Haven't updated in ages, I know but the holidays came and after all the school stress, I wanted just to eat, sleep and play games. Relaxation is bless. I finally got round to it though. I also added to ch 1 and the previous chapters
Disclaimer : I don't own KnB
Chapter eleven
Match one
The air shifted with a breeze that seemed to drift in from the past, humming about winter nights spent on the courts of Teikō junior high. Even Murasakibara, who lazily leaned against the court fencing eating chips had a motivated look in his eyes only seen when he was playing basketball. Kagami grinned inside, slightly nervous. In truth, he had never played with all the generation of miracle yet, against each other. While training for the match against Jabberwock, it had been alone or in small groups, not with every member, and certainly without the Unrecognised Queen. Speaking of which, the silver-haired girl arrived then with Aomine.
"Hey, couldn't have told us earlier?" She asked, though her face showed she was clearly in high spirits.
"Sorry, Asukacchi. Oh, nice necklace!" Kise observed keenly.
Asuka grinned and took it off for Kise to marvel at as she told him about how Aomine got it for her. From the way she spoke, it sounded as though it was worth millions of yen, not the thousand it most likely cost. Kagami could have sworn Aomine blushed, ever so slightly, though it went so quickly he couldn't be sure.
"Anyway, so, first match in three years," Kise said, growing serious, "Four on four, two players short of a real match but that's no matter. Teams?"
"Do it the easy way, have two captains," Momoi suggested.
"Ok, how about Akashi and Midorima," Asuka said.
They all agreed on this, having the two smart ones lead, and the team selecting began. Midorima placed his luck item, a large seashell, with Momoi and unbandaged his hand, selecting Kuroko. Not surprisingly, Akashi picked Asuka first.
"Murasakibara," Midorima chose.
"Ryōta," Akashi said.
"Kagami."
"Daiki."
Asuka let out a puff of breath which caused Aomine to glare at her.
"What's with the sigh?"
"Nothing!" Asuka replied, drawing out the word in a sing-song voice.
Momoi took out a notebook to record the points and nodded at the two teams. Kagami looked Asuka over. That one time he'd played with her, she'd been unbelievable. Her coordination with her cousin was so good, it was hard to believe they hadn't seen each other for three years.
"Asukacchi, playing in that dress and those shoes will be hard," Kise said.
"Shoes are okay, they're flat lace-ups, but the dress, no," Asuka said, "Everyone close their eyes for a second?"
Kagami hastily closed his eyes when Asuka pulled down the zip of her dress. After a moment, she told them it was clear and Kagami cautiously reopened his eyes. Asuka had put her dress to the side and wore shorts and a t-shirt.
"Knew the shirt would come in handy!" She said.
None of the others seemed at all surprised. Maybe it was a common thing? They got into their teams and began strategising.
"We have the advantage of an unfamiliar player, Asuka. Shintarō is going to go all out so we have to as well. With the danger of Taiga and Tetsuya's combo shots, we need to match with our shining duo, Asuka and Ryōta. Daiki, you're going on defence." Akashi said.
"That's quite unexpected," Asuka said thoughtfully.
"Maybe, but their team has more strength, with Taiga and Atsushi. They will have Atsushi on offence, to overpower us. Daiki, you need to guard him." Akashi said.
Momoi watched each team. It was funny how it had worked out. Each had a pair, Kuroko with Kagami and Asuka with Kise. Apart from that, the difference was clear. Akashi's team would have to rely on speed and agility to win. They only had Aomine for power, the other team had both Kagami and Murasakibara. Momoi told the two teams to get into position and immediately, Akashi began to analyse the other team for their strategy. As expected, Murasakibara was up for the toss.
"Start!" Momoi called, tossing the ball in the air. Kise jumped first but Murasakibara won the toss with his height and passed to Kagami who charged forward. Sure enough, they were going full power mode. Murasakibara went for a dunk.
"Daiki go!" Asuka shouted.
Aomine smirked. His blood was pumping. It felt just like Teiko again, back when Asuka played with them during break. She had a habit of using first names when playing. He faced Murasakibara who towered over him. He wasn't about to lose. He pushed off at the last moment possible to get Murasakibara lower for him to reach. The monstrous strength of Murasakibara was overwhelming. With momentum and muscle, it was all Aomine could do to hold his position.
"Hell no!" Aomine yelled, using everything he had to knock the ball away. Asuka sprinted for it.
Midorima went for the rebound as well but was too late. Asuka passed, but Kuroko appeared in his ghostly manner and intercepted. Midorima received the ball and shot, his pinpoint accuracy making a statement as it flew seamlessly through the air. Momoi blew the whistle and clapped. Three points, the first of the match. Asuka breathed and became the wind, graceful, unfaltering and confident. She grinned. The wind stopped for no one. The ball spun and weaved its way around her. She was almost formless like Aomine, only it looked like a dance, already choreographed and too graceful compared to the formless streetball. Midorima didn't fall behind and relentlessly ran forward. Asuka double faked but Midorima was ahead of her, seeing through her steps. Asuka frowned, still moving without pause. It was time for a wrench in the rhythm. She faked left and twitched to the right; a small shift in her balance. Midorima responded and followed her movement, but Asuka was already moving the opposite direction. It was an awkward maneuver, like when one trips and stumbles in public but jolts forward a bit to keep from falling and carries on. As Asuka placed her weight on her right leg, she sped left. With her balance completely off it was seemingly random and an accidental move. It was far from that. Asuka got past and took no time at all to regain balance. Kagami moved to stop Asuka who jumped. 'She's going for a three pointer?' Midorima thought unbelievingly. Asuka wasn't usually the one going for threes, at least not when it wasn't a clear shot. Kagami got to her and launched himself far above her, blocking any chance she had to score. Murasakibara had closed in as well, blocking Asuka's backup in the form of Akashi. She'd made a mistake. Asuka had underestimated how high Kagami could really jump. If rumours held true, she had one more trick, a one time card that she'd never even consider in a real game. It was time to use the acting she'd picked up from her friend Grace. Her expression changed and became cold. Her eyes narrowed and, as if in slow motion, Asuka met Kagami's eyes.
"Fall. My orders are absolute." Asuka whispered in her best Akashi impression.
Kagami froze completely. He lost all sense.
"Kagami!" Midorima shouted.
Kagami started to realise what was happening but too late. Murasakibara couldn't do anything either. Asuka had managed to break away and pass to Akashi. Asuka grinned and stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Heh fell for it!" She said happily, "Go Seijuro!"
He shot. The ball sailed through the air and went in cleanly, giving a satisfying thunk as it hit the concrete below. A perfect three pointer that would make Midorima proud. Murasakibara stretched and yawned.
"Come on, let's start the real game," he said.
"Aye, that's right. Chotto Ocha yeah?" Asuka said.
Murasakibara nodded and suddenly become very serious.
"Chotto Ocha. They have a new cake I want to try." he said.
Kagami looked confused and Kuroko appeared, startling him.
"It's a tradition. When they went against each other in Teiko, the loser had to pay for the winner at the expensive cafe called Chotto Ocha famous for its desserts and sweets." Kuroko said.
The game resumed. Aomine stuck to Murasakibara and Kise had possession of the ball.
"Asukacchi!" Kise shouted.
"Ready!" Asuka replied.
They flew. Both of them darting ahead. The ball seemed to guide itself through the air. Kuroko was desperately trying to intercept the passes but it was in vain. It was then that Kagami realised why they were the shining duo. As they ran in perfect sync, their hair, silver and gold, shone. Everyone was so fixed on stopping the two that no one noticed Aomine.
"Now!" Kise shouted at Asuka as Midorima blocked her. She passed to Aomine who scored a dunk. Momoi clutched her chest and smiled with pride. Nostalgia gripped the scene, reflecting the spectrum of colour that Momoi had missed seeing on the same court.
"Yes! We won!" Asuka exclaimed, throwing up her arms in victory and collapsing. Kise breathed heavily and leaned over on his knees. What a match. The final score was 66-62, they'd won by four points, not bad at all. Kuroko was silently dying while Momoi attempted to tend to him. They'd just played a full game with no subs. Maybe that was the reason Midorima's team had lost. Momoi had tears in her eyes and Asuka jumped up in alarm.
"Momoi, what's wrong?" Asuka exclaimed.
"I'm just so happy. It was like Teiko again!" Momoi cried.
Kuroko comforted Momoi as the others fretted, unsure how to help. Akashi watched contently. It had been a long time since he'd seen them all smile so much. At one point, even Murasakibara had smiled.
"I'm getting drinks. Once we recover, we'll head back. We need to pack for the morning and it's half past ten already." Asuka said.
"I'll help." Kagami offered.
They went back to the main festival grounds which still shone in jubilant lights. With the generous amount of money they'd rounded up from everyone, though mostly from Akashi, Asuka and Kagami bought drinks and food.
"You're really strong for a girl-" Kagami started then shook his head urgently, "I mean, I'm not saying girls are weak it's just that you're really good, as good as all of us and I've never met a girl our age who's that good-"
Asuka laughed at Kagami's bumbling and assured him she took no offence.
"I know what you mean. Girls just aren't biologically made as strong as guys. It's sort of a fact. No use denying it. Every so often, a special case pops up, like me, and I say that in the way that I'm a bit different." Asuka said.
"Different? What do you mean?" Kagami inquired.
"I was actually born with golden hair and eyes, like Kise, inherited from okasan. However, there was some sort of mutation in my DNA. Basically something wrong. So, the doctors managed to treat it with these drugs and technical stuff. I survived but my hair lost its pigments, so did my eyes. The mutation remains though, but the harmful bits are repressed," Asuka explained.
"Training with the generation of miracles would have been really good for getting better," Kagami noted.
"Actually, I wasn't in their team at Teiko. I really didn't like competitive basketball back then," Asuka said.
