Chapter I.
"Dai-Chan! Dai-Chan, where are you?"
Aomine Daiki dribbled the basketball at center court, thinking about the state of things. It's only been two months since Tuoh Academy was eliminated from the Winter Cup in the first round, and two months since Seirin High School bested Rakuzan High School in the championship finals. Setting the results aside, the Winter Cup set some things in motion that Aomine feared would happen.
Seirin High School is a power house school now. With Tetsu fully regaining his title as the Phantom Sixth Man, and pairing him with Seirin's new "light", they more powerful than ever. Add that with the clutch shooter, the Eagle Eyed point guard, and their incredible center, Seirin still has a few tricks up their sleeve. However the major tournament being the Kanto Tournament won't come around until two months, which gave every other school an opportunity to find a way to beat Seirin.
The Winter Cup also gave Aomine a glimpse at the other Miracles. Kise's Perfect Copy was…well, perfect, but he was hindered by his injury. If he had been at full health, Kise Ryota would have been a dominant force, but he and Kaijo didn't even place in the end, along with Tuoh Academy and Yosen High School.
Yosen and Shutoku were in the same situation, they were both bested by completely overpowered teams. The only difference among them was the fact that Seirin wasn't as strong as Rakuzan. The thing that worried Aomine the most was the fact tat every team had changed except for Tuoh Academy. Even Seirin High has changed for the better. Tuoh Academy was still the same team, a team that relied on individual skill and talent more than overall team play.
Aomine would like to think he's changed. In any other game, he would have taken the ball straight to the basket and not pass, however he didn't want to be that kind of player. If he could pass the ball, that could open up shots for his other teammates, but running the offense isn't something he could do. All of Tuoh's positions were solid, save for one spot. They were missing their vigilant Captain point guard, and their small forward who have since retired from the team. The point guard spot was easy to fill, but what they needed was a solid small forward. A middle man who could do a bit of everything. It would give Aomine some space to score, or open up Sakurai for open shots. But a good small forward was hard to find. Kise was by far the best Aomine had ever seen. Utilizing his skills to play a bit of every position, which he could do even better now because of his Perfect Copy.
Things weren't looking good, and Aomine knew it. It was less than seven weeks from the Kanto Tournament qualifiers, and they still haven't found either a point guard or a small forward.
"Momoi-San," A familiar voice drew Aomine's attention behind him.
Standing by the gate of the public court was Kuroko Tetsuya, the teal haired "invisible" sixth man and Aomine's former best friend. Ever since Tuoh lost to Seirin in the opening round of the Winter Cup, all he could think about was beating Seirin again. But even more so, rekindle that lost flame of friendship with Tetsu. Aomine had missed the days where the six of them would get ice cream after school, or practice before games. He missed receiving passes from his shadow, however Aomine knew that those days were long behind both of them. Tetsu had found a new light to empower him, and Kagami was no joke either. Aomine strongly believed that Kagami Taiga was the lost Miracle, one of the players born into the same generation as the Generation of Miracles, but never joined the stardom that fell upon the five of them. Aomine wondered if there were any other players out there with the potential to match them.
"Tetsu," Aomine said, walking to his childhood friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Kagami-Kun wanted to get in a few shots before we went to practice," Kuroko said, straight faced. However, slowly, his lips curved into a smile. "It's good to see you, Aomine-Kun."
Aomine sighed, but he couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, haven't seen you since the Winter Cup. Hope you guys have been improving. When the Kanto Tournament comes,we're going to kick your asses."
"We'll give you one hell of a battle," It was Kagami Taiga. The red haired power forward walked to the three of them. Both he and Tetsu wore their Seirin and sweatpants. So they did have practice today. Speaking of which, Tuoh had practice tomorrow. Guess he should go.
"What do you say Kagami?" Aomine tossed him the ball. "Wanna play a quick game? It'll over pretty fast."
Kagami smirked. "I still gotta pay you back for the shoes. I am not losing this time."
"Keep dreaming." Aomine and Kagami began to play a casual 1v1 game, while Tetsu and Satsuki caught up on the sideline. Since it was Kagami, Aomine felt he could go a bit harder than usual. He had improved in these past two months. He was faster, stronger, and wiser. His moves were calculated, not the rash and impatient player he once was. Beating the old him would've been easy. Beating him now was just fun.
"Have you been watching the NBA Finals?" Kagami asked. "Warriors choked and lost Game 7."
"For real?" Aomine was surprised. Of course he was watching the Finals, and the Playoffs for that matter, but as of late too much has been going on for him to enjoy the NBA as he once did. To think the team that won 79 games in the regular season would lose. But Aomine did understand. It was LeBron James they were playing. Now that was a small forward he needed on the team. A player who could play all five positions, pass, shoot, and defend like his life depended on it. Aomine would give anything to play with LeBron.
