Priorities

Summary: After the big fight with Tatsuya, Taiga decides that he hates basketball and gives up on it. Naturally, he wasn't exactly enthusiastic when he gets dragged into Seirin's Basketball Club.

General Warnings:Teenage drama and violence.

Author's Note: Why, hello. Long time no see HAHA, got into some shit and hit so may low points in my life, but I finally graduated! :-) It's time for college, but I started deleting old shit in my laptop a few days ago and I suddenly found this little plot baby right here! Hoping I'd have the motivation to finish this even with my studies and running for Latin honors :-) wish me luck !

Chapter 1

BAM

Taiga held up a shaking hand to touch his aching cheek, flinched, and guessed that a bruise was already forming.

"Idiot." Tatsuya hissed out, his hands clenching and unclenching like he didn't know whether he should hit Taiga again or he should control himself, and Taiga stared at him, because Tatsuya had never been mad at him. Taiga knew Tatsuya got angry at times, but it was never directed at him; it was directed at some of the basketball players they played with before, it was directed at the ones who still had the guts to bully Taiga, and sometimes it was even directed at Alex, but never had it been directed at Taiga. No matter what Taiga did that other people may have hated, Tatsuya just looked at him with a soft look in his eyes, looking like the big brother that he promised to be. Never had Tatsuya been angry at him-

Until now.

And even though it certainly wasn't the first time Taiga saw Tatsuya furious, it certainly still was the first time that Tatsuya had been angry at him; and it was definitely the first time that he saw Tatsuya show it like this.

Because back then, Tatsuya had sharpened his anger into a cold blade, and sheathed it with a fake smile or a polite word; and then Tatsuya would only draw out his blade when his enemy had let down his guard, and he would plunge it into his enemy, without caring for the condition of the one he struck.

Taiga had seen it many times, where Tatsuya would hide behind a façade of politeness in dealing with Taiga's bullies, only to suddenly punch one or two in the face.

But Taiga had never seen Tatsuya get angry like this, all the fury lashing out without even attempting to hide. All raw emotion, no cover-ups, no facades, no pretenses.

And honestly? Taiga was kind of scared.

Because the person standing in front of him was not the big brother he had gotten used to.

"Am I really that weak?" Taiga just frowned at Tatsuya, and scanned his face, looking for clues of what he could mean. What the hell was Tatsuya talking about? Tatsuya, weak? That had to be the biggest joke in the whole universe. Tatsuya had never been weak, he had always been strong – stronger than Taiga could have ever been. "Am I really that weak, for you to miss on purpose?"

"No, Tatsuya-"

"Then why did you do it?" And then Taiga just looked at Tatsuya like he was an idiot. Because before the game, Tatsuya suddenly came to him, talking shit about how the little brother could not be stronger than the older brother; and according to Tatsuya's crazy logic, he could not be the older brother of Taiga, should Taiga win. And now he wonders why Taiga missed on purpose?

Tatsuya had always been more important to Taiga than winning-

"I guess it doesn't matter what your reason is."

But Taiga had never been one for talking about emotions and the like, and so he didn't speak up.

"Just know that, that game we had there? That was a draw." Tatsuya glared at Taiga, and he flinched. Tatsuya held up the ring that matched Taiga's, the one that Tatsuya had bought all those years ago that signified their friendship. "And this? This will be destroyed the moment that you lose in our next game, and after that, you should forget that we've ever been friends; because I will."

And then, Tatsuya just turned and walked away, not knowing and, most importantly, not caring how his words had struck Taiga.

But Taiga had never been one for talking about emotions and the like, and so even though he wanted so much to just shout and scream at Tatsuya, of all the reasons why, of how Tatsuya had always been more important to him than winning, of how he didn't want to lose his older brother, of how Taiga would do anything- pleasedon'tleavedon'tleavedon'tleaveme – if it meant that Tatsuya would take his words back-

Taiga could not for the life of him make his mouth open and say the words he wanted to say, and so he didn't speak up.

.

.

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Taiga regretted it a few days later.

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