Looking for a Miracle

Chapter Two

Meeting the Miracles

The bell rang clear through the air, signifying the end of my second day at Teiko Middle School. Everyone cried out in relief and shoved their textbooks deep in their bags and out of sight, their sudden outbreak of voices and scraping back of chairs almost drowning our Sensei's voice as she called out the homework for tonight.

I wasn't in such a rush to get of the classroom. Unlike many others, I had been enjoying the lesson. Our final class today had been biology, a subject that had always fascinated me. My favourite subjects had always been biology and chemistry, since there was just so much to discover and find out about each subject. 

I snapped my textbook and notebook shut and jumped to my feet, placing the two books in my bag. Beside me, Sei was already waiting for me to finish packing up. I rolled my eyes. He was just so efficient at everything.

We walked out of the classroom and into the busy corridor. Sei paused and looked across at me. "I'll see you down at the gym then."

"Of course."

Sei nodded and quickly strode out of the school building. I followed at my own pace. I wasn't in any rush like he was to reach the building to be perfectly on time for when practice started.

"Ah, Akane-chan!"

I looked back to see Momoi hurrying out of her classroom. She ran on over to my side.

I smiled. "Momoi-san, hello."

"I was hoping I'd run into you!" Momoi greeted brightly. "Nice to head down with someone you know."

I smiled. To think that we'd only known each other for a day, and yet we treated each other as though we'd known the other for weeks. That means a lot, but...

"But what about your friend? Aomine, wasn't it? He's in the basketball club."

"I won't get to talk to him too much, he'll be busy practicing." The pink-haired girl shrugged. "I told him he should head down without me."

"Oi, Satsuki, wait up!"

Momoi sighed. "Of course, he doesn't listen me," she muttered.

I looked up at the loud voice, as it many others. I quickly noted that it belonged to a boy who looked to be in our year. He definitely stood out from the crowd, what with his tanned skin and dark blue hair. He pushed his way through the crowd until he stood in front of us. He wore a grin on his face that was infectious; I could feel my own lips turn up into a smile as I looked at him.

Momoi's cheeks turned just as pink as her hair. "Aomine-kun, I told you not to call me that!" she said, narrowing her eyes. "People are going to talk!"

Aomine? As in Momoi's childhood friend? I eyed the blue-haired boy in surprise as he shrugged, waving off Momoi's concerns.

"So? I don't care. Let them think what they think." It was about then that he noticed that Momoi wasn't alone. His eyebrows rose when he spotted me. "Who are you?"

"That's rude, Aomine-kun," Momoi scolded.

I shrugged. "Momoi, it's okay. I don't mind." With my upbringing, I was used to people addressing me more formally than what was needed. It was a nice change, having people interact with me as though I wasn't some rich guy's daughter.

I smiled at Aomine and offered my hand. "I'm Hirai Akane. But just call me Akane, please."

Aomine grinned as he took my hand. His large, tanned hand completely covered my more delicate one. "Aomine Daiki."

"I've heard," I chuckled.

Momoi rolled her eyes and pushed Aomine in the direction of the exit. "Aomine-kun, you need to head down to the gym."

"I know, I know." Aomine rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning. The blue-haired boy started to jog down the corridor. "I'll see you there, Satsuki!" he called, before he disappeared.

Momoi waved back quickly. When Aomine was out of sight, she turned to me and grinned. "Let's hurry," she chirped, already on her way down the corridor. I laughed and jogged to catch up with her.

We walked out into the open air. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of cherry blossoms and freshly mown grass. The wind was soft and cool against my skin. It really was a beautiful day.

"So, that was Aomine?" I asked presently as we walked. "Your childhood friend? You seem close."

"We practically grew up together," she mused. There was a skip to her step as she walked. "We're next-door neighbours."

"Ah. That explains it." 

"How about that friend you mentioned?" Momoi inquired presently, bringing my attention back to her. "Akashi Seijuuro? How long have you known him?"

"Not long, only since last year. But we've seen each other a lot since then, and have grown close." I could feel my cheeks heat up as I thought back on all our encounters. It was funny, to think how much I'd confided in him and him in me when we'd known each other for such a short amount of time. It almost felt like we'd known each other our entire lives.

"It's incredible he and Aomine-kun made first string," Momoi mused. "And the other two!"

"You heard about that?"

"It was all Aomine-kun could talk about yesterday." Momoi shook her head. "He's hardwired for basketball. He practically eats, sleeps and breathes the sport."

I chuckled. "And you don't mind."

Momoi shook her head, an indulgent grin on her face. "I love the sport myself. If I didn't, I wouldn't have signed up to be manager, no matter how close Aomine-kun and I might be." She tipped her head to the side in question. "How about you, Akane-chan?"

I flushed. I've been caught. "It's my favourite sport, too," I admitted.

"I figured. Oh, we're here!"

I tore my eyes from my friend and saw we were approaching a large gym. Already I could hear the squeaking of shoes and the yells of voices coming from inside, no doubt from coaches as they led practice.

Momoi and I walked inside. Inside, all the boys in the first string of Teiko's basketball club were hard at work, running and completing drills. My eyes quickly picked out Sei's vibrant red hair; I smiled, but I didn't think he saw me. He was too focused on completing the set drill. All of them were, actually.

Waiting by the door was the third-year manager who had talked to us about our position as managers yesterday.

"Momoi-san, Akane-san." She smiled when she spotted us. "It's nice to have you officially on board with us. Follow our instructions, and you'll get through okay." 

* * *

Being manager was actually rather fun.

Not as fun as being on court, thought. Throughout the entire day, I continued to pause and watch the players. The training looked tough - there was a lot of fitness and endurance, and a lot of the players had their hair plastered to their foreheads and they were sucking in deep lungfuls of air. A number of them were cursing, but despite that there was a hard, determined gleam to everyone's eyes. 

When they got to their mini games, they were astonishing to watch. I now understood why no first year had made it to the first string, apart from Sei and the other three. 

Each player was phenomenal.

For middle school students, they were all incredibly talented. My eyes were instantly drawn to Sei and the other first years, and saw they were giving everyone a run for their money. A smile tugged the corners of my lips up, and I couldn't help but feel proud.

Another player caught my interest, a tall figure with dark hair; Momoi mentioned that his name was Nijimura Shūzo, a second year.

Watching everyone made me itch to get out on court and play basketball myself, but knew that would never happen. Instead I worked with Momoi and the other managers as we kept the team organised. Surprisingly, I didn't often have time to stand still. There was always some odd job that needed doing. Fortunately I had Momoi; we struck up countless conversations that made the work a little easier.

Practice finally came to an end, and everyone headed to the change rooms. I grabbed Sei's spare water bottle, knowing he'd probably want to drink. From what it'd seen, he'd emptied his other bottle.

"You were great, Sei," I chimed, once he came back from the change rooms. I handed him the spare water bottle.

He took it. "Thank you." Whether he was thanking me for the drink or my compliment, I wasn't sure.

"Hey, Akane-chan, Akashi-kun!"

I turned around and saw Momoi run toward us, her usual bright smile on her face.

"We're all going out for ice cream!" she said. She gestured in the direction of the other first-years in the basketball club. "Want to come with?"

I grinned. "Of course!" I'd never had an opportunity to hang out with a group of friends like this before. I wasn't about to pass it up. I glanced back at Sei. "That's okay with you, isn't it?"

He shook his head. "Not today. You go ahead."

"Sei," I moaned. I glared at him and folded my arms. "It won't be the same without you!"

It wouldn't, but that wasn't the only reason I wanted Sei to join us. It would be a break from his father, and a break when he wasn't pushing himself so hard like at the basketball club. A chance just to eat ice cream would be great for him.

Sei seemed to see the hidden message beneath my words. He sighed. "I'll be fine, Akane," he said, rubbing his temple as though weary with my constant worrying. "Enjoy yourself."

I pursed my lips. Knowing Sei, there wasn't going to be a way I could get him to change his mind.

"Okay," I sighed. "Look after yourself, okay?"

"Of course." Sei sent me a quick smile in farewell before he walked away, to await his driver to pick him up.  

My eyes lingered on him for a moment. I bit my lip. Maybe I'd phone him later tonight and see how he was doing.

"Let's go, Akane!" Momoi cred. She shook me, waiting for me to respond. Reluctantly I tore my eyes from Sei, but I did feel a little brighter once we headed toward the others.

"Eh? Who's this?" the purple-haired boy asked as we wandered over, his eyes on me. Since I knew who all the other first years in first string were, that meant that he was Murasakibara Atsushi.  

"Hirai Akane, but she prefers to be called by her first name," Momoi introduced.

I bowed. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," my green-haired classmate, Midorima Shintaro, said.

"Akane-chan, this is Midorima Shintaro and Murasakibara Atsushi."

Midorima sighed heavily and pushed his glasses up. In his other hand he held a puppet, no doubt his horoscope's lucky item for the day. "I can introduce myself, Momoi."

Momoi rolled her eyes. "You don't need to get so defensive, Midorima-kun!"

"Are we going to get sweets or not?" Murasakibara demanded, sounding impatient. 

"Of course," Aomine said. "Hey Satsuki, Midorima, we're ready to go when you are!"

Momoi and Midorima, who had been quietly bickering in the background, snapping out of their argument once Aomine yelled.

Momoi pulled me between herself and Aomine. I felt tiny; I was smaller than Momoi, which made me a lot smaller than Aomine. I felt like a dwarf.

