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"I guess I was too early…"

Hikigaya Hachiman was sighing as he pedals his way into his bicycle while Komachi was riding in his back. Akashi had called another meeting just two days ago and it seemed that they are holding it in his school—again. He had just recently played an intense game, had an lunch with Yukinoshita Haruno and his two teammates that almost ended up in a staredown, and defeated Ogiwara in a one-on-one in the streets—all in one day. I could probably use this time to take just sleep in class or…

"Onii-chan, I'm actually surprised that my rubbish of a brother is out very early…" Komachi reprimanded him as they were nearing Sobu.

"You can blame it on Akashi's overly superior complexity." Hikigaya sighed as he continued to pedal. "And I won't be surprised if he's the one who ends up being late in this meeting."

After a few more minutes, the two Hikigaya siblings arrive at the still-desolate Sobu High School with a few early birds chatting with each other. After receiving his bento from Komachi, he bade his younger sister a good-bye and good luck as he then makes his way into their Service Club room. Although he had already reminded Yukinoshita and Yuigahama of today's meeting, he was still weary as he knew that Akashi and the resident Ice Queen hasn't gotten along quite well and as much as he hates to do it, he knew he had to step in to break the ice.

The moment he had pushed the doors of the clubroom, he immediately spotted Kise's golden hair already shining against the rays of the sun as he was busy chatting with Kuroko and Midorima, who was holding a Zircon Gemstone as a lucky item prescribed by Oha-Asa. Wait, how the hell did he even have a rare African gemstone without being caught in the airport?

As if answering Hikigaya's thoughts, Akashi looked at him and smiled warmly as he replied. "You know we got a company there Hikigaya." He redhead calmly replied, causing the rotten-eyed boy to flinch as he did a double take. Well…no surprise there if it's Akashi we're talking about.

Sitting down beside Ogiwara, who was beyond ecstatic that he arrived, he scanned the whole room and noticed that Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were in the rear portion of the room as they simply watched the whole team talking with each other. The boy didn't know if it was real but he score he just saw the blue-eyed Service Club president suddenly took a look at him like she wanted to say something but held back her tongue. Uhm…what Yukinoshita?

Soon enough, the room began to be filled with the other guys like Himuro, Hayama Kotarou, and Okamura, who is still in his university uniform as he lays down his duffel bag and sits beside Kiyoshi, who was eating a banana. It was at this point where Akashi calmly stood up and before Aomine can even curse Kagami once more, the redhead captain hushed a warning.

"Aomine. Kagami Taiga. Will you two keep out your lover's quarrel off this basketball meeting? Akashi commented sardonically and the two embarrassed power forwards were forced to keep their mouths shut. "Now about the training camp, it looks like we'll have to talk about it."

"Well, what's the agenda for today, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked in curiosity as he sips a vanilla milkshake.

"Nice question, Kuroko." Akashi nodded as he approved the timing of the Phantom Sixth Man. "Basically, two things. All of you would be excused from your classes to be present in the three-and-a-half-month training provided that you all pass your online assignments that I asked from your principals and deans and that our first two-week training will be held starting this Friday. Any questions?"

"Question. Where would the training camp be held?" Himuro asked in curiosity.

"I have contacted with Kuroko's coach and according to him, we'll held the training camp at Oorai beach in Oorai town, Ibaraki Prefecture north of Chiba." Akashi explained the details. "This is the same place where Kuroko and Kagami had once held their training camp back in our freshmen days."

"Seriously?" Okamura asked, looking a bit distressed. "And with Teiko's coach of all bench tacticians? This might prove even harder than our practices back in Yosen."

"We may see a lot happen." Nijimura added as he then decided to raise up one issue that is somehow hounding Japanese basketball in general. "Akashi, in terms of training, are you going to address some issues? You know well how we lack the ceiling when it comes to international competitions."

"I have already a solution for that." Akashi replied. "In order to decrease the height disadvantage, we'll have to abandon the individualistic approach for a slower but smarter offense that involves more passing and floor spacing. It doesn't mean that some of our aces like Aomine and Kagami would be diminished as the main scorers but this is a means to space out the defense. If those two can't click immediately, then the others can step in and share the ball to keep the marks guessing for our next move."

"So it's European-style pacing which we're going to impose, huh…" Hikigaya particularly ran a variation of the pace-and-space basketball tactic back in Teiko and although this wasn't his actual favourite as he preferred slashing towards the net, he had no complaint to Akashi's decision. "It does makes sense considering that we're not that tall."

"That's right, Hikigaya." Akashi smiled as he approved what he heard. "So that means players like Okamura-san and Murasakibara will have to be trained particularly in exercises fitted for running, sprinting, and endurance."

"Eh, why Aka-chin?" Murasakibara grumbled like a child as he bites his maiubo.

"Idiot. You're quite slow in base form." Hikigaya bluntly told the Yosen ace as Murasakibara pouted like a child.

"It's not like he's wrong…" Aomine snickered.

"Shut up, Mine-chin or I'll crush you." Murasakibara threatened the Touou player.

"Oh and by the way, on Saturday at the second day of the training camp, there's this no-name school who requested a practice match with Rakuzan High School." Akashi then looked at his former (and future) teammates. "Since our school would be too busy for that tune-up game, I have decided that the former Teiko regulars would be the ones who will be playing in that game."

