That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 3)

第60Q

The game resumed with Moriyama having the ball. When Hyuga stepped to the right, the Kaijo shooting guard drove from the other side, avoiding his defence. 'Crap!' cussed Hyuga before quickly turning around to catch up. When Moriyama jumped to shoot the ball, Hyuga followed and managed to scrape the ball with his fingertip, interrupting the shot that caused the ball to bounce off the rim. Kiyoshi broke past Kobori, and was about to get the rebound when Hayakawa beat him to it.

'This guy has some nose for shots that miss!' noted Kagami, who was being marked by Nakamura. 'Especially for reacting to offensive rebounds.'

'And number 9 is focusing on screening Kagami out and using all his strength to make sure he doesn't jump.' thought Izuki as he watched Kagami struggling to shake off Nakamura. 'What a combination!'

"Hayakawa!" called Kobori, who then got the ball from him. Kobori bounced the ball and went to score a basket. Kiyoshi immediately went over to block it, but he bumped into Kobori, which caused the referee to blew his whistle, and the latter scored a basket when the ball went into the hoop, leaving Kaijo to be behind Seirin by only two points.

"Defence!" shouted the referee. "Pushing! White number 7! Basket counts! One free-throw!"

"Alright!" cheered Kobori.

"Well done, Kobori!" praised Moriyama.

'That was bad.' thought Kiyoshi before his gaze landed to the floor. "Dammit." he cussed.

"Kiyoshi Teppei." called Kobori when he stood behind the said boy, who looking at him upon hearing his name. "You're a vastly better player than I am. But I'm not going to lose! Because we're longing for a win much, much more than you guys. The strength of our desire is different! For us, this is a revenge match. You guys won once, so you're on the receiving end. Furthermore, you weren't here for the last game. I can't possibly lose to someone who just wants to win." Kobori then walked away for the free-throw, leaving Kiyoshi to stare at his back.

"Say something back, moron!" scolded Hyuga while slapping the center's back.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, wincing in pain from the impact.

"Don't let him speak his mind while you stay quiet!" added the captain.

"Well, I thought it sounded more than reasonable, so I couldn't help it." said Kiyoshi with a sheepish smile. "I thought that must be why they're so strong.

This only infuriated Hyuga, as a vein throbbed on his cheek. "Did you already forget about last night?" he snarled, referring to what he told his teammates on the previous night about him overhearing the watchers' opinion on Seirin winning a practice game against Kaijo. "Couldn't help it? Why're you accepting it, Mr. Iron Heart?"

"Sorry." said Kiyoshi. "So quit calling me that."

"You haven't been active at all lately! It's on you, Uncrowned King!"

"Quit that too."

"Where's the gusto you had against Murasakibara, Iron Heart?"

"I really don't like it."

"Come on, get a grip, Iron Heart!"

"Stop it-"

"Iron Heart! Iron Heart! Iron Heart! Iron Heart!"

Suddenly, a vein throbbed on Kiyoshi's cheek, and much to their teammates' surprise, he snapped at Hyuga. "I've been telling you for a while now!" he yelled while Kagami watched with his mouth agape. "Even if it's you, I'll get pissed! Don't call me that! Only an Iron Heart would!"