Excuse this chapter kudasai dess~ It's a bit of a filler but at the same time it's not. XD
Disclaimer~
All Characters from Kuroko's Basketball belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi-san!
Only my OCs belong to me nyan~
-Speech with italics, '_' are for thought.
-Speech with underlines are for English speeches.
-Speech with the enclosure, [ _ ] are phone calls.
-Speech with the enclosure, { _ } are from devices.
(I prefer to refer a character by their normally spoken name)
Chapter 12 - Weaving through the game - Part 1~
When she momentarily shifted her eyes to the other end of the court, Aki noticed that one of the other teams that were playing in the other half had an eye catching player especially with his hair color that's quite different from the others which made him stand out even more.
Her other companions noticed and they turned to see what she was looking at. The attention of the audience as well as the other players of the two opposing teams was centered on one of the tallest players wearing the orange jersey. He jumps and released the ball and it goes very high up in the air. It was something that she'd never seen before. The opposing team and his orange jersey clad team mates were eyeing the high rise of the ball as it made an arc in the air before finally landing squarely into the targeted goal.
Aki's trance like state from that stunning move popped when the buzzer ranged. The audience marveled at that amazing move made by the player known as Midorima Shintarō, one of the members of the generation of miracles. The Orangenette got really excited from that extraordinary shoot as she clapped vibrantly in her seat.
From the digital score board, it appeared that they've started later than Seirin and Seihō's match. Shūtoku is in the lead, no surprises there, the team that was known as one of the three kings of Tokyo.
Aki watched as the member, the one that she now dub, to herself, as 'Mido-chan the carrot', slapped his hand with another member coming up from the benches. It appeared that he was switched. Kise made a comment that they're taking it easy. Proof of that was that they're already benching Midorima after the first five minutes. Her cousin noted that it was an obvious way of how their team does things since their opponents' a middle tiered School. From that, Aki realized that Midorima probably won't' make another appearance for awhile which made the orangenette hung her head in disappointment. Kasamatsu then patted her shoulder, reassuring her that Seirin will be the opposite of her 'dilemma'.
||o~o~o||
Indeed it was so as Seirin's game continued. The number tenth player, Kagami, got another foul from engaging the bald player of Seihō. They were passing the ball to each other earlier and from there they didn't use much energy. Their offence and defense are both exceptional especially since they've added in old martial arts techniques.
Having to frequent various sections of martial arts as her favored form of sport for as long as she can remember, it piped her curiosity. Aki finds it difficult to wrap her mind around how they even mix them into Basketball. Her cousin revealed they're a team of experts who could do just that.
After the ball went out of bounds beyond the court line, the bald player was looking at the score board when he bumped into someone. Aki finds herself being surprised again when she saw the phantom player. The Seihō player and even the rest of Seirin's players were stunned at just 'invisible' he is. " Uwahh~ Kuro-chan can really make you jump huh? "
||o~o~o||
Whatever the bald player said to Kuroko, the seniors in Seirin tensed up. The game started again soon after with every player facing each other…or so it seemed. The number five of Seirin barely passed to the number eight near their goal but the ball was nowhere near the said player until it suddenly curved; squarely shoved into the hands of the intended player. The audience around them were baffled at who tapped the ball but since Aki had been watching him, she knew that it was Kuroko.
Seirin scored. Kise giggled before noting that Seihō's defense wasn't expecting a pass from their inside. It was then that Aki realized Kuroko's style coupled with his beyond normal condition. One after another, Seirin's members became more and more active ever since Kuroko's first assist and sure enough their points increased. Just when the first quarter was about to end, the light bluenette tapped the ball away from the bald player which was caught by Kagami who passed to the number four captain that scored Seirin three points before the buzzer ranged.
One thing's for sure, Kuroko definitely revved up Seirin's momentum and progress.
||o~o~o||
After the second quarter began, the orangenette finds herself more excited and expectant of the phantom's passes. The current highlight was how both Kagami and Kuroko could pass by two of Seihō's members just by dribbling and passing the ball to each other. " They make an awesome combo! ", she squealed before looking at her twin whose eyes were glued to the match, " Right Akito-chan? "
" Hmm yeah. It's really remarkable. ", he said in a soft bewildered tone.
||o~o~o||
It was definitely a plot when the other Seihō players didn't do anything to pressure Kagami after he caught the ball. It resulted into another foul that brought the teen near the tipping point. What's more, he's starting to get tired. Proof of that was from his slowly deteriorating reactions to his surroundings. Kise exclaimed exasperatedly at that.
Aki began to write in her mind that 'Kaga-chan' is really a hot head that somehow reminded her of someone familiar but it slipped her mind once she saw that the Seirin members are having a conversation after the coach called for a substitution. Whatever they discussed about, the two most prominent players of Seirin were brought out and other two members, most likely the seniors, were called into the game. That shocked Aki again. She childishly complained about it which earned her a light pull of her left cheek from Kasamatsu who told her to be quiet.
Pouting to herself at the lost of two other interesting players, Akito reassured her that they will resurface once more. It seemed as though they were reserving the duo for their next intended battle with Shūtoku.
||o~o~o||
At first, Seirin's seniors didn't catch her fancy since the first year combo was all that she concentrated on but as she watched them play, they become a rather awe inspiring team. Her cousin mentioned that the current set up works even better than the first. Since they've only formed a team around the duo from the beginning of the School year, no doubt that their new set still needs a lot more getting used to.
Since their formation in the previous year, the seniors developed from the experience of their defeat. The current members were the only seniors of Seirin after all. They had more will andperseverance to defeat their past rival. Aki was awed at Seirin's number five, the point guard. It's as if he can see the entire court. She also finds that Seirin was a bit comical. The shorter senior, number six was having trouble with scoring as the ball kept bouncing off the net and the other senior, number nine had to keep rebounding for him. He loudly complained about it and Seihō seemed effected by the display of those weak moves as well. Aki realized later that the two were the ones subbed in to the game from earlier.
||o~o~o||
As the fourth quarter rolled in, Seirin's slowly catching up. After a steal, the ball bounced off towards the line at the edge of the court. The players near that area were going after it but suddenlyand rather hastily, Seirin's number six came rushing towards the ball to slap it back into the game and he ended up tumbling into his team's benches, right between Kagami and Kuroko.
The referee whistled and Aki blinked off her mildly stunned state, " Eeeh?!~ "
" That's a new one. ", Akito mumbled under his breath. " Well it's inevitable once you tried to save the ball from going out of bounds. ", Kasamatsu scratched the back of his head. " Yeah-su. ", Kise agreed, his left hand under his chin. " Hmm…that's dangerous. I hope the senpai's alright. ", Aki mumbled, " You guys have to be careful with saving the ball in your matches 'kay? ", she turned back and forth from her companions, eyes brimming with worry.
Kasamatsu mildly chuckled at that, " Of course we will Aki. Discerning whether the ball can be saved is a part of being a basketball player after all. ", the third year patted her head as he talked, " He did see the opening to get the ball back however slim it was. That proved how badly Seirin wanted to win this match. "
From that incident, number six will definitely be subbed out. Kagami's reaction to that simply meant that he was raring to go back in. The captain tells him off but he was stubborn enough to retort back until Kuroko slapped his right hand into his face without even looking at him.
" Uweeh~ ", Aki voiced out in an astonished tone. The blonde giggled a bit and Kasamatsu sweat dropped. Kagami quickly returned the favor by mildly slamming his larger hand onto the light bluenette's forehead. What Kuroko said next made the taller teenager to hesitantly release his hand from him and retorts back with arms spread widely. A moment later, he grabbed onto Kuroko's head again.
" Wh-what is Kaga-chan doing? ", Aki sweat dropped. Suddenly a light bulb went off in her head, " Ah! Is Kuro-chan's head that fluffy?~ Gosh, I wanna ruffle them too!~ "
" I doubt that Aki-chan.. ", Akito sweat dropped while side glancing his twin.
||o~o~o||
Only four minutes left until the end of the game.
As it turns out, Kuroko was subbed back in and the bald player started marking him. From their close proximity, the two seemed to be having a conversation. Then one thing leads to another when the light bluenette suddenly disappeared, shocking the Seihō player and once number five passed, he appeared again to slap the ball which was caught by the captain who scored with a layup. " Ohh!~ ", the orangenette squeaked in awe. Indeed, Kuroko's disappearance and reappearances are starting to interest and excite her. ' Kuro-chan's really good at playing hide and go seek! '
Seihō's number eight member had the ball next but when he's in the middle of passing, Seirin's captain stole the ball and makes a run for it. Once he was blocked by another member of Seihō, almost immediately he reacted by passing the ball to the right which was slapped again by Kuroko who just happens to be there. The ball was caught by Seirin's number eight who scored another basket. With two baskets in a row, the audience cheered and so did their team mates from the benches.
The immediate reactions of Seirin's members appeared as though they knew where and what their opponents will do next. Kasamatsu noted that old martial arts are different than modern day sports science. If people specialize in one thing, they got habits of their own to do just that. In other words, by using the old arts technique, their movements are constricted into that context. To perform their tricks by surprise, magicians had a certain procedure to execute them accordingly.
Aki was lightly confused but she understood that they must have understood Seihō's movements from their troubles in the first half.
||o~o~o||
The game continued with Kuroko's amazing passes one after another. By the last thirty seconds, Seirin finally although just slightly overtake Seihō's points. Seirin would have to hold up their score until the buzzer signaled the end of the match.
Alert by the danger of losing, Seihō's captain roared as he rushed towards their goal. He dunked despite having two of Seirin's members attempting to block him. Afterwards he loudly exclaimed not to underestimate a 'King'. With that, Aki tilts her head to the side, " King? Seihō is one of the Kings? I didn't know that. " Akito sweat dropped. " Have you been listening Aki-chan? " The confused blink of her eyes caused the younger orangenette to signs under his breath.
The next all court man-to-man, as told by Kasamatsu, had the probability that Seihō's defending while trying to score another. Seirin's number five had the ball this time and he could finally dribble away when his team mate assisted with screening the Seihō player that's marking him. He passed to Kuroko who was blocked by the bald player before he could give the ball to number nine.
Sensing the emergency situation, Kagami shouted at him. It isn't certain if that was the case which caused the light bluenette to missed on his first attempt on passing but his other hand came right after in its place, slapping the ball towards the captain's hand. It appeared that with him missing was merely a distraction for the bald player and for Kuroko to change the direction of his passes and who were to receive them.
What came next was the captain's three pointers which landed Seirin's victory. The audience and Seirin's members cheered, even the injured number six went up immediately to cheer alongside them. Aki squealed and cheered along as she clapped profusely. Akito lightly smiled while leaning back into his seat. " That was awesome!~ Seirin-chan won!~ ", she faces Kasamatsu with a bright expression.
" Well, gotta hand it to them. They sure are full of surprises. ", he crosses his arms.
" Yeah, definitely-su.", Kise smiled as he agreed.
" Mm! Especially with Kuro-chan and Kaga-chan! They're really- "
" Why?! "
Aki's continuation was interrupted by a shout from someone in the court. She and her companions turned to where the shout was coming from; the bald player of Seihō. He went on saying that Seirin was just formed the previous year and that they've practiced way more than them. They were defeated last year and no matter how much one would look at it, their team is much stronger. " Wh-what's his problem? ", Aki puffed up her cheeks, " That isn't good sportsmanship! Why I otta!- "
Seihō's captain places a hand on the teen's shoulder to stop him. Whatever he told his younger team mate had the latter clutching his eyes shut. The players were already dispersing to line up in the middle of the court when the player went up to Kuroko.
||o~o~o||
After lining up, Seirin's captain comforted the coach who was tearing up from their win. The other match stopped a few minutes later. Shūtoku won by a huge point difference; one hundred and thirteen to thirty eight. " Whoa! They scored more than a hundred! Is that even possible? ", cried Aki in astonishment.
" Of course it is. Thought it isn't common but it wasn't uncommon either. ", her cousin replied while watching Shūtoku in the lineup. " Oh yeah! The generation of miracles could score them no sweat! ", she exclaimed. Kise sweat dropped as he chuckled at Aki's antics, he could almost see the sparkles around her when she came to that realization.
" So with this, Seirin-chan's gonna go against Shūtoku-chan next! Which means that Kuro-chan and Kaga-chan's gonna fight Mido-chan the carrot!~ "
" Eh? M-mido-chan…the carrot? ", the blonde stuttered, flabbergasted.
||o~o~o||
The high lighted teams are given time to rest before the next match in which other matches will start during their break. Aki was currently having a conversation with Kasamatsu about her Judo club as she waits excitedly while Kise's checking his messages that he received in his phone. Akito told them that he's going to the rest room.
It's already pass two in the afternoon. Out in the hall ways, there were several Basketball teams getting ready or had just entered the stadium for their upcoming match. There were also some spectators lingering about among them. The orangenette had his hands in his pockets while casually walking through. Some girl students were watching him with blushed cheeks as he went which goes unnoticed by him.
||o~o~o||
After entering the men's rest room and doing his business, he opened the cubicle's door to find an orange jacket clad player walking pass him to where the sinks are. It was one of Shūtoku's players. Now that he was up close, he finds that the color of his orange Basketball uniform reminded Akito of his own hair color. The orange was just a bit duller than his bright one.
The black haired teen was watching his reflection in between before he noticed the orangenette going up to use the sink next to his. A second later, footsteps were heard as two others went in. Akito saw that it was Kuroko and Seirin's number six from the reflection of the mirror.
" Ah! "
Glancing to the side, he saw that the Shūtoku player also took notice of them. He closes the tap when the light bluenette looked at him.
" Hey. " Akito quietly observed them from the mirror as he washes his hands. Seirin's number six looked surprised when the player greeted his team mate.
" Hello. ", said Kuroko after a few seconds.
The orange clad teen turned towards them, " Oh? A senior? ", he looked at Seirin's number six, " Are you two going to the bathroom together? " Before letting them answer to that obviousrhetorical question, he's already heading towards the exit, " I look forward to playing you in the next game. " The orangenette finds that the exchange had more to it than it seems.
" Ohh..uh..yeah.. ", the latter replied in a mild stutter.
A moment later, " Um…Excuse me. "
The Seirin members turned to Akito, who finished awhile ago, gently staring back at them. " May I go through? ", he asked politely. " Oh uhh...yeah go ahead. ", said the second year. As he went pass them, Akito whispered a ' Good luck ' before going out of the exit.
||o~o~o||
A few hours later, the awaited match was in motion as the two teams huddled up in a circle with the captains giving a light but motivating speech. The whistle of the referee ranged before the teams began their lineup. In the midst of it, Aki saw 'Mido-chan' talking to 'Kuro-chan' which piqued her interest. ' I wonder what they're talking about!~ '
" Will Seirin miraculously beat two Kings in a row or will Shūtoku protect its rightful throne? ", her cousin muses. Aki 'Ohh'ed at that. The teams dispersed and Midorima was seen indirectly conversing about Kagami to his team mate that Akito coincidentally met awhile ago.
||o~o~o||
The match began and Seirin had the ball first but from watching the layout of the opponents marking his team mates, Seirin's number five finds it difficult to pass the ball immediately. A second later, he passed to an open area and Kuroko escaped his marker's sight and appeared right then and there to slap the ball high towards the targeted basket. Kagami caught it after he jumped but before he could score, Midorima pushed the ball away.
The ball was caught by Shūtoku's number ten who then dribbled it towards their goal. Upon finding himself being blocked by Seirin's point guard, he passed from behind his back and his team mate, who was running at the side behind him, caught the ball going for a layup but Seirin's captain managed to touch the ball before it could go into the basket.
||o~o~o||
Neither team was letting the other score and control the game. It has been two minutes since the beginning. Whoever scored first takes the first quarter and the players were anxious to win it. The orangenette finds herself darting from player to player, wondering whose team will score first.
Shūtoku's captain caught the ball from going in his opponent's goal and consequently threw it towards number ten. He roughly dribbled the ball upon being blocked by Seirin's captain but once again passed from behind his back towards Midorima. How he'd known the green haired teen's location from there is beyond comprehension.
Aki's mouth gaped open as the ball was thrown high into the air. While all others were shocked, Midorima casually and confidently turned away from the basket before the ball could even land through it. Akito was stunned but the sudden movement of Seirin's shadow while all others were stuck in place caught his attention. He rushed pass Kagami and a second later the teen went straight to the other end of the court. Whatever Kuroko told him, the taller teen's going through with it.
||o~o~o||
Shūtoku earned three points after the ball went through the basket. The buzzer sounded, the audience cheered and the opposing players were shocked.
" The balance is broken! " Aki heard Kise exclaimed in shock, "Shūtoku's in control! "
" Uweeh~ ", came the soft response from the orangenette, her hands lightly covering her mouth.
Akito blinked from his sister to who was already under the basket. " Look. ", he gently grabbed Aki's arm. She momentarily looked back at him before returning back to the game. Aki lets out a light gasp when she saw who just appeared out of nowhere, again.
Kuroko rapidly turned around to enhance the intensity of the ball's speed before throwing and letting it cut through the air, crossing the whole court and passing a surprised Midorima.
Kagami, who's in the middle of reaching the end, caught the ball just in time. He jumped and finally dunked into the goal. The audience marveled at that individual but combined display of talented coordination. " Tha-that was… ", Aki's face lit up in pure amazement, " Really awesome!~ "
Ah I finally manage to finish this in just a few days. Watching the episodes while writing and summarizing plus adding my OCs into this chapter was quite taxing but it's fun nonetheless. I squeezed both episode 9 and 10 into this chapter. I find it really hard to skip towards the second game and had to include all of it cause I just can't ignore Seirin's moments~
Please Read and Review!~
HIJAMIYA, Out!