Summary [chapter 3]: The day of the semifinal and final is coming closer and Masuko is not only worried about her surgery and the aftermaths of her injury but also about her best friend's behavior about confronting Shutoku's shooting guard, Midorima Shintaro.

Update: I rewrote some details but the main modification if the point of view. It's still in the third person but I decided to truly write the story from the characters' POV.

Following the canon chronology with some additions for the purpose of the story. Main pairing of the story: Midorima x OC.

Written in the third person. The words in italic are characters' thoughts and the words written like this are said in another language (French or English). No harem x OC.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs

[INTRODUCTION ARC]

FRAGMENTS

~.~

Chapter 3: worries

On the morning after Seirin's qualification for the preliminaries' semi-final, Miyuki was happily chatting in the classroom with Taiga and Kuroko-kun.

"Even after all this time, the fact that you can eat that much is still a mystery to me..." was the only thing she could say as she watched in awe Taiga swallow his ninth cheeseburger.

"You are always eating well."

She sweatdropped at the more than obvious statement her other classmate made.

"I'm the one who's surprised. You really have got enough with that? We've played two matches yesterday. It's logical to be hungry, right?" Taiga asked, his mouth still full of food.

Now that she was looking at it, Miyuki had to say she ate way more than Kuroko-kun. But eating more than him wasn't that hard.

She should try to think what to do about that (because no, feeding Kuroko-kun only with burgers was not the solution).

"I do have proper muscle ache."

"What the hell's with that 'proper'? Well, me too, but... still, the two opponents yesterday were at the same level as us or inferior. And we still only barely made it in the end. At this rate... the two next matches'll honestly be hard..."

Miyuki didn't have time to answer since Riko-san was standing at the doordoorstep of their classroom.

"Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun! Just the guys I needed, come here for a second! Masako-chan, come with us too if you want."

She gave them the boxes that were in her hands as Taiga started to grumble.

"With that muscle pain... Are you a demon?!"

"Come on, don't you feel like helping a pretty girl carrying all that? That's when boys are in the spotlight!"

Please Taiga, don't–

"I don't see a pretty girl anywhe–"

Miyuki winced.

"Ouch!"

Too late...

But Taiga did deserve that knock from Riko-san.

Wait.

She kicked him with her right leg, outraged by what he just implied: his statement included her too. "What the fuck, Taiga?" she shouted in English.

Taiga probably decided it was better not to be hit again (a wise choice, indeed) and changed of topic.

"By the way, what's that?" he asked.

Miyuki shrugged. She wasn't tall enough to see its content from her wheelchair.

"DVDs from matches of last year and this year I carried from the clubroom!" Riko-san answered with enthusiasm. "We're going to review them. Since we're going to face two Kings in a row, we can't afford not to investigate them!"

"Coach is right!" Miyuki agreed.

Observing the opponent was one of the keys to victory. She kind of missed scouting other teams and all that kind of thing she used to do as her former club's captain.

"Ah, I almost forgot! Masuko-chan, I wanted to ask you if you know when will get your surgery?"

Miyuki started to shift in her wheelchair and looked away.

"It will be on the day after the semi-final and final. And... I think I will have to miss the semi-final. I'll have a pre-surgery appointment and they don't know if they will successfully repair my kneencompletely but I'll do my best to be there for the final."

She expected disappointment from Riko-san since she was supposed to be there at the semi-final as the clubs's manager. Miyuki was about to apologize for failing them when she got a crushing bone hug from Riko-san instead.

Miyuki's glance darted around and went on her classmates. They both looked puzzled as well, not used to see that side of Riko-san.

"Coach... I can't breathe," she managed to say.

Finally realizing that, Riko-san let her go.

"Sorry!"

She laughed softly. Riko-san had a motherly nanature sometimes. She really did care about her team, although she was showing her affection rather violently. But it was probably she cared about them so much that she wasn't scared to push the team so much during practice.

"No, it's okay!" she assured her senpai. "I actually wanted to ask you something, Coach."

Riko-san's eyes reflected her curiosity. She usually only called her 'Coach' during practice.

"What is it, Masuko-chan?"

She took a deep breath.

Here we go.

"If my surgery is a success and my anterior cruciate ligament tears is fully repaired, it would allow me to play football at a high level again and... I would like to have you as my therapist, she started to explain. "The orthopaedist said I have to either stop school at least half a year to make intense re-education at a center or find a good therapist to follow me anytime... I'm choosing the latter."

That choice hadn't been an easy one to make.

Of course, Miyuki wanted to fulfill the last promise she had made before leaving her other home country, but that didn't mean she wanted to sacrifice the new bonds she had made and her new gained freedom...

Not to mention she had just reunited with her best friend. She wanted to help him to keep going on the good path to become the best in Japan. She knew it could happen.

Given his potential, Taiga could become merciless and play selfishly if left unsupervised. She saw it happening too many times in the past year.

And while intense re-education might be better on an athletic level, she knew she couldn't handle it well. She still lacked stamia – although it has greatly improved, she still didn't have the stamia of a professional player yet – and she knew she wouldn't have the spirit to stay between six and eight months in a hospital. Not after all these years.

That was why she wanted to do it in her own way...

In Seirin's way, she could say. She really was starting to take a liking for that school.

"I know it's only been a month since I've arrived but I have complete faith in you... Riko-san is a good coach. Your team needs you and I want to keep helping the team as its manager. I also know it's a lot of responsibility but I know your abilities... Yeah, that's it," she ended sheepishly.

Riko-san stayed silent for seconds, maybe minutes. Feeling even more uncomfortable with the silence, Miyuki whispered, "Coach, I would perfectly understand if you refuse–"

"Idiot! Of course, I accept! I can't let you down, you're our manager!"

That time, the hug Riko-san gave her was more gentle. She could feel hot tears falling on her sailor fuku as Riko-san's head was buried on her shoulder.

It was painfully obvious that Riko-san wanted to truly be acknowledged as a competent coach by her peers and players alike... and as a girl.

Miyuki was convinced that Riko-san had confidence in her own training skills. It was clear she aimed nothing but the top.

The team had no problem with being having a girl as a coach. They respected her and acknowledged her but Miyuki knew it wasn't the case for outsiders. In Riko-san's mind, she would be branded as Seirin's coach, just Seirin's coach.

Miyuki had thought the same as well, until a few months ago. That was why Miyuki hoped everyone, including Riko-san herself, would be able to see Seirin as Riko-san's team too.

But for now, all Miyuki could do was patting her senpai's head and whisper, "I know."

She exchanged a look with her two classmates,now smiling. She saw the encouraging glance from her teal-haired friend while Taiga stubbornly kept his eyes locked on the ground, looking utterly uncomfortable. He had always been bad at sentimental talks.

The dummy was still behaved that way almost every time they had a heart to heart but it was also one of the reasons she loved him so much.

The bell announcing the end of lunch time interrupted them.

"I apologize, Coach, we have to go. We'll see you after class."

Miyuki waited for the boys to put the boxes in the room before they went back to the classroom. She waved at Riko-san who was still drying her tears.

Seirin's basketball team was really lucky to have her as Coach.

Miyuki might love school but that didn't mean she loved every discipline.

To her mind, math was just plain and boring.

It had no poetry, no mystery. It wa just endless series of numbers.

Where was the interest in that?

There was no emotion, nothing human in math... And the fact that their sensei was deadly boring wasn't helping.

That was how in the middle of taking notes, she started to observe her new classmates. She didn't even need to look at the one on her right. She knew Taiga too well. He was almost always sleeping in class, not even bothering to snore softly. It seemed the teaching staff had given up.

Well, she had to admit that time that Taiga was right to sleep: math was just plain boring.

Her gaze traveled across the classroom. She noticed a few students trying not to sleep. A boy with brown hair passing a word to a girl, probably a love letter judging by her giggling. A girl on the third rank texting on her mobile. The best student in their class, Yamamoto-san, being uncharacteristically distracted. Judging by the pain his eyes, he probably fancied the giggling girl who just got herself a new boyfriend.

Ah, unrequited romantic love. It was still something she didn't enjoy witnessing.

Still, it was the usual, as she could say... That was, until she met Kuroko-kun's gaze. His eyes widened before he gave her a soft smile. That was how she found out she wasn't the only one who enjoyed observing people as a hobby.

This could be a fun game during math classes!

Kuroko-kun probably thought the same way since he continued to observe – with more intensity that time around –. She did the same, happy to have found a good rival.

After these two endless hours, classes were finally over and since Taiga forgot his towel in the locker room, they both went there.

"So... Don't you feel a little... stressed about this match?" Miyuki asked hesitantly.

She wasn't only talking about Shutoku and he knew it.

It wasn't that Taiga underestimated Seiho, they were one of the three Kings of Tokyo after all... But she knew all he was thinking about now was how to beat the so called 'Generation of Miracles'... And since Shutoku happened to have the green-haired one, Midorima Shintaro, it only worsened.

She had to recognize Midorima Shintaro did a strong impression on her as a player, with his amazing shot and its exceptionally high arc. However, she had that murky sensation while watching him.

It was like staring at the kind of athlete that Taiga could become... someone who doesn't enjoy playing basketball anymore.

"Are you kidding?! I'm all fired up!"

Her gaze was now far away, as she found herself lost in her thoughts. "Perhaps too fired up..." she muttered.

He eyed her questionably. "What do you mean?"

It was better to avoid the topic for now. She knew she would have to tell something about it sooner or later, but she was waiting for the right moment to do so.

"Ah! You're here too, Kuroko-kun!" Miyuki said, thankful for the distraction.

Taiga didn't even notice his teammate's presence until he closed his locker.

"WHAT THE HELL, since when are you here?!" he shouted.

"I have forgotten something, and Kagami-kun is the one that entered after me."

"Say it when you're here! It's scary, damn it!"

"But Masuko-san noticed I was here," he replied. She nodded to confirm.

"She's different," Taiga waved it off. "I mean how the hell's she able to see you's a mystery..."

She repeated thate every time someone asked her that. "I told you, it's the eyes."

"That makes no sense, he's–"

Kuroko-kun interrupted one of their usual bickerings (he was being used to it now, and she suspected he was almost enjoying it).

"It seems the Coach forgot something as well."

It was a DVD of Seiho VS Kitawada.

"It's our next opponent, right?"

She nodded. "It seems like the Coach asked some of her friends to film it. Actually, it's perfect, let's give a look."

They're strong. Really strong.

That was what all she could tell after watching them. Seiho was indeed powerful but she had faith in Seirin. The could handle it.

She repeated that in her mind again and again as she was in the waiting room. She frowned at the thought of her MRI's results. She had already made a first one just after winning the Nationals (and yes, she got scolded again and again for 'being reckless and stupid') and the results weren't great. However, now that her knee wasn't swollen anymore, she had to make a second one and see the evolution of her condition. And now, she was waiting for the results...

"Masuko Miyuki Emilie-san?"

Osawa-sensei's assistant looked at her, a professional smile on her face. She couldn't tell her whether it was good or bad.

"Hai," she confirmed.

"Follow me, please."

She did so and saw the orthopaedist holding what seemed to be her MRI.

"Good morning, Masuko-san."

" Good morning, Osawa-sensei," she greeted him back.

Feeling her nervousness, the doctor immediately told her what she wanted to know.

"As you know, your anterior cruciate ligament teas is quite serious. However, the probability of completely of repairing it is between 85 and 95%."

She exhaled. The high rate of success vanished part of her anxiety. She trusted him enough to make it a success.

"However, the surgery is just the first step. You already know the hardest step will be to regain your anterior athletic level. A third of the players who get seriously injured in the knee cannot regain it because they are frightened to suffer from an injury once again. You know I strongly disagree with your decision on your your reeducation but if you think it is the best choice, then I cannot stop you."

This decision might seem reckless but she spent hours to make up her mind and the fact that Osawa-sensei let her do it told her it wasn't being foolish...

At least, ot completely.

"I know," she confirmed as she started to touch her necklace.

She was about to go through at least between four and six months of reeducation... The sheer thought of having to go through Coach's hellish training made her shiver.

"Sensei, could you tell me how long I'll stay here after the surgery?" she asked.

"You'll have to stay here at least two or three weeks, to learn how to walk again and then I'll let you leave the hospital."

She sighed. It was the best she could have hoped.

"Very well. Thank you so much, Osawa-sensei!"

Before letting her leave, he dropped his professional tone and gave her a genuine smile.

"I will do my best to help you to make sure you regain your anterior level, Masuko-san."

She smiled back, grateful. "I'm sure you will, Osawa-sensei."

She would make it. She had to, so she could fulfill the last promise she had made before leaving her home country.

But before that, she had to make sure Seirin would win Winter Cup.

Looking at her mobile, she saw a simple text from Riko-san.

'We're waiting for you to come for the final, Manager.'

After somehow getting into the building before the rain started, Miyuki went to the locker room. It was only ten minutes before the match but Taiga and Kuroko-kun were still there.

"Kuroko-kun, the game is going to start soon!"

"Masuko-san is back."

"Hai." She threw a look on her best friend, surprisingly asleep on the floor. "I think you should wake him up now."

Kuroko-kun crouched and poked Taiga's cheek. "Kagami-kun, it is time."

Instead of grumpily insult him, he immediately complied.

"Yes."

There was a serious look on his face she had rarely seen and she had no idea whether she should be either reassured or worried... But the instant he saw her, he went back to his usual self.

"You're back! So what did the doc tell you? Are you okay?" her best friend hastily asked.

She giggled, relieved to see her best friend's concern.

"Taiga calm down, I'm fine. We'll talk about it once the match over."

"Right, let's go!"

Finally joining the team, they greeted her with encouraging smiles before leaving her with Riko-san to focus on the game. They watched them forming a circle to listen to Hyuuga-senpai.

"Haa... I'm tired! I've been melancholic since this morning, you know... Two matches in a row, against Kings... When I thought that we won against Seiho, we'd have a match after that... But there's only one match left, we don't have to hold back anything. Be happy, there is only one thing left to do! We'll throw everything at them until we take them down!"

Hyuuga-senpai's rather strange speech seemed to have worked on the team. They looked determined as they shouted "Yeah!" before going on the court.

"The beginning of his speech was... intriguing but Hyuuga-kun is becoming a good captain, don't you think?" Miyuki asked.

Riko-senpai's gentle look didn't go unnoticed. Miyuki was sure her senpai wasn't aware of it but sometimes, she could see Riko-senpai's eyes soften, her lips curling into a small smile as she was watching Hyuuga-senpai.

"Hai," she agreed.

The other players seemed ready to go into battle. That reassured her, although she couldn't help but cast a concerned look on her best friend. Riko-san noticed it.

"Is something bothering you, Masuko-chan?"

"I'm..." She wasn't exactly sure how to word it. "I'm just... really concerned about Taiga."

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you notice he isn't like his usual self?"

RIko-san looked even more puzzled before taking a look at him.

"Now that I think about it... He's calmer than I expected."

Miyuki knew it was no good. That could only mean that Taiga was getting frustrated and waited for the game to release all that frustration.

"Coach, did you sub him and Kuroko-kun out as I suggested you?"

"Hai."

It was, in fact, an idea proposed by both Hyuuga-senpai and her since it was the best strategy to be able to play the final against a member of the Generation of Miracles. Not to mention the fact that Seiho's defense was incompatible with Taiga's style.

But she knew it would have one major risk...

"Hm? Is it alright to only greet Kuroko-kun? What about Kagami..."

Takao-kun's question to Midorima Shintaro drew her attention.

"It's unnecessary. I have nothing to talk about with someone who played pitifully his last match. If he has something to say, then he should express it with his plays, not words," Shutoku's ace tersely replied.

Depending on how Taiga would react, these words would be the best for the team... or the worst. Hyuuga-senpai also heard these words and knew it.

"Kagami!"

"I agree..." Taiga cut him. "When I remember it, I can't help but be mad at myself. Frustration keeps piling up, So... Let's play already." The look on Taiga's face drastically changed. Miyuki could feel his aura getting more intense, similar to a beast craving for food. "I've been piling it up to turn all of it into fighting spirit, in order to defeat you bastard. I just can't hold back any longer."

Hyuuga-senpai must be feeling uncomfortable after hearing these words as well judging by the look on his face, while Kuroko-kun simply stared him. His sky blue eyes went briefly on her before leaving to join the court.

Midorima-kun seemed irritated by Taiga's words.

"... What did you say? Do what you want... If you can, that is."

The tip off made Seirin get the ball first but Shutoku's defense prevented their attempt of quickly scoring. Izuki-senpai took the ball and passed it to Kuroko-kun who gave it to Taiga for an alley-oop.

"Yes, we're the first to score...!"

At the last moment, Midorima-kun blocked it, to everyone's shock.

Is it even possible to block that...?!

Takao-kun now got the ball in his hand and passed it to Shutoku's number 5 who tried to score but failed thanks to Hyuuga-senpai's intervention. Miyuki took note that Takao-kun was indeed a point guard like she suspected.

Two minutes had passed and nobody had scored yet, meaning the team that would score first would win the first quarter.

At Seirin's failed attempt, Shutoku made a quick counterattack resulting a three-pointer from Midorima-kun. However, she watched with astonishment Kuroko-kun running already to take the ball. Making a Cyclone Pass to Taiga, he left Midorima-kun speechless as the ball flew past him.

She huffed, "Thanks to them, the flow of the game hasn't changed yet..."

Riko-san added, "The real match starts now."

