"Another one-on-one with Akashi?" Wakamatsu wondered. "What is Kagami trying to do?"
"Honestly, not much," Imayoshi answered. "But, this is his best chance to flip the table, if there is any. He's in the Zone."
"Didn't Akashi-kun already defeat him before?" Sakurai joined in the conversation. "The outcome of the encounter is already obvious as it is."
"Even so, they're out of tricks. No. With Akashi, any tricks are useless. He could see them all."
Aomine still had the bored look on his face. He was called as the ace of Generation of Miracles, but in actuality, he knew that was only because he bloomed faster than any of them during middle school.
In fact, if they were all to line up together and being compared again, then he wouldn't be surprised if the 'ace' title was passed to someone else.
Someone like The Emperor.
Yuuki glanced at Aomine's direction. Her palm was resting under her chin. It's not like it wasn't obvious to her. She just didn't have the guts to tackle it head-on.
That was when she noticed Aomine was not the basketball-crazy-freak Aomine. Instead, he turned into the-only-one-who-can-beat-me-is-me Aomine.
"Ne...Atsushi," Yuuki softly called. Her eyes didn't leave the court, specifically on the highlighted one-on-one. "Who do you think is the strongest amongst you now?"
Kagami distanced himself from Akashi about a meter gap, which surprised the audiences. Add Yuuki's question to it, Yosen received double the jolts. Not one of them actually expected she would ask that now, out of all the time they had. Murasakibara's stoic face was rendered speechless.
"Yuuki-chin..." Finally he said after a long pause. "Can I come to your house later and have some treats?" Yuuki nodded. Murasibakara ruffled her orange hair gently and focused back on the match.
Midorima grasped the steel bar tightly. That frown on Akashi's face – surely that had been awhile – no, it's the first he ever saw him had it.
Sure, with that distance, it would be safe to just shoot a three and created a wider gap between the two teams.
Just one problem.
Akashi could predict. And his frown clearly shown that his shot will be blocked regardless of the distance between him and Kagami.
"Oh." Kimura was impresseed. "He's surely quick on his feet." Akashi made a pass to Mayuzumi, who already broke free from Kuroko's marking, and diverted the ball's path to Eikichi. The Hercules scored easily even with Kiyoshi's under the basket.
.:.
"I applaud him for getting deep into the zone." Imayoshi seemed serious. "But with Mayuzumi's not overwritten completely, Seirin's in a pinch."
"That's not only it." Momoi added. "Mayuzumi-kun seemed to know what Tetsu-kun's after, so it would be easy for him not to fall for the trap."
.:.
"It maybe slow. But Seirin is doing everything in their power not to lag behind." Thanks to Kuroko's screening Mibuchi, Koga was free to score another two-point for Seirin.
Flashback
Yuuki threw her pieces on the Shogi board. She cracked her bones. "I'm exhausted." She complained to the red-headed teen who was calm after playing a three-hours straight for ONE shogi game.
Akashi only smiled at her whining. He got her to play with him regularly once every week as a favor for arranging their last Hanami together. "This game was worth more than the countless of games I've played with Shintaro."
Yuuki made a face. "I'm sure Midori would feel offended."
"Well, this is my win." Akashi had a satisfactory smile curled up his lips. "Seemed like I've redeemed my lost at your hand before." 23 wins, 23 losses, 14 draw – that's their score so far. The only way to determine a win was to get two consecutive wins – which Akashi was proudly gloating now.
Yuuki still hadn't finished cracking her entire body. "There'll be a time when you'll meet a worthy opponent in basketball too."
Akashi just stared at the girl. "Unless you're referring to Generation of Miracles itself, I doubt that is possible."
End flashback
'Impossible, eh?' Yuuki bitterly laughed at her flashback. 'Look how defenseless you are now.'
With Kagami's wide sphere-of-defense, Akashi continued to pass at Mayuzumi, who was still marked by Kuroko.
.:.
"I bet you five bucks he's not going to bypass Kuroko." Moriyama confidently said.
Kise chuckled. "You just lost your five bucks, senpai."
Mayuzumi bypassed Kuroko easily and aimed for the ring, only to be blocked by Kagami a second later.
"Eehhhhh?! B-But, I thought he knew better than to do that."
"You're right. It's the most ideal way to not let Seirin score," Kasamatsu admitted. "But, Kuroko deliberately created a large opening, and Mayuzumi couldn't help but notice it. His instincts kicked in even though he sets his mind to not take the bait."
"Being the phantom sixth man not only means you have to shut out your whole instincts, but also means to carry the will of your team no matter what."
After all was said and done, Kuroko had finally completely overwritten Mayuzumi.
One after another shot was made. One after another fast break was pulled by Seirin. At long last, they trailed after Rakuzan with only 19-point gap.
"I can't believe they managed to get this far." Nijimura was still in shock. "To think there's a better light than Aomine."
Aomine's eyes twitched at his former captain's words. "Shut up." The ganguro may not going to admit Kagami-Kuroko combination was better than Aomine-Kuroko combination, but he was sure as hell not going to let anyone stated the obvious.
"Ooohhh!" Momoi calmed the situation down. "Rakuzan asked for a timeout."
.:.
"What did you say about Akashi not battling sloppily?" Okamura reminded Yuuki and Murasakibara about their exact words before. "I'd say they're in trouble now."
The female sighed. "You're more idiotic than I thought you are."
"Oi!"
"The fact is they're still ahead of Seirin with 19 points. It's not really at the edge of the cliff where they had to call for a timeout."
"They're playing it safe." Fukui scoffed, only to realize what he said later.
"Now, you're getting it."
.:.
"I'm thinking they're subbing Mayuzumi out." Moriyama once again proposed a bet. "He's no longer functional on the court."
Kasamatsu ignored him, but couldn't help but felt bothered by Kise's expression. "What's with you, Kise?"
Kise didn't answer. Actually, he didn't have to. Kasamatsu could see the reason why.
Mayuzumi was not subbed out.
Midorima watched Mayuzumi intensely. He was clearly doubtful as to why the new model of phantom sixth man was still on the court.
"Shin-chan."
"There's something wrong with this." Midorima shook his head. "It's unlike Akashi to let that kind of disgrace pass."
"O-Oi...Shin-chan." Takao already worried with Midorima's mumbling words. "Are you okay?"
Then, it hit Midorima. "Don't tell me...!"
.:.
"Can someone find me something to punch?" Yuuki asked calmly despite rage was written all over her face. "It would be better if you find one similar flesh-and-blood Akashi Seijuro for me to kill, actually." She gritted her teeth, and her hand was clenched into a fist.
Yosen was puzzled. Murasakibara did not say a word at her request. He knew why she was acting like that, and certainly he knew better than to mess with her in that state. After all, he experienced her anger first-hand. One that cost him his treats and Yuuki herself.
"Yuuki-chan?" Himuro was brave enough to ask. "What's wrong?"
"That bastard really learns nothing!" Yuuki's eyes flared with anger and were teary at the same time. She never thought she had to feel this kind of thing again.
In front of her, she saw how Akashi humiliated Mayuzumi so low that he treated him as a tool to let passes through.
Nothing more, nothing less.
As if an angel was giving a cue to them, the Miracles, with an exception of those who were playing, were looking at Yuuki. The noises were deafened to their ears.
Kise's eyes softened.
Midorima shook his head.
Aomine felt bad.
Murasakibara fiddled with his pocky stick.
They saw her anger a year ago. They saw her disappointment. They saw her back as she left the rooftop on that fateful day. They thought they wouldn't see it again.
However, they were wrong.
They saw it again. And this time, they also saw her tears.
A/N : That's all for now. Review pls? More reviews = more spirits to write faster ahuehuehue
To Lady Syndra, puffycakes, invisible-gurl and CherryPop0120 : Your reviews made my day. Thanks for taking the time to write such encouragement ^^