Whoosh—
Empty your mind...
Focus only on the ball...
No problem... I can feel the basketball...
On the court, Himuro slowly opened his eyes, his dribbling never stopping for a second.
He checked his state, exhaling softly. "Still no progress at all..."
For the past two days, Himuro had been able to maintain the same steady dribble rhythm while meditating, just as Kota had instructed. Technically, he had completed the task, but he still couldn't find that "diving into the water" sensation Kota had told him about before entering the Zone.
"Am I just wasting my time?"
Himuro tilted his head back with a sigh, slowly accepting the cruel reality that he might just be... ordinary.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kota on the sidelines. He turned his head and called out, "Good evening, Kota."
Kota didn't reply, his eyes fixed on the basketball in Himuro's hands.
A little taken aback by the silence, Himuro scratched his cheek awkwardly when he realized Kota was staring at the ball.
"Oh, sorry. Were you talking to me earlier? I might not have heard—I was too busy trying to find that Zone feeling you were talking about."
All the while, his dribbling hadn't stopped for even a second. Kota narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched.
"It's fine, Himuro. I'd never fault someone for taking training seriously" Kota said with a small smile, shaking his head. "So, any progress? You've been at it for a while—feel anything yet?"
Himuro rubbed his chin hesitantly. "Maybe a little... but that 'diving into water' feeling you described? I still can't find it."
Realizing his right hand was still dribbling subconsciously, Himuro stopped, giving a sheepish smile.
"Ahaha... guess my muscle memory's gone into autopilot."
Kota chuckled. "That's actually a good sign. As for that water thing, when I first entered the Zone—"
Wait. Hold on.
Did I even feel that before entering the Zone...?
Kota suddenly froze, staring intently at Himuro's ball, his brain kicking into overdrive.
When did I even start believing that the Zone had a 'diving into water' step? Oh right—it's because Kise, Aomine, and Kagami all said it! I just assumed that was standard procedure!
But if Himuro didn't feel it... maybe my whole assumption was wrong.
Maybe it's not that I was "special" for skipping it—maybe most people don't need it in the first place!
In an instant, Kota had a breakthrough.
"Himuro! Keep dribbling—exactly like before!"
Startled, Himuro blinked, then quickly resumed his meditative dribble. He didn't even question why Kota suddenly dropped the honorifics—if Kota was this serious, he had definitely figured something out.
"Himuro, can you hear me?" Kota called out in a low voice.
"Yeah, no problem," Himuro replied calmly, his rhythm never breaking.
"Good. Stay steady, don't lose focus!"
Kota's expression brightened. Perfect. Himuro's current state was identical to when Kota himself first entered the Zone.
All that was left was the final step...
"Himuro, pull the trigger!"
"Uh... Kota? What trigger?"
Kota: ...
Right. He still hadn't found his trigger yet.
At dinner that evening, Araki dropped some broccoli into Kota's bowl and asked,
"So, did you two discover anything?"
"Oh, we discovered something amazing, alright!" Kota said proudly—while subtly pushing the broccoli aside.
"Eat it" Araki said flatly.
Frozen mid-motion, Kota reluctantly shoved the broccoli into his mouth. Only after swallowing under Araki's watchful eyes did she turn to Himuro.
"So, did you manage to enter the Zone?"
"Not yet" Himuro admitted, rubbing his chin. "Kota says we're close, though. The problem is... I have no clue what my 'trigger' is supposed to be."
"It's not that complicated," Kota said, scratching his nose. "A trigger is just something that lets you unleash all your focus in a single instant. Usually, it's a move you've practiced to the point of instinct."
"For example, Kagami's trigger is his Meteor Jam. It fires him up, boosts team morale, and lets him pour out all his emotions in one go."
Himuro nodded slowly. "If it's just about a signature move... then I think I have one."
The "strongest ordinary guy" in Kuroko no Basket—Himuro Tatsuya—had his trademark move: Mirage Shot!
Using his insane hang-time and balance, he could dominate the mid-range game.
Kota smacked his fist into his palm. "Of course! That makes sense. If you can enter the Zone with that move, it proves even regular players can break into the monsters' realm!"
"This is getting exciting!" Kota practically vibrated with anticipation, itching to drag Himuro to the court immediately.
"Eat first," Yako said firmly, rapping him on the head before pointing to the untouched dishes.
"...Yes, ma'am."
After lunch, the two practically sprinted to the gym.
"Let's go, Himuro!" Kota shouted, shoving a ball into his hands.
"I know you're hyped, but calm down a sec" Himuro said with a chuckle, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
Empty the mind...
Focus on the ball...
Then—pull the trigger!
Himuro's eyes snapped open as he launched into his Mirage Shot, soaring through the air before releasing the ball at the peak of his jump—
Swish!
Nothing but net.
