First and foremost, I have a confession. I haven't finished the Kuroko no Basuke series. Wait! Stop, don't leave. Just give it a chance please. Personalities of characters may be a bit off because of this but rest assured, I'll refer to the wiki pages and watch a few episodes more. Also, chapters might be short, take ages to update, but I'll try really hard to actually finish it. No guarantees, and there, I just lost all the readers. Sigh.
The big game is tomorrow! We're definitely gonna win. Wish you were here to play with us. Can't wait to see you next month!
- Ryōta
Asuka smiled at the text and quickly replied with Good luck!. She'd purposely neglected to tell her cousin about the rescheduled flight. Just imagining the astonishment that would be on his face when she arrived a month earlier than she'd told him was enough to make her grin stupidly to herself. Just as she flipped her phone shut, it began to ring. Asuka hurriedly answered the call and jerked it away from her ear as the voice on the other side boomed.
"Just giving you one last goodbye call! What are you doing right now?" a cheery voice shouted.
"Hey Annabelle, almost ready to board." Asuka replied.
More voices joined Annabelle's in a chorus of good wishes and goodbyes. Asuka grinned as she matched the voices to her two other friends Grace and Joseph, both fighting to speak.
"Take care in Japan. Remember to eat and sleep, and be weary of creeps!" Grace advised, sounding like a mother.
"Great poetry there. Don't worry Grace, I've got my friends back in Japan." Asuka assured.
"Oh, you mean that basketball team of yours?" Annabelle asked.
Asuka voiced her confirmation after momentarily forgetting they couldn't see her nod. She stretched her arms above her head, thinking about the return to Japan. She'd been away from her home country for three year and it was a bit nerve-wracking to return.
"It's only one year, but I feel like I'm gonna fail all my classes without you. I need your guidance!" Annabelle moaned.
"Get over it, you took your experience trip the previous year." Joseph lectured. "Anyway, try not to poison anyone with your cooking Asuka. Have fun in Japan."
Asuka protested jokingly at her friend's last statement. She'd spent more time with them than she had with her friends in Japan.
"Keep us updated and have fun. See ya next year!" Grace said.
"Good luck with the institute. Bye guys." Asuka said, ending the call.
Asuka stowed her phone away and went to hand in her form. The lady smiled as she went through the checking procedure and directed Asuka to the boarding gate.
Asuka smiled and thanked the women before finally boarding the plane. She put her headphones on, turned up the music and pulled out a sketchbook, a nervous excitement bubbling in the pit of her stomach. At long last, she'd see her friends again. Asuka wondered how much the group had changed. She was sure that right now, she wasn't the same Izumi Asuka as the one that left Japan. Her appearance had gone through drastic changes, and undoubtedly her personality had too. What if it was awkward between them? Asuka shook her head, quietly berating herself. They'd all been keeping in contact over the years. Well, except one. What were they like now and almost as importantly, how was their basketball?
The cheers were overwhelming. Vorpal Swords had won. Kise grinned happily, too tired to do much else. The members of Jabberwock were glaring daggers, the aura around them was enough to kill. Aomine patted Kise on the shoulder with a victorious gleam in his eye. Double teaming together really was something to be feared. Momoi congratulated the team, a smile lighting up her face and tears welling in her eyes. It had been a close game, a hard game that had pushed everyone to their limits, but through it all, they'd won. Murasakibara had begun snacking even as his injuries were being attended to while the others crowded around, celebrating victory. Kise looked into the cheering crowd and gave his best smile. Elated, but also extremely worn out, Kise flopped down next to his bag and pulled out a towel. The motion dislodged a piece of paper which Kise snatched up before it hit the ground. Kise regarded the paper in confusion, unfolding it to reveal a short message.
Meet me at the Old Park tomorrow at 5:30. Bring the others as well. If they say no, just drag them with you, k?
P.S Congrats on the game. Play for the win, win for the team yeah?
Kise jumped up and scanned the crowds, squinting for a glimpse of silver hair. It had to be her, it had to.
"Coach Kagetora, did you see who dropped this in my bag?" Kise asked, holding out the slip of paper.
Kagetora frowned and shrugged.
"Kise?" Kuroko asked. Kise didn't say anything, just passed the note to Kuroko who read it out loud to the others.
"She's here, Asukacchi is here." Kise announced
The Generation of Miracles all stopped talking. Kagami watched them in surprise. Kise looked ecstatic, Midorima had a skeptical expression, Murasakibara was uncharacteristically alert, Akashi was smiling calmly, Momoi looked surprised and Kuroko was in shock. Aomine however, had the most interesting reaction. He looked nervous, scared even. For some reason, it had always seemed the muscles on Aomine's face prevented him from physically making an expression that looked anywhere close to scared.
"Izumi? That's not possible. She's in America studying art." Aomine said promptly. Kise shook his head and explained how he had gotten a text about returning.
"Why didn't you say anything?' Midorima asked, "And what makes you so sure the note is hers?"
'Play for the win, win for the team' was her signature saying, her motto. And the hand writing, flowing with a calligraphic elegance.
"The chance of it being her is high, and it is not unlike Asuka to pull an unnecessarily elaborate plan for dramatic effect." Akashi said.
Aomine turned suddenly and stalked off, mumbling something about using the bathroom. Momoi was about to go after him when Kuroko shook his head. They both knew what was going on in Aomine's head at that moment.
When Aomine was out of view, he broke into a run, not stopping until he was well away. So she was back, the Unrecognised Queen. He was nervous; it had been so long. They had left on a bad the start, she had emailed him, texted him, even sent letters but he never replied. He'd been angry at her for not telling him she was leaving sooner. She had been angry at him for accusing her of running away. Then by the time Aomine was ready to patch things up, he'd fallen into a void, hating how no one could stand up to him, how only he could beat himself. And so she'd stopped trying to contact him, and given up. They hadn't heard from each other for three years. Sure, Kise had occasionally mentioned her, how she was well and all, but he didn't really know how much she might have changed. All the others were also in contact, though not as much as Kise. He was her cousin after all, the two acting more like siblings. She would surely hate him for playing basketball in such a way that he had been. She, like Kuroko, had always been a believer of teamwork. Playing just for the win wasn't her style, though she also cared about that. What puzzled Aomine the most was why he cared so much. They weren't even that close, just junior high friends with a shared passion for basketball. Yet he did care, and very much at that. She had been the one person he'd listened to besides Akashi. Aomine breathed in deeply. It was fine. He would face her, like a man. Tilting his head back, Aomine watched the clouds slowly parting, as though a new light was shining just for the return of the unrecognised queen. Aomine grinned.
"I'm ready Izumi, bring it!"
To hell with that damned Vorpal swords! How was it possible that they, a bunch of monkeys, managed to beat the best street basketball team in America? It wasn't right. Jason Silver clenched his fists and kicked the bench of the changing rooms. He swore violently and punched the wall.
"You're acting like a kid on a tantrum." Nash Gold Jr said in an icy tone.
"Why are you acting so damn calm! They goddamn beat us!" Silver shouted.
"And I'll be happy to take my anger out on you if you don't shut up." Gold threatened coldly.
"You guys are so loud! I can hear you from out here!" a new voice joined in from outside the changing rooms.
"Huh? Are you looking to be beaten up?" Silver shouted, storming outside and throwing the door open.
A japanese girl stood there, rocking on her heels and twirling a strand of silver hair around her finger. She smiled up at Silver who was more than a head taller. Not knowing how to react, Silver gaped at the girl.
"What are you doing? Here for signatures?" He asked.
The girl cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. She had a strange smile on her lips that pissed him off.
"Do you really believe that? I suppose as self centred as you are, you do. Honestly, you could win an award for arrogance, you even beat Aomine, though, I can't say much right now can I?" the girl said matter of factly.
Silver's eyes narrowed, his patience at an end.
"So you know that blue headed monkey? Are you his girlfriend? I should break your arm to send him a message." He threatened.
"I don't think you want to threaten me."
The girl's eyes went cold. The bright, innocent look vanished completely, replaced with a stormy sea in a night without moonlight.
"Who the hell are you?" Silver snarled.
"Me? No one really, but that's what you thought of the guys at first yeah? Murasakibara hurt his wrist because of you, and I really hate when people play dirty. You know, you might want to watch your back until you get back to America. You aren't very popular at the moment."
The girl walked past Silver and he whirled around to grab her. She dodged him and spun past, shoving him off balance. Silver suddenly found himself on the ground. The girl leered down at him.
"Even the ground hates you."
I'm excited about this! First fanfic, and I actually haven't planned this out as much as I should have... Whatever! There will be extremely mild romance, just as a side to the plot. Please review, criticism is welcome. After all, I need to know what's wrong to improve!
NOTE 23/10/17 : I've been doing a bit of reworking with this fic lately, so things might be a bit wacky if you're reading this during the organising process. It also means reviews for certain chapters may not apply to said chapter due to being moved around or removed. If you've been following this fic, don't worry! Changes aren't plot altering, just tweaks to make things flow a little better, the story is still the same.