The next day, after Fukiyose had finally went back to Academy City, Kamijou was sitting on the table for breakfast with a clear expression of both surprise and sleepiness. We didn't even realize that we're that close already and even then, it was actually the most peaceful sleep that I ever had in my life. And one more thing, he didn't expect the turn of events that transpired between the two of them.

Just two hourse back, spiky haired boy and the big-breasted girl found themselves hugging tightly to each other. Because of the warmth boy's body made perfect by the blanket covering them and the soft bed, Fukiyose was very flustered at this until her tough instincts kicked in and yelled while throwing the pillow that they shared at the boy, "Wh-wh-what do you think you're doing!?"

"I don't know but I swear it wasn't on purpose!" Kamijou defended himself as he knew she might use her fists on him, "I mean, by the time we woke up together, we were already hugging in each other and I have no idea how that happened!"

"R-Really?" Fukiyose didn't know how to rebut that one and she felt a bit ashamed that she was prepared to accuse the boy of perversion, "I guess I'll take the bathroom now." She then stood up and quickly took the towel Kamijou's mom gave her last night and quickly went inside the bathroom. As she goes inside the shower and turns on the heater before she eventually turns around the faucet, she can't help but feel relieved that a part of her have finally felt peace upon knowing getting closer to Kamijou, who was currently being bitten by Index over accidentally waking her up. I know it's something I don't understand but I felt happy around him. She smiled sadly as she continues to wash her hair. And here, we'll fight their school in Wednesday knowing that he'll give it all despite the fact that it's only a practice game. Would it be fine if I join their bench just for once? She was acting into her real feminine self into the shower where no one can see her instead of the usual scary and tough image that she loves to brandish to scare off the opposition.

After finishing to take a shower, she rinsed and cleaned herself dry before eventually putting on the blue blouse and jeans that she washed last night and hanged there to dry it off. And as a gesture, she washed the boy's Seirin jersey herself and hanged it there. When she got out, he was the Kamijou doing some push-ups with ease. Seeing that his muscles are showing with every effort that he puts in, she smiled at him, "You seemed to be putting your effort into it, Kamijou."

"Is it?" The boy was somehow groggy in his response, "This is a normal routine in our school so it's not that hard anymore to do so."

"Hnnn…" Fukiyose was thinking something else and then she remembered what she was about to say, "Hey, starting today, I won't be calling you Kamijou anymore. I'll call you by your first name instead."

"Uh…" the boy wasn't prepared for this, "Well…it's fine since Index calls me Touma but does that mean that…I…uh…I would call you by your first name as well?" He bit his lip. Did I do the right thing by asking that damned question!?

Surprisingly, Fukiyose was calm before answering, "Of course, if I call you Touma then you'll call me Seiri too."

"Oh…" Kamijou was like hit by a fragmentation grenade as he never expected such response, "Okay…uh…Seiri." He then stands up from his push up position and invited the girl for breakfast, which the latter hesitantly accept. As they both go down and went to the kitchen, they were greeted by none other than Shiina, who had prepared fried rice, eggs, and orange juice for breakfast. As they ate, they were all stories about Kamijou's plans in college and his far-fetched dream to someday play in the NBA. Fukiyose scoffed at that idea of him playing in the best league in the world but inwardly, she wished him success in doing so. After that, she bade good bye to the spiky haired boy and left with a serene feeling of a peace of mind.

"And come Wednesday, I'll see not only her but also…" Kamijou then made an expression of horror as he shivered at the thought of seeing both Tsuchimikado and Aogami standing and making fun of him in his own school, "Those two idiots. Dammit."

He suddenly remembered something else in his mind and quickly, he went up to his room just in time to see Index now getting ready to go down to eat her breakfast. "Touma, you seemed to be in a hurry. What would you do and where will you go?" the nun asked her.

"Ah, I won't be going anywhere other than the nearby public court to practice," the boy replied as he sits on his bed, "And I just remembered that I need to do something quick so that's why I'm in a hurry." Seemingly considering his reply, the nun nodded and simply exited the room.

Sighing, Kamijou then turned on his flip phone and unfortunately for him, the moment the battery came to life, numerous notifications began to buzz in his message box as texts—all coming from none other than Misaka Mikoto—began to flow in. Such misfortune.

Kamijou then typed a message to a certain hime girl.

To: Himegami Aisa

Hey, long time, no talk (or at least for me). I know you might have caught wind of this from your class but we have a practice game against your school (and my former school) and I hope I can speak to you for a few minutes before tip-off.

~ Kamijou Touma

After sending that message to Himegami, Kamijou does the same for Kumokawa, who immediately reply with emojis dotted on her reply. The boy was randomly thinking if his senpai was squealing with her eyes shining, which in reality was actually happening miles away. After that, he then groaned and thought about sending Misaka a message too. I know I shouldn't act like she's a monster. After all, she did help me in England.

After a few more inner dialogues, he then relented as he knew that it's pointless to not send her a message since she now regularly visits Seirin and she would know it anyway. He then typed a message.

To: Misaka Mikoto

Sorry for not replying, Misaka. I'm busy doing my homework. Hey, to make up with you, I'm inviting you to watch our practice match against my former school on Wednesday. Hehehe.

~ Kamijou Touma

Not long after he sent the message, he immediately received a reply.

You!

~ Misaka Mikoto

Nani? Kamijou can only stare at her reply as he closes his phone.

#

For the next two days, Kamijou and the rest of the Seirin team were mercilessly drilled by Aida in their work outs, endurance and stamina exercises and scrimmages. It was so intense and harsh that the spiky haired boy swore that he could puke out blood and phlegm out of his body. At one point, Kuroko suddenly receives a call from Akashi Monday afternoon and from there, the tealnette learned that the national team roster had a last-minute revamp at his request and that the former members of Teiko plus Kamijou were all retained but there were a few changes to the other membership of the team. Akashi also announced that there won't be any need to hold tryouts as he already had a final line-up at his mind. After that, he sent what seems to be the final line-up and Kuroko's eyes widened at what he saw.

"Eh? Kuroko?" Kagami suddenly eyed him with a yelp.

"Senpais! Kantoku! Please, take a look at this!" his announcement caused the rest of the tea to gather around and take a look at the text that Akashi had sent through him.

First String (Final Roster)

FIRST FIVE – Akashi, Midorima, Kise, Aomine, Murasakibara

SECOND FIVE – Kamijou, Mibuchi, Kuroko, Kagami, Kiyoshi

LAST UNIT – Okamura, Hayama

Second String

FIRST FIVE – Kasamatsu, Hyuga, Mijayi, Nebuya, Otsubo

SECOND FIVE – Takao, Himuro, Susa, Hayakawa, Kobori

LAST UNIT – Mayuzumi, Ogiwara

Third String

FIRST FIVE – Izuki, Moriyama, Sakuma, Inoue, Wakamatsu

SECOND FIVE – Imayoshi, Sakurai, Ueno, Kimura, Iwamura

LAST UNIT – Kobayashi, Narumi

"Yosh!" Kagami shouts in triumph as Kiyoshi taps his shoulder as a sign of congratulations to him and to himself.

"Yeah but what's the purpose of having three line ups?" Kamijou asked as he takes a look at the two other strings, "I mean, I'm not even familiar with the other guys there, especially in the last line up."

"I think Akashi-kun is following the style in Teiko," Kuroko replied as he folds the phone back, "If you have a lot of players in reserve, practice matches can be easier and gelling out chemistry and familiarity with coach's system would be made faster and in a shorter time."

"I see…" the spiky haired boy replied as he rolls a basketball in his hand.

However, coach Aida Riko's whistle prompted the whole group to scramble up in their feet and get back to practicing.

#

Finally, it was Wednesday and a throng of students from a certain high school had arrived riding in a bus. In reality, there are actually two buses, one carrying the students, which is none other than the class of Fukiyose, and the other one carrying the team of Kashiwaki. It was early morning at seven and judging by the expressions of their faces, one can say that they are basically excited—or rather excited to see him get crushed—to see Kamijou Touma.

"Oh man! I'm excited to see Kami-yan's face again!" Aogami said ecstatically as he waves his hands in his seat.

"We'll give Kami-yan a surprise, nya!" Tsuchimikado, who was beside him, replied grinning as Fukiyose can only sigh in their behaviour. Meanwhile, Himegami, who was sitting beside the Iron Walled Girl, looks at her best friend with a blank expression. So Kamijou-kun did manage to tell it to you, huh.

"Okay, kids!" Komoe, who was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, stood up in the alley of the bus, "In a few minutes, we would be going down in this bus so behave since we are in a different school!" After a few minutes, they were now getting out of the bus and once everyone was outside, everyone formed a straight line, one for the boys and another one for the girls. Meanwhile, Kashiwaki and the team had also gotten out of the bus and from there, he abruptly walk towards Fukiyose who was leading the line and said, "Hey there, sweetie! I was wondering what kind of adoration would you showed upon me—"

"I suggest you shut up," the busty girl had to restrain herself from punching the dude, "Stop running your mouth to me and show me your play, instead."

Misinterpreting this line, Kashiwaki got encouraged and replied, "I knew that someday, you will shower me with your love! I'll show you why you should give me—"

"Let's go!" Fukiyose cut him off by telling the whole class to proceed inside the gates of Seirin High School. Komoe, who was caught off guard by her premature announcement, nevertheless she decided to let it slide for now and she decided to follow on. With the pinkette is Yomikawa, who was tasked in coaching the team. The Anti-Skill lieutenant sighed as he knew Kashiwaki would act like this but she knew that talent-wise, he's the most decent of all the available players, who are composed mostly of Level 0 freshies and some seniors with average body built.

Not long after, they all filtered into the basketball gymnasium of the school and once they were inside, they noticed that the whole team of Seirin has been earlier as they are all drenched in sweat while they are now doing their warm ups and it seemed that they have been preparing for this.

"So that's Kami-yan's team…" Tsuchimikado squinted his eyes as he kept watching the players in black shirt busy dribbling, passing, and shooting inn circles. Yomikawa can only oberve in both awe and a somewhat feeling of fear as she began to realize some things. While Seirin and their school are just both regular high school campuses, when it comes to basketball, the gap between their skill and body build is abnormally wide. I wouldn't expect anything less from a school famed for its unstoppable offense.

"Shit…" one of the boys in the class suddenly cursed out aloud, "I know Kashiwaki is a very good player even among us but just looking at Kamijou's team is actually making me shit in my pants. Not only are they a veteran school, that number 7 and 10 guy are ridiculously tall!"

But as they began to settle down in the plastic chairs that are set in the sidelines just for them, the class knew that they had spotted their former classmate when they heard Fukiyose call out casually, "Touma! Hey!" Their attention now got darted into their class dictator, who uncharacteristically ran into the boy with familiar jet black hair though his muscles are pretty big than the last time he was in their class. "Is it just me or did Kamijou-kun's build got wider and his aura…eh…more discerning?" a girl with spiky hair just squeaked to herself.

But there was something wrong with the picture.

"Ehhhhhh!?" all the boys were practically shocked to hear the one who was able to resist the charms of Kamijou Touma was now calling out to the boy by her initiative—and with his given name at that. But not only were they the ones who were shocked.

"No…no no no no!" Aogami screamed as he was flailing his arms in shock, "It's no use! The last fort against Kami-yan's disease has already been breached!"

"Fukiyose-sama has already fallen into the arms of Kamijou!"

"Dammit! Death to the Kamijou bloodline!"

Kashiwaki, who was yawning and stretching inside, was basically stunned with his eyes wide opened at the fact that the girl who resisted his advances is now calling out that one boy that he heard is their former classmate by his first name—something which Fukiyose normally hated when he is calling her Seiri.

Unable to contain his rising anger and growing jealousy at seeing Kamijou and Fukiyose together, Kashiwaki marched off from his team without thinking first and quickly, he stood in front of them and glared at Kamijou, who only looked at him with a blank expression, "Hey…" Kashiwaki started the conversation, "You're aware that I'm here while you're speaking with Seiri." His fists is clenching when he saw the girl's two hands holding the left hand of the boy (since the right hand is holding the basketball).

Kamijou only raised his eyebrows while Fukiyose began to feel that the tension surrounding the two of them is building up, "Yeah? And you're that Kashiwaki dude? Last time I check, there's nothing wrong with speaking to her."

"Yeah, there is," Kashiwaki let out a snarl, "You're just a former classmate of hers whereas I'm his present boyfriend so better let go of her…"

"Stop making up things, aho!" Fukiyose suddenly yelled at him, "He's still a former classmate to me so fuck off! Besides, don't you have warm ups to do? I think you better focus yourself there…"

"What did you say, Seiri!? You won't—"

"Hey, Kashiwaki!" Yomikawa shouted from afar as his teammates are now busy warming up, "You're needed here, you rascal!"

By now, everyone from the class is now watching the whole drama unfold. They knew that Kashiwaki's interest in the Forehead Deluxe is overblown but they didn't think that he would go as far as to physically trying to separate the two. They all watch as the "ace" of the certain high school was forcibly dragged out by Yomikawa, who wished she wasn't the one handling the team.

Dammit!

Kashiwaki gritted his teeth watching Fukiyose and Kamijou continue to talk so intimately, in his eyes.

Dammit! Seiri, you won't get away from me! If you can't love me, I won't let anyone else have you.

He clenches his fists, his mood visibly darkening.

I'll crush him. I'll crush Kamijou Touma in front of you, Seiri.

#

"He's really something elses, no?" Kamijou said as his eyes followed the now-deranged Kashiwaki just sitting in the bench, not minding his teammates who are telling him, albeit with fear, to stop whining and start warming up. The slender man responds by glaring at them, who trembled and decided to leave him alone.

"He's just desperate, Touma" Fukiyose sighed as she holds the hands of the boy harder, "Hnnn. Good luck to you and even though we're on the opposite sides of the bench, please knock some sense out of him. I'm sick of that bastard."

"Uhm..yeah if coach would—"

"Kami-yan!"

Fukiyose swore she saw a priceless reaction in the boy's face as they heard the familiar, whiny voice of Tsuchimikado fucking Motoharu. They turned their gazes to see the blonde and the blue-haired Aogami walking towards them, their grins evident in their faces.

