"Well, Aomine's obviously gonna win, so why would I bother watching? Since I already know our next opponent is gonna be Too Academy, I figured I might as well start preparing for the round after that... That's what Kota said, anyway."
In front of the locker room at Too Academy's gym, Kise was trying really hard to hold back his laughter as he explained it to Aomine and Momoi.
Hearing the first part, Aomine couldn't help but smirk a little. But the moment he heard the rest, his face darkened instantly.
"Prepare... for the next round? This guy really has the guts to say that out loud!"
Aomine's face turned stone cold, a huge vein bulging on his forehead.
Momoi, standing next to them, wasn't all that surprised. She knew Kota's personality all too well. Talking trash that costs him nothing but drives his opponents mad? Yeah, that's basically his hobby.
She just sighed and asked, slightly disappointed,
"So what's Kota doing anyway? Does he have something better to do?"
Kise scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Honestly, I don't know either. He turned down my invitation to watch the game. So I ended up dragging Kasamatsu-senpai here instead."
Kasamatsu, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, quietly listened to the conversation. Since he didn't really know Momoi or Aomine well, and considering Too Academy was still one of the big obstacles in their way to the championship, joining the chat naturally wasn't happening.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere at a street basketball court, Kota was busy training. No, wait — don't get the wrong idea. It wasn't some hardcore special training or anything. He was just simulating the upcoming games in his head.
Knowing how the story plays out, Kota was well aware that in the first match of the Winter Cup, they'd be facing Too Academy. As for Seirin... well, they'd crash out during the round-robin stage. Kagami and Kuroko would get mentally wrecked after Aomine steamrolled them, and then they'd get finished off by two other teams.
Hoo...
If it's Aomine...
Data about Too Academy flashed rapidly through Kota's mind.
"A team full of isolation players. Pure offense. Defense? Yeah, that's... not really their thing. Aomine is the biggest problem to deal with."
Kaijo's backcourt absolutely outclasses Too's. Even in the frontcourt, aside from Aomine, Kaijo has the advantage with Kise. A horns offense setup should work really well...
Kota let out a long breath. If Kise could enter the Zone, Kaijo would have this in the bag.
"Honestly, I can't even figure out a way to lose. Ace versus ace, and we dominate every other position. If we still lose... man, I'd better go find a wall and smash my head against it."
The only problem... is that Kise can't enter the Zone yet. Right now, he's just barely touching the threshold of Perfect Copy. Zone is still a bit out of reach. (Zone > Perfect Copy, obviously.)
Kota scratched his head, feeling a bit of a headache coming on. Maybe it was his fault for messing with the timeline. Thanks to his existence, Kise never really developed the mindset of "carrying the team on his back." Most of the time, Kota handled the tough stuff, and Kise just trusted him completely. Turns out, never tasting real desperation isn't actually great for a player's growth.
"Tch... Having an ace that's too well-behaved ain't good either..."
Kota shook his head and started running simulations for the next opponent.
Yosen High.
Murasakibara and Himuro.
If he remembered right, Himuro played shooting guard. His signature move was Mirage Shot...
"Probably ends up being some kind of super jump shot... no way he's actually throwing the ball into the air and catching it himself in real life, right?"
Yosen's strength was their suffocating defense. Murasakibara guarded the paint like a troll at a bridge. A three-point heavy strategy might be the move... Kota never actually pulled that out in any official game yet. Perfect as a trump card.
On defense... against Murasakibara... Hack-a-Mura?
Kota rubbed his chin. As long as Murasakibara doesn't enter the Zone, honestly, Yosen might even be easier to deal with than Too Academy.
And the final boss... Rakuzan High. Akashi.
The absolute final boss in the story. Ridiculous talents, an insane team lineup, and that terrifying aura of dominance.
Kota's head throbbed.
"Seriously... how the hell are we supposed to beat that?"
A full Generation of Miracles... three Uncrowned Kings... plus a budget version of Kuroko.
And as if that wasn't enough... Akashi's the point guard.
Matching up against Akashi...
Kota shook his head immediately.
"Nope. Not happening. Not me. I'm not getting my ankles snatched by that psycho. That's Kise's job. Star players fight star players. Me? I'm the reliable sidekick. Not my problem."
....
Elsewhere...
"You're still the same as always... Tetsu. I thought you'd at least improved a little."
Aomine stood with his hands on his hips, looking down, clearly disappointed.
Kuroko was hunched over, hands on his knees, gasping for air. Hearing Aomine's words, he slowly lifted his head, his eyes filled with stubbornness... but more than anything, despair.
The second quarter was about to end. 42–32.
The score didn't look that bad. Heck, it was even closer than when they played Shūtoku. But the reality this time was a whole different story.
Aomine had completely shut down Kagami. The guy only managed to score four points so far. And Kuroko? Poor guy looked like someone just deleted his save file. Every single move he made got read like an open book. As the former "Light and Shadow" duo from Teiko, Aomine knew Kuroko way too well.
Kuroko bit his lip in frustration. He hated to admit it, but Aomine was right. He hadn't changed at all since middle school. That's exactly why his moves were completely ineffective against Aomine.
Aomine glanced around at the Seirin players, then spoke lazily,
"Teamwork? That's just an excuse for the weak."
He bent down to meet Kuroko's eyes.
"If you're gonna talk about teamwork... you're still way too soft, Tetsu."
Then Aomine's mind drifted to someone else. Someone particularly annoying...
He looked over at Kagami. The guy looked like he just walked out of a car crash... but somehow, his eyes still had fight in them.
"Huh... not bad."
Aomine smirked.
"Fine then... Guess I'll show you guys how it's really done."
The laziness faded from Aomine's face. He straightened his back. A spark of lightning seemed to flash in his eyes.
"Watch closely, Tetsu. If you're gonna preach about teamwork in front of me... then you better be able to at least keep up with this level!"
On Too's bench, Momoi watched with a bit of pity in her eyes.
To Kagami and Kuroko... a Zone-activated Aomine was the kind of opponent that made you seriously question your life choices.
...
"Moshi moshi?"
"Hey Kota, Seirin lost. They got wrecked—down by more than twenty."
"...And?"
"Uh... that's it. I just thought I'd call and let you know our next match is against Too."
"Well... duh. That was obvious. Don't call me for stuff like this. I'm busy. Didn't I tell you I'm already preparing for the round after that?"
"Jeez... Dude, you don't even have a girlfriend. What exactly are you so busy with...?"
Beep... beep... beep...
Kise stared at his phone, sighed, and hung up.
His mind drifted back to Aomine in the Zone... completely destroying Seirin's hopes and dreams.
A chill ran down Kise's spine. Seriously, how did we ever manage to beat that monster...?
Kasamatsu, standing next to him, immediately picked up on his mood. Without hesitation, he delivered a swift kick right to Kise's butt.
Kise yelped as he fell face-first onto the floor.
"Hey! What was that for, Kasamatsu-senpai?! I was thinking!"
Kasamatsu shot him a glare.
"Yeah, I could tell. Stop overthinking useless stuff. Too's just another team we've beaten before. We're not giving them a comeback. Got anything else you need to think about?"
Kise blinked... then slowly smiled.
"Let's go, Kasamatsu-senpai. I'm craving some barbecue."
"Oh yeah, Kota probably hasn't eaten yet. Let's call him and drag him along."
"Ugh... you know he's gonna make us pay again."
"Who cares? I'm your senpai. This one's on me."
"Kasamatsu-senpai... you're the GOAT!"