Kuroko’s Basketball: Before Generation Miracles, I Already Crowned

Aomine stared at Shigure Akihito, who was gripping the ball one-handed. He greeted him with a simple line:

"Welcome to Teiko."

It was such an ordinary phrase, and yet Aomine immediately felt something visceral from Shigure,

Hmm...

How should he describe it?

Cocky?

"Hmph..."

"What are you so proud of…"

"It's just one stop. No big deal."

"For the vice-captain of Teiko, you'd be weird if you couldn't manage that."

Though Aomine shot back without backing down, his heart was buzzing with excitement.

This is what I'm talking about!

This is how it should be!

If I don't go all out...

I won't be able to beat him.

And maybe, even if I do go all out,

He couldn't find the right word. The closest thing he could think of were those older guys at the park courts. Even though they were much bigger than him, they just couldn't beat him no matter what.

Now the tables have turned…

And it feels amazing.

He never really understood why those guys stopped playing him after a loss.

Then…

He looked up at Shigure Akihito again.

A glimmer flickered in Aomine's eyes. His smile widened, and the corners of his mouth curled into something… strange in Shigure's eyes.

"Eh...?"

Shigure shuddered all over.

It felt like Aomine's stare was a curse he couldn't shake off.

"Hey, Aomine…"

"Hah?"

"Could you not smile like that? You're freaking me out."

"...What?"

"What's so weird about it?"

"I was just thinking… choosing to come to Teiko was the best decision ever~"

"Quick question... Are you an M or something?"

"...Huh?"

Aomine blinked, completely confused. He hadn't even gotten around to daydreaming about his gravure magazines yet.

On the sidelines, Sanada Naoto couldn't take it anymore and blew the whistle to cue the next possession.

Shigure received the ball.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

He stepped back voluntarily.

Aomine had only seen one of Teiko's games live, against Ōnita during the regional prelims, but after they won the championship, all the media hype, plus Momoi Satsuki's constant rambling, gave him a pretty good idea of Shigure's skills.

Things like…

Half-court threes, which he didn't use against Ōnita.

Illusory feints so real they fooled your eyes.

A strange burst state.

And something called Wild Instinct from the finals.

A whole lot of things, really.

So for now, let's start by guarding his three-pointer!

Shigure noticed how close Aomine was defending, clearly worried about his shooting range.

Honestly, 184cm versus 175cm wasn't as absurd as last year's matchup, 193cm Hagioka versus his 176cm, but it was the first time he had a clear height advantage.

He felt confident that he could end this 1v1 in three plays just using Sendō Akira's pure pull-up fadeaway.

But then…

He remembered Aomine's flashy dribbling earlier.

No. If I'm going to welcome him to Teiko, it's gotta be memorable.

And nothing leaves a deeper mark than getting beaten at what you're best at.

So,

Shigure went all in.

Flashy dribbling, just as extra!

Gudai Tomokazu's step-back moonwalk, Kiyota Nobunaga's snap retreat, Sendō Akira's low-flight glide,

Then,

Building on Makunouchi Shinchirō's crossover, he began chaining one evolved move after another,

Between-the-legs crossover!

Step-shift breakthrough!

Behind-the-back misdirection dribble!

Thanks to his duel with Hagioka, Shigure's fusion and flow of streetball techniques had evolved dramatically beyond what he displayed at the junior nationals.

His dribbling, silky smooth, like flowing water.

In that moment,

Aomine was stunned. Shigure's movement was so fluid, darting left and right, forward and back,

He couldn't even react!

And each of Shigure's moves had one thing in common, massive lateral shifts. From one end of the free-throw line to the other in a single crossover, and still had room to spare!

Every hard, crisp bounce of the ball was a pivot of control and rhythm. The rapid thud-thud-thud had the first-years in the gym clutching their hearts in sync with each sound.

His dribbling kept accelerating!

Aomine's eyes widened. His balance was swaying, but deep down, his excitement only grew stronger.

This…

This is what he dreamed of!

