"Seriously, Miyamoto is unbelievable. He just finished training and already went out with Momoi. That guy!"
Daiki Aomine grumbled angrily.
For some reason, Shogo Haizaki hadn't skipped training today, so he was also in the locker room changing clothes. Hearing Aomine's complaint, he immediately shot back,
"What business is it of yours if someone goes out with their girlfriend?"
Daiki Aomine snapped his head around and glared at Shogo Haizaki.
"What did you say?!"
Haizaki finished changing, straightened his clothes, and replied indifferently,
"If you didn't hear it, forget it."
With that, he turned and left the locker room.
A displeased look spread across Aomine's face as he muttered,
"That guy! Sure, he was defending Miyamoto, but that tone really pisses me off!"
Seijuro Akashi chuckled softly and tried to smooth things over.
"Come on, after all this time, you should know what he's like by now.
Aside from Miyamoto, he doesn't respect anyone and isn't afraid of anyone."
Daiki Aomine took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and replied helplessly,
"Yeah… I don't know why, but other than Miyamoto, no one can keep him in line."
With that, Aomine stood up and headed out. At the doorway, he ran into Atsushi Murasakibara.
Murasakibara was eating an ice pop and asked blankly,
"Huh? Aomine, are you still going to train?"
Aomine stopped and smiled.
"Yeah. I have to beat Miyamoto."
"Oh. Good luck."
Murasakibara replied flatly, then turned his head and noticed Shintaro Midorima spraying something into a locker.
"Hey, Midorima, what are you doing?"
Midorima continued spraying deodorizer into the locker and said,
"Lately, it smells strange around here."
"Ah, that."
Murasakibara took another bite of his ice pop, about to continue.
At that moment, Aomine, standing beside him, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and quietly edged toward the exit.
After finishing his ice pop, Murasakibara said indistinctly,
"Because Aomine and Haizaki both pile their unwashed T-shirts in the lockers."
The instant he heard that, Daiki Aomine bolted outside.
Midorima spun around in fury, shouting at Aomine's retreating back,
"Aomine!!!"
Aomine sprinted toward the gym without looking back. Hearing Midorima's roar, he laughed awkwardly and shouted back,
"I won't do it again next time!!!"
...
Inside the gym.
Daiki Aomine was training hard when the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed.
He turned his head and, seeing Tetsuya Kuroko, greeted him cheerfully,
"Kuroko, you're here! You—"
Noticing the dejected look on Kuroko's face, Aomine hesitated.
"What's wrong?"
"Aomine… I…"
Tetsuya Kuroko lowered his head, his expression filled with gloom, and said with difficulty,
"I want… to quit the basketball club."
The words stunned Daiki Aomine. He stared at Kuroko in disbelief.
"Why?"
Kuroko shook his head and gave a self-mocking smile.
"It's obvious my strength isn't enough to play alongside you, Aomine. I don't even have what it takes to make the second team."
Aomine stood there in a daze, listening as Kuroko continued.
"I really like basketball, but… I've been in the club for so long, and I haven't improved at all."
"In the end, something that doesn't suit you is something you just can't force."
"And besides, in Teikō Middle School's basketball club, I've never been able to contribute anything."
Kuroko clenched his fists tightly, closed his eyes, and spoke with great effort.
Daiki Aomine remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"There's no such thing as a player the team doesn't need. Even if you can't play in games, saying that someone who trains later than anyone else—even later than the first team—is useless… I don't accept that!"
"The way you train makes me respect you. It's precisely because of your effort that you've kept pushing me to practice harder."
"I won't say something cliché like 'as long as you don't give up, you'll definitely succeed.'
But if you give up, you'll get nothing!"
"I… don't want you to give up on basketball."
Hearing Aomine's words, Kuroko's tightly clenched fists loosened slightly, and the resolve in his heart began to waver.
"Aomine."
At that moment, Seijuro Akashi's voice suddenly rang out.
Aomine looked up and saw Seijuro Akashi approaching together with Atsushi Murasakibara and Shintaro Midorima.
Akashi spoke first.
"You're training here?"
"Yeah," Aomine replied. "The gym across the way was too crowded, so I came here instead."
Murasakibara, chewing something, mumbled,
"Aomine, you're really working hard all by yourself."
Aomine paused for a moment, then turned to Kuroko and said,
"I'm not alone."
Only then did Akashi and the others notice Tetsuya Kuroko, who had been standing there the whole time.
When Akashi saw him, his expression visibly shifted in surprise.
"Huh? Seriously? When did you start standing there?"
Murasakibara looked equally shocked and blurted out,
"What? I didn't notice him at all."
Akashi studied Kuroko, a thought suddenly forming in his mind. He turned to Aomine and asked,
"Aomine, who is this?"
Aomine walked over to Kuroko and introduced him.
"This is Tetsuya Kuroko. He's been training with me."
Murasakibara spoke slowly,
"He's been training with Aomine? Then he must be really strong… but… do we even have someone like that on our team?"
Aomine explained,
"He's not on the first team. He's still on the third team."
Hearing that Kuroko was only third-string, Murasakibara instantly lost interest. He yawned and said,
"Oh, just the third team. Let's go. Miyamoto already picked a restaurant."
"Aomine, you should go change too. Miyamoto is waiting for us."
Aomine paused and asked,
"Huh? What are we doing later?"
Murasakibara replied lazily,
"Miyamoto's treating us to dinner. He already picked the place and is waiting. Let's go."
Akashi suddenly spoke up,
"Wait."
"I'm a bit interested in him."
Midorima froze, unable to believe that Akashi would take interest in someone like this.
Akashi walked up to Tetsuya Kuroko with a gentle smile.
"How interesting. This is the first time I've seen this type of player."
"Perhaps he's hiding a talent completely different from ours."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser