The game went on and Rakuzan had to admit that Kagami's Zone power was being a pain to deal with. The red haired ace from Seirin was dunking the ball with his Meteor Jam and scoring for his team. His offensive power was amazing.
But Seirin had to be careful. Kagami was spending too much energy. He was attacking but he was also focusing on defense and that was prone to drain him soon. It was still the first quarter, Seirin could not afford for Kagami to lose his strength so early into the game.
Koganei looked at Riko worriedly.
"His offensive power is incredible, but if he keeps like this . . ." he mumbled to the coach and Riko nodded.
(Y/N) also looked at Riko after hearing Koganei speak.
"He's spending too much energy running around the court. It would be better if he focused only on offense, no?" she asked the coach, and Riko nodded again with a determined look.
"Yes, that's right." Riko agreed and turned to look at Mitobe, who was sitting on the bench and quietly watching his friends play. "Mitobe-kun, get ready to go in." she instructed and the boy nodded with determination.
Mitobe was better than Kuroko at defense and thus he would go in so he could be in charge of defending while Kagami focused on attacking.
As soon as the ball went out of bounds, Riko asked for a member change. She called for Kuroko so he could come out and give way for Mitobe to go in. The blue haired boy wasn't counting on being subbed so soon, it had only been three minutes after all. He was so resolute to play and now he had to go out.
The poor boy went towards the bench and looked comically dejected.
"I was ready to give everything I have . . ." he mumbled and (Y/N) smiled at him.
"It's ok, Tetsuya. This is so we can help Kagami save energy. You'll go back to playing in no time." The manager said nicely and Kuroko sat down beside her.
Then, their attention was caught by what some people at the audience were saying.
"What? They're subbing him out already?" someone complained.
"I wanted to see that number 11 play more." Another said, referring to Kuroko.
This made Koganei and (Y/N) look at each other. People sure were paying a lot of attention to Kuroko.
(Y/N) couldn't help but frown, this wasn't good at all. Since when was Kuroko so famous? Since when was Kuroko being watched by everyone? It wasn't supposed to be like this . . .
The game continued and Hyuuga instructed Kagami to keep on the offense while the rest of them would take care of things at defense. Kagami smiled at his team's support and ran forward.
He kept scoring and when there were six minutes left for the first quarter to end, Seirin was on the lead, the scores being 11-2.
Rakuzan was talking among themselves, commenting on how Kagami was strong. One player, a certain captain, was less worried of course, but it was true that something had to be done.
Akashi walked towards his team and started giving instructions. He would change marks with Kotaro, so now Akashi was the one that would be marking Kagami. He was surely set on putting Seirin's ace in his rightful place.
The game resumed and Seirin was surprised when they saw that the one marking Izuki now was Kotaro and Akashi was in front of Kagami.
Izuki passed the ball to Kagami and he held it as he looked at Akashi.
"Akashi." Kagami grumbled.
"You're getting carried away, Kagami Taiga." Akashi said amusedly and Kagami frowned.
It was starting.
Ace vs ace.
The Zone vs Emperor Eye
Akashi raised his hand towards the ball on Kagami's hands and before he could touch it, Kagami went past Akashi and ran towards Rakuzan's basket.
Seirin cheered, in their eyes it looked like Kagami's speed had bested Akashi's Emperor Eye.
Kagami went up to the basket and Nebuya, along with Mayuzumi, went towards him to stop him, Kagami jumped and did his Meteor Jam once more, but this time he missed. The ball hit the hoop and fell off.
What had seemed like a victory over the Emperor Eye had in fact been a trap that Kagami fell into.
"Beat the Emperor Eye? Don't joke with me." Akashi said to Kagami who glared at him. "I let you get past me." He told him and everyone's eyes widened.
Akashi had actually let him get past him. He knew Kagami wouldn't make the shot. That was because Kagami, in order to avoid Akashi, had taken a larger step forward. His drive went wide, taking him slightly farther from the hoop. Not only that, but Rakuzan's defense was too close to him, so Kagami rushed the shot and missed.