And his instincts told him,

After Shigure was done flexing all this fancy dribbling,

Something even nastier was coming!

Whoosh,

Whoosh,

Whoosh,

The dribble storm grew more violent. Compared to the last possession, this one was different. When Aomine had the ball, Shigure could almost always stop him.

But now, with Shigure on the offensive…

He could break through whenever he wanted.

Inside the gym,

The intensity of the dribbling was unreal.

Players from other courts, first-years and second-stringers alike, stopped their tests to look over.

"Damn, that's fast!"

"Who's that guy?"

"The vice-captain?"

"No wonder…"

"Why's he even playing a first-year? How could a rookie handle that kind of monster? They probably can't even imagine it."

All eyes turned to Court No. 5.

Shigure Akihito, weaving back and forth with the ball as if it were part of his body, every exaggerated move leaving jaws dropped across the gym.

Midorima, Murasakibara, Akashi… and even the hidden Kuroko Tetsuya, shared the exact same stunned expression.

Murasakibara Atsushi: "Smiley-senpai's dribbling looks even more like dancing than the dark-skinned guy's~"

Midorima Shintarō: "I didn't expect the Teiko vice-captain to be this much of a showoff… he could've broken through a long time ago."

Akashi Seijūrō: "…"

Yeah…

Akashi was silent.

He didn't even know what to say.

Kuroko Tetsuya: "So incredible… that level of ball handling…"

On court, Aomine couldn't take his eyes off Shigure's dribble.

"I can't wait anymore… come at me already, !"

But,

Before Aomine could even finish,

Shigure exploded into his next crossover.

From his crouch and loading posture, it was obvious, this would be the strongest burst yet!

Aomine Daiki: "...!"

He's,

Coming!

BOOM!

With a heavy thud, Shigure exploded into motion.

From Aomine's perspective, Shigure's spin after the between-the-legs crossover,

vanished in the blink of an eye.

In the very next instant,

All he could see in the corner of his vision… was the fluttering edge of Shigure's jersey.

From the sidelines,

Everyone saw Aomine's face clearly.

Shock.

Frustration.

And a twisted kind of thrill.

As he spun around to chase down Shigure, all those emotions played out across his face.

Shigure's crossover-to-spin sequence left him two body lengths ahead.

But he didn't go full-speed, almost like he was waiting for Aomine to catch up.

Midorima observed the chase and muttered, "That speed…"

Then immediately shut up, until Shigure's vertical leap stunned him again.

"So…"

"So high!"

Beside him, Murasakibara extended his arms seriously, trying to measure if he could block a dunk at that height.

Meanwhile, Akashi silently watched, his expression tense.

On court,

After spinning around Aomine's right flank,

Shigure suddenly stopped with a sharp between-the-legs dribble!

Then,

Crossover spin back to the left…

Tomahawk dunk!

He spun in, then spun back out.

It completely shook Aomine, who could only watch as Shigure took off and dunked!

BOOM!

Shigure hung on the rim.

Eyes down.

Thud…

Thud…

Thud…

The gym fell silent.

Only the bounce of the basketball echoed through the hall.

Everyone stared blankly at Shigure and Aomine.

Most of the awe, 90%, was for Shigure's play.

The remaining 10%? For Aomine's impressive recovery speed.

Aomine looked furious, but not because he got dunked on.

It was because Shigure clearly hadn't gone all-out.

End of chapter...

To be continued...

To everyone who's joined the Patreon, thank you so much! 🙏Your support truly means the world. You're the reason this story keeps growing, chapter by chapter, world by world.

I promise to give it my all! more content, more depth, more epic moments, to make sure your support is always worth it. You're part of the foundation that keeps this universe alive.

And if you haven't joined yet?Now's the perfect time. We're still in the early chapters, it's not too late to jump in, catch up, and become part of the squad.

Let's build something legendary together. 

🔥 Rookie Recruit – Read 15 chapters ahead

🔥 Starting Five – Jump 35 chapters ahead

👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer