Ilena: As promised, A NEW CHAPTER! GAH! This was so much fun to write! I've really got into this story again, so I can assure you more chaps are to come! Please tell me what you guys think! Your reviews make my day! And a special thanks to Epic Potatoes (I love your name!) and DreamRO for their reviews! It really motivated me to finish this chapter so I can give you guys some more!

Disclaimer: We do not own KnB. Sadly.

As the group led by Akashi and Imayoshi neared the school's gym, they could hear the sound of a basketball being dribbled and shoes squeaking against the waxed court floors.

"Ne, Kuroko-cchi, Kagami-cchi, what do you think the new player looks like? He must be really big and strong right?" was said at the back of the group.

"I would not know Kise-kun. I have not met him yet."

"How you I know you idiot?! Go bother someone else!"

Kise Ryouta, the one who had been heard going on asking about the new player's appearance, pouted at being called an idiot. But did indeed move on to the other bluenette in the group.

…

Only to be called an idiot again.

Kise pouted even more.

"Ne, Aomine-cchi!" the blonde whined, "Aren't you the least bit curious too? Isn't ANYONE curious?!" The last sentence being directed to the rest of their little entourage.

Met by silence, the model quietly huffed and crossed his arms. Looking very much like a small child having been denied getting what he wanted.

Truth be told, every single one of them, save their captain and manager, were curious about their new supposed ace. Those not apart of the Generation of Miracles wondered what exactly was so special about this player? To be needed when the miracles were around… While those referred to as the miracles began to question their captain. (Not as if they would tell him that, but they did.) Weren't they enough? Separately, they were only challenged by each other. Together, they were unbeatable.

Right?

Aomine Daiki, the previous ace of the Generation of Miracles, was silently fuming. Did Akashi doubt he could be the best? What was the point anyways?! It wasn't as if this mystery player could beat him. Surely he would have heard of such a player if they existed. A player strong enough to beat him as the ace? Not possible.

'Hmph. The only one who can beat me is me!"

But as he tried to be angry at the unknown player, he couldn't crush the flicker of excitement and hope that flared within him.

Unfortunately, for all the thoughts and speculations about the new player, they were not at all prepared for the sight that greeted them when Imayoshi pushed open the double metal doors.

Their manager grinned at the fact that he had managed to surprise them all. If their gaping expressions were anything to go by. Even Akashi, the boy who had supposedly planned and was prepared for any and every possible scenario, was shocked. Though he hid it well, Imayoshi had to admit. The slight widening of his eyes the only tell-tale sign of the redhead's real emotion.

While they all had different ideas and expectations as to what the mystery player would look like; Mubichi Reo had though the player would have been a large, burly guy who relied mostly on his size and strength, Himuro Tatsuya had imagined him to be tall and lean with a strict demeanor. But they had certainly not expected this.

Because instead of a guy, a slim girl with midnight black hair tied up in a high ponytail was running along the court, dribbling the ball as she went.

Shocked into silence, they could only watch the girl as she played. Upon watching, they realized that she seemed to be playing against imaginary opponents.

She dribbled the ball, five faceless players standing in front of her in her mind. As she darted forward to the left, she broke past the first defender. With a twist of her body to the right, the second player was cleared. Coming to the third player she paused, he was the largest of the three. A simple twist or dart wouldn't clear him. She had to be smart. She faked to the left, dodged to the right from the person trying to steal the ball and then jumped. Her strong, lean legs kicked off the ground, launching her into the air. She rose higher and higher, seeming as if she would never stop.

Her last two opponents jumped up in front of her on the left and right. The first three had caught up with her and leaped as well.

She was caged in.

Focusing her weight onto her legs and especially her feet, she landed on the floor and ducked. Racing forward, she twisted until she was almost horizontal to the ground while her front faced the ceiling of the gym. Underneath her opponents' legs she went. Righting herself, but never losing control of the ball, she ran forward. She was in the middle of the court. But she knew she wouldn't make it in time, there were too many of them. So just as they were about to reach her, she steadied herself.

Holding the ball in her right hand, she stood with her right foot in front. Taking a step, she bent down, putting her left hand on the ground. Using her left leg, she propelled her body over her straightened left arm. But just before her right leg went over her head, she fit the ball against her right ankle and brought her flip to a full circle.

She watched as the ball that she had sent off flew into the air, creating a graceful arc before dipping and landing in the hoop. Without the touching of the rim.

Every player stared in shock. The surprise of the player being a female was overshadowed by her performance. And she didn't seem to know they were there, so she couldn't have been showing off… Meaning that she played like that on a regular basis?!

Surprisingly, the ace of the Generation of Miracles was the first to recover and break the silence.

"What the fuck?!"

The exclamation from the bluenette caught the attention of the mystery girl. Turning, her eyes settled on her audience and her face, previously set in concentration, broke out into a grin.

"Shoichi! Took you long enough." She drawled as she walked over, basketball tucked under her right arm. As she got closer, they all noticed that her eyes were a startling silver. Cold as ice, hard as stone. Strange.

She dropped the ball, letting it roll until it came to a stop near the wall beside the doors. Most of them gawked as she and Imayoshi hugged before she turned to Akashi, smirk on her full red lips, right hand extended.

"I'm Asami Koria, the new player. You must be the captain, Akashi Seijuro."

Recovering from his shock, Akashi paused slightly before extending his own hand and grasping hers.

"I am." was his only reply. Releasing her hand, he narrowed his eyes, why was she smirking? Especially in his presence. Most would become nervous at the mere mention of his name, but this girl gave off an air of confidence. A tense silence followed.

"I like your eyes."

Imayoshi let out a small laugh and shook his head.

'Koria, bold as always.'

The rest of the player were flabbergasted. Too many surprises in a day really…

It was kind of an unspoken rule that no one was to mention Akashi's eyes. And yet, this girl, who had just met the redhead, had brought up the subject of his eyes.

It took a moment for Akashi to register the fact that she had addressed his with such a compliment and that she had so blatantly commented on his heterochromic eyes.

And he was getting more intrigued by the second.

Giving her his charming, and what some would refer to as scary, smile, he responded.

"Thank you. I like yours too."

At that point, most of the spectators were either shocked dumb or prepared to faint from everything that had come to light within the span of less than 10 minutes.

Kuroko blinked.

'… I am very much confused.'

Turning to the group, she spoke even louder.

"My name is Asami Koria. You may call me Asami. Please refrain from calling me by my first name. I am 178cm tall, my birthday is on the 19th of December and I will be your new teammate."

Sparing a glance at Akashi, she added. "Maybe."

Walking over to the now red-faced Aomine, she smiled with a sweet, yet obviously fake, smile.

"Yes?"

Disregarding her, the enraged boy turned to his manager.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?! Who is this girl? Your girlfriend?! What is she doing here?! I thought you were supposed to bring in an exceptional player?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Very much like how Aomine had ignored Asami, Imayoshi pretended to not hear him and turn to Akashi.

"As you have met her Akashi, this girl is Asami Koria. My best friend since childhood. She is in her first year of high school, same as the most of you. She used to play basketball on her school team, but as you know, female basketball is known to be easier than male basketball. At least in high school and college. The International Basketball Foundation has recognized her ability and has banned her from playing in the female matches. She, I believe would be the perfect addition to your team."

Akashi nodded. "So far from what I have seen, she seems like a talented player."

Addressing Asami directly, he continued. "Do you always play like that? And you're not very tall. So what makes you such a great player according to Shoichi?"

The silver-eyed player raised an eyebrow at the use of her best friend's first name but didn't comment on it.

She opened her mouth to speak. But before she could get a word out, Aomine interrupted.

"C'mon Akashi! You can't expect her to be as good as us can you?! She's supposed to replace me as the new ace? She's can't even beat me one on one! Y-"

"Wanna bet?"

This time, Aomine faced Asami.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm asking if you want to bet that I can't beat you."

The bluenette laughed, well, it was sort of a bitter chuckle.

"Fine! What do you want to bet on?"

"The position as the ace for Akashi's new team that will become the number one in the world."

It was obvious to her that they would win. She had read each of their files and new that the options for the teams were amazing and nearly endless.

"Fine! If I win, I'll be the ace and you won't be allowed on the team at all."

"Alright. If I win, then I'll be the ace. And you have to get rid of your ego as well as learn to work with the team."

"Then it's settled! It's not like you'll win anyways! The only one who can beat me is me!"

Asami turned to gain permission from the captain for their match to continue.

Akashi thought for a moment.

'From what I've seen, Koria is a good player and would be an asset to the team. The fact that the International Basketball Foundation has deemed her too good a player to compete at a female high school level is also a sign that she is promising. But if she makes the smallest mistake, Daiki would finish her off. There's the chance that I might lose her. But if she wins, I get her and a team player in Daiki. But is she strong enough to win? That is the gamble.'

Looking Asami over, he realized she was still relaxed. Confidence basically oozed out her pores. Was she not worried? Surely she would have seen Daiki play before?

Deciding that it was well worth the risk, he finally answered.

"Very well. The first person to score shall win."

Grinning like a homicidal maniac, Aomine picked up the ball that was previously left on the ground and began heading to the middle of the court. With an animalistic expression, he gestured for Asami to walk on before him as a mock gesture of courtesy.

Smiling at him, she walked on. Followed closely by her challenger.

'His right though. The only one who can beat him, is me.'

The ones not included in the game moved to sit on the bleachers. Imayoshi walked on court when they were in position. Throwing the ball he had taken from Aomine into the air.

The tan player immediately grabbed the ball and ran forward. The girl immediately falling behind.

'This is gonna be so easy!'

The spectators watched in silence. Thinking about how easy it was for Aomine to best the supposed new ace.

Some laughed.

Some scoffed.

But those few players that were experienced enough saw.

They saw that she had never really tried to get the jump ball. Saw that she wasn't really trying to catch up with the aggressive forward. Saw that no matter if she was running, her faced was relaxed and calm. And above all, they saw the look in her eyes. Like she had just caught her prey.

Finally reaching the hoop, Aomine realized that she had finally caught up with him. He knew he would win. There was no way she could block any of his shots. She wasn't even tall enough to dunk! Deciding that he wanted to humiliate her even further, he decided to go win a formless shot. Stopping near under the hoop, he shot off the ground with a strong kick of his legs. Leaning back, body almost parallel to the ground, he launched the ball with a smirk on his face.

'Game over.'

What he did not expect however was that Asami would jump into the air as well. Not just up, but out. Instead of straining to block the hoop, she jumped over Aomine. Stealing the ball as she went. Doing a flip then landing, she immediately shot the ball towards the opposite hoop.

Aomine, over from his shocked of being blocked, recovered just in time to see the ball fly into the hoop. Not as single knock against the metal rim was heard.

Every one of the gathered players just stared. They were all at a point where they thought there couldn't have been anymore surprises for the day. But how this girl just kept proving them wrong.

First, they couldn't believe that she had been able to block his formless shot. A shot that even KAGAMI had failed to defend.

Second, they couldn't believe that she had actually won a one on one against Aomine.

Third, they could not believe in the way that she had won. She had shot a three pointer from almost an entire court away. The only other person they knew that could do that was Midorima.

There was silence in the gym.

Imayoshi was grinning like a proud parent.

Akashi had a small smile on his face. The gamble was worth it after all.

'I… I lost.'

Aomine could only stare at the back of the retreating figure. He didn't know whether to be angry, excited or both.

Finally, he settled for excitement.

Once they had all regrouped. Asami finally said, "Well then. I guess I win."

Aomine, for the first time, smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess you did."

Sticking out his hand, he introduced himself. "I'm Aomine Daiki."

"I know."

Facing Akashi, she grinned.

" I guess I'm now officially a part of your team!"

"Indeed. Why don't you get acquainted with the rest of the team."

Nodding, she headed to sit on the seat in front of where her new teammates were seated. Facing the group, she grinned.

"So? May I know your names? I've already told you mine."

What had just occurred began to soak in. And the group slowly became livelier again.

Kise was the first to recover. Beaming at her, he said, "Hi! My name's Kise Ryouta! You don't know me? I'm a really big model! Asami-cchi is really cool, ne!"

She gave him an amused smile. "Asami-cchi? But yes, I do know who you are. More from the basketball side however. It is interesting how you seem to change and have a serious personality on the court."

Before Kise could start, the little blue haired boy next to him spoke. "Kise-kun adds '-cchi' to the name of everyone he resects. I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. It is nice to meet you Asami-san."

Thanking Kise for respecting her so soon after they met, she looked towards Kuroko. "Ah. The infamous Kuroko. I've heard that you are like a ghost. It's nice to meet you too Tetsuya."

Kuroko blinked at the mention of his first name.

Imayoshi butted in. "Don't be too bothered by it Kuroko. She calls everyone by their first names. Kind of like Akashi does."

The bluenette nodded before looking to Kagami.

"I'm Kagami Taiga. You have to show be how to block that stupid Ahomine!"

"Yeah… We'll work on that later."

The other blunette butted in from the other side of Kise. "Hey! Don't call me that! You idiot Bakagami! Anyways, you already know my name. I'm excited to play more one on ones against you. Why do you not want us to call you by your first name if you call us by ours?"

"I only allow those I am close to or greatly respect to call me Koria."

Aomine nodded. Excepting the answer.

Asami gestured to Teppei who was sitting next to Kagami and then Reo who was sitting next to him.

"I'm Kiyoshi Teppei. I look forward to playing with you."

"Hi Asami. I'm Mubichi Reo from Rakuzan. You're not really my type but I'm sure I'll love you a lot."

The rest of the heads in the row swiveled to stare at the one of the group they didn't really know.

Asami just laughed. "Ahaha… That's we Reo. We've just met and you already tell me you love me."

He just smiled at her before nodding.

Moving on to another giant in the group, one with purple hair who sat next to Aomine, she looked expectantly at him. She also noticed that he was being fed chips by the guy on his other side.

He blinked owlishly at her. Before mumbling around his chips, "Murasakibara Atsushi. Do you want some chips Mi-chin?"

Shaking her head lightly, she moved onto the one doing the feeding.

Now this guy interested her. He had black hair with a fringe that covered his left eye with a mole below the right. Something about him told her that they would get along well.

Smiling slightly at her, he fed Murasakibara another chip. "Himuro Tatsuya."

Hmm. Simple guy.

Next to him was another black haired that was leaning his head on the shoulder of a boy with green hair looking annoyed and holding a stuffed jellyfish.

Realizing she was waiting for him to introduce himself, he grinned. "I'm Takao Kazunari. And this tsundere over here is Midorima Shintaro. Or as I like to call him, Shin-chan!"

"Shin-chan? You can't possibly like that name." Asami deadpanned.

Sparing a glance at her from the corner of his eye, he grasped his jellyfish tighter.

"No. I do not."

She shrugged. "I like your lucky item though."

Now that caught his attention.

"You know Ohasa-san?"

"Yes. I don't listen, but yes."

He nodded.

She realized that Akashi and Imayoshi had left only when she caught them walking back towards their group.

"We have decided that we will start training tomorrow. Assemble at the front gate at 10am. Make sure to bring a change of clothes. You are all dismissed."

And with that, Akashi strolled out of the gym.

'… He's the interesting one.'

~10.05am, Rakuzan High School~

Every player of the unnamed team was standing outside the gate by 10am. Including Imayoshi and Asami. Asami and Kise were apparently having a very in depth conversation about fashion when the gate creaked open, announcing the arrival of their captain.

"Good to see you're all here. Practice begins immediately."

The walk to the gym this morning was livelier than the one the day before. Because this time, all they had to look forward to was playing basketball.

Arriving at the gym, they all went to the locker room to change. Surprisingly, Asami joined them.

"Wh- I- This- What are you doing in here?"

"Calm down Taiga. I'll be using the locker room too. I am part of this team too you know."

"But you're a girl!"

"Really now?" sarcasm dripping heavily within her voice. "I thought I was a boy."

"Ahahaha! You idiot Bakagami!"

"Shut up Ahomine!"

Rolling her eyes with an amused look on her face, she claimed the corner locker furthest from the door. And without hesitation, took of her button up shirt and skirt to reveal her black sports bra and black Nike running shorts underneath. Taking off her heals, she put on her socks and shoes before turning to the guys. Kagami and Aomine were staring at her.

Leaning in, she spoke, "Did you know? It's rude to stare at a girl while she changes." Saying it as if she were going to tell them a secret.

They had the decency to blush and mutter an apology before changing out of their casual clothes.

Smirking, she shook her head as she walked out onto the court waterbottle, phone and towel in hand.

After every player assembled at the bleachers, Akashi and Imayoshi stood in front of them.

"Today we're just going to play some practice games to get familiar with the way each other plays. There will be four groups. Shoichi will film and take notes as the groups play. While two groups play, the two others will watch. We have already decided groups . Which will be as follows,

Group 1: Asami, Mubichi, Kagami

Group 2: Akashi, Kiyoshi, Kise

Group 3: Aomine, Himuro, Midorima

Group 4: Murasakibara, Takao, Kuroko

The teams have been chosen to showcase the individuals' strengths and weaknesses. You must learn to play as a team yet must be individually strong. Group 1 will play Group 2 while the others watch. Then there will be a switch."

The teams gathered and the playing teams moved on court. Each team under their nets, discussing strategies.

Asami immediately began thinking. "Alright, Reo you mark Teppei. Taiga mark Ryouta. I'll handle Seijuro."

"Are you sure? Akashi is probably the hardest one to block. Maybe I should block him instead." Kagami objected.

Staring at him straight in the eye she said, "Really now? Are you sure you can beat Seijuro? He may not be the strongest player physically. But he is the strongest mentally. I doubt that you can match his level. You play without thinking. But his thoughts are his plays. He plans every possible situation before you can even think of your next move. You may think that just because you're larger than him he will pose no threat. But I can promise that he will have you on your back before you can even think. So yes. I am sure. I will handle our captain."

As she turned and signaled her team's readiness, Kagami shivered. Those silver eyes that just a few moments ago shined with mirth were now ice cold. On the surface, she looked exactly the same. But underneath, she felt like a different person. Gone was the sarcastic girl, fond of friendly banter. In her place was a girl whose only goal was victory, and she would do anything to achieve her goal. Anything.

This was the girl that was referred to as The Silver Queen. Known for her mercilessness, viciousness and her cold, silver eyes that induced fear into whoever stared into them. This was why she was banned from playing female basketball. Well, it made sense. It was way too easy to play against opponents that were too scared to even fight back. No?

But the only one who knew of her title amongst her new team was Imayoshi. And he wanted to watch them fail for the first time in their lives. Especially Akashi. He thought it would teach his new teammates to be humble. So no one could warn them of the giant they were about to fight against.

After all, Imayoshi is a scheming little bastard.