Third POV
Now it was time for Seirin to get back out and win this game against the malicious teal team of Kirisaki Daiichi. Despite (Y/N) not revealing what she had said or done with Hanamiya over their break during halftime, Riko didn't bench her. Because one: the second year coach trusted her cousin, even if she really knew the triple threat was probably more so downplaying the situation. And two: if the red and black team was going to win this, then they needed her.
And Kuroko. The team needed to break free of this spider's web, and the two miracles were going to be the key to that. Unfortunately, Izuki was going to be the one subbed out in order to put Kuroko back in. Not exactly the most ideal situation for the punster because he had been the victim of so many steals. He felt like he had really failed the team, like he had been the cause behind the team falling into Kirisaki's trap. But even though he was benched, that didn't mean his job was over.
Once the light blue haired phantom had taken off his t-shirt and given the second year a high five, the triple threat watched as he sauntered over to the bench and slumped down beside Koganei and Mitobe. Welp, time for the girl to work her goofy magic. She had time before the game got started back up again. So, as Izuki hid his face with the towel covering his head, the tall girl made her move.
"NO! No sad face, Izu!" the second year punster soon perked up once he heard the girl's voice scolding him.
She wasn't in front of Izuki, which was weird, but he then felt a weight on his back that pushed him forward and kind of scared the boy a little bit.
"(Y/N)!" Izuki kind of yelped out as he turned back and looked at the girl, her arms wrapped around his shoulders.
The tall girl was giving him a small pout and reached down to softly pinch her friend's cheek. He wasn't done yet and he wasn't here because Hanamiya got the best of him. The boy had another important job and she was going to make sure it got through to his head. Staying quiet as he felt her let go, Izuki looked back at the triple threat, his silver eyes reflecting in her bright (e/c) eyes.
"I can't use my Eagle and Hawk eyes for this next move. Sooooo, I need you to keep an eye out for me while I'm playing. You are a big part of this still, Izu. I'm not letting you forget that, so no sad faces!" (Y/N) explained, using more of a goofy tone toward the end to try and put a smile on the second year's face.
Izuki was a little stunned, to say the least. He hadn't even thought to think about using his skill in that sort of way. She was right, bench warmers still had their own jobs when it comes to games. And the punster had a very important one for the rest of this one. Feeling her getting off his back, the black haired punster reached back and grabbed the girl's hand, giving her a determined expression while gently squeezing her fingers.
"No sad faces. I'll keep a lookout in case they try to pull something. Just..." the second year trailed off.
He had conflicting feelings about Riko letting her go back out onto the court to play because he knew Kirisaki would go after her, but she was also a strong player that could hold her own against trash like them. But that shove Hanamiya had delivered to her earlier was still fresh in the boy's mind.
"Please be careful," Izuki finally told her.
Even with that smile on her face, that didn't stop his worry. But (Y/N) wasn't scared, not one bit. Like she said, the Kirisaki captain had given himself a free invitation to see just how scary and strong the sole female player could be when you rub her the wrong way. Softening her smile at her second year friend, the tall girl returned the small gesture before coming back around to the front, giving Izuki a quick wink.
"Always."
And back out to the court she went. It was game time, definitely going to be an interesting last quarter. Seirin had the ball, and it made its way right into the triple threat's possession. She was soon dribbling it as Kuroko ran off to get into position. They weren't looking like they were coordinating with each other, but the two miracles were very good at masking that from other players.
Seto thought he was so smart, thinking that Kirisaki had seen and researched all of Kuroko's tricks. Even with (Y/N) being the Triple Threat, the boy still believed her anger very much still clouded her judgment, and that's where the team came in to throw her off her game.
Hanamiya had to smirk, he already had an idea as to what she was going to do. He believed she had become easier to read, after all, that's what happens when players begin to become upset. This was going to be too easy. The Kirisaki captain made his move along with Furuhashi, both boys beginning to charge the girl as she continued dribbling the ball at a slow pace.
Oh, they thought they were going to get the ball, huh? HA! Just watch.
A smirk soon grew on the tall girl's face just as Hanamiya came within two or three steps of her. Show time. The triple threat soon began increasing her dribbling speed, crouching down a little bit as she bounced the ball through her legs. Hanamiya didn't know what she was thinking, as if speedy dribbling was gonna deter him.
Oh, how wrong he was to think that. The captain soon went to lunge for the ball, and the triple threat's skills soon started showing. (Y/N) made a maneuver where she bounced the ball behind her back, holding her arms out beside her as Hanamiya soon looked at her with a somewhat dumbfounded expression. Everyone else was caught off guard too.
Did the ball just disappear? Oh, no. But the girl was able to keep it up in the air behind her, and seeing exactly where Kuroko was in the corner of her eye, the tall girl soon elbowed the ball over in his direction. While it looked to be in slow motion, everything was happening at the speed of light. The spider web's strings were finally starting to be broken.
Kuroko didn't waste any time in appearing out of nowhere and hitting the ball back a little behind him, somewhat twisting his body a bit more to do so. And his target was none other than the red headed tiger, though Kagami had to perform a little stunt of his own, turning quickly and catching the ball backward facing instead of his usual frontward facing catch.
The tiger soon leaped up and slammed the ball through the hoop, giving Seirin their first two points of the final quarter.
"He made it!"
"Let's go!"
Everyone on the bench was on their feet, now Seirin was starting to get back on a roll. Just in time. Kuroko and (Y/N) soon high fived in a little celebratory manner as Hyuga ran past them, giving them both a quick pat on their arms. The triple threat even had time to throw a little dance in there as she shimmied her shoulders a little bit.
Feeling someone's eyes beginning to burn into her just a smidge, the triple threat stayed back for a couple of seconds as her phantom friend went to get in position to defend. Her eyes soon made contact with the sharp gaze of Hanamiya. Who else would it be?
But that look on his face was honey to her, and the girl just sent him a smug smirk before joining the rest of her team. Now it was time for Kirisaki to get a taste of their own medicine. Seto thought Hanamiya had calculated what had happened perfectly, where could they have gone wrong?
Up in the stands, the Touou captain had to sit back and take in what he had just seen. Now this was real ballsy of Seirin as the third year let out a small chuckle.
"I don't believe it. Now that's a bold strategy," Imayoshi spoke up.
He didn't think they'd use something like this since the red and black team was such a team play-oriented team. The others soon turned and listened in on what the captain had to say about this new development.
"Up until now, both Kuroko's passes and the moves that (Y/N)'s pulled off have all been team plays. Even when they look like tricks, they're actually a part of an established attack pattern well known to their team. Everyone immediately knows how to react. But those passes the two of them just pulled off just now, those weren't built into any preexisting patterns of theirs," the glasses wearing third year began explaining.
But he had seen those looks on the other three players' faces. That first initial shock of the move the triple threat had pulled off with making the ball 'disappear' along with Kuroko making his move and misdirecting the ball straight to Kagami.
"The other three didn't see it coming. And there's also the other fact that those two were still coordinating, but you wouldn't have guessed it considering that streetball move (Y/N) just pulled to throw Hanamiya off. In other words, both Ms. Boo and Kuroko are randomizing their already set pattern forms. With the formula now broken, Hanamiya can't predict a pass at which his opponents aren't expecting either," Imayoshi concluded his observations.
Masaru had to admit, he hadn't seen the tall girl pull off any streetball moves like that in a hot minute. None of her fancy ones, anyway. He wouldn't have ever thought that she and Kuroko would go off and play on their own. But how the hell would any of them have seen those passes coming at them? The gray haired boy would definitely fumble if he didn't see it coming.
"Wait a second, if that's the case, how did the other guy catch it? And how did Kuroko know (Y/N) was going to even send the ball his way if they're not trying to look like they're coordinating with one another?" Sakurai asked in shock as he looked back towards the court, not really understanding how that would work without some sort of warning ahead of time.
That, Imayoshi didn't have the answer. Nor did Masaru, surprisingly. As far as they could see, the triple threat had kept her eyes on Hanamiya the whole time, not at all giving anyone any sort of signal.
"They just did," Aomine then chimed in from behind the light brown haired boy, causing the others to turn back toward him.
The navy blue haired boy still had his lazy look on his face, his cheek still resting on his knuckles. Honestly kind of looked like he was going to fall asleep any second. But no, the miracle ace, on the inside, was very much alert. More so because he was watching Hanamiya to make sure the boy kept to himself. But Aomine recognized that playstyle that his two former teammates were presenting. He knew it very well.
"After spending so many long days practicing with those two, you'll eventually learn a thing or two about how Tetsu and (Y/N) like to play. She, especially, isn't as easy to read as you'd think. It's got nothing to do with logic. It's trust," the navy blue haired boy stated.
Momoi couldn't help but to look over at her childhood friend when he said that, because there was kind of a hidden, longing tone in his eyes as they stayed glued on the court below. He had spent an awfully long time going to find the bathroom, and he seemed just a little more alert when it came to the sole female player having the ball.
Back down in the game, (Y/N) became in possession of the ball once again, Hanamiya right up on her tail once again. Oh, she has been dying to use this trick for a little bit. And the ever growing angry captain in front of her was the perfect target.
Like she had before, the triple threat all of a sudden increased the dribbling speed of the ball, leaving the dark haired boy to try and think of a way to take it from her.
"What's wrong, Hanamiya? You seem to be slowing down a little bit," the girl began to taunt the captain.
She didn't wait for a response before acting like she was going to charge forward with the ball. Hanamiya fell for it, thinking this would be an easy steal. The smirk on his face that came quickly faded, his hand reaching for the ball before it disappeared from his sight. In fact, (Y/N) had gone out of his line of vision too, faking him out as she backed up and watched the captain fall on his rear end.
(1:56-2:00 in video above)
Being wide open and without looking, the girl simply followed her gut as to where Kuroko was, passing the ball right to him, spot on. The phantom used his signature move to misdirect the ball off of the backboard and right into Kiyoshi's awaiting grasp, the center following up with a speedy dunk.
Hanamiya couldn't believe it. With all of these random attacks and moves, he wasn't able to get a good reading on anything. He was making a fool out of himself, even ending up falling on the ground in front of one of the players he wanted to crush the most on Seirin. The captain was getting more irritated with every second that ticked by.
By the time there were about five and a half minutes left on the clock, the red and black team had made quite the comeback, now falling behind by only five points with the score being 55 to 60. They were closing the gap, but Riko knew the team still needed one last push. Hopefully, since Hyuga had the ball, he would give them that last push.
Yamazaki had jumped a little too late just as the Seirin captain released the ball. The triple threat was praying it would make it in, but unfortunately, the boy was still a bit too stiff. The ball fell short, hitting the rim and heading right down to Kiyoshi. But Furuhashi and Seto weren't going to let the center get it, not one bit.
A second later, Seto rammed his elbow right into the taller boy's gut, Furuhashi quickly followed with a kick to his knee. (Y/N) let out a sharp gasp, seeing all of it unfold. This was not going to end well if the center stayed in the game. Seeing that the ball was now Kirisaki's, the girl knew it was time. As for wondering if she was prepared for the consequences, that was still up for debate.
Jogging past the bench, the triple threat stopped and looked dead on at her older cousin.
"Riko, we need to do it now," the younger girl kind of shakily admitted.
The coach saw it all unfold too, the elbowing and the kicking, Kiyoshi was now holding his side in pain as he ran back to join the others. She didn't want her little cousin to take the fall for it, but she knew the triple threat was right. Closing her eyes and taking a quick breath in, Riko shot up to her feet, clenching her fists.
"What's the matter, Coach?" Koganei asked the brunette.
She didn't respond. Instead, the second year girl went over to the ref's table and called for a quick timeout. The buzzer rang out, just as a certain Kirisaki captain was beginning to lose his cool a little bit.
"Seirin, time-out!"
The teams went back to their respective benches with Seirin's starters sitting down and rehydrating themselves. But the triple threat was watching her cousin and waiting for her to say it. The girl had to mentally prepare herself for what could possibly happen next.
Standing in front of the five players, Riko didn't look at all happy. But she knew she had to get this out and off of her chest.
"There are a lot of things I wanna say to you," she started.
Here we go, the brunette took in a deep breath through her nose before continuing.
"The first being, you're at your limit, that means you're out, Teppei."
And like she and the taller girl expected, the center didn't look too happy to hear that. Kiyoshi quickly stood up from his spot, ready to argue his way through it. He had to see the end of this, he had to defeat Hanamiya. He made a promise to himself that he'd keep the team safe from him, so he had to stay.
"Wait, hold on a second! Let me play a little longer, if you take me out now, I-"
"Teppei, will you just sit down and shut the hell up already?!" An abrupt yell echoed on Seirin's side of the gym.
But it wasn't Riko who had just shouted. Nope, everyone looked over to see (Y/N) standing up, a distressed look on her face, like she was holding quite a bit in. She knew Kiyoshi was going to fight this, and the girl knew this was her call, so she'd take responsibility and force him to sit and stay if she had to.
Everything was still until the triple threat spoke again, her breathing becoming a little shaky.
"Riko didn't make the call, I did. So you can hate me all you want, not her. I will be damned if I let Hanamiya hurt you again, even if that means you hate me with everything that you have," her voice shakily let out, her lip quivering a little bit.
The girl felt small tears coming to her eyes, kind of came from the idea that her and the center's relationship would be over since she did this. Kiyoshi wasn't one to lie about his promises.
Rolling her tongue over her teeth, (Y/N) closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose to try and keep her small tears from falling. But her sniffling was telling a very different story.
"Teddy..." Kiyoshi quieted down as his chocolate brown eyes softened up.
He had a feeling she had something to do with this, that's just how she was. And he also figured she was a lot like him when it came to protecting others. The center and triple threat had a lot in common. It kind of caught him off guard and made him sad that she would take his hate just to protect him. It didn't make him feel very good as a man.
"I agree with Coach and (Y/N)," another soft spoken voice piped up, causing Kiyoshi to turn back toward its source.
"Kuroko..." he let out as he looked down at the light blue haired phantom.
Kuroko wasn't one to really talk about his emotions all that much, but now was probably one of the best times where he needed to.
"I've never had a big brother. When you said you'd protect us, for a while, I felt like I did. And I was happy. I want you to keep protecting us, but that means you have to stop pushing yourself in this game," the phantom told the center.
No one was going to feel good if Kiyoshi got put out of commission yet again by the same person who had done it before. And the second year center needed to realize that there were other people he could rely on, not just take the brunt of everything all by himself.
One person, in particular, was about to say just that. He had had just about enough of his teammate's nonsense.
"Ah, enough!" Hyuga suddenly shouted.
No one even had time to react before the captain stood up, squaring up to the taller boy and glaring up at him.
"Stop fighting us and sit down already, frickin' unbearable idiot! Have a little faith and trust me when I say Kiddo and I won't break our promise!" The glasses wearing second year harshly reminded his friend.
That's right. (Y/N) remembered that promise, which is why she wanted Kiyoshi to just take it easy. She and Hyuga weren't going to break it any time soon, and they still needed the center for their future games. But in order for those to happen, then the taller boy needed to just take a break and let the others handle it.
