Hidden Beauty

Basket Two: Locker Room of Doom

Kuro bit her lip as she stared at the sheet in front of her. "Ka- Kasamatsu Yukio..." She murmured, eyes reading over the name on the paper. "Alright, I got to go find him. Maybe he's in his class... Wait, what if he's not even there? Ahhh, life is cruel." She talked to herself, being quiet enough so other students wouldn't hear her and think that she was completely insane.

A few minutes later, she reached his class, and poked her head in. Giving a small cough, she approached a random girl, bowing politely. "Ah- erm, senpai, do you know where Kasamatsu-senpai is?" She asked, lowering the pitch of her voice to match her boyish appearance.

"Eh? Kasamatsu... Kasamatsu... Oh, you mean the captain of the basketball team?" The older girl raised her eyebrows in questioning, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes, that's him." Kuro nodded, acting as if she didn't care at all – despite the happiness filled her heart on the inside.

"Yeah, I think I saw him leave. I think he might have gone to the gym."

"Thank you, senpai!" Kuro quickly turned away, leaving the blushing girl. 'Oh God, I don't want any girls to think about me like that.' She thought, shuddering as she pictured the huge blush on that third year's face. She ran her fingers through her short hair, missing how long it used to be before she cut it. "Okay, to the gym." Kuro whispered.

Once she made it, her jaw nearly fell to the floor as she stared at the epic horde of girls blocking the doors. "Ex- Excuse me, please..." Kuro mumbled, as she attempted to push past the girls. She froze when she felt a hand smack against her chest, her breath catching in her throat. The hand pulled away, disappearing into the blob of girls around her. Kuro released the breath slowly and managed to push her way through the crowd.

Kuro stood inside the large gym, her mouth hanging open. "Whoa..." The squeaking of shoes against the ground and the sound of a ball smacking on the floor brought her attention to the current game going on. The black haired girl moved to the side, away from the gossiping girls and focused on the game.

One of the guys, with short spiky hair passed to another, pointing and shouting something to him. The other guy nodded and did as he was told, scoring their team another point.

'He must be the captain I'm looking for.' Kuro thought, watching the black haired guy wipe sweat from his face with part of his shirt as he stole the ball from the other team. She figured that he must be the captain, considering how he acted around the others, leading them and such. 'It's so cool how they practice during lunch.' Kuro sighed blissfully, thinking that she did in fact choose the right school to transfer to.

Kuro silently watched the game until ten minutes passed, the game coming to an end. The team with the captain defeated the other team, their count much higher than the others. She intently watched (who she suspected to be) Kasamatsu walk away, drinking from a water bottle.

Slowly, Kuro approached the third year, hands behind her back. "Uhm, are you Kasamatsu-senpai?" Kuro deepened her voice. The third year paused and looked at her questioningly.

"Oh, you're the guy from the bathroom." He stated.

"E- Eh... ?" Kuro's shoulders sagged, her eye twitching. "Bath… room... Oh, right. That was you!" Kuro stared, shocked. She had wondered why he looked so familiar, but didn't press on the issue. Going back to her original topic, Kuro spoke, "Anyways, I was hoping that I could join the basketball club." She asked, her gaze burning into Kasamatsu's eyes.

Kasamatsu raised his eyebrow, his eyes scanning the figure before him. "Hmn…" He hummed out, seemingly unsure. "What is your name, middle school and the position you're interested in?" He asked, hands on his hips.

"Yasuhiro Kuro, from Teiko middle school and I prefer the shooting guard position!" Kuro announced, bowing deeply.

Kasamatsu's eyes narrowed into small slivers as he inspected Kuro. "Teiko, huh? Oi, Kise!" He called, motioning for the blond haired model to come forward.

Kuro blinked in surprise, 'Kise?... Wait, the KISE!?' Kuro squeaked, watching as the blond obediently ran over with a huge smile on his face.

"What is it, senpai?" Kise asked, smiling rather innocently as he looked in-between Kasamatsu and Kuro.

"Do you remember him from Teiko?" Kasamatsu pointed his thumb at Kuro, who watched her fellow first year and ex-schoolmate walk up. "Er, no- I-" Kuro stuttered, waving her hands in front of her as she tried to explain herself.

"Heeh…" Kise blinked, tilting his head. He frowned, his gaze lingering before turning back to Kasamatsu. "Nope."

"Weren't you on the basketball team?" Kasamatsu narrowed his eyes again, crossing his arms.

"N- No... I was sick. And I couldn't join any sports..." Kuro awkwardly lied, waving her arms furiously. 'Oh my God, Kise Ryouta - I wouldn't have transferred here if I knew he was here-! I'm seriously glad I never really talked with this guy, otherwise he might recognize me...' Nearly loosing herself in her crazed thoughts, Kuro shook her head and ended up staring at the shiny gym floor. Out of habit, she ran her fingers through her hair again, nibbling her bottom lip.

"Do you have any basketball experience?" Kaijou's captain asked.

"Ah, yes. Before I transferred here, I used to be on the team at my old high school."

"Why did you transfer here so suddenly, especially in the beginning of the school year? Also, what was your previous school?" Kasamatsu demanded.

'What's up with the twenty-one questions?' Kuro glowered at the ground, resisting the urge to ask that aloud. "I previously went to Seika High school, and because... Well, they were pretty weak, honestly. I was just fed up with them because they hardly practiced and were too lazy to even set up practice matches with other schools." Kuro replied, playing with the edge of her blazer. She paused, noticing both Kasamatsu and Kise's intense stare. "Wh- What?" She huffed, digging her hands into her pockets.

Another long pause followed before Kasamatsu finally spoke, "Alright, I'll see how you perform during today's practice after school, then I'll see if you may join or not." He nodded, turning on his heel and into the boy's locker room.

Kuro watched him go with a grin, her heart bursting with excitement. "Thank you, senpai." She whispered, pushing her way through the group of girls still gathered at the entrance, all screaming for Kise Ryouta's autograph.

Two classes later, the bell rang. Kuro practically tripped over her own feet as she raced to get out of class, duffel bag hanging from her shoulder. She shuffled through the passing students, eager to get to the gym.

She has to prove herself, so she could join the club. Then, once she's accepted, she'll slowly but surely climb her way up, so she'll be able to play in actual games. Kuro had it all planned out, you see.

A few minutes later, she's standing inside the huge gym, eyeing it with pride and excitement. "Oi, first year brat, go get changed!" Kasamatsu snapped, pointing in the direction of the locker room.

"Y- Yes!" Kuro nodded, refraining herself from skipping into the locker room. Once she entered, she nearly fainted (in a bad way) at the sight of all the boys inside. Instead, she stumbled to the side, banging her forehead on the wall clumsily, a look of shock present on her face. 'B– BOY'S LOCKER ROOM OF DOOM!' She exclaimed inside her head, awkwardly nodding a greeting to the half-naked mix of first, second and third years.

'Note to self: Change before coming to the gym next time.' Keeping her gaze firmly on the ground, she silently crept inside one of the empty stalls with her duffel bag. With a sigh, she unzipped it and stared at the contents of her bag.

'That's right... I still didn't tell my parents about my… intentions.' She thought, pursing her lips as she stared down at the wig and skirt inside her bag. She shook her head, smacking her cheeks as she told herself that she'll worry about that later. Kuro changed into a baggy black t-shirt and dark purple shorts. She also changed her shoes, tying the laces tight.

'Why do bandages have to be so restricting?' She asked herself, chuckling darkly. "Alright, it's trial time." She uttered, opening the stall door and leaving her bag safely in a corner before exiting the now empty locker room.

Kuro walked up to Kasamatsu, who appeared to be speaking to everyone. He paused in his orders and turned to her. "Hey." He greeted, "You'll be in a practice match. It's red vests VS blue vests. You're team red." Kasamatsu threw a red vest at Kuro, motioning for her to get on the court.

Kuro nodded, staring down at the red vest in her hands. She slipped it over her black shirt and slowly walked onto the court, her fingers curling into a fist as she stared at the opposing team.

'I will win.' She thought, gaze lingering on Kise, who was wearing a blue vest.

My poor, poor Kuro is so determined!

~WinterAssassin~