Round 2

### Kyoto Team vs. Tokyo Team Lineup

#### Kyoto Team

- **Point Guard:** Kamo Noritoshi

- **Shooting Guard:** Miwa Kasumi 

- **Small Forward:** Mai Zenin

- **Power Forward:** Todo Aoi

- **Center:** Mechamaru Ultimate

-**6th Man: Nishimiya Momo

#### Tokyo Team

- **Point Guard:** Megumi Fushiguro

- **Shooting Guard:** Yuji Itadori

- **Small Forward:** Maki Zenin

- **Power Forward:** Toge Inumaki

- **Center:** Panda

-**6th Man: Kugisaki Nobara

Hiroshi held the ball with Panda, and Mechamaru stood opposite each other, with a referee reminding them of the rules. "Remember the rules? This is Sorcerer standard basketball, Use your Cursed Techniques Sparingly and adhere to the basics," Hiroshi said, looking at Todo, who was preparing to clap and steal the ball the moment the game started.

Todo put his hands away and began stretching.

The jump ball started.

Panda jumped higher in Gorilla Mode and got the ball to the Tokyo Team.

Tokyo Ball.

Panda gave the ball to Megumi as he began to dribble it across half court.

The rest of the Tokyo Team began guarding their man; in Mai and Maki's case, guarding each other.

Megumi gestured to Yuji, who sprinted towards the basket, leaving Miwa, who was guarding him, in the dust. "Fast," was the only thought in Miwa's mind before she saw Yuji already jumping, receiving the ball from Megumi, and dunking it in, breaking the basket and backboard.

"Idiot, control your strength!" Megumi shouted at Yuji. "Hehe, my bad, my bad," Yuji replied.

Tokyo 2-0 Kyoto.

Yuji looked at the faculty, particularly the trio of Hiroshi, Satoru, and Suguru, who were snickering, finding the situation amusing. Masamichi Yaga, on the other hand, felt pain at the broken school equipment.

"Don't worry, I got it," Hiroshi said as he phoned for a replacement hoop, a sturdier one.

Timeout.

The game resumed with new hoops, both baskets replaced with sturdier materials. Todo inbounded the ball and passed it to Noritoshi Kamo, who dribbled it half court. He stuck just a bit of his blood on the ball and shot a 3-pointer from the logo, sinking it with a swish.

Tokyo 2-3 Kyoto.

On Tokyo's offense, Megumi dribbled the ball again, eyeing Yuji. However, this time Todo was guarding Yuji and clearly not going to let him receive the ball. "You may be my brother, but I am not going to go easy on you," Todo said to Yuji. "Sneaky, nobody even noticed," Suguru commented on Noritoshi Kamo's shot.

"This reminds me of our teenage years," Hiroshi said. "We can still go for a game now, you know," Suguru said. "Maybe later," Hiroshi replied.

As they conversed, the score between the two teams increased.

Tokyo 16-15 Kyoto.

Maki received the ball from Megumi, guarded by Mai. "What are you going to do without your guns, Mai?" Maki said as she dribbled the ball between her legs. She faked going left, and Mai bit on her fake, resulting in Maki going the other way and Mai on the floor.

"Damn," Hiroshi said as he watched his player get her ankles broken. "Her sister is getting payback from last round," Satoru said. "Maki knew that Mai isn't that great in the physical department, even with reinforcement," Satoru continued.

"Shit!" Mai cursed as she hit the floor with her fist and stood up. The last thing she remembered was the smirking face of Maki, who hit a mid-range shot which ticked her off.

Tokyo 18 - 15 Kyoto.

The first quarter ended with both teams scoring a few more baskets, leaving the score at Tokyo 29 - 26 Kyoto.

As the second quarter began, both teams were eager to maintain their momentum and take control of the game. Megumi brought the ball up the court for Tokyo, closely guarded by Noritoshi Kamo. With precise dribbling, Megumi maneuvered around Kamo and passed the ball to Toge Inumaki in the post. The one guarding him was Miwa, both players were at the same height. "Move aside," Inumaki whispered to Miwa. This prompted Miwa to forcibly move aside due to Inumaki's cursed technique, Cursed Speech. Inumaki shot the ball, resulting in 2 points. Tokyo 31 - 26 Kyoto.

Mechamaru inbounded the ball and threw it to Miwa, who was clearly all alone on the other side. Miwa caught it smoothly and laid it in.

Tokyo 31 - 28 Kyoto.

The back and forth continued, with misses and made shots from both sides.

Five minutes had elapsed, and the score was now:

Tokyo 45 - Kyoto 43

Kamo, who got doubled by Megumi and the nearby Inumaki, passed the ball to Mai, who had good position against her sister, Maki. She received it despite Maki's hindrances. Mai turned her back to her sister and started dribbling, looking around and finding that everyone had bad positions.

