CHAPTER 3 – Training Again

The sky was a bright azure blue, with a few clouds blocking the intensely blinding sun, in addition to the heat; it was certainly the perfect weather for a picnic, but then again not everyone has the time for picnics. For athletes, no matter the weather, training takes precedence over everything else, and this mindset was no different for Aomine Daiki. Then again, for today, it was not like he had a choice in coming here to practice. He already informed Momoi that he was going out to practice with his trainer, to which she beamed happily at him (though the captain Wakamatsu was extremely suspicious of him skipping practices), and currently he was walking to the basketball court where his trainer should be waiting for him.

"Tsk…" Aomine grumbled, clearly annoyed that he had to ask this guy, but oh well, whatever helps.

A few hundred meters away, at the basketball court, a young blonde man with the looks of a perfect model that almost any girl would instantly fall for was waiting there. Thank God the sun isn't that hot, he thought, feeling rather annoyed that the person that asked him here was late. However, it had been some time since their last meeting on Kuroko's Birthday, and he was really interested in meeting him. Aomine had informed a little of what they would be doing today, though he was very shocked when he heard the request over phone; after Aomine was always a loner, a solo-type, and for him to ask someone to train him must mean he was serious. He smiled to himself, and took of his uniform jacket, and folded up his sleeves. He picked up the basketball lying beside him and dribbled leisurely to the free-throw line. Oh well, might as well practice some shooting huh, he thought, and just as he released the ball, a tall figure with tanned skin and dark blue suddenly dash in front of him and jumped, catching the ball in mid-air before throwing the ball into the hoop effortlessly in one swift motion. The man landed and turned towards him.

"Yo, Kise. Sorry I'm late."

Several hundred miles away, back in Too academy, the basketball team was practicing hard, even without their Ace. The team consisted of Kosuke Wakamastsu, the captain as well as the center, Ryo Sakurai, the shooting guard, Aomine Daiki, the power forward as well as their Ace, and two new members: Hirose Kazuyuki, playing the point guard, and Miyake Zeshin, playing small forward. During last year's Interhigh, Too Academy lost to Rakuzan High, although the Miracles from both schools Aomine and Akashi did not play at all. Nevertheless, Wakamatsu knows that with three Uncrowned Kings on the other team, the odds are clearly not in their favour at all, hence causing him to be stricter and more frustrated during practices. Compared to last year's team, which consisted of Shoichi Imayoshi and Yoshinori Susa, the new point guard (according to Momoi) has around the stats of Imayoshi, although he was not as cunning as the former captain. Meanwhile, Zeshin has a slightly smaller build, making him faster than Susa, although he may lack strength. That's not to say that the current players did not improve: Sakurai could formerly make safe threes as long he was confident, but with much effort, his technique has improved a greatly, while Wakamatsu has grown several centimeters and built up muscles, making him an overall stronger center. Finally, Aomine has also been making rapid improvements in his plays, most prominently in his style and pace. While the teamwork of Too may still need some work, the individual talents are definitely something not to be taken lightly.

However, according to Momoi, there was supposed to be another member here for Tryouts, and funnily enough, this person was also from Teiko, which meant that he was her junior. At first, Wakamatsu looked obviously cheerful when he heard a Teiko player was joining the team, which meant that this would dramatically enhance their fighting power, but to his disappointment, this junior did not appear for tryouts.

"Oi Guys, let's go!" Wakamatsu shouted at the team, whom nodded, looking slightly intimidated.

Currently they were practicing against the first-string players, and the main focus of this game was to improve the coordination among the players. After all, they could not fully rely on the Ace during a game.

