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62: warmups

(Here's my apology for not updating last week: another sibling portrait)

The two finished their business pretty quickly thanks to Aizen's skills and Haizaki's receptability to them. Thus, they made their way into the locker room. "Hey guys, we're here."

"Took you long enough," Takizawa greeted with a brief glance towards the two newcomers. "We were waiting for you so that we could go over some strategies for the game."

"How considerate of you," The ginger mused as he took a seat along with Haizaki.

"Yuhuh," He rolled his eyes snarkily before sighing. "Alright, time to go over the game plan for warmup and the first quarter, so everyone listen up."

"Yes sir," The team echoed.

"The plan for warmups is to work Yano to the bone by having everyone shooting while he's the only one on defense," The coach explained, causing a few people to glance at the center with pity in their eyes. He didn't need their sympathy, quite the opposite: he felt sorry for them since they would never know if their shots would make it in the basket.

"For the last two minutes of warmups, we're going to have Haizaki and Yano go one on one for a bit so that Yano can get a feel for scoring rather than defending," Takizawa went on after recieving a nod of affirmation that the team understood the plan. "Like we said for the first half, we'll do the same thing we always do: Yano only defends. If things don't work out on offense because of that, we can switch it up. For now, we need to get a feel for our opponents since their lineup changes frequently depending on the strength of their opponents."

"If it's who we predicted it is," Aizen spoke up as he glanced around at his teammates. "There won't be a problem."

"That's what we like to hear!" The locker room went up in cheers, causing anyone passing by to flinch at the sudden noise. After a bit of clowning around to relieve any leftover nerves, halftime arrived and so the Fukuda Sogo team went on their way to start their warmups.

As they were coming out of the gym entrance, the team found that Seirin was fairing well against Shutoku in the game for third. "There will be a ten minute break before the second game," The announcer called over the stadium speakers. "Rakuzan and Fukuda Sogo, please begin warming up."

"Yeah!" The two teams bowed and got set up for their warmup routines. The stands went wild.

"KYYYAAA YANO STEP ON ME!"

"We can finally find out who will be the champions!"

"I've been dying to see this!"

"Come on Rakuzan! Beat these posers!"

"YOU SHUT YOUR FACE PISSANT!"

"NO ONE INSULTS FUKUDA SOGO AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

"Looks like we have another riot on our hands..." Takizawa sweatdropped.

"Huh? What's up with this warmup formation?" The crowd seemed to calm down at this inquisition, causing the attention to return to the court. Fukuda Sogo was implementing the plan, with Aizen being in the middle and everyone shooting around him.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"How is he getting to so many?!"

"YOU SEE THAT?! He's only slowing the shots by touching them instead of going full force and blocking them! That's amazing self control!"

"Whoa, you're right!"

"YANO'S SO COOL!"

"The crowd seems to be on Fukuda Sogo's side," Rakuzan's coach murmured as he sat on the bench. "Though I doubt it will be of much consequence, it is still a good idea to weigh all factors."

"Seems like he's not going on offense again this time," Mibuchi said to his captain, who nodded.

"Yeah. Not being able to accurately assess his strength is unfortunate, but we must work with what we have," His eyes narrowed on the player they were speaking of. "I suspect that the fourth quarter of their game against Kaijo will be more than sufficient."

"They creep me out," One of the third years on Fukuda Sogo's team shuddered, causing Haizaki to glance at him.

"Huh?"

"Look," He gestured as the Rakuzan boys passed into layups in perfect rhythm, never missing a shot. "It's almost eerie, isn't it?"

"It's not that hard to not miss a layup," Haizaki scoffed, only to frown. "But for some reason it's pissing me off.."

"Time to switch it up!" Takizawa suddenly yelled, so with their faces brightening, everyone except for Aizen and Haizaki scattered off of the court. This occurrence caught the attention of the entire venue, including Rakuzan.

"What's going on?"

"What're they doing?"

"ARE THEY GONNA GO ONE ON ONE?!"

"KYAAAA KICK HIS ASS YANO!"

"THAT'S MY HOEBRO!"

"Dakarai is giving us weird names again," Aizen sweatdropped as he held a basketball in his hands, standing in front of the ace, who was ready in a defensive stance.

"SHUT UP YOU HOMEWRECKING DOUCHE! HE'S MINE!"

"Guys calm down! Everyone can hear you, now is not the time!"

"YOU SHUT UP TOO BLUE!"

"And there they go," He sighed again, but ignored it as he powered past Haizaki. The ace caught up with him, only for the center to have already thrown the ball. It bounced off the rim and then fell through the net.

"Damn, he's as swift and crafty as ever," Blue's eyes sparkled, unironically, a deep blue as he watched the two face off on the court. Rakuzan was still going about their usual warmup, but anyone could see that it was a bit sloppier now as well as slower since most of their eyes were on the two aces of Fukuda Sogo.

Right as it was getting good, Shutoku and Seirin returned from their break so Fukuda Sogo and Rakuzan had to vacate the court so they could finish their match. "How are you not dead?!"

"My endurance is no joke," Aizen hummed as he lounged against the lockers.

"Fuck you Aizen," Haizaki panted heavily with his hand against the wall. This blatant statement made the ginger smirk at him in return, as if saying you'd like that, wouldn't you? Haizaki blinked, realizing his blunder, but since it was only known between the two of them, all he did was clear his throat as he finally got a handle on his lungs.

It's not like there's any need for me to refute it, anyway, he thought to himself. The rest of the time the team spent in the locker room was spent with idle chatter, and before any of them could fathom it, they were exiting the locker room on their way to certain victory.