Chapter 21- Kaijo vs Seirin

Hi guys! Please don't yell at me! I know it's been forever since I update and I apologies for that! I haven't had any time whatsoever to write because of school. So without further ado, please read!

I DO NOT OWN KNB!

Kuroko's P.O.V.

I watched as the final buzzer went for the game between Rakuzan and Shutoku. Akashi said something to Midorima before turning and walking to line up. I could see the despair in Shutoku's eyes especially Midorima's. Akashi must have said something incredibly insensitive but all I could do was watch.

Knowing that Akashi probably couldn't see me, I glared into the back of his head, hoping to drill a hole into it. Akashi suddenly stopped and turned to the side slightly, I could see a slight golden shimmer before he continued walking, his back completely to me.

The two teams bowed and Shutoku turned to their cheer squad.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

I thought it was sweet of them. I couldn't say the same for Rakuzan though. I saw Takao say something and laugh, but I could see the guilt and sadness from the stands. Whatever he was saying to Midorima, it was an attempt to cheer him up. Poor Takao and Midori-kun.

"Oi Pipsqueak, let's get ready for our game against Kaijo."

Kagami could see the disappointment in my eyes, he knew I didn't enjoy watching that match at all.

"Yeah, let's go then."

We got ready on court. Riko was discussing tactics as we got changed and Hyuga gave us words of encouragement.

We started to practice and warm up. I could feel the butterflies start to go berserk in my stomach. I passed the ball to Kagami when I heard Kise yell out.

We all turned to see what was going on when Kise leapt from the free throw line and dunked the ball into the hoop with ease. I smiled. It was a declaration of war just like what we had done in our practice game earlier in the year.

Kise turned and smirked, pointing a finger at Kagami and I,

"I'm just declaring war."

Kise caught my grin and his eyes lit up.

"OI! Don't just stand there doing nothing you morons! Go return the favour! Show 'em who's the original!"

Hyuga growled from behind. He never really liked being upstaged.

Hyuga tossed the ball to Kagami who passed to me. I flicked the ball up to the net and Kagami slammed it in just as easily.

I turned back and smirked at Kise who grinned back. It was on.

I started to tremble.

"Oi Kuroko are you alright?"

I looked up to see the team stare at me,

"Sorry, but I'm so excited, I can't wait for the game to begin."

They all chuckled,

"Moron, that goes for all of us too. Well for everyone on court that is."

We turned to see Kaijo also waiting in anticipation.

"Oi Moriyama! Stop looking for a girl that's your type!"

"I'm so excited that I haven't found a girl yet! I am at a loss…"

Kobori sighed out loud as his team mate Hayakawa started to shout nonsense.

"Kagamicchi."

Kagami and I turned to see Kise next to us.

"Eh? What is it Ki-kun?"

"That day, when I lost a game for the first time, that frustration… I haven't forgotten about it until now, even for a day. I don't plan to let that happen ever again."

Kagami ruffled the back of his head,

"I feel like you've gotten softer Kise."

"Eh?"

I stepped forward,

"It's true Ki-kun. You've changed from the start of the year. To be honest, I used to hate you."

Kise cried out in shock,

"Eh? What?"

"I don't mean it in a bad way. Back in Teiko, you took my spot for the starting line up. At first I was angry but then I became more competitive and tried as hard as I could to get that spot back. Even though I helped you when you first joined, I was worried that you would be better than me. Finally I came to realize something. I felt that Ki-kun was my rival."

Kise's eyes widened then he smiled.

"Well I'll be…Stuff like that totally fires me up!"

The game started after the line up. We got the ball first. Hyuga passed to Izuki who raced down the court. Izuki then passed to me and I used vanishing drive on Hayakawa. I ran into Moriyama and went straight ahead with my Phantom Shot, I wasn't going to give them any chances. The ball sank into the hoop with a swish, I gained Seirin the first points of the game.

As I turned to run back I heard the whoosh of the ball soaring through the air followed by the swish and thud of the ball sinking into the net. I turned around. Kise had scored a three pointer by copying Midorima. He got us right back.

"Back then, what Kagamicchi said, there was one thing that really annoyed me."

Kise's eyes narrowed with ferocity,

"Who softened up, and when?"

