Title: Love Hoop

Rating: T (language warning)

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Kuroko no Basket belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki. Two respected mangaka! I do not own the characters in any way nor the story plot. Only the idea of this fanfiction!

MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Quick update on Love Hoop since this was more requested in PM and reviews compared to Dimensional Lovers, Pure Rukh, and Fated Souls! So, here is chapter nine!

Now this chapter holds the match with Seirin and Seiho. Quite difficult to write about the matches, but they are fun at the same time. Am I the only one who got annoyed at Tomoki Tsuwaga, but I cannot seem to hate any of the Kuroko no Basket characters. Is it just me? Even Makoto Hanamiya...I can't hate although I know how much of a jerk he is hahaha.

Anyways, Kagome incorporated more of her abilities her a tiny bit, she is trying to get used to them and use them in "replenishing" energy to the members. Along with that, Sango's teachings came in. Please keep in mind, I had these ideas added in so that Kagome could be incorporated in. Moving on from that, will Kagome give her reward?

We will see...

Hope you enjoy! Thank you so much for helping this story pass 200 reviews and not even ten chapters in!

Again thank you!

Enjoy!

Chapter 09: Peaceful Anger


Kasamatsu sighed, glaring from the corner of his eyes as the blonde basketball player walked beside him – annoyed. "You took so long buying a drink, the game has already started." A light punch was aimed over Kise's shoulder, watching as he stumbled a bit forward. "So much for promising Higurashi-san to be there on time, Kise."

"Ma, ma, she doesn't need to know we got a little late," chuckled Kise, scratching the back of his head as they made their way inside the balcony doors. "Besides, why the formal name? I don't think she would mind if you called her 'Kagome-chan'." A smile curved onto Kise's lips, soon meeting another slap behind his head.

"Uruse," Kasamatsu walked past him, placing his hands inside his pockets. "Unlike you, we all know we ask permission to call someone on a first name basis."

Kise's lips pouted, watching his captain walked forward onto the rim of the balcony. "I still don't think she would mind…," shaking his head, he met with the black haired captain and looked over to the court. Both their eyes widened at the scoreboard ahead. With six minutes left in the first quarter, they clearly saw that Seiho was ahead by twelve points while Seirin had not even scored once.

"W-What…?" stuttered Kise, quite shocked at the results.

"Oi, oi, seriously?" questioned Kasamatsu, surprised himself.

The blonde's eyes landed onto the Seirin bench, watching the miko as she gripped her knees in worry: "What is going on? How come Seirin hasn't even scored yet?"

Kasamatsu crossed his arms: "Seiho…must be that tough…"

"But it looked like Kagomecchi had discovered something or had a plan," Kise's eyes narrowed, watching the miko intently watch Kagami struggle with Tomoki. "Did it not work?"

"It probably isn't that," replied his captain. "Perhaps she did discover something, but as their manager, she cannot play for them. She simply sent the message to them…"

"So Seirin…has to put her advice into a strategy," finished Kise.

Kasamatsu nodded with a sigh: "This game…will definitely be tough. I thought so when we played them, but Seirin is a slow starter. Kagami is usually the one to put his foot on the gas, but without that, they can't hit their stride…"


Kagami cursed under his breath as he held the ball in his hands, watching the amusement in Tomoki's expression from being able to pressure him this much. 'Bastard. This guy's defense is at least as good as Kise's!'

"Kagami, you are holding the ball too long! Pass it!" Shun quickly made a run around the tiger and caught the ball in his hands, going forward for a shot to the hoop. Making a jump, the ball was quickly blocked and thrown away from his grasp. Shun's eyes widened, realizing Iwamura had been his blockage. 'I thought I was wide open. He appeared out of nowhere!'

"How naïve," whispered Iwamura, watching the shock on Shun's face. "Your offense will never crush our defense at that level."

Seirin ran back to defend their hoop, all realizing the defensive pressure Seiho was beginning to give them. Kagami caught the passed ball into his hand and dribbled in place, seeing from the corner of his eye as Tomoki blocked his passage behind him. 'Kuso!'

"Tsugawa, it's fine if you are excited, but don't wear yourself out before the second half!" shouted Omuro, smirking as he blocked Hyuga's own path.

"I'm fine!" smiled Tomoki. "They're not as good as I thought, so this should be easy!"

Kagami's eyes tightened, catching the guy's insult on the team. 'What did you say?!' He charged forward, bumping into Tomoki's shoulder and quickly stopped at the referee's whistle.

"Charging! White 10!"

"What!?" exclaimed Kagami.

Riko stood from her seat, glaring at the tiger: "Just how easily does that baka get angry!?"

The miko's shoulder slumped, releasing a held sigh: 'Kagami-kun…calm down…,' her eyes set onto the clipboard on her lap, seeing the notes she had taken from her research. 'Did my advice not work?' The first quarter was coming to an end and Kagami had already been placed with another foul before. She knew that the tiger easily got angry and his head would swell with annoyance, but that didn't mean that Tomoki's provoking was fair. The guy had to shut up!

"Kagami! Calm down!" shouted Shinji from the bench, taking the miko out from her inner thoughts.

Kuroko walked behind the red head, blinking towards him: "Kagami-kun, you already have two fouls. Get five and you are out."

"I know," he glared, feeling his shoulders shake. His eyes glided over to see Seiho's amusement: "Somehow, their movements are impossible to play against."

Riko sighed, crossing her arms: "This is not starting well at all…"

"We can't even pass," spoke Kagome. "Their defense is too sturdy for even Kuroko-kun to make passes."

The coach nodded, watching as Kuroko was passed the ball and still no wide open member for him to pass to. Riko cursed under her breath, seeing Kuroko hesitation: "There it is again…he can't pass!"

Kagome looked at the clipboard once more: "From watching their videos, Seiho's defense is man-to-man. They create pressure by staying right on the guys the whole time. It can't be easily broken even if Seiho's opponents knew their technique."

"And our second years do know their technique…but it must be more difficult to catch on than we thought," Riko's eyes tightened. "With this defense we are only playing with half power. I will call a time out."

"Time out?" blinked Kagome.

"I think you should explain it yourself about Seiho's technique. After all, you were the one that found it," Riko walked towards the scoreboard table, leaving the miko to stand.

"W-Wait-!" Kagome was left standing as she held the clipboard to her side. Her eyes shifted back to see Kuroko's aura in stress. 'What can I do…?'

Upon hearing the time out call, the teams divided up to their benches, both Riko and Kagome letting the players sit on the benches as they cleaned their sweat and drank their thirst. Riko sighed, crossing her arms: "Seiho uses old martial arts techniques." She cut straight to the point, seeing that they had to.

"Old martial arts?" questioned Kagami. He quickly made a karate pose along with the sound effect, receiving blinks from his teammates. "You mean this kind of thing?"

Kagome sighed, crossing her arms: "That's not old martial arts, baka."

"I think you should explain it thoroughly, Kagome-chan," Riko closed her eyes, letting the miko take the stand.

