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Chapter 3 :
"Don't complain! This is your last year already, bear with it! I don't care, I want to see the summary on Friday.", Kagami announced to the class who all groaned in reply. "Well, you guys can go home now.", Kagami said, looking at the watch.
"Remember your homework okay?!", Kagami shouted to the leaving students, hearing an unwilling 'Yes, Sensei' from them.
Kagami chuckled, he did understand their feeling. He was once a student and well, the prospect of having homework was not very enjoyable even for him. But now he was the one giving them the homework, it actually felt kind of fun.
"Sensei…"
Kagami jumped a bit at the sudden soft voice calling him, he looked to the door and saw Kuroko standing there, "Oh hey, Kuroko! What is it?"
"These are the exercises you asked us to finish today.", Kuroko handed him four books, his, Aomine's, Kise's and Murasakibara's.
"Oh okay, thank you, Kuroko. You guys are the last one, I honestly thought you guys forgot it.", Kagami took all his things and started walking to the door, Kuroko following beside him.
"Sorry, Sensei. I did not forget, I am just waiting for the others so that I could give it to you at once.", Kuroko said softly.
Kagami chuckled and the two of them walked in silent.
"You are close with them huh?", Kagami suddenly asked.
Kuroko tilted his head in question.
"With Aomine, Akashi, well... with the Kisedai?", Kagami decided to just shortened it.
Kuroko nodded in reply.
"How long have you been playing basketball together, Kuroko?", Kagami asked again.
Kuroko blinked in surprise and pondered on it, "Since around my first year in junior high if I recall. I was already in basketball club at that time but I was in third string while they were in first string."
"Oh? So even if you guys were separated, you still played together huh?"
"No. Before we... never knew each other outside the club, even though I was classmates with some of them.", Kuroko explained softly.
"Huh? Why?", Kagami wondered.
"Because I have low presence, Sensei. Most people tend to not realize my presence.", Kuroko explained while staring right at Kagami's eyes.
"Huh? Low presence? You do? I think you are fine though.", Kagami furrowed his eyebrows.
Kuroko stared more at him before he whispered softly, "You are the first, Sensei. You are... different. You have noticed me easily from the first day.", he remembered the way Kagami easily called on him to wake Aomine up. He was beyond surprised that day.
"Of course I have noticed you, you were right there. How could I not notice you?", Kagami did not understand.
"Really, Sensei? It is... easy to see me?", Kuroko asked.
Kagami nodded and answered easily, "Of course."
Instead of being happy, Kuroko sighed. 'Then maybe what Akashi-kun said was right, I have started to lose my touch.' Kuroko gripped his fists tightly, 'If I could not use my low presence as a weapon anymore, how could I be of use to the team then...'
"Hey, Kuroko?", Kagami tapped on his shoulder, looking at him in concern, "You alright there?"
Kuroko kept his poker face and nodded. "I have to go now, Sensei."
"Oh? Practice?", Kagami guessed in which Kuroko replied with a nod.
"Alright then, see you later, Kuroko.", Kuroko bowed to him and turned to walk away. "Take care, okay?", Kagami shouted after his leaving form.
Kagami was looking at his back silently. Kuroko was really small huh? Not just small, he looked kind of... fragile.
'Hmm... After meeting the Principal, I have nothing to do, maybe I should go watch their practice for a bit.'
...
"I am sorry, I'm late.", Kuroko bowed down.
"It's fine, Kurokocchi! We are just about to start the meeting by the way.", Kise put his arm around the little shadow's shoulders and dragged him into the group of Kisedai gathering in front of the coach.
"Meeting about what?", Kuroko tilted his head.
Coach Sanada coughed to gather their attentions, "It is sudden but we are going to have a practice match against Seirin, they are on their way here as we are talking."
"Seirin?"
"I have heard of it...", Akashi spoke up. "They were once being called the black horse during the time Kiyoshi Teppei lead the team."
"Yes, and that was around two years ago.", Momoi opened her chart where she kept her data. "After Kiyoshi Teppei and the co graduated, they had lost their pillars."
"But this year, there is a rumor going around about two foreigners joining Seirin's team and since then, they have been going around, playing practice match against other schools.", Momoi finished.
"How are the outcome of their practice matches, Satsuki?", Akashi asked.
