Third POV
Once Mika had hit the triple threat's contact, it rang maybe once before the tall girl picked up, her face appearing on the white haired girl's screen. That was able to put a grin on the rather serious and slightly tempered teen once she saw her best friend on the other line.
"Yeeeeess?" (Y/N) answered in her usual goofy fashion while smiling at the camera.
"Bestie~ I need some attention!" Mika responded back, quoting a video both she and the triple threat found when they were sending videos from social media back and forth to each other.
A small and quiet giggle could be heard from the (h/c) haired girl's end as she buried her head in her arms for a second. Good thing she was in a room by herself since Riko was still out visiting with her father about training. The brunette coach probably wanted her to be asleep right now, but the tall girl had special best friend matters to attend to.
In response to Mika's little comment, the triple threat playfully rolled her eyes before looking back at the camera.
"Geez, four hours on the phone yesterday wasn't enough?" She questioned.
Certainly not the words that the white haired girl was expecting to hear from her usually very kind and caring best friend. Kiari and Fumi both snorted as they watched their more serious bestie's jaw dropped. You only really saw this side of Mika whenever all four of them were together.
"Uh-! You bitch," Mika choked a little bit before jokingly cursing at the triple threat.
(Y/N) had to let out a loud laugh at that as she layed her head down on the pillow while trying to make sure she didn't have any tears coming out of her eyes. Oh, that was funny, and she wasn't exactly wrong with her question either.
It had been hot minute since she had spoken to her LA best friends who were literally her world, so the tall girl made the decision after practice the day before to call each one of her best friends and have a decent and lengthy conversation with them to catch up on everything and give them updates on her basketball schedule.
Mika, of course, she and (Y/N) literally went on talking for hours before Riko had to remind her little cousin that they still had practice early that next morning. So, their long conversation was cut short. But another call this evening was definitely welcomed, especially if it was a FaceTime call.
The white haired girl soon looked back up and toward the court to see if the game between Nijimura and Kagami had started yet. Looks like it was about to, so it was time for the white haired girl to get down to business.
"Hey, listen, babe, you remember that redhead you were telling us about? The one that you hung around with on the court when we were kids?" Mika suddenly brought up the redheaded tiger, calming down from the little giggle session.
She needed all of the deets she could get. The white haired girl wasn't taking any chances with a hot head being around her triple threat best friend. Especially if he was like the boy that had laid his hands on her the year before. But she also didn't want the said girl to get too suspicious as to what she was doing.
Hearing Mika describe this boy made the triple threat perk up in her bed. Kagami had sent her a text earlier that said he had made it, and she really shouldn't have been surprised that he too, got straight into training already. Still, knowing her friends, (Y/N) also didn't think they became acquainted with each other that quickly.
Fumi and Kiari, maybe. Mika? No way. But, the triple threat was going to remain hopeful.
"Taiga? Oh my god, have you guys met him yet?" She asked the tanned girl, sounding really surprised and hopeful that Mika might've taken a liking to him.
But the expression on the white haired girl's face said otherwise as she stuck her tongue out a little bit to try and hide her distaste, her eyes glued to the court in front of her as she shot her gaze right at Kagami.
"I'm looking at him right now," Mika finally answered.
"He's doing really good playing against Shuzo!" Fumi piped up as she leaned over to get on camera while also taking a drink of her slushee that she had gotten earlier.
And of course, seeing the other besties of the group made the tall girl back in Japan extra excited as her (e/c) eyes became even bigger and brighter. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting this lovely surprise.
"Oh my god, hi, Fumi!" The triple threat waved excitedly at the camera as the bi-colored haired girl let out a toothy grin and did the same thing.
"Hi~ I miss you, (Y/N)!"
"I miss you too!"
"Hey, don't forget about me!" The final and tallest member of the group finally wanted to make her presence known as she leaned over and onto Mika's shoulder, causing the white haired girl to shoot her a slightly annoyed look because of the heat that day.
Seeing Kiari pout, the long haired girl let out another giggle while giving the auburn haired girl a slight 'really' look while keeping the smile on her face.
"I haven't, Kiari, duh! Wow, Taiga's going up against Niji? Why?" (Y/N) finally got down to business after she had acknowledged all of her best friends.
Oh, lordy. Knowing Nijimura and how he was with ballsy underclassmen, the triple threat was kind of scared for the very hotheaded tiger. She had seen what her former captain had done to those who defied him, and it kind of scared her.
Though, Mika had a very different perspective on this whole sudden game.
"Cause he was being a freakin' hothead and tossing his weight around," she somewhat spat, which just made (Y/N) sweat-drop at her bestie's sudden change in attitude.
Fumi had a very different idea on how to deal with. That, and she was gonna make Mika admit one way or another that she had some sort of temper as well. She just narrowed her eyes, her quick brain coming up with a plan that she would put into action in...
Three...
Two...
One.
"That's not true," the pigtailed haired girl made her move as she quickly snatched the device right out of Mika's hand before scooting down and making sure she was on camera.
It was pretty clear that Mika didn't quite appreciate having her phone stolen from her as she began to glare once she had recovered from the shock of how fast Fumi acted.
"Hey!"
"I think it's just to kind of see how he is when it comes to ball and stuff. Mika literally looks like she wants to pounce, (Y/N)," Fumi explained as she went back and forth between watching the court and looking down at the phone screen.
Oh boy...as much as the triple threat paled at hearing that while also imagining her best friend absolutely fuming, the tall girl back in Japan wasn't exactly all that surprised.
Ever since Mika had found out about the whole incident with Aomine, the white haired girl was dead set on making sure no one that even had a hint of resemblance of him got anywhere near the (h/c) haired girl. And when they did, it was quite a show.
But Kagami had done nothing to deserve that, so (Y/N) had to be quick on her feet and think of something to save him from Mika's overprotective wrath.
"AH! You're gonna have to watch her, Fumi," the triple threat suddenly blurted out, thinking that was a decent solution.
There was just a small problem with that, Fumiko might've been a little taller than an average girl, but she certainly wasn't big enough to take on a basketball player like Mika. And she wanted to make that very clear as she gave (Y/N) a very 'are you kidding me' type look.
"Girl, you think I'm strong enough to hold this broad back?" The bi-colored haired girl referred to her white haired friend as she pointed back at Mika with her thumb.
Obviously, the tanned girl didn't quite appreciate being called a 'broad' as she turned her irritated glare into a much deadlier one. That, and she was about to really lose her temper over having her phone taken from her and then there was the name...
"Who the hell are you callin' a broad?!" Mika snarled as she began to lunge forward in order to latch onto Fumi, who kept trying to hold the girl's phone away from her.
But having such long arms came in handy for the most protective member of the Rebel dance group.
As Mika was about to grab her phone from the thief, a pair of longer arms soon wrapped around her and trapped her in place. Turns out there was one member of Rebel who could hold its most ruthless member back.
"Yoink! I can hold her back!" Kiari grinned as she held a struggling and increasingly angry Mika in her arms.
It was like watching an angry cat trying to get out of getting a bath or something. The white haired girl's teeth were bared, her nails looked like claws, yet, she didn't quite look so terrifying like she was trying to portray herself as.
Still, the triple threat on the other line kind of breathed out a small sigh of relief. At least there was someone there who could protect Kagami from her best friend's little temper episodes. Because she certainly couldn't from a whole other continent that was also on a completely different time zone.
Fumi soon angled the camera toward the tallest of the friend group once she felt that she wouldn't get pounced on and smushed.
"Thank you, Kiari. Your outfit looks super cute today, by the way," (Y/N) thanked the auburn haired girl while also completely changing the subject for a second.
Kiari was always quite talented when it came to DIYs and all of that fun stuff. She was literally a cute aesthetic queen. And her handmade top certainly spoke loud words. And the auburn haired girl was quick to let out a proud and toothy grin along with her signature giggle. Yes, there was someone other than the (h/c) haired girl with a signature giggle.
"Thanks! I made the top myself. When are you coming back? I miss doing each other's nails and hair," Kiari asked, kind of pursing her lips a little bit in a small pout.
That was their thing. Whenever it was just the triple threat and the tallest of the friend group, it was trying out different hairstyles, different colored nail polishes, and also going on coffee dates. Kiari was (Y/N)'s official coffee drinking buddy, so obviously, she had been able to spread her ever loving taste for coffee to at least another human being.
Back to the LA thing. Honestly, the triple threat did miss going over and seeing everyone, playing on the courts with everyone, all of her old hang out spots. But basketball season and school took up a lot of her time, so going back to LA was something she didn't have time for right now. But there were still other options.
"Hopefully, after the season is over. I have a little break in between, so I want to come over. Or better yet, you guys come see me and we can have the best girl's week ever!" The tall girl in Japan excitedly suggested, hearing the bathroom sink running.
Riko must've been doing her nightly routine. But that didn't mean it too late, so (Y/N) didn't worry about it and watched as her auburn haired bestie's big eyes lit up with joy while she was still holding a more than irritated and annoyed Mika, the expression on her face staying the same as she continued letting out some small growls and snarls.
"Omg, yas!"
"Give me my phone!" Mika finally yelled, cutting Kiari's jovial squeal off as she got out of her trap and snatched her phone away from Fumi.
The bi-colored haired girl didn't even fight for fear of the white haired girl ripping her hand off. (Y/N) soon saw the face of her long time best friend. She knew that annoyed expression, she knew it very well. And if there was going to be anyone that could convince Mika to change her mind, both Fumi and Kiari knew it would be the (h/c) haired girl over in Japan.
"Mika, Taiga's not who you think he is. I know that look on your face," the triple threat tried to calm the freakin' female version of Kagami.
Everyone seemed to think she had some sort of talent when it came to cooling down hotheads, so here was her chance to work her magic. Though, her white haired friend was gonna need a bit more convincing than the others. Especially since she had known (Y/N) most if her life
"Mm, I'll be the judge of that. If he's here for training, then you can bet your ass I'm gonna mess with him," the tanned girl made the promise, which only made the girls beside her shudder.
It wasn't fun whenever Mika messed with you. Trust them, they knew from experience. And the triple threat also seemed to realize that as she let out a small sigh and playfully rolled her eyes.
"Why do I even try to talk you out of things?"
"Looks who's talking, cowgirl. I'm just being a good best friend and protecting your innocent little self," the white haired girl declared.
She was not about to see the sunshine of a human being that she called her 'best friend' be in the depressed state that she had been in the last time she had been in LA. That was a promise. Mika was literally going to rip this guy a new one if he thought he could ever come near (Y/N) again. The white haired girl was hoping Aomine could feel her glare from thousands of miles away.
Truth is, Mika, it kind of already happened.
And judging by how he had been acting toward the triple threat ever since their reunion, despite what he had done, the triple threat knew it was a mistake, he hadn't meant to hurt her like that, and that he was truly sorry for ever doing something like that.
She could feel it in her heart, so now, she was just going to have to convince her overprotective friend to feel the same way.
"And I appreciate and love you for that. But can you please trust me when I said what I said about Taiga?" The tall girl in Japan requested.
That's all she wanted. All she wanted was the trust from her best friend on this. Kagami had already proved himself multiple times, it's just that Mika wasn't exactly there to witness any of it.
But, the white haired girl could see (Y/N)'s face and hear the tone in her voice. Maybe she was being just a little too overprotective, it wasn't like she owned the tall girl or anything. Plus, it wasn't like she was completely naive either, but Mika also wanted to see what the redheaded tiger was all about. So, she decided to come up with a compromise.
"I won't be as harsh, how does that sound?" Mika asked the girl on the other line, willing to take it that far just so the triple threat wouldn't worry so much.
She didn't need all of that when she had all of these big games to focus, so the white haired girl figured she'd best play a little nicer.
For now.
But that was definitely more than enough to satisfy the tall girl over in Japan as a brighter than the sun grin appeared on her face just as Riko entered at the bedroom.
"Dealio! Ope, I gotta get to bed. We have another long day of training tomorrow," the triple threat told her besties once she caught a glimpse at the time.
Eleven o'clock was kind of pushing it when it came to staying up late on a training day. And (Y/N) didn't want to be a grumpy beast in the morning, so she figured she'd best call it a night, which her friends understood since they had been in that same time difference situation too. But
"Alright. I'll let you know how this whole deal goes down, kay?" Mika grinned, making the promise that she'd give the girl all of the updates.
And judging by the sound of the crowds through her phone, the triple threat knew it was going to be quite the little match. She was excited to kind of hear about how Kagami could hold up against her former captain before Akashi.
"Yees, I love you guys!" The tall girl in Japan waved to the camera as the other two came into frame to say their goodbyes as well.
"We love you too!"
"Bye bye~"
"Love ya, (Y/N)."
Once all of them had gotten all of their waves in, Mika pressed the red hang up button before placing her phone on her lap just as the crowds started growing in volume. That drew the trio's attention back to the court where things seemed be heating up since Nijimura had stolen the ball back from Kagami. It was at this point that the girls noticed that even more people had shown up.
"Now, let's see how Hothead does against someone like Lover Boy," the white haired girl smirked to herself as she leaned forward with her elbow on her knee and her chin resting on her palm.
These two were kind of a bad matchup when it came to their attitudes, so the results would definitely be something to behold. At this point, Kagami was breathing a little heavily after having the black haired boy steal the ball right from under his nose. And now, the tiger was standing face to face with his opponent, taking a defensive stance while Nijimura dribbled the ball in kind of a slow paced manner.
He had to admit, Kagami was good. But he could see a hotheaded temper from a mile away, not only that, but he had heard rumors of this red head who would take on anyone he deemed to be strong. The former Teiko captain just figured he'd see how far he could push the tiger. Because playing with a temper really wasn't going to get you anywhere. And the captain had dealt with plenty of those in the past before.
So, the black haired boy decided to do what he did best as he let out a small smirk before increasing his dribbling speed a little bit, which seemed to catch the redheaded tiger off guard for a split second. And that split second was all it took for Nijimura to make his move as he sudden charged forward, surprising Kagami as his ruby eyes went wide.
Geez, this guy was fast. So fast that 'Lover Boy' was able to make it past the red head's defense by simply throwing him off his guard long enough for him to be too scattered brain to stop Nijimura from making a layup. Cheers started erupting from the crowd that had gathered around the court at the opponent scoring.
Kagami seemed to be in a state of shock as he stared at the hoop, his jaw slightly dropping. How did manage to get past him? The tiger was in the perfect position to defend, but his opponent was still able to make it past him. It kind of reminded him of how he felt when he and Aomine had their first little face off, it was that same state of shock from realizing how strong he was.
Well, the red head had certainly grown since then. And not only had he grown stronger physically, but mentally as well.
Eh...kind of.
"WOO!! There ya go, Lover Boy! Come on, Taiga, show him what you got!" Dante also joined in, seeming to cheer for both sides.
Seriously? So Dante knew which his guy was too? Did that mean (Y/N) knew who he was too? Well, she did say she had a few more friends that played on these courts, but he didn't remember her mentioning someone like this. Whatever, Kagami was gonna be the winner of this, so he had to get his A-game on.
It was Nijimura who started with the ball this time, and he was doing a damn good job at keeping it away from the tiger's attempts to steal it back. The redhead was kind of getting the feeling that this guy had some experience playing against someone who matched his play style. It was a little freaky.
Backing away from the tiger with the ball still in his grasp, the black haired boy seemed to smirk when the redhead took the same defensive stance that he had taken before. Looks like this guy didn't let one slip up get him down. Still, that didn't mean Nijimura wasn't going to push just a little harder.
"What's the matter? You're not gonna come at me? Power forwards like you are supposed to be able to get the ball from opponents like me," he kind of taunted the tiger, which as one may guess, got an immediate reaction from the hotheaded first year.
"Huh?!" Kagami let out as a small tick mark appeared on his forehead.
Seriously, what was this guy's deal? Kagami hadn't ever met him before yet this guy seemed to know more about him than he thought. And he was using that to his advantage when it came to his temper.
All Nijimura did was reply with a smirk knowing he had hit the right buttons. Well, it was an upperclassman's job to push their underclassman to do better. The former Teiko captain just had a very...different way of doing that. He had a lot of practice, trust him. While there may have been some sparks beginning to fly, the crowds were definitely eating it up.
"Come on, get him, Taiga!" The redheaded tiger heard Dante cheering him on along with the well over a hundred other spectators that had come in order to watch the excitement.
Man, Kagami had to really step up. Come on, he had already proven that he was getting stronger, so he just had to continue pushing himself. And he had to not let his temper get the best of him like he had almost done in the Kirisaki game. The redhead soon closed his eyes in order to get his thoughts in line.
Just take a deep breath and focus all of that energy on winning.
Just like she had taught him.
And it definitely seemed like something clicked in his head as he opened his ruby eyes just as Nijimura made his move and started charging forward like he had done before. But this time, things would be ending a little differently. Kagami was ready this time as the black haired boy began to pass him in order to make the basket.
"I don't know what your deal is, but if you think I can't handle someone like you, then think again!" The tiger declared as he quickly pivoted on the balls of his feet before launching himself into the air just before Nijimura could make the layup.
And this wasn't just a simple jump either, this was one of the tiger's super jumps. He was literally soaring as he went to smack the ball out of the older boy's hands. But no one really even seemed to be paying much attention to that. It was his jump that seemed to make everyone's jaws drop to the ground and eyes go wide. Even Nijimura seemed to be in shock, not even realizing at first that the ball had been stolen from him.
"Woah! Look at how high he can jump!" Fumi gawked as she along with Kiari were left speechless at what they had just witnessed.
Mika seemed to be sharing their shock too as her eyes became a little big too. She even seemed to sit up a little straighter.
"Guess she wasn't kidding..." the white haired girl uttered under her breath, almost unconsciously.
She had remembered (Y/N) saying something about how Kagami could jump as high as she could, but Mika didn't believe that for a second and simply thought her best friend was kind of exaggerating. The triple threat tended to do that whenever she got excited over something. But it seemed like this time, the tall girl's excitement didn't cloud her judgement.
Nijimura had heard that same thing from the same source, but he was skeptical about this player's so called 'super jump'. Nothing could ever compare to how high the triple threat could jump whenever she was serious, but geez, this guy was coming pretty close. It made the black haired boy smirk while he watched Kagami land as the ball bounced out of bounds.
Catching his breath, the tiger soon turned back toward his opponent in order to kind of give him a little bit of an 'I told you so' look, but the redhead only saw an impressed grin on the older boy's face.
"Not bad, dude," Nijimura complimented Kagami's gameplay.
Man, the former Teiko captain hadn't seen someone play that good since he was in middle school. It was kind of refreshing for him. Though, the redhead only looked to be confused by his sudden change in attitude. Wasn't the black haired boy trying to be all competitive like two seconds ago? This almost felt like it was planned in a way.
However, before the redhead could ask any questions, there was someone else who seemed to be very intrigued by his amazing jumping power as he let out a hearty chuckle, catching the attention of everyone as they turned to see that same someone entering the court. He was a tall man with somewhat shaggy black hair, a pair of glasses sitting atop his head, wearing a somewhat casual outfit consisting of a light grey Marvel graphic t-shirt, some black basketball shorts, and some matching black Micheal Jordan sneakers. And he had those same (e/c) colored eyes as someone they all knew well.
"Well, Shuzo, still wanting to defend your title, huh? Looks like your one on ones with me are adding to the fire. I think you're even more competitive than you were before," the man seemed to tease Kagami's opponent as he approached the duo.
Now it had hit the tiger hard when he realized just who the hell he was looking at as he ruby eyes widened, his jaw almost hitting the ground. Geez, even if (Y/ N) had told him about her father being one to come play on these courts, it was still a bit of a shock to see such a legendary player just feet away from him.
Nijimura definitely didn't seem as starstruck as Kagami was. Instead, there was just a blank and slightly deadpanned expression on his face as he turned away from the man. Competitive? Please.
"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," the black haired boy denied the accusations.
At least he could actually control his temper when it came to his competitive nature...sometimes. Well, he had showcased it to his mentor's daughter, so that meant her little mouth went a thousand miles per hour when it came to telling her father about new players that she had met. Akio simply replied to the boy's denials with another hearty chuckle as he went over and ruffled his hair up a little bit before turning back to the more starstruck of the two.
"Well now, you must be Taiga Kagami. I must say, son, that's quite the jump you've got there. Guess my daughter wasn't kidding after all when she told me about it," the legendary man grinned as he began to approach Kagami.
The redhead still felt like he was in some sort of crazy dream. This was the Akio Bashira, one of the tiger's role models when it came to the sport, the man who had won at the Olympics, basically the GOAT in the redhead's eyes. And he knew his name...and was also the father of the girl he was in love with. Damn, Kuroko would probably get a laugh from how still Kagami was as he watched his idol approach him.
"T-Thank you very much, sir. It's an honor to meet you," the redheaded boy tried to introduce himself without sounding too nervous.
Though that stutter didn't seem to help. But Akio didn't seem to mind all that much as he chuckled once again before reaching over and ruffling the tiger's sweaty head. Ah, reminded him of when he was this age.
"Hey, just call me 'Akio', Red. So, you're one of Alex's boys, huh?" The man pointed out and nicknaming the redhead, which seemed to catch the tiger off guard as Nijimura shuddered a little bit from behind Akio.
Just thinking about what that woman was going to do to Kagami made the black haired boy want to run. Mostly because he just wanted to dodge her freakin' habits. But, not the point. The redhead was more shocked that this legend knew about his mentor and his older brother figure. Made him kind of wonder how much the tall girl back over in Japan talked about him with her father.
"You know about Tatsuya and me?" The red head was finally able to ask.
"Do I? I've been keeping an eye on you ever since my little Sunball first told me about you all those years ago. And I've gotta say, you are one hell of a basketball player. Even as strong as one of those Miracle kids. But, you're still at the starting line," the black haired man explained as a gleam of light shined over his (e/c) colored eyes, much like how when the triple threat was coming up with strategies during games.
So he really was her father after all. Kagami could see so many similarities between him and the triple threat now. Their smiles were the same, they both had that same welcoming vibe to them, it just made the tiger feel a bit more comfortable and made Akio seem more approachable. So much so, that the redhead was about to do something he never in a million years thought he'd be able to do.
"Then...would you be able to give me some pointers?" He finally mustered up the courage to ask the man, the myth, the legend standing in front of him.
Akio had one of the highest jumps ever seen by any basketball players in the world, and Kagami's play style was very similar to his, so this would definitely help in his journey to find ways to defeat the Generation of Miracles. Hell, he had literally made one of the best youth basketball players in the sports world, so the redhead would be getting help from the best of the best.
And it seemed like Akio was already one step ahead of the tiger as he let out a smirk before taking off his glasses and putting them in his pocket.
"Why the hell do you think I'm here, Red? I'm sure Alex won't mind. Besides, Mika!" He agreed before calling over to someone from the crowd.
Following his gaze, the tiger soon spotted a trio of girls sitting on the bleachers. Again, Kagami had never seen them around before, but he figured they were probably friends of (Y/N)'s if her father knew them. Though, the tiger couldn't help but to feel just a tad uneasy when it came to the tan and white haired girl, who seemed to perk up little bit when she heard her name being called.
"Yeah, Dad #2?" Mika responded, not really knowing where this was going at first.
But she wasn't liking the way her best friend's father was giving her that look.
"I want you and Kiari to come help us out a little bit. It'll be good practice for you girls. Fumi can be ref," Akio suddenly announced.
Which got three different reactions, though two were very similar. All three girls's eyes widened, two of them were smiling, and one of them looked more than just a little bit displeased.
"WHAT?!?!" Mika shrieked as a small glare began to form on her face.
"YES!!" Fumi cheered as she pumped her fists in the air, knowing she had just been given a lot of power for her to use to her advantage.
"Okie dokie!" Kiari simply agreed in her usual jovial fashion.
All three girls soon stood up and made their way down to the court, though Kagami could feel Mika practically boring her eyes right through him as her eyes narrowed, a small snarl coming to her lips that made the tiger flinch just a little bit. Geez, what the hell did he do to her? He hasn't even said one word to her and he could already tell she didn't like him. The other two seemed cool though.
Once the trio had made their way down to the court with the rest of them, Akio simply kept the smile on his face as he wrapped an arm around his other daughter figures, trying to get one them to lighten up just a little bit.
"Come on, Mika! I'm not about to let you and Kiari go rusty just yet," he told her, though that didn't seem to help since the white haired girl literally had a conversation about this with Akio's daughter shortly before this.
"I swear, you and (Y/N) planned this," she grumbled under her breath.
But she could probably also use the practice to make sure that she didn't let her future opponents think she had gone soft. Besides, maybe she could show this hothead a thing or two while he was here in LA before Alex showed up. Kagami soon watched as the girl who stood just about as tall as the (h/c) haired girl gave him a sharp look with a bit of a sinister smirk that made the red head sweat just a little bit.
"Better get ready, Hothead. 'Cause I ain't going easy on you," Mika warned him, trying to give him a peek at what was coming next.
Oh, what had Kagami just gotten himself into?
Timeskip
"I still can't believe your dad did that though. Man..."
After going through the day still thinking that it was a dream, Kagami was finally hit by the reality truck when he had finally laid down for the night. And that was in the form of every single muscle in his body screaming in pain. It kind of took the tiger's breath away for a couple of seconds as he laid their on his mattress. Did he regret it? Not a snowball's chance in hell. Working with one of his top idols was a huge dream of his, plus, this would definitely make him a much stronger player on top of his already scheduled training.
Like the redhead had promised, he felt a little like he had some withdrawal symptoms from the sole female player on his team, so why not call her? He might've kind of forgotten the time difference, but she had picked up nonetheless and here they were now.
"I told you. He's there all the time. And no, I did not ask him to give you lessons," the triple threat stated while holding her phone as she made her way down the softly lit hallway, kind of trying to be as quiet as she could since a majority of the people still in the building were still fast asleep.
"Who said that's what I was thinking?" Kagami retorted to her slight accusations.
Of course he really didn't think that she had asked her father but had simply spoke of him like a lot of kids did with their parents. Plus, she did tell him that her legendary father was a regular of those street courts. However, it would catch anybody off guard if they sudden saw their role model in the sports that they loved suddenly come up to them acting as nice and as casual as Akio did.
(Y/N) soon entered the girl's bathroom, turning the lights on and closing the door when she heard her redheaded friend's little question as she made a small face.
"Uh, me, that's who," the tall girl referred to herself in a sassy fashion while setting her little bathroom bag by the sink along with her phone, turning on the sink in the process.
There it was. There's that feistiness he missed seeing. Kagami was soon smiling to himself a little bit before hearing some water beginning to run on the other line.
"Mmhmm. What're you doing?" The tiger asked her, not realizing that it was already morning over in Japan while it was getting close to being the middle of the night in LA.
"Brushing my teeth. I just woke up, like, ten minutes ago. See?"
Seconds after she had answered, Kagami felt his phone buzz against his ear. Taking it away as he turned onto his side, the tiger realized that it was the triple threat trying to start a video call with him. Pressing the green answer button, the redhead squinted a little bit from the sudden burst of light blasting him in the face. After blinking a couple of times, he was finally able to see the tall girl giving him her usual bright grin along with two thumbs up as she had set her phone up against the wall. Her long hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing her fuzzy light blue and white polka dotted head band.
Wow, she certainly didn't look nor act like she had just woken up.
"You're acting pretty energetic for someone who's awake at..." Kagami trailed off for a second, looking up in thought and tried to do the math on how many hours she was ahead of him.
Come on, Kagami. You might suck in a lot of subjects at school, but simple math wasn't this hard for him. Luckily, his smarts came through for him this time.
"Five in the morning," he finally finished his statement, getting the time right on the dot in Japan.
"Well, my uncle has us doing fartlek training and I love fartlek training. It's basically us playing tag in the mountains for three hours every day," the (h/c) haired girl explained as she squeezed some of her minty fresh toothpaste onto her toothbrush before putting it under the running water and then began brushing her teeth.
And of course, she was the freaking undefeated champion at tag. The triple threat was not about to get double the training from her uncle, so she did that by making sure that she was the Queen of Tag by the time this month was over. And also...Hyuga had gotten his revenge in the form of a tickle attack just the night before. He had caught her off her guard when she was snacking and binge watching a crime documentary.
Yeah...
She definitely caved then...
But that didn't stop the girl from getting even more ballsy whenever it came to taunting him during tag.
While she was making it sound like all fun and games, Kagami kind of paled at the thought of doing fartlek training for that long every day. Thank god Alex didn't make him do any of that. He had done it a couple of times...and it wasn't a good ol' time. Puking is not fun.
"That sounds awful," the redhead finally spoke after slightly reliving those awful memories.
Though that also earned him a slightly narrowed eyed and unimpressed look from the triple threat as she paused brushing her teeth, taking her toothbrush out of her mouth in the process.
"Says you," she said through all of the foam that had collected around her mouth, causing her voice to sound a little muffled, like she had stuffed it full of marshmallows.
"Hey!"