They were all seeing now, just how scary Akashi's ability could be. Akashi wasn't unbeatable because he had the Emperor Eye. He was unbeatable because of how he used it.
From this point, things got a little bit more difficult for Seirin. Akashi's trick on Kagami was efficient on getting him on the edge. How could it not? Even with the Zone he failed to beat the Emperor Eye. Even worse, Akashi was easily manipulating him how he wanted. How would that not affect Kagami's morale?
He had been confident up to this moment. But the second he failed to best Akashi and his power, Kagami's doubts sparkled inside him again.
Kagami was getting frustrated with his failure and was consequently putting more pressure on himself. This was worrisome.
Kagami was also almost getting out of the Zone. He had to stop using it eventually, after all. If Kagami went through another failure against Akashi while in it, he was sure to lose his spirit. If he failed again and came out of the Zone at the same time with a weak mentality, it would not only chatter him but also the rest of the team.
Rakuzan had possession of the ball. In no time, it was back on Akashi's hands.
Kagami put himself in front of him, set on not letting him get past him.
"Don't make me so angry." Akashi told Kagami with a cold glare. "You got too confident because you beat Ryota's copy of the Emperor Eye on the semi-finals." Akashi said as he crossed the ball between his legs and did an Ankle-break that made Kagami fall on the ground. Akashi went past him. "How dare you compare a fake to the original? Your head is too high." Akashi lectured sternly and made his way forward.
Izuki came up from behind him and tried to take the ball from him with his Eagle Spear move, but Akashi saw him and swiftly passed the ball to Reo.
Reo got ready to shoot, but Kiyoshi was right there and jumped in front of him to block. Reo changed his movement and went around Kiyoshi and threw the ball to the basket. It seemed like Rakuzan was going to score and Seirin would have once again failed against Rakuzan and the Emperor Eye, but it all changed when Mitobe went forward and slapped the ball off to the side, and thus stopped Rakuzan from scoring. The quiet boy saved his team.
Seirin cheered in relief while Reo looked at Mitobe with frustration.
The boys were fired up, but Kagami was angry with himself for having lost against Akashi once again.
(Y/N) looked at Kagami and saw how he was losing himself. She frowned worriedly as she saw him blame himself, doubt himself and put even more pressure on himself. This was no way for him to keep going, this was no way for him to leave the Zone. He needed to calm down.
The manager got up from the bench and called for him.
"Kagami." She called and the boy looked at her in surprise after she broke him out of his depressive thoughts. She smiled at him before talking again. "You're amazing." She reminded and Kagami's eyes widened. He felt embarrassed that she had to remind him so soon after their talk, but the girl didn't mind it at all. She would remind him as many times as he needed her to. Then, she spoke again. "You're not alone, we're all here with you." She told him and the boy's eyes looked to the front where his teammates were running ahead of him. At that moment, Mitobe put a hand on his shoulder and nodded encouragingly at him. Kagami had all their support and they were there to protect him just as he was to protect them. The red haired looked at (Y/N) again, his eyes softer. "You can try again, ok?" she told him and he nodded at her with an assured smile.
After that, he and Mitobe ran ahead and joined the rest of the team.
(Y/N) smiled as she went back to the bench and sat back beside Kuroko. The blue haired boy looked at her with a smile.
"Thank you, (Y/N)." he said gently and the girl amicably bumped her shoulder with his.
At the audience, the boys from Touou had been watching everything carefully.
"Here I thought Kagami's strength would go down the drain, taking the rest of the team's morale down with him." Imayoshi said with a smirk. "That girl really does her job well, huh?" he mumbled amusedly.
Aomine kept watching quietly. He had actually thought Kagami would get depressed with the turn of events, but thanks to the girl, he was now safely out of the Zone and ready to keep going strongly. (Y/N) protected her team just like he knew she would.
Akashi glanced towards (Y/N), his eyes serious as he pondered on what she had done. Because of her, he was going to have to work harder on breaking Kagami's will to fight. How troublesome. . .
The game went on and Seirin still had their momentum. Kagami being out of the Zone hadn't brought them down. They were standing their ground firmly.
Seeing this, Riko decided that it was ok to let Kuroko play again. So, when the ball went out of bounds, Mitobe came out and Kuroko went in.
As the blue haired boy walked inside the court, the audience started cheering for him, glad that they got to see him play again.
(Y/N) and even the other first-years and Koganei looked around them. What the hell?
When Kuroko was walking close to Reo and Nebuya, Reo was bickering with his teammate and almost crashed against the smaller boy, but Reo saw him in time and moved away to not hit him.
(Y/N) frowned as she saw it, that uneasy feeling coming back to her. Reo dodged Kuroko? He had seen him there?
"Oh no." she mumbled to herself, her eyes wide.
Was what she feared would happen all those months ago coming true?
Things got worse and (Y/N)'s fears were confirmed when the game restarted.
Kuroko was guarding Rakuzan's fifth player, Mayuzumi, and while he did that, the audience cheered him on.
"Go number 11!" someone exclaimed.
"You can do it!" another cheered.
At the bench, even Furihata was feeling on edge now. He had also noticed how Kuroko was being watched by everyone.
And that was the problem, wasn't it?
Kuroko was being watched. Everyone was able to see him.
Kuroko was supposed to be invisible!
(Y/N) grit her teeth as her worry grew. Akashi was also looking at Kuroko with his judging eyes. He glanced at (Y/N) for a moment and immediately knew she had realized what was happening. Akashi was sure Kuroko would also realize soon as he kept playing.
And so it was.
As Kuroko kept playing, he started to notice how things had changed. He wasn't being able to escape the players marking him. He couldn't go unnoticed by them. Not only that, but his passes were all being intercepted by his opponents.
Seirin's team was shocked with what was happening.
After Reo stopped one of Kuroko's passes, Hyuuga turned towards him.
"What? How did you stop that?" he asked Reo incredulously and Reo looked at him nonchalently.
"It was nothing special, really. I just stopped what I saw." He explained normally and Hyuuga gasped.
Reo had seen Kuroko? Reo had seen his pass? How? What was happening?
Kuroko was also at a loss for words and Akashi got fed up with his cluelessness.
"I can't bear to watch this foolishness. How could you abandon your greatest strength?" Akashi asked Kuroko with a lecturing tone. Kuroko looked at him with wide eyes. "Once you reached your current style in middle-school, I helped you work on pass variations, but wouldn't let you shoot or dribble. Do you know why? Because I knew that would make you lose your lack of presence. The Vanishing Drive, the Phantom Shot. . . How could a player that uses such flashy moves go unnoticed? How could he not stand out? The last nail on your coffin was your buzzer-beater at the semi-finals against Kaijou. When you learned to shine dimly, you ceased being a shadow. You're no longer the Phantom Sixth-man. Now, you are worth less than the average player. And you didn't notice until now." Akashi lectured before walking past Kuroko, who stood there in shock. "You disappoint me, Tetsuya." Akashi said in finality.
Kuroko was breathing hard as the others looked shakenly at him. (Y/N) bit her lip, feeling sad and frustrated for her friend.
Kuroko really had lost his invisibility. It all began when he decided to start learning how to shoot the ball.
Riko didn't waste any time in taking Kuroko out of the game again. It was horrible, but now that Kuroko couldn't do anything, he had to come out.
When the boy reached the bench, a broken look on his face, he immediately turned towards (Y/N).
"I should have listened to you." He said weakly and the girl looked at him, saddened with his pain. She never wanted him to feel this way again. "I should have never started to shoot the ball that day, I should have listened to you!" he repeated desperately, his eyes filling with tears, and (Y/N) grabbed his hands.
She would be dammed if she let him drown in that pit of despair.