She couldn't be more right. Shutoku's ace got the ball but to her surprise, he passed it to someone else.

"Wait... Is Midorima-kun sealed?"

"Hai. Midorima-kun's technique has the merit of defending against counterattacks," Riko-san started to explain. "But it's not like all the team is falling back. They're all staying behind, just in case it misses and they need to get the rebound. But here, the time it spends flying back backfires. Because if Midorima-kun has the time to get back, Kagami-kun has the time to run too."

"I see... So that means that with the speed of that attack, the counter-attack will just get through Midorima-kun. That's why he didn't shoot."

As Seirin and Shutoku scored back to back, Miyuki felt uneasy. Shutoku Coach's order only strengthened that feeling. She didn't look at him, not able to tear her eyes away from the game but that voice sounded familiar.

"Takao, take care of the number eleven."

Miyuki winced. That was bad.

Kuroko-kun had the same role as Takao-kun, to pass the ball to the rest of the team so that made Takao-kun the worst match against Kuroko... because they were the same kind. But the uneasiness she felt couldn't only be explained by that. So that could only mean...

"Could it be ?..."

"What is it, Masuko-chan?"

She gasped. "NO WAY!"

And just after that, Takao-kun made Kuroko-kun's pass fail.

"Kuroko's pass... failed?!"

"Did he make a mistake?" Furihata-kun asked.

It was, in fact, worse than expected.

"No, that's not it, Furihata-kun. I think Takao-kun's eyes are special, just like Izuki-senpai's... No, they're probably better in some aspects." Right now, she couldn't found any solution. "Coach, we need a time out!"

She firmly nodded. "I know."

Now all seated on the bench, Riko-san was thinking about what to say to them, especially Kuruko-kun who was upset, to say the least.

"Coach. Let's keep up just like this... Please." Taiga was strangely calm about it, meaning that he had probably something in his mind. He ruffled his partner's hair. "Hey, it can't be that you're going to let him stop you like that, right?"

"Well... I guess I would not like that."

"Your misdirection doesn't work on Takao-kun, does it? Is it alright?"

"It isn't, it's a problem."

"Yes... Well. Hell! What to do?"

"END OF THE TIME OUT!" the referee indicated.

Before they went back to the court, she stopped her friend.

"Kuroko-kun! I don't have the whole solution yet but I think... I think you could use Takao-kun's eyes against himself. I don't know how but.. I'm sure you can find something."

He blinked several times before nodding. "I understand."

As the game started again, Shutoku was currently in the lead but Midorima-kun's shoot had a meaningful psychological impact: his shoot range was the whole half court.

Her eyes widened.

"He scored from the center line? Is that even possible in basketball?"

"It isn't. It's just... The Generation of Miracles truly are monsters."

Miyuki winced. She knew about monsters too well. "This isn't good... At this rate, the difference will increase."

There was no need to be a math genius or even like math to tell that between their two points and his three pointers, Shutoku's ace shots had more effectiveness. It only left Seirin with two solutions: block him or score even more with three-pointers, if possible.

"Coach, what's this?" Furihata-kun asked.

Curious, Miyuki looked at the thing in question.

"Ah... I broke this a few minutes ago, I forgot it..."

Miyuki repeateadly blinked, not sure she heard well. "Broke?!" she parroted.

"Because we lost last year... Hyuuga-kun asked me to find something to change him from an ordinary guy to someone used to pressure. So now every time he misses a shoot, I'll break one of his precious figures of the Sengoku General."

"FOR REAL?!"

Oh, she could see where that was going.

She hadn't been as radical as her senpai in her team... not in that way, at least. But she saw that happening to one of her teammates.

"But because of that, Hyuuga-kun..."

Hyuuga-senpai's shout interrupted them.

"The Kings don't matter anymore! DIE!"

"... Even though his character changed a bit."

Ah...

Her presumption had been correct.

"I see."

They didn't have the time to ponder on Riko-san's... drastic method since Midorima-kun got the ball again.

"What is he doing? He's standing at the opposite of the–"

Impossible.

And yet, she watched the ball flying through the entire court to land into the hoop in a flawless trajectory.

"The whole court... is his shooting range."

A/N: And this is the end for now! This chapter was supposed to be shorter but I continued to write until the perfect moment to stop the match. I'm developing Masuko's relationship with Riko in this story as well because there are not lots of girls in KnB so I thought making a strong friendship/Coach and manager relationship between them would be great and contribute to the plot.

Thank you for the fav/following, guys! Don't hesitate to post comments :)