Hi! I just thought of this yesterday, and wondered where I could go with it. It features a Kuroko who's not afraid to make his opinion known. There are four parts to this (there was originally supposed to be two, and then three, but I put my foot down at four, thank god) and I hope you all enjoy!
WARNING: Mild language and mentions/displays of violence - this applies for the first three chapters only.
BP
Tetsuya could barely wait until the end of the game. Honestly, what was Aomine-kun thinking?
He'd thought that everything was progressing as usual – they were winning, but not by a massive margin, and everyone appeared to be having fun. Akashi-kun was being as brilliant as ever, directing everyone as needed and supplying them with strategies as the game progressed; Midorima-kun hadn't missed a shot; Murasakibara-kun was looking as bored as ever, but Tetsuya could see the glint in his eyes whenever the opposing team made him pause; and Kise-kun was fitting in well, competing to the best of his abilities and enjoying every second, to the point that Tetsuya believed that he may be scaring the other team a little, with the way he laughed excitedly whether he scored or was stopped in his tracks.
But Aomine-kun had made a brilliant shot after co-ordinating with Tetsuya and he was merely jogged away, ignoring Tetsuya's outstretched fist completely. At the time he'd been shocked, and he'd felt the rejection in his bones.
Now, however, with the game over, the bows done and the trophies given, all Tetsuya felt was a deep-seated fury.
Entering the locker room after everyone else, he took a deep breath to calm himself down a little. It didn't really work, but he couldn't hold himself back anymore that he was anyway. He looked at Aomine-kun, who was sitting on the bench, in the middle of taking off his shoes and stood in front of him, arms crossed. Tetsuya hadn't even bothered to fully wipe off the sweat from the game, but that was the last thing he cared about.
Meanwhile, Seijuurou had just pulled in his shirt, when he noticed that the air was surprisingly cold, looking around, he discovered the source. Kuroko was standing in front of his 'light' with a (rarely, almost never-before-seen) furious glare, the air around him screaming 'don't interfere'. He nudged Midorima, whose eyes widened at the scene and he paused in getting changed.
"Aomine-kun." Kuroko called softly, but with a hint of iron underneath it all that called everyone's attention, and they all watched as Aomine didn't even bother to raise his head, and Seijuurou almost cringed.
"What, Tetsu?" Seijuurou saw, out of the corner of his eye, Midorima shake his head with a quiet 'moron'. Midorima was correct, as the tone Aomine spoke with was dismissive of Kuroko's presence entirely, and they all knew that Aomine couldn't just do that without Kuroko giving him hell for it, especially when he was already angry.
"What the hell was that out there?" Kuroko's voice was still quiet, and the softness in it was a sign that anyone recognised as don't-go-there territory, a sign that the other should hastily apologise – and apologise rigorously. Aomine, the brave idiot, didn't do this.
"I thought I told you, Tetsu. I'm tired, and it feels like the only one who can beat me is me." A scowl formed on Kuroko's face.
"You ignored me." He hissed venomously, eyes darkening. Seijuurou's eyes narrowed, pleased at the way that Kuroko was finally expressing his dissatisfaction with the way his partner was playing basketball. He'd been beginning to think that Kuroko would just let Aomine steamroll all over him. Everyone else in the locker room visibly shuddered in fear – they all knew that the last thing any of the regulars of Teiko should do is ignore Kuroko once his presence has been made apparent.
"When?" Oh wow. Had Seijuurou been the type to do so, a palm would have met his face in exasperation. Kuroko bent down slightly, his expression forbidding, and Seijuurou felt a shiver down his spine.
"Let me make a few things clear to you, Aomine-kun." He said lowly. "I, in no way, appreciate the way you have been treating me, the team, and our opponents. What happened to the guy who said that there was 'no such thing as useless effort'? That every member of the team was valuable and that you could never not like someone who loved basketball? Have you gotten so pigheaded that you believe that you could beat national professionals at fifteen?" Kuroko hadn't raised his voice – in fact, many in the club believed that the boy was incapable of it, Seijuurou included – but the words seemed to echo in the room. "I don't like arrogant people, Aomine-kun. And if you are going to be one, you can either sit still as I punch it out of you, or you can get the fuck out of my life, okay?"
…
Silence.
Everyone stared at the polite boy who'd never sworn in front of them, and who'd never gotten more violent that a jab in the ribs – usually to Aomine anyway – as he threatened to punch someone (and of course it had to be Aomine that brought that out of the gentle boy) and swore.
But Aomine seemed oblivious to this – Seijuurou wondered if this was just an off-day for him, as he usually had a lot more self-preservation than this, at the very least he tended to look at Kuroko during a scolding and ran away whenever Kuroko had a similar expression to the one he was wearing now – and sighed.
"Look, Tetsu –" Kuroko wasn't having the depressed, yet obstinate, tone he was being spoken to anymore, it seemed, as he slapped the back of Aomine's head hard. Aomine's head shot up and he glared at Kuroko for a moment before the actual expression Kuroko was wearing registered. Fear spread across his features, and Seijuurou wondered, as he looked at the other fearful expressions in the locker room, if he could ask Kuroko how he managed it, and if he'd be willing to give him a few tips. Some second-string members were becoming troublesome in that they refused to listen to him.
"When I told you that you would come across someone who is stronger than you soon, I didn't mean now, or this week, or even this year. How stupid can you be, Aomine-kun? I thought that you at least had the sense to understand that middle-school is middle-school, not high-school, college, university, or even NBA level. Of course there's going to be someone stronger that you, so stop with all the self-pitying bullshit, play games seriously, come to practice and stop ignoring the fact that this is a game and is therefore supposed to be fun." Aomine was practically cowering against his seat as Kuroko ranted at him. "If you want to be boring and unpleasant then stop playing, because there's no point if you're not happy and drag everyone down with you, which is selfish and so egotistical that it makes me think you want an Ignite Pass to the face." Aomine blanched.
"I don't, I'm sorry." Kuroko became even more menacing.
"You better mean that, Aomine-kun. I don't want to have to punch you, as cathartic as that would be," Seijuurou blinked. Aomine really messed up if Kuroko thought physical violence would be cathartic. "And I meant what I said." Kuroko leant closer, voice lowering even further to a sibilant whisper. "You can get right out of my life and never contact me again if you think you can ignore me and belittle me, arrogantly thinking that you are the best, when there are basketball players that have you beat when it comes to being an actually decent, kind, inspiring human being, whether they have talent in the sport or not." Aomine nodded.
"I'm sorry." Kuroko held out his fist, and Aomine flinched for a moment – and Seijuurou saw the minute smile and the wave of sadistic pleasure that passed through his eyes, and felt almost victorious that he and Kuroko were more alike than most others thought.
Keeping his expression flat, Kuroko said, "I'd like that fist bump." After a small pause, he added with a placid, threatening smile, "Now, Aomine-kun." His eyes were just daring Aomine to refuse, and Seijuurou was pleased to see that Aomine smiled a little, fear still clear on his face, and quickly raised his fist, gently bumping Kuroko's.
Hooray! Fun times to be had! Look forward to the next chapter!
BP