POV Midorima
I choose to wear my Shūtoku uniform because it is, after all, what I've worn for every game for the last three years even though, as of last week, I am officially retired from the team. Today's lucky color is orange.
I have not missed a single day of practice, nor a single untouched shot. My nails are perfect, and the hand massage that Takao gave me upon waking up this morning makes me feel spoiled.
I lace my right shoe first. Cancer's forecast was second for today and a Hello Kitty stuffed animal is my Lucky Item. Takao went out right after the end of the broadcast and found one dressed in a basketball uniform. She stares at me now with her vacant gaze. She will sit with Takao in the stands.
My cellphone bings, alerting me to a new text message.
[You don't need luck, you've got this, but just in case…] Included with the message is a photograph of an entire store's display of Hello Kitties. Nestled among them is a sign that says "Midorimacchi!" The message is from Kise. I don't reply, because doing so would be outside of my routine.
I almost walk out of the bedroom without my pendent, but a glint of red catches my eye and I slip it over my head. It falls against my breast bone and with its return to that place, I am ready.
The stands are filled with familiar faces. The entire Shutōku club, all forty-five members, has taken over the back half of the center court seats. In front of them, Serin's much smaller club sits. Kise and Kasamatsu enter and go straight over to sit with Kuroko. Kise is walking on his own again, but the limp is painful to watch. A flash of purple stops before Kagami and Kuroko. Murasakibara and his shadow, Himura, are here all the way from Yosen. Momoi drags Aomine in and, behind them, Tōō gathers.
The crowd quiets as Razukan's first string strolls up the stairs. The rabble parts for Akashi the Emperor. His presence makes me nervous, but I can't help that.
Takao runs across the court to me, hugging my Lucky Item to his chest.
"He's here," he pouts.
"Don't say such unnecessary things; a blind man would have noted his passing."
He pressed Kitty's face against my check, and then bumps his shoulder into my arm. I catch his hand before he can escape.
"What Shin-chan, are you nervous?"
"No, my medications appear to be working just fine," I say, adjusting my glasses.
"Then what's up?"
"What would you do if I kissed you right now, in front of all these people?"
"I'd kiss you back, of course, silly Shin-chan. Are you likely to do that?" His eyebrows fly up.
"Very unlikely," I admit. He smirks. I watch Takao walk away and up to a seat between Kuroko and Kise.
The competition begins with announcements, and as we are each introduced there is a varying amount of applause. I try not to compare the noise they make for me to anyone else, but I feel that the crowd may be skewed in my favor.
I know only three of the other competitors, Hyūga , of course, Sakurai from Tōō, and Reo, formerly an uncrowned king of Razukan. At least that explains Akashi's interest in the proceedings. I consider Hyūga a friend, at least this is what Takao calls him, "our friend," but none of us speak to each other.
The first stage of competition is free throws. Of the fifteen initial competitors, three miss the first shot and are automatically out. Sakurai holds out, shot for shot, until the fourth round where his shot, instead of falling neatly through the rim, spins around it before it wobbles through. His insecurity gets the better of him and he doesn't make the next shot. Two more competitor's fall away before the end of the stage. Ten move onto the second round. In the shooting order, I am third.
Hyūga and Reo both hold on through the second stage where JBL members actively try to block our shots. Hyūga's stamina suffers. In the third stage we cooperate with those same JBL players and Hyūga falls apart; he is a complete mess. He misses the first three shots, even though he lands the last four. By the end of the stage, I am left alone with three college students and Reo.
The final stage is an all and all battle, where every shot must be accomplished further back than the last. This is familiar territory for me. Technicians lay tape marks on the floor at increments leading to just behind the center. I don't need them. This is a basketball court and I am intimately award of every centimeter of the floor.
"You've got this!" Takao shout. I push up my glasses; my lips curve up.
My arms are tired. Lactic acid burns through my aching legs. It has been fifty-five minutes since the beginning of the competition. We've been on the court the entire time, but I am not at my limits yet. Takao is right, I have this.
Reo makes six shots before even his beautiful form falls apart. He blows the rest of us a kiss before he bows and leaves the court. Hyūga is right, he is annoying. I am not sorry to see him go.
When there are two of us left, a five minute break is announced. I head to the bench for a drink. For the first time since the competition began, I look to the stands, hoping to catch a glimpse of Takao. A sea of Shutōku orange greets me as everyone in the center section is wearing my colors, including the members of Serin and Tōō. Akashi and the rest of his team are pulling on Shūtoku t-shirts now that Reo is out of the competition. Signs are lifted that say, "Fight," "Perseverance," and "Midorima is a Shooting God!" As they see me look their way, every hand raises, clutching Hello Kitties.
POV Takao
Shin-chan looked up to the stands, his mouth gaping for a moment, before pushing up his glasses and looking away. The buzzer called an end to the break, but before heading back, Shin-chan looked our way one more time and bowed low. He spun on his heel and walked back to the next line.
Shot for shot they moved back, one mark at a time, until his rival failed. Shin-chan took the ball, stepped back three more paces, and settled into this familiar stance as if to say, 'I could do this all day.' However, the shaking in his legs was visible from here. I grabbed Kuroko's hand and held my breath as Shin-chan made the last, beautiful shot.
As it sank through the hoop, with no resistance, the entire room exploded in celebration. Kuroko pulled me up, Kagami pushed me toward the stairs, and finally, I realized it was over. I dashed down the stairs as Shin-chan's victory was announced over the loud speaker. Officials shook his hand, gave him a check and a trophy, and then it was done.
Shin-chan tried to smile as I approached, but I saw the fatigue in his labored breathing and knew his ramrod posture was hiding the fact that he couldn't move.
"Shin-chan," I gasped. He grabbed the back of my head with his left hand and pulled me into his chest, sagging hard and heavy onto my shoulder. "Are you ok?"
"Exhausted," he panted. "I don't know how much longer I can stand, but I can't make my legs move."
The Generation of Miracles and Kagami surrounded us, and having heard Shin-chan's words, they moved into action.
"We will carry you off the court, in celebration to hide your condition," Akashi directed. "Atushi, you are the only one who can lift him, the rest will grab a limb once you get him off the ground."
Shin-chan, eyes widened with panic and he almost protested, but Murasakibara could move fast when he wanted to, and Shin-chan was off his feet before he could utter a word.
They didn't take him far, just to the locker room, and when he was seated, he sagged forward. Akashi pushed me forward.
"I would start by massaging his right leg, he puts more weight on it," he told me. I was on my knees in an instance, unlacing his shoes.
Kise went to work on Shin-chan's shoulders, as I worked the feeling back into his legs.
"Shintarō," Akashi began, "You should perhaps work more on your endurance training in the weeks leading up to your trip. You cannot go abroad to represent us in such a pitiful state."
Sakurai appeared apologizing for intruding, but he brought with him honey and lemons as an offering. After three bottles of electrolytes and an entire lemon, Shin-chan appeared to recover enough to be annoyed by all the attention.
"Seijūrō," Shin-chan barked and all eyes swung to Akashi's face to see if murder was imminent.
"Yes?" His demeanor was calm, but I was glad I was between him and Shin-chan as I continue to massage his calves. I'm not sure what good I could do, but I was willing to die to protect him.
"I'm not going abroad to represent you or the Generation of Miracles," Shin-chan sneered. He staggered to his feet and pushed me aside. "I am Midorima Shintarō and I go for me, for my basketball, and for my future with Takao Kazunari. Nothing more."
I was floored, figuratively and physically, at Shin-chan's courage. No one said anything for a long moment.
"While I understand that my opinion is no longer relevant, given that proclamation, Shintarō, I am very proud of you and your accomplishments, especially your continuing ability to surprise me. Of all of us, you are the only one who has been able to surpass my expectations in this manner."
"Midorimacchi and Takaoicchi are together? Like a couple?" Kise asked, breaking the tension.
"You really are a moron," Kagami accused.
"No wonder Takaoicchi looks so natural kneeling down in between his legs."
Thanks to my Beta Reader, Andarkness23!