Chapter 19
Rising Intensity
And Barry Allen slams the ball into the hoop just as the buzzer sounds!
He managed to push through Rishihara's block to get that point. He did not want to leave the half empty handed.
We've seen some incredible stuff tonight folks, and I'm sure the next half will be just as intense. Now to the halftime report.
"Dad, did you see that? Barry totally knocked Ryu on his ass!" Iris exclaimed as she jumped off the couch.
"I did, and it was impressive," Joe replied as he sat back on the couch.
Joe and Iris West, Barry's foster parent and sister, were up at practically three in the morning to watch the game. They had watched each previous game as well, but the match against Seirin proved to be the one they were most invested in.
Iris sat back down on the couch and let out a breath. "Who knew this could get so exciting."
"You say that as if the other five games haven't been nail-biters," Joe said, looking towards his daughter.
"Well they have been, but none as intense as this one. Honestly those Generation of Miracles, or whatever, are so incredibly strong. I wish I could interview them for the school paper," Iris said with his final sentence being a murmur.
Joe rolled his eyes, but could not help letting out chuckle. He turned his attention back to the television and read the stats for both teams. To him it seemed ridiculous that such high level play could be achieved with just high schoolers, but after watching the other five games, it now seemed plausible.
"To think Japanese basketball would be like this. Those guys are so good. It's almost like they have basketball superpowers," Iris said.
"You got that right," Joe agreed.
He then stood up and started to walk out of the family room. "Call me when the third quarter starts."
"Got it," Iris replied.
—-
Caitlin let out a relieved sigh as the second quarter came to a close. Despite how late it was, she did not feel tired at all. She had kept quiet the whole first half. The game had kept her on the edge of her seat. Her friend on the other hand spoke her mind more often.
"Damn, who knew this game would be so intense," Cadence said as he landed back on the couch.
"The highlights of the previous games don't do the actual thing justice," Caitlin added.
"I would only see the final scores, so I had no idea things could be like that. I mean, did you see those passes?!" Cadence exclaimed.
Caitlin nodded. "They do seem impossible." Though, I'm starting to think that anything is possible when it comes to those players.
"Are the other Generation of Miracles as strong as the blue haired kid and Ryu?" Cadence asked turning towards Caitlin.
"I think they are. Maybe they're better. Watching the highlights isn't enough for me to form an opinion," Caitlin answered.
"Well, whatever the case," Cadence said as she jumped to her feet, "I'm definitely curious to see what happens next. I wonder who'll get knocked on their ass next."
Cadence walked towards the kitchen, leaving Caitlin alone. She glanced at her phone, wondering if she should send a message of encouragement to her friends, but she was hesitant.
The sportscasters kept talking about things that did not make sense to her, so she tuned them out and focused on watching the replays. Most of the technical stuff went over her head, but she could still notice a good play or movement when she saw one. The years she spent watching her friends play together help greatly. Watching Ryuto move in the second quarter had her curious as to what else he had learned while in Japan. She also noticed how similar is was to Seirin's number 10, his name was Tetsuya if she remembered correctly. Not only him, but everyone she knew was playing hard; harder than they ever had.
Caitlin glanced her phone again and picked it up. She sucked in a breath and opened the messaging app. She typed up a short message, Keep playing hard, and hit send. She let out her breath and set down her phone. She had sent it to her friends on the CCHS team as well as Ryuto. He could feel her cheeks warm up, but she quickly controlled herself.
"Alright then, let's see what happens next," Cadence said as she sat back down on the couch.
Caitlin nodded in response and turned her attention to the television. She knew no one would respond to her message.
—
Ryuto moved his left ankle in a circle, making sure it was not in pain. It had been a long time since his injury and it had fully healed since, but he wanted to be sure. He let out a breath and put his shoe back on. He turned his attention forwards, where Riko was going to start going over the game plan. They had used up one of their trump cards early, so now they had to come up with a new strategy.
"Um, I have an idea," Kuroko's monotone voice said and hand raised.
All the attention in the room shifted over towards Kuroko.
"I think I should start this next quarter."
Hyuga let out a breath. "Are you sure? That Snart guy know your tricks."
Riko then let out a gasp and everyone turned towards her. "You want to use Overflow?"
Kuroko nodded. "I think it is our best bet."
"We won't be able to take our time to use it. Snart will force you to lose your presence quicker," Ryuto added.
"I know the risk there is when it comes to this, but it's our only shot," Kuroko replied.
The room fell silent. Everyone was processing Kuroko's words. They had used the very same strategy during the rematch against Tōō during the Winter Cup.
"Whatever happens, I'll back him up," Kagami said.
Kuroko turned towards the red head, who had a smile on his face.
"I am your light after all."
"You might have to go into the Zone when Overflow runs out," Ryuto cautioned.
Kagami closed his hand, forming a fist. He looked towards it, then back to his teammates.
"If it comes to that, I will."
Ryuto let out a chuckle and stood up. He walked over to Kagami and held up his closed fist.
"Show them the strength of the first year duo."
Kagami nodded and fist bumped his friend. The two looked at each other with the same expression they did all those years ago when they first met, the first time they acknowledged each others strength.
"Well, we have that game plan. We still need a back up, just in case," Riko said.
The team nodded in agreement and began to draw up another plan. Everyone silently hoped that they did not have to use it.
—-
"Hey, Barry."
Barry rapidly blinked his eyes and lightly shook his head as his attention was brought back to the locker room. He looked to the side to see Cisco holding out a water bottle. He silently thanked him and took the bottle. Cisco let out a sigh and sat next to his friend.
"You're more worked up than usual."
"What do you mean?" Barry asked.
"I've never seen you talk so seriously," Cisco answered.
Barry's mind flashed back to when the team was gathering their things for halftime. He remembered the tone he used to get everyone to follow him. He wanted to win, no matter the cost.
"I just want to win," Barry said.
"We all do," Cisco said as he placed a hand on Barry's shoulder.
All conversations ceased as soon as the door to the locker room opened and in walked Coach Wells and Coach Stein, with Felicity behind them. They knew that their coaches and analyst had come up with a game plan for the next half.
Wells pushed up his glasses and the glare from the light covered his eyes. "We'll be starting the next half with the same players."
The five that were on the court nodded and prepared to listen to the game plan.
"Felicity," Coach Wells said.
The blonde nodded and walked in front of the two coaches.
"Right, well, here's what they'll likely do next half. Obviously based off on data from previous games and…"
Felicity stopped speaking when Coach Wells cleared his throat.
"Sorry. Back to business. Ryuto is likely yo be benched this quarter, due to overexerting himself. His sub will either be Shinji Koganei and that would mean…"
Felicity explained the intricacies of what the change in players meant. However, to the five that were listening, none of them viewed that sub as a threat. To them, he was a placeholder until Ryuto was rested enough to keep playing.
"There's also the chance that Tetsuya Kuroko will sub for him. That would lead to-" "Misdirection Overflow," Snart said, cutting off Felicity.
"Basically."
"Don't worry about Tetsuya. If he comes back on the court I'll handle him. I'll shut him down and his Overflow," Snart said, confidence in his tone.
"Careful Snart, even Daiki was bested by Overflow," Barry warned.
Snart waved him off. "Daiki is moron. He plays based on instinct. I have everything I need to win calculated."
"That moron completely shut you down yesterday," Cisco said.
Snart was angered by the comment, but nothing to retaliate. He simply glared at the point guard, who returned it with a glare of his own.
"If you can handle him Snart, then I'll leave it to you," Coach Wells said. "Now then, let's get ready for the next half."
"Yes, Coach," the team said in unison.
—
Both teams walked back onto the court with a roar of applause from the crowd. They were all expecting for this second half to be just as exciting as the first.
The Generation of Miracles all looked towards both teams with curiosity. They all wondered what each team would bring out in order to pull out the win. Aomine shifted in his seat as his gaze moved between Snart and Barry to Kagami, Kuroko, and Ryuto. Midorima kept his eyes on Oliver, curious to see what the blonde would do. Kise watched both teams closely. Seijūrō kept his hardened gaze on both teams. Murasakibara seemed indifferent as he munched on snacks, but Tatsuya next to him focused on the match for both of them.
Back on the court, the referee blew his whistle and both team's fives players walked onto the court.
CCHS surveyed their opponents and noticed that Ryuto was on the bench and Kuroko had taken his place. A sly smile formed on Snart's face as his icy-blue eyes remained locked on Kuroko.
Kuroko turned his gaze towards Snart and the their gaze's met. Kuroko tugged on the sweatband on his wrist and turned away from him.
Bring it on Tetsuya. I'll crust you and your Overflow, Snart thought with the smile on his face widening.
I'll make sure you don't stop me this time, Snart-san, Kuroko thought.
The referee gave the ball to Snart for the inbound and with the sound of his whistle the game resumed.
Seirin tightened their defensive formation as Cisco brought the ball to the three point line and waited for what they would do next.
Okay, so this time they benched Ryuto for Tetsuya, so they still have a center, Cisco thought.
Before he could make a move, his vision shifted and saw that Izuki was going to lunge for the ball and steal it. His vision returned to normal and he avoided the steal with a crossover. He used the moment to drive towards the basket. However, the center did not move to stop his advance. He kept his defense on Diggle. Cisco stopped his advance at the free throw line and set up for a shot. As he went to release the ball, it was swatted down by Seirin's center, Mitobe.
Damn, he was waiting for me to set up for a shot. I should have seen something so obvious coming, Cisco thought.
Izuki picked up the loose ball and drove down the court. He was quickly overtaken by Barry, who defended the basket. Izuki smiled and passed the ball to the side, where Kuroko was setting up for an Ignite Pass. Barry's eyes widened as he saw Kagami sprint by him. Kuroko then thrusted his palm onto the ball and it shot forwards at high speeds. Kagami jumped and grabbed the ball, quickly turning it around and slamming it into the hoop.
The crowd let out a cheered loudly for Seirin's point and marveled at the action the first play brought.
On the court, Seirin celebrated their score; the bench cheered as well.
"Hey, Snart, I thought you'd stop him?" Barry called out.
Snart rolled his his eyes. "Relax, I know what I'm doing."
Barry reluctantly nodded and jogged towards offense.
As the quarter continued, Snart continued to put pressure onto Kuroko. Whenever Kuroko tired to make a move, Snart was there to stop him.
On the bench, Ryuto kept his eyes focused on Snart and Kuroko. The way Snart moved, was very similar to how Imayoshi had defended him. Ryuto placed a hand on his chin and processed everything. Imayoshi had countered Kuroko by reading everyone else's line of sight, as for Kuroko's passes needed eye contact for them to work. Snart was doing something similar, but Ryuto could feel there was something different as well.
The way he moves. In his mind flashed Snart's movements, his footwork. Then Kuroko's movements flashed. Can he see Kuroko? Ryuto shook his head. That's impossible. He had time for his low presence to return to him. He has to be doing what Imayoshi had done.
In the stands, Tōō watched the game closely. They also noticed how similar Snart was defending Kuroko as Imayoshi did.
"Is he doing what you did, Imayoshi-senpai?" Sakurai asked.
"It seems like he is, but he's doing it better than I ever could," Imayoshi answered.
"That guy is crazy smart," Aomine said. "I'm pretty sure he could do what Imayoshi did, but much more effectively."
"Meaning?" Susa asked.
"He only needs to give a quick glance in the mirror," Aomine said.
Back on the court, Kuroko caught a pass and was met by Snart. Kuroko brought the ball to his side and quickly cut in diagonally. However, before he could fully break away from Snart, he turned around and slapped the ball out of his hand. Kuroko's eyes turned towards Snart and they widened when he saw that his eyes were wide open.
Oliver picked up the loose ball and quickly set up for a shot at half court. He released and the ball sailed in the air and through the hoop.
"I thought I told you, I know how to stop you," Snart said.
"I don't believe that," Kuroko replied, composing himself.
Snart rose an eyebrow. "I know all your tricks. This whole time you've been trying to get Overflow to activate."
In the stands, Aomine chuckled softly. "Sometimes, he can be an idiot."
"And I counted on that fact."
Snart turned towards the scoreboard, there were five minutes left in the third quarter. He turned back to Kuroko, who was still standing in front of him; a confident smile on his face.
"Kagami-kun!"
"About time!" Kagami called out.
All the attention on the court turned to Kagami, and saw the red lightning in his eyes.
So, this was their plan, Ryuto thought with a chuckle. Not even I would come up with this.
"It's combination of Misdirection Overflow and Taiga's Zone," Tatsuya said, amazed at the turn of events.
Back on the court, Izuki passed the ball to Kagami and as Barry moved to defend him, Kuroko appeared in his line of sight and it was as if Kagami had disappeared. All of CCHS looked to see Kagami slam the ball into the basket, all of them had shocked expressions on their face.
"Snart, Allen! Now!" Coach Wells yelled from the bench.
The two teens were brought out from their shock and back into the game. The two players focused and closed their eyes. When they opened them again, a red orange lightning and icy blue lightning appeared in their eyes.
"Heh, looks like we got our hands full, right Kuroko?" Kagami said with a laugh.
"Indeed we do, Kagami-kun," Kuroko replied.
"Let's show them what we got," Kagami said.
Kuroko nodded and the two prepared to take the offensive.
Ryuto laughed to himself, garnering the attention of everyone on the bench.
"So, that's their plan. Man, those two are something else," Ryuto said aloud.
"What're you talking about?" Koganei asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"I get it," Riko said. "Kagami-kun plans on using his Zone to become the center of attention. Thus making Kuroko-kun become invisible again."
Ryuto nodded in agreement. This is the power of the first year duo. Seirin's light and shadow.
On the court, on full display was Kuroko and Kagami's teamwork. What Riko had said had come to pass, because of Kagami's use of Zone, Kuroko became an after thought and he was able to send passes all around the court. The Generation of Miracles had pieced together that by not fully activating Misdirection Overflow, Seirin could still use it if need be.
Even with two people in the Zone, CCHS found it difficult in keeping up with Kagami and Kuroko's teamwork. The duo took advantage of CCHS's lack of communication and teamwork to score point after point. However, CCHS was also scoring points. Kagami alone was not enough to contain both Snart and Barry.
Barry's unparalleled speed meant that Kagami could barely keep up. Meanwhile, Snart froze people in place and scored undefended each time. Kuroko could barely put up any defense even with his low presence regained. With a minute left in the quarter, and the score being tied at 82, both teams continued to push forwards.
In the stands, Clark took in the intensity, to the point where he had to take off his glasses. He could feel the sweat pouring down and he was not even playing.
"They're going at it with all they've got and it isn't even the fourth quarter. Plus three people in the Zone. I don't remember ever seeing anything this intense before," Clark said.
"You're right. Though compared to Taiga, those two don't have enough experience in the Zone," Alex said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Clark asked.
"Taiga could use the Zone again next quarter as well, while the other two will have to push themselves even harder than before," Alex explained.
"But what if those two can keep it going?" Clark asked.
Alex turned to him, surprised by the question. He found the teen looking back towards the court, his eye ablaze taking in every detail. She smiled. Alex could see how much the teen missed playing basketball. She decided against answering his question and watched the final moments of the quarter play out.
On the court, Cisco dribbled the ball at the three point line. There were fifteen seconds left on the clock and they were leading by two. He had expected that once Barry and Snart had entered the Zone they would score point after point. He saw Barry break away from his mark with ease and call out for a pass. Cisco positioned himself to pass, but his vision shifted and he saw Kuroko steal the ball. Cisco shifted his body and sent a pass towards Snart, but it was cut off by Kagami. Cisco cursed loudly as he saw the red head sprint down the court ready to slam the ball into the hoop. However, Barry over took him with his superior speed and ready to defend.
Wait, he's standing too far in, Coach Wells thought. "Move closer, Barry!"
However, his words reached the teen too late as Kagami had already jumped from the free throw line. Barry's eyes widened at the height from which Kagami was off the ground and he could not believe his eyes.
"Meteor Jam!"
Kagami then threw the ball into the basket just as the buzzer rang, signaling the end of the quarter.
"No way. I can't stop that," Barry muttered in disbelief.
The quarter finished in a tie, 86-86. Both teams walked off the court, knowing that the next quarter would decide everything. Both knew it was now that they had to give it their all.
—-
On Seirin's bench, they congratulated the players for managing the keep the game close and that they still could reach victory. The players that sat on the bench were quick to point out that their opponents were not going to make it easy for them.
"That's right, but we have them right where we want them. Their key players are tired out, no doubt they'll sub them out in order to give them some rest. Now's our chance to hit them hard," Riko said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"However, Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun," Riko said turning towards the two, "you two will be benched as well. I need you two to go back in at near full strength for when those two go back in."
The two teens nodded in response.
"I understand," Kuroko said.
"The same goes for me," Kagami added.
That went over better than I expected, Riko thought. "Ryuto-kun, Koga. You two will sub for them."
"You got it," the two said in unison.
—-
"Snart, Barry, you two will remain on the bench," Coach Wells said.
The two teens were about to protest, but the look on their coach's face quickly shut them down.
"I need you two to conserve your strength for when that duo comes back in. Plus the pace of the game is bound to slow down."
The two teens nodded in response.
"If I may add something, Coach," Felcity said.
Coach Wells nodded and took a few steps back.
"Right now, you two almost his your limits. Barry, I'm sure you could feel your legs shaking when the buzzer rang and I'm sure Snart felt something similar," Felicity said
The two teens subconsciously grabbed a leg and could feel them shaking.
"The same goes for that duo. When you four are both fully rested is when this game will reach its climax," Felicity said.
The two teens nodded in response and did not argue.
"Rene, switch with Snart. Palmer, you're in for Barry," Coach Wells said.
"We won't let you down, sir," Ray said.
"Finally, some game time."
The buzzer rang, signaling the start of the next quarter. Both teams walked onto the court, ready to decide who would be the victor. As Ryuto walked onto the court, CCHS were quick to turn their gazes towards them. Ryuto met their gazes and smiled.
"Let's get this started," he said.
His teammates nodded in response and prepared for the final quarter.
AN: With that, this chapter comes to an end. Sorry for the brevity of it, but everything I needed to say is all there. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry for the long wait. I hope to deliver chapters in a more timely manner now. We're inching ever closer to this story's conclusion so I hope it's as exciting as I'm picturing it in my head. Stay tuned for the next chapter. If you're enjoying this story, feel free to follow, favorite, and/or review if you haven't already. Remember, I do NOT own Flash or Kuroko's Basketball. I only own my character and the plot.