Summary [chapter 25]: 'Every friendship is different but a true friend is someone who's here through hardships and better times. They're able to make constructive criticism and call you out when needed. They're honest with you and you can trust them.' Ryouta still wasn't sure what true friendship looked like... But whenever he spent time with Midorimacchi, Kagamicchi, Kurokocchi or Masukocchi, he could start to grasp the meaning of that concept. And he was sure that they were stronger together, old friends and new friends likewise.
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
[PRELUDE OF THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT ARC]
FRAGMENTS
~.~
Chapter 25: stronger together
Love, friendship... Two concepts the Generation of Miracles had ended up casting aside at one point.
Except Momocchi.
She had been the last one among them with a shred of humanity left. She even felt too much, while the rest of the Generation of Miracles felt too little.
Kurokocchi was the same, even if he had resigned himself into a permanent numbness until that match.
But Kurokocchi wasn't exactly part of the Generation of Miracles, which was a compliment: he was better than them anyway...
Both Momocchi and Kurokocchi were.
But in the past months, Ryouta had come to reconsider the whole teamwork concept. And with that, he had also started thinking that perhaps feelings such as love or friendship weren't so bad. And he knew the same thing was happening to Midorimacchi.
No matter how much Midorimacchi was trying to hide it, he had come to care about Takao Kuzanari, his new partner, and about his senpais. He had come to consider Kagamicchi as a friend. But that...
"I have feelings for Masuko."
Ryouta blinked. He had expected to have his former teammate snap at him and refuse to answer.
But Midorimacchi gave him a honest answer instead... Not only that, but Midorimacchi's wording took him aback.
Even if it was clear there was something beyond platonic between Masukocchi and Midorimacchi, Ryouta didn't think Midorimacchi's affection for her was so deep.
But then, they were friends. Closer friends than Ryouta thought.
He had expected something close to Momocchi's crush on Kurokocchi from Midorimacchi, albeit way more subtle and subdued... And a painfully long period of denial.
It was Midorimacchi after all, the most prideful man Ryouta ever met and that was saying a lot since they were part of the Generation of Miracles.
"So Midorimacchi realized it, uh," was all Ryouta could answer at the moment.
Midorimacchi made a painfully long disgruntled noise before frowning.
"YOU KNEW?"
Now, it was Ryouta's turn to frown. "Are you stupid? Midorimacchi, I have to use observations a lot to copy and you weren't being that subtle-ssu," he said back, slightly annoyed.
Not to mention that among all the Generation of Miracles members, the general consensus was to let Ryouta in charge of anything related to social interactions.
Even if Akashi was charismatic, his intimidating aura made him unapproachable and it had only worsened after that one on one against Murasakibaracchi.
It had made him even harder to reach.
Ryouta had noticed Midorimacchi's attraction for Masukocchi. That part wasn't weird, given how charming she was in more ways than one.
Albeit she didn't immediately attracted people's eyes, there was a certain subtle appeal about her: her nose, her eyes, her legs...
It just that Ryouta had never seen Midorimacchi being attracted to a girl before, even when they had someone as pretty as Momocchi in their team.
Ryouta had also noted how gentle he acted whenever Masukocchi was around.
Even if he had been gentle to Momocchi and greatly respected her, it wasn't the same because he was so... open with Masukocchi.
"Ah." Midorimacchi looked away, his eyes set on the crescent moon.
Ryouta could discern a blush on Midorimacchi's cheeks. He resisted the urge to giggle since he didn't want to get punche.
The teasing would wait for later.
"So... what are your feelings for her?" Ryouta slightly hesitated before continuing. "Do you have a crush on her? Or... are you in love with her?"
"I..." Ryouta patiently waited for him to end his sentence. Ryouta knew it wasn't easy for someone as prideful and asocial as him to admit that. "I don't know..." Ryouta had never heard Midorimacchi's voice going so small and soft.
"It's fine, Midorimacchi will figure out-ssu," Ryouta reassured him softly. "I'll help you if you want." He remembered playing Momocchi's wingman. He had supported her crush on Kurokocchi even if they both knew he didn't (or rather couldn't?) return her feelings in a romantic way.
Not to mention that Momocchi couldn't see her true love was right in front of her nose.
"But thank you for telling me," Ryouta sincerely finished. He closed his eyes at the sentation of the gentle breeze caressing his face.
Ryouta wouldn't push him too much for now. Midorimacchi was already forcing his nature right now with that discussion.
Or maybe he had changed too?
"Why are you thanking me?" Midorimacchi asked.
"Because it means Midorimacchi trusts me," Ryouta chirped. And before his old teammate could protest in a typical tsundere fashion, he continued, "And I trust Midorimacchi too. Which is why I can tell Midorimacchi about my injury. I have to rest for a whole month."
He forced a smile.
It hadn't been that bad in the end since he had learned many things about Seirin and about his own teammates while observing them closely but he still was itching to play. Masukocchi probably felt the same. In fact, it must be worse for her, given the length of her reeducation.
Ryouta thought about that discussion he and Masukocchi had at the exact same place a few weeks ago. He remembered Masukocchi saying she would be honest with him since they were friends.
And Ryouta was doing the same thing now, because he deeply wanted to be a good friend to someone.
"Kise..."
Midorimacchi was clever. He must have noticed Ryouta picked up an injury during his one on one against Aominecchi but must have thought it would only last for a few days. Giving away that new piece of information on the duration of his forced rest was as good as revealing he's been over practicing for the past weeks.
"I'll be allowed to back to practice in a week but don't tell anyone... Except Masukocchi, she was the one who found out. Seirin know too."
And then he proceeded to tell Midorimacchi how Masukocchi saw through his act, how she told him that she couldn't pretend she didn't know about the extent of his injury because she didn't want him to end like her.
He even revealed how Masukocchi helped him to strengthen his resolution to reach the Perfect Copy.
Masukocchi had never explicitly indicated it but they both knew it was what he would have to aim to have a chance at the Winter Cup.
Ryouta would have to be able to copy his former teammates to stand a chance against them.
That was why Masukocchi let him observe Seirin in depth, Kurokocchi's team.
Having Seirin's manager willingly helping him unsettled him even if they were friends, even if she could observe Kaijo closely.
Ryouta didn't mind having Midorimacchi know about him trying to get Perfect Copy too, since havin him know about it wasn't a big issue.
Even with that knowledge, there was no special and unique solution to stop him, since each member of the Generation of Miracles had very different skills.
"Kise, you've really changed."
It was a clear déjà-vu from that night at the restaurant after Shutoku's loss. But instead of being surprised, he returned the remark, "You've changed too, Midorimacchi." And he meant it, in a good way. "It's weird, isn't it? Us, talking like... that." Like friends. "And with Kurokocchi, Kagamicchi and Masukocchi there."
Midorimacchi silently agreed as he continued to stare at the night sky. It was rare to see them in Tokyo with the lights usually masking them.
They were like the stars in the firmament... They endured the darkness surrounding them and kept shining bright.
"Let's go to a café tomorrow! It's both our day off and Seirin is leaving for their mini mountain training camp anyway," Ryouta proposed, despite fully expecting a rejection.
After several minutes of comfortable silence, his old teammate answered him with a small yet genuine smile and Ryouta felt like it was the new start he had yearned for.
"Fine."
"I can't believe we're going back to school already."
Miyuki closed the front door, not even bothered by the fact her best friend didn't even properly greet her. "Good morning to you too, Taiga. Don't complain, you aren't the one who got two months of vacation robbed," she grumbled as she kissed both of his cheeks.
"Hello. Is Miyuki-san sure I'm not bothering her family?"
Miyuki blinked. Her blue-haired friend almost sounded meek, if not bashful. "Good morning Tetsuya! Of course not, my family doesn't mind. The more, the merrier!"
"You don't look like a zombie for once," Taiga noted.
Miyuki already looked all ready and proper since she already started drinking her cocoa. She also was wearing her uniform on and her hair styled by papa.
