Chapter 46: Miyamoto! Perfect Timing!

“No.”

Miyamoto Tokima refused without hesitation.

Daiki Aomine looked disappointed and pressed on,
“Why?”

Miyamoto Tokima replied casually,
“No reason.”

A thought suddenly struck Daiki Aomine, and he tried to provoke him,
“Miyamoto, don’t tell me you’re scared?”

He hadn’t expected Miyamoto Tokima to completely ignore the bait. He answered directly,
“Ah Da, provocation doesn’t work on me.”

Daiki Aomine froze. He hadn’t expected Miyamoto Tokima to be immune to both soft and hard tactics, so he could only give up.

At that moment, Coach Shirogane spoke up,
“Alright, everyone get on the bus. Go back and rest properly. We have another match in three days.”

Hearing there was another game, Daiki Aomine instantly perked up.
“Coach, who are we playing in three days? Are they strong?”

Coach Shirogane shook his head.
“Since it’s the preliminaries, our strongest opponent was Fukuda. We’ve already beaten them. The remaining schools aren’t very strong.”

Shuzo Nijimura added,
“Coach is right. Last year, I didn’t even need to step onto the court against the schools left.”

Hearing this, Daiki Aomine’s excitement quickly turned into disappointment, and he became listless.

“Oh… I see.”

After changing clothes, everyone boarded the bus and returned to school.

And the first thing waiting for them after getting back was… make-up classes…

For Miyamoto Tokima, make-up classes meant absolutely nothing. He didn’t even listen—there was no special reason, it was just too easy.

Seijuro Akashi and Shintaro Midorima didn’t mind either. Both had excellent grades and listened attentively in class anyway.

Atsushi Murasakibara sat at his desk in a daze, his mind filled with thoughts of what to eat after class.

But there was one clear exception—Daiki Aomine.

“Ugh, why do we even have make-up classes… I’m dying.”

Daiki Aomine’s face darkened as he collapsed onto his desk, looking completely drained.

For him, class was pure torture. One lesson felt longer than six basketball games.

When the bell finally rang, Daiki Aomine instantly came back to life. He grabbed his basketball and was about to sprint toward the court when a female classmate stopped him.

“Aomine! Don’t run! It’s your turn for cleaning duty today!!!”

Hearing that he still had to clean, Daiki Aomine immediately fell back into despair.

He turned to Shintaro Midorima, who was packing his bag, and asked,
“Midorima, could you maybe—”

Shintaro Midorima cut him off without hesitation,
“No. I helped you last time. This time, you have to clean by yourself.”

With that, Shintaro Midorima finished packing and left the classroom.

“I get it…”

Daiki Aomine replied weakly, then reluctantly picked up a broom and started cleaning.

...

On the other side, Satsuki Momoi had already found Miyamoto Tokima’s classroom. After discovering that he also had cleaning duty, she volunteered to help him.

Seeing his girlfriend come to help, Miyamoto Tokima grinned and said,
“Ah babe, thanks.”

Satsuki Momoi nodded gently and replied softly,
“No need to thank me. It’s only natural.”

After the two finished cleaning, they prepared to leave. On the way out, they ran into Daiki Aomine, who was sweeping the floor with a dejected expression.

Satsuki Momoi asked,
“Ah Da, what’s wrong?”

Hearing her voice, Daiki Aomine instantly lit up. Turning around and seeing Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi, he exclaimed excitedly,

“That’s great! Miyamoto, Satsuki! You came at just the right time!”

‘This is bad—we should’ve left earlier!’

Seeing Daiki Aomine’s expression and tone, Miyamoto Tokima immediately sensed trouble. He quickly grabbed Satsuki Momoi’s hand and tried to leave.

But Daiki Aomine moved faster and blocked them. After stopping them, he clasped his hands together and pleaded humbly,

“Miyamoto, help me out! Cover my cleaning duty today, and I’ll treat you to a meal next time!”

Miyamoto Tokima had just opened his mouth to refuse when Daiki Aomine stuffed the broom into his arms, grabbed his basketball, and bolted away.

As he ran, he shouted loudly,

“Thanks, Miyamoto! You’re the best! I’ll treat you to a meal someday!!!”

Miyamoto Tokima twitched the corner of his mouth, glanced at the broom in his hands, and muttered helplessly,

“I really can’t do anything about you…”

He then walked into Daiki Aomine’s classroom and started cleaning.

Satsuki Momoi quietly chuckled, followed him inside, and helped him clean as well, thinking to herself,

‘Honestly… Ah Da even needs Miyamoto’s help just to do cleaning duty.’

Meanwhile, Daiki Aomine, who had already run off, was in a great mood. He laughed loudly as he sprinted toward the basketball court.

‘Haha, Miyamoto showed up at the perfect time! I was just worrying about cleaning duty, and there he was. We really are on the same wavelength!!’

“Aomine-kun?”

While running, Daiki Aomine suddenly heard someone calling him. He stopped and looked around in confusion, trying to see who it was.

But after scanning the area, he didn’t see anyone. Just as he was wondering, the voice sounded again.

“Aomine-kun, I’m here.”

Daiki Aomine turned toward the voice and immediately saw Tetsuya Kuroko standing beside him, gazing at him with pale blue eyes.

“Whoa! When did you show up?!”

Daiki Aomine jumped in surprise and staggered back a few steps. Only after seeing clearly that it was Kuroko did he calm down.

“Oh, it’s you, Tetsuya. You scared me. When did you get here?”

Tetsuya Kuroko’s expression remained unchanged—blank and calm as always.
“I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Seriously? Your presence is way too faint, Tetsuya.”

Kuroko showed no reaction and continued,
“Are you going to the gym, Aomine-kun?”

Daiki Aomine smiled and lifted the basketball in his hand.
“Yeah. You going too, Tetsuya?”

Tetsuya Kuroko nodded.
“Yes. I’m going to the gym as well. But didn’t you just finish a match today?”

Daiki Aomine rubbed his nose and laughed.
“So what if we just played? That doesn’t mean we can’t play more. Come on, let’s go.”

With that, Daiki Aomine took off toward the gym with Tetsuya Kuroko.

“Tetsuya, hurry up!”

“Aomine-kun, you’re the one running too fast.”

“Tch, fine. I’ll slow down.”

...

Meanwhile, Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi walked out of the school, holding hands as they strolled leisurely down the street.

As they walked, Satsuki Momoi said cheerfully,

“Miyamoto is really amazing. You can even use Lightning Dribbling.”

Miyamoto Tokima smiled slightly and didn’t correct her, simply listening quietly to her praise.

Suddenly, two uninvited figures approached…