Third POV
When Momoi looked down to the court to see what exactly was happening between Seirin and Shutoku, she was surprised to see what exactly the red and black team was doing when it came to their plan of attack.
"Wait, they're double teaming Midorin?" the pink haired girl asked out loud once she caught sight of the green haired shooting guard.
Both Kagami and Kiyoshi, being the tallest members on the team were really going at him hard, but it was also to make sure the tiger didn't wear himself out too much before the game was over.
"Uh-huh. Midorimacchi's barely been able to make a shot at all," Kise responded to his former manager as Hibiki leaned down on the railing with his arms crossed.
While he was watching Midorima, the younger twin was also trying to observe what his sister was doing and how she was handling being back on the court for the first time in months. (Y/N) was actually acting just like her old self when it came to her play, he and Kise didn't miss that amazing long shot she had performed earlier.
"How's she doing down there, Hibs?" Momoi's voice snapped the boy out of his thoughts as he saw her face getting a little close to his out of the corner of his eyes.
The boy tried his best to keep his blushing at bay, but he did manage to smile as he saw the triple threat continuing to guard Miyaji and defend the net.
"She's doing really well, actually. You should've seen it, Satsuki. She ended up making one of those super long threes like Midorima," Hibiki grinned as he kept his eyes on the court.
Momoi found herself a little stunned when she heard that, although the girl knew very well that her best friend was more than capable of performing full court shots like Midorima. The triple threat wouldn't be considered herself if she didn't show off just a little during a game.
"(Y/N)cchi seems to be back to her old self, which is nice to see. I bet Midorimacchi's enjoying it too," the blonde copycat brought up as well.
"Well yeah, she's his favorite human in the entire world with how nice he is to her," the (h/c) haired boy grumbled.
"I think that's for different reasons too, you guys," Momoi sweat-dropped at the two.
Oh, she knew way more about romance than they did. If only the triple threat shared that same trait that all girls seem to have when it came to fantasizing about romantic antics. But, they weren't exactly wrong when they said Midorima's favorite human was the tall girl. Plus, Momoi didn't know how to explain it, but she just felt that the shooting guard was just playing with more of a purpose other than just winning.
Down on the court, Kiyoshi was running over the plan once again in his head. Just as the timeout was coming to a close, he came up with the idea that he and Kagami would continue to double team Midorima, despite the tiger's refusal. He wanted the others to trust him too, and they did. But Kiyoshi brought up the point that if the red head ran out of jumps, things were going to get much harder because the triple threat would have to be the one to handle the green haired miracle.
Plus, (Y/N) brought up the fact of how Mitobe was going to be the only one on the inside, and too much of that would tire him out. Finally, Hyuga came up with an idea that just might work. Kiyoshi soon realized it just as Miyaji scored another two points for Shutoku with a layup. This was gonna suck for a little bit because Seirin's inside was so weak right now, but that didn't stop their fight. Not at all.
"If we really can't stop them, then we'll just have to score more than them! Let's go!" Hyuga declared as the triple threat of the team got the ball.
Shutoku was definitely caught off guard for a second when they saw the Seirin team charging right towards them, a run and gun, their signature playstyle. As she ran, (Y/N) quickly passed the ball to Hyuga, who then passed it to Kiyoshi within a blink of an eye.
"Did you guys see that?" Momoi gaped.
"It was so quick, I'm not sure," Kise answered wide eyed as Hibiki nodded.
It was Kiyoshi's turn as he went to jump up in the air and looked like he was going to go for a basket. Miyaji was right there though and wasn't going to allow that to happen as he too leaped into the air while he reached his hand up high.
"Get that outta here! You're finished!" the dark blonde third year shouted.
What Miyaji didn't know was that Seirin's center wasn't going to shoot. Let's not forget about those huge hands of his and his iron grip. Miyaji watched with shock as Kiyoshi turned mid-air before passing the ball down to Mitobe, who then jumped up and dunked the ball double handed through the hoop.
"Yeah, Mito!" the tall girl's cheers could be heard as she began running back in order to defend.
As Momoi watched from above, she could see the similarities between Seirin's game play and Touou's, both of them going at it really hard with their offense. Shutoku didn't know what was going on as Hyuga made another three pointer, they were definitely keeping up a lot more than they were when the two teams played each other during the summer, it was crazy.
"What's with this offensive power? It's almost like they're an entirely different Seirin," Takao thought out loud as he held the ball.
There was some strong power behind the red and black team's plays, it was nuts. The hawk eyed point guard almost didn't recognize the team he and the rest of Shutoku were battling with.
"No, not exactly," Shutoku's captain overheard the point guard saying, causing the boy to turn back towards him.
"It'd be more accurate to say they're back."
"What're you talking about?"
What did that mean? It'd make sense for the first years not to know since this was the first year they were facing off with Seirin. But the third years had seen this sudden offensive power before, and it was both refreshing and kind of scary to see it make a comeback like this.
"Seirin's playstyle is offensive team basketball, and they were even faster last year with Kiyoshi. With him and Hyuga covering the inside and outside, they score with the speed and passing of all five players. It's run and gun speed basketball. This is Seirin's signature style," Ootsubo explained.
While Shutoku may have beaten them last year, this playstyle of basketball was both hard to come by and could be difficult to play against at some points. And with the addition of strong players like Kagami and the Triple Threat of the Generation of Miracles to Seirin, this playstyle was going to be harder to fight against.
Over on Seirin's bench, everyone was watching this game closely until Riko spoke up.
"Two big things have changed since Teppei came back," she started, causing Izuki, Kuroko and Koganei to turn towards her as she elaborated.
"One: our inside's much stronger. And two: by cycling the ball with (Y/N) as our point guard, the quickness of our passes has increased tremendously. So when it comes to high paced point wars, our true potential's gonna shine through," the coach explained, ending with a smirk on her face.
Kagami and (Y/N) had to agree, they were getting such a rush from this that it wasn't even funny as they ran. Mitobe soon posted up for a shot, but Takao ended up through his aim of as the ball bounced off the rim. Ootsubo was right there to get it too as he leaped in the air along with Kiyoshi. The Shutoku captain didn't have any problem getting the ball. And Seirin's center feared who it was going to go to as he watched Midorima catch the pass.
Everyone on the red and black team felt their hearts stop as the green haired miracle bent down and shot the ball up before Kagami could launch himself into the air. This time, the ball entered the hoop in a three pointer. His first long shot of the game, and the crowds were certainly eating that up as the cheers roared. What high schooler could possibly shoot like that?
"Get your head out of the clouds, you fool. You can't afford to lose focus, if you hope to defeat me," Midorima made sure to let Kagami know, seeing as that the red head wasn't paying much attention to that shot.
However, before the two of them could go at it, the shooting guard felt a hard slap on his back followed by another.
"That's how it's done!" Kimura celebrated as he smacked the first year's back, causing him to fall forward a little bit.
"Nice, Midorima!" Miyaji followed in suit as he copied Kimura's actions.
Wow, who'd have thought they ever see the green haired boy getting teased by his upperclassmen? Heck, Kagami didn't even know what was coming for him until he felt a smack to his stomach followed by a commanding voice.
"Get out of your head, Kagami," Hyuga told the hot head as he elbowed the boy's stomach, causing some air to be knocked out of the tiger's system.
