(Preview!)

"This is bad! Imayoshi can predict someone's movements by their habits, face, and even expressions! He's a bad match-up for Tetsu-kun!" You said in slight fright.

"Did you know? Some things can only be seen from behind the mirror." Imayoshi told a shocked Kuroko.

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Kuroko was seen shut down by Imayoshi being able to keep him under wraps.

Kuroko's misdirection isn't working. They've completely shut down Kuroko.

"Don't be so hard on me. Let's be friends." Imayoshi was seen with a sickening smile.

"Of course. Momoi-chan found out." You had a nervous smile on your face when knowing your student found out about how to completely shut down Kuroko.

Kuroko tried to get the ball after a pass but Imayoshi was there to steal the ball.

Imayoshi went to the basket while Izuki tried to stop him. But it was too late for him to stop his three.

"Hyuga!" Izuki passed to Hyuga.

Hyuga tried to get a three for payback, using his Barrier Jumper. But Sakurai knew how to block the shot thanks to Momoi.

Knowing that Sakurai found out, Hyuga passed to Kiyoshi. Wakamatsu was there to stop him.

"Look at you guys having fun by yourselves."

Kagami got the ball and was being marked by Aomine.

"Are you ready for round two, Kagami?"

Kuorko tried to go help Kagami but Imayoshi wasn't letting that happen, "Whoops. You're not going anywhere. As long as I'm on you, you should give up on going to help him."

Kagami looked at the court and noticed that everyone had been shut down.

'At this rate, we'll slowly lose.' You and Kagami both thought at the same time.

Kagami went to go past Aomine but he hesitated, thinking of his past game against Tōō.

"You lack focus!" Aomine told Kagami, stealing the ball from the redhead.

"Shit!" Kagami cursed, and the rest of the group grew shocked at the scene.

The dark navy-haired male was seen getting past Kagami after stealing the ball.

"Wait, damn it!" Hyuga appeared to stop him but Aomine's agility was too much for him.

Kagami was seen in front of Aomine again. The Tōō ace went to shoot, but Kagami was there to stop him.

While in the air, Aomine moved his body to get past Kagami. The move got the team surprised at how agile and flexible he is.

'His animal instinct is much stronger than before...' you pursed your lips together.

Even if Seirin tried to get some points back Tōō kept on overpowering them.

Seirin - 51

Tōō - 59

6 minutes left before the third quarter is over.

'The gap is getting bigger and bigger...They're at 60 points already...We're still in the 50s. And the third quarter is almost over...' you thought, 'But that's not all...Tetsu-kun's...'

Kuorko was now being marked by Susa this time. But the thing that shocked others the most was that the Tōō played could see Kuroko.

It meant only one thing, Kuroko's misdirection has been run out. His 40 minutes were up.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything, you did quite well. You made it to the Winter Cup with a team of only first and second-years. Things would have gone better if you'd had another year to prepare. Try again next year." Imayoshi spoke, being at least respectable that Seirin had done a great job at getting to the Winter Cup.

"We can't wait that long."

"Next time isn't good enough."

"Not next time..."

You stood up, "We'll win NOW!" You and Kuorko yelled. Hearing that declaration shocked Aomine.

"Your misdirection trump card has run out of steam, too. Spirit alone won't change anything." Imayoshi pointed out with a smirk.

"That's not quite right." Izuki corrected, making Imayoshi's smirk disappear.

"It didn't run out. We made it run out!"

Izuki was in front of Imayoshi's vision before disappearing. Imayoshi was shocked by that and turned it only see Izuki going for a shot.

"He didn't disappear, he erased him." Riko smirked, 'It's a technique that can only be used when Kuroko's misdirection runs out. Kuroko's true form and final trump card...'

Misdirection Overflow!

"Nice one, Izuki-san!" You cheered him on, waving at him.

Izuki was seen blushing at your cute form, "Ah! (Y/N)-chan is cheering me on!~ How cute!~"

Hyuga was seen hitting his shoulder, "Get your head out of the gutter, idiot! We're in a game right now!"

But the Egale Eye wasn't fazed by the abuse as he smiled brightly at being praised by you, "She's amazing!~"

Hyuga grew even more irritated. "SHUT UP ALREADY AND MOVE!"

