♥The Shape of Love♥KnB♥Kaijou♥

♥34♥ Don't look back!

"Tip Off!"  

Natsuhi was able to get the ball to Harumi during the jump of the tip off. Just as the pink haired girl turned her body, the ball was jabbed out of her hold. 

"Wha-?!" It was like taking on Shiki! That steal was on par with her!

'No way! We thought Shiki's reaction is fast but this team has players who surpasses her?!' Fuyu can only watch the way they speedily pass the ball from their own player to another. 'I'm not fast enough!' 

Without anything holding her back, Fuu unleashed her full strength right off the bat. Just like the sudden passing wind, she was so fast that Fuyu thought a powerful wind passed by her! 

"Fuu?!" 

Fuu was silent and her eyes focused like a predator to its prey. She went for the player with the ball and she jumped for the girl who tried to perform a lay up. The girl was so shocked because one wouldn't expect such a high jump from such a tiny girl. Fuu managed to steal the ball and make a pass to Natsuhi, who immediately passed the ball to Akina so she can score a three pointer with ease. 

"That Fuu girl, who would have thought she would have such a powerful jump?!" Kise was so surprised! Such a tiny girl can jump so high! 

"Fuu's basketball style doesn't follow the rule book at all. If anything, she is free like the wind." Nakamura explained, "Remember how she finished first on the beach run? Her stamina is not a joke at all." 

With only Fuu being capable of stopping a team full of martial artists, the other four decided that they should focus to support the freshman and wish that Shiki will return before Fuu really used up her energy! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kasamatsu ran around the building, searching for Shiki. He called for her, he asked people if they have seen her, and he even called her number many times to only get taken to the voicemail. 

'Shiki, where are you?!' Kasamatsu thought loudly in his mind, 'Your team needs you! I have to bring you back out there!' He then noticed a door that that read 'storage' and a yellow sign standing in front of it that read 'cleaning in process'. Kasamatsu doesn't know why but he somehow had a gut feeling that Shiki was locked in. He knocked the door once...

*Knock* 

He heard a knock in return! Kasamatsu touched the handle of the door to try and open it but it was locked. 

"Shiki!" Kasamatsu immediately looked for a member of staff so he can have access to the key. 

He ran around again and he found a cleaning lady. Kasamatsu approached the old lady and asked for the key to the storage room but the face on the old lady proved to him that she does not believe his story of someone being trapped in the storage room.

"Go and take your make-believe to someone who cares." The old lady resumed to her cleaning, blatantly choosing not to believe Kasamatsu. 

Kasamatsu wasn't giving up and he begged the old lady to believe him. No matter how many times she ignored him, he was constantly making sure he's heard. 

"I don't have time for this!" Kasamatsu stole the keys from her pockets and he ran back for the storage room. 

The old lady started to run too, throwing swear words at Kasamatsu for being so damn rude and for being a thief in broad daylight. 

Kasamatsu ran away from the old lady and he looked at the keys, trying to figure out which one can open the door. When he got to the storage's door, he hurriedly tried out the keys before the old woman caught up with him. 

"Wrong, wrong...wrong again!" He fiddled with the many amount of keys on the metal hoop and he randomly grabbed one and used it. He heard a click noise and the door can be opened! "Shiki!"

There she was, tied up and gagged. Kasamatsu can see steam of tears from her eyes; the storage room does not have a single window where light can pass through so she was in constant darkness the whole time. 

"Shiki..." Kasamatsu untied her immediately and hugged her to him, "Thank god..." 

"Eh?! There was someone in here?!" The old woman quickly turned the lights on for them and apologized to Kasamatsu for not believing his side of the story. On the other hand, Kasamatsu apologized to her for stealing her keys. 

Shiki stood up from the floor, "Thank you, Kasamatsu...thank you..." She hugged Kasamatsu, thanking him for looking for her and believed she was somewhere in the building.

Kasamatsu hugged her back, lightly smiling as he kissed the top of her head, "I told you I'd look for you." 

"I don't know what to say..." 

"Say it after you win the first round of the Winter Cup." 

"Right. Wait for me, okay?" Shiki ran off, going off to save her team from losing...

The score was 65-82. The score was not in Aozora's favor and they were entering the 4th quarter. 

"Fuu, are you okay?" Harumi put a hand on Fuu's back, helping her up. 

'Her stamina should have lasted longer but because the team is on a higher level of skills, she was being drained of her strength!' Natsuhi thought. 'What should we do...?!' 

Shiki walked over to the center and she supported Fuu up with Harumi. 

"Shiki-senpai!" Fuu and Harumi were glad to see her in person!

"Fuu, good job on holding them off." Shiki patted Fuu's head as she helped Fuu to the bench.

"Senpai, sorry the gap of the score is like that... " Fuu said in a guilty tone.

"It's fine. Believe in your senpais, okay?" Shiki sat her down on the bench, "Harumi, go back to being the Small Forward again and I want you to use that..." 

"Got it~." As Harumi turned round, blue sparks flowed out of her right eye, she has activated her Half-Zone! 

"Let's go! We can't face the guys if we lose here on the spot!" Shiki shouted as the 4th quarter began. 

Kasamatsu returned to his seat, ignoring the complaints from his teammates as he sat down. He watched Shiki preparing for the final quarter, clenching his fist in hope Shiki and her team can make it.

"Shiki, win..." 

"You should have just stayed in that storage room... People like you have no place in the basketball court!" The captain shouted at Shiki as she lead on with the ball, "This is where you stop!" 

"And who the hell is going to stay down...?" Koushima's captain ran past Shiki but the ball was not in her hand. Shiki walked away with the ball and she looked at the captain with a bored expression, "We are no longer the Aozora who will come and crush other's dreams..." She slipped past the approaching members of Koushima with ease, none of them were able to touch the ball! Shiki's movements were graceful and it looked as if she was dancing her way through them. Once she's near the post of the other team, she bounced the ball on the ground so hard that it's about to reach the basket. 

Harumi performed a lay-up and she dunked the ball into the basket. 

"Don't look at our past! We're constantly moving forward!" Shiki's eyes showed how much determination she has just to keep going forward. Shiki knew the team she leaded will be despised by others but decided to keep pressing forward, "We'll take the win! Hate us if you want to, but leave the win to us!"