Shidou Ryusei looked at Aida Riko's silly, grinning expression, then turned and handed his contact information to Hyuga Junpei.
"How much for the basketball hoop? Add me, and I'll transfer the money later."
Only then did Hyuga snap out of it and hurriedly put the contact away.
Aida Riko suddenly felt very awkward and immediately pretended to faint on the spot.
"Let's go, Sister Chizuru…"
Shidou pulled Chizuru along as they turned to leave.
At that moment, Kise Ryota spoke up:
"Hmm… well, we're done playing, but it feels a bit unsatisfying to just say hello and leave, doesn't it? How about you guys give me Kuroko-kun?"
The Seirin players looked at Kise Ryota in disbelief.
"Come to our team. Let's play together again! I truly respect you, Kuroko-kun. And this year, our team also has that monster Shidou joining. If you come to Kaijo, we'll definitely win the championship! Staying in a place like this is a waste of your talent, don't you think?"
Kise stretched and yawned.
"To be honest, Little Shidou is already very strong, but if Kuroko-kun joins us, we could definitely defeat those guys, right? Isn't this what you've always wanted, Kuroko-kun?"
"What?!!"
The Seirin players couldn't stay calm anymore. Even Kagami Taiga, who had just been dunked on, snapped back to attention.
All eyes turned to Kuroko.
At this point, Aida Riko couldn't keep pretending anymore and suddenly stood up.
"Hey! How can you try to poach someone right in front of us like that?!"
Kise Ryota's aura suddenly sharpened.
"I'm just telling the truth! With Kuroko-kun's abilities, staying here will only waste his talent! Just relying on that guy, his abilities can't be fully brought out! Without the strongest light, Kuroko-kun will just be buried here!"
The entire Seirin gym fell into silence.
Kuroko Tetsuya looked calmly at Kise.
"I'm honored to be praised like that by you."
Then he bowed slightly.
"Please allow me to respectfully refuse."
Kise froze and stepped back in disbelief.
"Your logic is flawed. This isn't like you at all. Winning is everything, right? Why not go somewhere stronger?"
"Compared to Seirin, if you joined Kaijo with me and Little Shidou, there's no way we'd lose! Why do you insist on staying—"
"Kise, are you coming or not…?" Shidou called from the doorway.
"Wait a second… Little Shidou, give me a few more minutes!"
"One minute."
…
"Kise-kun, after that final match, my way of thinking changed. Most importantly, I already promised Kagami-kun that I would defeat the Generation of Miracles."
"Ah… that doesn't sound like you at all. Well then, I won't force you. See you at the practice match."
Kise turned and left.
As he did, Aida Riko sighed, unable to hide her worry about the team's future.
Hyuga Junpei finally broke the silence.
"By the way, Kuroko-kun… how much do you actually know about that pink-haired guy?"
"To be honest, not much. When Shidou-kun joined, I was injured and couldn't attend club activities. I only learned about him after I came back."
Meanwhile, Kagami suddenly stood up and laughed.
"So this is the Generation of Miracles? And there are four others even stronger than him? I can't wait to face them!"
Kuroko poked Kagami's leg, almost making him fall.
"Wrong. There are five others. Shidou-kun isn't part of the Generation of Miracles."
---
Practice Match Day
Shidou Ryusei and Kise Ryota had already changed into their uniforms and were preparing to warm up when Coach Takeuchi walked out, frowning.
"What are you two doing?"
Kise asked, confused, "Aren't we playing a practice match, Coach?"
Takeuchi replied casually, "There's no point if the others can't learn anything. Practice matches are meant for development. Against opponents like them, it's better to let our players focus on training. If an old friend hadn't asked me, I wouldn't have wasted time on this match."
Shidou glanced at the court and saw it divided in half by a large net, with the other half still being used for training.
Kise sighed helplessly.
Shidou couldn't understand it. His former coach, Huber, always said: never underestimate any opponent.
Kise tried once more.
"But Coach… using only half the court is kind of insulting…"
"Why are you two talking so much? And why are you in uniform? Go train!"
Shidou didn't argue and walked to the other side to run drills.
"Coach, Seirin isn't weak. One of my former teammates is there now, and he's part of the Generation of Miracles. Maybe you should reconsider."
Takeuchi paused.
"One of your teammates?"
"Yes. The Phantom Sixth Man."
After thinking, Takeuchi said, "Fine. Warm up and enter depending on the situation."
"Are we still using half the court?"
"Yes. Training comes first."
Kise sighed again.
---
At Kaijo's entrance, Seirin arrived by bus under Aida Riko's lead.
"Good morning, everyone!"
Kise ran over to greet them.
"The school is big, so Coach asked me to guide you. Just follow me!"
Kise ran up to Kuroko.
"Kuroko-kun, you rejected me so heartlessly that I cried all night!"
"I've never even been dumped by a girl before!"
"Please stop joking," Kuroko replied calmly.
Kagami impatiently shouted, "Hey, Kise! Hurry up!"
In the next instant, Kise appeared behind him.
"When did he get there?" Koganei and Furihata gasped.
Kagami slowly turned around.
"If you can't force me onto the court today, I'll really look down on you," Kise added.
They finally entered Kaijo's gym—and saw only half the court being used.
The atmosphere turned heavy.
Coach Takeuchi came out holding a tactical board.
"Oh? Seirin's here. Where's your coach?"
"I am Seirin's coach. Aida Riko."
"You're the coach? Not the manager?"
He shrugged.
"Anyway, try not to lose by triple digits. Kise, take them to change."
Kise covered his face in embarrassment.
---
In the locker room, frustration boiled over.
"Are we just their warm-up?"
"It's insulting!"
Soon, the referee announced the start.
"Seirin High School is missing one player."
"Um… I'm here."
Almost no one had noticed Kuroko.
Lineups:
Kaijo High School
Kasamatsu Yukio
Moriyama Yoshitaka
Kobori Kōji
Nakamura Shinya
Hayakawa Mitsuhiro
Seirin High School
Hyuga Junpei
Izuki Shun
Mitobe Rinnosuke
Kagami Taiga
Kuroko Tetsuya
The tip-off was between Kobori and Kagami.
At the whistle, both jumped.
Fueled by frustration, Kagami leaped with full force, determined to win possession.
From the bench, Riko analyzed the players' physical stats and realized that, aside from Kagami's height advantage, Kaijo's lineup was bigger overall—even without Kise and Shidou.
Cold sweat ran down her back.
The tip-off result soon appeared: the more experienced Kobori tapped the ball to Kasamatsu Yukio.