AUTHOR'S NOTE
First off, I'd like to apologize that this chapter may not what some of you expected. According to Orange canon, this was supposed to be a very bittersweet chapter, but I'm holding that off for another chapter or two longer because this isn't the right place for this. Instead, this will pick up the pace in plot since we are so behind time-wise. We're supposed to be in September, but instead, we're in July, and the Inter High arc has gone on long enough. So in other words, this indeed is a basketball chapter. It's still necessary though, if you remember anything from the Teiko arc.
I'm also really sorry about the whole addition in subplots. Some of them kind of went a little astray of what they were supposed to be, and I took some time to rethink my plot and where I want the fic to go. Therefore, I am rescinding my decision on Murasakibara; instead, I have a better idea of what I want to do with him. For the childlike person of the Miracles, he sure does have a brain, and that is what I will emphasize on.
I'm also really really sorry for not updating in the last month. However, I finished exams and am on winter vacation now, so I shall be updating several times throughout this vacation. I hope you all stay hyped because I have some interesting things planned for the next chapter or two.
*Psychological Condition: N/A
JULY 11
Momoi was not thrilled to hear that the semifinals and finals would be played on the same night. Unfortunately, it was not her call to make, so she took it as it was and announced the statement to the rest of the Teiko Basketball first string. Needless to say, many of them were not pleased with the results, except for the Miracles themselves.
"And? It'll be okay, Satsuki," Aomine groaned. It was particularly easy for him to say, since his letter told him that he would win today's games and therefore win the Inter High.
"We can manage," was all Kise said. He glanced over to the other occupied court in the gym, noticing the scoreboard. The buzzer had just rung, signaling the end of the game. "Looks like the finals will be against Meiko High School."
Kuroko glanced over to the other scoreboard, reading the 67-66 win that Meiko just earned. He noticed their screams, their excessive joy shining through their voices as they rang throughout the gymnasium. For a moment, he wished that Teiko could be that bright, that shining again.
Inside of him, his pride was burning. One of Meiko's members was Ogiwara Shigehiro, someone who used to be very close to the shadow. Kuroko realized that he had not shown him his newfound abilities yet, or at least, not today. Right now, they were about to play their semifinal game to determine who would compete against Meiko in the finals. Of course, the result was already known, but Kuroko kept a reasonable amount of doubt within him. Someone could turn the tide in this competition.
"Coach," Kuroko asked. "Can you put me in the start for the next game?"
All heads turned in his direction. Akashi didn't reply; he merely looked away from him. If Kuroko had not asked, he most likely would not have played in this match. After all, no one had been relying on his skillset lately.
"Do you have a reason?" the head coach asked, and Kuroko nodded. "Very well. Play as a starting member. Kise, you're on the bench." Kise nodded and bowed his head to the coach. Kuroko thanked him for allowing him to play.
The semifinal game against Rakuzan began very smoothly, even if Momoi's data had been accurate. Though three of the Uncrowned Kings had been on the opposing team, it did not take very long for Akashi to find their weaknesses and have them exposed for the audience to see. After finding their weaknesses, he easily beat them on the court without assistance from any of the other Miracles on the court, including Kuroko.
"Oi Akashi, pass the ball any day now," Aomine snapped. It was clear that he did not like being second best to him.
"When you're in a better position," Akashi clipped back. The click of Aomine's tongue was audible, much to Kuroko's dislike.
The second quarter began, and somehow, after their poor performance in the first quarter, Rakuzan came back strong. They one upped their abilities, proving that they weren't mediocre players like Akashi had predicted and shown earlier. Akashi put on his devilish smirk, clearly liking this show.
Holding the ball in his hand, Aomine made the first basket of the quarter. It wasn't much a shock, since he was the ace, after all. He quickly went on to score more points in Teiko's favor. Even if Rakuzan had stepped up their game, it did not mean they were anywhere close to the Generation of Miracles's level.
"They have a while to go before they can even challenge us," Kise remarked from the sideline.
Rakuzan soon took possession of the ball. They stormed down the court, ready to earn their points back, but Kuroko had other plans. As much as he admired Rakuzan's pure efforts, he was still in favor for his team to win. The competitive aura he normally had was held within his eyes, and Kuroko easily intercepted the ball as it went from Mibuchi Reo to Hayama Kotaro. He sent the ball flying towards Midorima, who was in scoring position.
Another three points for Teiko High School.
Teiko returned to their defense stances. Mibuchi gained possession of the ball and hurried to the other side of the gym. Midorima, playing the same position as Mibuchi, followed closely behind, trying to mark him along the way. When Reo got into scoring position, Midorima was ready to block his incoming shot. Mibuchi pulled his arms back, but he never released the ball from his hand.
Midorima watched as Kuroko, seeing through Mibuchi's moves, ran up to double guard him. He also watched as the blue haired boy was smacked on the head by Mibuchi's elbow with enough force for the boy to go down onto the gym floor. The purpling bruise wasn't helping the situation either. Mibuchi, realizing that he hit someone, darted his eyes to and from the scene playing out in front of him.
All of the Miracles's eyes were on the court, having watched their phantom sixth man been hit. Their mouths were hanging, not believing what had happened. After a referee asked for him to be moved to the infirmary, Momoi followed the two men as they lifted Kuroko onto a stretcher and hauled him away from the basketball court.
Akashi's eyes narrowed, and his one yellow eye was sparkling in an evil manner. "Demolish them," was the order, and the regulars nodded. They were all angry, and they would do anything to ensure that what they had done, accident or not, would not be forgiven so easily.
Teiko won the semi-final game, 139-31.
Momoi was perched in one of the chairs in the infirmary. Though it was uncomfortable to sit in, Momoi would sit in it and wait until her crush woke up. From her perspective, she found Kuroko's sleeping oddly cute. The boy seemed so serene when he slept, almost like a baby.
Of course, she had known that this would happen. The letter had predicted this event happening as well, and it had yet to be wrong. Momoi didn't think there was a way to stop it from happening, though.
When the semi-final match ended, Momoi got up to leave the room, knowing that the Miracles would soon be heading in this direction. Stronger or not, they all still withheld some sort of feeling towards their shadow, even if it was deep down and locked away. She stood by the door, awaiting their arrival.
An unfamiliar person came to visit though. With his burning orange hair and green slacks, Momoi suspected that he was from their final opposing team, Meiko High School. Going through her data (the one stored in her memory), she believed that this was Ogiwara Shigehiro, one of the regulars on the Meiko team.
With concerned eyes, Ogiwara asked, "Is Kuroko-kun here?"
Momoi was startled to say the least. She had not expected that someone would know him outside of their basketball club. "Oh, yeah, but he's not awake yet," she answered truthfully. She believed that he might have been a childhood friend of his, much like her and Aomine.
"I see," Ogiwara replied.
Behind him, a grave voice spoke. "And who are you? You have something for Tetsuya?"
Akashi's flaming red hair stood out above the rest in the dark, narrow hallway. His golden eye was burning maliciously, as if he was angry about the situation. Momoi wouldn't doubt it. The other Akashi would have been furious, and this Akashi was letting it show. However, his tone initiated something else, as if this Akashi was being protective of the injured Kuroko.
"I'm Ogiwara Shigehiro of Meiko High School," he replied, confirming Momoi's suspicions on the boy. "I just came to see how he was doing."
Akashi recognized the school name. "The opponent for the finals," he mused. "Unfortunately, Tetsuya will have to sit out for the next game," he said without a sign of sympathy. "I'm sure the result will be the same, but I wish you luck." With that, he walked away from the boy, towards Kuroko and Momoi.
"Hold on," Ogiwara said, steeling his resolve. He had noticed something was off on the court, and believed that everyone on the Teiko basketball team had something to do with it. Determination clear in his eye, he asked. "Do you enjoy playing basketball?"
Akashi didn't give a response to his question, but walked away, closer to his teammate and manager. Momoi let him into the room without much of a question or order from the captain. She too also disappeared behind the door, leaving Ogiwara alone in the hallway.
Saddened, Ogiwara turned on his heel and headed back towards his teammates in the locker room, preparing for the finals to begin.