"Kami-yaan!" Tsuchimikado's arms are outstretched, "Long time, no see, my friend!"

"Yeah," Kamijou groaned, seemingly not even amused to see their faces resurface, "By the way, how are you to since I left for Seirin?"

"It's just the same old shit, Kami except that you weren't there," Aogami said with a playful smile as he dances a bit, "By the way, why the hell didn't you tell us that you would leave and how did you even managed to breach the iron walls of Fukyose's wide forehead?" The last one seemed more like a joke rather than a question.

"Uh…well…" Kamijou tried to find an excuse since he originally intended not to tell then anyways, "A lot of shit has happened in our home and I had to come back to Tokyo as fast as I can so I really have no time to tell it to you guys."

"Heh?" the blonde backstabber smiles slyly at the Imagine Breaker user, "You're lying really needs work, my friend. You really think—"

"Yo…"

Tsuchimikado wasn't able to finish what he was about to say when out of nowhere two individuals suddenly appeared behind the boy and the busty girl. The tallest of the two, with red hair, then said as he taps the shoulder of their teammate, "Tsuchimikado Motoharu, right? I think I heard your damned name somewhere in that journal of our teammate here."

Hearing his name being called in a very casual and somewhat rude manner, Tsuchimikado can't help but suddenly get offended, "Yeah and what of it? Who are you anyways?" He snarled despite the obvious fact that he, the tealnette who just came in, and Kamijou are both wearing the same jersey jacket.

"Kagami Taiga," the red head smirked as he towers over the smaller Tsuchimikado.

"And I'm Kuroko Tetsuya," the tealnette now made his presence known and as usual, his sudden appearance made Aogami nearly scream to death.

"Gyaaaah!" the bluenette with pirecings looked over to the other bluenette who had paler skin, "Where and when did you come from!?"

"I was here the whole time," Kuroko deadpanned as he looks at Tsuchimikado and Aogami with a blank expression, "So here we finally met with Kamijou-kun's former classmates."

"Hmmmph," the blonde then looked at Kagami with distaste despite the obvious differences in their heights, "What's wrong with talking with our friend, you gate crasher?"

"We're his friends now, you dumbass," the Seirin power forward retorted back, "And judging from what we heard so far, you're that mischievous type of friend who loves playing coy and the trickster."

Despite what Kagami said is quite true about him, Tsuchimikado was visibly irritated by what the 6'3" ace is telling and was ready to fight back when suddenly, Fukiyose, knowing when a real fight is coming, stood between the two, "Knock it out, you two! Tsuchimikado, Aogami, go back to the seats!"

"Eh? But Fukiyose-san…" Tsuchimikado tried to plead his case but ended up receiving a blow in his jaw and Aogami knew he won't escape as he ended up getting knocked out to the floor, though he is still unconscious.

Is she even a female? Kuroko and Kagami both thought in horror at seeing the two guys get physically assaulted by a shorter girl.

Standing up, Tsichimikado cried, "That hurts…" he said as he and Aogami were then forced to go back to the seats. Fukiyose then clasps the spiky haired boy's hand and mouthed a soft, "Good luck" before she let go off it and hurriedly went back to their bench, startling Kamijou. Is she helping both Komoe-sensei and Yomikawa-sensei? He asked himself as he saw the girl now talking to the Anti-Skill officer and Komoe, who seemed to look like she was an assistant coach though she would just be limited to giving out bottled water in every time outs and intervals. It looks understandable though as the Iron Walled Girl isn't an athlete for nothing.

Prrrrrt!

"Shit," he cussed as he heard the whistle of Coach Aida Riko now blown. Taking this as a sight of gathering, he then abruptly puts down the ball as he then joins the rest of his teammates who are now preparing to remove their jersey jackets that reveal their shiny, black away playing uniforms.

"Okay," Aida said as she lays out her basketball board and whiteboard marker, "Our starters would be Kamijou-kun, Kagami-Kun, Kuroko-kun, Teppei, and Hyuga-kun. Kamijou-kun, I'm guessing Fukiyose-san told you about their ace."

"Well…" the boy didn't exactly know how to respond, "He's about the same height as Hyuga-senpai but he's playing center since he's the tallest in their team."

"He's a little shit if you ask me," Kagami butted in, flexing his arms, "I saw him talking with Kamijou and honestly, he's all talk. Nevertheless, he'll just show it with his game."

"Fine," Aida said as she began drawing up their strategy, "Oh and we would also give our freshmen more playing time so that they can speed up their learning experience into the game." But as she began to rant about their offensive patterns, Kamijou had other plans in his mind. Seeing Kashiwaki, who was actually glaring on him heatedly, on the other bench and Fukiyose looking out to him with some expression of worry, he suddenly thought out something.

"Kantoku," he then chimed in, "I'm sorry but do you have a minute?"

#

"So what do you propose, Fukiyose-chan?" Komoe smiled as their starting five, consisting of Kashiwaki and four other players who look like they aren't even prepared to play, were all sitting on the bench, waiting for the final instructions. Since they don't have any jersey, they were all wearing white t-shirts with a number written on a piece of paper which is taped on their backs. Their shorts are likewise different too, giving them some sort of a diverse identity in contrast to Seirin's all-black jerseys.

"They're powerful, sensei," Fukiyose said while Yomikawa listened to her, "Their offense is one of the best in the whole nation of Japan, not to mention that their frontline is tall and deadly too. With Touma-kun being a given, Hyuga-san is a three point shooter and a clutch player. Kiyoshi-san is the second-best center among high school players. Kuroko-san's passing ability isn't normal, and Kagami-san's jumping prowess isn't a joke. They are all battle-hardened veterans with a shitload of experiences. It would be hard." She then looks at Kashiwaki, who keep glaring on the Seirin bench. Knowing what this means, Fukiyose then made up her mind.

"Yomikawa-sensei, I suggest this Kashiwaki here would be facing off against Kiyoshi-san," the girl said.

"Hah!? But—" the elegant man tried to protest as he wants to face off against his self-proclaimed rival but he was cut off.

"You're the only one here among the five who can face off against Seirin's height," Fukiyose sincerely explained it to him, "Do you think the rookie who's the second tallest to you is even taller than their shooting guard?" And besides, knowing your psycho attributes, I had inkling on what you are planning against Touma so I'll stop you right now!

"Stop defending an enemy…" the elegant man muttered.

"What?"

"Prrrrrt!" the referee suddenly blew his whistle, "The game is about to start. All the starting five, gather in the center circle now." Hearing the announcement, the five players of the unnamed high school now stood up and lined up with Seirin in the center circle. During the traditional greetings, the slick-haired boy kept looking against the spiky haired boy, who was merely calm as though he had planned something already for the two of them. After that, all the players are now positioned as the referee then tips the ball between Kashiwaki and Kiyoshi. Despite the former jumping with all his strength, Kiyoshi was able to get the ball with ease and taps it to Kuroko, who passes it to Kamijou.

"The game is starting now," Tsuchimikado said as everyone from their class is now leaning closer to watch the game.

