WOW IT'S BEEN OVER A MONTH AND A HALF HELLO.
Sorry, I literally had no time at all to write, I'm in the middle of exams hahahahaha kill me. Anyway, I decided to take a break for a little bit before I go back to revision by finishing this chapter that I've had on standby for God knows how long.
To xXTheLeaderOfTheInsanestClanXx: FINALLY I GOT TO YOUR CHAPTER SO I HOPE IT MAKES YOU HAPPY.
And fair warning, I'm not explaining basketball games in detail so forgive me please!
Now, without further ado...
Enjoy the chapter!
Do you remember?
It was a regular day at school, Seijuro had just finished with basketball practice, and he was with his teammates in the gymnasium as they finished up for the day. Finally clearing away all the balls and making sure the floor was properly cleaned, the coach gathered them around one more time before they were dismissed for the day.
"Alright, good work today," Coach Shirogane said. "Continue playing like this and I'll have no complaints during the championship tournament. Make sure you all are here for the extra practice session after school next Tuesday. That is all."
The members of Seijuro's team began to disperse, some of them making their way to the locker room, others making their way straight out of the gymnasium to the outside. Seijuro was one of the people who went into the locker rooms so he could get his things and then make his way home. While he was in there, some of his teammates were chattering with each other.
"Some practice, huh?" one boy said.
"I hear ya," another one replied. "I'm pretty sure that training menu was made by Satan himself."
"Well, it was made by the coach, and he's probably as close to Satan as it gets."
A few boys snickered as the conversation continued on.
"It's to be expected, though," Seijuro said, coming into the conversation. "This year's basketball tournaments are going to have some fierce competition."
"Heh, hopefully not as many surprises as last year's at least."
"Ah…yeah…"
"Um…what happened last year?" one of the first years asked. Seijuro and the other two looked at him, along with the other first years who overheard and wondered what they were talking about. The corners of Seijuro's mouth twitched upward.
"That's right, you guys hadn't started last year." He turned to the rest of his teammates. "Perhaps it was finally time we told them, yes?" The others nodded.
"Yeah, they've been here long enough. You should tell them, Seijuro. You're better at telling it."
"You think so? Then, I'll be happy to recall the tale." The team members took their seats as Seijuro stood, clearing his throat.
"It happened last year, around the time of the nationals…"
—
"Alright. Is everyone ready?"
"Yes, sir!"
Rakuzan was in their locker room, prepping for the upcoming game. At the time, Seijuro was amongst the first years in the group, so this would be his first official middle school tournament. But he wasn't in it alone. Amongst the group was also the Three Uncrowned Kings, who at the time, were in their third year of middle school. Chihiro was the only one amongst the five brothers who started high school. As their coach, Shirogane Eiji was finished speaking, everyone began to get their things, making sure their water bottles were filled up, their shoes were tied and they were mentally prepared for the oncoming entourage of games. As they got their things together, Kotarou came up behind him.
"Ne, Sei! Are you ready to go?" Seijuro jolted at the proximity of his brother's loud voice.
"What are you talking about? Of course, Sei-chan's ready," Reo said, appearing next to the redhead. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden belch that came from his immediate right, making his scrunch his face in disgust.
"Eikichi, stop that! It's gross."
"What? I ate a lot before the match. Not my fault." His large frame was the one that appeared last, in the middle of his two brothers.
"So, this is your first tournament of middle school, chibi. You nervous?" Seijuro blinked as he stared up at the three.
"I don't really think I'm that nervous, actually," he answered. "I'm just interested to see what kind of players we'll be put against." Eikichi let out a short chuckle.
"Heh. So we didn't really need to pep-talk him after all. He's definitely fine."
"Well, that's Sei-chan for you!"
"Sei's never nervous!"
"Well, either way, these first few matches should be nothing."
"It's not good to underestimate the opponent."
"I-I KNOW THAT CHIBI!"
"Eikichi, you're too loud."
"Anyway, let's get on the court so we can see the people we're facing!"
The four exit the changing room, along with the rest of their team, and they lead at the front as they chat away. While that went on, a few team members stayed at the back of the group as they eyed the four suspiciously.
"Hey," one of them said to the other two. "Don't you think it's kinda weird?"
"What's kinda weird?" one of the other two said.
"I think it's kinda weird that those four are always together. Haven't you noticed that?" The third boy stared ahead at Seijuro, Reo, Kotarou and Eikichi, who were still in the middle of a conversation.
"Yeah. It's really weird the way they're grouped together," he said. "Not just the three third years, but so far they've been really friendly with that first year, what was his name again…Akashi Sei something or other." (A/N: I've been deliberately avoiding this topic for too long so I'll make it that they keep their last names.)
"Akashi Seijuro is his name. I don't know why he's such good friends with Mibuchi-senpai and the others. Do they live in the same neighbourhood or something?"
"I don't know. But there's definitely something fishy about it. They're even on first name basis with him. Not to mention that they all call him by a nickname. The hell is 'Sei-chan'?"
"And Hayama-senpai calls him 'Sei', I think."
"I even heard Nebuya-senpai call him 'Chibi' just now. If any other person on the team did that, they'd get killed for sure."
They stared ahead at the four as they entered the court.
"They're so weird," they said in unison.
After a few minutes of warming up after the other team arrived, the starters finally went to line up as the referee got the ball.
"The game will now start. Bow!"
"Let's have a good game!"
…
Despite the fact that they did not underestimate their opponents, their first matches, as expected, were relatively easy for Rakuzan. This was no surprise. The schools they challenged at first were nothing more than just, putting it bluntly, weaker schools. Obscure schools with unknown names that had unmemorable faces with average talent. Nothing out of the ordinary with completely orthodox play styles. Obviously with Rakuzan's unique players, this posed no problem for them, and they played through team after team, getting one hundred point games every time. Half of the team usually finished the game without breaking a sweat.
During this time, it was the first and only year Seijuro would play with his brothers in a team. After this year's tournaments, his brothers would retire, and they would graduate middle school. That being said, it was only natural for Seijuro to make his one year as successful as possible with the team he was just getting to know. So he was always on his game, always making his shots, and, of course, always making the perfect passes. It wasn't unusual that Seijuro was a scary basketball player, but he was absolutely perfect as a Point Guard. And the team acknowledged this of course, especially his brothers.
"Sei-chan that shot you just made was so cool!" Reo said as the redhead returned from the basket. Seijuro turned around and gave him a small smile.
"Thank you," he said warmly. "But your shots are more amazing than mine, aren't they? They're very beautiful to watch." Reo squealed as he threw his arms around his younger brother.
"Kyaaaa~! Sei-chan you're too kind!"
"I can't breathe."
Eikichi comes up from behind.
"Reo, we're in the middle of a game."
"Yeah," said Kotarou as he caught up to the group. "And if you keep hugging Sei like that, he won't last until the end."
"Aww."
He reluctantly let go of the small Point Guard and they went back into defence positions as the opposing team took possession of the ball. Meanwhile, the others on the bench watched their display with confusion.
"What…was that?" one of the benchwarmers said, looking all too confused at the situation.
"I can't believe Mibuchi-senpai just touched him, and he didn't even get yelled at."
"Forget touch, that was a straight up hug. What the hell, is that even allowed?"
"This bothers me. Their relationship is too confusing."
Their coach took his eyes off the game for a quick second to glance at the players on the bench who were just talking. I should probably tell them, he thought. He was about to say something, but after a moment's consideration, he sighed and shrugged lightly. Never mind. I'll just let their minds wander…
~O~
"So what happened then?" a first-year asked. Seijuro looked off into the distance as he recalled the memory.
"Well, it was bad enough that the entire team was confused, but it got even worse after we won the nationals."
—
After Rakuzan won the Nationals, they finally began to mix with the other prefectures. When they start out, they'll be playing the Tokyo prefecture for sure. Seijuro was looking forward to it the most out of everyone in the team. However, only his brothers knew the reason why. In the Tokyo prefecture was Seirin, Shuutoku, and Touou. That meant that if those schools win and get through, he'd get to see his cousins.
The bus ride to Tokyo was full of conversation. Seijuro and his other teammates were talking about the new challenge that awaited them there, but mostly, Seijuro talked with the Three Uncrowned Kings, as they were just as excited as Seijuro was about playing against schools in the Tokyo district.
"Ne, Sei, we're almost to the stadium!"
"Are we?"
Seijuro was sitting in near the back when Kotarou, who sat behind him, tapped him on the shoulder.
"You first years ready?" Eikichi asked the group of middle schoolers sitting around Seijuro. They nodded.
"The line-ups in other schools are going to be strong this year," one of them said. "Some schools got their hands on some the Generation of Miracles."
"Well, we've got our own, don't we?" said another first year. "There's Akashi and then there are Hayama-senpai, Nebuya-senpai, and Mibuchi-senpai who are really strong. And the rest of the team is really strong too. We don't have anything to worry about in terms of skill or strength."
"Aw you guys are too kind!" said Reo, relishing in the compliment. "And I'm sure the competitions between our schools will surely be interesting to say the least, right Sei-chan?" Seijuro grinned as he looked out the window.
"But of course," he replied. "Starting from now, these matches will be nothing short of a bloodbath. It'd be a shame if our own team didn't give them a proper greeting on the court."
"Hey Akashi," another first year asked. "Have you ever gone up against the other Generation of Miracles before?"
"Well," Seijuro said, looking over at his three brothers. "I think it's safe to say that I'm well acquainted with their basketball skills."
"What? Since when did you play them?"
"Actually I—"
"Everyone, we're at the stadium."
The whole bus looked up at the coach who just announced their arrival. Looking outside, they all saw the enormous structure that was before them. A formidable fortress to say the least, with its dome-like structure and modern architecture. When they stepped out of the bus, Seijuro took a look at the place. He was intrigued.
"Pretty cool, right Sei?" Kotarou said as he jumped off the last step on the bus. "I think the stadium's awesome!" Seijuro was still busy taking in the scenery around him.
"So you all have come here before, right?"
"Yep! Since we won Nationals the past two years in a row, we always get to travel to Tokyo to play in the championship."
"That's amazing."
Just behind them, they heard the sound of an engine, which caused the both of them to turn around. Reo and Eikichi, who were just stepping out onto the pavement, saw them turn around and wondered what was going on.
"Sei-chan, what are you and Kotarou looking at?" Seijuro smiled.
"It seems like another team has arrived."
Following the other two, Reo and Eikichi turn around and spot a bus parking behind their own. Looking into the windows of said bus to see what team it is, they both raised their eyebrows in surprise.
"Hmm? It's Seirin."
"Seirin?"
Eikichi was right. In the bus was Seirin's basketball team. Bearing their basketball uniform of white, red and black, Seirin was getting their things out of the bus. The four of them stood and stared as the rest of their own team stepped off the bus.
"Oi, look. It's Kiyoshi."
"Ohhh! It really is Te-chan! Junpei-chan is there too!"
Looking into the bus, Seijuro and Kotarou did see who they were talking about. At the front, there was Kiyoshi Teppei, the Centre, and Hyuuga Junpei, the captain, and clutch shooter. Hyuuga was talking to the others about something. Most likely telling everyone not to forget anything. Seijuro had to really peer into the bus to see who he was looking for. After a few seconds, he finally spotted them. Standing near the back of the bus, was Taiga and Tetsuya, the new additions to Seirin's middle school team, and their trump card as well. Seijuro didn't know how much their new team could utilize their skills, but at the moment, he was just looking forward to seeing them play. Unfortunately, because of the bracket their school is in, they won't actually be able to play against them, but he will have a match with Touou and Shuutoku, and that's more than good enough for him.
"Oi chibi quit staring, the team is going inside!"
Seijuro turned around and saw his teammates moving towards the entrance and Eikichi beckoning him over.
"Sorry, I'm coming."
With that, he picked up into a run and went to go and catch up with the rest of them.
In the Seirin bus, Tetsuya and Taiga looked out the window and saw a tuft of red hair just going through the stadium entrance. Taiga nudged the teal-haired boy and pointed towards the stadium entrance where he saw it.
"Hey, Tetsuya, do you see that?"
Tetsuya looked towards the area where the red tuft just disappeared behind the door. He smiled.
"It seems they got here before us."
"Oi, you two, quit your gawking and come off the bus before I hit you!"
The duo tensed up as they ran to the front.
"Coming, captain!"
~O~
Once the team got inside, they prepped for the game they had first. The first match that they had was against Touou, which means that, more importantly, they'd be up against Daiki and Satsuki. Formidable opponents to say the least. With Daiki's limitless potential and Satsuki's data analysing skills, it would be a tough match. Seijuro wasn't worried, though. He knew it would all be over if he let anxiety get to him, so he replaced it with excitement. Not enough that anyone would notice, though. He's not one to openly show excitement; that area was better left to Kotarou. His thoughts were interrupted when his phone vibrated. Fishing the device out of his pocket and unlocking the screen, he opened his inbox to find a message from Tetsuya.
'I saw you out front.'
Seijuro chuckled softly at the short message. He typed a response back.
'I saw you as well. Have you seen anyone else since getting off the bus?'
Another vibration.
'Kaijo and Yosen arrived shortly after our bus. I ran into Ryouta-kun and Atsushi-kun in the hallway. They also said that they saw the other four outside the stadium.'
'Perfect. What do you say we have a family meeting? Is fifteen minute's time good for you?'
'Yes. I will notify the others. See you in fifteen minutes.'
Seijuro locked his phone and put it back into his pocket. After ten minutes had gone by, he stood up from the bench in the locker room and walked up to the coach.
"I am going to meet someone for a little bit." The coach looked away from his clipboard and locked eyes with the redhead.
"That's fine, but make sure you're back before we head out. We should be leaving in thirty minutes."
"Yes, coach."
As he made his way towards the door, he was stopped by his brothers.
"Ara Sei-chan, are you going out?" Seijuro stopped with his grip on the door handle and turned to face Reo.
"Yes," he said. "I wanted to meet with the others before we start our own game."
"Ehhh? So they've all finally come?" said Kotarou. "That's awesome!"
"Go on then," said Eikichi. "You don't wanna keep 'em waiting."
"Sei-chan say hi to them for me!"
"I'll be sure to do so. I'll see you all before we start."
He twisted the door handle and left the locker room, making his way towards the exit of the stadium.
Back in the locker room, a couple people who overheard what Seijuro was saying began to talk amongst themselves.
"Where did Akashi just go to?"
"I think he just went to go and meet a few people before our match started."
"What people?"
"I dunno, but apparently the other three senpai know them."
"Who could they possibly be?"
The gossiping group stared at the door in which Seijuro left.
"I don't understand this situation…"
~O~
After Seijuro came back, they had ten minutes before their team was meant to head out onto the court. When interrogated by his brothers, he revealed that the meeting went well. Everyone actually showed up, including the rebellious ones such as Daiki and Shōgo, or someone who would be less bothered like Atsushi, so that was pretty surprising. They didn't talk about much else except basketball and the matches ahead. As usual, Taiga was practically on fire, burning with excitement. The same could also be said for Daiki since he felt exactly the same about basketball; Satsuki and Tetsuya were just smiling at their enthusiasm. Shintarou said something about destroying everybody since Cancer ranked first in Oha Asa today or something like that, and Ryouta was just excited to play.
By the time he had finished discussing the meeting, it was already time to leave. So Seijuro, along with the rest of his team, exited the locker rooms to go out to the court and warm up. They were going straight into a game with Touou, so he would be going against Daiki today.
Touou came in soon after their team and began to practice their shooting. As Seijuro was practicing shooting from the free throw line, he turned around after retrieving his ball to spot a tuft of blue hair along with a flowing mass of pink. He walked over to greet the familiar faces he knew so well.
"It's about time you arrived, Daiki. What took you so long?"
"It's all his fault," Satsuki complained. "He was busy staring at some big-chested woman."
