Kota grabbed the towel and water bottle, ignoring the stunned looks from his teammates, and plopped down beside the coach, casually wiping the sweat from his face.
The coach scratched his head and shot Kota a glare, internally grumbling: I told you to help Ryota figure out his problem, not go full drill sergeant. There are gentler ways to do that, you know.
Kota just shrugged innocently: You told me to fix it, Coach. This was the best method I could come up with.
Kise sat at the end of the bench, towel over his shoulders, head hanging low, not saying a word.
Kota took a swig from his bottle and winked at the coach.
The coach sighed. "Kise take a breather. You've played the whole third quarter—you must be tired."
Hearing that, Kise immediately looked up. "Coach! I can still play, I—"
"Kasamatsu, you're in. Kota, take the point. I'll go over defense with you guys again…"
The coach cut him off. He understood exactly what his ace was feeling. But right now, the best move was to make Kise sit and watch his teammates.
A few minutes earlier—
After Kota's biting remark, Kise couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Kota by the collar, glaring at him.
"Take a look at your teammates" Kota said. "They're freezing out there waiting for you to pass. If you're looking for someone to run suicides with, don't come crying to me, genius."
Kise froze, then turned and looked at his teammates. He let go of Kota's collar.
Kota didn't seem bothered. He smoothed out his jersey and walked toward the sideline to inbound the ball.
"If you can't understand what it means to play as a team, you won't go far. And if my words don't make sense to you, then maybe you're not all that. Just forget everything I said last night and pretend we were just talking about the weather."
.
"Alright brats, let's give our golden boy a little show. Time to prove whether his loyal subjects are worthy of his royal favor!"
Kota's words made Kise grit his teeth. He tossed off his towel and stared at the court, suddenly serious.
The coach caught it—just a glimpse of it—but smiled:
"Looks like you finally get it, Kise."
.
"Did they just argue or something?"
"Dunno, but hey, Kise's benched. We can breathe a little."
Riko chewed on her finger, staring at Kota. "Kise's off the court, and yet… why do I feel like the game just started?"
"Anyway, it's good Kise's benched. Kagami, how're you feeling?"
"Fired up, Coach!"
"Good. Stay sharp, everyone. This final quarter isn't the time to relax. Ryota could come back any second—we're not giving them a chance to breathe…"
BZZT—
Fourth quarter, start!
Kota slowly brought the ball up and glanced at the scoreboard.
77–68, Kaijo in the lead.
I already knew… but man, Kise, you really are a genius.
Kota couldn't help but admire it. One quarter solo and he widened the lead. Skill-wise, he already acknowledged Ryota as their ace.
"Alright then, let me give you a lesson—what real team basketball looks like."
Kota crossed half-court and passed to Kasamatsu. Seeing there was no room to shoot, Kasamatsu passed it back. Kota calmly assessed the court, saw a gap in Seirin's defense, faked a shot, then zipped a bounce pass to the open man under the basket — Kobori.
Kagami's eyes widened. Crap! That spot's wide open!
Kobori didn't hesitate—jumped and threw down a clean, no-frills two-handed dunk.
"Damn, I got careless."
"Don't worry. Lock it down next play."
On the sidelines, Riko's heart skipped a beat. Something felt wrong… ever since Kota came on.
Kota saw Hyuga approaching with the ball, looking like he'd drive. He dropped into a defensive stance and, for effect, pulled up his shorts.
Hyuga twitched. Why does he have this ridiculous pressure on defense!?
He passed to Kagami on the right.
Kota fought back a laugh — his expression alone clearly irked Hyuga.
"You mocking me!? " Hyuga thought, biting his lip.
Kota saw Kagami explode toward the hoop. He raced down the court, only to see Kagami posterize Koizumi—again.
With Kise off the court, no one could stop Kagami one-on-one.
Still, Kota wasn't disappointed. If Kagami had missed and they'd grabbed the rebound, Kota would've had a wide-open shot. If not—no big deal. Worth the run.
Worried about Kise's return, Hyuga toned down Kagami's attacks, opting for more ball movement.
Kota shook his head, amused: "Nice try, but there's no way your team can run the same system as mine. Not even close."
It didn't take long before Kota intercepted a lazy pass and turned it into a quick fast break.
Kaijo began dominating. As the gap widened, Riko anxiously gnawed her nails.
"Damn it… we're dancing to their tune. If only Kuroko could play…"
"I can."
No one noticed when Kuroko had sat up. He stared at Riko with a serious look.
"Huh? Kuroko? No way! What if your injury gets worse?!"
"But Coach, you said it yourself—we're being controlled. I have to play."
"I meant hypothetically! Like if, not go!"
Riko looked into his eyes—expressionless but determined. She sighed and gave in:
"Fine. But if anything feels wrong, you're off immediately!"
BZZT—
Seirin calls time.
The whistle blew as Hyuga's shot clanked off the rim and out of bounds.
Kota took the towel from a teammate and spotted Kuroko warming up on the other side.
"Looks like they're putting in Kuroko."
"This is madness. Scrimmages are for solving problems, not creating them. If his injury gets worse, they're gonna be in tears."
Kise heard Kota's words and froze.
"Solving problems… huh?"
He turned to the coach.
"Coach! I get it now. Let me back in!"
The coach opened his mouth to reply, but Kota beat him to it, smiling.
"Nah, genius. If we don't show you what we're made of, how are you ever gonna trust us to be your teammates?"
The coach paused, then said nothing.
Kasamatsu glanced at the coach and picked up the thread:
"Kota's right. Take a breather, man. Doesn't matter if it's another member of the Generation of Miracles — we've got it."
Right after saying that, Kasamatsu booted Kota right in the rear.
"So… you did call the seniors 'brats,' didn't you?"
Kota, never having been physically attacked by Kasamatsu before, froze. Then he quickly plastered on a smile.
"Come on, Captain! It was all for effect! Gotta keep the energy up, right? Admit it—it sounded kinda cool!"
The coach watched the two bicker, his usual frown turning into a smile.
"Finally, something good today."
He glanced at the dented rim in the corner.
"Though… I'm probably paying for that hoop later."
BZZT—
Time-in.Score: 86–74.
Kota faced off with Kuroko, the corner of his lips curling.
"Kuroko, huh? I've been wondering why Kise rates you so highly. You've got, like… the physical presence of a houseplant."
Kuroko calmly adjusted his wristband and replied in a cold voice:
"Bring it."