Seeing that the defense isn't that bad (despite a lot of loopholes), Kamijou smiled as he faces off against his rookie counterpart. Can you stop this? Suddenly, he picks up his speed and in an instant, he merely passes his mark, who couldn't react into his agility and ended up falling into the floor. Another white shirt came closing onto him but the boy stopped for a moment before spinning in a split second and turning into his left, leaving the second mark. Activating his Falcon Eyes, he then spots an opening and quickly flings the ball smoothly in the right corner.

"Crap! It's an alley-oop!" one of the white shirts who is wearing the number 13 can only react in the smooth pass as the ball ends up in Kiyoshi's hands as the Iron Heart slams it down despite Kashiwaki and number 8 jumping to stop him. As a result, the two ended up getting blown out by the vicious dunk and they crash butt-first in the floor. Kashiwaki clenches his fists as he throws the ball violently into number 13 who then inbounds the ball to point guard number 8. That was a smooth and perfect play. Yomikawa thought on her mind. Just what kind of a monster you are, Kamijou?

"Let's stop a basket!" Surprisingly, Kamijou was actually less-fired up today.

"Strange. I don't see his usual explosiveness," Fukiyose mumble to herself as the game is on-going, "They did made the first basket but it seems that all of the Seirin regulars aren't fired up. But judging from their facial expressions, it's not like they are looking down on the team or are disinterested. But what is this?" Or could it be that he's actually doing it on purpose?

"He's really doing this on purpose."

Fukiyose almost shrieked in shock as she heard that familiar voice. The voice that makes her skin crawl and blood boil. She turned into her right side and was ready to commit murder the moment she saw Kumokawa's smiling face which is mocking in nature.

"Ku-Kumokawa!" the busty girl's yell was almost a snarl, "What are you doing here!?"

"Oh? Am I not allowed to be here?" the Beauty Senpai smiled sarcastically as she takes her eyes back into the game, "Besides, Seirin isn't that find to hard and my cute kouhai just sent me an invitation so there's no reason why I shouldn't be here."

"He sent you an invitation?" Fukiyose raised her eyebrows but decided to ignore it for now, "Well, whatever. He's always like that anyway." They then refocus their attention on the match just in time to see Kiyoshi blocking Kashiwaki's mid-range jumper and passing it to Kamijou, who then slows down his dribble as he then watches his whole team regroup in defense while observing deeply the two teams. He hesitated his dribble before making a swift crossover to his left before passing it over head over Kagami, who makes a simple but effective jump hook.

"So that's it huh?" Kumokawa smiled as he sees his kouhai now clapping his hands to gather his teammates for defense.

"What do you mean?" Fukiyose asked.

"It's definitely not like Kamijou is cutting corners," Kumokawa explained, "How he's playing right now definitely reminds me of chess or more specifically, shogi. He's just in the starting moments, just testing the waters. And if the deadlock, if anything, or the game state is going to move, it could be sooner or late in the third or fourth quarter. Though judging in his impeccable passes, he must be using his Falcon Eyes as a cautionary act."

"Falcon Eyes? Hey…what's that?" Fukiyose wasn't informed at all about the boy's third "eye."

"Oh so you don't know?" Kumokawa looked at her with a chuckle, "Hmmmh…do you remember that time when Kamijou was still in our school and I took him away from you during the recruitment week? We were able to see you because he can see everything from above."

"Huh!?" the busty girl was understandable surprised at this. He didn't tell me about that one, after all!

"To cut the long story short, he can change his point of view of the whole play instantaneously in his head," Kumokawa clarified to make it easier to understand, "Because his eyes can see the play and their position from any angle, he always sees the whole court. In other words, a bird's view point that can see what normal guards don't usually notice."

Fukiyose was amazed as she never knew that the spiky haired boy had an ability like that, in addition to his natural strength and enhanced flexibility. So he's taking it pretty easy for now?

"Oh shit…" they heard Tsuchimikado suddenly shout, "It seems that our team is having an internal problem!" True to what he said, Kashiwaki, angry that they have let Seirin score a three pointer courtesy of Hyuga, suddenly shouts angrily at number 8, who was nervously telling him that he should be watching out for Kiyoshi instead of going one-on-one with Kamijou, which is actually true. In anger, he slaps their point guard (who is actually the senior in their team despite not wearing the number four), causing a ruckus as Yomikawa and the referee were forced to stepped in. "Stop that, Kashiwaki-chan!" Komoe warned their most decent player to stop agitating and isolating his teammates. The pretty-looking boy was forced to sit down as a timeout was called.

"What an ass," Hyuga said as they all sat down on the bench while drinking, "If he was here on our team, I would have smacked him straight on. By the way, I don't know but if he's the captain, then that means he is the senior?"

"He's the same age and year level with me, captain," Kamijou replied as he looks at his teammates with a blank stare. While his response definitely shocked his seniors, it didn't last long as Aida then began speaking, "Okay. So far, everything according to what Kamijou-kun asked is going out well. Did you see what necessary adjustments we have to make?"

"Actually, it's very confusing," the boy replied, "I got a good look with Kashiwaki and to be honest, his moves are way too basic though his athleticism is actually there. I can say that his teammates are all decent enough that they can roll the ball."

"You remind me of Akashi-kun…" out of nowhere, Kuroko suddenly complimented out of nowhere.

"Heh? How?"

"Akashi-kun isn't one to recklessly charge in a game between teams of equal calibre," Kuroko explained, "In order to break the balance, he usually slows down the pace in order to observe the strength and weaknesses of the opponent. When he finally analyses the other team, that's where he'll attack. I think Kamijou-kun is doing the same thing."

"Now that you think of it," Kiyoshi then piped in, "It's actually very good of Kamijou to do that. Very good there!" He gave a thumbs up which the spiky haired boy only smiled.

Aida only sighed as she then pulls out her white board, "Okay. Since it was going well, we'll insert Yagi-kun, Izuki-kun, Furihata-kun, Kawahara-kun, and Fukuda-kun. Okay, get them!"

"Hai!" they didn't object as the five substituted players were now reinserted on the game while the other team's line up didn't change after Yomikawa managed to cool down the head of Kashiwaki, who is nevertheless still smouldering in irritation. As the game then resumed, the second-year trio and the rest of the seniors just sat there watching the game unfold when suddenly, Kuroko just look at his back and he then said something.

"Guys, my former teammates in Teiko as well as Kuroko-san and her friends are here as well," the Phantom Sixth Man deadpanned as he looks at his benched teammates. Hearing his response, they all simultaneously said, "Ehhhhh!?" Well, not because the Generation of Miracles is in their gym but because if Kuroko Shirai is here, then that means that the very person that almost zapped Kamijou and his two friends to death is also here as well.

#

"Eh? They were benched?"

Currently, Misaka, together with Shirai, Uiharu, and Saten are sitting in the upper bleachers of the gymnasium since all of the gym's plastic chairs were currently being used by the visiting team. The Electric Princess decided to skip another day in classes and as loyal as they are, Saten decided to skip classes too while Shirai and Uiharu asked to be excused by Konori in their Judgement duties. They arrived just in time to see Kiyoshi jump for the first possession of the game.

And right now, they are busy eating popcorns as they saw the game now resuming and they were all surprised to see the 'idiot' and the rest of the starting five now were all benched.

