Dreams of the Future: There's nothing much for me to comment on for this fic, since A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover wrote this. Unfortunately, she's been very busy out of late and I'm posting this on her behalf. Usually the person who writes this posts the content since they have more to comment on. Well, I don't have anything else to say, other than PLEASE ENJOY THIS!
Disclaimer: We do not own Kuroko no Basket and Beelzebub. They belong to Fujimaki Tadatoshi-sensei and Tamura Ryuuhei-sensei respectively.
Let's play ball!
Kuroko no Basuke x Beelzebub X-over
By: The Mochi Factory
"Everybody listen up!" Saotome banged his hands against the teacher's desk to get the attention of the class. When almost everybody turned to look at him, he continued after clearing his throat. "The Principal has highlighted to me his concerns for this class."
Everybody turned and stared at each other, not seemly bothered by Saotome's words.
"Yeah, and what's so important about that?" Kanzaki asked, still seated with his legs brought up on his table.
"He told me… That your class has been neglecting sports or any sort of physical exercise after the volleyball match against the six horsemen!" Saotome shouted, repeatedly pounding the table for emphasis.
Everyone sighed before chiming together, "And?"
"This means that we will have to put in a physical activity for everyone to do!" Saotome shouted, seemly beaming from where he stood.
"Saotome-sensei," Aoi stood up. "I don't think that's a very good idea. Unfortunately, most of the guys here have no idea how NOT to foul or go against the rules ("Hey!" by the guys) of any sport."
"That can be settled over time! So, any suggestions?" Saotome's eyes seemed to be glittering as well.
"How about one with lots of boob bouncing?" Furuichi asked excitedly.
"Good idea! Erm… Whatever your name is!" Saotome gave Furuichi a thumbs-up, the latter starting to daydream his perverted thoughts, nose-bleeding.
"… Creepy-chi." Oga muttered indifferently.
"Dabuh!"
"How about basketball?" Himekawa suggested. "The Winter Cup's starting soon, so it's about the in thing right now."
"So there you have it!" Saotome shouted before pointing towards Aoi and Oga. "Ensure that they play it properly, class representatives!"
XXX
"Practice matches again?!" Almost everyone shouted simultaneously.
"That's right, practice matches." Riko repeated with her left hand pressing against her waist. "This time, Teppei wants to see how our usual starters fare."
"That Kiyoshi… Always having something up his sleeve!" Hyuuga snarled, obviously annoyed with the creator of the club.
"So? Who are we going up against?" Kagami asked, bouncing a basketball with his free right hand and wiping off his sweat using a towel with his left.
"Our opponent this time…" Riko started with a sneer on her face. "Is St. Ishiyama!"
There was a brief moment of silence before the seniors (except Mitobe) protested in unison. "NO! Not THEM!"
"Why not, sempai?" One of the other freshman asked Izuki.
"They are a pretty strong team, and we barely beat them last year." Izuki explained before suddenly getting an idea. He took out his joke book as he muttered, "Mushroom ears grow over many years."
"It's just as Izuki said." Hyuuga continued, ignoring the said person's joke completely. "We were very close to losing to St. Ishiyama last year. Our scores had a single-digit difference."
"… Which was why I chose St. Ishiyama for our practice match for all the starters!" Riko chirped, smiling broadly. "Alright, we're heading there right now! Everyone ready to leave?"
"Wait, where's Kuroko?" Koganei asked, looking around for the indifferent freshman.
"I'm here." Kuroko answered dead-pannedly from behind Koganei, scaring Koganei out of his wits.
"Teppei will be meeting us there. Okay, let's head off!" Riko raised an arm and lead the club off while skipping.
XXX
"Is everyone here yet?" Aoi asked, staring at Baby Beel and Furuichi sitting in a very formal and respectful fashion on the court's shiny flooring.
"Unfortunately, not everyone is…" Furuichi stammered with a hand slightly raised. "Besides, isn't this similar to our previous volleyball practice?!"
"That's right… And this time Hilda isn't here to get those guys…" Aoi pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering exactly what tactic Hilda came up with the last time. Fortunately, Nene came running in.
"Nee-san!" Nene yelled, getting the attention of the previous Red Tail general.
"Nene! What is it?" Aoi asked, taking a basketball from the basket with both hands.
"We managed to get Hilda-san to get the guys to come again!" Yuuka shouted excitedly after catching up with Nene.
