Teiko's basketball III: Three's a charm

Confusion

"Aomine-kun needs support."

"But why are you leaving your position?"

"Look at those two! We can tip the balance if we help Aomine-kun. Seijuro doesn't look like he's going to pass. If we cover a few directions of passes and then close in..."

"Oh," said Kise simply.

"What? What is it?" demanded Sora.

"Well, we usually have different tactics..."

"Meaning?"

"In this situation, if Aominecchi loses the ball to Akashi, Akashicchi be moving into Mayucchi's territory. Then it would be her turn. We all take turns."

"Zone defense?" said Sora, "When we're more or less evenly matched? Isn't that a bit stupid..."

"It works!" defended Kise.

"But we have Midorima-kun! What's the point of having such a shooting guard if we don't coordinate and plan it out?"

"Individual play usually is the best, Soracchi. At least with players like us... That way, everyone gets a chance to be in the spotlight..."

"Spotlight? Kise-kun! Don't you realize? If we mess this up, then we're all going down! Mou, they're still not making progress. I'm going to support Aomine-kun."

It was at that precise moment that Akira had the same thought too. As Aomine tried to take the ball, she stepped in for a screen. But unfortunately, that threw Akashi off his balance just as much as Aomine. "Damn you, Tamotsu!" swore Akashi before sharply veering off. Aomine was just as quick on the uptake and went to match him again.

"Oro? What did I do?" said Akira, confused.

"I think he didn't expect you to help," said Sora grimly, coming to stand near her.

"Hey, hey... You're the opponent!"

"One point to the genius for the deduction..." muttered Sora.

"You just took the ball from me by tricking me!"

"Trust me, this is going to get much more idiotic," said Sora.

Sora stepped into the fray. She tried to take the ball by a back-tip. Akashi noticed and stepped away. "Oi, Himeji! Isn't your place in the center?" questioned Aomine.

"Aho! Don't argue with me. Block him," said Sora sharply.

"Yeah. Forgot," said Aomine grimly. He went head on with Akashi again. This time, he managed to take the ball. But Akashi was quickly on defense.

"Pass!" exclaimed Sora.

But it had no effect on Aomine who ignored her. Akashi took the ball and advanced but he was blocked by Kise this time. Sora waved her hand to catch Aomine's attention and then gestured for him to support Kise. Aomine shook his head and pointed at Kise as if it solved all the disputes in the world. Sora face-palmed and glared at him. Aomine shrugged and held up his hands. He reluctantly moved to help Kise although Sora could have sworn he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Women...' before that. But it was too late. Akashi took the ball and passed it to Yukiji. Yukiji passed the ball to Aoba.

Aoba shot the ball but in her haste, she shot it at a low angle. Kise used Murasakibara's technique to take the ball. "Score!" he said, blocking it. But Akashi was soon on his case.

"You won't cross me, Ryouta."

"Challenge accepted, Akashicchi—" began Kise.

"Kise Ryouta! If you don't pass the ball this instant—" yelled Sora.

"Uh, okay!" said Kise startled and randomly threw the ball. It landed next to Yukiji rather than any of his own teammates. "Oh," said Yukiji, "Oh well..."

Sora and Aomine both moved towards Yukiji at the same time. Aomine noticed Sora going and slowed down his pace. "For God's sake, quit looking at me like a fool and give me a hand!" hissed Sora. Aomine blinked. "What? Me? Fine..."

Sora blocked Yukiji. Yukiji turned and tried to make a pass to Aoba. She almost succeeded but Mayu was on Aoba's case as soon as she passed. Mayu took the ball and passed it to Sora. Sora tried to move forward but she was blocked by Akashi.

"You can't pass, Sora."

"I don't need to. Shin-chan, catch!" said Sora passing the ball backwards.

"Thank you, nanodayo."

3 – 0.

"Oh, sh*t. I called you 'Shin-chan'. Slip of the tongue. Woah, Akira's names are really catchy..."

"You might have gotten the first ball in, Sora. But fate's about to change," said Akashi.

"Is it, Seijuro? Must I remind you that the flow of this quarter is now in our hands—"

"—We will change it!" began Akashi.

"The first quarter is now over. 3 – 0."

"What the hell!" exclaimed Sora. She turned around to check whether it was a hoax but sure enough, it was Sanada sensei. The two teams had been too evenly matched. Besides, they had also wasted a lot of time quarreling.

"What on earth!" exclaimed Akashi.

Sora nodded. "I didn't expect this too."

"The first quarter is yours," admitted Akashi grudgingly.

"On second thoughts, I don't care about this quarter."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there's a larger battle I need to win on the bench," said Sora grimly.

"You aren't the captain. Both of us have been benched," reminded Akashi.

"Doesn't mean that I'm not part of the team. By the way, congrats. You've probably driven your team nuts..."

Akashi shook his head. "What do you know... Try winning that sweet battle of yours, Sora."