"Leave me alone Satsuki," Daiki muttered. "Can't a man stare? Anyway, you better be prepared Seijuro. I'm gonna win this one!"
"Is that so? I don't recall you ever winning against me."
"Sh-Shut up! I'll win this time!"
"Heh. I accept your challenge."
Meanwhile, the other teams were watching this conversation going down and were blatantly confused.
"Umm, do they know each other?" a Touou first year asked his brown-haired teammate. He jolted at the question.
"I'm sorry, I don't know," the boy replied.
"Oh, never mind then."
"I'm sorry, I'm so useless."
"No really, it's okay."
"I'M REALLY SORRY!"
"OKAY SAKURAI I GET IT. QUIT APOLOGIZING."
"Why is Akashi talking to that monster over there?" a first year from Rakuzan asked. Some of the team looked over.
"Isn't that Aomine Daiki? How does he know him?"
"And who's the girl? She's pretty cute."
"This is some serious insanity…"
"Satsuki-chan! Dai-chan! How are you two doing?"
The entire of the Rakuzan's basketball team's mouths collectively flew open as Reo, Kotarou and Eikichi went over to join the conversation.
"THEM TOO?!"
"Kotarou-san, Eikichi-san, Reo-san, hello~!"
"Sup."
The others on Touou were watching as well.
"I wonder how Aomine and Momoi know those two."
"Maybe they were childhood friends?"
"Maybe so…"
"And I thought he only let Momoi call him 'Dai-chan'."
"So did I. Isn't he gonna say anything about it?"
"I don't think he will…"
"This is really fishy."
…
When the warm-ups were finished, it was time to begin the game. Both teams lined up and bowed, taking their positions on the court, the ball was thrown up and the game started. This game was relatively amusing. During the first half, When Daiki had the ball, Rakuzan had a bit of difficulty keeping up with his speed. On the bench, when he drove past defenders, all he looked like was a blue blur. It put a strain on people's eyes trying to catch his moving image across the court. Seijuro was able to keep up with him, however. When Daiki reached him, he was unable to shake him off, since Seijuro was watching his every movement. He stopped in his tracks and held the ball away, pondering how to make his next move.
"Eh? Aomine stopped." One of the benchwarmers said. "What's up with that?" Satsuki remained silent. As much data as she had on Seijuro, it was like he had just as much on Daiki. He may not have the same job description as a manager such as Satsuki, but they were exactly the same. They were analysers. They read information, narrowed down the results and predicted an outcome. It was something the redhead was exceptionally skilled at. Which is why he was always suited for coming up with great strategies. So even though Satsuki can predict his movements, he can do exactly the same for the opposing team. Even then, he was forever changing his style. Just like Daiki, he could be a complete anomaly. She watched as Daiki grinned to himself.
"You up for a bit of one-on-one, Seijuro?" Seijuro smirked.
"Come at me."
Daiki faked left and crossed to the right. He attempted to drive past but before he could even bounce the ball, Seijuro had smacked it out of his hand and has already dribbling it down the court. Daiki had managed to catch up to him with his incredible speeds, but when he tried to defend, Seijuro decelerated and faked a pass to the left. Daiki took his eyes off of Seijuro for one second and he was already in shooting position. He reached his hands up to block, but he was a fraction of a second too late, and the ball swished through the net.
The crowd cheered as Rakuzan's score went up by two, Daiki staring back at Seijuro.
"Heh. Not bad. But did you have to use that fake?"
"It's not my fault you always fall for it."
"Because it happens so fast that I can never react quickly enough! Have some mercy on me!"
"Nonsense, Daiki."
As the two went back to their positions, Touou looked long and hard at Seijuro.
…What did he mean by always?
…
In the end, the game ended with 74-78, Rakuzan in the lead by four points. It was a bittersweet match since the crowd was equally cheering for both teams, but Daiki was well aware that even though he gave his all into this match, Seijuro and his team would most likely win. After all, he's never won against him before. As the two teams bowed towards each other, Seijuro and Daiki face each other once more.
"Heh. You beat me again, Seijuro. As usual, I can never win against you." Seijuro laughed in response.
"Is that so? Well, it's important that you tried. It was a close match, Daiki." He held out his hand to the blue-haired teenager, and Daiki took a moment to look down at it before hesitantly taking it, shaking it as he sighed.
"Well, we should probably go, we have another game coming up soon."
"We'll be watching."
They separated and Satsuki waved to Seijuro one more time.
"Bye Sei-kun! We'll see you all later!"
"Yeah, later."
~O~
If the first game wasn't confusing enough for both teams, it was even more confusing for every other team which had a miracle on their side. When Rakuzan's games were done for the day, they spectated games instead, one of those games was Seirin versus Kaijo. They all sat in their seats in the audience.
"So, Kaijo and Seirin, eh?" said a first year. "Are there any good players?" Seijuro nodded.
"They both have their fair share of good players."
Seirin was just coming onto the court, getting ready to practice some shooting drills. Someone threw Tetsuya a ball and he immediately passed it upwards, where Kagami took a running leap, caught it, and dunked it into the basket. Seijuro smirked as he watched.
"Very good players indeed…" One of the first years looked down.
"What was with that dunk? That's not normal for a first-year. Not to mention that pass too."
"Kagami Taiga and Kuroko Tetsuya are far from normal," said Seijuro "They're as—"
"Oiiii! Tetsuyacchi! Taigacchi! Heeeey!"
Seijuro looked back down on the court as he sweat-dropped.
"Speaking of far from normal…"
…
Tetsuya felt the wind knocked out of him as Ryouta rammed into him from the side. Soon enough, both of them were on the floor.
"Oi Tetsuya!" Taiga shouted. "Ryouta what the hell are you doing?!"
"What? I can't come say hi anymore?" he pouted. "You're so mean Taigacchi."
"Not that you idiot, you're killing him!"
"Eh?"
"I…I can't breathe Ryouta-kun," Tetsuya gasped from the floor. Ryouta scrambled off of him and sat cross-legged.
"Sorry Tetsuyacchi! I was really excited-ssu!"
Over near the commotion, Hyuuga and Izuki were staring at the three.
"What the hell are those morons doing over there?" Hyuuga grumbled. "They should get to warming up before I hit both of them." Izuki laughed.
"Now, now, Hyuuga," he said smoothly "Let them have their fun. In fact, who are they talking to? Do they know him?" Hyuuga looked closer at the over-friendly blonde.
"Isn't that Kise Ryouta? That famous model that I heard some underclassmen talking about the other day? I heard he's really strong."
"Wow, a good at basketball and he's a model? He must be a bit of a player."
"Izuki shut up."
Ryouta and Tetsuya finally stood up from the floor and dusted themselves off. Tetsuya stared directly into the copycat's eyes.
"In any case, we won't be losing to you, Ryouta-kun," Ryouta smiled.
"That's how it should be! Prepare yourselves-ssu!"
…
During the match, Taiga and Ryouta had several one-on-ones in both the first and second half. As usual, Taiga was able to keep up, but every time he pulled out a new move, Ryouta copied it and returned it just as well. It was a back and forth between them. It was when Taiga did a quick turnaround and went for the shot that Ryouta went and imitated him again. He felt a vein pop on his forehead.
"Goddammit Ryouta, this is the fifth move you've copied! Cut it out already!"
"Hah? This is my specialty. What do you want me to do?"
"Stop doing it!"
"No way! I'll lose if I do that, Taigacchi."
"Then lose! I'm sick of you copying me!"
The Rakuzan team who was watching them argue from the audience were shocked. What the hell were those two shouting about with neither team scoring a point and four minutes left in the third quarter?
"Uh," a first year began. "What are they doing? Shouldn't someone stop them?" Seijuro hummed in thought.
"Don't worry, they'll be stopped soon enough. After all, Seirin does have a mediator on their team."
"…Huh?"
Tetsuya came in between them and jabbed them both in the sides, causing them to yelp in surprise.
"Please calm down," he said impassively. "I would like to finish this game."
"Tetsuya…"
"Tetsuyacchi…"
Even though he was right, they were still kind of annoyed that he had to jab both of them, but either way, they both stopped and went back to their positions. Kaijo was confused.
"What is going on?" said Nakamura.
"Hey!" Hayakawa shouted. "If y(ou) keep arg(u)ing I ca(n't) get (re)bounds!"
Nakamura continued to stare at them.
How are Kise and that guy from Seirin well acquainted enough to be on first name basis? And the way they stopped arguing just now was sudden. Did someone stop them? I don't even see anyone…
He took one last look at them before going back to his position.
"This is freaking crazy."
…
The winner of that game ended up being Seirin, Ryouta pouting slightly as he looked up at the scoreboard. 87 to 85. Hyuuga had managed to pull off a three-pointer at the last second. Damn him and his clutch shooting.
"Ehhh? Taigacchi and Tetsuyacchi's team won? No fair…"
"It is so fair!" Taiga retorted. "You won the last game we played."
"Yeah but that wasn't an official game-ssu! It was just a streetball match."
"Well, we're even now. If you don't like it then come at us harder next time."
Ryouta sighed. Well, he couldn't let this match get him down. He still has Shōgo's team to play.
"Ryouta-kun…" Ryouta jolted as he realized Tetsuya was standing right in front of him. The middle school phantom was still staring up at him with those large blue eyes of his.
"Let's play again sometime," Ryouta smiled.
"You bet!"
~O~
The rest of the matches were a blur, it all went by so fast that Seijuro could barely keep up. How it went down is that in the remaining matched they spectated, Touou and Kaijo won against Fukuda Sōgo, but Touou lost to Rakuzan and Kaijo to Seirin, of course. Seirin did win against Kaijo but lost to Yosen. Each spectated loss to the miracles was bittersweet since Seijuro never knew who he wanted to win. Keeping aside his own matches that he played with his team, there were a few honourable mentions that were worthy of remembering for years to come, simply because most of his cousins could easily turn an epic basketball match into a straight up comedy. One of those games specifically being Yosen versus Shuutoku. The Rakuzan team kept their eyes peeled as they watched.
"Who do you think will win, Sei-chan?" Reo asked as rested his chin in the palm of his hand. Seijuro shrugged.
"Who knows?" he said. "Theoretically speaking, Atsushi's absolute defence is a terrible match-up for Shintarou's high projectile threes, since Atsushi's defence can cover everything inside the three point line. However, if he were to take shots from half court, he might be able to shut down their defence."
"Hey Akashi," a teammate said. "How do you know so much about their offence and defence?"
"It's because I—"
"Ohhhh Sei! The game is starting!"
Seijuro looked down to where Kotarou was excitedly pointing and saw that the game was ready to go under way. Everyone was in position as each of the two centres stood face to face, the referee holding the basketball in hand. Atsushi facing one of Shuutoku's Centres. Seijuro remembered watching Shuutoku last year when his brothers were playing and there was one amazing Centre they had on their team. The tall unstoppable Centre of Shuutoku, Otsubo Taisuke. Since he was a third year, however, after his last match last year, he graduated shortly after he retired. And so now, a new Centre had replaced him, to fill the large gap he had left. Fortunately, the one standing adjacent from Atsushi was just as tall. Unfortunately, however, he could not decide which team to root for, since he wants both of them to win. Although sadly, you cannot end basketball games with ties, that's why you go into overtime. So in the participation of this event, he remained neutral.
The referee blew the whistle and tossed the ball up in the air. Atsushi and Shuutoku's Centre jump for the ball and Atsushi gets the ball first, but the second his feet hit the ground, the whistle blew again. All the players stopped and stared at Atsushi.
"Violation! Orange ball!"
"Arara, I've done it again…" said Atsushi.
"Atsushi, you're supposed to wait until the ball reaches its highest point before you jump for it," said Himuro.
"Sorry, Muro-chin."
On Shuutoku's side, while they watched the referee call the violation, Takao whistled as he eyed Atsushi up and down.
"He must be a pretty big guy to get violations like that, eh Shin-chan?" Shintarou sighed.
"He never learns, nanodayo," he said, adjusting his glasses. "He gets this violation at least every other game." Takao blinked.
He's played him in other games…?
…
As expected of Seijuro, he was right. Atsushi's defence was a bad match up for Shintarou's threes, and as long as he stayed within the three point line, he could block them. Shintarou huffed in irritation.
"You think this is all I can do?" he said after Atsushi had managed to tap the ball in one of his shots. "My shooting range is not that short, nanodayo."
Takao dribbled the ball down the court and passed behind his back to Shintarou's waiting arms, where he caught it deftly and backed up to the half court line before Atsushi could even move from under the basket. By the time Atsushi had reacted, Shintarou had released the ball, and it made a high arc, the ball sinking through the hoop without even grazing the rim.
The crowd went wild as the score for Shuutoku went up by three. Atsushi was pouting, looking over at the basket Shintarou just shot into.
"Shin-chin give me a break!" he grumbled loudly. Shintarou huffed in irritation for what seemed like the umptillionth time during that match.
"How about you stop being lazy as always?"
"Ehhh? I'm not lazy, you're just stingy."
"What did you call me?!"
Takao was laughing so hard he began clutching his stomach as he watched Shintarou and Atsushi go back and forth.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS AMAZING!" he hollered in between laughs. "Yelling at each other midgame, and this guy is calling you by a pet name. What are you guys, a married couple?!"
"TAKAOOOOOOOO!"
Sei snorts, trying to conceal his light chuckling behind his hand. One of his other teammates looks at him in confusion.
"What's so funny, Akashi?" Seijuro regained his composure.
"Ah, it's nothing," he said, suppressing an amused smile. "I just thought it was so typical of those two to fight mid-game."
"What makes you think that?"
"It tends to happen a lot."
His teammate furrowed his eyebrows as Seijuro's attention went back to the game. A lot? How many times has he played them? Just as he thought it couldn't get any weirder, he heard a voice from next to him.
"So it seems Seijuro-kun was here after all."
"AAAAAHH!"
Seijuro heard his teammate's scream and looked to his left as he offered a small smile.
"Hello, Tetsuya."
The teal haired boy was standing near them along with Taiga, giving a small wave in response.
"You! Wh-When did you get here?" the teammate stammered. Tetsuya blinked.
"Just now. Did I surprise you?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know it surprised him," said Taiga. "You always do this to people to see how badly you can scare them."
"Taiga-kun, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oi!"
Seijuro laughed. "Well, it's good of you to join us. Come sit down." He gestured to the two empty chairs on his right, and the two of them shrugged and went to sit down next to him. Looking behind them were sitting Reo, Kotarou, and Eikichi, and Tetsuya bowed politely as he acknowledged them.
"Kotarou-san, Reo-san, Eikichi-san, it's nice to see you again."
"Hi, guys!"
"Sup?"
"Taiga-chan and Tetsu-chan! How are you doing?"
"Fine, thank you. But Taiga-kun is still angry about our loss against Yosen."
"I'm not angry, Tetsuya!"
"You clearly are," said Seijuro. "I did watch that game. It was unfortunate for you two, but you fought your hardest. You can pay them back next year, should you get the pleasure of being matched up with them again."
"Yeah…but still…"
"Well never mind that now, since you're here, let's just watch the rest of the game."
"Yeah alright."
All of the Rakuzan team was so surprised.
First name basis. First name basis EVERYWHERE, they thought.
"Oi, oi, isn't this getting a little strange?" one of them whispered.
"Yeah," said a second year. "Where do they all know each other from? I thought maybe it was just Akashi who knew them, but the other senpai know them as well, well enough to use casual speech!"
"Just how exactly are they all familiar with one another?"
Throughout the game, Tetsuya, Taiga, and Seijuro gave continuous commentary. It was more of Taiga complaining how ridiculous Shintarou's three-pointers are and how annoyingly wide Atsushi's range of defence was. Tetsuya and Seijuro just sighed, saying that they know he's bitter but he should really put the game behind him. Also, he was fuming pretty badly and the aggressive look on his face was starting to scare other people in the audience.
"Who do you think will win this game, Seijuro-kun?" Tetsuya asked. Seijuro furrowed his brows in thought.
"Hmm…it's quite a hard decision," he said after some time.
"Why don't we place a bet on it then?" An eyebrow went up in question.
"A bet?"
"Yes," said Tetsuya. "I'll place my bet on Atsushi-kun. If he wins, you have to buy me five vanilla milkshakes and Taiga-kun five burgers."
"Heh? How amusing. In that case, I'll place my bet on Shintarou. If he wins, the next time you come over to Kyoto, you have to make me tofu soup every single day you're there."
"It's a deal."
As they shook on it, they were unaware of the entire Rakuzan team staring at them from their seats, wondering why on earth these people were chatting it up like best friends, and also wondering why this invisible boy has already visited Seijuro in Kyoto. But of course, their thoughts were interrupted again when they heard other voices.
"Ah, Tetsuyacchi! Taigacchi and Seijurocchi are here too!"
"Dai-chan, look! It's Tetsu-kun!"
"I can see him, Satsuki."
"Why the hell have I been dragged up here though?"
The three of them looked over at Ryouta, Daiki, Satsuki and Shōgo, all emerging from the steps and looking over at them. The Rakuzan team's faces went from confused to absolutely horrified as four other basketball prodigies came and sat down near the group of three. Not only that, but they all went and greeted Reo, Eikichi and Kotarou. It's bad enough that two of them were already acquainted with the majority of their starters, but all of them? The situation could not get any stranger. As they all sat down and talked as they continued to watch the game, they all began gossiping with each other about conspiracy theories about how they all became acquainted. One of the most popular theories came from a second year, who suggested that they all must have gone to a secret basketball camp for the super elite. That was the most realistic reason as to why they all call each other by first names, they are all acquainted with each other's talents, and they've visited each other outside of games. It was the only reason they could think of. So when the game finished with Shuutoku taking the win with a score of 98 to 95 and Seijuro was smirking in triumph, they were glaring at the rainbow group of kids from afar like vigilant animals, trying to figure out what kind of relationship they all had.
…
With the two final contenders decided for the final, everyone awaited the Rakuzan versus Shuutoku match that was going to go under way the next day.
The day finally came, and the two schools were as ready and as prepared as they could be. Seijuro made sure he was warmed up and ready for this match, along with the other three of course, and Shintarou along with Shuutoku made preparations as well, leaving the more obsessive rituals to Shintarou with all his Oha Asa business. His lucky item was a samurai sword of all things, so finding one in the antique store on such short notice apparently posed no problem for him. As everyone began warming up on the court, two familiar people made their way into the stands up in the balcony area to sit down. A grey-haired grey-eyed teenager and a black-haired black-eyed teenager.
"Do you think we missed anything?" Chihiro said as they sat down. Shuuzo looked down at the court.
"Nah, I don't think so," he said. "I think they've just started warming up."
Seijuro and Shintarou met at the halfway line on the court.
"So," said Seijuro "I guess this is it."
"Indeed it is, nanodayo," said Shintarou. "I will not be holding back today, Seijuro."
"I wouldn't expect anything less. Is Cancer first today in Oha Asa?"
"Second, actually. So I compensated by bringing an even larger lucky item today."
"Oh? And what would that item be?"
"It's actually over—OI TAKAO! QUIT MESSING AROUND WITH MY LUCKY ITEM!"
"What? I just wanted to look at it a little."
"Looking does not require your hands, so put the sword back in its encasing, nanodayo!"
As Shintarou ran off to go yell at Takao, Seijuro shook his head. Shintarou was really something. Letting his eyes wander a bit, he looks into the crowd and spots Chihiro and Shuuzo, sitting in the front row. Shuuzo grins and waves, Seijuro smiling and waving back at the two, before he was called back to warm up.
The match between the two schools was fierce. Rakuzan and Shuutoku went head to head from the beginning, the first quarter starting out with such a high run-and-gun pace like it was the end of the game. There were quite a few match-ups between players that the crowd liked to see. There was Eikichi and Shuutoku's new Centre. While he was good power wise, Eikichi has just had all the more experience in that position, but they competed for a lot of dunks and rebounds. Kotarou was extremely quick on his feet that day, getting by with his super speed dribbles. He beat a few players in terms of speed, since by the time they could even see where the ball had went, it had already sunk through the net. Reo may not have been as ridiculous as Shintarou with his shots, but he was in a league of his own when it came to the beauty and form of his three different shots. Especially the void, where he immobilized half of Shuutoku's offence positions. And of course, Seijuro was always making his own perfect plays, and although Shuutoku did put up a good fight, it was not enough to defeat the emperors of basketball, and the game ended with a score of 80 to 86. When the game ended and Rakuzan was done celebrating their victory after the fanfare, the teams went to go bow towards each other and Shintarou went to go talk to Seijuro once more.
"It seems that today was no good, nanodayo. You got the win fair and square. It was a good match regardless." Seijuro nodded.
"Likewise. You and your team put in a lot of effort." Shintarou held out his hand.
"Congratulations," he said. Seijuro smiled and took a hold of the hand held out for him, shaking it firmly.
"Thank you, Shin—ah!"
Kotarou slammed into him as he began jumping up and down in excitement.
"We won! We won, Sei!"
"That's great, Kotarou-nii-san, but was that really necessary?"
"You'll have to excuse his enthusiasm, Sei-chan," said Reo as he walked up to the three. "He's been running around ever since the game ended.
"Well how can you blame him?" said Eikichi. "Anyway, your team is pretty strong, Shintarou."
"Thanks."
"Hey, you guys!"
The five of them looked over and saw Chihiro and Shuuzo coming over to them.
"Shuuzo-san, Chihiro-nii-san…"
"What's up?" said Shuuzo. "We watched the game. Congrats on your win you four."
"Thank you." Shuuzo turned to Shintarou and laughed as he patted his head.
"What with you? Don't look so grumpy."
"Shuuzo-san, with all due respect, you'd look like this if you just lost, nanodayo."
"Maybe your sword wasn't big enough, Shintarou."
"Why do I detect sarcasm in your words, Seijuro?"
"Eh? Shuuzo-san and Chihiro-san are here too?"
"They beat us to it-ssu."
They all turned around and saw the rest of the GoM coming towards them.
"Ah, here comes more noise pollution," said Chihiro, stepping back before he was assaulted by seven other rainbow kids.
"That was an exciting match to watch, Seijuro-kun," said Tetsuya. "Shintarou-kun was very good as well."
"I don't need your pity, Tetsuya."
"Now, now, Shintarou, be nice and accept his compliment," Seijuro said, trying to appease the glasses wearing Shooting Guard.
"Well you can't blame him for feeling that way," said Tetsuya. "Taiga-kun, Daiki-kun, Atsushi-kun and Shōgo-kun have been muttering since."
"How typical of them…"
And for a few minutes, the fourteen of them just began conversing with each other, just catching up with each other and congratulating the Rakuzan members for their win and everyone else who participated. That is until a voice halted their conversation.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE."
The group of them stared at Takao, who was a pointing a finger at them, along with all the other GoM teams staring at them as well. They all blinked.
"What is it, Takao?" Shintarou sighed.
"I thought it was weird that you knew Murasakibara and Akashi," he began "Why are you hanging out with the rest of them?"
"What are you talking about?" said Seijuro. "It's only natural that you hang out with family, is it not?"
…
…
…
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
The entire stadium went ballistic at the redhead's statement. Did he just say that they were family?
"Y-You can't be serious!" Takao yelled. "You're all related?!"
"Yes, nanodayo," Shintarou said in exasperation as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We're related." Takao turned back to Seijuro for some type of confirmation.
"Are you joking? Are you guys seriously all related?"
"Shintarou is telling the truth," Seijuro said. "Tetsuya, Taiga, Ryouta, Shintarou, Daiki, Satsuki, Atsushi, Shōgo and Shuuzo-san are all my cousins."
"HIM TOO?!"
Half of the people hearing this news looked like they were going to faint. Even the press who were covering the finals, were just as shocked. Takao was speechless.
"This can't be happening," he said, holding his head in his hands. "Even the number one Power Forward in the district is with them. I've seen this guy in magazines, mentioning all his younger cousins, but I didn't know it was you guys! And what's with this?! Why are all of you playing basketball?"
"Oh that," said Taiga. "We used to be on the same basketball team in elementary school, so to make things more fun, we made a promise to go to different schools to face off against each other."
The Rakuzan team, who was listening in the whole time, finally understood the situation. But there was one thing that still bothered them.
"Hey, Akashi."
Seijuro turned to find one of his teammates calling him.
"You said that the Generation of Miracles and Shuuzo were your cousins, but what is your relationship with the senpai?" Seijuro looked back at Kotarou, Eikichi, Reo and Chihiro.
"They're my brothers."
Now it was Rakuzan's turn to be horrified.
"THEY'RE YOUR WHAT?!"
"BUT HOW?"
"YOU GUYS LOOK NOTHING LIKE EACH OTHER!"
"YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE SAME SURNAME!"
"WHAT KIND OF FREAKY GENE POOL DOES YOUR FAMILY HAVE?"
"Oh, no, it's not like that," Seijuro said, shaking his head quickly to dispel their confusion. "We're adoptive brothers." The team finally quieted down.
"Oh."
"So that's what it was."
"Guess my elite basketball camp theory is out…"
"But Akashi," his teammate said. "Why didn't you say anything?" Seijuro stared back with a blank, clueless expression.
"You never asked."
"DO YOU ONLY SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO?!"
Coach Shirogane sighed and shook his head as the stadium erupted into chaos around him. This is exactly why he didn't say anything before. Even the other coaches were whispering to each other. Although, he must admit it was a surprise to find out that all the basketball prodigies were related. What an interesting basketball tournament this was. As the chaos unfolded around them, Tetsuya leaned toward Seijuro.
"I don't think they're taking it well, Seijuro-kun."
"I agree," he said. "They seemed to be more confused than before we told them."
"I guess you shouldn't have said anything after all," said Shuuzo.
"I guess not…"
"Let's get outta here."
"Agreed."
"Let's eat somewhere. Where do you guys wanna go?"
"Anywhere is fine."
"There's this diner I saw on the way here."
"That sounds nice. Let's go."
So the GoM, the Uncrowned Kings and Shuuzo picked up and left the stadium, happily chatting away about every other thing, leaving everyone else inside the stadium to their own devices of insanity.
And it's done! Mya, I hope you enjoyed it, because I put a lot of thinking into it hahaha. And as a heads up, I won't be posting anything till the end of June because my exams end on the 23rd and I get back to the US on the 25th. So if you don't hear from me in over two weeks, well, you know the reason why you don't is because I'm not dead.
Read and review please!