"Its too bad many of the guys who signed up just up and quit" Izuki sighed
"If they don't have the guts to deal with Coach's demands, they'll never survive" Hyuga said honestly.
"The way you said that, makes it sound like she's a monster" Koganei smiled nervously.
"But we still got these guys" Koganei looked over to the freshmen trio and Kagami, who were changing.
The freshmen trio blushed in embarrassment, Kagami just finished putting on his shirt.
"And since that phenomenon everyone was talking about is done, Kuroko too!" Koganei smiled, Mitobe beside him smiled and nodded.
"Hai?" Kuroko said as the boys froze; they looked over to see Kuroko carrying a bunch of towels in her hands.
….
"Kuroko!" They yelled, all of them turning red.
Kagami gaped at the girl and blushed, 'D-did she see me change?' he panicked.
"H-how long have you been there!?" Hyuga yelled at the teal haired girl.
"A while, but don't worry, I haven't looked up since I got here" Kuroko said impassively as she put the towels on the bench.
"That's not the point! A girl can't come into the boy's locker room!" Hyuga yelled.
"But I want to change too and my stuff is here." Kuroko said emotionlessly.
Hyuga gritted his teeth at the apparently stubborn girl, "Fine then" he said.
He walked over to a bin of fresh towels; he picked them up in his arms and walked back to the girl, he threw them all over her. "Stay under there until were done!" Hyuga ordered.
"…Okay" she answered, the girl a small lump under the towels.
'Captain really had to go that far…' Furihata and his companion sweat dropped.
Koganei sighed; he looked to his side and noticed something. "Huh? Is this…" Koganei picked up a magazine that was called Basketball Monthly.
"Didn't this issue come out when Kuroko was at Teiko?" Koganei said, looking through the issue.
"Oh" Izuki looked into the magazine as well, "All the players and managers are featured"
They turned page by page, "Kuroko…you're not mentioned even once" Hyuga said.
Kuroko glanced at the magazine from the towel as she answered, "They came but I am in my other business so they forget about me."
'So sad…' Hyuga, Koganei, and Izuki pitied the small lump.
"Furthermore, there were few circumstances involved that prevented me from being interviewed." She added.
"Huh? What kind of circumstances?" Izuki asked with confused look.
"Rather, I wasn't allowed to be interviewed." Kuroko said.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Hyuga said as Kuroko remembered about her conversation with a certain red haired Generation of Miracles.
"I wonder…." Kuroko said while smiling under her towel. "Besides, They are coming for the Generation of Miracles and I must admit that they were a genius…"
The team blinked, they wondered just how powerful Kuroko's old teammates were.
"Anyway, we're done so you can start changing" Hyuga said, trying to get everyone to file out.
Kuroko wasted no time, threw the towels off and began to unbutton her shirt before any of them got the chance to leave.
"AH!" everyone yelled with red faces, except for Mitobe who flinched back with a red face.
"N-not yet, Kuroko! Wait for us to leave!" Hyuga yelled, "Eh? But you said-"
"Until we leave!" Hyuga hissed. The whole team ran out with red faces, even Kagami's face was almost as red as his hair.
Kuroko blinked at being left alone after getting yelled at for no reason, in her opinion. The team walked down the hall, each of them trying to push down their blushes.
"Kuroko really is too much…" Kawahara sighed
"Doesn't she realize she's a girl" Koganei sighed as well.
"I think because she hasn't realized that she's acting like this…" Hyuga paled.
'That Kuroko…' Kagami blushed still.
"By the way, where's the coach?" Furihata asked
"She went out to look for an opponent for a practice match" Hyuga explained.
"Ah! I saw her a little while ago, she was skipping when I saw her" Fukuda said.
"She was skipping!?" Hyuga yelled, his face filled with dread.
"Be ready, everyone. If she's skipping, our next opponent's gonna be real tough" Hyuga warned, him and the other upperclassman paled.
'Is the opponent really gonna be tough?' Kagami thought, the freshmen panicked.
Kuroko, dressed in her white shirt under her blue sweater with zipped open and training pants, walked towards them.
She noticed they're pale faces and tilted her head in confusion.
Pass3: I'm Serious
"Ah~ This is Seirin?" a handsome blond, wearing a gray but nice uniform, hummed. "New and pristine, just like I expected" the blond chuckled to himself. He began t walk inside, his hand in his pockets, he gained glances from boys and mostly girls.
"Isn't he hot?"
"He's really good looking!"
"And tall. Wait, is he…"
"The Model!"
The girls murmured, blushes present as the blond walked by them with a smile on his handsome face.
-xXx-
Back at the gymnasium, practice was underway for the members of the Seirin Basketball Club.
Hyuga dribbled the ball and wanted to shoot, but Kagami quickly cut him and dribbled it toward the ring with high speed. Izuki came to block him, but Kagami turned left and passed him.
Awestruck for a couple of seconds, Izuki followed, "Not yet!" he grunted, trying to keep up with the giant's speed. Right under the basket, Kagami spun around Izuki and dunked into the basket.
"So fast!" Furihata said amazed. On the sidelines, the blonde haired girl smiled.
"Oh! Nice shot!" Kawahara cheered,
"He's amazing. Such a quick turn at full speed! He's no ordinary human" Koganei said in awe.
"He might even beat the Generation of Miracles" Satoshi said.
"He might really be able to beat them with that" Furihata said
"That's not an easy maneuver" Kawahara said,
"Maybe he's better than them already" Fukuda said.
Kuroko who heard it eyed Kagami as her mind flashed at the talked that they had few days ago.
"If you have hidden talent, I wouldn't know. But, from what I've seen, you wouldn't even reach their feet."
'No… He still has a lot more work to do… But with his current pace, he will b-' Kuroko looked at the red head as she walked toward him and poked the giant's arm; he looked down to her in confusion.
Kuroko then tried poking Kagami on his forehead, but accidently poked him in the eye.
"Itte!" Kagami cried as held his eye
"Oops, I missed" Kuroko said blankly.
"What was that for!?" Kagami yelled toward the teal haired manager
"Kagami-kun's getting a bit big headed, again." Kuroko said with emotionless look
"You didn't have to poke me in the eye!" Kagami yelled.
"…Sumimasen" She apologized, but with a dead emotion.
"The way you said that irritates me!" Kagami gritted his teeth, ready to noogie the girl's head harshly.
"Should we separate them?" Fukuda asked nervously
"I really don't want to be in the middle of that…" Furihata sweat dropped as he saw that the redhead was trying to slam his fist toward the teal haired manager, but still failed as usual.
-xXx-
"Gather around everyone!" Riko called as she entered the room,
"Yes, ma'am!" They yelled. They stood around her, Hyuga sweat nervously at seeing the grin on their coach's face.
"I'm sure you have heard by now, we're going to have a practice match. It's on Saturday against Kaijou High, so you lot better work hard!" Riko announced happily.
"S-Saturday?" Koganei yelled. "That's the day after tomorrow!"
"That aside," Hyuuga added with a horrified expression on his face. "We are playing against Kaijou High School?!"
"That's right."
"Coach, you can't be serious."
"They won't disappoint us. We'll put plenty of first years on the court" Riko said.
"Disappoint us? They're way better than us" Koganei said,
"Are they really that good?" Kawahara asked.
"They're strong at the national level. They play in the Inter-High every year" Hyuga explained.
"And this year, Kaijou got their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryota" Riko added.
"Ehh?"
"You mean… the Generation of Miracles…!"
Kuroko did not even flinch at the mention of the name. Compared to the rest of the first years, she felt slightly relieved; but that didn't mean that she didn't feel worried.
She glanced towards Kagami, noticing a sneer creep onto his face.
Judging by that look in his eyes, she guessed that he was overjoyed at the prospect of being able to take on the one of the Generation of Miracles so soon.
"Oh, and I heard that Kise works as a model, too…" Hyuuga added in a rather random manner.
"Seriously? That's amazing!"
"Having good looks and being good in basketball?" Koganei huffed. "That's kinda harsh."
"Idiot," Riko sighed, Kuroko twitched and moved behind Kagami, no one noticing.
Riko heard some murmurs and turned to the door, she was surprised to see a long line of blushing girls in the gym.
"Huh? What?" Riko said in surprise,
"What are all these people doing here?" Riko wondered. "Uh, I didn't mean for this to happen" a voice said tiredly. "That's…" Hyuga said, "One of the Generation of Miracles! Kise Ryota!" Riko yelled, 'what is he doing here?' Riko wondered.
Kise, a blond, medium long hair, with pure yellow eyes, is left ear pierced and a silver earing present.
He has a very handsome face and the height of 189 cm, he sat at the front stage, signing autograph after autograph.
'So lucky~' Koganei cried anime tears, him and some of the teammates envious of the blond surrounded by girls.
While in the midst of crying, Furihata finally noticed Kuroko hiding behind the thought-occupied Kagami, her back facing the giant's.
'Kuroko?' he thought confused, Kuroko noticed his gaze. She put her finger on her puckered lips and made a sign for him to stay quiet.
Furihata blushed at such a cute gesture he never expected to see on the impassive girl's face.
He nodded furiously, his face still red.
"Kurokocchi~ I know you're here~" Kise hummed, still signing autographs.
Kuroko flinched, "I've been found" Kuroko said blankly, "Huh? How long have you been behind me!?" Kagami yelled, realizing the teal haired girl hid behind him.
"A while" Kuroko answered, Kagami blushed. Kuroko looked to the blond, she nodded, "Good to see you again" Kuroko said. Kise's eyes widen, but he continued to smile.
"Good to see you too" Kise smiled warmly. The team looked between the two then just stared at the blond.
"Sorry, really. Um…do you think you could wait five minutes? "Kise asked, scratching the back of his head and smiling nervously.
Then the girls pile in even further at seeing his nervous smile, all of them squealing. "Kise-kun has always been popular with the ladies" Kuroko explained with dead emotion.
"R-really? I couldn't tell…" Koganei smiled nervously, kind of jealous.
After the girls were forced out of the gym, Kise hopped down from the stage, "There" he smiled at the group.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" Hyuga asked,
"When I heard our next opponent was Seirin, I remembered Kurokocchi went here, so I thought I'd say hi" Kise explained, "You can say that we're dating in middle school, right?"
"Stop lying, Kise-kun" Kuroko scolded, pulling at the blond's ear, an angry mark on her head but her face still impassive.
"Itte~ Sorry, Kurokocchi~ It was a joke~! A joke~!" Kise whined, tears gathered in the corner of his eyes.
'He was joking!?' the team paled, Kagami was shaking in anger.
'W-why do I feel angry? Its not like I care if Kuroko dated or not' Kagami thought, but he still gritted his teeth.
After holding his ear for a while, Kuroko released him, and Kise smiled nervously while rubbing his bruised ear.
"Ehehe, I wasn't lying about us being best friends though" Kise said.
"Not any more than anyone else" Kuroko deadpanned
"You're so mean~!" Kise cried anime tears.
The team sweat dropped at the model acting like a child, Kagami felt his anger build.
"Kise Ryota, though he started basketball his second year of middle school, his exceptional physical ability and sense got him on the Teiko team as a regular in a heartbeat" Furihata read the article in the magazine. "While he has less experience than the other four, he's a rapidly improving all-rounder"
"Since your second year?" Hyuga gaped
"That article exaggerated quite a bit" Kise said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm glad to be called part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm the worst of the bunch" Kise said.
"They bullied me and Kurokocchi for it all the time" Kise laughed,
"Hmm, that never happened to me" Kuroko deadpanned.
"What~!? It was just me?" Kise cried anime tears again.
"Kise-kun has always been a crybaby" Kuroko said blankly,
"Maybe I was alone~! You bullied me too~!" Kise cried.
Kise's eyes then narrowed, he stood in front of Kuroko and stopped a basketball aimed for him with one hand. "Itte~! What was that for?" Kise whined, Kagami being the one who threw the ball.
"Kagami-kun!"
"Kagami!"
His teammates gaped at him, Kuroko being the only one staring at him blankly.
"Sorry for interrupting your little middle school reunion. Don't tell me you came all the way here just to greet us" Kagami grinned excitedly. "Why don't you play with me a little, pretty boy?"
"What~? I don't know if I'm ready~" Kise said tiredly,
'Damn pretty boy…!' Kagami growled.
"But…" Kise continued, "just because your form of challenge almost hit Kurokocchi, I'll accept" Kise glared at him.
Kagami was surprised to see him dead serious, he glanced at the impassive Kuroko then the smiling playfully Kise.
'I don't understand, but as long as I get a match' Kagami grinned.
"Unbelievable~" Riko sighed tiredly,
"This could be bad" Kuroko said, surprising Riko.
"Huh?" Riko said as she looked at Kuroko who glanced back at the two.
Kise took off his coat and handed it to Kuroko, "keep it safe, k~" Kise grinned.
"Ok" Kuroko nodded, 'still so cute~' Kise hummed in his mind, grinning at the smaller girl.
Kagami was holding the ball and waited for the blond, but he glared at him from behind, getting irritated.
"Lets go already!" Kagami growled,
"Ah, coming~" Kise went over to the red head.
Kise began to dribble, and just as quickly Kise passed him, Kagami following. Kagami kept up but then easily Kise spun around Kagami, then jumped for a dunk. Riko gasped.
"He learns plays as soon as he sees them and makes them his own" Kuroko said,
'But, this is beyond simple imitation' Riko thought.
'This is ridiculous! I just did that, but…you've gotta be kidding!' Kagami jumped up to knock the ball out of the blonde's grasp.
"Kagami's on fire, too!" Fukuda exclaimed.
Kagami grabbed the ball about to be dunked and tried to push it off, but then it was shoved in harshly, pushing the giant away. 'He's quicker than me. Stronger, too!' Kagami fell on his back, Kise landed on his feet flawlessly.
"This is the Generation of Miracles" Kawahara said in awe,
"Kuroko, your friend's way too good" Furihata said to the small girl.
"…I don't know that person" Kuroko said
"Huh?" Kawahara responded.
"To be honest, I may have underestimated him until now" Kuroko said, "It's only been a few months since I left them, but the Generation of Miracles have been evolving far more quickly than I expected"
After explaining that Kuroko narrowed her eyes, 'As I thought they are becoming stronger as well…'
"I don't know about this" Kise sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"Huh?" Kagami said confused, he then stood up.
"After something so disappointing, I can't just leave now" Kise said loud enough for the whole team to hear.
'Huh?' they all thought confused.
Kise walked over to the teal haired girl still holding his jacket. He stood in front of her and smiled, "Give us Kurokocchi~" Kise hummed.
The team was confused. "Come join us" Kise said simply, his hands in his pockets, "lets play basketball together again" Kise said.
'Eh!?' they all thought surprised, Kagami flinched.
"I seriously respect you, Kurokocchi" Kise said honestly, "It's a waste of a player at your caliber to stay here" Kise said honestly.
'Player at your caliber…' Riko thought inside herself.
Kuroko just stayed silent as she answered, "Sorry. But I refuse" Kuroko bowed.
"EH!?" everyone yelled at the girl's dead and quick response. Instead of acting childishly and cry, Kise was seriously surprised.
"That doesn't make any sense. Besides, this isn't like you. Winning was everything! Why didn't you go somewhere better!? Are you already forget about our vow?" Kise shouted as Kagami eyes widened.
'Vow?' Kagami thought glancing at the teal haired girl.
"I am not forgetting about that…" Kuroko answered blankly as she looked at him with serious emotionless eyes. "Because of that I will declare that I will bring this school into National."
"It really isn't like you to joke around like that" Kise said disbelieving.
"Hehehe" Kise blinked and turned to Kagami, who chuckled from behind him. 'This is the Generation of Miracles? They really are amazing! And there are four more guys stronger than him! I can't help but smile!' Kagami was smiling excitedly.
"Kagami-kun's acting like a predatorily animal" Kuroko deadpanned,
"What do you mean by that!? "Kagami yelled.
"What are you saying, Kuroko?" Kagami walked passed the blond and towards the small girl.
"I was going to say that" Kagami grinned, jabbing a finger on Kuroko's forehead with a little force.
'That's for earlier, Baka….' Kagami thought.
Kuroko rubbed her forehead, 'She wants to help him defeat us?' Kise thought in disbelief, then Kuroko's eyes stared straight into Kise, he could tell.
Kuroko was dead serious.
"I still have no sense of humor. I'm serious" Kuroko said, her feeling not wavering. Kise blinked in surprise, to actually see Kuroko determined after a long time.
'Those eyes…I've missed the determination in them…' Kise thought.
Kise smiled, Kagami grinned, Kuroko remained impassive but determined.