Edited 11.01.2021
Teiko (Second String) VS Komagi
"What the hell was that!"
"Did you see that!" Her finger jabbed out onto the court, "That little rat!"
"I'm going to punch those smug jerks, I swear."
"Beat their ass, Uoya!" She threw her hands up, "Oh, come on. How is the ref so blind!"
"Imamura-san," a heavy hand fell onto her shoulder, and she followed its length to meet eyes with her coach. He spoke, "It's great to see your enthusiasm, as always, but please remember we do have guests."
Brown eyes were crinkled in subtle delight, and he flicked his gaze over his shoulder to the newcomers. Kise was staring at her open mouthed while trying to unconsciously edge a safe distance away from her. Kuroko was motionless beside him, but the abnormal width of his eyes gave him away.
She scowled at them both before slouching over in defeat. Letting out a resigned huff, she mumbled, "Sorry, Matadusi-sensei."
He gave her shoulder a quick pat in reply then turned his attention back to the game. Her team was steadily losing points to Komagi's offense and unfortunately the score board was reflecting that number. 48-69. She'd like to think that they were losing due to the uncalled fouls, but she knew that wasn't the case. Her team simply did not have the skill to keep up with a powerhouse like this.
"I don't recall you being this…" Kuroko interrupted her thoughts, "vocal during our match."
She waved her hand at him in dismissal, eyes locked on the game. "I knew we wouldn't win against your team. But I had thought we'd at least stand a chance here..."
"Awh, Imamura-chan! That's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say!" Kise cried from the opposite side of the bench. She twitched and gave him the nastiest glare she could manage. Kise flinched, "Never mind!"
Seconds later the buzzer rang, signaling the end of first half. Her team returned worn out and disheartened as they realized the odds of winning the game. It was always disheartening to realize you didn't stand a chance. As they all took their seats, a sweaty lump of grey hair flung itself into her lap. In retaliation, Hana poked at his forehead.
Uoya groaned and swatted at her hand, "Water."
"You gotta move then," she poked at him again and he rolled off her lap, "Good job out there by the way."
Her friend let out a disgruntled mumble, but Hana ignored him as she stood to retrieve several water bottles. Passing them out to her teammates, she made her way over to Futabatei and tapped him on the shoulder. In her hand was the last water bottle and he accepted it with a silent nod.
"I was thinking," she started off warily, "It might be time to sub in Kuroko and Kise."
He flicked his eyes to her and hummed noncommittally. His gaze returned to the score board and he seemed to go into deep thought. Another hum later he finally offered, "I know."
"…You know?" she deadpanned.
"It's what I intended to do," he said.
Hana stared at him and tried to stifle her temper, "That's not what you said over the email."
"Oh," he glanced at her again and she swore she saw the beginnings of a teasing smile. "My apologies."
"This is a twisted form of revenge, isn't it?"
"Go tell Kise-san and Kuroko-san that they're playing next," he returned casually, patting her once on top of the head as he walked away. "They'll be in the rest of the game."
Hana glared at the back of his head before stomping her foot childishly. Heading over to the two reserve players she caught Kuroko's attention and came to stand in front of him. Far off to the side Kise perked up, hoping for something to stop his boredom. He cautiously moved closer to hear the conversation.
Hana shot Kise an impatient look and motioned him forward before aiming her words to Kuroko, "Captain told me you guys are getting subbed in next half. Hopefully we'll be able to bring the score up." She paused for a bit to mentally review the game plan, "Originally, you two weren't supposed to be subbed in until the last quarter, but with how badly we're losing the plans changed a bit. Your positions are still the same from practice, but you'll be playing longer than intended."
Kuroko dipped his head in understanding and pulled his wristbands on. Looking at the manager, he promised, "We'll help as best as we can."
Hana nodded absentmindedly, then unexpectedly yanked a hand down her face. She sighed, "You've been watching so you know that the referee isn't doing his job. Just…" another sigh, "Don't worry about anything they say. Play as best as you can. Both of you."
Kise frowned momentarily and shot Kuroko a confused look. That had almost sounded sincere. His blue haired teammate didn't notice, too busy lost in his scrutiny of the manager. Despite not knowing Kuroko that long, Kise was fairly positive the shorter boy didn't smile often. But looking at him now, he could see a tiny lift of Kuroko's lips.
"You're doing it again," Kuroko spoke frankly. Hana squinted at him, confused. Doing what?
Kise leaned closer to Kuroko and whispered, "What's she doing?"
"Imamura-chan becomes very serious on the topic of basketball. When we went to dinner the other night she did the same thing," blue eyes landed on the blonde, "I recall her referring to you as the so called 'copycat king', actually."
