"I've decided! I'll crush all of them and become Japan's best player." - Kagami Taiga
* * * *
Kagami Taiga was exhausted by the time lessons were over for the day, and he could leave for the gym where basketball practice was held.
Everyone in the team was tired out, even the normally impassive Tamaki. Kagami twitched as his thoughts went to the blue haired girl. Their homeroom teacher wasn't pleased to find Kagami snoozing in his class that morning, and had hauled him to the faculty office for a long lecture on staying awake in class and about his poor grades. The redhead giant was still wondering why Tamaki who was just sitting behind him and also sleeping silently didn't get in trouble. Does her misdirection works when she's asleep as well?
Practice didn't start immediately that day, as Hyuuga had called for a meeting, and had handed out a list of the schools participating in the Inter High tournament to every single person in the team. Surprisingly, Riko wasn't around that day.
"The Inter High preliminaries start as a tournament." Hyuuga begun, even as everyone looked through the incredibly long list of schools that they currently had in their hands. "If we lose, we're out. We can't let our guard down for even a single game." He warned.
Tamaki glanced at her own list, her gaze falling on the names of five particular schools. 'Inter High…' she mused. 'So it's here at last.' She glanced at her teammates, and then at the black wristband that covers her left wrist. 'Are they strong enough to face off against 'them'? Will my current style be enough?'
Tamaki is sure that probably every high school in Japan is dreading having to face a school that had one of the members of the Generation of Miracles. And she doesn't blame them. The blue haired girl had seen the anger and fear reflected in the eyes of the opponents whom they have thrashed during their middle school days.
The Generation of Miracles isn't someone whom anyone would want to face on the courts.
First year had Teiko's opponents feeling disgruntled. Second year had them disbelieved, yet fearful of the name of Teiko. By the time their third year had came around, not a single middle school in Japan had never heard of the name of Teiko, and not one of them were suicidal enough to challenge the best team in Japan.
Tamaki is sure that probably, the high school basketball circuit were all sighing in relief and patting themselves on their backs that the members of the Generation of Miracles have all decided to split up to go to different schools. Just facing one of their members is terrifying enough. Imagine all of them in the same team. And every single member was the best at what they do.
"Tokyo has blocks A through D." Hyuuga was saying, and Tamaki turned her attention back to the list in her hand. "The winner of each block goes to the championship league. The top three winners from the championship league participate in the Inter High. Only three schools are chosen out of 300 participating schools. Only the chosen 1% will stand on the court of their dreams. That's the Inter High."
Tamaki glanced at the name 'Touou' somewhere in the list, and mentally calculated the set up of the matches in her head. If everything goes well, and if Seirin wins every match that they had, they might only have to end up playing Touou during the Inter High preliminaries final league, given the fact that both Touou and Seirin are in the Tokyo district.
'Oh dear…' Tamaki thought, glancing at Kagami. If the two hot-headed males ever meet each other in a match… She dreads what will happen.
"I sort of get the picture," said Kagami. "But they're not chosen. They win it, sir." He added.
The second years smiled at this, and the three other freshmen that have joined the basketball club alongside Kagami and Tamaki, but were named as reserve players instead, exchanged looks.
"We got three weeks until the Inter High preliminaries." Hyuuga continued. "We fell one step short last year, but we'll definitely go this year. We'll be facing a lot of strong schools, but our biggest and strongest opponent is Shutoku High." At the name 'Shutoku High', Tamaki tensed, and Kagami noticed this. "Last year, they were in the nation's top eight. On top of that, just like Kaijo, they had one of the Generation of Miracles join their team. If we can't beat them, we won't make it to the Nationals."
'If we play against the Generation of Miracles, it'll be the championship game.' Kagami thought, glancing at his own list, then looking at his shorter and smaller teammate beside him who seemed to be in deep thought – who the hell could tell with that expressionless look on her face? "Tamaki, you know who he is, don't you?" Kagami felt very foolish the moment the question had left his lips. Hell, the girl played on the same team with them for three years. Of course she would know who they are!
Tamaki glanced at the redhead. "I doubt that you would believe me even if I told you," she replied. "However, as Kise-kun said, the other four are on an entirely different level, as compared to him. And if they've gotten even better from the last time that I've seen them, then I cannot even begin to imagine just how good they are now."
"By the way, where's the coach?" Tsuchida wondered, glancing around the gym.
"She went to observe our first opponent's practice game." Hyuuga answered, and as if on cue, the doors of the gym swung opened, and Riko stepped in, looking no different from before. But Tamaki who is sharper and much more observant than most people noticed the slight tensing of muscles in the older girl, and wondered what could have made her so.
"I'm back."
"She was skipping after the Kaijo game, but she's not skipping today." Kawahara commented.
"Coach, are you gonna skip today?" Furihata asked innocently.
Poor guy didn't realise that just with his 'innocent' question, he had riled up the sleeping dragon.
"Like hell I will!" Riko hissed, and the entire team could almost see imaginary fire behind their coach.
"She wouldn't act like an idiot over an official game." Hyuuga reprimanded the freshmen even as Riko walked up by his side, placing her bag down on the floor. "But you do seem unhappy." He told the girl. "Are they good?"
Riko's mood seemed to darken even further at these words. "We shouldn't even be worrying about Shutoku when our first match isn't looking good," she said grimly. "One of their players might give us trouble. You can watch the video later." She said as she handed her red cellphone to Hyuuga. "Take a look at this picture."
Hyuuga flipped opened the cellphone, and out of pure curiosity, the rest of the team crowded around the bipolar captain. A picture of an adorable brown and white kitten peered back at them, apparently having just woken up from a nap.
"I-It's cute, but…"
"Sorry, it's the next one." Riko groaned.
"The next one?" Hyuuga went to the next picture, and his entire countenance, along with the entire team, changed immediately as the picture of a foreigner with dark skin and a shaven head appeared on the screen.
"His name's Papa Mbaye Siki. Two meters tall. Weighs 87 kilograms. He's a foreign student from Senegal."
All four second years have the exact same expression on their faces, even the usual impassive Mitobe whose expressionless face is enough to match Tamaki's.
"Senegal? He's huge. Two meters?" Hyuuga gaped.
"Can they even do this?" Koganei wondered.
"He's studying aboard?" Izuki spluttered. "Sorry, but where's Senegal?"
"He's just big." Kagami stated the obvious, not seeming worried about their next opponent in the least, despite the fact that his seniors were all freaking out around him. The second years ignored his comment, and Tamaki peered at the photo in silence, studying the photo carefully.
