Well here is another chapter… I hope you like it…
Damn that was a long chapter to write and type – I first wrote it on pretty much flying pages while watching the anime and then typed it- it took longer than I thought it would…
Sorry for the mistakes, but I am on too much coffee and I feel like all my body has started trembling from it, so I am off… trying to reach dream land and can't go re-read it to fix the mistakes… re-reading after writing a chapter really isn't my think, so I hope you can try not to play too much mind to my mistakes.
Please look at the AN on the end when you are done with the chapter, there is a question I need you to answer there.
Chapter 10 – I believe that sometimes all a person need is just a push in the right direction.
After going home Kuroko quickly took a warm bath and then dressed in slightly bigger black t-shirt and then put a blue and black nike jacket and pants and went downstairs to have dinner with his family.
"So how has basketball been going, Tet-chan?" Airi asked her son, who smiled widely.
"Well, pretty good for now. I still haven't officially started playing my old style but even so its lots of fun playing with everyone." Tetsuya answered happily and his mother smiled at the happiness shining in her child's eyes.
"So how is your old style now? We haven't played together since awhile, so I've been wondering how better you've become?" Daisuke asked as he took a sip of his water.
"When I thought about relearning it I thought it would be a lot easier, but that seems not to be the case. Though I still have a lot to learn, lots of training to go through, I can't complain. There is a lot of my style that I have back and now, that I am grown up a lot since then, some things seems to be easier, some things to be harder but I still have a long way to go before I still that nickname of yours, dad." Tetsuya stated and Daisuke grinned proudly.
"Just be careful, Tet-chan. We more than anyone want you to reach your dream, but don't forget you are still human and your body needs rest and don't exhaust yourself too much. Sometimes basketball is not everything." Airi said as she worriedly bit her lips and Tetsuya got up and hugged her.
"You've nothing to worry about, mom. I don't want to go through what I did those years back; neither do I want to make you feel like that again. I have been careful and I will continue to be, so don't worry!" Tetsuya promised and then kissed his mother on the cheek, hugged his dad and told them he is going out for some training in the gym.
"Be back before midnight!" Airi yelled after him, but he just waved his hand and she sighed.
"He is going to be okay!" Daisuke stated as he hugged her, the husky that had been left behind this time quickly went to Tetsuya's room and lied down on his bed.
Kuroko quickly made his way to the gym and smiled as he saw Aomine waiting for him in front of it.
"You're early." Kuroko said as he unlocked the door and Aomine sighed as he went inside and went toward the door in front of him.
"Didn't have anything to do and I was close by anyway."
"You went to watch Kise's match, didn't you?" Tetsuya asked as the both of them entered the inside of the gym and as he looked at Aomine, the taller boy looked away.
"I don't know what you are talking about." He answered grumpy and Kuroko smiled.
"So why were you such an ass to him back on that game?"
"Huh? What the hell are you trying to say, Tetsu?!" Daiki asked and then huffed irritated.
"I believe that I, you and Akashi-kun clearly noticed how Kise-kun's feelings of admiration at you slowly grew to more, back in Teiko. So I've been wondering for how much longer you plan to play possum, Aomine-kun. When do you plan to finally talk to him?" Tetsuya asked as he tried to meet Aomine's eyes and when he finally did, he couldn't prevent himself from flinching at the cold glare that was directed at him.
"First- I am not gay, I more than like bit tits, thank you. Second what I do, doesn't concern you in any way!" Daiki angrily snapped at him and Tetsuya closed his eyes.
"Then at least tell him that, at least reject him, so he could finally more on. To me, even though we are rivals on court, Kise-kun is a dear friend and I don't want him to get any more hurt with that crush of his, but sometimes only when you get seriously rejected can you let go and move on." Tetsuya gently whispered and Daiki looked a bit surprised as his anger slightly grew but then he turned around and picked up a ball, but he let it fall off his hands soon after.
"I don't feel like playing basketball right now. Let's meet the morning on the day after tomorrow." Aomine said and left while Kuroko looked at his retrieving back.
"Now I don't feel like playing either." Kuroko murmured and sighed and then decided to go home as well.
'This between then can't continue any longer than this… I give him a slight push and I believe that sometimes all a person need is just a push in the right direction… I just hope he is going to go in the right direction and not create a situation even worse than this one. Those two really are idiots sometimes… Aomine buries himself in magazines filled with naked girls, trying to convince himself that he didn't check out Kise while he was changing back in Teiko and Kise tries to force himself to believe that all he feels toward Aomine is admiration… those bakas.' Tetsuya thought as he made his way home.
The next day come quickly and their match come and went with their win after which they gathered to watch the previous matches of Yosen and at the end everyone's eyes were wide open.
"That was one crazy game." Izumi stated looking as surprised as everyone else.
"Actually, can you even call that a basketball game?" Koganei asked.
"In a local tournament, that score wouldn't be weird in a game between a strong school and a weak one, but this happened two games in a row at a national tournament." Izumi explained.
"It's the complete opposite of Touou's super aggressive style. They haven't conceded a single point two games in a row." Teppei said
All of them were stunned at what they will face next.
"I guess I should start making some points now." Kuroko suggested and everyone's eyes shifted from the TV to him.
"We will see to that in the game… It's a wonder that your misdirection style still works after Touou and it's best to keep it going as it is until we no longer can. So how is your training with Aomine going on?"Riko asked, trying to change the topic as she sensed the slight fear of their next game take over some people on her team, but she picked an eyebrow at Kagami, whose eyes had widen at the new information and he quickly looked at Kuroko, who scratched his head awkwardly. 'What is going on between those two? This isn't the right time to trying to figure that…' she thought.
"Pretty well. I mostly don't miss my shots anymore. Well expect the times he knocks the ball out of my hands and that happens a lot when he is in the zone. By the way I have a way to shoot the ball that is also part of my misdirection style, so I can use that in our next match." Kuroko said and licked then bit his lips slightly as everyone were looking at him with wide eyes.
"You drove him in the zone?!" Riko exclaimed, voicing out everyone's thoughts.
"Umm… kindda… I guess getting him pissed off or being on the verge of losing are his triggers to the zone… and I piss him a lot, today we are not training 'cause I lied on his nerves too much yesterday."
"Do you think that's smart? Training with Aomine like that is showing all of your cards to him and to Touou." Kagami said as he looked doubtfully at Kuroko but he smiled apologetically as Tetsuya glared at him.
"We know all of Touou's plays as well and playing with him has helped me a lot!" He stated and Riko nodded, they were the one asking him to hide his style, it was only fare to not deny him this.
"Cut me some slack, Taiga. I've come to understand that in a relationship a thing like jealousy is something normal, but you are getting overboard with it. I don't see anyone of the Generation in Miracles in any romantic way!" Kuroko growled out as the two of them made their way home together.
"Sorry." Kagami apologized and took Kuroko's hand in his. "It's not exactly that kind of jealousy that I was feeling… it's just that lately we barely play together and I miss just spending time while playing basketball with you and hearing that Aomine took that place… kindda irritated me."
"Bakagami! You've been training with Alex and I needed some help with my play, but it's not like we aren't playing together again… When you get free you can always call me." Tetsuya murmured and then pulled Kagami to his favorite burger place where he will also get his favorite vanilla shake.
In the morning of the next day Kuroko met with Aomine, no one of the two said anything about their talk that evening, and they spared for a bit, nothing too tiring because Kuroko still had a hard match before him but he still ended up winning against Aomine.
"Amazing, Tetsu-kun!" Momoi exclaimed as she hugged Kuroko and Aomine glared at the two of them.
"Rubbing someone's lost is their face isn't a nice thing, Satsuki! Go home!" Aomine grumbled and Kuroko barely stopped himself from laughing while Satsuki complained that Aomine was being mean.
"Aomine-kun, thank you." Tetsuya said as he bended slightly in front of Aomine and Satsuki laughed at the awkward way Daiki looked.
"What are you thanking me for, you idiot? I had my share of fun and I somehow feel in better form…" Aomine said as he scratched his neck and then looked at Tetsuya more seriously. "Murasakibara's strong. It's hard even for me to score against him. I don't know if you will be able to continue to hide your style before the end of the match, but you better not show everything you are capable of. You too somehow have a kind of an emperor eye, Tetsu, you definitely shouldn't show that." Aomine suggested and Kuroko smiled and nodded. 'Besides I'm the one who should be thanking you… for a lot of things… but like I am going to tell you that!' Aomine thought and then he turned around. "See you later. I've got to go. Call me whenever you feel like sparing but know that we are opponents, Tetsu."
