A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy.
At first I wanted to post chapters 37 and 38 together, but I don't have my usual "buffer" of pre-written chapters, so you'll have to wait the usual two weeks for the chapter 38. I'm trying to catch up with my schedule and write whenever I can, but I have a lot going on with my new job, and my friend's wedding (which is today) so... :)
Enough of rambling. Enjoy!
Quarterfinals part I. - Perfect copy
It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
I can't even explain how blessed I am and how fortunate that I have such a great team that believes in me. – Holly Holm
Team spirit spurs me on. I've always found it easier to be strong for other people than for myself. – Cheryl Cole
You will find joy, frustration and sorrow in your quest. Never forget that friendship and loyalty are more precious than riches... ― Brian Jacques, Pearls of Lutra
If you can make a woman laugh, you can make her do anything. ― Marilyn Monroe
She was staring into Daiki's stormy eyes. His body was pressed against hers on her bed. He rested his forehead against hers, as if asking her for permission. Instead, she pulled him down for a kiss. She craved this, her entire being craved to have him that close. A bit rough, a bit inexperienced, but so very gentle; that's what his lips felt like. Maybe he wasn't sure what exactly he was doing, but he was picking it up very quickly. Naturally.
He pulled away, breathing heavily and stared at her with an intensity which made her insides quiver. She felt like she'd turn into a jelly. And then he kissed her again.
His calloused palm travelled up the outer side of her thigh, and under her t-shirt. The rough skin of his hand aroused her even more. His lips trailed her jaw and neck. She leaned her head back to give him better access and let out a soft moan.
Her eyes snapped open.
Oh god… Aya thought desperately. "As if that nightmare wasn't enough…" She groaned in annoyance and embarrassment. It wasn't the first time she'd dreamt about something like this, but the timing was terrible. "… to get wet from a dream… urgh…"
"Meow."
"Mornin', Dorian. You scared the crap out of me before, you know?" She glared at the cat accusingly, as if it had caused her dreams.
"Meow." Dorian replied and licked his paw.
"Let's feed you." She sighed and chuckled at her talking to the cat.
She wasn't sure how to face Aomine in 20 minutes, but she had to go to breakfast. Tough and uninterested… She thought back to Kiku's words and shook her head. Impossible. And when she thought back to her night talk with Kise, she felt like banging her head against the wall. I'm an idiot…
######
Aya took her time that morning. She wasn't late, but she wasn't in the dining hall first either. She sighed in relief when Aomine wasn't there yet.
"Mornin', Ayacchi!" Kise greeted her from behind, startling her. "Looking for Aominecchi?" He asked with a suggestive smile, after all, he knew Daiki had eavesdropped.
"Mornin', Model-kun. Sneaking up on me?" She asked with a smirk.
"No. And you haven't answered my question. Again."
"Do I have to?"
"It would be nice."
"I've answered more than enough." She said with a wink, filled her bowl with fruits and walked away with her head held high. She wasn't hungry at all.
Kasamatsu, who followed after Kise, was glancing between the two. He didn't understand one bit what they had just discussed. But because he already knew the blonde, he could tell that in those few sentences there was something unspoken exchanged.
"What was that about?" He asked the model.
"Hm? I just greeted her." Kise shrugged and walked towards their table. "I am allowed to that, right?" His tone was chilly, almost scolding. This 'don't talk to an opposing team' atmosphere was ridiculous; and keeping to his image as the spoiled Kaijo's ace was starting to get rather difficult.
Kasamatsu blinked at the sudden harshness he wasn't used to receive from the blonde. "Y-yeah." He stammered and shook his head. This was not the Kise he believed to know. Or maybe he was imagining things and his nerves were making him crazy. The pressure of facing Touou was weighing him more than anyone else. He was the captain after all and even if Kise was the one truly facing Aomine, it was him, who lead the team.
"You talked with Ki-chan?" Satsuki asked the moment Aya sat down.
She shrugged reading the real question hidden in Satsuki's eyes. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep yesterday and we ran into each other in the cafeteria. It's easy to talk with him."
"That, I agree with." She laughed. "Have you seen Aomine-kun today?"
"Uhm…" The dream resurfaced and she bit her lip to fight off a blush. "No? Not yet."
"He's sleeping in." Ishii said as he sat next to Aya. "Maybe he'll come in a few minutes. I don't think he'll sleep much today."
"True." As unusual as it was, Aya didn't know where to look. She felt out of it; excited and anxious at the same time. And that hot dream from her morning… she wanted it to be a reality. Then she noticed Imayoshi's pointed stare and she averted her eyes. Get it together. She thought and focused on eating her breakfast.
"Ya think Booby-chan's okay?" Hero whispered to Tatsuya, glancing at the redhead. Once she wasn't trying to drill a hole into Tatsuya's head, he wasn't trying to avoid her. And with Tatsuya around, it was easier to handle the cookie-monster.
"…" He stared at Aya for a moment, but he couldn't say for sure. She looked slightly jumpy, maybe a bit embarrassed about something, but that could've been caused by a nightmare – she wouldn't tell him anyways. Still, he had a feeling it was somehow Aomine's fault. Something happened… "If not, she will be soon enough."
Hero narrowed her eyes at him. "Didn't ya date, Poker-face? I can tell that somethin's off, ya should be able to tell what it is!"
He chuckled dryly. No, he wouldn't discuss this with their manager. "Then I s'pose I don't know her as well as I'd like to believe."
"Now y're lyin'." She said, somehow, she managed to pick up a slight annoyance flashing on Tatsuya's face.
"Maybe." He said with his typical smile. "But you can't be sure, can you?"
"Fuck off." She grumbled and focused on furiously stuffing her cheeks with food.
######
Daiki closed his eyes and tried to get a bit more sleep, but thoughts were buzzing in his head like a swarm of flies. He wasn't sure how to face Aya, without giving away that he'd overheard her conversation with Kise. Kise… He had to focus on the match. It was one of those matches he couldn't miss no matter what. But… Trying to avoid Aya just because he'd overheard something… It was stupid. He could've guessed she liked him; there was no reason for him to avoid her. Or Kise. Still… He didn't feel like meeting the blonde before the match, because he knew he'd win.
With a groan he sat up. This is pointless. He thought and his stomach rumbled in response. He got up, washed himself quickly and changed from his sleeping clothes. Then he strolled to the dining hall.
"Aominecchi! Mornin'!" Kise waved him with a bright smile in an overexcited gesture. His team was done eating and on their leave.
He rolled his eyes. "Yo." He nodded to the blonde.
"Don't be late for the match." The bright smile turned into a dangerous smirk as he passed by his friend. "I don't think you can afford it today."
The blonde's excitement was contagious. A challenging and not less dangerous grin settled on Aomine's face too. Everything other than the match weighing on his mind was suddenly pushed aside. "I hope you can entertain me, Kise."
"I'm not planning to lose." He patted Aomine's shoulder and disappeared around the corner.
"So we're facing them today, huh?" Imayoshi mused as he stared at their opponents leaving the dining hall. Kaijo was always to leave first.
"Yeah." Aya said, observing the exchange between the two aces. It made her impatient; she wanted the match to start already. "I can't wait to see it."
The room was filled with anticipation and competitiveness; everyone watched the exchange between the two aces, because it was supposed to be the very first match between members of the generation of miracles what so ever; everyone wanted to see it.
Aomine slumped on a chair at the end of the table. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He planned to eat, rest, and then go warm up on his own. The redhead had been right all along; he was thrilled. Even though he was 100% sure he'd win, he wanted to play in that match; he wanted to see how much the blonde had improved.
"That's gonna be exciting~"
"Booby-chan!" Hero rested her elbows on Aya's shoulders as she leaned over her. "Can I join ya? I wanna watch yer match today."
Aya didn't mind the proximity, but the request surprised her. "Is your team not watching it?"
"Yeah. But I wanna be with ya, not with the Poker face. Ya can tell me more about them all."
She smirked. Little spy, I taught her well… "Okay. But you sure you don't want to watch with Fukui-senpai?"
Hero blushed and hid her face in Aya's shoulder. "Yer evil, Booby-chan, evil."
She shrugged. "Just asking."
She took a deep breath, thinking about Aya's suggestion. And indeed, it was a chance to be with Fukui-senpai more, because Touou vs. Kaijo was a match everyone wanted to see. "I'll find ya if things get interestin'."
"All right. But I guess it's not happening."
"Evil." She mumbled again.
"Hironaka!" Masako shouted at the girl from the door. "Get moving! You're the last again!"
"Hai, hai!" She mumbled and ran to catch up with her team before the coach would lose her nerve.
Aya watched the little girl leaving. Something in the back of her mind resurfaced. It made her get abruptly up, her chair screeched against the floor. "Hero, wait!" She called out and ran after the girl. Half annoyed that she'd forgotten, half happy she wouldn't have to talk about it in front of everyone.
The coach and the manager stopped at the almost pleading voice and turned to face the redhead.
"What is it that it can't wait?" Masako asked levelly. "We have a practise in half an hour."
"I'm sorry. I need to talk to Hero. It won't hold her back for long, promise."
Masako sighed, rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "I hate my job…" She muttered to herself and left. She wouldn't be the one to forbidding the friendship or anything.
Hero blinked at Aya in surprise. "What?"
"How much is Tatsuya practising?" She asked seriously.
The question came out of nowhere. And that confused the hell out of Sumire. "Huh? Why? Is there somethin' wron'?"
"Answer me." The reddish eyes pierced Hero intensely and she grabbed her elbow.
"Like everyone else? … I think…" She bit her lip thinking about Poker face and his training habits. If she was assuming correctly, he shouldn't have been practising during the Interhigh; he wasn't an active player yet. "But… I ain't keepin' tracks on him… He shouldn't be practisin' at all now."
"But you're not sure." Aya concluded. Hero was stammering, which meant she truly wasn't sure. And she had seen Tatsuya sneaking out in late evenings and nights. Shouldn't be practising my ass… She thought bitterly. At first it was only a gut feeling she couldn't prove, but she wasn't blind; she'd noticed that Tatsuya was stretching his shoulder way too much. Subtly, so no one would really notice. She already knew that pattern. Damn it!
The small girl avoided the scrutinizing gaze of the redhead. "Well… No… Why? Should I've noticed somethin'?"
Aya sighed. "No. You couldn't have. It's nothing." She let go of Hero elbow, she didn't want to worry the new manager. Maybe Tatsuya wouldn't be so stupid to practise with the sore shoulder. Who are you lying to? You know he would…
"It's not nothin'. Spill it." Hero demanded.
Aya just raised her eyebrow at Hero. The little girl was supposed to know on her own.
A light bulb seemed to appear above Sumire's head. Overtraining… Overstraining his shoulder… Injuries… She blinked in realisation. Back at Yosen he had been staying over practise. Always. And she'd watched, always forcing him to leave before it got too much. She really had no idea when he could've managed to make it bad. "Yeah, but… What the fuck am I s'posed to do? We have a practise now! Literally. Do I tell Araki-sensei?"
"No. Try talking to him first. Ask him if his shoulder hurts when he stretches it too often or something… Maybe he'll talk to you. He is a dumb idiot when he wants to. But well… If it goes to hell, he'll come to me." She sighed deeply. "Let's hope it won't happen."
"You'll tell me if it does, right?"
"Yeah. You are their manager. Not me. So I don't want to get into your team's business too much…" She smiled at Hero, who seemed profoundly worried about the idiot now. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Now go, or Masako-san will hit you with that shinai of hers."
Her eyes widened in fear. "Oh, fuck! Runnin'!" She saluted to Aya, turned on her heel and sprinted down the hallway.
Aya returned back to the dining hall to finish her bowl of fruits. Everyone was staring at her, because she interrupted the calm (unbelievably pressured atmosphere) with her sudden action.
"What was that about?" Naito asked curiously, staring at Aya.
She sat down and shrugged. "Nothing, I just had a question. They have their quarterfinals too, after all."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "If you say so…"
The guys didn't question it further. The upcoming match was weighting on their minds more than a question she might've asked the midget.
However, Tada-senpai was watching the redhead curiously. He had a vague idea about what the reason to chase Hironaka-chan might've been Himuro, the ex. There were things he knew, things he found out on his own after Aya had hinted him in the right direction, but he couldn't be sure. Yet, he'd noticed the boy sneaking out of the hotel, followed him couple of times too; Tatsuya was kind of his type. He liked what he saw, and during the warm evenings Tatsuya practised shirtless but he also frowned a lot and swore on his shoulder couple of times too. It might've not been displayed on his poker face, but Tatsuya was probably in pain.
She didn't notice the senpai's questioning stare.
Let's hope there won't be any injuries… She thought. It wasn't only Tatsuya she'd been worried about. The upcoming match was exciting, but straining too. Her eyes trailed to Aomine, and she caught his gaze for a second. Right now, she had no idea what was going on in the ace's head and she'd give anything to figure it out.
At some point, Katsunori shook his head and sighed. "This crew is a tremendous irony of life, really."
Aya laughed. "All that's missing is Seirin, Shiranuis and Shuutoku."
"And maybe Ray." He added gravely.
She frowned at the older man. "Not funny."
Katsunori shrugged and pulled at his fringe, but Aya would swear, he was smiling under his nose. "All right, be ready at 11:30. I don't really care what you do till then." He got up and left. There was a movie he wanted to watch anyways.
"That was nice." Tada chuckled. "I thought we'd get some speech."
"Katsunori isn't the one to give speeches." Aya smiled, threw the last piece of her breakfast into her mouth. She'd taken more time than ever, and she'd swear that half the time, she'd only played with the food instead of eating it.
Her phone chimed, announcing a message. She pulled it out of her pocket to see what it was about and her smiled turned into a guilty one.
"What's up?" Satsuki asked curiously.
"I haven't called Taiga ever since he left for his training camp… I got a scolding. And they'll be here to watch the match." She summed up.
"You said you'd call him yesterday."
"Erm… Yeeeah, I said that… but I had another thing occupying me and when I remembered it was past 11PM and I didn't want to wake him up."
"Really?" The pinkette asked foxily. She wanted to know what had happened with Dai-chan, or if there had been something of the sort. But she knew she'd have to wait for that till they were alone. Or maybe she could interrogate Dai-chan, he'd give way sooner than Aya-chan.
Imayoshi sighed. As much as he wanted to pry and question Aya, he was feeling the burden of the upcoming match more than the others. "We should go." He said, pushing everything besides the match to the back of his mind. "I want to concentrate on the match."
"Want to play some go or shogi?" Susa proposed, knowing it was one of the ways for Imayoshi to compartmentalise and focus better; especially if it was something important coming up.
The captain nodded. "We have enough time for that."
"Good. Let's go then."
Touou's team departed the dining hall slowly. One by one. Aomine left as soon as he was finished with breakfast. He needed some alone time now. When Aya was leaving she glanced at Seijuurou, slowly finishing his share of omelette. As if feeling her stare, he raised his head and stared back.
His eyes as cold and supercilious as ever seemed to be radiating: 'I'm the absolute winner' and it made a chill ran down her spine. But she didn't let the discomfort to be reflected back to him. Letting him win a staring contest wasn't a victory she would grant him. And so she smirked at him sending a message of her own: 'Let's see about that.'
######
Aomine headed towards the outside courts to warm up on his own. He hadn't really played since facing Kirisaki Daiichi and he needed to get into it. His opponent now was Kise and he was aware of the improvement rate of the blonde. Even though, he never doubted his victory. Not for a second. He wouldn't go easy on Kise. He couldn't afford it, not in the past and definitely not now.
"Aomine." The redhead interrupted him before he could even start.
"I won't be late." He retorted. "Just leave me alone now."
She nodded in understanding. "I'm not here because of that. But all right." She raised her hands and took a few steps back.
He sighed. "What is it?"
A smile graced her lips. "Good luck. Win without any injuries. Understood?"
"Don't worry, Sweetheart, I ain't a loser." He smirked and threw a ball into the hoop without even looking at it.
Oh, that kind and beautiful smile he loved so much…
"I know. I just wanted to say it."
######
Aya could find her brother anywhere. A crowd of people filling the gym 30 minutes before the match didn't confuse her in the slightest. She knew she probably should've been in a changing room with her team, but she'd made an agreement with the boys that she would join them during the mid-game break.
"Taigaaa!" She called out to him when he was close enough to hear her.
He turned her way immediately. He knew where the voice came from. But before he could brace himself she leapt at him full weight, hugging him around the neck.
"Urgh." He grunted and his arms instinctively circled around her waist to steady them both. "Do you have to do this?" He grumbled feeling embarrassed by her behaviour.
"I've missed you!" She hugged him tighter. "So… Yes! I have to." She chuckled softly and released him.
Then she looked at the smiling faces of the Seirin's team and she waved them happily in greeting. "Hi everyone! I'm happy to see you after so long. Thanks for taking care of him."
They greeted her back almost in unison.
"He totally flooded my room, you know…" Riko complained, remembering the study session at her place.
Aya chuckled sheepishly; she could very well imagine the scene. "Sorry for that. Next time, you can come over to our place, 'kay? And return the favour, if you want."
"Sounds fun." Riko shrugged and let the redhead hug her quickly. It wasn't common, but it somehow fitted the girl and her outgoing personality.
"Long time no see, Aya-san." Kuroko peeped next to her.
She smiled at the ghostly boy; at least he didn't startle her this time. "Indeed. I believe we can catch up during the match."
Then she picked up a new face among them. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Kiyoshi Teppei-senpai. I've heard a lot about you already." She said and offered him a handshake. Kiyoshi, the center was measuring her up and down with curiosity and slight caution. She stared back at him, doing exactly the same. The brown eyes of the boy in front of her belonged to a much tougher person than Taiga made her believe. And then there was Satsuki's past research she got to read… Iron heart… The nickname he acquired suits him well…
He accepted the firm handshake and smiled at the redhead. His expectation wasn't disappointed. "Same here, Kagami Aya-chan. Though I can't say I've heard a lot about you." Her steady gaze made the hair on the back of his neck prickle in… He couldn't describe the feeling; it wasn't fear, more like reverence, not many people could draw it out of him. Yet, she did, despite the air of cheerfulness surrounding her.
It almost seemed like the electricity crackled in the air as the two were assessing each other. And suddenly, Taiga wasn't so sure that Kiyoshi was a goofy ball of joyfulness and encouragement he appeared to be. Judging by Aya's reaction, the senpai wasn't a bad person, but he was certainly resourceful and maybe a bit sly and calculative. After all, he could never tell what the center was thinking and it made him wary of the boy from the day one. Aya only confirmed his original assumption.
"You should've called…" Taiga mumbled, to break off the staring contest, before it'd get too obvious.
It worked and Aya turned her attention back to him. "I forgot. Sorry 'bout that. I was dealing with other… things…"
"Like Aomine?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We are in the same hotel with Tatsuya's, Kise's and Akashi's team. I hope I don't need to explain the pressure levels in that place to you. I'm taking care of your cat, watching almost all the matches and Suzume talked me into reading yet another nightmarish thriller…" She rolled her eyes. "But yeah, sure… Daiki is certainly the only reason why I didn't call you." She said sarcastically.
"First name basis already?" He asked with a smirk to provoke his sister, ignoring everything else. By all means, he wanted to avoid a possible 'Tatsuya talk' again. The name Akashi, however, stirred an interest in him. He'd ask her later, when they'd be alone.
Her eyes narrowed. "Just like you and Kouta, Lil' Tiger." She teased him.
"What did you just say?!" His eyes widened in disbelief. "Take it back! Immediately! I ain't…"
She laughed, covering his mouth before he'd say something really stupid. "Chill, I'm teasing you, stupid."
"Who's Kouta, again?" Riko asked curiously, because the name kept popping up repeatedly.
"Ah… Taiga hasn't explained… Well, Shiranui Kouta is the youngest of three brothers, we grew up with them until we left for America and even then we kept in contact though it wasn't so often. They are like older brothers to us, childhood friends. Though Kouta is… quite unique, difficult to handle. Recently he showed up again." She shrugged.
"I guess we won't meet him here, by chance?" Riko asked curiously, staring at the twins.
"He is studying in America, so no… He popped up for three days, and I have no info about him coming here…" Aya said with slight suspicion lacing her voice.
It was Taiga's turn to laugh. "He wouldn't tell you in advance, Lil' Monkey. So you couldn't mentally prepare yourself."
She rolled her eyes and took a breath to retort, when her phone rang. "What?" She asked Satsuki immediately.
"Aomine-kun isn't here yet. Do you know where he is? I'm seriously killing him…" Satsuki fumed. "He isn't picking up again."
"He'll be there on time. All warmed up."
"How do you know?"
"Just trust him. And I've seen him on the outside courts warming up. He wouldn't miss this match."
The pinkette took a deep breath. "Okay… I give him five more minutes and then I'll bite his head off." She hung up.
"Ahomine is late?" Taiga asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No. You heard, right? He'll be on time, it's Kise after all. And we should go and find good seats. Come on! Follow me!" Aya ordered and pushed her way through the Seirin players. "I already know where the best seats are, and they're usually vacant."
The boys pushed their ways through the crowd. There were more people than they'd expected. It was only quarterfinals, but apparently, everyone wanted to see the first show-off between the two of the generation of miracles. Aya was leading them through the huge building with already learnt ease. She knew exactly where she wanted to go. Some of them were too excited as they were taking in the atmosphere of the competition and Hyuuga had to drag them, so they wouldn't get lost. There were vending machines almost on every hallway and signs were pointing towards all the areas visitors could enter.
"So this is the place where the nationals are always held, right?" Taiga asked curiously and glanced at Riko.
"Yeah, the Interhigh rotates around the country, the Nationals are always here and the Winter cup is always in Tokyo. I guess they wanted some fairness?" She shrugged; it wasn't her business why it was like this.
"It's huge…" He mused.
"There are two halls, each having two courts and hundreds of spectators' seats. Four matches can go on simultaneously. And it's not only basketball that's played here; it's also volleyball, handball, floorball and others." Kuroko explained. He'd been there a couple of times already, he knew his way around the building too.
"You sure know a lot." He grumbled quietly as they reached the seats Aya had in mind.
"I've been here already."
He stared at the courts, which were being swept by staff. The place was indeed huge and the seats gave them a full view on everything that was going on below them. "So? Who do you think will win today?" Taiga rather asked Kuroko than Aya, because he expected her to be biased. And he didn't want any bets.
"Honestly," the ghostly boy stopped and turned his head to stare at the court, "I don't know. It's the first time that the generation of miracles play against each other in an official match. It's just that… Kise-kun started basketball because he admired Aomine-kun. They often played against one another but… Kise-kun never won against Aomine-kun. Not once."
"?!" Taiga couldn't believe his ears. Kise wasn't weak, he'd barely managed to win against him, and be it not for the team he wouldn't have won back then. Not in one-on-one. Was Aomine really that great?
Aya placed her hand on their shoulders and forced them to sit in front of her. "I've heard that much too… But I wouldn't underestimate Model-kun so much. He has a solid chance."
"Huh? You think he'll win?" Taiga snapped his head around to look at his sister in disbelief.
Kiyoshi-senpai decided to sit next to her and she wasn't sure if it was a good thing. Something about the boy made her wary, just like Tada-senpai and tiny bit Imayoshi-senpai. She needed to shake it off.
"I haven't said that, Tai."
"What did you do?" He asked suspiciously, knowing his sister all too well. Even Kuroko turned to her with a question in his eyes.
"Why do you make it sound like I'm the bad guy?!"
He shrugged. "Because you usually are?"
"I didn't do anything. I just… talked with Kise about all this… well, I listened more talked really. And I think he'll surprise everyone today. Mainly if Daiki underestimates him…"
######
Kise took a deep breath. Everyone in the changing room was tensed and nervous. Moriyama-senpai tried to lighten up the atmosphere, but it only riled up Kasamatsu a little. Kise didn't like when Kasamatsu took too much burden, even though he was the captain. The burned should've been shared. They all agreed on that behind his back, so…
"Senpai!" He called out to the captain in childish voice.
Kasamatsu turned around carefully, expecting something strange. "Huh?"
"I got some snacks from a fan girl! You think I could eat some now?! Or could they be poisoned?" He asked, showing a paper bag he'd really gotten by the entrance.
"Eat them and die!" Kasamatsu shouted and threw a ball at Kise's face (the model didn't dodge, purposefully). Now he was furious. "Every single one of you… can't you concentrate on the match?!"
"Hey, you guys ready?" Takeuchi walked into the changing room, all dressed up and clean shaven. "It's time soon. Get into the spirit."
Why are you trying to compete with the handsome coach of Touou, dude?! They all thought and had to muffle their outbursts of laughter.
Kasamatsu slumped onto a bench and observed his teammates – shaking in silent laughter like a bunch of electrified seals – in despair. I'll kill them one day. He thought.
The coach didn't really notice and he continued his speech. "We're going with the plan we discussed in the meeting yesterday. Stay focused. You can win." He encouraged them. "And play like a team." He added; he never should've forgotten that.
######
"He still isn't here?!" Wakamatsu yelled angrily. "I swear to god I'll kill him for this! He didn't have to play till now, and once we need him…! Bastard!" He fumed.
"Kousuke," Tada patted his shoulder in try to calm the center. "Aya-chan said he'll be here. So at least trust her."
"She is biased!"
"I can't agree more." Yamaoka muttered in agreement, which only earned him a glare from Tada. The boy wasn't liked very much, but it was his own fault, he just didn't want to admit it.
Katsunori sighed and pulled at his fringe. "It's still troubling. We can't afford to start this match without him…"
The door opened and Aomine strolled in. "Yo." He greeted them nonchalantly and all eyes turned to him. Sweat was dripping from his face and he had one of the most dangerous smirks he possibly could. This wasn't the tolerable Aomine they had gotten used to when Aya-chan was around, this was a predator. "You called?" He asked cockily and walked in to change into his jersey.
"Huh, looks like you're all warmed up already." Katsunori hummed, this could be considered a small victory already. Aomine was actually focused; it wasn't something he saw often.
The ace shrugged. "Yeah. If I missed today, it would be bad."
"Geez, making us worry every single time!" Satsuki scolded him. "If it weren't for Aya-chan I'd smack you right about now!"
Aomine rolled his eyes. "It's Kise, Satsuki. There's no way I'd be late today." Intimidation was spreading from him like a plague flooding the room. The match was the only thing on his mind right now. "I've been looking forward to this the whole time. He's one of the very few players I can go all out against."
######
After a talk with Kasamatsu, Kise stepped onto the court with an iron resolve. And even if he talked with Aominecchi in the morning, he couldn't help but approach his nemesis and friend.
"I won't lose, Aominecchi." He said again, with his decision burning in his yellow eyes.
"Huh, you sound confident." Aomine stared at him for a moment, and it wasn't just the sound of Kise's voice. It was the whole intensity of a predator; it hadn't been this strong in the past. But it only made Aomine grin wider. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you will. Besides, have you ever won against me?"
He chuckled, he was 100% sure Aominecchi would use this against him. "Today I will. Somehow, my desire to win couldn't be any stronger."
The captains of the teams shook their hands and wished the other a good game. Both teams measured their opponents. Their styles were similar: offensive, aggressive basketball focused on attacks, rather than defence. Though Imayoshi had to admit that Kaijo's defence might've been slightly better than theirs.
A referee whistled. "Let's start the game!"
Kise took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, when the referee threw the ball up. Someday… I wanted to beat him. It's not someday. It's right now. It's time.
Kaijo got the ball first; Kobori-senpai was more experienced, after all. Kasamatsu caught it and despite everyone's expectations he passed it right to Kise.
"Whatever, he's our ace!"
The blonde caught it. This was like opening a demon gate right in the beginning of the game. Even Aya was surprised by this direct approach. With all the determination Kise managed to slip past Aomine. The latter hadn't expected this either. But he quickly caught up and knocked the ball away.
"Naïve as always. You really thought you could get past me with that?"
"Geh." Kise frowned. It would've been too easy if he could get past Aominecchi just like that.
Imayoshi caught it and Touou switched to offense and the first points were scored by Sakurai and accompanied by one of his apologies.
The ball immediately found its way back to Kise. He had to equal the score. And after seeing Sakurai's technique, he wanted to try it by himself. He managed, but Aomine was just as quick. Even though he jumped late, he still tipped off Kise's perfectly copied shot.
Fuck! Kise swore inwardly. When the ball bounced out of the hoop.
Kasamatsu, using the situation when Touou started to feel even more confident, stole the ball – surprising Imayoshi – and scored right away. He knew why they needed Kise to play against Aomine as much as possible, but he wouldn't let Touou to have the lead easily.
Katsunori was staring at the opposing team with curiosity. It was Genta's team; he expected something much worse, much hastier. But Kasamatsu wasn't hasty. He'd taken the risk and made the shot. Still… as long as he doesn't stop Aomine, they won't control the game.
"Haaah," Aomine was smirking at Kise. "I see. Reliable senpais. 'I can't do it alone, but together we can make it', huh? You're talking about defeat? Did losing make you have a change of heart? Or was it Aya?" He asked, provoking the blonde. He knew that he and Aya had a strange, but close friendship. This wasn't about her, and yet… She was already so involved; he couldn't erase her from his mind. "This? Really? You'll make me bored."
Kise blinked at his friend. "Huh? I've never said such things, have I?" He took a flawless defensive stance, which made even Aomine wary. "I admit… I've come to appreciate Kurokocchi's and Ayacchi's way of thinking; I want Kaijo to win, but now… I don't give a damn what's right or wrong. I just want to defeat you. I'm not mature enough to play logically, or by suppressing my instincts."
There was nothing more pleasing for Aomine to hear. The old spark was ignited deep inside of him. "Well, go ahead and try."
######
Taiga was watching the match with curiosity. It also offered him a better knowledge of Aomine's and Kise's plays. Those two wouldn't hold back in this match, no matter what. There was a lot he could learn.
Physical strength-wise, Kise isn't losing out to Aomine, but… with Aomine's speed and way of using it, can he stop him? One-on-one? He thought, concentrating on what was going on below him, trying to read the player's minds.
For a split second it looked like Aomine passed, but he spun on his feet, turning around, catching the ball he'd just fired away. The speed and accuracy were incredible. The battle went on for a couple more seconds and Aomine let it look that Kise stopped him. Then he jumped backwards and made a formless shot. An average player could never have made it, yet, Aomine did…
Kise saw it coming, however. In the last millisecond he jumped up, using his entire strength. He fully blocked the shot.
"Holy shit!" Taiga muttered.
Aya was smirking. "I told you. They have a real chance."
"Whose side are you on?" He glared at her momentarily.
"I'm 99% positive that Aomine won't lose…" She said seriously. "But this… Watch closely, dear brother."
######
Touou was shocked accordingly. It was the first time they'd seen someone stop Aomine in one-on-one.
"Heh, not bad." He nodded to Kise, wiping off his sweat. "Never thought you could pull it off."
The blonde pointed a finger at him instead. "Who do you think played one-on-one with you every day, and lost every day, huh? I know you the best."
"…I see." He chuckled. This game was indeed a thrilling one.
Satsuki watched the exchanged, remembering the past days, when Aomine had told her he couldn't have gone easy on Kise. The memory overwhelmed her. It was a day when Dai-chan acknowledged Kise's talents. She couldn't forget that.
"Momoi-san." The coach called out to her for the third time.
"Eh? Uhm… Sorry… What is it?" She blinked at the man apologetically.
"Did you give Aomine the data about Kise?" He asked seriously.
She bit her lip guiltily. "I'm sorry… He refused. He wouldn't accept it."
Katsunori frowned in displease, though he hadn't expect anything else from the ace. "I guess our normal defence is useless as well…"
"No." She retorted immediately. "That'll be fine. I gave the data to the other four. Both… Past and future." Satsuki was certain about her data. Even Aya-chan was highly appreciating Satsuki's work with that.
She watched Imayoshi vs. Kasamatsu show-off, sure that Imayoshi would win. But… Imayoshi could read it, true, but Kasamatsu was just too fast for the sly captain. He made the shot anyways. Maybe Imayoshi had tipped it, but Kaijo got the rebound. And managed a shot afterwards.
The first quarter ended.
Kaijo was in the lead. 18 to 13 points.
Everyone was praising Kise for stopping the opposing ace.
"You beat Aomine. With this we can…" Moriyama senpai was praising the blonde.
But Kise didn't let him get too far. "Mhm… But I wonder about that…" He glanced at the smirking Aominecchi on the other bench. "If it were that easy, I would play a lottery."
######
"Kaijo's leading… To be honest, I'm surprised." Hyuuga commented on the state of the game.
"Yeah." Izuki nodded in agreement.
Kise definitely got stronger… Taiga thought.
"I have one question…" Kiyoshi spoke up, for the first time since his introductions with Aya. "How in the world did you beat that?!"
Everyone in Seirin went suspiciously quiet and dumbfounded. "Uhm… Errr…" They stammered. "Fighting spirit… Perhaps?" They answered, almost ashamed. They had no clue either.
"You know…" Kuroko spoke up quietly, but seriously. "Although Aomine-kun is serious, he's the type who has to run warm. And looking at him, I would say it's about time."
"Agreed." Aya chuckled. "It's about time…"
Imayoshi was determined to make the first shot of the second quarter. But he knew he'd be blocked, so instead of the shot, he passed to Wakamatsu, who was right under the net. That way, Touou took the first points of the second quarter, making quite an impact too.
"Don't worry!" Kasamatsu encouraged his team. "We'll return one shot for sure!" He glared at Imayoshi. This guy…
Imayoshi chuckled. "I already know you're fast, that's why I won't let you go." He was grinning widely. "A little warning, captain. No matter who's the opponent, Aomine won't lose. He's the strongest."
The ball found its way to Kise again. The pressure and focus of the two aces was flooding the entire stadium. Even Aya and Taiga could feel the overwhelming pressure all the way up to the spectators' area.
"I don't know what you're plotting, but our Kise too –" Kasamatsu started, just to be interrupted by Imayoshi.
"Hahah, plotting? He does no such thing. Plotting is something small fries like us do. When it comes to them… It's difference in skill. Quite simple." He glanced at the two aces.
The moment Kise tried to raise the ball, Aomine knocked it away. He could read Kise just as much as Kise could read him.
"You might know me the best, Kise, but… Have you ever thought it works the other way too?" Aomine snorted.
He knew how to confuse the blonde and even if the latter could read his crossovers, he could always force another change. Making decision instinctively, based on Kise's changes of his centre of gravity. For a split second it made him wonder if Aya could see movements and balance of the other people as well as him.
He got past Kise, and a senpai came to block him… He made the shot despite being fouled earning a free throw for the team. Not that he cared about that. It just showed how desperate Kaijo was to stop him. Of course, he made a free throw, equalling the score in only half a minute.
But Kaijo knew what they were doing. The ball got to Kise again.
Imayoshi glanced at Kasamatsu in surprise. "Your Kise might be good at mimicking… but that's all. The biggest reason why he can't win is… He doesn't have his own weapon." He snorted. "It's impossible to beat Aomine with plain old basketball."
Kasamatsu sighed and shook his head. "Hey, aren't you often told you have a bad personality?"
"Ouch, so harsh all of a sudden!"
"You're the one who's ignorant, Imayoshi. Acquiring techniques by mimicking means he's learning. In other words, he's growing. And just so you know… He has his weapon." He said observing the two aces, all the while maintaining his position. This time, Kise copied him, and his famous turnover, but Kasamatsu didn't care. Truthfully, he was surprised that Kise learned it that quickly.
"A-ah…" Aomine hummed and jumped to stop Kise's shot. "Don't forget that I'm the one marking you. Don't lump me together with that twisted four-eyes over there." He smirked at Kise blocking the shot again.
Kaijo took a time-out.
Kise was sweating like crazing. The game was way too taxing. Despite Aominecchi's practise and game avoidance, the bluenette was way too strong. Not that Kise hoped for the opposite. His team was watching him, but… He wanted to do this… He knew he could.
"Coach…" He said after drinking half of his sports drink. "The thing we talked about… I wanna do it. I need to do it."
"All right." The coach nodded. It'd been agreed on after all.
The score was tied so far. No one was capable of making a shot. The teams were too similar and the game would be decided by the difference between the aces. Everyone could feel that.
The first ball… Kise passed; avoiding a direct fight against Aominecchi. The ball was passed to Aomine next.
Aomine observed his friend. He seemed like he didn't have any will to fight me… And now look here, he doesn't have any will to lose either. Whatever, it doesn't matter. "Whichever you decide, it won't change anything!" Aomine uttered and dashed past Kise, catching the blonde off guard.
However… Kasamatsu jumped right into his path, colliding with Aomine, making him miss all the while forcing a charging foul on him. Despite all, Aomine smirked at the shorter guy, offering him a helping hand. "Way to go, senpai." He smirked, not fazed by the falter.
Afterwards, he didn't let Kise get the ball.
Huh… Kise stared at his friend. He's friggin' cool… the absolute unique style no one could copy… I started basketball because I admired him. Although I can do others' plays as soon as I see them, I could never do his, no matter how much I tried. But I knew why I couldn't… He thought, feeling a void opening. If I'm admiring, I can't surpass. "I'll quit admiring you, Aominecchi." He said out loud with a rather strained and sad expression. He needed to do this to free himself.
######
"I think Kise-kun is trying to copy Aomine-kun's style." Kuroko said gravely, after observing the two for a while.
"Copy Aomine?!" Taiga glanced at his shadow. "Can he do that?"
"Well… Kise-kun can only copy what he's capable of. He can't do the impossible."
"Huh?!" Koganei shook his head, not understanding Kuroko's explanation in the slightest.
Riko rolled her eyes. "Basically, Kise has an extraordinary understanding of things. He's a quick learner. But he can't do the impossible or anything that surpasses his physical ability."
"However…" Kiyoshi joined in. "If he's still trying to pull it off, it means he believes he can do it."
"And I would gladly bet he will~" Aya hummed with a childish glee.
"You got involved…" Taiga shook his head. "Have you helped Kaijo with the strategy too?"
"Of course not. I just nudged Kise a bit… Showing a door to him, perhaps, but it's up to him to open it… He might not win this game, but if he succeeds in copying Aomine, don't you think the Winter cup will be more funny? Do you realise what that would mean?"
Kuroko gulped. "He'd be able to copy all of them…"
Aya just smirked. "Exactly." Then she shrugged. "But he'll need more time. Maybe the whole third quarter of close observation…"
The second quarter ended with Imayoshi scoring a buzzer beater. The score was 34 to 43 with Touou in lead.
"I'm going to Touou's changing room, 'kay?" Aya asked already forcing her way towards the exit.
"Sure." Riko nodded. "Someone go get us drinks! First years!"
######
"What?!" Wakamatsu asked loudly. "He's trying what?!"
"Copy Aomine?" Tada filled in.
"Yes." Satsuki nodded. "It's not just copying one technique but the entire style. He's updating the past image with the current one." She said seriously. She didn't want to believe that Ki-chan could actually do it. "Even if he can manage, it should still take him a bit more time."
Katsunori frowned and glanced at Aya. But the redhead shrugged, obviously content with the situation.
"Coach!" Wakamatsu protested. "If we know that, then there's no reason to put him out! Let's withdraw him–"
"Hey, hey!" Aomine interrupted the loudmouth. "Don't be stupid, Bakamatsu. What do you want to achieve by intentionally lowering your strength? Of course we're gonna continue like this."
A vein popped on Wakamatsu's forehead. Tolerable my ass, Shun! "What the hell, bastard?! Ahomine?!"
Aomine rolled his eyes. "Copying me? As if that's possible." He snorted. "Even if take a million steps back and say it's possible, it wouldn't change anything. The only one, who can beat me, is me alone."
Satsuki's face twisted in to a disappointed grimace.
"We'll see about that, Honey-bun." Aya smirked at the bluenette. "But I hope you won't lose your nerve."
He raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "Really?" Whose side are you on?
She shrugged again and decided to leave the changing room. "I'll go. Good luck guys." She wanted to talk with Taiga. Alone.
It didn't take her long to find him at one of the numerous vending machines. "Taiga!" She called out to him before he could join his teammates and go back to his seat. "A minute, please."
He had an idea it would come to this. He waved the others to leave and turned to his sister. "I'm all ears. What happened?"
She sighed and led him outside, where they leaned against a wall, enjoying the summer's breeze and Taiga's drink - he was forced to share. "It's about Akashi Seijuurou, the captain of Rakuzan. I mentioned we are in the same hotel, right?"
He nodded and then his eyes widened as he stared at her. "Wait… Akashi Seijuurou…? You don't actually mean that…" He stammered in confusion. "No way…"
Aya nodded. "Mhm. That Seijuurou is the former captain of Teiko. I kinda hoped Kuroko-kun enlightened you about them all." By Taiga's clueless expression she knew it wasn't the case. At least she had Satsuki, who talked. "But whatever. Seijuurou is here. And no, you don't want to have a reunion with him."
He stared at his sister, understanding that something unpleasant had happened. "Tell me." There was no need for questions.
"I don't really know. Something's wrong with him, Taiga. Very wrong. He was like a different person." She sighed heavily. "Apparently I'm nothing. Not nobody or no one, but nothing. And honestly, he intimidated Tatsuya, which is not that weird, but he managed to put Daiki, Atsushi and Kise on alert. The way he was... Honestly, I had a lot to do to keep my calm. And he called me by my name… That was the first time I heard him use the name instead of the nickname. Ever."
Taiga was frowning deeply, chewing on his lip. "That's a problem…" He muttered. It worried him. Seijuurou was their childhood friend after all. Well… A friend because of their father's business, but a friend nonetheless. And they had been to Akashi's mother's funeral; their backgrounds were not that different. So if Akashi had turned into…
"Taiga." She broke his train of thoughts with a sharp tone. "I get what you're thinking, I'm on the same page, but there isn't much we can do. We haven't seen him in what… three years. He lives in Kyoto. And we have no idea what's going on. Only our assumptions."
"So we don't get involved?" He asked.
"Until you get a chance to beat him, you don't get involved." She said seriously. "I don't think he trust anyone right now."
"That's not fair! Why me only?" He protested.
"Have you talked with Tatsuya yet?"
He looked away, his face twisting into a grimace of displease. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Taiga?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
He sighed and gave up. "Fine. I'll listen, for now. But we won't be able to avoid Sei and his father this summer. And you know that."
Don't remind me… "We'll figure something out. I'm good at being a ghost myself." Then she looked Taiga straight in the eyes. "Try asking Kuroko-kun what he knows. Maybe it could help."
Taiga nodded. He wasn't the one willing to give up on his friends. "And Tatsuya?"
"Except my suspicion his shoulder hurts again… It's quite fine. He has a girl or two… I saw the hickies…"
"What?!"
She just laughed. "It's fine, really. I wish him well. Oh… I want to stop by Suzume's on Sunday, think you can make a detour too? To hand her Dorian personally?"
"That means detouring the entire road we have planned…"
"What do I say… What wouldn't we do to meet a friend?"
"Fine. I'll call you in the evening… past 11 PM rather… and we'll deal with it."
"Yes!" She hugged him again and pulled him down to kiss his cheek. "Love you Taiga!"
"I know." He rolled his eyes. "Let's get back."
######
At the very beginning of the third quarter the ball was stolen from Sakurai almost immediately. Kise ran away from Aomine and chose his opponent to be Imayoshi, the sly captain; he needed to try this out.
The blonde made it look as if he abandoned the ball, looking in the other direction with an empty expression. But his arm suddenly shot back to catch it, just as Imayoshi tried to catch the seemingly free ball. It was Aomine's move, a move taken out from Aomine's tricky streetball style. And it worked, confusing the hell out of Imayoshi.
"What?!" Imayoshi shouted in need to let out his frustration. In the sudden surprise he tried to hold back the blonde.
The referee's whistle announced a foul. "Foul: Holding! Black 4!"
Imayoshi glared at the model. I couldn't stop him without a foul… what's more it's still incomplete and quite behind the real thing, but….
"Nice foul, captain…" Wakamatsu praised him.
"Wakamatsu," his voice sounded gravely, "do you remember the day Aomine came in? I thought him to be reliable, but at the same time I got chills imagining him as an opponent." He frowned. "Just now, I got the chills…"
"Huh?!" Wakamatsu blinked at the captain in disbelief. This was trouble.
Aomine stared at his friend in shock, which turned into a frown, which turned into a challenging smirk. Kise, you bastard!
But the blonde was ignoring the surprise surrounding him. "It's still off from the image… faster… much, much faster…" He kept muttering under his breath.
######
"Sister… I'm officially scared of you." Taiga muttered as he observed Kise copying Aomine's techniques again and again. "You knew he'd manage…"
The blonde still didn't face the real monster, only the other Touou players and he got fouled several times. Touou seemed to lose their nerve. They were in lead, but desperate, cornered, by Kise's skills.
Aya chuckled at that. "Just like I know you'll manage to beat Aomine eventually. No reason to be scared, Tai. Besides… It's not perfect yet."
"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked.
Riko glanced at Aya with a smile and decided to explain it. She was the coach after all. "He is only doing it during fast breaks when he is marked by someone other than Aomine-kun. I'm sure he feels that something is still missing."
"So you mean…" Kiyoshi joined the conversation, "the moment he challenges Aomine in 1-on-1 is when the copying is complete?"
"Hahah… Don't think for a second that Daiki will give him enough time." Aya observed Kise scoring, and she could see Aomine's posture – hands on hips, impatient shaking of his head. All he was waiting for was the ball to pass through the net so he could get to it.
Before anyone could get ready for Touou's counterattack Aomine threw the ball in the Kaijo's hoop. It was a sloppy shot, not even a shot. Aomine decided to throw it in, without jumping and with his hand still on his hip. And he did it. With one fast and arrogant motion of his arm.
The whole stadium went quiet. No one really knew what exactly had happened in those few seconds. Three points were added to Touou's score. Then the crowd cheered.
"That was a shot?!" Taiga shouted in disbelief.
Aya shrugged. "He does that when he's had enough. Kano could tell you."
"The 14 point difference in Touou's favour." Hyuuga muttered. There was a limit to how big the gap could get for Kaijo to be still able to catch up in those 15 remaining minutes of the match they had.
"15 points is their limit…" Kiyoshi nodded in thought.
######
The match was getting too heated. One of the quickest matches they'd played. Kaijo shrunk the gap to 12, and managed to keep it at that despite a ferocious attack.
Kise glanced at Seirin's team and smiled. His teammates were saving his ass again. I feel like I understand what Kurokocchi told me a bit. The 'team' he spoke off. And what I should do for that… and what should I do right now. He took a deep breath.
The ball found its way to him. His mark now was Aominecchi. With an exhale, he lowered his center of gravity. "Then… If that you is your opponent, what's gonna happen?"
Aomine's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. But that posture… That was like his reflection in a mirror. He cackled shortly, remembering a conversation he'd had with Aya weeks ago. 'He can't copy neither of us.' 'You sure 'bout that? It would be funny if Kise pulled it off.' Well… I underestimated him.
He needed to focus. The perfect copy of his style was going offensive.
Satsuki stared at Ki-chan in disbelief. According to her data he was capable of this, Aya-chan had pointed it out too and not once during their research. The redhead had warned Dai-chan too, but… but Ki-chan's during the game improvement exceeded Satuski's expectations. As a manager she underestimated the blonde, because she didn't want to believe it was possible. She was staring at fouls... and Dai-chan already had three. Two more and they'll force him off the court.
Kise got through Aomine for the first time ever.
Aomine was shocked. No one was better than him. He sprinted after the blonde immediately, using his full force to jump and stop the shot. He vaguely heard Satsuki screaming 'No!' and then he rammed into Kise's side mid-air.
The referee announced his fourth foul.
Kise's arm went behind his back and he made the shot anyways. And he earned a free throw too.
Shoot… they got us. He can't play freely now. This was their plan all along. Imayoshi stared at Kasamatsu and then he smirked. "And you said I was wicked? You guys are pulling off much more dirty stuff."
Kasamatsu smirked back at him. "And who said we are nice?"
Heh… Imayoshi wasn't happy about this at all. Basically… We've not only been copied, our ace will suffer a drastic decline in his fire power.
Kise went to make that free throw. He glanced at Aomine with a mixture of disappointment and pity. This was not what he wanted. It was the plan to win, he agreed with the team's strategy, but this wasn't what he wanted. But Aominecchi got into the foul trouble himself… mostly… with a little help of Kise's teammates…
The score was only 8 points apart and there was more than entire quarter left.
Aomine was staring at the blonde with a blank expression.
"Aomine!" Someone yelled at him.
"Huh?" He turned his head in the direction. Too late. The ball bounced off of his forearm. He hadn't seen it coming.
Kise stole it. He got past Sakurai and went for a shot.