All of Akashi's former Teiko teammates nodded nonchalantly.

"Neh, Akashicchi?!" Kise suddenly opened his mouth as he then decided to raise up a suggestion. "It would be boring if we just train and train in those two weeks. Why don't we bring something to cheer all of us while we're on Ibaraki? Like some karaoke or some liquor—" He was violently cut off by Nijimura, who smacked him in his head.

"Eh?! Nijimura-senpai?!"

"Fool! We're not there to drink heavy wine or beer!" The raven scolded the blonde. "Besides, you wouldn't want to feel the wrath of Coach and the others." Kise sulked in his seat as he knew that their former captain before Akashi was right.

"Hmmph. Akashi, I do hope the place where we'll all stay is spacey enough for the possible lucky items that I will bring." Midorima harrumphed as he raises up gemstone in his hand. "The last training camp where I wasn't able to bring my lucky items, it got me into a series of troubles so I don't want a repeat of that incident."

"What? How do you even know what will be your lucky items for that day?" Hikigaya simply can't comprehend how Midorima thinks.

"I have contacted Oha-Asa via telephone. I have a list of all the lucky items that I will bring to the training camp."

I don't want to deal with this guy. Hikigaya mentally cringed as he only shook his head.

"Why those stupid lucky items?" Aomine drawled before he sat up straight and smirked. "Oi, Akashi, if we're going to practice in the beach, then at least, choose the spot where there are a lot of women wearing bikinis and having big jugs? I'd happily pee in my pants if that happens."

"Aomine-kun, I don't think you should bring up your indecent hobbies into this group meeting." Kuroko whispered to the ear of his former light as Akashi can only sigh and shake his head at all the suggestions that were being tossed to him. As much as he liked to shut them up, he knew that this is not the perfect time to do so and instead, he chose to be keep a poker-face expression.

Amidst all of the confusion, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama silently slipped out of the clubroom to attend to something else.

When the two members of the Service Club reached the teacher's lounge, they all headed to the place where Hiratsuka had summoned them to. The moment the two of them had reached the place, they saw their teacher sipping some kind of milk as Komachi was on her right side. To her left, there was Hayama and his clique, looking as if they were all confused as to what this meeting is all about. Yukinoshita sat beside the younger Hikigaya while the tinted-haired girl joined the clique of the blonde.

"So I see that we're complete here." The teacher didn't waste any breath as she then puts down her right foot. "Basically, I called you up here because of I was planning for some outreach program this coming Friday and Saturday. But the higher-ups said that they wanted the whole Service Club to be the one spearheading the event and with the absence of one key member of the Service Club, I would be forced to add Hayama Hayato and his friends temporarily to the club. Would that be okay to you, Yukinoshita?"

"I don't see why I would refuse, Hiratsuka-sensei." The pale beauty nodded calmly. "Hayama-kun's clique would be an additional help in whatever program you plan to do."

"But why is Hikio not attending? Got to do with that basketball team of his?" Miura asked, not being able to hide her curiosity.

"Yeah…that Akashi bastard…" Hiratsuka looked like he wanted to murder someone as he crushed a piece of paper that was in front of her. "Looks like Hikigaya won't be attending your club activities until the last week of classes in July. Seems the same for the rest of his teammates."

There was a sudden pause as they all tried to process what is happening right now. Then…

"Hmmm. Hayama, Yukinoshita, what is your opinion about Akashi Seijuro or at least, the Akashis in general?" Hiratsuka asked as she let the distressed air out of her lungs. "I've heard that their family is in a tight competition with yours, Yukinoshita so I bet you know something."

"If you're speaking about Akashi-kun, he's that type of heir with a superior complex personality." Yukinoshita honestly replied. "He demands obedience from anyone that he controls. From what Hikigaya-kun said, he never once lost in his life…save for a game two years ago."

"Hmmm. I don't want to badmouth other people but I've been hearing rumors about their family and it's a bit mixed." The blonde added. "Some say they're a good people, some say they're not good. But in terms of public influence, the Akashis had more power than our families. Even dad admits that part."

"But even then, even onii-chan said that no one comes close to Akashi-san when it comes to organizing and leading a team." Komachi joined the conversation. "Onii-chan said that he's a crafty leader who knows how to asses an opponent's strength and weakness just by observing them. Add to that, he knew how to persuade other people even without having to resort to violent means."

"Now I understand why that bastard is so condescending…" Hiratsuka sighed as she opened another milk carton. "Yuigahama, what is your view on the other Generation of Miracles plus that so-called Phantom Sixth Man?"

"Eh…well…they all had weird personalities." Yuigahama at first hesitated but was compelled to describe them after being stared intensely. "Aomine-san looked like the strongest among the seven of them…or eight if you add that scary guy with silver hair. I think that was…Haizaki-san? Midorima-san probably is the weirdest of them, even more than Hikki. His lucky items looked a bit heavy so I was slightly wondering why he still carries them all around, even if it looks embarrassing. Kise-san…mou…my mom can't stop talking about how hot he is as a model. But judging from what I heard, it seemed that he's the annoying type. Murasakibara-san…honestly, I don't know what to say about him other than the fact that he likes candies and is like an overgrown baby. Kurokon…I think he's the perfect friend for Hikki no matter how much he denies it. How he talks is similar to Yukinon but he's somewhat friendly…"

There was another silence again.