"Listen to me now then, Tetsuya!" she instructed intensely, making him look at her again. "I don't regret ever letting you practice shots, do you hear me? Are you forgetting about the amazing things you did after you made that decision? It was thanks to you and your 'flashy moves' that we won previous games and got this far! I won't let you regret your hard work and sacrifices, Tetsuya!" she told him assuredly, even taking a jab at how Akashi had described his moves. Kuroko gulped at her words, his guilt diminishing slightly. (Y/N) then smiled encouragingly to him. "Besides, do you remember what I told you that day when you started to practice with Daiki? I said that if your growth to what you are now ever brought us difficulties, we would deal with it. That we would find a way, Tetsuya. And we will! I promise we will." She told him as her hold on his hands tightened.
Kuroko nodded at her, using one of his wristbands to catch a few stray tears that went down his face.
"Ok. I trust you, (Y/N). We'll make it." He said softly and the girl smiled at him and rubbed his back as they turned back to the court to watch their team play.
Akashi had not been able to hear their conversation from where he stood, but he saw that whatever (Y/N) had said to Kuroko had kept him from a bad place. She was confident she would come up with a plan to bring Kuroko back into the game.
Akashi's eyes hardened. If this wasn't enough to bring them down then it was time to send another jab at them and the rest of Seirin. It was time for them to see what he had prepared.
There was less than two minutes for the end of the first quarter and the teams were tied with 21 points each. Seirin was hanging on well. They were saddened with the loss of Kuroko, but they couldn't let that bring them down. The best way to help their friend was to keep fighting hard until he was ready to come back.
A time-out was called and both teams went towards their benches. Kuroko was sitting quietly and Kagami decided to make him feel better. It was effective and the red haired spoke as gently and friendly as he could, but he somehow used words that made Kuroko look at him a bit annoyed. All in all, Kuroko was happy with Kagami's support. He was glad his team still had faith in him.
On the other side of the court, Akashi and his team were preparing for what they would do next. It was time to strike Seirin again.
When the time-out ended, both teams went back to the court and the game carried on.
To Rakuzan, it was obvious Seirin had been underestimating one certain player. After all, Mayuzumi wasn't an Uncrowned King or even a Miracle. And he looked so ordinary.
Akashi smirked. That way of thinking was what would catch Seirin by surprise beautifully.
Mitobe was guarding Mayuzumi, as he was thought to be the lesser player and the easiest to guard.
That would quickly change.
Akashi had the ball and was being marked by Izuki. Then he passed it, but the ball wasn't going towards any of his teammates. It had looked like Akashi had failed to pass accurately, but they were wrong. When Kiyoshi was almost grabbing the seemingly lost ball, someone tapped it out of his way and sent it towards Reo, who wasted no time in scoring a three-pointer.
All of Seirin was looking in shock at what happened. Kuroko had even stood up from his seat.
Mayuzumi had been the one to pass the ball to Reo before Kiyoshi could touch it. The silver haired and quiet boy from Rakuzan had taken the opportunity of Mitobe's distraction when Akashi passed the ball, to disappear from in front of him and move invisibly towards the ball and thus pass it to Reo.
Mayuzumi Chihiro had used misdirection.
It was amazing.
It was like watching Kuroko play.
Was Mayuzumi like Kuroko?
Akashi watched has everyone took in Mayuzumi's real power. (Y/N) couldn't believe her eyes. Mayuzumi had the ability to use misdirection. He was a normal player, able to dribble and score as he wanted, but apparently he was also able to make himself go unnoticed.
The girl's eyes turned towards Akashi as he started explaining to her shocked teammates what had happened.
"He's a little different from Tetsuya. He's like him, but his fundamentals are all stronger. Tetsuya is the old model. Mayuzumi Chihiro is the new Phantom Sixth-man." Akashi said as everyone looked at Mayuzumi.
Apparently, Seirin was up against a Kuroko 2.0.
(Y/N) looked at Akashi with livid eyes. This was the first time anyone was seeing this side of Mayuzumi. This could only mean Akashi had him hide this ability until he deemed it the right time to reveal it. And the right time was now, when he was playing against Seirin, when he wanted to spite Kuroko and (Y/N), and break Seirin down.
The heterochromatic eyed captain went and made a new version of Kuroko specifically for this moment, specifically to torment them.
He truly was ruthless.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for reading!