10 NINE
The game resumed with Furihata as small forward. Initially, the boy was terrified of having to play but remembering Takumi's words calmed him down and allowed him to think and assess the situation.
~When you go out there, don't be tense and nervous. This is your chance to prove you can be just as useful as Kuroko and Kagami. Right now, the match is very fast-paced so if you get the ball, go according to your own pace and slow it down for Seirin.~
Furihata remembered those words and narrowed his eyes watching the players carefully. Izuki had the ball and dribbled it up before throwing it to Furihata who caught it and looked around.
Like Takumi had told him, instead of getting caught up in the fast-paced game the rest were in, he calmed his mind and carefully looked for the best possible route. Kise was guarding their ace so it was too risky to pass there. Kasamatsu who was guarding Izuki was considerably faster than the eagle-eye so there's a high chance he'd be able to steal it.
Then Furihata saw the perfect person to pass to and dribbled for a bit before throwing it to Mitobe who was closest to the net. Mitobe did an lay-up scoring another two points for Seirin.
"Nice assist!"
Furihata burst out smiling when Hyuuga and the rest praised him. On the bench, Riko let out a sigh of relief. "I see now why you suggested to put Furihata in instead of Koganei-kun. To slow the pace,"
Kuroko was listening and was surprised to learn it was Takumi's idea all along.
Takumi nodded. "Our team is unfortunately too weak and a fast-paced game with a team of greater strength stats won't give us the upper-hand. Furihata's observation skills aren't too bad and he's a very cautious person. He's afraid of making reckless moves so he'll look for the best option."
"That explains why he passed to Mitobe." Riko mused. She then looked at Kagami and frowned, "That guy on the other hand is too worked up and is allowing Kise to take easy shots."
Takumi laughed, "Yes, tiger is quite the hothead isn't he?"
"It's not a laughing matter," Riko scowled. She then stood up and walked to the scorers to call for a timeout.
"SEIRIN TIMOUT,"
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Kagami was pissed at Kise getting the better of him. When Riko called for a timeout, he was hit with her glare.
"Kagami-kun, I know you're frustrated but getting worked up isn't going to help the situation. You need to cool down,"
"Ha? I wasn't-- "
"Yes you were." Riko sighed and pointed at the board in front of her, "Now that Furihata has bought us some time, Kuroko will go back in and we'll continue with the offense that we started with. "
"Coach, why did you take Kuroko out in the first place?"
"It's because his effectiveness has a time limit. The more we use it, the less useful it becomes so we're trying to conserve it for crucial moments." Riko explained.
"We're eight points behind which isn't too bad but we need to close that gap before the third quarter. Our attack will centre around Kagami and Hyuuga with Kuroko stealing and passing." Then Riko turned to Takumi who was back to reading. "Anything you wanna add?"
"Nope except that you guys will have more options of attack if tiger passes the ball."
"Ha?!" Kagami shouted before getting jabbed by Kuroko. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, right now, tiger is trying to challenge Kise when he isn't of that level yet. You know very well you can't beat him so stop trying to and start thinking. You have teammates for a reason idiot so stop thinking this match is centred around you taking on a miracle."
Kagami went silent as did the rest. He scowled when Takumi's words hit him because he knew he was correct. Kuroko blinked and wore a hidden smile while Riko looked satisfied at what the boy said.
"Takumi-kun is right. You can challenge Kise-kun once you've reached his level but the goal now is to beat Kaijo which you can't do by yourself." Kuroko said. "And I will do my best to support the team."
"Well said Kuroko-kun. Now get your asses back in the game and win it!" said Riko.
""HAI""
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With Kuroko back in the game, Seirin pushed their attack and increased their scores, eventually catching up to Kaijo with only a two point gap. Kagami no longer tried to challenge Kise to a one-on-one and passed the ball when he was cornered allowing his other teammates to take action.
Kise was getting slightly irritated. By now, he would've had a massive gap between Seirin's team and his but with Kuroko's passes and steals, the gap was smaller than he had anticipated.
'Regardless, this is not enough to beat me.' he thought. 'Kagami is no longer trying to challenge me which means I can't take advantage of that anymore. In that case, I just need to increase my speed.'
~ 'Is probably what Kise's thinking' thought Takumi looking at the blonde. It's a good option because Kise's speed is quite fast when he's serious so there's little chance Kagami would be able to stop him.
Right then, Takumi who was looking at the court suddenly stood up and shouted, "Kuroko duck!!"
Kuroko, who was behind Kise heard the voice and instinctively went down just as Kise's elbow brushed over his head.
"Phew, that was a close one." breathed Takumi sitting back down. He looked up to see everyone staring at him. "What?"
"You...how did you see that?" Riko asked. Even with her eyes on the game, she did't even notice Kuroko about to get hit and wouldn't have reacted on time.
"...with my eyes?"
"....Never mind."
"Eek sorry Kurokocchi! I swear that wasn't on purpose," Kise said with watery eyes. 'What the hell? I almost injured Kurokocchi! If that guy hadn't yelled in time...' he dreaded to think what might have happened.
However, the players couldn't dwell on that event too long as the game was still in motion with Seirin having the ball.
'Now that Kuroko doesn't have to sit out as per the original plot, we should be able to score some more but it's still not the climax yet.'
The scoreboard read: 49 – 52 with Kaijo in the lead.
"Hmmm,"
"What is it?" Riko turned to Takumi.
"Sub out Kuroko. We need him for the climax and put in Koganei," said Takumi.
"...Tsk you may as well become coach instead of me," grumbled Riko before walking to the scorers. Takumi chuckled, "Not at all. It's too much work to keep track of everyone." he still does it subconsciously though.
Once again Kuroko was taken out and in went Koganei; the jack of all trades yet master of none.
