Chapter 4: Kaijo vs. Seirin!
Pushing the boys' change room door open, I pray that they've all changed. And they have.
"Good morning," I say happily, as I give a warm smile to everyone.
"Yuki-chan, have you seen the coach yet?" asks Hyuuga-senpai, as he goes to clean his glasses.
"Riko-senpai? I did, actually. She was skipping dow-"
"She was skipping?!"
"Yeah. I asked her why and she told me to wait until morning's practice," I finish, as I wedge myself in between Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun. Who both seemed to be more than tense today.
"Do you think it is?" asks Hyuuga-senpai to the other senpai's. They all nod their head in agreement.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Well, whenever coach has been seen skipping, that means she's got us paired up with a good-no, great school."
"Eh, rea-"
Suddenly the door bursts open, welcoming an over happy coach. I use Kagami-kun's body to shield myself. She she was too happy.
"Today after school, you'll be up against Kaijou!" she laughs, with her hands on her hips.
"Is it just me or did anyone else just see a glimpse of Satan?" says Izuki-senpai, with a light smirk on his lips.
The coach smacks him with the clipboard, causing Izuki-senpai to fall into Koga-senpai.
"In all seriousness, coach. Do you think we stand a chance against Kise-kun and the others?" asks Furihata-kun, as he gives her a weary glance.
This time, Hyuuga-senpai is the one to hit him.
"Think about it. Coach wouldn't be putting us in if she didn't think we could take them. Plus, not all their members are like Kise, but that's no excuse to play easy," he says, his words of wisdom touching us all.
"Hyuuga-kun's right. I have faith in you guys. You all don't see what I see when I'm on the bench. The Seirin team this year is stronger and better. Keep that in mind and you'll be golden!" she says, that same, comforting smile forming on her lips. As long as Riko-senpai had that smile, there was no way any of us could fail her.
"All right. Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun and Yuki-chan. After looking at the information I have, I believe that with you three, defeating Kaijou won't be hard," says the coach, as she looks at us three.
"It's simple. Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun together alone are quite the team. But with your speed and quick thinking, we can have you bring the ball up the court and from there Kuroko-kun will slap the ball from you since passing to the other's will be hard considering, well, it's simply easy to seeing as how their arms are much longer. From there, Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun will make their plays. Understood?" says the coach, as she finishes drawing out her diagram.
I nod my head in agreement.
"Remember, don't rely on those two only. You've got your anis (older brothers) on the court as well," she says, drawing stick figures to indicate my senpai's.
Glancing up at them, they all give me a warm, positive smile.
Blushing, I look away. It was odd, really. I had never had team like this where they considered me to be their family. Taking care of me and looking out for me like that. It was a lot to handle on an emotional level.
Dribbling the ball delicately in my left hand, I watch from the corner of my eyes as Kagami-kun's hand comes swatting in, trying to grab it. Quickly I bounce the ball from in between my legs behind me, using my right hand to grab the ball. But I almost fail when Kuroko-kun comes out of nowhere, almost misdirecting the ball. Pushing pass a persistent Kagami-kun, I begin running to the hoop, but Kagami-kun catches up and snatches the ball, passing it to Kuroko-kun.
Kagami-kun then begins to go long, waiting for the pass by Kuroko-kun. But since this time the ball wasn't in my hands, I could out run Kagami-kun. It was like the same time with Aomine-kun the other day. Kagami-kun could've scored, but instead he chose to underestimate me.
Jumping in front of Kagami-kun, I grab Kuroko-kun's pass and whip the ball down the court. Without hesitating, I run to go catch my own pass before it flies out of bounds. Catching the ball, I throw it into the hoop, earning myself a point.
Sweating, I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand.
"Yuki-chan, that that was incredible!" shouts Riko-senpai, as everyone gives me surprised looks.
"Thank-"
"BUT YOU THREE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING TOGETHER, NOT PLAYING AGAINST!" she shouts, a dangerous glint forming in her chestnut eyes.
I fall down, shocked at her intensity. Kuroko-kun walks over and tries to help me up. But I see that he's quite fatigued, so I only end up pulling him down besides me. Kagami-kun has to walk over and shamefully lift the two of us up.
