CHAPTER 7 - Akashi's Reawakening
"ZONE…?" Shiro muttered to himself. He had heard of the term before, but he had never truly seen someone in the ZONE in real life before. Indeed, he was impressed; It was as though Kagami had become an entirely different beast, where unlike before, his wildness did not diminish, but on the contrary had been tucked away inside of him. It was unnerving to see someone like this in front of him.
"Let's start…" Kagami said slowly, as he reached his starting position. It had been some time since Kagami last entered the ZONE, as a matter of fact; the last time he went into the ZONE seriously was during his match against Rakuzan High during the Winter Cup. However, he did practice in the ZONE whenever he could to improve his stamina, but for most of the time, entering would usually end in failure unless he was playing a real match with a very strong opponent.
The crowd held their breath, for if anything, this match was one to be remembered. Even the people could sense that the real battle will begin soon; there was something different about the air, perhaps the tension and the heaviness of it. The sky slowly grew darker and darker, but hardly anyone took notice. Once everyone got into their positions, Akashi started the ball rolling. He passed the ball to a red player, who dribbled forward nervously, clearly wary of Kagami, who immediately went forward to mark Shiro. The rest of the players did not seem to be concerned with marking each other, but instead was more focused on the three Aces on the court. Akashi quickly shuffled forward near the half court line, observing Kagami and Shiro.
"What's this… You're clearly different from just now…" Shiro said to Kagami who standing in front of him. He noted how calm he looked, but yet felt so irritated just by looking at him.
"I'm gonna be opponent… so deal with it, yeah?" Kagami grunted, causing Shiro to utter a "tsk".
As if on cue, the red players quickly passed the basketball to Kagami, who easily caught it. Shiro instantly took on a defensive while Kagami dribbled on the spot, the red lighting slowly leaking out of his eyes. He knew that his skills were not on par with players like Aomine or Akashi in a one-on-one, but in the ZONE, he felt oddly confident; he had faced the Emperor Eye skill before when he battled Akashi, and to be honest, he never truly won against it by himself even with the assistance of the ZONE. In fact, it was with Kuroko's Quasi Emperor Eye that allowed the duo to defeat Akashi, and it would have never been possible in a one-on-one unless you had an Emperor Eye yourself. Even then, the thought of facing an Emperor Eye made Kagami excited inside.
"Bring it on! Shiro!" Kagami shouted.
He made a crossover to his left hand. Shiro's eyes glowed instantly, observing Kagami's every movement. His muscle contractions, changes in skin tension, where his eyes were looking, all these information compiled in less than a fraction of a second, and with it, he saw a rough image of the basketball in the air inches before Kagami's left palm. Too easy, Shiro smirked, and reached out for the ball. In an instant, the entire scene changed into monotone, with Kagami's outline in red, and Shiro's outline in white.
Shiro moved his arm in; the ball was on the ground, while Kagami's eyes observed Shiro.
His arm moved in closer to the ball; the ball rebounded, and was inches of the ground in the direction of Kagami's left palm.
Shiro's fingers was inches from the basketball; Kagami's own fingers were too inches from it.
All at once, as though Shiro had touched an extremely fragile mirror in front of him, the image of Kagami receiving the ball suddenly cracked as though a picture of him was framed on a piece of glass in front of him. Shiro's eyes widened as the crack grew larger and light glowed from within. All at once, the entire scene flashed back into reality, and Kagami had already caught the ball and spun around to the left of Shiro, with the flash of lightning tracing his movements. Shiro's hands were still at the same position, and his eyes widened, clearly fazed and taken aback from what had happened. The crowd cheered at the sight of this.
"Woahh! Kagami's ZONE is faster than Shiro's Emperor Eye?!"
Kagami smiled as he quickly dribbled forward to the hoop, having a heard a similar comment during the Winter Cup. He took a fast break to the hoop, and once he reached the free throw line, took a tremendous amount of effort and jumped. Shiro turned back and gaped at the height of Kagami's jump. What the hell are you trying to do from the free throw line?! He thought, but yet he somehow knew that Kagami was not going to fail this shot. He went higher and higher, like a bird, but even non-basketball players from the side could tell that with such height, he was moving vertically upwards more than moving horizontally to the hoop, alas not reach the hoop: there was simply not enough distance. But this had never deterred Kagami from scoring. As red lightning flowed out from his pupils, Kagami's eyes widened as he slowly reached the hoop that look miles away. He palmed the ball with his right hand and raised it, aiming for the hoop. He wasn't going to miss this, after all the amount of practice and effort that he put into this specific move ensured that almost no one would ever be able to stop it. His biceps and triceps flexed and his grip tightened, and as Kagami reached the peak of his jump, his upper body already above the hoop, he took a deep breath. Akashi, at the half court line, noted how exquisite the form looked and he smiled. So that's Kagami's signature move huh… He smiled to himself. Kagami's pupils widened and the intensity of the red lighting increased sharply. All at once, he slammed the ball into the hoop instead of actually dunking, leaving a trail of air and dust in its wake, and the sound of the ball being jammed into the hoop resonated throughout the court, even louder than the dunk he performed before. The crowd held their breath and time seemed to stop as everyone admired Kagami's form high up in the air. He exhaled as the lightning followed his aerial movements. The ball dramatically fell onto the ground and nobody spoke. Kagami's signature move… The Meteor Jam!
The crowd roared once again as Kagami landed, and both the red and blue players gaped at Kagami. They all knew of an Ace from Seirin High that could jump really high, but the full extent of his jumping prowess through the Meteor Jam was simply unbelievable.
What the hell, Shiro gritted his teeth. The power he had just witnessed was way above what he had expected. At that moment, he had already considered most of his options: With the Emperor Eye, he could easily battle Akashi and Kagami, albeit they had to pass out of his range, but in the ZONE, Kagami's physical prowess was a league above his. He had to admit he was beneath Akashi in terms of his use of the Emperor Eye, as even if he could predict Kagami in a one-on-one; his ZONE speed could easily avoid him. Even then, with Akashi's pass courses, it was unlikely he could catch up to Kagami. But, he still had not used his full power yet: he was only using a fraction of his Emperor Eye power, and he would not hide it anymore.
Kagami walked back dramatically back to his side of the court, but met face to face with Shiro.
"Looks like you're serious, Kagami-kun, you even avoid my Emperor Eye…" Shiro commented, his voice deeper compared to just now.
"Yeah, with this I'll beat your ass!" Kagami said firmly, before continuing his way. He added as he passed Shiro, who looked back, "Anyway, if we are comparing your Emperor Eye, the one Akashi had back in the Winter Cup was much more powerful." Shiro smiled angrily as he walked back.
The blue players started once again. My speed may be slower than Kagami's or maybe even Akashi's, but I can compensate that, Shiro thought as he dribbled the ball and he saw Kagami rushing forward to mark him. He took in a deep breath, and then tweaked his movements: he quickly dashed forward, making crossovers at a red player who came to defend him. As the player attempted a steal, he fluidly picked the ball up using the momentum of the bounce to smoothly evade the red player's hands and back a behind-the-back crossover, and smoothly passed him without a break in his flow. Upon reaching another red player, activated his emperor eye. His eyes glowed and he noticed a blue player near the sideline unguarded, as well as Akashi proceeding behind him. Using his left hand, he quickly made a pass to the blue player, who caught it perfectly surprised, causing the red player to be stunned for a second. However, in that short frame of time, Shiro had already passed him, and the blue player instinctively passed the ball back to him, whom he caught it with his right hand at chest level. At this junction, he met Kagami, whom took a defense stance while breathing heavily; his animal spirit aura was so potent that Shiro could feel its intensity. He also noted how large Kagami's sphere of defense is, such that it would not even matter if he approached from the sides or not.
"You won't get pass me, Shiro!" Kagami uttered fiercely as the red electricity crackled in his eyes.
"Hmm, you overestimate yourself, for someone that could not truly beat the Emperor Eye on his own," Shiro spat menacingly. He was about two meters from Kagami, and though that might look like a short distance, in terms of predicting and planning where to move, that distance could potentially change the outcome of a one-on-one.
"Emperor Eye…! Activate!" Shiro uttered and strained his eyes. Kagami would move closer, his right foot would land there, and I can break him here. Shiro instantly made crossovers in between his legs, timing it perfectly to synchronize with Kagami's movement subtlety. As expected, while trying to follow the ball, when Kagami landed on his right foot, his body had shifted slightly to the right and all it took was a cross over to the left to cause his foot to shift positions and push all of his weight to his right.
"Stay down," Shiro commanded. Kagami's eyes widened as he fell to his right. This was completely different from the Emperor Eye battle he had just now. What shocked him the most was the time in between activating his Emperor Eye and actually performing the crossovers: It was far longer as compared to what Akashi did, which can only mean that the prediction he made was to look even further into the future, more than Akashi by about a second or two. While it may not seem much, an athlete sprinting at full speed could easily cover over three to five metres in two seconds, let alone a ZONE user. But yet Kagami did not falter despite this new information, but smiled instead, for Akashi suddenly approached from behind, his hands reaching out in between Shiro's legs and his receiving hand.
"Careless, Shiro-kun. The Emperor Eye can only predict the future movements of one person, and with your speed, you will be defeated by a simple trick like this." Akashi commented. He took had noted of Shiro's long prediction time, another aspect of the Emperor Eye that he did not actually take note till now.
"Is that so?" Shiro's eyes focused on Akashi. Akashi's eyes widened as he noticed Shiro's still-glowing eyes. The Emperor Eye is still active?!
Instead of receiving the ball, Shiro instead pulled his receiving hand in and shifted his legs accordingly. The ball was instead deflected onto the floor, and into the small space that Shiro had created and landed perfectly into his other hand. As a result, Akashi missed the ball, and his momentum caused him to fall on his front, barely injuring himself by cushioning the impact with his palms. The red emperor looked to see Shiro's mocking face before he quickly dribbled forward and made a layup, earning his team two points. Akashi gritted his teeth, after all, he had just realized that the man in front of him probably had more knowledge about the Emperor Eye that he has. He didn't even know it was possible to predict more than one person at the same time.
How careless of me… Akashi thought. He retrieved the basketball and returned to his side of the court once again. The sky grew even darker, and small pellets of rain started dropping.
"He… got us again, huh?" Kagami asked Akashi.
"It seems so… He had knowledge on the Emperor Eye that I don't even know about…" Akashi confessed.
"What?! You serious?" Kagami snapped. He thought Akashi's Emperor Eye was powerful enough as it is, but to know that there is even more to it than meets the eye, is just inhuman.
"Yeah…"
"Oi, remind again why can't you use your Emperor Eye? I mean you even used it last year after you regained your real self," Kagami asked again.
"Like I said… I'm afraid the other me will come out," Akashi replied, looking disconcerted. To repeat that fact would be like reinforce how he could not come to terms with his other self, and it did not feel very comfortable.
"… Well…" Kagami said, "I'm just saying when I faced you last year, it took the combination of me and Kuroko's own Emperor Eye to take you down."
Akashi looked at him.
"And now here, we are faced with another Emperor Eye user, and we do not have anything to counter him with, and the fact that we are using long passes and feints to get pass Shiro probably won't last forever." Kagami continued, and Akashi looked down guiltily, knowing Kagami was going to say.
"If we really want to beat him, through and through, we may need the Emperor Eye again," Kagami said resolutely. He knew that if Akashi actually did regain the use of his Emperor Eye, if he faced him again with the Emperor Eye, he might have just caused his team's victory in future matches with Rakuzan High. Kagami sighed at the thought of Hyuga's or Riko's possible rage, but then again he would never want to play against someone half-assed, or someone against him half-assed.
"I don't know about what happened between you and him, apart from the shit he did to me last year," Kagami said, referring to the time the other Akashi had nearly sliced open his face. "But surely, you don't expect to face Aomine in that state, do you?"
Akashi's eyes widened. That's right, Aomine Daiki, his opponent at the Interhigh. All this time, that excited feeling in his guts, had he really forgotten them? Kagami was right, how could he face Aomine-kun like this?
Agreed, the other him said, you need me.
Akashi turned around and looked back surprised, finding himself back at the black corridor again. He noticed his other-self sitting on a cube-shaped stone, observing him, his silhouette hidden in the darkness. Nevertheless, he instantly noticed his other self's heterochromatic eyes, unlike Akashi, one red and one gold.
"I don't know why it has taken you so long to recognize this problem," the other Akashi said, speaking to him directly now. He shifted his palm to cover his face as he said this and revealed only his eyes.
"Without these eyes, the full power of these eyes, you can never attain true victory." He continued, and a glowing red ring appeared around his cat-like pupils, indicating the activation of the Emperor Eye he once used.
"I thought we have gone past victory. Kuroko and Kagami defeated you, remember?" Akashi said.
"You're right…" The other him replied with a hint of irritation in his voice, but for a man so hell bent on victory, his soft expression surprised Akashi. "I've learnt several things about basketball after that match too," he continued. "The fun of shooting, passing, somehow being a one-man army doesn't seem as enticing as relying on others. Y'know, sometimes I too get jealous when I see you play like that."
Akashi's eyes widened. "What do you mean? You want to play too then?" he asked seriously.
"Yeah, but as you have guessed, my attitude may be a problem…" the other Akashi admitted. "If I were to be honest with myself, I may lose myself in my attempts to achieve victory and end up hurting others again." He smiled sadly after saying that.
Akashi did not say anything. Ever since he took over after his match with Murasakibara in their third year of Middle School, Akashi had stayed cooped up in this desolate place and had inadvertently allowed his other self to wreak havoc. But yet, as his other self spoke, the heavy chains binding his heart somewhat loosened.
"I understand if you don't trust me, and if you don't want my assistance. But all I'm saying is that since we are one and the same, using a small extent of power would be fine to me." He said to Akashi.
"I thought the Emperor Eye is yours? Wouldn't you hate it if I were to use it?" Akashi asked.
"You could think of it as my way of repenting then, and it's not that I don't like it per say. We are both Akashi, so naturally it would not feel "right" using it because there are two of us. But if you were to use the full extent of the Emperor Eye, it'll have to be me," His other self explained.
"I see…" and with that, Akashi suddenly laughed, in what it felt like ages since he last did that. His other self looked up in surprise.
"What's so funny?" It was unlike an Akashi to laugh so care freely like this. On the contrary, Akashis are usually serious people.
"Nothing much… but it feels so long since we spoke like this so seriously…" Akashi admitted, and he could see his other self trying to hide his smile in the darkness.
"The last time was at the Winter Cup, huh?" he said.
"Yeah…" Akashi heaved a sigh of relief. For some reason, the heavy weight in his heart seemed to completely disappear, and he felt that he could trust this Akashi much more now. After all, they were one and the same person: Akashi Seijuuro.
"But, I get it." Akashi continued, his voice more relaxed now. "What I truly want was victory. But I could not achieve it without power and if I attained it, I would lose all my friends. That's why we were split into two."
"But, we realized back then that victory alone was not right, to play basketball without teamwork, trust, or fun. It was truly a shock, but we realized and understood it. We lost our original motive for playing basketball back then when Mom was still here."
"Yes… but right now, we realized another thing, that we cannot live without the other as well. If you lend me your power, and I lend you mine, only then could we truly be called 'Akashi Seijuuro'," Both Akashis concluded.
There was a short moment of silence, but they both understood each other fully now.
"But I'm not sure if the others would accept me at this point…" the other Akashi confessed.
"Then I'll take your place as the Emperor. I will help you achieve your victory." Akashi said resolutely, and the other Akashi looked up fully this time at him. Indeed, they both want victory, but one had gone too far to attain, and hence this was perhaps 'punishment', to be locked in away forever, but he accepted it graciously. The dark corridor slowly brightened to reveal the other Akashi fully, and Akashi's widened when he saw his other self tearing up.
Akashi turned around to face the light. "Thanks… for everything."
"Yeah…" And with that he returned to reality.
"Akashi? Are you all right" Kagami asked, when Akashi did not speak.
"Yeah…" Akashi replied, rubbing his eyes and drying his tears. Kagami raised his double brows.
"Err… what's wrong?" Kagami asked nervously.
"Nothing, just had a chat with an old friend…" Akashi said, as he finished regaining his composure and turned to face Kagami. Kagami uttered a "What?!" in surprise when he saw that familiar red glowing in Akashi's eyes. When he spoke next, he looked and sounded more serious, as though the Akashi he previously knew at the Winter Cup had returned.
"Kagami, are you still in your ZONE?" he asked.
"Yeah…" Despite his conservation with Akashi, his resolve had not wavered one bit. In fact he was still determined to defeat Shiro.
"How long do you think you can last?"
At this moment, Kagami suddenly felt something heavy in his legs. It was probably the effects of using the ZONE for this long, as it had already been close to four minutes of playing in the ZONE. He must not have felt the strain being so engrossed in his playing, but he could probably last for one more play.
"Probably one more play before I completely tire…" Kagami admitted.
"I see, well it seems Shiro can only last for one more play as well," Akashi said as he observed Shiro, who looked rather exhausted at this point. He passed the basketball to one of the red players and walked to Shiro, who did not take his eyes off him.
"What's up?" Shiro asked.
"Kagami and I would be leaving after this basket, so if you don't mind, I would like you to go all out too," he explained.
"… Sure thing…" Shiro answered. What's this, there's something different about him…. Anyway, he was also feeling rather exhausted at this point, so it would be wise to finish the match here anyway. The points were currently at 52-53, red to blue, after the two baskets they Kagami and him made, so if Akashi and Kagami scored, he would lose anyway, although he had no intention of letting that happen. He sighed as he observed Akashi walk back to his place.
"So you have gotten yourself back together, huh?' Kagami smirked.
"Yes… If you don't mind, we should focus on scoring our last point, no? To defeat Shiro-kun, I mean." Akashi enquired.
"Yeah, I'll leave him up to you then!" Kagami said roughly. Although he would not be facing Shiro now, leaving a newly regained Akashi to battle Shiro would not feel so bad either. I guess another day, huh?
The rain started to fall, and the crowd started to whip out their umbrellas for find whatever shelter they could. Nevertheless, they knew this was the final match, and no one, even those who would get drench, left so as to watch the ending of this climatic battle. The blue team started and they passed the ball to Akashi, who dribbled forward slowly. As Kagami jogged behind him, he noted how much more stable and relaxed Akashi's pace was just now. Without much effort Akashi reached the half court line before Shiro appeared to stop him, while Kagami went to mark a blue player on his side of court.
"Yo… this is it… you won't stop me…" Shiro muttered. His presence alone was enough to cause Akashi to slow down dramatically, and his widened at his aura; the holy aura and impression was all gone, instead replaced with a blackish purple aura full of malice. He took a defensive stance and readied himself for the Emperor. In an instant, the ring around Akashi's eyes glowed as he activated his newfound Emperor Eye that he had not used in month. Time slowed down as Akashi irises shifted back and forth as he inspected every nook and cranny of Shiro's movement. Indeed, this Emperor Eye did not feel as powerful as when the other Akashi used it, but it should be more than enough to get past Shiro. He's moving there, so I'll –! All at once, the moment he noticed Shiro's white eyes glowed, the entire scenery seemed to stop entirely, instead of just slowing down. The entire landscape turned back to the blackness as Akashi felt his own Emperor Eye being absorbed into Shiro's own. Sorry, Akashi-kun, you may have gotten back your Emperor Eye, but it's nothing compared to mine, Shiro said, as his white glowing eyes focused on the ball levitating in mid-air now. He smirked and he reached out for it. Time flowed back to normal, and in an instant, the ball fell out of Akashi's grip, and Shiro caught in one sweep and dribbled to the blue's hoop. But the Emperor instead smiled. "Don't get conceited…"
Shiro's eyes widened at the sight of Kagami near the free throw line, with his arms spread out and the red lightning tracing him movements. Where did he come from?! Nevertheless –! And all of the sudden, Kagami reached out and flicked the ball out of Shiro's without any effort, and he could not react to it at all. What's this? I can't move fast enough… Shiro thought as he tried to comprehend his own inactions. He looked back when Akashi spoke.
"The emperor eye has some disadvantages doesn't it? Even I know that the more frequently you use it, or the further into the future you tried to predict, it taxes on your body, and you slow down for a second or two right after you use it after predicting so far." Akashi explained and Shiro's face hardened.
"You tried to predict even further into the future when I used my own Emperor Eye, hence it severely depletes your stamina. Normally, if you were to predict someone's movement normally, you should be able to continue going, but I guess that's not possible with your speed and having to face people like Kagami who has the ZONE, or me with the Emperor Eye," Akashi continued, looking down at Shiro.
"Urgh…!"
Kagami rushed forward to the blue hoop, and met several blue players who tried to stop him at the half line. He easily passed them with his superior speed, but noticed Shiro chasing behind him. Though he may not be as fast in a one-on-one, but in terms of running a long distance, Shiro was indeed fast. But he won't catch up to me! Kagami grinned to himself but suddenly his expression transitioned into shock. His legs had fully felt the burden of using the ZONE and his pace instantly dropped as he started to lose balance. The red electricity flowing out of eyes disappeared in a flash and he felt his whole body collapsing under the pure exhaustion. Without any hesitation, he turned his head and threw the ball to Akashi who was just inches in front of him, and saw Shiro also inches behind him. He fell on his knees, and rested on the spot, panting heavily.
Akashi caught the ball and made eye contact with Kagami, who from his eyes could already tell that he wanted him to score. He gave him a shadow of a nod, and turned back in his direction, determined to score. The rain had perhaps reduced his visibility somewhat, but it did not matter, for due to the pass Kagami made, Shiro had already caught up to Akashi near the three-point line. He took on a defensive stance, and his expression looked particularly rough like Kagami, Akashi thought he could see a shadow of a fire-breathing dragon somewhere behind him. Without saying anything, Shiro's eyes widened as he activated his Emperor Eye once more. He did not care about the consequences already, but rather all that he needed was to steal the ball and somehow score. If the ball was still in this man's possession, loss was certain. Time stopped and the entire landscape turned black once again, with a dark purplish tint to it: the individual raindrops in mid-air, the crowd froze in their positions with their breaths held, the players looking excitedly at them, Kagami on his knees but also observing, and Akashi in front of him looking determined to score. Sorry Akashi, no doubt you are strong, but it's my victory, Shiro said as his hand reached out for the ball Akashi's hands. In a moment when time returns to normal, Akashi's position would be right there and Shiro's hand would reach there at the exact timing. He could already see the ball flying out of Akashi's hands and his shocked expression.
All of a sudden, Akashi's left eye, suddenly changed. Shiro's eyes shifted to observe them and noticed something different about. Time had stopped for sure, so Akashi was definitely not doing anything, but Shiro's expression turned into shock as his left eye suddenly changed from red to gold, and a reddish black aura rose of Akashi's frozen body. Then, a red ring appeared on both of Akashi's eyes, around their cat-like pupils, but glow was more intense than before. All at once, the purplish black landscape was suddenly layered over with blackish red landscape this time which resemble Hell itself, as though being superimposed on it. Shiro then realized that he could not move, although his hand was inches from the ball. What the hell is this?! Akashi smiled widened demonically.
"You think… your Emperor Eye is better than mine…?" his lips mouthing the words. "Don't be foolish…"
Akashi's hands retracted in slow motion to avoid Shiro's own, and Akashi's made several crossovers in slow motion. Shiro's glowing eyes traced his movements while frozen, and instantly widened in fear. He noticed how he was on his right foot when he moved in to steal Akashi's ball, but those movements… and all at once, Shiro felt his entire weight shifting to his right side, while still frozen. For the first time, he suddenly realized the person in front of him was not the Akashi that he had played against just now. His demonic smile, and different coloured eyes, and that ring, made him shudder.
"Who… are… you?!"
The man in front of him stopped smiling. He then whispered, "My name, of course, is Akashi Seijuuro… Hisoka…", speaking Shiro's first name.
All at once, time was forced to return back to normal. There was a flash of light that blinded Shiro, as he felt his body being forced to move, and then suddenly he fell on his back. The rain fell back into motion as everyone gasped as they tried to comprehend what just happened: Akashi had just ankle broke Shiro, despite him having the Emperor Eye, which could only mean that Akashi had too regained his own Emperor Eye.
No… but those movements aren't the Akashi I know, it's the other Akashi… Kagami frowned as he thought to himself.
As Akashi slowly dribbled past Shiro at walking pace as if to mock him, he commanded like an Emperor, "Your head is too high…" causing Shiro to stare at Akashi in fear.
Without any further resistance, he easily made a lay up and scored the final two points that allowed the red team to win. At this the crowd roared, but quickly dispersed as the rain became even heavier than before. The players made a short celebration, but most of them quickly took their stuff and left to avoid the downpour. In a minute, almost everybody left except Kagami, Akashi and Shiro, who stood drenched in the rain. Akashi went over to Kagami to help him up, although Kagami appeared rather hesistant after noticing his golden left eye.
"Don't worry, Kagami, let's get you to that seat first. I have an umbrella so you can at least rest yourself," Akashi said. Despite being a completely different personality, having the same voice and face made it unnerving. With little effort, Akashi assisted Kagami despite his significantly smaller stature to the seats, and handed him an umbrella and a bottle of water from his bag. He then left to retrieve Kagami's soaked bag near the side lines, and noticed Shiro strolling back, looking extremely dejected.
"Hey, you… I apologize for just now, ankle breaking you I mean…" Akashi called out to him above the rain. "I… didn't mean what I said…" It did felt weird apologizing, after all he was used to treating everyone below him, and he could not help lowering his opponents even further in an actual match.
"Yeah…" Shiro mumbled, returning to his lame manner. "It was a good game anyway; I didn't expect you to be that strong…."
"But I'm surprised you have the Emperor Eye, I thought I was the only one who had it."
"Me too, when I played for my basketball team, I was the MVP because of it…" Shiro laughed dryly as if he was reminiscing his high school days. But Akashi was rather curious where this mysterious man was from.
"Oh, I was from the same school as you, Rakuzan…" he smiled, after guessing Akashi's query. Akashi, however, did not really react. On the other hand, he wondered why he did not hear of this senior.
"Well, it was all fun, I guess, predicting and scoring non-stop, hahaha…" Shiro continued, "But when you realize nobody could match you, it becomes a little boring…" And Akashi was instantly reminded of Aomine, and his own days in Teiko. "I did hear of the Generation of Miracles, though, and boy was I jealous when I found out how strong you guys were. And to also find out there was another that can predict his oppoents after watching your videos? I was really, really jealous…" Shiro picked up his back and looked at Akashi.
"However, that game was fun and I meant it. It has been a long time since I faced someone this strong, and back then, you guys would have totally trashed me…" Shiro smiled. "Oh well, anyway I'm guessing you came here in the first place to learn more about your emperor eye right?" Akashi nodded. "Well, you have already learnt all I've known just now… predicting further and more than one opponent at the same time, so there's that."
There was a short silence, before Shiro concluded. "Thanks again… I'll see you again next time…" and he quickly disappeared into the rain. Akashi picked up Kagami's red bag and returned to the seats to find Kagami resting.
"Yo… Akashi…" Kagami said awkwardly. He did not know what to say to person who nearly stabbed him after all.
"Kagami, how are you feeling?" Akashi said as he looked down on him. No matter what, his eyes and stare made Akashi look extremely intimidating. Kagami looked away and mumbled an "alright…" There was a short moment of silence, then Akashi muttered a "Sorry…", which Kagami heard clearly despite the rain.
"For what?" Kagami asked.
"Last year, I apologise for nearly killing you, that is…" Akashi said, trying to sound sincere, but his crudeness destroyed that attempt.
Kagami laughed, and Akashi proceeded to take out another umbrella and his cellphone. Before he made a call, he turned back to take a glance at the Super Ace. Kagami, huh? You sure have gotten stronger… Anyway, sorry for the trouble, I just wanted to play again. I guess some habits don't change, huh? My bad… I guess it will be some time before I come out play seriously again… And the voice faded away.
Akashi turned around, with his umbrella opened, and told Kagami that he has already called for a car to send him back home, shocking Kagami. He did not expect such hospitality from the guy that looked down on everyone, and ankle broke them without any hesitation, but soon noticed that both of Akashi's eyes were red now. Kagami smiled to himself and wondered what Alex would say after seeing one of Akashi's fancy cars, or how his Seirin teammates would react to him playing with both Akashis.
Yep... no words here. 6k words, and i don't even know how that happened hahaha. But okay here marks the end of Akashi's "arc", and next up is the basketball event before the Interhigh! so stay tuned and all. By the way, im considering changing the title to like "Summer Interhigh 2016" than "Aomine vs Akashi", since im gonna write about other teams anyway so why not jus do random matchups and see where that goes haha (of course I will have tochange the chapters abit and all to include more of Seirin), but still focusing on aomine vs akashi though, so tell me what you guys think. Well, that's it then... I sure do hope that i can continue writing this long but we'll see... Comment review and favourite!
-kkkdragon123