A/N Umm...Mayuzumi-Echizen brotp also for the win. Echizen can just have broships with everyone, I swear.

A Reply To A Review:

Guest (LuffyFangirl): Thanks for the review! I don't know if you're still reading this, but just in case, thank you so much. I definitely needed that. Personally, I agree that the matches are tedious-both for me, and the reader, but I also feel that they're necessary. Maybe when I go back and edit I'll cut out excess stuff. I do feel a bit bad that there were too many basketball matches in here, but it was awesome that you let me know what made you stop reading! Thank you again, and I'll definitely try to keep your words in mind as I continue this fic.

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 Eighth: Mavericks

Mayuzumi doesn't have a particular purpose on court right now. Takao's Hawk Eye renders his misdirection useless, and Akashi seems hellbent on keeping Mayuzumi as some sort of trump card. To be fair, he rarely does have a purpose. He hasn't done anything other than guard so far in Winter Cup. It's boring, but it also means that he has more time to observe others.

You're a lot like Tetsu. That's what Echizen told him not long after she first met Kuroko. For the first time since Akashi introduced them, Echizen had singled him out directly, without needing prompting or Akashi's help. It was strange. As if Mayuzumi's flesh had been stripped from his bones, and Echizen's eyes were peering straight into his soul.

Mayuzumi soon realized that Echizen just had that kind of effect. He thinks it's the golden eyes-something he's only ever seen in light novels. He never believed they were possible until she stepped into the first string's practice courts, eyes darting around as if trying to memorize every single thing about the place from the the colors of their jerseys to the way the light glistens off the sleek floorboards.

Even Akashi's eye isn't that deep, burnished color of gold.

They got along surprisingly well. For all of Echizen's social graces, she's a surprisingly taciturn person once you really get to know her. Mayuzumi remembers the first time they had a real interaction.

He had climbed up to his usual rooftop during lunch to eat a snack when he rounded one of the giant plant boxes and found that his usual spot was already occupied. Akashi's girl friend (whether something's actually going on or not really isn't any of Mayuzumi's business) lays on the concrete roof, legs dangling in thin air in between the bottom of the railing and the edge of the rooftop. Her cap had been pulled low over her face, shielding her eyes from the sun, and an unopened can of grape Ponta sat next to her curled hand. Unsure of what to do, he contemplated walking away when she suddenly stirred. In retrospect, he had probably done something to tip off her eerily sharp sense of hearing-maybe a shift of his feet, a crinkling of the wrapper in his hand, a sharp inhale. Whatever it was, she had sat up and glanced back, eyes narrowed and filled with caution.

That look was what had made Mayuzumi stay instead of leaving and escaping the inevitable awkward conversation. Everything he had observed about her pointed towards carefree and naïve-neither of which he had seen within seconds of waking her up. Danger, her eyes seemed to be screaming, and Mayuzumi had wanted to know why.

Eventually she had managed to pinpoint his exact location, and she seemed to have recognize him because her tensed muscles relaxed and she lay back down without another word. They ended up spending lunch together in silence. Just another addition to his quickly growing list of Echizen's mysteries.

They grew closer after that incident-or at least, Mayuzumi thinks that they have. He's always been indifferent, so it wouldn't have mattered to him whether their relationship had changed or hadn't. It did, though, and they started spending more time together. He sees a whole different side to her once they're sitting on the edge of the roof, feet not touching solid ground, wind ruffling hair and book pages. She's not cocky, abrasive, and damnedly magnetic. She's...quiet, thoughtful, and disturbed.

So very disturbed.

Mayuzumi's sure that she knows that he knows that there's something going on with her, something that she hides underneath a tough layer of skin that he doubts many people can penetrate or even know about. He's sure that she's been observing him just as much as he's been observing her. When he brought it up, the first words he's ever spoken directly to her, she gave him this very wry look and then told him that basketball would never be the perfect replacement for writing.

He only realized a couple weeks later that she knew about his old hobby because he had been tracing kanji onto his middle finger over the exact place his writer's bump is.

It became a kind of joke to them, greeting each other with random facts they found out about each other. Sometimes, they were off the mark. He said that Echizen's favorite subject was English when in reality it's physics (who knew?), and she said that his favorite snack was curry bun when in reality it's kusaya (home-made by his older sister, who catches, prepares, and ferments the fish herself). Unsurprisingly, his accuracy is higher than her's, but she does manage to find out a few things that he never would've thought she'd be able to, like how he wears contacts because he never touches his eyes.

And yet, despite the comfortable bond they've forged with each other over the past few weeks, it's clear that Echizen is closest to Akashi out of all the Rakuzan basketball regulars. Whenever they're in the same room, they're never far away from each other, and it's as if they naturally gravitate towards each other. Sometimes he wonders whether they have some sort of psychic link in between them. That would be the only explanation for why they can understand each other so well without need of communication.

For all that Mayuzumi has found out about Echizen, he still understands so little about her.

Mayuzumi's thoughts race each other while he matches his mark and keeps an eye on his surroundings. He's not even sure why he's still on court. Under strict instructions to not use Misdirection, he's probably as useful as a five-year-old right now. Any of the non-regular first-stringers hanging around Rakuzan's bench would give up a leg and an arm just to step on court wearing a regular jersey, and they'd probably score more baskets than what Mayuzumi has since his debut as a regular (which is a measly one from his, you guessed it, debut).

Then again, it could be a message, to Rakuzan and every other team: we can destroy you even with only four active players on court.

Mayuzumi's not really offended. Mostly, he's just annoyed that he's on court doing absolutely nothing instead of doing something more productive with his time, like reading light novels or observing Echizen and her teammates. (He's found out a lot about her teammates, like how this guy called "Jirou-senpai" acts a lot like Hayama when he's not sleeping, and how "Suke-senpai" is a selectively blind version of Akashi.)

There's no doubt that something's going on. Akashi is on Midorima, whose eyes are darting everywhere, searching for something-openings, or opportunities. There's nothing much that he can do, though.

At five and a half minutes left in the game and down by twenty points, there's very little that anyone can do.

Mayuzumi stifles a yawn. And then his face goes slack.

Midorima's legs tense, and he slips into his shooting form, his hands cupping thin air. Akashi's face is as unreadable as ever, but his weight rests backwards, on the balls of his feet, betraying his surprise.

A blur of orange shoots out from the side, and Akashi is too slow to react. The ball slams directly into Midorima's hands as he reaches the peak of his jump, and the moment it makes contact with his fingers, Midorima shoots the ball up, arcing it straight into the basket.

The crowd bursts into cheers.

"He caught it mid-air and shot a three?"

"Is that even possible?"

Mayuzumi is shocked beyond belief. He's never seen something like that-something so foolhardy. What would have they done had Midorima fumbled the ball? If Takao missed the timing of the pass? One mistake and the game would even more solidly be Rakuzan's. Why would they take that chance? Why would they trust in each other enough to take that chance?

But it worked out in the end, a traitorous little voice whispers in the back of Mayuzumi's mind. He viciously stamps it out, keeping an eye on Akashi, whose face is frozen in a dangerous way.

Hayama misses the next shot, and the self-directed shock and anger is clearly visible on his face even as number eight shouts, "Rebound!"

Mayuzumi watches, slightly dumbfounded, as both Mibuchi and Nebuya are pushed out of the way by Shutoku's captain, who grabs hold of the rebound. As impressive as that show of strength and stamina had been, at least Nebuya should've been able to easily grab that rebound.

In a spontaneous fast break, Shutoku's captain throws the ball down court, where Takao is rushing towards the basket. Mayuzumi, the closest of all his teammates, steps in front of Takao, but can't react fast enough to stop the insanely accurate pass Shutoku's point guard throws to the side, up and directly into Midorima's grip, where the Miracle is already in the air and in shooting position. Akashi can't do anything again as the ball soars above his head and slants directly into the basket.

Rakuzan is falling apart. Hayama's sloppy pass is stolen by number eight, who passes around Mayuzumi's block to Takao. Mibuchi runs into a screen by number five, and Takao once again does that pass to a Midorima already in the air.

"It's in!"

"Three in a row!"

"Shutoku's closing the gap in one fell swoop!"

In less than a minute, the twenty-point gap has been reduced to an eleven-point gap.

A shiver runs down Mayuzumi's spine. It's an instinct of self-preservation that has him slowly turning towards where Akashi stands, back to the hoop the basketball lays under. What had been an icily calm expression before has been broken into the slightest of smirks, usually wide eyes slanted and glowing with fire.

