Umm, hey guys, did you miss me? No? Okay. /cries/ Well yeah this update is a month late but I have a very valid excuse. A week after I finished school, the monitor to my laptop is fried, deceased and just dead, it literally died out of nowhere, but my keyboard and hard drive is perfectly fine. So the only way I'm able to use it is by hooking it up to my small flat screen TV so I can see what I'm doing. I'm so annoyed because I no longer have a portable laptop that I can take and type on the go, no. I have this confining whack ass desktop contraption, ugh. So yeah, I'm searching for a new laptop now since I'm still in college and will die if I don't have one. Sorry you guys had to wait, I saw you guys commenting and stuff. So instead here is a special 9k lengthed chapter that I hope you guys like! Enjoy~
Chapter 10: Heart of a Senior
Over on Shutoku's side of the court, the team set up a heavy man-to-man defense against their rival team Ginbo High. Takao got possession of the ball and quickly passed it to Midorima who soon became wide open. The shooting guard set up his mantis-like form and shot a high projectile three which swished through the net, the crowd astonished as they stared at the score of 16-2.
"Whoa, that's three in a row!"
"So this is Midorima Shintaro of the Generation of Miracles!"
Midorima pushed his glasses up back in their place. "Captain?" he called out to Otsubo, gaining the third year's attention.
"You're finished?" Otsubo asked.
"Yes. I have a feeling for it." Midorima answered and Shutoku promptly did a member change, the shooting guard slapping hands with his replacement before he sat on the bench, putting on his orange pullover.
"Well done, Shintaro-kun." smiled Kei as he pat the former Miracle on his head.
"Yeah, I think you really shook them up." Rei regarded as he saw Ginbo's plays get sloppier by the second, the coach was even contemplating taking Takao out to conserve the point guard's energy. He then ruffled his kohai's hair. "Good job, Shintaro!" he said with massive cheerfulness, that didn't really match his personality. It must've played into his competitiveness, Midorima deduced.
"I'm just fulfilling my role." answered Midorima just as Takao sat down beside him.
"Or you're anxious about playing the next game? Maybe even have your new girlfriend cheer you on?" Takao bit out and Midorima couldn't restrain his annoyance with the point guard for continuously bringing it up the past couple of days.
"Your bitter coated jealousy does not appeal to me, Takao." Midorima said while pushing up his glasses. "Be gone so I can focus." he added and Takao's mouth dropped. Rei snorted as he looked at Kei, gaining the shocked Takao's attention.
"Translation: Stop being a hater and hop off my ass, Takao." Rei translated before laughing. "Kei, I feel so amused right now. I want to destroy him for being Yuna's boyfriend but this kid is hilarious. Why does he talk so funny?! Like an old ass man from medieval time with a "Nanodayo" at the end." Rei admitted and Midorima's temple pulsated comically.
Kei shook his head with a chuckle. "Rei, be nice." he said to his twin. "Plus I feel we should be getting more prepared for our potential next matchup."
Rei nodded. "You're right." he said and Takao stared at the twins.
"Rei-senpai, Kei-senpai, who do you think will win? Seirin or Seiho?" asked the first year point guard.
Rei shrugged. "Who knows? I know who I want to go against but that doesn't determine who will be the victor."
"But I have faith in Seirin's abilities. They have some very capable players...and my baby sister." Kei finished with a smile.
"Wow~! He really is an amazing shooter." Mao gasped, shocked by the amount of precision taken to execute such a shot.
"How...is that even possible?" Chiwa asked trying to process what she just saw.
"Midorimacchi can have that effect on people." Kise inquired. "But I guess Shutoku decided to bench him after only five minutes. They must be taking it easy."
"Of course they would. They're going against a middle tier school after all so there should be no surprises." Kasamatsu explained before paying closer attention to the Seirin match. "If there are going to be any, it'll be over there."
Seiho was now on offense and were passing the ball at incredibly high speeds but that was to be expected of the Northern Kings. They quickly bypassed Seirin's man-to -man defense and dribbled down the ball to their hoop to score in a fast break. Luckily Mitobe denied it but Seiho's captain quickly passed the ball to Tsugawa so he can score. Kagami was completely on the play and blocked the ball but went a little too hard with the rejection.
"Foul! White 10!" the referee called out.
Riko sighed. "That idiot."
"He's trying his best, I know. But I can't wait until he plays a smarter match." Yuna added in shared frustration. He was constantly falling into Tsugawa's ploy of getting Seirin's prodigious scorer into foul trouble. This was the difference between a hot headed rookie and manipulative (no filtered loud mouthed) expert. She hoped he would play a little smarter as the game progresses or else...something would have to give. Seiho pushed the ball out of bounds so Seirin still held possession.
15-6.
Tsugawa couldn't believe the scores were so close in number. He wanted to completely crush Seirin in score like his senpai did the previous year but this was a little more difficult than hoped for. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he bumped into someone standing in his path, specifically Kuroko.
"I'm sorry." Kuroko apologized, even though Tsugawa was the one not looking where he was going. The Seiho shooting guard squawked as he was completely shocked by Kuroko's presence.
"Who are you? Have you been playing the whole game?!" Tsugawa asked, completely stunned.
"Yes, I have been. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya." blinked Kuroko.
"What?! But you have such a small presence!" Tsugawa gasped and the other Seirin members were left stunned. They couldn't believe that Kuroko was really left unnoticed and that he even told the rival his name, they even played against one another during middle school! The bench crew felt the same way, Yuna even coming to the conclusion that everyone had really bad eyesight except for her and a special chosen minority, but atleast this proved the artist's theory about Kuroko's usefulness. "You're a first year though, aren't you? Didn't you hear? My team led yours by 20 points in the first quarter! That's why I want to make it to 30 points! Don't be too disappointed with the outcome - gah!" he suddenly winced from something hitting him in the head really hard. As he rubbed the sore spot of his head, Tsugawa turned around and spotted Yuna casually bouncing a tennis ball in her hand as her team looked at her extremely stunned.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess my hand slipped~." the artist apologized unapologetically while Tsugawa eyed her, both fearfully and suspiciously, before running back onto the court but not without hearing Kuroko's next words.
"I understand." said the phantom. "I will make sure I'm not disappointed." he said and Yuna smiled. She then looked to the other members of the starting lineup and pointed to them before sliding her thumb across her neck, signaling for them to destroy Seiho for their underestimation. That really ignited the fire lit under them as they went back onto the court.
"Yuna-chan, where did the tennis ball come from?" asked Riko for everyone on the bench.
"My little sister is a tennis club member at her middle school, the ace in all honesty, and she sometimes uses my bag to carry her gear." Yuna explained, clutching the tennis ball to her chest while looking to the heavens. "It's a sign. It was meant for me to throw something at a chicken nugget's head." she declared as sparkles formed around her.
"That's not what that means!" the Seirin bench guffawed.
The game resumed with Seirin's possession, all the players being guarded with Seiho's heavy man-to-man defense and insane pressure. Izuki had possession of the ball but every other member was heavily guarded, not to mention Seiho's point guard not giving him room to move but he tried to strategize by using Yuna's advice.
"Kasuga Ryuhei, third year point guard of Seiho High, he's 179cm (5'10) and 66kg (146lbs). He is a pretty average ball handler with decent stamina and mobility, a very soft type of player, but his specialty is his scoop shot, which he softly rolls off the pads of his fingers. His weak point is his defense, surprisingly enough, because he is really weak on his right side." Yuna explained. "So it's best to come at or surprise him from that side to make a play."
Izuki dribbled the ball and moved to the left, enough to fake out Kasuga, before he passed the ball out past his mark. Kasuga was shocked that he would make such a careless pass but soon Kuroko popped up out of nowhere, shocking them as he tapped the ball to Mitobe, who then scored a basket for two. The rest of Seiho were shocked by the pass from inside the defense and the spectators were really confused by how the ball moved to other players hands, thinking Seirin had some type of ghost on their side.
"Amazing, Tetsuya-kun." Mao gasped.
Kise just chuckled with a slight smirk on his face. "I guess Seiho has never seen a pass from inside their wall."
Seiho soon got possession of the ball, still very confused on how that pass was made, but they had to push through it. One of the players tried to make a quick play and passed the ball to Kasuga. Izuki was guarding him but he bypassed the defense and got into a stance to shoot the basket but Kagami soon slapped the ball out of his hand, rejecting the play. Seirin got repossession of the ball and made their shots. With the first year double team stealing the balls and blocking shots, Seirin was able to keep scoring while Seiho stayed stagnant. Soon, Hyuga ended the first quarter with a buzzer beating three pointer and both teams ended up being tied.
"I heard this guy said something stupid again." said Iwamura Tsutomu, the captain and center for Seiho, as he held Tsugawa up by his collar.
"Yeah. Honestly, it brought back memories of last year's trauma." Hyuga answered as he shrugged.
"Sorry." Iwamura apologized.
"It's okay." Hyuga said as he looked at the scoreboard that read 19-19. "We got over it." he said standing proudly before his team before both went to their respective benches to discuss the next plan of operation.
Riko crouched down before her teammates. "Okay, things are just getting started. We'll keep the formation as is and continue with the original strategy. You guys are too focused on their passing so try to keep the zone a little tighter. Oh and Kagami…" she said and the red headed teen got excited. "...you have a lot of fouls." she finished completely destroying his vibe. "If you match up against your opponents like a wuss, then they will easily take control of this game. Remember to play offensively."
"Yes!" they responded.
"Yuna-chan, do you have anything else to add?" Riko asked.
"I'm hungry and I want to draw. Oh, and I wish you all the best of luck!" Yuna blinked and her whole team perspired comically but sighed when the small transition was over.
"Second quarter, begin!"
Seirin had possession of the ball but in no time they noticed that Seiho's defense was even tighter than before. They finally acknowledged Seirin as a worthy opponent and were now playing at full power. From that point on this would not be an easy battle to win. Kagami, once again, struggled with keeping up with Tsugawa's defense but he had to stay focused on making the next basket so they could score. Teaming up with the azure phantom, the crimson tiger drove past Tsugawa and Iwamura's defense and jumped up to slam the ball in for a dunk, falling to the floor in a not so graceful manner.
"They can do that?" asked Tsugawa in awe before he looked towards Kuroko. "But where did #11 come from?"
"Whoa, Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun make a pretty awesome duo!" Chiwa said after seeing the impressive double play.
"They can actually make it past that defense?" Kasamatsu asked stunned but equally impressed.
"They're way more in tune than when they played against us." Kise smirked. Kasamatsu then looked back onto the court and saw Kagami breathing really heavily.
"But there is one thing bothering me." Kasamatsu inquired. "That's way too much sweat for the second quarter." he noticed but he wasn't the only one as Yuna looked at him in the same way.
"This isn't good." Yuna said, gaining the attention of the fellow bench crew and the coach. "Taiga-kun is over pacing himself." she said as Riko looked onto the court and noticed what the artist was talking about.
"That idiot. What is he doing?!" Riko sighed in exasperation.
"I think this was the plan, though. From the foul trouble to forcing Taiga to play extra hard, they've been gunning towards getting him thrown off the court and its working since he's such a hot headed person. It doesn't help that Tsu-chan can't alleviate the pressure because of his lack of scoring ability but there are ways around that." Yuna deduced before sighing. "If only he was a smarter player then he wouldn't have fallen for chicken nugget's scheme. This just isn't working with Taiga in the game." she finished honestly surprising the other team members.
"So what are you suggesting?" asked Riko seriously.
