Polar Opposites

Chapter Three: Hunt for the Manager

Kagami yawned loudly as he made his way to school. He had practice early in the morning for the third day of the first week since school started. Normally, he would not be so tired, but the things Yukimura and Akibara said made him unable to sleep at night.

He scoffed to himself, shouldering his bag as he neared Seirin High. 'They don't know what they're talking about. I mean, just because she is a little... elegant, means nothing.' The second year huffed, making his way through the school and towards the gym for morning practice.

He arrived and noticed Kuroko standing just outside the gym. He raised his eyebrow and approached his shadow. "What's up?" He asked.

Kuroko turned and looked up at him, holding a finger to his mouth. "Shh." He motioned to the door which was open ajar. Kagami confusedly peered in through the small space and saw Hyuuga go flying. Kagami sputtered but Kuroko slapped a hand over his mouth.

"The coach is going crazy." Kuroko informed in a whisper, making Kagami shudder at the thought. Today he really did not feel like getting twisted into a pretzel. The two second years could hear Riko shouting and Hyuuga mumble something.

That was when Koganei bounced up, passing the light and shadow and slamming the door open with a cheery, cat-like grin. "Morning!" Kagami and Kuroko froze.

Hyuuga and Riko turned to them, Riko with an annoyed expression on her face and Hyuuga with a small bruise on his cheek which he was currently nursing. "Ah, Koganei-kun!" Riko suddenly smiled and a chill ran down everyone's spines at her overly-cheerful voice. "Good timing, I wanted to ask you if there were any girls in your class that would be interested in becoming our manager!"

Koganei came out of his stupor and blinked. "Uhh…" The third year trailed off as he thought over the amount of girls. "No, not really."

"Why does it have to be a girl?" Kagami asked finally, scratching his cheek. Back when he was in America, people who managed big teams were mostly male.

"Because it just has to be that way!" Riko shouted, making Kagami cringe away from her. She stayed put, but turned her narrowed eyes on Koganei who stilled again.

"I- I'm not sure we h- have any girl that fits your criteria, co- coach. Right, Tsuchi?" The stuttered teen turned his head to look at his friend who just arrived.

Tsuchida nodded, "Unfortunately there is no girl that would fit the criteria." Riko sighed heavily.

Kuroko chose to cut in, "Uhm, coach? What type of manager are you looking for?"

"I just want someone cute!" She was on the verge of shouting, tears pricking her eyes. Silence passed through the gym and she cleared her throat. "I mean someone smart and cute, someone who won't be ogling everyone or trying to steal you all away, someone who can be level-headed! But also still cute. So I could hug her and stuff… Oh, and someone preferable flat." Riko added in those last parts, smiling innocently.

"Now, if you boys can't find me anyone by lunch time, then I'll just do it myself!"

After practice Kagami and Kuroko made their way back to class. Kagami yawned as he slung his bag over his shoulder, looking down at Kuroko. "Oh yeah, I forgot to thank you yesterday for leaving me with the coach when she went all deranged." As he was about to grab Kuroko's head, some guy bumped into him and he glared.

The guy who looked like he was about to say some snarky comment suddenly paled and ran off, making Kagami shake his head. "I don't get what is so scary about me." He said, changing the subject.

Kuroko smiled, "Don't worry, Kagami-kun." The shorter teen walked into class, grateful to be saved from that random guy from Kagami's wrath. He took a seat and turned back, looking at Usami.

"Usami-san, I'm sorry about not returning your notes to you personally. Some things came up and I had to go. But Kagami-kun gave them back to you, right?"

The girl blinked and looked at him, nodding her head. "Yes," She replied, sparing Kagami a brief glance before looking back at Kuroko. "It's no problem." The amethyst eyed girl smiled before looking back down at her paper.

"Hmm." Kuroko hummed in thought. He turned to Kagami, pulling on his sleeve. "Kagami-kun, do you think…?"

Kagami met his gaze and as if reading his mind, he scoffed. "No way. I see her enough as is." He whispered the last part, making Kuroko raise his eyebrows. "We don't even get along." The red head muttered.

Kuroko shrugged in return, "Kagami-kun, we already knew you weren't good with girls in the first place."

The seventeen year old sputtered, "I made Momoi cry one time!" He rasped. Kagami paused and thought about it, his expression falling. "Okay, twice. But that is beside the point."

The blue haired boy shook his head in amusement.

Riko sprung up from her seat the second the lunch bell chimed. Hyuuga, who sat beside her jolted from her sudden movement and watched as she practically ran out of the classroom. "…" Hyuuga sighed.

The coach of Seirin's basketball team, now a third year, sighed loudly as she wandered the hallway, passing by her fellow students. She walked into Izuki and Kiyoshi's class, leaning on the latter's desk with her arms crossed. "So?" The brunette questioned.

Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his neck and shared a look with Izuki. "I don't really think that anyone is suited for the job. Even with girls that were a possibility said they're already in other clubs."

Riko groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We got no problems attracting new members this year, but somehow we have difficulty when getting a manager?" She pouted, letting her arms drop to her side.

She fled their homeroom and went to the next. Riko received the same answers, over and over again. She groaned before walking into Seirin's infamous light and shadow pair's homeroom.

The two were eating lunch together (as always) and seemingly chatting about some Miracle event. Riko's ears perked, but she pushed the curiosity aside and slammed her hands down on Kuroko's desk.

The pale haired boy looked at her while Kagami nearly fell from his chair. "Co- Coach?" The latter stuttered out, a piece of rice falling from his chin.

Riko smiled at the newly-turned second years and dragged a chair from someone else's desk and sat down, joining the two. "Have you two found anyone who could fit the bill?" She asked, propping her chin in her hands.

Kagami's eye twitched and Kuroko looked up at his light. Riko smiled and scooted forward, knowing she was on the road to getting what she wanted. "Go on." She pressed, focusing mainly on Kuroko as he seemed more likely to tell her.

"It's nothing! I mean, there is no one." Kagami said defiantly, his lips pushed into a stubborn frown. Riko kicked his leg from underneath the desk and he flinched away, nearly dropping his chopsticks.

Kuroko spoke up instead, apparently not wanting to get on Riko's bad side. "Actually, there is one girl…" He told the coach, watching with interest as the brown eyes of Riko lit up and sparkled.

"Really?" She asked in a squeak, suddenly on her feet. Kuroko nodded. "Who?"

"Usami Naoko-san, she sits behind Kagami-kun." The blue eyed teen pointed to the empty desk and Riko's feelings of excitement dropped. She eyed the empty desk and sighed.

"I guess I'll be back later." She announced, putting the chair back to the desk she stole it from. "Also, I feel bad for this Naoko-chan." Riko laughed, leaning against the empty desk.

Kuroko gave her a questioning glance and Riko pointed to Kagami. "I mean, Bakagami is a big guy so I'm sure he blocks her view of the board." Riko turned away, hearing Kagami choke on his food. She giggled and left the second years to themselves, skipping down the hall. 'I think I'll go outside and get a drink before I return to Hyuuga-kun.'

Riko walked out from the nearest exit and took a detailed path towards the closest vending machines. As she came close to the vending machine, she heard a girl's voice yell, "Nao-chan~!"

The coach froze mid-step and turned her head slowly. Under a bunch of trees, sitting in the provided shade, were two girls. One girl had long and wavy rosy-golden hair that blew in the gentle breeze with fox-like silvery eyes. She was hugging a smaller girl who had eyes the color of amethyst and hair that curled just over her shoulders, shades of brown lighter than Riko's own hair.

The third year gulped and changed her course, heading straight for the two. "Excuse me!" She stopped in front of the two girls, who paused with their actions. "Is one of you Usami Naoko-chan?"

The two girls shared a look and the one with rose-gold hair smiled cheekily, "Nao-chan, did you do something to anger our senpai?" She asked, laughing.

The smaller girl opened her mouth to reply, but fell silent. "I- I don't think so, Hime-chan…" She stuttered out quietly, peering at Riko through her dark, long eyelashes.

Riko bit her lip hard, not wanting to squeal from the petite girl. 'She's so adorable! I want to hug her and squeeze her!' The coach briefly envied the silver eyed girl as she currently had her arms wrapped around the adorable girl. Riko shook her head and coughed, trying to cover her flustered face up. "There is no trouble, but I was wondering if Usami-chan was currently in a club?"

Naoko shook her head and Riko beamed, "Great!" The third year replied, falling to her knees in front of the girls. She clasped her hands together, tilting her head to the side. "If you could please do your trusty senpai a favor; please become our manager!"

"Ma- Manager?" Naoko blinked, clearly confused.

"Ehh." Himeyori hummed.

Riko nodded, "Yes, the basketball club's manager!" Her high hopes nearly came crashing when she noticed Naoko's look of displeasure. "Please!" She stressed, pouting at her fellow brunette.

"I- I don't have any interest in sports. I'm sorry, senpai." Naoko bowed her head in apology, her eyes squeezed shut.

Riko's posture dropped and she groaned, "Why not? Doesn't it make your heart race when you see an awesome play?"

"Hm? What does a performance have to do with basketball?"

"Not a play-play, I meant a basketball play. When the dribbler breaks through defense and charges to the hoop and does an awesome dunk!" Riko punched her hands in the air, her heart speeding up and just the thought of it.

She looked back at Naoko who still had an extremely confused look on her face. "Er…" Riko fell silent, unsure of what to do suddenly.

Himeyori laughed and finally let go of Naoko. "Nao-chan really dislikes sports. She never follows them and she has no idea what you just said." The silver eyed second year replied sheepishly, looking at Riko.

Riko just pouted and eyed Naoko who was poking at the grass, her cheeks flushing from the attention. "But… You look so good!" She sighed.

"Eh?" Naoko's head snapped up, eyes wide. Riko coughed and grabbed Naoko's hands, making the girl all flustered. "Wha… Senpai, I- I really don't think I would be good for this position. I'm shy and I don't like big crowds. I don't like conflict and the idea of being around a bunch of sweaty, smelly boys honestly doesn't sound good. Not to mention I know nothing about ba- basketball." The light brown haired girl explained in a shaky voice.

"You'll get used to the smelly boys, I promise!" Riko huffed, still determined. "Have you ever seen a game before?" Naoko slowly shook her head. "Then come join us for a few days! We have a practice match coming up soon, and if you can honestly tell me that you hate it, then I'll let you go. But you must give it a try, please? For your senpai?"

Naoko ducked her head, nibbling on her lip. She really did not want to, but hearing her upperclassmen's pleading voice was making her feel nervous and some-what bad for the third year. "J- Just until the practice match." The amethyst eyed girl eventually agreed.

Riko stared at her for a moment before a wide smile covered her face. "Thank you! I promise that even you'll love it, Usagi-chan!"

"U- Usagi, ja nai!"

"Ah… Hahaha, sorry! It's just you're so adorable and you remind me of a little bunny." Riko petted Naoko's head before standing. "Anyway, come to the gym after school, alright? I'll introduce you to everyone!"

Naoko nodded.

Riko grinned and left the two to the rest of their lunch break. She got a drink from the vending machine and eagerly skipped back to class, humming happily to herself.

When the third year left, Naoko sighed softly and fell back onto the grass. She watched the trees sway gently in the wind before glancing at Himeyori. "Hime-chan, what did I agree to do?"

Himeyori looked at her with furrowed eyebrows and shrugged on shoulder. "I'm not entirely sure. But I always find it weird when a senpai gets like that."

"I guess that is just how in love with basketball she is." Naoko commented. She found the older girls' love and passion for the sport admirable, but she knew she could never be the same. Naoko balled up her fists and sat back up, poking at her bento. She whispered, "Just until the practice match…"

Am I the only one who thinks Fanfiction should update their genres? Cause I think this is kind of Slice of Life, too… Not to mention they should add tags! Sorry, I'm just thinking about how it's like on AO3 :P

~WinterAssassin~