Chapter 130 : Aomine vs Kise!

"Uuuurrgh….."

It was eight in the morning when Furihata was woken up by the sunray that began to peek from the curtain in his bedroom. Normally, he wouldn't wake up this late, spending all of his morning training alone. But this was a day after the game against Yosen High, and he really needs some rest right now.

*PING!*

His phone rang loudly, telling him a message had been received on it. When he opened it up, he saw Momoi's name on it.

Satsuki Momoi: Would you go and watch our game?

He texted back quickly, not wanting to be bothered by the spamming that would come if he didn't answer it.

Kouki Furihata: No, sorry. Couldn't move my body at all. But Phantom, Red, and probably the rest of the team would come to see. Tell Kise-kun about that too.

It was an exaggeration, of course. But it is not far from the truth. Furihata could feel all of the muscles on his body cramped, the result of the fatigue that hit him after the game. He rolled over his body toward the other side of the bed, recalling his performance yesterday.

'So, that was the zone, huh?'

He recalled the feeling of when an unknown energy suddenly surged from his body, boosted all of his abilities. How his vision became sharper and clearer more than ever, and how all of his senses enhanced greatly. It was an unbelievable feeling, as if someone just taken over his body and he just watched it go crazy from the inside.

And he likes that feeling.

'Yeah, no wonder Aomine could talk big like that.' His brain recalled another memory when he played against Toō. 'The only one who could beat me is me? That fits, especially when he has something like this….'

There is only one problem, though. He didn't know how to control it. He could remember all of the unnecessary and annoying things that happened right after he entered the zone, like how he could see and hear everything on the court, even such a silly thing like Tatsuya wiping out the sweats on his face or even Murasakibara grumbling at himself. It was incredible but required full concentration for all the time which was somehow more tiring than the play itself.

There is also the fact that he didn't know how to enter and leave that state willingly. It was as if he was grabbed forcefully to enter the zone, and dumped forcefully Toō from the zone when his body was no longer able to hold on. If only he knew how to do it, he would be able to preserve his energy more wisely for the clutch time.

So, yeah, doing it instinctively has already proven that it doesn't really work, as he got more exhausted in the aftermath.

'Well, that means it is time to experiment, right?' He grinned widely with a growing excitement. 'I have to ask Alex-san! Maybe she knows some- OUCH!' Somehow, he accidentally twisted his back in a weird way, hurting his body more.

'God, this sucks. Maybe I have to stay low and let my body take a rest for today.'

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Different from Furihata who is excited about the future, the other Seirin players walked toward the gymnasium carrying such a gloomy atmosphere. They are still affected by the defeat yesterday, and if not for a bit of motivation left inside them, they would never willingly go to this place again.

"Please remind me again, what are we doing here?" Koganei grumbled, stretching out his stiff shoulder. Riko sighed tiredly as if this was not the first argument that happened today.

"We are here to watch the other game. And just like I said, you don't have to go if you don't want to. I know Furihata-kun chose to have a rest today."

Koganei snorted. "As if I would follow his choice. He played harder than everyone yesterday, he deserves some rest. Not for me, though." His words received nods of agreement from the others.

Riko smiles softly, patting Koganei's shoulder reassuringly. She knows all of the players who gathered here were somehow a bit insecure after seeing Furihata's performance yesterday. That's why even though they all are still tired, they forced themselves to go here, wishing to make them feel useful for the team.

"So, what are we waiting for here?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun said they would be a bit late and asked for us to wait for them," Riko answered, scrolling through her phone. "Junpei and Tsuchida wouldn't be here Toō, they have a summer school program to be prepared for. But it wouldn't affect our summer training plan, so that's a relief."

"What about Alex-san?"

"She is out of the country, back to the States. She told me yesterday after the game, something about meeting old friends and stuff."

They waited for a few minutes until two presences greeted them from afar.

"Good morning, Senpai." Kuroko bowed a little. Kagami just grunted slightly, not saying anything.

"Good morning to you Toō, Kuroko-kun." Riko ignored Kagami's little act, knowing that it was him being him. "The game has already started thirty minutes ago, and it is about to enter the second quarter. Let's just go and watch it."

They all entered the gymnasium once again, repressing their bad memories from the defeat yesterday. Even though it was crowded today, there are still a lot of empty seats there, making it easier for them to find a good spot. After sitting comfortably, they finally took a glance at the current score, just to be surprised by that.

Toō Academy 16 – 9 Kaijo High

It was not just the score that surprised them, but also the box score. There, they could see two big names with such contrasting statistics for their teams.

Daiki Aomine: 16 pts, 0 asts, 3 rbs, 1 stls, 2 blks, 0 TOVs, 7/7 FGs, 2/2 3PTs, 0/0 FTs 10:31

Ryota Kise: 2 pts, 1 asts, 1 rbs, 0 stls, 0 blks, 2 TOVs, 1/7 FGs, 0/0 3PTs, 0/0 FTs 12:00

"All of Toō points were scored by Aomine?!" Kagami exclaimed, eyes bulging out in shock. "I know that Aomine was the ace, but is the gap really that big?" He asked with a ridiculous tone.

He might not have played when Seirin faced Toō, but he played head-on against Kise before, and he knows the blonde boy is not weak. For him to get outmatched like this was concerning and terrifying for Kagami to handle.

"I know there is a gap, but I don't know if it was this big." Kuroko as their former teammate admitted. "At first, the gap might be big. But that was when Kise-kun was still a complete rookie. Now when he had a lot of experiences, I can't believe it either."

