With Kimura inbounding the leather basketball, Takao began to dribble it down to Seirin's goal as their defenders then began to pull together to make another stop. I wonder what Shin-chan's planning to do now. The Hawk Eye user thought aloud as he saw Midorima quietly running down. He then spotted Kamijou, who was positioned like his life depends on stopping any basket. Suddenly, the green haired shooter then took a glance at the point guard and in a second, Takao knew what it meant as Midorima made a single nod at him. I knew it Shin-chan! Don't worry, I won't fail you!

As Midorima had faced off against Kagami, the latter noticed that they had slowed down and it looks like they are taking it easy. What's going on!? The red headed power forward made a grunt as he sees Takao trying to keep the ball away from the spiky haired boy, who is now pressuring his Shutoku counterpart. Suddenly, even before Kagami could react, Midorima had entered his shooting motion despite not having the ball. Kuso! It's that aerial past shot! Hyuga mentally screamed as all of the sudden, Takao then flung the ball to where Midorima is jumping as the latter had now positioned his arms, as he prepares to receive the pass.

However, it never came.

Nanodayo!? The carrot megane could only watch with his eyes wide as out of the blue, the spiky haired boy broke away from Takao and with his speed, he had intercepted the pass before the ball even cuts into the air. Not wasting any time, Kamijou then broke away and began to run ahead as the Seirin and Shutoku players found themselves scrambling back to offense and defense, respectively. Chikusou! How the crap did Kamijou manage to intercept that!? Takao was literally surprised as he was forced to run back to defense.

Maybe my luck haven't yet ran out in basketball after watching this touch shot yesterday at the scouting reports, Kamijou unconsciously finished his thought for him as he got the ball. Seeing Midorima blocking him, he decided to swung it to Hyuga, who made a quick three.

"Take this!" the clutch captain shouted as the score wind up to 11 – 3.

Gasping, Midorima clenched his fists as he ran back to offense. Looking at the score and at the time, he knew he must do something to at least raise their scores. Now that three pointer are out of the question at this point, I'll have no choice but to do what that annoying Takao wants me to do. He then watches as his partner brings down the ball. If it means a score though, I don't mind it, nanodayo.

"Takao!" Midorima suddenly asked for the possession. Complying, the raven passes the ball to the Shutoku ace as Kagami then marks him. Inhaling, Midorima then hesitated his move. Kagami followed him but as soon as he had shifted his weight to his left sight, Midorima switched his attack and crossed to the left. Shimatta! He can do a Allen Iverson cross over!? Wait a minute, he's not trying to shoot threes!? Kagami mentally cussed as he sees Midorima dash forward.

Seeing his path open, Midorima had already decided to attack the basket as he then charges straight to the hoop. Kiyoshi failed to anticipate this earlier as by the time he made his move, Midorima was already ahead of him. With a sigh, the carrot then slowed down before eventually picking up his speed as he then rises up for a dunk. A literal dunk. He made a 360 spin in the air before eventually slamming down the leather in the metal hoop.

"Nani?" Midorima then noticed Takao looking at him with a gaping face, "Takao, let's go back to defense."

All of the sudden, the raven began to laugh.

"HAHAHAHA!" Takao can't help it, "This is the first time I have seen you dunk! I never knew you could dunk with grace. Can't you believe it? Shin-chan, a man obsessed in three pointers and Oha Asa, decided to do a dunk!? HAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up," he glared the laughing point guard as he then passes Kagami, who smirks at him.

"What's with this change, Midorima?" the Seirin ace taunted him, "Have you gone so desperate to score back?"

"Shut up, fool," Midorima retorted, "This is just the first quarter. Don't even think of looking down on us, nanodayo."

"Who said we will?" Kagami replied as they all ran back to Shutoku's goal, "The fun only starts now!"

As the game progresses, Kamijou had the ball and quickly passed Takao easily as he then makes a smooth alley-oop pass to Kiyoshi, who makes the finishing touch. Not getting outdone, Midorima then asks for the ball as he made a whole court shot to bring their score within striking distance at 13 – 8 but unfortunately, Kamijou decided to make another three of his own as he shoots in whole court as well. The crowd was quite getting fire up at the scene.

"Won't Kamijou-kun get tired after making that shot?" Himegami asks Kumokawa amindts the crowd starting to cheer for the two teams.

"I don't know," Kumokawa shrugged, "But I doubt he'll go down that easily. I believe in him, you know. If he further trains, he had a bright future with basketball."

"Still, it makes no sense for him to leave Academy City," Shokuhou felt he was being left out and decided to speak out something, "Academy City is a far better pla…"

"Of course, basketball is much better here than in Academy City," the Beauty Senpai decided to cut her off, "If he trains further, he might gain the title of a prodigy. Well, I wouldn't expect much from a person whose stamina is lacking."

"What did you just say?" Shokuhou felt insulted as she was inching to kill her older acquaintance. If I only had duct tape here, I would have keep her mouth shut for the rest of the game!

#

On the other side of the stadium, a group of three familiar people with red, navy blue, and blonde hair is also watching the game. To say they were shocked by the turn of the events was pretty much an understatement. They never expected a lot of things from this game, from Kamijou being able to stop the Sky Direct Three Point Shot of Midorima and Takao to their former vice captain in Teiko Middle School actually performing a dunk.

"Am I getting blurry eyes or was it just my imagination?" Kise, who had just came from a photoshoot, "I can't even imagine Midorimacchi making a layup, much less a 360 degrees slam dunk. I hate to admit it but it makes my slams look silly."

"I know right," Aomine, despite being bored at first, was now eyeing the match with interested eyes, "At first, I thought I was just hallucinating things but eventually, I realized that he really did made a dunk that could rival mine's. I can't wait when his next dunk will come."

"Didn't you think you're all being mean to Midorima?" Akashi mused as he turns to see Kamijou makes a perimeter shot, "Even someone like him can make a dunk as long as he's focused. But if there is someone I'm focusing to, it's Kamijou Touma."

"Kamijou? Ah yeah, he's busting Midorima's ass right now," Aomine agreed with their former (and upcoming) captain as they all turned to watch the match, which had just entered the one minute mark, "By the way, how did we even ended up being together? And Akashi, no offense but I'm surprise you were able to go here by yourself."

"I just happen to go here when I saw Kise from the streets so I decided to tag him along and for your information," Akashi then turned serious, as if he got just insulted from what Aomine said, "I can take the train by myself. Or do you want me to make your punishment in the first day of national team practice a bit challenging?"

"Ah no no," Aomine, gulping, decided to shut his mouth, "Hey, it seems that the first quarter had just ended. I was hoping that it would even be more entertaining in the next quarter."

"I don't think so," Akashi stroked his chin.

"Eh? Why Akashicchi?" Kise asked as he watched the two teams made their way into their benches.

"For one, it looks like Midorima and his new seniors aren't yet coexisting with each other so I believe that he'll be taken out on the second and even third quarter," Akashi explained, "Normally, since Midorima was the one with the most experience as well as talent, it makes sense if he'll be kept in the game but from how I see it, it looks like his stamina is being sapped easily since he had to deal not only with Kuroko and Kagami but also against a new and powerful opponent. Takao isn't just cutting it right at the moment and the seniors of Shutoku aren't yet that experienced enough. For that reason, their coach can pull him out just to give their other players enough room for growth and learning objectives. This also gives Midorima a chance to rest and preserve his stamina so when he comes back, he can fight back in full power."

"I see," Kise said, "But you know, Midorimacchi had his full court shots."

"Baka, he can't simply use them non-stop in a game," Aomine butted in, "He'll be a dead man if he kept shooting from a whole court from first to fourth quarter…no, he might even be dead in the second quarter already is he does that."

#

"Good job, boys!" Aida squealed as she gives each player a towel. The score was 21 – 12 thanks to a push made by their second years in Kamijou, Kuroko, and Kagami. The latter three were heavily perspiring that when they sat down on the bench, they immediately gobbled down their Gatorade bottles like hungry wolves.

"Now, Kamijou-kun, Kuroko-kun, and Kagami-kun, you'll be benched and depending on the match up, your return might be on the fourth quarter," the female coach smiled.

These first words of the Seirin mentor shook the thoughts of the three mentioned individuals.

"Eh?" the three players didn't exactly know how to respond to what their coach had just said.

"Do I have to repeat myself!?" the brunette coach yelled exasperatedly as she takes out a slapping fan from her bag and quickly smacked Kagami, who complains why is he the only one getting hit. "I'll have to take you three out so you can have some rest, especially you Kamijou-kun. You have been working so hard that I began to fear that you're copying ability will eventually hit its limits…"

"But coach, copying abilities isn't the only thing I can do," Kamijou then tried to explain but then, he wasn't sure how he can say it, "Well, I mean is…I'm a point guard so…"

"Just follow the orders of Riko, Kamijou," Kiyoshi smiled as he then flashes his signature smile. The spiky haired boy then relented as he watched his seniors get ready for the second quarter. It sure is nice to have reliable and caring senpais, for once.

"But kanto-kun," Kagami was eager to play more, "Who will handle Midorima then!? I'm not saying it's impossible but…ittai!" He suddenly cried out a lot when Hyuga, having enough of his juniors complaining, chopped down the power forward's ace hard with his hand.

"Kisama! You juniors better stop talking back to your seniors!" the shooting guard and captain roared at the Kagami, Kamijou, and Kuroko, who wasn't even saying anything, "Listen to your senpais for once or I'll kill you all, especially you Bakagami!" He then cracked his neck, which is a sign that he would enter his clutch mode mentality. Kagami, getting smacked so badly, was forced to shut his mouth while sulking in his bench.

As the seniors then re-enter the court, Hyuga was heard saying, "I know that Shutoku is strong with Midorima and Takao. But it would be pathetic and ridiculous if we can't do anything by ourselves while those three brats are on the bench. Seniors, get a grip! We'll be in for a pretty run-and-gun attack!"

"You're really fired up Hyuga," Izuki then mouthed of as he tried to make another lame joke, "Fire as in…"

"Damare, Izuki!"

Meanwhile…

"I can't simply do that, nanodayo," Midorima, who had just finished drinking his bottle of water, suddenly answered coach Nakatani, who had decided to take out their ace for the rest of the game.

"No Midorima," the stern coach replied with firmness, "If you were to go out there, that would mean you'll have to face those three again and by the time we reach the fourth quarter, you'll be out of gas. Have some faith on your new seniors." He then stole a glanch at the Seirin bench. "I believe that they will take out their three best players to preserve their stamina. This is a good chance to see our Miyaji and the rest size up against the Seirin seniors."

"But…" Midorima tried to reason out but he was cut off by Kimura's heavy hand slapping into his head.

"Just sit here, junior!" the younger brother of Kimura Shinsuke roared at him, "You trusted the past seniors so why can't you do the same right now? Don't underestimate us, kid." He then cracked his knuckles which made Midorima actually feel so small and decided to stop arguing.

"Don't worry, Shin-chan," Takao chuckled as he taps the shoulder of his partner, "We'll do our best to reduce the gap of Seirin's lead.

As the Shutoku seniors then went out, Midorima can't help but feel glad that still, he had seniors to rely on (not that he would show it anyway, being the tsundere he is).

As the game then resumed, Takao got the ball and was already going up against Izuki but as soon as he reaches Seirin's goal, he realized that it's really going to be hard. Seeing their lanky freshman center getting pushed out by a healthy and vastly-improved Kiyoshi while their new captain was blocked by Mitobe, he made a hasty choice to shoot the ball right away. Unfortunately for him, the ball just rattled out and Kiyoshi got the rebound.

"Kuso!" the Hawk Eye can't help but curse at his own blunder of immediately shooting the ball rather than rotating it to his teammates. The Seirin regulars, seeing that Shutoku had perfectly set up their defense, immediately passed it to Kiyoshi who was under the post. Expecting either a pass back to Hyuga or a hook shot, the rookie then outstretched his long arms to prevent any movement but as soon as the Iton Heart gets the leather, he suddenly pushed back the unsuspecting rookie and since he was quite thin, he got outboxed as Kiyoshi finishes a running hook.

"Nice shot, Kiyoshi," Koganei cheered him as they went back to defense.

"That's the way it should be," Hyuga then butted in, "Otherwise, there is no point in becoming the best if we let the juniors carry us."

#

"Where the hell is that idiot!?"

That one voice belonging to none other than Misaka Mikoto was heard echoing through the empty space in the park with the vending machine. Normally, the third-ranked Level 5 of Academy City would just encounter the unfortunate spiky haired boy in this exact spot and immediately, the brunette middle schooler would do anything to catch his attention, even to the point of zapping him mercilessly. However, this does not seemed to be the case this sunny Thursday morning.

"Just where did he again end up to?" Misaka exasperatedly asked herself as she sits down in the bench near the vending machine. To be clear, the Railgun had already acknowledge the fact that she had fallen in love with the Imagine Breaker but for some reason, she just can't find the right chance or moment to confess. For once, she realized that what the spiky haired boy faced outside the world of Academy City is far, far more dangerous than what she had witnessed in the dark side of this city. She herself had seen glimpses of it when her status as a Level 5 was rendered useless when her railgun even failed to slow down the rampage of the High Priest, who had just sowed chaos into the city some months back. For this reason, she had her pride shattered and at the same time, she had grown even more desperate to reach her feelings to the guy she called an idiot.

"He's an even bigger idiot because he would keep doing things his own way," Misaka grumbled to herself as she gets a drink for herself. She made it a personal mission to accompany (and in some case, force herself into) Kamijou Touma into his dangerous adventures. "Not that I won't find out. I'll simply have to go to his school to get updated." To be clear as well, she had also planned to take her high school entrance exam at the certain high school (and even fought Shokuhou for the rights of the poor boy's school).

The only problem is she just had no idea that Kamijou had already transferred to a school outside Academy City.

"Onee-sama!"

"Bwaaah…"

Misaka suddenly yelped when she realized she was tackled to the ground by someone familiar to her. How can she not realize immediately? That seductive, whiny voice belonged to the most infuriating kouhai and roommate she had. Shirai fucking Kuroko.

"Kuroko! Get off me!" the electro-princess angrily yelled as she used her shocks to get off the perverted teleporter.

"Onee-sama! So mean! I just wanna show my love for—" Shirai wasn't able to continue what she was about to say as she was kicked in her mouth by the older esper.

"Can't you see I'm a bit exhausted, Kuroko!?" Misaka seethed as she then returns to the bench, not minding the smell of burning flesh coming from the crazed teleporter. I guess I'll pay a little visit to that idiot's school.

#

"Finished cleaning, Shiina!" Index happily called Kamijou's mother as the former had just put away the large shears she used to cut down the tall grasses that was threatening to invade their vegetable garden. Despite being a whiny and sometimes, spoiled brat, Index had proven to be helpful in the household chores of the Kamijou family. At first, she had a hard time adjusting to their new home since unlike in the school dorms, where she does nothing but to eat and watch television, she was suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar world where she had to do some household jobs. As a consequence, she first did terrible things, such as accidentally burning Kamijou Touya's stack of hay, destroying their lawn mower, and shattering one of Shiina's precious plates (which made the pretty mother of Kamijou cry). But through the patience and endless mentoring of the spikey haired boy's parents, she eventually learned to do the job of a domestic helper and she was actually enjoying it.

"Wonderful! It's such a lovely improvement from the past, Index-san. Come here, let's have some tea and cookies," Shiina smiled sweetly as she then enters their kitchen. Fixing the gardening tools quietly, Index followed the woman into the place where she can smell the aroma of the hot, brewing ginger tea as well as the sight of the vanilla cookies that was just newly-baked. But before she ate, she goes upstairs to give Othinus, who was busy sleeping in her dollhouse, some water. The now-tiny Othinus have yet to reveal her presence to Kamijou's parents.

"Oh, it's you," the former Magic God was awakened as soon as the English nun was already standing in front of her small house, "And what's with the soiled parts in your robe? It does seem to look like you have gone from some extremely unpleasant work."

"I helped Shiina cut the tall grasses in the garden," Index hurriedly replied before going back to the kitchen. As she sat down in the table, she suddenly remembered that today is the game between her Touma's school and some team called Shutoku. He mentioned that he'll be fighting some guy named Midorima Shintaro. I don't know what he looks like. By the word fighting, does that mean that Midorima is a sorcerer!? Worried, she asked something from Shiina.

"Shiina! Shiina!" Index yelled, "What do you think of this guy named Midorima Shintaro, which would be fighting Touma's school?"

"Midorima? Uh…" the mother trailed off, as if trying to recall something, "Ah, I think you're talking about the Generation of Miracles."

"I've been always hearing that terms from Touma," Index replied exasperatedly, "Just what kind of players are they?"

"I really don't know, much less play, basketball dear," Shiina chuckled, "But those Generation of Miracles are famous enough to be known by almost every Japanese individual, well, maybe with the exemption of Academy City. From what I heard, this Midorima is very hard to deal with in terms of shooting capacity."

Index sighed as she gobbles her cookies. I can only pray that Touma would be safe.

#

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Miyaji cussed out loudly as their possession turned over into Izuki's hands as the time was winding down to just ten seconds, with Seirin building a 69 – 52 lead over Shutoku. Despite Takao and the rest of the players' attempts to claw their way back into the game, the black shirts have proven themselves to have matured further in the game of basketball. Hyuga and Kiyoshi were relentless in scoring despite the absence of their second year trio while Koganei had vastly improved his jump shot. Izuki's physical build became more relaxed and swift while Mitobe had bulked up a little.

Kiyoshi then made a hook shot, beating the buzzer.

"Yes! We got a huge lead—ittai!" Kawahara was cut off from cheering as coach Aida suddenly kicked him.

"Baka! The game's not over yet! Come fourth quarter and I'm pretty sure they'll gonna fight back!" the brunette coach yelled at the crying Kawahara as all the senior players had entered the bench.

"I feel like I'm going to die from running back and forth endlessly," Koganei gasped as he was given a bottle of Gatorade.

"We're not doing anything differently from last year," Tsuchida then butted in, "If anything, you should already get used to the run-and-gun style by now."

Pushing aside Koganei's complaints, Aida then said, "Good job Izuki-kun, Hyuga-kun, Mitobe-kun, Teppei, and Koganei-kun. Now, we'll reinsert you Kamijou-kun, Kuroko-kun, and Kagami-kun. Yagi-kun and Furihata-kun, you'll be in."

"Hai!" the latter two answered as they removed their sweatshirts.

"Kamijou-kun, how much time do you have left in your copy ability?" Aida asked, looking at the spiky haired boy.

"Limits…well…" the boy hesitated before eventually answering, "As long as I don't copy moves that are beyond my physical boundaries as well as I don't do a carbon copy, I'll still be standing at the end of the game."

"Eh?" the coach and all the seniors was quite shocked at hearing this.

"Kamijou-kun must mean copying like what Kise-kun does," Kuroko, getting what the Imagine Breaker user said, and then clarifies it for the team, "Kise-kun copies moves that he sees but those are exact copies. What Kamijou-kun does is absorbing a move instead of doing a direct copy and alters some movements from the original to suit his physical body. In some ways, it's very similar to Haizaki-kun's as much as I want to reject the idea. The only difference is that Kamijou-kun can adapt plays from the likes of Aomine and Akashi and he does not pillage skills." Kamijou, meanwhile actually widens his eyes at something. Eh? Who the hell is Haizaki?

"O-Ok then. Fine, we'll have to use wisely Kamijou-kun's skills," Aida then drew a battle plan in her board, "I'm pretty sure Midorima-kun will come back. Kagami-kun, slow him down. Kuroko-kun, do everything you can to stop Takao-kun from utilizing his Hawk Eyes. Kamijou-kun, keep the gap in the whole fourth quarter. Pass it to Furihata-kun or Yagi-kun if they're free. Seirin, go get them!"

All the players who will re-enter the court then made a circle and chanted, "Seirin! Fight!"

As soon as the game resumed, Kagami saw that Midorima had entered back into the game. They really trust their lifeline into that megane ass. Well, that means things are just started to get heat up!

As soon as Kuroko inbounds the ball, the spiky haired boy then grabs it and then began dribbling it towards Shutoku's ball. Brushing off Takao, who nevertheless does not give up trying to pressure him despite the obvious differences in their skills, Kamijou then pulled off a swift between-the-legs bounce into the Hawk Eye user's legs before grabbing it back immediately after getting past the stunned Takao, who was once more on the receiving end of Kamijou's cat-like speed. Seeing Yagi free in the shaded free throw key, the spiky haired guard then immediately bounced it into the hands of the rookie center, who then dribbles it before attempting to dunk it.

Twack!

"Crap!" Yagi cursed as he saw the ball got swatted away by the left hand of Midorima, who quickly saw the bounce pass and immediately closed in on him. "How insulting," the green haired shooter muttered quietly, "Do you really think I could do nothing but shoot threes?"

"You're the best, Shin-chan!" Takao, who picks up the ball, then passes it back to Midorima, who quickly made a quick release from the spot.

As soon as the shot swished into the net, Midorima then pushed up his glasses, "We won't simply roll over and die without a fight, fools." He then prepares to defend for the counterattack.

As Kuroko inbounds the ball, he then says to the red head and the spiky haired boy, "Kagami-kun, Kamijou-kun, Midorima-kun is in his best condition to play under pressure but so are we. Please, let us use that formation attack once."

After a few seconds, Midorima then saw the whole team dashing towards them, "What's this? I'll have to be careful whatever trick they'll try to pull off." But as soon as Yagi then dashes and stands his ground in the post while Kamijou then drives to the right corner of the three point line, the latter then passes the ball to Yagi, who surprisingly didn't make any moves yet. Suddenly, Kuroko began to run towards where their point guard is and Midorima suddenly was shocked to see them doing a formation done in the NBA.

"It's a Triangle Offense, nanodayo!" the green haired shooting guard screamed mentally as he then tried to follow Kuroko but in doing so, he got lured into a trap as this enabled the tealnette to free up the spiky haired boy, who now motioned and ran in the opposite direction to the peak of the rainbow territory. Midorima then tried to switch directions but found himself got stalled by Kuroko and an incoming Kagami, who then conspired to put up a double screen to prevent the Shutoku ace from following Kamijou as the latter then gets the pass from Yagi. He then makes a quick release three pointer.

Bang!

The sound of the ball swishing into the metal hoop was heard as the Seirin bench cheered, "We scored them back!" Koganei yelled in happiness.

Infuriated, Midorima then grabs the ball from Takao's inbounds pass and then shot another quick release three from the whole court, which never failed to go in. "Stop celebrating, fools. The game isn't over yet."

"I feel like this is another pretty run-and-gun attack game and a faster pace," Kuroko sighed as he inbounds the ball.

"The more it's intense, the more it is enjoyable!" Kagami, now getting heated up, replied.

And so, in the whole duration of the seven-and-a-half minutes, both Shutoku and Seirin then upped their tempo and began to play on a much faster pace as both teams now began to exchange goal after goal. Midorima was pounding the Seirin team mercilessly with his three pointers but the black shirts quickly countered this by Kamijou scoring a three as well, Kagami dunking or making his mid-range shots or Kuroko doing his Phantom Shots. Still, this was a game that was so intense that even with the defense trying its best to hold on, it would end up crumbling in face of a heated offense. Basically, it was a battle of speed and skill where everyone is on each other's throats.

"N-Nani?" Aida can't believe what she is watching as she is witnessing a game featuring two members of the Generation of Miracles, the one who defeated them all, and the spiky haired boy who was a new recruit but yet, showed flashes of potential to become a one as well.

"Su-Sugoi…" Izuki can't help but feel captivated by the focus of all the players on the court, which he compared to a tiger facing off against a panther.

"Amazing. No one's backing down…" Koganei commented as Mitobe nodded in agreement.

"But it is the players inside who are having the most fun," Kiyoshi said and then gasped, "Hey look, Hyuga! Kamijou's…smiling."

"Eh?" Hyuga then looked closely and then narrowed his eyes, "Nani? He really is smiling." And for some reason, it reminds me of Kagami when he is facing off against players stronger or better than him.

Back into the court, Kamijou then felt himself like he was in his best moment. What's this? I...am…smiling? I don't know why but for some reason, this is getting me pumped up more! Wait…I have no time to think of such thoughts. I have to finish this game for my team.

He then quickly made a formless shot against Takao, who was already on the verge of collapsing due to the unexpected increased speed of their match and is now on his last legs.

