Ｌｉｇｈｔ

one o' nine - trouble

(Does everyone prefer Instagram lives to TikTok lives?)

Rakuzan called a time out before anything else could happen. The two teams headed off the court, sitting at their respective benches. "Way to go guys!" Koganei beamed. The rest of the team mirrored him, ecstatic that they had once again taken control.

"Take a breather," Riko agreed, squatting down in front of the players. "Alright team, we're right on top of them. Don't let them even think of coming back!"

"Yeah!" The others agreed, grins and smirks on their faces. Sasaki, however, looked a little preoccupied. His face showed no emotion, and his eyes were to the ground. Kagami was the first to actually take notice.

"Yo, you good man?" He bumped the azurette with his elbow, drawing him from this thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," He offered him a reassuring smile. "Just conversing with Sei-err, Akashi," He corrected himself since he wasn't directly addressing his lover. Kagami raised an eyebrow, then looked over at where the Rakuzan captain was.

Akashi was standing in front of the bench, speaking as he looked at each of his teammates. They looked shocked, but suddenly their faces shifted into a seriousness none of the Seirin team had seen from them yet.

Midorima remembered those faces from his game with them, but it felt different.

"Do we need to do anything different?" Riko directed the question to Sasaki, who glanced at her.

"Uh, don't think so. Not right away, at least. Akashi's kind of being annoying because I can't read his thoughts and-"

"How is that possible?" Koganei reeled back, shock clear on his face.

"Well, uh, you guys know he has two personalities, right?" The azurette commented, looking between a few faces to get a reaction that said he could continue his explanation. "They're switching constantly, which makes it so I can't get clear thoughts. Honestly, all I'm getting from him are the most random sounds and it's kind of weird." (Yu-Gi-Oh! anyone?)

"That's..." Riko glanced at Kuroko, then Kagami, and finally back to Sasaki. "Will it be okay?"

"Dunno, that's why I said we should wait to change anything-" He was cut off as the buzzer sounded, signaling for everyone to get back on the court. The scores were in bright red lettering, stating that Seirin had 108 points and Rakuzan had 107 points with a little over five minutes left in the last quarter.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!" The Seirin bench chanted.

"Let's stop them! No matter what!" Hyuuga ordered.

"Yeah!"

"Let's go, Kagami-kun!" Kuroko went up beside the redhead, who nodded.

"Yeah," He said, only to feel a ghostly chill ride up his spine as he saw Akashi dribbling towards him. What is this? Akashi's changed in some way.. Was what Sasaki said true? He's coming. Focus. I can't beat Akashi unless I focus completely.

Fronting him, Kagami tried to follow as the Rakuzan player went right, but it was a fake and he spun left. Kuroko was ready, though, causing Akashi to smile with a hum. "It's been a while, Kuroko."

Kuroko short circuited. And in the short moment he did so, Akashi crossed over and passed to Mibuchi. Sasaki whistled. "Gorgeous pass, Sei!"

"Thank you!"

"WHY ARE YOU COMPLIMENTING THE OTHER TEAM, DAHO?!" Hyuuga yelled, going up with Mibuchi but not having done so in time. The shooting guard made the basket, adding three points to Rakuzan's score.

"That was a beautiful shot," Akashi complimented as he ran past Mibuchi, who looked stunned at the comment. "Well done, Mibuchi." He looked even more confused at the formality Akashi had switched to: using last names instead of first names.

No way, Sei-chan cheered me on? And the position, timing and angle of the ball's seams against my fingers were perfect just now, he thought as he looked down at his hand for a moment, then raised his eyes to watch Akashi's back. I've never taken such a comfortable shot during a game before. What's going on? He asked himself as he started running back as well, a smile on his lips. This is getting exciting.

"Akashi is back to his old self," Kuroko told the team, confirming what Sasaki had said in the timeout.

"What? Seriously?" Hyuuga's jaw dropped slightly.

"Now that the true Akashi-kun's awake, he's almost certainly stronger than before," The phantom noted, and Kagami smirked as he wiped the sweat off his chin with his wrist.

In other words, the real game starts now. Bring it on!

Akashi definitely brought it. Rakuzan was scoring left and right, but so was Seirin. At one point as Rakuzan was running back, Kagami took a second to watch the captain. That's odd. What's going on? He's amazing, but the other members of the Generation of Miracles were far more threatening. Did I imagine that chill earlier?

"You're going to eat those words, you do realize that right?" Sasaki commented as he passed him. The next time Akashi turned towards them, his eyes radiated sparks.

"The Zone.." Hyuuga gasped, the pressure reforming around the team.

"We're just getting started," Kagami growled at the Rakuzan captain, who all but scoffed.

"Relax. This game won't turn out the way you fear it will. Well, it will for Sasaki."

"Thanks, man, really appreciate you making my nightmares into reality like this," The azurette in question sweatdropped.

"I apologize, but it was a necessary step. As for why I've reentered the Zone, I've simply returned to a pervious state. I won't change dramatically anymore. However, the same can't be said for the other four," He smirked.

"Yep, hello my nightmares," Sasaki grimaced as the Seirin team finally saw the other four Rakuzan players.

"No way..." Hyuuga's pupils were engulfed by the whites of his eyes. Hot pink sparks raged from the Rakuzan players' eyes, each in top form as they were led into a pseudo-zone. "All five of them are in the Zone?"

The entire stadium went silent with shock at what they were seeing. "No way," Tsuchida's face darkened in dread. "The Zone is attainable by guys of the Generation of Miracles and Kagami and Sasaki's class. Only a few prodigies can enter it."

"That's not a complete Zone," Riko spoke up as Sasaki dribbled in front of Akashi. "Akashi-kun's drawn out their potential to a level approaching the Zone. It's only possible because they're the Uncrowned Kings."

"What are we supposed to do?" Koganei practically glared at the court.

"Friggin nuts, everybody's so tense. Lighten up guys," Sasaki chuckled as he started moving faster. Akashi felt his lips upturning at the sight, how I love him so. "We'll keep going until that buzzer, so let's keep at it!"