Thunder Demon (Part 2)

"Let's have a clean game, boys. I don't want to see any fouls if possible", the referee said.

Kyotaro didn't look fazed as he just stared at his opponent with a smile on his face.

He had obviously gone through this multiple times but the same couldn't be said for his opponent as his shifty eyes and excessive sweating showed his nervousness.

Of course, the referee didn't care about any of that as he took a coin out of his pocket.

"Heads or tails? Who wants to start first?"

Kyotaro gestured to his opponent to start first.

He obviously needed to give some advantage to this rookie.

His opponent was still nervous nonetheless but still called out his side.

Following that, the referee didn't waste any time and proceeded to flip the coin in the air before catching it in between his palms.

When Kyotaro's opponent saw the result, he finally looked more relaxed.

He had gotten the better end of the deal!

Soon after, both the contestants got into their starting positions while the referee handed the ball over to Kyotaro's opponent before starting the match.

"Ready?! Go!", the referee raised his hand before making a hand cut in the direction of the university student.

Without wasting any time, that student immediately ran forward for a basket.

He knew very well of his own standing and if he wanted to score against Kyotaro, he needed to make a surprise attack.

True enough, Kyotaro was not expecting it as he fumbled for a moment before catching up to his opponent who had already made his way to the basket.

Kyotaro tried to jump and make the block but he was still ultimately too late as his opponent had already jumped ahead of him and scored with a layup.

"Woah!!!",the people immediately cheered.

It was one thing for a superstar to win but for an underdog to win against a superstar, it was more than enough to get their bloods boiling.

Meanwhile, Belial was looking at the first round of the match with an awkward look on his face.

'Hey! This is the Thunder Demon, right? What's with this cringe moment?'

When I looked to both of my sides, Aria and Rio both a black lines on their face. And when I looked at Shirou, he couldn't help but to turn his head away in shame.

'This is ridiculous, how the f*ck does he miss that? Is it his nerves!? But this is not his first time here. No, Its probably because his overconfident.' Shirou thought to himself in a cringy manner.

'Altair, is this what you mean by a good show?', Belial couldn't help but ask in an awkward manner.

[....]

The system was speechless as well. It didn't expect that the person who it had high expectations for to suddenly lose the first basket.

However, it's silence soon disappeared as it began to harshly criticize Kyotaro.

[That useless scoundrel! What point is having great talent but not using it?! You think you're some kind of bigshot just because you have a Rare grade talent and Advanced Grade Fundamentals?! Does that mean that you don't have to pay attention?!]

[You even have a skill exclusively selected by me?! To not utilize such a skill properly is just giving me a bad name! If my body is tangible, I will surely come out and teach you a lesson right now!]

'So, you were just worried about your reputation?', Belial shook his head in a helpless manner.

As expected, this system was too far gone to be saved.

Apparently, the system wasn't the only one that thought so as Kyotaro's face turned red in embarrassment.

He was one of the favorites to win this challenge yet he had let a newcomer actually score the first point off of of him.

"That was a fluke! I will get the ball next time!", Kyotaro shouted as he pointed to his opponent.

His opponent got so terrified that he started shaking after getting scolded by Kyotaro.

After all, this was just his first challenge since he came to Shibuya City.

Still, he didn't make any remarks as they got back to their starting position with him starting the next round again.

Most people thought that Kyotaro had just been a bit clumsy in the first round as to allow that one point to go through but soon they were proven wrong.

Apparently, Kyotaro's opponent still had the mindset of playing it safe so whenever he got the chance, he would keep the ball out of Kyotaro's reach and go for a low dribble.

It seemed that the boy was smart enough to know that scoring directly against Kyotaro was just a pipe dream so he went for the long term option instead.

While keeping the ball low and away from Kyotaro, he always took the chance to close in the gap whenever necessary which allowed him to score 2 more points from inside the 3-point line.

By now, the crowd was no longer cheering for Kyotaro but booing him instead.

"What the f*ck is this?! I came here to watch the Thunder Demon in action but now he's gonna get eliminated in the first round instead!"

"Yes, this show is rigged! I want compensation for this!"

"Still, that guy playing against him is not that bad! To make such smart plays means he had already thought of a strategy for today!"

Numerous complains filled the crowd as they continued watching the so-called showdown.

At the court, Kyotaro's face was growing more and more red with embarrassment.

He was the star of the entire challenge series and here he was getting bested by a newbie. If this wasn't embarrassment, he didn't know what was.

However, it seemed that luck was on his side as he was finally able to press his fingertips against the ball to steal it from his opponent.

Seeing this, Kyotaro couldn't help but sigh in relief.