That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 2)

第40Q

When the buzzer went off, both teams returned to the court, with Koganei substituting Kuroko while the latter rested on the bench with Yasu taking care of him. 'It's not as though I doubt him, but if he doesn't return to the court, we're more than screwed.' thought Kagami. 'I've been saved by his little ass tons of times. Believe, but don't expect anything. We don't want to be too far behind when he returns. Beating Aomine doesn't matter anymore.' Kagami stood in front of Touou's ace and thought, 'This time I'll save him.'

With eight minutes left before the end of the first half, the game continued with Seirin having the ball. Izuki dribbled the ball and passed it to Kagami, who was marked by Aomine. The two of them stared at each other for a second before Kagami passed the ball to Kiyoshi when he was open.

'Over here!' thought Wakamatsu when he saw Kiyoshi leaning towards Izuki. But as soon as he went towards that direction, Kiyoshi drove past him from the other side. "Damn it!" he cussed. Kiyoshi made it to the team's hoop and scored with a lay-up.

"Alright!" cheered the boys on the bench.

"Nice shot!" shouted Fukuda.

"Was I imagining things?" scoffed Aomine when Kagami walked by him, stopping the latter in his tracks. "I thought you looked ready to go when you stepped on the court."

"Shut up." scolded the latter. "Kiyoshi-san just happened to be in a good position." When Seirin returned to defence, Aomine had the ball while Kagami guarded him. "Don't worry. I have no intention of running." Aomine only furrowed his brow while bouncing the ball.

'A change of pace...' noted Murasakibara.

'It's one of Aomine's strengths.' thought Midorima. 'Even if you predict his timing, stopping him is nearly impossible. However, more importantly...'

'Kagamicchi's stance...' noted Kise, who was thinking the same thing as the other two. 'It's a relaxed and natural stance, just like Aominecchi's!'

'Here it comes.' thought Akashi when he saw Aomine's expression, ready to attack.

Kagami reached out and tried to steal the ball. But Aomine switched it to his other hand, and jumped up to score a basket. Yasu stared at Kagami with an intense gaze, while Riko watched as she recalled what the manager had told her about Kagami's development back in the gym, where the Seirin basketball team practised. To everyone's surprise, Kagami caught up and smacked the ball away, blocking Aomine's formless shot.

"What?!" gasped Imayoshi, who was as shocked as the rest. Even Aomine was shocked by the block.

'Did Kuroko-kun's total loss unleash his strength?' questioned Riko. 'By going from saved to savior, the power he's been unconsciously suppressing is being released. Is this Kagami-kun's true strength?' The said boy's teammates stared at him with shock, still trying to register what had happened.

"Good." said Aomine with a grin. "You're finally getting excited." He turned around to look at Kagami. "Honestly, I didn't expect much from you, but you've improved considerably. I might be able to play a little harder this time." Yasu noticed his dark expression, which made her furrow her brows. The game resumed with Aomine having the ball again, with Seirin's ace marking him. "Entertain me, Kagami!" He charged ahead, but turned around and drove past him from the other side, catching the said boy off guard.

'I already thought he was unbelievably fast, but he's going even faster!' thought Izuki, who was also shocked by Aomine's pace.

Kagami managed to catch up but Aomine slammed the ball to the ground, making bounce towards the hoop. "Alright!" yelled Wakamatsu as he jumped up to catch the ball so that he could do an alley-oop. "Leave it to me!"