Chapter 10 – An old friend

Hello! Sorry for the long wait everyone! I've made some time to finally write so here is chapter 10. I would also like to thank everyone for reading. To one person who commented that I should add more KuroAka moments, thank you for your opinion because I was thinking of actually selecting the pairing soon and I would sort of like to know what you all wanted to pair Kuroko with. I have sort of made up my mind already but I would like to see what you guys, as the readers, want. So please mention who you want and maybe in the next couple of chapters or so I will reveal who.

I DO NOT OWN KNB!

The match between Touou and Kaijou ended sooner than I expected with Touou winning. It wasn't unexpected but Kise and Kaijou put up a really good fight. Kise seemed a bit sad but it reminded me of the old times where Kise and Aomine always played together with Aomine winning each time.

I didn't want a confrontation with Kise or Aomine at this point, especially Aomine so I asked if I could leave first. Riko decided that we should all leave as well. Kagami looked down at me with worry but I gave a quick smile but he wasn't convinced.

"Pipsqueak what's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just nothing."

"Whatever, it's fine that you won't tell me but you're my partner and you can trust me with things that are on your mind. We're all here for you."

I gave a weak smile and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"I know that much already Kagami-Kun! But really it's nothing."

Kagami shrugged and walked off with the rest of the team.

I walked home with Nigou who strutted alongside me as we reached the front gate of my house. Hibiki burst out the door as soon as I touched the door handle, giving me a huge bear hug, swinging me around in the air and snuggling against me.

"I MISSED YOU!"

I gasped to breathe.

"I-missed-you-too-but-I-can't-breathe…"

He put me down and grabbed my belongings, he motioned for Nigou to come in. I walked into the kitchen to see that he had made hotpot for us already.

"I made your favourite!"

"Hibiki Oni-san, you spoil me too much you know that right?"

"Of course! Anything for my dear imouto!"

I scoffed down the delicious meal and headed to take a shower. The hot water against my skin was so refreshing and I felt so clean and relaxed afterwards. I plonked myself on the bed when my phone rang.

"Pipsqueak! We've decided tomorrow to play street basketball. There's a competition and it's just the first years tomorrow."

"Ok! When do we meet up?"

"I'll pick you up in the morning. Prepare yourself!"

"Ok,"

I went downstairs to find Hibiki snacking on some popcorn while watching anime.

"Whatcha watching?"

"Some good old One Piece. Wanna watch with me?"

"Sure I have time. Oh by the way, I'm out tomorrow to play street basketball with the guys."

"What?! I wanted to spend some quality time with my little sister!"

Hibiki stuck out his bottom lip and gave me his best puppy eyes. I rolled my eyes and smacked him gently in the face.

"Sorry, but if I can resist Nigou, I can resist you. Besides, you can come if you want."

He laughed and ruffled my hair.

"I was only joking. I start work tomorrow and I'll be home by 5 or 6 roughly. Good luck for tomorrow by the way."

"Thanks Oni-san. Anyway, let's enjoy this time together then!"

I snuggled with him and stuffed popcorn into my mouth.

~The next morning~

I opened the front door to find Kagami waiting. Why was he so bloody early?

"Hurry up! You're not even changed yet! We're leaving soon."

"I didn't think you'd be here so bloody early!"

"Just hurry up and get ready!"

"Yeah, yeah."

I stuffed my sport gear into a bag, got changed and put on my best playing sneakers. Kagami and I walked to the courts further away to find Teppei and the other first years waiting for us.

"WHY are you here?"

Teppei smiled,

"Why can't I be here?"

Kagami looked around,

"Where's Kawahara?"

Furihata said that he caught a cold so Teppei was going to replace him.

When we through the place, there were so many people here and the girls where here only that to watch. I felt the heavy gaze of the guys on my back as they probably wondered why I was even playing. When we lined up to enter, I heard a familiar voice and tugged on Kagami's shirt.

"Kagami-Kun, look who's here."

"Huh?"

He turned to see Seiho.

"SEIHO?!"

"SEIRIN!?"

Tsugawa pointed at us and Kagami pointed at them.

We decided to sit and have brunch with them.

"What a coincidence."

Kasuga pat my back and smiled.

"Yeah,"

Tsugawa stared at me weirdly and I smiled back,

"Why are you playing?"

He asked giving me this weird look.

"Why can't I play?"

"I didn't think that you'd play street basketball is all."

"Well I do."

"Shouldn't you be practicing?"

I shook my head,

"We have the day off."

Iwamura asked Teppei if he could play already because he knew about his injury.

"Well, yeah I guess."

It was a while until our first game so we decide to continue eating while Seiho went to play their first match. We heard all this commotion a while later, thinking that Seiho had won we rushed over to see that they had been crushed. In the middle was tall guy with medium length black hair.

"W-what?"

Kagami stuttered. I looked up to see him in shock while he stared at that guy. Someone he knows?

"Kagami-kun?"

"What are you doing here?"

The guy turned around. He had a long fringe that draped over his left eye and around his neck was a necklace with a ring.

"Himuro Tatsuya?!"

He looked shocked but then his look hardened.

"Taiga?"

Then Himuro walked towards Kagami, speaking English.

"Well, well Taiga. What a surprise to find you here."

Kagami replied in english back, a serious expression plastered on his face.

"You don't look surprised at all, keeping the usual poker face?"

"I ain't keeping a poker face. It's my nature."

Teppei tried his best to speak English but the sentence was broken up and he sounded like he was having trouble finding the right words.

"Is it-uh-Himuro? Kagami's friend?"

He laughed slightly and gave Teppei a smile,

"I can speak Japanese. I just haven't lived there so long, I'm still not used to it."

"Good, that'll help."

He turned back to Kagami but he was talking to us,

"We're not friends. I guess you could call me his brother."

Kagami finished telling us about his past and how he met Himuro.

"I came back to Japan this year, and now I attend Yosen High. I thought we'd meet eventually, let's fulfill that promise today."

Kagami gritted his teeth as Himuro began to walk away.

"Tatsuya!"

He turned his head but not facing Kagami,

"What?"

"I…You…"

I had enough of his rambling so I picked up Nigou and jabbed his paw into Kagami's face. Everyone went silent for a bit as Kagami froze, blank faced.

"OW! NIGOU!? YOU BROUGHT HIM?!"

I stared at him,

"I don't like it when you're indecisive."

I put Nigou down. I lectured him about going easy on his opponents. I made sure that he heard every single word and kept it close to his heart. Kagami turned back to Himuro,

"I have decided that I will play head-to-head with you as hard as I can!"

Himuro smiled,

"I look forward to it. By the way….Sorry but who are you?"

He looked at me with a blank face.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you."

Himuro looked at me shocked but then he gave me a big and genuine smile.

"So you're-"

He looked up at Kagami,

"You've found yourself an interesting partner, Taiga."

As Himuro walked away, Kagami yelled at him,

"Wait? You know about Kuroko?!"

"Yeah, a little. There's actually an interesting guy in my team, too."

We lined up to play against Himuro and his team. He gave me a gentle smile and the rest of his team sneered at me. Many people from the crowd were muttering and whispering things like,

"A girl?"

"Why is she playing?"

I ignored them as usual and we bowed and got into position.

"Kagami-kun, there was something that bothered me in your story. Don't be offended, you're strong. But he feels just like a member of the Generation of Miracles. I don't think you can handle him yourself."

"I know that already."

Then the ref blew the whistle and the game started. Kagami and Himuro jumped for the ball, it looked like Kagami was going to get it when suddenly some food bar was placed on top of the airborne ball. The ball fell straight into the hands of a certain, purple haired giant. He looked down at us with a smirk, his bored toned voice slid into my ears.

"Sorry, could you wait a minute?"

Himuro looked at him with a hint of annoyance and a little bit of relief.

"You're late Atsushi."

He turned to face Himuro and gave him that same monotone excuse,

"Sorry. I got lost."

I looked up at him. The giant who used to feed me snacks every day, who used to ruffle my hair and tease me. The only thing was, he never liked to practice. He was so lazy and couldn't be stuffed working hard to do anything. He and I got along well as long as it wasn't basketball. I wanted him to practice but he always refused to and we'd always get into fights.

"It's been a while Mura-kun."

He looked down at me with shock, his eyes glistened with joy.

"Oh? It's Kuro-chin. What are you doing here? You look as serious as ever. I heard you started to play again, I guess it's true then."

"Yes it is. I see that you're still eating sweets. You've gotten a lot taller as well."

He plonked his huge hands on my head and ruffles it,

"You're still so small, so small that I just want to crush you…I'm just kidding, you're so cute when you're serious."

Himuro sighed and turned to the Murasakibara,

"I thought you weren't coming."

He pouted slightly and threw the ball at Himuro,

"It's not my fault you changed the meeting place at the very last minute. I only came because you said you wanted to go sightseeing around Tokyo since you came back to Japan. But you're playing street ball"

He opened a large packet of chips and began to stuff himself with it.

Himuro turned to his team behind him,

"Sorry, but they said they were down a player and it sounded like fun."

Behind me, Furihata muttered something but Murasakibara heard him,

"No, I didn't play."

"Why not?!"

"Don't know. Maybe because Akachin told me not to."

"Who's Akachin?"

I gritted my teeth.

"It's Akashi-kun. He's the former captain of the Generation of Miracles."

Murasakibara continued to munch on his chips,

"Oh, I forgot. Murochin, we can't play in unofficial games. That's why I came to stop you."

He looked up to Murasakibara with a bit of shock and disappointment.

"I see, what a shame."

"Let's go,"

Muraskibara led Himuro away.

"Just wait a minute!"

Kagami grabbed Murasakibara by the shoulder, stopping him from taking another step.

"You can't just barge in here and leave like that. Stay a while and play. I can't keep my mouth shut with a member of the Generation of Miracles in front of me. Besides, I won't let him interfere with my game against Tatsuya."

Murasakibara pointed to Kagami's eyebrows with a curious and almost mischievious look,

"What's going on with your eyebrows? Why are they split in two?"

And then he plucked out a whole bunch of his eyebrows and Kagami flinched with shock, and then yelled at Murasakibara who ignored his shouting.

"OW! What are you doing?!"

"They're so long."

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

"HUH? say what?!"

I sighed. This is just like the old Murasakibara. He never took things seriously and he was such a nutcase. When it comes to everything besides basketball, he's got a screw loose.

Kagami seemed to steam a bit but then his expression turned really childlike.

"Hah! What a disappointment. Look at him running away!"

I sweat dropped. In an attempt to get Murasakibara to play, Kagami was trying to rile him up. Both of them were so immature. Murasakibara turned around, his face indicated that he wasn't pleased that Kagami had riled him up.

"What? I'm not running away."

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard. You were scared."

"I'm not pushing myself too hard. I'm not scared either."

In the end, Murasakibara and Himuro changed and agreed to play. Kagami smiled with satisfaction as I whacked him in the head.

"OW! What the hell?"

"Jeez both you and Mura-kun are such children. Kagami seriously, you and him are so alike in the fact that you're so immature."

"What-"

"Just accept it Kagami, you are immature just like he is."

We lined up to play and again, Kagami riled him up.

"STUPID, STUPID!"

"I know you are but what am i?!"

I kneed Kagami in the thigh and he fell.

"Enough you two. Stop acting like children."

Teppei stepped in too.

"I am against him due to our positions, you've got Himuro Kagami."

Murasakibara smirks slightly,

"Then who am I against?"

Teppei smiled at Murasakibara.

"It's been a while."

"Huh? who are you?"

"Good grief, you don't remember me?"

"I don't bother to remember weak people."

I gave him a cold glare as he shrugged and walked off.

"Sorry about him Teppei, he can get really inconsiderate like they all do."

"It's alright, I'll make sure to teach him a lesson when we play so he never forgets me again."

The whistle blew and Kagami, despite being much shorter than Murasakibara, managed to get the ball. Furihata passed to Fukuda who threw to me. I smashed the ball up to Teppei who had jumped ready for my pass and dunked it as Murasakibara watched from underneath.

Kagami and Himuro faced off, suddenly Himuro jumped up and shot a perfect three. It was so unexpected and even though Kagami jumped to try and stop it, he couldn't. Something wasn't right.

Then it started to pour with rain. Our game ended and we headed home. On the bus back to school, I got a text message from Riko.

Get back now. There is an emergency.

We arrived shortly after and Momoi ran straight into me, hugging me tightly. The tone of her voice indicated that she was very upset about something. My bets were on Aomine.

We got her a drink and she smiled slightly but she was very upset about something. She was on the brink of tears.

"What's wrong Momoi-san?"

"What should I do Tetsu-chan? I think Aomine-kun hates me."

"What did that bastard do?"

"Aomine-kun didn't participate in the semifinals or final of the Inter-High this year."

Kagami shrugged,

"What's wrong with that? He never does anyway…"

Momoi looked up, sadness filled her eyes.

"Injuries, his elbow mostly."

"If the Generation of Miracles are injured, it's due to the fact that they over used their skills. They have the skills that are far greater than any normal player and their bodies aren't strong enough to support their skill, so they get injured. Just like Kise did with his ankle."

Momoi began to tear up and I gripped her hand tightly, reassuring that everything was going to be alright.

"I-I asked the coach to not let him play. Aomine-kun was furious but the coach forced him off the starting lineup halfway through the games. But he just found out about it…."

Kagami frowned,

"Why would you care about Aomine?"

"I'm worried about him, and I can't leave him alone."

She began to cry and all the guys glared at Kagami who flinched back and apologized quietly.

"You lack delicacy Kagami-kun. Leave the talking to me please."

"It's okay Momoi-san. Dai-kun may be a jerk but he wouldn't hate you over something like that. He may be dense, but he knows that you were just worried about him. I'll take you back. I'm sure he's looking for you."

So I walked her back. Nigou snuggled against her leg for comfort and she smiled.

"He's finally warming up to me."

"Nigou's always liked you. Before we head back, can I show you something?"

"Sure."

We walked to the nearest court and I asked her to stand and take a defensive stance.

Then I slowly approached her. I just like that I moved right past her without her even noticing until I had reached the hoop.

"Wh-what was that?"

"My new drive. Thank you for your help, I still need to fix it up a bit."

We went for some ice cream before taking her home. Like it happened before, I won a free ice cream and handed her the stick. She was very confused until she turned the stick over and she hugged me tightly. We made it near her house but she didn't want me to walk the rest of the way.

"You sure?"

"Yes, thank you."

The next week, it was full on training for the Winter Cup preliminaries and studying for exams. I managed to finish studying and training at the same time, trying to perfect my new drive. At training we were told who our first game was. Our first game was against Josei.

When we got on court and one of the players looked quite depressed. I think he was a first year or something but he burst into tears after looking in our direction. Maybe he was one of those egotistic bastards that look down on other teams.

"You guys. Who could you lie to me?"

"Huh? what are you talking about?"

"You said the coach was a girl. I wanted something bouncier but-but- SHE AIN'T SEXY AT ALL!"

We all shuddered as we turned to Riko. She gave us a gentle smile but her intentions said otherwise. She made a slicing motion with her thumb and pointed to the ground. Then she started to emit fire and lightning gathered around her.

We went to bow when the other team gasped.

Narumi, the guy that dissed Riko pointed at me with a big smile and laughed,

"A girl! An actual girl! And she's playing! She's got serious boobage!"

I clenched my fist as I held back the urge to punch him in the face. This is a serious match and all he could think about was girls and boobs? I noticed that Riko's flames seemed to spread across the court as she ordered me to kill him and burn his body so she doesn't have to see that shit again. I shuddered at the order.

"Please, don't say anything else, for your sake."

The game began and at first, we were behind by 4 points but then thanks to Teppei and the second years, we caught up and moved ahead. Kagami went for a dunk, this time jumping higher than he had ever before, but the idiot was too reckless and he head-butt the hoop and fell before he could dunk, knocking himself out.

Luckily it was half time and Kagami had time to rest and wake up. Narumi kept staring at me the whole time. He was standing too close to me sometimes and I vanished before he could say anything. He was a good player but he was an idiot. Kagami dunked many times, the ball sinking in and he was always getting higher and higher. Thanks to Teppei, we were always getting rebounds and scoring. He maded a huge different to our team. Not only that but he could control where the ball went based on watching the other players.

The game ended with us winning after Kagami got the dunk but he still managed to hit his head and fall on his back. Idiot.

Our next match was the one that we had been training so hard to win. The next match was between Shutoku and Seirin. This was our rematch with Midorima. When he walked onto the court, his eyes were filled with absolute concentration and seriousness. He was still upset about losing to us, and this time, I doubt that he was going to let the same mistakes happen again. He was a totally different person and Kagami could sense it too.

"Did you see Midori-Kun when he walked in Kagami?"

"Yeah…he's like a totally different person. It's kinda scary."

"Let's make sure that we don't lose to his concentration, after all, this match is important if we want to get into the Winter Cup."

"Yosh! Let's go pipsqueak!"

We got into position and Takao greeted me.

"He doesn't have time for you. He's finally accepted Kagami as a rival, we all have."

"That's great to hear Takao-Kun! Let's make this an enjoyable game!"

"You got yourself a challenge then Kuroko."

The tip off started the game, Teppei and Otsubo jumped for the ball. Both seemed to get it at the same time, but Teppei managed to reach it first. Izuki got the ball but the ball was instantly stolen by Takao. He passed it to Kimura but he didn't notice that I had beat him to it. I smacked the ball out of his hands just as he caught it.

But unfortunately, Midorima got the ball. It was like a pass straight to him. Instantly, Midorima went for the shot and just as the ball left his fingers, Kagami jumped up and smacked it to the side and out of bounds.

~ No one's P.O.V. ~

Kise watched the match from above. Was it just him, or did Kagami jump even higher than before? I didn't matter, he knew that this match was going to be much more interesting than before. He watched Kagami closely, but he watched Kuroko even more. She was brilliant. The loss to Touou had really gotten her on her feet and she was much more decisive and quick with her moves. He was pretty sure that she had improved a lot.

Kagami glared at Midorima, it was a challenge between him and the ace shooter.

"Don't think you can make any slow shots while I'm around."

Midorima brushed him off with a scoff. Takao caught the ball, Izuki jumped right in front. He knew that no matter what, they had to pass to Midorima if their plan was to work. He passed the ball to Miyaji who passed it behind him to Kimura who passed to Midorima. Again, he jumped to make a shot but was stopped by Kagami.

"Don't underestimate me Kagami. My shots aren't that cheap. I haven't got any knew skills. I've been training my endurance all this time, you must know that like you, my shots have a limit as do your jumps. I just need to keep shooting whether it be 10 thousand or 10 million."

Kagami smirked,

"So it's a test of endurance. Bring it on."

Kuroko frowned, this wasn't like Midorima at all.

The game progressed. Midorima kept shooting while Kagami continued to block every shot. It was already a minute into the second quarter and yet we were ahead by 7 points. Midorima couldn't get any shots because of Kagami which meant that we had the advantage.

Kuroko clenched her fists. Takao was making it hard for her to move freely on court. His Hawk Eye meant that he could see the whole court and restrict her from using misdirection. Not only that but he knew about her tricks as well, but not all of them. She had one trick up her sleeve but she wasn't going to use it yet.

"You're not going anywhere."

Izuki passed to Hyuga but was intercepted by Midorima. He went for a three pointer but Kagami reached him. We all knew that Kagami was going to block it and let down out guard. Midorima pulled a fake and ran right passed Kagami and went for the real shot.

The ball flew high into the air and began to edge closer to the hoop. Kuroko moved into place, she knew that the ball was going to miss. The ball bounced right off the edge of the hoop and everyone stared, shocked at the fact that Midorima had missed.

Midorima's eyes widened, Was he quick enough to touch the ball?

The ball was still on the court and everyone ran for the ball. Kuroko was already there and jumped up and caught the ball. No one had noticed her there. Using her ignite pass, she passed it straight down the middle to Izuki who scored two points.

Midorima got the ball again. This time Kagami was unsure of what was going to happen next, It was either a shot or a fake and he couldn't risk it so he jumped. Again it was a fake but Kagami wasn't quick enough as Midorima ran passed to make a shot. Kagami jumped again but he wasn't going to make it. Then Teppei jumped up to block Midorima.

Then Takao appeared at Midorima's side who he then passed to. Takao passed to Miyaji as they ran towards the hoop guarded by Kuroko and Hyuga. Otsubo joined them making it three on two. Kuroko ran to Miyaji who passed to Otsubo who made the shot.

Hyuga ran up to Teppei and the team.

"What are we going to do now? Midorima has started to rely on his team now. This isn't good."

"Don't know!"

Hyuga smacked Teppei on the side of the head.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"OW! Well I think we can start by benching Kuroko-san. If misdirection doesn't work, then she'll just be holding us back. You're doing your best, but you're more of a hindrance. There's no real reason for you to be on court."

The buzzer went and Kuroko knew that she was benched for now. She had been subbed out with Mitobe as her position. She pouted slightly but she accepted it and walked off the court.

Momoi came running in, she panted as she reached the court just as the game continued with it's second quarter.

"They already started. Aomine-kun that idiot, he didn't even come."

Kise noticed the pinkette run in, panting and huffing like crazy.

"Momocchi? Are you here to watch Kurokocchi and Midorimacchi's game?"

"Ki-chan!"

"Please don't call me that."

"But you're Ki-chan. Are you alone?"

"Yeah, I invited my team but they turned me down. It's disheartening."

They both pout and sigh. Momoi invited Aomine who didn't show up and Kise invited his team who refused to come.

Kise gave the pinkette a smile,

"Why don't we watch together? It's a little weird standing with someone who beat us, but we're both going to the Winter Cup. How about a temporary truce?"

"Sure. How's the game going?"

Kise chuckled.

"It's getting pretty interesting."

Momoi looked down. Kagami and Teppei were double teaming Midorima.

"They aren't letting Midorimacchi shoot."

"I see that Kuroko-chan is on the bench."

Kise laughed.

"Yeah, her misdirection doesn't work on the team because of Takao so they benched her. It was a good decision, let her rest and regain her strength."

The game continued as Seirin tried desperately to stop Shutoku and Midorima from shooting.

Kuroko watched closely, they were stopping Midorima now but the inside was weak. Shutoku was coming back. But Seirin had a trick up their sleeves. Their real form was quick, fast pace play. With Teppei their inside was stronger and the pace of their passing was quicker.

Midorima caught the ball from Takao and shot. Kagami didn't reach in time as the ball sank into the hoop with a loud swish. This was the first of Midorima's famous three pointers.

Miyaji and Kimura showed up behind him and slapped his back hard with glee in their faces

"Good job!"

"Nice one!"

They continued to slap his back but Midorima, strangely, didn't retaliate.

"Don't let that get to you Kagami!"

Hyuga elbowed him in the chest and Teppei karate chopped his head. They continued to do this and Kagami, also weirdly, didn't retaliate. Kuroko laughed from the side lines as she watched Midorima and Kagami get pushed around by their seniors.

The second half ended and everyone was sweating bucket fulls and panting. Momoi and Kise noticed that everyone was really pumped for this match.

The third quarter began almost instantly. The game was going well until Takao passed the ball back to Midorima who scored the first point of the second half.

"hm?"

Kuroko cocked her head to the side.

"What is it Kuroko?"

She smirked,

"I could have sworn Midori-kun smiled. The first I've seen him smile in a game in a while. He looks like he is enjoying this."

"Really? Wow…"

Seirin were really struggling now. Shutoku pulled ahead with 76 points to Seirin's 68. Kuroko was ready to get back into the game and lead her team to victory.

