"Alright!" Riko called aloud, raising her hand high as two practicing teams stopped to look at her. She kept her smile and tried not to sweat under the gazes that shined with anticipation as she continued. "We're about to start the practice game with Rakuzan and Seirin!"

All of the players nodded at her warning and began to repack their practice equipment, the starters shedding their shirts to show their jerseys, the air tense with wild anticipation and expectations. She could feel it almost crawling on her skin and felt so hyper that she almost couldn't take it.

"Huh?" Hyuuga spoke aloud, turning her attention to the confused teams gather in the middle of the court, all of them looking around in bewilderment.

"Where is Kuroko?"

"Where's Mayuzumi?" one of the Rakuzan players asked as well, both teams looking at each other in question- and both having no answers for each other.

"Ahhhhh!" Riko growled in anger as that precious anticipation of seeing an amazing practice game chilled suddenly and almost seemed to crumple down around them. She almost crushed the board in her hands, scaring the rest of her team and the observers watching from behind them- including the rest of the generation of miracles and their friends, who had all come to see the game.

"FIND THEM!" she screamed and both teams almost raced from under her screamed order (except Akashi, who walked.)

As all of the teams and some of the observing Generation of Miracles searched, Riko felt her anger growing at the incredibility of both ghosts completely disappearing. She whirled in anger, trying to find something to make her anger lessen before she blew up at the Rakuzan coach beside her who was apparently observing her and may have found her temper dangerous. Grrrrrrrr.

Her eyes landed on Midorima as the green shooter ordered Takao to sit back down as he tried to stand and help the search, telling him he would be better watching for them here, since his Hawk eye was good at it.

"That's it!" Riko cried, surprising both boys as they turned to her, but her wild eyes were on Takao, who seemed to back away slightly at the ferocity that he saw in her gaze; she didn't really notice as she ran up the bleachers and grabbed the Hawk-eyed male's hand, yanking him down the bleacher steps- quite unsafely. "You can find them! Kuroko can't hide form you!"

"Well," Takao answered as he tried to regain his footing, still in slight shock. "You're not wrong, but…"

"Just try!" Riko pressed, her blazing brown eyes demanding their due in such an intense way that Takao had no choice but to agree under its intensity- surprising his respective light as he nodded and crossed to the middle of the gym immediately, searching from an above glance and calculating.

Midorima and Riko watched as Takao looked around the gym slowly, ignoring the other searchers and players watching as well. The normally bright blue eyes that Takao carried were sharp and predatory as they looked around the gym, filling themselves with information and thoughts as they took in their environment.

Within a minute of searching, the bird of prey seemed to catch trace of its victims somewhere and somehow that no other eyes could see as the teen suddenly ran for the double doors to his right and raced out of the gymnasium, leaving his confused teammate and friends staring after him in surprise and confusion- until they ran after him, only seconds behind.

"Do birds do this when they hunt?" Hyuuga asked, his eyes on his Eagle Eyed teammate beside him- who nodded.

"When they catch some sight or trace of their prey, they get very dangerous."

"I didn't think Takao could be like that," Koganei spoke aloud and Rei nodded beside.

"I did not know he could use it this way," Midorima said aloud, causing some of his former and current teammates to look at him in shock and almost making him roll his eyes. "I do not know everything."

He growled softly as he heard Kagami mumble something beside him that sounded very close to "sure seems like you do."

Takao took a quick right and entered a park, making the trialing patrons behind him run faster in order to not lose him in his dogged pursuit.

"He really seems to be enjoying this," Teppei smiled even as he huffed beside his teammates in slight exertion. He could still see the vibrant thrill of the hunt in Takao's blue-silver gaze as the teen somehow stayed in front of them and lead the chase after the ghosts.

"It seems so," Midorima agreed, his taped fingers pushing his slipping further upward as he spoke. A hidden smile graced his lips and Teppei felt one grow of his own.

When Takao suddenly jutted to a stop in front of them, it almost flung Kise forward. Into the two bright haired teens in who walked side-by-side in front of Takao, books in open in both of their hands. Both looked up as they heard the male in front of them suddenly stop right and stare at them with glittering blue eyes.

"Ah, Takao-kun," a soft voice spoke and Riko shuffled forward in the group so that she could see Kuroko better- and maybe put him in a Boston Crab Hold as well.

"Where did you guys go?" Takao's voice asked, not even sounding exhausted from his run, just slightly breathless and calm as he stepped forward to the two males in front of him.

"Sorry," Kuroko smiled softly and Riko watched Mayuzumi nod. "We both had gotten an email that our favorite author's newest book had just been released and that it was first come first serve. We had hoped that we would be back in time before the game started, I apologize again."

Mayuzumi nodded once more, but he looked more eager to return to his book than to continue walking; Kuroko seemed to be resisting the temptation better, but was still tempted.

"It's no problem," Takao smiled and Riko almost put him into a Crab Hold. "We haven't started yet.

"Alright," Kuroko smiled as he and Mayuzumi closed the books in their hands and started to walk passed them, slightly rustling the observing group as they and Takao passed through them easily and started toward the gym.

"Wait for me, Kurokocchi!" Kise whined, running forward to catch up with the blue-haired teen even as Kasamatsu smacked him from behind and growled, Aomine giving a second smack- though Momoi nudged him in punishment.

"Children," Midorima sighed as he, Murisakibara and Akashi walked forward to join the rest of the group, Rakuzan trailing after. Reo laughing slightly at Midorima.

Riko and Teppei led the rest of Seirin as they walked behind, the gentle giant trying to convince his fuming coach not to try putting three people in a Crab Hold at once- telling her it was impossible- and would probably hurt her more than hurting them.

…

Kuroko smiled at Takao as they walked, making sure that the others behind them were too much into their own worlds as they walked behind them- though he could feel Akashi's eyes on them and knew what had actually occurred was not lost to him.

"Thank you," he told Takao softly. "It would have been impossible for us to have gone and gotten the books without your help."

"Yes," Mayuzumi answered softly from Takao's other side, a small smile coming over his expression. "We've been waiting for months."

Takao winked and saw Akashi appear on Mayuzumi's right, a smile also on his expression as they spoke, unbeknownst to the loud group behind them. "No problem. It was Akashi's idea to have them run around in a huge circle around the building and then into the park, though; he bought you a lot of time."

"And you acted the part perfectly," Akashi spoke aloud, his bright crimson eyes on Takao, who seemed to flush slightly. "Good job."

"And the books?" Takao asked, his silver-blue eyes glowing softly as he turned to the blue-haired male beside him, a spark of light in his eyes; Kuroko smiled again, a wicked light filtering through his own blue eyes.

"The books will appear in your bags before we all leave the gym."

Takao chuckled softly as they all filed back into the gym, cheers erupting around them almost immediately.

"All right," Takao grinned and turned an excited gaze to all three men beside him, his own eyes still glowing brightly. "Now show me an awesome game."