Third POV
"These two are your big weakness," Kagami smirked as he stared down Kise.
There was silence throughout Kaijo's gym as the two boys stared each other down. Kise had more of a shocked expression as did almost everyone else from each team. Well, with the exception of (Y/N) and Kuroko. The phantom just had a plain, unimpressed look on his face. Probably from the large hand on his head that belonged to his oaf of a teammate.
(Y/N)'s expression was kind of unreadable. She didn't look shocked nor happy that they had exposed Kise's weakness. But the others still didn't quite understand how the two players were the model's weakness.
"If Kagami can't stop Kise, what could his weakness be?" Hyuga asked himself out loud.
"Aside from passing, Kuroko's the weakest player out there. I understand (Y/N), but how could it be him too?" Riko questioned herself as well.
Kise, on the other hand, didn't really know what to think of this sudden revelation. But, at the same time, he understood it all too. The blonde soon smirked, himself, as he looked back at Kagami as Kuroko shook his hand off of his light blue head while the red head took his hand off of the female player's shoulder as well.
"And? It's true I can't copy Kurokocchi's style by watching him. And (Y/N)cchi's moves are physically impossible for me to perform. But, how does that affect this situation at all?" The model provoked.
It was quite simple, really. Kise still had more than enough to win against Seirin without copying his old teammates' abilities.
With the words being exchanged, the whistle was blown, marking the end of the first quarter, and allowing each team a two minute break. The score was now 27-35, Kaijo's favor.
"Just watch. In the second quarter, we'll have you bawling on your knees," Kagami warned as he made his way back to the bench with his teammates.
Kise narrowed his golden orbs slightly before making his way back to his side of the court as well. Somehow, he didn't like the way the red head had said that.
"What the hell are you doing out there?! We could've had a bigger lead!" Takeuchi shouted to the Kaijo players on the bench.
"Right!"
Of course, even he wasn't expecting Seirin to be this good in staying on their tail the entirety of the first quarter. This could spell trouble for Kaijo if they didn't figure something out.
"Your fundamentals look like total garbage. Hands up, box out, defense!" He commanded.
"Right!" All of the starters responded.
All except one. As Takeuchi continued on with his rant sounding pep talk, Kasamatsu looked over to see Kise sitting there, deep in thought. Clearly, Kagami's words had gotten to him, a glare settled on his face. This could get bad, and fast.
"I see," Riko began on Seirin's side.
She had begun to process what Kagami had said right before their break. And it all started to make sense to her as she placed a hand on her chin in thought.
"Yeah, that could work. Looks like you're finally starting to cool down, Kagami," the coach smiled proudly as she looked over to the standing first year trio.
"Nah, I've been cool this whole time," the red head defended.
But there were many who didn't believe any of that garbage, with (Y/N) being the one to call him out on his bull crap as she took another drink of her water.
"You big liar," she stated with a neutral expression.
"(Y/N)!"
His poor heart couldn't believe she wasn't on his side. But, she wasn't wrong in the long run. And her other friends knew that, Izuki and Hyuga glaring at their hot headed underclassman.
"You were worked up and you know it!" They both shouted.
"But," Riko interrupted their little quarrel.
"Kuroko, Kagami, and (Y/N). We'll need your coordination, and (Y/N), we'll need more of those crazy gymnastic moves too. So, can you do it?" Their coach asked them.
(Y/N) soon smiled as she nodded while giving her cousin a thumbs up.
"You got it!" She grinned.
She had faith that her team could win this. However, someone still didn't fully know how to feel about working with a certain phantom.
"Uhh...yeah, sure," the tiger answered hesitantly.
Somehow, Kagami had dug himself a deeper hole as Kuroko quickly reacted to the red head's words, taking his hand, and piercing it into Kagami's side. Let's just say, it didn't feel too good as the red head quickly held his side in pain as Kuroko kept his hand poised for another attack if he had to.
"You little punk. Where'd that come from?" Kagami grimaced.
"We're beating Kise, right?" The phantom asked, somewhat repeating what Kagami had told both him and his best friend.
And of course, it wasn't like the red head was going to take back his words from before. So, instead, Kagami retaliated as he returned Kuroko's gesture by piercing the phantom in his side as well.
"Of course we are."
As Kuroko grimaced in pain as well, (Y/N) quickly stepped in as she comically puffed out her cheeks before chopping both boys on the head.
"Stop it! Be nice," she scolded somewhat cutely as she comically glared at her two friends as they both held back their heads while also trying to hold back their blushes.
"Well alright then," Riko smiled, confident that Seirin would do well in the second quarter with their plan of attack.
"Let the second quarter begin."
"Take care of the counter attack," Riko ordered them.
And with that, the starters from both teams made their way back onto the court. But it was a whole different ball game now.
"Get 'em! Get 'em! Get 'em! Go Kaijo!"
"You got this, Seirin!"
The cheers echoed throughout the gym from both sides, and the game was only getting started. Both teams started out strong, Kise had the ball first, making a dunk right off the bat.
Hyuga was able to make a three pointer, but Kaijo's copy cat wasn't letting up as he made another basket, making the score 29-39 still in Kaijo's favor.
As he held the ball, Seirin's captain realized something. Their opponent was still doing a man to man defense, and he had to come up with a game plan. With his back to Moriyama, Hyuga passed the ball to Izuki, who quickly passed it to Kagami before Kasamatsu had a chance to pull a steal.
With the ball in his hand, it was now Kagami vs. Kise. But there was something off about the face off this time.
"Something's changed, hasn't it?" The model asked, trying to get something out the red head he was facing off with.
But Kagami didn't say a word, instead, he dashed down the court with Kise on his tail. Dribbling the ball, it seemed like Kagami was going to go for the shot. But it was hard for the model to tell just how the tiger was going to make the shot.
