Heyo! I'm uploading two chapters today since the other one was a bit short to my liking. So here's a second chapter!
(Preview!)
Aomie noticed Kuroko's stance and realized what he was about to do, "No. it's a little different. It's Ignite Pass Kai." Kuroko corrected.
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'Outsmarting people with his misdirection is one thing. But passing right in front of me?' Aomine smirked before getting serious, "Who's underestimating who, Tetsu?!"
"No. It's different than last time...Aomine." You smiled.
Kuroko twisted the ball with his hand roughly before pushing it and letting go. The pass went through Aomine's defence as he only touched the pass.
Kiyoshi was seen catching the pass, "All right! Kiyoshi!" Koganei cheered him on.
Wakamatsu was there to block him, but you only smiled, "Wakamatsu forgot that Kiyoshi-san could effortlessly move the ball because of his huge hands. He was also a point guard before being an official center. That's what makes Kiyoshi-san the Iron Heart!"
Kiyoshi passed to Kagami who dunked the ball.
'Thanks to me finding out about his usual passes, Tetsu-kun added more spin in the Ignite Pass so Aomine wouldn't be able to catch it in time. It's like the same way a gun bullet is shot out of the weapon. With that, he uses his body to turn the ball completely.' You thought, smiling when they got the points.
Noticing the change in his technique, Midorima, Kise, Murasakibara and Akashi were seen intrigued by the new pass. They all knew who was able to help improve the sixth phantom man.
"Of course, (Y/N) has her way of evolving others into better people. It's no wonder they were able to get this far." Midorima adjusted his glasses.
Takao laughed, "Yep! (Y/N)-chan sure is extraordinary!"
"Fool, I knew that way longer before you." Midorima scolded Takao.
Takao was surprised to see a small smile on the star shooter's face, 'Is that a genuine smile...? Woah...Shin-chan only smiled like that towards her, huh? Interesting.'
Kagetora laughed, "That's Kazuha's daughter alright! I knew she was up to something."
Masaaki Nakatani, Shutoku's coach grew shocked to hear that Kazuha, has a daughter.
"He has a daughter?! He never told me that." Masaaki spoke.
Kagetora only laughed even more, "It's because the guy likes to keep his personal life secret!" Riko's father soon calmed down and smiled at his students, "But he's doing a terrible job since (Y/N)'s the so-called Queen of Prophecy."
'No wonder she knows so much.' Masaaki thought.
Akashi was seen smiling when seeing Kuroko's new pass, knowing you had something to do with it.
"I see. I can have some fun with you now, Tetsu." Aomine smirked.
"It'd be surprised if you thought I hadn't changed," Kuroko stated.
'The game has only started. Who knows what'll happen...' you thought, clutching your clipboard.
Izuki went to get the ball from Imayoshi's hand but the captain passed it to Susa. Kuroko tried to stop him but the third-year shot a three.
"Rebound!" Kiyoshi and Wakamatsu went head to head to head to get the rebound.
Wakamatsu was seen with the ball and passed it to Sakurai who shot a three.
"Damn it. It's not as though anything's changed." Tsuchida cursed.
You looked in slight surprise to see Kagami already going one-on-one with Aomine.
Tōō and Seirin grew shocked to see the two aces already in front of each other.
'One wrong move...and it means the whole game...' you thought in anticipation.
It's almost been five seconds and they have not moved. Kagami passed to Izuki who was a little surprised at first.
Kagami exhaled, "I can't do it." Aomine perked up at that, "Huh?"
"It pisses me off, but I can't win. Not yet, anyway." Kagami spoke before returning to his basket.
You saw a smile on Aomine's face making you wonder what they spoke of.
"Seirin High, time out!"
"Good job bringing the ball back, Kagami." Koganei praised the first year.
"If you'd lost there, it wouldn't have been funny," Fukuda spoke.
"Thanks, (Y/N)-chan." Izuki smiled in thanks to you for giving him his water bottle.
"But what should we do? The battle is as fierce as ever." Izuki started to speak about their situation.
"Kuroko's new pass takes a heavy toll on his body, so he can't use it all the time. More importantly, it'd be dangerous to use it repeatedly against Aomine." Kiyoshi stated.
You suddenly realized something, "Hyuga-san? Are you ready yet?"
Hyuga cracked his neck, "All right."
"Yeah. I'm ready. In that case, I'll start by scoring one from the outside. Izuki, give me the ball." Hyuga said.
The group looked at him in surprise, "Tōō's defence is currently strong on the inside, so I'll draw their attention out. Let's regroup from there." Hyuga stood up.
Riko gave you a look, "He's right." You assured.
"Okay. We're counting on you, Hyuga." Riko smiled at the captain.
"Yeah," Hyuga replied before the team got ready to head back to the court.
You and some of the benched players helped clean up the bench after the time-out.
"Is the captain okay? He seems a little lax." Kawahara asked.
"What are you talking about? It's just the opposite. He can say that because he's confident." Koganei corrected.
"That's captain-san for you!" You appeared in the background.
As mentioned before, Izuki passed to Hyuga. Sakurai is the one marking Seirin's captain.
'They know that they have to stop Hyuga-san's shots. And that's why Sakurai-kun will think of trying to keep him close. But...Hyuga-san's different now.' You thought, letting a small smile creep up to your lips while writing down some notes.
"You sure?" Hyuga smirked, "You're standing so far away."
Sakurai grew shocked to see Hyuga take a step back and go for a three. The captain made the shot making Tōō surprised at the new move.
"The first years aren't the only ones who have grown. You apologetic mushroom." Hyuga stated.
"The inviolable shot! Barrier Jumper!" Koganei smiled.
"His habit's coming out, too," Tsuchida spoke with a smile.
"What habit?" Furihata asked.
"Did you hear him crack his neck?" Tsuchida asked, "Hyuga only does that when he's on fire!" Koganei finished Tsuchida's explanation.
You nodded with a smile, "And he's good-looking while doing it! That's Hyuga-san for y'a! A true captain!"
"(Y/N)-chan..." the group looked at you in worry.
"There she goes again..." Furihata chuckled nervously with the other benched first years.
"I swear she's into captains or something...She only reacts like that towards them..." Koganei muttered making Tsuchida and Riko stifle a laugh at realizing he was right.
Hyuga had the ball again, making Sakurai shocked that he'd do his Barrier Jumper shot again.
"Nice three, Hyuga-san!~" You waved at the captain who flinched and blushed at your cheer.
He calmed down before waving back making you smile even more. The group could see a giant aura overlapping your figure, "He waved at me!"
"She's too bright!"
"Hey! I was going to swoon (Y/N)-chan!" Izuki whined.
Hyuga looked at Izuki with a blank face, "Huh?" He soon had a teasing smile on his face, "Sorry. But I guess she likes me more than you."
That got Izuki to get offended, knowing it was a threat, "Not fair! She has a thing for captains and you're taking advantage of it!"
"Hm? Oh, she does? Really, now? Thanks for telling me that. Come on, we're on defence." Hyuga had an intrigued expression before patting Izuki's shoulder to get him to move.
"Maybe if I were a captain...(Y/N)-chan would look at me even more..." Izuki mumbled in envy before shaking it off to concentrate on the game.
The two teams went head to head again. Their defence fighting the other's offence.
"Give me the ball, Sakurai!" Susa called out to the first year.
Sakurai took out a breath before forcing his shot with a quick release and made the shot.
"How can he make it with such a quick release?" Izuki asked in surprise.
"Don't get the wrong idea." Imayoshi was seen near the point guard.
"He didn't become a starter just because he can shoot a little quickly. The stronger his opponent, the more accurate Sakurai's shots become. After all, despite his looks... as a shooter, he hates losing more than anyone else." Imayoshi explained.
"I'm going to win." Sakurai muttered, "Huh?" Hyuga didn't hear him quite well.
The light browned haired male was seen pouting, "After all, I'm better."
"What?!" Hyuga was seen with a slightly taken aback expression.
"I'm going to win. I'm better. I won't lose." Sakurai was seen muttering to himself, going back to defence.
"Izuki..." Hyuga called out to the point guard, "Keep passing to me."
Izuki was seen smiling, "Sure. You're riled up, aren't you?"
"Yeah." You could see the tick mark of anger appear on Hyuga's face. Multiple appeared since he's even more angry than usual.
"He's just annoying! Quit pouting like that!" Hyuga grumbled, Izuki only smiled in the background.
For the remainder of the quarter, it turned into a three-pointer shoot-out between Hyuga and Sakurai.
There are 5 seconds left in the first quarter.
'But we're not finished yet!' You thought, seeing Kiyoshi have the ball before passing it towards Kuroko who was seen running ahead.
The sixth phantom man used his Vanishing Drive to get past Susa. Wakamatsu went to stop him but Kuroko passed the ball to Hyuga.
Hyuga made the shot during the end of the first quarter, making it turn into a buzzer-beater.
Seirin - 22
Tōō - 22
Now there was a small intermission before the second quarter.
"Here you are!" You have water bottles at the starting line who who all thanked you.
"(Y/N)-chan! Could you massage my knees please-AUGH!" Izuki smiled at you before being hit by Hyuga.
"You haven't done anything major for her to do that. Stop asking for attention!" Hyuga scolded him.
"Hyuga-san...Please don't abuse Izuki-san before the game is over please..." you advised, deadpanning at the scene.
"Somehow we're keeping up for now. Kuroko, maybe you should sit out for a little bit." Kagami said his teammate was seen drinking some water.
"No, I can go a little more." Kuroko insisted.
"Koganei, drinks—" Riko was cut off by someone, "Coach..." Kuroko spoke up.
"...as soon as the second quarter starts, let me use my Vanishing Drive again. We're tied, but we're barely keeping up. I don't want to stint the team." Kuroko stated.
"It would make a good preemptive strike, but I don't know." Kiyoshi hummed.
"If we use it too much, they might figure out the trick. We have to use it carefully." Izuki added.
You looked at Riko, "What do you say, Riko-san?"
"Fine. Do it." Riko was permitted to the first year, getting the team was surprised at her agreeing to it.
"It's better than waiting for their move. The important thing is to stay one step ahead. They'll figure out how the drive works eventually." Riko spoke.
"And even if they do, it doesn't matter. It's not a move we can always use, but if the conditions are right, it's unstoppable. That's how it works." You spoke up.
'Though, Momoi-chan will figure out that the key to the Vanishing Drive is Kags. Since he has a distinctive presence. But the ball has the most presence of all. That's when Tetsu-kun can't misdirect his opponent's vision when he has the ball.' You informed.
'However, Momoi-chan might also know that Tetsu-kin can misrepresent their attention to the improved Kagami for a moment. And then, they'll know the secret. As long as Kagami is the opponent's field of vision, the Vanishing Drive is quite unstoppable.' You thought, taking a glance at the Tōō manager.
'More importantly, Aomine will be hard to up against even if we use the Vanishing Drive. I wouldn't be that surprised if he wasn't fazed by it.' You looked at Aomine from the opposite bench before quickly looking away.
"Tetsu-kun?" Kuroko perked up at you calling out to him, "Yes, (Y/N)-san?"
"Remember that other technique I showed you that you could develop? About your misdirection?" You asked.
He gave a nod, "Yes. What of it, may I politely ask?"
You smiled before whispering in his ear, "Later on in the game..."
"...make it run out to give invisibility to the rest of the team."
"Just like we practiced before!" You grinned.
He smiled at that, "Right. I'll keep it on my mind, thank you, (Y/N)-san."
"Of course!" You waved him off as he went to the court with the rest of the team.