Kota didn't even look at the basket. He was staring at Himuro's eyes. If it worked, there should've been sparks of lightning flashing across them—
But there was nothing.
"Kota... did I enter the Zone?" Himuro asked hesitantly.
Kota sighed. "Yeah, uh... that'd be a no."
Himuro's shoulders slumped. He had been so fired up, and now it felt like someone dumped cold water over him.
But Kota stayed calm. If entering the Zone were this easy, everyone would be doing it.
He considered the problem carefully:
Maybe the Mirage Shot wasn't the real trigger.
Or maybe Himuro wasn't keeping full mental focus while pulling it off.
Kota was leaning toward the second option. After all, even Aomine said a trigger was more of a mental cue than a physical one. A skilled enough player didn't even need one—he could walk into the Zone whenever he wanted.
"Tell me, Himuro," Kota asked, "when you did that jump shot, were you 100% focused on the ball?"
"Uh... I think so?" Himuro replied uncertainly.
Not good enough.
Before Kota could respond, Araki, who had been watching silently, spoke up. "The problem's obvious. When people multitask, their focus always splits. If he can shoot while keeping his mind completely clear, he'll enter the Zone."
Both Kota and Himuro froze.
"...Araki, you're a genius" Kota said, eyes wide.
She had zero knowledge of the Zone, but in seconds, she pinpointed the core issue.
Himuro clenched his fists, eyes blazing again. He was going to nail this. In the Interhigh, he was going to shock Kagami speechless!
Motivational Speech.
Kota: "...Wait, that was a passive skill this whole time?!"
...
Over the next few days, Himuro actually followed Araki's advice, trying to stay fully focused even while jumping for his shots.
At the same time, he started coming to the gym more often. Before, whenever Kota and Araki were alone, there was a fifty-fifty chance Himuro would also be on the court. Now? That number had doubled.
At least Kota could be relieved about one thing: no one had tried to take his co-pilot seat anymore.
Meanwhile, thanks to Kota's "motivational talks" Yuki had been coming to him with questions more and more frequently.
At first, Kota was happy. Finally, his underclassman was opening up! No more silent, lone-wolf basketball. He was learning to ask his senpai for help. "Ah," Kota thought, "the kid's growing up!"
But the good times didn't last long. As Yuki asked more and more questions, and Kota patiently answered all of them, Yuki's skills as a point guard kept leveling up!
And this growth wasn't obvious at first. It wasn't like his raw strength suddenly spiked—it was subtle, showing itself on the court through his plays.
One day, during a practice game, Kota saw Yuki attack him head-on, offense as fast and fierce as lightning, holding nothing back! Like a beast baring its fangs for the first time.
That's when it hit Kota.
This wasn't just some rookie growing up.
This was a wolf in the house… finally showing its hunger.
"Ha… ha…"
Inside Kaijo's gym, Kota was catching his breath, staring at Yuki, who was gripping his jersey, breathing hard himself.
What the hell? How had this kid improved so fast?!
The scoreboard read 62–58. Kota's team had won.
But anyone watching could tell—Yuki's performance today was almost on par with Kota's!
"So this is what a natural talent looks like… scary stuff."
Kise crossed his arms and let out a whistle.
As the witness to the bet between Kota and Yuki, Kise had seen the whole thing unfold: ever since Yuki started asking Kota for advice, his skills had skyrocketed like a rocket launch!
At first, if they had equally strong teammates, Kota didn't even need to break a sweat to crush Yuki. A simple trick here or there, and Yuki would be left doubting his entire existence.
But in today's scrimmage, with Kise not even on the court, Kota and Yuki had led their teams in a dead-even battle all the way to the end!
It was proof of just how terrifying Yuki's talent was.
"What am I gonna do? It's fine this year, but what if next year this kid actually surpasses me? Forget my pride—what about my starting spot?!"
Kota cracked his neck, pretending to look troubled. Kise just rolled his eyes at the act.
From an outsider's view, Yuki's performance today might have seemed equal to Kota's. And yeah, the gap between them was smaller now.
But to Kise, that tiny gap was still a canyon.
After all, even when Yuki tied the score at one point, Kota hadn't entered the Zone. He didn't even need to. That said it all: Yuki was a challenge now, but still not enough to make Kota go all out.
And Yuki himself realized it too.
"Kota-senpai!"
After practice ended and the players began heading home, Yuki walked straight up to Kota, bowing slightly.
Kota looked him up and down and said, "Alright, what's the question this time?" He was used to it by now.
Lately, Yuki had been coming to him almost every single day with one or two questions. Aside from his insane talent, that dedication and hunger to improve was the real reason his skills were growing so fast.
Especially after going head-to-head with Kota—Yuki would sometimes drag him into an hour-long Q&A session if he got serious enough!
"Kota-senpai," Yuki said, looking up to meet his eyes, "this time… I want to learn… how to enter the Zone!"