Sakurai caught the ball and prepared a three point shot, however a first string player quickly rush towards him. In a bizarre manner similar to Hyuga from Seirin High, Sakurai's usual nervous and unsure attitude would suddenly change into something much more confident. Likewise, his signature quick release three pointers would be much quicker and accurate as well. "Hmph, you ain't getting this!" He said smugly, and released his shot. If a normal three pointer shot was like person throwing a baseball with an overhand, Sakurai's quick releases would be akin to a cannon aimed 45 degrees. The basketball moved to through the air with such velocity and yet still ended perfectly through the hoop. Sakurai smiled and gave an out-of-character like pout, before returning to his usual demeanor. "I – I won't let you through!" He said, as though attempting to sound intimidating to the third year guarding him, causing the latter to look confused and amused.

The ball soon fell into Kazuyuki's grip. At this point, Momoi's focus sharpened. Time to see what this first year can do, she thought. Within a split second, a first string player got to him. At this moment, Kazuyuki's shoulder seemed to slacken but his pupil's clearly dilated and his irises glowed, and he could pinpoint the position of everyone near him. He had not showed this skill during tryouts, but he thought this may be a good time to show it off. As the first string player attempted a steal, he quickly made a crossover between his legs and threw the ball behind his back to the captain.

"Wakamatsu!" Kazuyuki shouted. The captain smiled, and in his passion dribbled to the opposing hoop and made dunk easily, passing two other players expertly. "Alright!" He shouted. Momoi noted these down on her notebook. Clearly, the team has improved from last year, but then again they still have much to improve. The match is in a month, so they still have some time, Momoi thought, but… their definitely improving! And with that, Zeshin successfully made a two-pointer.

"Yes!" Zeshin celebrated quietly to himself. "I can do this …!"

Momoi beamed at this sight. Maybe… maybe they can really do this. However, her thoughts still lingered on this mysterious junior. Could it be?

"So whatcha call me out for?" Kise asked cheerfully.

"Well, I… I need you to help me train," Aomine replied grudgingly. It was awkward to do this, especially when he remembered him not helping Kise up after their match during last year's Interhigh.

Kise looked rather confused. "Huh? How am I supposed to train you? Anyway, aren't you stronger than me?" He asked smoothly, although Aomine could detect a sense of jealousy behind those words.

"You have the perfect copy, right?" Aomine said. "So—"

"—you want me to imitate Akashi's Emperor Eye with my Perfect Copy, I get it" Kise interjected coolly. Aomine looked rather irritated at this, as he could feel his face becoming slightly hotter.

"But~ Kasamatsu-senpai might scold me~ And also I have some modeling later~ I don't wanna get so sweaty~ Anyway is this how you ask someone for something Aomine-cchi~ You need to learn some matters~" Kise started complaining in his usual whiny manner, causing Aomine to burst out "Shut up!" at the last complaint. Nevertheless, Aomine mustered some courage, and reaffirmed his request. "Oi, so will you help me?"

At this instant, Kise's eyes turned slightly colder. "But why should I help you?" He asked, still with that gleeful tone.

Aomine frowned. He understood what he meant. After all, Kise does not have any reason to really help him, an enemy from another school that he might compete against. He sighed, and then said, "If you don't want to help, its fine. I won't force you then."

Kise looked rather surprised at this. He certainly did not expect such… humility from Aomine of all people. Perhaps his loss against Kuroko-cchi and Kagami-cchi did change him, huh? But Aomine disrupted his train of thought.

"Anyway, you can use this opportunity to get back at me for last year, no?" Aomine said smugly, his demeanor transitioning back to his usual self-confident self. He picked up the basketball and spun it on his finger, as though he was taunting him.

Kise smiled. "Alright…" He preferred Aomine in his usual self anyway.

"But you gotta treat me lunch or something kays~ Aomine-cchi~"

"Go to hell!"

Somewhere, far, far away, an emperor is gazing out at his throne. Akashi stood alone in the Rakuzan High, shrouded in darkness and gazing at the hoop far above him. Although he had the capacity to dunk, Akashi wasn't sure whether he could do it in his current state. The other "him" could do it effortlessly, but this made him rather uneasy. Sure, he was the point guard, which means his job is to direct the team's offense, by passing the ball to the right players at the right time, however he did sometimes wonder if with his power, he was worth something more. Most of the time, he would somehow push this thought to the back of his mind, but occasionally he would just keep pondering about.

