In Shadows
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Final Play

How could things already be going so wrong?

Gina felt as though she was Kuroko, having her heart being torn in two; the way his eyes widened in absolute horror and the way his body started shaking cut her to the core.

This was worse than Aomine saying his basketball would never win. She could see just how deeply the words cut from here, and she was feeling it, too. She could even feel tears enter her eyes but no, she wouldn't cry, she would be strong and support the team, and be part of the mental strength they needed.

But seeing Kuroko like this after passes were seen and intercepted, Kuroko's supposedly invisible passes. Kuroko being seen by the defenders, without him using Overflow.

Kuroko... losing his ability to stick to the shadows. He was just visible, there in plain sight.

"Such a foolish act I cannot bear to watch," she could hear Akashi say, lips curved down in an expression of obvious disappointment. "Letting your one and only advantage slip from your fingers."

Kuroko started as though shocked but Akashi continued, relentlessly. "Back in middle school, after you arrived at your current style, I made you increase the variation of passes, but never let you acquire shooting or dribbling skills." He narrowed his eyes. "Do you know why I did not? Because I knew that if I did, you would lose your lack of presence some day. Vanishing Drive, Phantom Shot... There is no way a player using such flashy moves would not be noticed. And the nail in the coffin was the buzzer-beater in the semifinals."

No way. Gina froze, recalling how happy Kuroko had been after their match against Kaijo. How could something like that, something that made him so joyous, have such detrimental effects?

"By learning to shine halfheartedly, you can no longer become the shadow," Akashi said. "Now that you are no longer than phantom sixth player, you are already not even worth as much as a typical player. To think you'd not notice until now it'd end up like this... You have disillusioned me, Tetsuya."

The play continued, but Kuroko was struggling. Now he couldn't disappear into the shadows, the defense was holding him back - and since he wasn't as athletic or fast as everyone else, he truly was suffering.

"He's going to be taken off, isn't he?"Gina whispered.

Riko nodded. "Yes. But only for a short while. We'll need Kuroko to win, we always have. I'll make him play the final three minutes so we can analyse his play and how Rakuzan counters, and if there's any blind spots we can take advantage of. We need to make him resurge."

Gina nodded, allowing herself to feel hope. Kuroko wasn't done yet. Not by far. They would still need him.

Riko pulled Kuroko off court, but before he could make his way to the other side of the bench and sit as though defeated, she gestured to the spot open next to her.

"Kuroko-kun! Not over there. Over here!" When Kuroko took his seat she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Don't give up. I'm going to have you go out there again right away. There's a bit more than three minutes left in the first quarter. I'll give it all to you. So I want you to get fully beaten up on the court. So that we can fight one more time... and win!"

They waited a little longer before putting Kuroko back on. Gina briefly took his hand and nodded. You can do it, she said, trying to convey as much with her eyes as possible. Kuroko nodded back and headed back on to court.

Despite his efforts, all attempts - including Vanishing Drive and Phantom Shot - were thwarted by the opposition. Nothing was working, Gina realised with a wince. When the first quarter ended, the teams were tied 21 all.

"To end the first quarter on a tie is good for us," Riko said, "but it's time to sit you out, Kuroko-kun. It was impossible to find an answer in less than three minutes, but we got some information. To find a clue for you to resurge, we'll have you sit out for the second quarter to see how things go."

Kuroko looked down. "Okay."

Gina reached down and rested her hand on his. 

"Cheer up, Kuroko!" Kagami said, clapping him on the back. "We'll need your passes again to win, before we hang our heads, let's give them a struggle."

"Kagami-kun..." Kuroko smiled at his light, like hope was stirring in him once again.

Kagami grinned. "Even with a useless version of you, we made something of the first quarter! Don't worry about us!"

Gina snorted and rolled her eyes. "You're so blunt and tactless, Bakagami!" She hit him on the shoulder. 

Kuroko softly laughed, watching them. "You're right. I will make to sure come back to court, to win!"

"We still have a shot in the second quarter," Izuki said with a smile. "Even Rakuzan can't possibly have monsters for all five positions. Especially Number 5, that guy named Mayuzumi. He should be someone Mitobe be can deal with."

*          *          *

Oh Izuki, Gina thought despairingly, holding her head between her hands and squeezing her eyes shut, as though by shutting her eyes she could blind herself to what was occurring in court. Why did you say that?

Of course, the universe just had to be cruel. Rakuzan did have monsters in every position, and it was the most disheartening thing to watch.

