Spark | Kuroko no Basuke x OC

The Limit Does Not Exist!

"We're just in a bit of a pinch. It's not over," he motivated and smiled at his team. "Let's have some fun!"

Hyuuga huffed, "Yeah, I know."

"What are we going to do, though?" Izuki stepped up and asked. The two second-years looked at Teppei expectantly, and to that, the male went silent for a second.

"Hm... We'll come up with something."

"You don't have any ideas?!" Hyuuga snapped exasperatedly, slapping the taller male upside the head.

"That hurt..." Teppei winced nervously. He rubbed his head momentarily before a merry grin surfaced, "Well, we can start by benching Kuroko."

"W-What?" the phantom player expressed with soft shock.

"If your misdirection doesn't work, you'll only hold us back. I know you're doing your best, but you're more of a hindrance. To put simply, there's really no reason for you to be on the court right now."

"Tetsuya-kun's becoming invisible!" Tomoko exclaimed as Kuroko shrank. He seemed to fade lighter and lighter into the background with every blow of the senior's words.

"There, there," Izuki patted the disheartened phantom's back, "let it be, newbie."

"Shut it, Izuki," the black haired captain shot down. The buzzer sounded and he nodded towards Teppei when he saw Riko motioning for Mitobe to switch in. "Anyway, Coach seems to have the same idea."

At the order, Kuroko could only hang his head and head back towards the bench. Tomoko gave him an encouraging smile and handed him a towel. "You did great, Tetsuya-kun."

"Thank you," he said, sitting besides the girl. He relaxed when she squeezed his hand briefly.

"You'll get your time to shine, so don't lose focus," Koganei patted his back encouragingly as well. "Don't worry. Leave it to everyone else."

"I'm fine. If anything, this will make it easier to use my new drive. Besides," the blue haired player looked at his team. "I'm not worried. I believe in them."

Tomoko nodded and piped up from besides the boys, "We all do. This game's just getting to the good part. Tetsuya-kun, have you noticed? Midorima-kun's changed because of you, because of Seirin. He's finally accepted the rest of Shutoku as his teammates. However this ends," she grinned, "it's a victory for both sides."

-----

The hard pats of shoes against the ground resonated across the semi-empty halls of the gymnasium; cheers from the audience could be heard just inside the opened door leading to the arena. Momoi rushed inside and allowed herself to give her legs and heart a rest.

"They already started... Aomine-kun's such an idiot," she berated the male to herself, "he didn't even come at the end!"

"Oh? It's Momo-cchi!"

The pink haired girl looked up to the voice to see Kise's handsome face beaming down at her. "Ki-chan!"

"Could you stop calling me that?" Kise let out a soft sigh at the girl's nickname for him. Momoi laughed.

"But you're Ki-chan~ You came to watch the game too? Did you come alone?"

The blonde scratched his head sheepishly, "Yeah. I invited my team, but they all turned me down. It's disheartening, isn't it? They're all so mean to me."

I'm the one who should be feeling disheartened, Momoi thought with a pout. This wasn't the first time her childhood friend ditched her, after all.

"Well, since you're here, why don't we watch together?" he offered, and the girl blinked in surprise. He shrugged, "It's a little weird standing with someone who beat us, but we're both going to the Winter Cup. How about a temporary truce?"