Shogi [KHR & KNB Crossover]

Second

Tsuna tapped on his clipboard, getting the attention of the group in front of him. 

"Please stop relying on Seijuuro-san for the scores. You're wearing him thin, as well as allowing the other team members to know what we are planning. For now, I'm subbing the redhead out of the team. Kei (an OC) will substitute his role as the point guard." The brunet instructed, a thoughtful look marred on his face.

They no longer had their experienced phantom player, only a new rookie that had just begun learning the ropes of the disappearing act. Kei may be suitable for the job, but he was not the best about the skill, unlike the other veteran on the other group. Heck, they could feel the chill down their spines whenever they encounter the light blue head.

Seirin is a team that is extremely new on the field. Yet, they clinched championship the year before, gaining them the new limelight from all the basketball teams across Japan. Their member count has also increased.

Rakuzan, on the other hand, suffered a bit on their reputation. While it was not so bad, there was a slight decline of admission into the club, as compared to before. Though Tsuna was glad that the number was not so big, he was a little worried about the new talents that may appear.

With some recognizable abilities, they returned to the court commencing the Winter Cup games, beginning their chain of matches against a veteran King of Tokyo. Their orange uniforms stood out so much, one of their members simply reminded all of them of carrots.

Just before Kei removed his jacket, Tsuna stopped him. His eyes glazed orange as he unzipped his own, revealing a clean set of white jersey underneath. "On second thoughts, I'll play instead. Kei, take down all the notes you can get. You'll learn while watching the game. Seijuuro, please keep an eye out." Said male nodded, giving the brunet a thumbs-up. Kei blinked but agreed to the arrangement. His knees were quivering.

The third years cheered for joy, loudly welcoming their manager onto the court. "Yes! Vice-cap's playing!"

Their loud voices could be heard from the other team, gaining them a few weird glances. Two new members turned around, watching the jubilant team hugging a small-sized brunet. Immediately, they looked down on the boy.

With snarky faces, they remarked. "With that boy in the team, I won't be surprised if we won!"

"Yeah, they have a burden on the team. Is that a middle schooler on their team? Hah! They're relying on a kid to win!"

They each received painful blows to their heads immediately.

And it wasn't from just one fist. Three men of menacing heights towered over them, glaring at the two tactless males. "Judging them would only bring your downfall. He wasn't crowned the mastermind in their team for nothing." Their coach said. He then turned to a duo, encouraging them to pitch in and they happily did.

"That 'middle schooler' you speak of has control over the Emperor. If even the Emperor listens to him, what makes you think that he's a weakling."

"His reflexes are extraordinary, as well as his analytic skills. With him on the team, our point gap would only widen. Right, Shin-chan?"

"Underestimating them, especially that Rakuzan student head, would certainly bring your downfall. Just like what Coach and Takao said. You're just waiting for your own death. We personally haven't experienced the full fear, but we can tell that he is one fearsome figure you cannot look down on." The green head, Midorima Shintarou (conveniently called Shin-chan by Takao), finished.

The two quaked in fear. Rakuzan student head? That boy?!

"Time's up!" The referee declared. Both teams stood up from their benches and walked back to the court. Tsuna walked towards the staff and asked for a member change.

"Rakuzan, member change!"

Suddenly, much to the two's surprise, there was a wave of cheers screaming one common name. "Sawada!" There was even a group of girls holding up signage boards with sparkly designs decorating said name. They both could hear great comments about the person.

"Ah! I have been waiting for this guy to appear for ages! He made such a spectacular performance that one time he stepped into the court!"

"Yes! I remember that His moves were so quick and so smooth, Seiho had a really hard time keeping up! Rakuzan would get the first place this year, for sure!"

It was as if those words were poison, they began to shake. Their hands began to sweat. Just what monster are they facing to defeat the martial-arts-incorporated team?

However, the teams had no enough time to slowly absorb the tense atmosphere and process the different thoughts they had. Their centres stepped forward while everyone else spaced out. The two newbies positioned themselves far from the brunet, obviously clueless to his strengths.

The referee blew the whistle and tossed the ball into the air. The two centres leapt up for the ball, but Rakuzan received it and passed it to the brunet immediately.

Midorima's eyes widened. "Why is there no one guarding him?" He questioned aloud while Takao made the run towards Tsuna, panicking slightly at the escalation. No! Not so fast!

As if by magic, the brunet's hands had a light coat of shimmering orange as he bent his knees down, his hands holding the ball above his head in the position to shoot. At that moment, Shutoku knows that they were too late.

The ball left his fingers, making a clean shot into the hoop. The scoreboard flickered, changing the score of Rakuzan. "White team! 3 points!" A wave of applause swept through the room, leaving the players stunned at that moment. The white team cheered, giving happy noogies at their trump card.

The two that looked down on the brunet gaped at the sight. A boy, scoring at their Midorima-senpai's range... "NO WAY!"

The seniors of the team shook their heads in dismay.

Timeskip

The buzzer rang, alerting everyone that it was the end of the game. The referee blew his whistle, raising his right arm to tell both teams to gather at the centre of the court.

Both teams lined themselves up in front of each other, according to their numbers. Shutoku was all sweaty and smelly, while Rakuzan smelled fresh and clean -thanks to Tsuna and his mother hen ways.

The referee shouted, "127-106! Teams!" And they bowed to each other as the cue. "Thank you very much!"

Before they parted on their own ways, Seijuuro pushed Tsuna forward, right in front of his ex-teammate. The green head looked at the duo in amusement. The redhead smiled gently.

"I'm sure you've been waiting for the day you could meet him. Tsuna, meet Midorima Shintarou. Midorima, Sawada Tsunayoshi." They both shook their hands.

The brunet grinned nervously at the other. "Call me Tsuna! I hope you've enjoyed playing the game very much, Midorima-san!"

Said male blushed, meekly nodding his head in return. "I'm Midorima Shintarou, call me whatever that pleases you, Tsuna-san."

A raven-head popped over, smiling widely at them. "I'm Kazunari Takao, Shin-chan's partner! A pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Oh! Your scores are really awesome! You should have seen his face when you also shot from the other side of the court-" Tsuna could only laugh nervously, along with the enthusiastic teen.

Midorima sighed in defeat.

"-Anyway, it's a pleasure to play with you guys! Losing wasn't as bad when we did our best. Right, Shin-chan?" He asked, his permanent grin still there. Said male looked away, "n-not that I cared -nanodayo!"

Tsuna chuckled, stepping away from the two while pulling his partner along. "I'm glad to meet you! By the way, can you please tell your members not to look down on their opponents?" And he dragged Seijuuro away, into the locker rooms.

The two looked at where the other pair used to stand at, laughing mentally at what the brunet just requested.

"Shall we go then, Shin-chan?"

"Mhm."