Shadows and Lights

Chapter 12

Hanamiya looks irritated when I walk onto the court once more. My lips curve into a hungry smile at his fury. "You should wear that expression more often." I say pleasantly. "It suits you perfectly." He drops several swears as I near, narrowing his eyes.

"I will crush you." He replies in a much more strained tone of voice. 



"Nobody can crush me." I reply with an eerie, chipper voice. "Welcome to Hell, Hanamiya Makoto. Allow me to show Kirisaki Daiichi what it means to mess with demons." He steps back, narrowing his eyes as the game resumes once more. 



"Hanamiya likes passing. He can steal them." Satsuki says firmly. "The key to our success relies on us not passing much. That means we'll have to place all our faith in our individual playing ability." 



"If he can't get the ball from you, and they don't touch you, you're almost good to go. Our playing ability is better than theirs. Individually, their skill is somewhat lacking. That's why they rely on Hanamiya so heavily. He dictates who to take out to better their odds, and then makes the other team angry so that they rely on simple, easy-to-read plays that he can easily intercept." I supply, looking at my four teammates seriously. 



"I did hear that a certain group of middle school students had a rather scary demon they liked to use." Imayoshi says with amusement. "Would you happen to know such a demon?" My lips curve into a smile as I glance away. 



"Isn't it natural for an Emperor to have some sort of power to command besides his own?" I reply deviously. "After all, it's no fun to do your own dirty work." 



The ball will always fall into my hands. I can see everything, and I see all the pieces falling into place as I dodge and scurry past the other players, jumping as high as possible and managing a three-pointer. A grin coats the bottom portion of my face. "Hai-chan! Lefty!" 



"This'll be easy." I say with an indulgent grin. My mouth itches to say something, but I bite my tongue slightly. If you have something to say, say it through basketball. My playing style does a 180 as I shift to playing left-handed. I haven't played like this in a long, long time. Ready to bleed all those points you somehow managed? 


The third quarter passes in a blur as I assess, adapt, and get the advantage. It doesn't take much to push Hanamiya's buttons, and hopefully I've pressed all the ones I can. 105-58. We get another two-minute break. "Do you still want me playing left-handed?" I ask as I talk with Satsuki on the bench, watching, assessing Kirisaki Daiichi. Satsuki barely suppresses a grin. 



"Of course, Alex." She says craftily. "Didn't you want to crush them?" I snort. 


"I want to triple their score, but I doubt there's enough time left for that." I say with a sigh. "I may just have to shoot for doubling it with a few extra points for good measure. I mean, the guy's smart. Evil, but smart." His foul mood will only lead to more mistakes. "Do you think it's demeaning to take advantage of his bad mood? I mean, it's only going to get worse. Might as well use it." 



"I think he already knows you've been holding back all game. I don't see them winning." Satsuki murmurs. My lips quirk into another smile.



"Imayoshi, should we double or triple the score?" I ask boredly. "I want it to sting, but I also want them to come back so I can crush them again." 



"You're a sadist, that's what you are." Wakamatsu says. I smile brightly. 



"Only for these guys." I reply cheerily. "They've really pissed me off. No amount of points is really going to soothe that." I remain silent for a while longer, waiting to get back into the game so I can finally crush the bejeesus out of this team.