Summary [chapter 27]: There was no point in denying it: having a crush made Shintaro become stupid. And cheesy. Or maybe that was due to his... friendship with Kise and Kagami. And perhaps Takao as well but the guy was foolish, not cheesy.

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

[THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT ARC]

FRAGMENTS

~.~

Chapter 27: come back later

Miyuki drank a sip of wine again as she eyed the French Technical Manager. She knew she was being petty for making the French Football Federation pay their dinner and Taiga and Sa-chan's dinner as well but did she care? Absolutely not.

At least the man chose a good bottle for them, Miyuki should give him credit for that.

But yes, she did earn the right to be that petty since the federation only decided to only contact her now.

Not only she wouldn't eat dinner with her friends but she would also have to discuss about her injury? Unacceptable, especially given her efforts to dress well. She even had Taiga style her hair in that chignon and put some light makeup.

At least Taiga and Sa-chan seemed to get along well, judging by the boisterous laughter from the other table.

"I suppose you've talked to my parents before coming here since you found out where I was."

It wasn't a question. She wasn't angry at them for telling him since she knew how her parents felt about the French Football Federation.

"Indeed. And since your father is your agent, so we had matters to discuss about. I see you still have that sharp tongue of yours," he noted.

"Indeed," she parroted, her tone still mostly controled. It felt weird talking in French outside of her flat. "Who told you?"

"I didn't need anyone to tell me that, I've watched your press conferences."

She remembered the man used to be the coach of some of the most important clubs of the French league, including her city's club, so he knew how those press conferences worked. He of all people should understand how annoying journalists could be, right? "And did my answers bother you, Monsieur Fournier?"

"No... If anything, I found you courageous."

"Oh?" she cocked her head, intrigued by his answer. She thanked the waiter who brought them their dishes before continuing the conversation. The irritation returned, remembering the silent treatment she got after winning Nationals. "Then why didn't I get any news from the Federation? Am I not submissive enough for them?"

"To be honest? No, you're not." Miyuki's eyes widened at his honesty. She didn't expect that from such an important member of the French Federation. "Your answers remain polished and polite but they have caused... a tide of rebellious attitudes."

She held her fork tightly in her hand, until her knuckles almost became white. "Rebellious?" She snorted at his wording. "So asking for equal opportunities regardless your gender or your geographical origin is considered as... 'Rebellious'?" she slowly pronounced the last word with venom as she tried to digest its true meaning.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes," she spat, barely able to contain her biterness. "Apparently it was too much to ask. It seems I'm only useful for them on the pitch, when my two legs are working."

"Some of the members had... some reservations about you but they've come to realize that finding a left back of your standing was impossible..." he started explaining. "Even if you're a free agent, meaning that you don't play in any club, you're still one of the most valuable player of your age. Men's team included."

Of course she was, just behind Baptiste, an possibly Théo. Miyuki frowned before understanding what the Technical Manager implied. "So you're telling me that... Grown men didn't do their job and avoided me due to their pride?"

"Exactly."

Miyuki couldn't help but laugh. It was so absurd that it was funny. "And why do you think I would go to U17 after being treated that way?"

"U17?"

Miyuki frowned. What kind of question was that? "Yes, I'm still fifteen but my birthday is in a few weeks and– Oh god." She dropped her fork at the realization. So Ryan was right... To think that she had vehemently denied the possibility of getting into U18 instead of U16 or even U17... How stupid from her. She would have to play with players two years older than her, or maybe a year for some of them, at best. It was rare to achieve that, but not unheard of. "In retrospective, it makes sense but... Who else made it to U18?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Apart from Ryan and Jean?" Miyuki nodded. "Théodore and Baptiste will be called up the next squad gathering."

That made Miyuki smile despite how tense she was. They both deserved it.

Baptiste and she might have only started to be friends again after their confrontation at the semi-final but they had been friends since their first year in middle school. They had been close before their fourth and last year...

"As for the women's team?"

Miyuki gulped after asking that question. Her heart sank after remembering her friend's letter.

Hopefully she was wrong but she knew it was't the case when Monsieur Fournier refilled her glass with wine.

"Lisa."

She grabbed the glass and shallowed its content in one sip. "What about Tina? And Samantha? and Marie? And..." Kim and Laura's names almost escaped from her lips before remembering they had stopped playing because of her. Lisa. She made a long suffering sigh. There was no point in trying to find something positive there. She would never be able to fullfill her promise to them. She was utterly alone. Worse, she would have to play with Lisa, if she even was crazy enough to accept it.

