Dream Team: Kuroko No Basket LAST GAME

Part 9: His Free Basketball

Flashback

"What's up?"

"Nothing." A deep sigh is heard from the other side of the phone.

"You nervous?" His features softened as he heard her knowing sigh. She's always been like that, calling him whenever she's feeling uneasy.

"Don't know. Aren't you?" She curled her hair with her fingers while sinking her chin into the pillow.

"Ain't nervous. But... " He paused earning a questioned face from her, as if he's seeing it. "But, I can't be certain."

Hanamori pulled a conserved smile. Judging from the game tommorow, it's Touou their facing and she knew Aomine's basic abilities. And the fact that she doesn't have detailed data about him, she's not that confident with the plan she made to counter them. Aomine's an unknown talent and she bet he's something more than she knew.

"Taiga-chan?" She softly said waiting for an answer from him.

"Hmm?" He rested his head on his pillow.

She heard a soft thud from him. "They're strong." She started feeling her heart beating moderate from nervousness.

"Yeah. And Aomine, he's on a higher level." Knowing him first hand made him not deny he's really strong.

"But, we are Seirin." Even though she knew very well that facing To you would be really hard, she believes in her team. "We can beat them." Her once conserved smile widened into a grin.

Kagami, also grinned with the idea. "Yeah, we can beat them." The two smiled at each other. "Mia?" Kagami called her name with the other person raised her brows and a 'hmm'. "I... No, it's nothing. I know your plan would work. Just trust us." He said. Unbeknownst to him, her spirits went up and a bright smile crossed her gentle face.

-----------

The championship league starts today and the gymnasium is full packed. Fans of varying ages and gender are present, from students to basketball fans came to watch.

Seirin's traveling the empty hallways towards the court with mixed emotions. Hanamori's not an exception.

"Hey, you didn't stayed late last night, didn't you?" Kagami looked at her scanning her eyes for proof.

"I didn't." She huffed.

"Then, why do you look so tired already?" He asked further noticing her sloppy walking and kind of tired face.

Hanamori first pulled a deep sigh to remove her nervousness. Even with the talk they had last night she still can't help herself but feel nervous. It seemed like all of the courage she muster suddenly flowed somewhere making her feel her toes cold all of a sudden. She's feeling nervous, indeed in the fact that they're playing the former ace of the Generation of Miracles, but more so she's more nervous about her teammates.

Of all anything, she doesn't want them pushing themselves, like what Kagami did during the Shutoku game. And that matter also made her feel a lot nervous, if he's really alright this time. During her last check on him, he's limited to a lot of stuff. First, he shouldn't be having his explosive jumps too much, second running too much would strain him, and third he's just way too reckless. Even if Hanamori had warned him about these things, she knew he would still push himself, and that's one of the reasons why she's nervous.

But to top it all, what she's feeling nervous of all, is about Kuroko. This time, both him and his former light is playing on the same court, but this time as enemies. Kuroko's been sharing stories about him and the tan miracle. And basing on his stories, this game might become the continuation of what happened to them before. Continuation to where they left, the result of the premonition he had when Aomine gave up and only believed on himself, alone. And she's nervous, no scared for Kuroko.