Another Kind Of Ghost ~ A KnB Fanfic

Nineteen: Four Fouls And A Lack Of Focus

I smirk and bounce my ball between my legs into Kise's hold. "Leapfrog pass!"

Kise, now in possession of the ball, is capable of doing a cheesy jump shot into the hoop.

I high five him as we get back into position. I return to Aomine Daiki.

"You're better than you made out, Okenok. This game might be interesting." he muses. I grin with a firm nod.

"I won't hold back." I declare. Kise's not ready yet. Looks like I'll have to engage Aomine in a one on one first. Thank god I'm in the zone!

The next time the ball is tossed my way, it's actually because Kasamatsu got into a tough spot. I don't know WHY he thought it would be a good idea to pass it to the one teammate on a significantly superior player.

I take a deep breath and let the flow of motion sweep me away like a current, forwards, backwards, left, right, spirals, jolts, fakes, pace. My lungs will feel raw after this round.

I'm too close to the basket to do anything extreme. I cross my fingers on the ball as I bend my knees and shoot the most basic shot in basketball; the set shot.

I spot Kise not to far away from me, staring at Aomine like a dejected puppy. He's been pulling that face all day.

Over the next few plays, Kaijo's strategy begins to take effect, we're going to box Torou in and restrict their future plays. Aomine, Imayoshi and Wakamatsu have acquired fouls. This scheme is clearly angering the ace. Now is when the true battle begins.

These plays are fast and heavily reliant on teamwork. A pass from Hayakawa to Kobori-senpai in order to score, and our defence is strong too.

We find ourselves blocking Imayoshi in the inside, meaning that he has had to pass to the apologetic first year, Sakurai Ryou. As he gets ready to shoot a three-pointer. I rush over to block it, being vaguely covered by Kobori-senpai and Kasamatsu-senpai.

I watch my team move along so I have to stare down the annoying baby faced Sakurai Ryou. Funny how we share a name. FOCUS!

My eyes are darting from Sakurai to Kise. Sakurai to Kise.

Kise has the ball. He's hunched over a bit, his arms drooping and body rigid. He's ready.

Kise swings the ball almost lazily between his legs. The action makes Torou's ace uneasy. Kise bounces the ball with his left hand and slowly hooks his hand around it, swinging it around himself.

"I'm sick of waiting! Go crush them!" Kasamatsu-senpai shouts.

With a small lunge towards Aomine's face, Kise dives forward, taking the other ace, and his teammates by surprise. Both Kise and Aomine begin to run toward the basket that Torou need to defend. Our ace jumps up.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Kise!" Aomine shouts, leaping.

"No!" the peachy pink haired Momoi Satsuki shrieks, horrified as Torou's number five, Aomine Daiki hits Kise mid-air, causing the referee to blow his whistle to indicate a foul. Even from my side of the court, I can make out Kise's smirk as he dares one of Aomine's risky shots; moving his arm behind him and shooting upward with a relatively high arc. The basket goes in without an issue, no wobble, no need to rebound.

"Defence, black, number five!" the ref shouts. "Basket counts, one free throw!"

My eyes widen in realisation. Aomine has four fouls and we're not in the final quarter yet.

Kise gets the points from this free throw and then we return to gameplay. Our ace acquires the ball. I glance at our captain, who nods to validate my concern and give me almost permission to flank Kise into the fray. We both pass my mark, Sakurai and make it to the inside however Aomine is able to divert the shot without letting the ball grace my palms.

The ball is stolen from Kobori-senpai by the white blond, Wakamatsu, who with merely seconds left of the third quarter, passes to Torou's captain, Imayoshi Shoichi. He smirks at his marker, our own captain, Kasamatsu-senpai. Words are exchanged but I cannot hear them.

Is he really going to dare a shot? From there? Imayoshi jumps up and takes a three point shot as the buzzer rings out, the ball goes in without a hitch. The crowds roar in both awe and outrage.

I slump down on the bench and sigh as Moriyama-senpai comforts Kise. His kind words make me think of my old team. It's keeping me motivated. Nobody's giving up.

"Ryoucchi, remember that backboard shot you showed me. I want to try it."

"NOW!" I demand. "Why don't I do it and you dunk if I miss!"

"Okenok is right, now is the time to focus on Aomine. Let him do it, Kise." Kasamatsu-senpai orders as the buzzer goes off, indicating that the final quarter of the game was to begin.

Kise is on Aomine, I'm his first point of call, not that he's passing to me very much. Maybe Moriyama-senpai should be put back in in my stead.

I glance at our basket. Aomine and Kise are chasing one another and trying to outwit each other. It's interesting to watch to say the least. Aomine and Kise jump up, as they draw nearer to the ground, Aomine shoots. No way! No freaking way! How the hell was that effective!

How can watching the aces run around in order to acquire points be both fascinating and tedius. We're getting nowhere.

Hayakawa takes the ball as I try and slip past Sakurai. He hurls it toward me, which I truly appreciate.

Taking hold of the ball, I get ready to go...

Wait WHAT?!? Since when did Imayoshi Shoichi end up as my mark? Should I be worried? I guess that there's only one way to find out ; to go all out!

"Go Kaijo! "

"Go Kaijo! You can do it, Kaijo!"

"Go for the win, blue kings!"

A small smile stretches across my lips. I can do it. I can do this.

I lunge to my right and pivot to the left, the sudden change of direction startles the captain, but no enough to let him off of me. I grin my teeth. I'm going to have to be daring. It's my chance, I know that he's out there; my dad. If I have the nerve, I can do this and maybe shift the attention of Torou onto me.

I imagine Nate standing before me instead of Imayoshi. This new mental motivator gets me going, I suddenly seem to have been struck by a brand new surge of hidden energy. Like when you hit the marshmallow core in the tub of Phish Food ice cream, it provokes a brand new sensation.

The ball moves faster yet it does not go from my grip. I have it, I have control. I have power. I have heart. I have a chance.

"Go Ryoucchi! " Kise hollers from where Aomine's restricting him. I can't act from here, I'm going to have to break if I want to administer and deliver such a shot.

Spinning on my heel as I dribble, I am given a new perspective of my space. They're so busy trying to restrain my teammates that I've got all of this space. I need to do this formlessly or it won't work.

I raise the ball over my head and toss it with all ofvmy might, at the backboard of the Torou basket, before I can even check if I'm succeeding, I bite the bullet and charge straight towards the fray that is the inside of Torou's defence. The ball smacks the board and is careering back at me really quickly. I jump up , grabbing the ball in my hands, over my head.

Do what he told you. Do as you were advised. Use his methodology and you're bound to succeed....