Hidden Beauty

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Basket Thirty-One: A New Student

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It was Monday night, and Kuroi had just finished eating dinner, showing, brushing her teeth, and she was just about to get ready for bed. She grabbed her pajamas, and was about to pull her shirt off before the doorbell rang.

'Who the heck comes here at this hour?' Kuroi raised her eyebrow, dropping the dark purple shirt. Curious, she listened to her mother answer the door.

Just a second later, her mother's voice called up the stairs. "Kuroi! One of your friends is here!" Kayate shouted.

Kuroi sighed and made sure her wig was fixed, before stepping out of her room and heading for the stairs. 'Better not be Kise, I swear-' Her thoughts cut off when she saw blond hair, but it did not belong to Kise.

"Kira..." She blinked, surprised.

"Just don't go crying to your mommy, Kuroi." Kira threatened, turning on her heel and stomping back towards the school, pale blond locks blowing fiercely in the wind as her cerulean blue eyes narrowed.

She didn't know the girl knew where she lived. Suddenly, Kuroi felt like she was stalked. She continued down the stairs, and her mother raised her eyebrow, but didn't say anything as she turned and left the two girls alone.

Kira's hair was damp, as it had been raining outside just a little while ago. Just to make sure that he mom wouldn't listen in on the conversation, she dragged the girl all the way upstairs to her room.
Kuroi closed the door behind her, and sat on her desk chair. "Why are you here?" She finally asked, actually feeling quite curious. "It isn't to 'rat me out' to my own mother, is it?" She whispered, narrowing her eyes.

"... No." Kira finally spoke. "I just... wanted, to - uh, uhm... I saw your game."

"My game?" 'Ohh.'

"Ye- Yeah. The one with Kaijou... and that other team."

"You went to see it?" Kuroi gaped.

"I- I only went for the hot men out there!" Kira replied in another stutter. Her face was red. "I was in the area..." She muttered after a second.

"Which is it?" Kuroi asked, teasing the girl.

"... I was in the area when I saw a bunch of hot guys! So, I- uhm, followed them. Turns out they were watching your game, hmph." She put the two together, tsking loudly as she turned her head away from Kuroi, as if to hide her blush.

"Thanks... I guess. But I still think that you're a b-"

"Kuroi!" A sudden knock on the door made her jump slightly.

"Uh, yes, mother?" Kuroi bit her lip, cheeks turning red at the thought of her mother listening.

"I was wondering if you and your friend wanted a snack or anything." Kayate smiled warmly at the two as she opened the door with ease.

'I thought I locked that!' Kuroi twitched, before her mother's question registered in her head. "U- Uh, no. I'm good... ?" She turned to Kira, who only smiled politely.

"I'm fine, thank you, though." She bowed her head.

"Oh my, so kind." Kayate giggled, as she nodded at the two before leaving once more. A minute passed, before Kira spoke up again.

"You're mom's... nice." She smiled. Kuroi blinked, dumbfounded. "That's the first time I've seen you smile. Like, a real smile. Not some fake stupid 'I rule the World' smile." She felt slightly amazed, but in the end it made her feel childish, as she admired the smile.

Kira simply rolled her eyes. She studied the room for a few more seconds, before Kuroi's voice brought her from her musings. "So, why are you really here?"

"I- I just wanted to tell you... That I... I started laughing when you fell onto that guy!" Kira stuttered out quickly, harrumphing loudly. "Okay, so, I'm going now. Goodbye!" Kira said all too fast as she practically dashed from out of Kuroi's room.

Kuroi watched her leave, blinking. "That was weird." She could hear Kira talking to her mom in a rushed voice, before hearing the front door close a tad on the loud side.

"I guess I'll just ask her tomorrow... What her true motives are." Kuroi had made up her mind, and climbed into her bed tiredly.

OoOoO

Kuroi, or now Kuro, collapsed in her seat, feeling more tired than ever. She reached up to rub at her eyes sleepily, and looked around her class, bored. Everyone was either chatting with each other, or just getting things ready as class was about to begin in a minute or two.

Kuroi thought that she should also get things ready, until her eyes landed on a girl who just walked through the doors with a teacher beside her.

"Class!" He interrupted, causing everyone's attention to go to him, then to the new girl. "This is Vinocair Mikurei, and she'll be joining our class on short notice! Please treat her kindly."

A collective 'okay's' filled the room, although Kuroi was the one to stay silent. The girl, Mikurei, had dark cobalt blue hair with mesmerizing amber yellow eyes. She appeared to be quiet and reserved. She wore an emotionless expression, reminding Kuroi of Kise's ex-team mate, Kuroko Tetsuya.

"You may take your seat next to Yasuhiro-kun." Kuroi blinked at the mention of her name, rousing her from her thoughts about the new kid. Raising her hand, as the girl had no clue as to who she was, she waved Mikurei over.

Mikurei gave a small nod, barely noticeable, and sat in her designated seat silently. Kuroi looked at her out of the corner of her eye, before deciding to introduce herself. She cleared her throat, not only to get the girl's attention, but so she could have the chance to lower her vocal pitch, just in case her voice decided to come out squeaky from lack of use. "Hey, I'm Yasuhiro Kuro-..." Kuroi trailed off, about ready to smack herself. She was about to say Kuroi, instead of Kuro. But, she managed to luck out. An awkward smile presented itself on her face, as she held her hand out.

The girl tilted her head an inch, before accepting the hand slowly, as if she didn't know what to do about it. "Vinocair Mikurei." She replied stiffly, making Kuroi smile in amusement.

"I like your name." Kuroi offered, seeing the girl pause and blink, before she turned back to face the chalk-board. Kuroi also faced the board, getting ready to begin another full day of work.

OoOoO

There was a spider in the shower with me Dx It was big (my version of big isn't big at all. It was probably the size of a dime) gross and horrible! I let this weird girly scream out, and splashed water at it... Then it went down the drain.

Kuroi: Wimp.

D: Meanie.. Er, anyway *coughs* As usual, thank you for reading, and thank you to MusicofMadness and Reimei-Jennoir (the winner of my pop quiz thingy) for the ideas used in this chapter and to ZeroKitty for the last chapter's idea. C:

Oh! Also, forgot to say: Mikurei belongs to Reimei-Jennoir :3

Kuroi: Hey, what's Kira up to?

Eh? Uhm, nothing... yet?

Kuroi: Tell me! Or I'll sick puppy-Kise on you.

... Is puppy-Kise vicious?

Kuroi:... No. Nevermind. I'll sick myself on you.

D: Just- wait! Okay? You'll find out soon enough!

Kuroi: Hmph.

You know, I had the random urge to make one of those "Ask _" stories. They seem so fun. But, of course, I'd use you, Kuroi.

Kuroi: Gee, thanks.

You're welcome! :3 Wonder how that'd turn out... *enter creepy Kagami laugh* Should I?

~Love me or Hate me~