CHAPTER 10 – Perfect Copy's Worth

At their respective resting areas, Team Black and Team Gold were currently having refreshments, and preparing for the next round. Unlike normal basketball matches which consist of 4 quarters, and a small break after 2 quarters, the players did not feel that exhausted yet since their first half last only twelve and a half minutes. Nevertheless, playing with the infamous Generation of Miracles of Japan still drained them, although mentally instead of physically.

"Wait, so that guy can continue that barrage for 4 more minute?!" Leon said, his voice clearly exasperated.

"Yeah… We gotta find some way to lock him down…" Li said, looking rather worried, and they had to find some way to do so in the next four minutes.

Kagami and Murasakibara did not look too surprised at the turn of events, considering they were already familiar with Kise's overpowering skills, although it did annoy them how he had not gone all out; the skills he showed were simply a polished version of what he showed at the Winter Cup, nothing new yet. Considering their situation, Kagami could only conclude that entering the ZONE would be the best way to win Kise, but Murasakibara had other plans.

"Kagami…" Murasakibara mumbled, causing Kagami to turn his head. It was clear that the center had something to say, so he relented. His basketball sense was probably more refined than Kagami's anyway.

"You look like you have something in mind…" Kagami smirked, as the other members eagerly leaned to hear Kagami's translation.

Hence, Kagami translated the plan, and Team Black nodded. This may work, somehow, against Kise's crazy power.

At the other end of the court, Kise noticed Kagami beaming, and turned back. The rest of the Miracles could also sense something powerful withdrawing from those two. Let's see what you have planned…

The referee blew his whistle and Team Gold restarted the ball. The audience as per usual were growling in excitement; after seeing Kise's perfect shots two minutes before the end of the first half, there was no way they would not want to see more. There were clear murmurings all around the court about who was going to battle who.

"I bet Kagami will take on Kise…"

"Yeah… those two, I've seen their match during the Winter Cup…"

Are you going to have your rematch now, Kagami-kun? Kuroko silently asked himself.

However, the audience roared after Bruno passed the ball to Kise. As though smoke was clearing around the basketball court, an overwhelmingly imposing figure came up to Kise, causing his golden eyes to widened. "Heh… I didn't expect you…"

"Kagami… could you let me handle Kise?" he asked.

"Huh? You mean let you go offense?" Kagami asked back. He did consider Murasakibara going in on attack, but to actually hear him say it was kind of surprising in itself.

"Yeah! Okay, then I'll defend!" Kagami grinned as he wiped away some perspiration. If anything, Murasakibara's natural offense and defense were probably greater than the other Generation of Miracles anyway, and he could also use this time to see how things would work out.

"… Murasakibara-cchi…" Kise smirked as he prepared to face the Generation of Miracle's Center.

Kise dribbled on the spot as he considered his options. Right in front of him, is Murasakibara, whose offense and defense could literally outclass him pre-Perfect Copy, and right at the paint, is Kagami, defending Team's Black's hoop. This could possibly be the worst situation right now: With Murasakibara directly in front of him, a high projectile three would instantly get rejected, so all that's left is to pass or drive past him, but even then the situation would not change much, as even if he were to get past Murasakibara, he might not get past Kagami, and it's not like the other players would stand a chance against these two monsters either. But then again, basketball isn't always a one-on-one game now, is it?

Kise turned his head and looked Michael who was on the left side of the court as he caught the basketball with his left hand, and prepared to pass. Murasakibara, whose eyes traced these subtle movements immediately, shifted his entire body to his right, his entire figure blocking out Kise's path, to which he smirked. It was so amusing how straightforward and naïve Murasakibara was in his personality as well as in his basketball sense; even back in Teiko, whenever an opponent attacks, he would defend, if they turn right, he would follow them, if left, backwards or forwards, he could easily block them out due to his superior physique, but this gave way to many swiss-cheese gaps in his plays. With Kise's right side unobstructed, he easily passed the ball to Fiyaz who caught the ball easily, while the blonde quickly got out of the center's way and dashed to the front in Murasakibara's wake.

Fiyaz attempted a jump shot to which Bryan jumped in retaliation to block it, causing him to pass to Don who rushed into the paint and met Kagami. He attempted a dunk and burst into the air. Heh… doesn't it feel nostalgic looking at this from the outside… Kagami grinned. No matter, he wasn't going to let this sink in. Kagami too jumped and easily reached the ball at about three-quarter of his usual jump height and easily rejected the ball, causing Don to growl as he fell back down. However, to Kagami's shock, the ball fell into Kise's hands who sprinted and connected into a layup, scoring Team Gold another two more points as a tinge of blue traced his movements. The points transitioned to 61-42, furthering the point gap. The situation was now more serious than ever, because all Team Gold needed is one more point there would be already a 20 point gap, something Team Black needed to recoup in eleven minutes.

"Whoooo~" Murasakibara sighed loudly as he looked up into the sky, causing his team to look at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" Kagami asked, although he could already guess the answer. It struck him as odd that a year ago before he joined the Seirin Team, he would be shouting and picking up fights if his team were to ever to be outclassed this badly, to the point where he would probably start blaming his team. But yet at this point, his mind was oddly clear; he was infuriated as he didn't want to lose, but yet it wasn't the same anger that he would have displayed a year ago. Had he really become soft after a year of playing with Kuroko and the others?

"Pass me the ball… I'm going to crush Kise…"

Team Black restarted and as instructed, Li passed the ball to Murasakibara, who dribbled forward with surprising speed. The Generation of Miracles noted how focused his expression was; it was definitely not the usual goofy lazy young man that they all knew, but rather a competitive and stubborn center that hated losing more than anything, much like a child. Bruno attempted to defend him, but Murasakibara did not even see his opponent in his sights; all that matters was defeating Kise and winning this game. With the ball in his right palm at that instant, Murasakibara shifted his body to face the right and made easily crossed over to his left hand to avoid Bruno. With his huge figure, it became as though Murasakibara's back was screening Bruno from trying to block him, and furthermore, his imposing stature made Bruno naturally desire backing off from the roughness of his play. Murasakibara stepped into the paint, and jumped, easily scoring a dunk over Don.

"Shit… that guy is too… large… and fast…" Michael commented.

Team Gold restarted, and likewise they passed the ball around, making their way forward. However, a lapse in judgment caused Fiyaz to pass the ball to Kise right in Kagami's territory, allowing him to quickly dribble to the half-court line and passed to Leon, who successfully made a three-pointer. As for Murasakibara, who stood near the three point line of Team's Gold hoop, he did not have any qualms as long as they scored. He also noticed how irritated and pumped up he felt now, which was extremely unusual even for him; this level of excitement did not fit him at all, and he personally blamed Himuro Tatsuya for this. He sighed as he went back to his position.

"Be careful now," Kise said to his team. "Even if we have the advantage now, the moment we mess up, we are bound to lose, especially with those two." Even his team could feel the rising pressure from their Ace, and they all nodded.

This ain't a four quarter game, so we gotta take back our points quickly… Kagami frowned, but can we really do it? But all there was left to do is to just play and see how it goes. The points now were 61-47, with Team Black in hot soup. Team Gold restarted again, and this time, they passed to Kise, who made his way to the half-court line and met Murasakibara once again, whose imposing figure that blocked some of the sunlight still made his heart skip several beats, out of fear. If I can't use Midorima's three… Then how about Akashi's ankle break?! Kise's eyes glowed, and he crossed the ball over his legs, then behind his backs, to which Murasakibara followed.

This is Aka-chin's… Murasakibara observed, and no doubt the resemblance was uncanny. Having experience that before, he was able to roughly anticipate when Kise would cut back, and he shifted his feet cautiously. However, Kise did not waver, and shifted left and right unpredictably, threatening to break through Murasakibara's absolute defense, but he stood firmly where he was. If he fell here, they would be screwed.

"In that case…!" Kise's eyes widened and he channeled Aomine's acceleration and attempted a fast break to his right. However, Murasakibara easily followed this, covering and blocking his path with a single step, although Kise already expected this. In a swift motion where his golden observant eyes saw a split second into the future that Murasakibara's body weight would shift too far, Kise instantly cut back by dribbling the ball through his legs to his left, causing the center to fall.

"…!" Murasakibara's eyes met Kise's as he dribbled forward to the hoop. Not this time, eh? Murasakibara-cchi…

"Don't underestimate me, Kise!" Kagami exclaimed as he stood rooted at the paint, where Kise was dribbling in.

"Who is? I have never pulled my punches when I'm battling with the Generation of Miracles, Kagami-cchi!" Kise smirked arrogantly. Time seemed to stop, as Kise considered his options. He was at the three point-line near the wing, while Kagami was stationed near the free throw line, which meant that there was some distance in between them. He could drive in and score two points, using Akashi's ankle break or Aomine's speed where necessary, but then again he would rather score a three pointer to earn as much points. What matters now is not his one-on-one rematch with Kagami, but the team. Furthermore, at this distance, it's not as though Kagami would be able to reach him in time. With that in mind, time flowed back to normal, and Kise instantly stopped right at the three point-line and took aim. Kagami gasped, and immediately dashed forward, although by then Kise's feet were already leaving the ground. The audience gasped, and Kise got higher and higher and Kagami was still a meter away from Kise.

I have to jump—to stop Kise—! Kagami thought desperately. But he blinked as he saw a colossal black figure shrouded in blackness emitting a purplish aura. From Kise's point of view, this basket was already as good as his, having not deactivated his Perfect Copy yet, but then a shadow appeared from the edges of his field of vision. What's this? Kise thought, as the shadow grew larger and longer, and he could see five small "things" protruding from it. His irises shifted upwards before noticing it was a hand, slowly but surely, covering his field of vision. At that instant, he felt something big behind him. Kise's head turned in mid-air, and he noticed Murasakibara too in the air, attempting to block him from the back and with his immense height, his hand could easily reach above Kise's head and was inches away from the basketball.

Wait… did Murasakibara-cchi recover from the ankle break that quickly?! And a pang of terror stroke into Kise's heart. No… don't panic, as long as I release the ball before he touches it, it will be okay… but despite his own self-reassurance, he could not help observing the positions of his teammates just in case he needed to switch over to pass. Michael and Bruno were out of sight, but Don was near the free-throw line, free. Kise's heart beat louder and louder, and just as he was about to release it, he felt something ominous behind him, and all at once, his anxiety reached a breaking point. This shot won't make it—! And Kise quickly grabbed the ball down and thrust it to the side to Don, who looked surprised at Kise's decision.

Akashi, at the sidelines, frowned at this peculiar decision. What's this feeling from Murasakibara that I'm getting? He thought. The Generation of Miracles all seem to look uneasy, after all, they all knew that deep down Murasakibara had more to him than his lazy side, and he had the potential to be extremely passionate at basketball, evident at his ability to enter the ZONE back at the Winter Cup, but yet, for Kise to panic this much before Murasakibara was nerve-wrecking to say the least, especially Kise of all people. The ball projected right into motion, and it flew straight into the direction of Don's grasp. At least if Don gets the ball, it won't be that bad…! Kise grinned.

In an instant, somewhere far away, everyone felt something. The ball was still moving, slowly as ever, but the entire scene seemed to shift, the colors slowly changing to red. The Generation of Miracles all noticed this, and could all feel some terrifying from the paint, from Kagami. Gradually, his eyelids became more relaxed, and his gaze became more focused, tracing the basketball. They quickly turned back to look at Kise directly, whose expression were of pure shock. Reddish lightning flowed out of his pupils, and in an instant intensified.

"Spreading points are spreading points… Time to do this seriously…" Kagami said, echoing what Kuroko said to Kise back when they were in Teiko.

Time shifted back into the normal, and the scene regained its colour. Kagami burst forward and intercepted, catching the basketball with his right hand, while Don could not even think to react. To be able to react to that sudden change in motion was only allowed for prodigies such as Aomine, and with that Kagami sprinted forward, easily making the half-line as Kise and Murasakibara landed. In the ZONE, Kagami's physical traits were amplified so much that one could hardly believe it, as though the man was taking drugs, and by the time Kise turned and ran back, Kagami had already drove past Michael by crossing in the opposite direction when he made a crossover which Michael followed. Without any hesitation or defence, he rushed in and jumped, brushing off the dust against the ground. Within the moment of his air time that lasted aeons, Kagami palmed the ball with his master right hand, and swung it a full 360 degrees like a forward swing, the ball completing a perfect circle as it revolved down to his thighs, brushing past up his hips, over his shoulder, and completed it by jamming it into the hoop. The sound resonated throughout the court as the audience gaped, and then roared.

"Woah—! What the hell was that?!"

"Windmill dunk! I've never seen it real life before but –"

Aomine grinned. He was impressed that at the very least, one of his opponents had learnt a new move to add to his arsenal. Midorima observed this as he dissected that move: The windmill dunk was a rather advanced technique, and due to the momentum of jumping to dunk, most players could not attempt the full circular motion of the windmill dunk, but yet Kagami did without much effort. Furthermore, performing this move adds an advantage of having significantly more power than a normal dunk, which Kagami clearly capitalized on, along with his significantly longer air time that allowed him to time this move.

Kagami landed with the lightning tracing his fall, and quickly moved back into position, passing Kise, who glared at him, while looking amused at the same.

