Hello everyone! My name is Lizzie and I used to be a veteran on but I went on a super long hiatus. But I am back and starting new, so I decided its time to post something fresh and I am gonna use my current obsession Kuroko No Basuke. Please leave reviews and I apologize profusely for all the grammar and or spelling errors. I tried! Go a little easy on me this is my first fic in a super long time and I want this one to go far. I do not own Kuroko No Basuke and do not claim any rights to their main characters only to my OC's. Thank you for reading!
"We were born ready, ready to be free
Chasin' every thrill we could see
With our eyes steady, waking to the dream
Aching to be thrown in the ring"
When you think of the first day of school you expect there to be a gush of pretty pink petals falling all over and a big welcome of the schools clubs and teams throwing papers into your face to try and get you to join them for them for your high school days. Serin High school was no exception, and due to their basketball clubs recent victory with the Winter cup and placing second in the Kanto regionals, their new team list was hitting well into the double digits. Their senior members couldn't be happier.
"This is awesome twelve new members for the team this year, and the day is still young. We might even have more if this pace keeps up," Hyuga Junpei beamed looking over some of the applications, some were sophomores but many were freshman from the new year and thankfully had some basketball experience. He hoped this would make practice much easier.
"Mhmm, and look some are from Teiko Kuroko-kun, maybe they are your juniors from when you played?" Aida Riko smiles showing the quiet player the applications.
"I recognize them I think, I rarely had time to spend with them. When I was in the first string we only were allowed to practice within our gym. When I started in the third string many people didn't notice me so I don't know them personally...but I'm sure they are great players regardless," Kuroko Tetsuya nodded and read over the applications.
"With all these newcomers it's going to be hard to handle all you boys by myself...maybe I should give in and look for a manager."
"What? You are seriously considering this now? What happened to your no way will I have some frilly-girl-wanna-be-looking-for-a-guy coming in to mess with our heads when we should be practicing attitude."
"Hyuga senpai that was a very long winded reason," the blue haired boy deadpans only to receive a smack to the back of his head.
"Can it, both of you, and it's not like I like the idea...but with our normal group and now these twelve newcomers and possibly more that's already way over my limit. I wouldn't be able to develop everyone's skills the way I want. A manager would be helpful to take the stress off me to make sure the equipment was in check, the schedules were printed, and just the small stuff so I can focus on your trainings and practices more. Not to mention the pressure being lifted, we are seniors now Hyuga, we have entrance exams this year and that pressure is already more than enough," Riko sighs thinking about the pile of study books waiting for her at home.
"Yeah, I hear you...who knows maybe we will get lucky again this year."
"If nothing comes easy as long as we're breathing
We'll go all the way or go home
We were born ready, wherever it leads
What we have is all we need"
"Kimiko, don't drag me! I'm walking as fast as I can, it's not like they are going anywhere," pleaded the young girl about to loose her left arm.
Her bubbly brown haired friend pouted and sharply turned to face her pointing an accusing finger in her face.
"Yumari Lee, you had me waiting nearly two years for you to get your butt back here and now you are telling me to wait again?" Hard grey eyes met dark brown and the later gulped a bit fearful of the shorter teen before her.
"Sorry, sorry...I guess I'm just nervous. It's been a while since I've done this and who knows if this will even be a good thing," She sighed and ran her hand through her shoulder length locks.
"Stop that, you'll ruin your hair from stress, now come on. It's Kuroko, he is hardly the soul you need to be afraid of. It's the coach who will be the one we need to convince," Kimiko swallows hard and continues to pull her friend to the basketball club sign up table.
The first to notice the two was Riko, and her face scrunched in a slight scowl. She wanted help but maybe she spoke too soon. Hyuga was next and he flinched feeling Riko's aura suddenly change. This wouldn't be easy. Kuroko had gone to the little boys room so Hyuga was left to fend for himself and refrain Riko from killing the two before him.
"Hello again Riko-San! You may not remember me, I'm Kimiko Hasagawa and this is my friend Yumari Lee! She just transferred from the states back to Japan this summer and-"
"I remember you Hasagawa-San, and if I remember correctly I told you last year that the Serin basketball team was a serious team and that we didn't just want any managers that were willing to be frivolous and distracting to our trainings," Riko states pointly looking between the two girls.
"But we are serious! I tried to tell you last year that too. This year I brought Yumari with me, if anyone is serious it's her! She was lead manager back in our middle school years," Kimiko pleads..
"Kimiko please, relax...it's up to her to state if they want managers or not. If they don't then we can't force her. I'm sorry for the trouble," Yumari says quickly bowing her head, maybe she wasn't ready for this yet...
"But Yumari what about-"
"Yumari-chan?" Yumari could feel her body freeze at questioning voice.
"Kuroko-Kun!" Kimiko smiles jumping up to hug the normally stoic looking player. To the blue haired boys surprise he found himself in shock. He looks between brunette and the still raven haired girl before him.
"Hasagawa-San too? Wait, what's going on here?" he questioned now more confused then he was before.
Yumari took a beep breath and stood slowly to face her blue haired friend. She smiles a bit and looks at the young teen before her, "Hey Tetsu-Kun...I'm back."
All Kuroko could do was stare at her. Looking as though he was looking at a ghost, Riko and Hyuga just sat watching the scene before them take place. Neither sure how to approach the interaction. Neither had seen Kuroko so speechless. Granted he was normally quiet but not speechless. Let alone show an emotion, the normally deadpanned player had wide eyes as he spoke.
"Yumari-chan…your really back? When? How? Where did you go?" The questions flowing the normally calm boys head were trying hard not to spill out and loose all his composure.
"Yeah, I'm back….the only one who knows so far is Sat-chan and Kimiko here…no one else knows yet," She laughs awkwardly hoping to end the questions there, at least Kuroko wasn't Kise, that would have been a show.
"I see, what. Brings you to Serin then? I would have thought for sure you would have gone to –"
"Let's just save that last part for later…to the more important business at hand, so Riko-San! What do you think?" Kimiko smiled and turned to the two shocked seniors.
"Ummm right…Kuroko-Kun, you know them?" Riko asked.
"Yes, Yumari-chan was the first string manager with momoi-San back at Teiko. Hasagawa-San was the second string manager. Yumari-chan helped to organize a lot of our practices and helped Akashi-Kun with a lot of our training regimens, she would be a big help for the team with her knowledge of nutrition and trainings," Kuroko explains as the later of the two blushes brightly.
"I see…"Riko says thinking carefully, she did need the help..."Okay, I give, but as for now I will only take you two. If either of you annoy me I will kick you out so fast you'll get whiplash understand? I will not have you both ruining these guys chances at winning the Inter-high this year."
"Yes, ma'am! You can count on us!" Kimiko salutes their senior and Yumari bows thanking her.
"Practice starts today at 3, be there before hand to help me inflate the balls and mop up the floors before the newcomers come in. I want to leave a good impression."
"That shouldn't be too hard…ouch," Hyuga whines as he rubs his now sore arm. Both girls bow and leave for class. Before she can get far though Yumari feels a tug on her sweater and turns to face bright blue eyes.
"Yumari-chan….just really quick….does he know your back?" She could feel the worry pour from his face as the girl before him smiles softly shaking her head.
"No….and I don't plan on telling him for a while so please, can we keep this a secret for now? I'm…I'm just not ready to face him yet. It took all I had to convince Sat-chan to keep quiet from Dai-Kun too…you know how those two are. Hell you know how Satsuki is with secrets. I'll let everyone know but slowly," Yumari smiles at the reassuring pat from Kuroko, his eyes returning to their calm serenity and a small smile on his face.
"I understand…but we have all changed, not the same but more open now than they were before," He says trying to persuade her.
"I know…I saw your game against the Jabberwocks. It was like seeing the old team fight together again. You did good Tetsu-kun," She says smiling, "But he's not an easy one to change and I'm not ready to face him yet. I want to start new first before I open old wounds."
"I understand…I'll see you at practice later okay? I want you to meet someone."
"Okay, I'll see you later than."
The two hug as they part ways and Kuroko couldn't help but feel a slight twinge in his chest seeing his old friend again. The Generation of Miracles may have found their love for basketball again, but Yumari was right…some things don't change easily. One day at a time was all it would take. He smiles looking back at the sign up table, now everything felt complete and he couldn't wait to start the new year.
"'Cause if it's fast or slow
All I really know is I'm gonna enjoy the ride
And if it's hard or soft before we get off
I'm gonna enjoy the ride, enjoy the ride"
"All right you chumps, take it off. I need to assess you lugs." Riko smirks as the new freshman groan in protest. It was like music to her ears. The seniors and the second years all confirming that they did the same their first day. Half the team obeyed, but the other half couldn't peel their eyes off Kagami and Kuroko practicing. The two were just doing lay up passes and assists. But their movements were close to flawless. Their chemistry on the court was smooth and you could see the trust they had in each other's movements. The ball only obeying where they wanted it to go. The swish of the net was eminent and that was all the red head needed to fuel his desire for triumph for the new year. He would be the best and help his team be their with him. Their goal was to do it for Kiyoshi. Make their senior and friend proud. Riko couldn't help but smile as she assessed the new team members, still first years but they were decent. With the seniors and the second years she would be able to build a formidable second string and first string players for when the seniors retired. She could nearly gush from the excitement of starting.
Yumari and Kimiko were great as managers, Yumari taking charge and making sure every thing was ready when Riko needed it. Kimiko was best suited to assist the new members and making sure they had everything they needed from refilled water bottles to towels. The two girls worked like they were in their element and Riko was more than impressed. She was more impressed as to how well behaved the boys were behaving. During the drills Riko took the time to ask Yumari what her role had been at Teiko and was surprised.
"Amazing, so Momoi helped to assist and guide their progress and you kept in line their intake and smoothed out the statistics to match her desired outcomes. Impressive, not many people can master nutrition at such a young age," Riko praised hearing Yumari's tale.
"Yeah, I love to cook and bake so it came in handy when I tried to learn. I wanted to be helpful to the team as much as possible. I only have two traits and I'm happy that one was able to help improve the team in a positive way," Yumari gave a small smile as she picked up the cones from the finished drill.
Kuroko snuck a quick peek over at his friend and felt a small bit of pride that Yumari was at his school. With her on their side they were just as powerful as having Momoi-San and Akashi's ruthlessness all in one. He smiled to himself remembering the times Yumari even got Murasakibara to practice properly. Not an easy task but the girl had skills of manipulation. Kagami followed Kuroko's stare and grunted a bit.
"We got managers now?"
"Kagami-kun, you are really oblivious to anything that isn't basketball aren't you?" Kuroko said pointly, "They are old friends of mine from Teiko."
"Really? Well I hope they are good, come on. I want to try that pass one more time, I think we just got it down," He smiled running back down the court.
Kuroko nodded and waited for him to get far enough. He dribbled the ball a few times before taking a step back letting the ball bounce to about face level and ignition Kai passing it into the air. From there Kagami ran catching it and jamming it into the basket.
"Alright! We're gonna beat them senseless this time," Kagami grinned high fiving Furihara.
"Riko-San have you set up any practice games yet?" Kimiko asked looking over the schedule.
"No not yet, last time we had a practice game it was a fluke because Kise-Kun stopped by. I guess we can have another go at Kaijo high school." Riko thought carefully.
"Let me set up the practice games, I have connections to a lot of the basketball clubs around the local areas. The Teiko managers kinda split up and joined respective teams, I'm sure we can set up a few to build on various grounds for the different strings." Kimiko offered.
"That is actually a very good idea. Okay let's see what these new guys can handle first then we will break into strings. This way we can decide which team goes where based on the grounds they need to work on. Good job Kimiko-chan"Riko praised patting the girls shoulder. Yumari smiled at her friend, planning was what Kimiko did best. Even in Teiko, Kimiko, was most at home in the gym helping the coaches and the players the best she could. Yumari and the other generations had Momoi to support them that way. Yumari was more like a secret tool to be utilized by the team. Much like Kuroko. A small trump card that was used only when necessary and very rarely was it used during games. But it was this skill that helped keep the team together as long as they did. Even now Kuroko could feel the effects of Yumari's strange abilities. The relief off his shoulders made him feel lighter than air, moving even if possible a tad faster than normal. The rest of the team slightly feeling the effects as well. Their worries and the tightness in their chests loosening.
'What was going on?' Feeling the tingling in his legs Kagami tested a jump and found himself smacking the backboard of the net. A clean hand print 5 inches above the hoop.
"Amazing… it's like the muscle just released itself and boosted my jumps..." Kagami grinned flexing his leg muscles.
Kuroko looked over at Yumari, she was happily humming away writing down some small facts for Riko in a journal. Her effects going completely unnoticed. He chuckled a bit jogging over to her and grabbing her attention.
"Yumari-chan, your doing it again." He says slowly placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Huh? Oh crap, I'm sorry!" She says bowing quickly she than takes a deep breath and lets go. The feeling slowly dissipating from everyone.
The last to feel the effects was Riko and with this she looked over to the raven haired girl, "Yumari-chan, was that….you?"
The girl in question nodded slowly moving her hair behind her ear, "Yeah, it happens some times when I'm happy, I can't control it very well yet."
"But she's working on it. In Teiko they would bring Yumari too games to help calm the team. She is a pressure reliever." Kimiko smiling at her bashful friend.
"More like manipulator, Yumari-chan has a knack of being able to read moods and people. Much like myself, but her trick is not misdirection but rather manipulation. The small gestures she does are the chain reaction. Like falling dominos. She can manipulate the pressure of the crowd around her." Kuroko explained.
"But isn't that cheating?" One of the new freshman Yukio-Kun asks.
"Actually no. Pressure alone won't win a game. It's more like an added bonus. Good pressure helps to motivate the team to play its best, it's hardest. Bad pressure leads to mistakes and depression on the courts. We get a similar feeling when we play on a home court, it's kinda where the term home court advantage comes from. Yumari being there helps to level the playing field so both teams play their hardest, but let's the crowd lead her rather than her lead them," Kimiko smiles as Yumari blushes brighter.
"You all felt Yumari's pressure reliever just now, it's rare but it helps us to achieve what we need and motivates us to get to that point," Kuroko nods and looks at Yumari, "We should be proud that both Hasagawa-san and Yumari-chan have come to help us." The team all agree to this and goes back to practice. Yumari smiling brightly, she was starting to feel at home again.
"We were born hungry, hungry for the rush
Screamin' when they tell us to hush
Hit the ground runnin', leave 'em in the dust
Only run with those we can trust
If nothing comes to us
We'll fly where it's bluest
We're ready to face the unknown
We were born hungry, we'll never get enough
'Cause we're only here this once"
After practice is over Kimiko stays behind with Riko to work out practice games and Kuroko invites Yumari to Maji burger with Kagami. As the three head to Maji, Kagami finally gets to speak to the ravenette.
"So, do you play basketball?" He asks shoving a burger in his mouth. Kuroko assured her that yes, he will finish all 15 burgers.
"A little, I played a lot with Sei-kun when we were little," She smiles a bit eating a french fry.
"Sei-Kun? You mean Akashi?" Kagami asks a bit confused.
"Yeah, sorry old habit…I grew up with him pretty much my whole life," Kagami nods at this and continues to eat.
"So then you know the Generation of Miracles pretty well then huh?"
"You can say that. I like to think of everyone as an extended family…but since I left I don't know if they all still see me as that," She sighs looking a bit dejected.
'Is this why she was acting so distant from everyone?' Kuroko couldn't help but feel a bit hurt that she would think they would think bad of her for what she did.
"Yumari-chan that has got to be the stupidest thing you ever said," Kuroko says bluntly. Kagami looks at Kuroko a bit shocked. 'Didn't think he would be that blunt with a girl', he is normally the one to tell Kagami to treat girls kindly. Then again his female influences are all…sterner.
"Tetsu-Kun you know what I mean. I figured you would have hated me the most when I left…the timing was wrong but it was too much even for me. I can only imagine what happened to everyone after that game."
"I agree it was bad, and your timing was terrible. But that doesn't mean we would hate you. If anything I think it fueled a few of the members to stick with that stupid oath. I know for a fact Aomine and Kise wanted to beat Akashi for that reason," Kuroko says looking at his shake, "Even I wanted to punch Akashi for what he did."
"Tetsu, don't say that. He said what he said, there is nothing we can do to change that. Besides that's in the past now, I will deal with Seijuro on my own terms. Okay?" She says trying to convince him. Kagami could feel the air tense a bit, then relax again. He wasn't sure if it was her or if it was just a combination of the two odd people in front of him. Either way he had to let his opinion be known.
"Well, the best thing you can do is just jump right in and get it over with. I say meet up with everyone again," Kagami grunts eating another burger.
