Summary [chapter 24]: Emilie had never felt such a high degree of elation and satisfaction. Her team just won French Nationals... Or it might be partly due to the painkillers she took paired with the adrenaline rush from the match that had just ended and won. She couldn't even feel the pain in her knee. For now. She knew the pain would eventually come back with a vengeance but she wanted to enjoy to the fullest the trophy presentation along with the celebration with the rest of the team.

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

[HALCYON DAYS ARC]

FRAGMENTS

~.~

Chapter 24: the four horsemen of the apocalypse

Miyuki should've known it would turn out that way.

To be fair, she never intended to hide it. But it was something rather bizarre to mention out of blue.

And even if she would have liked to hide it, she could say with certainty that it couldn't even be an option for a very simple reason... Internet.

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse... like the ones in the Bible?" Tetsuya asked as they took the elevator.

"The name comes from it, indeed. But we shall continue this conversation later," papa answered before reaching the keys in his pocket to unlock their apartment's door. "Chérie, je suis rentrée! J'ai emmené des invités avec moi!" he shouted to mom to announce he was home. With surprise guests.

To Miyuki's relief, they arrived just in time. Mom had a low tolerance with tardiness.

"Des invités? Tu les as–" She could hear mom's slow steps coming to their direction. "Masaaki, what a pleasure! It's been a while." Mom rushed towards Masaaki-san to greet him with a hug. He always had been her mom's favorite senpai back then.

"Good evening, Shynah. You look stunning," Masaaki-san said.

"There's no need to flatter me. I know it's not true, I just woke up from my little nap."

Miyuki snorted.

While papa was fully aware of his charm and natural confidence, mom wasn't aware she oozed elegance. Her usually tied black hair flowed over her shoulders, making her look softer and younger than she already was. She was now wearing a sleeveless white dress with lilac patterns reaching her knees that she sewed a few months ago after learning she was pregnant. She did look stunning.

"Hello again, Kise-kun! Thank you again for lending a shirt to my husband." She brushed each of his cheeks while making a slight kissing sound before turning her head towards Tetsuya and Midorima. "I'm Masuko Shynah, Emilie's mother and Taiga's aunt. I suppose you are Taiga's partner."

"Hai. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya–" He was about to bow but mom lightly brushed his cheeks as a greeting.

"Thank you for taking care of them Kuroko-kun, you're welcome in our house whenever you want! And you must be Midorima Shintaro, Masaaki's ace... Fascinating," she added. She didn't even let him reply as she gave him the same treatment Tetsuya and pretty face got. "I should get you all a drink."

Miyuki frowned. "Maman, are you sure?"

"Of course Emilie! I'm pregnant, not dead." Her mom probably realized she didn't necessarily made the best wording choice as her dad and Masaaki-san grimaced. "You should make your brother and your sister come to the living room, they're playing with legos in his room," she continued on an even lighter tone than before.

She nodded slowly. "Okay..."

Pretty face, Tetsuya and Midorima were still frozen even after mom headed to the kitchen.

They were simply confused and flabbergasted by whatever just happened... But they would get used to it. Eventually.

Probably?

"You can sit on the couch or on one of the armchairs while I start cooking," Miyuki heard papa say to her friends as she went to Nate's bedroom on her tiptoes. She left a swift knock on the door, unsettling her siblings, who were focused on their logo construction.

"O-nee-chan!"

She smiled fondly. "I'm back."

"Please tell me papa is the one cooking dinner," her younger sister started.

"Yes, don't worry! You should come to the living room to meet my new friends."

"You really managed to make friends?" Eri asked. "I thought you made that up."

Miyuki scoffed. She had missed her sister's biting sarcarsm. "Surprisingly, yes." Despite that, Miyuki knew it was a genuine question from her sister. She wasn't the friendliest person and her trust issues didn't help on that matter. "Uncle Masaaki is there too," she announced her.

Eri's eyes widened. She hadn't seen him in years. "For real?"

"Yep."

Eri rushed towards the living room to greet him as Nate jumped on her back so she could carry him through the rooms.

She heard her mom praising pretty face for his good looks. Miyuki would have to tell mom to stop calling pretty face and Midorima 'Genta's ace' and 'Masaaki's ace'.

