Rantipole - Kuroko no Basket x Fem!Reader x Haikyuu!!

Chapter 35 - Satisfied

Momoi gasps as she spots a familiar head of blue hair amble onto the court. "Tetsu-kun's coming off the bench!"

Kise follows her gaze, eyes widening slightly. "So he is."

"I wonder if he's really going to do it..." the girl thinks aloud, eyes trailing after the phantom longingly. "If he'll change the flow of the game."

"Oi..." Kise had been about to comment on her question, but his eyes are pulled away by someone else. "[Name]cchi looks kinda scary right now, don't you think?"

Her name alone is enough to pry Momoi's eyes away from her beloved, instead locking onto her fellow manager and biggest rival in analytics. And when her gaze meets her, Momoi's heart feels as if it stops; for the smile that [Name] wears now is one she's familiar with from her childhood.

One that scarily resembles how Aomine's used to be.

Mitobe high fives Kuroko as he switches with the player, making his way back to the bench. The mute center warily glances at his manager as he walks by, a glint in his eye as he recognizes the expression she wears. And subtly, he smiles, stopping before her to face her directly. Koganei's eyes widen and he has half the mind to reach out and stop him, but Mitobe throws all caution out the window in order to lightly pat her on the head. There's a moment of utter silence, where the Seirin bench anxiously awaits her reaction, for they've never disturbed her in this state before.

Miraculously, the glaze over her eyes disappears, swiftly snuffing the metophorical fires in them out. She blinks, lips slightly parted as her gaze turns to Mitobe, who rubs her head affectionately.

She smiles in return, handing him his towel and his water. "Good work out there, Rin-senpai."

He nods, taking the items gratefully as he takes his seat beside Riko.

And finally, Takao and Midorima can still their beating hearts, for the expression [Name] radiated before felt nothing short of doom. They can only be wary from this point on, for it's clear that the manager of Seirin has quite the ace up her sleeve.

Said ace up the sleeve joins his team on the court, the determined look on his face saying everything for him in place of his words. Nevertheless, Hyuga still approaches him. "Are you positive you're ready?"

"Yes," Kuroko answers.

"Of course he is," Kagami gives him a playful shove. "You're sure you can give them a good scare, right, Kuroko?"

"I don't know if I'll be as capable of that as [Name]-chan is, but..." his smile is unwavering. "I believe I can do it."

From the opposite side of the court, Miyaji scoffs softly. "They're seriously putting him in now? I thought his misdirection or whatever was no use anymore. We're more than used to it by now, with or without Takao keeping an eye on him. Are they seriously that desperate?"

"It's quite the opposite," Midorima interjects, eyes still wandering towards [Name] as he speaks. "He wouldn't be coming onto the court without some sort of trick up his sleeve. There must be something he has planned."

Besides... the sharp shooter finally pries his eyes away from his opponents' manager. That much is clear from her expression alone.

And with less than a minute left in the third quarter, score standing 68-76 in Shutoku's favor, the game continues in Seirin's possession. At half court, the ball starts in Hyuga's hands and travels quickly to Izuki's. Takao wastes no time marking Kuroko again, an unescapable inkling in the back of his mind. He fears what it may be that the player beside him has planned. Something so special that it can make [Name] smile like that; an expression that sends shivers straight down his spine.