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55: frantic

(Wasn't originally going to offer another update, but next chapter is quite spicy so I'll give you guys the chance to earn it. Comment goal is 30, good luck~)

Finally, the project was dubbed as fixed, so Aizen quickly changed his clothes after notifying his driver that he would be needed soon. Once he'd changed into his basketball clothes, the ginger raced to the car, practically diving in. The driver, of course, was shocked, considering this was the first time he'd ever seen the young master so frantic.

Thus, like the good driver he was, he stepped on it.

In the back seat, Aizen had just lifted his phone to his ear. "Yano?"

"Yes, I've just finished," he replied when Takizawa answered the call. "I'm on my way back now, at the rate I'm going, I should arrive in about ten minutes," He checked the dash clock and speed meter to be sure his assumption was accurate.

"Good work, in that case, you'll be able to make the last quarter," The coach told him. "Then, see you when you get here. Make sure to run the entire way so you're at least somewhat warm."

"Understood," the young master chuckled, and thus ended the call. After almost exactly eight minutes, the car pulled up to the venue and Aizen zoomed out, causing the driver to sweatdrop before turning his gaze to the road with a slight smile.

"I'm glad the young master is passionate about something other than the young miss now."

"Nine minutes and fifty seconds!" A third year announced as Aizen came barreling towards them full speed.

"Welcome back," Takizawa greeted as the second year came to a stop beside him. "Glad you could make it."

"I know, I'm sorry," He grunted, beginning to stretch out his arms. "Oh wow, we're only six points ahead?" the ginger squinted at the scoreboard. Fukuda Sogo was at 61 while Seirin was at 55 with a little less than a minute left in the third quarter.

"Yes," Takizawa confirmed, pursing his lips. "It's because of your sister that Seirin has been able to predict our moves, not to mention that-"

"Ah, Taiga's in the Zone," Aizen observed with a slight twitch of his lips.

"We were ahead by twenty when you called," he told him. "Right when we ended the call was when Kagami entered the zone; I assume it was because he knew I was talking to you."

"I wouldn't be surprised," the ginger hummed, somehow making eye contact with the redhead as he gunned for the other side of the court. He saw his eyes widen in slow motion before suddenly, Kagami tripped over his own feet and went tumbling, causing the ball to go out of bounds.

The entire stadium either deadpanned or sweatdropped.

"Kagami!" A few of Seirin's players yelled in concern.

"You've been flopping around a lot lately," Kuroko commented ironically.

"Ugh shut your face!" The redhead sprung up to glare at him before sighing and running a hard through his hair. "Well, our problems don't end with faceplants: Aizen just got here."

With that said, the third quarter ended. "So everything was managed well?" Ishida questioned as he sat down next to Aizen. The young master hummed in reply.

"Mhm, all set."

"I'm glad," The point guard smiled encouragingly. "Then you won't have to worry and can focus on the game."

"Right you are," he agreed when suddenly a water bottle was thrust into his face.

"Must've been pretty draining," Haizaki mumbled. "But remember to take care of yourself."

"Hmph," Aizen chuckled, accepting the water bottle before giving the ace a teasing look. "How sweet." Immediately, his face lit up and he choked on air. As a few players went to check on him, the ginger just sipped his water with a satisfied expression.

Soon, the coach squatted down in front of his players to lay out the rest of the game plan. "As it stands with Kagami in the zone, the only one who can handle him is Yano. However, try to use Haizaki as much as possible on offense," He told them. "Yano will participate on offense but only as a diversion so they don't have to chance to double team Haizaki as they have been doing. For defense, we'll go back to using a two-three zone. If need be, we'll switch to a box in one with Yano on Kagami. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" The Fukuda Sogo team echoed. Thus, the fourth quarter began with Fukuda Sogo's possession, meaning Aizen had the ball to throw in.

"YANO'S BACK!"

"KYAAAA STEP ON ME YANO!"

"You've got some weird fans," Kagami commented as he guarded the ginger.

"I know, it's quite tiring," he replied with an exaggerated sigh. In the time it took for the redhead to flinch, thinking that he might be imposing himself too much on him, Aizen threw in to Ishida.

"Alright, let's get one!" He called with his pointer finger up, dribbling the ball beside him with his other hand as the ginger jogged over to join the others on offense. The sight caused all members of Seirin to shudder; they had no idea what to expect now that he was going on offense rather than just staying on defense like he had during their practice game.

However, contrary to their expectations, Aizen only scored once in the entire fourth quarter. The rest of the time, whenever he caught the ball, he would pass to the person that was in the best position and that person would score. Now that I'm seeing him participate on offense, Riko thought to herself with narrowed eyes, he's almost exactly like Kiyoshi: a center point guard.

Haizaki was the one to score the most, and thanks to the many screens that the ginger provided, was able to do so with ease most of the time. He got blocked four times by the zone-charged Kagami, but with those numbers, it was still overall pretty good. And with Aizen back in on defense, Seirin only made three more shots the entire fourth quarter.

With less than three minutes remaining on the clock, Seirin was getting desperate. "Give it all you've got!" Hyuuga yelled as they went on defense.

"Yes sir!"

"Don't let a single shot through!"

"No stupid mistakes!"

"We'll win!"

"Annoying," the ginger was getting fed up. While he was usually better at keeping his composure and façade up, that day had been extra taxing on him mentally. Therefore, he lost it for one second as he glared at the opposing team.

All of them froze on the spot, including his own teammates within his line of sight. Then, he threw the ball from where he was standing-a few feet away from the half court line-all the way to the hoop. Haizaki, barely managing to be unfazed by the glare, jumped up and slammed the airborne basketball into the hoop. "Holy shit!"

"What a pass!"

"Seirin's going down!"

"They couldn't even react!"

"Dude, I could barely see the ball just now!"

"Nice going Yano!"

"GO FUKUDA SOGO!!"

"Oh," Aizen blinked, regaining control of his expression. "Can't believe that just happened..." He sounded a bit disappointed in himself as he regulated his breathing in an attempt to stay calm.

Meanwhile, in a place far away, someone got a very uncomfortable feeling in that moment. Glancing at their watch, they sighed. "Shit, why can't the plane hurry up and be ready?"