"Heh, if you're Akashi, then I'm your father!"
In the narrow alleyway, Reiko's crisp, furious voice blasted from the phone. Akashi's expression didn't change at all, but Kota could swear he saw a murderous glint pass over his face…
Meanwhile, Nash still hadn't processed what was happening. He was stuck in that pre-fight adrenaline high.
Kota quickly snatched the phone from Akashi's hand and spoke into it:
"Miss Reiko, you're really fearless, huh."
Hearing that, Reiko exploded:
"Fearless? You're the one! You were too lazy to carry the water cases so you hired someone to pretend to be Akashi! Why didn't you hire someone to pretend to be Araki while you were at it?!"
"I don't care where you are right now—get over here to the counter! How can you leave all that heavy stuff to a delicate little girl like me? Aren't you ashamed?!"
Kota wiped cold sweat off his forehead.
"Just based on the things you're saying, you are definitely not a delicate little girl…"
While he struggled to think of a way to explain himself, Nash—who had been standing by waiting—finally snapped.
He walked up and slapped Kota's shoulder.
"Bro. Why are you sorting out phone drama in the middle of a fight? Can't you talk after we finish beating each other up?"
Kota covered the phone mic and jerked his chin at him:
"Go stand over there. Don't rush, I'll beat you up in a minute."
Nash: shocked emoji IRL
Feeling brushed off, and convinced he was being underestimated, Nash officially lost patience.
By appearance he clearly had the advantage, and Kota looked like the underdog—yet the "underdog" wasn't even nervous. He even told him to wait on the side?
Nash was not known for good temper. This? He could NOT tolerate.
His irritation surged, remembering how Kota had beaten him earlier with that weird offense-defense technique. His temper skyrocketed.
"TAKE THIS!"
With a loud shout—mostly to warn Kota—Nash threw a punch straight at his face.
Akashi narrowed his eyes. If things spiraled out of control, he was prepared to intervene.
Kota just kept talking on the phone, as if completely unaware Nash had thrown a punch. But when Nash's fist was a split-second away from Kota's nose, Kota's eyelids lifted—and with one smooth motion he swatted Nash's fist away.
Nash's punch hit nothing but air. He stared at Kota, then at his own fist, genuinely confused.
Akashi raised an eyebrow and slipped his hand out of his pocket—the hand that had been gripping scissors the whole time. Watching Kota casually continue his phone call, Akashi felt something unfamiliar.
"…Since when was he like this?"
"Like I SAID," Kota continued, exasperated, "that guy really was Akashi. Do you realize you just took a walk through the gates of hell?"
"And I'm literally fighting right now. You're really messing me up."
"YAAAAAAAH!!"
Nash roared again and threw another punch.
Unsurprisingly, Kota deflected it with one hand.
Reiko's voice came through the phone, now hesitant:
"Uh… what's that shouting? Is someone screaming over there?"
Kota held the phone between his shoulder and ear, parrying Nash's attacks while talking.
"I told you—I'm fighting. As everyone knows: the louder the yell, the stronger the attack. That's just physics."
Reiko: "I don't believe you. Unless—"
Ten minutes later
Reiko stood frozen at the alley entrance, jaw hanging.Akashi stood beside her, arms crossed, staring into the alley where two figures were tangled in motion.
Nash was still attacking. For ten straight minutes his fists had never stopped.
And for ten straight minutes, he had not landed a single hit.
Either Kota dodged, or Kota parried. Nash's voice had gone hoarse, but his damage output was still exactly zero.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Panting hard, Nash glared at Kota's calm, bored expression.
"You coward… all you do is run! Fight me like a man!"
Kota shrugged.
"Sure."
The moment he opened his mouth, Nash lunged with a sudden feint-step punch, confidence blazing in his eyes.
"You're mid-sentence—no way you dodge THIS!"
Just as Nash predicted, Kota didn't dodge.
Instead, he used Nash's forward momentum, grabbed him by the torso, and performed a textbook karate shoulder throw—sending Nash flying into the air and slamming him onto the ground.
THUD!
Nash's eyes widened as he stared up at the sky.
Reiko let out a very appropriate shriek—exactly like a middle school girl watching a real fight.
Akashi, on the other hand, remained calm… but his eyes betrayed his shock.
"…My high school rival is actually a brawler?!"
Even holding back against Nash, Akashi could tell Kota's fighting ability was no joke. Not inferior to his own professional bodyguards—in fact, against someone as big as Nash, his bodyguards would NOT handle it this easily.
"How is it? Wanna continue?"
Kota squatted next to him while casually cleaning his ear.
Nash lay motionless—not injured, just mentally destroyed.
"I got… schooled… by a shorter Asian kid…?"
He stared up at the sky, existential-crisis mode activated.
Since Nash didn't answer, Kota assumed he was done. He stood up to leave—but Nash grabbed his wrist.
"Don't go…"
Nash's voice was raspy from all the yelling.
Kota instinctively turned back. Then, realizing their pose looked… questionable… he yanked his hand away.
"What are you doing? You wanna keep fighting?"
"If we keep going I'm not holding back next time!"
Nash rolled over and slowly got up.
"Why… weren't you on the Vorpal Swords lineup when we played against them?"
Kota blinked, then replied:
"Oh, I wasn't in Japan then. I was in China."
"By the way, I'm Chinese."
Nash froze.
"Chinese? Then… what you used earlier was Chinese kung fu?"
Kota: "…Sure. If that helps your pride."
"I see. Makes sense."
Nash nodded thoughtfully.
After a moment, he said:
"To be honest, I'm not satisfied. I want a rematch."
"Another match?"
Kota rubbed his chin.
"If it's 1-on-1 streetball, forget it. But if it's real basketball with teams… anytime."
"Yeah, your mouth is annoying, but you're strong. If I didn't use tricks in that 1-on-1 earlier, I don't think I could beat you in a normal streetball duel…"
Kota admitted openly that Nash was stronger in true 1v1. Nash, however, shook his head.
"Let's do another match. But this time… not 1-on-1."
"Let's play five-on-five!"
…
…
Generation of Miracles Group Chat
Kise: @Kota
Kise: Kotacchi!! Did you really beat up Nash on your first day back?! OMG Akashi sent me the video—YOU WERE SO COOL!!
Kota: ???
Kota: What video? Send it.
Kise: video.mp4
Aomine: Holy crap? You can fight like THAT? Oi—spar with me next time!
Kota: smug meme.jpg
Kagami: Those parries—how'd you do that?! Tai Chi? Kung fu? Teach me, Coach!
Midorima: You learned Chinese martial arts in under a month? Ridiculous.
Kota: I was hiding my true power. What do you all know? When I smacked Haizaki around back then, I was holding back a lot!
Haizaki (appearing suddenly): …
Kota: ??? Why are YOU in this group chat?
Momoi: I added him! We're all classmates, right? We should all get along~
Akashi: Indeed. Haizaki has already reformed. I had a good talk with him recently.
Kota: A "good talk"? You mean interrogation?
Kuroko: stealthy observation sticker
Kise: Kota! I heard Nash challenged you to a 5v5! So what's the plan? Are we using Kaijō? Or the Vorpal Swords lineup?
Aomine (fired up): WHAT?! That punk Nash STILL dares show up? I swear I'll dunk the life out of him!
Kota: Ahem—calm down, calm down.This time… I'm using my own team.
Everyone: ??????
Seeing the screen full of question marks, Kota locked his phone and leaned back with a hum, folding his hands behind his head.
Outside, the neon night of Tokyo shone as bright as day—bars, shops, and signs glowing across the streets.
Kota looked out for a moment, then pulled an eye mask from his pocket, slipped it over his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.