"What's wrong, Mai? Lost that confidence?" Maki taunted.

"No," Mai fired back as she spun and got rid of Maki. But as she laid it in, Maki blocked it from behind, sending the ball flying. Mai looked back at Maki and saw her sister's smirk, which annoyed her further.

Mechamaru caught the flying ball and laid it in.

Tokyo 45 - 45 Kyoto. The score is now even.

2nd Quarter End

Halftime.

3rd Quarter.

Halftime came and went fast as both teams returned to the court. Megumi passed the ball to the speeding Yuji, and a dunk followed, with Tokyo scoring first.

Tokyo 47 - 45 Kyoto.

During the inbound pass, Kamo dribbled half-court and passed it to Mechamaru in the post, who had his back to Panda.

Mechamaru attempted to back down, but Panda wasn't budging. "One more time," Mechamaru thought as he tried one last push to move Panda, but to his surprise, there was no Panda there, and he fell to the floor. Panda stole the ball and passed it to Megumi, who then passed it to Nobara on the other end. However, she was guarded by Momo. "Move it, pipsqueak," she said to Momo. Nobara shot, but it hit the backboard. Nobara got the rebound, but not before Momo got her hand on the ball, leading to a struggle for possession.

The whistle blew, and both girls found themselves facing each other in a jump ball.

The referee threw the ball upwards, and Nobara got it due to the height difference. She was 5 foot 3, while Momo was 4 foot 11.

"Got it!" she hugged the ball but then saw Yuji running. However, Todo was right behind in his heels, so it was a no-go in her mind. Thus, she passed it to Maki.

Maki, who was intensely guarded by Mai, greeted her, "Hey, little sister."

"I'm not your little sister, little sister," Mai fired back.

"1v1 against me? You don't stand a chance," Maki said.

"Says the one who got owned last round," Mai fired back.

Maki dribbled the ball past Mai, and with a sudden stop, Mai found herself on the floor again. "Heh," Maki smirked as the ball went in with a swish.

Halftime came and went fast as both teams returned to the court. Megumi passed the ball to the speeding Yuji, and a dunk followed, with Tokyo scoring first.

Tokyo 47 - 45 Kyoto.

During the inbound pass, Kamo dribbled half-court and passed it to Mechamaru in the post, who had his back to Panda.

Mechamaru attempted to back down, but Panda wasn't budging. "One more time," Mechamaru thought as he tried one last push to move Panda, but to his surprise, there was no Panda there, and he fell to the floor. Panda stole the ball and passed it to Megumi, who then passed it to Nobara on the other end. However, she was guarded by Momo. "Move it, pipsqueak," she said to Momo. Nobara shot, but it hit the backboard. Nobara got the rebound, but not before Momo got her hand on the ball, leading to a struggle for possession.

The whistle blew, and both girls found themselves facing each other in a jump ball.

The referee threw the ball upwards, and Nobara got it due to the height difference. She was 5 foot 3, while Momo was 4 foot 11.

"Got it!" she hugged the ball but then saw Yuji running. However, Todo was right behind in his heels, so it was a no-go in her mind. Thus, she passed it to Maki.

Maki, who was intensely guarded by Mai, greeted her, "Hey, little sister."

"I'm not your little sister, little sister," Mai fired back.

"1v1 against me? You don't stand a chance," Maki said.

"Says the one who got owned last round," Mai fired back.

Maki dribbled the ball past Mai, and with a sudden stop, Mai found herself on the floor again. "Heh," Maki smirked as the ball went in with a swish.

Tokyo 49 - 45 Kyoto.

Mechamaru gave the inbound pass to Todo, who was asking for the ball. Todo dribbled it half-court and found himself in front of Yuji. "Brother! Come!" Todo said as Yuji intensely guarded him. Todo threw the ball towards the hoop, and in front of Yuji was Panda, who had a confused look on his face. A dunk resulted from Todo's isolation play, if switching was considered an iso... which I think it is.

The third quarter heated up as both teams took turns scoring, with steals and blocks happening.

Tokyo 86 - 80 Kyoto.

Kamo had the ball as Megumi intensely guarded him. Kamo threw the ball towards the hoop in a weird trajectory, but it still resulted in a three-pointer.

Tokyo 86 - 83 Kyoto.

Megumi noticed a small patch of red on the ball. "I can't prevent that without summoning Shikigami," Megumi thought as he held the ball half-court. Yuji came in close as Megumi passed him the ball while screening Todo.

Yuji sprinted past everyone, about to dunk. However, Mechamaru contested his dunk. Seeing that his dunk wasn't going to be possible, Yuji noticed Panda, who was open due to Mechamaru's contesting. Yuji passed the ball to Panda, resulting in an easy two points.