"Hmmm. They're all weird, in other words." Hiratsuka concluded. "But you can't deny the fact that their talent for basketball is out of this world."

"And their all boys!" Ebina once again let her fujoshi side tickle her as she screamed. "It's a perfect plot of how cute boys…"

"Ebina…please get us some tea…"

It was just lunch time and Hikigaya Hachiman was seating in his favourite spot near the beach. Eating lunch in my favourite spot usually sets my heart at ease. Being a school that is located at the shore, Sobu High School is always the middle of the direction of the wind and in the morning, the wind blows into the place and as fast, it blow out back to the school. It's not bad usually but…

"Why in the world are we eating here together?"

Hikigaya let his question reach to the ear of a certain redhead emperor as the former is being squished in the middle by Kuroko and Midorima, who looked like he would rather be in a library rather than to listen to the squabbling of Aomine and Kise, who are both seating at the back of the three boys. Murasakibara was seating at a raised platform besides them while Akashi was at the feet of Hikigaya, seemingly enjoying the fresh air that was blowing into them.

"Why not, Hikigaya? This is just one of the rare times when we can all reunite minus that pest in Haizaki." Akashi replied as he let the wind blew his jacket. "Besides, this is one of the rare times where I have freedom from work in my father's company."

"Oh yeah, your father is that uptight boss type of guy." Hikigaya gave it up as he knew he couldn't avoid this kind of meeting from happening. Besides, this is much better than to be with Hayama's rich kid clique.

"Neh, do we really have to do that to Kagachin?" Murasakibara asked as he crunches into his potato chips. "I mean, I won't mind if he sits with us as long as he had snacks with him to share with me."

"Don't be stupid, Murasakibara." Aomine drawled as he just smacked Kise in the face. "He can't join us here. It's good that Akashi ask us to throw him out of our old team or else, I would have talk smack to him."

"Aomine-kun, please be more gentle with Kise-kun and Kagami-kun." Kuroko spoke up as he bites his small chicken sandwich.

"Hmph. I think the others are now eating out in that restaurant not far from here." Midorima informed them just in case they would like to know. "Thanks for the gem, Akashi."

Just like the old days in Teiko. Hikigaya sighed as he then continued eating his yakisoba bread. As their eating went on, it is apparent that there were a few female fans who wanted to take a picture with Kise but the moment that they would come at least five feet from them, Akashi suddenly stares at them and as a result, they recoiled back and backed away before getting out of the scene. Kise tried to protest this but he was shushed by their own captain.

"Hey, Akashi, why did you send them away? Not that I'm in favour of Kise's rabid fans but you can see he is complaining here." Aomine talked to Akashi as he pried off Kise, who was protesting.

"Let Kise cry and wail to his heart's content." The redhead Rakuzan captain didn't even flinch as he sipped his bottled water. "It leaves one less problem to deal with."

"So mean, Akashicchi!" Kise bellowed some more as he latched himself into Kuroko, who was squished into his tight hug. "Kurokocchi, deal with them! They're making fun of me again!"

"Oi, can you let him go?" Hikigaya was irritated that his usually peaceful lunch was disrupted by the blondie, who kept crying crocodile tears. "And besides, why do you even keep complaining to Kuroko? Is he your mother or something?"

"Neh, it's just fun to keep picking on the team's newbie, Hiki-chin." Murasakibara said to the other, finally giving his reason for bullying Kise suddenly as he is licking off his popsicle stick that was coming from the treat courtesy of Akashi and took out a bug of maiubo.

"Seriously, are we still on that newbie stuff or something?! I've been in this team for so long as well!" Kise frowned some more as he was finally and violently removed off from Kuroko by Midorima who, for the rarest time, showed his own Tsundere care of the tealnette and decided to scalp off the part-time model from their Phantom Sixth Man.

"Can you all stop fighting, please?" Kuroko pleaded to the three big guys as he was finally able to breathe properly after having been crushed into Kise's killer-hugs, which is only surpassed by Momoi's attempts to flirt with him. "Let's enjoy the view here while we had the time. Unlike Hikigaya-kun, it's rare for me to see a spot like this.

"That's right, Kuroko. Let's enjoy this rare moment." Akashi smiled warmly as he reveals another cold box which happened to be chocolate ice cream popsicle which they all took a piece. They all then ate their dessert in silence as Murasakibara's crunching was heard all throughout the area. After a few minutes, Aomine decided to break the silence.

"So what's the real reason as to why you asked us to gather here?" The tanned Touou ace asked, knowing that Akashi always had a hidden meaning behind his words and kept explanations for when they were really alone. "Not that I'm complaining and I'm sure it's the same for the other guys here but you wouldn't just randomly call us here just for the sake of "rare times" and "freedom" from that jackass father of yours. We've known you for at least five years and three years in Hikigaya's case."

Looking at the rare outburst coming from their resident idiot, Akashi then played hurt as he let out another warm smile. "I can't believe that you have forgotten what the special occasion for today is. I know you are the most idiotic of all the Miracles but I didn't expect you to forget this one."

"Forget what? And stop calling me an idiot!" The power forward was baffled.

"To be honest, I don't remember either." Kise responded sheepishly. "And do you, Hikigayacchi?"

"If it's something that's after my departure from the team, then it's illogical for me to even remember something that I wasn't part of." Hikigaya answered brusquely.

