocked into him because he's acting stupid and brittle. Honestly it's ticking me off," The azurette snarled, the look on his face causing the phantom to back off with his eyes wide.
That's not Hayate, Kuroko watched as Sasaki went to get on his mark. There's no way that's him. It just can't be..
A second later, Kagami got a charging foul, and Sasaki facepalmed. Everyone on this court is getting on my nerves, he fumed. No one's doing what they should be doing except Kiyoshi, and he's a sacrificial lamb! What the hell is this, can't people control their emotions long enough to win some stupid game?! Or do they want their friends' efforts to be in vain-
"Hey," A soft voice came up behind him, causing Sasaki to flinch and turn towards him. Kiyoshi was smiling as he offered him a high five. "You're doing great. Don't worry, we'll be okay. Just keep going like you have been, and the others will follow suit. We're a team after all," He reassured him. It was enough so that Sasaki could calm his rage, letting out a breath and returning the high five.
"Gotcha. You just leave the outside to us, we'll be getting some points soon that aren't from your blood sweat and tears," He teased, making the center laugh before wincing. Both their expressions darkened. "Don't worry, we'll win this. I'll make sure of it."
(I'm at the beach today so if I update again today, it'll be a bit later. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!!)