"Now that I think about it, how does maman know– No way." She stopped in the middle of the hallway.

It was so obvious and yet, she had failed to notice it until now.

"Why did you stop? 'Milie's knee hurts again?" Nate asked.

She shook her head, endeared by her little brother's protectiveness. "Don't worry, little one. I just realized something."

If her friends thought she was cunning, then they would come to discover her parents were on another level.

While her dad mainly relied on the infamous chaos theory, her mom was calm and methodical. But when they were put together, anyone in front of them would lose before it even started.

She never said which schools pretty face and Midorima attended until she was reunited with them at the airport. But even with that, she hadn't said which one went to Kaijo and which one went to Shutoku, let alone who coached them.

'And you must be Midorima Shintaro, Masaaki's ace... Fascinating.'

Miyuki should've known from the moment mom added 'fascinating' at the end of her sentence.

"Nate, do you want to meet my new friends?" she whispered to her little brother as they were about to reach the living room.

His eyes sparkled. "Are they Taiga-nii's friends too?"

"Of course!"

"Yay!" Her brother quickly got off from her back to run and hug Taiga's leg. Said best friend was having another argument with Tetsuya before Nate arrived but momentarily stopped to gently pat her little brother's head.

He and Tetsuya were now happily chatting with Nate about basketball.

She decided it would be the good moment to ask papa about her assumption.

"You two planned this."

Okay, it wasn't a question but rather an abrupt accusation she dropped as she reached the kitchen. Papa stopped cutting the courgettes to lay his eyes on her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he argued in a particularly unconvincing way before continuing to cut the vegetables.

She took the seat on Masaaki-san's left in front of the kitchen's counter.

She tried to keep her voice low enough so the rest wouldn't rest her."I was thinking you were being too friendly again and invited pretty face, Tetsuya and Midorima because of that but maman knew he's a Shutoku student. And I know I never said that information. Not to mention that maman didn't look surprised to see Tetsuya and Midorima... So what's your intention?"

He shrugged. "We wanted to meet your new friends."

"You could've asked me normally!" Miyuki hopedit didn't come out like a whine.

"Emilie, please... You're always so vague about your social interactions and Taiga would never admit out loud that these kids are friends he deeply cares about."

Miyuki thought about it for two seconds before yielding. "You have a point. But you could have been more polite about it... You asked them to go to dinner out of blue and in front of everyone, including Masaaki-san, how could they even say no?"

He blinked several times before his mouth opened in a silent 'o'. "You have a point," papa parroted her. "I'll apologize to them privately," he promised.

She knew he meant to harm but once again, the difference of culture could make him perceived as rude rather than being a tad too friendly.

Papa had the habit to be that way given how he was a volunteer in the neighbourhood association centre.

Given said neighbourhood, it was a community structure having non-exclusion as main aim.

It fought against delinquency and underperforming at school among other things. He often ended up being a sort of big brother or even a father of substitution for some of the kids and teenagers going there. But Miyuki was okay with it.

Her dad's heart was big enough for all of them.

Despite his craftiness, papa had good intentions, Miyuki thought. She felt bad for telling him so frankly that his invitation could considered as rude, he only had good intentions.

Mainly.

"Last question... Why did you have to talk about that with them?"

"Did you intend to keep it a secret?" papa immediately inquired in that tone he used as a teacher whenever he asked a student if they wanted to do an additional optional homework after they got a bad mark to make it up.

Given how she was the best student in her class, she never heard that tone directed to her as a student. However, as her daughter, she already got it directed to her whenever he was trying to help her to fix an error she was about to commit.

"... No? I mean of course not." She raised an eyebrow, confused by her own hesitation. "Je ne sais pas?" she ended in a speepish tone.

I don't know.

"As-tu honte?"

"Bien sûr que non, je–" She should've seen it coming.

It was the same feelings as when Jean sent her that text. The fear of being left behind, in her injured state.

Miyuki was everything but ashamed.

She was proud of that achievement for more reasons than one. But talking about it also meant facing her current situation. Despite that, she knew she had to move forward. She wasn't alone and could talk to her new friends. She trusted them.

In fact, she missed talking about football and about the time where she could still play in France. It was time to share her world with them too.

Taiga sometimes asked her about her team but he felt awkward when asking about Nationals given her injury. He was being too gentle with her... Not to mention that any mention of Jean set off his fight or flight mood.

She held back a smile. Her dad knew her better than she did herself sometimes.

"Thanks papa."

Masaaki-san coughed. "I didn't understand half of your discussion but you seem to feel better."

She smiled. "I do, I'll talk to my friends about that myself after eating."

"I see."

"Say, Masaaki..." Her dad started. "The Generation of Miracles are at least five, right?" Masaaki-san slowly nodded, not sure where it was going. "From what I know, Kise-kun and Midorima-kun were part of it with their captain now playing for Rakuzan. I supposed Masako-chan has one too, which means he's playing with Tatsuya."

Miyuki cringed at that reminder. That was going to be a difficult match, in more ways than one.

"That would be Murasakibara-kun, he's very tall and has purple hair. Tetsuya is a member of the Generation of Miracles as well, he was their sixth man. And the last member is Aomine Daiki, the ace," she continued, her voice laced with venom.

Just saying the name of the one who made Tetsuya cry, Taiga nearly recklessly play injured and humiliated Seirin in playoffs left a bad taste in her mouth.

Papa knew how she felt about it. It had an eerie similarity with the situation with her.

"It seems that Japan has interesting talents as well."

She watched pretty face patting her brother's head and cooing at him as the other three were animatedly talking about basketball. Despite the ressemblance, perhaps her new friends along with Taiga could still save Aomine Daiki. Perhaps it was't late that time around.

"They do," she let out in a pensive voice.

Shintaro would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling curious yet overwhelmed by the current situation.

There was no denying Shintaro was a logic-driven individual despite the use of daily lucky item. But in the past months, he had found himself stuck in situations where logic wasn't enough more often than not.

Tonight's dinner was one of those situations.

"That was delicious, Oli-san," Kuroko said as a thank you for the meal.

Masuko's father was an even better cook than Masuko, if it was possible. Shintaro had never seen Kuroko eating that much with such enthusiasm.

And on his own free will.

Masuko-san chuckled. "That's great to hear, Kuroko-kun. You can do whatever you want while I prepare the dessert."

"Do you need help?" Masuko asked.

"I'm not as good as you when it comes to baking but I can manage that! You should go to your room with your friends." The empathic look Masuko-san sent her implied that no protest was possible.

Masuko made a subtle grimace, akin to the one joined with the troubled expresion she had earlier. Shintaro had an idea where the upcoming would lead them.

"Fine then... Follow me," she indicated them before heading to the corridor.

"This is my room. Make yourselves comfortable," Masuko announced as Kise eyed the trophy shelf.

Shintaro saw Kuroko staring at the photo of Masuko and her previous teammates in a strange way.

Shintaro had done the same thing the first time he entered to her room. He had stopped pretending he didn't understand what he felt at the sight of Masuko's team's beaming smiles: longing.

Once they were all sitting either on the bed or one of the chairs available on Masuko's insistence, she took a notebook with a red leather cover from the drawer of her night table and sat in front of them, with Kagami on her left.

"Before that, you should know that football and basketball scouting don't work the same way, especially in youth sport. Especially if you take into account that France and Japan don't give the same importance to the same sports nor the same cultures... Taiga, give me the slate and the felt pen on my desk, please." Kagami quickly stood up to take them and handed them to Masuko who started scribbling on it. "Thanks. Football... Man's football, is the most popular sport in France and they scout young talents starting from the age of 6 or 8 in clubs that are ouside school teams. For example, the players from an under 17 year old football club are way better than the players from a highschool football teams since some of them are on their way to become professional. The best youth clubs are from the training centres of senior national league teams. That's how they get some of their players... One of the best examples would be Arsenal Football Club, a football club from England. Some of them played in their training centres since they were kids before ending up in the U21 youth team and maybe the senior team if they do well enough. Do you have any questions?"

Shintaro shook his head at the same time as Kuroko but Kise raised his hand. It reminded him of Masuko's tutoring sessions with Kagami and Kise.

"Yes, pretty face?"

"So adults select talented young players in their childhood and train them until they get to play in the senior team-ssu?"

"Not necessarily... It's rare to see a player staying the same club from childhood and adulthood. There are many children who have started in their local clubs before getting noticed and being transferred to a bigger club if they want to persue a professional career. And being scouted very young doesn't guarantee you a successful future. It means that you have a great amount of potential and that adults saw it early. Sometimes, this potential doesn't go as far as expected. Sometimes, it goes wasted. And in rare cases, there are late bloomers that adults fail to give a chance. The one thing wasn't taken into consideration from them... Or two in that case."

"In that case..." Kise repeated in a softened tone, his eyes wide open. He seemed to have realized something Kuroko and Shintaro had apparently missed all along.

Masuko directly opened the notebook to the page where the bookmark was lying and showed its content.

It was a press cutting from a French newspaper. Shintaro couldn't understand the headline nor the content itself but the photo made it pretty clear. Shintaro's lips slightly parted.

He attempted to say something, anything, but all he made was a silent gasp.

"I'm one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse," Masuko announced.

Kagami, being the annoying person that he was, started cackling at Shintaro's and Kuroko's reactions.

There were four people standing with medals around their necks along with a trophy shaped like a cleat for each of them in one hand and a smaller trophy in the other hand. They all looked tired, yet had genuine smiles on their faces.

Masuko had her ams placed around one of the shoulders of the two players placed between her. Her height was significantly smaller than the rest of them, making her stand out. She also looked the happiest person there despite her attempt to contain her joy.

Shintaro blinked. He didn't know Masuko had dimples. He found it... endearing.

Emilie had never felt such a high degree of elation and satisfaction. Her team just won French Nationals... Or those sensations might be due to the painkillers she took paired with the adrenaline rush from the match that had just ended.

She couldn't even feel the pain in her knee, at least for now.

She knew it would eventually come back with a vengeance but she wanted to enjoy the trophy presentation ceremony to the fullest along with the celebration with the rest of the team.

But before that, the individual award ceremony was about to start.

Emilie was startled when papa announced that she won the Bronze Boot thanks to her goal in the final, as well as the silver medal for Best Player of The Tournament but there was no way that she had been better than Jean or–

"Dubois! It's now 1-1 between us but next time, I'll win!" a voice behind her declared.

She didn't even need to face him to know he had that annoying smirk on his attractive face.

"Carter... Still as arrogant as always. You and I both know that I'll be the one to win again," she replied in a fiercy tone as she bored in a sharp glance the one now standing in front of her.

She noted once again that he really was a good-looking young man with his dark blond hair and green eyes. Even if he looked good with brown hair too, she was glad he went back to his original hair color.

Her rival quickly dropped his act, his body rocking as he started cackling at their own antics. Emilie grinned as tears started prickling the corners of her rival's eyes from laughing too much.

"Ryan, there's no need to call me Dubois anymore," she automatically replied, amused that even now, they still had that inside joke.

"Man, we used to be so bad," he recalled, as memories of their rocky first meeting came to their minds. They had made a long way since that cold autumn day at the waste ground located between their two neighborhoods. "But it's still 1-1. When will we sort it out, dear?"

He beat her at Regionals and she beat him back at Nationals. Her smile turned wistful. She sighed. "That is on official matches... But you and I both know there won't be a next time."

It might be better that way.

She was about to leave Japan and he was close from graduating and getting a professional career in football elite. He would sign his first contract in Ligue 1 while she would to go back to women's football.

That was only if she could...

She laid her eyes on her swollen and reddened left knee.

In retrospective, it was stupid of her to jeopardize a career that hadn't even started yet for one single win. And it was even more stupid that she was fine with it...

But it was a win at Nationals after all.

Her rival understood her. They had become close friends in the past months and he accepted her for what she was, including that unreasonable and twisted part of her that was so fixated on winning French Nationals after that failed attempt the previous year. And retaliate from her current team's catastrophe at Regionals final against Ryan's team... Call it double revenge.

Ryan respected that since he had played his best football against her and before reaching the final, he had publically cheered for Emilie and her team.

He didn't say a word and squatted down to try to reach her eyes. She hated being in that wheelchair although she had no regrets.

She would do it again and again if that meant her team could win Nationals again and again. Emilie stared back.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing," he started as he took one of her arms and put it on his shoulder to support her height and make her stand up. She could hear the sound of camera flashes intensify around them as the officials made their appearance and the announcer started speaking.

"What are you doing?" she asked between her teeth so the media could avoid reading on her lips. Again.

"Isn't it obvious? You don't want to appear on these official photos in a wheelchair, do you? So I will be your human crutch. Just for you."

There was something strange in his behavior that she couldn't pinpoint. She would realize later that it would be the last time she would hear Jean talk about football with her in months.

"But–"

All words died in her mouth when another person firmly took her other arm to put it on their shoulder.

Miyuki gasped at the cool touch before turning her head. It was one of her middle school friends.

Of course he would be there to get an award, he had had a tremondous tournament...

He had been so hard to beat in the semi-final that they had to come to penalty shootout. And that time, fate had been on her side.

Both still had a lot to say to each other despite already having the long-awaited discussion after their tense semi-final. But it would wait for later.

"Emilie Masuko de l'équipe du lycée Claude Monet, botte de bronze."

None of them had the time to chat since she had to go on the stage the staff hastily put but she nodded at the firm look she got from her old friend as she started moving to the stage in a thunder of applause.

"It was the first time in French Nationals' history that they named two players the Best Player of The Tournament and had two players that got the Golden Boot, that is the trophy for the best scorer of a tournament... It's the two guys standing on the left side, you might recognize one of them."

Figures.

He and Masuko wore the same tracksuit, that strangely almost looked like Seirin's apart from the practice shirt color. It was Masuko's former (?) partner and teammate. Shintaro's stomach dropped.

"I was named second Best Player of the tournament and I won the Bronze Boot. The one on my right was named third Best Player of The Tournament and got the Silver Boot." He looked oddly familiar. Masuko directed her eyes towards her trophy shelf. New medals and trophies had been added, probably from the cardboard boxes from France that Masuko mentioned. "If we're called that way, it's because we... created chaos in the sport, although it wasn't our initial intention. None of us was trying to get scouted from any non-scholar clubs, because unlike Japan, we don't hold an important place to club activities at school. And we didn't think of football as a professional career but as a passion and a hobby. To have the federation and the clubs miss one talent is one thing, but to miss four... Although I don't have the chance to be a genius in the sport I love, I'm still considered as someone talented," she added.

'I don't have the chance to be a genius in the sport I love'

Shintaro had heard the first part of that sentence countless times in his years at Teiko but that time, there was no trace of bitterness in her voice.

Whenever he head it, it was usually spat as an insult towards Shintaro and the Generation of Miracles.

Everyone said they were 'monsters', including players from the second and third strings. Moreover, Coach Sanada had it written all over his face. It was what created the distance between the Generation of Miracles and everyone in the first place.

So when Kagami snorted at his best friend's last statement, Shintaro was left confused and curious somehow. It didn't seem to be the first time he heard that from Masuko.

"We only have one genius per generation anyway, or sometimes two like Jean and that guy," she indicated as she pointed out the one standing on her left in the photo. "The media tried to create a conflict between them with endless comparisons of each of their talents but turns out Jean and that guy became best friends. They became better thanks to each other, not in spite of each other."

Shintaro got a glimpse of the foreign yet subtle expression on Kuroko's face.

He knew his former teammate was thinking about how the Generation of Miracles spectacularly failed on that aspect.

"We're all friends but that's not, as many loved to say, the main... point when it comes to me," she ended with a grimace.

Kise tilted his head. Shintaro sighed. It was so obvious even he overlooked it sometimes.

"Masuko is a girl," Shintaro plainly said.

Masuko snorted. "Yes, unfortunately for many of them. There's now a whole debate about whether or not women should be allowed to play in a men's team. I've turned into a media attraction."

Slowly, Shintaro put the pieces of the puzzle together.

That letter from her previous high school teammate did say Masuko was her team's number two scorer. There was also their unquestionable yet new presence in the national youth team, her fear to be left behind, especially with the expectations from fans and media...

The fact that even Shintaro's sister knew Masuko that well from pieces of information and videos from the internet said everything.