Standing off to the side, (Y/N) was giggling quietly as she watched Hyuga and Kiyoshi smacking the boy one after another in order to get him out of his thoughts. And seeing the Shutoku upperclassmen doing that to Midorima was even more hilarious.
"They score, we'll match 'em," the captain elbowed the boy once again.
"So let's score," Kiyoshi cheerfully added as he karate chopped the back of the tiger's head.
This was too funny, oh my gosh, the (h/c) haired girl wished she had her phone out so that she could record this. In fact, she'd be on the floor laughing like crazy if they weren't in the middle of a game. Oh, if she only knew that it was soon going to turn on her. Her giggles and snickers weren't exactly all that quiet to where they wouldn't be noticeable. Kagami had to smirk to himself once he saw the two second years that were harassing him turn to the triple threat, who didn't see them coming since she had turned away in order to hide her laughing.
Seconds later, (Y/N) felt a disturbance in the force as two large arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind, a small weight causing her to lean forward as she saw Hyuga's figure in front of her. The triple threat soon felt her cheeks being tugged on, squishing them and pulling them out like they were some sort of toy.
"Okay, Giggles-a-lot. We're gonna need you to start showing off a little bit in order to help us score," the captain smirked down at her as he continued squishing her cheeks.
"Don't be afraid to pull off something crazy, Teddy. As long as you feel comfortable enough with your knee and everything," Kiyoshi's voice came from behind her as he continued to hold her in place.
Oh, so they wanted her to show off more? Well, she couldn't say 'no' to such an honor. What she could say 'no' to was Kagami continuing to laugh at her. The girl soon formed a cute little glare on her face as Hyuga kept her cheeks squished together.
"Well, the beast doesn't look like she has chipmunk cheeks, so STAWP IT!" (Y/N) protested as she pumped her fists up in order to get Hyuga to let go of her face.
What was with everyone wanting to squish and pinch her cheeks anyway? Were they that much like mochi or something? That must be it as Seirin's captain let go while Kiyoshi released the girl. Now with all of the fun and games over, it was time to get serious, both teams were giving each other confident looks, determined to win over the other.
"Let's go!" both teams stated in unison just as the final seconds of the second quarter ticked down to zero, the buzzer sounding off.
"What? The second quarter's over already?"
"I need the second half to start now!"
Everybody in the stands that were watching the Shutoku and Seirin game couldn't get enough of it. Even the people that were on the side where Senshinkan and Kirisaki Daiichi were playing started paying more attention to the orange, red, and black battle. Now that it was halftime, some of them started moving over to that side as the two teams made it back to their own benchs.
"Oh wow, everybody is so excited," Momoi said as she looked around at the people below them.
"I know," Kise agreed as he too looked around at all of the excited fans.
All of them had such pumped up expressions on their faces, the pink haired girl hadn't seen that in such a long time when it came to a game. The ones she was usually used to seeing was people knowing exactly who was going to come out on top as the winner, but that wasn't the case here.
"How do you two think it's gonna go? The last two quarters, I mean," the Touou manager asked the two boys, thinking since they had watched the game from the beginning, they would have a better prediction as to whose victory it would be.
Both of the boys looked to their former manager before glancing at each other quickly. Kise appeared to be in deep thought as he closed his eyes. Momoi quietly anticipated his answer as well as Hibiki's. Surely they would have a clue as to who it would be. After a dramatic pause, both of the models cooly looked over to the girl.
"I have...no clue."
"No idea."
"Rarely analytical minds as always," Momoi sighed at their answers, not exactly what she was looking for.
Now, Kise could take an insult like that, but Hibiki, when it came to the girl he liked, he was going to perform his little sulky pout routine in order to gain sympathy from the pink haired manager.
"Hey, I can be analytical when I want to be, Satsuki," the younger twin whined.
"Well, knowing them, it'll definitely be an all-out war for the most points. However, Seirin's at a disadvantage," Kise suddenly stated, changing the subject completely.
Both Momoi and Hibiki looked over to the blonde copycat, the (h/c) haired boy arching his eyebrow in confusion.
"What do you mean?" he asked, waiting for some sort of explanation.
"As it stands now, Seirin doesn't have a way to stop Shutoku. Also, it isn't like Shutoku is totally incapable of stopping Seirin. Meaning the first to fall is gonna be Seirin," Kise predicted.
Well, both Hibiki and Momoi could see his reasoning behind that. The only way Seirin really had in order to stop Shutoku was (Y/N), but they all knew she wouldn't even think of acting alone like that. And there was the fact the team also didn't want her to do that because of this being her first game back after getting her brace off.
The pink haired girl kind of looked a little sad when she heard Kise make that prediction. After all, she was more so cheering for Kuroko and the triple threat's team, but she was also torn between them and Midorima's team too. Not wanting her to be too down about it, the copycat decided to add one more thing.
"Well, that's only true as long as Kurokocchi isn't on the court right there besides (Y/N)cchi. He won't be able to keep his mouth shut," the blonde boy smiled.
That was right, the signature duo of the Generation of Miracles. Those two when they worked together at their full potential were almost unstoppable. Hibiki had to smile as he looked down at his sister and the phantom.
"Oh yeah, I don't know if she's got anything planned or not, but if I know my sister, she'll wait until the perfect time to strike," the younger twin grinned on.
"The Phantom Seventh Man and the Triple Threat of the Generation of Miracles are the real deal," Kise concluded as they all looked down at the two miracles in question as the sole female player sat down next to Kuroko, the light blue haired boy handing her her water bottle.
"Listen up, stopping Shutoku's proving to be a difficult task as you all know. If we wanna win, we're just gonna have to score more than they do," Hyuga spoke to the team as they all got replenished with some water.
On Shutoku's side, it seemed like Nakatani was also beginning to feel the heat as well as he told his starters the very same thing.
"It'll be an all-out war in the second half. So make sure that you don't fall behind," the older coach instructed.
"Now let's go!"
As he watched the orange jersey wearing starters heading back out onto the court, Naoki clutched his notebook closer to his chest. He didn't know why, but he could tell something was definitely off...about his cousin. It was that feeling that told him she was planning something, and that something was going to hurt them, big time. Hopefully, he would be wrong about this feeling.
Now, it was time for war. Seirin was still pulling ahead, but barely. The score was 45 to 43 as the third quarter started. Riko was also getting kind of anxious as she watched the teams going at it. In her eyes, Shutoku was practically unstoppable, and she wouldn't all be surprised if they studied Seirin's plays as far back as the previous year. And there was the fact that Naoki was their manager.
If he studied just as hard as she assumed he had, then Shutoku would definitely have ways to stop Seirin and work against their strongest player. Hopefully, the orange team wouldn't pull too far ahead before she put Kuroko back in. His new drive and (Y/N)'s comeback were going to be their keys to winning.
The brunette girl was brought out of her thoughts though when she heard the volume of the crowd increase. And when Riko looked back out to the court, she soon saw why. Despite them double teaming Midorima, the green haired miracle was able to get a pass through Kagami and Kiyoshi's defense that went straight to Takao. It sucked but they were good.
"Alright, here we go!" the black haired boy smiled as he began running and dribbling the ball towards their net.
