The Caged Shadow Sings
Ogiwara-kun,
*scratch*Please close your eyes. See nothing, hear nothing, know that what does not kill you will make you stronger. Be strong, please be strong. Because I love you, and even though it hurts, time will heal us and things will change for the better…*scratch*
I apologize for not being able to honor our promise, I apologize for the incessantly rude play my comrades has displayed to you. I apologize, I apologize, I apologize…
I wish I can reach you, but I can't. My cowardice traps me so, my fear traps me so. The last thing I want to do is to face you. I am ashamed of myself, I am ashamed to meet you. I love you, Ogiwara-kun, I love you…
I love you, and I apologize for-
The rest of the letters were blurred from tears. He didn't know if it was his own tears, or his friend's tears. He had been crying for hours since he stared on the last letter his friend had sent him during his third year of Middle School.
His cellphone was broken on the way back to Meikou after the All-Middle, and even though he remembered his best friend's number by heart, he was actually too afraid to call him after the entire fiasco of him being crushed utterly and completely by his teammates.
But by the time he actually had the guts to call Kuroko Tetsuya and apologized to mend their friendship, Ogiwara had forgotten his number.
So he stared and stared at the very letter that reminded him of his bestest friend in the entire world. Ogiwara missed his formally worded text that was designed so perfectly to cheer him up. It was endearing, and he was lonely that it wouldn't come anymore.
He decided that he needed to stop this. He needed to get up and at least try to find Kuroko and then apologize to him. That was how he found himself in front of the captain of Rakuzan High's basketball club and the student council president…
"I want to find Kuroko. I want to exact our promise from that day, Akashi." The promise you had thoroughly crushed, Ogiwara added mentally. But he kept his gaze straight on the captain's eyes. The redhead looked as if he was contemplating his choices, the room was silent for a few minutes until Akashi reached his decision.
"Very well, I will let you join." Akashi nodded. "I know where Tetsuya went. He is currently in Seirin High. A relatively unknown school since it just opened two years ago." Ogiwara's stomach bubbled. Why…? Why would someone as incredible as Kuroko chose such an unknown school? Even he chose a school that had a good basketball club, even when he wasn't playing, but, why…?
"I will let you join under one condition. Help me persuade Tetsuya into transferring here to Rakuzan, and use any means necessary." He hated the way Akashi spoke, it sounded too familiar with the way their conversation went before Akashi broke him into pieces…
But did he even have another choice?
"Sure, I'll help you." He didn't have any say in the matter. Not back then, and most definitely not now. And besides, he wanted to have Kuroko by his side too.
But not like this.
No, definitely not like this.
He could see the desperation emanated by Seirin as Rakuzan left them in the dust. The score in the 4th quarter was 109-9. No, no, it was too familiar… TOO FAMILIAR!
"Shigehiro." Akashi passed the ball to Ogiwara, who then jumped to dunk the ball even before Kagami Taiga could even react. He could see how Kuroko's eyes widened as he watched Ogiwara dunked the ball.
"Whoaaaaa Rakuzan sure shows no mercy!"
"Do you know that Rakuzan has played in all matches aside from this one with no Power Forward?"
"He's so fast! Almost like a Small Forward, only more intense! Ogiwara Shigehiro, former ace of Kyoto's favorite- Meikou Middle!"
"Seirin couldn't even make it pass two digits. It's over for them. It was a great match though, Rakuzan is just too strong."
"Yeah, that leader of theirs is amazing, Generation of Miracles' Captain, Akashi Seijuurou!"
Kagami Taiga-kun then roared as he received a nearly impossible-to-catch pass from Kuroko, who was sweating bullets and panting so hard he could have collapsed any moment.
But then Kagami attempted to do a self-alley oop, the one who jumped to slam it in wasn't Kagami…
It wasn't even Ogiwara, who gaped at the small redhead who slammed the ball into their own hoop, scoring a suicide buzzer beater.
The entire Seirin looked instantly desperate with Kagami Taiga looking as if he was going to kill Akashi. But the loudest reaction came from Kuroko.
Ironically, Kuroko didn't say anything, or let out any sound. He just passed out on the court with a really loud 'thud' sound.
"KUROKO!" Both him and Kagami screamed, but then Ogiwara cursed himself as Kagami ran to Kuroko's place with the other Seirin members. He had no right to carry Kuroko away into the infirmary, he had no right to cry alongside those Seirin members who had tried their best and lost…
His chest hurt, and it felt so hard to even breathe. Was this…
Did Kuroko feel like this when he beat Meikou last year?
Was this what they call victory?!
"Shigehiro, come on. It is time for the line up." Akashi's voice held a slightly dangerous edge to it, like he was upset of Kuroko's collapse as well. He didn't move as he froze on his place, peering over the perfectly awesome team walking out with their injured friend…
His bestest friend in the whole world.
It was odd. Really odd. He had won the match, he had attained a 111-11 a-hundred-points-apart game, he had won the bet he made with Kuroko before the match, in which if he lose, he must come to Rakuzan with him…
But he felt like dying inside. If this was how victory felt, Ogiwara Shigehiro wished that he never made that promise with Kuroko at all.
As promised, Kuroko then transferred into Rakuzan. But Ogiwara could feel himself dying inside as each and every day moved for him. Akashi most definitely realized that Kuroko had a dead look across his face whenever he stepped on the court. He would never speak unless spoken to. And he would vomit out all of his breakfast after they won each and every match they attended…
But Akashi didn't care, unlike Ogiwara who was dying little by little inside as he watched Kuroko became the infamous Rakuzan's Invisible Phantom with no smile on his face as he played. He was emotionless, he was broken. And he had helped Akashi in doing it.
Akashi Seijuurou might have been the one who pulled Kuroko Tetsuya into a cage, but Ogiwara Shigehiro had been the one to lock him inside.
He was like a caged bird, and Ogiwara felt sad about that. But neither he and Akashi wanted to let Kuroko go. And so, the caged shadow began to sing.
AAAAAAAANGSSSSST!