OHAYOU! Hello people of the Kuroko no Basuke fandom. It's Skylark here bringing you my first ever story for this fandom. It was really fun writing this and I hope I can contribute more stories to KnB. :)
Happy Birthday to our beloved ace, Aomine Daiki. Also, happy birthday to my little brother who has the same birthday as Aomine. *pouts* Man, he's so lucky. So this counts as my birthday gift for him. Even though he's more of a gamer than an otaku. .
Anyway, enough of my random ranting (or ran-ran for short)
I don't own Kuroko no Basuke. :)
'August 31? Aurgh…..Is it really that time of year again? What a bother,' Aomine Daiki thought as he looked at his bedside calendar that morning. With a groan he plopped his face back into his pillow. Most people would be excited for their birthday but not him. His birthday was pure routine. Since his mother was always busy with work she would just buy one of those cupcakes in the bakery, place a candle on it and present it to her son while singing 'Happy Birthday' as he came downstairs. When he was a kid Aomine used to love that but now that he was seventeen he started to see it as a routine his mother goes through every year. Still he accepts it with a faint smile and lets her kiss him on the cheek before leaving in a hurry for work. He sighed as she closed the door behind her and started to prepare for school. The cupcake (A.K.A. His breakfast for that day) was already crumbs by the time he gets out of the house.
"Dai-chan~!" Ah, that annoyingly feminine voice. Momoi came rushing up to him her hair flying in the wind and her satchel barely hanging on in her hands. Even though she lived only five blocks away she was already panting when she gets to her childhood friend.
"Breath Satsuki," Aomine told her as she touched her knees as if she just ran a marathon.
"Ah….Sorry Dai-chan but I can't walk with you to school today," she said after regaining her breath.
"Why?" he asked curiously. Ever since they were kids they always walked to school together. As much as they annoy each other it had become something they got used to. But theses pass few days Momoi has been telling him to go to school without her. Just like now.
"Uhm…..Cos I have to pick up something before class starts."
"Fine," he replied adjusting his bag on his shoulder. Momoi beamed at him before turning away and running some random direction. Before she turned the corner she looked back at him and yelled a 'Happy Birthday Dai-chan!'
Aomine just sighed and walked to the direction of Touou. As his walk was silent without Momoi there to talk to him he found himself thinking more than usual. After years of knowing her Aomine could tell from her statement earlier that Momoi was lying about what she said. Why did she lie though? Was there some sort of secret he didn't want him to find out? If so, was it such big of a secret that she would risk lying to him even though he could tell that she was indeed lying? The questions circled around his head so much he didn't realize he was already at the gate of their school. Huh, while he was thinking his legs automatically carried him to his destination.
He yawned and entered the gate. His stomach started to grumble obviously unsatisfied with the cupcake that passed for his breakfast. Maybe Ryo had brought something with him. He made his way towards the cooking classroom knowing full well that it was his teammate's first period. He entered the room.
Sakurai seemed to be working on something. His back was turned to him and he was muttering something under his breath.
"Yo!"
"Sumimasen!" he yelled in surprise. At the sight of his teammate behind him Sakurai quickly grabbed a box out of nowhere and placed it on top of whatever it was he was working on before Aomine could see what it was.
"G-Good morning Aomine-san," he stuttered. The navy-haired teen gave a grunt before lifting up the box. Before he could even remove it Sakurai practically draped himself over the box as if trying to protect something.
"S-Sumimasen Aomine-san but you can't open this."
He raised an eyebrow," Why not?"
"Cos…I….um….made this for myself?" Just like Momoi Aomine could tell that his teammate was lying to him.
"Nice try Ryo but I'm hungry and I know you'll give me whatever it is you cooked anyway. Plus, it's my birthday today." Sakurai seemed to react at his last statement giving Aomine the chance to shake him off the box. Just as he was about to lift the box up for the second time something unexpected happened.
"Sumimasen Aomine-san!" Ryo swiftly grabbed the box from Aomine's hands. Taking advantage of the ace's surprised expression he took off without even bothering to remove his apron.
He just stood there slowly processing the situation. Even when Aomine didn't ask for permission Sakurai was always willing to share his food for his fellow classmate. What just happened earlier was really odd for the usually kind brunette. And why did he show that kind of reaction when he told him it was his birthday today?
"Some birthday this is turning out to be," he said to himself. The bells rang and he made his way to his first period class.
As the rest of the day went by Aomine Daiki found himself experiencing more weird things. 1) Satsuki and Sakurai who were in the same classes as him practically ignored him the entire morning. 2) Wakamatsu told him that practice was canceled that day even though he knew the ace won't go even if there was practice. 3) He hasn't received any text from anyone of the Kiseki no Sedai to greet him a happy birthday.
It was the third thing that really got to him the most.
It was lunchtime already and Aomine found himself a bit lost as he made his way to the rooftop. Usually Momoi or Sakurai would accompany him but both of them gave their own reasons not to join him. He knew he shouldn't let that bother him yet as he was greeted by the silence of the rooftop somewhere deep inside of him he actually longed for company on his birthday. After all, a birthday was supposed to be celebrated with the people one cares for, right?
His bento left half-uneaten, a true sign that he was bothered, Aomine opted to lean against the rails of the rooftop while waiting for the bell to ring. One of the things he really likes about Touou was the view of the rooftop. From the gates in front of the school and the baseball pitch behind it he could see the entire school from there- including their school's basketball court. Back then, when he didn't attend practice (which was a lot) Aomine used to watch as everyone left the court. He watched Momoi attempting to call him on her cell, Sakurai offering some of his homemade delicacies to everyone, Imayoshi and Yoshinori dragging Wakamatsu away even though he insisted of staying late for practice and Coach Katsunori telling them some last minute reminders. A few times he found himself wondering what it would be like to be part of them. He knew that joining them would also mean having to join practice. Still…It would be nice to feel like you're actually part of a team.
That got Aomine thinking. Is it too late to join practice? He knew Wakamatsu told him there wasn't practice that day but just like Momoi and Sakurai he could pretty much tell he was lying.
"Better late than never," he muttered to himself. The bell rang; he picked up his bento and finished it in mere seconds before making his way back to class.
Standing in front of a gym wasn't new to Aomine. It always happened during games. But to stand in front of the gym for practice? Well, it was something he hasn't done ever since that year in Teiko. He looked down at his excuse for gym clothes-his white undershirt and shorts he 'borrowed' from a member of the soccer team-and decided that it was now or never. With a deep breath he prepared to walk towards the gym.
Only for his path to be blocked by one smirking Imayoshi Shoichi.
"Senpai?" he asked. Last he checked the former captain of Touou had already graduated.
"My, my, my. You finally decide to come to practice once I graduated? I'm hurt my beloved kohai," he said with a fake sad expression. Aomine grunted, already used to his sarcasm, and proceeded to pass him. However, Imayoshi blocked his way," Where do you think you're going, eh?"
"To practice, duh!"
"And why exactly would you do that?"
"Because I want to."
"Oh? So just because you want to do something you're going to do it?"
"Isn't that the point?" He gave a groan. Man, his former senpai was weird.
"Let me tell you something Aomine. From a former senpai to his kouhai. Have you ever thought that maybe there's a reason why Wakamatsu told you not to come to practice today? Why Momoi stopped reminding you to come to practice? Why she and Sakurai ignored you for the rest of the day?"
Aomine just shrugged his shoulders but deep down his heart was clenching for just a bit. Imayoshi continued.
"Maybe they just stopped trying; maybe they had enough of your constant absences; maybe they think they could practice without you; maybe they could win matches even without you."
"Ha! Yeah right," he retorted, a bit amused. But his senpai was anything but amused.
"Aomine. Yes, you may be the ace of the team but remember that everybody is practicing while you just laze around all day. Eventually, although it is almost impossible, everyone's strength would have improved to the point that they could play and win without their ace. Soon enough, they would completely give up on trying to convince you to play now that they could carry the game on their own. They won't need you anymore."
It was that last statement that got to him the most. Silence filled the air as the two ex-teammates had a little stare-off, waiting for which of them would show emotion first. Then, the senior looked at his watch.
"Look at that. I'm late for an appointment. See ya later kouhai," he said giving a small salute. He walked away, whistling under his breath, completely unaware of what his junior was thinking. Aomine looked at the gym again, mentally hearing the sound of balls bouncing and sneakers squeezing and added that to Imayoshi's statement earlier.
Without any reaction whatsoever he turned around and walked away.
There is no point in victory id you have no one to celebrate it with. How many times, back in the Teiko days, had they went out to that convenience store to celebrate a victory with popsicles? And how many days has it been since he last celebrated happily like that?
'Far too long', was Aomine's answer. He was back at the school rooftop reminiscing about the good ol' days . When everything was so simple, when he could play basketball to his heart's content, when he enjoyed victory from the bottom of his heart. What he would do to get those days back. It didn't have to be with the Kiseki no Sedai. After all, Touou was his team now. He wondered what he had to do to get that same feeling with his current team as he had with Teiko. But now, thinking all about what his senior had said something was telling him that Touou probably hates him right now. Heck, even he hates himself right now.
"The only one who can hate me is me," he said with a bitter laugh. Then, his dark blue eyes landed on the gym. Now that he mentioned it he never really experienced what Touou drills were like. Although, after what he went through with Akashi back then he knew it was a walk in the park for him.
Only one way to find out.
For the second time that day Aomine convinced himself to go to practice.
