Fanfiction, Kuroko no Basuke.
Oneshot, Fukui Kensuke & Liu Wei.
Word count: 4100
Warning(s): messiness, not my best, idek, UST?, height complex, severe cliche
At the beginning of his second year at Yousen High, Fukui Kensuke is assigned to clean the gym after practice along with a first-year named Liu Wei. Kensuke can't help but be reminded of Yao Ming or Jeremy Lin when he looks up at the Chinese boy. It's almost ridiculous how tall the members of Yousen's Basketball team are. Kensuke hasn't met a single person on the team, senior or junior, that he can meet the gaze of without having to crane his head upwards. His neck is really beginning to ache, and it isn't even as if he's particularly short. During class and about town, he's perfectly normally sized, but as soon as he steps into the club room, it's as if he's shrunk down to four feet tall.
Liu Wei is no exception, blessed with genes that give him a skinny beanstalk figure of over two meters tall. His limbs are long to the point of gangly boniness, but Kensuke knows that there's no way that he won't begin to build muscle given a month or two Coach Araki's training. Kensuke always thought that Chinese had black hair, so he can't help but wonder if Liu's brown is natural, or dyed like his own.
Before cleaning up the basketballs scattered in various corners of the gym, Kensuke takes the opportunity to practice. He's not upset at all that a taller second-year was chosen over him to be the point guard starter for the Interhighs, his ego's just a bit bruised. Even so, he knows that he needs to practice and improve if he's going to get a chance to play in any tournament game at all this year, so shooting a few baskets before cleaning up surely can't hurt. Liu, being a first year, still hasn't adapted to Coach Araki's brutality, and gladly takes a breather by collapsing onto the gym floor somewhere around the bench.
The first shot is from the three-pointer line, and the ball skates precariously around the rim of the basket before disappointingly dropping off. Kensuke hears a small snicker from the benches, and shoots a dirty look at Liu. Cocky first-year, he grumbles to himself before firing off another shot, slightly closer. It's not like he's a shooting guard, so he'll leave the three-pointers to his teammates. Fortunately, this time it goes in.
Empowered by this slight victory, Kensuke can't help feel the urge to sate a curiosity of his, and out of the blue, he asks if the Liu if he knows kung fu. The response is a resounding slapping sound that echoes through the room as the Chinese boy covers his eyes with a long-fingered hand. "Fukui-senpai," he groans, and Kensuke doesn't even have to look to imagine the pained expression on his face right now, but looks anyways. "Do you have any idea how many times I've been asked that since I came to Japan?" The exasperated look on Liu's face almost makes the blonde sorry for asking, but just almost. Kensuke opts to give a smirk instead.
"Alright, I get it. Chinese people don't all know kung-fu," he concedes, running a hand through his hair as he moves to pick up a ball that had rolled to the side of the gym. He barely takes several steps before another question comes to mind. "How about dim sum, then? Can you cook that stuff?"
Another weary groan comes from the direction in which the first-year is despairingly splayed out on his back, and Kensuke hears the slap of palm meeting forehead. "No senpai. The only dim-sum I can cook is of the microwave variety," he replies, and Kensuke can hear the soft muttering of a language that he doesn't understand. He can only assume that Liu's swearing in Chinese under his breath.
The corner of Kensuke's lip twitches as he fights the urge to laugh at how dramatic the younger boy is being over such innocuous questions. "And pandas? Do you like pandas?" Before he can get an answer, Kensuke is greeted with a basketball to the side of the head.
Impervious to the swearwords that Kensuke's spitting at him, Liu grabs another basketball and smirks, triumphant in his revenge. "Hey, at least I can aim a shot, right shorty?" The unspoken words of 'unlike you' rile Kensuke up as much as the unflattering nickname,
"Oh yeah, first year? I'll teach you to mess with your elders," Kensuke growls savagely as he takes up his own weapon, not knowing whether to laugh or punch the younger boy in the face.
Kensuke's mother has a massive fit when her son comes home with a bruised face and a split lip. However, her verdict of docked allowance and video game confiscation is nothing in comparison to Coach Araki's wrath when she finds two of her club members having a basketball war in the gym instead of cleaning up. After that, Kensuke and Liu spend a lot of time together after school, not cleaning but instead scrubbing the school toilets and performing the extra drills that have been set for them as punishment.
As it turns out, Liu takes the same train home as Kensuke, so they end up talking a lot. Sometimes they're joined by Okamura when the latter has to visit his grandmother who lives in Kensuke's neighborhood, and the three of them will chat for a bit before parting ways.
In the middle of his second year, Fukui Kensuke becomes a regular of the Yousen High Basketball Club, a team known for the overwhelming size of its players, at the majestic height (or lack thereof) of 174 centimeters. The original starter for point guard that year is over 180cm tall, but the poor sap breaks his leg in a freak accident halfway through the Interhighs. Okamura is the one that helps persuade Coach Araki to let Kensuke play in the next match, and this decision proves to be a fortuitous one. Kensuke is sure not to let Okamura down; the game between Yousen and Josei ends in a crushing victory of 67 – 12. That year, Yousen wins second place in the Interhighs, losing only to Rakuzan High, which has acquired a number of ridiculously overpowered first-years in addition to its already formidable team. There are a number of times that the ball soars right above Kensuke's fingertips and into the basket, but he hopes that he's the only one that takes particular note of these instances.
Kensuke knows that his build isn't that of the typical Yousen player, but what he also knows is that height doesn't have much to do with the role of a point guard in the first place. As long as his passes are more aggressive, his vision is sharper, his mind is quicker, and his feet are lighter, he can and will fight all other members for this position.
In the weeks that come after, Kensuke works himself nearly to the point of passing out every single practice. He also keeps his old habit of staying late after practice, and Liu often joins him. Many times they have to climb over the locked school gates to get home; other times, Liu drags him out for a friendly round of one-on-one on a street court. When Coach Araki announces the starters for the upcoming Winter Cup, Kensuke's grin is almost radiant in its joy, and Okamura lets out a hearty laugh while giving the blonde a congratulatory slap on the back. Moreover, the status of regular practically gives Kensuke the right to sucker punch anyone on the Yousen team who dares call him 'shorty', given that the coach isn't looking. The first thing he does when he gets the chance is bury his fist in Liu's gut. Kensuke laughs as he watches the taller boy gasp for air as while flailing on the gym floor like a fish out of water.
That winter, Rakuzan reclaims their title for the fifth time in a row, but the score between Yosen and Rakuzan is ten points closer. Kensuke isn't quite satisfied with this result, and swears to tighten the gap even more next year. Winning, of course, would be nice as well.
After the third-years retire, Okamura is bestowed the title of captain. To his despair, Kensuke and Liu still make jokes about how that won't help him get girls.
Sometime around the end of his second-year at Yousen, Kensuke finds himself talking to Liu a lot more than before, though he's not quite sure why. Their talks begin to expand from mutual grievances and complaints about the cruelty of Coach Araki, to topics such as teasing Okamura, gossip about school and the team, or about each other's' lives in one particularly conversational train ride, Kensuke finds out that Liu doesn't come from what he calls 'mainland' China; he moved from Hong Kong to Japan in his first year of middle school because of his mother's job transfer. Kensuke knows Hong Kong from aunts' recounts of the great food and shopping there, but he's never personally visited the place, so he asks Liu what it's like. A wistful smile crosses Liu's features, and he pauses for a moment before speaking.
That evening, Kensuke hears about a city with pristine glass skyscrapers juxtaposed against short buildings with peeling paint and laundry hanging out the windows. Liu tells him about the green cable trams, the red-bean icicles at Circle K, the counterfeit-filled carts of street vendors that line the bustling streets, and the tides of people that flood across streets as soon as the traffic light turns green. Most of all, Liu talks about the narrow street courts squashed in the space between buildings and alleys, and the spacious, much-coveted public courts in Victoria Park that would be crowded with basketball lovers after school and during weekends. These are the places that Liu loves, where he learnt and grew up with basketball, and Kensuke thinks that this is probably the longest that he's ever heard the Chinese boy talk about a single subject.
When Kensuke asks Liu when the last time he went back to Hong Kong, the younger boy hesitates for a moment. He used to go back every summer to visit his grandfather, he replies levelly, after the pause. Kensuke remembers that Liu's grandfather passed away in the winter, and doesn't press any further.
The rest of the train ride is relatively silent, but when the doors open for Liu's station, he smiles and comments that it would be interesting if he could bring Fukui-senpai to see his hometown one day. Kensuke has never left Japan, but he thoroughly considers this possibility.
When Kensuke's third year at Yousen begins, he's grown two centimeters over the break, and is mildly happy with himself for this. Okamura and Liu haven't grown in years, so Kensuke figures that there's still hope for him. This newly found pride in his height drops completely when he sees the first-years joining their club that year.
Murasakibara Atsushi- a graduate of Teikou and a member of the Generation of Miracles, no less- towers over the rest of the world with an absurd stature of 208cm. What's even more absurd though, is the guy's bright purple hair. Kensuke can't help but wonder if it's dyed, or if his parents just have a really weird genetic makeup. He also prays to whatever kami in the world that governs vertical growth that Murasakibara has stopped growing already. He's already enough of a giant as it is.
Kensuke isn't the only one suffering from ego wounds. A second-year transfer student from the US named Himuro Tatsuya has also joined the team, and Kensuke swears that he's prettier than most- if not all- the girls in Yousen. It's almost impossible to believe that behind that delicate, effeminate appearance, Himuro is a wickedly outstanding shooting guard. In addition to his arsenal of remarkable traits, he also has the patience of a saint, seeing as he's the only one that can properly babysit Murasakibara. Kensuke still can't quite get over the unfathomable prettiness though, and it appears as if he's not the only one. Within the first week of school, girls begin to walk past the gym hoping for a glimpse of the new 'hottie' in action.
If they were legal for alcohol, Kensuke and Okamura would be drowning their sorrows together every night after practice.
However, in addition to Murasakibara and Himuro, Liu is the third new member to join the Yousen regulars, and Kensuke couldn't be happier. It means that three out of the five Yousen starters are over 200cm tall now and Kensuke's lack of altitude couldn't be more noticeable, but Liu's worked hard for this, so Kensuke just lets himself be glad for his junior.
That year, Yousen wins third in the Interhighs because Murasakibara decides that he just isn't going to play in the last few games of the tournament just because "Aka-chin said so". Kensuke is close to just strangling the boy, prodigy or not, and he isn't sure if it's a good thing or not that Liu is able to hold him back so easily. Strangely enough, even though they lose to Touou and Rakuzan, Kensuke finds the most satisfaction in the matches that Murasakibara doesn't participate in. Perhaps it's because he likes the idea of being able to win or lose according to his own skills, not depending on the skills of some super-talented rookie. Third place isn't great, but they'll get their revenge during the Winter Cup.
When he tells this to a disappointed Liu after the match against Touou, it draws a strained smile from the younger boy's lips. Not knowing what words he can say to comfort the second-year, Kensuke settles for taking a seat next to Liu and slinging an arm over his shoulders. This appears to help.
Kensuke's high school basketball career ends the moment that the buzzer sounds with a score of 71 to 72 on the board. Yousen has been defeated by Seirin even before the semi-finals of the Winter Cup.
There's a sort of angry numbness that spreads throughout Kensuke, lasting from the time that the teams bow to one another, to the time that Yousen returns to the locker rooms. Salty rivulets of tears and sweat combined are rolling down Murasakibara's cheeks, and Himuro looks as if he's about to start crying as well. Seeing Okamura's crushed expression as he begins to change out of his filthy uniform, Kensuke decides that it's up to him to play the role of senpai and vice-captain.
"Cut it out, no need to be such drama queens," he snaps at the crestfallen members of the Yousen team, but his tone lacks its usual edge. "We'll laugh as they get their asses kicked by Rakuzan, and then you guys can be the ones to take revenge on Seirin for everyone next year, alright?" Kensuke is fully aware that he won't be there to see it, but the thought of comeuppance seems to console his teammates, if only slightly. He doesn't really know what to say next, but all eyes are on him, and the silence is becoming increasingly awkward. Kensuke scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. He's never been good with rousing speeches or pep talks- those have always been the job of the coach or the captain.
"It's the end of the season, but not the end of the world, yeah? Us third-years are going to be retiring now, but don't think you rookies can slack off just 'cause we're gone. If the gorilla doesn't mind, then may I have the honors of naming the next captain and vice-captain of Yousen's amazing basketball team?" Kensuke glances at Okamura, and receives a smile of gratitude and a nod of consent. The center doesn't even seem to take offense at his nickname on this occasion.
When the names are announced, Himuro looks absolutely relieved to not be the second-best at something for once. The half- smile that he shoots Kensuke as he accepts the honor of basketball team captain is equal parts gratitude and promise. Yousen will do more than their best next year; with their team's hardest working member as captain, that much is guaranteed. Liu follows Kensuke's steps as vice-captain, and the light in his eyes as he looks at Kensuke makes the blonde feel as if he's grown ten feet taller.
It's a bittersweet and disgusting sappy moment that looks like it was taken right out of some clichéd sports shounen manga, but the way that the entire Yousen team exits the sports arena with backs straight and heads held high is totally worth it.
Before Okamura and Kensuke turn over their uniforms and focus on studying for the entrance exams that will decide a significant portion of their future, the five regulars of the Yousen basketball club take a commemorative photo at the Tokyo Narita Airport, just before boarding their flight back to Akita. Just before the camera flashes, Liu tells Kensuke that the arcane nickname that he'd called Kensuke so many times before actually meant 'shortie' in Cantonese. The photograph captures the exact moment that Kensuke's enraged uppercut meets Liu's chin.
Kensuke is fortunate enough to get into Tokyo University for a business degree, and this is what consumes most of his time for the next year. Yousen is a distant but bright corner of his past that he doesn't have time to reminisce about, not with the report that he has due tomorrow and hasn't even started. One day during his part time job at a campus book shop, he receives a text from Okamura announcing that he now has a girlfriend, and Kensuke nearly spills his coffee. In the late summer, one of Kensuke's flatmates, Miyaji Kiyoshi (whom, coincidentally, is a graduate of Shuutoku High and often toasts to not having to deal with bratty Generation of Miracles team members anymore) buys a copy of a high school basketball magazine and informs Kensuke that Yousen made it to second place in the Interhighs. (Shuutoku comes fourth, and Miyaji doesn't seem quite satisfied with this result.) However, other than these short occasions, Kensuke is often too immersed in the present to think much about the past.
However, a few years later, Kensuke recieves a phone call- a long distance one, none the less- in the middle of a lecture. His sound of his cell phone vibrating in his pocket isn't loud enough for the professor to hear, luckily, and he'd normally ignore it, but this caller seems rather persistent, and the Kensuke's half asleep anyways. Deciding to pay a classmate for notes later, he hurries out into the hallway, and answers the call.
"It's good to see you haven't changed your number, shorty," is the first thing that Kensuke hears out of the receiver, and he immediately hangs up. A minute later, Kensuke picks up another long-distance call, and Liu is mindful not to call him names this time.
It appears that Liu is studying art of all things back in Hong Kong, and he's about to have his first exhibit, which he would very much like to invite Kensuke to see it. Kensuke never took his kouhai to be the artistic type, but the younger boy seems very insistent on his attendance, so he promises to take a look at his schedule. Liu's offer of chipping in to pay for the plane tickets, and saving on hotel expenses by letting Kensuke stay in his apartment is also very tempting.
A month later, Kensuke has his seat booked on a flight to Hong Kong over the next school break.
Kensuke is very glad that he isn't as freakishly tall as his former Yousen teammates, because if his legs were that long, he would have hit his head on the luggage compartment a million times, and his limbs would be cramping from having to fit into the tiny economy class seat. He also remembers that the novelty of seeing Murasakibara crack his head on the airplane's low ceiling wore off by the time they left the ground, and Kensuke wonders why he didn't remember about airsickness before booking the flight. Nonetheless, he's thankful that he doesn't have to deal with jetlag, since Hong Kong is only an hour behind Tokyo's time zone.
When his flight lands in Hong Kong International Airport, however, Kensuke still wonders if it's possible for him swim back to Japan instead of having to spend another four and a half hours on a screaming metal deathtrap. As far as he's concerned, turbulence is just another word for "sheer, unabashed terror". Luckily, Hong Kong's customs and immigration system is pleasantly efficient, but Kensuke can't help but enviously watch the native citizens with their ID cards glide easily through the automated immigration machine as he waits in the line for the officer to finish checking the boarding pass of the person in front of him.
Liu is waiting for him outside the terminal, as promised. It's hard to miss a person with his height in a crowd, so Kensuke has no trouble finding him. It's a relief to see that the Chinese boy hasn't gotten taller, but he's certainly grown more mature over the years. As the two of them take the MTR (Hong Kong's mass transit railway, Liu explains) to Liu's apartment to drop off Kensuke's luggage, it almost feels like high school again.
Liu tells Kensuke that now that they're in Hong Kong, Kensuke can call him 'Wei', or 'Ah Wei', which is what most people refer to him as these days. Kensuke tries to pronounce the Cantonese nickname, but it sounds strange on his tongue, so he settles for 'Wei'. As Wei leads Kensuke about the streets, pointing out different features and places, Kensuke simply thanks the heavens that he wasn't born Chinese, because all the kanji on street signs, menus, everywhere, is making his head spin, and the neon lights from shop advertisements are giving him a headache. It's like Ginza, except in a language he doesn't understand.
By the time they reach Wei's modest apartment on the fourth floor of a small building cramped between a two stores in Wan Chai, the sky's already dark, and they figure that touring and sightseeing can wait until the next day. Kensuke's pretty tired from all the traveling after all, and some time to rest would be greatly appreciated. The two of them argue about who gets to sleep on the couch, and in the end, Wei wins because he insists on being hospital to his guest, and the senpai-kouhai argument is invalid in foreign countries. Despite his misgivings about kicking a friend out of his own bed, Kensuke is asleep within moments of his head hitting the pillow.
The next morning, Kensuke wakes up earlier than Liu, and passes the younger man's unconscious form on the couch on his way to the bathroom. He can't help but observe for several moments, and note what's changed since high school. Maturity in combination with years of training in Yousen have helped the Chinese boy grow into his once gangly limbs, and gone are the awkwardly knobbly elbows and knees, the overly long arms and legs that looked so disproportionate compared to his body. His shoulders have become broader as well, and even while sleeping, his face is that of an adult, not a child.
Kensuke brushes a hand through Wei's hair absentmindedly, before catching himself and wondering at his actions. Leaving the couch, he opens the fridge to find it empty, much to his misery. When Wei wakes up, he procures a pack of microwave dim sum from a top shelf that Kensuke isn't able to reach, and that serves as breakfast. It tastes surprisingly appetizing.
As Wei shows Kensuke around, pointing out various shops that he recommends or the street court that he plays on during the weekend, he teaches Kensuke a bit of Cantonese- which is a dialect of Chinese that strangely enough, looks completely the same in writing, but differ greatly in pronunciation. The first thing that Wei teaches Kensuke is his own name, and the blonde is horrified at how the Chinese language butchers his name. "Fook tzang" and "Geen gai"are a difficult sound to pronounce, so Kensuke decides to listen from now on.
However, Wei refuses to translate what it means when he whispers things to himself in Chinese. Kensuke has an idea of what it means, but says nothing.
(a/n) okay so this wasn't really romance at all unless you want it to be, and it's just really a bunch of random scenes slapped together idek. Some trivia is that there actually is an artist named Liu Wei in China, and that the idea of Fukui rooming with Miyaji came from some pics on pixiv. This is a pretty uncommon pairing and I pretty much BS'ed it, especially the ending, but hope it's still kind of enjoyable. This is the longest thing I've written in a while. I might or might not fix this up in the morning if I feel like it. This was pretty much just word fart i'm sorry.