Kagami: What was that?

All eyes of the Serin team were on Azure, who didn't seem even the slightest bit interested.

Azure: Like I said, I don't face players weaker than me outside of an official game. Practice is the only exception since I could get some slight gain out of it. Any other time, I can't get better, and I really only risk getting injuries.

Satsuki: Could you at least TRY to have a little tact?!

The pink haired girl turned to the Seirin players.

Satsuki: I'm really sorry about him!

Kagami: Tch!! Well you never know until you-

Azure: Try? Yeah I heard how you lot barely beat Shutoku. If your Super Star barely kept you going, what's the second option gonna be able to do?

He stopped spinning the ball in his finger.

Azure: But, if you really wanna see the difference, let's try something else.

He stepped outside, putting his bag down.

Azure: I'll give you 10 minutes to try and steal the ball from me.

Kagami: What?

Hyuga: 10 minutes? That definitely way too much time.

Azure: You'd think that yeah. But really.

He began to dribble the ball.

Azure: You're not gonna touch this ball.

Kagami: We'll see about that!

Kagami ran to Azure, who kept a stoic expression.

TIME SKIP!!

Ryu was walking back over to the Serin gym, seeing everyone walking back inside.

Ryu: Yo people, what did I miss?

They all looked at him, not knowing what to say.

Ryu: What's up?

He saw Kagami on the ground in shock, while also being drenched in sweat.

Ryu: What happened to you?

Kagami: I-It was...

Kuroko: Ryu.

He looked over to Kuroko.

Ryu: Tetsu, what's going on here?

Kuroko: It was Kaito.

Ryu was shocked hearing this.

Ryu: Azure was here?!

Hyuga: He was. You didn't exaggerate how good he was. Not one single bit.

Ryu: Why do you look like you just ran a marathon Kagami?

Kuroko: It's because he tried to steal the ball from Kaito for 10 minutes straight, and he wasn't even close to touching it once.

Ryu: ... Yeah, that sounds about right.

Riko: From what you made it sound like, his defense was supposed to be way better than his offense! He's got control over the ball like I've never seen!

Ryu: And what made you think I meant that? His defense is a pain in the ass, but I'd rather take that than his scoring EVERY day of the week.

He clenched his fist.

Ryu: 'I can't believe I missed him.' Well, now you all know what we're gonna be up against, cause our first game is gonna be against Tooh.

Kogane: We'll have to deal with that the entire game?!

TIME SKIP!!

TOOH ACADEMY

The players of Tooh academy were practicing, with Daiki banking in a hook shot from the free throw line.

Wakamatsu: Damn, your dumbass shots are always a pain to deal with!!

Daiki: Better luck next time.

They all sat down, taking breaks before starting again.

Sakurai: Time to dig in!

The Tooh Shooting Guard opened a rather cutely put together bento box.

Daiki: Oooh, that looks pretty tasty.

Wakamatsu: Did you accidentally grab your little sister's lunch?

Sakurai: No not quite. I actually put this bento together for my own enjoyment...

Daiki: ... Girly.

???: You mind sharing, I forgot to pack extra today.

Everyone was surprised when Azure jumped onto the stage, crouching down.

Wakamatsu: AZURE!!!

Azure: Yo.

Sakurai: Oh Uh, sure.

Azure: Thanks.

Azure grabbed a sausage.

Wakamatsu: You're late again!!

Azure: Sorry, family matters. By the way, just a heads up, I might be a little late to the game against Serin.

Aomine: Huh?!

Azure: *Nom* Yeah, my dad has been struggling at his shop, and he needed an extra hand. He's barely recovered from a surgery, and my mom came down with a cold. And with my little sister having a play to practice for, hands are tied. I'll be at practice in the afternoon though.

Wakamatsu: Argh, you better rush as fast as you can!! We're playing that monster Kaizen, and that high riser Kagami!

Daiki: Don't forget, our invisible passer.

Azure: Yeah yeah, I know. Trust me though, the red head isn't all that.

He hopped off the stage, grabbing a basketball.

Azure: The Phantom 6th Man isn't gonna be much of a problem for me either.

He ran to the hoop and jumped, before spinning mid air and laying the ball up without looking, waking off and out of the gym.

Azure: I'm only interested in seeing the best on that team.

Wakamatsu: Argh, that guy is seriously arrogant!!

Imayoshi: That might be so, to be honest he's earned the right.

Daiki: Yup, no one has been able to block his shot this year yet. There are some guys in the world of sports that make monsters look like a joke.

Imayoshi: Yeah. Think about it like this. The Generation of Miracles are in the talk for the greatest high school basketball players of all time.

They looked at a destroyed rim.

Imayoshi: You can basically think of him as MJ when it comes to that. He's so good that it's not even fair.

TIME SKIP!!

The night before Seirin played Tooh, Riko was looking over formations and possible strategies. She also looked at the individual points of their players, dumbfounded.

Riko: Th-This has to be a joke...

Riko looked at Azure's number's, sweating bullets.

Riko: 48... 60... 91?! And all those were games he wasn't even putting effort in?!!

She slammed her desk, before ruffling her hair.

Riko: How in the world can a player like Azure Kaito even exist?!!!

???: It's a lot more possible than you think.

A man walked in, with Riko confused.

Riko: Dad?

Kagetora: The simple fact is that Kaito went to a team that suits him better than any other. A team that focuses on the abilities of an individual, whereas Seirin focuses on team play.

Riko: So you're saying he's able to maximize his strength because that's how the team is?

Kagetora: Exactly. As I see it right now, no one working together on Seirin could possibly stand up to him.

Riko: So it's hopeless?!

Kagetora: I never said that. It really depends on a single player.