"I don't know why but I do feel their subs are quite decent," Shirai shrugged as she gulps her bottled water, "Especially the number five who replaced that troglodyte." She then motions as Izuki, who fakes a pass before shooting a flawless three pointer, raising their score to 10 – 0 as they are now pressuring the opposing team. Luckily for Kashiwaki, his rushed jumper in the perimeter rattled in before eventually finding the bottom for their school's first points.

"We got this, Kashiwaki-chan! We got this, Kashiwaki-chan!" the girls of the certain high school cheered as Izuki had the leather and eventually passes it to Yagi, who scores a tip-in dunk due to his height advantage. As the first quarter was drawing to an end, Shirai suddenly saw something on the opposite side of the upper bleachers on the other side of the court.

"Eh? What are they doing here?"

"Huh?" Misaka asked her as she was clutching her Gekota-designed phone.

"It's just that Tetsu-nii's former Teiko teammates are here as well?" the teleporter replied, causing Misaka to look on the other side of the court as well and when she did, she was pretty amazed at their height and bulk of their bodies. And this idiot will team up with them?

"I can't wait for my prince to come back…"

Meanwhile…

"I can't believe that you drag us here Akashi only to watch a game between Kuroko's school and some unnamed school from Academy City," Midorima grumbled as he was clutching his lucky item: a chunk of bronze that Oha Asa recommended him since his sign, Cancer, is the luckiest for that day.

"Not to mention the playing uniforms of that school," Aomine added as he sits lazily in his chair, "It sucks enough that their team can't play for shit. Are they that poor that they can't even afford cheap jerseys?"

"I was merely interested in seeing Kamijou play more personally," Akashi replied, not taking his eyes off the game, "Last time, I only saw him on a screen and that scrimmage last Saturday but this is a real game." He then smiles. You and Kuroko are the only ones who managed to surpass my expectations.

"But so far, Tetsu, Kamijou, and Bakagami are on the bench right now," Aomine drawled as he yawned, "If I'm going to see the interesting parts, it would be later in the game."

"Kurokocchi and the rest can't simple lose this one!" Kise excitedly said as he waves his hands trying to catch the tealnette's attention, "Still, I'm going to cheer my hearts out for his—"

"Murasakibara, go crush him…" Aomine cut him off.

"Ara? Wakatta," the Yosen center simply nodded as he made his way to the blonde small forward.

"Huh!? Why!?" Kise was basically panicking as Murasakibara grabbed him by his shirt.

"Because you piss me off…" the tanned Touou ace growled.

"Nani!?"

"Go, crush him, Murasakibara!" Aomine ordered him as the purple head giant began to shake Kise off.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Kise struggled to get off from Murasakibara's chokehold. In the end, the Kaijo ace managed to free himself by bribing the giant with a bento of fried chicken which he brought along in his bag though unfortunately, Aomine bullied him into giving him his meal as well.

Prrrrt!

The whole Teiko crew, sans Kuroko, looked at the scoreboard the moment they heard the sound of the whistle being blown, signifying the end of the first quarter.

"Seirin had the huge lead at 17 – 3. I feel like that's how it should be," Midorima pushes his glasses up as he continued to clutch the metal in his hands, "Their opponent isn't even a well-known one. If it was Academy City's renowned schools like Nagatenjouki, maybe I would have taken a little interest in watching it."

"Hate to break it with you but do schools in Academy City even have a decent basketball team?" Aomine chimed in, "Because if that was the case, then there would be no reason for that Kamijou dude to transfer here in Tokyo. And judging by that opposing team's performance, I can tell they're not really that experienced."

"For someone who rarely uses his brain, that was actually a good point," Akashi mused.

"Oi, what was that supposed to mean, you…eeeeek!?" Aomine wasn't able to complete his sentences upon seeing Akashi bring out his sharp scissors.

On the certain high school's bench…

"I got to say you did a pretty decent job," Yomikawa said to remove the negative vibe that was beginning to surround them, "Though I have to admit that it was tough stopping those bigs." She then stole a glance at Kiyoshi, who was busy encouraging the rookies in the Seirin team. "Kiyoshi Teppei…no wonder their frontline is strong."

"Huh? You know him, Yomikawa-chan?" Komoe asked.

"Not much but he's famous and talented enough to be called an Uncrowned King," the Anti-Skill officer replied, "There's a reason why he was called the second best center among high school centers in Japanese basketball. It's a good thing Fukiyose is on our bench." She motions at the Forehead Deluxe giving some hard massages to one of the players. "Because if not, then I don't think we could even score a single point. Now, speaking of their offensive prowess, they have Kamijou whom I didn't expect to be that good."

"Sensei…" Kashiwaki suddenly said, "Please, let me play him one-on-one! I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can stop him. I—"

"Their team isn't just about him. They still have Kuroko and Kagami," Fukiyose interjected despite knowing this could lead her into another conflict with the slick-haired man, "Besides, even if we don't win, that doesn't mean we can't—"

"Hah!? Are you saying you don't care if we win or lose?" Kashiwaki, getting offended, stood up in anger and glares at the Iron Wall Girl, who wasn't fazed at all by his growing rage, "Why do you keep praising that school!?"

"I wasn't praising them, baka," Fukiyose rebutted back, "I was merely stating a fact about the gap between the two school's strength. Besides, what I was saying that even if we don't win this one practice game, we can learn from it. You can't just expect a fledgling team to just win immediately, especially against a powerhouse like theirs—"

"I suggest you two keep quiet!" Yomikawa intervened before anything nasty can happen, "It's time. Kashiwaki and company, go back there now since the second quarter's starting." The slender man gave her a mean glare before eventually returning to the hardwood. Fukiyose can only bit her lip as she knew he would stop at nothing trying to topple his self-proclaimed rival.

"Fukiyose, can I speak with you for a moment?" Yomikawa suddenly wrapped her right arms around hers as an invitation that they sit down and talk like a mother and daughter. Nodding quietly, the two then sat on a couple of chairs as the second quarter started between their team and surprisingly, Seirin's line up which is now consisting of Yagi, Asahina, and three other freshmen.

"Recently, I've noticed that you were always having a fight with Kashiwaki. I know that there are always issues surrounding with him but please, bear with him. Besides, don't you like it that he keeps professing his love for you?" Yomikawa smiled teasingly.

"I don't like him at all, sensei." The girl had a bitter face as she crosses her arms, "Besides, he's even worse than Touma."

"Oh…" the Physical Education teacher then looked at the spiky haired boy, who was currently sitting in the bench while speaking with their ace and passing specialist, "So you like Kamijou more?"

"I…" Fukiyose wasn't able to respond immediately as she began to blush furiously, "Well…at least he's better than that psycho!"

"I see. I know you got a point but…" Yomikawa made a sigh, "Please, stop antagonizing him just this once. I know you don't like his arrogant attitude but let's face it, he's already the best player that we have. Besides, you know very well how popular he still is back in our school and how Oyafune treated him. Just…endure it for the mean time."

Fukiyose can only nod as she knew that her sensei had a point. She then rewatches the game and finally, she had noticed something that she should have noticed earlier on. Is this what they're after?