Tokyo 88 - 83 Kyoto.

The third quarter ended with the score:

Tokyo 88 - 87 Kyoto.

The break went by fast as the players began the fourth quarter.

Suguru, who watched the sneaky and creative ways the Tokyo Sorcerers played while in teamwork, was greatly pleased. However, he noticed Hiroshi, who seemed lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about, Hiroshi?" Suguru asked.

"I'm thinking of a way to weaponize the Cursed Realm," Hiroshi said.

"And what's the Cursed Realm exactly?" Suguru asked.

"It's where all souls go, both cursed spirits and humans," Hiroshi explained.

"If it's the place where souls go, then perhaps you can find cursed techniques attached to the souls?" Suguru hypothesized.

"I might. I haven't exactly found where the souls are hiding," Hiroshi said.

Satoru, who was listening in, then said, "Maybe try a different approach? Why don't you try taking us there?"

"I don't know if it's possible. Hold on, let me try," Hiroshi said as he placed his hands on Satoru and Suguru's shoulders.

A few minutes passed as they tried. "Yeah, it's not happening," Hiroshi said.

Satoru then opened his blindfold, revealing his sky blue eyes, the Six Eyes. "Try using that weird energy of yours."

"Natural energy? Both of you are going to turn to stone if not done properly," Hiroshi warned.

"Then teach us how to do it properly, easy, no?" Satoru said. "You make it sound so simple." Hiroshi facepalmed but did so anyway.

"Mix the natural energy with your cursed energy in a ratio of 30:70," Hiroshi explained. Suddenly, Hiroshi became alarmed as Satoru saw signs of being turned to stone. "Goddamnit, Satoru! It's 30 percent natural energy and 70 percent cursed energy, not the other way around!" Hiroshi said as he helped Satoru stabilize the natural energy in his body.

As Hiroshi helped Satoru stabilize his condition, Suguru, on the other hand, showed signs of success with parts of his skin turning bark-like. "What's this?" Suguru thought as his senses were amplified, the influx of information taking him by surprise, causing him to lose focus and begin showing signs of turning to stone as well. Hiroshi then knocked the natural energy out of Suguru, removing the stoneification.

"Accessing natural energy is dangerous by itself, and in this world, only I have access to it," Hiroshi said.

"Unfortunate," Satoru said. "Any way we can help you?" he asked. "I don't know," Hiroshi said.

"Let's watch the game first; it's the last three minutes and it's going down to the wire," Suguru said.

Tokyo 99 - 97 Kyoto.

Kamo held the ball as he looked at his team, who were guarded intensely. He glanced at Megumi in front of him, guarding him. He dribbled fast to the left and threw it on an angle, attempting to use his cursed technique to get past Megumi, but Yuji blocked it with a high jump.

1:00 remaining.

Yuji passed the ball to the sprinting Megumi, who laid it in for two more points.

Tokyo 101 - 97 Kyoto.

Kamo shook his head at the mistake. This time he threw the ball from across the court high enough that Yuji or anyone else couldn't reach it, and if they could, it would be counted as goaltending.

Three points for Kyoto as Noritoshi Kamo's shot went in with a swish.

Tokyo 101 - 100 Kyoto.

Megumi clicked his tongue. It was his mistake not to stick to Kamo, which gave him the chance to make that shot.

30 seconds.

Tokyo Offense.

Megumi held the ball until there were five seconds left on the shot clock, with the Tokyo Team forcing the Kyoto Defenders to follow them around the court. Megumi found a straight line to the basket and sprinted towards it, leaving Noritoshi Kamo behind.

As Megumi was about to lay it in, he thought, "We win this round."

19 Seconds Left.

*Clap.* A clap was heard, and the ball that Megumi had in hand was now in Noritoshi Kamo's hand, who was sprinting like a madman to the other basket.

10 Seconds Left.

Inumaki then shouted, "Stop moving!" This prompted everyone who heard it to stop moving, wasting three precious seconds.

Kamo took the shot from the three-point line, and the ball entered the ring with a swish, with three seconds left on the clock.

Tokyo 101 - 103 Kyoto.

"Two points. Just two points," Yuji thought.

With the final seconds ticking away, Tokyo took a timeout, knowing they needed a quick play to tie or win the game. Inumaki inbounded the ball, sending it to Megumi, who found himself with some space. Megumi caught the ball, but with time running out, he went for a quick jump shot just as Kamo attempted to tackle him.

The ball soared towards the basket.

*Clap.* Aoi Todo appeared right in front of the ball, blocking it with a decisive clap.

0:00.

Ball game.

Tokyo 101 - 103 Kyoto.

Kyoto emerged victorious.

The 30th Annual Good Will Event Winner: Kyoto Jujutsu High.