A/N: I'm sooo sorry for taking so long! I had a really hard time trying to start this chapter as well as finishing it so please go easy on me. My original plan was to make this story a romance between Tetsuki and GoM, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how completely wrong that would be (with the 10 year age gap and all). I can't guarantee that there will be pairings for this story, but I can promise that there will be some shiptease later on! And I'm also very sorry for the lack of Akashi. He'll have to shine very soon!

Thank you for the follows, favorites and reviews. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy the chapter and please review!

Kise stared out the classroom window, halfheartedly listening to the math lesson of the day. His eyes focused on nothing in particular as his mind was else where. It's been a month since the first day and he had yet to choose a club to join even after counseling. Homework and modeling were never an issue before, and he doubted club activities would cause any damage to his schedule. So what was stopping him?

A motive, he lamented. Kise sighed, resting a palm against his cheek as he watched students stretching for their physical education class; most likely preparing to play a sport. The thought made the blond scoff. What was the point of him joining a sport if knew he'd win in the end? That's what Kise had always told himself when sports clubs tried to recruit him. But now, Kise couldn't seem to shake a certain bluehead off his mind. He was especially reminded of her unforgettable smile when she shared her faith in him.

The blond could feel his face heat up at the memory. Was this how it felt to be believed in?

"That will be all for today," the teacher announced to the class after the final dismissal bell rang. "Before I forget, you will be having a new homeroom teacher as of tomorrow." With that, he left the classroom. Once he did, Kise returned to reality. He packed up his things slowly, mind still occupied, and walked out the door. Instead of returning straight home, he had the sudden urge to see his counselor.

Kise walked down the hallway until he reached the room what he hoped was his counselor. But before he could bring a hand to the door, it was violently shoved open. He was greeted with the sight of a student with silver hair spiked in all directions and matching silver earrings on each ear. He had an annoyed look on his face when they suddenly made eye contact. The silverhead searched him head to toe, then smirked up at the blond. Kise couldn't help but feel intimidated by him.

Tetsuki soon walked up behind the student blocking the exit, taking notice of the extra company. "Good afternoon Kise-kun." She nodded to the blond then looked up at the other teen. "You'll be late to practice if you don't leave now, Haizaki-kun."

Said teen broke his gaze towards Kise and walked passed him, bumping shoulders as he did. He waved a hand behind him as he called out, "See you next session, Tetsuki." Blue and yellow eyes watched him leave until he was out of sight.

"Tetsuki...?" Kise repeated confusedly, looking down at the short woman.

The bluenette only sighed. "It is my first name," she informed him. "Although I'm not exactly sure why Haizaki insists on using it." Tetsuki glanced up at Kise curiously. "What can I help you with, Kise-kun?"

Kise smiled sheepishly. "Nothing in particular. I j-just wanted to see you." Realizing what he had just said, Kise waved his arms out in front of him. "D-Don't get the wrong idea or anything! I, uh, had s-something to tell you! That's it!" While the blond tried to act nonchalant as possible, he began screaming internally. I've never been nervous in front of a woman before, so why am I nervous around her?!

To his relief, she seemed to accept his request. "Have you found a club that suited you?"

When she gave him a tiny smile in anticipation, Kise wanted to jump out the window. No fair, no fair, no fair, no fair! he screamed within his mind. How can I lie to a face like that?! Her pale face was practically glowing, awaiting for his answer, with wide ocean eyes shining eagerly. Kise laughed nervously, "Aha, well, I was w-wondering if you would.. uh," he glanced multiple areas in his vision and quickly spotted an oddly placed basketball in the counseling room. He decided to use the opportunity to his advantage. "I was actually wondering if you'd show me the basketball club," he admitted to the bluehead.

Tetsuki nodded, seeing as she was just about to head over to practice anyway. "Follow me," she told the blond before walking off towards the direction of the school gym. The pair walked in silence until they reached their destination where practice had already begun.

Kise watched with mild interest as players were starting their warm ups. He continued to walk behind the bluenette who lead him to a raven haired teen standing on the sidelines, watching intently. Upon their arrival, the teen noticed the two and gave a wave.

"Yo, Kuroko." He greeted the woman, then looked to Kise with a friendly hand outstretched to him. "You must be Kise Ryouta."

The blond raised a brow. "Yeah," he said, giving his hand a quick shake before letting go. How did he know my name?

Tetsuki turned to Kise. "This is Nijimura Shuzo, a second-year," she introduced. "Captain of the first string."

"Captain?" Kise repeated, shocked. "A second-year?"

Nijimura gave a defensive look, but Tetsuki spoke up before he could. "Nijimura entered the basketball club with extraordinary talent in his first year. His hard work and determination is what led him where he is now." Kise was dumbfounded, feeling slightly ashamed for insulting his upperclassman. Tetsuki slipped away while he was left in his thoughts. Nijimura placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," he comforted the blond. "She wasn't trying to attack you if that's what you're thinking. Kuroko only gets like that when it comes to her players, or the whole club for that matter." Nijimura smiled at Kise. "You'll get used to it."

Kise thought on what he said. Was she really that protective of the club? What was the club to her anyway? "Kuroko-sensei—"

His call was interrupted by a squeal of "Tetsu-chan!" shortly followed by a crash to the wooden floor. Kise spotted his counselor tightly embraced by a pinkette from behind, arms secured over the short woman's neck. As she kept chanting lovingly to Tetsuki, another person appeared before the two.

"Satsuki! You're suffocating Tetsu!" yelled the tanned teen. The blond recognized the person along with the pink haired girl, remembering they were his very own classmates. The teen noticed Kise, giving him a surprise look. "Oh it's you!"

Aomine—after quickly detaching Momoi from Tetsuki—helped the bluenette rise to her feet. "This was the guy you were talking about?" he asked her with a pointed thumb to said teen. "You could've told me he was in my class."

The phantom coach dusted off her legs as she stood. "I like to be secretive," she expressed, in a inexpressive way.

Kise walked up to them. He looked over Aomine and Momoi before asking, "You two are in 1-C, right?"

Momoi came up in front of the blond, a friendly smile on her face with hands folded behind her back. "Yup! You probably didn't recognize us sooner since we sit in the back." She then took a step back and gave a quick bow. "I'm Momoi Satsuki, manager of the basketball club," she introduced herself. "Nice to finally meet you Ki-chan!" There was silence for a moment, until the pinkette elbowed her childhood friend.

"Itai!—Aomine Daiki."

For a second, Kise felt a bit overwhelmed. All off the people he had just met somehow seem to know him already or know of him. Alright this is getting kinda weird, he thought. Deciding he had enough, Kise got close to Kuroko. "I think I've had enough for today, Kuroko-sensei. I'm gonna head home."

Tetsuki stared long and hard at him, only adding on to his unsettling discomfort. "If it's not too much to ask, may I have a moment of your time?"

The blond blinked. "Eh?" Kise gave a hesitant nod, "Sure, I guess." He watched her walk passed him once again leading him to something he had yet to be prepared for.

Kagami entered the gym just seconds after the pair left and found the first string in complete silence, staring at the closing doors. "Uh, did I miss something?"

Midorima took the liberty to debrief the tiger. "Kuroko brought Kise Ryouta from 1-C to our practice, and had just left."

A small laugh came from the first string captain. "Looks like he's getting a club initiation," he chuckled.

"Club initiation?" asked Akashi.

The club adviser sighed at the phrase. "Kuroko does this thing where she brings a player she has her eyes on to the park basketball court and challenges him to a one-on-one to determine just how strong the person is. I should know, because she did that to me when we were in high school." Kagami placed a dramatic hand to his face. "I only found out she decided to make it a thing when Nijimura told me she did that to him in his first year."

Aomine huffed, "Hey, I'm a strong player and I knew Tetsu before any of you! Why didn't I get a initiation?" On the contrary, Akashi thought with a tiny smirk.

"Because Mine-chin is spoiled enough," Murasakibara pouted. "Kuro-chin worries over you all the time because Mine-chin hasn't grown up yet."

"You asking for a fight Murasakibara?!"

The greenhead pushed his glasses higher. "If you haven't noticed, Ahomine, none of us got an initiation. It's nothing worth crying over."

"You say that, but you secretly wish you were initiated," Momoi giggled. "Don't you, Midorin?"

Midorima didn't disappoint in returning an instant reaction. "I do not!"

Akashi glanced up at Nijimura, who watched the first years in amusement. "What exactly did Tetsuki do in this 'initiation'?"

He opened his mouth to explain to the redhead, but was interrupted by Kagami's sudden outburst.

"WAIT! Don't spoil it!" the taller redhead cried, and turned to others with a grin. "Why don't we find out for ourselves?"

Kise stood in the middle of the park basketball court, curiously watching Kuroko as she searched for something in her sports bag she inexplicably decided to bring. Before he knew it, the sun had already set and the night was approaching. Not that he had a problem with walking home at this hour, he was mostly concerned about his counselor. "Uh, Kuroko-sensei, why are we out here again?" he asked for the umpteenth time.

"Isn't it obvious," she stated after finding what she had been searching for. "To play basketball." Tetsuki held the orange ball to emphasize her point.

The blond looked at her incredulously. Did she just say what he thought she said? "You know," Kise started anxiously. "It's not everyday your counselor tries to go one-on-one with you."

"You may have the first move." Tetsuki gave him the ball and stepped back a few centimeters away. Unsure what to do, Kise began to dribble while she got in a defensive stance. "Ah, before we begin," she stalled. "Kise-kun should know that I'm not only your counselor. I am also the phantom coach of Teiko."

Kise didn't have time to think and before he knew it, his body had decided to advance. The blond couldn't think straight after hearing the news. She was the phantom coach? The very coach that brought Teiko to victory five years in a row? Suddenly motivated, he ran passed her left and went straight for the hoop, but when he jumped to make the basket, he noticed something. She's... Tetsuki had missed the chance to block him as he made his dunk, along with the other times she was too slow to react with his movements. Even when she had the ball in hand, Kise easily knocked it out of her grasp when she tried to run passed him. She's...! And when she finally had chance to make a shot, all Kise had to do was bring his hand down onto the ball to stop her. As he watched Tetsuki chase after the ball, he couldn't help but pity the basketball club.

She's so bad I could die! Kise slumped his shoulders in disappointment that turned into anger in a second. The blond couldn't understand it, not one bit. "Is this a joke?" he yelled at the woman.

Tetsuki picked up the ball on the other side of the court, turning her body to face the angered teen. Kise continued his fit. "The phantom coach of Teiko is supposed to be a powerful player that could take anyone down within a blink of an eye. So tell me, sensei—" he mocked the bluenette. "How can a person of that description be the same person standing in front of me!"

She stayed silent as Kise finished his taunt breathlessly. Her light blue bangs covered her eyes when she walked up to him, making Kise almost feel regret when he realized what he had just yelled at his counselor, who had done nothing but help him since the first day of school. "Kuroko-sensei, I'm... I didn't mean to—"

"Kise-kun," Tetsuki stopped the teen. He remained silent when she looked up at him with her wide eyes, to his surprise was not filled with hurt like other girls would've had at his insult. "That description," she said slowly, "is not what got me my name."

Just outside of the the gated basketball court, Kagami and the first string players watched the pair in secret. Each of them whispering or lowly voicing their commentary as they witnessed Tetsuki's and Kise's one-on-one. Kagami sighed blissfully from his place behind a tree, "This sure brings back memories." The first years looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Memories, you say?" Midorima scoffed at the word. "More like a nightmare! Did you not just see how she played?"

Aomine joined in. "Are you blind or something? That was the worst basketball I've ever since in my entire life!"

That received a smack to the head by the pinkette. "How dare you who say that about Tetsu-chan! She's the greatest player ever lived!"

Even Akashi was at a loss. "That performance was just..."

"I lost my appetite just from watching Kuro-chin play," sobbed Murasakibara, looking down at his half eaten cookie in distraught.

Nijimura couldn't argue with them, thinking back to his first year when it was him who was in Kise's place. The memory sent shivers through his spine. "Don't worry guys, it's not as bad as you think." At that, it was the captain's turn to receive incredulous looks from his kouhais. "It's true!" he defended.

Kagami shushed them all. "Shut up! This is the good part!" he told the teens, and directed their attention back to the showdown between student and teacher.

The bluenette held the basketball out towards Kise. "Would you?" She offered the ball for him to take, much to Kise's confusion. "I will now show you my true strength," Tetsuki told the blond.

Not a second after she ran straight towards Kise, dribbling the ball as she did. Golden eyes bore into her form as she came closer and closer, but disappeared in a blink of an eye. "What the?!" Kise turned around to see Tetsuki ready herself to make a basket, oddly having her left hand under the ball and her other hand right above it. He made a dash to stop her, already jumping in front of her to block her shot when the ball was launched out her hand. Kise used a hand to smack the ball away from its goal, but was shocked beyond repair to find it had slipped right through his grasp and fell into the hoop with a quiet 'swish'.

The teen was speechless when she walked passed him to pick up the basketball once more. "How did you—"

"Kise-kun, catch."

He quickly turned around and found the ball had instantly landed in his hands with immense power, the ball almost making contact with his chest. "Shoot," she ordered. Regaining his senses Kise spirited to the other side of the court and made a dunk, almost breaking the old park hoop as he did.

When Kise dropped back down to the ground, he grabbed the ball and turned back at Tetsuki. He could feel adrenaline flooding his entire body as he panted, drops of sweat beginning to come down his brow. Tetsuki matched his tired form, panting slightly quicker than him. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and shared a good, long gaze with the teen in front of her. "Kise-kun."

"Yeah?" he breathed.

"You're smiling."

Kise brought his fingers to his lips, feeling the corners turned upwards and mouth opened. He laughed sheepishly, "I guess I am!" He walked up to the tiny bluenette, and placed the basketball in her hands. When his breathing finally evened, he looked down at Tetsuki as he exclaimed, "That was amazing Kuroko-sensei! How did you do that?"

Tetsuki thought on the question, her mind going as far back to her high school years when Kagami was her light. She blinked at the awaiting blond. "I forgot." Kise laughed at that, and Tetsuki took the chance to grab his hand.

"K-Kuroko-sensei?!"

She replied by holding his hand tighter, sharing a deep stare with the blond. "Basketball is not a one man sport," she told Kise. "It's about teamwork. I know Kise-kun has an amazing talent, and I know you are capable of any sport. But, I believe your calling is in basketball."

He was silent during her confession, his tongue tied. "You think?"

She assured him with a nod and warming smile.

Kise looked away from her. "What if I'm not like you think I am," he hesitated. "What if I disappoint you?"

Tetsuki's smile, for the first time in forever, reached her eyes as she watched Kise begin to doubt himself. "What Kise-kun should be thinking about is what you could do for the team." She placed the basketball in his palm in the absence of her hand.

"B-But!" he cried out, holding the ball cautiously as if it were a bomb set to explode. "Even if I knew what I could do for the team, if that meant I had to sacrifice myself, I could never do it!"

Her smiled faded as soon as he spoke his last word, her eyes glancing somewhere outside the court. "If you join basketball, you'd find that your actions aren't sacrificing at all." Kise stood frozen, his heart pounded against his chest in that moment as he remained speechless. Never in his like did he feel so driven to do something, a sport for that matter. But Kise knew, that if it meant being with a person like Tetsuki...

He'd follow her in a heartbeat.

"You're really amazing, Kurokocchi!" He exclaimed, a grin find its way on his lips.

Tetsuki tilted head at the nickname. "'Kurokocchi'..?"

"I add 'cchi' at the end of anyone's name who I respect," he smiled down at her. "But more importantly, Kurokocchi...

"I think basketball might be just right for me!"

A contagious smile returned on the bluenette's face. "It seems we'll be seeing each other more often," said Tetsuki before she gave Kise a respectful bow. "Please continue to do well with your studies." Kise blinked, his grin still plastered on his face despite being completely confused.

"Eh?"

At the sight of his childhood friend and boy wonder, Aomine could feel his own lip completely chewed off from the rage that erupted ever since Tetsuki held Kise's hand. Jealousy boiled deep with him as he clawed his nails into the nearest tree. "What's so special about him anyway?" he grumbled. "I can do way better than that idiot."

"The only idiot around here is you, Ahomine." Kagami taunted the tanned teen, bringing a rough fist down on his already bruised head. "You really gotta let go of your obsession over her. It's as bad as it was when you were a kid!"

"W-W-What obsession?" The teen tried aimlessly to avoid. So what if he wanted Tetsu to himself? He's known her ever since was he was little so it was only right that he'd protect her from other guys, right? Just like when we played pretend, I'll still be your knight!

Midorima tsked at the two. "If you speak any louder we'll be spotted."

"I'm not loud! Besides, Kagami started it!"

"Real mature," Kagami scoffed, rolling his eyes. "If anyone's loud it's you!"

"Am not! Murasakibara, back me up!" Aomine looked to the purplehead for help.

The six-foot-ten giant nodded while munching on his new bag of potato chips. "Kaga-chin is louder than Mine-chin," he agreed halfheartedly.

"That's how it is, huh?" Kagami shoved his hand in his pocket, holding out his bait for the giant. "Oi Murasakibara, guess whose got coupons for those sweets you like so much at Kuroko's bakery?"

Murasakibara's eyes glowed at the sight. "But Mine-chin is the loudest on the planet~"

Aomine glared at the purplehead shamelessly and blissfully hugging said coupons. "Traitor."

Akashi stayed quiet throughout the whole ordeal, until the sound of footsteps became more evident with each passing second. "Someone's coming," he warned the others. All of the colored haired teens plus Kagami stopped their bickering and sought back into their hiding places.

The greenhead of the group sighed dramatically, "I told you we'd be spotted."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever!" hissed Aomine, peaking through the spaces between the bushes. "If so worried about being spotted, why don't you make a distraction?"

Midorima scowled. "What kind of distraction could I possibly do?"

"Sound like an animal Midorin!" Satsuki suggested excitedly, for whatever reason no one could explain.

Murasakibara glanced from his spot behind a tree. "Ah, it's coming closer."

"Do it now Midorima!" Aomine shouted.

"N-Nyan!"

Murasakibara gave him a disappointed look. "What kind of animal was that, Mido-chin?"

Said teen blushed furiously. "A cat, obviously!"

"There should be lessons for that kind of thing," commented Nijimura.

Watching from the other side of the bushes, stood Tetsuki and Kise deadpanned as the stared direction of the offending sound. Then, out of no where, the phantom coach pour a bucket of water over the bushes. "Evil begone."

Kagami was the first to appear, soaked to the bone, and roared at the bluenette. "You're evil one!" he shouted with an accusing finger. The last thing he could remember that night was receiving a basketball to the head before falling unconscious.

The next morning Tetsuki made her way to the main staff room to pick up her new attendance folder. When she woke up that morning, she felt that she should dress appropriately for the occasion. As a result, she wore a white mid-sleeve shirt, tucked under her high waist blue skirt that flowed a few inches above her ankles. On her feet were small wedged black flats that helped her self-esteem, along with her round glasses upon her face. In addition, her light blue hair was curled just barely, but enough to enhance her natural, feminine beauty.

She slid open the door and greeted her fellow coworkers despite not be noticed by a single one. Tetsuki went to her area of the room, finding the attendance folder sitting innocently on her desk. She quickly fetched the folder and turned to make her way out of the room, but was stopped short when she accidentally bumped into someone's back. Holding her slightly pained nose, Tetsuki bowed at the person. "Forgive me, I wasn't looking where I where going."

Her coworker turned around, at first not hearing her apology until he spotted a mop of light blue hair. "Oh, Kuroko!" The man gave a chuckle and brought a hand onto the top of her head, petting the neatly made hair. "Don't worry about it. I didn't even see you there!"

Tetsuki rose and looked up at the familiar face. "Ah, ohayo Kiyoshi-senpai."

The Teiko infirmary doctor smiled brightly at the bluenette. "Ohayo!" he greeted. "I don't mean to bother you, but you wouldn't know where my white coat is do you?" She nodded at the tall brunet, and pointed to the coat rack in the corner of the room. "Oh! Thanks Kuroko! Sometimes I forget we even have that there."

She gave a tiny smile. "Don't let Hyuuga-senpai hear you say that," she mused. "He thought it would be helpful."

Kiyoshi Teppei rubbed the back of his head in shame. "What he doesn't know won't kill, right?" Just moments after he finished, the first bell chimed throughout the school. "Time to work," he chirped. "Maybe I'll stop by practice later?"

Tetsuki nodded, "Sure." And with that, the two went their separate ways. She hurried over to her assigned homeroom, waiting patiently for the students to enter the classroom before following close behind. There she found the previous homeroom teacher waiting for her who was transferring to class 2-B. "Ohayo," she greeted her coworker. Like always, he didn't notice her at first and was searching around to find the source of the voice. Giving a tiny tap to the shoulder, he gave a little fright when he finally noticed her presence.

"A-Ah! Kuroko-sensei. Ohayo." He soothed the top of his hair and scolded, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

Tetsuki took note of his words with a short nod. Not that she'd stop or anything. The previous homeroom teacher settled the rowdy students until the class was masked in complete silence. "As of today, your will have a new homeroom." The bluenette stepped up beside him while her eyes observed the students, six students in particular. Tetsuki bowed at the class in respect, but was greeted with the sound of whispers.

"Where's the teacher?"

"I don't see any old lady in the classroom..."

"Probably thought the bathroom was the classroom."

"Pfft—That's just mean!"

Annoyed, Tetsuki was already thinking of ways to punish these children with excruciating hours of class cleanup. Then she'll see who's the 'old lady'. Her coworker gulped nervously, feeling the sudden deadly aura surrounding the tiny blueheaded woman. "Ahem, uh, without further ado, please welcome Kuroko Tetsuki." He gestured to Tetsuki which caught the attention of the class; each of their faces spooked.

"H-How long was she standing there?"

"She's like a ghost! Ghost of Teiko!"

Once again, Tetsuki was annoyed beyond relief. Phantom, she corrected in her head. Nonetheless, she walked up to the wooden lectern and placed down the attendance folder on its surface. Blue eyes scanned the room as she announced, "Hello. I am Kuroko-sensei, your homeroom teacher for the rest of the school year. Pleased to meet you."

With one final bow, she rose to the classroom in complete silence once again. Until a certain dark skinned teen abruptly stood from his seat, slammed both hands down onto the desk, and shouted, "Enough with the surprises!"

"I mean it this time, Tetsu. I don't think my brain could take anymore!"

"That's no surprise."

"Say that again Midorima. I dare you."

Tetsuki watched the two fight like cats in silent amusement. Momoi offered her to spend lunch with the teens in which the bluehead took them to the school rooftop (with access granted by herself). The pink haired teen was very impressed with the phantom coach, and squeezed against her side almost constantly. "Ne, Tetsu-chan! How were able to get us up here?"

After taking a bite of rice from her small portioned bento, she replied, "Having a low presence has it's benefits." Tetsuki gave her a tiny smile, and that's when Momoi lost it.

"Tetsu-chan you're so cool!" she exclaimed as she tackled Tetsuki to the ground, rubbing her cheek lovingly against the tinier woman.

"Sa-chin, you'll spill Kuro-chin's food." He lifted the teen off the phantom coach, then went to help the bluenette. Upon that, he noticed Tetsuki's sorry-excuse-for-a-lunch. "Is that all your eating Kuro-chin?"

Tetsuki nodded.

Murasakibara scowled at the offending sight. "You need to eat more than that if Kuro-chin wants to grow taller."

Akashi smiled. "It's no use, Atsushi. Tetsuki has always had a small appetite."

"Still..." Using his chopsticks, the purple giant picked up a piece of a rolled omelet and held it to Tetsuki. "Here Kuro-chin, ahn~"

It was her turn to scowl. "Murasakibara-kun, I hardly think that's appropri—" She was cut short when the yellow roll was forced into her month, leaving her no choice but to swallow. Although the taste did satisfy her, she felt like she had eaten too much for the day. "Thank you..." she said with a tiny blush that made Murasakibara sprout flowers when he smiled.

After witnessing the scene in front of them in complete shock, the remaining colored haired teens had all but one thought on their minds: indirect kiss!

Kise was the first to react. "No fair Mursakibaracchi!" Taking advantage of the moment, he gently turned Tetsuki to face him with a hand at her chin. Kise used his secret weapon: vanilla flavored milk, courtesy of the school vending machine. "Kurokocchi! Want some vanilla? I know it's your favorite!" At the word, Tetsuki's eyes shined with glee. But before her lips to touch the straw, the carton was knocked out his hand. He looked his hand, then to the offender of the moment. "Midorimacchi!"

He smirked as he pushed up his glasses. "Oha-Asa saves the day," he gloated, a sling-shot grasped tightly by his weirdly taped fingers.

The tiger and phantom coach stood side by side as they watched the first string practice. If what they were witnessing could be called practice.

Aomine had always been a basketball maniac since Tetsuki met him, some days she'd even babysit at the park basketball court. She noticed long before he entered club that he was still dedicated to basketball in every way possible. Seeing his smiling face was one of the reasons Tetsuki wanted to become a basketball coach; to teach players the passion basketball could create. His playing style was only a bonus. Ever since tryouts both her and Kagami have noticed his style almost mirrored Kagami's: streetball. His swift movements would enhance his speed to the point even Kise couldn't keep up with most of the time.

Her next door neighbor was another story. His judgement was precise and agile. Midorima's talent lied in his shootings. His exceptional gift for accuracy was what made Kagami place him in to first string. Tetsuki knew that his talent would only grow more and more as time goes by, and he would soon be able to shoot farther than just the three point line.

When the newest member of the team made his way up to first string, the bluenette clearly understood exactly why Kise struggled to find his calling. For him, basketball was his ultimate ticket to show his true nature which dealt with copying. If any player went against him, Kise would be their mirror. Miraculously, he developed a way to perfectly mimic a player's each and every move and use it their own techniques against them. Kagami mentioned to her, in his opinion, the blond's style was 'playing dirty'. Tetsuki couldn't deny the fact, but nonetheless would use his talent as a secret weapon.

There wasn't much to say about Murasakibara. The giant alone could easily take down a team without breaking a single sweat. However that was exactly the problem. Murasakibara may have all the attributes a basketball player needs be it strength, speed, or strategy—but what he lacked was the passion for the sport as a whole. Whenever Tetsuki would shoo him off to practice, she'd receive the same responses of "how bothersome" or "what a pain," even as he did as he was told. The bluenette never met a person like him before, and sometimes Kagami would have to calm her down to stop her from arguing with the giant. Tetsuki tried her best not to start a fight, for it would be unprofessional and wrong of her, but she knew all she could do was give it time.

As for Akashi...

If there was anything Tetsuki had to contemplate about with the redhead, was not Akashi himself, but his father. For Seijuro to fulfill his role as an Akashi, he must accept the consequences that followed. In this case, the mentality that he must win. Despite Teiko adopting the doctrine—and probably the main reason why Akashi's father enrolled him into such a prestigious high school—Tetsuki never listened to such propaganda. Akashi's skills both physically and mentally resulted nothing less than the average player. But what got him in the first string was his empowering presence. Because he was raised with such standards, Tetsuki believed he also applied them to basketball as a result. Each time she would set up a practice match within them, Akashi's side always prevailed. She hoped that one day "victory" wouldn't all go to his head, and he'd still be the child he was when she first taught him about basketball.

Thankfully enough, the six's teamwork was exceptionally adequate with only Aomine's complaints at Kise for holding the ball too long as the only concern. Kagami gave his charts a once over before glancing down at Tetsuki. "You think they're ready?" he asked.

Tetsuki continued to observe over the first string players as she dug a hand into her pocket, and fished out her cellphone. She scrolled through the contacts until she reached the intended name, and put the phone to her ear. "Let's see what Kaijo thinks."

Here's some more of the character's ages:

Kiyoshi: 26

Nijimura: 16

Haizaki: 15

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!