A/N:
Hello again!
Thanks to those who reviewed, and I'm so happy that you like this story T-T
I hope to hear more from all of you, my dear readers~ ;A;
Anyway, I got really busy this holiday season, so here's something before the year ends. Happy new year, everyone! :)
The following days, Tsumiko found herself juggling between schoolwork and club-work. It was tiring enough that she even asked Tanaka-san to drive her to and from school everyday, much to the delight of her parents. The pressure of having a single practice match that she couldn't manage to lose at, along with the fact that they technically only have more or less two weeks for training due to the cancellation of club activities the week before the midterms and the week of the midterms itself, was killing her.
The days went by in a rather quick pace, as she found herself welcoming the start of the week before the midterm exams, with not-so-open arms. Wanting to prepare for the rest of the nights she'll be spending on studying, she had asked Tanaka-san to stop by a convenience store on their way home from school.
The sight of a familiar purple greeted her as soon as she entered the establishment, "Ah, hello Murasakibara-san!"
It took the taller boy a few moments to turn and look back – no, look down – at her, "Oh, Iro-chin~"
Making an effort to crane her neck upwards, she went on, "I'm just going to buy some snacks to keep me awake tonight. Do you have some recommendations?"
"Hmm..maiubo is a must, of course. I'm gonna buy the new flavor, the green special. See, it is a seaweed cucumber matcha flavor. Hmm, I wonder how it would taste like", he drawled while holding out the box of maiubo that appeared a bit tiny on his large hands.
'I wonder too', Tsumiko thought, with eyes slightly twitching as she had been reminded of the bizarre taste of the purple giant – something that she had learned during morning practice.
"Potato chips are also really good, especially the caramel parmesan flavor. Uwaah~"
The white-haired girl simply sweat-dropped as she watched the purple-haired boy drool. However, seeing how enthusiastic the usually lazy boy is, she decided to ask further, "How about sweets?"
"Sweets~ hmm, Nerunerunerune candy is the best. Cookies are good. Pudding too and cake and–"
Snapping out of his daydream, he pouted at her impatiently, "Mou, I can't wait to eat. This is okay, right, Iro-chin? I'm going to go buy now."
"Uh, sure. Thank you very much, Murasakibara-san" She then watched him get more snacks, including the sweets he just mentioned. She noticed how his eyes sparkle while looking at the different snacks, in contrast to how he usually is during practice.
After paying for the mountain of goods, he uttered a muffled "Bye, Iro-chin~", while munching on an already opened and suspiciously green maiubo.
"See you at school, Murasakibara-san", she responded, as she approached the counter with caramel parmesan potato chips and chocolate cookies on her hands.
The next day, their teacher gave them a study period, so Tsumiko went to the library to borrow a Japanese history book. Once she got the book, she decided to stay in the library for a while. Sitting on an empty desk, she flipped through the book to scan it, and that's when she heard a page being turned.
It wasn't from her.
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, she looked towards the direction from where she had heard the sound, and to her surprise, she saw a familiar teal-haired boy reading a book. He was seated on the chair across her, which she had been certain to be empty when she sat down.
The boy felt her stare, so he put his book down and greeted her, "Domo, Irosuzuka-san."
"K-kuroko-san?!" she shrieked, completely regretting it afterwards, as she saw some students near them look at their direction – more like her direction because Kuroko is Kuroko and he could ba a little sh-
"Shh"
Kuroko placed his index finger vertically in front of his lips, cooly adding fuel to the fire that is burning on Tsumiko's face.
However, Tsumiko is Tsumiko, so she took a deep breath and bowed at the people around her before turning her gaze to the boy across her.
With eyes slightly narrowed, she asked, "Were you here all along, like usual?"
"Yes. I was here first", he deadpanned
'It's been a while since I felt that', Tsumiko thought, referring to the feeling she gets every time Kuroko seems to pop out of nowhere.
"Well, I'm guessing you're also here to stud–" Her gaze fell on the cover of the book Kuroko was reading.
"You're reading a novel." It was her time to deadpan.
"Yes. It's a Western novel about a pig in a sheep farm" Kuroko said as passionately as he can.
Wanting to let the boy know that reading a novel during this time might not be the best thing to do, she rhetorically asked, "Is that so?"
However, she had asked it with a little more enthusiasm than intended. Well, she really can't help it, not after seeing how the boy's usually expressionless eyes held some sparkle in them, just like when he's playing basketball – something that she had learned while being a third-string coach.
"Moreover, it is really inspiring, as the pig learns how to herd sheep"
"I see", she said, adding a little more nonchalance to get her point across.
"It's very interesting. You might want to try reading it too, Irosuzuka-san"
Sensing that the boy across her seemed to be enjoying this too much, she realized that the initial sparkle in his eyes had actually turned into a mischievous glint.
"Kuroko-san, I appreciate the recommendation–"
"You're welcome – "
"–However, midterms are already next week, and the second-string game is on the week after midterms, so I might not have the time to read that yet."
At the mention of the second-string game, Kuroko decided to drop the teasing, and said, "I see, I have heard about the second-string game. You must be feeling a lot of pressure right now, Irosuzuka-san?"
She sighed both in relief and in despair, respectively, as the boy appeared to have stopped the teasing and as she was reminded about the pressure that didn't really go away for her to not remember. "Yes. Sometimes, I don't even know what to focus on anymore."
"Don't worry Irosuzuka-san, I believe that you can do it", he tried to soothe her worries, as he recalled some events in the novel he was currently reading.
With a modest curl on her lips, she said, "Thank you, Kuroko-san"
"This novel might actually help you relieve your stress and learn–"
"Kuroko-san"
"I understand. Let's study now, right, Irosuzuka-san?"
He gave her a small smile, with a hint of mischief – if you really, really look closely. Despite this, she returned the smile, with a nod.
She simply groaned internally in defeat, as she saw the boy pick up the novel and continued reading the novel, instead of studying.
The succeeding days, she had been constantly bumping into some of the second-string members. She would then chat with them a little and remind them of the exercises she had told them to do at home – to which, some would groan in response while some would say a 'Yes, coach' in response. However, after realizing that they might feel the same pressure as her, she would ask them to take it easy, without really taking back her reminders – much to the members' confusion – and cheer them on.
Today was the last day before midterms and today was the same, except that she had bumped into him – more like, he had seen her coming and poked her forehead before she could even bump into him.
"Stop reading while walking, idiot"
A silver head looked up from her notebook to shift her focus at the person who was still poking her forehead.
"Nijimura-senpai"
At her acknowledgment, he retracted his hand and crossed his arms, as he stared into her tired eyes, "You're stressing yourself too much. You should get proper sleep."
Noticing the bags on the older boy's eyes, she retorted, "I could say the same to you, senpai."
Nodding in agreement, he changed the topic, "What subject?"
"Math." She sighed and pouted a little, "Why are there so many formulas to memorize?"
"You don't memorize formulas, you derive them", he stated matter-of-factly.
"You say that like it's so simple."
Squinting her eyes a little, she got intrigued. "Wait, could it be that you're really good at math, senpai?"
"Guess you could say that it's my best subject", he replied while slightly shrugging. Seeing that the girl only blinked at him in response and being the kind senpai that he is, he uncrossed his arms and offered, "I can help you out if–"
"N-no, thank you" she jerked out of embarrassment. She probably looked stupid in front of someone who apparently was stellar at Math.
It took only a split second for her to realize that she had just passed up an opportunity to spend time with the older boy, so with panic, her instincts took over her pride, as she softly added, "Maybe, next time."
"Okay." He then ruffled her hair, as he wished her a good luck. His deep voice felt extra comforting and warm, that by the time he had proceeded to go up the stairs, she was left on the spot to imitate a cherry with silver on top. She had no choice but to memorize the stupid formulas – she'll soon try to derive later – to bring back the natural color of her face.
The midterm exams soon started. In the duration of the exams, she would sometimes catch sight of the blue and pink duo, bickering as usual. She would proceed to greet them, and they would stop fighting to greet her back. The pink-haired girl would then start ranting about how 'Dai-chan' slacks off, while the blue-haired 'Dai-chan' would snap back how 'Satsuki' nags too much and how he can't wait to start training again. They would then start arguing once again, making the white-haired girl excuse herself to leave.
One time at the hallway, she even met an ash-haired boy, who simply greeted her with a smug 'Yo'. She was tempted to comment about him being too lax, however, she settled with a 'Hello, Haizaki-san', after seeing him yawn, surprisingly with visible bags under his eyes. In return, he slightly shoved her aside and stuck his tongue out childishly. Her growing annoyance was, however, pacified by another yawn from him. She could only playfully snap a 'Don't fall asleep, Haizaki -san' at his back. He would only groan as he walked away from her, trying to stop another yawn.
During the last day of midterms, she was leaning against the wall outside her classroom, with her Japanese History notebook, when she had noticed two girls across her staring at a certain direction. Curiously, she followed their gazes and she managed to catch a glimpse of yellow down the hallway. However, before she could even see more, the bell rang, and she panicked a little since there were still two names to memorize – that, unlike formulas, couldn't be derived.
Finally.
It was the day of the practice match against Kouen Junior High.
Tsumiko was not wearing her usual practice/training clothes. Instead, she was wearing her Teikou uniform, except that she exchanged her usual knee-high socks to a regular one and that she wore rubber shoes. She also removed her coat and had a whistle. For a finishing touch, she tied her hair up to a ponytail. She regarded this as her professional outfit as a coach, for practice matches and hopefully, for official games.
Once the Kouen Junior High's second-string team arrived, she went alongside Coach Matsuyuki to greet their opponent's coach, Coach Ono. Although Coach Ono didn't seem to be surprised at the young aspiring coach, Tsumiko could see some of the players of his team whispering and snickering to each other, while casting glances at her. Being the professional that she is, she ignored all these - not after vowing to herself to beat them and win.
But still, she was nervous.
She felt like a pig given the responsibility to herd sheep. Once she reached the bench where her team was, however, she saw how different these 'sheep' were.
All the days that had passed ever since she started training them flashed in her mind, causing her to realize how little these days were compared to all the time majority of the second string had spent in training.
Unlike the third-string members, the second-string players were used to this. They certainly were not lost sheep.
That 'll do, Tsumiko, that 'll do.
