Chapter 10 – Seafood pancake

The light tapping against the window drew the attention of the crimson haired male, a slight smile grew on his face. He placed the pile of documents aside and made his way over to the large window, opening it and feeling the warm summer breeze flow past him. A tiny coo brought his eyes down to the cream coloured dove but his attention was mostly on the little scroll attached to its leg.

He reached down to take the scroll but the dove pecked at his finger, as if telling him to feed it first. A memory flashed through his mind and made his heart warm up a little, but the deep rage and resentment that accumulated through the years had drowned that warmth in a cocoon of ice. Before the dove could react, he plucked the scroll from its leg and read the text.

To Crown Prince, Akashi Seijuro,

We accept your deal. We will not hold back in the Summer Trials and Seirin will beat you and your team. Good luck.

From, Kuroko Tetsuya and Aida Sora.

The dove seemed to glare once at the Prince for refusing to feed it before it flew away, back to the person who sent it. If he recalled, today was the day that Seirin would finally go up against a member of the Generation of Miracles. Seirin was a new and inexperienced team. Some would say they were easy prey but in the eyes of others, they were wolves in sheep's clothing, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. A slight grin grew on his face as he wondered how the match would go. Knowing the Kuroko and Midorima, neither were going to go down without a fight, especially the former who was notorious for his unwavering determination. Nevertheless, his teammates would tell him so there was no need for him to be present. He had more important matters to attend to.

~At the Arena~

"Okay, so you guys know that Shutoku is a very tough team. They have a member of the Generation of Miracles who excels in long distance and short distance attacks. Watch each other's backs and win!"

"YOSHH!"

With a mighty roar, Seirin and Shutoku entered the arena where they got into position. Riko and Sora stayed on the sidelines with the opposing coach on the other side, facing towards them with a look of shock. He hadn't expected the coach to be a female. Many of the spectators and competitors hadn't expected Seirin to make it this far into the competition, after all they were a new team that no one had heard of before.

The aim of these matches were to eliminate the members of the opposite team by immobilizing them and grab their flag that was positioned on each end of the arena. These battles could get bloody if you didn't pay attention but it was prohibited to kill your opponents, the armour worn by each player was designed to protect the vitals from getting pierced. Sora turned to inspect the opposing team. It was hard to miss the tall green haired member who was positioned further back, armed with a bow and arrow. Beside him was a shorter raven haired boy who was armed with a short sword and a dagger that were meant for precise and quick attacks. The shorter boy said something to the green haired boy, whom Sora remembered from her last encounter with Akashi as Midorima, and promptly got scolded.

The referee signaled for the match to begin and both teams lunged. Midorima fired an arrow at the raging Kagami who deflected it with his large broad sword, a looked of shock appeared on his face. Kuroko, as usual, vanished from the view of everyone, like a phantom dashing across the arena. As a pair, the star duo reached half way into enemy territory as the rest of the team dealt with the opponents. To the shock of everyone, the raven haired boy, Takao had the ability to see the entire arena like Izuki could but unlike Izuki, Takao could see at a better perspective allowing him to see Kuroko.

"Kuroko! Watch out!"

In terms of fighting abilities, Kuroko wasn't the best. He relied on his faint presence and once that was gone, he was like a sitting duck. Takao took this chance to attack and managed to land a blow to Kuroko's arm. Kagami was fighting against Midorima who also had the advantage over Kagami. Midorima's defense was impeccable and he easily defended himself against Kagami. Shutoku crept closer into Seirin's territory, at one point, almost getting the flag until Hyuga's quick thinking and Koganei's reflexes managed to stop them and push them back long enough for Kagami to get back and help defend. With Kuroko locked down by Takao, Sora could see that her team was struggling to advance as well as protect their flag. Shutoku was an all rounder team with very good fighters. Before they knew it, it was half time and the teams were given a 15 minute break.

"I got this. You guys just focus on holding them all back. Only I can win this for us."

"That's rather arrogant of you Kagami."

He wiped his sweat with the towel that Sora had given him and chugged down some water, not even bothering to look up at her.

"I'm the only one strong enough to do this."

Suddenly Kuroko struck out and punched Kagami in the face, knocking him back. It was one of the few times that Sora had seen him so agitated and she didn't blame him. Kagami was very out of line and if Kuroko hadn't punched him, she would have.

"Don't say that Kagami-kun. At times like these, we need team play more than ever."

"What's the point if we don't win?!"

"Then what is victory to you? Don't you think it's rather selfish of you to think that all we care about is the victory Kagami? Perhaps to you, winning is much more important than the feelings and efforts of the team. If that's the case then why are you here with us then? Why are you in our team?"

Kagami looked over at Sora who had a deadly stare on her face, one that could kill. A sudden look of realization appeared on his face and he looked to the ground in shame.

"Sorry, I didn't think that through. Let's do this together!"

Kuroko smiled in relief but Riko wasn't done with him yet.

"Oh, don't think that just because you realized it and didn't so something stupid that I won't punish you for stepping out of line. You're dead to me after this match."

Kagami flinched at Riko's words and growled when Hyuga hit him on the head and scolded him. In that moment, Kuroko had come up with a plan to overcome Takao and help the team again. It wasn't long before Kuroko turned the tables and with a final push, Kagami was able to steal the flag and obtain victory for the team.

Riko and Sora leapt up, hugging each other and cheering as Seirin celebrated their victory. Shutoku seemed very disappointed to have lost. Losing wouldn't feel good, especially to a newbie team. After the teams bowed to each other, they returned to their temporary waiting rooms to get changed as they only had one match that day.

~meanwhile~

Midorima left his locker room, in a somber mood only to run into a certain loud pinkette.

"AH! MIDORIN! How'd you go? You lost right?! It's okay! Don't let that get you down. Seirin are pretty good for a new team."

Momoi continued to blabber on and on, Midorima gradually growing more agitated until he was 'saved' by the tanned male who looked bored as usual.

"Satsuki shut up. Can't believe you lost to those scrubs."

"Hmpf, they're not as weak as you think Aomine."

Aomine scoffed and sneered. He knew that even if Kuroko was on their side, they weren't going to get anywhere near beating him.

"You forget, the only one who can beat me, is me."

And with that the tanned male walked off, the bubbly pinkette shouts her goodbyes and raced after him. Midorima sighed. He knew that by this time, Akashi would have probably known of his loss. His little spies were the best in the country, there wasn't anything Akashi wouldn't know, even the reappearance of a certain girl.

"Ah! There you are Shin-Chan! AW…don't cry, let's go eat to cheer you up!"

"Shut up Takao, I'm not crying."

"It's okay to cry…I know a good place to eat. Let's go."

~Back with Seirin~

To celebrate, the group decided to eat a local fried food store. When they entered, they saw a certain blonde eating with a dark haired boy. Kuroko flinched and pushed Sora behind him.

"Please stay out of sight, we can't let Kise-kun see you."

"That'll be rather hard to achieve Kuroko, besides, if he was watching the match, he would have seen me sitting on the bench with Riko. I mean, we can always leave and go to another store-"

"EHH?! IT'S KISE AND KASAMATSU!"

"HUH!? KAGAMICCHI!?"

Sora let out a long sigh as once again, Kagami's actions cause their plans to go down the drain.

"What are you doing here?"

"We're here to eat."

"Oh…ahah Right…AHH! KUROKOCCHI!"

The blonde lunged for Kuroko who neatly dodged but couldn't push Sora out of the way fast enough, resulting in a head on collision between the two.

"Owie…Ah! Are you okay – Eh? No way…Tamikocchi!?"

This can't be good.

"Please get off me."

Kise realized that he was in a rather promiscuous position and jumped up, a blush on his face as he gazed down at the blunette who was now getting up, dusting herself off. Seeing that she was up, he brought her into a crushing hug, swinging her around and nuzzling her.

"It really is you. It's you! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH. I THOUGHT YOU DI-"

Sora covered his mouth and with a hiss, whispered to Kise,

"Put me down please. Also, regarding who you think I am, we'll discuss that later."

Kise seemed shocked by the harshness in Sora's voice and put her down. Everyone was now watching them and Sora ignored them, choosing to sit down when she was pulled into the same booth as Kise. Now Sora was sitting in between Kise and Kuroko while facing Kasamatsu and Kagami. Her sister gave her a worried look but with a simple nod and the words 'later', Riko looked a bit more relieved.

This is awkward, urgh, why did I think this would happen?

She turned to Kuroko who was staring straight ahead and everyone was staring at each other in an awkward silence.

"Let's order something, we've already eaten quite a bit so you go straight ahead."

Sora could tell that Kise was itching to say something to her but he was holding it back after her warning earlier. Suddenly a loud laugh and a familiar scowling voice came from the entrance of the store, causing everyone to turn around.

"No way…It's you guys."

"Takao, we're leaving."

But Midorima was ignored as Takao noticed the captain of Kaijo sitting beside Kagami.

"Ah! You're Kasamatsu of Kaijo aren't you!? I've always wanted to meet you, please come sit with me!"

Takao took Kasamatsu from the table, leaving Midorima to sit there on the most dangerous table in the store. The awkward silence was once again back. Sora thought it was rather funny to see that the notorious Generation of Miracles weren't as terrifying or imposing as people had made them out to be. That was when Sora noticed the small stuffed animal beside Midorima and she couldn't help but look perplexed. It was strange in this day and age to see a teenager carrying around his stuffed toy. Sora had concluded that the Generation of Miracles were basically just talented albeit strange boys. Although, there was something about this atmosphere that seemed familiar, perhaps it had something to do with her past.

Kuroko, sensing the tension, decided to call over a waiter. Sora ordered a serving of octopus balls and seafood pancake as did Kuroko, while Kagami decided to order about everything on the menu.

"Do you even have that much money to buy all of that? You do realise that you won't be getting any additional money from anyone else right?"

Sora stated with a raised brow to Kagami as the waiter walked away.

"Yeah, I brought lots for food."

At this point, Sora wasn't all too surprised at his comment, and from the looks of things, neither was Kuroko. Kise and Midorima on the other hand looked at him like he was a monster.

"Now then, I suppose this wouldn't be the greatest place to ask about you."

Sora realized that Midorima had directed that statement to her and she turned to face him.

"No, it isn't. I know what you are thinking, both you and Kise-san. Honestly, I don't much so if you want better answers to your question, you'd be better off asking Kuroko."

"Wait? So are you Tamikocchi?!"

"We think Sora-san may be Tamiko-san…after all, Akashi-kun did recognize her but Sora-san doesn't remember anything, so there is a chance that Sora-san isn't Tamiko-san. But since you both know already, I might as well tell you. However, not here. It's not safe."

"It's not like I care that much, but it'll be reassuring to know that Tamiko is safe."

"I agree with Midorimacchi! I'm still sad but it's better having her here than dead. Wait a minute! Does that mean you were the one dancing with Akashicchi during the ball!? I thought you looked familiar but I was too far away to see. Does he know everything!?"

"That's a stupid question to ask Kise, of course Akashi knows everything. I'm just surprised he hasn't done anything drastic yet."

It was strange to see that the Generation of Miracles, despite being very good friends in the past, were so wary of the Prince, not only that, but they were rather cold towards each other. A small pang of hurt filled Sora's chest, like a heartache.

"You guys talk too much. Why can't you just eat in peace? Besides, you talk as if Akashi is going to hurt Sora or something…If what you guys say about Akashi being really close to Sora in the past or something, then why would he hurt her?"

Midorima scoffed and pushed his glasses up.

"You don't know anything about what happened in the pas-"

Just as he said that, an entire seafood pancake descended from the heavens onto Midorima's head and a quiet gasp came from behind him. The entire store went quiet as Midorima, stood up and turned to his teammate, dragging him by the collar of his shirt with a blank yet infuriated expression.

"Takao come."

"Wait no, I'm sorry Shin-Chan…Please, wait…ARGH!"

The smaller male was dragged outside and a loud thump followed by a screech was heard before a moment of silence. Then Midorima alone walked back into the store, the pancake was gone but remnants of it were still there.

"Also, I warn you about your next opponent. You'll be facing Aomine. He's a dangerous opponent and one who's style of fighting is rather similar to yours. But he is a wild card. That's all I have to say."

Then he left.

"It looks like our team is ready to go. Thank you for letting us sit with you Kise-san."

"No problems, you can just call me Kise or even Ryota if you want…like back in the old days. I'd like to meet up with you more often too. You know help you get your memories back."

Sora smiled unconsciously. Something about what Kise said reminded her of something that she couldn't exactly grasp on yet, but it warmed her heart.

"Thank you, goodbye Kise-kun."

Kise stood up, a dangerous smirk on his face as he turned to Kagami and Kuroko.

"Oh and by the way, if we ever have each other as an opponent, we'll beat you so you better watch out."

Kagami returned the challenge with his typical competitive grin.

"It's on!"

Back in the inn, Riko shoved her sister into their room and demanded to know what happened. So Sora explained that Kise had mistaken her for someone he knew and it took a while to explain to him. Riko didn't really buy the story but something on her sister's face made her accept the answer for now. She knew that there was something going on between Kuroko, Sora and the Generation of Miracles and she knew Sora really wasn't her sister. She'd known that on the day that the Okuma Family aristocrats had gone missing (supposedly dead), her father had found a small girl wondering the forest, limping and dying of blood loss. It didn't need much to put the pieces together.

There was no need to stress her out, especially since the girl looked so deeply traumatized and couldn't even remember her own name.

"Anyway, our next match is with Touo which is in 2 days right?"

"Yep, and Aomine Daiki is a part of that team. He's the ace of the Generation of Miracles, meaning he'll be a big challenge for us. Aside from Aomine, Touo has very advanced fighters. So I'm tripling the training for the boys. We need to be good in the basics and improve our team play. After today's match against Shutoku, I noticed that we rely too heavily on Kuroko and Kagami in offense and our defense is rather weak. Since Touo is also an offensive team, we need to improve our defense."

"I do pity those boys sometimes. You're a slaving demon coach at times."

Riko's eyebrow twitched and then she jumped on top of her sister, tickling her. The two continued to wrestle before they both collapsed to the ground in fatigue.

"God, if it wasn't so hot, I would have beat you."

"You wish Riko, you're just super competitive."

"Speak for yourself. I've never met anyone as competitive as you. You hate losing."

"Shut up."

The two girls laughed and Riko turned to look at her sister, the beautiful, slightly tanned, blunette who was staring out the window, gazing at the setting sun with a smile. There was a sense of longing in Sora's eyes, a longing for perhaps something or…someone.

Even though I know who you really are and what might happen if you remember, you'll always be a sister to me.

Don't worry Sora, I'll protect you.

End of chapter

Yeyeyeye…this was a shorter chapter in comparison to the others that I've written but I hope you guys liked it. Also, I did incorporate parts of the original story in here because I loved this scene. It was so funny and I loved the character dynamics in it, especially Takao and Midorima. But yeah, thanks for reading this chapter and the fanfic. I apologise for the wait and I can't say for sure when I'll be able to update, so yeah.

I'll see you guys next chapter!