Coincidentally, when my kid sis asked for this, so did theneverendingpurplesky on tumblr. Hence my decision to go along with this.
This one-shot is about Akashi's hair and the reaction of his teammates. There will be no sequel or side-story to this even if you ask for one. Enough said.
By the way, for those who do not know, "Mayuzumi" means "blackened eyebrows".
Disclaimer: I do not Kuroko no Basuke and its franchise.
It was time for the Winter Cup, and everyone in the Rakuzan team who were present at the stadium in Tokyo had gathered in the locker room immediately after the opening ceremony.
With their first match of the season coming up in less than an hour, they were all ready to go. However, they were missing one important thing… or rather, person: their captain.
"What's taking Sei-chan so long, I wonder?" Mibuchi Reo murmured under his breath. "It's rare of him to just run off like that, without telling anyone where he's going!"
"Maybe he just went to the toilet?" Hayama Kotarou suggested. "It's not like he needs to tell anyone if he needs to take a leak."
"Could you not phase it in such a vulgar manner?! If he went to the washroom, he would have been back by now; it's just next door! What if something dangerous happens to him while he's out?"
"Like anyone is suicidal enough to even think of doing anything to him." Mayuzumi Chihiro snorted without looking up from his light novel.
"I second that." Nebuya Eikichi agreed before letting out a burp. "Urgh. That felt nasty. Maybe I ate too much…"
"All of you are so heartless! Don't you care about Sei-chan at all?"
"It's not that we don't care about him, Reo-nee; it's just that… well…"
"Since he is perfectly capable of everything it makes it difficult for us to look out for him? Or something like that."
"Yeah! That's it! Well said, Mayu-chan-senpai!"
"Stop calling me that."
"That's it! I've had enough of you! All of you! I'm going to search for Sei-chan and bring him back in time for the match!"
"That wouldn't be necessary, Reo; I have just returned."
"Ah, welcome back, Sei-ch…" Mibuchi spun around to give his usual cheerful greeting, only to let out a high-pitched screech before he finished it.
Even without the ear-splitting sound, the rest of the team had already noticed what was going on. All of them were rendered speechless and even soundless: even Nebuya was so stunned that he could not let out one of his burps.
The first-year emperor… I mean captain raised an eyebrow in mild annoyance at the stares he was receiving from his fellow teammates.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Reo?"
"S-S-S-S-S-S-S-Sei-chan... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?!"
Mibuchi's protest was so loud, Akashi felt as if a gust of wind was blasted into his face.
"My hair?"
"YES, YOUR HAIR! YOUR BEAUTIFUL, LOVELY, GORGEOUS CARMINE, ROSE-RED HAIR! WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?!"
"Enough with the hysterics already, Reo; I will have to hold you responsible for the malfunction of my eardrums." Akashi sighed, prying his effeminate senior off his person. "I simply cut it, that's all."
"What? You got it cut? Why? Your long hair looked so good on you; to the point of it making you the most adorable thing in the world! For what reason did you get it cut?!" Mibuchi held his junior's cheeks in his palms. "Sei-chan, you must tell me who was the villain who did this treacherous act of injustice towards you!"
"Reo, you are mistaken. I said I cut it."
"I know, I heard that already!"
"Do not make me repeat myself a second time, Reo. I said, I cut it."
"H-Huh?" It took several seconds before Mibuchi finally realized what his junior meant. "S-S-Sei-chan, you don't mean that you..."
Akashi sighed at his senior's tendency to make a mountain out of a molehill. "Since it isn't obvious to you, I shall just say it, then. I cut my hair myself."
"BUT WHEN?!"
"It was a decision made just a few minutes ago."
"WITH WHAT?!"
"Shintarou's lucky item."
"BUT WHY?!"
"It was getting annoying."
"Just for that reason?!"
"Well, yes. What's wrong with that? It's just hair, after all; it'll grow back after some time, anyway."
"How can you say that, Sei-chan?! They say a man's hair is his life—"
"That only applies to you, Reo-nee."
"—and not to mention that Sei-chan is so cute, too! It's such a waste if you don't make use of this to your advantage!"
"I don't think being called cute is a compliment, even if it comes from you."
"SEI-CHAN'S CUTENESS IS JUSTICE!"
"I don't think he can hear you, Hayama; Mayuzumi."
"At least add the word 'senpai' behind that, you lunkhead. Is your brain also made of nothing but muscle?"
"Reo, you know that I care nothing about appearances. It's a person's abilities and inner strength that counts more that how they look on the outside."
"B-B-But, Sei-chan…"
"I don't want to hear that from someone blessed with a beautiful face."
"What was that, Chihiro?"
"Nothing."
"Reo-nee, you okay?"
"How could I be, 'okay', after such a terrible disaster has fallen upon us?! Of course I'm not!"
"My condolences, then."
"I don't that's the right thing to say in this context, Mayu-chan-senpai."
"Stop calling me that."
"But it's fine, isn't it? At least it doesn't sound like we're talking about your eyebrows."
"Are you picking a fight, brat?"
"I had enough! I hate all of you! Including and especially you, Sei-chan!"
"Ah, Reo-nee finally snapped."
"Me?"
"Yes, you! How could you shatter my fragile heart of glass just like that? To think that I thought so fondly of you, too! The least you could do is to tell me before you consider cutting it! Sei-chan may look cool the way you are now, but I like it better when it was longer and more, what do you call it, silky smooth?!"
"How long is this conversation going to continue? It's starting to get pretty old already."
"I'd say. It's like waiting for Ryuuji and Taiga to realize that they have feelings for one another."
"Another one of your light novels?"
"Yeah. It's titled T*raD*ra. I'm only reading it because I'm a fan of Ami, though. Himederes are more moe than tsunderes will ever be, plus these sappy romance stories are just the worst. A light novel is never good unless there are harems in it, I say! Being surrounded by oppai of various humanly-impossible cup sizes plus a pettanko or two with a fiery personality... What more could a healthy young man ask for? Such a delectable fantasy could only be present in two places: one is heaven, and the other is the wonderful world of light novels! All hail light novels! Hear, I say; hear!"
"I didn't ask anything about that! And why are you going out of character all of a sudden?!"
"So full... I think I'll take a nap or something."
"All right, what's with this ruckus?" Coach Shirogane Eiji, who just entered the locker room, questioned with a dark expression on his face. "This is a locker room, not a circus. We have a match in less than half an hour and we need to get warmed up as soon as possible. Can someone tell me what's going on here?"
Only Hayama was able to answer his question. "Well, it's about Akashi..."
"Akashi?" Shirogane turned to his team's captain, and understood the cause of the ruckus. He stared at the boy's (exposed) forehead for several long seconds before making his comment. "... I see."
"Even the coach is speechless...!"
"Well, that at least explains why Mibuchi is there sobbing in a corner." Shirogane continued. "It doesn't look like he'd be calming down any time soon, so we'll pull him out of today's game. It's not like our opponent is so strong that we have to go full power against them, but I'd still like to begin the match with most of the starters since it's our first match of this year's Winter Cup. Akashi, Hayama, Mayuzumi, Nebuya. You'll all be starting today, along with Oushiro. Are we clear on this?"
"Yes sir!"
"Now then, let's be going. We don't have any time to waste."
With that said, Rakuzan proceeded off to their first match.
Even with the absence of their shooting guard, they were able to crush their opponents with a score of 103 to 32, almost by a triple-score.
Mibuchi Reo was watching from the team's bench the entire time, sobbing to himself and grieving over the loss of his captain's 'adorable little bangs'. That is, until he witnessed how, I quote, "amazing and cool and awesome and spectacular" the latter was while playing without his hair covering most of his forehead and eyes. He saw the light and became enlightened, and since then he had been the number one supporter of the red-head's new haircut.
And everyone lived happily ever after.
Except Coach Shirogane, who never fails to be perturbed at the strange quirks and antics of his individual team members.
Well, that's the end of the story.
The end... I guess?