"I should've known better..."

Did they think Miyuki would forget Lisa's vicious declarations at the court? Against her former teammates who were abused by him? Their former teammates abused by their former coach.

It was partly Lisa's fault if that... man was still free after all.

She didn't know if she was capable of even seeing Lisa's face to face again, let alone play with her. She refused to think she was going through all that suffering in her reeducation for that purpose.

There was no way she could accept becoming the Federation's pawn! Especially if she couldn't fullfill her promise to play with her old team again.

The Technical Manager had at least the decency to look ashamed on behalf of the Federation. "You're both rare talents and the Federation can't let the opportunity to win the Women's U18's World Cup pass."

Miyuki almost wanted to cry no matter how unsurprising that piece of information was.

Was it too much to ask to be treated like a human being? Apparently, yes.

"I must reiterate my question... Why do you think I would even play in U18 after being treated that way?" she asked darly.

There was no need to detail what she meant.

Monsieur Fournier gulped, realizing it might be too much to ask for a fifteen year old girl, no matter how talented she was. "They're... proposing a compensation."

Miyuki scoffed, not the least impressed. "As in a financial compensation? Because it seems that's what you're implying that but as I recall, your... estimable members made it clear they hated the idea of providing equal opportunities to a woman of color from a underprivieged area."

Miyuki didn't even have it the worst when it came to racial discrimination. She was partly white after all and she acknowledged that. She had come to realize she could use that privilege to help the ones who fully suffered from it. And she did, much to the Federation's displeasure.

"They've realized their mistake, albeit reluctantly. And they're willing to give equal pay for you. So you would be paid the same as your male U18 counterpars and the rest of the women's team would get a raise overall."

They must be desparate to bend that way... Although it was far from the millions euros senior professional players earned, it was still a few thousands of euros.

"Do you really think money would make me play with her? As great as it is to hear the federation would be willing to propose equal pay, it's still not enough."

Miyuki had more money than she needed, betwen her monthly scholarships and the sponsorships she had signed for. She also had a small percentage on Fadel's fashion sales since he insisted on repaying her for her investment in his fashion designs.

"And that's why we have another proposal for you." Monsieur Fournier took a notebook from his briefcase and opened it where the bookmark was lying. "Do you know Jean-Claude Giuntini?"

Miyuki hesitantly nodded. She had heard the name from Jean, since Ryan stupidly refused to talk about anything related to football with her ever since she got injured at the final. She would have to have to do something about that... "Monsieur Giuntini is Men's U18 coach." Miyuki filled her glass again and took another sip of wine, frowning.

She had no idea where that discussion was going and she didn't like that. She wanted to be in control of her emotions, especially in front of someone representing the federation.

"Yes. He wants you to be his assistant."

She inelegantly started coughing and tried to hide how red she was getting from of the lack of oxygen and wiped her mouth with the napkin now tainted with part of her lipstick. The French Technical Manager looked bemused.

"HE WHAT?"

She could feel Taiga's and Sa-chan's curious glances in the corner of her eyes.

"He wants you to become coach assistant and help him win Men's U18 Euros in January." The Technical Manager paused, gauging her reaction. He decided to continue since Miyuki remained in a stunned silence. "You're the one who knows Jean and Ryan the best while we barely know anything about them. It's now less the case for Ryan since he's now pro and we have weekly data from his matches and from his daily trainings but we're still at lost with them. Not only you know them as a player but also as a coach. We know you've coached your team before your father came in and you had innovative tactics."

"I– I'm a highschooler, I have no official coaching certification! And... I live in Japan!" Her voice went an octave higher while she tried to reason him.

"You'll be acting as a consultant."

"But..." She couldn't find any rational reason given how the whole thing was so insane. But Monsieur Fournier knew he had made a good proposal. As a former coach himself, he probably guessed she had enjoyed coaching. And everyone knew the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had a strong bond...

It saddened Miyuki she couldn't play with or against them in an official match but that proposal... Becoming assistant coach would provide her a new way to help them.

"I don't know what to say..." she finally replied, a little breathless.

"I thought you would say that and I don't blame you. I let you a few days to take your decision since I have other matters to take care of here." He put the notebook aside but Miyuki found her intention to say no to the federation wavering. "Let's order some dessert before you update me about your reeducation update. Do you like floating islands?"

All she could do was nod silently, still speechless.

Perhaps some sweet food could soothe her internal upheaval...

Taiga would've felt bad for making the French Federation pay over one hundred fifty euros for his dinner with Momoi if they weren't dickheads, but since it was the case... He had zero remorse about the fact he had ordered three dishes and two desserts for himself.

