A Time with Aomine
by silenthero27
Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfic in this anime so easy with the critics, okay?
Anyway, I'm always curious about the stills in the end credits. There is this picture that really caught my eye. It's in episode 7 in season 2 where Aomine was seen playing with Kuroko's dog. It struck me as charming and odd. Aomine is always strict and cold but here he looks like he's enjoying himself. And with that I based my story.
Disclamer: Kuroko no Basket isn't mine. I swear on Kagami's weird eyebrows!
The common view of people to geniuses is of amazement. As geniuses abound so are their fans, happily squealing to every action they make. The longing looks in their faces of what they can never achieve in their whole life. And for what they can never become they idolized, in a useless logic they be labelled the same as them in association. Aomine hated it.
In middle school, he knew what a praise can do to a fledgling player. Even as prodigy, being cheered for was one of his driving forces into enthusiastically playing the game. But time passed on and the same cheer turned into fear. Not only players lost effort into giving him any semblance of a challenge, the same people who cheered him also developed fear. Being cheered on is nothing new anymore. Why cheer if you knew they'll win anyway? The players weren't the only one who changed.
Aomine was sick of it. All of it.
The ace of the Generation of Miracles, the man everyone feared in the court, Daiki Aomine, was bored. It is with this reason he always seclude himself to people. He cannot fathom himself being like Kise, who always stared by people like an animal in a zoo. He was also bored around people who couldn't give him any decent challenge. His mantra has always been right. If he's not in a class slowly dying, he's in the rooftop minding his own business.
But something bothered him. After hours in the rooftop something was amiss. No one was bothering him!
As much as he liked solitude there's always someone bothering him. That pink haired girl, Satsuki Momoi. He always half expected to see her in the rooftop before he gets any chance to doze off. If she's not lecturing him to stop being lazy, she always pesters his cellphone. The eerie silence was starting to become deafening. He pulled himself up and started thinking how to kill time. It isn't that long to think of something. Basketball, of course.
Aomine decided not to go to the school's basketball court. It was always so lively in there with so much people. And so he went to the basketball court in the park and was glad to found out no one was around. He never expected a public basketball court would be empty in the first place, though. Luck is on his side, he thought. He usually doesn't practice often but the feel of adrenaline was still something he craved for.
After several minutes, he felt someone was watching him. And if there was, then it's time to get out of here. He turned around and looked around for the culprit... and saw a dog.
"A dog?" the purple haired player thought out loud. He approached the dog and crouched, settling the ball to the ground. The dog was short, really short. So, it's a lost puppy, he thought. It was black and white like a typical husky breed. He never saw a husky in Japan before so it strikes him as odd. Its tail was curved almost like a pigtail. Its eyes were blue and Aomine swore he saw that pair of eyes before. To top it all off, the dog was wearing a jersey, complete with a number.
"What are you doing here?" Aomine asked. The dog started looking around. "You're looking for something?" Aomine asked again. The dog barked affirming its answer. For the life of him, the dog seems to understand his question.
"I cannot help whatever you're doing," Aomine stood up and shrugged. "You're a dog so track it with your smell or something. " The dog approached his basketball and started sniffing it. A thought hit him like a ton of bricks. Oh no. The dog might pee the ball! Before he had the chance to grab the ball, the dog lunged at it and started playing with it.
"So that explains the jersey. You're into basketball, too." Aomine said. The dog barked at him and continued to roll the ball. The sight of the cute dog playing the ball made a small smile in the prodigy's face.
"You want a little one-on-one, little pup?" Typically, when he asked someone that question they would sink down and escape with their lives, but the pup brightened his furry face and steadily rolled the ball with his small nose to Aomine. "So that's a challenge then, huh?"
The prodigy dribbled the ball around as the little dog tried to catch it. If ever the dog touched the ball he'll give him a treat for a reward. The "challenge", of course, wasn't a serious one. He let the furry dog catch the ball sometimes. To be honest with himself he quite enjoyed it.
After several minutes of attempts Aomine settled the ball in his waist and said, "Okay, that seems to be enough. Here," Aomine tossed a cookie to the dog. "You earned it." The dog caught the cookie midair and munched the cookie as he watched.
"Would you want to rest for a bit?" The dog then suddenly jumped at him and Aomine somehow managed to catch it. "Easy there, little fella. Let's sit in the bench right there."
They went to the bench shaded by trees and away from people. Aomine settled the dog in his lap.
"You know what, I like dogs. Well, pets in general." Aomine said looking at the sky. "My parents don't like pets in the house and so forbids me. They always say they are only a burden to take care off. But I disagree. Pets will only be a burden if you let it that way. If you treat it like a proper living being they'll respect you. And with it they don't judge you: What you look like, what talents you have, rich or poor. Give them love and they'll love you in return." Aomine then looked at the dog. " I cannot say the same with humans. It's quite opposite to them."
"I can already tell you have an owner because of the jersey," Aomine observed. "But it's strange you don't have a collar with you. I feel bad not knowing your name."
The dog looked at him puzzled. "Wait, I know that look." And finally, it dawned on him. "Holy cow! You look like Kuroko!" Aomine exploded, his eyes like round saucers. Indeed, the dog has an uncanny resemblance to the silver haired boy. How on earth a dog would look like a human is beyond him. The dog barked and started licking Aomine's face. "Hold on there. You may look like him but your behaviour is quite opposite."
Kuroko, it's been awhile. Aomine pondered. He settled the overbearing pup in his lap again.
"That guy is very different, you know?" Aomine then patted the dog. "Playing with us in middle school takes a lot of heart and courage. Many were scared to be with the team. I guess they don't want to be dead weight around us, but him. He doesn't care. He sticks what he does best and, as one of us, he never tried to gain any kind of recognition for himself. He truly is a weirdo. I kinda miss the guy." Aomine continued to pat the dog's head. "I don't know why he would leave us like that."
"The Generation of Miracles. Isn't it an odd name?" Aomine asked the dog. By now he accepted the dog understands him. "I mean a miracle is something out of human action, right? To look it that way it seems we're not humans anymore. But give credit to Momoi. If it was left to us to manage the team we would soon fight each other. I guess she's the one who made the weird nickname for us." Aomine laughed.
Momoi entered his mind and then he sighed.
"I think I owe her an apology after what I did." Aomine scratched his head. "I know she did it because of my injuries but I don't like to be babysitted by her all the time. Concern and all, It's kinda annoying."
"But you know. For all her analytic skills, she can't sense why I need to take a nap often before. I'm aware my body has limits so I had to be careful when playing. I just don't want people to nag me. If people found out, they'll think I need some sort of special treatment or whatnot." To his surprise the dog lightly bit his shirt, out of disagreeing. "I'm that stubborn, eh? Ok, ok, I'll say sorry to her."
The small dog then jumped off from him and lifted his small head, sniffing the air. The dog barked and seemed to follow a scent. "You're leaving?" Aomine asked. "Oh, anyway, thanks for the company. I hope we meet again." Aomine smiled. As the dog left, Aomine added, "And say hi to Kuroko for me, would you?" The dog turned around and gave him an affirming bark and left.
With the dog gone, Aomine grabbed his things and went home. And for a time he could remember, Aomine had fun.
A pink haired girl, hiding in the bushes stood up, her eyes full of mirth. She wiped her eyes and proceeded to leave the park, genuinely happy.
That's it. I hope you find this story charming. :D Reviews are appreciated.