In Shadows
Chapter Twenty-Nine
In the Open

When Gina woke up the next morning, she didn't expect to be phoned by Kuroko so early on in the day, and to ask her to join him on a shopping trip above all things. When she asked why he wanted to go shopping he said simply, "My shoes broke."

After confirming that he didn't have another pair, Gina readily agreed to go. Now she thought about it, she was surprised that Kuroko hadn't destroyed his shoes earlier. He'd been putting in a lot of extra effort and training over the past few months to improve his game. No wonder he was in due for a new pair of shoes – his last pair must have endured a lot.

When she met up with Kuroko, he informed her that somehow, Kagami had managed to destroy his shoes at the exact same time as him. Gina shook her head in marvel. How did they manage to synch up so often?

After a quick bus ride to the shops, they met Kagami, who was not impressed by the turn of events. He said he wanted to get the day over as quickly as possible.

But fate seemed to have other ideas. Kuroko was able to get shoes in the first shop they went to, but the shop didn't stock a size that fit Kagami's enormous feet.

And neither did the next shop. 

Or the one after that. 

They went in and out of shops, and Gina found herself stifling laughter as Kagami grew more and more unimpressed the more

"None of the places have my size..." Seirin's power forward grumbled when they left the fifth shop that day.

"Kagami-kun, your feet are needlessly big," Kuroko said blankly. A laugh escaped Gina's lips but, not wanting to worsen Kagami's mood even more, she hastily turned it into a cough. She couldn't stop her lips from spreading out into a wide smile, though.

"What's with the needlessly bit?" Kagami shot back. He looked up and spotted the store beside them; fortunately another shoe store. "There's another shop here. I'm going to go ask."

When he re-emerged five minutes later, he still didn't have any shoes in his possession.

"Fine..." Kuroko pulled out his phone and started to type in a number. "Let me ask. She's very reliable at times like this."

Gina didn't even need to hear a name to know that he was talking about Momoi.

Kuroko and Momoi quickly arranged a meeting place – by a nearby basketball court, unsurprisingly. It wouldn't take too long for them to walk there; at the most, it would take ten minutes.

When they arrived, Momoi was just turning up, dragging Aomine after her.

"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi greeted enthusiastically, pulling Kuroko into one of her usual tight hugs. Gina winced, guilt surging through her. She still has no idea. I need to tell her soon.

"Sorry for calling so suddenly," Kuroko said once he was released, and able to breathe again. Gina wasn't sure Momoi knew how strong she was when she gave hugs.

Momoi shook her head, still smiling brightly. "No, not at all! More like I'm really happy!"

"It's nice that you'll help me look for shoes," Kagami said. "But why are you here?" he demanded, rounding on Aomine.

Aomine shrugged. "That's what I want to know."

"Dai-chan has lots, so he'll give you a pair!" Momoi informed them. There was a twinkle in her eye.

"What?" Aomine spluttered, glaring at her. "I didn't say that!"

"You wear the same 29.5 cm size, right?" Momoi continued cheerily, as though she hadn't heard Aomine.

Kagami stared. "How'd you know?"

"Here!" Momoi handed a pair of shoes out to Kagami.

"Hey! Don't bring my shoes without telling me!" Aomine yelled, but once again was ignored.

Kagami's eyes widened. "I was using the same type..."

"There happened to be a pair. It's a different colour, but you're the model-loyal type, right Kagamin?"

How thorough is she when she collects her data? Gina shook her head. If I could only be near as half a good manager as Momoi...

"But... this colour is nice," Kagami admitted.

"Fine..." Aomine sighed. He spun the ball in his hand on his finger. "I'll give to you if you win a one-on-one."

Kagami's eyebrow twitched. "What for? I have a game right after!"

"Three possessions. It'll be quick."

"But-"

"Just do it."

While the two started their game, Gina sat with Kuroko and Momoi on the bench. They talked about a few odd things about the matches the previous night – particularly Kise's match against Haizaki, and his Perfect Copy.

Then, Momoi brought up that when the match had finished, Aomine had punched Haizaki.

"He did what?" Gina choked out, at the same time as Kuroko's much calmer exclamation of, "Aomine-kun punched Haizaki-kun?"

