Chapter 5: FOUR
"Takumi-kun, please accept this," a first-year girl bowed and stuck out an envelope in front of Takumi.
"Um, I --"
"Bye!" she ran off before Takumi could say anything. Kuroko just looked at his new friend who reminded him of an annoying blonde in terms of popularity.
"That's the fifth one today. Takumi-kun is really popular," said Kuroko.
Takumi could only sigh and tuck the letter in his bag. "And I've turned all of them down. I don't understand, these girls barely know a thing about me and yet they've claimed to like me. How childish,"
"You're a child too Takumi,"
"...You're too blunt phantom," Takumi muttered.
The two were on their way to the gym. Kagami was supposed to join them but was running late with classroom duties.
"You excited to play the seniors?" Takumi asked Kuroko.
"More or less. When I first watched a match of theirs last year, I was amazed at their teamwork and their trust in each other," said Kuroko.
"I see."
The two arrived at the gym and met the other first-years before heading to the locker-room to change. Takumi however, changed elsewhere before arriving so he just sat on the bench and waited for the others.
"I watched the CD," a voice said next to him. "How were you able to play like that?"
"Practice,"
Riko threw the boy a disbelieving look, "There's no way you could've gotten to that level through sheer practice. You must've been born like one of those miracles."
"Perhaps. But practice does take you a long way,"
Then it was silent.
"You planning on showing off during the match?" asked Riko without looking at him. "Or are you going to let the others play and act as backup?"
"I feel honoured you know me so well Riko-chan," Takumi smiled at the girl.
She lifted her clipboard and hit his shoulder, "Who you calling -chan?! Have some respect for your seniors brat,"
"Hai, Riko-chan."
"You..." Riko glared at Takumi who only responded with his usual lazy smile.
Then she sighed, "At least respect me in front of the others."
"So I can call you however I want when we're alone?"
The girl suddenly turned red and started hitting him more violently. "Don't say such misleading things you damn brat,"
Takumi only laughed and blocked her hits.
Soon after, Kagami arrived and went to change while the other first-years came out. Takumi watched as they did their stretching and chatted and noticed Kuroko coming up to him.
"Ah phantom, what can I do for you?"
"Please stop calling me that. I wanted to know what position you'll be playing?"
"I wonder, ne coach, what position shall I play?" Takumi glanced at Riko with a teasing grin.
"The side-character," she muttered looking at her clipboard.
"So cold. Anyway, I will be playing shooting guard." Takumi smiled at Kuroko. He didn't say anything and blankly looked at Takumi.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. I just thought you might be a power forward," said Kuroko. "You gave off that kind of aura."
"That so? I guess you can never really judge people by appearance." Takumi stood up and patted the latter's shoulder before throwing on a yellow vest. He joined the other first-years and greeted them.
Once Kagami came out, the coach gathered everyone and discussed a few things before they broke out into two teams. The first-years wore yellow vests while the second-years wore dark blue. Unlike the day before, there were only five year's left excluding Takumi from the eleven that applied.
Not a bad number but Seirin's bench strength was simply too weak, that is, without Takumi joining it.
Since there were six first-years, Riko made Takumi sit out on the side as she observed the other five's skills. Furihata, Kawahara and Fukuda weren't terrible but neither of them had an outstanding abilities. Kagami on the other hand played like a beast, charging past opponents and dunking the ball.
"Tiger is quite impressive," Takumi said. Riko merely nodded.
"But, he needs to learn how to work with his teammates and think. He's too hotheaded and the type to be easily provoked,"
"Yes he does appear to be that way." Riko continued, "He has exceptional raw talent, one the best I've seen excluding you but he lacks variety in his skills and will probably pull a lot of fouls."
"However, I'm sure he will learn. He needs to if he wants to continue playing basketball," Takumi mused.
The seniors suddenly upped their game making it difficult for the first-years to score. During the short break, one of the first-years said something to Kagami who grabbed his shirt and shouted in his face.
"That idiot..." Riko sighed. Takumi laughed at the scene making the brunette hit his shoulder.
Kuroko suddenly appeared and knocked his knees making Kagami's bend. Then he said something to the red-head making him more infuriated prompting the other three first-years to hold him back before he attacked the blue-head.
"Wuahahahaha! Phantom is so brave," Takumi held his stomach. Riko just stare at him blankly before realising what he said. Then she turned to the group of first-years and her eyes widened.
"What the -- How long has he been in?"
"Oi oi Riko-chan, don't tell me you didn't see him. He was in the whole game,"
"EH? Impossible, how can someone be so invisible..." muttered the coach.
"Haven't you figure it out yet Riko-chan? I've already said a hint of who he his," Takumi teased. Riko frowned and looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Takumi sighed and leaned back on the bench. "Nevermind, I'm sure you'll understand during the second half."
Riko just looked at him with annoyance and turned back to the game to start the second half.
Fukuda had the ball and passed it to a location when it 'curved' and flew to Furihata who was already near the basket. He twisted and tossed it in while the seniors just stood frozen.
"Eh?"
Takumi smirked. He enjoyed the privilege of already knowing the plot and characters. It was fun to watch others reactions as a spectator.
After that, the ball kept mysteriously curving and ending up in people's hands making the seniors even more dumbfounded.
Takumi watched Riko's eyes widen. 'Ah, she must've figured it out.'
"I assume you understand what I was talking about."
Riko nodded slightly still staring at the court, "He's the sixth phantom man of the kiseki no sedai, isn't he?"
"Yep. The one who excels at passing and impressive use of misdirection,"
"...I hate that you know everything,"
"Don't be like that, Riko-chan."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone