Another Manager (Akashi Seijuro x OC)

Kagami Taiga's Birthday (August 2)

Two quick birthdays before 2.12 Match Begins!

***

Team Seirin gathered inside the big stadium where the Interhigh tournament was being held. They stood on the side of the big, bright basketball court. It was almost their turn to play against Yōsen High School.

"Get ready, guys!" Coach Riko called.

The captain hooked his club bag on his shoulder. "Everyone got their stuff?"

"Yeah," Koganei answered, and Mitobe nodded quietly beside him. They all wore the black and red second jersey under the usual white T-shirt; the opponent's colors were white and purple.

A ringtone came from Kagami's bag, and the ace pulled his phone out.

Unknown Number: Happy birthday, Taiga. I hope you have a good game with Yōsen today.

There was only one person he knew who would text him about basketball in English.

"Wha-?! How'd she get my number?!" Kagami stared at the screen in disbelief. Then, turning to the shadow, he asked, "Hey, Kuroko. Did you give it to her?" The tiger ace showed him the message until Kuroko shook his head.

"No, I didn't."

"Then how? I barely talked to her at the barbecue..." The Number 10 furrowed his eyebrows and lagged behind, which made Hyūga scold the underclassmen for being too slow.

"Kagami! Kuroko! Let's go!"

The two of them complied and walked to the metal benches. As they were settling in, the other players entered the court as well.

"Happy birthday, bro." The captain of the opposing purple team came over to congratulate him. Himuro grinned as he held out a fist to Kagami. "I won't go easy just because it's your birthday."

Kagami grinned back, their matching silver ring pendants catching the glimmering light. "Wouldn't bet on it."

The captain and Kuroko tipped their heads in greeting, and the former Teikō club member glanced at Murasakibara, who was hiding a stash of snacks under his towel. "Akatsuki-san asked me to pass along her best to Murasakibara-kun."

Himuro nodded with a smile. "Sure. I'll tell him. Atsushi was craving her desserts the other day, but he settled with convenience store snacks."

They shared a laugh.

"Hey, Tatsuya. Did you give her my number?" Kagami showed his long-time friend from America the message.

Both of them being bilingual, he read it with ease. "Yeah. She asked me for it yesterday." Himuro spoke to the two of them. "I heard Atsushi saying that she'll be cheering for our team today, since you guys already have the other manager from Teikō on your side."

Tōō's match was later on in the day, so Momoi and her team were somewhere in the stadium. She'd be watching Kuroko's game live, while Ai had to wait for the TV streaming in Miyagi.

The two guys from America exchanged fist bumps again, and both teams lined up for the tip-off.

***

Writing anime in English is kind of weird... Too late now lol

***

What would the basketball Interhigh look like this year? Who might play against who, and what school would win?
(when the GoM are in their second years)

What would happen at the Winter Cup?
(without Kagami, after the Vorpal Swords game)

(Please spare me your thoughts, I beg of you 😭)

Total Word Count: 540