"Tsumannai... (I'm bored...)" Ryouko said as she dropped her pen and jutted out her lips. She slumped onto the table, her chin and elbows resting on the polished wooden surface. It was so smooth and shiny that she can see her reflection on it. She turned to Seijuro. "Nee Sei-sama... Can we stop the etiquette lessons already? I've already memorized every rule written in that thing," she added, narrowing her eyes at the big, hardbound book in Seijuro's hands.
Seijuro heaved a sigh. Indeed, he already exhausted all of the materials he had prepared for Ryouko's lessons. It had only been three days since his arrival at the Fujioka mansion. She had learned everything in that short amount of time. He didn't anticipate how quickly his pupil can absorb information. He had to admit that she's extremely smart for her age.
Seijuro snapped the book close. "Well, what do you want to learn?" he asked.
Ryouko blinked at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Just as the words implied, tell me anything you want to learn and I'll teach it to you," he replied. Seijuro remembered what his father had said to him before he was sent to England. It was not really important for Ryouko to learn manners and etiquette. As a matter of fact, Seijuro has suspicions that she had already been receiving such lessons since early childhood. Every child of the upper class had to undergo such initiation before debuting to the public.
He set his red eyes on his pupil. What is important is for this little princess to have a companion and the bottom line is that I have to keep her entertained, he told himself.
Ryouko had lifted herself off from the table, propped her elbows on the surface and placed her cheeks on both palms. She smiled at Seijuro cheekily. "Is that your way of saying you are good at everything? What if I ask you to teach me something that you don't know?"
Seijuro placed the book back on the shelf. He looked at Ryouko over his shoulder. "If it is something out of the area of my expertise, then I'll just learn it while teaching. I do have a lot of free time outside of our lessons."
"Ohh?" Ryouko said. Seijuro felt annoyed at her tone. It sounded like a mixture of mockery and admiration, but he wasn't sure which one was more dominant. There were a lot of instances where Seijuro failed to analyze the true feelings of this girl. She seemed transparent most of the time but there is more to her than meets the eye.
Ryouko stood from the chair and sat on the table instead, facing the wall free of any furniture. She took out a tennis ball from the pocket of her skirt and started bouncing it against the wall. It went back and forth into her hand skillfully. "In that case, since I have a veeeeery dependable tutor, I'll come up with a lot of interesting activities to learn," she said, putting emphasis on her words.
Seijuro's eye twitched. Was it just him or did that sound like a challenge?
"But for now..." she continued. "Can you teach me how to play an instrument?" The ball bounced back into her open palm and she closed her fist around it. She turned towards Seijuro and threw the ball at him.
Seijuro caught it without batting an eyelash. "What kind of instrument?" he asked, throwing the tennis ball back.
Ryouko caught it with the same steadiness. "I don't know... But I'm interested in learning the violin," she hurled the ball back to Seijuro.
"The violin?" Seijuro questioned, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Are you saying that you're confident in mastering such a complex instrument during the remaining four days under my tutelage?" he tossed the ball back to Ryouko.
Ryouko caught it and looked slightly crossed. "I'm not telling you to make me an elite violinist. You just need to teach me how to play the instrument," she said curtly, hinting that Seijuro missed the point. She held the ball above her head in a throwing stance.
Seijuro prepared himself to catch the ball but Ryouko withdrew her hand at the last second. "It's a fake. Gotcha," she said in a playful tone and returned the ball to her pocket.
Seijuro was obviously peeved. No one is courageous enough to joke around with him until a certain pesky little girl came along.
"So..." Ryouko said, jumping off of the table. "Will you teach me or not?"
Seijuro sighed. "Very well, I'll teach you the basics," he said in a relenting tone.
"Goody," Ryouko said in English and took out a phone from her other pocket. She dialed a number.
"Shall we start tomorrow?" Seijuro asked.
"Nah, we still have a lot of time before my classes resume. I'll have everything set up in a jiffy," she told him. The person she's calling picked up the phone.
"Licht? Can you prepare two violins and bring them up to the study? Oh, and some music sheets as well," she added and immediately hung up. "There we have it," she said to her tutor with a shrug. "I'll also have someone bring us some snacks. We'll eat as we wait. It should be here in about fifteen minutes. Licht is very dependable and he's quick on his feet," she said as she dialed another number.
"You really are spoiled aren't you?" Seijuro said in exasperation.
"That's not true. I clean up after myself and I don't make other people clean my room if I can help it. I can change my own clothes if only they'll stop making me wear those stupid dresses," she said before asking an employee in the kitchen for five slices of Battenberg cake and a pot of Earl Grey tea.
Seijuro rolled his eyes and shook his head hopelessly. That way of thinking is exactly what I would call 'spoiled', he said to himself mentally.
He settled himself on the couch and took out his phone. "By the way, why did you make them bring up five slices of Battenberg cake? Will someone be joining us?" he asked aloud, browsing the internet on his phone to look up techniques for teaching the basics of playing the violin.