"Why? Isn't that where you met the generation of miracles?" Kagami said in surprise.
Why in the world would she have hated playing basketball at Teiko?
"Teiko had girl teams too. I was in the top girl team, not with the others," Asuka told Kagami.
"Oh, but still, an elite basketball school would have had good members," Kagami said.
"Yes it did. There were strong players." Asuka said, "I'm sure you know about the zone. Metaphorically, there's a gate. Even if you're unable to go into the zone, the generation of miracles all passed the gate in Teiko. I was there too, but it isolated me from my team. They began to hate me, and hate basketball. If I made a mistake, they would say I wasn't trying. If I got a point, they would say I was being arrogant and that it was because of my condition. I became obsessed with playing in the right way for the team, that I lost all sense of what the team was. For me, it was like I wasn't part of the team; like every match had three sides: the opposition, Teiko and me. I tore my team apart by being better but not good enough."
Kagami looked like he wanted to argue with Asuka, but seeing the distant expression on her face, he kept his words to himself. Instead he said, "Do you like basketball now?"
Asuka nodded sincerely, "It means the world to me. Even then, I think really what I hated wasn't basketball. It was the team and myself. But basketball has always been there, and it bought me to the guys. When I play basketball, I feel free and that's not an easy feeling to come across."
Kagami didn't know how to respond. He felt cold spots on his face and looked up to see it had begun to snow. Asuka bristled suddenly, as though jerking out of a trance. She pressed her hands together and breathed warm air over them as she shivered against the cold.
"Hey let's get back to the others. The food will get could in this snow." Kagami prompted.
Asuka nodded, falling strangely quiet. The mood turned cold, and Kagami had a feeling it wasn't because of the weather. He ran through all the different ways to make small talk, but seemed to have forgotten all social skills. In the end, he settled on asking what school Asuka had decided on.
"Sorry, I've decided to go to Tōō. No offence yeah? I thought it would be more fun to go against you and Kuroko, didn't want to steal your thunder. Also, I want to make sure Aomine doesn't slack off again, though Momoi has that covered. The art department is really big and the school system more like AYAI," Asuka said, "Momoi will hopefully give me some help in making friends with the girls. She was probably the only reason I was friends with so many girls outside my class in Teiko."
The atmosphere cleared and Asuka was back to her bright self. She promptly began pelting Kagami with questions about his time in America and what he thought about basketball. Kagami suddenly realised something. She was nice. It seemed obvious, but he'd never taken the time to think about how nice Kuroko or anyone else was. With Asuka however, he couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate it. She was a nice girl, notably so.
"Say hello to Hyōsuke for me and be good dear," Reina said, embracing Asuka then turning to Kise, "Tell your folks I said hi and look after your cousin, even if you go up against each other."
"Aunt Reina, you know I can handle myself," Asuka said.
Kise nodded solemnly and promised to make sure Asuka would be ok. The group hauled their luggage with them to the hired bus and took the long ride to the airport talking about basketball.
"Are you thinking about playing professional basketball?" Asuka asked Kise curiously.
"Of course. I still have modelling as a backup, but basketball is my plan," Kise said, "What about you, never mind jobs, what are you doing after your assignment year?"
"Finish AYAI I suppose. Weird thing is, I haven't graduated a school since Hajimaro Elementary. In fact, I haven't been a senior since then too," Asuka said.
"It's hard to think you won't be around to graduate from Tōō. So after AYAI? You'll basically be officially university standard." Kise said.
"Well, I had this all planned out. I'd go to a university on a course for basketball in Japan or America depending on funds and skill and all that. Maybe find a club or join the women's basketball if I'm good enough afterwards and then, if a miracle happens, get my dream of being on a team with you guys. All the while continuing art of course. When I get too old for basketball, I have art to lean on and I'll hopefully have enough for an art studio." Asuka said.
"You really do have it all worked out." Kise said in amazement.
"Things have changed since that dream came to my head though." Asuka sighed.
Kise gave her a worried look and patted her on the shoulder. His cousin had a habit of taking everything upon herself. He'd been shocked by the news about his uncle Hyōsuke and had helped pay for the medicine as much as he could with his modelling money. Hyōsuke was tough, got treatment early on and was going to recover. In fact, at this stage, it was Asuka he was more worried about. With all the part time jobs she'd set, school and running her art business, it was stressful.
"Wow! Otōsan's series placed 54th. Nearly at the top fifty." Asuka exclaimed, pointing to the magazine she was reading.
"The series Broken things? It's very entertaining." Akashi said honestly.
Asuka nodded approvingly but was prevented from further advertising her father's book when the bus stopped. After arriving back at Tokyo, the group split up after saying their goodbyes, with promises to meet up soon.
"I'll drop you at the house, but I have to visit the company," Eito told Asuka.
Asuka shook her head. "No need. I'm visiting the hospital first."
I was re-reading what I wrote and my gosh, the typos! There were some big mistakes too including some weird contradictions.