"I never forgot that." Tetsuya stated back and smiled widely at the words he barely heard because of the wind that hit them as Aomine opened the exit door.
"Let's go, Satsuki!"
"Okay." Tetsuya said as he looked at the two retrieving backs.
"Okay, is everyone ready? Let's go!" Hyuuga yelled as they entered the court ground to face Yosen.
"They are coming out! The astounding rising stars making incredible progress in their second year! Seirin High!" was loudly heard as Seirin made their way out.
"They're here. With unprecedented shutouts in their second and third games… It's the shield of Aegis, Yosen High!" was also heard as Yosen made their way out too.
"I'm sure you already know, but today's opponent is at least as strong as Touou. Half assed measures won't work against them. We'll go with our strongest starting lineup. Full throttle right out of the gate!" Riko loudly stated, smirking as she knew Yosen had probably heard her too.
"All right!" Hyuuga yelled out.
"You're a little stiff, Hyuuga. Let's have some fun." Teppei said and Hyuuga quickly answered that he knew that.
"I hope we'll get to see some of the results of your training, guys." Izumi said as he looked at both Kagami and Kuroko.
"Of course." Kagami stated.
"I'm ready to go." Kuroko declared.
"I expect a performance that I can respect." Izumi tried to joke around.
"Don't distract us with your lame jokes. Please." Kagami complained respectfully.
"Let's go, Seirin! Fight!" Hyuuga yelled and all of them agreed and soon the game started.
"Haven't seen you since our street ball game this summer. I didn't forget you this time. Maybe I'll start with crushing you first, Kiyoshi Teppei." Murasakibara said right before the referee threw the ball and while at first Kiyoshi was surprised he smiled at the end.
"I'm glad you remember me, but I'd like to see you try." Kiyoshi challenged seriously and Kagami followed his way, declaring to Tatsuya that he would crush him with everything he has.
Looking at the determination of everyone Kuroko remembered Aomine's words. "You'd better not lose, Tetsu." And lifted his head. 'We won't lose!' he thought as the referee threw the ball.
Though the ball ended up being Seirin's their eyes widened at the highness of Murasakibara's jumps and the wideness of his wingspan.
To the very end of the first quarter Seirin wasn't able to score any points, but thankfully to Teppei, who stopped Yosen by using his new learned technique Vice Claw, the difference didn't reach 20 points.
Through the time between quarters Riko and Teppei explained that if they didn't make a score from the inside it would be very hard to win.
"Excuse me. Let me score." Kuroko asked and all of them looked at him, but having no choice they decided that if the first strategy didn't work, the one to make the shot would be Kuroko.
~!~!~!~!~!~!
Up in the audience Aomine and Satsuki had just appeared to watch the match and they both got surprised at the score board.
"E-eighteen to zero?!" Satsuki exclaimed.
"Uh-oh, now this makes everyone think that Seirin is nearly at their limit…" Aomine complained.
"Seirin are usually slow at the beginning." Satsuki stated then smiled.
"Seirin's offensive style is far from weak even without Tetsu, but Murasakibara is still able to shut them off… but that won't be for long. I'm sure that until now Tetsu didn't try to make point, but that won't be the case anymore."
"He'll go with that disappearing shot, won't he?" Satsuki wondered and Aomine smiled widely.
"Definitely! He wants to keep his play hidden for as long as possible, so he will try anything else he can before he goes to his other style and then there is the part that even Murasakibara won't be able to stop that shot. In this match we won't see what we two saw while I was training with him, but neither will this match be unworthy of the audience." Aomine stated as the two of them looked at the court as the match started again.
~!~!~!~!~
Yosen successfully prevented Kiyoshi and Kagami scoring but they were stunned as Kuroko scored, the one person on Seirin's team that was supposed to be unable to score points, not only scored but did it with a ball that disappeared from sight.
'Damn! Now I feel happy seeing their surprised eyes and finally officially scoring after such a long time.' Kuroko thought as many starred at him with shock filled eyes.
"Kuro-chin! Honestly, I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd be the first to score against me in this tournament." Murasakibara growled out.
"Really? In that case, I hope you will be careful in the future." Kuroko suggested challengingly.
In no time Yosen went to offense and scored as Kagami still couldn't handle his mark, but thanks to Kiyoshi's advice, though at first he didn't understand it, he soon started getting the hang of it and stopped Okamura. By the end of the second quarter Seirin gad caught up from 0 points to 17 while Yosen were at 29.
"Kagami-kun." Kuroko started as everyone were looking at Yosen.
"Yeah. Man, it's eerie. This isn't all they've got. The worst is still coming." Kagami said and Kuroko grinned.
"We also haven't shown them our best, but I have to say this first- while I have gotten a lot better with my shooting, these kinds of shots aren't exactly my best one and I still miss some of them. I will try to shoot each time I can but I can't promise it will make it."
"Don't worry, as it is now is enough. We'll change our formation soon, as that it would give you better access to the ball. A formation that would heighten your misdirection, so you can go around the court as fast as you want and then you can steal all you want. But for now you will sit on the bench for a while, we don't want your misdirection to die down yet." Riko said and smiled.
"It's a bit regretful that overflow won't work on a team like theirs, but I'm more than happy to be able to go around as I please." Tetsuya said with exited voice.
"While Kuroko is benched we need to score against Murasakibara without Kuroko-kun. In order to do that, Teppei… Your strength will become important. And defense. The cornerstone of Yosen's offensive will move in the second half. No. 12 Himuro-kun. If there is anyone who can stop him, it's you Kagami-kun. In other words in order for us to win, without having to pull all our cards, Kagami-kun needs to beat Himuro-kun and Teppei needs to beat Murasakibara-kun." Riko stated and both Kagami and Kiyoshi got a determined look on their face.
"All right, let's go!" Hyuuga yelled as they entered the court again.
"Kiyoshi-sempai, Kagami-kun. Murasakibara-kun and Himuro-san are both strong. But I don't think you'll lose to them. I've spend a lot of time playing with you two and I know what you're capable of. What I mean to tell is- go and beat them and have fun while doing so." Kuroko said with a smile and the two of them grinned toward him.
"Of course we will!" Taiga declared.
"Beat them up, huh? Sounds good!" Kiyoshi said with a smile.
"Leave it to us!" They both yelled as they bumped fists with Tetsuya and then turned to the court.
When the quarter started it was Himuro who did the first shoot and then did another soon after.
'That shot just now… So that's what it was.' Kuroko thought as he witnessed the mirage shot from the bench.
"Coach, can you pull Kagami out?" Kuroko asked as he looked at Riko, which slightly narrowed her eyes in wonder.
"I was thinking of doing that anyway, but why?" she asked.
"I think I got what it was behind that shot, so I need to tell it to Kagami and I believe he needs some time to cool of anyway." Kuroko explained and Riko nodded and soon Kagami was sitting right next to him.
"So what do you mean with that 'I understood what's behind that shot', Kuroko-kun?" Their coach asked Kagami quickly switched his sight on Kuroko with very curious look taking over his face.
"Himuro-san throws the ball twice. Before the ball reaches its maximum point Himuro-san throws it above and then he grasps it and throws it again" Kuroko explained and everyone were wondering just how did he understood that.
"So all I need is to jump slightly later…" Kagami stated with slightly shocked voice, but Kuroko shook his head.
"That's the tricky part of this shot. If he notices that you will stop his second release he can just shoot the ball in the first." And as Tetsuya's words sank in they made a troubled faces.
"So even if we know how it works, we can't do anything to prevent it." Koganei complained.
"As far as I know Kagami-kun is the best in the air and I believe that you'll get the hang of it and stop both releases before the end of the match. Though there is another way to stop him. If one makes him shoot on the first release, another one can knock the ball off, but I suggest we leave that strategy unused to the end, because it will work probably only once and so it's best left for later and then there is the way I suggest we use someone's jump in the first release and another on the second." Kuroko said and Taiga ruffled his hair with a smile on.
