That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 1)

第17Q

The buzzer went off though there were thirty seconds left for the first half to end. "Touou Academy, member change!" announced the panel. Aomine did some light arm stretches before the player number 10 stepped out of the court, allowing him to enter as the Seirin players watched, feeling uneasy about the addition of him.

'This is Aomine Daiki.' thought Hyuga as the said boy walked past him.

'Even normal basketball players like us can tell he's different, even without the coach's or Yasu's special eyes.' thought Izuki.

'I never even met anyone this good in America.' thought Kagami. 'Kuroko's middle school's strongest regular, one of the five prodigies - the ace of the Generation of Miracles!'

'Not only did we fail to get ahead, but we're ten points behind.' noted Riko. 'He got here at the worst possible time.'

'Hm?' thought Giichi, who was leaning against the balcony, moved his head when he saw Touou's ace. 'This guy...?'

"Hey, Tetsu." greeted Aomine when he stood in front of Kuroko. "It's good to see you again. I was wondering what face you'd make." He stared at him with a grin and said, "I like it. You look ready to go."

"Yes." said Kuroko. "I promised Momoi-san."

Aomine chuckled at this. "I more or less understand what you want to say, but you'll have to show me that with your play. Well, either way..." He closed his eyes for a second before giving him a mocking look. "Say it once you've beaten me." Kuroko only gave him a determined look before saying a "yes". Aomine walked by him and Kagami, muttering, "If you can do that."

"Bring it on!" snarled Kagami. "We'll show you right away!"

The game continued with Touou having the ball. One of its players passed the ball to Sakurai, who then passed it to Imayoshi before passing it back to him when Izuki guarded him. "Hey..." muttered Giichi, grabbing the others' attention. "What's this? The balance is off. Don't they have too many guys on one side?"

"No, they're doing this on purpose." said Kise before he said the name of the formation. "Isolation."

"In order to allow special players to move freely, the remaining players gather to one side." explained Midorima. "There are several reasons to use this technique, but in this situation, it's exactly what it looks like. In other words, its a one-on-one between both teams' aces."

"I've been in the basketball world since elementary school, so it's safe for me to say that this ain't a one-on-one to me." remarked Giichi, surprising the boys while Yasu frowned, understanding what he had meant. "I mean, Seirin's ace can't give his all with injuries that hinder his special skill. When I said there are too many guys on one side, what I meant was it isn't the right time to do Isolation."

Aomine and Kagami had a staredown until the former started to dribble the ball. Once he got to the left side, he switched to the right and drove past Kagami, catching him off guard. 'He's fast!' noted Izuki. 'He can break past Kagami that easily?'

Hyuga tried to guard Aomine, who spun around and escaped his defense. 'Amazing!' he thought.

Aomine was about to do a dunk when Kagami suddenly jumped up high and knocked the ball away, surprising everyone in the stadium, including Touou's ace. 'He caught up in the second it took to roll?' he thought.

"He stopped him!" cheered Riko.

"Alright, Kagami!" shouted Koganei.

"So high!" commented the surprised Midorima when he saw the block.