"The National Tournament qualifiers are divided into four regions, with three teams advancing from each. Honestly, I don't see anyone in our area who can stop us"
Takeuchi said, scanning the gym and pausing briefly when his eyes landed on Kota and Kise. He continued,
"That's why we need to set our sights higher. This year's goal..."
Takeuchi took a deep breath and shouted,
"Is to become national champions! Got it?"
"Yes, sir!" everyone responded in unison.
...
Just finishing a stretching routine, Kota couldn't help but complain inwardly,
"Man, it's all conditioning today... I wanted to show off my new moves a little."
Still, Kota understood the coach's thinking. After a tough scrimmage against Seirin, letting the players focus on fundamentals was definitely the smart move. No matter how skilled a player is, polishing basics and court sense every day is essential. It's not like there's a need to practice flashy moves all the time.
"Hey, Kota~ wanna play a quick one-on-one?" Kise strolled over, spinning a ball on his finger with a huge grin on his face.
"Oh? Sounds fun. Bring it on!" Kota smirked, rubbing his nose. He hadn't faced Kise one-on-one yet.
"You shorty, you take the first possession. Let's go, best of five."
Kise lazily tossed the ball to Kota. Not wasting the chance, Kota noticed Kise's loose defense, pulled up immediately, and drained a three-pointer — nothing but net.
In his previous life, Kota hadn't played that many official games — definitely not a pro — so casual one-on-ones with friends were his bread and butter.
"Not bad, Kota! Guess I'll have to get serious now."
Kise straightened up, lowered his center of gravity, and started putting real defensive pressure on Kota.
Finding no easy path to dribble past, Kota simply pivoted, turning his back to Kise to post him up. Planting his left foot, he suddenly leaned back, dumping all his body weight onto Kise.
"Whoa, whoa! What's happening here?!"
Kise looked stunned. He had wanted to apply pressure by getting close, but instead got bullied by Kota's backdown move.
Kota carefully read Kise's body tension, spun to the right, and cleanly slipped past him.By the time Kise realized what happened, Kota was already finishing an easy layup.
On the sidelines, a few players who had stayed after practice couldn't hold back their admiration.
"Wow, Kota's got crazy one-on-one skills!"
"Even Kise couldn't stop him!"
"How come we never heard of this Kota kid before?"
Kise heard the murmurs but didn't mind. His eyes were sparkling,
"Man, that was some slick footwork! Didn't think posting up could be that stylish."
Kota narrowed his eyes, a little suspicious,
"Hold up... You're not seriously gonna copy that just from watching once, are you?"
Sure, Kota knew Kise's ability was copying moves, but in Kota's mind, it wasn't some magic anime stuff — it was just Kise's insane athleticism and feel for the game letting him mimic others. Plus, what Kota had used just now wasn't about physical advantage—it was about reading and shifting body weight.
Feeling challenged, Kise shouted,
"You looking down on me or what? Give me the ball!"
Kota tossed it to him without hesitation. At this point, it wasn't even a one-on-one anymore — it was a basketball language exchange.
Kise motioned for Kota to body up. As Kota leaned in, Kise spun smoothly, shifting his weight and pinning Kota just like Kota had done to him.Kota's eyes widened.Kise pulled off the move almost perfectly and scored.
"See that? This genius can copy anything! Well, except for those monsters"
Kise bragged, puffing out his chest proudly.
Kota rubbed his chin thoughtfull,
"Even if it's a bit different from the anime, Kise really can replicate anything below the Miracle Generation's freak moves without using Zone... But what about Midorima or Akashi? Are they really gonna be that insane, too?"
Kota started feeling a little anxious. If things followed the original story... Midorima might end up being basically unstoppable.
After the match with Serin, Kota had been relieved. Kagami and Kuroko hadn't seemed overwhelmingly broken —t hey felt like "normal" super talented players. Even Kise hadn't blown past his expectations. But now Kota realized he had overlooked something: At this stage, Kise was considered the "weakest" member, and Kagami and Kuroko weren't at their peaks yet either.
Seeing Kise's ridiculous copying skills made Kota think:
"Those freaks are really just born lucky, huh"
Kota turned to Kise and said,
"Hey, how about calling your other old teammates for a training match?"
Kise blinked,
"Huh? What's up, Kota?"
"Nothing much. Just kinda itching to see how monstrous you guys can really get."
Wiping sweat from his face with his jersey, Kota muttered inwardly,
"I seriously need to level up fast... or soon I'll just be stuck staring at Kise's back. Even if I end up as second place, I better act like a boss about it."
Seeing Kise lost in thought, Kota grinned mischievously,
"What's wrong, superstar? Scored once and already ready to call it quits? It's 2-1, you know."
Triggered by the jab, Kise snapped out of it,
"Hey! You still want more after seeing my copying skills? You're pretty gutsy, Kota."
And so the one-on-one continued. After experiencing Kota's backdown move, Kise kept a little distance this time instead of tight defending.
Reading Kise's lowered stance carefully, Kota immediately rose up— bang! Another three-pointer swished clean.
"Wow, Kota, your one-on-one game is seriously good"
Kise praised.
"How come you don't show this off in actual matches?"
Kota ran a hand through his hair and answered smugly,
"Because one-on-one is for foot soldiers. The commander gives the orders."
Kise twitched at the sheer arrogance,
"Man, someone needs to punch that attitude out of you."
"But fine, I'll borrow that move too."
Before Kota could even set up defensively, Kise pulled up and splashed a three-pointer right back.
Kota nearly facepalmed,
"Bro, can you even copy someone's shooting touch that fast?!"
"Of course! Unless it's freak-level stuff, I can copy anything."
A thought flashed through Kota's mind,
"Oh yeah? Try copying this, then."
As he spoke, Kota made a sharp step forward, then faked a left-handed shot.
Kise instinctively bit on the fake, his weight shifting upward.
"Hey! That's a cool move, Kota! You're full of surprises"
He laughed.
Immediately, Kise grabbed the ball and imitated Kota's step and fake perfectly. Honestly, the form was spot-on... but...
"If I already know you're gonna copy my last move, doesn't that mean I can predict it?" Kota grinned wickedly.
Sure enough, Kota didn't fall for the fake, quickly recovered, and sent Kise's shot flying with a clean block, a mischievous smile on his face.
That finally pushed Kise over the edge,
"You tricked me, you jerk!"
"Maybe, instead of copying exactly, you should add your own flair" Kota teased.
Kise froze mid-reply, the ball still in his hands.
"Right? If you throw in your own rhythm or tweaks, wouldn't your moves be even deadlier?" Kota continued.
At first, Kota thought Kise simply couldn't personalize the copied moves — but after seeing how Kise even mimicked weight shifts and shooting touch, he realized there was no real limitation.
Kise suddenly went quiet, remembering someone from the past...
Haizaki Shogo.