REPLIES
dragon slayer of death 98 - A main pairing with Fukiyose but the harem would have their moments as well...
NinjaFang1331 - Glad you liked it.
tython055 - They're both hot-headed in canon so it's fun.
Sergio644 - Probably the hardest part that I made. Worth my clogged time tbh.
BlueJack22 - Well, she had to. She'll lose him if she doesn't.
It was Friday early afternoon which means that it this would be the last day before summer vacation officially begins.
And for a certain basketball club, this means hell has just barely begun.
At the moment, the Seirin basketball club is busy in their one last training for the day before they can finally have their vacation—or so that's what they thought.
Currently, the second year super-trio of Kamijou Touma, Kuroko Tetsuya, and Kagami Taiga are leading their fellow second years (which includes Hamazura, by the way) and their own kouhais in jogging around the gymnasium as the seniors are busy taking a breather after killing themselves by jogging outside of the school premises. Hyuga and Aida are busy talking about their new strategies while the rest of the seniors are just randomly speaking with one another.
"Neh, Kiyoshi?" Koganei suddenly called the Iron Heart.
"What's that, Koganei?" The center asked as he stretches his legs.
"Is it me or that the juniors are really going hard for it?" The cat-faced forward observed the Imagine Breaker wielder acting like some kind of a leader as they are halting in one direction. "Besides, it looks like Kamijou hasn yet to show signs of fatigue."
"That means his training in America is paying off." All the third years then heard their coach suddenly butt in as they all lump together in one corner. "Kamijou-kun…Kuroko-kun…Kagami-kun…they're going to be the third years next year when we eventually graduate. By theory, the chance of winning the Interhigh, Winter Cup, and the Nationals is higher right now."
"Well…yeah…" Tsuchida didn't know where this conversation is headed, "I mean, I don't feel like we're going to lose at all with those three plus Kiyoshi and Hyuga around. Perhaps, we might even be able to sweep all the tournaments this year. I'd love to see my final year go off like that."
"Actually…that's one thing I'm quite weary about." Aida shattered the somewhat relaxed atmosphere surrounding them.
"Heh? But, hey, we did win the Winter Cup last year." Koganei explained. "And this year, we had beaten Kaijo and Shutoku in a pair of tune-up games…"
"Aho…That's precisely why it would be harder for us to win this year." Hyuga cut him off as he finishes drinking his water. "The fact that everyone knows the composition of our team means any opposing school can scout and prepare for us. Even if you win a lot of tune-up games, it's nothing compare to losing an actual game in a real tournament."
"But as long as we don't get complacent, we should still be able to come out of top." Kioshi reminded them. "Take it from me, guys."
"Though I can say there are a lot of good things to expect." The brunette coach added as she sits down on the bench. "For one, the presence of Kamijou-kun and Kagami-kun means Kuroko-kun's misdirection would actually become more invisible since we got another naturally-talented scorer on our team. Plus, adjustments won't be a problem for us since our core is relatively intact."
As she finished explaining, she then noticed that every one of the third years are watching their lowerclassmen beginning to do some simple drills like shooting in the free throw line, shooting and passing each other in the perimeter area, lay ups, sprints, and three point shooting. "Ah, it looks like these youngsters seemed to be stepping up their game." Aida smiled creepily as she watches Kamijou teaching Hamazura some few tricks in the three-point line. "Hyuga-kun, will you let the kouhais take away the spotlight?"
A smirk formed around the clutch captain's lips. "Of course not. We seniors have our own pride." He stands up and soon, all his batch mates followed suit."
"That's better, Hyuga-kun." The coach said as she takes out her pink whistle and blows it. Immediately, all the first and second years stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to their bench tactician. "Everyone! Scrimmage! Third years versus second years! All the freshmen, just watch and learn!"
"Huh? Is that a bit too early?" Kagami said in total surprise as Kamijou raised his eyebrows. The moment I came back, a scrimmage is awaiting me. Just my luck. He inwardly groaned as they nevertheless went from drills to a quick warm up mode as they all saw the seniors seemingly fired up.
"I think captain and the other senpais are all hell-bent to defeat us in a tune-up game." Kuroko said in a boring tone as he shoots in his awkward Phantom Shot posture.
"Heh? They never won once against the second years?" Hamazura asked in total surprise, which isn't surprising considering that he only got into the club a few weeks before.
"Uh…yeah, you're just new here so you probably didn't know." Kamijou said as he passes the ball to Furihata. "Basically, that was the case. Well, I would just put my training to good use then."
As everyone is warming up, Kagetora suddenly arrives and greets his daughter with a package on his hand. "Riko-tan, it's nice to see you here! Look, papa here brought some nice…itaaaaai!" He suddenly receives a punch in the face from his very own daughter.
"Papa! Stop that and I do not need that plushie! I'm old already!" She shouted angrily as she smacks the lights out of her dad, who was sent back crashing down to the floor. It wasn't a fatal punch as her father was able to stand up easily and sighs as he touches the affected part of his jaw. "Why the reaction, Riko-tan…" He stopped as he saw the fists of her daughter threatening to hit him again. Behaving himself, he simply shut his mouth as his daughter then asked something, "Let's be serious for now, papa. I wanted to ask you, how is the progress of regulars?"
Kagetora simply scratched his head as he thought deeply before answering, "To tell you honestly, they're doing quite well, Riko-tan. Their basics are well-seeped to the bones, their movements isn't as sluggish as before and they are on rhythm with each other. But That's only for the seniors."
"Which means?"
"I'm not yet particularly feeling any improvement yet on the three cowardly second years as well as the freshmen, which is to be expected but…" Kagetora eyed Kamijou, and the light-shadow duo that are now ready as they are in the center circle while stretching. "Those three seemed to be on another level. Basically, I don't know if it's a coincidence that they are gathered here in the same time as the pioneers of the club but if there's such thing called fate, I guess it's a perfect plot for this young school."
Eh, papa? You've used big words there. Aida was speechless at what she heard.
"If anything, Seirin's basketball future is now lying in their shoulders." The former national player added. "It would not be an exaggeration to call Seirin a top dog. Well…aren't you going to start the game? They seemed to be pretty ready by now." He eyes Kagami and Kiyoshi now waiting on the center for the tip off.
"Ah, but wait…" The brunette girl then blew her whistle and shouted, "Hamazura-kun, you'll be starting in place of Furihata-kun. I haven't assessed you yet and I want to sure how far have you improved." She takes the blonde by surprise but nevertheless, he swaps spots with the cowardly Chihuahua.
"Dammit, boss. I'm extremely nervous." He whispers to Kamijou as the game was about to start with Kagetora tipping the ball.
"Uh…how do I say this? Just don't get nervous." The spiky haired boy told Hamazura. "It's even more nerve-wracking in a real tournament. Plus, don't forget what I told you a while back. It might be not much but it would help you right away later."
Hamazura nods, quietly thankful for the advice.
"Hamazura-kun…"
The blonde nearly had a heart attack as he heard Kuroko's voice suddenly coming in out of nowhere. Damn! I'm not yet used to his invisibility!
"Please, make yourself useful today, Hamazura-kun." Kuroko bluntly reminded him. "That's the only way you'll be able to maintain your slot in the team."
Hey! I know that's supposed to be a reminder but why do I feel insulted?! Hamazura inwardly cried as he was reminded of Mugino's incessant and blatant disrespect to him. His inner monologue was shattered as the ball was tipped in between Kagami and Kiyoshi, with the former winning it.
"Fast break!" Kagami suddenly shouted as he gets a hand on the ball. Immediately, every one of the seniors began to move rapidly towards the juniors' net. Fielding a man-to-man with Kiyoshi at the middle, Izuki didn't let up as he forced Kamijou to dribble in isolation. Dammit, this is going to be hard than expected. He thought to himself as he passes to Kuroko, who redirects it to Hamazura, who founds himself open and decided to take a three-point attempt. Unfortunately for him, the ball rattled in and out of the metal ring as the Iron Heart rebound it and passes it to Hyuga, who was already on a fast break.
"Sorry, boss!" Hamazura apologized.
"Don't think about it. It was actually a good shot." The spiky haired boy replied. "It's just a matter of luck and practice."
Hyuga was able to lay it up to score the first points of the game. Trailing early in the game, Kuroko gets the ball in the middle and passes it with a Cyclone Pass with Kamijou receiving it as he was heading towards their seniors' net. But as he was attacking the basket, he found himself attracting a triple-team of Kiyoshi, Mitobe, and Tsuchida, who started in place of Koganei. Nevertheless, he thought this was a good chance. He then jumped early in the air, with the silent hook shooter jumping as well to stop him. Suddenly, he took Mitobe by surprise as he ducks under the ring and, using his Falcon Eyes, he saw Hamazura waiting again in the three point line. He quickly switches from shooting mode to a passing mode as he returns the ball outside and into the waiting hands of the blonde, who tries another three point attempt again. This time, he remembers what the spiky haired boy told him and quickly, he made a fast shot while adding an arch to his shot.
"A quick release?" Izuki said to himself as the ball made a quick arch before finally going into the ring. The juniors took the lead with a 3 – 2 advantage.
"Don't mind that. We'll get it back!" Hyuga said as Izuki grabs the ball. We'll simply put them in their places.
On their net, Kagami noticed that Kiyoshi looked like he was about to commit a murder as he was holding his position in such a way that the power forward cannot make his rebounds easily. This is quite getting into my nerves. The red head inwardly screamed as Hyuga got a hand into the ball and quickly made his three point shot, giving back the lead to the seniors at 3 – 5.
They're going harder than expected. But we can't lose. Kuroko thought as he passes the ball. Kamijou then dribbled harder as he brings down the leather. Inhaling slowly, he then faces Izuki, who immediately notices the change in his posture.
What's Kamijou-kun going to do? Aida thought as the shot clock is already down to 10 seconds.
Suddenly, Kamijou made a fast crossover to his right before Izuki can react and he attacked the basket. Tsuchida and Hyuga tried to stop him but he ended up bypassing them by spinning around as he spots Kiyoshi waiting in the shaded area. Slowing down, he then did something no one expected him to do.
"Is he serious?!" Koganei shouted from the bench, "He's going to post up Kiysohi, a center?!"
Seeing that he was able to catch the center by surprise, the guard then flips the ball quickly behind Kiyoshi. The center, not realizing what he intends to do, keep up the ball's path with his eyes but was momentarily frozen to see the ball actually going back to its point origin.
Kamijou then jumped and before Kiyoshi can react, he caught the ball mid-air and quickly shoots it before his feet lands back into the floor.
Everyone was temporarily silenced by what he just did.
"Eh? What was that?" Kagami said in a whisper. His movement was so fast that he wasn't able to fully comprehend what the hell just happened.
"I didn't fully understand that. This is my first time that I saw that kind of shot." Kuroko replied. "But…isn't that kind of a self-pass? I heard that's an illegal move in the NBA."
Back on the bench, Aida and even his dad was quite surprise to see the boy pull of that stunt that the latter had to feign a stunned expression as he was forced to pull out a rule book out of his hand. Finally, they talked to each other first before the father suddenly pulled out his personal whistle and blew before announcing something.
"Shot not counted!"
"Eh?!" Kamijou was quite surprised to see his shot nullified. "But I shot the ball before my feet even landed on the floor! How was that a violation?!"
"That works only in the NBA if you pull it off perfectly, kid." The elder Aida replied, "I can't say the same thing on FIBA-officiated tournaments where rules are much stricter. Just take this as a precaution when playing in FIBA-sanctioned tournaments." Kagetora smirked as he whistles in order for the game to resume.
"Don't worry, Kamijou-kun." Kuroko said as he pats the shoulder of a very much depressed Kamijou Touma. "We'll just get them back."
"Let's save the best for the last, Kamijou!" Kagami cheered as they all went back to defend.
Seriously, why did I even bother to learn that type of shot? Kamijou sighed as he then ran back to defend their basket.
For the first five minutes, the scrimmage featured a scoring duel between Kamijou and Hyuga, who is more than fired up to make all of his high-arch shots. When both teams had to call a timeout, the score was tied up at 20 – 20.
"Aren't we a bit lacklustre on this one?" Fukuda suddenly asked as his entire fellow second years was now taking a breather as they all drink their sports beverages.
"I must still been suffering from jet lag." Kamijou whispered.
"Or maybe because the seniors wanted to win this scrimmage so badly that we don't notice it at all since we still maintain our playing style." Kuroko squeaked, gathering the attention of his teammates. "And no, Kagami-kun, I'm not suggesting that we actually lose this game."
"Hey, you took it the wrong way." Kagami grumbled as he finished drinking his Gatorade. "But for some reason, I feel like the senpais are more intense than usual…"
Prrrrrrt!
"Times up!" Aida suddenly blew her whistle as she signals the end of the timeout. Both teams then returned to the court to resume their game.
#
After four quarters of what seemed like to be an endless exchange of shots between two teams, Hyuga was raising his hands while Koganei and Tsuchida felt like they wanted to finally cry.
"We did it…"
All the seniors were celebrating as finally, after three games of losing as well as tying a match, they were finally able to defeat their kouhais with a score of 73 – 70 as all the juniors were merely watching them with blank expressions. It was kind funny to see it, to be honest.