Too stunned to speak at first, Kiyoshi was only snapped out of his thoughts when Mitobe finally came over, giving his fellow second year a serious look followed by a nod while holding out his hand. Izuki did the same, nodding and smiling over to the center.
Kiyoshi finally held out his own hand, looking down on it. Then, his eyes were finally cleared. Seirin was going to win this, the team had gotten stronger. And the center still wanted to be able to play in future games.
"Yeah, I guess you guys are right. The rest is up to you," the center finally gave in, high fiving Mitobe and switching out with him.
Now it was time to show their stuff. With their timeout up, Hyuga led the rest of the starters back out to the court, a more than determined look on his face.
"That goes without saying, you imbecile! Now sit there and wait like a good little boy. If you behave, we'll bring you back a ticket to the Winter Cup, you hear me?!" The captain promised the center.
The buzzer sounded off, ending the timeout. Kiyoshi didn't argue any further and took a seat next to Riko as the other starters made their way back out to the court. Kagami drove his fist into the palm of his hand. He was ready for battle, they all were as they glared down the opponents just feet away from them
"They benched #7?" Kasamtasu asked out loud from Kaijo's area of the stands, wondering just what the red and black team was thinking.
"It makes sense. He's been taking the brunt of the rough play," Kise piped up.
He didn't blame Seirin for benching him. Heck, he'd do the same thing if one of his teammates was getting the crap beat out of them. Not only that, but how could the blonde boy forget feeling the sole female player's rage just moments beforehand? Kasamatsu had to agree with that too, never before feeling such rage emanate from a person like that before.
"I guess they decided to take him out before they actually killed the guy. And I guess before (Y/N) killed Hanamiya right then and there," the captain voiced.
Hibiki had lost most of the tension in his body from feeling that roaring anger from his sister, but he knew she, in particular, wasn't out of the woods yet. In fact, something was telling him she did exactly what people didn't want her to do, and that was to challenge Hanamiya.
"No doubt. She doesn't look like it, but Sis isn't afraid to throw hands with anyone," the younger boy added on as well as he crossed his arms and leaned his elbows on his knees.
You wouldn't even expect that coming from (Y/N), but she had a fiery temper under all of that sunshine. And she had a lot of control over it, for the most part. It was when people like Hanamiya went and messed with her friends and intentionally put them in harm's way. That was something she did not at all stand for.
And then...there were the times where Hibiki had also pushed the right buttons since the two of them were twins and all. And sometimes, he regretted doing that. The boy paled at the very thought of the times when the girl went triple threat on his ass.
"How will this change things? Do you think it'll break Seirin?" Kise suddenly asked, bringing the younger twin out of his thoughts.
"No chance. I'd say it's the opposite. Now, they'll fight even harder. Although," the captain of Kaijo trailed off for a second after confidently stating Seirin wouldn't give up because of this.
The two first year players along with the others behind them followed the steely eyed boy's gaze down to the court where the tall girl was making her way over to her position by the net since it would be Seirin starting out with the ball. It wasn't obvious to some, but the members of the blue and white team saw Hanamiya along with Seto begin to subtly make their way toward her.
"I don't like the way those guys are trying to isolate (Y/N) from the rest of the team," Kasamatsu glared just a little more.
It had only become more obvious as the game went on, but nothing crazy had happened yet, they weren't going at it too hard. But it was clear that every time the triple threat got the ball, those two were getting closer and closer when it came to guarding her, but they were also trying to drive her away from the rest of the boys.
Kise didn't like that realization at all. She had just gotten better and she was doing a hell of a job in playing and getting back to her old self. If they were going to take that away from her, the blonde couldn't even imagine what he was going to do. He didn't want to lose that smile.
"I hope she'll be okay, I'm starting to worry. I mean, if they land a hit on her knee-"
"They won't," the third year cut the copycat off, causing him to turn toward the captain.
There was a confident smirk on his face, one that caught Kise off guard since Kasamatsu wasn't one to let a side of him show all that much. Hibiki just kind of noticed that too, especially when his sister was brought up. The younger twin knew there was more of a reason for the steely boy saying that he liked his sister more than him.
"That girl is way too stubborn to let those guys get at her."
Oh, she was stubborn, alright. The tall girl was as stubborn as the toughest bull there was out there. And the girl knew what the Kirisaki players were doing as she began dribbling the ball and making her way towards Seirin's side of the court where their basket was located. However, as she did so, the captain of the opposing team suddenly began charging and getting her to back up a little bit.
Looks like Hanamiya was keeping his end of her little challenge.
Okay, so (Y/N) couldn't go that way, and she couldn't get around him because Seto was running up too, caging her away from the rest of Seirin. Riko gritted her teeth as she and the others watched as the two Kirisaki boys quickly blocked the girl's front view. Oh, but if they thought that was going to drive the triple threat into a corner, they were sadly mistaken.
Narrowing her eyes, the triple threat took a step back and used her Hawk Eye quickly to locate Kuroko before the two players guarding her could tell what she was doing.
Once she spotted her friend, the (h/c) haired girl dribbled the ball and spun around Hanamiya's back where there wasn't anyone standing, and threw the ball in the phantom's direction before they could comprehend what she had just pulled.
Kuroko pulled his move, and even though the ball appeared to be heading for Kagami, the light blue haired boy appeared, twisted his arm around, and smacked the ball right to Hyuga, who didn't look to be expecting it. The triple threat pumped her fist, giving the captain her magic vibes so that he'd make the shot.
But, it was just a repeat as the second year jumped up and shot the ball. It hit the rim and fell back toward the players. (Y/N) cringed a little bit since she saw that the boy was tense.
"Aw, man."
"So close!"
Dang it, the captain really needed some sort of magic trick in order to make his shots. The tall girl would definitely make threes if she could, but she had two thorns in her side that were preventing her from doing so. Plus, she wanted her second year friend to make some shots in order to rub it in Hanamiya's face.
Wakamatsu definitely thought it was weird since the captain had made so many shots during their game with Seirin.
"Hyuga's making none of his shots today. At such an important moment at that. What do you think about this, Sakurai?" the pale blonde center asked the clutch shooter for Touou.
Sakurai's eyes were locked on and focused on Hyuga, specifically. A fellow clutch shooter would be able to see what others couldn't.
"His shoulders are tensing up a lot more than usual. It's like he's over excited. Three pointers that require a delicate touch are a matter of chance. No matter how good the shot, sometimes, they just don't go in," the light brown haired boy began to explain.
Masaru only arched an eyebrow along with the second year center, since they both had no idea what the shy boy was saying.
"Okay...?" Wakamatsu responded, unsure of what his teammate meant.
But there was one thing that was very much clear when it came to Seirin's captain and clutch shooter.
"However, when he does start making them, they don't stop. That's Hyuga's specialty," Sakurai concluded as he continued watching the glasses wearing captain very closely.
He was most definitely vouching for Seirin, so he was hoping the clutch shooter would eventually start making his signature shots. That was going to be the key to the red and black team's victory in this game.
Over on Seirin's bench, as he sat beside the brunette coach, Kiyoshi began reflecting on what had happened in the past couple of minutes and during the entirety of the game.
"Riko," he softly called out to the girl beside him, catching her attention as she turned towards the taller boy, seeing a look of pure guilt on his face.
"I'm really sorry for what I said to you," he apologized.
The coach's mind flashed back to his rather harsh words towards the beginning of the game, about how he would hate her and everything. While it scared Riko when she thought about that being the case, the second year girl could very much relate to her friend's feelings.
Instead of being mad, the brunette simply put a soft smile on her face as she shook her head at Kiyoshi's apology. In reality, there was nothing for him to apologize for.
"I totally get where you're coming from. Besides, the reason why the rest of the team hasn't taken as much damage from those maniacs is because you protected them, Teppei. From here on out, Hyuga, (Y/N), and the others will handle the rest," Riko assured him as she turned back to the court.
Kiyoshi's brown eyes widened when he heard that. Even though he was Seirin's shield, even he needed some protection from the forces of evil. That was when his mind went back to what the triple threat had yelled to him earlier, that she would not let Hanamiya touch him ever again. Turning his head toward the girl on his mind, the center's eyes soon softened. He had scared the girl to death, and he felt bad about that.
"I need to say the same to Teddy too. I don't think I've ever seen her yell like that before," Kiyoshi spoke up once again, the tall girl's yells still echoing in his mind.
That was really the first time he had ever seen her get so mad before, and all for him when it came to this game in particular. (Y/N) didn't even think twice about expressing her concerns like she had in the locker room after their game with Shutoku. In his mind, Kiyoshi was kind of scared she would be mad at him and not the other way around.
Again, Riko was there to assure him otherwise as she smiled on. She knew her cousin, and she knew just how big the tall girl's heart was.
"She just does it because she cares about you, it's not like she was mad at you or anything. Honestly, you two are more alike than what some may think," the coach reassured the boy that the triple threat wasn't in any way angry with him.
(Y/N) and Kiyoshi really did have kind of the same personality traits if one really thought about it. They both had the desire to protect their friends, even if that meant getting hurt in the process. The center admired that part about her, but he also wanted to be as stubborn as she was when it came to her safety.
Because Kirisaki Daiichi still had something planned.
Hyuga now had the ball, ready to pass since he was too far away to make a shot.
"Kiddo! It's coming your way!" He called out to the sole female player, seeing her get in position on the inside.
The girl was in the perfect position to make a dunk, and she was wide open. Turning his body back ready to throw the ball, a figure in front of him stopped the boy right where he was. Hanamiya was smirking even darker than before. And because he was in the captain's way, he could hide what was going on between the triple threat and Seto.
The boy and (Y/N) were pushing up against each other to try and get open. And the girl was starting to win despite Seto being bigger than she was. Oh, but if she thought that was going to be the case, she was sadly mistaken. Hanamiya had passed along her little challenge to the others, and if the girl wanted to tussle, then they'd tussle.
Smirking to himself, Seto saw the perfect opportunity where she wasn't even looking. Drawing his elbow back, the boy soon rammed it right into the girl's scarred part of her ribs.
"AH-" (Y/N) started to let out a yelp, but covered her mouth to keep quiet before bearing her teeth at her mark.
Dammit, that frickin' hurt though. She could already feel the bruise forming. But that didn't stop her from pushing up against the boy while watching the two captains go head to head. Kirisaki's captain let out a evil little laugh as he faced down Hyuga.
"Looks like your protector couldn't hack it. So what're you gonna do now?" The teal team captain began to taunt the boy in front of him.
It took most of Hyuga's being just to not retort as he kept dribbling the ball. Oh, but Hanamiya was going to push just a little further. Then, he'd seize his chance.
"We've got our sights set on your most mouthy piece of trash. She's gonna get what's coming to her."
Hyuga's eyes soon went wide once he heard that. So that's what she meant when she said they'd be coming after her. Oh, hell to the no. Not on Hyuga's watch. His protective side was definitely showing now as he glared harshly at the boy in front of him, bearing his teeth like an angry animal.
How dare he even think he could lay a finger on her?
"You leave her the hell alone, Hanamiya. Don't even think you can lay a hand on her. I promise, I'm gonna stop you. Here and now!"
And with that declaration, Hyuga charged forward, ready to attack.
"Yeah, Hyuga!"
"Captain!"
Even with the cheers, the glasses wearing captain was still really tense, feeling all that adrenaline rushing through his veins. He managed to kind of fake out Hanamiya by diving to one side before beginning to run on the other. However, Kirisaki's captain caught up and slapped the ball out of Hyuga's hands.
It was now a race for the ball as the two captains sprinted after it. But they weren't fast enough. The ball soon bounced and rolled out of bounds as the ref blew the whistle.
"Out of bounds! White ball!"
That was enough to get both boys to stop running, both of them coming to an abrupt halt. Kiyoshi didn't hesitate to come over and pick up the ball. However, he and Hyuga just kind of looked at each other in silence for a couple of moments as the triple threat made her way over to throw the ball back in.
Her side was hurting like a bitch. That bastard had elbowed her right where her scar was. But she wasn't showing any signs that she was in pain, not at all. Patting the captain on the shoulder, (Y/N) took the ball from Kiyoshi and stood behind the boundary line.
You know, as Hyuga ran back to get into position once he saw the girl nod her head in a certain direction, the captain couldn't help but to think back to the promise he had made to Kiyoshi.
During the entirety of this game, the glasses wearing boy was simply stuck on defeating Hanamiya. But that's not what his promise was. It was to become the best basketball team in Japan. Plus, the captain hadn't even given the center a high five, Hyuga was just too hotheaded for that back then.
You know, after Seirin wins this game, the captain was going to give Kiyoshi a high five. And that's how Hyuga was going to think from now on.
Running over to Furuhashi and standing his ground, the dead eyed player arched an eyebrow as the captain turned to face him, taking a deep breath and becoming calm.
Hyuga soon ran off to one side while Mitobe screened Furuhashi, the boy letting out a curse. The triple threat soon threw the ball in straight to the misdirecting master. Kuroko smacked the ball right into Hyuga's grasp.
Here was the moment of truth. (Y/N) was watching his form very closely. And a smile soon grew on her face, the boy's shoulders were relaxed, he was the symbol of perfection when it came to three pointer forms.
Gracefully, Hyuga released the ball as it flew threw the air and swished through the hoop, the captain's first points of the game. Cheers soon erupted for Seirin.
"Yeah, alright!"
"Boss man made a three!"
"YES, JUN!!! YES! YES! YES!"
(Y/N) was bouncing off the walls like she was on a trampoline, she was hopping around like a bunny celebrating the captain's first three. Now that he was making them, they weren't going to be stopping any time soon.
"Let's go!" Hyuga celebrated with his own fist pump.
Now he was fired up in the right way. Seirin was going to be making a comeback, baby.
Once she had calm herself from her little celebration, the triple threat smirked at Hanamiya as he came running at her while dribbling the ball. And she wasn't going to let him get past her. Moving in every which way that she could, the triple threat was blocking every path the captain could take. And it was safe to say it was pissing him off as he let out a low growl.
Little did Hanamiya know, he had just exposed himself to Kuroko. The phantom quickly appeared and smacked the ball out of the captain's hands. The tall girl got a hold of it before sprinting down the court with Hyuga, passing to the captain.
"Go! Get the counter attack!" Tsuchida yelled out from the bench, cupping his hands around his mouth.
As the captain went to make the three, bending his knees and lifting the ball up, Furuhashi was quick to come over and jump in the air in an attempt to block Hyuga's three.
But the ball never came. Instead, the glasses wearing captain bounced the ball between the dead eyed boy's legs and right to the sole female player, who gained Seirin two more points with a layup as the benchwarmers cheered.
But it wasn't like Kirisaki was giving up either. In fact, right after Seirin scored, they made a layup of their own. It was going to be an all-out battle.
"Let's switch gears, we'll get the next one!" Hyuga instructed the other players.
"Yeah!"
Oh yeah, there was that confidence the red and black team were so famously known for. And it was spreading to the other members as their cheers and happy shouts grew louder.
"We're coming back!"
"Keep it up and we'll be at the Winter Cup in no time!"
The Seirin players were staring down their opponents hard. And it was only making the teal team angrier as they shot nasty looks to the red and black team.
"Dammit!"
"Screw that guy!"
Furuhashi knew Hyuga was going to be a problem, but the two that had started all of this were the two former miracles, Kuroko and (Y/N). As the dead eyed boy tried to think of ways to stop them, he felt a major vibe change in the captain.
"Hana..miya..?"
The boy was treading carefully. This wasn't good, Hanamiya was silent, and that could only mean on thing. He was about to strike an attack with this next move.
Furuhashi knew who exactly wanted the ball. He didn't hesitate to pass it to Hanamiya, fearing for what the captain might do to him if he didn't. Kuroko was right where Hanamiya wanted him.
The captain soon caught the ball, his hair covering his eyes, unreadable to others. But the aura surrounding him was the most deadly it had been during this entire game.
"This is ridiculous. It's you and her. All of this is your fault!" The dark haired boy growled at the phantom as he held the ball up.
And Kiyoshi along with everyone else recognized that form as their breaths hitched. Kagami glared over to the captain, but he soon saw what was happened.
"Hey, wait-"
The red headed tiger wasn't able to finish his sentence before everyone watched as Hanamiya's elbow began aiming towards the phantom's head, just like with Kiyoshi.
"Kuroko, no!"
"Tetsu! Watch it!"
(Y/N) screamed out once again, her heart increasing as she tried to find a way to get over to her friend, but Yamazaki kept her where she was as she watched on helplessly while the captain's elbow grew closer and closer.
At the very last second, it was like the phantom's instincts automatically kicked in, and he took a quick step back, narrowly missing Hanamiya's elbow. The captain nor could his teammates believe what they had just seen. To think that a physically weak player like Kuroko could dodge an attack like that.
Hanamiya was a little more than less pleased with his attack not working. His crazed eyes were still covered by his hair. Kuroko only returned the glare, standing his ground. The others were a little concerned with what might happen next.
"Damn you, if only you weren't here-"
"What the hell did I tell ya about tryin' anythin' against ma friends?" That familiar southern tone came from in front of the uncrowned king.
And the light blue haired phantom felt that same jolt of shock go through him as he turned back to see a very not-so-happy looking (Y/N) stalking her way over to them.
The others on the bench began to tense up too, scared she might actually start a fight out on the court. They wouldn't blame her if she did, but their girl wasn't that type of person.
"Oh crap. She's mad again," Koganei let out as he put his hand on his chest to try and calm his heart.
Riko decided to try and take action as she stood up from her spot on the bench.
"Hey, (Y/N)-"
But the coach couldn't get out the rest of her words as she cut herself off with a gasp. Just like when she had gotten mad before, the color of her eyes changed to a very subtle shade of gold. Well, that subtle shade was now on full display for a split second, the girl's pupils became slit. By the time Riko stood up, the triple threat blinked and the coloration in her eyes went away as they returned to their normal shade.
Still, the second year girl wasn't expecting to see that eye come out any time soon. It kind of scared Riko a little bit when it did.
Seeing that her cousin didn't look like she was going to throw hands, the brunette took a seat, but kept a close eye on what was going to happen next. As was everyone else. Last time the tall girl had called Hanamiya out, he had grabbed at her face and clearly confronted her over halftime. No telling what he was planning if she confronted him once again like this.
Especially with how mad he seemed right now.
But that didn't frighten the triple threat one bit as she stood her ground, getting Kuroko behind her in the process as she glared down the captain in front of her. Hanamiya's crazed expression was somewhat hidden by his hair, but the girl could still see it.
"What?" the older boy's voice spoke in a dark tone.
"I thought you and yer boys were comin' after me. Or did I scare you too much with what ya said about Teppei?" (Y/N) mocked the genius in front of her as she got a little closer to the enraged and boiling captain.
Everything was tense as was everyone watching. The triple threat wasn't backing down and she would pull whatever she could to deter the boy's attention away from Kuroko. The phantom really didn't like the tactic that she was taking, but he wasn't going to ignore the fact that Hanamiya was up to his dirty tricks once again.
Both miracles had been glaring down the Kirisaki captain for a good minute before Hanamiya finally scoffed, his crazed smile returning to his face.
"Geez, learn to take a joke, you dumbasses," Hanamiya suddenly said to the miracles, catching them both off guard as their glares disappeared.
Not what they were expecting, but that also meant the captain had an opening. And with the ball in his hand, Hanamiya didn't have any issue getting past them as he ran down the court. Hyuga and Mitobe had both gotten free of their marks and quickly dashed over to stop the captain. But, once Hanamiya had hit the free throw line, instead of going any further, the captain jumped back a little bit as the two Seirin second years got close enough.
Hyuga didn't know what the boy was doing. He looked like he was going for a layup, but he was way too far back. Both he and Mitobe soon jumped in the air along with Hanamiya, reaching their hands up in order to block the shot. However, the Kirisaki captain ended up turning his hand at the last second to where he pushed the ball up in the air and forward, like a one-handed three pointer.
But this shot that he had just performed was known as a 'teardrop'. Why was he pulling moves like that now?
No matter, the shot was successful as it went through the hoop, gaining Kirisaki three more points.
"Did you really think all I'm good for is hitting and stealing? Of course not, you mindless cretins. Even without dirty tricks, I can score whenever I want to. If I win, you can kiss your precious little dreams goodbye. It'll be over for all your cringey hand holding asses," the captain spat such insulting words to his opponents as he turned back towards them, sticking his tongue out like a small child.
Now, the Seirin players were already kind of irritated with Hanamiya having just said all of that to them, but it was one of his mind games going to work once again. And to add the finishing touches to everything, the captain looked back at the triple threat, meeting her gaze as she remained stone faced. Smirking even more, the Kirisaki captain then looked back at the rest of the boys.
If he could rile them one more time, then this game would be his.
"And your triple threat just gave me the invitation I've been looking for this entire game," Hanamiya revealed, very much hinting at the words the two of them had exchanged during halftime.
Just like he had predicted, the Seirin boys, especially Kagami, began to glare even more, their teeth grinding together. But if Hanamiya thought that was going to secure his victory, well, he had another thing coming.
"Don't be stupid!" Kuroko's voice suddenly snapped, catching the captain's attention as he looked back at the phantom.
The light blue haired boy had had quite enough of all of this nonsense and for how much the Kirisaki captain was talking down on the triple threat. No one ever thought Kuroko could get this mad, but he could very much get this mad, alright.
Putting one foot behind him, a vortex of wind began to form around him as he drew his arm back, his light blue locks masking a lot of the anger that could very much be detected just by the tone of his voice.
"You're wrong. She and I chose to fight because we couldn't get behind the way the Generation of Miracles played basketball. But you, you're despicable. They would never go as far as you. I won't let you stand in the way of our dreams, not mine, not hers, not the seniors, and not anyone else's. Out of the way!!" the phantom miracle shouted, Ignite Passing the ball as it flew past Hanamiya's head.
Safe to say the shock factor was there, the Kirisaki captain seeming to be frozen in his tracks as he felt the wind on his face that the pass had produced. And it went straight to the triple threat's hand as she smirked before quickly turning and began sprinting to the red and black team's basket. The girl was really going to show off now.
"Go for it, Teddy!"
"Get it, (Y/N)!"
The benchwarmers were standing up from their seats as they watched the girl use her super speed while she dribbled the ball. Unfortunately, despite the initial shock of Kuroko's Ignite Pass, Hanamiya wasn't going to be backing down. Now it was time for him to put his plan into action.
