A/N Huh. Now that I've actually written Hayama's POV, he reminds me of Jiro more.

Timeline: One year after the end of Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup, at the start of season 2 (this story will be going through Winter Cup)

Warnings: Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Nice!Akashi, Akashi and Kuroko as cousins, somewhat altered timeline (due to gender switches and all), dark themes (like with all my stories), BS tennis and basketball moves, potential (extreme) OOCness, cussing, SomewhatOverprotective!GOM, eventual and inevitable GOM/multiple other characters bashing, obvious partiality to multiple other characters

THIS STORY TAKES SOME INSPIRATION FROM PRINCESS OF MIRACLES AND THE ICE PRINCESS OF RIKKAIDAI by Starian NightZz (you guys should read those stories if you haven't yet). If you see some similarities, please note that this is why, and that I will try my best to come up with original ideas.

And sorry that this is a bit late, but this story only follows the anime. I have not read the manga, and will not search through it for everything I need to make this story as canon as possible, so just a (belated) little warning.

And another really late note: sorry for not mentioning this way earlier, but I have found that I am also drawing inspiration from the crossover fic A Friendship Of Sorts by herondalefan. Maybe some of you have noticed, maybe you haven't. Sorry for not mentioning this earlier! (But seriously, if you guys are still reading this fic, you'd love this crossover fic. It's ridiculously well-written!)

Another late addition to the plethora of permanent A/N stuff: if it's not already obvious, I have taken A LOT of inspiration from many different fics and fused those ideas with some original ones of my own. If I'm to be honest, naming all of the fics that inspired me would be a pain for both you and me. To not waste both your and my time, I'd just like to ask that if you guys think that my fic parallels a bit too closely to another fic that you've read before, or one that you have written, or that if you think that I have outright stolen an idea, either leave a scathing review or PM me. (though you guys are all really sweet about my fic-I swear, I haven't gotten a single hate review or flamer yet, so props to you guys XD)

Disclaimer: Neither Prince of Tennis nor Kuroko no Basuke belong to me.

Thirty Seventh: Precedents

Hayama's kind of disappointed.

"Did I miscalculate?" he murmurs quietly to himself, frowning down at the floor. He flicks his fingers up, one at a time, matching his mark step for step. "Maybe I should've done only two? I thought he'd be strong enough to put up a fight..."

This match is turning out to be a dud. It was lovely at first-Akashi getting all bothered and put off about Ryoma not showing up being the first gift, then watching Midorima score consecutive three-pointers-all fun, all very entertaining.

He had expected more out of this team.

Looks like Reo-nee is thinking the same thing, because Hayama hears him start to tell Midorima, "Frankly put, everyone other than you is a burden. Sorry to say-"

"What?"

Hayama glances back towards the clump of players, where the two of them are in the middle. He keeps half a mind on their conversation and the other on the player he seems to have overestimated.

"It's true that our double team barely has you in check." Hayama can see the backs of Reo-nee's shoulders rising and falling dismissively. "But the other four are average at best. Especially him...I wonder how long he'll last against Kotaro?"

Hayama smiles somewhat pityingly at Shutoku's number eight, whose eyes frantically search for openings. Desperation does lead to sloppiness, after all. The crowd roars as Akashi steals the ball from Shutoku's point guard's grip, and Hayama makes a break for it, bypassing number eight and heading down court towards the basket. The ball arcs overhead and lands in his hands, but Hayama pulls back as number eight overtakes him, blocking his way to the basket.

"Not letting you through!" The lost look doesn't really disappear from the boy's eyes even as determination infuses his voice, and Hayama laughs.

"Too easy!" Two fingers this time, and just as he had been suspecting, number eight is powerless to stop Hayama's drive. Sad, and disappointing, and Hayama's starting to think that there's no point in playing seriously.

His hand is centimeters away from the basket when the sound of pounding feet registers in his mind and a draft blowing in from his left side barely acts as a warning before a slim hand knocks the ball out of Hayama's grip. When did Midorima...man he came back fast!

So maybe this isn't such a let down after all.

"Nice!" Shutoku's point guard cals, catching the ball in his hands. Hayama lands first, but Midorima is the one who catches the ball, rushing back up court and immediately double teamed by Mayu and Reo-nee. "Burdens? What are you talking about?"

Mayu moves forward, and Midorima spins around him, rushing straight for Reo-nee who doesn't look very impressed with either his actions or his words. Hayama's eyes narrow in on the bulky player behind Reo-nee-number five, whose stiffly set face glows with a approval. He holds up a thumb, and Midorima pushes forward.