I also felt out of place. Aomine and Momoi were instantly drawn deep into conversation, laughing about things that only they would know. I'd chime in occasionally, but that was it. Occasionally.

"We're here," Aomine said presently.

I raised an eyebrow once I saw where we'd arrived. "The convenience store?"

Momoi shrugged. "Hey, we're all broke. Come on!" She grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the shop. I complied, even though I wouldn't have protested anyway. Laughter escaped my mouth. I'd never been able to truly let go like this before. Having fun with people my own age, just hanging out and doing silly, normal things... it was something I hadn't really been able to experience before.

My eyes soon located the ice cream section. My eyes lit up and I shared a look with Momoi, and our paces quickened. However, we didn't best Murasakibara. Even though he entered last, somehow he managed to pull ahead of all of us as he headed for sweets.

I hummed thoughtfully as I scanned the available ice creams for sale. They all looked so good, but I did have a preference for the chocolate flavours. I checked my pocket to see how much money I had with me. My heart promptly fell as my fingers only touched fabric, not the cool smooth surface of money.

"Oh, I don't have any money on me..." I muttered. My shoulders slumped. I hadn't planned for anything like this to happen. Note to self, bring money to school in case anything like this happens again. 

"Hey, it's on me." Aomine opened the fridge and grabbed one of the chocolate ice creams. "You wanted the chocolate flavour, right?"

I smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Aomine-kun. I'll pay you back tomorrow." 

"No need. This won't cost me too much." Aomine grinned and headed for the cashier. I rolled my eyes and followed him, but my smile only widened. No one had done anything like that for me before.

Aomine payed for the two ice creams, and passed me mine. I thanked him and opened it, eagerly biting into the chocolate. I closed my eyes in content as we made our way outside, where Midorima and Murasakibara were waiting for us.

Upon seeing him, I almost dropped my ice cream out of shock. Still, my mouth fell open as I looked at Murasakibara, who was holding a plastic bag that was overflowing with snacks. I felt a little sick looking at it, and wondered how quickly he planned to eat all of it.

"Murasakibara-kun... are you going to be able eat all that?" I stammered.

"Eh?" Murasakibara took a bite and looked down, as though realising just how much he'd bought. "Of course."

Midorima frowned. "Don't talk with you mouth full."

Murasakibara shrugged. "Okay." However, he'd spoken with his mouth still full. I stifled a giggle behind my hand as Midorima narrowed his eyes, barely able to hold back his disgust.

While the two were arguing, Aomine slowly began to inch his way toward the purple-haired boy, his eyes fixated on the other's food. "Murasakibara, you sure you want all of that?"

Instantly, the purple-haired boy rounded on Aomine, giving him such a glare that even I quivered and backed out of fear.

Note to self: never even think about taking Murasakibara's food.

"Right!" Momoi bounded out of the store, her cheery voice breaking whatever tension had been building up. She grinned, raising her own ice cream. "Here's to all of you, for making it to first string!"

"Come on, Akane," Aomine called, once he noticed that I was hovering around the edge of the group. I squeaked as he swung a casual arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him, so I was a part of everyone else. "Don't exclude yourself."

I could feel my cheeks burning as Aomine squeezed my shoulders. I'd never had such close physical contact with a guy before. I didn't hug Sei at all, we mostly talked and played basketball. He'd never struck me as the type to want physical contact with others, anyway.

"Akane-chan, your cheeks are bright red!"Momoi exclaimed between chuckles of laughter.

Of course, at this comment I felt more heat rush up to my cheeks. I glared at the pink-haired girl. "S-Shut up!" I exclaimed, but she only clutched her sides and laughed harder.

"If you are a Gemini, then you should know Geminis are supposed to feel attraction toward Virgos today," Midorima informed me.

I am a Gemini. And is even Midorima making a comment?

"What are you talking about?" I spluttered, very much aware of Aomine shaking with laughter beside me. "It's nothing like that! I swear! What are you all -"

By now Momoi had nearly collapsed on the floor, Aomine had been laughing so hard that he'd dropped the arm from around my shoulders, Murasakibara was laughing and even Midorima was smiling in amusement.

I glowered. "I hate you all." 

This only made them laugh harder. And, after a few moments, I joined in too.

When we all recovered, a few new ice creams had to be bought; Aomine and Momoi had dropped theirs. But when they returned and we decided to head off, I knew that I had managed to make friends with every one of them there.

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hi everyone! sorry if this chapter isn't so good, i sort of rushed it toward the end. but now akane's met all of the current miracles... don't worry, kise and kuroko will be making their appearances within the next few chapters!

also, i signed up for the #justwriteit challenge, and i'm using this book! so expect frequent updates as i try and complete the challenge!!