"A-America!?"
I nod. "Seirin has a study abroad program with our sister school in Los Angeles. Taiga and I both lived there and have good connections there in the basketball world. It wasn't hard to put together."
Suddenly, I feel a hand tightly gripping the back of my head; a very familiar grip. "And she only told me about it last night. I swear, these first years, all coming and going as they please. It's as if you all are trying to get on my last nerve."
"I'm sorry, Riko-chan! Gah!" she squeezes harder. "Please, I'm sorr- I'm sorry!"
Hyuga shrugs as the coach continues to scalp me. "Well, if he's going to come back stronger, it's not like I can complain."
Finally, I manage to pry Riko's demon grip away from my precious locks. "Don't worry. If he goes to the person I told him to, he definitely will."
~ . . . . . ~
Kagami hops out of his cab, greeted immediately by suffocating, near 100° weather. Sweating before even getting to begin his training, he sighs deeply and wipes his brow, the bags over his shoulder feeling much heavier than before his flight. Even yet, he doesn't feel tired. If anything, after that long flight overseas, he's feeling restless. His fingers twitch, just itching to fit a basketball into his rough palms.
But perhaps he should get to that hotel room first. The taxi driver dropped him off about three blocks away, seeing as traffic by the courts was somewhat of a bother at this time of day. Readjusting the grip on his luggage, he sets off on his way down the sidewalk.
Mindlessly scrolling through his phone, he pulls up [Name]'s contact in his messages, one of her most recent messages being the photo of the guy she wants him to find while he's here. It's a simple picture. She's standing next to him, looking much younger than she does now. Perhaps the photo had been taken sometime when she was in middle school. Being much shorter than the man in question, he drapes an arm over her head jokingly.
The man seems as if he's very laid back. Tall, by the looks of it. Perhaps 6'5", maybe 6'6". He has his dreads tied back at the nape of his neck, the length of them brushing past his shoulders. And his smile is really wide, showing off every single one of his exceptionally white teeth. With the basketball tucked so snuggly into his hip in the picture, Kagami can't help but wonder who this man was to [Name].
"Hey, heads up!"
Eyes flickering away from the picture just in time, Kagami catches a stray basketball flying from out of one of the Venice courts. He palms it with wide eyes, soaking the scenery in. Despite having lived not too far away while in America, he never got to experience the Venice Beach Courts. Him and Himuro always played in the caged off outdoor courts about half an hour east. Neither of them could drive, so they saw no point in even experiencing the hassle.
A man from the nearest game jogs over to collect the ball from Kagami, his dreads tied back at the nape of his neck. "Hey, my bad, man. Let that one get away from me."
Blinking dumbly, Kagami averts his gaze back down to his phone, and then back up to the man, who sends him a questioning look as he holds his hands out for the ball.
"Uhh... we're in the middle of a game, so, if I could just-..."
"Do you guys need one more?"
The man blinks, dressed in black from head to toe. Checking over his shoulder, he assesses his guys before turning back to Kagami with a smile. "You know what? Yeah. Corey's girl has been nagging him to come home for awhile. You can take his spot."
Taking his bag off of his shoulder, Kagami follows the man back to his friends; he's definitely taller than him by a couple inches. He wonders how he should bring up [Name] to him, though. She said that she trusts this guy enough to keep her whereabouts safe, but Kagami still feels cautious. Especially in Los Angeles (her hometown) and the Venice Courts, no less. Her and her brother apparently built a legacy here as they grew up playing all these people. He's sure that if he mentioned her name, too many people would overhear and recognize it for who it belongs to.
He hops in the match, joining the "skins" team. He isn't complaining. He's been sweating through his t-shirt ever since he got here. A couple of the guys dap him up to greet him; he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss the atmosphere of playing in a place like America.
The man from the picture checks the ball from the outside to one of the dudes on Kagami's team; he'll be playing against him, then. He's sure that's good. He can see what he's made of before actually approaching him like [Name] recommended him to do.
All of a sudden, the man from the picture is spinning around Kagami's teammates and into the paint. Having been off in his own train of thought, Kagami loses him a second, having to chase him towards the rim. He jumps to block, thinking he's got him pinned with his vertical. Unfortunately, the man windmill dunks it, completely avoiding Kagami's defense all together. When they both land, however, the man's eyes linger on the redhead, a spark of interest glittering within his dark pupils.
