Song of Victory
Quarter 2: Meeting Kise Ryouta
"Why the hell are both of you here!?"
Kuroko looks up at Kagami with his blank eyes and replies in his usual deadpan voice, "I like the vanilla milkshakes here."
Kagami sputters in indignation while Suzume snorts into her fries, receiving a disgusted look from the red-haired boy.
"Well Tai-kun, can't friends share a meal together?"
"I don't want to be your friend, midget."
"Oh, hitting me right it hurts. I'm am a perfectly average height!"
"You are two heads shorter than me. You are still pretty short compared to me."
"Not all of us can be 190 centimeters tall, you know! You look like you took steroids as a baby!"
"You look barely any taller than a baby!"
"Oh you want to go there, Tai-kun?!"
Suzume and Kagami both stood up and engaged in a very intense glaring contest while Kuroko just sighed.
"I have way too much experience with this," Kuroko mutters before speaking up.
"Please be quiet both of you. People are staring."
Kagami and Suzume stared down at Kuroko who was calmly sipping his vanilla milkshake.
". . . it's not like they can see you, Tet-kun."
Kuroko gives her a disapproving look, "Sit down and eat, Suzume."
After all them calming down and eating their food when Kagami popped the question, "So who are these Generation of Miracles guys? Do you think I'm could beat them?"
Suzume snorts again and Kuroko flashes her a disapproving, but resigned look.
"You won't even reach their feet, Kagami-kun."
"You won't even reach their feet, Tai-kun."
The two answers were simultaneous and Kagami flushes in anger.
"What the hell is wrong with both of you?! Have some confidence in me!"
"Tai-kun," Suzume's voice was still light-hearted but there was a hint of bitterness in her words, "the Generation of Miracles aren't just some good basketball players. They defeated a whole generation of middle schoolers and held the championship title for three consecutive years."
Kuroko gave Suzume a sad glance that the girl didn't seem to notice, her eyes focused on Kagami. Suddenly Suzume slams her hands on the tables, grinning manically and slapping Kagami on the back.
"But don't worry Tai-kun! That's what Tet-kun and I are here for. We are going to beat the Generation of Miracles together!"
Kagami groaned, "I feel like I'm in some kind of cheesy manga right now."
"Believe in friendship, Tai-kun! That's how we will win, by exploiting plot holes with the power of teamwork!"
Kagami facepalmed.
"Yamauchi-chan!"
Suzume turns to see Riko waving her arms and shouting.
"Can you tell other first years that we will be meeting on the roof on Monday morning!"
"Got it, Coach. We'll be there!"
Riko snickered as the younger girl bounced off in search of the other first years, "This is going to be so fun!"
-o-
"First-years! Declare to the entire school why you want to join the basketball club! If we you fail then you will have to strip naked and confess the girl that you like!"
"Can they confess to the guy that like too? Are we a progressive club?"
"Hey Yamauchi-chan! You are a first year too. You have no say in this!"
"Sorry, Coach!"
Still Riko grinned at the younger girl's words that seemed to only seem to serve the purpose of scaring the other boys even more. Well both Kagami and Kuroko didn't look that scared, but the rest of the first years looked scared out of their wits.
"Well who wants to go first?"
Kagami looking bored out of his mind at what he probably thought was unnecessary jumped on the railing bordering the roof without any sense of fear. Furthering cementing the fact that he was a irredeemable idiot in Suzume's eyes because honestly he could just shout behind the fence, but the world needed idiots to be interesting after all.
"Go Tai-kun!"
"Shut up, Yamauchi!"
Turning back to the crowd of students below him, Kagami closed his eyes and yelled without any hitch in his voice.
"I'm Kagami Taiga from Class 1-B and I will defeat the Generation of Miracles!" The red-haired boy shouted without any sense of embarrassment before stepping down from the railing.
"Well done, Kagami-kun."
Kagami shrugged, "Well whose going next?"
Riko glared at the rest of the first years who were all frozen stiff probably because they didn't understand why basketball was such serious business. Obviously they didn't know what they had signed up for.
"Come on, we don't have all the time in the world!"
Suzume raises her hand, "Am I suppose to this as well?"
"Yes, if you are really going to join this club I expect you to shout your intentions right now."
"Sure thing, Coach!"
The brown-haired girl walked over to the railing and shouted at the top of her lungs, "I am Yamauchi Suzume from Class 1-B! I will help the basketball club become champions as their manager!"
Suzume skipped over to where Kagami was standing and gave the rest of the boys a disapproving look. "If I could do this than you should as well."
Kuroko sighed, "You and Kagami-kun are shameless. Don't put other people on your level."
"Be quiet, Tet-kun."
Only Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara managed to have the chance to shout, each receiving a slap on the back from Suzume when they were done and probably still wondering if they had made the right choice in joining this club.
Just when Kuroko was about to shout with a loudspeaker as well, and Suzume was well equipped to record with her phone because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, the principal had busted them. Suzume groaned loudly as the principal bursted through the door just when Kuroko was about to yell.
As the principal chastises Riko who was currently the epitome of insincere apology, Suzume nudged Kuroko.
"Hey Tet-kun, how are you going to show your intentions to Coach?"
Kuroko gave Suzume a mysterious look and whispered. "Don't worry. I don't plan on failing on my initiation."
The next morning, the whole school is abuzz about the mysterious chalk writing outside the school. According to everyone that she had talked to, the sentence, "I will bring Seirin to the top," was written.
Staring at the chalk writing from the window, Suzume grinned and muttered, "Honestly, Tet-kun. You have no right to call me dramatic after that stunt. Have you ever thought of becoming a ninja?"