Riko: Are you talking about Ryu?

Kagetora: Don't take offense to this sweetie, but what I'm about to say may shock you.

Riko: ...

TIME SKIP!!

The time for the Serin vs Tooh game had arrived, as like he said, Azure wasn't there at the moment. Ryu stood beside Hyuga in front of Imayoshi, slightly annoyed at this.

Ryu: -_- That guy has major balls.

Imayoshi: Haha, sorry man, Kaito has his priorities straight. Think of us as the opening act.

Ryu was about to speak on this, before an arm was wrapped around him.

???: To him he means the rest of the team compared to Azure. But~ me on the other hand.

Ryu: Hmph. Oh well, at least I'll be able to make you touch the earth, Daiki.

He brushed the aces hand off, still clearly annoyed.

Ryu: The only thing I'm gonna say is be on your A game.

He turned around, putting headphones on.

Daiki: Ugh, now he's done it. He's definitely gonna try and go for 30 in the first quarter. *Sigh* Well at least he's not playing pissed.

Imayoshi: Wouldn't that just be in our favor?

Daiki looked at the captain like he was an idiot after hearing this.

Daiki: I literally can't believe you just asked me such a dumb question.

Momoi walked onto the court overhearing Imayoshi's question, nearly just as bewildered as Daiki.

Momoi: Let me put it into perspective for you. When he's playing with a cool head, we can just say Ryu plays like a Level 40 RPG character.

She thought back to a single game where Ryu snapped.

Momoi: When someone's stupid enough to get him upset, it's more like...

She pointed up, as everyone saw three marks in the air.

???

Momoi: He playing with Question Marks instead of numbers.

Wakamatsu: ... Note to self, don't be a dick to him.

As that was said, Ryu sank a three pointer from the corner.

Ryu: 'You're going down.'

Soon enough, the game was close to starting.

Izuki: Ryu, you've faced off with Kaito before. Still got that fire in you?

Ryu: You underestimate me. It's not just a fire anymore.

Ryu grinned, cracking his knuckles.

Ryu: It's an inferno. We'll score so many points that he'll look like an idiot by the time he gets here.

Kuroko: For anyone you struggled to play, sounds like a plan.

Riko looked into the court, specifically at Ryu.

Riko: '... Is what dad really said true?'

The jump ball started, as this time instead of passing straight to Izuki, Ryu tapped the ball to Kagami, who passed it right back to him.

Imayoshi: 'Damn, they're being that aggressive from that start?!'

Ryu: 'I may not exactly have Izuki's skills when it comes to being a Point Guard, but my new Beast Eye will help in more ways than regular scoring.'

Daiki ran in to guard Ryu, but the latter immediately passed the ball, before running to the right wing of the three point line.

Daiki: 'Nice try idiot. I already know Tetsu's right there. You're not getting a pass.'

The Miracle ran in to block the passing lane, but much to his shock, Kuroko passed somewhere else. The one to get the ball was Izuki, as he made a long pass to Ryu.

Ryu: Gonna have to think ahead Dai.

Ryu drove in, rising up for a dunk. However to the surprise of the Serin team, Daiki ran in, jumping high, seemingly about to block Ryu.

Kuroko: 'If that was the old Ryu, then maybe that could've worked.'

Ryu while in the air smirked, leaning behind the backboard, before throwing the ball up. This shocked the Tooh players, as when the ball came down, it went directly in.

Imayoshi: No way!!

Wakamatsu: There's someone other than Aomine that can make formless shots like that?!

Sakurai: Guys, I think we're in trouble!

They both landed, with Ryu smugly smirking.

Ryu: It's actually not that hard to do once you get the hang of it.

Daiki: Who are you, Kise?

Ryu: He wishes.

Seirin got to play defense, and like they expected, Tooh came up the court fast. The ball was passed to Aomine, as he and Ryu were immediately ready. He began to dribble the ball, quickly crossing the ball over to his right hand. As Ryu went to block the path, the blue Ace quickly stopped, before dribbling to his left and getting to the free throw line, and jumping. Ryu ran, and leaped to block a shot, but Daiki simply floated the ball up high, scoring 2 points as well.

Score: 2-2

Kuroko: Those two are about to go at it. I don't think it's wise to try and get in the way when one of them has the ball.

Izuki: Got it, might wanna stay away from that brawl.

Kagami: Maybe...

Hyuga: Don't even try it!!

Tooh was back on offense, and surprisingly Daiki wasn't getting the ball immediately.

Daiki: You know something Ryu, I never put a lot of thought into it before, but it's become incredibly obvious.

Imayoshi passed the ball to Sakurai, who shot a quick three, making the shot.

Daiki: You aren't meant to be on a team like this.

This claim surprised Ryu.

Daiki: I can tell cause we're the same. Call it cocky, but even Tetsu isn't good enough to bring out your true power.

Seirin got the ball once again, and was they came up, it was revealed that every defender stuck to a single person, with a man to man defense. Hyuga tried dribbling, but the ball ended up being stolen by Sakurai. Daiki ran up the court, getting slightly ahead of Ryu due to the teen being off guard.

Riko: 'It's just like dad said...'

Daiki caught the ball, smirking.

Daiki: It's obvious you're the best player on the court at the moment, and that's what's gonna be your downfall.

Daiki began to dribble around, annoying Ryu, who stuck to him like glue. He entered the paint, and went for a dunk, but Ryu ended up blocking the shot. However Wakamatsu was there to catch the rebound, before dunking himself.

Wakamatsu: HELL YEAH!!!

Daiki: This whole team ball hasn't exactly worked in your favor.

Ryu: ...

Daiki: You'd be better off somewhere else entirely.

CHAPTER END!!