"So? How does it feel?" the Lightning asked, eyes narrowed in satisfaction.

Ryota blankly stared, hardly believing what the dubbed "Da Vinci's Reincarnation" had accomplished. He closed and opened his 'hand' testing out the previously lost feeling.

"Too real," he managed to whisper, disbelief lacing his voice.

The ex-Arcobaleno didn't refrain the proud laugh from slipping past his lips as his round glasses glinted under the artificial lighting of Mikaël's apartment.

"Of course it does, who do you think created this machine? This is the peak of technology, my best creation in terms of prostheses," he boasted. "I must admit that I'm particularly proud of it too, for a first attempt in the domain I did quite well," he gloated.

The baby walked closer to his creation, tweaking it some more as he noticed Mikaël's movement wasn't fluid enough to look natural to the professional eyes of hitmen.

"Thank you."

Verde dismissed the teen's thanks with a wave of his hand. "Now, no need to thank me. Helping you out was easy enough and it rid me of a favor, naturally, I would do it," he corrected, taking a seat and grabbing his drink on the low table.

"A favor-ssu?"

"Mhm," the man answered, his face going back to its usual boredom as he stopped talking of experiments and machines. "I don't work for free, even for extremely interesting projects."

Ryota fell into a silence as he digested the male's words. He didn't remember the ex-Arcobaleno ever owing him a favor, then who?

"Ah, right, here's a manual in case you forget how to use your new toy," Verde added as if suddenly remembering.

Ryota watched with some interest as he handed him a small booklet, omitting how the man had called his life-changing prothesis a toy— as a basketball genius it was normal for him not to understand the mentality of scientific geniuses like the man.

::

"Tokyo?"

"Yeah, since we'll have some time off soon and my Juniors are taking part in a tournament," Ryota answered, casually dribbling the basketball ball around himself, his eyes never left Junichiro as he relished in the sensation of his long lost limb.

"'That so," Junichiro hummed, his reddish eyes never leaving the orange ball as he searched for an opportunity to steal the ball from his friend while maintaining his guard.

Silence settled for some seconds as both teens' focus went to their small face-off. For Junichiro, it was a casual match, something he often did with classmates and friends. For Ryota, it was more of a long-awaited reunion with the sport to make himself more familiar with it before the Winter Cup.

A way for him to gain the sensation back, his promised match was coming up soon, he couldn't wait.

Excitement bubbling in his chest, he unconsciously moved up the speed of his dribbles, the many copied techniques streamed his mind as if to search for the perfect one to get back to the sport, the perfect dribble.

Lightning Dribble.

The name flashed in his mind, popping up without a warning as he suddenly remembered the small forward's face. He didn't think about whether or not his body would manage to cope up with such complicated techniques. He didn't bother to remember when Perfect Copy almost destroyed his body as Kise Ryota.

At the moment what mattered was the sport, not his body, not himself, only his love and passion for the sport.

Only four fingers for the time being.

Although he craved the sensation and would have voluntarily tried out the dribble with three of his fingers, he felt that for a warm-up four fingers were more than enough, three would be overestimating his rusty body.

Junichiro barely had the time to blink before Mikaël bypassed him, the ball almost disappeared from sight as the green head passed him like a breeze. For a moment, Junichiro understood why Mikaël was part of the Uncrowned Kings.

He snapped his head, taking off behind Mikaël to try and stop him. Whatever one may say, Junichiro hadn't been Mikaël's Sun Guardian out of sheer nepotism, he had some skills, one of them being his reflexes and explosive speed when he took off for a run.

Sometimes Ryota wondered how Junichiro had managed to convince Zhihao to train him. After all, no matter how mellow the man seemed, he was part of a ruthless mafia.

The moment Ryota felt the raven's presence right behind his back, the tip of the boy's fingers peeking out from his side view, he first doubted his running speed. Because as an ex-basketball Ace and genius, Ryota prided himself in the fact that no one but the GOM and perhaps the Uncrowned Kings rivaled him.

He tilted his body, Aomine flashed in his mind as he jumped for a dunk from one particularly uncomfortable position. He was a bit low to shoot now that he thought about it, falling further away from the loop, but who cared.

Formless Shot.

And like magic, the ball squarely entered the basketball loop. His landing on the ground was far from being the most comfortable but compared to the exalting feeling he had after this warm-up round it was nothing.

Junichiro sighed, huffing as he walked closer to help Mikaël up the ground he beamed, genuine curiosity and admiration gleaming in his reddish-brown eyes.

