Kuroko no Basket: Honored One

Just before hitting the floor, Kise's eyes were filled with panic.

He had already achieved perfect imitation, broken through his limits, and even mastered both the Emperor Eye and Six Eyes—

So why… why did he still get shaken off his feet?

"Because I'm stronger than you. That's all there is to it."

Tendou stepped past Kise and gracefully tipped the ball into the basket.

"Take a break. You'll need time to recover from that twisted ankle."

It was the second time he had offered that suggestion.

Only now, as the Kaijō players rushed over, did they understand why Kise looked so battered.

"So this guy was…"

Kasamatsu Yukio bit his lip hard, fists clenched so tightly they turned pale.

Why had he been so blind?

Kise had been simultaneously imitating the abilities of five Generation of Miracles players.

How could a body that was still just a teenager possibly withstand that?

And not just any abilities—every single one of those talents exceeded Kise's baseline.

All this time, Kise had been forcing himself to keep going.

Why had it taken Kasamatsu this long to realize it?

"Forcing myself? You think this is the first time I've done that?"

"I could keep playing like this all day, Little Tendou!"

Kise staggered to his feet, his right ankle clearly in pain.

He had pushed himself far beyond his limits in just a few minutes—

Both body and brain were now running on fumes.

Pushing any further would only result in serious injury. It was only a matter of time.

Kasamatsu's face turned grim. He turned toward the coach and gestured firmly for a substitution.

"Senpai!" Kise cried out in panic, stepping forward—only to stumble again.

Kasamatsu reacted instantly, grabbing his arm and preventing him from falling a second time.

He softened his tone.

"It's enough. Leave the rest to us."

Kise blinked slowly, then lowered his head in silence.

His wet, sweat-matted bangs fell over his face, hiding the pain written all over it.

...

"What's happening?"

"They're taking Kise off the court? Are they giving up?"

Kaijō's substitution caught everyone by surprise.

To take Kise out at a moment like this—wasn't that just admitting defeat?

"Riko?" Kiyoshi Teppei turned toward their team captain.

Aida Riko's face was tense.

"Even from a distance, I can tell… Kise's condition is terrible."

And it truly was.

Every metric of his body was dropping.

Most worryingly, his right ankle was flashing warning signs—it was clearly injured.

"So it's true… Even Kise's body couldn't handle mimicking skills at the Generation of Miracles' level."

"Tendou must've predicted this from the start. That's why he never entered the Zone."

Hyuga Junpei swallowed hard.

If that was true, Tendou's strength was beyond anything they'd imagined.

"Looks like it," Riko murmured after a moment.

"At the very least, he knew—no matter how gifted Kise was, copying the Miracles' abilities wouldn't last long. Five minutes might be his limit."

...

Kaijō bench.

Kise pulled a towel over his head to hide his face.

But the way he bit his lip gave away everything.

He had lost. Again.

And this one… hurt more than any other defeat.

Even losing to Seirin last year didn't break his heart like this.

He didn't know everything that had happened to the team last year—

But from what Moriyama had told him, he could imagine how guilty his captain must have felt.

And now, this year…

They had once again fallen in the top 16.

He hadn't been able to lead his team to victory.

...

『Poor Golden Retriever. Why am I suddenly heartbroken over this?』

『Kaijō has such rotten luck. If it weren't Tendou, or Aomine, or Akashi, I bet Kise could've made top four.』

『Don't cry, Second Yellow! You did amazing!』

『But seriously, why did it have to be Tendou? He's OP as hell. It's like he's the director's favorite, playing with the script in hand. He even predicted Kise's injury.』

『Let's not be too harsh. Tendou may be cold on the surface, but he did signal for Kaijō to sub Kise out right away. That's actually pretty thoughtful.』

『Yeah… these Miracle kids are all so weird. They clearly care, but once the game starts, they go all out like savages.』

『Hahaha. Before graduating, Tendou swore he'd beat everyone in the Generation of Miracles.』

『Kuroko, Aomine, Kise—now only Midorima, Murasakibara, and Akashi remain. Tendou's just three games away from proving he's the strongest.』

『Might even be just two. How's broccoli head supposed to beat Tendou?』

『Excuse me?! Don't you dare disrespect our Midorima!』

The game still wasn't over, but the real-world audience had already begun discussing Tendou's path to the top.

After all, without Kise, Kaijō had no hope of winning.

The gap between the Generation of Miracles and other players was like comparing Vegeta and Yamcha, or Goku and Mr. Satan.

Still—

The audience gave Kise and Kaijō a standing ovation.

For their fight.

For their team spirit.

Right now, Kaijō was without question the most tenacious team in the tournament.

From start to finish, not a single one of them had considered giving up.

...

As for Tendou—

He gained something too: his title as the "Demon King" was now completely solidified.

In global popularity polls, he dominated the top spot across most regions, with only a few exceptions.

He had become the undisputed fan favorite.

...

On the court—

The monster that loomed behind Tendou faded away.

And yet—

Not one of the Kaijō players said anything like "Don't look down on us."

Because this leader of the Generation of Miracles was still on the court, still taking them seriously.

That, alone, was enough respect.

...

BZZT—!

The third quarter ended.

The score difference was a staggering 34 points.

With a margin like that, the outcome was already decided.

No team in the nation could stage a comeback against Kirisaki Daiichi—not when Tendou was playing.

The suspense was over.

Tendou sat out the fourth quarter entirely, retreating to the bench and resuming his "young general" role.

...

The final quarter became a game without any Miracles on the floor.

But both sides still played at a high level.

Kaijō's will never wavered.

Not a single player gave up, even when victory was clearly out of reach.

They fought to the very last second.

Only when the referee's whistle sounded to end the game did Kasamatsu Yukio finally exhale deeply.

He was the first to step forward—

Not toward Tendou, but toward Hanamiya Makoto.

By all rights, he should've shaken hands with Tendou.

But Tendou was busy greeting his coach.

As captain, Kasamatsu's "rank" wasn't even high enough to approach him directly.

The "bad boy" of the court sneered at Kasamatsu's sportsmanship.

They had just been crushed—and he still put on a polite act?

"You're really that fake, huh?" Hanamiya said disdainfully as he extended a hand.

"If it were me, I'd have stormed off the court already."

"Say whatever you want. Congrats on the win."

Kasamatsu meant it.

Even though his heart was bleeding—

Even though all he wanted was to disappear from the court—

He was still Kaijō's captain.

...

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