Only 2 minutes left, Kuroko realises as the white haired one makes another rebound, tying Seirin and Kirisaki Dai Ichi. They couldn't loose this match. He wouldn't let Kirisaki leave after injuring Kiyoshi-Senpai enough for him to be taken off the court. Covered in bruises and wounds once again, their score rate had dropped dramatically since he'd stopped playing. He knew Kagami-Kun must be thinking the same thing but there was no time left to make another score. But when he found his fiery red eyes on the court they hadn't given up, behind him he heard Riko shouting and the other first years were chanting for them. Somewhere on the court the captain shouted something about one last goal but it was Kiyoshi-Senpai, grinding his teeth under a towel on the bench that infuriated him into action. And somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that another part of him didn't want to loose. Not in front of his ex-teammates sitting silently on the bench. Kise and Aomine were playing a match against each other after him and he never stopped feeling the stares on his back, and he knew somewhere in the gallery above would be Midorima, who would never miss 2 matches like these. He had to win. For his team…and to prove himself.

1 minute 27 seconds now, noticing that it was Izuki with the ball now he looked at him and before he had time to think the ball was coming at him. Last chance, he thought, quickly finding Kagami-Kun in the corner of eye, he knew what he had to do, he trusted Kagami more than any other player and so when the ball was right in front of him all he had to do was touch it for a second before it was flying high speed at his partner.

Kagami, suddenly full of a bloodthirsty rage, dashed past his marker quicker than ever before in the game and the ball smashed into his hand. Before he knew it he was turned around, heading towards the net at an unbelievable speed. Somewhere behind him he heard Hanamiya proclaim that Serin would not win against Kirisaki Dai Ichi. As each word slid out of his evil, pointed little mouth, Kagami's, along with the rest of the team's, blood began to boil. "I will defeat you," he whispered,

"Oh will you?" Asked the player notorious for injuries and unseen fowls that had appeared at his side.

" I will ALWAYS DEFEAT YOU!" Kagami screamed at Hanamiya as he pounced towards the net with all his rage. The ball above him, he was so far above the enemy he couldn't understand why he was even trying to stop him, he wasn't Midorima, he wouldn't be able to make another point now any way. We've won! He laughed in his head as he saw the net at eye view.

"Kagami-Kun! Look out!" Screamed Koroko from far below,

His felt his hand Lower as he went for the winning dunk of the game, lower, lower…

"No, you won't." hissed a voice in his ear, "You won't defeat us ever again."

And as suddenly as the ball falling through the hoop, as suddenly as the final bell, as suddenly as the game ending, a strong hand smashed his skull against the hard, metal hoop, holding it in for a what could only have been a millisecond but felt like minutes, as he heard his skull crack and his body slam on the hard flooring while the strong, sticky taste and smell and feel of blood in his mouth and eyes as it rushed down from his forehead and covered his face. His vision hazed and a throbbing in his head was calling him to sleep, but an even louder yell was demanding his attention.

"Kagami-kun!" Kagami-Kun!" Kuroko screamed as tears streamed down his face.

Nearby the referee called a foul. Only the first Hanamiya had gotten, he didn't seem to care, strolling past the speechless Serin players.

The large hall was piercingly quiet after the cheers of winning, everyone realizing what had just occurred. Only Kurokos tears could be heard. After a second the other Serin team members, along with their coach ran over to Kagami and Koroko. The squeaking of their shoes almost intensified the silence. Close behind them was Kise and Aomine.

There were gasps and cries when they saw the full injury.

"Kagami! Don't close your eyes! Keep looking at the hoop up there, ok? " Kuroko pleaded with his closest friend.

"There's blood…on the hoop…?" Kagami managed to croak out, even though his throat was burning.

"You'll be okay, Kagami-kun. I'll be here and we'll beat the generation of miracles together, remember?" Kuroko whispered while stroking his bright red hair . Kagamis head was on his small lap and blood was seeping through.

"Kagami! Don't worry! An ambulance will be here shortly." Riko, their coach announced, if maybe a little less confident than usual.

"No! I…have to win…with Kuroko…against THEM!" He struggled to lift himself off of the little blue haired boys lap but the weight of his injury shoved him down again and the world spinned.

"Not today Kuroko. " Izuki said softly as he kneeled down to the younger boy's side.

"But we'll beat them for you!" Announced Kiyoshi coming up behind the other team mates.

Kagami looked away when he saw Kiyoshi in his beaten up state.

"I'm…I'm sorry Senpai. You shouldn't have to play"

Kuroko sniffed looking at his friend. His concern even touched Kiyoshi enough for him to cough back a tear,

"And Kuroko, I've let you down too!" He sputtered,

"No! You'll never have let me down, Kagami-Kun!" Kuroko chocked out and his words cracked, "you're my light! Whether were playing basketball or not, I'm nothing without you! "

"That's so cliché you idiot" Kagami snorted with a small smile, but his lips were covered in blood, and it only kept coming.

"You're pretty brave you know, Kagami." Kiyoshi managed to say with a quick, nervous laugh.

"Hey, wheres Hyuga-Senpai?" One of the first years asked,

"Huh, he's over there…with…" he paused, and then stood up and started walking to the other end of the court where Hyuga had Hanamiya pinned violently against the wall.

"WHY? What was the POINT in DOING THAT to KAGAMI? How could you?! You were going to loose anyway!" He screamed in his face, shaking him. He simply smiled, as if he didn't care, infuriating Hyuga, "it didn't make any difference! WHY? You even got a fowl!"

" Hehehe…" he laughed viciously, his words were sharp, " one petty fowl is a small price to pay to get a player like that out of our way"

"What? You meant…to kill him?!" He hissed, his arms almost going limp with such a repulsive idea.

"He might still yet, hey" he pushed Hyuga's arms off him, " such a shame as well, he could've been almost as good as one of them, right? " he smiled, nodding at Midorima who was easily seen now, clutching the railing of the gallery starring down at Kagami and the rest of Serin. Even Midorimas shocked, he whispered to himself as tears pulled at the corners of his face, still startled by the thought that this evil person had meant to kill a first year over Basketball.

Then a strong, firm hand was placed on his shoulder,

"You're team needs you, Hyuga."

"Kiyoshi! But he…"

"Go help with Kagami, Captain." He interrupted sternly, "I'll take take of him." He sounded gruffer than the Kiyoshi he knew, but he staggered back anyway, clenching his jaw in fear, rage and misery when he saw the huge pool of blood that surrounded his amazing first year duo.

He turned around just in time to see Kiyoshi's huge fist plummet into Hanamiya's face, locked in place by his other hand around his neck.

"Kagami, Koroko. How you holding up?"

He desperately wanted to raise the spirits of the team, help keep positive until they could get Kagami to a hospital. But Koroko was in despair, crying silently over Kagami, who was much whiter than normal and had blood covering his skin. Izuki was patting Koroko on the back in support while Riko was gently dabbing the blood from his head. But there was too much blood. It just kept pouring. It was obvious his team was not holding up well at all.

"Senpai?" The large red headed player mumbled

" yeah, Kagami?"

"We did win right?"

"Of course we did, we couldn't let them get away with their fowl play!"

Kagami grinned a bloody smile and Kuroko let another tear slide onto this face and make a streak through the blood.

And in Kuroko's eyes, with his victory confirmed, the darkness wrapped around his already blurred vision and suppressed him into the dark.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, doctors and other medical attendants rushed into the hall.

"Kuroko, come away. Let them do their job."Izuki advised, trying to pull the littlest Serin member back from Kagami.

"No!" He cried out,

"I have to stay with him! Stop it!"

Usually so polite, he shocked all of the team with his outburst.

"Come on, Tetsuya." Groaned a voice that had been quiet this whole time. Kise and Aomine came forwards from the wall where they'd witnessed all that had happened and Aomine was now lifting Kuroko off the floor and taking him back, letting the doctors through.

" If you love him so much, you'll let them do their job." He said emotionlessly, and once more,the hall was silent. Everyone knew secretly that there was something going on with Kuroko and Kagami, but nobody had had the courage to ask or say something sooner.

"AOMINECCHI! You're not supposed to just say it like that!" Kise whined from behind him.

"You're the one who told me, Kise, and he's not denying it, so I guess it's true." He replied stubbornly, but with just the slightest hint of hurt.

" So it's true then? He's your new boyfriend?"

The atmosphere was tense between the several different players, even though they could hear the medical staff surrounding Kagami, it was as if no one but Kuroko and Aomine were in the vast hall.

Abruptly, Kuroko stood up from were Aomine had left him. He looked up at the tall dark skinned male with his tear stained face and bloody uniform,

"Stop acting like you're so hurt, Aomine!" He said, suddenly his usually sullen features coming alive, "you're not my light any more, and I'll never be your shadow! Kagamis much brighter than you'll ever be, you're the one who left me, remember? So stop hurting me, and yourself, and leave us be!" He wasn't used to giving such assertive speeches, so it came out awkward and soft, almost hurting and shocking his new and old team mates even more.

He ran out of the hall and followed the dribble of blood along the corridor until he got to the ambulance, the doctor didn't notice him slide in. Kissing his bloody check and letting his tears slide onto Kagamis body, he held his white hand while the ambulance back was closed and started towards the hospital. He didn't even notice that the sirens weren't on.