"Come on, DK. Quit showing off for the newbie," one of the guys teases.
"I'm not, I'm not," he replies with a chortle, taking one last glance at Kagami before running back. "If anything, I think the newbie's trying to show off for me."
Motivated now, Kagami's ready for action. He steals a pass from someone on the shirt team, immediately taking it back down court. He thinks about going straight for the hoop, but a strange inkling at the base of his spine urges him not to. Taken a moment to scan his surroundings, he finds a guy on his team wide open to his left, and decides to pass it to him before diving into the paint.
"Here!" Kagami calls as he jumps from the free throw, palm outstretched.
Understanding, the teammate sets him up for the alley-oop. The man watches with his toothy grin as Kagami slams it through the hoop, wasting no time to get back on defense.
The man whistles. "See what I mean? This kid really is showing off."
Kagami would be lying if he said his pride hadn't swelled a bit in response to the statement.
The sun is beginning to set when all the guys on the court begin to pack up. Completely worn out from playing so much after only just arriving, Kagami swipes away some sweat burning at the corners of his eyes. He's lucky there's a water fountain nearby, because he never had the chance to refill his bottle before hopping into the action.
"Hey, man. How come I ain't ever seen you around here?" Kagami turns to face the man once more; all of his friends called him 'DK' during the game. "You're pretty good. No way you haven't played on these courts before."
Kagami lifts his bag back over his shoulder. "Oh, no, I haven't. I-I'm actually not from around here, anymore."
DK arches a brow. "Anymore?"
"I lived here when I was younger," Kagami explains in the simplest of terms. "I actually live in Japan, now."
"Oh, that's cool! I've always wanted to go to Tokyo," DK beams, secreting his infectiously jubilant aura. "What brings you here, then? Family in town?"
Beginning to feel nervous, Kagami licks his lower lip, relishing the salty taste. "Uh, no, actually. It's, um-... A friend of mine wanted me to come here. S-She frequented these courts pretty often and recommended them to me."
DK seems to perk up at this news. "A friend of yours? What's her name? If she frequented these courts in the past twenty years, I definitely knew her."
"Ah, well, you see..." Kagami grits his teeth, glancing around nervously before unlocking his phone and showing the picture to DK. "Her..."
DK's eyes immediately widen, his grin falling slack at the sight of the photo. Only two seconds after looking at it, however, does he put a hand on Kagami's wrist and lowers his phone. He, too, begins glancing around before nodding at Kagami. "Don't lie to me, man. How'd you get this picture?"
Kagami blinks. "She sent it to me. Here, look at the contact-..."
"No, no, no. Don't pull that picture back up," he immediately stops him in his tracks, looking around one more time before staring into Kagami's soul. "Deadass? She sent you that?"
"Y-Yes. She said she trusts you enough to keep her whereabouts secret."
Huffing, the man licks his lips and shakes his head, gesturing Kagami to follow him. "Come over here. If it's for real about her, then I'd like our conversation to be a bit more private."
DK leads Kagami over to a bench on one of the far courts in the corner, the lamp post nearest to it flickering and gathering moths. He tosses his bag at the foot of it and plops down onto the seat, keeping his legs outstretched against the concrete. Tentatively, Kagami sets down his bag and sits next to him, unsure if he should say anything or not.
"Japan, right?" DK suddenly asks. "That's where you said you were from?"
"Y-Yeah. That's right."
Suddenly, he begins laughing, shaking his head. "Of course that's where she went. I can't believe I never even thought of that. Genius."
Confused, Kagami arches a brow. "What's so genius about it? It's one of the four languages that she can speak. It's not like she had many options."
DK's smile only grows wider. "[Name] has her mother convinced that she absolutely despises Japan simply because her mother's side of the family is from there. Seraphina would expect her to be in the North Pole before she would anywhere near Japan."
"You know [Name]'s family?" Kagami asks before even thinking.
"Oh, yeah," DK laughs. "I know 'em. Her dad and I were best friends, after all. I've known [Name] since she couldn't even walk, much less hold a basketball. She's been calling me uncle ever since she first learned to speak. Tell me; did that girl show you nothing but that picture and send you on your way? She didn't tell you nothing?"
Slowly, Kagami shakes his head. "Just the picture..."
"Of course she did," he sighs, too shaking his head. "Well, my name's Malaki, but my friends call me Donkey Kong because he's my go-to in Mario Kart and Smash."
"Well, what should I call you, then?"
"I think I deserve to know your name first, kid."
Kagami flushes. "Right. Taiga. Taiga Kagami."
"Ooh, Taiga? I like that. Sounds fierce," he slaps his shoulder, gentle enough not to sting. "I suppose any friend of [Name] is a friend of mine. Call me DK or Malaki. Your choice. Anyway, what did [Name] send you here for? All the way from Japan? Must've been important; I doubt it would just be to stay in contact with me, no matter how much I want that to be true."
Once again, Kagami shakes his head. "It's kind of a long story, but I'll try to keep it short. See, I'm on a high school team back in Japan; when [Name] moved over, she became the manager of it. Our Inter-High tournament was earlier this year, but we lost playing one of the former members of a really famous middle school team that people nicknamed the 'Generation of Miracles'."
DK nods. "I've actually heard of them before last year. Insane group of kids, that's for sure."
Though he can't help but feel frustrated with the praise that the Generation of Miracles continue to receive even in foreign countries, Kagami can't make an argument that they aren't worthy of it. "One of my teammates is also a former member, and we managed to beat two of them, but got completely obliterated by the former ace. He's particularly fond of street ball, and [Name] has been working with me nonstop this summer to get me more accustomed to playing against him so that we can beat him and his team in the Winter Cup Tournament this year."
"And so she sent you over here to play with me," DK pieces the rest of the puzzle together on his own. "I see, I see. I mean, it's no wonder that she did. I was the one who coached her through these courts most of her years, anyway."
Kagami's heart rate begins to quicken; [Name]'s former master? Surely he's in for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with this man. "Can you help me?"
DK looks him up and down in a scan-like manner, seemingly judging his worthiness. "You definitely weren't a pushover during our little game earlier, and if [Name] sent you to me, she must think you've got potential. She wouldn't have even tried to get me to help you otherwise. I'll coach you for the time you're here, Taiga. Once I get going, though, I don't stop. Are you sure you're ready for that?"
"I'm used to that with [Name] already," Kagami deadpans despite his inner-excitement. "I'll do anything to improve while I'm here."
DK grins. "Good. We start tomorrow. Back here. Six in the morning. Don't skip meals and don't be late."
"R-Right!"
~ . . . . . ~
"God dammnit!" Riko growls as Seirin walks out of the opening ceremony for the Winter Cup. "What the fuck are those idiots doing? [Name]-chan said she'd be back before the ceremony with that meathead! Where the hell are they!?"
Scared to even approach her, Fukuda keeps a bit of distance as he explains. "Apparently he forgot about the difference in time zones and bought a ticket for a flight that's getting here later than he expected. So [Name]-san has probably been sitting at the airport for quite some time, now."
Hyuga groans. "Unbelievable."
"Still, this is crazy," Kawohara looks around in awe. "The Inter-High courts were big on their own, but these are even greater!"
"On top of that, everywhere you look there are teams we've seen in magazines or even on t.v.," Furihata adds. "And then I'm reminded that we'll be going up against these monsters."
Hyuga smacks them both over the head. "Idiots. We weren't invited here as mere guests; keep your heads held high."
The ringer of a phone catches their attentions, and Kuroko is the one to pull his cell out of his bag. After reading the message with wide eyes, he puts the phone back in his pocket and turns to face Riko. "Sorry, but could I step out for a bit?"
Riko's brow twitches in response to the question. "I thought I told you not to wander off?"
Kuroko wastes no time in throwing his hands up in self defense. "Yes, but... I've been summoned. By Akashi-kun."
Izuki's breath hitches. "The captain of the Generation of Miracles."
Letting out a deep breath to compose herself, Riko sighs. "Fine. But we have a game this afternoon. Be back before then."
"Right."
"Furihata-kun. Go with him."
"O-Okay."
The pair of first years make their way out the stadium, Kuroko leading Furihata to the place he was told to meet. The steps on the west side of the courts outside. There, a couple familiar faces await them.
Aomine yawns, spinning a ball on the tip of his middle finger like it's second nature. "You have a babysitter now, Tetsu?"
Murasakibara takes a bite out of his chocolate bar. "Well, Mine-chin, you have Sa-chin."
"Satsuki's got nothing to do with this," he rolls his eyes.
Kise puts his phone back in his pocket, frowning. "Midorimacchi, why do you have scissors?"
"They're obviously my lucky item, you idiot," Midorima explains, snipping them twice to get his point across.
"It's dangerous, though," the blond deadpans. "I wish you wouldn't walk around with them like that."
Kuroko sighs. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Meanwhile, Furihata is absolutely shaking in his tracksuit just a step behind the bluette, intimidated by the mere sight of just about all the Generation of Miracles gathered into one spot. All but one.
A phone starts ringing. Aomine scoffs. "Your phone is fucking annoying, Kise. Is it Akashi or what?"
Kise gasps. "It's-... a text from a fan girl."
"Go die."
Struggling to open his bag of potato chips without ripping it completely open and spilling its contents, Murasakibara turns to face Midorima. "Mido-chin, let me borrow your scissors."
The sharp shooter sighs and looks away. "No."
"What?" Murasakibara whines. "Fine. Kuro-chin, do you have any scissors?"
"No, I don't."
Furihata tries to still his racing heart. 'They're talking so casually, but the tension in the air makes the entire atmosphere seem heavy...'
Kise groans childishly. "How come we're all here waiting on the one who summoned us here in the first place? Now that Kurokocchi's here, he'll be the last to arrive."
Midorima fixes the positioning of his glasses. "There's no need to be upset. That's just how he is."
"Yes. I apologize that I've kept you all waiting."
Kuroko is the first to answer the head of bright scarlet hair approaching them from the top of the steps. "Akashi-kun."
Akashi nods. "Daiki, Ryouta, Shintaro, Atsushi, and Tetsuya. I'm glad to see you all again. I'm deeply moved by the fact we were all able to meet like this. However, there's someone here who doesn't belong. I wish only to speak to my former teammates, right now. Sorry, but could you leave?"
Furihata stops breathing now that he's the one being directly spoken to; by Akashi Seijuro, no less. It's not as if he doesn't want to leave, but facing the wrath of Riko if he were to would be almost just as terrifying as staying here now. At this point, he's frozen in place, to petrified to even move.
Noticing this, Kuroko glances at him. "Furihata-kun-..."
He's interrupted, however, by a giant hand resting upon the brunet's shoulder. Kagami's grin is wicked. "Well, you're no fun. Don't exclude us from the fun."
"Kagami!" Furihata gasps. "Where's-..."
"Right here," [Name] walks out from behind the giant redhead, hands in her pockets and beholding an expression of absolute disgust. The aura she projects is enough to tell that she's in a sour mood; no doubt because Kagami made her sit and wait for him for hours at the airport.
"Yeah, yeah. We're back. We can talk later. But first..." Kagami takes a few steps forward, eyes trained on one person in particular. "You're Akashi, huh? Nice to meet you."
Glancing over Kagami, Akashi descends the steps towards someone else. "Shintaro, might I borrow those scissors?"
The greenette turns to face him. "What are you going to use them for?"
"My hair has been annoying me as of late. I've been meaning to trim it. I'd like to get it out of my eyes before the tournament starts," he smiles reassuringly, holding his hand out as Midorima places the item in his palm. "First, however... You're Kagami-kun, correct?"
Before Kagami can even answer, Akashi lunges at him with the scissors, aiming up towards his face. The redhead dodges the thrust in the knick of time, only discover there had been no need for him too. Before the scissors could have reached the place his head once was, a hand had gripped Akashi's wrist, firmly holding it in place before the captain could have finished the full extent of his swing. Glancing to his left, Kagami finds none other than [Name] to be standing there, holding him in place with a tired expression on her face.
A smile creeps onto Akashi's lips as he looks back and forth between the two. "Huh, I'm impressed you were able to dodge that, Kagami-kun. In light of that display of grace, I'll forgive you this one time. Now, for you, however... Tetsuya. Who is this girl?"
