Their advantage on the scoreboard relieved Kuroko and the Seirin players.
"...We can win this," Kuroko mumbled to himself while looking at the scoreboard.
However, Kuroko's vision suddenly darkened as his body swayed, which prompted concerned exclamations from his teammates.
"Kuroko!"
Just as he was about to fall, Kagami swiftly moved to catch Kuroko, his expression a mix of worry and complexity.
"Are you alright, Kuroko?"
Supporting Kuroko in his arms, Kagami inquired about his well-being.
"...Don't worry, I'm just slightly out of breath."
Kuroko responded, despite his heavy breathing and sore muscles, and assured Kagami that he was merely slightly out of breath.
Kagami couldn't help but shake his head at Kuroko's response.
The concern on his face mirrored that of the others who had rushed to assist Kuroko in getting to their designated changing room for the first-half break.
The toll of the intense game was evident on Kuroko's frail body, and without Kagami's support, he would have struggled to stay on his feet. The Misdirection Overflow had exacted a heavy physical toll, and it was already a good thing that Kuroko hadn't lost consciousness from doing so.
Kiyoshi looked concerned at Kuroko, who had clearly overexerted his body. His gaze shifted to the Too Academy players, and a frown etched across his face.
"This is not good," he muttered as he recognized that with Kuroko in such a condition, Seirin was reverting to a situation where only Kagami could contribute significantly to their scoring.
Hyuga shared the same worries as he completely understood that Kuroko's absence on the court would severely impact Seirin's offensive capabilities. They had only managed to take the lead on the scoreboard thanks to Kuroko's Misdirection Overflow.
With him sidelined, they were back to square one.
"Now, without Kuroko, we're going back to where we started, huh?"
Hyuga thought, clenching his teeth as he pondered how they could navigate the upcoming quarters without Kuroko.
In the midst of the audience, Kasamatsu's eyes followed the Seirin players as they left the court.
"Now it's pretty much certain Kuroko won't be able to play in the next quarter. Too Academy would have an easier time taking over the momentum again in the next half," he remarked.
Kise acknowledged this development with a solemn nod.
His gaze lingered on Kuroko, a tinge of concern evident in his expression.
"Kurokocchi, to think that you've gone that far just to get a grip of the momentum from Too Academy," Kise thought silently, his fist clenched in admiration. The depth of Kuroko's determination and stubbornness truly lived up to his character.
Kise muttered, "I hope it was all worth it, Kurokocchi..."
Too Academy players who had also left the court also saw what had happened before.
"...It was definitely worthy of respect," Imayoshi thought as they walked through the corridor.
He then smirked as he adjusted his eyeglasses before he spoke, "But we won't shy away from taking this advantage to our favor..."
In Fukuda Sogo's seating area, Ogiwara wore a concerned expression as he kept an eye on the direction of where Seirin had left.
Nijimura noticed Ogiwara's worry and suggested, "You can go and meet him if you're this worried, Ogiwara..."
Ogiwara hesitated, revealing a complex mix of emotions.
"No, there's no need to." After a thoughtful sigh, he responded.
He expressed confidence in Kuroko's resilience, saying, "I'm sure he's alright. Besides, I knew this wouldn't stop him. I knew that he would come back again later..."
Tsuna couldn't help but smile at Ogiwara's words, recognizing it was pretty much what Kuroko might do.
"...Without his Misdirection, there is nothing he could do." Tsuna shook his head as he thought so while eyeing the scoreboard.
Yet, a glimmer of thought flickered in his mind, "Well, he might be able to do something if something happened in the next half, though..."
Inside Too Academy's changing room, Harasawa stood with crossed arms, deep in thought. His closed eyes hinted at a contemplative moment.
Too Academy's players awaited Harasawa's guidance with patience.
He opened his eyes and said, "Now that they can't use the Vanishing Drive, their defense won't be as challenging."
Their defense had been chaotic, dealing with Seirin's effective use of Kuroko's Vanishing Drive in the second quarter.
The lost momentum had impacted Too Academy's offense and intensified the pressure from Seirin's defense, making scoring even more difficult.
"Let's step up our game and be more aggressive in the next quarter. We need to seize the momentum entirely," he declared with a determined gleam in his eyes.
"Once we have control, ease up on our pace a bit and increase the pressure on them."
Harasawa had noted that during the second quarter, Seirin had to exert extra effort to score more points, depleting their stamina in the process. He was confident that if their strategy played out, Seirin would be running out of breath by the fourth quarter, making it an easy win for Too Academy.
Imayoshi's eyes opened slightly, his polite smile revealing a hint of satisfaction as he assessed their coach's strategy. The game seemed to have fallen perfectly into their hands, and he thought, "...It's time to finish up the game, huh?"
Wakamatsu was the kind of guy who didn't question orders much, so strategy wasn't his top concern. However, his face quickly changed from casual to sheer horror as he witnessed something puzzling.
"Captain, captain!"
His shock was clear as day when he spun toward his captain, Imayoshi, and blurted out urgently.
Imayoshi raised an eyebrow, asking, "...What's going on?"
With a frantic shake of his head, Wakamatsu pointed at Aomine's figure sitting on the bench with a towel draped over his head.
The others also turned to look at where Wakamatsu was pointing before the realization hit them.
Momoi covered her mouth with her hand and audibly gasped.
The entire team turned to witness Aomine, who seemed to have completely drifted away into his own thoughts.
Imayoshi couldn't hide his shock at the all-too-familiar scene of Aomine completely lost in thought.
"...This reminds me of when we played against Fukuda Sogo; he was in a similar state."
In that game, for the first time in their career, they witnessed Aomine giving his absolute best.
Imayoshi felt a bead of sweat forming as he recollected Aomine's progress. He mused, "...With all his improvement, his 100% has become a complete mystery once again. Will he unveil it today?"
Meanwhile, Aomine was oblivious to his teammate's reactions.
His mind fixated on a particular player.
At the game's beginning, he hadn't given much importance to it, still eagerly anticipating his next showdown against Tsuna. However, by the end of the second quarter, those irrelevant thoughts had vanished and were replaced entirely by Aomine's intense concentration on the ongoing match.
Kagami had completely taken over his thoughts as an excited grin spread across his face.
Harasawa regained his composure, his eyes now sharp and calculating as he remarked, "Leave him be for now..."
The others nodded, directing their attention to the coach as they sensed he had more to say.
"...Forget about our strategy. I've got a better plan in mind," Harasawa said with a serious tone.
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