"Damn." Aomine cursed, annoyed by his fumble. Then he took a deep breath to calm down and focus. Honestly… four fouls were my own stupidity. But is this what he wanted? I doubt it. Even if he accepted this strategy for the sake of the team, deep within his heart, he didn't want this to happen. He knew he'd catch up. Still, to receive such a face. And what's with that concerned face, Satsuki? What's with those panicking faces? Every single one of them… don't misjudge me!
He leaped up, knocking the ball somewhere into the spectators' area. He didn't care the canon ball could injure someone.
"You thought I'd chicken out because of 4 lousy fouls? Don't make me laugh. I can't stand that face." He frowned and glared at his friend furiously. "How dare you worry about me?! If you've got that much time, come at me as if you wanna kill me!"
"What a speech." Kise chuckled; all the goofiness he liked to pretend was gone. "I'd be disappointed if it ended like this."
The third quarter ended… Only 8 point difference.
Imayoshi whistled quietly, when Kasamatsu passed by him. "Well, captain, looks like we both underestimated Aomine. (I hafta apologise later~) With this, any strategy goes down the drain." You'll see the monster in true colours…
During the last break, both teams were discussing their next steps. Katsunori was talking to his squad, but Aomine was barely listening to that gibberish.
"Drop the details, coach." He grumbled. "This last quarter, just pass me the ball! I'll make him pay."
"You and your inflated ego!" Wakamatsu almost jumped at the ace, be it not for Tada and Imayoshi stopping him.
"Do as he says." Imayoshi said levelly.
"What?!"
The captain shrugged. "We can get by without him elsewhere, but no one can match this Kise-kun except Aomine. Whether he gets the fifth foul or we make him sit out doesn't matter. It's a game over if he doesn't stay on the court!" It was a long time since Imayoshi felt this kind of helplessness and the need to rely on someone. "We can't bow to pressure. The only way to go is confronting them. And winning. Success justifies all, and the winner calls the truth." He sounded almost like that red haired demon of Rakuzan. But it was essentially right.
######
"No member change from Touou?" Hyuuga was honestly surprised when both teams returned to the court.
"No matter how resilient a player is, he'll get distracted by 4 fouls. Is he okay?" Izuki wondered too.
Aya laughed at their consideration. "Just watch. I think he'll show you something amazing. And he definitely wouldn't get thrown off court for something as stupid as 5 fouls."
She could feel the demon gate opening again. It probably wouldn't be the zone, but she could feel Aomine's focus all the way up there. It excited her, filled her veins with pleasant electricity. The last quarter would be the most interesting part of the entire game. Finally someone who managed to pull that out, wouldn't you agree, Honey-bun? She thought with a content smile as Aomine scored the first points of the quarter.
"What?!" Several Seirin members stared at the ace of the generation of miracles in awe and fear. He was a monster indeed.
Taiga in front of her shuddered but he didn't turn around to look at her. "Stop it, Aya. I can feel their murderous focus and thrill; I don't need to feel your exhilaration too."
She blinked at him in surprise. "What?" Exhilaration, huh… "Learnt a new word?" She teased.
He chuckled almost madly. "Go to hell... But… you're the same as them. You still believe you won't destroy Kouta?"
A frown settled on her face. Damn you, Taiga… His team was listening, Kiyoshi-senpai the most. But there was nothing significant said. She snorted. "So can be you. Kouta will survive, because I haven't destroyed you, so don't worry, dear brother. Besides, it's not the same."
He wanted to retort, but the game bellow was way too interesting. A see-saw battle started. Aomine vs. his perfect copy. Everything Aomine did was copied and used against him right away. The aces were sprinting back and forth, followed by the others, but never giving up the ball.
The score was steadily rising on both sides. The gap remained steady too: 8 points. It was keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.
"They are insane…" Riko muttered in disbelief, as if the previous game wasn't thrilling enough. "…they shouldn't be able to keep that up for this long." As a daughter of a sports trainer and physiotherapist she was worried as much as she was amazed.
Aya frowned at that. It was almost 9 minutes of insane back and forth game, taxing moves and enormous mental and physical pressure. She knew that. Sooner or later one of them would inevitably falter.
Another shot Kise made was strained, forced. He stepped wrongly on his foot and almost lost balance. The ball circled the rim and with all the help from gods above it fell in.
"Phew!" Koganei let out a strangled breath. "I'm getting tired!"
Hyuuga glanced at the boy with a frown. "You're getting tired from watching?!"
"It must be mentally taxing." Kiyoshi pointed out. "It's the first time I've seen such an unchanging flow for such a long time."
"Mhm… Especially for Kaijo. They've been chasing after the 8 point difference the whole quarter. Unsuccessfully, while the time is running out."
"Aomine isn't giving them any slack." Taiga hummed too.
"They're not giving up." Aya shrugged. "He can't afford to give them a slack. The chance of Kaijo winning is still there. And sooner or later, someone will make a mistake." And I fear it will be Sakurai-kun. The first year, with less experience than the other players.
The moment the thought crossed her mind Sakurai didn't notice a pass from Susa-senpai and it bounced off, right to Kise, who grabbed it.
"Stop him!" Katsunori yelled the order. "You can't let him score!" His voice boomed all the way to the spectators.
"This will decide the game." Kiyoshi's voice was tight as he leaned forward on his seat. "One minute left. If Kise makes it, they can still win. If not the time limit will get them…"
"It's the last chance…"
The aces' foci only strengthened. The weight of the last chance was obviously burdening them both. Aomine had to stop it and Kise had to make it. They knew each other way too much, and they were inevitably overthinking.
Aya groaned and got up to her feet. "Come on! GO FOR IT!" She cheered, not quite sure which one she wanted to encourage. Both, perhaps.
Kise jumped upwards, going straight for the shot. But then he changed it to a pass.
It was the only thing Aomine would never do; hence it should've been the most unpredictable thing Kise could do. At the same time it was also something Aomine foresaw.
The pass was the thing that made Kaijo lose.
"That was not a human move…" Taiga muttered. "No one should be able to stop that."
"Oh, please. Physically-wise I could probably pull off a move like that, though stopping a guy of Kise's size is another matter; but you should be able to do that too. Your problem, Tai, however is that you compartmentalise things you shouldn't."
######
Why?! Kise thought overwhelmed, by his mistake. The question was probably displayed on his face written with huge red letters.
"You did go all the way… until your last pass." Aomine decided to answer. The ball was out, he had the little time he needed. "You know, you had the chance of winning against me 1-on-1 there. You faked with your eyes, while checking the #4 at the right inside area. Perfect. But, if I were you, I wouldn't have feinted there." Kise blinked at him, and he continued. "In other words, you seemed to have exposed the intention to pass, but that was s'posed to be the least likely thing to do… The way I play, I never have to rely on anything but myself!" He turned his back to Kise. He didn't want to see the devastated expression on the blonde's face.
I missed my last chance… Oh no, at this rate… we're going to lose… Kise felt close to tears. His mistake…
"Snap out of it!" Kasamatsu smacked the back of his head, forcing him to bow and turned his head towards the score board. "Look. The match isn't over yet!"
He took a deep breath. Kasamacchi was right. He had no right to give up after all his team had done for him.
The last ten seconds.
"I win." Aomine looked down on him. "You did something out of character and the reason you lost is because you relied on your team." He ran off to make the last shot – to prove his point.
"Really, perhaps so…" Kise muttered, chasing after Aominecchi. If I hadn't passed we may have had a chance, but I alone would've never made it this far. I would've given up long ago… He wouldn't give him this satisfaction. He needed to stop Aomine from scoring. "Don't impose your values on me, just because I happen to lose this match." He jumped to block the shot. "If a reason for losing exists, that's because I'm not strong enough!"
"Don't talk like you can win!" Aomine grumbled and with the last spurt of energy he forced the shot. A final buzzer beater.
Kise fell on his butt at the force of the last shot he'd tried to block.
Touou won by 12 points: 110 to 98.
The crowd cheered.
Touou's team sighed in relief, while Kaijo's team gritted their teeth at the bitter loss.
The referee whistled. "Players of both team, please gather!"
Kise tried to get up from the ground. But his legs give way. "Eh?!" He fell back on his butt again. What the…? His legs were shaking uncontrollably, he'd never felt such a fatigue in his life. He was like a little newborn fawn trying to stand for the first time…
"Kise!" His teammates turned to him with worry. He clearly overexerted himself… just as we worried.
Well, shit! What a disgrace! He thought with a wicked smile spreading on his face. Then he clenched his fist and punched the floor. Dammit! He could feel the skin on his knuckles breaking and warm blood seeping out; it didn't hurt.
Aomine observed his friend almost feeling the bitterness himself. But he didn't help him. There was nothing he could say, nothing he could do. He was the enemy who won. He turned around and walked away, leaving Kasamatsu to help Kise. Usually, he felt nothing after a victory. With Kirisaki Daichi it had been a worry he might've hurt someone… This… This victory was far from enjoyable. This was a pure bitterness tasting like bile which rose to his throat. He couldn't have gone easy on Kise, yet seeing the blonde so lost, so broken… He felt like punching himself – mainly for the words he had told him. As much as he believed those words, there'd been a worm of doubt in his mind ever since fighting against Tetsu and Kagami.
"You sure it's okay to go away like this? He's your friend after all~" Imayoshi hummed as Aomine joined them at the line up.
"Huh?" Aomine blinked at him and shook his head. "Even you'd fly into rage if I tried to console you after I win against you, right? To someone who has lost after trying his best, no words from the winner can console him."
######
"What are you all doing?! Sitting and brooding like idiots! If you want to improve, go back and practise!" Riko yelled at her team after assessing their collective gloominess they felt after the match.
"Huh?" Taiga blinked. "We're going back just like this? Why don't we stay and watch the others from the generation of miracles until the end of the Interhigh? It's only two more days…"
"Yeah, if we could, we would've stayed." Hyuuga muttered.
"Well then, let's look for a hotel!" He exclaimed, happy about the agreement, but there was something chilly about it… And when the captain laughed, he rather took a step back.
"Hotel?! Listen, Kagami…" He started in low voice and then he boomed right into Taiga's ear. "WE DON'T HAVE MONEY IN OUR CLUB! We used it all in the camp. You rich brat back from America – I know you two live alone!" He pulled at Taiga's cheeks, which made the redhead cry in pain. "Besides, coach's dad will kill us if his daughter doesn't return!"
"Hyuuga-senpai," Aya put her hand on his forearm with a chilly smile and a hidden threat.
He released Taiga immediately. Dealing with the boy was one thing, but the girl was legibly scary. "Uhm… Ahaha… I didn't mean to… offend…" His voice trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind Taiga staying. I bet I could arrange some exception in our full hotel, but… I don't want to tear your team here."
"What?! Aya please!" Taiga looked at her, searching for support. "I wanna stay!"
"Look… Seijuurou said he doesn't need to play to be the winner. He asked the others not to play." She sighed, not getting Seijuurou's thinking. "I believe that Atsushi won't play against him. Maybe today, but you won't quite enjoy Yosen's match unless Tatsuya plays and he won't. And besides… Do you wanna be in one place with Kise, Daiki, Seijuurou and Tatsuya?"
"Urgh… not really." He admitted. "But wait… He asked them not to play? Why?"
She made an I-don't-know face. "Because it 'wouldn't be fun', he said."
"Nonsense…" He grumbled.
"I agree." She glanced at the players leaving the court and her brows furrowed. Kise was dragged and supported by two of his teammates, barely lifting his feet, but even Aomine's gait was slightly off. Maybe I'm just imagining it… She thought, but deep down she knew she was extra sensitive to ways people moved, she could always remember it and recognise people according to it.
"Will Kise get over it?" He asked a bit worriedly, following her line of sight.
"Are you worried?!"
"No!" He denied abruptly.
Aya chuckled. "They're friends after all. I don't know what Daiki said to him, but Kise isn't someone to keep grudges for too long. They're quite similar to the two of you, actually…" she meant Taiga and Tatsuya, and she knew Taiga understood. "I'll let you know how the things are going if you want."
Taiga nodded and followed after his team. He could see Aya was itchy to go to hers too. "So see you on Sunday then?"
"See you on Sunday in Akita." She confirmed with a smile.
"Huh?" Riko glanced at the twins. "You won't be here in the summer?"
"Taiga?" Aya raised an eyebrow at her brother.
"Uuuuhm…"
She sighed. "No, Riko. We're leaving Japan on Sunday night, preferably. The travelling will steal couple of days too… I need to stop by France, UK and then we're going home for a week or less and then we're going back to UK because of a dancing camp I organise yearly. Taiga helps out. But he'll be back in time for your second training camp."
"WHAT?!" The girl snapped at Taiga. "WHEN THE HELL WERE YOU GOING TO ANNOUNCE THAT, BAKAGAMI?!"
He shrunk back guiltily; there simply hadn't been the right moment…
Aya ruffled his hair good-heartily. "You should talk with your team a bit more… I guess."
I'm not good with half truths… "I'm not you…"
She understood what he truly meant. And she capitulated. "I leave that up to you, Taiga. I don't want to be the one standing in between you and your friends. You shield me enough as it is, lil' brother." I'd never ask you to lie to your friends…
He nodded and smiled at her. "Go." He motioned towards the direction of changing rooms.
"Yeah." She nodded and quickly kissed him on a cheek. "Love ya!"
"Same here!" He waved her goodbye and chuckled. Then he noticed all the stares on him. Suddenly he felt embarrassed. "What?! Let's go."
######
Daiki wanted to leave as soon as possible. His long legs left his team behind. He grabbed his stuff from the changing room ignoring all the pain in his body and walked away. Cheers and congratulations weren't something he enjoyed after matches and after this particular match he wanted to be alone.
He was about to turn right when he crossed someone's path and they rammed into him. The scent of apricots gave the person away before he even looked down at her. He blinked at Aya in surprise. Why is she here so soon?
"Woah." She instinctively grabbed onto his arms to stabilise herself. "Leaving already?" She blurted out.
Instead of answering, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her into a narrow dark corridor to their left where a storage room was hidden.
"What are you doing?" She asked with wide eyes, utterly confused by his behaviour…
So was he.
"Shut up." He muttered as he leaned against the wall, pulling her into a strong embrace in a smooth motion.
He could hear her short hushed squeak of surprise but then she relaxed against him and remained quiet. So hugs were completely okay… He rested his head against the wall and sighed staring at the ceiling. This was what he needed, though he didn't understand it himself. He'd never felt so bitter after a victory. It was a new sensation, difficult to process. Seeing his best friend trying that hard and still losing at the end… Yes, he'd been looking forward to the match; it had excited him, but… Dammit! What the hell is wrong with me?
She rested her arm against his chest as she couldn't really reciprocate the hug because of the wall behind his back. His heartbeat was steady, he smelled like sweat and him; it wasn't all that bad. And she had no idea what was going on inside his head, but it worried her.
"Ne?" She peeped carefully, but she wasn't trying to push away from him.
"I told you I'd win…" His voice rumbled in his chest quietly. "There goes the challenge…" He tightened the hug.
"…he'll come back stronger than that."
"Tch. You're stubbornly optimistic." He chuckled weakly. At least she wasn't trying to congratulate him or anything.
She shrugged. "I don't like giving up."
"You knew… eh?" He sighed. "Right from the start, you understood…"
"Wha –? Oh…" She played with the fabric of his jersey. "I guess… I've been there too, Daiki. I had my share of losses, but… I also know what it means to be the 'never losing' monster…"
His name sounded so good when she said it. Huh? When did that start? He wondered.
She smiled against his chest. "Too bad I can't equal you in strength and height."
"Oh, you would never win, Sweetheart." He could feel that smile.
"Oh, trust me I would've found a way."
It lured a chuckle. She definitely would. He believed that in the back of her mind she actually wanted to equal him in basketball, but it was impossible. Simply because he'd fear hurting her if he didn't pay enough attention and went all out. It was always somewhere in the back of his mind, preventing him from pushing her too much.
"…and you could really use a shower." She grimaced.
"That bad?" He finally looked at her a smirk forming on his face. Then he caught the top of her head and rubbed her nose against his sweat drenched jersey.
"Oi!" She protested, pushing herself away from him, but she was laughing. "Stop it! You're mean!"
He laughed too. "Oh, really?!" She could always brighten his foul mood.
"Damn you, Ahomine Daiki!"
A/N: I admit that everyone knows this match, but I wanted to write it anyways. I hope it was enjoyable and I kept Aomine IC.
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary. :)
S.