#

"What's with this shit?" Kashiwaki murmured to himself as he found himself now getting screened out by Yagi in the shaded area under the net as their number 8 point guard is holding the ball, facing Asahina who seemed to be calm and well-postured. Seeing no opening, the guard then passes it to number 13, who was then clamped down by his counterpart but seeing their shooting guard 3 getting free, he passes it to the latter, who succeeds in making the three pointer, raising their score to six points. But as soon as Seirin got the possession back, Kashiwaki was livid as he then grabs number 8 by the shoulder and said, "Hey! The moment we got back the point, give the ball to me. Leave the playmaking to me! You better guard their bigs."

"But…" the point guard was terrified under his gaze but nevertheless, he answered back, "We don't have any players tall enough to deal with them…" He stopped when he saw the fists of the elegant man forming, causing him to shut up and just continue defending. As soon as Asahina scored a three pointer, number 8 has no choice but to concede the possession to Kashiwaki, who angrily dribbles the ball towards Seirin's goal and eventually, he did manage to score a floater, which raised their score to eight points. Undaunted, the Seirin rookies managed to keep their composure and got their points back, courtesy of Yagi's easy one-handed slam dunk to keep the scores apart. The whole second quarter was like this; Kashiwaki continued his one-man display which might look impressive for his fangirls but was only frowned by those that really had the experience and resume (namely, Akashi who was already giving him the stink eye) to really say anything about scientific basketball. Meanwhile, the guys in black, despite being freshmen players, impressively showed poised despite seeing the other team's ace already raging and shooting a lot of attempts in the three-point area. Until…

"I can't take this anymore…" Kashiwaki said as his mind went blank. In his desperation to stop Seirin's scoring run, he swung his elbows towards Asahina's chest as they got entangled in an airborne battle to grab the rebound. As a result, he ended up falling and lying in the floor, holding his chest in pain. And what's worst, Kashiwaki did it in a way that the referee didn't even notice it nor did their teammates notice. As a result, the referee had to blow the whistle to stop the game, which has less than two minutes left.

"Asahina-kun!" Aida shouted in worry as she and Hyuga ran into the floor to check on the rookie forward. Luckily, the boy wasn't that seriously injured but had to take him out for safety measure. Meanwhile, Kashiwaki was smiling savagely as he thought he had removed a hindrance to his game. That was until he looked up and saw Fukiyose looking at him, her brown eyes blazing in anger.

"I saw what you did to him…"

"Huh?" Kashiwaki acted like he didn't do it on purpose, "What are you talking about? That piece of trash just hurt himself for trying to play physical with me in the rebound."

"You purposely hit him in the chest, you sadist…" the busty lady was ready to yell at him but was cut off by the voice of Yomikawa who was oblivious to what really happened and said, "So far, we are doing better than expected. Now…" She ranted on and on as Fukiyose merely bit her lip to prevent herself from saying anything and in her worry what Kashiwaki just did, she instinctively looked at Kamijou from afar, who coincidentally looks at her straight in her eyes. And in her shock, he saw him removing his sweatshirt before tying up his shoe laces. Wait a minute! He can't possibly be…

#

"Coach, let me play!" Kamijou suddenly exclaimed as Hyuga was helping the hurting Asahina seat up in the bench. His decision made the seniors, Kuroko, and Kagami gape in surprise.

"But I though you want to sit out and observe them out more?" Izuki asked in surprise as he sees the spiky haired boy already preparing to adjust his leggings and socks, "Besides, we're doing just fine with the freshmen and at the same time, they're there to learn…"

"I think I have observed enough," Kamijou interjected as he then stands up, "Besides, I can help the rookies learn fast by playing with them. I just need to play."

"Why? Because Fukiyose-san told you so?" Aida, now getting suspicious of his underclassman's behaviour, looked at the boy like eternity as he stared back until Kiyoshi intervened, "Why don't we just get along with Kamijou's request? Besides, it's not like he's doing this for the sake of playing rough."

Sighing, the female coach relented in defeat as she finally decided it wouldn't hurt to let him play, "Fine but only Kamijou-kun! The rest of you might be returning in the start of the fourth quarter!"

"Thanks coach!" He said giddily as he prepares to remove his sweatshirt but as he does, he coincidentally looks at Fukiyose, who's looking at him with worried eyes and he didn't quite get the meaning of that. But don't worry. I promise I'll knock some sense on him. He then removed his sweatshirt and fixed his shoe laces before finally entering the scene.

"So Kami-yan's coming back, nya," Tsuchimikado exclaimed as he grins, "What play will he bring?"

Once the game resumed, the other school's team got hold of the possession with Kashiwaki having the ball. Instantly, Kamijou came to mark him and once they were facing off, he said, "This is it, Kashiwaki. Bring it." And I'll teach you a lesson for doing something horrible to my teammate.

Fukiyose looked at the two worriedly as they face off in isolation. Suddenly, Kashiwaki tried to dribble past him but instantly, Kamijou just reached out his hand and stripped him of the possession. Immediately, he dashed pass him and quickly got the steal and the fast break. Angrily, he chases after the boy but gradually, Yomikawa noticed something.

Kamijou was the one who was dribbling and yet, Kashiwaki can't catch up? Her eyes were wide with surprised as the spiky haired boy was able to get away even before the slick haired man was able to catch up. The former than made a wide lay up to score his first points of the game. Disgruntled, Kashiwaki thought it was just luck that he made the shot but as they were about to inbound the ball, they heard Kamijou clap and in an instant, they were all shocked to see the Seirin players now guarding them in a full-court press.

"Dammit! I can't find a free opening!" number 13 was sweating as he was seeing Yagi now blocking his path with his long wingspan. Getting tired of this, Kashiwaki shouted, "Throw it now!" Complying, the pass barely reaches into the hands of the latter, who then ran ahead to make a fast break. But in a split second, Kamijou picked up his speed and due to his agility, he managed to ran as fast to be able to catch up and soon overtake the slightly taller man. "Eh? Even though Kashiwaki had a head start, Kami-yan still managed to chase him back. His physique improved drastically," Aogami noted as they saw their former idiot trio member now stalling the offense of Kashiwaki, not that the latter minded as he decided to make a jump shot, thinking that it would surprise his mark. But as he released it, he was shocked to see Kamijou jump high and slamming the ball down on the floor.

Prrrrrrt!

"End of the second quarter! Ten minute intermission in preparation for the second half!" the referee announced as Kamijou then sighed. And here, I was thinking of a quick fast break after that block. Such misfortune. He then makes his way back into the bench, not minding Kashiwaki, who was enraged that he got blocked as he dragged himself into their own bench murmuring something to himself.

"Great job, Kamijou-kun!" Aida smiled as he hands them down their Gatorade drinks, "Now, for the second half…"

"Coach…"

"Uh? What's that, Kamijou-kun?"

"May I go out for some fresh air in the moment?" Kamijou requested as he then stood up, taking with him his jersey jacket, "I promise I'll be back just in time for the next quarter. I'm sorry coach but something's just bothering me up." He then walk away from the bench even before he got an approval, unmindful of the expressions of his two best friends, and of course, his seniors.

