Six miracles: Crossed paths

Chapter 7 || Seirin High

Seirin High

Akira had a very bad feeling. The basketball club at Seirin felt so different from the one at Teiko. For one thing, even though nearly all the members had arrived, the court seemed empty to her after the hustle and bustle of Teiko. She couldn't help comparing her former and current club and finding her position... unorthodox.

For one thing, Akira had serious doubts about their advisor Kenji Takeda. He just sat in his spot, quivering like a leaf. Akira desperately wanted to shake her hand in front of his face to check his eyesight, but she refrained from doing so. She saw him sign a few forms earlier and didn't want to test her luck so early on.

And then there was the coach; Aida Riko. Akira had so many conflicted thoughts about her, but when all was said and done, Riko was a force to be reckoned with. Normally, Akira would have said with certainty that an adult would be needed for such a heavy post. But during the short time that they knew each other, Akira felt like she exuded an air of efficiency. She held herself like a veteran, giving Akira confidence. Akira had learnt that she was the daughter of a sports trainer. If anything, that was a strong qualifying fact by itself.

The final and chief of Akira's worries was that she had no idea what she was supposed to do. As far as she could gauge, she was the 'assistant-coach-cum-manager-cum-whatever'. Her main job was to presumably help Riko. She acknowledged the fact that she had no idea what Satsuki did for the team at Teiko. She did remember one thing clearly though. Satsuki always carried a writing pad with all sorts of notes clipped on it. So, Akira had come equipped with the same. Right now, she only had a list of the members and the vital stats of the members who had joined last year. It wasn't much, but it was a good start.

The new members were asked to form a line while the old members watched them like hawks. Akira sat on the bench watching the process. She had wanted to convey her wishes to Kuroko earlier, but he had unintentionally given her the slip. Akira spotted him standing close to the penultimate member of the line. Akira sighed. Had she not been specifically looking for him, she would have never noticed him. To say he was dwarfed by the guy next to him was a blatant understatement.

Akira recognized him. He was in the same class as her. Akira flinched as his build reminded her of someone really similar. They are so different, and yet... Akira's thoughts were interrupted as the guy turned to catch her staring at him. He returned her stare with a prize scowl of his own. Akira blinked and then scowled back. What's his problem...

Just then, Riko called for their attention and he turned away. Akira watched as Riko paced in front of the line and then casually asked them to take off their shirts. Akira's jaw dropped and her writing pad clattered to the floor. What the hell... Akira quickly scooped the writing pad from the floor and clutched it tightly. She had no idea what was going on. When the boys realized that Riko wasn't joking, they slowly began to comply. Akira looked at Kuroko who now looked positively frail, next to the tall guy. Mou, he should seriously eat more. He looks so peaky. That's it! Next time, I'll bring lunch and force him to eat it...

Riko moved from person to person, giving them pointers on their strengths and weaknesses. Akira dutifully noted down all that was said. Riko stopped short in front of the tall guy. Akira raised her eyebrows as Riko called out his stats. Coach is right, these are really good...

Akira sighed as she heard those figures being described as 'off-the-chart'. Of all those present here, only she and Kuroko knew that no matter how strong a line-up they had, victory wouldn't exactly be a walk in the park. Akira couldn't fully suppress a smile as she saw Riko frantically flipping through the papers. She was probably searching for Kuroko.