Yuki had a destination.
She knew exactly where to find him on days like this. Days where he would simply not show up to class. First period had just ended, but she knew that he wasn't going to show his face for the rest of the day. She was starting to think she had him dialed in pretty well, even though they had only known each other for a couple of months now. It sort of felt longer than that, probably because he was such a pain to deal with.
Yuki wouldn't change a thing, though. Well, except for maybe one tiny detail. But it was something out of her control, something only he could solve. She could only give him support, as his friend.
Yuki reached the top of the staircase and opened the door to the roof of the school, and sure enough she found the person she was looking for.
Naruto's ears twitched a little at the sound of the door opening behind him, but he didn't turn to look who it was. He already knew.
"You're early today, Yuki."
Usually she waited until third period to come and try to get him back to class. Not that it ever worked, but she was persistent.
"We both already know that waiting for you to show up is pointless," she retorted with a hand on her hips. "You'll just use this time to nap more."
He wished he could be napping right now, but he simply couldn't. Not right now.
Sighing, Yuki walked closer to the blond until she was standing next to him by the railing of the rooftop.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or am I going to have to force it out of you?"
So she knew.
Naruto didn't meet her gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about."
She continued to stare. "Don't take me for an idiot. I saw the bags under your eyes. You haven't been sleeping well, have you?"
Why did she have to be so sharp? It made it really hard to hide stuff from her.
Yuki started to tap her foot on the ground, a sign that she was losing patience.
"You already know how this is going to end, so you might as well just make it easier for the both of us and tell me what's troubling you. It'll probably make you feel better too."
Sheesh, at times like this you could never tell that technically she was his maid. But it was usually the other way around. She ordered him, and he would typically obey. Not that he would change their relationship either. If anything, it was one of the few comforts Naruto had in this world.
Well, whatever. There was no reason to hide this anymore. Not when she already caught him.
"I had a nightmare a couple days ago."
Her tapping stopped. "A nightmare?"
Naruto nodded as a soft gust of wind blew past them. "Yeah. I was in a dark room with a bunch of other shadows. They kept trying to reach me, but something was stopping them. Like an invisible wall. I couldn't move either, frozen where I stood. I couldn't speak or scream either. No matter how hard I tried, my voice couldn't reach them, and then one by one…..they started to disappear until I was left all alone in that room."
Yuki couldn't begin to describe the dread that was building up inside of her as she heard this.
"That-"
"I got the same feeling as when I first woke up." Naruto slammed his hand on the railing, his face twisted in anger. "That feeling of pure loss. Like there is something important that I'm supposed to remember, but I can never do it no matter how hard I try. Like there is another part of my brain that is just disconnected from the rest of me. It's…...frustrating."
Yuki placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your therapist-"
"I don't need that!" He shook her hand off as he turned away from the railing. Away from her. "I just need to remember. To know why I feel like I don't belong here. I need to remember. Once I do, everything will be okay. I just know it."
He had to be right. He just had to.
This was the root of the problem, all of them. Why he was always cutting class. Why he rarely smiled. Why he never interacted with any of the other students. He simply didn't feel like he belonged here. It didn't help that the rest of the school saw him as different than the rest, with his appearance also playing a big role in that. His 'loner' attitude only cemented that weird image in their minds. But Yuki knew it was just the blond's way of trying to cope with everything he had to deal with. He didn't want to be alone, but he didn't want to be treated as something special either. He just wanted to be accepted as a normal person, but he didn't know how to go about doing that.
Because he didn't know what 'normal' was.
Sighing again, Yuki took the blond's hand and guided him down to the ground with her. Naruto shot her a questioning stare, but the look on her face stopped him from complaining. That was another trick of hers. She could be scarier than his mother sometimes.
In the end, Naruto didn't mind as Yuki placed his head on her lap while she ran her hands through his golden locks. He found her touch soothing, specially at times like this. It was probably because Yuki was the only person who could see him for himself other than his mother. It's why he treasured his bond with her so much. If he didn't have her, then he might have gone further down into the darkness.
"It's frustrating, but there will definitely come a time when you can find something you want to protect. A place where you feel like you belong, memories or no memories. People who you'll form bonds with, bonds that can last a lifetime."
She made it sound so easy.
"I doubt it."
She flicked his forehead, much to his annoyance. "Don't talk back when I'm trying to console you. It's rude."
Sheesh, so forceful.
Yuki smiled. "But I'm serious. Everyone has a place in this world. It only takes time and a little effort to find it."
Everyone, huh? From the bottom of his heart, Naruto wished the girl was right. If so, if the day came when he found something in this world that could make him escape this monotony, a place that could accept him, a place that he could call his own…...then he would protect it with everything he had.
That was a promise.
Naruto didn't know what it was, but he felt different from before. He felt more in-tune with his body and his senses, almost like he was returning to a state that was more natural than anything he could remember. He felt like he could defeat anyone that stood in his way, and that was exactly what he was going to do. The cheering from the spectators didn't matter. It wasn't about pleasing them. No, this was about something far more important than that.
The orange electricity sparked around his eyes as he glared at the amused Aomine.
"We are not going to lose to someone like you. This team isn't that weak."
Kise stood next to him, his face saying everything that needed to be said. The yellow electricity coming from his eyes sparked intensely as well, matching Naruto's. The determination was there, and it wasn't just from the two of them.
"Hah, couldn't have said it better myself." Kasamatsu walked in between them, ready to lead this team to the very end.
Moriyama and Kobori took their positions behind Naruto and Kise, showing their support as well. Not with words, but with action.
Aomine wasn't threatened by this in the slightest. He was just happy to have a true challenge after so long. The outcome wasn't going to change, though. In the end, there was only one truth.
The only one who could beat him was him.
There was a shift in the game after this new development. You could say things had reverted back to how they had been in the second quarter.
It was Aomine versus Naruto and Kise, only none of the other players could keep track of them now. Not even close. If they had been struggling before, it was safe to say that they were totally lost now.
Aomine shot forward like a bullet with the ball in hand, blitzing past Kasamatsu and Moriyama like they weren't even there. That hadn't changed since the start of the third quarter. They were like training dummies and nothing else, much to their ire.
'Goddammit, when is this guy going to slow down!?' Kasamatsu thought in anger, his heart beating loudly in his ears.
But there was no need to feel such terror anymore. Not when they had their trusty aces.
Naruto and Kise stood by the basket, waiting patiently for Aomine to come to them. You might even be able to call it an ambush. In a situation like this, someone is Aomine's position would simply pass the ball over to Sakurai who was free and make the three. But Aomine wasn't most people. There was no way he was ever going to pass. He was going for the win, and he didn't need any teammates to help him achieve that victory.
'That reckless bastard!' Wakamatsu was livid as he saw this. Didn't Aomine realize that things were different now!? If Naruto and Kise were in the Zone, then the advantage he had over them was now gone! In fact, it was the exact opposite!
In his seat, Kuroko came to the same conclusion.
'It's going to be like before…..'
Aomine's momentum didn't stop, though, and he charged forward until Naruto and Kise were right in front of him. It was here where the two blond's sprung into action, moving just as fast as Aomine. Not only that, but they moved with exact precision, timing each other's moves perfectly.
'It's Kise-kun's copy.' Yuki's eyes marveled at the sight, even if she could only see some of it. The two weren't doing anything differently, but with Zone now added to the mix, it brought a new exciting element to the table. It was almost like a work of art come to life.
It was here where Aomine had to give pause as Naruto and Kise performed their perfectly balanced defense on him. One of them was bad enough, but it was the two at once.
'What pressure!' Kagami thought with wide eyes. He could tell from a glance. In his current state, he wouldn't be able to handle something like that at all. This powerful defense…...it was stronger than anything he'd seen. The proof? Aomine wasn't able to advance at all.
"I can't believe this at all."
Momoi didn't need to look at their coach to know that he was just as much in disbelief as she was.
'Aomine-kun…...'
Aomine practically growled as he tried to maneuver around the two blond's, adding his change of pace to spin past them at different times. But it didn't amount to anything. Not even close. Whenever he would go for an opening, either Naruto or Kise would suddenly appear to close it and vice versa. It was almost like they were reading the other's mind. That's how perfectly timed their move were, forcing Aomine to come to a standstill.
"Their movements, they're exactly the same," Kiyoshi commented, feeling overwhelmed by the showing. Kise was the key to this. His copying abilities were allowing the two to stay in tandem. It really was like there were two Naruto's out there.
Incredible.
Aomine wasn't feeling so kind, his anger skyrocketing as he blitzed forward again. "Why you-!" He actually managed to get around Naruto, and it looked like he was going to break their defense.
But was he really?
'This isn't good!' Imayoshi saw what was about to happen and began to run toward Aomine in the small hope that perhaps he would finally pass the ball. But it was all in vain.
Kise reached through Aomine's blind spot to knock the ball from his hand just as Aomine thought he was in the clear, and he was none the wiser until after the fact.
The wide-eyed Aomine turned his head just in time to see Naruto taking possession of the loose ball.
'No!'
It was truly a spectacle for everyone watching.
"It happened," Hyūga muttered. "A turnover, and it was against Aomine in the Zone…..."
None of the others were able to say anything, their eyes glue to the game below. But their faces spoke volume.
They were in awe.
"Stop them!" Takeuchi shot up from the bench with his shout. If those two were allowed to score now, then they could possibly take control of the rest of the quarter. That could not happen!
In the court, it was Naruto who had the ball, and he was already mid-court when Imayoshi popped up in front of him to try and stop him. But much like with Kasamatsu and Moriyama against Aomine, he wasn't able to slow Naruto down at all as the Uzumaki simply shot around the glasses-wearer like a bolt of lightning.
'This speed…...!' It was the first time Imayoshi was on the receiving end of a drive of someone in the Zone, and he had to admit that it was beyond amazing. It almost felt like he was watching someone move at the speed of light, too slow for him to react, least of all try to stop him.
The same was true for Susa and Sakurai, neither player being able to do anything about Naruto's new speed when they tried to stop him.
Aomine was a different story, the tanned boy showing up next to Naruto out the blue as he tried to reach for the ball. But almost like he had planned ahead, Naruto dribbled the ball to his other hand and away from Aomine's reach before shooting it back over his shoulder to where Kise was, the model catching it with ease.
'You're not pulling that one on me again!' Almost like he was showing off his reaction time, Aomine did a one-eighty turn in a split second just as Kise was about to shoot for the three.
"Wait, what!?" Moriyama almost let out a gasp at this. Did Aomine really think he was going to be able to stop the three from going in!? At that distance!?
It was a tense second for everyone on the court, and even those watching. Would Kise's shot be stopped? It almost looked like Aomine was going to do just that, which would definitely stop the momentum Naruto and Kise had going on.
In response, Kise merely grinned.
'Like I said, you can't trick me!' Aomine was more than ready to intercept Kise if he decided to pull off a fake and go for a drive instead. He was no longer going to be falling for that same trick.
'You still haven't learned, Aominecchi.' Kise wasn't fazed by Aomine's presence. After all, he wasn't fighting alone in the court.
Aomine watched how the trajectory of Kise's shot changed from a three pointer to a simple pass. The receiver of the pass was obvious. It went straight for Naruto, who was already waiting for the ball from inside the three point line.
Naruto looked to be going for a dunk right after, and to everyone it seemed like he would be getting an easy two points here.
Things were never that simple that, though, and in another impressive showing of speed and reaction, Aomine was in front of the whiskered blond with the block.
"You can't beat me!" Aomine shouted, pushing his body in the Zone to the max.
'This guy-!' Riko was in total awe at Aomine's movements, as was everyone else in Seirin. Even Kagami. 'Doesn't he ever quit!?'
'That's not possible!' Yuki's eyes widened. Just how fast and persistent was Aomine anyway!? To do something like this…...
