INVINCIBLE
TEIKO
Aomine-kun isn't together with you?
Yeah. I think we hardly hang out together lately...
I see.
I only talk to the other guys when I relay messages concerning the team too...
The team is strong and undefeated, but it's somehow a bit lonely.
Yes.
Hey, Tetsu-kun.
Do you remember what I said before?
Momoi-san.
Everyone...
We'll still all be together forever, right?
We can continue to be friends and play together forever, right?
I'm sorry. I don't quite recall. What did you say?
Huh?
Oh, no... It's fine, really. It wasn't much of anything.
More like, we go different ways from here, right?
Oh, yes. Then...
66Q. WHAT IS VICTORY?
TEIKO - DOUJIMASAKI
The team has gotten stronger.
But nobody laughs anymore.
Emotionless, they deal with their quota of victory.
For the longest time, I haven't seen him smile either.
You know, aren't these games a bit boring?
Huh? It's nothing new that you don't feel motivated 'cause the opponent is too weak.
What were those, you know... There were like five guys that were a bit more decent...
You mean those "Uncrowned something"?
Yeah, those. They were a bit of a pain to deal with, but they're gone this year, right?
We're finally at a point where it's so easy to win I have zero motivation.
Mine!
Pilfered! You pilfered from me!
Your fault for missing.
In either case, you're dead last by a huge margin.
I'm gonna rally back from here!
Dammit... They're playing a game of who gets the most points!
That game today... Why did you guys do such a thing?
What are you talking about, Kuroko-cchi... It's for amusement. Amusement.
But doing something like that seems really rude to the opponent.
Tetsu, you're the one that said it's not good to cut corners.
That's why we're doing this for amusement. So we get some motivation against weak opponents.
Right, Midorima?
Watch your mouth. I don't ever recall joining this "amusement."
Oh, there's lots of people!
We're gonna play today in a place like this?
ALL-TOKYO MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GAME 2 TEIKO VS Looks like they've got middle school qualifiers over here today.
Teiko Middle School?
You know, they look more imposing than we do. Aren't they middle school kids?
Let's go!
STUDENT IDENTIFICATION
What's wrong, Tetsu-kun?
Oh no, the game has already started?
Let's have an official hand it over to him.
Tetsu-kun?
Go!
Nice!
It's a good team.
Yes.
I'm sure they put their heart and soul into basketball and that they all love it.
It's Teiko!
It's like they're already pros...
I can't believe they're still in middle school!
Teiko is as amazing as expected.
Yeah, you're right!
I'm gonna go say hi to a friend.
Oh, hey!
Hey, Kuro...
If you're not gonna say hi, Shige, let's go! We got a game soon!
MEIKO - KYOSEN
- Get that! - Score back at 'em!
MEIKO - KYOSEN
All right! We're in the finals!
I did it, Kuroko! It's finally time for us to fulfill our promise!
Looks like the finals will be against Meiko.
Hmm, well, it's the same no matter where, right?
Coach.
What is it?
Can you put me in from the start for the next game?
What? You're suddenly totally motivated?
What in fact happened, Kuroko?
Do you have a particular reason?
Yes.
Whoa, that went in!
What was with that pass!
TEIKO - KAMATA NISHI Teiko is so strong!
You serious?
Amazing!
Kuroko, you really turned into such an amazing player.
But... Why is it, Kuroko?
Why aren't you smiling?
MEDICAL OFFICE
Is Kuroko-kun here?
Oh, yeah. But he's still not awake yet...
I see.
And who are you?
You have something for Tetsuya?
I'm Shigehiro Ogiwara from Meiko Middle School.
I came to see how he was doing.
The opponent for the finals...
Unfortunately, Tetsuya will have to sit out for the next game.
I'm sure the result will be the same... But I wish you luck.
Hold on a second.
You... Do you have fun playing basketball?
Tetsu-kun!
How are you doing?
Akashi-kun... Momoi-san... What about the game?
Of course we won. The finals will begin in about five minutes.
I'll play too...
Tetsu-kun...
You can't. The doctor told us to keep you in bed.
So behave and lay down.
But!
I know. It's about Ogiwara-kun, isn't it?
I met him in the hallway just now.
"We'll make sure to play again!" That's what he said.
I see...
Akashi-kun, please go full strength in the finals...
Please.
You don't care how much we win by?
"I'd hate it more if you went easy on me." I'm sure that's what he would say...
All right.
Hey... Akashi-cchi! What about Kuroko-cchi?
He's fine. He's in good health, though he can't join us for this game...
I see...
Well, we can just win the championships for now.
Then, go inform him we did afterwards, right?
Oh, right.
By the way, what were you talking about just now?
Oh, we were talking about how we were getting bored of who gets the most points, so...
But that takes so much effort.
That's why it would be amusing.
Such nonsense. In fact, do what you want.
Can you tell me more about this?
How is the game turning out?
They just started the 4th quarter, and we have a huge lead.
I'm going to look.
You shouldn't, Tetsu-kun.
At the least... I want to see the results with my own eyes.
With this lead, it looks like we'll be fine. The three-peat is...
It's different...
There is something... strange about this game.
TEIKO - MEIKO
We still have some time! Don't give up!
What are you saying? The game is already...
I know that!
But it's a bit irritating if we end it without doing anything, right?
Shige...
If we're gonna lose, let's make the last shot, and go lose with our heads held high!
It can't be...
Tetsu-kun!
I let you pass me, so at the least, make that shot for us.
Hey, Murasakibara!
Sure thing!
That was on purpose? Impossible... Why would they...
Man, we played it out so that you'd get one last hurrah too.
But hey look, we got it all set. We accomplished our goal.
All set?
To set the scores of both teams to all ones...
Just to do such a thing...
Ogiwara-kun!
Kuroko...
Akashi-kun...
Why...
Stomping upon a promise I made to a friend...
Unable to hear the voices of my teammates...
We won the tournament, but my heart is in pain...
I have trouble breathing...
This... Can you call such a thing a victory?
I don't know anymore...
Then... what is victory?
Why did you do such a thing?
We merely controlled the game.
The players showed more concentration compared to when they keep scoring without a set goal.
That's not it! What I want to say...
If you mean by us not slacking, why didn't you say anything before our other games?
You look the other way when they have nothing to do with you...
...but when you play your friends, you say things like that?
Eh? Kuroko-cchi's friend was on that team? If you had said so earlier...
Impossible. We'd get bored of racking up points. Right, Mido-chin?
How all of you play does not matter to me, in fact.
I just do everything I can personally do.
It's not that we won't go full strength. We can't. Because they're too weak...
With our skill difference... To have a game where both the winner and loser have fun and satisfaction...
How the hell were we supposed to accomplish that?
That, I do not know...
But to me, our victory that day was more painful than any setback I had ever faced.
Even if there was no other way to go about it, I never want to feel like that ever again.
So...
I'm now going to...
...quit basketball.
MEIKO MIDDLE SCHOOL
Kuroko-kun?
That finals from the Nationals hit us hard.
It's still tough to talk normally like this.
I'm sorry, but um...
Oh right, about Shige... He transferred out.
Huh?
And he said he was going to quit basketball now...
Why...
That game was more than enough to break our hearts.
Shige loved basketball the most on our team...
...so I think he felt more despair than anyone else too.
I'm sorry. That was a pretty tough thing to tell you. But still...
I don't want you to quit basketball.
Why do you say that?
I can tell when I look at you.
Your eyes... They look exactly like our eyes.
Right before the game, I met the captain of the Teiko team.
He had such cold, fearful eyes, and the other four had the same eyes that he did.
But, Kuroko was different.
Back then, I was too shocked to say anything...
...but Kuroko's eyes still had a warmth left inside it.
I was completely helpless against those icy eyes.
But I'm sure that Kuroko will be able to rise again, and become able to thaw that ice.
This was left behind in Shige's locker.
GRADUATION CEREMONY TEIKO MIDDLE SCHOOL
From hereon, we are all rivals.
Next time I see you will be the high school championships.
Well, that's true, but we don't have to get so cutthroat so quickly...
It's just coincidence that we all parted ways.
Coincidence? On the contrary.
The number of schools with powerhouse teams is very limited.
However, none of us thought even for a second about going to the same school as another.
In the first place, we despise being rounded up into one nickname, the Generation of Miracles.
If we face off, we are sure to see who is superior.
We each feel that "there is nobody above me."
And to prove that, we cannot help feeling a need to curtail everyone else.
That is not logic, but instinct.
Well, you got a point there.
Of course.
I won't deny that, in fact.
Though I'm sure Kuro-chin wouldn't understand.
No... What he aims for is completely different, but I am sure that Tetsuya will join this battle.
It is not the case that he's found all of his answers.
Yet still, it seems that he has made up his mind...
...on being determined to not budge from his style of basketball.
So what? You're totally in the wrong.
It was a waste of time to get worried.
The only thing that was surprising was that there were two Akashis.
If you thought they were wrong, you should've just punched them or something.
Logic can come later. At any rate, you have to take action.
Yet you turn into a hesitant worry-wort..
You're right... I couldn't do anything.
Ogiwara-kun quit basketball because of me.
And I'm telling you to stop being a worry-wort!
You got his wristband memento. Why'd that happen?
He's not dead yet. And even if I received it, it's still my fault.
There's no way this Shige guy is thinking that.
You're just hell-bent on not wanting to be forgiven.
And so what now?
"This is the type of person that I really am."
"Even then, will you still accept me as a teammate?" Are you gonna say that?
If you are, I'll seriously punch you right now, dumbass.
We've already long since been teammates! You never thought that way about us?
Let's see...
Well said, Kagami. However...
You're the only one talking for a while now! We got a tons of things we want to say too!
Why me?
Kuroko, get your ass over here! You need to get some discipline too!
All right, that's a wrap. Thanks for providing the food, Kagami.
No, it's really nothing.
No, it's really nothing... and vinegar is good for cabbage. Vinegar, you know?
That's not funny even with the side note!
Kagami-kun... There was something I haven't mentioned yet today.
Huh? You still have more?
Actually, on graduation day...
Have you found some form of answer?
I haven't found it yet, but...
I'm not going to run from it anymore. That's the one thing I've decided for now.
Why didn't you mention that when everyone else was here?
I forgot to talk about that part... But it's all right now, anyway.
I have already found my answer.
That is why... all that's left is to hit them with everything about "our basketball."
Let's have a refreshing game of basketball! And then...
We're gonna win the final showdown!
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW
We're finally here.
The finals!
Yeah! Let's put some spirit in it!
Putting some spirit... It's no time to be peaceful!
Right.
67Q. FINAL TIP-OFF! Spirit... peaceful... spirit... peaceful... spirit... peaceful...
Hold on a sec!