"Seiho seems more normal than I expected," Furihata commented as we all watched our next opponents practice. "They don't really have any big guys. I suppose they are small for a national class team."

"Their biggest player is their captain, Iwamura-kun," Riko countered.

"He's really wide! So thick! He seems really powerful!" The first-years exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and continued to practice with Kuroko and Kagami. That is…until we heard a really annoying voice.

"Wah! You must be Kagami-kun! Your hair's so red! Scary!"

The three of us turned around and saw that bald guy Kagami pointed out in one of the practice videos we had watched. He turned around waving, "Captain, this is the guy, right? Weirin's really weak, but they have one strong guy!" My teammates suddenly felt a cold aura in the gym. We creaked our heads toward Riko and saw a demon in her stead.

Angry ticks appeared on her forehead as she clenched her hands around an imaginary neck. "You've done it now, you little shit." She cackled.

Seiho's captain came over and knocked the bald guy's head. "Quit messing around, you idiot." He forced the little shit's head down. "Sorry about that. This guy can't read situations, so he just says what he's thinking."

Hyuuga stepped forward. "No need to apologize. We're going to win. If you look down on us like you did last year, you'll end up in tears."

"We weren't looking down on you last year. You were just weak. That's all." The two of them turned around and went back to their half of the court. I grounded my teeth, lunging at their retreating forms. It was probably a good thing that Mitobe caught the back of my shirt, saving the unsuspecting opponents.

We were all a bit tense in the dressing room prior to the game. Riko clapped her hands, catching our attentions.

"I thought of a reward to cheer you guys up!" She announced happily, chuckling. "If you win the next game, I'll give each of you a kiss on the cheek." She winked at us. "What do you say?"

Everyone nearly fell onto the floor, sweat-dropping.

"Why did she laugh?" Izuki muttered. Koganei followed up on Izuki's question, "You can't be serious."

"I want Masami-chan to kiss me on the cheek instead," The boys chorused. Riko slumped to the floor with a gloomy aura around her. Hyuuga quickly defended Riko.

"You idiots, pretend tto be happy if you have to!" But that only made things worse as Riko laid on the floor. We watched as Coach pulled herself up, chuckling drily with tears in the corners of her eyes. "Shut up and get it together, you idiots! Don't you want to pay them back for last year?! It's got to be quite a lot with a year's worth of interest!" Hyuuga laughed nervously.

"We know." He turned to face us all. "Seiho's strong, but not impossible to defeat! Let's go!"

"HAI!" We shouted, raising our fists into the air.

"This isn't so hard! Seirin's not as good as I thought!" The bald guy jeered at Kagami. I slapped my forehead, feeling stupid for Kagami who fell easily into his trap.

"Tweet! Foul! White 10 – Charging!" The referee called out.

"Bakagami! Calm the fuck down!" I shouted. "You already have two fouls, you baka!"

"I know!" He hollered back. I shook my fist at him angrily. I sat back down and concentrated on Seiho's movements. Somehow their movements are impossible to play against. It's almost like a form I've never…seen…before. I mused. Seiho's defense is man-to-man, but this is no ordinary man-to-man play. They're creating pressure by staying right on the guys the whole time. I snapped by fingers, jumping off the bench in realization.

"Riko! I figured it out!" I harshly whispered to her. She arched an eyebrow at me just as the quarter ended. The team ran back to the bench and refreshed themselves as Riko and I stoo in front of them.

"Listen up, Masami figured something out." Riko announced. The team turned to me expectantly.

"Seiho uses an old martial arts technique." I began.

"Old martial arts?!" Kagami exclaimed. "You mean this kind of thing? Ahh-hoo!" He flung out his arms like a ninja, almost hitting Hyuuga. I punched his stomach which immediately shutted him up.

"That's not old martial arts," Riko bluntly answered.

"To be precise," I continued, "they incorporate movements from old martial arts. One of the techniques is called 'namba running.'" I began to explain it to them. "In addition to namba running, they use all sorts of martial arts techniques for effortless strength, moving quickly without missing a beat, and other basic movements. That is how Seiho moves." Just as I finished explaining, the referee blew his whistle.

"Ah! Kuroko, switch with Masami. Mitobe, go in for Koganei." We slapped hands, and Mitobe and I entered the court.

"Izuki-sempai, can you please pass me the ball? I want to try something," I asked. He stared at me for a second before smiling. "I hope you have a plan, Masa-kun." Oh, I do have a plan. I smirked.

I was just against that bald player from Seiho as he tried to guard me while I had the ball.

"Are you sure you can beat us? You're so tiny!" He mocked. I glowered at him.

"I don't care if you use martial arts techniques or whatever. But I do know this – we will win!" With that, I faked to the left only to twist to the right, breaking past his defense. I ran up towards the net as the Seiho members were busy blocking my teammates. I ran up towards the basket, taking a giant leap and slammed the ball into the net.

"Whoo-hoo! Go, Masa-kun!" Everyone shouted from the bench. I grinned, dropping to the floor steadily.

"This game is just beginning, Baldy," I chuckled at the shocked player.

"Tweet! Foul! White 10 – Charging!"

I groaned, That's Kagami's fourth foul! I stomped over to him and pulled on his ear, yanking him down towards me. "You baka! Aho! Baka, baka, baka!" I sharply turned to Riko. "Coach! Sub the seniors in for me and Kagami! We need a break!"

Riko grinned once she caught my intentions. "Alright! Hyuuga, Izuki, Mitobe, Koganei, and Tsuchida – you're in!" I dragged Kagami behind me and took a seat on the bench.

The third quarter passed and we were still behind by two points.

"Coach," Kuroko spoke up, "let me go in."

The moment Kuroko was put into the game, we had victory in the palms of our hands. The seniors and Kuroko kept making passes and steals as they bounded towards the net. With 23 seconds remaining, we were at 70 – 69, only winning by a point. In seconds, Seiho scored: 70 – 71.

I gripped the edge of the bench, leaning forward. Come on, Hyuuga-sempai! 3…2…1…The ball swished in the net. 0.

"SEIRIN WINS! 73 – 71!"

"KYAAAAAH!" Riko and I screamed loudly, jumping up and down, hugging each other. As we all lined up to thank the other team, Riko stood to the side with tears in her eyes.

"Congratulations, guys," she sniffed.

12/28/13 - 2:36PM

A/N: Uploaded two chapters today! Whoo-hoo! Not to mention, I finished fixing the chapters!