VORPAL 20 – EASTGATE 15

Locker Room — Between 1st and 2nd Quarter

The door shut behind them, cutting off the ocean of crowd noise. The silence inside was heavy not the silence of rest, but the silence of calculating wolves.

Sweat dripped, jerseys clung to skin, breaths came hard.

Evan sat with his hands on his knees, eyes narrowed, replaying every possession in his mind.

Lucas leaned back against the wall, chest rising and falling, but his gaze was sharp—alive like steel being sharpened.

Louie tried to keep bouncing, but even his energy was compressed, focused.

Ryan twirled his towel once, smirking faintly, but his eyes were cold.

Brandon sat with hands folded, the quiet anchor in the storm.

Ethan stood.

Not loud.

Not dramatic.

But when he stepped forward, the room listened.

His eyes were steady. His voice low, controlled.

"Eastgate hasn't shown their second layer yet."

The team stiffened.

"They've been testing us our switches, our help rotations, our reaction speed. Miho's reading every single possession. He's waiting for us to relax."

Lucas exhaled, slow.

"Then we don't relax."

Ethan nods once.

"We tighten the gaps. Brandon—when Davis sets high screens, don't stay attached. Hedge hard, then recover. You can force him to pick up his dribble."

Brandon simply answered with a calm, "Yeah."

"Evan," Ethan continued, turning slightly, "don't rush the tempo. If they start pressing, we break them with spacing, not speed. Let them chase shadows."

Evan didn't smile—but his eyes lit.

"Understood."

Then finally—

"Lucas."

Lucas lifted his head.

Ethan's voice lowered almost quiet.

"You're going to see Jun Seo start the second quarter. He'll try to bait you to react first. Don't. Let him write his rhythm… and then steal the pen from his hand."

A slow grin touched Lucas's mouth.

"Right."

Louie had stopped bouncing entirely now.

Everyone could feel it.

This wasn't hype.

This was war discipline.

Finally—Ethan rested a hand on the bench in front of him, leaning forward slightly.

"We stick to the plan. Trust the link. Trust each other."

His heart beat once steady.

"We don't flinch."

The buzzer outside signaled the start of the second quarter.

The crowd roared again, shaking the air.

They rose.

And walked back to the battlefield.

Second Quarter Begins

Wildcats Ball

The court felt hotter now—lights brighter, breaths sharper.

Eastgate brought out their real pace.

Jun Seo dribbled up the court first.

Not fast.

Not flashy.

But smooth effortless like a river deciding where to flow.

Lucas slid into defensive stance.

Their eyes locked.

Jun Seo's dribble was tight finger pads stroking the ball, not slapping it.

Tap… tap-tap…

rhythmic. hypnotic.

He shifted his weight shoulder dip, hip rotation like a dancer moving into a step only he knew the beat for.

Lucas didn't bite.

Stay. Stay. Match the hips. Not the ball.

Jun Seo's grin sharpened.

He shifted pace.

The ball snapped low—ankle height.

Left foot extended—jab.

Lucas mirrored perfectly.

Absolute Mimicry.

Not copying moves.

Copying intention.

The crowd murmured

they could feel the duel.

From the bench, Ayumi clasped her clipboard, breath held.

Charlotte leaned forward, whispering,

"He's reading him. Not reacting reading."

Ayumi nodded, voice soft but glowing,

"That's Lucas."

Jun Seo exhaled sharply and exploded left

Lucas glided with him, shadow-perfect.

Then

Miho moved.

A simple cut.

No flashy footwork.

Just timing

death timing.

Ethan saw it before it fully formed.

Here he comes.

He rotated from the weak side, sliding into the passing lane.

Jun Seo flicked the pass.

Miho swept into it

But Ethan appeared like a wall of invisible force.

He didn't jump.

He didn't lunge.

He simply arrived exactly where the line of play ended.

Their eyes collided.

Miho's expression didn't change

but his fingers tightened around the ball.

Ethan's voice was low barely above a breath.

"Not yet."

Miho pivoted.

Ethan slid.

A chess move exchanged in human speed.

The crowd felt the air tighten.

A duel of minds

not muscles.

Miho stepped back controlled.

He passed out.

Possession continued.

But the message was delivered:

This won't be easy.

The ball swung to the wing.

Davis posted mid-high, one palm up, eyes already reading Brandon's center of gravity.

He didn't try to overpower.

Not yet.

He tested.

Brandon leaned his weight slightly forward, anchoring.

Davis felt it.

He bumped once light.

Probe.

Not to score, but to see how the wall moved.

Brandon didn't budge.

I'm here.

Miho drifted to the corner, but he wasn't waiting for the ball.

He was observing spacing.

Ethan's gaze locked on him.

You're mapping our coverage.