"It is not just because of the gap between those two players." Riko suddenly chimed in. Everyone turned around, focusing on what she would say next. "The main principle of both teams also played a big role in those two's stats. For example, Toō is like Yosen, exploiting their best player as long as possible to preserve their stamina. Meanwhile, Kaijo has one of the best teamwork in this tournament, making it harder for Kise to shine like him. And I think that's why the gap is so wide between those two."

"But Kise also shoots a lot, though." Kiyoshi objected. "Just look again. He has the same amount of shoot as Aomine, and he only scored once. Based on their position, they should play against each other a lot today, and if that is so, it is clear Aomine is dominating Kise right now."

Riko could only nod reluctantly as she knew Kiyoshi had a point here.

"They won't be like this forever though." After a few seconds of silence, Kuroko finally spoke again. "There is no way Kise-kun would give up against Aomine-kun, especially this early. He would step up his game, and when he did things would be different."

The conviction in his tone makes it hard for the other to argue. They spend the next few minutes talking about something lighter before the buzzer rang loudly, indicating the second quarter to begin. One by one players from both teams entered the court, ready to play again. Kuroko straightened his posture, his eyes focused on his two former teammates.

'They both are really different since graduated from Teiko. I don't know what would happen….'

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The situation on the court is tense. It was due to the fact that Aomine once again targeted Kise's position, something that had already happened a lot during this game. And it was completely justified, considering they both played in the same position, with the same role. But nobody expects the duel between two of the Generation of Miracles would be this one-sided.

"Come on, Kise. Don't make it boring." Aomine talked trash, trying to provoke Kise. "Even those trash from Tetsu's team could do better than you. What happened?"

Kise just snorted lightly, ignoring all of the words that came out of Aomine's mouth. Aomine sighed deeply, starting to get annoyed.

"Well, I don't care if you don't want to talk. Just don't make it boring please."

Right after saying that, Aomine suddenly charged in with an incredible speed, trying to drive through Kaijo's area forcefully. But Kise is also a top player. He took a single step back calmly before turning around, pestering Aomine while trying to disturb his rhyme.

It was a good plan and a good defense, if only it was not played against Aomine.

With a quick double crossover, The tan-skinned power forward suddenly changed his rhythm, moving in such an erratic way that couldn't be predicted easily by his former teammates. It Toōk Kise a few seconds to realize what happened, just for Aomine to get through him and penetrate Kaijo's area alone.

"Goddamnit! Senpai!"

Two of Kaijo's big men suddenly appeared in front of Aomine, not to stop him, but to slow him down. All of the Kaijo players know that the only one who has a chance to stop Aomine is Kise. But Aomine is still one step forward.

Before those two big men and Kise could reach him again, he took a quick step back and got out to the three-point area, startling all of Kaijo's players. With such a big distance suddenly created that easily, there was no hope for them to be able to stop Aomine, as the blue-haired boy pulled up a simple three from the corner area.

*Splash!*

The ball went smoothly through the hoop, resulting in another three points for Toō!

"Ooooh!"

"He got the first blood!"

"As expected, Kise couldn't beat his former teammate!"

"This is the former ace of the Generation of Miracles, Daiki Aomine!"

"Come on, Aomine!"

Aomine let out a provocative smirk at Kise as he was bathed under the praise from the audience. What he didn't see though, was the little smirk that was planted on Kise's face, as if everything was under his plan.

"You okay?" Kise raised his head, finding Kasamatsu patting his shoulder. It was just a casual question, not a hint of concern could be heard from the tone. Kise Toōk a deep breath before answering, "Yeah. Give me one more chance, and I will be able to do it."

"Good." Kasamatsu nodded in approval. "Don't be Toō long, okay?" Kasamatsu knows how capable Kise is, both mentally and physically. There is no chance this setback would hold him for Toō long. But he had to make sure Kise would stay relaxed and composed, not losing his head in Aomine's provocation.

"Thank you, Captain."

Kasamatsu looked for the last time before he turned around, asking for the ball. This was also Kise's request. He wanted to put his focus on Aomine first until he could match his former teammate, and when that happened, he would start participating in offense.

"So, you are not going again?" Aomine asked with a disappointed tone. "I thought you would be better than this. Five months since we graduated from Teiko, yet you still cannot stand up for yourself, still using that cheap imitation trick of yours. You let me down, Kise."

Kise just ignored his former teammate's trash talk, focusing on the current play. It was another miss for Kaijo's players, which was rebounded by Toō's center easily. With the possession changed, Aomine suddenly moved, raising his hand for the ball.

"Oi! Here!"

In a second, the ball had already flown to his hand, and he dashed in without any hesitation. With his ability, this fastbreak should be easy, especially considering all of the Kaijo players are still in Toō's area. However, before he could go further, the ball suddenly vanished from his hand, as someone tapped it from behind.

Aomine raised his eyebrows slightly, a bit surprised by this sudden development. When he turned around, he couldn't help but shiver a bit, as his instinct screamed danger at him about Kise's sudden change in demeanor.

He himself didn't know what happened. But all of Toō players suddenly saw a glimpse of a familiar figure behind Kise. And as everyone can guess, it was the figure of Aomine that everyone could see, as Kise finally figured out how to copy his former teammate.

'Finally….'

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Author note :

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You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 150 on that page. Thank you! :)

-Zeta Faes-