Coming Back [Kuroko no Basket]

Give It Your All!

Nakamura watched from the bench as both teams walked onto the court, noticing Shutoku was giving off a serious and dangerous vibe.

"Just as we expected, they're not showing any signs of carelessness. Shutoku's strategy hasn't changed, meaning we'll need to shut down Shintaro to win. There's definitely a limit on how many times he can shoot his super-long three-pointers. Just making the ball reach the net requires his entire body's strength. Futhermore, after reviewing our last game, I noticed he spends a little more time winding up with each shot he takes. Even if we can't block all his shots, if we push him to his limit, we'll reduce his accuracy drastically."

Nakamura didn't want to doubt Seirin winning but she knew how the Generation of Miracle were. Because they've only known what victory is like, they don't know the taste of defeat, meaning their competitve spirit would be revealed against the opponents that they've lost to. Seeing the look in Midorima's eyes, she knew this match would be more difficult than they thought.

"In that case, we've got someone on our team who gave Midorima one hell of a hard time. And this time, he's at full power."

She smiled to herself, glad to see that Koganei had faith that Seirin would win unlike the first years.

Watching the tip off, both Otsubo and Kiyoshi had touched the ball but Izuki was able to grab it, letting Seirin have the ball first. Before he could do anything though, Izuki felt the ball be knocked out of his grasp by someone, turning around to see Takao. As Kimura caught the ball and passed it to Otsubo who was running towards their basket, Kuroko intercepted the pass, causing the benched Seirin members to cheer. However, their happiness was short-lived as they saw Midorima grab the ball, groaning as they watched him get into his shooting position. Thankfully, Kagami had blocked Midorima and Nakamura was able to see that his jumps were a little higher compared to before.

As the ball went out of bounds and the referee did the throw-in for Shutoku, Nakamura watched as the game continued, surprised to see Shutoku playing like they usual do.

What's going on? I thought Shintaro would pick up something new or change something, but he didn't reveal anything new in Shutoku's previous matches and is playing like usual. Is it something else then?...... Shintaro would realize his shots would be useless against Kagami-kun's jumps so what would he do?...

Realizing what Midorima would do, Nakamura turned to ask Riko for a favor.

"Huh? Look at Midorima-kun's stats?"

"Yes that's right. I have a feeling I know what Shintaro's plan is."

Doing what the girl asked, Riko started to observe Midorima, using her Ability Scan to check his numbers. As the numbers started to appear, she was surprised to see the incredibly high stats for someone who was only a first year high school boy.

"His numbers... are so high."

Hearing Riko say that, it confirmed Nakamura's theory about what Midorima focused on for his match against Kagami.

"That's what I thought. I think I know what Shintaro focused on in practice. It most likely was his endurance."

"Endurance?"

"Yes. He must have realized that his shots mean nothing if Kagami-kun can block it. However, that is IF Kagami-kun can block it. If Kagami-kun runs out of stamina, then Shintaro could make as many shots as he wants. That means that Shintaro only has to keep shooting until Kagami-kun can't jump anymore."

~Time Skip~

It was the middle of the second quarter and everyone on the bench could see how Kagami was clearly more exhausted than Midorima. It only got worst for the player when Midorima started faking, making Kagami exert even more energy. 

As Kagami jumped to block Midorima's shot, Midorima had faked it and got into his shooting position once more before he was blocked by Kiyoshi. However, as Takao was running towards them, he and Midorima made eye contact, which confused Nakamura greatly.

Why would he bother looking at Takao-kun...... No way?!

Everybody watched in shock to Midorima pass the ball to Takao, not expecting him to do that. As Shutoku made a basket, Seirin couldn't believe how they had evolved to be such a team.

"Midorima never relied on his teammates. That's how we found openings and defeated him with teamwork. But now it's the opposite. Midorima has stopped fighting alone. Shutoku is a true team now. They're more than formidable."

The first years on the bench groaned after hearing that, Furihata thinking the only outcome would be Shutoku winning.

"They don't have a weakness now!"

Nakamura stood up to walk around behind the bench, using her clipboard to hit him on the back of his head.

"Calm down, it's not like the game has ended. If anything, we're just getting started. Shutoku aren't the only ones who have grown. Besides we have Kiyoshi-senpai now."

Watching the members group up so they could think of something, Kiyoshi took the lead and started tell the team his plan, deciding they should double team Midorima but Kuroko should also be benched for the rest of the second quarter.

"We can start by benching Kuroko. If your misdirection doesn't work, you'll only hold us back. You're doing your best, but you're more of a hindrance. There's really no reason for you to be on the court. "

Kuroko could only feel his spirit drop by each attack Kiyoshi threw at him. Izuki leaned over and patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"There, there. Don't mind, newbie."

"Izuki, shut up."

Nakamura was a little surprised seeing how straightforward Kiyoshi was with Kuroko and feeling a little bad for the phantom player. As Mitobe was subbed in, Koganei handed a towel to Kuroko and was seemingly trying to cheer him by saying things like he would get his chance later in the game. Nakamura smiled as she watched Koganei stay positive for Kuroko.

It's nice having reliable senpais

As the game resumed, Kagami and Kiyoshi worked together to double team Midorima, however it only weakened the inside for Seirin. As Midorima made another basket, Kimura and Miyaji took the chance to smack Midorima on his back multiple times, saying he did a great job. As Kagami stood there fuming that he wasn't able to block the shot, Hyuuga and Kiyoshi took the chance to smack his stomach and head, snapping him out of it and telling him that they were going to get the points back. Nakamura watched with a blank face as both teams were attacking their first year members.

Why are senpais so abusive to their kouhais?