A while ago...
"Tsuna..."
Sakamoto's voice called out, and Tsuna turned, asking, "What?"
"I know you're excited to face him, but can we focus on team play instead?"
He adjusted his glasses while continuing, "They're trying to overwhelm us with team play, but it's not working, and now they're relying on their ace. I want us to take back the momentum, so..."
"You want me to pass the ball?"
"Right. What do you think?"
Sakamoto knew Tsuna often got bored playing against ordinary teams. Tsuna would even exercise on his own during breaks meant for resting.
But this time, Sakamoto noticed just how Tsuna's interest had been piqued by Aomine, who was on a completely different level from any player they had ever met.
"Although our ace's mood is important, I know that..."
He quietly waited for Tsuna's response.
When Tsuna grinned, Sakamoto adjusted his glasses again as he heard Tsuna saying, "What will you give me for this?"
"I knew it," Sakamoto silently chuckled before speaking, "Those super snacks you gave us, let's do a partnership. I want you to keep making them for us."
The effect was too good; Sakamoto felt it would be a great addition to keep their performance at its peak every time they played.
Tsuna raised an eyebrow, chuckling, "That would be quite expensive, though. Are you sure?"
His crafts were always pricey, and those snacks were no exception.
"Oh? Our club isn't short of money..."
Sakamoto smiled slyly, narrowing his eyes toward the Too Academy players, "Don't underestimate our club, Tsuna. You don't have to worry about the money..."
"Haha, you're right. My bad..."
Tsuna replied, and they both smirked knowingly.
Those were the terms that made Tsuna agree to pass the ball and use Kuroko's movements, his eyes flashing with dollar signs.
"Whoaa!"
"Totsuki's taking over the momentum!"
The crowd was thrilled, cheering for Totsuki Academy as they turned the game in an unexpected direction, providing an exciting spectacle.
"Yeah... Aomine is still cooking, but..."
It didn't seem that Too Academy was in control of the situation!
"How unlikable..."
Imayoshi silently cursed as he glanced at Sakamoto, who fixed his glasses cunningly. He gritted his teeth and mumbled in annoyance, "It seems like it was his idea. Such a frustrating guy..."
Totsuki was doing exactly what Too Academy had originally planned to do.
As the game went on, Too Academy struggled to find balance in the sudden development.
The first quarter finally ended with Totsuki leading the scoreboard, 23-20.
"Good job, guys---!"
Rindo was about to hype them up when most of them immediately grabbed bottles of water and chugged them down as if they hadn't been drinking for days.
She blinked in confusion and turned to Tsuna, who took a bottle for himself and drank it as she asked, "Are you guys really that thirsty?"
"They screamed a lot, of course they're going to be thirsty..."
Tsuna shook his head as everyone continued to drink, ignoring Rindo and Tsuna.
She scratched her head and sat beside Tsuna, noticing he was sweating. She tilted her head cutely, "Hmm? You're sweating? That's unusual..."
"Is that guy really that strong?"
"Yeah, he's on a completely different level than any of the players I've met," Tsuna said, shrugging his shoulders.
He silently glanced at the covered weight buckle under his transformation jutsu and thought, "Hmm, I should be able to keep it on till the final quarter..."
"Ah, really? That's quite rare coming from you."
Rindo put her finger on her chin, looking intrigued.
She then turned to see Aomine, who was grinning widely and locking his eyes on Tsuna like a predator eyeing its prey.
Rindo chuckled and muttered, "He's too innocent..."
That guy definitely didn't know Tsuna well enough to understand who the actual predator was.
Without long, the referee then gestured for both teams to get back in as the small interval between quarters ended.
"Well, hello there..."
Sakamoto was greeted by Imayoshi, who smiled politely. He blinked in confusion before his eyes flashed with understanding as Imayoshi continued, "I guess you'll be around me for quite some time now..."
"They swapped positions, huh?"
Sakamoto thought silently, returning the smile.
Though he appeared composed, he was wary since he played a crucial role in their strategy.
"Those two are smiling, yet it's giving me shivers," Wakamatsu mumbled, looking at the face-off between the captains of both teams.
Aoki nodded in agreement, adding, "Yeah, that snake bastard finally met his other half, it seems..."
"Fuck, that's actually the perfect way to describe what's happening!"
Wakamatsu slightly raised his eyebrows, turning to look at Aoki.
"Hahaha!"
Both of them chuckled, sharing a strange vibe as if they had just met someone of the same kind.
As the game begin, it wasn't long that the ball finally found its way to Aomine's hand as he immediately changed his pace when Tsuna sharply moved closer to defend.
"This bastard..."
Aomine thought silently as he dribbled the ball back, sharply crossing over. He felt Tsuna closely following his movement, so he halted his steps.
Still persistent, Aomine tried a different way to break through, only to face the same outcome.
He stopped and dribbled the ball defensively.
Their face-off came to a standstill as he grinned widely, "...he's also adapting to my movements!"
Just like he was adapting to Tsuna's moves, Tsuna was also adapting to his!
"Kekeke..."
Aomine couldn't help but chuckle as he continued, "Why did you have to show up only now?"
He sharply crossed over to the right, with Tsuna closely following, weaving their way through the court as Aomine directed Tsuna toward the right side of the end line.
Aomine grinned as he suddenly jumped high above the end line, twisting slightly in the air before unleashing an unconventional throw—the exact same movement Tsuna copied when Totsuki was destroying Seirin.
Aomine added, "I'll show you the original, you basta—?!"
"Then what?"
Tsuna's cold voice cut through the air as Aomine saw him jumping alongside, swatting the ball away. Aomine landed awkwardly, looking up at Tsuna in surprise as he continued, "What, you think I wouldn't expect such an obvious shot? Wake the fuck up..."
Tsuna had fully adapted to Aomine's playing style!
"...!"
"Aomine..."
Meanwhile, Too Academy watched in shock as Imayoshi muttered, "...was stopped?"
This had happened before against Seirin, but the formless shot had never failed Aomine even once!
"No, I knew it was obvious since it's Aomine's signature shot, but..."
To read it in such a fast-paced game was a whole different matter!
Imayoshi felt shivers as he nervously adjusted his glasses. He glanced at Sakamoto, who had sweat rolling down his forehead, clearly taken aback as well.
"...And he just only started playing recently?"
Sakamoto mumbled to himself, recalling that Tsuna had only recently picked up basketball.
"Hmm?"
Imayoshi furrowed his eyebrows at Sakamoto's mumblings and asked, "What's recent?"
"No, nothing... sometimes things are better left unknown..."
Sakamoto replied, shaking his head before repositioning himself, leaving Imayoshi in confusion.
"...!"
On the other side, Aomine's eyes widened at those words as he watched Tsuna walk back onto the court.
Slowly rising to his feet, he narrowed his eyes, veins bulging in his temples as he cursed, "Bastard, you just blocked it once..."
Though he said that, deep down, a burst of fire ignited within Aomine's chest, making his heart beat faster.
He walked back onto the court with a grin, "This is great..."
"Finally, I can have some fun..."
This time, maybe for once in a long time, he could go all out!
---
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