It was going to be a three against four. Mitobe, (Y/N), and Hyuga were on the inside, and the silent giant was the closest to Takao. He knew there was no way to stop him with that Hawk Eye, but Mitobe was sure gonna try.
"I'm just messing with ya," Takao smirked as he saw the silent second year coming right towards him.
Just before the ball could be stolen, the first year point guard performed sort of a bunny hop as he threw the ball back through his legs. And right to Midorima.
"Don't miss, Shin-chan."
"Quiet, you dolt."
Everything slowed down just as the miracle shooting guard jumped up in the air, performing a return. His form was absolutely perfect, (Y/N) already knew it was going to go in as she backed off on her defense. However, she spotted something that almost made her want to cry tears of joy.
Her eyes widened, she swore she saw it right after Midorima released the ball. That unmistakable form of a smile on her friend's face. As much as the girl wanted to jump up and down and just scream out of pure joy, now wasn't the time. Shutoku had just pulled ahead of Seirin at the beginning of the second half, and they had to make sure their opponent didn't get any further ahead.
"Don't falter, keep going!" Hyuga called out to everyone as he threw the ball to Mitobe.
"Oh, shut up, you'll make me cry!" Miyaji snapped back as he got down in a defensive stance in front of the silent giant.
Once Mitobe thought he was in the clear to make a pass to Hyuga, he did so. But the dark blonde third year intercepted it with no issue.
"Our team is more than just Midorima!" Miyaji barked as he hurled the ball over to Kimura.
But the third year's heart nearly stopped when he spotted a flash of (h/c) jet past him, charging right towards Kimura.
"Holy shit!" Kagami gaped as everyone in the audience saw the triple threat sprinting at full speed like an Olympic sprinter.
The trio up in the balcony felt their heart rates increase with excitement as they saw their friend showing off just how fast she was. It was even faster than Aomine. Kise about fell backwards.
"Woah!" he gasped.
"Look at her go!" Momoi copied as well.
"There ya go, Kiddo! Get him!" Hyuga called out to her as Seirin watched her catch up with Kimura within seconds.
"Go, (Y/N)!" the Seirin cheer squad joined in as well.
That knee of hers wasn't failing her now. Triple Threat speed was a force to be reckoned with. Midorima and Naoki hadn't seen her run that fast in a long time, so it was kind of scary for them if she was beginning to show off more of her tricks now. Miyaji had to act fast. At least as fast as he could run, no way he was going to be able to catch up with her at this rate.
"Kimura! She's right behind you!" the dark blonde third year alerted his teammate.
"What?!"
Kimura hadn't been able to process the warning as he turned his head over his shoulder. And sure enough, the boy's heart stopped for a split second when he saw that (Y/N) was literally right there behind him.
"Oh crap!"
He had to make the shot now, and he was close enough to maybe go for a three, but the (h/c) haired girl had leaped into the air in order to get her arm to reach over and smack the ball out of Kimura's hands. But unfortunately, the tall girl had only forced the third year to do a layup, which meant that was two more points for Shutoku.
Now, Kimura was pretty proud of himself for being able to score with his idol coming up behind him all of a sudden and having her jump in a way where she would've blocked the ball had he not released it at the time that he did. Now, Miyaji was a different story, since he didn't want the first years stealing all the thunder from the third years.
"Dude, you could've done a small dunk or something!" the dark blonde boy complained.
HA! Oh, Miyaji, you have no idea what Kimura had just gone through when it came to a point gain that was about to not happen.
"Get off my back! You try having a triple threat chasing after you who's also a star volleyball player!" the shaved headed boy retorted as he whipped back around and glared at his teammate.
What the heck did her being a volleyball player have to do with him scoring? Kimura had done his research, and (Y/N) was impressed as she stopped in her tracks and smiled. She could use that to her advantage.
"It means I'm a master jumper, Miya!" the girl called back over her shoulder as she made her way back over to her teammates, being greeted with Hyuga affectionately rubbing her head as she let out a couple of laughs while Kagami fist bumped her too.
Oh great, that's exactly what Shutoku needed right now. Miyaji forgot about that little detail, and the fact that he had literally witnessed her smack a basketball so hard that it made his own hand hurt.
"That was too close," Takao breathed out, feeling his heart calm down a little bit.
She was starting to get fired up, and that wasn't good for the orange team. Midorima wasn't kidding when he told the hawk eyed first year that it was a bad thing for the opposite team when she got restless. Clearly, she was getting really restless.
It seemed the triple threat was starting to live up to her mother's nickname of 'Sunball'. Outside, just after she had performed her attempt to block Kimura, the rain had stopped, and little rays of sunshine were beginning to peek through. That was a good omen to some, if only the team could see it.
With Shutoku having the ball in their possession, they didn't even wait to get it straight to Midorima. Kagami and Kiyoshi were ready to do their best to defend against him, but something they had all feared began to make its appearance, just like the miracle shooting guard had predicted. The tiger wasn't able to jump just as he was about to, feeling his legs almost give out right from under him.
"Kagami!" both Riko and the second year center shouted at the same time.
"Oh, no you don't!" another voice joined the mix.
Here she goes, as Miyaji turned back to the girl he had been guarding, (Y/N) now lunged down into a full on splits before bouncing back to her feet and sprinting over to help Kagami and Kiyoshi. Midorima's emerald orbs widened when he saw her leap in the air right behind the two boys guarding him. It was a perfect volleyball spike form, the triple threat's arm reeled back as her other stuck out to help aim.
And then, in the blink of an eye, everyone watched as she swung her arm forward and smack the basketball right out of the shooting guard's hands. The sound was so loud that it made some people jump as the ball bounced right out of bounds just as the triple threat landed on the ground, catching her breath. Takao found himself holding his hand as if he had just smacked a basketball. Damn, he wouldn't be surprised if her handprint was literally indented into the ball.
The crowds roared as (Y/N) smiled, shaking her hand, that stinging sensation going away after a couple of seconds. Midorima couldn't yet believe that this would happen, but it would amaze him every single time she performed her own signature playstyle. Fortunately for Seirin, the triple threat had stopped Shutoku from gaining any more points for now, the score being 76 to 68 for Shutoku.
"You...are freakin' crazy," Kagami cracked a smile at the girl as he caught his breath.
"Hey, y'all love this crazy girl, don't any of you try to deny that," she joked as the others smiled back at her, none of them at all denying her claim.
She was their crazy girl alright, and she was back in business. Kuroko found himself grinning too as he and the triple threat made eye contact. (Y/N)'s smile was as bright as ever as she gave him a thumbs up, to which he responded with a nod. Triple Threat was back and ready to rumble more than ever.
However, when the girl turned back to the tiger, she saw it as a flash of light when over her eyes. The boy's numbers in his legs were decreasing and fast, his tired muscles beginning to twitch as he began to become shaky. And she wasn't the only one who noticed it.
"Oh, look. You've reached your limit," Midorima commented, his prediction coming true like he had first stated towards the beginning of the game.
And it was clear that Kagami didn't quite like admitting that the miracle shooting guard was right, a glare settling on his face as he turned towards the green haired teen.
"What did you say?" the red head growled as he and Midorima faced off with each other.
"Taiga, hey!" (Y/N)'s voice stopped the tiger from getting into a fight with the miracle shooting guard as he turned back towards her.
