A warmth.

It was all his mind could register right now.
There was no sound, nothing but a pitch black surrounding him and had it not been for that warmth around him, he'd surely have felt a lot more panicked. The more he put his mind to it, the more noticeable that very quiet noise became. It sounded like a calm heartbeat, but it wasn't his own. The blond focused on that sound for a while until a breath of air hit the back of his neck and sent chills down his whole spine. Just what the hell was behind him?!

A familiar scent crept up to tickle his nostrils, and he could swear he knew this particular smell. He just couldn't place it, where did he know this from? It wasn't one of his own colognes, it had a spicy undertone and that wasn't something he'd wear. Still, he was sure he knew to what or whom it belonged, it was right at the tip of his tongue yet he couldn't bring himself to remember it.

It took a while before more of his senses seemed to wake up, first his sense of touch which had him not feel all that much more comfortable as it made him realize something was wrapped around his waist, the same warmth as before, though maybe a bit warmer and more focused at where it circled around him and against his back. Soon enough the darkness that had been preventing him from knowing just what exactly was happening, started changing into a different color. More colors came into view as time passed and a glance downwards had him nearly choke on his own saliva, an audible and loud gulp breaking the silence before a voice, that was not his own, did.

"Finally awake?"

It was nothing but a low growl coming from the other's throat, and the sound of it sent even more shivers across his whole body this time, ending at the tip of his toes as the model let out a shaky breath, inhaling with a quiet whine as his eyes were glued to the sight below his own waist. Arms were wrapped around him, as he had been able to feel quite a while ago, but what kept his entire focus down there was the hand that was working its way down into the sweatpants, no, even his boxer shorts! He felt lips being pressed to the nape of his neck, a low chuckle causing vibrations to spread across that same patch of skin as another soft whine was coming from behind his own lips. With his eyes, that had more of a Dijon gold color right now, taking in the view he recognized exactly who's hand it was going down his pants right now. A single glimpse of a fingernail, the skin that was tanned compared to his own, which was almost as if he was made out of porcelain. He had seen those hands blocking his shots more than could be counted on one hand (haha very funny, who was he? Izuki?) and with a bit of hesitation he let himself be heard.

"Kagamicchi..?"

"You expected anyone else?"

Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh hell to the no this was NOT happening.
He had to be dreaming, there was no way this was real.

A light squeeze caught him off guard, thoughts shoved aside for that wave of electricity that was rapidly making its way up his spine. Reality or not, he'd worry about that later, when he wasn't being fondled down there. Who would be able to think straight (no seriously when did he turn into Izuki?) in a situation like this? Just enjoying the moment while it lasted, going with it, was that all that bad? Before he could even give himself an answer to that, the blond had hooked his thumbs on the hem of both the pair of sweatpants he borrowed and his underwear, tugging it down enough to uncover his waist, upper legs and 'everything' in between. He could feel his heart beating loudly in his ears, as if it was trying to burst out in any way possible, it was almost scary.

Long fingers wrapped themselves around his hardening member, nails lightly scraping against his skin as it got Kise gasping for air, biting his lower lip to hold back a groan, though another squeeze had him open his mouth and spill the noise anyway. He could feel how each finger, one by one, started to slide across the sensitive flesh, forcing the blond to take short and uneven breaths as he tried to control his body, feeling every muscle twitch whenever those fingers would even move a single inch. Then, all of a sudden, he could feel teeth against the helix of his ear, his back arching ever so slightly as a guttural moan came from the back of his throat, and the way he could feel those lips against the back of his ear curl up into a smile had a vibrant red color spread across his cheeks. "You're too tense, relax a little." Easier said than done. It's not every day you find your crush's hand on your private parts, the least he could do was cut him some slack and just continue right now instead of teasing him like this.

As if his thoughts were voiced, fingers curled around his shaft tightly, pulling all the air straight from his lungs as the hand slowly started moving up before going right back down in one smooth motion. It was every time his index finger reached the tip did the other press it firmly against the slit, causing the blond male's legs to shake uncontrollably and a loud moan being ripped from his throat, fingers curling around the sheets and his back arching even more, which pulled him away from the warmth of the other's body. It was pure and utter bliss, the electric shocks going through his body with every move, the way his own temperature was going up so rapidly it made him dizzy. Once more a firm squeeze made him shut his eyes tightly as he saw stars and then—

A ceiling.