"If today is that day, then all of this is understandable." Kuroko said. "Hikigaya-kun, you're a still a part of the team so it makes sense."

But before Hikigaya can retort, Akashi then spoke up. "I knew you'd understand eventually, Kuroko." The redhead Emperor of Rakuzan said to the other. Midorima had a somewhat good guess as to what they were talking about while the other four were all unsure of what was going on.

Kuroko looked over towards Akashi who gave him the go ahead to fill the others in in order to remind them. "With it being a month before summer, this was around the time when Kise-kun had been admitted to being a regular at the first string of the Teiko Basketball Club." Kuroko started, most of them still not understanding. "Today is the day when the Generation of Miracles had first become a complete team." Kuroko said up front as the others all looked at him, suddenly remembering the day. "Coincidentally, this was the same time earlier on when on the same date that Kise-kun joined, Hikigaya-kun scored 82 points a year back."

"Huh? Did I?" Due to his nature of trying to forget his past in order to cope up with the bullying he had received, it was no surprise that Hikigaya somewhat forgot it.

"If I'm not mistaken, the school that you and the first batch that excludes me and Kise-kun was none other than the middle school of my two senpai, Hyuuga-senpai and Izuki-senpai." Kuroko deadpanned. "There were talks back then that you're scoring rampage was a foreshadowing to the birth of the Generation of Miracles."

"Oh…" Hikigaya just realized how much of a scoring machine he was in the first two years at middle school.

"That's right so this lunch is my treat to you all." Akashi grinned at his teammates.

"But we didn't get anything for you, Akashicchi." Kise pouted, feeling even more indebted to their charismatic captain than before. Akashi had just paid the bill and lead them all to this place where Hikigaya usually eats lunch alone.

"You've all brought me what I've asked for already." Akashi said, referring to none other than his own teammates and friends.

"We're becoming too sentimental." Hikigaya showed his distaste as he bites into his popsicle. "But I supposed free food is better than nothing at all."

"Akashicchi…" Kise was feeling very nostalgic as he started to cry happily or rather, being overdramatic about it.

"It's dessert. I still bought more treats because we all know that there are some of us who are voracious eaters and for once, I'll let them off the slide." Akashi grinned and started to munch on his own. They then started to watch the waves of the Pacific Ocean starting to form again and as it crashed down, some flock of seagulls were seen flying towards a large rock in the sea.

"This place is very calming and peaceful. So from now on, I'll claim this spot to be our alone." Akashi said evilly as suddenly, they all stopped eating the moment he said those words.

"Eh? Aka-chin, we're not even students here…"

"Are you even allowed to do that, Akashi-kun?"

"Oi, Akashi, are you sure? We already freaked out almost everyone here...getting a spot here seemed a bit…"

"You doubt me, Aomine?" Akashi seemed to have pulled out a pair of sharp and shiny scissors from behind his ice cream bar while he slowly turned his head towards the tanned boy, freaking out everyone behind him.

"No. Not at all, captain." Aomine was somehow able to save his life there. But the moment Hikigaya was done eating his popsicle and was about to eat his bento that was made by Komachi, he heard a noise of surprise. Turning a bit, he then let out a scowl the moment he realized who it was. She has gray eyes and short brownish hair that reaches down the nape of her neck and thin eyebrows.

Sagami Minami…

The moment the girl saw them, she immediately recoiled back as she hissed and glared at the rest of the Miracles, who were all looking at her with somewhat a mixed expression of disgust, surprise, and hostility. Whether Sagami was expecting a reaction coming from the boy who "humiliated" her back in the Cultural Festival or not was unknown but she froze when she noticed that Hikigaya didn't even bother to look at her.

"Tch, the hell are you and your stupid Miracle friends all doing here."

She recklessly spat with undeniable traces of hate and as she glared at the rainbow-haired miracles, bunch of students began to gather around and whisper around them as they all watch the scene. Normally, the boys in the background would have backed Sagami up if it was again Hikigaya alone but right now, none of the Sobu males can come to her rescue while they only watch with traces of fear as they wouldn't want to mess with four guys who are at least six feet tall and are very muscular. And I wouldn't want to get started with that guy with heterochromatic eyes! One boy shivered as he didn't even dare to look Akashi at the eye.

In short, the crowd acted like nothing is happening and they decided to walk on as they briefly stole a glance at the scene.

Seeing that, Sagami can only sizzle in desperation as she sat in a farther area before unwrapping her food. As she quietly ate, she stole a glance again at Hikigaya's group and she was more provoked when she noticed that nonchalant behaviour of Hikigaya, who even gave his half-eaten yakisoba bread to Murasakibara, who happily accepted the left-over (no matter how stomach-curdling it sounds) and began eating it without a care in the world. Spending a few more seconds fuming, Sagami scoffed before deciding to face them from her position.

"The nerve of you to even act like that in front of someone you embarrassed, Hikigerma!" Sagami snarled, hoping to get the attention of the boys passing by but obviously, none of the Sobu boys had the courage to stand up to the Teiko prodigies.

Akashi can only shake his head at her and this seemed to set off Sagami even more.

"Come on, lay it on me! I'm not going anywhere you know! Go ahead, I'm not even scared at your so-called Generation of Miracles group!" She snapped in a fierce manner while her eyes were burning with untold amounts of hate and betrayal.

