22 TWENTY ONE
Once Takumi finished changing, he threw on a white t-shirt over his jersey and put a hair-tie around his wrist. He joined the others in packing their things and leaving the locker-room to go back into the arena for their next match.
Suddenly, Kuroko announced that he wanted to go toilet.
Riko was worried he might disappear somewhere and be late for the game so she ended up sending Takumi with him.
"What am I? A babysitter?" grumbled the boy as he and Kuroko rounded a corner.
"I'm sorry you had to come." Kuroko said.
"Haiz, it's fine. I'm just exaggerating." Takumi waved his hand. But then, a sudden thought came to his mind.
'I feel like this scene was important somehow. Did something happen in the bathroom?'
After contemplating a bit, he shook his head and followed after Kuroko when he entered the washroom. When they entered, they heard the sound of someone washing their hands at the sink and that's when it hit Takumi.
"Well well well, if it isn't the notorious point guard of Shutoku." Takumi said when he spotted the orange jacket.
At the sink, Takao noticed the two's entrance and gave a smile.
"Yo." His eyes drifted to Kuroko and his lips transformed into a smirk, "Shin-chan's ex-teammate and manager-san of Seirin."
Had this been someone else, they would have been shocked at how easily Takao saw Kuroko but for someone who already knew the plot, it wasn't really surprising. Takumi gave the boy a familiar smile and said;
"I look forward to the match. I hope your hawk eyes can keep up,"
Takao's eyes widened briefly before he masked his expression. He finished up at the sink and dried his hands before walking past the two and giving a small close-eyed grin.
"Takumi-kun must enjoy provoking people," Kuroko murmured.
"Please, it's like people are asking to be provoked."
Kuroko didn't reply but gave the taller boy a look and headed for the urinal.
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When they arrived back, Takumi took the liberty of relaying their 'startling' discovery to the rest of the team who grew nervous realising their trump card may not work against Takao.
"How likely would that guy be able to notice Kuroko?" asked Riko.
"Very. His eyes are similar to Izuki-senpai's but he covers a better area in a sense. If I had to say, he'd be Phantom's fated rival," Takumi replied with a shrug. Though he was nonchalant, the rest of the team weren't.
"Coach, what are we going to do now?"
Riko's face was serious as she tapped her chin with her pen.
"If everything Takumi-kun said is true, I'm afraid that Kuroko-kun will be completely useless against Takao."
Kuroko's face turned sullen.
"For now, I think he can still play in the first quarter. Even if we can't catch Takao off-guard, we can use Kuroko against the others." Riko suggested. "Play as usual."
""Hai!""
Soon enough, the buzzer sounded for the start of the game. Seirin's normal line-up walked out and met Shutoku in the centre of the court. The two teams completed their formalities with Midorima and Kagami giving each other a stare-down before going into their positions.
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Five minutes into the game and neither team made a score.
Shutoku and Seirin were running back and forth on the court with neither team being able to score a basket. Being this far into a match with no scores on either side, the first team who scores will control the game. For those basketball veterans, they knew this fact very well.
So when Takao dribbled the ball and passed it back towards Midorima, everyone knew Shutoku would take the first basket.
With a long and high arc, Midorima scored a flawless three-pointer. The balance was broken and Shutoku was in control.
Or so they thought.
On the benches, the first-years cringed but Takumi smiled.
"It's not over yet,"
They looked at him; "Huh?"
Takumi pointed his finger to the court where they saw Kuroko under the net holding the basketball. Kuroko's eyes narrowed before he swung his body around and threw the ball across the court shocking everyone in the process.
Waiting on the other side was Kagami who caught the oncoming ball and dunked it.
The audience were stunned not knowing what happened. One minute the ball was on one side and the next it cut across the court to the other team's hands.
""WAHH!! KUROKO!!"" The bench cheered.
Now the real game began.
The game resumed and Midorima got the ball again. He aimed to shoot but spotted Kuroko under the net and knew there'd be no point in scoring with Kuroko's long range pass so he frustratedly clicked his tongue and passed the ball to the side.
"Eh? Couldn't that guy have taken the shot?" Tsuchida asked. Takumi shook his head.
"He's been temporarily shut down by Kuroko," Takumi said. "Because once Midorima shoots, Kuroko would be under the basket ready to receive the ball to do his cyclone pass to Kagami and score back."
"After the score, there's a hang time to which the team will have to return to defence however, not everyone will return as someone needs to stay behind in case he misses. With Phantom's cyclone pass, there won't be enough time for Shutoku to counter it because even if Midorima manages to run back, Tiger is able to as well."
The team nodded as they listened to Takumi's explanation.
[A/N: For the record, I may or may not have copied Kasamatsu's explanation from the anime. I just tweaked it a bit.]
'But, this isn't enough to stop Shutoku.' thought Takumi. He looked over to Shutoku's bench and saw their coach observing the court with sharp eyes.
'If I recall, that coach and Riko's father were teammates who played for the national team.' Nakatani Maasaki was his name.
Takumi rubbed his chin in contemplation.
"If my guess is correct, the Shutoku coach will put Takao on Kuroko soon."
Riko looked at the boy, "What makes you say that?"
"Isn't it obvious? Shutoku obviously wants to shut down Kuroko before he and Kagami can make any more progress."
"And with Kuroko gone, our main attack force will be pushed back...right?"
Takumi nodded.
"I'm afraid there is more bad news,"
Riko couldn't but sigh and her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose. "What is it?"
"I'm about 90 percent certain that Midorima's range is not half-court."
"You mean...."
Takumi nodded again, "I suspect his range is the entire court."
There was a sharp intake of air as the team let the words sink in. There was no reason to doubt Takumi as everything he says always seem to come true so they knew this was no joke.
"Shit."
Right then, Seirin scored another basket and the points were 8 to 13.
That's when it happened. The Shutoku coach called out to the court telling Takao and their number 5, Kimura, to switch marks.
"What are you? A seer?" Riko muttered.
Takumi just laughed. "Nope. A cheat."
"Huh?"
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A/N: Alrighty ladies and gentlemen, it is time for votes. Btw, my stupid ass just realised that the Seirin numbers actually span from 4 to 15 but number 14 is the only not used but since I already asked ya'll to pick, I just let you guys vote.
14
24
