Like I said in the summary, I own nothing- absolutely nothing at all -except for the OCs
Credit goes to the person who made this: jcminwell . tumblr post/57783255163/kagami-congratulations-part-1 comic
I only took the storyline and inserted my OC. Nothing more.
There was a small commotion in class 1-B. A new student— a returnee from America— was transferring into their class. A boy sitting next to the window named Nishimura Makoto stared at the returnee as the teacher introduced him.
"This is Kagami Taiga-kun."
"N-Nice to meet ya- you"
He stuttered, changing from an informal speech to a formal one. The returnee's tall build instantly became the peak of attention for the students.
"those struggling with English should ask him for help—"
"eh..wait— I can speak English but my school work is a bit…"
"oh? really? So he says! Don't ask him after all~"
The class broke into laughter and Kagami scurried off to his seat in the midst of it all. Once he got to his seat, the boy in front of him turned around and smiled.
"Nice to meet you, transfer student! Name's Nishimura Makoto. Call me whatever you like"
"o-ouh"
"you're from America, right? That's awesome!"
"yeah—"
"by the way, would you like to have this cactus?"
"cac…tus?" Kagami repeated, obviously confused.
"what are you pushing onto the new guy already?" a student commented jokingly.
"be careful. He'll soon be starting to sell you fertilizer" another joined in, laughing.
"shut up! I wouldn't do that!" Nishimura comically responded and turned back to Kagami. "my family runs a flower shop and my parents made me bring it in to advertise.." he clapped his hands together. "please take it"
"oh…I see…yeah sure I'll take it"
Kagami grinned at him and in English he thanked Nishimura. Nishimura stared at Kagami in awe before saying, "That was actually kind of moving..real English"
"huh?"
"oi you there" the teacher said, a vein popping on his forehead. "would it be okay if we started the class soon?"
"seriously!? You do basketball?"
Nishimura exclaimed loudly. It was break time and they were chatting with each other, gobbling their lunch in the process.
"yeah"
"tell me sooner~ oh I'm in the basketball club"
"oh right!"
"well I'm also the president of the club…how long have you been playing?"
"from about nine years old"
"mmm…so you've been playing for a while. By the way, I've been playing since five years old!"
"really? Wow!"
"hahaha guess that makes me your senpai"
Nishimura playfully declared as Kagami looked at him with admiration. They continued joking around with each other like long term friends though they just met for the first time.
On the rooftop, two girls were gossiping with each other while another silently ate her bento. Their topics were just some empty girls talk but then one of them named Minamoto Saki changed the conversation to something else.
"say, know about the new transfer student, Kagami Taiga-kun, from the next class?"
"yea! He's such a cutie!~ Rin knows about him too, don't you?"
The said girl's scarlet eyes shifted their gaze from her food to the two girls in front of her with a blank look before giving a simple response.
"yeah."
"what do you think about him?"
"I've only heard rumors. I think he's a nice person based on them."
"that's all?"
"what else is there to be said?"
"nothing, I guess…"
As the meaning her name held, she was as cold as ice. Koizumi Rin was a person who never gave a smile or spoke with emotion in her words. Some found her personality cute though many found it irritating but she didn't care. It's every man for himself, or so they say. Koizumi liked being alone without anyone bothering her. Nobody even bothered to approach her anyways. It has been that way since childhood.
But, the moment she entered Middle School, Minamoto took the initiative to talk to her and try to make Koizumi her friend. At first, she kept on pushing her away but as time passed, Koizumi found Minamoto's company quite enjoyable so she decided to take the idea of being her into hand. Then, Minamoto started introducing Koizumi to her other friends which made the girl's circle of friends increase, without her consent though.
Minamoto was different compared to others. Even with Koizumi's cold personality, she never took it to heart. She would always stay beside her no matter what. Koizumi herself found it puzzling on how one can stand staying with someone like her but whenever she inquired about it Minamoto would always say with a cheerful grin,
"because Rin is my precious friend!"
