A/N: Sorry for the later update! I was out on Monday and was planning to post yesterday, but there was a problem with the server -.- Fortunately the bug was fixed and yeah!
Just a little reminder to you all that I am re-editing previous chapters with the help of my two beta readers, Meiko Atsushi and ShiroNekoIsMe! You will be able to tell what chapters are re-edited because I will be naming the chapters every time I re-upload each chapter.
That's it for now! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own KnB!
Chapter 21: "We were so strong"
How could a boy be so graceful?
She watched in awe as Midorima skillfully passed every person on the court and scored yet another perfect three-pointer. He made it look so easy, which she knew wasn't the case.
Miki felt her heart accelerate considerably when she saw the boy look her way after the ball bounced back down to the court. She felt her cheeks heat up as she gave the expectant boy a small smile.
His lips twitched slightly and gave her a nod, acknowledging her awkward attempt at congratulating him.
She clenched her hands into tight fists as she felt the uncomfortable fluttering erupt in the pits of her stomach. It wasn't necessarily unwanted, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either. It made her hands turn cold and clammy, and face incredibly red. She was sure most of the team knew that she had some sort of feelings towards the green-haired boy from her blatantly obvious reactions. She wouldn't have been surprised if Seirin knew either. It was all rather embarrassing.
"Amuro, I want you to take a look at these."
Miki tore her eyes away from Midorima and looked over at the rather amused coach.
"P-Pardon me?" she wanted to hit herself for not regaining her composure in time. The last thing she wanted was for the coach to think of her as a fool.
"I want you to take a look at these profiles I have gathered." The coach stated as he handed her a thin folder.
She took it and peered at it curiously. "What profiles are these, sir?"
"The 'Generation of Miracles'," he said in a grave tone. "I have asked Midorima for some help and was able to gather as much data and information on them as possible. I think it would be beneficial for you to know the skills of these talented freshmen and learn the techniques and plays they often execute. I would like for you to take a look at these profiles during practice. Midorima offered to help after practice is over, since he is the one that knows them the best."
"I see…"
"I would also like for you to come up with four plays." Nakatani crossed his arms over his chest. "Not four per player, but one per each."
She nodded and opened the folder. "Kise Ryouta, Aomine Daiki, Murasakibara Atsushi, Akashi Seijuro…"
"And with Midorima, that is the infamous 'Generation of Miracles'."
She studied each of their pictures carefully. "Even in pictures, they give off a strong aura."
"That is the 'Generation of Miracles'." The coach said solemnly.
Miki fell quiet as she started reading over Kise Ryouta's profile. She stared at the picture and noted he was indeed good looking. He was the "blondie model" Shiho always complained about.
She noted that while the boy was shorter than Midorima, he was still a whole lot taller than the average Japanese teenaged boy. Miki flipped through the different profiles and noticed that all of them were very tall with the exception of Akashi, who stood at 173 cm. The tallest, Murasakibara was a startling height of over two metres. She couldn't even picture how tall he would be in real life.
"These all sound like super powers…" she muttered as she read over each of their special abilities. "Emperor Eye…" she paused at Akashi's profile and brushed her fingers over the boy's cold and different coloured eyes.
For the rest of practice, Miki remained silent and focused as she carefully read over each of Midorima's ex-teammates' profiles. She flipped back and forth between the manual and profile, to better understand each boy's capabilities. To put simply, she was astound by the amount of talent they each had. It seemed unreal and she was starting to understand how much they earned the ridiculous and rather flamboyant title of "the Generation of Miracles".
She wasn't aware that practice had been over and that the boys were all leaving the gym. It wasn't until a tall figure sat beside her that she looked up and realized she was alone with the person.
"Midorima-kun!" she smiled as soon as her eyes met his. "What are you doing here?"
"Helping you," he pointed at the folder in her hands. "Have you finished looking over the profiles?"
"For the most part," she nodded. "It is almost hard to believe high school students possess such talents."
"Well…"
Miki wanted to smack herself. She had almost forgotten that Midorima was also a part of the "Generation of Miracles".
"It isn't a bad thing!" she retaliated. "It just shows how talented you really are."
Midorima blushed. It was one of the first times Miki was able to see his embarrassed face full on.
It was endearing.
His eyes couldn't seem to focus on one spot and he kept clenching then unclenching his hands. His glasses seemed to have slipped from the bridge of his nose. She could see the top of his eyes without his glasses blocking it. He had extremely long eyelashes.
Midorima let out an uncomfortable cough, effectively snapping Miki out of her trance.
She immediately looked away from the boy as she realized she had been openly ogling the boy.
He coughed again. "Who stood out to you most?"
Miki quickly regained her composure and flipped through the pages. "Akashi-kun."
"As expected," he sighed heavily.
"Is there anything wrong with that?" she asked meekly.
Midorima looked down at Akashi's profile with hard eyes. "No. I should have expected as much."
"Because of his skill?"
"Yes."
"It says here that he is good at ankle breaking. Isn't that the dribbling technique that you couldn't show me?"
His eyes hardened more. "Yes."
"…I'm sorry…" she whispered as she looked down at her hands. "Am I asking too much?"
Midorima sighed. "No, it's fine."
Miki didn't know what to do. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about Akashi, but she had to talk about him and the others. She had to come up with plays against each "Generation of Miracle".
"Coach told me to come up with plays against each one." She said, avoiding the word "Generation of Miracles".
His eyebrows rose at her statement. "That won't be easy."
"I know." She murmured dejectedly. She really needed Midorima's help. She was still new to basketball no matter how much she studied off the manual.
She required guidance.
"I'm sorry, you don't have to help if you don't want to." Miki sighed. "I can just ask Kazunari-kun or Miyaji-senpai for help."
His eyes snapped to hers. "I can help."
She hesitated. "Are you sure? I really do understand if you – "
"I'll do it."
She paused and studied the boy carefully. She wasn't the best reader in the world, but she wanted to make sure there weren't any signs of discomfort. She didn't like the thought of bothering him.
"All of them are strong," he started slowly. "They were my teammates in Teiko, and we dominated every tournament we went to. There was no competition."
Miki felt a shiver run down her spine, as she took in the serious glint in Midorima's deep green eyes. There was something about the way he spoke about them that made her want to shrink back away from him. Every time he spoke of the "Generation of Miracles", there was an underlying hint of sadness and anger. She couldn't possibly understand why.
"We were so strong," he adjusted his glasses. "So strong that we couldn't find it in us to enjoy the game. No one even bothered fighting back."
She remained silent, not wanting to interrupt.
"Kise, Aomine, and Murasakibara started skipping practices. Akashi tried his best to keep them together and to move forward as a team. However, after nearly losing a one-on-one with Murasakibara, he decided to let them go." Midorima said. "With that incident, he awoke another side to him, which in turn awakened the Emperor Eye. Akashi and I were the only ones left to practice. I didn't agree with skipping practice, but could understand why Kise, Aomine, and Murasakibara wanted to.
"We had a phantom sixth man," his serious mood lifted slightly as he looked up at the ceiling with a light smirk. "He was not talented in basketball when we first started. He wound up in the third string and could barely shoot or dribble properly. But, he loved basketball."
Miki felt bad for the phantom sixth man. She loved baking and she was good at it. Seeing such success made her incredibly happy. If she wasn't good at baking, she wasn't so sure how she would have felt about it.
"You've met the phantom sixth man," Midorima stated. "It's Kuroko."
"Kuroko-kun?" she echoed in shock. "The boy who is here in the summer camp?"
"Yes," he nodded. "He told me in our first match that he would change the ways of the 'Generation of Miracles' by defeating each and every one of us."
"But he isn't strong." She pointed out.
"Kuroko is more of a support player. The other boy you met, Kagami is his partner. The two play very well together as Kuroko supports Kagami and lets him shine more than he would by himself."
"Is Kagami-kun as strong as the 'Generation of Miracles'?" Miki asked curiously.
"No," he shook his head. "If each of us were to go on a one-on-one with him, he would lose. However, with Kuroko and his team, he is able to take us down. Kagami and Kuroko already defeated Kise and I. They lost terribly to Aomine and his team."
She didn't say anything and just watched Midorima's slightly amused face in confusion. What was so funny?
"Aomine and Kise are going to go against each other after summer." Midorima said as though he heard her mental question. "It will be the first time any of us went against another in a tournament. While it is supposed to be a Touou and Kaijo match, it will most definitely end up as an almost one-on-one against Aomine and Kise."
She fidgeted in her seat. "Do you…Is it okay if I go watch that match with you?"
He looked at her in surprise.
"It's just that I want to see how strong the rest of the 'Generation of Miracles' are compared to you. It's hard to imagine an equally strong player as you." Miki said hurriedly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.
"Very well." Midorima answered as he swiftly looked away from her.
"Thank you, Midorima-kun." She whispered softly.
He nodded in response.
Miki smiled and looked down at the folder on her lap. She was incredibly happy Midorima had shared something personal to her as she did a few nights back.
A/N: Midorima shared something personal with her! They are opening up to each other :)
I'm pretty excited with the turn of events, I can't wait until I write the confession chapter! .
Ahaha, I don't have much to say like usual, so I'll just leave it at that!
Happy reading!