Mayuzumi swears that Akashi's left eye flashes a bright, disturbingly pale gold for just a moment.

Akashi starts with the ball, immediately guarded by Midorima, who switched with Takao. The green-haired Miracle glares at Akashi through the lens of his glasses. "Shutoku isn't dead yet. The showdown is beginning now."

Akashi's chin tilts down, condescension dripping from his words. "More than I had assumed, Shintaro...That's how it should be." Akashi angles forward, and Midorima tenses in anticipation. The captain chuckles slightly as he breathes, "It's futile. Step aside." A deft flick of his hands, and then Midorima's ankles twist. The Shutoku player grunts, falling back onto the ground, and Akashi leisurely strolls forward. "My orders are absolute."

Akashi moves forward, still as calms as ever, and Mayuzumi steps forward as Midorima slowly pushes himself up, teeth gritted, desperation practically radiating off of him. Pathetic, yes.

Effective? Hell yes.

Between on blink and the other, Midorima is in the air, right next to Akashi, his towering height practically dwarfing the captain. "Akashi!"

In the same smooth gracefulness that got Akashi his position as first-year captain, he pulls the ball down, passing it down diagonally to Nebuya, who roars in triumph, jumping up for a dunk.

Except the ball never goes into the basket. Number five slams the ball out of Nebuya's grip, and before any of the Rakuzan players gathered at the net can recover, Takao picks up the rolling ball, rushing down court. Mibuchi cuts in front of him. "Not letting you through here!"

Takao's laughs mockingly as he shoots a pass to his side without ever taking his eyes off of Mibuchi, who jerks back and stares as Midorima shoots the ball.

Mayuzumi's eyes narrow. Akashi isn't even there. Why do such a special shot?

Intimidation. And it looks like it worked.

"Four in a row!"

Four and a half minutes left in the game, and the score is 63-71 in Rakuzan's favor.

"They've got a glimpse of Rakuzan's back now!"

For the next play, Mayuzumi is free, but it doesn't look like Akashi's planning on using him. He has that expression on his face again, the one that says he's got tunnel vision. Echizen's the only one who can talk back to him at this point without having scissors pointed at her neck. Midorima and Takao double team him, equally determined looks on their faces.

Akashi sighs, pulling back. Mayuzumi along with every other player on the court can only stare in shock as he turns around, facing Rakuzan's basket. His tunnel vision focuses only on that basket as he shoots, scoring two points for Shutoku.

What. The. Hell?

"Akashi."

"When did I tel you to drop your concentration?" Akashi's voice is sharper than the crack of a whip, colder than an icy tundra wind. He looks almost bored. "The game isn't over yet. Did your nerves relax because we had such a huge lead? All this weakness just because they scored several goals in a row is good proof of that. If the lead was slimmer, we wouldn't have had to make such an unsightly show." His eyes narrow, and Mayuzumi feels frozen to the bone. He's never met someone like this. Someone so...unemotional. In the blink of an eye. A flip of the switch. A push of the button. "If that's so, I'd sooner get rid of that lead altogether. Calm your heads down a bit. If we lose, you can criticize me as much as you want because the reason we lost would be that shot. I'll take full responsibility and immediately quit the team." Mayuzumi's head jerks up as a knee-jerk reflex, and he sorely regrets it when he meets Akashi's cold eyes. The gold flickers with a flame of its own, disturbingly transparent, nothing like Echizen's warm, burnished gold. "Furthermore, as proof of atonement for my sin..." Akashi raises a hand, curls it against his own eye then reaches out, spreading his fingers. His pupils are disturbingly dilated as he announces, "I will gouge out both of my eyeballs, and I will offer them to you."

Mayuzumi can only stare.

"Seijūrō?" Echizen lifts her head to glance at Mayuzumi. Her hat sits crookedly on her head, very much in danger of falling off and hitting the ground some thirty feet down. Echizen, despite better judgement (then again, it's not like she has better judgement), is hanging over the edge of the rooftop-except, instead of her feet dangling thirty feet above the ground, her head is. She doesn't look particularly worried, dropping her head back then and closing her feline-like eyes. "Hmm. If I had to describe him, I'd say...he doesn't do things by halves."

"What does that mean?"

"It's either zero percent or one hundred for him. There's no in between. Akashi Seijūrō is the type of person who will do anything to win."

"What are you talking about?" Hayama practically shouts, stepping forward and waving his hands. "You don't have to go that far!"

"That's only if we lose." Akashi practically sounds smug, even though his face is as opaque as a brick wall. "We have no issues if we win." He closes his eyes, a slight smile curling his lips. "I'm not worried at all. Because I am confident." His eyes open, and the gold glitters dangerously under the fringe of his brightly colored hair. "With you guys all here, there's no way that we will lose."

He'll do it. He'll actually do it. Anyone who's spent longer than a couple minutes of him knows that he will. Akashi is dead serious. He really would gouge out his eyeballs.

Mayuzumi's never met someone who creeps him out so thoroughly.

The mental break that Rakuzan seemed to have experienced earlier is gone now. They're all working better than they had at the start of the game. Mayuzumi can't seem to shake the cold that has infused itself into his body no matter how much he runs, chasing his mark.

"It's unfortunate, but this game is already over." Akashi stands before Midorima, voice as cold and smooth as ever. "I'll declare it right now. You will no longer be able to even touch the ball."

"What?" Midorima scoffs, but the way his hands tremble and his eyes widen betray his fear. "That's impossible, Akashi. Even with your Emperor Eye, you can't stop us from shooting."

Akashi's lips tilt up, and he mockingly nods his head towards Midorima. "Indeed, it is true that height is a valuable factor in basketball. At first glance, you are impossible to stop. But I'll teach you something. I am the absolute. I can see everything in the future. And it is such a simple task to use it."

Takao starts with the ball. Every Shutoku player is tense, taut as bowstrings tied too tightly. Their caution shows in every shift of their feet, every flick of their eye, every shuddering breath.

Mayuzumi shifts up, silently ghosting past his guard. Takao attempts to duck around Mibuchi, but Mayuzumi is there, holding him back. The two of them double-team Takao, matching him step by step and refusing to let him by. Takao chuckles (more of a sneer, really). "I knew you guys would at least go that far. I can't fulfill my job as Shin-chan's partner if I panic with just this! Don't underestimate me!"

How disgustingly sweet.

Takao moves to the left, and both Mayuzumi and Mibuchi shift towards him before they realize that it's a feint. At that point, Takao pulls back, whirling around Mibuchi's open left side and breaking past their guard.

Behind them, Midorima is already in the air, arms held up and ready for the ball.

Takao's pass shoots directly from his hands up to Midorima, and it would've been a perfect play had Akashi not stopped the ball in its path.

"I thought I already told you..." Akashi's voice is soft and deadly, cool and smooth, a combination of every terrifying thing Mayuzumi can think of. "I am the absolute." Before Midorima can even land, Akashi is on the other side of the court, scoring a smooth layup. He lands, turning around to face Takao and Midorima. "That shot has a flaw. To adjust the pass to Shintaro's left-handed shot, you must pass from the left-hand side. And Shintaro's shooting motion has the same form as usual. In other words,I don't even need to use Emperor Eye to easily figure out the course and timing for the pass. I only use the Eye for an instant. To start moving one step before he passed, but late enough that he couldn't cancel his motion. I had him skirt by the double-team in this direction as well, so I could close the distance between us."

Yet another example of just how fucking arrogant this guy is.

"Incredible," Midorima remarks dryly, a tinge of actual respect and fear in his voice. "To think the groundwork has been laid from the start."

"You were above what I assumed," Akashi concedes, sounding even more patronizing than before, "but you were not above what I imagined. It is the same thing, whether shogi or basketball. I thought I always told you. True groundwork looks into the future without letting the opponent notice."

And there it is. The last blow. Psychological plays-those are what Akashi excel in, and, from what he's heard, so does Kuroko. That's probably the only way he can't compete with her-he doesn't have a mind fucked up enough for that.

"I'm sorry." Mibuchi's effeminate face is pinched, and he glances at Takao close to his side. "I'm not good with rowdy places. Can you quiet down a bit?"

"Not yet!" Takao bursts out, desperation leaking off of him-and this time, it's purely pathetic. "It's not over yet!" Mibuchi's lips twitch, and he slips into shooting position, jumping up. "Like I'm letting you shoot!" Takao follows Mibuchi into the air.

"Hold it, Takao!" The warning comes too late. Mibuchi's flawless fake reveals him to be standing while Takao is still in the air. He jumps again as Takao begins to fall, and he shoots. Takao's head slams into Mibuchi's chest, and the referee blows the whistle.

Mibuchi smiles at the dawning realization and resulting horror flashing across Takao's face. "I may not look it, but I'm actually pretty greedy!"

The ball rolls around the rim before dropping into the basket.

"All right!" Nebuya roars, raising his hand and bringing it down in what's meant to be a congratulatory back-slap. Mibuchi easily dodges the attempt, crossing his arms and glaring at Nebuya. "Huh?"

"Your slaps hurt. Don't!"

"You should've done that already, Reo-nee," Hayama whines, coming up in front of his teammate.

"I'm telling you, it's not something I can do all the time!" Mibuchi fans a hand in a lady-like fashion.

Mayuzumi sighs internally and, not for the first time, wonders why he let Akashi talk him into joining this team.

Mibuchi makes the free throw shot, and with a little over two minutes left in the game, the score is 65-79 in Rakuzan's favor.

Rakuzan scores the next few times, and Mayuzumi has to admit, Shutoku sure doesn't know how to give up. Annoying, yes. Pathetic, yes. Admirable...yes.

"It's over, Shintaro." Midorima falls back as a result of Akashi's ankle break, and he groans, pushing himself up as Akashi jumps for a shot.

"Akashi!"

"I show you my respect anew, Shintaro...and Shutoku High School. Until the very end, not one of you lost the will to fight. But you still can't reach the ball after all."

Midorima's fingers are a hand's breadth away from the ball as it leaves Akashi's fingertips and sails over head, sinking into the basket.

The buzzer sounds, and Midorima lands on the ground. Despite the fact that the green-haired Miracle is taller than him, Akashi's the one who's looking down as he utters, "Now rest, king of veterans."

At the end of the game, Midorima approaches Akashi. Mayuzumi stops in the process of packing up, wanting to watch. It takes great courage to face the man who utterly beat you.

Midorima holds out a hand. "It was in fact our loss...but next time, we will make sure to win!"

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the offer us. A chance at reconciliation. A truce, of sorts. Even a gesture of forgiveness.

That was Midorima's mistake.

"I will give you my thanks, Shintaro. That was the first game in a while that had a bit of thrill. However..." Disdain creeps into his tone. "I apologize that I cannot accept that handshake. If you seek victory, you must become more merciless. Winning is everything. I wish to stay the foe for all of you."

Midorima slowly drops his hand. "I see. You haven't changed, Akashi. From back then. But, we will win next time even then."

Mayuzumi silently pulls his pack up onto his shoulder and follows the rest of his teammates off court.

As they walk back to the locker room, his mind wanders back to Echizen. He thinks, just maybe, Akashi's grateful that she isn't here to watch this match.

If she were, Mayuzumi has a feeling that she wouldn't like what Akashi did.

"What was the worst thing that ever happened to you?"

Echizen glances towards Mayuzumi. They're sitting in a corner of the library since the rooftop is closed. The administration got an anonymous tip that someone has been sitting in very precarious positions on that particular roof, and the door has been closed ever since. They've been meeting in the library since then."You first."

Mayuzumi shrugs, turning a page of his light novel. "My parents decided to ship me off to this boarding school."

"Hmm." She sips her Ponta, the librarian having long since given up on trying to get her to stop bringing drinks into the library. "Worst thing, huh?"

Mayuzumi glances up from the book in his hands, finding himself struck deep inside his soul at the sight of Echizen's lips pulling down, her golden eyes staring unseeingly down at the table. He's not sure what to do. Maybe that question was unfair. They've had an unspoken policy of the truth and nothing but the truth when it comes to this game. For him, that question meant nothing, but for Echizen...

He had known that her sense of honor meant that she would take it seriously.

"You don't have to if you don't want to-"

"I got my first bruise," Echizen interrupts Mayuzumi brusquely, pushing her chair back and stalking out. Mayuzumi can only stare after her and wonder.

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

I can totally imagine Mayuzumi and Echizen just camly hanging out on the rooftop, with Fuji racing around wildly below screaming Echizen's name.

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

Never (LivingDaLife)