In Shadows | Kuroko no Basket Fan Fiction

32. The Final Play

In Shadows
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Final Play

How could things already be going so wrong?

Gina felt as though she was Kuroko, having her heart being torn in two; the way his eyes widened in absolute horror and the way his body started shaking cut her to the core.

This was worse than Aomine saying his basketball would never win. She could see just how deeply the words cut from here, and she was feeling it, too. She could even feel tears enter her eyes but no, she wouldn't cry, she would be strong and support the team, and be part of the mental strength they needed.

But seeing Kuroko like this after passes were seen and intercepted, Kuroko's supposedly invisible passes. Kuroko being seen by the defenders, without him using Overflow.

Kuroko... losing his ability to stick to the shadows. He was just visible, there in plain sight.

"Such a foolish act I cannot bear to watch," she could hear Akashi say, lips curved down in an expression of obvious disappointment. "Letting your one and only advantage slip from your fingers."

Kuroko started as though shocked but Akashi continued, relentlessly. "Back in middle school, after you arrived at your current style, I made you increase the variation of passes, but never let you acquire shooting or dribbling skills." He narrowed his eyes. "Do you know why I did not? Because I knew that if I did, you would lose your lack of presence some day. Vanishing Drive, Phantom Shot... There is no way a player using such flashy moves would not be noticed. And the nail in the coffin was the buzzer-beater in the semifinals."

No way. Gina froze, recalling how happy Kuroko had been after their match against Kaijo. How could something like that, something that made him so joyous, have such detrimental effects?

"By learning to shine halfheartedly, you can no longer become the shadow," Akashi said. "Now that you are no longer than phantom sixth player, you are already not even worth as much as a typical player. To think you'd not notice until now it'd end up like this... You have disillusioned me, Tetsuya."

The play continued, but Kuroko was struggling. Now he couldn't disappear into the shadows, the defense was holding him back - and since he wasn't as athletic or fast as everyone else, he truly was suffering.

"He's going to be taken off, isn't he?"Gina whispered.

Riko nodded. "Yes. But only for a short while. We'll need Kuroko to win, we always have. I'll make him play the final three minutes so we can analyse his play and how Rakuzan counters, and if there's any blind spots we can take advantage of. We need to make him resurge."

Gina nodded, allowing herself to feel hope. Kuroko wasn't done yet. Not by far. They would still need him.

Riko pulled Kuroko off court, but before he could make his way to the other side of the bench and sit as though defeated, she gestured to the spot open next to her.

"Kuroko-kun! Not over there. Over here!" When Kuroko took his seat she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Don't give up. I'm going to have you go out there again right away. There's a bit more than three minutes left in the first quarter. I'll give it all to you. So I want you to get fully beaten up on the court. So that we can fight one more time... and win!"

They waited a little longer before putting Kuroko back on. Gina briefly took his hand and nodded. You can do it, she said, trying to convey as much with her eyes as possible. Kuroko nodded back and headed back on to court.

Despite his efforts, all attempts - including Vanishing Drive and Phantom Shot - were thwarted by the opposition. Nothing was working, Gina realised with a wince. When the first quarter ended, the teams were tied 21 all.