Fragile Toughness

Seirin Versus Seiho (Part 3)

With thirty seconds left on the clock, both schools were struggling to get their victory. Seiho was one of the three kings, so they would not go down without a fight. Their pride is too strong.

Izuki glared at the Seiho's angered faces as Tsuchida scored a three-pointer, bringing the score up to 70-69, Seirin in the lead. Their pride and the will to score even though time was against them was pissing Izuki off. If his eagle eyes could be like Superman's eyes, he would have gladly shot them dead and won by default! How irritating!

He caught the ball as it fell down after Iwamura's dunk. Seiho had stuck to their man-on-man full-court defense again. Izuki caught sight of an opening.

"Run and gun! Oi!"

On cue, all the Seirin players pushed past their defenders, running and forming a protective circle around Izuki, far enough in case a Seiho player decided to make a grab, but close enough to circulate the ball.

As Izuki was about to shoot, he spotted Tsugawa closing in from behind him.

How?

Izuki growled as he made two quick bounces with the ball, a signal. He threw the ball in Tsugawa's direction and the eager boy ran towards it like a puppy after its bone. A large hand grabbed it as it soared above Tsugawa.

"Not today!"

Hyuga leaped into the air, securing Seirin's victory with a slam into the hoop. Just in time, the buzzer went off, ending with a 73-71.

Silence on the court, before cheers erupted as Seirin won their semifinals! The second-years crowded around Hyuga, with Koganei leaping onto his shoulders as they celebrated their victory. As they finally went back to their bench, Kuroko smiled softly as he tossed them a bottle each, this time filled with delicious lemonade. Koganei happily sighed as he gulped down his drink. The sour taste of lemons with the sweet taste of sugar melted on his tastebuds.

~~~

Back at the Seiho's bench, while everyone was licking their wounds or accepting their defeat, Tsugawa growled in anger. He felt like his entire world was crashing down right in front of him. The first major match of his high school career was robbed by this... this no-name school! He pinched himself. There was no way a no-name school like this Shitrin could defeat them, the all-mighty Seiho. He felt the pain, looking at his team's solemn faces and the cheers of victory coming from the other side of the court, he knew that this was no dream. Seiho had lost.

"Why..." He muttered to himself. "Why? Why? Why! Why, WHY!" He yelled the last part out, tears rolling down his cheeks. "You guys were just formed last year! Why did you guys win?! We practice much more than you ever did! So tell me! Why did you guys win!"

"Enough!" Iwamura growled as he pulled Tsugawa back onto the bench. He was fuming, but on the other hand, his heart could not hate that team, instead, they earned his respect. While they had ended his high school basketball career, he could not stay mad. After all, they had won fair and square.

"Tell me your name!" Tsugawa yelled from where he was restrained. He wanted to remember the name of the person he wanted to take revenge on next season.

Iwamura sighed. Did he not pay attention to what we were talking about it during the timeout?

Kuroko looked confused as he heard the yell. Sitting back up on the bench, he gestured to himself. "Me?"

Tsugawa felt irritated, feeling like Kuroko was mocking him.

"Who else! Tell me your name!"

"Kuroko, Kuroko Tetsuya."