Author's note

I'm really sorry about the late upload. I had to rework the whole second half since it was originally a meet up with Kagami, Himuro, and Alexandra, but I just can't seem to make it work.

-Los Angeles, California-

-February 20, 2012, 2100h local-

Kenshi's is now a 6'1", 90 kg, 14-year-old with a muscular yet lithe frame. In the past eight years, he only has two things in mind academics and basketball. His weird combination of interests has made his social life practically nonexistent. He can't seem to fit in with the 'nerds' nor the 'jocks.' The fact that he has almost zero social skills didn't help his situation.

With those details alone, one would think Kenshi is just another socially inept teenager. Still, he would argue otherwise. Ever since he turned seven years old, he started dreaming of another life. A life that could be considered happy and sad at the same time.

As the years went by, the dreams happened over and over. They were getting more frequent as Kenshi grows up. It took some time for him to figure out that the dreams are memories instead. He never told anyone about it, but he started taking notes of everything and figuring out the order and timeline.

Kenshi can see that the dreams follow 99.9% of history. The only difference he could see was 90's NBA history, where his father got a chance to go head to head with Michael Jordan instead of Jordan just dominating the decade. One would expect that something as big of an impact as his father had on the basketball scene, the timeline forced the events to follow the same path as it did the moment his father retired. It's like the universe wanted some things to happen a certain way.

Another peculiar thing about Kenshi is the weird things he could do with his eyes. It started when he was ten, and it was a gradual change. The first thing he noticed was when he focused on something far away; he could see it clearly. Currently, he could see something from a hundred meters away, just like it was 10 meters away.

The next thing Kenshi noticed was the ability to copy people's movements exactly. Well, he wasn't the one who saw it. It was his father. One afternoon last year, Kenshi 'commandeered' the half-court training room at the Lakers training facility to work on his jump shot.

Unknown to Kenshi, Michael was watching him through the training cameras. He noticed that Kenshi was cycling through different shooting strokes. Most of it which he can't identify, but there are a few he recognized immediately due to how iconic or familiar they are. Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and even his own shot.

Kenshi has been actively copying different moves ever since his father made him aware of it, and he didn't limit himself to basketball either. Football, American Football, Dancing, etc. Basically, if he thinks he can use it somewhere, he copied it.

However, copying moves ain't enough. The things Kenshi copies aren't suited for him due to several reasons. It's either he's not strong enough, fast enough, leg or arm length difference, height difference, or any other reason. He still needs to integrate the moves into his playstyle, and the process is taking him quite a while. At the rate he's going, the earliest he expects to get to finish the process is in two years but, more realistically, in three.

Kenshi was studying for his high school entrance exams when he heard her mother call for him.

"Kenshi! Can you come down here for a second?" Hana called out.

"Ok!" Kenshi replied before closing down his laptop and rushing out of his room.

Kenshi ran down the stairs and headed straight to the living room, where he assumes his mother is. The moment he reached entered the room, he saw his father and mother sitting on the couch with an uncomfortable and sad expression.

"Uhmm. Did somebody died?" Kenshi joked, but his parents' expressions just became more uncomfortable.

"No. No honey. Nothing like that..." Hana replied. "We just have some news that none of us would like."

Michael placed his arm around his wife and pulled her closer. This subtle action certainly didn't escape Kenshi's eyes.

"Why don't you just tell me what it is, and we can work from there all right." Kenshi said straightforwardly. As a socially inept guy, it's a whole lot easier for him just to tackle topics head-on.

"You know your grandparents?" Hana asked.

"Yours or dad's side?" Kenshi replied.

"Mine..." Hana answered. "Anyway, you're grandparents aren't exactly happy that they haven't met you yet. So, they sent a proposal we can't exactly refuse."

"I'm not following." Kenshi let out.

Michael released a sigh before answering.

"You and your mother would move to Japan in two weeks. We just have to call the principal to prepare for early graduation."

"What about you?" Kenshi asked his father, reflexively.

"You know my job doesn't allow me to leave for an extended period of time..." Michael answered. "The best I can do is to visit a few weeks every year."

"How long exactly would we be there?"

"From what I can gather until you graduate high school." Hana replied.

Kenshi is getting more and more agitated with the topic of conversation. He may not have much of social life, but he grew up in LA. It's something familiar. Something that makes him feel safe. There's also another thing.

"Not to be that guy or anything, but how about the draft?"

"You're still going into one year of college, right?" Michael asked to which Kenshi nodded. "Then you shouldn't have a problem. Your draft stock would certainly drop, but your college performance would dictate most of it."

Kenshi took walked back and forth for a few more moments, thinking about the sudden predicament he found himself in. He could whine and groan, but what good it could do to him right now. So, he hanged his head low and released a sigh.

"So it's already locked in, huh? Then there's nothing else to do than start packing." Michael said before walking back up to his room.

-Tokyo, Japan-

-March 13, 2011, 0900h local-

"Mom! What box are my shoes in?" Kenshi asked in Japanese.

"It's in the one numbered 13!" Hana replied.

It has been two days when Kenshi and Hana moved into the home Hana's parents bought for them. They still haven't unpacked everything, but they have made some significant headway into it. However, most personal effects are still not unpacked.

Kenshi thought that his middle school life was already over, but it looks like Japan had some other plans. Unlike the US, which has only two years of middle school, Japan has three years in middle school and three years in high school.

He searched the boxes in the living room for box 13. It took him a while to find it since it happened to be at the bottom of the pile. He opened it up and took the shoes at the top, which just happens to be his father's signature shoe, ME 1, in a black and white colorway. This compliments his black pants and white jersey.