"Don't talk about that!" she coughed, choking as she waved her hands in denial, "It wasn't like that—"
"Copycat king, huh?" Kise smirked at Hana's flushed face. His words caused the blush to spread down her neck and chest, he noted.
She growled, swatting at the air between them like a flustered kitten, "We're not talking about this! Go get ready!"
"Talking about what?" a new voice spoke up. Uoya appeared from behind Kuroko, head titled in curiosity.
"How much conditioner Kise uses," Hana quipped quickly, purposely cutting off Kise, "It's a lot."
The boy in question frowned and opened his mouth, but a loud whistle silenced him. The tall blonde scowled at her, but it lacked any real heat. Kuroko let out another millimeter smile before latching onto Kise's jersey and dragging him off.
"So, they're finally playing?" Uoya questioned. Before she could confirm, he spoke again, "It's about time! Those Komagi jerks need to be taken down a few notches."
She gave him a look, "That's rich coming from you."
"From me—what are you talking about?!"
Hana smirked as she watched the team take their positions, "I saw that cute little brunette earlier. The one with the bow?"
"You saw that?" Uoya whispered, his face paling rapidly, "Really?"
"I saw it," she confirmed and brought her clipboard over her mouth to hide her grin. "I saw all of it."
Uoya groaned, "Please don't…"
"Hey man, she told you she had a boyfriend. Should have listened and maybe you wouldn't be so embarrassed right now."
Before Uoya could respond, Hana bopped him on the head with her clipboard. The underclassman let out a soft moan and glared down at his friend, "Sometimes I swear I hate you."
"No, you don't," she waved him toward the bench, "Now go sit down and rest, you're subbed out."
"Wait! That wasn't part of the plan! I'm fine!" he protested.
"The plans changed, just take a break. Seriously," Hana grumbled. She could tell he wanted to argue. But he quickly reined it in before shooting her a halfhearted glare and sulking toward the bench. Stupid stubborn brat.
Her team was lined up into position on the court, all the players looking exhausted except Kuroko and Kise. Even from the sidelines she could sense Kise's bubbling anticipation despite his nonchalant façade. Obviously, the boy had been sitting still for too long. Hana vaguely equated his current mood to that of a hyperactive puppy. On steroids.
On the other hand, Kuroko looked calm if not a little bored. He wasn't looking at the players around him and they in turn were doing the same to him. They probably hadn't noticed him. That's… convenient. It was one thing watching this talent from the perception of the audience, but it was a whole other ball field watching it as a teammate. It was mildly disturbing how quickly her mind worked on a plan to exploit it.
The only other player on the floor that didn't look tired was the captain. Futabatei was standing tall with his detached face on. Hana knew from experience not to trust him when he was like this. It was probably the scariest thing about her captain; the way he can pay attention to everything at once while simultaneously not at all.
His cold gray eyes were locked on the opposing team, and Hana could feel his annoyance radiating across the court.
The other team hadn't noticed his look yet and were still chatting boisterously. She flinched when she caught the echo of their words: weak, losers, not worth our time… A quick glance at Futabatei showed that he too had heard the insults as his shoulders had tightened up. She unclenched her fists and flexed her fingers, her thoughts now a happier, more devious tone. Captain's gonna kick their asses~
A whistle blew out and the incompetent referee from before walked up, "Second half begins. Ball in home team's possession."
Futabatei caught it easily and retreated to behind the line, Iseri-san in front waiting for the pass. It began quickly just as the other half had as Futabatei passed it to him hard, the echoing smack ringing in her ears. Iseri-san moved just as fast, dribbling to the half court line and twisting to avoid a messy block by one of Komagi's players.
Another opponent appeared on his left and he was forced to pass the ball to the closest player, who just so happened to be Kise.
In shock of the rapid change of pace, Komagi couldn't defend against Kise who quickly moved toward the goal and dunked the ball into the hoop with little trouble. The blonde didn't seem surprised in the slightest and nonchalantly tossed the ball to the opposing team before retreating to the other side of the court. Hana appreciated the vindictive smirk that spread across his face.
As expected, Komagi didn't take Kise's success very well. The brown-haired offensive player, Hana hadn't bothered to memorize their names, shouldered past Iseri and Futabatei as he charged down the court. Iseri was sent to the floor by the impact, but Futabatei stood strong and attempted to block the opponent's advancement. His hand barely connected with the ball when a vicious elbow jab sent him lurching backwards.
"Foul!" Hana screamed, "That was a fuc—" Uoya slammed a sweaty hand over her mouth, cutting her cursing short.
The referee didn't even glance in her direction, and he most certainly didn't call the foul. The brown-haired asshole was smirking as he dribbled the ball closer to their net, weaving in and out with ease. Kise had moved forward to deflect him but stopped. At first Hana didn't understand why but understanding came when the ball was stolen out of the player's hands by a pale blur.
With practiced ease Kuroko, passed the ball to a now standing Iseri who in turn raced down the court. When he was blocked near the goal, the ball found its way to Kise's possession. Despite his quick feet, Kise wasn't prepared for the two defensive players awaiting him.
They quickly blocked him in, moving closer and closer to the overwhelmed blonde. The two opposing players were pressed shoulder to shoulder with the blonde and were jostling manically— elbows shoved into Kise's vulnerable abdomen. The shoving was too much for Kise and he began to twist around to find a way out. The other two players were jeering, but Hana couldn't hear them from the sidelines.
"Foul! Unnecessary contact, home team!"
Kise shot a disbelieving look at the referee. He ignored the hand that patted his shoulder, still in shock over the terrible call.
"The ball is now in possession of the guest team!"
"You idiotic, sadistic, little twerp of a man!" a high-pitched shriek followed the declaration, "Are you blind?"
The yell was so out of the ordinary, Kise froze. It took a minute for him to regain his bearings, but when he looked to the side, he almost smiled at the sight of the manager struggling furiously in Uoya's hold. It was nearly nice in a way, to have someone so vehemently defending him.
His attention transferred back to the game at the sound of the whistle. The same brunette player from before was dribbling down the court and Kise felt himself grow righteously annoyed. As the player got closer, Kise stepped out of his position and stole the ball. Copying the move Kise had seen Iseri use earlier, he twisted around the Komagi player and rushed toward the goal again.
It was like deja-vu as two more defensive players blocked him off.
Kise grit his teeth and barely restrained the urge to lash out. The one to his left pushed into his side hard, shoving him into the player on his right. He could hear their voices talking, the tone sarcastic and mean but his attention was focused on trying to find a way out of this situation. He couldn't see anyone open and the oppressive feeling of being closed in was making him freeze.
"Kuroko! Pass to Kuroko!" he couldn't tell who was speaking, barely catching the words at all. They registered in his mind shortly after being spoken and he flicked his eyes across the court in search of the phantom player. There!
Kuroko was standing a few feet away in front of him, completely unguarded by the opposing team. Kise's hands acted out of instinct and he passed the ball automatically. While it wasn't nearly as smooth as Aomine's passes, it did the trick. As the ball hit Kuroko's hands it was quickly directed to another player near the goalpost who, in his shock, shot it straight through the hoop.
At first the score didn't register for Kise, who was still fuming over the poor playing style of the opposing team. It was the loud whoop of excitement that forced him out of his dejected musing. Hana was laughing on the sidelines, but he couldn't figure out why she was so happy. A quick glance at the rest of the players on the floor showed that they shared the same confusion.
"We're gonna kick their asses! Did you see that!" Hana yelled out giddily, pointing a sharp finger in his direction, "Kise! Keep passing to Kuroko! Kuroko! Keep doing that thing you do!"
"That thing he does?" Kise whispered to himself.
As if hearing Kise's whisper, Hana elaborated, "That ghost thing!"
Kise let out a strangled half-choke, half-cough. The boy she was talking about was sending her a very unimpressed look and Kise scarcely controlled his laughter. Kuroko shot him an equal look but then his attention turned to the left of Kise.
"She's right," the captain spoke, "You're the fastest one in the game right now. If we want to win, you need to keep charging and pass to Kuroko-san. Iseri, Kajiwara, and I will be under the net to shoot."
As the third quarter rang to a close, the players made their way to side for a quick break, gladly accepting the water bottles offered by the energetic manager. Futabatei began to discuss the rest of the game plan with the coach while Kise looked away uninterested. His attention landed on Kuroko and he zeroed in on the boy's sweaty face.
He doesn't have the best of stamina, Kise mused, But I guess he's not a terrible player.
His thoughts were interrupted, again, by a water bottle flying toward his chest. He fumbled to catch it but ended up dropping it to the floor anyway. Bending down to pick it up, he looked up at the smug manager in front of him. Her green eyes were positively glowing and Kise wasn't quite sure that was a good thing. As he straightened back up and opened the now slightly beaten water bottle, he offered her a practiced smile.
"Did you see us, Imamura-chan?" he barely resisted pouting at her lack of reaction, instead choosing to sip at his water.
"You guys did great!" Kise almost choked on his tongue at the honest admission. But Hana just kept grinning, "We're going to destroy these guys and I'm going to relish in it."
"You're very cruel, Imamura-chan," Kuroko spoke out from beside Kise.
Hana pretended not to see the blonde teenager jump. He was helping her team win; she could let him keep his dignity. For now. Instead, she focused on revenge, "These guys ruined us last year. It was 28-74, in their favor. I'm just enjoying some well-earned vengeance," Hana smiled darkly but faltered at Kuroko's raised eyebrow and Kise's slightly scared expression, "Do you understand how many drills we had to do for losing last year? Like a hundred. Even I had to do them!"
"Futabatei-san made you do drills?" Kuroko questioned, a tad incredulously. Kise was gawking in the background. He couldn't imagine Akashi being successful in making Momoi-san do their drills. He couldn't really imagine Hana doing them either.
"Ehm, no. Futabatei wasn't the captain last year," Hana replied but she refused to answer any more on the subject.
Taking another sip, Kise looked pensive for a moment, "Is that why your punch hurt so bad?"
"Maybe," she smiled at him, "Want to find out for sure?"
"No thanks!" Kise stepped back quickly. Unbeknownst to the bickering pair, Kuroko rolled his eyes.
"Breaks about over," Hana mused after a moment of silence, "You guys better go back out. Keep up the good work."
It would have been easy for Kuroko to deny how happy her encouragement made him, but he was never very good at lying to himself. He eyed her for a moment, surprised by how different she looked with such a large grin on his face. A quick inventory of his teammate confirmed his own opinion. Kise was looking at her strangely too.
"You're being surprisingly nice?" it was Kise that offered the confused statement.
She blinked, "Are you indirectly calling me a bitch, Kise-san?"
"…Nope! Not at all! See ya later!"
Kuroko watched as his teammate retreated. A look at Hana made him tilt his head slightly, the faintest bit of interest making his heart pick up speed. Her eyes were narrowed on the blonde's back, but he swore he could see a hint of a laugh wanting to break out.
"He is right though," Kuroko mused aloud, "Most comments you make about our success are backhanded. It's odd to hear you speak so genuinely."
For her part, Hana looked slightly chastised. Narrowed green eyes regraded him for a moment before speaking, "I owe you guys for this. The least I can do is acknowledge your skills, especially with how much you've helped today."
Kuroko wanted to respond, but she was looking back at the court nearly bashfully. He blinked at her before lowering his head with a small smile. He needed to return to his position anyway.
The final quarter began with a flourish. Kise started right off the bat, quickly leading the charge against Komagi's defense. Futabatei, Uoya, and Iseri were positioned around the goal where Kuroko could pass to them without problem. Komagi was still trying to force their score through fouls, but they were rapidly realizing that style of play was no longer working.
When Komagi gained possession of the ball, they began to play rougher. Hana winced at the sound of an arm connecting to Iseri's gut. If they weren't careful, the majority of her team was going to be black and blue by tomorrow morning. The realization made her fury grow.
"That was a foul! This team is a bunch of dirty cheats!" she screamed. Briefly, she toyed with the idea of launching her clipboard at the overly aggressive opposition but a sharp look from coach stopped her.
Unfortunately, her coach was not the only one to hear her words.
A boy with a shaved head was in position near their side of the bleachers and he shot her a smug smirk, eyes dancing in sadistic mirth. She glared at his red and black jersey, mentally setting the self-righteous prick on fire. With a quick glance around for anyone watching, she smiled sweetly at the boy before lifting her hand up in a rebellious f-you. It was almost impressive how fast his smirk transformed into a scowl.
"Better stay in your place, bitch," his surprisingly deep voice warned her, "Don't want to get hurt."
In response, she stuck her tongue out. She didn't care if it was childish if it got the response she was looking for. Which it did. His teammate passed him the ball, but since his attention was on the manager in front of him, he didn't notice and Uoya was there to intercept. The boy looked shocked for a second before turning accusing eyes on Hana.
"I'll get you for that," he promised, returning his attention back to the game and racing toward a defensive position.
"I'll get you for that," Hana mocked in a high-pitched voice. Feeling a heavy gaze on her right she turned to them only to blush at the droll look on Kajiwara's face. "He started it," she defended. The blonde upperclassman rolled his eyes.
By the time she looked back to the game, Kise was cornered again. this time three players surrounded the overworked blonde. Two were situated on each side of him and the boy with the shaved head she'd mocked earlier was standing in front of him, arms wide. It was beginning to look like Kise was going to be fouled out again, but he passed to the right underneath the defensive reach.
