Hello again everyone, it's been...24 hours! Like I thought, chapter 19 didn't take too long to write, so now you get to see the beginning of Touou vs Seirin!
In the meantime, thanks to AkaKuro4ever (Don't worry, the dread leads to character development, I promise) and ProxyxHoodie (This is an oddity but I'm glad I can give you a quick update!) for reviewing, all 91 followers, 77 favorites and 11,387 readers!
Not much else to say, except enjoy!
Chapter 16: One vs One
Just as Kuroko had expected, Touou was a strong team even without Aomine. They still had Momoi, of course, but he suspected that they would still be strong even without her. He couldn't say if they were, however, stronger than Seirin if all Miracles were taken out of the equation.
But that wasn't his focus right now.
Right now, his focus was making sure his presence was low enough…and…now!
Kuroko ran alongside their center, Wakamatsu, and knew he had picked up on his presence at last. But that was okay. He didn't have the ball, not yet.
Kuroko jumped.
"Don't try things you're not used to, idiot!" Kagami scolded as he jumped up shortly after Kuroko and grabbed the basketball.
"So high!" Wakamatsu gasped, loud enough for Kuroko to hear.
The phantom couldn't help the slight curl of satisfaction in his gut. Even if this wasn't what he had planned, his low jump had only emphasized just how high Kagami's was, rattling Touou where they could. Which is exactly what they needed, given the smirk that seemed to be permanently painted on Imayoshi's face.
"Nice, Kagami! You too, Kuroko," Izuki praised as Kagami threw the basketball to him when they touched back down.
"What was that sad jump?" Kagami questioned as they ran back to the other side of the court. "If you can't get it, don't jump!"
"I got it," Kuroko countered instantly. Just to be a little shit.
"Liar!" Kagami cried, falling for it way too easily. "This isn't like you, anyway. This isn't overlapping with your middle school experience, is it?"
Kuroko glared at Kagami. He didn't get to talk about that, not so casually. Not when Momoi was on the bench and Aomine was on his way and Kuroko was sure Midorima and Kise were the same.
So many pieces of his soul hadn't been in the same place in so long, it was impossible for the memories to not feel like they're reaching out to grasp him. Every time Kuroko saw a flash of Momoi's pink hair, he expected to see Coach Shirogane beside her. And that expectation bled onto the rest of the court. Not enough to affect his gameplay, but enough that Kuroko could've sworn he could see the rest of the Miracles constantly in the corner of his eye.
"We're playing against Touou now. Are you asleep?" Kagami questioned, drawing Kuroko back from his memories once more.
The reminder, however, was exactly what he needed and the phantom smiled.
"But I got it," he added, again just to be a little shit.
"Liar!" Kagami cried, right on cue.
"Oh? I'm late again, and they're losing again," Kise sighed as he reached the court where Seirin and Touou Academy were playing.
Kuroko's mind was slowly calming into that keen focus he always had during games, a glittering marvel of ice and snow. Midorima's mind, however, was tense and anxious, a shaking forest of bamboo amongst his ever sturdy trees.
Of course, that was the exact moment Kise spotted Midorima himself, already watching the game.
"Midorimacchi?" Kise called out as he approached the sharpshooter.
"Kise?" Midorima cried as he turned towards Kise, showing off the sunglasses covering his eyes, as if that were able to disguise his eye-catching green hair.
Honestly, Kise couldn't believe he was falling for this dork.
Oh, nope, nope, nope, not going there, not right now, moving on!
The box in Midorima's hand suddenly opened like a jack-in-the-box, drawing the copycat's attention back to the sharpshooter.
"How did you know it was me?" Midorima questioned, as the anxiety settled in his mind, his bamboo receding but vines still clinging stubbornly to the branches of his forest.
"What are you, stupid?" Kise asked, feeling exasperation and fondness curl together in his gut. "Those sunglasses are embarrassing. Please take them off."
"What?" Midorima gaped, as if he couldn't believe the words Kise had said. Not that he should be surprised, Kise is a model after all. If anybody knew fashion, it was him.
"What's with the box?" Kise questioned, changing the topic so Midorima could once more find his footing. He already knew what it was, of course, but this was a familiar topic to Midorima and Kise knew it would ground him.
"It's today's lucky item, of course," Midorima answered, his voice surerer than it had been and his shoulders relaxing.
Kise, however, kept up his act and blinked repeatedly.
"Is that it?" he sighed, as if he hadn't known how Midorima had ended up here wearing embarrassing sunglasses inside of all places. "You told everyone you didn't want to see the game, but you came anyway?" As he spoke, Kise moved closer to Midorima, close enough to feel the warmth of his body but not close enough to touch.
Midorima had always been particular about who touched him, after all, and Kise had become quite adept at holding himself back from imposing his own need for touch onto the sharpshooter. Their bond reforging and the restaurant after Seirin and Shutoku's game had been exceptions, fueled solely by the reforging that left all three of them yearning for the contact.
Now, in this place, Kise would watch himself carefully. Midorima would choose how they went about this aspect and Kise would gladly follow his lead.