"You really are amazing, you know that?!" He proudly stated and then all of them turned to watch the match.
"Kiyoshi-sempai is also amazing." Kuroko stated as they looked at the game.
Soon after that Yosen called a time out.
"Kuroko, I need a favor." Kagami said and Tetsuya looked questioningly at him. "Could you throw this out?"
"What?" Kuroko asked as Kagami put his necklace with the ring on Tetsuya's hand. "Are you sure? I thought this was an important memento."
"It's fine. Keeping it only makes it harder to let go. Besides, between my past with Tatsuya and my future with you, it's obvious which is more important." Kagami stated and soon the game began again.
'Well I guess there is that way of stopping the Mirage shot, knock the ball of his hands…' Kuroko thought with a smile but then he looked worried and called out Kagami's name as Taiga jumped, planning to score against Murasakibara, but he knocked the ball off his hands and made him fall to the ground. 'Just now… Just what have you been training, Taiga?!' Tetsuya thought as Hyuuga helped Kagami get up.
"So he went to try your theory." Riko said as Taiga stopped Himuro's mirage shot.
"Though it won't work next time…"
Kuroko's eyes widen as he saw Kiyoshi stagger slightly and he rushed to catch him before he fall to the ground, worriedly calling his name as did the other teammates.
"Referee time out!" The referee announced.
"Sorry, Kuroko. I just tripped and fell dramatically. Don't worry about me." Kiyoshi said as he got up.
"Teppei, are you really…" Riko stated worriedly.
"I'm fine. Let me play. Please. We finally rose this far. I don't want to interrupt this flow. I can keep playing. Let's all win together!" Kiyoshi said with a smile as he made a couple of steps forward but Kuroko growled slightly behind him and then everyone's eyes widen and started at his as he hit Kiyoshi on the head and they noticed that his face was full of irritation.
"I actually wanted you to realize this by yourself, but you've been an idiot!" Kuroko yelled loudly and everyone turned to stare at them, even Yosen wondered what was going on.
"Kuroko-kun, calm down. I know is best to bench him but he can take a bit more." Riko stated but stopped as Tetsuya glared lightly at her.
"That's not what I meant. The leg that's hurting him is not his left one but his right. Ever since the operation he has been putting more pressure on his right leg, thus his leg has reached its exhaustion limit." Tetsuya grumbled out but this time quietly enough so only Seirin could hear him and they starred him with wide eyes that soon shipped to Kiyoshi.
"What!" Riko exclaimed and glared at Teppei, who was scratching his head awkwardly.
"Start playing normally or you won't be able to play even for a minute longer… though as it is now even when you start putting less pressure on your leg, you still won't be able to fully finish the game." Kuroko pretty much ordered, but they couldn't say anything else as the game started again.
Seirin quickly made some points, but that pissed Murasakibara and he ended up joining the offense.
"We woke up the monster…" Tetsuya murmured as Murasakibara stepped forward and away from Yosen's hook, only Riko had heard him.
Murasakibara is on offense?" Tsuchida asked stunned.
"I thought his specialty was defense." Koganei stated right after him.
"Murasakibara-kun is one of the more combative members of Generation of Miracles. While he has little interest in basketball and is lazy, he's actually better at offense. In games like this, that incur his wrath, he's scored a record hundred points in a single game." Kuroko explained and that information shocked everyone sitting on the bench.
'I shouldn't have hoped that we can win without having to fight his offensive style!' Kuroko scolded himself but soon he found the irritation that was directed at himself turn into a full blown anger at Murasakibara as he 'helped' Kiyoshi up.
"Our lose? Crush us? You are the one who is going to get crushed!" Tetsuya snarled as he got up, not even waiting for Riko to decide who would be the once to take Kiyoshi's place and everyone looked at him with surprised as they hadn't seen him this pissed off.
'The only other time I've seen him like this was when we faced Hanamiya.' Kagami thought as Kuroko declared to Murasakibara that he would beat him in place of Kiyoshi.
'Is it this far that we were able to stop him from going full out or will he continue to play in the shadows?' Riko wondered as she looked at the blue haired boy.
From the moment the game started again Kuroko pulled a vanishing drive and then passed the ball to Kagami who dunked it and then Kuroko pulled another surprise on everyone as he marked Murasakibara by himself and ended up fouling him.
"I won't be able to use that strategy again, though I can just use my speed to twist around and knock the ball off Murasakibara, its better if we go for that new defense formation." Kuroko suggested as he was surrounded by his teammates, who quickly agreed.
Though to some people benching Kiyoshi seemed the down-come of Seirin it actually worked as firing them up, so after Hyuuga pulled his barrier-jumper-three-point-shoot, they pulled their new formation that easily hidden not only Kuroko's presence but also his speed, so they managed to still the ball and make a couple of shots but it was regretful that Izuki's shot didn't count as the quarter ended.
"Running a full-court defense is rough and Kuroko has to run a lot more than us… as it is can we last until the end of the game?" Izuki wondered as he swept the sweat from his face.
"We will make it last!" Hyuuga stated.
"But I can't imagine that Yosen won't try anything." Riko said as she narrowed her eyes.
"Coach, about that. Once they break through our full-court, let us run a 2-3 zone with me in the muddle." Kagami asked and everyone shipped their eyes on him.
"The same formation as Yosen?" Hyuuga asked.
"Like Murasakibara, I'll cover the entire two point's area." Kagami stated but Kuroko hit him on the head lightly.
"That's impossible now, baka. You won't have to face just one of them and though I am not saying you are weak, all they need to make a point is pass the ball when you go to counter them and someone else will end up making the shot…. But then again this might be not a bad idea… let them think that it's just you they need to handle, while I will try to back you up whenever I can. Let's do this like a team… for Kiyoshi-sempai." Tetsuya said and grinned while the others started at him.
'With those two Yosen might have a bit of a trouble scoring…' Kiyoshi thought and then he found tears spilling from his eyes as he noticed how good of a team they actually were and he ended up getting scold for realizing it this late.
"Listen well… I know that Kagami declared that he would beat Himuro-san and Kuroko did the same to Murasakibara-kun but Kagami now it's you that has to handle Murasakibara. Kuroko-kun, you've already shown that you have some hidden jumping power and speed, so I am leaving Himuro-san to you. Stop those two at any cost." Riko said as they started going toward the court after once again forming a circle.
"Leave it to us!" Kagami and Taiga stated and then the quarter started again as Riko and Teppei disappeared.
"Kagami-kun!" Kuroko called worriedly as Taiga fell from the power of Murasakibara's dunk but that worked to only fire him on and he stated that he would stop the purple head.
Then they pulled the stealth full-court man-to-man defense again and Kuroko successfully stopped Himuro though he couldn't steal the hold of the ball.
'Seems like I need to speed up a bit with him, with his perfect fakes that I barely read only with higher speed can I stop him.' Tetsuya thought as he stood in front of Himuro, making everyone in the audience and Yosen stunned that it was him alone marking the mirage shooter. 'Damn! I guess getting marked by me got him a bit fired up with anger.' He thought as Himuro got surrounded by this strange vibe.
"Himuro, pass!" Fukui called and Himuro pulled his perfect fake like would pass the ball and moved so he could pass Kuroko, but his eyes widen as Tetsuya stopped him as he stood in front of him, not getting lied to by his fakes at all.
"What?!" Himuro exclaimed with surprise clear on his face as everyone starred at the two.
"Don't think you can pass me that easily. Those fakes aren't hard to read at all." Kuroko stated feeling more fired up with each second.
"The only one who had a chance to stop me is Taiga." Himuro said as he jumped for his mirage shot and Kuroko jumped on the first release and though Himuro didn't shoot it on the first and Kuroko started falling, so he couldn't stop the second one, it was all Kagami needed to jump and stop the second release, having remembered the talk on the bench about Himuro's shots and the way to prevent them. All of Yosen were looking stunned at the two first years.
"We know that your shot has two releases and for someone to stop you they need to somehow float in the air but then there is this way of stopping you." Taiga said and then caught the ball as Hyuuga passed it to him, but then he threw it half way through the court to Kuroko who had started making his way toward Yosen's hook the moment he landed and when he caught the ball he used his disappearing shot, Murasakibara growling his name behind him as he once again wasn't able to stop his shot.
"Seirin won't lose!" He declared again as he turned to Murasakibara.
'If this continues on like this Kuroko will end up playing his old style… if only I can enter the zone he won't need to.' Taiga thought as he looked at the blue haired boyfriend of his.
Pulling that on Yosen seems to have pissed them off and they passed the ball to Murasakibara who dunked again and again with Kagami being unable to knock the ball off his hands.
'That baka! What have you been thinking, Taiga! You're counting on the zone too much and it's even worsening you play!' Tetsuya thought as he looked at Taiga who had gotten stopped by Murasakibara to jump for the second release and Himuro had succeeded his mirage shot again. 'I've got to thank Kise. He actually managed to clear Taiga's head pretty well.'
"Tetsuya… The zone, you too have entered it, so what do you think it's the key to that door?" Kagami asked and Tetsuya smiled at him.
"That door has no key, it opens whenever it wishes, but the more you wish it to open, the less the chance it will. Clear your head, Taiga. Don't count on that door and play as you can." 'It will probably open the moment you do that…'
It was soon after that Seirin called a time out.
"I've got a message from coach. Kuroko, you are continuing to mark Himuro. The others will handle the inside. Reduce Kagami's defensive range to the paint." Koganei said as he passed the message.
"This way we could try to keep Kagami free, so he can jump for the second release, but we will be weak on the outside." Hyuuga stated.
"Then we have to focus more on our goals." Izumi said and they agreed with him.
"Roger that." Taiga and Kuroko said together.
"I couldn't do what Murasakibara's doing. Sorry. In any case I'll focus on the paint." Kagami continued and then the time out came to an end.
"What's gotten into Kagami?" Hyuuga wondered as he looked at the back of the red head.
"I think it's a good thing. He got pretty serious and now he looks more like Aomine. I believe that at his best Kagami is a lot like him but also a lot better and it won't be long before he enters the zone again." Kuroko said as he passed Hyuuga who looked wide eyed at him.
It was really soon after that Kagami indeed entered the zone and stopped Murasakibara's dunk.
"I truly believe that Kagami-kun is Seirin's light." Kuroko stated a smile as everyone was stunned. 'I don't have any place to step in their fight now.' Kuroko thought as he let Himuro pass him with his fake. He knew that now Himuro no longer stood any chance against Taiga and indeed the red head stayed in the air like a bird after jumping on the first release and knocked the ball off as Himuro shoot it on the second.
"And he used to suck at threes." Tetsuya murmured quietly as Kagami shoot from the three point rage and struck the ball inside the ring and even he was amazed as Kagami stopped Murasakibara's Thor's Hammer.
For sometime Kagami continued to make points after points and Yosen called a time out.
"They were fighting about something. Is everything okay?" Hyuuga wondered as the game started again.
"No, probably the opposite." Kagami said as he took note of Yosen.
"They are more dangerous than ever." Kuroko warned while he couldn't hide the slight excitement from his voice and indeed Yosen turned the table around. Never had Seirin thought that Murasakibara will turn to team play in his desperation to not lose.
"Yeah, this is looking damn bad." Hyuuga said as he too looked more fired up than ever.
"And now you are playing point guard?!" Fukui complained as he glared at Kagami.
Shot after shot no one of the teams gave up even for a second and with a minute close to the end Seirin had a member change.
"Come on guys, why so gloomy? We're nearly there. Let's have some fun." Kiyoshi said as he stepped on the court and every member of Seirin smiled at him.
"Damn, I'm so sick of this. How many times do you need to be crushed? You're way too tough." Atsushi complained as he glared slightly at Teppei.
"That's my strength." Kiyoshi stated as he grinned and then they started the game.
"Mirage shot." Koganei yelled out as Himuro jumped.
"It's not use. Kiyoshi can't stop it!" Tsuchida worriedly exclaimed.
"It's not over yet. There is Kuroko-kun's strategy… make him shoot at the first release, so someone can knock the ball." Riko said and they all remembered Kuroko's explanation.
