However, the era of miracles alone wasn't enough.
To reach the next stage, Reo needed stronger opponents—or stronger teammates.
Kuroko was the shadow, the perfect complement to the light that was yet to come.
Reo himself had to help him.
"Kuroko-san, don't give up."
When Reo said this, he felt a slight change within himself.
Before, he might never have spoken such sincere words.
Though Kuroko found Reo a little different today, strangely, it made his heart feel lighter.
"Thank you, Reo-san."
"Oh, goodbye!"
Reo waved and turned to leave.
His purpose was clear—to accelerate Kuroko's transformation.
Speeding up this evolution was like speeding up the era of miracles itself.
Reo knew that it was because of Aomine's awakening of that terrifying physical talent that the era of miracles had begun to fade.
The sooner that day arrived, the faster Reo could grow stronger.
In a way, Aomine was doing him a great favor—creating powerful opponents to push him further.
Reo smiled to himself, a bit narcissistically.
Kuroko watched Reo disappear into the darkness, his eyes shining.
"Reo, I'm coming."
The next day, Kuroko applied to stay late at school for extra training.
From then on, the basketball hall at night was never quiet.
There was always the sound of muffled thumps echoing from inside.
Some said it was someone hitting their head against the floor; others whispered it was the heartbeat of a demon.
Rumors spread that the school was haunted.
Young couples who used to sneak out at night stopped coming.
The girls refused to leave their houses, leaving the boys to complain bitterly.
Everyone blamed the "ghosts" in the basketball hall.
Some even looked for help to get rid of them.
"Hey, did you hear? The basketball hall's haunted."
"Do you really believe in that nonsense? Use your brain."
"Che, then why don't you go check it out at night? Bet you won't."
"…"
Even the toughest guys wouldn't dare to go.
Reo found this amusing—he knew it was Kuroko practicing basketball at night.
But he hadn't expected the rumors to spread so fast.
How interesting.
It seemed he had to help Kuroko even more. The kid was really dedicated.
So Reo made up his mind and headed to the basketball hall.
There, he saw a team training. Among them was Daiki Aomine.
"Aomine."
"Yo, Reo, what's up?"
Aomine held a basketball and stopped.
Midorima and the others glanced over as well.
"Haha, of course, I need your help with something."
Reo smiled. After all, speeding up the meeting between Aomine and Kuroko was important.
Akashi looked sharp as always, but Reo made sure not to let him notice anything.
"Let's talk outside."
Aomine eyed Reo strangely but followed him out.
"Did you hear? The basketball hall's haunted."
"…"
Aomine's face fell. "You dragged me out here for that?"
He thought Reo would care about basketball as much as he did and ignore such nonsense.
"Of course not. But lots of people at school are talking about it, and it's bad for the basketball club's reputation."
"But what can we do about it?"
"That's why I asked you to come. If no one takes it seriously, it'll hurt everyone on the team."
"So you want me to check it out tonight?"
"Yes. Just go and have a look. That'll put the rumors to rest."
"Boring... Reo, you go instead."
Aomine showed no interest, making Reo chuckle.
He knew Aomine wouldn't agree—not being Momoi Satsuki, he couldn't coax him.
"Oh, I still have a photo book of Mai Kita. Just finished reading it, but don't know what to do with it."
Reo said loudly, and Aomine, who was already heading back, pricked up his ears, spun around, and ran over.
"Reo Byakuya-sama…"
"This is a giant rare collector's edition photo book I finally got. But I've already read it and don't know what to do with it."
Reo kept tempting him. Others might not realize it, but Reo knew Aomine had zero resistance to Mai Kita.
"Well, wrap it up for me, Reo. Don't worry—I'll check it out tonight."
He smiled widely at Reo, flashing a big white grin.
"Aomine. Since you like it, it's yours."
Reo generously handed over the precious photo book, not caring much about it.
It wasn't that Byakuya wasn't interested in Mai Kita.
It was just that with his background and potential, if he ever gave up basketball and returned to Japan's business world, the entire Byakuya family empire would be his—and women like Mai Kita would never be in short supply.
But that was impossible.
Basketball was something he would never give up.
Aomine returned to the basketball hall with the photo book.
Satsuki looked at it with a puzzled expression.
"Daiki, what's that?"
"Nothing…"
"Hand it over!"
Satsuki stuck out her hand, demanding.
Reo glanced at Aomine caught in the middle and smiled secretly.
Let him handle it.
This kid always liked that stuff. How was his body so good?
Talent?
But that was none of Reo's business.
Tonight, he'd helped Kuroko quite a bit.
Once the matter was over, he'd keep his credit quiet.
Reo entered the hall briskly, picked up a basketball, and began practicing today's routine.
"One!"
"Two!"
"…"
"Two hundred and ninety-nine!"
"Three hundred!"
"Phew~"
Reo exhaled deeply, satisfied with his goal.
Meanwhile, everyone's attention was on what Aomine held.
No one noticed that every shot Reo took hit the center of the hoop with flawless precision.