"Damn, Mika, what was that?" he excitedly asked. "How did you make your dribble disappear, was that one of your magic trick? And— no wait, did you use only four fingers here? Also, how the hell did you get the ball in from that angle? Oh my God, man I'm never seeing you the same way anymore!" he rambled.

Although he was used to people complimenting his basketball skills, it had been some time since someone last did and Ryota could feel Junichiro's genuine praise. He grinned, humming in delight at the recovered sensation, he could feel his fingertips tingling and body shivering from the light sweat that covered his skin.

"Mhm, thanks Juncchi. Do you finally see my awesomeness?" he boasted, flipping his hair in a diva-like way before striking a pose. "Come on, compliment me more!" he shamelessly encouraged.

Junichiro's eyebrow twitched, he was about to jab the green head in his side when his eyes caught sight of the pink head who sat on the bench watching them. He could almost feel the waves of admiration and worship coming off his belle. He grimaced, refraining himself, he was still in the seduction period, better not do anything that would get him on Shura's bad side.

He fake coughed. "Anyway, teach me!"

Ryota paused, genuine confusion on his face as he tilted it aside. Teach? "Aha, sorry, no can do, those aren't mine, to begin with," he said, swinging his pointer finger from one side to the other in denial. "I got the dribble from a friend and the shot from my underclassman," he explained.

"Aww, are you for real? What a drag," he complained. "Let me guess then, the dribble was from one of your 'fellow Uncrowned Kings' while the shot from one of those GOMs genius?"

"Whoah, you're so smart Juncchi!" Ryota overpraised, faking shock as he looked at his friend in pretend disbelief. "I got them from Kotarocchi and Daikicchi!"

Junichiro gave the green head a dirty look. "I can feel your sincerity."

"I know right? I'm simply this kind of honest guy!"

::

"Wowowow, so you're really coming to the Winter Cup then, Mikacchi-senpai?" Kise beamed leaning forward to take a closer look at the older male as if to see his sincerity.

Ryota gave a quick nod, humming in agreement. "Right, of course, I am. I have to see how my cute Juniors grew up after all," he said matter of factly with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Mhm!" Kise agreed. "You have to! Whoah, I was already excited to go up against everyone but now that I know that you'll be watching us, I'm even more pumped up!" the blond whisper-screamed, face sandwiched between his hands as he shook his head from side to side in exaggerated disbelief.

Ryota gave a wry smile, taking his soft drink he brought the straw to his mouth before slurping the drink. Over the loud noise of the fast-food, the sound went almost unnoticed and only served to remind the green head that his cup was almost empty.

"You don't have to get so excited," he tried to minimize, grabbing one of his remaining fries and taking a bite out of it. "I mean, it shouldn't change much to your performance," he wrily added. Although he once was Kise Ryota, as Mikaël Lamarre, he had some troubles always staying on the same wavelength as the blond.

"Nuhu!" the blond immediately retorted. "If you're gonna be there Senpai, then that means that it will be your first time seeing us play since Junior High! I can't let you down, what if you realize that I've been slacking off!"

There was a small pause.

Mikaël raised an eyebrow. "Have you?"

"Tehee," Kise answered, eyes shifting to the side as he childishly hit his head.

The Mist closed his eyes, feeling an incoming headache. The Winter Cup was coming up quickly, yet here was Kise, sitting at Maji Burger after a shot. It was Saturday— wait, it was Saturday.

"Did you skip on practice?"

"Whaat? Of course I didn't, Senpai!" Kise refuted, feigning outrage at the question.

Bzz bzz.

Ryota's eyes slid to where the blond's bag was. "Now that I think about it, your phone has been buzzing for quite some time now," he murmured.

Bzz bzz.

His golden eyes narrowed. "Kise."

"Yes Captain!" the blond automatically answered from the sudden pressure the green head exercised. "Ah! I mean Mikacchi?" he tried to correct.

"Oh my God, what am I supposed to do with you-ssu," Ryota lamented, not noticing the slip of his tongue by the end of his sentence. Kise flinched, Mika-senpai only slipped when he wasn't careful, meaning he was either surprised or irritated, it was probably the latter.

"Ah-ahaha, whatever do you possibly mean-ssu," Kise feigned ignorance.

Bzz bzz.

"When does your practice begin? No, better yet, has it already begun?" he asked, standing up as he finished eating his now slightly cold fries. "I'll drop you off."

Bzz bzz.

Kise seemed to brighten at once. "Whoah, will you Mikacchi?" he beamed, standing up at once he didn't bother to finish his food, only quickly slurping the remaining of his drink as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "I knew you were the best Senpai!" he boasted.

Ryota swiftly evaded the blond's worshiping gaze. He hadn't done it out of goodness, part of him had done it because he knew how Yukio would react and how hellish practice would turn out after that. "Yeah," he articulated.

Bzz bzz.

"Also, pick up your phone or turn it off— no, give it to me," Ryota ordered, hand extended Kise's way as he waited for the blond to hand over his mobile device.

Kise didn't hesitate, as if the phone in his hand was a bomb ready to explode he hurriedly handed it over.

Fake hand received the device, golden eyes fell on the caller's name: Kasamatsu-senpai ( ﾉ ﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ☀️. He raised an eyebrow, he did name him like that in his first year, he remembered, before internally scoffing. No wonder Kise handed the phone so easily, he was afraid to deal with an angry Yukio— not that he didn't share the sentiment.

His right hand searching for his car key in his pant pocket as he led the way out, an obedient Kise Ryota in tow, he first pulled the phone away from his face before accepting the incoming call. without much surprise, the moment it connected a flurry of loud scolding and rather endearing nicknames came to his ears.

But it didn't deter Ryota who had years of experience dealing with the raven head, he already knew how to deal with such situations, the best way to put a stop to it was to remain silent and wait for Yukio to finish ranting. He pressed the mute button, making sure that Yukio wouldn't hear what was happening on their side as he cooly led the way to his car.

The sleek black car, a gift from his Martial Brother to make up for his outdated car, blinked its light twice before unlocking. He opened the trunk. "Here, hand me your bag," he told the blond.

Kise dumbly obeyed, his eyes taking in the expensive-looking car with apprehension— he didn't know Mikaël earned so much, nor did he remember the green head being particularly rich. His eyes then slid to the phone in the older's left hand, he could still hear Kasamatsu's ranting.

The situation was a bit surreal.

"You can take the passenger seat, I'll drive," Ryota called out as he saw the blond's dazed look. He didn't understand why he was so out of it, after all, Mikaël's psych was much different from Kise's.

"Ah, yeah," Kise obediently sat in the passenger seat and fastened his belt, he looked around with some fascination, everything looked so expensive, yet from afar the car was quite low-key. Kise paused before nodding, it didn't give any nouveau riche vibes, as expected of Mikaël-senpai, he hid his game well.

The driver door opened and Mikaël slid into the car, he set Kise's phone on the armrest between them before fastening his belt. Taking a cable out he plugged the blond's phone and a few seconds later Kasamatsu's voice permeated the whole car.

Ryota turned the motor on before he began to drive away in Kaijo's direction. Perhaps Kasamatsu had sensed something was wrong or maybe he heard the sound of Mikaël plugging the phone, but the ranting stopped.

Ryota easily unmuted the phone, not a beat later Yukio spoke up.

"Oi, Kise are you ignoring me?"

Ryota cleared his throat, knowing that it was his cue to answer the raven before he went on another scolding rant. "Good afternoon, you must be Kasamatsu Yukio?" he greeted, putting a clear stop to Kasamatsu's words.

There was a pause on the other side, Ryota was sure he didn't hear any more shoes squeaking, most probably the other players had stopped or finished their match or warm-up exercised. "And you are?"

Ryota grinned, though Kasamatsu wouldn't see it. "Mikaël Lamarre," he introduced. "One of Ryota-kun's old teammates. I'm sorry for holding your Ace up, we were talking and I didn't realize how much time had passed," he apologized, swiftly getting to the point.

"Is that so," Kasmatsu's voice sounded both unconvinced and uncomfortable but Mikaël ignored it.

"Yes, it is so," he stressed, stealing a glance at the gaping blond beside him. It was probably Kise's first time hearing his Captain so meek on the phone. "Fortunately, Ryota-kun reminded me so I'm dropping him off right now," he explained.

There was a sound of agreement.

"We should be there in ten to fifteen minutes, sorry for troubling you," Ryota finished. "Don't mind me but I'm driving, I'll be hanging up first," with these words he cut off the communication, Kasamatsu's words of understanding barely reverberating in the car.

Kise's eyes glimmered with admiration. "Whoah, Mikacchi-senpai, you're my hero!"

Preview, next chapter, Ryota/Mikaël meets the Kaijo team!

Thanks for reading, until next time^^