Mibuchi Reo defeated Hyuga in a shoot out. His shots were flawless, and he was able to get Hyuga pulled up for fouls.

Kiyoshi was losing in strength to Nebuya Eikichi.

Hayama Kotarou passed everyone who tried to mark him with his lightning-speed dribbles,

And no one could stand against Akashi, not even Kagami.

And as for Mayuzumi Chirio... Seirin's own weapon, their trump card, was being turned against them.

Kuroko had shot to his feet when he noticed, his eyes widened and a strangled cry of, "Impossible," passing his lips. Gina's hand had flown to her mouth. 

No way. I thought he had the same kind of aura as Kuroko, but this... There's no way!

But it was happening right in front of them; Mayuzumi could use misdirection as well.

"It's a little different," Akashi had explained. "He has the same traits as Tetsuya, but the basic specs are one notch higher. In other words, Tetsuya is the previous model. Mayuzumi Chirio is the new model for the phantom sixth man."

Not only could Mayuzumi escape the defence, he could make shots on his own if it was needed without needing to use moves such as Phantom Shot.

They had tried different strategies; Furihata was brought on again, as were the other first yeas, and Izuki was moved to mark Mayuzumi. But despite their efforts, Mayzumi kept slipping past Izuki's vision and nothing was working.

They had just entered the third quarter, and it felt as though they were never going to overcome Rakuzan's completely overwhelming strength. They'd placed their trust in Hyuga and Kagami; Hyuga to score much-needed threes, and Kagami to defeat Akashi.

But Mibuchi scored another foul off Hyuga and after arguing with the umpire - Gina had wanted to scream at him when he did so - he earned his fourth foul, and had to be pulled off before they became one player short on the team. Then it was all up to Kagami, but Akashi's Eye had stopped Kagami performing even one move.

The score was 65-40, and Riko had called a timeout. Gina stood by the coach's side as they looked at their friends, seated, bent over with slumped shoulders, no will left in their eyes, only blank despair and defeat.

Gina was distraught, and felt like her heart was being torn apart when she looked at them. What could they do? How could they bring their spirit back? Never had she felt so helpless; she couldn't even smile at them and offer encouragement, for she didn't see how they could win, how she could convince them they were still had a chance to defeat Rakuzan.

"No..." Kuroko's voice shocked them all, quiet and strangled with tears as it was. "I want to win." He shot to his feet, tears shining in his eyes, his hands shaking. "I want to win! Even if it's unreasonable, even if it's impossible... With this team, I want to be the best in Japan!" He looked at Riko, his eyes widening, pleading. "Coach, please..."

Riko paused, but caught where Kuroko was leading. She relented. There wasn't much else they could do at this point, and they needed to try and work some kind of miracle to put themselves back in the game.

Kuroko would go back on court.

"You have a plan?" Gina asked, as Kuroko took off his jumper and prepare to head back out.

"Not really," he admitted, adjusting his wristbands. "But I'll make the most of it."

And Gina looked at him, and truly saw the warrior underneath Kuroko's sweet, gentle appearance. This was someone who had endured Teiko's strict training and practices, who had to find his own style of basketball and spend months mastering his misdirection before he could be accepted on the first string, after he'd previously been told the Teiko basketball club was impossible for him. He was someone who had defied the disbelief of others and fought to keep his position. He had seen his teammates fall apart, had come to Seirin and so far had defeated four of the five Miracles. He had been told his efforts were for nothing, by both Aomine, the first person to believe in him, and now Akashi, who had discovered his current style. He'd worn six basketballs of their grip while perfecting his Vanishing Drive, and worked for hours with Aomine perfecting Phantom Shot.

And he only continued to fight to the last second of each match, even when the odds seemed impossible - he was the reason they had won the matches against Touou, Yosen and Kaijou. If he hadn't sent that Ignite Pass to Kagami, if he hadn't stopped Murasakibara scoring, if he hadn't been there to shoot that buzzer beater, Seirin wouldn't be playing in the finals now.

Of course he wouldn't give up now. He would only continue fighting - and by continuing to fight Gina knew he would find the answer.

Suddenly overwhelmed, she pulled Kuroko into one last hug, squeezing him so tightly even she was sure she was robbing him of breath. Even if she was he didn't complain, and only held her back.

"You can do it, I know," she said fiercely into his ear, kissing him quickly, so he'd go on to court knowing she had utmost faith in him.

And as he walked back on to the court, the eyes of everyone on him in utter shock and disbelief, Gina felt a stirring of pride.

*          *          *

So much had happened since the beginning of the match, but new hope was slowly starting to dawn within Seirin.

It had started with Kuroko. He had walked on to court with everyone doubting with, no one believing he could make a comeback, no one thinking that he could do a thing to change the current results.

But he proved them all wrong.

He let Mayzumi pass him, he let Mayuzumi score. Mayzumi became a focus of the crowds attention as he continued to pass Kuroko, continued to make those goals, all the while making himself more and more obvious to the crowd.

And when that happened, Kuroko overwrote him.

With the crowd focusing more of Mayzumi, Kuroko was able to slip back into the shadows, since now Mayzumi was shining brighter more people were overlooking Kuroko.

Kuroko's return brought new vigor to the team. Kagami re-entered the zone, more determined and focused than ever before. Izuki, with his Eagle Eye, was able to find the timing to Hayama's dribbles and steal the ball. Hyuga came back on court having figured out the tricks behind Mibuchi's three shooting forms thanks to Koganei and, despite having four fouls, was able to efficiently combat Rakuzan's shooting guard. Kiyoshi stopped holding back - which he had been unconsciously doing while aware of his injury - and went all out, doing moves that would severely damage his knees but allowed him to combat Nebuya.

Gina watched them, her heart soaring as the point difference slowly began to close. And to think it had all started when Kuroko walked on to the court, more determined than anyone, and broke through the wall he'd previously been facing. She cheered loudest on the bench, projecting her voice to everyone, smiling and giving any form of encouragement she could when the players looked back. Kuroko glanced at her often and they exchanged looks of equal determination and the occasional smile, and the team spurred each other on to keep their momentum flowing.

Maybe, they had hope for this match after all. If still sounded crazy, and there was still a point difference, but they now had the momentum on their side.

Maybe, they could still take out the Winter Cup.

*          *          *

Of course it wouldn't be that simple to overcome Rakuzan.

Of course a curveball would be thrown in the mix.

Becoming the best in Japan was never that easy.

Just as they started to hope again, it slowly began to dwindle when Akashi saw how the situation was getting worse and worse for Rakuzan, and decided to put an end to it himself. 

She'd seen Aomine in it, and Kagami, even Murasakibara, but Akashi in the zone was the scariest thing she had ever seen. He tore up the court, seeing everything with his Eye, taking charge of both Rakuzan's offence and defence. His strength was overwhelming, and even seated off the court, Gina felt like she was being suffocated in his strength.

The score was widening again, 90-78, and at this point Gina was wondering how they were ever going to overcome Rakuzan and take first place. At the present moment it felt like a Herculean task, something near impossible.

She gripped the hem of her skirt and watched, biting down so hard on her lip she could taste blood.

You can do it, guys. Come on!

*          *           *

Kuroko really did perform miracles.

Kagami was doing his best against Akashi, but he couldn't see like Akashi could. But he'd teamed up with Kuroko, and they always pulled off the impossible together, and that's what they did now.

Kuroko would watch Kagami and, with his observational skill and trust in his teammates, would go the opposite direction as Kagami and therefore cut Akashi off and steal the ball. It was Kuroko's own Eye, and it was causing serious problems for Rakuzan and Akashi.

Akashi only continued to become more and more distracted, his mental state deteriorating with every play made. It was affecting the entire Rakuzan team who had lost their usually stable point guard, and were feeling the consequences. Seirin was catching up, the score a mere difference of 92-90 when Rakuzan called the timeout.

It was good timing for Seirin, too, since it gave Kagami time to rest. Being in the zone drained his stamina, and every chance he got to rest and catch his breath was time they all sorely needed. They could see the end, they were so close, and they needed Kagami to get them over the time.

And she knew what had happened. 

She didn't need Kuroko, Akane, or any of the Generation of Miracles to tell her that. The disappearance of his gold eye in favour for two red orbs was enough to tell her, as well as the change of atmosphere on the court.

Somehow, Akashi's true self had reawakened.

Things would only get more difficult from here on.

*          *          *

Not now. Not now, not now! Exhaustion and fatigue couldn't set in now, not when there were only two minutes left and there was a seven point difference! They were so close; Gina could practically taste victory on her lips.

But it was starting to slip further and further away, as everyone reached their limits. She could see them all suck in deep, laboured breaths, their moves losing their finesse and becoming sloppy.

Now that Akashi had changed before their eyes, Rakuzan's performance was increasing; Akashi's perfect passes creating a rhythm in the players and upping their game. It was hard not to watch them and feel disheartened.

What could they do? They'd used up all their timeouts. There was nothing they could do but watch. What could she do but watch helplessly? What could anyone do?

But a yell echoed through the deathly quiet stadium. "Don't give up, Seirin!" the voice yelled. "Don't give up, Kuroko!"

Kuroko's head had snapped up and looked in the direction of the voice. Gina followed his gaze and saw a brown-haired boy in the stands, watching intently.

Gina had never seen him before, but she guessed who it was - Ogiwara, Kuroko's childhood friend. And he was holding a basketball with the brightest smile on his face, and Gina realised he'd somehow managed to recover what had happened in his match against Teiko, all on his own. 

And then Kuroko was smiling, looking at his oldest friend, hope stirring in his eyes once again.

Then Aomine stood up in the stands and was yelling his support, and so was Kise, and Midorima, and soon all the crowd was getting involved, yelling and cheering for Seirin, and Gina felt as though she was about to start crying seeing the stunned and touched expressions on everyone's faces.

Their spirit had been restored, and she knew that they were going to fight harder than ever from now on.

*          *          *

For a moment, Gina thought that they had the upper hand, that they could definitely do this, that they'd defeat Rakuzan for sure. They'd been working with flawless teamwork, which Riko had said was 'true zone' - Gina would have to ask more about it later. But she was too caught up in the match - Seirin were working together, basing their plays around Kagami, and Rakuzan was only keeping up as Akashi yelled instructions and caught what was going on.

But when Akashi pulled ankle break on Kagami and shot at goal, making it a seven-point difference of 105-98 with forty seconds left on the clock, Gina's heart sank.

No time. There was just no time. How would they grab eight points and stop Rakuzan from scoring anything in forty seconds?

But when Kagami scored a three with twenty-seven seconds on the clock, Gina reminded herself that this team could perform miracles - and why should it be any different this time?

*          *          *

There were less than twenty seconds.

If they couldn't stop Rakuzan scoring, it was over. 

Everyone was desperate, everyone was yelling to each other, everyone was fired up and determined to stop Rakuzan scoring, to get the ball and somehow pull of another four goals in under twenty seconds.

Rakuzan was still calm, somehow, and Gina knew it would be hard to catch any of them off guard. But it had to be done. Somehow.

Then Izuki did what they needed and reached out and snatched the ball up, having calmed down enough to analyse the situation before screaming, "Run!" to his team and sprinting down the court.

He reached the end of the court and passed to Hyuga, who did what Mibuchi had done to him; scored a three, while earning one free throw.

Gina was smiling, because they were so close, but knew this was do or die. Hyuga couldn't score this free throw or they'd draw and go into overtime, which they definitely didn't have the stamina for.

It was the final play.

*          *          *

With one final burst of sheer will, Kiyoshi had jumped and snatched the rebound, and the clock was rapidly beginning its countdown to the end. 

Everyone was yelling; the court was chaos and both benches were screaming at the tops of their lungs. Gina thought her heart was going to break free from her chest and she was shaking - everyone was being so closely marked, so how were they going to get through?

Then Kuroko was there, slipping free of his defender at the last moment, and the ball was passed to his hands, and he went for the shot.

*          *          *

They should've known Akashi would be there, and wouldn't have allowed things to be that easy. He found Kuroko and blocked the shot.  

Gina's heart leapt into her throat as the entire stadium froze.

*          *          *

It wasn't a shot. 

Kuroko released the ball, but he wasn't shooting at the goal.

He was shooting at someone else, someone who had jumped, someone who had seen Seirin through so many of their past victories, the person Kuroko had built the most trust with over the course of the year.

Kagami grabbed the ball Kuroko threw his way and with less than a second on the clock, slammed it into the ring. 

*          *          *

For a moment, there was stunned silence, everyone looking at Kagami and the ball, which fell to the ground.

Then the whistle sounded to acknowledge the goal, and the buzzer sounded, and the match was over.

And then the crowd was screaming, and Gina felt like she was going to topple off the bench, and she couldn't properly breathe or speak as the announcement sounded and streamers were thrown into air. She was speechless, breathless, but her heart was soaring and soon the biggest grin was spread across her face and she screamed.

Seirin High had won the Winter Cup.

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yeah those constant breaks at the end were for dramatic effect... because this is the final match and yeah the ending's gotta be something special xD
i can already tell you, there's gonna be kurokina fluff next chapter, and some kuroko/kagami/gina friendship... which is very important xD
i know a few of you have been asking about akane/akashi reunion... in the upcoming chapters, i'm just going to say, i think you're going to be happy! :D