EIGHTY-ONE. GF-FORHIRE
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ymari seinaru looked at the board that inko was showing the team.
turns out, they were treating this scrimmage as they would an official game. however, the captain had something else in her mind.
"inko-san, i'm not playing as a starter before the semis, you know that, right?" she asked, making her coach and the rest of the team look at her in surprise.
"every player should be utilized for each pre-semi game." she offered. "so please, remove me from the starting lineup of the first game of this scrimmage and sub me in only when necessary. i'll play i'd like to see how our players go against the other team."
inko nodded in understanding. "you have a point. this way, we can see what areas need improving for the other players."
"exactly." seinaru nodded. she held out her hands. "may i please borrow the board?"
inko handed her the board and the marker and she started to rearrange the magnets.
"hanuka, ichigo, takemichi, ryuguji, and inosuke are starters." she declared, placing magnets in certain positions. "hanuka, power, ichigo, under the net, takemichi point guard, ryuguji shooting guard, and inosuke small forward."
"now i know for a fact that the starters will be the five already- they won't start off slow. however, they're just men." she drew arrows in between magnets, indicating the movements each player has to follow.
she was given the notes of the playing position of each player from the other team, so she knew what plays to make, and where she should place her team's player movements.
"ichigo, you won't be guarding atsu-chin. get the rebounds, but be careful when it comes to him." she drew an arrow where ichigo's central movement would be. "this goes for all of you. when the player is taller than you, don't guard- evade."
"got it, captain." ichigo nodded.
"takemichi, you can't do anything about akashi." she revealed, noting that the point guard of the other team was skilled when it comes to ball handling.
"however, you can direct the ball to any of the four on our team upon possession. do everything you can to get the ball to ryuguji immediately once she's within the three point line- she can shoot anywhere from there."
"hai, senpai!" takemichi nodded.
"ryuguji, be mindful of shin-chin." she looked at the opposite side of the court where the green haired shooting guard was shooting drills. it surprised her slightly that someone else was able to foster similar skills to the ones she had. "it seems he can also do cross-court shots so make sure you don't let the ball get to him. be quick on your feet and steal."
"you can count on me, captain." ryuguji bowed lightly.
"hanuka, you're up against aomine." she saw in the notes she was given earlier that the dark blue haired power forward was skilled in ball handling and offered immense force during games. "he's taller, so evade, but don't cower. steal the ball from him if you can, otherwise, support ichigo."
"yes, cap." hanuka nodded.
"inosuke, kise's skill is copy." she pointed at the opposite side of the court where kise was running drills exactly copying kagami's movements. "whatever you can do, he can do too. so be mindful of him. just support the rest, and you'll be fine."
the buzzer resounded throughout the complex, making both teams look at the announcer's table.
"nippon women's youth basketball team versus nippon men's youth basketball team- game 1, will now officially commence!" riko aida announced.
she and satsuki momoi were tasked to be the announcers for the game.
"both teams' starters, lineup, please." momoi spoke into the microphone.
seinaru looked back to the huddle where the five starters she chose were already looking at her, waiting for her go-signal.
"coach, do you have any more to add?" seinaru asked.
inko smiled. "follow what your captain says. do your best."
she nodded at her coach's words. "show me why you were chosen for this team."
"hai!" the five shouted in unison.
both teams' starters started to make their way to the center court. the female players got questioning glances from the opposing team.
kise raised a brow at the lineup. "what's going on?"
"i can't say i'm impressed with ymari's choice. this lineup didn't do well against argentina, and yet she dares try it a second time." midorima pushed back his eyeglasses. "but then again, capricorns are clever and extremely calculated- so she must have something up her sleeve."
murasakibara looked at the players that ranged from 5'11 to 6'1, with ichigo being the tallest, and takemichi the shortest.
"is yma-chin even taking this seriously?" he questioned lazily.
aomine narrowed his eyes at the black haired captain of the opposing team. "i'd say seinaru's a bit fucked up in the head with this lineup, but midorima's right. she doesn't seem to be the type to do things on a whim. she has something up her sleeve."
akashi nodded, looking at his teammates, and then the five women who finally stopped in front of them.
"well, let's play, shall we?"
the whistle resounded across the sports complex, just as ichigo and murasakibara jumped for the ball.
seinaru smirked, looking at the board she was writing on earlier.
they were going for the triangle offense.
she glanced back at ryuguji who immediately shot the ball upon possession in the three point line.
the other team couldn't even comprehend what was going on until the ball went through the hoop. the ball was intercepted from them almost instantly after murasakibara got possession, and before they knew it, the zeroes on the digital score board were no longer.
seinaru watched as the scores changed within the first ten seconds of the game.
3 - 0, in favor of the women's youth team.
-
"are we late?" lev asked once they exited kuroo's car.
kuroo looked at his watch, "yeah. the game should be in the second quarter by now."
"aww, so that means we completely missed it?" the tall silver haired middle blocker whined.
yaku chopped his back. "no, baka-lev. basketball has four quarters. they go at it for forty-eight minutes."
"ohhh!" lev nodded in understanding.
the eight nekoma players made their way inside the gym. everything was unclear when they were still near the court, but once they were on the bleachers, they finally got a clear view of what was going on.
kenma narrowed his cat-like eyes on the court, not once spotting a black haired girl names yma-chan on the female team. "yma-chan isn't playing."
taketora blinked. "those are the same players as the first five minutes of the exhibition game versus argentina, right?"
yaku shook his head, being knowledgeable about basketball. "futakuchi was playing then, and so was nozomi."
kuroo glanced at the bench of the female team and saw seinaru writing something down on the coach's board.
"how are the scores?" shibayama asked.
"it's.." inuoka glanced at the digital score board. he blinked in disbelief. "29 - 34."
"in favor of who?" yaku asked, looking up at the board.
"the men's youth team." kai concluded. "their team is world-class- the generation of miracles, so i'm surprised it isn't a huge score gap."
"it isn't?" the first year volleyball players questioned.
"no." yaku shook his head. "with one three pointer and a layup, the scores are even."
the three first years nodded. "ohhh!"
"yma-chan is over there." kenma spotted the girl. "i'm gonna go-"
before kuroo or the others could even stop him, the bleached blonde was already sprinting towards the court side at full speeds.
they all sweatdropped.
if only he was like that for volleyball too.
kenma got to the bottom of the bleachers and quietly made his way to the bench on yma-chan's side.
he walked past the coach and the other players who were looking at him with interest.
"who?" kasai mouthed at utsui, being a bit of a gossip.
utsui shrugged innocently, as she mouthed back, "no idea."
kenma sat down beside the girl and leaned against her right side. "yma-chan.."
ymari was taken aback by the sudden warmth, but when she heard her nickname, she turned towards the familiar boy with a smile. "hi, ken-ken."
the rest of the female team on the bench struggled to keep their squeals in.
she looks so adorable smiling like that!
"why is yma-chan not playing?" the boy asked, nuzzling onto her side some more.
she supported him, encircling her right hand on his waist as her eyes remained on the coaching board. she continued writing down the next play with her left hand- she's ambidextrous, just in case you forgot.
"i'm testing out plays." she said. "they're working so far."
kenma nodded. "you didn't tell me you were in tokyo already."
"i had to hear it from kuro." he pouted
"sorry, i was a bit busy." she apologized, still writing plays for the third quarter.
"it's okay. i understand." he said. "i'm staying here."
"okay." seinaru hummed. he didn't even ask for permission. he just declared his position within the bench.
kenma removed her hand from his waist, and just linked their arms together as he played on his switch, leaning against her shoulder.
the girl just looked at him for a moment before going back to writing.
atsumu was going to be here any moment, she knows the boy will understand, but she doesn't know how she'll explain this to his brother and suna.
"ken-ken a client's coming over in a bit." she told him quietly. "i hope you don't mind."
the blonde looked at her. "no. but yma-chan is mine."
he tightened his hold on her shoulder. "yma-chan isn't going anywhere unless she's playing."
she shook her head, laughing lightly. "just be cautious, okay?"
kenma sighed in defeat. "fine."
the buzzer resounded. "end of the second quarter!"
38 - 44, men's youth team.
both teams started to go back to their posts. since the other team had their sights set on the female team's captain, their eyes automatically darted to her on the bench- only to see her all touchy-feely with a blonde boy with rather long hair.
"hah?" aomine blinked in disbelief. " 's that her boyfriend?"
midorima narrowed his eyes at the sight. "i can be a better boyfriend than him."
murasakibara rolled his eyes at the greenette. "she won't want a creep who carries around kettles and whose only hobby 'sides basketball is watching oha asa every morning, mido-chin."
kise scoffed. "dream on. my mom's her coach, see who has the upper hand here."
"your mom never introduced you to her." the three who previously spoke chorused.
kise flinched. "they were always busy, okay?!"
akashi just looked at the girl, who was now giving out instructions to her team. "keep your head in the game."
the boys snapped up to look at him.
"those aren't their real starters and yet they're almost toe-to-toe with us. something isn't right."
"i agree." kagami glared at the other team. "sub me in, akashi. i need to play."
the captain nodded, "very well."
he looked at kise, "i'm subbing you out. keep your energy for the second game."
the blonde sighed, "fine."
akashi looked at his team, "all of you, stop holding back."
"this early?" aomine sighed. "i thought we were holding back till the third half."
before the lineups were even announced for the first game, the captain told his team to hold back. keep their strength between fifty to seventy-five percent, because he wanted a somewhat fair fight.
but now, it seems there should be no testing the waters anymore. he'll have to out a stop to the opposing team captain's experiments.
"i'm guessing you think she'll play during the second game." midorima quipped.
"indeed." akashi nodded. "if she doesn't, we'll just have to drive her out. so forget what i said before the game- no more holding back."
-
atsumu's hoodie covered his entire face, it was zipped up to the top, as did suna's and osamu's hoodies. they looked like local stalkers, but it's fine.
it was already a few minutes before seven when they arrived. so the night was rather cold now, good thing their stuff were in suna's rental car so they were able to grab hoodies.
moments prior, he received a text from ymari saying, "under wraps, 'kay?" which meant she had another client in the area.
he sighed, opening the sports complex' doors and then entering along with the other two.
"this place is huge." osamu blinked, before he looked at the court.
"let's go up the bleachers, so we can see well." suna walked past them, already on his way to the bleachers behind the male team's side.
nekoma couldn't spot them because they were at the furthest area of the bleachers, right behind the female team.
"yer girlfriend ain't playing again?" osamu asked.
atsumu looked at the bench where he saw ymari's back turned to him, with someone with medium length hair clinging onto her- he assumed the person was a girl for some reason. "nope, looks like she isn't."
"the score makes sense then." suna pointed out.
67 - 89, in favor of the men's team.
-
"game 1 has concluded, winner- the men's youth team!" momoi announced.
final score- 84 - 113.
ymari looked at her team's starters that were not once subbed out. they dejectedly walked towards the bench.
"sumimasen, captain." ryuguji fell down on her knees, begging for the captain's forgiveness.
takemichi immediately followed, bowing down, hands, knees, and head on the floor.
"gomenasai, seinaru-senpai!"
hanuka, ichigo, and inosuke were about to get down on their knees to beg for forgiveness as well, when they heard the captain chuckle.
"stand up, ryuguji, takemichi." she patted their heads softly. "it's fine. you did great."
"we did?!" the five asked incredulously.
"but we lost..?" hanuka asked.
this time, it was kasai who spoke. "you did, but.."
she looked at hanuka with a genuine smile on her usually stoic face. "we're proud of you."
saito nodded, looking at ichigo. "all of you have improved a lot. you managed to stand against the generation of miracles- that's saying something."
jordan smothered them all in celebratory hugs and kisses. "aww~ my babies are all grown up!"
seinaru just shook her head in laughter, before looking back a her board.
"kasai, saito, utsui, nozomi- start warming up." she instructed.
the four stood up immediately. "hai."
the previous five starters sat down on the bench and all shot curious glances at the blonde male clinging onto their captain, who they noticed just now.
takemichi's eyes were wide as she drank startari sweat ion drink. "who the hell?"
ryuguji drank her startorade aggressively. "straight. she's straight. and she likes a boy who's prettier than me, a female. straight. yeah, right."
hanuka just laughed after drinking her water. "chill out, he's probably a friend or something."
ichigo nodded. "she has a lot of friends. most are volleyball players though."
the rest of the team looked at them in interest. "we need details, now."
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