Yuna stared at the coach. "I think we should be ready to use a new plan if things continue this way, the other plan." she warned just as Seirin regained ball possession. Hyuga bounced the ball to Kagami who was ready to speed past Tsugawa's defense only to see that he wasn't pressuring him as hard as before. That pissed him off. Did they think he was just some easy ass target? Screw that! He would jam in the ball for another dunk but he totally disregarded his movements and, in the blink of an eye, Tsugawa was brought to the floor on impact. Kagami had gained his fourth foul.
"Fourth?"
"Oh, Seirin's scorer is having foul trouble!"
"He did that on purpose!" Kagami seethed in thought as he stared at Tsugawa who smiled sadistically at him.
"That idiot, what is he thinking?!" Kise groaned.
"He'll have to back down from now on; one more foul and he'll be thrown off the court." Kasamatsu added. "What'll you do now, Seirin?"
Kagami was shaking in fury at being tricked so easily but he wasn't alone in that thought. The whole Seirin bench was so outdone with how much of a dumb game he played. He was supposed to be the ace! But, sadly enough, they couldn't let him continue to play and risk him being thrown off the court. They had to sit him out. Riko walked over to the spectators to talk to them. "Excuse me, I'd like to make a substitution." she asked and Kagami gasped before quickly turning to his teammates who stood on the court.
"I'll be fine! I just need to make sure I don't get another foul, right? I can do it!" Kagami tried to negotiate but it didn't work.
Hyuga sighed. "Well, it works out. We were planning on subbing you and Kuroko out anyway." he admitted while rubbing his neck. The two freshmen were shocked.
"Me, too?" asked Kuroko.
"We decided before the game that you first years would only play during the first half."
"But why? Why would you do that?!" Kagami asked.
"For one simple reason, actually. In order to beat Midorima, we need you two." Hyuga answered seriously. "Even if we win this game, we'll still need a strategy to beat Midorima in our next game against Shutoku. As predicted, Shutoku's already preserving Midorima's energy. We can't even consider winning the next game if you two are spent."
"But if we lose this game, we won't even have the chance to-"
"We know it's a gamble but if we can conserve both of your energy, then we may have a slim chance of actually beating Shutoku and going to the championship league." Hyuga reasoned but Kagami was desperate.
"We'll beat Shutoku even if we're tired, so let us-"
"Kagami-kun, let's do as they say." Kuroko announced, surprising the crimson tiger as he stared at him. "I believe in our senpai." he added. Kagami couldn't retort because if he did then it would show his doubt in his upperclassmen. Yuna chuckled slightly. Who knew her childhood friend could be such a manipulative person?
"Don't worry." Hyuga said gaining the two freshmen's attention. "We'll beat Seiho." he declared just as the whistle blew.
"Seirin, member change!"
"Ah, I haven't played in forever." Tsuchida sighed, clad in the uniform and ready to play as he stood next to Koganei.
"Let's show them what we can do, Tsucchi!" said Koganei just as the two freshmen walked off the court.
"If things go badly, I'll play!" Kagami assured as he slapped hands with Koganei, who sighed.
"What are you talking about? You've got four fouls. Leave this to us!" assured the upperclassman, just as Tsuchida slapped hands with Kuroko.
"Two?" asked Omuro, Seiho's third year poward forward. "They subbed out their two first years?"
"Oh? They're both gone?" Tsugawa announced in a smug, chicken nugget like manner, which was loud enough for Hyuga to hear. "It's a little disappointing but whatever!" he smiled.
"Quit running your mouth, braggart." Hyuga threatened lowly, enough to scare the shooting guard. "I'm going to teach you how to talk to your seniors, baldy." he added and Tsugawa twitched in fear, unable to form words.
It's clutch time.
"Go, go, Shutoku! Go, go, Shutoku!" the cheer squad shouted as Shutoku's game persisted on, even though the outcome was set. Takao, out of curiosity, looked over to Seirin's bench and saw Kuroko and Kagami sitting there.
"Oi, oi, Seirin benched their first year duo. Are they throwing the game?" he asked the prodigious shooting guard who sat next to him. Midorima then looked up to see the Seirin second years going up against the Northern Kings. The male couldn't help but notice the change in their demeanor and presence.
"No, they plan to do the opposite." informed Midorima. "They plan on winning." he finished just as Hyuga bypassed the defense and passed the ball to Mitobe who dunked the ball into the hoop, bringing the scores to a one point difference.
"He can dunk, too?" Kagami asked from the realization, having never seen the silent upperclassmen do more than pressure defend. He was...impressed.
"Nice dunk, Mitobe." Hyuga congratulated as the rest of the Seirin team ran to the other side of the court.
"Hey." Iwamura called out gaining the attention of the opposing player. "I heard your conversation. Do you think you can beat Shutoku? You underestimate us."
"Oh, that was just talk." Hyuga sighed before smirking at his rival captain. "This is our revenge game. We can't brag about it if we win on the backs of our first years. Ultimately, this is just the senior's will."
"Seniors? But you're only a year older than me." Tsugawa said bluntly while laughing before Omuro came and slapped him upside the head.
Iwamura looked at the other players seriously. "I accept your challenge. Let's go." he said and Mitobe nodded, ready for the challenge.
Hyuga's eyebrows furrowed. "We won't hold back." he said. "Let's go, Seiho!" he yelled out. The game continued on, full throttle, and everyone from both Seiho and Seirin's cheered for their respective teams. Well, all except one, Seirin's ace to be precise. He was really bummed about being benched from foul trouble of all things. He wanted to play in the game. Yes, he, Kagami Taiga, was pouting in complete and utter discontent because he wanted to play! Sitting on the bench was not his thing. Damn Tsugawa and his chicken nugget headed ass. When these games were over he was going to destroy that conniving motherf-!
"Agh!" Kagami grunted as a fist collided with his cheek while his other cheek was pinched.
"Why do you look so serious?" Riko pouted in annoyance, grinding her fist into his cheek. "They aren't that bad, so don't worry…"
"Or continue to pwout wike a wittle baby~!" Yuna cooed as she pinched his cheek earning a glare from Kagami who swatted her hand away. "But seriously, stop being such a mopey baby, Taiga-kun. Hyuga-senpai made absolutely sure of this decision." she added and Kuroko looked at her curiously.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"He came to me and we talked about the change in lineup." Yuna explained.
"You knew?!" asked Kagami and Yuna nodded.
Classes had ended for the day at Seirin High and Hyuga roamed the halls, alone. There was no practice scheduled for today which was a relief so the basketball club could relax before the games the following day. He was really nervous about the games, though he would never show it to his teammates. That very nervousness is why he was roaming the halls searching for someone, particularly the pretty artistic brainiac that is his manager. She's a godsend when it comes to strategy maybe she would know what to do. The further down the hall that he walked, the louder the distant electronic music became. As he stood before the dance practice room, peaking around the corner and into the room.
"Pick me up, Pick me up~" he heard the song, the new Perfume single; play in the background as Yuna and her friend Chiwa danced to the lyrics. The artist swore up and down that she was a horrible dancer but he could barely tell from the way she hit the moves precisely. She was full of crap. Maeda Chiwa was noted as the "First Year Dancing Machine" around the school and he could see why, but Yuna was holding her own against the young dancer.
"You don't have to peek around the corner like a creeper, Hyuga-senpai." Yuna said shocking him. Her eyes weren't even open and she didn't even turn around to look at him! What the actual fuck?! She was on a different level. "We're just two teenage girls. We won't bite you." she assured as Hyuga grunted slightly, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
"You dance pretty well for someone who supposedly dances horribly." inquired the basketball captain.
"I know right! She's such a liar!" Chiwa huffed and Yuna rolled her eyes.
"We are not getting into this right now." said the artist before focusing on her team captain. "Was there something you wanted to talk with me about, Hyuga-senpai?"
"I wanted to ask for your opinion about tomorrow's game." he started.
"And that is where I leave and let you discuss game plans. I'll be down the hall if you need me." Chiwa smiled and Yuna returned it with a nod. The artist then walked over to the mirror and leaned against it.
"So what's on your mind?" Yuna asked.
"I was wondering if there was a possible chance…" Hyuga started before pausing briefly. "...of Seirin winning without Kagami and Kuroko's help?" he asked and the girl's eyes widened a fraction.
"What?"
"This match against Seiho runs deep and is extremely personal to us juniors. We would much rather do this on our own and not ride off the backs of our freshmen." Hyuga explained and Yuna blinked from hearing what he said.
"I was wondering what you were going to say and I felt it would be this. I know about your first run-in with the Kings of Tokyo and it's sad that you guys experienced that but you guys grew from it." Yuna smiled before tapping her chin in thought. "Actually, senpai, you working without Tsu-chan and Taiga-kun has the highest possibility of being successful, especially if Taiga-kun plays like an idiot. You upperclassmen have a strong team play and I think it'll bring it up to 80% chance of succession instead of 63%, if I remember correctly." she said trying to remember the stats she collected. Hyuga just stared in shock at how the possibilities of winning skyrocketed without the inclusion of their ace but that actually made him twitch in excitement. It boosted his confidence for tomorrow's game even if a little bit.
"Are you completely sure of it?" Hyuga couldn't help but ask once more as the manager nodded again.
"I'm sure of it." Yuna then placed her finger to her lip, tapping lightly. "Maybe we can combine the two in the beginning. It'll appease those two and give us a solid 70% chance of victory and let's be real I don't want to hear Taiga's complaining throughout the entire game." she brought up and Hyuga agreed with her thinking immediately. He didn't want to have to kill his ace right before the Shutoku match because he couldn't really guarantee his restraint.
"Okay, it's settled then."
"Why didn't you say anything before this, Yuna-chan?" Kuroko asked and the girl stared at her childhood best friend.
"Oh, you're cute. Do you really think you guys would take my words and be absolutely cool with it if I said that you guys can't play because you'll be a hindrance to the overall victory? Would you really be cool with it? Really?" Yuna replied with her own series of questions. Kuroko stared at her thinking about it before turning away in defeat. "See. You're just as stubborn as Taiga-kun, just in a quieter manner, so it actually wouldn't hurt for you guys to play since Taiga was bound to get into foul trouble sooner or later, making your light and shadow duo ineffective." Yuna further explained before she turned to an extremely peeved off Kagami. "Though, I was hoping that you would pull through somehow." she smiled and the crimson tiger's temple pulsated in comical anger.
"You sure as hell don't sound that convincing." Kagami seethed and all Yuna did was smile at him with her sparkling aura of innocence.
"Don't worry you'll have your chance at redemption in the Shutoku match. That's where you can really shine, Taiga-kun." the girl chuckled. The game continued on as Seiho had possession of the ball. After bypassing Tsuchida, Omuro tried to make a basket but it was immediately rejected by Hyuga who smacked the ball to Koganei who then passed it to Izuki before the ball landed into the awaiting hands of Mitobe. Iwamura guarded his fellow center heavily but instead of passing the ball to one of his teammates, Mitobe gained enough distance from Iwamura to jump up, stroking his arm in an intricate position.
"This form...Could he be…" Iwamura thought as his eyes widened. "...a hook shooter?!" he thought as the ball swooshed through the net. "This didn't happen last year. He's learned a new trick." he thought before turning to the silent male. "Looks like you haven't been playing around this past year." he said and Mitobe nodded seriously towards him. It was Seiho's possession once more and Kasuga drove towards the basket with Izuki right on his trail.
"No problem. This is nothing." smirked Kasuga.
