"Ouch, ouch, ouch! I get it, I messed up! Kota, have mercy, I'm begging you!"
"You little punk, you ditched me like that? You think it's funny to mess with me, huh?"
Kota had Kise in a tight headlock as he interrogated him. Truth be told, Kota wasn't really angry, but just in case Kise tried pulling something like this again, he figured a bit of discipline was in order.
"That's because Momoi kept begging me, you know how soft-hearted I am," Kise explained while rubbing his neck dramatically after finally slipping out of Kota's grasp. He sneaked a glance at Kota and, realizing he wasn't actually mad, immediately lit up.
"So? How was the date last night? Momoi's pretty cute, right? Don't tell me you were so nervous you couldn't even speak, Kota~" he teased with a wicked grin.
Kota let out a scoff. "What kind of guy do you think I am? I'm just not interested in dating right now, okay? Don't tell me you seriously think I don't know how to talk to girls?"
Kise gave him the universal "yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that" face, but Kota didn't seem to mind. He went on, "And for the record, that wasn't even a real date."
"Oh? Trouble in paradise already?"
"Shut up, there was no paradise."
Annoyed by Kise being annoying (as usual), Kota kicked him lightly and added, "She wanted my help getting Aomine back to his old self. She's nuts. Why would I help a rival? Too is our biggest obstacle to the championship!"
Kota clicked his tongue, remembering how terrifying Aomine was in the Zone.
Kise nodded thoughtfully. Even though he really wanted a proper one-on-one with Aomine, the team's goal was more important than his personal grudge match.
"So then? You two didn't talk about anything else?"
Kota paused, then said, "I told her I couldn't help, and she should go find her boyfriend, Kuroko. Then I just walked off."
Hearing this, Kise pulled a weird face. He glanced at Kota and said,
"You know, Momoi and Kuroko aren't actually a thing. Sure, she used to mess with him back in middle school, but it always seemed more like she was joking. They're definitely not dating now."
Kota blinked.
"Wait—what? Wasn't Momoi and Kuroko the canon couple? That's how it was written in the manga... unless the real world was... different?"
Suddenly, his mind flashed to all the crazy shipping threads from his past life: "Momoi x Aomine is true love!" or "Kuroko was just a side quest." Some even had wild theories like "Kuroko x Aomine is endgame."Kota shook his head violently. Nope. Not going there.
Better to just ask Kise directly than let his brain turn into a fan forum.
"So… Momoi and Aomine are the actual couple? Kuroko's the third wheel?" he asked.
Kise was mid-sip and nearly choked. Just as he was about to respond, Kasamatsu's deep voice boomed from across the court, interrupting them.
"Everyone on the first team, including subs — 100 extra three-pointers. Let's go!"
Kota groaned, "Come on, what is this? We're already dead from practice, and now extra threes?"
Kise didn't seem to mind the extra training, tugging at Kota to continue their conversation—until another voice interrupted.
"Kota-kun!"
Kise looked back, irritated. "Why does everyone keep cutting me off mid-sentence?! It's super annoying, you know!"
"Eh? Sorry, Ki-chan, I just got here" said Momoi, standing awkwardly by the gym doors with a sheepish smile.
Kise instantly froze, then beamed. "Ah, sorry, Momocchi! Didn't know it was you. Looking for Kota? No worries, practice is done. You guys go have fun!"
Kota rubbed his forehead. "Did you forget what Kasamatsu-senpai just said? We've got extra shooting drills."
"Sorry. I don't know why you came, but we're stuck here for a while."
"No problem, Kota-kun. I'll wait for you."
Kota sighed at her determined look and said nothing.
Just then, Kasamatsu walked over, looked at both Momoi and Kota, then said, "We're out of balls. Kota, you're done for today. Make it up tomorrow."
Out of basketballs?
"You're kidding, right, Kasamatsu-senpai?" Kota twitched. "This is Kaijo's gym. A national-level school. And you're telling me we're out of balls?!"
"Of course not. Do I look like the joking type? Pack up and go. Don't forget to come early tomorrow to make up for it."
Without waiting for a reply, Kasamatsu turned and walked off, dragging Kise along with him. Kise gave him a big thumbs up behind his back. Now that's a real senpai!
Kasamatsu simply smiled. Kise had told him earlier that Kota's parents had passed away and that he'd grown up alone, shy, and never even dated a girl (true, at least in this life). Kasamatsu had nearly dropped his jaw at the time.
From that moment on, Kasamatsu felt a mix of shock and sympathy, deciding he'd look out for Kota when he could. And now, here was his chance—a pretty girl, former classmate of Kise's, clearly interested, and Kota was completely clueless. As his upperclassman, captain, and honorary big bro, it was his duty to help the kid out.
Kota watched this weird silent exchange play out and sighed, glancing at Momoi before walking out of the gym. She quickly followed.
Kota walked ahead, Momoi behind him, a solid four or five steps apart. They walked for a long while until Kota suddenly stopped, turned around with his arms crossed.
Momoi blinked. "Kota-kun? Not going any further?"
"I'm home," he said flatly. "So? What's the big deal? I hope it's important. Know why? I've got extra drills tomorrow. Guess whose fault that is."
Momoi pursed her lips. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
.
"Kota-kun? Do you live here alone?"
Once inside, Momoi began looking around and quickly noticed it didn't seem like anyone else lived there.
"Yeah, my parents passed away earlier this year" Kota said casually while changing shoes. Since it was just part of the background story the system gave him, he didn't feel sad about it. His tone was calm.
But to her ears, that was a whole different story.
"Huh?" Noticing the lack of response, Kota turned to see Momoi with glassy eyes, full of guilt and concern. Even her voice had softened like she was doing her best impression of a drama actress.
"I'm so sorry, Kota-kun. I didn't mean to—"
Kota waved her off. "Don't worry about it." He motioned for her to take a seat.
"There's not much here. Just water."
Momoi's eyes grew even softer, and even Kota started to feel awkward under the intense "protect the sad orphan" vibes. Clearing his throat, he got to the point.
"So? What did you want to talk to me about this time, Momoi-san?"
She fiddled with the edge of her shirt, voice gentle. "I just wanted you to know… Tetsu isn't my boyfriend."
"Yeah yeah, I know. Your boyfriend's Aomine, right?"