Several back and forth run and guns later, the scores had reached into the eighties with the gap not changing. Thus, Kuroko, Kagami and Kiyoshi thought it was the perfect time to pull their little one time stunt. As Aomine caught the ball, he found himself being triple teamed.
“They’re triple teaming him? Are they for real?” One of the Touou players demanded. “They don’t even intend to let him pass!”
“Like passing would ever cross Daiki’s mind in the first place,” Sasaki chuckled, watching as he guarded two Touou players at once.
“That’s not enough,” Imayoshi smirked as Aomine passed Kagami, going for a shot as Kiyoshi attempted to block him. Seeing this, Aomine readjusted his trajectory so that he’d end up open. However, Kagami was ready and jumped to block him from behind.
Kuroko stood just near the basket, slightly to the side, as Aomine dodged both blockers and threw the ball at the basket. Sasaki blinked. The ball bounced off the hoop, landing out of bounds. All eyes widened. “Tetsu,” The Touou ace growled. “You bastard.”
“Could it be?” Imayoshi figured it out. “Did he make him miss?”
“Bingo, bullseye, right on the money~” Sasaki sang as he jogged past him.
“I can’t stop you,” Kuroko spoke as he and Aomine faced each other. “But Seirin will not lose!”
“You’ve really done it now, Tetsu,” Aomine grinned, narrowing his eyes at him. Soon, the gap between scores widened as Seirin scored (88-83), and they went into a zone press to make sure they kept the lead. The Seirin bench was cheering for their defense, stomping their feet in unison.
It seemed the pressure was enough to get Wakamatsu to mess up, allowing Kuroko to get a steal. Passing to Hyuuga, the captain went for a three but Sakurai, being zealous and all, accidentally fouled him. “Pushing! Black number nine!”
Sakurai had the audacity to look surprised.
“Hell yeah!” The Seirin team went up in cheers at the luck of getting three free throws.
“Oi, Ryo,” Aomine called as he walked over to Sakurai.
“Uh—Hai!” He immediately started bowing. “I’m sorry! Sorry!”
“Good timing,” The ace told him, “Switch to rebounding after this.”
Hyuuga was given the ball to do his free throws, and he made them all. (91-83) Meanwhile, everyone noticed that Aomine wasn’t part of the setup for the free throws, which was highly suspicious. Just as Imayoshi was thrown the ball, Sasaki whipped to face Aomine.
No way. The azurette’s eyes widened as his suspicions were confirmed. One look was all it took. Slowly, Sasaki’s head tilted down, his hair falling and covering his expression. His hands went to cover his face as his shoulders started to shake.
Aomine was across the court in almost barely a second, slamming the ball into the hoop. (91-85) Sparks flew from his eyes, the tell tail sign that he had entered the Zone.
The Zone. In this state of extreme focus, all unnecessary thoughts disappear and the athlete becomes absorbed in his play. Only those who have practiced and practiced earn the right to stand before the door and it only opens unpredictably. It is the ultimate domain, open only to the chosen. However, Aomine’s senses almost mockingly force the door open on their own.
Throwing his head back, Sasaki howled with livid laughter as all eyes turned to him. Most wondered for a moment, is he crazy? Did he finally lose it?
Slowly, he allowed his head to return to its normal position, still grinning. “Uh, Sasaki?” Kagami questioned hesitantly. “You alright? I know it was stunning, but—”
“No,” Sasaki shook his head, not yet opening his eyes. “It’s just the fact that he stepped onto my turf so confidently.. it was too funny,” He answered, snickering some more as Kagami sweat dropped.
“What do you mean by—” The redhead stopped himself as his friend opened his eyes. Pure white sparks appeared as he moved his head to fully face him. “You’re in the Zone.”
“Wow, thank you for stating that with such a sense of discovery, Kagami,” Sasaki clearly looked amused, a smirk rising on his lips. Aomine stepped up behind Sasaki, causing the azurette to turn to face him properly.
“So, you’re able to do this as well.”
“You’re the one who stepped onto my turf, Daiki,” Sasaki told him, his expression almost smug. “I don’t normally accept challenges head on, but…” He trailed off, “I'll show you that the Zone truly has favorites.”
“Ha!” Aomine snorted. “Try me, Aya.”
“I’ll do more than that,” He informed him as he suddenly had the ball. Turning and walking away from where he should be going, Sasaki was given weird looks.
“Uh, Sasaki you’re going the wrong way,” Kagami called out to him.
“Am I?” Sasaki glanced back at him, throwing the ball over his shoulder without even glancing at the hoop. Aomine scoffed as the ball went in. “I didn’t notice.” (94-85)
“Show off.”
“You’re one to talk,” Sasaki gave him a look. Luckily for Sasaki, Riko seemed to know what was happening and pulled Kuroko out, having Izuki take over as point guard. That left Sasaki to his own devices.
Touou was the most surprised, but some had expected it when Sasaki had started laughing like a maniac. Most people knew Sasaki was never playing close to sixty percent, so when faced with one hundred percent of his raw talent and ability, no one was his equal.
Aomine might have been quick, especially in the zone as he could easily fly around the court and steal passes that were run and gun paced, but Sasaki was quicker. Comparatively, if Aomine was a high speed car, Sasaki was a high speed missile with a mind of its own.
His devastating power and overwhelming speed and agility led him to score again and again. “I can’t believe this! Aomine’s already past his time limit, and they entered at practically the same time, so why is Sasaki still going?!”
“Why am I still in the zone, you ask?” Sasaki boredly looked at the person who had asked the question. “I’ve been in the Zone so many times, my time limit is well over an hour.”
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