In Shadows
Chapter Twenty-Five
Preparation 

When Gina's mother arrived to pick them up from the stadium, she had to roll down the window and call out to Gina and Kuroko to get in. They'd broken apart from their kiss and, feeling the cold in her dress and thin cardigan, Gina had leaned into Kuroko for warmth, resting her head on his shoulder. He'd wrapped her arms around her, resting his own head on top of her own, allowing his eyes to flutter closed, partly to savour the moment, and partly so he didn't have to see the stares of people as they passed.

At her mother's yell, they'd jumped apart, identical embarrassed expressions on their faces. Gina had expected at least a bit of a talk by her mother as they clambered into the car, but instead she shrugged and said, "I thought this would happen," and let the subject drop.

They had to drop Kuroko off had his house so he could get changed into his Seirin uniform. When they arrived back at her house, Gina looked down at her watch and estimated they had five minutes to get ready before heading down to the bus to head to the stadium, to scout their opponent for tomorrow's match.

Hastily, Gina ran to her room and ripped her clothes off. She knew everyone else would be wearing their uniforms to her match but knew if she put on her uniform, she'd freeze in the skirt. Instead, she yanked on a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved white shirt and pulled a blue jumper over the top. She wrapped a scarf around her neck and pulled a pair of boots before making a dash down the stairs, calling a hasty goodbye to her parents as she ran to Kuroko's.

Kuroko was just emerging from his house when Gina arrived. They exchanged a smile and, standing so close together that their shoulders almost touched, they ran for the bus stop, making it just in time.

The entire bus journey, Gina sat with her head on Kuroko's shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. His hand rested on top of hers; a small action most on the bus wouldn't have spotted.

As soon as she felt the bus slow down, Gina opened her eyes and sat up. They made their way off the bus and ran the rest of the short distance to the stadium.

"Just in time!" Gina crowed, upon entering the court where their opponent would be playing. The teams were only just finishing their warm ups when they arrived. 

"We couldn't have cut it any closer, though," Kuroko said.

Gina shrugged. "I wouldn't have cared even if we were half an hour late. I could endure hours of Riko's scolding to spend that time with you." Her cheeks dusted with colour as she admitted it. 

He smiled, that same smile that made Gina's heart melt whenever she saw it. "Thanks, Gina. The same goes for me."

Unconsciously, Gina's hand slipped into Kuroko's as they walked above the stands, searching for their teammates. When they spotted the collection of white, red and black uniforms, they quickly hurried down the stairs.

"Gina! Kuroko!" Hyuga called, the first to spot them. "You were almost late."

"Sorry," Kuroko apologised. The rest of the team, along with Alex, turned as they made their way down the stairs.

As they neared, a small frown had formed on Kagami's face. "Hey, why are you holding hands?" he asked.

Gina blinked. Her eyes shot down to her and Kuroko's hands, which were still intertwined. She turned beet red, but couldn't bring herself to let go of his hand. 

"Are you dating?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Um, yes," Gina stammered. They had been planning to reveal it to the team that day, but admitting it when they were all staring at the two of them - as well as a few others who were sitting nearby in the stands - was a bit daunting. She managed to make herself nod. "We are. Since this evening."

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the reactions came all at once.

"Well it's about time!" Riko exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air as though celebrating some great victory.

Hyuga chuckled, shaking his head. "Honestly, I thought we would need to spell it out for you two."

"We could all tell you liked each other," Izuki said. "You were the only ones blind to your obvious attraction."

Gina hid her face with her free hand, though she was laughing. She peeked through her fingers to see how the game they'd come to watch was going on. "Oh look, the game's starting!" she exclaimed. "Do you want to tease us or collect the data we need?"

Reason won in the end, and reluctantly everyone returned to the game at hand. Gina grimaced, knowing that they weren't done teasing her and Kuroko just yet. They'd have plenty of words to say later, she was sure of it.

And I swear to everything, if Izuki makes one pun about love or something... Gina shook her head and manoeuvred past the others to reach her seat, Kuroko sitting beside her. She settled closer to him, and watched the game proceed with keen, interested eyes.

It was a good match. Both teams played well. Gina could tell that they each had quality players, and could definitely see how they'd made it to the Winter Cup.

It was a toughly competed match, but in the end Nakamiya South was the school that claimed victory, and therefore would be their opponent tomorrow.

"Hey, not bad," Alex mused. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from Japanese basketball. I better apologise for that one." She leaned forward. "They're lacking in size and power, but their speed and strategies are impressive. Furthermore, every player is excellent, too." She nodded. "Especially that Number 7 guy who just came onto the court."

Gina looked at the player from the next school that had come on to court. Over the course of the match, she had learned that Alex had a keen eye for identifying how strong other players were; she'd made plentiful comments during the last match that was played.

"They made it to the top four of the Inter-High last year," Izuki said. "That's Kobayashi Keisuke of Onita High."

"At 188 centimetres, he's an unusually tall point guard for Japan," Hyuga continued. "He's an all-rounder who can pass and score. He's one of the best players in the country."

Alex nodded. "He's got something special. He's pretty good."

"But his opponent today," Kiyoshi said, looking at the next team to come on court. Gina gasped, instantly recognising the orange uniform and the tall, green-haired figure among them. I didn't realise they were playing now! "Is Midorima Shintaro of the Generation of Miracles."

Alex inhaled sharply. Gina guessed she could already sense Midorima's overwhelming talent.

The other team was good, but no one could find a way to shut down Midorima. The match ended with an overwhelming victory to Shuutoku - not that Gina had been expecting anything else to happen with one of the Generation of Miracles on court.

"I can never get used to seeing the Generation of Miracles play," Hyuga grumbled as they walked out of the stadium afterwards. "Honestly, it's depressing. Every school was chosen from its prefecture for its strength. None of them are weak." He sighed. "However, teams with members from the Generation of Miracles are exceptional. They make veterans indistinguishable from ordinary players."

"We know that," Riko said reproachfully, turning around. She folded her arms. "Besides, the most important thing is the next game. Let's head home and review the data on Nakamiya South."

"About that." Alex reached out and grabbed Kagami by the collar of his jumper. The red haired power forward yelped as Alex pulled him toward her. "Sorry, could I borrow this guy for a while?"

Riko blinked. "What?" she demanded, mirroring Seirin's confusion.

"I'll make sure he's back in time for your next game." Alex's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "Please."

There was a moment of silence. All eyes went to Riko, who would be the one to make the final decision. 

"Sure," Riko conceded. "Feel free."

Alex nodded, and she turned, dragging Kagami after her. Riko sighed. "Right, let's head back, everyone. We can explain our review to Kagami-kun later."

Everyone went to leave, except Kuroko, who approached Riko. Curious about what he had to ask the coach, Gina followed him.

"Coach. I need to leave, too," Kuroko said.

"Eh?" Riko whipped around. "What brought this on? Why are my first-years disappearing on me?"

"I'm going to ask Aomine-kun to teach me to shoot."

Even Gina choked at this. She glanced at Riko, the two of them sharing a shocked look. 

Aomine Daiki, the person he just defeated yesterday? Sure, they might have started to mend their relationship but... isn't this all a bit too sudden? And would Aomine even agree to teach him anyway?

But Kuroko didn't looked the slightest phased or worried, like it was completely natural to approach someone who you'd just defeated and asked them to help you better their game. Gina shook her head. How does he manage it? Well, I guess he did know Aomine for three years... 

Riko eventually managed to collect herself enough to ask him, completely baffled, "Why?"

"If I don't learn to shoot, my Vanishing Drive will eventually lose effectiveness," Kuroko explained. Before either of them could question him he continued, "Until now, after I made my drive, someone would come to stop me, which created an opening for a pass. But if no one comes to stop me, I have to make the shot myself. And if anyone discovers my horrible shooting, they'll just let me use the drive until it becomes useless. Not to mention, Aomine-kun stopped my drive himself."

The more Kuroko explained it, the more it made sense to Gina. Kuroko needs to use his drive to give Seirin a a bit of an edge over other teams. He can't afford to use such a weapon.

"I see," Riko said thoughtfully. Then, under her breath she grumbled, "I should have seen that myself."

"But why Aomine?" Gina asked. Even though there was no doubting that Aomine was an amazing shooter, he wouldn't have been her first choice. Or maybe that was because she didn't know Aomine as well as Kuroko did and therefore was nervous to approach him.

Kuroko shrugged. "As far as I know, he's the best."

Gina thought of Aomine's formless shots, where he could basically shoot from any position or form around the court. Yeah. He's definitely got some freakishly good shooting abilities.

"I guess we can't argue with that," Riko sighed. She nodded her agreement. "Okay. Go for it, Kuroko-kun!"

"I'll come with you," Gina said cheerily, joining Kuroko as he walked away. He smiled, and they walked down the street, their shoulders brushing against each other the entire way.

*          *          *

Kuroko sent a text to Aomine as they walked. Gina remembered that he and Momoi had gone out shopping earlier that day, since that was a reason why she hadn't invited her friend to Saki's music recital. She hoped Aomine would show up.

Sure enough, when they reached the meeting place, Aomine was already waiting for them.

"Hello," Kuroko greeted, as they approached Touou's ace. Gina unconsciously moved closer to Kuroko; Aomine's height still intimidated her a little. 

She really did hate being tiny sometimes. A lot of the time, if she was being honest.

"Don't give me that," Aomine sighed. "Why'd you suddenly call me out here, Tetsu?"

"Let me be direct. Aomine-kun..."  Kuroko looked at Aomine directly. "Teach me to shoot."

Aomine blinked, caught off guard. "Huh? Where did this come from?"

Aomine was reluctant, but Kuroko eventually was able to convince him to follow them. Kuroko was stuck in the middle as they walked, an awkward silence hanging over them. Gina and Aomine had never really talked before, and the last time they met Kuroko had defeated Aomine in that match. Words weren't exactly coming easy.

Aomine sighed and looked across at them as they walked. "Tetsu... how long have you two been dating?" 

Gina blanched, her eyes flying wide open. But... this is the first time he's seen us together! How could he have already figured it out?

"How did you figure it out so quickly?" Kuroko asked. He sounded calm, but Gina could see the small shock in his eyes.  

"Because I know you, Tetsu. Besides, you two aren't very discrete when you continuously look at each other."

Gina could feel her entire face turning red. Oh, damn. Was it really that obvious to everyone else, if Aomine can pick it up after seeing us together only once?  If that was the case, she was really surprised that their teammates hadn't called them out on it earlier - she was sure Riko or Hyuga at least would have yelled at them sooner to stop tiptoeing around each other and get together.

Well, that's saying something, considering how those two are obviously attracted to each other.

Eventually they reached a basketball court. Gina stood back beside Aomine as they watched Kuroko take the ball, bounce it once, and prepare to shoot. He went into shooting form and made an attempt at goal.

Gina flinched. The ball bounced off the edge of the rim. 

Kuroko turned to them. "How was that?"

Aomine was briefly stunned."What was that?" he yelled after a small pause. "How am I supposed to feel after you drag me out here to show off your crappy shooting? I never said I'd teach you to shoot!"

"Why not?"

"There's something wrong with someone who beats a guy then asks him to teach him to shoot the next day!"

Aomine breathed in, seeming to cool off. He slumped down by the basketball hoop, leaning against the pole. "I haven't slept since then," he muttered.

"What?"

Aomine rubbed his forehead. "I went home, had something to eat, took a bath then I went to lie down. But I couldn't sleep. My body was exhausted, but when I closed my eyes, I saw scenes from the game." He sighed. "I had forgotten how that felt. My chest feels tight, I feel nauseous like I'm going to puke, and my head is pounding. Since I forgot about it, I kind of missed it, but now that I've experienced it again, I don't miss it at all. It still just sucks. It was an awful night. But, that's why I want to play basketball again so soon."

"Aomine-kun," Kuroko murmured.

"Oh, man." Aomine exhaled heavily and stood up, shrugging his jacket off as he did so. "Talking about it made me want to play. I can't help myself, so I'll play with you." Kuroko still looked a little confused, or maybe he was just caught off guard. "I'm saying I'll teach you to shoot."

He walked past, and as he did so, he briefly rested his hand on top of Kuroko's head. 

Gina gasped lightly and smiled, warmth spreading through her. Maybe Aomine and Kuroko wouldn't maintain the same bond they'd shared in middle school. But at least, it looked like it was on the road to repair. From the bright smile on Kuroko's face, she could tell how much it meant to him.

"What are you smiling about?" Aomine demanded.

"We used to play like this all the time in middle school," Kuroko said, his smile somehow turning even brighter.

"Just hurry up and shoot," Aomine yelled, but he was flustered, and Gina could see that he cheeks had  gained the slightest bit of colour. "You said you don't have much time!"

Gina laughed and stepped back, sitting in the court as she watched, ready to offer encouragement when needed. 

They practiced for hours on end, and not once did Gina feel bored.

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i love this scene okay bye

were everyone's reactions how you imagined them? i tried to find a pun for izuki to say but i'm terrible at puns so that didn't exactly work out >.<
next chapter is coming soon! also, a certain someone is making an appearance next chapter ~ can you guess who?