Manga: Kuroko no Basuke
Creator: Fujimaki Tadatoshi
Author: Cheshire
Chapter Ten: The Battle Begins
~ * 'There are no negatives in life, only challenges to overcome that will make you stronger.' * ~ Eric Bates.
"Hm? Is it all right to only greet, Takara?" Takao asked as the players started to get into their positions for the beginning of the match, not noticing Midorima twitch at him using her first name.
"What about Kagami?" He finished, catching the red head's attention when he name was mentioned.
"It's unnecessary. I have nothing to talk about with someone who played so pitifully his last match. If he has something to say, then he should express it with his plays, not words." With that, Midorima made his way to the other side of the court and Hyuuga moved over to Kagami, sensing the tension between both Aces.
"Kagami!"
"Ha... I agree. When I remember it, I can't help but being mad at myself. Frustration keeps piling up. So... Let's play already. I've been piling it up to turn all of it into fighting spirit, in order to defeat you bastard. I just can't hold back any longer." Both Hyuuga and Takara were surprised at his fighting words, and Midorima stopped walking, in order to glance back at the red head, narrowing his eyes.
"...What did you say? Hmm. Do what you can. If you can that is." The red head growled and got in the center against Otsubo, watching as the ball was tossed up with the whistle blowing, Kagami hitting it over to Mitobe.
"Seirin got the ball first!" Mitobe quickly handed the ball off to Izuki and the second year examined the court.
'They're really fast! We were planning to quickly score once at the beginning, but...'
"Waah, there's no opening...!"
"Score the first one! But be careful!"
"We can't!" Riko told the three first years, keeping her eyes on the court.
"If you take it easy against a stronger opponent, it will only be like giving him the initiative! We have to get the quarter first! And for that sake..." The moment Shuutoku's number 5, Shinsuke Kimura, took his eyes off of Takara, she had vanished and appeared next to Izuki, who passed the ball over to her through Takao.
"As a greeting, go for a storm attack!" Takara quickly passed the ball over to Kagami and the red head had already leapt into the air, ready to slam the ball into the basket.
"An alley-oop!" Kise shouted in the stands, gripping onto the rail in front of him. 'The same as when they played against me!'
"Yes, we're the first to score! Go!" Furihata shouted, but their joy was cut short when Midorima jumped from under the basket and slapped the ball out of Kagami's hands and away from the basket. Both Kagami and Takara were surprised at the block and the green haired teen scoffed.
"Jeez, how disappointing. Did you really expect something of that level would work?"
"Impossible..." Iwamaru muttered from the stands and Tomoki could only nod in response to his captain, his jaw hanging open at the powerful block.
'Is it even possible to block that?!' Riko cried and the ball was passed over to Takao who sped down the court.
"Wooh! The alley-oop! He stopped it?!" Izuki jumped in front of the freshman and he grinned, passing the ball past him and over to one of his teammates who took the shot, but as blocked by Hyuuga almost the same way Midorima did to Kagami.
"Tch! Damn!"
"It's out! Both teams aren't yielding!" Minutes passed by and neither one of the teams had scored yet, leaving the audience silent and assertive to the match.
"My, my..." Kasuga started, impressed with the events.
"They're even?"
"A basketball match lasts for forty minutes divided into four quarters of ten minutes each." Iwamaru started.
"It means that at the very least, the flow of the game will change three times. But on the other hand, that means..."
"If the opponent gets the flow of the game, it's hard to get it back during the same quarter." Yukio explained.
"It's almost two minutes in and none of the teams have scored... At this rate, the first quarter will probably be for the team who scores first."
Another shot was blocked by Mitobe against Otsubo, but Takao was quick to grab it before Izuki could even move.
"Counter attack!" He shouted as he quickly passed the ball over to Midorima, who stood at the three point line ready to shot.
'What... Is he really going to shoot a three-pointer in this situation?!' Hyuuga thought in a panic but the green haired first year shot the ball and it perfectly soared into the basket, Midorima turning as Kagami cursed at the goal.
"Please start running." Takara told him as she quickly passed him, confusing the red head at her words until he finally understood.
"Waah, here comes a three pointer! What a shot!"
"The first points for Shuutoku!"
"Damn it..." Hyuuga cursed and Kise was even surprised at the shot.
"They've broken the balance! With this, the flow of the quarter is for Shuutoku!" Takara quickly grabbed onto the ball as it bounced from the hoop and turned, spinning herself as fast as she could as she threw the ball all the way across the court, past Midorima and into Kagami's hands who slammed a goal of his own.
"They scored back in an instant?!"
"But what the hell was that just now?!"
"The ball went all the way from one end of the court to the other!"
"Takara...!" Midorima growled as the blue haired girl stood up straight, staring over at her former partner.
"Sorry. But if we let you get the first quarter so easily, it would be a problem." The green haired teen growled over at the small girl and everyone in the audience was shocked, especially Kise and the Seihou players.
"What the hell... was that Ichirou's laser beam?!" Kasuga muttered in awe, thinking of the most famous Japanese basketball player as he tried to figure out Takara's pass. Now that he was able to see it from the stands and not on the court.
"This is basketball, right?!"
"What in the world..." Otsubo muttered as he stared over at the blue haired girl, who was wiping sweat from the top of her brow, Takao tsking at not being able to read her pass.
"She had a pass like that too?!" Even Hyuuga and Izuki were impressed by her new ability.
'It's the first time I've seen it too... But thanks to this, the flow of the game hasn't changed yet...' Takara then turned over to Midorima and Kagami smirked, doing the same as his little partner.
"The match-"
"Only starts from now!"
"Tch!" Midorima quickly took hold on the ball and Kagami was right in front of him, ready to guard.
"Midorima has the ball! Will he shoot again his super-strength three pointer?!" The green haired teen passed the ball over to one of the other Shuutoku players and Kise was confused at his decision.
'It doesn't happen often... Midorimacchi not shooting because he has the probability of missing... But wasn't it a nice occasion there...!' On the sidelines, the Shuutoku High coach, Nakatani Masaaki was thinking the same thing as the blonde.
"I see... Hmm... Hmm... Eeh. It was already surprising that her lack of presence could make you lose sight of her, but she even has that kind of pass... But it's a problem, really... To think there was that way to seal Midorima, hmm... Hm... What should we do..."
"Midorimacchi is sealed?"
"Yeah. Because of the super long range pass of that transparent girl. Midorima uses the long time his shot spends flying to go back to defense. It has the merit of defending against counter attacks. But it's not like the team is falling back. They're all staying behind, just in case it misses and they need to get the rebound. The time it spends flying backfires in that case. Because if Midorima has the time to get back, Kagami has the time to run too. With that speed of attack, the counterattack will just get through Midorima. That's why he didn't shoot. But still thinking of that pass and finding the proper timing... And the nerves to make it succeed on the first try, it made me realize it again. Kuroko may look like that, but she was still in Teikou with you. She's a Veteran." Yukio explained.
"My, my..." Takao started with a smirk as he let his eyes linger over Seirin girl.
"It'd be a problem if you thought you could stop us with something like that." The black haired teen took possession of the ball and quickly sped past Izuki, shocking the second year at his speed.
'Fast!' Before even Mitobe could stop him, the ball was tossed out of his hands and Otsubo took the opportunity to dunk the ball, scoring for Shuutoku.
"Ooh! Nice shot!"
"Awesome pass!"
'It can't be that this guy has it too?!' Izuki thought in a panic as the ball was tossed over to Takara, who passed it to Mitobe who scored with his famous hook shot.
"Ooh, they scored back immediately! I don't get Seirin's passes at all! But they're awesome!" Back on the sidelines, Coach Masaaki thought of a plan and stopped tapping the top of his knee.
"Yeah, hmm... We should do this after all. ...All right. Hey, Takao, Kimura! Switch marks! Takao, take care of that number 11."
"Marking Takara...?" Hyuuga muttered and the benched freshmen were slightly confused at the coach's call.
"It's the same thing no matter who, right?" Kawahara asked.
"Since her presence is so faint you can lose sight of her." But Riko on the other hand, was worried, not confused.
'What are they planning...? Going for such a direct way... They've got the same roles in Seirin and Shuutoku... The key to the match lies in this fight. That means...' Takao, who was smiling, made is way over to Takara and stopped with a wave.
"Like I expected, I thought it'd end like this. Well, like Shin would put it, it was fate. That I faced you and that Shin would face Kagami. Although, I think I got the prettier out of the two." He told her with a wink and she blinked, Kagami glaring over at Midorima. "What's the point? No matter how fast Takao is, it doesn't matter for Takara."
"I'm fully aware of Takara's strength. You'll understand immediately."
"I didn't expect to settle it with you this quickly though." Takao continued.
"I've been thinking ever since I met you, you and I are from the same species. We're both freshmen, right? Passing the ball is our style, or should I say, our role as players. That's why... What was it called again? That... Hatred for the same kind? I don't want to lose against you! Kinda." He told her with a dark smirk.
"Well, it's the first time I ever felt something like that, though. Maybe... because you're probably different from the others?"
"Sorry, it is the first time I have been told that. I am at loss about what to say..." Takara admitted and Takao was shocked, letting his dark smirk fade seeing as his intimidation wasn't working with her.
"...But I might feel a similar thing as well." She told him and he grinned.
"Nice, seems like you're well motivated. ...Wait. Nghhaa?!" He shouted out when he realized that the blue haired girl was no longer in front of him.
'Wait a second! Disappearing all of a sudden like you don't have any manners!'
"Hyuuga is free! Go!" Izuki shouted as Takara prepared to pass the ball over to her captain, causing Midorima to slightly tense as the move.
"...Too bad, Takara." He muttered as Takao grinned, knowing exactly where the small girl was.
"Just kidding." Within seconds, he was in front of Takara and slapped the ball from her hands, shocking her with his speed and the fact that he stopped her...
'What the hell?!' Kagami shouted internally as the rest of the Seirin team began to freak out about the failed pass.
"Takara's pass...?!"
"It failed?!" Riko shouted as Otsubo took the ball and scored, Hyuuga groaning at the score.
