Chapter 17 – The Fire Flickers

Second Half – Finals: Kaizen vs. Black FangScore: 42–24, Black Fang leads

🕶️ Jin's Words Echo

"Riku's fire is bright…But all flames go out in the dark."

Black Fang returned to the court without celebration.They weren't cocky.They were focused.

Predators. Hunting finish.

🔥 Kaizen's Spark – Third Quarter Begins

Coach Tanaka changed the formation.

"Run Freelance. Let them feel your soul."

And they did.

Renji moved first.Behind-the-back. Pulse Step. Pull-up.Bang.

Souta broke through with skip passes.Keigo finally found the rhythm in his rage—hook shot.

And Riku?

He played like the floor wasn't beneath him.His ankle? Gone.But he still drove. Still passed. Still shot.

Score narrows: 50–42

Crowd's roaring.The Dome is shaking.

🧊 Then… Black Fang activates: Fang Lock

Jin called it.

"Form 3."

Suddenly, Black Fang's defense closed in like a vice.Noah, Rui, Hayato—triple switching traps.

Every pass—intercepted.Every angle—gone.Every opening—slammed shut.

Renji screamed.

"They're not guarding us…They're caging us."

And the door is closing.

💥 The Moment It Breaks

Riku cuts left. Jin mirrors perfectly.He tries to spin—his ankle gives.

He crumples.The Dome gasps.

Kaizen freezes.

Renji sees it.And does the unthinkable.

He dives to recover the ball.Keeps dribbling on one knee.

Three defenders collapse.He passes mid-fall—no look to Souta.

Corner three.Bang.

Riku is carried to the bench.Renji helps him sit.

"That's one leg down. We got four more."

🩸 Final Quarter – Kaizen Bleeding

No Riku.Renji forced to play point guard.Keigo can barely lift his arms.Daiki is on the verge of blacking out.

But they fight.

Every point is earned in blood.

Score: 67–63, Black Fang

Last possession.

Renji gets the inbound.Noah shadows him.

5 seconds.4.

He crosses.Drives.

He goes up—

Noah blocks it.Flat.Clean.

Buzzer.

Game over.

💀 Final Score: Black Fang 67 – Kaizen 63 👑 Post-Game

Jin walks up to Riku.

"You almost made me sweat."

Riku, pale, smiling through pain.

"I'll remember that…Next time we take the crown from your hands."

Jin doesn't smirk.He nods.

"I'll be waiting."

📺 The World Reacts

"Kaizen's miracle ends in the finals.""But the fire they lit… has already spread."

🧢 Final Locker Room Scene

Silence.Tears.But no shame.

Riku sits with crutches.

"We lost. But we stood till the last second.""Now we rebuild.Stronger. Smarter.Hotter."

Renji:

"One down. Two more to go."

They fist bump.