Eyes wide open and for a moment he didn't do anything, not even breathe, trying to puzzle together what had just happened in the matter of a second. Eyes looking around he recognized the room to be Kagami's bedroom, or so he assumed from all the basketball merchandise and the Seirin uniform hanging next to the door, and the way he was trapped inside a big bundle of sheets would explain the ridiculous heat he was feeling all around him. With a light click of the tongue, Kise shoved the sheets off of him roughly, wishing he hadn't done so when eyes fell upon a problem.

Oh a problem indeed.

His first thought was to ignore it and go to sleep, thinking it'd fade eventually. But as soon as the blond tried to shift onto his side, the slightest movement of the sweatpants' fabric had him squirming and holding back a sound he had been letting out so freely in what was apparently a dream, a really good one at that. His eyes went back downwards as a silent 'shit' came from behind gritted teeth, a low hiss following as his own fingers pulled down the garments to check the damage.

Was he really going to do this? It wasn't as if he had much choice, and judging by how the redhead was nowhere to be found he was either sleeping on the couch or still watching TV. He didn't really want to take the risk walking out and facing a wide awake Kagami with a hard-on, because this couldn't be more obvious even when covered. He'd just have to be quick about it, right?

His fingers wrapped around the member just like the ones in his dream had been, copying the movements and occasionally scraping his nails across the skin, free hand pressed against his mouth firmly to block out any noise that might slip out. As much as he wanted to get this over with, his lower parts didn't really seem to agree with the way he was handling things, and it became only more painful and frustrating the longer he went on. Was it a bad day for Gemini or something? Oh how much he sounded like Midorima now, but so far the whole Oha-Asa stuff had been pretty accurate, you'd almost want to blame this all on that.

With a scowl the model just closed his eyes, trying to recall what he was doing different from that redhead in his dream, seeing it all playing out before his eyes again and somehow the sparks of electricity came back to haunt his body once more. Whatever he was doing wrong, it sure felt a lot better imagining a hand that wasn't his own doing this, or more specifically, Kagami's. The blond was nearing the edge in no time, and before he could even think of the mess this was going to make, he reached his limit. Teeth latched onto the hand he had pressed against his mouth firmly as his back arched off of the bed, legs trembling like crazy and his vision turning a bright white as he let his orgasm wash over him for a moment.

As he pulled both his hands back, one covered in saliva and the other in something even more sticky than that, only then did he realize what he had just done. Eyes wide open as he slowly let his gaze fall down, face drained from all color as he thoroughly examined the sheets for anything that was most definitely not 'sheets'. A relieved sigh as all seemed to be fine, followed by a groan in discomfort at how he had managed to cover himself in his own stuff. He'd definitely take a shower in the morning, for now he'd just have to wipe this off, but of course the borrowed sweatpants weren't an option in the slightest, nor were his already soaked boxer shorts. A deep sigh as Kise sat up on the bed, pushing the sheets aside with his feet, as his hands were obviously a no-go, before getting up, yanking his underwear back up and trying to keep himself balanced, wobbly. Walking properly proved a whole challenge on its own as he opened the door and went to the bathroom, thanking the other in the back of his mind for telling him where it was, saved him from looking for it.

Once his hands and upper body were wiped clean, even having washed his hands a second time to be sure, the blond tossed the paper into the toilet and flushed it away. 'Gone with the evidence', was all he could think before he turned off the lights. It wasn't until now that he noticed how the TV was still on, some random program with people who claimed to be fortune tellers and a phone number at the bottom of the screen in what could only be the biggest and ugliest font in existence. Approaching the couch he found Kagami, clumsily draped over that same couch with a blanket barely covering him. A soft smile tugged at the lips of Kaijo's ace as he pulled the blanket from the other's grip, spreading it out to cover him properly before he crouched down in front of his rival's face. "The things you do to me, I swear…" He whispered, pinching the redhead's nose for a few seconds before the other let out a discomforted grunt, causing the blond to snort ever so slightly as he let go, a smile covering his lips as he was amused by the other's reaction. "Baaaakagamicchi…" Because why not add another syllable to it?

Getting back onto his feet, Kise made his way back to the bedroom, wondering why the other hadn't left him to sleep on there. As he recalled, the last moment before he fell asleep was when he had been leaning against Kagami on the couch. "You're too nice, like you're asking me to fall for you even more.." The blond mumbled beneath his breath, looking back once more and giving the other a smile even though he was obviously caught in a deep slumber. "Goodnight."

"What're you looking at?"

"A recording of this morning's Oha-Asa, it's their morning horoscope."

A black phone in his hand, white earplugs sticking out from the top and going up to the plugs that were sitting snuggly in his ears. Usually people wouldn't bother much with what Kise did on his phone, as he often got text messages he felt the need to reply to. Of course his superior, Kasamatsu, didn't really agree with that though unless it was about his work, maybe. But now he was just looking at his screen without any movement of his fingers, compared to his usual self when he'd have a phone in hand, sure it must've been a bit abnormal.

"When this thing's good, Midorimacchi's good."

It was still a mystery how a morning horoscope could predict how well he'd play that day, but as long as it proved to work there was no reason to complain about it. Back in Teiko too, when his horoscope would come out bad for the day, he'd be a whole lot more cautious, sometimes even putting himself on the bench for that day purely to avoid this bad luck predicted for him.

"Ah, the guy from Teiko. What's his sign?"

"Cancer. Kurokocchi is an Aquarius."

He's heard the green haired male mention all their signs so many times, he'd doubt they'd ever be able to be erased from his memory. It had given some fun, little information though. For example it is how he found out he was the oldest from their team back then, even though he certainly didn't act like it.

"I didn't ask."

'You never do' was what the blond said in the back of his mind, but for the sake of his ass not getting kicked he'd just keep that to himself for now. Pressing the 'play' button, his focus went away from the casual talk and back to the Oha-Asa recording.

'First place goes to Cancer, congratulations! You'll have no complaints today. Last place goes to Aquarius. Play it quiet today.'

The blond stopped in his tracks and let out a discomforted noise as he slightly gritted his teeth. Of course this all, plus the sudden change of the other's mood didn't go unnoticed by his superior walking right behind him. A bit of a startled noise before the short haired raven decided to speak up.

"What?"

The model turned to look at him, expression a whole lot less cheerful compared to before and maybe even on the verge of completely bummed out. The recording was paused again as he felt no need to listen any further, the differences in places of his former teammates their signs was enough to say this outcome was just-

"The worst.."

The silence wasn't too comforting, just hearing their own footsteps and the cheering of the crowd vaguely in the background. Kise had never been one to feel comfortable with long silences, especially not like this. A soft, but obviously annoyed groan had his ears perk up as he waited for words to follow.

"Geesh, you took so long to buy a drink the game has already started!"

And of course those same words were followed immediately by a punch to the back of his shoulder, causing the blond to lose his balance for a few steps before regaining the same pace he had before. Knowing he was in the wrong this time, he chose wisely to not respond to the other's remark and just rubbed the back of his head out of habit.

When eyes, a bright flaxen gold color due to the lighting, fell upon the court, the model let out a silent 'huh' in surprise as to how little there was happening. He had kind of expected a whole lot more going on considering this was Seirin playing down there. However, the moment his gaze shifted to the scoreboard the blond couldn't help but let his confusion be known after all.

"What?"

Eyes widened, lips slightly parted as he was still trying to lay a grasp on what he was seeing right now. How was it even possible that Seiho had taken a lead of twelve points and at the same time be able to not let Seirin have at least one?!

"Whoa, seriously?"

Had he not been so blown away, he'd probably have turned his head to see the face his superior was making right now. But he just couldn't take his eyes of the court anymore, he just had to see it, had to see how Seiho had shut down a team like Seirin right from the start. A few more seconds and he was called back to his senses, taking his eyes of the field for a moment to follow the shorter male to wherever he wanted to sit. Though, the moment they had found a place, golden eyes were instantly glued back to the same sight. He'd say this was an interesting match, but somehow 'interesting' sounded far too positive to describe how he felt about this. He could see Seirin struggle against the other team's defense more than just a little bit. Kagami especially, with the way the other player was preventing him from going anywhere, and somehow the sight seemed familiar. The ball was passed, Seirin's point guard, Izuki Shun, taking the ball to the opponent's basket but it was obvious for the crowd around them it'd be futile. It came as no surprise when the shot was blocked, and it got Kise wondering just how much pressure was being put on them that even someone with an ability like 'eagle eye' was becoming somewhat sloppy.

"What are they doing?" The model couldn't help but be a little annoyed by the way this match was going, as he had been looking forward to seeing Kuroko and Kagami go at full force, see if they had improved their coordination after their last practice match. Seemed like he wasn't granted to see such a thing right now.

