Tetsuo's Discovery

The next day.

Shohoku High School building.

Class 1-7.

Qing Junce was sleeping soundly, head on his desk, just like any other day.

On the podium, a bald teacher with a receding hairline twitched his eyebrows so frequently it looked like he was dancing. The large 'well' character on his forehead was practically bleeding from sheer frustration.

If it weren't for Qing Junce's decent performance in the last mock exam, the teacher would have lost it long ago.

Shohoku High School - Basketball Club.

Everyone from the basketball club gathered here after school.

Ayako made a few marks on the tournament schedule with her pen and then announced to everyone, "We won our first match by a large margin and have advanced. Our opponent in the second game is Kakuno High School."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shimizu Kanon, holding a stack of documents, continued, "Kakuno High School is a team that emphasizes teamwork, but their score in the first game wasn't very high. This means they don't have any particularly outstanding players. You all just need to play as usual."

Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyebrows twitched a few times upon hearing this, a thoughtful glint appearing in his eyes. He thought to himself, 'No particularly outstanding players, huh! Doesn't that mean this genius can do whatever he wants, heheheheh...'.

The thought of him shining brightly in the game made the corners of his mouth curl up involuntarily.

Akagi Takenori then announced loudly, "Alright, everyone, let's prepare to face Kakuno High School!"

Evening.

After practice, Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon left school together.

They walked down the street, chatting casually.

Shimizu Kanon suddenly asked, "A-Ce, it feels like you haven't passed the ball to anyone in a long time!"

Qing Junce glanced at her sideways, remaining silent.

Shimizu Kanon continued, "Why is that?"

As she spoke, she turned her head to stare at Qing Junce, trying to discern something.

Qing Junce frowned slightly and, after a long pause, finally replied, "I just don't see the need."

"Is that so?" Shimizu Kanon seemed unconvinced. "I remember you used to pass the ball, A-Ce!"

"You said 'used to'," Qing Junce replied, scratching his head.

A smile played on Shimizu Kanon's lips. "So, it's not that you don't want to pass, but rather, since you've gotten stronger, you feel passing is unnecessary now, right!"

Qing Junce didn't respond, implicitly agreeing with her interpretation.

"Maybe you should try something different in the next game!" Shimizu Kanon suggested.

Huh?

Qing Junce frowned in confusion. "Try what?"

"Passing!" Shimizu Kanon coaxed. "If you find the game boring, you could try passing. Maybe you'll find a pleasant surprise!"

"What surprise?" Qing Junce was bewildered.

What surprise could passing bring? He wasn't Kuroko Tetsuya.

Was he supposed to just watch others play?

What a joke.

Vroom... vroom... vroom...

Just then, a buzzing sound approached from behind.

Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon stopped and turned to look.

They saw a person on a motorcycle, approaching with the buzzing sound. The small dot in the distance gradually grew larger in their vision until its true form was revealed.

It was someone riding a motorcycle.

As the motorcycle got closer, Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon realized the rider looked somewhat familiar.

The motorcyclist also noticed Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon.

Screeeech...

A harsh braking sound suddenly pierced the air.

The motorcycle stopped in front of Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon.

"It's you," Shimizu Kanon recognized the person.

This was one of the individuals involved in the previous incident at the basketball club.

She nervously moved closer to Qing Junce, unsure why this person had stopped.

Qing Junce remained calm, not taking the person in front of him seriously at all.

He also remembered who this person was.

This person was the one Tetsuo brought in from outside the Basketball Club when Mitsui was causing trouble before.

Tetsuo looked at Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon, narrowing his eyes slightly as if in thought, and asked tentatively, "Are you from Shohoku?!"

He saw the school uniforms worn by Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon.

He recognized them as Shohoku uniforms.

"Is there something you need?" Qing Junce didn't answer the question, instead asking back.

Tetsuo was taken aback.

He sensed a lack of interest from Qing Junce towards him.

Moreover, he felt an inexplicable sense of danger from the other person.

It was an instinctual premonition of danger, as if he had been targeted by a wild beast and could die at any moment.

He had felt this way once before, though not as intensely.

That time was when he faced Sakuragi Hanamichi.

At that time, Sakuragi Hanamichi had also given him a similar sense of danger.

Tetsuo was silent for a moment, then spoke, "Do you know a little brat with red hair?"

Upon hearing this, Shimizu Kanon was startled and blurted out, "Sakuragi..."

Tetsuo's lips curled. "It looks like you do. In that case, you must know Mitsui too!"

Shimizu Kanon covered her mouth, feeling like she had spoken too much.

Qing Junce said impatiently, "What do you want to say? If you have nothing else, leave!"

Tetsuo ignored Qing Junce's attitude and said, "How is that guy Mitsui doing now?"

Qing Junce was speechless. "You should ask him yourself about something like that."

Wee-woo... wee-woo... wee-woo...

Just then, the sound of police sirens grew louder as they approached from a distance.

Tetsuo glanced back and said helplessly, "They caught up already? What a hassle."

With that, he restarted his motorcycle and said to Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon, "Please give Mitsui my regards! And..."

He pointed to his head and said, "I really dislike wearing helmets."

As soon as he finished speaking, he accelerated and sped away.

Watching Tetsuo gradually disappear into the distance, both Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon looked utterly bewildered.

Shimizu Kanon let out a long sigh. "Phew, he's finally gone. What a strange person. He must be Senior Mitsui's friend, right?!"

"Who knows! It has nothing to do with us anyway," Qing Junce said indifferently.

"But he asked us to give Senior Mitsui his regards!" Shimizu Kanon reminded him.

Qing Junce scratched his ear and snorted lightly, "I didn't agree to it."

"Huh? That's not right!" Shimizu Kanon lectured.

Meanwhile.

Mitsui Hisashi walked out of a hospital.

He looked back at the hospital and muttered, "I hope I never have to come to a place like this again."

With that, he started walking towards the end of the street.

However, after only a few steps, he saw a light appear in the distance ahead and gradually grow larger as it approached.

Accompanied by a buzzing sound, a motorcycle flashed past him.

Mitsui Hisashi stopped in his tracks, thinking that the figure that had just flashed by seemed somewhat familiar.

He turned to look, and then saw that the motorcycle that had just sped past had also stopped.

The two figures stared at each other from a distance.

Mitsui Hisashi: "Tetsuo."

Tetsuo: "It's Mitsui!"

Tetsuo looked at Mitsui, then at the hospital beside him, and teased, "Don't tell me you got beaten up again?"

Mitsui Hisashi replied, "I came to get my knee checked. It's fully healed."

After he finished speaking, the two fell silent again.

After a long while, Tetsuo finally spoke, "I just met two people. They're from your Shohoku."

Huh?

Mitsui Hisashi found it strange, not understanding why the other person was saying this. "Two people?"

Tetsuo lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then his lips curled into a smile as he said, "One is a very dangerous person, and the other is a very beautiful girl. They know you, though I don't know what their names are."

"With a girl?" Hearing this, Mitsui Hisashi immediately thought of Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon.

At school, the only two people he knew who always had a girl accompanying them seemed to be these two.

"You guys..." He opened his mouth, wanting to ask something, but didn't know how to start.

Tetsuo chuckled softly. "Don't worry, nothing happened between us. But that kid is definitely not simple; a fierce beast is hidden within him."

Mitsui Hisashi didn't understand, but he still said, "He's also on the basketball team."

He naturally knew Qing Junce was extraordinary.

It was just that he hadn't yet grasped the meaning behind Tetsuo's words.

"I see, the basketball team!" Tetsuo recalled the scenes from last time at the basketball team and couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

Wee-woo... Wee-woo... Wee-woo...

Just then, the sound of distant police sirens reached both of them.

"They caught up again? I thought we got away," Tetsuo sighed, then dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

He got back on the motorcycle and pointed to his head, saying to Mitsui Hisashi, "Wearing a helmet? It's just so annoying."

He gave Mitsui Hisashi one last look and smiled, "Goodbye, sports boy."

With that, Tetsuo rode off on his motorcycle.

Watching Tetsuo gradually disappear into the darkness, Mitsui Hisashi murmured, "A beast within?!"

Mitsui Hisashi pondered, but in the end, he couldn't figure anything out.