The miko looked at the Seiho team as Tomoki continued to hold his smile: "Well, to explain, Seiho incorporates movements from old martial arts. One of the techniques I read on that they us is called 'namba running'."

"Namba running?" blinked the tiger.

With a nod, the miko continued: "usually your arms and legs move in opposite directions when you run, but when namba running your arms and legs move together. I read that by avoiding twisting you reduce the strain on your body and the energy you spend." Kagome looked the clipboard in her hand: "they use all sorts of martial arts techniques for effortless strength, moving quickly without missing a beat, and other basic movements."

"That is how Seiho moves," finished Riko, seeing the silent attention from the team.

"So that was the feeling I was getting…," whispered Kagami.

Kuroko blinked, observing the miko silently as she looked through her notes. "You…caught all of that in their videos?"

"Huh?" blinked Kagome, looking up from her papers.

"I am surprised as well," commented Hyuga. "It would have taken us a long time to catch on that. How did you even notice their style?"

Kagome tapped her chin with her finger: "well…I was confused on their movements at first, seeing it strange, but I quickly noticed their foot work and it seemed very familiar to how a friend use to…fight."

"Fight?!" exclaimed Shinji. "Like a delinquent friend!?"

"No! No!" chuckled Kagome. "She was um…," she looked away, not sure on how to put her words together. 'How do I put that Sango-chan was a demon slayer and knew basic martial techniques? Ugh…'

"She knew how to fight?" blinked Kuroko, taking her out her inner thoughts.

The miko scratched her cheek: "More like she thought me defensive moves."

'I should definitely leave out that the defensive martial arts were to fight demons…'

"Ma, although we already knew about this, it is more difficult than I thought," sighed Hyuga, grabbing his water bottle.

"But…they are still human," replied Kagome, catching the males' attention. "They are still playing basketball. I know their technique may be hard to grasp on, but they make mistakes too."

The coach nodded, a smile coming onto her lips: "She's right. They will fall for fakes and they will lose their balance if you catch them off guard. Continue to observe and play. I am sure we will catch their technique. This isn't over yet!"

The referee blew the whistle once again to resume the game, all players standing from their benches. Kagome looked ahead, watching as Seiho made their way calmly to the court. Her hand gripped the clipboard to her side, but loosened it as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Trailing the arm, she blinked upon seeing the blue orbs on her.

"Kuroko-kun…"

"Don't worry," he nodded, "we will win."

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, watching as Kagami stood on her other side: "You two…please be careful." Her eyes lowered to a glare as she sent it over to the tiger: "and you, stop letting your anger the best of you. Calm down."

The miko closed her eyes as she saw the tiger's palm coming towards her, but blinked as she felt his hand lay on her head and pat it lightly. Trailing his form, she noticed his eyes focused on the court: "….I know, I know. I will…try. Just as you said, they are human just like us. I just have to be faster than them."

She watched him head to the court, leaving her with the phantom player. "What…is he saying?"

"Trust us, Kagome-chan," whispered Kuroko, leaving her shoulder. "Kagami-kun…does what he has to do for us. Just leave it to us now."

The game resumed; the tension rose. Kagami jumped and caught the passed ball from Shun and lowered to the ground. His eyes tightened as Tomoki blocked his path once again with that grin of his.

"One-on-one?" smirked Tomoki. "Bring it on!"

"I don't care about your martials arts or whatever. Basketball is basketball!" Kagami's eyes tightened into a glare and he faked his path around Tomoki, quickly making a left to a right and passed him in a blink of an eye. The tiger dunked the ball in, surprising everyone from his score.

Jumping down from the hoop, Kagami watched as the ball bounced into Kuroko's hands. Kagome's lips reflected the smiles of her coach and senpais as they were thrilled to have made a point. Her shoulders relaxed, feeling a bit of the tension coming off: '…we will win this.'

"All right!" shouted Riko, jumping with excitement.

"That's the first time I have seen anyone get past you," whispered Ryuhei as he walked past Tomoki.

A smirk appeared on Tomoki's face while staring at the first year duo. "The fun and the pain are just getting started."

Kagome blinked, feeling the rise of an aura in the court. Her eyes landed on the first year Seiho member, seeing his aura increase. 'His…aura…,' she quickly looked over to Kuroko and Kagami, seeing them speak before the game resumed. 'Please be careful…Kuroko-kun…Kagami-kun…'


The ball was quickly passed from one Seiho member to the next in a blink of an eye until it landed into Iwamura's hands. Kagami cursed under his breath: 'these damn passes! They are so quick to pass the ball again after they get it!'

"Mitobe! He is going your way!" shouted Hyuga, once again being block by a Seiho member.

Iwamura passed the ball to Tomoki, but was quickly blocked away by Kagami's palm. All ears caught the sound of the referee's whistle.

"Foul! White 10!"

Hyuga blinked, looking over his shoulder: 'Oi! Oi! Isn't that his third one already?'

Kagami glared at Tomoki, wiping the sweat from his forehead: 'Damn it! It's not that they are fast, they just don't use many movements!'

Riko clicked her tongue, standing up once again from her seat: "Kagami-kun! Calm yourself down!"

The miko rested her cheek on her palm, having seen the quick passing from the Seiho team. "They are passing the ball without ever catching it."

"Is it another one of their martial arts techniques?" questioned Riko, looking over her shoulder.

"Well, they have to have quick reflexes and thinking skills to do that. Obviously it takes a lot of practice," she replied, watching the intense glare the tiger had on Tomoki. 'Baka…calm down! Don't let him get to you!'


Kise sighed, leaning back in his seat as he watched the game continue: "I thought Seirin's engine was finally running when Kagamicchi scored, but they haven't managed to take another step."

"You can't call yourself a king just for playing good defense," replied Kasamatsu as he crossed his arms. "Their offense is exceptional too." He sighed, closing his eyes: "Seiho may not have prodigal scorers like or Kagami, but they are a different type of team. Seiho isn't a team of prodigies. They're a team of experts."

Chuckling under his breath, Kise's lips curved into a smirk: "there are some experts on Seirin too."

"Huh?"

The blonde's eyes landed on the phantom player on the court watching as he was very concentrated on the game. His attention was drawn over to the miko, watching as her own eyes drifted from corner to corner on each member.

"You know…Kagomecchi might have a talent of her own."

"What are you talking about?" glared Kasamatsu.

"Well, Kagomecchi is certainly a fast learner, but she is a quick observer. It is almost as if her eyes never miss anything," he whispered back.

Kasamatsu blinked: "You mean like…quick reflexes?"

"Something like that," he nodded back, watching as Kagome stood from her seat to stand beside the coach. "I do wonder…how she will make Seirin grow."


"Out of bounds! White ball!" the referee called out as the ball rolled away from the court.

Tomoki sighed, looking over at the scoreboard: "A nine point difference, huh?" His path was stopped, surprising him as he set his eyes down on the much shorter male with ghostly colored hair.

"Sumimasen," whispered Kuroko, looking up to the Seiho member.

"You…," Tomoki blinked, not able to recognize the player. He jumped back and away from Kuroko: "W-Who are you?! Have you been playing this game!?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya," he introduced himself. "I have been."

"You're kidding! Seriously!? You've got so little presence!"

Kagami's eyes widened in shock at Tomoki's ignorance: 'H-He's played him before, but doesn't remember him!?'

Tomoki quickly composed himself and took a few steps forward to stand in front of the phantom player: "You're a first year, too?" A smile appeared on his lips: "Hey! Did you know!? Last year, our team was ahead of yours by twenty points in the first quarter! That's why I want to make it thirty! Well, don't let it get you down!"

Kagome gripped her marker as the court went silent from his words. She could see all of Seirin's second year players drown in their memory of embarrassment. 'How can someone…be so evil and hold that smile?' If only she could be in the court and throw a few words back!

Riko sighed: "He is really getting on my nerves."

Tomoki patted Kuroko's shoulder, running past him before stopping upon hearing the phantom player's words.

"Fine. I will make sure I am not disappointed."

The game resumed and the ball was in Shun's hand, dribbling it over to the side before throwing it over towards Hyuga who was blocked by Ryuhei. The brunette male smirked: "A random pass like that will never-"

His eyes widened, watching Kuroko quickly running towards the ball and passing the ball over to Mitobe's way seeing Iwamura off guard. Mitobe quickly made the shot, adding to their score.

Kagome smiled, watching as Kuroko headed back into a running position: 'I guess…he gets angered easily as well.'

"Damn it!" shouted Iwamura, dribbling the ball under his hand while running towards the hoop. "What the hell is going on!?" He passed the ball over to Ryuhei, easily being caught into his hand.

Shun went over to Ryuhei's side, watching him smirk: "Calm down, kids." Ryuhei quickly passed Shun's block and headed over for a throw only to have Kagami coming from behind and push the ball away from his grasp.

The ball rebounded and caught into Shun's hands. In fast pace, Seirin headed back to their offense before Seiho could defend once again. The ball passed back and in forth, with points coming from Seiho to Seirin.

Grunting under his breath, Tomoki was passed with the ball, but was quickly pushed away by Kuroko form behind. The ball rolled away and with Kagami's help, he threw the ball over to Hyuga before he made a three-pointer shot.

Kagome blinked, watching as the ball went in, giving them the three points. With the whistle blown again, the referee called out: "First quarter over!"

As the Seirin members gathered before going over to their bench, they met with the coach and manager coming their way with smiles. Riko quickly slapped Hyuga's shoulder with a huge grin: "Way to go!"

"I-Itai…," the captain rubbed his shoulder, watching the coach look over to the scoreboard.

"You guys had me worried for a minute," spoke Kagome, catching their attention.

"Eh?" blinked Shun, leaning forward. "Where is the fate, Kagome-chan?"

The miko chuckled nervously: "You were all worried too, were you not?"

"Oi."

All the members looked over to their left, watching as Iwamura rose Tomoki from the back of his jersey and held his grip on the first year. "I heard this guy said something stupid again."

Hyuga sighed, shrugging his shoulders: "Yeah. Honestly, it brought back memories of last year's trauma."

"Sorry about that," nodded Seiho's captain.

The miko's eyes landed over to the bald basketball player, tightening her focus on the guy that had only been running his mouth to put down her team. She took a few steps forward, standing in front of the Seirin captain.

Hyuga blinked, surprised by her sudden appearance before the Seiho team. "K-Kagome-chan…?"

"Look here," she glared, pointing her finger over to Tomoki, "you call yourself a captain and this is how you let this first year run his mouth? If he is going to sound so cheerful on putting us down, then I better see that cheerful grin of his when he loses."

"K-Kagome-chan!" Hyuga placed his hand on her shoulder.

Iwamura's eyes narrowed on the girl: "And who are you?"

"Their manager," she replied, holding her glare.

The Seiho captain sighed: "well, as a manager you have no right to speak about winning."

Kagome's eyebrow rose: "Really? Have you seen the scoreboard or are your heads inflated with your confidence?"

Seiho's eyes glided over to stare at the scoreboard, seeing the tie numbers between their teams. The miko smiled: "You all thought we wouldn't be at your level, right? Next time, make sure your first year player doesn't get ahead of himself without knowing the situation."

Riko crossed her arms, smirking at the sight of the manager defending their team against Seiho: 'Hm, not bad.'

Hyuga sighed, placing his hand over Kagome's head: "well, although she is right about that, let me just add that what happened last year…we are over it."

Iwamura glared at the girl before turning back around with his team behind: "And don't get ahead of yourselves."

Kagome crossed her arms: "the nerve of some people…"


"Oi!" Kagami slapped the back of the miko's head as they walked back to their bench, surprising her. "What the hell were you thinking!?"

"Defending you guys, what else?" she rubbed the back of her head. "Itai…"

Riko raised a brow, watching as her team sat on their seats: "I don't think she did anything wrong. That guy was getting on our nerves anyways and he needed a good scolding."

"I am surprised…Kagome-chan had the guts," blinked Shinji, placing his hands on his hips.

Kuroko blinked, coming to sit on his spot: "Kagome-chan…please be careful next time. We don't know how the other teams will react to your words."

With a sigh, the miko nodded: "hai. Hai. I just simply needed him to stop putting us down. He has not right."

Riko knelt down, catching her team's attention: "Well, besides that, all of you are being led by their passes too much, so keep your zone tighter. Also, Kagami-kun…"

"H-Hai?" he blinked.

"…you have a lot of fouls," she finished, dropping her eyes into a glare. "Look, if you try to match your opponents like a wuss, they will control the flow of the game. Remember to play offensively!"

"Second quarter, begin!"

The buzzer sounded off, calling the teams back onto the court. Kagome sighed, watching as the teams began the game and the same formation of defense on Seiho's side took place. Tomoki smirked, blocking Kagami's passage.

"I don't care much for what that manager of yours said, but I won't let you get past me again. I will show you that your female manager will regret her words!" a smirk appeared on Tomoki's face.

Kagami's eyes tightened: "What did you say?" The ball was quickly passed into his hands, annoyed that the guy had persisted in his pressure on him. 'Seriously, this guy…I can't get past him! He noticed the phantom player passing behind his defense, signaling him to pass the ball. Passing the ball between Tomoki's legs, Kuroko passed the ball back to the tiger as he ran around the Seiho member.

Running ahead, his path was blocked by Iwamura and quickly repeated the same tactic with his partner before he captured the ball in his hands and dunked it in.

Tomoki's eyes widened, seeing the ball bounce down from the net: "They…can do that?" His eyes landed on the phantom male: "Where did number eleven even come from!?"


Kasamatsu blinked, quite surprised from the sudden coordination: "They can make it past that defense?"