'Just another drive? Or maybe a fadeaway,' the blonde boy began running thoughts through his mind.
Little did he or Kaijo know, the first year trio had a little trick up their sleeve. Instead of making the shot, Kagami passed the ball backwards to Kuroko as Kise completely ran past the ball.
And then, out of the corner of his golden eyes, the copy cat caught sight of long (h/c) hair approaching him from his right side, and she was soon right behind him as he turned to try and grab the ball.
But it was no use. With the ball in his hand, Kuroko used his misdirection and threw the ball right into (Y/N)'s awaiting grasp. It was quite the shocking move, and it certainly caught Kise off guard.
"He's coordinating with Kurokocchi and (Y/N)cchi!" The model realized as (Y/N) quickly ran towards the basket, a dribbling ball in her grasp.
If she was going to make a basket, it would be hard for Kise to stop her. But that wasn't their plan at all. As they both approached the basket, (Y/N) quickly passed the ball to Kagami, who was able to make a layup, making the score now 31-39, Seirin quickly closing the gap.
"Yes!" Riko cheered as she pumped her fist.
"Awesome shot!" Tsuchida added on as Seirin cheered for their victory.
And it didn't stop there. Kagami had possession of the ball yet again, and once more, he was face to face with Kise. The model wasn't going to slip up like that again. Seconds later, Kagami passed the ball to Kuroko, leading the blonde to think that they would pull the same move once again with (Y/N).
How foolish of them to think so.
"That trick won't work again!"
It wasn't going to work again, because Kuroko wasn't passing to either of the other first years in the trio. Instead, the phantom misdirected the ball into Hyuga's hands, who quickly made a shot from the three point line.
"Yeah! A three pointer!"
"A five point gap!"
Seirin was roaring with excitement. The score was now 34-39, a few more shots and they would be tied. Hyuga smiled with satisfaction, placing his fingers on his glasses, pushing them back into position on his face. He was quite proud of that shot.
"Hm, do you think better of me now, huh, first years?" The captain smuggly asked the younger players.
However, it wasn't very successful. Izuki, Kagami, and Kuroko began quickly making their way back on the enemy's side of the court. Kinda seemed like they were trying to get away from their captain.
"Nice!" Izuki said.
"Alright defense!" Kagami shouted as well.
That traitor Izuki! Hyuga was gonna let him have it later. These first years really were something. And that wasn't a good thing in Hyuga's mind.
The captain would've pounced on them had it not been for his favorite first year. Coming to Hyuga's aid, (Y/N) smiled as she patted the old captain's back in her own loving way.
"I think you did great, Jun," she complimented.
Finally, a respectful underclassman. Of course, she had always been a supportive and respectful junior, so Hyuga couldn't complain. She always had the amazing ability to soften him up, so the captain couldn't help to give her a little smile as his hand settled on her head, rubbing her soft hair.
"At least there's one that thinks so."
On the enemy's side, Kaijo was caught off guard by Seirin sudden change of pace.
"That #4's really going all out, I wonder why," Kobori voiced.
"Forget him, watch Kagami and (Y/N). They're both relaying pass coordinations with Kuroko rather than driving in," Kasamatsu ordered.
He too, wasn't happy about his opponent's sudden change in their play styles. Though, to some, it wasn't as obvious as to how their plays could begin affecting Kaijo.
"Yeah, but all he's doing is passing the ball instead of receiving, isn't he? How much could that change?" The vice captain asked.
"It's changes a whole lot, you idiot!" The blue jersey captain snapped.
It definitely caught Kobori off guard for a second, but he figured that Kasamatsu knew something that the rest of the team probably didn't. Best be wise to listen up.
"Up until now, Kuroko's passes, Kagami's one on ones, and (Y/N)'s shots have been nothing but separate offensive patterns. Those were the only three options we've faced. But now that they've started passing to each other, they've got several new options, kicking their already strong offense up a notch," he explained.
Exactly. That was exactly what their plan was. And Riko sat on Seirin's bench with a smirk on her face as she ran the plan through her head.
'If Kise's unable to copy Kuroko and (Y/N)'s moves, which puts this whole play together, that'll be his downfall. Kagami, Kuroko, and (Y/N). With those three, we can-'
However, her thoughts were cut off as she watched the three first years running. Because of the little slip up that had just occurred. You see, the trio had planned to perform another attack, with the ball in the tiger's grasp.
However, when he went to pass the ball to Kuroko, the phantom had completely missed the ball as it began rolling farther away from the two. But the only girl on the court tried to pull a fast one in an attempt to try and get the ball back in their possession.
But she only ended up accidentally tripping over her own feet, belly flopping to the ground. Riko sweat-dropped as she watched Kasamatsu help her to her feet before running after the ball, which had now gone out of bounds.
"Well, we'll probably just barely make it," she muttered to herself.
As he waited for the whistle to blow in order to start the game back, Kise had to take a break in order to catch his breath from the last play. Then, with a glare on his face, the model turned towards the duo who had been standing close to him.
"Kurokocchi...(Y/N)cchi..." the blonde grumbled slightly as he golden eyes met blue and (e/c).
There was a tense silence between the three miracles for a moment, none of them really knowing what to say at first. But Kuroko started first. He wanted to make sure his former teammate knew what his intentions were when it came to basketball.
"You really are strong. I'm powerless, Kagami isn't much of a match against you, and (Y/N) refuses to win against you alone. But, it doesn't matter now. If we're together, we can fight," the phantom declared as Kagami took his place next to (Y/N) as she placed a hand on her hip.
"I guess you have changed after all, Kurokocchi. We never played basketball like this at Teiko," Kise began.
