Author's Note: With it being Graduation Season, my love of Kaijo, and a story written by anim8or. I became inspired to write this piece. I really hope you guys like it.

CAPTAIN

He stood in the middle of the Kaijo Basketball Gym for what seemed like hours. Though no one was inside and he was engulfed in silence, Kasamatsu Yukio could hear everyone squeaking shoes, everyone basketball bounce, and every shrill whistle. His steel blue eyes were closed as flashes of memories flooded his mind. It was almost painful, but at the same time a wonderful feeling. For three years, Kasamatsu worked in this gym with different versions of the Kaijo Basketball team. He had to admit it though, his third year was by far the best basketball team he'd ever had.

The thick-browed, dark haired teen sighed softly as he opened up his eyes. Every ounce of heart, sweat, and blood was seeped onto these smooth wood floor. There were even tears of happiness, of sadness, and of lost hope. Kasamatsu licked his lips and flinched when he tasted the saltiness. His hand shakily reached up to his face, and he cursed at himself. He swore that he wouldn't dare cry, but this was it. This was his last day as a Kaijo student, as a team player, as the captain of the greatest team to come out of Kaijo, in his opinion at least. Kasamatsu wiped his tears and sniffled a bit.

It was hard to believe that he was going to have to say goodbye. He was going to be moving on to University. When he was younger, in his first year at Kaijo, Kasamatsu couldn't wait to move forward. He couldn't wait to win all the championships, fall in love, party, do stupid things just because he was young. Unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, most of those things didn't pan out like he thought they would. He never lead the Kaijo team to victory, and ultimately he felt like a failure as a captain not just to his team, but to himself. It was his job to lift the team up and take them all the way, but he let them down. Kasamatsu sighed ruefully and shook his head. He knew his team didn't blame him at all, but he couldn't help himself.

Kise, Koji, Moriyama, Hayakawa, Nakamura, and Coach Takeuchi praised himself profusely the day they lost to Seirin at the Winter Cup. He was devastated though, he still cried alone in the locker room and when he got home. It was hard because Kasamatsu really wanted to win. He wanted to win with this team because this team had become a second family to him. They were home, and it broke his heart that he couldn't give them something to hold onto forever. The tears started building in his eyes again and he closed them tight, willing them away.

"There you are," Kise's voice echoed in the empty gym as he walked in from the double doors leading outside. Kasamatsu turned around and looked at the blond as he used his crutches to propel himself forward. His foot ended up being fractured after the extensive use in the match against Seirin. Of course, Kise took it like a champion and pressed through the pain. Kasamatsu had scolded him for being such an idiot, but Kise only replied that he wanted to win with everyone. He had proceeded to cry after that and Kasamatsu had ruffled up his hair, telling Kise he had done well.

"What are you doing here?" Kasamatsu asked dumbfounded as he watched the blond come towards him.

"Isn't it obvious, Captain? I came to watch my seniors graduate," Kise said with a bright smile.

"I'm not your Captain anymore, Kise," Kasamatsu stated firmly, but Kise frowned and furrowed his brows. "You don't have to call me that anymore."

"I found them!" Moriyama hollered from the double doors, waving people over. Kasamatsu furrowed his brows in confusion as the regulars of Kaijo and Nakamura came filing into the gym. "For a cripple you move pretty fast, Kise," Moriyama teased as he playfully pushed Kise. The blond stumbled a bit, telling Moriyama he was mean for pushing an injured person.

"What are all of you doing here?" Kasamatsu asked. The graduation ceremony had ended about an hour ago, he had assumed they all would have gone home and started packing. They didn't have ver long before University would start. "Shouldn't you all be at home celebrating with your families?" Kasamatsu inquired, looking to the seniors in particular. Kise, Nakamura, and Hayakawa would still be attending Kaijo next year and were the future of the team. Kasamatsu was pretty certain that Kise would lead them all the way to victory. The blond idiot had come a long way since they'd first met a year ago. He had learned respect and he learned the value of teamwork.

