Hello everyone, it's been a while! I hope you all are doing well!

Quick thanks to AkaKuro4ever (So much angst and most of it canon, sadly) and JoSamm (Thank you!) for reviewing alongside all 99 followers, 93 favorites and 15,191 readers!

Seriously, y'all are absolutely amazing, I am eternally stunned by the response this fic has received and I hope I meet all of your expectations! In any case, enjoy!

Chapter 17: Let the True Game Begin

There were thirty-one seconds left in the second quarter, with the score 49-39 in Touou's favor.

The air was heavy as Aomine stepped onto the court. It fell onto Kuroko as an almost overwhelming weight. He knew Midorima and Kise felt it as well, Midorima's branches and vines desperately trying to stand against the sudden gravity and Kise's sun fighting to not become a shooting star.

Aomine's eyes, however, were only on Kuroko as he stopped before the phantom.

"Yo, Tetsu. It's good to see you again," Aomine smiled, cocky and self-assured. But Kuroko knew Aomine as well as Momoi did. He could see the genuine sentiment shining in the ace's eyes and Kuroko's heart ached to the very bottom of his soul. The jagged edges of where Aomine had once so solidly been felt just as much like a gaping wound as they had when they first opened up. "I was wondering what face you'd make." Aomine continued. "I like it. You look ready to go."

"Yes. I promised Momoi-san," Kuroko stated, putting as much subtle feeling into his words as he could. Silently, he begged to every god above that the ace would understand, that the broken edges between them didn't take away everything.

"I more or less understand what you want to say," Aomine laughed, "but you'll have to show me that with your play. Well, either way…say it once you've beaten me."

"Yes," Kuroko confirmed. His heart was pounding in his chest, with adrenaline and nerves and something he couldn't quite name all at once.

Aomine walked past him and Kagami before he threw out one more comment.

"If you can do it," he said with a smirk in his voice.

"Bring it on! We'll show you right away!" Kagami promised through gritted teeth.

Midorima observed as the game began once more, watching silently as Touou took possession of the ball and passed it continuously before it ended up in Aomine's hands and the formation they created was obvious.

"Isolation," Kise whispered, somewhere on the verge of his true self and his public persona. It wasn't Midorima's business, of course, and he refused to acknowledge the glittering ice of Kuroko's determination and the bright sun bursts of Kise's anticipation.

"In order to allow special players to move freely, the remaining players gather to one side," Midorima said aloud to distract himself from his unnecessary thoughts. Besides, if Kise was keeping up his public persona, it was beneficial for Midorima to help it along. "There are several reasons to use this technique, but in this situation, it's exactly what it looks like. In other words, it's a one-on-one between both teams' aces."

As Aomine faced down Kagami once more, he allowed himself to hang in that moment of stillness, that single moment before he crushed his opponents' dreams right before their eyes.

Besides, he already knew that Kagami was too weak for Kuroko. What an idiot, thinking he could take on Aomine.

The ace smirked before he faked out Kagami and broke away from him, driving towards the net. Seirin's captain, Hyuuga, tried to mark Aomine instead, but he was too fast for him, breaking away without even a second of hesitation the second he turned.

Aomine had a clear path to the hoop, not a single opponent in sight, and he could feel the boredom already draping over his shoulders like a well loved blanket as he jumped to dunk the ball in.

But suddenly, Kagami was there, blocking Aomine's dunk in its entirety.

He caught up in the second it took to roll? Aomine thought as he stared at the replacement. The boredom fell away, just a little, at that moment.

"So high!" Midorima gaped as Kise and he looked down at the game. Kise couldn't blame the sharpshooter, he was stunned speechless.

How'd he jump so high from that position? The copycat wondered. It wasn't like he hadn't expected Kagami to grow, but this was so fast!

Was this what it had been like for others to watch the Uncrowned Kings and the Generation of Miracles grow into their own potential?

Seirin had the ball and Kuroko knew this was their chance to get the score to a single digit difference.

The rest of Touou, however, had returned to defend faster than expected…but that was alright.

Izuki passed the ball and Kuroko slammed it into an Ignite Pass straight to Kagami.

Kagami jumped to dunk the ball in, but suddenly, Aomine was there, blocking Kagami's chance just as Kagami had done to him.

