Chapter two is here.

Disclaimer: I do not own KnB. I take credit for only my OC's and original story.


Chapter two

Unrecognised Queen

"So who is this Izumi Asuka?" Kagami asked. He'd been forced to go along, for no goddamn reason it seemed. Kuroko appeared next to him, making Kagami jump and glare. To this day, having known Kuroko for nearly two years, he still got surprised by the phantom sixth man.

"She's the unrecognised queen. If she were born a boy, she could have been with the generation of miracles, but being a girl, she can't join an all boys team." Kuroko explained.

"She's that good?" Kagami questioned.

"Good? She's not human! Asukacchi is better than me." Kise said.

"Yeah, that proves so much." Aomine said mockingly, smirking. He thought about it for a moment before mumbling, "She beat me a few times."

Kagami held back his surprise. This girl they were all so worked up about must have been a brute. He tried imagining her appearance and envisioned a gorilla-like girl taller than Murasakibara. Moimoi crossed her arms angrily and huffed out an annoyed breath.

"You guys make her sound like some sort of monster! She's not. Asu-chan is really nice." Momoi retorted.

"Yeah, but her cooking could kill." Aomine recounted. The generation of miracles all gaged and went pale. Apparently this Izumi Asuka's cooking was worse than Riko's. The group arrived at the park. There was no one in sight, strange considering it was a park open to public. The weather was good too.

"Maybe we came to the wrong park." Midorima stated.

Kise shook his head confidently. There was a reason the basketball with the note had gone to him. The Old Park was not the true name of said park, but rather a nickname. He and Asuka were the only ones that called it the Old Park, adding to the reasons of why the note was definitely from her.

"This is the 'Old Park'. That's what we always called it since no one ever comes here." Kise said. Kagami had his doubts. 'Old Park' wasn't exactly the most direct instructions. There were a number of parks in the area. Perhaps the note was a dud anyway.

"That idiot really sucks at instructions." Aomine muttered.

"Being called a idiot from an idiot himself? That's rich." A female voice called.

A girl appeared from behind a tree and threw herself at Kise, a river of silver hair flowing behind her.

"Ryōta! I missed you!" the girl exclaimed happily.

"Asukacchi!" Kise cried, hugging her tightly.

Asuka came out of the embrace and greeted everyone brightly. She saluted Akashi in a whimsical manner and grinned widely.

"Captain sir! It's been a while but I'm back on duty!" She said in a soldier's tone.

Next, Asuka embraced Momoi, who was near tears then shook hands with Midorima. She looked up at Murasakibara and whistled.

"Wow, you've grown! How are you so tall?" She complained.

"You're as short as ever Izu-chin." Murasakibara replied. Asuka pouted and hit him playfully. She then turned to Kagami next who was looking stunned.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Izumi Asuka. The guys have told me a lot about you." She said, holding out her hand. Kagami shook it, still trying to process what was happening. This was the Unrecognised Queen? She was, well, small, at least in comparison to his image. The girl was only slightly taller than Kuroko and Akashi and certainly didn't look like a gorilla. She didn't have broad shoulders and a hunched back. The girl looked more like a model than anything. If Kagami hadn't been told, he never would have suspected that she played basketball.

"I'm Kagami Taiga as I see you already know." Kagami said, suddenly suspicious about what the others had said about him.

"Welcome back Izumi-san." Kuroko's voice said from behind Kagami. He jumped but Asuka just patted the blue headed boy on the shoulder smiling and saying how much she had missed him. Everyone conversed for awhile, smiling and laughing. This all stopped when Asuka finally walked towards Aomine. Her smile was gone, replaced with an emotionless mask. They all held their breaths. Aomine was looking the other way, acting cool. He glanced down at Asuka, who was a fingers length away. She had her face down. For a millisecond, there was silence, tension, then… Asuka raised her head abruptly, her hand went to her handbag and came out in one swift motion to slap Aomine in the face with a magazine.

"Bastard." She whispered coldly.

"What the hell-" Aomine was cut short as Asuka's smile returned.

"That was for skipping basketball practises, being a total idiot and not keeping in contact, but," Asuka held out the magazine, "The magazine I slapped you with is of Horikita Mai, with her signature and kiss so you should be thankful!"

Aomine's eyes went wide and he grabbed the magazine, holding it up to his face. It was an American magazine, written in english, but on the front cover was a very beautiful women with a rather large chest. Signed in vivid was a short note.

Good luck with Basketball Aomine-san! Hope everything goes well. Thanks for being a fan!"

There was a signature and what looked like red lipstick.

"How did you-"

"She came to the institute a month back. Managed to get her autograph." Asuka boasted.

"Izumi, you're a legend." Aomine said.

"That right!" She nodded then once again became serious.

Asuka glared at the whole group, closed her eyes, took a deep breath then stood tall.