She had taken the habit to look her best on her first day back to school in September and Miyuki wouldn't stop that tradition even if the scholar year started in April in Japan.
It was also her father's first day as a teacher in Seirin High School. He was so excited that he had ended up making way too much food for breakfast... Not that it was a real problem since Taiga's stomach was a black hole.
"Good morning kids!" Miyuki raised an eyebrow at her father's rather formal attire, compared to his usual clothes when he was teaching at her highschool in France.
She eyed the crimson red tie.
It was the first time she saw him with it again since April.
"What's up with the tie?" she asked.
It wasn't often she saw him with a shirt and a tie, apart from Nationals, since he had to attend to formal pre-match and post-match press conferences with either her or the vice-captain at the time by his side, Jean.
"It's my first day too! This tie brings me luck after all."
"You sound like Midorima," Miyuki whispered before finishing her cup her hot chocolate in a sip.
Miyuki was considering giving her friend one of those lucky cat items to thank him for tutoring her... It was called maneki-neko if she was correct.
She had read from books that it brought good fortune to those in possession of said item.
She blinked when she met three unreadable gazes from her two friends and her father.
Even Tetsuya?
"Do I have some chocolate on my mouth?" she inquired, puzzled.
"No, it's nothin'," Taiga replied. Miyuki frowned, not understanding what was that about.
"I want to make a good impression to my new students," her dad continued
Miyuki almost rolled her eyes at that.
While her dad knew he was good-looking, it had always disturbed him to know most of the students had had a crush on him at some point, mainly because they literally had around his daughter's age. But he understood the whole 'hot teacher appeal' thing.
"It'll be fine, papa."
If anything, she should be the one to worry about whether or not her classmate would start accusing her of getting favored by her father when it was in fact the opposite.
"Relax Uncle, you're cool," Taiga assured him before getting more food for himself.
"I might be a cool teacher but don't ever think I'll ever let you sleep in my classess. The same goes for you, Kuroko-kun," he indicated, his voice too sweet and sugary to be good.
Despite the light tone, the underlying threat couldn't be clearer. The light and shadow shivered, to Miyuki's amusement. Only Riko-san could frighten Tetsuya that way, until now.
"What 'bout Emilie?" Taiga asked.
She hit his ribs with her elbow. That traitor!
Miyuki scoffed. "I would never sleep during English classes! I would choose math for that and I wouldn't be continously sleeping anyway."
It was true. It was just her eyes closing themselves for a few seconds...
... Or a few minutes.
But never for a whole hour, unlike her friends.
"I'm going to pretend I haven't heard that part, daughter of mine." Miyuki scoffed again at his overdramatic tone before he started asking questions about their class. They answered it in details, even if most of the informations came from Tetsuya and her. Taiga couldn't even remember more than five of his classmates' names, Miyuki and Tetsuya included. "By the way, I'll call everyone by first names but only during classes."
Miyuki waved it off. "Yeah, and we're going to have to use the formal form of address, just like last year with the 'vous'."
"Exactly."
She had been used to having to call her own father 'Monsieur' ('Sir') in France during classes and practice so calling him 'Masuko-sensei' during classes in Seirin wouldn't be a problem.
"Kuroko-kun, I wanted to ask you if you wish to try out my French literature optional class too. It's only two hours a week. You don't have to but I've noticed you enjoy reading too so you can try it out to broaden you literary taste. You don't really need to know French, we'll study French literature and its history through Japanese translation. And depending on whether people enjoy the class or not, we might do a real French class next year."
Papa had discovered Tetsuya's passion for detective novels after seeing him look at his book shelves with interest and managed to get Tetsuya to chat with him about Holmes and Poirot.
"Hai, Masuko-sensei."
"You can still call me Oli-san here. We're not in classes."
They left half an hour later, just in time to greet her siblings and her mom who just woke up. Miyuki wished them a good day since the kids would have their first day of class in their new schools in two hours.
