Teiko Middle School — Week After Joshua's Arrival
Teiko's gym was loud again.
Balls thundering against hardwood, coaches yelling instructions, sneakers cutting the court—everything normal.
Except for the one thing that wasn't:
Joshua had shifted the entire atmosphere of the gym simply by existing.
Even when he sat on the bench tying his shoes, the Miracles kept glancing his way without meaning to. Aomine pretended not to look. Midorima pushed up his glasses for no reason. Kise straightened his posture like he was in a photoshoot.
And Akashi… carefully observed everyone observing Joshua.
Joshua didn't notice—or didn't care. He finished tying his shoes and stood. His galaxy-red eyes glowed faintly under the gym lights, a color inherited from the mother he and Kuroko shared.
A color that didn't belong in the normal world.
A color that felt like it saw through you.
---
THE COACH FINALLY SPEAKS
"Teiko! Line up! We're scrimmaging today!"
The first-years jogged over.
Joshua walked like he had all the time in the world. But the moment he stopped, a pressure spread out—almost physical—pressing against everyone's lungs. Even the third-years stiffened.
The coach swallowed.
"Team A: Akashi, Aomine, Kise, Murasakibara, Midorima."
No shock there. The dream lineup.
"Team B…" He hesitated. "Joshua, Kuroko, and the rest of the first years."
Silence.
Then—
A slow grin split across Aomine's face.
"Oh? You putting him against us already?"
Kise's eyes sparkled. "Yoshua-kun versus all of us? Coach is bold today~!"
Murasakibara scratched his head. "Mmm… but that's annoying. I'll have to try."
Midorima adjusted his glasses. "He's going to lose. Probability is absolute."
Kuroko, standing beside Joshua, finally spoke.
His voice was quiet, but steady:
"Joshua will win."
The Miracles froze.
Joshua didn't smile. Didn't flinch. Didn't react.
He just tapped a hand lightly on Kuroko's shoulder.
"You pass. I handle the rest."
---
TIP-OFF
Aomine stepped to center court for the tip-off, spinning the ball on his finger.
"You sure you wanna jump with me?"
Joshua didn't bother answering.
The whistle blew—
Aomine leapt with a beastlike burst of strength.
Joshua rose like gravity had decided to forget him.
He grabbed the ball out of the air one-handed, calmly, like picking fruit off a low branch.
Aomine landed, staring.
"…What the hell?"
Joshua landed without sound and immediately flicked the ball to Kuroko—a fast, sharp pass that whistled through the air.
Kuroko vanished.
Kise blinked. "W-wait—!"
A delayed pass from Kuroko cut past two defenders.
Joshua caught it again.
Akashi stepped forward, Emperor Eye gleaming.
"I can see your next—"
Joshua's movement shattered the prediction.
He changed direction mid-step—angle shift, weight shift, timing shift—breaking the "line of fate" Akashi had locked onto.
Akashi's eyes widened for the first time in Teiko history.
"You… moved outside the vectors…"
Joshua didn't answer.
He was already gone.
A single, clean, impossible glide straight through the core of Team A.
Even Murasakibara's arm, descending like a guillotine, sliced through empty air.
A soft fwip—
Ball through net.
Joshua didn't even look back.
Team B: 2
Team A: 0
---
THE MIRACLES WAKE UP
Aomine cracked his knuckles.
"Okay… now I'm excited."
Kise's smile sharpened. "Me too!"
Murasakibara stretched lazily. "Hahhh… fine, fine. Guess I'll play."
Akashi's voice dropped to a dangerous calm.
"Everyone… focus."
The gym's temperature felt like it dropped.
Teiko's strongest team had decided to get serious.
---
JOSHUA VS THE MIRACLES — THE FIRST REAL CLASH
Aomine came in first—raw speed, unpredictable motion.
Joshua met him head-on.
Faster.
Aomine's dribble dropped for a millisecond.
"That fast!?"
Joshua tapped the ball free with one finger—clean steal.
Kise immediately copied Joshua's movement.
He jumped into the same defensive angle Joshua used.
Joshua shut it down with a counter-step that made no physical sense.
"You adapted… so I adapted back."
Midorima fired a shot from nearly full court.
Joshua didn't even look—he raised a hand and blocked it with the tip of one finger.
Midorima froze.
"…That's impossible."
Murasakibara stomped forward, blocking the lane with a wall of muscle.
Joshua slipped past like water flowing around a stone.
Akashi cut him off—
Their eyes met.
Galaxy-red versus Emperor Eye crimson.
Akashi saw the outcome.
Every possible path.
Every possible counter.
And yet—
Joshua broke all of them.
He passed to Kuroko without looking.
Kuroko tapped it back instantly.
Smooth. Perfect timing. Twin instincts.
Joshua soared.
BOOM—
A dunk like thunder.
Teiko's gym vibrated.
---
AFTER THE SCRIMMAGE
Team B won.
Not by luck.
Not by refereeing bias.
Not because the Miracles slacked.
Joshua forced them to play seriously—and still crushed them.
As the first-years left the court, the upperclassmen whispered.
"Is he human?"
"Teiko has a monster…"
"No… two monsters. The shadow too."
Kuroko walked beside his brother quietly.
Joshua ruffled his hair.
"You did well."
"I only passed."
"That's all I need."
There was no bragging.
No joy.
No arrogance.
Joshua didn't celebrate victory—he expected it.
---
AKASHI APPROACHES
Footsteps echoed.
Akashi stepped into their path, hands in pockets, expression unreadable.
"Joshua. You are strong. Very strong. But strength without purpose creates imbalance."
Joshua looked at him with uninterested eyes.
"I'm not here for Teiko's purpose."
Akashi's smile was small—and sharp.
"Then I will find your purpose myself."
Joshua didn't answer.
Kuroko felt a chill.
For the first time since Joshua arrived…
Two kings stood facing each other.
---
END OF CHAPTER 2