In Shadows

Chapter Four

By Chance

When Gina arrived at school the next day, she didn't stop by her class first. Instead, she headed to the office and requested a list of clubs. Though surprised, she was given a list. After thanking the staff there, Gina walked off, eyes scanning the list of clubs avaliable.

Art club... that would be handy if I was artistically skilled. Orchestra club... I've never touched an instrument in my life. Literature club... hmm, that might be a possibility.

Track team...

She paused.

Track team, huh? Gina's eyes lingered over the club. She pursed her lips slightly. She didn't look it, but she was quite fit. She'd done reasonably well at athletics carnivals, and due to the nature of netball, with quick spurts of speeds, she'd been a fair sprinter. And since coming back to Japan, she'd ensured to go on regular jogs to keep her fitness levels up. Just because she didn't okay a sport anymore during Jean she wanted to become unhealthy.

Maybe, she should give it a go?

Well, she didn't have to decide right now. There was no limit as to when you could join a club. It didn't have to be a split decision: she could think it over...

"Gina!" A sudden voice caught her attention. She knew who it belonged to instantly.

Saki spoke between gasps for breath - she must have run. "I called you yesterday!" she said, drawing closer with every word. "Why didn't you respond?"

Gina looked up from the sheet of paper that contained the list of clubs and turned toward the voice of her friend. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Saki. I was catching up with an old friend. And... my phone ran out of battery."

That last part was true... to some extent. Her phone had run out of battery, once she'd gotten home... She didn't mention she'd put it on silent last night, while eating with Kuroko. She hadn't wanted to come across as rude.

However, Saki bought it. She huffed, and folded her arms across her chest. "Jeez. You're so caught up in your music and your books that you don't pay attention to your battery life! What if there was an emergency and you couldn't find out because you hadn't paid attention to your battery?"

Gina raised her eyebrows. "You're one to talk. You keep dropping your phone. How many phones have you already ruined this year?"

"Hey, I've been more careful as of late! Mum says this is the last phone she's buying me for the next year, and I don't want to have to deal with a cracked screen for a year!"

Gina sighed, facepalming. "You're going to go broke when you live on your own, you know."

"I'll be responsible by then."

"I'm sorry, Saki, but I don't believe that's possible for you."

"Ah, that's mean!" Saki glared at her friend.

Gina raised her hands. "But it's true." She quickly looked over the large black bag Gima knew contained Saki's cello. "So you're going to practice today?"

Saki glanced back at the instrument strapped to her back and nodded. "Yeah. We've got a concert performance coming up in a few weeks, as Asumi informed me this morning." She sighed, and rubbed at her eyes. "I'm going to be chewed out for missing practice the other day."

"As you should be!" Gina declared, folding her arms. "I should've forced you to go."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Maybe because, even though I don't like you skipping practices, I like spending time with you, you idiot."

Saki looked mildly surprised by that answer, but she ended up smiling a large smile. "Ah, you're pretty great yourself, Gina."

The bell sounded soon after, and the two of them gasped and hurried to class. They just managed to make it before their teacher entered, so they weren't late - but it did earn them a glare from their teacher.

The rest of the day quickly proceeded. It was surprising how quickly the day passed. When the final bell rang after several hours of lessons, Gina sighed as she pushed her chair back.

With Saki headed for cello practice, all she had to do was make her daily visit to the bakery, head home to do homework, perhaps listen to music and read, or even practice shooting. It was the usual after-school routine, one she was tiring of.

Well, she couldn't turn up at the track team today; she didn't have her gym uniform. Besides, waltzing in unannounced may raise a few eyebrows. No, she'd talk to her parents about it tonight, and then, if they agreed, she'd hand in the signed club form tomorrow.

Saki sighed heavily, the sound dragging Gina from her thoughts. "I'm preparing for the lectures," the raven-haired girl said, in response in Gina's raised eyebrows.

Gina chuckled, recalling a few instances Saki had told her about outbursts from her teacher, and the orchestra conductor. 

They headed out of the classroom, and down the corridor. As they walked, Gina felt herself step on something. It slipped under her foot. Gina yelped as she felt herself become unbalanced and, as a result, fell toward the ground.

"Gina!" Saki caught her friend's arm, just as she was about to fall. Gina breathed out as Saki's quick reflexes allowed her to steady her feet before she landed butt-first on the ground.

"Thanks." Gina rubbed her arm, a red mark already forming from where Saki had to grip her to ensure she didn't fall. The bespeckled girl looked down, searching for the culprit for her fall. She remembered having slipped on something.

Her eyes managed to rake it out; a notebook. It must have fallen out of someone's bag. Gina picked it up and scanned the front page, trying to pick out a name.

Fast enough, she found it scrawled in the corner of the first page - and it belonged to a certain Kuroko Tetsuya.

Ah, Kuroko? He'll probably need this later on... Gina just was grateful that this was someone she knew, for she knew where Kuroko would be headed right now - the gym.

"Hey, Saki, I've got to go return this," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"For sure." Saki gave Gina a quick hug before she turned and started to dash off to practice. "See you tomorrow, Gina! That is, if the captain and the conductor don't kill me for skipping again."

Gina rolled her eyes. "See you, Saki."

She turned down the corridor, and hurriedly made her way down toward the gym. Despite never having entered the gym, she knew where it was. Hopefully, she'd be able to catch Kuroko before too many people of the team arrived. She wasn't the best around crowds of people she didn't know.

There were few people to avoid once she came closer to the gym, since only the basketball club used the gym for club practice. All other sport clubs were situated outside, and the other clubs were held in classrooms indoors. So, Gina was able to briskly make her way through without fear of bumping into anyone.

The gym was just before her. Feeling confident that she'd made it before anyone else in the team arrived, Gina felt a little confidence boost. "Kuroko-kun!" She called, jogging into the gym, holding the little notebook aloft. "You... oh."

Gina found herself coming to a halt as she noticed that it was not just Kuroko in the gym, perhaps with Kagami. No, she had got there a little too late to catch him early... and the entire basketball team was there.

Guns gulped, looking at them all. They were all looking at her as she ran suddenly into the gym, and she didn't know any of them other than Kuroko and Kagami - and she didn't even know those two very well. She knew Kuroko only a little, and basically knew Kagami by name.

And, exempting one girl, they were all boys. And Gina didn't have too much experience talking to boys; her closest friends had always been girls, especially considering how the sport she'd once played was a sport that was basically only played by girls.

Kuroko looked her way. "Gina-san?"

After a small pause, Gina took a few hesitant steps forward. "You dropped this," she said meekly, holding the book out.

Kuroko walked forward to meet her, and took the book. "Thank you."

There was a small, awkward pause. Gina cleared her throat. "So, now I've returned that, I should probably be going..."

Just as she was beginning to walk off, Kuroko quietly said, "Do you want to watch practice?"

Gina's eyes boggled. "Eh? W-what..."

He's inviting me to watch their practice? Why? Did I even hear that correctly? We don't even know each other very well... so why did he ask? Of course, I'm grateful he thought of me... but it's so sudden...

"I noticed your friend was leaving for practice," he said. "It doesn't look like you have anything else to do."

He noticed that?

Then again, Kuroko does have extraordinary observational skills... 

Gina cleared her throat. "Don't worry, I do. I was going to listen to music..." She looked to the side, hands in her pockets. "And read..."

And probably end up really bored after the first half-hour or so.

Her argument was weak to her own ears.

Very weak.

"Then join us," the blue-haired boy encouraged. "If you don't mind, coach?" He turned to the on,y other girl in the gym, who was around Gina's height, with brown hair that just passed her chin and dark eyes. 

Eh? That's the coach? Gina's eyes widened. I thought she was the manager or something... I've never heard of a coach being someone who was still in school!

But now she thought of it, the girl did look like a coach. A whistle hung around her neck, and she held a clipboard in one hand. If it wasn't for the uniform she wore, Gina probably would've picked her out as the coach immediately.

The girl frowned at Gina a little, looking as though she was considering numerous things in her head. "I see no problem with it," the girl concluded. "What's your name?"

Gina flushed lightly. "Tsukino Gina. I'm classmates with Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun."

The other girl grinned. "I'm Aida Riko. Nice to meet you, Gina-san."

"Y-you as well." Gina looked around the gym for some place she could sit. She noticed a small stage-like area. That looked like as good a place as any to sit down. "I'll try not to get in the way."

She settled herself up on the raised platform and leaned against the wall. Absent-mindedly, Gina pulled her iPhone out from her pocket, plugged her earphones in and placed them in her ears. After selecting an album to listen to, Gina looked upon the team's practice.

At first, she found herself zoning out. Footwork training, strength training, fitness training. Nothing she hadn't seen before; she was used to that training after years of high-level netball. Gina found herself focusing more on her music than she was to watching the training, even if she did take the time to note how well Riko seemed to be handling the training, and the types of exercises she had the team complete. She definitely appeared to be a professional coach in that instant.

Her attention was a little lost, until she watched them play a quick practice match.

Gina found her attention held quickly as she watched them play. They reminded her very much so of her former netball team. The laughter, the encouragement, the way they all knew each other's moves like the back of their hand.

Their individual skill was fascinating to watch, too. Kagami was obviously the strongest of the bunch, with a natural talent for basketball. His jumping height was something that blew Gina away. She'd never been able to see anyone jump as high as Kagami.

Even though he was the strongest, it wasn't to say that the others had no talent either. The one with light brown hair was another strong player. His plays were unpredictable, and he seemed to be able to change his strategy depending on the situation he found himself in. The boy with the glasses was a talented shooter, consistently scoring threes which, from Gina's limited knowledge about basketball, were not the easiest shots to make. The medium-height, dark-haired boy was basically the control centre of the team, Gina could tell - he directed the passes and plays of his teammates.

And, while she missed him most of the time, Kuroko was exceptional as well. His use of misdirection was so efficient that Gina missed him most of the time, but he was able to sneak many passes in through difficult situations. He was truly fascinating to watch. Gina could tell why Momoi was so interested in him.

The others definitely were skilled as well. The tall, dark-haired boy was a highly skilled defender and hook shooter. From the sidelines, Riko watched with a critical eye. She acted as both umpire and coach, calling plays and pausing the game at tines to talk to certain players about their performance.

They were a fascinating team to watch. The music in her ears turned into little more than background noise as Gina became immersed in watching them play.

They didn't have to use the same level of teamwork as you did in netball, but you could still see where it worked for them. They did have a working level of teamwork that allowed them to play so well.

When Riko called it a day, Gina couldn't help but approach them. They all noticed her approach. A light blush on her cheeks, she cleared her throat. "Uh... I just thought I should say... you're a pretty amazing team," she stuttered, clasping her hands behind her back.

There was a small silence, before they all sent her appreciative looks.

The tall, brown-haired boy stepped forward. "I believe proper introductions are in order, Gina. I'm Kiyoshi Teppei." He smiled at her. 

"H-hi!" Gina squeaked, caught a little off guard. 

He's so tall, taller than Kagami-kun. Despite that, Gina couldn't be intimidated by him. Though tall, his features were gentle and kind. From watching him practice, Gina knew that he was someone that could easily be approached. 

Her attention was then taken by the boy she'd earlier identified as Seirin's control tower in offense. "Izuki Shun," he introduced himself.

"Hey." She smiled at him.

He chuckled. "Hay is for horses."

Gina's face went blank. "What?"

"Ignore Izuki. He makes those jokes all the time, if you can even call them jokes," the boy with the glasses said. He nodded at her.  "Huyga Junpei."

She smiled back. "Nice to meet you."

There were others, too. There was the tall, dark haired and silent Mitobe Rinnosuke, who had to be introduced by Koganei Shinji; a boy of medium height with cat-like features. The last second-year of the team was Tsuchida Satoshi a boy with kind, gentle features.

Furihata Koki, Kawahara Koichi, and Fukuda Hiroshi were all first years like Gina, Kuroko and Kagami, but they were all in different classes. Gina hadn't met any of them before, but they looked friendly and eagerly welcomed her.

So this is Seirin's basketball team? she thought, looking around at the gathered team. She smiled to herself.

I can definitely see why Kuroko likes it here so much. 

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aaah i'm so sorry for this chapter, particuarly the end, i'm really bad at introducing a large amount of characters at once >.< gomen!