(Y/n) POV)
I was happily eating my food that was on par with Kaga-chin in the amount numbers.
Kuro-chin: "You're eating more than usual." I looked over at him and Kaga-chin who sat to the left of me. Kaga-chin looked over at Kuro-chin who only had a sandwich and a juice box.
Kaga-chin: "I'm surprised that's enough food for you. We played two games yesterday. I'm so hungry."
Kuro-chin: "I'm sore at least."
"I mean... I'm always hungry, but I am pretty sore even if I didn't play as much in the second game."
Kaga-chin: "What does that mean? I guess I am, too." Kaga-chin then stretches over his chair.
Coach: "Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun, Murasakibara-kun! Perfect. Come with me." Kaga-chin and I ended up carrying the boxes she held.
Kaga-chin: "But we're sore. What are you, an ogre?"
Coach: "You want to make a maiden carry those boxes? That's your job, boys."
"You seemed to be doing just fine a second ago."
Kaga-chin: "I don't see a maiden anywhere." She punches both of us in the kidney causing us to almost drop the boxes we were carrying.
"What is this stuff anyway?"
Coach: "They're DVDs of this year's and last year's games from the club room. They're for scouting, and the club room is so small. We're going to be playing two games in a row against the kings in the semifinals. There's no such thing as over analyzing." Well I know what I'm going to be doing for a while.
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It was getting late as I sat in the locker room watching the film on Seiho and Shutoku. I was so focused that I didn't notice either Kuro-chin or Kaga-chin enter. I had asked coach to let me watch some to get a head start on learning their offensive tendencies. I was on a preliminary game, Seiho vs. Kitawada when I saw two people standing next to me.
Kaga-chin: "Their movements are kind of weird. I mean..."
"Yeah... it seems familiar, but I just can't put my finger on what it is."
Kaga-chin: "This bald guy's defense is especially tough."
Kuro-chin: "I know him."
Kaga-chin: "Huh?"
"You do?"
Kuro-chin: "I played against him in middle school. We had only just started, but he stopped Kise-kun."
"So he's always had exceptional defense." We finished the film as we stared at the final score. 71-12 Seiho. "They're scoring isn't the greatest, but if we can't beat their defense it doesn't matter how much they score." Kaga-chin and Kuro-chin nodded.
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Koganei: "Sorry, but I feel like crying again."
Coach: "Frankly, we'd lose nine times out of ten against Seiho and Shutoku. We just have to bring that one win to our games."
Hyuga: "Hey, listen. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a strategy, but I have an idea."
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We were warming up while Shutoku was warming up on the court across from us. Kaga-chin was having a stare down with Mido-chin when Hyuga-senpai almost snapped his neck.
Hyuga: "You're staring down the wrong guy, idiot. No matter how hard you stare, if we lose this next game, you'll look like an idiot."
Kaga-chin: "I was just looking at him. I'm focused on our next game."
"You were eye raping him Kaga-chin." I chuckled to myself has he glared at me. I tied my hair up in the usual ponytail as our gazes switched to Seiho warming up.
RFY: "Seiho seems more normal than I expected. They don't have any really big guys."
Coach: "I suppose they are small for a national class team. Their biggest player is their captain, Iwamura-kun."
RFY: "Is he about as tall as Mitobe-senpai? He's pretty wide! He's so thick! He seems really powerful!"
Coach: "Then there's their play maker, Kusaga-kun. Those two third-years are the core of the team."
???: "You're Kagami-kun, aren't you? Your hair's so red! Scary!" It was the sadistic baldy.
Kaga-chin: "What?"
Baldy: "Captain, this is the guy, right?! Seirin's really weak, but they have one strong guy!"
Coach: "You've done it now, you little shit." Coach was pissed, and I felt my eye twitching.
Baldy: "OW!"
Iwamura: "Quit messing around, you idiot. Sorry about that. This guy can't read situations, so he just says what he's thinking." He pushes baldy's head down in a bow.
Hyuga: "You don't need to apologize. We're going to win. If you look down on us like you did last year, you'll end up in tears."
Iwamura: "That won't happen. Besides, we weren't looking down on you. You were just weak. That's all."
Baldy: "What? Captain, you're not mincing words either." I began laughing as I walked up to the two.
"Then allow me to make a promise. Well, two in fact. One, I will figure out your gimmick and exploit it's weaknesses. Two, we will win this game. If we don't, I'll quit basketball all together." I spoke with a smirk as my teammates stood behind me in surprise. The two didn't say anything else as Iwamura-senpai dragged Baldy off. We were in the locker room when everyone began glaring at me.
Hyuga: "Why did you make a proclamation like that?!"
"Why do you seem so upset captain. We won't lose this game. So it doesn't matter what I say I'll do if we lose." He went to yell at me before sighing. "Plus, it was you who said we were gonna win first, right?" A tickmark appears on his forehead as he punches the top of my head. I held a smirk as I looked up at him. "Everyone!" Their gazes were already on me, but I made sure I had their actual attention. "I promise every single one of you, we will not lose this game. I don't plan on having things end here. I know you all don't plan on that either. So all we have to do is control what we can control, we do our jobs and make plays. We do that and we win. Believe in each other, and no matter what happens we will come out on top." I look at everyone's faces as they seem motivated and ready to go. "I don't like speeches so I'll end it here. Let's take back the loss of last year, and return it ten-fold!"
🏀
Announcer: "Let the first A Block semifinals match between Seirin High and Seiho High begin." At tip off it wasn't going our way. Kaga-chin lost by a hair, and it only went downhill from there. It had only been a little under 4 minutes and we were down by twelve without scoring even once. Currently, baldy was locking Kaga-chin down.
Izuki: "Kagami, you're holding the ball too long. Pass it!" Izuki goes for the layup, but gets blocked by Iwamura-senpai. I quickly ran to stop the fast break, and slap the ball back into Kaga-chin's hands.
'I'm getting closer.' We were back on offense where Kaga-chin was getting locked down again.
RP1(Random Player 1): "Tsugawa, it's fine if you're excited, but don't wear yourself out before the second half."
Tsugawa: "I'm fine! They're not as good as I thought, so this should be easy!" Kaga-chin took offense to that and pushed past him. Cue the whistle.
Ref: "Charging! White 10!"
Kaga-chin: "What?" I walked over to him and looked him in the eyes.
"Hey, calm down. Don't let them get in your head. You're the ace for a reason, don't get so angry about some no name brat who won't make it any farther." He stared at me for a second before Kuro-chin piped up.
Kuro-chin: "Kagami-kun, you already have two fouls. Get five, and you're out."
Kaga-chin: "I know. Somehow their movements are impossible to play against."
"I've got a theory, but I can't confirm anything yet." As we went on the attack, Kuro-chin's passing was once again useless. 'That's it!'
Ref: "Seirin timeout!"
"Coach, I've figured it out. Seiho uses old martial arts techniques."
Kaga-chin: "Old martial arts? You mean this kind of thing?" He does some weird move with his hands.
Coach: "That's not old martial arts."
"What they incorporate is the movements from old martial arts. One of these movements is called "namba running."
Coach: "Usually your arms and legs move in opposite directions when you run..."
"But when namba running your arms and legs move together. Apparently, by avoiding twisting, you reduce the strain on your body and the energy you spend. It's why they're barely tired at all and we're already sweating."
Coach: "In addition to namba running, they use all sorts of martial arts techniques for effortless strength, moving quickly without missing a beat, and other basic movements. That's how Seiho moves."
"It's not like they can fly or disappear though. They're still high schoolers, just like us. They'll fall for fakes, and they'll lose their balance if we catch them off guard. And I can think of no other way of doing that then dunking over their own captain." The whistle blows again as we walk back on the court. I grabbed a long piece of cloth from the bench and tied it around my wrist. "Izuki-senpai. Pass me the ball to start. I know how to exploit there weaknesses, and I intend to fulfill my promise."
Izuki: "What's your plan."
"I already told you my plan." He looks confused as I walk off. Izuki-senpai did indeed pass me the ball as I stared into the eyes of my defender. I blinked before watching him take a small step back. 'There!' I stepped towards that foot, and as he went to stop me, I quickly switched directions. He couldn't keep up as I broke past him, and saw Iwamura-senpai quickly coming in my direction. He stood protectively in front of the hoop, but that wouldn't save him. I jumped up and brought the ball back over my head and near my shoulder blades. Iwamura-senpai went to block as I brought my arms down as hard as I could. The poster went exactly how I wanted as the ref blew the whistle, and Iwamura-senpai stumbled backwards as he landed. I held on the rim for a moment before dropping to the ground. "That's one promise fulfilled." I spoke as I stared into his eyes. We set up for the and one attempt, and I easily converted it.
Kaga-chin: "Next time, can I go against Tsugawa again?" He asks as we jogged down the court.
"Yeah. If the two of us can consistently exploit our opponents they'll be at our mercy." I held my fist up and he bumped his with mine. I looked at the cloth and smirked to myself. When Izuki-senpai passed me the ball I quickly got the ball to Kaga-chin who stared down Tsugawa."
Tsugawa: "One-on-one? Bring it on!"
Kaga-chin: "I don't care about your martial arts or whatever. Basketball is basketball!" Kaga-chin got passed Tsugawa this time with what looked like little effort before easily slamming the ball down. Seiho seemed surprised by not only my dunk, but Kaga-chin's as well. "We will win this game." An unknown force drew me to look into the crowd where I saw both Kasamatsus and Kisecchi in the stands.
RP2: "That's the first time I've seen anyone get past you."
Tsugawa: "The fun and the pain are just getting started."