"How did you do that?!" Aoi yelled in astonishment.
Furuichi, on the other hand, muttered to himself, 'Don't tell me…'
"We told Hilda-san that we would make Baby Beel a basketball jersey if she managed to get the guys here!" Yuuka shouted again.
"… Cute." Chiaki slid the jersey onto Baby Beel, who was still seated on the floor.
"Daaaaabuh!" Baby Beel smiled behind the pacifier, happy to be wearing a basketball jersey despite hating to wear clothes in the first place.
"Young Master!" Hilda ran in, face blushing with happiness and excitement as she ran towards Baby Beel. "You look adorable!"
"What are you all still slackin' for? Hurry up and start warming up!" Kanzaki shouted at the members of the Red Tails as he and the other guys strolled in.
"Ahh, okay…" Aoi stammered. 'What on earth did she do again to make these guys serious?!'
"How about a One-on-One, Oga?" Toujou smirked, dribbling a basketball as he said so. Unfortunately, he lost control of the ball and it bounced away with Toujou standing there pathetically. The temperature drastically dropped a few degrees.
"We aren't playing One-on-One, we're going to have a match." Himekawa pushed his glasses up a little and sighed before noticing Oga holding a basketball as well. "Oga, not you too!"
"You seem pretty high strung, aren't you?" Kanzaki walked up to Himekawa until they were almost face to face.
"I could say the same thing back to you, Kanzaki." Himekawa sneered.
"Guys! Calm down! We're teammates, aren't we?" Aoi panicked, trying to stop the two from arguing.
"Huh? Say, Queen, since when did we become teammates, eh?" Kanzaki and Himekawa answered at the same time.
"Ha ha ha! Teammates- interesting!" Toujou laughed a little, acting not the least bothered by the current situation.
"Hey." Everyone (except Hilda, whom had also noticed this strange presence earlier) turned to Oga, who was staring blankly at a mysterious figure by the doors of the sports hall. "Who the hell are you?"
The mysterious figure only smiled and chuckled to himself as he walked into the hall to introduce himself.
"The name's Kiyoshi Teppei. It's nice to meet you all."
XXX
"Wait a second, you said that Kiyoshi's waiting for us at St. Ishiyama?!" Hyuuga shouted, getting strange looks from the St. Ishiyama students nearby.
"That's right. He's looking for the team that will practice with us." Riko snorted proudly. After all, she knew Kiyoshi would have plans to test the starters as hard as he could possibly provide. "Anyways, let's go find him."
The Seirin high school Basketball team walked around the St. Ishiyama school compound, the freshmen awing at how similar this school was with theirs. As they approached one of the school's sports halls, they suddenly heard a lot of shouting. Everyone stared at each other in shock.
"That Kiyoshi…! I hope he hadn't sparked a fight with the St. Ishiyama players!" Riko spoke aloud, face-palming herself. She looked around and paled. "Wait, where's Kuroko?!"
Everyone turned to the back of the group, where Kagami was, but the said person was nowhere in sight.
"Gaaaaahh! Kuroko!" Everyone shouted simultaneously before running towards the sports hall. Kagami, who was the first one to reach there, slammed the doors to the hall open.
XXX
"Kiyoshi Teppei? Who the hell's that?" Kanzaki stated, not the least interested in Kiyoshi.
"What? You've never heard of me?" Kiyoshi pretended to look shocked, but dropped his facade within a few seconds. "Well, it's fine by me."
"Well, he looks interesting enough." Toujou laughed a little before walking up to Kiyoshi and asking, "Anyways, why are you here?"
"I was walking by when I happened to see two students fighting." Kiyoshi answered bluntly, walking into the hall and in between Kanzaki and Himekawa. "Since we're all fellow players, why don't we just calm down and talk this through-"
"Who ever said that we're fellow players, huh?" Himekawa cut in, grabbing Kiyoshi by the collar of his shirt.
"Himekawa! Stop this now!" Aoi shouted. Before she could run towards them, a boy- probably in his last year of middle school- walked up to Kiyoshi and Himekawa with a spinning basketball balanced on one finger.
"You should not use violence on the court." The boy pushed the ball against Himekawa's face, but the Touhoushinki member backed away before he had part of his nose burnt by the friction. The boy turned to Kiyoshi. "Kiyoshi-sempai, you shouldn't be butting into others' private matters like this."
