Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
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1st year – Too Academy
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88 – 91 : 35 minutes played – 4th quarter
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"Yes!"
"Three points!"
"We're only three points behind!"
The cheering sounded far away for Daiki. He barely registered the words or their meaning. He was barely aware of Seirin running back with their hands in the air. Looking jubilant and confident.
He just walked after the ball. Deliberate steps without registering anything at all. He just had to get to the ball. He had to play. Now.
Imayoshi had picked it up.
...
Mac felt her eyes widen as she took in the change in Daiki. He was… different now. Had he done it?
She looked at him closely as she ignored the concerned questions about the fact that Seirin had just closed the points to three points.
"It doesn't matter," Mac said. "Daiki's got this now. We just have to trust him for now. He'll do this."
"Potter-san?" Harasawa asked.
"Coach, you remember me telling you about another level that Daiki could reach if he ever got to be pushed far enough?" Mac asked without looking at Harasawa so she missed his eyes widen as he looked back at Daiki. "You're about to see it now."
...
Imayoshi's eyes turned wide as he took in the change in Daiki and immediately passed him the ball when he held up his hands signalling that he wanted it. Even without Mac telling him that Daiki was to be given the ball Imayoshi could tell that they were now depending on him and that Daiki was about to show them just how much of a monster he could be.
He swallowed as he felt anticipation fill him. He couldn't help it. He loved watching players like Daiki play. Really play.
Daiki turned and got past Taiga without difficulties as he made his way to the other hoop and shot the ball against the board before it bounced back through the hoop.
...
"No way…" Ryota gasped.
"Is he…" Kasamatsu blinked, shocked.
Alex gaped, shocked. She couldn't believe it! She had never seen it done before, but she had heard of it. To think she was witnessing something like this at a High School basketball tournament… She leaned forward in her seat and stared at the court.
Atsushi had stopped eating as he stared down at the court while Himuro blinked, shocked.
This just got a lot harder, if not impossible, for Seirin to beat. If they didn't come up with something that could match this it was over for them.
This time for good.
Alex couldn't help but feel excited despite rooting for the other team. But this… this was amazing.
...
"What just happened," Tarou asked surprised as he picked up on the stunned whispers around him. He had thought Taiga had this covered very well now, and they had finally managed to get the score to only be three points difference. But now… Daiki had just gotten past Taiga with no effort at all.
"He's in the zone," Kagetora said, sounding stunned. "I've never seen a high school kid do that before."
"Zone?" Tarou asked, confused. While he followed basketball he didn't know about all the technicalities of it. He knew enough to follow a conversation with Taiga and Mac, and enough to be interested in what they were doing.
"It's an extreme state of focus," Kagetora explained, "where all unnecessary thoughts disappear and the athlete becomes absorbed in his play. Only those who have practised and practised earn the right to stand before the door, a door that opens unpredictably. Only the chosen gets the chance to step through."
Tarou blinked, trying to make sense of it but it was hard.
"And the door opens for Daiki?" Tarou asked.
"Yes, he's almost mockingly opening the door," Kagetora said. "It's amazing."
"So this is bad news for Seirin?" Tarou said.
"Very," Kagetora agreed. "Only someone in the zone could now challenge Aomine."
...
Daiki moved faster than before.
Without thinking or taking pauses, he just reacted and stole the ball that Hyuga was passing to Izuki. Before they knew it he was way past them.
Mac still stood watching with eyes never leaving the court, or Daiki. He was… amazing. Watching him like this… it was what she always dreamed of doing. To think she was finally watching him play to his fullest potential. It had never happened before…
She never wanted this match to end.
"It's normally impossible for anyone to play to up to your 100% of potential," Mac said quietly knowing that her team was listening. "Even someone who's highly focused normally only reaches 80% or something like that. Being in the zone makes the 100% possible, and Daiki is now showing us the impossible."
"You knew he could do this?" Harasawa asked.
"I've seen it once," she said. "Back when we were kids… but it wasn't complete yet. Not like this…"
She remembered that day… they had played just two of them and had ended up in the zone. It had given him a taste of it and it had hurt him when he couldn't get into it again when he tried in a match. It was part of the reason he had given up on ever really enjoying basketball again.
"But… I've never seen him reach it at this level," Mac said. "His potential in this state is unknown. I have no idea what to expect from him like this."
She watched as he dodged between Izuki and Taiga with more speed and agility than he had ever shown before.
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88 – 93 : 36 minutes played – 4th quarter
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Kiyoshi looked around, knowing that they had to do something in order to stop Daiki, but what? He saw the slightly lost and fearful expressions on his teammates' faces and fisted his hands.
"It's not over yet!" Kiyoshi said, making them look at him. Kiyoshi grinned and grabbed the ball. "We still have a chance! Let's have some fun!"
He saw the shift in their expressions as they nodded and he passed the ball to Izuki before running toward the hoop, ignoring Imayoshi's smirk. He would show them. They would get nothing for free as long as he was on the court.
Kiyoshi got the ball again and shot the ball through the hoop.
"Yes!" Koganei yelled from the bench.
"We still scored!" the first years cheered. "Seirin! Seirin!"
Daiki smiled as he picked up the ball from underneath the hoop.
"Good," he said. "That's how it should be!"
