iiAnimeLover: Dang, you're like a mind reader or something...! Or I'm just that predictable... *cough...* What other anime do you like?
LadyDream3512: Haha! Thanks for commenting, better late than never~! I will be adding more to Shirogane's past, there's a reason why she's keeping it secret. *winks* All in good time!
a fan: Arigatō! Just gotta wait and uh... read!
Monkey D. Writer: Heh... I wouldn't mind two Daikis... I think your name is epic! I wish I thought of something like that... T~T
Hello~ So many reads and comments! This chapter is a bit longer, so enjoy it!
Spoiler: blue man action!
Happy readings~
The tall man straightens himself before blowing sharply on his whistle, gaining the attention of the entire gym. Silence falls upon on the players.
"Today, we'll be doing something different. The first-string captain will be joining you all today in practice."
"Kon'nichiwa..." all of the players mumble, bowing towards the white-haired girl. Shirogane flushes slightly, unused to the formalities.
"Water break." Kobayashi announces, much to the player's relief. He pats the pale girl firmly on the shoulder before walking away to meet up with the third-string coach. Even if people weren't glancing at her before, they all were now. Shirogane concentrates on remaining composed as she goes through her warm up stretches quickly. Not wanting to appear intimidated or scared, she kept a neutral expression on the entire time.
"The one minute break is over! Next, we're doing the three-man weave!" one of the coach's voice echoes slightly in the large room.
"Yes, sir!"
Smiling, Shirogane bounces up to a familiar face, excited at the prospect of being able to pick up a ball. "Oi, you don't mind me joining you, do you?" she asks the pale blue-haired boy that was staring at her earlier. He blinks, looking slightly taken aback.
"Ah... Watashi?" he asks quietly, pointing to himself. Shirogane nods, ball under her arm.
"Well?" she asks. Already, she could hear the flying gossip behind her.
"Eh? What's she doing with him?"
"Has he been here this whole time?!"
"Hai." the boy nods with a slight smile. No one had ever noticed him before until now. And to top it off, it was the first-string captain who did. He had heard many things about the vertically challenged girl, most of them praising, a few negative ones out of spite and jealousy. But, he couldn't help but ponder curiously as to why she would choose someone like him out of everyone.
"Let's go!" she beams, gesturing the quiet boy to follow her. With Shirogane's fame amongst the basketball players, they had no trouble finding three other players to join them in their drill.
"Can I join, Shirogane-chan?" one asks shyly.
"Gomen, we already have five people." she offers him a reassuring smile, hoping to ease his nervousness.
"Eh? I only see four!" he notes, peering over the short girl.
"I'm with them, too." the pale blue-haired boy speaks up, seemingly appearing out of the thin air.
"Wah!" the boy scrambles back in shock. "When did you get here?!"
"I've been here this whole time, senpai." the emotionless boy responds evenly.
Shirogane sweatdrops. He must have a really low presence for people to not notice him.
"C'mon, let's start." she urges, dribbling the orange sphere swiftly between her legs to get use to the feeling of using a basketball again. "Do you know how to set up a three-man weave?"
After half an hour of performing the same drill over and over again, all of the players were sweating and panting out of breath. A few of the more fit ones had less perspiration coating their skin and their breaths came out more evenly. One of those was Shirogane.
The pale blue-haired boy, however, was completely opposite. He was kneeling in the corner of the gym, with his hand clasped over his mouth. His small frame shakes as he gags uncontrollably.
"Hey don't puke in here... um... you!" one of the players calls out, not familiar with the first year's name.
"Daijōbu?" the white-haired girl asks gently, leaning over the hunched over boy. She pats him on the back. "Go to the bathroom and take a break, ne?" she suggests kindly. The boy nods weakly and stumbles out of the gym and towards the nearest bathroom. He mentally berates himself for appearing so weak in front of the first-string captain. She was hardly sweating herself and appeared to be in a much better condition than the poor boy despite her smaller body size.
He frowns at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, steeling his resolve to practice even harder to prove himself.
"Alright, minna! Get pumped! We're having a practice match with Yon Junior High today!" Shirogane beams. She receives very little positive feedback from her teammates. Only Aomine bothers to reply with a cheer. Haizaki scoffs rudely and rolls his eyes. Akashi gives her a small, terse smile while Midorima simply adjusts his glasses.
"Is there going to be snacks, Ri-chin?" Murasakibara questions, shoving his face with sweets. Shirogane deflates at the lack of enthusiasm her team has.
"Iie, Atsushi..." she mumbles dejectedly.
"Tch, like you even need more!" Haizaki snorts, watching the giant first year inhale his food with a disgusted expression. Murasakibara shrugs off the comment and continues eating.
"Even though today is only a practice match, I expect a win. Victory is everything." Sanada interjects. Momoi stands next to him with a clipboard in her hands.
"Ah, we should get moving if we want to catch the bus in time..." the pink-haired girl suggests, glancing at her watch.
"Yosh! Let's move!"
"..."
The six of them walk past Teikō's facilities, enjoying the clean, crisp air. All of them actually looked like a team for once, bearing their school colors proudly on their newly acquired outside wear. The first-string players subconsciously group together near the front, leaving the second-string reserve players straggling behind. Despite their radically different characteristics, they felt much more at ease with each other than with the other players.
Shirogane frowns to herself, or more precisely, at the sleeve of her Teikō jacket. It goes way past her hand and flops limply as she walks. Even her slacks are too big, forcing her to roll them up a couple times so they wouldn't fall off her hips as she moves.
"Something wrong, Riyeko-hime?" Akashi asks blandly. This draws the attention of the other members as well as they direct their gaze towards their captain.
She flaps her arms, showing the others the excess cloth that trailed after her arms. "They're too big..." she pouts. "And they're the smallest size in store, too..." she trails off helplessly.
"... Pwahahaha!" Haizaki doesn't bother to smother his mocking laugh as he guffaws at the shorter girl's misfortune. "Pfft! You look like a fucking toddler in that!"
"Wah, urusai!" she puffs up her red cheeks in retaliation, unintentionally proving his point.
"Don't worry. Your jersey fit at least, right?" Akashi reasons levelly, gazing down at his captain. She begrudgingly sighs in consent as Murasakibara musses up her hair fondly.
"Hai, hai..."
"Ah, Riyeko-chan, I think you look kawaii!" Momoi grins, offering the white-haired girl an encouraging thumbs up. "Right, Dai-chan?" She purposefully nudges Aomine in the side.
"What do ya want now, ya crazy woman?!" the blue-haired player scowls, rubbing his throbbing side, eliciting a giggle from Shirogane.
"You should support your teammates! Especially your captain!" the busty girl continues on with her spiel, enticing another shouting match between the two.
Midorima sigh softly in aggravation, already developing a headache. He rubs his temple with his nonbandaged fingers, his other other hand awkwardly clasping a tube of lipstick.
"Alright, calm down." Shirogane chuckles, placing herself between the two bickering childhood friends. The green-haired player mentally thanks his captain, finally finding peace.
"So, hime, how good is this school?" Aomine swiftly changes the topic. He drapes an arm around the girl.
"Ne! Stop calling me that!" she frowns, her brows furrowing.
"You're going to grow wrinkly if ya keep your expression like that, ya know. A total turn off." Haizaki snickers. She jabs him quickly in the side, grinning triumphantly when the second year hunches over in pain. "Oi!"
"You should ask Satsuki-chan. She scouted for us." Shirogane shrugs, tilting her chin towards the pink-haired girl.
"I hope they at least pose some sort of challenge..." Midorima frowns. Momoi sweatdrops uncomfortably.
"They're not... too bad..." she hesitantly supplies the team. They're going to be pretty disappointed... "On a side note... why are you carrying woman's make up with you, Midorin?" She stares at the lip rouge in the shooter's hand.
The green-haired male clears his throat. "I-" Before he could finish, a large shadow loomed over him.
"He secretly likes to wear it, Momo-chin." the giant behind them informs the manager lazily.
"Nani?! Wh-!" Midorima is cut off again as Momoi interjects this time.
"Ne, ne, Mukkun! Don't call me Momo-chin! It's not very feminine." the pink-haired girl pouts. The two of them engage in an argument over her nickname, completely ignoring the annoyed green-haired boy.
Midorima purposefully coughs loudly, halting their playful banter. "For your information, it's my lucky item. If I want to make my shots in this match, I have to carry with around with me all day." he explains tersely, a small anger vein pulsing at his temple.
"Ah, it's not nice to lie, Mido-chin." the giant drawls, evoking laughter from the Aomine.
"You...!"
"Everyone calm down." a dark presence immediately shuts them up. They all turn to see Akashi with a frown crossing his face. The four of them shudder while Shirogane and Haizaki smirk at their expense.
None of them noticed, however, the unwanted attention they were attracting. They're loud voices cancelled out the awed whispers coming from inside the gym where the third-string players were playing. The double doors to the gymnasium were wide open to let the cooling breeze in, it also involuntarily let the team's chatter in as well. All of the boys inside the gym were staring wide eyed at the procession of first-string players.
Even a pair of familiar light blue ones.
"I have a super important announcement to make!" Shirogane calls out to the players. The four first years and the reserves that would now join the regulars in games and practices dutifully made a circle around their captain. Haizaki was late, per usual.
"Eh? What is it now, hime?" Aomine drawls, basketball under his arm.
"Sanada-sensei and I have made a decision as to naming the vice-captain." she takes a deep breath as everyone leans forward in anticipation. "Akashi Seijurō will be your new vice-captain!"
Aomine's jaw drops. "Woah! Nice one, Akashi!"
"Hardly surprising..." Midorima says, unwrapping his bandages.
"Arigatō, Riyeko-hime." Akashi states formally, bowing his head in gratitude. His captain laughs and places a gentle hand on his lowered head.
"Make sure to take care of the team when I'm not around, okay?"
"Hai." The redhead couldn't help but reminisce back to his first one-on-one lesson with Shirogane. Maybe this is what she was preparing me for... But... I feel like there's still something else...
"What the...? First years?!"
"What is Teikō thinking? They must be throwing in the match already...!"
"Lucky for us, haha! This'll be an easy win!"
The players from Yon Junior High didn't bother to lower their voices as they casually insult the Teikō players. Shirogane frowns and throws out an arm in front of Aomine. The easily angered blue-haired player was about to attack the disrespectful players, but his captain's pale arm stopped him in his tracks.
"Eh? But, hime! They're dissing us right in our faces! We can't just do nothing!" he exclaims.
"I know... I can hear. However, if you pick a fight with them right now, we'll be automatically disqualified." she pats him reassuringly on his bicep, calming him down with her words.
"What happened to respecting your opponents?" Midorima mumbles to himself, his eye twitching ever so slightly. Even the usually emotionless redhead looked a bit peeved.
"Oi, listen up!" the voice of their captain causes their heads to turn simultaneously in her direction. "If you want revenge, bring your anger on the court, okay? Let's show them what we've got! Victory is everything!" The Teikō players all cheer collectively, their spirits igniting. "Go get changed!"
The boys file into the locker room, chatting casually amongst themselves. Shirogane drags Momoi into the girl's locker room with her, feeling lonely being the only female on the team. Gradually, the Teikō members wander out onto the court and loiter off to the side, impatient for the match to begin.