Kuroko stares cautiously at the grip [Name] has on his former captain's wrist; it isn't dreadfully tight, but keeps him firmly in place. "[Last Name][Name]. [Nickname]-chan is Seirin's manager."
Akashi's eyes glaze over hers, his smile widening. "I see..."
There's a bit of silence for a moment, Akashi and [Name] staring at one another, neither one of them admitting defeat. Kuroko glances at the latter, noticing that her eyes never shift to gold as she stares the former down. Slowly and gently, Akashi pulls his hand from her, never taking his eyes off her once as her arm drops back down to her side.
Akashi lifts his arm and begins snipping at his overgrown tresses, speaking and gazing at [Name] all at once. "Though I'm impressed, I will not give either of you a second chance. When I tell you to leave, then leave. You see, in this world, winning is everything. Winners are affirmed to the fullest extent, while losers are completely denied. Never once have I lost in any capacity, and never will I lose at anything; because I always win, and I am always right. I show no mercy to those who oppose me. Not even my own parents."
At these words, [Name]'s eyes narrow, and Akashi watches her, smiling smugly with his never-changing stare. Then, he turns away from her, handing the scissors back to Midorima now that he's finished with him. "Well, I'll be leaving, now. I only wanted to say hello to everyone before the tournament begins."
"Huh!?" Aomine growls, jumping up to his feet. "Don't be ridiculous, Akashi. You seriously summoned us just for that?"
"No," Akashi admits, turning to face them once more after he's reached the top of the steps. "I wanted to confirm something for myself. But now, after seeing all of your faces, I realized there was no need. No one here has forgotten our promise. Everything is as it should be. The next time we meet, it will be on the court."
No one speaks another word as Akashi does as he says and takes his leave, the rest of them left on the steps. As soon as the captain is out of sight, Kise turns with the intent of greeting [Name], having not seen her since the beginning of summer at his match against Touou. "[Name]cchi-..."
He chokes, however, when he sees she's already walking away, paying him and no one else any mind. He bites back his words, unsettled by the uneasy vibe she's giving off. It's clear she isn't in a very good mood. He ought not to disturb her, despite desperately wanting to.
Not even Kuroko, Kagami, and Furihata realized she'd gone off on her own before they're twenty paces behind her, running after to catch up. Not even Kuroko says goodbye to the rest of the former Teiko players. The remaining four stand in silence, sans Murasakibara's chip bag, and stare at the cement beneath their shoes.
It isn't long before the times comes for tip off between Seirin and Touou. Kagami comes out of his spot huddled up in a corner, sitting in deep concentration. [Name] leans against the lockers a few paces away from him, her arms crossed and eyes closed, laptop sat open in front of her untouched. Kuroko approaches them both, everyone else being too afraid, and says,
"It's time."
Kagami is the first to respond. "Right."
"There's no point thinking about an opponent you aren't playing yet," [Name] quickly states as Kagami stands; he glances at her with wide eyes. "Focus on the player you've spent all summer working your ass off to beat; not the one who just lunged at you with a pair of scissors. Beat Touou. Leave future matches to me."
Amused, the ace scoffs. "You don't need to tell me, [Name]. Besides, my head is full of revengeful thoughts, right now. Thoughts of beating him."
Relaxing a bit for what feels like the first time today, the manager nods. "Good."
As the team filters into the stadium, they're greeted by an overwhelming amount of cheers and bright lights, many of them actually chanting in their favor. Barely even the first day of the tournament and every single seat is filled. It isn't anything like they've ever experienced in the Inter-High. [Name], however, feels more at home than she's ever been, brisking past them as they stand in awe so that she can begin setting up for the game. Watching her work in her own element snaps the team back to the present, and they follow in her footsteps.
"Don't let the cheers get to your heads," she heeds as she begins unpacking the towels. "As unfortunate as it is for me to say, most of your spectators today aren't here to see you. Rather, they've come for your opponents-..."
Just as she finishes explaining, the crowd erupts into a deafening roar; and sure as can be, the Touou members load the court from their own respective locker room. And, for the second time this year, Aomine walks out with them, refusing to show up late.
Hyuga groans at all the cheers. "You can tell they placed second in the Inter-High."
"Don't lose your cool. It isn't as if we didn't already know," Riko reminds them.
