Luin was still grumbling to himself as they got back into position on the court. The teasing from Kagami and Kuroko had left him mildly irritated, but mostly just exasperated. He knew they were just messing with him, but now Kaijō's team was giving him looks.
Even Kise was grinning at him from across the court. "Ne, ne, Luin-kun~! I didn't know you had such interesting tastes!"
Luin shot him a deadpan glare. "I don't."
Kasamatsu, ever the serious one, furrowed his brows and turned to Kagami and Kuroko. "Oi, is this true? Does he actually—?"
Kuroko, still as expressionless as ever, calmly clarified, "No. It was a joke."
Kagami smirked, rubbing his chin. "I mean, technically we don't know for sure, but nah, Luin's into girls. We just like messing with him."
Luin groaned, rubbing his temples. "And why do you enjoy torturing me like this?"
Kagami shrugged. "Because your reactions are funny?"
Kuroko nodded slightly. "You do have very dramatic reactions, Luin-kun."
Luin muttered under his breath, "I hate you both so much."
Kasamatsu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Damn idiots, focus on the game."
Kise, still grinning, elbowed Luin playfully. "Aw, don't be mad, Luin-kun~! I think it's cute how much they love teasing you!"
Luin rolled his eyes. "You wanna see how cute it is when I dunk on you?"
Kise's grin widened. "Ooo~ scary~!"
"Match resumes!"
The whistle blew, and immediately, the tension returned to the court.
Luin, pushing aside his frustration, focused on the game. Kaijō's offense was strong, especially with Kise copying different styles on the fly. But Seirin wasn't backing down. Kagami was already moving into position to challenge Kise, while Kuroko prepared for another Phantom Pass.
Luin, finally back in the game both physically and mentally, smirked as he slipped into a perfect assist position.
Teasing aside… beating Kaijō was the real fun here.
The court was electric with energy. Kise had the ball, and as expected, he was showing off his copy abilities. He dribbled with insane precision, his movements mimicking Aomine's unpredictability, then suddenly switching to Midorima's perfect shooting form.
Kagami narrowed his eyes. "Tch. Damn copycat."
Luin, right beside him, smirked. "That copycat's about to regret it."
Kise went for a fadeaway jumper—Midorima's form. Perfect posture, high arc, impossible to block.
Or at least, it should have been.
Just as Kise released the ball, Luin and Kagami moved at the exact same time, their combined jumping power making it seem as if they had predicted his shot from the start. Luin's hand barely grazed the ball, redirecting its path, while Kagami was already landing, sprinting forward for the fast break.
"Nice one!" Kagami shouted as he caught Kuroko's swift pass.
Luin barely had time to land before he was already running again, keeping pace with Kagami as they sprinted towards the Kaijō basket. Kasamatsu rushed in for the defense, but Kagami feinted left and passed to Luin without hesitation.
Luin caught the ball, twisted mid-air, and slammed it into the hoop with a powerful dunk.
BAM!
The gym echoed with the impact.
Kagami grinned, giving Luin a solid pat on the back. "Not bad."
Luin scoffed. "Not bad? That was—"
Before he could finish, Kise dramatically flopped onto the floor. "Ugh, Luin-kun! How could you do that to me?! My poor heart can't take this betrayal!"
Luin gave him a blank stare. "…You do realize this is a competition, right?"
Kise pouted. "Yeah, but still! So cruel! First, you let those two tease you about liking aggressive men, and now this?!"
Kuroko, walking past them, added, "He did dunk on you aggressively."
Kagami burst into laughter. "Yeah, Luin, maybe you do have a thing for being aggressive."
Luin groaned. "I swear to god—"
Kasamatsu smacked Kise on the head. "Stop screwing around! The game's still on!"
Kise whined but got back up, rubbing his head dramatically. "Fine, fine. But Luin-kun, you still owe me an apology—"
"Not happening."
The match continued, growing even more intense.
Final Moments
With only a few minutes left, the score was neck and neck. Kaijō wasn't backing down, and Seirin was fighting with everything they had.
Luin felt that familiar adrenaline rush, his grin widening. Now this… this is fun.
Kagami cracked his knuckles. "Time to end this."
Kuroko simply nodded. "Let's do it."
—