Chương 24: TWENTY THREE
Going back on court, Kagami and Kuroko fist bumped and got into position. Kuroko was feeling slightly guilty about punching his light but in the end, he didn't regret it. Sometimes it was easier to literally knock sense into others.
Takao was still on Kuroko's ass but with the smaller boy's new found spirit, he found a way to beat the hawk-eye. It was such a simple solution he wondered why he didn't think of it before.
Increasing the ball speed. If Takao can steal the ball when he passes, then all he needed to do was increase the ball speed and use the pass he only ever used for his old teammates. This high-speed pass wouldn't be able to be caught by just anyone but he knew Kagami could catch it. Because Kagami put a whole lot of trust in him.
That's why, when the ball came to him, he saw Takao ready to steal it but he ended punching the ball with his palm and sent it across to Kagami's awaiting hand.
"Ha?!" Takao was baffled.
Kagami caught the ball with a slight flinch and dribbled it up to the three-point line where Midorima appeared in front of him. To everyone's surprise, Kagami shot the ball towards the hoop instead of facing the carro- *cough* - green-head straight on.
"A three?!"
"Nope," Kagami smirked as he ducked down and sprinted towards the hoop where he jumped and slammed the oncoming ball through the net.
"An alley-oop?!" The players were shocked.
There was no way Kagami could make a three that easily and he knew that which was why he ran towards the basket. Midorima could only click his tongue at himself for failing to follow-up.
The game resumed and Seirin were on the defensive. Midorima got the ball and got ready to shoot a three from the end of the court.
"Dammit!" Seirin grit their teeth. Kagami sprinted up to the green-head and jumped a millisecond before the ball was shot. The tip of his middle-finger grazed the underside of the ball making Midorima's eyes widen.
Sadly, the ball still went through the hoop but now Kagami wasn't as upset as he would've been. He looked at his hand with wonder.
'I managed to touch it. Just a little more...'
The score board read; 55 - 60
*BRRRT*
"HALF-TIME!!"
"Damn," Kagami scowled.
They went back to the bench and wiped their sweat off before drinking some water.
"Good job guys! We managed to close the gap to 5 points." Riko said. The team were heading to the locker-room.
Inside, they sat on the cool steel benches and sighed. Two kings in one day was painful and Seirin were lucky they managed to stand firm on court.
"We're going good but..." Hyūga sighed.
At the edge of the bench, Kuroko was watching a recorded video of their game.
"What are your thoughts Kuroko?" someone asked.
"There's a chance a meteor will hit the other teams bench before they beat us to 100 points," said the pale boy with a serious face.
"....."
Their faces twitched at the prospect.
"Maybe they'd all get stomach aches and we'd win by default?" Koganei suggested.
The team looked at him before breaking out into chuckles.
"I think a second-half comeback is more realistic," Hyūga smirked. "Which reminds me, when are you planning to play Takumi?"
Everyone turned towards the said boy with similar questions. They had forgotten that he was supposed to play.
"About that, I'm waiting for something." Takumi smiled.
"Waiting for something?"
"Mhm, once this thing happens, I'll join the game."
Everyone was confused. 'What was he waiting for?'
"Looks like it's time for the second-half to begin," Takumi ignored their gazes and showed his phone.
"Honestly you...." Riko wanted to say more but shook her head and ushered the boys out. She could never tell what went through that boy's head.
-----------------
To keep it simple, the third-quarter started with a 'bang'.
Shutoku went hard from the start scoring point after point with Seirin doing the same.
Takao and Izuki kind of had a mini face-off with both trying to use their unique eyes to counter each other but Takao was proven to be a level higher than Izuki in terms of both eyesight and skills.
Midorima was still shooting but something was really giving him a bad feeling. And he knew his bad feelings always came true. Oha-Asa said Cancer's were in luck today but there was one sign they needed to watch out for.
Midorima took his form and jumped up to release the ball.
That's when it happened.
Out of nowhere, an arm shot up and slammed the ball down, effectively stopping his shot.
*Bounce*
*Bounce*
It was silent on the court as everyone turned to stare at the red-head who straightened and grinned.
"Impossible," The Shutoku players were shocked that Kagami managed to stop Midorima's three-pointer.
Midorima himself couldn't believe what just happened.
And like a machine, Kagami's switch was turned on.
[A/N: hehe]
He ran around jumping like crazy to block different shots, whether it was Midorima's or someone else's pushing Shutoku into a corner. But they weren't worried because they knew he couldn't last long like that.
And that's when Riko called a timeout.
"Seirin substitution! Number 10!"
""EEH?!""
The crowd and players were confused. Why were they subbing out their strongest player right when he's on a role?
Coach Nakatani looked at Seirin's female coach with a serious gaze.
'So she's noticed.'
Kagami's legs were nearing their limit.
"Ara, is this my time to shine?" Takumi stood up from the bench and stretched. He then took the hair-tie around his wrist and gathered his hair to the back before tying it in a ponytail. With his hair taken back, his full face and features were revealed along with his many ear piercings. Studs of course since anything other were banned.
[A/N: I like when dudes have piercings. Sue me]
Shutoku saw him walking on court and tensed.
On Takumi's jersey, the number 24 was bright.
"No way, they're sending their manager out? I thought he wouldn't play," Takao said.
Takumi slapped Kagami's back ignoring his yelp and took off his t-shirt throwing it to Riko.
"He's dangerous." Otsubo muttered. He, the captain, and the rest of Shutoku could tell the newcomer was someone to watch out for.
Takumi greeted his team on court and smiled at Shutoku.
"Let's have a good game shall we?"
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