So, here he was, standing in front of the gym again. This time with no pesky seniors to block his way or to make him run internal debates with himself. Based from the time on his phone there was still some time left for practice. Even though he was late that wasn't going to stop him. He had to attend practice now or he might regret it for the rest of his life. With a deep breath a flash of determination appeared in Aomine's eyes and he slid the door open.
Darkness flooded the entire gym. He could hardly see anything. Then, he started to sense movement inside the room before the all the lights turned on.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY AOMINE/AOMINECCHI/AO-CHIN/AOMINE-KUN/DAIKI/AHOMINE !"
Confetti flew at him from every direction as streamers were popped in the air. The gym was packed with players from Touou, Seirin, Kaijo, Shuutoku, Yosen, Rakuzan and a bunch of other guests. Balloons and other decorations in shades of blue covered every corner of the gym. In a situation like this Aomine Daiki did the first thing that came to mind.
"Eh?"
Cue several facepalms.
"Ahomine," said Kagami," It's your birthday today, baka!"
"Tch. I know it is and who are you calling an Aho, Bakagami?"
Kagami got ready to charge at him but was promptly tripped by Kuroko," It's not nice to injure the birthday boy Kagami-kun."
"You seem surprise Daiki," came the voice of one Akashi Seijuro," Did you not expect a party held in your honor?"
"Well….," he gave a glance at the Touou team who were huddled on one side,"…..I didn't expect these guys to do it."
Wakamatsu popped vein," What kind of team wouldn't hold a part for their ace? You really underestimate Touou too much, Aomine."
"Then, what was with the cold shoulders these days, huh?" The question was more directed at Momoi and Sakurai.
"Sorry Dai-chan. You know how I can't keep a secret. I was advised not to talk to you as much as possible," Momoi admitted," And sorry for not walking with you to school these pass days. I had to help Sakurai-kun with the cake."
At her statement the three-pointer shyly pointed to a buffet table set up on one side of the gym. The centerpiece was a hue three-layered cake with dark blue frosting and white cream. Upon closer inspection Aomine could see signatures written in different colored frosting. From Kise's elegant one in yellow frosting and Kagami's messy one in red.
"Sumimasen if Aomine-kun doesn't like it," said Sakurai.
"No," said the ace," It's perfect."
Then, he turned around to the guests who had been idly standing in the background.
"Well? What are you all waiting for? Let's get this party started!"
By the time the party ended everyone was tired (some were unconscious thanks to the cupcakes Aida and Momoi insisted on bringing) and went their separate ways. Thanks to some persuasion by the Coach the mess from the party was put off for the next morning.
Aomine stayed back in the gym filled with food stains and popped balloons, trying to figure out how to carry more than a dozen of the gifts before him.
"Need some help with that?" He turned around and saw Momoi, Sakurai, Wakamatsu, Yoshinori and Imayoshi. He gave a nod and everyone picked up a few boxes before making their way to Aomine's house nearby. Aomine was at the far back with Sakurai and Momoi in front and his senpais taking the rear. Aomine stayed silent, thoughts whirring his head. Everyone's action towards him, Imayoshi's statements, the party and now they were helping him. He decided to break the silence.
"I'm sorry."
At this everyone stopped to stare at him. Words began tumbling out of his mouth.
"I'm sorry for everything I put you through, I'm sorry for skipping practice all the time, I'm sorry Ryou for always stealing from your bento, I'm sorry senpais for to respecting you as much as I had to, I'm sorry Wakamatsu-senpai for always annoying the heck out of you, I'm sorry Satsuki for taking you for granted most of the time. And lastly, I'm sorry for being a cocky, arrogant, idiotic bastard."
Once he finished Aomine slightly bowed his head and only looked at them again when Sakurai tapped his shoulder.
"Ryou?"
"There's only one room for self-blamer on the team and that's me, hmph!" he joked.
Aomine didn't even bother to conceal his smile-although it looked more like a smirk-as everyone gave a laugh. But one question still lingered in the air.
"Then, what was with Imayoshi-senpai practically implying that I quit the team?"
At this everyone looked at the megane who was casually whistling," Ne, ne, why is everybody looking at me like that? You told me I should distract Aomine just in case he does go to practice. I'm just doing my job."
Silence.
"I hate you senpai," Aomine muttered.
At that everyone laughed once more and soon enough the ace found himself joining in. Maybe they weren't the same as Kiseki no Sedai but Touou was his home now. And being there, laughing along with them more than he had for a long time, Aomine finally felt being part of a team again. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
"We love you too, you bastard."
Whoever said that last line is up to you. ;)
Ne, so how did I do for my first KnB fic? Good? Bad? I apologize if I didn't get some references right. KnB is still new to me.
Review please and can you put in some critic so I know how to do better next time. That would be appreciated. Thanks! :)
~SkylarkOfTheMoon
