Crimson Basketball (Kagami x OC)

Chapter 10 (Shutoku High School Game: Part 2)

Third POV

Shutoku had the ball. They passed it to Midorima. He was about to shoot but Kagami blocked him. He still could have easily made the shot, but he saw Kuroko running back to inbound the ball as soon as he got it.

Midorima grinded his teeth. He faked going for a shot but then passed it to his teammate. "What's going on? I think Midorimacchi could have easily made that shot." Kise said from the stands.

"I see what's going on." His teammate, Kasamatsu said.

The coach on Shutoku groaned. 'I didn't expect to see that from such an unexceptional kid. That pass could put us in trouble. They plan to shut down Midorima with it. Well, we've got a treat for them.' he thought.

"Did he really stop him!? What's your take on all of this?" Kise asked. Kasamatsu went on to explain. "That's why Midorima can't shoot." he finished.

"Heh. I'd hate for people to think this is all it takes to shut us down." Takao thought. He dribbled past Izuki but Mitobe stopped him. Takao paused, then passed it to his team's captain, Otsubo. Otsubo took the ball and made a lay up.

"Shutoku got 'em right back!" A person from the crowd said. The next play Hyuga passed the ball to Kuroko. He saw Mitobe was open and passed it to him. Mitobe made the shot and scored the point.

Shutoku's coach looked at Kuroko. 'Yeah. That oughta do it.' he thought. "Hey! Takao! Kimura! Switch marks. Takao, get on number 11." "They're putting him on Kuroko?" Hyuga thought.

"Do they really think they can stop Kuroko?" the bench warmers said. "Their strategy is already direct enough as it is. What are they planning?" Riko thought. Takao dribbled the ball and came face to face with Izuki.

Then without even looking he passed the ball behind him into his teammates hands with a smirk. Izuki gasped. "That pass." he thought. His teammate made the shot. Izuki recalled memories of Takao's previous passes. "No way! So he can do it too!" he thought.

Takao ran over to Kuroko and had another little chat.

Kagami looked over at them then looked back at his mark, Midorima. "I don't know what you are planning. But there's no way you're gonna beat Kuroko just by putting a faster player on him." he said. "Oh I'm fully aware of what Kuroko is capable of. That'll be clear to you soon enough." Midorima said.

One of Kuroko's teammates passed him the ball but before he could catch it, Takao came and stole the ball. He passed it to his teammate and scored the point. Takao turned to Kuroko again and spoke.

"Ya know...I don't think anyone's gotten me this riled up before. Despite all I said. There's still something different about you." Kuroko looked at him plainly again. "Sorry...I'm trying to think of something to say...But I'm drawing a blank." he said.

"Heh?" Takao said. "But...I guess I kinda feel the same as you." Kuroko said. "Well alright. Let's do this then." Takao said. Then Kuroko disappeared from his sight. "You sneaky bastard! You make me think we were having a moment then you disappear from my sight!" Takao said.

"Is what I would say." he said under his breath. Izuki passed the ball to Kuroko. He passed it to Hyuga but Takao blocked it before he could. Everyone was shocked. 'Seriously?' Kagami thought. 'No way!' Pento thought, slightly shocked with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry to do this to you, Kuroko." Midorima said. "That's the first time I've seen him fail." Hyuga said. "No, he didn't fail. The problem is that guy." Izuki said, referring to Takao. "He has it too. The Eagle eye...Actually it might be a hawk eye, which sees much further than the eagle eye."

Hyuga gasped. "Kuroko uses misdirection to redirect a person's gaze, but Takao sees the whole court, so it's not just Kuroko he sees. In other words, Takao's gaze can't be misdirected." Izuki explained.

—----

The buzzer rang. "Seirin, Time-out!" The ref said. All the members of Seirin sat down on the bench. "I can't believe they stopped Kuroko." Hyuga thought. "I didn't think that was possible." Riko thought. "Well, I guess it was bound to happen at some point in his life. We're in trouble." Pento thought.

Kagami put his hand on Kuroko's head. "Hey, come on. Don't keep letting them do this to you. Aight?" he said. "Yeah. I'm actually kinda irritated about this too." Kuroko said. "Good! Yo coach! We're fine. Let's keep charging ahead...Uh, please." Kagami said.

"Without a plan? Takao completely countered Kuroko's misdirection. You guys gonna be okay?" Pento said. "Honestly, no. It's a huge problem." Kuroko said. "Yeah it is." Pento said. Just then the buzzer rang again and all of Seirin walked on the court again.

—----------

Seirin was back on the court. Kuroko tried to steal the ball but Takao stole it right back. "What are you doing out there? It's not like you to repeat the same mistake over and over again." Kise thought. "For your sake I hope that's not all you've got because you haven't even seen the full brunt of our defense.

You haven't even seen my full shooting range." Midorima stated, standing at the center line with the ball. He got into his shooting position, shot the ball, and made the shot. Everyone was shocked except for Kuroko, Kise, and Pento because they knew he could shoot from there.

 Midorima ran back far in the court on defense. Kagami got the ball and ran up to Midorima. "That was pretty impressive I'll give you that. However..." Kagami pivoted back and took a shot. Pento gasped. Kagami bricked the shot, but he ran up to the hoop and slammed it in.

'Well, Well. Look at you. Following my advice.' Pento thought as she smirked.

Flashback

"First off, you're simple, straightforward, and easy to predict. Get some more variety to your game, become unpredictable." Pento said.

Present Time

'Thanks Pento." Kagami thought as he ran back. "I won't say that wasn't surprisingly good, but..." Midorima was still at the other side of the court and he got into a shooting position and shot the ball. Everyone waited in anticipation as they waited to see if it would go in or not.

*Swish* Midorima made the shot and the buzzer beeped. Everyone in the building was shocked. Even Kuroko and Pento.