She took a couple of steps before lightly grabbing his arm, pulling it a little bit off to the side. He wasn't sure what she was doing, so the boy gave her a confused look as she smiled a little bit with a small laugh.
"Come here," she ushered him to do.
The girl had an idea, and she was hoping her childhood friend would listen to her if she just worked her magic on him. Kagami did as he was told, but not before giving Midorima one more glare, which the green haired boy returned. Once she got him away from his rival, (Y/N) looked over to Kiyoshi as he nodded. She had discussed this before with him, and the second year center completely agreed with it.
"Why don't you and Teppei take a little break and let me handle ol' Shinny boy," the triple threat kind of suggested but was more so instructing him.
And like she had expected, Kagami was quick to argue against it, even if it was the (h/c) haired girl that was telling him this.
"No, I can still handle Midori-"
"Hey, Tigerhead, do you trust me?" she suddenly cut the boy off, which stopped him right in his tracks.
The others didn't know how (Y/N) did it, to get such a hothead to quit with any sort of arguing in a second was definitely a talent only she had. That, and she had other hotheaded friends that she had had plenty of practice with.
Kagami's ruby eyes didn't look away from hers as they softened significantly. And he finally let out a sigh of defeat as he fully turned towards her, grabbing her fingers with a couple of his.
"You know I do," he answered quietly like it was only the two of them in the entire building.
Riko couldn't help but smile a little bit as she and the others watched her younger cousin taming the ferocious tiger right in front of her, making him look like a little kitten. The triple threat kept the grin on her face as she squeezed the boy's fingers with her own.
"Well, then you need to trust that I can handle Shin. I'm not gonna let you be like me and hurt yourself just because you won't give yourself a break," the girl asserted as she let go of his fingers, beginning to head over to her new mark.
"That doesn't make me feel better, you know," Kagami retorted as he turned to look at the girl while she turned her head back over her shoulder to face him, that same smile still on her face.
"No?" She asked.
"No," the boy responded as he shook his head.
Still smiling, (Y/N) decided to add just a little twist. She turned her whole body and narrowed her eyes just a little bit, kind of to add to the fierceness of her inner lioness.
"Taiga, you're looking at the person who taught Shin literally everything he knows. Plus, what do you think I've been doing for the past three months?" The triple threat questioned her friend as she pointed to herself confidently with her finger.
"Uh, resting?"
Why did he have to say it in a 'duh' tone of voice? It made the girl comically freeze with her face resembling the unimpressed emoji face 😑. He wasn't wrong...
"Well...yeah, BUT! I've been watching our opponents very closely, both in the past and now. You boys just sit back and watch me work," (Y/N) instructed them as she turned back around and gave Kagami one last smile, a bright light seeming to shine down from above on her.
(I do not own pic. Pic belongs to Godago)
"Teddy sure knows how to handle Kagami, doesn't she?" Kiyoshi asked with a smile as he looked over at the captain.
The second year center thought he was good at handling hotheads *cough* Hyuga *cough*, but the triple threat was able to get through to Kagami with just a couple of words. The two of them could figure out why, the blushing on the tiger's face was rather obvious.
"Are you really all that surprised? When Kiddo says she can do something, then you can expect she'll do it tenfold," the captain of Seirin stated with a bit of a proud smile on his face.
If she could deal with how he was when he was a first year, the girl could deal with anyone. And besides, (Y/N) had kept well on her promise to make a name for Seirin. She always kept her word, no matter what.
Changing up her marks, the triple threat began making her way over to Midorima. It was gonna be just the two of them for a little bit. Still, it was clear to see that the green haired miracle wasn't expecting the triple threat coming right towards.
"Alright, Shinny Boy, it's been a while since you and I have gone head to head," the tall girl smiled as she cracked her fingers and stretched her knees a little bit.
The shooting guard really didn't know what to say at first. He really should've expected this, he did expect this. Kagami had worn himself down, and she was the only other one that stood at his equal, even a little more. Midorima kept calm though as his expression softened just slightly while he pushed up his glasses.
"It has indeed. Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you know all my tricks," he declared, but with much less of an edge.
"Oh, but I don't know all of your tricks. Just like you haven't see all of mine," the girl then said.
Now that just confused the taller boy as he arched an eyebrow ever so slightly at (Y/N).
"I don't understand."
"Well, don't think you hid that smile from me. You've changed quite a bit since middle school, and because of that, you've gained new tricks. Like relying on your team just a little more than you did before. Heck, I don't think I've ever seen you do returns and passes like that before," the cheeky girl grinned.
Truly, she was feeling more happy than competitive right now. Because this was really her goal when it came to beating the former miracles, along with Kuroko's. To show them that teamwork wasn't just useless, that it was one of the strongest weapons a player could have in their arsenal. And it wasn't just him, Kise had changed too, and he was more likely to admit that than the serious boy before her. She could tell they were both relying on their teams to help them rather than fighting on their own, and that couldn't have made (Y/N) happier.
Midorima kind of let out a small huff of air through his nose as his lips turned upwards just a little bit. She knew him so well.
"I guess I have you to thank for that," he told her.
And she knew he meant that for Kuroko too, but the girl knew the shooting guard wasn't going to say that out loud. At least, not where he would be able to hear him. (Y/N) had one last thing to say before the ball was thrown back in.
"Now, you can't expect me not to show off a little bit since it's my first game back. That's what makes this exciting," she stated.
Midorima had to agree, but he would still show her. The game soon started up again, and thankfully for Seirin, the triple threat was doing very well with keeping the miracle shooter at bay, performing super jumps to smack the ball out of the green haired boy's hands.
And when he was able to shoot, the tall girl was able to tap it in order to make him miss. This went on for a little while before some fatigue was beginning to catch up with her, her breathing becoming a little shallower, and she wasn't putting too much weight on her leg. The others from both sides didn't want her to strain herself really any further, so someone decided to take action.
"Coach," Riko heard his soft spoken voice call out, gaining her attention as she looked over at the light blue haired phantom.
"I think now should be a good time. My drive, it's ready now," Kuroko informed her, his sky blue gaze glued onto the court before him.
And it was perfect timing too, the triple threat had just hit the ball out of bounds, causing a whistle to blow followed by a much longer whistle, the referee calling for Seirin's substitution. Everyone looked to see Kuroko confidently standing there, adjusting his wrist bands.
"About time he got back in here. Better late than never," Midorima said to himself.
"Oh yeah, I agree," (Y/N) agreed with him as she smiled, putting her hands on her hips.
She could tell it was ready, and now was the perfect time. Shutoku had no idea what the phantom had coming for them. It'd be something they'd never seen coming. The other Seirin members, though they believed in the light blue haired boy, they were still worried since Shutoku was pulling further ahead of them.
"Kuroko," Tsuchida let out in a worried tone.
"Oh please help (Y/N) change the flow of this game, man," Koganei followed, pleading that this would help them.
Takao had to smirk as he watched Mitobe and Kuroko swap with a high five. He and the rest of Shutoku were ready for this.
"We're in a new game now, and it's a different story. We've been waiting for you, Kuroko."
As the phantom made his way onto the court, the other starters made their way over to the light blue haired boy, sensing that now was the time.
