Author's Note!
Another cliffy. Hehe. I'm sorry about that but I hope this chapter will ease the wait and the expectations that I made… I think… Anyway! Hope you like this story and continue to read until the end. I have so much ideas in this update that I literally had to stop for a moment and write the dang ideas since they come and go. Haha.
Reviews and Criticism is highly appreciated.
Warning: May have a little bit of OOC but nevertheless, it is how I envisioned it.
*Italics are thoughts of the characters.*
Now, ONNNNN TO THE STORYYYY~
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, events portrayed in this story is used fictitiously or products of the author's imaginations.
The Strategist Empress. Copyright © 2016 by Cordelia Michaelis. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Kuroko No Basket. I only own the Plot and the OC.
Chapter 9
-During the third quarter of Shutoku-Seirin Match-
"Now what will you do, Seirin? Shin-nii's shots… He may or may not have surpassed his limit and…" I looked at a certain red haired ace. "Kaga-kun's acting like a spoiled brat and I'm going to kill him later."
It started raining outside, indicating something bad will happen. "Ne, Ryo-kun. What was Oha-Asa's predictions?" I asked the blonde model before he looked at me and replied, "Cancer's number 1 and Aquarius is the last…" I nodded before setting my gaze towards the green-haired teen. I could never understand what Fate and destiny can do to a mortal but certainly Shin-nii believes and obsess more than a psychic person.
Seirin had closed the gap slowly with Shutoku on the lead. I caught a glimpse of it when Kagami made that last Alley-oop against me. The strength to stand against the Generation of Miracles, and one of the greatest weapons in basketball. His hidden ability is… Kise thought before I smirked at him. "His jumping ability. Ne, Ryo-kun? You're thinking of it."
The said person looked at me in the eyes as I said it. "Yuki-cchi, of course you would know about it. I'm not even going to ask how." I gently laughed at him and put up my pointer finger. "One, of course I would know. If I see talent, I cultivate it and Kaga-kun has this abnormal sense of jumping around. Initially, he started having 10% of his jumping ability and now, he is close to a 20%." I held up another finger before continuing, "Two, my eyes never miss details and I am a sharp observer just like my dear cousin. Finally, that Bakagami is thinking of what I thought of since the start of this game. Took him long enough to realize this."
"Ishida, I guess you can say he is somewhat in par with you when you play volleyball." I looked at the blonde blue-eyed girl as she stares at the red head.
"I know. I jump around too much, you don't have to point that out." She blushes and pouts, I just laughed at her face and poked her. "Well then. There is hope for Seirin."
On the courts where most of the fun happens, the game continues with Kagami trying to not to rely on his teammates and doing it all by himself. "That Bakagami. He's thinking like them." I sighed as I see Kagami's eyes and his determination. Takao then has the ball and as Izuki went to block him, Takao passed the ball to Midorima. He's closer this time. He won't need as much time. He can make the shot. The dark haired teen thought as Midorima went to his shooting form. Kagami tries to catch up and Takao notices it. "Midorima!"
Kagami had reached Midorima as he was about to shoot and the red head jumped. Midorima released the ball and the shot was blocked by Kagami. Midorima's eyes widen and the crowd went wild. "What an amazing block!" A spectator commented. Izuki then ran towards the bouncing ball and caught it and dribbled towards Shutoku's goal.
Of course! Since he can shoot from so far away, their own goal is that much closer if they managed to block those shots. It is the perfect opportunity for a counter. Kasamatsu thought while he watched the game. Izuki shot the ball and the buzzer rang, indicating that Seirin got a point. "34-53. Still a big gap but…" Ishida commented and I looked at her. "Wait and see, Ishida."
Kagami ran across the court as Otsubo tries to dunk and the redhead jumped, easily defending our goal as he slapped the ball away from Shutoku's center. Midorima stood there, looking at Kagami with hatred. "Who is he?" A spectator yelled. "Foul. Black 10!" the referee said as he blew his whistle. "Ishida, remind me to hit Taiga later. He deserves some quality care from me." I said with a poker face but my eyes are blazing with fire as I stare down at the stupid Kagami as Ishida stared at me before nodding, Kise is cowering in his seat in fear and Kasamatsu looked at me like I'm crazy.
At the benches, Kuroko was staring at Kagami with angered eyes. "Kagami's amazing! With him, we could…" Fukuda said but was cut off by Kuroko. "Are you sure?" If he continues like this, I have a bad feeling about what will happen.
Kagami had the ball and he ran towards Shutoku's basket. He reached Midorima and side stepped his block and the green haired teen just stood there. The Shutoku's players are having a hard time with the pressure that Kagami put on the court. Kagami then easily jumped and dunked while Otsubo just stood there thinking of how he hasn't seen anyone like Kagami.
The crowd went wild with Kagami's last shot. I shot my cousin a look and as usual he has his poker face on but his posture seemed to speak volumes and I assumed that we are both feeling the exact same thing. I sighed before getting up from my seat. "Ryo-kun. Ishida. I'll be back." They all looked at me before I turned away from them and made my way towards the courts.
Once I'm safely behind the doors that lead towards the court, I gently opened one and closed it softly as I could and walked towards the bench and sat down in between Kuroko and Riko, earning me a few yelps from our team. Midorima noticed this and he looked at our way. He saw me with my eyes following Kagami and my aura became darker as the time goes by. Midorima widens his eyes but turns back, focusing on the game.
Miyaji had the ball and dribbled before shooting yet again he was stopped by Kagami. Hyuga caught the stolen ball and passed it to Seirin's Ace and Kagami passed the two defenders and shot it in. I scoffed while sneering at our scorer. "A single-digit difference eh? He's lucky that he shot it in." Kuroko saw my expression before patting and ruffling my hair to calm me down. I looked at him and nodded before returning to the game.
"He's over pacing himself and now a 100% chance of him unable to jump…" I muttered. Midorima has the ball and smirked at the now tired Kagami and the green haired teen jumped to shoot and Kagami tried to jump but found himself unable to block the shot, earning Shutoku three points and widening the gap.
"His body's not strong enough to keep jumping like that." Kasamatsu said to the two blondes. "He must have overexerted himself jumping all over the place." Ishida then added. "On top of that… He was subbed in part way through, but it's still his second game of the day. He lost a lot of stamina from Tsugawa's mark."
"Why is that idiot letting it get to him now?!" Tsugawa yelled.
"This doesn't look good and he's not the only one about to run out of gas." Kasuga said casually while looking down at the game.
I stood up from the bench and decided to go through my bag that Kuroko, thankfully, brought with him during break time. I rummaged until I find a thermos filled with Lemon Honey tea and sat down again. "Kaga-kun's heated up. Once there is a time-out, by all means, stop me from killing him."
Kuroko's head turned towards his cousin as I said those words. "Yuki-chan."
I turned towards him as he called me. "Tetsu. Bring back the old Kaga-kun and not this spoiled Bakagami, please? You don't want him to suffer more of his punishment, dear cousin."
He visibly gulped and nodded before returning to observe the game. "Third Quarter is over!"
-Fourth Quarter-
As the players return to the benches, I cracked my knuckles as I stared at them, waiting for Riko to say something. They all panted as they try to catch their breath and Kuroko hands them the thermos to the players. "Drink that. It will replenish a bit of your stamina in the last ten minutes. Also…" I stared at Kagami's profile before landing my gaze on his legs. I then bitterly chuckled at him before turning away and trying to not kill the red head.
Kagami was reprimanded by Hyuga and Izuki but he made a comment that set me off. As the red head was about to continue, I cut him off.