"Oh no, you don't!" Izuki thought as he caught up to the point guard who smirked upon his arrival. Kasuga, suddenly, jumped up and shot a lay up from the free throw line - scoop shot to be precise, using that soft touch that Yuna mentioned before the game. Kasuga's soft flexibility really complimented Iwamura's rigidness, no wonder they were such a good team.
"Go, go, Seirin! Go, go, Seirin!" the bench cheered as Seirin gained possession. Hyuga dribbled the ball despite being guarded by Tsugawa but passed the ball to an wide open Koganei who then drove to the basket to make a lay-up. The matched paced greatly shocked Kise, changing his close minded marshmallow faced expectations.
"Oh, they're going at it harder than I expected." said the golden ace in surprise. Kasamatsu, on the other hand, was not surprised but nodded anyway.
"Yeah, this seems to be working a lot better." the captain announced.
"Hmm, it appears so." Mao nodded. "It's great that the upperclassmen are holding their own against Seiho instead of relying on Tetsuya-kun and Taiga-kun. It seems more...natural, I suppose." she chimed in observation as Kasamatsu nodded.
"Seirin formed a team around Kuroko and Kagami this spring. In other words it's still developing. Hyuga's outside shots and Mitobe's hook shots, an offensive team forming around those players is the other set up that Seirin had spent a year creating. They must've been practicing hard since last year's defeat." the Kaijo captain further explained. "Another thing that I noticed is that their key player is the guy I matched up against the other day."
Chiwa was kind of shocked. "Really? Izuki-senpai?" she asked.
"It's not their captain?" Kise added in question.
Kasamatsu shook his head. "Hyuga is their mental core. He leaves the playmaking up to the point guard, who most likely has another eye." he said, which shocked the two freshmen but surprisingly not the Shiraiwa matriarch.
"An eye?" Kise asked, kind of creeped out. Seirin had possession of the ball as Izuki stared at the court, cautiously expanding his field of view to see further formations up ahead of him and from above. He saw an opening and passed it to Hyuga who bypassed the defense giving Izuki enough time to make an escape causing Kasuga and Sakamoto, the third year small forward, to crash into each other. Hyuga then passed the ball back to Izuki who then made a layup for another two points, leaving the Seiho members in a stunned disbelief.
"Izuki-kun can see it all. He's got an eagle eye." Riko informed the bench crew.
"Eagle eye?" Kagami asked slowly, raising a brow.
"Yeah, Izuki-senpai might be a little overly pun driven and not be the most athletic but he has the ability to change the point of view using his mental strength. He can literally see close to the whole court from all of these angles." Yuna explained, gaining everyone's attention. "It's pretty cool."
"Seriously?" Kagami breathed in shock. Since when was that senpai, Izuki-senpai, actually a cool player?
"Hyuga-kun and the others might not be good at everything but they each have one special skill that they've been polishing up for a whole year." Riko informed.
"Wow, the senpai are amazing!" Furihata exclaimed, bouncing out of his seat.
"Do Koganei-senpai and Tsuchida-senpai have a special skill, too?" asked Kawahara. Both females looked at each other, sweatdropping in unison.
"Well, uh, yeah…" Riko stammered just as the game continued on. Koganei also happened to have possession of the ball, posing to make a shot. "Koganei-kun can shoot from all ranges…"
"Oh!" gasped the bench crew as Koganei shot the ball...only to throw a brick.
"...but his accuracy is only so-so." Riko finished.
"Doesn't that make him pretty average then?" Kagami huffed.
"What are you doing?" shouted Tsuchida as he jumped up to get a quick rebound and passed it back to Koganei.
"Tsuchida-kun is good at rebounding." Riko added. Koganei threw up the ball again only to miss for the second time.
"Enough already!" shouted Tsuchida as he rebounded once more. "How can you miss the shot two times in a row?!" he yelled to Koganei as the bench crew just sweat dropped in unison. They were so done with those two.
Seirin continued to have possession of the ball as Seiho put up a heavy man to man defense. Hyuga somehow succeeded in passing the ball to Tsuchida but it was smacked out of his hand. Sakamoto tried to catch up to it but deemed it would go out of bounds when suddenly Koganei sped past him to keep it in play. He was able to smack the ball back inside the court but he lost his balance, unable to stop his fall as he headed straight for Yuna. She just stared wide eyed at the incoming form, her reflexes not acting in time to evade the collision but soon she felt her arm being pulled to her left forcing her to stand up as she stumbled into the gentle embrace of Kuroko, just as Koganei flipped over the once occupied spot of the bench and hit his head on the hard floor. Yuna, realizing her eyes were closed, opened them to look up at her phantom savior who looked down at her face, concern and worry shone in those normally stoic and dull, azure eyes.
"Are you okay, Yuna-chan?" Kuroko asked softly. Yuna nodded vigorously with a smile as she slowly pulled back.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, Tsu-chan!" she showed gratitude as she wiped the invisible sweat off her brow. "I swore I was a goner!" she breathed out and Kuroko smiled softly towards her.
"Koganei-kun! Koganei-kun!" the childhood friends heard Riko call out crouching beside the fallen player. Both walked closer to the group, Yuna crouching down by Koganei's side as Kuroko stood next to Kagami.
"Senpai, are you okay?" asked Kagami while Yuna waved her hands slowly in front of the fallen upperclassman's eyes.
"He most likely has a slight concussion." Yuna said, turning towards the crimson tiger. "He'll have to be subbed out."
"Oh no, that's a tough break! I hope Koganei-kun will be alright." Mao sighed before she held her face with her hands, a dazzling aura surrounding her. "But his fall did force a moment between Yuna and Tetsuya-kun! Ah so wonderful!" she gushed. "I've wanted them together since they were babies." the woman continued and Chiwa snorted slightly.
"Mao-bachan, you have no sense of chill." said the teenage dancer.
"Oh, so that's how it is? I guess I don't have a chance at Yuna's heart then." Kise sighed before sulking then. Though, Yuna wasn't completely in the clear since Kuroko was also someone's target of infatuation from what he remembered. Mao then leaned over Chiwa to look at the golden ace with big sparkling gray eyes.
"You like my little girl, too! Ohoho, talk about some stiff competition!" Mao chuckled slyly. She supported the Yuna!harem almost as much as Kuroko and Yuna, especially when such a handsome young model was a candidate. "I like you, Kise-kun, so this'll be interesting."
"Too bad Yuna's boyfriend is Midorima-kun." Chiwa shrugged.
"Eh?" Mao gasped with a slight tilt of her head.
"Really?" Kasamatsu blinked in surprise.
"Midorimacchi is Yuna's boyfriend?!" Kise all but yelled from hearing this new piece of information. "What?! When did this happen?!"
"Shh, Kagami-kun's being dramatic!" Chiwa said gesturing to the court so they could focus on the crimson tiger, who was being rather stubborn at the moment.
"Let me play! Please!" Kagami pleaded.
"You can't play!" Hyuga chastised. "Have you forgotten why we're conserving your energy in the first place? We'll settle this. Just wait and see!" he assured but Kagami was not convinced.
"But I can't just sit still! I want to help-" the crimson tiger was interrupted by Kuroko smacking his hand over Kagami's mouth.
"I agree which is why the guy with four fouls should stay on the bench." Kuroko said calmly just as Kagami proceeded to squeeze Kuroko's forehead.
"What did you say, you bastard?!" Kagami seethed.
"If Tsugawa-kun fouls you again, you'll just be thrown off the court." Kuroko retorted, totally shutting Kagami down.
"I won't! I've got to pay Tsugawa back for what he's done!"
"Fine." Kuroko responded. "I'll beat Tsugawa-kun for you."
"What good will that do if you do it for me?! There's no point in it!" Kagami continued to seethe comically as he proceeded to squeeze Kuroko's head. Hyuga looked to the scoreboard and saw that they had five minutes left while being 6 points behind Seiho then he glanced at Yuna who met his eye and nodded, assuring him, before the team captain stared at the phantom.
"Fine. As another first year, take down Tsugawa, Kuroko." Hyuga instructed. Kuroko nodded as Kagami groaned in defeat. The phantom pulled off his T-shirt and walked onto the court once more.
"Seirin, member change!" the refs said as Kuroko stood before Tsugawa.
"Oh, it's just you? I wanted to play against Kagami!" the chicken nugget pouted.
"Sorry. I may not be very strong, but he seems to have a grudge and I'm here to repay it." Kuroko informed seriously. "By proxy."
"Huh? You're paying me back for Kagami?" Tsugawa asked as he smirked towards the phantom. "Omuro-san, can you change marks with me? It seems I have a proxy here demanding payment." he finished. Each player went back onto the court to finish off the last 5 minutes of the last quarter, each marking and defending against their opponent while Tsugawa attempted to trash talk Kuroko. "I'm surprised that they sent you out and not Kagami but for them to send a first year at all...it just looks like Seirin's upperclassmen aren't dependable at all. They just said that they benched you two because it's their will but here you are."
Kuroko's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. "I asked to be put in. And, if you've been watching the game this whole time, there's no way you would be able to say that. If the upperclassmen have their will, then the lowerclassmen have respect. I will defeat you to support the upperclassmen that I look up to." he declared. Tsugawa furrowed his eyebrow's only to have Kuroko completely evaded his line of sight. Izuki passed the ball to an open Kuroko who passed the ball, like a swift paint stroke, to Hyuga, who made the basket.
"There it is again! Seirin's magic pass!"
"I lost him! How did...when did he…?" Tsugawa mulled over in his head trying to figure out what happened, same with his team captain.
"What's happening? Those passes are strong but even the opponents are slipping pass the defense." Iwamura thought just as Seiho got possession of the ball once again. Omuro tried to pass to Sakamoto but Hyuga swooped in to steal the ball in mid-pass. "What? A steal?!" he shouted just Hyuga made the shot.
"What's going on?" shouted Tsugawa.
"They know our movements!" Omuro panted, shocked by this revelation.
"Of course we know your movements." Yuna thought while smirking at the now frazzled Northern Kings. "Uniformity is nice but you can only use the same strokes and techniques so many times before the picture loses its pizzazz. My eyes, the minds of my team, and the influx of DVD recordings of Seiho matches will help us catch on to your strategy." she finished in thought just as Riko held up a fist, smirking towards the artist. Yuna grinned before pounding it with her own.
"If you're that specialized in doing a certain task, you are bound to pick up habits. Seiho is not exempt from this." Riko thought as well. "It just took a little studying to figure it out." Seirin continued to play a strong game, their resolve radiating as it was conveyed to the entire bench crew, including Kagami.
"So this is the upperclassmen's will…" Kagami muttered, before his eyes widened upon seeing Kuroko. The phantom went full on with his majestic passes, stroking in perfect motion on his court sized canvas. His movements were flawless and the crimson was left in awe. "Amazing…" he breathed out.
"You just noticed?" Riko asked with a subtle smirk. "He's always like this!" Seirin persevered and that brought them to a one point lead against Seiho! But they had just under 25 seconds left on the shot clock. Seirin would have to keep their defense on high to not waiver but Iwamura tested their resolve as he rushed to the other side of the court to slam the ball into the net.
"Do not underestimate a king!" he roared. "You need ten more years of experience to beat us!" Seiho did a full court man-to-man against Seirin, not only as a way to defend but also so they can score another basket. Seirin would have to play smart as to not mess this up. Izuki dribbled the ball, trying to find an open person and wondering how the opponents could put up such a fight in the last few seconds. An opportunity had arisen as Mitobe appeared behind Kasuga so he could escape, using the quiet male as a screen. Izuki managed to pass the ball to Kuroko who managed to dodge everyone's immediate range of vision aside from the Eagle eye holder. Kuroko analyzed his surroundings, preparing to pass the ball to Tsuchida but Tsugawa popped out of nowhere, having calculated the pass course.
"Not good." Yuna muttered as Kagami shot up from his seat.
"Kuroko!" the crimson tiger yelled out, reaching the phantom's ears. Kuroko swiped but purposely missed the ball so he could pass in the other direction to Hyuga who swiftly caught the ball. Jumping up from three pointer area, the team captain launched the ball and soon it swooshed through the net right before the buzzer sounded.
Seirin defeated Seiho.
"Game over!" they heard as Seirin cheered over their redeeming victory while Seiho was shocked by their loss. Riko started to get emotional from seeing her team win, knowing how hard they pushed themselves and how much that victory meant after such a loss last year. Tsugawa was really bitter about the loss.
"Why? We practiced way harder than them! How could a team that only formed last year, that didn't stand a chance last year, beat us! It doesn't make sense!"
"Enough, Tsugawa." said a calm Iwamura, who placed a hand on the freshman's shoulder.
"But…"
"The strong don't always win. The winners are the strong ones. Seirin was stronger. That's all." he said simply as Tsugawa bit the inside of his cheek in frustration. He then spotted Kuroko in front of him.
"Tell me your name!" Tsugawa demanded to the boy, who was confused by the outburst. "Your name!"
"It's Kuroko Tetsuya." the phantom replied in his usual soft tone.
"I'll remember it. I definitely won't forget." Tsugawa vowed as Kuroko blinked.
"Thanks." The two teams lined up to show their respects for playing against each other. Riko let her emotions get the best of her as she teared up a bit from being so happy at the victory. She then felt a hand place itself on top of her head.
"Keep it together, coach. It's not time to cry yet." he said calmly before moving his hand. "You can be happy after we win the next championship game." Riko nodded, sniffling lightly as she raised her head to wipe her eyes. Just then the whistle blew signaling the end of Shutoku's match up, with the Eastern Kings being the obvious victors from the overwhelming domination against the middle tier team.
Takao stretched. "How much do we have to love basketball to jump into a championship game with close to no break?" he asked with a slight yawn. "But, well, it's all good. They made it." he said to Midorima.
"I can see that." replied the Generation of Miracles shooting guard, as he stared down the two freshmen opponents who he was secretly anxious about playing. The subtle smirk that formed on the green haired males lips was indication that the next match up would be an even tougher obstacle to overcome.
Back in the locker room, Riko was taking action with getting everyone prepared for the next game. "Put your body jackets on so you won't get cold! Also, take some amino acid to restore your energy!" she ordered. "Don't forget to calorie recharge. I'll be coming around to message each of you so take off your shoes!" she added as she massaged Hyuga. "How does that feel?" she asked.
"Thank you. I'd be lying if I said I'm not tired but I should be able to make it through the next game." he said with a slight smile. Soon a small yet very delicious looking sandwich was held in front of him from Yuna's gloved hand.
"Here you guy go, Hyuga-senpai!" the artist smiled.
"Thank you." Hyuga nodded before he took a bite of it. It was a burst of flavor in his mouth and the taste of happiness filled his taste buds. "This is delicious! What's in it?"
Yuna grinned. "I'm glad you like. I call it my special Yuna sandwich, which is literally the healthiest thing I eat." she chuckled. "It has grilled chicken breast for a protein boost, whole grain bread for longer lasting energy, spinach leaves to increase iron levels, help with decreasing fatigue levels and raise concentration levels, a dash of spiced pepper to increase metabolism, and tomatoes for add nutrients such as Vitamin C, Biotin and fiber. I thought it would be a good snack for you guys to have so you wouldn't feel so hungry since I honestly got hungry from just looking at you guys play. Plus I made it look pretty!"
"Whoa, way to go, Yuna-chan!" Riko congratulated the artistic manager for her thinking. "Everyone, eat one of these sandwiches!" the coach instructed.
"It's actually a healthy thing that tastes good!" Hyuga vouched, finishing off his own. The guys lined up in front of the girl upon hearing this and they all had the same reaction, one filled with pleasured euphoria.
"Thank you, Yuna-chan!" the team said in unison and the girl smiled while nodding.
"You're welcome!" she replied. Though there is one person she did notice to not be in the group of sandwich eaters. Leaning against the lockers, who was supposedly sleeping away, was her crimson tiger. The artist couldn't help but smile from seeing the display. She knew he wasn't sleeping per se, more like conserving every last bit of energy in his body as to not make the same mistakes like the last game. He was such a dork for being so down but she supposed she could spare him two sandwiches for being earnest.
"Oi, Kagami! Your body will freeze up if you sleep!" Riko yelled.
"Let him be." chuckled Hyuga.
"He's never been this down after a single game probably because of those four fouls."
"He probably feels a little responsible besides I don't think he's sleeping." Hyuga added.
"He's not." Yuna chimed in. "He's conserving his energy so he won't make the same gullible mistakes as the last game." she explained while walking over to him, crouching down with a sandwich in hand. "But you should eat this Taiga-kun, to help further boost that energy you're saving up." she reasoned and Kagami paused mid snore to grab the snack which made her giggle. Soon there was a soft knock on the door before Mao poked her head in.
"Hello, I hope I'm not disturbing you guys." smiled the woman sheepishly. The whole group of males blushed from her mature yet very familiar beauty, well excluding the shadow-light duo.
"Mao-basan, hello." greeted Kuroko with a soft smile.
"Mommy!" Yuna cheered before skipping over to hug the woman who returned it.
"That's her mother?!" they thought in unison. It shouldn't have been that much of a shock because, aside from the eye color, hair styling and the woman's lack of dimples, Yuna looked just like a younger form of her mother. They just had to wait to see how much of a lady killer the Shiraiwa patriarch could possibly be, if the Shiraiwa twins were any indication of such. Riko walked up to the woman with a shocked expression on her face as she bowed to the woman in respect, shocking the latter.
"It is such an immense pleasure to meet you, Shiraiwa-sensei!" said the Seirin coach. "I've read all your award-winning speeches and novels and admire all the contributions you have made to women empowerment and cultural awareness throughout the years. You are such an inspiration." Riko spoke honestly, the boys being shocked from seeing her admiration.
"Oh my God!" Mao gasped. "Yuna, help. She's making me feel old!" the woman cried causing the whole room to sweatdrop.
Yuna laughed. "Mom, please. She's just telling you how awesome she thinks you are."
"I know, I'm just kidding." Mao smiled before patting Riko's shoulder. "You keep up the good work, too, Riko-chan. I've never seen a high school girl coach a basketball team and you are honestly doing a great job."
"T-Thank you!" Riko stammered slightly while a soft blush crept up on her cheeks before she went back to massaging the guys' joints. Mao walked over to the sleeping Kagami, who she sees as her little tiger cub, and gently ruffled the young ace's crimson hair.
"You had a tough break out there Taiga-kun but it happens to the best sometimes. You'll get them next time, I just know it, okay?" she encouraged softly and only got a grunt as a response, though everyone noticed the tightness in Kagami's face disappear into a more calm one. "Anyways, I just wanted to come by and wish you guys luck. Play hard and have fun, okay?" she cheered.
"Okay!" the group responded.
"So, mother, who are you rooting for? Your artistic first born daughter or your first born doppelganger Neanderthal sons?" Yuna asked with an arched brow, already knowing she couldn't decide between her children but only did it for the sake of joking.
"Umm, ah, uh...ring, ring ring!" Mao sounded trying to be discrete with her noises. "Oh, I bet that's your father, I have to take this! You guys have a great game!" she said in parting before putting the phone to her ear, pretending that she was having an actual conversation. "Hello, Kyo-kyo! How's it going?" she said before leaving the room.
Yuna snorted. "That's not even your ringtone, mom!" she called out before shaking her head, a small smile on her face as she closed the door.
"Your mom seems really nice, Yuna-chan." smiled Furihata.
"Yeah, she's pretty cool and embarrassing sometimes, I just hope you guys never see that side of her." she laughed. "But she reminded me that we need to focus on the next course of action to take with this Shutoku game. If you thought Seiho was hard to beat, Shutoku makes them look like child's play, not only with the third years you matched up against last year but with the addition of Kazunari-kun and Shinta-chan. Not to mention Rei-niichan and Kei-niichan adding trouble from the sidelines." she said and the whole team sighed from hearing her say that. Yuna then pulled out her tablet and held it to her chest. "But, there is hope! I figured out how to stop carrot cake's shot without strictly relying Taiga-kun's athleticism."
Riko gasped. "Really?!" she asked and Yuna nodded before she went over the white dry erase board on the other side of the room. She grabbed one of the black markers and began to draw for about a minute. None of the Seirin team could see what she was drawing until she moved out of the way, causing the team to laugh in unison. She drew Midorima for sure, but through Yuna vision. Before them was a cartoon styled carrot with legs, black shades and very flexed muscular arms who was grinning in a sparkly, dazzling way with a speech bubble with "I'm so sexy~!" written in English inside of it, next to him.
"Now I'm not going to be able to focus on him seriously without seeing this picture!" Hyuga told her in between laughs. Yuna chuckled before she tried her hardest to become serious.
"Well, stay focused senpai!" Yuna told him. "I'm going to show you three ways to stop Midorima's shot as well as ways to hold your own against the others. They aren't definite and full proof, but if executed properly he won't be able to execute the shot and you'll stand a chance against the other players, atleast until I get a better grasp of their actions before my brothers start to interfere."
"Okay." Hyuga said fully engaged like the rest of the team. Yuna then placed the marker tip to the board.
"Okay, first thing first…"
Both teams did quick huddles to motivate themselves before they broke it up, the starting lineups heading to the court.
"I didn't think you would actually make it this far. But it ends here." Midorima told Kuroko in a very carrot cake-like way. "No matter how weak, small, or unknown, a team can fight as long as they work together, that is an illusion." he said and, hearing the whole exchange, Yuna's temple pulsated in annoyance. He was definitely a Generation of Miracle with the way he talked like victory was an entitlement; it made her want to hit him, or break his stupid raccoon statue over by the bench - boyfriend or not. "Come. I will show you just how foolish your choice was."
Kuroko just stared at him, unperturbed by his words. "No one knows what the right decision is to make in life also that is not the reason I made this choice. Also, if I may disagree with one thing, it's that Seirin is not weak." the phantom vouched as he stared defiantly towards the shooting guard. "We will not lose." he assured. Haha, in your face, carrot cake! It almost brought a tear to Yuna's eyes to see he's not like them, regardless of whether he played alongside them for three years. Midorima frowned at the phantom before looking towards the artistic beauty, who sent him a signature chu-filled kiss, queue tomato blush as he speed walked to center court. Yuna giggled slightly. Even though she found him to be unbelievably fun to mess with the way he is now, Shutoku had to be destroyed so Midorima can be knocked down off of his high horse.
"Will Seirin be able to miraculously beat two kings in a row to win, or will Shutoku protect its rightful throne?" Kasamatsu asked right as the game commenced.
"Let the preliminary A block championship game between Seirin High and Shutoku High begin!" announced the referees.
"Thank you!" said both teams in unison.
It was do or die...let the games begin!
Sooooooooo, I hope you enjoyed that. I started the next chapter and I'm trying to finish up some of the oneshots for Tints and Hues as well. And thank you for taking the poll, I'm getting an idea of what to write about that you guys would enjoy. So far the top choices are my favorite themes as well ^_^! So yeah until next time~! 3