It seemed like the pass was directed to empty air, but Kuroko was suddenly in place and caught it quickly. With the most speed she'd seen Kuroko use all game, he was dribbling past another guard and the ball was tossed to Futabatei, who shot it straight into the net. 74-75. Only one more goal!
"Come on, guys! Come on!" Hana shouted, "One more!"
Komagi was fast, pushing their players to the limit. The brunette from before was weaving in and out of her teammates, occasionally pushing them to the side in his haste. Uoya was one of many unfortunate victims. Kuroko tried to subtly steal the ball before the player got to the hoop, but the brunette was lucky and managed to avoid Kuroko's hand.
It was at the last second when the Komagi player jumped up to dunk that a tan hand slapped the ball away. The tension was palatable as the two players stared each other down; Kise's gold eyes were burning into the other teen.
In the meantime, Uoya had grabbed the rebounded ball. He passed to the left and Kuroko caught it and continued the sprint before passing it to Iseri who went for a wide shot. The ball bounced along the hoops ring three times before falling off into the greedy hands below. Huge hand outstretched, Futabatei landed below the hoop with the ball securely held in his hands. He dunked the ball before anyone could intercept.
76-75. One minute left. Hana screamed, "Don't let them through!"
It was the boy with a shaved head this time. He led the charge of Komagi's offense with a finer hand then the brunette before and while he wasn't as fast as the others, he was a much better shot. Thirty seconds. The ball floated through the air, a bright orange flash. Kise jumped from his position but couldn't reach the ball with its current arc.
Uoya jumped and his fingers grazed the ball, knocking it off its path. It hit the hoop and bounced into the backboard before rolling off to the left side. Twenty seconds. The troublesome brunette from Komagi was the first to grab it. Fifteen seconds. He took the shot from his current location and the ball bounced off the backboard without connecting to the hoop. Ten seconds. The two teams struggled against each other to snatch the final rebound. Five seconds. The Komagi player growled and passed the ball to the right roughly.
Kuroko's palm snatched the pass, retreating with the orange ball held firmly between his hands. He didn't attempt to move as the final buzzer went off.
Game over.
"Yeah!" Hana screamed with the buzzer, unintentionally grabbing onto Kajiwara and pulling him to his feet, "We did it!"
Uoya let out a loud whoop that set everyone else off. Suddenly, every member of her team was cheering, except Futabatei. Her captain was looking at his teammates fondly, lips curling into a reluctant grin. Meanwhile, she felt a hand tussle her hair before catching the sight of a suit covered arm moving on to congratulate the rest of the team. Finally, her eyes landed on the two reserve players.
Kise and Kuroko were looking at each other and seemed to be in a semi-serious conversation. Both had tired smiles on their faces and Hana suddenly felt an intense fondness for the two boys that helped her team succeed. It was that misguided fondness that persuaded her next actions.
"You're a lot stronger than I thought, Kurokocchi!" Kise spoke happily.
"…Please don't call me that," Kuroko deadpanned.
Kise noticed her first, surprisingly, and shot her a wary but excited grin. Kuroko followed his teammate's gaze and offered her an exhausted twitch of the lips. Hana didn't even think about her next actions. One minute she was walking toward them, then the next she had pulled both boys into a tight hug.
"Thank you," she whispered into the boy's chests. It wasn't the most comfortable hug in the world, but it got her point across. "I owe you guys."
Floundering in the embrace, Kise shot Kuroko a terrified look over her head. He returned Kise's look with slightly wide blue eyes and shook his head slowly. Neither boy dared to move. Thankfully, the surprise hug was over as quick as it began, and the two boys traded more confused looks when the manager refused to make eye contact with either of them.
"Well," she coughed, "Thanks for helping us today… I'm just gonna go now? Yeah… I'm gonna go."
"Wait—" Kuroko started, but Hana was already walking away.
"What was that?" Kise spoke slowly, still in shock that the abrasive girl had hugged him. Willingly.
"I believe she was thanking us," Kuroko responded. His eyes were trained on Hana's back as she was unwilling tugged into a group hug between her teammates.
Kise followed his teammate's gaze and tilted his head. He could hear her shouts of protest as her friend squeezed her mercilessly, "Do you think we should tell Akashi-cchi about the game today or wait until practice?"
He waited a moment, then Kise's eyes narrowed when he had yet to hear a response. A quick glance over his right shoulder confirmed his fears as the blue haired boy was nowhere to be seen. Rude.
"Kurokocchi…" he whined, fake tears coming easily. Shoulders slumping in defeat, Kise let out a tired huff and walked toward the rest of the group.
