Chapter 56
Back again~
Thanks for your wonderful response on the last two chapters!
I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!
Disclaimer: Nah. I can't produce something as great as Fairy Tail or Kuroko no Basuke. Wish I could.
Earth~
They had just barely made it inside, before Akashi's phone began ringing in his pocket. Fishing it up as he slid out of Lucy's grasp on his wrist, he saw the number on his screen. 'Father'. "I have to take this." He said without looking up and turned around, away from the two others. Getting an affirmative remark from the two of them, he opened the door to the outside, pressing the 'Receive call' button, putting the device to his ear. "Father." Was all he said to the person on the other end.
"I have information of utmost importance." His father replied, completely skipping over the greeting. Not that that was strange for him. He turned his back to the wall and leaned against it, keeping his phone to his ear as he waited for a continuation from his father. "I have done some research on your little girlfriend, Seijuro." He told his son.
The younger redhead raised a brow as the only sign of his surprise. That was not exactly what he had expected his father to say. But he always had been a suspicious man, so in truth, it was not that unimaginable. "What have you found?" He asked his father. Outwardly, he seemed calm and collected, however on the inside, he was extremely curious as to what his father could tell him.
"Nothing." Was the simple reply. Before Akashi got the chance to ask what that meant, he got his reply. "Even with my large range of connections, not a single thing could be found on the name 'Heartfilia'." He told his son.
Akashi frowned at the ground. "Did she not tell you she was from America?" He asked his father, disbelieving of the fact not a single thing could be found on her name. It was unusual, yes, but that was just all the more reason for it to be simple to find. Especially since she came from a wealthy family.
There was a sigh on the other end of the line. "The name 'Heartfilia' does not exist anywhere in the entire world, Seijuro." He confirmed. "Watch out, that girl is not who she says she is." His father warned him seriously.
Though his father couldn't see it, Akashi nodded. "Yes, father." He said, returning his phone to his pocket when the conversation had ended. What did this mean? The only conclusion he could reach was the one his father had speculated in. 'She is not who she says she is', she had been lying to all of them the entire time. For once, his inner self was being completely silent as well. He was thoroughly floored with the news.
Pushing off from the wall, he began making his way inside again. There was nothing else he could do, but get the truth out of Lucy after this match was done. If that was even her name.
Approaching the seats, he found it wasn't just Lucy and Haizaki any longer, sitting where they'd sat. Another pair of people had joined their ranks, and Haizaki didn't seem the slightest bit happy about the new arrivals. Meanwhile, Aomine, one of the two new, seemed thoroughly amused with his irritation.
With a sigh, Akashi placed himself in the seat next to Lucy, who was chatting animatedly with Momoi next to her. The blonde immediately cut the conversation short and looked at him with a slightly worried smile. "Everything all right, Sei-kun?" She asked him.
He looked at her, examining her. Was this even a genuine feeling of worry she was showing him? Nevertheless, he nodded. "Everything is quite fine." He reassured her, glancing at the two new faces. "I see the group has expanded." He stated. It was annoying. It meant it could be difficult to get the blonde alone.
"Yeah, we saw Heartfilia sitting alone down here with that douchebag." Aomine said, casting a glare back at the black haired guy. "No way am I leaving her alone with him." He snarled. Obviously he wasn't as forgiving or as forgetting as the blonde. Haizaki simply growled back at the blue haired guy.
Lucy sighed and pouted at said blue haired guy. "He's not that bad, Daisuki-chan, give him a chance." She told him. In her opinion, Haizaki deserved a second chance. The cornrow-haired guy raised a brow challengingly at the former ace of Teiko.
The same conviction didn't exist with either of the others around her, excluding the man himself. "Lucy-chan, you're too forgiving." Momoi told her, almost berating the older girl.
This made the blonde cross her arms childishly as she leaned back in her chair, staring down at the court, where the two teams were getting ready once again. Behind her, the not so forgiven guy smirked. "Well, their opinion doesn't matter anyway, I don't give a damn." He said, gaining a huff from the pinkette. The grin remained as he continued. "All I need is your opinion." He flirted.
She just waved it off with a laugh and a shake of her head. Akashi had silently just spectated since. Had she always been the center of attention like this? Why was it that all kinds of different characters and personalities seemed to like this girl? Why was she so special? Now he was a bit more investigatory, he seemed to see things, he did not notice before. Probably because he was in the middle of it himself.
His thoughts were split apart as the buzzer sounded again and the commentator announced the arrival of the 3rd quarter. "Here it is! Second half, 3rd quarter!" He yelled. 25-17 in Yosen's favor.
The players filtered out on the court, Seirin without Kuroko on the field. But that was to be expected, Kuroko's misdirection would run out, and rather than having it become useless in the 3rd quarter, Seirin usually pulled him out and waited to bring him out in the 4th again.
Yosen started with the ball and right into a triangle-two formation, one where three players remained within the three-point arc and two pressure a player each man-to-man from outside it. Despite the sudden change, none of them seemed even the slightest bit surprised. Clearly, they had seen it coming.
The ball was passed on to Himuro, who was defended man-to-man by Kagami. The two looked at each other very intensely for what seemed like a long moment. "That guy's gonna spell trouble for Seirin." Aomine commented right as Himuro seemingly jumped up. In retaliation, Kagami also jumped up to defend the possible three-point shot. However, it was a fake, and soon the black haired guy was down on the ground, dribbling right past the guy, who'd jumped a little excessively to take the ball.
The fake-out was so smooth, the whole court seemed to hold their breath. Not a single one, not even Aomine or Akashi, though their pride got too far in the way to let them show it visibly.
Hyuuga was the quickest one to react on it, or rather snap out of it, and came into a defensive position in front of the Yosen player. Likewise, Kagami also landed on the ground and came around to sandwich him from the other side.
Himuro didn't seem to be in a particularly panicked mood, as he simply, overly gracefully, transitioned into a jump. It was almost feminine the way he so smoothly released he ball, scoring a perfect goal with neither Hyuuga or Kagami able to react to it.
The entire arena literally went silent. So silent everyone would hear it if someone dropped pin. And an eternity later, they were all finally broken out of it, when that pin - in the form of a camera - was dropped.
"He…. He made it!" The commentator said, having broken out of his trance like the rest of them with the drop, his voice gradually growing louder as he went. "I blanked out because it was sooooo~ smooth! How can he make such beautiful shots?!" The commentator asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
Now, Lucy had thought that she actually played fairly gracefully and smoothly, but right then, she was definitely proven of the opposite. And the guy didn't even do anything special. He just stopped up and jump shot, that was all.
Momoi giggled a little. "He's the polar opposite of you, Dai-chan." She said amusedly. When she got an annoyed, but questioning glare from Aomine, she was forced to continue. "He's loyal to the basics, to a 't'. Besides that, it's an extremely polished, orthodox style." She told them all and they had to agree. It was like he was truly dancing around on the field.
Still though, Seirin was hanging on, though a little shakily. By an inch, Hyuuga scored his three-pointer, despite the pressure he was put under from the defense. Despite that though, they were having difficulty. If they didn't manage to break into the inside and scored, they'd soon run out of options.
With Yosen holding the ball again, soon it was passed to Himuro again, who once again was defended by Kagami. Initiating Himuro versus Kagami. The commentator realized the same, and decided to spread it to the rest of the world. "Here it comes! Kagami versus Himuro!" He yelled. "Yosen's gonna keep on going with Himuro for the second half!" He yelled.
The two seemed to have a meaningful moment between them, before Himuro jumped up again. This time it was not a fake, and Kagami knew that too. He jumped up with impressive power, but then it seemed like the ball passed right through the redhead's hand and down through the goal effortlessly.
Once again, the commentator was ready. "Woahhh! He made it! Wait, what was that?!" He asked, cutting himself off. "I swear he blocked it… But how did the ball go right through the hoop?!" He asked loudly.
At a first glance, it looked a lot like Kuroko's Phantom Shot, but… He didn't use misdirection, which was the carrying point in the little guy's shots.
"I gotta get that trick, it's awesome." Haizaki grinned. "Even if that move's workings are discovered, it's most likely still unstoppable for those fucktards." He said confidently.
"These… 'Fucktards' have beaten Kise once before." Akashi pointed out, keeping his gaze on the court, making Haizaki scowl at him and Aomine bark out a laugh.
Haizaki grunted in irritation. "Right, but that was before he could copy you assholes." He reasoned with them. "Those guys can't beat that shit." He said certainly.
Lucy smiled knowingly. "They'd beat you and your team any day, Haizaki." She told him as Seirin swapped out Kagami to let him cool his head for a while.
Haizaki turned his glare to the blonde, but only got to open his mouth, when Aomine cut him off. "I second that." He called, his arms crossed and his eyes on the game.
Momoi's hand shot up into the air like a bullet in her excitement. "I third it! They're a strong team!" She said, her voice high-pitched as Kiyoshi did a double-clutch, stopping himself from scoring where he stood in the center. When he tried again, however, Murasakibara seemed to be enraged about something the other guy said and furiously blocked the ball. It was a feat impossible for anyone but him. You could almost only see the white in his eyes.
It bounced off the tall guy's forearm and right into the hands of Izuki, landing in Seirin's hands again. The commentator was ready on his marks. "Whaaaaat?! He blocked it with that timing?!" He asked, shocked. "What reflexes… There's nothing you can do against Murasakibara!" He screeched.
Strange things happened on the court and suddenly Kiyoshi was outside the three-point arc, with the ball, scoring a three pointer despite usually serving as a center.
Once again, the commentator was blowing the mic up. "Uwoooo! He made it?!" He asked beyond surprised. "For real?! He's a center, right?!" He continued to question the crowd, who would not be able to answer him.
With another score from Yosen, Seirin decided to switch things up again. Quite a lot, actually. Kiyoshi was now set to be the point guard, Izuki's position.
"What is this?! Seirin who's been suffering from mismatches… Decided to challenge Yosen with a mismatch?!" The commentator was quick to yell in his mic.
Kiyoshi started out with glancing up at the goal, as if to convince his opponent, Fukui, that he would be going for another three-pointer, before quickly going into a drive. This he also stopped in the middle of, jumping up to shoot at the goal.
While Fukui found himself having no chance of taking the ball, Murasakibara, who'd grown to dislike Kiyoshi it seemed, jumped up behind his teammate to take it. That when all five realized what was going on and their suspicion was confirmed, when Kiyoshi broke off what he was doing and passed the ball right down to Izuki, utilizing his 'right of postponement' again.
Unfortunately, one of the defensive players was upon him immediately, and Murasakibara came from behind. "Well, shit." Aomine muttered.
Lucy just shook her head. "There's nothing to worry about, that guy can see the entire field." She told him, something else she had learnt from Kuroko. Apparently, it was called Eagle Eye. And this situation would showcase the strength of that.
Izuki leaned back, knowing Murasakibara was right behind him, and passed the ball backwards, over the tall guy, quicker than his block. Behind Murasakibara was Kiyoshi, who'd jumped up, caught the ball and slammed it down right above all three players.
"Wow." Momoi muttered, her mouth agape. "They made sure Muk-kun wouldn't have the time to jump and scored right over him… That team-play is amazing." She said, her eyes basically glittering in admiration of it. Both she and the blonde were all-in for teamwork. Which was funny, seeing as she was in an academy and a team, which valued the individual over the team.
The game progressed, and soon enough Seirin had cut the difference down to one digit again, making good use of Kiyoshi's confusing plays and trickery, done through the use of his right of postponement and combination plays. That was until Yosen called for a timeout, the score 37-28 in Yosen's favor.
"Those guys sure know how to drive Atsushi-kun into a corner." Lucy muttered, mainly to herself. "First they make plays, which force him to jump and confuse him with that right of postponement of Kiyoshi's." She explained to herself.
Aomine, however, grunted in agreement. "Well, it's not so strange Atsushi is thrown off his game with that kind of play. Halfway through, that guy is doing it seriously." He commented. "Besides that, something he did ticked Atsushi off, he can't help but fall into their damn traps." He summed up.
Momoi nodded. "It seems that despite his gentle appearance, he's actually pretty sly.." She added thoughtfully.
Finally, the end of the time out was announced and the player filtered out on the court again. "Match resumed! And… He's back!" The commentator fangirled in his booth. "Seirin's ace, no. 10, Kagami!" He said, seeing the guy on the court again.
With Seirin on the offense, Himuro received the ball once again, on the offense against a ready-looking Kagami, who completely copied Aomine's relaxed stance. When Himuro went for the same move he had earlier, faking a jump shot only to drive right past his opponent, this time, Kagami was more prepared for it.
Despite that though, the smoothness of the guy's moves still delayed Kagami a little, but not enough to prevent him from pushing the ball out of Himuro's hands, when he tried to go for another shot.
It was only just Izuki managed to catch the ball before it bounced out of bounds. But he did and soon passed it back to Kagami, who was already on a run down the court, towards Murasakibara. The redhead got overly confident and charged right for the goal, as he would usually do, only for the ball to violently be smacked right out of his hands and out of bounds. Seirin's ball.
"He stopped him!" The commentator yelled as if it was a big surprise. "What a block… Murasakibara's just too good!" He yelled as Hyuuga helped his ace up from the ground again.
With Seirin's attack restarting, Kiyoshi found himself in the middle of being triple-teamed by none other than the captain of the opposing team, the vice-captain and the tall, Chinese player. This obviously put immense pressure on the guy.
And somehow the pressure got to him, making him commit a mistake. He dropped the ball to the ground and Fukui was quick to pick it up while Himuro was even faster at running down the court to receive and score the ball.
Kagami followed Himuro and quickly came to a defense in front of the guy. However, as it seemed like the Yosen player would go for his strange, Kuroko-like shot, Kagami slipped on the suddenly quite humid floor, making it impossible for him to jump in time to take the ball.
But apparently he did manage to grace it, because it bounced right off the hoop. "He missed! Did Kagami finally stop Himuro?!" The commentator shrieked, exaggerating what was really going on. At most, this little coincidence might help Kagami figure out what was going on with this mirage shot of Himuro's. Either way, Seirin once again bounced into the offense, Kiyoshi with the ball again. "Seirin's counter-attack! But what're they gonna do…?" The commentator asked as Kiyoshi once again was trapped in a triple-team.
Izuki called for Kiyoshi to pass the ball, and so he did. Seeing no other way, Izuki decided he should go for a three-pointer. Unfortunately it wasn't exactly his forte, as it missed its target, bouncing off the metal ring.
Muraskibara immediately went for the rebound, however just as it seemed like it would land in his two hands, Kiyoshi jumped up from behind, grabbed the ball with one hand and slammed it through the net. Only pissing Murasakibara off further.
The big center/point guard on Seirin's team only barely managed it to his team's benches, before he practically collapsed right into little Kuroko's arms. Instantly the entire team came running over, worried for their teammate and the referee called for a time-out.
Though it was beyond obvious that guy should be switched out, Kiyoshi managed to somehow convince them he was fine and could continue going. If he didn't they would have some trouble with the height-difference on the teams.
Immediately, the triple-team was headed for the worn-down Kiyoshi again, but before they reached him entirely, he passed the ball right on to Izuki again. What truly made the whole arena gasp, was that Seirin now initiated a three-man simultaneous attack on Murasakibara.
"Well damn, those guys aren't playing around any longer." Haizaki grumbled from where he sat behind all of them.
Murasakibara seemed completely unfazed with it though. Well, that was until Izuki passed the ball backwards and into Kiyoshi's hands again, having passed through his triple-team with a screen from Hyuuga.
Unfortunately… In his exhaustion, Seirin's center was off rhythm completely and the ball didn't land a goal immediately. Murasakibara realized this before the ball had even left Kiyoshi's hands, but was prevented from doing anything with Izuki acting as a screen, allowing Kagami to pass through, take the rebound and slam it straight through the hoop.
"They made it! The gap's down to five points!" The commentator managed to yell over the loud cheering from the crowd. "Seirin's finally only five points behind!"
However now Murasakibara was beyond pissed at all of them and he towered over them like a demon. Kind of like how Erza would tower over Gray and Natsu when they'd destroyed one of her strawberry cheesecakes in one of their many brawls in the guild.
His words somehow carried over the loud applause. "It's so disgusting that I feel like puking." He said, or snarled, however you wanna put it, freezing Seirin especially in the midst of their moves. "All these things you guys seek: hard work, guts, faith." All the Seirin players knew what was coming, they'd known it was possible throughout the match, knew that they'd have to pass this if they wanted to win. "I'll crush them all. Everything." The tall guy said with a deep, angry voice.
"Well damn. Those guys have awakened the monster." Aomine muttered, gauging the atmosphere around Murasakibara.
Momoi nodded, folding her hands near her heart. "I remember that one match, where he lost his temper - just like now - and scored all of a hundred points." She said, her warm, pink eyes slightly widened. "In a single match."
At that, Lucy's eyes widened. That was a ridiculous amount of points! She never knew he was capable of something like this. She knew his offense was stronger than his defense, but… Still.
Now, with Yosen at the offense and Murasakibara with them, the tall guy was marked by Kiyoshi, who seemed tiny in comparison. "He's huge!" The commentator screamed as if he realized that just now. "How do you even stop that?!" Seirin's answer to that was a triple-team on the guy. Not that Murasakibara really cared, as he easily pushed through Kiyoshi, Kagami and Izuki. "Woaaaah! He doesn't care?! It's like they aren't there at all!"
Best part of it all was, Murasakibara was actually pretty fast despite his size. So when he took the ball midair, he spun around, also midair, and dunked roughly over his defense, who had all fallen to the ground at the power of their opponent.
"Woahh! He knocked all three off at once?! What the heck is this?!" The commentator yelled confusedly, having not seen this side of Murasakibara before. Likewise, Lucy was also at the edge of her seat, surprised with what she was witnessing. Murasakibara had really entered quite a growth spurt in the Teiko years both with his game and physique.
Seirin were not ones to back down though and quickly got the ball into play again. With Murasakibara out on the offense, they could finally do what they did best. They could counter. And with Izuki already halfway down the court, this seemed realistic.
Well, until Murasakibara caught up to the guy, chasing him around like a rhino against a dog. Knowing he would not be able to force his way through, he passed the ball to Kiyoshi. It seemed Yosen had dropped the triple-team on him, in favor of letting Murasakibara have a go at the guy.
The Seirin center/point guard took the challenge and dribbled right through to Murasakibara. Here, he jumped up to shoot, making Murasakibara jump up with him, but in the last moment, he changed his mind and aimed to pass the ball to Izuki, who had weaseled his way in out of Murasakibara's field of vision.
However Murasakibara had seen that last minute change coming and had gotten tired of this kind of play and easily took the ball with his left hand, blocking both the shot and the pass with his reflexes and long wingspan.
"Woah! He stopped it?!" The commentator shrieked. "Kiyoshi, the point guard is stopped!" He yelled for the whole arena to hear, while the man himself seemed floored by the turn of events. Fukui caught the ball and was already getting ready to do a counter. "Yosen's on the counter attack!" The commentator yelled, revealing their plans. Murasakibara followed up, making it all the way to the net, basically, where Fukui passed the ball to him.
Kagami, fire up as usual, was quick to come up on the defense, jumping up to block the incoming dunk. Unexpectedly, he was completely overpowered by Murasakibara, who simply dunked as if the guy wasn't even there.
Unfortunately, he put too much force into it and broke the basket. Which was beyond ridiculous for someone his age. It even seemed to be quite a shock for his team, who probably hadn't realized the true meaning of his title quite yet. Now they sure did.
Anywho, this meant there would be a temporary break, until it could be replaced. Soon enough, the basket was replaced and the match restarted.
Seirin continued to fight valiantly to keep Murasakibara from scoring, but in the end, he forced his way right through all of their defenses, no matter who or how many they were against him. During one of his charged right through them, Kiyoshi finally reached his limit and after Murasakibara had patronized him by holding the guy up by only one arm, Seirin finally switched Kiyoshi out, sending Kuroko in instead.
The little, blue haired guy revived the flame in Seirin's team again and they continued to fight, doing their infamous rookie combo with Kuroko passing to Kagami so he could dunk it in and set up an all-court man-to-man defense, in an attempt to keep the ball from Murasakibara.
Well, it wasn't as simple as that, really. It was a defense, where the Seirin players continuously switched their marks, granting Kuroko the best chances of doing his steals. This defense, not only did it make it advantageous for Kuroko to take the ball, it frustrated the opposing players into reckless moves, from which they could also steal the ball.
And right up to the end of a very long and very dynamic 3rd quarter, they slowly caught up with Yosen, evening the score out to a 47-43 difference, though still with Yosen in the lead.
"Only the last quarter's left!" The commentator yelled right as the end of the 3rd quarter was announced. "And you really don't know who's going to win now!" He added as the speakers announced the 2 minute break. Truthfully, it could go both ways.
Momoi sunk down in her seat, breathing out deeply. "Ahhh… This is so intense!" She whined, almost sweating herself, despite not being out on the court.
"Better get used to it, Satsuki. It's gonna be like this every match from now on." Aomine promised her, his arms crossed over his chest. The only teams left were teams with a Miracle in it. Every match from now on would be those butting heads.
Those two minutes came and passed like a breeze and the 4th and last quarter was announced. Both teams made their way out on the court again, Seirin especially fired up as usual when they faced adversity, giving off a battle cry before beginning.
"It's started! The last 10 minutes! The final, 4th quarter!" The commentator yelled excitedly. He was really like a child on Christmas.
Once again, Seirin had decided to switch things up, doing a 2-3 zone, the defensive position Yosen used, with Kagami in the middle, where Murasakibara stood, the rest scattered in a half circle around him, keeping the other four away.
Still though, Yosen attacked it calmly, sending a pass to Murasakibara, who stood in the center, against Kagami, and completed an alley-oop without much trouble.
Seirin continued to score in the other end with a simple Phantom Shot, however as Yosen got the ball again, the team went to their defensive marking they'd done before.
Yosen's plays forced Seirin to return to the 2-3 zone again, but this only seemed to enrage Himuro. Probably because of the over-the-top self-certainty and trust they put into Kagami, to could cover the entire 2-point area.
With this, the black haired guy drove right past Hyuuga and approached Kagami, who was ready to take his Mirage shot, which he seemed to have figured out.
Had it not been for Himuro tricking Seirin's ace into delaying his jump, he would have also taken it, however he didn't and instead the ball landed a goal. "He scoooooores!" The commentator yelled excitedly. "At this rate, Seirin's in trouble…!" The commentator yelled. He was right though. Their defenses had been breached and Kuroko couldn't continue to score every single time with his Phantom shots.
"That shot's seriously awesome." Haizaki commented, licking his lips in amusement. "He releases the ball twice and because he is smooth as fuck it looks like he released it the first time." He explained the move, having kept his eye on Himuro to could steal the move. "But this time he knew that Kagami idiot figured it out, he actually released it on the first fucking try." He said and chuckled almost maniacally. "That shit's stored for sure."
"No need to tell us, shithead, we figured that out already." Aomine grumbled at the other guy, as they initiated a glare-down.
Lucy barely managed not to groan at their behavior, though she also found it a little funny. "You two seriously need to get a grip and stop that testosterone-fight." She said with a low, annoyed voice. It managed to make Momoi giggle and the two to scowl at her, while Akashi remained as stoic as ever.
From there on, Yosen showcased themselves as the powerhouses they were, with Himuro and Murasakibara quickly widening the point difference between them, raising it to 58-49 again.
Aomine scowled. "That damn idiot." He said, talking about Kagami. "He's obviously trying to get into the zone, but it's just impossible when you wish for it like that. To get into the zone, you can't try to do it, then it will fail." He said, mainly to himself.
"Is that really how it works?" Lucy asked curiously. It sounded both right and strange at the same time.
Right as he said that though, Murasakibara took another of Kagami's balls, sending it flying out of bounds. Again. However, as Kagami went to pick it up, Kise stood there with it - he and his team had probably come to scout who they'd be up against in the next match. No one had any idea what he said to Kagami, but it seemed to get the big guy thinking.
Either way, with this, Seirin called for a time-out. And changes certainly were made from that time-out. When Seirin was once again on the defense, they went straight for a triple-team on Himuro, with Izuki, Hyuuga and Kuroko, leaving Kagami and that other tall, but seemingly mute black haired guy, to take care of the rest of the court and players.
The Chinese guy, Lieu, went for a shot, but managed to instead pass to his captain, when Kagami jumped up to block it. Okamura came around the mute guy's defenses and scored with a dunk, demonstrating that it wasn't just Himuro and Murasakibara, who could score balls on their team.
"Ohhhhhh~ Okamura dunks!" The commentator shrieked like a fangirl. "Three 2 meter guys aren't just for show! It's not all about Murasakibara!" He summed up what everyone was thinking.
Even when Yosen scored once again at their following attack, Seirin's spirit didn't disappear or fade the slightest. Rather, it seemed that it only served to power Kagami up further in response to his thinking, Kise words and their pressure on him.
And finally, when Murasakibara went for another dunk in Seirin's end, Kagami kicked the door right open, pushed the ball out of Murasakibara's hands with an incredibly jumping power and force, revealing himself to be in the zone at last.
Unfortunately, the ball flew out of bounds, as it had the umpteenth time this second half, and landed in the hands of Yosen again. Though it was clear for all to see how much pressure Kagami suddenly put on them all.
Himuro received the ball and masterfully feinted his way through the triple-team put on him, and all the way up to Kagami. Not backing down for a second, he jumped up, aiming to do his Mirage shot once again and Kagami jumped up at the first try. However, as he released his second, Kagami was still in the air, floating as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and hit the ball out of the other guy's hands with much more force than necessary.
"Tall… No… Long…?! Is there a human who can jump like that?!" The commentator asked, as confused as ever. "He stopped the Mirage shot?!" He asked loudly.
Meanwhile, no one were noticing how Kuroko had been chasing the ball Kagami had hit out of Himuro's hands. When they found out, Yosen were quick to fall back into a defense, but by then, Kagami had already received the ball and was scoring a three-pointer as if he'd been doing it his entire life. Actually, he also did a 'Midorima' and turned around before the ball landed, entirely confident it would.
The display of power from Seirin's ace completely stumped Himuro, who didn't seem to have much more will to continue going when faced with that kind of overwhelming power, while Murasakibara only seemed to get increasingly angry with it.
Therefore, the tall, purple haired guy took the ball and went straight for the net, about to slam the ball down with all the power he could muster in him. Which was a lot.
Nonetheless, Kagami powered his defense up with a forward jump to the ball Murasakibara was holding, adding to the strength he had due to being in the zone, and alas pushed the ball right out of Murasakibara's hands and making the tower fall to the ground.
"Whoa! What a guy!" The commentator yelled, bringing everyone out of their stupor of what they had just witnessed. "He stopped Murasakibara's dunk which can break the hoop… And even brought him to his knees?!" He asked, baffled.
"Amazing.." Momoi mutter. "He stopped Muk-kun…" She trailed off, having quite literally never seen this happen before, since the guy powered up. And especially not when he got serious.
"To stop Kagami now, you'd have to be in the zone like him." Aomine agreed silently.
"But someone from Yosen could do that too, right?" Momoi asked, looking to her blue haired, childhood friend. "Like Muk-kun or Himuro-san." She suggested.
"Maybe." He replied hesitantly. "But… Most likely, it won't happen." He said, keeping his dark blue gaze at Kagami. "The minimum requirement for getting into the zone is that you have to bet everything on that one game, that you love basketball, and Atsushi just lacks that. Himuro… That guy just has a lot of problems he has to figure out before he can even dream of it." He said harshly.
And right as Aomine were, none from Yosen could stop the momentum Kagami had gotten. He continued to block, steal and score every ball, steadily raising Seirin's score, until Yosen called for a time-out.
There were 3 minutes left now, and the difference was down to 4 points. 64 to 60, still in Yosen's favor. Yosen seemed to be in a serious argument over there, Murasakibara probably wanting to be subbed out because it was too much of a drag. Or something like that.
"Basically, Himuro can never step over the threshold to us. He is strong, his skill-level is high, but he's nothing more than a prodigy. He is infinitely close, but he will never step over that threshold." Aomine finished what he had been saying earlier.
With that rumbling in the back of their minds, the game was started again. Now Murasakibara had pulled his hair into a ponytail and his aura had changed. Now the match would be harder than it had been before.
This was proven when Yosen were once again in the offense and Himuro once again wiggled out of his triple-man defense, and once again jumped up for a Mirage shot right in front of Kagami. Only this time, he didn't shoot, he passed it to Murasakibara, who stood right behind Kagami, and jumped up to dunk.
Kagami was there in an instant, ready to push the ball out of Muraskibara's hands. However, the tall guy had seen it coming and quickly ducked down, passing the ball back to Himuro again. Himuro then continued to land his shot.
"It went in! What's more, isn't this the first time we've seen Yosen's excellent teamwork on the offense?!" The commentator yelled, bringing attention to the fact that this actually, truly was the first real display of teamwork from the other team.
With this, a period where the two teams played ping-pong with each other was initiated. When Kagami scored for his team, so did the teamwork between Murasakibara and Himuro. But it didn't lower the point difference, it just kept it there, steadily.
When the one-minute mark was reached, Seirin called for a member change, suddenly sending Kiyoshi out on the court again, in a last-ditch effort to stop Yosen in what they were doing and gaining control of the match again.
And that they did. When Murasakibara and Himuro once again tried their luck with the team-play they had showed at the start, after the time-out, it all followed exactly what had happened earlier. Except, when Himuro got the ball again, ready to do the Mirage shot, Kiyoshi was there.
The Seirin center did a feint, making Himuro jump up and aim to release the ball at the second try instead of the first. Of course, he knew that Kiyoshi would feint, being a master of that himself, and instead went for the first try. However, Kiyoshi had seen that coming and instead, Hyuuga came from the side to push the ball out of its path easily.
With the ball now back to Seirin's hands, they sent it down the court again, to Kagami. When he released the ball, sending it towards the net, in a very high arc, it bounced off the hoop, revealing his zone to be fading.
Immediately, the center-players responded to the yell of 'rebound', but neither Lieu or Okamura could reach as far as Kiyoshi could with his vice claw, so Seirin had the ball again. When Kiyoshi landed safely on the ground again, he sent the ball directly to Hyuuga, who jumped up and scored the three-pointer the team really needed.
"It's in?! With 20 seconds left… Is this for real?!" The commentator yelled, sounding like he was shocked to the core. If he continued to be this shocked every time the Miracles played against each other, his heart would die before the Winter Cup had ended. "Seirin's finally within one point!" And true as it was, the score was 72-71.
And right from the start, Seirin started the last match in this game with a full court press, using the last ounce of their strength.
Right from the beginning, Lieu was struggling with even getting the throw-in done though finally managed to pass the ball to his captain, who then sent it off to Himuro, who was basically at the other end of the court.
When the black haired guy received the ball, he feinted to the right, before whirling to the left around Hyuuga, then came face to face with Kagami, only to pass the ball to Murasakibara, who was standing behind him.
With a declaration of victory, Murasakibara jumped up to dunk the ball in. Kagami was quick to follow up, jumped and put pressure on the ball. However Murasakibara was stronger now than he was before. It was like he had snapped. It was more than what Kagami could handle.
And Kiyoshi knew that. The center jumped up, adding a pair of extra hands on Kagami's side. With this, it was enough for even Murasakibara. The ball was sent flying.
Izuki caught the ball and Seirin immediately went on a counter attack. However as Kagami received the ball, Murasakibara was already by the goal. On the defense. It could only mean one thing.
Lucy's eyes widened. "Atsushi-kun's in the zone…?!" She asked out loud, shocked. She only received a silent nod from a just as shocked Aomine.