Kuroko could only stare at the ace, his former Light, as the final seconds of the second quarter ticked down and the buzzer went off.

"Oh? It's over?" Aomine asked as the buzzer registered, his back to the rest of the teams. "I was going to score one as a quick warm-up. What is this? Sheesh…pretty good though." As he spoke, Aomine turned towards the court and his eyes met Kuroko's, as he stuck a finger in his ear. "At ten points behind, I thought you guys must suck, but you're not bad, are you?"

Kuroko's heart pounded in his throat.

"Aominecchi…" Kise whispered, pain and fondness and admiration mixing in his voice.

"He's completely unbearable," Midorima stated, like the total tsundere he was. Kise had no doubt he felt the same indescribable ache where Aomine was supposed to be, alongside Momoi, Murasakibara and Akashi. "He's slow, like he has no desire to play."

Kise's heart ached, because there was something wrong with the world if Aomine Daiki didn't want to play basketball.

No doubt feeling the pain Kise wasn't admitting to aloud, Midorima slowly set down his lucky item and reached out with his left hand as subtly as possible. He took Kise's right hand in his left and squeezed for the briefest of moments before he let go.

Kise's heart melted, just as it always did whenever Midorima felt touching someone else was possible.

"Aomine, you bastard, play as hard as you can!" Wakamatsu scolded, just as he always did and Aomine resisted the urge to both yawn and punch him at the same time. "You let that guy block you."

"What?" Aomine asked before he let out a laugh. "I can't play that hard. I'm tired."

"You bastard!" Wakamatsu growled, causing the vein in his forehead to pulse. Briefly, Aomine wondered if he could manage to annoy his senpai enough that the vein in question would just…burst. A gory image, but an amusing one, that was for certain.

"But…" Aomine smirked as he looked at Kuroko once more. His pulse raced in a way he almost didn't recognize. "I might actually try in the second half."

When they returned to the locker room, Momoi tried her best not to pout as she watched Aomine approach Sakurai.

"Ryo, did you bring them?" the ace asked.

"Y-yes…" Sakurai confirmed as he took out the lemons he brought.

"Thanks," Aomine acknowledged before he began to eat them. Momoi was really trying hard not to cry, but why didn't Aomine eat her food like he did Sakurai's? "These are delicious."

From there, Wakamatsu intervened and took the lemons Sakurai had made, eating them against both Sakurai's protests and Imayoshi's requests for some.

"Don't eat all of them," Imayoshi sighed.

"It's okay. I made some too," Momoi smiled as she eagerly held out the lemons she made to the captain.

"Oh, thanks," Imayoshi smiled only for his expression to fall when Momoi opened the container. Instantly, he turned away. "Sakurai, do you have any more?"

"Sorry, I'm all out," Sakurai apologized and Momoi felt her heart break. What was wrong with her food? She put her heart and soul into it!

"Yeah, Satsuki's cooking is terrible," Aomine stated and never before had Momoi wanted to hit her childhood friend then she did right this instant.

"Isn't this a level below cooking?" Imayoshi cried, and Momoi's heart broke all over again.

Where was Kuroko and his offers to try her food when she needed him? Or Murasakibara to help her prepare snacks the night before?

She missed her boys…

Kuroko was honestly surprised when he saw that Riko was as terrible a cook as Momoi, but he didn't say anything as everyone gathered around Mitobe and shared his lemons instead.

He was mostly lost in thought, honestly, until Kagami turned to him.

"Kuroko, don't you want any?" his Light asked.

"No, I'm good," Kuroko denied.

"Kuroko-kun, you played the whole first quarter, so I'm taking you out for a bit," Riko explained as she stood up from the corner she had fallen into when her food was insulted. "You have to replenish your nutrients."

"Please, let me keep playing during the second half," Kuroko requested, entirely serious.

"What?" Riko asked, looking surprised. Kuroko had made a reputation of himself to not ask for more game time, because he knew his weakness would affect the rest of the team. So typically, he wouldn't have done this.

But…this was Aomine and Momoi. Two Miracles on the same team. Two more pieces of Kuroko's very soul.

He didn't want to sit out, not yet.

Harasawa clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Come on, it's too early to relax," he reminded them. "Let's talk about the second half."

"I'll pass," Aomine drawled as he moved to leave the locker room.

"Aomine, you bastard! Wait!" Wakamatsu cried out even before Momoi could say anything. Surprisingly, the ace actually listened and stopped.

"I'll make all my shots in the next quarter," Aomine smirked as he looked back at the rest of the team over his shoulder. "That should do it, right?"

"You bastard!" Wakamatsu growled, frustrated.

"As long as you understand," Harasawa allowed, twirling a curl around his finger. "Make sure you go warm-up."

"Okay," Aomine drawled as he left the locker room behind. But Momoi wasn't letting him escape this time.

"Aomine-kun!" she cried as she chased after her childhood friend.

Momoi chased after Aomine until she finally caught up to him in the stadium's atrium, the moonlight shining down on both of them and she desperately ignored the way the silver light played on Aomine's blue hair.

She was mad at him, damn it.

"I've had enough! I can't believe you were late!" she scolded him unreservedly. "What do you think you're doing? We're up against Tetsu-kun's team! In the second half, you'd better-"

"Shut up. I know," Aomine cut her off as he continued to stretch his arms behind his back. "I feel bad about what I did. I misread them a little. I should have shown up sooner."

Momoi could only stare at Aomine, speechless. Her heart raced under her chest and her right ankle burned at the spark in Aomine's eyes.

It was small and it was barely anything, but it was there.

It was there and it was something Momoi hadn't seen in a long time.

"Aomine will be tough without Kuroko," Hyuuga admitted. "Can we even manage it?"

"Two quarters back to back…" Riko trailed off.

"Your misdirection won't work throughout a whole game, right?" the captain questioned, this time turning towards Kuroko.

"I don't think we should do it," Izuki voiced. "I've been watching with my Eagle Eye, but your effectiveness has already dropped off quite a bit. You should sit out for a while."

"I can do it," Kuroko insisted. His wrists burned and his heart raced. He couldn't risk losing to Aomine and Momoi, not when he knew exactly what would happen should he lose. "No, I will do it. I will do anything to beat Aomine-kun."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but…" Hyuuga trailed off, unsure of what to say from the look on his face.

Quiet fell over the locker room, as serene but heavy as the snow fall no doubt falling in Kuroko's own mind.

"Coach, can I get those?" Kagami broke the silence.

"What?" Riko asked, confused.

"Kuroko…" his Light's voice drew Kuroko away from his own mind. The phantom glanced up, only to have one of Riko's lemons stuffed in his mouth. "Just eat those on the bench, you idiot. You're the one who said you can't play basketball by yourself! Leave it to us!"

At Kagami's words and with a smile on her face, Riko laid out their plan for the second half, starting with Kuroko sitting out but being prepared to go in at any time.

Outside of the requirement of him eating some of her lemons, Kuroko could put up with the strategy she laid out. He would do his best, just as he always did.

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko spoke up as they were walking back to the gym.

"What?" Kagami questioned. "Have you calmed down a little?"

"Yes. More importantly…I have not seen Aomine-kun's limits since he bloomed," Kuroko cautioned. "Not only that, but just like Kise-kun and Midorima-kun, he has probably grown. Going forward, he is an unknown value. Be careful."

"I couldn't ask for more," Kagami smirked, looking excited.

As the time before the second half ran out, Aomine stepped onto the court, more warmed up than he could remember being at a game in a while. Sweat clung to his skin and his pulse raced.

"Let's do this already," he smirked as he removed the towel from his head and stared at the court. Kuroko had been benched, he noticed.

Well, they'd see soon enough that they needed the phantom to even have a chance of reaching Aomine's feet. But of course, it wasn't like Kuroko could beat him either.

"Did you finish warming up?" Kagami smirked at Aomine.

"Keep fighting until the end," Aomine smirked right back. "If you have it in you."

"Let the third quarter begin!" the announcer declared and the game was on.

Midorima stared down at Kuroko, sitting on the bench with a frost of pure determination forming in his mind.

"It can't be helped, but they couldn't afford to sub Kuroko out in the first quarter without Aomine," Midorima mused aloud, glancing at Kise from the corner of his eye. "I don't believe they can endure this."

"You're right," Kise agreed dully, his voice cold and taking on that detachment that spoke of a part of his true self that Kise typically hid far away. "Playing against Aominecchi without Kurokocchi is too hard. But when I consider the rate of his growth, I get the feeling something's going to happen. He can do it."

Midorima fought every instinct in his body that screamed at him to flinch as Kise's voice rang out within his mind, clear as a sunrise. It was still so very strange, even as both Kuroko and Kise had worked to help him adjust.

Feeling Kise gazing at him, Midorima returned the look only to find the copycat shifting the slightest bit closer. Not close enough to touch, but enough that Midorima knew he was there.

It was utterly ridiculous how such a sight made Midorima soften, even as every part of him knew that he didn't want Kise to touch him right now.

But the look in Kise's eyes told him that he understood, and their bond was warm with…with something Midorima was just not ready for.

Aomine smirked as he faced off against Kagami, simply dribbling the ball as he observed his replacement.

You're fired up. Aomine mused to himself. Does this mean it won't be like that time in the park? Well, either way…it's pointless.

Aomine dribbled the ball, didn't even bother with a fake and drove past Kagami faster than the replacement could blink.

Tsuchida and Mitobe were under the net, ready to block Aomine, but they weren't good enough to stop him.

Aomine jumped and threw a fadeaway.

"When it comes to movement, speed is not all about maximum speed. Your acceleration from zero to max, and your deceleration from max to zero. Agility, how quick you are on your feet. Even among the Generation of Miracles, Aomine transcends the rest of us."

Aomine remembered Midorima saying that once. Even now, those words caused well deserved pride to flow into his limbs.

But suddenly, Kagami was there, trying to block Aomine from behind. And even though he didn't block the shot, Aomine's pulse quickened.

This guy… The ace thought.

The ball swished through the hoop.

51-39, Touou.

Aomine realized what was happening as soon as Seirin's captain threw the ball, and for a moment he could've sworn he heard Momoi realize at the same instant that they were going for a fast break.

Kagami received the ball and drove towards the net, jumping into the air. But before he could dunk it in, there was Aomine stealing the ball from his grasp.

"No, you don't," Aomine stated once they landed back on the floor. Kagami glared up at him from where the replacement was kneeling on the floor. "You think it's that easy to make a fast break?"

But even though aloud his words were derisive, in his mind, Aomine was…perplexed.

Is this guy serious? He just jumped from the free throw line. Don't tell me he was trying to dunk from there. Oi, oi.

Aomine could feel Kuroko's gaze on him, obviously not trusting that this was going to be easy.

And it wasn't, not for Seirin anyway.

But for Aomine…

"Enough," the ace smirked. "Honest basketball just isn't for me."

He started off just like a normal high school game, but when Kagami thought he had Aomine…he changed his movements.

Suddenly, Aomine was moving however his body wanted to move, not caring about the rules as he infused street ball into his style, throwing both Kagami and the rest of Seirin off completely.

Finally, Aomine drove past the replacement as he fell to the floor, almost as if Akashi had used an Ankle Breaker on him.

"No, you don't!" Hyuuga shouted as he joined Tsuchida and Mitobe in attempting to block Aomine from scoring.

Ha…they thought something like being unable to shoot from the front would stop him? Pathetic.

Aomine waited until he was past the net, giving Seirin just a little hope…and threw the basketball.

It swished through the net, just as it was meant to.

As soon as he was back on the floor, Aomine turned and met Kuroko's eyes across the court, a full on smirk across his face at the shock on the rest of Seirin's team.

It was a rush that grew dull after a while, shocking people like this, but the first time was always satisfactory.

Kagami, however, interrupted his thoughts.

"The Generation of Miracles is full of ridiculous guys," he commented. The replacement wasn't shocked anymore, he didn't even look like he'd given up. If anything, Kagami looked even more fired up than before.

Aomine only smirked back at him, wondering just how long it would take to extinguish that flame. They all went out eventually, after all.

And there we are! I hope the wait was worth it! I'm not sure when I'll get to work on chapter 21, but once again, thank you all so much for sticking with this story. You all are the reason it's been able to reach this far in the first place and every one of you pushes me to keep going, so just...thank you. This anime is my comfort anime and I love the story I've created for it, but my attention span is short so if you all weren't here to remind me, I'd probably wouldn't even be at chapter 10 at this point. So yeah, thank you so much and I hope you continue to put up with my limited bouts of inspiration.

In any case, if memory serves, the next chapter is the end of this game so look forward to that! In the meantime, bye for now!