"Morning, senpai. Morning, coach."
"Oh, Kota, you're here. Go warm up — Seirin's about to arrive."
After greeting his senior and the coach, Kota walked over to the bench and set down his bag. In the distance, he saw Kasamatsu stretching.
"Morning, captain."
Kasamatsu glanced up at him.
"Morning."
Then he went back to stretching.
"So cold? Is it because of yesterday's scrimmage?" Kota clicked his tongue in mild frustration but didn't take it to heart. He put his things down and found a spot to begin his warm-up.
"Huh? Where's Kise?"
"Kurokocchi~ I even begged you like that, and you still coldly rejected me. I've never been turned down by a girl before, you know?"
"Please stop messing with me."
Kuroko stared at Kise expressionlessly as the blonde complained in front of him.
Hearing Kuroko's response, Kise's expression shifted to something more serious."If Kurokocchi praises you that much... now I'm really interested in you."
Kise turned toward Kagami, a faint, unreadable smile on his lips.
"I don't really care about the 'Generation of Miracles' title... but if you're going to provoke me so blatantly, I can't just let it slide. Sorry, but I'm going to go all out and crush you."
Feeling underestimated, Kagami narrowed his eyes at Kise's golden ones and grinned."Sounds fun..."
"Everyone, gather up!" Kaijo's coach, Takeuchi, clapped from the sidelines.
"Today's opponent isn't anything special, so I've decided—"
"Wait, coach! Kise isn't here yet."
Kota raised his hand, interrupting him.
"I know. Our opponent's weak today. Kise won't be playing. Same goes for you, Kota. Kasamatsu will handle the first half. You'll play the second. Sound good?"
Kota looked at the coach's indifferent expression.
"Yeah, no problem."
"But Coach, if you underestimate Seirein, you might be in for trouble. And why have the captain and me take separate halves? Trying to compare us? Maybe I should talk to him after the match."
Then he noticed Kasamatsu looking at him. Kota tilted his head, puzzled, then suddenly understood:
"Ah, so he requested it. Then the coach is just playing along. Well, it's none of my business. Takeuchi does know what he's doing, after all."
Relaxed now, Kota left Kasamatsu alone. After all, in the original story, Takeuchi wasn't just for show — a former national player coaching a high school team was overkill anyway.
"Coach! I brought them!"
Kise's voice rang from the gym entrance before he dashed off to change. He clearly hadn't realized yet that he wasn't playing. Kota could barely hold back his laughter imagining Kise's face when he found out.
"Oh, there you are. Um... which one of you is the coach?" Takeuchi looked around but saw no one fitting the image of a coach.
"I am" replied Riko, dressed in her signature sailor uniform.
"Huh? Aren't you their manager?"
Unbothered by the comment, Riko stepped forward and bowed politely. "I'm Seirin's coach. Aida Riko. Pleased to meet you."
Takeuchi blinked, clearly thrown off.
"Uh… so, about them?" Riko pointed at Kaijo's benchwarmers doing shuttle runs on the side.
"As you can see, this match is just for shaking off the rust. Watching from the bench won't teach them anything, so we're having the non-starters continue regular training."
Completely ignoring the darkening expressions of the Seirin players, Takeuchi twisted the knife: "Still, even though this is a warm-up, we are putting our starters in. Try not to lose by triple digits, yeah?"
He turned and walked away, muttering: "A no-name team with a girl coach? What a joke. What a waste of time"
Kota sat on the bench watching Seirin's faces turn stormy. Takeuchi looked completely unfazed. Kota nearly laughed. Then he glanced at Kise changing into his jersey and couldn't resist:
"What are you doing, changing into your uniform, Kise"
Kise looked up mid-shirt tuck, confused. Just as he was about to reply, Takeuchi approached.
"Kise, why are you changing? You're not playing today."
"Eh?! EHH?!"
"Our team is made up of elite middle school players — and you're on another level. If you played, what chance would they have?" Takeuchi scoffed. He didn't even see Seirin as a threat.
"Hey, coach, enough already!" Kise noticed Seirin's players glaring and quickly rushed over to apologize.
"I'm sorry! Really sorry! I'll play as a sub, I swear! If you guys scare them enough, maybe they'll let me in. And if you can't even force me off the bench, you're nowhere near ready to challenge the Generation of Miracles..."
"Oi, Kise, coach said to guide them to the locker room."
Kota strolled over lazily, gave Seirin's players a once-over, and let his gaze settle on Kuroko and Kagami.
Sure, the coach's words were harsh, but not entirely wrong. Besides Kuroko and Kagami, Seirin right now was hardly worth Kaijo's attention. Pre-training camp Seirin was just plain weak.
But with those two? That's a different story. Kota licked his lips, intrigued. Kagami definitely stood out — raw athleticism in every step. No wonder "jumping" was his specialty. And the small guy must be Kuroko. Same blank stare as in the manga, and yeah... his presence really is that low. They're a weirdly perfect duo.
"Alright, follow me. I'll take you to the—"
"No need. Focus on warming up. You won't have time to rest."
Kuroko's chilly voice cut through Kota's thoughts and even caught Kise off guard.
Whoa, feisty little guy.
Watching Seirin walk away, Kota teased Kise:"Your former teamate just snapped at you, genius."
"He'll realize soon enough that turning me down was a huge mistake."
Kise flicked his hair back, full of smug confidence.
BEEP!
Kaijo's referee blew the whistle, gathering everyone.
"The practice game between Kaijo High and Seirin High will now begin!"
"Seirin players, line up! Uh... wait, you're missing someone?"
"We're five. Kuroko's expressionless face suddenly appeared beside the ref, startling everyone.
"Wait, was he there a second ago?"
"No idea... Kasamatsu, did you see him?"
"Not at all."
From the sidelines, Takeuchi muttered, "Seriously? I thought they'd at least have some decent players. What is this?"
To someone unfamiliar, Kuroko's frail frame and lack of athletic presence made it easy to underestimate him.
Kota shook his head slightly. "Coach... you might be in for a shock."
BEEP!
Tip-off! Kaijou won the jump. Kasamatsu caught the ball and drove forward.
"This is my chance to show I'm on par with Kota!"
He raised a finger to call out team positions."Alright! Let's score the first—"
Before he could finish, a tiny figure darted past him.
Kuroko?!
Before Kaijo even reacted, he used his invisibility to steal the ball. Kasamatsu, caught off guard, turned it over at the opening.
"Where the hell did he come from?!" Kasamatsu was shocked — but this guy is slow!
Kasamatsu caught up quickly before Kuroko even crossed the arc. But then — a no-look pass behind the back!
A gust of wind flew past Kasamatsu. Kagami had somehow reached the paint.
One-handed slam!
BEEP! Two points!
As Kagami landed, he pumped a fist... then realized something was off.He looked down — he'd ripped the rim off.
From the sideline, Kota clapped and grinned.
"What a steal and fast break. Incredible vertical, Kagami."
That dunk was monstrous — his vertical easily doubled Kota's own.
Takeuchi's jaw practically hit the court.
Seizing the moment, Riko ran up and bowed."Sorry! We broke your hoop!"
Kuroko bowed as well. "Apologies."
Behind them, Kagami stood there holding the rim like a trophy, grinning like an idiot. No trace of remorse.
Takeuchi, finally snapping his jaw shut, glared at Kuroko and Kagami.
Kota nearly burst out laughing, but to avoid future "training" as punishment, he quickly said:"I'll go clean the court next door!"
Takeuchi shot him a look, then turned to Kise."Go warm up."