黒子のバスケ:戦闘機の心

Kuroko no Basket: Heart of a Fighter

'Til the referee rings the bell

'Til both ya eyes start to swell

'Til the crowd goes home,

What we gonna do kid?" ~Lyrics from Fighter by Gym Class Heroes

The basketball was thrown high into the air and the two teams sprang up high to get it. Kagami's fingertips managed to brush against the ball's surface and manipulate its direction. The ball landed in Kotone's hands and she sprinted for a fast break. I have to be strong while he's not here she thought to herself. However, she made the fatal mistake of underestimating the rest of the opposing players. Imayoshi caught up to her by the time she crossed to their half of the court. He snatched the ball away from her as she dribbled and threw it behind him. Wakamatsu caught it before Hyuga could intercept and then quickly passed it to Ryo. He made a simple jump shot, but his release was so fast that no one was able to react to it. The basketball swished through the net and the score board went to three.

(?!) Unbelievable; it's not only Aomine. She said to herself.

"You shouldn't be so anxious yet Makoto." She heard Imayoshi say. She shot a cold glare at him. He smirked broadly. "We're only the opening act; everything will really get going once Aomine gets here."

Kotone frowned, and then felt a shoulder rest suddenly on her shoulder. She turned and saw it was Kuroko.

"Don't get too worked up yet; you need to conserve your strength for when he plays." He reminded. She nodded.

###

The first quarter ended after twelve minutes. The score at the moment was Tōō thirty-six and Seirin twenty-five. They were faring pretty well so far. It was break time and they rested up a little. After about five minutes or so, it was time for the players to get back in, or switch out with another teammate. Kotone began walking back onto the court, but then she saw Aomine stepping in to play. She froze in her tracks. Kagami noticed she wasn't beside him like before and frowned.

"What're you doing?" he asked, feeling a bit annoyed. She snapped out of it when she heard his voice. She shook her head and timidly took a half step back. He raised a brow. "C'mon we have to go."

"I want to switch out with Koganei." She forced out of her mouth uneasily and shaking. Her teammates stopped to gape.

"What do you mean?" asked Hyuga. They then realized that it was because of Aomine.

"I'm no good if he's there; besides you're out there." She said to Kagami. "You're the only one who stands a chance against him."

Kagami exhaled a distressed sigh. "You're gonna be the one facing him, not me. That's final" he stated. Her eyes widened.

"Huh?!"

"Kise faced him alone and so did I; don't expect others to fight your battles for you." He said in a scolding tone. She shrunk back a little.

"Alright I'll face him." She agreed, trying to steady her voice so she wouldn't stutter. She stepped in.

"So I finally get to see you again Kotone." She heard Aomine say as she walked onto the court. His deep voice sent the familiar shiver up her spine. She didn't turn around to look at him or reply.

"Don't disappoint me." he told.

The game resumed and it was Seirin's ball. Kotone readied herself while Izuki looked around for someone open. However, Kise, Midorima and Ryu, who were spectators, noticed something strange. The defense was off balance. There were three people were surrounding Kotone and the other two were guarding the others.

"Is this the isolation technique you went on about?" Kise asked Midorima.

"It appears to be but I'm not too sure." He responded.

"This is no Isolation tactic." Ryu interjected, keeping a keen eye on the players. They looked at him, confused. "There leaving a small gap for Izuki to pass it to her, while the others are heavily blocked. There not singling her out so she can face Aomine only, as soon as she gets it the three are gonna pressure her with offense immediately." he expounded.

"But won't that be considered fouling her?" Midorima asked.

"I've done and seen this tactic before; there are ways around it." he replied. They then returned their focus to the game. Like Ryu had predicted Izuki had fallen for the bait and passed it to Kotone. No one intercept it. She started dribbling and sprinting to their basket goal. Wakamatsu and Imayoshi stayed close by her side and tried stealing it.

(?!) their movements were too fast for her to see. She became unbalanced and started fumbling, but she managed to keep the ball in her possession. Out of nowhere Aomine charged at her, stole the ball from her hands and she fell down, not knowing if he hit her or not. She could hear some members of the audience uproar when he charged her. She was so focused on the other two that she forgot about Aomine.

Kagami and Hyuga tried stopping him but because of his unconventional street ball maneuvering, they were unable to. Kagami didn't give up though; he sprang up into the air, trying to stop Aomine from making the shot. It looked like he was going to stop him, but he laid his back down a bit and shot it, making the arc of the shot higher to pass Kagami's block. It hit the backboard and swooshed through the net. The crowd cheered at the stunning feat and Tōō's score was now thirty-nine. Riko stormed to the referee.

"What was that bullshit; he charged her!" she shouted loudly, enough so some of the audience could hear. The spectators up roared again.

"Number fourteen wasn't in a defensive position and she might have fallen because she was unable to control her speed. No foul will be called and the basket counts." He claimed audibly. Ryu clenched his fists and grinded his teeth.

"See, there are ways to gang up on a player without getting fouled. " Ryu said, masking his anger.

"Yeah you're right—"Kise stopped when he saw Ryu hurry down the steps. "Wait where're you going?!"

Seirin called a short time out so they could check if any injuries were inflicted on Kotone. She sat on the bench as Riko examined her.

"Your numbers are lowered but nothing seems damaged." She said. Kotone nodded and then heard a ruckus going on from the other side of the court where the opposing team was. She looked up and saw it was Ryu. She hurried over there and saw that Ryu had maybe bad mouthed them and then throw a sports drink all over Wakamatsu.

"What the hell was that for?!" he screamed.

"Sorry, but you pissed me off." Ryu apologized sarcastically, his voice calm but threatening.

"Ryu what do you think you're doing?" Kotone questioned, grabbing hold of his shirt. He gave no reply. Kotone was mad at them too and if she was like before she might've done the same, but she controlled it better than he did. She bowed her head.

"I'm so sorry about that." She lamented.

"What're you apologizing for?" Wakamatsu inquired.

"Toshiyuki-senpai is my responsibility, so…" she began, taking the sports drink in her hands and taking off the top. She closed her eyes, raised it high and spilled the water on herself. Her hair was soaking wet, little droplets streaming down the tips of her locks and the top of her shirt was damp. "This should make us even." She finished. They gave no reply, and kept silent.

"C'mon." she said, tugging at Ryu.

"You've become a good sport now." He complimented as they walked back. She smiled.