Kuroko’s Basketball: Before Generation Miracles, I Already Crowned Chapter 123: Kuroko and Haizaki A Strange and Sudden Bond

Upon hearing Shigure Akihito's words, Momoi Satsuki panicked and quickly waved her hands. "No... that's not possible, senpai. A manager? I can't possibly..."

Yet her instinctive rejection of this unfamiliar role got caught in her throat the mont she saw Shigure raise an eyebrow playfully.

"It's fine," he said. "Just take it for now. Who knows, this unexpected role as team manager might be the start of you becoming part of the basketball club. After all, no one else has filled this position before."

He glanced at the laundry basket in her hands. "Besides, you seem pretty interested in joining Teiko's basketball club, aren't you?"

Momoi was stunned for a mont, then nodded with sparkling eyes. "Mm!"

Her bright pink ponytail swayed as she skipped in excitent, her clear voice ringing out eagerly. "Senpai, do you want to take your jersey to the laundry room? I was just heading there anyway, leave it to !"

She shook the basket proudly. Shigure took one look at the mountain of towels inside and shook his head with a smile. "Nah, I'll handle it myself."

As he turned around, he locked eyes with Nijimura Shuzo, who was standing nearby with an amused look.

Their gazes exchanged rapid-fire ssages:

Nijimura: Heh.

Shigure: I'm just being thoughtful to my junior!

Nijimura: Heh.

Nijimura: Aren't you the one always bossing around the underclassn?

Shigure: ...

Nijimura: And she's only a first-year. Bold move.

While the two exchanged silent jabs, Momoi quickly swooped in and took Shigure's jersey from his hands, tossing it into her basket.

"Since I'm going to be the manager, I guess I should start with the little things, right, senpai?"

Off to the side, Aomine Daiki spun a basketball in his hands and muttered, "Don't worry, senpai. Mayu-chan's really strong. She's a total beast too! You can leave it to her"

"Huh?! Aomine-kun! What are you saying?!"

Worried that the senpai might misunderstand, she had even switched back to calling him Aomine-kun.

Momoi turned away, brows furrowing in irritation as she whispered sharply, "What are you saying?!"

Just as she was about to give him a swift kick, a mischievous smile flickered on her face as she suddenly rembered sothing.

She turned to Aomine with a serious expression. "Aomine, did you know? Over the past month, while you first-years have been focused on the Nationals, there's been... ghost sightings in the third gym"

"Ghost... ghosts?"

"What kind of joke is that?! That can't be real!"

The ball fell from Aomine's hand as his face darkened, but trying to save face in front of his senpai, he quickly forced a cool expression. "Mayu-chan, stop making stuff up."

No way! Absolutely not!

Ghosts? That's nonsense!

Momoi leaned closer, whispering mysteriously, "It's true. The third gym is usually empty after school, right? But recently, people say they've heard sothing, like soone playing basketball inside. But when they went in, nothing was there, except for one court where the lights were still on."

"And then..."

She paused, then looked at Aomine with mock seriousness.

"Under the lights, you can hear—thump, thump, thump-thump-thump—the sound of dribbling echoing over and over!"

"Thump!!"

She suddenly raised her voice, making Aomine flinch.

Noticing the awkward expressions of the two senpai, Aomine hurriedly picked up the ball and barked, "Idiot! There's no such thing as ghosts or spirits or whatever! Only kids believe in that stuff!"

Nijimura and Shigure exchanged a knowing glance, struggling to keep their laughter in.

"Pfft... What an idiot."

From behind them, Haizaki Shōgo, who had just recovered from practice, walked over and sneered. "Scared by so third-stringer? You've got no guts, Aomine."

Momoi turned to look at him.

Grey hair... One of the first-stringers.

Haizaki Shōgo.

She'd heard he was a delinquent and had never spoken to him before, so she purposely avoided ntioning him earlier when scaring Aomine.

Though there were rumors…

Apparently, Haizaki had been training late at night in the third gym with the so-called 'ghost' player in hopes of surpassing Nijimura.