Miho's eyes, cool like a winter mirror, flicked just once toward Ethan.

And you're mapping mine.

The arena couldn't hear the conversation—

but it thundered loud between them.

Jun Seo reclaimed the ball at the top.

Lucas squared him again.

This time, no dancer's rhythm.

Sharp.

Sudden.

A double-tap dribble into a hang—the ball floating just a fraction too long.

Lucas's pupils contracted.

He wants me to chase the drop.

So he didn't.

He slid not toward the ball, but toward Jun Seo's center line.

Cutting off the drive before it existed.

Ayumi's heart jumped.

"He saw it—he read the tempo bait."

Charlotte nodded slowly, voice tinged with awe.

"Lucas is forcing him to play honest."

Jun Seo clicked his tongue softly.

So you want to mirror me that tightly?

He rolled the ball low, snapped it behind the hip speed spike burst to the right.

Lucas didn't move first.

He moved with.

Shadow timing.

Absolute Mimicry — Live Intent Copy.

Jun Seo's breath sharpened.

He stepped back

Lucas stepped with him.

He leaned

Lucas leaned.

They moved like mirror glass.

Then Jun Seo did something dangerous.

He smiled.

Good.

He planted his heel, spun

The ball snapped across his body

Lucas reached

For a moment, fingertips grazed leather.

But Miho was already cutting.

Fast.

Precise.

No sound.

No wasted motion.

The pass connected to him in motion, like it was always meant to be there.

The defense shifted—

Ethan rotated first.

Miho rose not for a shot.

For a pass.

Davis sealed Brandon.

The entry angle was perfect.

Touch pass.

Seamless.

Ethan saw it

Too far to block

He didn't try to swat.

He went for the floor.

He slid low.

Hands shot upward.

He didn't attack Davis's arms.

He attacked the ball's upward path.

The gym GASPED.

A clean strip mid-gather.

Davis froze shock flickering.

The ball bounced free

Lucas dove

No hesitation.

No fear.

No calculation.

Both hands.

He secured it.

Rolled.

Popped up.

Transition.

Vorpal's bench leapt to their feet.

Louie's voice shattered the noise:

"RUN IT!! RUN IT!!"

Evan was already sprinting ahead.

Ethan didn't yell.

He simply moved.

The court stretched under their feet.

Lucas pushed the dribble low, tight, precise, no flair.

Jun Seo chased; a half-step behind.

Evan broke to the wing.

Ryan trailed middle.

Louie flared weak-side corner like he was born to be there.

Lucas's eyes flicked, just once peripheral scan unlocking.

He stopped the dribble on a dime.

The crowd leaned forward

Transition decision moment.

Eastgate defenders spread to cover passing lanes—

Which is exactly what Vorpal wanted.

Lucas lifted his chin, voice low, grounded:

"Ethan."

Ethan was already there.

Cutting from high slot.

Angle perfect.

Footwork clean.

Lucas didn't pass high.

He passed into the shooter pocket.

The ball arrived.

Seamless.

Ethan caught.

No dribble.

No adjustment.

No thought.

The form was art.

Elbow pure.

Shoulders square.

Release soft like silk sliding off polished stone.

Jordan Shooting Form — Perfect Balance Variation

The ball lifted

hung—

spun—

The world held its breath.

Miho watched.

Unblinking.

Show me

The ball fell

SWISH.

Net snapped crisp.

The arena erupted.

VORPAL 23 – EASTGATE 15

Lucas exhaled, heart steady.

Ethan lowered his hand, body calm, expression unreadable.

Miho didn't look frustrated.

He simply absorbed the shot.

And his thoughts moved like the cold edge of a blade:

So, this is the version of you who refuses to lose.

Ethan's gaze met his again.

His own thought answered:

Keep up

The ball bounced back into Jun Seo's hands after the inbound.

But something was different now.

He didn't dribble to probe.

He didn't scan first.

He simply walked.

Slow.

Unhurried.

Like someone had flipped a switch inside him.

The arena felt the shift.

Like the oxygen thinned.

Charlotte's eyes widened.

"They're changing formation…"

Ayumi's breath caught.

"This is… the Layer System."

A structured offense.

Not instinct.

Not improvisation.

Engineered rhythm.

Designed by Miho.

Miho stepped out from the wing.

Not cutting.

Not running.

Just standing.

His calm presence rearranged everyone on the court.

Davis slid to the high post.

Jun Seo shifted to the right slot.

The weak corner cleared.

The floor opened—

A perfect four-lane isolation chamber.

But this wasn't for Miho to score.

It was for him to control the board.

Ethan recognized it instantly.

His breath didn't change.

His stance didn't rise.

His voice stayed low:

"Second Layer… Ball-Gravity Orchestration."

Lucas's pupils tightened.

They're about to move us where they want us.

To be continue

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