A/N : I made a pun from the several puns that I've created back at my school. It may somehow corny, but Izuki's puns always corny anyway XD
[CHAPTER 3]
On Thursday, around 4 PM when the sun soon setting down. Seirin basketball club practicing at the school gym. A lot of footworks, 8 laps running, and other warming ups. PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-! The sound of a tiny whistle echoed through the gym's walls, "Alright everyone stop warming up! Gather around!" The female coach clapped her hands twice, drawing everyone's attention. Riko stood among them, her hands on her hips and looking forward them all. "We will practice a lot before heading to Inter High! So make sure you all practiced well!" She smiled, vigorously motivating the players to do their usual best. "Oooh!" The team cheered aloud and punching their fists to the air, high spirited like they always be. "Yosh yosh! Teppei, here~" Riko passed a basketball to the tall center player which is standing in front of her. The ball flung straight to Kiyoshi's chest, "Nice pass, coach!" He praised the coach, messing around jokingly while dribbling the ball to the center. Riko couldn't help but smiling softly at the tall brown haired male's bright and cheerful personality. Kiyoshi went to the center line and trying three-pointer shoot, Izuki appeared from Riko's back and his hand writting something to a small notebook. "..Center stands on the CENTER line... yabe, kitakore!" He let out his new lame puns again, Riko stared at the pun-lover male, annoyed. "It's annoying, Izuki-kun.." She commented, facepalming. Hyuuga walking around the court, stopped for a sec to fix his basket shoe laces. "Oii Hyuuga~" Kiyoshi called the boy in glasses from afar. Hearing it, Hyuuga a little bit annoyed by the sudden brightfully call from his friend, "What is it, daho[5]?" He stood straight up, facing the tall guy in front of him. "Nothing, nothing, just want to call you, that's all!" Kiyoshi smiled, a cheerful-ish yet joking smile on his face. Hyuuga hit Kiyoshi in the head, "Y-You-!" The male in glasses gritted his teeth in annoyance, while Kiyoshi just smiling like a big idiot.
"Okay, let's start the game now!" The short haired girl's face expression turned to a confused state, "Eh? Where's Kuroko—" "—I'm here, coach" The phantom player appeared beside Riko, and she got direct shock by it. "AAA—KUROKO! S-Stop appear out for nowhere... pleasee.." Her heart pounding because of the shock, she exhaled and inhaled while rubbing her chest back and forth. "I-I'm sorry, coach.." Kuroko apologized properly, bowed briefly and he walked to the court, joining the other players. Kagami cracked his fists, he's ready as ever. "Let's play already, can't wait enough here~" said the red black streak haired 1st year player, who really inpatient to practice already. Koganei already healthy enough to came here, but he sat on the bench with Mitobe and the trio freshmens. Probably he still not fully feeling well, so Riko put him along side the benched players. Koganei quited chilled at the moment, not really energetic and talkative like usual, maybe he's still under recovery. "Coach, when will we play on the court?" Fukuda asked, he and the others wondering why they rarely participated on the game. Riko rubbed her chin, "Hmm, I somehow will let you guys in the game next practice. I still have to think which ones will be your practice opponent, so wait okay?" She tapping her board, right on the strategy sketches paper. "We're looking forward for it then." Furihata let out a small smile, relieved that he and the rest going to play at last. "Great," the coach blew her pink whistle, "okay! Let us begin the practice game!" She walked to the court's edge, near the center line. "Game... start!" And the ball flew high when the whistle's sound echoing again.
Every player focused hard, even through it's just a practice game. Izuki passing the ball to Hyuuga, then he shot the ball to the ring. As the ball went it, Riko blew her whistle to the point counting. They did 3-on-3, with Izuki-Hyuuga-Kiyoshi versus Tsuchida-Kuroko-Kagami. From the bench, the trio freshmens and Koganei supporting them from there, by cheering either team. Mitobe helped Riko on point counting, he will give hand gestures to inform the scores. The game continued quite well, a lot of points been won by Izuki's team. "Mitobe, don't forget to tell me if there's any foul on the court, just do the hand gestures clearly." The silent man beside Riko only nodded, understood and continued observing the game. In the court, Kuroko launched his misdirection like in the real game and Kagami caught it, he jumped high toward the ring, "Doryah!" And dunked the ball to the goal. The benched players continued to cheer by the dunk. Hyuuga wiped his sweaty face, smirked, "Heh, not bad~!" He seemed satisfied by Kagami's passionated dunk. Tsuchida got the ball and dribbling toward the goal, but Izuki stole it. Since the indoor court floor not like the outdoor court's floor, it's slippery because there's sweatdrops scattered on the floor. Causing Izuki slipped his grip on the ball, and his pass flung toward Riko's direction. Hyuuga's instinct sharpen when his coach in danger, his legs moved by reflex and side jumped, "Riko, duck!" Riko folowed his order and Hyuuga swating the ball back to Izuki and let Izuki continue the game pace. His gize still forcused to the court's game, but with a low tone he whispered to Riko, "be careful please..." Then he went back to the game. Riko only confused, she almost got hit and Hyuuga protected her, the female coach faintly blushing and trying to hide it. "H-He protected me again.." Her thoughts seems curious, to know the reason why, but she shaking her head to drive the embarrassing thoughts out from her mind. As she observed the gameplay, she wrote something on the paper, regarding to a new strategy that she tall player with thick eyebrows ran on the same pace as Hyuuga, they both ran to Izuki's direction for a pass. "Oii Hyuugaa~" He called again, the same tone like the first one. A small veins appeared on the black haired shooting guard's forehead, "What?" He sighed while running. Kiyoshi put a smile on his face, "Nice act back then, any chance you did it by accident or... maybe you somehow like her.." Kiyoshi's eyes rolled to Riko's direction, gesturing it made Hyuuga faintly blushing and he fixing his glasses out, "I-I'm did not have any feelings on her.. m-maybe I did it by accident.." He denied.
His tsundere personality shown a little bit, Hyuuga too shy to admit it. He probably like Riko, but hard to confess. "Maybe?" Kiyoshi noticed Hyuuga's doubted line. "J-Just forget it, daho! Continue playing!" He redirecting Kiyoshi from the current topic, he had enough of the 'silly rumor' about him and the coach. Furihata took a small beige notebook from his bag and wrote something in it, the baldy freshman looking at his fellow benched player confusedly, "What are you writting about?" He asked, pointing twice to the tiny notebook. "Oh—" Furihata turned his notebook to make Kawahara read what he wrote. "—You have noticed a lot of actual clues to support our plan, right? I took a note in case I forgot." Explained him, while putting back the note and pencil to his bag. "I see.. Nice one~" Those two freshmens' eyes turned back to the game. The ball went straight to the center's big hand in a flash, "Ahh—" Kiyoshi caught the ball from the point guard across his position and continued playing, until he did 1-on-1 with Kagami, in aerial battle near the opponents (Kiyoshi's team ring). A center and power forward's power battle, but the power forward 1st year player got the ball with a bigger power and dunking it to the ring. The whistle signed the game's over, "Mitobe, the scores?" The silent center showing "5" on the right hand for Kagami's team and "3" on the left hand for Kiyoshi's team. Riko wrote it all on the paper, "Thanks, Mitobe-Now.." She gestured to everyone to circle around. "Today's practice is done! Good job everyone~!" The female let out a thumbs up toward the players. "Time to go home, before that, make sure you drink first and wipe all the sweats. For this time, 1st years-please mop the wet floors before going back home, next practice the 2nd years will do the same!" Riko put back her clipboard to her bag and the others re-hydrating themselves, and some of them wiping off their sweatdrops. The 1st years students agreed and each of them held a mop, then starting to mop the floor. When the senpais were going out from the gym, Furihata gave a signal to the other freshmens to gather around in circle form. "Na~" He let out the notebook and flipping open the cover, then turning it to everyone so they can read it. "We have more actual proofs at last.." He seems satisfied by his mini observation back then. "The one related to the protecting one?" Kagami noticed one of the possible clue. Fukuda nodded, "hmhm~ That's the one.." He looked again on the note. "What about captain's denial one?" The sudden voice creeping the freshmens out, "Waa—Kuroko!" they screamed at the same time. Furihata nervously nodded briefly, he got quite a shock, "Y-Yeah, that's too." "When will we do this plan?" The blue haired boy asked calmly, but in his heart he's curious much. Furihata slung his postman styled Seirin bag and putting the note back in, "I'll tell you guys all of it on the way home." The others did the same and walking together toward the exit, on the way home together. As soon they left the place, Koganei popped out from the big blue box in front of the gym. He's hiding in there and somehow caught up a tiny bit of their conversation. The cat-shaped mouthed male thinking for a second or two, "What plans they're into? Clue? What clue?" Koganei trying hard to figure it out in someways, but he endded hitting his head repeatedly, "Na~a—mooouu! I'll try to figure it out by asking them tomorrow~!" He stopped thinking and ran toward the exit, he had to catch a bus or he had to walk home by foot, so he ran to the bus' door and he's ready to go. Even through Koganei will ask them tomorrow, in his head, still echoed, "What is the plan anyway?" The question remained in the 2nd year`forward player's mind.