As Kurokami Shinji's self-deprecating laughter faded, Fukaya Reiji shook his head with a soft smile, the gesture tinged with nostalgia for their middle school days. He picked up the remote, flipping through clips until the screen stopped on one particular frame—a highlight of Midorima Shintarō.
Seeing this, Shinji tilted his head in confusion.
"Didn't you keep watching Hayama Kotarō's plays before?"
Reiji nodded.
"Yeah. Today, aside from testing my limits under Hagioka Kasayuki's pressure and trying to find a way into the Zone, I was observing Hayama."
"In the finals, he broke through Nijimura's suffocating defense with pure speed and stepped into the Zone. If he could do it, there's no reason my explosion can't."
"Hmm…"
"Then why suddenly Midorima?"
Reiji paused. "I just think it's a little unfortunate. As a player, he's confined himself in the box of the three-pointer. He could've had a much wider horizon…"
"But from another perspective," he continued, eyes still on the screen, "if you only count potential, then among the Generation of Miracles, the one with the highest ceiling might actually be Midorima."
Shinji chuckled.
"Well, maybe. With that kind of obsessive focus, and the natural gift for shooting threes, his single-mindedness might be exactly what allows him to reach his peak. Still… that kind of thing—let's leave it to Shigure and the others, yeah?"
"..."
"Yeah."
"For now, I don't have the luxury to think about anyone else."
Sensing the tension in Reiji's voice, Shinji leaned back and spoke gently:
"In this world, some people are born with talent, and some aren't."
"Like Shigure's ability development… or Nijimura's mind for the game."
"And you, Reiji…"
"You're clearly one of the talented ones too."
Taking the remote from him, Shinji dragged the timeline forward, fast-forwarding until the video reached Reiji's duel against Hagioka Kasayuki.
Outside the room
Midorima, though knowing it wasn't right, couldn't help quietly pulling the door open just a crack.
And through that narrow opening, he saw it
Momoi's recording of Fukaya Reiji going all out, crashing headlong into Hagioka like two forces of nature. The multi-angle footage captured every instant of the collision.
Reiji stared at the screen and murmured to himself,
"Talent, huh…"
The footage rewound, frame by frame, until the moment he caught the ball. Then—play.
That familiar silhouette—charging forward with everything he had. Even under an overwhelming gap in ability, he used his [Ultimate Shadow] and raw explosion to unleash one last drive, almost completing a perfect hook without Shigure's "Rainbow Link" support—scoring his team's only point against Hagioka.
The scene played out vividly before Midorima's eyes.
"Go in!!"
Reiji's roar echoed through the speakers, and Midorima's heart skipped. His pulse thudded violently again, an inexplicable thrill surging up like a tide.
Inside the room
Reiji suddenly turned toward Shinji.
"And you, Shinji?"
"Huh?"
"Have you found it yet? The moment your own talent will bloom?"
Shinji froze, eyes wide, startled as if Reiji had just spoken the words sitting buried in his mind.
After a moment's silence, Reiji rose, clapping Shinji on the shoulder.
"Don't just watch me from behind. Go see for yourself, Shinji. You're a national-level center, after all."
"..."
"Che."
"Yeah, yeah… annoying."
Leaving the room, Reiji glanced up—and froze.
Standing right there by the door, trying to hide his curiosity, was Midorima Shintarō.
Reiji blinked, sighed softly, then stepped out and closed the door behind him.
"…What are you doing here?"
"..."
"..."
He had just said he didn't have the time to worry about others
and yet here he was, face-to-face with another player drawn forward by that same spark.
Looks like he'd spoken too soon.
A few days later
Under the joint guidance of Shigure Akihito and Nijimura Shuzo, the player who showed the fastest visible progress wasn't Aomine or Haizaki—but Midorima Shintarō.
During one of the practice scrimmages
BANG!
Under the bright lights of the seaside gym, Midorima faked a three-pointer outside the arc, tricked Haizaki, and exploded forward into the paint. Leaping high, he slammed the ball through the hoop with a thunderous dunk!
"WOOOOAAAHHH!!"
Kise Ryōta couldn't stop himself from shouting again, even though he'd already seen it before. On the other side, Kiyoshi Teppei and Haizaki Shōgo wiped their sweat, half in disbelief, half in resignation—they were starting to get used to this new Midorima.
"Midorima Shintarō…"
"Honestly, I never noticed it before. The guy's built like a shooter, but his athleticism's insane."
"And he's tall, too. Among the Generation of Miracles, only Murasakibara's taller. At this rate, by next year, he'll probably be around Shigure Akihito's height."
"196 cm?"
"Yeah…"
"That's basically a center!"
"Maybe in size—but think about it. With his three-point range and the agility he just showed breaking through, he's nothing like an inside player. He's still a pure shooting guard."
Off the court, Rakuzan's players waiting for their turn exchanged murmurs, all staring in awe at Midorima's soaring form—the spread of his arms in midair, wide like a hawk in flight.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Momoi May scribbled furiously in her notebook, recording every data point.
When she later compiled the results, she realized something shocking—not only his three-point stats, but every physical and technical parameter had improved.
In short
Midorima Shintarō had evolved into a more complete player.
Sure, part of it might've been the impression from seeing his drastic transformation, but judging purely from performance—the numbers didn't lie.
Moments later
Midorima caught the ball again, then suddenly burst forward toward Seirin's basket.
His dribble was so sharp and fast that every player on and off the court widened their eyes.
"Midorima's dribbling speed… that's insane!"
Then
Whoosh!
A perfect pass split the defense and slipped straight into Hagioka Kasayuki's hands.
But the instant Hagioka caught it, he realized something was off.
That pass
It wasn't as hard as a speeding bullet.
It was soft. Controlled.
Still fast—but fluid.
Flexible.
As Hagioka scored, he found himself replaying the moment in his head.
The feel of that pass. The smooth touch. The pinpoint control.
"..."
Ah… so that's it.
END OF CHAPTER
(Some chapters in patreon are double chapters)
4 IN 1 - BE A MEMBER, GET 4 ONGOING STORIES!!
35 CHAPTERS AHEAD!!
Starting Five - Kuroko's Basketball: Before Generation Miracles, I Already Crowned
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer