"You sure about this?" And Mochida really was worried about his friend. He'd been so worried to the point that he stuck on Ogiwara's side like a glue the moment he laid eyes on the orange-haired kid in high school (which involved some ultra embarrassing shout of 'YOU?!' followed by another embarrassing 'MOCCHI?!' right in front of the school gates).
"You worry too much, Mocchi!" The former ace grinned as he playfully hit Mochida on his shoulder. "I'll be fine! And you've been excited about this game for a long time. It's not like I've stopped playing basketball..."
"But you don't compete in tournaments anymore." Ogiwara's smiled faltered at that, but he exhaled deeply. "But I played. Basketball, that is. I played. I haven't given up yet. We both haven't." And they really haven't. Ever since Ogiwara's sudden transfer, Mochida hadn't been able to convince himself to play basketball either. It was only after their reunion in high school that he managed to pluck up his courage and join the school team.
Ogiwara didn't play in competitive tournaments, but he played streetball everyday from dusk to late into the evening (Mochida sometimes had to drag his ass back to the dorm because the idiot had been too tired to function anymore). And despite his current affiliation with the Archery club and cooking club, Ogiwara really did love basketball from the bottom of his heart.
Mochida exhaled and chuckled to himself before passing the ball he had to his best friend. "Okay then, you win. Let's go." And then with a grin that could surpass a million suns, Ogiwara skipped away towards the building.
"Seirin... you ever heard of it?"
"Nope, not at all. But they're playing Rakuzan. So I guess they should be losing pretty badly now."
And they talked, like none of it concerned them at all. And it's true anyways. They've never heard of Seirin and they didn't have any friends in Rakuzan (though they were pretty sure that Hinata had gone to that school, but didn't enter the basketball club since he discovered volleyball was his true calling in life). But when Ogiwara and Mochida laid their eyes to the court, they both spotted the redhead who had destroyed their team back in middle school.
Mochida's hand went immediately to Ogiwara's wrist, as if reminding him (or maybe, himself) that he was here. That they've moved on from those despair-filled days into the days they play streetball laughing and smiling. But Ogiwara didn't say anything. The orange-haired boy ran towards the railing, dragging Mochida with him. His eyes squinting as he tried to scan the field, searching for something.
And Mochida too, followed him suit. But before he could take a grasp of what Ogiwara was searching for, he heard Ogiwara whisper. Something that was a rarity among rarity for someone as loud as Ogiwara Shigehiro.
"Kuroko..."
It was a name that elicit so many emotions in the orange-haired former ace, and by extension, in Mochida as well.
Kuroko Tetsuya was the beacon of light in sea of despair that was Teikou. Kuroko Tetsuya was the person who earned Ogiwara's trust more than Mochida ever did. Kuroko Tetsuya was the love of Ogiwara's life, although the former ace never said anything about it- especially after the tournament. Kuroko Tetsuya was the boy who had received the last of Meikou's ace fighting spirit.
And yet now, his face was that of true despair.
Mochida couldn't see it clearly from where he was standing, but judging from the continuous panting from the rest of the team, he could tell that everyone was tired. And Rakuzan from the opposite bench didn't look as cornered as they were, Hayama-senpai (he was Mochida's upperclassmen back in elementary school) even joked around with his team, still filled with energy. They were just like how Meikou had been all those years ago.
Bu-!
"YOU CAN DO IT, SEIRIN!" Mochida broke into a small smile he only reserved for one of Ogiwara's antics. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
"YOU CAN DO IT, KUROKO!"
And of course Kuroko's name would have to be somewhere in his ace's encouragement too. Mochida shook his head once, pretending to just notice Ogiwara's shout from his own musings.
"Hey, Mocchi! You gotta cheer too!"
"Ah... oh, yeah! C'mon Seirin!"
He picked the orange ball up from the ground, handing it to Ogiwara with a teasing smile on his face. "Oh, that's right..." And Ogiwara picked up the ball and brought it up to Kuroko's line of vision, grinning his trademark sun-like grin.
Seeing the tears on those sweaty pale face, Mochida couldn't help but smile.
His role as Ogiwara's caretaker was finally over.
My personal headcanons for the Meikou team:
The five regulars: Ogiwara Shigehiro, Mochida Kanata, Hinata Hikaru, Tanaka Hirokazu, Jouran Tsukamu
Mochida is the captain and the mother hen of the group.
Ogiwara rooms with Mochida and Hinata in the dorm (each room has three beds in Meikou dorms)
Ogiwara and Hinata fail their exam all the time so Mochida supervises their studying all the time. Sometimes Jouran helps because he is the smartest in the team.
Tanaka is the cool Senpai everybody likes.
Tanaka and Jouran went to Kirisaki Daiichi, but quits the basketball team after Hanamiya becomes the captain and coach. They both then become members of student council, still playing streetball all the time.
Hinata went to Rakuzan, but joins the volleyball club instead of basketball since he was asked by his (boy)friend Kageyama. And also because he didn't want to play under Akashi who had beaten him the previous year.
Mochida went to Ritsumeikan in Kyoto, meeting Ogiwara who's also enrolled there completely by coincidence.
Ogiwara doesn't enter the basketball team, he joins the Archery team and cooking club. He's currently won one tournament in Archery. But he still plays whenever the team asks him to spar with the members.