"Oi oi… don't go saying as though this was easy to do…" Kagami muttered after hearing the audience. "This took me weeks to perfect…" as he reminisced how he would screw up the timing of the windmill dunk, often by jumping too close or too far since while jumping, he is still moving forward and thus would cover much more distance with his ridiculously long air time. Nevertheless, he did not give up, and he was glad to finally see the fruits of his training.

The points changed once again, to 61-49, team Gold to team Black. The situation was slightly better for sure for Team Black, but not for Team Gold, for the other team had scored three consecutive goals. If they keep this momentum up, it might prove disastrous for them. Geez… things aren't really looking up aren't they… Murasakibara-cchi on offense, Kagami-cchi on defense, and in the ZONE too… Kise mused. It seems holding back would not do him any good anymore; he would have to use the full extent of his Perfect Copy to be able to stand a chance of winning against them. The good thing however, was that his proficiency over it was much better than the Winter Cup, as he had not fully recovered then.

Team Gold restarted, and they passed the basketball to Kise, who caught it near the half court line. Murasakibara was near the wing, coming towards him and Kagami still there, at the paint, which could only mean – Kise's golden eyes flashed and he jumped, while Greenish aura rose from his body as his stance clearly that of a jump shot. This was different from before, with Murasakibara almost ten meters from him, Kagami over twenty from him. If either of them could reach him from their positions in a second, he would instantly quit basketball right now, he smirked. His eyes focused onto the hoop as his aim and accuracy steady increased, and the muscles in his right hand pulsed, channeling the strength required to project the high arc that Midorima used. Then, swoosh. The ball glided through the air and fell into the hoop, just like that, scoring Team Gold three points. The points changed to 64-49, which made Team Black's previous scores, seem obsolete. Kise's ability to shoot anywhere from the court was the real problem, and he could still carry on for another three more minutes. At this point, about five minutes had already passed, and there was still seven minutes to go.

Team Black restarted the ball, and Kagami started who passed the ball to Murasakibara, who dribbled forward. At this point, it was obviously clear that Murasakibara was very annoyed, clicking his tongue incessantly. Kise approached him, his eyes still glowing.

"Trying to get past me again? Murasakibara-cchi…" Kise giggled, causing Murasakiara's clicking to intensify.

"Urgghhh you're so annoying Kise-chin!" Murasakibara snapped, and he drove forward, his huge size bursting forward with enormous momentum. But above all else, Kise's Emperor Eye could predict anything, and he saw a fraction of the basketball's position into the future.

There!

Kise's hand reached out, and flicked away the basketball from Murasakibara's large palm, causing him to growl audibly.

"Kise-chin –!"

However, Kise had already made his way forward to near the three point line, avoiding Li along the way by ankle breaking him as though he were an amateur, which was somewhat true relatively. Kise channeled Aomine's masterful control over his speed for a split second and decelerated instantly, stopping just right before the three point line, and jumped. Another three eh? Kise giggled.

Out of nowhere, reddish lighting flashed forward into Kise's line of sight, and Kagami jumped to easily match Kise's height. What the—Where did he come from?! Kise thought as his eyes widened, but he could not react as fast in mid-air, especially when he needed the concentration to perform Midorima's shot. In a swift motion, Kagami rejected the basketball forcefully out of Kise's grip, catching the ball as they both landed, however before Kise could activate his Emperor Eye in order to stop Kagami, he had already brushed past him just as Kise was turning around. Easily, Kagami passed the ball, to Murasakibara, who rushed in and dunked, scoring them two points, changing the points to 64-51. With the tenth's digit being only one less, the situation finally seemed less daunting for the Team Black.

No… at this rate, they will get it all back. I guess I'll have to make sacrifices…

Team Gold restarted, with Kise starting, but all of a sudden, the familiar greenish aura rose from his body.

"Crap… He's starting with it…"Kagami muttered desperately.

The birds overhead in the sky flew. Swoosh, just like that, easily… and the basketball landed into the hoop, earning the audience's applause. The points increased to 67-51. Another three points and the situation would have reverted to like before. However at this point, Kise's eyes stopped glowing and he deactivated his Perfect Copy.

Hey what's up guys! Another chapter here, and next chapter concludes the match. I'm sorry I didn't expect the match too be this long (but seriously, i really wanna describe and write alot of stuff! ) and even in the next chapter (still writing), its about half way done, but even after shortening the matches its already 2.5k words so yea... Anyway so this chapter is bascially Kise trashing Murasakibara and Kagami with his Perfect Copy and all. So yep! Enjoy, and wait up for the next chapter!

Also, I'm making all the changes abt the title and adding extra content right about now, so yall see some changes in the story soon!