TWENTY

The scoreboard was currently 73 - 69 with Seirin in the lead.

Listening to Riko's words, Izuki got the ball to Hyūga every time he saw a clear opening allowing Hyūga to score threes with ease. Koganei provided sufficient support despite his average scoring skills and Tsuchida got as many rebounds as he could.

Seirin's teamwork shined especially with the seniors who had already built a deep sense of trust in each other.

As Kuroko sat on the bench and watched them, he faintly remembered why he chose to come to Seirin of all places rather than some powerful school. Seirin had something special that the generation of miracles lost a long time ago.

Takumi caught sight of Kuroko's subtle nostalgic expression but couldn't tell what the boy was thinking. He followed the paler boy's eyesight to the team on court and a faint smile gripped his lips.

"This...is youth!"

Kagami looked at Takumi with a weird gaze. "What are saying old man?"

"Wha--old man?!"

'Tsk, so unappreciative. But, I'm surprised Tiger knows how to joke.' thought Takumi.

*BRRRT*

"Charging! White 6!" The sudden shout from the ref turned their attention to Koganei on court who looked sheepish.

"Eh? Koganei-senpai?" Furihata asked.

"It was the baldy's fault again," Riko grit her teeth, "But never mind that. I was planning on subbing him out." With that, she marched over to the supervisors and asked for a substitution.

Koganei was distraught thinking she pulled him out because of his mistake but after Takumi told him she was planning on subbing him out anyway to save energy, he was relieved. Furihata took his place on court and provided a good enough support for the team to move around freely.

Seiho didn't lose hope right yet and continued on the offence against Seirin but unfortunately, they could only close the gap by a three-pointer and Seirin took the lead again.

Soon enough, the buzzer rang signalling the end of the match and Seirin won 80 to 75.

"Yahoo!"

"We did it!!"

The bench cheered as they watched the players bow and shake hands on court. Kagami and Kuroko were pleased with the outcome and the former finally learned to put some trust in his seniors.

"Looks like we'll be playing Shutoku," someone sighed. That led to the team looking across to the other court where they saw that Shutoku had finished their match as well with a dominating win.

"Let's head back. You guys should eaten something light to replace all that energy you've expended." Riko said. Right after, she put her hands on her hips and gave a bright smile, "By the way, you guys did great."

The boys were happy to receive praise from their coach and returned her smile before gathering their things from the bench.

Just then, someone appeared before them and glared at Kuroko.

"You, what's your name?" Baldy pointed at the pale-skinned boy.

Kuroko blinked and replied, "Kuroko Tetsuya."

"I won't forget this. I'll definitely remember your name,"

It was supposed to be a threat but Kuroko was admittedly pleased that someone bothered to remember him. But then, to everyone's surprise, Tsugawa turned his attention to Takumi who was watching the exchange.

"And you, you're a player right? Why didn't you come out?"

Takumi raised an eyebrow, not expecting this baldy to confront him out of nowhere and simply crossed his arms. "There was no reason to."

It was blatant provocation from the taller boy and Tsugawa's expression twisted into a frown.

"What do you mean? That you're too strong for us?"

Takumi raised his hands in a defensive manner, "Hey now, you said it. Not me."

"This bast--"

Before baldy could finish, the vice-captain of Seiho bonked his head.

"Sorry bout him." Kasuga said as he grabbed the back-collar of the boy's shirt. Iwamura just shook his head in exasperation.

"F***! I just don't understand captain, they're clearly weaker than us excluding red-head but they beat us. We're stonger," Tsugawa suddenly cried. His words dispelled the happy atmosphere around Seirin as they turned their darkened gazes towards the boy.

"You're wrong Tsugawa." Iwamura scolded. "The strong don't win. The winners are the strong ones. They were just stronger, that's all."

The infamous line by the Seiho captain.

Takumi gave him a nod of respect which the latter returned before dragging his teammates to the locker-rooms.

"A respectable guy isn't he?" Takumi muttered. The others nodded in agreement.

"Now that that's over, let's go." Riko waved her hand.

""Hai""

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

Back in the locker-room, the boys dumped their bags on the benches and slumped on the ground. Those who just played received ice-packs on their aching muscles whilst Kagami just sat on the side with closed eyes trying to savour every bit of energy he had.

Playing two kings in a row was sure to do a number on these guys and Takumi knew that Kagami would end up over-exerting his legs. By coincidence, Riko had rang Takumi early this morning much to the boy's displeasure of being awakened at an ungodly hour, to tell him to bring his team jersey.

She understood that his help may be needed in case the boys were two tired from the Seiho match. Takumi more or less had the same idea but for different reasons. Unlike Riko, he knew the plot of the anime and didn't want Kagami to strain legs that would have a lasting impact till after the Inter-high games.

So, when the boys noticed Takumi unbuttoning his shirt to change, they were stunned.

"Eh? Takumi-kun is playing?" Kawahara asked. Hearing this, Kagami's ears perked up and his eyes opened to reveal confusion and a hint of shock.

"It just turned out this way." Takumi vaguely replied.

As he finally slipped off his shirt, the room went silent as they stared at his body. Takumi's back was covered with different scars while his shoulder blades were tattooed. There was a tattoo on his forearm as well which Kagami and Kuroko were already aware of.

At the beginning, Takumi had said it was troublesome to explain his scars and tattoos but he knew he would have to eventually. From looks of everyone's gazes, it was clear they got the wrong idea.

"I wasn't abused if you're wondering," Takumi chuckled to diffuse the atmosphere. "I was at one point of my life but it wasn't the cause of these scars. I have a tendency to get into....disagreements with people."

"And disagreements lead to those kinds of scars?" Riko asked not buying the boy's story. Hyūga put a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see him shake his head.

"As long as you're not in any trouble, we won't pry. Right guys?" Hyūga eyed the room. He didn't want any issues right before they played Shutoku so he was making it clear that any comments before the match won't be tolerated.

That, and Hyūga was planning on hearing the full story from Takumi in a proper place.

"We understand." Izuki said and turned to Takumi with a smile. "We won't ask about it but I hope you'll tell us one day,"

Takumi slipped on his jersey and smiled.

"No need to be so curious. My story isn't anything interesting but I'll definitely tell you guys soon."

Cause joining the yakuza voluntarily wasn't anything interesting.

But thankfully, no one paid anymore attention to Takumi and treated him as usual.

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A/N: What number should be Takumi's jersey?