"Sorry, I guess I just couldn't stand seeing them keep fighting, so I tried to mediate." Kiyoshi bowed slightly in a somewhat desperate, but faked manner.
Suddenly, a red haired high schooler about 190cm tall barged into the hall, face full of worry. A group of high schoolers (and a girl about their age) followed soon after.
"Kuroko! Teppei! How many times did I ask you two to stop wandering about and disturbing others?!" Riko shouted, punching one on the head and the other his shoulder.
"But they were fighting, you see… I couldn't help it." Kiyoshi answered. Kuroko also nodded in agreement.
"Sheesh, you two…" Riko sighed before apologising to Himekawa and Kanzaki. "As Seirin High School Basketball Team's coach, I sincerely apologise for the trouble these two caused."
"No, we were the ones at fault." Aoi replied, joining the group while glaring at Kanzaki and Himekawa. "I should have taken better care of these two."
"Uhh, thanks, erm…" Riko sweat-dropped at Aoi's glare towards the two.
"Kunieda Aoi." Aoi smiled, stretching out her hand. "But Aoi would do just fine."
"Aida Riko. It's nice to meet you." Riko looked at the other delinquents before asking, "Are you their manager?"
"Huh?" Aoi stared blankly at Riko.
"From the looks of it, she's more like the coach of the team!" Kagami stepped into the fray, smirking.
"Wait, you got it all wrong!" Aoi perked up, finally knowing what was happening. "I'm just their class representative, and so is Oga over there."
Everyone's gazes were lead to Oga Tatsumi, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring lazily at them. His only response was, "What?"
"How about we make Oga's wifey to be our manager then?" Toujou suggested, smiling like an idiot. The Seirin High Basketball team members stared, confused, at Toujou, wondering what he had meant (with the exception of three). Aoi then directed their confused looks to Hilda and Baby Beel, both looking pretty excited over Beel's new jersey.
'… I heard that due to Ishiyama High's overnight destruction, the students were sent to other High Schools, and the worst lot came to St. Ishiyama High. But for Toujou, Kunieda, Himekawa and Kanzaki of the Touhoushinki and the child-rearing badass Oga Tatsumi to be here… Looks like the rumours were true after all.' Kiyoshi thought before he smirked silently, no one noticing it. 'Guess I was right after all. This will be interesting…"
"How about a practice match between our team and theirs?" Kiyoshi suggested with an idiotic smile that rivalled Toujou's before anyone could ask about Hilda. There was a moment of silence before everyone shouted all at once.
"WHAT?!"
"How about it? They do seem interesting…" Kagami's voice lowered as he trailed off his sentence, keeping a very focused eye on the Ishiyama gang. He pressed an arm on Kuroko's head before continuing, "Right, Kuroko?"
"Please stop pressing on my head. I'll become a lot more shorter." Kuroko spoke, ignoring Kagami's question to show his slight annoyance.
"… Okay. We accept your challenge." Aoi answered after a long, tense silence between the two groups. "Please give us a moment to get ready."
"Don't start whining when you lose to us." Himekawa stated, all the other Ishiyama members staring (plus some glaring) at the Seirin group.
XXX
"Are you serious about having a match against those guys?" Riko asked Kagami and Kuroko.
"Of course! … Madam."
"What do you mean by 'Of course!'?!" Hyuuga shouted, as if he was already in clutch mode. "You randomly picked a fight with some new players from St. Ishiyama, dammit!"
"Hmmm… And very strong ones, too." Kiyoshi added with a very soft chuckle almost no one heard.
"I didn't think that St. Ishiyama would be able to find students that strong, though." Riko was in deep thought. "Then again, it's pretty expected since they lost to us last year."
"So, Riko… The plan?" Izuki asked before getting another idea. "Plans always-"
"Just like we practiced. That's all." Riko smirked. She was looking forward to how St. Ishiyama would break their techniques.
"…" Kuroko glanced at Kagami before stating, "You seem pretty hyped up."
"Of course." Kagami smirked as well, looking over to the Ishiyama gang. "After all, I can smell beasts worth defeating here. Each and every one of them."
XXX
It took Aoi (and a little help from Hilda) to finally get the guys settled down on the benches.
"… Anyways, just go with the flow, pass the ball to each other, and no fouls…"
"Wait, Queen. How do we NOT foul?" Toujou raised a hand, serious for the first time in a while. Aoi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Just…" Aoi started, but was interrupted by a shout from the Seirin team.
"Hey~! You guys ready to start?" Koganei shouted over, flailing his arms frantically.
"Wah! Already?" Yuuka squeaked in excitement.
"Don't interrupt Nee-san, you…!" Nene growled, scaring Koganei. The latter responded with a girly shriek.
"C'mon, there's nothing to fight about. Calm down. Let's get this match started, shall we?" Kiyoshi stepped in, cheerful as usual.
"… Yeah." Oga stood up, Baby Beel on his back. "Let's show these damned amateurs how we play basketball, Baby Beel!"
"Dabuh-Dabuh!" Baby Beel punched a fist into the air.
XXX
"All starting members are to get on the court now." Riko announced, fingering the whistle in her hand.
Hyuuga and Izuki walked onto the court, with the former trying to ignore the latter's lame jokes by stretching. Mitobe and Kuroko walked silently while Kagami behind was sneering like an idiot… Whoops, a tiger. The five stood before the centre line as they waited for their opponents to get ready.
Unfortunately, their opponents seemed to be taking their time, and after another argument between the group, Kanzaki, Himekawa, Aoi, Toujou and Oga walked up to them.
"Wait, where's your fifth player?" Toujou asked jokingly. "I really want that Kiyoshi guy to play. Can he come over?"
"What are you talking about?" Kagami asked, staring blankly at Toujou. 'This guy kinda reminds me of Tsugawa… Wait, what am I thinking at a time like this?!'
"I'm right here."
Almost everyone from Ishiyama jumped and turned to the source of the voice. However, they kept their cool facade on their faces, not showing the Seirin players their shock.
'Hey, hey.' Riko thought panickly. 'Their standards are… really high! Even Aoi-chan's!'
Kiyoshi kept a smile on his face as he watched Furihata- their referee for this game- get ready for the tip-off.
"Hey, you lot." Kagami sneered at the Ishiyama lot, who were still standing in their line. "Who's going to play for the tip-off?"
"Tip-off?" Three out of the five asked simulaneously. Oga had a blank look on his face. Toujou laughed the question off while Kanzaki looked as if he never heard of the term before.
"Idiots…" Himekawa sighed, inwardly face-palming.
"Hey, if you guys don't even know what a tip-off is, do you guys even play basketball?" Izuki asked slowly, with Mitobe nodding beside him.
"I'm sorry, but these guys have only played Volleyball before. Back during the festival here at St. Ishiyama." Aoi stated, shaking her head with a hand pressing her forehead.
"Volleyball…?" All the Seirin players were in deep thought. What on earth could it be?
"Wait, I've got questions to ask." Hyuuga raised a hand, getting the attention of the Ishiyama members before continuing in Clutch mode, "We're having a boys basketball practice match here, so why is Kunieda there? Besides… WHY IS THERE A BABY ON THAT GUY'S BACK?!"
Silence filled the entire hall before Kagami broke the silence.
"To tell you the truth, I had wanting to ask the same thing. Will it be safe for that baby to be on the court? And for a girl, too…" Kagami added.
"Well, it doesn't matter if I'm on the court, right? There's no rule that girls can't play in Boy's basketball." Aoi answered, hands on her hips. "… Besides, I'm sure Baby Beel would like to participate in this match."
'Hey, that's not it though…' Furuichi thought before sighing.
The Seirin members tried their best to process Aoi's information, but were interrupted by Toujou.
"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" Toujou chuckled before placing a hand on Oga's shoulder. "Anyways, since that tip-off thing seems like something the leader would do, I'd suggest Oga to do it."
"What? So, are you guys done talking yet?" Oga's reply was deadpanned, and he looked as if he could not even be bothered at all.
"Just die, you idiot!" The Touhoushinki yelled together, causing massive sweat drops from Seirin.
XXX
"Hey, you with the baby." Oga turned to Kagami, who was standing at the tip-off area of the court. "Are you sure that baby ain't gonna be a handicap for your game?"
It was not that Kagami was trying to rile Oga up with the issue of Baby Beel, but that he felt something monstrous from Oga. After all, he could easily feel Toujou's and if the latter called him their leader, then he must be insanely powerful.
"Huh?" Came Oga's reply, still as dead as before. "Oh, regarding Baby Beel? Don't worry too much about it. Besides…"
"Everyone, get ready!" Furihata held the ball in position for the tip-off. Kagami and Oga stood face to face.
