Hello everyone, it's been a hot minute since I was last here! Sorry about that, but I am finally getting this chapter out, so hopefully you all can forgive me! Also, I now have a beta reader helping me out from this chapter onwards! Thanks to coco_coco_coconut for being so understanding of my interest coming and going at the most inconvenient of times, this chapter is a lot better thanks to her input!

Okay, enough of me talking, enjoy!

Chapter 18: A Fated Match

There was a tension in the air as Aomine faced off against Kagami, as if the space between the two of them was charged with an electric current, just waiting to be lit with a spark. Aomine broke away, with Kagami on him the entire time. He jumped, letting everyone think he couldn't shoot from his placement near the hoop.

But at the last moment, Aomine smirked…and threw the ball.

The ball swished through the net effortlessly.

The silence hanging between the two of them now was different, but no less tense. Kagami didn't say a word, only panted for breath.

Aomine smirked. This idiotic replacement just didn't know when to give up.

"In all sports, including basketball, fundamental movements and the ideal form have been polished throughout the sport's history," Midorima commented. Kise's eyes shifted from the court to the sharpshooter standing beside him. Kise kept his expression blank, a perfect dumb blonde mask, but he was well aware of both Midorima's words and the warmth between their two bodies. "Because they have been refined to perfection, their options are limited and can be predicted. This gives rise to a strategic battle between the offense and defense. That is the game."

And it was a game that all the Miracles knew inside and out, whether it was expected or not. Akashi, Midorima, Momoi and Kuroko especially, in Kise's opinion, shone brightly with their strategic mindsets.

"But he…" Midorima trailed off. Kise knew the two of them were following the same train of thought, gazing down at Aomine below them.

Aomine had always been different, after all.

Momoi stared at Aomine on the court in silence, memories swimming through her mind.

She could see the street court as clear as if she were there now, the wind caressing her hair and Aomine's smile warming her heart far better than the sun could ever hope to. His smile was always so bright; Momoi had wanted to be the Earth to his sun, to orbit around him in whatever way he wished her to for the rest of her life.

She had loved basketball because Aomine loved basketball, until the sport had stolen her heart as well, perfectly ensnared with no hope or wish of escape.

He's been handling a basketball since before I can remember, Momoi thought to herself, lost in the memories. He has always played on the street among adults. His ball handling, plus his natural speed…a free-spirited style.

She could still see that style, even now. But the passion, the love that still ensnared her entire being…it wasn't there.

"There is no form to Aomine's dribbling or shooting," Midorima continued. "He is limitless, impossible to defend against. He is the unstoppable scorer. The ace of the Generation of Miracles: Aomine Daiki."

Kise didn't comment, even as his heart ached and he could feel Midorima's vines wrapping tightly around him in concern that the sharpshooter would never admit to.

After all, Kise knew more than anyone else what it was like to go against Aomine and never win. It was Aomine that Kise had fallen for first, and the very sight of his style of play had left Kise breathless for the rest of the school day.

But this seemingly lifeless style Aomine used now…that made Kise stop breathing in a way he never wanted to experience again.

Midorima's vines tightened around Kise's soul just as he lightly brushed a pinky against Kise's thumb. Kise allowed a small smile to curve his lips before he bent his thumb just slightly, taking the touch for as long as Midorima was comfortable.

They watched then, as Aomine jumped to shoot, only for Kagami to jump to block him, going impossibly high.

"He's jumping even…" Midorima started to say.

"...higher!" Kise finished instantly. His melancholic feelings pushed to the back of his mind as he waited with baited breath.

"Yeah, yeah. You can jump high," Aomine smirked as he leaned back, further and further. "Good for you. But I'm tired of this."

With his body practically horizontal to the ground, he threw the ball at last, watching as it sailed over Kagami's head and fell through the net. Aomine could practically feel Seirin's shock at the sight and, of course, Kagami's frustration. It almost seemed to curl through the air, like one of Aomine's favorite spices.

Aomine marked Kagami as the replacement received the ball and drove past him. He knew what was coming next and before Kagami could jump out of reach, he slapped the ball out of his grasp.

"Sorry," Aomine smirked unapologetically as Kagami gaped at him. "You're so slow I took the ball." Aomine dribbled the ball and then drove past Kagami.

"Get back here!" Kagami yelled, completely misunderstanding the game they were playing.

But Kagami couldn't catch up, always just right behind Aomine, even as they both jumped, one to shoot and one to block.

But then Kagami collided with Aomine's back. The referee blew the whistle and while he was still in the air, Aomine held the ball behind his back…and threw it.

The ball curved through the air, over both Aomine and Kagami's heads and swished through the hoop.

"Basket counts! One free throw!" the referee shouted as Seirin stared at Aomine in horror and shock, realizing just how outclassed they were.

"This isn't your basketball, is it?" Aomine asked, causing everyone to look at him. But he wasn't speaking to any of these useless playthings. He was speaking to one person and one person only. "The only one who can beat me is me. You can't fight me on your own." Kagami gaped at Aomine, as if this was a shock and not a simple statement of facts. Aomine walked past both Seirin and Touou, standing directly in front of Kuroko on the bench. "Come on out, Tetsu. Let's settle this."

To anyone else, Kuroko's eyes looked blank and uncaring.

But to Aomine?

Those eyes were filled with a forest fire's worth of determination.

"Kuroko-kun…" Riko's voice drew Kuroko's attention.

"I'm fine," Kuroko stated. There was no hint of emotion in his voice. But Kise's trembling sparks of starlight and Midorima's gently shaking leaves made it clear that the two of them could feel his determination. And Kuroko had no doubt that Aomine could see it in his eyes. "I've had plenty of time to rest. I'm going."

He stood up and took off his warm-up shirt. He met Aomine's eyes head on.

The former Light and Shadow, the ace and the phantom. Once the closest of allies and now the most bitter of enemies.

"Show me the strength of the new Light and Shadow," Aomine goaded, a confident smirk on his face.

The true battle had now begun.

"Seirin, member change!" the referee shouted as the buzzer rang out.

Kuroko stepped out onto the court, high fiving Tsuchida as the second year stepped off.

"Kuroko…" Hyuuga said as Kuroko approached.

"Sorry," Kagami apologized when Kuroko reached the team, a shameful expression on his face. "It's even harder by myself than I imagined."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Kuroko stated.

"What?" Kagami asked incredulously, but Kuroko's expression didn't change.

"We always intended to fight together," the phantom said. "If winning were so simple, it would be too easy."

"Shut up. I know!" Kagami looked away. Kuroko wondered, briefly, what his Light saw when he looked at Kuroko. Did he see nothing, just like everyone else? Or did he see the blade of ice that Kuroko hid in the very depths of a seemingly frozen pond? An amused smile crossed Kuroko's lips before his face was blank once more as he looked at Aomine. "Let's go!"

"Yeah, bring it on," Aomine agreed. His eyes rested solely on Kuroko.

"Tetsu-kun…" Momoi whispered from her place on the bench, worry and fear warring within her heart.

What she wouldn't give at that moment to feel Kuroko's soul against her own. But at the same time, she didn't want that bond re-opened yet. This game was painful already, it could only be worse if she knew exactly how Kuroko felt.

But that didn't make the ache in the very depths of her soul any easier to bear.

"Kurokocchi…" Kise whispered. He could feel Kuroko's determination, his resolve, as easily as he could his own. It glittered, clinging to Midorima's branches and Kise's comet trails even as it formed a deadly blade in its own right.

Midorima's hand shifted then, briefly intertwining his finger's with Kise's before he let go.

Kise smiled slightly, all the thanks he could give in it, before he returned his focus to the game.

Kuroko's break had served him well. As soon as he had the ball, he threw it in a Cyclone Pass to Kagami.

Aomine was catching up to him quickly, but that was what they wanted.

Kagami passed the ball backwards, right into Hyuuga's waiting hands. The captain threw the ball and it swished through the hoop.

59-42, Touou. Five minutes and thirty seconds to go.

The next time the ball was passed between Touou's players, Kuroko stole it again, passing it to Izuki, who scored a lay-up.

59-44, Touou.

But Kuroko couldn't afford to relax just yet.

Aomine was on the court after all.

It really is completely different when you're playing, Aomine thought with a smirk. His face smoothed out into blankness, however, when Kuroko passed him. "You're still the same, Tetsu. You really haven't changed since middle school. Not at all." Kuroko didn't say a word as Aomine finally turned to meet his eyes, looking down on the phantom. "I'm disappointed. You still think you can beat me?"

"I do," Kuroko stated, firm and cold as the ice of his soul. "This is my basketball."

The battle was on.

Izuki passed the ball and Kuroko knew exactly what he was going to do: an Ignite Pass to Kagami.

He passed the ball.

But then…suddenly, Aomine was there, catching the Ignite Pass effortlessly.

For the first time since the seven of them took the Oath, Kuroko felt cold. Aomine's eyes were a calm sea, compared to the jagged splinters of ice Kuroko could feel within himself.

"Who do you think has caught more of your passes?" Aomine questioned.

He then turned towards the other side of the court and drove past Izuki, Hyuuga and Mitobe, one after the other.

Kuroko ran alongside Kagami, pushing his body harder than he had in years. He couldn't stop, wouldn't stop, no matter what his body said. He can't just give up and let Aomine score, he had to try and block him!

Kuroko and Kagami jumped, but there was little they could do.

Aomine dunked the ball and Kuroko fell to the floor alongside Kagami.

"How sad," Aomine commented as he landed on the floor. Kuroko, trembling in a way he would never admit to, looked up at his former Light with only his eyes, keeping his head turned away. "You haven't changed at all since middle school. You haven't improved. Akashi was right. Your basketball will never win."

And suddenly, it wasn't ice that was stabbing Kuroko.

It was water, drowning in his lungs.

It was sakura petals, cutting into his skin.

It was shadows, crushing his voice.

It was vines, holding him in place.

It was stars, shooting up his arms from his fingers.

It was fire, burning out his very heart.

But Kuroko wouldn't give up. Never.

Fourth quarter.

82-51, Touou.

Kuroko continued passing whenever he had the ball, but Aomine was there at every turn, predicting every one of Kuroko's trajectories and stealing the ball every time.

And then Riko pulled Kagami out.

"Do you suppose the game will be over soon, Momoi-san?" Harasawa asked. "Don't you have a strategy we can use against him? What shall we do?" The coach was directing his attention to Kuroko.

"No, it shouldn't be necessary anymore," Momoi said. Her voice was entirely professional, with no trace of the sadness that suffused her entire being.

She wasn't sure her heart would survive this, if she was honest. All of her boys…she was losing them again, one by one.

The game continued on into the fourth quarter. There were five minutes and forty seven seconds left.

93-53, Touou.

Kuroko was marking Aomine and his former Light was smirking at him.

"This was quicker than I expected," Aomine commented, as if this were a fun streetball game. "It's already been decided. Your special pass didn't work, you're out of stamina, and your Light is gone. Your misdirection stopped working a while ago. Now you're worse than the average player. There's no such thing as a quick comeback in basketball. I win, Tetsu."

"It's not over yet," Kuroko stated when he finally had enough breath to speak. "The possibility of victory is only 0% when all the players give up. No matter how impossible it may seem, I refuse to make it 0% myself. That is why I won't give up!"

Aomine's eyes widened in surprise and Kuroko relished in that small victory.

He could hear Hyuuga and Koga encouraging the bench, but Kuroko's eyes never left Aomine.

"Let's close the gap one shot at a time," Hyuuga cried out. "Keep running until the very end."

"I'll acknowledge one thing," Aomine smirked. His eyes, too, never left Kuroko even as he no doubt knew the effect Kuroko's words had on his team. "You don't give up easily."

And not a single member of Seirin did.

The final score read as follows.

112-55.

Touou.

And there we are! I don't have much else to say here, honestly. Next chapter for me to work on is episode 22 and for all of you, well, it's another favorite chapter of mine hehe! I hope you all enjoyed! See you next time!