"We all knew I couldn't win a battle of prediction. That's why we choose this strategy. Due to the nature of that shot, the first release must happen before you reach the apex of your jump. In other words even shorter players can block it when the release point is that low!" Kiyoshi said as Hyuuga managed to knock the ball off and then Kuroko caught it and passed it to Izuki who then passed it to Kagami, which tried to shoot a three again but though it failed, Kiyoshi won the battle for rebound and passed to Hyuuga who shot s successful three point, but Kuroko's eyes widen as he looked at Murasakibara.
'Shit!' Kuroko yelled in his thoughts. "He entered it in the worst time for us, when Kagami is reaching his limit and my power is not enough to beat someone Murasakibara… no steals will work successfully on someone with such heightened reflexes like in the zone and I can't block him with strength only!' He thought as Murasakibara went for a dunk and he found himself smiling as Kiyoshi had returned to the hook right in time to help Kagami to stop Murasakibara's dunk.
Kuroko was about to yell to Kagami to pass him the ball as Murasakibara countered him in front of the hook but he was stunned as Kagami yelled loudly. "We will win! It's the ace's job to carry everyone's hopes to victory! I'll exceed my limits as much as I need to!"
'The same move as earlier… Amazing!" Kuroko whispered as Kagami jumped and dunked but then he flipped his eyes at Murasakibara who started running for their hook and Himuro threw the ball to him, all members of Seirin looked wide eyed with worry, as Kagami couldn't get up and go after Murasakibara and they couldn't reach him either.
'Like I am going to let you steal the victory from us!' Tetsuya thought as he sped after him and while Murasakibara jumped to throw the ball, Kuroko jumped behind him and knocked it the moment he had thrown it. "Seirin won't lose!" He yelled loudly when he hit the ball.
"So high! How can he jump with that highness?" Kise yelled loudly as he looked wide eyed at the blue head and many others were stunned as well while Seirin were grinning widely and yelling out happily and Yosen were starring at them.
"Seems like Seirin still has some things to show!" Kasamatsu said as they turned to make their way to the locker room and prepare for their own match.
Up in the audience a certain blue haired tanned boy was looking at Kise with slightly narrowed eyes, but then he turned around, deciding to go buy a drink before returning to watch the next match.
"Taiga-kun, can we speak for a minute?" Kuroko started as they were making their way up to sit and watch the next match.
"What is it?" Taiga asked as he looked at Kuroko and smiled.
"I'm really mad right now!" Tetsuya said as he glared at Taiga whose smile fell and flinched.
"Why?" Taiga exclaimed. "What are you talking about? We won the game!" and then complained.
"The problem is what happened after that. Are you okay with how you and Himuro ended up? Tetsuya asked and his heart slightly skipped, not liking how that sounded but he smiled at how awkward Taiga looked.
"There was no way around it. Win or lose, we're not brothers anymore. That's the promise we made."
"What are you two, idiots?" Kuroko stated, feeling annoyed and making it obvious.
"What?" Taiga asked as he turned to Tetsuya, who extended his hand and showed the ring still in his hands.
"You- I told you to throw that out!" Taiga stuttered stunned and Tetsuya shook his head lightly.
"I couldn't throw it away. If anything, it sounded to me like you were asking me not to throw it out. I never wanted you to choose between Seirin and Himuro-san, but I won't deny how you felt then. Is it really so difficult to continue being both brothers and rivals? Go find him, Taiga-kun and we'll wait for you up… I will keep a seat next to me." Tetsuya said and smiled when Taiga moved to take the necklace from his hand but he still lightly squeezed his hand.
"Sorry, Tetsuya! I'll be right back!" Taiga said and run off, but not before he stole a quick kiss from Tetsuya who starred after him, stunned and then he shook his head and smiled as he turned around.
'That baka.'
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I hope you liked it… I somehow didn't feel like changing much, but I couldn't just off and write- and so the match was pretty much as it happened in the anime, so I made some minor changes here and there…
So… I decided to create a side pairing, which you already… probably noticed – Aomine x Kise
The question I was talking about in the beginning is pretty much a help to decide something:
Do I make – Kiyoshi x Hyuuga or do I pull Hyuuga x Riko
And If I write Kiyoshi x Hyuuga do I make it look like at first that Hyuuga had had some feelings for Riko?
If you want any other pairing, write me on pm or review and I will see how I can pull it off.
I will try to update in a couple of days…
Thanks for reading,
Noukon