A voice inside of him spoke, hey, would you mind if I practice a bit? Akashi frowned. No, he thought, I'm not letting you out again. The voice, however, pressed him further. Against anyone else, you may not need me, but against Daiki, you do. When Akashi didn't respond, the voice continued, just this once. I know my limits. I won't hurt him, but you need the Emperor Eye to face off with him. Akashi probed his thoughts further, why Aomine? And the other him replied, well, we clearly know the rankings of the Generation of Miracles… Akashi frowned, but it depends on the team, no?

You know that's not what I mean…. The other voice sounded different. Somehow, Akashi could sense something from the other him. Longing? Forgiveness? Regret? Maybe something like that, but he wasn't fully convinced. I see… I understand then, maybe next time, the voice concluded. Akashi sighed, and felt slightly guilty. He was different from one year ago, he was not the same perfectionist as he was before, Akashi thought, and he was sure the other him could sense his thoughts. Just maybe… huh…

And with that, Akashi picked up a basketball and dribbled to the hoop. His cat-like slits for pupils widened and he jumped from the ground, reaching near the hoop's height, and dunked. He smiled as he landed, as though a bit of weight chained around his heart was removed, allowing him to soar the skies.

"When's your next practice?" Aomine asked lamely as he took off his jacket and strolled towards Kise.

"Umm, in two days I guess? We just practiced in the afternoon," Kise replied in his cheery tone.

"It won't affect your performance now, right?" Aomine asked, frowning a little.

"Nah, come at me with all you got. Just keep in mind Perfect Copy lasts a total of 5 minutes, we can last a maximum of 30 minutes if I use it sparingly, kay?" Kise explained.

"Heh, no problem," Aomine smirked. The feeling of facing an opponent that could be as strong as him made him excited inside. He took on his offensive stance and dribbled on the spot, while Kise took on a defensive stance.

Kise Ryota, the most versatile member of the Generation of Miracles. With an eye so observant, Kise could easily see a move, memorize it and replicate it if his body could allow it. Even back in Teiko, due to this skill of "copying", Kise excelled in almost every sport back then, although it was after seeing Aomine play basketball that made him interested in it. With this skill, Kise could easily copy many basketball moves, and in that sense stock up a whole list of moves at his disposal. Furthermore, after much training both mentally and physically, by last year's Winter Cup, Kise enhanced his copying to Perfect Copy, where he was able to adapt his style and movements to imitate moves and plays of the Generation of Miracles. As such, he is able to use these moves and even combine them to further boost their capabilities, although doing so taxes his body due to him having to compensate in many different ways to imitate the respective skills. For example, if he were to recreate Aomine's speed, though his maximum speed is not as fast, his acceleration and change of pace would be the same. As a result, such implication limits the use of Perfect Copy for a maximum of 5 minutes. Naturally, while five minutes may not seem as much, within this tiny amount, you will be at the mercy of Kise Ryota.

Without warning, Aomine started his pace: dribbling the ball on the sport at first, then suddenly switching with the other hand, and then behind his back. In an instant, he suddenly drives forward with extreme speed in an attempt to pass Kise. Naturally, Kise did not react unwell to this for he did play against Aomine before, albeit he lost. Activating his perfect copy, which causes his iris to glow, Kise used Akashi's Emperor Eye, where he used in observant eye to predict Aomine's movements with extreme accuracy.

"There!" Kise shouted, and reach his hand out to where Aomine's ball would land.

Impressive, Aomine thought. He knew of Akashi's skill, but he had never truly played against it head-on like this. He had seen this before, but it still surprised him to see Kise reacting before he even dribbled to that position. Kise's hands were inches from the ball—

But Aomine's reaction was faster. In a swift motion, he redirected the ball and made a behind the back crossover, at the same time shifting his body to drive in the other direction. However, Kise was one step ahead of him. With the Emperor Eye, his other hand instantly reached out to near Aomine's hip area where the ball would appear behind his back after bouncing off the ground. Again, Aomine was impressed, and he instinctively smiled. Using his receiving hand, he instead shifted it such that his knuckles would be facing Kise's palms, and he caught the ball in an odd angle. Wasting no unnecessary actions, he pushed the ball back and stepped back, dribbling the ball with that one hand.

Kise deactivated his Perfect Copy, causing his irises to stop glowing, and he smiled. Not bad eh, he muttered. Certainly, Aomine's speed was really nothing to laugh at, for even after predicting his movements twice, Kise still could not catch up to him. It was rather amazing how this exchange took place in a total duration of less than 5 seconds. A drop of sweat trickled down Aomine's forehead. Who knew that combating the Emperor Eye would be this hard?

"Hey, it's been only like ten seconds and you're giving up?" Kise taunted. Aomine's smile widened even more.

"Heh, tell me more when you can actually catch me." Aomine replied smugly, who was still dribbling the ball. His heart was beating faster than usual. Let's go again, shall we?

Aomine's squinted eyes widened as he attempted to drive again. Kise's eyes flashed again, and his hand reached out, but Aomine spun around and managed to pass him, expertly crossing the ball over to his other hand at the same time, and rushed for the hoop. However, he was surprised when Kise managed to catch up to him. A slight tinge of blue faded away in his wake.

"Copying my speed, eh?" Aomine uttered. But he quickly gripped the basketball and shifted it behind his back while holding it. And then, in that position, he leaned forward, using the momentum from his dribbling, and flicked the ball towards the hoop from his back. It was one of many shots used by Aomine, although he did before while in the air against Kagami.

"Not so fast!" Kise shouted, and he jumped up with his hands straight out. As though he suddenly grew an extra 20 cm, he easily slammed the basketball down. Aomine's expression changed slightly, looking rather impressed.

"Murasakibara, eh," Aomine remarked, as Kise landed. Certainly, a one-on-one against him in his Perfect Copy state would be quite annoying when he could simply copy the skills of any of the five Miracles to respond to the situation.

Kise turned his head to face him. "Aomine-cchi, we still got some time ya know…" He muttered as his irises turned back to normal again. "You're gonna owe me ice-cream if you lose…"

To be honest, Aomine had not fully gone all out yet. At his current base form, he would estimate he was around 75%, and he still had ZONE. It has been only a minute since they started playing, and yet Aomine was already feeling that he was out of his comfort zone.

He sighed, and then said, "Sure, ice-cream to the winner. I won't… hold back anymore." Let's try 100% now.

Akashi packed his belongings, and stared at the mirror in his locker room. Both of his irises were red in colour, but one in a while, he could see his left eye turn gold again.

Did he himself want to him to appear again? Yes, a voice spoke.

Did he want that strength again? Yes, the voice grew stronger.

So that no one can oppose him? Yes, the voice spoke through his mouth.

Akashi's eyes widened. For a fleeting moment, it was as though his other self had overtaken him completely. He gulped, and stared at his own reflection, pondering deeply. That day, long ago, just after the Teiko Coach had been replaced, the day his other self appeared… Akashi closed his eyes, for he could still remember his confrontation with Aomine back then. Perhaps this is why the other he was so focused on Aomine out of all the Generation of Miracles.

With that, he brushed the thought off, and took off to the classroom for his extra classes. Nevertheless, he could still see that moment… In the court, Aomine in front of him… the rain and thunder… and then… their confrontation.

Third Chapter here, slightly shorter at 3k words. So yep, not much different from the prototype, but i just added a few minor details here and there. Also, adding a subplot about something that happened between Aomine and Akashi a long time ago... Yup. Review and comment so i can get yall feedback!