"Konoyaro! Who do you think you are, huh!? Ignoring your coach like that!" Aida, not appreciating that he just "ignored" her, was getting mad and would have gotten worse if not for Kiyoshi and Hyuga holding her down.

"Mah…mah…he must be feeling tired with all of the drama happening today," Kiyoshi gave off his usual goofy smile while Hyuga just went along with the center's explanation thought he had another thing in mind. Just what is that thing that's bothering his mind?

Outside the gymnasium, Kamijou walked on until he found a shaded spot beside the venue that he could stay on. As he steps in the shade, he kept thinking things out aloud as he feels the cool wind breeze past him. I'm sorry to ignore you coach. I'll do anything to get you to forgive me. But now, I just had to relax my mind…

Thud!

Hearing the gym doors open, Kamijou turned around and saw a familiar girl walk towards his spot.

It was Fukiyose Seiri.

Kamijou felt the wind getting heavier the second the girl makes her steps. The boy merely looks at her with a bland expression and suddenly smiled when the busty lady finally reached him, "I never knew that you would go out here as well."

"Not that I needed to tell you," Fukiyose hissed as she holds a jug, "Besides, I just heard from Kumokawa-senpai about your so-called Falcon Eyes. You would still see me regardless of anything." Kamijou looked surprised as the girl looked at him with a frowning face. Nevertheless, he kept his composure and replied, "Oh that…that's just a small part of my abilities. It wouldn't really affect much if I don't have those." Unless it was Akashi or Izuki-senpai I'm versing with.

The girl merely nodded as they stood there in complete silence for a few seconds. After a minute has passed, Fukiyose then asked Kamijou, "Perhaps, if there's anything you enjoy about playing basketball, what is it?"

"That's a rather hard question," the boy replied, scratching the back of his head, "In basketball practices, you would definitely hear the swish of the net, the dribbling of the ball, and the squeaking of the sneakers. Then in a real game, you would win some, lose some games or end up in the bloody fight. It's basically how it works in that sport. But if there is anything that I'm impressed, it's the attitude of Kuroko and Kagami in basketball. They work literally harder than almost everyone else, including myself. They may have been through things but I can tell that they still play the game and love basketball more than anything else." The wind once more breezed pass, playing with Fukiyose's hair which flew in style.

"That's a rather deep thought coming from you," she sighed, "But you know what, there's something that I want to confess to you."

"Are? What's that?" Now, the boy was confused.

"Well…let me wipe off the sweat in your face first," Fukiyose then surprised the spiky haired boy by slapping a white towel and smudging it offin his face. Startled, Kamijou almost screamed but was cut off by the girl slapping his mouth, "I don't' want to admit this but…but…" Frustrated that she can't tell what she truly feels, she surprised the boy by trying to kick him 360 degrees but acting on instinct, Kamijou managed to dodge it and ended up locking the girl in a tight headlock. I don't know why but her kick doesn't feel any anger or malice into it, just pure frustration.

"Release me! Release me so I could kick you in the gut, Touma!" the girl raged angrily.

"Hello no! Who would release you if you say that! You need to calm down!" the boy said and after a few more struggles, the Iron Wall Girl managed to calm down and seeing this happen, Kamijou released her from his grip and said, "Sometimes, I can't read what you're going to do in the next few minutes." This statement earned him a soft punch in the mouth. Such misfortune.

"Let's go back together," Kamijou then offered the girl his jersey jacket, which surprised the lady. H-Huh!? He's offering me his jersey jacket. Now, it reminded her of what happened a month ago when Himegami was wearing one of the boy's jacket without her realizing at that time. Now…

"It's not like I'll get cold without it," the boy assured him as he wraps it around the girl, "Besides, sooner or later, I…" He wasn't able to complete his sentence as suddenly, he realized he didn't what he'll really say. He sighed and then just said, "Forget it. Let's just go back inside the gym together." Then without any hitch, the two started heading back towards the venue.

#

To say their entrance was met with surprise to both schools and teams was an understatement. Komoe almost got foam in her mouth the moment she saw his former student and her reliable female officer coming together at the same time in the same moment. While the GoM dismissed this as not their business, Misaka almost choked into her popcorn the moment she saw this while Himegami and Kumokawa merely smiled awkwardly, considering their similar interests in the boy. The Railgun was raging mentally as she was seeing the scene unfold before her. Just a minute! She looks familiar! But still, wh-who could this be!? She even got a larger chest than mine!

"It's hopeless!" Aogami shouted at the top of his lungs, "Kami-yan's disease is now irresistible that even the last hope against it was already breached!"

"Dammit!" Tsuchimikado cried as well, "He really doesn't know when to stop!"

"Konoyaro, Kamijou!" all the other boys of their section joined in as well, "Always getting the beautiful chic to play on! Go die!" Their dark aura is so strong.

But that aside…

"Hoh, KA-MI-JOU-KUN…" Aida was burning in anger as she sees her player coming back to their bench, "So your fresh air is a date with a girl from the other side, huh!? And why does she have your Seirin jacket!? You better have a good explanation for that!" The coach cracked her knuckles as she smiled, which the boy didn't buy.

Eh? But she nearly kicked me! Kamijou panicked as he tried to ask help by seeing and looking his senpais but Kiyoshi, Hyuga, Izuki, and the others looked away as they were too afraid to challenge their coach. And such rotten luck that I acted before thinking! Please help me!

Then surprisingly, Kagami suddenly spoke up.

"Well, coach, it can't be helped right?" the tall power forward said in a sing-song manner, "Since Fukiyose is more feminine, prettier and has a bigger chest than you, it's reasonable why Kamijou would choose her…"

Bam!

The Seirin ace crashed to the floor backwards as Aida knocked him down with her fists while the seniors were thinking. Did he just insulted Riko/coach!?

"Well…for once, Kagami-kun is spot on…" Kuroko squeaked.

Bam!

The tealnette ended up falling in his butt as the coach kicked her passing specialist as the seniors looked in horror. Now it's the two of them!?

Not minding her two other key players now lying on the floor, Aida gathers the spiky haired boy, a frightened Yagi, and their three other rookie players, "The small lectures can come later. For now, we must pull away from our opponents and to do that, there is only one thing to do."

"It's offense, right coach?"

"Hai…" the female coach said, "Kamijou-kun, guide these youngsters as they make their shots. Now, get them!"

"Yes, ma'am!" all of the players answered as the playing five now reentered the court to start the third quarter. As the ball was passed to number 8, Kiyoshi smiled and suddenly said, "You know Riko, all the hardships we experienced and the heartbreaks that happened to us is all worth it."

"Hah? Where did that come from, Teppei?" Aida asked, bewildered.

"Well, it's just like yesterday when we were all still freshmen and we just formed the basketball club the same year with just six members," the Iron Heart narrated as he watched Kamijou steal the ball and make a long outlet pass to a running Yagi, who caught the ball just fine and slams it into the ring, "And who would have thought that from those six pioneer members, we would evolve into a team that brought in our first championship plus Kuroko and Kagami and right now, Seirin got another gem in Kamijou."

Hyuga can only sigh in irritation as he knew he should be expecting this side of Kiyoshi. He's as intolerable as ever…

"Yosh!" the whole Seirin team erupted in cheers as Kamijou stole the ball from Kashiwaki, who was already distracted due to his temper. As the spiky haired boy passed the ball to Yagi, Kashiwaki was already furious and even got mad as he stole a glance at Fukiyose, who actually smiled so happily when the Imagine Breaker user just so their possession.

I want to crush Kamijou so badly!

His eyes were seething with rage and his mind is darkening with his intentions. He saw the Seirin shot clock now down to 18 seconds, with Kamijou now directing the flow of their offensive pattern as he passes the rock to their rookie small forward.

Fuck that bastard…

He grew restless. He wasn't just satisfied anymore with just hurting Asahina back in the closing minutes of the second quarter. He wanted to do it again.

I won't let him off without a price to pay.

"Dammit, rebound!" he heard one of the Seirin rookies shout as Asahina failed to convert one of his sky hook shots and right now, the ball bounced high as is not airborne as it began to fall down. Reacting as fast, Kashiwaki was able to jump early for the rebound as Kamijou was a step too late and Yagi was temporarily blocked by two white shirts. Seeing the spiky haired boy just an inch from him in the ground, he smiled smugly as he out of the blue, he did something that was so fast that the referee didn't notice.

He swung his elbows towards the forehead of Kamijou.

The moment he knew it impacted was that he heard the boy suddenly came down crashing on the floor. In a split second, he knew thought he had achieved victory…

"TOUMA!"

The silence of the gym the moment Kamijou took the hit was immediately shattered by the voice of Fukiyose suddenly echoing into the air as the Forehead Deluxe, both in worry and tranquil fury, suddenly came out rushing from their bench as the whistle was heard being blown for a technical timeout. Not minding the stares that their classmates and kouhais is giving them, Himegami and Kumokawa also sprang up in action and ran to where the spiky haired boy, now lying in the floor, is located.

"TOUMA!" Fukiyose shouted in worry as she immediately kneels down on the floor to try to tend to the boy, who was actually trying to stand up like nothing happened when suddenly, she felt something warm coming out of his head. Feeling it more, she gasped in horror when she realized it was red and liquid.

Kamijou was bleeding profusely in the head.

"Kamijou-kun! Kamijou-kun! Are you alright!?" Kumokawa, who knelt his side while Aida and Hyuga are now coming towards their direction, asked in worry. "Oh my gosh! You're bleeding so much in the head!" She was shaken as Fukiyose takes out a gauze which is actually in their team's kit and tied his head while Himegami decided to help and holds his head up.

"I—I'm fine girls. The game has only begun…" Kamijou tried to reassure the three but suddenly winches in pain as his coach began to tighten the cloth around his head, "Let me go now. I'll continue playing…"

"Certainly not!" the brunette coach suddenly came as she had to push her into the surrounding girls of the certain high school, "You're bleeding so much!" She yelled as Fukiyose was finished tending to his wound and now, Kumokawa was helping the boy as he stood up by his own. On the bench, Kiyoshi and Mitobe had to restrain both Kuroko and Kagami as they were already heading towards the court so they can give Kashiwaki, who casually returned to the bench like nothing happened, a piece of minds, "Come on, guys! We should battle them through basketball, not through a brawl," the Iron Heart center had to wrap Kagami in the waist to prevent him from trying to instigate a fight.

After checking through his wound, the coach sighed and then said, "It's not bad but we'll have to send you to Sasaki General Hospital later in the afternoon. Meanwhile, we'll have one of the players escort you…"

"We'll just go with him, then," Fukiyose suddenly interjected as Kumokawa and Himegami stood behind her, "We're not players unlike his teammates so…"

"So what? You can't simply do that!" the brunette coach said as she glared against the three women, "In fact, why are you all here in our bench? Go back to your own team! They might be finding you three."

"That can't do," Kumokawa decided to intervene, "I'm his senpai so we'll accompany him."

"Yeah and what year are you?" Hyuga asked, sceptically.

The beauty senpai only smiled at the Seirin captain before answering, "I'm a college freshman, youngster."

That one long sentence silenced the Seirin seniors. Kiyoshi only smiled awkwardly as he scratched his head before eventually breaking the silence by speaking, "Well, it looks like we've got some new friends, Riko. Very well then…please take care of Kamijou. Uh… what's your name again?" He glanced at Kumokawa as Hyuga and Aida were shell-shocked at what the Uncrowned General just said and decided for himself (and for Kamijou).

"Kumokawa Seria."

"Uh, that's right, Kumokawa-san, please take him to the clinic for the moment so we can resume the game now," the center then gave them the directions of their clinic. After that, the three girls then left with Kamijou, who was actually protesting about having to leave the game but he was ignored.

"It looks like Kamijou's really a ladies' man," Kiyoshi laughed heartily as the rest of the team only looked at him with a weird expression. Did you intentionally made our school look like we can't take care of our player!?

"We can worry about him later," Aida said as she lays out her white board, "Okay, I'll draw out a new defensive strategy for the freshmen. It's a three-two defensive zone with Yagi-kun standing in the middle." While she was explaining what the rookies would do, Kuroko and Kagami can only watch in anger from afar at Kashiwaki, who was smiling innocently at Yomikawa and Komoe, who are now scolding him harshly. Dammit! When me and Kuroko comes back, we'll crush him so badly that he won't even be able to hold a basketball, the Seirin power forward thought as he crushes his empty Gatorade bottle in his hands.

#

"Why do you need to do this?" Kamijou asked as Fukiyose is now holding his hands while they were on their way to the clinic.

"Baka! The fact that you'll be sent to the hospital makes us more worried," the Forehead Deluxe scolded him slightly as she grips the boys hands.

"Besides, I think it would be counterproductive for you to come back," Kumokawa smiled warmly, "You have your teammates to play for you, anyway." Kamijou only nodded as eventually they reached the clinic and decided to let Himegami accompany the boy inside while the two wait by sitting on a chair besides the door of the clinic.

While they were waiting peacefully, the two women were quiet as Kumokawa looks at Fukiyose, who seemed so depressed today. She sighed as she knew she had her own thoughts. Despite being the first to know where he will go, you're still the one who managed to go first to his whereabouts. I feel jealous.

"Hey, Fukiyose," Kumokawa then asked, "Can I ask something?"

Her junior only nodded, too tired to even argue.

"Did you and my cute kouhai manage to come to terms with each other?" the Beauty Senpai didn't hold back, "You two weren't exactly the best of friends last school year so this is quite surprising for me."

"It won't always be that way, Kumokawa-san," Fukiyose tries to explain clearly as possible, "It's true that he's a lazy bum who thinks nothing but to wallow in his…uh…" She already heard the truth about his misfortune so she didn't know how to say it aloud, "But his transformation into this year is quite unbelievable. And ther are things about him that I didn't know…"

Criiiing!

"Ugh…who could this even be?" Kumokawa was vey annoyed that at this very moment, someone just interrupted her. But when she checked her inbox, she was surprised and she smirked, "Fukiyose, excuse me for a moment. I'll have to meet someone outside."

And without another word, she stood up and left, the heels of her shoes banging loudly against the white tiles.