In Shadows
Chapter Twenty
Day Out

Gina had been a little nervous about her upcoming shopping day with Momoi. It was ridiculous, she knew, but she still worried that Momoi would be able to tell that she liked Kuroko. They knew each other well.

But when Momoi appeared at the shops all smiles and called out her usual cheery greeting and reached out for a hug, Gina relaxed. There was nothing to be worried about. There was no reason to think of Kuroko or anything along those lines; today, she was just going to focus on having a good time with Momoi.

"Where to first?" Momoi asked as they strolled through the streets.

Gina pursed her lips and gave this a brief thought. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm in need of some new clothes, especially with the concert coming up!"

At this, Momoi's expression brightened. Her eyes sparkled, a grin spreading across her face. Gina chuckled, recalling just how much her friend loved clothes shopping.

"Let's do it!" Momoi said excitedly, and pulled Gina toward the nearest clothes shop.

And from then on, it was a case of shopping until they dropped. The two of them went from store to store, browsing through clothes, trying them on and showing them to each other. Gina laughed as the day became nothing more than an endless routine of shops and nice dresses. It had been so long since she and Momoi had last had a shopping day together, and she'd forgotten just how much fun it was. Even if their budgets didn't allow it, the fun of trying on new clothes, showing the other and taking pictures that never faded.

Momoi had even been able to find the perfect outfit for Gina to wear to Saki's concert. It was simple but beautiful; the outfit consisted of a simple, floaty lilac dress that would be accompanied by a black cardigan, and black boots. Gina had a silver necklace at home that would accompany the outfit perfectly. It was hardly dressy, but simple and elegant, which was Gina's favourite style of outfit. She was already looking forward to wearing it. 

By the time the afternoon had rolled around, Gina was amazed to find that both she and Momoi had blown their budgets. Her purse was considerably lighter compared to the time they had started shopping. In fact, there was hardly any money left in there at all. The two of them carried numerous bags between them, each bag stuffed with clothes and, in Gina's case, a few books.

When they exited their last shop for the day, Gina was amazed to find just how tired she was. They hadn't stopped of sat down from the moment they'd arrived. Her feet ached slightly. Goodness, all she wanted to do was sit down and have a little something to eat. She hadn't eaten since that morning.

When Gina voiced this to Momoi, the pink-haired girl admitted that she too was tired. After checking their purses and confirming that they had just enough money left for a small bite of late lunch, they ambled their way over to the nearest coffee shop.

It was a nice little place they'd chosen. Gina browsed briefly through the food on offer and ended up ordering a iced coffee and a small slice of cake. She snorted to herself. Mum would never approve of having cake for lunch.

They chose to eat in the little alfresco area outside. It was a surprisingly nice day for winter and they'd didn't want to waste it. After claiming a table, they sat back and relaxed, chatting pleasantly until their orders arrived. It was a little quieter as they ate. Gina smiled and munched on her cake, which really was delicious. She gazed as people wandered past, all of them people she hadn't met before. 

Until a certain passer-by caught her attention.

Gina frowned, peering at the tall, blond-haired figure walking past. "Is that, Kise-kun?" she asked, pointing in his direction.

Momoi looked in the direction Gina indicated to and narrowed her pink eyes in thought. After a moment of scrutinisation she gasped. "It is!" she exclaimed. Momoi stood up and waved her hand wildly. "Hey! Ki-chan!"

Kise looked in their direction as Momoi shouted. He waved back, and started to make his way toward them. Momoi took her seat once again.

"Momocchi, Ginacchi!" Kise greeted warmly, coming to a stop by their table. "What are you doing here?"

"We spent the day shopping," Gina said, gesturing to the numerous shopping bags at her feet. "What are you doing here, Kise-kun?"

"I just finished a modelling session. Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not!" Momoi exclaimed.

Kise smiled and pulled a chair over from a nearby table, seating himself down. Gina took a small sip of her iced coffee.

"How's practice?" she asked, wanting to strike up conversation. She placed her drink back down on the table.

Kise laughed. "Intensity has picked up a lot since as the Winter Cup is near." His gaze flicked between the two of them. "Your teams are going against each other first round, aren't they?"

"Unfortunately so," Gina sighed.

Out of all the opponents we have to face first, why does it have to be Touou? Gina still couldn't believe it. The chances of playing a member of the Generation of Miracles in the first match were slim, but somehow it had happened.

And it just had to be Aomine.

Kise smiled. "Good luck to the both of you."

Gina rolled her eyes. "Momoi's the one you should be wishing good luck to, since Seirin is going to slaughter Touou this time around," she quipped with a smirk.

Momoi raised her eyebrows at this comment, a devious grin crossing her face. "Are you sure, Gina-chan?"

"I'm sure. We'll send you home crying."

"Don't get too sure of yourself, or you've got another thing coming for you."

Gina laughed. "Oh well, it's better than facing Akashi first round."

At the name of the captain of the Generation of Miracles, their table quietened.

Akashi... he was the only member of the Generation of Miracles Gina had yet to encounter after leaving Teiko. She had hardly ever seen him at Teiko, either, since they'd been in different classes.

"Akashicchi..." Kise said thoughtfully. "He goes to Rakuzan, doesn't he?"

Momoi nodded. "They've taken more titles than any other high school."

Gina blinked. They sound like the high school version of Teiko. "They must have a lot of talented players," she mused.

Kise nodded seriously. "They do." He glanced over at Gina. "Do you know of the Uncrowned Kings?"

"I have. I only know of Kiyoshi and Hanamiya, though." Her head tilted to the side. "There are three others, aren't there?"

"There are," Kise muttered. "And those three go to Rakuzan."

Gina gasped lightly. She looked across at Momoi for conformation, and her friend only nodded in response. Gina felt her blood turn cold. They already sound like an opponent I don't want to face.

"So they have the captain of the Generation and Miracles and three of the Uncrowned Kings," she breathed. Gina shook her head, trying to imagine just how strong their current team was. "They sound as though they can't be defeated."

And I thought Touou and Shutoku were strong enough teams. How strong is Rakuzan in comparison?

"I heard that Akashicchi's captain," Kise said. "Is that right, Momocchi?"

Momoi bobbed her head. "It is."

Gina's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "That's unheard of," she exclaimed shakily. A first-year is captain, above all the third-years on the team. How had that even been allowed? Weren't there even a few complaints amongst the third-years? Even the Uncrowned Kings, who are second years... were they accepting it?

"You haven't had many encounters with Akashi, have you Ginacchi?" Kise asked.

She shook her head. "Only small glances from time to time. We've never had a proper conversation, now I think of it."

She'd only ever really seen one person who was close with him - Hirai Akane, who sometimes had hung out with her and Momoi from time to time, though during third year she looked like she'd been kept busy with the basketball club at school. 

The blonde leaned back in his seat. "He's a natural leader," he muttered. "He was made Teiko's vice-captain in his first year, and captain in his second year. But to think a first-year is captain above all the third-years in high school..."

"He's not human, surely," Gina muttered.

Silence fell. Gina chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. To be captain, Akashi not only had to be a good leader, but also a good player. Well, of course he was a good player, if he had been a part of the Generation of Miracles. But just how good was he? Gina had only heard stories about his play; she'd never seen the team play in person.

The stories were scary enough... but to think of seeing him in action, and on top if that he would have improved a fair bit after graduating from middle school... all members of the Generation of Miracles have.

Good grief, just who is Akashi Seijuuro? How could you begin to devise a strategy against him?

Upon thinking this, Gina glanced over at her pink-haired friend. "Momoi, if either of our teams win... when would we encounter Akashi?" she asked quietly. No doubt Momoi had memorised all the match-ups by now and the pathways that would happen should different teams win.

Momoi thought a bit about this. "The final," she said after a pause. "We'd be against Yosen in the quarter finals though - that's where Mukkun attends - and Kaijou in the semis, though. If they make it all the way through, that is." Here Momoi sent a devious grin Kise's way.

Kise laughed. "You underestimate us. We'll make it through the the grand final."

"I'm sorry, Kise-kun, but that's not going to happen," Gina piped up. She grinned. "Seirin is claiming that position in the finals, I'm afraid."

"What are you saying, Ginacchi? Of course we're going to beat you! We're going to get revenge of you defeating us during that practice match."

Gina had heard stories about that match - the first match Seirin had played for the year had been against Kaijou, and they'd narrowly won. 

Momoi folded her arms. "Touou came second in the Inter-High. There's no way we're giving up our position in the grand final in the Winter Cup."

"That's if you make it past the first round," Gina said slyly.

"Gina-chan, I'm sorry, but we're going to be the ones winning that first round match."

And so it continued, the three of them bickering playfully over who would make it to the finals or not. And soon they were all laughing, thoroughly enjoying teasing each other. They earned a few stares, but none of them noticed: they were too caught up in all the fun.

* * *

When Gina returned to school, all she could think about was avoiding Kuroko.

Avoiding someone like Kuroko was hard, but she did her best. She spent her days in the classroom with Saki, talking loudly and dragging her to the cafeteria. Saki was bewildered, but soon started making speculations, and started to ask leading questions. Gina tried to dodge the questions as much as she could, but she knew that Saki was on to her. Saki had threatened that she'd find out who she liked, and Gina had known from the beginning that it was only a matter of time before Saki realised it was Kuroko.

Training was harder. She couldn't just stop arriving, so instead Gina asked Riko to keep her as busy as possible. She darted in and out of the gym all week, buying drinks and food for the team during their practices. While in the gym, she often entered a conversation with Kiyoshi, Izuki, Hyuga, or Riko. 

Riko seemed to notice what was going on, and rolled her eyes. "You'll have to face him at some point," was all she said, but allowed Gina to continue talking with her.

Gina knew it was only a matter of time before she had to talk with Kuroko again. And, sure enough, on the Friday it happened. She'd been busying herself with unpacking the drinks she'd bought from the store, and hadn't thought that someone might approach her and start talking.

So she had the shock of her life when a soft, gentle voice said, "Gina."

Gina yelped and turned around. Her heart stilled when she realised that Kuroko had appeared behind her. 

It's hard to avoid someone like Kuroko, who can sneak up on you so easily. She knew that there was no getting out of this one. She could already feel herself start to get into a fluster. 

Gina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel her cheeks begin to heat up. "Oh. Hi Kuroko."

Kuroko went straight to the point. "You've been avoiding me."

"Of course not," she blurted, much too quickly. "What makes you say that?"

"Whenever I approach you, you suddenly move in another direction. Our conversations have been short."

Gina turned away, her cheeks red. Shoot. I've been found out.

"I'm sorry, Kuroko," she whispered. "I have a few things to deal with... I'm just a little confused at the moment."

A lot confused, if she was being honest. 

"Can I help?" he asked. He sounded so sincere. Then again, he always did. Gina knew she could trust him with anything. 

"No," she said softly. "No one can."

Especially not Kuroko. What could she say? 

Oh yeah, I sort of have a crush on you. But I don't want to because Momoi also likes you and she's kind of my best friend and wouldn't that be awkward? You probably don't even like me that way anyway so if I told you things would only become tense between us and I don't want that, because our friendship is so important to me, but I'll always want it to be just a little bit more. 

No. She most definitely could not tell Kuroko. She'd find her way through this... somehow.

But she couldn't stay away from him anymore. Avoiding him wasn't achieving anything but causing more pain for her, and him. It would be better just to spend time with him and just remain as friends

"Please, when you're up to it, talk about it with someone. Me, if you want."

"Thanks, Kuroko." Gina grinned. "Say, let's make up for the time I haven't been around. Want to hit Maji Burger?"

He nodded. "Sure."

If they couldn't get together, then just hanging out like this would be good enough for her.

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casually mentioning akane in this story xD for all those who don't know, the girl i described with akashi was my oc from my teiko era fan fiction, akane hirai!

so i've got a lot of inspiration for this story at the moment and i'm now on holidays, so expect plentiful updates in the coming days!