"Alright, the starting members for the first quarter will be Shirogane, Aomine, Midorima, Akashi, and Murasakibara." Sanada commands. Haizaki spits scornfully, a scowl plastered on his face. "Haizaki, you will only be allowed to play in the second half due to your constant absence during practice."
"Atsushi, you take the tip off, okay?" Shirogane instructs, patting the tall player on his stomach due to his height. The five players stand in front of their opponents from Yon.
The tallest member on their team scoffs, glaring down at the white-haired girl. "What's this? Shouldn't you be at home playing with your dolls, little girl?" he taunts jeeringly. Shirogane merely stares blankly back at him with her large, pale eyes.
"Is this some sort of joke?" another players grunts, scratching his arm as he scrutinizes the Teikō team. "Or are you all giving up already? Where's your pride as an upperclassman?" He directs his last barb at the seated second and third years off to the side.
"You'll change your attitude once we start beating you." Shirogane replies easily, unperturbed by the nasty remarks. The opposing team laughs obnoxiously as if the white-haired girl had told the funniest joke in history.
"Let's see you try, pipsqueak!"
Shirogane grabs Aomine's clenched hand, shaking her head slightly as if to warn him not to make a stupid move. He breathes in sharply through clenched teeth, trying to push down his anger. He forces himself to bow politely to the opposing team.
"Let's have a fair match." The referee signals for the two teams to send a player forward for the tip off. The tallest player from Yon steps forward arrogantly, meeting Murasakibara in the center.
"Oh? You must be the captain. Too bad we'll be wiping the floor with your pathetic excuse for a team." he sneers. The purple-haired boy glances uninterestedly at his opponent.
"Eh? I'm not the captain, Ri-chin is..." he lazily points to the white-haired girl who was currently occupied with setting up their formation.
"Akashi, you'll mark number eleven... Midorima..."
"Hah?! You're making fun of us aren't you?! A fucking girl leading your team?" the Yon captain snorts. "Tch, pathetic. It'll be an easy victory for us, then." The giant first year doesn't react, although an almost invisible flicker of annoyance flashes through his eyes as the player in front of him insults his captain.
"Ready?" The referee blows on his whistle before tossing the ball high into the air. The Yon player's eyes widen in shock as his Teikō opponent easily swipes the ball out of the air before he doesn.
"N-Nani?!"
The ball is passed straight towards Shirogane who catches it firmly with a grin. She dribbles the ball by her knees as player number seventeen marks her with his arms outstretched. Much to the confusion of her defender, she shoots him a triumphant smirk.
"Don't blink..." she warns cheekily. He blinks anyways. In that split second time frame, the white-haired girl disappears from view.
"Hah? Where'd she go?" he grunts in disbelief. He whips around to find his intended mark weaving around the defenders before elegantly tipping the ball into the net. The crowd is stunned into silence before loud cheers erupt from Teikō's reserve members.
"I... I didn't even see her move!"
"So fast...! Maybe we underestimated them..."
"Nah, I bet it was just a fluke. They won't get it in next time!"
The students from Yon shout encouragement to their team members, bolstering their spirits despite the quick basket Teikō had scored.
"C'mon! Are you all sleeping on the court or somethin'?! Move, move, move!" Yon's captain roars. His teammates scramble for the ball and pass it in from under the net.
"Watch who you're marking!" Shirogane calls as the opposing team advances towards them. "Don't let them shoot!"
Number twenty-eight, who had the ball in his possession, stops at the three-point line and raises his arms to shoot, hoping to get a one point lead. Thanks to Shirogane's intense training, Murasakibara easily steals the ball and dribbles it down the court. He barges past the defenses and slams the ball into the basket, rattling the backboard.
"Wah... did you see that?!"
"Are you sure these are just first years?"
"Impressive...!"
Shirogane grins proudly, slapping Murasakibara a high five as they jog back to defend. "Heh, working hard on defending, I see." The giant smiles lazily down at the short girl.
"Ne, ne, you owe me snacks now." he reminds her, ruffling her white locks.
She sweatdrops, already regretting the deal she had struck up with the ravenous purple-haired player. "Hai..." she sighs, shaking her head in mild amusement.
This time, the white-haired girl intercepts one of their passes and takes off with the ball. She manages to get inside of the box but is double teamed by two scarily tall third years. Frowning, she passes it off to Midorima who's standing in the sidelines. He jumps up, aiming for a three-pointer. The ball soars high into the air, creating suspense for participants.
"Atsushi! Stay for the rebound. Everyone else, move back!" Shirogane orders, jogging back to their side. She and Midorima hustle back without so much of a backwards glance. Hearing the familiar sound of the ball swishing through the net, the girl smirks.
"So high!"
"... impossible to block...!"
"What's up with these first years?!"
She tilts her head towards her green-haired teammate. "Nice shot, Shintarō. Although... it could be higher..."
"Hn." he pushes up his glasses with the barest of smiles playing on his lips.
Yon scores a two-pointer and Shirogane passes the ball to Akashi with a nod. She flashes her pointer finger so all of her teammates could see. As if on cue, they all dash for the basket, alarming the opposing team. Using their hesitation to their advantage, Teikō scores another two points with Akashi shooting it in.
The referee blows his whistle, motioning for the players on the court to get off. The first quarter just ended with Teikō up by thirteen points. Shirogane snatches up her water bottle, thirstily downing the contents before plopping down on the bench. Aomine joins her with his legs sprawled in front of him.
Suddenly, the doors slam to the gym slam open and a muscular guy shuffles in with a sheepish expression. He ambles over to join Yon's team, discussing something with the coach.
"Ne, who's he, Satsuki-chan?" Shirogane asks, eyes narrowing on the mystery guy's large frame. Even though it was hard to see from a distance but he looked like a well-rounded player.
"Eh? I don't know... I've never seen him before!" she flips rapidly through her stack of papers, hoping to find some information about the newcomer.
"He just transferred a few days ago." one of the reserve player speaks up. Everyone shoots him a confused look.
"How do you know?" Aomine asks.
"Ah... I can read lips."
"..."
"... Well that explains why Momoi has no data on him..." Midorima concludes.
"He can't be too bad, right? I mean the rest of the team is pretty lame, so he can't be that much better!" Aomine reasons. Shirogane pulls on his cheeks, stretching them to the max. "Oi! Oi! Itai!" The senpai watching all wince in imaginary pain.
"Don't underestimate the enemy! If he got in this fast, that must mean he's got something special..." the white-haired girl explains logically. "Why else would they let him be a regular in such a short time?" She lets go of his cheeks with a thoughtful expression on her face. The tanned player gently massages his cheeks, trying to put some feeling back into his numb face.
"Riyeko-hime is right. We should all be on our guards." Akashi sums up, staring directly at each of the players. His blank stare sends shivers down his teammates' spines. Except for Shirogane who was still staring off into space with her eyes glazed over in concentration.
"Hime?" one of the reserve players repeats dubiously.
This snaps Shirogane back into reality. "Hah?! Don't call me that! ... Oh, it was you, senpai." She blinks rapidly at the cowering player, towering over his sitting form, momentarily thrilled at the feeling of being tall for once. "Ah... Ah... Gomensai, I thought you were someone else..."
The blue-haired player beside her bursts out into laughter at the second year's frightened expression. Shirogane feels her lips twitch, threatening to succumb to a smile as she sighs and shakes her head.
"C'mon, let's go. Time's up." she orders, ushering the players back onto the court. "Ne, Atsushi, mark the new guy." She switches the giant's and Midorima's mark quickly, cautiously assessing the newcomer.
"It's just as you said, Riyeko-hime." Akashi murmurs from behind the short girl. She nods, a feeling of dread pool in her stomach. "He appears to be more talented than his teammates."
"Atsushi will take care of him." she replies confidently.