"That's Kuroko Tetsuya from the third string," Nijimura finally spoke, brushing off the topic of ghosts and spirits.

He then looked at Haizaki. "How's his progress?"

"Tch. So what if he can vanish? The ball's still there, isn't it?"

"He's completely powerless against . I lost interest after a few days."

"Pfft..."

Shigure's laugh made Haizaki's expression twitch.

As expected...

"You... you're even more tsundere than Midorima."

"Didn't you almost admit he was impressive the other day? And weren't you just recently asking Nijimura to train again? You actually get along pretty well with Kuroko, don't you?"

Haizaki: "I…"

Just barely… acknowledged his effort.

But damn it.

What's the point if he still can't catch up to that musclehead?

Watching Haizaki flee in his usual tsundere fashion, Shigure chuckled softly. So bonds really do form in the strangest ways.

Kuroko and Haizaki.

The two of them had unknowingly ford a strange connection.

Thinking of Kuroko Tetsuya...

"Nijimura. Wanna check out the third gym together later?"

"...Sure. Though I doubt he'll be of any use this year at Nationals."

But next year, Shigure and Nijimura would be third-years. As captain, Nijimura had to prepare for the team's transition.

In his mind...

Aomine, still recovering from shock.

Haizaki, running off tsundere-style.

Seijūrō Akashi and Shintarō Midorima, quietly observing nearby.

If possible, he wanted to leave behind a sixth man on the bench who could change the course of a ga.

Assuming, of course, that Kuroko could master that technique. If not, then with his body type, he wouldn't even qualify for the first-string.

After Shigure and Nijimura left, Momoi teased Aomine a bit more.

Stuff like:

"Ah Da's scary-looking, but who knew he was afraid of ghosts?"

At that mont, two girls—also part of the support staff, though their reasons for joining weren't exactly pure—ca running up, eyes sparkling.

"Hey, Mayu-chan! Is it true you grew up with Aomine-kun? Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Huh?"

Momoi was a little overwheld by their enthusiasm.

"They said he scored the most points in the ga yesterday. So cool! So handso!"

Huh?

Cool? Aomine?

Sorry, I don't see it at all.

But thinking about what is cool, Momoi's gaze couldn't help drifting in the direction Shigure Akihito had just walked off, her mind recalling those few distinct mories from when they entered middle school.

The street corner…

The overpass court…

She almost whispered, "Shigure-senpai really is more..."

Momoi: "!"

Whew.

Good thing I stopped.

But she had underestimated how sharp her fellow first-years were when it ca to love. As soon as she turned around, they were looking at her with admiration.

"Momoi... You're amazing!"

"We wouldn't even dare go near Shigure-senpai... Isn't he scary?"

"He's not as cold as Nijimura-taichō, but during that practice match, he destroyed the opponents, and he looked so excited doing it…"

Momoi blushed but still defended him. "Giving it your all against an opponent is a sign of respect..."

"And besides, if your opponent is weaker than you but still plays their heart out, it shows how much they love basketball. That's why senpai gives his all."

The girls chatted excitedly as they walked, one of them even walking backward, completely unaware of her surroundings.

The conversation heated up as they fangirled over one of Teiko's most iconic players, and in her excitent, she tripped, about to drop her basket of laundry.

Suddenly, a slender hand reached out from behind to steady it.

"You should watch your step."

She turned around.

A warm voice. A soft smile.

Akashi Seijūrō.

Though they'd been gossiping behind the team's back, now faced with the real thing, the girl blushed hard, especially as his voice and gaze struck her all at once.

Akashi didn't pay her much attention, though. Before leaving, he looked toward another figure Momoi Satsuki, the one whose abilities even Shigure-senpai had acknowledged.

He gave a slight nod.

Beside him, Midorima Shintarō glanced over as well.

Watching the two leave, the girl who'd been saved cupped her face, clearly flustered.

"Akashi-sama... is so dreamy I heard his family runs a huge financial group too!"

Momoi: "..."

You've really switched gears fast, huh…

Also, '-sama'? What kind of honorific is that...?

End of chapter...

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