"Oh, is that what you think it is, Taiga? 'What good would passing the ball around would have done?' A lot of things can happen. We could have prevented Shutoku from scoring another point but I guess it's useless, huh? Tell me, Taiga. What plans do you have after breaking your fucking legs off from jumping too much in this single game? I doubt you would retire earlier in the B-ball field. You are a basketball idiot, after all." I sarcastically said and he was about to reply but I stopped him.
"You don't get to reply to me, Taiga. You listen damn well to me or to your senpais because if you dare to defy me, I will be the one to break your legs for you. I will continue my rant later after the game. I'm not done with you and you best remember that, Taiga." I crossed my arms, giving him the stare of an Empress that was pissed as hell and will go on a rampage if she wasn't satisfied with something.
Kuroko turns to me before he gently wraps his arms around my waist and I sighed a deep one before turning my back towards them and calmed down. Kuroko never heard his cousin swear so much and being angered that the sleeping Empress had woken from her slumber. The bluenette sighed and pat my back before releasing me and I angrily stared at Shutoku's bench.
Kuroko steps in front of Kagami and punched him in the face. Our team was shocked that Kuroko was the one to punch him and not me, all the while Kagami fell down the chair onto the hard floor. A red cheek now visible from the punch. "Kuroko-kun!" Riko yelled as Kagami stood up. I looked behind my back and turned just before Kagami grabbed Kuroko's shirt.
"You can't play basketball by yourself." Kuroko said.
Kagami retorted, "As long as we play nice together, you don't care if we lose? There's no point if we don't win."
"There's no point if you win by yourself, Taiga. Been there, done that and let me tell you, the ones who are closest to you will be the ones who had suffered from the severed bonds both party's gained." I interrupted and Kuroko added, "You said you wanted to beat the Generation of Miracles, yet you think 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!" Kagami sneered and punched my cousin. "If we don't win, those are nothing more than nice words." I put my hand on Kuroko's shoulder before giving a gentle squeeze. "Then what is victory? No matter how many more points you have at the end of the game, if you're not happy, that's not victory." We both said at the same time and looked at the red head. Kagami went quiet from our reply and I offered my hand to Kuroko and he grabbed it as I helped him up.
"That's right. It's not as though we want to lose!" Koganei said.
"We're just saying there's no reason for you to do it all yourself." Izuki added.
"Do you have any objections?" Hyuga asked.
"No, but… Well… Sorry." Kagami apologized as he stared at my cousin. "Of course I'd rather be happy when we win." Everyone then smiled in relief as Kagami realized his mistake. I broke that happy aura when I hit him I the head. He clutched his hurting head and stared at me and was about to ask when I replied, "That is for being so self-centered. You still have to do my punishment after Inter-high ends."
"Now that Kuroko and Yuki's calmed Kagami down… The situation hasn't changed. What should we do?" Hyuga pointed out and I stared at the scoreboard, tapping my fingers on my arm. "I may have an idea that can defeat Shutoku in the fourth quarter…" I looked at them with a knowing glint in my eyes. "How can I forget, you are a strategist and part of the Generation of Miracles during middle school days."
I raised my hand up, "I always have back-up plans, Captain and I wasn't part of them just yet."
Kuroko then looks at our team mates and commented, "The Empress had been in slumber for years but…" He looked at me for confirmation and I nodded, trusting our seniors and team mates with the information and he continued, "She became part of the Generation of Miracles during our game with Seiho. You could say that she's disturbed by Seiho's antics and thus, resulting to her unleashing her held backed strength from the very beginning."
"We'll continue this later. Right now, all of you listen to me…" I proceeded to tell them what they should know about and gave them hints on what they should do and before we knew it, the buzzer rang, indicating that the time-out is over.
Kuroko then takes off his shirt and hands it to me. I folded it and set it on top of my bag before smirking at Kuroko and his idea before we left home.
Riko then looks at the girl bluenette before asking, "Ne, Yuki-chan?"
"Call me Yuki, Riko-san."
"H-Hai. What did you mean that Kuroko's passes will get stronger?" She asked.
"So you remembered." I closed my eyes before replying, "Tetsu's passes aren't that weak, Riko-san. He can take it up a notch when he wants to but this pass is too strong for our other starters besides Kaga-kun. He is the only one who can catch it as of now."
"Only a few people can catch it and in his current condition, Kagami-kun may be one of them. However, just passing to Kagami-kun won't work until the end." Kuroko said and I continued, "We'll have to break free from Taka-kun and use normal passes as well."
"But maybe we can do it." Izuki replied and Kuroko and I looked up at the point guard. "Besides, my eyes are cramping up." He smiled at us and Koganei asked his friend, "What do you mean by that?"
"Izuki-senpai, you'll have to keep an eye on the court." I said, smirking and Izuki widen his smile.
"Did you just~" The red head began to reply.
"Shut up, Taiga." I retorted before looking at Midorima from the corner of my eyes.
Izuki ruffled my hair while he passed by me and the rest began to make their way to the court.
Hyuga discussed some strategy with Izuki before he was interrupted by Kagami calling out to him. "Senpai." Hyuga turned back and looked at his kouhai. "Sorry about that." Kagami rubbed the back of his head as he apologized.
"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it." Hyuga replied with a calm face and Kagami thinking it is alright in the world, didn't expect Hyuga to burst on him as well. "That's what I's like to say. But the way you said that, I'll hit you later."
"Oi, Captain! Get going!" I yelled before he flinches and ran towards the court. "You too, Kaga-kun. This is the last ten minutes so make it worthwhile for me."
"Osu!" Kagami said while he ruffles my hair along the way.
"Well, it'll have to wait. Laugh or cry, we've only got ten more minutes." Hyuga said. "Let's go!"
"Osu!" They responded.
"Let the fourth quarter begin!" The referee said.
"Kuroko-cchi's playing." Kise commented. What do they think they're doing? Kasamatsu wondered. As long as Takao is on the court, the invisible kid's no trump card… Or do they have a plan? He then looked at the girl bluenette who was now smirking at the game. She's probably the one responsible for the strategies. I wonder if she did plan this all out.
Hyuga dribbled the ball and Kimura blocked him. Takao and Kuroko marked each other and Takao thought. It would be like the first half. No, I can see him even better! Hyuga passes to Kagami who was marked by Midorima. Kagami then dribbles and ran towards Shutoku's goal and Otsubo already defending the said space. Kagami passed sideways, in between Midorima and Otsubo as the two players was shocked at the sudden pass.
Izuki caught the ball and shot, earning Seirin points for the first minutes of the game. Otsubo wondered at Kagami's sudden change of tactic and Midorima poised to get the ball to be passed by Otsubo. Getting punched by Kuroko and Yuki telling him off must have cooled his head. However, you have only a little stamina left. Midorima thought. Otsubo passed to the green haired teen and he resumed his shooting form while Kagami tries to catch up to him.
You cannot stop my shots anymore. Midorima thought.
I'm almost running on empty, but… Kagami thought as he remembered Yuki and Riko's words a while ago.
-Flashback-
"Kagami-kun, how many more times can you jump?" Riko asked while looking down.
"Jump?" Kagami asked and Yuki looked at his legs.
"You mean those super jumps that stopped Midorima?" Hyuga said.
"They push your natural jumping power to the limit, so they're exhausting. On top of that, your body isn't strong enough yet. There's a limit on how many times you can do that in a game." Riko said and Kagami replied. "I can still jump! Any number of times."
"You don't need to act tough right now!" Yuki answered them. "At this rate, only two more jumps and you're done for this game." Yuki looked at Kuroko and whispered in his ear and the other bluenette widen his eyes before resuming his poker face.
