DJ wins the tip off, and as both players hit the ground, Papa Mbaye appears startled by the explosive force of DJ's jump. Almost immediately, the ball is comfortably in Genki's hands, as Alvark Tokyo spring into action and rush into their positions around the three-point area. Kagami thinks better of charging into the paint from the get-go, because predictably, Aomine is already in the charging lane, leaning forward on the balls of his feet, tongue poking out between his lips ever-so-slightly in focussed concentration. Kagami doesn't even have the ball yet, and Aomine's on him like it's the final minutes of the quarter. No easy buckets today, that's for certain.

As Genki brings the ball up, his posture and bearing is relaxed, head up and eyes scanning the court. Kagami notices the imperceptible raising of his third finger, signalling the first play of the game. DJ sets a screen for Dorsey, who begins to cut towards the corner, as Kagami tries to break free from Aomine's guard... and suddenly Kagami hears the swish of the net, and whirls around to find Genki with a grin on his face, and Izuki Shun, hand still extended in a defensive stance, shaking his head. And Kagami chuckles – the Captain is notfucking around today. It was a clever first play: he set up a play focussed around Dorsey making himself open for the triple-threat, and then took advantage of Izuki's eagle eyes being occupied with the movements of the whole team to drain a beautiful long-range three-point shot himself.

Izuki may be one of the best defensive players in the league, but Genki has always enjoyed operating within the unpredictable.

"Get back! Don't let them counter!"

Kagami is already moving, but for the rest of the team, surprised as they were by their Captain's aggressive opener, his words come too late – Aomine is already three-quarters of the way to the basket, connecting with the cross-court inbound pass from Whittington, and leaving Genki stranded at the top of the D with a lightning-fast feint-into-a-crossover, that all the experience in the world couldn't predict. Kagami is right there on his tail, but Aomine's left Genki in such a position that Kagami has to swerve around to avoid charging straight into his Captain... Aomine doesn't even bother to go for the dunk – he doesn't need to. But regardless, Kagami leaps from far-too-far away and goes for the block... and as he soars skywards, he catches the flash of a grin spread wide across Aomine's face and realises he's been baited. With a pass so fluid it could have been taken straight out of a Steve Nash highlight reel, Aomine has swung the ball behind his back and launched it straight for the left corner... where Dorsey still hasn't managed to catch up with Mibuchi. And Kagami understands the true, terrifying difference between the Aomine he competed against in high school, and the Aomine he faces now – Aomine's team had lost three points, and this early in the game, Aomine will accept nothing less than getting those three points straight back... even if it means not scoring himself.

Kagami doesn't even stop to check if Mibuchi makes the shot – Aomine wouldn't have passed if there had been any doubt. Instead, he begins the run back up the court, as the SeaHorses fans in the building go wild for the three-pointer.

On to the next play.

This time, Kagami sets a hard screen for Genki, which Izuki skilfully dodges around, but the split-second of separation is enough for Genki to bounce the ball under Izuki's arm to a driving Kagami. Aomine is already there, arms raised to contest the shot – Kagami expects nothing less. If he goes for the shot, he has no doubt that Aomine will block, so instead he puts his shoulder forward and posts up – the height advantage gives Kagami a slight edge in this situation, and having his back to the basket gives him a clear view of his teammates' movements. Shohei has managed to switch his mark around a screen from DJ, and is open. Dorsey hasn't quite shaken Mibuchi, but that's fine in this situation – in a contest of speed and agility between Shohei and Papa Mbaye, Kagami has confidence in his teammate. The pass is almost free from his fingertips when he realises, that Aomine has, at least mentally, geared up to respond to the pass... and that is all the opportunity he needs. Keeping his shoulder firmly between them, and with the distraction of the pass-fake to Shohei, he pivots around his left leg into the fadeaway shot that he perfected when playing with the Chicago Bulls. Of course, Aomine jumps for the block, but the shoulder between them gives Kagami enough separation to get it over Aomine's fingertips, with just millimetres to spare. Kagami gives a slight grunt of frustration as it bounces off the rim – a miss this early in the game is never what you want – but that frustration turns into a grin as DJ launches himself into the air, grabbing the rebound before it even falls below the hoop, and brings the ball crashing over his head in a beautiful two-hand putback dunk.

That is the kind of confidence the DJ brings to the table – the freedom to shoot without fear, because even if you miss, there is a man in your corner with the reflexes, height, bounce and sheer strength of will to battle for every loose ball and somehow, someway, get two-points out of it. Shayne Whittington has no chance of contesting, as the bench explodes with excitement, and that's a two-point lead with barely twenty-four seconds on the clock.

"You're gonna need to show me more than that, Kagami", Aomine quips as they make their way up the court for the next play, and Kagami chuckles.

"Everybody misses shots, Aomine... but we're gonna beat you as a team."

Izuki brings the ball up, Kagami marking Aomine tightly, as he responds:

"Just don't forget; you're battling me today."

"I don't see you with any points on the board yet either, Aomine."

And immediately, Kagami knows that he's going to regret those words. The blue-haired man face lights up with a predatory grin.

"You better not skimp on the dry chilli's later – Kadhi Pakora is fucking sacred, mate."

Ever alert, Izuki has clearly realised the situation, and Aomine is already well on his way to passing Kagami when the ball hits his hands. Kagami manages to stay ahead of the crossover and the subsequent spin move, but it's the sudden stop and change of direction that leaves Kagami slightly off-balance, and experience has shown time-and-time again that that's all Aomine needs. He wastes no time – his left hand lashes out into a formless shot that hits the backboard with the perfect amount of spin and drops through the net before anybody can get in place to box out. Again, the Seahorses fans in the building lose their collective shit, and Kagami grits his teeth in frustration as Aomine lets out an uncharacteristic whoop. Mibuchi slaps his shoulder as they run back up the court, and Kagami is left at the top of the key.

From the side-lines, Coach Nash gets his attention.

"Bring the ball up, Taiga – run thirty-three."

Genki and Dorsey are already in position on the three-point line, and DJ bounces to ball into Kagami's hands before jogging up the court.

"Give 'em hell, Taiga."

From the second the opening whistle blew, Akashi has watched the court in silence, not once looking away – focussed entirely on the movements of his players, watching as the plays unfold. There is no commentary from him, no distraction – he is engrossed, entirely, and this, even more so than the way he spoke with me before the game, makes it ever more obvious that this team is far more than just another business to him. If he could be on the side-lines coaching, he would – of this, I am certain.

"Akashi... does Kagami seem off to you?"

Akashi does not take his gaze off the court for a single moment, and does not speak – a slight shake of his head is the only indication he gives that he has even heard my question, and from the seat on my right, Kuroko speaks instead.

"What makes you say that, Midorima-kun?"

It isn't really something I can put into words, but he seems less aggressive than the Kagami I remember playing against.

"His pace feels different... Like he's holding back. And it's not like him to miss the first shot of a game either."

Kuroko chuckles.

"Kagami-kun has changed, Midorima-kun, but at the same time, he is exactly the same. The only noticeable difference, for me, is that he is a far more intelligent player since his injury."

I shrug my shoulders, unconvinced.

"There's a difference between intelligence and cowardice. Aomine seems to be a step ahead of him, which isn't surprising for Aomine, but it still feels like Kagami letting him walk all over him."

Both of us note the brief interaction between Kagami and Coach Nash, and Kuroko smiles knowingly.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Midorima-kun... With Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun, half the battle is in their minds. Watch..."

From the far side of the court, Aomine watches Kagami like a hawk as he slowly walks the ball up the court, dribbling with his right hand and signalling the number thirty-three with his left. Aomine barks a quick order, and steps back, Izuki moving forward to the top of the D to meet Kagami. Aomine switches onto Genki but keeps a distance of about two metres between them. Kagami smiles – it's a good tactical decision, and is a testament to Aomine's growth as a Captain and strategist. With Kagami playing the point on this play, this defensive setup puts Aomine in the perfect position to offer fast-help, while utilising Izuki's eagle-eye to limit Kagami's passing options.

