"This kid might give you some trouble!" Kagami smirked at Mbaye as he dunked the ball.
"Could you stop calling me a child?" Kuroko asked in slight annoyance.
____________________
"Let's get them back!" Yusuke tried to pass the ball to his teammate but Kuroko appeared and stole the ball, passing it to Kagami again.
The people in the stands grew shocked at Kuroko and Kagami's coordination.
"They dunked the ball right after stealing it!"
"That's two dunks in a row. This is still the first round of preliminaries."
"That was amazing. Has Kuroko always been this good?" Hyuga muttered to himself as he and the team ran back to defend their basket.
"Are you really that mad about being called a kid?" Hyuga asked.
"Yeah. It's like, don't talk until you've played them." Kagami replied.
And at that, the first quarter of the game ended.
Shinkyo - 8
Seirin - 23
"Kuroko, you have a time limit, so we're swapping you out here." Riko started as you gave towels and water bottles to the players with the benched players.
"Because we have to start reserving Kuroko's strength, we'll lose some power during the mid-game, so don't let them close the point gap. They don't have any dangerous players aside from Dad. Ultimately, it all comes down to how well Kagami can handle Dad." Riko stated, sitting on her knees in front of the players to talk to them about their plans.
"Just leave it to me." Kagami has his usual smirk.
"Go out there and teach Dad a lesson, Kagami-kun!" You slapped his back making him flinch a little at your strength.
"Ouch! When did you start working out?" He asked, rubbing the part you hit.
"Never did, never started and never will!" You smiled giving a thumbs up as he sweat dropped, "That doesn't make sense..."
He smirked at your words, "Of course. Not forgetting that promise." He and you did a high-five as you nodded, "Neither did I!"
You sat down next to Kuroko, "You and Kagami seem to be getting along these days." Spoke up the usual quiet man.
"He's got a temper but he's a good person at heart. He's fun to be around with. But he's not as fun as you, Tetsu-kun!~" You smiled before beaming with rays of light and flowers all over your figure.
The blue-haired male had to almost squint his eyes at his bright you are, "You're blinding, (Y/N)-San..."
"Hm?" You hummed innocently, more flowers popping up around you.
He only smiled, "You're fun to be around with, too."
You grew shocked to see his face so joyful, "T-T-Tetsu-kun's...SMILE...?! How heavenly..." You saw the rays of light beaming from his body.
The benched players looked at you and Kuroko, "Why is it always him that gets moments like that with her?! Is it some sort of rom-com?!"
He turned away when you complimented his smile, "Please don't talk so highly of something like that to me. I'll maybe think the wrong idea..."
"W-Wrong idea?! O-Oi...!" You stiffened before gasping when you saw a small blush covering Kuroko's cheeks.
'I think I'm gonna die by how cute he is...!' You thought holding your heart as you cried tears of satisfaction of seeing a new reaction out of Kuroko.
"THEY'RE LEGIT LIKE A MAIN COUPLE IN A ROM-COM!!"
Kagami was seen blocking Mbaye but this time he was falling short of pressuring him. This time the tall player made the shot.
"He's amazing." Izuki said in amazement, "Has he gotten taller?" Hyuga asked.
"I'm serious now! I will not lose!" Mbaye stated making Kagami smirk, "I couldn't ask for anymore. I'm starting to get excited, Dad!"
7 minutes and 52 seconds.
Shinkyo - 12
Seirin - 24
Hyuga went to shoot a three but it fell short, Kagami went to assist Hyuga's shot while Mbaye was going to get it as well. Luckily, Kagami was able to get the ball to make the shot.
"Okay, nice shot!" Kawahara shouted, "Nice rebound!" Furihata yelled.
"Papa, don't let it bother you. We'll give you the ball." Yusuke passed the ball to his teammate before he passed to Mbaye.
But Kagami wasn't going to let him shoot. Seeing how high Kagami grew to be when he went to shoot. Mbaye decided to pass the ball back to another teammate.
"What's wrong, Papa? You had that!" Yusuke yelled at the tall player before telling him to do it again.
Kagami's jumps kept getting higher and higher each time he jumped making you realize how much improvement he's gotten.
"Kagami's amazing," Tsuchida said in astonishment, Riko beside him looked at the players.
"He's more than keeping him in check he's not losing to him at all. Looks like his practice is paying off." Tsuchida pointed out.
"But don't you think he'd trying too hard...?" Riko asked in slight worry.
"If he is, Riko-san, we might need a timeout to calm him down." You stated.
"Tetsu-kun? Is something wrong?" You're one of the only people to recognize a change in his blank face.
Kuroko was thinking about Kise's words the other day. When Kagami achieves the heights of the Generation of Miracles and will part ways with the team and will do things his way.
But it wasn't the only thing he was thinking about.
(Flashback to Kise and Kuroko's conversation.)
"You like (Y/N)cchi, don't you?"
Kuroko looked at Kise in slight shock at hearing that question.
"I thought so. You always showed more emotion when you're around her. I'm surprised that you thought you kept it discreet from me and the others." Kise stated.
Kise's look turned serious, but he still plastered a smile, "You know that me and the others like her as well, right? You're not the only one who's interested in her."
Kuroko only stared blankly back, "I'm aware."
"Though, I'm not sure if the others have romantic feelings for sunshine. But all I know is that you and I are not the only ones." Kise stated.
"I respect and acknowledge you, Kurokocchi." Kise started before giving a stern look.
Even Kuroko was surprised to see such a serious look on the blonde's face.
"But I'm not backing down on perusing sunshine. Even if it means being your rival when it comes to basketball and her."
Kuroko turned serious as well, "I won't back down either."
Kise smirked, "Good. It wouldn't be much of a showdown between men perusing the same woman if they don't give it their all. Remember that next when you see the others or someone try to get close to her."
"Tetsu..."
"Tetsu...!"
"Tetsu-kun!" You half shouted making Kuroko flinch, "Ah. Sorry, (Y/N)-san. You were speaking to me?"
You grew worried, "You've been out of it ever since the second half started. Are you alright?"
He nodded far quicker than you thought, "Yes. I'm fine."
You didn't want to push it as Kuroko is not good with words, "If you say so." You mumbled, 'Did he and Kise talk about something before they saw me getting harassed...?' You thought before trying to concentrate on the game at hand.
"Shinkyo Academy Got a three-pointer!" Yelled a bystander.
5 minutes and 9 seconds left.
Shinkyo - 51
Seirin - 60
You looked at the scoreboard before gasping slightly, "Riko-san...!"
She nodded, "Kuroko, can you go the last five minutes?" Riko asked the male beside you.
"I've been ready for a while," Kuroko replied.
"Tetsu-kun...! You need to speak up sometimes..." You slumped forward hearing his reply.
"Sorry. Then, go!" Riko apologized for not noticing sooner and sent him out.
"(Y/N)-san." Kuroko called out to you making you perk up, "Yes?"
He smiled a little at your way, "I'll be off."
You nodded with a smile of your own, "Mhm! Go for it, Tetsu-kun!"
With Kuroko back in the game, he got the ball through the players for the team to score against them.
"Don't let your guard down until it's over! Let's get them!" Hyuga yelled.
Mbaye had the ball as Kagami marked him, "No! I don't want to lose!" The tall male went to shoot.
"You said you were disappointed in the Generation of Miracles, but you overestimate yourself! Compared to you...they're way stronger!" Kagami blocked the ball surprising Mbaye and the entire court.
The whistle was heard meaning that time was up and the game was over.
"Game over!"
Shinkyo - 67
Seirin - 79
Furihata, Kawahara and Fukuda cheered their team on, "All right! We did it!"
Riko sighed in relief as you both gave a high-five to a game well done, "Yay!"
In the stands, Midorima was seen watching the game. He looked at you smiling at your team jumping in joy at winning the game.
"67 to 70, Seirin!"
"Thank you!"
"Kagami! Tetsu! That was amazing!" You ran up to the two, giving them high-fives.
Kagami only huffed proudly, "Ha! Told y'a I'd win against him!"
"Well...you didn't specifically say that..." You gave a sweat drop at the man's ego.
"(Y/N)-san." Kuroko turned to You as you hugged him, "I'm so happy you, Tetsu-kun!"
He secretly blushed at the physical affection before gently returning the hug, "Thank you."
"Kuroko's returning a hug!" The team said in astonishment at your bond with the sixth phantom member.
"Of course! This is just the beginning! Let's do our best for the next game!" You smiled making him nod, "Right."
"Kuroko! I'm so envious of you!" The first years except Furihata yelled in envy of being showered by praises of someone as pretty and kind as you. (Fun fact: Furihata has a crush on Rin, the two are just too shy to confess to each other...)
"I lost," Mbaye admitted, facing Kagami while Kuroko and you looked at the conversation.
"Please play hard for me in your next game." He told Kagami making him get a little taken aback.
"Huh? Uh, sure." Kagami replied before Mbaye started insulting him, "I mean, you're an idiot! An idiot—" he was being dragged by his captain.
"You moron, I won't lose next time..." he rambled on making the team look at the scene.
Kagami and you were a bit pissed off while Hyuga held a large sweat drop on his temple. Of course, Kuroko had a blank face.
"I'll punch him..." Kagami muttered as you also held up a fist, "Not before I kick his shin first politely...!" You said, holding a vicious smile.
"I'm this way, Seirin High made it through our first game of the preliminaries," Riko stated.
"Our second game was against Jitsuzen High. With Kuroko benched the whole game, we crushed them 118 to 51."
"Our third game was against Kings High. Last year's top 16x they were a strong team with a good balance of friends and defence. But surprisingly, this is going smoothly." Riko said to herself before looking at the score.
It was 71 to 92. Even when they had Kuroko benched for most of the games. Riko grew surprised about how smoothly the games went.
'We've even managed to keep Kuroko's strength.' Riko thought, looking at the board of schools they might be playing against.
You also held a clipboard. It was to take notes of the team's performance and stats they can improve shortly to use against strong opponents.
You felt something move in the corner of your eye to see Kuroko's twitching leg, "Kuroko." Riko looked in his direction.
"It's nothing. I'm just feeling restless." He replied.
Riko held a nervous smile, 'He must want to play...'
"Don't worry, Tetsu-kun." You held his hand to calm down his nerves, "You'll play sooner or later. We just wanna see how the games are going without you on the court."
He nodded, he was a little taken aback by the warmth of your hand but still smiled, "I know. Thank you, (Y/N)-san." He squeezed your hand to show his appreciation.
Riko looked in awe at the scene in front of her, "Of course!" You smiled making her gasp.
"They're like a rom-com couple!" She realized before blushing at the imagination she had in her head before shaking her head to concentrate again.
"Our fourth game..."
You were seen taking a break from helping the team warm up and went to get ointment to put on your wrist.
"Ah! (Y/N)-san! You're injured!" Fukuda yelled out in worry and shock.
The whole team gasped in shock hearing that and all ran to you making you jump at how fast Hyuga and the others came up to you.
"(Y/N)-chan! Are you okay?" Riko ran up to you.
You waved it off before flinching, just realizing you used your hurt wrist, "I'm fine—ouch...!"
"Show me," Riko ordered you. There's no hiding when it comes to her orders.
"What the hell?!" Hyuga and the others grew shocked to see such a large mark and bruise along your wrist.
"What happened?" Izuki asked in worry.
"She was harassed while we went to search for Kuroko." Kagami broke the ice making you scold him for saying, "Ah! Kagami!"
"Harassed?!" Yelled the group in shock.
"Why didn't you say anything about this? It's a big bruise, this is serious if you haven't been properly taking care of it." Riko stated.
"I didn't want to upset you even more when you already were towards Tetsu-kun...It's not his fault! I was in the way and they happened to be there." You explained vaguely averting your gaze away.
"Still, you should've said something to us. We're a team and we're counting on you as our manager. You're part of the stronghold, (Y/N)." Hyuga held your shoulder in comfort giving you a genuine smile.
"Hyuga-san..." you looked in surprise.
"He's right! We're all friends here! We should be able to speak comfortably." Koganei agreed, and Mitobe nodded at that.
"You shouldn't be doing this on your own. We're in this together." Izuki patted your back lightly.
Fukuda, Kawahara, Furihata and Tsuchida nodded, "Yeah! Count on us, (Y/N)-san!"
"You know damn well I'll beat the shit out of them again if you want. You can't scold and beat me up unless you're healed." Kagami stated.
The group all looked at Kagami like he grew two heads, "That's not very encouraging..."
"You don't need to do this alone, (Y/N)-san. I will be right beside you." Kuroko held your injured hand gently.
You grew a little flustered at his action, "E-Eh...?"
Riko was internally squealing at the scene, "Like a prince proposing to a princess!~"
"Coach. You're getting way too worked up over them..." Hyuga sweat dropped with Izuki and Koganei.
