The Rookie Begins Catching Up

Aomine Daiki could be said to be the person who knew more about Kise Ryota and his basketball skills.

Kise and Aomine played against each other every day, so Aomine saw Kise's progress first-hand and up close.

Currently, Kise and Aomine were playing their daily one-on-one game.

Aomine was on the defense, while Kise was attacking.

Aomine had spread his arms wide to stop Kise. Kise ran around the court to shake off Aomine.

After a few seconds of running, he suddenly stopped and got into a shooting position.

Aomine smiled as he looked at Kise's tactic.

Aomine: 'He has started to apply some brain, but it isn't enough against me.'

Aomine decelerated quicker than Kise, and with a short burst of speed, he was once again on Kise.

Aomine contested the ball and tipped it out of Kise's hands.

Kise: "Dammit, not again!"

Aomine chuckled as he ran towards the hoop and put the ball in a layup.

Aomine looked at Kise and said.

Aomine: "Come on, show me more hustle. Don't give up if you lose the ball once."

At the same time, he thought.

Aomine: 'Even if I saw that he is already at Nijimura-san's level.'

Aomine frowned as he thought about Kise's progression.

Aomine: 'He has the skill, but his sense of the game is still raw, he needs the intuition that would help him get into the flow of the game.'

After that, Aomine proceeded to beat Kise for the day, not letting him take a single point away from him.

Kise wiped the sweat off his face with his shirt and said.

Kise: "Another day, another loss. Aomine-cchi, you are so strong."

Aomine nodded and repeated his version.

Aomine: "Another day, another win. Kise, as always, you suck."

Kise shed anime tears as he heard the harsh comment.

Kise: "T-Tomorrow, I will beat you tomorrow!"

Aomine faintly smiled as he said.

Aomine: "Sure, we will see about that."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Aomine was walking back home with Satsuki.

Satsuki looked at Aomine and said.

Satsuki: "Ki-chan gets better every day, doesn't he?"

Aomine nodded and replied.

Aomine: "The more he plays, the more he improves. I think he is already at Nijimura-san's level."

Satsuki nodded as she agreed with Aomine. She wasn't able to predict the progress of Aomine, Akashi, Kise, Murasakibara, and Akashi, but she knew their current levels after seeing them every day.

[A/N: They aren't Generation of Miracles yet.]

Satsuki: "You are correct. He can play against Nijimura-san on an equal level. He is growing extremely fast."

Aomine looked at the starry sky and said.

Aomine: "If he doesn't develop a sense for the game, then he will be stuck at his current level."

Kise's skills and techniques were excellent, but he wasn't able to use them properly. His talents were enough to advance him to Nijimura's level, but if he wanted to stand apart, he needed to develop the sense of the game.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

One week from that conversation,

Aomine grinned excitedly. He was looking at Kise with wide-eyes.

Kise was playing in a mini-game, and he was crushing it out there.

Aomine: "He got it! He got the sense for the game."

Midorima, who was passing by, was startled by Aomine's reaction.

Midorima: "What happened? Why are you yelling?"

Aomine looked back at Midorima and pulled him forward to show him.

Aomine: "Kise is finally getting the sense of the game."

Midorima watched Kise for a while before nodding.

Midorima: "Yes, I see that, but it is still at an elementary level."

At that time, they heard Akashi speak, as he walked to beside them.

Akashi: "Being at an elementary level is fine. At his growth rate, he will be at a game ready level by the time preliminaries arrive."

Murasakibara also joined the group and chimed in.

Murasakibara: "He will still be the weakest among us second-years."

Aomine chuckled when he heard the words.

Aomine: "He is strong enough. At least the strongest we have in our club."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

It was as the group was thinking, Kise was indeed beginning to understand how to move around the court. How to choose his moves, and how to actually play the game like a player.

Kise dribbled the ball and moved towards the basket.

He did an in-and-out dribble to pass one defender, left behind the second defender with pure speed, and on the last defender, he jumped and put the ball inside the basket with a hook shot.

Kise was beginning to understand when to make space, when to drive, or when to pass the ball.

He was learning to look at his defender and choose the type of layup he was going to use.

He was learning how to defend his mark and how to pressure him.

He was learning when to go for rebounds and when to wait for someone else to get the rebound. So he could get the pass for the offense.

Kise was developing as an all-rounded player. Some would take it as a compliment, and some would take it as an insult and mark him as a jack-of-all-trades and a master-of-none.

But that would only be for those who hadn't played against him. Even if he was the weakest of the future Generation of Miracles, he was still too much for ordinary players.

Basketball was the first that sport that Kise had played in which he had gotten far enough to develop a sense for it.

Kise had gotten far enough in other sports with skill collection alone, but now that he had found an obstacle in the form of his teammates, he had to develop something more to chase after them.

Kise was now truly enjoying basketball. Now, it wasn't just about defeating Aomine and the others. Now it was about getting good at basketball first and then defeating others.

Kise was playing basketball for the sake of playing it.

Thus began the origin of Kise Ryota, the player who would encompass his teammates perfectly and change the trend and outcomes of games on a whim.