Momoi nodded. "Yes, but it was something he had to do to save Ki-chan..."

I can just imagine that Haizaki wouldn't have been too happy after being beat by Kise, of all people. Gina chewed the inside of her cheek.

"Isn't it bad if word gets out?" Kuroko asked.

Momoi hummed absently in agreement. "But I have a feeling Shogo-kun won't do anything anymore," she murmured. "I can't really put it into words... but I thinks there's a part of him that's relieved Dai-chan stopped him. He's a bit twisted, but he's still someone who wore the Teiko uniform with you..."

Until he quit, Gina thought. She'd never met Haizaki, but was glad that she hadn't, after seeing how he'd played against Kaijou and treated his own teammates.

"Satsuki, we're done," Aomine said presently. Let's go."

Momoi started. "That was fast!"

"I said it'd be quick."

"How'd it go?" Kuroko asked.

Aomine shrugged carelessly. "My overwhelming victory," he said, like he'd been expecting nothing else.

"Hold it!" Kagami yelled, indignant. "One more! I want the shoes but I can't accept losing! One more match!"

Aomine sighed heavily and tossed the shoes Kagami's way. "You've got a game to play. What are you talking about? Take them."

The way Kagami stared at the shoes was like he had never seen shoes before in his life. "What do you mean?"

"In any case, I don't need it anymore."

Kagami was silent more a moment, and Gina though

Then her redhaired friend yelled, "I-I can't take them on a loss! Take them back!"

Gina was moments away from hitting herself on the forehead – or, more preferably, hitting some sense into her friend. "Bakagami!" she groaned, rolling her eyes. "Just take them!"

"Besides, you're facing Kise," Aomine added. "Play a half-assed game with shoes that don't fit and I'll kill you. Let's out our showdown on hold."

"Then..." Kagami sighed, finally giving in. "Sorry man, I'll take these." Gina thought he'd finally agree to take them when he shouted, "It's just on hold!"

One of Aomine's eyes twitched. "Just hurry up and go!"

Gina pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head at their antiques. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze had settled on Momoi. Her stomach clenched. She still hadn't told her friend that she was going out with Kuroko. Of course, Aomine knew, but she had no idea if he had told her. She thought that if he had, Momoi would have confronted her about it by now, though.

"Hang on, before any of that..." Gina swallowed. She knew that she had to tell Momoi now. If she left it any longer, then it would only get harder and harder to tell her, and Gina wanted to get things over with now while she had the chance.

Her lips had suddenly turned dry, but still was swallowed and managed to ask in a reasonably calm voice, "Momoi, can I talk to you for a bit?"

Momoi raised her eyebrows a miniscule amount, but otherwise nodded. "Sure. I won't be long, Dai-chan," she called back to her friend, as Gina led her to the other end of the court so they could talk in relative privacy.

"What's bothering you, Gina-chan?" Momoi asked, once they stopped.

Gina scratched the back of her head and looked away, looking at anything that wasn't Momoi. "Look," she stammered. "Uh... it's just... Well, I'm... I -"

"You're dating Tetsu-kun?" Momoi supplied, raising an eyebrow.

Gina blanched. For a moment she stared at Momoi, unable to formulate words. After a few attempts of moving her mouth but still being unable to speak words she managed to splutter, "Huh? How'd you know?"

Momoi smiled. "I'm not blind, you know. I was there at the Yosen game; I saw you two. Besides, I've seen how you've acted around each other recently."

Gina recalled the way she'd hugged Kuroko so fiercely, and kissed him on the cheek. She lowered her head, the tip of her shoe trailing along the ground. Anyone who saw that would've been able to tell that we were going out.

But that wasn't the way she'd wanted Momoi to fall out. She'd wanted to talk to her friend and tell her face-to-face. To find out like that... Gina tried to imagine herself in Momoi's shoes and winced. It was probably the worst way to find out.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, lowering her head.

"What are you apologising for?" Momoi demanded.

Gina rubbed her arm. She wanted to disappear. "You've liked him since second year at Teiko... and you're my best friend," she murmured, still unable to look at her friend in the eye. "I was so hesitant about it because I was scared of hurting you, and I..."

"Gina-chan! Stop!" Momoi cried. Gina stiffened. Slowly, she began to raise her head and gasped, surprised to find that Momoi wasn't frowning or had narrowed her eyes like Gina had expected. Instead, she was smiling, even if there was a hint of sadness to it.

"You two make each other happy," the pink-haired girl said with a small shrug. "Yeah, it does hurt a little, but I can get over it."

Gina's heart skipped a beat. Hope was blooming within her. "You're not mad?" Could I have it? Could I be Kuroko's girlfriend and still Momoi's friend? It was more than she'd dared to hope for.

"Maybe a little," Momoi admitted. "But it'll pass, won't it? I'll always be you friend, Gina-chan."

The words sank in, and Gina gasped. Without warning she launched herself at her friend, wrapping her arms tightly around Momoi's neck. "Thanks, Momoi," she breathed, her voice shaky. She felt lighter, like she'd been carrying around a lot of stress she hadn't known about until now, and was letting it all loose.

"Satsuki," Momoi corrected firmly. "Call me Satsuki from now on. You're my friend, are you not?"

Gina smiled. "Sure, Satsuki." The name was strange on her tongue, but it still sounded right. "Thanks for understanding."

"There's nothing to thank me for," Momoi said, with a roll of her eyes. "Now you'd better get going, if you want to make it to your game."

"You're right," Gina said, after quickly checking the time. "I'll see you later then, Satsuki!"

"Bye, Gina-chan!"

Gina jogged after her friends, grinning the entire way. Not only was Momoi okay with her going out with Kuroko, but their bond seemed to have strengthened after their talk.

She couldn't be happier.

*          *          *

When Gina met up with Kuroko and Kagami, she was borderline skipping. A smile was on her face, and she didn't feel like getting rid of it any time soon.

"You're in good spirits," Kuroko noted when she joined them.

Gina shrugged. "I just got good news, is all." She took Kuroko's hand, moving closer to him. It felt better being with him than it had before – she realised that until now, she must have unconsciously been carrying around a feeling of guilt. Beside them, Kagami rolled his eyes.

They boarded a train and soon arrived at the stadium. Somehow, they'd managed to keep good time, even if they were a little later than they'd have liked to be. With a brisk pace, they made it inside and headed for their locker room for the day.

"Sorry we're late," Kagami apologised as they entered the room.

"Did you get the shoes?" Riko asked, and both boys confirmed that they had.

Kiyoshi checked the clock. "The Rakuzan-Shuutoku match is about to start," he noted.

Akashi against Midorima. Gina pursed her lips. She had no idea just how strong Rakuzan was, but from what Momoi and Kise had told her, they sounded like one of the strongest teams – if not the strongest – in the competition. Shuutoku was good, she knew that from experience, but she couldn't help but wonder how they'd fare against Rakuzan.

"How strong is Rakuzan?" Furihata asked.

"They're a super powerhouse that's been in every Winter Cup since the inaugural tournament," Hyuga said. "They've won it more than any school."

It's like the high school version of Teiko. Gina bit her lip. It wasn't a comparison that she liked making. She'd rather that no school would be as strong as Teiko, for that just made the challenge all the harder.

"In recent years, they've won all three major tournaments five times in a row," their captain muttered. Gina felt her eyes widen at the statement. "Put simply, they're the strongest high school team. Even with that, they say this year's lineup is the strongest they've ever had."

"You mean the Generation of Miracles..." Kagami's eyes narrowed. "Akashi Seijuuro." Something sparked in his eye. It was no wonder – he and Akashi hadn't exactly met on the best of terms.

"Yeah, but that's not all. Remember the five Uncrowned Kings?"

"Kise told me about this," Gina piped up. "Apart from Kiyoshi and Hanamiya, the other three are at Rakuzan, aren't they?"

"Unfortunately so," Hyuga confirmed with a nod.

There were a few uneasy mutters that spread through the lockers. Gina shifted her weight from each foot, and kept her eyes on the clock.

Rakuzan may be strong, but so was Shuutoku. She hoped that they'd be able to at least put up a good fight.

Well, I guess we'll see when we head out to warm up, won't we?

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aye look who managed to somehow finish a chapter last night and in the early morning!! that's probably why it's so terrible, because i was rushing to get it out for all you guys... look out for the next chapter on monday, then!