Both the coach and manager are put at ease, however, when they find confident smiles on all of the player's faces. No one forgot who they were up against. In fact, they seem more than ready. And as the teams begin lining up, [Name] takes a moment to collect herself, clipboard hugged to her chest as she closes her eyes. The loud cheers of the arena drown out around her, and she takes a deep breath. In no way will she let her foul mood get in the way of this nerve wracking game. This will be her greatest gamble yet. She mustn't let anything get in the way of her enjoyment of it.
When she opens her eyes again, her senses come flooding back to her, a flutter in her chest, and she grins.
Kagami wastes no time approaching Aomine. "Hey."
Aomine glances him over, grinning at the sight of the determined smile planted on the redhead's face. "What's this? You seem to have improved a little."
"Yeah. I'd hope so," Kagami chuckles.
Kuroko shuffles his way into the conversation. "We definitely won't lose this time."
At those fighting words, Aomine's grin widens. "Fine. In that case, let's settle things once and for all."
During tip off, Kiyoshi is first to reach the ball, smacking it past Wakamatsu and directly into Izuki's awaiting hands. The entire team immediately takes off, just as [Name] and Riko advised them to before the game. They're playing Touou, after all. They can't afford to take it easy at any point during this match; not even in the first few seconds.
[Name] clicks her tongue as she watches Touou defend. "I was hoping they'd underestimate us at least a little during the first play."
Riko hums. "No good. They're playing as hard as a team would in the final minute of fourth quarter."
Unable to break through, the ball is stolen from Izuki by Imayoshi, then collected by Sakurai to take down court. Hyuga's right on his heels, however, jumping to block the shot at all costs. He's deflated to see, however, it isn't a shot after all. Aomine comes bounding into the paint for the alley-oop before anyone can even try to stop him. The first two points are taken with ease by Touou. The crowd goes wild.
Aomine glances over his shoulder at Kagami, two paces too slow behind him. "Ah, you're finally here. Sure took your time coming after me, huh?"
With a sigh, [Name] smiles knowingly. "It's unfortunate, but it isn't as if it's unexpected. They're going all out, so we'll go with what we have planned."
As Seirin regains possession of the ball, Izuki wastes no time passing back to Kuroko, who had been waiting for him. Touou is set off guard by this, confused as to why they'd give it to Kuroko now in the first place. His cross court passes shouldn't work on Aomine, after all, seeing as the two are so used to each other's playing styles.
[Name] smirks at Aomine's perplexed stare. "You recognize the form, don't you? Sorry to break it to you, but you'll find that it's a bit different from what you remember."
Kuroko's Ignite Pass blazes a path straight through Aomine's awaiting palm, knocking his arm back completely with its trajectory. Kiyoshi is ultimately the one to sprint past the defense and collect the pass, taking it into the paint and going for the dunk. Wakamatsu is an extremely quick center, as [Name] had informed the entire team earlier, so Kiyoshi isn't all too surprised when the blond appears before him to block the shot. That doesn't mean, however, that he's any less impressed. Kiyoshi palms the ball tightly midair, tossing it over his shoulder instead to Kagami, who makes the dunk in his stead.
An alley-oop for an alley-oop. The game is now tied once more. And every single Generation of Miracle sits in the crowd for this intense match, unable to pass up the opportunity to watch Kuroko and Aomine clash. They all marvel at the sight of the new and improved version of the Ignite Pass that they were so used to in middle school. It's penetrative force was even enough to knock Aomine's hand out of its way.
"What was that?" Takao leans forward, at the edge of his seat in awe.
"No doubt [Name]-san's handiwork," Midorima sighs, folding his arms. "I believe she may have had Kuroko put a spin behind the pass. The same thing is done with a bullet in a gun; spinning the bullet while it's in the barrel stabilizes its path and increases its penetrative force. In the same way, by transferring the spin of his body into the ball, twisting his arm and spinning his wrist as he passes it, Kuroko increased the force of his pass exponentially."
"That's insane. Of course [Name]-chan would come up with something like that," Takao laughs in disbelief.
Said girl's eyes land on someone else in the crowd, standing rather than sitting. She eyes his smile, calculating his thoughts based off of his excited expression alone. Eventually, however, her eyes shift away from Akashi and back to the court, where Aomine grins at his fellow bluette.
"I see," he eyes his palm. "I can have some fun with you now, Tetsu."
"I'd be surprised if you thought I hadn't changed," Kuroko agrees sternly.
[Name] hums when the ball is back in Touou's possession; Imayoshi passes it as Izuki dives to steal it, but she notes that the pass is rather high. It goes straight to Susa, who jumps to avoid Kuroko's low block and takes the shot. [Name] licks her lip.
"They're using their height advantage against Tetsu-chan by throwing high passes that he can't steal and making shots he won't be able to block. How annoyingly vigilant. Still..."
"Rebound!" Wakamatsu calls out as the ball bounces off the rim.
"...tricky passes lead to difficult shots," [Name] smirks.
Wakamatsu ends up collecting the rebound before Kiyoshi can, clutching it to his chest as he lands back on his feet. Passing it out to Sakurai, Touou earns themselves another three points.
"What a drag," [Name] groans, earning a couple confused looks from the bench. "They're just flaunting their difference in rank and skill, now. They didn't even let Tetsu-chan's pass phase them. They're playing like they always do."
"So... what do you say, [Name]-chan?" Riko asks, already knowing the manager's answer before she even says it.
An atrociously wicked grin creeps onto her lips as she turns to glance at the coach. "Shall we open the demon's gate so early in the game?"
Riko smiles, nodding towards the court. "If anything, I don't think we'd be able to stop it."
Sure enough, Hyuga hurls the ball down court, where it's caught by Kagami before the hoop, facing a confident Aomine in between him and his goal. [Name] can barely contain her excitement. "Why would I want to stop such a fateful clash?"
What a dangerous risk to take at such a point in the game. The momentum has never slipped from Touou's hands; if Kagami isn't successful in the slightest during this intense one-on-one, the control of the game may forever be held outside of Seirin's reach. The morale would be destroyed. It would be difficult to come back from.
Still... [Name]'s aura has completely changed. Long ago has she forgotten her frustration with Kagami's tardiness. Now, she can only shake with anticipation at the scene playing out before her. After five seconds of gut wrenching tension in which neither of the two bat as much as an eyelash, Kagami passes the ball back around to Izuki. Aomine takes a step back, somewhat surprised.
Kagami huffs. "I can't do it."
Aomine arches a brow. "Huh?"
"I can't beat you," Kagami admits before running back to help. "Not yet, anyway."
[Name]'s shoulders slack; albeit slightly disappointed for her own selfish reasons, she smiles. Despite the face-off not being outwardly physical, that one-on-one was exuberayting. She's sharp enough to have caught onto the fake Kagami was about to make; and the reaction of Aomine slightly shifting his weight forward onto his toes. Their stares were intense, their breathing focused. If Kagami had been training with Malaki back in America for the past couple weeks, she's certain Kagami must've just run through a couple courses in his head against Aomine and lost all of them. Before his trip, he would've blindly run in on his own accord and lost the ball. He's matured. He's become smarter. [Name] can appreciate that.
And, by the looks of that grin, Aomine can appreciate it, too.
"Riko-chan; I think a time out here is necessary," the manager advises.
"Yeah, me, too," she sighs, getting up and approaching the table.
The crowd groans as the starters take the bench, toweling off and rehydrating. "Damn, I thought we were gonna see the aces go head-to-head, back there."
"Man, Kagami ran away before even doing anything."
"Talk about lame."
Takao snorts from his seat. "Listen to all these extras run their mouths. To an amateur, it would seem as if Kagami fled the battle, but in those few seconds, it was clear that a high-level game was going on between those two. Kagami pulled off an extremely subtle fake, and from that point on, they both began reading each other's future plays in an extremely realistic simulation. With their skill, they're accurately able to assess their opponent's strength based off of those minimal movements. Having the composure to accept and avoid an unfavorable outcome can be more important than the actual game itself. He gave the ball back and earned his team two points instead of charging in and losing. He's different."
Izuki shakes some sweat out of his locks. "Well? The game is still difficult. What should we do next?"
[Name] frowns. "Tetsu-chan's new pass takes a heavy toll on his body. I'd like to avoid using it as much as possible. More importantly, it's dangerous to keep using it against a highly-adaptive player like Aomine. I wouldn't be surprised he's found a way to stop it if Tetsu-chan were to use it a second time."
"All right," Hyuga cracks his neck. "In that case, I'll start by scoring from the outside. Izuki, give me the next ball."
The entire team turns to stare at their captain as he begins stretching out his fingers. "Huh?"
"Their current defense is strong on the inside, so I'll start drawing their attention outside the paint," Hyuga explains as he stands from the bench. "And we'll regroup from there."
Riko ponders this a moment before grinning, hands on his hips. "Okay. We're counting on you, Hyuga-kun."
As the starters return to the court after timeout, Kawohara frowns. "Is the captain all right? Don't you think he seems a bit too lax about all this?"
Koge snorts. "What are you talking about? It's just the opposite: He can say all that because he's confident and focused."
Doing just as promised, Izuki wastes no time passing the ball to Hyuga on the outside, who's immediately greeted with Sakurai's impressive defense. Hyuga smirks at the boy. "Hm. You're standing so far away."
Taking a quick step back, a meter or so out from the three point line, Hyuga takes the shot wide open, Sakurai unable to keep up with his movement. He makes the shot with both accuracy and precision; with ease, even. The Touou members are shocked; [Name] admittedly smirks at Momoi's baffled expression from the opposite bench.
"The first years aren't the only one's who've improved," Hyuga's quick to remind his timid opponent. "Don't underestimate me, you apologetic mushroom."
"The inviolable shot," [Name] beams. "Barrier Jumper."
"His habits are returning," Tsuchida chuckles. "Hyuga only ever cracks his neck when he's on fire."
Pass after pass goes to the reliable captain, and he proves his reliability every time with his Barrier Jumper shot, stocking up three pointers for Seirin. However, Sakurai's determination to make points for Touou is just as impressive. When Hyuga's defense seems especially impenetrable, the shooting guard jumps and makes a shot that manages to go in all on his own.
"Damn that quick release of his," [Name] hisses through her teeth, though, it's clear she's getting more and more excited as the game goes on. "Not only that..."
Sakurai turns to face Hyuga with a strangely pouty expression. "I'm not going to lose. Besides, I'm the better player out of the two of us."
[Name] snorts. "His adversity towards defeat is impressive on its own."
Pumped up now, Hyuga faces his vice captain. "Izuki... Keep passing to me."
The point guard smiles knowingly. "Sure thing. You're riled up today, aren't you?"
"Yeah...."
Three pointer after three pointer, Sakurai and Hyuga both score for their respective teams, back and forth. A shoot out. If either player were to back out of taking their long range shots at any point, now, their team would lose momentum, despite it feeling slow as all the shots are taken from the outside.
Sakurai makes another shot within the last five seconds of the quarter, pulling Touou into the lead 19-22. [Name] lifts her chin. "We aren't finished yet."
Kiyoshi hurls the ball down court to Kuroko, who holds the ball and faces Susa. Glancing over his shoulder quickly, Kuroko quickly dives into his drive, dipping past the short guard with surprising efficiency. The first vanishing drive of the game. As soon as he runs inside, Wakamatsu is there to defend, thinking he'll try to drive again. Unfortunately, Kuroko blindly passes behind him, where he trusts one reliable player to receive the ball.
Hyuga takes the three pointer before Sakurai can reach him; the ball sails through the hoop right before the buzzer can declare the end of the first quarter. The score is tied 22-22.
Imayoshi approaches Susa. "Well, Susa, how as it?"
The short forward nods. "It was just as Momoi said. She was right."
The two players suddenly feel a chill run down their spine, a pair of eyes boring through their backs. Turning to face the Seirin bench, their skin crawls in the spotlight of [Name]'s haunting stare, her eyes gleaming and refusing to blink. Her grip on her clipboard nearly snaps the wood in half and she clicks her tongue. Imayoshi and Susa warily return to their bench, and she does hers.
Her own teammates can barely read her expression. The corners of her lips twitch, her jaw is clenched, and her knuckles are white. But her eyes... they're filled to the brim with excitement and pleasure.
"[N-Name]-san....?" Izuki's the first to question her.
Her expression doesn't change. If anything, even though her lips aren't outwardly forming it, it looks as if she's smiling.
"They've figured it out."