BEEEEP—
"Teams, please line up and bow!"
"We look forward to a good game!"
"So that's Haizaki… huh."
As Kota bowed along with the team, he couldn't help sneaking a glance at Shogo Haizaki.
His once gray hair was now a greasy slicked mess.
"No wonder you got kicked off the team…"
Kota smirked to himself.
The whistle blew again—time for the starters to take their positions for tip-off.
Kota, calm and collected, strolled back to the bench and sat down next to Takeuchi.
"Huh?! That guy's not starting?!"
Aomine nearly choked on his drink. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
Other side of the stands
"What, did he get benched or something?"
Kagami rubbed his chin, puzzled.
The entire Seirin bench fell silent: …
"No… this has to be strategic" Riko muttered, frowning.
"After everything he showed last year, there's no way Kaijo would bench him without a reason. And it's not like they've added any hotshot rookies either."
Even Akashi seemed a little disappointed. He'd been looking forward to seeing how Kota had grown.
After all, the Emperor Eye had miscalculated against Kota more than once. To Akashi, Kota had become more interesting than even Kise.
But Riko wasn't entirely wrong either.
It was true Kota planned to hold back a little — specifically, not use the Zone.
But as for not playing at all in the first half…That went back to a conversation just minutes ago—
A few minutes earlier
"Kota! Do me a favor—can you leave this match to me?"
"Huh? The whole match?"
"Yeah… There's someone I have to beat. No matter what."
During warm-ups, Kise had returned from his brief absence and pulled Kota aside.
He wanted to take down Haizaki with his own hands.
Kota wasn't surprised — he knew exactly what Haizaki meant to Kise.
If Aomine was the one Kise wanted to surpass, then Haizaki was the one he needed to beat.
And who knows? Maybe the emotional boost would trigger the Zone. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Two quarters. That's all you get. I'm coming in for the second half."
Kota smirked and held up two fingers.
"Deal."
"You guys really don't take your coach seriously at all, huh…"
Takeuchi crossed his arms, twitching with irritation.
"Relax, coach. They're scrubs. Whether I'm on the court or not won't make a difference."
Kota shrugged.
In any other team, talk like that would get you chewed out on the spot.
But lucky for him, Takeuchi was just as cocky.
Back during the Seirin scrimmage, he completely dismissed them as nobodies.
He'd always been the "trash teams don't deserve respect" type.
So when Kota asked to sit out the first half, Takeuchi didn't even question it — he just nodded.
Kota leaned back, whistling a little tune as the starters took their positions.
"Man… it's good to have pull on your team. Kaijo really is the perfect place for me."
When he asked to come in after halftime, the only punishment he got was a light karate chop from Kasamatsu.
That alone said everything about how respected he'd become at Kaijo.
But then… his smile faded slightly.
His mind flashed back to what Araki had told him that night.
What if I join the U-18 national team and end up just another ignored benchwarmer? Would it even be worth it…?
Kota's chest tightened.
But before he could sink deeper into his thoughts—
BEEEP!
The whistle snapped him back to reality.
Tip-off had begun—and once again, Kobori's insane vertical leap gave Kaijo the opening possession.
Kasamatsu wasted no time. He barked out an order, and the team broke into a fast break — the classic Kaijo opener whenever Kota wasn't handling point.
Between Kobori's hops and Kasamatsu's speed, it was like clockwork.
And sure enough — alley-oop slam from Kasamatsu to Kise.
Two points, Kaijo.
"Hell yeah!!"
Kota waved his towel with all his might, cheering from the bench.
The rest of Kaijo's bench squad mimicked him instantly — they were the designated hype squad, and Kota was the ringleader.
He felt like he was back in the Interhigh again, waving towels with all his soul.
Should I break out the bench hype again? Before he could decide, Haizaki stole the ball from his own teammate and marched straight toward Kise.
"Wow. Just gonna steal from your own team like that? Not worried they'll deck you later?"
Kise lowered his eyes, voice calm as he spoke to the "old teammate" he hadn't seen in years.
If that was teasing, Haizaki didn't take it well.
A twisted grin spread across his face.
"Spare me the lecture, loser. You — you got an Interhigh championship? What a joke. Guess Akashi and the others are just getting soft."
But Kise didn't bite.
Thanks to Kota's influence, he was immune to trash talk now.
"Funny, coming from someone who used to get wrecked by them back in Teiko."
Haizaki's expression soured.
"Shut your damn mouth!"
He drove hard into the paint and slammed a dunk right over Kaijo's interior defenders.
"How's that, scrub?"
He passed Kise, sneering for a reaction — but got nothing.
Back in middle school, that would've messed with me. Now? Not a chance.
Kise took a deep breath and fell into motion, slipping into a passing lane as Kasamatsu directed traffic.
Despite being the official shooting guard now, Kaijo's double point guard system allowed Kasamatsu to slot into PG without missing a beat—and he was loving it.
"Nice shot, Kasamatsu-senpai!!"
As Kasamatsu sank his third three-pointer of the quarter, Kota ran right up to the sideline and led the bench in a flawless performance.
The crowd? Lost it.
Breaking news: the bench show is better than the game itself.
Akashi and Aomine both covered their faces in unison.
How the hell did we both lose to this clown…?
Even Araki was staring with a pair of dead fish eyes.
"That's it. From now on, I'm banning him from ever doing that move again."
The first quarter ended in a 22–22 tie.
Say what you will about Haizaki — he may have been booted from the Teiko, but he wasn't ordinary.
Even if he had to rob his own teammates to score, he absolutely shredded Kaijo's paint in Q1.
He scored 20 of Fukuda's 22 points.
That signature Miracle-level selfishness was still alive and well.
Kaijo's offense, meanwhile, had been funneled through Kasamatsu, who was on fire. Kise? Just 4 points so far.
On paper, it looked like Haizaki was dominating.
But the difference in stamina was already showing — Haizaki was panting, hands on knees, while Kise stood tall and calm, not even breaking a sweat.
"You good, Kise?"
Takeuchi crossed his arms, voice firm.
He knew that greasy-haired punk wasn't someone to underestimate, but Kise's posture said it all — he still had gas in the tank.
Kota leaned over, grinning.
"Your clock's ticking~ Once I come in for the second half, you won't get to play selfish anymore."
"So go get your revenge while you still can!"