27 TWENTY SIX
Two powerful opponent in one day is equivalent to death.
At least that's what Seirin thinks. Back in the locker-room, the team were slumped on the benches, some against the walls, as they tried to muster what little strength they had left to walk. Kagami was probably in the worst condition having close to no strength in his legs to even stand.
"Looks like someone will need to carry him." Riko said.
"Kay,"
The boys gathered together in a circle and played rock, paper, scissors to see who would be carrying the second heaviest guy in the room (Takumi was the first).
"1...2...3!!"
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Takumi groaned and adjust the body on his back. How unlucky of him to lose a simple game of rock, paper, scissors. Originally it should've been Kuroko but apparently, Takumi's luck was worse than his.
"Bastard, can't you walk properly?" Kagami growled.
"Hmm, maybe if I didn't have a six-foot guy on my back I'd be able too!!" retorted Takumi.
"Stop it guys. We're here now,"
Hyūga slid open the door to the restaurant and ducked under the cloth with the team coming after him.
Riko walked in and called out to the owner.
"Table for-- Eh?"
Seirin zeroed in on the two familiar faces sitting at a table eating their food. The two persons; Kise and Kasamatsu, looked up from their table, surprise coating their expressions.
"Kurokocchi!!" The blonde yelled happily.
"You two..." Kagami muttered distastefully. Kasamatsu glared at the boy for his lack of proper formalities.
"Well well, nice to see you again copycat....and copycat tamer," Takumi teased. He already knew they'd be here of course.
"Who're you calling copycat!?"
"It's senpai you damn brat!"
Takumi grinned, pleased at having successfully annoyed the duo.
Since there was no table big enough to hold the entirety of Seirin, there was no choice but to break up into small groups and by 'coincidence', Kagami and Kuroko ended up at the same table as the two Kaijo players.
Takumi sat beside Riko and took it upon himself to cook their dish, not daring to allow Riko to show her cooking skills, or rather lack of.
It wasn't long before the door opened again and another pair of familiar faces walked in.
"Boss, do you have place for tw--" Takao stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the crowd.
"Eh?"
"W-What the heck are you two doing here? Where are the others?" Hyūga pointed.
Midorima's face was black upon seeing faces he'd rather not see for another year. His face transformed into embarrassment and anger when Takao responded to Hyūga's question.
"Shin-chan was busy crying so they left without us,"
"Takao!!"
Takumi snorted at the thought of the pretentious green-head in tears after experiencing loss for the first time.
Midorima was already frustrated from losing his game and now he had to see the people he lost too. There was no way in hell he was going to stay here.
"We'll find another place. Let's go Takao," He and Takao walked out the door only to walk back in, drenched from head to toe from the sudden downpour.
That's when Takao's eyes lit up at the sight of Kasamatsu, a supposed famous point-guard, and he ended up dragging him away to sit with one of Seirin's groups leaving Midorima with no choice but to sit with his ex-teammates and new irritant.
"That table is--"
"Oi oi oi, what a ridiculous set-up."
"How awkward,"
The crowd of Seirin players couldn't help but stare at the gathering of the four most powerful players in the room, minus Takumi of course.
Takumi's table was further away from them so he couldn't really make out what they were saying but he had an idea. Out of nowhere though, the four players ended up glancing at him with a mixture of emotions.
"Um, what are you guys looking at?" He said in a loud voice ignoring Koganei's attempts to flip the food.
"A monster." Kuroko said.
"A monster." Kise nodded.
""A monster,"" everyone more or less agrees.
"I'm feeling very attacked. Can't you guys just say the awesomest player you've ever met?" whined the boy.
"No way. Saying 'a monster' is more appropriate." Riko nodded.
"But seriously, how the hell did you get to such a level?" Kise asked. Everyone turned to Takumi, curiousity brimming in their eyes.
Takumi chewed a piece of meat and swallowed. "What can I say? Talent and hard work. Or rather, shall I say basketball gambling."
At this Kagami's ears perked at the mention of the term.
"What's basketball gambling?" someone asked.
Kagami gave a surprised look at Takumi, "Well no wonder you're so good."
Kuroko looked at his friend with confusion. "You know what basketball gambling is?"
Kagami nodded, "Yeah. I did that a bit in America. It's basically regular gambling but with basketball. People place bets on teams and win money if their team wins. But, if you're not careful, you can get addicted or get involved in more dangerous stuff."
"It's illegal," Midorima put it bluntly.
"It is. But no one really cares since it's pretty rare and the money bet isn't nearly as high as other types of gambling." Takumi explained. "Though, I suppose for me, I didn't risk money when playing."
"Then what did you risk?" Riko asked.
Takumi just smiled and said, "I wonder,"
Those who were still paying attention to the conversation took the hint and turned back to their own meals. The four colourful heads continued with their exchange of words until Midorima's annoyed words were cut off with a freshly cooked okonomiyaki landing on his head.
The room went silent as the green-head's face became deadly and he turned to face the culprit.
"Hehe, oops." Takao sweated.
In no time, Midorima had pulled the boy out of the restaurant, excusing himself, and a loud 'slap' was heard with a cry of pain following after.
When Midorima returned, he said to Kagami.
"There is another miracle in this division. His play style is similar to yours but he's far more dangerous. Be wary of him,"
'Though with that manager, I'm sure Seirin will be able to keep up.' Thought Midorima. He wouldn't dare mutter these words aloud for fear of acknowledging his respect for the team.
'Hmph, it's none of my business anyway.' The tsundere paid for his share and dragged his partner out of the restaurant leaving Kagami and Kuroko to their own thoughts.
Takumi was admittedly wary of the upcoming game against Touou. No doubt Aomine was probably the second strongest miracle as compared to Akashi. But this was just his opinion of course.
It was difficult to judge who was the 'strongest miracle' but if he was asked about who had the most potential, Takumi would say the blonde copycat with no hesitation.
After his match today, and his meeting with the former captain of the miracles, Takumi knew his actions were going to have repercussions and something told him that he may not be able to handle the outcome of these new events with his current self.
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A/N: Thanks for the support my dear readers! We've reached 500 power-stones!!