The blonde chuckled, placing his hand on his forehead: "they are more in tune with each other than they were before." Kise's eyes landed back onto the miko: "I have to say that it must of have been Kagomecchi's words against Seiho that brought their spirits back up. After all, she is the link between them."

"I guess..," the Kaijo captain's eyes landed back onto the tiger, watching as sweat dripped from his person, "but there is one thing bothering me."

"Huh?"

"That is way too much sweat for the second quarter."


The miko's eyes scrunched, watching as the sweat clinging to Kagami's face dripped down to the court. 'His aura…is dropping. He is using too much stamina and we are not even done with the first half!' Her eyes landed over to the smirking Tomoki, noticing his grin upon seeing the tiger's condition. 'Is this…his doing?'

"This isn't good…," she whispered to herself, knowing that Kagami was already using too much strength. She looked down to her hands, remembering the time she replenished some of Kuroko's energy and health during their practice game against Kaijo. 'Perhaps…'


"What are you laughing about?" smirked Ryuhei, placing his arm around Tomoki's shoulders. "I mean, I don't mind. You're happy Kagami is over pacing himself, aren't you? Looks like your plan is working well."

Tomoki smirked, seeing the stress on the Seirin members: "not yet! He needs to suffer more!"

Ryuhei flinched back; sarcastically: "oh! You're quite the sadist!"

"That pair's offensive power is certainly impressive," commented Tomoki, "but only one of them can score."

The game resumed with Hyuga passing the ball over to the tiger. Kagami looked over his shoulder, seeing the smirk still on Tomoki's lips. 'What's going on? They are not pressuring me at all! They're not trying to stop me!?' He turned around, aiming for another dunk: 'Fine! Then I will slam another one through their hoop!'

Kagome's eyes widened, seeing Tomoki's intention. She shook her head, standing from the bench: "Kagami-kun! Don't do it!"

Everyone's eyes widened as Kagami's body slammed into Tomoki's pushing him onto the floor. The referee's whistle was blown once again: "Offensive foul! White 10!"

All eyes landed on the fourth offensive card on the referee's hand. Shinji sighed: "That's…four."

Kagami's eyes slowly tightened as he looked over his shoulder, seeing the sadistic smile on Tomoki's face. 'He…did that on purpose!'


"Baka!" shouted Kise, shaking his head. "What the heck is he doing!?"

Kasamatsu sighed: "He will have to back down. With only one foul left, he will be too scare to make any plays."


Riko sighed, scratching the back of her head: "Baka..."

"It's only the second quarter…," sighed Shinji.

Kagome looked over to see Tomoki's excitement, making her fingers wrap tightly around her clipboard. Letting out a sigh, Kagome closed her eyes: 'I guess…it works out better this way. With four fouls on him…he will be too scared to make any more mistakes. Besides,' her eyes landed ahead to the other half of the stadium, watching as Midorima and Takao had been sitting out during their own game, 'they are conserving their energy…in which Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun must do the same.'

"Riko-senpai."

"Huh?"

"Substitute Kagami-kun and…Kuroko-kun," she finished, looked down at her hands. 'They used too much energy. I will try to restore to the best of my ability by giving them some of my own miko-ki energy.'

Riko looked over to the female manager: "substitute Kuroko-kun as well?"

Kagome pointed over to the Shutoku team: "if we want to win against Shutoku…we will need Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun at full power…this game is already tiring them out."

"I guess you're right, but Kagami-kun won't come back to the bench that easily," Riko sighed as she stood.

Kagome stood from her seat as well: "Just leave that to me."

"Very well. I will substitute them both." She made her way over to the scoreboard table: "excuse me, I would like to make a substitution."

Overhearing her request, Kagami shook his head and looked over to his second year teammates now seeing their concern. "I-I'll be fine! I just have to make sure I don't get any more fouls, right? I can do it!"

"No, you can't," Kagome walked between the team and looked over to the tiger and phantom player. "We are also substituting Kuroko-kun."

Kuroko blinked, taken back from her words: "Me…too?"

Kagome sighed: "I think it is best that you two only played the first half."

"N-Nani!?" exclaimed Kagami. "Why would you say such a thing, Kagome!?"

The miko looked over to the Shutoku bench, seeing Midorima adjusting his glasses. "Because we need you both against Midorima-kun."

Hyuga nodded, seeing where the girl was going with this. "I see what she means. Even if we win this game, we will need a strategy to beat Midorima in our next game against Shutoku."

"Shutoku is already conserving Midorima's strength," added the miko as she crossed her arms.

Kagami took a step forward: "but if we lose this game, we won't even have the chance-!"

"We will gamble it," cut in Hyuga. "If we can conserve the two of you, we will have a slim chance of beating Shutoku and going to the championship league."

"We will beat Midorima even if we are tired, so let us-!" Kagami was once again cut off as Kuroko took a step forward.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko's eyes landed on the miko's sudden change of fire in her own orbs, seeing that indeed it made sense if they wanted to go against Shutoku, "let's do as they say."

"Nani!?"

"I trust our seniors and…Kagome-chan," he continued, turning his head to face the red head.

Hyuga smirked: "don't worry. We'll beat Seiho."

"B-But-!" Kagami stopped in his own words as he felt the miko's hands grab each side of his face, bringing him down to stare into her eyes.

"Trust them, Kagami-kun. You and Kuroko-kun did your best. Now let our seniors finish this game for us," releasing his head, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at the three senpais. "I know they will be fine."

Kuroko looked at Kagami from the corner of his eyes, seeing the slight blush coming over his cheeks. The phantom player's lips curved slightly upon seeing the flustered look on the tiger's expression, something he was beginning to enjoy.

Hyuga nodded to the miko: "arigatou, Kagome-chan. Now take these two."

With a nod of her own, the miko grabbed Kuroko by his wrist along with Kagami's and pulled them away from the court.

"Seirin member change!" called out the referee.

"Oh? They are both gone? Funny how that stupid girl can easily control them," he shook his head with a chuckle. "It's a little disappointing, but whatever!"

Hyuga's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing the insult on his first years. "Quit running your mouth, you braggart."

"B-Braggart?" stuttered Tomoki.

"I'm going to teach you how to talk to you seniors and respect women, baldy," glared Hyuga, watching as Tomoki flinched back in fear.


Kagome sighed, watching as Kagami and Kuroko placed their white shirts back on and sat on the bench. "Why the gloomy face?" she questioned.

"Because…," whispered Kagami, "I could still go against them."

Kagome nodded: "we know, but look at our reasoning."

Kuroko rested his hands on his knees: "Kagami-kun, the team is right. If we want to be at our best against Midorima-kun, we should restore our energy."

Kagami scoffed, turning away from their glances: "whatever…"

With a sigh, the miko made her way behind the two: 'I should start…sending some of my miko-ki over to them to replenish their own energy for the next game.'

Her eyes landed ahead, watching as Hyuga quickly passed the ball over to Mitobe: "besides, it looks like this game…means a lot to our senpais to fully move forward from their humiliation." Placing her hands on Kuroko's and Kagami's shoulders, her eyes landed ahead upon feeling someone looking at her person.

She nodded slightly as she met with Midorima's green orbs.


Takao blinked, watching from his bench as the miko made her way behind the two first years in her team: "oi, oi…Seirin benched their first year pair. Are they throwing the game?" A small smile appeared on his lips: "oh look! Kagome-chan is looking this way!"

Midorima's eyes changed from the first year duo over to the miko as she placed her hands over the boys' shoulder: "no, they are doing just the opposite." For a second, his eyes met the miko's, noticing her small nod in a greeting with a smile: "they intend to win."


Mitobe quickly dunked the ball in, surprising Kagami: "He…can dunk?"

The Seirin team ran over to their defense, Hyuga patting Mitobe's back lightly: "nice dunk, Mitobe!"

"Oi."

Looking over their shoulders, they noticed Iwamura's glare onto them. "I overheard your conversation. You intend to beat Shutoku? You are underestimating us."

"Oh? That?" blinked Hyuga, pushing in his glasses. "That was just talk. This is our revenge game. We can't brag about it if we win on the backs of our first years." His eyes tightened as he stared back at the Seiho captain. "Ultimately…this is just the seniors' will."

Tomoki laughed lightly: "Senior? You are just a year older than me."

Iwamura slapped the back of his head, shutting him in the process. Sighing, he brought his attention back over to Seirin: "Fine. I accept your challenge. Bring it on."

"We won't hold back," glared Hyuga.


Kagami blinked along with Kuroko, watching as their teammates strongly continued to play forward, holding very well on their own. Kagome sighed, watching as Kagami's face continue to scowl, annoyed that he was benched out.

Riko placed her fist onto his cheek, grinding it: "Why do you look so serious? They are not that bad, so don't worry."

Kagome looked ahead towards the court, watching as Shinji passed the ball over to Mitobe and quickly jumped up to do a hook shot. The miko blinked; surprised: "they sure…have talents."

"They have been working hard the past year after their loss against Seiho," nodded Riko, returning her fist back to her lap.

"I see…," Kagome looked down, watching as a faint glow of her miko-ki energy was being transferred over and into Kuroko's and Kagami's own body. She only hoped that no one around would be able to see her doing or that the two males in front of her would feel the strange feeling. 'I have put it to a slow healing process…so the glow should be dim. I should continue to keep the distracted…'

"Riko-senpai, I have noticed something…"

"Huh?" the coach blinked, continuing to observe the game.

"About…Shun-kun…"

All eyes landed on the mentioned player as he held the ball in his hand and raised one finger up in the air with his free hand. "One! Let's be careful!"

Kagome blinked, noticing the change in his eyes. 'His eyes…it is almost as if he is…scouting for something.'

Shun quickly passed the ball over to Shinji and ran around Ryuhei only to smirk slightly as both Seiho's members bumped into each other. Shinji waited for Shun's closeness to the hoop before passing it over to him and making the shot.

"His eyes…," whispered Kagome, hearing the light chuckle from the coach.

"So you noticed?" she questioned. Riko nodded, coming to cross her arms: "Izuki-kun can see it. He has an eagle eye."

Kagami blinked, turning his head to the side to stare at the coach: "Eagle eye?"

Riko nodded: "He is not particularly athletic, but he can change his point of view instantaneously inside his head. Because he sees everything from all angles, he always sees the entire court."

"Seriously?" Kagami's eyebrow twitched, his eyes coming back to see the court.

"Hyuga-kun and the others aren't good at everything, but they each have one special skill," Riko smiled, watching the game resume quickly. "They have been polishing them for a whole year."

The miko blinked, turning her head to observe Shinji and X. "Um, do Koganei-senpai and Tsuchida-senpai have any special talents?"

"Uh…well," Riko's eyebrow twitched, looking away from the miko's questionable gaze, "yeah…," her eyes landed over to Shinji shooting the ball over to the hoop. "Koganei-kun can shoot from all ranges!"

Their attention was drawn to see Shinji's ball hitting the rim of the hoop.

"But his accuracy is only so-so," continued Riko.

"Doesn't that make him pretty normal!?" exclaimed Kagami.

Tsuchida caught the rebounded ball in his hand: "What are you doing!?"

Riko sighed, crossing her arms once again: "and Tsuchida-kun is good at rebounding!"

"Koganei!" shouted Tsuchida as he threw the ball over to the called member.

"I got it!" smiled Shinji, making his aim once more before letting the ball free. The basketball once again hit the rim of the hoop, making everyone sigh at his poor aim.

"Enough already!" yelled Tsuchida, catching the rebound once more. "How did you miss two free shots!?"

Kagome chuckled under her breath: "Well…at least they are a lively bunch." Her eyes landed back down to her hands, content to see the sweat coming to a cool from both Kuroko and Kagami. 'I hope their energy is being replenished.'

Kuroko's eyes moved to the corner of his view, noticing the close observation the miko held onto the continuing game. He thought it was his tiredness coming to him, but he could feel his energy quickly coming back to him. Never had he felt so anew after playing a game - a heavy one at that.

The phantom player had taken notice on the miko's hand on his and Kagami's shoulders since they had been substituted, confusing him on the physical contact. He blinked, wanting to ask, but he knew that it was not the time or place to question the girl when the whole team was on edge.

His attention was drawn over to the ball, seeing it roll away from being pushed off Shun's grasp. He blinked: 'It's going out of bounds.'

Shinji quickly extended his arm outwards before the ball could escape over the line and pushed it back inside the court. Losing his footing, Shinji stumbled backwards over to the bench, both Kuroko and Kagami moving to the side, cutting Kagome's energy process and watched Shinji crashing back against the bench and into the ground.

Kagome's eyes widened: "K-Koganei-kun! Are you okay!?"

All benched members stood from their seat, noticing the spins in Shinji's eyes. Riko shook her head: "He is not okay!"

"His eyes are spinning…," whispered Kagome, kneeling down to his side and checked for any head injuries. "Koganei-kun? Koganei-kun?"

"Is…he okay?" blinked Kagami.

Kagome sighed, shaking her head: "It's a light concussion…," her eyes landed on the coach. "We need to sub him out."

"Let me play!" exclaimed the tiger, seeing his opportunity. He felt even more pumped than ever after sitting on the bench!

Kagome stood from her spot and took a step towards the red head: "we told you no! Now listen, baka-gami!"

"B-But-!"

"What are you talking about?" Hyuga came forth, catching their attentions and cutting off the red head. "You can't play. Have you forgotten why we're conserving your energy!? We will settles this. You just wait!"

"I can't just sit still!"

Kagome's eyes furrowed down, coming forward and facing the tiger: "We already decided this and have you forgotten how many fouls you have!?"

"Butt out, Kagome!" he inched closer to her face, matching her glare. "I need to do something-!"

Kuroko quickly placed his palm in front of Kagami's face, pushing him away from the miko's person. "I agree, so the guy with four fouls should stay on the bench."