While heading to Seirin, Miyuki explained she would go to Kaijo one last time (for now, she added) to see how pretty face for his return from injury. Papa proposed to accompany her with the car but she refused since she knew a reunion between him and Genta-san would be too chaotic for poor Kasamatsu Yukio's health.
While arriving at the school's portal, she felt eyes on them. The headmaster would make an announcement during the usual assemble at the start of the week but Miyuki knew there were already rumors about who was her father since some people from other clubs had seen him that time he went to the gymnasium.
When she arrived in her classroom, she went to her unofficial usual seat in the back and greeted her classmates who eargerly asked her if the new English teacher and she were related.
She had to explain once again that yes, they were related and no, that man wasn't her older brother but her father.
"Good morning class, I'm you new English teacher. My name is Masuko Olivier," Miyuki's father announced in English ten minutes later, as he put his bag on his office and started writing his name in both Japanese and Engligh on the board. "I'm going to explain the following part in Japanese so everyone can understand. I come from France, where I was a high school French literature teacher and I was a part-time football coach." Miyuki nearly snorted at the second part. Saying he was simply a 'part-time' football coach was an understatements. "Since it's English class, I'll speak in English most of the time except at times like this and I'll call you by your first names. I want this class to be mutual, meaning that I won't be the only one who will talk. It'll be an interaction with either me or your classmates. Regular participation will be encouraged but not mandatory since I know it can cause anxiety to some of you. There will have a bonus participation mark and it'll include participating to correct grammar exercises on the board, making initiatives... But this mark won't really be a real mark since it'll only serve to possibly have a few more points for your final exams."
He wrote the main points of what he had just said on the board so the class wouldn't be lost.
Most of them were too busy gaping at her father's perfect Japanese while others smiled, reassured ny his introduction speech. She knew her dad really was a great teacher.
"If I ever speak too fast in English for you, just say 'could you repeat please?' in English and I'll do it with pleasure."
The next ten minute pause was hell: everyone asked more questions about papa and half of her classmates started swooning every time he was mentioned. Miyuki welcome the bell announcing the end of the break with an audible sigh of relief. She rested her head on the table and felt Taiga's tap on her shoulder. His stifled laugh was a sorry attempt to hide his amusement.
"Before you start saying anything, shut up," she grumbled. Sometimes she wondered why that guy was her best friend.
Ryouta hadn't been that happy since Teiko's national title in his second year: he just had been allowed to start playing again by the doctor, he had come to find the key to use his visual comprehension skill in an optimal way and more importantly, he had friends again.
But he hadn't tell anyone yet about frequently hanging out with Midorimacchi, which was stupid because he felt like he was having a secret boyfriend or something.
If Ryouta was honest with himself, he would admit Midorimacchi was becoming his closest friend somehow, if not his... best friend?!
He wasn't exactly sure since he never had one but he could see how Masukocchi was with Kagamicchi and Himuro-san.
Even just thinking about it was weird. And embarrassing.
"... me, Kise-kun?"
Ryouta slowly blinked. He didn't realize he had been zoning out as his eyes fell on Masukocchi in her practice clothes.
Right, she came by herself that time.
And she did say she would practice with them on basic exercises and passes.
"Sorry, what was Masukocchi saying-ssu?"
He had stopped pouting and making remarks about her calling him 'Kise-kun' whenever there were people around but it didn't mean he liked it.
She started touching his forehead with her cool hand before touching her own forehead. Neither of them cared that much about the gasps from girls in the background, there were already rumors about them anyway.
She still let him flirt and she did flirt back sometimes, mostly to unsettle him (Ryouta was ashamed to admit that it worked).
And yet, Masukocchi insisted on using the '-kun' suffix. He didn't understand girls sometimes.
"You seem fine but something is going on..." she whispered, her hand back on his forehead.
Ryouta shifted uncomfortably, trying to avoid her deep blue eyes.
He started walking towards the gymnasium with his friend on his right. "Everything is fine, what does Masukocchi you mean?" he asked in what was supposed to be a casual tone.
The blank stare he got back clearly indicated that attempt sucked. "You were awfully polite to me, it's been a while since the last time I've seen this facade directed to me. You tend to do that whenever you're freaking out about something," she replied in a sweet tone that unnerved him. "Is this about Midorima's feelings? Because I know."
"YOU KNEW?" he shrieked.
Had she already figured out about Midorimacchi's crush on her?
That was bad. So bad.
Did he give Midorimacchi all thosee girl advices for nothing? Oh no, Midorimacchi was going to be pissed.
"Of course, I know you two have been hanging out together, it's great!"
Ryouta sighed in relief before repeating like a broken record, "YOU KNEW?"
She nodded. "I've spotted you two at a café while I was on my way to a bookstore a few days ago. And you're bickering less too... What do you think I was going to say?"
"Nothing," he shouted in panic while shaking his head energically.
He pushed the door of the gymnasium to greet his senpais and coach to stop that disaster.
Unfortunately, Masukocchi wasn't having any of it and went back to him after greeting everyone.
"Pretty face, spit it out," she demeanded
"How..." Ryouta winced, cringing at his own words before he even pronounced them. The things he did to protect Midorimacchi's secret... "How do you know if someone is becoming... your best friend?"
He knew he had to ask a genuine question or she would see through his lies so why not. He knew Masukocchi wouldn't judge him but it was still embarrassing.
Her eyes softened as she linked her arm with his and started to walk towards the bench. "Every friendship is different but a true friend is someone who's here through hardships and better times. They're able to make constructive criticism and call you out when needed. They're honest with you and you can trust them." They stopped walking. Ryouta watched with curiosity Masukocchi take his hand in a firm yet soft hold. "If Midorima is your best friend, you'll just know in your heart."
She put his own hand over his heart vividly drumming.
Midorimacchi had been there with him when the Generation of Miracles had sank. RYouta remembered those coded discussions they had about the others. They had been the last ones to attend to practice every day, until Ryouta gave up too.
It had been a slight comfort to have him there even if it hadn't been enough in the end.
And now, they both found back themselves along the way, along with their own new team they liked playing with and with new friends.
But perhaps it was okay if they only ealrned how to become friends now. Perhaps they hadn't been ready to be true teammates in Teiko, let alone true friends.
Perhaps they hadn't been mature enough back then...
"Masukocchi should come to the coffee shop later, Midorimacchi will be there too," Ryouta proposed.
"Sure. Now let's start practice!"
Shintaro stared with wary eyes the text Kise just sent him, saying that Masuko would be with them.
It would be the first time he would spend time with Masuko ever since he realized he had feelings for her.
Between Seirin's mini training camp and school starting again, they hadn't had time to see each other in the past week and a half.
It was better that way. Shintaro felt awkward about the whole thing but he couldn't eternally avoid her... She was still his friend and Shintaro was no coward.
He would never risk their friendship for something that could simply be a brief crush.
"That idiot..." he whispered to himself as he turned his eyes on the patio door to see them wave at him.
But Shintaro knew that he was the true idiot for going to Kanegawa Prefecture on his own will to see Kise. He kept asking to himself why he was doing that, despite knowing the answer.
"Hello Midorima, I hope you didn't wait us too long." Shintaro quickly noted that unlike he and Kise, Masuko wasn't wearing her uniform. Instead, she opted for a grey pantsuit with a short-sleeved white shirt and white trainers.
It was simple yet stylish. It suited her. Just like the loose braid she had (undoubtedly his former teammate's work, he used to make the same to Momoi).
"I only arrived five minutes ago."
Surprisingly, talking to her didn't feel awkward. If anything, it felt natural. Maybe nothing had changed...
Of course Shintaro was wrong.
"This is delicious! I've never eaten hakuto peaches before," Masuko said. They all ended up taking a hakuto jelly along with beverages despite it expensive price, since it was only available during summer.
"It is!"
"I should tell mom to try to prepare something with that..." she said to herself.
"But I thought Masukocchi's okaasan couldn't cook."
Masuko nodded. "She clearly can't cook, I would say she's on par with Riko-san's cooking and that's not good but she can definitely bake. Better than papa and I in fact."
