Six miracles: Crossed paths

Chapter 11 || Seirin High

Seirin High

"Coach, are you sure that I don't have to do it?" said Akira, dubiously.

"Nah. It's a routine just to scare the guys into working hard. Besides, you already seem dedicated enough."

"If you say so," said Akira, "Nae, how did sensei react?"

The basketball club made quite a spectacle of themselves after the roof top incident. Akira had been stopped by random people the whole day, and asked to recount the story. Luckily, coach hadn't called her that morning. Apparently, the initiation was reserved for the players. "Oh, he said this and that," said Riko, airily, waving her hands, "He took the matter to the club advisor."

"And?" said Akira.

"You know Takeda sensei... He's such a dear."

"So he didn't say a thing," concluded Akira, "Come to think of it... I did expect this."

"Oh, I just remembered something!"

"Yeah?" said Akira, who was wary of the sudden glow that spread over coach's face. This was definitely bad.

"I've arranged for a practice match."

"So soon?"

"We're playing in a couple of days. Nae, guess which school we are playing?"

"Uh—"

"Kaijo High!"

Akira felt her throat closing up. She didn't know if she was ready to face one of them again. Riko noticed the change in her expression and raised her eyebrows. "Well, you should have expected something like this. If you are uncomfortable playing against a friend—"

"It's... nothing like that, coach," said Akira.

"Not that you'll be playing and all, don't worry," said Riko, "Now, coming to the point, I want you to gather data about Kise Ryouta."

"Me?" said Akira.

"Yes. It won't be that difficult, especially since you studied with him in Teiko. I'll leave it to you!"

"Okay," said Akira, watching as Riko skipped out of the room. "This is going to be such a pain," she muttered.

All the ruckus had given Akira an appetite. She decided to visit Magi Burger and found Kuroko there. The two took a table, and Akira began taking the paper off her burger. She noticed Kuroko eyeing her milkshake while draining his and sighed. "You can have it, 'Suya-kun. I'll get another one," she said.

"Are you sure it's okay, because—"

"Just take it already!"

"Arigatou."

(Arigatou – Thank you)

"Nae, you look even more moody than usual. 'Sup?"

Kuroko looked out of the window thoughtfully. "It isn't much... The others all got to say their goals out loud, and I couldn't. I regret that."

"Yeah! Speaking of that, where did you get that loudspeaker?"

Kuroko smiled. "I'd rather not say."

Akira swallowed her food. "Nae... For a second, why did you look just like Akashi—"

"That's not true."

"Nae, 'Suya-kun..."

"What is it?"

"Even in normal mode, your monotonous expression and monosyllabic replies make you look like you don't want to talk. Now, you look just... horrible."

"Sorry."

"You shouldn't be! Come on, I'll buy you another shake."

"I don't think I'll be able to finish it, Akira-san."

"If you say so..."

"I don't think I'll get over the regret," said Kuroko, taking a tiny sip of the milkshake.

"Who cares, 'Suya-kun! At least you didn't make promises that you can't keep."

"What do you mean?" said Kuroko.

"I'll defeat the generation of miracles and become the best player in Japan," said Akira, doing a surprisingly good imitation of Kagami. Kuroko raised his eyebrows in appreciation, but then suddenly seemed to be very interested in his shake.

"Is there a problem with that?"

A smile froze on Akira's face and she swiveled in her chair to face a glaring Kagami. "Actually, there is. You are never going to beat the generation of miracles."

"Mouth of all you want," said Kagami, smirking at her, "You guys know nothing about basketball. I learnt from the source, so it should be a walk in the park."

"Laugh when you can; you're going to be annihilated," said Akira, turning back to her food.

"Go to hell," said Kagami, "You and that other guy..."

He ordered his food and took it to one of the tables nearby. Akira noticed that Kuroko had been extremely silent during this encounter, and looked up to find that he was gone. She heard Kagami yelp, and saw that Kuroko was sitting at his table.

"What on earth! 'Suya-kun, you were sitting with me. Why did you abandon me?" exclaimed Akira loudly.

"Keep it down, woman," hissed Kagami.

"I thought you two were going to fight for a while and so I vacated the table," said Kuroko, "And then Kagami-kun sat down opposite to me."

"Eh..." said Akira, shaking her head, "Anyway, I'm going to order a shake, want anything?"

"They gave me just ten packets of ketchup for this thing," said Kagami, poking around his tower of food, "Can you get me some?"

"I was asking 'Suya-kun," said Akira pointedly.

"Whatever," said Kagami, and Kuroko shook his head. By the time Akira returned from the counter, Kuroko and Kagami were in some sort of deep conversation. Akira could vaguely make out the words 'Teiko' and 'Teamplay'. The conversation ceased as she approached the table. Akira threw a couple of packets of ketchup at Kagami.

"What the—oh. Thanks, I guess."

"I'm heading home," said Akira, "See you, 'Suya-kun."

"See you tomorrow," said Kuroko formally.

Akira forgot all about coach's request until she went to bed. This sent her into an extreme panic. "Shoot! Coach is going to kill me. What will I do, if I turn up without any useful info about a guy I've known for more than two years? Wait! Suki-san must be up."

Akira dialed Satsuki's number at lightning speed and waited. Unfortunately, Satsuki did not pick up, and it went into voicemail.

"Is she asleep? Is she busy?" said Akira, sweating bullets, "Damn, coach made the guys yell on the roof to test their commitment. What will she do to me, now that I've failed her?"

Akira's immediate thought was to use the internet and a few old records from her days as the sports secretary, but then a better idea struck. She dialed another number, and waited for the person to pick up.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Hello! Kise Ryouta here. Who's calling at this wonderful hour?"

"Shut up, moron... It's me."