Height is always a major factor in basketball matches, as many players tend to use their height to their advantage. When the Generation of Miracles have first started their debut during their freshman year, apart from a certain purple haired center, all of them barely reached 175 centimetres for height. Hence, their training usually had them training against their tallest regular, and learning to deal with a player taller and bigger than themselves.
"This Papa Mbaye… What was it?" Hyuuga asked.
"Papanpa?" Tsuchida offered unsurely.
"It's Papa Try-Hard." Koganei said, not remembering the name either, with Izuki coming up with another bad pun and scribbling into that notebook of his.
"We're not getting anywhere. Tamaki-chan, find a nickname for this guy," said the coach with annoyance.
The blue haired girl fell silent for several moments before her brain came up with the easiest name to remember. "How about 'Dad' then?"
"Where's your naming sense?" Koganei spluttered, almost beside himself in laughter at Tamaki's naming choice, not that the rest of the team were any better.
Riko finally lost patience at seeing her team goof around. "Listen!" And the team jerked to attention. "He's not just tall. His arms and legs are long too. Everything about him is big. More and more schools are inviting students from aboard to increase their power. Our next opponent, Shinkyo High, was only a middle tier school until last year. But with the addition of a single foreign player, they've become a completely different team. They can't reach high enough. Because of this one simple reason, no one can stop him."
The entire team fell silent, and Kagami grunted. "But we can't just do nothing," he protested.
"Who said we would?" Riko smirked, and Kagami blinked in confusion. "That is why… Kagami-kun. Tamaki-chan. Starting tomorrow, both of you will have your own training regimen." She then grinned. "The preliminaries start on May 16th! Until then, you won't even have time to complain!"
* * * *
The next week after that before their first match in the Inter High preliminaries is considered 'training week' for the basketball team, as they were put through numerous drills, practices, and even strategy meetings that had Koganei complaining once that it should really be renamed 'hell week', as every single one of them were so exhausted that their eyes were drooping continuously in class the next day.
Two days before their match against Shinkyo High can find Tamaki closing the glass doors of the florist shop where she worked at, pulling down the shutters of the shop and locking it. She then turned around only to raise a curious eyebrow as she saw a familiar dark blue haired boy sitting on the railings outside the shop, waiting for her, dressing in his school uniform with a white shirt worn beneath it.
"Hey." Aomine Daiki grinned, waving at her.
Tamaki smiled. "Aomine-kun."
* * * *
"You don't have to walk me back home every single time I had work," said Tamaki. She then sighed. "And you're missing practice again, aren't you?" She said accusingly, and Aomine had the decency to blush. "I knew it."
"It's not like I need it anyway," said Aomine, staring at his clenched fist with some sadness in his eyes. "The more I practice, the stronger I get. And it's not like anyone can beat me anyway. Because…—"
"Okay, stop there." Tamaki interrupted. She doesn't like it when Aomine starts to talk like that, and she sighed inwardly. Is there no way to bring him back to how he was like before? Was she too naïve to think that?
"I see that you're still wearing it," said Aomine suddenly, and Tamaki glanced up at the taller male before touching the black choker around her neck.
Unlike most chokers that only had one loop going around the neck, hers had two – with one shorter than the other, with a silver cross pendant hanging from the lower loop, just falling a little above her collarbone. Her school uniform usually hid the choker from view, and Tamaki never wore it during basketball practice, hence why nobody on the Seirin team ever saw it. Aomine and Tamaki each had one of those after their first National victory, and both never went anywhere without it. And even now, as Tamaki glanced at Aomine, she saw the same black choker around her neck around Aomine's as well.
"It's been nearly three years, hasn't it?" Tamaki mused.
"Yeah," said Aomine with a sigh. "Three years…" He trailed. "So I saw the list of participating schools for the Inter High." He glanced at Tamaki. "If Seirin continue winning all their matches, chances are that they will end up facing Shutoku High – the school that Midorima had gone to."
"I know," said Tamaki with a sigh. "And if everything goes well, it will only be a matter of time before we ends up facing Touou in a match. Given the fact that we're both in the Tokyo district."
Aomine said nothing for several moments. "Midorima is our top shooter at Teiko for a reason," he said at last. "Just like how each of us are the best in whatever position that we are in, Midorima is the best Shooting Guard in the high school basketball district. The dream team – the Generation of Miracles, all split up after middle school for a reason, Tamaki."
Tamaki sighed. "Yeah. Sei's whims," she muttered, though she knows that that is only half-true.
It is true that it is Akashi who had first suggested that the Generation of Miracles split up after middle school, but she knew that the rest of them have only agreed in the first place, because they could not find a challenge good enough to challenge them any longer. All of them have the same thought in mind – that the only opponent that is good enough to challenge them is a fellow member of the Generation of Miracles. That is the only reason why they'd all agreed on a split in the first place. Not that any of them were pleased about her choice of high school though.
"You know that that's not the only reason," said Aomine. "The…oath that all of us made back when we first debuted as the Generation of Miracles is another part of the reason. But that's not the point here." He looked at Tamaki seriously. "You should have already realised this during your practice match with Kaijo High. You can't afford to take on a member of the Generation of Miracles with just half your skill. The only reason why you can use only half your skill to take on Kise is because you know his movements well, being the one to train him. But Kise's strength isn't on the level of me and the other three. And you should know this. If you take on Midorima with just half your skill, you can't win."
Tamaki said nothing, but cradled her left hand to her chest. She knew this even without Aomine telling her. Her current style is just at half her usual strength. To take on a member of the Generation of Miracles with any hope for victory, she has to use her original play style with her right hand. The only problem here is that she still lacks the control to use her original play style with her right hand.
"You know that I still can't hope to shoot with my right hand." Tamaki said at last. Aomine should know. He was the one to practice with Tamaki when she is still developing the misdirection style during third year.
"You have your ways to get around it," said Aomine. "Your speed is one factor that had always helped us in the past. But I can say one thing though. If Seirin ever winds up facing Touou, if you go at half strength, you can't hope to beat me."
* * * *
May 16th came faster than anyone would have liked, and that day found the entire Seirin team gathered in front of the gym where the Inter High tournament was being held, and where Seirin would be playing against Shinkyo that day.
"Looks like the gang's all here," said Riko with a smirk as she lead the team into the gym.
Kagami's eyes were bloodshot like how they were when playing against Kaijo High, and he even had dark bags beneath his eyes. Tamaki glanced at the taller boy.
"You couldn't sleep again?"
Kagami twitched. "Sh-Shut up," he hissed.
The entire team was then led into the gymnasium and begun their standard warm ups before a game, with the spectators slowly filing in, and the game authorities begun setting up the scoreboard and head table, also checking that the floor of the court wasn't too polished, and that the goal is in good working condition.
Hyuuga who was doing his warm ups like everyone else glanced towards the Shinkyo side just then, and noticed someone missing. "Dad doesn't seem to be here." The captain commented, inviting some weird looks from a passing authority who is readying the court for the match.
Izuki who was practicing his shooting looked around at this comment. "Now that you mention it…" He trailed off.
There was a sound of a bang against metal just then, and a voice groaning with pain. This got the attention of the entire Seirin team, even Tamaki who was dribbling the ball with her right hand, not really paying attention to her warm ups.
A tall guy had just banged his forehead against the doorframe before bending down so as to be able to enter the gym. The eyes of the Seirin team went wide as they saw just how tall and large that 'Dad' really was. The foreigner was grumbling as he rubbed the bump on his forehead.
"Everything is so short in Japan," he grumbled.
'Isn't it that you're just tall?' Tamaki thought irritably, the fingers of her left hand twitching. Her mood isn't at it's best ever since the 'talk' that she had with Aomine two nights ago, though it isn't like the rest of her team had noticed, since the blue haired girl doesn't talk much in the first place anyway.
"What are you doing?" Shinkyo's coach scolded Papa as the giant approached him, towering over the coach. "Hurry up."
"Sorry I'm late!"
"Why is that the only thing that you can speak fluently?" One of Shinkyo's players whom Tamaki recognised as the captain, Tanimura Yusuke, approached Papa. A lone basketball bumped into the back of his shoe just then, and the blonde Shinkyo captain turned around only to see Hyuuga approaching him.
"Oh, sorry." Hyuuga apologised, picking up his basketball.
"By the way, did you guys really beat Kaijo?"
"It was just a practice game." Hyuuga replied.
"I see. I guess the Generation of Miracles isn't as strong as we thought."
Hyuuga narrowed his eyes at this comment, and Tamaki frowned.
"The Generation of Miracles lost?" Papa echoed, having been listening in on the conversation of the two captains. "They brought me here to beat them. I'm disappointed that they're so weak."
Hyuuga was barely restraining himself from punching the foreign student in the face for looking down on Seirin like that whilst Kagami himself was barely holding himself back. Tamaki wasn't happy at the comments of the other team, but unlike the two boys, one can't really tell what she's thinking.
Papa then walked past a twitching Kagami, about to make his way to the changing room, only to bump into Tamaki, not noticing her presence at all, like all of Seirin's past opponents. He looked around before looking down only to see Tamaki staring up at him, her shoulder length ice blue hair tied up in a high ponytail like how she always did during every training session and at every match that they went to.
"No, little one. Children shouldn't be on the court," he told her, patting her on the head like she's a kid, much to Tamaki's annoyance. The giant then noticed her team jersey beneath the shirt that she was wearing, and realised his mistake. "You're a player? You're joking, right?" He asked Tanimura. "I can't play against a girl!"
Several red ticks almost covered Tamaki's head at this comment. What is it with all these…sexists?
"Oh, come on, we'll just go easy on them!" Tanimura joked, this time causing Hyuuga to be pissed.
"They lost to a girl like that? Are all of the Generation of Miracles children?"
Tamaki's eye twitched dangerously. 'These bastards aren't even bothering to keep their voices down! I'll butcher this guy!' she thought, not having been fired up like this in a match for a long time now, ignoring the hysterical giggles from the rest of her team who were all bent over in fits of laughter. Kagami was even pounding the floor with his fist, practically on his hands and knees on the court in laughter.
"Honestly, I'm starting to get annoyed." Tamaki stated after a few moments, shocking several of her teammates, a fire lighting up in her normally impassive blue eyes.
"You don't like to lose, do you?" Kagami said with a smirk after having gotten over his laughing fit. "I guess we'd better show Dad why he shouldn't piss off kids."
* * * *
Touou High School
Tokyo District
"You're here again?" A loud complaining voice reaches Aomine's ears as he opened his eyes where he had been trying to take a nap atop the water tank on the rooftop of Touou High School. An upside down view of a well-endowed pink haired girl appeared in his view.
Momoi Satsuki frowned at him, hands on her hips. "I can't believe that you're missing practice again!" she scolded. "And here I thought that seeing Tamaki-chan might knock some sense inside that empty air that you call a head."
"Shut up." Aomine groaned, screwing his eyes shut as he threw his arm over his eyes. "Just go away, Satsuki!"
Satsuki then grinned. "It should be today," she said, and Aomine cracked opened one eye. "Seirin's match with Shinkyo High."
"Shinkyo? Oh. The school that had that giant from Senegal." Aomine mused, remembering that Satsuki had mentioned about the school in passing once. "What about it?"
"Who do you think will win?" Satsuki asked with an air of a cat who had just caught the canary.
"Are you kidding me? It's obviously Seirin," said Aomine disbelievingly. "Tamaki wouldn't lose to some no-name school that only got strong by depending on one single player. Besides, if it's height, she will know how to deal with it. We didn't go through that insane training with Murasakibara during first year for nothing." He snorted. "And furthermore, there is someone on her team who can deal with that giant."
Satsuki grinned. "That's right," she said in a singsong voice. "My bet's on her too. After all, she's my best friend!" She proclaimed.
* * * *
The timer on the clock is now at six minutes and twenty-four seconds to go in the first quarter, and Shinkyo is currently in the lead with 8 points to Seirin's 3. Yet it doesn't bother them in the least.
Papa aimed another shot once more, but the ball bounced against the rim of the basket and fell back to the court. Mitobe who is currently the closest to the basket reached the ball first, despite the best attempts of the Shinkyo player who is marking him. Riko was right in saying that they only have to worry about Papa, as the rest of the players who made up the team are mediocre at best.
"He missed! Rebound!" Hyuuga shouted.
And that's how the game went for the next several minutes, as every shot that Papa took, he either missed it completely or it rebounded, thus allowing a Seirin player to snatch back the ball. Tanimura was watching in disbelief as Papa huffed and wheezed, taking in deep breaths.
'His accuracy suddenly declined.' Tanimura realised. 'What's going on?'
Tamaki who is as usual, invisible on the court, smiled to herself as she remembered the training sessions that Riko had Kagami go through during the week before their match with Shinkyo. The coach had Kagami training with Mitobe, the silent player who specialises in defending.
Satsuki actually had the Generation of Miracles go through a similar training with Murasakibara once during their freshman year, as he is easily the tallest of the entire team, easily towering above Midorima who is the second tallest in the team then. As all of them, apart from Murasakibara, barely reached 175 centimeters in height during their freshman year, Satsuki had them train to learn how to play against someone taller and larger than themselves.
"Blocking isn't the only way to defend against shots." Satsuki told the team, a basketball beneath one arm with a purple whistle hanging around her neck, facing the first string regulars who were all lined up in a single file before her, Murasakibara standing next to her, the purple haired giant who was munching on a lollipop happily. "You can either make him miss or steal the ball from him before he can shoot."
Kagami who had trained for a week straight with Mitobe in defending had been keeping to his role in pressuring Papa with his defense, blocking him whenever he could. Thus pissing off the foreign player…and himself.
Don't let him do what he wants to do. Don't let him go where he wants to go. Force him out of his comfort zone. Pressure him so he can't shoot easily.
Papa took another shoot at the basket, and once more, it missed, bouncing off harmlessly against the rim, thus enabling a nearby Seirin player to steal the ball and make off with it. The spectators begun to mutter among themselves.
"He missed again. He's been missing a lot."
"He can't make any shots. This foreigner's no big deal."
Tanimura whose breaths is coming in short, and is sweating a great deal considering that it's still only the middle of the first quarter scowled. 'Shut your mouths. There's tons of pressure on the court. He can almost block him with those jumps.' He thought, glancing at Kagami who had once more leapt up into the air to block Papa from shooting. 'The intensity of his focus could kill.' He glanced at Kagami who had a furious look in his eyes. Whoever had named him 'Taiga' (tiger), had probably named him after he had some sort of tantrum, and had gotten pissed off. 'This is some serious pressure!'
"What the hell is this guy?" Papa demanded.
The ball bounced against the rim of the hoop and rebounded once more.
"He missed again!"
Papa looked frustrated as he wiped away a bead of sweat trailing down his chin. "What the hell is this? I'm pissed!"
"Don't let it get to you. He's not blocking you." Tanimura told Papa even as he turned and ran down the court in an attempt to get the ball that is currently in possession of Hyuuga. "Defense!"
Kagami's eye was twitching like mad as well, and the maniac grin on his face could pass off as a grin that one would only see on the face of some patient that had just escaped from a mental institute.
'This method's stressful for me too,' he thought. 'I've gotta take him down more directly than this. I'll do it!'
And the redhead immediately hurried over to the center of the court and planted himself in front of Papa, keeping a sharp eye out for the ball and for his ever elusive teammate who seemed to have disappeared two minutes into the game. Kagami wasn't worried, as he knew Tamaki, and he knew that if she had 'disappeared' for this long in a match, she had some plan up her sleeve, and is bound to attack soon. The best way for him to assist her is to back her up in her play.
"Hey, let me tell you two things," said Kagami. "First, I'll block one of your shots in this game."
Papa twitched. "There's no way you can do that," he sneered. "I will not lose to a team with a girl on it."
Kagami twitched at these words. 'Are you looking down on Tamaki and Seirin, damn it?' he snarled inwardly, itching for an excuse to punch Papa, not liking it when an outsider looks down on his teammates.
"Second…" The redhead took his opportunity to slip past Papa's defenses, positioning himself near Seirin's basket even as Izuki passed a ball that happened to go directly towards Papa.
The foreign player grinned triumphantly, seeing it as a chance. But before he could even get the ball, a certain blue haired girl came out of nowhere, smacking it towards Kagami who immediately grabbed the ball and dunked it in.
"This girl might give you some trouble." Kagami grinned even as he landed back on the court.
"By the way, can you please stop calling me a girl? I have a name, you know? And I'll prefer it if you use it." Tamaki stated calmly, yet the entire Seirin team, and even the opposing team got shivers from her stare alone.
'Scary!'
* * * *
The doors to the bleachers above the courts opened silently, and a green haired young man stepped in, smirking lightly as he watched the match currently going on below him. The only girl player on the Seirin team had just easily stolen the ball back from Shinkyo, and had passed it to her teammate who is currently in mid-air. Said teammate then immediately dunked the ball into the goal, easily earning Seirin another two points.
'You're in for a world of pain if you underestimate her,' he thought, pushing his glasses up his nose as he recalled how his team had easily scored dunks and even three point shots by just utilising Tamaki's play back in middle school.
* * * *
"Seriously?"
"They dunked the ball right after they stole it."
"That's two dunks in a row. This is still the first round of the preliminaries."
"That was amazing." Hyuuga stated as he jogged down the court with Kagami and Tamaki near him. There are now only a few seconds left to go before the first quarter is over. 'Has Tamaki always been this good?' The captain grinned in amusement. "Are you really that mad about being called a kid?" he teased.
"I guess." Kagami mused, recalling Papa's words before the match, and what the captain of Shinkyo had said as well. "It's like, don't talk until you've played them."
The buzzer went off just then, with the referee blowing his whistle, announcing the end of the first quarter, with the game score being at 8-23, with Seirin in the lead.
* * * *
Riko was pleased with her team at the end of the first quarter, and had said as much.
But as Tamaki's misdirection play had a time limit, Riko had to sub her out during the second quarter, and thus, the Seirin team was forced to play twice as hard as compared during the first quarter. Shinkyo wasn't pleased with how the match is currently going, and thus, the Seirin team had quite a tough time trying to block their shots, and prevent them from passing to Papa, or even scoring themselves.
Hyuuga and Izuki stared with shock as Kagami tried and failed to stop Papa from scoring another basket. "He really is amazing," said Izuki with amazement.
"Didn't he get even higher?" Hyuuga wondered. 'I could have sworn that that last jump was even higher than what he had attempted during the first quarter.'
Papa wasn't amused. "I'm serious now! I won't lose!"
Kagami grinned a ferocious grin. "I couldn't ask for anymore. I'm starting to get excited, 'Dad'!"
The match between Seirin and Shinkyo continued on, with there being eight more minutes to go for the second quarter, and the score is currently at 12-24, with Seirin still in the lead.
Hyuuga who is currently in possession of the ball attempted a three point shot at where he is standing, seeing a Shinkyo player attempting to block him, and the captain cursed to himself inwardly as he saw the ball beginning to fall short of the goal. "Shit! It's too short!"
Kagami who is still marking Papa as planned noticed the captain's dilemma, and immediately grabbed the ball as it rebounded before Papa could get it, and dunked it into the goal himself.
Tamaki who was watching this from the bench sighed to herself inwardly.
