Author's note

The GOM are still OP. I just exaggerated some of their weakness for our MC to point out.

-Tokyo, Japan-

-March 13, 2011, 1030h local-

After ten minutes of walking and light conversation, the group had finally reached the basketball court.

Kenshi took note of the location in his mental map so he could return anytime he wants. He looked around the park and saw that there are four full courts and six half courts. Only half of which are occupied.

He followed the group to an empty half-court and dropped his bag at the nearest bench before starting his pregame ritual. Kenshi walked towards the ring. When he reached the free-throw line, he changed gears and went into a light jog.

Kenshi jumped at around six feet away from the board, grabbed hold of both sides of the rim, and did some pull-ups. This pre-game ritual mirrors Dwayne's 'The Flash' Wade ritual. He found that he can play harder if he has an idea of how much grip the floor has and how stable is the rim. It's definitely not because the ritual looks cool. He can still remember Kobe's face when he first saw Kenshi's routine. The sheer look of betrayal.

Back on the sidelines, Kuroko and Kise are looking at Kenshi with a surprised look. At the same time, Momoi and Aomine are looking at Kenshi with an analytical stare.

The thing about dunking ability, it's not just about height and reach. It's more about how much power you have in your legs, especially if you're not a seven-foot giant. Within Teiko's first-string basketball team or Generation of Miracles, only Murasakibara Atsushi, the center, can dunk reliably. Aomine can technically dunk, but he still can't do it without a significant running start.

Kenshi was running back towards the bench when he saw everyone looking at him.

"What?" Kenshi asked. He really doesn't like to be the center of attention.

"Shibuya-kun?" Momoi called out since it looks like everyone else would rather stay silent.

"Yes?"

"What position do you usually play?"

"It depends, but I like to play the point." Kenshi answered.

The point guard is the only position Kenshi could play with the Laker's players without being completely useless.

"Point guard with your height?" Momoi replied incredulously.

"I don't know if I should be insulted or not..." Kenshi said with a teasing tone, causing Momoi to blush furiously. "I can play any position, but point guard seems the most natural."

"Huh, that's certainly interesting."

Momoi still has not enough information on their prospective schoolmate to create an accurate analysis, but she could at least say that there is something special about Kenshi.

"Are we just going to stand here, or are we actually going to play some ball?" Kenshi let out while picking up his ball.

Aomine flashed a feral grin.

"Newbie, how'd you wanna pair up?" Aomine asked.

"I have a suggestion..." Kuroko interjected. His sudden appearance had surprised both Aomine and Kise. Momoi, however, noted that Kenshi isn't surprised by Kuroko's disappearing act. "Why don't we have Kise-kun partner up with him? It would be the safest option since we don't know Shibuya-kun's skill level. No offense."

"None taken." Kenshi replied.

Aomine looked around the players and saw no one objecting to Kuroko's suggestion.

"All right..." Aomine stated while walking towards the center of the court. "Game to 11. Standard rules. Momoi would referee. You have the first ball."

Everyone did some light stretches as they walk towards their respective areas. Kenshi went to the top of the key with his ball while Kise positioned himself at the right elbow.

On the other hand, Aomine stood in the space between Kise and Kenshi. He can't exactly count on Kuroko on guarding someone since Kuroko is a support type of player. It also helps that he's confident that he can guard both Kise and the 'newbie.' Kuroko is standing a few feet behind Kise, ready to poke the ball if need be.

"Ready!?" Momoi shouted, to which everyone nodded. Well, everyone except Kuroko since she can't seem to see him. "You can start anytime."

Kenshi passed the ball to Aomine to check, who promptly gave it back to him. He decided to play it safe this time and use a play from his 'other' memory.

Kenshi went into a triple threat position, surprising Aomine since it's one of his favorite moves. Kenshi did a jab step to the left to test Aomine's reaction time, and it was pretty good.

A smile formed on Kenshi's face when he figured out he would finally have some useable challenge. Playing with his teammates back in the state is too easy, while playing with real NBA players is too hard. He can't build-up experience with the same skill level.

"Screen left!" Kenshi said.

Kenshi assumed that Kise and Aomine are at least good players based on their attitudes earlier. Before anyone could ask, he thinks that Kuroko is a knowledgeable player, basing it on his earlier suggestion, but his skills are not up to par with Kise and Aomine.

Anyway, since Kenshi assumed that Kise is a good player, Kise would quickly give him a screen assist. However, reality promptly disproved his assumptions.

He observed that Kise took an unacceptable amount of time to get into the screen position, and Kise's screen is sluggish at best. Either way, it's quite rude not to use a screen he requested.

Kenshi crossed to the left, making use of Kise's screen. But Aomine's agility is nothing to scoff at, especially to a weak screen.

Aomine used a spin move and went low to dodge the screen. He was expecting Kenshi to be just behind Kise or already driving to the basket. What he didn't expect was for Kenshi to do a double stepback to a three-pointer.

Everyone watched the ball fly through the air before hitting the backboard and going into the rim.

"That's a travel!" Aomine shouted not five seconds after the goal.

"No, it's not." Kenshi defended.

"Do you even know how to play? A double stepback is a travel." Aomine emphatically countered.

"Shouldn't we ask the referee for her call?" Kise interjected. He has no real idea what's happened, but it's a safe bet to trust Momoi on the call.

Momoi saw exactly the move Kenshi did, and she already knows that she'll take some heat for her decision.

"It's not a travel." Momoi said with certainty.

"What!?" Aomine shouted before marching his way towards Momoi. Other people would step back, seeing the intensity in his eyes, but Momoi is already to use to all his quirks, so she stood her ground. "Are you blind!? How the hell is that not a travel!?" Kenshi was about to step in and stop him when Kuroko kneed the back of his legs. He turned around and glared at Kuroko. "What the hell was that!?" He exclaimed angrily.

"You should listen to Momoi-san." Kuroko stated with a blank look.

Aomine had no choice but to click his tongue when he saw Kuroko's blank look.

Momoi gave Kuroko a grateful look before answering.

"Shibuya-kun kept the ball spinning while keeping his hands at the side of the ball during his first step back." Momoi explained.

Aomine understood Momoi's explanation mainly because he uses the same technique in his crossover moves. But Kenshi's use of the move is just plain cheating. The quick separation it creates between the shooter and defender makes it almost impossible to contest. He's fairly sure that only Murasakibara can effectively defend against it.

Aomine's expression turned serious, but Momoi could see an underlying giddiness. The prospect of playing somebody that could go toe to toe with him.

Murasakibara used to be able to keep up with Aomine one on one, but something changed last year. It became almost too easy for him to score on his team's center.

Aomine picked up the ball and shoved it to Kenshi's chest.

"2-0. Your ball." Aomine stated before moving back on the court.

Kenshi passed the ball to Kise, indicating that it's his turn. He then walked towards the right low post since he surmised that it would be the weakest defensive spot for Kuroko.

Just like before, Aomine checked the ball. Kise is used to playing Aomine one on one, so his first instinct is to drive to the basket, and that's just what he did. Kise dribbled the ball with his left hand once before crossing to the right and driving towards the basket, letting his body protect the ball.

Kenshi shifted to the left low post to give Kise the lane. He prepared for a rebound in case Kise missed.

Too bad Aomine is a bit more serious than earlier. He basically scooped the ball out of the air after Kise did a running hook shot. He quickly did a reverse layup to get his team's first point.

"2-1." Momoi announced.

Kenshi gave Aomine an appraising look. From what he gathered, Aomine has fast reaction time and a killer instinct, not dissimilar to Kobe. However, he feels that there's still something more to Aomine's game that he hasn't seen yet.

It was a constant back and forth in the next few points. Kenshi has noticed a few more characteristics or quirks of the members of Teiko Basketball first-string members.

First of all, Kuroko is an invisible passing support specialist. Kenshi only noticed it because Kuroko was able to steal the ball from Kise without any resistance. Both Aomine and Kise also 'ignores' Kuroko most of the time unless Kuroko makes the first move, which is either passing or stealing. Kuroko has basically zero skill at other skillsets like shooting and ball handling. His subpar physical characteristics didn't help either.

Secondly, Kise is a natural athlete with a similar skill to Kenshi. He can copy moves he sees as long as his body could handle the stress. However, unlike Kenshi, who takes his time to study, master, and incorporate the moves and forms, Kise uses the copy skill at it's most basic form and let his natural athleticism to take it to another level. Kenshi can also see the lack of solid foundations in Kise's game, most probably because Kise learned through copying others.

Finally, Aomine is the epitome of a streetballer. Low dribbling posture, flashy dribbling moves, and athletic finishes. That's not all, though. Aomine had developed a very peculiar shooting form where he doesn't have a shooting form. It has an efficiency of around 40%, which is very high, considering that the 'formless shot' is basically a trick shot. Kenshi had already resolved himself to work on the formless shot since it could be one of his ace in the hole type of moves. Aomine also has not polished his fundamentals, probably because he uses streetball moves.

As for Kenshi, he only used basic moves when he figured out the Kise is a copycat. It's a good thing that he made use of Kise's screen before using the double stepback move since Kise wasn't able to copy it.

When the score reached 10-9 in Aomine and Kuroko's favor, Kenshi decided to end the game.

Aomine is driving to the basket with Kise covering him, but Aomine just made use of one of his and Kuroko's plays. He passed the ball behind him, fully expecting Kuroko to alley-oop it back to him. However, Kenshi had stolen the ball right before Kuroko could tap it back to Aomine.

Kenshi sprinted towards the three-point line. He could end it right then and there, but where's the fun in that. He waited for Aomine to catch up to him before making his move.

"What do you think you're doing, newbie?" Aomine stated, trying to rile Kenshi up. "You're double step back play won't work on me again."

Kenshi just flashed a smug look before making a spin move to the right, but Aomine was quick enough to cut Kenshi's driving lane. He already expected Aomine to cut him off, so he sharply pulled back before spinning to the left this time.

Aomine was expecting for Kenshi to do another double stepback, so he was surprised when Kenshi did a 'Dirk fadeaway' instead. Just like Kenshi's first three-point shot, the ball went in, giving Kenshi and Kise the first win.

"Fuck! Another game!" Aomine exclaimed.

"Dai-chan! Language!" Momoi admonished.

Kenshi ignored the commotion behind him and went for his bag. He took out his water bottle and towel to freshen up. Kuroko sat down next to him and copied him. Kuroko is the first one to break the silence.

"I never expected for someone to be as good as you outside the Generation of Miracles."

"What the hell is the Generation of Miracles?"

"The Generation of Miracles is the nickname given last year to all the members of the Teiko first-string members. This due to how talented everyone is in basketball..." Kuroko explained. He heard Kenshi release a derisive scoff right after his explanation. "What is it?"

"Nothing..." Kenshi replied automatically. "It's just, you guys are good..." He started. "But nowhere as good to be called a miracle."

Kenshi is not talking out of arrogance. It's just that he saw a much wider variety of talent in the states while still having a solid foundation to work on. For god's sake, he didn't even see either Kise or Aomine box out for a rebound.

Kenshi replaced the bottle in his bag and hanged his towel on the bench before walking back to the court.

"I'll partner up with Kuroko-san this game." Kenshi stated, surprising Kise and Momoi but not Aomine.

"Kuroko is a shadow. The stronger light, the stronger he is." Aomine replied, clearly trying to intimidate Kenshi.

"Shadow? Light? Generation of Miracles?" Kenshu asked incredulously before looking everyone in the eye. "Are you sure none of you are chuunibyo?"

Aomine gave Kenshi a burning glare before pulling Kise.

"Come on. We're going to fuck the newbie up."

Contrary to Aomine's statement, they weren't wasn't able to 'fuck' with Kenshi. Aomine and Kise were able to pull ahead in the early game, making it five to nil, but their luck stopped there. This is because Kenshi still hasn't figured out how to play with Kuroko, and he doesn't want even want to try and carry the game on his own.

By the end of the game, it's clear that the game is being played as two versus 1 and 1. Aomine and Kiss are playing like they are not teammates. Kenshi and Kuroko narrowly lose the game 11 to 9.

"Good game..." Kenshi said before walking back to the bench. He took out his phone and saw that it was already half past 12. "I'm going to have lunch. Anyone wants to come with?" He asks while changing his jersey to something not drenched in sweat.

"Nah."

"I'm good."

"I brought lunch."

Aomine, Kise, and Kuroko replied.

"All right. I'll be back in an hour..." Kenshi said before walking away while shouldering his bag. He stopped and turned around in his tracks when someone when he heard someone running towards him. "Yes?"

"I'm coming with you. I didn't bring my lunch." Momoi answered.

"Uh, sure. I'm going to McDonald's. Is that okay?"

"Yup."

"Didn't you bring a bento box?" Aomine interjected.

Momoi turned to Aomine and gave him a stern glare.

"No, I forgot it..." Momoi replied with a sweet voice, contrasting her expression, scaring Aomine. She turned around and pulled Kenshi. "Come on, Shibuya-kun."

Aomine can't help but stare at the unexpected development.

"What the fuck just happened?" Aomine exclaimed. When he didn't receive an answer, he turned towards his teammates and saw Kise with also the same look.

"I don't know." Kise replied.

"She's going to do some intelligence gathering on a prospective teammate..." Kuroko received an incredulous look from both Kise and Aomine. "He was able to keep up with both of you. He would most likely join the first string faster than Kise-kun..." He continued. "At least that's what she told me before she left. It's possible she's just curious..." He added while walking back to the bench. "Anyway, Momoi-san left your lunch with me, Aomine-kun. She explicitly ordered me to make sure you finish it."

Aomine turned pale before screaming in horror.