#

"Seirin! Seirin! Seirin!"

"Shutoku! Shutoku! Shutoku!"

"Seirin…"

"Shutoku…"

"Seirin…"

"Shutoku…"

"Seirin…Shutoku…Seirin…Shutoku…"

"Oh my, look at this crowd chanting," Kumokawa can't help but observe the now-wild stadium cheering their bets for the game as Himegami and Shokuhou was watching the people shouts out from their hearts.

"Who do you think will win, Kumokawa-senpai?" the Deep Blood user asked as she hugs the Seirin jacket tightly into her.

"Of course, it will be my cute kouhai's victory!" the beauty senpai was confident with what she said as she then glances back into the game, "But I do believe the guys in white-and-orange shirts won't simply go down without a fight, especially that number 6 guy."

"The green-haired man with glasses?" Shokuhou then said something (as she didn't appreciate being left out of the conversation), "He does looks good."

"He's more than good. He's a member of the Generation of Miracles, duh," Kumokawa rolled her eyes, which the Mental Out didn't fail to notice and was annoyed at the treatment she is receiving right now.

On the other seat, Fukiyose, who was quiet for the rest of the match, was startle at the crowd and the game. It seems like the people around me wanted more from Kamijou and his team. She then looks narrowly at the spiky haired boy and had to cover her mouth the moment she saw the expression in the boy's face. What's this? He's smiling? Everyone from the team is now gasping for air in this fast-paced game and baKamijou got the nerve to smile? Wait…he looks calm but composed in face of the pressure he is facing right now in and out of the court. In fact, his smile indicates…that…that…he is enjoying this game. It's totally different from the Kamijou that I know. It's directly opposite to the one where he is sitting in a chair fooling around with those two idiots in Tsuchimikado and Aogami. Oh yeah, what are they doing now? She sighed. She'll have to deal with the womanizers later. Talking to Kamijou is her bigger priority.

On another seat, Akashi, Aomine, and Kise were also glued in the match. "This match is very entertaining." The red headed point guard said as he calmly notes the smooth pass Kamijou made while in transition. Almost like how I passed to Mibuchi-senpai…

"This makes me want to play basketball early!" the tanned ace of Touou exclaimed as he crushes his emptied paper cup in his hands. "This game has the firepower that I've wanted to face!"

"I know right, Aominecchi!" the blonde ace of Kaijo agreed wholeheartedly as he then looks at the scoreboard, "But to think that Midorimacchi would really give it all just to cut down the lead…"

"The victory would go to Seirin, though," Akashi cut him off.

"Eh? Why? Are you saying Midorima will lose?" Aomine asked as he looks at their former (and upcoming) captain.

"Isn't it obvious?" Akashi then explained, "The one minute mark is already nearing and Seirin is in lead by fourteen points. Midorima has now ran out of gas as evident by the fact that he stopped taking back-to-back and was forced to rely on hitting perimeter shots. Added to that is that fact that he is facing off against not one but three brutal aces from Seirin. Kuroko's misdirection has significantly overcame its weakness, Kagami's jumps are nowhere near possible to stop, and Kamijou…well…you can see how he can adapt moves for himself, from ankle-breaking to your formless shot. And he's a pretty good floor general, in my high standards."

"Souka…" Aomine can't help but agree with the Rakuzan captain's detailed observation.

#

"I can't just give up…"

Midorima muttered as he saw Kagami dunking on their rookie slot man. The score is already 96 -82 with 55 seconds left into the game.

"We have to score…"

Despite Midorima and Takao's gallant attempts to cut down the lead to single digits, going along with Seirin' pace and the added scoring machine on the part of the black shirts have added strain on the two Shutoku holdovers from the last year's team.

Takao, who already conceded that they have lost the game, is now dribbling the ball into Seirin's goal. Even if Shin-chan would score a three there, it would still be futile as Seirin would simply dribble out their possession to burn the clock or try to score through Kagami. Oh well…at least we didn't lose so badly like Kise and Kaijo…

"Takao! Give me the ball!" Midorima then shattered Takao's thoughts.

"Eh? But Shin-chan, there's hardly enough time to…"

"I know!" Midorima gritted his teeth, "Still, give me the ball. If we were to lose, we'll lose with us scoring the last point. Let's get all out for one last time!"

Touched by Midorima's unyielding spirit, Takao gave off a smile before passing the ball to the megane, who proceeds to dribble towards Seirin's goal. Facing off against Kagami, Midorima sighed as he proceeds to move. I don't want to do what monkeys do but since today's not my lucky day and I already demonstrated my capability to score another way, I guess I have no choice this time.

Suddenly, he then dribbled harder between his legs before shaking off Kagami by catching him off guard as he then makes his move. Seeing that his path is really clear as Yagi is being screened out by their rookie center, he then attacked the basket and as soon as he catapults himself in the air, he makes a between-the-legs dunk and viciously slam the ball as if making a statement. This wows the crowd, more so for the Shutoku supporters.

"What is it, nanodayo?" Midorima then asked the gaping Takao, who looked to stunned to even comment what he just did.

"HAHAHAHA!" Takao then laughed so hardly, "I never knew that you were that desperate to score! HAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up, fool," Midorima chided his partner as Kamijou, who got the possession, is now dribbling out the ball, "It would be rude if we don't end the game without us scoring the last point. Still, it's our loss again, and for record, my second loss against Kuroko and his school."

"Not to mention we just tied a game with them during the Winter Cup preliminaries," Takao sighed as he saw the time now shrinking to five seconds, "Let's give it to them, shall we."

The sound of the buzzer signifies the end of the game, "Game over!" The referee whistled then announced the end of the match between Seirin High School and Shutoku High School. The two teams then immediately line up.

"96 – 84, Seirin High School wins! Bow!"

"Arigatou-gozaimashita!" all the players answered and exchanged greetings with each other. Midorima then when near the spot where Kamijou is standing, "Kamijou!"

"H-Hai?" the spiky haired male was startled to see Midorima speaking to him.

"Let's play again," Midorima huffed, "I will avenge my loss there."

"Uhm…sure. Anytime," Kamijou coolly replied.

"We won! We won! We won!" the trio of Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara were celebrating wildly as they continuously jump in the air while flailing their arms like fools. Kuroko and Kagami were giving off small smiles while they are heavily drinking their sports drinks to rejuvenate their lost electrons that were spent in the 40 minutes of basketball action.

"It sure was a fun-filled day with these guys," Kamijou muttered to himself as he then rejoins his team in the bench while everyone was returning to the dugout.

Once they were already inside the locker room, Koganei was the first to speak, "Let's go celebrate guys! I'm exhausted and so hungry as well!"

"Does someone know a cheap restaurant near here?" Kiyoshi then asked as he then pulls out his wallet to check his bills. His sullen face is an enough reason for them to know what the Iron Heart meant.

"Well guys…" Kamijou, suddenly remembering a certain cheap restaurant, "I know it's my first time here but my parents brought me into an okonomiyaki restaurant not far from here." He didn't want to say aloud that it was his beautiful senpai who actually invited him because this one might cause him a ruckus among the team.

"Well, what are we waiting for!?" Koganei exclaimed, "I'm really famished!"

Minutes later, everyone was already heading out of the astrodome. Kamijou, meanwhile, was thinking deep again. This day was really tiring but at the same time. I really gained a lot of lessons in this game. I learned how strong Midorima is, how fun really is in playing basketball but most of all, I was glad that for once, I had supportive friends and seniors like Kuroko, Kagami, captain, Kiyoshi-senpai, and the others. Now that I think of it, this is one thing that I sorely didn't much feel back in Academy City. It's not that I'm ungrateful but still…

Thump!

Suddenly, Kamijou felt himself colliding with someone else. Panicking, he raised his eyes to see that he had just collided with a man. Immediately standing up, Kamijou saw that he was carrying some kind of a wooden box so he picked it up and then extended his hands to the fallen guy. "Sumimasen…I didn't see where I was going..."

"Ah…I'm sorry young man hehehe. I also wasn't looking at my direction. Thanks for assisting me anyway…" the man, wearing some kind of a strange coat similar to those of the Freemasons, took the hand and stood up as Kamijou was gaping. He speaks English. But not only that, his voice is heavily British in accent. Now scanning the strange man, Kamijou gasped. He's a foreigner, based on his facial features. He then watches the man stand up and move away as he smiled back at the spiky haired boy.

"Kamijou! Oi, Kamijou!"

The mentioned teen heard Kagami's voice calling him from afar, "Crap, I was almost left behind!"

#

After retracing his steps, Kamijou had led the whole team into the okonomiyaki restaurant. Immediately, the whole team was amazed that this place was affordable. "It's too bad that the old okonomiyaki restaurant from last year was torn down," Izuki exclaimed, reminding the team of a certain incident where Kuroko, Kagami, Kise, and Midorima ended up seating in one table after a match, which was coincidentally also between Seirin and Shutoku. And for some reason, I'm feeling that something will happen.

Entering the whole establishment, the team then went to search for free tables. For Kamijou, Kuroko, and Kagami, this would be an easy task. But in a matter of seconds, Izuki knew that his premonition just became true.

"Eh? Kamijou-kun?"

Hearing his name being called by a familiar name, Kamijou then twisted his head and as soon as he saw the sources of it, he then prayed that he was dreaming.

"Ku-Kumokawa-senpai!? Himegami!?" the Imagine Breaker user raised his voice slightly at the sight of seeing the beauty senpai, the Deep Blood user and some blonde girl whom he wasn't able to remember immediately all sitting on a wide able. This slight (loud) exchange caused Seirin to look at Kamijou with suspiciousness.

"Kamijou-kun, you know them?" Kuroko asked as he eyed the three women.

"Ah…ehehehe…" Kamijou, now torn in this situation, didn't know what to say. Just my luck! I should have remembered that they were coming along as well. Now, this is gonna be explosive.

"Ara," Kumokawa then suddenly remembered that the table they took can accommodate eight people, "Seems you two had no table to turn to so you can join us." Not surprisingly, she didn't notice Kuroko even thought he was already standing beside Kumokawa's crush. "We just got here as well so it's a perfect timing."

"Ah correction, that's three of us here," Kagami answered, knowing where this would lead.

"Eh? But I only see two…" Himegami then tried to reason out but then, she heard a voice which raked her flesh.

"Doumo…"

Upon hearing the voice, the three then turned around to look closely and true to Kagami's words, they saw a mop of light blue hair just beside Kamijou. Upon further inspection, they realized that indeed, there was another person standing between Kamijou and Kagami.

"Ehhhhh!?" Kumokawa screamed as Shokuhou almost choked upon seeing the tealnette, "Since when did you get there!?"

"I was already here by the time you asked Kamijou-kun to sit with you," Kuroko explained as he was then laying his bag in the wide and long table. The table happened to have rows of cooking utensils used in preparing okonomiyaki and other related dishes. Soon, Kamijou and Kagami followed. Kuroko was facing Himegami, Kamijou was in-between and he was directly facing Kumokawa while Shokuhou had the unpleasant privilege of sitting in front of Kagami, whom she immediately described as a pauper-looking bastard, inwardly.

There was some immediate silence as a scent of what seems to be like honey is coming from the Mental Out and is entering Kamijou's nostril. This development then made Kamijou raised his eyebrows. T-This smell! I recognize this smell! I don't know but I think I have encountered this honey scent somewhere in Academy City. I…

He wasn't able to finish his thoughts as Kuroko, who was actually hungry, now broke the silence by picking up the menu booklet and said loudly, "Anou…I'm actually starving, guys. Let's order something to eat." After that, their ingredients are now served and right now, they are busy cooking the okonomiyaki in the grill. While waiting for their dishes to be cooked, the beauty senpai was the first to speak.

"Congratulations on winning against Shutoku High, Kamijou-kun," Kumokawa smiled sweetly at Kamijou as Shokuhou was grumbling in annoyance while trying to flip her okonomiyaki. My prince is there! I don't believe it! For once, I can have him for myself this day without that annoying Misaka interfering. But if only I can make this red headed pauper exchange seats with my prince. She looks at Kagami with disgust while watching him make his okonomiyaki skilfully.

"Thanks, Kumokawa-senpai," Kamijou gave off a small smile, "Oh...by the way, this one on my left is Kuroko Tetsuya and the one on my right is Kagami Taiga. They're my teammates and new friends at Seirin High School. Kuroko, the one in front of you is Himegami Aisa." And she had a low presence, similar to yours.

"Nice meeting you, Himegami-san," Kuroko greeted the Deep Blood user and then bowed to her as a way of expressing politeness. For some reason, Himegami felt like blushing. He's so respectful, unlike Aogami.

"This is Kumokawa Seria and she's a college freshman right now," Kamijou introduced the pretty senpai next.

"College freshman? That makes her a year older that Hyuga-senpai and the other seniors?" Kagami asked.

"Yes, Kagami and finally…uh…"

As if to save Kamijou from embarrassment of not remembering her, Shokuhou put up a cute smile with her starry eyes twinkling even more, "Hi, I'm Shokuhou Misaki and I'm friends with my prince over here!"

"Eh?" both Kuroko and Kagami didn't get what the blonde was talking about.

"Ahem…ahem…" Kumokawa faked her cough as she smiles at Kuroko and Kagami, "I'm terribly sorry for her tendency to make up and conjure fantasies but please, let's just enjoy our food." Shokuhou was inches from wanting to kick Kumokawa's mouth but she was stopped by the sound of the sliding door opening.

"Cheer up, Shin-chan!"

"Shut up, Takao!"

"Come now, Midorimacchi, at least you didn't lose badly just like my team."

Hearing those three familiar voices make Kagami mouth off a small "Teme…this feels like déjà vu." He already expected something to happen when he saw the face of Kise suddenly showing up on the entrance.

"Is there a table for three…huh?" the blonde ace of Kaijo was stunned to see the whole Seirin team in the establishment, "Kurokocchi? Kamijoucchi? Kagamicchi?"

"Hey, what's with the…hah!?" Takao, who was the second to enter, noticed the guys whom they just versed an hour ago are here in the same place. The next to enter was Midorima, who then gave a glare at realizing Seirin was here as well.

"Kise, Takao, let's find another place!" the green haired shooting guard raised his voice as he went back outside. Kise and Takao, albeit grudgingly, then decided to follow the Shutoku ace outside but as soon as Takao had slide the door back, all of them suddenly heard the wind outside suddenly picking up speed and it was followed by the sounds of thunder and lightning before heavy downpour of rain was heard. Immediately, this sent the three retreating back to the okonomiyaki restaurant, with their shirts getting drenched by the sudden rainfall.

This really is déjà vu, Kuroko and Kagami confirmed in their minds.

Slowly, the three then walked towards where the group of Kamijou were seated, "Nice seeing you, Kurokocchi!" Kise was the first to greet the tealnette.

"Doumou, Midorima-kun, Kise-kun, and Takao-kun," Kuroko greeted them back, "Since you'll be eating here, we don't mind if you sit here with us…oh, there are only two seats available here."

Seeing this, Midorima then said to Takao, "Takao, sit with the rest of the Seirin players while me and Kise take this available chairs." As much as he wants to sit with them just so he can annoy the tsundere Oha-Asa fanatic, Takao decided to comply and decided to sit with Hyuga and Kiyoshi, whose table happened to have a single chair left.

"Seriously, I don't know what is happening right now," Hyuga grumbled as he watched the group of Kamijou interact, "I mean, from what I see, they seemed to look like close friends with that cutie there and…"

"I know she's cute Hyuga but…" Kiyoshi gave off a goofy smile while referring to Kumokawa, "I have to remind you that Riko is here." As if on cue, the brunette coach began to have an aura of anger and jealousy as he heard what the clutch captain just said.

Meanwhile, Kise decided to sit beside Kagami while Midorima had no choice but to sit besides Shokuhou, seeing that he has no choice as there are no other available seats. The Mental Out then grumbled in her mind, "As if this annoying Kumokawa isn't enough, a weird-looking kappa (green demon) is now sitting next to me!"

"Yo, Kurokocchi, I was with Aominecchi and Akashicchi a while back when we caught Midorimacchi crying near the vending machine at the entrance," Kise narrated while chuckling.

"Stop your falsehoods, Kise!" Midorima angrily shouted at the Kaijo small forward.

"Aomine-kun? Akashi-kun?" Kuroko blinked at hearing their names.

"We went to watch your match versus Midorimacchi together. Too bad Akashicchi had to return to Kyoto for some business while Aominecchi was being reprimanded by his mother on phone," Kise sighed as he then orders his ingredients, "Say, who are these lovely women?"

Yet, it was Kamijou who answered it, "They are someone I know personally from Academy City. The one in front of Kuroko is my senior from my old school and now, a college freshman, Kumokawa Seria, and the one besides Midorima is Shokuhou Misaki."

"Ah. I see. Nice to meet you, pretty ladies!" Kise flashed his smile while making a two-fingered salute to them.

"I'm sorry to ask but what's with the –cchi suffix? It sounds so stupid," Himegami asked bluntly.

"Eh!? Hidoi, Himegamicchi!" Kise wailed.

"That's his way of calling people he respects," Kuroko explained to the Deep Blood user about the –cchi suffix.

"Oi, Midorima, what's with the sullen face?" Kagami asked as he was stuffing his mouth with meat and tomato sauce.

"Shut up, baka," Midorima answered.

"Who are you calling baka, megane ass!?" Kagami retorted back as he was prepared to punch Midorima's face.

"Anou…Kagami-kun, Midorima-kun, don't fight in this place," Kuroko then intervened before something nasty can happen between the hot-headed ace of Seirin and the ace of Shutoku.

"Whatever," the shooting guard huffed as he turns to Kise, "Kise, if anything, I can't believe that you have no problem sitting with Kuroko, Kagami, and Kamijou. They just handed you a resounding defeat just two days earlier and now, you're acting pretty chummy with them, much less to a group of women you just met today."

Hearing this, Kise licked his fork before responding, "Don't worry Midorimacchi. When the Olympics Basketball tournament is over, I can get back at them this incoming Interhigh. We might have lost against Seirin but I'll make sure to get revenge."

Hearing this, Kagami smirked, "Hah! Bring it on, Kise! The three of us are waiting for you!"

"Wait," Kumokawa then interrupted (since they were feeling OP at the fact they are talking about basketball) their conversation, "What do you mean Olympics?"