The game continued and Kise went all out. Using his Perfect Copy, he blocked all of our attacks. He rushed at Kagami who face him off. Kagami watched carefully, on guard as Kise approached him. Kagami kept up with Kise until he stumbled and fell on his behind. I watched in horror. Not only had Kise ankle broke Kagami but he had copied Akashi's emperor eye as well.

This match was not going well for us.

I went for a phantom shot. I notice Kagami behind Kise and went ahead. But for the first time, I didn't make the shot. Kise had somehow managed to figure it out and stopped it. All my playing cards were on the field and they weren't getting us anywhere, not when Kise could stop them all.

"OI Kuroko you alright?"

I started to shake in frustration and disbelief.

"No, sorry Kagami-kun but I give up. That was…I can't…that was my defeat. Ki-kun is amazing."

"Eh? What are you talking about?!"

I sighed,

"You didn't let me finish. He's such a formidable opponent, that it makes me want to laugh!"

Kise turned and smirked at me.

"Nice of you to say that about me, Kurokocchi."

The game continued but our attacks were going nowhere. We kept missing and stuffing up. At this rate, it would be the end of us.

"Member change!"

I turned around to see Furihata standing on the edge of the court, wearing his uniform. His eyes wide with fear and his body trembled with nerves. He was pouring with sweat by just standing there. He then managed to calm down and relax and took a step onto the court. As soon as he did, the crowd went wild and his calm persona vanished and changed back into one of fear and worry.

He began to walk robotically onto the court.

"we're counting on you. You've got number 4!"

Izuki gave him a pat on the back as Furihata continued to stagger into position. The poor guy. I understood how he felt. In my first game in Teiko, I was just like him.

I could see Kaijo stare at him weirdly, especially Kise who frowned trying to understand the situation.

"Dunno what she's thinking but let's do our best Furi!"

Kagami said and Furihata turned to him in a blank yet confused expression. I guess he was having a hard time comprehending that he was on court.

"Let's do our best Furi-kun-"

I stopped talking after I realized that he had not noticed me. This, wasn't going to be good. I could see the benched guys sweat drop. Oh No.

Furihata finally approached Kasamatsu only to be scowled at.

"What the….they sent a tensed-up first year?"

I could see Furihata tremble like a blob of jelly on a shaky table.

The game starts and Hyuga passes to Furihata. He manages to catch the ball but his face explained everything. He had no idea what to do. He was too scared to even think. I sweat dropped. His movements were rigid and his eyes were blank. He was scared shitless. He approached Kasamatsu when the ball fell onto his knee and he kicked it upwards. He attempted to catch it, only to find it land into the hands of Kasamatsu who was confused as hell.

"well, I guess.. thanks!"

Kasamatsu made a run for it, but he didn't notice that I was behind him and I managed to tap the ball out of his hands.

I don't understand why I said this but, I guess I felt sorry for Furihata.

"Sorry Kasamatsu-kun. Could you please go easy for a sec. Furi-kun is still a bit nervous…"

He scowled at me, his frown intensified at the disbelief of my words,

"Huh? Like I care!"

I managed to pass the ball to Furihata who still looked confused as hell. This guy was hopeless. To brighten up the mood I shed some words of encouragement on the trembling guy.

"Furi-Kun! Don't worry. I understand how you feel. On my debut game, I tripped over my own feet and got a nosebleed."

He seemed to lighten up but then he sweat dropped,

"Seriously?"

"Yep, I'm very serious. We all get first game nerves so don't worry. Take a deep breath and give it all you've got!"

He approached Kasamatsu again this time, Kagami giving some support.

"Oi! Furi!"

Furihata passed to Kagami who was guarded by Kise.

"I won't miss this time! Time for our duel, Kise!"

"I'll take you on!"

Kagami went to take on Kise when he was stopped…by Furihata.

"Kagami Stop! C-C-Calm down!"

Kasamatsu was staring in disbelief at Furihata, and so was everyone else.

"Huh? What? You're the one who needs to calm down!"

Kagami looked back at Kise then passed the ball instead.

"What? Not coming?"

Kise mocked as he slid in a sly grin

"Shut up. For now, we're resetting this."

As the game continued, I soon realized what Riko was doing by putting Furihata in. Because Furihata was slow and nervous, he had changed the pace of the game. Unlike before, we weren't as reckless and passing randomly, we were now more cautious.