"With this, Kagami has no chance. His zone is already running out." He muttered in a low voice, completely lost in the game.
However in the face of adversity, Seirin had always been at their strongest, and Kagami was a prime example of exactly that. So when his teammates called out to him, he drew out power he didn't seem to have. He reawakened the zone to its full power again, but for a very limited amount of time.
With the power of his team behind him, he jumped. All the way from the free throw line. His arm was raised high in the air. Then he slammed it down with such a ferocity it was out of this world and right into Earthland.
"A turnaround..?!" The commentator asked, his voice considerably lower than it usually was. "Uwaahh… Finally… Seirin turns the game around!" He yells, with only four seconds left of the game and Seirin leading with that one point.
Just as everyone was beginning to celebrate, Kiyoshi called out to all of them. "IT'S NOT OVER YET!" He loudly yelled, bringing attention to the fact that Himuro was running after the ball and throwing it to Murasakibara, who was halfway down the court already.
Kagami had burnt up all of his fuel, he could not play any more in this match. So without any obstacles, Murasakibara made it all the way down to the goal. However, here, he faced a big obstacle. He couldn't jump any longer.
"He's jumped so many times since Kiyoshi became a point guard… His knees can't handle the burden any longer." She said slowly, in realization. She'd experienced something similar the first times training with Gajeel and then again with Capricorn.
Before the guy could managed to just throw the ball, Kuroko jumped up and hit it out of his hands just as the buzzer sounded, announcing the end of the match.
"TIME'S UP!" The judge yelled so loud anyone could hear it just before Seirin and their supporters broke into cheers, the commentator included. They high fived and hugged, while Yosen were doing their best to cope, Murasakibara especially. The moment was halfway broken though, when the judge called out to them again. "Seirin wins 73-72! Greet!" He ordered them when all ten players who had been out on the court lined up in front of each other.
"Thank you very much!" They called out to each other in varying amounts of excitement and volume. In the end, the two teams separated.
Though she was happy, she looked on with worry as Murasakibara retreated to the benches, a towel over his head to hide himself from any looks and waving off his team when they tried to cheer him up.
Of course, she knew he would be fine and that the team could take care of him… She just wanted to be sure.
And that's why she got up from her seat in a hurry and smiled at everyone. "Well, I probably better head home to the Shirogane's if I want to make it before midnight at this point." She lied. Well, she had a feeling Earthland would draw her back before this day was over, but if it didn't, she would be staying at Hinata's. "Thanks for today, I really had fun!" She smiled brightly.
Momoi looked at the blonde worriedly, knowing there was only one Shirogane left there. "Will you be all right, Lucy-chan?" She asked her friend.
The blonde only nodded reassuringly. "Of course, I'll be fine!" She comforted the girl, knowing what she was referring to and ignored the pang she felt in her heart at the thought of it. "See you all around!" She said with a wave, before turning around and more or less ran away before any more questions could be asked. She sort of had a feeling she wouldn't be staying for long, kind of like how it was yesterday.
She weaved her way to the front of the crowd and then followed her mental map to where she knew the changing rooms to be, speeding up a little. Just like all the others, Murasakibara hadn't experienced loss. She wasn't too worried about him though, he displayed great team-work with Himuro at the end of that match and it was clear afterwards that the team actually cared for him in one way or the other. He would be fine.
The only one who hadn't suffered defeat yet was Akashi. Kuroko had, against Aomine's team, but generally he was the one she was the least worried about. Kise had, having lost to Kuroko and Seirin once before. Haizaki had, having lost to Kise and his team. Aomine had, having lost to Seirin not so long ago. Midorima had, also having lost to Seirin, though that was quite a while ago. And finally, Murasakibara had just now.
There was only Akashi left. And he was the one she was the most worried about. He was the one who had the most troubles, and he certainly didn't get any help from home. He didn't know what losing was or how it felt, he only knew how to win.
Speaking of the devil, she felt his heavy presence behind her. "Lucy." She heard him call out to her before she could turn. When she did, she was met by a cold and calculated, heterochromatic gaze and crossed arms. "I am aware of what you are doing, and I am certain Atsushi's team can take care of him just fine." He said, his voice devoid of any emotion, except maybe irritation.
Lucy frowned, but tried to smile just a little. "I know… I'm just worried about him, you know?" She said softly, looking in the direction she had been headed. Why was that boy always so sharp?
"Are you really?" Akashi asked coldly, making Lucy turn and look at him with a shocked and puzzled expression.
She was almost gaping at what he was saying. How could he doubt that?! "Of course I am! This is the first time he's ever lost! It's bound to-"
"And you are not lying to me right now?" He asked, cutting her off. He stared at her with that cold gaze, she couldn't even bring any of her attention to the four persons she knew to be hiding behind the corner.
"What are you saying, Sei-kun…? Lying? Why would I be lying to you about this?" She asked him confusedly, not at all getting where he was coming from. Where this was coming from.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "Well, since you seemingly have been lying about so many other things recently, why should this not be one of them?" He asked her, his voice so sharp it cut straight at her heart.
She looked at him with a tender, wounded expression. "What do yo-" She was cut off again.
"Who are you really, Lucy 'Heartfilia'?" He asked her harshly.
From the look in his eyes, she knew he knew something. And the words he said only confirmed it once more. He was on the verge of finding out, if he hadn't already. "Huh?" Was all she could say though. Her mind was spinning a thousand times a second, trying to figure out what she did wrong.
