Maybe Kiyoshi should feel a little more sad about his forced retirement from high school basketball, or any kind of basketball, but with a team like his, and the memories he has, he could really care less about what people think.
They don't know him.
1.
When they all gathered on the rooftop that one day to prove themselves to Riko, Kiyoshi felt a huge surge of pride. Which was ridiculous. He barely knew these people. But when Hyuuga went up there and shouted to the crowd...
Even after the teachers came out and gave them a tremendous scolding, Kiyoshi didn't stop himself when he felt the corners of his mouth turning upward.
"Hey! What are you smiling at?"
2.
When he came back to school, everyone looked at him strangely. True, they were nice enough, but there was something false about their cheerfulness. Eyes would constantly wander to his knee, then snap back up, looking like those of a guilty child's. During PE, everyone who went against him treated him cautiously, as if he would break. Kiyoshi might have acted like one, but he was no idiot, and this behavior bothered him. A lot.
So when he returned to his beloved basketball team, Kiyoshi was overjoyed to find that everyone treated him the same way. Of course, they would never let him overexert himself, but they played with him normally, they talked with him normally. Kagami played one-on-one with him without giving a single glance at his knee. Izuki conversed with him without having awkward pauses in their conversations. Hyuuga still yelled at him constantly about being an idiot. It was nice and different and refreshing to find that one group of people would treat him the same.
3.
Kiyoshi likes that when his teammates look at him, they don't see the Iron Heart. They don't see him as a basketball prodigy (outside of games, at least.) Though Hyuuga uses his grand nickname scathingly, Kiyoshi somehow knows that his friend doesn't really see him that way. Seirin sees Kiyoshi Teppei as just that; Kiyoshi Teppei. He's three things mostly:
a. An idiot,
b. an overly friendly optimist, and
c. an idiot. (again)
4.
They're nothing special. True, they have Kagami, Kuroko, and himself, but Kiyoshi knows that Seirin is full, in terms of physical prowess, of mediocre players. Kiyoshi knows that the Generation of Miracles (except Kuroko) could run circles around Seirin all day, without even trying.
But then, during the summer, they train hard. And they continue to do so in the fall. And then, finally, the winter. And as they win over and over again, Seirin's light burns into the memory of their opponents, and their shadow leaves a stronger impression. Riko trains them brutally, but there are no more complaints. They beat Touou, Yosen, Kaijou. They shoot past the stars, no, they are the stars, the brightest stars, and everyone watches them. Everyone stares in awe at their light and the shadow it accentuates. And then, finally, it's the day of the finals.
"Do you think we'll win?" Kagami asks. Kiyoshi stays quiet for a long time, and a thoughtful look crosses over his features.
"If you have to ask that question," Kiyoshi says at last, "then you're not in the right mindset."
5.
Kiyoshi loves how his teammates can never stay quiet for long. Seirin is a hazardous storm; a cyclone, a hurricane, and tsunami. They fling their debris in all directions, and wherever they walk, chaos is sure to ensue. There is never a dull moment, and nobody ever stays still. Rowdy doesn't quite give them justice.
Kiyoshi doubts that there's a word in any language that can.
Kagami flies like a bird, dunking like he was born to do so, leaving them staring up at him with a mixture of fear and fascination. Hyuuga shouts and curses and screams insults and shoots. Izuki and Kuroko make their lightning fast passes. Tsuchida and Koganei... well, they're plenty lively. Even quiet Kuroko constantly gets involved in fights, and someone always has to intervene (normally himself, Hyuuga, or Kagami) before he gets himself hospitalized.
6.
"How was it?" Riko asks cheerfully.
"Great," strangled voices call in unison.
"Good! I made a whole pot!" She is blissfully unaware of the looks of horror that follow this statement. Kuroko conveniently disappears.
Spoons and jaws drop simultaneously, and everyone gulps in anxious anticipation as their coach spoons out several more servings into their bowls; a mixture of raw, uncut vegetables, mysterious bright red chunks, under-cooked rice, and a sprinkle of- was that. . . was that a banana slice?! Everyone (except Kuroko, who discreetly left the room, damn him,) lifts their spoons into the air in unison.
It's become a routine now; when Riko cooks, you eat without question. If someone vomits it out, everyone scrambles to hide the evidence. When her back is turned, Mitobe works his magic over the stove. Kuroko quietly replaces her bentos with Kagami's so when she samples what she thinks is her cooking, she gets to eat decent-tasting food. Izuki has taken to carrying smelling salts around with him, in case someone collapses in the hallways as they retreat towards the vending machines. You eat no matter how horrible it tastes, and no matter what, you absolutely do not tell her it tastes bad.
It's almost sad how much this team does for their coach's sake, but Kiyoshi thinks it's nice to be part of a group that cares so much.
7.
And then... sometimes they need a little break.
"Mitobe, did you bring any?" A glass Tupperware box opens, and inside are the most beautiful looking honey-soaked lemons Seirin has ever seen. A delicacy made by their own personal socially-awkward guardian angel.
Kiyoshi feels bad admitting it even to himself, but Mitobe's cooking is one of the reasons why he likes being part of Seirin. He delicately scoops out another lemon, and licks his fingers when he's done eating.
Riko squats in the corner alone, dejected.
8.
Kiyoshi likes basketball. So do his teammates. A year ago, that alone would have been enough for Kiyoshi to proclaim all of them his best friends. But now, there's something much more than that that unites them. There's a kind of a unique bond a team acquires when they experience a world of both beautiful hopes and nightmarish, broken dreams together.
9.
Seirin has a never-ending supply of daily and stomach-cramping comedy.
"Okay, Izuki," Hyuuga preps. "Rule number one: don't tell this girl any of your lame-ass puns."
"Hyuuga-"
"Rule number two: don't show her your joke book."
"Hyuuga, I-"
"OI. Listen to your captain for a second, you cocky bastard! Just because you're going on your second love confession this month doesn't mean-"
"I didn't say-"
"SHUT UP," Hyuuga roars, and Izuki flinches violently. "Rule number three: Give her-"
Kiyoshi chokes with laughter, but disguises it as a cough for his own benefit as Hyuuga turns on him and demands to know what the hell Mr. Iron Heart finds so damn funny.
Hyuuga looks rather murderous, and Kiyoshi values his life.
10.
One day, Kiyoshi sees Kuroko on the public courts by himself.
He shoots and misses, shoots and misses, an almost depressing continuous cycle of failure.
But not once does Kuroko look demotivated. He always retrieves the ball instantly and shoots again, throwing himself against that impervious wall, knowing somewhere within his heart that he'll have to cross it.
Kiyoshi watches for a little while, then heads towards the market with his reusable grocery bag.
He picks out the tomatoes and lettuce carefully, examining them in detail in the bright LED lighting, lost in thought.
11.
The doctor gives him the news.
Without surgery, he'll just barely last until the end of the Winter Cup.
The doctor asks him if he's sure about his decision, and Kiyoshi automatically responds yes, of course.
Dr Kobayashi gives him a deep, searching, look but does not protest or try to change his mind.
Kiyoshi excuses himself, and thanks him for his time.
Kiyoshi clenches his fist, then goes straight to practice.
He has three months left until the end of the year, the end of the Winter Cup.
He has three months left to play basketball with Seirin.
They will win. They will.
He'll show all of them, all the non-believers. Those people who whisper in the hall, the assistant who always looks at him with concern, but most of all, he'll show his team. That they're the best. That they can depend on him.
He will be their rock, their shield, even if he has to break.
12.
Seirin is out for a celebration.
"Why?" Kagami demands.
"Why not?" Riko challenges, a fiery glint in her eye.
That night turns out to be a terrible idea, with Kiyoshi leaping into a koi pond after Nigou, Furihata stammering strings of nonsense to his long-standing crush, Tsuchida and Koganei nearly getting arrested, Mitobe throwing up Riko's home-made bentos, Hyuuga terrorizing junior high students, Kagami eating every last morsel in a food stand, and Kuroko dominating every arcade game there is. At the end of it, when everyone is almost ready to go home, Kiyoshi convinces everyone to take a group photo. They barely fit into the photo booth, and even when all of their faces are visible in the screen, elbows and knees and heads collide everywhere. The humble photo-booth becomes the recipient of quite a few odd looks from couples and young children that pass by it, as it has large, muscled limbs and cursing voices emerging from every opening.
"Nii-san, what does that word mean?" questions a sweet, innocent looking girl. Her older brother adjusts his glasses uncomfortably and responds that he doesn't know (a total lie), much to her dismay.
"I thought you knew everything," is her disappointed response. He almost breaks down and tells her, but stops himself in time. (A textbook case of big-brother-doesn't-want-to-disappoint-his-little-sister syndrome.)
Everyone climbs out grumbling when the camera is done taking pictures, forgetting about the slips of film inside. Kiyoshi picks them up and takes a look.
He sees idiots, a lot of them, uncomfortable and comfortable with each other at the same time, as if that makes any sense. He sees the order within the chaos, with Riko laughing loudly in the middle of them, arms slung around himself and Hyuuga. It takes a while to find him, but their own Phantom Player is there too, surreptitiously plopping Nigou into an unsuspecting Kagami's lap, and the camera captured Kagami's terrified face mid-scream.
Why does he love this band of misfits, of idiots, of troublemakers and chaos? Why did he choose this band of idiots who nearly burned down the fish-scooping stall, with the blue-haired boy who picked a fight with a group of men armed with knives that were three times his size?
Why did he reject Shutoku's coach not once, not twice, but three times in favor of them?
The question is still unanswered.
13.
Winning is the best feeling in the world.
There is a painfully long moment of silence as everyone lets the score sink in, and then they erupt into cheers.
There's an arm around him, he doesn't really care whose it is, and there's screaming and there's tears, and mainly everything is just a massive blur of euphoria. Even Kuroko has tears running down his face, and Kagami just grins like an idiot. Riko is crying tears of joy, arms wrapped around Hyuuga, and Hyuuga is hugging her back, and then the entire team is cheering even more loudly because those two idiots finally left the stage of denial. Kiyoshi's knee is screaming in pain, but who cares, he could never walk again he doesn't care anymore. And it's not just the fact that they've won the Winter Cup and accomplished their seemingly impossible goal, it's also that he doesn't have to care about his knee anymore because they've won they've won they've won.
It just may be the happiest Kiyoshi has ever been, and he wishes he could freeze that moment forever.
14.
The high from the Winter Cup doesn't last forever, but Kiyoshi knows it's irrational to have even hoped that it would.
He's back in the hospital, back within the sterile white walls and long, tedious days.
This time, though, he's content.
When he finally returns to school, after a few days after their winter break is over, Kiyoshi pauses by the front gates, letting the steady stream of people pass in front of him. He gazes at the gates once more.
Seirin.
Kiyoshi Teppei smiles, the expression stretching across his entire face.
The second he steps onto school grounds, there is chaos, and the entirety of the Seirin basketball club tackles him at once.
"WELCOME BACK," they all scream in unison. He gives them a frazzled look.
Then the teachers come out, and attempt to break apart the mass of bodies on top of him, and the principal looks resigned because it's the third time that this has had to be done, and really, they should know better than to tackle Kiyoshi-kun who's just come out of the hospital.
Kiyoshi hasn't laughed so hard in his life.
When the last one of them (Nigou) has been removed, Kiyoshi stands up, brushes off his clothes, and turns to face his team. If possible, his grin has stretched out even wider.
"I'm home."
THE END