The Fiore Cup [Job/Blood Plus]

As the team entered the arena, roaring crowds blared from every direction around them. Kyoden actually had to duck a fairly significant amount in order to avoid hitting his head against the doorway on his way in. The purple clad players of Yosen High towered over their competitors, Seirin High. The team's captain and small forward were particularly tall. Not quite to the same level as Kyoden, but they definitely had a height advantage over everyone on Seirin. There were two other players who were much shorter, however. The point guard, Kensuke Fukui, and the shooting guard, Himuro Tatsuya.

As the whole team practiced before the match on the half-court, Kensuke didn't really stand out as a particularly interesting player in comparison to the others. He was decent enough at passing, but there wasn't anything special about him that Kyoden could see. Himuro was similar in the sense that he did not do anything hugely different from anyone else, but Kyoden immediately noticed how immaculate his shooting form was when he went for a three pointer. It was so flawless that the slayer didn't even notice when he first entered into his form. Kyoden had a feeling that this guy had a couple of tricks up his sleeve that he was reluctant to reveal yet. Himuro went for another practice shot and Kyoden watched as the ball sailed directly through the net, not even drawing anywhere near the rim.

"Next time, i'll do that with one arm."

Himuro uttered the words with a large degree of arrogance and cockiness in his voice. It was obvious that the shooting guard put too much faith into his abilities. Kyoden decided to show off some skill of his own as he held his hands out in front of him, pointed at Kensuke. The point guard passed him the ball in one swift motion and Kyoden immediately dribbled up to the goal and dunked the ball with such force that he feels the rim itself loosen ever so slightly and the goal shake a bit. The team stares wide-eyed at him for a moment before the referee blows the whistle indicating the start of the game.

The majority of the team goes to sit down on the bench while Kyoden and the other starters take their positions on the court. The slayer stands at the half court line with his knees slightly bent, waiting for the tip off. The ref tosses the ball up and Kyoden reaches it to toss back to his team without even having to jump. The crowds cheer as Himuro catches the ball firmly. Everything is set in motion as the game clock begins to tick down.

WC: 448

With the ball in motion, the game went along at a breakneck speed. Seirin was trying their hardest to move the ball quick enough to break through Yosen's formations, but they were failing miserably. The team was playing defensively for the most part, and doing a damn good job at it. Seirin had yet to score even a single basket. They weren't called the Shield of Aegis for nothing. Despite the team's singular focus on defense, Kyoden and Himuro's offensive plays were easily breaking through Seirin's lackluster defenses. The gap between the two team's scores was getting wider and wider as the first quarter dragged on.

At the start of the next play, the blonde haired point guard stood at half court while dribbling the ball steadily behind him. His eyes darted around, scanning the court to find the perfect opportunity to make a play. Kyoden stood right underneath the basket with Seirin's brown haired center pushing against him, trying to stop him from moving freely. The man was big, but not nearly big enough to easily stop the slayer. With the flick of the wrist, the leather ball quickly left Kensuke's hands and flew through the air directly towards the basket. Initially, it would appear to most as an awful attempt at a three pointer, but Kyoden recognized it as what it truly was. The horseman leaped into the air with Seirin's center not far behind and caught the ball with only one of his extremely large hands. When he felt the rough leather against the skin of his hand, he instantly turned around to jam the ball into the basket, but the brown haired center had his hand raised, ready to do everything in his power to stop Kyoden. It was not enough, unfortunately for him. The opposing player managed to get a grip of the ball with one hand as he tried to push against Kyoden with all of his strength, but the slayer overpowered him with relative ease and slammed the ball through the net with a satisfying crash, causing the man to fall back to the ground on his behind.

"Tsk"

For a team that made it all the way to the tournament finals, Kyoden was very disappointed in how they stacked up against him and his team. He glared at the man on the ground for a brief moment with steady and focused eyes before turning around to go set up for defense. That was when he heard a voice behind him.

"Fast break!"

Kyoden's eyes widened as the ball was throws across the court directly into the hands of a player with dark red hair. The slayer and the rest of Yosen immediately hustled even faster to get back to their side of the court and stop the man. The power forward made it to the free throw line before launching himself through the air towards the net.

"A lane up?"

Asked the team's captain as he watched the player sail to the hoop in awe. The red haired player was about to slam the ball in, when seemingly out of nowhere, a massive shadow appeared behind him, blocking out the stadium lights overhead. The figure's hand whipped out from the side and knocked the ball out of the man's grip before the dunk could be completed successfully. Everyone on both teams was in awe of how fast Kyoden was able to cover the length of the entire court the reach him that quickly. The slayer stood there expressionless and simply looked up to the scoreboard overhead.


He couldn't say that he really enjoyed playing basketball, but he did enjoy winning for sure. It was shortly after this that the horseman noticed another player subbing onto the court. He was the shortest one there, but there was something rather intimidating about him. Everyone managed to set up for the next drive, with Seirin on offense. Their point guard immediately passed the ball into the hands of the new player who was quickly surrounded by the two forwards of the team. It was clear that they sensed something off about the player as well. But before anyone had any time to react, the new player had managed to somehow break through the double team and start driving down the court. "Wha-", muttered Kensuke as everyone turned around to attempt to stop the man. Himuro was the closest one, so he managed to get inbetween the ball-carrier and the goal. Kyoden saw the red haired player muttering something under his breath before performing a lightning fast crossover which caused Himuro to fall over in humiliation. Fortunately enough for Yosen, despite this guy's amazing dribbling skills, he didn't appear to be the best at shooting as he missed a free shot after quite literally getting rid of the defender on him. Regardless though, this player could give Yosen some trouble later on. Everyone set up for offense as there was a new fire in all of the player's eyes.

WC: 838