Play thirty-three is something that Coach Hanamiya drew up during his first week as assistant coach, after going through playoff film with Genki and Kagami. Primarily aimed at the end of tight games, it's a way of slowing the pace-down while giving Alvark's explosive players every opportunity to take the defence by surprise. As Kagami crosses half-court, Genki starts to move, almost lazily, further to the right of the three-point area, as Shohei and DJ slowly pace to either side of the painted area. Kagami's height gives him a clear view of the positions of all the players, and he almost imperceptibly starts to increase the tempo of his right-hand dribbling. He notes recognition in Izuki's eyes, and as Aomine takes a step to the side to stay on Genki, he strikes. One sharp hesitation dribble, and he darts forward, Izuki backpedalling to stay in front and having to step to one-side to avoid DJ, who has sprinted over and suddenly stopped to set up a screen. The second that Izuki sidesteps, both Kagami and DJ explode towards the basket, Shohei sprinting out towards the corner and Genki dashing in the opposite direction, leaving Aomine with a choice to make – switch marks with Izuki, or follow Alvark's Captain. Izuki, so far, keeps pace with Kagami, and so Aomine follows Genki... from this point, with both Kagami and DJ bearing down on the basket, Alvark's players move like clockwork. Kagami bounces the ball as hard as he can against the ground, so it flies upwards towards the hoop. DJ, having broken free of Papa Mbaye's mark, leaps for the alley-oop, Shayne Whittington rising to meet him. As Shohei and Genki find themselves at ten and two on the three-point line, DJ grabs the ball... and instead of going for the dunk, he simply... lets it drop behind his head, where Tyler Dorsey is waiting, sprinting ahead of Mibuchi. With Whittington still in the air, and DJ in front of him, Dorsey uses DJ as a shield for a beautiful euro-step layup which floats over both taller players and drops towards the hoop... except that Aomine is there. Faster than any other Japanese player could dream of being, he rises with arm outstretched and slaps the ball away towards Izuki, who has seen this happen and ducked away from Kagami to grab the rebound. Izuki takes the ball one handed, and as suddenly as Aomine's block, Kagami is there, slapping the ball away. Kagami sees the four players under the hoop, and after a quick glance to check for the fast help, he pulls up and shoots from the corner of the key. And this time, there's nothing but net. His teammates shout and cheer, but Kagami just casts a quick eye at Aomine's competitive snarl and begins to run back to defend. And as he prepares, he hears in his mind the words of a man he once called brother:

"Keep a hot heart, and a cool head."

And on the side-lines, Coach Nash turns to his assistant coach with a knowing smile.

The quarter ends with the score at 23 to 19, in favour of Alvark, and Kagami walks over to the bench with a face like stone. He may only have six points, but his influence goes beyond the points scored: two assists, four rebounds, two steals, and one highlight-reel chase-down block on Izuki. The entire team knows that if they need Kagami to carry the scoring load, he will do so gladly, but after almost a full season training under Coach Nash, the team are finding success in utilising Kagami as more than just a scorer. His intense presence on the court draws attention, often in the form of double teams, and with two proven clutch hitters in Genki and Dorsey, as well as Shohei's run of shooting-form over the last few months, using Kagami as a decoy and a facilitator creates space and gets points out of the whole team. Yes, they all know that when up against Aomine there will come a time where the two aces will carry the fate of the game on their shoulders, battling one on one as if there were none other. But by using the talents of the whole team, Alvark Tokyo can be confident of staying in the game until that moment, and on Kagami having enough gas in the tank to come through in spectacular ways when the moment calls for it. The flip side of this is that Mikawa SeaHorses have built their team around Aomine's skillset, and so in the box-score, for now Aomine is superior: despite Alvark's lead, Aomine has ten points, three assists, four steals, and three blocks, which despite Kagami's restraint and currently cool head, does rub him the wrong way.

Nonetheless, there is no room for ego in the Alvark Tokyo roster. Regardless of a player's career, average stats, or personal confidence, every player on the roster is aware that this team belongs to Akashi Seijuro, and his vision is nothing more and nothing less than absolute success. You will work hard, you will obey your coach and Captain, and regardless of how many points you score, if you jeopardise the collective success of the basketball club, Coach Nash can and will glue you to the bench.

"A four-point lead is acceptable", Coach Nash begins, all eyes on him,

"But I would like us to be more than two plays ahead at half time. We will continue as we have been. I see no need to focus too heavily on Daiki at this point, but you will pay more attention to passing lanes – he's getting too many easy assists off of the drive, and we've seen him do this so much on film that to repeatedly let this beat us is fucking embarrassing."

Tyler Dorsey looks at the ground, because he knows what's coming.

"Dorsey, I want Reo shut down this quarter. If you can't keep up with him, steal the ball when the pass comes in. I have other shooters on the bench who can put up the points that you do – you're a starter because you can move. So fucking prove it."

Despite the team collectively bristling at the call out, none voice their discontent – Coach Nash has been chosen to coach this team for a reason. Dorsey nods grimly, and the Coach turns to his assistant.

"Makoto, your observations."

Hanamiya Makoto doesn't stand up from his seat on the bench and gives a slight yawn before speaking.

"Shayne Whittington. His right ankle's struggling with landing after going for blocks or rebounds, so keep getting him in the sky. DJ, make sure you rough him around a little bit, and see if you can't get his foul-count up. Dorsey, Coach Nash's defensive instructions aside, you could stand to be a touch more trigger happy – Mibuchi is ever-so-slightly slower on the closeout today, so unless your shot isn't there, as far as I'm concerned you've got the green light... obviously, use your best judgement and follow the called plays."

Dorsey nods, the endorsement of his shooting ability seemingly making up for Coach Nash calling him out on his defence.

"Now, Izuki Shun. He hasn't played this line-up while on the Mikawa roster yet, but as I'm sure you are all aware, he has spent that entire quarter observing you. Choose your actions accordingly. Genki, I leave the fine tuning to you – if in doubt, use your best judgement and switch the play up. I'd rather you and Kagami improvise a little than get caught by the defence... and that defence will be solid this quarter, understood? We can break Whittington with hustle and a bit of luck, but Izuki and Aomine aren't going anywhere, and Papa Mbaye isn't getting any shorter. Play it safe – we don't need second-quarter heroics, we need a strong system. With that said... Kagami?"

Kagami looks directly at the assistant coach, and grins.

"Keep a cool head, but if you see an opportunity to break Aomine's stride, then I want you to take it. We are all aware of how much you love the box score, so let's aim for at least two blocks on Aomine this quarter."

DJ chokes down a laugh.

"Two fucking blocks on the six-time MVP, is that all?"

Kagami just nods, and Coach Hanamiya looks into his eyes for a moment before seemingly finding what he is looking for and smiling like a lion observing a herd of zebra after he's just eaten.

"Good. Anything to add, Captain?"

Genki shakes his head.

"Nothing of note, except DJ, I'd like you to angle your screens a little differently. Izuki's known for making clutch steals in the second half of a match, so I'd like to bait him into a couple of first-half reach-in fouls."

"You got it, Captain."

Coach Nash clears his throat, and the team turns to look.

"That's acceptable, but everybody be ready to get back – we can't count on Izuki to fumble these steals, so I want us ready for transition defence every time we try this. Anything else? No? Get hydrated, and get ready for the restart."

