𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟾

Momoi stood on the second floor of the Kaijo gym. She didn't normally use her information network and analysis for things like this, but there was always a first time for everything and this was a worthy cause. She held the folders she brought with her tightly. She would need this information for when Kise won.

It was a shame. When Ki-chan had told her they might have been a challenge with Tetsu-kun on their side, he wasn't far off. Ki-chan was, of course, blinded by his only defeats coming from the Teiko regulars. However, the data she had gathered on this Kagami Taiga and Kiyoshi Teppei looked promising for her light blue crush.

Kagami Taiga. Seirin High School, First Year Class 1B. Sits in front of Tetsu, but never noticed the phantom's presence until after Ki-chan pointed him out. Transferred from America during his second year of middle school due to his father's job, but said job transferred him to a different part of Japan at too last minute and required Kagami to live alone for school. Momentarily gave up because Yomi Middle School's basketball team lost their spirit after playing against Teiko in their second-year preliminaries, 173-51. The boys hadn't even started the 20-point requirement yet.

A shame. He could've been enough of a challenge for at least one of the miracles by now if he hadn't chosen a school with such a poor team.

It didn't really matter anyway. The past was the past, so now they had to focus on moving forward no matter how much it hurt. She could work with what Riko had done so far and draw out their potential even further. She could show Tetsu that he had nothing to worry about. They could beat the generation of miracles together. She wasn't leaving him behind.

She didn't leave him behind just because she chose to go to Touou.

Seirin had been playing their part beautifully. They had gotten upset when they entered and Ki-chan made a show of how little a threat the opponents were to lower his coach's guard more. Kagami broke the board after a well-placed steal from eagle-eyed Izuki – not bad, but not at the level as her Tetsu. The Kaijo coach fumed and now they were transitioning to full court.

Kise looked up to the balcony and made a show of waving at some fangirls near her before his eyes locked with Momoi's. She gave an almost imperceivable nod to the darkened, emotionless gaze.

It was good for her that Ki-chan wasn't so far gone that he would be invested in helping her reach Kuroko. It was bad that she had to encourage this terrible reality that the miracles would crush anyone in their way. In the end, it was true. No regular teenagers could beat the miracles anymore. They hadn't even hit their peak.

But she would use this. She and Kise would use his skill as a prodigy to lock whoever they needed into helping them draw Tetsu back to basketball. They could help Kise heal from their middle school trauma later.

The first quarter continued and both Teiko graduates were surprised to see Kagami keeping pace with Kise. She would need to modify the American's data – his speed and stamina were higher than she estimated from Kise's description of the drive and dunk he witnessed. Unfortunately, the surprise was enough to slow Kise down from his normal pace, but the blonde had mentioned that he didn't really want to work up that much of a sweat anyway.

Seirin was able to take the first quarter, but Kaijo took the second. The redhead was too temperamental – Tetsu could help the team with that, but it could also hurt them if they don't iron that issue out now. Having someone too much like Aomine on the team might drive Tetsu farther away. In this match, however, it was useful. The copycat easily lost his marker and raked up twenty points in a single quarter.

Momoi watched Kise sit beside Kasamatsu Yukio, Kaijo's third-year and basketball team captain. Maybe Kise could figure out where they went wrong from his senpai and this mission of theirs? The third year was perceptive and she had a feeling that they would have to share their plans with the black-haired teen sooner rather than later.