Kagami's offensive tone made the tall girl begin to giggle. To make sure that no toothpaste got on her shirt, (Y/N) turned the sink back on and spit it all out, cleaning her mouth by taking a couple of mouthfuls of water, swishing it all around, and then spitting it back out into the sink. To think that she could make such a hothead have such a tame reaction. Well, it was all in good fun judging by the grin on his face.
"Isn't it, like, eleven there right now? Why aren't you sleeping?" The long haired girl pointed out, knowing damn well he had to probably get up as early as she had when it came to practicing with both Alex and her father.
Though, Kagami didn't really know why she was asking that since he was simply doing what she had asked of him.
"Cause I wanted to call you. You're the one who said I had to communicate with you every day," the tiger kind of sarcastically and jokingly answered, recalling what the girl had said back when she had dropped him off at the airport.
Oh, he was so twisting her words. (Y/N) could hear the emphasis he had put on the 'you' in his statement. That made her give him the same comical unimpressed expression as she seemed to freeze for a second. Kagami had to try his absolute hardest not to laugh when she gave him that look.
"I did not say that. I asked if it was okay if I texted you every day 'cause I figured we were both gonna be busy with practice and everything," she clarified in case the boy needed some reminding.
Oh, he didn't need any sort of reminding. He knew what she had said, it was just going to be his choice on how he wanted to interpret it. And this was his way of doing so. Plus, how could he see a face like the triple threat's comical 'I know that's BS' face and not let a grin poke through? The emoji for that sort of emotion couldn't ever beat hers in a million years.
"Yeah, and I felt like calling you, so there," the sassy tiger decided to retort, which kind of made the triple threat want to do a double take as she squeezed some face moisturizer in her hands.
She never knew Kagami could show such a side to him. Guess that's what happened when you put a boy in a situation like this with the girl he liked. So much so, his playful side was showing even more than it ever had before.
"It's too early for this," the tall girl decided to end it right then and there as she rubbed her moisturizer on her face, making little faces and scrunching her nose up in the process.
Oh, she was so cute. Didn't matter what kind of situation she was in. When she knew she couldn't win a little argument, she was cute. Whenever she was thinking, she was cute. Whenever she was making her little faces, she was absolutely adorable. Kagami just couldn't help but to smile whenever he looked at her. And having their little playful moments like this just made the grin on the boy's face grow.
Though when (Y/N) looked back at her phone, she saw that playful grin on his face.
"Don't give me that look, Tigerhead," she told him while she rinsed off her face.
"Whatchu talking about, Firecracker?" The redhead decided to play dumb, knowing fully well what she was talking about, even calling her by that nickname again.
It made the tall girl smile, her heart feeling like it fluttered a little bit whenever he called her that. She didn't know why, but she really didn't care. That was just their own little thing. And she really treasured that.
Geez, he wasn't trying to flirt or anything, but for someone who would get bashful around girls just months ago, this came really easy to him. The tiger always thought guys were supposed to be more embarrassed around their crush, but he didn't know, (Y/N) just made it more easy for him to take a breath and not be so uptight. It was nice, one of the things he really liked about her.
"You know what. Oh! Little birdie told me you met my other friends earlier," she suddenly changed the subject, thinking back to her phone call the night before.
And...the plethora of texts she received during the night from her friends. Fumi and Kiari had rather nice things to say. Mika? Well...let's just say she was very much keeping her promise that she had made about. The tiger soon started to pale a little bit thinking back to the other people he had met that day. And that expression on one of their faces certainly stuck with him more than anything.
"You mean the one who was giving me a death glare the entire time I was practicing today?" Kagami asked, still not really believing that Mika was one of the triple threat's closest friends.
The two were polar opposites. Well, except for their basketball skills, the white haired girl certainly didn't disappoint when she went up against the redhead during Akio's training session earlier that day. Still, it kind of felt like the tiger was going up against the female version of himself.
And like she expected, (Y/N) was quick to catch on as to what her childhood friend was referring to. Hopefully, Mika wouldn't snap at him and keep her end of the deal. Because the tiger wasn't going to have much defense. Kiari could only do so much on her own against the white haired girl.
"That's the one! Sorry, Mika means well. But ever since that whole thing between Daiki and me, she's grown a little...overprotective, let's just say that," the tall girl explained once she found the right words that she wanted to use.
Now that made a little more sense as to why the white haired girl was acting like that towards Kagami. Clicked in his head since he had kind of the same reaction when he found about everything. And he had also been compared to being very similar to the miracle ace. Hopefully by the time he went back to Japan, the redheaded tiger could prove to the triple threat's friend that he had nothing but respect and care for her. Though, he could also say that about Aomine too.
Sheesh, screw him for pulling what he pulled back at the inn.
Still, all of that didn't change the fact that the white haired girl's little ominous promise sent chills down his spine.
"She's kind of scary, not gonna lie. But your other friends are pretty cool, Fumi and Kiari, right?" Kagami tried his best to recall the other two girls's names.
Lucky for him, his memory served him well when he saw the (h/c) haired girl nod as she wiped her face with a damp washcloth.
"Yeah! I've known them all since elementary and we have this dance group that we formed, we all did the same sports, ahh...nostalgic," she sighed blissfully, remembering all of the good times the quartet had had in the past.
All of the games they had played together, all of the dance competitions they had been to and won, and just the amazing times they had together. The tiger grinned a little grin, seeing that these girls meant a lot to the triple threat. It was probably nice to have her little girl friend group since she hung around dudes all of the time during the season. But he knew she also enjoyed those times too.
No one could ever fake a smile as bright as hers.
Now, there was something that she said that seemed to pique Kagami's interest a little bit. And that so happened to be the very fact that she revealed another talent that could be added to the list of things she was pretty good at.
"Dancing, huh?" The tiger suddenly pointed out, that playful grin still on his face.
He couldn't get rid of it. Whenever he was around the triple threat, the redhead could never shake his smile. But it wasn't like he was complaining about it either.
Now, the tall girl thought it was a little odd that her friend was suddenly questioning her dancing. Hello? Has he not yet seen her celebration moves whenever Seirin made a winning point in a game?
The girl soon arched her eyebrow at her redheaded friend as she tossed the damp washcloth in a nearby hamper.
"Uh, yeah. Have you not seen my fantabulous dance moves, Taiga?" (Y/N) asked in a sassy fashion as she put her hands out a little bit.
Oh, Kagami had seen her dancing before. He just wanted to play dumb in order to make her playful side come out even more. It was absolutely adorable whenever she decided to get all sassy like this.
A couple of seconds later, Kagami let out a hum as the (h/c) haired girl waited for a response.
"I might've caught a peek or two," the tiger finally replied to her question.
That's it?! The triple threat didn't believe that for a freakin' second.
"Liar."
The redhead could only respond with a little bit of a laugh. Geez, it might've only been like two days, but Kagami was feeling like he had been away from her for an entire year. Not having her over here with him made things just a little less bright. He also couldn't help but to think back to the early morning when she had dropped him off. He missed having her warmth close to his.
He just missed...her.
"I miss you, you know," the tiger finally voiced his thoughts, which seemed to make the girl perk up a little bit.
Though, it seemed like the tiger had kind of realized he made that sound a little more intimate than he might've wanted, so the boy's cheeks began to turn about as red as his hair when he saw the girl turn back toward the camera with a slightly surprised expression.
That was when (Y/N) kind of looked down a little bit as she grabbed her phone, bringing it a little closer to her face as she gave her friend on the other end a bit of a side smile. Seemed like the feeling was mutual.
