On the court, Seirin High's Kuroko was sealed off, Kagami was tightly guarded, and already facing three fouls. Seirin had been pushed into a corner, with no easy way out.
In this tense rhythm, the first quarter ended—Seiho High led 22–14.
As Haizaki Shogo and the others sat in silence, a voice rang out from behind them.
"Hey, didn't expect you all to come watch too, Momoi, Aomine, Haizaki."
The four turned in unison and saw Kise Ryouta in a sharp little suit, accompanied by Kaijo's captain, Yukio Kasamatsu.
"Didn't expect you to come all the way here to watch the game, Ryouta!"
Aomine spoke casually, as if Kise's appearance was entirely expected.
"Little Kuroko's game, of course I wanted to watch. What about you, Aomine? Came specially to watch?"
"Tch, not interested. Momoi dragged me here."
From Kise's earlier way of addressing Shogo, it was clear the two weren't on great terms, so Shogo simply ignored him.
Shimizu Rena, in step with Shogo, fell silent as well.
"Kise, when did you get here? A quarter's already finished."
"Got here earlier. After watching the first quarter, I realized you were here, so I came to say hi."
"I see! Let's watch together then!"
Ryouta and Kasamatsu sat behind Shogo, Aomine, Rena, and Momoi, forming a little group to watch the game.
Soon, three minutes passed—the second quarter began.
Seirin's situation, however, didn't improve. Kagami's fouls increased to four, putting him in danger and forcing him to play cautiously.
"Shogo-kun, Seirin's #10 is like a tiger without fangs or claws now. Scary to look at, but honestly, more like a kitten," Rena commented.
The others in the group were stunned, then couldn't help but laugh at the vivid analogy.
Seirin barely survived the second quarter.
In the stands, the six watched silently, without a word.
Finally, Kaijo's captain, Kasamatsu, broke the silence.
"If Seirin still can't produce an effective attack in the third quarter, by the end of it, they might have no chance to recover."
"Relax. Kuroko's not someone who just lets himself be dominated. He'll fight back," Ryouta said, smoothly easing the tension.
His words kept the conversation going and spared Kasamatsu the embarrassment of being ignored.
"With Tetsuya's personality, he won't just give up," Aomine added, fully understanding Kuroko's character from their past.
Three minutes passed. Shogo and Aomine were proved wrong.
Kagami and Kuroko weren't even on the court—they were sitting on the bench.
"Hey! Seirin, what's going on? Giving up already?"
"So strange… not letting your ace on the floor. What are they thinking?"
Aomine and Ryouta sounded flustered, as if trying to explain away the weird situation.
"Whatever Seirin's plan is, the third quarter has started. We'll see soon enough."
And sure enough, Seirin was still under Seiho's pressure in the third quarter. The score gap continued to widen.
The six sat silently, the situation not at all what they had expected.
Time for me to show off a bit, Shogo thought, a sly smile forming in his mind.
In a low, magnetic voice, full of confidence, he said:
"The key lies in the fourth quarter. Seirin will strike back."
"How so?"
Kasamatsu asked eagerly, hoping someone could read Seirin's plan.
"Didn't you notice? Seiho's rhythm has slowed, but Seirin's is getting better and better."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Seirin's players are getting used to Seiho's defensive tempo. And we can boldly guess: they didn't attack in the third quarter to save their decisive move for the fourth."
"And the key to deciding the game?"
"Either a powerful attack, or completely seeing through Seiho's defense. Simple as that."
"But Aomine already said that before," Momoi exclaimed, echoing the thoughts of the group.
Shogo smiled, enjoying the moment:
"Watch the game. Most likely, it'll play out just as I said—you'll see soon."
The fourth quarter began.
"Swish!"
Hyuga Junpei read Seiho's defensive movements, faked a move, and released a three-pointer—nothing but net. Seirin signaled the start of their counterattack.
From the stands, all eyes turned to Shogo in disbelief.
What could he do? Shrugging innocently, he said:
"I just guessed. Do you believe me?"
The others all thought silently: Yeah, sure, big head ghost.
Shogo felt the need to justify himself.
"We in the stands can see most of it, figure out a bit of the pattern, maybe seventy to eighty percent of the play. The players on the court must understand it even better. Seeing through the defense isn't that unusual, right?"
"Shogo-kun, you're amazing!"
"Shogo-kun, you're amazing!"
Rena and Momoi cheered. The three boys just looked on, silently thinking: Go ahead and keep boasting.
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