He shot the ball across the court, and it flew through the hoop with a swish.
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91 – 96 : 36 minutes played – 4th quarter
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Seirin called for a time-out.
"We can still get points," Riko said, looking around.
"Thanks to Kiyoshi," Kawahara said.
Kiyoshi rubbed his knee with one hand and grimaced slightly as he started to feel the strain on his knee now. It wasn't terrible, but still… he just hoped it would last throughout the match.
"We will need to work together if we're going to stop this," Kiyoshi said looking away from his knee. "As long as we keep working we have a chance."
"I have a favour to ask," Taiga said, making them look at him.
"What?" Riko frowned.
"Let me go one-on-one against Aomine," Taiga said.
"What? Kagami! What part of working together didn't you understand?!" Riko growled.
"It's for the best of the team!" Taiga said. "If I could help the team by being put on the bench, I would do it! But we need to handle Aomine and just working together like we have won't be enough! You know that! He's getting past us like we're not even there! I need to challenge him!"
"Kagami-kun is right," Tetsuya spoke up.
Riko looked conflicted, "but…"
"Kagami is the only one who has a chance of challenging Aomine one-on-one," Kiyoshi agreed with an easy smile as looked at Riko. "Remember what your dad told us, Riko. Individual talent is also a part of teamwork. Kagami is our ace and we trust him, we'll support him from behind and handle the rest of Too Academy."
Riko nodded slowly, "I guess you are right."
She looked at Taiga for a moment before she nodded again.
"Okay," she said. "You'll do that. You've got a couple of minutes to figure it out, hopefully, faster, and the rest will cover for you the best they can. Okay?"
Taiga nodded.
...
Mac looked over at Seirin and saw them talking, all looking serious. She hummed silently as eyed them one more time before looking back at her own team. She noticed that Seirin hadn't given up yet, and they kept going. She knew they would, and she was grateful for it. Maybe if they never gave up it would prompt Daiki to keep the change she was seeing in him now.
But did Seirin have a chance now?
At first she would say no. They had lost and there was no way they could catch up. Not with Daiki in the zone. It would be practically impossible for them to match that. Unless… unless they did. She furrowed her brows. Was it possible?
"Good," Harasawa said, bringing Mac's attention back to her own team. "You've been fighting very well. Wakamatsu, you're on the bench and Abe, you're in."
Wakamatsu frowned but didn't protest as Abe nodded and grinned.
"What now?" Susa asked, drying his forehead. "I mean… with Aomine like this… it's a done deal, right?"
"Not necessarily," Mac said, making them look at her.
"What do you mean?" Abe asked. "What could they possibly do now?"
"Taiga could enter the zone," she said, putting words to her suspicions.
They stared at her.
"What?" Imayoshi asked. "Mac, I mean… your cousin is good. I will admit that he is very strong, but… the zone?"
Mac shrugged, "I'm not saying he will. I am just saying that they will put Taiga against Daiki in a one-on-one and from my analysis of him and his growth just during this match… It's possible."
They stared at her.
"And if he does… what do we do?" Sakurai asked, looking a little worried.
"You leave him to Daiki," Mac said. "Daiki will be the only one who could handle him then."
"Either way, we'll leave the rest of the quarter to Aomine," Imayoshi said thoughtfully. "But I still doubt that Kagami can pull it off. Not so fast…"
"We'll see," Mac said and glanced at Daiki who didn't pay attention. She hadn't expected him too. She smiled fondly. How much she missed this… the way he was so immersed in a game that everything else around him disappeared.
...
Tetsuya managed to stop a ball from going over the line by throwing himself forward and hitting the ball back just before he crashed to the floor and rolled around a couple of times. The ball went to Hyuga, though, who passed to Kiyoshi who scored.
Mac glanced at Tetsuya worriedly but let out a small relieved breath when he was already getting to his feet and looked to be doing all right.
Seriously, why did he have to worry her like that?
"I can't allow you to pull away," Tetsuya said his eyes on Daiki who was looking at him. "An ace carrying his teammates' wishes cannot lose. I believe in Kagami-kun."
Daiki didn't say anything as he looked at Tetsuya, but Mac was sure he was remembering a time where Tetsuya would say something like that about him. She sighed sadly and wondered if they would be able to get back that trust that they had shared once.
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"Defence! Defence! Defence!" The Seirin bench yelled as they stomped their feet to the floor.
It was loud, intense, and they really did everything they could to cheer on their team.
...
"They're not giving up," Alex said, pleased. "Good."
"Kuro-chin doesn't know how to give up," Atsushi shrugged. "But Mac-chin and Mine-chin have won now."
"They could still do something," Himuro said. "I mean… Seirin still makes points."
Atsushi shrugged, "but not enough, and they haven't stopped Mine-chin from making points either. So as long as Mine-chin scores, then it doesn't matter that they keep making points."
Himuro frowned, but he had to admit that Atsushi was making sense.
"I suppose so," he said.
Alex heard them but didn't comment. She was watching Taiga now and wondered if he would make it in time. She was curious and eager to see it; she knew the potential was there, but would he reach it in time?
She liked the way Seirin worked. They worked together, and she saw the trust they put in Taiga. They waited for him and did everything they could to buy him time. If only it was a little more time…
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98 - 106 : 38 minutes played - 4th quarter
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Mac was feeling a little surprised that Seirin kept up even with Daiki in the zone. The difference wasn't growing as she had expected.
She frowned a little, wondering what to do. She glanced at Wakamatsu on the bench and saw his leg twitching like he was itching to get back out there and she knew that they might have to get him back on the court.
Their defence had gone down when they subbed him out, but he was tired too. So, he would stay there at least one more minute before she suggested that Harasawa put him back in for the last minute.
Daiki was past Taiga once more and almost by the hoop when suddenly Taiga was right there behind him knocking the ball out of his hands making it roll against the floor and over the line.
Mac blinked.
Daiki turned around, shocked to see Taiga standing there with that look in his eyes. Shock… and hope-filled Daiki as he stared at Taiga.
"He reacted to Aomine in the zone?" Imayoshi asked out loud. Impossible… or maybe not. He glanced over at Mac who was frowning as she stood by the bench, her eyes locked on her cousin. She didn't look surprised, but rather worried. She was worried, so that must mean… they were in trouble now!
"I take back what I said, Kagami," Daiki said grinning, "you're the best!"
...
Alex couldn't help the shock she felt as she realised that Taiga had just entered the zone. He did it. She had thought he was trying, but she hadn't really believed he would make it in time. Seriously, that boy… he never stopped to amaze her.
Himuro glanced behind him and saw Alex staring at the court with a smile on her face. He couldn't help the jealousy he felt as he realised that Taiga really was on another level than him, but at the same time… he was proud. This was Taiga at his best and to see him play against Daiki like that was intense and fun.
Atsushi was looking at Mac and wondered if she was happy now. She was seeing Daiki play, really play, again, and it was something she had hope to do for a long time now.
He hoped she was happy.
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102 – 106 : 38 minutes played – 4th quarter
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Mac knew that she couldn't do anything to influence this part of the game. The intense battle going on between Daiki and Taiga was above everyone else on the court right now.
They reacted to each other fast, efficient and gracefully as the zone provided them with the extra sense and ability to filter out everything else there.
"It's like the others don't even exist anymore," Wakamatsu grumbled.
...
Daiki rushed forward with Taiga right there and twisted and turned but Taiga matched him and he was forced to back up and dribbled the ball closer to him to keep Taiga from stealing it. He smiled, and a laugh escaped him as he did.
Taiga looked determinedly back at Daiki and reached out to get the ball, but Daiki reacted fast and with a twist jumped up to shoot.
Taiga jumped to block it and managed to get a finger on the ball, making it miss the hoop. He rushed after the ball, not registering anything else but the need to get the ball.
He reached the ball first and rushed toward the other hoop with Daiki close behind.
...
Daiki covered Taiga well, and they were forced into a stalemate with neither getting closer to the other, both reading and reacting to the other's moves easily and readily.
Then suddenly Taiga got past Daiki and scored.
Mac frowned. What was happening now? Was Taiga faster than Daiki?
No… her eyes widened. Daiki had entered the zone first, meaning that his time was running out. He was bound to feel exhausted by now. It cost a lot to be in the zone like this. The strain it put on him both physically and mentally was much more than normal.
"Coach," Mac said an urgent tone in her voice and he looked at her still shocked by Taiga slipping past Daiki.
"Potter?"
"You should get Wakamatsu into the match again now," she said. "Daiki has been in the zone longer than Taiga, so he will run out before Taiga does. We need Wakamatsu's defensive power right now, I don't know if it will be enough but it's the best chance we got."
Harasawa nodded and Wakamatsu got up and pulled off his jacket just as Harasawa gave the referees word of the substitution.
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104 - 109 : 39 minutes played - 4th quarter
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Daiki landed on his arse as Taiga just slammed the ball away and stopped him from scoring. Just… what happened? Did he lose the one-on-one that had been happening here?
Where did Taiga get his strength? He could see that his time limit of the zone had run out too now, it hadn't even lasted as long as it did for him but still… How did Taiga manage to find the strength to keep going?
What was happening?
Was he going to lose? Were they?
He got up and saw Hyuga score.
They were only two-point behind now.
And it was 30 seconds left on the clock.
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107 – 109 : 39 minutes played – 4th quarter
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They had a chance, Riko thought, almost sitting at the edge of her seat.
Kiyoshi was breathing heavily as he looked around for an opening. They had a chance, Taiga had done it. He had managed to get the points they needed to keep holding on. They had a chance.
Hyuga couldn't believe it. They had a chance now. Thanks to Taiga. But what now?
...
Mac felt useless.
She had to do something, right?
What could she do?
What should she do?
Take a time-out?
No, there wasn't a point. Not now. It didn't look like Harasawa considered a time-out to be right now either. He was twirling a strand of hair as he watched the game.
She knew this had been a possibility. She had played it out, but she hadn't expected it to happen. Not like this. Not after both Daiki and Taiga having entered the zone. A look told her that Daiki was tired. He would be feeling it in his legs and arms by now. She could only hope that he wasn't injured.
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Wakamatsu yelled as he knocked the ball away from Kiyoshi who had been about to score and stopping him from redirecting his shot into a pass making him lose control of the ball.
Yes!
The ball rolled away and valuable seconds ticked away in Too Academy's favour.
If only the clock would go a little faster.
...
Ryota couldn't look away. This was it. They didn't have much time to change this.
"Now's the time to do something, Kuroko-cchi," Ryota whispered. "Change this for her, please…"
He knew that he wanted Daiki to get back to his old self, for both his sake and Mac's. And seeing Daiki in this match… Ryota was sure that if Tetsuya and Seirin actually won there was a chance they would make Daiki realise what he was missing.
This was their chance…
...
Hermione and Ueno were staring wide-eyed down at the court. They didn't understand everything that had been happening, but they had never seen anything that could measure up to this. Hermione had seen quite a few quidditch matches since entering the magical world. She had never really enjoyed it but she had liked it well enough, but this… this was so much better. The tension, will and determination were great. She could tell that both teams were really giving their all now.
They both wanted to win.
Ueno wondered if she could find that passion again. She missed it. She used to feel that way about her martial arts, but ever since she had lost and then her parents… well, she hadn't felt like that. But watching Seirin and Too Academy play, she started to feel something again.
...
Seconds left.
They had to do something. Tetsuya knew this, and he knew that if he was ever going to be ready for his new move, it would have to be now. He had not perfected it. Not by a long shot, but if he didn't try it now, it would be too late!
He had hoped that he would have been farther along with it by this time, but it had been harder than he had imagined going into it. Even with Alex's help.
But it was their only shot.
"Get me the ball!" He told the others, and they glanced at him but no one argued. They didn't have time for that.
He got in position, and Izuki passed him the ball.
10 seconds left.
Tetsuya inhaled deeply.
Focus.
He hit the ball with the palm of his hand and it shot past Imayoshi who covered him. The ball zoomed past him, practically disappearing from view until it was behind him and it went through the hoop just as the buzzer sounded.
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109 – 109 : 40 minutes played – 4th quarter – end
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Mac felt her eyes widen. Again. Did Tetsuya just…? He made a basket! He never could do that before… She felt stunned, and it was not for the first time during the match. She could tell that the others were staring shocked at Tetsuya again as well.
Only Seirin seemed to have expected something like this. The bench players had jumped to their feet and were cheering loudly with their hands in the air, and Riko was grinning. Tetsuya was staring almost shocked at the hoop as he was surrounded by his teammates and nudged, clasped on the shoulder or hair ruffled as they cheered.
The crowd cheered loudly as well and seemed to chant Seirin's name over and over; it was clear that they had won the audience over as well during the match.
Mac blinked.
Okay, that was impressive. How long had he been working on that? She couldn't help but wonder.
To think Tetsuya saved a tie for Seirin and kept the hopes up for victory. They were clinging on and refusing to allow Too Academy to grab the win. And just like Mac had warned; Seirin never gave up.
Looking at her team told her they were tired, they breathed hard and was clearly feeling the effects of four quarters with intense basketball. She could honestly say that they had never been pushed like this before.
Seirin had really grown a lot…
But so had they, she reminded herself as she watched her friends sitting down on the bench and accepting the bottles of water from the others. They were all quiet, and she knew they were thinking about what had happened in the last few seconds.
They had been so close to securing the win and to lose that like this… well, it put the momentum of the match over to Seirin.
...
"A tie, huh?" Kagetora said.
"Someone has to win, right," Tarou said and Kagetora nodded.
"Yes," Kagetora nodded, "there will be a winner in this game. So, they will play extra periods that last five minutes until they have a winner."
Tarou nodded, "I see."
"I wonder," Kagetora said more to himself than to Tarou. "Both teams are bound to be tired now, but with the last points from Seirin will give them the momentum. Especially since it was Kuroko who made the basket. It will have stunned Too Academy."
...
Tetsuya fought to regain his breath. He had made the basket, but now they had to play extra periods and he wasn't sure how they would do that. His legs and arms felt so heavy, but he just had to find the strength to keep going.
They didn't have a choice.
"Good!" Riko said, looking around. "Now you have a chance to win this! We caught up just in time!"
Hyuga smiled tiredly, "we sure did… thanks to Kagami and Kuroko."
"Crazy," Koganei said, looking at Taiga. "To think you could enter the zone!"
Taiga smiled even as he breathed heavily and tried to get control of it again. He was so… tired.
"We will have to take minute for minute," Riko said. "Kuroko, you're on the bench for now. Furihata, you're in."
Furihata blinked, shocked. "Eh?!"
"You're in," Riko repeated. "We need fresh legs and Kuroko needs to rest for a minute or two, and hopefully some of his misdirection will be back in time."
...
Mac glanced at Daiki and saw him looking over at Seirin's bench and wondered what he was thinking now. She held up some oranges she had cut up and placed in some juice in order for them to eat in case they needed quick refreshments.
"Here," she said. "Eat this."
They took it gratefully, and she nodded, "good. You're looking good, so now you will need to get all of your strength together. This next period will be harsh, I won't lie. You will need to give your all now. This is it."
They nodded.
"Seirin has grown, we knew that going in and they have proven us right," Mac said. "In fact, I will say that they've taken large steps just during this match. To see Tetsu actually make a basket… that was something I hadn't thought about."
