In Shadows | Kuroko no Basket Fan Fiction

13. The Next Stage

In Shadows

Chapter Thirteen

The Next Stage

It was half-time. The buzzer sounded, alerting the teams and the spectators to the ten-minute break that marked the halfway point of the match. 

And Gina was fuming.

Her blood boiled as she recalled the first half of the game. She hadn't thought Kirisaki Dai Ichi would be a pleasant team to go against the moment she'd heard Hyuga's story. And she'd been right. They weren't pleasant.

But she'd also been wrong. They weren't just unpleasant; they were downright horrible.

From the get-go, the team had been using dirty tactics to gain possession of the ball. Gina had seethed every time they had used an elbow to push someone out of the way, every time they'd stepped on Kagami's foot to prevent him from jumping. 

The worst part of it had been that the referee hadn't seen any of it. Kasamatsu had remarked that the players were deliberately blocking the umpire's sight so they could get away with anything. It was downright dirty, and Gina had practically exploded. It had taken some work from Kise, who was next to her, to calm her down.

And if they were frustrated watching it, it would be nothing compared to how the players were feeling. Gina had seen all of the expressions on Seirin's faces - even Kuroko, always such a calm figure, had anger shining in his eyes. Kagami, hothead he was, had lost himself to his rage and had gone to punch Hanamiya - something the referee would have definitely seen and pulled him off the court for. Seirin would've been done for if it had happened, but fortunately Kuroko had grabbed Kagami's leg which had caused him to trip and fall. After a few words, Kagami had calmed down.

Kiyoshi had then taken it upon himself to defend the inside alone, which had put him at the brunt of Kirisaki Dai Ichi's brutality. Everyone else got off reasonably okay, since they didn't have to fight for the rebound like Kiyoshi. Gina winced every time Kiyoshi got hit, as though she were the one being hit herself. Even from the stands, she could spot a few dark bruises on his skin. She had wanted to yell, and it came down once again to Kise to calm the bespeckled girl down.

On top of that, Hyuga was not hitting the mark. So far, all of his shots had missed. Despite all of this, Seirin was still in front, but the anger and frustration they all felt was clear for anyone to see. All members had fire in their eyes. And Gina had an angry fire in her blood.

When the teams headed off for the change rooms, Gina shot up from her seat. Her fists were clenched by her sides and she started to follow suit.

"Ginacchi? Where are you going?" Kise exclaimed. He reached out to grab the girl's hand, but Gina was too quick.

"I can't just sit here," she growled. "I need to make sure they're all okay. Kiyoshi-senpai especially."

And with that, she darted through the stands, and made a beeline for the locker rooms.