Sure, she is pleased that she had found such a strong partner, and with time, Kagami is sure to improve enough to even match the best of the Generation of Miracles. But seriously, is there nothing but the word 'dunk' in his dictionary? She hadn't seen him do anything but dunk the entire match!
"Okay, nice shot!" Kawahara cheered from the Seirin bench.
"Nice rebound!" Furihata cheered.
Tanimura who is currently in possession of the ball, and currently getting guarded by Izuki noted that Papa seemed to be getting frustrated. "Papa, don't let it bother you! We'll give you the ball!" The Shinkyo captain then passed the ball to a nearby teammate who immediately passed it to Papa.
The foreign player immediately jumped to attempt another shot, but Kagami jumped as well to block his shot. Papa immediately changed tactics halfway and passed the ball to a nearby teammate, surprising everyone.
"What's wrong, Papa? You had that! One more time!"
The foreign player gained possession of the ball once more, and attempted another shot, but once more, Kagami jumped and blocked him, not allowing his shot to go through. 'Why? He's getting higher and higher!' Papa thought in shock.
"Kagami's amazing." Fukuda commented from the Seirin bench. "He's more than keeping him in check. He's not losing to him at all. Looks like his practice is paying off."
Tamaki said nothing from the bench as she listened to Fukuda, her memory going back to what Kise had told her just after their practice match with Kaijo the other day.
Someday, he will reach the level of the Generation of Miracles and grow apart from his team. When he does, do you really believe that Kagami won't be a different person?
Tamaki sighed inwardly. 'Was I too naïve to want to believe that he won't?' she thought. 'That he won't change? That the same thing that had happened before…won't happen this time?'
The only one who can beat me, is me alone.
Tamaki's hands closed into fists on her thighs as she recalled those cold words spoken by someone whom she had cherished back in third year of middle school.
* * * *
The match continued, and Seirin's play seemed to only grow more in intensity whilst the Shinkyo team seemed to be growing more tired and frustrated, with the points only growing further apart, rather than closing.
The game score is now at 51-60, with Seirin in the lead, and five minutes to go to the end of the fourth quarter.
Riko who was watching the match grew concerned. 'We can't afford to cut this one close,' she thought. The brunette girl then turned towards Tamaki. "Tamaki-chan, can you go the last five minutes?"
"Actually, I've been ready for quite awhile." Tamaki told her, and the brunette girl flushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry! Then go!"
* * * *
Tamaki's plays were now back at full power, and just as with much intensity as back in the first quarter, if not more, as she passed the ball straight to Mitobe after stealing the ball from the opposing team.
"Damn it! There she is again!" A Shinkyo player grumbled as they got the ball stolen from them for the umpteenth time.
"What's going on with those passes?" Tanimura demanded.
"Don't let your guard down until it's over!" Hyuuga commanded. "Let's get them!"
The ball was once again passed to Papa who was currently getting guarded by Kagami, much to the former's annoyance. "No! I don't want to lose!" He jumped up, and again tried to shoot the ball, but Kagami was quick to stop him.
"You said you were disappointed in the Generation of Miracles, but you overestimate yourself! Compared to you, they're way stronger!" Kagami roared as he took his chance, jumping into the air, finally managing to knock the ball out of mid-air as the buzzer went off, signalling the end of the match.
The referee blew on the whistle sharply, announcing the end of the match. "Game over!" he announced, announcing the game score of 67-79, with the victor being Seirin High School, much to Seirin's delight.
A certain green haired young man smirked to himself before leaving the arena.
* * * *
After the two teams have showered, and were packing up, Papa walked over to Kagami who was packing up his stuff.
"I lost," said Papa solemnly, much to Kagami's confusion. Tamaki who was next to him watched this scene with a raised brow. "Please play hard for me in your next game too."
Kagami was confused, and not knowing how to respond to such a thing, could only manage a, "Yeah. Sure."
Two seconds after that had Kagami wanting to punch Papa's face in as the foreign student shouted, "You're an idiot! You moron, I won't lose next time!" even as Tanimura dragged him away quickly before Kagami could punch Papa for real.
* * * *
"Here."
Tamaki looked up in surprise even as Aomine handed her a vanilla milkshake, and she took it with a smile. "Thanks."
"You still like drinking these?" Aomine asked with a smirk. He then noticed the obvious signs of fatigue on the smaller girl and grew concerned. "You look tired. How did the matches go?"
"Seirin made it through our first game of the preliminaries." Tamaki answered, looking at the taller boy. "Our second game was against Jitsuzen High that we won at 118 to 51." She counted on her fingers. "I was benched the whole game though." She looked annoyed at this, much to Aomine's amusement. "The third game was against Kinga High."
"Kinga, huh?" Aomine mused. "I think Satsuki had mentioned them once or twice. Aren't they ranked in last year's top 16? They're one of those schools that had a good balance of offense and defence."
Tamaki smiled and nodded. "Right. But it didn't stop Seirin from beating them 92 to 71."
Aomine chuckled. "You don't look too happy at being benched the entire four games," he teased, and Tamaki glared at him. "Well, if things goes well for your team, you might end up having to play against Midorima." He warned. "Shutoku High is one of the three 'kings' in the Tokyo district."
Tamaki nodded. "I know that."
* * * *
Seirin High had arrived early at the gym where their next match is being held, and all their players were doing their usual warm ups before a match. Tamaki wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings until a new unfamiliar voice entered.
"It's the fourth round. We might actually have a tough game for once." A team wearing dark green team jackets entered the courts. A team comprising of five very familiar players.
"We're against Seirin today." Another player spoke up.
"This should be easy. They got destroyed in the championship league last year."
"They're nothing but a new school that made it through with sheer luck."
Kagami glared as he recognised their next opponents as the guys whom he, Kise and Tamaki have played that day in the street basketball court after their practice match with Kaijo. The redhead then blocked their route, glaring down at them.
"So we meet again," he said.
"Hello," said Tamaki solemnly.
The entire team paled instantly when they saw just who they are facing.
"They're going to destroy us." One of the players whimpered.
* * * *
'Our fourth match in the Inter High preliminaries was against Meijo Academy.' Riko typed into her cellphone, texting a certain center who played for Seirin who is currently hospitalised right now. 'For some reason, our opponents were terrified the whole time, and we destroyed them at 108 to 41.'
* * * *
Riko marked out the chart listing of the schools that are currently participating in the Inter High, and she froze when she saw just who their future opponents might be if they continued winning all their matches.
"We're doing well." Kawahara commented.
