Tokyo West District
On the court, a group of players in brown-striped jerseys were warming up, looking a little stiff and nervous.
In the stands, more and more spectators were taking their seats, and the buzz of conversation only added to the pressure weighing on the players.
"Oh man… why are there so many people here to watch? This is the first time I've ever played in front of such a big crowd!"
One of the players said, his warm-up motions jerky and awkward because of nerves.
Another teammate, wearing the same uniform, noticed his unease. Patting him on the shoulder, he said with a sigh:
"Relax. They're not here for us anyway."
"Huh?"
The first player tilted his head, confused. His teammate slapped his own forehead and explained helplessly:
"Seriously, do I have to spell it out? The crowd's obviously here for Kaijo. Who would come to see a no-name third-rate team like us?"
That's right. They were Kaijo's opponents in the third round of the qualifiers — a team from Tenka High. Or, to put it bluntly, the unlucky guys who had to face Kaijo before the round-robin stage even began.
"That's unfair… But! With so many people here, maybe some of them are actually our fans!"
Trying to stay positive, the nervous player forced a grin and waved toward the stands.
"Heh… sure, keep dreaming."
His teammate just waved him off and went back to shooting around.
Soon, as more and more fans flooded in, the optimistic player realized something was off. The conversations around him grew louder, but every single one of them was about Kaijo.
"It's fine… maybe our fans are just the quiet type. Once the game starts, I'll definitely hear them cheering for us!"
He tried to reassure himself.
And then, the arena doors swung open again. From the tunnel, a group of athletes emerged, clad in Kaijo's sharp blue-and-white tracksuits. Even with so many of them walking out together, their presence was striking—no hint of monotony at all. Kaijo's uniform design really was on another level.
"It's Kaijo! Kaijo's here!"
"Champions! Champions!"
"Kise-samaaaa!"
The moment Kaijo appeared, the gym exploded like someone had flipped a switch.
The once chaotic noise instantly unified into loud cheers—for Kaijo, and Kaijo alone.
The optimistic Tenka player froze. Looking around the stands, he realized his earlier "worry" had been completely unnecessary. It wasn't that their cheering would be drowned out. It was that… Tenka didn't have any fans at all. The entire arena was filled with Kaijo supporters!
At that moment, the same teammate from earlier walked over again, patted him on the shoulder, and spoke with a helpless smile:
"Don't sweat it. Every team in the West that faces Kaijo has to deal with this. We're not special. Since we can't fight it, just enjoy it. Honestly, getting to face a team of this level isn't the worst thing in the world."
He wasn't wrong.
Though Kaijo was the powerhouse of the West, their reputation was actually pretty good compared to the other Generation of Miracles teams. Unlike Rakuzan or Too, Kaijo didn't usually humiliate weaker opponents with triple-digit blowouts. Once they were up by 10 or so, Coach Takeuchi often benched the starters and let the subs and "Water Bottle Warriors" have their fun.
Because of that, most teams walked away from a Kaijo game feeling like they'd actually had a good fight. And hey, if the score didn't look too bad, they could even brag later:
"We went toe-to-toe with the interhigh champs! We only lost by a little."
So really, for teams that knew they had no shot of making it past the round robin, facing Kaijo wasn't the worst fate.
The optimistic player gave a faint nod, finally accepting his teammate's logic. Looking over at Kaijo's squad warming up, he couldn't help but sigh with a hint of envy.
"Must be nice… being Interhigh champions."
The referee's whistle cut through the gym.
"Line up!"
As the starting fives gathered at center court, Kise bowed slightly. When he straightened up again, his face was expressionless. No matter how loud the fans were, he wasn't interested in playing the idol right now.
On the bench, Yuki watched him with worry.
"Kise-senpai… he's been like this ever since Kota left. Should I… do something?"
Ever since Kota had gone overseas, Yuki had stepped up as Kaijo's floor general. But being the point guard of the interhigh champions was nothing like he imagined. Especially when it came to Kise's current mood—he had no idea how to fix it.
"So this is what being a point guard really means… it's not just about playing. You have to manage the whole team too."
Yuki sighed, biting his thumb in frustration.
"If only Kota were here… what would he do?"
And then—comically enough—he and Kise both let out a heavy sigh at the same time.
On the bench, Takeuchi twitched.
"Seriously? You two got a problem with me, or with life in general? The game hasn't even started and you're already sighing like old men?!"
He hunched his shoulders, muttering darkly. But deep down, he knew the truth—Kaijo's gloomy atmosphere all came down to one thing.
Kota wasn't there.
"Kota… what a troublesome guy."
Even Takeuchi couldn't help sighing this time.
The referee tossed the ball up, and the game officially began.
No surprise — Hayakawa won the tip and handed it off to Yuki, before sprinting straight to the paint with his hand raised.
A lot of times, the pass didn't go his way. But Hayakawa was always ready. And this time, Yuki rewarded him. With a quick drive and dish, Kaijo scored their first basket of the game through their fiery big man.
"Nice one, Hayakawa!!"
"That's the way! Woohoo!!"
The crowd erupted as usual. Hearing the familiar cheers, Kise cracked his neck.
"Alright… let's wrap this up in the first quarter so I can clock out early."
Catching the ball at the 45-degree angle, Kise gave a quick glance across the floor, then blew past Tenka's defense like tissue paper.
BAM!
He slammed the ball through the hoop, sending the fans into another frenzy.
...
And that's when two new figures quietly entered the gym from the tunnel.
"Whoa, that roar… don't even need to guess, that's gotta be Kise."
Kota smirked, scratching his nose as he listened to the cheers.
"Man, I've missed this. Hasn't even been that long."
At his side, Araki nudged him with her elbow.
"Aren't you going to check in with Takeuchi?"
"Nah, no need today. They look fine out there. Besides, if I jump in now and mess up the rhythm, it'd be bad."
He chuckled, still tired from his flight.
Araki gave him a sharp look but said nothing, dragging him toward a good spot to stand and watch. After all her experience scrambling for seats at Kaijo games, she knew exactly where to go.
"You know, you could just sit on Kaijo's bench next time. Coach Takeuchi would probably cry tears of joy."
Kota leaned against the wall, grinning.
Luckily, this was a basketball gym—otherwise, Araki might have actually pulled out her sword for that comment. Instead, she just shot him a deadly glare and let it go.
The two fell silent, watching the game.
On the court, Kise connected with Yuki for a highlight-reel alley-oop, bringing the crowd to its feet once again.
Takeuchi signaled for a timeout. The score was already 21–6, with half the first quarter still left.
Kaijo's lead was massive. At this rate, the game would be over before the quarter ended.
The coach glanced at the scoreboard, then at his bench. No words needed—the message was clear.
The Water Bottle Warriors, Kaijo's subs, sprang to their feet like kids called to recess.
For them, this was their chance. Once the real games started, most of them wouldn't even see five minutes of playing time. So when Kaijo's starters were pulled after just five minutes, they treated it like Christmas.
The fans didn't complain either. They were used to it. Sure, winning big was fun, but a competitive game was even better to watch.
The starters left the floor to warm applause.
Meanwhile, Kise glanced at the tunnel, then raised his hand.
"Coach, I'm gonna hit the bathroom."
Takeuchi folded his arms and watched him go, saying nothing. It was just a meaningless qualifier—the result had been decided the moment Kaijo walked into the gym. No point stopping him.
Up in the stands, Kota noticed immediately. His eyes narrowed.
"Miss Masako, I'll be right back. Bathroom."
He slipped away, unzipping his jacket as he walked. Under the lights, Araki caught a glimpse of blue fabric beneath.
She sighed, half amused.
"Unbelievable. Came here claiming you just wanted to watch… and you're already wearing the team jersey underneath."
Her lips curled into a faint smile.
"It's been too long since I've seen him play in person."
...
Inside the Player Tunnel
At a corner of the passageway, Kise walked with his hands folded behind his head, eyes turned upward as if studying the ceiling. His mind wandered, thinking about what he should do after the game before heading home.
"Sasa wanted to grab dinner, right? But Nini told me to hang out after the game… maybe I should just call up Yimi. Didn't she say last week her parents were out of town?"