Deep down, he wanted this all to be like the old days, where they all would play together and win as much as they could. But Kise could see that it was gone now, and that there was a new fire lit in their eyes. But, Kuroko and (Y/N) weren't the only ones.
"However, you still won't be able to stop me. And I will be coming out of this the winner," the copycat made his own declaration.
(Y/N) had to admit, she hadn't seen this much spark from her friend in a long time. She knew Kise was beginning to become even more serious. But she, herself, wanted to make one thing clear. The girl made eye contact with Kise before she began speaking.
"You might not have played like this, Ryota. But Tetsu and I have been playing the same as we always have this entire time," she stated in a slightly deeper tone of voice.
She had kind returned to the state that she was when
Kise had confronted her about everything. And that scared the blonde a little bit. (Y/N) really had never acted like that towards him before. Kise couldn't afford to lose her again, he just couldn't.
"(Y/N)cchi... you've changed too.." he told her, avoiding her eyes slightly.
And she didn't particularly like seeing her friend in that state either. (Y/N) hated when a situation got like this, it just brought back too much from the past.
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. All I know is that Seirin will be the winner of this game," she declared herself.
If she had really changed, it was more in a wisdom type way, but she wasn't going to let this game slip away from her like this. Maybe this would change Kise's mind, so she had to put on the tough act.
Kise took her words into consideration, but his determination was just as strong. The model wasn't going to be losing the game that easily.
"It's true I'm not capable of copying your coordination, but since you're not capable of keeping up for the full forty minutes, you'll let everything slip in the second half!" Kise told them as he grabbed the ball as the game started up once again.
Little did anyone know, the trio had a plan of their own. As soon as Kise turned to run towards his basket to make a shot, there was a flash of light blue in his path as Kagami smirked to himself.
"Well, you're half right," the red head said.
As he said that, Kise came face to face with not Kagami, not (Y/N), but Kuroko, himself. It definitely shocked everyone that had been watching.
"They put Kuroko on Kise?"
Even the model was just as surprised, he didn't think Seirin would be so bold as to put the phantom on him. The spectators didn't really think much of it, since they only knew Kuroko was the one that did most of the passing. He didn't stand a chance in hell.
"I gotta admit, I'm a bit surprised, Kurokocchi. I never even dreamed that we'd face each other like this. You and (Y/N)cchi in the same day," the copycat smiled.
"Me neither," Kuroko answered back.
Truth be told, both boys were feeling quite excited. They had finally been able to face off, but Kise couldn't tell what his opponent's plan was. Well, it didn't matter.
"I have no idea what's going on inside that head of yours. But whatever it is, you still won't be able to stop me!"
Staying true to his words, Kise effortlessly passed Kuroko with the ball in his possession. But it wasn't like the blonde could get far. In fact, he had fallen into a trap, coming face to face with Kagami.
"You're wrong. We're not gonna stop you," the red head smirked.
As did Riko, being as that everything was beginning to fall into place.
"We're intercepting."
Once she said those words, Kuroko quickly smacked the ball out of Kise's hands when he had been trying to keep it away from Kagami. The phantom had completely caught him off guard.
"A back tip? He took advantage the moment I hesitated!" Kise realized as he looked back to see Kuroko right behind him.
"You're up, (Y/N)!" Kagami yelled to the girl as the ball went right into (Y/N)'s direction.
"Alright! Let's do this!" She shouted out happily as the ball entered her grasp.
Kagami then turned back towards the model in order to make sure he got the message, and to make sure he wouldn't go after (Y/N) as she ran towards Seirin's basket.
"It doesn't matter what kind of fancy maneuvers you use against us. Letting you through was exactly what we were going for," the red head revealed Kise as he watched her and Kasamatsu butting it out for the ball.
But it was no use, because (Y/N) quickly passed the ball over to Izuki, who took advantage and made the shot, earning Seirin another point gain. Kaijo was more than unimpressed, and Takeuchi sat back on his bench with a glare, and his arms crossed.
"Dang it! I'd take a simple double team over this any day," Kasamatsu growled.
He was getting rather annoyed with these Seirin players. They only kept adapting to the point where there were no openings for Kaijo to make any shots. It was nearly impossible for Kise to react to the invisible Kuroko if he approached from behind.
But Kise only seemed to realize this as he and Kuroko faced off once again, the model dribbling the ball. An identical scene to the one that had happened the moments before.
"If that's the case, then I just won't run by you. I'll shoot instead, so how about a three pointer!"
Kuroko panicked, since he knew he wouldn't be able to guard someone like Kise. But, he didn't have anything to worry about. Because he had two people right behind him.
As Kise jumped up in form to make a three pointer, Kagami, while using Kuroko's head as a push off, jumped up at the same time as (Y/N), who quickly ran back once she figured out what the model was going to do.
Both had jumped up at quite an impressive height before they both smacked the ball out of Kise's hands with great force. Sometimes the model had forgotten that the soaring girl was also a star volleyball player. That smack had some real force behind it, and the blonde felt both her and Kagami's power, even if it was just for a split second.
The trio had gotten him, they had gotten Kise, since Kuroko was able to cover from below, the model knew that (Y/N) and Kagami both had the chance to jump in when the time was just right.
"An outside shot like that requires too much movement. These guys are turning out to be a real pain," Kasamatsu growled, his glare deepening as he looked at the one player putting this all into play.
"And somehow, Kuroko's the one creating the momentum! The most worthless guy who can't even do anything by himself. I don't believe this."
After their quick block, Kagami and (Y/N) both landed back on the ground. Though, fatigue was starting to catch up to the female player slightly, as she stumbled once her feet were back on the ground.
And Seirin's coach noticed this as she watched (Y/N) regain her balance. Best give her a signal to take it easy for the next few minutes. Luckily, Riko knew her cousin wasn't tired enough to be pulled out of the game.
Now, time to get her attention. Out of the corner of her (e/c) eyes, (Y/N) saw Riko motioning towards her from Seirin's bench. Turning her head, (Y/N) tried to figure out what her cousin was trying to tell her. However, she wasn't paying much attention as to what was happening just inches away from her.
"Fast break!" The red head called out as he began running towards the ball.
And Kise was ready to fight, so he turned just as fast on the balls of his feet. However, he didn't realize how close the phantom player was to him, the resulting action had caused Kise to slap Kuroko right on the head as a loud smack echoed through the gym.
It wasn't a light hit either. In fact, it was hard enough to make Kuroko slam right into (Y/N)'s back, causing her to let out a yelp before she lost her footing, face planting onto the hard gym floor with a loud BAM!
"(Y/N)! Kuroko!" Riko shouted as everyone stopped in their tracks.
The two first years remained on the ground as a short whistle was blown, the referee calling a time out. Kuroko sat up slowly as (Y/N)'s shoulders tensed up as she stayed laying on the ground.
"Kuroko! (Y/N)!" Hyuga called out as the phantom shook his head a little bit.
"Ow...." The girl on the ground groaned as she started getting up herself.
Though, she felt something wet running down over her mouth and chin, and when she placed her hand over what she thought was the source of it, (Y/N) quickly withdrew her hand as she felt a jolt of pain. But that wasn't the only concerning thing.
Kuroko turned towards everyone, blood running down right side of his forehead. And (Y/N) wasn't in any better condition. She stood up slowly before turning to show the damage the fall had caused to her.
Holding a hand under her chin, everyone saw the crimson streaks running down from her bloody nose, and though it wasn't visible, the girl felt the cut on her busted lip too. Riko let out a gasp once she saw the damage.
Their injuries definitely looked concerning. And it didn't help Kise feel any better. Not only had he hurt his old friend, but someone he cared deeply for as well. The look on his face, the model looked like he had seen a ghost.
Kise was about to run over to (Y/N) in order to help her keep steady, but he saw the captain and vice captain of Seirin already rushing to their side as the triple threat bent down to help her close friend stand by gently grabbing his arm and pulling him up.
"You okay, Tetsu?" She asked in a slightly muffled voice from her hand covering her bloody mouth.
Even though he could tell she was in pain, Kuroko still saw her smile through her eyes. He slowly stood up as he placed her arm around his shoulders.
"I'll be fine..... I'm more worried about you... that was a hard fall," he told her, though he, himself, was starting to feel a little off.
Hyuga and Izuki quickly took over as the vice captain took (Y/N) into his arms, holding a rag up to her face to control the bleeding while helping her to stand. The captain quickly held Kuroko's head steady in order to get a look at his injury.
"How're you both feeling?" Hyuga asked as he looked between the two injured first years.
Kuroko had now become a little unbalanced on his feet as he began feeling a little dizzy.
"A little light headed," the phantom answered as he stumbled a little bit.
"I'm okay....my face just hurts," (Y/N) answered as well as she took the rag off of her nose for a second.
Even if they said that, both of these injuries could result in concussions. And (Y/N)'s lip wasn't stopping with the bleeding either, plus there was a concern of her having a broken nose. Riko quickly ran out onto the court as Hyuga examined Kuroko while Izuki was trying to stop (Y/N)'s bleeding.
"Someone get a first aid kit!" The second year coach ordered.
Kagami had seen them both fall, and being in basketball for as long as he could remember, the red head had seen his fair share of sports related injuries. And face planting, being smacked hard on the head, those could result in some pretty bad concussions.
While he was worried for them both, it seemed more like (Y/N) had gotten the worst of it. The red head quickly ran over to the duo as Hyuga let go of Kuroko's head.
"Hey, you two okay?" The tiger asked them.
Kuroko, even with one eye closed and blood still coming out of his head, he still had a confident look on his face as he made eye contact with Kagami.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I mean, the game's just started so...."
Down he went, not even five seconds later, the phantom fainted and fell to the ground under the surprised and concerned gazes of of Seirin.
"Kuroko!"
Izuki had to keep ahold of (Y/N)'s arm to make sure she didn't move. Sometimes, she forgot about her own injuries in order to help others if they needed it. And knowing her, she didn't want anyone to worry. Putting a smile on her face, the triple threat quickly drew her face away from the rag to try and reassure everyone that she was okay.
Though, it didn't help that she basically looked like she had gotten punched in the face, her poor little nose beginning to bruise in shades of light blue and purple.
"And I'm fine too, guys. Really!" She told them.
"Slow down! You're literally gushing blood out of your face!" Izuki scolded her as he placed the rag gently back on her lip, since her nose had stopped bleeding a little bit.
Knowing that she couldn't win this fight, (Y/N) let Izuki help her to walk over to the bench where her injuries could be assessed more throughly as Riko began tending to Kuroko's head injury.
As they did so, Kaijo watched from afar to make sure the two first years would be okay as Hibiki made his way to his sister's side. But it was safe to say that two thirds of Seirin's trio wouldn't be playing for a little while.
"This is over. It's kind of disappointing, but without that first year trio on the court, the gap in our scores will only grow," Kasamatsu let his team know as he wiped his sweat off with his jersey.
Watching the younger Bashira twin rush to his sister's side as the team carefully laid Kuroko down on his back while she stayed sitting upright, Kise worried greatly. He didn't mean to hurt them, to hurt her again. The blonde wanted so badly just to run over to (Y/N)'s side and give her a hug as an apology.
But he was in no position to do so. It just wasn't the right time or place.
After treating Kuroko's head injury, and laying him down behind the bench so no stray shots would hit him, the team turned to (Y/N) to treat her injuries.
Hibiki knew she had hit her face and head pretty hard, and because he could just tell with their whole 'twin telepathy' as he called it, the younger Bashira stood behind her in order for her to lean back in case she felt dizzy.
Koganei had decided to take over as his friend's 'doctor', grabbing the first aid kit before kneeling down to get a better look at the damage from the fall.
Taking the rag away from her face, the cat faced second year gently wiped away the dried up blood from her chin and mouth, finally spotting a nice sized little cut on her lip. Riko bent down to get a look at it as well as the both grimaced slightly. Looked like it hurt pretty bad.
"Geez, you really chomped down on your lip, didn't you," Koga teased her slightly.
(Y/N) playfully glared as she held her lip out to make sure everything got cleaned up while Koganei snickered.
"Wouldn't de da thirst thine (wouldn't be the first time)," she slurred.
It was true, it wasn't the first time she had injured herself like this while playing a sport. In fact, this was nothing compared to some of the other injuries she had sustained in the past. (Y/N) had had some pretty bad ones too.
After cleaning up her cut, Koga placed a bandage on her lip, but the shape that her nose was in wasn't any better. The shades of purple and blue had gotten darker, and (Y/N) had to admit, it hurt.
Once he was done with his patient, Koganei gently patted her leg, letting her know that he was done. Leaning back on her brother, (Y/N) let out a sigh as the pain in her nose grew slightly. Riko knew she was hurting, so, she turned to the youngest of her cousins for a request.
"Hibs, can you take her to the nurse's office? She's hurtin' bad," the second year coach asked him.
Knowing exactly what to do, Hibiki nodded before taking his sister's arm before helping her to stand by placing it around his shoulders.
"You got it, Riko. Come on, Clumsy Pants," the younger twin told his sister as the two made their way out of the gym.
"Shut up, stupid," (Y/N) grumbled as Hibiki laughed under his breath.
Watching the twins make their way out of the gym with Kuroko still asleep on the ground, Seirin had to figure out another game plan in order to keep up with Kaijo.
"What do we do?" Izuki asked the team, seeing if anyone had a game plan in mind.
"For now, (Y/N) and Kuroko are out of commission. We'll have to do what we can with our remaining players," Riko explained.
Even if they had some decent players on their team, their strongest offense formation included both Kuroko and (Y/N). Plus, the sole female player was a strong force against Kise and Kaijo's other star players.
"But, what are we supposed to do?"
"Won't it be hard without Kuroko and (Y/N)?"
Riko had to admit, the two first years had a point, but Seirin had more weapons in their arsenal rather than the powerful trio.
"The second years will act as our offensive core. It's only the second quarter, but we can't let them get too far ahead. This is a critical moment, Hyuga," the brunette said as she turned towards the captain of the team.
"Yeah."
While it was a critical moment for Seirin, they had more than just the trio up their sleeve. And with Riko's thinking, she came up with a strategy.
"Kise will only copy you, Kagami, so don't attack. Concentrate on your defense. Channel all your nerves with everything you can to stop Kise from scoring," the coach told Seirin's #10.
Even if that were the case, Kagami was probably the strongest on Seirin's team right now. And if defense was the only thing that he was allowed to do, the red head didn't really see how this would turn out.
"Yeah, but, are you positive that's gonna work?" Kagami questioned with uncertainty.
"It'll be fine. Try having some faith," Hyuga tried convincing the stubborn first year.
However, Kagami still wasn't too confident in this plan. And it was starting to get on Hyuga's nerves. This year's first years really didn't know much about respect. Well, this captain might just have to pound it into their thick skulls.
"But-"
"Like I said, it'll be fine, you fool. Listen to your upperclassmen for once, or I'll kill you."
Those sentences, the somewhat happy looking aura around Hyuga, the tight smile, it was all danger signs for the captain's more threatening side. It even caused Kagami to flinch.
With a quick whistle, a little over five minutes left on the clock, the teams started making their way back onto the court. Well, Hyuga was stomping back, his anger coming to a boiling point.
"Give me a break. These first years need to show their upperclassmen some more respect. They should be groveling at our feet!" The captain of Seirin growled as he went into position.
A total 180 from what he had been acting like before.
"Your true colors are on full display, captain," Izuki called after him.
Ah yes, it was that time of the game. All of the second years and (Y/N) knew about it, but the other first years still had yet to experience this side of Hyuga since there hadn't been in an official game yet.
"Don't mind him, he's always like that during clutch time," the punster explained to Kagami.
The red head didn't seem to get the term, but Izuki was there to help clear things up.
"When his true colors are showing like this, he hardly ever misses his shots, so leave offense to him. You just defend like your life depends on it."
Not saying anymore, the game started up once again with Koganei and Mitobe subbed in. This time, Moriyama was trying to guard Hyuga, but the captain was able to get past him as Koganei created a screen at just the right time.
Izuki had the ball in his hands, trying to keep it away from Kasamatsu, which was successful as he found an opening to pass it to Hyuga.
Seeing that the captain had the ball, Mitobe quickly began guarding Kobori hardcore, enough to push him back a little bit. Hyuga then took his position and made a beautiful three pointer, much more on point than his others that he had performed during the game.
"He's usually a normal person. But when he gets going, he's amazing. And scary...He's the dual personality clutch shooter, Junpei Hyuga."
"Serves you right," the captain smirked.
"Calm and collected, he never panics. He's the cool-headed commander with a surprising love of puns, Shun Izuki."
"That was a good one!" Izuki let out as he made a good pun.
"He's the unsung hero that always does his job, but no one ever hears his voice, Rinnosuke Mitobe."
The silent giant simply smiled at the team's point gain, living up to his well earned nickname.
"He can do anything but gets nothing done. Jack of All Trades, Master of None, Shinji Koganei."
The poor cat faced boy turned towards the coach with crocodile tears running down his face.
"So mean," he whined.
But Riko just kept smiling confidently as she observed the boys perform a defensive formation, guarding all sides of the basket. Kaijo was going to have a hard time getting through.
"Unfortunately for our opponents, they have a habit of never giving up."
As the game continued, elsewhere in the street on the way to Kaijo, grunts and groans could be heard throughout the quiet streets. There was a boy with straight black hair pedaling a bike with a decent sized cart being pulled behind it.
"This is ridiculous. We were supposed to trade off at the last red light! You haven't even pedaled once yet," the black haired boy complained.
In the cart he was pulling was another boy wearing the same black uniform as the boy doing all the biking. He looked to be quite tall, wearing glasses, a beautiful shade of green hair, and his fingers wrapped in bandages, it was quite an odd sight indeed.
"Of course not, it's only natural," the boy in the cart responded as he held up a can of cold red bean soup, his favorite beverage.
"Just as today's Oha Asa horoscope predicted, Cancers such as myself will have a wonderful day."
And with that, the green haired boy took a swig of his drink. This boy, he too was a part of Teiko, and a part of the Generation of Miracles. The boy had caught wind that three of his old teammates were going head to head in a match, so he thought he'd drop by to see how much they had changed.
To see how she had changed. Oh yes. He knew (Y/N) was back in Japan through other resources.
"What does that have to do with pedaling?! Regardless, if we're going through all the trouble of coming all the way out here for a simple practice game, your middle school team better be good at least," the green haired's teammate whined in between heavy breaths.
Oh, they were good alright. It was just a matter of seeing how their play styles had changed. And their own perspective on the game.
"It's the copycat, the invisible man, and the triple threat," the glasses wearing boy stated.
"Are they good or not?!"
The black haired biker didn't know what that had meant, but he knew that if the green haired boy wanted to see them play, then they must be decent at least. Especially the legendary female player he had heard so much about from both Glasses and others.
"If you don't pedal faster, the game will already be over before you find out."
"It's your fault for always reading those damn horoscopes!"
Back at the practice game at Kaijo, the Seirin boys were keeping up rather well, it was nothing to scoff at with their powerful offensive core. Hyuga was making all of his shots, Kagami's defense was top notch, but they weren't as good without Kuroko and (Y/N).
Still though, they were doing amazing. And someone had made it back just in time to see her team thriving.
"Yes! That's my boys!" A voice called out near Seirin's side of the court.
Gaining the attention of the members on the bench, the remaining players looked over towards the door to see a bright smile as she pumped her fist up in the air with her twin standing beside her, a small bandage across the bridge of her nose.
"(Y/N)!" The boys on the benches exclaimed with happiness.
She looked to be feeling a bit better than what she had been before she went off to the nurse's office as the twins made their way towards the bench. It was safe to say that everyone was happy to see her.
"How's your nose?" Riko asked her as she took a spot beside her cousin.
Giving the older girl a smile, (Y/N) made an 'okay' sign with her hand.
"Not broken, just a bit bruised. I'm ready to be put back in at anytime. But I kinda want to watch this too," the tall girl beamed brightly, despite having a bruised nose and cut lip.
It kinda made the boys blush a little bit. She just had the brightest smile that could light up the whole room. However, despite being injured, she still wanted to get back out on the court and play.
Hibiki couldn't help but to shake his head at his sister. She was always like this, wanting to play the sports she loved no matter what condition she was in.
"You're crazy. I leave her to you, dear cousin," the youngest Bashira saluted to Riko before heading back to his team's side of the court.
Giving a nod as a thanks to Hibiki, Riko sat back down next to (Y/N), putting her focus back onto the boys playing. She knew that her cousin was ready to get back to playing. But with the fall she took with Kuroko, the brunette coach didn't want to put her back out there right away.
She needed to rest a little more. Besides, having (Y/N) out on the bench gave them another advantage. The tall #21 had amazing analytical skills as well, so it didn't matter if she was on the court or not, Seirin could still win this.
As the game continued, Tsuchida glanced over at the clock to see that the score was now 48-52, Kaijo's favor.
"There's a minute and a half left of the second quarter."
As the second quarter ended, and as the third began, Hyuga was able to make another three pointer, making the score now 68-74. But the point gap was slowly getting bigger as the boys began to grow tired with their relentless playing. They were beginning to lose focus, and the hope of catching up was beginning to fade.
The others began to notice as well.
"Hey, Coach. Isn't there anything we could do to help out?" Kawahara asked Riko.
(Y/N) could tell that this was going to get bad. The second years needed a break, and they needed to catch up to them in this quarter, or Kaijo was going to take this game.
"After the first half they had, they don't have enough energy for anymore special moves. If only Kuroko and (Y/N) were still in the game," the second year coach said in a worried tone, saying the last part more to herself.
But it was heard clearly by two individuals. Taking a deep breath, (Y/N) turned around to look at her friend laying on the ground. She could tell he was going to wake, so, the girl stood up and stretched.
"Alrighty then," the tall girl let out as she went to Kuroko's side as he began to wake up from his slumber.
A couple of seconds later, the phantom opened one eye as he heard Riko's words.
"Understood," Kuroko muttered as he began getting up with (Y/N)'s help.
He turned back to look at his friend as the two stood up. Kuroko's blue eyes immediately went to the bandages on her face, her slightly bruised nose, and the reassuring smile on her face.