"Is that even possible?"
"Yeah, you should have seen the cake she... Oh." Masuko didn't finish her sentence and wrote a lengthy text on her phone instead. Shintaro slightly arched an eyebrow but kept his neutral facial expression.
"Is everything okay?" Kise asked.
"It's Jean, he's panicking about his first official day as the new team's captain. I can't blame him, it's his first day without papa and I there too," she ended with a fond smile. Shintaro's stomach dropped at the mention of Masuko's former partner (and ex boyfriend). "The poor guy has to deal with the team, the media and his first youth national team call coming. But he's strong and our new coach is great too, I personally chose that person for the job."
Shintaro had in mind the articles he had come across on the internet after Masuko's revelations. He struggled to grasp the meaning in some parts since he used the translation device. Almost all articles on her or her team he read were in French although there also were several English, Spanish and Japanese articles.
The numerous praises on her technical skills and her versatility were also joined with questions on her future and what she would do the following season, something that not even Masuko herself had the answer.
"Masukocchi stays friend with her exes?"
"Jean is my only ex... kind of, but yes. We're still good friends and partners but that's it. We mutually broke up for a reason." Shintaro remembered Masuko's words about having bad timing. It led him to wonder what would have happened if these two would have had a good timing. Would they still together if she wouldn't have left for Japan? "Don't you stay friends with your exes, pretty face?"
Kise dramatically gasped at the idea. Shintaro rolled his eyes. "Of course not! I never talk to them again, especially if they get clingy-ssu... Wait, what does Masukocchi mean with 'kind of'?"
Mausko frowned. "Don't you even try to stay in cordial terms with them?" Shintaro snorted at the memory of one of Kise's exes, the one who dumped him for Haizaki. The guy had questionable tastes in girls. "I think staying friendly with an ex is great, as long as there wasn't cheating or abuse involved in the relationship. Or lingering one-sided romantic feelings I guess. What do you think, Midorima?"
Shintaro blinked. He had never put thoughts on the matter. In fact, he had never considered anything related to romance.
He hadn't even noticed Momoi's (apparently, according to Kise) obvious crush on Kuroko so he was dead last in the romance department...
But that was until Masuko happened. And he had never felt so confused, except when it came to Akashi.
"I don't..."
"Masukocchi, what do you mean with 'kind of' and don't avoid the question this time!"
Kise's interruption was more than welcome.
"I helped... a friend and pretended to be his girlfriend, that's a long story." The smirk she made after calling him 'friend' was unsettling. "But you know him, it's one of the guys you've seen on the photo the other day. That bastard is a good player."
But the other two people that were on the photo weren't her teammates... Which one was it among the two boys left?
They stayed for a hour and a half discussing about everything: Masuko's father first day in Seirin, Kise's attempt of getting the Perfect Copy and even fashion choices, though it turned out be be an excuse to have Kise spending his time criticizing Shintaro's clothes.
They were talking about everything except one thing: middle school.
It was better that way, especially after reading those articles. Because not only she had been praised for her talent itself but also for her kind yet firm leadership and her exemplary behavior towards officials and opponents.
She had a record of only two yellow cards in her whole career and zero red card. And according to testimonies, she had even apologized to her opponents in middle school on behalf of her team in what appeared to be a humiliation for the opponents.
What would Masuko even think of Kise and he once she would learn the extent of Generation of Miracles' merciless reign?
"You look pensive, Midorima," a voice asked. "Are you okay?"
Shintaro hadn't noticed he had stopped walking. He and Masuko were heading to the train station to go back to Tokyo while Kise went home. "I'm fine."
Masuko continued to silently stare at him for a few seconds before giving in.
"Very well," she replied before coming closer. She grabbed his bandaged hand and trailed him behind her as she started walking faster.
Shintaro could only dumbly watch their touching hands as he followed her obediently without a word.
It wasn't the first time their hands found each other. He blushed at the thought. Shintaro did grab both of her hands to snap her out of her panic at that disastrous dinner with Murasakibara and Himuro-san.
"Let's hurry, the train arrives in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes?"
"Yes, ten minutes. It's 7:45P.M now."
Shintaro checked his phone. She was correct. To his own surprise, he held her hand tighter. "Let's go."
They must have looked silly to anyone's eyes but Shintaro didn't care. They only let go of each other's hand after sitting on the bench at the train station.
Shintaro could only stare at his now empty hand as Masuko was trying to catch her breath.
"I can't believe it really took me ten minutes to do that distance. It's getting pathetic!"
Shintaro would have vehemently protested if he wouldn't have caught the amusement in her voice. He raised his eyes to see her with the same smirk she wore earlier, her eyes set on the advertising hoarding.
Everything made sense now.
That 'friend' she had helped when she pretended to be his girlfriend, that fellow member of the infamous of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse...
Her biggest rival.
Ryan Carter, the one who freshly turned into a professional footballer in the summer.
His face was plastered on the sport brand ad in front of them. He had even seen them a few weeks ago, which explained the slight impression of familiarity after seeing the press cutting.
"I always have to catch up to him," she started, her smirk turning into a bittersweet smile. They both knew what she just said had more meanings than one. "First he doesn't come to say goodbye, now this..." she muttered, a childish pout on her face. Shintaro had no idea what she meant but it seemed that part was to herself. "It's okay, I've already caught up to him more than once so I can do it again," she continued on a hopeful note before turning her face back to him. "Let's get stronger together."
Shitaro averted his eyes from her, not being able to look at the way her eyes lit up without feeling his face getting hot.
He was now used to having his stomach bubble with warmth whenever she was around but he knew he would start acting like a fool if he kept looking at her longer.
He scoffed and feigned disdain. "That's stupid, we're from different teams."
"It doesn't mean we can't help each other. It worked well for me the last time and it's working well with pretty face. It's a win-win situation! And we're friends too so..." She presented her pinky. "Do we have a deal?"
Shintaro sighed. He had no choice... It was hard to say no to her.
And surprisingly, he looked forward to it: the two of them helping each other to get stronger.
"Let's get stronger together," he replied as he hooked his pinky with hers.
Satsuki enjoyed going for a walk alone sometimes, even if she hated being alone.
But sometimes, she needed to be away from them.
From her classmates, from her basketball team, from that school. Even from Dai-chan... Especially from him, even if he was her best friend, or at least a shadow of who he used to be.
But she still loved him nonetheless, he was still Dai-chan after all.
Aomine-kun, her mind viciously corrected her.
Sometimes, just sometimes, she needed to be away from everything.
It used to be even worse half a year ago, when she was still in Teiko...
How could everything go so wrong?
That was what she kept asking to herself as she stopped walking and sat on a bench of a nearly empty park under the moonlight.
Usually, she would be alone to cry and stop pretending everything was okay for one moment, before going back to pretending everything was fine.
But she had done that a few weeks ago when she had that fight with Dai-chan.
Now she was just feeling lonely and empty despite the flicker of hope Tetsu-kun gave her. They weren't in the same school and she was getting desperate.
While she made new friends she really liked in Touou, she had no one she could talk to. And while Dai-chan was her best friend, he wasn't really good with words.
Not to mention her thoughts mainly had something to do with the Generation of Miracles' internal falldown...
"Excuse me, are you okay?" a feminine voice asked her.
Satsuki looked up to see a girl around her age standing in front of her. A black-haired girl, with white shirt and grey pantsuit.
She was beautiful, Satsuki noted. In a quiet, yet elegant way.
Unlike Satsuki with her pink hair and pink eyes, her face didn't demand attention. It was the way the girl stood, the air that she carried that made that stranger so... alluring.
Satsuki's heart slightly fluttered before she shook her head to get out of that silent trance that lasted for too long.
"I'm fine," Satsuki almost shouted, her head still energically shaking from left to right.
Kami, she really was a disaster. It was everything but a convincing answer.
"It was a rhetorical question, you definitely don't look okay," she retorted, not unkindly. "Well, it's okay."
Satsuki cocked her head, not understanding the meaning of that sentence. "What do you mean?"
"It's okay not to be okay," she softly said before sitting on her right. She put her backpack on her legs. "I've been there too. Do you want to talk about it?"
"You mean now? But... I don't even know you!" she replied, flabbergasted.
The girl shrugged. "Sometimes it's better to talk to a stranger. They can't judge you and they can look on a situation more objectively than your friends."
"Do you do that with every stranger you meet?" Satsuki asked, feeling daring.
She prettily smiled. Just like everything about her appearance, it was quiet and subtle yet compelling. "Only the cute ones." Satsuki blushed. Was she flirting with her? "So, do you want to talk about it or do you want not to talk about it? And by that I mean, do you want to talk about something else to distract yourself?"
Satsuki briefly hesitated before opting for the second choice. "Can we... talk about something else, please?"
"Sure," she replied tit for tat, to her relief.
Satsuki felt comfortable with that stranger who likely wouldn't judge her for being a coward and avoiding talking about her issues.
"So how should I call you, mysterious stranger? You don't have to answer if that bothers you, I'm a stranger after all."
"Call me..." Satsuki started. "Call me Sa-chan."
"Very well Sa-chan. I'm Milie."
"Milie-chan?"
"Yeah, Milie-chan... So do you like reading books?" the stranger, Milie-chan, asked.
Satsuki sighed. "Sometimes, but I haven't found books that picked my interest in a while."
"Have you already read a Jane Austen book?"
"Not really..."
That author's name seemed vaguely familiar but Satsuki didn't know much about Western literature since she had never studied them in class. They barely read fictions and it was light novels most of the time.
"Read this one," she continued, before handing Satsuki a dark blue book whose cover had 'Pride And Prejudice' written in capital letters.
"Thank you but how am I going to give it back to you?"
Satsuki didn't even know if they would meet each other again.
"You can keep it, I have it in English anyway. I only bought this one to practice my Japanese reading skills since I just arrived here recently."
"Where did you used to live?"
"In France. I'm a hafu... I still have to get used to the Japanese culture but I really like it here. The food is good too even if I tend to cook French food. I still have some pastries I baked left, do you want some?" she inquired as she went through her stuff in her backpack again.
Satsuki was about to politely refuse before seeing how delicious the pastries looked. "If you don't mind."
"Of course not!"
They ate what Milie-chan called a mille-feuille pastry as they started talking about must-go places in Tokyo Milie-chan had to visit and movies they liked. Satsuki ended the night with a genuine smile on her face and a lighter heart. She hoped they would meet again soon.
A/N: here's the prelude to the new arc! I'm so sorry for all this time without an update, I had to go back to my country and had a summer job during vacation but now that I'm back to France, the story will be updated more often again. Everyone is back to school, including our characters!
I bet you were surprised by some parts of the chapters especially the end. Momoi is a very interesting character with tremendous potential and who deserves more appreciation. She was the one who suffered the most with Kuroko in the Teiko arc after all. I'll develop a Riko/Momoi friendship after the Winter Cup since I'm following the canon chronology but I thought adding a Masuko/Momoi frienship would benefit both of them. Also I wanted to include a lowkey Momoi bi-panic there.
I'm still developing the Kise/Midorima friendship because their interactions are so enjoyable to write so expect more of them. Their parallels in the Teiko arc are so underrated so I wanted to detail it as well.
Again, reminder there won't be love triangles for Masuko/Midorima (no Masuko/Midorima/Kise or Masuko/Midorima/Jean). I'm continuing to include more about Masuko's past and friends (and rivals) back in friends gradually.
sparkly fairy: Thank you so much for your comment and thank you for your patience. I'm trying my best to take knb characters as they are and add some depth to it. It is a very slow burn between them, indeed but it's heading towards something romantic, especially with the new arc.
I would like to thank the people who has favorited or/and is following this story after I published the previous chapter: ChurriVongala, Yuri.101, Hikari no Hoshi, chocobani, Erinefake, BlueJae3, chivini, Shadow75sunshine
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 :)