A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed and favourited and rewieved! It makes me very happy.
Enjoy! :)
Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That's what little girls are made of. – Bethany Hamilton
A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play. – Mike Krzyzewski
A witty woman is a treasure; a witty beauty is a power. – George Meredith
Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts. – John Wooden
Chemistry is a very important element for any team that wants to be serious about winning. – Scottie Pippen
"We are going to have a practise match against Kaijo tomorrow. That is... Err... Kise, from the generation of miracles." Taiga announced casually over dinner. He'd already met the blonde and told Aya about it. "Wanna come?"
"Eh! Really?! Sure I do!" Aya squealed happily. "Ah, but... I'll have to ask Katsunori first, because it's during our practise. I'll send you a message tomorrow, 'kay?"
"Sure... What about the dancing club?" He asked, remembering that Thursdays were days when Aya came home late.
"Ah... It's cancelled, and we'll have a practise on Friday afternoon instead. Senri is on a business trip and Hikaru claimed the gym for tomorrow's afternoon for some personal reasons." She shrugged and raised her glass to drink tea.
"Are you leading Senri's club by yourself now?"
"For the next two weeks until the Golden week, yes. Hmmm... Speaking of which... I'll need you there on Tuesdays, your free days, at least..."
Taiga almost choked on his food. "Wha'?! No! I ain't teachin' dancin' to anyone!"
"Come ooon! I need a partner who can lead me."
"I can't! We both know I'm nowhere good enough! That's embarrassing!" He was furiously shaking his head in refusal. "No way!"
"But you are good enough! I don't need a pro, stupid. Just someone who knows what he's doing. And has some sense of rhythm." She argued.
"Aya..."
"Pretty please!"
Her puppy eyes were adorable, but Taiga was already immune to that. He knew her his entire life after all. "No."
Aya sighed and gave up on playing nice. "Oh, come on! Those kids won't eat you or anything... Do you need a written plea?" Her eyes were burning a hole through his head, and she was ready to continue staring until he'd agree.
"Urgh..." He grunted, aware of Aya's persistence. There was no winning when she set up her mind on getting him to dance. "Only Tuesdays!" He agreed grumpily and then mumbled: "I'm so gonna regret this..."
"Or not. Great! Thank you! I love you!" She said and kissed his cheek while taking the dishes away.
"Sure you do..." He huffed in defeat, but couldn't be angry with her. They were so tightly connected that he could feel she was genuinely grateful.
When she saw dark circles under his eyes the next morning, she laughed at him.
"What are you? An overexcited kid before a trip?"
"Shut up..." He grumbled with a blush, and went to the bathroom to wash himself in cold water to cool off his nerves. The match was in the afternoon and he still had classes and a morning practise to attend. Really, am I a kid or what?
######
"Morning!" Satsuki called after Aya, Ishii and Kano, right when they passed the school gate. The three got used to coming to school together in the mornings.
"Good Mor-" Aya turned to greet, when she noticed Aomine yawning widely and rubbing his eyes sleepily. "What are you doing here?!" She gawked at him in disbelief. And she wasn't the only one stunned.
"Good morning to you too!" He said with a smirk.
"Ah, sorry. Mornin'... You've ditched practises for almost the entire week and now you show up?" Aya blinked, surprised that he'd actually got up so soon.
Aomine gave her a strange look, but didn't comment any further.
After a moment of thought, Aya spoke up again. "Actually... It's good you're here." She scratched her cheek and glanced at Aomine with a mischief in her eyes that startled him.
"How so?" He wouldn't show his unease.
She shrugged. "I was wondering if you could outrun me, but with you skipping..."
"Y' challenging me?" He raised an eyebrow at her and his typical smirk appeared.
He was catching on quickly. A smile spread on her lips. "You up for it?"
"If you dare?!" Something flashed in his eyes that Aya couldn't fully grasp, excitement, relief…? She wasn't sure.
"Oh boy." Kano muttered. "We're gonna die."
"Don't worry." She patted his shoulder cheerfully. "You've survived till now."
The boys had to wait outside the changing room for Wakamatsu to arrive with the key, while the girls disappeared into theirs, leaving the boys to wait outside on their own. It wasn't unusual for Aya, Ishii and Kano to be there sooner than the others. They met at the train station, Naito sometimes joining them, and went to school together; sometimes they worked on their unfinished homework in the spare time or just chatted about movies and other random things.
"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, man." Kano warned him. Despite Aomine being an idiot, he kind of wanted to befriend him. As much as it was possible, anyways.
"What do you mean? Are you underestimating me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Aren't you underestimating her?" Kano shot back. "Have you ever seen Aya running? Or do any sport for that matter?"
"No? She ran away last week when I wanted to challenge her for some one on one." Aomine shrugged. "And she doesn't seem that sporty..."
"You what?!" Ishii hissed; he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"What? You've all been nagging how good she is. I wanna see it for myself." He frowned at how much the boys were surprised about his intention.
"No, you just want to mock her, or stomp over her. Like you did to all of us." Ishii said coldly.
Aomine was aware they didn't like him, but when it was rubbed into his face it sure stung. "Tch." He clicked his tongue and glared at Ishii. That was the only reaction he could possibly have, what else was there?
"Well..." Kano rubbed the back of his neck feeling uncomfortable when Ishii behaved like that. "It's not like Kagami-chan thinks that, Ryuu. And I don't think she would let Aomine mock her either." He said to his friend. Then he turned to Aomine, "Listen, I know you are not pleased by our poor abilities and we're not a challenge for you, but we are still a team. And honestly, if the best one of us refuses to practise, how can we improve?"
Aomine blinked at him, stunned. "You want me to beat you every single time?"
"Well yeah." Kano shrugged. "Fighting against someone of your level can only help us, don't you think? If I can get used to you, don't you think I'd have it easier in the matches?"
If Ishii hated him, Kano was at least trying to approach him. Just like Aya... What was wrong with those two? Why wouldn't they leave him alone? "Hmph. I don't think that destroying your determination has any sense." Aomine grumbled. He wasn't sure he could or should form any form of friendships. They'd be scared of his abilities in no time. And going through that again... He didn't want of it.
Before Kano could retort, Wakamatsu appeared with the keys and let them into the changing room. Surprised by Aomine's presence just like the others, he scolded him, almost got into a fight with him, but Ishii's intervention stopped any violence.
Meanwhile in the girls changing room:
"Satsuki, what had happened that Aomine's here?" Aya asked when they settled in the changing room.
"I mentioned that you have better stamina than him." Satsuki said with a coy smile. "And his mom drove us to school, so he couldn't escape this time."
"I'm not gonna lose though." She chuckled, thinking whether she really could have had some impact on the ace. She tried not to think about him when it wasn't necessary. He was there, he was arrogant and annoying, but for some unknown reason she felt the need to protect him, to try understanding him. Not good... "Anyways, I probably won't come to the afternoon practise."
"Eh? Why?" Satsuki asked, as she watched Aya take off her clothes. The perfectly refined but lean muscles Aya had, made Satsuki wonder how much the girl had exercised to achieve that form of perfection, all the while maintaining luscious curves. She could understand why Aomine was interested in Aya, though he was far from seeing this.
"There is a practise match between Kaijo and Seirin. Which means Kise Ryouta vs. Kuroko and his team. I want to go and observe. If Katsunori lets me..."
"Eeeh? How do you know about such a thing? I had no idea!" Satsuki exclaimed loudly, her eyes widening.
"My brother is a part of the Seirin's team." Aya shrugged. "But he only told me about the match yesterday evening. He probably hadn't known about it before either."
"Your brother goes to Seirin?!" Satsuki was looking at Aya in disbelief. "He plays basketball?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Uhm... You didn't ask?" Aya said with an apologetic expression. "I thought it was obvious that he plays basketball. I wouldn't have played otherwise, I guess."
"Why not? You said it wasn't your first priority, but..." Then she decided to change her question. "How come you have such well toned muscles, stamina? What is your first priority?" Satsuki narrowed her pink eyes at Aya.
She averted her eyes and pulled her T-shirt on. Then she looked back at Satsuki. "I didn't think I would talk about it..." She said honestly, but then she sighed. "I dance."
"You dance..." Satsuki repeated, confused. "When?"
"I go to another club on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I do ballroom dances, both latin and standard, and some other if you must know." She said shrugging again. "It requires more muscle and stamina than people like to believe."
Suddenly, something strange she'd noticed about Aya hit her. Of course! "That's why you have your feet taped?!" And it wasn't just that. Dancing would explain so much about Aya. The way she walked, the way she held herself, her back always straight, head held high. The confidence she had. Those were all little things, but put together... Just how good was she? Why haven't I noticed earlier?
"Calluses and blisters. All that. Yeah." She admitted.
"Do the boys know?" Suddenly, Satsuki felt hurt. She was Aya's friend. Shouldn't she know things like these? Then again, it was only a two week friendship; it would've been weird to feel bad just for this. And it wasn't like Aya knew much about her either.
"Kano, Ishii and Naito, yes. I go with them to school daily... But for the others. I have no reason to tell them. It's not important for my manager's job, right?"
"True..."
Aya was scanning Satsuki with her reddish eyes. She sighed again. "You're hurt... Look, I'm sorry, but we don't know each other much. It's not like I kept it a secret. More like... I didn't have the need to talk about it. I didn't want to talk about it. But if you want to know something, then ask. It's not that I'm secretive, I just don't see the reason talking about something that doesn't involve you... Stuff happened at my end too. I don't trust people easily."
"I'll keep that in mind..." The pinkette muttered and shuffled to the door with her shoulders slumped. Kagami Aya, was probably a tougher nut than Aomine. Satsuki hadn't expected that.
Afterwards, they had prepared the water bottles in silence. And Aya wasn't sure what to do. She was probably too harsh on the pinkette and she was regretting it. No need to show it to the others...
Everyone slowly gathered on the outside running track, they borrowed from the track and field club.
Imayoshi clapped to get everyone's attention and announced: "Today, we are going to do 50m dashes; everyone will have their time measured 10 times. And then we will have some stamina running. Let's say... 25 laps. After that we will do some power training inside."
"Oh, we are so dead..." Kano mumbled ominously. He didn't want to throw up again. It was so embarrassing.
The first years, except Aomine and Aya, all paled. Getting used to these practises was near impossible. Mainly for the weakest one of the bunch – Arai Souta. He couldn't keep up with the rest. Naito had some problems too, but he could hide it efficiently, or slack off without being noticed much; which in itself was a talent too.
"Let's do this, then!" Aya said cheerfully, stretching her back and legs.
"You should be measuring the time, Aya." Katsunori reminded her, but he knew it was useless.
"I know, but... you and Satsuki are more than enough, no? I wanna run." And she didn't want to stand at the sidelines with Satsuki right now.
He shook his head but didn't argue with her.
The first ones up for the dash were, of course, Aomine and Aya. Everyone was surprised by Aomine's presence. As if that wasn't enough, he was going to compete with Aya. All the boys were quietly rooting for Aya, but they couldn't deny that Aomine was probably better. He was the ace of the generation of miracles after all.
An excitement sparkled in the air and Katsunori could feel how much they all waited for the show off between Aomine and Aya. It will affect the whole team. Aya and her charisma... He shook his head. Aya was doing things in her own way, practising with them, running around, joking and all that; it helped the new boys fit into the team better. There was no awkwardness between the first, second and third years anymore. Thanks to Aya and her personality. Even though it wasn't his style of doing things, Katsunori was more than grateful to her.
He held up his arm to give them a signal to start.
Both, Aya and Aomine, were crouched down in positions, ready to sprint.
"Good luck~" Aya sang, just as the coach lowered his arm and they sprang forward.
Right off the bat, Aomine was one step ahead of her. But in a second she was on his level and pulling forward.
No way! He thought and accelerated, catching up with her, but it wasn't enough. 50 metres was a short distance and he didn't manage to catch up with her. What amazed him even more was that Aya came to a perfect stop almost immediately.
"Aya-chan 6,99 seconds! Aomine-kun 7,1 seconds!" Satsuki announced and wrote down the numbers staring at it in disbelief.
So she's good at changing pace too, eh? He thought half amazed, half furious. He lost. He just lost a fucking dash against a girl! Nothing could hurt his pride more than that. He couldn't believe it. Losing to a girl in running was something he had never expected to happen in his life. Back in the middle school he was the quickest, the best. He was still the best here, at least when it came to basketball. There was no questioning that. He was unbeatable. But... Aya said she enjoyed his style... He didn't get it.
He looked at the redhead, who was smiling at him.
"Not bad." She said, not at all out of breath.
"I won't lose the next one!" He grumbled.
In the end, it was 6:4 for Aya. And Aomine had to begrudgingly admit that she was slightly better than him, which only infuriated him even more. What had happened to him? And after another 25 laps (which wasn't a race, but those two made it into one) he truly couldn't believe how the girl managed to keep up and even end up first! With him closely behind her. She ran those 10 km in a better time than he did with her shorter legs.
"You see... If you skip too much practise, even I can outrun you, Aomine." She chuckled. She was sweaty, but she wasn't wheezing like some of the boys and she definitely didn't seem tired; more like she would run another 25 laps to feel satisfied.
"I'm not gonna lose the next time." He repeated himself again, his voice vibrated in a low growl as he glared at the redhead and wiped the sweat from his face.
While doing so, he pulled the hem of his shirt up, revealing his abs, which definitely dragged Aya's attention. She didn't blush, but she appreciated the sight. If she didn't show it at the rooftop, he could see it in her eyes now. Appreciation. It was enough to disperse his sour mood and boost his ego. He discovered something that could distract her.
He smirked. With his t-shirt still pulled up to his face, he tilted his head to a side, staring at her confidently. "Seeing something you like?"
Aya blinked and looked up at him with a smirk of her own. "Who knows?" She turned around to go talk with Satsuki about the others' times and results.
######
Aomine was napping during some classes. He disappeared for lunch, which was around the time when Aya left, because Kaijo was pretty far away, and she needed to meet with the Seirin boys beforehand. Aomine didn't know. He felt strangely uneasy when she was suddenly missing for afternoon classes. All he could stare at, was her empty desk. He even went to the afternoon practise, but Aya wasn't there either. It was weird; he hoped he would finally get her to play some basket with him.
"Where is Kagami?" He asked Sakurai, who was standing close to him. Normally he'd go ask Satsuki, but she wasn't there yet either. What's going on?
"I don't know, sorry. I'm sorry. Maybe ask Kano-san?" The boy suggested, evidently uncomfortable around Aomine and still not as close to the other first years as Aya was.
"Oi, Kano!"
"Mhm?" He turned, when he heard Aomine call out to him.
"Where is Kagami?"
Kano blinked at the ace, surprised by the question. After the morning defeat the boys thought he would come to hate Aya for good. Yet, it probably wasn't odd he asked about Aya. "She went to watch practise match between Kaijo and Seirin. It's in Kanagawa, so she had to leave earlier. She was meeting Seirin's team on the way." He explained and shrugged. "If you'd listened, you would've known."
Aomine rolled his eyes and turned around to leave. He had no reason to stay in the gym any longer.
"You're welcome!" Kano shouted after departing Aomine.
"Oh, you are not going anywhere." Wakamatsu grabbed his collar and pulled him back inside, just as the coach walked in, with Satsuki at his heels.
Geh... Aomine thought; there was no running away when the coach was there.
######
"Taigaaaa!" Aya yelled the moment she spotted the tall figure of her brother in the crowd of people at the station. Good he's so huge.
He turned around immediately. Even if the others had a hard time telling the direction from which the voice came from, he knew right away. He smiled and spread his arms subtly, just as Aya rammed into his chest, hugging him quickly. He hugged her back. It was a bit embarrassing in front of his team, but it was Aya's way of greeting and he was already used to it.
"Yo."
"It was so damn hard to get here! I almost boarded the wrong train." She complained. Then she scanned his face thoughtfully; "Did you get any sleep during the classes?" The dark circles under his eyes were not as visible as they'd been in the morning.
"Some..."
"Good. But seriously! It's not like you lack competition experience to get so worked up over a practise match!" She shook her head and then she noticed another ten people staring at her. She was doing it again... "Oh. Sorry! I'm Kagami Aya. His twin sister."
"TWIN SISTER?!" Some of them shouted in surprise.
"I've never heard you had a sister, Kagami-kun, let alone a twin sister." Kuroko said calmly, appearing next to Aya. "But you do look alike, and have the same presence..." Hers is stronger though...
"Oh! Hey. You must be Kuroko Tetsuya-kun, right?" She asked, looking directly at him with her reddish eyes. "I've heard so much about you!"
Kuroko felt uncomfortable under her gaze. It was normal that people overlooked him, not that they stared at him like she did. "Uhm, hello. It's me. Nice to meet you."
"You can see him?!" Taiga asked incredulously and loudly.
"It is not like he is invisible! Sure, his presence is weak, but... he is standing right in front of me. The same height level even!" She was staring up at Taiga, speaking in the very same manner as him.
Riko cleared her throat and looked at the redheaded girl; she sure was similar to her brother at some points. Aya went through Riko's scan and the coach decided that this girl had unbelievably firm leg muscles. Everything else was covered. She wanted to ask, but an introduction had to be done first.
"I'm Aida Riko, their coach. Nice to meet you." She offered a handshake, which surprised Aya, but she gladly accepted.
Slowly all the members introduced themselves and eyed Aya from head to toe. We want a manager like this! They all thought, which only got them one of Riko's nasty glares.
They loaded the bus. The boys were quietly discussing Aya, which only made Taiga feel embarrassed. That was one of the reasons he was actually glad she wasn't in the same school as him. He equally disliked being called "Kagami 1" or "Kagami 2".
'Sorry.' Aya mouthed to Taiga with a crooked smile. He sighed and looked out of the window.
"So you are from Touou Academy?" Riko asked, sitting next to Aya.
"Yeah. I'm a manager of their basketball club. I'm curious about Kise, Kaijo's team and your team, of course." She shrugged. "I want to see Taiga and Kuroko-kun play."
"You are basically an enemy." Riko grumbled.
"Basically, yeah... But I'm not here to research you. If someone researches you in the future it will be the other manager, Satsuki-chan. She is an expert in that. I'm more of a support pillar of the team. And I'm just the second manager." She said with an innocent smile. Riko seemed to be a good coach and a good person. Aya didn't want her to think she was an enemy. "First and foremost, I'm loyal to my family. But I'm no snitch." She grinned.
Oh, I like her. "Do you know something about Kaijo?"
"Well, since Taiga told me about this whole thing only yesterday evening, I didn't have the time to look them up. I only know something about Kise, which I am sure you know just as well with Kuroko-kun on your team. Sorry, but I don't think I can help you."
"Nah, it's okay."
"You are their coach, right?" Aya asked just to confirm she'd heard right. When Riko nodded, she continued, "that's impressive. Why?"
"Ah, that's a long story."
"We have enough time." Aya smiled and nudged Riko to start talking.
When they were exiting the bus near Kaijo, the girls were pretty much friends. And even the boys were talking to Aya more openly - she had passed Riko's scan, so it was okay to trust the redhead.
"Kagami-san is an incredible person." Kuroko said to Taiga as they followed after the group towards Kaijo's school gate.
"Urgh... Don't call her that, it sounds like you are talking to me." Taiga grumbled, though he noticed that he was Kagami-kun, while Aya was Kagami-san. His shadow paid more respect to his sister.
"Hellooooo! Since this place is so big I came to get you!" A blonde boy in training clothes appeared out of nowhere when they entered the grounds of Kaijo.
"KISE!" Taiga shouted instead of greeting, his previous train of thoughts broken. Aya rolled her eyes at Taiga's behaviour.
The blonde ignored him and leaned to Kuroko instead. "Kurokocchi, ever since you turned me down so easily, I've been crying myself to sleep every night." He was definitely exaggerating.
"What's going on?" Aya whispered to Taiga.
"I'll explain later." He said with a firm nod, not happy to be ignored, but whatever.
Aya agreed, too interested in observing the interaction between the two former teammates.
"...Geez, not a single girl has ever turned me down, you know?" The blonde finished his rant with a heavy sigh.
"... would you stop saying things like that?" Kuroko reacted calmly, but obviously annoyed.
Kise turned and started to lead them towards the gym where they practised. "That's why, since Kurokocchi is willing to turn me down because of you... I'm a bit interested." He looked at frowning Taiga and continued. "I'm not really obsessed with the generation of miracles title, but if you're willing to pick a fight that much... Even someone like me is not going to let that slide. Sorry, but I'll have to seriously take you down." He exclaimed, looking confident about what he was saying. And about his ability to win this match.
"Of course! Let' see who's better." Taiga answered, fired up; his lack of sleep completely forgotten.
Aya could tell why her brother was so excited about playing against the generation of miracles after observing Kise for a moment. Kise's presence was so unbelievably strong. Well, weaker than Aomine's but definitely stronger than Taiga's.
"Oh!" The blonde finally noticed the pretty red haired girl, who was walking hidden in the group. "And you are?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, let me guess! You are a fangirl from another school and are too shy to ask for my autograph!" He said cheerfully with a wide smile. "I'll give you one when I get to my bag."
"Why would I want your autograph? Are you someone famous or what?" She asked confused by the question and Kise's cockiness.
"Eeeeh?!" He cried out.
"Hahaha... pffft..." The boys were laughing and snickering, until Kuroko decided to clear things for Aya.
"He is working as a model." He explained shortly.
Her eyes darted from Kuroko to Kise. "Ooooh! You do? I didn't know."
"Ouch, that hurts. You really don't know me?" He leaned closer to Aya so she could look at him properly again.
Taiga raised an eyebrow at that. Knowing his sister...
"Nope. I'm not really into idol stuff." She said calmly, facing his golden eyes head on. "I came here to watch Taiga's match... still, sorry for hurting your feelings, overly-conceited-model-kun, but you're not my type."
That was the final blow for Kise. He looked away with tears in his eyes, pouting. Aya knew he was just acting. If he worked as a model then he knew damn well how to walk and survive in the world of gossips, rumours and business. Suddenly, his eyes cleared and he bent down to be on her eye level, much closer than before.
She didn't step back.
"Today, I win." He whispered to her ear in a serious, almost threatening voice. "So make sure you remember me well, ice-queen-chan."
"So you are not just a drama queen." She said cheerfully, ignoring the intimidating aura he had and the nickname he'd used. "Very good. This should be an interesting match!"
The intensity of her reddish eyes made Kise feel like a little lamb walking in front of a lioness, who just didn't feel like eating it. That a girl would make him feel this way was something completely unexpected. She reminded him of Aominecchi. Just who is she?
"Would you mind sharing your precious name with me?" He asked, not understanding, why she was walking with Seirin, when her uniform was from Touou.
"It'd be my pleasure." She hummed back pleasantly. "I'm Kagami Aya. Taiga's twin."
Kise's eyes almost bulged out. She was that guy's twin sister?!
"I believe we've arrived at our destination, Kise Ryouta-kun." Aya chuckled, when he almost passed the gym they were supposed to practise in.
They walked in, looking around. Kaijo was already practising and a net was separating the court into two half-courts.
"We are playing on half a court?" Riko was definitely not happy about this outcome. Being just a sideshow to their practise equaled an utmost underestimation. Her boys were better than that.
"Wait... Isn't that board past expiration date?" Taiga asked when he eyed the old board and hoop.
"Boards don't have an expiration date, silly!" Aya said with a chuckle.
"Aah, you're here. Nice to meet you. We will be playing on only this side of the court, you don't mind?" The Kaijo's coach approached them, when he noticed a bunch of kids out of place.
"Nice to meet you." Riko said and bowed politely. "Errr, what might you mean?" She inquired about the half-court decision.
"It's just like you see. Today's match, because it is so soon after the start of the school year, is just a light warm-up for our team. Those members that won't play are not gonna see anything worth learning, so I don't want to waste their time by letting them watch. They will train as usual." Takeuchi explained seriously. "But even though it is just a warm-up match, it's still our regular members. Please, don't get yourselves defeated by triple points." He sighed, totally looking down on Seirin.
That was enough to fire up all of the Seirin members. Taiga and Riko were furious, veins popping on their necks and ready to tear Kaijo apart with their teeth if necessary.
Aya was smirking, hiding behind the tall boys of Seirin. Oh, Takeuchi-san, they'll eat you alive.
Something caught Takeuchi's attention and he turned towards Kise. "Hm?... Why are you putting your uniformon ? You won't play, Kise!"
"Eh?" The blonde looked up at him, stunned by this turn of events. He was looking forward to this match.
"Even in our school, that gathers aces from all middle schools, you're on a completely different level."
"Wait, coach. Stop saying things like that, seriously." Kise tried to shut him up, because he could feel the murderous aura emanating from the all Seirin members.
It was useless, because the coach continued. "It's already unfair as it is with just the other regulars playing." He sighed. "If you play too, it won't even be a match."
The coach ignored Seirin's glares and went over to talk to the other members, not seeing the redheaded girl running after him.
Oh shit. Taiga thought, knowing his sister. He'd tried catching her, but she was too agile. Takeichi won't remember you, stupid...
Kise was left with Seirin and he saw the panicked expression on Taiga's face, when Aya slipped his grip. He made a mental note about that. The siblings seemed interesting enough to observe.
Aya caught up with the coach, just as he joined his team. "You know, Takeuchi-san..." She started, making the coach and the other boys double take.
"Where did you come from? You are not from Seirin! What are you doing here?" The coach was frowning at her.
"Ah... I'm a substitute manager for Seirin for today." She smiled politely and her eyes looked at the overweight middle-aged man with an enigmatic look. "And maybe you don't remember us. Well... Never mind that, you've changed a lot too. But, do you really think that you can afford to underestimate them that much?" She asked and her eyes travelled to the Seirin boys who were leaving to get changed.
Riko then turned, and called out: "Errr... Excuse me. I think it will be impossible for a warm-up. The half-court." She had a troubled expression, but she was, oh so playing it.
Takeuchi turned to her expecting an explanation.
"Because I don't think you can afford to hold back." She said in unison with Kuroko.
"What?" Takeuchi frowned at their leaving backs. Kids these days... Then he turned back to Aya.
"See?" Aya smirked.
The coach's attention turned fully on her. "And why should I remember you?"
"Oh... guessing it on your own." She shrugged and looked the Kaijo's team up and down. Some of them were blushing under her gaze. They sure were more than good; they were one of the nationally recognized high-school teams and what she saw only confirmed it. "What would be the fun in it otherwise? I think we resemble him enough..."
Takeuchi just stared at the rude teenager, who seemed to know him. He didn't know why he would know a girl like this. But she did resemble someone. Who?
Aya started fishing out the names of his regulars. She was chatting with the Kaijo's team naturally, while the coach was staring at her. She came into their gym like she owned it and started befriending his team. And she wasn't obsessed with Kise. The only name she gave them was Aya and asked them to call her that.
"So you are the captain?" She asked the one wearing knee-high socks, who was the last one to introduce, the last one to even speak up.
"Errr... y-y-yes, n-no... I-i-i..." He stuttered, his cheeks as red as a lobster. Why did she talk to him?
"Which is it?" She tilted her head to a side, waiting for Kasamatsu's answer, but he just turned even redder than before – if that was possible.
"Yeah. He is the captain. His name is Kasamatsu Yukio and he can't handle girls at all." Moriyama said with a smile, desperately trying to have the girl's attention on him.
Normally, Kasamatsu would kick his teammate for the remark, but with Aya watching them, Moriyama was safe.
"Ooh. Really?" She smiled, amused by the blushing boy in front of her. "Well, I don't bite." She winked at him, which almost caused poor Kasamatsu to feint. And then she added: "Try thinking of me as a boy if it helps then."
"I don't think that's possible... Aya-san." Moriyama said, looking down at Aya's chest and legs, wrongly assuming that she was in the second year.
He was ready to say something more, when a shadow hovered over them.
"Would you stop being so overly friendly with them?" The huge red headed boy rumbled.
The annoyed tone of his voice had no effect on Aya. "Arara... Sure, Tai. Sorry." Her smile and tone were sheepish, but it was obvious she didn't mean it.
Now when they were near each other, Moriyama couldn't help it, because they looked quite similar – the hair mostly. "Are you siblings?"
"Yes. I'm here to observe. So good luck to both sides." She gave them an encouraging smile and went towards the benches, to join Riko and the other Seirin members, followed by Taiga.
The match started; of course it wasn't without the initial surprise by Kuroko's weak presence, when Kasamatsu didn't notice him in the line up. It only led to a greater underestimation of the Seirin's team.
The very first points, however, were stolen by Seirin, thanks to Kuroko-Kagami alley-oop, which left Kaijo's team speechless.
"Oooh?" Taiga muttered when he landed from his perfect dunk – with the hoop in his hand.
"He destroyed the hoop?!" Kaijo's players shouted.
"A bolt was completely rusted..." Moriyama pointed out.
"That's still not normal!"
Takeuchi paled. His jaw almost hit the ground, when he saw the first year from an unknown school slam the dunk with such a brute force.
Even Taiga's teammates were shocked.
"What now, Kuroko? Look at this." Taiga said to his shadowy friend and waved with the hoop. "Oh, the hoop is bigger than I thought..." He muttered to himself.
"What now..." He thought for a moment. "First we apologize, and then..."
They both turned towards the Kaijo's coach. "Sorry we've broken the goal. Would you mind if we used the other half of the court?" They asked.
Taiga was spinning the broken hoop on his forefinger in a rather arrogant manner. Aya could easily imagine Aomine doing exactly the same thing. Wait... Why is Aomine coming up here? She thought and shook her head to get the bluenette out of it.
More small talks broke out, as the other members of Kaijo were forced to stop their practise and prepare the whole court.
"Idiot!" Aya yelled at her brother and smacked the back of his head.
Kise was laughing at their antics. "It's true that you've surprised him with that. It's the first time I've seen the coach making that kind of face."
"It's because he kept looking down on us. Take that!" Taiga grumbled, not sure if he was answering to Aya or Kise. "I told you it was past expiration date." He pouted quietly and it made Aya snicker.
"Kagami-kun..." Kuroko called out rather distressed. "How much does a backboard cost?" He asked, his spirit almost escaping his body, as he was imagining the sum...
"EEEEH?! We've got to pay for it?!" Taiga startled.
"Of course you have!" Aya hit his ribs. "What did you expect, eh?" But when he was bent down and rubbing the sore spot, Aya smirked and praised him, "good job on that one."
Taiga smirked too. "Sure thing. Maybe he will even remember us, who knows..."
After a moment the match was resumed and Kise joined the game. After a short analysis and discussion with Riko, whose scanning abilities Aya admired, they came to the conclusion that Kise Ryouta truly was on a different level. Riko called him a 'monster', but Aya was against the idea of calling him that, simply because if she did, than Aomine would be classified as a 'monster' too, and she didn't like that. Kise must have worked just as much to achieve this level.
Many girls appeared immediately after Kise entered the court. Kise waved them and smiled at them, but he got kicked and scolded by Kasamatsu. Aya stared at the shy boy, who couldn't handle girls, kicking Kise around. Amusing personality, Kasamatsu-senpai.
The game which broke out after Kise joined had an incredibly high pace. Aya was taking some notes, occasionally advising them how to proceed, mostly keeping Taiga in check. She was amazed by the match. It was an incredible performance.
"Kise is strong, talented and his plays are amazing!" She said during a break after the first quarter, approaching fuming Taiga with hands on her hips and an annoyed expression. Taiga's team didn't dare pissing him off even more. Aya, however, didn't have such a problem and what she said made everyone look at her in confusion.
Taiga frowned at her, ready to retort, but she continued. "I get that you didn't play properly in the past half a year, which was a stupid mistake... I get that you are frustrated, because you know Kise's better right now. But whatever... It doesn't matter, you're not alone. And you can do way better than this! I've seen you do better than this, Tai. So, get your engines started! You have teammates backing you, dumbass. Don't let them down! Don't you get it?! It's not you and Kise one-on-one. There is five of you out there!"
"I... guess..." He looked anywhere but Aya.
"Do you want me to hit you?" Her eyebrow went up threateningly and Taiga winced, even though she was still standing two meters from him.
Then she shook her head and smiled softly. "Do you remember the mantra you had?"
"Yeah..." The fight with Tatsuya was still poisoning his memories.
"Play to win..." She started, nudging him to continue.
He sighed, but complied. "...win for the team..." Aya wouldn't let this one slip.
She smirked and finished. "...and don't forget to have fun."
"Geez! Of course we'll win!" He yelled and stood up. "Let's do this!"
All the guys seemed bewildered by the words and the sudden change in their ace's behaviour. Full of confidence they followed him onto the court. Even Hyuuga wouldn't complain this time. Maybe it wasn't him who said the cool words, but it helped the entire team.
Takeuchi, who heard it, stared at the twins. Understanding hit him like a train and his jaw fell down once again. "The Kagami twins..." He mumbled quietly, but Aya noticed the way his lips moved.
The second quarter started and Aya went to sit next to Takeuchi.
"I see you've remembered us, Takeuchi Genta-san~"
He was still speechlessly looking at the girl. They really do look like him...
She smirked. Of course he would have this reaction. It'd been almost 10 years, after all. She showed him her right palm. "Hundred bucks on Seirin?" She proposed, watching the game.
The boys on the Kaijo's bench stared at her in disbelief. Was she trying to gamble with their coach?
When he clapped hands with her, they almost fell over. "...all right." He grumbled, imagining how much would that be in Yen. "But you'll lose your money, Aya."
She smiled. "Sorry, but no. Not this time."
"You are just like your old man..."
She had to fight back a wince. Not anymore, Takeuchi-san... "That's not so bad, is it?" She said and went back to Seirin.
"What was it about?" Riko asked curiously.
"Nah... I'll tell you at the end of the match." Then she locked her eyes with Taiga for a split second and he got the message. 'Lose and you are dead.'
Shit... She is unbelievable! He thought, but there was no way he would stress over it. It was nothing new that his sister would do something as daring as betting money on him. It wouldn' be the first time either.
As soon as Kuroko got benched, the other members of Seirin started showing their true colours. This match was a golden mine for Aya. It was amazing. So many talented players, so many good strategies and moves. There was so much she could learn. Her bet with Takeuchi slowly rose to 300 bucks, and she wasn't sure he thought it over. At all.
And there was one important thing she noticed. Kise didn't pass. Not once, not even when he was in an unfavourable position. It was as if the Kaijo actually had two teams. Team Kaijo and one man team Kise Ryouta.
That boy needs some real fall. Just like Aomine. What the hell does this bunch called 'the generation-of-miracles' think of themselves? She was shaking her head in disbelief.
At the very end, during the last two minutes of the ferocious point war, Takeuchi doubled the bet. He was just so sure his team was about to win...
...and then Taiga and Kuroko's very last buzzer-beater-alley-oop happened.
100-98
The game was won by Seirin.
Taiga roared in happiness. After so long without a proper basketball, he could play to his fullest and win.
The other members soon joined him. Seirin itself was slightly shocked by their win.
Kise looked like a lost child. "We... lost?" He mumbled too distraught, tears of frustration rolling down his cheeks. It only got him another scolding from Kasamatsu.
Takeuchi roared in frustration at his much greater loss.
"Thank you for doubling the bet~" Aya hummed to Takeuchi. "I hope a backboard with a hoop will be repaid thanks to that money."
He blinked at her. "What?"
"As I said. I don't want the money. Or rather... Use it to repair the broken hoop. Seirin is a small team. They don't need to have their funds cut just because of Taiga's strength."
"The board doesn't cost that much..." He mumbled.
"Pardon? What was it? Do you want to pay me anyways?"
"No! No, no, no. I said nothing." Takeuchi panicked and waved his hands in front of him to keep Aya away.
"Good then~. I'm happy we resolved the broken hoop case." She smirked and went back to Taiga and the others.
She told them about the bet, because Riko insisted she'd wanted to know what had been going on between Aya and Takeuchi during the match. They couldn't believe how cunning Aya was. Bet with a coach? Too daring. At the same time, they felt relief she hadn't told them before and hadn't put the pressure on them.
After some more small talks with the Kaijo's players and Takeuchi, Aya said her goodbyes and ran off. In her opinion, the team should celebrate on their own.
When she exited the gym, she caught a sight of the model-kun, as he went behind the building, to the water taps. On a whim, she followed him.
"You know..." Before he could stick his head under the running water, she spoke up, startling the poor boy. "There were four guys around you, ready to back you up the whole time. Why didn't you rely on them?"
Kise blinked, turning the water off. "That's not my style, ice-queen-chan."
It was somewhat strange seeing Kise without the air of childishness. He was so serious and so frustrated. Even if Aya didn't know him, she knew he wasn't a bad person. If anything, he was just as canny as her and everything else was an act he put up to deal with the world.
"I overlooked it before, but... My name is Aya. Not 'ice-queen-chan'."
He was watching her carefully. After overhearing her conversation about the bet she had with the coach, he decided to be wary of her. Enigmatic girls had always caught his interest, but this one seemed to be more dangerous than any other. Too similar to him, yet too different.
Better to keep your hands off. He thought.
Her eyes softened and she caught him by surprise once again.
"There's not much I can tell you after losing... But you have a wonderful team, Kise Ryouta-kun. So open up your eyes and look at them. Believing in others is not a weakness, on the contrary; it's a great strength. Trust me; it feels much better when you are not alone, in both; winning and losing. I hope Aomine will get that too one day..." She smiled kindly and turned to leave.
Kise stared at her back, then she turned around and spoke up in English, knowing he would understand. "Play to win, win for the team, and don't forget to have fun."
Then she left Kise to his own thoughts.
She was too excited to go back and talk with Satsuki to notice a tall green-haired boy she passed by on her way out.
######
She ran back to Touou and managed to catch the boys just at the end of their practise. She leaned against the door and didn't realise that the very first person her eyes instinctively looked for was Aomine. It was surprising he was there and even more that he was playing and barking some complaints at Kano, who was trying to defend against the ace. It made her smile.
She watched the final minutes of their mini match, thinking of how good all of them were, how much they had improved in that short two-week period... Even if the improvement was only slight, be it their footwork, or ball handling, or stamina, but no matter how small it was, they'd become better.
"Ah, Kagami-chan! Welcome back." Imayoshi greeted her after the match, when he noticed her leaning against the gym door with a subtle smile playing on her lips.
"I'm back." She smiled, her dreamy and peaceful expression replaced by the usual cheerful one.
Katsunori noticed her too. "How was the match?" He asked seriously.
It was the question everyone wanted to ask. All of them flocked around Aya with expectation in their eyes. If the match was important enough that a manager of theirs would go to watch, they wanted to know the result. And it was Kaijo; one of the top eight schools in Japan.
"Seirin won."
"WHAT?!" The second and third years, who had had a training camp and several matches against Kaijo, shouted.
"Kaijo is not that weak. How come they lost?" Imayoshi asked. "I know Kasamatsu. That guy is annoyingly serious, but a very skilled point guard. And they have Kise now... What happened?"
"How come Seirin won?!" Tada asked. "They are just some unknown team, no?"
She nodded, listening to both of them. "Seirin is a team made up of only the second and first years. The club has no real history or anything. They won by the skin of their teeth, really. It was only a two point difference in the end. But the result is still the same. They won."
"And Kise?" Yamaoka asked disdainfully. "Shouldn't he be one of the monsters? Or is he the weakest of the bunch?"
Aomine's blood boiled at that remark. If Yamaoka didn't stand on the other side of the group, he would have punched him. How dare he insult Kise?
Aya noticed Aomine's righteous anger. Apparently, the ace was protective of his former team, even if he was distancing himself from them. "Yamaoka-senpai." She said in a sweet but threatening voice. "I am usually a very tolerant person and I've already told you what I think about you calling them monsters. So..." She narrowed her eyes and it made everyone shiver. "I recommend you to withhold such comments in the future, if you don't want to get punched in the face. 'kay?"
Yamaoka just nodded desperately, not daring to speak up. This girl infuriated him, but at the same time he was intimidated by her. "Bitch," he muttered under his breath without moving his lips.
With a satisfied smile, Aya continued. "Kise Ryouta-kun played almost the whole time. His skills are awesome, mostly his ability to copy whatever he is physically capable of. Had he played with his team instead of along his team, Kaijo would have won. Without a doubt. If Kise changes his style, Kaijo will improve explosively."
"So Kise can make a huge change in Kaijo..." Imayoshi said, lost in thoughts. "And what about Seirin? Any outstanding players?"
"Kuroko Tetsuya-kun, the sixth man of the generation of miracles. His presence on the court is almost nonexistent, but his tap passes are not to be underestimated. Their captain is a mental pillar of the team and a pretty efficient clutch shooter. The point guard is very skilled too; I learned that he plays the longest of them all. All the second years have a good chemistry and cooperation. And their ace, my brother, is pretty good too... though I was slightly disappointed in him today."
"No shit!" Kano exclaimed, his jaw dropping. "You've never said your brother was the ace of some other team! How? Why?"
All of the boys were looking at her with the mixture of disbelief, bewilderment and slight betrayal, or anger... She wasn't sure. But it was Kano who spoke first, voicing out everyone's sudden shocked thoughts.
Aya shrugged. "You've never asked, and it doesn't really matter. My team is Touou. That's it. I want Taiga to get better, and he performs better when he has a rival. Whether it is me, my team, or someone else, it doesn't matter. I'm no snitch."
"So he is in the second year then?" Sakurai peeped. If this brother of hers had a similar presence as Aya, he would be definitely dangerous. "Ah. S-sorry, I didn't mean to offend..." He bowed when her reddish eyes ended up looking at him. "Sorry..."
To his surprise she chuckled. "There is nothing to apologise for. You just asked, Sakurai-kun. But no, my brother is in the first year too. We are twins, so... You know... same date of birth and all."
There was a moment of complete silence, when everyone was staring at her, their mouths hanging open. Aya didn't understand what was so special about having a twin. Or going to different schools.
"Wow... That's certainly surprising, Kagami-chan." Imayoshi cleared his throat, as the captain, he was the first one to get over the shock. "I would have never guessed you have a twin brother."
"They are crazy in the same way, though Aya controls it better." Katsunori mumbled disinterestedly. He didn't want or need to listen to the teenagers' bickering.
"Right. I'd say I'm crazier than Taiga, but oh well..." She snickered. "Anyways, any other questions?"
And that caused an avalanche of other questions about the match, the Kaijo team, the Seirin team. Some boys left, not that much interested, some stayed and listened. Aya had to describe the match almost minute by minute. It was quite exhausting, but nice at the same time.
By the time they had finished, it was only the stable core of the team left: the regulars, and some first years.
Aya went home with Ishii, Kano and Naito, while Aomine, Sakurai and Satsuki went the opposite direction, Sakurai soon parted from them, and the two childhood friends stayed alone.
Satsuki decided she wanted to walk, instead of taking a bus. She needed to sort out her thoughts. There was so much she learned about Aya in one day, and yet she felt there was much, much more staying unsaid.
Aomine sighed loudly. He was just as confused as Satsuki. Maybe even more.
"What is it?" Satsuki asked him curiously. "Still grumpy about your loss?"
"Tch, it was only a small dash. I'll win the next time."
"Who would have thought that one day you would go to practise to compete with a girl?" Satsuki giggled. "She certainly has an impact on you."
"She pisses me off."
"Yeah... She certainly can have that effect, but you kind of admired what she said to Yamaoka, no? Geez, that guy infuriates me too! But he is kinda scary... I wouldn't want to anger him."
"He is just a piece of shit." He grumbled in annoyance.
That boy was the former ace; it was only natural that he would hate the first year who took his place. No matter how good the first year truly was. However, there was no reason to be so antagonistic towards a manager. Though Aya wasn't helping it by butting heads with Yamaoka. First her intervention during Aomine's mini match against the third years; the match even Satsuki didn't know about and he wanted it to stay that way, and now speaking up for Kise. So she met Kise...
"Oh!" Satsuki suddenly stopped.
He turned to her. "What?"
"I found out something!" She smiled and started to walk again, not saying anything else.
"Will you tell me, or not?" He rolled his eyes and followed her. It was annoying when Satsuki did that.
"Dunno... Aya doesn't talk about it apparently. And as you've noticed, she is a master when it comes to avoiding questions she doesn't want to answer."
"..." He stared at Satsuki's back, burning a hole through it. That girl could keep a secret from him for like 48 hours at most. It was just a matter of time, but Aomine didn't feel like waiting that long.
Feeling his glare, she smiled to herself. He was so obviously interested in Aya; it was surprising the redhead didn't notice. "She is a dancer."
"...What?!" Now it was his turn to stop.
"She is a dancer. She dances, goes to practises after school and all."
That... He couldn't picture Aya dancing. Not possible. She was elegant, true. And she carried herself in that strange way sometimes, but... But dancing? She was good at sports too. It just didn't make sense in his head. Could her speed come from that? Definitely not. In his concept, dancing wasn't considered a sport.
He started walking again, trying to wrap his mind around that. "... Is she any good?" He asked reluctantly.
"I don't know. I've never seen her dance. But I believe she is."
A/N: Kaijo vs. Seirin... I took some parts of conversation directly from manga - I hope it wasn't boring for you. Kise appeared! - Honestly, Kise is not my favourite character, but I find him very amusing to write.
I'm a bit confused about KnB timeline, mainly when it comes to the prelims and when exactly it occurs. I might not stick with the cannon's timeline (I'll try though), so... You've been warned.
/sentence structure, grammar minor wording changed on 4.4.2021/
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated, but never necessary.
S.