"If this guy gets eight metres and fifteen centimetres away from me, I'll be a dead man." Oga finished his sentence.
"Huh?"
The whistle blew and Furihata threw the ball upwards. Kagami immediately jumped, trying to reach for the ball. Oga, on the other hand, saw what Kagami did and jumped a little later.
'The ball's mine!' Kagami chuckled inwardly, still looking upwards.
"Kagami! Watch out!" Hyuuga shouted.
Kagami's eyes widened to see Oga already at the same height as him… No, even higher than him!
'That's impossible!' Kagami thought panickly. 'Even though I jumped earlier… This guy… He managed to get even higher?!'
Before Kagami could react, Oga used his fist to punch the ball downwards. Izuki was almost get hit by the said object.
"WOAH! That was close!" Izuki shouted in shock, but everyone ignored him. The Seirin members could only stare at Oga and the mark made by the basketball when it hit the ground.
"Re-re-redo the tip-off!" Furihata shouted, blowing the whistle unsteadily.
"Huh?" Oga landed on the ground steadily, Kagami near him.
"Oga! You're not supposed to use your fist! Idiot!" Himekawa shouted from underneath the Ishiyama hoop.
"…" Oga kept his blank face on as he tried to think of an excuse. He then faced Himekawa, saying, "I thought we were playing Volleyball."
"Use your palm the next time, Oga. Or you'll get more than just a punch." Aoi added with a sadistic and annoyed smile on her face, cracking the knuckles on both hands as she spoke. "The same goes for Toujou too."
"Uh… Right." Oga nodded, sweat dropping at Aoi's actions.
"Back to tip-off position!" Furihata repeated, still worried on how the game will fare… With the Ishiyama gang's power. He sighed before repeating once more, "Tip-off!"
"Hey. How do you jump so high? And within such a short time, too?" Kagami asked Oga, who was in front of him once more.
"… Instinct?" Oga answered after a short pause. "No, I'd say fights. Right, Baby Beel?"
"Da~Buh!" Baby Beel nodded, still clinging on to Oga's shirt.
"Sheesh, I wonder how you can even play with that baby on your back…" Kagami muttered under his breath before re-positioning himself.
The sound of the whistle echoed once more before the orange ball flew high into the air. This time, both Kagami and Oga jumped at the same time. However, the situation did not change- Oga got the ball first.
"What the-" Kagami spluttered out. 'He was higher… Again?!'
"Eat it, Toujou!" Oga shouted before smacking the ball to Toujou, who was near Seirin's net.
"Defence!" Riko immediately yelled as Mitobe got into position to block any dunk Toujou might be planning to shoot in later.
The ball got nearer and nearer, and when it was about to land in Toujou's hands…
The latter smacked the ball all the way to the other end and into Ishiyama's net.
There was another moment of silence that was only interrupted by Toujou's idiotic laughter. Furihata snapped out of his stupor and blew the whistle. "Sei… Seirin, three points…" He announced.
"What the hell were you thinking, Toujou!" Both Himekawa and Kanzaki stomped up to the said person and shouted together.
"Well, I thought we were playing Volleyball." Toujou answered with a couple of laughs.
"This guy…" Riko muttered to herself. 'His power… Is more overwhelming than Oga's! If I were to give them a position, Toujou would be a Power Forward, while Oga… it's not that he's weaker, but his strength lies outside just power. A Small Forward!'
"Besides," Toujou continued, serious this time. "I'd rather have a spar with Oga right now."
"… You got to be kidding me. A spar with a monster like that…" Hyuuga spoke aloud before noticing that Kuroko was next to him. "So, what do you think?"
"In all honesty, I'm getting annoyed at their way of playing." Kuroko answered, deadpanned. "Not all of them are serious about this match at all."
"Well, let's wait and see, shall we?" Kiyoshi muttered to himself before the match continued. Hyuuga showed off his three-pointer, surprising three-fifths of the Ishiyama gang who never knew a three-pointer existed. Now, Himekawa had the ball.
"Go for it, Queen!" Himekawa bellowed, passing the ball to Aoi. Aoi turned and eyed someone to pass the ball to, but was stopped short when she realised that she had no one to pass to.
The SAM formation- whereby the each player face another from the opponent team. A man-to-man defence.
Kanzaki looked pissed as Hyuuga kept watch on him, Oga had that same blank look on his face even as Izuki limited his movements. Toujou was also blocked by Kagami- the brat picking a fight with them.
Aoi stared at her teammates and opponents carefully before she dribbled the ball towards Kagami. There was a gleam in Toujou's eyes, and before Kagami could move forward to steal the ball, Toujou swerved his body and acted as a screen for Aoi to pass.
"Tch!" Kagami clicked his tongue. This is the third time in this match that they had out-smarted him already!
Aoi kept dribbling towards Mitobe, and the SAM formation slowly broke apart when Kanzaki made a dash towards Aoi. Before Mitobe could steal the ball from Aoi, the latter passed the ball to Kanzaki using a backwards throw.
"Wha-?" Kanzaki seemed awfully surprised when the ball landed in his hands. "Queen, you know I'm a lot better with my footwork. Why did you pass it to me when I'm this far away?"
"Just imagine that you're kicking it, but using your hands, Kanzaki!" Natsume called out from the stands.
"Guh, fine…" Before the other Seirin members could reach Kanzaki, the latter threw the ball towards the basket. The ball fell through the net without any rebound.
"St. Ishiyama, three points!"
"They're tied!" Koganei exclaimed.
Toujou started chuckling, Oga had a little smirk on his face and Himekawa smiled for the first time since the game started. Unfortunately, none of the boys noticed a shadowy figure reaching out to take the ball.
"Everyone! Don't relax yet!" Aoi yelled loudly, but it was too late. Kuroko spun a few rounds before releasing the ball, said object flying towards the other end of the court. Unfortunately, a certain someone happened to walk straight into its intended course.
"Toujou!" Kagami shouted, the said person turning to see the ball flying at top speed towards him. He quickly brought up his right hand. The ball soon slowed down and it dropped to Toujou's feet.
"What's this?" Toujou spoke before smirking, "That doesn't hurt at all."
Riko saw Kuroko's eyes widen, even though it was only slightly. It was the same thing happening all over again in Seirin's match against Touou.
'This is bad… I can't ask for a timeout now. Only one minute has passed since the start of the match!' Riko thought nervously.
"Alright, let's get this game going!" Izuki snatched the ball up from the ground, pointing his index finger upwards.
The Ishiyama group stared blankly at Izuki's action, but kept their guard up. Izuki analysed the entire court using his eagle eyes before passing the ball sideways to Kuroko, whom passed it to Kagami a distance away.
"I'm dunking this!" Kagami roared, swinging his hand downwards to dunk the ball.
"You won't!" Himekawa, who had been under the net, jumped up at around the same time. Kagami's eyes widened at Himekawa's reaction time, but continued forcing the ball through the net- which he successfully did without any obstructions. Furihata blew the whistle absent-mindedly as well, staring at the sight before him.
Confused with the silence that filled the sports hall, Kagami turned to see Himekawa's hair- the pompadour, to be exact- was stuck in the net.
"Himekawa…!" Kanzaki growled, walking up to the said person before grabbing whatever was left of the pompadour (that was still stuck in the net, unfortunately). "How many times have I told you about your pompadour getting in the way of the game, huh?! Not to mention that this is the fourth time it happened already!"
"The last time you said that, you yelled back saying that I said that 'it was a part of me', dammit!" Himekawa yelled back. In the end, Aoi had to stop the match halfway to allow Yuuka to remove the gel.
And the end result of Himekawa's bad hair day left most of the Seirin members in shock, but let's not talk about that and continue the match.
XXX
"Hmph. And after all that fuss, too." Kanzaki muttered to himself as he dribbled the ball on the spot. His niece- wait, when did she get here?!- started yelling 'Hajime!' to cheer him on, but it looked as if he and Himekawa were going to start another argument, Oga and Toujou wanting to spar each other and Aoi scheming to kill all of them. Kanzaki sighed before looking at the team members and chose to pass the ball.
"Oga! All yours!" The said person stared lazily at the incoming ball, said object flying across half the court. Suddenly, Oga noticed a blur of light blue approaching him.
'Kuroko predicted the ball's course. As expected of one of the Generation of Miracles!' Riko smirked, staring intently at Oga. 'Let's see how St. Ishiyama will deal with this!'
Kuroko reached forward, fingers about to tap the ball in front of Oga. Before he could do so, however, the ball was pulled- by something- away from him. Kuroko's eyes widened when he saw Oga's left arm stretched out to the side, hand holding on to the ball.