Momoi just watched on, her legs shaky.
Naruto didn't seem bothered by this at all, his face never losing its determination. Rather, he simply side-jumped at the same moment Aomine jumped for the block. Aomine had to watch as Naruto brought his arm back with the ball, already knowing what was about to happen.
And he could do nothing about it.
Naruto threw the ball right for the basket in midair. With the speed and power behind it, the shot wasn't stoppable by anyone. The ball hit the backboard before making its way down to the net.
The shot was good.
The spectators went crazy again, ecstatic to see such a trick shot in real life. Their excitement was simply not containable at this point.
'Unbelievable.' Imayoshi almost felt like he had to pinch himself to make sure he was still awake. It was only reasonable, after witnessing such an amazing Formless Shot.
And it wasn't from Aomine.
Furihata pointed a shaky finger down to Naruto who was already heading back to the rest of his team.
"T-That just happened, right?"
He too needed to make sure that this was real life.
"That form and speed." Izuki grimaced. "How can anyone move like that?"
He had already seen amazing stuff from Aomine, as well as from Kise and Midorima. But this? This took the cake.
'Facing that…...' Kagami gritted his teeth while Kuroko watched in silence.
'That was an amazing play for sure, but that's not the main problem here,' Rika thought, her eyes going to Aomine who hadn't moved after the play. 'The problem is…...'
'Aomine-kun can't defeat the two of them.' Momoi wasn't going to turn her eyes from the truth here. The worst possible outcome had happened. It wasn't just Naruto who could match Aomine, but Kise too. And with Aomine's refusal to work with anyone else, there was no way to catch them off guard.
"Sheesh, you really went slow with that pass at the end, Kise. I had to lower my speed for you, ya know."
Momoi came out of her thoughts to see Naruto and Kise jogging back to the others, the two exchanging a few words.
"Huh? But Uzumakicchi, going faster can be dangerous! You think you can handle it?"
"Of course I can, idiot."
"Jeez, you're always so mean to me. Being nicer for once wouldn't hurt."
Momoi's eyes watered a little at the sight. Those two…..they were just like Aomine and Kise used to be, back when they were all together. But now, things were just…...
Yuki was in the opposite mood, her face full of delight at seeing Naruto and Kise working together so well like this. Even if their banter would suggest otherwise.
'There is no better choice for Kise's partner.' Takeuchi was just as happy as well, a half-grin breaking out on his face.
"T'ch." Wakamatsu scowled as he watched Kaijō cheer. "Idiots. Being so happy over this…..."
It was only one small victory dammit. Why were they acting like they had won the game?
Imayoshi knew, though. He was on the same page as both Riko and Momoi.
"Oi, Aomine-"
"Don't talk to me." Aomine finally moved, facing to look at the retreating Naruto and Kise. But instead of looking worried, he appeared to be genuine happy. And excited.
"The fun part is only starting."
"Mother-!" Wakamatsu looked ready to try and hit Aomine again, but Imayoshi held him back. In-fighting wouldn't accomplish anything right now. Still…..
'Just what do you think you can do here?' He wanted to say that out loud, he really did. This was only the third quarter. They were already losing. Heading into the fourth quarter with a wider gap in their scores wouldn't benefit them at all.
That wasn't all they had to worry about, though.
From where she sat, Rika was able to get a read on some of Aomine's stats. It wasn't a complete analysis because his uniform was in the way, but the ones she could see told a grim story.
"Aomine has been in the Zone for just about the whole quarter, hasn't he?"
Her question got the others looking at her.
"Yeah? What about it?" Kagami asked her, not seeing why that mattered.
Riko narrowed her eyes. "This is the first time I'm seeing it in person, but it's not hard to see how taxing this state must be. All those movements…...it's practically pushing you to your limit."
It was your one hundred perfect, after all. Of course it would be tiring.
Kiyoshi was the first one to get where she was going with this. He knew just how talented her eyes were.
"Are you saying that….?"