"Well…I do expect it…after they all pulled us out of the game in the fourth quarter…" Kamijou trailed off as they were all sitting in the bench.
"Ssshhhh…coach and captain might hear you and we don't want to get ourselves punished…" Kuroko hushed his teammate, "But personally, I was actually thinking the same thing."
"Hamazura and Furihata didn't went down without a fight. They just ran out of gas." Kagami muttered.
After the second year trio was pulled out from the game leading to the fourth quarter on orders from the coach, the latter allowed Yagi to play for the last ten minutes and they were all quite surprise to see the blonde doing a decent job making his shots at the three-point line. But of course, he was no Hyuga (yet) and he was basically tired by the time the last two minutes has arrived.
But as there is this noisy atmosphere currently happening, with Koganei as the ringleader of it all, a phone of a certain spiky haired boy suddenly buzzed and quickly, Kamijou fished it out of his duffel bag and opened it to check his message inbox. Seeing the sender, he was quite surprised to read the following.
I'm on my way to your school. Let's meet at the gate.
~ Fukiyose Seiri
Is this some impromptu date or something? Kamijou was quite confused as this was something he didn't anticipate to happen. Or maybe I should have anticipated this at all. Am I really becoming too dumb?
Now that he thinks of it all over again, they were in a bizarre relationship. Bizarre in a sense that I don't know if we're actually perfect with one another. I had zero experience when it comes to this. He sighed. Maybe I should text her again to see if she was quite wrong.
He then decided to get out of the gym first as he didn't want anyone to hear what he'll do. And the session's about to end anyway so might as well used up this remaining period. He immediately excused himself from Kuroko and he went straight to the shower rooms where no one can hear him. He then placed a call on Fukiyose and within seconds, she picked up.
"Hey, Seiri. It's me. I just got out of the shower rooms."
"Why do you have to call, bakaTouma?" But despite her harsh retort, the boy can hear her giggle and somehow, it made his heart soften.
"Sorry. I just wanted to talk things to you…"
"Hey, what's wrong? You sound a bit sad…"
"Hmmmh…hey, do you think you will be happy with me?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know how my right hand always brings bad luck. What if it comes down to the world hating me? Would you still stick with me?"
"Touma…what are saying?"
"I'm not a great person, at all. I'm just some ordinary high school boy who knows how to play basketball. My grades are mediocre at best and…"
"You're making me mad. Did something happen?"
"Please…just please. Answer the question." What was I thinking. Kamijou thought as his fingers trembled. I sound pathetic at the moment. What did I even do to deserve this…this…so-called love from her? She could have obviously chosen other guys…
"You…you want to know… if I could be happy with someone other than you?" Kamijou can feel her voice begin to shake. Once he noticed this, he himself began to feel his heart began to ache.
"Touma, I'm nearing Seirin. I'll have to immediately go straight to the gym…"
"Wait! Don't do that! Please…"
"I have to. So I can slap you back into your senses."
"Seiri…" He rubbed my eyes attempting to stop his tears as he slumps into the hard, cold tiled floor.
"Touma, I don't know what happened but I can tell that something is in your mind right now. So if you need me to give you confidence then that's what I'll do."
He kept silent as he needed to hear her reply loud and clear.
"It's obviously a no. Maybe it's unfortunate for you but there is no one else in the world that could make me feel the way I do about you."
Kamijou stayed silent as he listens. All he wanted to do now is hear her voice.
"These feelings I have for you, I don't even want to imagine the possibility of me having them for another random boy. Whatever problems you are facing, I want to be there at your side to help. No matter what Touma, there is no doubt in my mind and heart, that I'll never love someone else the way I love you."
As soon as she finishes talking, Kamijou felt like someone just slapped him awake from deep slumber. I'm different from most people. I'm not the usual guy a girl would fawn over. Something like that comes easy to others yet is a struggle for me. Yet here am I listening to her, Fukiyose Seiri, over the phone telling me just how much she loves me.
For a split second, he felt stupid as he began to laugh.
"Are you laughing at me, Touma?!"
She yells at him over the phone.
"No. I was laughing at myself for being an idiot."Kamijou replied, trying to calm.
"Well, if that's the case…then it's all good. By the way, I'm already here at the gate. When will you go out."
"You know. I was just thinking that everyone needs to know of this slowly."Kamijou said as he was now beginning to decide something for the two. "At least, I don't want to anymore let my bad luck surprise every people I'm associated with so I might as well let everyone know…starting with someone in my team."
"And what? What do you plan?"
"Listen, I happen to hear from Kuroko that Kiyoshi-senpai had some experience in this kind of stuff. I'll bring him along with us so at least, someone already knows. He might be more open to it than others so he might be able to give us some advice."
"Oh. That's good then. I'll be waiting for the two of you, then."
Now feeling a bit encouraged and boosted up, the boy with unruly hair then dashed outside of the cubicle and into the exit of the restroom. He then ran back to the gymnasium just in time to see the whole squad now being dismissed by their coach. Not minding the stares given to him by some of his teammates, he then goes straight to Kiyoshi. "Kiyoshi-senpai!" He calls out to their center, who responds by stopping from his tracks and turning around. "I'm sorry for disturbing you but can I ask a favour?"
"Oh…what could that be?" Kiyoshi asked as he gives off his goofy smile.
"Let's just say…it's a secret between the two of us." Kamijou lowered his voice so that no one can hear the two of them. "If you're free today, I would like to ask some advice. But not here…"
"I'm not free today and next week is the start of summer vacation so I would be more than glad to accompany you to the place you want us to talk." The Iron Heart replied. "But I'm quite curious. Why me, though? Kuroko and Kagami's there so…"
"Uhm…the topic that I'm about to tell you is quite a sensitive one and I feel like you are the only one that can actually give me some thoughts about it…" Kamijou sheepishly smiled as he was feeling sorry that it wasn't his two friends who are going to know it officially.
"I see. Just wait here." Kiyoshi then walked off from their location and he then he went to the group of Hyuga and the rest of the seniors. After what seemed to be like a heated debate, with a facial expression from the guys that says what-do-you-mean, the big man came back with some good news. "Well, Hyuga left me off for once right now so I can go with you."
"Arigatou senpai! Let's go now while no one has left yet." Kamijou said in a somewhat worried look as he shot a nod at Kuroko and Kagami, who seemed to understand what that means and they decided to act as if this is something normal.
"Okay, Kamijou…"
#
"You know what, guys? I felt quite honoured to be invited when there are six of us seniors in the line-up and that doesn't even include Kuroko and Kagami. Hohoho."
Currently, Kamijou, Fukiyose, and Kiyoshi are in a coffee shop in downtown Tokyo not far from Seirin High School. After managing to persuade the Iron Heart to go with him, Kamijou dragged him out of the school premises and Kiyoshi was actually bewildered by the strange behaviour of his kouhai until the two of them meets the (not so) Iron Wall Girl, who merely smiles at the two of them but the brunette center can see those tinge of pink and red appearing in her face. Oh my…could it be…
"Have you ordered yet, Touma?" Fukiyose asked the boy beside her.
"Y-yeah, I ordered for myself." Kamijou stuttered as he had to remind himself to take this easy.
"Excuse me!" Kiyoshi eagerly waved his hand in order to get the attention of the waiting staff, who responds by sending one of their personnel to their table. "Good evening, what drinks would you like?"
"Uh…I like some caramel coffee…" Fukiyose decided to go first.
"The same with hers…" Kamijou said rather gloomy.
"Iced coffee but not black coffee." Kiyoshi smiled in a stupid way as Fukiyose and Kamijou just stared at him with weird faces.
After the three of them received their drinks, Kiyoshi then began to ask.
"So…why were you so eager to have this little meet up Kamijou? Not that I mind though but it's actually rare for you to speak to us seniors. Usually, you really interact at most with your fellow second years in Kuroko and Kagami." Kiyoshi finished with a playful wink.
For some reason, I feel like he already had an idea on what I'm about to spout about. The spiky haired boy shivered as he calm himself down.
"Something's wrong with you, Touma. I think I need to punch you in the face." Fukiyose was getting irritated.
Easy Seiri. The battle hasn't even started.
Kiyoshi only gives a sly smile.
Kamijou cleared his throat, trying to somewhat tone down the tension.
"We both actually have something to say." The younger boy finally was able to say it as he manned up.
"Hmmmm…sounds interesting!" Kiyoshi exclaimed in his airheaded way. "So which one of you wants to go first then?" He gleefully clasped his hands together.
Kamijou peers over to Fukiyose and she does the same. She gives him a small nod. He responds with one of his own.
"Kiyoshi-senpai, please hear me out to what I'm about to say. And please carefully think about what it is I'm saying before you make any remarks." The big-breasted girl had such a serious face on that even Kamijou was at the edge of his seat waiting for her to say what she was going to say.
"Oh? Quite serious aren't we? Alright then, I'm lending my ears to you." Kiyoshi leaned a bit forward as he rested his head on his huge hands.
"Kiyoshi-senpai." Fukiyose kept a solid posture as she bravely invokes the name of the Seirin slotman. "Touma and I are in…a relationship."
What was probably only a few seconds felt like an eternity as the two then waited for his response. After what looks like an endless vacuum of thoughts, Kiyoshi merely looked at Kamijou and smiled, which took the boy by surprise.
"Your turn, kouhai." Kiyoshi didn't change his position as he only shifted his line of vision.
Kamijou gulped. What's with his reaction?! Now, I feel like we shouldn't have done this in the first place! Nevertheless, he gathers whatever courage he had and said, "I know it's kind of too early and unexpected to ask this from you as my senpai but I wish to have your support." I say as he lightly bows as a form of respect to him.
Kamijou kept his head down and didn't lift it until he hears his reply. Fukiyose supported his boyfriend by lowering her gaze as a form of courtesy to Kiyoshi.
"Pfft…pfffffft!"
Kamijou lifted his head just enough to see Kiyoshi's response.
Eh? Kamijou can't believe what he was witnessing at the moment. Kiyoshi was holding down a laugh. He held herself with two arms wrapped around his abdomen while he had to puff his mouth to prevent from letting out his voice. Still, he did a poor job as the moment later, he was completely losing it and he still ended up laughing loudly.
What the hell.
Is him laughing good or bad?
Fukiyose didn't seem to be enjoying it either way, according to the freaked expression she was giving his upperclassman right now.
"Senpai…could you please stop it? Everyone is looking at our direction." Kamijou said with a light blush and embarrassment.
"Sorry, sorry! That's just so amusing." Kiyoshi said as he wiped tears from the corner of his eyes.
Oh…does he think this is a farce?
"You both!" Kiyoshi says, attempting to regain his composure and breathe back. "You guys are just too cute!"
"Huh?" Kamijou and Fukiyose replied at the same time.
"I mean…as if I couldn't tell just by my kouhai's request to have this meeting in the first place." Kiyoshi seemed to have regained her composure but now his smile is bigger and crazier than ever.
Oh? So I was the one who did a poor job at disguising… Kamijou groaned and sighed.
"I-I see…" An embarrassed Fukiyose said.
"And to top it of, Kamijou even asked me for my support. How adorable. You could have chosen Hyuga or even Riko for this." Kiyoshi was chuckling. "Well…looks like you two are really growing up together. Kamijou even had that big hick—"
"Kiyoshi-senpai, can we just skip that?" The Imagine Breaker user had to cut him off from speaking a somewhat scandalizing experience.
"Alright. Alright. So who confessed first?" Kiyoshi leaned over the table even more now.
#
As the three both continued to sip on their drinks, Kiyoshi then finally learned a lot of things. Apparently, from how he understood, it was actually the girl who first confessed for his love on the boy. While the latter was very much late, he eventually reciprocated it although it looks like he still needed some few more encouragement pills.
"So, about what I asked, you want me to support you guys?" Kiyoshi is all business in his question. "But then, do your parents know this as of the moment?"
"Yes, Kiyoshi-senpai…I honestly think having your support would mean a lot to Touma." Fukiyose calmly replied. "And no, our parents don't know of this yet but eventually, we'll let them know it." She then looks to Kamijou, who nods.
"I see. You sure are a sneaky couple, though. Waiting till Kamijou got the time to go to America where both of you won't be disturbed." Kiyoshi turned to me and said. "Our coach doesn't like sneaky people, Kamijou."
"Well, it's not like it was on purpose. It just sort of turned out that way." Kamijou explained as he shivered at the thought of actually getting punished by their coach. I wouldn't want to be in the receiving end of her headlock!
"Hmm…But I suppose if you make sure to treat each other right, I could back you guys up." Kiyoshi had basically given his blessing to his player.
"Those were my intentions senpai." Kamijou replied.
"I know it looks like redundant for me to say but Fukiyose…" The giant turned his gaze towards the Forehead Deluxe. "You understand what your relationship truly means right?"
Fukiyose only look at him. She had a slight idea to where he is going but she stayed silent as to let him continue.
"That means you can no longer ignore his family and the Seirin basketball team, including his coach, his seniors and most especially, Kuroko and Kagami." Kiyoshi was very serious as he spoke like a father giving some advice to his child. "For better or worse, his problems with the team have, to an extent, become your problems right now. If you don't think you can handle the pressure that comes with dating one of our players and specifically, our ace, I suggest you save him the heartache and forget about him right now. It's not too late."
