Chapter 144: Long Time No See
On the court.
After missing another shot, Papa looked extremely frustrated.
“What the hell, this is really pissing me off!”
The Shinkyō captain quickly spoke up:
“Don’t rush it. You didn’t even get blocked. Get back on defense.”
Taiga Kagami panted lightly, his eyebrows twitching.
‘This kind of scoring isn’t exactly easy for me either! In that case, it’s better to beat you cleanly and decisively!’
Taiga Kagami ran over to Papa and boxed him out. While jockeying for position, he spoke:
“Hey, let me make two things clear.”
Taiga Kagami’s expression turned serious as he continued:
“First, in this game, I’m going to swat your shots away.”
Papa’s face twisted with irritation as he replied:
“That kind of thing… is impossible.”
“I won’t lose to a team that still has kids on it.”
Taiga Kagami suddenly spun and charged toward the paint, calling out:
“Second—”
Shun Izuki immediately picked up on the movement and passed the ball toward Papa.
Papa looked at the ball flying toward him, confusion mixed with a hint of delight.
‘LUCKY.’
Just as he was about to catch it, Tetsuya Kuroko suddenly appeared in front of him and slapped the ball straight into Taiga Kagami’s hands.
Taiga Kagami caught it, jumped, and slammed the ball into the hoop.
At the same time, he said:
“Kids can be dangerous.”
Kuroko spoke calmly in front of Papa:
“By the way, can we stop talking about kids now?”
Off the court.
Shuzo Nijimura couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.
“It’s been so long, but seeing Kuroko’s style again still surprises me. Honestly, I didn’t even notice him just now.”
Miyamoto Tokima was also a little surprised. He realized that he hadn’t noticed Tetsuya Kuroko either.
To be honest, all this time, Tetsuya Kuroko was the only person who had truly surprised Miyamoto Tokima.
Because if Miyamoto Tokima wasn’t fully focused, there were times when he would end up overlooking Kuroko’s presence as well.
Of course, only when he wasn’t paying attention.
On the court.
Papa stared wide-eyed and muttered:
“What just… happened?”
The Shinkyō captain, seemingly flustered, immediately ran to the sideline and shouted:
“No matter what, score one back first!”
After saying that, he passed the ball out—completely overlooking one person…
Tetsuya Kuroko instantly appeared in the passing lane, intercepted the ball, and slapped it up into the air.
Taiga Kagami jumped once more and dunked it home.
“What is going on with these two?!”
Papa muttered in shock.
Soon after, the first quarter ended, with Seirin leading 23–8.
Miyamoto Tokima felt there was little left to watch in the rest of the game. At this point, it would just be Taiga Kagami blocking Papa’s shots and securing the win.
The match unfolded exactly as Miyamoto Tokima had expected. Taiga Kagami jumped higher and higher, at one point nearly swatting Papa’s shot out of existence.
As a result, Papa began subconsciously avoiding Taiga Kagami when shooting, but Kagami still found chances to block him.
In the fourth quarter, Seirin put Tetsuya Kuroko back on the court and sealed the victory in one decisive push.
As the game was nearing its end, Miyamoto Tokima spoke:
“Let’s go. It’s time to meet our old friend.”
Satsuki Momoi and Shuzo Nijimura quickly followed Miyamoto Tokima as they headed down to meet Tetsuya Kuroko.
As they left, Miyamoto Tokima caught sight of a familiar figure leaving the court.
...
Taiga Kagami was packing up his things when Papa suddenly walked over to him.
Taiga Kagami stood up and met Papa’s gaze.
Papa spoke first, expressionless:
“I lost… Do your best in the matches ahead. Add my share of effort too.”
Taiga Kagami replied blankly:
“Huh? Uh… yeah.”
Papa suddenly spoke again:
“Like hell I’d say something like that, idiot. Hahaha.”
Laughing loudly, Papa turned around—and suddenly bumped into something.
“Hm?”
He looked up in confusion at the man he had collided with.
The man’s eyes were icy as they locked onto Papa’s.
In an instant, Papa felt a deathly aura envelop his body. A pair of blood-red eyes filled his vision.
Cold sweat soaked his back as his legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.
The sudden disturbance drew the attention of the Seirin players.
They all turned to look and saw two men and a woman approaching.
The woman was strikingly beautiful with an excellent figure, but none of them were paying attention to her. Their focus was fixed on the man at the front.
Dressed casually, his eyes were cold, and an overwhelming pressure radiated from his body.
Shinji Koganei swallowed hard and muttered:
“Who… is he? How can someone have that kind of presence?”
Riko Aida’s expression turned serious. She also had no idea who the three of them were.
At first, Taiga Kagami was confused as well, but then he noticed a familiar figure.
He blurted out unconsciously:
“It’s you!”
The Seirin players were stunned. Koichi Kawahara hurriedly asked:
“Kagami, do you know them?”
Taiga Kagami’s expression became extremely grim as he nodded and said:
“I know the man behind him. I never thought… he was Japanese too.”
Everyone looked toward Shuzo Nijimura, who stood behind Miyamoto Tokima.
Shuzo Nijimura smiled faintly and waved in greeting:
“Kuroko-kun, long time no see.”
The Seirin players turned in shock and asked:
“Kuroko, could they be part of the [Generation of Miracles] too?”
Taiga Kagami also grew interested.
Tetsuya Kuroko shook his head.
“No.”
This only deepened everyone’s confusion. If they weren’t part of [Generation of Miracles], then what was that overwhelming presence just now?
Miyamoto Tokima’s cold expression suddenly softened into a smile as he spoke:
“Tetsuya, I need to talk to you about something. We’ll be waiting outside. Come alone when you’re ready.”
With that, Miyamoto Tokima led Shuzo Nijimura and Satsuki Momoi out of the gym.
They left behind the utterly confused Seirin players—and Papa, still slumped on the floor.
After Miyamoto Tokima and the others left, the Seirin players could no longer hold back their curiosity.
“Kuroko, who are they?”
Taiga Kagami was the most interested, especially since he recognized Shuzo Nijimura.
“Yeah, Kuroko, who exactly are they?”
Tetsuya Kuroko looked at everyone and began to explain:
“They’re my former teammates.”
The group was even more confused.
“If they were your teammates, doesn’t that mean they’re part of [Generation of Miracles]?”
Tetsuya Kuroko shook his head.
“No. After our first year, the two of them left Japan and went to the United States.”
Koichi Kawahara suddenly remembered something.
“Kagami, didn’t you say you knew one of them?”
Taiga Kagami nodded solemnly.
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