"T-Tetsu-kun..."
"(Y/N)-san...?"
"AH! SHE PASSED OUT FROM HEATING UP! KUROKO! STOP KILLING HER!"
"But this is the first time she's reacted like this..."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY BETTER!"
"Guys." You suddenly spoke making the look back at you, "Thank you...!" A few tears were seen in the corners of your eyes at how appreciative you are for them.
The team all smiled and gave you some thumbs-ups.
"It's the fourth round."
"We might actually have a tough game for once."
"We're against Seirin today. This should be easy. They got destroyed in the championship league last year. They're but a new school that made it through with sheer luck."
You stiffened dropping a water bottle, recognizing the males from the opponents.
Hyuga noticing your stiff stance looked at you in worry, "(Y/N)?" Hyuga asked in worry for you before looking to see their opponents.
Kagami And Kuroko noticed the familiar faces, "it's those guys from the other day."
'I'm not running away this time.'
"We'll destroy them this—" one of them bumped into Kagami.
"So, we meet again." Kagami stated, hiding his anger, "Hello." Kuroko was seen beside him spinning a basketball.
The team of those bullies from earlier grew surprised to see Kagami and Kuroko.
"Hello, again."
The males soon saw you, but instead of being scared, you crossed your arms, assuring a menacing aura, "Hope you're ready for a beating of a lifetime by either my boys or me."
Hyuga and the others appeared behind you, seeming agitated after finding out what they did to you, "Heard you were the ones that disrespected our manager, huh?" Hyuga had that same vicious smile before he turned serious.
Your aura was as menacing as it can get. Even menacing than the taller males. They felt smaller than you even though you were shorter than them.
"They're going to destroy us. Either them or their scary manager..."
"...Was against Majo Academy. For some reason, our opponents were terrified the whole time, and we destroyed them 108 to 41."
You smiled viciously, "Great job on crushing them out there, boys!"
The team returned your smile with a vicious intent as well except for Mitobe and Kuroko, "Yeah!"
~~~
"We're going well." Kawahara said, "At This rate, maybe we'll easily make it through the preliminaries. To the championship league." Fukuda spoke up.
Izuki only sighed with a smile at how naive the first-years were, "How naive."
"It must be nice being so young and carefree." Koganei shook his head while Mitobe nodded.
"For the last ten years, the same three schools have moved on to the championship league from Tokyo. King of East, Shutoku. King of the West, Senshinkan. King of the North, Seiho. They're evenly matched, so the top team changes every year, but they never let anyone else get better than fourth place. They're the three immobile kings of Tokyo." Hyuga explained.
"After our fifth match are the semifinals, then the finals. In the finals, we'll most likely come up against...the King of the East, Shutoku, who acquired Midorima Shintaro of the Generation of Miracles." Hyuga revealed making you stand up in shock.
"Shin-kun?! Really?! I never heard of him enrolling in Shutoku...!" You said in surprise a little worried for the team if they went up against Midorima.
"But you guys made it to the championship league last year, didn't you?" Kawahara asked, still hopeful.
But the faces of the upperclassmen were solemn, "Yeah, but we didn't stand a chance." Hyuga replied.
"The three kings," Kagami muttered before people in the stands started talking about the upcoming team that appeared.
"Looks like they came." Hyuga pointed out, "It's better to see something for yourself than hear about it." Riko stared.
Riko smiled while standing up, "First-years, prepare yourselves. You're going to see something amazing today. They're supposed to be even more amazing this year."
Seeing the orange uniform, Seirin all looked to see the King of the East, Shutoku. With Midorima who joined the school, "One of the three kings, Shutoku High."
"Shutoku! Shutoku! Shutoku! Shutoku! Shutoku! Shutoku!" Cheered the students from the school for their team.
"They're here." Izuki pointed out.
"I'm gonna say hi," Kagami smirked before moving to meet Midorima.
Not processing it Hyuga merely replied, "Sure." He then turned to Kagami in surprise at seeing him going to the Shutoku players, "Hey!"
'Shin-kun...' you thought as you saw him hold his lucky item of the day.
Midorima stopped when Kagami was in front of him, "Hey. You're Midorima Shintaro, aren't you?"
"Yes, but who are you?" Midorima asked back making Takao, someone on his team laugh, 'You know who he is. Why are you being so proud?'
Kagami held out a hand making Midorima raise an eyebrow, "You want to shake hands?" The green-haired male asked.
Kagami only smirked. The two had some sort of stare-off before Midorima switched his lucky item to his left hand to shake Kagami's hand with his right hand.
But Kagami has other plans, instead of shaking his hand, he wrote his full name and jersey number.
Midorima looked shocked at his action, "You look like the kind of guy who'd claim he doesn't remember me if I introduced myself normally. I want the guy who I'm about to get revenge on for my seniors to remember me." Kagami stated.
The green-haired male only huffed while adjusting his glasses, "Revenge? You're rather reckless, aren't you?"
That irked Kagami, "You're from Seirin, aren't you? Haven't your seniors told you anything? Last year, the three kings destroyed Seirin...when they tripled their score." He grew shocked by Takao's information.
Hyuga explained to the other first-years how their score was tripled last year by the three kings. That shocked them greatly as you looked in silence at the information.
"Say what you want, but the difference in strength is absolute. Even if we meet again in the championship, history will only repeat itself." Midorima stated.
Kuroko is now seen right beside Kagami, "No. You can only speculate based on the past. You won't know what will happen until you play, Midorima."
"Kuroko, I don't like you." Midorima bluntly said to the shorter male, "I can't tell what you're thinking, especially from your eyes. There is plenty I would like to say to you, but telling you now would be meaningless. Join us in the finals first."
"You've got a mount on you. You're one of those, aren't you? You went to school with Shintaro, right?" Takao grabbed ahold of Kuroko, placing an arm around his neck.
'They seem okay, even though Shin-kun and Tetsu-kun never really got along. It seems their conversation is pretty civil. Especially when Kagami's there as well.' You thought before standing up to go meet them.
"I'm gonna go say hello!" You told Hyuga and Riko who didn't process what you said.
"Sure—WHAT?!"
"Don't let it bother you. He's just a tsundere. He's really interested in you and someone else. He even went to see your first preliminary game—" Takao kept on spilling the beans before Midorima cut him off.
"You shouldn't make up so many stories, Takao." Midorima merely adjusted his glasses.
"Shin-kun!~"
The four males stopped talking when they heard a voice calling out the green-haired male with glasses.
There you were running over to him, grinning from ear to ear. 'She hasn't changed.' Midorima thought to himself.
"(Y/N). I would've thought you'd be enrolling at Seirin High." Midorima spoke to you while you smiled.
"I thought it was a good choice! I mean, I get to be with Tetsu-kun!" You grabbed Kuroko's arm and held onto him like a lifeline, "Cool, right?"
The affection secretly made Midorima hate Kuroko even more since he gets all your attention.
"No. You should be enrolling in a much better school than Seirin. Join Shutoku. Your skills could be embraced better in our school than Seirin." Midorima offered you to join him and Takao.
You let go of Kuroko out of shock for Midorima to give you such an offer, "Eh?! Enrol in Shutoku?! Are you kidding?"
Midorima shook his head, "I am not. If I was, I would be saying it was a joke."
"Well...You're not that good with jokes in general Shin-kun..."
"Ah! The Queen of Prophecy! (L/N) (Y/N), right? I'm Takao Kazunari, it is an honour to meet a legend who people call a queen!" Takao smiled, going to shake your hand but Midorima slapped his hand away.
"You're making her uncomfortable, Takao. Control yourself and give her space." Midorima scolded him.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Takao apologized.
You shook your head, "No, no it's fine! Sorry about Shin-kun being a handful sometimes. He's affectionate, just doesn't know how to express it." You whispered making the tall male flinch at you saying stuff about him.
"Stop saying such things (Y/N)." He told you while you only laughed.
Riko and the others looked in shock to see you so carefree when meeting one of the Generation of Miracles. And someone from Shutoku is on top of that. Well...you were their manager in middle school, and the five prodigies all grew interested in you in due time.
You soon calmed down and looked at Midorima, "Shin-kun. I thank you for your offer in Shutoku. It warms my heart you still thought of me even after all this time!" You smiled at him, he blinked in surprise at how radiant you were when you smiled.
'It's probably brighter than the sun itself. if possible.' He thought.
Kagami looked in slight confusion, "W-Wait! Does that mean you're joining Shutoku?!"
Kuroko only looked at you, wanting you to stay with him instead of going with Midorima.
