Through My Heart

~First Quarter: Her Talent ~

第一季: 她的天赋

Chapter 2： 对篮球的热情－ Passion For Basketball

"Momoi-san...what are you doing?" Miho put down her book bag once she got to class.

The pink haired girl looked up from her notebook, "Ah! Micchan! I was looking at the notes I took regarding the first team that Teiko's playing against for basketball!"

Miho pulled her chair over to her friend's desk and observed the notes, "Those are quite specific. You seem to be good at this..."

Momoi smiled, "I'm going to try my best to be of use to the team! Oh yeah, Micchan, what did you do yesterday?"

Miho let out a small sigh as she recalled the previous day's events. Coach Watanabe had given her a handbook on the rules of basketball. After that, she had observed the third string players and given them tips on how to improve. Watanabe had been pretty impressed by the girl's skills. He had wondered how Sanada could find such a talented manager amongst all those students.

"Wow! Micchan, you sound really awesome! I can't wait until your training in the third string is over! Then we can work together in the first string. Speaking of the first string..." Momoi had started her rant on the four amazing players that joined.

One of them was her childhood friend, Aomine Daiki. Miho saw him as a pretty weird tanned guy. The other one was 'Horoscope-san', as Miho decided to name Midorima. She probably could've expected him to join the basketball team, though. Since he was really tall.

The other two were named Murasakibara Atsushi and Akashi Seiijuro. Miho recognized the later one from the speech he made in the opening ceremony. Momoi had explained how Murasakibara was two meters tall. It was a scary thought and Miho would've liked to stay away from such a giant...

.-.-.-.

After managing to get past all the classes with Momoi's constant bickering about the basketball team, Miho decided to leave the pink haired girl on her own. She didn't want to waste another lunch period talking about a sport that she hated.

Walking through the hallway with her bento, Miho spotted a familiar flash of yellow.

"No way..." the bluenette whispered as she ran after the boy with yellow hair, "Ryo-chan...?"

The boy turned around after he heard his name. As usual, girls surrounded him. Seeing him turn around for Miho, the girls glared at her with jealousy.

Miho, however, could care less. Kise Ryota was her childhood friend. To her, he was like an older brother. However, she didn't think he also went to the prestigious school, Teiko...

"Mihocchi!" the boy grinned upon seeing her and walked forward and greeted her with a crushing hug.

Miho could tell that something bad was going to befall her from the venomous stares that she was getting.

"Ryo-chan. I didn't know you went to Teiko!" Miho grinned after being released from the hug.

Kise turned to his fans, "Uh...can you guys please excuse me for a second? I need to catch up on some things with my childhood friend here...I'm really sorry!"

.-.-.-.

After a long period of convincing and pestering, Kise and Miho finally managed to arrive at an empty classroom to take out their lunches.

"Eh? You really started to model?" Miho widened her eyes at the boys declaration.

"Yup! It's actually pretty fun! I also have a lot of fans now. Wait...Mihocchi didn't see my magazines...?!" Kise realized and put on a pouting face.

The bluenette ate the rice ball that she made herself. She had to make lunch for her whole family since both her parents lacked cooking skills.

"I'm sorry, Ryo-chan. I've been busy with my academics lately," Miho responded after finishing chewing a piece of her lunch.

Kise sighed, "Right...papa Nanase was always very strict. I don't think he liked me very much."

"Ryo-chan was loud and too flashy for him. Anyways it's nice to see you again after we moved! It's great that we are in the same school!" Miho smiled.

Nanase's family and Kise's family used to be neighbors. When they were young, the two kids would often play with each other. Ever since the fourth grade of elementary school, both of the families moved away resulting in the lack of communication between the two.

"Mihocchi, can I have you phone number so we can text sometimes?" Kise grinned while taking out his phone.

Miho nodded and the two exchanged their numbers.

"Did you join any clubs, Mihocchi?" Kise asked.

Hearing the question, Miho let out a long sigh, "Yeah...the basketball club. I'm a training assistant and manager thing..."

Kise raised an eyebrow, "I thought Mihocchi hated sports."

Miho covered her face with her left hand, "Ugh...Ryo-chan, it's a long and complicated story that I don't want to share..."

"Oh...well look at the time! I gotta go now! Bye Mihocchi! I'll see you later!" Kise happily smiled as he pushed open the door of the classroom.

The bluenette nodded, "See you..."

Miho smiled to herself after the model left. It was pleasant—seeing a good friend from before.

Perhaps the year wasn't going to be too bad after all.

.-.-.-.

"The one minute break's over! Next, we're doing the three man weave!" Watanabe shouted as the members of the third string panted and walked back into their positions.

Miho quickly told him some of the things that the first strings could to improve their performance while they were practicing. He nodded and told me to jot the notes down on his clipboard.

After the exercises, the third strings went on to the practice matches against each other. The bluenette was in charge of giving tips as they did the practice.

"You should've passed there to the teammate behind you instead of dribbling. That ways, the ball wouldn't have been stolen away," she explained to a boy as he was taking a sip of water.

He thought for a while before smiling at her, "Hey, thanks!"

Nanase nodded and moved on to the next person, "In basketball, all people on the court should try and cooperate with each other. Just standing there waiting for the ball to come to you isn't going to help. You should run along with the team to give help whenever necessary. If you just stand there, it's like losing a player," she told the next boy.

He seemed to understand and gave the girl a panting nod. Miho looked at him in worry and passed him a towel and a water bottle, "You should always stay hydrated. Dehydration isn't going to help either."

He smiled, "Thank you, Nanase."

The girl nodded before moving on to the next.

After the break was over, the matches started again. As she was watching, Miho noticed a commotion over in the corner of the gym.

"Um...you! Hey, don't puke here...!"

Miho walked over and saw a small boy with light blue hair puking in the corner. Come to think of it...she hasn't ever seen him before.

"Resume the match and sub somebody in for him," the girl told the boys before walking over to the boy.

"Yes ma'am!" the boys shouted.

Miho gently placed my hand on the boy's head, "Are you okay?"

He turned towards her. His face was pale and he looked tired.

At that moment, the coach saw the two and walked over, "Go to the bathroom and take a break," he ordered the boy.

The boy haired boy nodded and walked out of the gym.

"Coach Watanabe...! Is he going to be okay?" Miho turned and asked.

He gave her a stern look, "If he isn't suited to play basketball, then he shouldn't play. Don't worry about him and continue your good work. The players have said many good things about you."

Miho stared at the boy and then back at the hallway, "...Okay."

The bluenette walked back with the whistle and continued with her notes and suggestions. She thought hat coach was way too rough on the players. He didn't even care about that boy... This team seemed pretty evil and tiresome. Miho honestly didn't understand why these people would actually stay on the team.

Well, it wasn't her problem anyhow.

"Work on your footwork more! The reason you can't catch up to the rest is because your footing is off. Do some footwork practices outside or at home," Miho once again told a player, who nodded gratefully.

Sighing, she sat back onto the bench and took more notes as the players practiced. Seeing these players and the ones she saw in the first string a couple of days ago, she could tell that the first stringers were a lot better.

"Um..." a voice beside the girl called.

Surprised, she turned and saw the blue haired boy beside her. When did he get here...!

"Wah! I-I'm sorry! When did you get here?" Miho gasped.

"Just now..." he muttered.

It was strange...she didn't notice him at all!

"Are you alright?" she asked as she handed him a water bottle and a towel as she put the pencil and clipboard away.

He nodded, "Thank you so much."

"That's a relief. You shouldn't push yourself too hard. The training here is ridiculous..." Nanase smiled.

There was something about this boy that made her feel...calm.

He drank out of the bottle before standing up, "I'm going to get back to practice."

"Eh? Oh...okay. What's your name?" she asked him.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. Thank you for all the help, Nanase-san," the boy bowed before giving a small smile and running back onto the court.

Miho saw him bowing to the coach before resuming practice. There was something that she saw in those boy's eyes. She could tell, Kuroko Tetsuya really loved basketball.

.-.-.-.

"How is she?" Coach Sanada asked Coach Watanabe he entered the coach's office.

Watanabe closed the door. The practices had just ended and he had just told Miho that she was to start at the first strings tomorrow.

"She's more talented than you thought. After explaining the rules and giving her a book about basketball for her to read, she's basically understood everything about the sport. Now, she's giving in depth tips to the players on the third court. Some of those tips, I didn't even think of," Watanabe explained and passed the clipboard of Miho's notes to Sanada.

Sanada listened flips through the pages of neat and small professional writing. He widened her eyes at some of the parts. Once he finished reading, he set the clipboard back down.

"I'm going to make her my assistant for training the first strings," Sanada stated.

Watanabe widened his eyes, "A trainer? Her? Do you think she can do it? That involves coming up with regimes and fully developing the players, right? Sanada, no matter what, she still a first year middle school girl. On top of that, she had next to no knowledge about basketball until recently—"

"It's fine. She can do it. We need someone like her. I feel that she can bring out the true potential of the players," Sanada nodded before writing down some notes for himself, "Alright, you can leave now, Watanabe."

"Okay," the third string's coach shook her head in disbelief before departing.

The girl was interesting, but not that good.

.-.-.-.

"Kuroko-kun, you must really like basketball to practice that hard even after feeling sick," Miho told the boy after he stepped out of the change rooms.

He seemed surprised to see her, "Nanase-san?"

Miho smiled. The truth was, she wanted to know what he liked so much about the sport. It didn't seem all that interesting to her. It was just scoring a basket, right? Was it really worth all that trouble?

Soon, the two started walking back home together.

"So why did Nanase-san join the basketball club?" Kuroko asked.

Miho once again let out a sigh, "It was a forced decision..."

The boy turned to her with a confused expression, "Forced?"

The bluenette let out a laugh, "Never mind me. Why did Kuroko-kun join the basketball team?"

"I like basketball. Also, I made a promise to my friend that we would compete against each other one day," the light blue haired boy smiled.

Miho stared at him. It wasn't a fluke or a forced decision—Kuroko joined the basketball team out of his own will.

"It's beautiful..." a gasp of realization escaped Miho's mouth.

"Pardon?" the boy turned to her.

"Your determination and love for basketball is kind of beautiful...if that makes any sense," Miho tried to explain.

"I'm sorry, it doesn't," Kuroko blankly stated.

Miho deadpanned at the blunt statement before laughing, "Ahaha, Kuroko-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I really like you! Let's be friends!" the girl smiled and held out her hand as she moved ahead and started walking backwards.

The boy blinked for a while before smiling, "Alright, Nanase-chan. Want to go get some milkshakes before heading back?"

"Okay!" Miho smiled and walked with the boy.

He was someone interesting. Yet, Miho felt that there was something hidden inside of him. Some sort of undiscovered strength. However, that was something she should worry about for another time. Finally, she found another friend from Teiko Middle School.

.-.-.-.

"Everyone gather up!" Coach Sanada blew the whistle as Momoi and the first string players gathered in front of the coach and a long blue haired girl.

"Everyone, this is Nanase Miho and she will be your assistant Trainer and second manager from today on! She will give you tips and feedback on the exercises that you do! Be sure to listen to her!" Sanada announced.

"I'm Nanase Miho, it is nice to be of your acquaintance!" the girl bowed before smiling softly.

She wore her sweater from her school uniform and tied her blue hair up in a ponytail. A whistle and timer hung from her neck and a notebook and pencil was located in her right hand.

"She's pretty cute," a boy whispered to another.

"You idiot...that's the girl who scored a perfect score on her entrance exam...!" the other boy whispered back.

"Okay! Now get on to the warm up drills!" Sanada exclaimed, causing the boys to scramble off to their respective courts.

After finishing his orders to the boys, Sanada turned to Miho, "I want you to just give them leading tips today. After each match, give me your notes. After the training is over, I want you to come to my office beside this gym and help me develop some training schedule? Understood?"

Miho nodded, "Yes, sir."

While taking notes, Miho noticed that the plays of these players were a lot more polished than the third string. Most of the notes are more habit and weakness related in contrast to the development related notes she took in the third string. Also, it seemed a lot harder to find a place that the players needed to work on just by mere observation.

Miho also noticed that Sanada was a lot stricter than Watanabe. The warm up exercises were also more gruesome and difficult. While she was watching, she noticed Momoi taking the laundry and also discussing things with the coach.

As she moved around the courts, the exercises were slowly ending and some mini games started. A certain red haired boy with a green haired boy caught the girl's attention. Akashi Seiijuro and Midorima Shintaro were going against a team of seniors. Did Coach Sanada organize this as well?

Settling on that match being the first one she watches, Miho sat down near the match and took out the notebook that she had received from Sanada.

From there, Miho noticed that the green haired boy was indeed very good. She could tell that every one of his shots had never missed before. However, what was more amazing was that the shots were all three pointers.

Akashi was also very skilled. He was small and swift. However, he also had this aura around him that made him hard to approach.

Miho quickly took the notes on the game. After a while, she looked at the score: 32-35. The team with the first years was winning. Momoi had said that they were good, but not this good.

A cheer caused Miho to turn to the other court. She ran over and saw Momoi's childhood friend land a perfect dunk. On his face plastered a happy smile as he enjoyed every moment of the game.

Miho widened her eyes at the sight. It was something that could be described at dazzling. The aura of confidence and happiness as that boy played was truly something to admire.

"Aomine Daiki..." Miho whispered as she just stared.

Never in her life had she felt so mixed up. There was a warm feeling in her chest just by watching the boy play. She had felt it as well yesterday, watching Kuroko practice. It was passion, love, and heart.

Nanase Miho realized why these boys were playing. Every single one of them loved the sport to no end. And before she realized it, she had started growing fond of the sport with an orange ball as well.

.-.-.-.

"Through and detailed as always, Nanase-san," Sanada commended as he read through Miho's notes.

The girl allowed herself to be praised. The truth was, she had spent a lot of time making the notes. She had forced herself to observe every motion of the players that she saw today. Today, she had focused completely on the note taking aspect as to the tips and recommendations.

"However, just taking notes on the players' weaknesses is not going to help them improve. You must also discover their strengths and incorporate both their strengths and weaknesses and develop a training regime," Sanada started explaining, "Now, using these notes, let's develop something for the four first years that joined the first string. I want you to be in charge of their training for a while to test your capabilities."

"But, sir...do you really think I can? I mean...I'm new to the whole sport and all," Miho asked back.

"I trust you on this, Nanase-san. Those four players have great potentials, and so do you. If you train them well, they will definitely become regulars in the future. However, I'll help you for your first training menu. Are you ready?" Sanada inquired.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

.-.-.-.

Miho let out a sigh as she walked home. Coach Sanada had criticized her training menu making skills many times that afternoon. She honestly didn't understand why the man made her do all the work. He knew that she was completely new to this, right?

Subconsciously, she found herself nearing the milkshake shop that Kuroko had taken her to yesterday.

She stood at the door for a while before shrugging, "Why not?"

Entering, she ordered the vanilla milkshake that Kuroko had recommended. Letting out a sigh and trying to figure out how to make those training menus from now on, Miho sat down on a table and took out her notebook.

"Um..." a voice muttered across from her.

Miho widened her eyes upon seeing the blue haired boy blinking at her with oval eyes.

"Wah! K-K-Kuroko-kun!" the girl jumped, almost spilling the milkshake.

"Hello, Nanase-san," the boy monotonously replied.

Oh god, he was there and she didn't even notice. What was happening to this world?

"Sorry I didn't notice you there, Kuroko-kun... I was thinking about something," Miho sighed before sitting back down.

"Nanase-san didn't go to practice today," Kuroko noticed while sipping his milkshake.

Miho let out a sigh before opening her notebook, "Yeah...I've been placed in charge of training a section of the first string..."

She let her delicate hands flip through the pages of Sanada's handwriting and the training regimes that they, he produced.

"Ah...this sucks..." Miho muttered.

Why was she even doing this in the first place? Why was she worrying so much about a dumb sport? When did she get so infatuated with basketball?

"Nanase-san is amazing," Kuroko stated.

"Huh?" Miho looked up.

"You're working with Coach Sanada, right?" Kuroko asked.

Miho nodded a little.

"He's a good coach, I can tell. Nanase-san shouldn't give up," Kuroko gave the girl a small smile.

Feeling refreshed, Miho nodded firmly back and packed away her things, "Thank you, Kuroko-kun! I'll do my best!"

"Me too," Kuroko replied.

Smiling the girl stood up, "Well I should go now. I'll see you sometime later. I hope we can meet in the first string soon!"

Kuroko nodded and watched the blue haired girl leave.

She was a nice girl.

A/N: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any of the characters.

Yay, Miho meets a lot of the Kiseki no Sedai in this chapter! Also, I'll do my best to not linger around in the first year for long. Most of the story happens after Kise joins, after all.

Anyways, thank you all for reading this! Also, as you all know, please, please review! I actually write faster if there are more reviews! Reviews actually support me a lot, so please review!

Well, thank you all for reading this! I love you all!

~Yuvi