"I don't know about these guys, but this is my family," Koji said as he gestured to the circle they had formed in the middle of the court. "I love you guys, brothers for life." The tallest amongst them gave them a bleary smile as he looked at each of them. He placed one had on Moriyama's shoulder and the other on Hayakawa's as he looked to Kasamatsu, Kise, and Nakamura.

"Same here," Moriyama agreed with a single affirmative nod. "You're family to me. So I want to celebrate with you guys first, what do you say, Captain?"

"I'm not the Captain anymore guys," Kasamatsu said with a small sigh. That title was now relinquished, but he had yet to tell a certain blond that he would lead the team next year. No time like the present, he assumed as he turned to look at the blond. "You'll be Captain now, Kise." Kasamatsu smiled and clapped Kise on the shoulder.

Kise gazed at his senior in amazement. "Senpai," he breathed and beamed as he let go of his crutches and pulled Kasamatsu into a big hug. The dark hair teen groaned and tried to pry the blond off of him, but it was futile. When Kise wanted a hug, he was damn well going to get it. "Just soak it in, Captain," Kise whispered to him as he remained latched onto his senior like a leech.

"Oi! Oi!" Kasamatsu huffed as he finally managed to get Kise off, getting everyone else to laugh at the scene. "I'm not your Captain anymore, so don't call me that." The dark haired teen rubbed the back of his neck and blushed slightly.

"Don't be like that, Kasamatsu," Koji chided, but the stoic ex-captain only snorted in response.

"Yeah! We rove you, Captain!" Hayakawa exclaimed excitedly, causing everyone to shake their heads at his jabbering. He continued to rant and rave about how much he loved the team when Kasamatsu finally covered his mouth.

"Calm down, Hayakawa! We can't understand you," Kasamatsu said with an eye roll. The excited player fell silent for a moment before apologizing. "I'll admit it though, you guys are family to me too. Even you," Kasamatsu stated as he nodded to Kise, who acted slightly insulted, but smiled and laughed anyways.

"Well, how about one last game together as an official team?" Moriyama suggested as he ran across the court, grabbing a basketball from one of the racks pushed against the wall.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Kise exclaimed.

"Not you!" Kasamatsu scolded as he popped him on the back of the head. Kise yelped in pain and frowned at his Captain. "Until your foot is healed, you aren't suppose to play any basketball."

"Is that an order, Captain?" Kise asked with a chuckle.

"Yes!" Kasamatsu declared. "And stop calling me Captain already."

Kise only smiled at Kasamatsu and went over to the bench, saying he would watch them play. The dark haired teen went along with him while the others got ready to play. Kise sat down and looked up at Kasamatsu. "I'm going to miss you, Captain."

"Kise," Kasamatsu huffed and shook his head, placing his hand son his hips. "I'm not the Captain anymore, you're the Captain now." The older teen put his hand on Kise's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

"With all due respect, Kasamatsu-senpai," Kise began just as everyone gathered around again. "You will always be my Captain."

Kasamatsu felt his heart skip a beat. His eyes started to water and he looked up to the ceiling, begging for his tears not to fall. When he closed his eyes, the tears slipped from the corner of his eyes. Cursing silently, Kasamatsu lowered his head and looked at the blond, who smiled warmly at him.

"Correction," Moriyama chirped from behind Kasamatsu and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You will always be our Captain."

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement, causing Kasamatsu to let out a small sob. He covered his face with his hands and shook his head. The tears started to fall, but they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of happiness and joy. Kasamatsu completely lost it when he felt everyone come around him, wrapping him up in a big group hug.

"You idiots," Kasamatsu scolded between sobs, but even though he was crying there was no hiding that smile on his face. At that moment, Kasamatsu knew that he didn't fail his team at all.

He had brought them together and forged a bond that would never be unbroken.