But as she glared at them in an attempt to get her message straight across the Miracles, that tough image had shattered when she saw them completely in their own world as the prodigies pretended that they didn't even know that she exist while Kuroko was too busy sipping his vanilla milkshake to even look at her. In anger, she suddenly stood up and in doing so, she caused the bento that was sitting on her lap to fall gracefully to the ground. The sudden loss of her lunch had freeze her mind as Sagami simply looked at the spilled food in front of her while a sudden feeling of helplessness soon filled her.

For the moment, Sagami was broken for the moment as she sat in her spot while she quickly cleaned up her mess. Then to her surprise, she was quickly handed Yakisoba bread and a bento containing rice and some meat. Turning softly, she saw the 'scum' in the form of Hikigaya as he held the offending lid towards her.

"Hnn. You can have this, Sagami." Hikigaya tonelessly said as his eyes were reflecting intensity that, to the Generation of Miracles, can only be seen when he is on clutch time in a basketball game. "I don't know and I don't even care as to your reasons why you are still acting so angry for an incident last year but if you're still holding that up against me, then I have no business with that. But involving the Generation of Miracles in your anger would only bring you harm. You don't know whom you're dealing with."

He then turned his back and waved as he rejoined his Generation of Miracles group.

Uttering a small 'thank you', she slowly ate while Hikigaya rejoined his teammates. With that, the she and the Generation of Miracles fell into a strangely comfortable silence as the seagulls flew and circles amidst the wind, which continued to breeze softly.

Afterwards, Sagami had finished her lunch rather quickly. Turning to glance at him, Sagami returned the bento lid that had doubled as her plate as she threw the plastic of the yakisoba bread. Hikigaya nodded as he took it. Sagami then sat there for a few moments longer before excusing herself and leaving. As she stood and walked away, Hikigaya watched her leave for a second before shrugging and sighing.

"For some reason, I find myself punching her guts…"

All of the Miracles turned towards Aomine, who shared his blunt opinion.

"By the way, why the hell did you even shared you lunch? It looks like that bitch had some sort of a fight with you."

"That's a story to tell another time." Hikigaya replied as he then puts back his earphones.

"I didn't expect you to be a gentleman, Hikigaya." Midorima took note of the empty lunch box in his lap. "Didn't your younger sister give you that?"

"I was planning to eat it later but I supposed my body cells won't let me." Hikigaya sighed as he sat upstraight. "As much as I don't believe in that non-sense notion that men should be gentle with women, my conscience and what is left of my male pride wouldn't let me on my own way in peace if I didn't do it for once."

"Hmmm….I think I need to have that Sagami Minami investigated." Akashi didn't mince any words. "The likes of her can be detrimental to Hikigaya's development as a player."

"Heh…how did you even know her name?!" Kise was surprised.

"I know everything and I have connections…"

The week has passed so fast and at last, it was finally Friday, which means it is the day of the start of their training camp. The boys were assembled at Sobu High School while a seemingly gloomy atmosphere hanging over them. All that was on their minds was the fact that they would be spending two weeks with Momoi, who declared that she would be cooking for them. Nijimura can feel his stomach regurgitating as he remembered those days in Teiko where she had once blown up the school kitchen in an attempt to cook some snacks for their old team.

When Kuroko saw their former captain shiver, he became worried.

"Senpai, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just remembered that time in Teiko where Momoi had messed up our meals."

Kise blanched when he heard that. "That was mortifying in one look and I didn't even taste it back then."

"Don't worry about that." Akashi started as he walked over to them, seemingly in deity mode. "Make sure you remember your duties at this camp. As for cooking, I have made the decision to have Kagami and Himuro-san be in charge for the food. We're all counting on you guys or you know what will happen." It looks like Akashi himself didn't want to die from Momoi's cooking as he held his stomach briefly.

"Yes, captain/Akashi." They answered.

"But where's the Coach Shirogane?" Kiyoshi asked, looking around. "I don't see him."

"And the so-called no name school?" Okamura asked.

"I have no idea what school is that but coach probably wants to surprise us." Akashi replied. "Well then, let's ride the bus now. Make sure no one got left behind so Kuroko, sit beside me. Hikigaya and Ogiwara, sit together behind us. The rest can freely choose to where they can seat in the bus."

Immediately, they had hopped into the vehicle as Akashi's bodyguards packed all of their belongings and their necessary equipment into a separate vehicle. And with that, the convoy had left on their way to Oorai beach in Oorai town, Ibaraki Prefecture north of Chiba.

Located on the coast of central Ibaraki Prefecture, Oorai is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east. The Naka River flows through the town. Oorai and Sun Beach bathing beaches were first to introduce barrier-free bathing beaches for the disabled in Japan. Oorai attracts 3 million visitors a year. Tourist attractions include bathing beaches, yacht and cruiser marina, marine sports, camping site, fishing, aquarium, and a famous golf course. It is also known for its monkfish.

As the bus threaded peacefully, soft conversations began to start.

"I'm so excited!" Ogiwara sang in a falsetto. "Aren't you, Hikigaya?"

"When training starts, you'll be singing a different tune." Hikigaya bluntly replied. "You don't know how much hell Coach Shirogane can give."

"I think Ogiwara-kun just want to hit on girls in the beach." Kuroko deadpanned as he is reading a light novel.

"Come to think of it…" Aomine joined in. "…that may be right. It's just natural for men, ya know." They all paused to look at Ogiwara, who seemed to get inflamed in red with embarrassment. "Oi, Kuroko, Hikigaya, don't just go and keep bringing me down!"

