"You sure this method actually works?"
Leaning against the wall, Kasamatsu had been listening to Kota coaching Kise and couldn't help but ask. Though, what he really wanted to say was:
"It sounds like you're making this up."
Kota shot him a look of indignation, full of confidence.
"Of course! That's how I unlocked it myself!"
Kise, eyes still shut, was deep in meditation, mumbling about freedom and seagulls.
Kasamatsu's mouth twitched. "So you… imagined yourself as a free seagull too?"
"Uh…" Kota averted his gaze, a little sheepish. "Eh… close enough…"
Kasamatsu sighed. "If Kise can't enter the Zone… can we still beat Seirin?"
He didn't push the issue further. Unlocking the Zone wasn't part of their original strategy anyway. But he needed to know: just how much of a shot did Kaijo have?
Kota tilted his head, thought for a moment, and answered with a dead serious face:"Dunno."
Kasamatsu: "…"
"Hey, don't look at me like that! I mean, there's definitely a chance!" Kota quickly waved his hands defensively. "But I do know one thing for sure — Seirin's power yesterday? They can't control that."
Kasamatsu perked up, listening closely.
"I don't know how they triggered that burst, but there's no way they can activate it at will. So as long as we shut them down before they reach that state, we'll be fine."
On that point, both Akashi and Kota had agreed — Seirin's trump card wasn't something they could pull out whenever they wanted. That "five hearts as one" state had a steep activation cost.
"You got a plan then?"
Kasamatsu felt a little more reassured. If Kota said it was fine, then it probably was.
"Calling it a plan is a bit much. Let's just say… I'll do my best and leave the rest to fate."
Kota grinned, glanced at the time, and slapped the meditating Kise awake.
"Time to get up. Game's starting soon—we gotta go warm up."
Kise blinked, groggy and confused. "Huh? Is the game over? Did we win?"
"Win your ass!" As expected, that earned Kise a solid kick.
"Man, look at this crowd!" Kaijo walked out onto the court to raucous cheers from the fans.
Kise looked around and gasped, "Whoa! So many familiar faces! Not just the usuals, even players we've faced before are here to watch. I'm fired up now!"
Kota followed his gaze and sure enough, the stands were full of familiar figures.
That pretentious foreigner, Kagami's coach Alex, Kasamatsu-senpai's parents, the ever-cliché protagonist squad… Igawa High, even that guy… what's his name again?
Kota stared at the National Youth Team's No.1 scout, rubbing his chin. From this distance, he could only make out the silhouette.
"Whatever. Probably not an important character anyway."
Instead of worrying about that, wouldn't it be better to say hi to the Seirin guys?
Kota looked across the court. Seirin was already warming up. He straightened his face, put on a reserved yet graceful smile, and strolled over.
They had played practice matches before, so there was no sharp tension — just a bit of curiosity at his approach. Kuroko, who'd once received pointers from Kota, welcomed him with friendly respect.
Since their team darling was on good terms with him, the rest of Seirin responded warmly too. Kiyoshi, the ever-kind senior, even struck up a casual conversation.
"You like animals too? I've got a Labrador at home, eats like crazy, let me tell you. You should come visit sometime—it loves meeting new people."
"Really? Then it's a promise, Kiyoshi-senpai. Thank you, you're such a kind person."
"Hahaha, no need to be so polite."
"Oh, by the way, Kiyoshi-senpai, those plays you ran with Kagami yesterday? Amazing stuff! How'd you guys pull that off?"
"Ah, well, actually, I'm not really sure…"
"Kiyoshi!!"
Hyuga, watching nearby, saw Kiyoshi getting more and more chatty—so much so that he was about to spill some serious intel. He sprinted over and clamped a hand over Kiyoshi's mouth, glaring at Kota.
Kota sighed internally.
"So close to getting some juicy info…"
Still, judging by their reaction, it looked like Seirin couldn't fully control their power either — not a total loss.
With that, Kota flashed them all a bright smile.
"Guess I better go warm up before my senpai comes looking for me. See you guys later!"
He turned to leave, then paused, looking back at Kiyoshi.
"Thanks for the chat, Kiyoshi-senpai. It was fun."
Hyuga kept his hand firmly over Kiyoshi's mouth, watching Kota's figure retreat with a cold sweat on his brow.
Kiyoshi, still clueless, wrestled free and grumbled,
"What was that for, Hyuga? That was rude!"
"Rude my ass!" Hyuga snapped, veins popping. "Don't you realize he was pumping you for information? And you were about to blab everything! You think he really came over just to talk about dogs?"
Kiyoshi scratched his head, confused.
"Really? But Kota-kun seemed so polite…"
Hyuga sneered and adjusted his glasses.
"If you'd seen how he played against Akashi, you'd know exactly what kind of person he is."
"Anyway, you're not allowed to talk anymore! If you leak anything, I'll kill you myself!"
Hyuga shot him a glare before returning to his warmup routine.
Kiyoshi glanced wistfully across the court at Kota, but ultimately listened to Hyuga and resumed his own warm-up.
Both teams settled into their half-court drills, with no further interactions. The crowd kept swelling—so much that people started buying tickets just to stand and watch.
This Winter Cup final was attracting everybody's attention.
High up in the stands, the No.1, Youth Team scout furiously scribbled in his notebook, eyes burning holes into Kota's back.
The game hadn't even started, yet his evaluation of a certain player was already locked in.