The Medical Manager (Kuroko x OC)

Chapter 44

-Emiko POV-

We called for a time-out...
"I'll do it" said Kagami.
"Kagami! You mean you'll do it by yourself?" shouted Furihata.

"We're counting on you then" said Hyuga.
"What? Don't you think you agreed too quickly, Captain?" asked Fukuda.
"It's a valid verdict. Yeah, nice" said Izuki.

"You too, Izuki-senpai?" said Fukuda.
"You heard them, Kiyoshi" said Koganei and gave Kiyoshi some lemons.
"Let me redo your taping" I said. "You're putting a lot of pressure on it..."

"Sorry, Maeda" said Kiyoshi while I retaped his knee.
"Why is everyone agreeing?" asked Fukuda.
"Why are you objecting?" asked Hyuga. "It's how we've always played. Against the Generation of Miracles, we always face this situation. Eventually, we have to rely on our ace. If we didn't have one, we'd be screwed. But we have Kagami. That's good enough"

"Okay, I'm done" I said to Kiyoshi.
"Thanks, Maeda. This is perfect" he said.

~

We were down 12 points...
Seijuro's defensive area was huge...
To make matters worse, his Emperor Eye and Ankle breaking was even better...

He was playing alone, not expecting anything from his teammates...
"Kagami-kun..." I heard Tetsuya say. "Why don't you give up?"
"Why would you say that now, Kuroko?" asked Kagami.

"I'm not telling you to give up on the game" said Tetsuya. "I mean give up on fighting alone. I said I was counting on you, but it could be too heavy a responsibility. If that's the case, let me help you carry it"
"I can handle it myself!" said Kagami. "I'm almost... fine, I accept your help. Let's do this together. We'll beat Akashi!"

Seijuro was too good...
We passed outside his Zone, but he still managed to stop Kiyoshi from scoring.
Tetsuya had a plan...

Seijuro passed Kagami and Tetsuya managed to read Kagami's motions... he got there before Seijuro...
Tetsuya managed to steal the ball from Seijuro.
"Yes!" I shouted.

Seijuro was defeated... he tried to catch up, he was angry...
But Tetsuya managed to get the ball before Seijuro and gave the ball to Kagami.
Kagami scored over Seijuro's head, completely defeating him...

Seijuro was out of the Zone and missed an easy shot.
I had never seen him like this...
We were only 10 points behind...

-Akashi Seijuro POV-

"You're at your limit" said the other me.
"Don't be absurd! I can't lose!" I shouted.
I was messing up big time...

"Give up. You can't win anymore" he said.
"Shut up! I will win" I said. "I have until now, and I always will!"
"Okay! Defence! Stop this shot!" shouted Hyuga.

"You can do it, guys!" I heard Emiko shout.
Seirin was scoring more and more.
They caught up, only one basket behind...

"This is ridiculous!" shouted Eikichi and grabbed me by the shirt. "A kid could've caught that weak pass! You think that'll work now? I've had enough of your crap, Akashi!"
"White team, time-out" I heard the referee announce.

I walked back to the bench, I looked over at Emiko, who was watching me closely.
'What's with that face, Emi?' she looked worried...
"You're out" said coach.

"Wait" said Mayuzumi and he looked at me. "You're embarrassing yourself. Did you think I'd console or encourage you? I'd never do that. After everything you said, this is all you can do? I don't think so. You're nothing like the man I met on the roof. In fact, who are you?"

"Who am I?" I asked myself.
I began to remember my childhood, my mother, Emi, basketball,...

"You are my weakness" said the other me. "Born to a distinguished family, always standing above others, and obligated to win. Even when you lost your mother, your only repose, you weren't allowed to stop. I was already beginning to tear apart then. The only reason I didn't, was Emiko. Basketball. The anchor my mother left me, the sport I played so much with Emi. As long as I kept winning, my stern father allowed me to play. The Teiko basketball team's practices were hard, but not painful. More than that, I enjoyed the ability to play all I liked and spend time with friends. Then we won, our second national championship. It would've been impossible with anyone else. It happened because I had them. But... the team began emphasizing victory. At the same time, their talents began to blossom. Their growth planted the fear that I'd be unable to keep up. I saw Emiko happy with other friends, and it made me feel like I was losing her too. Believing they would leave me behind, fear turned to panic. I had to be the strongest to continue playing with them"

"That's right. That's why..." I said. "That's why I was born. They followed me once again. A third championship was easy enough. It was a thorough victory. I was absolute. Things were the same once they became opponents. I will continue proving my strength"

"So you don't need me?" he asked.
"That's right. You stay here forever" I said.
"I meant to" he said. "But the scent of defeat is making you crack"

"You know nothing! You allowed yourself to be weak!" I shouted.
"Yes. I didn't understand" he said. "I was trying to save it by winning. Something irreplaceable. I didn't know what else to do. That weakness gave birth to you. Desiring only victory and abandoning all else, I lost sight of why I wanted to be stronger. And now you're about to make the same mistake. Our guilt will stay with us forever. I thought it couldn't hurt to lose. But it seems I was wrong. It's because we're playing Kuroko, and Emi. We can't suppress our impulse to win"

I opened my eyes, for what seemed the first time in a long time.
"How dare you ask who I am?" I said to Mayuzumi. "I'm Akashi Seijuro, of course"

-Emiko POV-

Something felt off about Rakuzan.
The game was about to begin again, everyone went on the field.
"Emi" I recognized that voice anywhere... I dropped my map and slowly turned around.

"Sei..." I whispered, he was back...
My Sei was back...
"I'm sorry" he said and bowed to me.

I began to cry and everyone was surprised.
"I'm so sorry" he said. "For hitting you, I should've apologized ages ago. And I'm sorry"
"Sei..." I whispered and he looked at me.

"Don't cry" he said and smiled. "You're more beautiful when you smile"
"Idiot" I chuckled.
He walked onto the court and all I could do was cry from happiness.

"Emiko-chan?" asked Riko and I smiled.
"He might give us some trouble now" I said.

"Defence! Defence! Defence!" everyone on the bench shouted.
I saw Tetsuya's expression change, he knew it too.
I saw Seijuro pass.

'It really is him...'
Seijuro was making sure the other players on Rakuzan played their best.
It was really beautiful to see...
Seijuro was back into the Zone, he was drawing the others into a Zone like state.

"No way" said Tsuchida. "The Zone is attainable by the Generation of Miracles and Kagami's class. Only a few prodigies can enter it"
"That's not a complete Zone" I explained. "Sei's drawn out their potential to a level approaching the Zone. It's only possible because they're the Uncrowned Kings"
"What are we supposed to do?" asked Koganei.

They were scoring more and more.
Kagami was getting really tired...
Kiyoshi's knee was at its limit...

Tetsuya fouled...
'They're all getting too tired...'
"You can do it, Kuroko!" I smiled when I recognised the voice. "Don't give up!"

'Ogiwara, so you did get my message'
"It's Ogiwara" I said and smiled.
Ogiwara held out a basketball, which made Tetsuya smile brightly.

"Tetsu, Kagami!" it was Aomine... "You beat us! If you don't beat Rakuzan, I'll kill you!"
"Just so you know, so will I!" shouted Kise. "Win, Seirin!"
"Beat Akashi! Beat Rakuzan!" shouted Midorima.

"Don't give up, Seirin!"
Everyone was cheering for us...

Kagami had a plan...
'Is he... did he... did he open the greater Zone?'
We managed to stop their attack.

They were amazing... all syncing up with Kagami...
My eyes could hardly follow...
But Seijuro wasn't about to let us win that easily...

40 seconds left...
They began double teaming Kagami...
Kiyoshi tried, but I saw his knee...

30 seconds...
"Captain!" shouted Tetsuya and he passed to Kagami.
We scored, 20 seconds left...

"Defence! Defence!" we all shouted.
10 seconds left, but Izuki managed to steal the ball.
Izuki passed to Hyuga, almost like Sei's pass...

And then, Hyuga used the shot that Mibuchi had made Hyuga foul...
"Basket counts, one throw!" shouted the referee.
4 seconds left...

Only 1 point behind...
"You did it, Captain!" shouted Furihata.

Hyuga missed the shot on purpose.
Kiyoshi went for it for all he got... He got the ball and passed to Tetsuya.
"Go!" we all screamed.

"It's over, Kuroko!" I heard Seijuro shout.
Tetsuya lined up for Kagami and Kagami made shot.
We... We won...