"No," Ryouko answered, taking a seat on the couch opposite of him and hugged a cushion. "One slice is for Sei-sama and the other four are for me," she told him.
"You just finished lunch with me almost two hours ago, didn't you? You're going to eat that much?" Seijuro asked.
"Sweets belong in a different stomach. Haven't you heard of that, Sei-sama?" she replied matter-of-factly.
"Whatever," Seijuro said in exasperation, dismissing the topic. "Just make sure you won't spoil your dinner."
"Hai, hai, onii-sama (Yes, yes, Big Brother)," Ryouko simply answered.
"Sorry, but I'm against having a sister as troublesome as you," Seijuro said.
"Well, that hurts," Ryouko replied with a smirk. She shrugged. "Ah~ Furare chatta (Ah~ I got rejected)," she said with fake disappointment.
Seijuro sighed once more. He's been sighing a lot for the past three days. Fujioka Ryouko is much harder to control than he had initially thought. She's so troublesome that he can't even concentrate on practicing basketball. It must be because she's still young in addition to being quite mischievous compared to other children. That's why Seijuro tries to maintain his patience but that was not all.
She also tends to pop up at unexpected times. Take yesterday night as an example when she abruptly walked in on him as he was showering just because she wanted to point out an error in one of his explanations on formal dinner table setting.
"Just what on earth are you doing, Fujioka Ryouko?" an unusually abashed-faced Seijuro said with an infuriated tone, hiding carefully behind the shower curtain.
"Da-ka-ra... (Like-I-said...)" a pajama-clad Ryouko answered, standing at the doorstep of the bathroom inside the guest room that Seijuro occupied. "You told me that it's water goblet, champagne flute, white wine glass, red wine glass, and sherry glass on the upper right corner of the dining arrangement but it's actually water goblet, champagne flute, red wine glass, white wine glass and sherry glass in successive order. You got the red wine glass and white wine glass confused," she said, counting off the utensils with her tiny fingers as she spoke.
"Couldn't you leave that matter until tomorrow?" Seijuro asked in displeasure. "How did you even get inside my room?"
Ryouko held out a keychain to show him, the keys clinking together. "I stole a copy of the master keys. I better put them back before someone notices or Licht will get mad," she answered.
Then don't steal it! he thought irritably. "I got it..." Seijuro sighed. "I got it, alright, so will you kindly get out so I can have my sanity back?" he asked, his words dripping with annoyance.
"Sure," Ryouko said with a shrug and tiptoed out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Just as Seijuro stepped out from behind the shower curtain, the door swung open once again.
"What the?!" he yelled and quickly grabbed a towel.
"But you still got it wrong," Ryouko said, her head sticking out of the cracked open door. "Don't feign ignorance later."
"I said I got it! And I won't feign ignorance over such a silly thing, for goodness sake!" Seijuro exclaimed.
It was the first time in his entire life that Seijuro actually yelled. He wasn't used to raising his voice at such a volume. It sounds unprofessional and makes his throat hurt.
Seijuro sipped his cup of Earl Grey, closing his eyes to appreciate the aroma. He opened one eye to peek at Ryouko who is currently gobbling up her second slice of Battenberg cake with no grace whatsoever. She may have understood the etiquette lessons word for word but it's a perfect waste of effort if she won't apply them to her actions.
And this is why I am fortunate in being an only child, he thought. Just think of him having a sister like Fujioka Ryouko! What a disaster that will be!
~~~
"Hai, hai!" An called with a mini-megaphone. "Basketball players, on the left side; tennis players, on the right, please! Let's make this easier for all of us, shall we? You guys are already too inconveniently large for the girl reps. to monitor," she said. She stood with Mami, Miyako, Sakuno, Tomoka, and Ryouko on the main hall's stage together with Satsuki and Riko.
The boys arranged themselves in the given order, grumbling like bears as they dragged their feet to their designated sides of the hall.
"This is troublesome..." Murasakibara Atsushi and Akutagawa Jirou both mumbled as they shuffled past each other. Surprised by the sudden synchronization, they turned to each other and blinked.
"Domo-su, (Hello there)," Jirou said with a slight bow of his head. It was a very, very slight bow. He couldn't bend his neck downwards as he was already busy looking up to see the giant's face. Waa. What does this guy eat to grow so big? he wondered.
"Yea," Murasakibara shrugged in response. Both went on their separate ways.
As Ryoma crossed the hall to go to the left side of the hall, he looked at the stage and gazed at Ryouko. The latter noticed and her eyes met his. Ryouko gave a small smile and waved at him.
Akashi, who was already standing on the right side of the hall with his fellow Rakuzan members, saw her little gesture and raised an eyebrow. His red eyes found its way to the recipient of his former pupil's unusually chummy action and saw a dark-haired boy waving back at her.
"Ohh?" he said, his interest slightly piqued. He had never seen Ryouko make such an expression. She had always made the effort to look either expressionless or cocky and sarcastic, thinking that it makes her look more intimidating and counters her soft doll-like looks at the same time.
