"By the way, Momoi, what's really going on over there?"
Daiki Aomine asked.
Satsuki Momoi snapped back to her senses and replied,
"Their coach had a problem over there. They said he fainted."
"Fainted???"
Everyone asked in unison. Why would he suddenly faint for no reason?
Satsuki Momoi said something shocking,
"It seems like he was angered into fainting by one of his own players."
The moment those words came out, the Teikō players all froze. Daiki Aomine's expression went blank as he slowly said,
"Ang… angered into fainting???"
"What kind of monster could actually make a coach faint from anger?"
Satsuki Momoi lightly placed her right index finger on her lips, striking a thoughtful pose.
"It seems… it seems it was the player who was defending Miyamoto Tokima."
Kōzō Shirogane returned to Teikō's side together with Shuzo Nijimura, rubbing his forehead.
He never expected the match to end like this.
Kōzō Shirogane sighed helplessly, patted his forehead, and said to the Teikō players,
"Alright, let's go. We're heading back."
Daiki Aomine was clearly stunned and asked,
"Why, Coach? We only just finished the first quarter."
Kōzō Shirogane looked equally helpless.
"There's nothing we can do. Their coach collapsed, and the players all withdrew, saying they needed to go check on him."
Daiki Aomine clearly didn't buy that explanation.
Kōzō Shirogane patted Daiki Aomine on the shoulder.
"Alright, don't dwell on it. Train properly. Our next opponent should be Fukuda Middle School."
"Are they strong?"
Daiki Aomine asked.
Coach Shirogane nodded.
"Their small forward, Kotaro Hayama, even gave Nijimura some trouble last year."
"Coach, that time I just had a cold, okay?"
Shuzo Nijimura quickly protested.
Coach Shirogane smiled slightly and said,
"Same thing, same thing."
"Not the same!!!"
Daiki Aomine didn't care about Shuzo Nijimura's rebuttal. He only cared about what Kōzō Shirogane had said earlier.
Fukuda was strong. That alone was enough to make Daiki Aomine feel excited.
"Alright, pack up. Let's head back to school."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded and went to gather their belongings.
...
At Teikō Middle School.
Daiki Aomine sat in the classroom with a look of utter despair on his face.
Why…
Why is the first thing we do after getting back to school make-up classes?!
Daiki Aomine collapsed onto his desk in despair, his expression vacant.
It was rare for Kōzō Shirogane not to keep everyone behind for training. After all, they had played a match today, so a proper rest was warranted.
Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi wandered aimlessly down the street.
Worth mentioning was that Daiki Aomine didn't leave school. Instead, he went to do extra training with Kuroko.
He had invited Miyamoto Tokima to join them, but there was no way Miyamoto Tokima would agree.
Come on—what's better than slacking off?
So Miyamoto Tokima went for a walk with Satsuki Momoi instead.
Miyamoto Tokima walked in front, with Satsuki Momoi following just one step behind him.
The summer breeze gently stirred the hearts of the boy and girl.
Who knew how many people would find true feelings in this summer?
Of course, Miyamoto Tokima was an exception. He wasn't a teenager anymore.
Satsuki Momoi quietly followed behind him. If one looked closely, they would notice her cheeks had already begun to redden.
Does this count as a date? Just me and Tokima…
Ah, so embarrassing.
Satsuki Momoi kept imagining things in her head, lowering her gaze deeply. When she realized she couldn't even see her own shoes, she lifted her head again and sneaked a glance at Miyamoto Tokima.
Walking ahead, Miyamoto Tokima was thinking to himself.
Slacking off really is wonderful. And I even get to stroll around with a beautiful girl.
He glanced back at Satsuki Momoi and noticed that the moment their eyes met, she immediately lowered her head again.
This girl… she's not falling for me, is she?
Miyamoto Tokima pondered for a moment and decided to test it out.
"Momoi, how about we go to the amusement park?"
White steam practically rose from Satsuki Momoi's head as her body stiffened slightly.
An… amusement park… just me and Tokima…
"O-okay."
She replied without lifting her head.
This only made Miyamoto Tokima more certain that Satsuki Momoi might actually have feelings for him.
So Miyamoto Tokima made a decision that went against his ancestors' teachings.
Little Kuroko, I'm sorry. I'll find you someone else later.
Without caring whether Satsuki Momoi was embarrassed or not, Miyamoto Tokima grabbed her hand and rushed toward the amusement park.
Satsuki Momoi didn't resist at all, following Miyamoto Tokima's pace as they headed there.
On the way, Miyamoto Tokima bought two ice pops again. The moment he got them, a thought popped into his mind.
No way… could it really be that ice pop from a few days ago that won her over?
He suddenly remembered how, in his past life's Kuroko no Basket, Tetsuya Kuroko had captured Satsuki Momoi's heart with a single ice cream stick.
Could it be that he had done the same?
Miyamoto Tokima stopped thinking about it. After handing one ice pop to Satsuki Momoi, he held her hand and leisurely headed toward the amusement park.
Along the way, each of them held an ice pop in one hand and… each other's hand in the other.
Neither of them spoke, simply enjoying the peaceful moment.
After arriving at the amusement park, Miyamoto Tokima took Satsuki Momoi to play on all kinds of rides.
The carousel, bumper cars, and many more.
Later, Satsuki Momoi felt like something was missing, so she took the initiative and brought Miyamoto Tokima over to the roller coaster.
Miyamoto Tokima looked up at the towering tracks in the sky and swallowed hard.
"Momoi, how about we change to something else?"
"I think the carousel was pretty nice. Want to ride it again?"
Satsuki Momoi seemed to have discovered Miyamoto Tokima's weakness. After spending these past few hours together, she seemed to understand him a little better.
With a smile, tilting her head, she asked in a slightly teasing tone,
"Hm? Are you scared, Tokima?"
"Yes, I'm scared."
Satsuki Momoi had thought Miyamoto Tokima would stubbornly deny it, but she didn't expect him to admit it so easily.
After slacking off for so long, Miyamoto Tokima had learned one thing.
If you can't do something, don't force it. Knowing you can't and still doing it anyway—wasn't that just asking for suffering?
Seeing that a simple provocation didn't work, Satsuki Momoi had no choice but to try another method.
She grabbed Miyamoto Tokima's right hand and gently shook it, putting on a spoiled expression as she said,
"Please, Tokima. Go with me."
Miyamoto Tokima was weakest against a girl acting cute. He struggled to lift his head and glanced at the roller coaster above.
From time to time, piercing screams echoed through the air.
A chill ran through Miyamoto Tokima's entire body. He closed his eyes with difficulty.
"Call me 'baby.'"
Satsuki Momoi froze, not understanding at first.
Then she immediately realized what he meant. Blushing deeply, she lowered her head and stammered,
"Ba… baby!!"
Hearing that, Miyamoto Tokima gritted his teeth and once again made a decision that went against his ancestors' teachings.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser