Extra Basket

Chapter 315 302: Vorpal vs Wildcats (14) Unpredictable The Sassy and the street prodigy

VORPAL 48 – WILDCATS 43

The Wildcats reset at the sideline, Kenji taking the ball with the same serene expression he always wore before dismantling a team's hope. Jun Seo bounced lightly on his toes, Armi spun the ball on one finger, Davis anchored himself like a moving wall, and Miho Park… and looking intense...

Miho didn't even look at the ball.

He looked straight at Louie, who was still buzzing with adrenaline.

But possession belonged to the Wildcats now.

And Coonie Smith Vorpal's most sarcastic, sassy troublemaker stepped forward with a grin so sharp it could cut wood.

"Oh look," Coonie said, hands on hips, "Wildcats ball. Guess we're about to see another one of your cute little illusion dances."

Armi raised an eyebrow.

"Cute?"

Jun Seo smirked.

"You'll regret that."

Kenji tapped the ball lightly, beginning their setup.

Coonie clapped.

"Oh no, I'm trembling. Someone hold me. Brandon, catch me actually no, you're too sweaty. Jeremy, catch me."

Jeremy facepalmed.

"Bro. Focus."

Brandon muttered, "Why am I always dragged into your drama?"

The whistle blew.

Kenji pushed the ball forward fast.

No dribble wasted.

No movement unnecessary.

The True Sync snapped into formation like a living machine.

Kenji to Armi.

Armi to Miho.

Miho to Jun Seo.

Jun Seo to Davis.

The ball zipped around like lightning, every pass perfectly timed, perfectly angled, perfectly unpredictable.

"Shit," Louie whispered. "They're not even playing basketball anymore. They're playing teleportation."

Coonie didn't flinch.

He stepped right into Miho's path.

"Oh hi, rhythm god," Coonie said cheerfully. "Can I get an autograph?"

Miho didn't blink.

He shifted, sliding past Coonie like water

Except Coonie followed him, perfectly mirroring his angle.

Evan shouted from the bench.

"COONIE, THAT'S NOT HOW DEFENSE WORKS!"

Coonie smirked back, not breaking stride.

"It is today."

Miho paused just a fraction reading the angle.

Davis screened

But Coonie ducked under it like he was limbo dancing.

Jeremy yelled, "BRO, HOW FLEXIBLE ARE YOU?!"

"Flexible enough to ruin their rhythm!" Coonie snapped back.

Kenji hesitated, the first hiccup in the Wildcats' True Sync.

Just a breath.

Just half a heartbeat.

But in a system built on flawless timing…

…it was a crack.

Coonie exploited it instantly.

He lunged, slapped the ball free from Kenji's hands, a clean poke from the blindside and spun away with a flourish.

He didn't just steal it.

He posed after stealing it.

Louie screamed from downcourt,

"COONIE, STOP POSING AND RUN!"

Coonie's grin widened.

"A king always poses!"

Jun Seo recovered instantly, sprinting back.

Brandon thundered down the middle.

Jeremy pushed the break.

Josh Turner shouted, "LEFT! LEFT! NO, YOUR OTHER LEFT!"

Coonie tossed the ball with a behind-the-back flick unnecessarily flashy

but perfectly placed.

Brandon caught it mid-stride, gathered, and powered up

BOOM.

A two-handed hammer that shook the entire gym.

48–43.

Vorpal's bench exploded.

Louie body slammed Evan in celebration.

Ayumi almost dropped her clipboard.

Ryan whistled.

Lucas yelled, "COONIE, YOU MADMAN!"

Coonie walked back on defense like nothing happened.

He blew the tips of his fingers dramatically.

"This court ain't big enough for my fabulousness."

Jun Seo glared daggers.

"You're dead next possession."

Coonie winked.

"Get in line, sweetheart."

Miho exhaled softly.

His team regrouped behind him.

And for the first time all game…

Miho's expression sharpened.

Not calm.

Not serene.

Focused.

"…They're adapting faster than projected," he murmured.

Kenji nodded.

"We tighten."

Armi cracked his knuckles.

"Make them pay."

Davis lowered into stance.

"Next possession is ours."

Jun Seo's eyes narrowed.

"I'm erasing that smug guy first."

But Miho's gaze drifted to Ethan on the bench watching, analyzing, weaving strategies in his mind like thread through a loom.

"That steal… wasn't luck," Miho whispered. "They're learning our flow."

He took a long breath.

"Then we push True Sync to Phase Two."

And the court tightened with tension like a storm gathering above hardwood.

Vorpal's five stepped into formation.

Jeremy at the point, jaw tight.

Josh on the wing, silent and coiled.

Coonie at the other wing, popping gum like he wasn't about to fight for his life.

Louie bouncing on his toes, street-prodigy grin sharpening.

Brandon anchoring the paint, hands wide, breath steady.

Across from them

The Wildcats shifted into position with the stillness of predators.

Kenji at the top.

Jun Seo to his right.

Armi to his left.

Davis on the block.

Miho… drifting between them like a phantom heartbeat controlling all five.

The score burned above the court.

