Chapter Seven Q

When Kuroko arrived in Tokyo carrying some specialty products from Sendai prepared by Atsushi Oikawa, Akashi had already been waiting for a while.

“Have you been waiting long?” Kuroko skillfully touched the car belonging to Akashi’s family; the driver was the same one he had met last time.

Akashi put away the tablet in his hand. “No, I checked the schedule. You just got here.”

Kuroko handed Akashi a finely packaged bag. “A souvenir: edamame paste cream daifuku and edamame mochi, bought this morning at the main Tea no Ida store. Also, beef tongue rice crackers.”

Akashi reached out to take it. “I heard you went to Sendai and Atsushi kept nagging about Kikufuku.”

In truth, it was Kuroko’s special trip just for Atsushi Murasakibara that made him smile softly. “I guessed as much. I originally wanted to buy yuzu cakes too, but I got there a bit late and there were too many team members, so I couldn’t get any.”

“There’s already plenty. Atsushi made a lot of dishes; any more would be too much to eat,” Akashi said coolly, though Kuroko could detect a faint sense of pleasure beneath his calm tone.

“Mm.”

This time, the gathering was at Momoi’s place—not the one near Aomine’s house, but an apartment her family had bought earlier for commuting. No one was living there now, so it was perfect for a get-together.

When Akashi and Kuroko arrived, Daiki Aomine, Shintarō Midorima, and Satsuki Momoi were playing poker. For some reason, Aomine’s face was plastered with sticky notes, looking like he was losing badly.

Atsushi Murasakibara, the chef, was busy in the kitchen, while Ryota Kise was washing fruits nearby.

The kitchen faced the front door, so Murasakibara and Kise were the first to notice Kuroko and Akashi returning.

“Little Kuroko, was Sendai fun—” Kise’s voice stretched out with a hint of grievance for some reason.

Kuroko, after changing shoes, nodded. “Not bad, I visited quite a few places.”

Kise wiped away nonexistent tears. “That’s great—I want to go too.”

“Wash these,” Murasakibara tossed a bundle of chives into the sink in front of Kise. “Wash them one by one.”

Watching Murasakibara assign such an absurd task to Kise, Kuroko sighed. “Murasakibara-kun, don’t bully Kise-kun like that.”

“Exactly, only Kise and little Kuroko get bullied—that’s too much.” Kise nodded firmly, then began washing the chives one by one under the watchful eye of the chef.

Kuroko protested, “I’m not being bullied.”

The only one getting bullied was Kise.

“Here’s the Kikufuku that Kuroko brought.” Akashi placed the bag on the counter opposite Murasakibara.

Murasakibara’s eyes lit up instantly, smiling as he began unpacking. “Kikufuku~”

“Ah! I want some too!” Kise came closer.

Aomine, covered in sticky notes from losing at poker, shot a fierce glare. “Go wash your vegetables!”

Protective of his food, Murasakibara hugged the bag of Kikufuku and hid in a corner. “No one gets any.”

“Kuroko bought a lot. Just save one for me.” Before leaving the kitchen, Akashi told Murasakibara.

“Okay—” Murasakibara seemed a bit reluctant but agreed.

“I haven’t eaten one yet. Murasakibara-kun, save one for me too.” Kuroko was curious about this famous sweet.

“Okay—”

“Me too! I want some!” Satsuki Momoi, who was sticking notes on Aomine’s face, raised her hand.

“Okay…” Murasakibara’s agreement was feeble.

Seeing Murasakibara agree to three people, Kise also stepped up. “Then what about me—”

“No!” Murasakibara clutched the bag protectively and hid in the corner.

Rejected, Kise felt the injustice of the world. “Why not me?!”

Even Momoi and the others were getting some!

Aomine scoffed confidently and started to speak. “I—”

Before he could finish, Murasakibara’s refusal rang out: “No!! No one gets any!!!”

Kise’s mocking laughter filled the air as Aomine, covered in sticky notes, stood up ready for a showdown.

Shintarō Midorima, who had long anticipated this outcome, didn’t respond—he didn’t want to be rejected in public.

The table in the living room was already covered with dishes. Seeing the amount, Kuroko was a bit shocked. “This much? How many dishes did you buy?”

“Akashi paid for everything. They just took whatever they liked,” Momoi said helplessly, but since Akashi was willing, she didn’t object.

“Akashi paid for all of it?” Kuroko was surprised.

Though Akashi’s family was wealthy, usually they split expenses evenly unless someone insisted on treating others.

Why was Akashi paying alone today?

“Huh? Of course, because Akashi yesterday…” Aomine bit into a strawberry, speaking casually.

Before he could finish, Kise suddenly threw a banana that hit Aomine’s head, cutting off his words.

“Hey! Kise! What are you doing?!” Aomine was annoyed.