Kagami did screen to get one of the Tōō players off of Kuroko. Izuki was seen passing to Kuroko who caught the ball.
Seirin and everyone else in the stadium grew surprised to see Aomine mark Kuroko.
"I'm glad you understand, Tetsu. We get along when it comes to basketball." Aomine smirked.
"I agree!" Kuroko replied before going to do his Vanishing Drive as Kagami was seen near him.
"Go!" Seirin cheered him on.
You knew what was to come, "3...2...1..."
Kagami smiled when he saw Kuroko get past Aomine but grew shocked to see Aomine with his eyes...
...closed?!
The phantom man was shocked to see that kind of defence against his drive.
Aomine opened his eyes and stole the ball from Kuroko and went for a counterattack.
Aomine dunked the ball right after, "Don't get the wrong idea, Tetsu. A shadow doesn't exist without light. No matter how much you struggle, it never works the other way."
Aomine was seen walking up to Kuorko, "A shadow can't defeat the light." Kuroko grew shocked at his words.
"Tetsu-kun..." you mumbled in worry, 'I knew it was going to happen sooner or later but it still hurts like hell...!'
The group all looked in shock at the display while Aomine walked past Kuroko.
Riko was going to get a time-out again but heard your voice.
"Tetsu-kun!" You stood up from the bench in worry, seeing him prepare for his ignite pass without thinking.
Momoi looked at you in surprise to see you stand up before looking back at the game.
The others noticed too with Aomine as well.
"Don't do it, Kuroko!" Izuki warned the first year who didn't hear because of his anger.
"Hyuga and Kiyoshi haven't shaken their marks!" Izuki infre shim but it was heard by deaf ears.
Aomine effortlessly caught the pass making Kuroko fall into a deeper slump in shock.
"Did you think the same move would work twice against me? Try not to disappoint me so much, Tetsu. If this is your answer to defeating me, I'll make it clear. It's a useless effort." Aomine stated, going to dunk the ball again after getting past Kuroko.
Izuki tried to stop him but it was no use, "You're not going anywhere!" Kagami jumped to stop the shot but Aomine shot the ball with his body moving diagonally.
Seeing the shot go in the basket shocked the Seirin players.
"Calm down! Let's get them back!" Izuki tried to get the team under wraps before going to pass to Hyuga.
But Wakamatsu was there to steal the ball. He, himself went back to score.
8 minutes and 58 seconds left in the second quarter.
Seirin - 24
Tōō - 30
Sakurai tried to get past Hyuga but he was able to get the ball away from the player.
"Seirin High, time out!"
Riko sighed, "Kuroko, you're out."
Hearing that got the player to be shocked before he accepted it, "Okay."
"Tetsu-kun..." you mumbled in worry for him, seeing him have a towel draped over his head.
"Listen up, everyone. There's something I noticed watching the flow of the game. First, the inside..." Riko started to speak but you couldn't help but think back to the moment when Aomine shot Kuroko's move down so quickly.
"Damn it..."
You perked at his small curse, "Tets—" Your eyes widened in shock to see a few tears slipping from his eyes.
"Damn it..." he muttered again.
Kagami was seen patting Kuroko's head, "It's not useless, stupid. Everyone believes you'll come back. Don't give up this time. While you're sitting out, I'll show him. There's no such thing as useless effort."
Hearing Kagami's words deeply moved Kuroko. He then felt a slight weight shift, only to see you hug him.
"You're not alone in this, Tetsu-kun. We're right here. All of us. Even me. Don't give in, alright?" You smiled softly.
"(Y/N)-san..." a few tears rolled down his face before he wiped them away, "Sorry..."
"It's alright. I don't mind." You softly spoke, placing his head in the crook of your neck to let him let out his frustrations.
"Thank you..." he started shaking, "...so much..."
"I'd do anything for you, Tetsu-kun. No matter what." You assured him, rubbing his back in comfort.
Kagami and you turned to each other. Without needing to speak you both silently made an oath together toward Kuroko.
To defeat Aomine once and for all.