The second quarter is played out a little more carefully than the first, with both teams prioritising half-court defence and pick-and-roll plays. The exception to this, as expected, is Aomine, whose pace, decision-making, and street-ball isolation plays strum a nostalgic chord in my soul. Kagami defends him well, often forcing him to pass the ball off to a teammate, but when push comes to shove, Aomine's ability to make shots from any position has only become more intimidating. Once it's become clear that Mibuchi's mark has a much better handle on him this quarter, the focus of Mikawa's play shifts to the link-up play between Aomine and Izuki. And seeing this in the flesh, it is an incredible thing to witness. In the first half of the quarter alone, Izuki manages six assists, four of these to his Captain, and while Alvark continue to put up points, Mikawa take the lead early in the second quarter and find themselves six points ahead with two minutes left of the quarter on the clock. There is no change in Akashi's expression, but the rest of the box seem to be getting the feeling that Alvark just may be outclassed today.

Kuroko and Kise approach, and sit down next to me, Kise grinning as he reached over and fondly grabs my knee.

"Midorimacchi! So good to see you! Aominicchi is so cool, isn't he?"

Drastic haircut or no, some things never change.

"Good afternoon, Kise. Aomine is certainly having a good game, that much is certain."

Kuroko gives a slight chuckle at Kise's enthusiastic praise of his boyhood hero.

"Aomine-kun looks like he's enjoying himself. But I think Kagami will win this matchup."

Kise laughs, and leans back into his chair, unbuttoning his suit jacket with one fluid motion.

"Kagamicchi's getting walked over; he looks tired."

And then, from Akashi's seat next to me, there is a short, sharp chuckle.

"Is that what you see, Ryota? Perhaps you should ask Tetsuya to recommend an optician? Observe, and behold the error of your words."

Mikawa inbound the ball to Izuki and bring it up cautiously, sensing the tension in the air. Genki Kojima guards Izuki at an arm's length, but there is something in his eyes that says that distance won't mean a thing on this play. Like everything else on the court, Izuki observes this, and sets the play in motion – Whittington and Aomine both begin cutting towards the basket, and after the sharp hesitation-dribble, Izuki launches the ball skyward, where Aomine rises for the alley-oop dunk.

Kagami snatches the ball out of the air before it ever reaches Aomine's hand, and with one dribble, the fast break is started, Kagami bombing down the centre of the court with both Dorsey and Genki flanking him, ready to provide options. Aomine is hot on his heels, but even as he sprints, Kagami positions his thickset shoulders so that there is no way Aomine can steal the ball without getting called for a foul. Dorsey follows Kagami inside the three-point area, while Genki sprints to the far corner, and that's all it takes.

Kagami fakes towards the corner, and the second that it takes Aomine to process the movement, Kagami launches himself into the air with all the power of his rookie year. Aomine rises in step to block it, but Kagami's positioning means that instead, Aomine crashes into Kagami's back. The whistle blows for the contact, and with a roar of exertion, Kagami dunks the ball anyway, grabbing the rim with both hands and pulling himself up, before landing and being swamped by the Alvark bench players, who proceed to lose their collective shit.

"Get some, Aomine! Get some!" Kagami roars, barely audible over the sound of the entire arena exploding, as Kagami's teammates begin to crash into him, basking in their star player's unbelievable power.

And as this chaos erupts around him, Aomine stands motionless in the middle of the key, a slow, predatory smile spreading across his lips.

Even as the referee encourages the players to the outside of the paint, Aomine's eyes appear empty, even as he smiles. He stares as Kagami effortlessly drains the free-throw, and as he turns away from the basket, their eyes meet. And Aomine's entire face lights up in a grin.

"You're the best, Kagami... but the only one that can beat me..." And Kagami jogs past him, slapping his shoulder.

"Is me, dumbass. Bring it on!"

(Author's Note: God almighty, this took a LOOOOOOOOONG time to write, but I'm glad I managed to sit down and finish this particular segment. I hope you like it.

Shout out to my main dude Arise on FF for motivating me with your lovely reviews, and a special mention to Mflowers and Encrypt on Ao3 – hope you've enjoyed this uber-competitive edition to the tale.

I'm doing okay, life just got really busy.

Keep living, all

Melodramaticglassescharacter)