Seirin and Touou: Yes, for certain reasons that I'm sure I don't need to explain, Tamaki and Aomine doesn't want either of their teams to learn of their relationship. It would only complicate matters, seeing as both their teams were up against each other in a match, and not to mention that Kagami and Aomine kind of got off on the wrong foot with each other. They'll soon learn of their relationship. You just have to wait and see.
Kiyoshi: Yup, he will be making an appearance soon enough, especially after the Touou versus Seirin match. And yes, he had met Tamaki in the hospital some chapters back.
About Haizaki: Some of you have been asking about Haizaki, and whether I will go into detail about the incident that had caused Akashi to kick him out of the team, and for Aomine to nearly break his hand punching his nose. I will go into detail about it, but not until he makes an appearance in this story, which I'm afraid will be for quite a looooooooooong time.
Mama Aomine: Glad to see that so many of you likes Aomine's mother. Seriously, I'm seriously considering writing a side story of their Teiko days, and how they have became the Generation of Miracles, all the way to until Tamaki had enough and decided to leave Teiko.
Pairings: Aomine/Tamaki
Warnings: AU Universe. OOC. Gender swap. Nice Akashi. Overprotective Generation of Miracles.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me
Chapter Fourteen: Believe in Us
"Her role may be different, but her attitude towards basketball is no different from an athlete's." - Midorima Shintaro
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Tamaki glanced at the calendar sitting on her beside table. There were several red crosses over the dates, with a red circle around that day's date, with 'Championship League' written beneath it in red.
The teal haired girl glanced at the bandage around her right wrist before looking down at Aoi who is slurping up water in his bowl happily. The adorable little puppy looked up at her, his tail wagging, and he made a noise of contentment as Tamaki patted him on the head.
The championship league game of Seirin versus Touou that day starts at 5PM after lessons were out for the day, and Tamaki can't help but feel nervous about the upcoming match. She had a real bad feeling about it. It isn't just the fact that Aomine is playing in the match that had her concerned. It is also the fact that Touou had Satsuki's support.
Tamaki hadn't forgotten just how fearsome that Satsuki could be during a match. The pink haired girl is not a normal manager, and she had been the training manager for the Generation of Miracles during their time in middle school after all. Like with the players themselves, Momoi Satsuki is not a normal manager either.
"What do you think will happen today, Aoi?" Tamaki asked her puppy, and Aoi barked at her.
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"Huh? Tamaki isn't here?" Hyuuga asked in confusion as the entire Seirin team were all gathered in their clubroom after school had let out for the day. It had been decided that the entire Seirin team would go together to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium where the championship league game will be held.
"No, she texted me this morning, saying that she has to go to the hospital for some checkup." Riko explained, holding up her red cellphone. "She said that she'll meet us at the gymnasium." The brunette coach then frowned. "Well, even if the checkup goes well, it isn't like I will allow her to play in today's match anyway." She said darkly, and the rest of the team exchanged looks. "I would rather we lose the match then put Tamaki-chan in a match when her wrist isn't even fully healed, and risk it getting worse." Riko almost shivered at the memory of Midorima's death glare at the end of the Shutoku versus Seirin match. 'And not to mention that Midorima Shintaro would skin us alive if I allow Tamaki-chan to play!'
Riko had very strict policies about putting an injured player in a match, most probably because of that incident from last year's Inter High tournament. Her heart had nearly stopped when she had realised what had happened to the teal haired girl when she had used that last move during the Seirin versus Shutoku match.
"But still, without Tamaki, won't the match be tough?" Koganei voiced out the same thing that is currently on everyone's minds. No one can deny the fact that they've only managed to make it this far in the Inter High tournament because of Tamaki.
"Then we just have to try our best, won't we?" Riko smiled confidently. "All right, let's go!"
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The sun was setting, with it painting the skies a beautiful orange-red as the time for the match of Seirin versus Touou dawned closer, with hordes of spectators heading towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium to watch the match. And amongst them were the regulars of Shutoku, minus a certain green haired shooter, who were all interested to see how Seirin would fare against Touou Academy.
Takao was grinning like a loon as he looked around him at the turnout of spectators for the Inter High championship league game. The black haired teen was currently walking with the rest of the regulars of his basketball team, with all of them dressed in their school uniforms, as they've just came straight from school.
"A lot more people turn out for the championship league than they did for our match." Takao commented.
"Huh? Where's Midorima?" Miyaji asked the black haired freshman, with Takao being the one that the Shutoku regulars always go to if they wish to know of Midorima's whereabouts.
Takao didn't answer. He simply pulled out his cellphone and showed his senior the message that he had received from Midorima when he had texted him about the match in class that day. The green haired shooter had merely texted an 'I do not want to', in response to Takao's message.
Miyaji chuckled darkly, a tick almost forming on his head. "Kimura, pineapple!" he called to his best friend who is currently behind him, recalling Kimura's offer to loan him a pineapple during their match against Seirin, and how the center had suggested throwing a pineapple at Midorima instead.
"Yeah, I've got a real green one." Kimura responded.
The four Shutoku regulars soon approached the board where a list of the matches that day was pinned up. There would be a total of two matches that day. With one being Seirin versus Touou Academy, and the other being Meisei versus Senshinkan.
And this year had been the first time in years that two of the three kings of Tokyo had lost before the championship league. And given the fact that this year had been the year that the Generation of Miracles have headed to high school, it is not surprising. In fact, the reason why so many schools have resorted to recruiting formidable players from aboard is mainly because of them. Every single high school basketball team in Japan is dreading the day when they'll get to face one of them in a match. They are only thanking their stars that they do not get to face them as a team.
"The Meisei versus Senshinkan game should go to Senshinkan." Otsubo concluded. The Shutoku captain was well aware of Senshinkan's ability. While unlike Shutoku who had recruited a member of the Generation of Miracles for their team that year, Senshinkan is no pushover either. They didn't get their title as one of the three kings of Tokyo for nothing. "The game that will shake the championship league is Seirin versus Touou Academy."
"But Touou's ace is that guy from the Generation of Miracles, right?" Miyaji frowned, recalling what little that Midorima had mentioned in passing once during a training session two days ago. Apparently, Midorima isn't too fond of that Aomine guy. Though come to think of it, is there anyone in his old team that he doesn't dislike or get along with? "And that Kuroko girl can't play in today's match, right? Will Seirin be all right?" He wondered.
All of Shutoku felt a tad bit guilty when Midorima had returned the day after their match with Seirin, his face as black as thunder. Later on, the team had heard from Takao that the teal haired girl that had contributed greatly to Seirin's victory against them had injured her right hand with that last move that she had performed, and will be out of commission for at least a month. She had been lucky that she didn't break her wrist.
"Ah. Shutoku." A soft voice said from behind them just then, and the four Shutoku regulars nearly jumped about a foot in the air. They then turned around only to see the girl whom they have been talking about, with a scowling redhead just a few inches taller than her standing next to her. "What are you doing here?"
Much to Shutoku's surprise, Kuroko Tamaki wasn't dressed in her school uniform or her team jersey. Instead, she is dressed in a light blue shirt with a white hoodie over it, and black shorts with light blue and white basketball shoes. Her redhead companion is dressed in a white tee that had black edgings around it, with a light green and black jacket worn over it. He is also wearing black shorts with a plain black choker around his neck, and black and dark blue basketball shoes. Though the only thing that stands out from the redhead is his heterochromia eyes of red and gold.
"Well, we came to watch the match." Takao laughed nervously, being the first one to regain his composure. Damn, even with his Hawk Eye, he couldn't even see the two of them behind him? "What about you? Shouldn't you be with your team?"
"Well, I wouldn't be playing today." Tamaki told him. "I'll see you around then."
The redhead nodded silently before the both of them then disappeared somewhere within the sea of people.
The four Shutoku regulars were silent for several moments before Kimura broke the silence. "Well, that was interesting," he commented.
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"Tamaki!"
Seirin was surprised to find the teal haired girl already at their team bench when they've emerged from the locker rooms, along with Touou Academy, with both teams getting ready for the next match. Much to Kagami's surprise however, Tamaki was dressed in street clothes instead of her team jersey.
"Where's your team jersey?" The redhead asked the teal haired girl even as he placed his bag down on the bench. The three other freshmen were currently preparing the tapings and energy drinks on the bench behind them.
"Well, the coach specifically told me not to wear it today." Tamaki told her partner, glancing at Riko.
