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: Alright, extra-extra long chapter for all of you and there are many reasons for that!
1. For the long wait of this chapter! Gomen! I returned back to college and professors swamped me with essays already and tests. Also, I have work and that was hectic too.
2. For the long and many reviews the long chapter received and the story overall! This story has become the most popular over all the others, and I see myself updating this one more frequently than the rest due to the reviews and followers. But anyways, thank you all! You guys don't know how much I appreciate it and motivated I am to write these for you all!
3. I may not update next week since I have a project and two essays to write! So I hope you can all understand and not abandon me angrily.
Thank you again for review and reading! The reviews really help!
This is the Shutoku versus Seirin match and -drum roll- the okonomiyaki scene! Also, a few surprises of Kagome's friends and...Hojo! Ta-da! Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 10: Warning Win
Huddling together in a circle at their bench, all Shutoku members rested their hands on their knees as eyes glued onto their captain. Seeing his eyebrows furrowed, they quickly remained silent.
Taisuke sighed, closing his eyes as his team members circled next to him. Seeing the court was ready for them and their opponent, he slowly opened his eyes: "Honestly, I don't think many believed Seirin would make it this far. The King of the North losing can only be called an upset. However, it is nothing more than that."
Green eyes narrowed as he listened to his captain speak to them, preparing them for their win. He had to admit, and only to himself, that Seirin coming this far was definitely a shocker, but if Kise's words were right about the manager having done her part in their victories, then she and the first year duo were a threat to many other teams. But he knew…fate was on his side. It always had been.
"For us," continued Taisuke, "nothing changes. Whether we are dealing with a tiger or a rabbit, there is only one thing for a lion to do." Narrowing down his eyes, Taisuke raised his voice: "Crush them will all our might! As usual, we must win!"
"Yeah!" they shouted in unison; motivation running through their veins.
Releasing a sigh, Hyuga blinked tiredly as his own team huddled around him, waiting for his own motivational speech. He scratched the back of his head: "I'm beat…I've been feeling melancholy since this morning. We've got two games in a row, both against kings…and even while playing Seiho, all I could think about was playing another game after we beat them."
The miko blinked, watching the tiredness race in all the members. Honestly, she did not blame them. Seiho was a tough opponent and it definitely gave them a run for their stamina, but seeing that they were now going against a member of the Generation of Miracles, she could only worry.
'I wish I could have found a video on Midorima-kun to see his skills, but of course, this being his first year…there weren't any,' a sigh of her own escaped her lips. 'How can I become of any help? I feel…useless…' her eyes landed on the tiger, seeing his eyes tightened into a glare. 'And why is he so…silent? Usually the excitement could be read in his eyes.'
Kagome looked next to her, seeing Riko watch her team in a circle facing each other. Blinking, she pointed over to the captain: "Riko-senpai?" she whispered. "Um…shouldn't Hyuga-senpai be…motivating them?"
Riko chuckled under her breath and patted the girl's shoulder: "Don't worry, Kagome-chan, when it comes to motivation, Hyuga-kun is the best. That is why he is the captain."
"But…."
"Just watch," she smiled back.
Their attentions were drawn back to the circle, seeing a smile soon come onto Hyuga's lips as he spoke.
"But there is only one game left," he continued. "We don't have to worry about bothersome crap like the next game or reserving our energy. We can focus on the one thing we have to do! Give everything we have until we can't give any more!"
"Yeah!"
Hearing the referee's whistle blow and echo throughout the stadium, all ears became attentive to the voice. "Line up!"
Kagome watched the team walked towards the center of the court, blinking as she stood on beside her bench. Her cerulean eyes remained on the tiger's back, seeing his aura quite tight and distressed. 'He is…too quiet.'
Takao blinked, looking over his shoulder as he watched his green haired partner walk towards the Seirin bench. "Oi, Shin-chan! Where are you going?"
Midorima remained silent while making his way towards the miko, seeing her attention ahead on her own teammates. He didn't know why, but the girl had definitely grabbed his attention. Her way of speaking that fate indeed have an existence to the world, yet someone could change their course of fate had his mind in confusion how someone could be in the exact middle.
Standing beside her, he spoke, catching her by surprise. "I didn't think you would actually make it this far."
Turning her head to the side, she blinked, surprised to find the three-pointer shooter talking down on her. "Midorima…kun…"
"But it ends here," he finished. "No matter how weak, small, or unknown, any team can fight as long as they work together – that is an illusion."
"Illusion?" she repeated, watching him push his glasses in.
"I will show you just how foolish your choice was to have faith in this team and actually work with them," his eyes narrowed, seeing her unfazed by his words. "You will come to regret it."
Kagome sighed, closing her eyes as she could see where he was going with all of this. "Midorima-kun, I respect your ways of thinking and your beliefs about fate, but no one knows what the right decision is to make in life." Her memories flashed back to her decision of leading her life through five hundred years in the past. "But, if I took on this decision, it is simply because I went along and risked it. There is a…reason for everything."
"A reason for everything?" he questioned.
"And just like you mentioned, you didn't think Seirin would get this far and go against you, but here we are – as a team. Perhaps…there is a reason for that," she sent him a smile, receiving only a more tightened glare.
"Perhaps for all of you to see how much you all overestimate yourselves," he replied.
"Maybe," she chuckled before setting her eyes on his. "Or maybe for you to learn that there is such thing as teamwork that can defeat the Generation of Miracles. Also, if I may say something…"
Kuroko and Kagami looked over their shoulders, seeing the miko having her conversation with the green haired male. Kuroko blinked upon realizing the strong smile she held as she spoke to Midorima with no fear.
Kagome's eyes tightened: "Seirin is not weak. We…will not lose."
Midorima's glare only continued to hold the annoyance of the girl's high hopes of the win. He would show her and her team that their so called teamwork is nothing more than that illusion he spoke of.
Kise smirked, watching the confrontation between the miko and his former green haired teammate before the male walked over to the center of the court. "Seems like Midorimacchi's buttons were pushed."
"Huh?" blinked Kasamatsu, looking from the corner of his eye to see the blonde holding his grin. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, if there is one thing that Midorimacchi hates, is simply people who speak back to him…especially when that person is unfazed by his words or gazes. I mean, Midorimacchi can be intimidating in his own way, but Kagomecchi is holding herself very strong against him," Kise rested his elbow on the art rest: "Kagomecchi doesn't easily back away from a challenge that is for sure."
Kasamatsu's eyes landed back onto the starting scoreboard: "but even with Higurashi-san's support and having two great first year players, will Seirin miraculously beat two kings in a row to win or will Shutoku protect its rightful throne?"
"Mah, who knows," replied the blonde. "To be honest, I cannot take a guess."
"Let the preliminary A block championship game between Seirin High School and Shutoku High School begin!"
Both teams faced each other and bowed in respect before taking their positions. Takao watched as Midorima took his spot, ignoring the two first years on Seirin's team. "Huh? Is Kagome-chan the only one you need to talk to?" Takao's eyes quickly looked over his shoulder, watching both Kuroko and Kagami walk to the other side of the court and stop as he mentioned their names. "What about Kagami and Kuroko?"
"There is no need," he quickly replied, not even bothering to look back. "There is no reason for me to talk to someone who believes in such useless things about teamwork and to someone who played such a pathetic game. If you have anything to say, you can show it to me with your play."
Kagami's lips curved to a smirk: "Right back at you." He turned his body to face the horoscope male: "Just thinking about it makes me mad at myself. I have tons of pent up frustration, so let's do this already. I turned it all into fight and I have been saving it for you. I can't hold it in any longer."
From the end of the bench, Kagome could definitely hear the tiger's words and see his aura flaring slightly around him. 'I don't have a good feeling about this…'
"What did you say?" glared Midorima, looking over his shoulder. "Fine, then do your worst."
Taking their position, Kagami stood in front of the Shutoku captain and waited for the referee to set the ball up on the whistle's call to begin. With the ball thrown into the air, Kagami quickly reached forward and tipped the ball over to Mitobe's hands before being passed over to Shun.
Shun quickly took a step back, seeing each of his members being blocked by one of each Shutoku's males. His eyes narrowed: 'they're quick!' his eyes scanned for an opening and saw nothing for his pass. 'We wanted to run-and-gun for a quick shot, but…'
"They are already defending this quick against our players," whispered Kagome as she took her seat next to the female captain.
Riko nodded: "and the problem is, matching a stronger opponent is like giving them control of the game."
The miko blinked, watching as Shun continued to dribble the ball in place. She still felt so out of the basketball theory and what was right or wrong. Usually she would plan things according to her gut, but hearing Riko's words, a lot of strategy went into play and planning. "Then…what should be done?"
"Attack them in the first quarter," she replied, her eyes narrowing. "For that…you have to greet them by taking them by storm!"
Kagome watched as Shun's pass was quickly given to the disappearing Kuroko and misdirected over to the tiger's high jump before the hoop. Kagami aimed for a dunk, exciting the other Seirin members on the team.
The miko's eyes widened, watching a familiar male jump in front of the tiger's hand and block the ball by pushing it away from his grasp. 'How…how did Midorima-kun get there so fast?'
Takao chuckled, catching the ball into his hands: "I knew you could do it, Shin-chan." He ran over to the other side, leaving both an angry tiger and green haired male with the tension.
"H-He can block that?" stuttered Riko, surprised herself by the sudden attack on them.
"How disappointing," commented Midorima. "You think you can beat us with that?"
Takao stopped in his run, watching as Shun blocked his path and quickly passed the ball behind him over to Kimura in an attempt to perform an alley-oop. Kimura's eyes widened, watching as Hyuga jumped head to head with him and barely tipping over the ball's balance from his hand and making him miss the score.
The miko watched as the tension grew between them, seeing that neither team would let the other score so easily. She was starting to understand the flow of these games, seeing that whoever took the first points…would be the one in control.
"Oh man," sighed Kise, watching the struggle between both teams. "They are stuck in equilibrium."
"A basketball game is forty minutes long," Kasamatsu crossed his arms, tightening his focus on the movements on the two performing teams. "The game is broken up into four ten minute quarters. Basically, the flow of the game changes at least three times. However, once your opponent takes control of the game, it's very difficult to take it back during the same quarter."
His eyes watched as the time continued to tick away: "It's been almost two minutes without either team scoring. At this rate, whoever scores the first point…will take the first quarter."
Takao caught the ball in his hands and dribbled it over to the hoop only to see Seirin's captain coming in front of him in attempt to steal. In a blink of an eye, he passed the ball behind him and smirked the moment the ball was in Midorima's hands, catching everyone wide eyed, knowing the meaning and fear.
Kagome looked at the distance between him and hoop and could see that the distance was far. 'I-Is…he really trying to shoot a three pointer from there!?'
With ease, Midorima released the ball up into the air, arching over to hoop. He turned around, knowing his shot would not miss at all. He took steps back to his defense position, watching as Kagami's eyes widened at the sight before him.
"Keep running," whispered Kuroko, running past the tiger.
Getting him out of his thoughts, Kagami watched as the phantom player made his way over to Shutoku's hoop as the ball was slowly coming down for a score.
"T-The balance is broken…," whispered Kagome with wide eyes, watching as the scoreboard added three points onto Shutoku's side.
Kuroko caught the ball once it made its way down and stared down at the orange ball in his hands. Although he felt a bit exhausted from his last five minutes against Seiho, he could still feel a strong urge of energy running through his veins. Something continued to push him and even if it was a risk, he would take it.
Holding the ball in one hand, the phantom player quickly spun in place, extending his arm out before throwing the ball straight forward beside the green haired player, catching him by surprise. Midorima's eyes widened, seeing over his shoulder as Kagami caught the ball into his palm and dunked it in.