"Don't say that!" Midorima glared at him, his eyes hidden behind those ridiculous sunglasses. "I just happened to be in the area!"
"Your house isn't anywhere near here," Kise countered. Honestly, that was a terrible excuse. They've known each other for two years now, did Midorima actually think Kise forgot where he lived?
It had practically been required for all seven Miracles to know where they all lived and there had been a time where they had practically lived out of each other's pockets. It hadn't been odd for any of them to suddenly spend the night together, as long as Momoi got a room to herself. The only home none of them had ever been allowed to enter had been Akashi's, otherwise they all were well known faces at each other's homes.
Midorima turned away from Kise and back towards the game, unable to counter that extremely logical point.
So, to have mercy on the sharpshooter, Kise changed the topic.
"So, how's the game?" he asked.
"Nothing special," Midorima answered as he finally took his sunglasses off and put his own glasses on. As he did so, he sent Kise a questioning look, the question he was asking all too easy to read. Kise nodded the slightest bit in confirmation. "This is ridiculous. Aomine doesn't seem to be here, but they can barely keep up."
"Aominecchi's not here?" Kise asked, surprised as he finally looked down at the court.
Sure enough, Aomine's dark blue hair was nowhere to be seen. Momoi, however, was easy enough to spot at Touou's bench.
"Well, those two just scored. They're just getting started," Kise shrugged, falling into his dumb blonde act seamlessly, as Midorima had questioned if he would.
After all, even if they were at the back of the stands, they could still be overheard and they could never be too careful about keeping Kise from being perceived as a mental threat.
"Have you forgotten, Kise?" Midorima asked as he, too, fell into the familiar routine. "Touou has Momoi as well. She is not just a manager. During middle school, she helped us many times. In other words, if she is your opponent, she becomes exceptionally hard to deal with."
She was, after all, the seventh member of the Generation of Miracles. Even if the rest of the world never acknowledged her as such, they all knew the truth. Momoi Satsuki was their equal, another piece of their souls that would be missing if she wasn't there.
"Momocchi, huh?" Kise hummed. "She's known Aominecchi since they were little, hasn't she? Didn't she like Kurokocchi? What if she can't play seriously against him?"
That last question wasn't a part of Kise's act, not really. It was, in actuality, a bit of his own worries. Would he be able to play against Kuroko and Midorima as seriously now as he would have before they reforged their bond? If not even Momoi could do so, with her bond blocked as it was, how could Kise hope to do so?
"Is that right?" Midorima questioned, surprised.
"What? You didn't know?" Kise cried, his reaction entirely honest this time as he stared at the sharpshooter in abject shock. His mind was probably broadcasting his emotions quite well, considering the prickly way Midorima's trees were shivering as prickly vines covered their bark. "It was obvious! She was all over him every day! If you didn't know after seeing that, you must be a monkey!"
"What? What do you mean, a monkey?" Midorima cried out in response, his trees as ruffled as his hair.
It was cute and Kise really needed to stop going there. Not now.
Though now that he thought about it, Momoi had to have known about this aspect of their bond even in middle school. But if so, why had she only pursued Kuroko? Could it be that her bond was different or…?
Nope, not going there, too much to consider right now, focus on the game!
"Well, if that's the case, it's all the more, then," Midorima deadpanned, pushing his glasses up his nose as he recovered from his own outburst. "She would never wish for Kuroko to slack off in a game. Her role may be different, but her attitude towards basketball is no different from an athlete's. She would never intentionally lose a basketball game."
Kise knew that was right, but it in no way stopped the shiver that ran down his spine. Once Aomine arrived, this wouldn't just be a Miracle playing against a Miracle.
It would be the first game that was one Miracle against two.
"That's your ex-girlfriend everyone's been talking about?" Kagami asked as he looked over to observe Momoi. Kuroko held in a sigh, waiting for the typical reaction Momoi caused in both men and women. "She's cute."
"Is that so?" Kuroko questioned, surprised that Kagami hadn't had a larger reaction.
"Oi! There's something annoying about the way you said that," Kagami glared down at him on Momoi's behalf.
"Well, you're right," Kuroko agreed.
"What?" the Light asked.
"As long as she's not playing a game," the phantom finished. Because it was true. Momoi was beautiful, especially when she's in her element.
But that wasn't something he could focus on during a game with her as an enemy. Because Momoi was a Miracle.
And Miracles do not like to lose.
"I can see how they defeated a couple of kings," Coach Harasawa commented as he played with his hair and observed the court.
"Coach, should we take a time out?" Momoi questioned.
"No, it's fine," the coach hummed. "They're still making corrections after observing the real thing. Momoi-san, did you already hand those out?"
"Yes," Momoi nodded as she looked back down at the notes in her hands. "They already know everything."
Midorima observed the game below carefully as Touou closely guarded Seirin, blocking them in.
Kagami caught the ball, but there was no way for him to pass that Midorima observed. He threw the ball.
"A three? No…" Kise gasped at Midorima's side, a warm presence that was open should Midorima choose to come closer. "That's…"
"A one man alley-oop!" Midorima cried, recognizing the pattern as Kagami charged past his mark.
"I know. I thought you might try that," Momoi hummed as she looked from the court to her notes. Susa, she knew, would prevent Kagami from getting close enough to complete the alley-oop, while Imayoshi and Wakamatsu blocked Izuki and Mitobe respectively. "Boys are so simple."
And sure enough, the play went exactly as she had strategized. Touou had the ball now and Momoi was all too aware of Kuroko's eyes resting on her.
But she couldn't focus on him, not now. This was a battle between her and him, and she would give him no unnecessary advantage.
Mitobe caught the ball on the next play and Momoi could hear the Seirin bench cheer for their senpai.
Mitobe Rinnosuke-san. A hard worker who doesn't take risks. When his opponent is taller than him… Momoi let out a giggle as Wakamatsu blocked Mitobe's hook shot.
Next, the ball went to Hyuuga.
Hyuuga Junpei-san. Not a fast player. Goes for threes after breaking free of his mark with screens and cuts instead of charging in. However… Momoi continued to take notes even as she watched the game.
After all, it was best to continue gathering information at all times so that if something changes during the game itself, they would be prepared.
Sakurai was marking Hyuuga. And just as Momoi suspected…
"I know," she whispered as Hyuuga moved to dribble forward. "I thought you might do that."
Sakurai blocked his attempt perfectly.
"Normally, when confronted with a play missing from their data, a person cannot handle it." Midorima commented, well aware that Kise already knew this. But they had to keep their act, and so he acted as if Kise did not know. "However, Momoi analyzes the data she collects and even reads how her opponents will grow."
Their height, weight, strengths, weaknesses, personality, habits…I gather all of it and analyze, interpret and narrow the results. The last trick is… Momoi smirked as she pictured Hyuuga's data within her mind before she spoke aloud. "...a woman's intuition."
Hyuuga passed the ball to Izuki, unable to get by Sakurai.
Izuki Shun-san. Possess the exceptional spatial awareness ability Eagle Eye. But because he sees so much, he sometimes becomes unable to act. Momoi smirked at her own thoughts.
Suddenly, however, right before he would earn a foul, Izuki passed the ball back to Hyuuga. Hyuuga, who instantly tried once more to pass Sakurai.
But something was different this time. Something Momoi couldn't have predicted.
Kuroko was there, acting as a screen against Sakurai.
Susu tried to block Hyuuga, but as the Touou player was in the air, Hyuuga passed to Kagami instead, who dunked the ball.
21-15, Touou.
And as Kuroko ran back to the other side of the court, his eyes once again sought out Momoi, causing her heart to flutter in her chest.
Sheesh! I can never read him. She mentally sighed.
"Damn, this isn't going to be easy," Harasawa commented.
"It's alright. I thought this might happen," Momoi reassured as she turned back to her notes. No need to let the coach know she can't predict Kuroko, after all. But that's why I love Tetsu-kun!
The first quarter ended with the score 25-21, Touou.
Once the second quarter began, Seirin utilized Kuroko and Kagami to fight against Momoi's data on the second years.
But that went out the window when Riko noticed that Kagami's legs still weren't fully healed, forcing them to bench him as she taped his legs.
"Seirin scores around Kuroko, but the movements of the remaining four second years are all known because of Momoi," Midorima commented. "The hole left by Kagami is huge."
"The score gap is getting wider," Kise nodded in agreement. There was not even a hint of his act and Midorima was not feeling the slightest bit of fondness that he was trusted with this side of Kise. Nope, not at all whatsoever. "This isn't good."
38-29, Touou with five minutes left in the second quarter.
Aomine entered the gym and couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face as he saw Kagami getting ready to go on the court.
Without making his presence known, just as Kuroko had taught him, Aomine approached and wrapped his arm around Kagami's shoulders.
"That's it, show some spirit so you can entertain me, even a little," the ace declared as he felt the replacement stiffen at his touch.
"You bastard!" Kagami growled at him as he threw Aomine's arm off his shoulders. "Aomine!"
"You're finally here?" Imayoshi called out as the entirety of Seirin's team stiffened in fear.
Not Kuroko though. Kuroko simply stared at Aomine as he covered his right wrist with his left hand, his expression impassive. Lazily, Aomine stretched so that his hand brushed against his right collarbone, subtly returning the greeting.
"Hurry up and get ready so you can play!" Imayoshi's voice broke through the moment between the two like a blade.
"What? But you're winning," Aomine drawled, gazing over at the scoreboard which read 49-39, Touou with less than a minute left in the quarter. "There's only one minute left in the second quarter anyway."
"No, you have to play," Harasawa denied him.
"Fine," Aomine deadpanned as he threw his bag on the bench and tossed his warm-ups at Momoi. "Well, then…let's go."
The real battle of him and Momoi against Kuroko started now.
And it would only end in one way.
The only one who could beat Aomine, after all, is Aomine himself.
And there we are! I know it's a short chapter, but this episode focused a lot on Seirin and Touou, so I added what I could. But I enjoyed the shippy moments, especially from Kise! I hope you all did too!
Not much else to say here...episode 20 is next, so we'll see how long that takes me. Bye for now!