Song of Victory
Quarter 1: The Shadow and the Manager
"You want to join Seirin High School? It's a little obscure isn't it? I've never heard of their basketball club before."
"I'm sure, Suzume. I want to join their basketball club."
"Well I'm not arguing. Besides their uniforms are pretty cute. You'll look adorable in their gakuran, it even has a teal zip-up that is the same color as your hair!"
"Yes, of course. I obviously chose Seirin based on the fact that their uniform matches my hair," Kuroko replied with the slightest hint of sarcasm under his neutral tone.
Suzume laughed out loud as she printed out the application papers and presented them to Kuroko with a dramatic flourish.
"Well then Seirin better be prepared for a little miracle this year."
"I do not appreciate that joke on my height, Suzume."
"Since when have you ever appreciated my amazing sense of humor, Tet-kun?"
"Well he was definitely one big catch."
Hyuga Junpei and Aida Riko both stared at the retreating figure of the tall red-head.
"Kagami Taiga from America, I could see all his potential now," Riko grinned brightly with sparkling eyes,"though I still wished we could get just a few more potential recruits."
"Well it's not that surprising," Hyuga sighed,"we've only been established for one year after all."
"Excuse me?"
The two second-years looked up to see a girl picking up the application curiously.
"Is this the basketball club?"
"Yes," Riko replied quickly,"though its only for boys. Seirin doesn't have a female basketball club yet if you were thinking of trying out."
"Oh its fine. I was wondering if I could try out for a manager position."
Riko looked at the new recruit critically. It would be nice to have an extra hand to help but she didn't want some useless girl who only served as a distraction to the boys. The girl in question was an average height, dressed up in an open gray cardigan over the sailor uniform with her messy brown hair pulled over her shoulders. She didn't look like a basketball fan, but then again looks could be deceiving.
"You don't have to answer me now, senpai," the girl replied after a moment of awkward silence. "Please just give me a chance," the girl said as she turned in her form. "I'll see you at practice tomorrow."
With those words, she skipped off with a cheerful whistle before accidentally tripping into another student and falling into the crowd.
Hyuga sweat dropped. "The freshmen are certainly a strange bunch this year aren't they?"
"Well they'll bring some excitement into the club," Riko said as she scanned over the form.
Name: Yamauchi Suzume
Class: 1-B
Former School: Shoei Middle School
Preferred Position: Manager
Why you want to join the club: I want to make Seirin champions as their manager.
Riko looked in surprise, "Shoei Middle School? Wasn't that the school that Teppei went to?"
Hyuga looked over at the form," Yeah, I think that's what he told me. Yamauchi Suzume? Maybe she's that kouhai that he is also going on about."
Riko grinned, "Maybe so, Hyuga. Well now we've got two very interesting new recruits."
"Wait," Hyuga pulled out the form from underneath the one that Kagami Taiga turned in.
"Hey have you've seen this form yet?"
"Kuroko Tetsuya? . . . from Teiko!?"
"Seriously!? An alumni from Teiko as well? The freshmen this year are incredibly crazy!"
"Ah! I wish I could remember what his face looked like!"
"Hey, Tet-kun!"
Suzume slips through the crowd to see Kuroko standing calmly in front of the stand for the Literature Club with none of the members noticing him despite him being the only one in front of their booth.
"Have you signed up for the basketball club yet?"
"Of course," Kuroko said with a nod.
"Did they even notice you, Tet-kun?"
"No, but I left my form there already. By the way, Suzume, is that red-haired guy a part of the basketball club."
Suzume followed his gaze to see the especially tall boy towering over everyone else with a scowl on his face.
"Yeah, I saw him applying before I went to sign up. I think his name is Kagamine Tiger or something?"
Kuroko said nothing, but kept his gaze on the taller boy.
Suzume sighed, "Come on, let's go somewhere less crowded so I won't lose you. I spent almost twenty minutes trying to locate you. . ."
She turned to look next to her only to find out that Kuroko was gone again.
"Damn it, Tet-kun! That disappearing act is getting so annoying!"
"Tet-kun, you bastard!"
Suzume's voice could be heard loudly as she opened the doors to the gym and walked in. However the scene that assaulted her made her freeze in her tracks and frantically put her hands over her eyes.
"Is this a male stripping club or something!? I'm so sorry! I'm just looking for the basketball club."
"Suzume, this is the basketball club. Stop making a fool out of yourself."
Suzume opens her eyes to see Kuroko looking at her with his trademarked deadpan look, which was a lot less effective considering that he didn't have a shirt on.
Riko who had been watching the exchange with some amusement decided to put an end to it," Yamauchi, why are you late?"