Kagami pushed his hand away and placed his own palm onto the front of Kuroko's face: "What did you say, Kuroko?!" he growled.

The miko sighed, shaking her head: "Kagami-kun, if you foul Tsugawa-kun again, you will just be thrown off the court."

"I won't!" he replied back, letting go of the phantom's head. "I've got to pay Tsugawa back for what he did!"

"I already told you not to let him get to you!" she shouted back.

Kuroko blinked, seeing their arguing getting them nowhere. He took a step forward: "Fine. I will beat Tsugawa-kun for you."

Kagami placed his hand back in front of Kuroko's face: "Huh!? What good will that do!? There is no point if you beat him!"

The miko blinked: '…no…I can't let him go into the court. I just…replenished his energy. I don't have time to do that again after the game nor the amount of miko-ki…I haven't used them in a long time.' Her eyes landed on the scoreboard. 'Five more minutes left on the fourth quarter and a six point difference…'

Kagome looked over her shoulder, seeing Hyuga pondering on the score as well. "Should…we let him go?"

Hyuga adjusted his glasses: "with five minutes left…we cannot risk it." He took a step forward: "Fine. As another first year, take down Tsugawa, Kuroko."

"What!?" exclaimed Kagami.

"Calm down," whispered Kagome before making her way towards the phantom player. She placed her hand on his shoulder, catching his attention after he removed his white shirt. "Kuroko-kun…please don't overexert yourself."

Kuroko blinked and gave her a simple nod before he headed back out into the court. She only hoped that he would not over use his energy knowing that if they were to move forward…their next game would be with another member of the Generation of Miracles.

"Seirin, member change!" announced the referee.

Kuroko made his way towards Tomoki, noticing his bored expression. Tomoki blinked, placing his hands on his hips: "It's just you? I wanted to play against Kagami."

"Sumimasen, I may not be very strong, but apparently he has a grudge, so I am here to pay it back," he replied.

Tomoki released a chuckle: "you're paying me back for Kagami? This should be fun."

From the bench, Kagome wrapped Koganei's head with a bandage and looked over her shoulder as the game resumed on the last five minutes of the last quarter. Her eyes landed on Kuroko, watching as Tomoki defended against him.

"Ma, ma, I am quite disappointed that they sent you," he smirked, catching the phantom's attention. "For Seirin to send a first year at all…looks like your upperclassmen aren't so dependable. They just said they benched you two because of their will, but here you are." He released a laugh: "So much for that stupid girl's speech about you guys winning!"

Kuroko looked away from his gaze and concentrated on the game: "I asked to be put in. If the upperclassmen have their will, then lowerclassmen have respect. And please…refrain from insulting Kagome-chan. I am quite annoyed as she is now. I will defeat you to support the upperclassmen that I look up to and defend my friends."

Tomoki blinked and came wide eyed the moment Kuroko disappeared from his sight. He looked over his shoulder, watching as Kuroko quickly passed the ball around to Hyuga. 'I…lost him! How did- When did he-!?'

Hyuga smirked as the ball was in his hands and jumped to make the shot. Landing on his feet, he ran beside the Kuroko to defend their hoop: 'Seems like I am finally understanding what Kagome-chan was talking about their martial arts! Quite difficult to catch and read on it as we play, but I will give her the credit for catching it!'

His eyes watched as one of the Seiho members passed the ball over to one of their own, but he quickly ran forward, intersecting the pass and catching the ball himself. Dribbling it forward, he made a break towards Seiho's hoop.

Tomoki quickly blocked his path, but watched as Seirin's captain passed the ball over to Kuroko and pushed it over to Mitobe's way before making the basket.

Tomoki looked back and forth: "What…is going on!?"

"They…can read our movements!" cursed Ryuhei.

Hyuga chuckled as he stood beside Iwamura: "Thanks to you guys, one of our DVD players are ruined. If it weren't for our manager catching onto your techniques, we might have never been able to see through you all."

"What did you say?" glared Iwamura.

"The girl that spoke back to you…," smirked Hyuga, "she is the one that read and found out about your techniques, so you can thank her later."

Kagami blinked as he sat on the bench: "Kagome…?"

"Huh?" she blinked, coming to stand: "What is it?"

"How…were you able to catch onto their techniques?" he questioned; curious.

Kagome came to sit beside the tiger: "well, thanks to my old friend who taught me some of the martial arts techniques, I caught onto Seiho's and their…habits."

"Habits?" he repeated.

Riko sighed, crossing her arms: "in other words, if you are specialized, you have habits. As Kagome-chan explained to me before, normally, people will step towards the direction they are heading as they start to move."

The miko nodded: "but, Seiho's players point their toes in the direction they are heading before they even move. It was part of something I learned as my friend told me it was important to fool your opponent and having your eyes and feet going different directions."

"Even with Kagome-chan's advice, keeping up with their movements was harder than we expected," Riko chuckled under her breath.

Hyuga smirked: "because of that damn technique, we haven't been able to deal with them until the second half." He patted Kuroko's shoulder, seeing the small smile on his face as they resumed their pace.

Kagami blinked, watching Kuroko's passes in awe: 'Now that I realize it…this is the first time I see Kuroko play.'

"He…is pretty amazing at what he does," whispered Kagome, catching the tiger's attention. "He is always like this."

"Do you…enjoy watching him play?" he questioned.

Kagome chuckled: "I enjoy watching you all play."

All eyes landed on the scoreboard, seeing the last thirty seconds left on the game with Seirin one point ahead. Hyuga stood his ground: "we can't let them get this!" his eyes tightened, watching as Iwamura had the ball in his hands.

With a yell, Iwamura dunked the ball himself, glaring at the Seirin team members: "Do not underestimate a king! You need ten more years of experience to beat us!"

The miko's eyes narrowed: "We were so close…"

"We can still make it," glared Riko, hiding her nervousness as time ticked away.

Shun passed the ball over to Kuroko and noticed Mitobe free in his run. Aiming the pass over, Tomoki quickly blocked his way, surprising him.

Kagome stood from her seat: "Kuroko-kun!"

Upon hearing his name, Kuroko's hand brushed over the ball missing the pass. Tomoki smirked, seeing his chance only to stop as Kuroko took a second later to pass the ball over to Hyuga. All eyes landed over to the captain as he aimed for the hoop from his spot and let the ball free.

The ball quickly went in before the last second went away and the buzzer signaling the end. Silence echoed throughout the stadium before all of the Seirin members cheered in unison over their victory with seventy-three to seventy-one.

The team gathered in a circle, leaving Kagome and Kagami on the bench. Kagami blinked, watching as his team praised one another. The miko sighed with a smile: "their….will was a strong one. Come on," she pulled Kagami in by his wrist into the circle and stopped as Tomoki took a few steps towards her and glared.

"Why!?" he shouted, watching as she jumped slightly from his sudden appearance. "Seirin just formed last year! We practice way more than them! They didn't stand a chance last year! I can't take that a girl discovered our techniques! No matter how you look at it, we are stronger!"