Hayama swears, scowling as Reo-nee turns to follow Midorima, only to be screened by number five immediately. Eikichi lumbers up, somewhat fast despite the ridiculous cords of muscle that Ryoma never fails to comment upon. "Not gonna let you shoot!" the brute of a teen roars, jumping up with both hands high in the air.

Too late, he realizes that Midorima hadn't jumped.

The Miracle passes the ball to his side, where it's grabbed by number eight, who had somehow disappeared from behind Hayama at some point.

"Someone on this team being a burden?" The contempt dripping from Midorima's voice is almost acidic. "I know nothing of that."

In a shocking display of strength, number eight leaps up and slams the ball into the hoop, the hoarse scream erupting from his throat drowned out by the screaming of the crowd.

"Woah!"

"A dunk!"

"Shutoku isn't going down!"

Hayama throws a hand over his head, grabbing hold of his elbow with his opposite hand while he wanders back to the other side of the court, a pleasant smile sticking to his face despite the annoyance roiling under his skin. Although he had been looking for more of a challenge...

When Akashi gets that look on his face, nothing good ever happens.

"Hey, nice pass." Midorima and number eight pass Hayama, the latter's hand lightly patting the former's shoulder before the blonde speeds up. Hayama's smile only grows stiffer at the sight of a slight upturn of Midorima's lips-so slight, Hayama would've missed it had he not been looking for it.

"There it is!"

"High Projectile Three!"

Midorima shoots the next point, having managed to grab the ball before Mayu and Reo-nee could intercept the pass.

Hayama exhales sharply, biting back an obnoxious remark because he knows for sure that none of his teammates will he appreciate his default attitude. Akashi's already giving him this look, the one that promises definite pain if he even thinks of doing anything except beating Shutoku.

The buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the second quarter. The score is tied at 39-39, and Hayama gnashes his teeth together at the discordant sight.

Never once since he's joined Rakuzan's regular team has he ever seen the opponent bridge the point gap by more than ten points.

"Guess we can't deal with Midorima Shintaro in ordinary ways..." Eikichi grumbles, wiping at his shining face with a sweat towel. He casts a glance towards Shutoku's bench where Midorima stands, calmly drinking from a bottle. "What now? Add a guy?"

Hayama swallows the water he had been swishing around in his mouth, opening his mouth to reply when Akashi does so instead. "No. There's no need. Allotting more people will only have the opposite effect. Even for the Five Kings, it'd be hard to stop Shintaro now. For the second half, we only need one person."

Hayama tips the bottle back, dribbling the last bits of liquid into his mouth. Challenging or not...looks like Shutoku's not going to be winning this game.

"I'll go up against Shintaro." Akashi's voice is firm, leaving no room for arguments. Then again, they never argue. There's no point, really.

Hayama wipes his mouth against the back of his hand, pushing up off the bench and setting the empty bottle down. His teammates follow his example, although Eikichi grabs a third bottle of water before they all follow Akashi off court and towards the locker room.

Maybe Hayama can get some answers out of Ryoma during intermission.

It turns out that Hayama isn't the one who finds out what Ryoma's doing. Akashi stares down at his phone with the barest of frowns, an expression that betrays the extreme depth of his current feelings and clues Hayama in as to who Akashi is messaging.

"What'd she say?" he demands, excitedly shoving his head in between Akashi and the screen, going cross-eyed as his vision blurs from trying to focus on something less than a centimeter away from his face. Akashi makes this undignified half snort have tongue click, and he pushes Hayama's face out of the way, turning his phone off and slipping it into the pocket of his jersey jacket. "Come on, Akashi! You looked like someone killed your dog!"

The expression is back, although less severe than before. "I don't have a dog, Kotaro."

Hayama rolls his eyes, plopping down next to Akashi. "Hypothetically speaking. What's Ryoma doing? She's never missed a match, even though she's usually cheering for the opposite team." He pushes his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. Ryoma's made the usually monotonous early matches more interesting, if only because of her...creative methods of cheering on Rakuzan's opponents. It's ridiculous, how such a small body manages to store such an ear-rupturing voice.

Akashi smiles slightly at that, glancing around at the small circle of regulars that have formed around him. Even Mayu's there, light novel held loosely by its spine in his right hand. They've all grown quite fond of the fiery spitball of a tennis player Akashi had brought to practice like a stray off the streets, even though she does come as a package deal with the rest of her crazy teammates. "It seems that Ryoma's meeting up with some rather protective friends of her's from middle school."

Hayama latches on to the oddly random detail Akashi had thrown in before realization strikes and he bursts into laughter. "Someone else had her phone?"

Akashi nods, amusement kindling in his eyes. Is it just Hayama's imagination or does Akashi's left eye seem more red and less gold whenever he talks about Ryoma? "An ex-teammate of her's. He had...quite the explosive reaction when he saw that I was texting her."

"What, because you're a guy or because you're Akashi?"

"Both."

Hayama roars in laughter again, leaning back and hooking his feet under the bench running parallel to the one he's sitting on as he clutches his stomach. Reo-nee tries his hardest to hide his own laughter behind a strategically placed hand, while Eikichi, who looks somewhat confused, as he usually does, lets out a few flat bellows, and Mayu's lips twitch upward.

Akashi sighs softly, almost woefully. "He accused me of quite a few depraved activities, Kotaro. It wounds me so, to think that a complete stranger holds such a negative view of who I am and what I do."

"You probably gave him just cause," Mayu responds, voice soft and full of repressed laughter. "I'm sure that Echizen has been saying many things about you to her circles."

"Then it isn't so much my fault than it is Ryoma's," Akashi replies, raising a slight eyebrow.

"Smart move," Mayu snorts, fingering the battered cover of the book in his hands, "Blame the girl who can hit a serve at over a hundred and ten kilometers per hour."

Hayama whistles, leaning further back and lacing his fingers behind his head. "Huh. Maybe I should start playing tennis."

"You wouldn't survive for more than a minute," Eikichi rumbles, and Hayama frowns at him. Before he can shoot back a snarky reply, Akashi abruptly stands up. All activity in the room halts as his heterochromatic gaze sweeps the area, left eye glowing a brighter gold than before. It can't be just Hayama's imagination, right?

"It's time to win."

Hayama's a firm believer in coincidences, so when he steps out of the corridors and finds Akashi in a stand off against a very familiar-looking red-haired teen wearing a shirt with the characters "Seirin" in the corner, he can safely call it a real bitch of a coincidence-especially when Akashi addresses someone who isn't even there.

"Hello. It's been a while since the opening ceremonies, Tetsuya."

Hayama's eyes almost pop out of his head, and he just barely manages to keep himself from screaming when his eyes pass over a spot for the second time and a girl he hadn't seen before is standing there, all blank blue eyes and pale skin. Kuroko Tetsuya-he had heard many things about the girl who played on Teiko's all-boy's basketball team. One thing straight from Akashi's mouth has him glancing over his shoulder at Mayu, whose equally as blank gaze is trained on Kuroko.

"It has been," Kuroko responds clearly, cleanly. She doesn't look at all intimidated by Akashi's personal greeting, and Hayama's respect for the girl goes up several notches.

Akashi makes a gesture behind his back for them to keep moving, and Hayama does somewhat reluctantly, dragging his feet so that he can continue to listen in on the confrontation. He catches sight of Midorima and Kise Ryouta further up ahead, but his attention is immediately recaptured when the enormous red-head steps in between Kuroko and Akashi, declaring in an almost threatening tone, "Yo, Akashi Seijūrō. You can't have forgotten about me. I don't know what you were planning to do with those scissors back then, but...Kise and you...I'll kick both your asses."

Scratch "almost." It is threatening. Hamaya stops, ignoring Reo-nee's frantic hand motions to keep moving, turning to watch the three of them. He's never met anyone who so outrightly talks back to Akashi's face. He's half terrified, half awed.

"Of course I remember you, Kagami Taiga." Akashi's voice is soft and mellow again, the same soft and mellow that precedes a scissor aimed at the throat. "I'll only give you one warning." His eyes widen slightly, and even from this distance, Hayama swears that he can see Kagami's reflection in Akashi's slitted pupils. "Only those subservient to me are allowed to speak without changing their line of sight. I don't allow anyone acting against me to look down on me."

In one smooth move, Akashi's hand drops onto Kagami's shoulders. Without seeming to exert any effort at all, Akashi lightly pushes down. Kagami's knees buckle, and he falls, dropping onto his ass and staring wide-eyed up at Akashi's, whose face is highlighted by shadow and light. He raises his chin slightly, staring down his nose at Kagami. "Lower your head."

Kagami balks, tanned face paling. For a moment, it looks like he's about to intrinsically obey Akashi's orders when a sharp, "Seijūrō!" sounds from behind him.

Kagami's head whips backwards, so that he's looking up at Kuroko instead of Akashi. Her gaze isn't focused on her teammate-rather, she stares firmly at Akashi, lips pursed in a tight line. "You do not ever talk to my teammates that way. You do not touch them without their permission. You do not do anything to harm them or so help me I will never forgive you. Do you understand me?"

Hayama gapes-first at the sight of this tiny slip of a girl practically ordering Akashi fucking Seijūrō around, and second at the fact that Akashi isn't doing anything in return. He merely stares back at her, face an unreadable mask of deception. Kagami looks like he's about to break his neck, with the amount of times he glances back and forth between the two Miracles penning him in.

Who the hell is this Kuroko? Is she...his girlfriend?

It's an absolutely ridiculous and unfounded thing to think, but right now, it's the only explanation Hayama can come up with as to why Kuroko Tetsuya's not currently on the ground with her teammate.

"If you're going to face me, you should be prepared." Akashi raises his chin, eyes glinting in the fluorescent lighting. "I was the one who taught you this style. Sooner or later, you'll come to realize that."

What must be the equivalent of a mutinous look passes over Kuroko's face, if the way Kagami flinches and cowers back into the ground indicates anything. "You do not own me," she whispers, voice sharp and clipped. "This has gone on for long enough, Seijūrō. I will not take this without a fight."

Clasping Kagami's wrist, she helps pull him up and turns her back on Akashi, walking back towards her teammates. She calls a few departing words over her shoulder, refusing to meet the inscrutable gaze of Rakuzan's captain. "I'll show you that basketball is more than winning. Your father is wrong. You are wrong."

The two enter the folds of Seiirn, and the team moves as one towards their court, almost every single member looking back at least once except for Kuroko, who steadfastly keeps her head forward.

"Kotaro."

Hayama starts, whirling back around to face Akashi. The first year captain stares at him for a moment before striding forward, brushing past him without a word. Hayama slowly turns back around, looking from the retreating backs of Seirin and Akashi.

What the hell is going on?

"The second half has started!"

Shutoku starts with the ball, the referee handing it to number five. He throws it in to number eight, who immediately passes to Midorima. Akashi trades marks with Reo-nee, coming smoothly up in front of Midorima.

The two Miracles stand in place for several seconds that seem to stretch for eternity when Midorima suddenly jumps, arms coming up, without attempting to fake or pass. Before his feet can even leave the ground, Akashi's arm flashes forward, striking the ball out of Midorima's grip and catching hold of it before it bounces on the floor behind Midorima.

Akashi dashes down court before getting cut off by Shutoku's point guard, who snarls, "You won't get by!"

"Get by?" Akashi's soft and mellow voice rings out in the otherwise silent court. It's almost as if everyone's holding their breaths. Hayama's chest feels surprisingly tight. "No need for that. You're going to move aside." Akashi moves to the side, and Takao's feet turn to follow. It's almost like watching a slow motion horror film as Akashi instantaneously cuts back, bouncing the ball in between his legs, and the point guard's ankles make an audible cracking sound. He falls back, hands flailing out to brace against the ground. "I don't allow anyone acting against me to look down on me." Calmly, he raises his arms and shoots. "Lower your head."

The ball swoops in a perfect arc directly into the hoop.

Even after seeing Akashi Seijūrō's Emperor Eye almost one year ago when the red-haired runt of a basketball player had showed up at tryouts and absolutely dominated Hayama, Reo-nee, and Eikichi, they'll never be used to it.

The rest of the third quarter passes in the same fashion. All Hayma does is guard number eight-boring and mundane, but he'd rather do this menial job than get in Akashi's way. It's almost as if, with every usage of his Eye, Akashi descends further into this endless pit shrouded in darkness and mystery. Hayama doesn't like it, but there's nothing he can do.

A minute and a half into the fourth quarter, the score is 49-63 in Rakuzan's favor.

Akashi doesn't let up for a second, matching Midorima's every move with one of his own, pushing back even when Midorima isn't pushing at all. He still looks as unaffected as ever, while Shutoku is drenched in sweat. Out of the corners of his eyes, Hayama catches number five silently running up to the edge of Akashi's range of vision, setting up a screen. Midorima breaks around number five, and Alashi spins around the screen, easily catching up with Midorima.

The ball is passed to Midorima, but Akashi is holding him back, keeping him o his toes. There's no way that he'll be able to get into shooting position.

Shutoku's point guard runs up, calling a loud, "Hey!" Hayama's eyes narrow, mind moving a kilometer a minute. There's no way that Midorima would do something so obvious...not with Akashi right in front of him...but still.

In split seconds, Midorima feints a pass to the shooting guard, pulling his arms back in in a desperate attempt when Akashi's arm shoots out again with the accuracy of a laser gun, striking the ball out of Midorima's grip. He catche gold out it, heading back to the basket.

Two Shutoku players throw themselves in front of Akashi, teeth gritted together in determination and desperation-a mix that Hayama has seen many times during his basketball career. "Not letting you by!"

"I'll have you stand aside."

"We'd never say, 'Sure, go ahead!'" number five snarls, arms out and ready.

"Don't get too cocky, you first year child!" number eight snaps, shifting on his feet.

Akashi manipulates the ball in between his hands, shifting constantly-right, left, right, left-until the two players' ankles crack and they fall to the ground before Akashi. "No. My orders are absolute." He lifts the basketball over number five's head, its bounce barely missing the Shutoku player's fingers.

He bounces forward, leaping up in a direct path for the basket. Shutoku's captain jumps up, arms raised in order to block. The height difference between them is obvious-there's no way that Akashi will be able to make the shot. He brings the ball around his back, holding it with his right hand at his waist. Shutoku's captain reaches down with his right hand to stop the pass when Akashi brings his other arm back, slamming his elbow into the ball and shooting it to the opposite side of where Shutoku's captain had predicted he would.

"Nice pass!" Eikichi roars, grabbing hold of the ball and jumping up, slamming the ball into the basket. "All right!"

That's Akashi. Crazy, unpredictable, stupidly smart. That's a pass that Hayama doubts even Kuroko would attempt to pull off-and she's the pass specialist. Fleetingly, he wonders whether Kuroko is watching this-whether she regrets the words she spoke, and whether she thinks that she can beat Rakuzan.

Because she can't. And it's not just because of Akashi.

Reo-nee easily tips the ball in Shutoku's point guard's hands out, a slightly irritated look on his feminine face. "You know, it's a bit rude that you forgot about the rest of us."

Eikichi catches the ball from his position next to the basket, throwing it to Akashi, who's moving to the opposite side of the court. Midorima cuts in from the side, full on snarling, "Akashi!"

"Shintaro, you are strong. But you will lose. Who do you think had the Generation of Miracles subservient?" This time, it happens so fast that Hayama can't even see what happened. Between one second and the next, one blink and the next, Akashi is walking past Midorima, who lays on the ground, angry despair painted across his face. "Even for you guys, it's impossible to stand up against me." Akashi lightly drops a lay up shout into the basket with a mocking ease.

Four minutes into the fourth quarter and the score is 51-71 in Rakuzan's favor-a twenty point lead.

Hayama can only watch in amusement as the cheers from Shutoku's section, ironically, grow louder-screams of encouragements ranging from "you guys have this!" to "finish them off!" to "you mess this up and we'll cook you for dinner!" So he's a bit annoyed, too, but even he can respect determination and perseverance when he sees it.

"Midorima! Takao! We still have time! Don't give up till the end!" Shutoku's captain is the loudest of them all, surprising for a seemingly taciturn teen. "Start with one shot." He throws the ball to the point guard-Takao, apparently-who grabs hold of it, eyes following his captain. "Let's play to win!"

Hayama stretches, fingers reaching up to the ceilings. Ahhh, so annoying, these people. Don't they know when to give up? He tilts his head back, watching as Midorima pushes himself up, glasses catching the glint of the lights and hiding his green eyes from view. "Let's go, Takao!"

The boy laughs, bouncing the ball. "Sure thing!"

Hayama sighs, dropping his arms to his sides. Doesn't look like Shutoku will be making this easy...

Not like it matters anyways. The look in Akashi's eyes says that they'll be crushed either way.

Midorima Shintaro: 6
Takao Kazunari: 10
Miyaji Kiyoshi: 8
Otsubo Taisuke: 4
Kimura Shinsuke: 5

That behind the elbow pass was epic. And Hayama-Echizen brotp for the win.

Yeah. Peace, see ya next time, hope you liked it!

Never (LivingDaLife)