The Empress' Redemption (Kuroko no Basket)(Akashi x oc)

Chapter 2: Seirin VS Shutoku. Regaining Those Whom She's lost.

She would be able to see the large burnt scar in the hidden half of his face and perhaps the smart her would have linked it somewhat to her 7 years of lost memories...

But the burn that took half his once charming face away remained hidden from her.

And so did the truth.

Timeskippy~

Third POV

{Seirin vs Shutoku}

Because of her carefully timed entry to Seirin, 2 days later, it was already the first official match against a member of the GoM.

As usual, when Seirin met their newly joined player at the designated meeting spot, she was again in her black hoodie with another mask covering half her face.

"Ne, Keiko-chan."

"Hmm?"

"Why do you always cover up yourself so much?" One of the regulars asked curiously.

She must not have expected that because she froze a little as she wondered about it herself.

He was right. Since when did she start to cover herself out whenever she went out?

"It must have turned into a habit. " she gave a gentle smile that did its best to cover up the pain that she must have felt throughout the years. "My parents didn't like me playing basketball."

"Ahh I see..." they didn't pry further as well.  

Timeskippy

Third POV

Seirin was already seated at their benches when Shutoku entered the court followed by the cheers of the crowds.

Keiko Rei took a glance at the crowds and in the end, still continued to wear her mask and her black jacket. She has to meet her Emperor in the finals which means the lesser the people that see her, the lesser the chances that her parents find out and interfere and the lesser the chances of her plans being stopped.

As she thought, other than him who knew this side of her so well, no one else has ever seen her wearing this kind of attire so of course, Midorima Shintarō would not recognize her.

Ever since Seirin first entered the court, there has been some mumble about this mysterious figure cloaked in black in Seirin that even the members of Shutoku has started to take notice. But dismissing it because of their trust in their own abilities, Shutoku focused on their warm ups and finally, the first quarter begins.

"Kuroko." Midorima approached his ex-teammate. "You are one of the rare people whom I acknowledge but... is this the choice you've made?"

"Yes, Midorima-kun." As expressionless as always, the Phantom member replied.

"A lacking judgement."

"That may be so but the people here are bonded and... very much like us in the past." Then he looked straight into his eyes with a determination that showed clearly how much he refused to back down. "She too... would have made the same decision."

"If you're talking about her, then you must have forgotten." Midorima's eyes narrowed as a rare shadow of anger flashed past his eyes. "The one who said she didn't need such a useless thing, was her."

"I believe her."

"Until when will you continue to lie to yourself?" He frowned. "Didn't she already made herself clear enough in that letter?"