"I don't know, that's a little tricky…" Yumari sighs stealing more fries from Kuroko.
"It won't be that hard, especially if we tell them that your going to be there. They will all make their way to get here. We can let Momoi-san plan that, I'm sure she can figure out a way for everyone that will make it easy for them. And I am more than certain that they want to see you again," Kuroko says staring at the girl pointly, "Let's just give it a shot. We can invite Hasagawa-san too if that makes you feel better."
"Your not going to give up are you?" She smiles at the boy next to her and caves when he shakes his head, "Fine I'll text Kimiko and Sat-chan they can arrange it. Where will we all meet though?"
"Kagami lives alone. I say we use his house."
"Hey! Don't go offering people's houses for things like this."
"But Kagami-kun it was your idea. Jump in head first right?" Kuroko deadpans earning a glare from the red head
"I am not cooking," he gives in munching on a burger.
"It's okay! I'll pay for the food, we can get pizza and I'll make a cake. I do kinda want Mura-kun to try how much I've improved." Yumari says blushing a bit, her true self starting to shine through.
Kagami felt his lip twitch at that. Odd…but he guessed it was just a twitch. He agrees to the party at his house, under the pre-tense that they get a lot of pizza and snacks. Yumari agrees and Kuroko makes the phone call.
"I should go…my mom is gonna start to worry. Thank you guys for the meal and I guess we find out later what Sat-chan can do about a date then huh?"
"Mhmm, she says she has an idea but she will finalize it tonight and let us know. Be prepared to have your phone blow up with messages from everyone," Kuroko says giving her a kind warning.
"Hehehe thanks Tetsu-kun. I'll see you guys at practice tomorrow then?" Yumari hugs them before she leaves and Kagami is left a bit confused.
"Hey Kuroko, what's her deal with Akashi? I mean I get the guy turned into a jerk in middle school but this seemed even more personal than your story."
"Kagami-Kun, you really are dense aren't you?"
"Shut up and just tell me."
"They dated, obviously. When Akashi changed he changed all around. Even Yumari-chan didn't understand why. When she tried to talk to him about it or about how rash he was being with the team, he told her to stick with what she did best and that was to listen to him. She did for a while, but when she found out about them playing games and keeping scores on each other during the games, she was furious. She was the first to question us about the teams vision of victory. Momoi-san stayed with me when the game against Ogiwara-Kun took place, but Yumari-chan was on the court. She saw what they were doing. She had it out with Akashi during the halftime break. When she started to defy him…Akashi as you know doesn't take well to that. They fought but continued to play the game they way they did. Kise told me that she told Akashi to stop before it got too out of hand,"
"He told her if she hated the new him so much then she could leave. After that she left. I didn't see her again until two weeks later. She told me that her and Akashi had broken up and that she was doing what he wanted. She was leaving. She knew he would know where she wasn't going to hide it, but she couldn't take the change, it broke her inside. She needed to rethink what she wanted to do. I didn't know that it would mean she would leave Japan and cut all ties with us…when Kise and Aomine found out they were furious. Kise had a small, big brother complex with her and he took it the hardest when he found out she left. She didn't tell anyone where she was going. We found out later from Momoi-san that she has an aunt in America and she was staying with her to learn about the bakery business. But she didn't know when she would be back. Then…we all kinda just drifted apart," Kuroko sighs his milkshake finished and all his fries mysteriously eaten.
"Wow, I kinda feel bad for her," Kagami rubs the back of his neck and shrugs, "Well you all get to see her now, and we knocked enough sense into everyone again to get them back on the right track. So don't worry about it."
"Yeah, I just hope Kise doesn't give her a heart attack. Or suffocate her."
"Please don't kill each other in my house…"
"No promises," Kuroko smiles as they get up to leave. This was truly going to be interesting.
"'Cause if it's fast or slow
All I really know is I'm gonna enjoy the ride
And if it's hard or soft before we get off
I'm gonna enjoy the ride, enjoy the ride
Let's do it again
Let's make it tonight
Yeah let's go until the sky gets lighter
And if it's fast or slow
All I really know is I'm gonna enjoy the ride
Enjoy the ride"
Krewella – Enjoy The Ride
Thank you for reading please review and let me know what you think. Im open to improvements and criticism. Thank you!
-Lizzie
