The night before the Winter Cup preliminaries, Yasu was sitting on the sofa watching TV with piles of DVDs on the coffee table. She wasn't watching any ordinary basketball tournaments. She was watching the games that involved the schools the Generation of Miracles had enrolled in; Shutoku, Kaijo, Touou, Yosen and Rakuzan.
"They've really progressed way more and quicker than I expected." commented Yasu while writing down a few notes.
Suddenly, she heard the door knock. Yasu wrote a few more things before putting her blue notebook and dark green mechanical pencil on the table. She paused the video before going to open the door. "Izuki-senpai!" she gasped when she saw the said boy standing in front of the door. She shut the door behind her after stepping out, asking, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Nothing, really." he said sheepishly, with his hands in his pockets. "I couldn't sleep and thought of visiting you."
'But I thought he doesn't live in this neighbourhood?' wondered Yasu before brushing it off. "Are you nervous with the upcoming preliminaries?" she asked with concern.
"Maybe." admitted Izuki, who then noticed something different about the girl. "Your hair has gotten longer, Yasu."
The said girl touched her shoulder-length hair and laughed sheepishly. "I've always had short hair since I started playing basketball. So I thought of growing my hair to get the feel of having long hair."
Izuki smiled. "I see." he said before looking up at the full moon. "I've done everything that I can." He was silent for a few minutes while Yasu looked at him, not uttering a single word as she waited for him to continue. "All that's left is to give everything I have for the team."
"You guys will do great." she assured, making him look at her. "You just need to believe in yourselves."
He stared at her before smiling, ruffling her hair with a hand. "You're right." He realised that it was getting late and slowly made his way towards the walkway. Just as he was about to return home, he turned around to look at the girl and murmured, "Good night."
She nodded at him, saying, "Good night. And do your best!" Izuki smiled back, then started to walk back home.
~Time skip~
Everyone gathered at the school gate on the following morning. While waiting, Kagami was doing tricks with his left hand. Yasu noticed this and smiled, saying. "You're getting pretty good with your left hand, Kagami."
"Yeah." he said while spinning the ball on his fingertip. "It's even been easier to eat with this left hand lately."
"So, you still can't sleep the day before a tournament, huh?" noted Furihata when he and Kawahara saw Kagami's bloodshot eyes. "You look terrifying."
On the other hand, Kiyoshi was smiling brightly. "What are you smiling about, Tep-nii?" asked Yasu when she noticed his expression.
"It's creepy." commented Hyuga, looking at him suspiciously.
"Oh, sorry." said Kiyoshi, with the smile still on his face. "Don't let it bother you."
"I know what it is, Kiyoshi." said Koganei. "You're excite because we have new uniforms, right?"
"What?!" gasped the said boy. "They are?"
"You should've noticed sooner!" shouted Koganei, realising that he was wrong again.
"We'd better get going." said Riko. "Is everyone here?"
"We're still missing one." replied Hyuga when he looked around. "Oh, Kuroko?"
"I'm here." responded a soft-spoken voice
"You are?!" gasped the boys, surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Yes, I've been here the whole time." said Kuroko. He then secretly let out a breath and a sweat drop was on his cheek, which both didn't go unnoticed by Kagami.
"No, you're lying this time!" he yelled, pointing at the Phantom Player. "You barely made it on time running here!" Kuroko froze on the spot, realising that he had been caught. "Silence?!"
"Let's go." said Hyuga. "We haven't forgotten anything, have we?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Riko after sighing. "We're on our way now to go get it!"
~Time skip~
In the locker room, Riko was standing in front of the boys with Yasu leaning against the wall at the side. With a board beside her, the coach explained to the team about the Winter Cup preliminaries. "Ready, guys?" she began. "I'm going to go over what we're doing at the Winter Cup again. Eight schools are participating in the preliminaries. Two of these schools will win the right to participate in the Winter Cup.
"After today's games, they'll be narrowed down to four schools. Those four schools will play a league series, and the top schools will go on to the Winter Cup. However, this time the participating teams are the eight schools from the Inter-High preliminaries. In other words, they're powerful teams who had successful summers. Our opponent today is the 6th place team, Josei High. Let's win!"
"Yeah!" responded the boys before heading out.
Yasu whipped out her phone and sent the two Shutoku players each a text, and she received replies from them after a few seconds.
To: Midorima, Takao
'Good luck!'
From: Midorima
'I won't lose.'
From Takao:
'Thanks, Yasu-chan! (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑
By the way, don't worry about Shin-chan's one-line reply.
He was smiling when he read your message!（＾＿−）'
In the hall, when Seirin was getting ready until they heard the buzzer went off. "Okay." said Hyuga as he led the team to the court. "Let's go!"
"What have you been so happy about since this morning?" asked Izuki when he noticed Kiyoshi smiling.
"I haven't been in game in a while." replied Kiyoshi, showing a goofy smile. "I can't help but smile."
"Are you going to be okay?" asked the point guard worriedly.
"Kiyoshi." called Hyuga. "I understand you're happy, but you came back to win. We're counting on you under the net."
"Yeah, I know." said Kiyoshi seriously before showing his goofy smile again.
'I'm a little worried about him.' thought Hyuga and Izuki at the same time.
"He seems relaxed." noted Kagami. "Are we going to be okay?"
"I think we'll be fine." replied Kuroko, making Kagami look at him. "I guess you could say I feel at ease with him on the court. I don't think we'll lose."
After a few minutes, Josei came out, and the captain gasped when he saw the new team member. "Wh-What is he doing here?" he asked, grabbing his teammates' attention as they followed his gaze.
"What's wrong?" asked one of them.
"You know the Generation of Miracles, right?" began the captain, earning a nod from his teammate. "In middle-school, there was another group. In another era, they would have surely been known as prodigies. They were hidden in the shadow of the best. He's one of them. An indomitable soul who supports his team from under the net. The Iron Heart - Kiyoshi Teppei."
'Let's go.' thought Riko with her eyes closed before opening them to look at the new Seirin lineup. 'The new Seirin basketball team, start!'
"Let the Winter Cup preliminary game between Seirin High and Josei High begin." announced the referee after both teams had lined up across each other. "Bow."
"Good luck." said the players in unison.
All of a sudden, one of Josei's players shed a tear, confusing and surprising everyone. "What's wrong, Narumi?" asked the captain.
"You're so mean, captain." muttered Narumi. "Why would you do that?"
"What?" responded the captain, confused.
"A girl." he continued. "You said the coach of the other team was a girl. I was looking for something bigger, something more exciting. She's not..." He suddenly pointed at Riko and shouted, "...SEXY AT ALL! GIVE BACK WHAT YOU STOLE FROM ME!"
Everyone on Seirin froze and looked at Riko with horrified expressions, excluding Kuroko's blank stare. Yasu felt a dark aura next to her and glanced at the coach from the corners of her eyes, with sweat beads on her forehead. All the coach did was smile and did a gesture with the clear message, "Go slaughter team." Suddenly, a dangerous aura shrouded her, making Koganei yelp out of fear while Yasu scooted a few feet away from her.
'Yes, ma'am!' thought the players, who were even more afraid of the coach.
As soon as the first quarter started, the ball was tossed into the air. Kiyoshi passed the ball to Hyuga, who then passed it to Kagami. However, Kagami was double-teamed by the Josei players. "Damn it!" he cussed before passing the ball to Izuki.
Izuki passed the ball back to Hyuga, who dribbled the ball towards the hoop. When Josei's captain guarded him, Hyuga passed the ball to Kagami, who was double-teamed again. "Don't hold the ball too long, Kagami!" warned Izuki.
"I know!" shouted the ace, but the ball was stolen and went out of bounds.
"White ball!" said the referee.
"Damn it!" cussed Kagami
"Kagami-kun, please calm down." advised Kuroko.
"Shut up!" he scolded with a vein throbbing on his face. "I'm calm!"
"You don't look calm at all." muttered Hyuga with annoyance.
'They're double-teaming Kagami.' thought Yasu. 'We expected this, but it's pretty rough. This game isn't going well for us.'
All of a sudden, Kiyoshi patted Kagami's head. He patted again but was a little too hard. "Kagami, you look terrifying." commented the upperclassman. "Let's take it easy." He patted the ace again, and the latter swatted his hand away.
"That hurts!" he scolded, only to make Kiyoshi laugh as a response. "You hit too hard! What are you going to do if my head caves in?"
Kiyoshi laughed again, but suddenly stopped and looked at Kagami seriously. "Huh?" he responded. "What are you talking about, Kagami? Heads don't cave in that easily."
"I know that!" snapped the said boy.
"What should we do?" asked Izuki. "They're a rougher team than we expected."
"Yeah." agreed Hyuga before looking at Kiyoshi. "You shouldn't be telling people to take it easy. Come on, now."
"It's been so long, my instincts..." trailed off Kiyoshi.
"Hey!" responded Hyuga, annoyed at his friend.
"Well, I should be fine soon." said Kiyoshi. "Give me the ball. This game is just getting started. Let's have some fun. Right?" He patted Kagami's head again before heading towards the court.
Kagami placed his hand on where Kiyoshi had patted and realised something. "What's wrong?" asked Kuroko when he noticed Kagami staring at Kiyoshi while looking at his hand.
"Nothing." he replied. "I just noticed he's got huge hands."
The game resumed. Kiyoshi got the ball from Izuki and jumped for a hook shot. ''I'll slam it back down!' thought Narumi as he jumped up to block the shot. But instead, Kiyoshi threw it above him to Hyuga, who made a shot and scored a basket. When Josei had the ball, Hyuga stole it and passed it to Kiyoshi, who jumped to shoot the ball again. 'A hook shot? No, a pass?!' Narumi thought he was going to pass the ball because Izuki was behind him. But Kiyoshi did a hook shot right at the moment when Narumi was going to smack the ball. 'Damn it! He releases the ball with unbelievable timing.'
"Damn it!" Narumi cussed when he got the ball from his teammates and was guarded by Kiyoshi. 'If he's deciding what to do after seeing me act, I can't stop him!' he thought before jumping up to force a dunk. 'I'll win through brute force, then!'
"You're naive, rookie." scoffed Hyuga. "A lot of people mistakenly assume Kiyoshi's a technical center, but he's also a simply strong center!"
"Don't underestimate me, kid." scoffed Kiyoshi with a grin as he jumped to block the dunk.
Izuki took the ball and passed it to Kuroko, who then passed it to Kagami. 'I've got plenty of pent up frustration!' he thought while dribbling the ball towards the hoop. 'I'll smash the hoop!'
"Go!" cheered the first-years when he jumped for a dunk. But on the other hand, Yasu had blue lines under her eye when she noticed how high he was from the ground.
"Take this!" he yelled. And just like she had expected, Kagami headbutted the hoop and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"He jumped too high!" shouted Riko and Koganei.
'That's impossible.' thought Jousei's captain as he stared at the hoop with an uneasy look. 'No human could possibly headbutt a hoop.'
The buzzer went off, ending the first quarter with Seirin ahead of Josei by eleven points. The team started walking back to the bench where Yasu brought out clean towels and water bottles. "Do you need to sub out?" asked Kiyoshi, looking at an annoyed Kuroko.
"No, I'm fine." he replied as he dragged the unconscious Kagami.
~Time skip~
At the fourth quarter, Seirin was ahead of Josei. The ball bounced on the hoop. "Rebound!" yelled Izuki.
'This isn't good.' noted Narumi, who was guarding Kiyoshi as the two prepared to get the rebound. 'It's an offensive rebound!' Kiyoshi jumped up and caught the ball.
"Nice rebound!" shouted Izuki.
"Let's go again!" yelled Hyuga.
Kiyoshi was about to pass the ball to Hyuga but he jumped around Narumi and made a shot, leaving Seirin ahead by thirty-eight points. 'They pulled away quickly.' thought Yasu, noticing the difference in the strength of Seirin's team play compared to theirs back in the Inter-High preliminaries. 'The addition of Tep-nii is huge for us. We've increased more than their offensive power. The team is more stable now. In particular, the rebounds.'
One of Josei's players shot the ball but it missed, and Kiyoshi got the rebound. 'Our inside isn't their weakness anymore. It's our strength. With a strong center, you can get rebounds. If you can get rebounds, you can shoot freely. Consequently, you make a lot of shots.' Hyuga got the ball and made a three-point shot.
"You're making a lot of shots today." noted Kiyoshi.
"I always make my shots, idiot." scolded Hyuuga.
"Getting excited on their own..." muttered Kagami angrily as steam begin to emit from him. "That's enough, you shit heads! Let me take some shots!"
"Hey, Kagami." called Izuki, trying to calm the angered ace down.
"It's no use." said Hyuuga with an irk mark. "The idiot can't hear you."
"It's good to be hot-blooded." said Kiyoshi.
"He's too hot." commented Riko with an annoyed look.
Kuroko sighed. He took off one of his wristbands and shot it at his teammate's head, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You!" snapped Kagami.
"That's enough." scolded the Phantom Player.
"What'd you say, Kuroko?!" yelled Kagami.
"It's easier for them to take shots because you're drawing all the defenders to yourself." said Kuroko. "You shouldn't pout about that. Also, can you see them?" He looked up, causing Kagami to follow his gaze, and it landed on Imayoshi and Sakurai.
'Imayoshi-nii and Sakurai?' questioned Yasu, who noticed the two as well.
"Aomine-kun will hear about this game." continued Kuroko. "Once you've calmed down, make a declaration of war."
"That's not something you do with a cool head." scoffed Kagami. "Leave it to me, though. I'll give it to them good."
"They make a good duo." commented Kiyoshi.
"I got one!" said Izuki, thinking of a pun. "They're as cute as a couple."
'I'm grateful for Kuroko's personality in these situations.' thought Hyuga gratefully before he noticed the change in Kagami. "But..."
"I'll do it." muttered Kagami with ferocious flames around him. "Just you wait, you jerks."
"Did you need to mention Touou?" asked the captain.
"Maybe not." said Kuroko.
"Damn it!" cussed Kagami.
The game continued. Kagami received the ball and two Josei players were double-teaming him. 'It looks like Josei doesn't have any spirit anymore.' thought Yasu. 'They're just continuing to play their initial strategy.'
"No matter how many they send, it's not enough!" said Kagami before he broke past their defence.
"He broke through!" cheered Riko.
"Defenders without the will to win can't stop me!" he declared
"You're not going anywhere!" said Narumi as he tried to stop Kagami. "You haven't won yet!"
"I'm relieved someone like you is around." said Kagami. "Sorry, though, the winner..." He jumped up high and did a lane-up.
"Make the shot, Kagami!" yelled Hyuga.
Kagami slammed the ball into the hoop, but his fingers slipped and he fell to the ground again. "Again?!" exclaimed the benchwarmers while Riko's jaw dropped.
"He made it this time, though." added Koganei.
The buzzer went off, ending the game with Seirin ahead of Josei by forty-seven points. "Game over!" announced the referee, and the audience cheered.
"Ow." muttered Kagami as he sat up.
Kuroko held his hand out, which Kagami accepted to support himself while getting up. "You're falling over a lot today, Kagami-kun." commented Kuroko with a smile.
"Shut up." said Kagami jokingly
"Alright!" cheered Riko as the others cheered beside her.
"With a score of 108 to 61, Seirin High wins!" announced the referee.
"Thank you!" said both teams when they line up across each other.
Yasu stood from her seat and stared at the sky through a window. A serious expression was plastered on her face. 'There's a storm coming.' she thought.