"Kentaro!" the Kirisaki captain called over to his just as diabolical partner.
The gelled haired boy nodded, and soon, the two boys were now chasing after the triple threat. The Seirin players let out gasps as they watched the two boys catching up with the tall girl. And she hadn't noticed them yet since she was so caught up in the moment. The other starters soon started trying to make their way to catch up with them, but the two Kirisaki players were too far ahead.
Up in Kaijo's area of the stands, Hibiki soon sat up in his seat, watching his sister closely as she reached the free throw line. The two boys were right on her tail, and they weren't stopping. Oh, this wasn't good. And it only got worse once the triple threat had jumped up.
"No, he's not-(Y/N), BEHIND YOU!!" Hibiki shouted down to the court, hoping to alert his sister.
It definitely alerted everyone else around, even Touou. Everyone had their eyes glued on the girl as the two boys jumped up along with her. The triple threat didn't even realize it either until she heard her twin's voice. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl saw that Hanamiya was behind her when it came to the two jumping. And Seto was on her left side, both of them reaching their arms out to try and block her from making the shot. Plus, there was the fact that they were both leaning their bodies dangerously close to hers.
"Oh, boy!" (Y/N) let out, knowing she was probably going to collide with something once she hit the ground.
But she was determined to make this shot, and just because they were two Kirisaki players trying to get her to miss in their own dirty way, that wasn't going to stop her.
The ball was in her right hand, so in a last second move, the triple threat leaned her body out to the right where there wasn't anyone on her side, and performed a freestyle shot right past the arms of Seto and Hanamiya.
The ball went through the basket, but that didn't mean the two boys were finished. In fact, the fact that she had just given Seirin two more points didn't matter. Hanamiya was going to show her what happens when she talks real big and messes with him.
Seto was in the position to block the ref's view, and that was when the captain pulled his move. Due to her jumping skills, the tall girl had stayed in the air longer than Hanamiya, hence why he had landed first, just a few milliseconds before the triple threat did. However, once she was on the ground, the captain made it seem like he was stumbling forward in order to gain his footing.
But that was really only to ram the girl into the pole of the basket just one second after she had landed. And he pushed her hard. It all happened in one move. Hanamiya landed and stumbled right into the triple threat, and shoved her into the pole right before she could regain her balance.
And she hit the pole hard, hard enough to cause the girl to swing around the pole in an attempt to grab it and fall to the ground right on her back, her hair coming out of its bun and spreading out on the floor beneath her head.
"(Y/N)!!/TEDDY!!/KIDDO!!" the shouts of the Seirin team echoed in her ears.
The referee whistled twice to stop the game and check on the triple threat, though the girl quickly got to her feet, but had to lean against the pole while she held her now sore right shoulder.
"Oooh, that had to have hurt," Wakamatsu winced once he heard the THUD of her impact from the fall.
Just when he was starting to think maybe the violence of the game was over, it took another ugly turn. The pale blonde was trying to get a better look to check on the condition of the tall girl as Sakurai began doing the same thing, though he was looking more than just a little distressed.
"Is she alright?" the light brown haired boy wanted to know her condition.
There was also someone else that was now standing up in his seat, trying to get a better look while the audience members around him began muttering about what had just happened.
"HACHI, YOU OKAY?!?!" Masaru called down to the court, not even caring if Wakamatsu was going to beat him for being loud.
Surprisingly, the pale blonde center didn't seem too bothered this time by the gray haired twin's yelling. Heck, he wanted to know if she was okay. If her hair came out, that had to have been a hard hit. Momoi saw Aomine's fist clench on the arm rest of the seat, his glare looking like it could pierce through the toughest materials out there. The pink haired girl was worried for her friend, this wasn't what she needed after making a comeback from such a horrific incident.
Even Imayoshi had lost his usual mischievous smile and was now moving his head around to try and get a good view of the triple threat.
"Good thing there are pads on those poles. She could've sustained a bad injury from that. But I think it just knocked the wind out of her," the glasses wearing captain spoke up, watching her still catching her breath from it all, her long hair falling over her shoulder.
"Just?! Captain, she just recovered from that hell of a beating she got from Okami. Don't you think this is just gonna bring up bad memories from that?" Wakamatsu suddenly turned toward the third year, kind of thinking it was surprising he didn't sound more concerned about the girl.
Though that couldn't be further from the truth. Imayoshi had known the girl longer than the pale blonde, meaning he knew just how the girl was. Soon, the captain smirked once again as he pushed his glasses up on his face.
"I'm not saying that I'm not worried, but if you haven't figured it out yet, Wakamatsu, Ms. Boo doesn't let people like Hanamiya get to her, she's just that stubborn. Take a look," the third year nodded down towards the court.
Arching his eyebrow at the captain, Wakamatsu went along with it and turned back to the girl, not believing what he was seeing for a second. (Y/N) was standing up like nothing had happened, even though she was still rubbing her shoulder.
But that was nothing. And Hanamiya hadn't scared her one bit by doing that. However, it was clear that he did scare the others as Kagami became the first to rush over to the girl, a distressed expression on his face just as he met the girl before she could walk out back on the court.
"Are you okay? Let me see," the red head quickly put his hands on the girl's face, trying to get a look at her shoulder.
But he was being flimsy, he couldn't really think straight. The tiger was mad and worried all at the same time. Hanamiya was going to be real lucky if he escaped the red headed tiger's wrath for hurting the girl he cared for twice. But that could wait, because right now, Kagami was more worried about (Y/N).
The triple threat saw that, and she quickly took action, putting her hands on the boy's shoulders, getting the taller boy to look at her. His breathing was quick, and she saw nothing but concern in his ruby eyes.
"Hey, Taiga, I'm okay. I'm okay," her soothing voice assured him as she grinned at him.
It kind of helped a little bit as the tiger calmed down a little bit as he moved some of her baby hairs out of her face. The others quickly rushed over as well to see how she was. And Hyuga had heard her reassurance, but he wasn't so convinced.
"Are you sure, Kiddo? That bastard set you up to take that fall," the captain growled as he pointed to Hanamiya, kind of letting his anger take over once again.
First Kiyoshi and now her? Hyuga wasn't going to stand for it, none of them were. There had been enough violence in this game, there didn't need to be any more in order to throw them off. But the tall girl didn't really seem to be all that affected by it as she kept her grin while turning to the captain.
"And ruined your masterpiece," she joked as she flipped her now messy ponytail over her shoulder.
How she was able to joke at a time like this, no one would ever know. But it also showed that she was more worried about her friends than herself. Not because she was trying to turn the violence onto her, but because she was confident in her skills to beat the opponent while keeping herself safe. Sometimes, like right now, it didn't always work out.
Plus, there was still that slight fear of what had happened to her with Okami, but the triple threat's mentality was strong. Hyuga couldn't help but let out a sigh through his nose once she heard her say that. The second year soon reached over and gently pinched (Y/N)'s cheek.
"I care about you more than that right now," the captain told her in a much calmer tone of voice.
It only made her giggle a little bit, but she soon stopped once she saw a certain head of light blue hair coming towards her, his sky blue eyes covered by his hair. The triple threat knew just exactly what sort of expression was on his face as she walked over to Kuroko.
"I'm sorry, (Y/N). I didn't think-"
"Tetsu, don't you even think about apologizing," (Y/N) cut the phantom off as she grabbed his hands, giving them a gentle squeeze as she held them up.
Kuroko soon looked up and made eye contact with her (e/c) eyes, seeing the light of her personality shining through and no sign of anger whatsoever. He couldn't help but feel guilty. After all, if he hadn't passed to her, she wouldn't have been targeted like that. He felt that he was the reason why she had gotten hurt.