"So he stunned even you," Imayoshi said smirking lightly, but the shock was still visible in his eyes.
"Haha," Mac said, but she smiled a little, "but yeah, he did."
Daiki smiled slightly and nodded, "Tetsu is always coming up with something no one else ever thinks about."
Mac glanced at her boyfriend and smiled slightly. They shared a fond look remembering Tetsuya from their Middle School days and Mac couldn't help but wonder about the change that she saw in Daiki now… he was so open.
Like before.
She could only hope that it would last.
...
109 – 109 : 40 minutes played – extra period 1 – Start
...
Mac ignored the throbbing she felt from her left wrist, knowing that it was about time for another dose of her pain meds, but she couldn't be bothered to actually find any right now.
She had to focus, and the meds made her feel tired.
She noticed that they had placed Tetsuya on the bench and she could understand why; he was tired and would need a little longer than the others to catch his breath again. Plus, she knew they were hoping to get some of his misdirection back.
That wouldn't happen, though, Mac thought. It wouldn't work on them anymore. Not like before.
...
Daiki had the ball and dribbled it looking at Taiga who was in front of him with a serious look on his face. He could tell he was completely out of the zone now as well.
"It's you and me," Daiki said. "Let's settle this, Kagami!"
"You bet!" Taiga said.
Daiki smiled as he faked going to the left before turning to go to the right with a fast movement and passed Taiga who was right behind them.
Kiyoshi came up in front of him and Daiki twisted around to get past him and dodged Taiga who had come up right behind him.
Taking a step back, he jumped up and threw the ball while he was still rising.
...
Hyuga inhaled as he caught the ball and took a step back getting away from Sakurai who missed his timing giving Hyuga enough time to shoot the ball and make another three-pointer.
"Good!" Kiyoshi grinned at him and held up his hand for a high-five.
"Don't look so surprised," Hyuga muttered darkly but high-five his friend.
Kiyoshi laughed.
"Let's have some fun!" Kiyoshi grinned.
Mac heard and smiled a little. She had missed hearing him say that.
...
112 – 114 : 42 minutes played – extra period 1
...
Furihata almost trembled when he was faced with Imayoshi, who smirked at him.
"Ouch," Abe muttered from the bench. "He looks like a frightened cat…"
Mac hummed, "he's got potential, but right now he's not much of a threat to Imayoshi."
"Poor bloke," Inoue said sympathetically.
Mac rubbed the back of her head as she watched Imayoshi getting past Furihata with ease and she guessed it was a good thing (for Furihata) that Imayoshi was tired and not didn't have too much extra energy for mind games.
...
"But I see why they put him in," Mac said looking over at Riko. "Good plan."
"Eh?" Namamura asked.
"He's calming them down;" Mac said. "Look, they're not rushing things. It's easy for them to rush into the extra periods thinking that they have control of the game, wanting to settle it right away and not taking time to calm down and think things through. But with him… they're calming down."
"Huh," Abe said. "I see."
"So…" Mac glanced at Harasawa who arched a brow, "what about matching them, coach?"
"What do you have in mind?" he asked.
"Namamura," Mac said. "He would be the best to match him."
"Okay," Harasawa said looking over at Namamura who blinked shocked.
"Okay!" Namamura said eagerly. "I'm ready!"
Mac nodded, "good. Now listen here…"
...
"A sub?" Riko glanced over at the Too Academy bench and saw one of the bench players standing there. His name was Namamura if she remembered correctly, but she wasn't sure how good he was.
"Seems like they have a plan," Tetsuya said from beside her. "Mac's been talking with him."
"Hm;" Riko frowned. "Should we be worried?"
Tetsuya looked at her, "with Mac? Always."
Riko sighed, "I was afraid you would say that."
...
Sakurai sat down, pouting slightly, but Mac patted his shoulder without looking at him.
"Good job, Sakurai," Mac said. "Take a breath. If this last into the next period we will need you again, okay?"
"Y-yes," Sakurai said.
Mac narrowed her eyes as she watched the game.
...
118 – 116 : 44 minutes played – extra period 1
...
Namamura stood in front of Furihata, who had the ball and was looking for the opening for a pass. They needed to get the ball now, or they would lose.
Namamura didn't want that. He hadn't finally gotten to the court only to lose. He noticed how Furihata guarded the ball closely and he was good at it; he didn't make any mistakes in how he controlled the ball.
He was comfortable keeping a hold of it and never letting a rash decision rush him.
Just like Mac had said.
So, with one quick move, Namamura reached out with one hand and made Furihata move the ball over to the other hand making Namamura smirk.
"I knew you would do that," Namamura said and with a sharp twist moved his weight over to the other foot and with his dominant hand stole the ball from a startled looking Furihata. "Mac said you were a lefty!"
Namamura passed the ball to Susa, who quickly passed the ball to Daiki, who scored.
...
118 – 118 : 45 minutes played – extra period 1 – end
...
Tie.
Again.
Daiki grinned as he stared at Seirin. They were still playing, and he loved it. He loved this feeling of not knowing how the match would turn out.
If only he could play like this forever.
He grabbed a bottle of water from Mac and saw the way she looked at him and he smiled. She blinked at him before smiling softly back and her eyes showed warmth and happiness. She was happy.