"At this rate, maybe we'll make it through the preliminaries all the way to the championship league." Fukuda said.
"How naïve." Izuki groaned.
"It must be nice being so young and carefree." Koganei commented, and he received weird looks from the rest of his team at that. Wasn't he just a year older than the freshmen?
Seeing no one about to explain the situation, Hyuuga took over. "For the last ten years, the same three schools have moved onto the championship league from Tokyo," he explained. "King of the 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. After our fifth match are the semi-finals, then the finals. In the finals, we'll likely come up against…" Tamaki knew what Hyuuga is about to say. "…The King of the East, Shutoku, that had acquired Midorima Shintaro of the Generation of Miracles."
Upon hearing Midorima's name, Tamaki tensed up, an action that received Kagami's attention. The light blue haired girl then recalled what Aomine had told her just a few nights ago.
You can't afford to take on a member of the Generation of Miracles with just half your skill. If you take on Midorima with just half your skill, you can't win.
Tamaki stared at her right hand, slowly clenching it into a fist.
"But you guys made it into the championship league last year, didn't you?" Kawahara asked.
There was a sudden tense silence.
"Yeah, but we didn't stand a chance." Hyuuga admitted at last, and seeing the dark looks being reflected on the faces of his second year teammates, he sighed inwardly. 'Big understatement of the year.' He thought gloomily, recalling their terrible defeat last year after the loss of their team's ace. 'But we have new manpower.' He glanced at Kagami and Tamaki. 'So we might just stand a chance against the kings this year.'
'Our seniors definitely aren't weak, but…' Kagami frowned to himself in deep thought. He knew the strength of his seniors in Seirin, given the fact that he actually trained and played with them every single day. He knew that they are in no way weak, but to actually have the 'three kings of Tokyo' defeating them? Just how strong are those schools?
"Look."
"They're here."
There were mutterings from around the court just then, and the entire Seirin team looked up only to see a certain team making their way onto the court.
"Looks like they came," said Hyuuga grimly, and next to him, Riko nodded.
"It's better to see something for yourself than hear about it," said the brunette girl. She then stood up. "The freshmen, prepare yourselves. You're going to see something amazing today." She grinned at the freshmen. "They're supposed to be even more amazing this year." 'Well, I'm not surprised after they've managed to acquire a member of the Generation of Miracles.'Riko thought to herself as she eyed the orange jerseys of the Shutoku team. "One of the three kings of Tokyo, Shutoku High."
Tamaki glanced over at the after mentioned team like her teammates, but her gaze fell on the green haired teen in their midst who is carrying a teddy bear wearing a karate uniform in his left hand for some reason, seemingly oblivious to the amused stares coming from the surrounding audience. His team, on the other hand, wasn't so oblivious, and some of them seemed ready to dig a hole to hide themselves from the embarrassment.
The cheerleaders for Shutoku High broke into a chant as they made their way slowly onto the court, and Seirin watched solemnly. "Here they are," said Izuki.
Kagami then grinned, a sudden wild idea taking form in his head. "I'm gonna go say hi," he said, making his way over to Shutoku's side.
"Sure," said Hyuuga absent-mindedly, Kagami's words not really sinking into his brain until the redhead had left his team's bench. "Hey!"
Tamaki followed Kagami's movements with her eyes, and noticed that Midorima seemed to have seen him approaching, his eyes resting on her for only a moment before turning back to Kagami. The two teens then stood standing face-to-face with each other, and Tamaki sighed, inwardly praying to any gods that cared to listen that Kagami wouldn't start a brawl in the middle of a public court, and get Seirin disqualified from the Inter High tournament.
Midorima isn't exactly someone who would mince his words, something that Kise can stand witness to, since the blonde had bored the burnt of Midorima's blunt words for two straight years.
"Hey," said Kagami as he stood in front of the Shooting Guard, and Midorima frowned. "You're Midorima Shintaro, aren't you?"
"Yes, but who are you?" Midorima asked, despite already knowing who Kagami is.
From behind the shooter, Takao Kazunari snickered to himself as he watched the two. 'You know who he is. Why are you acting so proud?'
"Handshake?" Midorima enquired as Kagami held out his hand without saying a word. The redhead smirked, and as Midorima held out a hand in response, before he could even say anything, Kagami had taken out a marker from out of nowhere and wrote 'Seirin Number 10, Kagami Taiga' across his left palm. This sudden action was enough to anger the usually calm and composed green haired teen.
"You look like the kind of guy who'd claim he doesn't remember me if I introduced myself normally." Kagami explained, and Tamaki smiled to herself in amusement. She almost wished that Kise is here. The blonde would laugh himself into a coma if he knew that Kagami had done what Kise himself had failed during his two years in middle school – making Midorima lose his usual calm composure. "I want the guy who I'm about to take revenge on for my seniors to remember me."
Midorima looked annoyed as he adjusted his glasses. "Revenge? You're rather reckless, aren't you?" he scoffed.
"You're from Seirin, aren't you?" Takao asked with a grin, even as he approached the two, standing by Midorima's side. "Haven't your seniors told you anything? Last year, the three kings destroyed Seirin when they tripled their score."
Kagami was taken aback at this, and a look at the second years sitting on Seirin's bench confirmed the truth, as Hyuuga's face grew almost as black as thunder as he was reminded of their crushing defeat the previous year.
"Say what you want, but the difference in strength is absolute," said Midorima. "Even if we meet again in the championship, history will only repeat itself."
"No." Hearing a sudden voice so close to them caused Midorima to jump slightly, startled, accidentally losing hold of his bear for just an instant that caused said bear to fly towards the direction of the new voice. Having been used to catching fast flying objects, Tamaki caught the bear flying towards her easily with her left hand. Only Midorima noticed the slight trembling of her left hand as she did so, and he quickly held his hand out to receive his bear, allowing Tamaki to drop the fuzzy creature into the palm of his hand. "Instinct." Tamaki explained in answer to Midorima's unanswered question, relieved inwardly that Midorima took the bear before she actually dropped it in front of her entire team. Riko would probably suspect that something is wrong with her left hand, if she didn't already suspect it. "You can only speculate based on the past. You won't know what will really happen until you play, Midorima-kun."
Midorima narrowed his eyes at his old teammate. "Tamaki…" he muttered, his eyes softening only a slight fraction as he laid eyes on her. "It seems…like I really can't get along with you when it comes to basketball." He stated, ignoring Kagami who is glaring daggers at him. "I can never tell what you're thinking, especially from your eyes. There is plenty that I would like to say to you, but telling you now would be meaningless. Come to the finals first of all."
There was a tense silence surrounding the two former teammates before Takao broke it by walking up to Tamaki, and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, much to Midorima's annoyance. "You're got a mouth on you!" Takao grinned. "You're one of those, aren't you? You went to the same middle school with Shin-chan, right?" Tamaki blinked at the nickname. She is sure that Midorima won't like the nickname, and it is already a miracle that he didn't kill Takao just for saying it. "Don't let it bother you. He's just a tsundere. He's actually really interested in you. He even went to see your first preliminary game." He grinned at the smaller girl before getting dragged off Tamaki by an annoyed Midorima.
"You shouldn't make up so many stories, Takao," said an annoyed Midorima, letting his teammate go, and standing in between Tamaki and Takao so that the boy wouldn't cling onto the blue haired girl. "And don't touch Tamaki." He warned, his glasses glinting menacingly. "Don't even go near her."
"It's only just for awhile! And it's not like I'm going to do anything!" Takao wailed, and Midorima twitched. "It's not like she's your girlfriend or anything!"
Koganei who was taking a drink out of his bottle from Seirin's bench choked on his water and spit everything out onto Izuki who was most definitely not pleased at having spit and water on his person.
Midorima pushed his glasses up his nose. "No, she's not," he agreed. 'But that doesn't mean that Akashi and Aomine won't kill me for it.' He thought with a wince.
Only a blind man or someone utterly dense couldn't see the obvious crush that Teiko's ace had on their only female regular during his middle school days. Tamaki however, was as oblivious to the affairs of the heart as usual, and as she had several issues going on at that time, no one alerted her to it, especially Satsuki who seemed to make it her life mission to ensure that her best friend and her childhood friend get together as a couple.
"How long are you going to keep talking?" Shutoku's captain, Otsubo Taisuke shouted from their bench. "Get ready!"
"Looks like Tamaki-chan really gave them an earful." Riko remarked.
"Who cares?" Hyuuga shrugged. "It's not like she didn't say anything that we weren't thinking."
Takao had already made his way over to Shutoku's bench, but Midorima didn't move from his place at all, merely staring down at Tamaki without saying anything, ignoring Kagami. Finally, the green haired teen's face broke into a small genuine smile. "I only have Kise's word for it, but I'm glad to see that you look well," he told her. His eyes then glanced at the black wristband around her left wrist, and back to Tamaki's face with a brow raised. Tamaki shook her head slightly, and Midorima smiled a small sad smile. "I see. But your current play can't beat me, and you know it." He told her. Midorima then narrowed his eyes. "I shall show you just how naïve your thinking is."
* * * *
The cheers of 'Shutoku!' were nearly deafening the entire gymnasium, and Seirin's players were all gathered on the bleachers with the other spectators, eager to watch Shutoku's next match against Kinka.
Meanwhile with Shutoku, Otsubo who had a basketball under one arm was staring blankly at Midorima, a semi-confused look on his face as he listened to what Midorima had to say. "You want to start?" he echoed, making sure that his ears aren't deceiving him. "Didn't you say that you didn't want to play because your fortune was bad or something?"
Takao who was sitting on the bench tying his shoelaces grinned as he overheard this. "I bet you're excited after meeting an old friend, and you want to impress that girl or something," he teased.
"I've had enough of your wild speculations." Midorima said, annoyed, praying to the high heavens that Akashi or Aomine wouldn't hear of Takao's random ramblings. "I just wanted to test my shooting."
"Sure, but don't forget the coach said that he is only willing to let you get away with what you want three times a day." Otsubo warned. "Two more times, and I'll be pissed." Imaginary fire could almost be seen behind the captain, and Midorima nodded, hiding his unease easily. When one had a captain like Akashi Seijuro for three years, one would know how to deal with a scary captain. Otsubo sighed. "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!"
He then turned and walked towards the court where the rest of the team stood waiting.
Midorima pulled the bandages from his fingers, leaving it in a pile on the bench next to his teddy bear. "I cannot miss," he stated. "Today's lucky item is a stuffed bear. I have compensated for my bad luck."
* * * *
Shutoku's match against Kinka had begun, and Tamaki who was standing with the rest of her team watched as Shutoku easily dominated over the other team, leading with a game count of 38-8, with it currently being the second quarter. As she watched how the team performed with each other, and the display of their individual skills, Tamaki could then see why Shutoku was crowned as one of the three kings of Tokyo.
"They're already thirty points ahead with four minutes left in the second quarter." Riko remarked. "I'm not surprised."
"They're not doing anything that differently from us." Kawahara noted. "But they make it look so easy. I wonder why?"
"Because they don't make mistakes," said Hyuuga, and everyone turned their attention towards the Seirin captain. "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." The buzzer went off below them, signalling the end of the second quarter. "They make it look easy because their fundamentals are solid. But those are only the fundamentals. Naturally, there's another reason. It's because…"
On the court, Otsubo caught the ball as it rebounded back and dunked it back into the goal, knocking over two players from the opposing team as he did so.
"…they have an infallible scorer." Hyuuga finished as he watched his fellow captain below, his eyes darkening over as he recalled just how strong the Shutoku captain had been the previous year, and how he could do nothing against that insane strength.
The cheers from the Shutoku side increased in volume even as Otsubo bent down and held out his hand. "Sorry, are you okay?" he asked apologetically, offering his hand to help the two downed players to their feet.
"What an amazing dunk!" Kawahara said in amazement.
"Is he really a high schooler?" Furihata asked in disbelief.
"He's gotten even stronger." Riko remarked grimly, and Hyuuga nodded solemnly.
"We couldn't do anything about him last year," said the Seirin captain grimly.
"Otsubo on the inside and a normal outside was Shutoku's game until last year, but this year…" Riko trailed off, glancing at Tamaki who had her eyes on the match and didn't even seem to have heard the conversation of the second years.
"He's five out of five so far." Kagami remarked, standing beside Tamaki as he watched Midorima's plays. "Looks like Midorima's playing well."
"Is that right?" Tamaki mused.
"I don't know!" Kagami was taken aback at this. "Shouldn't you know?"
"No, guard the middle!" Kinka Number 4 shouted. "We can't help it if they have a little edge on the outside!"
"I don't know." Tamaki admitted as the Seirin team paid close attention to her words. "I've never seen him miss." Kagami was taken aback at her answer. "Not even once."
Down on the court, Midorima had gained possession of the ball, and was currently standing near the center of the court. "A little edge, huh?" he mused even as he prepared his form. "This is why you cannot win." And the ball left his hands, spiralling upwards in a high arc across the court.
"What does that mean, Tamaki?" Kagami demanded. "You've never seen him miss? Does that mean that Midorima…" He trailed off slowly, realisation dawning on his features.
Tamaki nodded. "Unlike Kise-kun who plays Small Forward, Midorima-kun plays Shooting Guard," she explained. "He is a specialist at shooting. There's no way that he would miss." She turned her attention back towards the court.
Kagami was about to ask something when he noticed the high arc that Midorima's shot had taken, and his eyes widened.
"What's with the high arc?" Hyuuga gulped. "Most people won't have any sense of distance shooting like that."
On the court, Midorima had already started making his way down the court. "Let's head back, Takao." Midorima ordered, and the dark haired boy hurried after his friend. "We're on defense."
"If you miss, I'll get yelled at too." Takao whined.
"Don't be stupid, Takao. I follow fate. I do everything I can. That is why I never miss my shots." Midorima finished as the ball went into the basket, earning Shutoku another three points.
"As long as Midorima-kun doesn't lose his form, he makes 100% of his shots." Tamaki explained calmly to her shocked team who had obviously never seen a shooting specialist at work before.
"Seriously?" Izuki spluttered.
"That's just not fair." Koganei whined.
"He's heading back to defend before he even makes his shot." Tsuchida remarked. "He's impossible to counter." Mitobe nodded in agreement, and Tamaki glanced briefly at her seniors.
'Not quite.' Tamaki thought. 'There is a way to actually counter it. But you must know how to perform it.'
"The time until he actually makes his shot is abnormally long." Riko analysed. "It really gets you mentally."
As the match went on, Tamaki could see that the opposing team is starting to lose hope that they would actually beat Shutoku. Hyuuga frowned. 'He really is amazing,' he thought. 'But why am I getting a bad feeling about this?' He then stopped dead and glanced at Tamaki who currently had her eyes on the match, remembering the same feeling that he had received around first Tamaki and then Kise – also members of the Generation of Miracles like Midorima. 'Could Midorima be hiding something even more ridiculous?' He wondered.
Back on the court, Midorima took shot after shot, and like what Tamaki had stated, Midorima never missed a single one. And thus, when the buzzer for the end of the fourth quarter went off, it was an overwhelming victory for Shutoku High, with the game count being 153 to 21.
'Their outside isn't a weakness anymore.' Riko thought nervously, worried about their chances against Shutoku should they end up facing them. 'They've got an even more dangerous scorer out there. This almost makes last year's performance cute.'
Back on the court, Midorima was slowly making his way towards the bench before he paused in his step and looked up at the bleachers where Seirin was standing, staring directly at Tamaki, ignoring Kagami who was just right next to her. Kagami then noticed just who Midorima was staring at, and bristled slightly.
Tamaki fingered the wristband around her left wrist.
* * * *
Hyuuga opened the gymnasium doors for his team. "Okay, let's go home—" Before the captain could finish his sentence, Riko smacked not only him, but the rest of the second years, thus sending the entire group of second years flying towards the ground.
"We've got another game today!" Riko scolded her team. "Are you stupid? Are you?"
"I was kidding." Hyuuga picked himself up from the floor with a groan. "The mood just seemed really gloomy."
"Everyone checked the tournament bracket." Izuki added.
"Huh?" Kagami said blankly, this being news to him. "We have another game? Seriously?"
Riko looked ready to kill the oblivious redhead for not being aware that there is another game that day, and Tamaki groaned to herself, wondering for the umpteenth time just what she saw in the redhead to actually pick him as her new partner.
"Kagami…"
"You really are stupid, Baka-gami!" Riko shouted at the redhead, holding up the tournament bracket chart in front of his face. "Check the bracket! We play two games on the day of our fourth game and the last day! Our fifth game starts at 5PM!"
"Two games in one day is just too much." Koganei complained as Kagami took the chart from Riko and scanned through it.
"Yeah. Even if we get a break, we're still tired." Izuki agreed.
"The semi-finals and finals are both in one day?" Kagami echoed, glancing down at the tournament chart in his hand. "Does that mean that we're playing a game before we play Shutoku?" He then froze as he noticed something. "Coach, the three kings are Shutoku and…"
Riko nodded, noticing that Kagami is slowly starting to catch on. "Seiho and Senshinkan," she said. "On the last day, our semi-finals opponent will most likely be Seiho. We'll play Shutoku in the finals. We're playing against two of the kings in a row." She announced.
The eyes of the rest of the team went wide. Tamaki was the only one that didn't look surprised, though that is because she had already checked the tournament bracket beforehand and already knew it.
"That's impossible!" Furihata is starting to go into panic mode even as the three freshmen pored over the tournament bracket that Kawahara currently had in his hands.
"Good schools have strong players, and lots of them." Kawahara commented. "Our guys will all need to be benched!"
Kagami smirked at the new challenge ahead of him, not seemingly worried in the least, despite the fact that his fellow freshmen and his seniors were all freaking out at the possibility of playing two of the kings in a row. "Two games in a day, and both of our opponents are strong. I couldn't ask for more."
"But this is too much!"
"Who are you trying to impress?" Kawahara asked in dismay, wondering if Kagami hadn't hit his head somewhere. "Right, Tamaki?" He asked, looking over at the blue haired girl who had been remarkably silent.
"Sorry. I'm actually a little excited as well," she said, scratching idly at one cheek with her finger.
She received a chorus of 'huh?' for her answer, and Furihata looked at her blankly. "What? Did you get Kagami germs too?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" Kagami demanded, annoyed.
"I hope not," said Tamaki, and Kagami turned back towards her, a scowl on his face.
"Somehow, the way that you denied that pisses me off."
"But don't difficult situations light a fire in you?" Tamaki asked Kagami bluntly, and the second years smiled, and Kagami grinned.
"All right! I'm on fire! I'm gonna go practice!"
"Don't!" Riko tugged Kagami back. "You should rest! You unbelievable basketball head! You idiot Baka-gami!"
* * * *
Tamaki was tired once she arrived back home that night, but she wasn't as exhausted as her teammates, as she had the advantage of having already been involved in National-class matches during her time in Teiko, and had the previous training to deal with it all.
Aomine's words were ringing in her head.
You can't afford to take on a member of the Generation of Miracles with just half your skill. If you take on Midorima with just half your skill, you can't win.
Tamaki rubbed at her left wrist before pulling out her cellphone and dialling a number. Three rings later, the call was picked up.
"Kise-kun?" Tamaki spoke into the receiver. "I need your help with something."