"Hmm? When did you get here?" Oga commented casually, ignoring Kuroko's look of the slight annoyance.
"… Don't let your guard down, Oga!" Kagami yelled, sprinting towards Oga from behind. The latter turned swiftly and met the former eye to eye.
Once again, Kuroko reached out his hand to snatch the ball from an angle Oga did not see coming. Oga noticed Kuroko's actions too late, and had the ball snatched from him. Or was it, really?
The ball flew a distance upwards, but Kagami did not notice where it had gone. To him, both Oga and the ball had mysteriously disappeared. Like Kuroko's misdirection.
"Kagami-kun, to the hoop." Kuroko sped past the red-head to get into a more proficient area for his technique to work. Kagami's eyes widened when he saw Toujou getting the ball, and was ready to dunk it in.
"Damn it!" Kagami tried to chase after Toujou. The latter however, dunked it in like it was nothing, almost pulling the hoop off the board as he did so. Furihata blew the whistle.
'What sheer power in a lay-up!' Riko thought anxiously, staring at the hoop. Kiyoshi just smiled like he usually did.
"Phew! That was a good one!" Toujou smirked, turning away from the basket. Kuroko took that opportunity to launch another quick pass to Kagami.
"Not this time…!" Kanzaki reached out to stop Kuroko's pass. It somewhat worked, and the ball flew away from Kagami's direction. But trouble was not over yet, and the ball was headed towards a certain teen and green-haired baby.
"Oga! Look out!" Aoi yelled across the court. Oga turned quickly, but was unable to react fast enough, causing the ball to hit Baby Beel right in the face.
Silence filled the court as Oga desperately looking over his shoulder. Baby Beel looked like it was about to cry. In fact, he was tearing already.
"Referee-time!" Furihata announced quickly.
"Uh… Oga? Is your baby alright?" Kagami asked unsurely.
"… I'm dead." Oga muttered nervously, sweating and his face turning deathly pale. Almost everyone from Seirin's eyes widened at the change of the former's demeanour. He immediately took Baby Beel off his shoulders and tried pacifying the latter as well as he could. "… Baby Beel! Men don't cry over something as trivial as this! You have to be strong!"
'How is getting hit by a basketball in the face considered trivial?!' Hyuuga grumbled angrily in his head. He then shifted his attention to movement of Hilda from the benches to the court.
"… Oga." Hilda's voice seemed to have made the said person's face turn even paler. "You hurt the Young Master on purpose, didn't you?"
"No, Hilda! It was just a small mistake, that's all…" Oga stammered nervously, cowering slightly at the presence of the demon. Not that the Seirin members knew she was one, of course.
"Oga! Is your baby alright?!" Miki- A boy with dark blue hair and scratch marks on his lower right cheek (to the Seirin members, anyway)- burst into the hall. Everyone immediately directed their attention to him.
"Miki? What are you doing here?" Furuichi asked, staring at the said person.
"Ahh, well… I was just walking by… No, it is my duty as a member of the Student Council to check on the condition of the hall you guys were using…" Miki stammered in a similar way to Oga's.
"I know! You just wanted to see Oga play, right? After all, you were trying to befriend him again after the Volleyball match!" Yuuka chirped, causing Miki to blush almost instantly.
"Tha-that's not my intention at all!" Miki yelled, but was interrupted by Oga's sudden sprint towards him.
"Miki! You do know where we can get ice-packs, right?" Oga asked desperately, hands on Miki's shoulders. Baby Beel was clinging on to Oga's shirt again.
"Woah! Too close… Yeah! I'll bring you there!" Miki dashed out of the sports hall, with Oga and Hilda following him.
The rest paused for a while before Riko finally broke the silence. "I think… We should call it a day."
"… I think so too." Aoi nodded.
XXX
"Thank you for the match today. It was a pity we weren't able to finish it," Riko extended a hand to Aoi.
"No, we had a great match earlier on. Let's have another one in the future," Aoi smiled slightly, taking Riko's hand and shook it. Most of the guys at the back groaned 'nevermore', but was ignored by both girls.
"Tch, and we were winning, too…" Kagami grumbled to himself before he was jabbed in the rib by Kiyoshi. The former pressed his side painfully.
"Well, take care!" Kiyoshi put on his poker face smile and waved.