"Of course, I thought about you. You've done an exceptional job back at Teiko. Anyone who didn't notice your sacrifices and hard work is an idiot." Midorima stated getting you a bit flustered.
"Stop that! You're trying to win me over by saying such moving things, right?~" She had flowers and sunbeams radiating from her figure as moved around a little.
"She's not hiding her happiness at all..." Kagami and Takao gave a sweat drop at the scene.
"But..." you started, getting Midorima, Takao, Kagami and Kuroko to perk up at your sudden octave. Meaning you meant what you were about to say.
"I must respectfully decline your offer. Please don't take it the wrong way, Shin-kun! I'm sorry."
Seeing you bow respectfully and declining his offer made his eyes widen in shock, "Huh?!" Takao was the one with the audible response.
Midorima looked at you as if you were serious, "(Y/N). I respect you as pay schoolmate and person. I must tell you that Seirin is not the right school to enrol."
"I disagree, Shin-kun." You stated before holding both of Kagami and Kuroko's backs, "These boys right here, are going to change the course of history in basketball! And they're going to beat, Kise and the rest of the prodigies from Teiko!" You grinned declaring your answer.
Hearing that made the male with glasses see a change in your personality, 'Her aura has changed. So she did change after all.'
Seirin grew happy about your words, "That's (Y/N)-chan for y'a!" Riko smiled.
Kagami and Kuroko smiled at your words also.
"Oh?~ And would you know?" Takao grew curious about how you would know what would happen in the future.
You only smirked, revealing a new confident aura that was new to Midorima.
"Call it a 'vision' from the Unnamed Queen of Prophecy."
'She's serious. I've never seen her this serious before,' Midorima thought before adjusting his glasses.
"Very well, then. But I won't hold back on your team if we end up playing against each other." Midorima stated making you nod and hold out a hand to shake.
"Of course." You nodded, and the two of you shook hands.
"Hey! How long are you gonna keep talking? Get ready!" The captain of Shutoku High ordered Midorima and Takao who went to their team to warm up.
Midorima soon stopped to speak to Kuroko, "Kuroko, I will show you just how naive your thinking is. And how you're not suited to be (Y/N)."
Kuroko grew a little taken aback by Midorima's last sentence before turning blank again at the thought of Kise's words from the other day.
Kise's look turned serious, but he still plastered a smile, "You know that me and the others like her as well, right? You're not the only one who's interested in her."
"Though, I'm not sure if the others have romantic feelings for sunshine. But all I know is that you and I are not the only ones." Kise stated.
"Tetsu-kun!" You waved an arm in front of Kuroko, "Ah. Sorry, (Y/N)-san, I was lost in thought."
You crossed your arms at his reply, "Geez. What am I going to do with you? This is the second time you've spaced out completely."
"Shin-kun seems to be starting." You pointed out, looking to see the said man on the court.
"You went to start? Didn't you say you didn't want to play because your fortune was bad?" Ōtsubo, the captain asked Midorima.
"I bet you're excited after meeting an old friend. Or maybe you possibly still have a crush on the Queen?~" Takao teased the tall man with glasses.
Midorima comically flinched at the mention of you before turning stoic, "I've had enough of your wild speculations. I just wanted to test my shooting."
"Sure, but don't forget the coach is only willing to let you get away with what you want three times a day. Two more times, and I'll be pissed." Ōtsubo warned the first-year prodigy, actually scaring Midorima.
The three-point shooter merely nodded at his captain's waning, "As long as you make your shots, I don't have a problem with it. Using your poor fortune as an excuse isn't worth shit." Ōtsubo stated, walking away.
Midorima untapped his fingers, "I cannot miss. Today's lucky item is a stuffed bear. I have compensated for my bad luck."
"He still taps his fingers? Wow, he's devoted to his shooting..." You spoke seeing Midorima getting rid of the tap surrounding his fingers.
The game started as your team went to watch. Takao had the ball and got past two players before passing to his captain. Him shooting up close to the basket.
Kinga - 8
Shutoku - 38
The crowd was amazed by the King of the East, "They're already 30 points ahead with four minutes remaining in the second quarter. I'm not surprised." Riko stated.
"They're not doing anything that differently from us, but they make it look so easy. I wonder why." Kawahara wondered.
"Because they don't make mistakes." Hyuga answered, "In basketball, the ball's always moving back and forth at high speeds. Without exception, strong schools always have solid basics like passing, handling, and running."