All in the stadium were awed by the sudden display of the counter attack. The miko blinked, having seen the sudden performance by the first year duo. 'What was that…? Kuroko-kun passed the ball from one end…to the other?!' She knew Kuroko did not have that much energy compared to the tiger, but having seen his new and sudden display, she almost questioned herself if her transfer of miko-ki into them for energy had anything to do with it. Her eyes landed on the red head, seeing his smirk: 'Did…they both get affected somehow?'
Midorima turned to face Kuroko, glaring at the phantom player: "Kuroko…"
"Sumimasen," replied the ghostly haired male. "I can't let you take the first quarter that easily."
Takao's eyes tightened over his shoulder, just as surprised as anyone else: "They can pass like that?"
Hyuga's eyebrow rose, watching as Kuroko cleaned the sweat off his forehead: 'I…have never seen that before either…but thanks to him, the flow of the game hasn't changed.'
Miyaji quickly caught the ball in his hand and passed it over to Midorima, seeing him in position for his shot. His green orbs watched as Kagami blocked in front of him and noticed Kuroko's run towards the hoop he aimed for.
His eyes scrunched, already seeing what they were planning for. Without a second thought, he passed the ball over to Takao, making the tiger blink at his sudden actions.
Kagome blinked, seeing the pass from the green haired player: "Why…did he pass it? He could have easily made that shot…"
"He is being shut down," replied Riko, resting her elbow on her knee.
"Midorima-kun is being shut down?" she repeated.
"It seems that Kuroko-kun's spinning long distance pass, is the trigger that has shut him down," Riko's eyes narrowed, watching as the game continued with the balance. "Midorima-kun's team returns to defense during the long hang time of his shots and that is good for stopping run-and-gun plays."
"But, not everyone goes back," replied Kagome. "Shouldn't someone stay back, in case he misses and make a rebound?"
"Hai," nodded Riko. "That hang time bites them in the ass. If Midorima-kun can go back, Kagami-kun can also run back. They counter Midorima-kun with a super fast break by running past him."
Kagome returned her attention back to the game: "So…that is why Midorima-kun can't shoot." Her eyes scrunched, observing the green haired male. 'But there has to be a set back to his skill. Every skill does. It might sound selfish and I really don't want it to happen for Seirin's sake…but I need to see Midorima-kun's shoot once more and see any minor detail I am missing…'
Smirking to himself, Takao dribbled the passed ball and looked over his shoulder, easily noticing the phantom player: 'we can't have people think this is all it takes to shut us down.' He quickly passed Shun's defense and narrowed his eyes down upon seeing Mitobe's body blocking his path. With a low chuckle, he passed the ball around his back and over to his captain before it was made into their hoop with ease.
Without a second to stop, Hyuga passed the ball over to Kuroko after he had acquired the orange basketball himself. Seeing the pass, Kuroko slightly moved his body away and noticed the opening on Mitobe.
Kuroko passed the ball over to the silent player and made the score themselves, catching everyone off guard on how both teams were going back to back on making it through the basket.
"Oi!"
All attention was drawn to the Shutoku coach, watching him quietly observe the game as he rested his chin on his knuckles. Kagome blinked, looking from the corner of her eyes to the bench a few feet away from theirs as the coach simply continued to observe the phantom player.
'Is…he going to tell them something during the game?' she blinked.
"Takao, Kimura, change marks," he watched as Takao stopped in front of him while dribbling the ball in place. "Takao, get on number eleven."
'He is marking…Kuroko-kun?' Kagome raised a brow, seeing it weird that the coach had a sudden change in marks. Would it make a difference? Up until now, anyone marking on the phantom player would always lose him on the court due to his low presence.
"It doesn't matter who is on him," whispered Furihata.
"He is so invisible, anyone would lose him," commented Koichi.
Riko tapped her chin with her finger: "What are they planning?"
"They are right though," whispered Kagome, catching the coach's attention, "Kuroko-kun's presence is always lost no matter who is on him."
"But they are taking a direct approach," she spoke back, narrowing down her eyebrows. "What are they trying to do with that?"
"To be honest…," Kagome looked over to Takao, seeing the slight smirk on his lips, "I don't like it very much. I am getting a bad feeling about all of this." The miko silently watched as Takao easily passed his ball behind his back once more, seeing the habit of his passes. 'He always passes behind him. It is almost as if…he knows where everyone is…'
"I knew this would happen," chuckled Takao, running in front of the phantom player as they took their marks. "Shin-chan would say it is our fate to fight against each other. I didn't think we would face each other so soon." Both stopped in their run, facing each other directly in a stare. "It occurred to me the first time we met. You and I are the same kind of person. We are both first years too. Passing is our bread and butter. So I guess you could say I hate you because…you're like me."
Kagami noticed the marking on Kuroko and faced his own opponent, seeing the green orbs on his person: "What do you think you are doing? No matter how fast Takao is, that is not the way to handle Kuroko."
"I am already familiar with Kuroko's abilities," he spoke. "You will see soon enough."
As the ball continued to be dribbled on the court, waited as Takao blinked and disappeared in front of him. In shock, Takao looked ahead, blinking: "C-Chotto matte! How rude are you to suddenly disappear like that!?" A smirk was formed on his lips as his eyes locked onto his target: "Just kidding."
Dribbling the ball, Mitobe blinked over to see Kuroko's presence and passed it over. Kagome stood from her spot, watching as Kuroko's eyes glued onto Hyuga's person to the misdirection pass. She shook her head: "K-Kuroko-kun! Don't!" Her eyes widened, seeing the pass go forward only for Takao to push it away with his palm and quickly dribbling it over to the basket and making a score himself.
Kagami's eyes widened: "S-Seriously!?"
Hyuga blinked, seeing the shock on Kuroko's expression: "That…is the first time he has failed."
"What…happened?" whispered Riko, standing from the bench.
"It wasn't a mistake…"
Riko looked over to the miko, seeing her gaze locked onto the black haired Shutoku player that had easily stolen Kuroko's pass. "What do you mean?"
"I thought it was just a habit, but it seems to me that Takao-kun has the same ability as Shun-kun," she explained, seeing how Takao's eyes tightened in focus. "He can see the whole court."
"What did you say?" blinked Hyuga, after hearing Shun's own explanation, having had discovered himself as well.
"He has a hawk eye," Shun's eyes narrowed. "His hawk eye's field of vision is even larger than mine. Kuroko's misdirection relies on redirecting the gaze of other players. However, the hawk eyes allows him to see everything. He is not just trying to watch Kuroko. In other words…Kuroko's misdirection doesn't work against Takao."
Riko looked over to the scoreboard and noticed the last three minutes of the game. She walked towards the referee table, taking the miko by surprise. "We need a time out."
"Huh?" blinked Kagome. Her eyes traveled over to see the stressful auras on the Seirin team members. 'This…is not good…'
"Seirin, time out!"
Riko crossed her arms, seeing the exact same stress on the team as they sat on the bench and quenched their thirst. "Kagome-chan…explained to me about Takao-kun."
"Ah…his hawk eye," sighed Hyuga.
"Hawk…eye?" blinked Kagome, standing beside the coach.
Shun nodded: "Hai. I noticed it too as his passes began to seem more of a pattern."
"What does that mean then?" questioned Riko.
"He sees far greater than I do," he replied. "Kuroko's misdirection…doesn't work on him."
Kagome's eyes widened: "R-Really?"
Hyuga released another heavy sigh: "I can't believe he can follow Kuroko."
The miko's eyes landed over to the phantom player's silence, seeing his eyes staring holes onto the court. Uncrossing her arms, she blinked, hating to see that type of expression on his and any of the team members' faces.
"Oi," Kagami quickly placed his hand over Kuroko's head, "don't tell me you're going to keep letting them get you."
"Mah…I suppose I don't like it," he replied lowly.
Kagami shifted Kuroko's head ahead to stare at the miko, making her jump slightly from the sudden stares. "Well, don't hold that kind of face. Someone is starting to get worried over you."
Kuroko blinked ahead, seeing the reflection of his worry on the miko's own features. Now he could see what the tiger meant and being honest to himself, he didn't like to see the girl upset and worried over them. He looked down: "Sumimasen…Kagome-chan."
"Huh?" she blinked, confused on the meaning of his apology. "Ah no, really, you have every right to be stressed out, Kuroko-kun. Don't worry about me," she turned her head to the side, seeing Shutoku talking amongst themselves. "I mean, I would feel down too if someone turned down my skills…but I think that gives us a better reason to become better."
"That is what I like to hear!" smirked Kagami, shifting his gaze onto the miko.
"Time out over!"
Kagome watched as Kagami placed his hand on her shoulder as he walked past her. Her eyes blinked before looking over her shoulder to see the team walking onto the court again.
'What is…this bad feeling?'
The game quickly continued as the last three minutes were kicking in. Making the shot, Takao smirked, watching as their score increased five points away from Seirin's. Taisuke walked past Hyuga, exclaiming to his team: "We control the pace of the game! Stay on the attack!"
Hyuga's eyebrows furrowed, watching as Shutoku quickly headed over to the defense position. He could feel it in his whole team as their stamina was beginning to suffer.
"Are…they already short of breath?" whispered Kagome.
"It's okay," replied Riko. "This game definitely depends on Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun who we had on reserve. However, that is not all," her eyes watched as Hyuga stole the ball himself and made the shot.
"Who cares about Kings!? All of you uruse!" he shouted.
A small smile appeared on the coach's lips: "Hyuga-kun will always make important shots."
As the ball was continued in its pass, Kuroko quickly intersected in between and misdirected the ball elsewhere. His eyes widened, watching as Takao caught the ball in between him and Hyuga.
"What are you all doing?" glared Midorima, standing on the half court line. "Defend harder than that." He caught the ball in his hands and took his stance. "My shooting range isn't that short."
Kagami's eyes widened: 'He is shooting from the center line!?'
Midorima took his jump up in the air, letting the ball arch once again over the court and towards the hoop. The shot was easily made once again, giving them the three points.
Hyuga clenched his teeth: 'The high arc extends his range! The entire half of the court is within his shooting range!'
Narrowing down her focus, Kagome had seen the release of the ball from Midorima's hands and although it was slight, she had seen something. 'It is like…when I release arrows…it all depends on the range.' She tightened her eyes: 'I need to see it once more…'
Midorima quickly ran to the other side of his defense spot: "As long as I'm back here, you cannot get behind me with Kuroko's passes. But it's all irrelevant. My shots are three points and your counter is only two." He adjusted his glasses with his fingers: "Even if we do nothing, the gap will grow wider."
Hyuga dribbled the ball over to the other half of the court and passed it over to the tiger. Dribbling it in place, Kagami stood before the green haired male.
"You've got something interesting there," he smirked, "but…," Kagami jumped up, letting the ball go into the air.
Midorima's eyes widened: 'A three!?'
Kagome blinked, seeing the sudden throw: "Wait…I though Kagami-kun wasn't good at outside shots?'
"If it goes in, that is fine," Kagami quickly rushed forward, catching Midorima by surprise. The ball hit the rim of the hoop: "if it misses," his hand quickly caught the rebound and dunked it, "I'll dunk it myself!"
"Nice," Shun patted Kagami's back as the Seirin team headed back to their defense. "So nice how nice it was."
"Izuki, seriously, stop," sighed Hyuga as he ran behind them.
Riko's eyes tightened, seeing the last fifteen second on the first quarter. "We are one basket behind…at this rate, we might be able to-"
All ears quickly caught the sound of the ball dribbling in place. Turning their heads over their shoulders, all eyes laid on the green haired male as he stood at the end of the line of the court.
