Likability

By: Aviantei

A Kuroko no Basuke one shot

No matter how much I look at it, we're just not friends.

I don't like admitting it, but that's just the way it is. I'd like to think that Shin-chan and I are close, that we're inseparable. That there's nothing that could ever come between us. The problem is that I know that's not true, and there's been this giant-ass wall between us from even before we met, from before we set foot on the same court. I'm sure the teammates of the rest of the Generation of Miracles would understand.

At first, you're caught off guard by just how powerful they really are, these kids that are around your age or maybe even younger. A lot of the times, you're stuck remembering what it was like to be on the court opposing them watching their score overtake yours without a chance of recovery. You remember the moment when you thought about quitting.

And then you stop. Even if you know they're your teammate now, that you should be able to talk to them, you can't. On the off chance that you could get over your own blocks, they probably wouldn't want anything to do with you. So you keep your mouth shut, watching them win games and steamroll their way through practices, until practicality says that enough's enough and you finally open your mouth when there's no one else to watch.

At least, that's what it was like for me and Shin-chan.

From there, you kind of start to hang out, at least a little bit. When it comes down to someone like Shin-chan, the most you can hope for is a few words directed towards you, the chance to be in their presence for a while. It's still intimidating, it's still nerve-wracking, and it's still enough to make you want to piss your pants when you think you've said something wrong. But there's also a part of it that's terribly rewarding.

There was the first time that Shin-chan said my name. I'll have to admit I may have gotten a little too excited about that one. And eventually he wanted my number, even if it was for the sake of reporting times he wanted me to haul him around in his rickshaw setup. I don't even want to know where he got the damn thing. But hell yeah I agreed to drive it, even if it was only going to end up in a lot of unnecessary work.

So I guess if this is some sort of confessional, I should just say it. Even if we're not friends, I want to more than friends with Shin-chan. It took me a bit to realize it, but all the time we began to spend together made me recognize my feelings. I know it's stupid since the guy is grumpy and weird, but I guess that's just my type. I'm not about to judge anyone, so I expect the same sort of courtesy in return.

My own personal reasons aside, I'm not about to start things any time soon. I want it to be as perfect as conceivably possible, but that's not all there is to it. All I can say is that it's been half a year since Shin-chan and I met face-to-face after practice, and we're still not friends yet. And while it hurts to know that he doesn't think of me that way, I at least know he doesn't think of anyone else on the team that way either.

Yeah, yeah, I know it's a stupid thing to get excited over. I just can't help it.

I'm going to consider everything that's happened up to now as progress, though. Just recently, he actually started playing with us as a team. I could barely believe it myself! That's way more than I ever expected at the beginning of the year. So if we can come far enough for Shin-chan to trust us as his teammates, then being friends may not be so far off.

As for the other stuff… well, I'm aware that those sort of things are a completely different kind of story. But I'm sure that will come in time, just like the friendship has to. I mean, out of all the people that Shin-chan could have chosen on the team to be by his side, he chose me. Even if it didn't mean anything back then, I kind of have to hope that it did.

I think we'll be able to figure things out soon enough, anyway. If Shin-chan is apprehensive about treating us like his friends, that's fine. I'll wait until he gets comfortable enough to say it. I'll consider him to be my close friend, and maybe one day he'll do the same. If he doesn't want to be friends, I'll just have to accept it until he does.

Besides, there's nothing more rewarding than having someone else decide they want you to be around in their life. Knowing Shin-chan, it'll take a while for him to decide, and even longer to say anything. And when he does, I bet that he'll be embarrassed. And somewhere in that sentence, he'll acknowledge me as his friend, and deny any instance afterwards if it ever happened.

But that's okay. It's those sorts of things that make Shin-chan so likeable anyway.

Ah, I love MidoTaka... and just Takao in general.

So this came about because of the "We're not friends" monologue Takao has in the second Seirin vs. Shuutoku game. I wondered where this sort of mentality came from, considering how close they are anyway... and wrote this as a result, albeit with a shipping twist to it.

I wonder if anyone who's read this is wondering where the next chapter of Visibility is... I promise I've been working hard on it, so hopefully a new chapter of that will so up soon. If not soon enough, then I promise that it is coming, even if it is slowly...

I hope that anyone who read this enjoyed it. Regardless of if you did, feel free to tell me what you think!