"Ahhhhhhhhhh—"
A woman's shriek echoed through the entire basketball gym.
Tendou gave her another cold glance while still pinning Haizaki to the floor.
With that one look, powered by the Six Eyes, it was like magic—she completely lost her ability to speak.
"This has nothing to do with you. Get out.
Our basketball club doesn't need non-recyclable garbage."
『Pffft—non-recyclable garbage?!』
『HAHAHAHA I'm dead. What a line! The true King of Bants!』
『Finally someone said it! I've been sick of Haizaki for ages. He's not even as good-looking as Ryouta, and he always bullies him. Gross.』
『Tendou's too cool. Pure alpha energy!』
The audience united: a perfect roast.
The comment section exploded with praise.
Haizaki tried to rise as his "girlfriend" walked away.
Tendou didn't stop him—he simply let him leave in shame.
...
Evening.
After taking a shower, Kise Ryouta rushed out to catch up to Tendou on the way home.
"Hey, Tendou~ let's go home together today!"
"We don't live in the same direction."
"I can take the long way!"
"You're an idiot."
(Like I'm some kind of rare beauty worth chasing around.)
But to Kise?
Tendou was rarer than any beauty.
He was the epitome of cool—exactly what Kise aspired to be.
And honestly, remembering how he once thought Tendou was just a pretty boy still made him laugh.
"Thanks for today, Tendou."
"No need to thank me. But you—you really need to stop playing Mother Teresa. That girl's not even your friend, right?"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because you clearly like men more. You don't spend nearly as much time trailing after girls as you do tailing Aomine."
"I do not like men! And I've followed you around too—ow!"
Before Kise could finish, Tendou chopped him on the head.
(I don't want to hear your weird boy-love nonsense.)
After wincing, Kise confessed:
"Actually… I've never had a girlfriend. That girl just spread rumors.
She thought dating a model would make her look good, so she told everyone I was her boyfriend."
"You could've cleared it up."
"I thought about it, but… she once even claimed to be your girlfriend, Tendou.
Riko chewed her out so hard she backed off for a while.
I figured if I cleared things up too, she'd never be able to show her face at school again."
(Yep. Total Mother Teresa.)
No wonder he gets along so well with Kasamatsu.
...
『Kise's such a good guy.』
『Right? He's a total gentleman—just like Sanji!』
『They're both blond too!』
『You got something against blondies, bro?! What did we do to you?』
『Name one anime blond who isn't a menace!』
『Slander! I stand with the blonds!!』
Even FanGeGe was cracking up as chat spiraled into chaos.
Now "blond anime boys" and "Cao Cao loyalists" were trending again.
(It's always chaos with these people.)
But FanGeGe still had to admit:
"Kise really is the nicest of the group.
If it wasn't for Tendou, he probably would've ended up suffering the same fate as Midorima."
Cue green-colored comments flooding the screen in support of Midorima.
It was the fandom's version of "visual allegiance."
Because in Kuroko no Basket, hair color practically equaled faction.
...
Before long, summer break arrived.
But for a team chasing an unprecedented three-peat, there was no time off—training camp began immediately.
"Haizaki hasn't been around lately."
"Mm."
"Ever since Tendou beat the crap out of him, there've been rumors he's been causing trouble around town."
Tendou didn't seem particularly concerned.
That beatdown had clearly rattled Haizaki.
Now he was venting his frustration on civilians, stirring up trouble near campus.
Even though Tendou didn't care, Akashi did.
"It's starting to hurt the team's reputation."
"Let him. He'll come crawling back when he's done sulking."
Tendou had no intention of reforming Haizaki with kindness or patience.
If he came back—fine.
If not? Whatever.
But Akashi wasn't satisfied with that.
That day, after training ended and everyone else left, he stayed behind.
Sure enough—
...
Haizaki walked into the gym.
Unexpectedly.
Slouched, lazy, dragging his new gear.
He'd decided to take training seriously again starting tomorrow.
After stewing for days, he grudgingly admitted—Tendou did have a point.
A tiny point.
Just a tiny one, okay?
(Like hell I'm scared of getting passed by Kise.)
He could still crush Ryouta like a bug whenever he wanted.
But Tendou?
That guy was a monster.
He'd need to train properly to stand a chance.
So, Haizaki had returned to store his new shoes and prepare for tomorrow.
What he didn't notice was—
Akashi was waiting in the shadows.
As if he knew Haizaki would come.
"Training is over.
What are you doing here? Looking for revenge?"
Akashi's voice was sharp as a blade.
(Uh-oh.)
FanGeGe knew this tone. Trouble was brewing.
Haizaki flinched in surprise.
Then, seeing Akashi's cold gaze, he got annoyed.
He quickly hid the new sneakers behind him and sneered, "Yeah, so what?
After how Tendou 'treated' me, it's only natural to return the favor, right?"
So it's come to this.
Akashi's expression turned completely frosty.
From the very beginning, he'd known Haizaki was a time bomb.
At first, it was just badmouthing and some selfish behavior.
But now? He was out of control.
Even stealing a teammate's girlfriend?
Unforgivable.
People like Coach Shirogane, Nijimura, and even Tendou believed in giving Haizaki a chance.
Akashi did not.
He believed that very few delinquents ever truly turned over a new leaf.
And Haizaki?
He wasn't one of them.
Akashi stepped forward and said with authority:
"Leave the basketball club, Haizaki.
That's an order."
"...Huh?"
Haizaki froze.
Then his expression twisted in fury.
He hadn't planned on doing anything to Akashi—
but now all bets were off.