Practice had been hitting the two hour mark now. Coach was pushing everyone which made me think if we'd all have enough gas left for last period. I had been working intensely with everyone, trying new tricks, techniques, everything for this game. Although it was only a practice game, it would determine the rest of Seirin's outcomes for games to come. Especially the ones in the Inter-High preliminaries.
"All right. Great practice everyone. We'll meet here during last period and we'll all walk to Kaijou!"
"Yes, coach!"
Walking to the girls' changing room, I note Kuroko-kun behind me. This time, I'm not frightened. Playing with him had made me become more aware of his presence.
"Kuro-kun?"
"I saw you yesterday at the convenience store," he says, as he wipes the sweat off from his face.
"Eh, really? How come you didn't say hi?"
"You looked busy with Aomine-kun. So-"
"How do you know Aomine-kun?" I ask, as I hand him my water bottle. I noticed his was completely empty.
"He was also my team mate at Tei-"
"He he's one of the Generation of Miracles?" I scoff, my voice meek and drained.
"Yes. Back then, Aomine-kun was one of the strongest, no, the strongest player I knew. We were a team, just like Kagami-kun and I. Until Aomine-kun realized that he could do everything himself. Do everything better than everyone. Eventually, Aomine-kun became unstoppable," he finishes, as he takes a swig of water.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I close my eyes in stress and disbelief.
Aomine-kun was part of the Generation of Miracles. No wonder his movements that day were almost inhuman. The feeling I had got when I played with him, it was a chilling one. Now figuring out that Aomine-kun was one of them, it oddly enough didn't raise any fear in me. That day, I remember what I had seen. A helpless child, so lost and confused. That was the real Aomine-kun right?
"Kuro-"
Looking around, Kuroko-kun had vanished. I was now slightly upset that Satsu-chan hadn't said anything about Aomine-kun and the Generation of Miracles. Why was she hiding it?
"So this is Kaijou!" says Furihata-kun, he and the other first years in awe.
"That's weird. Why do they have the other half of the gym blocked off?" muses Riko-senpai, as we all follow her to the coach of Kaijou's team.
"Let's get this game started. My boys need to keep practicing. Kise, get over here!" yells their coach, ushering for Kise-kun to come to him.
"Yes-"
"You're our strongest player, we don't need you using your-"
The coach suddenly stops as he see's me in his peripheral vision. Unlike Riko-senpai who was in the schools uniform, I was in Seirin's track suit, just like the other guys.
"Huh? You must have a lot of spirit for the team coming dressed up like that," he points out, nodding towards my outfit. Immediately the surrounding boys of Kaijou look my way. A lot of them begin to smirk and talk amongst themselves while looking at me.
"Please forgive me. But I'm not here as a cheerleader. I'm here as a player for Seirin," I say politely, as I flash him a genuine smile, hoping to change his perspective on things.
But for some reason, that only causes everyone to grow agitated. Everyone but Kise-kun and their #4 player.
The coach begins to laugh and comment as to how absurd Seirin was for letting a girl of my stature play against his boys.
Ignoring him, I walk off to set my bag down by the bench.
As I do so, I feel someone behind me.
It was two boys of the Kaijou team.
Kise-kun and someone I didn't know.
"I hope you'll be cheering for me," says the dark haired boy, as he clasps my hands in his. I stare at him wide eyed as he suddenly begins to lean in.
Kise-kun grabs him by the back and tows him away.
"You said you'd introduce me to some hot girls!" he cries out.
"I didn't say that one, Moriyama-kun!" Kise-kun replies, as he continues to drag him away from me. For a moment, his eyes lock on me and a cold, hard shiver runs up and down my spine. Something about him was really off.
"Yuki-chan, get over here!" orders the coach.
Running to the group, I stand beside Koga-senpai.
"All right, since they're not putting in Kise-kun, we have to give them a reason why. I wanted to save Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun until they do. So Yuki-chan, Hyuuga-kun, Izuki-kun, Mitobe-kun and Koga-kun, I want you all starting first. I'm not sure how their captain's style is, but don't go easy on any of them. He's strong and won't go down without a fight, am I clear?"
"Yes, coach!"
"Alright. Get-"
"But, don't you think it's a little unfair that we're using half the court?" says Furihata-kun, as he nods towards the other side where the boys are practicing.
"I know just the way to get them to use the full court," says Kagami-kun, a sly look appearing on his face.
And here we were now, using the full court. As the game had begun, the set up had changed. Instead, Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun had been subbed in for Koga-senpai and myself. I had watched in amazement as Kagami-kun broke the metal frame of the hoop right off. This ultimately forced Kaijou to let us use the full court.
Sitting on the bench, I watch as Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun apologize to Kaijou's coach. But I could tell that Kagami-kun doesn't mean it as he apologizes with a large smirk on his lips.
"Looks like they're putting Kise-kun in now," says my coach, as she looks at him with a steely gaze.
"Alright, new plan. Yuki-chan, I want you sitting out for now. We'll use formation number 2 and see how that goes."
It was now already the 3rd quarter. Kaijou was still ahead about 9 points, but that was nothing to be proud of. With every point we got, they matched. Not to mention that Kise-kun was stronger than we had all imagined. He had managed to make a perfect copy of Kagami-kun, his posture and dribbling perfect. That skill was something to be feared of. But with Kuroko-kun and his misdirection, he was managing to pull the team up. Growing stronger and stronger by the minute.
But what did worry me was that Kuroko-kun was starting to burn out. I could see the look of fatigue all over not only him, but everyone.
Suddenly, Kuroko-kun falls to the ground by an accidental hit from Kise-kun. Jumping up, I'm about to run to him but Koga-senpai pulls myself back down. The whistle hadn't been blown yet. We couldn't have too many men on the court until then.
I watch as Hyuuga-senpai and Kagami-kun run to a bleeding Kuroko-kun.
"I'm fine. The game's just getting started," says Kuroko-kun, as he then after falls to the ground.
A panic stricken Hyuuga-senpai immediately brings him to Riko-senpai and the others as she cleans him up.
After a few moments, it's deliberated that he has a light concussion. He needed rest right now and there was no way she could put him back in.
"Yuki-chan!" says Riko-senpai, as she continues to tend to Kuroko-kun.
Without further words, I know what to do.
Unzipping my track suit, I pull off my white shirt, revealing my Seirin High jersey. The number 1 crisply pressed into the middle of my abdomen. When it came to taking off my track pants, I can't help but peak a glance at the Kaijou team.
They they made no attempt to hide their leering eyes! Shuffling, I position Kagami-kun as a shield.
"Hey! What're-"
Before Kagami-kun has time to look down at what I'm doing, I've already changed.
I give him a reassuring pat on the back and place my track suit into my bag.
Unlike the guys, I chose not to tuck my shirt into my shorts. To everyone else, the extra piece of clothing came in the way of dribbling, but to me, it was also another factor into helping my movements.
The referee blows the whistle, signalling the time out was over.
Before I head out onto the court, Riko-senpai gives me a few pointers and reassuring words.
This was my time to finally prove myself useful in a game.
But, I felt a little uncomfortable when I realized my check was, what was his name, Moriyama-kun? The one who had tried to make his moves on me earlier.
"Number 1? Don't you think that's a little elementary?" he says, as he nods towards my jersey number.
His words unfazed me, as I know the true meaning behind my chosen number. It had been my late father's number when he had played basketball back in his days. I had thought that my brothers would have chosen the number, but they admitted that wearing his number would be too much of a burden. So instead, I gladly took that burden. No, that opportunity to play with my father by my side. I'd show him that this was what a woman could do.
The referee blows the whistle, signalling for the game to begin. I sense that Kagami-kun has grabbed possession of the ball. I can't help but flash Moriyama-kun a smile before I slide past him.
"Moriyama! What're you, asleep? Get on your check!" yells Kaijou's coach, yelling at the boy I had just left stranded.
Bobbing back and forth through Kaijou's players, I've easily made it up behind Kagami-kun. He tosses the ball behind him without looking, noticing my presence already. Grabbing the ball, I gasp as not only Moriyama-kun, but Kasamatsu-kun, Kaijou's captain, were each right behind me. Kagami-kun had already ran to the hoop, where he was waiting for the play to happen. No one thought that Kaijou would be this quick to respond to me and already think of double teaming.