VORPAL 48 – WILDCATS 43

6:00 left, 3rd quarter

And then the gym fell quiet.

Dead quiet.

Because Wildcats' fully awakened True Sync

finally moved.

Kenji bounced the ball once.

That was the only cue.

On the next beat, all four of his teammates shifted at the exact same time.

Not overlapping.

Not delayed.

Perfectly synchronized, like five shadows sharing one mind.

Jeremy exhaled sharply.

"…Okay, that's creepy."

Josh muttered, "Focus. Eyes on their hips."

"No," Brandon corrected, voice calm. "Eyes on their timing."

Coonie flicked his hair dramatically.

"Well their timing is fabulous, babe, I'll give them that."

Louie slapped Coonie's arm.

"HEY. Focus. They're literally trying to murder us with basketball."

Coonie shrugged.

"I'm focusing. I'm just multitasking. Unlike SOME people."

"Bro."

"Shh. Showtime."

Wildcats' True Sync

Kenji stepped left.

Jeremy mirrored him

And instantly regretted it.

Because Armi moved right at that exact millisecond.

A perfect counter angle.

Like the Wildcats knew Jeremy's reaction before he made it.

"Switch!" Brandon barked.

He stepped into Armi's path

only for Davis to seal him with a shoulder soft as velvet and heavy as a truck.

Louie dove back to cover Jun Seo

but Miho glided directly into his blind spot, like a whisper appearing where no footsteps should exist.

Louie's stomach tightened.

"…Oh hell no."

Miho didn't even look at him.

Just raised one hand.

Kenji's pass snapped to that hand like it was pulled by destiny.

Josh lunged.

Coonie lunged.

Jeremy lunged.

Miho didn't react to any of them.

He simply dropped the ball

and Jun Seo was suddenly behind Brandon.

The pass arrived in his hands like it had teleported timelines.

Jun Seo rose for the easy finish

"NOT TODAY!"

Brandon hammered upward, blocking from behind with a thunderous rejection that echoed through the gym.

The entire crowd jumped.

Even Miho's eyes widened a fraction.

But the ball bounced

and Armi caught it in stride.

He flicked his wrist.

A quick, brutal putback.

VORPAL 48 – WILDCATS 45

The gap shrank.

The momentum wavered.

And Wildcats' bench exploded in cheers.

Jeremy inhaled.

"Okay. They're synced. Like creepily synced. We can't guard all five when they're reading each other's micro-movements."

Josh adjusted his stance. "We need to break their flow."

"Or break their brain," Coonie added.

Brandon stared at him. "How would we do that?"

Coonie grinned.

"Oh honey… watch me."

Louie pointed at him, eyes wide.

"BRO DO NOT DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL—"

"I didn't say illegal," Coonie replied. "Just… psychologically catastrophic."

"I don't like the way you said that"

"Shh. Possession starting."

Vorpal ball.

Five minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Louie took the inbound, dribbling with swagger.

"Time to cook, baby. Time to—"

"Louie," Jeremy warned, "do not provoke Miho."

"Relax. I'm provoking Armi."

"Oh that's WAY better"

Louie spun the ball behind his back, slipped through Kenji's reach, and burst left with pure streetball rhythm.

His handle wasn't refined.

It wasn't textbook.

It wasn't predictable.

It was wild, reactive, instinctive

a rhythm no formal system could pre-read.

He snapped the ball behind his back

then in front

then between both legs in a blur of taps.

Jun Seo stepped in

Louie dropped the ball to the floor like he accidentally lost it.

Armi lunged for the steal and Louie scooped it with his other hand, sliding past him with a smirk.

"Streetball, baby! Adapt!"

The crowd roared.

Louie hit Brandon on the roll.

Brandon went up

but Davis met him mid-air with brutal contact.

The ball popped loose

straight into Coonie's hands.

Everyone froze.

Coonie blinked.

"…ew, it's sweaty."

Louie screamed, "SHOOT IT, YOU DIVA—"

Coonie sighed.

Flicked his wrist.

Didn't even set his feet.

Didn't even look at the rim.

Just tossed the ball up with one hand like he was disposing of trash.

The entire gym held its breath.

The ball spun.

Floated.

Dropped.

Nothing but net.

The crowd exploded.

Jeremy threw his arms up.

"COONIE WHAT THE"

Coonie shrugged coolly.

"Babes, please. I'm allergic to missing."

Josh facepalmed.

Brandon stared at him like he just witnessed sorcery.

Louie hugged him violently.

"YOU LEGEND! YOU KING! YOU…."

"Personal space, Louie."

VORPAL 51 – WILDCATS 45

But Miho didn't flinch.

He dribbled once

and the atmosphere tightened again.

Jeremy whispered, "Guys… defensive stand incoming."

Josh swallowed.

Brandon lowered his stance.

Coonie and Louie exchanged a look.

"…Don't die?" Louie said.

"No promises," Coonie replied.

Because the Wildcats

fully awakened, fully synchronized

came down the court like a single living organism.

And Vorpal's next defensive stand…

was about to face the most terrifying version of them yet.

To be continue