"Coach, please sub me back in."

"Are you ready now?"

"Yes. It's time."

The buzzer went as Kuroko walked onto the court. It was time.

Kise and Momoi smiled, Kuroko was about to change the tide of the game.

The game started with Kuroko being defended by Takao. She smiled though which confused him. Why was she smiling?

She made a run for it, Takao knew that she wasn't going to get away but Kagami screened him, allowing Kuroko to run freely. She ran straight for Midorima. Teppei passed to her and she caught it. Midorima flinched slightly. She couldn't use her misdirection if she has the ball.

Kuroko held the ball in her right hand and moved it to the side, still holding on. She saw Midorima's eyes follow the ball and she took this as her chance to vanish. He looked back up to see that she was gone and so was the ball. All he heard was the thud of the ball behind him as he realized that she had just moved right past him without him evening realizing.

"This is Kuroko's Vanishing drive!"

She got caught up by Otsubo but she passed to Teppei who dunked.

Kuroko turned back to face Midorima who stared at her wide eyed. He had never seen this before and he couldn't comprehend the fact that she had improved so much. He almost felt proud of her.

Izuki passed to Kuroko who was confronted by Takao, she smirked. She had perfected her Vanishing drive and even Takao's Hawk Eye couldn't stop her now.

"You won't get past me KUROKO!"

She got right up close to him and at the last second vanished and passed to Hyuga who shot a perfect three. Seirin had caught up with 3 points behind Shutoku and there was only 6 seconds left of the third quarter.

In an attempt to gain some points, Miyaji passed to Takao but was stopped by Kuroko who passed behind her to Hyuga. He scored a perfect three and the score lead to a tie. The third quarter ended with a tie and due to Kuroko's new drive, they were even with Shutoku.

The last quarter was very fast paced. Midorima and Kagami exchanged points as they continued to score one after the other. There were 30 seconds left on the clock and Shutoku was ahead by 1 point. Izuki ran to the hoop but Kimura managed to tap the ball out of his hands. Izuki looked in horror as he thought Shutoku would get the ball. Kuroko jumped up and caught the ball. Takao attempted to stop her but once again, she used her vanishing drive, rendering Takao useless against her new drive.

She passed to Teppei who went for a dunk but he felt a searing pain travel from his injury through his body. Ignoring the pain, he jumped up for a dunk but Midorima got in the way. As a last resort, Teppei flicked the ball up but Midorima bumped him, causing a free two shots.

His first shot went in with a swish. The benched guys and Riko cheered really loud. Kuroko smiled, they were tied again. If Teppei managed to get the second one in, then they had won for sure. Teppei went for his second shot when he missed the shot. Kagami got the rebound and went for a dunk when Midorima jumped up to stop them. The buzzer went as Seirin and Shutoku all stood in shock. The match ended with a tie and they bowed to each other.

Kuroko stuck my hand out to Midorima.

"That was a very fun game wouldn't you agree Midori-Kun?"

"It was interesting."

He took my hand and I went up to Takao.

"You like the surprise?"

"It was fun. I won't lose to you next time though. Your new drive won't work on us again."

Kuroko ran up to her team. It may not have been a win but they had one match left. Riko had announced that it was against Kirisaki Daichi. The second years seemed to flinch at the name, especially Teppei but they were probably nervous for it because if Seirin won then they were into the Winter Cup.

Kise looked down at Kuroko. She had improved so much and he was so proud of her. He was very excited to play against her and Kagami in the Winter Cup but she and Seirin had one last match before they were able to enter the Winter Cup. He rested his head on his hand and smiled.

"Interesting…"

End of chapter 10

HOW WAS IT? I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. I have work experience this week and the holidays straight after, so I will have plenty of time to write. Hopefully I can update at least twice a week because I really enjoy writing for you guys and I really hope you will continue to support me and review! I would love to see what you guys think and also please tell me who you would like me to pair Kuroko up with. I've decided already but I want to know what you guys want.

THANKS AND STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! LOVE YOU GUYS!