Ōtsubo was seen getting the ball as two players were blocking him but he still managed to dunk.
"They make it look easy because their fundamentals are so solid. But those are only the fundamentals. Naturally, there's another reason. It's because...they have an infallible scorer." Hyuga stated.
The dunk was so powerful that it got the two players of the opposite school on the ground, "What an amazing dunk...!" Kawahara said in amazement, seeing Ōtsubo help out a player who fell due to his dunk.
"Is he really a high schooler?" Furihata asked.
"He's gotten stronger." Riko stood by Hyuga, accessing the Shutoku team.
"We couldn't do anything about him later this year," Hyuga added.
"Ōtsubo on the inside and a normal outside was Shutoku's game until last year, but this year..." Riko spoke about the rival team's old technique.
"He's five out of five so far. Looks like Midorima's playing well." Kagami said that made you and Kuroko look up at him.
"Is that right?" Kuroko asked Kagami who retorted, "I don't know. Shouldn't you or (Y/N) know?"
"I'm not sure. I've never seen him miss." Kuroko answered honestly.
Midorima now caught his teammate's pass and caught the ball, "A little edge. This is why you cannot win." He shoots the ball high up in the air.
"Let's head back, Takao. We're on defence." Midorima told Takao who quickly followed him.
"If you miss, I'll get yelled at, too," Takao warned Midorima.
"Don't be stupid, Takao. I follow fate. I do everything I can. That is why I never miss my shots." Midorima stated.
"As long as Shin-kun doesn't lose his form, he makes 100% of his shots. He's not the three-point shooting star for nothing." You explained since Kuroko let you speak about Midorima's shooting as you're better at explaining than him.
"Seriously?" Hyuga asked in surprise, the whole team looked at Kuroko and your direction to get confirmation.
"That's just not fair," Koganei said.
"He's heading back to defend before he even makes his shot. He's impossible to counter." Tsuchida pointed out.
The team looked back at Midorima on the court, "Time time until he makes his shot is abnormally long. It gets you mentally." Riko mentioned.
The crowd grew amazed to see Midorima make every single shot without missing, "Amazing! He's made every shot! Is this the true strength of the Generation of Miracles' number one shooter?"
The game was over in a flash. With Shutoku who took the win, with 153 to 21.
"They destroyed them! This year, Shutoku is...so strong!" Some bystanders talked about the King of the East.
Midorima was walking by before looking directly at Kuroko and Kagami. Their stare-down was so intense it was drowning out the students of Shutoku cheering for their team.
That all changed when a certain manager waved to the star shooter.
"Shin-kun! Nice shoot! You're so cool! Great job!" You waved happily over to Midorima who flinched at your angelic voice bouncing off the walls of the stadium.
You couldn't see his eyes clearly since his glasses were being reflected. But a small blush was apparent at how cute you looked when calling out to him.
'Why was that so irresistibly cute...?' The number one shooter thought to himself, seeing you still waving at him.
To shock everyone at the stadium, he waved back to you making you grin from ear to ear.
"What are you doing?! You can't just wave happily to our future opponent!" Kagami told you, the team looking as surprised as ever when they saw the blush on Midorima's face when you waved at him.
"Kagami." You started seriously before turning over to the red-head with an adorable smile.
Rays of light and flowers emitting from your figure, "I got Shin-kun to wave back at me!" That got him to retort at you.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! STOP ACTING SO PROUD FROM THAT!"
You continued to act innocently as you made a confused face. You could see the vein popping up on Kagami's face, "STOP ACTING INNOCENT ALREADY!"
You huffed, "Humph! At least I say bye to him." You waved to Midorima to catch his attention, "Hey, Shin-kun! Can I have your number later?"
The teams of both Shutoku and Seirin looked at you in surprise before responding in shock. (Even Kuroko.)
"EEEEH?! WHAT?!"
"She Just asked Midorima Shintaro out!!" The boys from Seirin except Kuroko yelled.
Even Midorima was shocked, to say the least, his blush getting worse by the second because of you.
"Shintaro! Are you blushing?~ Oh my gosh! You're blushing! You're-ow!" Takao started teasing Midorima before he was hit by a basketball from the man with glasses.
"Shut up, Takao," Midorima told him.
He turned back to you and gave you the numbers of his cell using his fingers to show each number making you type it down.
"Thanks, Shin-kun! I'll be sure to save it!" You waved to him before going to press the save button.
But before you could, someone stopped you, "(Y/N)-san."
You looked to see Kuroko holding your hand, "Tetsu-kun? Something wrong?"
"I...I don't know...I just moved on my own...I'm sorry if I hurt you." He wasn't sure why he did that but at the same he knew. He just couldn't say it out loud to you yet.
When he let go of your hand you looked in confusion, "Oh, uh, alright."
"WHAT IS UP WITH THESE ROM-COM SCENES BETWEEN THESE TWO!" The Seirin team yelled in unison seeing you both together.
"I never knew you had an admirer," Ōtsubo mentioned about you, seeing you and your team move to get ready for the next match.
Midorima stiffened at that before composing himself, "She's not an admirer. She's more than that. She's from my middle school. (L/N) (Y/N). I'm sure you've heard tales of her."
"I see. Well, don't let your relationship or whatever get in the way of your shooting. Come on, let's get ready to pack up." Ōtsubo walked away with some of Shutoku's players.
Midorima's blush darkened as he covered it with his glasses, "Haha! That was hilarious! Oh my gosh, and when she asked for our number...And You flinching in shock at someone asking for your number, hahaha!" Takao couldn't properly breathe.
"Shut up, Takao," Midorima grumbled, he started walking away, but when he was far away enough from his teammates he let a small smile creep up his lips at remembering you.
After the game, Seirin went to leave, "Okay, let's go home." Hyuga started before he and the others were pushed by Riko, "DON'T!"
She placed her hands on her hips, "We've got another game today! Are you stupid? Are you?"
"I was kidding. The mood just seemed really gloomy and weird. Considering of (Y/N) practically asking Midorima out..." Hyuga replied.
You were seen smiling at your phone. Happily texting Midorima already. You soon flinched when you realized you were caught by the team and hid your phone away, "That doesn't count!" You yelled.
'She's practically collecting men that like her...' the males thought, remembering Kuroko when he first met you after graduating middle school, you meeting Kise and now Midorima.
"Everyone checked the tournament bracket." Izuki changed the subject after giving a sweat drop at you trying to hide your joy of being able to speak to Midorima again.
Kagami blinked in surprise, "Huh? Do we have another game? Seriously?"
The second years stiffened in surprise hearing his words, "Kagami!" Hyuga scolded.
"YOU REALLY ARE STUPID, KAGAMI!" Riko retorted before showing the matches sheet, "Check the bracket!"
"We play two games on the day of our fourth game and the last day! Our fifth game starts at 5:00 PM!" Riko told him, handing him the sheet of paper.
"Two games in one day is too much." Koganei pointed out.
"Yeah. Even if we get a break, we're still tired." Izuki nodded.
Kagami looked over the paper, "The semifinals and finals are both in one day? Does that mean we're playing a game before we play Shutoku?"
The Kagami grew shocked seeing what was on the paper, "Coach, the three kings are Shutoku and..."
Riko nodded, "Seiho and Senshinkan."
Kagami showed the paper sheet to the rest of the group, "Isn't this..."
"On the last day, our semifinal opponent will most likely be Seiho. We'll play Shutoku in the finals. We're playing against two of the kings in a row." Riko stated.
That got the group to gasp in shock, "Isn't that a little tiring...? I mean...This is like the universe hating on us..." you said dejectedly as Kuroko rubbed your back in comfort, "We'll be fine, (Y/N)-san."
"That's impossible." Furihata, Fukuda and Kawahara looked over at the sheet of matches, "Good schools have strong players, and a lot of them. Our guys will all need to be benched."
Kagami only smiled in excitement, "Two games in a day, and both of our opponents are strong. I couldn't ask for more."
Of course, the other first-years looked at Kagami like he grew two heads. They even asked if he wanted to impress anyone.
They turned to Kuroko who they thought would be on the side of sanity, "Sorry. I'm actually excited, too." That got the team to look in surprise.
"What? Did you get Kagami germs, too?" Furihata asked Kuroko.
"What are you talking about?!" Kagami retorted.
"I hope not."
"The way you denied that pissed me off."
"But don't difficult directions light a fire in you?" Kuroko asked the other first-years as the rest of them smiled.
"All right! I'm on fire!"
"Pfft—Yeah, with your hair, it goes well..."
"(Y/N)! THAT'S IT! COME BACK HERE!"