"I do too. I mean, I know it's only been a couple of days, but...you know. The team's not complete without you. Tetsu told me that too," she admitted, adding what the phantom had told her towards the end.
She might've been stretching his words just a tish because she was more so referring to the very fact that it was Kuroko that had brought up the fact that Kagami was missing from the team first before anyone else had time to notice.
"Now that I don't believe for a damn second," the tiger stated, knowing damn well the phantom didn't say anything even close to that.
But leave it to the long haired girl to try and make peace between the two bickering boys. And her next words only proved that she knew the two of them far too well.
"Of course you don't. Admit it, Tigerhead, he's your best friend~" the girl began to tease her hot tempered friend.
She knew the two of them were rather good friends considering how much they hung out and trusted one another. She just knew Kagami was too hot headed to ever frickin' admit that out loud. Oh, but he was fine with how close she was with him.
(Y/N), you are such a naive little Angel.
The redhead should've expected that coming from her. She still wasn't the best whenever it came to romance, but that's fine. She was getting a little bit better day by day...ish. For now, the tiger just decided to kind of go along with her teasings. It was more fun that way as Kagami allowed another smile to pop through.
"Not a frickin' chance, (Y/N)," the redhead was still gonna be stubborn about it.
So the triple threat was going to have to up it just a little bit as she smirked at the camera, bringing it even closer to her face.
"I call BS," she tried her hardest not to laugh at her own joke.
She could smell BS from a thousand miles away, and Kagami was reeking of it. However, before she and the tiger could continue with their joking and fun conversation, the tall girl soon heard a knock on the door that could only mean one thing.
"Hey, I gotta get going. Riko needs the bathroom too apparently," the triple threat informed the tiger as she nodded her head toward the door.
Kagami could hear the faint sound of knocking over the phone and he knew that it was getting close to time when it came to ending their call. So all he did was nod.
"Yeah, I should probably get to bed too. Don't forget to text me and all that fun jazz," the redhead reminded her to do, which made her smile a little bit.
"Will do. Now go to sleep," the girl comically ordered him to do.
Geez, she was starting to sound like Alex. Maybe it was time to put his own spin on things before saying goodbye.
"Bye, Firecracker~" the tiger said to her in a long, drawn out fashion that was able to put one last grin on her face, hearing that nickname again.
"Bye, Tigerhead~"
And with that, (Y/N) pressed the red end call button before gathering all of her things so that her cousin could use the bathroom next.
Little did she know, Riko had been standing there for quite some time, listening to the duo's conversations. It put a smile on her face. She knew her little cousin could tame the tiger's temper, but she didn't think it'd evolve into this. She could practically hear it in the red head's voice. But she also knew he wasn't the only one who felt that way about the triple threat.
Hearing her cousin open the door, Riko watched as her younger cousin slipped out, sending the brunette a quick smile before she began to make her way back to their bedroom to change. And the second year coach could only watch her scurry away as she leaned on the doorway, crossing her arms with a bit of a sly smile on her face.
"That boy is head over heels," the second year said to herself before heading into the bathroom to freshen herself up.
Timeskip
One month flew by way faster than anyone could even imagine. Before everyone knew it, the day of first day of the Winter Cup Tournament was finally here. And it was being held in one of the largest gymnasiums in all of Tokyo. Goes to show how big of a deal this championship was.
In the main lobby where all of the different teams were waiting for the opening ceremony to begin, Seirin was standing around in their own little spot, speaking amongst themselves as they waited. As usual, the triple threat and light blue haired phantom were kind of off to the side a little bit having some small talk of their own. Though, Kuroko definitely had something to say about a certain something he had noticed ever since he and the tall girl met up that morning as they usually did.
"Your hair looks nice today, (Y/N)," the soft spoken boy complimented the girl's slight change in appearance.
For the opening ceremony, the girl decided to let her long locks stay down until the first game later that day. However, since this was a slightly more formal event, the triple threat decided to add a little extra flare to her hair in the form of some soft beach curls.
It looked really good in Kuroko's eyes. He always liked it when she let her hair down, the way it framed her face was absolutely perfect and beautiful in his mind. But he also had to admit, she looked good no matter how she wore her hair.
Letting out a smile at her friend's compliment, the tall girl took a piece of her (h/c) hair and played with the ends a little bit with her newly painted snowflake themed nails. Aneko always gave her sister discounts and it had Seirin's colors, how could she pass up a deal like that?
(Like this)
"Thanks, Tetsu. I wanted to put a little extra curl in it today before Jun fixes it up for the game," she told the phantom before throwing it back over her shoulder, letting it fall back in place.
Kuroko kind of watched as it fell, noticing that her hair was now well past her bum, which was a noticeable difference since the beginning of the season.
"It's gotten long," the light blue haired boy pointed out, much like Hyuga did.
"I know, I need to get it trimmed just a little. Not complaining about the length though," the triple threat grinned, thinking about a time where Aneko could fit her into her schedule.
But this made it more fun to style too, she loved the length. Kuroko wasn't complaining either, just something he had noticed. Though, he could understand why she wanted to trim the ends in order to keep it healthy. (Y/N) always had really pretty hair and it was well taken care of too, even at this length.
As the two miracles stood there for a few more seconds, the tall girl soon felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Digging in and taking it out, she soon saw it was her twin that was calling her. Tapping the green answer button on her device, the girl put the phone up to her ear.
"Talk to me," she answered, kind of growing curious as to what her brother wanted during a time like this.
"Hey, come over here for a quick family photo. Get Riko too," Hibiki suddenly instructed his twin sister to do without any sort of hesitation.
Clearly, it kind of caught the triple threat off guard as she arched an eyebrow before looking around and into the crowds while also catching the phantom's attention as well.
"What the honk, where are you?" (Y/N) questioned her brother, continuing to peek through the crowds of high schoolers to see if she could spot anyone with a head of (h/c) hair like her own.
But all she could see was just a sea of high school basketball players. Her light blue haired friend, unfortunately, couldn't be of much help to her because of his shorter stature. Good thing Hibiki was tall enough to see her.
"Turn around," he began instructing her to do again while also kind of sweat-dropping at the same time.
Seriously, he and his cousins weren't that hard to spot from where she was. And where does his sister turn? The completely opposite direction of where she's supposed to be facing. Well, that's his twin for ya.
Then, as if she had used her twin telepathy to tell her which way to turn, (Y/N) was finally started to face the right way.
"Little more...stop! I see you looking at me," the younger brother stopped his sister.
Though, there was a little problem with that.
"I don't see you, Hibs," the triple threat shook her head, not understanding what her twin was talking about.
She literally couldn't see with all of these guys that were a few inches taller than her. Hibiki couldn't help but to let out a small groan. He was literally looking at her from, like, fifteen feet away.
"Get on your tippy toes, Shorty," is all he told her.
Kuroko soon spotted a tick mark forming on her forehead. Yep, he knew the younger brother had said something to tick her off. He was just kind of hoping this wouldn't trigger a mimic fight. Because judging by the look on her face, that very well could happen.
"Shut up," she grumbled.
She wasn't short, these guys were just tall. There's a difference. But still, she did as he told her, not that she was going to let him know that, and stood on her tippy toes. Sure enough, there was her brother along with the very top of her cousins's heads standing beside him.
"Oh! I see you! Kay, hold on," the triple threat quickly hung up her phone before turning around to find the coach of her team.
"Riko!" The brunette heard her name being called by Seirin's sole female player.
Turning around toward the source of her cousin's voice, Riko spotted the tall girl waving her over. Oh, please let something not be wrong. The opening ceremony was in fifteen minutes. And of course, the one member of their team that they needed to help win this thing wasn't even here yet! She swore, she was gonna smack the shit out of him if he didn't show. The brunette was gonna lose it if her cousin added to that sort of chaos.
Taking a small deep breath in order to suppress her anxiety a little bit, the second year coach began to make her way over to her cousin and the phantom, somewhat having to weave through a couple of taller guys that were in her way. Once she had made it to the two miracles, she watched as the triple threat pointed over the crowds with her thumbs, obviously at someone, but Riko was a little too short to see who it was.
"Hibs wants to take a quick pic real quick with everyone," (Y/N) informed her older cousin, which put all of the brunette's nerves at ease.
Thank the gods it was the complete opposite of the chaos she was awaiting. Well, back up. Considering this was her family, there was always some sort of chaos whenever they all gathered together. Still, that was the good kind of chaos, she supposed. She'd take it.
"Alright," the second year coach grinned a little bit as she and the two miracles began making their way toward the youngest Bashira child.
The closer they got, the trio could see that Naoki and Masaru were already standing there with Hibiki, waiting for the other two to show up. And sure enough, it just had to be the loudest out of all of them to spot the two girls and the phantom first. Masaru soon had a big grin on his face as he threw his hand up in the air and began waving it back and forth rather dramatically in his twin's book. The pink haired boy didn't miss the chance to shoot his brother a look.
"Hi, Hachi! Hi, Riko! Hi-uh..." the grey haired twin trailed off after literally shouting the names of his other cousins.
Okay, he swore he saw Kuroko walking with them over here. And then...the light blue haired boy literally disappeared. Or did he?
"Hello," the phantom's voice suddenly popped up from in between the Kurosaki twins.
You can imagine the reactions of both Masaru and Naoki. No words needed, since one tended to be more dramatic than the other. Well, the pink haired twin was actually quite used to the light blue haired boy suddenly appearing out of nowhere, so he simply sent Kuroko a polite smile along with a small nod. Masaru...did not. In fact, he was about three feet in the air by now.
"AH!" The grey haired twin yelped just as his two cousins caught up.
"Sup!"
"Quit yelling," Riko scolded Masaru for being so loud, to which the boy only responded with a small whine.
He was scared, could anyone blame him for letting out a yell? He had even heard Riko do the same whenever she was pranked at family gatherings and things like that. Before the older Kurosaki twin could begin trying to prove his point, Hibiki soon held his phone up with his camera facing him so they could all do their honorary family group selfie.
"Kay, now everyone squeeze in close. Sis, don't sneeze on me," he made sure to tell his older twin sister after somewhat instructing the others to get in place.
It had happened before, trust him, the youngest Bashira had photographic proof. (Y/N) only shot him a look as she swung an arm around his shoulders with Riko and Naoki kind of crouching down in front of the taller twins. Masaru stood on Hibiki's other side. You know, the triple threat hadn't messed with her germaphobe brother in quite some time, and why not do it now as a mischievous smirk appeared on the girl's face.
"AH-" she started to fake sneeze in order to psych her brother out.
And it seemed to do the trick as the (h/c) haired boy flinched, jerking his camera away from the position he had just had it in.
"Don't!" The younger brother snapped over to his sister as she let out a small giggle.
You wouldn't have guessed it, but Hibiki Bashira was actually quite organized and liked things to be rather orderly. But that also meant he could be rather uptight whenever he got into one of those moods. The triple threat was simply loosening him up a little bit. The others knew the grin on her face said it all.
"Just kidding," she told him, which only made the boy roll his eyes as he began to fix where he had his phone positioned.
While he did that, the others made sure they were in the frame just as Hibiki used his long arms to hold his device out once again. Perfect, everyone fit in perfectly. Now for some last second things; Riko swung an arm around Naoki's shoulders, the triple threat laid her chin down on her brother's shoulder, and Masaru threw a peace sign out to the camera.
"One, two, three, smile!"
With toothy grins on all of their faces, the younger twin snapped about four pictures rather quickly just to make sure he captured the moment perfectly. Taking his phone away, everyone stood back up and gathered around the (h/c) haired boy and looked down at his phone to get a good look at the pictures. And as always, Hibiki didn't disappoint with his selfie skills. He had years of practice...trust his sister on that one.
"Nice, it looks good. Wait," Riko paused her compliments as she kind of squinted to get a better look at the screen.
She spotted something in one of the pictures that Hibiki had taken that wasn't there before. Using two fingers, the brunette coach zoomed in on the triple threat, seeing that someone had decided to photobomb their picture, kind of leaning their head on the tall girl's shoulder and also giving the camera a toothy grin.
"Who's that?" The second year questioned as the others began looking down at the younger Bashira's phone screen.
Sure enough, there was a girl with short, red hair giving the camera a big and happy smile as she kind of snuggled up with the triple threat. She seemed to know (Y/N) if she was getting all close with her like that. Speaking of said girl, (Y/N) took her brother's phone so that she could get a better look, despite Hibiki's protests. Zooming in on the stranger's face, the triple threat seemed to instantly recognize her as her jaw dropped.
"No," she gasped before turning around.
Sure enough, standing there right behind her was the red headed girl in question. And judging by (Y/N) larger than life smile and dropped jaw as she began letting out a surprised laugh, she knew exactly who this was. No surprise there.
"Oh my god, Tomo!" The tall girl excitedly greeted the newcomer as she went over to give the slightly taller girl a bear hug.
"Hi!" Tomo laughed as she returned her friend's hug, the two rocking back and forth.
Oh, she was clearly a tomboy too, her attire consisting of a white mid-arm sleeved shirt underneath a dark red vest, blue jeans, and finally, her feet had on some amazing and badass looking black combat boots. Tomo Aizawa was another one of the triple threat's long time friends from way back in the day. And she certainly looked like someone the triple threat would get along with.
Hibiki and Naoki knew she was, but Tomo was a new face for the other two. Still, she seemed like a good person if she was friends with (Y/N). The triple threat was a pretty good judge in character.
After their little reunion moment, the two girls finally pulled away from each other but kept their hands on each other's shoulders, their smiles never leaving their faces.
"What are you doing here?" The tall (h/c) haired girl asked, not expecting to see the red haired girl here because of her busy schedule.
"Because I missed you, duh! I couldn't miss my best friend's big games," Tomo answered with a slight giggle.
She and the triple threat hadn't seen much of each other because of their schedules, so when the red haired girl heard that her best friend's team would be competing in the Winter Cup, then Tomo had practically begged her father to let her have some time off in order to come support the (h/c) haired girl. Luckily, the usually very strict man when it came to practice liked (Y/N) and didn't seem to have much of a problem with it, allowing his daughter to have a break.
"Nice to see you again, Tomo," Kuroko's voice came into the mix.
"Woah!" The tomboy screeched.
Again, you can only guess what her reaction was to that. Tomo literally kind of jumped on the one person that didn't seem at all bothered by the phantom suddenly popping up out of nowhere. The triple threat simply let out a small laugh as she held onto Tomo by the waist, her cheeks kind of smushed up against her red haired friend's.
"Tetsuya, geez, I haven't been scared like in a while. Nice to see you again, dude," the red haired tomboy properly greeted her other close underclassman once she caught her breath and sighed.
That's something she had seemed to have forgotten about when it came to her friends from Teiko. It had been a while since she had been frightened like that, certainly woke her up and gained her attention to say the least. As the three continued interacting with one another, the rest of the family kind of felt like chopped liver just a little, but they knew it was unintentional. Riko was finally the one to kind of clear her throat a little bit to gain her younger cousin's attention, which definitely did the trick as the triple threat kind of remembered that she was here with members of her family that didn't quite know all of her friends.
"Sorry. Guys, this is Tomo Aizawa. She's an old friend and one of mine and Tetsu's upperclassman from middle school. The three of us go way back," the (h/c) haired girl introduced one of her other long time friends from middle school.
Obviously, Hibiki knew who she was, Naoki knew her because they went to the same school, but the other two had yet to meet Tomo. And just hearing that she too had gone to Teiko middle school was enough to give the cousins a pretty good first impression considering that was the home of the Generation of Miracles.
The red haired girl soon let out a small sheepish laugh while keeping her arm around (Y/N)'s shoulders and using the other to reach back to scratch the back of her head.
"Yeah, I've been so busy at the dojo lately I haven't been by to say hi and watch the games. I finally got some time off though," she explained why she had never been seen at many games this season.
And all of them could pretty much guess how busy she had been if she was the daughter of a dojo master. Knowing they still had some time before the opening ceremony, Hibiki just had to decide to make things into a competition in order to rile up his sister just a little bit.
"So you're here to watch me win, right, Tomo?" The younger twin smirked as he came over to the trio while pointing to himself with his thumb.
Oh, great. The Bashira twins were doing so good in not getting into one of their stupid arguments, but the more immature one of the two just had to open his mouth. And of course, it wasn't like the triple threat was going to back down when it came to her brother making such a bold accusation. Tomo began to sweat a little, knowing very well what was coming next as she and the rest of the group spotted a slightly annoyed expression appear on (Y/N)'s face.
"Uh, no, I'm gonna win, obviously," the triple threat retorted back as she pointed to herself rather dramatically.
If he really thought he could come over and suddenly start acting so cocky, well then, (Y/N) was going to show her brother a thing or two. Hibiki didn't quite look too impressed with his sister's response since he wasn't specifically speaking to her.
Here it comes....
Well, the peace was nice while it lasted.
The younger twin soon scrunched up his nose a little bit before pulling the first move.
"Obviously," he mimicked his sister in a rather taunting tone of voice.
Now it was the triple threat's turn as she made the same expression as her brother.
"Obviously," she replied in the same stupid sounding tone of voice.
"Bleh!"
"Bleh!"
Now it had reached the level of where both twins were pretty much sticking their tongues out at each other and making the most ridiculous sounds right in front of their friends. Their cousins love them, they promise, but this was getting ridiculous. Looks like Riko's fists were going to be the deciding factor in who would be victorious. Masaru and Naoki simply stood back to stay the hell out of this as the oldest cousin in the group rolled her sleeve up.
"You two are awful when it comes to that," the grey haired twin tried to tell the two older pair of twins, but was quickly stopped by his own twin.
"Stay out of it, Masa. Better to let them figure it out on their own," Naoki simply told his brother as they watched on.
At this point, Riko was getting ready to bop them both on the head had it not been for Kuroko and Tomo separating the two of them. The brunette didn't want to have to give one of her star players a concussion, but she was going to if the tall girl kept acting this childish.
"You and I aren't even that bad," Masaru looked over to the pink haired boy, trying to get him to see that even the Bashira twins argued like cats and dogs on occasion.
Though, Naoki begged to differ when it came to him and his own twin brother. At least Hibiki and (Y/N) got along the majority of the time. The same couldn't be said about the Kurosaki twins. Trust him, there was a very good reason why the two of them made sure they went to different schools.
"Eh," the pink haired boy simply shrugged as he looked away from his now shocked and offended brother.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" The loudmouth blurted out, ready to argue as usual.
At least they didn't act like little kids and mimicked each other as a way to prove who was the superior twin. Well...there were other things that they did that was way beyond what the Bashira twins did, but that wasn't going to help Masaru's case.
Before another big argument could begin between the Kurosaki twins this time, a voice came over a loud speaker, halting anything else from occurring.
"Attention, all teams. Please make your way to the entrance of the gymnasium as the opening ceremony will be beginning shortly."
Sheesh, looks like it was that time already. It was time to settle things out on the court, so all members of the family replaced their previously and comically annoyed expressions with much more serious and determined ones.
"Well, guess that's our cue," Hibiki was the first to speak, turning to go find his team so that Kasamatsu wouldn't have an excuse to smack him.
But not before giving bit his sister and Kuroko a quick fist pump, waving to his other cousins before disappearing into the crowds again. Guess (Y/N) could let this mimic fight slide since her baby brother was acting so mature for once. Because now it was go time.
"I'll be up in the stands. I think I saw Kitty and Kou sitting up there," Tomo informed her close friend before turning to head up the stairs.
Oh yeah, since this was a family event, you better bet everyone was going to be there. The Winter Cup was definitely a family affair. Which also meant the triple threat could have some support from a Touou alumni in order to rub it in Imayoshi's face.
But before that, the tall girl would be getting her daily dose of absolute cuteness as she watched her timid cousin make his way over to Tomo before she could get too far away.
"I can walk you up there, Tomo. That's where I was heading too. My team's not playing today," the pink haired boy offered with that sweet and innocent smile of his that would make anyone's heart explode.
The (h/c) haired girl's (e/c) eyes soon began sparkling as she held her hands out in front of her mouth in order to keep her squealing down to a minimum. Judging by the large blush that had just appeared on the red haired girl's face, it was safe to say that there was a little bit of chemistry happening between the two teens. Tomo had a not so little crush on the triple threat's cousin, and she wasn't the best at hiding it, but she wasn't going to straight up deny this opportunity.
"O-Okay," she accepted as she turned to look over her shoulder.
Of course, her best friend's reaction didn't help because she knew that (Y/N) hardcore shipped them together. And the triple threat was terrible at hiding her little fantasies of couples she believed were adorable. Though, she did a good job at hiding it until the two of them were out of sight before letting all her giddiness out.
"So cute!"
"Hachi, Riko," Masaru's voice halted the girl's little fangirling session as she and the brunette turned back to see a much more serious grey haired boy looking back at them.
That's right, Seirin's first game was up against Touou, which also meant it would be cousins vs cousins right out of the gate. This was really the first time so many members of the family were going up against each other in basketball or any sport really. But there was one very important thing they all wanted to remember as Masaru took in a deep breath, gathering his words and thoughts properly.
"No matter who comes out the winner in this, it's all love in the end," he told the two girls, letting out a smile.
That was something the whole family was brought up on, no matter who won, it was all fun and love in the end. No fun with the hard feelings. That rang with the triple threat deeper than anyone else, really. Hence, why she didn't really think about winning right out the bat whenever a game was started. At the end of the day, she and everyone else in the family wanted to have fun.
(Y/N) and Riko couldn't help but to smile back at Masaru, knowing fully well what he meant. Touou might've been Seirin's rival right now, but this was all supposed to be fun, not worrying about winning...yet anyway.
"Oh hell yeah, Masa," the tall girl grinned back as she bumped fists with her younger cousin.
"I agree," the second year coach followed suit.
Let the Winter Cup begin.