"Seiho's man-to-man defense is decent, but their help defense is absolutely terrible. If I were the one organizing things, Seiho would've been crushed by now."
Kota let out a sigh.
"Seriously, are all teams besides the Generation of Miracles just bottom-tier? The only difference is which bottom-tier team is slightly less pathetic."
Kise nodded in agreement. "If Kuroko and I were playing together, a team like this wouldn't even register on my radar. Kagami's just too weak."
Just as the two were busy patting themselves on the back, a familiar, crisp voice rang out from behind them.
"Kota-kun! Ki-chan!"
They turned around and were surprised to see Momoi.
Momoi looked at them with a mix of surprise and excitement. She hadn't expected to run into them here. Casually, she sidestepped Kise and plopped down next to Kota like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Kise watched this scene, looking thoughtful. Kota gave Momoi a glance and asked:
"Doesn't Tōō have a game today? You've got time to watch other teams play?"
Momoi scoffed.
"You forgetting something? I'm not just the team manager—I'm also the intelligence expert. Scouting the other teams is part of my job, thank you very much."
She looked rather pleased with herself, then turned to the scoreboard and raised an eyebrow.
"Aomine's team is behind? And both Kagami and Kuroko aren't even playing? Is Seirin giving up or something? Though I gotta say, Shūtoku's got a solid lead."
Kise picked up from there, "Who knows? But honestly, Seirin's looking more coordinated now that Kuroko and Kagami are off the court."
Momoi thought for a moment, then nodded like she had suddenly cracked the code.
Kota and Kise exchanged confused glances. We've been watching this game forever and still don't get it—how did she figure it out in five seconds?
Kota couldn't help but ask,
"You look like you know Seirin's game plan already?"
Momoi glanced at them both like they were dense, then giggled.
"You two seriously didn't do your homework, huh? Last year, Seirin made it into the round-robin stage, but every team beat them by triple-digit scores. They're probably looking for revenge this time—and resting Aomine and Kagami for their real challenge: Shūtoku."
Kise raised an eyebrow. "Wait, Kuroko and Kagami weren't on the team last year, right? How'd Seirin make it that far? Luck?"
Momoi rolled her eyes but before she could answer, Kota jumped in. "Their ace back then was Teppei Kiyoshi, one of the Uncrowned Kings. He got injured during the qualifiers, which is why they got stomped later on. Otherwise, Seirin would've made a much better showing. So this is their shot at redemption."
Kise squinted. "Oh yeah... now I remember. We played against that guy back in middle school. He was pretty good."
Momoi looked at Kota in surprise. "You actually know all this stuff, Kota-kun?"
In her mind, she added a few more bullet points to her mental profile of him: Smiles a lot, trash talker, elite point guard, tactical genius, information hoarder…
Of course, Kota had no idea she was profiling him like a CIA agent. He was too focused on the match between Seirin and Seiho.
The fourth quarter had just started, and Seirin was still behind.
69-66.
Even though the gap was closing, without Kagami and Kuroko, Seirin didn't have enough firepower to make a real comeback. Seiho was beginning to adjust to their offensive rhythm, and Izuki's plays were no longer as effective.
Kota rested his chin on his palm and murmured:
"At this rate, it's not gonna work. Seirin's hanging in there, but just barely. The seniors are doing a good job, but this is their limit. If Kagami and Kuroko don't get back in soon, they're out of time."
Sure enough, as the seconds ticked by, Kota's prediction was spot on. Instead of closing the gap, the point difference started growing again.
6 minutes left. Score: 76–70.
Kagami sat on the bench, bouncing his leg and fidgeting. He was clearly losing patience.
Finally, after a failed offensive run where Hyūga forced a shot under pressure and bricked it, Kagami stood up and shouted to Riko:
"Coach! Let me in already! I've seen enough! The upperclassmen gave it their all, but if we keep going like this, we're toast!"
Before he could finish, Kuroko appeared out of nowhere—classic Kuroko—and yanked him back down.
"Sit your butt down. I'm going."
He looked at Riko, about to ask to sub in, but Kagami grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.
Thus began a tug-of-war between two stubborn guys, each trying to be the sacrificial hero.
Riko twitched at the corner of her mouth.
"It's good that they're fired up, but geez, can they stop making it a shonen drama every game?"
Eventually, Kuroko won the argument. Kagami stayed seated to preserve his stamina.
Seirin subbed in Kuroko.
"So they chose Kuroko… Guess they're saving their ace for the match against Shūtoku."
Kota sat up straighter. Kuroko's playstyle was unique. That earlier practice match was too short for Kota to analyze him properly—this was a good chance, especially with Midorima watching too.
Momoi twirled her hair, silent. Kise was busy fiddling with his radio.
"But my horoscope said Aquarians are super unlucky today. You think something bad's gonna happen to Kuroko?"
Kota gave him a dead-eyed glare. Since when did this guy get all into horoscopes?
Even Momoi looked shocked. "You're into astrology now?"
"No, no—it's not like that! Midorimacchi told me to check it out. He said it's legit..."
Ah yes, nothing says "serious basketball strategy" like getting pointers from a dude who treats horoscopes like battle plans.
"In the end, it's always us first-years who have to clean up the mess…"
Hyūga sighed. He hadn't been able to lead the team to beat Seiho, and his thoughts drifted to Kiyoshi.
How did you manage to take us so far back then? I worked just as hard, didn't I?
Kuroko adjusted his wristband. Noticing Hyūga's mood, he tilted his head.
"Hyūga-senpai?"
Hyūga snapped out of it. Looking at Kuroko and then Kagami on the bench, something clicked.
"It's nothing, Kuroko. Just… go take us to the win, okay? You and Kagami—show us something amazing."
Kuroko blinked, then nodded seriously.
"It doesn't matter if I'm the star or not. As long as we win, that's enough for me."
Hyūga smirked to himself:
"Maybe that's exactly why I've never become a top player"
"Snap out of it — the game's not over yet"
He slapped his own cheeks and focused.
"If we lose, we're all running home. Got it?"
"Yessir!"
One of Seiho's players noticed Kagami still wasn't coming in, but Kuroko was.
"Ugh, it's you? I wanted to go up against Kagami!"
Kuroko looked up and replied in his usual flat tone:
"Sorry. I'm not strong enough to meet your expectations. Hope you're not too disappointed."