Light
The crowd's cheers for Teiko Middle School's basketball team were deafening. Kuroko Tetsuya observed his own teammates as he positioned himself conveniently away from the other players; they were, he noticed, working well with each other, and yet strangely distant. As usual, he mused before focusing on their opponents.
They had been raring to go when the match started, but they were definitely tired of trying. The opposing team's lackluster performance did nothing to stop the Generation of Miracles from going all out, however. Kuroko sighed inwardly as his tanned, blue-haired, teammate made a final dunk just as the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game.
The grin he had on his face was wide and triumphant; the look in his eyes, unkind.
That wasn't really necessary, Kuroko thought wryly as he stood still on the court, watching as the rest of his team walk away, looking almost uninterested at their win while the rest of the crowd screamed and cheered for them. It felt almost like bullying.
His fists clenched as his light blue orbs swept restlessly through the crowd of enthusiastic chatter and smiles, fist pumps, and girlish squeals. And amongst hundreds of spectators, Kuroko spotted her easily enough: Gin, a regular of Teiko Middle School's girls' basketball team. She stood, somewhat detached from all the excitement, watching him with a small smile. And then, without another backward glance, she turned and left the stadium.
Almost on instinct, Kuroko's feet moved towards the exit as well. There was something she needed to know.
He had opened the doors so quickly that he found himself momentarily struck blind by the sharp orange of the setting sun. As he winced slightly, someone giggled.
"Blinded by the light, I see."
That teasing voice belonged to Gin, and Kuroko found his own lips twitching in spite of himself as he opened his eyes slowly to see the girl standing a short distance before him, grinning as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Not anymore," he retorted calmly, and she laughed again.
"And?" She pressed on knowingly, "There's something you want to say, right?"
She waited as he kept silent for a while, but when he finally spoke up quietly, she listened attentively,
"This will be my last tournament."
Thank you for watching me.
She heard his unspoken words loud and clear, and almost chuckled. So he wasn't completely unaware, she thought as her expression softened; he wasn't completely oblivious to the fact that she started playing basketball because of him. Even though he was but a "shadow" of the team…
Gin beamed back at Kuroko as she let her hands slip loosely from her hips, and said cheerfully, "You are not just a shadow, Kuroko."
He tilted his head to one side slightly at her words, but made no comment.
"At least," she continued softly, as though speaking to herself, "you're more than that to me."
And then, she bowed, and excused herself.
"You were my light."
Gin could not bring herself to say it.
She was the one blinded by the light, after all…
Wrote this on a whim; I might just continue this since I quite like where it's heading xD
Hope you guys will enjoy it too!