Hyotei's Empress - KNB x POT

7 - The Empress Plots

"We'll always be together, right?" Momoi asked in a quiet voice, looking up at the bluenette in desperation. "Everyone loves basketball... And even after this... We'll still be able to have fun together, right?"

"I need you to help train someone for me."

Midorima Shintarō and Akashi Sayori tolerated one another. They were no more than friends but nothing less than acquaintances. The relationship between the two was nothing like the love Kise had for her or the amount of hate Aomine held.

The two simply tolerated one another. Respect? Midorima only held respect for one Akashi, and that was his former captain, Akashi Seijuro. The only reason the two interacted with each other was because of her older brother. They would have never interacted with each other otherwise.

Midorima wishes he never met Sayori. In fact, he wished that Akashi never introduced her to any of his former teammates.

Afterall, she had so many favors to use him and the others for.

Midorima looked down at the girl smiling up at him. He ignored the curious yet somewhat confused and bewildered Takao beside him. "Who do I need to train? They better not waste my time-nanodayo." He pushed up his glasses.

The wind blew her fiery red hair to the side. "Her name is Kokori-chan... My vice-captain, Kokori Yuna. Please help train her. And Takao-kun... It would be wonderful if you could accept my offer. Sugita-chan has so much potential with her Hawk Eyes."

'Don't accept it, Takao,' Midorima said to himself in his mind, his eyes staring down his teammate. He did not want him to accept it. He did not want him to get involved with Akashi Sayori or her people.

Takao appraised the situation, looking at Sayori and then Midorima (whose eyes were holding such an expression). "Hmm..." He hummed, putting his hands behind his head as he looked at the sky with a thinking expression. He could read the mood between the two right now, a gut feeling telling him to hurry up and end the conversation. "I don't know, I have to think about it, Akashi-chan."

Sayori nodded. "That's fine. I would also be thoughtful about an offer like that since we just met. If you have your answer, please tell Midorima-kun so he can text me. Then, I'll be going. Have a wonderful rest of the day you two."

The duo watched as Sayori turned away, entering a limo. When the car drove off, the tense atmosphere seemed to disappear and Takao let out a sigh of relief.

"What was with that aura..." he mumbled before looking at his friend. "Shin-chan what was that abou-" His gray eyes widened, seeing the expression on his face. "...Shin-chan?"

"Takao. Whatever you do, don't ever catch her interest. Don't accept any bets or deals with her... Try to avoid her and her people from now on... A word of advice, never get involved with Akashi Sayori."

Takao nodded, taking his words to heart.

After all, he'd never seen Midorima so shaken up before, looking worried for him.

Pak. Pak. Pak.

Ball after ball, Sayori calmly hit each one sent her way at the targets, hitting the middle each time, a black spot over the center of each target from how strong the hits were.

"She's like a machine," Tsutsumi Tsukiko, a second year doubles player, mumbled, watching as Sayori kept going, not breaking a single sweat.

"Akashi-san isn't missing a single beat," Kuwahara Yoshie, a third year and Tsutsumi's double's partner replied instantly. "What a monster."

"I know right," Asai Kyou, third year singles player two, joined the conversation. "She told us to take a break, but Akashi-san is still going at it strong. How much stamina does she even have?"

"Too much," Suzuki Riri, second year singles player three, tiredly responded. She took a giant gulp of her water. "I'm so tired... Senpai is a slave driver..."

"Don't let her hear that," Tashiro Naomi, a first year and Kokori's double's partner, warned nervously. "If Akashi-senpai or Kokori-senpai heard you... you'd get punished."

Yanagi Ayaka, a second year and a singles reserve player, nodded in agreement. "Suzuki, Kokori-san is giving you a mean glare right now."

Suzuki let out a sigh, taking a quick glance at Kokori who was indeed giving her a mean glare as she stood by Akashi. "Ugh... Sugita-chan~" she called out to the first year manager. "How many more drills do we have?"

"I think I'd like to know what drills we have left," Kuwahara added.

Sugita looked down at the notebook in her hand. "Swings, a hand eye coordination drill, three laps around the courts, and finally stretches to complete today's practice."

Asai and Suzuki both let out groans. Yanagi, Tashiro, and Tsutsumi all cringed, looking like they bit into a lemon. Kuwahara winced before sighing.

"That's like another forty five minutes of practice or so," Tsutsumi guessed, running a hand through her sweaty hair.

"You guys!" Kokori suddenly shouted and they jolted, looking over at the girl who had a hand on her hip, Sayori behind her looking completely fine. "Break is over. Come on, we're going to do swings now!"

"Yes!"

"Before you all go for today," Sayori spoke up, making her teammates stand straighter, looking at the redhead with complete attention. "We will be having a training camp with the boy's team this week. Rikkai decided to grace us by having a training camp with them. So it'll be us, their girl's team, and both boys teams. It's a week-long camp, so please come prepared. Understood?"

"Understood captain!"

Sayori hummed, hands intertwined behind her back as she looked at the faces of every one of her teammates. "Sugita, when did I say the District Preliminaries where?"

The manager was quick to respond. "April 27th is when the Preliminaries for both girls and boys begin."

"Hm. The District Preliminaries are on April 27th. We will be a different team the moment we reach the tournament. And during that time, we will do nothing but win. Our goal is to become number one. We will not lose." Her eyes seemed to glow. "I will not accept defeat. Crush everyone and every team in your way. That is an order."