A/N: In this Kurokoverse, the movie does not exist (sorry!).
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Seijuro's cold eyes watched how the first stringers of Rakuzan High practiced shot after shot on the basketball court. They were practicing lay-ups as usual and it was perfect. Every ball got into the hoop. "That's enough," he commanded and the rest of the players stopped then faced him. "We'll be having a practice match with the second stringers shortly. Prepare and head to the other gym."
"Yes!" they all responded, switching to light warm-ups to get ready for the match.
The basketball club captain took his water bottle and was about to exit the gym when a former club member blocks his way. "Kotaro," he called his first name. The blond-haired boy couldn't look into his eyes. "What are you doing here?" He had dismissed all the Uncrowned Kings in his team as a result of their failure in the Inter-High competition. And he was sure they deserved it. There would be more demerits than merits if they stayed in the club. Besides, the first years who just joined were brimming with potential. It was pointless wasting time with the three third-years.
"Akashi!" Kotaro's hands were clenched on his sides, he was slightly trembling.
Pathetic.
"I'm assuming you're here because of your dismissal." Seijuro's stare was ice cold, washing over Hayama Kotaro. "It was no one else's fault but yours. I did what was necessary to our club."
"B-but you didn't have to force us to quit! We could've trained-"
"That would just be a waste."
"But-"
"I also set an example." Seijuro was unflinching, sure, and even proud of what he had done. "Now, look, the whole team's performing a lot better than the time the three of you were here. It was a good move." He even had the gall to show a smile.
"A good move, you say?" With what he heard and saw, Kotaro seemed to gain fire and confidence within him. "We will not let you do as you please, Akashi."
The red-haired boy closed his eyes as if to think for a moment, then looked back at the other boy. "Then, let's do a one-on-one match. If you score at least one point before I complete ten, the three of you are welcome to join the team again."
"O-okay!" The blonde looked unsure again, perhaps remembering the time he, Reo, and Eikichi were all defeated by Seijuro in a three-vs-one match. The boy swallowed and tried to focus.
The court was cleared as the first string players headed to the other gym for a practice match. Seijuro and Kotaro went in the middle and started their one-on-one.
Kotaro first had the ball, with his Lightning Dribble he tried to get past Seijuro, but the ball was out of his hand in an instant, defeated by the red-haired boy's Emperor Eye. Seijuro quickly and easily shot three points. They resumed their play. Kotaro faked a three-pointer but Seijuro read it and stole the ball from him again, scoring a lay-up. A shadow rapidly descended upon Kotaro. He seemed to think that it was impossible to defeat the basketball club captain.
He was right. Only a couple of minutes more and Seijuro had reached ten points. "You know what this means. Right, Kotaro?"
The blonde could only bite his lower lip until it bled. Then, he nodded his head as tears burned in the sockets of his eyes.
He just confirmed that Akashi Seijuro was, truly, a monster.
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Mika adjusted her big, fake, black-rimmed eyeglasses as she peeked into Seirin's gymnasium. She was nervous as hell and she wanted to say sorry to Kuroko and then disappear into her little hole again. But, she had told the boy the other day that she would help them. It would've weighed on her conscience big time if they couldn't go to the training camp Kuroko mentioned. She straightened up and inhaled deeply. Then, exhaled. Then, inhale-
"Risa-san."
She almost swore in surprise. "Kuroko! I didn't notice you were here."
"What are you doing outside the gym, Risa-san? The players all know we will be having you as our new manager."
Mika pointed at another female in Seirin's uniform talking inside the court. "What about her? Isn't she your manager?"
"No. That's Aida Riko-san. She may be young but she is our coach."
"Coach?!" H-how amazing that is. Someone her age. "That's so cool!"
The pale boy smiled at her. "You're cool, too. You led a charity group during middle school and did so many works."
Hearing the words made Mika flush. She wasn't that amazing at all, she thought. She just did what she could do. And she would do it again, here, in Seirin High. She clutched her heart. She needed to manage, somehow.
"Come on. Let's go inside." Kuroko walked with her toward the front. The players stopped practicing at the sound of Aida Riko's whistle. All faced Kuroko and her.
She looked around. Four varsity members here were from Teiko. Mika fought the strong urge to run away and hide as the memories of her last day in Teiko assailed her mind.
But.
No.
She should move on and move forward. Or else, she'd be forced to live in her little space, alone, again.
"I'm Risa Mikaela," she said aloud. "And I'll be your new manager. Pleasure to meet you all!" She bowed as deeply as she could and noticed how the former Teiko students' eyes sparkled and how the other students' faces were filled with confusion. She looked at Kuroko, but the boy just smiled at her.
"I'm Aida Riko." The other female student shook her hand. "I'm the coach of the team and I'm looking forward to working with you. Have you had any experience with being a manager before? "
Mika shook her head. "No. But I'm willing to learn."
"That's the spirit!" Aida put a warm arm over her shoulders and said to the rest of the group. "Let's welcome Risa to our team!"
"Yes!" They all replied.
The first thing Mika did was to put water into the players' water bottles. Then, she folded and arranged their white towels, making sure to hand one to someone who needed it. Then, she discussed schedules with Aida, scribbling in her tiny notebook.
So far everything was so good.
After practice, Aida reminded the boys that they would be meeting tomorrow in the same court for Shelter.
"I hope I'm not imposing too much," Mika said as the players emptied the gym.
"Too much for a match is alright." A good-looking boy with thin eyes joked but nobody laughed. He seemed to be used to it and extended his hand to the girl. "I'm Izuki Shun."
"Risa Mikaela." She shook the hand.
The Seirin basketball club captain who she heard was Hyuga Junpei assured her, "If you need something just let us know."
"It's more than enough that you guys are willing to start Shelter with me. I ask nothing more." They smiled at each other.
The next day, they met in the same gym. Mika, with a blackboard in front, told them her plan.
"We'll register our club under the name Shelter. Shelter, because we will aim to be a shelter for those who are in need. Basically, we'll be a charity group." Her eyes wandered to the former Teiko members and she suddenly became embarrassed. She knew the rest of Teiko's student body during her time didn't believe her words. But, she continued, looking slightly down. "W-we'll start with the training camp. According to Aida-san, not all will be needed in the courts to practice all the time. To those with nothing to do, I'll be assigning simple tasks. Don't worry. You can do them easily. Our client is a home-for-the-aged and orphanage in one. Your tasks will be feeding the elderly or the children, playing with them, and performing. We'll have three performances. You can choose if you want to sing or dance or-"
"Bullshit!" A first-year she didn't know stood up. "We don't even know you! Why are you ordering us to do those things? I didn't join the basketball club to wear a tutu and shake my ass in front of everyone."
A third-year who she remembered was named Koganei intercepted. "Nobody said something about wearing a tutu and shaking butts. Why don't you let our manager finish with what she is saying? We all agreed to help her. She's helping us."
"Help, you say-"
"Satou-kun!" Aida had a scary aura around her. "Shut up!"
But Mika didn't want to cause any trouble, so she immediately erased the word performance on the board and said, "It's alright. Let's just scrap it. There. Okay. We'll just stick with feeding and gift-giving." Did she just see Kuroko frown? Must have had been her imagination... "We won't need to ask for donations. Yet." She scanned the crowd again. They were just listening. No remarks whatsoever. "So, I will be buying everything we need to-"
"Wait a minute."
She spun 90 degrees to look at who spoke. "Yes, Kagami-san?"
"You said you'll be buying everything. Sounds like you're not asking for any help."
"Well..." Mika hesitated. She didn't want to become a burden to the basketball club and she didn't want them to do something they didn't like. She could just do the work and let them help with smaller tasks.
"You'll be helping us so it's just natural for us to help you, too." The taller student remarked. Did he just say, will be helping? Hadn't she already helped by being a manager?
Anyway, the other club members chimed in and the meeting ended with Mika having Kagami, Kuroko, Mitobe, and Furihata volunteering to help her with buying materials and food for Shelter.
Mika smiled. The meeting wasn't that bad. Kuroko was right, everything would be alright.