"It's not just him either." Riko's eyes went to Naruto and Kise. It was unbelievable really, but she couldn't see an end to Naruto's stats, but they were dropping too. It was a similar story for Kise. It was probably because this was their first time in this state. The cost was heavier for them.
Kuroko looked down at Aomine who was looking ready for the next play.
Who was going to crumble first? That was the question now.
Despite Naruto and Kise's shutdown, Aomine pushed forward with the same enthusiasm from before. It was almost like that defeat just now hadn't happened.
Reality told a different story.
It was almost like things were reverting back to the first half, as Naruto and Kise mounted their double-team on Aomine only on a higher level from before. In the series of plays that followed, things played out the same way.
Aomine couldn't get past them. That was the simple truth. Even if he got into a shooting position, all his shots were blocked at the last second. Naruto and Kise made sure he was never in a comfortable position to shoot either. They pushed him to his extremes, and this only added to his fatigue that was building up.
That fatigue was spreading to the others too. They were all looking ready to pass out.
'It feels like we're just running back and forth again,' Wakamatsu thought while he panted heavily. There was no way for any of them to get directly involved. They had barely been able to keep up with the three before, and that was putting it generously. But now? When they were in the Zone? No proper defense could be mounted again these monsters.
The situation looked more grim as Kise managed to outright dunk right through Aomine. This was followed by Naruto slapping the ball from Aomine's hands before he scored with a dunk of his own.
'It looks like it's starting.' Midorima pushed his glasses up his nose. 'The limit of Aomine's Zone…..'
The others in Tōō saw this too. Aomine was cracking first.
'He has to try twice as hard against those two,' a grimacing Imayoshi said to himself. 'He can't keep this up.'
Aomine didn't see things that way, though.
'You've got to be kidding me...'
He wasn't going to be stopped like this. He wasn't going to lose. He couldn't lose. He was the strongest.
"I'm not going to lose!" he declared as he went for another Formless Shot. But his form lacked its usual stability, for a lack of a better word. He was letting his frustrations cloud his judgement, that much was plain to see. The shot probably wouldn't go in.
Not that it mattered as Kise jumped for the block and slammed the ball back down just as it left Aomine's hand, not an ounce of hesitation on him. Aomine was left stunned to the point that he fell back instead of landing on his feet, finally snapping out of his Zone.
"You're slipping, Aominecchi," Kise whispered as he took off for the ball.
Aomine was just left sitting in front of the basket, not moving an inch. He couldn't.
The others in his team weren't able to concern themselves with this, though, as Kise was already on the counterattack. There were around fifteen seconds left on the clock, and if nothing else they were going to make sure that Kise didn't get another shot in.
The task seemed impossible as Kise dribbled right past Susa and Wakamatsu with ease.
"SHOOT IT IN, KISE!" Kasamatsu shouted in support, with Naruto and the others chiming in right after him.
Everyone from Tōō held their breath. It looked like the gap in their scores would increase, which would only put them in a worse position than they already were. But in another unexpected turn, the ball fell from Kise's hands as the blond suddenly fell to his knees before he could jump for the dunk, unable to remain standing anymore.
Yuki gasped. "Kise-san!"
The others on the bench beside her shared similar reactions, as did the spectators.
"What just happened!?" Kagami asked as he leaned in closer from his seat. "Why did Kise…...!?"
"It's the effects of the Zone," Rika surmised. It was just as she feared. Kise had already been overexerting himself as he copied Naruto's and Aomine's moves. And he'd been doing that since the second quarter. Adding Zone on top of that? It was amazing he lasted as long as he did.
Imayoshi was coming to the same conclusion, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity go. He dashed for the ball, which was free for anyone to take. There were still ten seconds left. He had to make the most of this.
Only Kasamatsu was able to react to his actions, as even Naruto was too surprised by Kise's collapse to do anything.
Imayoshi looked a bit annoyed when he noticed Kasamatsu sticking to him. He wasn't going to be able to get into a favorable shooting position. Not with so few time left.
Only three seconds remained.
"There's no helping it then."
