The Joker (Kuroko no Basket insert)

The gymnasium hummed with quiet excitement as students trickled in, drawn by rumors of the basketball team's first practice match against Shinkyō Academy. The stands weren't packed, but a solid 20 to 30 students had shown up, curious about this year's team and eager to see what they could do. Among the murmurs, all eyes kept drifting toward the opposing team warming up on the court.

It wasn't hard to see why.

Shinkyō's players moved with alright, their passes were good and they made most of their shots. But the real spectacle was their newest addition. Papa Mbaye Siki stood head and shoulders above everyone else, his 200-centimeter lanky frame standing out compared to everyone else. The audience gasped as Papa went for a layup but instead of laying it in he casually leapt into the air, slamming the ball in hoop without seemingly any effort.

"Holy crap a dunk?" someone whispered from the stands.

"Do we even have anyone tall enough to guard him?" another added, their voice tinged with doubt.

While Shinkyō had all the attention, Onita was still in the locker room, huddled together for one last meeting before heading out. Coach Hurley stood in front of them, his energy palpable as he downed an entire can of Red Bull in one go. Coach Hurley didn't stand in the center of the locker room, he prowled. His eyes darted across the team like a predator sizing up prey, the empty Red Bull can in his hand crushed into a mangled mess of aluminum after he chugged it. The eerie quiet of the room was punctuated by coaches steps as he walked around the locker room looking at his players.

"You know what they're saying out there, right?" Hurley began, his voice low and unsteady, like a match waiting to ignite. "They're saying last year was a fluke. That we got lucky. That we can't do it again. That we won't be able to stop their new player."

The tapping stopped abruptly as Hurley hurled the can into the corner of the room with a sharp clang. He grinned, wide and unsettling, his eyes glinting with something dangerously close to madness.

"They think they've got us beat because they've got a guy named Papa." His voice cracked on the word, followed by a barking laugh. "Papa. Like that means anything! You know what I see when I look at him? A big, clumsy joke who thinks he can walk onto our court and embarrass us."

Hurley slammed his fist against the lockers, the metallic echo making several players flinch. "But no. No one embarrasses us. You know why?" He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a near whisper, his wild grin still fixed in place. "Because we're going to take them apart piece by piece. We're going to make them regret ever stepping foot in this gym. They won't just lose, they'll leave knowing they never had a chance."

Rin stood just behind him, her trusty clipboard clutched tightly against her chest. At first, she nodded along mechanically, her usual professional demeanor intact. But as Coach Hurley's words grew wilder, her composure began to crack. Her eyes widened slightly, and she turned her head toward him, her expression shifting from mild agreement to outright shock.

She blinked rapidly, glancing down at her clipboard as though it might offer some logical explanation for the unhinged tirade unfolding in front of her. It didn't. The man she'd thought was the most grounded person on the team had just revealed himself to be as weird as the rest of them.

Hurley spun toward the team, pointing at them with a finger that trembled, not with fear, but with barely contained energy. "This isn't just a game. This is a reckoning. You've trained for this. You've bled for this. And now, you're going to go out there and make them wish they'd stayed home!"

The players stared at him, wide-eyed but fully alert. Tokuchi's grin had widened into something unnervingly bloodthirsty, vibing completely with what the coach was saying. Watari sat with his mouth open in horror, visibly questioning his life choices. Taro exchanged a calm glance with Shin, both stoic but clearly ready for what was to come.

Rukawa, however, didn't blink. Not once. His stare locked onto Hurley with an intensity that suggested he was either completely unfazed or entirely on board with the lunacy. Meanwhile, Kobayashi rubbed the back of his neck, his usually composed expression faltering for a moment as if secondhand embarrassment had finally caught up to him. Hachiman glanced away, letting out a barely audible sigh, his discomfort barely hidden as he shifted in his seat.

Hurley wasn't done. His voice rose to a fever pitch, his movements more erratic. "They think they're walking into a basketball game! They don't know they're stepping into a war zone! And we're not just going to win, we're going to crush them so badly that the only highlight they'll have is the ride home!"

Rin finally cleared her throat, trying to reel the lunacy back in. "Stick to the plan," she said, her voice a touch unsteady. "We've scouted their weaknesses. As long as we stay disciplined, we can…."

"Discipline?" Hurley interrupted, spinning toward her with an exaggerated gesture. "Not this time! This isn't about finesse, it's about sending a message! A loud, bloody, humiliating message that no one, and I mean no one, messes with us and walks away!"

Rin blinked at him, momentarily speechless. "okay…." she muttered under her breath, seeming defeated.

Hurley pointed a shaking hand at the door, his grin so wide it seemed unnatural. "Now get out there, and make them wish they'd never even thought of challenging us"

The players filed out, their adrenaline high, but their expressions mixed with mild terror. Rin lingered for a moment, casting a glance back at Hurley, who was now pacing like a caged animal, muttering something about "crushing the very soul" out of Shinkyō.

With a long, weary sigh, Rin shook her head and followed the team. "Why does stuff like this happen to me?" she muttered under her breath, clutching her clipboard tighter as though it were the only thing anchoring her to reality.

As the team filed out of the locker room, still buzzing from Coach Hurley's unhinged speech, Tokuchi sidled up to Taro, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Hey, Taro" Tokuchi said, his tone dripping with challenge. "Bet you I can beat you tin a race to our hoop."

Taro raised an eyebrow but said nothing, his usual demeanor unshaken. Tokuchi leaned closer, his grin widening. "What's the matter? Scared you can't keep up with me?"

Without a word, Taro turned toward the gym door. Tokuchi blinked as Taro took one step, then another, before suddenly exploding into a full sprint, his long legs carrying him forward with surprising speed. Running to the gym, Kobayashi had just entered into.

"Wait! Hey! That's cheating!" Tokuchi yelled, his voice trailing behind as he took off in pursuit, sprinting furiously to catch up.

The gym door creaked open, and Kobayashi stepped through, calm and composed as always. The dependable captain and last year's ace carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone who had been through countless battles and come out stronger. The murmurs from the small audience grew as they watched him enter.

"Look at him," someone whispered. "That's Kobayashi. He's as dependable as ever."

"He's the captain, right? They're in good hands."

Kobayashi's calm stride toward the court exuded leadership. But then—BAM!—the doors behind him burst open with a crash, slamming against the walls so hard that everyone jumped. Before anyone could process what was happening, a blur of orange shot through the door.

"Taro!" a voice bellowed behind the streak of movement. "I didn't even say 'Go!'"

Gasps erupted as the audience watched a towering first-year, bright orange hair streaming behind him, tear across the court with cartoonish speed. Each step reverberated through the gym, the sheer force of his movement rattling the floor. Kobayashi, caught off guard, had to throw himself to the side, his arms flailing as the wind from Taro's sprint nearly sent him tumbling.

"W-what the—?" someone in the audience stammered. "That's Taro the Ogre?"

"Is he a first-year or a runaway train?"

But before the crowd could even finish their thoughts, the doors slammed open again. Tokuchi burst through, his face scrunched up in frustration and annoyance, running full tilt after Taro, full of desperation. His arms pumped furiously, his legs a blur, but it was clear he was falling behind.

Taro, finally under the basket, came to an effortless stop. He turned to face Tokuchi, his towering frame calm and unbothered. The smug grin on his face could have been seen from the farthest corner of the gym.

Tokuchi skidded to a stop a few seconds later, doubling over as he gasped for air. He glared up at Taro, who didn't look the least bit winded.

"You're insufferable," Tokuchi grumbled between breaths.

Taro shrugged, his grin unwavering. "Don't challenge people to stuff you can't win."

Kobayashi stood frozen for a moment after narrowly dodging the orange blur that was Taro. A comically large tick mark seemed to appear over his temple as his calm composure shattered. His usual unflappable demeanor gave way to pure irritation as he stomped toward the hoop, his footsteps echoing through the gym.

"You almost killed me!" Kobayashi yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Taro, his voice louder and sharper than anyone had ever heard before.

The audience collectively gasped, shocked at the sudden transformation of the typically composed captain. Whispers rippled through the stands.

"Is that… Kobayashi? The calm, dependable Kobayashi?"

"What is this team even made of?"

On the opposing side, Shinkyō's players paused mid-drill, exchanging wary glances. Their towering center, Papa, frowned slightly. "Who are these lunatics?" he muttered, mildly concerned about the chaos unfolding before the game even started.

Meanwhile, Taro stood beneath the hoop, entirely unbothered by Kobayashi's outburst. His earlier grin now a triumphant smile that practically sparkled. Tiny, imaginary stars shimmered around him, his hands planted on his hips like a hero basking in his glory.

"I won" Taro said, his tone calm but full of smug satisfaction.

Kobayashi's stomping grew louder as he pointed again. "What?! The game hasn't even started yet! You almost turned me into roadkill!"

Tokuchi, still catching his breath, groaned loudly from nearby. "Dude you didn't even get crushed, stop complaining. I had to chase that monster!"

The crowd couldn't decide whether to laugh or question their sanity for being there. Onita's team was already proving to be unlike anything they'd expected, and the match hadn't even started.

The team moved into warm-ups, shaking off the earlier chaos. Taro practiced layups and mid-range shots, his movements efficient but unremarkable, blending into the rhythm of the drills while keeping his energy steady. Shin worked quietly under the basket, snagging rebounds and dishing them back with practiced ease.

Rukawa, however, caught the crowd's attention with a simple yet fluid dunk. It wasn't flashy, but the clean execution and athleticism behind it made several audience members sit up straighter, murmurs rippling through the gym.

Watari jogged through his drills, his expression distracted as his eyes darted nervously toward the growing crowd. "There's so many people," he muttered under his breath, only to receive a reassuring pat on the back from Taro, who grinned. "Relax, just do what you always do."

The referee's whistle cut through the gym. "Three minutes to tip-off!" he called, the anticipation in the room growing thicker as both teams wrapped up their drills and prepared to start. The players from both teams hustled back to their benches, shaking out their muscles and locking in for the start of the game.

Coach Hurley stood in front of the team, his eyes sharp and bloodthirsty and his voice firm. "Kobayashi, Hachiman, Rukawa, Shin, and Taro, you're starting. Go out there and crush them."

Taro moved to the center circle, his expression calm as he squared up against Papa. The two centers locked eyes, the tension between them thick.

"Are you ready to lose?" Taro asked, his voice steady as if stating the obvious.

Papa's earlier smirk disappeared instantly, his expression twisting into one of defiance. "No way!" he yelled. "I would never lose to someone like you!"

The referee stepped forward, holding the ball high above his head. The whistle blew, the ball went up, and the game began.