"That was a pretty good shot for you," commented Midorima before getting into a bent knee position. "However…"
"W-What are you doing?" Kagami's eyes widened, seeing the intention the green haired player had. 'How many meters do you think you're….!?'
Kagome's eyes went wide, seeing the full confidence in Midorima's face as he prepared his hands and arms in position for his shot. "Y-You're kidding…"
All eyes followed the line of the ball as the long range almost seemed forever for it to reach the hoop.
"I told you," spoke Midorima, seeing all their attentions were on the orange ball, "it's not that short, nanodayo. My shooting range is the entire court."
The ball went in before the buzzer for the end of the quarter signaled off. "The first quarter is over! Two minute interval!" shouted the referee.
Riko sighed, watching all of her team's heads handing low as they sat on the bench. They did not even bother to take a drink or clean their sweat. She looked over to the Shutoku bench: "Who makes that shot?" she whispered, watching as Kagome's attention was driven to the same thing. "Looks like we got something bigger to worry about than the score…"
Nodding, the miko turned her attention to the phantom player as he sat in front of her: "Kuroko-kun…has Midorima-kun always been able to do that?"
He shook his head, raising it: "No…I only knew he could shoot as far as the half line. That's the first time I have seen him shoot from there."
"I've seen videos of NBA players make that shot during practice, but trying that in an actual game is ridiculous," sighed Shun, looking ahead.
"The Generation of Miracles is ridiculous…," Hyuga shook his head as he held the towel in his hand.
"How do we even stop that?" questioned Shinji.
Kagome looked once more over to the Shutoku team and stopped her view onto the green haired male. 'Although I hate to see Midorima-kun make scores with his three-pointers…that last one definitely helped, but is it the same as when I shoot my arrows?'
"Coach."
Hearing his call, Shutoku's coach looked over to the green haired male as they both made eye contact. "Hm?"
"Give me the ball during the entire second quarter," he requested, both eyes narrowing.
"Coach, can I hit him?" smiled Miyaji as he sat beside the green haired male.
"Miyaji, why don't you throw a pineapple at him?" offered Kimura. "My family runs a produce."
Releasing a laugh, Takao quickly patted Midorima's back: "Just how self-centered are you? I love it!"
"No matter how they come at us, I will shut them down," Midorima's glare tightened, trying to show his seriousness on the idea.
With a second on the thought, their coach nodded: "Okay. Let's call that three of your selfish actions for the day and do it."
"Seriously, Coach!?" exclaimed Miyaji.
"You know I am at my limit," glared Taisuke, shifting his gaze to the green haired male. "If that is what the coach says, I have no choice. Do what you want the first half, but if we lose…"
The second quarter quickly began as everyone witnessed the quick shots Midorima gave and Takao's interception in Kuroko's passes. Riko's eyes widened: "They…can't do anything with Takao-kun on the court…"
Midorima once again had the ball in his hand and aimed for his shot on the half line. Kagami looked over his shoulder: 'Crap! If he can shoot from anywhere, if he gets away from me for even a second…!'
Releasing the ball, the score was made and soon increased the points on Shutoku's side. Hyuga quickly captured the ball from under the net and passed it over to Mitobe who scored himself with an alley-oop.
"Yosh!" Riko's eyes tightened.
The miko's eyes landed on the green haired male, watching as the ball was once again in his hand; dribbling it in place.
"I will say it again," spoke Midorima, "you cannot stop my shots."
"No you don't!" shouted Kagami, running towards him to stop him from his release of the ball. Jumping in front of him, Kagami's eyes widened: 'It's too high! Once it starts, I won't be able to-!'
Midorima released the ball slightly over the tiger's fingers and all eyes quickly glued onto the ball as it was once again made it into the basket.
Riko clutched her whistle: "How…are we supposed to stop him?"
Kagome's eyes narrowed: 'No…it is definitely the same…his range and my experience with arrows is the exact same!'
"This isn't good," whispered Kasamatsu, watching the score board beginning to put distance. "Looks like Seirin reached its limit."
"That can't be," Kise's eyes shifted from his former phantom player and over to the tiger, seeing their eyes still in full of shock. Curious, his sights landed on the miko, expecting to see her even more worried but blinked his own view as he watched her focused attention on the three-pointer male. 'Kagomecchi…?'
Feeling a sudden rise in aura, Kagome's eyes quickly landed over to the owner and couldn't help but feel her eyes go wide as she noticed Kagami's aura flaring with a smirk. 'Kagami-kun…?'
Kagami's smirk stretched: 'He's strong…this is Midorima.' Releasing a laugh, he quickly caught everyone's attention.
Hyuga blinked: 'Kagami always laughs when he is up against a strong opponent…'
The miko took a step forward: "Something isn't right…"
The phantom player's eyes narrowed slightly, seeing the sudden change in Kagami's eyes. He could feel his presence and tension rising. He couldn't help but have his eyes widen slightly at the familiarity he saw in him to an old friend.
Kise sighed, seeing the end of the second quarter and with Midorima having taken all the points himself. He shook his head: "Show some spirit, Seirin…"
"They are, baka," replied his captain, watching as the court was being cleaned as the teams had gone into the locker rooms. "After being shown such a difference in their strength, they are still barely hanging in there. I would give them props."
Shifting in his seat, Kise blinked upon hearing his phone fall from his pocket and letting out the noise of the horoscope he had been hearing: "Oh…I forgot to shut it off." He leaned down to pick it up and stopped as he heard something he had not before.
'Cancers should watch out for Leos and Sagittarius today! Running into them could give them trouble!'
Kise blinked: 'Leos…and Sagittarius?'
The locker room was in a spread of silence and all heads continued to hand low in shame at the memory of how bad the second quarter had gone. Riko crossed her arms, watching the tension and disappointment drown them all.
She looked over to the miko, watching as she was lost in her own thoughts. 'No one is talking…what should we do? We have to say something to raise their spirits. What should we do…,' her eyes quickly sparkled at the chance and once again turned her head over to the miko: "Kagome-chan!"
"H-Huh?" blinking out of her thoughts, she flinched back upon noticing the shining sparks on the coach's eyes. What was she planning now?
"How about another kiss?"
"Kiss?" she blinked in a whisper. "What are you talking about-?" she stopped in her words and quickly shook her head: "No! No! No! I already did that for the Seiho game! Don't be using me like that!"
"But it worked!" smirked Riko.
"They wanted to win anyways!" she argued back. "They weren't going to win just for the kiss!"
"But-!"
Riko was soon cut off by the captain as he raised his palm to stop their arguing. "Coach, it's okay. As much as Kagome-chan's kisses are…nice…please read the situation. We possibly can't imagine ourselves winning at this point…"
Both females' shoulders slumped, seeing as everyone had the same thoughts. The miko sighed: "But…that negativity isn't going to help in moving us forward…right, Kuroko-kun?" she had at least thought that Kuroko was the most positive one when it came to winning and hoped that he would back her up.
Kuroko raised his eyes to meet hers: "I have thought about winning, but I have never wondered if I can win or not…"
"Kuroko-kun…," Kagome whispered, seeing that he was just as worried.
"But, even if we lose by a hundred points, there is a chance a meteor will strike the other team's bench in the last second," he blinked innocently.
The room remained silent, staring at the phantom player's idea.
Kagome sighed: "You sure have an imagination, Kuroko-kun…"
"You're right…" whispered Shun.
"Don't give me that!" shouted Hyuga as he stood from his seat. "There isn't going to be a meteor! That's a crazy thought!"
"But…what if they all get stomach aches?" questioned Tsuchida.
"Don't get carried away," glared their captain. "That won't happen either!"
"Well, compared to that, a second half comeback is way more realistic," smiled Shinji as he rested his hands behind his head.
With a smile on his face, Hyuga nodded and led the team out the locker room: "well, let us go! We will think after the game is over! We have to keep running!"
Kagome watched as the team was led out, leaving her with the silent tiger. Turning her head to the side, she noticed his head still hung low. "Kagami-kun? I think…I found Midorima-kun's weakness."
Having caught his attention, Kagami slowly raised his head and noticed her attention stared ahead to the closed door. "His…weakness?"
"It might sound silly, but Midorima-kun's shooting range depends on how far he is. The farther he is…the longer it takes."
He blinked, surprised that the miko had come to notice such a small detail that it was probably not even noticeable to the naked eye. "Why…are you telling me this and not the team?"
"Because…you are the only one who can jump high enough to stop his shots," she replied.
"Let the third quarter begin!"
Kagome looked to her side on the bench, seeing the phantom player sitting beside her. For once she was surprised that Riko had benched him out without a reason. Although, she could see the reason herself. With Takao on the court, Kuroko could not perform his passes.
"We…just need an opening…," whispered Riko, catching the miko's attention.
Kagome sighed, setting her eyes on the tiger and Midorima. "I think…I was able to find one although…I am not sure."
"Huh?" she blinked. "What do you mean?"
Midorima's eyes narrowed, seeing the determination burning in Kagami' eyes. The third quarter quickly began with Shun passing the ball over to Hyuga and the ball being stolen from his grasp from Takao's hand.
Catching the ball in his hand, Midorima prepared in his stance once more and blinked, seeing the tiger run in front of him and jump.
Tightening his eyes, Kagami remembered the conversation he had with the miko. He wasn't sure what she meant about his jumps, but it made sense about his timing. So if she wanted him to jump to stop Midorima's shots, then he will, no matter what it took!
The green haired male's eyes widened, noticing his jump a bit higher than the last time: 'This bastard! When did he-!?' He quickly released the ball and into the basket, raising their score once again.
Kagami cursed under his breath: 'I won't lose! More…more…!'
As time passed by, Midorima once again was given the ball, only to meet with the tiger head on. He took his stance and jumped up to shoot his aim. Glaring ahead, Kagami jumped up as well: 'Both Kuroko and Kagome always give their best…along with the team! But that means if you give everything you have and still can't do it, you accept the loss. Playing against an opponent who is impossible to beat excites me, but ultimately…there is no point if I don't win!'
Midorima released the ball once again and went wide eyed as Kagami's finger tips brushed against the orange ball. 'Ridiculous! Is this even possible!? He's been getting higher and higher all game!'
Everyone waited in silence and in shock as the ball rolled around the rim of the hoop, waiting to see if it would go in or not. Slowly, the ball dropped down into the net, but with doubts and questioning on both sides of the teams.
"That was close…," whispered Takao.
"That is the first time I have seen Midorima's shot go in like that," replied Kimura, just as shocked as the rest.
Riko blinked with wide eyes and looked over to the miko: "Is this the…opening?"
The miko sighed: "Although it is slight…I told Kagami-kun something that I noticed about Midorima-kun's shooting range. The longer the distance…the longer the timing it is for him to release the ball."
"W-What?" whispered Riko, surprised she had not seen that herself.
"Like I said…it is very slight on the timing, but it is possible to stop," she continued, having caught Kuroko's attention. "I told Kagami-kun that his jumps…are the only thing that can stop Midorima's shots."
'His jumps?' Riko's eyes landed onto Kagami. 'Kagome-chan noticed his ability that quickly?'
Kagome sighed: 'But…I am worried on how much Kagami-kun will go into this plan…if he gets carried away…'
"Oi."
Walking past the green haired male, Kagami stopped in his walk after hearing the call.
"You," he glared, "what is your sign?"
"Huh? Me?" Kagami turned his head to face him. "I'm a Leo."
Midorima's eyes narrowed: "That horoscope really is always right."
With the game continuing, Hyuga quickly made a three point shot, sighing in relief as it was made in. Takao caught the ball in his hand, smirking as he looked over at the court: "Well done, but our Shin-chan is even more unstoppable." Seeing the opening, Takao quickly passed the ball over to the green haired player and was met with the tiger on his tail.
Kagome's fingers curled into her palm, watching Kagami's aura continuously increase and flare. 'What is going on?'
Seeing her distress, Kuroko looked up and to his side, seeing the worried expression on the miko's features. He thought it was only him, but he could see that he was not the only one to notice Kagami's change. And it was change he knew had to be stopped soon.
Midorima quickly broke away from Kagami's block and dribbled the ball over for his shot. With tight eyes, the tiger cursed under his breath and ran after the green haired male. "I am still going to stop you! No matter what!"
"What makes you think you can?" glared Midorima, preparing his stance.
"Because thanks to Kagome, she saw the opening we needed," he replied, running behind the male and jumping up in the air. "The longer the shot, the longer it takes to make the shot!" he shouted, quickly extending his arm up and pushing the ball away from Midorima's grasp.
"Kagome-chan?"
Hearing the call of her name from the coach, the miko looked over to the right, watching the large and tall jump the tiger had performed. "Do you believe Kagami-kun's ability…could be his jump then?"
"Uh…well, I am not very familiar with basketball abilities and such, but I do see…potential. Not many humans can actually jump that high," she replied, blinking before turning her attention over to the court.
"Kagome-chan, how were you able to find out about Midorima-kun's drawback?"
The miko looked over her shoulder, seeing Kuroko's eyes on her person. He seemed very interested in the topic. Scratching her cheek, she looked away: "Um…I used to do…archery."
"Archery?" questioned Koichi, standing from the bench. "Like the whole bow and releasing arrows thing?"
Kuroko blinked, quite surprised that their manager had such a…talent. Then why had she not joined the archery club?
"But…how did archery come into this?" asked Riko, bringing the manager's attention.
"Well, when I had to aim, the speed of releasing the arrow depended on the distance between me and the target," she explained, remembering her times of aiming high in the sky and simple aiming at a tree. "You have to focus a lot more when being at a greater distance. It is all about aim."
"Interesting," whispered Riko. "Well, I am glad you found that out, but," she quickly slapped the miko's back with her hand, "you should have told us all!"
"G-Gomen…," Kagome rubbed her back. "I just…wasn't sure."
"Even if you are not sure, always share your ideas or plans," Riko sent her a smile. "Don't be afraid of us."
Nodding, the miko looked over to the court once more: "I will…remember that."
"Woah…sugoi," whispered Furihata, coming back to sit by the phantom player. "Kagome-chan has a hidden talent with archery? I definitely want to see that!"
Kuroko continued to stare at the miko, watching as something continued to bother her within. His eyes were drawn back to Shun's grasp on the ball and making a shot himself. He could see the tiger's intense stare as the game continued.
Taisuke quickly grabbed the ball in his hands and headed for a dunk of his own only for it to be blocked by the tiger's hand.
'I'll become stronger. Strong enough to win without relying on others! Strong enough to win by myself!' Kagami's eyes tightened, feeling his sweat run down from his forehead. 'I'll win! Even if I have to do it myself!'
"Kagami is amazing!" shouted Koichi.
"You think so?" blinked Kuroko, his eyes glued onto the tiger.
Kagome turned her head to see Kuroko's narrowed eyes. Even his own aura was in distress and worry. "Kuroko-kun…is it just me or is Kagami-kun-?"
"He needs to be stopped," he cut in. "I have a bad feeling about what will happen."
Kagami quickly dunked the ball into the hoop, surprising the audience once more. Running back onto defense, Shinji ran beside the red head: "Nice, Kagami!"
"Could you give me the ball more?" he whispered to him, surprising him.
"Huh?"
'I'll do it. Even if I have to do it by myself!'
With the ball in Miyaji's hands, he quickly jumped up for a shot only to have the ball pushed away from his hands by the red head. Catching the ball in his own hands, Hyuga passed it over to Kagami as he made his way back to their hoop.
Easily passing by two people, he jumped high and released the ball a few feet away from the hoop, making the shot with ease.
"He…is over doing it…," whispered Kagome. Now she was definitely feeling afraid as she saw the intensity in the tiger's eyes. She could see his aura flaring yet decreasing. He was forcing himself too much! Too much! Her eyes landed on the scoreboard, seeing the last minute of the third quarter coming and with only a nine point difference. 'When I said jump…I didn't mean it like that, Kagami-kun! You aren't even letting your team work with you!'
Midorima dribbled the ball in place as he came face-to-face with the tiger. With a low chuckle, he narrowed his glare: "I acknowledge your strength and give the manager credit for discovering my ability. However…you will not close the gap any further."
"What did you say?" glared Kagami.
Midorima prepared his stance and jumped up to release the ball.
"No you don't!" shouted the tiger.
Kagome shook her head, quickly seeing his aura come to an all-time low: "Kagami-kun! Stop!"
Riko's eyes widened: "He is already at his limit!"
Kagami prepared his jump up, but froze as he felt his legs stay in place. He felt his whole body heavy and his legs weighing him down. All eyes watched as Midorima's shot was made into the basket, bringing him back down from his shot.
"Sorry, but it's the truth," whispered the green haired player.
"He is out of gas?" questioned Kise, turning his head to see Kasamatsu's own gaze on the game.
"Probably," he replied. "His body is not strong enough to keep jumping like that. He must have overexerted himself jumping all over the place. On top of that…he was subbed in part way through, but it is still his second game of that day."
"And it looks like he is not the only one about to run out of gas," whispered the blonde, watching as the rest of the Seirin members looking just as exhausted.
"I won't lose over this!" shouted Kagami, catching the ball into his hand and dribbling it over to their hoop.
"Oi! You're pushing yourself too hard!" exclaimed Hyuga, realizing that Kagami was definitely now thinking on his own. "Kagami! Wait!"
Midorima easily pushed the ball away from Kagami's intended dunk, surprising him back. Landing back down on his feet, Kagami glared at the player in front of him: "Damn it."
The buzzer soon echoed off, signaling the end of the quarter. "Third quarter is over!"
The miko sighed, watching as the team began to regain their fast paced breathing and trying to quickly get as much rest as possible before the last quarter began. Her eyes landed on the tiger, seeing the anger continuing to swell inside him.
"Damn it!" he cursed.
"Kagami," lowering the towel from his face, Shun turned to face him, "you are getting too worked up. Pay more attention to your surroundings."
"That's right," added Hyuga, removing his lips from his bottle. "And that wasn't the right time to go, you should have passed first-"
"What good would passing the ball around have done?" he cut in, keeping his eyes low in a glare. "I'm the only one who stand a chance against Shutoku. We don't need team play now. We need me to score."
"O-Oi…what are you saying?" blinked Shinji. "That is different from being self-centered!"
Gripping her own fingers into her palm, Kagome quickly took a step forward, catching the red head's attention before slapping him on his cheek, catching everyone by surprise.
Riko blinked: "K-Kagome-chan…"
"What good would that do?" she glared at the tiger, seeing him cup his red mark on his cheek, his eyes still wide. "What good would it do for you to charge on your own like that!? Just because I shared with you the bit of information I had to stop Midorima-kun doesn't mean head out on your own and think you are the only one that can beat them! Basketball isn't played by one man alone!"
Anger narrowing his gaze, Kagami stood in front of the miko, both glaring back to back. "I am the only one who can stop him! Passing the ball will only waste time!"
"You stupid actions are wasting the team's time!" she shouted back, holding her ground.
"What did you say-!?"
His words were cut as he felt a punch coming onto his cheek and throwing him back to sit on the bench. Kagome's eyes widened with blinks, seeing the phantom player stand in front of her: "K-Kuroko-kun…?!"
"Damn it! Kuroko, you bastard!" he quickly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, bringing him up slightly from the ground.
"Kagome-chan is right. You can't play basketball by yourself," he spoke.
"As long as we play nice together, you don't care if we lose?!" exclaimed Kagami, tightening his grip on Kuroko's shirt. "There is no point if we don't win!"
"There is no point if you win by yourself," glared Kuroko, catching everyone by surprise. "You said you wanted to beat the Generation of Miracles, but you are thinking just like them. Even if we beat Shutoku as a team that can't trust each other, no one will be happy."
"Don't be so naïve!" shouted Kagami before bringing his own fist onto Kuroko's cheek. "If we don't win, those are nothing more than nice words!"
"Kuroko-kun!" Kagome knelt down beside the phantom player, seeing the red and bruise coming onto his and Kagami's cheek. "Kagami-kun! Stop! You are being irrational!"
"Then what is victory?" questioned Kuroko. "No matter how many more points you have at the end of the game, if you're not happy, that is not victory."
Silence began to increase between their team, watching as Kagome slowly helped the phantom player back up on his feet. Shinji chuckled, placing his hands on his hips: "That's right! It's not as though we want to lose!"
"We are just saying there is no reason for you to do it all yourself," smirked Shun.
"Do you have any objections?" Hyuga raised an eyebrow, seeing the tiger now silent in his words.
Kagome looked up to see Kagami's eyes on them. Sighing, she noticed the double red mark on his cheek from her and Kuroko's hits. "Kagami-kun…there is nothing wrong with team work and nothing wrong with being dependable on others. You are not alone in this." A small smile appeared on her lips before nodding to herself: "Gomen…that I slapped you…"
"No…gomen," whispered Kagami, catching everyone's attention. "Kuroko is right. I would rather be happy when we win…as a team."
A small smile formed on the phantom's lips, watching the tension slowly lower. Hyuga placed his hand on his hip, smirking: "Now that Kuroko and Kagome-chan have calmed Kagami down…the situation hasn't changed. What should we do?"
"Excuse me," cut in Kuroko, all eyes coming onto him. "There may be one thing we can do. I can only pass the ball, but I can take it up another level." He took off his white shirt and turned to the team.
"Another…level?" whispered Kagome, blinking.
"Only a few people can catch it," he explained. "But in his current condition, Kagami-kun may be one of them. However, just passing to Kagami-kun won't work until the end. We will have to break free from Takao-kun and use normal passes as well."
The miko laid her eyes onto Kagami's legs: "Um, Kagami-kun…can you still jump?"
"Huh? Jump? I can still jump! Any number of times!"
Kagome sighed: "You don't need to act tough right now…"
Riko nodded and looked at his legs, seeing the marks of strength left in them: "Those jumps push you over your limit so they are exhausting. On top of that, your body isn't strong enough yet. There is a limit on how many times you can do that in a game." She sighed herself and looked at his legs once more: "Two is your limit."
"Two?" blinked Shun.
"How are we supposed to stop Midorima with two?" questioned Hyuga.
Kagome looked over to the Shutoku bench: "I think…he should keep one for the moment that he sees right."
"I agree," nodded Riko. "Use the other…to stop the first shot of the fourth quarter."
The buzzer was set off, calling back the players onto the court. Hyuga patted the back of Shun's shoulder: "go for some shots in the last quarter."
Watching as the senpais walked away along with Kuroko, Kagome nudged on Kagami's side, catching his attention: "W-What…?"
"Apologize to them," she whispered, signaling to their senpais.
"Huh?"
"Apologize," she repeated.
Gulping down his nervousness, Kagami slowly made his way behind his older team mates. "S-Senpai…"
Hyuga looked over his shoulder, watching the tiger beginning to scratch the back of his head.
"About earlier…sorry about that," he whispered.
"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it," smiled Hyuga. "At least, that is what I would like to say." A sudden glare of anger replaced his smile: "but the way you said that…I'll hit you later."
"Let the fourth quarter begin!"
