"So tell me how was your match against Daikicchi, Tetsuyacchi?" Ryota beamed from beside the blue head as they walked to the basketball court. Not too far from them were the rest of the Seirin team with Junichiro conversing with Kyoshi.

Kuroko hummed to himself, his blue eyes apathetically staring forward as he thought back on the match against Too Academy. He remembered the defeat, the look in Aomine's eyes, that feral glint full of bestiality, fierceness, strength, boredom and— disappointment.

Disappointment in both himself and basketball.

Kuroko's heart squeezed at the thought. He cast the green head a sidelong glance before replying. "We lost, Aomine— no, Too was stronger than us," he stated, a shadow looming over his blue irises.

Ryota silently hummed to himself, his golden eyes narrowing, "what was the score?" he offhandedly asked, ignoring the slight discomfort in the shorter boy and the sudden tenseness of the nearby Seirin players who eavesdropped on them.

"122 to 55, for Too," Kuroko managed to whisper, barely maintaining his voice as flat as usual.

Mikaël didn't answer, closing his eyes in thoughts he missed the blue head closing his hands in tight fists. Ryota didn't know the exact score of Seirin and Too's first match in his former life. He was aware of Seirin's defeat, and although it pained him to admit Aomine was stronger at the time, it remained Ryota always thought of the tanned male as a goal to achieve and rival to beat.

"That's a good score," he exhaled as he fluttered his golden eyes open to glance at his ex-mentor. "For Too, but Seirin didn't do so bad, I mean, Aomine's team only has powerhouses," he muttered, more to himself than to Kuroko as his mind drifted to his fellow Uncrowned Kings back at Rakuzan, he snorted. Too's powerhouses weren't so impressive compared to them.

Kuroko bit his lower lip, his Senior's mutter not going past his ears as he relaxed his grip. "I guess so," he answered unconvinced. "But we'll beat them, as a team," he declared, his pale blue eyes brazenly staring into Ryota's bright golden irises.

Ryota didn't answer immediately, his baffled look at the younger's outburst lasted for a few seconds before gradually morphing into a proud, almost peaceful look as a grin broke on his face. "Of course, I know you can do it, Tetsuyacchi," he praised, his hand reaching for the shorter's locks to ruffle them before it got swatted away.

Tetsuya shook his head, denying the older's word. "I won't, we— Seirin will beat them, then Murasakibara-kun and Akashi-kun's team. We will beat every one of the Generation of the Miracles' teams," he swore.

Ryota chuckled, his mind flashing with images of his past, a past where he was part of them, one of them. "I have no doubt about it," he said, lowering his lashes before blinking the nostalgic glint away. "But first, let's see how you beat those other teams yeah?" he teased with a grin, slightly quickening his steps as he walked up to the blue head's new light.

A veil of gloominess settled over Ryota's golden irises for a second as his best friend's future self's words echoed in his head.

"So long as he wins, he wouldn't care if he had to sacrifice all of his pawns. What ethics? If it means seizing what he wants, he'll scratch them all!"

He pursed his lips, he wouldn't make the same mistake as his future self, he wouldn't blind himself with fleeting feelings and help Seijuro achieve absolute victory. He wouldn't reach out to the redhead, even if it meant truly burying his feelings and forgetting the sentiments he held for the younger boy.

He knew all too well how dangerous feelings could be, how they swayed people to the point of no return, he witnessed their effects too many times already to call himself unaware or ignorant. He exhaled, a feeble and slightly trembling breath as he psyched himself up, plastering a bright grin on his face as he caught up to the Seirin Ace.

"Heya, Taigacchi!" he greeted, slamming his hand on the taller's back to catch his attention. "We haven't had a good talk yet, yeah?" he rhetorically asked, his overwhelming aura chasing the other Seirin players away.

Kagami gave the green a dubious look, still, a bit unnerved from the uncanny similitude in the Wizard and the Kaijo Ace. He slowly nodded, observing as the older's grin turned brighter.

Junichiro slightly narrowed his dark brown eyes, a flicker of bright yellow unnoticeably flashing through them for a second as he lightly pursed his lips. Something was off with Mikaël, he didn't know what but whatever it was it wasn't something the green could so easily brush off.

He didn't like the sluggish aura around Mikaël, the guiltiness blended with nostalgia when he spoke to his underclassman or the uneasiness he showed when hanging out with him previously. The slight fear when he got out of his sight.

It was strange, uncalled for. It wasn't something someone as young as Mikaël should experience, even Junichiro knew this much. It wasn't normal.

There was something so painfully obviously wrong with his friend, and yet, he couldn't guess what it was.

He brought his thumb to his mouth, biting on his nail before his eyes snapped open. Maybe, that dream? The one in which he saw the pink-haired beauty. Truth be told, Junichiro's memory of the dream was foggy, but if it was the key to cure Mikaël's unease, then he would dig into it.

He could still remember the frantic behavior his friend displayed at the mention of this 'dream.'

Then again, was it really just a dream?

"Everything's okay, Hirose?"

The smaller of the two blinked, Kyoshi's deep voice pulling him out of his musings. "Ah, yes, sorry about that I was thinking," he apologized, his eyes momentarily darting to the side as the Iron Heart's laugh rang in his ears.

::

Ohohoho? Isn't that Taigacchi's brother? Ryota mused with a slight tilt of his head as he watched the redhead reunite with his American brother figure. What was his name already? Himuro, Himuro Tat— something.

His golden eyes flickered to the scene for a moment, listening on their talk as he focused on the raven head before he hit his fist in the palm of his hand. "Ah, Himuro Tatsuya-kun, was it?" He exclaimed to himself as if enlightened.

Junichiro sent his friend a quizzical look, slightly baffled by his sudden outburst and exasperated by the obvious unawareness of it. He sighed defeatedly, an amused smile playing on his face as he relished in his friend's peaceful aura, devoid of its previous guilt, nostalgia, and gloominess.

Tatsuya looked at the green head in mild surprise, not expecting the obvious statement minutes after he introduced himself. Maybe the teen was slow, or he hadn't listened and searched for his name? He narrowed his only visible eye, but he didn't remember ever meeting the green head.

Nonetheless, the shooting guard plastered a polite smile on his face as he nodded in the green's direction. "That would be me," he introduced, extending a hand for a handshake. "And you are?"

Ryota blinked, suddenly aware of the hand in front of him. He returned the handshake with practiced ease— too much ease for someone as young and who did not grow up meeting people and shaking hands on a daily basis.

"Mikaël Lamare, I'm one of Tetsuyacchi's old teammates," he introduced, dismissing the knowing light in the Yosen player's eyes at his name. "I hope my old Junior hasn't caused you too many troubles, I know he can be a handful," he apologized, a plastic smile on his face.

Tatsuya momentarily paused before his grin brightened as if competing with Mikaël's to see whose was the brightest. "Well, so far there have been no notable problems, I suppose Akashi-san's influence is a bit troublesome but we can manage with it," he admitted, ignoring the somewhat quizzical look both of them received from the Seirin players.

"Is that so? I'm glad," Ryota beamed, at last letting go of the raven's hand.

Himuro kept his good-natured smile, his eyes barely sharpening as he mused on the green's words. His identity as a Yosen player was not confidential, but he wasn't a famous player. Unlike the GOM or perhaps the Uncrowned Kings, Himuro was no celebrity in the basketball world in Japan.

Mikaël knowing him was more suspicious than anything, he didn't remember noticing the male when they played, and while he knew of him through his tall partner, he didn't think Murasakibara was the type to blabber off to others about his teammates, much less to his old captain who didn't play anymore.

From aside, Kuroko tilted his head, intuitively sensing the raven's discomfort he spoke up. "You know a lot of people Mikaël-senpai, yet they never seem to know you."

Himuro's eyes flickered to the small blue head he now knew as Kuroko Tetsuya and he unnoticeably frowned, was it one of the green's habit to call out others as if they were long lost acquaintances when they had never met? He refrained himself from pursing his lips, an amiable smile plastered on his face. He supposed every one of the Uncrowned Kings much like the GOM had their quirks.

Nevertheless, Himuro brushed the topic aside, refocusing his attention on his little brother figure. "To answer your question Taiga, I don't know him," he said, referring to the small blue head. "But I've heard of him," his eyes glinted, an enigmatic smirk creeping up his face. "An interesting teammate at my place told me about him. If we have time, I'll introduce you to him, but that will have to wait," he bade as he began to walk away from the Serin players and Namimori students.

Ryota kept his plastic smile in place, a flicker of excitement coursing through his golden pupils in the form of a reddish current. Junichiro spared his friend a glace, his eyes suspiciously narrowing as he thought back on Mikaël's behavior, it felt a bit unnatural.

Peeling his gaze off the raven head, Ryota flickered his gaze to Kuroko, catching sight of his minutely surprised face he stared as a look of understanding flashed through his pale blue irises. Well, Kuroko was far from dumb, he already knew Aomine, Midorima and Kise's teammates and out of the GOM, only Murasakibara and Akashi remained. Akashi wasn't the type to let his teammates run wild, even less the type to enter such games— at least the current Akashi wasn't.

It wasn't hard for the Phantom Sixth Player to guess who Himura was referring to. The small teen regained his poker face, it wasn't that he didn't get along with Murasakibara, both of them simply didn't share the same wavelength when it came to basketball.

"My, why the long face?" Ryota chirped, breaking Kuroko from his musing and Kagami from his mildly dazed state after meeting his long lost brother figure. "You'll see each other soon enough, no need to brood over it, you better prepare for your next match instead," he reprimanded, relishing in the feeling of leadership he acquired from being an old captain.

He especially liked the irked yet appreciative look his ex-Mentor turned Junior gave him at his words.

An amused laugh slipped past the green head's lips as he led the way out of the court for the next match, a certain spring to his steps he waltzed over to the Iron Heart, not forgetting to send Jun a grin on the way as he met the dark-eyed teen's gaze. He wasn't part of the GOM, this life around he belonged to the Uncrowned Kings, it was natural for him to be closer to Kyoshi as they were the same age and knew each other 'longer.'

"Haha, has his highness spared some time for me at last?" Teppei joked as he saw the green head catch up to him, casually throwing his arm over the slightly shorter male he brought him closer in a friendly nudge.

Ryota puffed his chest out, the flip to his Drama Queen Mode being switched on in a matter of seconds. "Be happy, peasant," he retorted, his voice tinted with a blend of laughter and childishness.

Teppei answered with a laugh, squeezing the green head tighter and making him choke once before relaxing his grip on him. "So tell me, Mika, what have you been up to these days? Still set on not coming back to play?" he questioned, a small smile on his lips though the laughter in his voice noticeably dwindled.

Mikaël hummed to himself, shrugging his shoulders as he shook his head from side to side. "I dunno, maybe if you win against every one of my old Juniors I'll consider it," he teased, eliciting a chuckle and eye roll from the taller brown head.

"Heh, then you better prepare."

Ryota grinned, a smile so brilliant, so genuine, Junichiro who watched from aside was slightly stunned. It wasn't because Mikaël looked beautiful or anything, nor was it because of some dazzling looks or head-turning charms the green head may or not possess.

Simply, Junichiro from the two years he knew Mikaël had never seen him so at ease, confident, resolute. He knew Mikaël wasn't the one to play the games, but it was as if he himself was a player. As if he could tilt the balance with one word, one move.

As if the fate of Seirin's game against the whole GOM rested on his shoulder.

Oh if only Junichiro knew— no, remembered, Ryota wouldn't make the same mistake as his Future Self, he wouldn't blind himself with feelings, believing in Seirin's fate and messing everything up.

"You know, if I have the time I may drop by Seirin in the future."

Teppei blinked, his grin stretching, "Hah, then you better be ready to play, I still have to beat you for last time!"

Ryota laughed.

Writing something bright and friendly after the whole (more or less) serious Bratva Arc feels SO refreshing T-T

Thanks for reading, until next time^^