Kiyoshi's once happy smile had disappeared and was replaced by a gentle but crueller one.
"Kiyoshi-senpai…I knew that thing already the moment I considered even thinking about asking him into a relationship." Fukiyose replied, now steadfast.
"Is that so…I see…" Kiyoshi closed his eyes before replying. "Well, that settles it. It does looks like you two are serious about it. Then you both have my approval!" He smiles once again as he flashes a thumbs-up.
"Thank you very much, Kiyoshi-senpai!" Fukiyose and Kamijou were very much grateful.
Kiyoshi was very much surprised to see how one of his juniors came to see him for this one. And what's more surprising is that he was the very first to have a girlfriend even before Kuroko and Kagami does. Ah, the boldness of the youth. He smiles as he watches the two couple hug each other.
"My…my…what's this all about?"
Suddenly, both Kamijou and Fukiyose were frozen in their spots as they heard a familiar voice that seemed to be dripping with poison and promises of pain. Kiyoshi turned around to see who it was and was a bit surprised at this. "Oh…isn't that Kumokawa-san? Hello!"
Kumokawa, wearing plain striped blouse and jeans, is seemed to be playing coy at what she just witnessed as she enters the coffee shop after strolling around downtown Tokyo. And it looks like I had just arrived conveniently. She smiled menacingly as she faces her two kouhais, who are now trying to avoid her gaze as much as possible while Kiyoshi seemed to be pretty much oblivious to what is happening and actually said something outrageous to their juniors' ears. "Since you're here Kumokawa-san, why don't you join with us?"
"Of course. I can't simply ignore something very surprising in my eyes." Kumokawa licked her lips as she takes a seat beside Kiyoshi. Well, this is going to take some time. Kamijou thought as he then was trying to get a grip on the situation.
#
"I see…I see…"
Kumokawa only nodded as she faces Kamijou and Fukiyose once more. It's only the three of them right now since Kiyoshi had to go back home because his grandparents might worry about him so he had to excuse himself. So this put the two second years in a precarious position that none of them had anticipated. It's not like I was being too suspicious of Kumokawa-senpai but originally, it's just supposed to be Kiyoshi-senpai only. He groaned as he wasn't fully aware that there seemed to be electricity coming out of the brown eyes of the Forehead Deluxe as she wasn't really fond of the Beauty Senpai personally.
"Well, I didn't expect something like this when I came here to rest from waking around the city." Kumokawa smiled like she was planning this, "So let me get this straight, you two are a real thing now?"
Seeing that there is no way that they can deny it now, the two simply nodded as they keep quiet.
"So I guess I lost, huh?" Kumokawa whispered to herself as she then momentarily reverts into a face full of sadness as she bows her head down. After that, she returns into her sly and happy self as she said. "Well….I do hope you two become very happy with each other. I wish Fukiyose produces lots of babies for you and…"
"It isn't like that!" Fukiyose shouts angrily as she was very flustered at the mentioning of "producing a lot of babies."
"Whatever you say. Just take care of my cute kouhai very well. But just out of curiosity, when did you finally come out so clean and who confessed to whom?" Kumokawa now rested her hands in her chin, wanting—no, demanding—answers right now. Kamijou looked fidgety as he seemed to be not prepared to answer this question as Fukiyose sighed. This is just the same question with this bakaTouma's senior but then, considering it's Kumokawa, I guess I'll be the one to answer it.
"Touma and I went to America for this training of his and basically…I…uh…I'm the one who confessed first." The Forehead Deluxe explained though it was obvious that she was very much embarrassed about initiating it first. "Then…well…that's all where it started…"
"Pfffft." Kumokawa began to snicker as she was holding your chests. "So you two are really sneaky, huh?"
Didn't Kiyoshi-senpai say something very similar? Kamijou inwardly
"But if that's really it, then I guess I have to support your two tween hearts." Kumokawa shrugged, while thinking something else. At least, it's not someone with a blonde hair and starry eyes.
"Well…uh…thanks, Kumokawa-senpai." Kamijous scratched his head as he finishes his drink.
"For you, my cute kouhai, no need to thank me at all. As long as it's you, I'd be more than happy to do anything, unlike someone here." The Beauty Senpai rolled her eyes as she looks at Fukiyose, who merely ignores her. "Well, it looks like it's getting late. We better get home right now. Kamijou, I know you're gentleman enough to walk her to the station, right?"
"Uh…sure…" The spiky haired boy replied as they both stand up right now and from there, Kamijou and Fukiyose went outside of the café, with Kumokawa following them. The silence between the three should have been peaceful had not for the fact that the presence of the eldest of them three is unnerving the two couple. Until…
"Why are you following us?" Fukiyose bluntly asked as they were finally in the station.
"It's not my fault we're going on the parallel direction." Kumokawa smiled in a shrewd way that Kamijou can't tell if she was deliberately mocking the Forehead Deluxe or was simply being honest to them. "Well, take care, Fukiyose." She beamed as she waves, prompting Fukiyose to just roll her eyes at her as she looks at Kamijou, who smiles. "Have a safe trip, Seiri."
"And good luck, Touma…" The brown-eyed girl gives a sweet smile before eventually riding one of public transportations allowed in Academy City and from there, the vehicle leaves.
"I guess she became much more grateful to you these days." Kumokawa said, not looking at him. She was standing behind him as she kept looking out on nowhere as if she's looking into the empty space.
"Huh?" Kamijou asked, turning back and looking over to her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, she seemed to be pretty happy genuinely ever since you two have become a thing." Kumokawa said, looking over to him. "It's pretty obvious that she's always thinking about you. I can tell it from how she acts in the past. "
The spiky haired boy suddenly felt that there was some hidden meaning in her words. I don't think I can put in into words. But she seemed pretty upset. I wonder what I did. "Uhm…Kumokawa-senpai…" He started. "Did I do something wrong? You seemed pretty upset right now." He said cautiously.
"Of course, I'm more than upset." She walked over to him. He looked up at her. She bent down her head so her face was only inches from his.
"Se-Senpai?" Kamijou asked, quitter confused at her actions. Suddenly, Kumokawa pulled him into a kiss into his forehead. She held her arms around his neck, keeping him there. Kamijou just stood there, wide-eyed. He managed to pull her off.
"Ku-Kumokawa-senpai, what are you doing?!" He asked in shock, his face red and his mind in utter mess.
Kumokawa laid her head on his chest, tears coming out. "I love you so much, Kamijou Touma!" she said. Kamijou's eyes widened in surprise at what he heard right now. "I've loved you for a long time. I was planning to confess to you properly someday. But then…when I saw that you were hugging with Fukiyose… it really shattered my heart. I didn't know what to do." She buried her face in his chest.
Kamijou held her there for a moment, and then straightened up. Kumokawa looked at him with pleading eyes. He leaned down and wiped her tears away with his bare hands. He looked straight at her with regretful eyes before saying. "I'm sorry but I'm in love with Seiri now. Kumokawa-senpai…"
Suddenly, she stopped crying and in what one can consider a 360-degree change, she started giggling.
Eh? Nani? The boy was now more confused at her.
"Don't call me Kumokawa-senpai, Kamijou. Just call me Seria for my sake." The college student said, beaming widely though her eyes were still red from crying. "I understand now, Kamijou. You don't have to worry. Just seeing you being happy and free from troubles is already a consolation gift for me."
"But are you sure, senpai…"
"Like I said, drop the formalities, Touma." Kumokawa decided to use his first name. "Or else…"
"Uh, fine…Seria…" Kamijou relented as he felt awkward using his senpai's first name. I'd at least understand when it comes to those people my age but to someone older than me would be a different talk. I might even get a punishment from Hyuga-senpai if ever I sued their first names.
"Well, good luck on the two of you then. But if you're in trouble, I'll just be one call away, Touma." Kumokawa said as she unlatches herself from the younger boy and was prepared to leave. "In fact, I can go to Seirin if you want my attention."
"Uh…I think I'll just think about it, Seria." Kamijou replied. Just remembering how his coach kills her players who do embarrassing things is enough to make the Imagine Breaker wielder to shiver at that imagination. And my right hand would be of no help against the coach's wrath!
"Bye, Touma." Kumokawa was already leaving the scene. "And good luck to you and your teammates!"
Kamijou watched her leave as he was left to ponder her words.
Is she referring to the national team or to Seirin only?
"Oh! I forgot something!" Kumokawa stopped from her tracks and then said in a loud voice from her position. "Let's be close friends, okay!" She then walked away until she can be seen no more.
Kamijou just smiled. Sure.
#
And so, Saturday had come, which means that from now on until the end of August, it would be the summer vacation. But for a certain Kamijou Touma, hell had just began for him. Waking up at exactly 5 am in the morning, he immediately went outside of their house for a light exercise. He picked up his ball and began to made some slashing to the basket. It was twenty minutes and five minutes alove was enough to sweat him out.
Just weeks before the Olympic Tournament starts. I'll be damned if I don't so something for myself. Kamijou thought as he put some finishing touch in his exercise by shooting barrage of three pointers. After that, he immediately went back to his house and at that moment, Shiina had just finished cooking their breakfast of fried rice and eggs. The spiky haired boy wasted no time gobbling up all the food before Index even wakes up. Mom can just cook another round for her. I need this for now.
He then takes a shower to make himself presentable when he report for duty to Coach Shirogane.
As he showers, he remembered Kumokawa and her words yesterday.
Let's be close friends, okay!
Kind weird, though. Kamijou thought as he was finished rinsing his body. After drying out his body, he immediately donned his black tank top and shorts. After seeing that his equipment is complete right now, he then goes out of his room, only to find Index now eating in the table as his mother had cooked a second round of breakfast for her and Touya.
"Leaving now, Touma dear?" Shiina smiled at his son as she turns off their stove.
"Yeah. I needed to leave early. Akashi's not exactly a patient man when it comes to time and I don't want to get hit by coach either." The spiky haired boy replied as he then opens the door to exit their house. Or better yet, I might expect something like that later on. I'm not exactly the best when it comes to luck.
As usual, the moment Kamijou had gotten out of their house, his teammate and neighbour was already waiting for him outside.
"Kamijou-kun, good morning." Kuroko, in his ever polite tone, greets his fellow second year.
"Morning, Kuroko. Let's go now, shall we?" The spiky haired boy said as they began to walk in the streets. Soon, they have met up with Kagami in their usual spot and right now, they are walking peacefully towards Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. As quiet as they are, Kamijou can't help but think about Nash Gold Jr. and his last parting words to him. Well, I guess I'll beat you next time we meet kid. Good luck. Your scrawny ass would need it. Those words kept ringing in his mind as the possibility of meeting the "Magician" of the hardwood is quite high. After all, wasn't he the one who bested some players in the NBA?
"So…how is Nash Gold Jr. as a player?" Kamijou suddenly broke the silence by asking that question. Kagami looked at him with raised eyebrows while the tealnette simply blinked.
"He's strong. The fact that it took Akashi-kun a set of his complete Emperor Eye to finally make surpass him." Kuroko replied. "Why did you ask, by the way? Did you encounter him in America?"
"Yeah. I played him one-on-one." Kamijou answered, quite nonchalant. Suddenly, the light and shadow duo stopped the moment they heard the answer of their teammate. It's understandable that they were surprised to hear that answer since not many players would want to challenge the Jabberwocks captain.
"Uhm…who won?" Kagami stuttered.
"No one. It ended in a tie. He blocked my last shot because my right leg started to cramp out at that time." The raven replied.
"Amazing…wait, then you could have beaten him?" Kagami asked in awe.
"I think so…" Kamijou scratched his head.
In a few minutes, they were able to reach the large gymnasium. Seeing that they were now within the proximity of the area, they sprinted to get closer to the large edifice and reaching the doors, they quickly opened it.
They were greeted by the familiar sight of Kiyoshi, now dripping in sweat from having warmed up early, and Hayama, who was busy goofing off with the ball in his face.
"Good morning, senpai, Hayama-san." Kuroko greeted as Kamijou and Kagami put down their duffel bags in the nearest bleachers.
"Oh, you three are already here. Let's have some fun then." Kiyoshi, in his signature goody smile, greeted back as he dunked the ball.
"Where are the others, Kiyoshi-senpai?" Kamijou asked, quite awkwardly due to him asking for his blessing yesterday in regards to his relationship with a certain Iron Wall Girl.
Kiyoshi seemed to be unmindful of it though and replied. "Akashi is in the office with coach. Okamura is in the locker room, changing into his playing shirt. Mibuchi is in the locker room as well. The others have yet to arrive."
But as Kamijou and Kagami were ready to warm-up with their Seirin senpai as well, the doors of the gymnasium suddenly swung open rather violently and it revealed a group of familiar-rainbow haired players. It was at that exact moment that Akashi had entered the scene and wasn't exactly pleased with the timing of the arrival of their other teammates.
"Oi, Akashi bastard—"
The red head simply raised his eyebrows at hearing the insult and they were all silenced.