Thirty minutes later, Kuroko blinked his eyes open. Peering over him was a red haired captain and pink haired manager, which meant that Momoi and Akashi had come to see him. Momoi, frantic about the situation, called out his name. Kuroko registered the name in his head, and turned his head to face his captain when he addressed his well being.
Kuroko blinked, not used to the bright light just yet. "Akashi-kun, Momoi-san, what about the game?" he asked, remembering the match he had just been in.
Akashi scoffed. "Of course we won. The finals will begin in about five minutes," he answered.
Kuroko was relieved that they had won the semifinals, even though he had been knocked down halfway through the game. Remembering why he had even played that match, he shot up from the bed quickly, struggling through the bedsheets. "I'll play too," he insisted, forgetting the pounding headache he had.
Momoi shook her head, saying it was impossible for that to happen. Akashi told him, "You can't. The doctor told us to keep you in bed. So behave and lie down."
For a moment, Kuroko wondered when the red haired boy started taking orders rather than giving them. He leaned forward, asking for Akashi to put him in the game anyways. "But - "
Akashi was firm in the decision to keep him in bed for a little while longer. "I know," he confessed. "It's about Ogiwara-kun, isn't it?" At the mention of his childhood friend, Kuroko gaped. "I met him in the hallway just now. He said that we'll play again one day."
"I see," Kuroko said, understanding. Dejected by the fact that he had missed Ogiwara coming by and the fact that he would not be allowed to play in the finals, Kuroko begged Akashi for a favor. "Akashi-kun, please go full out for the finals then."
Akashi stood up, knowing it was his cue to leave as soon as possible. He knew right away that the favor would not be done in full. He knew that he could not grant it. Ensuring that Kuroko's goals were pure, he asked him, "You don't care how much we win by?"
"'I'd hate it more if you went easy on me.' I'm sure that's what he would say," Kuroko answered. Akashi nodded and left the room, ready to take on Meiko for the finals.
Kuroko woke up again towards the end of the finals. He heard the creak of the door when Momoi walked in to check up on him. Quietly, she closed the door and approached his bedside.
"How is the game going?" Kuroko asked.
"They just started the fourth quarter, and we have a huge lead," Momoi replied, but Kuroko noted the lack of pride in her voice. She almost sounded sad when she announced the news.
Kuroko sat up in the bed, tossing the hospital bedsheets aside. He swung his legs over the bed and stuck his feet inside the slippers provided for him. "I'm going to look."
Alarmed, Momoi tried to stop him. Raising a hand, she objected, "You shouldn't, Tetsu-kun."
In truth, Momoi knew what was happening on the court. While Meiko continued to put their best foot forward, Teiko decided to play a secondary game during the match. Momoi had arrived to the benches just in time to overhear the plan Akashi devised for the finals. What Akashi had concocted was with evil intentions, the plan to hurt their opponents mentally. Momoi objected the plan immediately, and even voiced out her opinions, but to no avail.
No one on the team was listening to anyone anymore. They all just agreed to go by Akashi's plan in fear that something would happen if they didn't.
With tears hiding in the corners of her eyes, Momoi watched the game progress, giving out towels when needed and refilling water bottles. To the other members on the first string, she asked them politely that they were allowed to leave the gymnasium as they wished, and she would cover their absence. Many of them had taken her word and disappeared within the first quarter of the game. When Momoi could not take it any more, she disappeared and headed for the infirmary.
July 11: Today is a day of sadness, because everything you have known will crumble into pieces. You will attain victory at the finals, but at a huge cost. Be prepared for anything that might come your way, Momoi. Please change the future, I know you can do it!
With bright, genuine eyes, Kuroko smiled. "At the very least, I want to see the results with my own eyes."
It took a lot of Momoi's remaining strength to not cry. "Are you sure, Tetsu-kun?" she asked. "You had a concussion, you need to be resting more." She tried to push him back down, anything to keep him away from the court.
He can't come see this, this is an awful, awful game.
Kuroko patted her shoulder. "It's okay, Momoi-san," he reassured her. "I took some pills to relieve the headache. Please, let me see how this ends."
Momoi wanted to protest even more, wanted to strap his body to the bed so that he didn't see how far gone the Miracles were. She didn't want to see him in any more pain that he already has.
Kuroko gave her a small smile and stood up from the bed. He strided towards the door and headed down a hallway, where a television set was set up outside the gym for people who wanted to see the game but couldn't for other reasons. Momoi hurried behind him, crossing her heart that nothing awful had happened while she was away.
The two of them watched as Teiko scored another basket, a two pointer. Kuroko noticed how they were all doing a man to man defense, how hard the other team was breathing, and how odd the defense seemed to be. Then, Meiko earned the ball and ran down the court, Ogiwara leading the pack. Kuroko glanced at the clock. Fifteen seconds left in the game, and the score was 111-9.
A sudden thought reached Kuroko, and he fought back the urge to scream. He wondered if Akashi had listened to his one request earlier, but a small part of him knew that he didn't really listen to his intentions.
On the court, he saw Ogiwara pass Aomine. In the heat of the moment, Ogiwara shot the ball, but the ball hit the rim and bounced off. Kuroko, eyeballing Aomine's slower movements, knew that the ace had purposely let him pass. Since Ogiwara missed, Aomine was forced to call a play.
"Oi, Murasakibara!" Aomine called out on the court.
Understanding what Aomine meant, Murasakibara, who was the closest to the net and the ball, jumped up to match the ball's height. However, he didn't grab the ball, like a normal person would have. Instead, he touched the ball enough to send it into the basketball hoop. The buzzer sounded, and two points was added to Meiko's score.
Needless to say, Ogiwara shocked at what had transpired in the last two seconds. The shock, however, didn't really sink in until he took a closer look at the scoreboard. 111-11, all ones on both sides. Overhearing Teiko's words, he realized that they had purposely made the score this way.
"Ogiwara-kun!" Kuroko said, panting hard. He had sprinted inside the gymnasium, eager to see his friend.
Ogiwara registered the voice of his longtime friend, but his shock was overpowering. Tears streaming from his eyes, he slowly turned his head to look at him, wondering how his team could have done something so cruel.
Kuroko didn't sleep for several days because of the horrifying look on Ogiwara's face after the finals.
Aomine, Kise, and Momoi were all sitting crisscrossed on the floor in Aomine's home upon Aomine's solemn request. Neither of them were speaking while Aomine prepared some honey green tea and snacks for them.
Minutes later, the boy came out and set the tray down on the coffee table, offering the treats up to them. No one made a move to get anything. Kise had been in a trance after the award ceremony, and Momoi was too furious and upset to really say anything meaningful.
After a couple of futile attempts to get someone to do something, Aomine perched himself down in between Momoi and Kise. Sighing, he rumpled his already messy hair and grabbed one of the cookies, munching on it.
"What we did was wrong, cruel, and inhumane," Aomine began. "I knew that when we started walking on the court. Sure, we wanted to have a little fun, but Akashi's plan went beyond that. It was vile, but you don't argue against Akashi."
Kise nodded. His bottom lip was trembling, and the other two suspected that he wanted to cry. Of course, it was Kise - he would not sacrifice his dignity for something this stupid.
"I know," Momoi said quietly, almost a whisper. "I know Akashi-kun made it up. I can tell that you weren't that willing to go with it." Aomine nodded. "But it doesn't take away from the fact that you did that to someone whom Tetsu-kun calls a friend."
Aomine and Kise's eyes went round at the mention. "Kurokocchi had a friend on the Meiko team?" Kise asked, voice shaky. Momoi nodded. Kise's guilt meter only increased after the affirmation. "We - we would not have done that if we had known."
Momoi leaned over and massaged Kise's shoulders for a moment. "I know that too, Ki-kun."
Suddenly, a wail was let out from Kise's mouth, and the blonde began to sob into the palms of his hands. Momoi could feel how much the blonde was shaking, and she quickly pulled him into a hug. She mumbled nothing but kind words into his ears, reassuring him that it would all be alright soon, and that she would let others know that players unwillingly had a hand in the plan.
Later, Aomine drifted off to his bedroom, claiming to be tired from the day's events. Momoi washed up the plates and cups used in the snacking and then helped an exhausted and guilty Kise home, promising that things would be alright soon.
But when was that soon going to come?
AUTHOR'S NOTE
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