The game quickly resumed onto the last ten minutes and everyone could see that the tiger's anger had been set down. Midorima's eyes narrowed, signaling his captain to pass him the ball: 'Hm, getting hit by Higurashi and Kuroko must have cooled his head. However, you have only a little stamina left.'
With Taisuke passing him the ball, he turned his body and aimed for his shot on the half line. Kagome's eyes widened, seeing how fast they had placed themselves into their positions: "They are quick to restart…"
Kagami quickly ran behind the green haired male as he extended his arms up for his aim. Tightening his focus, Kagami jumped behind Midorima and pushed away the ball from his grasp.
Midorima's eyes widened, watching as the ball bounced onto the floor: 'W-What…?! He can still jump!? But I know he is nearly out of energy! Doesn't he intend to save anything for the end!?'
The ball quickly fell into Hyuga's hands before he passed it over to Shun and made it inside the basket.
A small smile appeared on Kagome's lips, watching as the score board presented them with a ten point difference. She looked over to the coach: "Riko-senpai, are you sure we should have used our first of two so early?"
Crossing her arms, Riko nodded: "It is a bluff. Starting now, we can barely cover him normally, so we can't stop Midorima-kun if he shoots. However, Midorima-kun won't take an impossible shot as long as we make him think Kagami-kun might still have those unbelievable jumps left in him."
"I see…," whispered Kagome, returning her gaze ahead. "The very least we can reduce the number of shots Midorima-kun takes." Her eyes scrunched: '…but the rest is on him…Kuroko-kun.'
Takao smirked as he faced with the phantom player, seeing him once again facing his intended opponent: "looks like they are really counting on you, but no matter what you try, I will stop you." His eyes tightened as he held onto his grin: "you can't escape my hawk eye."
Hyuga cursed under his breath, watching the intense observation Takao had on the phantom player and the whole court at the same time. "What is he going to do? Kuroko's misdirection doesn't work against him."
Having heard from behind, Shun turned to face his captain: "actually, it is probably not completely ineffective against him. Takao's hawk eye's field of vision is so wide he can see the entire court. That is why he can continue to watch Kuroko even if his attention is directed elsewhere. So…instead of direction attention away from himself, Kuroko is going to use the opposite misdirection instead."
"Huh?" blinked Hyuga, looking back over to see Takao's eyes widening slightly as Kuroko had placed full attention on himself.
"In other words," continued Shun, "he drew attention towards himself."
Takao's eyes shook, seeing the distance between the phantom player and himself. Never had he realized Kuroko's presence so much. 'He's close…,' his eyes quickly widened as Kuroko's person disappeared from him. 'I lost sight of him!? You're kidding!'
He looked around with a tight glare as he watched Shun's pass of the ball over to the tiger. 'Calm down. Even if I can't find Kuroko, I still know Kagami's location. As long as I jump between the ball and Kagami...,' he headed towards the direction of the ball, finally seeing the tiger coming from behind.
"You will not get it this time," spoke Kuroko. "Until now, I have only changed the direction of the pass. This pass…," Kuroko quickly arrived before the ball and prepared his palm with a tight focus of his target. He could feel the last ounce of energy coming to him and he was not sure why he still had some, but all he could think about was using it to win, "increases the ball's speed!"
His palm quickly pushed the ball away before Takao's hand could reach for it, leaving his wide eyed at the sudden performance. Kagami caught the ball in the nick of time, surprising everyone around at the fast speed of Kuroko's pass.
Takao's eyes widened: 'W-What!? Catching that couldn't have been easy!'
Kagome stood from her seat, having seen the impact of the fast ball on Kagami's palm before he dribbled it away towards their hoop. Her eyes shook, watching the green haired male standing below the hoop, ready to block Kagami's dunk.
'He can only jump one more time…,' she reminded herself, watching the intensity between the tiger and the Shutoku shooting guard. She clutched at her chest, taking a step forward: "Kagami-kun! Do it!"
With a glare of his own, Midorima jumped up with the intention to block: "No you don't!"
The jump increased and quickly dunked the ball over Midorima's head, making the score. Midorima's eyes widened at the sudden dunk, convinced that Kagami was unable to perform any more of those ridiculous jumps!
Kagome blinked, slowly feeling a tug on her lips forming a smile as the score increased on their side. 'We might just win this…I know we can!'
Kise blinked, watching the sudden dunk being added onto their score. "He's done it now. He finally blew over Midorimacchi. Not only that, but…," his eyes landed to the phantom player, watching as he swiped the sweat away from his forehead, "that was the pass only the Generation of Miracles could catch during middle school!"
He quickly shook his head, seeing the intense movement and sweat running on the tiger: "is he going to be all right running on fumes!?"
Kasamatsu sighed, crossing his arms: "mah, you could argue that wasn't the time to force a dunk. I mean, there is not much point to dunking anyway."
"He loves to show off," smirked Kise. "I guess Kagomecchi's yell for him got him to do it.
"So do you and you would probably do it too if she did yell your name," glared Kasamatsu.
"Oh you know me so well, Kasamatsu-senpai," his smile widened before landing his sights on the miko, seeing a small smile on her face. "But…I can definitely say that seeing that happy expression on her face suits her."
"Huh?" the Kaijo captain raised a brow before looking over at what his blonde teammate was. He blinked, noticing the same smile on miko. A small blush appeared on his face before coughing it out and forcing his attention back to the court: "concentrate on the game, baka."
"Kuroko…"
Looking to his side, the phantom player watched as the tiger ran beside him as they returned to their side for defense.
"It sucks, but the coach was right. I don't think I can jump anymore," he spoke, feeling the drain of his stamina and strength slowly evaporating from within. "I am going to have to trick Midorima into thinking I can cover him. I don't really want to say this, but the rest is up to you."
Feeling the slight pat on his shoulder from the red head, Kuroko formed a smile and ran to the other side of his post and nodded: "hai."
"Ugh…I'm tired. I don't want to move. Maybe I'm getting old. I don't have any energy…," blue eyes watched the orange ball spin effortlessly on his index finger as the male laid lazily on the wooden stage inside the gymnasium of the school. With only the light coming from the windows with a cloudy sky, he sighed heavily at how bored he was.
"I want to eat bread," he continued.
"Ah? Ah! I thought you would be here!"
"Huh?" dropping the ball away from its balance, it bounced down onto the wooden court while tilting his head back a bit to see a female with pink hair coming towards him while holding a popsicle.
"Did you fake being sick to skip another game?" she questioned, watching as her childhood friend only gave her the boredom look.
"We will win anyway," he glared. "It's too much work."
"Sheesh!" she glared back, placing her free hand on her hip. "Anyways, I heard that Tetsu-kun and Midorin are playing against each other right now!"
"Eh~…Ah~…"
"Mah! Maybe Tetsu-kun will win!" she smiled. "After all, he is the man I fell in love with!" She took a bite of her treat, watching as the blue haired male turned around to lay on his stomach.
"We will see," he sighed. "You never know until the game is over."
"Eh?"
"They are both strong players," he continued as he kicked his legs up and down in boredom. "They took the middle school championship title three years in a row. Both Tetsu and Midorima."
"Ah! Momoi-san!"
Hearing her name, the female looked over her shoulder to see a brunette male with brown eyes quickly running to them with a worried expression. He bowed before them and straightened himself up as he held a paper: "Gomen, Momoi-san, but the coach wanted me to give you these…"
"Huh?" she took them into her hand and scanned the contents. "Oh! The information on Seirin!" A smile pressed onto her lips before turning over to the blue haired male: "Look! I got the information on Seirin!"
"Um, I wasn't sure if you wanted these too…," the brunette handed over two more sheets. "Although they aren't players, apparently they are part of the basketball club on Seirin."
Blinking, she looked at the names: "Aida Riko…Higurashi Kagome? Huh? Oh! She went to the same middle school as you?" she smiled over to the brunette.
"Ah, you mean Higurashi-san?" he smiled. "Yes. We were both friends although she was a very sick during her last year with many different illnesses, so I would always give her remedies."
"Sick?" she blinked, quite surprised. "Hmm, well I will have to do my research on them." She turned to face the brunette once more: "Arigatou, Hojo-kun! This is a lot of help! I am glad the coach let me have an assistant. Paperwork can be such a drag."
"I don't mind at all, Momoi-san," he smiled back as he scratched the back of his head. "But I am quite surprised that Higurashi-san has joined the basketball club. I didn't think I would see her so soon and under such circumstances."
"Meet?" blinked Momoi. "Well, we still don't know if they will be in the Inter High."
"Oh…right," he chuckled, having forgotten. He quickly gave them a bow: "Um…well, I will get some medicines packed for the team!"
Momoi watched as the brunette quickly left the gym, leaving her and the tan male alone. She sighed, looking back at the stack of papers: "Such a small world for him and for us to be seeing our old high school friend, huh?"
"Whatever…"
"Shutoku High time out!" called the referee, surprising the Seirin bench as they looked over to the table to see the male coach turning back to walk towards the bench.
Kagome blinked over to the score board, watching the last two minutes of the game marked along with two points away from their opponent. They were that close to winning, but also very close to losing. They had to give it their all at this point!
Seirin walked back to the bench with all of them sitting down for a rest. Shun took a sip of his water bottle: "What should we do? Kagami can't jump anymore…"
Riko sighed, grabbing her chin with her thumb and index finger: "Hmm, they will certainly try to crush us with threes…"
"Then what do we do?" blinked Hyuga. "Kagami is the only who was able to stop them until now."
The coach looked over to the miko, seeing her attention drawn over to the green haired player. "Any ideas, Kagome-chan?"
"Well…," she whispered, "I am not very good with basketball strategies, but…," her eyes scrunched, having memories of battle strategies back in the feudal era. 'If strategies are about thinking ahead…then…it shouldn't be any different.'
"I believe, Midorima-kun will be given the ball, no doubt about it," she continued, turning back to face the team, "but I have a feeling he will think Kagami-kun will try to stop him even if he can't jump. Knowing the hard headed tiger here…"
"Oi!"
"…he will try to jump," finished the miko before setting her eyes on the phantom player. "What do you think should be done from there?"
Kuroko blinked: "I have faith…Midorima-kun will lower the ball from the three pointer shot. If that happens….then I will stop him."
The team nodded, having a sense on Shutoku's intentions from there. They just needed faith and hope at this point.
The fourth quarter quickly resumed and at a fast paced of back and forth points with two points behind the Shutoku team. With less than a minute left, Kagome stood from her seat, watching as Taisuke began to mark on their captain.
"He…is marking Hyuga-senpai?" blinked the miko.
Riko's eyes tightened: "They are doing everything they can to stop our threes!"
Kagami quickly screened the Shutoku captain and let Hyuga run over to the half-line himself as Shun passed him the ball. Taking a deep breath in, he released the ball and waited as it was made in.
Kagome's eyes widened, seeing them one point ahead from the opponent and only with three seconds left! A small smile appeared on her lips, seeing the other smiles on the team.
"Did we…win?" whispered Kagami.
"You haven't won yet," Takao glared as he quickly passed the ball over to Midorima as he stood in front of the tiger.
"Midorima-kun!" exclaimed the miko, seeing the intention to make one last three pointer shot.
"Let me tell you why I am determined to shoot from so far away," glared the green haired male as he kept the ball in his hands. "It is not simply because my shots are worth three points. It's not unusual for comebacks to happen in the last seconds of a close game. Sometimes, they are the result of desperate shots. I will not leave it up to chance!" He prepared his stance, matching his intensity with the red head. "That is why I end games with a buzzer beater."
"This isn't good!" shouted Riko.
Jumping up, Kagami watched as Midorima's shadow over casted him as he prepared his shot. With wide eyes, he quickly tightened them: 'Move, legs! Move! From the first game to this game, to the very end, you can't just get in my way!'
'He is trying to jump…,' blinked the miko, seeing the struggle for Kagami to move.
With a loud scream, Kagami made his way up, forcing his legs to take him where he wanted to stop the last shot. His eyes widened, seeing as Midorima lowered back down with the ball in his hand: "I believe that even at your limit, you would overcome it and jump…"
"Crap!"
The last second showed on the scoreboard, bringing the miko a bit more forward: "Kuroko-kun!"
"I believed in Kagome-chan's words and in Kagami-kun," Kuroko quickly tipped the ball off Midorima's hands from behind the moment he tried to jump back up. "We all believed that you would believe in him in his jump and lower the ball one more time."
The buzzer went off, signaling now the end of the game. All in the audience were in awe at the sudden conclusion of the game, never seeing it coming. The Seirin bench cheered in unison as the team on the court huddled together in victory.
Both Kagami and Kuroko turned over to the miko, seeing the smile extend on her lips. 'Minna…you did it…you really did it!'
Never had she felt so accomplished since completing the jewel and finishing her adventure and never had she felt so much blood running in her veins from the excitement of a sport. Her eyes met over to a pair of green orbs, seeing his own stare on her person.
Relaxing her shoulder, she could see the disappointed aura raiding off from the male. With a gentle sigh, she gave him a nod in which he simply pushed in his glasses and followed Takao to the lineup.
"Eighty-two to eighty-one, Seirin!"
"We did it!" shouted the Seirin team inside the locker room. Excitement brewing with the victory of their win.
Riko chuckled, watching the boys continued to preach. Blinking, she came to notice the miko grabbing her medical kit. "Where are you going?" she questioned.
Turning to face the coach, she gave her a small smile: "I need to see someone…I think he needs it…"
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, I will be back before we leave," slipping away from the locker room, she made sure the boys didn't see her and closed the door behind her. She released a sigh and the smile continued to stay on. The miko walked forward and was met with the Takao.
"Oh? Kagome-chan!" he smiled and quickly swung his arm once again over her shoulders. "Where are you going?"
"Um…"
"Shouldn't you be celebrating with Seirin?" he raised a brow, hearing her silence.
"Actually…do you know where…Midorima-kun is?"
"Shin-chan?" he blinked, not really expecting for the Seirin manager to be looking for him. Chuckling, he closed his eyes: "He went outside."
"Outside?" she repeated.
Nodding, he pointed out to the exit doors: "he wanted some time alone. You know…since this is the first time he has ever lost." He inched closed to the miko's face, making her lean back. "Why don't you go cheer him up? You know…he does enjoy your company." With a light laugh, he released his hold on the miko and watched as she continued to blink. "Go ahead. He won't bite or anything." He slowly began to walk away while resting his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers: "It was…fun, Kagome-chan, but don't think you and Seirin will win the next one!"
With a small chuckle of her own, Kagome nodded and looked over to the exit doors before heading out.
Staring at the dark cloudy sky, heavy rain began to pour down onto his body as he heard the ringing of his phone continue beside him. He couldn't believe he had lost…him. Fate had been on his side. Luck had been with him. But it crushed him. Seirin had crushed him.
Annoyed with the continuing sound of the phone ringing, he clicked the answering button and placed the device beside his ear. "Hai?"
He quickly placed the phone away a few inches away from his ear as he heard the incoming loud voice of the female he knew. "Ah! Midorin, it's great to talk to you again! How was the game? Did you win? Did you lose? Which was it? Tell me!"
Without a word, he hung the call, glaring at the screen in front of him.
The miko slowly and quietly opened the doors out to the exit of the stadium and blinked upon seeing the green haired male drenched in the rain. Heavy rain at that. What was he thinking? He was going to catch a cold! She cursed herself for forgetting her umbrella or even her jacket but sighed knowing that it was already too late.
Taking a deep breath in, she felt the cold heavy rain tap against her skin and hair and stopped upon hearing Midorima's phone ring. She watched silently as he brought the device to his ear: "What's wrong with you? Enough already-"
"Oi, you sound grouchy."
Kagome blinked, seeing the slight expression of surprise on his face although she could not tell who was on the other side of the conversation.
"I know. You lost, didn't you?"
"Aomine?" with a sigh, Midorima looked ahead: "I did. You should be careful in the championship league."
"Eh? Nani? What are you saying? The only one who can beat me is me."
Midorima looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds continuing to get heavy. "I would be careful not only around the members…but their manager."
"Oh? Manager? Why should I care about such a person?"
"The girl…has helped Seirin defeat Kise and now…me," his eyes narrowed, remembering the memory of Kagome's smile at their victory. He heard a laugh on the other side of the line.
"A girl!? You have to be kidding…a girl? Seriously?"
"You haven't changed, Aomine. Don't you understand? You'll be playing against Kuroko in the championship league." Midorima's eyes tightened, having to hate that he was even having a conversation with the male on the phone.
"You seem confused, Midorima. The past is irrelevant. We are enemies now."
"Just remember, Aomine, Higurashi Kagome…can be a troublesome person." He quickly hung up and closed his phone before setting it back in his pocket. Letting the heavy drops of rain hit onto his skin, he sighed and closed his eyes.
"So I am troublesome?"
His eyes opened at the feminine voice beside him and turned to see the miko staring at him with a raised brow. Returning to his scowl, the shooting guard pushed in his glasses with his left hand. "What are you doing here, Higurashi? It is rude to eavesdrop on a conversation."
"Gomen, but I should be asking you that," she crossed her arms. "I asked Takao-kun where you were and I was surprised that you were in such a dramatic scene with the raining hitting you."
He felt his eyebrow twitch at her comment: "Excuse me?"
"Look, I did not come to make an argument," she sighed and clutched her medical kit along with her school bag. "I simply came to tell you that…arigatou."
Midorima's eyes blinked at her gratitude. He surely was not expecting that from her. She came all this way to thank him… for what? Tightening his eyes, he continued to see the rain hitting the girl rather harshly: "Why?"
"Because…I had fun," she smiled. "With each challenge we face, not only does the team become closer…but I am finding myself loving the sport and loving the time I have with Seirin, but I have met you, Kise-kun, and other interesting people. That is why I am thanking you."
He scoffed, looking away from her gaze: "I don't need your gratitude."
"Well, it is your choice to take it or not," the miko nodded and looked down to his left hand. He had no tapped them yet? Her mind clicked back to the phone call. As much as she wanted to know who he had warned about Seirin and herself, she felt that time would answer that much sooner. At least she had…the name. 'Aomine…I believe?'
Hearing nothing from the female, his green orbs glided back to see her staring blankly at his fingers. He looked away once again: "Go inside. We are done with our meeting."
Blinking up, she watched his avoided eyes and chuckled. So he did care in some way. She slowly opened her medical kit: "I guess Takao-kun is right about you being tsundere."
Midorima quickly turned to face the miko: "Oi-!"
He stopped as he stared at a roll of white bandages being held in front of him by the miko's fingers.
"Here." She pushed the small roll closer to him: "use it for your fingers. I know how much you take care of your fingers."
"I don't need your pity," he glared.
"It isn't pity," she sighed, giving him a small glare of her own. "Look, if you really want to beat us the next time, then instead of pouting," she handed him the roll on his palm, watching as his eyes widened the moment her hand touched his wrist to flip his hand over, "train and take care of your fingers."
The smile graced once again onto her lips: "Again, arigatou, Midorima-kun. I really do hope to see you soon…"
She turned around; drenched, before heading back inside to meet with her team. Midorima's green orbs landed back onto the roll on his palm before feeling his eyes scrunch at how easily she displayed kindness even to the enemy team.
He scoffed lightly: "All of the Generation of Miracles are in trouble…"
Riko waited outside the locker room, letting the boys have their victory celebration on their own and leaned against the door. She sighed and crossed her arms: 'I am surprised by how much Kagome-chan has contributed. If anything, she could be called more than a manager. She has some sort of experience in different areas…I wonder what she used to do before coming to Seirin…'
Her eyes quickly blinked as she noticed the miko walked towards her while looking at her own clothing. With a wide expression, Riko quickly came off the wall: "Oi! Kagome-chan! Why are you all wet!?"
"Huh?" looking ahead, Kagome stopped in her tracks and blinked, surprised to see the coach outside the locker room. "Oh um…I…had to make a call…"
"Outside?" Riko placed her hands on her hips.
"Um…fresh air?" she chuckled nervously, hoping that the coach would just drop the suspicion.
With a sigh being released, Riko sent the girl a smile: "Well, anyways, seems the boys are over excited about their victory."
"They deserve it," she smiled back, her eyes glued onto the door.
"Oh, I know!" Riko clapped her hands together once. "Let us go celebrate!"
"Celebrate? Wait…Riko-senpai, but they are-"
"Let's go out to eat!" she smiled before turning around and opened the door to the locker room: "Alright! Let's go home, minna!"
"No…wait…gomen…seriously, wait…," Hyuga's hand came out shaking from his person as he tried to find some kind of object to balance out his tiredness. The rest of the team stuck to his sides or on the floor for support as they suddenly felt the crash of their bodies coming. "We just played two games against kings."
"Ah…gomen," nodded the coach, seeing their bodies shake and plead for a rest. She leaned close to the miko: "They are like zombies…," she whispered lowly.
"No kidding…," she whispered back as she clutched her bags. Her eyes landed onto the tiger, seeing him on the floor and shaking as he held his lower back. Poor guys…two games definitely almost killed them physically and even mentally.
"We'll be fine after we rest for a few minutes," smiled Hyuga, coming to sit on the bench, "but Kagami…"
With a sigh, Kagome set her bags down on the bench and walked toward the tiger: "Mah, I told you not to push yourself so hard, baka."
"I can't even stand, let alone move…," he shook.
"But, we can't stay here forever," blinked Riko as she set her bag's strap over her shoulder. "I told Kagome-chan that we should go out to eat! How about the closest restaurant? There is a close okonomiyaki place," She pointed over to the tiger: "Someone carry Kagami-kun."
"Jah…let's decide with rock, paper, scissors, then," sighed Hyuga, slowly standing from his seat. All team members, including the girls huddled around and extended their hands out while the tiger stayed on the floor.
"Wait…why are the girls included?" blinked Kagome, seeing it already an impossible feat to carry the big male.
"Ah! Wait!" Fukuda quickly flipped his phone open, catching everyone in blinks as he texted away a message.
"Who are you texting?" questioned Shinji, trying to take a peak.
"Uh…," a sudden blush appeared on his face while putting away his phone back into his pocket, "I told my girlfriend that we won the game and she wanted to celebrate."
"Celebrate?" blinked Shun. "Wait…"
All eyes widened as they asked the same question: "Girlfriend!? You have a girlfriend!?"
"That was quick..," Kagome tilted her head to the side.
"Yeah, she came with some friends…but is it alright that she comes to eat?" he blushed even more, trying to avoid the eyes of the males.
Riko shrugged: "Well, I don't mind, but I am quite surprised that you have a girlfriend, Fukuda-kun…," she blinked and tilted her head. "But I am fine with her and her friends coming, right, Kagome-chan?"
"Huh? Well…I don't mind myself," Kagome looked over to Kuroko, seeing him staring at her.
"Well, let's see who is going to end up carrying this big guy," Hyuga placed his arm out once again.
"Yes! Let's hurry because Fukuda's girlfriend is bringing friends!" exclaimed Shinji, extending his own hand out, ready for the meeting of girls.
"Sumimasen!" Riko slid the door open to the okonomiyaki shop, smiling as she waved over to the owner on the other side of the counter.
"Welcome!" he shouted, quite surprised to see the whole team walking in. "There is so many of you."