The fact that she greeted the boy so openly means that they're pretty close. Even though Akashi only stayed with Ryouko for a week annually, he knew enough to be able to analyze his former pupil's personality, which, surprisingly, isn't even that complicated.
Akashi shifted his eyes to the boy. His height and features gave away the fact that he's a freshman which makes him the same age as Ryouko. So the spoiled brat already made friends outside of her family circle? Akashi thought, strangely pleased. Being the girl's tutor made him feel a sense of responsibility at times, and he remembered feeling proud of her achievements. Maybe that's how an older brother feels about their siblings. Even so, Akashi would rather stay an only child. Siblings are troublesome. He had confirmed it after being Ryouko's in-house tutor.
"Okay then," the girl with short brown hair, who introduced herself as Tachibana An of Fudoumine Tennis Club and Representative of the camp's first team, started again with the announcement. "Honestly, I have no idea what we can do to distribute the basketball players to the six teams. This is so sudden so we haven't prepared anything."
Ryouko unexpectedly raised her hand. "Betsuni kamawanai yo (I don't really care)," she said. "But Sei-sama belongs to my team," she added with a tone implying that, to her, her words sounded completely reasonable.
"Ryouko-chan... Sore wa feiya janai desu yo (That's not really fair)," Miyako said, smiling uneasily.
"Ryouko-chan, who always wanted things to be done fair and square, is behaving selfishly?" Mami questioned, her eyes widening. Just who is this 'Sei-sama'? She wondered and looked over to see where the basketball players stood.
"Oh? Did you hear that, Sei-sama?" Hayama teased playfully.
"Shut up," Akashi answered but he couldn't help letting a small corner of his lips lift up into a smile. Still spoiled as ever," he told himself.
Kise looked sullen. She also knows me, yet she didn't even give acknowledge like she did with Akachin... Is she really still holding a grudge about that? he thought.
Kasamatsu also noticed this. "I'm a bit curious. Just what did you do to her to earn her disrespect?" he asked.
"Hanashii wa nagai desu. Mata ato de (It's kind of a long story. Maybe later)," Kise answered.
On the right side, Ryoma stood in front of the other Team 3 members directly across the basketball players. He heard Ryouko call the red-haired member, wearing a white and light blue jersey, 'Sei-sama'. He remembered his conversation with Ryouko not too long ago, about the three things that made her happy that morning.
'I got to meet someone that I didn't expect to see.'
Is that him? Ryoma asked himself, narrowing his eyes at the red-haired fellow. The guy has this mysterious aura wrapped around him. It isn't because he's intimidating or anything; he's not even that tall compared to the others around him. But, there's something superior in the way he moves and the way his eyes look. The nonchalant air completes it all... Whoever he may be, he's definitely not normal.
The guy noticed him staring and looked back at him. Ryoma's eyes widened a bit and his head involuntarily gave a slight bow of greeting. What the? he thought. Why am I bowing down to him? he asked himself as he jerked his head back upright.
The red-haired guy responded with a nod and a superior-looking smirk. It gave Ryoma the creeps. Did he just make me submit to his power? How? Ryoma is completely mystified.
Arguments continued for minutes as the girls argued about how they would systematically separate the basketball members among the six teams. In the end, they agreed on what was probably the most effective method: just let the boys decide on which team they want to join. The order will follow the winning line-ups from the Winter Cup which makes the Seirin members first to choose, followed by Rakuzan and so on until all of them are sorted into teams.
"All right," Ryouko said. "Let's go with the captain first."
Hyuga stepped forward. The girl representatives stood on the platform in the order of the team numbers with An on the far left and Tomoka on the far right. Hyuga eyed them one by one.
Although the Team 2 representative has this charming aura around her, Hyuga was too intimidated to pick her team. And, by the sounds of it, she's quite bossy and not the least bit hesitant in voicing out her thoughts. The Team 1 representative, on the other hand, gives off a vibe somewhat similar to Riko.
"Team 1," Hyuga decided.
"Oh yeah!" An cheered and gave a bright smile. "Welcome to Team 1 Hyuga-san," she said to him.
"I'm honored," Hyuga replied and went to where the other Team 1 members were waiting.
"Yoroshiku-onegaishimasu," the junior high tennis team members greeted as Hyuga joined them.
"Yoroshiku," Hyuga replied with a senpai-like smile.
Riko stepped forward. "For now, Team 1 is temporarily closed to the other Seirin members until all six teams each receive one member. That way, it's fair to all the team representatives."
"Cheh. That means that every six people, the last person doesn't get to choose," Mibuchi commented. "So much for freedom of choice..."
"I'm next," Kagami suddenly said and stepped forward.
"Oi, oi. You gotta let the seniors finish first," Riko chided from the stage.
"It's okay," Izuki said with a good-natured smile. "He looks so excited; just let him do what he wants."
Mami inched towards Miyako to whisper in her ear. "Hey, Miyako, don't you think that senpai looks cool?" she said, looking down at Izuki.
"Well... Yes, kinda," Miyako answered.
"Hey Hayama-san," Izuki said to Hayama who is standing not too far from him. "Panda wa nani kuu desuka? (What does a panda eat?)"