"Oh yeah," Kamijou, realizing he didn't mention this earlier, turned to Kumokawa and explained it, "Well, the next Olympics will be held at Tokyo and one of the main events there is the men's basketball tournament. Since it will be Japan hosting, it will be an automatic seeding for us in the bracket and for some stroke of luck…" he cringed at this, "…I was recruited into the national basketball team as a regular.

"Really!?" Kumokawa was ecstatic to hear this revelation.

"I had to admit that Kamijou's got potential as he was a vastly better player than Takao over there," Midorima pushes up his glasses, "It would be a waste if he didn't get recruited."

They continued to eat and while eating, Himegami then said something, "Kamijou-kun, it would be best if Seiri is already informed of your whereabouts."

"Huh? Why?" Kamijou asked incredulously as he stuffs a shrimp into his mouth. Why do I have to tell Fukiyose about this? I know she was my former classmate but still, I don't think she would even like to see my face. Heck, she might even be happier now that I'm gone. So why would I even bother to explain myself to her? Not that I'm being mean but…

"You don't know what happened when you were gone," Himegami's voice was laced with concern, "At first, the class thought the first time that you have "disappeared", they think that Fukiyose will stop being so iron-fisted but as days past, it seems that it only got worst. First, she knocked down Tsuchimikado and Aogami so hard that they had to be taken to the hospital."

Kamijou froze at hearing this. Hospital?

"Second, she freaked out the first time she learned that you had transferred to Seirin," Himegami continued, "If she doesn't care for you, she wouldn't overreact in the first place."

"I get it, Himegami," Kamijou answered in a low voice. Now, I'm beginning to feel guilty over this. I don't know why but because of me, Tsuchimikado got beaten to the pulp. But on the other hand, should she confront me, I might end up ten times as injured as that Tsuchimikado…

"I'm sorry if I just noticed this," Kuroko suddenly interrupted, "But Himegami-san, why do you have a Seirin jersey jacket with you? If I'm not mistaken, only members of our basketball club had that kind of apparel."

Suddenly, silence just hit the group like a bomb blasting its target. Kamijou right now doesn't how to explain this to his teammates as it was the same jersey jacket that the spiky haired boy gave to Himegami. Fuck, I'm in big trouble right now.

"I see…"

The voice of Aida Riko, who was watching the whole scene unfolding before them, was heard as the coach then stood up and walked to where Kuroko and company is, "Neh, Kamijou-kun, I was being kind to you when I asked where I your apparel is. Apparently, I thought that you had just lost your jacket which we paid with our club funds. But…if that was just some lame excuse to flirt a girl with it, fufufu…"

All of the sudden, she grabs Kamijou's head from the table and pulled him down on the floor. Instantly, she put him in a crab lock, "I…I'm sorry, kanto-kun! I just gave it because she doesn't have…"

"Urusai! Stop giving lame excuses!" Aida continued to choke the poor boy as everyone from his table was watching blankly. "It seems my cute kouhai is in safe hands, after all," Kumokawa mused as she wiped her mouth with a tissue.

Such misfortune! Kmaijou cried inwardly as he was mercilessly pinned in the ground.

#

It was already night time when Kamijou had reached home. After their celebration at the okonomiyaki restaurant, he had sent away Himegami and the ladies in the nearest station. It was quite a rough day for him. After getting punished by their coach for handing his jersey jacket to Himegami, he accidentally slipped in a muddy puddle while he and Kuroko were walking home and he also broke his flipping phone at the same time. Damn rotten luck.

Though the rest of the day was quite fun as Kise and Midorima were both arguing as to who will win in the Interhigh while eating, Kuroko and Himegami were actually chatting about some random stuff the misfortunate boy didn't know what it is and he had a peaceful day without Index disturbing him.

Oh yeah, how is Index and Othinus today? He thought as he enters their door and as soon as he opens it, he was greeted by the sight of her mother and the English nun playing chips and poker. "Oh, it's Touma! Come here Touma! We are playing some kind of games!"

"I'm a bit tired right now, Index," Kamijou sighed as he puts down his school bag and duffel bag, "Our practice game is quite intense and honestly, I don't know if I'm gonna survive it from the start."

"You do seem like very exhausted, Touma dear," Shiina then stood up and took her son's soiled clothes, "Your father would be coming home late as he had a meeting with his business associates. By the way, we are planning some barbeque party on next week Saturday with Otohime-san and her parents. It would be nice for them to see you now residing here."

"Saturday?" Now that Kamijou was thinking about it, he knew that this is also the same day for the national team's practice, "Eh, I'm sorry mom but I'll be busy that day."

"Oh…what will you do that day, Touma?" Shiina asked.

"Ah…I don't know if I already told you this but my name was listen in the national basketball roster that will be competing in the incoming Olympics so I'll be quite busy in the incoming weeks," the spiky haired boy explained as he then goes to the kitchen to get some water.

All of the sudden, Shiina exploded.

"What!? Y-Y-You're in the national team!?" the youthful-looking mother stammered, "That is great, son! It seems like my dear baby boy had grown up from being an insolent kid to a matured basketball player! Don't worry son! We'll make a tarpaulin banner for you when we cheer for you!"

The male sweat dropped at this, "Uh mom…please I appreciate that but I would prefer not to do weird things. I might end up getting mocked by my teammates!"

"You know what this means, Touma!" Index then joined in the ruckus.

"What do you mean, Index?"

"Treat me at the best eatery here in Tokyo!" Index squealed as the boy then paled.

"You just had early dinner right now and…" Kamijou tried to argue but the English nun wouldn't hear any of it. Index kept pestering him for at least five minutes as he was busy sorting out his basketball equipment until the boy was fed up.

"Okay, okay! I'll bring you out as long as you behave, please," Kamijou pleaded as he was already being cornered by a stomping Index with her fangs baring out.

Minutes later, the two was already headed out of the house after Shiina gave some money to the poor boy and relented to let them go. Just to be fair, Kamijou also brought along Othinus and Sphynx in a family restaurant.

"I wish Kuroko and Kagami was here as well. At least, I wouldn't go crazy when they are around..."

Yep, I had to admit Midorima's a bit OOC here. Anyway, I just watched the first episode of Index III and the OP's kinda fine (in my opinion) but still, I'm hyped up for the nest episode.

See you on the next chapter!