Kuroko and Kagome walked in, already feeling the angry stares coming from the tiger behind them. Walking in, Kagami shook in anger as half of his jacket was covered in mud, along with his cheek. "Kuroko…Kagome…you'll pay for this."
"Sumimasen," Kuroko blinked, seeing the tiger's body shake from the self-restraint he was setting himself. After he had lost the game and ended up carrying the tiger over, the miko had volunteered herself to help, but in the end, with Kuroko himself being tired, Kagome had ended having all of Kagami's weight and dropping him onto a pile of mud.
"Gomen…," apologized the miko as she looked for a handkerchief inside her bag. Taking one out, she tip toed up to his height and cleaned off the mud from his cheek, oblivious to the small blush on the tiger's features as he tried to turn away from her help.
"I-I'm fine…"
"You're too heavy," commented the phantom player, watching as the miko finished to clean off the mud from the tiger.
"Ah! Ayumi-chan!"
Upon hearing the familiar name, Kagome blinked and looked over her shoulder to see Fukuda walking over to his girlfriend and two of the female's friends as they sat on the table, saving other tables for the team.
"Kagome-chan!"
The miko blinked, watching as her three girlfriends walked over to her, surprised that she was with there. Coming forth, she watched as her friend, Yuka, was coming in with blinks of her own: "Kagome-chan? What are you doing here?"
"Eh? Do you know Kagome-chan?" questioned Fukuda as he stood beside his girlfriend, seeing the shared glances between his girlfriend and their manager.
"Wait…you are going out with Fukuda-kun, Ayumi-chan?" blinked Kagome with wide eyes. Who knew…that this whole time her friend was going out with a basketball guy already.
"Ah yeah…I barely told the other two about the news," she chuckled lightly, scratching her cheek with finger, "but yeah, we all know Kagome-chan. We all went to the same middle school."
"Really?" blinked Hyuga, looking over at the miko.
Eri placed a hand on the miko's shoulder: "Why are you with the basketball team?" She sent her a suspicious glare: "Don't tell me you knew them this whole time and didn't let us know…"
"Oh…I am a-"
"She is our manager!" smiled Shinji, cutting off Kagome's own explanation as he came in between with a smile of his own, hoping to get to know the females himself.
"Eh!? Manager!?" exclaimed all three.
Yuka pouted, crossing her arms as she stared at the miko: "That explains why you haven't been able to hang out with us for a while. You seemed very busy every day after school."
"Uh…yeah," Kagome scratched the back of her head: "I didn't think it would be this busy, but it is, but I don't mind it."
"Well," smiled Ayumi, clapping her hands together, "I am happy to see you smiling again."
Kagome blinked, surprised to hear those words coming from her friend. Had they noticed her change after coming back from the feudal era? Had she been that closed off from her friends? With a smile of her own, she set her eyes ahead and blinked again as she made eye contact with a familiar Kaijo captain.
Seeing his captain's eyes set behind, Kise looked over his shoulder and went wide eyed at the sight of the Seirin team at the entrance. Eri looked over her shoulder, noticing the sudden stare from the miko: "What are you staring at, Kagome-chan?" All eyes set onto the blonde and black haired males as they ate on their own table. Shock filled on the girls' faces upon seeing the familiar blonde they knew so well on the magazines. "K-Kise R-Ryouta!? What is he doing here!?"
"Kise and Kasamatsu!" shouted Kagami, a tick appearing onto his forehead at the sight of the Kaijo members.
"Oi! No honorifics!?" exclaimed Kasamatsu.
"Ah…," Kise's eyes widened with a smile as he waved with his spoon. "Kurokocchi! Kagomecchi! Oi!"
"Eh…you know Kise-kun?" Yuka quickly turned around to face the miko and grabbed her hands into her hers. "Please introduce us!"
"Mah…," Shinji sighed along with his members, seeing that Kise had stolen the spotlight easily even without lifting a finger or saying a word. Damn boys and their good looks. What were the chances of coming to meet with the Kaijo players at a place…and right after their match?
"Girls…please…um, the boys are very tired and hungry," Kagome chuckled and watched as Ayumi grabbed both Yuka and Eri away and dragged them back over to their tables along with her boyfriend and the team following behind. If anything, she could definitely count on Ayumi when it came to help. The girl could see the situation and after hearing Kise's call on the miko, she couldn't help but squeal that such a good looking guy was looking for her attention.
"Don't worry, Kagome-chan, we can talk later," she smiled. "Enjoy your time with the boys."
"Eh…?" the miko watched as her friends and the rest of the Seirin team were taken to another set of chairs and tables and were left with the blonde waving at them. With a heavy sigh, Kagome looked over to the two first years behind her. "Um…let's go eat, then."
"Come sit here, Kagomecchi!" shouted Kise, patting to the spot beside him on the wooden bench.
Kagome sighed, watching as Kise, Kagami, and Kuroko sat frozen in their places while she looked over the menu. While she had been pulled by the blonde to sit beside him, Kuroko had placed himself beside her automatically with no words and left the tiger to sit next to the Kaijo captain. Kasamatsu continued to eat, unfazed by the seating arrangement, but would blush from time to time at the sight of the miko staring at him.
"Why are we sitting together?" glared Kagami.
"Because I wanted Kagomecchi here and you two came along. If you don't like it, you can go eat with your team, but Kagomecchi stays here and of course Kurokocchi is more than welcomed here!" replied the blonde. "Also…Kagamicchi, why were you covered in mud?" he pointed over to the dirty jacket, seeing the stains.
"I fell, forget about it," he replied, not wanting to explain the true story to him and getting a laugh. "And don't call me Kagamicchi."
"If we don't eat," sighed Kasamatsu as he grabbed a piece of his food, "they will burn." He pointed over to Kise's okonomiyaki, seeing it sizzle in front of them on the hot plate.
"Oh right…," nodded Kise, grabbing his small spatula and flipping it over. He took a piece with his spatula and smiled while turning towards the miko and having the spatula a few inches away from her lips. "Say 'ah!' Kagomecchi!"
She could feel her eyebrow twitch at the sight of Kise trying to feed her. What was she…two?! Her eyes met the golden gaze of the blonde and raised a brow: "K-Kise-kun…really that isn't necessary…"
"But…it is good!" he smiled while inching his spatula a bit closer. His eyes widened slightly the moment Kuroko took the spatula from his hand and took the bite himself without looking at anyone in the table. The miko blinked, watching the phantom player simply chew on the food and return the spatula back onto Kise's fingers.
"It is good," he replied, looking down onto his own menu.
"Mah! Kurokocchi! That was for Kagomecchi!" whined the blonde, pouting as Kagome only chuckled lowly under her breath. For once, she definitely owed Kuroko for saving her.
"Excuse me! Sir, do you have two-" walking into the place, the Shutoku member stopped in his tracks as his eyes scanned the area and glued onto the familiar Seirin members they had just played against a few hours ago.
All stood and sat in silence as they noticed Midorima walking behind the black haired male with closed eyes; unaware of the situation. The miko blinked as she held her menu and looked over her shoulder with the rest of the people inside as she noticed the sudden shock on Takao's face.
Opening his eyes, Midorima stopped in his steps and stared at the table holding not only the two first year duo of the Seirin team, but also the manager, and the blonde of the Kaijo team. Seriously…where had his luck gone to?
Hyuga quickly pointed over towards the orange clothed members: "What are you two doing here!? Where are the others anyways!?"
Composing himself, Takao patted Midorima's shoulders as he gave out a laugh: "we lost the upperclassmen while Shin-chan was crying."
"Oi!" Midorima's tick twitched, seeing Takao putting the embarrassment all on him.
Takao simply ignored the angry glare he was receiving and smiled at the team as he waved his hand up and down: "we figured we might as well get something to eat."
Grunting, Midorima turned around: "We are going somewhere else!" Exiting the restaurant, Takao followed behind after sliding the door closed.
"Ah! Oi!" shouted Takao, leaving everyone inside in silence.
The miko held the menu in her hands, continuing to blink at the closed shoji door: "…they left."
The storm quickly blew, showing the rushing winds and heavy rain continuing through the windows and watched as the restaurant's flags in front, harshly blew with the wind. Takao quickly slid the door open, revealing both him and the tsundere drenched once again.
Sighing, Takao blinked and smirked upon seeing the miko sitting near Kuroko and quickly made his way to the edge of their table. "Mah! Kagome-chan! Did you give Shin-chan the bandages?"
"Bandages?" she repeated before setting her eyes to the walking tsundere as he adjusted his glasses with his fingers. "Oh….um yeah…"
"Wah! Shin-chan is a lucky guy to be getting something from such a kawaii girl," Takao chuckled, feeling the annoyed glare we was receiving from the shooting guard. The hawk eye male turned to see the Kaijo captain and smiled: "Are you Kaijo's Kasamatsu-san?"
"Huh? How did you know?" he blinked, surprised himself.
"I saw you in Basketball Monthly!" he laughed, waving his hand up and down once again. "You're nationally famous as a strong point guard! Oh wow! As someone who plays the same position, I would love to hear your stories!" He looked down to the empty hot plate and grabbed the Kaijo captain by his arm: "Do you mind if we eat together over here? Let's go talk there!"
Setting themselves beside the miko's friends, Takao cupped his hand around his lips and smirked: "let those guys and Kagome-chan be together. I am quite curious to see what it brings out."
"O-Oi…you wanted this to happen, didn't you?" Kasamatsu's blush returned, feeling his shoulder bumping onto Yuka's. Sure he was getting used to be around the miko, but it was slow process! It didn't mean he was fully confident yet!
"What? Of course not~!" Takao released a low snicker behind his hand, watching as the table was beginning to fill with tension as all of them shared glances of annoyance, for the exception of the manager and phantom player. Of course it was mean of him to leave them alone like that…but he knew the girl had an impact on his tsundere partner and seeing the chemistry between Kagami and Kuroko definitely got him curious. He only wondered if she could do the same to the rest of the Generation of Miracles.
Hyuga's eyes blinked, before going wide at the sight of the table: "T-That table is ridiculous! What are they doing to Kagome-chan leaving her with that!?"
"Hey! Hey!" smirked Riko, forming a fist with her hand. "Isn't this exciting!? Seeing Kagome-chan with the Generation of Miracles and Kagami gets you all excited huh!?"
"Excited!?" exclaimed Hyuga, turning to the coach.
"Huh? Why is it exciting?" blinked Eri, holding her tea in hand.
Shinji cleared his throat: "Well you see," he closed his eyes, trying to give the image of masculinity, "Kagome-chan has been able to…control and calm down the Generation of Miracles in a way. It is almost have the boys have come to become interested on our manager."
"Really?" Yuka chewed on her food, looking over at the miko friend. "She is one lucky girl to be sitting next to Kise Ryouta…," she sighed and rested her cheek on her palm. "Well…at I am happy to see her smiling again. It has been a while that we have seen her like that."
"Was she not like that?" questioned Riko, turning her attention over to the two females.
"I mean, she was," replied Yuka, cutting her okonomiyaki in four pieces. "But…during our last year in middle school, she was getting sick a lot and rarely showed up to school. It amazed us all how she was able to pass towards the end with her grades coming down."
"She was sick?" Hyuga placed his cup of tea down. "With what?"
"Many different illnesses," answered Eri, slowly turned to see Kagome looking at the menu while the males simply stared at each other. "Some were more bizarre than others…that we couldn't even visit her."
"At the hospital?" Takao tilted his head to the side.
"Oh no…she stayed home, but Hojo-kun always came to her home and gave her grandfather the weirdest remedies for illnesses that even I have never heard of! And the remedies were very strange! Some even involved newts!" Eri shook the memory away, remembering the basket full of weird herbs and dried insects.