"Kuroko, are you ready?" Hyuga asked Kuroko, to which the boy responded with a soft 'yeah'.
"Alright, then go on out there," Kagami then told the phantom to do as he pushed the boy forward.
And being that Kuroko wasn't the most physically strong, he stumbled forward a little bit, putting his arms out in order to try and regain his balance. He was only able to catch himself when he felt the triple threat's hands on his shoulders, holding him steady. Looking up at his close friend, Kuroko saw that beaming smile on her face. And Kagami was mirroring it as the phantom turned back to face him.
"You've been working real hard on that move. I bet you're itching to use it," the tiger grinned.
The usually stoic phantom cracked a confident smile as he nodded. Everyone on Seirin's side of the court knew he was more than ready to use this new move.
"Yep, let's shock everyone," the light blue haired boy declared.
"I already got them riled up for you," (Y/N) patted the boy's shoulders as she looked out to Shutoku's team before the others got ready.
On the orange team's side of the court, on their bench sitting right beside Nakatani, Naoki immediately had alarm bells going off in his head. The older coach noticed it too as he peered over at the pink haired boy. He was clutching his notebook really tightly, and he was sitting right on the edge of his seat.
"What is it, Kurosaki? You see something, don't you?" Nakatani questioned Shutoku's manager.
The younger boy's analyzing gaze was on high alert, some of the hairs on his neck standing up. Usually, when he started getting that feeling, it wasn't a good thing.
"There's something off with them. I just can't put my finger on it. But something's telling me it's gotta do with Kuroko," Naoki finally responded as he kept his eyes on the disappearing phantom seventh man.
On the court, the other Shutoku starters just kind of thought it was odd that Seirin would even think of putting Kuroko back on the court when they were falling behind.
"They're putting him in now? I thought his mis-whatever didn't work anymore," Miyaji brought up as he stood beside Kimura and Midorima.
His misdirection didn't at all work with Takao playing, so why would they even think of putting him back in at all? It's almost like Seirin was just throwing random plans out at this point.
"Are these guys that desperate already? Why not just use Bashira when she's rested a little bit? Makes no sense," Kimura agreed.
Surely, after (Y/N) took a couple of minutes just to cool off and rest her leg, then she could take on and keep Shutoku at bay. But there was one person who simply disagreed because he knew the miracle phantom was so much more than just what he appeared to be on the surface.
"I'd say it's the opposite. Kuroko doesn't act rashly, it's just not his way. They're up to something. So stay on your feet," the green haired boy warned his team as he pushed his glasses up on his face.
If Midorima thought that something was going to happen now that Kuroko was on the court, then that put everyone else on edge. They didn't know what to expect now. With less than a minute left in the third quarter, the score still 68 to 76, Hyuga threw the ball back in straight to the triple threat, who caught and was soon face to face with Miyaji.
Takao had taken a couple of steps toward Kuroko, and everyone could tell that the first year point guard was stuck on the phantom just like glue. Some were worried, others weren't. Because the light blue haired boy was about to shock every single player on the court. Up in the stands, Kise, Momoi, and Hibiki watched as Seirin began running down the court as they began their plan.
"Looks like Seirin is slowing their pace," the blonde boy observed first as the trio's eyes stayed glued on the game.
"That makes sense, being as that they'd lose control of the game if they attack recklessly right after bringing in their trump card," Momoi agreed.
Hibiki, who was still leaning on his arms, began smiling as he looked between his sister and one of his closest friends. He could see the invisible bond of trust between the two of them, and each piece of the plan falling into place with every second that ticked by.
"(Y/N) was just the opening act for their little plan. I bet that's what she had in mind this whole time," the younger twin added as they call continued to watch.
With Kiyoshi on Ootsubo, the Shutoku captain was beginning to see what exactly Seirin was doing, trying to feel out the orange team and find an opening where they could use whatever trick they were thinking of with Kuroko.
Oh, they had no idea what was coming.
The triple threat had the ball, and as she went head to head with Miyaji for a couple of seconds, (Y/N) soon passed the ball back to Hyuga, who then chucked it to Kiyoshi as he stood under the net with Oostubo. It was time, and the second year center could tell.
Takao managed to catch on as he watched Kuroko begin to run away. However, when the black haired first year tried to catch up, Kagami appeared out of nowhere and screened Takao. The hawk eyed player was able to look around his taller opponent, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Kuroko was headed right to Midorima, he couldn't possibly think that he had a chance against the green haired boy, did he? Oh yes he did. The miracle shooting guard was ready, but he had no idea what was coming next. Kiyoshi let out a smile before throwing the ball over to his target.
"Kuroko!"
Thinking that he would use his misdirection, Midorima and the others who knew about the phantom's signature technique were absolutely floored when the light blue haired phantom caught the ball instead of changing its trajectory. Now, there was no way for Kuroko to use his signature passing technique. What was he doing? Whatever it was, it wasn't good for Shutoku.
"I don't like the look of this. Careful, Midorima!" Miyaji loudly voiced his concern as he looked over at the two miracles.
"Hate to break it to you guys, but there ain't nothing you can do now," Kagami smirked as he got ready to see just what this drive was going to do to Shutoku.
Miyaji kind of got creeped out when he heard somewhat of an evil laugh coming from the girl right in front of him. (Y/N) was smirking too, her eyes narrowed a little bit as she side-eyed the dark blonde third year before her.
"You're not gonna be able to stop him now. Tetsu's become absolutely untouchable. Just try to keep up with what's coming next," she stated.
Right now, it was Midorima vs. Kuroko. The miracle shooting watched as the boy before him slowly swinging his arm with the ball in his hand back, like he was going to dribble it. Midorima kept his emerald gaze on the ball as any other player would. But a second later, literally a split second later, Kuroko disappeared from the green haired miracle's sights, his eyes widening.
The next thing he knew, he heard the phantom dribbling the ball behind him. This was Kuroko's Vanishing Drive.
"What?! Come on!" Takao gaped.
He couldn't believe what he had just seen. In any other situation, Midorima would've stolen the ball without any problem, but Kuroko just disappeared and seemed to literally charge right through the shooting guard. Ootsubo tried to stop the smaller boy, but the light blue haired phantom quickly passed to Kiyoshi, who then performed a one handed dunk.
He had done it.
"YES! YES! YES! HE DID IT!!" (Y/N) literally screamed as she jumped up and down in her spot, her arms in the air.
She was so excited that Kuroko was able to finally perfect it and use it against a former miracle of all people. This might've been a little mean of the girl to think, but when Kuroko turned back to look at Midorima with an expression that said 'how do you like that', the tall girl thought the shocked look on the miracle shooting guard's face was absolutely priceless. Seirin was now starting to get back on a roll.
"Slippery punk!" Kimura shouted when he got the ball.
The third year had jumped up to try and shoot a basket with Hyuga doing his best to throw it off.
"Keep it together, Kimura!" Ootsubo yelled as the two boys became airborne
That move was a little rushed, and now, the captain knew his team was starting to feel the heat, their moves becoming a little sloppy. Kimura's shot didn't go into the basket and it ended up bouncing off of the rim.
"I got it!" the (h/c) haired girl shouted as she jumped up and got the rebound before Ootsubo could get it.
Seeing the phantom quickly running down to get into position, the triple threat let out a high pitched but quick whistle to signal to him that the ball was coming. When she saw him putting his hand out, the tall girl quickly hurled the ball straight into Kuroko's grasp.
"I won't let you!" Takao yelled as he while he dashed right to the phantom.
There was no way he was going to let Kuroko get past him. He had his Hawk Eye, he could use it on whatever trick the light blue haired boy would throw at him. (Y/N) just smirked, excited to see what Takao would think of this new drive. With her Hawk Eye, the two miracles were able to find its weakness while they were perfecting the Vanishing Drive, and Takao would never see it coming.
And he didn't. Performing the same trick, Kuroko seemed to blimp out of existence as he made it past the black eyed point guard. Once again, the shocked and dumbfounded expression on Takao's face was so worth it. Miyaji had tried to stop the phantom, but the ball had ended up getting passed into Hyuga's hands. The Seirin captain was wide open and able to get to the three point line, making an easy shot and getting to score between the two teams down to 73 to 76.
Seirin was going on a roll, and Naoki was kind of looking more frustrated than anything. It must have been a family trait, but the pink haired boy began biting on his thumbnail like Riko and (Y/N) did when they were feeling frustrated. He had a small glare on his face too as he stared out to the court.
"Dammit, how does he do that? It shouldn't be possible," Shutoku's manager mumbled to himself, actually letting out a curse word.
Some of the other benchwarmers heard it and looked to the boy, stunned. Damn, the triple threat's call on him being a pain in their butts was going to be coming true rather soon. Because she was going to be Naoki's target next.
It was Shutoku's ball and Miyaji would be the one to throw it in as he stood on the sidelines.
"Just keep your cool, everybody!" he called out the starters to make sure they wouldn't be making any more mistakes.
But the dark blonde boy spoke too soon. Just before Takao could get the ball, guess who was right there to intercept it? Kuroko, that's who. The phantom quickly passed it to Hyuga once again where the captain repeated the actions he had performed just a minute beforehand. Another successful three.
"Now we're tied!"
"Oh yeah! We've jumped eight points since Kuroko was put in! There goes their lead!"
The Seirin starters soon gathered in order to celebrate their turnaround in the game. And the most excited one of them all literally had to skid to a stop as she kind of flung herself into the phantom's arms as the two of them rocked back and forth a little bit.
"Oh my god, I'm so proud of you, Tetsu!" (Y/N) pulled back for a second and smiled at him as he returned the gesture.
"Well, I couldn't have done it without your help," the light blue haired boy said back to her as they kept their arms wrapped around each other.
He was right, the triple threat was the one that had even brought up the idea that he just disappear while playing. But that didn't matter to the girl at all, it was all about how her friend had taken it and made it his own move.
"Hey, this is all you, Tetsu. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect move for you," she told him as she went back to hugging the boy.
Oh, her heart was racing with excitement. This was definitely the best game she could've asked for when it came to it being her first game back. Things were getting really good, she could feel it. Shutoku may have lost their lead, but that didn't mean they had lost their fight, not at all. In fact, their will was only getting stronger as it could be felt by the starters of Seirin. Kuroko turned to face Midorima.
"Back to the starting line," the phantom stated when the celebration had ended, a now serious expression on his face.
The green haired shooting guard, instead of being disheartened, had a cocky smile on his face as he pushed up his glasses, his sights set right on Kuroko.
"Look at you," he said, almost like it was his own declaration of war.
Now that the third quarter was over, the two teams had returned to their benches in order to rest. On the red and black team's side, it was clear to see that one member of the starting players was really beginning to feel the heat. Kagami's breathing had become really heavy, he was sweating profusely even with an ice pack laying on the back of his neck. He had been on Midorima almost the whole game, so it was expected that he'd be exhausted like this.
"Kagami, are you okay?" Izuki asked the tiger as he handed (Y/N) her water bottle.
Despite the severe fatigue he was feeling throughout his entire body, the red headed tiger was still able to give his team a confident smile.
"I've never felt better. Anyway, I can't afford to lose gas before he does. I could never live that down," the boy smirked over to Midorima.
Oh, boys and their competitive natures. (Y/N) simply deadpanned at him as she chugged down some of the cool liquid in order to quench her thirst. The other members of Seirin followed the tiger's gaze, all of them peering over at Shutoku with Coach Nakatani and Naoki standing right in front of them.
"Let's face it, we all expected they'd have a plan with #11 and #21, and they still got the best of us," the older coach started off by pointing out the obvious.
This wasn't what anyone ever expected from Seirin, even if they had prepared for what they thought their opponents would throw at them.
"I didn't think it'd be a magic drive," Kimura commented as he looked over Seirin's bench.
"I don't like it either, but that's what we're up against. Taking back control is gonna be tough," Ootsubo added, not sugar coating anything, but also not making it seem like all was lost.
"Come on, we've got a couple of things going for us. Their #10 is running out of steam. As soon as he runs out, Midorima can shoot all he wants. And I doubt (Y/N)'s gonna pull any crazy moves, she's starting to get cautious with her leg," Miyaji brought up.
He saw how hard the red head was breathing, heck, he would want to just quit if he was sweating literal buckets. And then there was the triple threat. Ever since Kuroko had been put back into the game, she had been kind of watching just exactly how much weight and pressure she was putting on the leg that had just been freed from its brace.
However, Midorima had to disagree with that.
"You're wrong, they're both still in the fight. It'll take more than that to exhaust the two of them," the miracle shooting guard stated in a determined voice.
They both weren't out of the game, but now, how to deal with them? Naoki had a pretty good idea and he was itching to share it.
"Well, we can do one thing in order to keep her off of you," the Shutoku manager then spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.
If he had a good idea, then it was well worth listening to. The pink haired boy soon looked over to the triple threat before smirking a little bit.
"I've been watching my cousin closely. Miyaji isn't exactly wrong when it comes to her leg, she's starting to back off on attack power. But, that doesn't mean she won't try something when the clock ticks down to the final seconds," Naoki began explaining.
If he knew (Y/N), then it was only like her to pull off something incredible when it came down to the final seconds. Now that the teams were tied, Naoki was almost certain that she would do something.
"Which is why we stop her from getting any closer to Midorima," the Shutoku manager concluded.
"You do know that your cousin is almost impossible to keep up with, right?" Takao brought up, not quite getting the point.
He trusted Naoki's intelligence, but it seemed like he was missing the most obvious point here. The pink haired boy still had that smirk on his face as he turned to his fellow first year. He looked to be plotting something, much like Momoi does when Touou's playing.
"True. But, since she's now in a cautious state of mind, we can slip in and keep her at bay. Ootsubo, Miyaji, are you both on board with double-teaming her?" Naoki suddenly asked the two third years.
Both boys perked up, but they were starting to see where the manager was going with this. Miyaji and Ootsubo were both a bit taller than (Y/N), so that meant they could keep Midorima out of her sights. And even though she had a Hawk Eye, Naoki predicted that she wouldn't try to pull another splits move. Not if they kept the pressure on her.
"You sly little sneak," the dark blonde third year grinned as he bumped fists with the manager as the pink haired boy let out a small laugh.
Now there was a game plan, not just uncertainty of what Seirin might do. Soon, the buzzer rang out once again, and the two teams stood up, ready for the last part of the war that lay ahead of them.
"Okay, let's go. We'll give it our all in the last ten minutes!" Hyuga told the team as they all stood up and made their way back out to the court.
But not before gathering in a team huddle to share one last cheer in order to pump them up for the last leg of the journey as they all did a group high five.
"Seirin, fight!"
"Yeah!"
The Shutoku starters had also made their way back out onto the court, but Midorima stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted his mark squatting a couple of times in order to stretch his legs out one more time. Standing back up, Kagami ran his hands through his sweaty red hair, locking eyes with the green haired miracle. The two of them were staring each other down, the sparks and tensions rising even higher than they were beforehand.
Takao also had a few things to say as well as he folded one arm behind his head and the other on his hip while walking over to Kuroko.
"Ah, look at you two raring to go. But we better not let them show us up, eh?" the black haired boy grinned innocently as he looked to his mark.
That grin quickly faded as a small determined glare now settled on the hawk eyed player's face. He still didn't know how Kuroko's Vanishing Drive worked but that didn't mean anything at this point as Takao kind of turned his nose upwards at the phantom.
"I won't let you out of my sights for one second," the black haired boy declared.
Kuroko only returned the gaze with a sharp one of his own, accepting the challenge that Takao was presenting to him.
"Feel free to cling on as much as you want. It won't matter."
Watching the two duos from a little ways away, (Y/N) could see all of the sparks of lightning flying between the four boys. But she soon saw Ootsubo coming right towards her out of the corner of her eye. Looked like there was going to be a mark change for Shutoku.
"So, I'm guessing your super secret stuff includes the mystery behind that magic drive?" the Shutoku captain asked her as he sent the girl a small smile.
She wasn't like a guy, she wasn't trying to cause any bad blood. But the girl was still the opponent, and a strong one. The tall girl soon caught onto that teasing tone that Ootsubo was using, every time the two of them talk. It always made her smile.
"Oh, you know it. I'm not saying a word, Tsubo," the triple threat confirmed as she placed a hand on her hip, using the newly found nickname for the usually tough captain.
And that put some color to his face, not quite used to the nickname just yet. But he just smirked back. This was going to get real exciting real fast, one of the best games he had played in his high school career.
The whistle blew, it was go time. The crowds cheers were louder than ever as Kiyoshi dribbled the down the court first before passing to Kagami. Seirin's plan? Another run and gun. (Y/N) put her hand up as the tiger passed the ball to her.
Catching it with ease, the triple threat was wide open to make a shot. What she didn't expect were two bigger bodies suddenly straight towards her. It actually kind of scared her at first.
"AH!" The girl let out a small shriek as Miyaji and Ootsubo surrounded her, putting their arms and hands up so that they blocked her view.
Oh, so this was Naoki's plan. Well, crap-a-roni. The girl was having trouble navigating around while trying to make sure the ball stayed in her possession.
"Dang it, I knew that sneaky bunny was gonna be a pain in my heinie. Oh well," the triple threat sighed before using her Hawk Eye real quick to spot Hyuga wide open behind her.
Much like Takao, (Y/N) did a bunny hop and passed the ball back between her legs to Hyuga. The captain then saw Kagami running right towards the net and Kuroko in his sights. Miyaji had broken off from the double team to try and get the ball from Hyuga. But the Seirin captain had already passed it to the phantom, who then misdirected it straight to the awaiting tiger.
Now Ootsubo had run up to help Kimura just as the red head leaned into the air. It was another double team.
"Kagami, be careful!" The glasses wearing captain called out.
Letting out a battle cry, the tiger seemed to soar right above the two Shutoku third years, slamming the ball right through the hoop with ease, shocking the orange team.
"Alright!" The bench warmers on the red and black team cheered as they jumped up.
The audience members had never seen anything like it. Putting two guys on these Seirin players didn't seem to do anything.
"Nice shot there," Kiyoshi complimented Kagami as he patted his shoulder.
"More like lucky shot, moron," Hyuga's more harsh response popped up and he punched the tiger in the back of the head.
Takao had cursed himself for underestimating them in the moment, he should've known. Kuroko was a master at passing, and not only that, but having two guys focusing their energy on the triple threat in the moment took their attention away from other key players. So, this was Seirin at their peak, huh?
Well, it wasn't like Shutoku was out of tricks just yet. Takao quickly got the ball and passed it to Miyaji before (Y/N) could even touch him. The dark blonde third year didn't wait before throwing it back to Midorima.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves," the green haired boy stated before bending his knees and aiming his hands.
Kagami and Kiyoshi had missed it a mere second before Midorima shot the ball, the high arc making it soar through the air before it entered the hoop. He couldn't really have that many shots left, right? Riko didn't think so by her calculations. Endurance would only get one so far.
"Nice one, Shin-chan. How're you feeling? You've gotta be skirting pretty close to limit there," Takao mentioned as he looked back to his teammate.
Midorima didn't face him, but he did have an answer.
"Wrong again. I preemptively calculated the exact number of shots I can take. Lucky for us, I surpassed the number long ago," the miracle shooting guard smiled to himself.
Thanks to his endurance training, plus digging up some old lessons from the past, the green haired miracle was more formidable than ever. While that may have sounded like a threat, the Seirin starters only welcomed it. Takao finally had to let out a laugh at that.
"That works for me. Go get 'em, big boy," the first year told his teammate.
At this point, both school names were being chanted by the crowds, it was amazing. Heck, Kise could tell the high that the inside players must be feeling right at the moment was awesome.
Neither side came there to lose, each player giving it their all. Midorima was still able to make threes, Kagami still had some jumps left, Kuroko was able to misdirect, and the others weren't letting up one bit. Some wished the game would never end.
Finally, with less than thirty second left on the clock, the score was now 103 to 102, Seirin in the lead by one point. And Ootsubo was able to bring Shutoku's score up two more points with a successful dunk. There was still a one point difference, and time was running out.
Hyuga had the ball, but Kimura quick hit it out of the captain's hand. That wasn't good, if Shutoku got it, it wasn't going to end well for Seirin. Luckily, with a big jump for the boy, Kuroko was able to reach up and grab the ball.
"YEAH, TETSU!!" (Y/N) cheered from her spot near the net.
"Stay right there!" The hawk eyed point guard yelled as he went to try and steal the ball back.
"Actually, I'd much rather break through," the phantom declared as he landed on the ground.
One more time. Takao thought he had seen it coming, but the phantom passed right through him once again.
"Oh yeah!"
"There's the Vanishing Drive, son!"
Now came for the finishing blow. Ootsubo saw it when he went to confront Kuroko. This time, his passing course was a little different. And now, it was Kiyoshi's turn as he grabbed the ball.
"Thanks, Kuroko. I'll take over," the Uncrowned King smiled.
Shutoku gasped as Seirin cheered. However, in the split second before the second year center jumped, jolt of pain shot through his knee. And there were two other people who were able to see it. Hyuga and (Y/N) both shared a sharp gasp when they spotted that.
But that didn't stop Kiyoshi as he launched himself into the air. Thinking that this was going to be the winning shot, someone on Shutoku had a very different view as he too, jumped in the air right by Kiyoshi, his hand try to prevent the ball from going in.
"Not so fast, Iron Heart!" Midorima yelled.
As the others on Seirin began to panic, Kiyoshi stayed calm as he changed the positioning of his arm and ended up purposely making the green haired miracle bump into him, causing a foul on Midorima. The whistle blew.
But the ball ended up hitting the backboard. Everyone watched as it fell to the ground.
"Defense, pushing! Shutoku #6! Free throw, two shots!"
Midorima couldn't help but to turn back to Kiyoshi, who was still catching his breath. There were two seconds left of the game. And Seirin just scored big time with two free throws.
Even though Shutoku was trying to comfort the shooting guard, he cursed himself for fouling him. Though, he had to admit, Kiyoshi was an uncrowned king for a reason. The orange team wasn't out just yet. That lady rebound if the second year center missed would be there's. This was no time to be praying for a miracle.
Standing on their own side, (Y/N) and Hyuga were watching Kiyoshi closely. They could tell he was in pain just by watching his legs shake. As much as they wanted him to switch him out, they didn't have time to do so. The captain and triple threat gave each other a knowing look before turning back to the others.
"Screen 'em out. Don't even let them come close to the ball," Hyuga instructed the others.
"We got this, guys. Teppei, you have my magic good luck stamp. You've got this in the bag," the tall girl added as she wiggled her fingers at the center, like she was casting a spell.
A spell that worked every time, in her eyes.
"Time to wrap up this game. Let's make these free throws and take our win," Kagami grinned as well.
"Just relax and have fun, okay?" Kuroko made sure to remind his upperclassman using his own words.
Kiyoshi was taken aback for a second, but he knew the others were right. Taking in a deep breath, the center let the cool air swirl inside of him for a second before letting it all out.
"Gotcha. That's exactly what I'm gonna do," he declared with a confident grin.
Though, he tried his best not to feel the impeding pressure that was on his shoulders. This was literally a make or break situation. Gathering on both sides of the net, Kiyoshi stood at the free throw line with the ref handing him the ball.
Blowing the whistle once, the second year center dribbled a couple of times before spinning the ball in his hands and stopping it. There was complete silence. Shutoku was praying he would miss, Seirin was praying he would make it. Lining up for a shot, Kiyoshi threw the ball.
Everyone watched as it entered through the hoop in slow motion. The score was now a tie, 104 to 104 as Seirin jumped up from their seats and cheered. One down, one to go. Kiyoshi couldn't help but feel just a little nervous. However, when he peeked over at the sole female player, she brought her hand up as she inhaled and down as she exhaled, mouthing the word 'breathe'.
Nodding once, Kiyoshi did just that and took in another breath. But his knee was really starting to get to him, another jolt of pain causing his to grit his teeth. One more and then he could rest. Spinning the ball one more time in his hands, every single player was holding their breaths just as the Iron Heart held the ball firm once again.
Bending his knees one more time, the second year center pushed himself up and released the ball. No one, except for one person knew what the ball was going to do. As she watched it, (Y/N) got down and ready to attack.
The ball hit the rim and bounced off. Both coaches screamed at their players to get it. Everyone around the hoop jumped into the air. Ootsubo was the closest and began reaching his hands up. But an arm quickly came through and snatched the ball away first.
"YES, SLAM IT IN, TAIGA!!" The (h/c) haired girl screamed as the tiger leaped back in the air to dunk it.
But Midorima had jumped too, and slammed his hand on the other side of the ball, pushing hard against it to prevent Kagami from shoving it through the hoop. Both boys let out yells just as the clock hit zero.
And when it did...
The ball did not go through the hoop, and instead bounced on the ground from the force that both boys were applying to it as the buzzer sounded off. The score was 104 to 104, a tie. People began mumbling quietly, not sure if they knew what was going to happen next.
"Look at that. So they're in overtime?" Kise asked as he and the other two stood there in awe at what they had just seen.
"That would be the case, normally. Because this tournament's trying to keep games short, they have no overtime rules," Momoi explained.
"Wait, really? So, that means..." Hibiki trailed off as he looked down to the court.
It was a tie.
There was one person on the court though, who wasn't feeling very happy. Kiyoshi was mentally beating himself up over that last free throw. He had just made it...
"Kiyoshi!" Hyuga's yell snap the boy out of his thoughts.
Turning towards the voice, the second year center saw the rest of the starters literally charging right at him with their hands held high. The force when they ran into him was enough to knock him right on his behind.
"Geez, guys. I thought you might be mad, but I didn't think you go this far," the center said as he looked up to the other four players, thinking they'd be furious with him for missing that last shot.
But that couldn't be further from the truth as they all looked at the boy on the ground with dumbfounded expressions.
"What? No, they're just high fives," Hyuga told him, not knowing what Kiyoshi was speaking of.
The second year center only returned their dumbfounded expressions with one of his own. Which, kind of like usual, irked Hyuga just a tiny bit.
"Drop the stupid act, blockhead. You know we would've never made it this far without you," the captain stated in a little bit of an authoritative tone of voice.
"Besides, we didn't technically lose," Kagami added as he looked back at the scoreboard, not sounding at all upset.
"We all did the best that we could. I don't have any regrets at all," Kuroko agreed with a smile.
Kiyoshi then watched as the sole female player crouched down beside him with a larger than life grin on her face as she wrapped her arms around the larger boy's shoulders, hugging him close with their cheeks smushed together. She didn't care if they were both sweaty.
"This was the best first game back ever! So don't beat yourself up, Teppei. Besides, we had fun!" (Y/N) reminded him as she let out a couple of laughs.
They were right. Technically, Seirin nor Shutoku lost. Plus, this only meant they'd have another amazing game with these rivals.
"Yeah, you're right," Kiyoshi finally agreed with a smile as he put a hand on the triple threat's arm.
"Kagami, surely you aren't satisfied by these results either?" Midorima's voice suddenly asked the red head as the other members of Seirin looked to see the rest of Shutoku starters standing there.
"Nah, of course I wasn't. But don't you worry, we'll have our rematch," Kagami assured him as he smiled.
No one was really fully satisfied with the results of this game, but the tie here meant that both teams were one step closer to going to the Winter Cup.
"There won't be any ties at the Winter Cup, so we can settled the score then," Takao begrudgingly told Kuroko.
But that only caused the phantom smile as the triple threat carefully helped Kiyoshi's feet.
"Sounds like a plan," the light blue haired boy said to his rival in Shutoku.
"WOOO! I'm excited!" (Y/N) cheered as she jumped up and down, not looking at all tired or exhausted, especially for how hard she played.
She really was, the girl couldn't ask for a better game for it being her first one back, despite the results. It only meant Seirin would be moving forward in the competition to become the best team in Japan. The crowd thought so too as the sound of applause filled the gymnasium while the two teams made their way to center court.
The trio standing near the top had to smile down at their friends and rivals, the younger twin letting out a few claps as well. He was glad to have been here to see his sister play for the first time since the Seirin vs. Touou showdown.
"That was a really good game," Momoi told the two boys as they watched the starters lining up across from each other.
It was the best way to describe it too, such passion and fight went into each play, no one giving up, not even once. This was what basketball games were meant to be all about.
"104 to 104, it's a tie. Bow!"
"Thank you very much!"
Now it was time for the next level in this battle. And Seirin was more ready than they had ever been.