"I don't know, bamboo?" Hayama guessed, scratching his head.
Izuki held up a forefinger knowingly. "Pan da. (Bread.)"
Hayama burst out laughing.
"Kotaro has such a shallow sense of humor," Mibuchi sighed.
"You said it," Nebuya agreed.
Mami and Miyako looked expressionless.
"Oyaji gyagu? (Old man gags?)" Miyako questioned.
"Dasai (So lame)," Mami thought. "Actually..." she said aloud. "Just forget I ever said anything."
"Understood," Miyako replied.
In front of the platform, Kagami is in the middle of choosing his team. Strangely, he took something out of his pocket.
"Isn't that a pencil case?" Koganei said, peering at the item in Kagami's hand.
Indeed, it was a pencil case. He unzipped it and took something out. All of a sudden, he dropped the item and let it roll in front of him.
"AH!" Midorima shouted.
"What the?" Takao said, quite shocked. "What is it, Shin-chan? You scared the heck out of me," he asked him in displeasure.
Midorima was pointing at the object Kagami rolled on the ground. Takao narrowed his eyes at it.
"AH!" Takao also shouted, pointing at the pencil lying on the floor. "The Pencil of the Lazy God: Rolly Pencil!" He exclaimed and turned to Midorima. "It's got a twin?"
"Pencil of the Lazy God? What the heck is that?" Moriyama asked.
"I'm positive that I gave it to Kuroko back in junior high... Why does Kagami have it, nanodayo?" Midorima inquired.
"Shin-chan, you traitor! If you had another one, you should've given it to me!" Takao complained.
"They're ignoring me," Moriyama noted, quite annoyed.
"Weren't you listening nanodayo? I gave it to Kuroko in junior high. We haven't even met yet at that time nanodayo," Midorima told Takao irritably.
"I loaned it to Kagami-kun for a pop quiz. Now that I remember, I haven't gotten it back yet," Kuroko mumbled. He tilted his head to one side. "Why does he have it in his pocket?"
"Team 2!" Kagami yelled and picked up the pencil from the floor. I want those shoes, he told himself. I want them so bad that I don't mind borrowing luck from Midorima. Screw you, Midorima, you bastard.
"Ohh? It's the pencil that made Bakagami score 98 in Japanese on last year's proficiency test! That means that Team 2 might win this one," Riko said raising the possibility.
"What are you talking about, Miss Size B?" Satsuki asked standing next to her.
Riko turned to her and answered. "Oh, nothing much. Last yea—" Satsuki's words finally registered with her. "Don't call me Miss Size B, you cow!"
"How rude," Satsuki said and cradled her plump chest. "You're just jealous because guys like them big."
The junior high girls could hear them clearly from the front of the stage. "Let's just pretend we didn't hear anything..." Miyako whispered to her friend. Mami nodded.
An sighed. Just when she thought she was going to be relieved of the responsibility as the eldest girl representative, she might have to take that back. She definitely feels more mature than the two high school girls bickering behind her.
Is chest size really that important? Sakuno wondered and looked down at her chest which is just beginning to develop.
Ryouko seemed nonchalant but she couldn't help but tighten her folded arms across her chest. "Ridiculous," she murmured.
Kagami went over to the Team 2 members who gawked over his height and physique, especially the freshmen.
"How tall are you Kagami-san?" Yohei inquired.
"190 cm," Kagami answered.
"Woahhhh..." the freshmen responded, quite impressed.
"Senpai," Kintarou said as he craned his neck upwards. "Can you tell me what diet you take to grow up that big?" he requested, his eyes shining and his tone full of admiration.
Kagami got flustered by the boy's excitement. "Uhh..." He said uncertainly, scratching the back of his head. "Hamburgers. Lots of them," he answered.
"Ohh," Shimada and Yohei remarked at the same time and immediately took note of it on their phones.
One by one, the Seirin members chose their teams. Izuki ended up joining Team 3, Mitobe joined Team 4, Koganei joined Team 5, and Tsuchida joined Team 6.
"Now, let's go over the next team, Rakuzan," Ryouko said, reading off of a list that An passed to her.
"Ummm..." a voice coming from, seemingly, nowhere suddenly startled Ryouko. "I haven't chosen my team yet," Kuroko said, his hand raised for attention.
Ryouko nearly jumped out of her skin. "Yu-yurei! (A ph-phantom!)" she exclaimed.
"Wow. She got it right the first time," Aomine commented.
"I am not a specter. I'm perfectly human," Kuroko told Aomine, sounding offended.
"Daiki! Stop badmouthing my Tetsu-kun!" Satsuki yelled from the stage, making a fuss.
"Daiki?" Murasakibara echoed. "Since when did Sacchin start calling Minecchin by his first name?"
"Apparently since the start of the new semester," Aomine answered. "I don't know what she's thinking, really..."
"Sumimasen deshita (I'm terribly sorry)," Ryouko bowed towards Kuroko. "I didn't see you standing there senpai."
"Ah. No need to apologize. This happens all the time," Kuroko said, pink patches appearing on his pale cheeks.
"He's delighted from being called 'senpai'," Riko said, her shoulders shaking up and down in silent giggles.
"Tetsu-kun, you're so cute!" Satsuki cooed with both hands on her cheeks.
"Good for you, Kuroko!" Hyuga said from where Team 1 was standing, holding two thumbs up in his kouhai's direction.
Kuroko's face grew a shade pinker.
"So, which team do you pick?" Riko asked. "Since all six teams already have a Seirin member, all six options are available to you."
Kuroko seemed to be mulling over his decision. He looked at Ryouko's direction in a hesitant manner before averting his eyes almost immediately. "Nii (Two)," he finally said.
"His 'kouhai' is over there after all..." Koganei teased.
"Yamete kudasai senpai (Please stop it senpai)," Kuroko said before strolling over to where the Team 2 members were standing.
Kajimoto and the others welcomed him with open arms.
"How tall are you Kuroko-san?" Kajimoto asked.
"168 cm," Kuroko answered.
"Compared to Kagami-san, your asset doesn't seem to come from your physique," Mizuki commented.
"Are you really a second year in high school? You seem to be as tall as an athlete in junior high school," Shiraishi added, hooking an arm around Kuroko's neck in a friendly way. Shiraishi stood a good 10 centimeters taller than Kuroko.
"Omaera (You guys)," Ryouko said from the platform. "Mind your manners or there's no dinner for you," She scolded in a threatening manner.
"You're scaring me, Ryouko-chan," Shiraishi replied playfully. "You shouldn't threaten a man with food."
"And exactly who is this 'man'? I can't seem to find him anywhere," Ryouko said sarcastically.
"Don't take it to heart, Shiraishi-san," Ryoma commented. "She's like that to everyone," he said begrudgingly.
Shiraishi laughed out loud. "Is that so?" he asked Echizen before turning to Kuroko again. "As you can see, we have a very strict team leader, Kuroko-san. You better prepare yourself."
"Rakuzan no buchou-san... (Rakuzan's captain...)" Mami called with one hand cupped over her mouth. "Rakuzan's captain, it's your turn now."
Akashi stepped forward, making the eyes of the tennis players widen.
"That person is the captain?" Chinen asked disbelievingly. His height is 193 cm despite being in the third year of junior high. Akashi's 173 cm made him look like a child in his eyes.
Kai also remarked. "Sure, he's got an aura and everything but isn't he too short to be captain? He seems to be as tall as I am. And he's a basketball player." Unbeknownst to Kai, Akashi is actually 2 cm shorter than him.
"That guy looks more like a captain," Shiranui said, pointing at Nebuya.
"He's just a tall lump of muscle alright," Aragaki added upon setting eyes on Nebuya.
Nebuya looked extremely pleased upon overhearing their comments. Akashi, however, is far from pleased. He turned her red eyes towards the Higa players standing in the far back, glaring coolly.
The Higa players dropped their eyes to the ground. "Scaryyyy..." they chorused in a low mumble.
"What's with those eyes? They look like they can actually pierce through anything," Kai said, shivering a little.
"Incredible..." The freshmen, who are constantly frightened by the Higa players, gawked at Akashi in utmost respect. "He scared the Higa folks senseless..." they awed.
Chinen overheard them. "You were saying?" he challenged, throwing them a deadly glare.
"Nothing," the freshmen squeaked and shrunk back in fright.
"Which team do you choose, Akashi-san?" An asked.
Akashi scanned the girl representatives and smirked as he noticed Ryouko pointing onto herself with both thumbs. He completely understood the message, 'Pick me, pick me.'
Akashi shrugged. "Wakatteiru yo, baka deshi (I got it, you stupid pupil)," he said and pointed at Ryouko.
Ryouko made fists of victory. "Sei-sama getto (I got Sei-sama)," she said in satisfaction.
Mami and Miyako giggled. "She looks really pleased," Mami commented.
"Isn't Ryouko-chan behaving like a little child right now?" Miyako added.
Ryoma gave a nonchalant expression and pretended to check his nails. "Why is she so pleased? That simpleton..." he mumbled in a bitter tone.
Akashi walked over to Team 2 and came face to face with Atobe Keigo, who was also on the same team. Akashi was experiencing misgivings. If he'd known beforehand that this brat was on this team, he would've avoided it. But then again, that would probably upset Ryouko.
Atobe's forehead scrunched up and he furrowed his eyebrows, showing that he is also displeased with the arrangement.
"Akashi-kun?" Kuroko said, breaking Akashi's train of thought. Kuroko seemed to be waiting for him to take his place next to him and Kagami.
Akashi closed his eyes and ignored Atobe, brushing past him coldly.
"Issashiburi desune? Aniue (It's been a long time, isn't it? Big brother)," Atobe suddenly said, his tone bitter.
"Eh?" Kagami and Kuroko said upon hearing the words.
"Was it just me or did that kid just call Akashi 'Big brother'?" Kagami questioned Kuroko, nudging him with one elbow.
Kagami's nudging actually hurt but Kuroko was currently frozen in shock. "Wakarimasen (I'm not sure)," he answered.
Akashi stopped in his tracks. "Oh?" he said, contempt evident in his voice.
This caught the attention of the basketball players. They craned their necks at the Team 2's area.
Akashi looked serious and displeased. "The fact that you haven't offered a proper greeting upon my arrival, I had assumed that you were going to ignore me. I had planned on doing the same," he turned around to face Atobe and folded his arms over his chest. "What's with the late and ill-timed greeting, little cousin?"
Everyone, especially the Rakuzan members, was in shock. "Li-li-little cousin?!" they exclaimed in a mixture of shock and disbelief.
Atobe looked ticked off. Nevertheless, he still bowed his head begrudgingly. "I'm sorry for the late greeting, my deepest apologies."
This time, it was the tennis players' turn to react in surprise. "Oi, oi," Gakuto said, his eyes popping out of his sockets. "Atobe... Atobe is bowing to someone."
"Somebody take a picture," Jirou said in excitement, waving his hand to the side like a seal.
Inside the room, Ryouko was probably the most shaken up. She blinked her eyes, then jumped off of the platform and proceeded to where Akashi and Atobe are standing.
She looked at Atobe and then at Akashi. "Perhaps... Do you know each other?" she asked, in bewilderment.
"Yes, unfortunately" Akashi answered.
"Kocchi no serifu desu (That's my line actually)," Atobe retorted, glaring at Akashi.
"What Akashichi said sounded familiar..." Kise said.
"Of course, you fool. It's because the dark-haired girl said the same thing about you earlier," Kasamatsu replied.
"Namae wa Ryoukocchi-su, Kasamatsu-senpai... (Her name is Ryoukocchi, senpai)," Kise corrected.
"Shut up. I'm watching something here," Kasamatsu said, his eyes glued to Rakuzan's Akashi and the son of CEO of Atobe Industries.
"You sound like you're watching a drama of some sort," Kise deadpanned.
Moriyama snickered. "This might actually be better than a drama," he said as the tension between Akashi and Atobe intensified.
"I'm not proud of it but his mother and mine are cousins," Akashi said.
"EHHHHHH???" Everyone, including Ryouko, said in surprise.
"No way..." Ryouko added.
Akashi and Atobe rolled their eyes in annoyance.
"That makes us second cousins and we don't share a single drop of blood whatsoever. I consider it a formal family thing." Atobe said.
"And I consider that fact the only fortunate thing about this formal family tie," Akashi concluded.
"They're related, but why does it seem like their blood is boiling seeing each other?" Hayama asked Mibuchi.
"How should I know?" Mibuchi answered.
Ryouko placed her knuckles under her chin. "Now that I think of it... Keigo calls himself King and is obsessed with winning. Hyotei's nickname is Koori no Emperor (Ice Emperor). Sei-sama calls himself The Emperor and is also obsessed with winning, victory to him is basically as essential as breathing air. I also remember seeing in the files that CEO Atobe sent. Rakuzan is the undefeated King of the Basketball Inter-High. I can actually see the resemblance," she pointed out.
Atobe and Akashi reacted angrily to this. "What resemblance? Are you blind, you silly girl?" they looked at each other and contorted their faces in disgust.
The tennis players looked up and shared a thought cloud. 'Katsu no wa Hyotei (The winner is Hyotei),' said Atobe.
The basketball players also looked up and shared a thought cloud. 'Katsu no wa Rakuzan (The winner is Rakuzan),' said Akashi.
"OHHH..." They said and nodded in understanding. They all looked at Akashi and Atobe.
"What's with the foolish look of realization on your faces?" Akashi asked, rather irritated.
"Do you want me to wipe it off with a scrub brush?" Atobe snapped.
"Victory-obsessed and violent, similar indeed," the crowd chorused.
"Shut up," Akashi and Atobe said at the same time. They glared at each other and turned to the opposite directions, fuming. They stayed 20 meters apart from each other at the very back of the Team 2 area, their arms folded over their chests and their heads pridefully held high in the air.
"Waa... Akashi strangely has so many acquaintances in this place..." Hayama pointed out.
"Well, the three of them belong in the top 1% of our country's upper class. It's actually us who should be mystified that we know them," Mibuchi said. "Ano hime-sama... (That princess...)" he said as he looked at Ryouko's back as she returned to the stage. "She's a Fujioka, the powerful clan that owns Zenbonzakura Corporation, the company that the prominent Akashi clan loses to in both prestige and fortune. It's no wonder that they made Akashi fly across the continent just to tutor that little princess..."
"I didn't understand everything you said but I did get that the Team 2 rep. is extremely rich," Nebuya said. "It's a shame that we can't choose her team anymore. I bet her team eats much more than the other teams since she can provide for them financially."
"You meathead! All you can think about is food," Mibuchi criticized.
"I hate to burst your bubble but it doesn't work that way," Gin said from behind Nebuya. "All the teams were provided raw ingredients from the first day and that's all we can use to make meals for the members," he explained.
"Tch," Nebuya said in disappointment.
"Tough luck," Mibuchi and Hayama said simultaneously and laughed.
All the Rakuzan members were sorted to the teams: Hayama in Team 1, Nebuya in Team 4 (because Miyako looked like a good cook), Mibuchi in Team 5 and Mayuzumi, who, according to the Rakuzan members, will be coming later, will choose his team upon his arrival sometime after lunch. Hayama and Nebuya actually bullied him to come and join them. They kept on calling him and even ringing up the door of his dormitory to the point that the exasperated college freshman was forced to agree begrudgingly.
Shutoku came next in line and their sorting was done in a much smoother manner. Since the rule of having the teams filled equally was not yet fulfilled, teams 1, 2, 4 and 5 are closed for Otsubo, who is the first one to choose among the Shutoku members. He chose Team 3. Kimura decided to join Team 6. After that, the options were reset once again. Miyaji came next and chose Team 3.
Midorima, driven by the Oha-asa's horoscope, which said that a 'dark-haired person' is a good acquaintance for the Cancer zodiac sign, selected Team 2 since Ryouko is the only dark-haired team representative. Takao settled on Team 4 saying that the representative, Miyako, looked like an easy-to-approach type. He will have no problem in getting along with the team with her help.
Kaijo went next with Teams 2, 3 and 4 out of the options. Kasamatsu settled on Team 1. Koji selected Team 6. Moriyama was next in choosing a team but he squirmed in reluctance.
"I don't want to choose yet... Cutie's team is still closed," he said, referring to Ryouko. He turned to Hayakawa. "You go first, my kouhai," he said, placing both hands on Hayakawa's shoulders.
Kasamatsu approached Moriyama, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to where the Team 5 members were standing, which was obviously Moriyama's team by default. "Stay there you nitwit," Kasamatsu said, dumping his teammate there before returning to Team 1.
Moriyama looked close to tears. "This is cruel..." he complained.
Hayakawa placed himself in Team 6 and Kise stepped forward, a knowing smile on his face. Upon Hayakawa's selection, the options were reset once again. He looked up at Ryouko, still smiling.
Ryouko gritted her teeth. "Don't even think about it..." she hissed in a threatening tone.
Kise ignored her. "Team 2 please," he said brightly.
"Very well," Riko sighed and listed Kise's name under Team 2.
"Mami-chan! Mami-chan!" Miyako suddenly said, her eyes wide as she surveyed Kise striding his way to the Team 2 group.
"What?" Mami asked.
"I thought he looked familiar! Now I remember where I've seen him!" She said excitedly. "Kise Ryota-sama. The new cover model for Rogue magazine! He's a rising star in the modeling industry!"
Mami looked over at Kise. "Ohh... Now that you mention it, I remember seeing him a lot in your magazine collections. I'm not into that stuff so I'm not very sure."
Tomoka clasped her hands together, her eyes shining. "Ryota-sama..." She said dreamily.
Mami gave her a taunting glance. "Oh ho? What happened to being a loyal fan of 'Ryoma-sama'? You are such an unfaithful little swine," she jeered.
Tomoka went red in the face, unsure of what to say as a comeback.
Mami went on with her teasing. "Well... Ryoma-sama and Ryota-sama are off by only one syllable. Maybe you dig people with 'Ryo' in their name? In that case, you should also like Ryouko-chan since she's got 'Ryo' in her name as well."
"Shut up you intolerable fly. I can't stand your buzzing any longer," Tomoka said, balling up her fists.
"Bring it on. I'm ready to fight you anytime," Mami said, rolling up her sleeves.
"Tomo-chan, no fighting," Sakuno said in alarm.
"Are you two okay with this? Everyone's watching, you know..." Miyako said, pointing out the crowd in front of them.
That shut them up. They straightened up and satisfied themselves by blowing raspberries at each other.
"Children..." An sighed.
"Don't worry," Satsuki told her with a smile. "We'll help you handle them."
"After all, we're here to support to the representatives," Riko added.
"Ha-hai..." An answered, smiling forcibly. Actually, I'm also worried about the two of you, she mentally said to herself.
Yosen came next in line with Teams 2 and 6 temporarily closed. Okamura Kenichi, the former captain came first. He joined Team 4 since Miyako looked like such a sweet and understanding girl. Fukui Kensuke joined Team 1. Wei Liu selected Team 3. Himuro automatically went to Team 5.
I've been noticing that the leftovers are being dumped in my team..." Mami thought in irritation. Am I so unattractive that they won't choose me over the other girls? she asked herself.
Himuro was walking towards Team 5 when he saw Mami staring at him. He looked up and bowed in greeting. Mami's eyes lit up upon seeing his face. Nevermind, she told herself. This leftover is as pretty as hell, Ikemen... (A handsome man...)" she added in excitement, butterflies danced in her stomach at the indifferent look in his grey eyes.
The options were reset and Murasakibara chose Team 2 just because everyone in the Generation of Miracles, with the exception of Aomine, was in it. If Minecchi also chooses Team 2, it will be like when we were back in Teiko, he thought.
"Oi, oi..." Imayoshi said, noticing something. "Almost all the members of the Generation of Miracles are in Team 2," He pointed out, smirking with evil mirth.
"You're right!" Wakamatsu replied. He looked over at Aomine. "You're the only one missing."
"Team 2 is dangerous," Sakurai said.
Aomine smirked. "Let's see how this goes," he said, his tone full of curiosity.
Imayoshi was the next person to choose a team with only Team 2 out of the options. He chose Team 1 since the representative gave off a vibe similar to their Satsuki. Yoshinori selected Team 4. Wakamatsu went next and settled on Team 3. Sakurai picked Team 6.
"Ah~ Tough luck..." Aomine said as he stepped forward. There was only one remaining team, Team 5. He automatically has to join that team so there's no chance that the Generation of Miracles can be completed in the second team. On the other hand, the Miracle who is not a Miracle made it into Team 2 by sheer luck. It feels like I'm replaced or something... Not that I care though... Aomine thought, smiling as he went to join the Team 5 members.
Mami looked ecstatic. "Another delicious leftover..." She crooned and gave a satisfied grin. Unlike the one with the fresh ikemen look, this one has a different charm. Wild and cool! Electric blue! Mami thought with great pleasure.
"Ah~ If only Kiyoshi is here..." Tsuchida unexpectedly said. His fellow Seirin members heard him and felt a bit upset. Kiyoshi should have been there with them to experience this fun experience but he still hasn't returned from his rehabilitation in America.
For some reason, Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara didn't join them either because of personal conflicts. Seirin had also refused the offer to bring their whole team into Okinawa because the freshmen still needed training. Riko had left her father in charge of them with the help of their advisor, Takeda-sensei. It was a real waste that the team, who persevered to earn this experience, is not here as a whole.
Finally, everyone except for the currently-absent Mayuzumi was sorted to the teams. Ryouko stood in front of the platform once again.
"I'll be making some changes to the rules of the game since we added so many members," she announced.
"What kind of changes?" Momoshiro asked.
"Not much. Instead of three tennis balls each, the tennis players will only be given one. The basketball players will still be granted three tennis balls to give them a handicap since they don't specialize in this sport" Ryouko said.
"Ehhhhh???" the tennis players grumbled in complaint.
"That will only drag out this game further. These guys may be as tall as mountains but this is probably the first time they've ever held a tennis ball," Kai pointed out.
"Are you underestimating us?" Okamura challenged, quite offended.
"Oi, oi... Be careful of what you're saying, little junior," Hayama said, showing a white incisor as he grinned with confidence.
"We'll make you eat your words," Miyaji said, a frown plastered all over his face. He hates juniors who don't respect their seniors.
"Well, then, after lunch, we will start the game at the said venue. For now, you can get to know your teammates better. Lunch will be prepared in three hours. We'll have a buffet prepared by all six teams to welcome our guests properly." Ryouko said and closed the folder in her hands. "All those who have kitchen duty, assemble to the kitchen area in one hour. Dismissed," she concluded before exiting the stage.
"Hooray!" Kikumaru yelled.
"A buffet!" Kintarou yelled and jumped as high as he could.
"Are all redheads gluttons?" Nio asked.
"Oi!" Marui and Gakuto reacted offended.
"My bad," Nio said.
"Nigiyaka desune... (This sure is cheerful...)" Kuroko commented.
"It's a shame that Aominecchi isn't on the same team as us but still..." Kise said facing his Generation of Miracles buddies. "Let's play nice." he smiled.
"Yea," Murasakibara said. "Just don't give me too much work. This is still troublesome."
"Just don't drag me behind," Akashi told them with a smile.
"Kocchi no serifu da, nanodayo (That's my line actually, nanodayo)," Midorima replied, fixing his glasses. He stuck his hand in his pocket and was horrified. "Where did my lucky item go?" He demanded in alarm.
He looked down and saw a wrapper on the ground. Raising his head, he sees Murasakibara munching on four sticks of gum, the ends protruding from his mouth.
"Murasakibara, you bastard! Give them back, nanodayo!" Midorima yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the culprit.
"Yada mon... (No way...)" Murasakibara said and escaped. Midorima chased after him.
"Your little cousin is also here so let's get fired up, shall we, Akashichi?" Kise teased.
"Stop reminding me," Akashi replied in annoyance, throwing a side glance at Atobe. The latter glared back.
Kise laughed. "You better tell me the story behind that sour relationship with your cousin."
"Second cousin," Akashi corrected.
Kise laughed again. "This will be fun!"
"I don't care about fun," Kagami said, cracking his knuckles and grinning maliciously. "All I want are those shoes."
"You're scary, Kagami-kun," Kuroko said.
"Shut up, Kuroko," Kagami snapped at him. "I'm gonna get those shoes even if I have to knock a tree over!"
"So much for playing nice..." Kuroko commented.
hehehe This is just a filler to make the arrangements for the teams. Please look forward to the event next week! XD