Another Manager (Akashi Seijuro x OC)

(((Last Year - After Tōō lost to Seirin at Winter Cup)))

"Ai-chan!" Momoi ran up to her as she exited the train station and attacked her with a hug, like how she always did to Kuroko. "You're here!"

"Hi, Satsuki. Thank you for picking me up." She glanced behind her. "You too, Daiki-kun. It's good to see you."

"Satsuki dragged me here," he explained, yawning. "Come on, let's go already."

Momoi nodded and pulled her along. "Come on! Everyone's waiting!"

They made their way to a cozy burger shop together. By everyone, she meant the people in Tokyo and Kanagawa.

When they entered the store, Aomine went straight for the counter to place his single large order. Momoi turned and led her to the long line of conjoined tables without missing a beat. Most of them wore the Seirin Basketball Club jacket, but she only recognized the Generation of Miracles.

"Sorry for the wait! Here she is!" Momoi presented her.

Ai beamed. "It's been too long."

"Ai-cchi!" Kise stood and came over to hug her. "Welcome!"

"Long time no see, Akatsuki-san." Kuroko set his vanilla shake down and smiled.

"It's great to see you again, Ryota-kun, Kuroko-kun."
Kuroko was the only one she addressed by last name, out of respect for Momoi. She smiled at the tall one with green hair, who adjusted his glasses with his taped fingers. "You too, Shintarō-kun."

He only grunted in response.

"You must be the Akatsuki-san that Kuroko-kun told us about." A girl wearing a blue sailor school uniform and whistle stood and shook her hand. "I'm Seirin's coach. We spoke on the phone." She challenged her by puffing out her chest. It was clear that she felt inferior among the two F-cup girls.

Ai only smiled up at her, as the older girl stood a bit taller than herself, and ignored her competitiveness. It wasn't worth the trouble. "Oh, yes. Of course. Nice to meet you." She leaned forward to whisper. "I admire your height and waist. You must weigh much less than I do."

It was true. With more bust came more body fat. She sometimes wished to weigh less and contain her curves.

That seemed to have eased the unspoken tension. The coach relaxed. "Thank you for the recipes from before. I've been practicing and working on them."

"It was no problem at all."

Riko smiled and gathered her things. "Well, we should get going, team. Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun are staying, yes?"

"Yes," Kuroko answered. Kagami was no-where to be seen.

She nodded and led them out the door. A few of them stayed behind, though.

"I'm Hyūga, the captain of the team. Thank you so much for your help. You were a lifesaver."

The tall and silent one nodded, while the others expressed their profound gratitude. Ai just accepted them politely.

"Hurry up, guys!" Riko yelled.

Hyūga turned to leave, nervous of his coach's temper. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise." She waved as the team filed out of the restaurant.

"Guess it's my turn." The person sitting next to Midorima stood. "Hi, I'm Takao Kazunari, Shin-chan's best friend. I've heard so little about you."

Ai could tell he was just teasing his teammate that sat behind him, who looked very irritated.

"Akatsuki Ai, a pleasure." She shook his hand. His and Midorima's Shūtoku school uniform were similar to Karasuno's: military style in black, as opposed to suits like Teikō and Kaijō.

Next, a rather handsome guy with steel-blue eyes and sitting next to Kise stood and came up to her, while Takao took his seat again. He looked nervous and stuttered. "K-Kasamatsu Yukio, captain of Kaijō."

She shook his hand. "I apologize, Ryota-kun must be a handful."

He relaxed a bit and laughed knowingly. "Thanks, he can be." He continued to stand by her even after their introduction, while Kise begged to differ.

"Ah, Kagami-kun. This is her," Kuroko nodded toward her.

A tall, red-haired guy holding a mountain of burgers on a tray came closer to the table. "You're the one." He glared at her, assessing.

She returned the look with her challenging magenta eyes. "An honor to finally meet you, Taiga."

Shock spread across the room in a wave.

When Kagami recovered, he wanted answers. "How do you know my name?" He unabashedly scrutinized her again while she looked on with indifference.

"Let's just say we have a common friend." She smirked, but then corrected herself, glancing at Kuroko. "I'm sorry, Kuroko-kun. How inconsiderate of me. I meant more than one," she amended.

He dropped his tray at his seat and faced off with her.

"Hey, now," Kasamatsu tried to intervene.

"It's fine." She turned away from Kagami, although he demanded her attention. "Satsuki, I'm going to go order something."

"O-ok."
They all stared after her and talked with hushed voices.

"I see her cool nature hasn't changed," Midorima stated.

"That's just how she is. Don't think too much of it, Kagami-cchi." Kise tried to laugh it off.

After clicking his tongue and an urge from Kuroko, he sat down and unwrapped his first burger.

Ai made her order and stood by the counter with a waiting Aomine.

"How's Murasakibara?" he asked.

"He's doing well. I visited him a few times in Akita."

"Hmm... And? You really quit basketball?"

She giggled. "No, I didn't quit."

"But Satsuki said you're doing volley now," he inquired.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I love Tchaikovsky, but performing on stage isn't my cup of tea." (Volley and ballet sound the same in Japanese.)

"Huh?" He genuinely seemed confused for a second. "Don't mess with me."

They laughed and picked up their orders; his Mt. Burger was just as high as Kagami's. As they returned to the table, Kasamatsu was sweet enough to pull out the chair between him and Aomine for Ai.