Words that she thought no one would ever utter to her. Koizumi was very thankful that she met Minamoto (but she wouldn't admit it), though at times her fangirling side was a bit too much.
"haaa….I wanna meet Kagami-kun…"
Minamoto whined as she walked back to class with Koizumi.
"is he that attractive?…"
"yes! Geez, Rin really doesn't get these kind of things huh…"
"well I—"
Her sentence was cut off when she accidentally bumped into someone and landed on her bottom with a thud. It took a moment before she could register what had happened and she just muttered an "ah…" in realization.
"sorry! You okay?"
She heard a male's voice say as a hand was offered towards her. Koizumi casually took it and the male helped her up. When she looked up to thank him, her eyes instantly widened because in front of him was the tallest person she ever saw, and that faint blush on his face added points to his looks. Another thing she noticed was his split eyebrows and two-toned dark red hair. It was a rare shade.
"…."
"Ri—n, you're staring—"
"eh..? ah, sorry"
"no, I should apologize! I mean you fell because of me and uh…"
"no. I wasn't looking where I was going therefore I should be the one to apologize."
"ah but—"
"I have no intention on continuing this so if you'll excuse me…"
Koizumi gave a slight bow to the male before walking off with Minamoto who was totally admiring him. Kagami watched the two leave and rubbed the back of his neck. He was never good at talking with girls in those kind of situations though he got some tips from his 'brother'.
"oi Kagami! Gym class is starting so hurry up!~"
"ah, got it!"
"—can I ask you to do so, Koizumi-san?"
"yes, sensei."
Koizumi walked off to the gym to get some equipment the PE teacher asked for. She was on her way out of the school because she didn't have any club activities but the teacher caught her and asked her to help him out for a bit. Coming across the basketball team's practice during that time was inevitable but what she saw was surprising.
"uwah…no way…A middle schooler doing a dunk.."
A boy muttered as the red haired boy Koizumi met before preformed the action. The happy grin on the redhead's face was apparent and everyone there couldn't help but admire him. Even Koizumi. She stopped her task for the teacher to watch him play a little more and left after that to fulfill what her teacher told her to.
Unconsciously wanting to see more, she returned to gym after handing over the equipment to the teacher and peeked through the gym's door. It was a first for Koizumi to have such interest in something. To her, everything in this world was a bore and it didn't mean a thing. She lives by herself so there was no one to comment on her way of thinking. Well, except Minamoto, of course.
"what? Can none of you guys dunk?"
She heard Kagami ask his friend who stood beside him, watching him shoot hoops. The other members have left but he decided to stick a little more longer.
"well, it's gotta be rare at this age"
"oh…well I guess there weren't many who could over there too. But the bigger adults were all slamming them in!" the redhead exclaimed.
"I see…"
Kagami's scarlet eyes narrowed. The look she saw on Kagami's friend was a look of jealousy. Due to her long term of being alone, she could recognize human expressions easily even if they try to hide it. The feeling of uneasiness which came to her was hard to ignore. She couldn't understand why she was experiencing such emotion, but…
"oh, the girl from before!"
Kagami grinned as he approached her, lifting up a hand as a sign of greeting. The girl gave a slight bow as to return the gesture. Nishimura saw this as a sign for him to go so he did so. Koizumi's eyes didn't leave the leaving boy until Kagami called out to her once again.
"so uh…I..don't know your name" he awkwardly started.
"Koizumi. Koizumi Rin."
"I'm Kagami Taiga. Nice to meet ya!"
"oh so you're Kagami-kun…" she said in more emotion than she expected.
"yea…you heard about me?"
"yes"
"heeh…"
"…that was a cool dunk you did"
"oh you saw? Thanks!"
"don't mention it. How long have you been doing basketball?"
"since I was nine!"
"is that so.."
That conversation was the starting point. The unsociable Koizumi started to hang out with Kagami more than she hoped for. It was probably because of how he interested her a lot. His tall height. His natural innocence. His sportsmanship. His hot-blooded self. Everything about him was interesting to someone as emotionless as her. The more she spent time with him, the more she felt that he was dear to her. He was one of the rare people who she could call 'friend'.