"Enough, Tsugawa," Iwamura placed his hand on the male's shoulder, stopping him from his rant.

"But-!"

"The strong don't win," he continued, staring at the Seirin team. "The winners are the strong ones. They were stronger. That is all." His eyes landed on the girl and gave her a nod; acknowledging her. "I respect you for helping your team and discovering our method. That was…definitely a first." He turned around, grabbing Tomoki from the back of his jersey.

Kagome returned the nod; slowly, not expecting his respect. Watching as they left, Kagome released Kagami's wrist and turned around to see Riko with a few tears ready to escape her eyes before Hyuga patter her head: "keep it together, coach. It's not time to cry yet."

Another whistle blew, catching their attention over to the other half of the stadium and noticed the scoreboard on Shutoku's game.

Kagami placed his hands on his hips: "Looks like they are done there."

"One hundred thirteen to…thirty-eight…Shutoku won," whispered Kagome, watching as Midorima and Takao made eye contact with her and the first year duo. 'Midorima…Shintaro…'


"Well, this should be enough water bottles," the miko looked down to her arms filled of bottles for her teammates as she walked towards their assigned locker room. Seeing they only had a few minutes before the next game, she wanted to check on Kuroko's status and see if he had any energy left in him. She only prayed he did.

"Kagomecchi!"

Looking over her shoulder, she blinked upon seeing Kise and his captain walking side-to-side towards her. Kise waved at the miko, holding his usual smile: "Kagomecchi!" he stood in front of the miko, blinking at the sight of water bottles in her arms. "Taking those to your teammates?"

"Huh?" she blinked, looking once more to the items in her arms. "Yeah…"

"I have to say, Higurashi-san, Seirin definitely surprised many today with their win against Seiho," cut in Kasamatsu, placing his hands inside his pockets.

The miko was taken back by his sudden words, hearing no stuttering whatsoever from the male. She took a step forward: "K-Kasamatsu-senpai…you're not stuttering…"

The Kaijo captain quickly blushed, noticing what she meant and looked away. Kise chuckled under his breath: "when it comes to basketball, his whole personality changes." The blonde crossed his arms: "So? How did you help Seirin this time?"

Kagome looked to the side: "well, I simply told them what I found out about Seiho and their technique."

"Technique?" blinked Kise.

She nodded back: "they use old martial arts."

Kasamatsu returned his view forward to see the smile on the miko's face. His interest grew on the topic, seeing he had never heard of such a method: "old…martial arts?"

"Hai," she smiled at the two, "it was harder than we thought for the boys to catch their technique and read their movements, but they were able to catch on it towards the end."

"With the help of Kurokocchi," grinned Kise.

"Oh! That reminds me! I need to check on him!"

"Check on him?" blinked Kise. "Is Kurokocchi alright?"

Kagome chuckled, seeing his concern over his middle school teammate. "Don't worry, Kise-kun. I am sure he is fine, but I want to make sure him and the rest of the team are alright before they go against Shutoku."

"Shutoku will be a tough opponent," commented Kasamatsu.

"I am sure we will be fine. I have faith in the boys," with one last chuckle, Kagome turned around and stopped in her spot upon seeing Midorima with Takao. She froze, watching the intensive glare the green haired player held on her person.

Takao released a whistle, quickly wrapping his arm over the miko's shoulders: "Kagome-chan! You don't know how happy I am that you kept your promise! Now we will be going against Seirin! Although, I am a bit surprised that Seirin made it this far."

"But fate will not be on Seirin's side for so long," cut in Midorima, catching everyone's attention.

Kise chuckled, placing his hands inside his pockets: "Midorimacchi, I am guessing you heard Oha-Asa today?"

"When doesn't he?" questioned Takao, raising an eyebrow.

"Still with that?" commented Kagome, catching the males' attentions. "I didn't say fate is on Seirin…I simply said that I have faith in the boys. I know….they will do great."

"But they will not win," he added.

"Well, we can determine that once you are all on the same court," she chuckled.

Takao laughed lightly under his breath, bringing Kagome closer to him: "See, Shin-chan! You need to meet more girls like this!"

"Uruse," he glared.

"Don't worry, Kagome-chan, he actually holds interest in you," Takao smirked. "In fact, you are probably the first girl that he has put so much attention to."

"Oh?" Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"Really, Midorimacchi?" smirked Kise, leaning forward, not caring much for the glare Midorima was sending him. "I never thought I would see it in you to be interested in a girl."

"Oi," Midorima's eyebrow twitched.

Takao snickered before noticing the water bottles in the miko's arms. "Oh? Water! Arigatou!" he grabbed one from the bunch in her arms, but blinked the moment Kagome pulled it back into the pile.

"G-Gomen, Takao-kun, but these are for…Seirin," she gave them all a bow. "Gomen, but I have to get them ready for the next game." Bowing once more, she turned around and stopped upon facing the green haired member in Shutoku. She sent him a small smile: "I look forward to seeing you on the court, Midorima-kun."

Walking past him, Midorima looked over his shoulder as the miko made her way inside the locker room and closed the door behind her. Takao sighed, placing his hand on his hip: "Darn and I was really thirsty…why can't we have someone like that in our team to take care of us?"

Kise pouted: "I said the same thing, right Kasamatsu-senpai-?" his head was quickly slapped from the back, leaving him to rub the hit spot. "Itai!"

Kasamatsu shook his head: "baka! Get over it already!"

"He-he, you want a girl manager too, huh?" smirked the blonde.

"Want another hit?" threatened his captain.

"I want a girl manager!" chuckled Takao, raising his hand a bit. "I would be lying if I said I didn't."

"Shut up, Takao," Midorima walked past the blonde, stopping as Kise whispered to him.

"Don't underestimate Seirin, Midorimacchi. Having Kurokocchi on there is something you should be wary of, but Kagamicchi and Kagomecchi put a lot into that team."

"And?" Midorima continued to look ahead, not bothering to look at Kise.

"Just keep in mind that Kagomecchi was the one that helped Seirin win against Seiho. She was the one that discovered their technique and discovered my…weakness of not being able to copy Kurokocchi," with one last chuckle, Kise turned to face him. "Fate…can turn either way."

Turning around, Kise walked past his captain, knowing Kasamatsu followed to go and sit back on their seats for the upcoming game. Takao whistled lowly: "Is that your friend from Teiko?"

"Acquaintance," glared Midorima.

"Hm, but is it true that Kagome-chan was the one that mainly helped in Seiho's defeat? Quite surprising a manager was able to do so," Takao smirked. "Makes me quite excited to see how she will help in our game."

"She can help all she wants," Midorima adjusted his glasses as his eyes landed back to the closed Seirin locker door, "but it will do her nor Seirin any good against someone whose luck is on my side."


