This is a rather bland chapter but it's just my way of getting to the next part which will be coming soon I hope, sooner than this chapter did anyway. I'll try progress stuff faster. There are two more arcs after this I believe. One that will be more of a build up and the other, the idea I started this whole story on. Let me know whether you guys want next chapter to go straight into the new arc or to have a holiday chapter. Anyway, to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own KnB

Chapter twenty five

Looking forwards

Asuka was near tears. So close that Aomine was tempted to give her a little push just to see whether the girl was actually capable of crying anymore. Different to her usual routine, Asuka had sought out Yokumo at lunch, begging for his help with calculus. However, apparently she wasn't the only one running to him with cries of desperation, in fact, it seemed half the basketball team was there. Even Aomine had been dragged along by Sakurai, who was tutoring the one of the first years on world history.

"I'm going to fail." Asuka lamented regretfully.

She planted her face on the desk and pounded her head. It made it worse when Wakamatsu stepped in and informed Asuka that even he understood it, therefore, so could she.

"That's unfair senpai, you're third year." Asuka groaned.

"Really, you aren't doing as bad as you think. You could easily get a c." Yokumo said patiently.

"C? What would Akashi kun say!" Asuka grimaced.

She imagined the self proclaimed, and acknowledged, 'good at everything' red head. He would most likely have his undermining smirk and turn his back on her. Asuka whimpered in distress and flopped onto the desk.

"The feared Izumi sempai is down! She who can take down the queen bee has been defeated by calculus!" One of the first years joked.

"Watch what you say Akita kun, she'll expose your inner self and make you go through an existential crisis." Yokumo joked.

"Guys, enough already." Asuka moaned.

"You didn't expect us to keep quiet after you completely destroyed Kikuta san, did you?" Wakamatsu smirked.

Asuka looked at her in horror, feeling rather betrayed that even the team captain was teasing her. What had she expected? That things would die down quietly and peace would return? Well it certainly wasn't what she go. Minako had dubbed her 'queen slayer' and the team was now bringing the incident up whenever they could. The day after open day, Kikuta had once again tried to harass Asuka, but had been miserably unsuccessful as both Yokumo and Wakamatsu stepped in.

"Can we go back to this stupid maximisation question?" Asuka asked.

She leaned over the paper, dissecting the math problem and weakly scribbling on the page. No matter what she did, it always ended in a dead end. The only thing that kept her from giving up was the knowledge that Akashi was skipping a year and taking third year calculus. Oh how far she'd fallen behind. Once, long ago in Teiko, she'd come close second to Akashi. It was apparent now, that this was due only to her effort and hard work, not any natural talent. At a higher level now, and with considerably less time to study, she was only just managing to maintain fairly good grades, but not excellent ones. Not that it mattered much further than hurt pride.

Aomine sighed and glanced down at his own book. What was the point in maths when he was going to become a basketball player?

"Maths is essential to everyone. Besides, you won't be allowed to stay on the team is you don't pass." Asuka advised.

"Are you psychic?" Aomine accused.

"Your dumb face is just easy to read." Asuka belittled.

"Calm down you old married couple. I'm surprised you two aren't dating with the way you act." Yokumo mused.

Asuka eyed Aomine, who in turn scanned her. She crinkled her nose and Aomine made an appalled expression.

"Yokumo senpai, I have standards yeah? And in my criteria of my type of guy, Aomine ticks off none of the boxes." Asuka announced.

"Well I have standards too, and you miss the first mark barely C cup." Aomine shot back.

"How do you know what her size is bastard?" Wakamatsu asked suspiciously.

"Jealous?" Aomine mocked.

Asuka karate chopped him on the head. She didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea.

"Respect your elders Aomine chan. That includes me by the way." Asuka teased.

"You're two months younger, don't get ahead of yourself midget." Aomine scoffed.

"I'll have you know I'm pretty tall for a girl!" Asuka growled.

The two continued to argue, and not for the first time, everyone wondered just how the two managed to stay friends, nevermind being more. It was truly a mystery, what with both sides constantly complaining about the other. On the other hand, only very good friends could fight like they did and not be enemies.

'… therefore x equals the 12 times the square root of 2.'

"Pens down. Remain silent as I collect the papers."

Wakamatsu slammed his pen down, his head bursting as the stress dissolved with the end of his exam. It was over! He'd survived and was finally free.

"You may go now."

'I'm out.' Wakamatsu thought rushing for the door. The third years felt quiet, almost like they were in denial. It didn't matter that they were laughing, grinning, or that there was an undeniable excited buzz. The fact remained that they felt quiet. Since open day, there had been no events, nothing to distract from the looming exams, and now that they were over, so was high school. Wakamatsu found Yokumo exiting from his own exams and the two headed for a cheap eatery to celebrate. Wakamatsu fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, tapping his finger. Why did he feel so restless? Exams were over, there was only a few days left before he was out of Tōō and free, that is, getting ready for university.

"Feels strange to be finished." Yokumo remarked.

"I haven't not had to worry about anything since open day, and that feels like an eternity ago." Wakamatsu grummbled.

"It might as well have been, I don't even remember what I used to do with my spare time." Yokumo joked.

"I just assumed you were always studying." Wakamatsu grinned.

"Maybe you're right, who knows." Yokumo laughed.

He took a bit of the sandwich he was eating and glanced out the window. The good thing about having a home room on the top floor was being able to watch the courts below.

"Have you chosen a captain?" Yokumo asked

Wakamatsu's face dropped as it suddenly clicked in his mind that by leaving Tōō, he'd also be leaving the basketball team. There was no way in hell he'd leave the team to Aomine. The bluenette would make a horrible captain, potentially screw the team over. Izumi was a good choice, but she was already busy enough. From the rumors he heard, the girl was practically drowning in work. Not to mention she would be better focusing on playing rather than commanding. Just as Wakamatsu was about to regret not choosing earlier like any normal captain would, a name popped into his head. Yokumo smiled, knowing his choice.

"You tend to forget about him in the face of Aomine kun and Izumi san, but he's just right." Yokumo observed.

"Yeah, maybe not the strongest, but the best fit." Wakamatsu agreed.

"It's still strange thinking about it. We're graduating. I almost don't want to leave Tōō just for the basketball." Yokumo mused.

"Oy, captain and vice!" a voice called.

They turned to see the rest of the basketball team, all dressed in gear. Nashiwa held a basketball under his arms and waved at the two seniors.

"Why don't we play some basketball?"

Asuka didn't join her team in playing basketball, claiming to be too tired after frying her brain in exams. Instead she watched and chatted with Momoi about the old members. They were skilled and strong players, and it was entertaining to watch her team marvel at them (excluding Wakamatsu and Aomine). Asuka cheered as Nashiwa scored a point with a layup. Immediately afterwards, Yokumo responded with a three pointer. The ball was passed to Aomine who dribbled it flawlessly down the court for a dunk. There was a certain beauty to the way he played, unique from the other generation of miracles. His style was raw and wild, but held an underlying grace. Aomine saw Asuka watching as raised a brow. She gave a thumbs up and nodded for him to get back to the game. Naturally, he did the opposite and subbed out to go sit beside Asuka.

"What's up?" Asuka asked.

"You have a weird look on your face. Regretting what you said last week?" Aomine drawled.

"Last week? What did I say?" Asuka frowned.

"That I wasn't good enough for you." Aomine recounted.

Asuka pushed him lightly bristling at his teasing expression. He made it sound like she'd been insulting him when he'd had his go at insulting her too.

"I didn't say you weren't good enough for me. You're just not my type. You're more of a handsome cool guy than a cheerful nice guy which I look for." Asuka explained.

"Handsome cool guy?" Aomine said in surprise. "Well same to you. I want a cute girl with big boobs, you're more of a strong headed girl with a pretty face. I guess I wouldn't mind dating you though."

Asuka blinked and Aomine realised what he'd just said. His face went red and so did Asuka's. Had he really just said he wouldn't mind dating her?

"I mean, it wouldn't be horrible. I'm not saying I like you like that-" Aomine quickly mumbled.

"Whatever Ahomine. Go back and play basketball." Asuka said.

"Why aren't you playing?" Aomine asked, glad to talk about anything else.

Asuka shrugged, struggling not to rub her sleepy eyes. She couldn't hide her yawn so easily, though she still tried, making it into an awkward cough. It didn't foo Aomine who frowned like an overprotective brother.

"You're not working too hard are you?" he demanded.

"I'm fine, just a little tired after exams. Eito ojisan left to go back to Niseko last week, so I have to cook my own food and stuff." Asuka explained.

Aomine wrinkled his brow. Make her own food? No wonder she looked so pale. As though Asuka knew what he was thinking, she punched him on the shoulder for his unspoken insults on her cooking.
"Is your father recovering well?" Aomine asked.

"Yep, he'll be out in a month. I'm really excited and happy. It mean my work is paying off." Asuka grinned.

It didn't matter how pleased she sounded, Aomine was still suspicious of Asuka pushing herself more than she let on. The dark rings beneath her eyes further fuelled his suspicious, as well as her eyes looking much more grey than it's usual silver. Before he could further question her, Asuka stood up and stretched.

"Since this is our last time all together, I might as well play one game." She said.

Tying her hair into a ponytail, Asuka raced forward, and too subbed in for Sakurai. It was Aomine's turn to marvel at her playing, the way she skillfully handled the ball. When Asuka played, it seemed like a dance, so elegant and smooth. She shot past Wakamatsu and passed to Nashiwa who tried for a three pointer. Yokumo blocked but Asuka was there to clean up, catching the ball and using a formless shot reminiscent of Aomine. Watching Asuka play, Aomine thought about what he'd said to her. Now that he thought more about it, Asuka fit his ideal girl more than he wanted to admit. She loved basketball, had a bright personality and was cute in her own quirky way. Did he really- Aomine's face flushed red as he banished the thought. The game ended and the team gather one final time, standing in a circle.

"We're going to finish up." Nashiwa called.

Asuka reached in her bag and produced four cards along with four bars of chocolate. The cards were handmade, beautifully composed and all different. She handed the gifts out to the graduating third years and let Nashiwa talk.

"Thank you for playing with us and supporting the basketball team. Wakamatsu senpai, you've been a great captain, and all of us, Aomine kun included, will miss you shouting at us. Thank you all, and come visit some time." Nashiwa grinned.

Wakamatsu accepted his card and chocolate from Asuka before clearing his throat.

"Well, this is a good time to finally announce next year's captain. Nashiwa Itsuko, congratulations, I'll leave the team to you." Wakamatsu announced.

The boy looked shocked, caught completely unaware. Everyone else however, had seen it coming from a mile away. They'd even gotten an extra bar of chocolate for him. Asuka smiled at him, feeling a shift in the air, almost as though it was changing along with all of them. While everyone looked forward to the holidays and the new school year, Asuka quietly reminded herself that there was eight more months to go until the end. Eight months until either returning to AYAI, or leaving for good. Even as she tried to steel her resolve and focus, her friends brought her into a giant group hug, as though reprimanding her for dismissing them. Asuka smiled. She was going to be fine. They all were. The future was far away, and right at that moment, all she wanted to do was enjoy the time she had with her friends.

I know this was a disappointing and short chapter after such a long wait. To be completely honest, I seriously had to remind myself where the heck I was going with this story. For a whole month and a bit, my mind was filled with nothing but study. It did pay off, but this story suffered for it. I have recollected my thoughts and organised things, so we are back on track and rolling. Thank you all for your patience and support! As always, please review as I love to hear your thoughts!