Welcome to Part 3 of the Kagami's Talents series! Please read Part 1 and 2 first if you haven't yet, as some parts refer to parts of the other one-shots and it's in the same timeline. Also, this one is dedicated to The Crimson Red Rose, and EminaRukiax as a thank you for supporting me, because support is what keeps me writing, so thanks very much! In this one, we find out why Kagami's so good at Basketball and more of his life.
Also, warning for some language.
Part 1: Surf
Part 2: Cook
Part 3: Basketball (you are here)
Kagami was having a great weekend, taking a break from school and basketball practice. That is, until they came. And who is they? Well, the regulars of Shuutoku, Yosen, Kaijo, Rakuzan, and Touo, with the entirety of the Seirin team, along with all third years, of course. Seirin came first, and then the other teams started arriving at his house one by one, claiming that Kuroko had sent them an invitation for dinner at Kagami's house. A check with his phone confirmed that yes, Kuroko had invited them. WITHOUT KAGAMI'S CONSENT. When he found out about this, Kagami had threatened to hit Kuroko. No one from Seirin believed him, of course. After being forced to cook dinner for them again (he was ready and content to let Momoi and Riko cook for them while he cooked for himself), they demanded he let them stay overnight, as they had their clothes with them and everything. So Kagami got suspicious, checked Kuroko's phone again, and surprise surprise, THERE WAS A SLEEPOVER INVITATION (that he somehow did not notice before) TOO. And what Kagami thought was, 'Fuck it. I don't care anymore.' So that's how six rival basketball teams ended up in Kagami's apartment, having a sleepover.
It was 10:45 PM, and Kagami had forced everyone to go to sleep so that those who lived far away could catch the train tomorrow morning, and that everyone who lived fairly nearby could just go home. After it seemed like everyone had fallen asleep, he left.
Takao was awakened by the sound of a door closing softly. He was a light sleeper, so he was quite aware of sounds and sights. He looked around and noticed that Kagami was not there, so he woke everyone up.
"Hey everyone! Wake up!" he hissed.
"Whaaaat?" were the collective responses he got.
"Kagami just left the apartment."
"So?"
"Let's follow him! I wanna see what he's up to so late at night!", ever so mischievous, even so late at night. Yup, that was Takao.
Himuro replied, "Hmmm. Sure. I'll follow him with you. I'm kinda worried about him."
Slowly, every one agreed, all either amused, curious, mischievous, or a mixture of all.
By the time they reached him, it was already 10:50. And where they ended up at was no surprise. A streetball court. What did surprise them, however, was him practicing. Or, rather, how hard he was practicing. They had all dismissed the fact was that he was so good at the game due to his natural talent, and maybe some hard work, just the practices with the team and that was it. They did not realize how much, how hard he worked to become as good as he was in their beloved game of basketball. Not even Seirin or Tatsuya knew. And now that they had seen how hard he practices, it was an eye-opener. They watched him practice for another ten minutes, and were just about to leave, until Kagami's phone started ringing.
"Ey, Katsu."
Takao turned to Seirin and mouthed to them, 'Who's Katsu?'
Seirin shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders, showing they didn't know. They turned their attention back to Kagami's phone conversation.
"What? It's that time already?"
"Huh, I left the house later. Must've messed me up a bit."
"Sorry man, didn't notice."
"Uh huh, uh huh."
"Yeah."
"I'll be there in five."
"See ya later."
Kagami began packing up his stuff, and everyone started to follow him again. He lead them to another streetball court, but the atmosphere at this court was much, much different compared to the first one. While the first one was very quiet, with a calm, peaceful air and no one else, the second one was loud and a bit rowdy, with lots of different types of people.
"Yo! Katsu! I'm here!"
"Yo Taiga! Glad to see you made it man!
"You know I can't NOT come. I need the money!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. There's your first opponent, now go play him!"
Kagami grinned wide at the strong looking guy, and stepped onto the court.
Meanwhile, with the large group of basketball players-
"Holy SHIT, is this a basketball gambling ring?!" Nebuya exclaimed.
To their surprise, Himuro answered. "Yup, this is definitely a basketball gambling ring. Wonder why Taiga's here though…"
Kimura piped in, "Well, maybe he… oh. The match is starting."
At this announcement, everyone turned their attention back to the match.
Kagami stepped onto the court, and faced his opponent for the tip-off. He got the ball first, and dribbled dribbled dribbled. The opponent ran after him and got in front of him. Drive, fake, drive to the right, passed defense. Lay-up. Kagami scores first point. The crowd cheers. Re-start. Apply pressure, opponent passes defense, go for a steal, fails. Opponent scores with a fadeaway. Re-start. Dribble, dribble, dribble, drive, stolen ball, ball steal, throw outside the three-pointer line, run run run. Alley-oop! Score for Kagami.
The game continues this way, with every point gained is another for the opponent gained back. The players off the court can feel Kagami. His love, his passion, his drive for the game. He has the aura of a tiger. He has so much might, so much for the game. Pouring blood, sweat, and tears day after day, night after night. Basketball is not only his passion, it is his life, his soul. The players off the court can feel this, can feel it in how hard Kagami plays against every opponent, can feel him put his all into every game no matter how strong or weak the opponent is. They can feel what he feels during his game. The opponent ends up losing.
