-Emiko POV-
Tetsuya chuckled.
"Sorry" he said. "Truthfully, that just made me really happy"
"What are you talking about, idiot?" laughed Kagami. "Everyone's thinking the same thing. No one thinks winning will be easy. If we win enough games, we're bound to face them sooner or later. Nothing beats repaying a debt quickly"
I smiled.
"Fine" said Aomine. "Bring it on"
~
The next morning, we got out of the hotel to start the training.
"All right, everyone's here" said Hyuga.
"Yeah!" we all said.
"Excuse me" said Tetsuya, whose bed hair was ridiculous again, it was making me laugh. "Kagami's been missing since this morning"
"Your bed head is ridiculous!" shouted Hyuga.
"Kagami's missing?" asked Tsuchida.
"It's fine" said Riko. "Starting today, we'll be practicing without Kagami for a while. I'll explain later"
"Okay, let's go home" said Hyuga.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked Riko. "Our training camp starts now"
She pointed at a gym.
~
After we all got changed, we went into the gym and saw Riko's father.
"Are all the kids here?" he asked.
"The coach's dad?!" said Koganei.
"Don't refer to me as 'dad'" said Riko's father. "Call me, Kagetora-san"
"Kagetora-san, what are you doing here?" asked Fukuda.
"My lovely daughter asked me to come" said Kagetora. "I came to make you stronger. First I have a question for you"
He took out a gun and I hid behind Riko.
"Step forward if you saw Riko naked yesterday" he said. "Come forward now and I'll kill you painlessly with a single headshot!"
"We tried to peep, but it wasn't Riko" said Koganei. "It ended in failure"
"Listen up!" shouted Kagetora. "I'm the only one who can see Riko naked..."
"No, you can't!" shouted Riko and threw a ball to her father.
"What?!" said Kagetora. "But Riko, you said you'd marry Daddy when you were little..."
She hit him with her fist this time...
"Get started already!" she shouted.
"But you said you'd marry me" he said.
"Shut up about that!" she shouted.
"Fine, fine" he said. "All right, we'll start by having you all take off your shirts"
'This sounds familiar'
He looked at each and every one of them.
"Well, you're not bad" said Kagetora. "You seem to have been keeping up with Riko's training since this summer. And your manager seems to keep the physical injuries to a minimum. Your stamina and muscles show balanced improvement. Split into two groups. Go play cops and robbers in those mountains for about three hours. Afterward, the losers will practice footwork. I'll let you off with double practice"
"What?!" they all shouted and began running in the woods.
"Kagetora-san?" I asked. "Is this what's called Fartlek? By using their whole bodies to run over uneven ground, they'll improve their overall fitness"
"Not bad, Maeda, was it?" he asked and I nodded. "Impressive. You're right. Like I mentioned earlier, they've all improved physically, but they're stiff. You can't just build muscle. Your body needs to be able to use them. They need to become acclimated to the muscles they've built. Running around in the mountains is the fastest way to do that"
~
When the boys came back, they were exhausted...
"Before we begin practice, I'll tell you what you need to do by next month" said Kagetora. "Riko and Maeda showed me a DVD of your opponent's play. They're an aggressive team of strong players who focus on individual skill. At first glance, they're the opposite of a team that emphasizes team play like yours. However, if you ask me, their teamwork is much better than yours"
They were all surprised...
"They don't emphasize team play, of course" continued Kagetora. "They can just do it. Ignoring individual play doesn't cut it. The most important thing is for everyone to always be aiming for the basket. That's what makes a team come together. Simply being friendly isn't teamwork. For example, four-eyes... you tried to dribble past someone in your last game against Touou"
"Yes" said Hyuga.
"That was stupid" said Kagetora. "Why would you fight such a strong team with something you're bad at? Anyway, don't you make shots from the outside? Cutie and cat-face can shoot threes too, but they're far from being weapons. If you'd made your shots from the beginning against Kirisaki Daichi, you would've won easily. Realize you're Seirin's lifeline. Learn to make shots without a screen"
"But how?" asked Hyuga. "I was dribbling, because I couldn't..."
"I'll show you" said Kagetora. "Cutie, pass me the ball"
He gave the ball to Izuki.
"Kagetora-san's going to play?" asked Fukuda.
"Can he even play basketball?" asked Kawahara.
"Not only does he play" said Kiyoshi. "He used to play for Japan's national team"
Izuki passed the ball to Kagetora.
Hyuga took a defensive stance, Kagetora jumped backwards and shot a perfect three.
"Something like that" he said. "Just so you know, that wasn't speed. Even you can do it. Teamwork really starts to shine with a group of strong individuals. You'll all develop your own weapons by the Winter Cup. In other words, they'll be your special abilities. Some of you noticed during your summer training camp and have laid foundations. You have less than a month before the Winter Cup. I'll train you as much as I can for the price of bloody nothing"
"Thank you!" they all shouted.
"That aside, um..." said Tetsuya.
"Uh?" said Koganei. "By the way, where's Kagami?"
~
"What?!" we all shouted.
"America?!" I asked.
"Kagami?!" asked Koganei.
"When?" asked Izuki.
"Our school has a short-term study abroad program, and our sister school is in Los Angeles, where Kagami-kun used to live" said Riko. "Apparently, the person who taught him basketball lives there"
"H-his master?" asked Furihata.