But unlike the others, this was no shock to me. Boys seemed to be thinking that double, even triple teaming me meant no escape. But all it did to me was open up more opportunities.
Bouncing the ball through Moriyama-kun's legs, I have just about enough room to slide in between the little space between Kasamatsu-kun and him.
Grabbing the ball I had just thrown, Kise-kun suddenly appears right in front of me.
I stumble back, almost falling. His pressure on me was threatening to crush me!
Faking for a pass to the right, I loop around and bounce the ball to Mitobe-senpai, who then passes it to Kagami-kun. I watch with a grin as he slams the ball in.
Smiling, I put my hands on my thighs and take slow, deep breaths.
"Not bad, kitten," says Kise-kun, as he gives me a warm smile before running off.
Did did he just call me a kitten?
This wasn't good. The game against Kaijou was drawing a near and it didn't look too good for Seirin. Less than a minute left, we were tied. 98-98.
Sitting on the bench during a time out, I was nervous. What if- no, the last thing I should be doing is thinking about that. We'd win for sure.
Suddenly, Kuroko-kun wakes up, rubbing his head in a daze. He looks at the scoreboard, his expression unreadable.
"Put me in," he says, as he stands up.
"But-"
"Please. I can handle it."
Riko-senpai gives him a worried look before agreeing.
"This is the big play we've been waiting for. Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun, Yuki-chan, you know that play I had you three working on?"
"Yes?"
"I want you guys to do it. Understand?"
"Yes!"
"Good, now go win!"
Standing across from my check, he flashes me an apologetic smile.
"Say, after we win, how about I take you for some ice-"
Once again, I fly by Moriyama-kun as the whistle blows.
Kasamatsu-kun runs to Moriyama-kun and kicks him in the back.
"Idiot, what're you doing?!"
Standing by the hoop with Kagami-kun, I watch as Hyuuga-senpai brings the ball up with the help of Izuki-senpai. But in between their pass, Kasamatsu-kun comes out of nowhere, steeling the ball and racing down the court with his other team mates.
Looking at Kagami-kun, he signals for me to do my magic. But even he has a skeptical look on his face. That doesn't worry me because I'd prove to not only Kagami-kun, but the team of Kaijou what my biggest talent was.
Weaving by the players of Kaijou, I hear their coach yelling at Moriyama-kun to get himself on me. But if he only knew that he'd be wasting his energy.
Pumping my legs, I one by one pass each player of Kaijou, catching up to Kasamatsu-kun. Appearing beside him, I flash him a smile a flirty smile.
"What?!"
Suddenly stopping, I watch as Kasamatsu-kun has become distracted by my sudden presence, so he doesn't notice a waiting Kuroko-kun on his left when he steels the ball back.
Racing back to my side of the court, I run away from Kuroko-kun to the three point line.
For a second, it looks as if Kuroko-kun will use his misdirection as he'll be passing to me, but the others will think it'll go to Hyuuga-senpai.
But instead, Kuroko-kun passes to me, all the members of Kaijou are already by Hyuuga-senpai. They wouldn't make it in time to get to me.
Throwing the ball back at Kagami-kun, I fail to remember that Kise-kun was his check. In order to keep possession of the ball in Seirin's hands, he has no choice but to pass to Kuroko-kun.
Kuroko-kun looks around him, unsure of what to do. From Kagami-kun he was supposed to put it in the basket and then we'd have won. But Kise-kun was proving to be a real nuisance right now.
As Kuroko-kun and me make eye contact, Kise-kun calculates from this that he'll fake his misdirection again and actually pass to me. So when Kise-kun comes in front of me, he's shocked to see Kagami-kun using Kuroko-kun's head as support for his jump as he slams the ball in.
As soon as he does, the buzzer goes off, the last score being 100-98. Seirin wins.
For a moment all is quiet. No one can believe that a team like Kaijuo had been beaten by Seirin.
Cheering, I watch as my team mates begin to celebrate. I'm about to join them too when I look at Kise-kun's face.
When I saw it, it made my heart tear. He he was crying.
And then I understood. This was the first time he had loss. First time he had tasted the bitterness of defeat. It was almost endearing in a way to see someone as tough as him cry like that.
"You did your best, Kise-kun. No need to cry. We both know you'll do better next time," I say softly, as I reach up to wipe his tears away.
He looks at me with a shocked expression, staring at my small form. Slowly I watch a small smile creep upon his lips.
"Idiot. What're you, a cry baby?" yells Kasamatsu-kun, as he kicks Kise-kun in the back.
Kise-kun falls down, having Kasamatsu-kun pick him back up.
"Idiot. You did the best you could do," says Kasamatsu-kun, his voice full of brotherly love. I watch as he sweetly rubs the blonde boy's hair.
Walking away from the two, I couldn't help but think of Aomine-kun. He hadn't cried when- no, I didn't beat Aomine-kun. I simply outsmarted him. I could only say those words once Touou and Seirin compete once and for all.
But as I take a step, the muscle in my left calf doesn't want to comply appropriately. Instead, a piercing pain stretches up to my leg, causing me to fall down on my knee's.
The loud thud of my body causes everyone to look my way. Immediately both players from each teams come to my aid.
"Whoa," I say quietly in astonishment. I was so excited to get into the game that I had forgotten to stretch before hand.
"Yuki-chan, what's wrong?" asks a panic stricken Riko-senpai.
"Heh, it's nothing really. I just need help getting up," I laugh, hiding my nervous voice.
Grabbing Kuroko-kun's hand, he helps me up but as soon as I apply pressure on my calf, I slip and crash into Kuroko-kun.
"You're not fine at all," says Koga-senpai, as he gives me a worried look.
"It looks like a strained muscle. We'll have to carry her home," she says, as she pokes at my calf.
"I'll carry-"
Kasamatsu-kun slaps Moriyama-kun away, "Like hell you will!"
I give Kaijou's captain a thankful look.
Walking home now, I awkwardly sit on the back of Mitobe-senpai, who had just traded with Koga-senpai. I didn't like that fact that after a hard game the guys had to carry me home. Kuroko-kun had said he had no trouble carrying me home, but when they put me on his back, Kuroko-kun immediately collapsed. I apologized quickly because I thought it was because of my weight, but he insisted that he was too weak.
So instead, the boys took turns carrying me. Which made me realize that it was indeed because I was too heavy.
It was now Kagami-kun's turn to carry me. He had been fighting the issue the whole time but had no choice to comply since it was Riko-senpai's demands.
As Kagami-kun stands tall, I stumble to catch my balance. By doing so, I end up tugging on Kagami-kun's hair. He growls in response.
Since Kagami-kun was so tall, it was as if I was seeing a whole new world from up here.
"I can see my house!"
"That's a little much!" yells Kagami-kun, as he notices that I was taking a swig at his height.
Smiling down at him, I notice a ball being bounced behind us. It wasn't just any ball, it was my lucky ball. Turning my body around on Kagami-kun was hard, but I saw him. That all too familiar tanned skinned and navy hair.
It was Aomine-kun, walking away while dribbling my ball. For a moment he stops, and peers over his shoulder. We both lock eyes. I'm about to wave at him but he ignores me and continues to walk further and further away.
Upset that he chose to ignore me, I forget to hold on to Kagami-kun with two hands. Falling off, I wait for the impact of the cold, hard ground but instead I'm cushioned with something much more softer.
Looking behind me, I yelp as I see a patch of light blue.
"G'yaaaah! I killed Kuro-kun!" I cry, as I try to shake the boy back to life.
Suddenly, someone places a comforting hand on my shoulder. Looking up, it was Izuki-senpai.
"I'm sorry. But there's nothing more we can-"
"Don't say scary stuff like that!" yells Hyuuga-senpai, as he slaps Izuki-senpai on the head.
Immediately everyone begins to yell at each other and suddenly the blames being put on the quiet Mitobe-senpai.
I sit on Kuroko-kun quietly, reveling in the personalities of my team. Never had I met a bunch like them.