Disclaimer

I don't own the characters from Kuroko no Baske. This is a work of fanfiction and purely for entertainment.

Author's notes:

For those who have read this story before, I have to thank you for reading my story, especially those who leaves nice reviews. I am grateful for your support.

However, recently I realized I made a major mistake in my story:The timeline was mixed up.

In the world of KNB and Japan, the timeline should be like this:

IH-Jabberwock-Winter Cup-3rd-years retire-winter vacation-college entrance exam

Therefore, the 3rd yrs (Riko, Hyuga etc.) would not be able to participate the training camp because they would be retired already to prepare for the college entrance exam.

So I editted the story from the beginning.

For those who haven't read this before, enjoy!

Story is set during extra game, right after Kuroko went to confront and got kicked by Nash. Everything happens next wouldn't go accordingly to the story. Pairing: Akashi x Riko.

I've always loved this rare pairing. I hope you enjoy my story.

kellyh000

Chapter 1

Riko gently pressed a ice pack against Kuroko's jaw. The teen jumped slightly to the sudden cold, but he didn't flinch away. He stilled and let his coach do her job.

She saw how bad the bruising was. Despite her curiosity, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what had happened at the night club.

Riko turned her head to look at the others, especially at Kagami and Anomine's hands. They were no bruising, which indicated that they didn't got into a vicious fight.

The last thing this team needs is to get hurt before the game even started. Riko let out a sigh of relief internally, but her heart still tightened at her player's injuries.

Behind her, everyone was gazing at them. Wakamatsu looked furious as well, seeing how bad the kid's been hurt. Aomine somehow managed to regain some sensibility and held onto Momoi to keep her from tackling and sobbing against Kuroko; Murasakibara took out a bag of chips and started to consume it at a ridiculously fast rate, but he remained close and kept his eyes on Kuroko. Midorima stood afar with Takao by his side. Hyuga stood next to Kagami, calming his nerves as his senpai, his captain. Kise looked so sad and worried as if he were a dog that was abandoned by his master. Akashi kept his usual poker face and calm demeanor and sat nearby, watching her do her work silently.

Kuroko must've felt how pissed off she was, so he lowered his head apologetically. "Sorry for worrying you, coach."

"It's not just me you should apologize to," Riko huffed and ignored her player's puppy eyes. "everyone was worried about you. Because we all care about you."

Kuroko's deadpan face blushed a little by her statement. She knew he wasn't used to being the center of the attention, but because of his own recklessness, he was now. His own teammates had went after him when they realized where he might've went. After being rescued by them, everyone had their attention on him, fearing he may do something stupid again.

When they came back, with Kise half-carrying a beaten-up Kuroko, she wasn't sure she should slap Kuroko for his stupidity or hug him for returning in one-piece.

But Akashi had came up to her, and made that decision for her. He ushered them inside and asked her to help Kuroko politely.

Even if he hadn't ask, Riko would still help Kuroko without a doubt, but she got the feeling that Akashi was trying to stop her from snapping at Kuroko and giving all of them a lecture.

And it worked. Damn.

Riko sighed and handed Kuroko a towel to hold the ice pack. "Your neck seems fine. It's really your pretty face I'm worried about. You do realize you're gonna be on live tv tomorrow."

Kuroko tried to smile lightly, but winced in pain when he did. "Thank you, coach. I'll be alright."

Riko stared right back at him, and scanned all Kuroko's physical data. He should be a lot better tomorrow, but that didn't stop her from worrying. "You would've been, had you not went with my dad."

"I'm sorry."

"You should be." Riko snapped, and wanted to say a lot more, but she knew today was eventful enough, and the team really should calm their nerves and get some sleep for tomorrow. She turned back to face the crowd, and spoke with authority. "All of you, go home. Don't even think about go blowing off steam by going one-on-one."

To her satisfaction, Akashi backed her up immediately. "Aida-san is right. We have to be ready for tomorrow. Revenge can wait until then."

The players weren't exactly happy, but at least they followed through the red king's orders and went one after another to gather their things.

"Kagami." Riko called out to her player and gestured him to stay. The redhead came to her side without protest. "Coach?"

"Walk Kuroko home. And go home after that, don't you wander off to a street court."

Kagami seemed pleased by her request. She knew he was worried about his shadow too.

"Coach, I can go home myself-"

"-You can, but just not today." Akashi chimed in, and laid his order down. Kuroko gave in, as he knew it defying three people at the same time would do himself no good.

Riko nodded at the pair, and watched Kagami gently supporting Kuroko while walking. She turned to Akashi, and the captain was smiling at her. "We will win tomorrow." He assured her.

"I have no doubt that we will. Goodnight, Akashi-kun." Riko excused herself and went to the locker room. It was glad to know that the generation of miracles would definitely rain hell on Jabberwock tomorrow, not only for avenging Strky, proving their faith in basketball, but also for avenging Kuroko now. She knew this would be a lot more personal for them now. Even they would never admit it, they all cared for their former shadow.

Momoi and Aomine went home together. Midorima left with Takao. Kagami was tasked to walk Kuroko home, Murasakibara and Wakamatsu were already nowhere to be seen.

Hyuga offered to stay and help her close up the gym, but she insisted that she could do it by herself, and her dad was going to pick her up later anyway.

She saw her friend nodded reluctantly and left with their kuohai.

It's not that Riko didn't appreciate him treating her like a lady, but the truth was she just wanted to be left alone.

After everything she went through as a coach, she learned how to not wear her heart on her sleeve, but she actually went on an emotional roller-coaster ride tonight.

Seeing Kuroko got hurt brought up too much painful memories.

Kiyoshi had been seriously injured on the court, playing against those dirty son-of-a-bitches.

There was nothing she could do, she wanted to protect her players, but she couldn't come up with a strategy to prevent them from getting hurt and win at the same time. The only thing she could do was watch uselessly as Kiyoshi shielded entire Seirin behind with his own body.

She was the coach,and it was her responsibility to protect them. She failed them.

In the end, they won the match. But for Riko, it was hardly victory. Not when her player, her friend had to pay a price of not being able to play basketball again without surgery.

Kiyoshi never blamed her, after the match, he only patted her on the head affectionately, like what he always did.

But she didn't know how to face him for a very long time.

"Aida-san."

Riko snapped out of her thoughts and spun around, and saw Akashi standing behind her with two drinks in his hands. He was wearing a causal shirt with his suit jacket and his gym bag slung over his shoulder. He offered her a drink, and she stilled for a second before taking it. I'm being offered a drink by the red king, she thought, must be some kind of record. "Thanks."

Akashi smiled warmly at her, yet somehow she felt a shiver down her spine. "I was wondering if we could have a word."

She nodded, it wasn't like she could say no anyway.

Riko never liked the red king. At first, it was just because they were opponents, nothing personal. But then Akashi had laid a hand on Kagami and literally pressed him to the ground. Even though Kagami wasn't really injured, she was beyond mad. She was very sensitive when it comes to the well-being of her players.

Even though she was told that the old Akashi was back, she could tell that the new Akashi didn't disappear. He still existed within the old Akashi, hidden beneath the benevolence. Which, frankly, creeps the hell out of her.

Akashi waited as she locked the door and he led the way out of the gym. It was chilly outside, and as soon they stepped outside, Riko regretted not bringing her jacket with her today. Her sweater wasn't warm enough, and the cold made her shiver involuntarily.

"Here," Akashi suddenly slipped out from his suit jacket and draped it on her shoulders before she could begin to protest. "better?"

Now Riko was truly startled. Akashi wouldn't be nice for no reason. They had a very professional and civilized relationship, even though they were from different schools, they had many discussions about the training regime for the past few days, and that was it. They shared their opinions about the team, and nothing more. They don't even know each other that well. But now Akashi was being very nice to her.

Which was not flattering at all. With the red king, you could never really guess his intention.

She must've been too startled to hide her emotions, because Akashi simply smiled and assured her. "I wanted to thank you for helping us out. Things wouldn't have gone so smoothly without your help."

They sat down together on the stairs in front of the gym, and Riko was briefly amazed by the fact that Akashi would actually would sit on stairs. It was something that his strict up-bringing would have never allowed.

Riko watched as the young man opened his can of red bean soup and took a sip. "I suppose you can thank me when we've won."

"You don't think we will?" Akashi seemed surprised by her comment.

"We will." Riko replied without hesitation. She wasn't worried about losing. Although Jabberwock was strong and powerful, the generation of miracles were the best of the best. She was worried about them getting hurt. Jabberwock was nothing but aggressive and blood-thirsty animals. When things get heated, she could even foresee them mix flashy moves with brute force and violence to win. Riko had wished that she was only overthinking, and kept her concerns and anxieties to herself. The boys really didn't need anymore pressure and fuel.

But seeing Kuroko getting beat-up made her lose previous hope entirely. It will be, without any doubt, a nasty fight tomorrow.

She opened her can and took a long sip. The can was still hot, which was a pleasant warmth in her hands. "Didn't know you liked red bean soup, though."

Riko changed the subject not-so-subtly, and she knew Akashi definitely noticed it, but to her relief, he didn't press on the previous subject. Instead, he went along. "I thought you would appreciate a hot beverage in this weather."

"I do appreciate it. Thank you." Riko held onto the can and set it on her knees. There's no way she'd believe that Akashi would actually went through the trouble of bringing her outside and enjoy red bean soup together just to 'thank her'. If it were another day, she'd cut right to the chase and ask him what does he really want with her, but she was too exhausted tonight, and perhaps let some stones unturned would be best. No matter what happens tomorrow, after tomorrow they wouldn't cross paths anymore, and everything would be back to normal.

Little did she know how wrong she was.

Akashi and Riko made some small talk, mostly about NBA and how to run the student council. She had to admit, Akashi wasn't talktive, but he was good at keeping the conversation going. He would bring up a topic and listen to her opinions, which made her feel a lot of comfortable and much less awkward than she had been.

Riko saw her father's car stopping across the street. She returned Akashi his jacket. "Thanks for this. Would you like a ride?"

Akashi shook his head. "I have someone to pick me up, too."

Riko almost forgot that Akashi came from an entiled family, and he probably had drivers. She nodded and said goodbye to him. The latter smiled and did the same.

After getting in her father's car, she listened to her father ramble about what a big mess Jabberwock have caused and how he's gonna kill them tomorrow. But then her thoughts drifted, and realized that her talk with Akashi wasn't as weird ad she thought it would be. She was still confused and skeptical at what he really wanted, but it wasn't that unpleasant.

Riko lay on her bed and picked up her phone. She scrolled through her contacts, and stopped when she found her friend's number. After he went to Los Angeles, there was a 16-hour time difference between them. The only time they could talk was either late at night or in the early morning.

"Riko! How's the training going?"

"Smooth, I suppose...they are more than ready for the match tomorrow." Riko sighed against her phone.

"What's wrong? Tell me." Kiyoshi easily noticed something was wrong in her voice and pressed gently. This was why Riko likes to talk to Kiyoshi. Sometimes, she felt that he was the only person that really understood her, and someone who she could talk to.

Riko smile sadly. They had a very brief romantic relationship that didn't work out.

They didn't start off on the right foot the first time they saw each other, but their feelings grew over all the time they spent together on the basketball team. They shared a chemistry, but they both didn't make any advanced moves.

But it didn't mean that Riko didn't want more. She wasn't sure what Kiyoshi was thinking.

Someday in their junior years, Kiyoshi had walked Riko home after practice. When they reached her house, Kiyoshi said Goodbye and turned to leave.

Until this day, Riko still didn't know what she was thinking at the time, but she couldn't help but grabbed his hand and stopped him on his tracts. Kiyoshi was startled and turned to look at her. She wanted some reassurance, something to let her know that she wasn't alone, but she didn't know what to say. She knew he saw the desperation in her eyes, because to her surprise, he had bent down and pressed his lips against hers briefly.

The kiss was gentle, as if he were assuring her that the feeling was mutual.

He straightened up, and brushed his thumb against her cheek tenderly. She still remembered how it felt after all these days.

"See you tomorrow." he had said, as if promising her that there would be a future for them, confirming their relationship.

And they did, for a while. They kept it a secret. No one on the team even noticed, they always assumed they were just friends.

But they had held hands when no one was paying attention. Sat next to each other when they had lunch. Just the little things they did discreetly that no one really noticed.

Until Kiyoshi was hospitalized.

After the game, Riko realized that their relationship would never work out because they were exactly the same kind of person.

They were both way smarter than their teammates, which made them think that it was their responsibility to lead and protect the team.

Except that Riko had failed as a coach while Kiyoshi succeed by sacrificing himself to protect the team with his own body.

They were both selfless when it comes to protecting the people they care, and extremely selfish to follow through their own beliefs, even if it hurts the people who cares about them.

She had begged him not to risk his basketball career, but he didn't listen. He held Seirin above anything else, though knowing the risk, he never wavered.

They liked each other, and tried, and failed. They never really ended things formerly. But they knew each other and a look was all they needed. She had visited him at the hospital once. She held his hand in silence. His hands were extremely large and strong, but he was always gentle with her. Before she left, she gave him a kiss-on the cheek. He had stilled, got the message that they were no longer in the relationship where she could kiss him on the lips, and put his arms around her and patted her back soothingly. She realized Kiyoshi must've had predicted that they wouldn't work out as a couple for some time now. He was always a better judge of relationships and character than she was.

After that, they were still close, just no longer as a couple. But as two people who understood each other. If Riko had to define their relationship now, Kiyoshi was a brother to her.

Riko? Are you there?" Kiyoshi asked when she went silent all of a sudden.

Riko snapped out from her nostalgia. "Uh, yeah, something happened today," Riko forced her mind back to the events earlier and explained the Kuroko situation to Kiyoshi.

"Is he okay?" Kiyoshi's voice went serious. He cared for Seirin's players as much as she did.

"He's alright. But Jabberwock won't be," Riko didn't bother to hide the hatred in her voice. "the GOM and Kagami are looking forward to crush them tomorrow."

Kiyoshi went silent for a while before speaking up again. "You're happy, aren't you?"

Riko asked incredulously. "What for?" He all of people should know how much she hated seeing her players get hurt.

"Not for Kuroko getting hurt, of course. But for training the generation of miracles." Kiyoshi explained.

Riko opened her mouth, but she couldn't say a word. Again, he knew her all too well. She loved her job as a coach, and she enjoyed seeing her players get better and better under her training regimes. The generation of miracles had better physical conditions than normal athletes, and the training results were much better than what she expected. She did enjoy training those brats, no matter how arrogant they were. "Yes," she sighed in defeat. "but my loyalties have not changed. I promised you that I'll cover your place of protecting our team until you come back."

Kiyoshi chuckled. "I trust you, Riko. I wasn't even worried. I just want you to have fun tomorrow. It's a rare opportunity, after all."

"It is, isn't it?" Riko yawned. "I have to go. Watch the game on Youtube, I'll send you the link."

"I will, goodnight, Riko. And tell Kagami and Kuroko I wish them luck."

"Ok. Goodnight, Teppei." Riko smiled, and hung up the phone. She thought she'd be too anxious and excited to sleep tonight, but talking to Kiyoshi always calmed her down. She knew they'll always have each other's back, and that made Riko smile right before she fell asleep.

The next morning, Riko's dad had drove them to the court where the match's being held. Riko called Kagami to wake him up on the way. She knew from past experience how worked up Kagami could be before important games and how likely he'd overslept. And she predicted correctly. She had to call Bagami three times before he was lucid enough to answer his phone. She sighed, hoped everything would go well and walked to the court with her dad after they arrived.

As the organizer of the rematch, Riko's dad gave Riko the free pass to invite whoever she wanted. Naturally, the entire Seirin team were at the VIP area. Riko had consulted Momoi, and decided to invite Too and Shutoku's players and their coach, as they were in Tokyo as well. And then more and more people got invited, eventually, the guest list was filled with names she recognized as basketball players from various schools. Surely, they were all furious as hell, and wanted to see the best team in Japan to crush Jabberwock.

Although most of the seats were still empty, Izuki and the other third and first graders had already arrived, and Izuki greeted her first. "Coach!" The others saw her and greeted her as well.

Riko turned to look at her dad, and her dad nodded at her, telling her that they still have some time before they got busy.

Riko nodded, and walked over to the VIP area to greet her players. "Like the view, kids?"

"Couldn't miss this for the world, coach." Koganei replied cheekily, and turned to look at his friend. "Mitobe says thank you for inviting us." Mitobe nodded in confirmation and smiled.

"This would be a good game. Try not to focus on mentally murdering Jabberwock all the time. You have the best view, so watch and learn." Riko ordered, and realized that the second-graders were nowhere to be seen. She looked at the vice captain.

"They're waiting for Kuroko and Kagami outside." Izuki explained.

Riko nodded. She knew no matter how close the entire team was, the second-years would always be closer to each other, and so were the third-years. The first-years were still newbies, though some had real potential, but they didn't go through what their seniors did. They had went through wars and won national championship together, and the bond between them was too strong.

At the corner of her eye, she saw her father was talking to a reporter, and waved a hand at her. Riko looked at Izuki again, and the latter nodded. He knew that she expected him to get Seirin under control in their captain's absence.

Satisfied, she walked over to stand beside her father and took the interview together.

After winning national championship, Seirin received a lot of attention. But mostly it was directed at Kagami and the phantom, as the coach, she often stayed out of interviews and left Hyuga in charge those.

She did it on purpose. She knew that her players respected her and would never question her ability, but there definitely were people who don't think that way.

Being a young, female basketball coach wasn't easy. There were self-righteous males and jealous females who didn't like seeing her succeed. She had heard hateful rumors about her messing around with players or how bad she was as a coach in her own school.

Haters gonna hate, but she didn't have to add fuel to it. She didn't have to prove anything to anyone, because she knew she was good enough to be questioned. But she still preferred to stay out of the headlights and kept a low profile. She still cared for her reputation.

But her father had encouraged her to do more interviews. Share her professional opinions with the reportors, and let them promote Seirin in their stories.

The reporter was visibly excited. She remembered meeting him at last year's Winter Cup. He had interviewed Seirin then.

The match today, undoubtedly was a high-profile one. Vorpal Swords was a dream team. With the entire generation of miracles, the rising two stars of Seirin, and a seasoned ex-player of the national basketball team as a coach, along with the assistance of the best manager and intel-collector, and the woman who led a nobody-school to national championship.

Her dad just finished answering a question when she joined them, and the reporter turned to face her. "Nice to meet you again, Aida-san."

Riko smiled at him. "Likewise. It's nice to have you here with us today." The reporter was professional and always polite. He had never looked down upon Seirin like some of his colleagues did before Seirin won the Winter Cup. She revealed some details of the training, and the reporter listened to her intently.

"Excuse us," Riko's dad cut in after she spoke. "the players are here now. We have to get ready."

"Of course, thank you to you both." The reporter walked back to where the media area was, and Riko and her dad walked to the player's locker room.

Everyone was there, warming up.

"Alright!" Riko heard her dad cheer. "Let's go murder those bastards!"

TBC and please review.