"I don't know what you are talking about Suzume."
"Oh god, I'm late again!"
Suzume blazes down the hallway nearly tripping over her own feet and gathering the gazes of the other students, mostly concerned for her well-being if not amused.
"Why the heck does this always happen to me!" the brown-haired girl moaned as she managed to find her way to the gym. Only to find a brigade of girls gathered outside the gym that all seem to have perfectly permed hair and makeup clutching to pieces of paper, definitely not your usual visitors to a basketball gym.
As Suzume struggles to move through the crowd, one of the girls shot her a dirty look. "Back in line! I've been waiting for Kise-kun's autograph for half an hour already!"
"I'm the manager for the basketball team! You guys are blocking the entrance way!" Her words managed to get Suzume some leeway as the crowd parted slightly to accommodate her. Though there was some definite muttering among the girls that Suzume ignored. Riko's wrath was worse than anything these girls could throw at her.
"Honestly, Coach is probably so mad right now," Suzume mutters as she pushes her way through the other girls, hitting into bags and getting several face full of hair. Just as Suzume was about to reach the light at the end of the tunnel and salvation, the girl behind her pushes into Suzume and throws her off balance.
"Oh god!" Suzume shouts as she manages to once again somehow trip over her own feet to crash and drag down the closest person she could reach along with her.
With the person she drag down with her under her as a cushion, Suzume opens her eyes to see a pair of surprised golden eyes and the loud, angry shouts behind her.
Kise Ryouta blinks with those absurdly long lashes of his and Suzume wants to die. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to start her first practice as manager.
It takes approximately another half an hour to clear out Kise's fangirls of the gym who were still shouting death threats at Suzume for "molesting" their idol.
Kise had tried to calm them down by giving them a smile, that is probably insincere as all hell but still got swoons and shrieks from his fangirls that it was just an accident and that it didn't mean anything to him. But if the death glares were anything to go by, this wasn't over yet. Suzume just sighed, anticipating all the upcoming torture from the girls for this incident.
When the last fangirl was filed out of the gym, Riko finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Oh me?" the blond boy scratched his head sheepishly as if he wasn't the cause of all their problems. "I just wanted to meet with Kuroko-chi again!"
Suzume snorts and Kuroko doesn't even bother giving her a reprimanding look like he usually does. The boy's teal eyes were focused completely on Kise.
"You could've waited a couple more days until the practice match against Kaijou," Riko said disapprovingly.
Kise's eyes gleam and Suzume can't help but think that no matter how bright they were, they shone without any warmth. Like there was a certain layer of ice to them that only slightly melted when the blond boy was looking at Kuroko.
Honestly was this a shoujo manga or what?
"Well I wanted to see the team that Kuroko-chi chose," Kise whined before his eyes narrowed, "and to be honest I am disappointed."
"You bastard!" Kagami shouted moving forward, but Suzume catches him by the shirt.
"Look. Do you really want to get hate mail for beating up his pretty little face?" Suzume mutters at the enraged red-haired boy, which didn't seem to calm him down at all, but at least kept him from going all rage mode on Kise.
"So I want to propose that Kuroko-chi transfers to Kaijou!"
"Oh what the hell!"
Suzume jumps up forgetting about her words to Kagami in an instant and stared straight at Kise.
"Hey blondie! Why would Tet-kun ever transfer to your school?! And why do you sound like you are asking him to marry you?!"
Kise pulls off a perfect affronted look as he looked down at Suzume before sniffing dramatically.
"First you fall on me and now you are shouting at me? Some people have no manners."
Suzume blushes but doesn't back down, "That was an accident! Besides you were the one who brought in a hoard of fangirls. Do you know there is a thing called being smart? Think before you saunter into our gym with that ridiculous bleached head of yours!"
"My hair color is perfectly natural! You are the one who won't even let me have a civil conversation with Kuroko-chi! And why do you call him by his first name?"
"Jealous aren't you, blondie? Tet-kun and I are far closer . . .!"
"Oh really . . .!
Kuroko, always one to resort to pain when particularly annoyed, decided that this was the perfect time to stop Kise and Suzume's long-winded and rather pointless argument by jabbing them both in the ribs making both of them wince in pain.
That hurts, Tet-kun," Suzume groans.
"What did you have to hit me, Kuroko-chi?" Kise complained, but obviously had a higher pain tolerance than Suzume since he recovered within a second.
"Both of you were acting like little children," Kuroko says disapprovingly before turning to Kise.
"Kise-kun, I must decline your offer. I am perfectly content at Seirin."
"You go, Tet-kun!" Suzume grinned before wincing again because Tet-kun's jabs really did hurt and obviously he had no qualms over hitting a girl like that. Though that might be because he has dealt with too much of her crap.
Kise shot Suzume a dark look before flashing a smile at Kuroko.
"Well then, I'll see you again on the day of our practice match, Kuroko-chi~."
"And I'll see you there as well," Kise says glaring at Suzume and Kagami before walking out.
"Why does he sound like a manga character?" Suzume mutters, "People don't talk like that in real life."
"Maybe its because he is a pretty boy asshole," Kagami replied.
"How much money do you bet on the fact that he actually knows my name," the brown-haired girl mused, "I don't think I even told him."
Kagami snorts, "No one is stupid enough to take bet."
Suzume nodded approvingly, "I have underestimated your intelligence, Tai-kun."
Kuroko just sighs. He has had enough of childish stupidity today.
I hope you guys like this chapter. I had a hard time writing it, but I hope it was somewhat decent. Thanks for reading!
Special Thanks for reviewing: Akashicchi-ssu, The Queen-sama