"I haven't heard anything about this" said Hyuga.
"I just found out last night" said Riko and grabbed Tetsuya's head. "This year's first-years have really been coming and going as they please. It's like they're messing around with me"
"Why me?" asked Tetsuya in pain. "Ow, ow..."
"Well, if he's going to come back stronger, I can't complain" said Hyuga.
~
"Okay, go play cops and robbers" said Kagetora.
"Again?!" said everyone.
"The losers will do double strength training" he said.
"Yes, sir" they said and left.
It had been half a month already...
"How are they, Dad?" asked Riko.
"Riko!" he said excited. "Today you're exceptionally..."
"I don't care about that!" she shouted and hit him. "Well?"
"They just have to do what they have to do" said Kagetora. "On weekends, they improve their stamina with fartlek sessions. On weekdays, they improve their individual skills. How much more they'll improve in half a month is up to them"
"Endurance training aside, can they really master special moves in less than a month?" asked Riko.
"The first-years can't, but the second-years..." he said. "They can probably do it. Airhead already has his own style, and he's talented. Four-eyes and cutie have found answers on their own. The remaining three will surely manage something"
"What about Kuroko-kun?" asked Riko.
"Sorry, but there's nothing I can do with him" he answered. "I've never seen a player like him before. He's a mutant. It's pathetic, but I have no idea what to teach him. But, Maeda here has been helping him better than I have. I have given him some advice. I told him about the wall he's likely to hit soon. How he'll overcome it is up to him"
-Reo Mibuchi POV-
Sei-chan was breathing heavily, from training so hard.
"Sei-chan, here" I said and threw him a towel.
"Thanks" he said, he picked up the photo from the training machine.
It was a picture of him and his childhood friend.
Emiko Maeda, her hair is shorter now, but she's still very cute.
"He's ridiculous" said a member. "Akashi's already a prodigy, but he trains so hard. He must be starved for victory"
"No, he's not that weak" I said. "It's not about doing what it takes to win. Sei-chan told me before. Winning is just like breathing. Victory isn't something Sei-chan seeks. It's a natural part of his life. It's a basic bodily function"
'Well, the only time he lost, was when Maeda-san said no to go to Rakuzan...'
-Emiko POV-
It was time... time for the start ceremony and time for our first match...
'Seijuro will be there...'
Tetsuya picked me up to go to the station together.
"Are you nervous?" he asked and I nodded.
"Terribly nervous" I said. "But, it'll be okay. I know it will be okay"
~
"The Winter Cup national high school basketball tournament will now commence" said the announcer.
"Damn it! What is that idiot Kagami doing?!" shouted Riko after the ceremony. "The opening ceremony's already over!"
"Apparently, he forgot about the time difference" said Fukuda.
"It'll be the last time he forgets it" I said and rolled up my sleeves.
"Amazing" said Furihata and looked around. "The Inter-High courts were amazing, but this is even bigger"
"On top of that" said Kawahara. "Everywhere you look are schools we've seen in books or magazines. We're supposed to fight these monsters?"
"Idiots!" said Hyuga and hit them both. "We weren't invited as guests. Hold your heads high"
But Hyuga was just as scared as the first-years.
I felt Tetsuya's phone go off, he had given it to me for the opening ceremony.
"Tetsu" I said and gave him his phone.
"Thank you" he said and looked at the message, he was surprised and turned to the group. "Sorry, but could I step out for a bit?"
"I told you not to wander off" said Riko and took out her paper fan.
"Yes, but..." said Tetsuya and he looked at me. "I've been summoned"
I dropped my map...
"Summoned?" asked Kiyoshi.
"I'm going to see Akashi-kun" said Tetsuya.
"The Captain of the Generation of Miracles..." said Izuki.
Riko put her hand on my back, she saw how startled I was...
"Fine" she said. "We've got a game this afternoon. Be back by then"
"Okay" said Tetsuya, he looked me in the eyes before leaving.
"Furihata-kun" said Riko. "Could you go with him?"
"Okay" said Furihata.
"I need to sit down" I whispered.
-Tetsuya Kuroko POV-
"What's this? You've got a babysitter, Tetsu?" asked Aomine.
"Minechin, you've got Sacchin" said Murasakibara.
"Satsuki's got nothing to do with this" said Aomine. "You don't see Emiko around here now, do you?"
"Midorimacchi, why do you have scissors?" asked Kise.
"It's obviously my lucky item, you idiot" said Midorima.
"It's dangerous though" said Kise. "I wish you wouldn't walk around with them out like that"
"Sorry to keep you waiting" I said.
Kise's phone went off.
"Your phone's annoying, Kise" said Aomine. "Is it Akashi?"
"It's... a text from a fangirl" said Kise.
"Go die!" said Midorima.
"Huh?" said Murasakibara when he couldn't open his bag of chips. "Midochin, let me borrow those scissors"
"No" said Midorima.
"What? Kurochin, do you have a pair?" asked Murasakibara.
"No, I don't" I said.
"Anyway, how come the guy who summoned us here is the last to arrive?" asked Kise.
"There's no need to be upset" said Midorima. "That's how he is"
"I apologize for keeping you waiting" said a familiar voice and I looked up.
"Akashi-kun" I said.