Last chapter everyone <3
Warning: mild language
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The tension was at an all-time high. Seirin had less than a minute to recover from a score gap of seven points and win the game.
To many, that seemed impossible, no matter how great Seirin did until now. Especially when Rakuzan was still so powerful and strong-minded.
"Defense! Focus up, everyone!" Akashi instructed strongly, his teammates cheering with determination.
Seirin sure was feeling the pressure from Rakuzan's defense.
Izuki had the ball and was having trouble finding someone to pass it to. Kagami was being marked by Kotaro and Mayuzumi and it was practically impossible to give him the ball at that moment.
Kiyoshi managed to find a small opening on Nebuya's mark on him and received the ball from Izuki.
Kiyoshi tried but he was no longer strong enough to push Nebuya away, so he couldn't move past him either.
Hyuuga called for him to pass him the ball and as soon as he had it on his hands, Reo was marking him closely, set on not letting Hyuuga score.
Thirty seconds for the end.
Kuroko asked Hyuuga for the ball and Hyuuga responded quickly. Kuroko sent it immediately to Kagami from his side.
"Hayama, Mayuzumi, don't let up on your defense!" Akashi quickly instructed, but the boys didn't react in time and Kagami caught the ball.
He swiftly shot it and scored, making the scores 101-105.
Rakuzan had the ball now.
"Defense! Give them everything!" Hyuuga instructed and the others cheered.
Seirin had a tight defense, but Rakuzan was incredible. They were unshaken by Seirin's pressure and thus Seirin wasn't able to steal the ball from them.
Twenty-three seconds.
Izuki was the only player that stopped moving around. The boy decided to calm himself and start to think. He had to be clever. He wasn't able to catch Akashi off guard, but it was different with the other four. If Izuki focused and used his Eagle Eye well, maybe he would be able to steal the ball from one of them. Rakuzan could simply hold their positions until the time ran out and with that, win the game. But Izuki knew that they wouldn't do that. It was stronger than them, they would obey their instincts and try to score one more time before the match ended. And Izuki knew that Rakuzan knew Kiyoshi had no more strength to hold Nebuya in place. So Izuki figured out to whom Reo would pass the ball.
And he was right.
When Reo passed the ball to Nebuya, Izuki intercepted it and stole it.
Seirin and the audience exploded in cheers. They got the ball!
Nine seconds.
Seirin ran forward and Izuki wanted to give the ball to Kagami, but Akashi put himself in front of Seirin's ace.
Izuki grit his teeth in frustration, but then Hyuuga called for him. The captain was free to receive the ball and Izuki passed it to him.
Hyuuga prepared to shoot a three-pointer, but Reo was already there to block him.
That's when Hyuuga surprised everyone.
He had never tried it, but he had seen Reo do that shot enough times for Hyuuga to understand the theory of it.
Hyuuga did an Earth shot, just like Reo did so many times.
Reo was so surprised, he wasn't even able to block it. The best part was that Reo got a foul, just like Hyuuga did during the entire game when Reo used this shot against him. How the tables have turned . . .
With that, Seirin scored three more points, making the scores 104-105, and thanks to the foul, Seirin received a free-throw shot.
And there were only four seconds left to the end of the match.
Reo was angry and disappointed with himself for letting this happen. If he hadn't tried to stop Hyuuga from shooting, Seirin would have just gotten three points and not the opportunity to score one more time. Rakuzan could have hold them off for the last four seconds and win.
Reo approached his team, his eyes sad.
"Sorry, guys." Reo apologized weakly.
"Don't apologize." Akashi said strongly, making Reo lift his eyes in surprise. "Now isn't the time to blame yourself." The captain said as he caught the sweat from his face with his shirt. "The next rebound will be the moment of truth." He added and his team nodded in determination.
What Seirin was going to do was obvious. If they scored this shot, they would receive only one point and the match would end with a tie. There was no way Seirin could endure an overtime, they were completely spent. So, the only solution Seirin had was to miss the free-throw and then score a normal basket. That way they would get two points and win.
Hyuuga was the one shooting and Kiyoshi had the mission to get the ball on the rebound.
At Seirin's bench it was like nobody was breathing.
"Come on, guys, please." (Y/N) mumbled to herself as the boys prayed and Riko bit her nails.
Kiyoshi was completely spent and his leg could handle no more strain. But this was his last opportunity to play with his team, to play with his friends. After this game, Kiyoshi would go off to recovery and most likely would never play again. So, this was probably the last play Kiyoshi would do with his team. He had to succeed! He had to catch the ball on the rebound and help his team win!
And he did.
When Hyuuga missed the shot on purpose, Kiyoshi jumped higher than Nebuya and the others and caught the ball.
Three seconds.
Kuroko escaped Mayuzumi's mark and Kiyoshi passed the ball to him.
Two seconds.
The blue haired boy positioned himself to shoot the ball with his Phantom Shot and Akashi jumped in front of him. The red haired knew Kuroko was able to shoot the ball and score so he jumped to block it.
But Kuroko wasn't planning on scoring by himself.
Akashi's eyes widened when he realized Kuroko wasn't shooting the ball towards the basket.
Instead, Kuroko shot it up towards the space in front of the basket, making the ball go a different way from where Akashi's hand was.
That way, the shadow gave the ball to his light, who was already moving through the air in an amazing exhibition of Air Walking.
One second!
Kagami caught the ball in the air and dunked it powerfully.
Seirin won 106-105.
The shouts the entire team and audience let out were deafening inside the building.
The rest of the team ran towards the court to celebrate with the guys. No one had their eyes dry at that moment.
Rakuzan was standing there, tired and shocked that they had just lost. But more than that, they were sad as they watched Seirin celebrate.
(Y/N) and Riko were pulled between the mountain of boys as they hugged the girls happily.
"We did it!" Kagami cheered.
"We won! Yes!" Hyuuga cheered, as well.
(Y/N) put her hands on Kuroko's face as the boy cried with happiness.
"You're incredible, Tetsuya!" she cried out as the boy laughed with her. Then she looked at the others. "You are all so incredible!" she said happily and Kagami hugged her to his side in glee.
Seirin was the winner of the Winter-cup! They couldn't believe they had just done it.
(Y/N) looked to the side, where she saw Rakuzan standing there.
Akashi was there with a mixture of a sad and confused expression.
The girl immediately freed herself from her friends' hold on her and ran towards her boyfriend.
When Akashi saw his girl run to him, a happy face and tears in her eyes, his arms automatically opened to her.
The girl crashed against him and they hugged each other tighter than ever.
Akashi buried his face on her shoulder as she petted his hair lovingly.
When he pulled away slightly, she cupped his cheeks.
"I love you so much." She told him emotionally, her eyes filling with tears again.
Akashi smiled at her words and leaned towards her for a kiss.
The girl kissed back eagerly and he pulled away with a light chuckle when she started to take his breath away.
"I love you, too." He told her sincerely, but his expression didn't hide the sadness he also felt.
Her (E/C) eyes softened as she looked at him. He had just lost a game for the first time.
"Are you ok?" she asked with a gentle smile.
Akashi stayed quiet for a few seconds, as if trying to understand for himself what he was feeling.
He lost. He was just experiencing defeat.
"I feel awful." He finally said and (Y/N) couldn't help but find his expression adorable. Like a little kid who didn't know how to deal with a stomachache. "It's hard to describe this pain on my chest." He told her and (Y/N) smiled.
"Welcome to the club! Now you know how it feels." She joked and Akashi took a deep breath.
"It's terrible." He added.
"Yeah." She agreed.
"I don't like it at all." He said next as he grabbed her hands.
"You're not supposed to." She said with a small laugh.
"But this feeling makes me glad that I played basketball." Akashi said as he started walking towards Kuroko, pulling her along with him. When the couple reached the blue haired boy, the rest of Rakuzan behind them, Kuroko looked at them. "I'm glad that I met you all." Akashi said as tears ran down his face and Kuroko smiled softly at him. "Your team won. Congratulations." Akashi said with a smile as he raised his hand for Kuroko to shake. "And prepare yourselves. Next time, we're the ones to win." Akashi added and Kuroko's smile widened.
"Yes. Let's play again. And again and again and again!" The blue haired boy said happily as they shook hands respectfully.
(Y/N) was smiling with happiness and relief as she watched them.
Then Akashi pulled her towards his side, his arm around her shoulders and he put a kiss on the side of her head.
"Well done, my love." He complimented her and she hugged his side.
After that, both teams lined-up and congratulated each other.
Rakuzan lost the tittle to Seirin. It was historical.
After the ceremony, where the teams got their trophies and medals, the audience started to make their way out of the building.
All the Miracles looked back towards Seirin as they walked out with their own teams. Each one of them eager to start practicing again. But this time they planned on looking at their teams differently. Especially Aomine and Murasakibara, who were the ones who still didn't like team play.
"Guess I can't win on my own." Aomine admitted as he rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment.
Momoi and the others looked at him with knowing smiles. Aomine now had a reason to be motivated and go to practice. If he ever wanted to open the true Zone he had to change his ways. And more than that, if he wanted to win against Kagami, he sure had to start moving his butt and practice.
After that day, everyone went back to their normal lives.
In every high-school, those who were seniors retired from their teams in order to study for their entrance exams, and those who were staying had already gone back to practice to prepare for the next tournament. They could not lazy about if they wanted to be the winners.
Akashi made peace with Mayuzumi before the boy graduated and left school. The red haired thanked him for all his hard work and both boys parted ways in friendship.
At Seirin, the basketball club said goodbye to Kiyoshi. Thanks to Alex, the boy was moving to America so he could get treatment for his leg and start rehabilitation. If everything went well, Kiyoshi might very well be able to play again in the future. Sadly not in Seirin, but he would be able to play nonetheless.
Kuroko started to talk with his friend Ogiwara once again. Both promising once more to play together in the future.
Seirin started their practices immediately. Riko was set on working the boys even more to prepare for the upcoming tournaments. The coach decided that they would aim even higher for the next school year.
As for a special couple . . .
"Satsuki sent me this photo, look." (Y/N) showed her boyfriend the picture she had on her phone. It was of Aomine playing basketball at practice. "She says Daiki started to go to practice again." The girl said with a smile as Akashi looked at it.
They were walking together on the streets of Tokyo, one saturday afternoon. Akashi had gotten to the city that morning so they could spend time together.
"Well, Aomine can't risk going out of stamina before Kagami does when they play against each other again, so it's only natural." Akashi replied nicely.
"Yeah, but he looks happy here." (Y/N) said as she smiled gently at the photo.
She was glad to see her friend having fun.
Akashi's eyes softened as he watched her. The way she kept thinking about her friends was endearing to him. She always wanted what was best for all of them.
At that thought, Akashi's expression turned serious. He stopped walking, making the girl stop as well. He turned towards her and (Y/N) looked at him curiously. Then he cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing it.
Before he could say what was on his mind, (Y/N) frowned slightly.
"If you say it again, I'll get mad at you." She warned him and Akashi closed his eyes with a sigh.
"I have to say it, (Y/N)." he replied and the girl gently grabbed the hand he had on her cheek.
"You already apologized enough, Sei. Stop it already." She protested. "It really gets on my nerves when people apologize for something that wasn't their fault." She added and Akashi frowned.
"It was my fault, (Y/N). I let it happen, I let myself change and I hurt you because of it." He said, making the girl huff with frustration.
"What hurt me the most was knowing that you had to develop something like that to protect yourself." She said with a stern tone, making Akashi go quiet with surprise. "You always kept your feelings to yourself, endured everything by yourself no matter how much I asked you to let me help you carry it. You weren't ok and I didn't realize it! If I'm angry at someone it's at myself!" She argued and started walking ahead.
Akashi gulped, emotion making his throat tighten. Then he walked after her, quickening his step to reach her.
He grabbed her hand and made her face him again.
"I promise I'll never make you feel like that again." He said tenderly and the girl's eyes softened. "I want to take care of you." He said next and (Y/N) took a step closer to him.
"And I want to take care of you, too! But it would be easier if you didn't hide from me. I love you, Sei. I'm here for anything you need." She lectured and Akashi blinked. Then a soft blush made its way to his face and (Y/N)'s eyes widened for a short second. Then she smirked at him. "Are you embarrassed, Seijuro?" she asked and Akashi covered the bottom half of his red face.
"No." he replied unconvincingly. "I just . . . liked what you said." He admitted and (Y/N) chuckled at him.
Then she hugged him and Akashi's arms immediately went around her.
When the girl pulled back, he was smiling again.
"I love you." She told him again and pulled him towards her for a kiss.
It was gentle and lasting, there was no hurry for it to end.
After a short while, Akashi pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.
"I love you, too. So, so much." He said as he closed his eyes, wishing there was a stronger way for him to show it at that moment.
But he didn't have to. The way he held her tightly against him, the way his guilt was still evident even behind his closed eyes, told her everything she needed to know.
(Y/N) didn't doubt his feelings for her, there was no way she could.
"I know." She said softly and Akashi pulled away just enough so they could look into each other's eyes.
Then, the boy smirked playfully.
"Don't get smug now." He said teasingly and the girl's mouth opened with fake indignation.
"Excuse me, you're the one who always gets smug when I ogle you." She protested and Akashi chuckled.
"So you ogle me, huh?" he asked, still smirking.
"Can't help it. You are too damn handsome and I catch myself eating you all up with my eyes." She said without reservations.
Akashi actually stayed still for a few seconds, just looking at her as she looked back at him. He quickly smirked again and put his face so close to hers their noses were touching.
"You sure have got a mouth on you." He said huskily and (Y/N) laughed softly as she reflected on her words.
"That might have been a bit over board. I hope it didn't make you uncomfortable." She admitted and Akashi noticed how she started to feel bad about the possibility of having been too inappropriate.
Akashi didn't mind any of it, thought.
"Not at all. There's nothing wrong with being attracted to your boyfriend, is there?" he asked before putting a reassuring kiss on her lips.
"You're getting smug." She commented and Akashi actually laughed.
"It's hard not to, after what you said to me." He admitted and then grabbed her hand. He knew that the girl also said those things to make him feel better about himself. "Thank you, (Y/N)." he said honestly and the girl smiled knowingly at him.
"You're welcome." she said happily.
The couple kept walking, their hands tightly but comfortably holding each other. They both felt happy they went back to their old ways.
"Are you planning anything for Kuroko's birthday?" Akashi asked after a while of comfortable silence.
"Yup! It'll be great!" she replied with excitement, making Akashi smile too.
Everything seemed to be good in the world, at least for now.
They had their lives back.
They had their friends.
But most of all, they had each other.
-----------------------------The End----------------------------
Thank you so much for reading until the end!
It's over everyone!
Next I'll be writting the ova: Kuroko's Birthday <3
See you then!