49 Chapter 48

While Ogiwara and Ichigo were catching up, some of the players from Seirin, who were curious about Ichigo's identity, especially their coach Aida Riko, unintentionally eavesdrop to their conversation. Aida Riko was aware of what happened during the middle school National Championship between the Generation of Miracles' team from Teiko Junior High and Meiko Junior High. However, she was not familiar with Ichigo Takai's face.

She only knew his name but wasn't well acquainted with the "King of Miracles." Her astonishment grew when he activated her Analyzer's Eye on Ichigo. Aida Riko thought Kagami's physical abilities were already remarkable, but when she witnessed Ichigo's attributes, she was completely flabbergasted.

"How can a high schooler possess this kind of physique? These physical attributes are typically seen in professional athletes," Aida Riko pondered to herself as she moved closer to Ogiwara and Ichigo. She was immensely curious about how Ichigo had achieved such a remarkable body.

Perhaps she was so enthralled by Ichigo's physical attributes that she didn't realize she had already approached close to his space. She circled around Ichigo, scrutinizing him as if he were a priceless piece of art in a museum. She even impulsively touched Ichigo's arms, causing further awkwardness for both Ichigo and Ogiwara, who had been conversing earlier.

"Um... hello?" Ichigo attempted to divert her attention, as the situation had become increasingly uncomfortable for Ogiwara and the other players from Seirin who observed her actions. It wasn't that Ichigo minded her touching him, but the awkwardness arose from some of the Seirin players' glares, as if it were his fault that she was behaving this way.

After a few minutes, Aida Riko concluded her observation and, realizing she had been unintentionally groping Ichigo's arm, immediately withdrew her hands, apologizing, "Sorry about that." She bowed in embarrassment, attempting to conceal her flushed face.

"Well, I don't really mind, especially if it's a cute girl like you," Ichigo replied, attempting to ease the tension with a flirtatious tone. "By the way, I'm Ichigo Takai. Nice to meet you." He introduced himself, extending his hand towards her.

Hearing him find her cute only served to deepen her embarrassment, yet it also brought a hint of happiness. Aida Riko introduced herself with a smile, saying, "I'm Aida Riko, the coach of Seirin High. Nice to meet you too, Ichigo."

After their introduction, they shake each other's hands, unintentionally locking eyes for a prolonged period. It was long enough to make the captain of the Seirin basketball team, Hyuga Junpei, irritated. He promptly interrupts their staring match by forcefully grabbing Ichigo's hand and introducing himself. "Hello, Ichigo. My name is Hyuga Junpei, the captain of the Seirin basketball team. Nice to meet you," he says, clearly annoyed.

Observing Junpei's interruption of his moment with Riko, Ichigo feels slightly displeased. However, he doesn't let it show on his face as he greets Junpei with a smile.

Noticing this exchange, Ogiwara takes the opportunity to introduce Ichigo to his teammates. "By the way, guys, this is my former teammate from middle school, Ichigo Takai."

Ichigo waves at them as he shakes each of their hands, one by one. However, when he reaches Kagami Taiga, he immediately senses that Kagami is trying to forcefully squeeze his hand. Ichigo isn't sure if Kagami is trying to intimidate him, but he simply smiles, choosing not to dignify Kagami's actions with a response.

Then, after that, he approached Kuroko with a smile and said, "Are you Kuroko? I've heard a lot of things about you from Ogiwara," he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Kuroko was slightly surprised but quickly responded, "I've also heard a lot about you from Ogiwara. Thanks to you, by the way," he said with a smile on his face.

"Thanks? For what?" Ichigo asked, perplexed by what Kuroko was referring to.

Kuroko simply smiled and didn't explain further. Realizing that the sun was already setting, he said, "I won't bother you any longer since it's getting late. We still have to return to our school," he informed them.

"By the way, it was a great game. See you in the Interhigh preliminaries," he added as he turned to Ogiwara. "Nice to see you again. Good luck to you and your team. See you later!" he bid farewell to Ogiwara before turning around.

The entire Seirin team watches him as he heads to his friends, who are getting on their rickshaw. While the other players from Seirin smirk at the comical sight of them riding away, Kuroko, on the other hand, can't contain his shock after seeing Ichigo's friends, specifically his green-haired friend.

Kagami turns toward Kuroko, noticing his shocked expression. Curious, he asks Kuroko, "What's the matter, Kuroko? Is this the first time you've seen someone ride a rickshaw?" he jokes.

Instead of laughter, Kagami watches as Kuroko's face slowly turns serious. His teammates also notice Kuroko's uncharacteristically serious expression. Junpei asks him, "What happened, Kuroko?" with concern, as it's the first time they've seen his face become serious.

"Maybe because Kuroko saw his former teammate," Ogiwara replies, also wearing a serious expression after seeing Ichigo leave with Midorima.

"Former teammate? Wasn't it Kise?" Kagami asks, perplexed by Ogiwara's statement.

"No, it's not Kise; it's also one of his former teammates from middle school. It was the one with green hair, one of Ichigo's friends, a member of the Generation of Miracles, the sharpshooter Midorima Shitaro."

"So, that means one of your friends' teammates was from the Generation of Miracles? It's not really a big deal, is it? We already have an idea of what the Generation of Miracles is capable of after our game against Kise," Kagami says with a confident smile.

Ogiwara shakes his head after Kagami's declaration. He tries to rebuke Kagami, but Kuroko beats him to it, saying, "Maybe if it's only Midorima on their team, we can still estimate how good they can be compared to Kise's team. But Midorima was not the most dangerous player in that team," Kuroko says solemnly.

"Who can be more dangerous than a Generation of Miracles?" one of his teammates asks, skeptical if there is someone better than the Generation of Miracles. They have already seen how talented one of the Generation of Miracles members is. If someone can be better than that, he would be a monster in human skin.

"Actually, you're forgetting something. Didn't you remember Ogiwara's team beating the Generation of Miracles in the National Championship in middle school last year?" Kuroko asked them.

"We remembered, so?" Some of his teammates were slow to catch on, but Aida Riko already knew where Kuroko was going with this. "Then you are saying that since Ichigo was teammates with Ogiwara, he was also a part of the team that beat the Generation of Miracles?" she asked Kuroko, still not sure if she and Kuroko were on the same wavelength.

Kuroko shakes his head. "He was not a part of the team..." Hearing this, Riko was disappointed, thinking that her assumption was wrong.

But then she heard Kuroko continue, " ... because he was the one who beat the whole Teiko last year," Kuroko said in a serious voice.

Hearing what Kuroko said, the entire Seirin team became silent as they processed what Kuroko was implying.

"Did you mean that Ichigo guy was the one they called the 'King of Miracles'?" one of the freshman asked Kuroko.

Kuroko and Ogiwara nodded in confirmation. Seeing them nod, some of the players had dejected faces as realization hit them. It made them crestfallen after hearing that they not only needed to go against a member of the Generation of Miracles, but they also needed to face his teammate, the one who defeated the Generation of Miracles.

Before they all succumb to the depths of despair, Kagami declared, "It doesn't matter how strong they become, with me here it was impossible for us to lose. Our only goal is to defeat them, right? You should all be as excited as we are on our way to making history by defeating all the Generation of Miracles and their team. Then after that we will be the best in all of Japan." He said this confidently.

Uncertain whether Kagami's confidence was genuine or just obliviousness, they immediately showered him with insults after his declaration. Junpei, in particular, even put Kagami in a headlock, prompting the other players to rush and save him from being choked to death.

Observing this, Kuroko smiled, knowing that Kagami's declaration had a profound impact. It lifted the team's spirits, and they were no longer discouraged. Ogiwara, who was also witnessing this alongside Kuroko, expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you for bringing me here, Kuroko." He spoke with a smile.

Kuroko responded, "We are just getting started. From now on, we have a difficult path ahead of us." He relayed this to Ogiwara, who promptly replied, "Yes, let's give our best effort from now on. Our goal is to win it all, and that's exactly what we're going to do." He declared this with seriousness.

They bumped their fists, a symbol of their newfound promise to support one another. After that, they quickly rushed towards Kagami to help him. Once they managed to free Kagami from Junpei's grip, they all proceeded to board the bus and as they all proceeded to head home together.