The teal haired girl knew why as well. If Tamaki came in her team jersey today, and if things go bad for Seirin during their match, neither Riko nor Tamaki would be able to resist the urge to put the teal haired girl on the court. And if things go wrong for Tamaki on the court, well…
"How did the checkup go?" Riko asked, turning towards the teal haired girl, and the team listened in with interest. Without a word, Tamaki raised her right wrist to their eye level, pulling back the sleeve of her hoodie to reveal the thick bandage still bound around it. "Still not healed, huh?" Riko sighed.
Kagami muttered something before turning towards Touou's bench where their team players were all currently warming up to prepare for their match. The redhead frowned as he didn't see a certain tanned dark blue haired player in their midst.
"Excuse me?" Kagami approached a blonde Touou second year. "Where's Aomine?" He asked curiously.
The blonde player, Wakamatsu Kosuke scowled at the mere mention of that name. "That self centered bastard is running late," he grunted.
The second year and Aomine have never gotten off on the right footing from the very first moment when Aomine had stepped foot into Touou's gym. The fact that he missed practice continuously set aside, Wakamatsu had never liked the fact that Aomine is always stealing Sakurai's lunch, and terrorizing the timid and jumpy boy.
Momoi had nearly worked herself up in a panic earlier in their locker room when Imayoshi had told her that he couldn't contact Aomine at all, and the pink haired girl had promptly telephoned her childhood friend. Satsuki was ready to throw something at Aomine when the blue haired boy had told her that he had fallen asleep on their school's roof.
"Sorry." Imayoshi apologized, the eternal smile never falling from his face. "We're actually in a bind without him too. He said he'd show up around the second half. I guess you could call us the opening act. Go easy on us." The Touou captain told the Seirin team with a dark grin.
"All right, Tamaki-chan won't be able to play in today's match, thus, we have to play three times as hard than we usually do." Riko told her team who were all gathered around her for a last minute strategic meeting. "Today's match is against Touou Academy!"
"Kagami, you've already played against Aomine once, right?" Izuki asked the redhead. "Your motivation hasn't dropped, has it?" He asked sharply.
"No way." Kagami scoffed. "If anything, I'm pissed!" He growled, looking over his shoulder at the Touou team. "If these guys are the opening act, I'll pull so far ahead that they can't catch up and make their star the world's biggest idiot!"
"I think it's for the best too." Tamaki told her team, and they turned towards the teal haired girl with surprise. Tamaki is currently seated on the bench, with Riko handing her the clipboard, telling her to keep note of the match and the fouls committed. "Dai—Aomine-kun is dangerous. Whatever that you have glimpsed of his skill isn't even half of what he is capable of." She told Kagami, much to his shock. "We should score as much as possible while we have the chance. Once Aomine-kun gets here…" She trailed off slowly, her eyes darkening considerably. "You'll then realise the true meaning of strength, and what it means to face the Generation of Miracles."
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The game started off with Touou being in possession of the ball, and much to Seirin's shock, all their players were insanely fast, with both teams being on full offense right from the start. Unlike all their previous opponents, Touou isn't underestimating them in the least.
Hyuuga growled as Number 9 managed to shoot a three pointer almost immediately, and he glanced at Touou's captain who isn't standing too far away from him. "Calling yourselves the opening act was evil," he told Imayoshi.
"What? I wasn't lying." Imayoshi said playfully. Hyuuga was suddenly reminded of a certain annoying brunette in Seirin that always had the tendency to rub him up the wrong way ever since their first meeting. Like with that guy, Imayoshi might have the angel's face, but the devil's heart. "Like what that little miss in your team had said earlier, you'll know once Aomine gets here." He smirked deviously. "We're cute little kids compared to him. I told you, we're just the opening act."
Over on the bench, Tamaki was worried, though she didn't look it. 'So it begins,' she mused. 'This match… What will happen in this match?'
XXXXXX
It is now four minutes in the first quarter, and Touou is currently in the lead with 8 points to Seirin's 4.
Wakamatsu leapt up to grab the rebound, dodging Mitobe, and the blonde then launched a long pass across the court towards Imayoshi who caught it easily. Much to Izuki's dismay, he wasn't able to stop the Touou captain from scoring.
'Damn… As expected, it really is tough without Tamaki's support.' Seirin's point guard thought to himself, panting heavily. 'But no matter what, we have to win! Tamaki can't play in this match, and we can't let her play, no matter what, thus, we have to pick up the pace!'
During tough matches like during their matches against Shutoku and Seiho, Seirin had always relied on Tamaki's support. Not having her in a match when they're up against a tough opponent made the team realise just how much that they have relied on the teal haired girl and her passes.
Imayoshi grinned at Izuki. "When you heard Aomine would be late, I bet you thought you should score as many points as you can." He grinned at Izuki's disgruntled expression. "Sorry, I guess I misspoke." Izuki narrowed his eyes. "Like I've said, we're only an opening act compared to Aomine. We're probably stronger than you." He grinned darkly, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Not good." Tamaki muttered to herself, watching the match going on in front of her.
Next to her, Riko nodded, agreeing with the teal haired girl. 'They're strong! I didn't think that they'd be this strong. If they're this good without Aomine-kun, we're screwed.' "This is bad." Riko muttered.
"And not to mention that Touou is the first offense team that we're up against." Tamaki told the coach, much to the three freshmen's surprise. "They rarely, if never defend. That's why all their matches thus far are always 100 point games." She told them. 'Well, a large part has to do with Daiki.' Tamaki thought. Even back in Teiko, Aomine could always manage to score at least eighty points all by himself.
"Yes, they're the opposite of Seiho." Riko admitted wryly. "An offensive team."
"But something is weird with their play style." Tamaki pointed out, and everyone looked at her curiously. "It's something that I've noticed right from the start, but their plays and everything… Their offense and defense is all one-on-one. You get the ball yourself and score yourself. They keep coming with individual skill." Tamaki frowned.
Touou is rather like a much watered down version of Teiko.
"I see," said a very annoyed Izuki who is currently marking Imayoshi. "I expected some of this, but that's your style." 'This is almost like a one man basketball, damn it!' He growled.
"That's right. Our team gathered athletes from across the country. The more skilled a player is, the stronger his sense of self. We're been trying all sorts of things in the last few years though." Imayoshi remarked. "More than holding hands and playing nice, this way works best. We're both offensive teams. This game should be interesting."
Izuki grabbed the ball as it was passed to him, and Imayoshi immediately moved to block Izuki's path. "I don't know how interesting it will be. I'm not even sure we're the same type." Izuki told Imayoshi, not liking how Imayoshi had clumped both their teams together in the same light. He would rather not be compared with a team that cares little for their teammates, thank you very much! "Our style is full team play."
Izuki finally managed to break free from Imayoshi, and took down the court with the ball, with Kagami immediately forming a screen to guard the Touou captain, much to his shock.
Touou soon realised what Izuki had meant by stating that Seirin's style is a 'full team play' when the Seirin players made use of their positions on the court, and performed a kind of coordination play only seen in seasoned basketball teams.
"Forget one-on-ones." Hyuuga growled as he gained possession of the ball and made a three point shot, much to Sakurai's dismay. "I don't plan on losing this game. Tell your captain, you apologetic mushroom." He growled at Sakurai who looked taken aback at Hyuuga's dark look, with the Seirin captain currently being in clutch mode.
"I-I'm sorry!" The timid boy apologized. 'I didn't even say anything! And what is an apologetic mushroom?' He wondered in bewilderment.
XXXXXX
Kise walked into the gymnasium, rather put off that Kasamatsu had refused to come with him to the match that day. The cheers of the spectators greeted the blonde the moment that he had entered the gym, and he sighed, realising that the match had already begun.
"I'm late again. And they're losing again." Kise sighed. The blonde then blinked as he saw a tall green haired teen standing not too far away from him, wearing sunglasses of all things indoors, as if trying not to be conspicuous. "Midorimacchi?"
Midorima was taken aback as he noticed his ex-teammate standing near him, and the small jack in the box thingy in his left hand sprang opened, revealing a cheerful yellow ball that bounced to and fro whilst on a spring. "Kise?" he spluttered, dismayed to realise that Kise had recognised him immediately, even with his sunglasses on. "How did you know it was me?"
"What are you, stupid?" Kise deadpanned. "Those sunglasses are embarrassing. Please take them off. Besides, what's with the box?"
"It's today's lucky item, of course."
A very long awkward silence followed this answer. As always, Kise had never understood how Midorima's mind works. And for the sake of preserving whatever brain cells that he still had, he would rather not know. "Is that it?" Kise walked towards Midorima. "You told everyone you didn't want to see the game, but you came anyway?"
"Don't say that! I just happened to be in the area!" Midorima retorted defensively.
"Your house isn't anywhere near here." Kise pointed out. "But it seems like we're not the only ones interested in this match." The blonde jerked his chin towards a corner where a certain redhead was standing. "So? How's the game?"
"Nothing special." Midorima sighed, replacing his sunglasses with his own glasses. "This is ridiculous. Aomine doesn't seem to be here, but they can barely keep up." He glanced at Tamaki who is on the bench. "Well, Tamaki isn't playing, so I'm not surprised." He commented.
"Aominecchi's not here?" Kise asked, surprised. "Well, they've just scored. They're just getting started."
Midorima gave Kise a weird look. Has he forgotten just who else Touou had, besides from Aomine? "Have you forgotten, Kise?" he asked. "Touou has Momoi as well." He glanced at the pink haired girl down on Touou's bench. "She is not just a manager. During middle school, she helped us out many times. In other words, if she's your opponent, she becomes exceptionally hard to deal with."
"I see. Momocchi, huh?" Kise mused. "Come to think of it, she's known Aominecchi since they were little, hasn't she?" He asked, remembering something that Aomine had said once during their Teiko days. "And wasn't she and Tamacchi particularly close? They're best friends, aren't they? What if she can't play seriously against her school?"
"Well, even if that's the case, it's all the more then." Midorima said, glancing at the two girls on their individual team benches. "Even if Tamaki isn't playing today, she would never go easy on her school. Momoi's role may be different, but her attitude towards basketball is no different from an athlete's. She would never intentionally lose a basketball game. Besides, I'm sure that Tamaki wouldn't want Momoi to do that as well."
"Oh dear…" Akashi sighed to himself in his corner, his eyes studying the match carefully, glancing at his cousin and the former manager of his old team occasionally. 'It's true that most people tends to underestimate Momoi the same way that they underestimates Tama – just because of the fact that they're girls, thinking of them as just a pretty face. And I guess in a way that they're right about that. As long as they're not in a game, that is.'
XXXXXX
"Uh oh…" Tamaki muttered to herself as she noted to herself that Touou seems to be able to read their movements and patterns – even new moves that had never been shown in a match before. She now had an idea how Seiho had felt when they have used the information that they've gotten, and used it to counter them. 'This isn't good. This is definitely Satsuki's work.' She thought, glancing at the pink haired girl on the opposing bench. 'Having her as an opponent is definitely not good for us. But…' Tamaki frowned to herself.
"We must have been researched by that girl," said Riko, smiling furiously, trying to keep a calm façade despite her inner turmoil. The rest of the boys on the bench inched away from their coach slowly, not wanting to be in the line of the crossfire. "Momoi is an information gathering specialist. She's an intelligence agent."
All eyes turned towards Tamaki as one who didn't take her eyes off the match in the least, trying to see as much as she could at once, her mind working furiously. "In a way, you're right about Satsuki," said Tamaki grimly. "But like the Generation of Miracles, Satsuki isn't a normal manager either." She sighed. "You'll soon see what I mean later. And besides, I don't think that this is enough to beat them down. Seirin isn't as weak as that." She smiled a small smile, believing in her teammates.
Riko grinned. "What Tamaki-chan said," she proclaimed proudly. "We're going to keep playing like this! No matter how accurate their information is, it's from the past. Humans grow. Don't act like you understand when you don't even realise that!"
"I hope that that is the case," said Tamaki, and Riko looked at her in curiosity. "If that is the case, then it'll be for the best. But…"
"Normally, when confronted with a play missing from their data, a person cannot handle it." Midorima said solemnly. "However, Momoi analyzes the data she collects and even reads how her opponents will grow."
'And in the first place, it is Satsuki who had taught me the basics of analyzing.' Tamaki thought. 'Their height, weight, strengths, weaknesses, personality, habits… She gathers all of it and analyzes, interpret, and narrow the results. And the last trick is intuition itself.'
Tamaki's play style might have been developed over the years, but the basics of it had been taught to her by her cousin and even by her best friend. Tamaki had always been observant, but those traits had just helped her in her basketball.
'But…' Tamaki glanced at Satsuki. 'Like with the misdirection style, I can evolve it further, and make it my own!'
XXXXXX
"Isn't this looking bad for Seirin?" Kise wondered.
"Well, I guess so." Midorima said unconcernedly. "But if it's anyone who can outdo Momoi, it's Tamaki." He said, glancing at the teal haired girl.
"What?" Kise was confused.
"In our freshman year, before we even had Coach Kashitori, it is Momoi and Tamaki who are the training managers for our team." Midorima explained. Kise had come in their second year after all. He wouldn't know what had happened during their freshman year, since no one would talk about that dark period of Teiko. "Tamaki didn't become the vice captain of the Generation of Miracles for her basketball skill alone. Like Momoi, she is an expert in data analyzing, and she is extremely observant. Why do you think that there is no one apart from Aomine who can best her one-on-one? Their skills, personality, weight, height, strengths, weaknesses, habits… Tamaki reads them all, even their movements just by body language alone, and uses it against them!" Midorima told a shocked Kise. "It's just that she rarely uses it, especially during third year. In fact, she doesn't need to. It is only during clutch time that she uses that ability of hers. But once she uses it…" Midorima glanced at the teal haired girl, narrowing his eyes. "No one can stop her. Even if Tamaki can't play right now, it doesn't mean that she can't help her team."
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The end of the first quarter had a game count of 25-21 with Touou in the lead, much to the displeasure of both coaches.
"This isn't looking good." Hyuuga panted. "They've completely read our movements. We're barely hanging in there, and Aomine isn't here yet. If he's here… I don't even want to think about it." He groaned.
"It is true that she had been researching the second years, and had at least an entire year's data on you." Riko said. "But there is considerably less data on Kagami-kun, and thus, whether we can beat Touou or not will depend on him."
"But more importantly, I think I might have an idea on how to deal with them," said Tamaki slowly, and everyone turned towards the teal haired girl at those words. "Give me some time. I need time to read and analyze their movements. I might not be up to Satsuki's level in analyzing and breaking down information, but I have one ability that she doesn't have." Tamaki's eyes were dark. "I didn't become the vice captain of the Generation of Miracles for my basketball skills alone. Though whether we can bring back a victory today or not…" She looked at Kagami who grinned. "…will entirely be up to you."
XXXXXX
The second quarter had Seirin landing in an even worse pinch, especially after Riko was forced to substitute Kagami for Koganei, after realising that his legs haven't been healed. Tamaki thought that Riko looked ready to breathe fire after realising that Kagami had been pushing himself after his legs have 'healed', trying to catch up on lost training time.
Didn't that idiot realise that even after his legs have healed, he still has to take it easy and not push himself? And he wonders why his legs weren't fully healed yet. Honestly, that idiot really only has basketball on the brain!
"Tamaki-chan, are you ready yet?" Riko asked, turning towards the teal haired girl who hadn't taken her eyes off of the match even once. Her hopes were dashed when Tamaki shook her head.
"At the very least, it'll take me at least two quarters to know their movements." Tamaki answered the coach without taking her eyes off the match, the pen in her right hand moving at an incredible rate, scribbling down whatever that she could see on the clipboard that she had in her hand. 'Number 9, Shooting Guard.' She thought, glancing at the Touou freshman who kept on apologizing non-stop, even apologizing every single time that he made a basket. 'But unlike most Shooting Guards, his speed seems a lot faster. Number 6, the center. Personality wise, he seems similar to Kagami-kun.' Tamaki sighed. 'As expected from Satsuki. She has them all well trained. This is going to be a tough one.'
XXXXXX
"Seirin usually scores around Tamaki, but this time around, because she can't play, they've changed their attack pattern to scoring around Kagami. But the movements of the remaining four second years are all known to Momoi. As expected, the hole left behind by Kagami is huge." Midorima remarked.
Kise watched the ongoing match below him in silence for several moments. "And the score gap is getting wider," he noted, with the game score currently at 38-29. "This isn't good."
"And it looks like Tamaki is on the move as well." Midorima noted, noticing Tamaki's tense posture, along with the fact that she hadn't taken her eyes off of the match even once ever since the start of the second quarter.
Akashi smirked from his corner, noticing what his cousin is currently doing. "I see…" he muttered. 'It's been quite some time since I've seen her analytical and observational abilities at work. Tama is the only person whom Momoi has never been able to read. She has exceptional observational abilities. She can read someone easily with just a look. It's been a while since she has to use this. But now that she's been forced to bring it out…'
Akashi frowned. 'But still, data can only go so far. There are times when skill goes above data, and this match might just be one of those times. Especially once Daiki gets here. We didn't take the middle school championship title for three years in a row for nothing after all. If Seirin wants even a fighting chance against Touou, and whether they will bring home a victory or not, it will all be up to that Kagami guy.'
XXXXXX
Kagami gritted his teeth, watching his teammates getting pummeled on the court by the Touou players. Though to be fair, the Touou players are trying hard as well, being pressurized by the Seirin players.
"Please, just hang in there!" Kagami growled. He then glanced at the teal haired girl seated next to him, as Riko busied herself with taping Kagami's legs so that he could go back to the court. With Tamaki not being in any condition to play, it all falls upon Kagami now. 'Tamaki is fighting too! We'll win here! I'll make sure of it!'
"I'll beat him and wake him up." Kagami vowed. "You can't help me this time around, but I'll fight for your share too." He grinned a feral grin.
'I made a promise to her.' Kagami thought, studying the teal haired girl. Tamaki looks tense, with the pen in her hand scribbling at an incredible rate. 'I'll fulfill it! All along, she has been the one watching my back, and I can't even begin to count the number of times when she'd saved me and Seirin! Now, it's time that I at least repay that favour a little.'
"Calm down, Kagami!" Tsuchida told the redhead. "Have a little more faith in everyone!" He glanced at the teal haired girl. "Tamaki, not done yet?" He received a shake of the head.
"We'll beat Touou with team play!" Kagami vowed. The fact that Seirin is getting pummeled out there with Touou's one-on-one play just plain pisses Kagami off. That, and the slap that he still remembered he had gotten from Tamaki during the Shutoku match when he tried to play a one man game by himself.
"That should do it!" Riko announced, finishing the last of the tapings. "This should at least get you through this game. You can go now!"
"All right!" Kagami cheered, putting his shoes back on as quickly as he could, and throwing his sweatshirt off, ready to head back to the court. "Thank you."
"…I'm sorry." A soft apology from Riko stopped Kagami in his tracks, along with the others still on the bench, apart from Tamaki who currently had her full concentration on the match, but still had an ear out for Riko's words. "The truth is that I don't want to send out an injured player. Tamaki-chan is already injured badly enough, and I don't want to send her out on the court with her wrist in the condition that it now is in. But if we can't have her on the court, then we can only pin our hopes on you. We can't beat Touou without you. We've been calling it team play, but it's actually a style that someone had taught me." Riko admitted, recalling a certain founder of the Seirin basketball team, and how he had 'persuaded' her to be the coach of the basketball team last year. "I'm not strong enough to draw out everyone's full potential, so I have to rely on you, even though you're injured."
"What are you saying? That's not like you." Kagami scoffed, and Riko turned towards him in surprise. "You make practice menus, you scout, you give us instructions on the bench, and even massage and tape us. If anything, you do too much. You're the coach."
The call for member change was sounded just then.
"I think that you're a good coach," said Tamaki bluntly, and Riko turned towards the smaller girl in surprise. There is a small smile on Tamaki's face. "You do everything that a coach has to do, and more. Besides, when I was in Teiko, the Generation of Miracles started out without a proper coach as well." Riko looked bewildered at this piece of information. "We actually trained ourselves before we got an official basketball coach about halfway in the school year. There were issues going on in Teiko at that time, hence the delay. But what I'm saying is, you shouldn't sell yourself short. Believe in yourself. I'm sure that everyone on the team believes that you're a good coach."
Riko grinned. "Well then, go get them, Kagami!" she told the redhead.
"Got it!" Kagami grinned.
An arm was suddenly wrapped around Kagami's neck from behind. "That's it, show some spirit, so you can entertain me, even a little." Aomine Daiki grinned a feral grin at Kagami, much to the redhead's shock, as he didn't even notice the tanned player. This is like Tamaki when he had first met her all over again.
Though with Aomine's tone, Kagami can replace the words 'you can entertain me' with 'I'll crush you', especially with the look in his eyes that looks ready to kill Kagami. And to this day, Kagami still has no idea what he had done to piss Aomine off. He only know that it has something to do with Tamaki, but for the life of him, he can't remember what he had supposedly done or hadn't done to Tamaki that had Aomine wanting to beat the life out of him.
"You bastard!" Kagami jerked backwards, a feral growl nearly escaping from his throat. "Aomine!"
Everyone on the court was shocked that Aomine had finally made an appearance near the end of the second quarter, particularly those from Seirin. Tamaki sighed to herself. 'Uh oh. He's here. The real battle starts from here. Even all the data in the world would be of no use against a player of his caliber. Daiki is one of those types of players that rises above data.'
Aomine caught Tamaki's eye and smiled softly at her; a smile and a look that he only reserved for the teal haired girl, and no one else. As all the others on the court were too busy gaping at Aomine's sudden appearance, no one noticed the look that he gave a player on the opposing team.
"You're finally here?" Imayoshi sighed, noticing the presence of his team's ace. "Hurry up and get ready so that you can play!"
"What?" Aomine whined. "But you're winning." He eyed the electronic scoreboard that currently read the game count as 49-39, with Touou in the lead, and with barely a minute to go before the end of the second quarter. "There's only one minute left in the second quarter, anyway."
"No, you have to play." Touou's coach, Harasawa Katsunori, a smart looking middle aged man in a formal suit with black slightly curly hair, told Aomine.
"Fine." Aomine sighed, walking towards Touou's team bench, and dumping his bag onto it. He then pulled off his team jacket, tossing it towards Satsuki who caught it easily. "Well then…" He smirked a dark smirk at Kagami. "Let's go."
'I'll teach you to touch what is mine.' Aomine's eyes were almost telling Kagami. And if looks could kill, Kagami would be six feet under.
Satsuki who knew her childhood friend well almost groaned at that look.
It may seem strange to some, but Aomine Daiki never likes to share his things, especially his girlfriend. Hence why Aomine is usually quite agitated back during their Teiko days whenever Kise hangs around Tamaki way too much, and acts too touchy-feely towards the teal haired girl, much to Aomine's chagrin.
And after the incident with Haizaki, and then with Hanamiya during the Winter Cup tournament during their second year, like with most of their other teammates, Aomine would never forgive anyone who so much as gives Tamaki one scratch. It is already a miracle in itself that he didn't kill Kise for nearly giving Tamaki a concussion during the Kaijo versus Seirin practice match. And the fact that Kagami had nearly flown at Tamaki during the Shutoku versus Seirin match… Well…
And to start with, Aomine had never been Kagami's greatest fan because of his opinion that Kagami spends way too much time with the teal haired girl, and the fact that he kept letting Tamaki get hurt time and again.
And yes, a jealous Aomine Daiki is not a nice opponent on the court. He is already a scary enough player without having jealousy as motivation to win a match. Momoi Satsuki wonders for a moment if she shouldn't start praying for Kagami's soul.
She is pretty sure that Kagami won't come out of this unscathed.
A/N: Right, I'm sorry for the recent shorter than usual chapters. But the chapters consisting of the Touou versus Seirin match will be considerably shorter than usual, as Tamaki isn't playing in it! And I don't want to focus too much on Kagami! I'm not his greatest fan, as you might have realised by now.
Anyway, I have a few new ideas for KnB stories. One being a Tamaki going to Touou fic. Seriously, I'm starting to believe that I'm suffering from an illness otherwise known as Kuroko no Basuke Obsession. Why else would I start having the urge to start writing all those stories? Another story idea is like some sort of RPG universe – an idea that I got after seeing all these RPG pictures of the GoM on Tumblr. And the third being an idea that a reviewer had given me some time back about Momoi having had enough of Aomine's holier than thou attitude in third year, and promptly followed Kuroko to Seirin.
So once again, I'm sorry for the shorter than usual chapter, and if it seems a little rushed. Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review! Reviews give me inspiration to update! And also, next week's chapter might be delayed by a few days because of personal issues.