The Medical Manager (Kuroko x OC)

Chapter 33

-Emiko POV-

We got interviewed by Basketball Monthly, everyone was very nervous.
We got ready to watch the next game. It would decide our next opponent.
"Kagami! We're over here!" shouted Koganei when Kagami was there.

"Welcome back. How did it go?" asked Tetsuya when Kagami sat down.
"Kuroko, Maeda" said Kagami seriously. "Do you two know a guy named Haizaki?"
"What?" I said in surprise.

'I never thought I'd hear that name again...'
"Why do you know that name?" asked Tetsuya.
"I just met him" said Kagami.

"He's the one who was the starter before Kise joined" I said. "Seijuro made him quit the team"
"Well, that guy is on the other team" said Kagami.
"What? He's on their team?" asked Kiyoshi.

I looked down at the players, he had changed his appearance, but he was there indeed...
"Kuroko, Maeda, what do you think?" asked Koganei.
"He was selfish and out of control" said Tetsuya.

"No kidding" I sighed. "He was a total jerk. But it's true he was a starter"
"He's definitely strong" said Tetsuya.

"Though the Teiko Middle School team and Generation of Miracles are now exalted for their overwhelming strength, it wasn't always that way" said Hyuga. "Their great strength bred resentment and antipathy. They were practically considered villains. Though I've only heard rumours, it's possible Haizaki's brutality contributed to that reputation"

~

The game began, Kaijo got the ball.
'Heh, not so bad on defence'
But Yukio passed them easily and scored the first basket.

"Give me the ball!" I heard Haizaki shout to his teammates.
"Tch" I said. 'I see his awful attitude hasn't changed one bit'
He pushed his teammates aside so he could score...

"Seriously?" shouted Hyuga.
"He pushed his teammate aside!" said Riko.
But Kise blocked Haizaki.

But then... Haizaki hit his senior...
"That guy's his senior!" said Kagami.

Haizaki was on Yukio, but Yukio used his special drive to get past him.
'Nice! But... maybe... not the best idea, Yukio...'
The other guys on Haizaki's team weren't bad, they had some good tricks up their sleeves.

"They made it this far" said Riko. "Their other players are pretty good too"
"Both teams are going all out from the start of the game" said Kagami. "But Kise's hardly touched the ball yet"

"No, it's coming" said Tetsuya.
Kise scored using a method of the other team.

But... Haizaki finally showed us what he could do...
He copied Yukio's drive...
Next... he copied the strange shot of Moriyama.

He was really getting on my nerves like back in middle school...
He stole the pass of his own teammates!
Hyuga cracked his knuckles.

"If he'd joined our team, I would have taught him some manners..." he said.
"Are you getting fired up while watching a game?!" shouted Koganei.
Riko joined in cracking her knuckles...

"It's not too late to start now!" she said.
"Both of them?!" shouted Izuki together with Koganei.
I rolled up my sleeves.

"I apologise, clearly I didn't kick his ass hard enough back in middle school" I said.
"Not you too" said Koganei.

Haizaki copied the abilities of Kaijo constantly...
But... the result of that copying began to show...
"Do Haizaki and Kise have the same ability?" asked Kagami.

"No" said Tetsuya. "They're slightly different"
"You'll see soon enough" I said.
Yukio tried his drive again, but his rhythm was off, so the other player took the ball.

"You're kidding, right?" said Tsuchida. "I can't believe Kaijo's on the back foot"
"What is Kise doing?" asked Kagami.
"The other players are lifeless too" said Riko.
"Yeah, something's wrong" said Hyuga.

Kise used the move he copied from Kagami, but Haizaki copied it as well...
"Kuroko, you said Kise and Haizaki's abilities are slightly different, right?" asked Kagami.
"Yes" said Tetsuya.

"What does that mean?" asked Kagami.
"Kise replaced Haizaki as a regular" I said. "Haizaki was lazy during practice when he didn't skip it outright. Since Kise never saw him play in a real game, it's possible he doesn't know"

"Like Kise-kun, Haizaki-kun makes moves his own after seeing them only once" explained Tetsuya. "However, he uses his own rhythm and tempo. When players see an opponent use a move that appears identical but has a slightly different rhythm, they unconsciously disrupt their own rhythm and become unable to use the ability. Haizaki-kun doesn't copy moves. He steals them"

When the second quarter was over, there was a 12 point difference.
Seeing them play against each other, reminded me of the time in middle school...