"Go put on jackets before your bodies get cold!" instructed Riko, watching as the team members did as they were told inside the lockers. "Make sure you stretch! Also, take some amino acids to restore your energy! Don't forget to calorie charge!"

Her eyes landed back on Hyuga's calves as she finished massaging out the muscles. "I'll come massage each of you, so take off your shoes!" She looked up to the captain's eyes: "how does that feel?"

"Arigatou," smiled Hyuga, "I would be lying if I said I am not tired, but I should be able to make it through the next game."

Opening the door, Kagome closed it behind her as she watched the team members grab some bananas and ointments to prepare for the next game. She handed each a water bottle, smiling as she stopped in front of Kuroko as he sat on the bench.

"How are you feeling?" she questioned.

Kuroko looked up, grabbing the water bottle into his hand: "I'm fine…I don't feel that tired."

"I'm glad…," she smiled, nodding to him. Her eyes blinked, noticing his observant stare into her person. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He gave her a simple nod, coming to open the water bottle in his hands: "I just hope you are alright Kagome-chan and you are not over exerting yourself."

'Over…exerting myself?' she blinked, a bit confused on the meaning of his words. "I am fine, Kuroko-kun, just a little worried over the next match."

"We will be fine!" smiled Riko, overhearing their small talk. "We just need to make sure we can warm these guys up as quickly as we can before the game starts!"

The miko nodded and walked over to the tiger as he sat on the floor, leaning on the lockers with crossed arms and handed him a bottle. Blinking, Kagome tilted her head to the side, noticing the red head was…sleeping. It was…out of the norm to see him in such a peaceful state.

"Oi, Kagami-kun!" Riko stood from her spot, looking over to the tiger's condition. "Your body will freeze up if you sleep!"

With a light chuckle, Kagome knelt down in front of him and grabbed his sport jacket and placed it over his shoulders: "We should let him be."

"Huh?" blinked Riko.

Shun took a drink from his bottle: "he is not usually this down after a game."

"It's probably because he got four fouls," commented Shinji, taking a bite from his banana. "It's not anything to worry about."

"Your last foul was a little unexpected, though," chuckled Tsuchida.

Kagome sighed, relaxing her shoulders as she continued to observe the peaceful tiger in front of her: "maybe…he feels responsible in his own way. Besides, I don't think he is sleeping."

"He…isn't?" blinked Riko.

The miko shook her head: "this must be his way of saving every last bit of energy he has for the next game." She blinked, chuckling to herself: 'although…I was able to replenish more than half during the Seiho game when he was benched out along with Kuroko-kun.'

"Ma! Ma!" Shinji walked towards the miko, quickly pointing towards his cheek: "so…we won against Seiho…"

Kagome blinked: "….yeah?"

"And our reward?" he smiled.

"Reward…?" she whispered. Her eyes quickly widened: "Wait…are you all serious!?"

Shun shrugged his shoulders: "Well, although we already had in mind to win, the reward wouldn't hurt."

"I didn't give agree to this!" she exclaimed, quickly placing her hand over her lips and taking a glance over to the tiger, seeing he had not even moved from her sudden yell.

"Just one little peck," smirked Riko, crossing her arms.

The miko looked at each of the members, seeing their stares back on her person. With a defeated sigh, Kagome closed her eyes: "….fine."


Shinji opened the door to the locker room, throwing his fist in the air as ten minutes before the match hit on the clock: "all right! Reward given!"

He walked forward, along with the rest of Seirin walking behind. Hyuga nodded: "Let's go, Seirin!"

Riko patted the miko's shoulder: "there, that wasn't so bad."

"Right…," sighed Kagome, watching as the team left the locker room, leaving her with the phantom player and sleeping tiger. "Using me this way…."

Kuroko looked over to the sleeping red head: "Kagami-kun…it's time."

Opening his eyes slowly, the tiger came to stand on his feet: "Right."

Had he been listening this whole time? Kagome blinked, watching as Kuroko and Kagami stopped in front of her. "W-What?" she blinked again. Did she miss something? Say something wrong? Was she in their way?

Kuroko scratched his cheek: "you only gave the senpais…the reward…"

"Huh?" Kagome tilted her head. Now she saw where this was going.

Kagami scoffed: "we don't need a reward for winning! The win is enough!"

With a low sigh, Kagome nodded: "hai, hai…you two also deserve it."

"Deserve what-?" Kagami's eyes widened with a blush as he felt a small peck on his cheek from the tip toeing miko. Covering his cheek, he looked down at the miko giving Kuroko a small kiss on his own cheek. "O-Oi! What was that for?"

Kagome looked over her shoulder, a blush covering her own expression: "….Riko-senpai told me to do it, remember?"

Kuroko covered his cheek with his fingers, slowly turning his head away to hide the small pink dusting over his cheeks.

The miko quickly shook her head: "Look…our senpais are waiting for us! Are you coming or not?" She made her way out of the locker room, leaving the two first years inside.

Kagami sighed, removing his hand from his cheek: "that girl….seriously…"

The phantom player cleared his throat: "…her lips are soft," he whispered.

"Huh? Did you say something?" blinked Kagami.

Kuroko shook his head: "let's go Kagami-kun or we will be late." The phantom player walked out of the locker room, leaving the tiger at blinks.

"He definitely said something…"


Midorima waited inside the empty locker room, staring at the blue locker doors with a tight gaze: 'Kuroko and his new two lights…Kagami and Higurashi.' Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his thoughts: 'I did not miss a day of shooting. I did not slack off at practice. My left hand nail care is at it always is. Today's horoscope for Cancer is number one. I even brought today's lucky item, a raccoon Shigaraki. I tied the laces on my right shoe first.'

His eyes slowly opened: "I have done everything." He stood from his spot and headed out of the room. Closing the door behind him, he looked to his side, seeing Takao leaning against the wall.

"You're late. The upperclassmen already left."

"I am aware, nanodayo," Midorima pushed in his glasses.

Coming off from his leaning, Takao's hands were placed inside his pockets: "well? I have never seen you this worried over a game."

"I am not worried," Midorima walked forward, hearing the black haired player behind.

"Hm, is it Kagome-chan's confidence that they will win?" he chuckled.

"Her confidence will only plummet," he replied.

Takao nodded: "hai, hai. Oh it hurts me greatly that I have to go against such a kawaii girl and break her heart over her team, but we have to beat them."

"We don't have to," Midorima stopped in his steps. "We will."


MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Oh! Shutoku versus Seirin will be coming next! Now that will be a hard chapter to write...

Have you noticed Kasamatsu is getting used to Kagome and how Kagami and Kuroko are beginning to become softer with her? Character development is where I am headed with this...whether it holds romance or not. Kise will begin to show interest even more and Midorima may seem like...a prick, but I love him and he will open up to the miko as well!

So bare with me!

Aomine is coming soon! I cannot wait to write about him! His character is so fun to play with in fanfiction! Anyways, hope you enjoyed! I am between updating either Pure Rukh or Fated Souls next...we will see.

Thank you for reading!

Please review!

Ja~ne!