"Two?" Izuki said. "How are we supposed to stop Midorima with two?" Hyuga asked and Riko ignored the two second years and continued to talk to Kagami. "Keep one for the deciding moment of the game…"
"And use the other to stop the first shot of the fourth quarter." Yuki smiled evilly.
-Flashback over-
Kagami jumped as Midorima went to shoot and had successfully blocked the first shot of the game. Midorima was shocked as he thought, He can still jump? But I know he's nearly out of energy. Doesn't he intend to save anything for the end?
The ball went to Hyuga and he passed to Izuki who shot it in. A ten-point difference. I thought. The crowd went wild with excitement and Riko sat down on the bench while crossing her arms. "Coach! Are you sure we should've used our first of two so early?" Furihata asked. "It's a bluff." "Eh?!" The players asked and Riko side-glanced at them before looking back at the game. "Starting now, we can barely cover him normally, so we can't stop Shin-nii if he shoots." I replied to my team.
"However, Midorima-kun won't take an impossible shot as long as we make him think Kagami might still have those unbelievable jumps left in him." Riko smirked as we both watched the game. "At the very least, I think we can reduce the number of shots he takes."
So the rest is up to you, Tetsu. I thought as Riko and I looked at the game and our team looks at us with realization in their eyes.
"Looks like they're really counting on you. But no matter what you try, I'll stop you." Takao said while he guards Kuroko. "You can't escape my hawk eye." Without any blind spots, your misdirection won't work against Takao. Hyuga thought as he stared at his kouhai. "What are you going to do, Kuroko?" He voiced out. "Actually, it's probably not completely ineffective against him." Izuki commented and Hyuga looked at him. "What?"
"Takao's hawk eye's field of vision is so wide he can see the entire court. That's why he can continue to watch Kuroko even if his attention is directed elsewhere." Izuki continued, "So…"
Takao flinches and looks at Kuroko. "So instead of directing attention away from himself, Kuroko used the opposite misdirection instead. In other words, he drew attention towards himself." Izuki finished as Takao thought, He's close.
"The reason he kept passing even after his passes were blocked was to make Taka-kun focus on him." I muttered. "First was to focus his vision and then it can be directed somewhere else." I lost sight of him? You're kidding! Takao thought. Kuroko then slips away from Takao's mark and Izuki dribbles the ball towards Shutoku's goal. Kagami looks from the corner of his eye and Izuki passes the ball to Kagami.
Calm down. Even if I can't find Kuroko, I still know Kagami's location. Takao thought. As long as I jump between the ball and Kagami… "You will not get it this time." Kuroko said. "Until now, I have only changed the direction of the pass. This pass… increases the ball's speed." He ran until he reached the ball and punched it with his palm and the ball was passed to Kagami and Takao never touching the ball. He punched the ball! Takao wondered. And catching that couldn't have been easy. I can't believe this.
Only two more jumps and you're done for this game. Yuki's voice sounded into Kagami's head. Keep one for the deciding moment of the game. He wondered. I know, but if we don't make something happen here… "No, you don't!" Midorima tries to block Kagami but Kagami had dunked it in. … When are we going to do it? Kagami thought.
Midorima was shocked and the buzzer rang. "That was amazing! What was that?"
"He's done it now." Kise commented. "He finally blew over Midorima-cchi."
"Not only that… but… that was the pass only the Generation of Miracles catch during middle school. Am I right, Kise-kun?" Ishida continued Kise's comment and the other blonde nodded his head. "Is he going to be all right running on fumes?"
"You could argue that wasn't the time to force a dunk. I mean, there's not much point to dunking, anyway." Kasamatsu replied.
"He loves to show off." Kise said.
"I don't want to hear it from you, idiot." Kasamatsu retorted and looked at the red head. "But…"
"Kuroko… It sucks, but coach and Yuki was right." Kagami said and I can't help but yell at him. "I've been right the whole time, Bakagami!"
"OI!" Kagami glared at the other bluenette before he replied, "I don't think I can jump anymore. I'm 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 now, Kuroko." He pat Kuroko's shoulder and the game goes on until final minutes of the game.
Somewhere from another school, a guy spinning a ball on the stage kept complaining. "Ugh, I'm tired. I don't want to move. Maybe I'm getting old. I don't have any energy. I want to eat bread." "Oh, I thought you'd be here." The ball fell out of the guy's hand and he looked at the speaker. "Huh?"
"Did you fake being sick to skip another game?"
"We'll win anyway. It's too much work." He replied. "Sheesh." The other replied.
"Anyway, it sounds like Tetsu-kun and Midorin are playing against each other right now!"
"Huh? Eh?" he lazily drawled.
"Maybe Tetsu-kun will win. After all, He's the man I fell in love with." Momoi said while biting into a Popsicle.
"We'll see. You never know until the game's over." he responded.
"Eh?" The pinkette asked the navy blue haired teen.
"They're both strong players. They took the middle school championship title three years in a row. Both Tetsu and Midorima." Aomine replied while he rolled over and hung his hand off the edge of the stage.
Seirin had scored again earning a one goal difference with two more minutes on the clock. The buzzer rang and the table referee called out. "Shutoku High Time out!"
"76-78. not bad for you guys." I smiled as they continued to strategize. Soon the timer rang and the game continued Seirin earned another point. The last shot of the game was when Midorima caught Takao's pass and he got ready in his shooting form, faking it when Kagami jumped for the last time, believing that he will overcome the limit and lowering the ball before Kuroko tapped the ball away from Midorima's hand on the last second and that made Seirin win the finals.
The crowd went wild while the two Kaijo students watched in shock while Ishida smirks and looks at the blue-haired manager. "You planned this all along, Yuki."
"86 – 84. Seirin! Game over!" the referee yelled and our team cheered, comically and I stood up and walked towards our players. "Good job guys." I gave them a gentle smile and Kuroko ruffled my hair and I hugged my cousin. After fist bumping with each of them, my eyes found Midorima's team and a calculating look came across my face.
Midorima had his eyes closed until the time to go home and rest came. Soon I was already walking outside the court and followed my instincts in finding a green-haired carrot. After a few minutes of looking around, a familiar green hair caught my sight and I approached him while getting soaked in the rain. "Shin-nii." He visibly took a strained breath before facing me. "You'll get sick."
"And you're not?" I retorted before leaning myself beside him and placed my head on his arm. "Ne, Shin-nii. It hurts to be defeated to the sport you love but you don't have to fight by yourself. I may not believe in Oha-Asa's predictions but Fate gave you a team… and a best friend who annoys you too much. Maybe this time, Oha-Asa made you realize that there are a lot of options to take and don't just dwell on what seems to be right when it is actually wrong."
"I -" He was about to answer me back but his phone rang and he answered. A screeching voice told me it was Momoi calling him and he hung up on her before he answered again and Aomine was the one to talk to him. "Be careful, Aomine. You're going to play Kuroko on the championship league."
"That's useless on me, Midorima." That deep voice replied while smirking. "The only one who can beat me is me."
"That's bullshit, Mine-kun." I replied before I heard him take a breath. "Yuki?"
"No, it's your mother." I rolled my eyes. "Of course, it's me, idiot. See you at the Championship League."
"Midorin! Take care! Yuki-chan, see you soon!" Momoi yelled while Aomine retorted. "Oi, Satsuki!" before hanging up on us. A few moments of silence and I offered my hand to Midorima. "Let's go back to our teams now, Shin-nii. I bet they're wondering where the two of us went."
He wiped a lone tear before grabbing my hand and tugged me towards him. "T-Thanks… Yuki…" I snuggled on his chest before I pat him on the back. "Your welcome, Shin-nii."
And with that, we went inside the gym to go to our respective teams where both said teams hit the two who are soaking wet and we went out for a celebratory dinner at a nearby restaurant.