The practice match between Teiko and the other junior high school's basketball team has started. The first five were Akashi, Midorima, Aomine, Murasakibara, and Haizaki.

    "Let's win this, everyone." Akashi stated as the team agreed with his statement.

    The five starters ran to the basketball court as Mikan and Satsuki sat on the benches near the game.

    "I'm so happy you came, Sakura-chii!" Kise cheered, seating beside their two managers.

    "Good luck, I hope you guys would win this game." Mikan stated.

    "I hope so, too." they turned around to see Kuroko who was seating between them.

    "Kuroko-chii?! How long have you been sitting there?" Kise flabbergasted.

    "I've been sitting here for the whole time." Kuroko plainly stated.

    "I didn't noticed you, Kuroko-kun." Mikan sweat dropped.

    "I have a lack of presence to begin with, it's not so surprising for you not to sense me." he said.

    "I'm sorry..." she apologized.

    "Good luck, Tetsu-kun! I'm cheering for you whole-heartedly!" Satsuki said.

    "Thank you, Momoi-san." Kuroko said.

    "What about me, Momo-chii?" Kise asked.

    "I'm only rooting for Tetsu-kun only!" the pink haired girl huffed.

    "Ouch...that kind of hurts." Kise faked cry.

    "I'm cheering for you, Kise-kun! Good luck and do your best." Mikan cheered for the blonde.

    "Uwah! I'm so happy that Sakura-chii is cheering for me!" he said.

    "Guys, keep it down, it's starting." Satsuki said as they turned to the court.

    "Tip off!" the referee threw the ball in mid-air, Murasakibara jumped as high as he can and caught the ball, he passed it to his teammates.

    "Nice pass, Murasakibara!" Aomine stated as he dribbled the ball and run towards the court.

    In a blink of an eye, he dunked the ball in the hoop as Teiko gained two points and they stole the momentum of the game.

    "Wow, that was amazing!" Mikan stated as the guys began running around the court.

    "Of course, it's Aomine-chii after all!" Kise grins.

    Throughout the game, she witnessed how good the players of their basketball team were. Each one of them have individual skills and strengths. It was a very entertaining game to watch their matches.

    "Time out!" Satsuki stated as Teiko had a time out for awhile.

    She and Mikan gave the players a bottle of water as they drunk it.

    "Thank you." Aomine said as he grabbed a bottle from Mikan.

    He drunk it as the other players were wiping the sweat that was trickling down their foreheads.

    "You guys are amazing! Just a little more, you'll win." Mikan stated.

    "No, we aren't sure, the game isn't done yet." Midorima said.

    "Look at the gap, we'll win!" Haizaki pointed out the score board, it was 50 - 39.

    "But it's still a eleven points difference, the tables might turn." Murasakibara stated.

    "No. It won't. We will win." Akashi firmly said.

    "Why are you so sure, Akashi?" Midorima asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Because I know so." the red head confidently said.

    "Akashi-kun is right, you guys will win this game!" Mikan grinned.

    "Like what Shorty said, we'll win." Haizaki stated and ruffled her orange tresses, messing it.

    "Yes, that is right—Haizaki-kun, don't call me Shorty!" she retorted.

     "Time for member change. Kise, switch with Haizaki." Sanada, the basketball team's first string coach, has stated.

The game resumed as they continued to watch it while seating on the benches.

"Kise-kun is good as well..." Mikan stated as she saw the blonde haired guy shot the basketball in the hoop.

"He is." Kuroko stated as his azure eyes were focused at the game.

I wonder how good Kuroko-kun is in playing basketball? she thought.

They began to continue playing basketball as the spectators continued to watch and root for their teams, until last quarter finally came and the Teiko team had a member change one last time.

"Good luck, Kuroko-kun!" Mikan cheered for him.

"Thank you, Sakura-san." he nodded as he run towards the court.

"Now you will see how cool Tetsu-kun plays and how he becomes a different person when he strikes!" Satsuki squealed.

"What do you mean?" Mikan asked.

"Kuroko's passes curves." the captain of the basketball team, Nijimura, stated.

"Curves?" she asked, confused.

"Not only that, you can't keep tracks of him in the game." Haizaki added.

Mikan doesn't really get it as she turned to the court with confusion written on her face.

"Well, just watch the game for now. You'll get it later." Nijimura said.

During the last quarter, Kuroko's presence was low that there were times you can't see him playing. His passes also curves and his teammates were surprised to suddenly have the basketball in their hands.

The game ended with Aomine's final dunk in the hoop, their was a loud shrill stating that the game has reached its curtains. Teiko won the game as everyone had a relieved expression in their faces.

This all happened because of Kuroko's passing and assisting skills, but they're overall teamwork what lead them to victory.

"Congratulations, everyone!" Mikan cheered as she ran up to the boys who were all sweaty and exhausted.

The boys said they're gratitude as the managers handed them bottled water and towels to refreshen themselves after their hard work.

"Congrats, Aomine-kun. The buzzer beater you made was awesome!" she complimented him.

"Thanks!" he flashed her a cheeky grin as sweat trickled down his forehead.

I need to give him the towel back. she thought as she heaved out a sigh.

"Um...Aomine-kun?" she started.

"Hm?" he hummed as he was wiping his sweat on his forehead.

"I-I have something to tell you!" she stated while looking at him straight in the eye.

"Right now?" he asked her.

"Yeah, but can we talk outside?" she bit her lower lip, fidgeting.

"Sure. Let's go." Aomine stood up and slung the towel around his shoulder.

The two of them walked out of the gym as the other members of the basketball team notice them walking out, together.

    ♛♛♛

    "So what did you want to talk about?" Aomine asked.

    They were outside of the gym, standing at the corridors, facing each other. Mikan grabbed something from her bag as she pulled out a towel.

    "I'm giving this back." she stretched her arm towards him, giving him the towel back.

"From the day you saved me back then, I still remembered when I was about to lose consciousness, your warm hand supported me...."

While speaking, Mikan had her eyes closed shut. A blush was spreading her cheeks while she was handing him the blue towel in her hands.

"Did I do something like that?"

Somehow, she felt her world froze as her eyes widened, surprised. She was taken back by Aomine's question.

"Huh? Did you forgot? I almost fainted in the station, and you carried me to the Station's office room." she told him.

A memory flashed in her head when she first woke up at the Station's office room during the first day of classes.

"After I wake up, you were already gone...I followed you and called out for you and then—"

"I didn't do such a thing, and that towel is not mine."

    Mikan felt her world crashed and her heart was torn into many pieces, sweat trickled down as she bit her lower lip and frustration. She came up to realize something crucial.

    "I think I got the wrong person, I'm sorry..." she stated.

    There was a deep silence between them as the wind blew up against their clothes and hair, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

    I see...Aomine-kun wasn't the guy who helped me at the station, huh?

    She felt her shoulders sank as colors started to fade on her face, she was completely convinced that Aomine was the one who helped her at the station, but it seems like she was mistaken. Completely had the wrong idea.

    "Sakura-chii! Aomine-chii! What are you two doing~?!"

    They heard a cheery voice called their names as they turned around to see Kise waving at them, behind him were Akashi, Midorima, Kuroko, Murasakibara, and Satsuki. It seems like they overheard their conversation and decided to step-in.

    "It's amazing in how you could say something out loud in this situation, Kise-kun." Kuroko deadpanned.

    "I agree." Midorima pushed up his glasses.

    "What were you two talking about?" Murasakibara was eating his bag of chips.

    "Weren't you listening to their conversation earlier, Mu-kun?" Satsuki stated.

    "Maybe this wasn't the right time to step in, I suppose?" Akashi sighed.

    Kise walked towards the two of them with a grin on his face, he stopped in front of Mikan and grabbed something from the pockets of his jerseys.

    "You think, Akashi-chii? Well, anyway, we stepped in already! We can't do anything about that."

    The blonde pulled something from his pockets as he slung it around Mikan's neck, her eyes widened.

    "This is...?!" she gasped.

    "It's a whistle. A manager must-have item! I bought it with everyone." he grinned.

    "But...today is my last day as a manager, though." she stated.

    "You're kidding?!" he flabbergasted.

    "I knew that." Akashi said.

    "I as well, knew that." Midorima added.

    "I knew that, too." Kuroko stated.

    "I also knew that." Murasakibara munched on his food.

    "My injury has finally healed, so Sakura-san's job as a temporary manager is done." Satsuki says.

    "Didn't you know, Kise?" Aomine deadpanned.

    "Everyone knew but I?!" Kise cried, crocodile tears streaming down his cheeks.

    "But we wanted to give it to you anyways, it's up to you if you don't want it, Sakura." Akashi said.

    Mikan grasped the whistle that was around her neck, she stared at it, it was an ordinary orange colored whistle that every manager/couch has.

    What should I do? Even though I'm annoying to other people...I feel like I'll have wings and fly from happiness.

    She held the towel near her, to cover her face as tears began to roll down her cheeks. The rest of the team turned to her and to see her crying.

    "I want to be a manager!" she said.

    "I knew you want to anyway." Akashi flashed a small smile.

    "What are you crying for, Saku-chin? Aren't you happy?" Murasakibara asked.

    "Yeah, stop crying, nanodayo. It doesn't fit you." Midorima stated.

    "Oh dear, you guys made a girl cry!" Satsuki teased.

    "What? We did?!" Aomine was flabbergasted to see her crying.

    "Please stop crying, Sakura-san." Kuroko stated.

    "By the way, isn't that towel Kuroko-chii's? Well, look, his name is written below." Kise pointed at the towel.

    Mikan flipped the towel around to see a name written below, her eyes widened as she read the name.

黒子
Kuroko

"It's true, that's mine." Kuroko said.

"Isn't that the towel I gave you back then?" Aomine asked.

"Yes. It is." the blue haired boy nodded in reply.

"I knew it. That's why it looked a little bit familiar." the darker blue haired boy says.

What does this means...?

Mikan gave Kuroko the blue towel as he grabbed it from her hands, he began to looked at it intently.

"I think I saw Sakura-san somewhere before. You're the girl who fainted at the station in spring, right?"