But no one else saw it that way at all. And (Y/N) wanted to make sure he knew that as she gave her best friend an even brighter smile.
"I'm fine, I promise. Now let's win this," she declared as she pumped her fist and winked at the boy.
They were almost there, they just needed to fight a little longer and beat Hanamiya the best way she knew how. The triple threat was right. Seirin was going to win, so they had to keep fighting. And Hyuga had to keep his promise.
"We're not done! Don't let up until the game is over!" the captain shouted to the others.
"Yeah!"
Now that Seirin's will to fight was stronger than ever, there was no way they were going to lose. In fact, the comeback was too incredible to even imagine. Hyuga was making all of his threes, Kuroko's misdirection was even more on point than it had been. One instance being when the phantom and captain coordinated an attack that was absolute perfection.
Hyuga passed to Kuroko, who quickly smacked the ball right back to the captain, throwing off Furuhashi as he watched the clutch shooter make a three effortlessly. Kagami was holding down the inside pretty well too, making every dunk that he could along with Mitobe.
And with the final seconds lingering around the corner, Hanamiya was losing his cool. It was all her fault. He glared bullets through the sole female player just as the ball was smacked out of Mitobe's hands by Yamazaki. (Y/N) soon began sprinting after the ball along with Hanamiya once again.
Safe to say everyone was worried as they saw the captain and triple threat running after the ball, the girl being just a hair ahead of him.
"No, no, no! He's chasing after her again!" Izuki yelled as he stood up.
"Run like the wind, Buddy!" Koganei shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth, hoping the worst wouldn't come out of this.
The triple threat was only getting pumped even more. Just before the ball could go out of bounds, the girl jumped up along with Hanamiya once again, the boy being behind her. (Y/N) managed to twist her body in the air and kind of set the basketball like a volleyball, pushing it back towards her team just as the final seconds ticked down.
However, as everything around her seemed to be going in slow motion, the girl realized that Hanamiya was falling with her to where he would land on top of her. Her legs were right under where his torso would land. And that scared her as she watched the captain turn back and smirk at her.
"Cushion my fall, will ya, (Y/N)?" his calm voice reached her ears as the girl's eyes widened.
Riko shot up from her seat as she watched her cousin and the captain continue to fall. He was going to injure her badly if he landed on her, and there was no telling what kind of damage that would cause.
"No.." the coach whispered, scared of what would happen next.
It was all a last minute and instinctive move on the tall girl's end. The triple threat quickly saw her opportunity and took it, and in mid-air, the girl bent backward, feeling her hands hit the ground. In another quick move, she brought her legs out from underneath Hanamiya in a splits fashion and flipped them back over as she landed on her butt, pushing herself backwards away from the captain as he landed on his back.
(Basically a backhand spring with a splits thrown in there)
Everyone, including (Y/N)'s, jaws dropped at what they had just witnessed. Even she couldn't believe she was able to pull such a move off within seconds, it was that quick. Hanamiya soon sat up on his elbows as he stared dumbfoundedly at the girl while she caught her breath.
It was only the sound of the final buzzer that made the two teens snap out of their thoughts just as the girl got to her feet. Snapping her head toward the scoreboard, the triple threat's system filled up with joy once she saw the score.
It was 78 to 70, Seirin had won. And now, they had a ticket to the Winter Cup.
They didn't waste any time in celebrating either as the tall girl ran over with her fists in the air, a larger than life smile on her face.
"YEAH!!"
"WE WON!!"
Seirin was full of smiles, laughs, and jumps, the triple threat probably being the most excited as she jumped into Kagami's open arms, the first person that she saw. The tiger and the girl hugged for a second before the red head heaved the girl up to where it looked like she was sitting on his arms as he held her. It made her blush for a second, but she returned his large grin with a bright one of her own.
(Like this)
Keeping one arm around his shoulders, the triple threat was yelling happily and laughing, pumping her fist along with everyone else as the other players ran out to the court to join the celebration. As she began high fiving Koganei and Kuroko, (Y/N) caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye just as the tiger set her down on the ground.
Hyuga had separated himself from the group and had gone over to where Kiyoshi was standing, which was just before the boundary lines. Well, the captain had made a promise, and the center's smile really said it all. The captain didn't waste any time walking over, holding his hand up.
Kiyoshi held his hand up too, and soon, a loud clap was heard coming from their high five. No one knew just how much this meant to the people who knew them the best. In fact, it brought tears to Riko's eyes as she watched it. They had conquered a tough obstacle, and now their reward was the Winter Cup.
The second year coach soon let out a laugh as she wiped her tears away that were pouring down her cheeks.
(Y/N) seemed to be the same way as she put her hands together and smiled behind them as she brought them up to her mouth. She couldn't take it anymore, the girl needed a hug from the gentle giant. She didn't waste any more moments in walking over to the center, the taller boy seeing her smile and holding out her arms.
Kiyoshi quickly wrapped his arms around her waist as she gave the boy a bear hug around his shoulders, the two of them rocking back and forth a little bit.
"You're crazy, Teddy," the center softly told her, but he had a smile on his face.
It only made the girl hugging him let out a small laugh, her emotions starting to get the best of her as she felt her eyes becoming watery. These were happy tears, though. This was one of the happiest times the triple threat had ever had when it came to a victory in a game.
"I know I am. But you're also stubborn, Teppei. And you say I'm the hard head," the tall girl teased him, her voice cracking slightly, using her knuckle to stop any tears from falling as she buried her face into the center's shoulders.
He couldn't help but be taken aback by what she had said, thinking back to what he had told her back before this game. And then he remembered back to her words about how she would handle him hating her and not Riko. Of course, he could never hate either of them. Kiyoshi knew a part of the girl's tears were relief that he didn't hate her. Not one bit.
Hearing her soft sniffles from his shoulder, the center put his large hand on the back of (Y/N)'s head, turning his own and pecking the side of her head.
She was so special to him that she had no idea. The driving force along with Hyuga in keeping him safe. You could say the triple threat was his own hero.
Calming down, the tall girl finally pulled away and wiped a single tear that had fallen down her cheek. There was one more person she needed to find, and she didn't have to look far before feeling his arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. Seeing his black wristbands and feeling his head lean on her shoulder, the triple threat knew who it was automatically.
Putting her hands on his arms, the girl leaned her head on Kuroko's as the two of them shared a little moment. Their dream was really coming true, and a part of this embrace was the phantom showing relief that his dearest friend was alright. And the taller girl felt the same way. Neither of them knew what they would do if the other got injured like that.
Finally, after a couple of moments of silence, the light blue haired boy pulled away as the triple threat turned around, the two of them just smiling at each other. These were the moments that Kuroko loved, when he and the tall girl didn't have to exchange words in order to convey their feelings.
As the cheers began to die down a little bit, the red and black team saw someone coming up to them out of the corner of their sight. Turning their heads, Seirin saw Hanamiya standing there in front of them, his long hair covering his eyes.
"You beat me, Seirin. And, Kiyoshi, please know I'm sorry for everything," the Kirisaki captain apologized 'sincerely' to the center.
Holy crap, was he actually trying to be nice for once? Could losing have actually shown him that this wasn't the way to play basketball? Not a chance, the triple threat wasn't buying it at all. And the smirk that grew on his face only proved her point.
"Psyche! As if I'd ever say that, you morons! You're the first ones to ever ruin my plans so thoroughly. I'll make you regret it for the rest of your lives. Next time, there'll be nothing left of you," the uncrowned king growled ferociously, trying to scare the players and make them regret what they had done.