As much as he wanted to ask her, Kuroko knew she was okay. And now, they were ready to be put back on the court, and back into the game.
"Good morning, everyone. 'Kay, we'll be going," the light blue haired boy stated.
"Let's show these boys who's boss," (Y/N) declared afterwards as she and Kuroko began walking towards the court, ready for a member change.
"Hold on, woah, woah!"
But Riko was quick to jump up from her spot before running to block Kuroko and her cousin's path. She had a glare on her face as she held her hands out to make sure the two first years didn't take another step.
"Hey! What are you two thinking?"
These two were still injured, no way was she going to let them out in the slight blood bath that was brewing out on the court. But Kuroko and (Y/N) weren't getting the hint.
"You just said you needed us, didn't you?" The phantom asked.
"No, I didn't! I was speaking hypothetically!" Riko yelled, trying to get her point across that she didn't want the two injured first years out playing.
But they were going to have to be stubborn about it.
"Either way..."
"Hey!"
"If we can change the momentum when we get out there, please, let us," Kuroko told Riko.
It didn't really seem like he was asking. And (Y/N) wasn't going to back down from helping Seirin, even if it meant going against her cousin's wishes.
"Riko, trust us. Besides, I've played with much worse injuries. This is nothing," the triple threat said as she proudly pointed to her bandaged face.
That didn't exactly put anyone at ease. But she was kind of telling the truth. However, instead of reassuring everyone, (Y/N)'s words did the exact opposite as the boys paled at what she had just said.
"That's not very reassuring!" They yelled to her as she flinched.
"Besides," Kuroko began, quieting everyone down.
"(Y/N) and I made a promise. I'm going to be Kagami's shadow."
And that was when Riko saw something when she turned to her cousin. In her (e/c) eyes, the brunette saw an amount of determination that she hadn't seen since her middle school days. (Y/N) was serious about this game, very serious.
"And I told him I'd help him defeat the Generation of Miracles. You know how I get when it comes to my promises," the tall girl stated.
Everyone was taken back by the two's sudden declarations, and how serious they were. Looks like Riko didn't have much of a chance of talking them out of anything. Seconds later, she let out a defeated sigh.
"Alright. But just know, if I think either of you are in trouble, I'm switching you out," she declared, no questions asked.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" (Y/N) saluted.
She was going to make sure Seirin came out of this the winner, and she wasn't going to let her small injuries get in the way of that.
Soon, Riko made the signal that she wanted to make a member change, and the ref blew the whistle seconds later. Koganei and Mitobe made their way to the sidelines where they saw Kuroko and (Y/N) waiting for them.
Mitobe and (Y/N) did a little handshake as Koganei and Kuroko high fived. With that, the two first years were back in the game. There was complete silence, other than the footsteps of the Miracle duo as they approached the red headed last man of their trio, a serious expression on all of their faces.
"Let's do it," Kagami told the two.
"Yeah," Kuroko responded.
"You got it," (Y/N) smirked.
While he was happy that she and Kuroko were okay, Kise knew that there was something up with Seirin. Well, the model wasn't going to back down, and neither was the rest of Kaijo.
Both teams kept on going at it like it was a championship, full power all the way. Dunks and shots, no one was letting up one bit.
And it wasn't just Seirin who was posing a threat to Kaijo. Even though they had sat out for a long time, nothing was really affecting the miracle duo.
"We were just getting used to him, but now it's like he's back at full power. It's gotta be because he spent the last two quarters taking a nap. And (Y/N) seems like she going harder too," Kasamatsu growled in frustration.
The score was now 80-82, with only five minutes left of the game. From the bench, Hibiki knew that for his team, this was bad. Even though she had been sitting out, the boy knew how his sister was.
"Not only that, but sitting on the bench gives (Y/N) all of the analytical information she needs to plot our downfall," the younger twin warned.
Takeuchi took that into consideration, because that monster wasn't to be underestimated. Everyone was surprised too, now that the score was 80-82, a two point difference.
Everyone was giving it their all, running down the court as Hyuga took the ball into his grasp, lining up for a basket before jumping up and letting the ball go.
The bystanders were in shock as well, how could such a new team be this good? They all stood there with their mouths agape as the ball went through the hoop flawlessly.
Now, the teams were tied. And Kaijo couldn't believe it, Takeuchi sat there with his jaw dropped to the floor. And Kise just stood there, shocked that his team and Seirin were tied in their scores.
But, that only seemed to fire him up even more. And soon, the model was smiling to himself. However, both (Y/N) and Kuroko felt it. They both turned towards the blonde and saw that he was getting real serious. Like Generation of Miracles serious.
Kasamatsu knew it was time, and as he grabbed the ball to throw it back in, the captain of Kaijo had one target in mind for it.
"Kise!"
And then, like a flash of lightning, Kise quickly got the ball, and ran past Kuroko, completely catching Seirin off guard.
"Kuroko!" Kagami yelled.
Getting the signal, Kuroko tried smacking the ball out of the copycat's grasp. But it wouldn't work on him again. Kise quickly dribbled the ball into his other hand, away from the phantom, leaving the two boys in shock.
Kise had no problem passing Kagami before jumping up and making a powerful dunk, once again giving Kaijo the lead. Standing off to the side, (Y/N) was in her own state of shock. Kise had been playing hard, so for him to have this sudden burst of power...
But even then, she had to smile to herself, it gave her a feeling of nostalgia.
"There he is..." she mumbled to herself as the ball bounced on the ground, resonating throughout the gym.
Kise then turned to the trio of Seirin, his golden eyes becoming dark and serious.
"No matter who I'm going up against, I won't lose. Not even to Kurokocchi...or even you, (Y/N)cchi," the blonde told them as he made eye contact with the girl.
That little threat, though, didn't do much. In fact, it was only an invitation for her to show Kise that she was still as strong, and that it didn't need to be just one person to win.
The others took it as that too, Hyuga was smirking as he wiped his mouth with his jersey.
"This doesn't look good. Get ready, everyone. Until the end of the game, we'll be playing much like the first quarter," he told the team.
The score was still 82-84, but there was only three minutes left of the clock. This was going to be a back and forth, run and gun showdown between the two high school teams. Both teams began running down as Hyuga stood off to the side slightly to guide his teammates.
"Hurry up, defense!"
"Get going, Hyuga! (Y/N), post up for a shot!" Riko ordered as she cupped her hands around her mouth to make sure her voice was heard.
Both teams were going at it as cheers and orders came from both sides. Kise soon had the ball after Kasamatsu had passed it to him. But Kagami was able to make a dunk out of it. The teams kept making more and more points for each other. And with a little over two minutes left on the clock, the score was still a two point difference at 91-93, still Kaijo's favor.
"Two minutes and eleven seconds left," Riko muttered.
Even as the time ticked down to one minute, the teams still hadn't made any points, not until it was close to it being the last thirty seconds on the clock. Once Hyuga was able to make another basket, it was able to tie up the score once again, both teams being at 98 points with twenty seconds left.
"Dammit! These guys...! Let's finish this!" Kasamatsu ordered as he threw the ball in once again.
Hyuga was soon yelling the same to Seirin. They wanted to win this so bad, and they weren't going to let even Kise stop them. However, Kuroko had a plan for them to succeed in doing so. Just as Kagami was about to start running, the phantom spoke up.
"Kagami," he called out.
Kagami stopped in tracks before turning back towards Kuroko as (Y/N) did the same. She saw an idea brewing in his mind.
"If we can get the ball, there's still one thing we can do that Kise can't copy," the light blue haired boy revealed.
Kagami was in disbelief for a second, and even (Y/N) was having a hard time figuring out what her best friend had meant. It was only when Kuroko explained this move next that she realized what he had meant. The light bulbs began turning on.
"It's very simple, but it'll only work once."
The tall girl then smirked, knowing exactly what to do. These were the types of moves that she thrived in.
"So that's what you're thinking of, huh?"
Soon, the three of them began running towards the end of the court after Kuroko's explanation. And the only one who could get that last basket had to be either Kagami or (Y/N). There was only ten seconds left on the clock, not enough stamina for the team to pull off any tricks.
"Don't just defend, attack!" Riko commanded through all of the other voices yelling at the teams.
Kasamatsu had the ball in his hands, approaching the three point line in order to make a shot. However, Hyuga was right on his tail, stopping in front of him in order to perform a block. But his legs had reached their limit. He wasn't able to jump.
"You worthless piece of-" Hyuga cut himself off as he saw a shadow beginning to cover his body from Kasamatsu jumping up for a shot.
But the captain of Kaijo wasn't able to pull off the shot, because Kagami had performed an impressive jump, smacking the ball out of the spiky haired boy's hands. It was quite a shocker for everyone, especially Kasamatsu, his steely eyes widening.
Hyuga was able to catch the ball, but having no time to dribble it to their basket, the captain chucked the ball to Kagami as he and Kuroko made their way to Seirin's basket. (Y/N) was already in position, and she was ready for this.
"Don't let 'em through!" Kasamatsu yelled to the Kaijo team.
As Kagami dribbled the ball with Kuroko beside him, Kise immediately got in their way in order to defend. But that wasn't going to stop them. The red head passed the ball to Kuroko, but Kise didn't think the phantom was actually going to do it.
"But Kurokocchi can't shoot. If it's just them, he'll have to pass to Kagami," the blonde said to himself, loud enough for his team to hear.
But, Kise didn't see the threat that was behind him, appearing out of nowhere.
"Oh, he's not gonna."
He heard it, (Y/N)'s voice was right behind him. But how? She wasn't there before. And then, it hit them as Kuroko threw the ball towards the basket. He wasn't making a shot.
"That's not it, it's an alleyoop!" Kise heard Kasamatsu yell as a warning.
Just as the blonde heard that, he saw (Y/N) run to the three point line before bending her legs and springing up into the air, almost like she had wings.
"I won't let you, (Y/N)cchi!"
"Just you try and stop me!" She yelled back at him.
She was determined to win, but Kise wasn't going to lose either. He wanted to show her his basketball. He wanted to play with her again. He wanted her back again with him.
As the two of them kept flying higher in the air, it was almost like everything went in slow motion. They both kept getting higher, and higher, until Kise began falling back to the ground. But, there was something not right, or almost, amazing.
'No way. How long can she..? We jumped at the exact same time, and I'm falling first!'
"Atta girl! Dunk it in!" Kagami yelled to her with a huge smile on his face as the other members of Seirin started cheering for the Triple Threat.
This was why she was so amazing. (Y/N)'s passion for basketball was bigger than anything else, and it was channeled in her playing styles.
'How the heck can you possibly stay in the air that long?'
But Kise's question was soon answered as he began getting closer and closer to the ground. Kagami smirked proudly as he explained.
"We don't need to return the favor, pretty boy. And you know why?" He asked.
Flashing back to Kuroko's plan, this was the only way to beat Kise. A buzzer beater, the copycat would have no time left to copy and make another point. Especially if it was against the girl who taught it all to him.
"This ends now!" (Y/N) yelled as everyone watched her dunk the ball with a powerful movement.
If her jumping power wasn't enough, the power behind her dunk rivaled Kagami and Kise's. Soon, the buzzer rang out throughout the gym, marking the end of the game.
The score was 100-98.
Seirin had won.