He would tell stories about how basketball was in America. How he played basketball with a person who he treated as his brother. How he met a former WNBA player who became his master. He also told her about how he had a fall out with that brother-like person.
Not much of a response was given by the girl whenever he told her the stories. Just a nod or a hum would be a sign she was listening. Kagami didn't mind it. He knew it was in her character to not show feelings to others. They were always together whenever possible.
Their homes were coincidentally in the same area so another factor to their close relationship. This made some of the girls jealous but they didn't pay attention to it. Minamoto would always find the time to tease Koizumi about hanging out with a guy though she wouldn't get any reaction to it.
The only time they spent apart was during class or club activities. During that time, Koizumi would spend time with Minamoto and Kagami with Nishimura. But, recently the Kagami Nishimura pair kept on arguing with each other. It was normally about Kagami participating in the basketball club practice. Kagami was clueless on why they didn't let him participate in practice. No one would tell him.
"what do you think, Rin?..."
He asked, lowering his bento. A cool wind blew on the rooftop as the two ate. Koizumi looked at Kagami with her eyes void from emotion as usual but, a glint of worry could be seen if you tried hard enough.
"I can't say anything about it."
"I see…"
Feeling the need to say something, Koizumi ceased finishing what was left of her food and leaned back on the fence which surrounded the rooftop.
"…why don't you just ask your friend directly?"
"…ah…I'll do so…"
Wanting to check on how Kagami was doing at practice, Koizumi headed off to the gym. She wanted to know what course of action he took. Did he manage to get the reason from his friend? Did they manage to make up? Her head was filled with foreign questions and emotions she never thought she'd experience. Just as she was about to turn a corner, Kagami's loud shout stopped her in her tracks.
"ah!? Why! You didn't let me play last time either! What's wrong with me!"
"…because if you join you break the balance.." Nishimura said, awkwardly looking to the side. "your team always wins, the result is obvious…That's no fun for the other team…"
"wha..! That's…! You just have to keep on trying to win! You guys aren't just trying!"
In reaction to his declaration, Nishimura looked at Kagami with widened eyes. Like what he had said was something very shocking and unbelievable.
"..are you..serious with that?"
"ah? What do you mean?"
"…no. Anyway, you sit this one out, Kagami. There's other stuff you could do like practice dribbling or exercising your body"
"huh!? That's what you guys should be doing! I've been wondering but when do you guys do any basic training? Games are fun too but if you don't train you'll never get any stronger!"
The anger was apparent in Kagami's eyes. He was upset. This wasn't what he had hoped for entering the basketball club. The boy in front of him smiled wryly.
"..you..haven't you noticed it yet? No one here is practicing seriously. Some guys only joined to improve their school report. We have no coach and the advisor is just for show. We're all just here to play around…Why would we want to get stronger anyway? It's not like we're going to play any matches"
"What are you saying...?" Kagami's crimson eyes widened and his body started shaking. Whether it was from anger or shock, it's unknown. "Hey…I don't get it…What are you saying…"
Just as Koizumi was about to interfere, some guys from the club beat her too it.
"hey, hey, What're you doing? Fighting again?" one started to say.
"you two are always on the edge these days"
"bu…" Kagami started. "but he said..!"
"You know Kagami, I've been thinking but..you really can't read the atmosphere"
"…eh?"
"we just wanna have fun playing basketball"
"right? The team Kagami isn't on never wins"
"and if Kagami is on your team, then he scores all the goals so it's boring"
"we know you used to play in the States and you're strong, but you don't have to show off so much, yeah?"
"yeah we get that you're made differently"
"…the hell…"
"if you wanna play someone strong then why don't you call that gay brother of yours you love so much"
A hot, icky feeling started bubbling inside of Kagami hearing those words. "….huh?..."
"the ring you're always wearing, he gave it to you, didn't he?"
"Ta- Tatsuya isn't like that…!"
"how can you say?"
"there's lots of them over there right?"
Nishimura started to feel bad with what was happening so he tried to make them stop, though it was futile.
"a guy giving a guy a ring is really gross! He's gotta be a homo"
"and Kagami-kun who loves the homo might also be…?"
"uwah- so scary..~"
That was it. Kagami's string of calmness snapped instantly and like a wild animal, he attacked. The scene was just too shocking to Koizumi who was watching nearby that she couldn't move. In years, she has never felt that way. Shock. Fear. Never. Once she managed to grab a hold of herself, she didn't even try to stop Kagami. To her, him beating them up into a pulp was the best course of action to teach them a lesson.
But, such actions result in bad consequences. A teacher who heard the commotion came rushing towards them and instantly put an end to the fight. The incident was suppose to end easily but due to one of the guy's mother being such a nuisance, quoted by Kagami's 'friend', Kagami got suspended longer than he should.
After a short phone call with Nishimura that night, Kagami sat on the sofa, holding the ring necklace Tatsuya gave to him in his hand. His crimson eyes looked so empty as he stared at the item. He felt confused. Angry. Betrayed. An image of his brother angrily holding out a similar ring necklace angrily at him appeared for a flash. Kagami held his head in his hands and clenched his teeth, holding back some tears.
Gift…Talent...
What is talent?
What is hard work?
How much of it is hard work?
How much of it is talent?
"Tatsuya…"
Ding-dong
The sound of the doorbell to his apartment rang. Kagami solemnly brought himself to answer the door. It would only be a teacher, or a student who came to give print outs from today's class— he thought. He might shoo the person away if that person had come for something stupid. He opened the door and was surprised to see the raven-haired girl standing in front of him.
"…hey." She said in a low tone of voice, audible only for him. "Just thought to check on how you were holding up.."
It wasn't in her character to worry about someone but seeing how angry and hurt Kagami looked when the guys were talking bad about his 'brother', she couldn't help it. He was someone she cared about after all. The only person she cared about to this extent.
"Rin…" he said her name in a voice that sounded neither happy nor annoyed at her coming over. It was an emotionless tone which the girl was accustomed at using so she recognized it instantly. Before a reply came out from her, Kagami wrapped his arms around her small figure and held her tightly, like he was holding on to her for life.
Koizumi was quite dumbfounded by his sudden action but understood why so she didn't push him away. She returned the embrace and gently stroked his muscular back. The male needed someone at the moment and she was the only one there. An urge to take revenge on those who hurt him was there but Koizumi knew better than to let her emotions control her actions. After all, she had been living as an empty doll all this while. She should let the adults handle the situation, if they actually could.
The slightly shaking of his body indicated he was either crying or desperately trying to hold it back. She decided on the latter. The girl moved one of her hand to his head and tenderly patted it. There wasn't a need for her to say anything. Her actions were just enough to give comfort.
"thanks…"
Kagami said in a low whisper. Koizumi only gave a slight nod to his words. The two stayed that way until Kagami had calmed down and Koizumi returned home soon after. The uneasiness she felt sometime before when she saw his friend's jealousy was this. She wanted to help Kagami but she had no idea how. She had never dealt with situations as such before. The only thing she thought she could do was just let him know that she was there whenever he needed him.
That is all…
A few days still being in suspension, Kagami laid on his sofa, trying to figure out how to spend the day. It's not like he wanted to study or anything but when he has no school, he has no idea what to do. He went shopping yesterday. Finished the laundry and cleaning. What was left? Hanging out with Koizumi was an option but she's still in school so nope.
Kagami's eyes trailed to the dusty basketball laying on the floor. It has been a while since he touched the ball even though he loved the sport more than anything. After a moment of pondering, he decided to go play in the nearest basketball court for a while. It was not like he wasn't allowed outside during suspension, yes?
Once he reached the court, he saw 3 males already using it. He felt slight disappointment but then again, they might be a good opponent. Even if their delinquents, which he deduced from their attire.
"hey.." one of them started.
"what?" his friend instantly responded and turned to face whatever his friend was looking at.
"what do you want? You keep staring at us"
"not much" Kagami replied nonchalantly. "I just came to play basketball, like you. If you're bored then play against me"
"huh?"
"what the fuck is he saying?"
"I guess we could but you better give us cash if you lose. Us three against you"
"Haha really? That's great!"
"uwa~ so nasty against a kid"
A challenge. Just what he wanted. "gambling basketball? So you have to hand it over here too."
"ah?"
"sure I'll take you on. How much do you wanna bet?"
Amused snickers were emitted by the trio as they heard Kagami's declaration. "lucky us"
"don't regret it later, brat"
"yes!"
Kagami cheered as the ball he shot towards the hoop entered smoothly. The three males he was playing against panted heavily behind him, all exhausted. One of them gritted his teeth in irritation and clicked his tongue.
"fuck this I quit"
In agreement, they started to walk off, talking about how dunking and stuff is a big turn-off when playing. Kagami was shocked at why they were going and tried to call them back because the match wasn't over but…
"nah it's over" one said, referring to their game. "aren't you taking this too seriously anyway? Are you one of those hot-blooded people? Gross"
"ouch Ryuu-kun that was harsh~ but true!"
They laughed haughtily together and Kagami was silent hearing their words.
Why?
All he wanted to do was play basketball.
But why…Why does it always end this way?
….ah
It was because they were weak…
They were too weak…
In the end, they're just losers…
"haha..! That is what you'd call 'The howling of a loser dog', huh. So pathetic."
The three males turned around, anger obvious in their faces. Not affected by it, Kagami continued his taunt.
"Because you were on the court I was wondering how strong you might be, but I didn't expect you to be such weak cowardly losers" he paused for a mere second before ending it. "ha…you say that you were turned off? That's my line."
A cold stare was given to the trio who were provoked by what he said and went in for the attack.
Tsk…
"ouch-"
Kagami muttered as Koizumi set an ice pack on his cheek. Koizumi was on her way home from school that evening when she saw the male walking down the street with bruises. A small jolt of panic flowed through her veins and she instantly approached Kagami then dragged him straight back to his apartment. She could guess what had happened but she wanted to know the details.
All of it.
When Kagami hesitantly told her about the incident like a child telling his mother, Koizumi could only stay silent. She didn't know what to say. She could understand why he said those words but for him to say them, he must've been very hurt though he told the story like it didn't mean anything to him. Kagami took the task of holding the ice pack from her and laid on his bed, Koizumi silently watching him from the side.
"what are you going to tell the teachers when they ask?...Your suspension period is going to be over tomorrow…"
"…I'll just tell them I fell or something"
"if you think they'll believe, so be it…"
Koizumi picked up her school bag and started to walk out of his room.
"...Kagami-kun"
"yea?..."
Don't listen to what they say
Ignore them
Whatever you do, don't change into…
someone like me…
"..no, it's nothing."
The number of things she wanted to tell him was infinite but, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. She didn't know how. Even if she did tell him, would it turn out good? Would it…actually help him? Koizumi was heading out of her comfort zone. A lifeless doll like her was turning into a human. With Kagami by her side, would it happen?
In his room, Kagami had put aside the ice pack and laid on his stomach without a word. He felt empty. He felt like locking himself in the room away from everything. The ring from his cellphone snapped him out of his thoughts and he slowly raised it to his ear, answering it with a 'hi'.
"…..yeah I'm okay. Sorry to cause you trouble….yeah…uh huh…thanks….you too, dad..take care…"
He ended the call and buried his head in the pillow between his arms. He clenched his teeth, his body started to shake. He knows that he would get into trouble again if they found out about the fight earlier. He didn't want to bother his father with his problems in school any further. Kagami gripped his pillow tightly, curling his body up a little.
I'm the worst…
Koizumi noticed the change in Kagami's eyes when he returned to school. They were like hers. Void of emotion. Empty. Even his response to her 'welcome back' didn't hold any emotion in them. Koizumi was about to say something else when she was cut by Kagami's words.
