Coming Back [Kuroko no Basket]

What's With That Half-Assed Attitude?

Nakamura watched as Seirin tried to perform a fast break, but Izuki was surprised when Murasakibara had already caught up to him, so he passed the ball to Kiyoshi. Everyone was surprised when Kiyoshi wasn't triple-teamed anymore, but he still decided to get into a scoring position. Murasakibara jumped to block the shot, as expected, and Kiyoshi was going to pass the ball to Izuki when the purple giant had knocked the ball out of his grip.

As Fukui caught the ball and Yosen also performed a fast break, he passed the ball to Murasakibara who attempted to dunk. Kagami jumped to try and block the player, but failed as Murasakibara was able to still slam the ball in. As Kagami stumbled and fell backwards, the force from Murasakibara slamming the ball in caused the post to shake.

Nakamura couldn't believe the sight before her as she dropped her clipboard and pencil onto her lap. Seeing the hoop lean forward, the girl looked away as she covered her ears and clenched her eyes shut, bracing herself for the loud crash that was going to happen. Kuroko noticed what she was doing and put his own hands on top of hers in hopes of helping her block out the sound. 

Nakamura was surprised when she felt a pair of hands on top of hers but ignored it as her heart wouldn't stop pounding in her chest. Just as the hoop crashed onto the floor, Kuroko felt the girl jump and shake, letting out soft whimpers. Removing both his and Nakamura's hands from her ears, Kuroko tightened his grip around hers as he reassured the girl that it was over while she blinked her tears back.

"D-Due to the broken hoop, the game will be put on hold until it can be replaced!"

Letting go of Kuroko's hands, Nakamura took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. Kuroko could see her hands still trembling and was going to comfort her when she stopped him.

"We're in the middle of a game. Don't Tetsuya."

Kuroko felt his heart break a little when Nakamura had stopped him, but knew she wanted to keep personal things out during matches to keep her head on straight. So he pulled away from his childhood friend, but it didn't stop him from glancing at her every so often.

~Time Skip~

Nakamura watched in horror as she watched Murasakibara dunk the ball in while knocking down Kagami and Kiyoshi. Seeing the purple giant pick up Kiyoshi with one hand, she could see the Seirin player clench his teeth as pain covered his face. Murasakibara seemed to be talking to him before dropping Kiyoshi on Hyuuga who had come over in a rage.

Riko went to call for a member substitution, subbing Kuroko in and taking Kiyoshi out of the game. Nakamura could feel the phantom player emit anger as he approached Murasakibara, who also had an enraged face.

Tetsuya and Atsushi never did see eye to eye about basketball. Atsushi has a natural talent for the sport and excels despite his lack of interest, but Tetsuya had to work hard and struggle to get to where he is now despite loving the sport so much.

As the game resumed, Tsuchida and Koganei helped Kiyoshi sit on the bench as Nakamura brought the first aid kit over, retaping Kiyoshi's knee once more. As Kiyoshi thanked the girl, Nakamura gave the player a nod before putting the kit away and settling back on the bench. 

Turning her attention back to the game, she witnessed Seirin switch to their new formation, Stealth Full-Court Man-To-Man Defense. 

Nakamura and Riko had come up with the formation to force a battle of stamina and speed, as two of the Yosen players were slower compared to the rest of the team. By having Seirin continuously change their marks, it allows Kuroko to steal the ball whenever he can, which just happened as Kuroko stole a pass Fukui had thrown for Murasakibara.