With three minutes and twenty-three seconds left, Seirin requested for a time out. Riko stood in front of the five players, who all received clean towels and refilled water bottles from the manager. "The time limit for Kise's Perfect Copy is longer?" repeated Izuki when Riko told them about the move the said player had used.
"The chances of that are high." she said seriously. "If so, I can't say the current lead will keep us safe. If we don't do something, we're in serious trouble."
'I knew this would happen.' thought Yasu, slightly berating herself for thinking naively as well.
"Um..." called Kuroko, grabbing his teammates' attention. "I think there is something. A way to stop Kise-kun." He then revealed his plan to the team, though they thought it was risky. But it was better than nothing.
"I see." responded Izuki. "It's difficult, but if timed right..."
"We might be able to stop Kise." continued Kiyoshi.
"Okay!" said Hyuga, who shot up from his seat. "We absolutely can't afford to make mistakes from here on. Everyone, focus!" While the rest got ready to return to the court, Yasu visibly winced from his sentence, as she watched the five huddle around in a circle. "Even if the plan works, Kise isn't the entire Kaijo team. Don't let your guards down until the game-ending buzzer! Be more cautious than ever with passes and assists. Don't miss easy shots! We'll hold on to our lead at any cost! Let's go, Seirin! Fight!"
"Yeah!" responded the others before going back to the court when the buzzer went off.
'I know it sounded like a motivation, but why do I feel uneasy about what he said?' questioned the worried manager.
The game resumed with Kagami having the ball. Before he could make a move, Kise suddenly knocked the ball out of his hands, catching him off-guard. 'Crap, it works for defense too.' he noted. 'Akashi's Emperor Eye!'
"Alright!" shouted Hayakawa. He was about to reach for the ball when Kuroko beat him to it, passing the ball to Hyuga.
"Alright!" shouted the Seirin captain before releasing the ball.
"Take that!" yelled Moriyama, who jumped up to block the shot and managed to touch it with his fingertip, causing the ball to bounce off the rim.
Kiyoshi was ready to get the rebound but Kobori had caught the ball first. 'Shoot.' he cussed. Kobori passed the ball to Hayakawa, who then passed it to Kasamatsu.
"Don't worry, Hyuga!" assured Izuki as the two ran to defend. "Switch gears!"
"Yeah!" he responded. 'It's not good to screw up offensively, but the bigger problem is this.' he thought while his gaze focused on Kise, who got the ball from his captain. 'I'm counting on you. Stop Kise's Perfect Copy!' To Kaijo's surprise, the person marking Kise wasn't Kagami.
"Kuroko is on Kise?" questioned Kasamatsu.
'Kurokocchi, what's the meaning of this?' asked Kise, as if he was talking to the said boy. 'It's pretty obvious now. Kagamicchi is waiting behind you. I'm sure you're going for what you did before. Let me pass, Kagamicchi stops me, and tip from behind. But I've already broken past that once. It can't be...' Kise drove past Kuroko from the right, and Kagami got in his way. "...it's the same thing as before, right?" he scoffed.
"Right." replied Kuroko. "It's different from last time." To Kise's surprise, Izuki was reaching out to knock the ball out of his hand using his Eagle Spear.
"This is a triple-team from Taiga, Kuroko and Izuki?" questioned the surprised Himuro.
"His left side was open, but Tetsu intentionally made him pass on the right." explained Aomine. "Kise put all his weight on the right side. It's too late to cut back again."
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That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 3)
Fanfiction(Third Book of "That Manager") Yukimura Yasu was the manager of the Teiko Junior High basketball team, a team that consisted of six team players each with special skills and abilities. However, during her Senior year, she had to move to another coun...
