Riko sighed as she stared dejectedly into her miso soup. It was the day after Seirin's crushing defeat against Touou and she was still reeling in the aftermath. Kagetora glanced over his newspaper at her slumped figure and folded up the papers. "Riko-chan," he murmured sliding his hand across the table, she took hold of it and exhaled deeply. "I'm fine, I just-" He squeezed her hand, "You don't have to explain yourself." She nodded glumly, "I'm not that very hungry, is it alright if I can go?"
Kagetora looked at her nearly full bowl, and nodded grudgingly. He looked on as she rose from her seat and up the stairs to her room. If only her mother was here, she was better at these kinds of things than he was. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the blaring telephone chime; he grunted and scrambled for the stand, hastily pressing at the button. "Hello?"
"Yes hello, is this the parent or guardian of Riko Aida?" the voice was calm, and calculated which made him deduce it was from the school. Relieved, he assumed they must be calling to inform him that she might be receiving an award of some sorts; Riko was always a top student after all. "Yes, this is her father."
"Mr. Aida, we're calling to inform you about your students' academic progress," The once revered basketball player frowned at their grave tone. "They have dropped considerably within the past month." Kagetora instantaneously solidified and sat upright, "What?" he cried in alarm. "We encourage you to become more involved in her academic studies." He was at a loss for words; Riko was always within the top ten of her class, how in the world could he possibly let this happen? "Ah, yes I will." He murmured utterly shell-shocked. The receiver beeped dully and Kagetora sat in silence rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. He rose from his seat and ascended the stairs grimly; arriving at her door he poised a hand to knock. With a heavy sigh he lowered his hand; I'll talk to her tomorrow. The miso soup and her disconsolate demeanor were prevalent in his mind and he had intention of adding to her miserable state.
School the next day was horrendous for the Seirin basketball team. Word had gotten out of the shattering loss against Touou and throughout the day the team constantly suffered through detrimental snickers and backhanded comments. Kagami nearly got into a brawl if it weren't for Kuroko who stepped in. "You're touchier than usual." The young prodigy murmured as he returned to his seat. Kagami huffed indignantly as he plopped down into seat his forcefully. "Not in the mood for your crap today, Kuroko." he practically seethed. Kuroko looked on at a group of girls that kept turning around in their seats obtrusively giggling at the two of them. The hot-tempered teen sank in his seat, taking in menacingly deep breaths. "Let it go, Kagami-kun." Kuroko spoke placatingly but was met with a stiff grunt.
Hyuga and Riko fared no better. The duo entered into their history class amidst the hushed whispers and exaggerated rolled eyes. With as much grace and dignity they could muster, the twosome made their way to their seats still deep in conversation. Unperturbed, Izuki joined in until the teacher called the class to attention after the first bell. Everyone settled down and became utterly devoid of any thought or feeling as the teacher droned on. Abruptly they yanked down the map roller that retracted quite forcefully back into the holder with a loud and resonating snap. "These are all the scores from the last exam." The teacher spoke tapping twice on the board, indicating at the listed names. Some students stood from their seats, praying to see their names in the front. Riko frowned slightly failing to see her name in the top half, she didn't study as much as she wanted to but she couldn't have done that bad. "Riko," the teacher called, slapping the board slightly. "Try harder next time, maybe if you didn't spend so much time on our failure of a basketball team, you might have gotten better marks." Hyuga puffed up heatedly, jerking slightly as the class began to snicker. Riko's cheeks seared in rage as she bit her lip furiously, and Izuki visibly concealed his emotions as his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "I understand." The young coach spoke through clenched teeth. Hyuga's jaw twitched sporadically as his knuckles turned white-hot against the edge of desk, Izuki sent his fellow teammate a wary look before exhaling his bottled emotions.
After the class Hyuga attempted to catch up with Riko who stalked off, Izuki held on to his arm and shook his head, Hyuga sighed cursing viciously. "It'll blow over," The young point guard appeased, "We'll just come back stronger and show everyone who doubted us." Hyuga gave a hesitant grin at the determination in the young point guard's voice. "We'll be so good in fact," The bespectacled captain groaned, knowing where this was going from the glint in his eyes, "That no one will come up into our hood."
"Try harder next time Izuki," The hawk-eyed youth scoffed, "That's gold."
"More like silver." Hyuga murmured to himself. "Ooh," Izuki flipped out a small memo pad and scribbled away hastily. "Don't write that down!" Junpei exclaimed, "Do you have anymore?"
Riko made no attempt to reconnect with the boys after the incident in history. She texted all of them that practice was canceled and went straight home after school. She was beyond pissed at the dick move the teacher pulled. Walking through the bustling streets of Tokyo calmed her irked nerves to some degree. Basking in the autumn air, Riko felt her angry slowly ebb away. Arriving at the front step of her door, she fished out her house key and jammed it in, the door opened with a soft click. She was instantly greeted by her father who was slightly confused at her early arrival. Plopping down with a sigh, Riko sank into the couch; Kagetora began small talk which she half-heartedly returned. With a deep sigh, the conversation suddenly turned serious. "Riko, I need to talk to you about something." The young coach perked up at his words but fell silent at his expression. "The school called yesterday concerning your grades?" Riko slumped into the coach and offered a small nod. "Honey, I know the basketball team is important to you but it's starting to overwhelm you." She sat up defiantly, "No it's not, and I'm doing perfectly fine." The once national basketball player reclined into the coach, pinching the bridge of his nose. What did she always tell me? Kagetora tried his best to recall some words of wisdom from his wife.
'You have to be assertive and make sure you mean what you say.'
He cleared his throat and counted on his lucky star, "Riko, if you don't find someone to help you then I can't let you be on the team anymore." Her mouth detached as her eyes bulged at him, "You can't be serious." She said half-laughing in disbelief. "Do I look serious?" he replied lowly, Riko stared into her lap. All this time she had been able to handle managing and coaching the team seamlessly, and in the process developing irreplaceable bonds with the players. And for someone to just come along and, and ruin everything precious to her. She wasn't sure if she could allow someone to enter their family so casually. "Dad," her voice quavered in frustration as she bit her lip, "At least try, please?" He went to say he was tired of seeing her so spent and stressed, "It's very-""Bad for my skin, I know." Riko laughed slightly dabbing at her eyes completely touched at her father's words. Kagetora clicked his tongue as he embraced his young daughter and stroked her short locks.
"And that's what he told me."
School had ended for the day at Seirin High and many students piled outside either waiting for their rides or for the bus to arrive. Hyuga and Riko strolled easily through vacated hallways until a small first year approached them. "H-hello," he stammered, holding out a yellow flyer, "Are you interested in joining the foreign exchange student program?" Hyuga took the flyer out of curiosity, "Later tomorrow one will be arriving from-"
"Oh no you don't." Riko bonked him on the head, "How are we supposed to solve this manager dilemma with you half-way across the world?" They first year jumped at the display of violence and Hyuga politely declined the offer. "Alright, well let's see," Junpei cupped his chin in thought and Riko looked on hopefully. "Well, we can just have one temporarily until you raise your grades, then your father will see you can handle it on your own?"
Riko pursed her lips, "I guess so but-""Don't worry coach," Hyuga ran hand through her cropped hair, "We'll figure it out." He held out the door to the gym and the two found the rest of the team ready, and eager, to begin practice.
After a successful practice the team seemed to have back into the grove. Hyuga's shots never failed to miss, Kuroko's passes were in impeccable form, and everyone was in high spirits returning to the sport they loved. Riko met the boys in the locker room after everyone showered up and gloomily explained the manager situation. For a moment no one said anything until Koganei quipped, "Can we get a hot manager?" A whack of the paper fan left him sprawled on the floor, "What are you going to do?" inquired Teppei. "Thank you for the concern." Koga muttered drawing himself up with the help of Rinnosuke. Riko sighed leaning against one of the lockers, "Truthfully, I'm not ready to accept anyone into our family, and I don't want things to change." Kuroko held up Number Two who sneezed cutely, "Nothing changed when we adopted Number Two."
"-when you adopted that thing." Kagami muttered, the young phantom held Tetsuya up to the redhead's nose and promptly licked it. Much to everyone's amusement Kagami flailed off the bench and scuffled away, hastily wiping at his nose. Number Two barked gleefully, clearly pleased with itself. "What are you trying to say Kuroko-kun?" Said boy pensively stroked his young companion's fur, "You shouldn't be afraid to let people into your life; they might change it for the better." Everyone collectively softened at his touching words. "You can say some deep things sometimes, Kuroko." Kawahara breathed in awe. The young prodigy shrugged carelessly, "It's the truth," he put simply.
Riko nodded slowly, chewing over Kuroko's words. "Alright, it'll take some time to adjust, but I think we can do it." Teppei looked on smiling to himself at the young coach's selflessness. "Starting tomorrow I want everyone to come up with at least one decent candidate." Koganei began to speak before a deathly glare from Riko silenced him. Kuroko smiled inwardly, excited for a new person to come into their family, excited for new adventure, and excited for a new chance to start over.
Kagami was never a morning person. He was always convinced he could sleep in just five more minutes, which always made him five minutes late to school. With a labored groan he drew every ounce of energy he had and made his way into the kitchen. Pouring himself a mountain of cereal, he carelessly threw the empty box into the trash. He mentally noted to go grocery shopping later which we both know he won't. Judging the time, the young teen quickly brushed his teeth, changed into his uniform and slung his sports bag over his shoulder. Making sure he turned off all the lights and water faucets, Kagami braved the trek to school. Locking the door behind him, the redheaded teen caught a figure in his peripheral vision. Curiosity got the cat and he turned casually and was met with disbelief.
Standing in front of the door next to his stood a girl he had never seen before. Usually, Kagami paid little to no attention to the opposite gender unless otherwise. However, what set him aback were her tresses of rich, incomparable ginger hair. Though more subdued than his hue, it was a breathtakingly gorgeous and he had yet to see a person in Japan with red hair like himself. Unaware the young girl turned on her heel and strode down the hall, her locks swaying slightly. Perturbed, and wondering if he had imagined the encounter in his morning haze, Kagami scratched his head unsurely and ambled to the elevator lift. Surprisingly when he arrived in the lobby he caught a vanishing flash of ginger, pursing his lips he started down the jostling sidewalks. He easily spotted her ginger hair through the throngs of people; she stuck out not only from her hair but her height. Kagami didn't think the mysterious girl was terribly tall but she towered over the average petite Japanese girl. She had to be at least 5'7, he mused.
Judging from her schoolbag and easily identifiable uniform, Kagami gathered she must be student. Perhaps an exchange student, because her natural shade of ginger hair is virtually unprocurable in Japan. This would make sense since the majority of apartments in his building were given to students. With each block and bus stop Kagami became more and more absorbed; suddenly the cogs in his brain began to turn. The only school this side of town was-with a sharp turn the young girl entered through the gates of Seirin High.
and that's that. let me know what you think, and thanks so much!