Furihata passed to me. I quickly flicked the ball to Kiyoshi who was about to do a lay up but decided to pass back to Furihata. Seeing as it was the right moment, Furihata went for the lay up and scored his first ever game points.

Kagami and I waited with our hands up.

"Nice shot Furi-Kun!"

He returned our smiles with his own and gave us high fives. He was finally getting comfortable.

But just as he was getting comfortable, someone called time out. We all gathered at our benches as Riko discussed our battle strategy.

"I'm subbing you out Furihata-kun. Good job!"

He smiled genuinely and his face lit up like a light bulb. He had a dash of pink on his cheeks at Riko's praise.

The game continued except we weren't getting anywhere. Izuki was having trouble with Kasamatsu and thanks to Perfect Copy, Kagami wasn't getting anywhere with Kise.

Kaijo went on the offensive. Izuki stuck to Kasamatsu like glue and Kasamatsu knew that he wouldn't be able to pass Izuki, so his only choice was to pass to his ace who was busy with Kagami. Kobori created a screen as Kise dashed passed Kagami and received the ball. Kise went to score when he felt a presence behind him. It was too late when he realized as Kagami smacked the ball out of his hands.

Kiyoshi caught the ball and threw it across the court to Izuki. I ran after as assistance with Hyuga. Izuki passed to Kagami who went one on one with Kise. Although strangely, Kagami was able to get past Kise very easily unlike before and Kagami scored us some points in which Kise didn't try to stop.

I saw the agitated look on Kise's face. He was angry or frustrated about something, but I had no idea what. Suddenly the buzzer went for a member swap. Kaijo's coach was swapping Kise out.

"Kise, I'm swapping you out."

"Wait…why me? If I leave now-"

Kasamatsu approached, scolding Kise for arguing with the coach,

"Kise. Follow the coach's order!"

I suddenly had a thought. The only reason they would pull him out is if they wanted to save Kise's strength for later or…he was injured.

Then it hit me. That last match between him and Haizaki was the reason why. It was his foot! Haizaki had stomped on his foot in that game and it must still be hurting. No wonder.

I saw the sadness in his eyes as Kasamatsu and his team members also realized. But behind that sadness, there was also determination. I know Kise well. He may be kinda daft at times but when it really came down to it, Kise fought fiercely for his friends.

"This is our chance."

I turned to Kagami,

"Kagami-kun…"

He glanced at me and nodded,

"Yeah, I know. I do sympathise and that's why I'll give it my all."

As soon as the game started again, Kagami was instantly double teamed by Nakamura and Moriyama.

"Kagami pass out!"

Kagami passed to Hyuga who quickly tossed the ball to me. I ran with the ball as Kaijo suddenly saw that I had it. I raced to shot it when Kobori jumped in front. I smiled. Sorry but that isn't going to stop me.

I shot the ball as it vanished in front of Kobori and landed in the hoop with a delicate swish.

Izuki passed to me and I went for a phantom shot when Kasamatsu leapt in front of me. I looked at him confused. What's going on? Does he have something up his sleeve that can stop me? Shit, it's too late to turn back now. I'll have to go with it.

I shot the ball and thought it was going to go in like usual but there was something in Kasamatsu's eyes that said otherwise.

I must have jinxed myself because Kasamatsu jumped up and knocked the ball out of its path. So I guess he did figure out how to stop then.

I know that this was went to push me to grow stronger and more determined but right now, I just felt like shit. That shot, I worked so hard to create it and now it was conquered. Riko subbed me out for Mitobe and I felt his stare on my back as I walked to the bench but I ignored it. I had to recollect myself first.

I walked past Kagami without looking at him. Everyone knew I was upset.

I got to the bench and everyone looked at me with sympathy. It was a hard blow alright and I just needed to sit it out. I let out a deep breath.

"It's alright guys, I'm fine. I just need a moment."

"Heh? You're fine? Aren't you shocked that your shot got blocked?"

"Hm? Of course! But this doesn't mean that Seirin is going to lose yet. Besides, we have Kagami don't we?"

As if on cue, Kagami ran straight through the double team and dunked right over the top of Kobori. Show off.

"Izuki-senpai, please pass to me whenever. Right now, I don't feel like I'm gonna lose!"

The second quarter ended with a tie of 44 points. Kagami was on fire! Thanks to him we were tied with Kaijo.

As we got up to go to our lockers, I glanced over at Kise. His head was down and he got up slowly to join his team. I couldn't help but feel so sorry for him. He wanted to play against Kagami and lead his team to victory so much and because of stupid Haizaki, he couldn't. I kinda hoped that Kise was okay to play again and that his coach would let him back in.

"Even though Kise is injured, I feel like they're going to get him back in towards the end. So we have to get as many points as possible! Right now, we focus on offense!"

"Yosh!"

After the pep talk, I went up to Kagami who was tying his shoe lace.

"Kagami-kun."

"Yeah? Oh, the shoes I got from that bastard Aomine are an amazing fit. I'll go all out second halt too."

"Sure-"

"By the way, are you going to be okay? You know since they shut down your phantom shot? You got any tricks up your sleeve?"

"Hm? Nope."

"Hah?"

"well for now, I mean I can't stay depressed forever you know?"

~Meanwhile in the Kaijo lockers~

"Why wont you let me back in?! Please coach! I'm the only one who can stop Kagami! Am I wrong?"

The coaches stern face angered Kise. Why couldn't he see that I was the only one who can stop Kagamicchi?!

"No. Not until the last two minutes. I can't play you before that time."

"But…How we are now-"

Moriyama stopped him from speaking any further. Kise was totally looking down on them now without even noticing it.

"Kise."

Kise turned to Moriyama.

"Moriyama-senpai! Back me up here!"

"Com-"

Before he could finish, Moriyama stopped himself from asking to get Kise out. It was for his own good. It was better to not allow Kise out and have him be able to play in the future then to let him out now and possibly ruin his basketball future forever.

Kasamatsu wasn't going to listen to this anymore.

"Kise. We understand your side of the story but the answer is no!"

"Wait why is that-"

"SHUT UP!"

Kise shut up.

"Orders from your Senpai idiot! Don't you first years talk back!"

~Back to Seirin~

Sitting on the bench, I looked over to Kaijo to see, sure enough, Kise sitting there. Unlike before, instead of sadness in his eyes, he was pouting. I could start to see the usual Kise back. For now, it was our chance to get ahead before Kise gets back in.

In the third quarter, Kaijo barely managed to hold on. But I could feel their willpower from the bench. Even without Kise, they were still going strong, returning shots and dunks and holding out.

"We're Kaijo, don't belittle us!"

I could feel excitement build up inside me. This is what it meant to play basketball.

Somehow, Hyuga and Kiyoshi managed to get into a full on shout fest at each other. Oh yeah, it started with Hyuga calling Kiyoshi 'Iron Heart' to which Kiyoshi didn't want him to. Our Senpais were acting like children. Very big children.

"Don't call me that! Only an Iron Heart would!"

"I have no idea what you mean, MORON!"

"And you?! They're landing threes everywhere!"

"SHUT UP! I'm just getting started, IDIOT!"

I sweat dropped as did everyone else.

"Izuki-senpai? Are they going to be alright?"

"It's okay Kagami, just leave them alone. They'll settle down soon enough."

My attention turned back to the two squabbling senpais,

"I'm worse than Izuki?! I'd rather die, MORON!"

I laughed at that comment from Hyuga and the other members looked at me funny.

"Is this really funny to you Kuroko-san?" asked Furihata.

"Incredibly so Furi-kun. Who knew our senpais could be so bratty?"

The other first years smiled as Hyuga and Kiyoshi finally settled down although they were still mad at each other. I could see Hyuga was looking the other way with a disgusted look on his face while Kiyoshi was pouting and frowning at the same time.

I, as well as Kagami, was really beginning to worry about them now.

Although that thought was gone when they started playing, the two make a great combo!

The third quarter ended with us in the lead by 9 points.

I felt a chill run up my spine and didn't know why. It was an uncomfortable feeling that wouldn't leave me alone no matter how much I tried to ignore it.

I felt a tingling up my arm and looked over to see a spider crawl up.

I'm not scared of spiders, but this one was big, ugly and hairy as hell. It looked like Satan had conjured up something and threw it on me as a joke.

I squealed and jumped back, flicking the spider onto the ground as the other members and Riko jumped back at the sight of the ugly thing.

"Kill it!"

"It's huge!"

"Where did it come from?!"

Finally it got bored of scaring us and crawled off. I sighed loudly as did the others as we regained our calm.

"Sorry guys, I had this tingling feeling up my arm and then I saw that thing. Sorry for scaring you."

Koganei pat my back,

"That thing was on you? You have my deepest sympathies…"

"Thank you."

~Up on the stands~

"Who's winning?"

"Oh, Seirin is leading in the third quarter."

"I see."

The group sat down on the remaining seats to watch the match.

A pair of heterochromatic eyes stared down at the game. He could see that Kise was out for some reason and so was Kuroko. Although what happened next amused him. Something must have spooked the team as it started with Kuroko. He saw her jump up with panic in her eyes as the other members began to fuss about something.

They were yelling and pointing at something and then after a while, they turned back the game with a relived look on their faces. He had no idea what was going on but it was funny to see Kuroko spaz out like that. It also brought great sadness to him. He missed her deeply.

"Whoa, amazing! He's gonna bust through that double team?"

The tall dark skinned player watched as Kagami ran through the double team.

"And then passing there to finish it off. Simple but elegant."

"I can tell even from the one play now, Seirin's strong! Akashi what do you think?"

All eyes fell on the red head who was staring emotionless at the teams on court.

"True, it makes sense that they got to the semifinals. I can't believe it's a team in its second year. Kaijo is good too, but without Ryota, their opponent's too much. Early scouts reported his injury substitution. I also heard that he used his new skill for about three minutes before that. Given the gap in strength between the two teams and if there's two minutes left to Ryota's new skill, if they can get a 15 point lead, it is almost certain they would win."

~On court, no one's P.O.V~

Kise was watching his team get pulverized. He was trembling shaking with frustration and sadness that his team was struggling so hard and yet they were still getting beaten.

He started to take off his outside shirt and shorts.

"Kise, wait! It's still too early!"

"I don't wanna! I'm going in!"

"There's still four minutes. With your foot, if you're reckless for over two minutes, your future-"

"Coach. The job of the ace is to lead the team to victory, right? If I don't go know, I will definitely regret it. Because I really love this team!"

After a moment of hard decision making, he finally let in,

"Fine.. but if I determine there's even a little risk, I'll sub you out at once!"

"Roger that~"

Kise got up to make a substitution when he noticed Kuroko was there as well to make a substitution for her team.

She gave him a fierce stare, stating that she was an opponent and was going to do everything to win. He smiled. Alright then Kurokocchi, you're on!

"Looks like Kaijo were on their last legs. Any later and they might've been mentally broken. In that respect, putting Ryota in was right."

Akashi stated as he saw Kise and Kuroko walk onto court. This was the climax of the game. This is the time for when shit goes down.

Rakuzan watched intently on the game. They were subbing in two very important players.

Meanwhile on the other side, Murasakibara and Himuro, who were watching the whole time, knew that this was a huge risk for Kaijo and Kise.

"There's 4 minutes left of the game and Kise can only use perfect copy for 2. Even if he makes no mistakes…it's going to be tough for Kaijo to pull ahead and win."

Kise approached Kagami who welcomed him with open arms,

"Yo…I see you're finally back out! I've been waiting."

Except the only thing was Kise had an incredibly fierce and unfriendly face. Kagami was shocked at the sight of Kise's scary face. Never had he seen Kise so concentrated and serious.

"Kagami-kun, we're going to have to be on our guard now."

"yeah, we can't let it down for one moment."

"Yeah, I agree."

I slipped on my wristbands and readied for the intense battle that was about to begin.

"Until the game-ending buzzer goes, anything could happen."

The game began with intense pressure in the air. Finally it came to the one on one between Kise and Kagami. Although, without even moving, Kise ankle broke Kagami and raced forward with the same ferocity and speed of Aomine.

Akashi and Aomine who were watching above couldn't believe their eyes. Kise was able to copy their moves perfectly. Akashi was not happy that Kise was able to copy his Emperor Eye.

Kise went for a dunk and Kiyoshi jumped up to stop him. But that was pretty useless as Kise dunked right over the top before Kiyoshi could react.

I felt Kagami's resolve and slammed the ball into his direction with my ignite pass. Kagami went for a lane up but was stopped by Kise who copied Murasakibara's defensive block.

Kagami and Kuroko looked over to Kise. His eyes blazing with spirit and the intent of winning.

"We're going to win! I'm going to risk everything I have from here on!"

End of chapter

I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! Once again I apologise for the late update. See you in the next chapter.