Hello… it seems I lied when I said that this'll be my go to story for writers block
It seems like this will be my first priority from now on…
I feel bad however but the Kuroko bug is hard to resist isn't it?

Alright, so it's time to do a little skipping and head straight for the match huh?
If I dragged this out, then even I might lose interest and it's not good when the writer does
It ruins the story for everyone and I've experienced that, not a good feeling
You're just left with disappointment and… yeah

I'm rambling again haha but whatevs
Saaaaaa~… We Start!

Disclaimer: No ownership towards this story, franchise, series, whatever thing you wanna call it… whatever you call it, I don't own it… makes you feel sorta hollow doesn't it?

small note about the update to this... haha i just read the light novel translations for Kuroko no Basuke and found a small error in naming haha
so imma just change that... other than this, nothings changed hehe sorry for the mix up

Chapter 4: It'll Be Easy Enough

The few weeks seemed to have gone by pretty quickly in Aomine's opinion though it wasn't exactly as relaxing as he wanted his first month to have gone. Akashi seemed to have been pounding on them since he made the bet with the coach, which he'd formally introduced himself as Mori Katsuya, and has been giving them extra practices after the regular practices which didn't seem as tough when comparing them to Akashi's. In the end, everyone had improved fairly quickly, even the 'so called' newbie, Midorima. They'd gotten to know each other fairly well as well and had gotten used to each other's little habits which they've all started to take notice of, even though it annoyed the cr** out of each other.

For instance, he'd never seen Murasakibara without a sugary snack before, between and after practice. He used to carry them around the gym but was scolded by Momoi and Akashi about his eating habits, that didn't stop him however. Next there was Midorima's unhealthy, again in his opinion, obsession with this new fortune telling show thing called Oha-sa and he does whatever this thing told him to do to maintain whatever luck he had, even to the point of getting lucky items every day. It seemed that he did whatever it took to make sure to succeed in whatever he wanted to do, even going as far as relying on and making charms. Then came Haizaki who seemed fairly troubled each time he saw him. He had a nasty habit of picking on others to the point of getting warnings and being nearly kicked out of practice by the coach.

Aomine liked to tease people every once in a while as well but this guy was pretty extreme with his 'teasing'. Akashi was on a whole other level when it came to habits. First there was his invisible pen clicking with his thumb while he thought to himself. He always seemed to be deep in thought and stared wide eyed at a single spot, it didn't make it any better when this spot happened to be on another person, probably by accident. (A/N: that would freak me out so much -.-') And whatever he did, he always got his way, no matter what it was, and he didn't limit it to the basketball club alone. He heard from Murasakibara and Midorima, whom were both in his classroom, that the teacher didn't like picking fights with the red head either. It appears that there was an incident that had happened at the beginning of the year and the teacher insists that he not talk about it with others.

Momoi even had her little quirks but he did obtain all of this information thanks to her. It was scary what things she had been able to dig up in such a short time. She had every single piece of data on every member of the club and even on other school teams. She even amazed Akashi with her ability and he was the hardest person on the planet to please. "Aomine-kun~ are you listening to me?" Momoi snapped the boy out of his thoughts as he blinked a few times before snapping back to the reality that was his classroom.

"Hmm? What was that Satsuki?" Aomine yawned as he stared at the girl.

"I said that the sempai-tachi had beaten their opponents the day before and are moving on to the next round." Momoi puffed her cheeks, ticked off that she had to repeat herself.

"Ahh, alright." Aomine then laid his head back down on the desk.

"Aomine-kun, you remember that the match is today after school right?" She looked at him skeptically as she poked his shoulder.

"Hai, hai, Akashi wouldn't stop reminding us yesterday." The tan boy grumbled.

"Akashi-kun sure is confident in winning, isn't he?" Momoi thought about the other.

"He was confident the first day that he proposed this match. If not, then he wouldn't have done it at all."

"So da, ne?" Momoi smiled at him as she looked at the records that she kept with her. Kuroko just looked at the two as they spoke with each other. Since that proposal, Aomine seemed to have been much sleepier in class than before and had rarely talked to anyone. Momoi even became busier with her manager duties and both barely talk to him anymore despite him being right behind them. He didn't mind of course due to him and his lack of presence and it gave him more of a chance to catch up on his reading. However, he was interested in the match today and couldn't wait to see the results. Practice was also suspended for the day but they were all expected to watch, not that there wasn't a person interested in the game either. The final bell then rang and they were all dismissed for the day. Kuroko got up from his seat and casually walked out and headed towards the gym, meanwhile, Momoi was having trouble trying to get Aomine out of his seat.

"Hey! You gonna watch that game today?" a second year asked his friend.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see those cocky first years get destroyed by the regulars." He said as they walked over towards their other friends. Kuroko had been in the middle of the hallway at the time but had been able to dodge them with ease. It seemed to him that this match was the buzz of the school so he decided to get there early in order to get a good view.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kuroko had walked into the gym and found it to be filled with spectators already, though he was still able to find a suitable spot on the balcony of the gym where he can get a full view of the game. The regulars were excused from classes that day due to the request of the buchou, Kaibara and the acceptance of Mori-sensei. They weren't drenched in sweat but it was obvious that they were working hard in order to beat their opponents this time around. The coach had accepted the condition of not being able to help either team practice for the month and was deemed a spectator for the match as well. This led him to find an acceptable, impartial referee instead of having either team find someone.

"Alright! Everyone break!" Kaibara exclaimed as the regulars all paused, then headed for the bench. There were murmurs to be heard and the occasional cheer from fangirls around the gym but none of the guys paid any attention to it. Suddenly, there was a hush in the air as the doors toward the change rooms were opened. Everyone turned their attention towards the first years that had appeared, their presence was enough to leave everyone in awe at how composed they were despite the stakes they were up against.

"Ne, Aka-chin, can I eat my candy right now?" Murasakibara asked, breaking the silence between them.

"That's a nasty habit you have there, you sweet tooth giant." Haizaki poked at the taller male.

"I told you that you'll get them back after the game." Akashi said without looking back.

"Already blackmailing him, Akashi?" Aomine tried to be lighthearted about this though he still couldn't get the fact that someone's gonna have to leave the team after this game out of his head. Momoi waited beside the coach as she waved towards Aomine who just smiled back awkwardly at her without a gesture. He didn't want to draw attention between him and Momoi since they were childhood friends but that's how he wanted to keep it between them and nothing more.

"It's just a formality, Daiki." Aomine still couldn't get used to the fact that Akashi uses peoples' first names right off the bat.

"Today is a good day for Cancer." Midorima snuck into the conversation.

"No one asked you!" Aomine yelled out.

"Today's lucky item is..." Midorima started as he brought up a conch.

"No one cares!" Aomine cut him off again as he was getting tired of hearing their horoscopes every day. It wasn't that the mix and matched team didn't click with each other, it was the fact that they were all so different and just had quirks that annoyed each other to no end. Everyone just sweatdropped at the boys' conversations as their voices echoed in the gymnasium.

"These were the first years that challenged the regulars?" Someone questioned as there were other similar comments being broadcasted around.

"They all seem so normal!" someone else commented.

"I thought they'd be some sort of monsters."

"Well, that one with the purple hair seems like a monster." The comments didn't stop. Upon hearing these, the group was getting a bit tense and desperately wanted to prove them all wrong but Akashi had shut them up and told them to sit on the bench.

"Aren't we gonna warm up, Aka-chin?" Murasakibara broke the silence between them again.

"I believe it to be best to wait until the game to show what we've got." Akashi grinned diabolically. They all exchanged glances but just left it as it was.

"They aren't gonna warm up? How much cockiness can they have?" These first years irked Hibiki to no end as he just wanted to pound on them at that moment.

"I said not to let them get to you didn't I?" Shiba tried to calm him down. "Whatever they do, just don't bother yourself over it and focus on the game."

"In all honesty, I don't feel the slightest bit of compassion for them either but the rules prohibit any violence against any team member." Yagami said cooly much to his disappointment.

"What are you guys talking about, we can... beat them." Yoshida said, his voice filled with obvious doubt.

"Come on, guys! Don't let them psyche you out." Kaibara tried to get their spirits up. "We're the ones that everyone looks up to and if we can't uphold that then we don't deserve to play as regulars." He said with confidence and they all looked at their captain's determined face. They then felt the pride that their Taichou had held and they agreed full heartedly to play to the best of their abilities.

"Let's destroy those punks!" Hibiki exclaimed as they all looked at him skeptically. "I mean... let's all go out there and have a... uh... good, fair game?" Hibiki said with uncertainty in his voice. The others just rolled their eyes as they all lined up on the court. The first years were already there waiting for them.

(A/N: alright I'm sure that I didn't clarify this earlier and didn't give the regulars (who are ocs btws if you were wondering) positions that they played for so here they are: Kaibara, center, guarding Murasakibara (since he's the tallest, he also does the jump ball); Shiba, point guard, guarding Akashi (that must be extremely fun); Hibiki, small forward, guarding Haizaki (can't wait to see that unfold); Yagami, shooting guard, guarding Midorima (small tidbit, he wears fake eye glasses... just for fun I guess; bet that would piss off Midorin); and finally Yoshida, power forward, guarding Aomine (that's pretty normal) aaannnndd, in case you were wondering about the past chapter, chapter 2 to be exact, let's just say that they wanted to try different positions is all, so they were giving a handicap towards the first years... that's all I wanted to say, chow)

The referee, who was taken from a community center not so far away from the school, (don't ask how he got involved) then motioned for them all to bow towards each other and then take their positions. Aomine was picked to do the jump ball which surprised the regulars. It seemed as though Akashi wanted to test Aomine's jumping power against his sempai as well as have a backup plan for if he didn't make the ball, which meant for Murasakibara to stay back, closer to the basket. At the same time, he was pushing the sempai's confidence and level headedness right before the game started; he figured that this would up their chances at pulling ahead as well. It was killing three birds with one stone as he put it.

There was a deafening silence that overtook the gym as they waited for the referee to blow the whistle as he threw the ball in the air. As the whistle blew, both players soared for the ball in hopes of getting it for their team. In the same moment, everyone cheered out towards the one whom they thought would get the ball. To their shock, Aomine had delayed his jumped a few seconds before Kaibara's but this didn't faze him at all as he focused his all into getting this ball. What shocked him was what had happened afterwards, Aomine had suddenly shot up as the ball touched his fingertips and then he snatched it away in the blink of an eye. His take off was so fast that he didn't know what had hit him until he landed.

Aomine had shot the ball towards Haizaki who had dribbled the ball over the half court line before passing it towards Akashi who then swiftly threw it over to Midorima who was waiting at the three pointer line. "I'll make this shot." He thought determinedly as he lined up his aim, not minding that Yagami was right in front of his view.

=Flashback=

Midorima was having trouble getting used to this game and getting used to the position that was suddenly thrust upon him by the redhead. Said redhead then approached him and asked what was wrong. "I just don't feel comfortable being directly involved in this basketball thing." He said honestly.

"If you aren't comfortable, then you shouldn't have come in the first place." Akashi said harshly.

"I just needed a club activity to fulfill requirements." Midorima said, this was definitely a bad mistake on his part, he just didn't know it until it hit him... hard. Akashi fumed and shot him a glare so menacing that his legs nearly gave way.

"Basketball isn't a fulfilling requirement, it's a sport that was made to be loved and played to one's heart's content. If you have a problem understanding this then you should leave this instant." Akashi yelled much to the surprise of the other team members who stayed after practice. Midorima was shocked by the words and took his lucky item, a rainbow colored, silk handerchief and left the gym floor but as he stepped in front of the door towards the exit, it suddenly hit him that he didn't want to leave. He felt a pain in his heart that told him that if he left at that very moment, then he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Akashi!" He exclaimed as the redhead didn't turn around to look him in the eyes. "I want to learn how to play real basketball." Midorima said for the first time since he'd first step foot in the gym. He felt like he wanted to excel, not only in studies, but in the sport as well, especially in the position that Akashi had appointed to him. He wanted to be the best in this area and wanted to beat anyone who tried to take the position away from him.

Akashi then turned towards him with a wide smile. "I knew you couldn't leave. I'll teach you how to shoot a basket and you'll have to take it from there. After this, you will take it into any direction that you wish whether it be shooting with lay ups or three pointers or..." Akashi didn't get to finish his sentence however.