"You goddamn idiots! How could you just abandon basketball like that! And you!" She shouted, prodding Akashi in the chest, "How could you go and pull an Aomine on me! I hadn't heard one word for at least four months! The hell was wrong with you? Also, how dare you be such a stupid smug bastard? Playing alone? Relying on no one? The hell, no wonder you lost, if you had played the way you did for the last half, you may have won. Yeah, I saw a recording of the game. That's with all of you! I specifically told you guys not to be dicks to your new teams. Just because you guys can stand each other's attitudes, doesn't mean everyone can! Yet, the moment I leave, you all become obsessed with winning. If it weren't for Kuroko and Kagami, you guys would have been in a lot more crap right now. I would have beaten you all to death. I'm glad you guys lost, cause wake up call, one person does not make a bloody team!" Asuka raged.

Kagami was stunned. He was surprised Akashi took that kind of talk from anybody. The generations of miracles all murmured apologies, making Kagami feel rather uncomfortable as their eyes rested on him. Asuka smiled smugly and looked at the whole group.

"Still, later better than never. Good job on the game against Jabberwock, cause that's how up yourselves you were, yeah? How about some okonomiyaki? I still have a lot of ranting to do."


"Ok guys. Time to give out souvenirs!" Asuka announced.

She put her bag on her lap and took out several gifts including some generic American souvenirs such as miniature Statue of Liberty models. Along with the signed magazine of Aomine's favourite model, he was also given a Marilyn Monroe film collection. A huge bag of what looked like snacks and lollies for Murasakibara. For Momoi was a pretty set of bath bombs, soaps and powders along with a collection of clothes. Asuka produced a beautiful hand carved chess set accompanied by a weird keyring for Midorima.

"Is this…"

"The ultra rare item that brings luck no matter the day? Yep, only found in America." Asuka said.

Next, Asuka passed Kuroko a stack of books. Kuroko looked at the books closely, then his eyes went wide. Asuka grinned.

"You know those old japanese books that you really wanted? Well these are some of the oldest copies. Leather bound and all. Sorta weird they were in America right? There's also a few on magic tricks and stuff like that." Asuka said.

She then handed Akashi a glass horse that was rearing on it hind legs. It looked very realistic and detailed. It stood on a platform coated in white speckles that looked like snow.

"That took me forever to make, but here it is. A model of your mare, Yukimaru." Asuka said proudly.

"Thank you Asuka." Akashi said gratefully, inspecting the beautiful glass model.

Asuka put the last gift of the table, an American eagle model. It stood on a base of the American flag and was made from copper.

"This so is cool Asukacchi." Kise said in awe.

"Should be. My friends pestered the metal work teacher into making it. That there is the most American thing I could get from AYAI, just like you requested." Asuka said.

She then gave an apologetic look to Kagami.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know what to get you but here, a poster signed by a few NBA members." Asuka said.

The whole group looked at Kagami as he took it.

"I got separate signature for everyone, but they're on paper." Asuka said, handing out the notes. Aomine looked at it in wonder. A real NBA player, probably one he would be aiming to beat.

"Izumi-san, why are you back from America? What about Art school?" Midorima inquired.

Asuka swallowed her food and poured another bowl of okonomiyaki onto the teppan.

"I'm on a assignment year, gonna go back next year. Since AYAI is really stressing and hard, it actually allows something called an 'assignment year'. You sorta take a gap year where you only have to produce a certain project but, if it doesn't meet standards, you could get expelled. Still, nearly everyone takes it. You can take it any of the five years except the first and last year. I'm taking it this year, because it's my last chance to do so." Asuka explained.

She paused to eat the okonomiyaki, devouring it in seconds. Kagami frowned. It was already her third one. How did this girl manage to eat so fast? She'd been handing out gifts the whole time. Also, he had no idea what they were talking about.

"I'm a little lost here, can someone explain?" He asked

"Of course," Asuka said, "I'll do a quick history. I'm Ryōta's cousin. I met the guys in Tekio High. I couldn't play basketball with the boys team cause, you know, I'm a girl, however, I played for the girls team. At the start of the last year of Junior High, I was asked to go to the Advanced Youth Arts Institution in America cause some scout saw my paintings and I decided to take the opportunity."

Kagami nodded. He had lived in America for a large portion of his life. AYAI, it did sound a bit familiar.

"So what is this AYAI?" Kagami asked.

"A school for advanced people in the Arts, duh." Aomine replied.

"It's like an early high school and university for people good at the arts. You start at thirteen to fourteen, which is America's high school entry age. It goes up to eighteen to nineteen years old, though some people can be held back a year. If you graduate, you're chances at a job skyrocket and it's much easier to make your debut in the art world." Asuka explained, already moving on to her fifth okonomiyaki. Kagami nodded. That was interesting.

"So what school will you attend now?" Kagami asked.

Everyone stopped eating. Kagami gulped. Had he said something wrong?

"Well, I'm staying in Tokyo so either Seirin or Tōō most likely. There are other options too." Asuka said.

No one commented and Asuka smiled awkwardly.

"Uh, well, I'll be going to both for a tour, see what's best." Asuka said.

"Will you be playing basketball for the girls team?" Kuroko asked.

Asuka gave a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling with pride. She took out some paper from her bag and brandished it in front of her.

"The Japan basketball association formally permits Izumi Asuka to participate in a male only basketball team." Momoi said, reading out the first line.

"This is due to an exceptional skill level displayed by Miss Izumi in which has been assessed to benefit from participating in a male team." Midorima continued.

"So you finally did it. Got permission from the higher ups." Aomine said.

He didn't looked too impressed, unlike the others in the group. The expression on his face was one that said 'finally, took long enough'. It wasn't clear whether the look was to Asuka or the higher ups.

"Yup, but among all the writing, it specifically states that if the school does not agree, they can deny me, which is fair, yeah? The permit is mainly for official games and that stuff. This means my school choice will heavily be influenced by that." Asuka said.

After eating their fill, (eleven okonomiyaki for Asuka), the group took a stroll in the cool evening air, stopping at a local convenience store for popsicles. When Kuroko once again won a free popsicle, Asuka laughed heartily, commenting that some things never changed. Aomine was deep in thought as the others caught up with each other. He remembered of all of them, excluding Kagami, walking together on a night much like this one. They'd all been young, and so different. His face didn't show, but as he watched Asuka laugh, he had a realisation. It was off. He tried hard not to frown and spoil the mood. Instead he tried to work out what was wrong with Asuka's smile. It reached her eyes, lit up her face, but looked slightly, unnatural. She seemed happy, but it was as though a sadness was locked up in the smile.

"Ok guys, lets meet up again soon, and play basketball together!" Asuka said as everyone prepared to go. The group said their goodbyes and split up

"Aomine! I'm going this way too." Asuka said.

"Tch, how annoying. I forgot you lived close." Aomine muttered.

"Thats mean!" Asuka retorted, pouting playfully.

Aomine grunted, placing his hands casually in his pockets and falling into step with Asuka. An uncomfortable silence settled between them as they walked along the lamp lit street, eyes straight with a respectful gap between them, as though they'd only just become acquainted. Asuka struggled to find something to say but for once, the stoic bluenette started the conversation.

"Any plans for tomorrow?" Aomine asked, the words sounding strangely formal.

"Uncle Eito come down from Niseko tomorrow morning and will be staying at the house but he told me not to meet him at the airport. I'll need to go shopping for food since the pantry is pretty stocks of ramen won't last me much longer, and I doubt Ojisan would appreciate it either." Asuka replied.

Unpleasant flashbacks filled Aomine's head and he grimaced. "He won't appreciate any of the poisonous stuff you cook."

Asuka bristled indignantly at the comment but couldn't keep a smile from forming. The suffocating feeling of awkwardness had evaporated. Of course it couldn't stay awkward with Aomine, even with three years of silence and a bad parting. The pair reached the bus stop and took shelter beneath it just as a light rain began to fall.

"I admit I couldn't really cook before but I'll have you know my food is perfectly edible now." Asuka informed.

Aomine scoffed, earning himself a punch on the shoulder.

"Why don't you have food in the house? What about your dad?" Aomine inquired.

The corner of Asuka's mouth twitched and her eyes flashed for a second. The strange reaction didn't go unnoticed by Aomine, who frowned questioningly.

"Ah, Otosan is on book tour at the moment so I haven't see him yet. His last book has been doing really well." Asuka smiled, "I'll see him in a few days though so it's fine!"

The silence returned, but this time, it was a comfortable. Aomine found himself feeling sentimental, an extreme rarity. In fact, he'd been feeling too many emotion that day.

"You should come to Tōō." Aomine said.

"I'll be visiting Tōō and Seirin to see which one to go to. Even if I don't go to Tōō, we can still play basketball together." Asuka assured.

Spotting the bus approaching, Asuka stood up to signal the bus to stop. Not a single word was exchanged during the entire bus ride. Instead, Asuka and Aomine sat contently, enjoying each other's presence. Aomine was the first to get off, lingering on the pavement. As the bus was about to leave, Aomine mouthed two words.

Welcome back


At the part where Asuka is yelling at the team, I was originally going to add swearing, but felt a bit uncomfortable with it. I'm fine reading swearing, but writing, umm, yeah that's another story. I've been doing some serious research (as actually finishing the series). Personalities may still be a bit off, but I will try my best. I also have no idea how to describe the fancy moves of the basketball playing, but I'll work on it. Finally, warning, my proof reading is atrocious, if I even proof read at all.