Another Player [Kuroko no Basuke]

19 - The Pencil of the Lazy God: Rolly Pencil

"Man, our coach always drags us around like this." Kagami sighed as he walked beside Miki and Kuroko. "What's with bringing all our midterms to her? I hope she's not planning something crazy again." Miki said with a sigh. "I'm not sure. All I've head is that you can't play in the Inter-Highs if you fail a test." Kuroko said, causing Kagami and Miki to look at him in suprise. "What? Are you serious?" Miki asked nervously.

"Yo, Kuroko, Kagami, Miki." The three turned around. "Oh, Furihata, Kawahara, and... Fukuda." Kagami said. "You finally remembered our names." Fukuda said happily. "Who are they?" Miki asked Kuroko, causing the three freshmen to cry sadly.

'She'll never remember us.' They thought.

"I wonder why we're doing this now? Finals are still ways off. Isn't it to early?" Furihata said while walking down the stairs. "It might be related to the proficiency tests in two days." Kuroko said. "But aren't those totally unrelated to our grades?" Kawahara asked. "What, really?" "Then what's the problem?" Kagami asked. "This is so confusing!" Miki exclaimed. "Why can't we just focus on practicing!"

"There's a huge problem." Riko said angrily. "She's freaking me out..." "As you all know, the proficiency tests are in two days." Riko explained. "And yes, they're unrelated to your grades. But-" "We have about 300 students in each year here." Hyuga said, taking over the explanation. "The tests tell you exactly where you place." "The lower scores remedial classes are next Saturday, and that's the problem." Izuki said.

"Saturday... Wait, the final league's?!" Kagami exclaimed. "Right. If you screw up the tests, you can't play. You've gotta deal with that before winning or losing." Koganei said. "I get it." Kawahara said.

"And that's why we decided to check out who got poor midterm results. Anyone who does will face special training at Coach's house, starting tonight." Hyuga said. "Coach's house?!' The three freshmen exclaimed, a faint blush on their cheeks. "We're just gonna be studying, okay?" Riko said with a blush. "Oh? You were just thinking of something perverted weren't you. You haven't changed Riko." Miki said smugly, causing a tick make to form on Riko's head and a dark aura to surround her. "Idiots who miss the games because of this shouldn't expect any late night fun from me." Riko said darkly, scaring the three freshmen. "Coach, you scared them all stiff." Izuki whispered.

"Alright, take out your midterms." Hyuga ordered. The three freshmen gave the papers in their hands to the second years, shaking nervously. "Here you go." Hyuga said as he handed the papers to Riko. "Thanks." She scanned through the stack of papers. "Furihata-kun, Kawahara-kun, and Fukuda-kun... They all did well enough." Riko said. "Just don't forget to review on your own." She said with a smile. "Okay!" They said. "We're safe." They sighed in relief.

'All that's left...' Riko thought as she narrowed her eyes at Kagami, Kuroko, and Miki. "Sup." Kagami said. "Here." Kuroko added while Miki stood silently in between the two.

'Just why are the three guys we can't afford to lost for the final league round the most unpredictable ones?' Hyuga thought while sweating nervously.

'Seirin basketball's future depends on them!'

Riko and Hyuga inspected the three stacks of paper. "Okay, let's start off with Kuroko-kun." Riko said. She split the papers all so each second year could see the scores. "Wow, it's average." They all said. Kuroko shrinked back and quietly watched from a distance. "I-It's not bad or anything! It's just not good either." Riko said."But Japanese is pretty high!"  Tsuchinda exclaimed. "It's still pretty average, though..." Koganei mumbled.

"63 points on Japanese history." Kagami mumbled. "Kuroko, are you a genius or something?!" Miki exclaimed in shock. "Huh?!" The second years exclaimed and turned their attention to Kagami and Miki. "No... Please don't..." Riko said nervously.