"Idiot, Don't put us in the same shoes as your, Aomine." Midorima sighed as he clutched a bamboo flute as a lucky item.

"You can play that, Midorimacchi?" Kise asked as he was busy taking selfies in his own seat—to Okamura's irritation.

"Idiot. Of course."

"Hidoi! Don't be too much mean to me!"

After an hour and 25 minutes of travel time, the group had finally reached station where they will all meet the coach. Going down the bus, all of the boys stretched their bodies as they all felt tired and somewhat exhausted from the trip.

"Welcome, brats!" Kagetora, who was the one tasked to fetch them, greeted the young men.

"Ah, coach. Good morning." Kuroko started.

"Good morning to all of you as well." He smirked.

"You too, Coach." The rest all replied

"Before we bring you to the inn where you will be all staying, I will all bring you to the nearby store where you can buy some drinks. Oh and there will be people who will be staying with us."

"Uh…who are they?"

But as Kagetora lead the boys to the store, they were all in endless chatter. As they neared the entrance, they heard chatter and laughter and immediately, they knew that it must have been the people that the Seirin bench tactician is talking about.

Wait, those sounds felt familiar? Hikigaya thought as his ahoge suddenly vibrated for some reasons.

When they finally entered the convenience store, none of the players noticed their presence due to their heated conversations.

"Men!" Kagetora stopped and all the boys immediately stopped talking as they slowly entered the store. When Hikigaya spotted a mop of tinted hair, he knew this was the cue to release a surprised gasp.

"Huh? Yuigahama?"

"Hikki!"

It seemed that the Service Club (plus the clique of Hayama Hayato) had decided to go with Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was beside them as she was lighting up a cigarette.

"You were our guests?" Murasakibara asked in a boring tone as he opens a potato chip pack. "It looks like this is a waste of time."

Hiratsuka nodded. "Thank you for having us, Kagetora-san. And Hikigaya, don't show that rotten expression. We will only be here until Saturday tomorrow in the afternoon."

"Besides, Hikicreepy-kun might do something irresponsible to society so as much as we hate to do it, we're being kind enough to watch over you." Yukinoshita glared at her clubmate.

"Thanks for being a nanny, Yukipedia." Hikigaya rolled his eyes as he sarcastically thanked her.

The 15-man lineup and Hiratsuka's team finally arrived to the old but large inn and slowly made their way inside the building.

They walked through the halls; it was as though the caretaker was giving them a tour of the place as well.

The first place he showed them was the kitchen and breakfast area. They entered the breakfast area first, which consisted of four small marble-top tables with four chairs on either side. Looking towards the sliding door, they saw that there were three more seats present but unlike the ones around the table, these were high stools.

The old man then headed through the sliding door to show them the kitchen. Strangely, the atmosphere felt tranquil. The first thing they noticed was that the kitchen was airy and spacious with the natural light illuminating the room. The next thing that caught their eyes was the table in the centre. Its top seemed to be made of granite, while the rest of it seemed like black wood. To the left of the table, there was a black refrigerator and next to it were the L-shaped light wood double-door cabinets which were left slightly open. Inside, the young men could see various kitchen utensils and equipment.

Beside that was the counter which extended to the window that was directly above the stove. To the left of the stove and right of the table, there was a dish rack and next to that was a sink. And finally, a wooden cupboard that seemed to be made of out the same wood as the floor. It had framed panel doors.

Kagami whistled upon seeing the sight. "This place bring memories. The first time we went here, coach didn't even let me play for those three tune-up games with Shutoku."

"That was because coach focused on bringing out your potential which is your jumping power." Kuroko replied as he tucks his light novel into his duffel bag. "By the way, what are we going to do first for this day?"

"Meeting at the beach with Shirogane-sensei." Akashi replied quickly as he they all went to a long galley ahead. After passing a couple of doors, Akashi opened the door, revealing a large and spacious room.

"This is where we'll all sleep." Akashi announced before turning sharply his head towards Hiratsuka. "As for the rest of those who isn't part of this team, you occupy that smaller room." He didn't even flinch as all the boys began to file inside the large room to begin unpacking as they all began to unfold the futons stacked in the left side of the room. Hikigaya opted to put his futon in the farther right at the corner and Ogiwara decided to put his own bedding beside Hikigaya's.

They were all too busy unpacking their things that they didn't even have time to think about Yukinoshita and company, who silently entered the other room where they would be staying for one night.

"Once you're all done unpacking, change into your training clothes! We're all going to the beach!" Akashi then looked at a certain tanned ace. "And Aomine, don't even think that I forgot your doubled-menu training."

The mentioned player can only faint in shock as Murasakibara poked his body in a show of sympathy.

Meanwhile, Hikigaya, who is already in his white t-shirt and his Fly Wades, decided to jog towards the beach so that he can get his body warmed up. As he then began to sprint with his toes landing first in the sand, he found himself being so restless. His heart constantly raced out of control, and there is a swirl of emotions swelling within him. Whether it was because he low-key wanted to make up for the three years he wasted or he just wanted to separate himself is unknown to a stranger.

He then noticed that somewhat is following him and when he looked behind his back, he was baffled to see a familiar flow of long ebony hair and pale skin.

"Yukinoshita?" Hikigaya called out to his clubmate, who was in her jogging pants. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm obviously jogging or are you here to stalk me, Hikistalker-kun?"

"I don't want to hear that, not from someone who just came here." Hikigaya retorted. "By the way, how come Komachi didn't tell me that you are going with us?"

"We told her to keep it from you and she would be arriving later. She had to pass by a store." Yukinoshita replied.

Hikigaya then then stopped a couple more steps behind due to thew boy with fish eyes suddenly stopping without saying anything. His head was hung down while the hair was hiding his face. Seeing Hikigaya like this, it was a bit funny as Yukinoshita was secretly filled with worry as she scoots closer to the boy.

"Hikigaya-kun?"

"You know, the last time I did this was three years ago." Hikigaya casually began to speak. "Training was so hard at that time that I would even forget every people who hate me so much."

"I see…"

"I was thinking that if I'm not going to become a househusband, I'd probably become a professional player."

Suddenly, Hikigaya stopped speaking as he watches the sea blast in its tidal waves. Yukinoshita Yukino was taken aback the moment she heard that. She didn't know what to reply as he had a whirlpool of emotions to deal with. Unlike Hikigaya, she had a far different reason as to why she is here but she'd rather keep it to herself, for now. There is a feeling inside her heart that was urging her to do the unthinkable but she perfectly supressed it. Not now. Not now.

"I see, Hikigaya-kun. So do you want to enter the NBA?"

It was Hikigaya's turn to be surprised as he looked at Yukinoshita, who seemed to get the answer that she had been finding for ever since she had spoken with Akashi that one night when they fulfilled Kiyoshi's request.

After couple seconds, Hikigaya broke away from his staring contest with Yukinoshita as he then continued to jog. The Ice Queen was stunned but annoyed by his action as she followed him.

"Hikigaya-kun, the nerve of you to even ignore a person when she's talking to you…"

"Sorry, got to finish this drills…."

By the time Hikigaya and Yukinoshita had finished jogging, they both went their separate ways. The latter rejoined Hiratsuka's team and together, they went to a nearby village where they would be spending the rest of the day with some local school kids. They were all carrying stuff like cooking ingredients and small stuff toys for the children, who numbered no more than thirty kids. It was like the summer camp they had in the prefectural park at Chiba but it was shorter in duration and it didn't include two others, one of which is on another group at the same place.

Currently, the fifteen boys were all in the road as they were preparing to go to the beach. Coach Shirogane laughed at the fact that they were all prepared as he watched the beach being filled with a few vacationers. The former Teiko bench tactician was in his shorts as they were currently walking towards their destination.

Just then, a black car drove up beside the group.

"Oi, brats," Kagetora's face suddenly appeared as the window was lowered. He lowered his glasses as well. "I will be away for a while so I can bring supplies and Riko will come in later to help in supervising all of you. Lay a hand on my daughter and I'll kill you."

He then drove off, the black smoke blowing into the face of Kagami.

"Aida-san's dad…" Himuro started, looking like he was fretting. He had heard some stories from Kagami.

"He's as scary as ever." Kiyoshi added.

"That was Aida-san's father?" Okamura asked. "And to think he's the assistant coach… "

"Yeah, but I don't wrong him. His daughter is going to be alone with fifteen healthy high school boys and young men from college." Ogiwarasaid. "I wouldn't be surprised if he came to check up on her every day."

"So what are those?" Hayama Kotarou asked as he pointed into a certain direction. This gained the attention of everyone else.

It was then that they realized the pair of basketball nets a little further away from they were. There was Coach Takeuchi standing there as well, seeming as though he was testing their sturdiness. All the boys then exchanged glances before heading over to where the coach was.

"Oh so the brats are here?" The flabby Kaijo coach said. "Great, they can start…"

"Don't tell me we're going to…" Hikigaya trailed off.

"You're right, kid. You're all going to play basketball here." Takeuchi confirmed.

"Somehow, this brings a lot of memories." Kuroko said.

"Yeah, you're right, Kuroko." Kagami agreed.

"Imagine the teams' power as an equation." Shirogane started. "If the individual numbers are low, we'll never make a big number. That's why me and Akashi-kun decided to come up with a specialized training regimen for all of you." There was unison groan as the boys looked like they were about to die.

"Shooting, passing, dribbling…" He then continued, "In order to further improve your actions, we have to start with the foundation of your legs and hips. That's why we're practicing on the sandy beach."

"This is going to make us twice as tired." Mibuchi pouted as he dusted off the bits of sand from his feet.

"We'll start by doing three times the amount of normal practice." Akashi said as he then took Hikigaya's and Akashi's hands. "Let's get this training camp from hell started!" He blew his own whistle. "As for you two, you'll be on my team."

After they were finished, they then went into mini-matches. The first match was the GoM versus the Uncrowned Kings plus Himuro and Kagami. Akashi decided to seat out for the match and as Aomine had to finish his one lap of shuttle runs that he redhead imposed upon him, Kise was forced to play the power forward while Kuroko occupied the small forward position. Hikigaya was tasked to handle the point guard position.

The boys found it extremely difficult to move as Kagami and Kuroko kept sliding all over the sand. The tealnette and Kiyoshi's passes were reduced to typical basketball passes that excludes bounce passes. Already sluggish, Murasakibara found it hard to even move decently and he didn't get as much rebounds like always. But this just made him only complain louder. Not all of Kise, Midorima and Mibuchi's threes went in as they couldn't get their preferred jump height due to the sand so they was reduced to making mostly layups and bank shots. Hikigaya wasn't that much affected by the sand although, sometimes he misstep and slides.