(Y/N) just kind of thought he had lost it as she arched an eyebrow before turning back to her phantom friend, who only returned her confused expression with one of his own. It was safe to say none of them really liked the way the captain was threatening them.
But Kiyoshi saw this in a very different light. He didn't seem to hold a grudge at all, a calm and collected expression on the center's face as he looked at the boy who almost cost him his entire basketball career.
"Hanamiya, I'm impressed by that last shot you made. Personally, I thought it was pretty amazing," Kiyoshi suddenly complimented his fellow uncrowned king.
Hanamiya couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way Kiyoshi wasn't mad, the captain certainly thought that was the case. But there was no sign of animosity nor hatred on the center's face. In fact, Kiyoshi sent Hanamiya a kind, close eyed smile.
"Let's play again, okay?"
That smile only made Hanamiya even angrier. He couldn't believe someone was being nice to him despite all he had done during this entire game. It was an odd feeling, and he hated it.
"Don't be ridiculous. DAMMIT!!"
Up in the stands where Touou was located, Aomine hadn't wasted any time in standing up after the two teams bowed to one another. Masaru lifted his legs up into his seat once he saw the taller boy beginning to walk past him. However, Momoi was quick to stop her childhood friend, pulling on the end of his uniform blazer.
"Hey, wait, what are you doing?" the pink haired girl asked the miracle ace.
"Leaving," he answered, short and simple.
Besides, he kind of had to cool off after watching Hanamiya's attempts at trying to attack the triple threat. That just about made him leap out of his seat and yell profanities that he wouldn't normally yell out during a game. Momoi understood that, but still, it wasn't like the rest of the team was leaving just yet.
"What do you mean 'leaving'? Shutoku's game isn't over yet," the manager informed the boy, even though it didn't convince Aomine one bit.
"You and I both know he's not gonna lose. They're all just taking their sweet time. And I'm sick of waiting," the miracle ace smirked to himself.
Oh, he was done waiting. Especially considering what this would mean when it came to their opponents. More specifically, who exactly would be participating in the Winter Cup. Momoi finally relented and let go of the boy's blazer, watching him walk off and out of the gymnasium.
Outside and away from everyone and everything else, the two miracles of Seirin had wandered off like they usually did when it came to games, something that was a little annoying for their coach. But hey, it was what they did best.
Kuroko had been feeling rather antsy after this game, so he had taken his ball out of his bag and had been practicing his shooting skills. Like always, (Y/N) had joined him, sitting on the stairs nearby where she was watching his things. The triple threat had taken her hair out of its bun and was watching quietly as her friend continued dribbling the ball.
She had her elbows on her knees, her chin resting in her hands as she watched on. In fact, the triple threat was so enthralled with watching Kuroko that she hadn't noticed a certain red head coming down the stairs from behind her. Seconds later, the tall girl felt a hand on her back, catching her attention as she turned to see Kagami standing there.
Sending him a smile, (Y/N) felt him sit down beside her, draping his arm over her shoulders as they both watched the light blue haired boy. Before he could make his shot, the tiger finally broke the silence.
"Everybody's ready to go home, you idiot," Kagami's voice startled Kuroko, causing the phantom to stumble forward a little bit before finally looking up to see the red head beside the triple threat.
"Don't just show up and scare me like that. It's so annoying," the phantom complained.
"Pfft!"
That caused two different reactions. One was the tall girl trying her best to contain her laughter behind her hand while Kagami had a red tick mark appear on the side of his head. Kuroko was one to talk when it came to that.
"How do you think I feel all the time?"
Kagami soon stood up with (Y/N) as the two of them made their way down the stairs, the tiger setting his bag down while the triple threat continued holding hers and Kuroko's things.
"Come on, what the hell are you still dribbling for now, anyway?" the red head asked as he held his hand up, a sign that he wanted the ball.
He would've thought the two of them would be exhausted from how hard they had played during the game, but it didn't seem to be affecting them at all.
"I'm sorry. I just couldn't sit still," the light blue haired boy answered as he tossed the ball over to Kagami, who caught it with ease.
"Neither could I, but I'm also tired so I just came out for fresh air," the triple threat admitted.
She was also sore from the falls and elbow she had taken, but the tall girl wasn't going to say that out loud. The cool air felt nice, hence why she wasn't even wearing her jacket.
"What? You both trembling with excitement?" Kagami asked the two as he threw the ball up and began twirling it on his finger, spinning it around a few times.
Well, (Y/N) had to look up in thought for a second before she answered. Her brain was a little scrambled, so she had to take a couple of extra seconds to think.
"Mmhmm," the triple threat hummed as she nodded.
"I'm not too sure. It's just... after we won and officially moved on to the Winter Cup, I just can't stop shaking because I feel so excited," Kuroko answered right after, looking down at his hand where the other two members of Seirin's trio caught the boy's fingers shaking a little bit.
The tall girl let out another small laugh behind her hand while Kagami kind of looked on in shock. He didn't think he'd ever seen the phantom so excited, especially considering the battle ahead of them. Soon, the tiger was smiling to himself as the phantom continued staring at his shaky hands.
"Yeah, that's called trembling with excitement, doofus," the red head corrected Kuroko before lightly throwing the ball at the light blue haired boy's head, the ball softly hitting him.
It made (Y/N) smile when she saw that, her two goofballs getting along better than ever and on top of the world after such a rough game. And like she had expected, the two boys were going to play a little one-on-one for the time being.
Seeing that her body was definitely telling her that she just needed to take it easy, the triple threat simply held the boys' jackets as they began going at it.
Little did they know, the rest of the team had discovered where the three first years had been hiding this entire time. Izuki was the first to go down and sneak behind the tall girl as she kept her back to him and her attention on the little game going on in front of her.
Seconds later, the (h/c) haired girl felt two hands squishing her cheeks, causing her to make fish lips.
"Beep," the punster's voice came to her ears, causing the triple threat to let out a couple of snickers through her squished cheeks.
"Beep!" She responded with her own high pitched honking noise, getting the second year behind her to chuckle a little bit as she turned back to see Izuki and everyone else standing there.
The pun loving second year soon took his hands off of her cheeks and put them on her shoulders, being gentle not to irritate any of the bruises or cuts she had sustained from the game.
The rest of the team simply stood and watched as Kagami managed to make a three pointer, which weren't exactly his specialty when it came to basketball. Safe to say he was very much impressed with himself.
"Alright! I feel freakin' awesome!" The red head celebrated as he pumped his fist.
Though it was very much short lived. Literally, a second later, the tiger felt someone's foot go right into his side.
"Don't give me that crap!" Hyuga shouted as he performed an aerial karate kick, adding damage points to the tiger, a very irritated look on the captain's face accompanied by two large and very red tick marks.
"Why are you idiots playing one-on-one when we've been waiting for you!?"
He shouldn't be surprised, he really shouldn't be. These three first years were the biggest basketball headed maniacs he had ever come across. Kiyoshi, as always, with him being the peacemaker that he was, saw this in a very different light. In fact, it was kind of refreshing to seem the three of them like this.
"Well, it's better than being scared, isn't it?" The center questioned with a smile.
That's right. It was way better than being scared. There was going to be an all out war for the title of the best team in Japan. Probably one of the only times there was going to be a special bracket because of the outcome of this game. Plus, there was this to consider:
All of the members of the Generation of Miracles were going to be participating. Including the Bashira twins.
It was bound to be an exciting time for sure, one Seirin was never going to forget.
After gathering all of the children, Hyuga took the lead of the group as Seirin began making their way towards the exit.
"Let's go! Next stop is the Winter Cup! We're gonna take all of them down and become the best team in Japan!"