First and foremost, I have a confession. I haven't finished the Kuroko no Basuke series. Wait! Stop, don't leave. Just give it a chance please. Personalities of characters may be a bit off because of this but rest assured, I'll refer to the wiki pages and watch a few episodes more. Also, chapters might be short, take ages to update, but I'll try really hard to actually finish it. No guarantees, and there, I just lost all the readers. Sigh.
Chapter one
Surprise return
Hey Oniisan, I'm coming back soon. Can't wait to see everyone! Good luck with your game next week. Go smash them!
- Asuka
Ok, I'll meet you at the airport. Next month yeah? And don't worry, we're definitely gonna win.
- Ryōta
The silver-haired girl read the reply and grinned. She hadn't told her cousin about the flight that she'd hastily rescheduled due to a change in plans, but a surprise was always fun. It would be funny seeing the look on his face when she arrived a month earlier than she'd told him. Her phone began to ring and she hurriedly answered the call, jerking it away from her ear as the voice on the other side boomed.
"Asuka, just giving you one last goodbye call! What are you doing right now?" a cheery voice shouted.
"Hey Annabelle, almost ready to board. Just about to hand in the flight form." Asuka replied.
More voices joined Annabelle's in a chorus of good wishes and goodbyes. Asuka grinned as she matched the voices to her two other friends Grace and Joseph, both fighting to speak.
"Take care in Japan. Remember to eat and sleep, and be wary of creeps!" Grace advised, sounding like a mother.
"Great poetry there. Don't worry Grace, I've got my friends back in Japan." Asuka assured.
"Oh, you mean that basketball team of yours?" Annabelle asked.
After momentarily forgetting they couldn't see her nod, Asuka voiced her confirmation. She stretched her arms above her head, thinking about the return to Japan. She'd been away from her home country for three years and it was a bit unnerving to return.
"Why couldn't you wait until after the holiday? It's gonna be hard enough with you gone during school time, without your help in the holidays, I'm gonna fail paint!" Annabelle moaned.
"Get over it, you took your assignment year the previous year." Joseph lectured. "Anyway, try not to poison anyone with your cooking Asuka. Have fun in Japan."
"Sorry guys, stuff came up. You guys take care too!" Asuka grinned. "Good luck with the institute. Bye guys."
Asuka stowed her phone away and went to hand in her form. The lady smiled as she went through the checking procedure and directed Asuka to the boarding gate. Asuka thanked the women before boarding the plane. She put on her headphones on and pulled out a sketchbook, a nervous excitement bubbling in the pit of her stomach. A long last, she'd see her friends again. Asuka wondered how much the group had changed. She was sure that right now, she wasn't the same Izumi Asuka as the one that left Japan. Her appearance had gone through drastic changes, and undoubtedly her personality had too. What if it was awkward between them? No, it was fine. They'd all been keeping in contact over the year, except one. Asuka fidgeted in her seat, tapping her pencil against her sketchbook. Breathing in deeply, Asuka convinced herself it would all be fine.
"It'll be a surprise return Ryōta, I'll be the one greeting you. Everyone, what's it like now I wonder, your basketball."
The cheers were overwhelming. Vorpal Swords had won. Kise grinned happily, too tired to do much else. The members of Jabberwock were glaring daggers, the aura around them was enough to kill. Aomine patted Kise on the shoulder with a victorious gleam in his eye. Double teaming together really was something to be feared. Momoi congratulated the team, a smile lighting up her face and tears welling in her eyes. It had been a close game, a hard game that had pushed everyone to their limits, but through it all, they'd won. Murasakibara had begun snacking even as his injuries were being attended to while the others crowded around, celebrating victory. Kise looked into the cheering crowd and gave his best smile. He heard shrill screams from girls, most likely fans of his modelling work.
"Kise san, I got this note from a girl before. It's for you." Coach Kagetora said, holding out a slip of paper.
Kise regarded the note in confusion, unfolding it to reveal a short message.
Meet me at the Old Park tomorrow at 5:30. Bring the others as well. If they say no, just drag them with you, k?
P.S Congrats on the game. Play for the win, win for the team yeah?
Kise scanned the crowds, squinting in an attempt to find the silver-haired girl. It had to be her. Where, where?
"Kise?" Kuroko asked. Kise didn't say anything, just passed the note to Kuroko who read it out loud to the others.
"She's here, Asukacchi is here," Kise announced
The Generation of Miracles all stop talking. Kagami watched them in surprise. Kise looked elated, Midorima had a skeptical expression, Murasakibara was suddenly alert, Akashi was smiling, Momoi looked surprised and Kuroko was in shock. Aomine however, had the most interesting reaction. He looked nervous, scared even. For some reason, it had always seemed the muscles on Aomine's face prevented him from physically making an expression that looked scared.