Kasamatsu was a second too late to react to Imayoshi's sudden shot, as he never expected for Imayoshi to do something so brash. But Kasamatsu was confident it wouldn't go in. The guy had just randomly shot it. There was no way he was making it.
Imayoshi just smiled as the ball hit the sides of the rim but still went into the net as the buzzer rang. He had managed to score an improvised buzzer beater, much to the excitement of the viewers.
Kasamatsu was left gaping. 'How did that…...!?'
"Oh, boy. Would you look at that," Imayoshi said, still smiling. Although it was a bit more ominous than normal. "It went in. I sure am lucky, eh? Ahahaha….."
The laugh genuinely made Kasamatsu want to punch him in the face, a feeling he rarely got. With the others in his team, it was never truly serious. But this guy?
What a bastard.
"I don't think you should be focusing on me right now." Imayoshi turned away from the glaring Kasamatsu. "I think your teammate needs the attention more than me."
That snapped Kasamatsu back to reality, and he looked back to the still collapsed Kise.
"Kise!"
He wasn't alone as the others ran to Kise as well.
"The third quarter is over," the announcer said for everyone to hear. "We will now have a two minute intermission."
Naruto didn't bother to pay attention to the announcement as he knelt next to Kise.
"Kise! You're-"
"I'm sorry." Kise had his head bowed. His hands were clenched at his side. He wanted nothing more than to hit his twitching legs, to force them to get up. But he knew that would accomplish nothing. "I'm sorry for being so weak."
The tears came next. It was involuntary, but they stemmed from his frustration. He couldn't believe this was the way he had to end the game.
"Don't be a moron."
Kise looked up in surprise as Naruto pulled up to his feet. The Uzumaki had Kise's arm drape around his shoulder for support. "No one here thinks you're weak. It's the opposite really."
Moriyama was smiling. "Yeah. You gave everyone a helluva surprise."
"That's true," Kobori said, also smiling. "You've been fighting just as hard if not harder than the rest of us. We don't hold this against you."
"Hear that, you fool?" Kasamatsu stepped up from Kise's other side to slap the blond on the back of the head. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Hold your head high."
Kise's tears still fell as the others helped him out of the court, but it wasn't from shame or frustration. Now, they were just tears of content. He was reminded again that he wasn't fighting alone. He had a team with him.
Aomine watched them go in silence before turning to his team's bench, where Momoi and the others were waiting for him.
This game wasn't over yet.
"The score is 73 to 68," Koganei said as he looked at the scoreboard. "It's so close!"
Hyūga crossed his arms. "The score isn't the important factor here. It doesn't look like Kise will be able to play again, and there's still the fourth quarter to play."
"He'll come back."
The others turned to Kuroko who was staring down at Kise and Naruto.
"What did you say?"
"He'll come back," Kuroko repeated. He was sure of himself. "Kise-kun isn't this weak. I'm sure he'll come back."
"You say that, but the guy could barely move," Kagami responded. He wanted to believe in the guy too, but after seeing that?
"Well, if he does back, it won't be until the last few minutes of the quarter," Kiyoshi guessed. "Which means….."
"Uzumaki-san has to deal with Aomine all on his own," Riko finished for him.
With the two teams so evenly matched, that's what it would come down to. A battle between the aces.
"Uzumaki and Aomine," Kagami muttered, his face unsure. He honestly had no idea who would come out on top in this case. The two were so evenly matched.
"But Aomine is exhausted?" Izuki pointed out. "I don't think he can keep up with Uzumaki-san, not when he's still in the Zone."
Maybe so, but Riko still didn't look convinced. Not after what Kuroko had told them, how Aomine became stronger over time. Especially when a tough opponent was involved.
In the end, they would have to just wait and see what happened.
"Kise-san, are you alright!?"
The blond smiled a little as Naruto sat him down on the bench with the rest.
"Yeah, Sugawaracchi. You don't have to worry about me."
Yuki still worried, especially when she could still see traces of tears left in the boy's eyes.
"This is an undesirable development, but one we must deal with," the coach said as he stood before his team. "For the time being, we'll have to let Uzumaki deal with Aomine."
Naruto nodded. "You don't have to worry about that. I still more than enough power to crush that guy."
Not that was one thing Yuki didn't doubt.
Kasamatsu patted the Uzumaki on the back. "H'mph, then it's settled I think. We'll leave that monster to you."
"On that note." Takeuchi looked at Nakamura. "Nakamura. You're up."
The glasses-wearer looked surprised by this. "Me?"
"Yeah. We can entrust our offense to Uzumaki. That leaves the rest of you on defense. You're the best suited for this."
Nakamura stood up. He didn't need further explanation. "Alright. I'll give it my all." He then looked at Naruto. "But it goes without saying that defending against Aomine is up to you."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Naruto didn't need to be told a third time.
"Naruto-kun." Yuki approached the boy, beaming. "Good luck."
Now how could he lose when Yuki was cheering for him too?
He grinned. "Yeah."
Moriyama sulked at the sight while Kise chuckled. "Sorry about this, Uzumakicchi. Leaving on an uncool note like this…..."
"Just focus on getting better." Naruto stretched his arms out to loosen his body up a bit. "Before that, you can count on the rest of us."
"Damn right." Kasamatsu smirked as he faced the court again. "Kaijō isn't going to lose here."
Moriyama grinned, perking back up. "Of course. The cute girl sitting in the third to last row would be disappointed in me if we lost. We can't have that, now can we?"
Kobori sweatdropped. "That sounds like you're not taking this seriously at all…..."
"This team gives me no hope sometimes," Nakamura muttered as he stood by them.
"You morons, ruining the moment." Kasamatsu look livid again, but that was per the course at this point.
Naruto just snorted. He was surrounded by morons alright. And no, he wasn't one of them…...maybe.
Yuki giggled, amused.
Despite his eagerness to face Aomine, to want to defeat the person he had looked up to in the past, Kise found himself feeling strangely okay with this. It was probably because of before, because of his revelation. It was the same way back in the first quarter, when he stepped back to let Naruto take on Aomine first.
'This must be what Kurokocchi was talking about before, what he meant about a team.'
It wasn't about yourself. It was about everyone. That's why he was okay with leaving this to them. Because, while he did want to win, he wanted to win with them. That desire was stronger than anything else. It was something Aomine still couldn't understand, or rather something he wouldn't understand.
Kise glanced to Aomine who was sitting with his towel hanging from his head. He didn't look to be paying any attention to what was happening around him, much to the ire of the others in his team.
"Aomine, you bastard, are you even listening!?" Wakamatsu pointed at him with a heavy scowl.
"Huh?" Aomine just barely lifted his head. "What?"
Before Wakamatsu could go off on him, Momoi stepped in.
"Aomine-kun, you have to take this seriously! Our game plan-"
"Don't need it."
"Huh?" Momoi was at a loss for words. It was a weird reaction from her really. She should have expected this, but at the same time it still caught Momoi off guard. But why? She had no answer to her own question.
The whistle was blown from the referee, signaling the end of the intermission.
"Oi, is this really okay?" Susa muttered to Imayoshi. "Aomine is-"
"Just leave it." Imayoshi got up to his feet and looked over to Naruto and Kise. "They've lost one of their precious duo. That's the only opening we need."
Susa didn't look convinced, and neither did Wakamatsu. But they weren't going to go against Imayoshi's word.
Harasawa twirled a strand of his hair between his fingers, his face thoughtful. "Well, it's like Imayoshi says. As long as there's only one of them, their offense will be more exploitable. If we keep out of Uzumaki's reach, then everything should be fine."
But for that to absolutely work, then they would need Aomine to start cooperating with them. None of them were counting on that, though, so they would just do what they could.
While Imayoshi, Susa, Sakurai, and Wakamatsu walked back onto the court, Momoi noticed that Aomine still hadn't moved from his seat.
"Aomine-kun?" she called out, the worry obvious in her voice.
