Never Ending Spring
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and its franchise, please don't sue me. I do own Hime, Hijiri, Yuuta and other oc's a makeup as I go (usually minor insignificant characters).
Chapter 1:
Seirin high had been everything Hime expected it to be. A new school with a small student body compared to most schools. The front gate was an explosion of students, second years and first years. Most were second years trying to recruit first years into their clubs. It was recruit day, a special day dedicated for clubs to seek for new members.
On the way to school Hime had experienced some difficulty; thrice she had been mistaken as a lost child. The third had completely irritated as they hadn't noticed her shared uniform till they were at an elementary school. She was in no mood to deal with such a large mass of people.
Out of all the complications and downfalls of being short, Hime had to agree that crowds were the worst thing that could ever happen. Something about people, the taller they were the less likely they seemed to actually look down as they walked. Perhaps being tall made you so confident that nothing could possibly be in your way as you walked.
Taking a deep calming breath, Hime stepped into the crowd. Squeezed, pushed, bumped, stepped on, it had been one of Hime's worst mistakes. She was nearly flung towards the sign up booths. She just barely caught herself on a table, both hands slamming down creating a loud smack that brought a few people to hesitate. With a huff of annoyance, she straightened herself, standing proudly, as she straightened her disheveled state. She felt like a business worker trying to get to work at rush hour.
"Hello," The second year greeted with a bright smile. She had average looks, two barrettes holding her bangs from her face. She had smooth caramel brown hair and auburn brown eyes. She had a hardness to her like if she wanted to she could bully someone into doing what she wanted. "Are you looking to become our new manager?" She questioned straightening an application form.
Hime glanced towards the sign hanging from the table, Basketball club. "…Sorry… No. I'm not interested in basketball or becoming a manager." She stated politely with a strained smile. She still was just a level below explosive anger.
"Oh, but you wouldn't have to do much. We have a small club, and the guys mostly take care of themselves," The second year stated, trying to bargain Hime into the club.
"Again, I apologize, but I have no intention of joining a sports club." Hime's voice was more stern and solid now. She heard enough about Hijiri's American basketball adventures. She didn't need to fill her high school life with it, especially when he'd be back by summer.
"Please think about it, I'm sure you'd be a great manager." The second year's smile grew tight, her eyes scanning over Hime. Hime wondered if the sign up rate was doing that poorly. Hime barely shook her head and turned to go. She stopped short, barely in time before walking into someone. She'd really hate herself if she ran into someone, doing one of her most hated pet peeves.
"Sorry," She breathed out looking the boy over. He barely had any presence, as if he would disappear right in front of her eyes. He had soft blue hair, intense blue eyes, and a never changing stoic expression. She politely bowed her head as he turned his eyes towards her.
He mimicked her head bow. Hime choose that moment to leave, while the second year girl stared at her in confusion. She had moved just in time, a tall first year dragging a second year plowed right through to the exact spot she had been standing. She clenched her jaw and fists in anger. The guy was huge, not just tall but muscular, he reminded Hime of her brother in many aspects, he had now awareness of others. He also had dark red hair that further alienated him from the crowd. His effect was the exact opposite of that mysterious ghost boy.
Hime blinked, looking around, the blue haired first year was gone. Surely he couldn't have moved so quickly…
Are you kidding me? Hime thought to herself tapping her fingers on the desktop impatiently. The seating plans were terrible. She sat behind the red haired giant, unable to see the front board or even the teacher. She wondered if the teacher could even see her. She felt as if someone said the wrong words to her, she would explode in a fit of rage.
"…Excuse me," The voice was soft as a whisper, Hime barely acknowledged it. "Excuse me, Suwabe-san was it?" She blinked as she looked around, wondering who had spoken her name. She didn't see anyone. "Excuse me, Suwabe-san…" She looked towards the seat in front of her, suddenly aware there was a desk in between hers and the tall bloke obscuring her view of the front of the classroom. It was the mysterious zero presence guy from recruitment day.
"Uh, y-yes?" She looked around at the nearby students, wondering if they noticed him as well. Wondering if he was real and not actually a ghost, he seemed to appear whenever her anger was at its peak. "Is there anything I can help with?" She asked meeting his intense blue eyes.
"Do you need to change seats?" He asked in the same monotone he had used to call her attention to him.
"N-no thanks. I'll be okay, thank you for the offer…" She said slowly, lips twitching towards a smile. She was sure he was being considerate, but there would be no way exchanging seats with him would change anything.
"Alright, if you need anything just ask." He said before facing forward.
"Ah, can I ask your name?" It seemed he knew hers, well if she had been paying attention during role call perhaps she could've learned his name.
He turned back to her, "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya," He replied.
"Thank you again for the offer Kuroko-san, I hope we can become fast friends," She said with a genuine smile. Due to her quick to anger personality, her friends were limited.
Tetsuya nodded his head, turning back to face the back of the head in front of him. Certainly there was nothing else he could see looking forward. Hime sighed, resting her chin in her palm and glanced towards the clock.
In the evening, Hime and her old dog Miru were on their daily jog. Miru's participation on these exercises were becoming less and less. Not that her age really affected her, it was more her weight. Hime came to a halt at a park. Her skin lightly dampened with sweat, she felt as if she needed more exercise. She still felt stress from her parents pressuring her and her own high expectations of herself.
She had two choices, somehow work harder than she was at ballet or quit. Quitting was hardly an option for her, but she really had no talent for dancing. Ballet dancers had it tough, she respected her fellow classmates that exceeded her current level. Either they had great determination that bested Hime's or the talent. Perhaps it was because Hime didn't love ballet like Hijiri loved basketball…
Miru chuffed, her attention at the basketball court. Hime followed the dogs gaze, all she spotted was a shadowed figure, tall. Her first that was Hijiri, and her mood lifted. Miru led her towards the caged court and they both quickly found out that it was the tall red haired guy from Hime's class. Miru didn't know him though, and he wasn't the one her attention was on.
The dog pushed its way in, practically dragon Hime in. "Calm down Miru, it's not Hijiri." She said pulling on the leash.
Miru chuffed pulling forward; it seemed a miracle that Hime could hold the tubby golden retriever back. Miru had caught the tall first years attention, he dropped the basketball he held and stared at Miru with wide frightened eyes. Hime recognized the look; it was a look of someone who was afraid of dogs. She nearly laughed, the guy was twice Miru's size.
"Ah, Suwabe-san, what are you doing here?" Hime jerked in Tetsuya's direction, he appeared out of nowhere. Miru sniffed at him, chubby tail wagging.
"Hello Kuroko-san, I was just taking a light jog, and you?" She asked in return glancing towards the red head. He was glaring now, staring at Miru as he crouched down to pick up the basketball. He looked ridiculous.
"Kagami-kun and I are having a one on one game," He replied noticing Kagami's distaste for Miru.
Hime nodded her head, "Yeah…um Ka-Kagami-san, are you okay?"
The teen grunted, finally looking at Hime. He sized her up in less than a second and lost interest. For some reason Hime felt irritated again.
"Kagami-kun, this is our classmate, Suwabe Hime-san," Tetsuya introduced whether Kagami was interested or not it was the polite thing to do. "Suwabe-san this is Kagami Taiga-kun."
"This is my dog, Miru. She's very friendly, so there is no need to be afraid." Hime stated staring at Taiga the entire time she unnecessarily introduced her dog. Taiga looked as irritated as Hime felt.
"She's…very nice." Tetsuya commented as he scratched Miru behind the ears.
Taiga clicked his tongue, glancing away. "Whatever, we're here to play not mess around." He grumbled.
Hime bit down a frown, "Yeah, I better get going. Don't overwork yourselves." She said forcing a polite smile before dragging Miru away.
"Suwabe-san," The librarian called, heaving a box on the counter, "Could you bring this to the basketball club?"
Hime stiffened, looking up from her homework. The first thing she wanted to know was why it always seemed to come back to basketball. Perhaps it was just her mindset because Hijiri had been telling her about his basketball adventures in America. Really it was all he talked about when they contacted one another. She suppressed a sigh and smiled.
"Of course," She said taking the box. It was lighter then she thought, but heavier then someone Hime's size should be expected to lug for someone else.
"Thank you, just give it to Aida Riko-san, she's the coach for the team, and just tell her it's what she asked for."
Hime nodded her head looking down at the box in her arms. She couldn't see much of its contents, but it seemed like a box that was gotten into often. She decided to leave quickly; the box seemed to be getting heavier the longer she held it. It reminded her she needed to work on her upper body strength. She had a feeling if she continued to use the library as a hang out spot she would be used to do more errands.
First, she stopped by the club room. It was empty, with few signs that anyone would return until club activities were done. Hime huffed out, adjusting the box in her arms, it felt almost as if her arms were going to tear off. Each step seemed slow and agonizing. She could hardly believe it when she made it to the gym. Shoes squeaked, and the repetitious thuds of basketballs were audible outside the door.
She struggled with the door, and just barely made it through before the door could shut on her. She caught a few wandering stares, first years and second years at practice running, passing, dribbling. It was conditioning first years mainly for the year to come, and just a normal day of practice for the second years from last year.
Hime spotted the only person not exercising. She looked familiar, but Hime had seen a lot of people over the past week. She could've been the manager, and surely would know where the coach was.
"Excuse me, I was told to give these to Aida Riko-san." Hime said to the girl as she approached her.
The second year straightened, and turned to Hime, fingering the whistle around her neck. "Oh… great! Thank you." She smiled as she looked over Hime. Hime's arms were staring to shake. "Could you take it to the club room?"
That- Hime gritted her teeth, eyes widening but she continued to smile politely. "Sure," Hime agreed in a tight voice.
"I can take it." Hime and Riko jumped, startled. Hime had dropped the box and at the same time had made an audible 'squeak'. She instantly turned red, staring down at the box to hide her blush. Everyone had paused to stare, but after a quick glare from the second year girl everyone went back to exercising.
"T-thank you Kuroko-san, but don't you have to practice?" She crouched down, picking up the box. The ache in her arms immediately returned. "Uh…sorry for dropping the box…" She said risking a glance up at Riko.
"It's no problem, everything in it should be A-Okay," She stated with a smile, she looked to Kuroko, "Be quick Kuroko. And thanks again for bringing it."
Kuroko took the box away from Hime, it seemed as if she was about to drop it again. The two freshmen bowed their heads politely before turning and heading towards the door. Hime rolled her shoulders, her cheeks still felt heated. She tried to forget the fact that she had squeaked, and hoped others would forget.
They made it to about half court before they were interrupted.
"Watch out!" They both paused and looked towards the voice. Hime looked just in time to see the orange basketball coming towards her at high speed.
Authors Note: Well That took me longer then i thought. So i made the end of chapter one the same as the first version. Also the chapter is nearly the same length haha... or the seem the same length I'm not sure. I'm feeling good about this remake since i remembered that Kagami is afraid of dogs and Hime is best pals with her puppy. Well its practically one in the morning where i'm at and i'm not used to stay up so late so i'll be working on this tomorrow when i get up :) Hope you all liked it.
Edit: so this morning i had a thought, and it turns out that my little breaks/pauses in between scenes go missing, and well sometimes i forget to fix them...