The next opponent steps up to the plate. Defeat for him. The next. Defeat for him too. And so on and so forth. The last opponent steps up. Everyone can tell this will be a good game.
It's sort of a surprise Kagami hasn't noticed them yet, seeing as they're such a huge group. But maybe not really, as he seems so immersed in his games and in his own world. So that's why it's such a shock when he was the first one to notice something was wrong, probably picking up telltale signs from these two guys behind him. He's gotten better at reading people and sort of understanding how they work, due to always being around Kuroko. He's learned things from that tiny shadow of his, and he is not afraid to use them. So when those mental bells in his head go off for trouble, he stays back just a bit and lets it happen, just a tiny bit.
"-ey look at that girl with huge tits and the flat one next to her. Wanna pick 'em up?"
"Eh, I don't care. I just want a good fuck."
"Alright alright. Let's go then man."
The two ruffians go up to Momoi and Riko, trying to pick them up. Momoi and Riko and politely decline them, and when the advances are denied, the two ruffians begin forcing themselves on the girls. The boys behind them are stunned because, 'how dare they lay a hand on the girls', 'do they think they can get away with this right in front of us?', 'why are we so scared when it's not us in danger it's them why can't we move, dammit'. And Kagami notices this, notices everything because he is more observant than people give him credit for. And he moves. Breaks away from his opponent, goes off in the opposite direction, sprints off the court and in between the two ruffians and Momoi and Riko. His aura grows to that of a papa tiger's, overwhelming, and powerful, and protective because the girls need protecting and he is willing to do that for them because whether he or they like it or not, Momoi has become a friend and Riko a family member, because Seirin's team is not just a team but now a family. He scares the two boys, guys, men, who cares that's not important right now, because something else is.
"Oi, assholes, what the hell are you doing to my friends?"
"T-t-taiga-sama! N-nice night so far, right?"
"Yes, it was. Until this happened."
And he does the most shocking thing. He grabs them both by their collars, lifts them up, and places them farther away from the girls. Much farther away. He doesn't punch them, or kick them or anything. Just places them farther away. And proceeds to give them a lecture.
"Alright you assholes this is a lesson you better learn right here, right now. Women are people. They have the right to refuse you. When a women says no, it means you fucking back off and stay away. It does not mean, force yourself on them. Because no means fuckin' no. Do you understand?"
They furiously nodded their heads, scared out of their minds.
"Good. Now if I ever hear that you two have bothered women again, I will find you guys and I will give you guys a pounding until your parents don't recognize you anymore. Got it?"
"Hai! Taiga-sama!"
"Good. Now leave."
They quickly scurried away, deathly afraid, and Kagami was sure that out of fear for him, they would no longer force themselves upon girls, which was just what he wanted. He breathed out a tiny sigh of relief, and turned to the girls.
"Momoi, Riko. Are you guys okay?"
"Ah. Y-yeah. Thank you."
"Yeah. Don't worry about it. But... why are you guys here? It's dangerous to be out so late at night, even more so at a basketball gambling ring."
"We... followed you?"
"Are you... kidding me? Jeez, you guys need to stop doing that!"
"And since you guys followed me, I assume you have no idea to get back?"
"Heheh..."
He sighed. "Just give me a minute to pack up my stuff and get the money."
He turned around and faced a person,
"Hey Katsu! I'm leaving! See ya in two days!"
"Alright! The money for the last match goes to the other guy though!"
"'S fine. See ya!"
"Bye!"
He packed up his stuff, collected his previous winnings, and faced them.
"Alright then, let's go."
It's in the middle of the walk back that Himuro asks the question, "Hey Taiga... Why were you even at the basketball gambling ring? Much less playing in it?"
Kagami pauses in walking due to the shock. Then he resumes. "Ahhh... I haven't told you yet, have I? I haven't told Seirin either. I guess it's high time to tell you guys then, right?"
"Yeah. What is happening?"
"First of all, you guys know how I live alone?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that apartment? I support it myself. I pay the bills, I clean it, and take care of it myself. Y'see, my dad isn't my dad. At least, I don't consider him one anymore. He never really took care of me or anything. He cared more about his work than about me. So one day we got into an argument. A really bad one. I left. Alex took me in for a bit. He just sort of... fell out of my life. And then I left to Japan. To... get a blank slate, start fresh, whatever. Basically, I do basketball gambling because if I don't get the money for food, bills, and basketball supplies, who will? Certainly not that bastard father of mine."
"And what about your mom?" Kobori asked gently.
He stiffened. "She's dead."
"Oh, I'm so-"
"No, no. Don't give me that. I don't want pity. Everyone dies at some point. She just died earlier."
"I see."
"Yeah. Anyways you guys can do what you want with this information. Remember it, forget it, pretend I never told you, store it in your brain, I don't care. Just don't give me pity. I don't want it."
"Anyways, here. We're back. It's already like 1:30 in the morning or something. Go to sleep. I need to go put away my things and do some stuff first. Goodnight to all of you."
"Goodnight."
"Night."
"Bye!"