"It's the first time I've seen her make a mistake..." He admitted and Izuki shook his head, glaring over at Takao.
"No, it probably wasn't a mistake... That guy has it too. The same as my Eagle's eye... No. His field of vision must be even wider. It's the Hawk eye."
"What?!" Hyuuga shouted in shock and his friend continued.
"Takara uses the misdirection to divert your eyes when you're looking at her. But with an ability to see everything like the Hawk's eye, you look only at Takara. In other words, against Takao, Takara's misdirection won't work."
"Seirin time out!" The referee shouted with a blow of his whistle, both teams hurrying off to their sides as the scoreboard read 11 to 8, Shuutoku.
'To think Takara could be stopped...' Hyuuga thought as he took a sip of his water, Riko starting to stress herself at the situation at hand.
'I never thought she could have a natural enemy like that... We're definitely in a pinch.'
"My, my, the guy's from Seirin seem embarrassed." Takao commented and Midorima started.
"Don't lose your focus. That girl won't be taken down with that."
"It's alright, really! If you take away her invisibility, she's just a small fry, right?"
"...Do you know why it's hard for me to like Takara while playing basketball? ...That's because... I acknowledge her. She doesn't have a single great physical ability, other than her skills as a gymnast, but that doesn't help her in basketball. And she can't do a single thing on her own. Despite that, she still wore the uniform of Teikou like me, and helped leading the team to victory. Takara's strength is completely different from the rest of us. It belongs to a different world. That's why I can't stand it. I can't stand that a woman I acknowledge went to bury herself in a team that can't make use of her strength. That's why there is no way I can lose. I'll start playing seriously after this timeout."
"Coach. Let's keep up just like this, please." Kagami started, placing his hand on top of Takara's hair.
"Hey, it can't be that you're going to let him stop you like that, right?" He asked her and she stared blankly up at him, blowing her bangs from her face.
"Well... I guess I would not like that." The red head laughed at her response.
"Ha! Then I'm leaving Takao to you. Maybe I should give them my regards too. I've got some new stuff to present to them, after all."
"I'll have them come to their senses with this new strength of mine, that even Takara doesn't know about." Midorima said as he started down at his left hand, the fire of victory burning in his emerald eyes as he spoke.
"Wanna go like this...?" Riko started as she looked over her team, sighing as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Anyway, Takara... Your misdirection doesn't work against Takao, does it? Is that alright?" She asked and the blue haired girl shook her head.
"It isn't. It's a problem." She said bluntly and the brunette glared at her, already knowing it was a problem.
"Yes, well. Hell what do we do?"
"But... Can't we, in the 3 and a 1/2 minutes yet to play be able to lead?" She asked and Riko's eyes widened, understanding what the blue haired girl was trying to say.
"End of timeout!" The referee shouted and she sighed, nodding her head at the other female.
"Do it, do it you two!" Both Takara and Kagami walked back onto the court and were met by Takao and Midorima, the black haired teen grinning.
"Yo, did you find any solutions?" He asked her and she only answered truthfully. "Still looking for it."
"What?!" She shrugged at his response and game proceeded, Riko watching the game without even blinking as she tried to think of plays that could help her team succeed. 'Two games in one day, that's hard. It's only the first quarter, but to be honest... Our opponent is the King Shuutoku, if there was a big point different, getting those back would be quite hard. For those hard times, I spared Takara and Kagami, and now, I need to rely on them.'
Takara once again tried to pass the ball to Hyuuga, but it was stopped by Takao who took it down the court, the blue haired girl more surprised than the first time he stopped it.
"He stole the ball again! Seirin's magical pass is completely destroyeeeed!" Kise could only wince and stare down at blue haired friend.
"Takacchi is getting angry..." He muttered.
'Or rather she did the same error again...'
"Damn..." Izuki mumbled as he watched Takao dribble the ball in his hand.
'As I thought, he sees where the ball will be passed and steal it...'
"...What are you doing?" Midorima asked as he ran up to the side of his friend, Kagami groaning at his appearance.
"Shit!" The green haired teen narrowed his eyes at Kagami and said, as he caught the ball.
"From now on, we're getting serious. Give all you have to defend."
"What...?"
"My shoot range, just don't underestimate it." He said as he took a shot from the center line of the court, shocking the red head.
"WHAAT?!" He shouted.
'From the center line?!' The ball soared across the player's heads across the court and just like predicted, it dropped through the hoop, scoring for Shuutoku.
"WHOA!" The Seihou team shouted in shock as sweat dripped from their own brows just watching the game.
"Geez..."
"For real?! From that far?!" Yukio was indeed shocked at the shot, but Kise knew that Midorima had a large shooting range and wasn't too surprise that it went in, same with Takara who stood silently.
'Getting points with a throw from that far... The bad feeling I've got was confirmed... His range is the whole half court! That's the true power of Midorima!' The green haired player hurried back to his position after the shot and Takara quickly noticed it, Kagami right after.
"Ah!"