Taiga briefly wondered how his best friend managed to order that small bottle of wine by herself in the first place before shrugging.

The French were something...

"Is it really okay to leave like that?" Momoi asked, a worried expression on her face.

"Yeah, don't worry. It's nothin' compared to Emilie's worth, they would gladly pay that if it means it would help to sign her the contract." His best friend texted him on the situation while she went to the bathroom. The Federation were a bunch of sly bastards... He knew his best friend would end up saying yes in the end, no matter how hesitant she was.

Emilie was selfless and Taiga knew becoming assistant coach would be her way to help her friends, even without playing with them anymore.

"How much?"

"Don't know... If you include sponsors and bonus, hundreds of thousands euros at least."

Momoi made a weird noise between wheezing and gasping and that was what made Taiga notice she must feel cold with only that light jacket protecting her from the wind.

"Here," he grumbled, as he took off his own blouson jacket. It was a gift that Emilie had sent him for Christmas last year. It wasn't really Taiga's usual style since it was more tailored than his collection of simple bomber jackets due to its collar, but Taiga had to admit it fitted him well.

"You don't have to, I'm fine!" Momoi claimed. Despite her protestations, Taiga still put it on her shoulders. She was drowning in his jacket.

It made her look even smaller than she already was but Taiga found it cute.

"You're cold," he simply answered, resisting the urge to snort at the sight of Momoi snuggling herself deeper into his jacket. She blushed when she noticed he was looking at her but he just shrugged. Emilie always did the same whenever she wore his jacket. Sometimes, she stole some of his clothes from his closet. He had never said a word against it since she got him new shoes from her sponsor.

He was more of a Nike person than an Adidas person but good shoes remained good shooes.

"Thank you," Momoi muffled.

"No problem..." he awkwardly replied as he scratched his neck. "So, you really didn't know Emilie's Seirin's manager?"

"No... And I don't understand how, I've watched videotapes of your matches against Kaijo, Seiho and Komeda and I haven't seen her on the bench in the Final League. I didn't even know Seirin had a manager!"

"Emilie arrived after our match against Kaijo... And she had lots of appointments at the hospital before her operation. Wait, you haven't watched our match against Shutoku?"

"No, Harasawa-sensei personally analyzed that one."

Weird. That name was oddly vaguely familiar for some reason and... Holy shit.

He had been part of the Japanese National Team. It made sense now.

But how did he know Emilie would be in Japan? Even her godfather didn't know it!

"Do you play basketball?" Taiga asked instead. He would think about that later. It wasn't his secret to tell anyway, if that was even a real secret.

But his question Momoi was genuine. He wondered what kind of person could handle Aomine's moody self. Most of her time.

Damnit, Taiga still felt bad for making her cry with his 'indelicate' (as Kuroko said) question back then.

"I do. I used to play a lot with Dai-chan– I mean Aomine-kun, when we were kids..." she half whispered.

Taiga hated seeing Momoi and Kuroko being so sad over Aomine.

Sometimes, Kise looked heartbroken for a second but he went back to his usual annoying self after noticing someone's eyes on him.

The only time where Kise had completely let down his walls was that time where he gave a bouquet to his best friend. But Taiga knew Kise wasn't as soft as Momoi and Kuroko. And Kise wasn't dumb, he knew he could've ended up almost as blasé as Aomine about basketball if not for Kaijo.

Taiga had to admit the same could've happened to him if not for Emilie and Seirin. The match against Shutoku made him fully realize that.

"Let's play basketball," Taiga proposed. He really wanted to play right now.

"What, now? But we don't even have a ball," Momoi spluttered.

"It's okay, we can take one in my apartment, there's a court down there." Taiga grinned before walking faster.

"Hey, wait for me! I don't have long legs like yours!"

He walked even faster to the subway station just because that remark reminded him of her best friend. He started grumblinh about how short people like her, Emilie or Kuroko should stop saying that. It took them five minutes to get to Shinjuku.

Once they reached his apartment complex, he realized his keys were in the pocket of his jacket. He turned his face to see Momoi handing him said keys.

"Thanks! Just wait here, I'll be quick," he said before entering into his apartment, letting the door still open.

He went to his room to grab another jacket for him and collected the ball that was in the living room along with a bottle of water before reaching the doorstep.

"Let's go!"

The bastketball court was just in front of his place. He didn't always use that one since he played against Kuroko on a court closer to Maji Burger and Seirin but it was calmer here.

"First one to ten points wins."

Momoi was a decent player, far better than Kuroko (not that it was hard).

Her position in defense was a bit sloppy and her small height didn't help but she managed to surprise Taiga with some three-pointers. And Taiga enjoyed that one on one, it reminded him of his matches against Emilie who pretended not to be good whenever there were people around.

It ended with a 10-3 win for him and both of them smiling.

"Not bad, Momoi!" he exclaimed before highfiving her.

She beamed at him. "Thanks, Kagamin."

"Kagamin?"

What the hell was that nickname?

It must be a Japanese thing... Or a Generation of Miracles thing. Taiga didn't mind being called 'Kagamicchi' by Kise anymore but he still found it weird.

"I think I've found my sign," Momoi muttered when he handed her the bottle of water.

Taiga arched a brow at her remark. What did that mean?

Momoi simply shrugged, still beaming. "Basketball is fun after all."

Taiga didn't fully grasp the meaning of her words, but he could guess it had to do with Aomine and the Generation of Miracles.

How did Taiga get involved into that mess?

Ah yes, basketball. But he would be lying if he said he didn't love the sport.

There was no point in denying it: having a crush made Shintaro become stupid. And cheesy.

Or maybe that was due to his friend... to him staying too long with with Kise and Kagami. And perhaps Takao as well but the guy was foolish, not cheesy.

But the point was, Shintaro was starting to question his sanity.

It started with the sparking of random thoughts sometimes, such as the way Masuko's hand would feel in his or the color of her eyes, which was fine considering it didn't happen often.

Then, he started thinking about what kind of girlfriend Masuko was, after hearing her talk about her ex-boyfriend with such fondness at the café.

Kise had called it jealousy, which Shintaro clearly denied. How ridiculous.

He knew nothing about romance since he had held no interest in it... until Masuko happened.

But now, he kept wondering about how a romantic relationship would be with her every time he saw a couple in Shutoku or in the streets.

Would they go on dates often? Would they have nicknames for each other?

Shintaro even started to think he was seeing her but it was just a girl with the same haircut as her. Or a girl of a similar height wearing a tracksuit. And it was happening again now...

Except it was really her, standing in Shutoku's gymnasium.

The universe was mocking him.

"Is that..."

"Shut up, Takao," Shintaro hissed as they observed Masuko greet Miyaji-san with a bow. The contrast in their outfits had something almost humorous. She was dressed in a light pink suit and looked as proper as ever while Miyaji-san was drenched in sweat in his practice clothes.

Shintaro had already seen her in that attire on the photos from her press conference before French Nationals final.

There was something slightly off in her demeanour but Shintaro couldn't pinpoint what.

"What are you doing? It's getting late, go home," a voice said behind them.

It was their captain, cladded in the school's uniform as well. Only Miyaji-san was still practicing, which amazed Shintaro.

It made him see his senpai in a new light. He found his dedication... admirable.

"Ah, Otsubo-san. Um... Aren't you not allowed to practice after-hours around exam period?"

The prospective of the second semester midterm exams had the third years on the edge. He had to admit Miyaji-san was frightening, not to mention that practice was tough. Well, more than usual.

But if Takao was asking, he would deny it (again).

"Oh, Miyaji? It's okay for him. He's got permission from the coach, it's no problem since he has good grades anyways." Otsubo-san finally eyed the gymnasium and noticed Masuko's presence. "Is that Masuko-chan?"

"Yeah..."

The three of them continued to observe Masuko and Miyaji-san.

Now that Shintaro thought about it, Masuko had been the only person (apart from the coaches) that Miyaji-san hadn't shouted on during their joint training camp. Otsubo-san said it had something to do with some Miyu-Miyu girl but no one understood whatever it meant apart from the third years.

"It's great to see you walk! What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Thank you, Miyaji-san. It took me longer than I thought but I'm allowed to swim and ride a bike now..." She smiled, tucking back a strand of hair back behind her ear. "I was there to have some advice from Masaaki-san." That time, her smile didn't really reach her eyes. "How are you doing since the last time?"

Miyaji-san took the bait, not noticing the change of mood. "Not much apart from working on my exams and practicing for the Winter Cup preliminaries..."

"Please don't overwork yourself too hard, even you need to rest. We miss you online."

Online? What on earth was she talking about?

Miyaji-san was positively beaming. What a stark contrast with his usual sternness... "R–Really? Maybe I should play again from time to time after the exams..." Takao made a ridiculous and vain attempt to muffle his obnoxious laugh. Was Miyaji feeling flattered or did he fancy her? "Your suit is cute, it suits well with the flower in your hair. It reminds me of the photoshoot Miyu-Miyu had two months ago."