"I mean, Akashi, we do know that we have practice today but why the hell did you just inform me a while back to come here at this time?! I was still sleeping, you know!" The voice of Aomine rang sharply as he was panting for oxygen. It was pretty obvious that they all ran their way to the gymnasium.
"Do you have a problem with that, Aomine?" Akashi arrogantly replied. "I did it so that you four can come here earlier. And you needed to sleep early if that was your own reason."
"Ahh! This is just like our Sei-chan!" Mibuchi said in a dramatic way as it reminded him of their times in Rakuzan. Focusing on the players, one could see the aces of Seirin, Touou, Shutoku, Kaijo, Rakuzan, and Yosen, the three Uncrowned Kings from Rakuzan and Seirin and the former captain of Yosen.
"Akashi, sometimes I do hope you stop toying us around for your own satisfaction." Midorima gritted his teeth as he was heavily breathing.
"Aka-chin, I'm hungry…" Murasakibara drawled.
"Minna! I'm excited to play with Kurokocchi—" Kise opened his mouth like a loudspeaker but was silenced by Aomine, who stuffed his mouth with his water bottle.
"Oi, Kise, you're too noisy!"
"Okay, kids, that's enough!" The voice of Shirogane, who was flanked by his assistant coaches and his three former Teiko players in Sekiguchi, Nijimura, and an unnamed guy, was heard. "Good day seeing you all complete right now. Everyone, gather around."
Immediately, all of the players gathers at the coach in a full-circle formation. "We just have a few weeks before the actual tournament starts. We needed to focus on whipping you guys into battle-ready players. In fact, Momoi has started to scout some potential foreign standouts we might face and so far, there are some who looks to be a threat. Well, start with your warm-ups now. After this, there would be a scrimmage match. Start with shooting drills in the elbow and perimeter, left and right with 20 shots. Then go for layups, left and right, and 20 shots as well. Now, go!"
Immediately, all of the players scrambled to line up in one of the basketball goals in the court. First, they started shooting in the perimeter area. Akashi decided to go first as he makes the first shot of the warm-up, followed by Kamijou, who makes his shot as well. This pattern continued, with Kuroko not surprisingly missing his shot and Kiyoshi shooting it to strong as it bounced off the rim.
Next, they began to do the layup drill. The two teams decided to split into six as Akashi's line will shoot first from the left flank while Kamijou and the rest will come from the right. The red head made his attempt first and passes the ball to the spiky haired boy, who proceeds to make a double clutch layup as he passes the ball to Midorima, who was very awkward in making his shot (since he was used to shooting threes only with the exception of that game versus Seirin).
"It must be physically painful for Midorima to not even make his three pointers." Aomine snickers as he gets the ball to dunk it.
"First of all, I can do a layup and even a dunk, Aomine. You have seen me do it already." The lefty shooter retorted. "And second, threes are bigger then twos. Of course, a dunking monkey like you won't understand."
"Was that supposed to be funny, teme?" The tanned ace glared at Midorima. "Maybe I should just shove you into that bottle of yours." For everyone's information, Midorima's lucky item happened to be an Arabian lamp he purchased at a nearby antique store.
"Aomine. Midorima. You two! Stop fighting!" Akashi intervened personally before anything can go ugly. "Or else, you know what happens." He then took out his sharp scissors out of nowhere and began to snip it. The two bickering players shut their mouths in fear of being cut down.
As the players continued to do their drills, Momoi and Aida, who were designated as the team's managers, joined the team session, bringing with them plastic bags of what would be the final and official playing uniforms of the national team. The upper and lower jerseys of the team consist of the home and away format. The home-format type is the white one, with the neck having the colors black and white on the collar part. The away-format is the black jersey. Like the white one, its collar has two collars, only that it is black and red. Both of them have the words "JAPAN" and the Japanese flag emblazoned on the front of the upper jersey.
"Neh, neh, Akaschicchi…when will we get our playing jerseys?!" Kise, getting too excited just from seeing their playing uniform, ran his mouth foolishly to their captain.
"Just keep your mouth shut Kise and you'll eventually get to wear them." Akashi displayed his sharp scissors for the blonde Kaijo ace to see and the latter responded by quickly shutting his mouth as he sweat dropped with fear.
After their drills, Sekiguchi blew his whistle to signal a scrimmage to start. Being the designated captain, Akashi, obviously, chose his former teammates as his team of six for the mini-practice game. As for the remaining other six…
"So, who would like to be the captain?" Kiyoshi asked around, smiling. Kagami simply didn't reply as he knew he wouldn't even be brought up when it comes to this position.
"Obviously not me. My misfortune is contagious." Kamijou quickly rejected it.
"Then…Reo-nee should be the captain," Hayama quickly said, too happy.
"Well…if you all don't mind, then I accept." Mibuchi said, adding a twirl effect to it. "Right, Touma-chan?"
We're not friends, you know. Kamijou was getting creep out of the Rakuzan shooting guard's overly feminine tendencies. Besides, stop adding –chan to my first name!
And so, it would be an interesting match as both teams lined up for the traditional thanksgiving. Team A (Akashi's) was already stretching their arms as Kuroko sat on the bench while Murasakibara and Okamura, who was designated to be the center for Team B, were now both on the center circle. Due to mismatches, Kiyoshi agreed to slide down to the small forward role even though he hasn't played this position before. But with his ability to use his large hands as well as become a point guard, he won't have any issues with his new position. Kamijou and Mibuchi would be the backcourt partners and that would mean versing off against the duo of Akashi and Midorima.
And as usual, both Aomine and Kagami would face off as the power forwards.
Nijimura then blew the whistle as he tips the ball into the air. Okamura and Murasakibara leapt up into the air to snatch the ball to their guards. Everyone had expected that the much taller Murasakibara would have caught the ball, but to the slight surprise of those who are currently present in the gymnasium, the veteran ex-captain of Yosen leapt higher in the air and whacked the ball down to Kamijou. He was able to accomplish this due to practicing his jumping height everyday since their defeat in their Strky-Jabberwocks game as well as his perfect grasp of being a technical center who relied on skills.
Team A had a slight advantage in the game. They had five members on court who are all members of the GoM, not to mention that their sixth man is none other than Kuroko. Theoretically, Team B will have a lot of difficulties with their opponent team. Aomine could easily break past any of his defenders, Kise could copy anyone, Murasakibara's defense is impregnable, Midorima can score everywhere beyond the three point line. Then there was Akashi, who was captain of two-thirds of their current team. Akashi would be accustomed to Mibuchi and Hayama's skills plus he could predict any of their movements.
