Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket or its characters. Also this was inspired by Ashes Remain's "On my own" song.

Note: Based on Kuroko no Basket: Extra Game, so yeah, this may contain spoilers for those who didn't finish its prequel or read this sequel as well.


"Bring me out
From the prison of my own pride"

"Since there is no other choice, I'll lend a hand..."Aomine said and jumped to block Silver together with Kagami.

And obviously they succeeded, even if they were bickering in the process. Other players just rolled their eyes and got the ball back, with Kuroko passing and Kise dunking they got two points back. If someone dared to call this game an easy one, Aomine could swear he'd punch the bastard in the face. Or better give him at the mercy of Silver, who looked more like a wild brainless beast than human.

Time passed quickly enough. More than enough actually. Aomine felt it necessary to enter the Zone, so as always with a bit of concentration, he slipped through the enormous gates into the calm realm that gave him limitless powers. Teaming up with Kise was a good idea perhaps. It felt like ages since they played together and actually it was ages since then. Even though their team work wasn't much different from the one in their early middle school years, when they were still enjoying basketball like some little kids when they get excited about a new game or toy.

Something was missing though. Aomine felt it with his guts. Getting in the Zone, with such partner as Kise with his Perfect Copy, he thought this will be quite enough for them to take the lead for a while before Akashi and Midorima get back in the game. He thought so. But even after Kise's exceptional play, with his Perfect Copy and Zone combined, it felt like they were missing something really important. Akashi got in the game again, awakening his other self in order to use Emperor Eye and get past other team's captain, Nash Gold Jr. The guy could easily compete with Akashi's freaky trait, especially with the influence he had on his teammates. Just like the other Akashi, he could just shut them up only by throwing them a glare.

Despite the fact they all thought that Akashi's Emperor Eye was something rare enough, here he go, another guy with the same eyes as their captain's. If speaking about one-on-one with Akashi, it was practically impossible to win. Aomine remembers clearly when Murasakibara tried to get past Akashi back in middle school years. Keyword tried. And Murasakibara is an opponent with both strength and speed. Obviously he's not as fast as Aomine is himself, but fast enough. Even Kagami in the Zone got knelt by Akashi. There already were not doubts that Akashi will win his one-on-one. Or so they thought.

'What the actual fuck is happening there? Tell me someone, I'm too dumb to understand it myself.' Aomine stood dumbfounded with eyes wide and he was sure if he looks now at the other teammates, even the public and bench, he will see his own expression like in a mirror.

Akashi was crushed. In a fucking split second. Just like a basketball newbie. They didn't even realize when Nash swished the ball through the net. And Aomine was in the freaking Zone! He just couldn't miss it!

'Was this some sort of magic or something? That's crazy!'

Okay, the shock was real and no one could move for few seconds. The time other team spent to throw two more baskets. Surprisingly, Kuroko was the first one to snap back to reality. He stole the ball from his opponent and made a pass to Kagami. A ignite pass. Kai. It mostly slammed Kagami in the face, and gosh, the sight was so amusing that Aomine couldn't help but chuckle a bit when he saw the redhead cursing at Kuroko under his breath before slamming a dunk and getting back two points.

Was this the missing thing? Aomine's heart skipped a beat at the thought.

"I don't wanna be incomplete
I remember what you said to me
I don't have to fight alone"

Exactly, he wasn't alone. No one in that team actually felt alone. This was kind of unexpected for them though, as they formed their team not long ago. Even if they played in middle school together, those years were nothing but a painful period of time for each of the Miracles. But now, it felt different, totally the opposite. Aomine was having fun and he was sure other teammates were also smiling at the exciting sight of these unbeatable rivals, which were irritating and annoying, yes, but worthy rivals indeed.

Aomine took a deep breath filling his lungs with fresh air and felt like he was diving deeper in the Zone. He managed to steal the ball from one of the Jabberwock's and attempted one of his formless shots, but failed as he got stopped by Nash in person.

'Shit! What Akashi's doing?' he glanced in their captain's direction to see the other one smirking and wiping his sweat with the back of his hand.

'The little bastard has something on his mind. I wonder what it is-' he stopped his train of thoughts as Akashi threw him a death glare 'Fuck! Did he read my mind or something?' his gaze visibly dropped as he scratched the back of his head nervously. 'There's no way he could do that, right? Right? Well, okay. Time to concentrate, damn it! Stop thinking stupid stuff about Akashi!' he felt a shiver down his spine this time but decided to shrug it off. For now he had to give his 100, no, 120% to win in this game.

