Warnings: bad language, harassment, violence
The match between Kaijou and Fukuda Sogo was going to start soon. Both teams were already warming up while they waited for the game to begin.
(Y/N) and Kuroko were making their way towards the rest of the team and found them standing at the hall. They noticed there were two men with them and got curious.
When the manager and Kuroko got to their side, Riko explained what was happening. Apparently, both men were interviewers for the sports magazine and they wanted to interview Seirin. They were going to publish the new edition tomorrow, and wanted to interview Seirin and make sure they were in it.
That was great news! It meant that Seirin was getting noticed and appreciated to the point of being considered worthy of being in the magazine.
The boys and Riko were excited to be interviewed, but they were also really nervous. They never thought they would get famous, they didn't know how to deal with it.
They were ready to start the interview, but they finally noticed that Kagami wasn't there.
"Where's Kagami-kun?" Riko asked a bit agitated. This was a big deal, Kagami had to be there.
"Hum, he went to take care of something. We didn't know you were going to be interviewed so we didn't think it wouldn't be ok for him to go. He won't be long, I think." (Y/N) explained, looking a bit troubled.
Kagami had gone to talk with Himuro, and now they needed him back so soon, he practically didn't have any time to talk to him yet.
The interviewers were a bit dejected they didn't catch the whole team and Riko almost started to panic.
"(L/N)-chan! Go get him! Whatever he has to do, he can do it later!" Riko instructed her and (Y/N) sweated nervously, Riko was really set on doing this.
(Y/N) sighed, she really didn't want to interrupt Kagami's talk with Himuro, but she guessed she had no choice now.
"Fine. I'll be right back." She said to them and went towards where she thought Kagami would be.
At that same time, something was happening outside.
Himuro was standing outside talking with Alex. Kagami still hadn't found him, but he was almost there. Himuro was apologizing to Alex for the way he spoke to her the night before, but Alex didn't mind any of that, so she forgave him easily.
Himuro was going through a dilemma, because of Kagami of course. He didn't know what he should do now.
While they were still talking, someone appeared. It was a tall guy, with dark hair held back in braids. He had a mean look and gave them a really disturbing feeling. He was wearing a Fukuda Sogo's uniform, so he was obviously a player.
"Hey, she's cute." The guy said, looking at Alex as he went closer to them. Alex frowned at him. "Are you foreign? Half? Can you speak japanese?" he asked her with a smirk.
"Who are you?" Alex asked defensively.
"So you can talk! Give me your number." He told her as he bent down towards her face. Alex took a step back from him, feeling uncomfortable. "Let's go somewhere together. Come on." He said next and was going to put his arm around Alex to make her go with him. Alex wasn't having it and quickly slapped his arm away and stepped further away from him.
"Don't be ridiculous! Don't touch me so casually!" she said with anger. The guy was going to keep messing with her, but Himuro intervened.
He put his hand on the unknown guy's shoulder.
"Stop." Himuro said and the guy looked at him. "If you have anything to say, I'll hear it. Leave her alone." He told him.
The guy recognized Himuro and turned towards him.
"Huh? You were in the game they just played. You really look like a loser from up close." He said and Alex glared at him. "Did you say something just now?" he asked Himuro, his smirk gone. This guy was really unpleasant.
In a quick and uncalled for move, the guy tried to punch Himuro in the face, but he was quick enough to dodge it.
Himuro was shocked. Wasn't this guy an athlete? What was he thinking just punching someone out of nowhere?
The guy was impressed with Himuro's dexterity.
"What's this? You're a better fighter than you look." He said as he approached Himuro again and this time, he kicked him in the stomach. "I hate guys like you." He said with a sinister look and hit Himuro a few more times.
Alex got worried about Himuro and ran to help him, but the guy grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up in the air. What a violent jerk!
It was at that moment, Kagami found them. He saw Himuro crouching while holding his stomach in pain and Alex being choked by some unknown guy. He immediately got angry and ran towards them.
At that same time, (Y/N) was walking along the corridor to go outside to get Kagami. As she walked, she noticed Kise was walking a few steps ahead of her. He had a ball in his hands and looked lost in thought.
The girl got curious, Kise was supposed to be warming-up with the rest of his team, she had just seen him there.
"Ryota." She called him and the blond boy turned back to look at her.
"(Y/N)-chi?" he said surprised, he wasn't expecting to see her there. (Y/N) walked until she reached him.
"Aren't you supposed to be warming-up?" she asked him nicely. Kise stayed quiet for a few seconds, but he decided to tell her.
They started to walk again together.
"I was warming-up, but I decided to stop for a bit. Kasamatsu-senpai doesn't mind. I'm just going outside for a while." He told her and (Y/N) looked at him curiously.
"Are you alright?" she asked a bit worried and Kise sighed.
"I'm fine. I guess I'm just getting ready. I didn't tell you before, but we watched a video of our opponent's last game and I saw who one of its players is. I was really surprised, I thought he had quit basketball for good." Kise said.
"Who is it?" (Y/N) asked quickly.
"Shogo-kun." Kise answered with a small frown.
"Hum, who?" the girl asked confused, she didn't know who he was talking about. Kise looked at her questionly. How could she not remember?
"From Teiko. Haizaki Shogo." He explained and (Y/N)'s eyes widened.
"Haizaki?!" she asked loudly, she really wasn't expecting that. "What is he even doing here? I can't believe we're this unlucky!" she complained and Kise smiled at her.
They kept walking and finally got outside. At the distance, they saw a group of people in some sort of commotion.
Looking better at them, they realized who they were. Himuro, Alex and Kagami were having trouble with some guy. Kise and (Y/N) recognized him, although he looked a bit different from when they were in Teiko. It was Haizaki.
"Speaking of him." (Y/N) grumbled. Both she and Kise had a frown on their faces as they walked towards the group.
"LET HER GO!" Kagami shouted at Haizaki, who was still choking Alex. He was looking at Kagami with a smirk.
"You are the one who just beat Atsushi. I was watching, you're not bad." Haizaki said and Kagami felt uncomfortable with his bad vibes. The fact that this guy knew Murasakibara took him aback.
At that point, Alex was tired of being mistreated by the jerk and tried to kick him. He finally let go of her when he dodged her kick, but he laughed at her attempt. Kagami got angry again and went to hit him, but Himuro stopped him. He was holding his ribs and his face was bruised from Haizaki's violence towards him.
"Don't do anything!" Himuro told Kagami, who looked at him. "Stay out of this. You're not the only one who'll get in trouble if we get in a fight here." Himuro said, referring to the fact that if Kagami got in trouble, the entire Seirin team could suffer the consequences. Kagami's eyes softened at his words and he decided to stay put.
"What happened?" Kagami asked him urgently.
"He was hitting on Alex and suddenly picked a fight with me when I tried to stop him." Himuro answered and Kagami was shocked. What was this guy's deal? He's a player, what is he doing picking stupid fights with random people?
Haizaki was tired of their conversation and, out of nowhere, turned violent towards Kagami. He went to punch him, but Kagami dodge it. When Haizaki was getting ready to try and hit Kagami again, he was stopped by a basketball coming his way. He caught it easily, but at least he stopped trying to hit people.
"Hey, hey. You have a lot of guts to throw a ball at me, Ryota." Haizaki said as he looked at the two new people standing there. Kise and (Y/N) were glaring at him.
The others looked at the same direction and were surprised to see Kise and (Y/N) there.
"(L/N)? Kise?!" Kagami said.
"Hello." Kise greeted normally.
"You know this guy?" Kagami asked Kise and (Y/N), as he pointed to Haizaki. If the guy knew Murasakibara, then it was probable that he also knew these two.
"Unfortunately." (Y/N) answered immediately, looking gravely at Haizaki. He just looked back at her, enjoying her annoyed gaze.
"Well, yes." Kise answered as well, not sounding happy with it.
Haizaki turned towards (Y/N) with his unpleasant smirk.
"Hi, doll." He said and (Y/N) scrunched her nose in aversion. "Did you miss me?" he asked her depravedly.
"That's a hard 'no'." she said with a scoff. "I'm actually quite sad, now. I'd hoped you had moved to the North Pole or something." She told him and his eye twitched, but he kept his smirk.
"Very funny. You're still feisty, I see." He said as he licked his lip.
Kagami got angry again and went closer to (Y/N), to stand beside her. He didn't like the bastard one bit.
"Who is this guy?" he asked agitatedly.
"Haizaki Shogo. He was a starter for Teiko until I joined the team in our second year." Kise answered as he glared at Haizaki.
"But because he's a piece of trash who simply can't live in normal society, he was forced to quit the team by Sei. He disappeared after that." (Y/N) explained next and the others' eyes widened.
This guy was a player for Teiko? He was kicked out of the team?
"At least he should have." Kise said with a smirk. "How did this come about?" Kise asked Haizaki, referring to the fact that he was back to play basketball and was on a team.
"No reason. I'm not doing this out of revenge." Haizaki answered nonchalantly. "If I had to give a reason, I'd say I'm just killing time." He said and Kagami, Himuro and Alex were taken aback by it. This guy really didn't care for the sport or what he was doing, he didn't care about what could happen, he was just passing time. "I don't care about basketball, but people started to call you the Generation of Miracles after I left. I thought I'd steal the title from one of you five." Haizaki said with a nasty sneer. He said one of the Generation of Miracles, but it was noticeable that he actually meant Kise. "I used to be a starter, so no one would have a problem if I beat you. Besides, since you're my next opponent I have all the more reason to do it, Ryota. After all, you became the fifth man without beating me once." He said next and Kagami's eyes widened at this information.
Suddenly, (Y/N) started laughing and they looked at her. Haizaki's smirk disappeared as the girl cackled.
"Oh, I'm sorry for that." She said as she cleaned a few laughter tears from her eyes. She turned towards the others, not giving a damn that Haizaki was there. "I couldn't help but laugh after hearing that. He actually thinks he can win against Ryota simply because he won against him in middle-school when Ryota had just started playing basketball! That has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard! And I've heard Ryota and Kagami say a lot of things!" she told them as she chuckled a bit more and Kagami and Kise flinched at that jab, Kagami in annoyance and Kise in comical sadness.
"HEY!" Kagami shouted at her.
"(Y/N)-chiiiii, so mean!" Kise complained.
Haizaki looked sort of annoyed, they were speaking like he wasn't even there, like he was insignificant. (Y/N) looked at him and saw his expression.
"What? You're going to start distributing punches again?" she asked him unimpressed, and before Haizaki said anything she spoke again, now she was serious. "You actually think Ryota is the same person he was in middle-school? Well, you're going to have a bad time, then. I, on the other hand, will have a great time watching you lose." She told him and Kise put his hand on her head.
"Thanks, (Y/N)-chi, but you don't need to defend me." Kise said while looking cool.
"I'm not, I'm just telling him how things are." She deadpanned and Kise sighed gloomily.
"Anyway. Let's end the conversation here." Kise said and looked at Kagami. "I understand what was happening here, but let's all just go back. I need to play against this guy, after all. I'll beat him." The blond told them and Haizaki frowned at his last words. "I don't care about being one of the Generation of Miracles, I already said that to Kagami-chi. But the title is not so worthless I can just let you have it for free, Shogo-kun." Kise told Haizaki with a smirk of his own.
"I'm not trying to buy it off you. If you're not interested in the title anymore then I'll take it from you, idiot." Haizaki said with a new smirk and started walking away. He turned back to look at (Y/N).
"I'll dedicate all the points I score to you, doll." He told her with a spiteful smirk and walked away.
"Oh, joy." The girl said sarcastically.
They stayed there watching Haizaki go away, silently.
Suddenly . . .
"Oh, thank god he didn't hit me!" (Y/N) said with relief and the others sweated nervously at her sudden words. She had actually been worried he was going to hurt her? And she still didn't shut up? "I was actually expecting him to lose his marbles with me. I'm starting to think I'm an idiot!" the girl said and Kagami felt a vein pop in his head.
"Only now you ponder if you're an idiot?! You're damn right he could have hit you! You know how that guy is and you still say those kinds of things?!" Kagami lectured her. Alex and Himuro looked at each other and then at the pair again.
"Well, if we just shut up and take crap from people like him, we'll never stop being bullied! At least that guy heard what he deserved!" (Y/N) argued back and Alex put an arm around her.
"I like you, (L/N)-chan." She told the younger girl with a smile.
Kise sighed and turned towards (Y/N) and Kagami.
"Don't worry. I really doubt Shogo-kun would do anything to you, (Y/N)-chi." Kise said and they looked at him curiously. Kise didn't explain what he meant and they didn't think too much about it.
Himuro turned towards Kagami.
"Why did you come out here, Taiga?" he asked the red haired, curiously. Kagami turned to him.
"Oh, right." Kagami said and sighed. He decided that, after what happened, it wasn't the right moment to tell Himuro what he wanted. "Sorry, I'll tell you another time. I promise." He said with a smile and Himuro just looked at him.
The red haired then turned towards Kise again.
"Kise! You better not lose!" he told him and the blond just smiled.
"Of course I won't." he said with confidence.
They all started to make their way back inside. The game was almost starting and (Y/N) and Kagami still had to go to the interview. At that thought, (Y/N)'s step faltered.
"Oh, no." the girl said and the others looked at her. "I completely forgot I was supposed to bring you back to the team, Kagami. We've taken so long, Riko-senpai is going to kill me!" she said in a panic.
"Huh? What for?" Kagami asked curiously.
"I came out here to look for you because some people want to interview Seirin for the sports magazine! They're all waiting for you so they can start." She explained and Kagami's eyes widened.
"And you only say this now?!" he said loudly to her.
"What do you want? I forgot about it because of Haizaki!" she excused herself.
"You damn idiot, let's go!" he said and they bolted out of there to go meet the team.
Kise, Alex and Himuro just watched them as they both ran while still arguing like idiots.
"They're adorable." Alex said with a smile.
When Kagami and (Y/N) got back to the team, they were gasping for air and Riko was fuming. They had been waiting impatiently.
"What have you been doing?! You have taken so long!" the coach growled and (Y/N) cowered.
"Sorry, sorry! Something happened and we only managed to come back now." (Y/N) said and the rest of the team looked curious.
"What happened?" Hyuuga asked.
"It's not important for now. Let's do the interview and we'll tell you later when we get to the match." (Y/N) answered, looking serious.
They nodded and the interviewers finally got to take their pictures and ask them questions. As Riko and the boys were being interviewed, (Y/N) noticed Aomine and Momoi were sitting in one of the tables in the eating area. They were listening to Seirin's interview. (Y/N) smiled and made her way towards them.
"Hey, you're both here!" she said happily and Momoi greeted her happily, too. Aomine kept his normal face.
"What happened, (Y/N)-chan? Your team was waiting for quite a while for you." Momoi asked and (Y/N) frowned by just remembering the scene.
"Haizaki happened." She said displeased and Aomine's and Momoi's eyes widened. "Apparently, he's part of the team Ryota is going to play against today. He was outside making trouble and that's why we took so long to return." (Y/N) explained and Aomine frowned. He really didn't like Haizaki.
"What? Haizaki is going to be in the next game?!" Aomine asked furiously and (Y/N) nodded. "I thought he quit. Just remembering him is pissing me off. That annoying guy is back." He growled with a frown.
"Will Ki-chan be ok?" Momoi asked, worried for Kise. They all remembered what happened between them in Teiko, before Haizaki quit.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. Unless he succumbs when Haizaki takes him down the memory lane." (Y/N) said and they looked at her. "Never the less, there's no way Ryota is going to lose against him." She said with a smile.
"You really have confidence in him, (Y/N)-chan." Momoi said with a smile. She remembered how (Y/N) was always siding with Kise when they were in Teiko, she always helped him.
"Of course I do! After all, he has to get to the semi-finals so he can lose against Seirin." She said with a stupid smug look. Aomine closed his eyes and sighed tiredly. She was so good at annoying him. (Y/N) and Momoi chuckled at his expression.
A few minutes later, (Y/N) noticed the interviewers were almost done and she decided to get back to the team. She said goodbye to Aomine and Momoi and joined them.
When she got there, the interviewers were starting to talk to Kuroko.
"All of your games were amazing." One of the men said. Kuroko turned to them, he was actually surprised they had remembered to interview him, too. Normally, he would go unnoticed and be forgotten by the interviewers. At least that always happened when he was at Teiko.
"Thank you." Kuroko said politely and (Y/N) smiled at him. She was happy he was getting recognition.
"You supported your team against Shutoku." The man said, referring to how Kuroko used his Vanishing Drive against them. "And Kirisaki Dai Ichi." He said next, referring to how Kuroko kept intercepting every pass and ended up destroying Hanamiya's web. "And Touou." He said next, referring to Kuroko's Ignite Pass and Ignite Pass Kai. "And also against Yosen just now." The man listed with an impressed smile.
"Hum, personally speaking, I'm just playing as hard as I can." Kuroko said with a smile after taking a glance at Kagami, who had just told the interviewers the same thing.
They finally finished with their questions and they were finally free to go watch the match. When they were getting their things ready, one of the interviewers spoke to (Y/N).
"Hum, excuse me?" He said and the girl looked at him curiously. "You're Seirin's manager, (L/N) (Y/N)-san, am I right?" he asked her and (Y/N) looked surprised.
"Huh? Yes." She answered normally and the man smiled.
"I would also like to ask you a few questions. We have noticed that you have also been an important aspect on Seirin's team." He told her and (Y/N)'s eyes widened, she was not expecting that.
She got a bit embarrassed and turned towards the others for advice on what she should do, but they simply raised their thumbs at her, telling her to go for it. The girl blinked a few times and turned again towards the man. She noticed the other one was there, too, ready to listen to her.
"Alright. What do you want to know?" she asked them and they smiled enthusiastically.
"During Seirin's journey this year, we noticed the team making amazing moves and come out of some really difficult situations with incredible plans. Some of them were really bizarre! People say you're the one who came up with the majority of them." the man said and (Y/N) blinked again.
"Oh, I actually didn't know they were saying that." she admitted and the man continued quickly.
"Can you comment on that, though?" he asked immediately and (Y/N) thought for a bit.
"When I agreed to be Seirin's manager, I promised them I would take care of them to the best of my abilities. You can say I have a knack for coming up with ways to help in some situations, so I try to help the team with that. Every time we're in a tight spot I think of a way to get us out. It has worked until now, so I guess that's a good thing." She said honestly and the men chuckled nicely.
"Seirin's ace actually called you Seirin's Trump Card earlier. How do you feel about that?" he asked next.
"Oh, he did?" she asked with a small carefree laugh, she already knew Kagami thought that of her, but she wasn't expecting him to mention it in an interview. The men nodded in response while smiling, too. "Well, I guess it's understandable. It makes sense considering what I do." (Y/N) said with a shrug of her shoulders, not wanting to comment much about the topic.
"It is obvious that Seirin's players are very good. Now that we know that you've been working behind the scenes, so to speak, wouldn't you say that it's thanks to you that they got so far?" the man asked and (Y/N) frowned slightly. She didn't like that question.
"No." she answered immediately and the men looked at her, ready to hear more. "There is something that people need to understand, we are a team. And thus we work as a team. We don't win because of a certain player or because of the coach or because of the manager. We win because we work together, we combine our talents. Yes, I took the boys from some bad situations on previous matches, but the only way I did that was because they put my plans into action. Without their strength, my ideas would be nothing more than that, ideas. During all this time, they have all grown stronger together, and the boys worked hard and surpassed their limits. It's thanks to us all that we got this far. Besides, I don't know if you watched our match today against Yosen, but all of that awesomeness came from the boys. Seirin was in trouble many times today and they got out of it by themselves. They didn't need me at all. I couldn't be prouder of them." (Y/N) explained with a proud smile as she glanced at her team. They smiled back at her and some were rubbing their necks with embarrassment. Both interviewers were looking at her with a bit of surprise.
"I understand, (L/N)-san." One of the men said with a gentle smile. He had been eager to interview Seirin and their manager because he had grown to support them. After talking to them all, he couldn't help but like this bunch a lot more.
"What are your expectations for the future at the Winter Cup, (L/N)-san?" the other man asked.
"Well, the goal is obviously to win the Winter Cup and become the best team in Japan! That's what Seirin is going to do. And no matter what happens, I'll be there doing my best to help achieve that." She said nicely.
"Seirin will have to play against more members of the Generation of Miracles, what do you say about that?" the interviewer asked lastly and (Y/N) shrugged with a carefree smile.
"Well, you know, there's three down and only two more to go." She said happily, referring to how Seirin already defeated three Miracles on official games. "They're all my friends, so it's been fun beating them all." She joked and the men smiled again.
"Who's your favorite member of the Generation of Miracles, (L/N)-san?" the other decided to ask after she mentioned they were all her friends.
"I wouldn't say favorite. The one I dislike less is Akashi Seijuro." She said and laughed. The interviewers understood she was answering jokingly and laughed, too.
With that, the men thanked (Y/N) for her time and Seirin was free to go watch the match. It was almost starting and they had to hurry.
While they walked, (Y/N) and Kagami explained to the rest of the team what happened outside earlier. Kuroko was just as surprised of hearing Haizaki had returned as Aomine and Momoi had been.
When Kuroko and (Y/N) explained to them who Haizaki was and what happened at Teiko, the others looked taken aback. This guy sounded really unpleasant. Not the type of unpleasant that the other Miracles were, this was the type that made them want to completely stay away from him.
The team finally sat down at the stands and they were ready for the game to start. They could all see Kaijou and Fukuda Sogo were ready to start.
Kise looked determined, but at the same time he seemed on guard. Haizaki was standing in front of him and he looked ready to make Kise's life hell.
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Thank you for reading!