But it was not like Kamijou would want to just lose this game. Dribbling the ball, he drove past Midorima easily. Having the skills of both Aomine and Akashi, the spiky haired boy would give Akashi a run for his money when it comes to speed. Kamijou slashed towards the basket and was about to shoot the ball into the hoop when Murasakibara was right in front of him.
Immediately changing his stance as he floats in the air, Kamijou activates his Falcon Eyes and passes it back to Mibuchi, who quickly scores a three-pointer.
Team B has quickly gained the upper hand.
Grunting, Akashi began to bring down the ball as everyone from Team A began to counterattack. He was about halfway across the court when he saw a darker red in front of him. Heh? Kagami seemed to be pretty much ready to take down the red head point guard.
Smirking, Akashi did an ankle break on Kagami before dribbling the ball nearer to their opponent's goal. Being nearest to Akashi, Kiyoshi immediately had switched marks to intercept Akashi. Kiyoshi was part of the Uncrowned Kings like Hayama and Mibuchi and being healthy and finally fully recovered form his injury, he can finally flash his own skills to the fullest.
Akashi grabbed the ball as he momentarily stops. He would have to pass it to someone. Eyes flickering to his teammates, he saw Aomine break past his defenders so Akashi alley-ooped it to him. The tanned power forward caught the ball mid-air before anyone could catch it and slammed it into the ring just as Okamura jumped but failed to block.
Kamijou began to bring down the leather after receiving the inbound pass. Now, this was his first time facing off against Akashi so he knew he had to go all-out. He used one of the moves he learned in America—jab step. After managing to draw in Akashi, Kamijou suddenly dribbled quickly as fast as a cat, shocking the Rakuzan captain and ace as his Complete Emperor Eyes wasn't able to anticipate his his speed and agility. Kamijou slashed in and passed the ball to Kiyoshi, who was already in position.
Kiyoshi grabs the ball just as Kise appeared in front of him. Apparently, the blonde had switched marks and this was bad, as Kise knew how to defend against all positions with his Copycat ability.
However, Kise was shorter than Kiyoshi and his Right of Postponement isn't something that can be copied easily. Kiyoshi then shot the ball in a hook manner and Kise tries to stop it by jumping early. However, the Iron Heart's big hand postpones the move and this stuns Kise as the chestnut-haired big man passes it to Kamijou, who was prepared to receive the ball.
That wasn't the case, however.
Out of nowhere, Akashi has stolen the ball then went on for a fast break before passing it to Aomine as Kagami came to mark him. Just as he was about to break past Kagami, someone stole the ball. He swivelled around his Seirin counterpart, only to see a blur of black spiky hair.
Kamijou had stolen the ball back.
He dribbled the ball and makes an outlet pass to Okamura, who then ran back to the hoop before dunking the ball in. Akashi started with the ball then and passed it to Midorima who shot the ball in immediately whole court.
Their match went on with each team catching up with the other every time the other team's points were higher.
In other words, it was a war of attrition.
However, in the second half, Kagami suddenly entered into the state of zone, making the score difference between the two teams increase to six. This state of mental focus, as well as the lighting shoots in his eyes, amazed Kamijou as this was the first time he saw it personally.
"Akashi!" Aomine began to call out to their captain as the redhead scored another basket, being twice as fast as Aomine. The Touou ace was trying to get permission to go into the zone as well so he could face of the brawny redhead.
Akashi shook his head.
No. Not yet, Aomine. Let others be pressured into it.
Aomine gritted his teeth as he changed marks with Kise to go one-on-one with Kagami.
Furthermore, Kagami also had some of those animal instincts he had acquired in the past, which allowed him to predict movements to a certain extent by mere instinct. But Aomine's were better-honed and sharper by nature. Akashi had started with the ball and passed it to Aomine.
Using his street ball style again, he drove past Kagami who scrunched his face up in anger. Behind Kagami was Kamijou. Playing street ball against a fellow well-honed street baller was worse as Kamijou's instincts were on equal grounds with Aomine and it didn't help that he was equally agile.
The GoM ace instead threw the ball over to Kise. Kiyoshi, however, was blocking Kise's vision, and Mibuchi was about to back-tip the ball from Kise's hands. Kise decided flung the ball towards Midorima to avoid a turnover. Quickly, left-handed shooter shot a three-pointer before Kagami could close the distance and to intercept the shot.
Now, Kagami was furious, which was bad considering that the more angered he is, the higher he would try to exert his legs which can injure him if left uncontrolled. Kamijou started with the ball and passed it to Mibuchi who throws a lob pass it to Kiyoshi. The Iron Heart gleefully dunks it in with so much power that Murasakibara could not block it in time.
Akashi, being their point guard, started with the ball again. Without Kuroko, who wouls enter in the last quarter, it really was difficult to sneak passes nearer to the basket. Again, he flung it to Midorima. Midorima was about to jump and shoot the ball when suddenly, Kagami appeared right in front of him. Jumping, Midorima instead passed the ball to Aomine who was near him.
Aomine effortlessly broke past his defenders and dunked the ball in reverse style instead. Utilizing Midorima's three-pointers, Akashi managed to tie the score once again. The whistle blew to signal the end of the third quarter.
"Akashicchi! This is too much! Kagamicchi is in the zone already!" Kise wailed.
"Stop stating the obvious, Kise. Work your asses together together." The redhead guard said. "If it was one-on-two against him and kamijou, it would be nearly impossible even for me. Work together and stay within passing distance no matter what they throw to us. Pass to Midorima when Kagami and Kamijou are concentrated to either Aomine or Me." With that, Akashi sat down on the bench with the rest and finished up a bottle of water. "Kuroko, get ready, five minutes later, you'll be subbed in."
Sekiguchi blew the whistle again for the start of the fourth quarter. This time, Akashi and Aomine went two-on-two against Kagami and Kamijou. The other teams then watched as Akashi began to verse against the spiky haired boy, who refused to give way and stood to his ground. Seeing that Kamijou defended him like a magnet attracted to iron ore, Akashi flings it to Midorima, who was waiting on the right corner.
However, the other team sure knew how to adapt quickly to the situation before them. They would lure the two of the opposing team's strongest players away so it would become a two-on-one situation. Midorima was gritting his teeth as Kagami always seemed to be able to intercept his shots. Akashi would never tolerate defeat at any cost. Since Akashi has specifically ordered before the start of the scrimmage that Aomine, Kise, and Murasakibara that they could not enter the zone, he knew what Akashi had wanted him to do.
Enter the zone.
He slowed his breath and concentrated.
I'm going to do it. I won't let a dunking fool like Kagami stop my shots.
It was time he tried it too since half of the team could already enter the zone, with the others having the potential to do so.
Suddenly, everyone's eyes widened as they saw green sparks coming out of the Shutoku ace's eyes.