Title: A Win and A Loss
Author: born on the day of earthquakes
Written: December 28, 2013

The red-haired former captain of the Generation of Miracles stepped forward and jumped. Kuroko, with all his concentration on his former teammate, also jumped, ready to block despite his surprise. His misdirection skill didn't work on the freshman captain in their final play, very unlike when he played against the heteromatic-eyed boy earlier in the game. Kuroko and all the others could only watch the last arc of the match, magnificently making a shot straight into the basket.

Rakuzan scored. The buzz signalled the end of the game. The score was 76-75. But it was Rakuzan's loss.

Seirin won the match. Seirin won the Winter Cup.

The winning team cheered. The audience cheered. But Kuroko could only stare at his earlier one-on-one opponent. He looked at their feet.

"You could have easily made that a three-point shot, Akashi-kun," Kuroko said. He was looking at the three-point boundary Akashi was standing on, before looking back up at the face of the boy before him.

But the Rakuzan captain just smiled. It was a smile that felt very nostalgic for the phantom player.

"And then it would have been an overtime," Akashi said. He was slightly sweating, unlike Kuroko and the others - both Seirin and Rakuzan - who felt like they had sweat all their blood out.

The red-haired boy stretched out his hand.

"Congratulations, Kuroko."

The phantom player could only stare at the other boy in surprise. That pair of red eyes stared back kindly, just like before in Teiko, when they still played as a 'team'.

This boy before Kuroko Tetsuya was the kind redhair of the Generation of Miracles. This was the boy who discovered his abilities as the phantom player in basketball. This was the Akashi Seijuurou Kuroko Tetsuya first met.

Kuroko might have defeated the boy with heterochromatic eyes that led the team on being called the Generation of Miracles. But he couldn't defeat this man who formed Kuroko into the phantom player.

"... Kuroko?" Akashi called again. He noticed that the other boy seemed spaced out. But he was surprised when the other boy grasped his hand in a firm handshake.

"I won't lose next time," Akashi continued. There was an almost golden glint in his left eye when he spoke. "Rakuzan will surely be there to face you again in the finals next year."

Kuroko smiled back. It was one of his rare smiles.

Seirin suddenly came to congratulate their almost-invisible player. That included ear-splitting yells and bone-breaking slaps - which were, of course, done in good-natured way. Still, Kuroko noticed Akashi going back to his current team while Rakuzan met him despite being really, really exhausted.

Kagami ruffled Kuroko's lightblue hair.

"You seem really fired up, Kuroko," the Seirin ace commented, seeing the rare fire in those usually blank, blue eyes.

Kuroko was still smiling. "I should be saying that line," the smaller boy said. "'I won't lose next time.'"

"What are you talking about?" Kagami said. "We won against Rakuzan, idiot!"

"Yes," Kuroko said, looking up at the man who was his current 'light'. "But I feel really excited to play against Akashi-kun next year."

Kagami had to raise his eyebrows at that. But he just shrugged. "Yeah!"

The Seirin freshman duo bumped fists.

Kuroko took a final glance at the Rakuzan team.

'I definitely won't lose next time, Akashi-kun.'

NG Take 1:

The red-haired former captain of the Generation of Miracles stepped backward and jumped. Kuroko, with all his concentration on his former teammate, also jumped, ready to block despite his surprise. His misdirection skill didn't work on the freshman captain in their final play, very unlike when he played against the heteromatic-eyed boy earlier in the game. Kuroko felt Akashi nudge his arm.

The referee blew his whistle.

Kuroko and all the others could only watch the last arc of the match, magnificently making a shot straight into the basket. Rakuzan scored. The score was 76-76.

"Foul! Black, number 11! Free throw!"

The audience cheered in excitement. Kuroko could only stare at his earlier one-on-one opponent. He looked at their feet.

"You could have easily made that a three-point shot- wait, it was a three-point shot, Akashi-kun," Kuroko said. He was looking at the three-point boundary in front of Akashi's feet, before looking back up at the face of the boy before him.

"That was supposed to be a two-point play, Akashi!" Kagami yelled from the other side of the court. "Seirin's supposed to win the Winter Cup!"

"But I'll never lose." The heterochromatic-eyed Akashi Seijurou was back. For some reason, he was holding a pair of scissors while retaining a gleam in his mismatched eyes. "Since I always win, I'm always right."

The coach of Rakuzan face-palmed. "With that logic, this is hopeless."

A/N:

I had fun with this short. It's suppose to be some kind of drama, but I can't help but add the NG. I hope you enjoyed!