"Yeah, another time!" Toujou did the same. Kuroko simply stared blankly at them.
"But next time, we'll be the ones winning." Himekawa sneered, staring calculatively at the Seirin team. His long hair did not match his delinquency, though.
"Hajime will win!" Kanzaki's niece- or so the Seirin team heard she was- added with a yell. Baby Beel cowered a little behind Oga, and the former seemed to have noticed this.
"Baby Beel, how about we get a stick of umaibou before heading home?" Oga punched a fist into the air. The baby clinging on to him cheered excitedly, despite the huge, white band-aid on his face. The Seirin team were glad that Baby Beel looked okay, since hitting a baby with a basketball wasn't exactly the nicest thing to occur on the court.
The two groups waved goodbye- somehow the whole fiasco with Baby Beel took them until sunset when their match only lasted five minutes- and headed off in different directions.
"Phew, today's match was intense. If it had gone on any longer…" Hyuuga sighed loudly when the Ishiyama gang were finally out of sight.
"There was a high chance we would have lost." Riko concluded. Most of the other members swallowed hard, but their coach turned around to face them. She announced, "There will be such strong players in the Winter Cup! Even so, are you all fired up? Training from hell is just about to begin!"
The Seirin team immediately stiffened up in seriousness, although most of them were sighing inwardly. Their training camp has not begun, and here she was announcing that it would be hell!
"Hey!" A sudden call snapped everyone out of their thoughts and Riko recognised the source of the voice as one of the St. Ishiyama basketball players. The player quickly ran up to them. "What took you guys so long? We had been waiting here since 3pm!" He grunted impatiently.
"Eh? You were?" Riko blinked cluelessly. She then turned to Kiyoshi. "Then who were we playing against earlier on?"
"Wait, you were playing against someone earlier? Which hall did you go to?" The player stammered, face turning pale.
"The one near the canteen. Why?" Riko replied, looking slightly annoyed at the player's growing nervousness. "Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Don't tell me… You people were playing a basketball match against the transfer students from Ishiyama, the infamous delinquent school of the East?!" The player's eyes were suddenly clouded with fear and worry. He was also trembling non-stop. "You guys were actually having an all-out match against the strongest monsters of Ishiyama- the Touhoushinki and the demon couple?!"
"Yeah, and we were actually in the lead," Kagami added with a clueness look on his face as well.
"The Seirin team is crazy! It's fine; our practice match's cancelled. If you guys are strong enough to take on those six- well, maybe five- I don't think we're a match for you anyways." The player blabbered out before making a mad dash to the sports hall he was in earlier on.
Most of the Seirin members stood rooted to the ground in shock and bewilderment. Suddenly, Kiyoshi broke the tense silence with a laugh and Hyuuga immediately grabbed the collar of his shirt.
"You. JUST WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US SOONER?!" Hyuuga bellowed in clutch mode.
"I was just curious as to whether they were as strong as the rumours said," Kiyoshi scratched the back of his head as he made his explanation.
"Kiyoshi-senpai, you should have explained it to them." Kuroko spoke, suddenly appearing next to Kiyoshi. The latter gave a look that said: You knew who they really were, as expected.
"There's nothing wrong with playing against strong players, right?" Kagami stated, still not that bothered about facing said delinquents in a match. He had a pretty spartan coach, so what were delinquents to him anyways?
"Did you not hear what that guy said?! The strongest of Ishiyama delinquents. The STRONGEST!" Hyuuga retorted immediately. "Not to mention that they're also delinquents! What if our match broke out into a full-fledged fight?!"
"Their arguments on the court seem to be bad enough!" Izuki added with Koganei and Mitobe nodding in agreement.
"Kuroko, couldn't you tell us about that sooner?" Riko sighed, face-palming as she did so.
"Kiyoshi-senpai seemed to want to keep their identity secret from all of you," Kuroko explained indifferently. "Besides, they are pretty famous. I thought everyone but Kagami-kun would recognise them."
"Yeah, famous. Infamous like that guy said, to be exact." Hyuuga sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. He turned to Kiyoshi, growling, "If you ever do that again, I'll be sure to wring your neck!"
"Hahaha, but you can't do that!" Kiyoshi smiled uneasily before dashing away. Hyuuga immediately chased after him, and so did the others later on.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about how depressed they used to be. They all seem pretty energetic already," Riko smiled, watching the boys run further and further away, into the sunset.
-END-