1. Kise is not a natural blond. When he was twelve, his manager looked hard at him and declared that although he was pretty, he wasn't eye-catching. They've dyed his hair ever since.

2. When Kise was a toddler, his father used to take him to work with him, and Kise would follow him from shoot to shoot, posing just like he did. The make-up artists thought he was adorable, and used to give him floppy hats and fluffy scarfs to wrap himself in. By the time he is five, he is starring as the adorable kid in commercials.

3. Kise would love to have a puppy, but they are smelly and they shed and his mother refuses (even when he turns wide and teary eyes on her in a desperate plea for sympathy).

4. The first time Kise asked a girl out, she said no.

5. Then she stole his favourite teddy bear. He got over her fast.

6. When he was ten, Kise was going to be the best American football player in Japan. That dream lasted a week of gloriously muddy training in the park, and died a terrible death when he was told he'd pick up too many bruises and was banned.

7. He is convinced that his father chose Teikou because of the white uniform – because he looks particularly stunning in white, and also because he is obliged to try and keep it clean.

8. Being cool doesn't come at all naturally. He is naturally photogenic, and of course he is stunningly handsome, but he spends one morning a week with a stylist who blow-dries his hair and picks out his clothes for the week (every set, even the ones he's allowed to wear at home). Then he spends another couple of hours memorising videos of top idols, and learning how they walk and the tiny movements they use to keep their ridiculously long hair out of their eyes. He mimics them flawlessly whenever he steps outside the house.

9. Teikou is the first time when he has the freedom to really explore possibilities without being wrapped in cotton wool. Although Teikou is another private school, it is fascinating to see what the other children are allowed to do. He learns quickly to make sure he is never first, and then to copy what they do. It is a good skill to perfect.

10. He doesn't mean to show up his classmates, but really it's so easy to do tricks in PE classes once he's seen them, and it's all boring. He knows the girls all love him and most of the boys hate him, and he can't quite bring himself to care.

11. Although it is a pain, Kise loves the feeling of knowing his image is perfect, and that he has completely mastered every tiny movement that he makes. He learns how to charm people just to make them smile, and wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

12. Aominecchi is a force of nature: fast, and strong, and impossible to copy. Kise is fascinated from the start and, what's better, he doesn't care about anything except basketball. He doesn't even notice that Kise's face is staring at him off every milk carton.

13. Kise's first reaction to Kurokocchi is horror, because he can't imagine not being the centre of attention. It takes quite a while to realise that Kurokocchi wouldn't trade places with him for anything.

14. Basketball is the first time since starting at Teikou that Kise has truly had to depend on anyone else –by this point, he could be his own makeup artist and photographer and stylist if he had to. He is not very good at trust, but he thinks he could learn. He watches what the others do and tries to copy them, with hilarious effects.

15. The only reason Kise finishes his warm-up laps on the first day of training is that he can see Aominecchi out in front of him, not even breathing hard. It is infuriating to know that he can run in exactly the same way and still not be able to copy him perfectly. He immediately starts extra fitness training before morning practice.

16. He might have an Aominecchi obsession.

17. Kise cries the evening they finish at Teikou. (He thinks Midorimacchi does as well, but he would be murdered in his sleep if he ever mentioned it). He texts them regularly through the holiday, but none of them respond.

18. Kaijou is an interesting challenge because his work and school commitments have got much heavier. He texts Momochi and gets a colour-coded timetable emailed back to him. His response is appropriately gushing, and he prints it out and hides it in an inside pocket of his kit bag. It makes life easier, but there are still times when he has to stay up late to finish his homework.

19. When he is talked into singing on a TV talent contest, Midorimacchi texts him a link to John Cage's 4'3" silence. It is the first text he's received from any of them, and he very nearly tracks him down to hug him. Instead, he sends a text back with details of their practice match against Kurokocchi.

20. Kise's dream is to play basketball for Japan, with Akashichi as his captain and the others alongside him, but it seems rude to say so when he is already more famous than the most famous Japanese basketball player.