A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on april 21st, 2022 @ 2:13am

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN - AT THE WINTER CUP

MURASAKIBARA PLACED HIS HAND ONTO Kuroko's head. "I'm just kidding." He said, kneeling down to Kuroko's height while Kuroko shot daggers at him before an irk mark appeared on his face and he slapped Murasakibara's hand away.

"Please don't do that." Kuroko told him.

"Oh, are you mad? I'm sorry." Murasakibara apologized in a bored tone.

"This guy... I walked by him at the Inter-High." Kagami remembered. "This guy is the Generation of Miracles' center, Murasakibara!"

"I thought you weren't coming." Himuro stated.

"Actually, it's your fault for changing our meeting place at the last second." Murasakibara countered, throwing the ball towards him. "I only came because you said you wanted to go sightseeing around Tokyo since you came back to Japan. But you're playing street ball."

Murasakibara then bit into a chip. "Sorry, sorry. They said they were down a player, and it sounded like fun." Himuro said.

"Hey... Yosen played in the Inter-High, didn't they?" Furihata asked, noticing the gym bag that was on the ground.

"What? You mean he played in the Inter-High, too?" Fukuda questioned.

"No, I didn't play." Murasakibara responded, overhearing their conversation.

"What?! Why not?" Furihata asked.

"I don't know. I mean, the only reason I didn't play is because Aka-chin told me not to." Murasakibara answered as he licked his thumb.

Daigo's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Of course. I should've known he had something to do with it." He thought.

"Who's Aka-chin?" Furihata questioned.

"It's Akashi-kun." Kuroko replied. "He's talking about the former captain of the Generation of Miracles."

"A real bastard, too." Daigo added on as it was silent for a moment. 

"Oh, I forgot. Muro-chin, we can't play in unofficial games. That's why I came here to stop you." Murasakibara informed, breaking the silence.

"I see. That's a shame." Himuro said.

"Let's go." Murasakibara told him, grabbing onto Himuro's shoulder as the two began to walk away.

"Hey, wait." Kagami grabbed onto Murasakibara's shoulder. "You can't just barge in here and leave like that. Stay a while and play."

"Kagami?!"

"I can't keep my mouth shut with a member of the Generation of Miracles in front of me! Besides, I won't let him interfere with my game against Tatsuya!" Kagami told himself.

Murasakibara extended his hand. "What's going on with your eyebrows? Why are they split in two?" He questioned before ripping a piece of hair out of Kagami's eyebrow as Kagami had a stunned look.

"Ow! What are you doing?!" Kagami exclaimed.

"They're so long."

"Are you listening to me?!"

"Huh? Say what?"

"I told you to play!"

"No, it's so tiring."

"He's not what I expected." Furihata commented.

"He's so weird." Fukuda added on.

"When it comes to everything besides basketball, he's got a screw loose." Kuroko explained.

"What?" Fukuda questioned.

"You occasionally see athletes like him. While he possesses great talent in one area, he is incompetent at everything else." Kuroko replied.

"You mean he's an idiot?" Furihata asked.

"When he gets going in basketball, though, he's unstoppable." Kuroko concluded.

"Oh, shut up. Muro-chin, let's go." Murasakibara said.

"What's this guy's problem? He's like a little kid." Kagami thought as a lightning bolt struck through him. "A kid?"

"I'm so disappointed. I didn't know you were such a coward. It's so lame that you're running away." Kagami said smuggly.

"Huh? Kagami, are you trying to provoke him?" Furihata questioned.

"It's so low level..." Fukuda added on.

Murasakibara stopped in his tracks. "What? I'm not running away." He denied.

"He got him?!"

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard. You were scared." Kagami continued to taunt.

"I'm not pushing myself too hard. I'm not scared either." Murasakibara informed.

Eventually, Kagami got Murasakibara to play as Furihata and Fukuda had scared looks. "Let the game begin!" The referee announced.

"Yes!"

Murasakibara and Kagami stepped forward. "Stupid, stupid!" Kagami told him.

"I know you are, but what am I?" Murasakibara shot back with an irked expression.

"What are they, little kids?!"

"Kagami, that's enough." Kiyoshi stepped forward. "Because of our positions, I'm the one who'll face off against him. You can't take them both on yourself. You've got him."

Kagami narrowed his eyes at Himuro. "Yeah." He agreed.

"Huh? Then that makes my opponent..." Murasakibara trailed off as he looked around.

"It's been a while. I haven't seen you since middle school." Kiyoshi claimed.

"Who are you?" Murasakibara asked.

"Good grief. You don't remember me?" Kiyoshi questioned.

"Did we play against each other in middle school? I forgot. I don't bother to remember weak players." Murasakibara claimed.

The game soon began as Fukuda caught the ball. "Team Seirin takes the ball!" The announcer exclaimed as Fukuda passed over towards Furihata.

"Kuroko..." Kiyoshi turned to look at him in which Kuroko nodded.

"I understand." He replied. "Actually, his attitude made me a little angry, too."

Furihara throws the ball over towards Kuroko's direction who passes it over towards Kiyoshi. "It's an Ignite Pass to Kiyoshi-senpai!" Fukuda exclaimed.

"Ouch! What an amazing pass. I can't keep catching these forever." Kiysohi noted as he made the basket. Everyone watching could only look in shock.

"Well, I can't help it if you forgot about me. I'll make you remember who I am through basketball." Kiyoshi told Murasakibara.

"No, that's enough. I remember you, Kiyoshi Teppei." Murasakibara claimed. "I feel motivated now. It may have been better if I hadn't remembered."

The wind blew as the two looked at each other before Murasakibara picked up the ball. "Atsushi, could you wait a little longer to play?" Himuro asked as he caught the ball Murasakibara tossed over to him. "Since we're a pick-up team, let's clearly establish our roles. Atsushi, you're defense. I'll be offense."

"Sure, got it." Murasakibara agreed as he waved.

"What?! He's not trying to score?"

"Yeah, don't worry. That's Atsushi's style." Himuro responded. "Besides... I'm more than enough."

Himuro jumped up as Kagami jumped up to block him. Himuro released the ball as it went into the hoop.

"Furihata, don't just stand there!" Kiyoshi scolded. "Restart, restart!"

"Y-Yes!" Furihata said as he ran off.

"Even the commentators are speechless! What a beautiful shot!"

"He transitioned from his setup to his shot so smoothly, it looked like he was in slow motion. It was clearly a condensed practice shot." Kiyoshi thought.

It had started to rain soon after. "Fukuda-kun, give me the ball." Kuroko said as Fukuda did so.

Kuroko passed over towards Kagami who caught it. "Don't just stand there!" Kagami thinks to himself.

"A fast break?!"

"What was that pass?!"

"Let's go, Murasakibara!" Kagami declared.

"You're smothering me. Don't be so zealous." Murasakibara said. "It makes me want to crush you."

"What?! I don't know what's going on, but this guy's trouble!" Kagami noted as it started to rain harder.

"We have an announcement to make. The game will be suspended. Players and referees, please return to the tents."

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Back at Seirin, the second-years were getting ready to leave when they got an unexpected visitor.

"Huh? What?! What are you doing here? What's wrong?"

Riko looked over to see a drenched Momoi at the entrance. "U-Um, are Tetsu-kun and Daigo-chan here?" Momoi asked.

"No, not right now." Hyuga answered.

"Huh? What?! What's going on?!" Koganei questioned.

"This seems serious..." Izuki stated.

"Yeah..." Hyuga agreed as the looked back over towards Momoi. "But this is crazy. What should we do?"

"Our hearts are pounding!"

Riko ended up sending punches to the back of their heads. "Come with me. I'll lend a towel and t-shirt." She said. "We can talk after that."

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The rain wasn't stopping as Daigo felt himself getting drenched. "Sorry, but we'll have to settle this later." Himuro informed.

"Wait, Tatsuya!" Kagami stopped him.

"I want to keep playing, too, but the game will be called eventually because of the rain. It's dangerous to play basketball on a slippery court. Besides, you wouldn't want your senior to re-injure himself, would you?" Himuro questioned.

This caused Kiyoshi to glance over. "This guy..." He thought.

"Huh? Kiyoshi-san is injured? Since when?" Daigo wondered.

Kagami threw the ball down in frustration in which Himuro catches it. "But I finally got to see you. I'll leave you a gift. It's a technique you don't know about." Himuro said as he got into position. "Defend however you'd like."

Himuro jumps up. "It's just a jump shot?" Kagami questioned. "I can easily block..."

The ball ends up disappearing through Kagami's fingers before going into the hoop. "See you later. If we meet again..." Himuro began.

"It'll be this winter." Kiyoshi interjected. "Next time, we'll play in our uniforms."

"You still haven't learned your lesson. I beat you so badly last time." Murasakibara stated.

"Well, yeah." Kiyoshi agreed.

"Himuro Tatsuya... An interesting player, indeed." Daigo commented, causing Kagami and Kiyoshi to look at him. "I wonder if he has the ability to achieve it." 

"It?" Kagami repeated.

"Hm? Sorry, I'm thinking out loud." Daigo apologized. "Taiga, has there been any moments where Himuro has reached his maximum potential?"

"Not that I remember." Kagami replied.

"Perhaps I'll find my answer at the Winter Cup. If we ever go against Yosen, that is." Daigo thought.

Daigo was drying his hair off with a towel. "What?" Kagami suddenly said, looking at his phone.

"What's wrong?" Furihata asked.

"The coach is telling us to come to school now." Kagami answered.

"What?"

Daigo was sitting on the train with the others. "That was a pretty threatening greeting. Do you two not get along?" Kagami asked Kuroko.

"It's nothing like that. If anything, I like him. We just didn't get along as athletes. He does not like basketball. However, even though he didn't like it, he was extremely good at it. He can do it, even though he doesn't care. Despite his lack of interest, he became an overwhelmingly strong center. He believes it doesn't matter if he likes it as long as he's talented, and hates players who like the game but aren't very good. He said so before." Kuroko explained.

"It's true you cannot win just because you love the game. But you can work hard because you do, and when you win, you're happy from the bottom of your heart. That's why I like basketball, and I like Seirin because everyone loves basketball."

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"Hey!"

"Tetsu-kun!"

Daigo glanced up, shocked to see Momoi. "Momoi-san?" Kuroko questioned.

"Th-The bear!" Kiyoshi exclaimed.

"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi crashed into Kuroko.

"Huh? What?"

"Kuroko, go die!"

"Here you are." Kuroko said, handing her a drink.

"Thank you." Momoi took the drink from Kuroko's hands.

"Coach, what's going on?" Furihata asked.

"Well..." Riko began as the doors opened and the second-years walked in.

"What happened, Momoi-san?" Kuroko asked.

"I'd like to know, too. What are you doing at Seirin?" Daigo questioned as well.

"What should I do, Tetsu-kun? Daigo-chan?" Momoi asked the two. "I think Aomine-kun hates me."

"What?"

"Aomine-kun didn't participate in the semifinal or final of the Inter-High this year." Momoi announced.

"That sounds like him. Why not, though?" Hyuga questioned.

"Injuries. His elbow, mostly." Momoi replied.

"Well, I thought that might be it." Riko stated. "The reason must be the quarterfinal game against Kise-kun and Kaijo, right?"

"That's right. You may be a B, but you're right." Momoi responded.

"What do my boobs have to do with it?!" Riko exclaimed in irritation, covering her chest.

"If the five members of the Generation of Miracles have a weakness, it's their overhundance of talent." Kuroko explained. "The Generation of Miracles possesses strength far greater than any high school student. However, because their bodies are not fully developed, their bodies cannot keep up with their talent. Because of this, they must restrict the use of their power. If they don't, they'll end up hurting themselves."

"It's one of the reasons why I restrict the use of my skills." Daigo added on. "Which makes people think I'm just an ordinary player."

"Aomine-kun was reckless when he faced Kise-kun. I asked the coach not to let him play. Aomine-kun was furious, but the coach forced him off the starting lineup halfway through the games." Momoi continued on. "But he just found out about it..."

"What do you think you're doing?! You shouldn't have done that!" Daiki shouted angrily.

"But you'd just play recklessly against Akashi-kun, wouldn't you?" Momoi countered. "If anything were to happen..."

"I told you not to worry about that! Since when did you become my guardian?! Don't show your ugly face around here again!"

Momoi's eyes widened before she threw her books at Daiki's face. "What's your problem, you ganguro?! See if I care!" She exclaimed.

"Satsuki! Hey..."

"That's what happened." Momoi finished explaining.

Daigo slammed his fist onto the stage, making everyone flinch. "That damn idiot! Just when I thought Daiki couldn't piss me off even more, he goes and does this shit!" He exclaimed in anger.

"Daigo-kun, calm down."

"I am calm, Tetsu!"

"Wait a minute. Don't you like Kuroko?" Kagami questioned. "Who cares if Aomine doesn't like you?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem." Momoi answered. "It's different from how I like Tetsu-kun. I'm worried about him, and I can't just leave him alone."

Momoi then began crying, making Kagami get taken aback. "Uh, sorry." Kagami apologized.

"You made her cry."

"No, I..."

Kuroko let out a sigh. "You lack delicacy." He spoke.

"Kuroko's lecturing me about girls, too!" Kagami exclaimed in his mind.

Kuroko placed his hand onto Momoi's head. "It's okay, Momoi-san. Aomine-kun won't hate you over that. He knows you were just worried about him. Let's go back together. I'm sure Aomine-kun is looking for you." He reassured.

"Tetsu-kun..."

Momoi got up from the chair to hug Kuroko. "Kagami, that's how you do it." Hyuga commented.

"Shut up! I get it!" Kagami told him.

"Let me ask you one more thing." Riko said, causing Momoi to look at her.

"I'm going back with Momoi-san." Kuroko informed.

"Okay."

Momoi and Kuroko began walking away. "That was quite the surprise." Hyuga stated.

"Anyway, that conversation..." Izuki trailed off.

"Yeah."

"I know why Aomine-kun didn't play in the Inter-High, but do you know why the other two didn't?" Riko questioned.

"This is only conjecture, so I can't say for certain, but... Mukkun... I mean, Murasakibara-kun only listens to Akashi-kun and doesn't want to play against him. I believe he sat out the Rakuzan versus Yosen game for that reason." Momoi replied.

"What about Akashi?" Kiyoshi asked.

"He is not interested in the championship." Momoi answered.

"What?!"

"Not because he doesn't want to win, but because his victory is assured. After his team beat Touou, he was asked if he couldn't have beaten us more easily if he had played. He said only one thing in reply. That it wouldn't have been interesting."

"The Generation of Miracles is full of monsters."

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Daigo walks away from his teammates as he took out his phone, dialing up a number and pressing the phone to his ear.

"Daigo, have you seen—"

"Tetsu's walking her back as we speak." Daigo interrupted. "She came to Seirin and told us everything. You really are a piece of shit, you know that?"

"Huh?"

"She only asked your coach to remove you from the game because she cares about you." Daigo said. "Treat Satsuki like that again, and I'll sock you in the face, bastard."

Without waiting for his twin's response, he hung up and shut his phone, still fuming in anger.

"With the way Daiki acts, sometimes I question how he's the older one."

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A/N: Another chapter is completed! The ending is just to show how much Daigo cares for Momoi (as a friend, of course). Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2678 words.