"Ho…jo?" repeated Riko.
"Oh, this boy during our middle school days!" Yuka laughed lightly. "He had a huge crush on Kagome-chan!"
Ayumi chuckled lightly as she sat beside her boyfriend and smiled at the group: "But Kagome-chan never felt the same. She tried telling him, but…he just wouldn't get the hint."
"Ah! Which reminds me!" Eri took out her phone and scrolled through her messages, "Hojo-kun texted me a few days ago asking if I knew where Kagome-chan was attending."
"Did he not know we all came together?" questioned Yuka, looking over to her left.
Eri shrugged, watching as everyone had their attentions on her: "I guess not, but I told him she was at Seirin with us. When I told him that, he suddenly wanted me to ask her permission if he could have her number…"
"Are you going to ask?" questioned Shinji, looking back over to the full tensioned table.
"I could…"
Takao chuckled, turning back to see the miko's cerulean orbs attentively looking over the menu.
The miko sighed, realizing no one around the table had even tried moving a muscle. Lowering the menu from her eyes, she looked at the tiger and tsundere: "Are you guys not going to eat?"
Both Midorima and Kagami scoffed, looking away from the girl's gaze. With another sigh escaping her lips, she watched as Kuroko leaned a bit closer to look at her opened menu. "Why don't we order something?" he questioned, scanning the items with his finger. "I'm hungry."
Kise smiled, watching as both the female and phantom player looked over the same menu. "I'm already full, so I am fine with what we already have."
"Excuse me!" Kagami held his hand out, ready for his order and waited for his waiter.
Midorima looked away, crossing his arms: "I'm surprised you could eat that shit."
"O-Oi…how could you say that so easily!?" glared Kise as he held his spatula.
Kagome blinked, hearing the chanting of Kagami's order as if it were some sort of monk's spell. Was no one else hearing this? And the amount of food…did no one notice!?
"Could we get squid balls, pork balls, mixed balls, octopus balls, and pork kimchi balls?"
"Oi! You are ordering too much!" shouted Midorima, coming to glare at the red head.
"What sort of incantation is that?!" exclaimed Kise, turning his attention onto the tiger as he returned the menu to the waiter.
Kuroko looked down to the hot table after ordering his and Kagome-chan's food and blinked: "it's alright. Kagami-kun will eat all of it himself."
"Is he really human?" questioned Kise with a raised brow.
"You would be surprised," chuckled Kagome. "He can eat over ten cheeseburgers."
The batter of their food came in and were handed down to each of the customers. Kagome grabbed her bowl and mixed in the ingredients before pouring the batter into a circle on the hot grill. Her eyes widened, watching as Kagami's circle continued to enlarge as the batter only poured more and more out onto the circle. "K-Kagami-kun…will you really eat all of that?"
"Got a problem?" he raised a brow.
"Just asking," she grabbed her chopsticks and glared. Her eyes set onto the silent tsundere, watching him with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "Are you alright, Midorima-kun?"
Kise chuckle, pointing his spatula towards the green haired male: "Mah, I know losing sucks, but come on! Yesterday's enemies are today's friends!"
"I just lost to them!" he exclaimed, refusing to look ahead.
Kagome's shoulders slumped, seeing the venom and anger mixing in his tongue. She could not blame him for feeling such a way. Losing did…suck, but it was a part of life to learn and move forward from.
"If anything," continued Midorima, opening his eyes, "I can't believe you have no problem sitting with them," he directed his tone to the blonde, seeing his own blinks of questioning. "You already lost to them once."
That was true. Kise had lost against them, even if it was just a practice game. Was he not mad? Did he not hold a grudge? Kagome grabbed the main spatula and flipped her food with the help of the phantom player.
Kise's lips formed a smirk: "Well…I'll get my revenge at the Inter-High, of course. I won't lose next time," his eyes tightened to match his grin, seeing the silent stares of the three. "Besides," he wrapped his arm around the miko's shoulder, catching her by surprise as her chopstick let go a piece of her food, "I can't stay made at Kagomecchi for very long! She is too kawaii for that!" His eyes set onto the tiger, seeing him grab his cup.
Taking a drink of his water, Kagami smirked with a few crumbs on his face: "Bring it on."
"Kise, you have changed a little," commented Midorima as he held his own drink in his hand. "Your eyes…they are strange."
"Strange!?" he jumped slightly from the weird compliment, letting go of the miko's shoulders. "Well…maybe it's because I have started practicing more since we played against Kurokocchi. Also, lately, I've been thinking…it's pretty fun playing basketball with the guys from Kaijo."
Kagome couldn't help but be taken back by Kise's words. He wasn't like that when she had met him. If anything, he was too confident in his skills, but the loss might have set his mind straight. A small smile tugged on the corner of her lips before bringing a piece of her food to eat.
"It seems I was mistaken," glared Midorima. "You have not changed at all. You have simply reverted to a state before our three consecutive championships."
Kuroko lowered his piece of his food down from his lips, stopping upon taking in Midorima's words in. "But…we were all like that back then."
"How you change is up to you," the green haired male adjusted his glasses once more. "However, I am not playing basketball to have fun."
The table remained silent as eyes remained glued onto the tsundere who had stopped eating his food. Kagome sighed while holding her chopsticks in her hand. Looking down, she parted her lips to speak, only to meet with Eri's phone in front of her.
The males on the table blinked, watching as Eri stood behind the miko while holding her phone screen for the miko see directly.
"Um…what is this?" questioned Kagome, not sure what she was trying to show her.
"He is asking permission," she smiled, leaning the phone closer to her eyes.
Blinded with the screen, Kagome took the phone into her hands and looked at the content. "Permission for what?"
"Hojo-kun is asking if he could have your number."
"Hojo?" repeated Kagome, turning her head to her friend. "You mean Hojo-kun from middle school?"
Kise cupped his hand around his lips, leaning forward to the tiger: "Oi, do you know who this Hojo guy is?"
"Does it look like I know?" he raised a brow, quite curious himself that a guy was asking for Kagome's phone number.
"You still talk to him?" questioned the miko, turning her attention back to the phone in her hand. "Wait…what school does he go to now?"
"Hm…," Eri tapped her chin, looking up at the ceiling, "I think he said Tōō Academy."
"Tōō Academy?" blinked the miko. Where was that?
The Generation of Miracles looked over to the girl, having mentioned the school. They knew exactly who was in it and no doubt the male had joined the basketball team.
"You can always say no, Kagome-chan," chuckled Eri, grabbing back her phone. "Besides, I see you have great candidates right in front of you!"
Kagome blinked for a second, the words slowly processing through her ears and mind. "W-Wait…nani!?" she quickly turned around to face her friend. "W-What are you talking about?!"
Eri leaned in, catching the male's attention: "You better all take care of her, you hear?" she glared, holding her finger up. "She had a boyfriend back in middle school and he was no good to her. He was a two-timing boyfriend and couldn't make up his mind on who he wanted! He obviously lost something great. So watch it and treat her right, you hear?"
"You had a boyfriend?" questioned Kuroko, turning his head to the miko, watching as she buried her face in embarrassment in her palm.
"Oh yeah! I am glad Kagome-chan was able to move on from him and be happy! The guy would only bring her trouble!" Eri shook her head, leaning back to cross her arms. "So if any of you want her…you better take care of her!"
Kise smirked, giving the girl a thumbs up: "Don't you worry! I can promise you she is safe in my hands and will be treated like a princess."
"Hold it!" shouted Kagome, coming to stare at her friend. "Eri-chan…please. They don't need to know about that. As for Hojo-kun…I rather not. That would setting his hopes high for something and I don't want that."
"True," nodded Eri before flipping her phone closed. She winked at the boys: "Well, you already heard my warning! Ja-ne!" She headed back to her seat, leaving the miko to sigh heavily at the sudden event.
Kagami shook his head, stuffing his mouth once more: "…quite surprised you had a boyfriend, Kagome."
"What is that supposed to mean?" she raised a brow. Was he underestimating her?
"No, I just thought that if you had a boyfriend…he wouldn't be two-timing you. I mean…why would he?" he took another bite of his food, ignoring the stares and blinks coming from his table. Kagome blinked and turned to see Midorima and the rest of the males staring at her questioningly of such a story she kept hidden.
Kagami gulped down his food and turned to the green haired tsundere, trying to change the focus from the miko, seeing her uncomfortableness: "Also, to your comment about basketball…of course we play basketball because it's fun."
"What did you say?" glared Midorima. "How dare you speak like you understand when you know nothing at all-"
All eyes widened in shock the moment a full flat okonomiyaki landed onto his head, silencing everyone. Takao blinked from behind as he held the two spatulas in each hand up in the air. Oh he was definitely getting the punishment for that.
Midorima's eyebrow twitched as he stood from his seat: "We can talk about that later."
"Ah…wait-" Kagome raised her hand a bit, trying to calm the tsundere from murdering the black haired male who was the culprit to the obvious eye.
The tsundere stopped in his stand and glared at the miko: "Higurashi, if what your friend said was true about your ex-boyfriend, then it is time you change your ideal in men." He scoffed and turned towards his partner. "Takao, come here."
The miko was left speechless from his…advice. Was it even considered advice? She watched as the green haired male dragged Takao out of the restaurant as he continued to apologize to get away from his grasp. The restaurant went silent, watching as Midorima dragged the male outside and heard the sounds of a punch and scolding.
Kuroko turned back to his food, catching his table's attention: "Kagami-kun is right. That is what I realized during today's game. If it was boring, we would have never improved."
Kagome smiled: "I can agree with you on that, Kuroko-kun."
"But it isn't only us," he nodded, taking a bite of his food. "The coach and you…have contributed greatly to our improving performance."
Their attentions were drawn back to the sliding door, seeing only Midorima coming in without his partner. His eyes tightened as he walked over to his spot and set his money down. "Higurashi…Kagami, let me tell you two one thing. There are two members of the Generation of Miracles in Tokyo. Myself and a man named Aomine Daiki."
'Aomine?' blinked Kagome. 'That name…he was talking to that person on the phone back at the stadium.'
"You will be face him in the championship league," continued the tsundere as he grabbed his school bag. "He is the same type of player as you, Kagami."
Both Kagami and Kagome were taken back slightly by the comparison. Kagami's eyes narrowed: "What? I don't really get it, but he is pretty strong too, right?"
"He's strong," cut in Kuroko, his own eyes darkening at the name. "But his style of basketball…I don't like it."
"Huh? Why?" blinked Kagome, turning her head over to the phantom player beside her.
"Well, do you best," Midorima sighed and began to walk out the restaurant. "Higurashi."
Catching her attention, she matched her eyes with his. "Yeah?"
"What is your sign?"
"My…what?"
"Sign," he narrowed down his eyes.
She blinked once more and finally realized the meaning of his question: "Oh…um, Sagittarius."
He released a low scoff: "I see." He continued his walk ahead and stopped upon hearing the stand of the female as she stood a few feet away.
"Midorima-kun."
The tsundere looked over his shoulder, seeing a small smile on her face.
"Let's play again sometime soon, alright?"
"Of course we will," he glared, clutching his bag's strap over his shoulder. "I will win the next game."
He walked out the restaurant, leaving them inside in silence. Kagome's shoulders slumped, finally realizing his tsundere personality. The miko released a sigh, remembering his warning of her over the phone conversation he had.
'Aomine…Daiki.'
MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: well, Aomine made his small appearance...is everyone excited? Also, Nigou will also come in the next chapter! Definitely having fun with that! Well hope you enjoyed this long chapter!
Please review!
Ja~ne!