"You do not truly deserve it, however I will give you an explanation." He said, not dropping the narrowed eyes or the calculating expression anytime soon. "My father did a background search on you after we left and he told me of his results." He said, watching as her eyes widened in something reminiscent to fear. "As I am sure you know, he did not find anything about you. This is why I am asking who you really are." He summed up.
Lucy threw her arms around herself in a feeble attempt to calm herself down. She had not seen this coming even the slightest, but she should have. If some random person, guy or girl, had popped up when she had been living with her father, he would have done a background search on them as well, making sure they were not someone unfit for her. She should have known.
"I'm so sorry, Sei-kun." She started, but didn't get any further.
"I do not care." He simply stated. "You are not a trustworthy person and I wish to know the name and origin of the person who has deceived me for so long." He told her, his eyes narrowing even further.
Lucy took a sharp intake of breath. "I.. I can't tell you." She told him, her voice trembling as much as she was and her eyes were tearing up. She dropped her head and covered her face with her hands. "I just… I just can't tell you."
"And why is that? If it is the location and those four idiots in the back, we can change that." He told her firmly, hearing said four idiots gasp in surprise of their being spotted.
The blonde sighed, peeking up at him from behind her eyes. "You wouldn't believe me, even if I tell you." She said honestly. This only made him tilt his head slightly, clearly taking it as an insult. "I really just can't tell you, not right now." She said.
Suddenly, footsteps were approaching from where she had her back to and soon enough, the Seirin team came into view. Immediately, the two walking in the front, Kagami and Kuroko, read the atmosphere, frowning at what they were seeing.
It was easy to see it was not a friendly conversation the two were having, what with the evil stare Akashi was giving her and the way she seemed to have sunk in on herself, actually trembling.
Kagami had to wonder what could make a woman as strong as he now knew her to be tremble before someone, she could easily mop the floor with. Just what had this bastard been doing to her?
"Is everything all right here?" He asked as they came closer, looking a little worriedly at the blonde girl, then with a hard gaze to the other redhead.
"That is none of your concern. You should leave." Akashi told him firmly, the hateful gaze directed to the taller redhead.
Kagami frowned at Akashi. "Maybe not, but you shouldn't be treating her like this, she has it tough enough already, you should know that!" He said, actually getting angry. It was barely a week ago that old man had died on her. This girl had saved his ass twice now, he needed to pay her back somehow.
"He doesn't, actually." Kuroko pointed out, referring to the fact that Akashi had left before Nijimura had begun explaining.
Lucy, realizing what they were talking about, quickly straightened up and discreetely - as much as the situation allowed - wiped her tears, before looking at the two. "Don't worry! We're completely fine!" She reassured them. Her eyes then widened when she felt the sinking feeling of Earthland demanding her once more. "Sorry, I really have to go now, it's getting late." She said in a hurry, almost stumbling over her words. "Congratulations on your win, Seirin! I'm rooting for you as always!" She yelled as she began running off and away from Akashi, and the others, in desperate need to escape the situation. Not only because of Earthland, but also because of that conversation.
Akashi glared at the back of the blonde girl. Fuck. No. "I demand my answers, Lucy!" He yelled after her as he also set into motion. If that was even her name. He was going to catch her and then he would get his answers one way or another. He was stopped by Kuroko stepping in front of him, stopping him in his path. "Move away, Tetsuya. This is none of your business."
"There is something you should know." Kuroko told him, not caring much about the dark feeling the other boy was emitting. "Kozo died the day before the Winter Cup started. He revealed himself to be her grandfather right before then." He stated.
The redhead glared at the boy, who was just a little bit lower than himself, especially because that roused his inner self just a little. "I do not trust anything coming from her." He told Kuroko harshly, before seemingly magically teleporting right past him effortlessly. "You should not either, she is not who she says she is." He warned him, before setting into a run, having already lost too much time on that conversation.
He rounded the first corner, the one he knew she had turned into, meeting another long hallway, with her at the end of it, seeing him then turning to the right again.
He furrowed his eyebrows at her pathetic escape and sped up to catch up with her, knowing that she was much faster than him if she got the chance to reach those speeds. He would not lose her now.
She had even managed to weasel herself into the heart of that idiotic, no-name Seirin player and all of his teammates too from just a single meeting. Their coming to her defense like that was show enough of it. When he was young and naïve, she had done the very same thing to him. He would not forgive it any longer.
When he just barely reached the corner, suddenly a bright light blinded him for a second, coming from that very hall she'd gone into.
Not speeding down, however, he turned the corner, only to find another long hall, completely empty of people and anywhere she could have turned, unless she made it into one of the many rooms. But he would have heard that.
She had disappeared without a trace.
Riiiight. That's the end of that~
If this wasn't a tense/dramatic chapter, I don't know what is. And Jesus it's long too. ._."
Ah yes, before you all get confused. I found out - quite late - that Teppei Kiyoshi's last name was Kiyoshi and not Teppei, alas I changed that in this chapter. I will go back to the older ones at a later time and changed them as well. If I remember it anyway XD
Well, hope you liked it either way! I know the match isn't the best I've made, but it is just so painfully long and I had to cut it down however I could, otherwise it'd be ridiculous. Besides, we all know how it goes. More or less.
So next up is Kaijo vs Seirin. Hope I can fit that into one chapter, but I haven't been very successful with that yet, so we'll see…
Either way, thanks for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! I really appreciate it a lot, you know!
~Line464d