"You are able to shoot a basket for three points?" The green haired boy asked, obviously he didn't pay any attention to the games that he's recently played. Akashi forgave the boy for cutting him off but just this once.

"Yes, however, they're only worth three once you're outside this ring." He showed him the three pointer line. "Anywhere outside of this counts for three points. Anything inside is worth two." He explained. Midorima nodded in understanding. "First, let me see you shoot a basket from the foul line." Akashi brought him towards the top of the key. Midorima lined up his body like he'd seen in books that he's read about basketball basics and shot it perfectly however the trajectory was off. Everyone watched as the ball glided through the air gracefully and awaited what they expected to be a swoosh, however, it ended up being an air ball and just bounced away from the boy who stood their frozen with embarrassment. Everyone just sweatdropped and listened to the bounce... bounce...bounce..bouncebouncebounce of the ball.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Haizaki poked fun once again as they resumed their practicing right before Akashi turned towards them and doubled their training menus.

"That was my fault, I can't judge distances." Midorima said towards the other.

"Let me ask you, Shintaro," Akashi looked at the boy straight in the eyes. "are you good in both physics and geometry?" Midorima nodded in response, he was, after all, at the top of his class.

=End of Flashback=

"Let me tell you this sempai..." Midorima then started to rise up on his toes as he was about to take the shot. "I excel in school subjects and by using this, I'm able to calculate the best route for this ball to take to assure that it gets into the place where I want it to go." Midorima said and shot the ball which appeared to be straight up in the air.

"Wow, where is that guy aiming for?" Someone in the crowd joked as the ball suddenly angled and dove straight for the basket, shutting him up.

"T-that's impossible..." Yagami looked in awe as the ball swiftly made it through.

"I'll make sure to never miss a basket for as long as I live." Midorima announced as he pushed his glasses up on his face and ran back to play defense. Aomine ran up to him and patted him on the shoulder like he did in their first game together.

"See, I told you that you'd make flawless shots like that." Aomine smiled like an idiot as he then ran off even faster. "That guy is into basketball way too much for my liking." Thought Midorima but couldn't help but smile at the comment that was given to him.

"I thought I had him." Yagami was still in shock.

"Don't mind it, we'll get it back." Yoshida tried to insist but it seemed as though it wasn't getting through properly. "Come on, we're on the attack, you have to set your mind forward and push on." Yoshida said suddenly determined and then ran towards the attack zone. Right now, the players all saw the court as a battlefield and refused to let the other take victory. Kaibara passed the ball to Shiba as the point guard ran forward and looked for an open man. He glanced to his left and found Hibiki to be wide open, he decided to throw the shot there before Akashi came up to block him. When he noticed the boy's eyes glaring up at him, he couldn't help but feel a little scared of him and decided to try and avoid eye contact from now on.

Hibiki managed to grab the ball but he was immediately stopped by Haizaki who looked at his sempai, his face filled with taunting smirks. "You better wipe that smile off your face." Hibiki growled, warning the other.

"I'm sure that my face has a free will of its own. It can make whatever kind of face it wants." He said challengingly in a joking manner. Hibiki just growled again but this time went left at high speed but then suddenly changed towards the right and then passed the boy. He then passed the ball to Kaibara who then immediately sent it over to Yagami who was in the clear for a two pointer since Midorima was still inexperienced in blocking or boxing out for that matter. Although, he had no choice but to shoot a two pointer due to Akashi blocking his way towards the three pointer line. He sighed and took the shot which was good, making the score 3-2 with the first years leading. So far, only 2 and a half minutes have passed and the first years were on the attack once again. Aomine passed to Akashi who took his time as he dribbled down the court. He thought about their positionings slowly and then made his move. He stepped over the line only to be guarded immediately by Shiba whom was not looking into his eyes but at his forehead, which wasn't so hard due to the height difference.

Being pissed off by this, Akashi then headed straight for a foul and Shiba then braced himself but as he flinched, Akashi had gotten around him in that moment and dribbled down the court in a straight line. He looked over towards Midorima who then nodded and he tossed the ball in his direction. However, Yagami saw their momentary eye connection and went for an interception. What he didn't expect was for a team member to make the interception instead. Aomine suddenly dove out of nowhere and stole the ball and dribbled down the court. He had no trouble out running Yoshida but he was suddenly blocked by Kaibara who was inside the key. Aomine, thinking on his toes, tossed the ball towards Murasakibara who was way taller than any of them. Murasakibara then went for a shot but ironically missed but that didn't stop the tanned boy from turning the shot into an alley oop and gained another two points for his team.

"Nice team play!" someone exclaimed as the cheers grew stronger and louder. Kuroko just looked around and noticed that everyone had slowly started to cheer for the first years. At first, the cheers were directed towards the sempai but as he's heard, one by one, Akashi's team was gaining the audiences' support. He just couldn't believe that they turned this whole thing around in only 4 minutes into the game.

"They're wonderful aren't they?" one of the girls beside the boy said.

"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if they won." Her friend said.

"Sasuga, Mine-chin." Murasakibara praised the other.

"Domo, Murasakibara." Aomine said to the other as they ran towards their basket.

"Here we go again." Kaibara then passed the ball to Shiba again as he ran but then immediately passed to Yagami who threw it over to Hibiki but it didn't connect as Haizaki intercepted. He was about to make a break for it when his check had stood in front of him.

"I'm not letting you take the ball that easy." He said as he then put his arms up in defense. Haizaki put on a bored expression as he bounced the ball idly.

"I think it'll be easy enough." He said as he then broke straight left. Hibiki then motioned to block him but then Haizaki broke towards the right much faster. "Whaa~, I just did this move but he moves so much faster." Saying that Hibiki was stunned would've been an understatement as the freshmen small forward had passed him with ease just like had said initially and then drove the ball inside the basket, earning him another two points.

Point count: 7-2, time left in the first quarter: 4 minutes and 20 seconds...

Saa minna~ what'd you think?
I'm probably gonna drag this on for a bit but may skip some things in the second and maybe third quarter
But you should expect some flashbacks of their practices from the few weeks prior

Hope you guys liked it… and I hope you hadn't forgotten Kuroko while reading this
I too got swept up in writing about the basketball game and nearly forgot about poor Kuro-chin!
Bad me, bad me!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

-Omake-
(yay omake time! Haha, remember what I said about the referee?)

The kan-toku, Mori-sensei, had been looking around the area for a proper coach and even went to the extent of having asked other teachers, other middle and high school coaches and community coaches but nobody wanted to make the time to coach a silly game in a middle school. Akashi had seen the coached and walked up to him, curious about his current state.

"Kan-toku, have you found us a suitable person to be our referee?" the redhead asked the usually cool coach.

"I've asked many people but nobody wants to take time off just to ref this match for free." He said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Do you have any preferences?" Akashi wondered.

"I suspect the coach in the community center down the road to be acceptable, given that he doesn't know many middle schoolers and has quite a bit of experience when coaching and noticing different plays. However, like I said, he won't do it for free." Akashi grinned at this and told the coach to excuse him for a moment from practice. The coach looked at the boy for a moment and saw a glint in his eye as he walked out of the gym, not waiting for his permission.

About fifteen minutes later, Akashi had returned and Mori'd noticed the presence of a finely sharped pencil in the boy's hand as he walked past the coach. "Make sure to listen for your phone, Kan-toku." Akashi said as he continued to walk past him. Mori just raised an eyebrow at the boy who then commenced practice again. Suddenly, his phone rang much to his surprise and he answered it.

"Moshi moshi, Mori here." He answered calmly.

"Domo, this is coach Tanaka down at the community center, and I'd like to accept being the referee for your game." He said with slight panic in his voice.

"But you do know that I won't be paying, it'll be a benefit sort of deal." Mori informed him.

"That's q-quite alright. I'll be there." With that, the other hung up.

"Seems like someone gave him quite a scare..." He then directed his gaze towards a certain redhead who took a short glance backwards and then passed the ball in his hands. The coach then noticed an evil smirk upon his face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Haha, just wanted to say that I love Akashi… even if not much is revealed about him as of yet
And I wanted to apologize to Kuroko again!

Gomenasai, Kurokocchi~! Whaa~
-Owari desu^^