Who was that 'Miyu-Miyu'?

Shintaro exchanged a glance with Takao. At least he wasn't the only one who had no clue.

"Thank you! If you need help to get tickets, send me a message."

"You're so nice! Ah, by the way, you birthday is in a few weeks, right?"

"Indeed."

"We wanted you to give something..."

"... 'We'?"

"The third years. We wanted to properly thank you for feeding us during the training camp and for your advices on the best universities to choose."

When did Masuko do that? A vague feeling akin to shame made Shintaro's stomach sink.

Although he had stopped distancing himself from the team, it seemed Shintaro hadn't make enough effort to notice basic things about his senpai...

Before tonight, Miyaji-san was just that frightening senpai always shouting. He hadn't considered Miyaji-san was strict towards himself as well.

He met Takao's eyes again. They had both made the same shameful mistake.

But Masuko hadn't. And Shintaro had an idea why.

Even if she technically was a first year, she knew better than anyone the pressure the third years had on their shoulders, both on an athletic level and on a mental level. And that thought led Shintaro to wonder what would Seirin's manager decide to do after highscool... Surely many universities with a good women's football team heard about her presence in Japan.

Masuko profusely shook her head, her cheeks slightly tinged with pink. Shintaro raised an eyebrow. Masuko didn't easily blush.

"You didn't need to..."

"But we wanted to properly repay you, Miyaji-san insisted. "Just wait here, I'll go take the gift, it's in my locker."

Shintaro was amazed Miyaji-san could still run that way after exhausting himself in practice.

"You can come in now, guys," Masuko said after a few seconds of silence.

Takao, Otsubo-senpai and he collectively froze before coming inside.

"How did you know we were there?"

Shintaro rolled his eyes. It wasn't that hard.

"Let's just say Takao-kun's laugh isn't very discreet... Hello Otsubo-san." She bowed. "Takao-kun, Midorima..." She came closer to greet them with a peck on each cheek. Shintaro's heart skipped a beat after noticing the way she was on her tiptoes to greet him despite wearing small heels.

"How much did you hear?" she asked.

"Everything!" Takao casually replied, smiling. Masuko didn't seem surprised, or offended.

In fact, she seemed amused. Shintaro made the unsettling realization he could read her. Without any difficulty.

That was what was off with her.

She didn't suddenly become an open book either but she partly let her walls down, at least enough to wash off her controlled reactions, making her more spontaneous.

"Why did you come to see coach so late?"

She went silent and bit her lips before vaguely replying, "I needed some career advice."

Takao voiced Shintaro's thought. "I don't see how coach would help you with that..."

Masuko abandonned her semblance of neutrality to wear a look of sheer incredulity.

Shintaro had seen that look once directed to Kagami and he didn't like that feeling. He was not that stupid.

"They don't know?" she asked Otsubo-san who simply shook his head in return. "Masaaki-san used to play for the Japanese National Team," she explained.

"WHAT? And Otsubo-san knew it? How?"

Otsubo-san paled. Shintaro almost gaped at that sight. "Let's just say that there was a time where we angered the coach we were first years and he ended up showing his abilities as a power forward..."

He didn't get to continue his story ater hearing two pairs of feet heading towards the gymnasium.

It was Miyaji-san, holding a gift covered in a pineapple pattern gift wrap and their coach, looking even more exasperated than usual (which was saying a lot).

"Here you go Masuko-chan!" Miyaji-san happily handed her the gift. "Wait until it's your birthday to open it!"

"Of course. Thank you so much, I appreciate it."

"What are you still doing here?" their coach asked. "Go home."

"Ah, we were about to leave when we saw Masuko-chan so we came to say hi!" Takao casually replied. Shintaro understood why coach was irrtitated by Takao's nonchalant behavior.

"I see..."

Otsubo-san communited with Miyaji-san before walking towards the exit. "Goodnight, coach. Goodnight, first years and Masuko-chan!"

Coach made a head movement back as their senpais left. "Um." Coach looked pensive for a moment before looking back at Masuko. "I'm giving you a ride back home, Miyuki."

Masuko shook her hair, putting that strand of hair back in front of her eyes. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"I'm your godfather, I can't let you go home alone after you drank alcohol."

