That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 2)

第31Q

When Kuroko stepped into the court, Hyuga and the rest of the team stood around him. "Kuroko, are you ready?" asked the captain.

"Yes," was the said boy's reply.

"Of course he is." said Kagami, giving Kuroko a push that made him stumble. "You're sure you can scare them, right?"

Kuroko gave him a smile and said, "Yes, of course."

"They're putting him in now?" asked Miyaji as he, Kimura and Midorima watched them from far. "I thought his mis-whatever didn't work anymore."

"They're not that desperate, are they?" asked Kimura.

"If anything, it's the opposite." said Midorima while pushing up his glasses, getting his seniors' attention. "He wouldn't be coming onto court now without something up his sleeve. He must have something." His teammates then became cautious about the addition of the Phantom Player.

The buzzer went off, and the game continued with forty-three seconds left for the third quarter to end. Hyuga passed the ball to Izuki, who was marked by Miyaji, while the other Shutoku players began marking their opponents. "As always, Takao's all over Kuroko." said Koganei, looking at the former guarding very closely.

"But he can't stop him now." says Riko with confidence, surprising the boys on the bench. "He developed this technique to defeat the Generation of Miracles. Show us what you can do."

'They're calculating their best time to use their trump card.' thought Otsubo, glancing at the Seirin players before his gaze landed on Kuroko.

When he was guarded by Miyaji, Izuki passed the ball to Hyuga, who then passed it to Kiyoshi. Kuroko got away from Takao, and Kagami settled up a screen, preventing the Shutoku point guard from going after the Phantom Player. 'Switch!' he noted before his eyes widened when he saw Kuroko running towards Midorima. 'They can't be serious. He's taking on Midorima?!'

"Kuroko!" shouted Kiyoshi as he passed the ball to the said boy, who caught it.

'Impossible!' thought Midorima. 'Kuroko can't use his misdirection while he has the ball.'

"This doesn't look good!" warned Miyaji. "Watch out, Midorima!"

"Sorry, but it's not like that." said the grinning Kagami, getting Takao's attention. "It's not about speed or skill. Only Kuroko can pull off..." Kuroko slowly lowered his hand that had the ball, and Midorima's eyes followed where the ball was going. Once he looked up, Kuroko had already driven past him. "...the Vanishing Drive!"

"What?!" gasped Takao, who was as shocked as Midorima.

Otsubo tried to block Kuroko, who then passed the ball to Kiyoshi, and the latter scored a basket with a dunk. "He made it!" cheered those on the bench.

"That was amazing, Kuroko!" shouted Koganei. Kiyoshi gave the said player a pat on the shoulder before running off when the team was on defence.

'How did he get past Midorima so easily?' questioned Takao.

'Kuroko perfected his drive.' noted Yasu with amaze, recalling the time he demonstrated the Vanishing Drive to her and Kagami at the outdoor basketball court.

"That bastard!" shouted Kimura when he got the ball, and jumped up to shoot it.

"Keep your head, Kimura!" warned Otsubo, who knew what was going to happen next.

Kimura shot the ball but missed. Izuki jumped up and successfully got rebound despite his build in comparison to Shutoku's captain. 'I'd given up on the rebound, but we're in luck!' he thought before throwing the ball across the court. "Kuroko!" he yelled.