A/N: Ah, I really couldn't help myself. This is getting bad...I wonder if I'll be able to hold off from starting a Brothers Conflict story...

Anyway, Yuu-chan won't be paired up with a member of the GoM, cause despite my love for certain members, I really like Kasamatsu, so this might end up being a KasamatsuxOC fic. I'll have to see what happens while the chapters progress~ You guys are always welcome to give your opinions in reviews though :3 I appreciate any feedback.

Cheers,

~Aoi

-name: Shirosaki, Yuu
-hair color: orange with natural yellow-orange and red-orange highlights
-hair style: layered with gentle waves and curled out edges, bangs parted to the left
-hair length: mid-back
-eye color: blend of orange and red-orange
-gender: female
-age: 16
-height: 170 cm (5'7")
-weight: 67 kg (149 lbs)
-birthday: September 5, Virgo
-blood type: B

Masochism. That's what it had to have been. Yuu tapped the eraser end of her pencil against her bottom lip as she stared blankly at the blackboard. The pages of her notebook were already covered with the notes she had written down, making it appear as if she was paying attention, while in truth, her mind was wandering.

She had to be masochistic. There was no other explanation as to why she'd decided to attend this High School out of many others. True, the academics here weren't bad, but it was obvious that more attention was spent on the sports facilities. Though it would be hard not to when all the sports teams at Kaijo High played at the national level. Yuu lowered her hand, eyes flickering to the sensei briefly and to scan over the board once more to see if anymore had been added before dropping down to her notebook. She should have put all of this behind her already and yet… here she was.

While she had yet to actually visit the teams to see if she would join any (or clubs for that matter), Yuu knew it was only a matter of time before her resolve wavered. It had been over a year already as it were. She was surprised she'd been able to hold off for so long actually. And school had been in session for a week and a half already, if she didn't pick a team or club soon, she'd have to help out in the school library. Of course, there wasn't anything wrong with that. Yuu loved reading and had whiled away many hours lost in the worlds between the pages of a book. She just knew that she'd prefer to pick an activity on her own rather than have to do it because it was assigned to her.

Fifteen minutes after classes ended found Yuu walking around the school's large campus. Her eyes trailed over the sports facilities, appreciation clear in her expression. She'd stopped briefly to see the pools, but moved on after. She didn't particularly like swimming nor did she hate it, it was just one of those things that she could tolerate. Her next stops had been the volleyball and tennis courts. While she enjoyed both sports, she knew that her heart wouldn't be in it if she actually made the teams. And so, that left her with just the obvious question and answer. What game could she participate in that would make her heart happy?

As she approached the gym that housed the answer, Yuu found her pace slowing down, her feet dragging. This game had meant so much to her at one point…it still did. But could she get passed the emotional pain that came with it? It was quiet out, so the closer to the slightly open gym doors she got, the clearer she could hear the squeaking of sneakers and the sounds of balls being dribbled. She felt a bit happier at the familiar sounds, but that still didn't help her when she found herself coming to a full stop three feet away from the doors. She couldn't do it. Her gaze locked onto the doors that separated her from the painful memories. Just three feet. She raised a foot to take another step forward and then froze when the doors were opened and someone started to step out. Yuu immediately found herself turning away before she could see who was exiting and ran.

"Shirosakicchi…?"

Orange eyes snapped open and Yuu took in a sharp gasp of air. Her eyes darted around her dim room before she began taking in slow breaths to calm her racing heart. A bad dream. She got up slowly, pushing her blanket to the side before swinging her legs off her bed. She glanced to her bedside table as per habit and froze when she didn't see the face-down picture frame that had been there for the longest. She reached out a hand to run over the empty space, as if the frame had merely turned invisible. Her eyes widened when her fingers touched the smooth surface of the table before she was frantically searching through the drawers and shelves of her room, dropping things carelessly to the ground in her haste.

"Yuu-chan, what are you doing?"

The orange-head stopped her frantic pawing through her bookcase and turned her distressed expression to her mother. "M-my picture…"

Shirosaki Kaori wasn't used to seeing her daughter in such a panic that she would tear her room apart. Yuu was more the suffering in silence type. "Your picture…?"

"Yes. The one I keep on my bedside table. It's gone. I can't find it." Yuu bit down on her lower lip, dropping her gaze to her lap.

"Oh." Kaori understood then. "I'm sorry Yuu-chan. I thought you didn't want it anymore since it's always facedown. I put it in the supply closet, with the photo albums." Before she could offer to go get it for the upset high schooler, Kaori found Yuu brushing passed her and pulling open the supply closet door.

A small smile of relief stretched Yuu's lips when her hands closed around the familiar frame and she held it close to her chest, hugging it. She refused to look at the picture, but knowing it wasn't gone made her feel better. "Please…don't move this anymore 'Kaa-san."

Kaori nodded, watching her daughter cradle the picture frame with a sad smile. "Breakfast will be ready soon. Go change. I'll drop you off at school so you won't be late."

"Thank you." Yuu responded before heading back into her room to change into her school uniform and to pick up some of the mess she had created. The picture frame was once more restored to its facedown position on her bedside table.

After getting her shirt and skirt on, Yuu walked downstairs as she tied the red tie of the girls' uniform around her neck, fixing her collar when she was finished. She entered the kitchen to find her mother putting down a plate of toast onto the table. Kaori gave Yuu a comforting smile as the younger took a seat. "You'd better hurry. We'll have to leave in ten minutes if neither of us wants to be late."

Five minutes later, Yuu was helping her mother load the dirtied dishes into the dishwasher. Once that was done, she went back upstairs to grab a blue sweater, which was at least a size too big for her and left it open as she slipped it on, the sleeves falling to cover her hands.

"Yuu-chan!"

Yuu grabbed a hair-tie off her desk and quickly made her way back down to the front door, where her mother was waiting. She put the tie between her lips as she pulled her shoes on, fixing her knee length black socks before she reached for her school bag, only to pause at the extra bag. She glanced to see her mother watching her with a hopeful expression and with a silent sigh, Yuu picked up both. She slung the gym bag over her head so it hung across her body before shouldering her school bag. Without a word she walked passed Kaori, who had a radiant smile on her face now, and took the hair-tie out from her mouth, gathering her bright hair into a side ponytail as Kaori locked the front door.

The car ride to campus was silent except for the music playing from the car radio. Yuu thanked her mother and bid her a 'see-you-later' before turning to head towards her homeroom. Well, she would have if not for the large crowd gathered at the school gates. She had to wonder if this was a daily occurrence, as she normally got to school much earlier than this.

When it became apparent that politely asking people to make way so that she could get through wasn't working, Yuu shifted her bags closer to her body before diving into the crowd, picking her way through and taking any space that she could find. It was a lot harder than she'd realized and she found her feet being stepped on a couple times, and being elbowed and hit in the face a couple times too. When she was finally free of the crowd, the sudden absence of crushing bodies made her stumble, though she was luckily able to right herself before she fell.

Yuu rearranged her bags to a more comfortable position before continuing into the main school building, oblivious to the pair of golden eyes that had fixed themselves upon her back curiously.

"Hey Shirosaki-san."

Yuu half-turned in the direction that the voice had come from, tilting her head curiously. "Yes, Tachibana-kun?"

Her classmate grinned before nodding towards the doors that she had just entered from. "There was a guy looking for you earlier. He said he'd come back later when the girls told him you'd gone out."

"Oh. Do you know who it was?"

"Nah. Must have been someone popular though, he couldn't even get into the room with all the girls crowding around him."

"I see. Thank you for letting me know Tachibana-kun."

"No problem."

The boy turned back to his friends as Yuu continued back to her seat, noticing that she was getting a few furtive glances from some of the girls still in the classroom. That made her wonder just who could be looking for her. There shouldn't be that many people that knew her from middle school in this school, that is, no one really close to her. Of course, it wasn't like she'd kept in constant contact with her friends from middle school while she'd been abroad for her third year of middle school. What little contact she had kept had been between friends that she knew for a fact did not come to this school. One had been extremely sure in his decision to go to a fairly unknown school. And as for the other... well, he'd gone to a really good school, to put it in simple terms. She pulled on a few strands of her bright hair before deciding she'd find out later anyway and put the matter to rest, pulling out a book from her bag to read instead.

It felt like only minutes later when she felt somebody's eyes on her and realized the chatter of her classmates had fallen into a hush. With a silent sigh, she marked her place in her book and closed the novel, reaching for her bag and slipping the book in before looking up.

"What do y-"

The words died on her lips. She found herself gazing up at a familiar face, the curious expression on his face lighting up when she finally met his gaze.

"Shirosakicchi~! It really is you!"

"Kise..."

This...had not been expected.

"I thought I saw you outside the gym yesterday, but I wasn't sure since you left so fast. Why didn't you come in to say hi?"

But of course, she should have considered the possibility of something like this happening when she'd decided to attend this school. It did have national level sports teams, which meant that the basketball team here was no joke either. So of course it would appeal to someone who had been a part of the Kiseki no Sedai. Maybe she should have gone for a unknown school instead...

"I was really surprised to find out you attend school here...you disappeared so suddenly before..."

But could she really keep avoiding everything? She obviously couldn't let go of the past completely, especially after what happened that morning. Was she even ready to face this right now?

"Are you even listening to me Shirosakicchi?"

"...I wonder if it's too late to transfer schools?" Yuu mumbled unconsciously.

"E-eh?!" Kise immediately took the orange-head by the shoulders and shook her. "What are you talking about Shirosakicchi?! You can't!"

"H-hey! Stop it Kise!" Yuu snapped out of her thoughts at the violent jerking around she was being subjected to and swatted Kise's hands off of her shoulders. "And anyway, if I want to transfer it's my own decision."

"But, but, you would leave me here by myself?" Kise whined.

Yuu took a moment to stare blankly at the puppy eyes Kise was making before nodding bluntly. "Yes."

"Shirosakicchi is so mean!"

The girl blinked as her eyes dropped to her desktop. Well, there really wasn't any point in her up and leaving the school just because Kise was here. She wasn't a coward, and she'd already been running from her problems for a year now. It was time to face her fears...and it would probably be best to do it with a friend by her side.

"Stop crying Kise. Aren't you supposed to be a professional?" She deadpanned after she made her decision and brought her gaze back up to see Kise still crying in front of her desk. "I won't transfer out. This school has a good academic program, it'd be a pain to transfer after I went through the trouble of taking the entrance exams."

As fast as he had started crying, his tears dried up and Kise threw his arms around Yuu in a hug, cheering happily. Yuu smiled softly and returned the embrace. Despite it all, she did miss her friends.

"So, were you just looking for me to make sure I actually existed?" Yuu questioned as she prodded Kise in the side to get him to let go of her. The blond flinched away from her prodding before laughing and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Mostly. Because I wanted to make sure it really was you...and to tell you that I'd like to play on the same court as you again."

Yuu sighed at those words, folding her arms on top of her desk. "I can't play in official matches Kise. Not anymore."

Kise frowned, "But-"

"Don't. I just don't think I can take that pressure anymore."

No. That was a lie. Yuu tightened her grip on her arms at the lie she told Kise. She couldn't tell him the actual reason. Not until she'd gotten permission.

"Then...practice matches? You can play in those right?"

Kise was really persistent about things he really wanted. How could she have forgotten something like that?

"I tell you what Kise. If you can convince your captain and your coach, then I will happily play with you on the same court for practices and unofficial matches."

Kise put a hand to his chin, actually considering the offer. Then, he nodded. "I think I can do that." he grinned, "Come to the gym after classes, promise?"

It was really tempting to tell the tall blond that she was busy that afternoon, but she found herself nodding. She'd brought her gym bag so...she might as well, right? With one last smile at her, Kise finally left Yuu's classroom. Ignoring the looks she was getting from member's of Kise's fanclub, Yuu dropped her head onto her arms with a groan. Well, knowing Kise's personality, she was pretty much guaranteed to have an afterschool activity by the end of classes that day. Her shoulders slumped forward at the thought. At least...she was making progress. And, her heart picked up its pace as she thought about being able to play once more on a court with one of the Kiseki. That would be...fun.

"Excuse me."

It was the second to last class of the day when somebody came to the door of the classroom. Yuu had been working on a couple equations that the class had been given fifteen minutes to work on alone when the sensei called her name, saying that someone was looking for her. Yuu sighed silently as she got up from her seat, neatly setting her pencil down before excusing herself from the room.

Once in the hallway, she found herself standing across from another student. One she didn't personally know. She observed the male through curious eyes.

"You asked for me senpai?"

The male seemed a bit shocked at her appearance and he became flustered. "U-uhm...y-you're Shi-Shirosaki Yuu?"

"Hai."

He coughed awkwardly. "I-I'm Kasamatsu Y-Yukio, captain o-of the b-boy's basketball te-team."

Understanding dawned on Yuu's face. "I see. It is nice to meet you Kasamatsu-senpai. It appears that I have to apologize for Kise's idiocy though. He forgot to mention that I am not a boy, didn't he?"

Kasamatsu's eyes narrowed at the mention of Kise before he nodded quickly, unable to meet Yuu's eyes. "He said that th-there was another person h-here from Teiko that w-we should consider f-for the team. I a-assumed..."

"That I was a guy."

"…"

"Senpai...are you alright? I don't want to make you uncomfortable...but you've been shaking this whole time..."

"I-I'm fine."

"If you're sure... Uhm. As I told Kise earlier, if it isn't too much of a problem, I would like to attend practices and play in practice matches with the basketball team."

"Th-the coach sent me t-to tell you th-that he wants to s-see how well y-you play t-today."

Yuu blinked before smling. So that's why the captain had come to speak with her...oh but that that should have been obvious if the captain had come to see her after all.

"I guess he assumed I was a guy as well?"

"...Ah."

"Thank you for informing me of this Kasamatsu-senpai." Yuu bowed politely. "I will see you at the gym after classes have finished then. I will not disappoint."

"I-if you're s-sure."

Yuu gave Kasamatsu another small smile before turning and re-entering her classroom. She took her seat and returned to her work, making a few more marks on her paper to finish up the problems she'd been working on.

Alright, so she'd been sure of herself when she'd been talking to Kasamatsu earlier, but now that she was actually this close to having to prove herself, she was having second thoughts. Yuu was hesitating right outside the gym doors, so she could see the boys inside already warming up and setting up for practice games. Though...someone seemed to be missing. Her eyes scanned what parts of the gym she could make out from beyond the glass doors but she could not see the cheerful blond anywhere.

"...maybe this was a bad idea...?"

"Are you backing out Shirosakicchi?"

Yuu nearly gave herself whiplash as she turned her head quickly to peer behind her at the blond. So he had been waiting to make sure she kept her promise and actually showed up...

"I guess I can't do that, hm?"

"Nope~"

"I figured..." She sighed. Yuu had already changed out of her school uniform and was wearing a pair of black basketball shorts along with a blue t-shirt, her bags slung over a shoulder. "Let's get this over with then." She murmured before letting Kise sling an arm over her shoulder and lead her into the gym.

"Hey coach! Senpai! I brought Shirosakicchi~"

Yuu was highly tempted to jab her elbow into Kise's side, but before she could put her thoughts into action, Kise had already been knocked to the floor with a flying kick from Kasamatsu.

"You idiot! Don't come late and then interrupt practice!"

The orange-head blinked before bringing her hands together to applaud the captain. "Nice kick Kasamatsu-senpai."

Kise, who was still in a heap on the floor whined at the same time, "You didn't have to hit me senpai! And Shirosakicchi is so cruel to me!"

"Huh? This girl is who you were talking about Kise?" It seemed the coach had made his way over during the commotion. Yuu brought her gaze to the coach with a frown, not liking the way he had referred to her as 'this girl'. The coach was a rather thick middle aged man.

"You are...Takeuchi Genta-san?"

He seemed surprised that she knew his name and coughed to try and cover that. "You know me?"

"My Otou-san mentioned your name a few times in stories he's told me."

"Your otou-san?"

"Mm...I apologize, but I am not here to speak about Otou-san. I was told that I could have a chance to prove that I should be allowed to practice with this team?"

"Eh? A test? But I already told you that Shirosakicchi is really good."

It seemed Kise had recovered as he rested an arm on Yuu's shoulder and leaned some of his body weight against her.

"Yes, well, we can't just take your word for it Kise. We can't just let a girl join the boy's team for practices or the other girls in the school would be asking to join as well. There is a reason for there being a boy's and a girl's team."

"Ehh..."

"Don't be rude Kise." Yuu nodded her head. "I understand. Can I go warm up first then?"

"Oh. Right. After you warm up, I guess you can play a one-on-one match with one of the club members so that we can see what you can do."

Yuu pressed her lips together but said nothing against it, only nodding her head again before turning to Kise. "Help me warm up?"

A bright smile appeared on Kise's face as he automatically agreed. Kasamatsu and Takeuchi watched the pair walk away towards an unused hoop. They seemed to pause for a moment before the girl passed her bags over to the boy who took them with a comical frown on his face and while Yuu went to pick up a free basketball, Kise jogged out of the building, returning moments later without the bags.

While Kise was gone to put her bags into his locker in the boys' changing room, Yuu picked up a basketball and bounced it experimentally a few times. She went from bouncing it to dribbling in place before glancing at the hoop and shifting into a shooting position. She shot the ball, but wasn't particularly surprised when it missed the hoop and bounced off the rim instead.

"Haha, I see your shooting is still the same."

"Oh shush. I haven't practiced in a while. It'll be a miracle if I can impress your captain and coach today."

Kise caught the ball as it dropped and passed it back to Yuu before dropping into a defensive stance, grinning. "You'll do great Shirosakicchi."

"Tch."

Yuu dropped her form, dribbling, as her eyes met Kise's. A grin made it's way onto her own lips and then without another word, she immediately went for a drive, Kise following right on her. She was smaller than him, so it was her disadvantage, but she didn't let that discourage her as she made a quick turn and broke from Kise's guard, shooting once more. And once more, the basketball bounced off the rim. Kise jumped up and dunked the ball, making Yuu roll her eyes. Of course.

She laughed as she regained possession of the basketball. Once more she ran for the hoop and this time she jumped up instead of just shooting from the ground, Kise followed, reaching to block her. This time a mischievous grin stretched Yuu's lips as she dropped her form again and performed a formless shot, the ball passing through the hoop with a satisfying swish.

Kise stared at her wordlessly as the two of them stood after that.

"Your shooting...really hasn't changed much, huh?"

Yuu's smile dimmed as she walked passed Kise to grab the ball again. "Don't Kise." She dropped her eyes to the ball she held as she turned her body back around. "...and anyway, even if I haven't practiced much, I still learned a few new tricks while I was away." She brought her gaze back up, grinning again as she forced the memories out of her mind. She passed the ball to Kise before taking the defensive stance herself. "So don't say my play hasn't changed much. It's insulting."

The blond caught the challenging gleam in the orange-head's eyes and he returned her grin. "Bring it on then Shirosakicchi."

It seemed to the others that the two former Teiko students had forgotten that they had originally meant to only have a warm up as the points exchanged between the two started to rack up. At first it was no surprise that Kise was leading but the longer the two played, the others were surprised to find that Yuu was keeping up with him. The only ones who knew the actual score between the two would be the players themselves but as it were, no one had actually been keeping track.

"So this is another member of the famed Kiseki no Sedai..." Takeuchi murmured, watching the two just as closely as the club members. Kasamatsu, who had been standing beside him, was silent as he also observed. It was only after Yuu performed an ankle break on Kise, tripped over her own feet, and somehow managed to still get the ball through the hoop did Takeuchi call out.

"That's enough you two!"

Yuu propped herself up with one arm, using the other to wipe some sweat away from her forehead, and glanced to the coach, breathing harsher than before. A hand appeared in her vision and she reached out and grasped it, letting the owner of the hand pull her up to her feet. She blinked before letting out a breathy, "Thank you senpai."

Kasamatsu averted his eyes and his face seemed a bit pink, but at least he wasn't shaking as much as he had been earlier, "A-ah."

She gave a tired smile before turning her attention to the coach, jabbing Kise in the side when he tried to lean against her again. She was already sweaty and hot, she didn't need another hot and sweaty body pressed against her own.

"After witnessing that "warm up"-"

"Oh god. I apologize Takeuchi-san, I forgot about the practice match. If you want, I can still-"

"That won't be necessary." Takeuchi interrupted, looking slightly miffed at being interrupted himself. Yuu pressed her lips together to keep from speaking and nodded to show she understood. "So right...after seeing that "warm up", I can see that you have a lot of potential. It would be a waste not to let you practice with the team. But in the end this is as much my decision as it is the captain's."

Kasamatsu jerked when he found three pairs of eyes staring at him when he brought his gaze up from the floor. "U-uh." He flushed a bit darker before coughing to clear his throat. "How would you like to join our team for practices Shirosaki-san?"

Yuu blinked, her mind processing before she smiled again. "I would like that. Thank you very much." She bowed.

Kasamatsu's eyes widened and he waved his hands in front of him. "N-no need to do that Sh-Shirosaki-san!"

Yuu immediately straightened up and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry senpai."

She was tackled into a hug but a moment later by Kise, who was cheering. "Yay! Shirosakicchi and I are on the same team again!"

"Mm...now get off of me before I hit you again. I'm all sticky and you aren't making it any better."