Shidou Ryusei went home to change his clothes, and Kise Ryota enthusiastically invited Sister Chizuru to come along as well.
Chizuru felt staying at home would be boring anyway, so she agreed.
The three of them took the train to Tokyo once again.
On the way, Shidou asked, "Is that guy named Kuroko really strong?"
Kise replied, "Uh… Little Kuroko's ability is different from ours; he's strong in a different way! It's hard to explain—you'll understand when you see him. You'll definitely be shocked!"
Shidou was speechless. What did "strong in a different way" even mean? Strong was strong, and weak was weak. Why talk in riddles?
Seirin High School
As soon as the three walked through Seirin High School's gates, they attracted a crowd of girls.
Shidou Ryusei really couldn't handle scenes like this, but Kise Ryota was completely different, happily signing autographs and showing off his charm.
One girl even slipped her contact information into Kise's clothes.
On Shidou's side, someone was even bolder—a girl pretended to trip and lunged toward him. Shidou immediately dodged, grabbed Chizuru's hand with one hand, and carried Kise away with the other.
"Little Shidou, I haven't finished signing yet! Why are you in such a hurry? And can you put me down? This is embarrassing!"
Kise covered his face with his jacket.
"You're too noisy," Shidou replied.
The three quickly found Seirin's basketball club.
They had originally planned to scout secretly, but Kise's fans followed them, loudly demanding autographs.
The noise disturbed Aida Riko and the Seirin players, who were listening to a speech in the gym.
Hearing the commotion, Riko frowned and said, "Hyuga, go check who's outside."
Hyuga casually walked toward the door.
The gym door opened, and a boy wearing glasses leaned against it, looking at Shidou and Kise.
"Do you two need something?"
Kise awkwardly turned around, but Shidou, still sucking on a lollipop, walked straight into the gym, dragging Kise with him and even telling Hyuga to close the door, leaving Hyuga confused.
Shidou's gaze scanned the players training inside.
He saw a red-haired player break past a defender and dunk, and immediately assumed that must be Kuroko Tetsuya.
Recognizing Kise, Riko asked, "Is there some change regarding the practice match?"
Before Kise could answer, Shidou pointed at Kagami and said, "We're looking for him."
Kise quickly waved his hands. "Wrong person, Shidou!"
Shidou frowned. His instincts told him only that guy had real ability.
Kise hurriedly corrected himself. "Sorry, we're here to find… Little Kuroko!"
Riko looked confused. "Little Kuroko…?"
A voice then spoke behind them. "Long time no see, Kise-kun."
Chizuru jumped slightly at the sudden voice.
Shidou searched for the speaker until Kise pointed. "Little Shidou, this is Kuroko-kun, my best classmate from middle school."
"We were just acquaintances," Kuroko corrected calmly.
Only then did Shidou notice him. What shocked him was that, despite his sharp awareness, he hadn't noticed Kuroko's presence at all. He picked Kuroko up to examine him.
"Pink-haired classmate, could you put me down? This is uncomfortable," Kuroko said seriously.
"That's rude, Shidou," Chizuru added.
Shidou quickly put him down.
Kise added, "Don't you remember? Little Shidou joined us briefly in our second year."
Kuroko seemed to recall something. "I remember hearing Midorima-kun say Shidou-kun was as strong as Aomine-san but had a temper problem… and was later expelled by Akashi-kun."
Kise quickly covered Kuroko's mouth.
Shidou didn't mind. He had already come to terms with it.
Suddenly, a basketball tore through the air. Shidou's eyes sharpened, and he blocked it in front of Chizuru.
"Has no one told you that this is extremely rude?"
He turned toward the thrower.
"What a fast reaction," Riko murmured.
A tall red-haired boy stood there, still in his throwing pose.
"Kagami?!" Hyuga exclaimed.
Riko shouted, "Kagami! What are you doing?"
Ignoring her, Kagami stared at Shidou. "Since you're already here, leaving after just greeting us would be boring."
"You threw a ball at us for that reason?"
Shidou noticed Chizuru still trembling slightly. Now he was truly angry.
"Then I'll play with you!"
The court atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Kise whispered to Kuroko, "Your teammate's going to suffer."
Kuroko looked worried. Kise added, "Little Shidou is as strong as Aomine."
Kuroko couldn't believe it.
Kagami spread his arms inside the three-point line, watching Shidou closely.
Shidou dribbled calmly outside the arc, then suddenly exploded forward, breaking past Kagami like lightning.
Kagami reacted quickly, but Shidou was faster, shaking him off.
Instead of attacking immediately, Shidou slowed, letting Kagami catch up.
As Kagami closed in, Shidou spun violently and blew past him again. Kagami jumped to block.
"Don't even think about it!"
But Shidou jumped higher. His muscles tensed as he slammed the ball toward the hoop.
Boom!
The basket shook violently. Kagami was knocked backward and fell hard.
Shidou hung on the rim, which groaned under the force—then cracked and tore loose, crashing to the floor.
He landed and stared coldly at Kagami.
"Is this all you've got? Where did you get the confidence to challenge me?"
The gym fell silent.
Kise, chewing a lollipop he'd stolen from Shidou, stared in shock.
Kuroko clenched his fists silently.
Chizuru felt warmth rise in her chest seeing her brother stand strong.
Riko stood stunned. "This guy… is a monster."
Hyuga wanted to speak but couldn't find the words.
Shidou walked over to Riko and handed her his contact information, making her face turn bright red.
Why is he giving me his contact? Does he like me? He's handsome… but he just crushed our player… What am I supposed to do now?