"Yeah, but I also heard LeBron's protege was leaving." Kagami said, before driving past Aomine for a lay up. Aomine let him by, and the layup turned to a dunk. "Apparently this kid's supposed to be the next LeBron James. He dominated the high school scene. I haven't heard this much hype about a high school player since…well, LeBron."
Aomine spun around Kagami and went in for a reverse layup. He landed on his feet. "What do you mean leaving? Where's he going? How old is this kid anyways?"
"As old as us," Satsuki answered. "I did some research on him. I'm shocked you haven't heard anything about him, Dai-Chan."
"I've been busy. Tell me about him." Aomine took a jump shot, and it went in cleanly.
"His name is Ikki. Karasuba Ikki." Satsuki explained, which stopped the game as Aomine and Kagami walked over to join Satsuki and Tetsu. "He's ranked an A in every category of basketball: athletic skill, stamina, shooting, passing, defense, even rebounding. He was originally from Japan…" Satsuki pulled out her cell phone and scrolled until she found something. "Aha! He played against Teiko our first year! Murugen Middle School. Do you remember him?"
Aomine thought back to his first year. Back then, they were all so innocent. Basketball wasn't as serious a thing as it was for them now. Aomine remembered being monstrously overpowered to every other team they played against. It was hard, probably impossible, to remember anyone that could have challenged him back then.
"I can't remember him," Aomine clicked his tongue. "Tetsu? Do you?"
Tetsu shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember playing against him, but then again I wasn't on the first string my first year. Perhaps Midorima-Kun or Akashi-Kun remembers him."
"No, I'm sure Akashi would've mentioned a player who peeked his interest." Aomine rubbed his chin. How had he never heard of this guy, someone who was- "Wait, he's LeBron James' protege?"
Satsuki nodded. "Turns out LeBron was in Japan to over see a training camp on summer, the summer of our first year, and found him playing in a League. Apparently he had potential, because Karasuba-Kun and his family moved the week after to America. He studied under LeBron James in Miami, where he was also mentored by Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, before LeBron went back to Cleveland, where he got even more tutoring from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. I've also heard rumors he learned from players like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant during the All-Star breaks."
"That is just unfair," Kagami sighed.
Aomine smirked. "This is getting interesting. I wonder what school he's going to. Is he coming to Japan?"
Satsuki checked. "Y-Yeah. He and his family are moving back to Japan…in Tokyo! It's been all over the internet. He's coming to Tokyo."
…
Aomine couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. After their little game, Kagami and Tetsu went to Seirin for practice. Aomine and Satsuki went home and waited for school the next day. Now, Aomine yawned as class started. He had wanted to do a little more research on this Karasuba Ikki, but he wanted to sleep. He had tons of homework, which he didn't do, so Satsuki did it for him. She was the top student in their class after all. What's the point of having a childhood friend if they don't do homework for you? He had a deal with the head master of Tuoh Academy. As long as he played like he did on the team, it didn't matter how he did in school. In return, the head master and the school gained fame for being strong with him on it.
Something slammed on his desk, which woke him up. "I finished your math homework, but the essay for history is all on you." It was Satsuki. She had her pink hair tied into a messy bun today. She seemed rather hyped. Wonder what's up her butt.
Aomine sighed. "Hey, Ryo. Do you have anything to eat?"
Sakurai Ryo was a first year like he and Satsuki, and the basketball team's starting shooting guard with a lightning quick release. He was the team's best shooter, but also sort of a push over. He tends to…apologize, a lot.
"Y-Yes! I mean…I wanted to eat it during lunch…" Ryo said timidly.
"Oh? Okay then." Aomine turned back to the front of the class and leaned back on his chair.
"B-But if you want some, I'm willing to share." Ryo said.
Aomine smiled. "Really? All right then."
The teacher walked in, and Satsuki left his desk and returned to her own. Everyone stood, but Aomine was last to stand, taking a few seconds to yawn. "Class, we have a transfer student today."
Aomine shot Satsuki a look. We have a transfer student?
Satsuki looked at him. I don't know, I didn't hear anything about a transfer.
Aomine kept his guard up. Something wasn't right. Hearing of Karasuba Ikki, and having a new transfer student the very next day. It seemed…too convenient
Walking through the doors was a tall, almost as tall as Aomine was, boy with medium maroon hair and golden eyes. He looked similar to Akashi, except he had a much kinder face and a warm smile. His eyes were golden amber, but they were dark like tree sap. "My name's Karasuba Ikki. Nice to meet you all."
Author's Note - I hope you guys like this story. I know the first chapter was short but I didn't want to write too much. I wanna know what you guys think. Do you like the concept of having a player trained by NBA stars? I was going to add him to Yosen with Atsushi and Tatsuya, but I decided to go with Aomine and Satsuki instead. One thing I won't do is introduce actual NBA players in this story. This will focus on Ikki and not his teachers, however the occasional good luck text will happen. So let me know what you think and if this is something you guys would like to read. Thanks everyone :)