"With that Takara's passes from the back are ineffective, right? Too bad, huh? But... To begin with, I don't care. My shots are 3 pointers. Yours are worth 2 points. Anyways, the different will only be increasing." The Seirin team knew he was right and Hyuuga growled, Izuki tsking at his words.
"Bastard..." Three minutes were now left in the first quarter and Shuutoku was in the lead 14 to 8 points.
"8 to 14..." Kasuga started, Iwamaru crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the two teams.
"Looks like the flow of the game is decided..." Back down on the court, Kagami held the ball in his hands and Midorima was on him, the two staring each other down in silence before the red head bent lower to the ground, preparing for something...
'Is he gonna use his new trick?!' Hyuuga thought as Kagami shot from the three pointer line, shocking Midorima.
'A 3 pointer?!'
"Haa?! He's clumsy with an outside shot!" Takao shouted from in front of Takara as the red head quickly sped past Midorima, a smirk on his face.
"Ha, that may be the truth! But I don't care if I can score that way... And if I miss...!" He shouted as he jumped up, grabbing the ball in midair and slammed in into the basket. "I'LL JUST HAVE TO PUT THE BALL IN THE BASKET MYSELF!"
"Uwaa! What was that just now?!"
"An alley-oop by himself?!"
"This guy...!" Kise shouted in awe as Midorima scowled, watching the red head get surrounded by his teammates.
"That was nice." Takara commented and he grinned as Mitobe pat his shoulder, before Izuki came over trying to start a pun.
"Wasn't it nice!"
"Izuki, stop that already!" Hyuuga cried and Kagami groaned.
'Arrgh, I feel like leaving...' Otsubo could tell that his players were still in awe from the play and he scowled, shouting over at them as he grabbed the ball.
"Hey! Really... That move was just to show off! Let's resume!" He made his way over to the basket and was blocked by Mitobe, but the Shuutoku captain quickly manuerved around him and scored another point.
"They only got 2 points, we won't change our tactic. Let's attack as usual!" The game resumed and the score was now 18 to 11, Shuutoku, with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.
'A 7 point difference... And Takara can't make any passes...' Riko thought.
'In the end, if we score once, we can finish with a two basket goal difference... At that time...' Her thoughts trailed off and Fukuda blinked when he noticed something on the floor next to his coach.
"Ah, coach! What's this?" He asked and she blinked before realizing what he meant.
"Ah! I broke this a few minutes ago, I forgot it..." She admitted and he seemed confused, Furihata and Kawahara now both curious as well.
"Broke?!" He shouted and she nodded, thinking back.
"Because we lost last year…"
' "Say, Coach. If you're under pressure during important events, what do you think we should be best? I mean, for the sake of my team mates, to be honest, I don't have any special power of leadership... So... At least, I'd like to help everyone during the plays." Hyuuga explained to the younger Riko and she thought about his words, tapping her finger against her chin. "In other words, you'd like to change from an ordinary guy to someone used to pressure. For example, during training, every time you miss a shot, I'll break one of your precious figures of the Sengoku General armed series." She promised, and watched as the poor first year Hyuuga started to cry in a rage at the thought of losing his precious figures, but tried his best to look determined no matter what. "Okay... Let's do this!" After practice that day, three of his toys were broken at her hand. "Today that makes 3!" She said as she broke each figure. "Motochika~!" '
"For real?!" Kawahara shouted as the brunette chuckled at the memory.
"But because of that..." Before she could finish, she smiled when she watched as the captain shot and scored a three pointer for Seirin.
"The Kings don't matter anymore!"
"Hey, Hyuuga shows his true feelings!"
"Even though his character changed a bit." She admitted and thanks to his shot, the score was now 14 to 18 with three seconds left in the quarter.
"Ooh!" Kise started with as whistle at the clean shot as Yukio said.
"They're finally responding... But soon the first quarter..."
"Hm... That was a good shot, I can understand why they put so much effort into this." Midorima started as he caught the ball when it fell through the hoop, watching as the other team members ignored him as he stood at the end of the court.
"But, sorry..." With that, the green haired teen prepared himself for a shot and Takara gasped, her eyes widened when she realized what he was up too.
'Wha... Hey, what's he doing! From where he is... How many meters are there...!' Kagami thought in a panic as Midorima took the shot, everyone watching as it soared across the court.
'That's impossible... That's a lie, right?!' Hyuuga thought, also petrified at the sight of the ball falling perfectly through the hoop...
"I told you not to underestimate us, didn't I? The whole court, is my shooting range!"
"End of the first quarter! There will be a two minute break from now on!" The buzzer went off from the scoreboard and both teams moved back to their benches, Kagami taking deep breaths as he tried to process the shot from Midorima.
'Is that shot really normal?! The point different is getting wider...' Riko thought as she turned over to Takara.
"Takara... That... From a long time ago?"
"Nope..." She admitted as she dabbed her towel against her cheek.
"The distance that I knew he could shoot was only from the half-line. That's the first time I've seen him shoot from that distance."
"I've seen videos of Lebron doing that during training season." Izuki told his team. "But it's unthinkable doing it during a match..."
"Such a bad joke... 'Generation of Miracles'..."
"More importantly... How to stop that?" Koganei asked and Riko crossed her arms in thought, trying to think of a plan of attack.
"...Sure, it's an impossible shot, but the game's not over yet! Anyways, we'll stop Midorima! Takara! You might be tired, but please, I need you a little bit more!" The blue haired girl could only smile at her coach's request.
"...Well. Those guys will probably try to stop Midorima... Hmm..." Masaaki started as he spoke to his own team.
"There's a few possible strategies, but what should we do? Errr..." Midorima on the other hand, had an idea that even his coach couldn't pass up if he thought it through clearly.
"Coach. For the whole 2nd quarter, just let me have the ball." He asked and you could tell that Otsubo was about to burst as he twitched in annoyance at the question.
"Coach, will you let him decide?" The blonde of the team, Kiyoshi Miyaji said, sweat dripping from his head as he chuckled nervously at his captain's expression.
"Miyaji... You wanna get hurt? I don't want to die yet." Kimura muttered as Takao burst out laughing, so hard that he started to cry.
"Gyaha! You're so funny! Such a noble but straight forward thing to say!"
"...With my own hands I'll smash them all to a pulp."
"Hmm... Umm... Err...Okay." He said with a nod.
"Today's egotist will smash them during the third quarter!"
"FOR REAL, COACH?!"
"You..." Otsubo growled as he stood up, glaring down at the green haired teen who twitched.
"...If the coach says so, we'll do it... We'll pass the ball during the second period. But... If we lose, that'll be bad."
"Ah, Takao!" The coach called over to the first year, catching his attention and listened carefully as his coach explained his new plan to him.
"End of the break!" The referee shouted and he nodded, sending Takao off.
"Okay, go now!"
The whistle was blown and the second quarter began, the ball being passed over to Midorima, but he stopped when he realized that Takara had jumped in front, guarding him.
"Huh?!" Kasuga and Tomoki shouted from the stands as Iwamaru stared at her in shock, why was the smallest player guarding Midorima?
"Huh... Do you really think this trick will affect me?" He asked Takara as he moved past her, Kise watched the two carefully.
'Your real shooting accuracy is more than that, right Midorimacchi!' Takara wasn't about to let Midorima pass her and as she started to turn, she bumped into Takao who had passed Kagami and screened her as his companion hurried past.
"Hey, hey!" The black haired teen said with a smirk as the blue haired girl leaned against his shoulder cause of the screen.
"Coming from the back... You shouldn't do that, you know."
"Takao is screening her?!" Riko shouted.
'He read through it...'
"That's bad! Takara can't get through!" Koganei shouted and Kagami groaned, hurrying after Midorima.
'Takao! Takara won't be able to make the back trip! I should...'
"Trying to stop me?" He asked as he dribbled the ball in front of the red head, taunting him.
"Don't even think about it." With that, he circled around Kagami and took another shot at the basket, scoring his point.
"Wha...!" Kagami started in surprise.
'Fast! This guy not only shoots 3 pointers... but also has speed?!'
"Don't push yourself too hard Takao. Don't be ashamed to just go with me." He said and Kagami cursed under his breath, wiping some sweat from his face with his jersey as he stared at the score, 23 to 14.
'Will we win... Against such a monster?' As the game progressed, Kagami took hold of the ball and quickly passed Midorima before handing it off to Takara.
"Go! Takara and Kagami combination attack!" Of course, Takao was there to block the ball and he slapped it away from Kagami before he could catch the pass back, knocking it away from the two players and back to Midorima.
'No way! Because of Takao blocking Takara the strategy doesn't work...!' Riko's mind cried as Midorima took yet another shot at the basket, Kagami growling over at him as he prepared.
'Shit... He can shoot from anywhere... If I don't make him for a second, I'm finished!'
As Midorima prepared for his shot, he thought back on a memory between him, Takara and Kise, remembering a conversation they once had...
' "In basketball, is the best way of playing to shoot from afar?" He asked as the three walked through the school, Kise shaking his and responding with a grin.
"No, it's the dunk. It's the technique and it's image that makes it the best move!" He said proudly and Midorima stared at him blankly as Takara sipped on a shake through a pink straw.
"But that's no good. It's best to make points from the 3-point line because every time you score you get 3 points." The three stood silently for a moment and Takara sipped loudly on her straw before saying.
"You're smart, Shin, but sometimes you're so dumb."
"WHAT?!" The green haired teen shouted as Kise laughed at her boldness. "Takacchi's always so straight forward!" Midorima groaned at the blonde and continued.
"Between 2 points or 3 points, to play for 3 points is the best!" He shouted and she only blinked back.
"Are you a kid?" She asked and he screamed, throwing his arms into the air in annoyance.
"Ugh, it's the simple truth. Sooner or later I'll prove that to you." He told her and she smiled brightly, her white teeth showing as she held the pink straw between her teeth.
"I'll wait for that day, then." '
The shot once again went through the basket and the score was 26 to 14, Shuutoku.
"There is is! 2 times in a row!"
"It really went in!"
"Izuki! Pass the ball around!" Hyuuga shouted as the two ran down the court. "Don't only count on them, we can attack too!" Izuki nodded at his captain's words and sped down the court before passing it behind him and back over to Hyuuga, who tossed it over to Mitobe, the silent player jumped to the side of Otsubo and scoring with a hook shot.
'Wha... A hook?!'
"Ooh! Seirin's not yielding yet!"
"They should just give up, every time they try to come back my shot will stop them!" Midorima shouted as he prepared for another shot, Kagami jumped forward to try and stop it.
"Waah, Midorima again!" Someone shouted and the head growled when he realized he miss stopping the ball.
'Impossible, shit... His shots are too high! I can't do anything to stop him...'
'His air time is so long... It gets on your nerves... If this continues on, the point different will increase... Our spirits will break!' Hyuuga shouted internally as the ball started to soar through the air and over to the basket, the captain's shoulders started to sulk as he stood a few feet from the basket.
"HYUUGA, MOVE!" Takara shouted so loudly that it caused half of the court to jump at her voice, not anyone ever hearing her yell.
"What?" He muttered but his eyes widened when he turned and watched as the blue haired girl had started back flipping at the goal, the captain quickly jumping out of her way in shock.
'What is she doing?!' Right as the ball was about to soar perfectly into the basket, Takara had started performing a tumbling jump and her body moved like a leaf being harshly blown into the wind.
'Whoa...' Kagami thought in awe as he watched his little blue haired friend smack the ball with her hand away from the basket, making the shot miss the basket; almost everyone in the audience and the stands jumping from their seats and shouting in surprise.
'Shoot!' Takara thought when she realized that she was too close to the basket and couldn't land the jump, so she grabbed onto the rim as fast as she could but her grip wasn't strong enough.
"Ah! Takara!" The red head shouted in realization but he wasn't fast enough, and Mitobe was the one who caught the falling girl in his arms before she hit the floor.
"Thanks, Mitobe." She said as she took some deep breaths and he shook his head before smiling at her in silence.
Finally, when Takara was set back on the ground by her teammate, all hell within the stands broke loose.
"DID ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT?!" Someone shouted while another responded.
"HOW IN THE WORLD IS THAT POSSIBLE?!"
"ISN'T IT ILLEGAL?!"
"THAT'S AMAZING!" Voices continued to grow louder and louder at Takara's block of the basket and her teammates quickly moved out to her, Takao's lip twitching as his eyes stayed glued to the basket.
"Wha... Whoa... Aah! How did she do that?!" He shouted as he grabbed onto his black haired and pulled, the other Shuutoku player's also in shock at what they had witnessed.
"That girl..." Kasuga muttered from the stands and Tomoki practically had hearts in his eyes as he stared down at her as she wiped sweat from her forehead.
"She's amazing..." He started almost love stuck and Iwamaru could also find himself staring down at her.
'How did Seirin get her on their team...?' He thought and Kise groaned loudly, leaning back against his chair as he put his hand over his eyes.
"Takacchi... Always doing something dangerous on the court..."
"...Did you know she could do that?" Yukio asked him softly and the blonde nodded.
"Well, Takacchi is a gymnast and I've been to some of her competitions in the past. But never did I think she would continue doing things on the court after what happened-" He started, but quickly covered his mouth with his hand and hoped that Yukio had been paying attention to what he saying; but the Kaijou captain had indeed been listening and narrowed his eyes, but chose to leave the curiosity out of the stadium, for now.
"Man, Takara... You keep on surprising us." Izuki said as he rubbed the first year's head and she narrowed her eyes up at him, causing the group to laugh since they knew how she disliked having her head patted.
"You need to tell us some of your plans." Hyuuga said with a laugh.
"Those gymnast moves of yours can definitely come in handy." The blue haired girl was about to make a comment on his words but Midorima interrupted, his tone harsh.
"If you are done squabbling, there is a match to be played." Kagami glared over at the sharp shooter as well as the other Seirin members, who all moved back to their respectable positions. The referee finally blew his whistle and the ball was quickly passed to Midorima who didn't waste anytime taking another shot at the basket, knowing that Takara was far too tired to perform another one of her tricks; smirking as the ball fell through the hoop, bringing their points to 29.
"Waaah! Another score!"
"Seirin can't stop Midorima!"
"The difference is growing!"
'That shot... Is it even possible to stop it?!' Riko thought sadly as Takao grinned on the court, running with Miyaji and Kimura.
"Great, great!" He said happily and Kimura groaned.
"This is boring for us." He said, number 15 Yuya Miyaji, agreeing with a huff.
"Kimura, when the match is over, can I borrow your keitora? I want to squash something..." The third year blonde said darkly and Yukio winced up in the stands.
"Is this real... It feels as if Seirin doesn't have any energy left... And Takara can't keep up her passes and block all of his shots..." Back on the court, Kagami started to chuckle, catching the attention of his teammates and slightly scaring them with the sound of his laugh.
'This is Midorima...' He thought with a smirk.
"Strong." He said as his laugh darkened.
'Kagami's laughing while watching our opponents...?' Hyuuga thought as a cold shiver shot down his spine, Takara's eyes widening over at her 'light', curious on what was going on through his mind.
