"Kota! You missed out on the North Block preliminaries—man, it was awesome!"
Kise and Kota were walking side by side down the street. They'd just finished dinner at Yako's, and while Kota felt full and satisfied, Kise wasn't quite as lucky. He'd even bought some skewers from a street vendor—he just couldn't deal with a plate full of green stuff and nothing else.
Kota tilted his head slightly, waiting for him to continue.
"Midorima, Aomine, and Kuroko's teams all played a game each! I watched all of them!"
As he spoke, Kise shoved a skewer into his mouth. Kota had no idea how the guy managed to speak that clearly with his mouth full.
"Shutoku and Seirin played first — Kagami's improved a lot! Midorima too. And Kuroko… well, they've all gotten way stronger. The game ended in a tie!"
Right… The round-robin system goes by points, so a draw just means both teams get one point. No overtime.
Kota gave a small nod and asked,
"And then?"
"Then it was Too vs. Seirin. You won't believe this — Aomine actually passed the ball!"
"Wait—what? Aomine? Passed?!"
Kota's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Didn't know that guy even knew what a pass was…"
Kise nodded like he'd just found a kindred spirit.
"Right? Even I was shocked."
Looks like that loss to Kaijo during the Interhigh really shook Aomine up.
"And here's the kicker—Kagami entered the Zone too! Went toe-to-toe with Aomine!"
At that, Kise's eyes lit up, though his tone was tinged with frustration.
"Seriously… even that guy can activate Zone now. When's it my turn? Kota, come on—are you sure there's no trick to it?"
"Kagami entered the Zone? Wait—that's not how it went in the original timeline. He didn't enter the Zone until the Winter Cup main tournament when he faced off against Aomine…"
"…Oh."
"Right. In riginal timeline, Too automatically qualified as the third seed, so they didn't face Seirin in the prelims."
Kota suddenly realized what had happened.
So by knocking Too out of the top three, they were forced into the prelims, and that butterfly effect caused them to face Seirin early — causing Kagami to awaken his Zone early too.
Kota twitched slightly.
"Did I just dig my own grave...?"
"I did tell you the trick, though. Focus your mind entirely on basketball, then pull the 'trigger'…"
Hearing the same vague explanation again, Kise shot Kota a deadpan stare, but quickly recovered—after all, his Perfect Copy wasn't any worse than the Zone itself.
"Too won in the end. Barely — a one-point game! It was neck and neck the whole way."
Suddenly, Kise burst out laughing.
"Oh right! There was this other team in the round-robin who got totally crushed! Couldn't beat anyone, lost every match by a huge margin! Their point guard was supposedly one of the 'Uncrowned Kings,' or whatever."
"…Hanamiya The Bad Boy?"
Kota remembered that name clearly. One of the rare true "villains" in the original story, and a nasty piece of work on the court. A total dirty player. Since finding himself in this world, Kota had even made a point to research the guy — just in case.
"Interesting... So with Midorima, Aomine, and Kuroko's teams all likely to advance, and all three being in the North Block, it means those three "Miracles" will take the qualifying spots."
"That leaves no room for Hanamiya. Tragic for him—guess some people really are born to lose."
Kota grinned inwardly. He hated players like Hanamiya — the type who didn't just play dirty, but aimed to injure. That wasn't basketball.
"What about the other three regions? See any strong players there?"
"Other than our usual crowd? Nope. Total snoozefest."
Kise waved it off casually. Sure, he sounded cocky, but Kota had to admit—he wasn't wrong. After three years of domination by Teiko, the rest of the nation had become little more than cannon fodder.
"If only you'd gone to scout the matches yourself...You might've run into your good ol' friend… Haizaki" Kota thought.
He couldn't help but wonder how Kise would react to seeing Haizaki again. But one thing was for sure—if that punk ever tried anything like he did in the manga, Kota wouldn't let it slide.
"Didn't Haizaki steal one of Kise's girlfriends in the original...?"
Now that… was something Kota really wanted to see.
"Hey, Kise… have you ever been emotionally scarred by a relationship?"
Kota grinned, full of mischief and nosy curiosity.
"Huh?"
Kise blinked, genuinely confused. He rubbed his chin, thinking hard for a moment before replying:
"Nah."
"I mean, this probably makes me sound like a jerk, but… I've never really gotten emotionally invested."
He flashed a confident, somewhat smug smile. With his looks, talent, and charm, Kise was definitely one of life's natural winners—even in romance.
Damn you. Lucky bastard.
Kota felt equal parts admiration and resentment. Being friends with someone that effortlessly perfect? A prideful curse.
"Oh, I'm home."
Kise glanced at his apartment number, then turned to Kota with a grin.
Just as Kota was about to say goodbye, a fist extended toward him.
"We're taking Winter Cup. Kaijo's still gunning for the championship!"
Under the pale moonlight, the two boys stood like warriors renewing a vow.
"You really love the drama, don't you?" Kota chuckled as he bumped fists with him.
Time seemed to rewind to that summer.
Kaijo's twin stars made their promise once more—under the moon's silent gaze.
The Kaijo dynasty isn't just talk.
...
In the week that followed, Kota spent his time syncing back up with his teammates. After three months apart, it was crucial to rebuild chemistry.
Takeuchi ran them through Kaijo's classic Horns and Three-Point sets over and over, just to refresh everyone's muscle memory. Even Kota's proposal for a dual-point guard system got tested repeatedly in practice.
Kota also experimented with his Zone mode. While activated, his overall athleticism was enhanced significantly. Even without using his "Fourth Quarter King" mode, he could now unleash incredible offensive power. The only catch was the stamina drain — but thanks to Araki's brutal training, his endurance had grown enough to handle it.
And with that…
Kota had finally crossed the line. He wasn't just a strong player anymore—he had stepped into the realm of the Generation of Miracles.
Each of the Miracles had a special trait in the Zone. For Kise, it enhanced his Perfect Copy. For Aomine, it boosted his speed.
Kota's boost? Playmaking.
His court vision and passing didn't just assist teammates — it amplified them, as if his passes could unlock their potential.
"If I push this further… could I help others enter the Zone too? Like Akashi did?"
Kota rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His talent was evolving.
Whatever the case, with both "Perfect Copy" and "Zone" now in Kaijo's arsenal, their goal remained unchanged:
Winter Cup Champions.