Imayoshi went to pass to Sakurai but Hyuga noticed his movements being distracted. The captain of Seirin was able to trap the ball before it reached Sakurai.

Sakurai didn't give up and went to stop Hyuga. Kuroko used his Misdirection Overflow to erase Hyuga to get past the three-point shooter.

Seirin - 60

Tōō - 70

Only 2 minutes till the third quarter is over.

"All right! Another basket!" Koganei smiled.

"We're only ten points behind!" Tsuchida spoke in joy.

"Captain!" The first years cheered on the bench.

'Tetsu-kun...' you worried over your friend, knowing that his new technique takes a heavy toll on him.

"You want to start in the third quarter?" Hyuga asked, "It'd be tough playing without you...but will your misdirection last until the end of the game?"

"No, it won't." Kuroko truthfully told.

That shocked his teammates to hear the news, What are you going to do after that?" Koganei asked.

"At this rate, isn't until the end of the third quarter the best we can hope for?" Tsuchida questioned.

"When my misdirection runs out,"

"When my misdirection runs out, it will be easier for me to focus their gaze on me. We can use that to prevent them from away from me. It will be as though a 10th player suddenly appeared on a 9-player court. Immediately afterward, it will be easiest to misdirect their gaze to myself. The team should match their plays to that." Kuorko explained.

'When Tetsu-kun perfected his Vanishing Drive against Shutoku, he realized the potential of this technique. Misdirecting his opponents' vision away, not from himself, but from his teammates.' You thought, writing down some notes.

'He grants his teammates the effect of the Vanishing Drive. That's Misdirection Overflow. But...it carries several risks. The first one is time, it won't only be used in the final stages of a game. But he should not be able to misdirect attention to himself for long. He does have to fulfill the role of four Kagamis all on his own.' You thought to yourself, seeing the phantom man panting.

'But that's not even the worst risk...If we use this technique on Tōō...' Riko and you thought in unison.

'Once this game ends...he won't be able to use his misdirection against them again.'

Imayoshi passed the ball to Sakurai, he was being marked by Hyuga. Seeing that he couldn't get past the captain, he passed to Wakamatsu.

"It's better than losing here!" Kuroko stated, his words shocked Aomine.

Kiyoshi blocked Wakamatsu's shot, and Izuki got the ball and passed it to Kagami.

Aomine was there to stop him but Kuroko used his Misdirection Overflow to erase Kagami from Amoine's vision.

Kagami dunked the ball after getting past Tōō's ace, "Yeah! YOU GO KAGAMI!" You cheered loudly for your best friend.

"Gah! Why is she so loud?! She's scaring me..." Kagami muttered, trying to inch away from your gaze.

"We'll worry about the future when we get there." Kuroko smiled tiredly.

There were only 60 seconds till the third quarter was over.

Seirin - 62

Tōō - 70

"Give me a break." Imayoshi figured out that Kuroko's technique was a risk for them to win only once.

With only 4 seconds left, Imayoshi chose to go immediately into a shooting position. He made the basket on the buzzer making it turn into a buzzer beater.

Seirin is now only 10 points behind.

"Tetsu-kun..." you called out to him, worried that he wouldn't last until the end of the game.

"Sorry, but could you re-tape my legs?" Kiyoshi asked Furihata who went right to it, "Sure."

"You're thinking too hard, idiot." Hyuga scolded Kiyoshi, he was seen drinking from his water bottle like a waterfall.

"That's not a good habit." Hyuga checked if there was any more water before placing the bottle back on the bench, "You should have more faith in us. This team is strong. You made this team."

Kiyoshi smiled when hearing Hyuga's words, "Win or lose, these are the last ten minutes."

"Let's win!"

"Yeah!"

The final quarter started, "Let's start by taking the points they scored. Izuki!" Hyuga got the ball from the point guard.

Sakurai thought he was going to do his usual Barrier Jumper, but with Kuroko's misdirection, he was able to be farther from him.

Hyuga made the shot, closing the gap between the two teams.

You felt something different, both you and Momoi with Kuroko could sense it.

'Aomine's...returned to his former self...!'