He threw the banana back, but Kise dodged easily.

“Sorry, slipped,” Kise said casually, interrupting Aomine’s words.

Midorima, sitting next to Kuroko, pushed his glasses up, masking some knowing expression.

—So it’s something that can’t be spoken of.

He understood.

“So, why?” Kuroko remained curious.

Having already guessed Akashi’s intention, Midorima naturally took over. “After you left yesterday, Akashi said he wanted to treat everyone. He originally invited the captain to go for teppanyaki, but he declined, so they just bought food and came to Momoi’s house.”

Kuroko blinked. That explanation made sense. He didn’t speculate further. “I see.”

Midorima’s expression grew dark.

The reason Akashi paid for everything was simply because, in yesterday’s finals, for some unknown reason, Akashi, who showed no interest in scoring, ended up with the fewest points.

However, the idea to compete for points had come from Akashi himself, and the one who responded most actively was Kise.

Looking back now… it seemed the proposal probably came from Kise.

Given his knowledge of Akashi, he wouldn’t have done something like that without reason.

Thinking about how Kise had stayed over at Kuroko’s place that day…

So, was it Kuroko who expressed dissatisfaction with Teiko’s current coaching policy?

If so, this point-scoring proposal was likely something he disliked.

Meanwhile, the team had the two fools, Murasakibara and Aomine, completely unaware of the underlying issues. To boost morale, Akashi had to use such a plan...

Troublesome.

No one knew how long this could be kept hidden, but Kuroko was quite perceptive.

Not letting him play was not a solution either...

During the conversation, Murasakibara brought in the last two dishes. “All done.”

Kise first pulled out party poppers bought from the supermarket and fired one into the air. “Teiko, three consecutive national championships! Let’s go!!!”

“Oh!!!”

This year’s Golden Week training camp at Teiko went on as usual, but with Coach Shirakawa absent, the final camp inexplicably turned into a seven-day hot spring retreat.

Unlike previous years, this time no training matches were arranged—not even against the second team.

Throughout, Momoi held the training schedule and coached alongside Akashi, leading everyone through light conditioning exercises.

After all, the others showed no eagerness to train; only Midorima and Kuroko unfailingly practiced pitching and passing daily.

The national middle school basketball tournament was scheduled for mid-June. After receiving the schedule, Kuroko immediately sent it to Atsushi Oikawa.

He had no other thoughts—he just wanted to prove that Teiko’s basketball team was strong.

Atsushi’s team, Aoba Johsai, started their IH preliminaries on June 3rd. As last year’s runners-up, they had a bye in the first round, then won the next two matches and advanced to the finals.

[Congratulations to Aoba Johsai for reaching the finals. — Tetsu]

Reading the message on his phone, Atsushi took a deep breath and then looked steadily down the corridor ahead.

Last year’s spring high preliminaries, the third-year starting setter faced Shiratorizawa. They were down by a large margin after two sets, and first-year Atsushi came in as a substitute in the third set, helping Aoba Johsai take one set back.

But they ultimately lost the final 3-1 and missed the nationals.

This year’s IH preliminaries, the third-year starter voluntarily stepped down, giving the setter position to second-year Atsushi, all for the sake of victory.

So...

He was going to win.

No matter if it was Wakatari Ushijima or Wakatari Majima...

He was going to win.

#

June 5th, Sunday, was Teiko’s group makeup class day.

By the time Kuroko Tetsuya saw the message from Atsushi Oikawa on his phone, it was already lunchtime.

The text was just two words: [Lost. — Oikawa-senpai]

Kuroko’s mind blanked momentarily, then he quickly declined Kise’s offer to eat lunch together, found a quiet place, and dialed Oikawa’s number.

Before the fifth ring, Oikawa answered.

“Oikawa-senpai?” Kuroko spoke softly.

No sound came from the other end, only muffled choking back sobs.

Kuroko was confused.

In his memory, Oikawa was confident and flamboyant, full of personality yet a good senior.

Because of Teiko’s undefeated record, Kuroko had never really grasped the concept of Oikawa’s “perpetual runner-up” label.

And in front of Kuroko, Oikawa always acted like “losing is in the past; I will definitely win now.”

Kuroko believed him because he couldn’t imagine Oikawa losing.

Until today, when he received the news of Aoba Johsai’s defeat, he suddenly realized Oikawa was different from the confident senior he remembered.

—He really could lose.

After a long pause, Oikawa’s voice came through the receiver. “Last year we lost 3-1; this time it was 3-2.”

“So it’s okay. By spring high... I will definitely win it back.”

“Definitely.”

No matter how strong the opponent was—

Never give up, never lose heart, always strive upward, always passionate.

This—that was Atsushi Oikawa.

Kuroko responded softly, “Yes, you definitely will.”