The boy lifted his face again and saw that the others had already started to move.
He took the towel from his head and got up. "Sorry, Satsuki. My mind was on something else."
And like that, Momoi finally realized why she had been surprised before. It was because Aomine lacked his usual bite. He sounded more…..at ease, if that made any sense. But that couldn't be. The last time he had been like this during a match was…...
'Back in Teikō…..'
Momoi was left with these thoughts as Aomine followed the others. Naruto and the rest of his team were already waiting for him.
'I have faith in you, Uzumakicchi,' Kise thought from the sidelines with Yuki sitting next to him.
"It's time for the final quarter," Hyūga murmured.
Kiyoshi nodded. "Yeah. It all comes down to this."
Who was going to come out on top?
As soon as the buzzer went off to start off the final quarter of the game, the ball was thrown in and in Kaijō's possession. It was Kasamatsu who received it, and Imayoshi was there to mark him just as he had all throughout the game so far.
Kasamatsu was able to tell right away that the fire hadn't left any of the players from Tōō. They were still looking for victory, and as long as that was the case this was not going to be an easy win.
But after coming this far, Kasamatsu wouldn't have expected anything else from his opponents.
Imayoshi smiled, almost mockingly-so. "Well? Are you coming or not?"
"H'mph, there is no reason to beat around the bush," Kasamatsu retorted.
Imayoshi didn't understand, but he got the explanation he needed when Kasamatsu passed the ball right to Naruto.
The glasses-wearer stopped himself from scowling. 'They're not going to slow down it seems.'
Not that they had a reason to. Unlike Aomine and Kise, Naruto didn't seem to be exhausted even after using Zone.
"So they're going for it again," Midorima observed as Naruto and Aomine faced off against one another. But as long as Naruto remained in the Zone, then there was no way Aomine was going to be able to keep up.
Everyone in Seirin was thinking the same thing too.
The stare off between Naruto and Aomine lasted for a couple more seconds, but the battle began in an instant. Naruto went for a direct drive, the orange electric hue around his eyes lighting up more strongly than any other time in the game so far. Under normal circumstances, such a move wouldn't have worked on someone like Aomine as he would have been able to keep up with ease. But that wasn't the case here. Naruto was like a speeding bullet, and Aomine wasn't able to stop the blond from going right through.
'Dammit, it's just like we feared!' In a rare showing, Imayoshi cursed. But what he was seeing more than justified it. Their ace was no longer able to keep up. This only spelled defeat for them.
Naruto raced for the basket as Susa tried to intercept him. Naruto admittedly slowed down for half a second before doing a spin that took him around Susa and his defense.
Susa was left wide-eyed while Naruto kept moving forward. The blond then jumped for the dunk with everyone in Kaijō, even those sitting in the audience seats, cheering him on. None was louder than Kise, though, who was more than happy to see Naruto defeating Aomine.
But at the last second, that excitement died when Naruto's dunk was swatted away, and by none other than Aomine.
"What the hell!?" Kagami shouted, taken back by this. "I thought Aomine couldn't keep up anymore!?"
No one said anything. Even those on the court were shocked.
'This guy…...' Kasamatsu gritted his teeth.
Aomine stared at Naruto, hard. "You've underestimated me if you think I can't keep up anymore." His statement was followed by the crackling of electricity shooting from his eyes with just as much intensity as Naruto's.
'He's still in the Zone,' Yuki thought in disbelief. Even after being in that state for about an entire quarter, he was still able to use it?
Momoi just stared on, doing her best to keep calm. But the worry in her eyes spoke a different story.
"Don't think you can take it easy while I'm still here," Aomine growled. "If you can afford to be that laid-back, then you should be coming at me like your life is on the line!"
That declaration was met with stunned silence from the others. All but Naruto who chuckled softly as he turned to Aomine.
"Seriously. First Kise, and now you." The blond gave him a feral grin. "But it would have been too easy if you'd given up like that."
The two boys matched glares, and thus proved Kuroko's words correct.
This match wasn't over until that final buzzer.