"There's gotta be another way out
I've been stuck in a cage with my doubt
I've tried forever getting out on my own.
But every time I do this my way
I get caught in the lies of the enemy"

Okay. He had to admit that his play was shitty enough against Nash. Even being teamed up with Akashi and Kuroko didn't help them much. They failed another attempt to get points back. The gap was increasing bit by bit, and it was almost 3rd quarter's ending. That was when his eyes caught a glimpse of crimson flashing in front of him. So, finally. Kagami got in the Zone too. This was kind of unexpected though as his trigger was his will to fight for his team and friends. Aomine really doubted the last part though. Maybe Kagami just didn't want to lose after all?

Kagami in the Zone was a sight worth to see. Yeah, Aomine saw him previously, at the Winter Cup, both as opponent and viewer. He never imagined though what it will be like if they were on same team. Now he understood Kagami's teammates from Seirin High. It was indeed an encouraging sight. It made his insides twist with excitement and happiness. He even didn't realize the fact he was smiling like an idiot and other teammates throwing him confused looks.

"Right, Bakagami. Give it all of your power. Let's have some fun here." Aomine said and patted gently Kagami's shoulder, as if being afraid to not make the other teen exiting the Zone, especially after those efforts to get in.

To his surprise, Kagami didn't get angry at his gesture or even the stupid nickname. He just smiled back "Yeah, let's kick some asses, Aomine."

One step, two steps, three... Deeper and deeper. As he played at the top of his possibilities, Aomine felt like he's drowning. 'Damn, not yet. I need all of it, don't leave me now, when I need you the most. Shit...' He already was at his limit. He thought about how pathetic he is and cursed himself mentally for skipping practice for so long, his stamina was lacking some good points. But seeing Kagami playing this hard was really inspiring. The redhead managed to score a Meteor Jam above Nash, just like it was with Akashi back at Winter Cup's finals.

Out of breath, panting hard, with legs and hands going numb, the tanned teen stood here at the side of the court, not moving at all.

"Aominecchi! What's up? Don't stay here like some statue, move!" Kise yelled at him from the bench.

'Shut up, annoying prick. As if I don't want to!' the moment he thought this, the whistle sounded so sharply in his ears announcing the 3rd quarter's end. He made an effort to look up at the score. '85-73... This sucks. Huh? Kagami? What-' he looked at the redhead who practically ran towards him.

"Aomine! What the hell you think you're doing? Don't tell me you gave up on this game! I'll fucking kill you if you did!" Kagami was angry. Like so angry.

"Huh? Wanna get punched, you bastard?" said Aomine gritting his teeth.

"Then what the hell was that? I believed you could stop that shithead, so I went to block Nash! I can't believe you ruined our defense by standing stock-still!"

"I-I'm... just exhausted, okay? I'm a fucking human! And what was that? You believed in me? You of all people? Don't make me laugh!" he said scrunching his nose in disgust.

Kagami didn't reply to this. He just went to bench, got a towel and a bottle of water. Aomine's eyes went wide when he saw that Kagami walked back to him. Without any words, he put the towel on Aomine's head and started to rub his face and neck with it, handing the water bottle. Aomine honestly was shocked at such attitude from Kagami. Firstly, he thought about punching the bastard in the face, but after seeing other teen's face, he stopped himself. There was no mocking or pity in those crimson eyes. He just wore a serious expression. And after seeing Aomine taking the bottle and gulping it down, a smile crept up on his face. He let go of Aomine's head and motioned him to follow.

Bench was kind of... too silent. No one was talking here. Just resting their exhausted bodies and drinking tons of water. Aomine and Kagami sat down next to Akashi who looked like he was deep in thought. Kagami was the one who broke the silence. He glanced at Akashi and spoke.

"Akashi, two minutes from 4th quarter. Then we get back."

Aomine and others were stunned. No one understood what Kagami was talking about, even coach and managers. Akashi looked at the redhead and stated "Fine. Just make sure the outcome will not disappoint me."


A/N: Yes, it's not finished yet, so it's going to be not a full one shot like I wanted at the beginning, but split in two parts, the second one will hopefully come out soon too (I didn't write it yet so idk when it will happen xD).

So so, I decided to post it before the last chapter of Extra Game comes out, just because well, I saw the spoilers (raw pages) of it... I just don't wanna my idea to be claimed as "based on original". That's all. Oh, I wrote it like a month ago, and wanted to finish it and then post, but well, me and my ego orz