"But... isn't that strange!" Kise commented as the two stared over at Kagami, the blonde's lips twitching.
'Ha... what's this... Such a thing is impossible, right... He still haven't found his limits! From now on... His secrets will begin to reveal itself!'
"It's the end of the second quarter! The match will resume in ten minutes!" The teams moved back to their sides and people in the stands were already started to lose hope in the Seirin players.
"The first half just ended with the scores being further apart!" One said and his friend rolled his eyes, standing up from his sit.
"This match has been decided, so let's go back!" Kise listened in on the two talking and groaned, leaning against his hand as he stared back at the court.
"Show 'em what you've got, Seirin!"
"They've shown, stupid! They managed to keep playing despite the impossible situation Shuutoku's given them. That's a miracle in itself!" Over with the Seihou team, the players were also trying to believe in Seirin but found it hard... especially Tomoki.
"If they lose by such a wide margin, people will think of us as losers too!"
"But can we win even if we're the ones on the court...?" Iwamaru commented. "How can a team power-up that much from one ace player? A fearsome player that few can counter, from the 'Generation of Miracles' Midorima Shintarou!" Back with Kise, he blinked when he heard a voice from his pocket and realized that it was his phone, the horoscopes were being read again.
" 'This is the horoscope for today! Today's not your day, Aquarians! Our lucky star of today, Cancer, enjoy the greatest of fortunes! If you bring along your shigarake ware raccoon dog statue, your lucky item for today... No one can beat you!" '
Inside the Shuutoku's locker room, the coach was leaning back against the door's as he stared over at his team.
"Um, hmm... 45... No, that won't do. Well, that's just the icing on the cake. I was expecting... 60 points at half time. You've done a decent job, not bad. But that's not good. you all want to run back?!" He shouted and they all groaned.
"Argh! Please don't!" A few shouted and the coach continued.
"Your opponent hasn't given up yet. Otsubo, you'll attack as well. Finish them! That's all I say!" Toward the back of the locker room, Midorima was sitting silently as he started to file the nails of his left hand, Takao standing behind him, a curious grin on his lips.
"Are you listening?! What are you doing anyway?" He asked and Midorima said.
"Can't you tell? Filing my nails. My shot touch can be affected by bad nails. You heard him, he said 'finish them', right?" He finished and Takao shook his head at the first year.
'On top of that, he tapes his fingers to protect them on normal days... This is beyond 'perseverance' , it's almost like an obsession! As if you'd miss anyway!' He thought as Kimura moved past the two over to a second bench to sit down, but screamed out when his foot hit against something hard on the floor.
"Ouch! Hey! Who put this raccoon dog here?! It's in the way!" He shouted and Midorima didn't even glance up as he continued filing his nails.
"That's my lucky item. That daily horoscope program has never failed me. They recommended lucky items that boost my luck, and the relation with the other horoscopes-"
"Who cares about that?!" Kimura shouted as he twitched, holding the raccoon dog item in his hand, Miyaji grinning darkly as he came up behind the scary looking second year.
"What happens if I break it? Let me try!"
With the Seirin team, everyone was sitting silently and not even Riko knew what to do for them at this point.
'They're dead quiet... What should I do? I've gotta lift their spirits before they leave this room...! What... Just now against Seihou... Kiss... ...Kiss?! Kiss! I promised to kiss them if they win! What am I gonna do?! I can't say the same stuff over again... or rather, nothing will do unless it's something better than a kiss?! Oh no! ...But I...' She thought, looking over at her team with a gulp.
"Hey guys...!" She started but Hyuuga put up a hand to stop her.
"It's alright, coach!"
"Huh?"
"We know you! We know whatever you're going to say will be dumb, so quit that!"
"Uh..." She sighed, they did know her too well...
'We know you're trying to cheer us up, but... honestly... I don't know how we can win this...' Suddenly, him and Izuki heard small sounds coming from next to them and the two realized that Takara pulled out a video camera and was watching a game play.
"What are you doing, Takara?"
"Watching the video I took just now. Checking Takao."
"Whoa! You found his weakness?"
"Eh? Well..."
"Huh?! Really?!"
"I always want to think I want to win, but... I never thought about whether I would be capable of winning." She started, catching Kagami's attention from the other side of the room.
"But then, even if the score was a hundred points apart, we never know if an asteroid won't hit the opponent's bench in the last second of the game! That's why I believe I will do everything I can muster until we hear the whistle at the end."
"...No! They don't fall like that!" Hyuuga suddenly snapped, confusing the poor blue haired girl.
"Huh?" Her response causing all the second year boy's to twitch.
"Asteroids don't fall at your convenience! How did you come up with that?!" Koganei shouted and Tsuchida chuckled, rubbing his chin.
"Let's say something more reasonable... Like they all get food poisoning..."
"That won't happen either!" Izuki muttered and Koganei laughed, looking up at Mitobe, who smiled down at his friend.
"Anyway, instead of praying for the freak accidents on them... We've got a better chance of our dream coming true if we just do out best!" Riko smiled over at his words and Hyuuga smiled, standing up from the bench.
