Another Player [Kuroko no Basuke]

15 - The Seniors' Will

"You took so long buying a drink, the game's already started." Kasamatsu scolded as he hit Kise on the head. Kise quickly apologizes but then looks forward as they enter the gym. "Huh?" Kise gasps. The score was 0-12, Seiho in the lead. "What?!" Woah, seriously?"

Kagami was currently with the ball, however being guarded by Tsugawa was hard for him and he couldn't get past. 'Bastard. This guy's defense is at least as good as Kise's' Kagami thought angrily.

"What intense pressure! Who is that guy?"

"Kagami, you're holding the ball too long. Pass it!" Miki exclaimed as she rushed in front of him and made a screen for Izuki who received the ball. "I got-" Izuki started but was cut off as the ball was slapped out of his hand. "How naive. Your offense will never crush out defense at that level." Iwamura said before running to the other side of the court.

'Their defense is to tight! This is tough!' Hyuga thought to himself. 'I wouldn't expect any less from a top Tokyo team.'

"What are they doing?" Kise asked while sweating nervously. "I thought so when we played them, but Seirin's a slow starter. Kagami's usually the one to put his foot on the gas, but without that, they can't hit their stride.". Kasamatsu explains.

"Tsugawa, it's fine if you're excited, but don't wear yourself out before the second half." Someone on Seiho says with a sly smirk. "I'm fine! They're not as good as I thought, so this should be easy!" Tsugawa exclaims, making both Kagami and Miki narrow their eyes in anger. "Kagami!" Miki shouts as she gets away from her guard and becomes open. However instead Kagami charged right through with the ball. "Charging! White 10!" The referee announces. "What?!" Kagami exclaims in shock.

"Just how easily does that idiot get angry? Miki was wide open!" Riko said angrily. "Kagami, calm down!" Koganei shouts.

"Kagami-kun, you already have two fouls. Get five, and you're out." Kuroko said. "I know." Kagami said in a grumble. "Look around more Kagami, if you keep doing that I'll just steal the ball away from you." Miki said angrily as she walks up to the two. "Sorry..." Kagami grumbles before continuing on with the game.

Izuki with the ball dribbles. He soon passes it to Kuroko who stops with the ball, since no one is open. 'He can't pass the ball!' Miki thought to herself as she tries to get open. She looks over at the guy in front of her and continues to get open. She soon stops as she tilts her head in a confusion.

"Seiho's defense is man-to-man, but this is no ordinary man-to-man. They're creating pressure by staying right on their guys the whole time. You can't break away from them easily. No matter how good you are at passing, if no one's free, you're playing at half power." Kasamatsu says. "Their defense is strong, but they wouldn't last until the end of the game playing like that." Kise said while narrowing his eyes. "But they do, because..."

"Seiho uses old martial arts techniques." Riko said, informing the team. "Old martial arts? You mean this kind of thing?" Kagami asked as he gets in a fighting stance. "That's not old martial arts. To be precise, they incorporate movements from old martial arts. One of the techniques they use is called "namba running." Usually your arms and legs move in opposite directions when you run, but when namba running, your arms and legs move together." Riko explains.

"Apparently, by avoiding twisting, you reduce the strain on your body and the energy you spend."Kasamatsu said. "You know a lot about this." Kise said. "They're an unusual team. They've been interviewed by Basketball Monthly, too."

'I see. That's how they do it. Tsugawa's defense is even stronger than last year. However, they won't take this sitting down for long.' Kise thought as he looked over Seirin's team.