SailorStar9: You ladies wanted this chapter, so here goes. This is Chapter 13 of this fic.

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and the pairing.

Chapter 13: Don't Get the Wrong Idea

"There it is!" Koganei gaped, when the ball was once again passed to Kise. "Kise versus Aomine!"

"How many times have they done this today?" Tsuchida wondered.

"It's a turnover!" Hyuuga gasped, Touou stealing the ball after Kise passed it over to Kasamatsu.

"What?" Koganei was shocked when the referee gave Aomine a foul for charging into Kasamatsu. "A foul?"

"I can't believe that didn't count." Kiyoshi admitted.

He's good. Hyuuga was impressed. But more to that, he's got balls. Instead of withdrawing because of the difference in their builds, he charged him for a foul. "He's not stopping." He blinked, Aomine retaliated by scoring two successful nets in a row.

"Aomine's at full throttle." Izaki agreed.

"Impossible…" Kagami gaped, seeing Kise's grin.

"It's probably exactly what you're thinking." Kuroko confirmed. "Kise is trying to copy Aomine's style."

"Can he do that?" Hyuuga was puzzled.

"Kise can only copy what he can do." Kuroko explained. "He cannot copy anything he can't do."

"Put simply, he's just a fast learner." Riko elaborated. "He can't recreate the movements of NBA players or anyone better than himself."

"But if he's trying to do something," Kiyoshi added. "It means he believes he can do it."

"I told Ryouta once," Ami started. "That he had a mental barrier that's preventing him from evolving his 'Copy Style' further; the moment he stops looking up to Daiki is his first step to achieving the 'Perfect Copy'."

The Seirin team watched in awe when Imayoshi ended the second quarter with a buzzer beater.

"Hello." Kuroko greeted Kise outside the stadium.

"Kurokocchi?" Kise exclaimed in shock. "What's with the dog?" he spotted the husky on Kuroko's head.

"I kept him in my bag while I was watching." Kuroko explained. "So I thought I would let him get some fresh air during the break."

"There's plenty I could say about that." Kise joked. "So, what are you doing here?"

"We were training nearby until yesterday." Kuroko replied. "So we decided to come watch the Inter-High together."

"So, you didn't come to cheer me on." Kise sighed.

"No." Kuroko nodded.

"So mean." Kise winced. "By the way, between Aominecchi and me, who do you think will win?"

"I don't know." Kuroko admitted. "As long as you don't give up, anything can happen and I don't think either of you will give up. So, I don't think it would be strange if either of you won."

"I'll go do my best, then." Kise smiled. "What?" he blinked at Kuroko.

"I thought you would say, 'I'll definitely win.'" Kuroko remarked.

"What are you talking about?" Kise chided. "Of course that's what I'm trying to do, but honestly, I don't know, either. In middle school, it was natural for us to win, but I feel better now not knowing if I'll win."

"Looks like Ryouta's grown up a little." Ami let out a small smile, watching the two freshmen converse.

"You really worry about them, don't you?" Izaki remarked, walking up to her. "Such an overtly-worried elder sister." He teased.

"It's times like this that makes me wonder why did I adopt the lot of them in the first place." Ami sighed.

"Kise's amazing!" Koganei was astonished when Kise fouled Wakamatsu while attempting to score with Aomine's formless shot. "He's just like Aomine."

"No, it's not perfect yet." Riko corrected. "Only doing it when people besides Aomine comes to guard him proves it. He must think he's off the mark."

"In other words, when Kise tries to go one-on-one against Aomine again, it will be once he's perfected his copy." Kiyoshi related.

"Knew he'll do that." Ami facepalmed, Aomine having silenced the spectators by tossing in the ball right after Kise made the two free shots.

They said they'd have faith in their ace and wait, Hyuuga mused as both teams fought over the ball. But there's no such thing as a quick comeback in basketball. If the score and timing remaining are too far gone by the time he perfect his copy, it's all over. "He can't break through!" he gaped, seeing Kasamatsu was blocked off by Imayoshi.

"They know what's he's going to do." Izaki agreed.

"He's still going to force it through." Ami remarked. "Because he knows Hayakawa will definitely get the rebound."

"The point difference hasn't changed." Tsuchida gaped, Moriyama blocking off Sakurai's three-pointer after Kobori scored.

"Ryouta…" Ami breathed in shock as Kise proceeded to break free of Aomine's defense. "Could it be…"

"Kise finally…" on Ami's left, Hyuuga was similarly shocked.

"Broke past…" Izaki gaped.

"He can't make any more bold plays." Hyuuga stated, Kise having pushed Aomine for a fourth foul, while scoring with a shot behind the back.

"He made the free throw." Koganei remarked, Kaijo was now 9 points behind Touou.

"The difference is only a single digit now." Tsuchida added.

Aomine fumbled? Kagami gaped, Aomine having blundered on Imayoshi's pass and enabling Kise to steal the ball.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.