Ｌｉｇｈｔ - 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮

three - this is defeat

It was tense as both teams lined up beneath the net, Mibuchi and Nebuya being the closest to the basket with Kagami and Kiyoshi beside them, respectively. Mayuzumi had his hands on his hips as he stood by Kuroko, and Akashi had his eyes on his lover as Sasaki shifted his weight a few feet from him.

It was right then that Hyuuga stepped up to the free throw line and the referee with the ball joined him. "One free throw!" He announced, handing the basketball to the shooting guard, who took it and bounced it once.

There's no way in hell that he'll make the shot, Akashi thought to himself as he readied to get in motion. The stress from being in the finals, from being subjected to Emperor Eye, from having to be in best form, and having four fouls, he almost let a smirk slip, but barely managed to keep his face blank. Not to mention all of the negative feelings he and the others have been directing towards Hayate; all of those things have piled up.

He might have been in top form recently, but now that the game has slowed to where he is the center of attention, he has the time to think and feel, and that will be Seirin's downfall.

Seirin is a young team, they don't have the stamina nor spare members to go into overtime, so the second that we get control of the ball, Rakuzan will be the undeniable winner of this match, of the Winter Cup. Now, all that is left, Akashi narrowed his heterochromic eyes to Hyuuga, who had just entered his shooting motions. Is for you to miss, Hyuuga Junpei.

Almost every eye on Seirin widened when the ball didn't sink through the basket, but bounced off the rim. "REBOUND!"

How the hell did I miss? Hyuuga asked himself, watching in what felt like slow motion as the Rakuzan defenders and Kagami and Kiyoshi went up for the rebound. Why couldn't I make the shot that really mattered? It was a free throw, goddammit! They definitely would have won if he had made that shot, but now things were looking dire.

But before Hyuuga could give in to self-hatred, Kiyoshi gripped the ball, causing the stands and especially the bench to go wild. "He got it!"

"Stop them!" Rakuzan's coach yelled from the sidelines as the timer ran down from 3 seconds, then to 2. "Don't let them shoot!"

"You're not going anywhere, Hayate," Akashi fronted the azurette, who just smiled with a slight shrug.

"Didn't plan to. This wouldn't be a very satisfying ending for the team if I was the one to make the final basket," He hummed as a certain someone managed to shake their mark right in time for Kiyoshi to pass. "Nope, it's gotta be him."

"GO!" Seirin's bench screamed as Kuroko caught the ball, the clock ticking down to one second. Sasaki just stood with a hand on his hip as Akashi bolted and jumped in front of the bluenette, attempting to block a shot from him.

"Akashi!"

"It's over, Kuroko!" He yelled, his deep and dark pink eyes flaring. But then a thought crossed his mind, and suddenly he felt dread come over him as Kuroko smiled.

"No, not yet. I am," He raised his head to meet his former captain's eyes. "A shadow."

With that, the ball was shot from the phantom's hand, appearing as Kagami grabbed it for the dunk of a lifetime. The ball went through the net right as the clock struck zero. "Time's up!" The referee whistled as confetti canons went off all around the court. "Seirin High wins the Winter Cup!"

"I'm gonna lose my hearing with much more of this," Sasaki mused with crossed arms as his teammates screamed their heads off.

Right before anyone could tackle Kagami in a hug for being the decisive factor in their win, the redhead was barrelling to the azurette and sweeping him up, causing Sasaki to yelp and try to stabilize himself as Kagami swung him around. "WE DID IT!"

"Ahahaha, yeah, we did," Sasaki agreed, really wanting to be put down but also not wanting to put a damper on the mood. Suddenly, Kagami set him back down and wrapped him in a tight hug, causing him to sigh and return the hug with his arms around the redhead's neck.

"I'm so sorry," Kagami murmured against his neck. "For everything I said. I don't deserve your help or support, but you still believed in me," He pulled back just far enough so that the two were face to face, allowing Sasaki to see the tears streaming down the redhead's face. "So thank you, Sasaki. Thank you for leading me through this even though I was a complete dick to you."

"Hmph," Sasaki's lips upturned, and he took a second to wipe Kagami's tears. "You're welcome, Kaga-teme."

"GUYYSSSSSSS!" The benchwarmers finally got around to their tackling, causing both Kagami and Sasaki to squawk at the force that landed them on their asses. Meanwhile, Akashi's eyes were flickering as his two personalities had a chat.

"It's over, we lost," Sei said as he looked at his other self. Seiji had his head down and his hands in fists.

"So this is defeat," Seiji grumbled, his jaw clenched. "This is awful."

"It is," The other agreed.

"This pain in my chest is..."

"Hard to describe," Sei finished, huffing slightly. "I don't think we'll be able to stay composed until we line up, but.."

"Still glad we played basketball," Seiji smirked roughly, blinking away any tears that had started to prick at his eyes as he looked his other self straight in the eye. "Together as one, with our team, and with Hayate."

"Yes," Sei smiled softly. "This wouldn't have been the same if Sasaki hadn't been a part of it."

"We would've won if he hadn't," Seiji deadpanned for half a second before shaking his head with a smile. "I'll let you have control for now since you're better with emotional stuff. When we're done with the awards ceremony, lets.." He closed his eyes. "Go to Hayate's house and have dinner with him and the others."

"I'll be sure to ask him," Sei said, turning and striding towards the light that awaited him. When he opened his eyes again, Sei was back in control and he was staring down at the court. Lifting his head, he moved over to where Sasaki was laughing with a few of his teammates.

Seeing him coming, Sasaki beamed. I'm lucky to have met you, to have you in my life, and to be able to see you smile like that, the Rakuzan captain thought to himself briefly before holding his hand out to his lover with a smile of his own. "Congratulations Sasaki, your team won."

"Thanks Sei!" The azurette accepted the handshake eagerly, his grin never leaving his face. "It was a lot of fun, so let's play again next time!"

"Yes," Akashi smiled. "Let's."

[Want more without the wait? Several more chapters are already published on my Patreon page, so look for them under the Light Side Story subscription! Link is on my profile~]