"make sure you take care of yourself, Rin"
The smile he gave her before heading of to the staff room was forced and fake. Koizumi could feel her heart ache at the sight of him like that. His words also gave an uneasy feeling to her. Like he was going away… Like they were never going to see each other ever again…
"Kagami-kun…"
Kagami listened silently as the teacher told him that the case about the previous fight with the club members was already solved due to some agreements his father did with the other boy's parents. The teacher didn't sound convinced of his excuse of the bruises on his face but he chose to just leave it alone and dismissed Kagami.
Once he exited the staff room, some students who were walking down the hallway started whispering to each other when they saw him.
"hey isn't that guy Kagami"
"oh the one that punched a member of the basketball club?"
"I heard the dude lost several teeth"
"huh? I heard he fractured his cheek bone"
"either way it's scary"
Kagami ignored their words. It was fine with him if they hated him. Just fine. He didn't want to care anymore. When he reached a corner, Nishimura saw him. Hesitantly, he started to call out to Kagami but was ignored completely. Nishimura stood there with his eyes wide as the sound of Kagami's footsteps started to fade. A wry laugh escaped his lips and he lowered his head.
"serves you right…"
Kagami suddenly became absent a day after his suspension was lifted. Not a single call on his whereabouts were given to Koizumi so she thought he was home sick— really sick —and visited his apartment but no one answered the door. Koizumi became worried— considering what had happened in the past —and the only way to find out what had happen was to ask his homeroom teacher.
"sensei, do you know what happened to Kagami Taiga-kun from your class? He hasn't been to school for almost a week…"
"oh, Kagami-kun? He has moved back to America."
Eh?
"it was part of the agreement his parents made with the parents of the student he fought with. Honestly I don't think it was a good choice of action but—"
What the teacher said afterwards was a blur to Koizumi. She was still trying to process the teacher's words. It was too much of a shock for her. As she walked through the hallway, she repeated the fact Kagami had moved back to America in her head. Why didn't he tell her? Weren't they…friends..?
So that was it…
The meaning of those words…
It was a sign of goodbye, wasn't it?
A stray tear fell down her cheeks for the first time in her life. She felt so attached to the boy that the news of his transfer had melted her cold heart. Slowly, more tears started flowing. Unable to hold them back, she crouched down in the middle of the empty hallway and cried silently.
"…stupid Kagami-kun…"
Three years later, some time during the summer vacation, Kagami's eyes popped open as he realized the sun was already up. He hurriedly got up from his bed, thinking he overslept, and tripped on his alarm clock on the floor. In pain, he curled up and held his head which collided hard with the floor.
Oh wait…club practice is from the afternoon practice today…
Kagami had returned back to Japan due to his father's request. He entered Seirin High and found teammates he could fight alongside with. It was the happiest thing in his life. He had finally found where he could play basketball freely with others.
He slinged his bag on his shoulder and went out of his apartment to head to Seirin for their practice. All of a sudden, his phone started ringing and seeing the caller ID, he instantly answered it.
"yeah what's up?"
[ "um, Kagami-kun.." ] The person on the other line started. [ "do you remember that we are meeting in the home ec classroom today?" ]
"oh? we are?"
[ "ah, so you had forgotten….I thought so.." ]
A vein popped on Kagami's forehead hearing the other say so. "actually, this is the first I've heard it"
Walking his way was a girl, her raven hair just past her shoulders and her scarlet eyes concentrating on the mail she was typing on her phone, her other hand holding the strap of her sling bag. When she and Kagami walked pass each other, she stopped and swerved around to get a better look at the person who passed her. Seeing the male talking happily on the phone, she couldn't help but smile.
So you have found your place huh…
Koizumi turned away to continue her walk (Kagami entered the home ec classroom)
The smile still on her face (Greeted by streamers and confetti)
She hummed a tune in fondness (His teammates shouted together)
Reminiscing their days together ('Happy Birthday' cheerfully)
She could now stop worrying about him (A touched smile formed on his face)
For there were others who would be there (This is his family, his world)
To comfort him in his time of need (Where he belongs)
-Congratulations…Kagami-kun-