"Izumi? That's not possible. She's in America studying art." Aomine said promptly. Kise shook his head and explained how he had gotten a text about returning.
"Why didn't you say anything?' Midorima asked, "And what makes you so sure the note is hers?"
'Play for the win, win for the team' was her signature saying, her motto. There was no one else it could be, who else would write with such familiarity. In fact, who else could convince Kagetora to pass on a note without coming off as another fan or a random person? And the handwriting, different from how Asuka wrote when she was in Japan but with the same almost calligraphic elegance.
"No matter, I believe we should meet with the person. The chance of it being her is high, and it is not unlike Asuka to pull unnecessarily elaborate plan for dramatic effect." Akashi said.
Aomine turned suddenly and stalked off, mumbling something about using the bathroom. Momoi was about to go after him when Kuroko shook his head. They both knew what was going on in Aomine's head at that moment.
When Aomine was out of view, he broke into a run, not stopping until he was well away. So she was back, the Unrecognised Queen. He was nervous; it had been so long. At the start, she had emailed him, texted him, even sent letters but he never replied. They had left on a bad note. He'd been angry at her for not telling him she was leaving sooner. She had been angry at him for accusing her of running away. Then by the time Aomine was ready to patch things up, he'd fallen into a void, hating how no one could stand up to him, how only he could beat himself. And so she'd stopped trying to contact him, and given up. They hadn't heard from each other for three years. Sure, Kise had occasionally mentioned her, how she was well and all, but he didn't really know how much she might have changed. All the others were also in contact, though not as much as Kise. He was her cousin after all, the two acted more like siblings. She would surely hate him for playing basketball in such a way that he had been. She, like Kuroko, had always been a believer of teamwork. Playing just for the win wasn't her style, though she also cared about that. What puzzled Aomine the most was why he cared so much. They weren't even that close, just junior high friends with a shared passion for basketball. Yet he did care, and very much at that. She had been the one person he'd listened to besides Akashi. Aomine breathed in deeply. It was fine. He would face her, like a man. Tilting his head back, Aomine watched the clouds slowly parting, as though a new light was shining just for the return of the unrecognised queen. Aomine grinned.
"I'm ready Izumi, bring it!"
To hell with that damned Vorpal swords! How was it possible that they, a bunch of monkeys, managed to beat the best street basketball team in America? It wasn't right. Jason Silver clenched his fists and kicked the bench of the changing rooms. He swore violently and punched the wall.
"You're acting like a kid on a tantrum." Nash Gold Jr said in an icy tone.
"Why are you acting so damn calm! They god damn beat us!" Silver shouted.
"And I'll be happy to take my anger out on you if you don't shut up." Gold threatened coldly.
"You guys are so loud! I can hear you from out here!" a new voice joined in from outside the changing rooms.
"Huh? Are you looking to be beaten up?" Silver shouted, storming outside and throwing the door open.
A Japanese girl stood there, rocking on her heels. She smiled up at the Silver who was more than a head taller. Not knowing how to react, Silver gaped at the girl.
"What are you doing? Here for signatures?" He asked.
The girl cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. She had a strange smile on her lips that pissed him off.
"Do you really believe that? I suppose as self centred as you are, you do. Honestly, you could win an award for arrogance, you even beat Aomine, though, I can't say much right now can I?" the girl said matter of factly.
Silver's eyes narrowed, his patience at an end.
"So you know that blue-headed monkey? Are you his girlfriend? I should break your arm to send him a message." He threatened.
"Firstly, no, why would you even suggest I'm Aomine's girlfriend? Secondly, are you sure you want to threaten me?"
The girl's eyes went cold. The bright, innocent look vanishing completely, replaced with eyes of a stormy sea in a night without moonlight.
"Who the hell are you?" Silver snarled.
"Me? No one really, but that's what you thought of the guys at first yeah? Murasakibara hurt his wrist because of you, not a very fair player yeah? I really hate cheaters. You know, you might want to watch your back until you get back to America. You aren't very popular at the moment."
The girl walked past Silver and he whirled around to grab her. She doge him and spun past shoving him slightly so that he lost his balance. Silver suddenly found himself falling. The girl peered down at him whispering five last words before leaving.
"Even the ground hates you."
I'm excited about this! First fanfic, and I actually haven't planned this out as much as I should have... Whatever! There will be extremely mild romance, just as a side to the plot. Please review, criticism is welcome. After all, I need to know what's wrong to improve!
NOTE 23/10/17 : I've been doing a bit of reworking with this fic lately, so things might be a bit wacky if you're reading this during the organising process. It also means reviews for certain chapters may not apply to said chapter due to being moved around or removed. If you've been following this fic, don't worry! Changes aren't plot altering, just tweaks to make things flow a little better, the story is still the same.