He put on his shoes and walked towards the exit, but not before taking one of the reinflated basketballs. Before exiting the house, he checked his wallet, keys, spare jersey, towel, and water in his duffle bag.

"I'm going out now, Mom! Need me to buy anything while I'm out?" Kenshi asked.

"A carton of milk and a dozen eggs!" Hana replied. "Remember to be home by 4! Someone's going to pick us up to have dinner with your grandparents."

"Ok, Mom! Love you!" Kenshi asked, walking out.

Kenshi walked for twenty minutes around the neighborhood, taking in the sights and mapping the area in his mind. However, he just can't seem to find what he's looking for.

"Damn it! Where are the courts!?" Kenshi exclaimed. "I knew I should have googled it before I left."

Kenshi decided to take a break for now and went back to the convenience store he passed a few minutes ago. He went inside the store and went straight for the onigiris. He took three and paid for them.

As Kenshi was leaving the store, he noticed someone reading some magazines. He usually wouldn't give this a second thought, but he saw that this person is reading a sport's magazine.

"Uhmm, excuse me?" Kenshi said.

"Yes?"

"I can't help but notice that you're reading a basketball magazine..." Kenshi started. "I just wanted to ask where are the nearest courts around here, and I've been looking for one in the past half hour."

"Oh! No problem! My friends and I are meeting up to go there. You can come with us if you like."

"There's no need for that..." Kenshi answered with an awkward smile. "I can find it on my own."

"Come on. The more, the merrier."

Kenshi released a defeated sigh. It looks like he wouldn't get an answer unless he comes with.

"Ok. Thank you..." Kenshi replied. "I'm Shibuya Kenshi, by the way."

Kenshi decided to use his mother's middle name in Japan to prevent any more unfair advantages given to him because of his father's celebrity status.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kise Ryota." The man now known as Ryota introduced.

Kenshi observed Ryota. Aside from the guy's apparent blonde hair and yellow eyes, he noted that Ryota is a 5'10 man with a similar body type to his own.

"You must be new around here." Ryota said as a conversation starter.

"Yeah. My mother and I just moved here from LA not three days ago." Kenshi answered.

"That's awesome!" Ryota exclaimed. "What year are you in?"

"Middle School Senior."

"Wow. You're even taller than Midorimacchi, and you're the same year as I am. What school did you transfer into?"

"I think it's named Teiko."

"Awesome! We might become classmates!" Ryota excitedly replied.

The two talked about a few inane topics for quite a while, with Ryota spearheading the conversation and Kenshi just following along. Kenshi answered most of the questions except for a select few like 'why did your dad didn't come with you?' or 'have you ever played basketball as a varsity?'. On the other hand, he learned that Ryota plays as a first-string small forward in Teiko's basketball team.

After five minutes of relatively light conversation, the convenience store door opened, and three people walked in. A 5'4" slim guy with light blue hair, a 5'11 guy with a slightly muscular build, dark skin, navy blue hair, and finally a 5'4 girl with a developing body and pink hair.

"Dai-chan! It's your fault we're late!" The girl shouted.

The navy blue-haired guy just waved his hand, brushing off the girl's statement.

"You should listen to Momoi-san more Aomine-Kun." The light blue-haired guy admonished.

"Damn it, Tetsu! You should be on my side!" The navy blue-haired guy replied.

"Aominecchi's late again?" Ryota interjected while walking towards the group.

"Yup!" The pink-haired girl answered before noticing the grey-haired guy behind Ryota. "Who's he, Ki-Chan?"

"I forgot to introduce you guys. This is Shubuya Kenshi-san. He's going to transfer to Teiko in our year, and he plays basketball..." Ryota said while Kenshi gave a short bow. "And these are my teammates, Kurokocchi, Aominecchi, and Momoicchi."

"Introduce us properly, Baka!" 'Aominecchi' shouted while dropping his fist on Ryota's head. "I'm Aomine Daiki, he's Kuroko Tetsuya, and she's Satsuki Momoi."

"Never thought you could be a civilized person." Momoi let out, causing Aomine's eye to twitch.

"Anyway, are you sure he can keep up?" Aomine asked Ryota in a haughty tone.

"Eh. It doesn't matter, really. It's better to play two on two rather than Kuroko being left out." Ryota answered.

Aomine walked towards Kenshi and looked him over up and down. After almost a full minute of scrutiny, he looked back up to Kenshi's face.

"You smell different."

Kenshi just raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

"Ok. Stop that now..." Ryota interjected. "Let's go, come on, come on." He said while pushing Aomine out of the store.

"Wait for me! Ki-chan! Dai-chan!" Momoi shouted while following them.

Kenshi followed at the back of the group.

"Kuroko-san, right?" Kenshi asked the only person who is also lagging behind. He could see the surprised expression on Kuroko's face.

"You can see me?"

Kenshi looked at Kuroko weirdly, flipping his mind over the peculiar question. In the end, he can only come to one conclusion.

"I never thought I'd meet a real-life Chuunibyo."

Kuroko's expression turned from shock to panic. Unknown to Kenshi, Kuroko has a meager presence, making him practically invisible to almost everyone but a select few. So it was a real surprise for him to be noticed immediately. Worst of all, his question was mistaken for something else.

"Don't worry about it. I was like that too..." Kenshi said, trying to comfort Kuroko. "I once thought I could climb up walls like Spiderman."

Unknown to the pair, one pink-haired manager is observing them with an analytical eye.