NINETEEN

"AH! Why is nothing going how it's supposed too!? We were supposed to take a big lead so why is this happening?" A certain baldy cried loudly.

"Seirin has certainly upped their game from last year. It's going to be a struggle to keep the lead from now on," Kasuga said. "Something tells me that Seirin hasn't shown all their cards yet."

The captain frowned and looked at Tsugawa, "Tsugawa, that number 11, can you deal with him?"

At that, the baldy smirked, "I just need a bit more time but I'll get him before the final quarter."

The captain nodded and stood up.

"Let's go,"

""Hai!""

-------------------------

The second half of the match began and Seiho were surprised to see Kagami sitting out.

"Oi oi oi, what's this? Now the game won't be fun anymore." Tsugawa whined. "Why did you sit out your main power force?"

Hyūga's eyes darkened as he stared down at the irritant kid.

"Just watch brat, I'm going to teach you to respect your seniors."

"Wha-brat?! You're like a year older than me!"

"And yet you're the one with no hair," Hyūga's lips turned into a smile. It was clutch time.

Tsugawa was stupefied as this was the first time someone he was poking at returned the jab twice-fold.

"Hyūga, your dark side is showing." Izuki said but then his face morphed into a familiar expression and the boy opened his mouth but the Seirin captain glared at him.

"Say another pun and you're dead,"

"....H-Hai,"

*BRRRT*

On the benches, Kagami watched the court with a serious gaze. It was only when Takumi pinched his cheek did he snap out of it.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Kagami rubbed his red cheek and glared at the other boy.

"You look so serious so I had to loosen you up a bit." Takumi replied.

Riko looked at the red-head and rolled her eyes, "He's right. Stop with that look of no hope. Your senpai's aren't losers you know."

"I wasn't--"

"Yes you were." Riko cut off the younger boy. "Last year's failure left a mark on our hearts and Hyūga and the others worked their asses off during breaks and off-season just to get stronger. And now, it's time for them to show off the effort they've put in."

"If you're going to be a team Tiger, you need to have trust in your teammates." added Takumi. He looked towards the court and smiled, "Besides, I think they'll even get a lead for us."

"Then....do the seniors have specialties?" Furihata asked.

Riko grinned and turned her eyes towards Hyuga and Izuki.

"Hyūga practiced his shooting skills by using his figurines as a leverage. Every time he missed, he'd break one. His shooting percentage is around 90 percent but it goes up during clutch time."

"Izuki-kun is the brain of the team. Because of his unique eyesight, he can see the court from an outer view like an eagle. This allows him to choose the best option to pass the ball too,"

"Mitobe is a veteran when it comes to pressure blocking or just plain blocking. He also has his own specialised hook shot."

The first-years looked the second-years in awe whilst Kagami and Kuroko looked impressed. Then Kawahara turned to Riko and asked; "What about Koganei-senpai and Tsuchida-senpai?"

"They....er..." Riko coughed and cleared her throat, "Tsuchida is good at rebounding and Koganei can shoot from all directions."

""Woah,""

Just then, they watched as Koganei shot towards the hoop but the ball bounced off the rim and was grabbed by Tsuchida who yelled something incoherent towards the cat-boy.

Riko's eyebrow twitched, "His accuracy is just so-so...."

"Doesn't that make him average?!"

-------------------------

Seiho panted and wiped the sweat off their faces. Kasuga gritted his teeth and Tsugawa was close to bursting. Nothing had gone to plan from the beginning for them. At the start, they were supposed to overtake Seirin and leave them in the dust in the second half but to their surprise, Tsugawa pressure blocking hadn't stopped Seirin's ace like they wanted.

Two measly fouls weren't enough to shut down Kagami and thanks to the Seirin's upperclassmen, baldy couldn't study Kuroko more.

It wasn't only that though, now, Seirin was able to predict their movements and over-power them.

The Seiho coach sat crosslegged on the bench and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"We're finished."

"C-Coach...?"

"They've done their study. I don't think anyone has researched us as much as Seirin has. They know our habits," The Seiho coach continued.

'It's unfortunate but I'm not disappointed with the game. Both teams played well.'

By the end of the third quarter, everyone knew that Seirin was going to win. The seniors pulled through like Hyūga had promised and took the lead over Seiho.

Takumi glanced to the side and saw the scoreboard for Shutoku.

'Oof, a total thrashing by the oranges huh? 101 - 30'

And Midorima was still seated on the bench. That went to show just how strong Shutoku was.

'Their training is a bit old-school but their foundations are rock solid. I can see why they're one of the kings.' Thought Takumi.

*BRRRT*

Takumi turned back in time to see the seniors walking back to the benches sweating from head to toe.

"Nice work senpai!" Takumi handed Izuki a towel and ice-pack.

"Because of you, we were able to understand their habits but keeping up with them in real life is hard." Izuki used the towel to dab the sweat. "By the way, did ya see my awesome lay-up?"

"....No,"

"...." Izuki's face fell and he dramatically turned away to hide his tears.

"But I'm sure it was shocking....like Shaquille," Takumi said lamely.

The team turned to him with deadpan faces.

'Not you too!!!'

'That wasn't even a proper pun!!'

Opposite from the others, Izuki's face brightened like the sun and his spirit was reignited.

"You...made a pun," he sniffed and wiped an imaginary tear.

"No, I don't think you can call that a pun. It didn't even make sense," Kuroko said bluntly.

Takumi's face twitched.

'Jeez, at least I tried.'

Riko just sighed at rubbed her temple. Being the only girl in the group was tiring at times like this.

"Alright enough chit-chat. We're almost at the peak now and we'll need to push it to the end. Tsuchida and Koganei, you guys will stay in. Izuki, I'll need you rotate the ball and pass as many as you can to Hyūga whenever you see convenient."

"Yes coach!"

"Mitobe, I'll need you to keep guarding Iwamura and keep him from getting rebounds."

The silent giant nodded. Riko continued talking and at the end, the team put their hands in the middle and gave another loud shout.

""SEIRIN FIGHT""

Hyūga cracked his neck and walked back out with the rest in tow.

Right after they left Riko spoke to Takumi in a low voice with her eyes focused ahead.

"I hope you're ready," was what she said.

"I'm always ready hun." Takumi snickered. "They won't know what hit em."