Some day you will find someone who can challenge you, Daiki.
That was what she had told him before and he had failed to believe her, but now… now he had someone who was challenging him. Like she said, and maybe she was right. Maybe there would be others too…
He tossed the bottle away.
He was ready to play again!
...
118 – 118 : 45 minutes played – extra period 2 – start
...
Ryota couldn't believe the match they were witnessing. He couldn't believe how many times he had thought that just watching this match, but it was true. It was as if neither of the teams backed off and refused to give in to the other, but he could tell that it was only a matter of time before something broke.
"They don't want to lose," he said.
"Of course not," Kasamatsu said. "All of them are pushing themselves as far as they can go now… it's all about who breaks first now. The first to make a mistake."
Ryota nodded thoughtfully.
...
Daiki gritted his teeth as his body started to protest but he pushed it back. He had to keep going. He caught the ball and dribbled it before passing it to Susa, who blinked surprised, but shot the ball through the hoop.
Mac arched a brow as Daiki passed the ball; he never really did that if he got the ball like that. Was he too tired? She wouldn't blame him if he were, but… no, she didn't think so.
She hummed as she thought about it but didn't say anything as she watched Kiyoshi dribbling the ball. She frowned because she noticed that he was limping. Was he feeling it in his knee? Well, it wouldn't be too strange if he were… but she really hoped that he hadn't pushed it too far and undone everything he had put into the recovery of his knee.
Wakamatsu got up beside him and stole the ball from Kiyoshi who muttered something as he rushed after Wakamatsu, but the other player passed the ball to Daiki who again passed to Imayoshi.
That was twice, Mac realised. In a row, what was going on now? Why did he pass?
Was he… playing with his team now?
Actually involving them in his game?
She blinked.
Huh.
...
120 – 122 : 47 minutes played – extra period 2
...
Hyuga had the ball and was outside the three-point line, ready to take the shot. Sakurai was in front of him and he scowled because he needed to get this shot. He had to make it.
He shifted his foot and was ready to take the step back, but Sakurai was suddenly there. Was he faster than him? How could that be?
He took the shot, but Sakurai blocked it and he cursed as the ball bounced across the floor. Susa was there to pick it up and passed to Daiki who dribbled past a tired Taiga who just missed in his timing to steal the ball from Daiki.
Daiki scored.
Shit, Hyuga thought. They kept missing…
...
Tetsuya knew he had to try the shot again. He breathed heavily as he accepted the ball from Izuki, knowing that they were all relying on him now.
He had to make it.
"You won't make it," Imayoshi said. "I'll stop you this time."
Tetsuya glared and got into position and took the shot, but his eyes widened as he realised (too late) that Imayoshi was suddenly farther away from him and stopped the shot.
"Told you," Imayoshi said as he stopped the shot. "Mac saw through it."
"We should have expected that," Riko sighed, glancing over at Mac who was watching the match closely. She was saying something to their coach, who nodded and looked pleased. Riko frowned. She wasn't sure what she could do now other than to just let it play out and hope that they found something to hold on to.
...
120 – 125 : 49 minutes played – extra period 2
...
Kiyoshi grimaced as he felt his knee start to give in. By now it was aching, and he knew he couldn't keep it up for too much longer.
They needed to end this match now and in their favour, but the clock was ticking away and he knew they really needed a miracle by now.
Problem was… he felt like they had already used up all of their miracles for this match.
Having Mac see through Tetsuya's phantom shot by only seeing it once wasn't something they had counted on, but he knew it wasn't surprising.
...
Taiga was about to jump when his legs froze and refused to follow his command to jump. He gritted his teeth but before he could do anything Daiki was there and stole the ball from him and left him standing there like a fool. Why couldn't he move?
His legs felt like lead.
"He's out of stamina," Riko sighed. "Not surprising…"
It wasn't only him either, she noticed. Compared to the Too Academy players, they looked to be dragging their feet and having trouble matching the speed Too Academy still managed to press out.
She sighed.
...
120 – 127 : 50 minutes played – extra period 2 – end
...
The buzzer echoed over the court just as Daiki dunked in the last basket, signalling the end of the match.
It was like a stunned silence that fell over the stadium and the court where they all tried to take in what had just happened and that the game had actually ended.
Mac blinked as the sound suddenly went back on and the crowd went wild, cheering and getting to their feet as they clapped and yelled.
"Yes!"
"So good!"
"Both teams were so great!"
"Amazing!"
"That was the best match I've ever seen!"
"Seirin!"
"Too Academy!"
They had won. Mac thought with a rush of emotions going through her, joy, relief, happiness, exhaustion… everything and nothing. All at once and nothing at the same time, it was like everything was trying to register at once, making it impossible to really take it in.
Daiki was standing there under the basket, not knowing what to feel. He had won, but he felt differently about this. It hadn't felt expected, he had almost expected to lose.
...
"Yes!"
Cheers broke out and Mac found herself hugged by someone (she didn't really care who at the moment) and a laugh burst out of her as she was twirled around. She heard the cries of joy and relief as she was passed into another set of arms and someone ruffled her hair (it was by long mostly out of her bun by now) and she laughed again.
They had won!
The exhilaration was overwhelming and she couldn't remember feeling like this before, to win such a close game and being challenged like this… it was the best.
"We won!"
"Finally!"
"We did it!"
Mac wasn't sure who said what, but that didn't matter either. It was what they all felt now, so it was just putting words to their feelings. She was placed on her feet again, and she looked around trying to find Daiki. Where was he?
She found him standing where he had finished the game. Underneath the basket and he was staring at Tetsuya who had paused in front of him with Taiga close behind. She frowned slightly. What was going on?
...
"Good game," Tetsuya said quietly and Daiki looked at him. He looked disappointed and tired… Daiki normally felt detached spotting those emotions after matches, but now he smiled slightly and took it in.
"Yeah…" he said slowly and a note of regret was in his voice. "It was."
Tetsuya looked at him and Daiki wanted to say something… anything to make everything all right, but what could he say? What could he possibly say now that would take back the last couple of years of hurtful words and actions?
Words never really were his thing anyway and never had he regretted it more than now.
"You really showed me, Tetsu," Daiki said making Tetsuya blink at him. "You have really come a long way."
"Thank you," Tetsuya said, a small flicker of a smile in his eyes.
Daiki smiled and moved to walk away when he noticed a hand in front of him, a fisted hand. He looked at Tetsuya.
In a way, Daiki felt like he had lost.
But at the same time, the feeling of a victory was bursting inside of him and filled him with mixed emotions, happiness and relief and pride. It was because of the shadow in front of him.
He looked at the fist.
"Can I ask you a favour?" Tetsuya asked. "You still haven't returned my fist bump."
Daiki felt his eyes widen in surprise and startled slightly.
"What? Eh? Who cares about that?" Daiki asked, embarrassed, ashamed.
"No," Tetsuya said seriously making Daiki frowned slightly as he took in the hurt that was now visible in his eyes. Had he really been hiding that hurt for so long? Had he really never seen it before? "Try putting yourself in the shoes of the ignored."
Daiki swallowed back the shame he felt as he raised his fist and bumped it against Tetsuya, and a flash of all the times they had done that back at Teiko crossed his mind. Something more settled inside of him, making Daiki smile softly again.
"Thank you, Tetsu," he said before walking past him and toward Mac who was watching them with her hands pressed to her chest (her good hand holding the one wrapped in a cast) and she had tears in her eyes she hadn't bothered wiping away. The rest of the team was celebrating behind or around her, though.
She grinned at him through her tears when she saw him coming toward her and took a couple of steps before she ran toward him and he met her catching her in his arms and pulled her close. The feeling of her in his arms made everything seem so much more real.
She hugged him tightly, and he felt her breathing against his neck. He vaguely thought he must be disgusting covered in sweat and all that but she didn't seem to mind. She never did, and he loved that about her.
"You did it," she whispered against his neck. "I knew you could!"
"Almost," Daiki said, holding her closer. "Almost."
She tightened her arms around him and laughed as he suddenly twirled them around before suddenly sinking down to the floor with her still in his arms. She yelped and scowled at him as he laughed.
"You did that on purpose," she said.
"No… just my legs can't hold us up anymore," Daiki grinned. "I'm so tired."
She smiled softly at him again and leaned closer and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I guess I'll forgive you this one time."
He grinned back at her, "good."
...
Tetsuya sank down at the floor, unable to keep standing anymore. Disappointment and sadness filled him as he stared at his hands. It hadn't been enough.
Again.
He had failed and lost. He didn't like this feeling; it hurt. He couldn't help the bitter tears that escaped his eyes and quickly rubbed them away with the back of his hand. He would not cry. Not now.
"Come on," Taiga said and Tetsuya looked up to see his friend standing beside him without looking at him. Giving him privacy, or maybe hiding his own tear-filled eyes. Tetsuya didn't know, but it didn't really matter. He just nodded and tried to get up but his legs seemed to fail him, but Taiga reached down and pulled him back to his feet. "Thanks."
"Anytime," Taiga said gruffly.
Tetsuya glanced over at Daiki who was sitting on the floor now with Mac in his lap and he couldn't help the small smile that crossed his lips as he took in the happiness on Mac's face as she was watching Daiki who seemed to smile as well.
At least he got to see Daiki smile again. It would probably feel better later, but right now he was just feeling disappointment.
Riko was watching them with concern as they reached the bench and dumped down on it. Kiyoshi was already sitting there looking pained, and a hand was massaging his knee.
"You okay?" Tetsuya asked, making Kiyoshi look up and nod.
"Yeah," he said. "Just a little sore."
Tetsuya nodded.
The same looks of disappointment and pain were on every face and no one really had anything to say. What could they say? Nothing at the moment.
...
Mac was pulled back to her feet by Susa, who grinned at her while Imayoshi helped Daiki up. She looked at them and noticed Daiki eye Imayoshi for a moment before he shrugged. Imayoshi huffed and clapped Daiki on the shoulder as he made his way toward the bench.
"Good game," Susa reached out and ruffled Daiki's hair, making Daiki blink at the older teen.
"Yeah…" Daiki said slowly almost unsurely while Susa smiled and followed Imayoshi.
Mac smiled at the exchange. It was nice to see Daiki being treated like a junior and a part of the team in a way he hadn't before. They never excluded him or anything, she would never accuse them of doing that but there had been a distance between them and it seemed to be a little smaller now.
