Ｌｉｇｈｔ

eighty one - bloody nose

The tip off began as the referee threw the ball in the air, Kiyoshi and Murasakibara jumping for it with their hands outstretched. The purple giant managed to get to the ball first, slapping it towards Yosen’s point guard. Before he could make a move, though, a sharp whistle went through the air.

“Oh, whoops,” Murasakibara mumbled.

“Jumper violation, white number nine!” The referee called.

“What?” Hyuuga sweat dropped.

“Atsushi!” The point guard yelled, angry veins on his face bulging.

“Oopsies.”

“You touched the ball too early,” Another member of Yosen reprimanded.

“Be careful next time,” The one who’d saved Sasaki from him the day before commented. Immediately, Sasaki’s nose spurted with blood.

“Oh crap,” He held his hand over his nose, his gaze not leaving the person as Kagami and the others gaped at him.

“D-dude! What the hell man?!” The redhead demanded, slightly grossed out at the sight but more worried.

“I’m sorry, but that was hot,” The azurette commented. As he was subbed out to get him checked out and to stop the bleeding, Murasakibara’s face lit up in a smirk.

Luckily, he thought Sasaki had been talking about him, so Himuro was safe.

With tissues in his nose, the azurette was an unusual ordainment decorating the bench. Izuki had gone in for him as point, and so far, it wasn’t looking good. Murasakibara had already shut out a shot from Hyuuga.

Izuki managed to get the blocked ball before the other point guard, so they were still in it. Izuki passed to Kuroko, who then shot it towards Kagami. As he went up for a shot, Murasakibara was suddenly in front of him and swatted the ball out of the air with ease.

That was when everyone realized that he could cover the entire area inside the three-point line. Damn, just like me in the zone, Sasaki almost whistled. Not only that, but it was discovered that the lazy giant never left defense, making it impossible to gun for a counter attack.

Rebounds were out of the question as well. “Sasaki-kun, has the blood stopped flowing?” Riko asked, and the azurette gave her a thumbs up.

“Yep, I’m ready to go whenever.”

“Then get ready,” She looked away from him, facing the court. “You’re switching out with Hyuuga-kun.”

“I’m what—"

“Hyuuga doesn’t have a high percentage of half court shots,” She began explaining her thoughts. “But you’ve made almost all your half court shots in games—can’t say the same for practice though.”

“Hahaha, sorry bout that,” He rubbed his neck sheepishly.

“We’re going to be counting on you to get us some points, Sasaki-kun,” The two stood by the table as the ball died. “Now go get em!”

“You got it, chief!” He smirked, raising his hand for a high five. “Hyuuga-senpai!”

“Hah?” He whipped towards him, scowling deeply before sighing and walking past him. “You better be worth it, ya snot nosed brat.”

“More like bloody nosed brat!” Sasaki grinned cheekily, swiftly avoiding the jab the captain attempted on him, giggling as he ran over to Izuki. “Hey, I’m your shooter. Give it to me any time!”

“You got it,” Izuki nodded, wiping sweat off of his forehead with his jersey.

“Feeling better?” Kagami showed up, and the azurette nodded with a fist bump.