"Right, just go after the ball... And don't think about happens at the end! Let's go, Seirin! Fight!"
"The third quarter starts!" The referee shouted as the two teams hurried back onto the court, Takara now sitting on the bench with her fellow freshmen, watching her teammates carefully.
"...They benched Takacchi!" Kise shouted from the stands and Yukio nodded as he crossed his arms.
"While Takao's still on the court, they can't use her to her fullest. They still haven't figured out how to counter Shuutoku..."
'Hm, um... We'll have to do that...' Coach Masaaki thought as he leaned his elbow against his knee, his chin resting in his palm.
'They haven't changed their strategy... Unless they came up with some farfetched idea that no one's thought up before... No, there isn't. That's nothing to be ashamed of. If I were Seirin I wouldn't have any plans to counter the opponent's either.'
'But we haven't given up!' Riko thought on the other side.
'What could be a weakness of theirs that'll help us turn this game around...' On the court, Takao groaned as he blew a piece of his bang from his face, slightly upset that Takara was no longer on the court.
'Why, I thought she'd stay in the court longer than that!' Midorima was also surprised that she was no longer playing.
'With one look in their eyes I can tell they haven't given up. But, why? Not only has he not given up, but he feels strange!' He thought as he stared over at Kagami, the red head preparing to jump against Otsubo.
"Start!" The ball was ten tossed into the air and Kagami was the first to get it, hitting it over to Hyuuga.
"We got the-!" The freshman started but it was quickly knocked out of Hyuuga's hands by Miyaji, surprising him from the back.
"Ah?!"
"Argh! It's in Midorima's hands...!" As Midorima let the ball soar from his hands, he gasped when he realized that Kagami had leapt right in front of him, shocking him. 'Since when was he here...? On top of that...' The shot scored through the hoop and Hyuuga groaned at the point.
"Damn..." He grumbled.
'One lapse of our concentration and he'll score!'
'I can't lose! Higher... Higher...!' Kagami thought as the ball was passed over to Izuki who back passed it to Koganei.
"Smart move! To pay our respects, we have Koganei-senpai with his 'goal from anywhere shot'!" The three freshmen shouted as they happily watched the shot go in for Seirin.
"We got it this time!" They said in unison and Koganei groaned sadly.
"What a way to say things!" He cried.
'Not only is Otsubo's marking weak... Midorima's not properly marked either, Kagami!' Takao thought as he quickly passed the ball through Izuki's arm and over to Midorima who prepared for another shot.
'...I always think I want to win, but... I never thought about whether I'd be capable of winning. You certainly won't give up until the very end... But if you try your best and lose... You just have to accept your fate. I enjoy playing with extremely formidable opponents like you... But I can't back off until I win! THE GAME HAS NO MEANING... UNLESS I WIN!' Kagami's mind shouted as he took another leapt in front of Midorima, this time, his fingers brushing against the bottom of the ball, shocking Midorima.
'How can he... Impossible! He can jump higher and higher as the match goes on?!' Thanks to Kagami's fingers brushing the ball, the ball hit the backboard and started to roll around the rim, not perfectly soaring through as it usually would. After a few moments, the ball did finally drop in and the Shuutoku team were able to release their breaths.
"So close!" Takao commented and Kimura said.
"It's my first time seeing Midorima barely able to score!" Midorima stood silently in thought before he slowly turned over to Kagami, as Kise pulled out his phone to listen once again to the horoscopes...
"You... What's your horoscope?"
' "Our lucky star of today, Cancer, enjoys the greatest of fortunes! If you bring along your shigarake ware raccoon dog statue, your lucky item for today... No one can beat you! But watch out for any Leos you may meet! They're incompatible with your fortune today...!" ' Riko finally allowed Kagami's jump to process through her mind and she jumped up from the bench.
'Yes! We've found our chance!'
"Hm? I'm a Leo." Kagami answered and the green haired teen growled, darkling narrowing his eyes over at the red head.
"Damn. The daily horoscope program is strange!"
~ * 'What was on Kagami's mind as he faced his formidable opponent?' * ~ Fujimaki Tadatoshi Chapter 30.
End of 'Chapter Ten: The Battle Begins'
Next... 'Chapter Eleven: Cancer Vs Leo'
And here you have it! Chapter 10 is finally out and I hope you all enjoyed it! Sorry it took me so long to update! I was out of town at a convention in Los Angeles and stayed there a few days after and me being a dummy, forgot to bring my laptop with me! Hope this makes up for it! And again I would love to thank my reviewers and everyone who has favorited my story, it means so much! Thank you Tian S, Rin136, BladePhoenix41, feressaloveyaoi, Pri-Chan 1410, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, kits-hold-their-tears, Soul Vrazy, gigi323, Lady Syndra, 333, Bommie, hitomi69, RoxasIsReal13, gothicgirl12 and the two Guest reviewers! Thank you so much! Can't wait to hear your thoughts of this chapter and hopefully with your lovely comments and reviews, chapter 11 will be out sooner thank you think! Lots of love!
Cheshire
Edited as of October 20 2015: