A/N: I'm a big fan of the fanfiction series 'The Perks of Being a Phantom Player' by Urei Miura and I really shout out to it and recommend it if you want tons of laughs!

:) And I know I'm being stupid for making a new series when I'm barely done with Manager-chan :3 just forgive me for now!

Chapter 1: Benefits of a Horse Statue

"Talking"

Thoughts

"Excuse me, I think you dropped your horse statue."

She picked it up, walked over to the wooden cart and handed it back to the male who was sitting rather comfortably in it. He took it with his bandaged hand before pushing up his glasses. Did his glasses just sparkle?

"Oh, thank you very much." He bowed his head slightly which she returned. Normally, one would think it was strange that someone had dropped a horse statue on the ground and not give some reaction to it. Akira really didn't care what the guy dropped but she knew it was proper to just return it. She began to walk away from the parked cart.

"Actually, wait a minute!"

A new voice called out to her; one that sounded familiar. She turned to the other side to see a raven-haired teen. He jumped off the contraption and made his way to her, "Hey, you look familiar. Have we met before?" He asked, examining her face. Akira's expression didn't change. It was a mix of boredom and laziness which was something that was hard to get rid of. The male in front of her stood straight, a surprised look on his face.

He pointed towards her slowly, "N-Natsume Akira-chan?" She raised an eyebrow, He knows me? Akira nodded and he beamed. "It's been a while, Aki-chan!" He said as his silver-blue eyes sparkled. She stared at him in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Oh, how it hurts to be forgotten!" His hand jokingly wiped away fake tears.

Akira frowned lightly. She knew this guy? She was never really close to anyone since her sarcasm and slightly violent nature made people want to avoid her. Ever since Akira was a kid she always got into a fights and her expressions never really changed so she always looked either bored or completely lazy and uncaring in conversations. It didn't really bother her anyway because there were plenty of annoying girls around at school.

"Takao Kazunari, your Elementary school buddy!" He proclaimed.

Oh, now she remembered. It was that annoying kid that followed her around when she was in the first grade. Akira moved to a different school after that so she didn't really stay long enough so that she would always remember him. Well, she could say one thing. He changed a lot.

"Cool, you became hot." She deadpanned.

"Ah, you really haven't changed, Aki-chan." Takao noted.

"Takao," His 'friend' cut in.

He had green hair and was fairly tall. He had glasses and a serious atmosphere to him. "What are you doing?" He asked. Takao stepped back, patting the other guy on the back. Takao looked over to Akira who was just standing there blankly, "Aki-chan, this is a friend of mine."

The green-haired friend took notice of the small girl, "Midorima Shintaro, thanks again."

"Natsume Akira." She bowed.

Takao looked back and forth between them. He nodded to himself and his casual cheerful grin danced its way back to his lips, "Y'know, the two of you are quite similar in a way!" Midorima looked at him before turning back to Akira who was quietly standing there in front of him. "When is your birthday?" He asked. She tilted her head a bit confused but decided to answer anyway, "5th of July." His eyes widened a bit before he closed them calmly,

"I see, you're a Cancer."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Ooh~ That explains it, you're the same as Shin-chan!"

Midorima pushed his glasses back up, "Cancers are compatible with each other," He held out a hand to Akira while he held the horse statue in the other, "Let's get along from now on since we both go to the same school." Akira nodded and shook his hand, "Yeah, I'll see you around then." The pair turned back to Takao whose jaw hit the floor,

"A-Aki-chan, you go to the same school as us!?"

"She's wearing the school skirt, idiot."

"I just transferred today."

Takao looked at her up and down. She was wearing an orange hoodie with cat ears and the black skirt of the school. Now that he looked closer, Akira was really cute but she still had that usual expression of hers which minused some points. She blinked a couple of times and he grinned.

"Aki-chan~"

Takao grabbed both her hands in between his and held them close to him, "I will support you no matter what so join the basketball club as the manager~!" Midorima pulled him away by his collar, "Stop disturbing her, let's go." Akira watched as the the green-haired teen dragged her childhood friend away. Takao flailed his arms in the air, failing to get out of his partner's grasp.

"Aki-chan, I'll see you tomorrow! Don't forget about what I said about the basketball club~!"

"I like strawberry flavoured milk!" She yelled back.

"I know~!"

Midorima questioned the conversation the two were having in his mind as he dragged Takao away. He shook his head and ignored the thought as the two left the female teen's sight. Takao sighed as his best friend released him, "Aki-chan would be perfect as the manager of the club." Midorima turned to him, "Why do you want her to become the manager?"

Takao climbed onto the bicycle, "'Cause she's fun!" Midorima grunted as he climbed into the wooden cart, "She doesn't seem like the type that would be." The male in front of him started to pedal, "Just trust me. Oh, and can I ask you a question?" Midorima kicked back, "What?" Takao turned around to face him slightly with a playful grin on his face,

"Where's the best place to buy strawberry milk?"

"Aki-chan~! I have come for you my love~!"

Akira turned to see the sliding door slammed open and Takao skipping into the room with a rather embarrassed looking Midorima tailing behind him. The raven-haired male pulled her up from her sitting position, spun her around before presenting the dairy drink on her desk.

"I have come with your bribe!" Takao announced.

She picked up the drink and opened it, "Bribe accepted."

He chuckled for a bit before sliding the club registration form towards her. Akira picked it up, examining the piece of paper while drinking her strawberry milk. She looked over to Midorima, "Ne, Shin-san, is it really alright for me to be the manager?" Midorima tensed up a bit when he heard his new nickname but ignored it and answered the question, "We talked to the coach and captain before and they said it would be a great help."

She nodded and signed the papers before handing it back to Takao who excused himself and dashed out of the room. Midorima watched as Takao left and turned back to Akira who continued to silently drink her strawberry-flavoured dairy product, "Is strawberry milk your favourite drink or something?" He asked. She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't hate it."

Akira's eyes wandered towards his left hand which was carrying a small turtle stuff toy, "So, why do you carry those things anyway?" She said, remembering the horse statue. He pushed up his glasses, "They are my lucky item of the day." She nodded, accepting that piece of information. "Is that why you were asking for my birthday the other day? To find out my horoscope?" Midorima nodded.

This girl didn't find it weird like the others usually did and just accepted it. Midorima in a way gained respect for her because of that. He continued to wait for Takao to come back before remembering that the girl in front of him was also a Cancer.

"Here," He held out the turtle towards her. She finished drinking the milk and turned to look at the stuff toy, "Why are you giving it to me? Isn't it your lucky item?" "I have another one, so you can have this one." Her black eyes met with his before she took the toy from his hand. She checked out the cute turtle and let a slight smile make it's way to her face. Midorima hid his surprisement. That was the first time he saw the girl have a reaction towards anything.

A few seconds later, Takao came skipping back into the room and his eyes landed on the turtle in Akira's hand. She held it out to him, "Shin-san, gave it to me." Takao's eyes widened, "But why? It's his lucky item." "I have another one." Midorima said.

The teen flung himself towards Akira, "Oh, I gave the form straight to our coach and he already accepted you as the manager, isn't that great?! You'll have to come to all our after-school practices!" Akira just nodded, "That's fine and all but can you leave?" Takao took a step back dramatically, "W-W-What?! Aki-chan how mean can you get?!" She shook her head,

"I'm telling you to leave because class already started."

"EH?! Shin-chan?!"

"He left a few minutes ago."

"I'm Natsume Akira and I'll be your manager from here on out."

Akira said as she bowed in front of the basketball club. Cheers and clapping were heard as the team celebrated on gaining a female manager. The captain stood forward, "Takao and Midorima told me about you. Natsume-san, I'm Otsubo Taisuke, the captain." He shook her hand with a polite smile.

After the introductions, all the players went back to practicing and Akira went over to get the towels and water bottles ready for them when they were done. She sat down on the bench, folding the towels as she watched the team play.

"It seems they have more motivation than usual." She looked behind her to see Coach Nakatani behind her. Akira cocked her head to the side, "Really?" He nodded at her, "It must have been your influence. Thanks for joining." She shook her head telling the teacher she didn't mind doing it. Well, I was bribed.

After Coach left, Takao came running over, panting and sweating. She held out a towel to him, "You seem tired." He nodded with a grin and took the towel before wiping his face with it. Takao looked over the side of the bench and noticed a familiar turtle sitting there next to her. He picked it up and seriously balanced it on her head. After checking it wouldn't fall off he gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright, you're ready for anything now!"

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"You'll see~!"

The raven-haired male moved out of the way and let his teammates have a full view of Akira. She stayed silent and dazed off, looking at the other end of the court. After a few seconds, the two heard a loud scream,

"MOE~!"

And a loud thump was heard as Midorima hit Takao on the head.

A/N: HEY guys, thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you liked it! reviews would be wonderful and the more reviews the faster i update 3 ~ thanks again!