Another Player [Kuroko no Basuke]

13 - A Lost Puppy Following Its Shadow

"In this way, Seirin High successfully made its way through our first game of the preliminaries. Our second game was against Jutsuzen High. Both Kuroko and Miki were benched for the whole game, and yet we crushed them with 118 to 51. Third game was against Kinga High. Last year's top 16, they were a strong team with a good balance of offense and defense. But surprisingly... This is going smoothly..." Riko said in disbelief.

'We were even able to save up both Kuroko and Miki's energy.' Riko thought to herself. A dark aura had gotten Riko's attention and she turned around and face an angered Miki and a restless Kuroko. "Kuroko-kun? Miki-chan?" She questioned. "It's nothing. I'm just feeling restless." Kuroko said as he continued twitching. Riko sighed and she leaned forward so she could look over at Miki. She sweat dropped when she saw Miki biting her thumb nail angrily and cursing quietly under her breath.

'They must really want to play.'

"Our fourth game..."

Kagami was stretching near both Kuroko and Miki. Kuroko was dribbling the ball while Miki was working on her ball spins.

"It's the fourth round. We might actually have a tough game for once." A male voice was heard, getting all three of their attentions. "We're going against Seirin today." "This should be easy! They got destroyed in the championship league last year. They're nothing but a new school that made it through with sheer luck!"

Miki growled and narrowed her eyes at the upcoming team. "Huh?" Kagami questioned as he stood up. "It's those guys from the other day." He said. He looked down at Miki as she growled at the boys. He shook his head and was about the return stretching until he noticed her slightly shaking.

"We'll destroy them this..." One of the boys started until he ran into something, or someone. "So, we meet again." Kagami said while glaring down at the boy. "Hello." Kuroko said while spinning the basketball on his finger. The boy froze in fright. When he noticed the dark aura coming from behind Kagami and Kuroko the whole team screamed in fright and remembered how they had been destroyed the last time. "They're going to destroy us!"

"...was agains Meiji Academy. For some reason our opponents were terrified the whole time, and we destroyed them 108 to 41."

★     ★     ★

"We're doing great!" "At this rate, maybe we'll easily make it through the preliminaries all the way to the championship league." The freshman exclaimed happily. "How naive." Izuki said with a sigh. "It must be nice being so young and carefree." Koganei said, also with a sigh.

"For the last ten years, the same three schools have moved on to the championship league from Tokyo. King of the East, Shutoku. King of the West, Senshinkan. King of the North, Seiho. They're evenly matched, so the top team changes every year, but they never let anyone else get better than fourth place. They're the three immobile kings of Tokyo. After our fifth match are the semi finals, then the finals. In the finals, we'll most likely come up against... The King of the East, Shutoku, that acquired Midorima Shintaro of the Generation of Miracles." Hyuga explained, making Kagami's breath hitch.

"But you guys made it to the championship league last year, didn't you?" One if the freshmen asked. "Yeah, but we didn't stand a chance." Hyuga stated. "The three kings." Kagami mumbled under his breath.

All of a sudden, gasps filled the air. "Look." Someone said, getting the team's attention. "They're over here!"

"Looks like they came." Hyuga said while narrowing his eyes. "It's better to see something for yourself than hear about it." Riko stated. "First years, prepare yourselves! You're going to see something amazing today. They're supposed to be even more amazing this year." Riko said while standing up. The rest of the team had their eyes focused on the team in front of them. "One of the three kings of Tokyo, Shutoku High!"