Suddenly, Kise felt like he'd bumped into something. He instinctively looked down—nothing. He glanced around—still no one.
"Huh???"
"Don't tell me… did I just run into a ghost?"
Kise scratched his face in confusion, muttering as he kept walking. The tunnel wasn't long; even with his distracted pace, he soon reached the exit.
He raised his head. Beyond the doors, the tunnel connected directly to the outside. If he stepped through, he'd be free to leave the arena and do whatever he wanted.
But just as he reached the edge of the exit, he stopped.
The player tunnel behind him was pitch black, with only a few dim lights flickering unsteadily.
"Man… what a lousy feeling."
Clicking his tongue, Kise scratched his hair irritably, then spun around and broke into a sprint back the way he came.
He didn't really know why. Maybe it was the responsibility of being Kaijo's ace. Maybe it was because he wasn't done playing yet. Or maybe…
It was that unshakable instinct, whispering at him—
"Get back to the court."
"Because there's someone I want to see there."
Kise's breathing steadied as his pace quickened, and almost without realizing it, he tapped into his Perfect Copy. With Aomine's speed layered over his own, his dash became a blur.
The bright lights of the arena reflected off the tunnel exit, shining sharper than usual—so bright they stung his eyes.
He clenched his jaw, lowered his shoulders like a sprinter, and burst through the exit.
Kise leapt forward—
And landed back on the court.
"Took you long enough, genius. What'd you do, get lost on the way to the bathroom? At least you made it back before the timeout ended."
A familiar voice cut through the gym. Kise froze, head snapping up, his chest still heaving. His eyes glistened with hope.
"…Kota…"
Even though he'd just finished a hundred-meter dash, his voice carried a faint tremor, almost like he was choking up.
"Oi oi, what's with that face? Don't tell me you're about to cry. Save that for graduation or something."
Kota bent down to tighten his laces, grinning as he looked up at Kise.
"C'mon. You really thought I'd miss the interhigh — the biggest stage for showing off? Not a chance."
He stood up, adjusted his jersey, then turned toward the rest of the Kaijo squad. For once, his expression grew serious.
"Sorry, guys."
"I'm late."
Kaijo's Substitution – Start of the Second Quarter
The officials at the scorer's table double-checked the substitution list.
Once again, Kaijo had gone for a full five-in, five-out change!
Tenka High, who had just been feeling good trading baskets with Kaijo's reserves, suddenly saw the new lineup—and their faces went pale.
"What the hell?! They put all the starters back in?!"
"Wait—no… look at their point guard…"
This time, it wasn't just Kaijo's starters. It was Kaijo's true starting five.
A few minutes earlier—
"Coach, I'm going in."
Kota was stretching as he spoke to Takeuchi. Their floor general was finally back. There was no reason to keep him on the bench.
Takeuchi:
"Go."
"Coach! Me too!"
Kise pumped his fists, eyes blazing. It had been way too long since he'd gotten one of Kota's passes—he was starving for it.
Takeuchi: "Fine."
"Uh, Coach… I… I'd like to play too."
Yuki poked his fingers together, cheeks a little red. He rarely asked for anything, but the chance to share the court with Kise and Kota was too tempting to pass up.
Takeuchi:
"…Go ahead."
Just as Takeuchi was stroking his chin, silently offering a prayer for poor Tenka High, a broad figure blocked his view.
It was Takumi.
Takeuchi: "…Don't tell me."
"Put me in, Coach!"
Takeuchi sighed. At this point, what did it matter? With Kise and Kota together, Tenka's fate was sealed anyway. A little extra suffering wouldn't change the outcome.
Finally, he turned to another player.
"And you! Get your butt on the court too!"
With that slap to Hayakawa's head, Kaijo's "Five Tigers" were back at full strength.
On the hardwood, Kota tugged at his familiar jersey, soaking in the deafening cheers. He raised his hands, acknowledging the crowd with a confident grin.
"Sorry, Tenka High. For my return debut to be perfect, I'll need you guys to play the role of background scenery."
Cracking his neck, Kota looked over at their stunned faces, smiling.
"Don't worry, though. To make it up to you, I'll make sure you all get a feature in Basketball Weekly."