Masuko scoffed, which deeply disturbed Shintaro. Masuko was never rude, especially with adults. "We sometimes drink wine with food in France, it's fine. My parents know and let me because I'm not the type to abuse of that. I only do that on formal diners or at least the ones in a restaurant. And I'm not drunk, Masaaki-san."

… But her behavior was slightly off, albeit it could only be noticed by the ones who knew her enough. Shintaro almost felt proud to be one of these people.

"You told me you drank at least three glasses of wine."

"Five, which makes a bit more than 30 milligrams. See, I'm fine. I can still do basic maths!"

The red cheeks, the attitude, her unsual talktiveness... Masuko was tipsy.

"I see you've gotten your mother's highresistance for alcohol... But I'm not changing my mind."

"To be fair, I usually only drink two glasses at most but I needed more to get through that discussion I had," she darkly said. Coach didn't contradict her, which meant whatever discussion she had about her football career didn't go well. Shintaro clenched his fist. Did it have to do with her injury? "Then..." she continued, her tone lighter and her back straighter. "I'll accept only if you give Takao-kun and Midorima a ride home as well."

Coach made a long suffering sigh but accepted her demand nonetheless. Frankly, it wasn't worst than any of Shintaro's three selfish wishes per day.

Except Masuko somehow made it selfless...

Takao, Masuko and he sat at the back of coach Nakatani's car. That night was getting more and more bizarre.

Shintaro almost shifted uncomfortably on his seat before realizing that if he did that, he would touch Masuko's hip. He was sitting too closely from her for his own good. Shintaro was torn between wanting to swallow in a hole or beat Takao up.

His so called teammate and partner was clearly laughing at his misery...

Oh no.

Did it mean Takao know too? Was Shintaro that obvious?

Hopefully not, he couldn't live through the shame of having everyone know about whatever feelings he had for Masuko.

"I'll drop Takao first since his house is the closest."

"Sure!"

There was a full minute of silence before coach Nakatani spoke again. "How long do you have to give an answer, Miyuki?"

"A few days. But I know what my answer will be even if I hate it. To think I was supposed to have dinner with friends tonight... At least the food was good," Masuko whispered the last part to herself. She had her eyes fixed on the ring on her finger.

"Sorry but what's this whole thing about?" Takao asked. "It has to do with football, right?"

"Takao..." Coach warned him.

"It's okay, the information will be leaked by the end of the week anyway," Masuko cut him. "The French Football Federation's Technical Manager came to see me. They want me in the national team."

"With the under 17 years old, right? That's cool, my sister will be over the moon when she hears that."

Masuko made a grimace. "No, worse. In U18." Takao gasped. "And they want me to play with the former teammate who witnessed against me at the trial. Needless to say that we have a complicated story, but you already know that since you have internet." Her voice held no agressivity. She was just stating facts, not accusations.

And she was right, Takao and he had been curious. Neither of them had made research in details about the trial since their interest lied in her athletic achievements but they knew enough to be astounded to hear the Federation would think it was okay to make them play together.

"What? They're crazy, do they even care at all about your well-being?" Takao asked, full of outrage in his voice.

"Of course not, they hate me and everything I represent. The icing on the cake is that the Federation really have the audacity to only contact me now that they need me, not before... And they're luring me with something I can't refuse," she drawled tiredly.

It reminded Shintaro of that discussion they had under the rain the first time. She had looked pensive despite Seirin's win against Shutoku.

Shintaro's lips formed a thin line. He used to dislike her idealism until he realized how precious it was.

Her current disillusioned attitude pained him... But he had to be there as her friend, silly crush or not.

Even if Shintaro couldn't find the right words, he patted Masuko's shoulder encouragingly as gently as he could.

"But I can't let my boys down," was the last thing she said in a whisper before closing her eyes in an attempt to relax.

Seeing how his gesture managed to soothe her, he continued for the rest of the ride.

A/N: I'm posting this chapter on the week I scheduled, how unexpected. We're heading towards the exciting part of Masuko's character arc! I've thought about it for a while and Masuko getting that proposal made sense to me. Masuko joining Seirin also had to do with her inner desire to coach again, even if she had denied that to herself until now. So let's see if she's up for the challenge...

I was light on the 'romantic' Masuko/Midorima scenes to focus on his feelings, which was fun to write. The poor guy is confused.

sparkly fairy: Hello! we're heading closer to the romance expected! The both of them aren't the best in that matter, especially Midorima so we're going slowly but surely there. I did end up showing the conversation Masuko had with the manager since it's the starting point of this arc and its purpose to the story, I hope you found it interesting. Well... You made an interesting point, you'll see...

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

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 :)