At one point, Kagami attempted a dunk but due to being on the sand, he didn't get as much height as he should and thus ended up crashing face-first into the sand.

"Is dunking the only thing you can do, Kagami Taiga?" Akashi had barked at his fellow redhead.

The match continued on for twenty minutes and by this time, Aida Riko, who had already arrived, was crackling like a witch as she watched from the sidelines. The others who weren't playing as blanched at the sight before them.

At the end of the twenty minutes, Shirogane blew her whistle, signaling the end of that match. The boys were panting heavily but they were relieved that it was over. But as soon as they had cleared the way, Shirogane sent them running.

The next match was three-on-three with Ogiwara, Okamura and Hayama on one team, while the three others were on the next. This match was similar like the previous.

When everything was done, the boys lay on the sand, desperately breathing heavily for oxygen. They drank water like their lives depended on it and within a minute or two of rest, no one had water left.

"Good work, boys!" Riko announced. "We'll move to the gym next!"

Oi, oi. You got to be kidding me. Hikigaya panted as Kuroko lay in the sand, unable to move.

"Oh no, I'm quite serious." She grinned. She then went over to Kiyoshi. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Don't force your body, Teppei."

"Yeah, I'm fine. This will be perfect for whipping my body into shape." He replied.

"Good…" she smiled.

After a couple more minutes, they then headed to gym and sadly for them, they jogged there. Once more, they started off with the GoM versus Uncrowned Kings match with Kagami and Himuro and the boys noticed a huge change as the game went on.

Kise and Midorima all got a better grip of the floor than when they used to.

Mibuchi noticed that his legs weren't flopping around anymore.

Even Kagami, instead of going for a dunk, did a layup.

Hikigaya, who normally jumps near the shade under the basket for his typical double-clutch layup, stunningly jumped almost from the free throw line and gracefully floated in the air as he avoided Kiyoshi's blocking hand while finishing his shot smoothly.

But there was one thing that both Riko and Shirogane noticed that they didn't.

Their speed had shown some improvement, especially for those who aren't members of the Generation of Miracles.

It was evening when a group of fifteen boys with a coach and two girls reached the guesthouse, clad in their dark blue jersey jackets.

"Heh, this place looks like a haunted house." One of the two girls began to speak. "Are we really staying here, Kaori-chan?"

"I'm sure it's going to be fun, Chika!" The mentioned girl cheerfully replied.

"By the way, why did we again to volunteer to go with them, Kaori-chan?"

"Because Tamanawa said that they needed a manager so he asked us to accompany them."

They were at the back of their group, so the older male players didn't hear their conversation. Passing couple doors, they heard shouting and things being thrown. By the time they reached a big sliding door, they heard a shout.

"Oi, Kise, move from that spot!"

"Don't wanna! Aominecchi sleeps like a boar!"

"Oi! What did you say, you dumb blondie?!"

"You three idiots are so loud. You'll be mistaken as pre-schoolers than high school students when you act like that."

"Then you'll be mistaken as a 70-year old virgin grandpa because of the way you act around with other people, carrot megane!"

Before the group can even move, the sliding door suddenly opened and before their eyes was a young man of average height with a basketball in his hands.

"Hikigaya-kun?"

"Huh, who—Orimoto?"

Hikigaya's eyes met with Orimoto Kaori's brown eyes. Nakamachi Chika then noticed her staring with the boy but she decided to walk pass as the other boys of Kaihin Sougou began to go to their own room.

"It's a surprise to see you here, Orimoto." Hikigaya recovered from his stupor as he then grips the ball in his hands tightly.

"The same with you, Hikigaya-kun."

"Now, will you excuse me? I have to clear my mind." Hikigaya was about to walk past her when suddenly, he was stopped by the girl.

"Neh, Hikigaya-kun, if you have some time, can I speak to you for the moment? We can do it while we're outside."

"Huh?"

Sneak Peak: Hikigaya Hachiman and Orimoto Kaori had an impromptu conversation just outside the inn where there is an outdoors basketball court. While they were speaking, Orimoto can't help but admire the way he plays the game which starkly contrasts with his social skills. Hikigaya merely nodded and tried to shoo her away but Orimoto stays, saying she wanted to see him play for a bit. But as the two converse with each other, none of them realized that two pairs of eyes watching them. Yukinoshita Yukino found herself nearly shattering a plate the moment she saw them while Akashi merely got his interest piqued as he didn't know if he would approve such "crass" lady for his teammate.

On the hindsight, the Kaihin Sougou team nearly wanted to go home the moment they saw who they would be playing. And as the first tune-up game was happening, the team from the Philippines had also arrived for the second tune-up. Their team captain, Calixto Villacorta, seemed to be looking forward for a one-on-one against Hikigaya.

Wait…what?

EDIT: Originally, that scene was supposed to be an inspiration from a chapter in "It Just Takes A Smile" by DomYang but unfortunately, I ended up copying it. Sorry about that since I didn't mean to plagiarize it without crediting the author. So yeah, I decided to re-edit the brief Sagami scene and I decided to put up another scene that concerns another part of the GoM's past.