"So far, out of the six matches they had, they managed to win four matches, one draw against the infamous Kaijou High and one lose against Shutoku High with only one-digit gap, it was a close match.", Momoi answered easily.
Most of the Kisedai was impressed by their achievement, both Kaijou and Shutoku were ones of the powerhouse in national.
Even Aomine was excited to play with them. 'Maybe they wouldn't disappoint me.'
"So as you can hear, they are not an easy opponent. So I have got Momoi to prepare data about Seirin, she will give you a brief now.", Coach Sanada nodded to Momoi.
Momoi nodded back, "Alright, then first..."
...
While Momoi was sharing the data she got with the Kisedai, Kagami was trying to make a call to his father.
"The number you are calling is out of reach, please try again later."
Kagami frowned, he had been trying to reach his dad since lunch break but it was always the same answer.
He tried to call Reo, his dad's personal assistant and it was the same.
'Weird...', Kagami could not help but be worried since that morning Juno had been weird too. It was normal for him to remind him to be careful considering their background but something in his tone sounded different from usual.
'Could it be...', just when Kagami's thought was about to turn for worse, he got a message from Reo.
"Sorry, Taiga. Me and your Dad were in the middle of a very important meeting. Your Dad is still entertaining our clients, he swear to call you this evening.
And don't worry. We are safe."
Below, he attached the photo of his dad smiling in the mid of people in suits just like him.
Kagami stared at the photo for a long time and sighed in relief. 'At least they are fine.'
He quickly typed a reply before putting his phone into his pocket, his whole figure no longer tense.
When he got near the gym, he heard the familiar sound of running and the ball dribbling, though this time there was also some cheering in between it.
When Kagami stepped into the gym, the sight greeting him was of a boy with shoulder-length straight blonde hair doing a feint in front of Midorima, passing the ball to his teammate who had already jumped into the air before the ball even came his way. The boy with spiky brown hair wasted no time and slammed the ball right into the ring with a powerful BAM.
The whole gymnasium was silent before the sounds of people cheering thundered in it.
'What... I did not imagine it, right? It's them.', Kagami stared at the two people who played the part in scoring just now.
'Why are they here in Japan? And...', Kagami looked at the uniform they were wearing, the red lines lining on the white and the name of the school they were representing, 'SEIRIN'. He quickly recognized it to be Riko's former school. 'They are now attending Seirin High, huh.'
"Hell yeah!", the two foreigners did a high-five.
No one seemed to notice his presence so Kagami kept himself in the shadow, silently observing their matches. He took a look at the scores, it was still the first quarter with Seirin leading 18-10.
The Kisedai who were playing was Kise, Midorima and Murasakibara. Kuroko, Aomine and Akashi were on the benches.
Kagami soon realized few facts when he was watching them play.
First, the Kisedai was... incredible indeed. Midorima's range of shot was crazy, not to mention the accuracy. Murasakibara got the advantange of being huge, but he was so fast despite his huge body though a bit inactive in the court. Kise was quick to adapt, he could even copy his opponent's movement easily and he was always faster than his opponent.
They were good but... They seemed less... coordinated and less... motivated.
It was the opposite from Seirin, who was losing in term of skills but made it up with teamworks which centered on two players, Chris and Dio.
Yes, Chris Anderson and Dio Maburo. Kagami used to play basketball with them at the court near Kagami's living place in California. At that time, he was 12 and they were 8.
He had lost contact with them once he moved from California to NYC, he never thought he would meet them in Japan, not to mention in this kind of setting.
The two of them had grown up but Kagami could still recognize them easily. Chris's long eyelashes and his blonde hair that made girls envy him and Dio's shiny white teeth grin and the tattoo of flaming bird, the size of a fist on his right upper arm.
The sight of them brought up the nostalgia in Kagami. It brought back the good memories also the bitter memories from the past, all centering around a boy who had been the first to ever introduce him to basketball, who was also his older brother once.
Kagami shook his head, it was no time to think about that. Kagami returned his attention to the match.
Other than Chris and Dio, the other players in Seirin were not bad themselves, they were above average.
Facing Teikou, they might not win in a one-on-one against Kisedai but with the way they coordinated with each other, they had managed to get some points and prevented Teikou from taking the lead.
The first quarter ended with 42-35, Seirin still taking the lead.
Obviously, Teikou's side was aware that their opponents were not someone to take easy on.
On the second quarter, Aomine and Akashi were put into the matches. After that, the game escalated so fast.
One moment, Seirin was still taking the lead. Chris managed to get through Kise twice and Dio managed to block Aomine's attack once.
Then in the next moment, they were being completely oppressed by Teikou.
Murasakibara ruled the area under the ring completely so Seirin could only try to shoot from outside but Kise, Akashi and Midorima were always there to guard them. They could not do anything against the three of them, especially Akashi who seemed to be able to steal the opponent's ball so easily.
Then there was Aomine who attacked brutally with his... unique style. Kagami was awed at Aomine's play, it was so... beautiful.
The way he play the ball, it was like the ball was a part of his body. It was so natural. It was something that Kagami knew could only be achieved by endless practices or talent. Kagami believed Aomine had both of it.
Now that Kagami had seen their play with his own eyes, he understood why they were being called the Generation of Miracles.
In a blink of eyes, the score had become 46-78, Teikou's lead.
But Seirin did not give up just yet. They kept trying to break through Teikou's seemingly impenetrable defense, putting the hopes to their duo-aces, Chris and Dio.
There was only five minutes left before the match ended. Seirin still tried to push through but they clearly had become agitated, they started to make errors here and there. The ones being affected the most were probably the duo aces themselves.
During the last minutes, Seirin got a chance to attack, their last chance, although the gap between their scores were already too far for them to win the match but they still went for it.
The ball was now in possession of Dio, who was being guarded by Kise. He had tried to do some feints but Kise saw through all of it. Dio had no other chance but to pass the ball back to Chris who had Akashi guarding him.
They had been doing it for some time now, passing the ball between each other, the two of them trying to find some chance. But they were forgetting something very important in between their matches.
They forgot that there were not only the two of them in the court.
When Kagami saw Dio trying to forcefully run through Kise and Chris about to pass the ball to him, Kagami could not hold himself anymore.
"BEHIND, IDIOT!", he stepped out of the shadow and shouted, pointing to Seirin's number 6.
All of the players were shocked at the sudden intrusion but Chris's eyes automatically followed Kagami's hand and in reflex, he passed the ball to Seirin's number 6 who accepted the ball and just gaped, still at lost at what had just happened.
"WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? SHOOT!", Kagami yelled.
Seirin's number 6 shrieked and threw the ball high toward the ring.
"DIO! DON'T STAND LIKE AN IDIOT, FOOL!"
Dio shook out of his stupor and ran with everything he had to the ring, jumping when he was three steps away from the ring, receiving the ball in the air.
Aomine who realized what they were trying to do, immediately run from the other side of the court, right in time to lightly touch the ball. Such an amazing speed, Kagami thought in awe.
The ball spinned around the ring very quickly before it stopped and tilted into the ring. The orange ball dropped onto the ground, rolling to Aomine's feet.
PIIIIPPPPP, the referee sounded the whistle, signaling the end of the match.
The match ended with 52-92, Teikou's complete victory.
Yet, forgetting the fact that they had lost , Seirin's team cheered for the last two points they managed to get.
If one did not look at the scoreboard and only at both teams alone, they would probably think that Seirin had won and Teikou had lost, seeing how Seirin's side was cheering and Teikou's side was deadly silent, most of them still could not comprehend what had transpired in the last minute.
Chris and Dio cheered with their team before they seemed to remember something. They turned their head to where Kagami was standing, grinning the same grin they knew so well.
The two of them grinned as well and ran to the man, "Taiga!", Dio jumped up and bear-hugged him. "Is this really you?! Man! I miss you!"
Chris followed Dio and bear-hugged Kagami too, all the while laughing in joy.
Seirin was confused, at the same time curious about who the man was since he knew their aces and he had kind of aided them in the end, right?
Kisedai was stunned, not only because they hadn't expected their homeroom teacher to appear right there but because of what the said teacher had done. They watched as their two opponents talked animatedly to their teacher in fluent English.
Coach Sanada was fuming, 'Him again!' Not only had he intended to harm Aomine yesterday, he even interrupted their match today!
For Coach Sanada, the red-haired teacher must had intentionally done what he did to provide a chance for the other team! Did he has a grudge against their basketball team?!
Kagami noticed that they were making a scene so he said to the two teens who kept talking non stop. "Hey, we will catch up with each other later. Your team is waiting.", he gestured to Seirin with his head.
After that, both teams thanked each other for the match. Chris and Dio both exchanged their numbers with Kagami before they had to follow the team back to Seirin.
Kagami stayed at the gym, standing a few steps beside where Coach Sanada had assembled the first string to have a brief. Whole minute had passed but there was still no words coming from the coach.
Finally, Coach Sanada coughed and looked sternly at Kagami, "May I ask what are you still doing here, Kagami-sensei?", anyone could hear that he was forcing himself to converse with the red-haired teacher.
Kagami blinked and smiled, "I wanted to see the team."
"You have seen them and the practice match has ended, we just had to have a brief before they could go."
So you could leave now, was left unsaid but Kagami somehow got what he wanted to say, he could totally sense the hostility from the coach.
'Seems like he doesn't have a good impression about me, huh?' , Kagami chuckled and raised his hands up, "You can go on with the brief, Coach Sanada. I will mind my own business."
Kagami stepped into the court, plucked the button of his sleeves off and rolled it up to his upper arms, picking up the orange ball lying there.
He was dribbling the ball and doing some shooting while he tried to eavesdrop on what Coach Sanada wanted to say to them.
Kagami now understood that the Kisedai was indeed immensely skilled and talented. He was also certain that what he saw today was not all they were capable of. He was curious how Coach Sanada was handling a group of prodigies like them, that was why he had tried to stay and listen on to the brief.
But it seemed like Coach Sanada really disliked him so much because he made the players gathered in circle and briefed them in a quiet voice as if to prevent any words to reach Kagami's voices.
Kagami huffed and gave up in trying to eavesdrop on them.
He let himself dwell in the familiar feeling of the orange ball bouncing onto his palm and onto the floor.
Dribble Dribble Crossover Right Left Right Left Rotate Faint Dribble Dribble Faint Run Stop Crossover Right Left Right Left Spin Run Step Jump Shot
The orange ball sailed through the air and into the ring with a familiar whoosh.
Kagami ran and picked the ball up, going back to his spot. This time instead of only executing some moves, Kagami imagined playing against some opponents.
Old faces appeared in front of Kagami one by one and Kagami broke through each one with excitement on his face. He adjusted his pace according to his opponents, sometimes quick, sometimes slow.
The last he had imagined was one of his teammates in high school.
He kept his pace relaxed against him. Dribble, dribble, crossover, again, again... again. Then as sudden, he retracted his foot and faked a shoot to bait his opponent. When his opponent jumped, he pulled his arm back and ran passed him.
He could totally imagine his old teammates cursing him and grinned.
He was about to shoot the ball when suddenly another opponent appeared and Kagami saw him.
His black hair, the mole under his eyes, his kind smile.
Kagami stopped and pulled back, cautious.
'What's wrong, Taiga?'
'Are you going to give up?'
He smiled and yet there was disappointment in his eyes as he continued, 'You are not him. The little brother that I know will not give up that easily.'
Kagami's whole figure stiffened when he heard the same words directed to him, coming from the same person.
'Tatsuya...', Kagami stopped dribbling the ball, letting the ball roll away from him.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil of his emotions.
"Sensei."
"WAH!", this time Kagami jumped high into the air, his heart thumping hard in shock. He turned around to see Kuroko there.
"Kuroko! Don't suddenly appear like that!", Kagami shouted, still holding his heart.
Kuroko blinked, surprised and a bit confused. Kagami's reaction was not something new, it was the exact reaction he often got from people due to his low presence, but Kagami had been an exception. He had always been able to notice Kuroko easily. To see this reaction of him, this was the first time for Kuroko.
"Are you alright, Sensei?", Kuroko asked, worried. He had been watching him playing by himself from the start, not listening to the brief at all.
Kuroko kinda had a guess that his teacher played basketball but he did not expect him to play so well.
The way he was handling the ball, the moves he executed, it was like he was a natural in it.
Most of all, the thing that really got Kuroko's attention was that Kagami's play style kind of resembled Aomine's, and his expression, serious-yet-having-fun, it reminded Kuroko of the old Aomine.
Even after the brief was over and the Coach had dismissed them, Kuroko still stayed to watch him.
"Wow. So Kagami-sensei really play basketball, huh.", he heard Kise commented from beside him, there was a hint of awe in his voice.
Kuroko saw that all Kisedai had stayed, even Aomine. Kuroko could see the way Aomine was staring at Kagami's playing form and he was certain that he could see what Kuroko was seeing.
"Huh?", Kise's confused voice made Kuroko turned his eyes back to his teacher.
Kagami had suddenly stopped, his whole figure tense and then just like that, he dropped the ball.
The orange ball rolled to Kuroko's feet and he picked it up, making his way to his teacher.
Kuroko saw Kagami closed his eyes and took a deep breath, shaking a bit which led Kuroko to call his teacher.
"Are you alright, Sensei?", Kuroko asked again when he did not receive any reply.
Kagami blinked and rubbed his neck sheepishly, "I am fine of course, just a bit surprised. I did not notice you there, Kuroko, sorry."
Kuroko could not decide whether that was usual or unusual.
"Oh? You guys are done, huh?", Kagami finally took notice of the almost empty gymnasium.
"Sensei~~!", Kise ran to Kagami. "You never told us that you could play basketball -ssu !"
Aomine snorted from behind, he had known it from the man himself but he was still surprised to see the level of his play. 'Maybe I could... Nah, don't get your hope up again, idiot. See what today had done to you.', he thought to himself bitterly.
"Uhm... You never asked?", Kagami chuckled when Kise pouted. "I could only play a bit though, not as good as you guys."
This time, it was Midorima who scoffed. It amused Kagami because he rarely could get any reaction from him.
"Sensei~", Kise called again to regain the teacher's attention. "How about we make a bet?", Kise smirked slyly.
"A bet?", Kagami raised his eyebrow.
Kise nodded eagerly, "Yeah~~ We will play one-on-one, and if I could beat you, Sensei, you must never give us any homework from now on!" He stretched his hands to his sides, a sly grin on his handsome face, "How about it, Sensei? Do you accept -ssu?"
Kagami mirrored his sly grin, "And what do I get if I win, Kise?"
"Huh?", Kise blinked.
"Oh come on, Kise, you can't expect me to accept a bet that doesn't benefit me at all."
Akashi was surprised at Kagami's answer and smiled, he had expected the man to accept the challenge easily since Akashi saw him as a hot-headed type. Seemed like once again, he had miscalculated this man.
"Uhm... What do you want then, Sensei? You can ask me anything.", Kise said confidently since he believed he could win this.
"Anything, huh?"
Kise quickly added, "... except for perfect grades okay, Sensei. That's impossible.", he swayed his forefinger right and left.
Kagami chuckled then thought to himself carefully. What could he ask the blonde huh. Anything that could help him in his mission.
"Don't meddle too much, but also don't disregard them."
Kagami suddenly remembered Juno's words last night. He still got a whole year so he did not have to rush things. Step by step.
"How about this...", Kagami spoke up. "If you win, I will not give your class any homework for a month."
Kise opened his mouth to complain but Kagami had cut him off before he had the chance. "That's as much as you could get, Kise, considering that I don't really get much from this silly bet. So take it or leave it, Kise."
Kise frowned but one month was still better than none, "Alright-ssu...", he pouted.
Kagami chuckled and continued, "And if I win..."
Kise perked his ears in interest, he almost forgot about it since the thought of him losing never went past his head.
"You must treat me to Maji Burger anytime I want it and for how much I want it.", Kagami grinned widely, "Don't worry, you only have to treat me for just one week."
Kise's mind started to weigh both outcomes, one month free of homework and only one week of treating burger. How much could burgers even cost? And there was no way that someone was eating it seven days consecutively without getting bored. Kise got his answer.
"How about it, Kise? Deal?", Kagami's grin turned into a sly smirk, he stretched his right hand out to seal the deal.
Kise felt excited , he mimicked his smirk and shook his hand, "Alright, Sensei. Deal."
"Alright! Kurokocchi! The ball, please~", Kuroko passed the ball to Kise and walked to the sidelines where everyone was going to watch their one-on-one.
"Nah. I have one condition if we are doing this bet.", Kagami suddenly spoke up.
"Huh? There's a condition?", Kise questioned out loud.
"Yeah. I want to do this one-on-one in private, without any spectators.", Kagami stated.
-To be Continued-