Masuko had never hidden it. She just didn't take the time to mention it. Shintaro had a vague idea why given her unintentional slip of the tongue in the subway, after matsuri.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about it, I... just wanted a little rest from everyone's expectation in my sport and go back to having a normal life, even for a few months. As normal as it can be with a best friend like Taiga," she added at the end to lighten the mood.

It worked. Kise cracked a smile and Shintaro snorted.

"Hey!" Kagami barked.

"It's true... But I was lying to myself and I was scared. I don't want normality or else, I wouldn't have chosen to become Seirin's manager and..." Masuko didn't finish her sentence. Shintaro was convinced she restrained herself from adding another detail at the last second. Shintaro felt his shoulders tense. "I don't regret it though, since I got to meet you all."

"Masukocchi..."

Shintaro felt his throat get dry.

That happened every time he watched Masuko's soft smile as she started saying something sincere and heartfelt.

A soft knock on Masuko's door interrupted them, tearing his attention away from her.

It was her father.

"Dessert's ready, I made some tea too. Do you want me to bring it here or..."

"There's no need to, Oli-san!" Kise answered before standing up to go back to the living room. Shintaro automatically did the same, not wanting to be a rude guest.

"I hope you all like apple pies, I wanted to bake something quick to prepare."

"Miyuki-san did that once during our training camp, it was delicious," Kuroko replied.

Shintaro remembered that. It was a delicious dessert, especially after their practice session.

But it was strange to see Kuroko giving such a detailed answer. Despite the usual flatness of his voice, Shintaro could see Kuroko looked excited to taste Masuko's father's apple pie.

Shintaro ended up meeting Kise's eyes and he could read the surprise and perhaps some nostalgic there. That feeling didn't leave him, even as he sat on the couch, a cup of tea in his hand. He thought about Masuko's soft smile.

It was getting overwhelming. He needed air.

Shintaro headed towards the balcony after asking if it was possible without even remembering the words he had pronounced.

Once he reached the balcony, he immediately put his arms on the metallic guardrail and took a deep breath. He hadn't realized he had held breathing for a moment.

He knew what was happening. Or rather, what he just realized.

He too, had been running away from the truth all along...

From his past at Teiko, from the impending doom he felt at the mere thought of a reunion with Akashi, or having to play a match against him. From...

"Midorimacchi, are you okay?" Kise's voice startled him.

His first reflex was to snap on him but Shintaro stopped at the last second after picking up Kise's genuine concern.

If anyone would ask about their time in Teiko, Shintaro would have given Kise's name as the member of the Generation of Miracles he got along the less. He was sure that could be applied the other way around.

Despite that, Shintaro felt that among all his former teammates, Kise was the closest to him in many ways.

"I..." Shintaro had no idea about what to say.

There were so many things to unfold.

Shintaro and Kise had an understanding.

They had been the last ones to try to hold on to what the Generation pf Miracles used to have. And they had been the first ones to taste defeat because of (or thanks to, depending how they saw it) Kuroko. They now both knew their teammates matter and that they didn't have to be enemies but simply rivals, perhaps even... friends.

They needed to settle it out.

But right now, he had a more pressing issue. And he spilled it out in a whisper.

"I have feelings for Masuko."

A/N: Well then. I bet you didn't expect this chapter to end this way, with a change of pace coming. What a way to celebrate this story's fourth birthday!

Concerning Masuko/Midorima, I teased that mainly from Midorima's perspective through several chapters but Midorima was in denial until now. The alternative title for this chapter would be 'Epiphany' for Midorima concerning the Generation of Miracles' dynamic along with his feelings for Masuko but also for Masuko concerning her status and starting to accept to share who she is and face the obligations that brings her position and her accomplishment, even if he didn't ask for it.

The next chapter is a prelude to the following arc. I hope you enjoyed reading a bit more about Masuko's past. Her parents also have a part in the story but you can already guess where Masuko got her sense of observation.

sparkly fairy: Thank you so much for your comment, it's a honor to know that my story is appreciated this way. I delibarately chose a very slow burn for the Masuko/Midorima romance, until now at least, to develop the plot to this point. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I would like to thank the people who has favorited or/and is following this story after I published the previous chapter: aniaco, Tupaja, Hinanui98

Once again, thank you for the fav/following! Don't hesitate to post comments, I'll make sure to answer them on next chapter's A/N or through PM :)