The ten players faced each other at the center of the court. Sora looked at Akira and Yukiji standing opposite to her and gave them a small smile. Yukiji stuck out her tongue and then winked whereas Akira gave her a pleading look and pouted. Sora grinned. This would probably be the first time in ages since she had played without one of them on her team but now that meant that she would be going against strong opponents and that fired her up.
They had decided that Aomine would be the one from their side to stand for the tip-off. "Aomine-kun, don't jump with Murasakibara-kun," whispered Sora as she moved to take her place and then sighed. He would probably ignore her anyway. Sora briefly considered going back and trying to use reverse-psychology on him but then let the idea slip. There was a good chance that being the ace of the g.o.m made him more than capable of taking care of himself.
"Cast aside too, Sora?" said Akashi dully as she took her place.
"You know, looking at you cheers me up," said Sora with a laugh.
"Any other time, this would have actually made me feel better... Knowing that you were so fixated—"
"—Nah! I just know that there's at least one person on court who's taking this issue worse than I am right now," said Sora with a laugh.
Akashi blinked. "That's it! I will have you all on your knees by the time this game is over."
"Save your breath, oka. You might need it."
(A/N: Oka- Mom)
Akashi swore lightly and looked towards the duo who were standing for the tip-off. "Yosh! Let's begin," said Sanada sensei, throwing the ball in the air with a short blast on his whistle. The ball flew in its high arc and began its descent. It had only moved down a few inches before Murasakibara knocked it away. Akira who was standing nearby caught the ball.
She tried to move towards the hoop but Kise took the ball from her. He ran in the opposite direction. He spotted Sora standing a short distance from him. "Soracchi catch!"
Sora caught the ball. "Oro? Ryouta's passing to you?" said Akashi.
Sora was momentarily confused because she didn't immediately realize that they were on the same team now. Akashi used her confusion to take the ball. "That was a trick!" exclaimed Sora.
"It's all in the game, sweetheart," said Akashi with a grin, "Tamotsu, catch!"
Akira received his pass and started to move towards their hoop. "Heh..." said Sora with a small smile, "Akira-san! I'm here."
"Oh... Right!" said Akira and passed to Sora on reflex.
"What the--" began Akashi.
"All in the game, sweetheart," said Sora imitating him and heading towards the hoop. But she was blocked by Murasakibara. "That's quite enough, Sora-chin."
"Try to stop me!" said Sora, jumping.
"This is foolish!" said Murasakibara jumping lightly.
"Kise-kun!" said Sora passing sideways to Kise.
"Yeah!" said Kise catching the ball.
"You can't pass me at short range, Kise-chin!" said Murasakibara.
"Watch me!" said Kise and went head on.
"Kise-kun, wait!" exclaimed Sora, "Midorima-kun's just behind!"
But it was too late. Murasakibara knocked the ball and it rolled in the open court. Luckily Mayu scooped it up. But she was blocked by Yukiji who took the ball from her. She passed the ball to Akashi. Akashi moved forward, only to be blocked by Aomine. Aomine tried to keep him at bay and the two seemed to be in perfect equilibrium as they never seemed to budge from their position. Now and again they would move a few steps back and forth. Akira was close by. She waved her hands, signaling for Akashi to pass but Akashi either didn't notice or ignored her. Sora moved to help Aomine but Kise stopped her. "What are you doing, Soracchi?"
"Aomine-kun needs support."
"But why are you leaving your position?"
"Look at those two! We can tip the balance if we help Aomine-kun. Seijuro doesn't look like he's going to pass. If we cover a few directions of passes and then close in..."
"Oh," said Kise simply.
"What? What is it?" demanded Sora.
"Well, we usually have different tactics..."
"Meaning?"
"In this situation, if Aominecchi loses the ball to Akashi, Akashicchi be moving into Mayucchi's territory. Then it would be her turn. We all take turns."
"Zone defense?" said Sora, "When we're more or less evenly matched? Isn't that a bit stupid..."
"It works!" defended Kise.
"But we have Midorima-kun! What's the point of having such a shooting guard if we don't coordinate and plan it out?"
"Individual play usually is the best, Soracchi. At least with players like us... That way, everyone gets a chance to be in the spotlight..."
"Spotlight? Kise-kun! Don't you realize? If we mess this up, then we're all going down! Mou, they're still not making progress. I'm going to support Aomine-kun."
It was at that precise moment that Akira had the same thought too. As Aomine tried to take the ball, she stepped in for a screen. But unfortunately, that threw Akashi off his balance just as much as Aomine. "Damn you, Tamotsu!" swore Akashi before sharply veering off. Aomine was just as quick on the uptake and went to match him again.
"Oro? What did I do?" said Akira, confused.
"I think he didn't expect you to help," said Sora grimly, coming to stand near her.
"Hey, hey... You're the opponent!"
"One point to the genius for the deduction..." muttered Sora.
"You just took the ball from me by tricking me!"
"Trust me, this is going to get much more idiotic," said Sora.
Sora stepped into the fray. She tried to take the ball by a back-tip. Akashi noticed and stepped away. "Oi, Himeji! Isn't your place in the center?" questioned Aomine.
"Aho! Don't argue with me. Block him," said Sora sharply.
"Yeah. Forgot," said Aomine grimly. He went head on with Akashi again. This time, he managed to take the ball. But Akashi was quickly on defense.
"Pass!" exclaimed Sora.
But it had no effect on Aomine who ignored her. Akashi took the ball and advanced but he was blocked by Kise this time. Sora waved her hand to catch Aomine's attention and then gestured for him to support Kise. Aomine shook his head and pointed at Kise as if it solved all the disputes in the world. Sora face-palmed and glared at him. Aomine shrugged and held up his hands. He reluctantly moved to help Kise although Sora could have sworn he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Women...' before that. But it was too late. Akashi took the ball and passed it to Yukiji. Yukiji passed the ball to Aoba.
Aoba shot the ball but in her haste, she shot it at a low angle. Kise used Murasakibara's technique to take the ball. "Score!" he said, blocking it. But Akashi was soon on his case.
"You won't cross me, Ryouta."
"Challenge accepted, Akashicchi—" began Kise.
"Kise Ryouta! If you don't pass the ball this instant—" yelled Sora.
"Uh, okay!" said Kise startled and randomly threw the ball. It landed next to Yukiji rather than any of his own teammates. "Oh," said Yukiji, "Oh well..."
Sora and Aomine both moved towards Yukiji at the same time. Aomine noticed Sora going and slowed down his pace. "For God's sake, quit looking at me like a fool and give me a hand!" hissed Sora. Aomine blinked. "What? Me? Fine..."
Sora blocked Yukiji. Yukiji turned and tried to make a pass to Aoba. She almost succeeded but Mayu was on Aoba's case as soon as she passed. Mayu took the ball and passed it to Sora. Sora tried to move forward but she was blocked by Akashi.
"You can't pass, Sora."
"I don't need to. Shin-chan, catch!" said Sora passing the ball backwards.
"Thank you, nanodayo."
3 – 0.
"Oh, sh*t. I called you 'Shin-chan'. Slip of the tongue. Woah, Akira's names are really catchy..."
"You might have gotten the first ball in, Sora. But fate's about to change," said Akashi.
"Is it, Seijuro? Must I remind you that the flow of this quarter is now in our hands—"
"—We will change it!" began Akashi.
"The first quarter is now over. 3 – 0."
"What the hell!" exclaimed Sora. She turned around to check whether it was a hoax but sure enough, it was Sanada sensei. The two teams had been too evenly matched. Besides, they had also wasted a lot of time quarreling.
"What on earth!" exclaimed Akashi.
Sora nodded. "I didn't expect this too."
"The first quarter is yours," admitted Akashi grudgingly.
"On second thoughts, I don't care about this quarter."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that there's a larger battle I need to win on the bench," said Sora grimly.
"You aren't the captain. Both of us have been benched," reminded Akashi.
"Doesn't mean that I'm not part of the team. By the way, congrats. You've probably driven your team nuts..."
Akashi shook his head. "What do you know... Try winning that sweet battle of yours, Sora."