"Oh, I had to talk to my teacher about something and I told Tet-kun to wait for me. But he decided to ditch me and I wasted 15 minutes looking around for him."
Riko frowned, "You were 30 minutes late."
Suzume scratches her head sheepishly, "Well I kind of have a bad sense of direction."
"This school only has one gym, Suzume."
"Be quiet, Tet-kun."
"Tet-kun?"
"Yeah, its my nickname for Kuroko. We've been friends for a long time!"
"I believe that it was you who forced me into becoming your friend."
"It's called creative persuasion, Tet-kun."
Kagami snorts, "That sounds kind of like blackmail."
"No one asked your opinion, you mutant giant."
"Mutant giant!?"
"Everyone be quiet!" Riko shouted, gaining back control before the three first years could go off on another tangent.
"We'll start off with some drills! Yamauchi! This is your test week so prove to me that you can be a good manager!"
"You got it ma'am," Suzume puts her hands in a soldier's salute and rushes off before Riko could decide if it had been sarcastic or not.
On the bus ride home, Riko considered the new recruits.
Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara were all pretty straightforward and probably had the most potential out of the rest of the first years excluding Kagami. They were all average players that could shine with a some specialized training and stamina drills, but the three stand out freshmen were Kagami, Kuroko, and Yamauchi.
Kagami had raw potential, the ability to really become a great player if only he could reign in that temper of his. Riko drooled thinking of how after some training he could really shine.
Now Kuroko and Yamauchi were the real mysteries that Riko still haven't managed to solve.
Kuroko had been absolutely terrible at all the drills during practice. He was the only one who managed to consistently fail at scoring even a simple layup, couldn't defend at all, and was by far the slowest of all the players.
When Riko asked Yamauchi about it, all the girl said was," Tet-kun is one of the greatest basketball players I've ever seen. He hasn't shown even a fraction of what he could do yet."
Riko found that especially hard when the boy's stats were so abysmal and the words of the boy's friend did nothing to convince her.
Yamauchi was a little less confusing, though Riko thanks the heavens that she hadn't managed to get two complete enigmas for kohai.
Yamauchi didn't bring water bottles, towels, or even show any competency at taping muscles. Instead the brown-haired girl had spent almost the entire practice session cross-legged on the bench scribbling in a notebook. Maybe she was some kind of eccentric genius though Riko could not make heads or tail of the scribbling that Yamauchi was writing in her notebook.
So far Riko wasn't very impressed.
"I am not like you. I am a shadow."
Kagami's eyes twitched at the confidence in Kuroko's voice. After that pathetic performance, Kagami really couldn't stand to hear any more pretentious words coming from the teal-haired boy.
"And you call me over-dramatic, Tet-kun," Suzume grinned as Kuroko recounted the tale during lunch the following day.
"I was not being over-dramatic."
"I . . . am . . . a . . . shadow," Suzume parodied in a serious, high-pitched voice while Kuroko gave her a deadpan stink-eye. The girl snorts out her juice in laughter as Kuroko looked at her disapprovingly.
"Tet-kun, do you really believe that this Kagami Taiga can beat the Generation of Miracles?"
"Right now he won't even reach their feet."
"Well that's why you and I are here right? We're the supporting actors to the light to make it shine even brighter on the court!"
"That is not funny, Suzume."
The girl sighed.
"No one appreciates drama anymore."
"Today we will be holding a practice match between the second-years and first-years."
"May I be a coach to the first-years?"
Riko sweat dropped at the overly enthusiastic Yamauchi who was bouncing up and down.
"Sure, why not?"
"Yeah!"
The other first years groaned, their senpai were all extremely strong and they doubt that the strange girl could do anything to change that fact.
Then the game started. No doubt the strongest player on the field was Kagami Taiga and Suzume could see what Kuroko saw in him. He really was the strongest in terms of raw potential, the opposite of such a specialized player like Kuroko.
However by the end of the first quarter, two of the second-years were double-teaming Kagami making it impossible for him to move freely. The other first years were all depending on Kagami to score the points so their hesitation made it easier for the second years to score points.
Damn it, Suzume's instincts were roaring up again and the thrill of game was enthralling her once more. She hadn't felt this excited in forever.
"Please calm yourself, Kagami-kun."
Honestly Kuroko had no survival instincts at all. Suzume grinned as she ran over to where Kuroko and Kagami were having an argument. She could remember all those childish arguments Ogiwara and Kuroko had that always seemed to end in the teal-haired boy's favor.
"Excuse me!"
All of the boys stared at her, but Suzume didn't really care at the moment. This was where her plans came together.
"If you guys want to win then you need to listen to me," Suzume's words were fast but direct and she had all of their attention on her.
"Our senpai may be double-teaming Kagami-kun, but that leaves a hole in their defense. Furihata-kun is left unguarded so he is free to move."
"Furihata-kun, I am right in presuming you prefer to do lay-ups on the right side?"
The brown-haired boy gave a small nod.
"Fukuda-kun please screen Mitobe-senpai while Furihata-kun goes in a drive for a layup. This is the best way to score while passing the least amount of defenders."
"Kagami-kun, instead of moving towards the basket please try to move away from it. This will lead Izuki-senpai and Tsuchida-senpai away from everyone else and reduce the amount of defenders near the basket."
The red-haired boy looked a little annoyed at the fact that he would have to go on the defensive, but he nodded his head in agreement.
"Tet-kun," Suzume gives him a meaningful glance, "you will be able to get away from your guard, right? I want you to back up Furihata-kun. Furihata-kun, don't hesitate to pass to Tet-kun if Mitobe-senpai comes to block you. If you somehow find yourself in possession of the ball near the net, don't hesitate to shoot it."
"Good luck!" Suzume shouts as Riko blows the whistle starting the third quarter before going back to her spot at the bench.
Riko narrows her eyes at the first-years, after Yamauchi had gone and talked to them they all seem more confident. They were communicating much better and seem to have an actual plan.
Kagami, especially seemed to be a lot more calm and intent on the game making less careless movements in anger.
Riko gives a glance at Yamauchi, the girl was sitting crosslegged on the bench as always but now she was grinning as if energized by the basketball game. Her gray eyes were scanning the court and her lips were moving as if she was reciting something to herself.
The moment the game started it was pure chaos. The second-years, expecting Furihata to try to pass to Kagami again were surprised to see the first-year point guard drive in for a lay-up, while Fukuda blocked Mitobe. With that surprising starting move, the first-years immediately began to change the tide of the game as their moves became more precise and calm.
When Mitobe broke Fukuda's screen, Furihata passed to his left to apparently no one, but the ball curved to Kawahara who had no hesitation when it came to shooting and scoring a shot. Not to mention Izuki and Tsuchida couldn't assist the rest of the second years considering that Kagami had been consistently dragging them farther away from the net.
When Izuki broke off to defend Furihata, Kagami took the opportunity to break pass Tsuchida and dunk the ball into the net with all his pent-up energy and loud, "Finally!"
The first years' plays were well coordinated and definitely not something that they could have come up during a 10 minute break. It was Yamauchi, who at that moment was watching the game with an intense focus. She wasn't just some weird childish girl without any knowledge of basketball. Now Riko can see the way Yamauchi was watching intensely, analyzing, and scribbling down plays in that notebook of hers. She was a tactician to a terrifying degree masked behind her hyperactive personality.
The game ended with the first-years' win, but it had been a fun game and the second-years weren't all that disappointed.
The star of the game was definitely Kuroko, who used his lack of presence to pass and steal every chance he got. Riko could now see how he could've been in Teiko. The phantom sixth man was no mere legend.
The boy was currently talking to Yamauchi who was currently patting the back of all the other first years with a bright grin.
"Yamauchi-chan," Riko runs over the dark-browned hair girl who gives a little jump. "Were you the one gave the first-years that strategy they used?"
"Yes, Coach!" the girl gave a mischievous grin, "I guess I'm not exactly a useless manager was I?"
Riko blush slightly at the younger girl's accurate question but answered, "That was some very impressive strategy, Yamauchi-chan, but don't think that you can get away with only that. I expect some excellent scouting to be done as well and bringing water bottles and towels to matches."
Seeing the younger girl's slightly disappointed look Riko added, "But you only have one more test before you become Seirin's official manager."
"Thank you, Coach! I'll do my best!"
Omake:
"Kagami-kun! Furihata-kun! Kawahara-kun! Fukuda-kun!"
The four first years turned to face the smiling face of Yamauchi Suzume who was currently dragging Kuroko behind her.
"Since we are all friends now I wanted to give all of you a nickname!"
"Furihata-kun, you are Furi-kun!" The brown-haired boy looked like he wanted to shrink into the ground.
"Fukuda-kun, you are now Fuku-kun and Kawahara-kun you are Kawa-kun!"
"And of course Kagami-kun is Tai-kun!"
The red-haired boy glared, "Since when was I your friend and why did you use my first name!?"
"Since I decided it five minutes ago and you're American so you should be used to it anyways. Now hold my bag for me and make yourself useful Tai-kun!"
"Suddenly I understand your pain, Kuroko."