"Come on," she said taking his hand, and he nodded.
Wakamatsu eyed Daiki when they joined them at the bench.
"Good game," Wakamatsu said.
Daiki rolled his eyes, "you too, I suppose."
Mac sighed, okay maybe the two of them needed a little more time to work out their differences.
"Go and get changed," Harasawa said. "We'll talk in the locker room when you've changed, okay?"
They nodded.
Sakurai was looking half-asleep as he stood beside Namamura, who had pulled one of Sakurai's arms over his shoulder to support him.
...
Seijuro had just entered the court when the match between Seirin and Too Academy ended. They had been asked to wait in the locker rooms for ten extra minutes before they went to get ready and had just arrived as the match ended.
To think it had gone on for two extra periods… Seijuro couldn't help but wonder how the match had turned out after he left, and how Seirin had managed to catch up. A glance at the scoreboard told him that Too Academy had pulled away again at the end, but that was likely because of stamina.
He looked to see Mac smiling and walking beside Daiki as they moved to leave the court. Seijuro smiled seeing the smile on her face, she looked happy. A look at Daiki told him he had changed some during the match. He was even smiling now as well and seemed more open. Huh, who would have guessed?
Seijuro then looked to see Tetsuya being helped back to his feet by one of his teammates, and the shadow barely smiled and looked disappointed. Understandable, Seijuro supposed. He must have given his all and failed. That always hurt.
Just how close had they gotten to beating Mac and Daiki?
Taiga was looked almost angry as he stalked toward the doors. The frustration seemed to build in him and Seijuro could see the same with most of the others as well. Along with sadness. But there was also a note of… what was it? Satisfaction?
"Huh," he said. "They gave everything they had."
Mibuchi glanced at him. "Who?"
"Seirin;" Seijuro said. "I wonder how the match was played."
"Looks like an intense one," Hayama said looking at them. "They're practically dead on their feet!"
Seijuro nodded.
Mac glanced over then and noticed them and smiled at them as she waved. He nodded back, and she grinned, and he saw the challenge in her eyes.
Meet you in the finals.
He smirked. This would be fun. First, he would beat Shintaro and Shutoku and then face Mac and Daiki in the finals. It was already determined. How fun.
...
"Ah, Seirin lost," Takao said.
"Hn," Shintaro said.
Takao glanced at him. "You upset?"
"I don't care," Shintaro said.
"Sure you don't," Takao rolled his eyes. "You don't fool me, you know. I know you hoped Seirin would win and that something would happen for Aomine and Mac."
Shintaro huffed and pushed at his glasses. He didn't say anything. He would not share what he hoped or not with anyone. Especially with someone outside of his old friends. But the truth was; he hoped that Daiki would be brought back to how he used to be by losing. That he would realise that basketball could be what it used to.
Well, he would hope that if he cared. Which he didn't. So… he didn't.
Except; he did, and he did (kind of) admit that to himself. Deep down.
But a look at Daiki told him that maybe all hope wasn't lost. He was smiling and showing more emotions than he had seen in a very long time after a match. At least emotions that weren't anger and frustration. Huh, maybe Tetsuya had made him change, anyway.
"Well, let's do our best," Takao said. "I want to play against Too Academy now in the finals! So we need to beat Rakuzan first!"
Shintaro nodded in agreement. It was time to face Seijuro and Rakuzan. His hold on his lucky item of the day tightened.
...
...
AN: Part three of three! XD What do you think? XD (I didn't intend for the match to last three chapters, but it just turned out that way. There was so much to cover in this match and development going on that I couldn't figure out how to cut it down and skip parts of it without losing important development.)
Okay, so as you can tell I decided to change it up. Instead of following canon and have Seirin win the match, I decided to have Too Academy win. I will admit that I went back and forth with that decision many times before I decided to go for it. For me, it felt more natural that Too Academy won this match. They do have both Mac and Daiki on the team and even with Mac on the bench, it will make a difference. Especially since I've had Harasawa rely on her a lot and listen to what she has to say. So in a way, it turned out to be Riko vs Mac along with Taiga/Tetsuya vs Daiki.
I know some of you might be disappointed and wanted to have Seirin win. I can understand that and will even agree to some point. It would be easier to explain how Daiki gets back his love for basketball that way, but as I thought about it I realised that it didn't necessarily have to be that way. Just because he didn't lose doesn't mean that he didn't realise what Tetsuya had tried to show him. He still went through the match and was challenged, he still felt unsure if he would win or not. I think that it would still count even as he won. He still had fun! That has been his issue for a long time, the lack of enjoyment of a game. He has now felt the enjoyment and knows that it's out there even if he's still stronger than most.
That's some of my thoughts about it anyway. Also, they will get another match against Rakuzan (probably, don't think I will change that opponent) and Seijuro. So, there are more opportunities for challenges there, because even Daiki will be challenged against Seijuro. So, Daiki might learn some more then, hopefully.
Well, this is my clumsy efforts to explain how I thought about the match and the result. Let me know if you have questions or thoughts. ;)
Oh, and by the way; who do you think is strongest between Daiki and Seijuro? XD
Thank you so much for reading and supporting the story! XD