"I thought so when we played them, but Seirin is a slow starter." Even so, this was not something you could just describe as a slow start. "Kagami is usually the one to put his foot on the gas, but without that they can't hit their stride." True that. During their match as well, the redhead had been all fired up at the start, though seemed to calm down around the middle of it all. The blond could clearly remember the grin on his face when he'd tease him, get him even more fired up to play at his fullest. Like fire in his eyes, you'd almost call it mesmerizing.

A loud whistle pulled him back into the game, seeing the referee put up his hand as he spoke.

"Charging! White, ten!"

He was getting angry. No doubt Kagami was getting angry, Kise couldn't say he knew him all that well to say what he would and wouldn't do, but he was pretty sure Seirin's ace wouldn't carelessly get a foul unless he was pissed off to the point where it'd cloud his mind just enough for him to act before he even thinks. Not to even mention this was apparently his second foul, if that hotheaded idiot wouldn't get himself to calm down it might just actually end up to be a loss for Seirin. 'No no Kagamicchi, you have to win this and play against Midorimacchi. I can't be the only one of us to lose to you, I'll get scolded!'

And that is when he remembered, the guy who had Kagami as his mark. Tsugawa Tomoki, the guy had been too much of a creep for him to forget that name. A pure and utter sadist from the way he smirked at Kise being scolded by his whole team, he had been very serious when he had asked them if they'd want to change marks with him. He could almost feel shivers running over his back at remembering the face that guy made back then, no thanks.

"Seiho's defense is man-to-man, but this is no ordinary man-to-man. They're creating pressure by staying right on their guys the whole time." That had to be why Kagami was on edge, so far he's only been dealing with team's that, as soon as they had the ball, would discard their marks and switch to offense immediately. "You can't break away from them easily. No matter how good you are at passing, if no one's free, you're playing at half power." Kise was glad to have Kasamatsu sitting next to him right now, as the other had often proved to be good at analyzing a match and the way he explained it was easy to understand as well. Had he been here by himself he'd most likely spend the whole match trying to figure out what the hell Seiho was doing that gave results like this, because it surely wasn't just the fact they were pressuring the other team so much, something else was off.

"Their defense is strong, but they'll never last until the end of the game playing like that."

"But they do."

And that was it, Kasamatsu seeing something he wasn't seeing. The blond couldn't imagine how they'd last like this for a whole game, they'd get tired and sloppy after a while like any team would, right?

"Because they use old martial arts techniques."

Now there was something he had never heard about in basketball before, using the techniques of another sport to, apparently, save up your stamina or something along those lines. His eyes followed a particular mop of red hair as he took a seat on the bench, their coach kneeled down in front of their players as it seemed she had also figured out what was so off about Seiho's movements. He concluded that much when he saw their ace make some cheap, movie-like martial arts move and the blond couldn't help but let out a quiet snort at the sight. As serious as he'd look on the court, Kagami could really be described as a dork off court. As his superior started to explain their difference in movement, Kise turned his head to look at him, such a well-mannered guy.

"One of the techniques they use is called 'namba running', it's when your arms and legs move together and go in the same direction. Apparently, by avoiding twisting you can reduce the strain of your body and the energy you spend."

"You know a lot about this." It was amazing how much their captain knew about a lot of things, and Kise couldn't deny he admired him for that.

"They're an unusual team. They've been interviewed by Basketball Monthly too."

So that's how they do it. The model couldn't even help but notice how Tsugawa's defense was even stronger than last year, which made him able to understand how Kagami must've been feeling up until now. But he also knew the redhead wouldn't just give in over something as small as this, not to even start on Seirin as a whole, they'd step on the gas sooner or later. That's when things turn truly interesting.

They were getting back on the field, and the way their ace was loosening up his shoulder proved to bring something good.

'He's getting fired up~'

As expected, a Kagami that got his engine running was a whole lot more promising than just a hotheaded one. He seemed to pass by Tsugawa's defense with ease, not even hesitating a single moment as he went straight for the basket and jumped. The ball was dunked in with the same energy he had made the first one have, back in their practice match. Though, luckily this time there were no rusted bolts to have him break the hoop.

"This game is finally getting started." A smile formed on the blond's lips at hearing Kasamatsu's words. It appeared that he wasn't the only one getting excited over this match, now that it was time for Seirin to make their comeback.

At the other court, things seemed to be a lot more active from the start. A score of 16 to 2, Shutoku vs. Ginbo. As said, it was a lot more of an active game between the two teams, but that didn't mean Shutoku let them score, let alone even near the basket. However, there was just a whole lot more movement on the field, which would make it more interesting to watch compared to Seirin's match. But for the blond it was already decided which game he was going to follow, after all Seirin was the kind of team to have a few tricks up their sleeve once they'd get pushed into a corner. Yet when former teammate, Midorima Shintarou, was benched after a mere five minutes of playing, Kise couldn't help but let his focus shift to their match for a few seconds.

"They're benching him after only five minutes? Those guys seem to be taking it easy." He said with a bit of a nonchalant face, as if to say Shutoku didn't seem to be putting much effort into this game. He couldn't blame them of course, but it was yet another reason why he had decided to have his eyes on the other court.

"Of course they are, their opponent is just a middle tier school. There should be no surprises." The blond could hear his superior say before his eyes turned back to look at the field on which Seirin was standing, noticing how the black haired male next to him did the same. "If there are going to be any, it'll be over here." And once again they shared the same view on this.

And their match surely didn't become any less interesting by now. Seiho had taken their passes to a whole new level, passing the ball so quickly after getting it, it barely gave Seirin any time to react. Even when they did, it wasn't easy to stop the other player. Kise felt a frown forming on his face the moment he heard a familiar set of words coming from the referee right after that loud whistle.

"Foul! White, ten!"

It was one thing to try and stop Seiho from getting any more points, but this was just reckless behavior again. Just when the blond thought the other had finally gotten into a more focused state of mind, thinking he had stomped his foot on the gas this time, and there he goes getting his third foul. Had the guy been on his team, he'd have probably given him a good smack on the head if that wasn't Kasamatsu's department. 'Really Kagamicchi, pull yourself together..' The urge to say that out loud, it was quite difficult to suppress.

"I thought Seirin's engine was finally running when Kagamicchi scored. But, they haven't managed to take another step." A slight hint of a whine in his tone as Kise leaned forward, placing his elbow on his knee and resting his head on his hand.

"You can't call yourself a king just for playing good defense. Their offense is exceptional too." Kasamatsu responded to his words, maybe a tad irritated from the tone he was using. Though the model sitting next to him couldn't care much for that now, this game was getting on his nerves. Or, more specifically, the way Kagami was playing was getting on his nerves. He let out an audible 'Hmmm..' which was obviously a sound made out of disbelief, to which his superior felt the need to explain it a little further.

"Seiho may not have prodigal scorers like you or Kagami, but they're a different type of team. They incorporate old martial arts into their offense too." Kise really wondered how something that sounded so relatively small could make such a big difference in a game, he couldn't really help but think of how he'd like to play against them someday, just to experience it for himself on the court.

"Seiho isn't a team of prodigies, they're a team of experts." And with those words the slight smirk that would often show itself playing on the blond's lips, reappeared. "There are some experts on Seirin too." And with those words he certainly didn't mean the guy who had managed to already score three fouls within the first half. No, this time his eyes were lingering on that patch of light blue, the one person anyone else would barely notice on the field. Something that became very obvious when Seiho's Tsugawa walked straight into him, as always Kuroko was nearly invisible even when you weren't in a game.

It was difficult to get the cat-like grin off of his face, especially with Kuroko leaving the audience around him confused as to who just changed the direction of that ball. But it wasn't just the audience, even Seiho looked as if they had just seen the 8th world wonder happening in front of their own eyes. "Looks like the iron wall of Seiho's defense has never seen a pass from inside their wall before." Even his voice was very obvious on how much this particular thing amused him, a playful tone as he watched the game go on. Almost, Seiho had almost scored another point. Though, the blond could feel that smile tug at the corner of his lips even more when that redhead appeared out of nowhere, tapping the ball momentarily and causing the shot to miss. His jumps surely were nothing to look down upon, even more so because he was surely not even trying right there, when facing the real deal you'd think the guy had some invisible pair of wings allowing him to just go up that high. Now all there was to do for Seirin was to keep this engine running, if they were planning to make a comeback at least. At the end of the first quarter, they had lived up to expectations, closing the gap between their scores as the board showed a perfect tie between the two teams. The second quarter, they'd most likely both start at full force to create a difference once more.

By the time the second quarter had started, the pressure was ridiculous. As predicted, Seiho had no intention of letting anyone through and Seirin had no intention of being shut down again. The first quarter was nothing compared to this, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, who knew.

Luckily, the second quarter's first score had been claimed by Seirin, as the coordination of Kuroko and Kagami got them past two guys with ease, or so it seemed. Seeing the two in action got the blond excited, knowing this would make a difference for the rest of the first half. Yet, what happened next, even if barely noticeable and only for a mere second, washed away that excitement and brought a hint of worry along instead. Kise placed a hand on his head, fingers buried in blond locks of hair as he just continued to watch, though his expression spoke volumes.

"They can make it past that defense?"

"They're more in tune with each other than they were before."

Seeing Kasamatsu's expression change from surprised to a very serious one, he knew the other had seen it as well. The way Kagami had landed, sinking through his knees right away, how exhausted he looked even though this match had not even made it halfway. It could end up pretty bad if it continued like this, and no doubt this was Seiho's intention.

As quick as Seirin had gotten the upper hand, it had faded just as quickly when their ace, tricked into something he could've easily avoided had it not been, once again, a reckless move, got his fourth foul. By now, the blond couldn't just sit there and be annoyed in silence, voicing his thoughts this time.

"That idiot! What is he doing?!"

He let himself slide down in the chair a bit, not knowing what to do to get this irritation to stop gnawing at him. Normally putting the energy into something else would work wonders, but here he was, sitting on a chair and not being able to do anything but watch the game and pray the other wouldn't fuck up again. Or maybe this would be a good moment for their coach to shove him on the bench, like a time out for a little kid. 'sit here and think about what you've done', the thought was almost amusing.

"He'll have to back down." And there was Kasamatsu Holmes solving a mystery that was, in fact, very much obvious. Thank god he had enough self-control to never speak those words in the sarcastic tone he'd hear in his head, or it might just be the end of him. Or, at least it'd result in bruises that wouldn't be countable on one hand.

"With only one foul left, he'll be too scared to make any plays." The funny thing was, that redhead probably wouldn't be scared at all if his opponent managed to piss him off enough, which had already happened and that was clear as day. It was no surprise when Kagami was switched out, however the blond couldn't help but let out a silent 'what?' when he saw them switching Kuroko out as well. Wasn't he the only one able to pass from within Seiho's 'iron wall'? What trick did Seirin have up their sleeves now? Because there was no way they were just stepping into the dark here, whatever it was, there had to be some kind of plan.

He might've just found Kasamatsu a girlfriend, or so he thought when he saw Seirin's coach rubbing her fist against Kagami's face a little extra after hitting him in the first place. The whole idea of bringing those two together caused a short snicker to come from the blond. His superior noticed it, no surprise, but decided not to ask anything about it just to spare himself another story. It wasn't the first time Kaijo's ace had thought of something ridiculous he found to be funny, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

After he pulled himself out of his own little world though, Kise was somewhat happy to see Seirin indeed having some tricks up their sleeve. The teamwork between their five players was spot on, and it surely proved to make a difference in their game. He hadn't been able to pay attention to the other players that much during their practice match, too occupied with Kagami and Kuroko and even more so when those two decided to work together. It was clear their coach knew very well what she was doing, definitely not someone he'd like to mess with (and not just because he already had someone showing him the floor every now and then)

"Whoa, they're going at it harder than I expected."

"This seems to be working a lot better." He couldn't have said it any better himself. During their practice match a lot of focus was put on Kagami and Kuroko. Without those two they'd have lost for sure, but even if it'd be like that they wouldn't have made it an easy win. Long story short, every player on Seirin had something about them that makes them a pure and utter pain in the ass.

"They formed a team around Kuroko and Kagami this spring, in other words, it's still developing. Hyuuga's outside shots and Mitobe's hook shots, the offensive team revolving around those two is the other set up Seirin spent a year creating." Yup, it was amazing just how much his older teammate knew about each and every team, as if he memorized all the issues of 'Basketball Monthly' or something. "They must have been practicing hard to win since last year's defeat." Without a doubt, the blond knew how they must've felt until this rematch. The only difference was that Seirin had lost in an actual match, and theirs was just a practice match. Still, it didn't take away the need to have a rematch with them, as childish as that might sound.

"One other thing I noticed is, this team's key player is the guy I matched up against the other day." Wait what? He could swear the key player would be their captain, even their current way of playing made it look that way. He was pretty sure Kasamatsu had been matched up against that other guy during their match, who was it… "Huh? It's not their captain?"

"Hyuuga is their mental core, he leaves making plays up to the point guard." Izuki Shun, the name had been in his mind vaguely but now he remembered it more clearly than any other. "He most likely has another eye." Now that, that was vague. The model arched one of his eyebrows as golden optics turned to look at his team's captain as if he was talking pure nonsense. "An eye?" Did he even want to know where this sudden conclusion came from? Did he even want to know what it meant? "Like he can see the game from above." Nope, still vague.

Focus back on the game, all seemed to be going well for Seirin. That was until this one guy, Koganei he recalled, overestimated his own brakes and ever so graciously, but not really, fell over the bench and right on his head. It didn't look too good either, with the guy down on the floor and not getting up, they'd have to sub him out for someone else. Kagami was a no-go with his four fouls, so that left them with four options. Though, it wasn't that hard to know who would take that position, not at all. After what seemed to be a bit of bickering between red and blue, hotheaded and straightforward rarely proved a good combo in conversation, it brought another smile to his face when his old teammate stepped back onto the court. He was certainly looking forward to seeing Seiho flabbergasted again when those passes would go around, especially Tsugawa. It wasn't that he had a grudge against the guy, but it sure was fun to see.

Tsugawa changed his mark to Kuroko? Now that was going to become a choice with many regrets, Kuroko would slip past him in no time, which was exactly what happened. Within the blink of an eye he was gone, already passing the ball somewhere else on the court and allowing their captain to score another two pointer. From that point on Seirin was going on full power, which was a whole lot different from any previous quarter they had played in this match.

By now it was Seiho slowly being shut down, according to Kasamatsu it was because Seirin had figured out their movements, the way their players would give away which direction they'd go to. "As their name suggests, old martial arts techniques are ancient. Their though process is completely different from modern sports science. Applying those specialized movements to basketball is Seiho's strength, but it also brings along habits." That was pretty amazing. To study a team so much you can shut them down by their own, little habits, it sounded like something he would do as it required a lot of observation. And boy let it just be coincidence that was his strength.

The last 30 seconds came rolling in, and just then, Seirin took the lead. 70 to 69, with about 25 seconds left to go. They made their comeback, but now they'd have to keep that lead, and even if there was little time left it'd prove to be something difficult. After all, Seiho wasn't called a 'King' for nothing. Almost immediately, Seiho went for the offense, dunking the ball straight in even when there were two blockers. They weren't going to back down easily, which became even more clear when they initiated an all court man-to-man defense. "They're not just trying to defend, they're trying to score another shot!" Every basketball team was stubborn until the end, especially with a score difference as small as this. However, this really was above a thing like 'stubborn'.

Seirin had to score another two pointer at least, they had to. There was no way Seiho was going to ruin his chance on a rematch, not to forget they had to show Midorima a thing or two, they couldn't just lose this match!

A pass to Kuroko, this was their chance. However all of a sudden, Tsugawa appeared in his line of sight, and Kise was sure he wasn't the only one surprised at that.

"Tsugawa? How?!" This guy, no matter how long it had been since he played against him, he was still an tough opponent and maybe Kise had even underestimated him a little just now. "He found him by calculating backwards from the pass course!" Once again, Kasamatsu proved to be a genius at this. But it didn't matter how he found him, it mattered that he did.

Kuroko missed, and for a moment it seemed as if the outcome was settled. But, as expected from a member of the Generation of Miracles (more or less), the blue haired male had another trick or two in his arsenal. With his other arm, changing the target for his pass, he sent the ball right at Hyuuga who had freed himself from Seiho's defense. A three pointer went straight through the net, and with a final score of 73 to 71, Seirin had claimed victory over their (re)match against Seiho. Everyone gathered around, Kuroko in the middle, even Koganei who had been pretty much floored for the past five minutes was now jumping around as if nothing had happened. The only one he was missing in this picture, was Kagami, who had apparently maintained his spot on the bench (okay and their coach, but Kagami not being there stood out more, just the truth).

Before the line-up, it looked like Tsugawa had felt the need to 'throw a bitch-fit' so to speak, but it didn't appear to be anything serious. Some people got angry over losing after all, and others got sad or just upset (Kise himself included). By now he finally felt the need to look over at the Shutoku game for once, a quiet huff and a small curve at the corner of his lips. 113 to 38, as he'd expect from another 'King' They were truly merciless, and somehow that fit in with Midorima pretty well.

** End Chapter 4 **