Daffodil Days
one: August 23 (1)
"This is a tragedy, a wonderful, wonderful tragedy!"
.
Slivers of horizontal light slide through the blindfolds that hang in front of a small and square windowpane. The slivers reveal tiny particles of dust that lazily float about, undisturbed in the musty air.
A thin layer of dust has formed upon a red digital clock that rests on top of a wooden drawer. The clock blares with bright green numbers and letters that go unnoticed by its owner who lays snoring beside the drawer on a flat white bed, blue covers pulled high.
5:59
6:00
The red clock jumps to life and shakes with a loud buzzing sound, rattling noisily against the surface of the drawer. Its owner stirs in bed before raising a hand and bringing it down hard on its button-covered surface. It immediately ceases its racket.
A pair of angry red eyes peak out from under the blue covers to glare at the clock, which is now slightly cracked, and now reads, 6:02 - August 23.
Throwing his covers off with an elephant-like yawn, Kagami Taiga starts his day.
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The school bell tolls loud and clear as the red-haired teen drops tiredly into his seat. He yawns for a third time and rests his head on his hand, glancing out of the window as the teacher begins to take attendance.
The sky is a bright blue, reminding the redhead of the hair color of a certain invisible basketball player who - Kagami hates to admit this - is one of his closest friends. Speaking of which...
"Kagami Taiga!"
"Here..." Comes his bored reply as he lets out another yawn and leans back into his chair.
"Kuroko Tetsuya!"
"Eh? We actually have someone in our class named that?"
"Wow, I don't think I've ever met him before!"
"Is he a new transfer student?"
Kagami rolls his eyes as the usual confused banter ensues. He briefly wonders why his class so easily forgets the blue-haired teen, seeing that his attendance is called every single day. Kagami figures it's either a Japanese thing or it's due to Kuroko's extreme lack of presence.
"Kuroko Tetsuya!" the teacher calls again, this time in a more irritated tone.
That's weird, Kagami thinks as he turns his bright head around to where the addressed teen usually sits. The desk behind him is empty. Is he absent? That isn't like him...
"Oh!" The teacher suddenly caws from his large desk at the front of the room, as he slaps a hand to his forehead. "That's right! I took Kuroko to the nurse's office this morning; he said he wasn't feeling well..."
Is he so unnoticeable that you'd forget about that?! Kagami blanches angrily, before sighing and leaning forward to glance out of the window once more. I wonder what's wrong with him...
.
Kagami enters the basketball gymnasium slightly late as usual, fully dressed in casual sports attire. The squeaks of shoes, the swishes of hoops, and the dull thuds of rubber against wood fill his ears, causing him to briefly smile contentedly. As the large white doors to the gym swish to a close behind him, however, he finds a standard clipboard flying into his face.
"You're late again, you idiot!" Seiren's female couch growls angrily as she approaches the aforementioned idiot and grabs him by the ear. "Five more laps for you!"
"B-but, Coach!" Kagami starts, before he is cut off by a dangerously glowering look.
"What was that, Bakagami?" Riko questions with a pleasant smile that betrays the dark undertone of her voice. "Did you say that you wanted ten laps?"
"Five laps right away, coach!" Kagami shouts, straightening himself up like a ruler. He prepares to jog towards the white-drawn track lines but stops himself, as he recalls something. "Oh, Coach-" she perks up her brown head expectantly, "-Kuroko wasn't in class this morning; he had to go to the nurses office this morning, and I went to go check up on him, but he wasn't there. I think he may have gone home."
"What are you talking about, Kagami-kun?"
This question comes from behind Kagami and is asked in a very deadpan and quiet sort of way, but it still causes the redhead to jump five feet up in the air.
"K-Kuroko?" Kagami shouts as he whips his head around and is met with the small stature of the addresses bluenette. "What the hell, you bastard! When did you get here?"
"I was here the entire time, Kagami-kun." Kuroko replies with a blank stare.
"He actually came early." Seiren's captain provides, as he ceases his dribbling and joins the conversation. He tucks his basketball under one arm and approaches the talking trio. "Is it true about you going to the nurse's office, Kuroko?"
"Yes, I wasn't feeling well earlier."
"Kuroko," Riko says seriously, placing her hands firmly on her hips as she scans him up and down with her sharp eyes, "if you still don't feel well, you should go home."
"I'm feeling fine now-
Kuroko's steady reply is cut off as a large hand comes down on his blue head. The hand forcefully turns his head to the left, until he finds himself facing a rather angry looking redhead.
"Oi, don't be stupid," Kagami grins, vein pulsing on his temple. He pushes Kuroko's head down lightly and ruffles his hair. "I can't have you fainting on me if you're sick. Who do you think has to carry you back?"
Kuroko stares back, an unreadable expression flashing across his pale face. Was it an unhappy expression? A happy one? Kagami can't tell because it disappears as fast as it comes.
"I really am fine."
Kuroko says this forcefully with a smile.
A smile.
The tumult of squeaking feet, swishing hoops, and the dull thuds of rubber against wood ceases.
It's a smile, and it's from Kuroko.
"Wahhhhh!" Everyone within the gymnasium shouts in unison (with the exception of Mitobe, because Mitobe never talks) - they had all been secretly listening in to the conversation while they practiced. "Kuroko smiled!"
"Who are you and what have you done with Kuroko?" Hyuga demands comically, straightening his glasses to make sure what he's seeing is real.
"Kuroko is smiling..." Izuki murmurs, before his eyes spark with mischief. "It's the smileocalypse!"
The pathetic pun earns several snickers from the crowd that has now gathered around Kuroko.
"Are you sure you're alright, Kuroko?" Koganei asks between the gasps of breath left in him after laughing his head off.
Tetsuya #2 yips worriedly at his master's side.
"Yes, I am - actually," Kuroko proposes slowly and cautiously, turning to face Riko who is still frowning, "I was wondering if we could have practice outside."
Riko allows an expression of surprise to slide over her face.
"Huh?" Kagami blinks, having recovered from his laughing daze. "That's not like you at all, Kuroko."
"That's not a bad idea." Riko admits as she taps her chin thoughtfully. A breath of fresh air might energize them and put them in high spirits... She then turns suddenly towards the gymnasium doors, places her hands on her hips, and shouts in a loud and commanding voice: "Alright! Everyone, grab your things. We're heading outside!"
Kagami notices that Kuroko smiles again and that it's a relieved kind of smile.
.
Outside the sun is unusually bright and blazes down on the Seiren team unforgivingly. Fortunately, the air is nice and cool; it easily chills the team's heated bodies as they drive past each other an shoot baskets on the green-matted practice court.
Riko watches them from the bench, noting their improvements and weaknesses with a keen eye. From what she can see, their weaknesses are becoming less noticeable and their focus is sharp... With the exception of Kuroko.
The phantom player looks as if he isn't really and wholeheartedly into the game. It's as if his mind is elsewhere and that the game itself holds little importance to him. His plays are still amazing and strangely spot on accurate, but Riko can tell that his heart isn't into it. But she isn't the only one who has noticed this.
"Oi, Kuroko!" Kagami growls as he runs up beside the blue-haired adolescent. "Wake up and get your head into the game!"
"But I am awake and into the game." Kuroko replies politely, albeit stubbornly. "Are you sure you're not the one not into the game?"
"What was that?!" Kagami grins dangerously in reply.
The whistle suddenly blows and the game is halted.
"Okay, five minute break, everyone!" Riko calls.
Hyuga drops the basketball he was about to shoot into the hoop, wipes the beads of sweat trailing from his spiked a hair to his temple off of his face, and walks towards the area where all of the teams' bags are laid out beside the bench. The others follow his lead, all panting loudly in the summer heat.
"Man, that was a pretty rough game just for a practice match." Furihata sighs as he rummages in his bag for a bottle of water. "Your passes were really amazing today, Kuroko! It's like you knew exactly who was open, before they even were open!"
Kagami has to admit it: Kuroko did play exceptionally well today.
The redhead turns his head towards the bluenette and is surprised to find him fiddling with his phone instead of gulping down large amounts of water.
"Who are you texting, Kuroko?" Kagami asks, clearly curious.
"Ah, I'm texting Kise." The blue-haired teen replies nonchalantly as he looks up from his phone. The phone buzzes again and he glances down at its screen. "And Midorima." It buzzes again. "And Aomine." And again. "And Murasakibara." It buzzes once more.
"Are you texting the whole damn Generation of Miracles?!" Kagami and Hyuga demand in irritation.
"What are you doing texting them anyways?" Kagami frons. "Are you guys planning a party or something?"
"Yes, we are." Kuroko deadpans, causing everyone to straighten up in shock. "I'm supposed to invite my entire team, but Aomine doesn't want you to come."
"What was that?!" Kagami shouts angrily. "That bastard!"
"I was just joking." Kuroko explains calmly.
"Wahh?!" Everyone shouts in unison once more. "Kuroko is joking?!"
"It's the jokeocalypse!" Izuki nods, eyes glinting with mischief once more. Laughter follows.
The ring of Kuroko's phone cuts through the light atmosphere and the team peers curiously at it, itching to see who has called their mysterious phantom player. As Kuroko glances at the phone's screen, another unreadable expression flashes across his face. He turns to Seiren's coach with his usual poker face in place.
"This call is very important, can I take it?" Kuroko asks, waving the device lightly in the air.
"Fine." Riko nods after a moment of contemplation. "But make it quick."
Kuroko thanks her in an unusually emotional manner, before he trots off to answer the call. His team stares worriedly at his back as his figure disappears behind the school building.
"He really wasn't into the game today." Izuki frowns with a serious expression.
"Maybe he's still feeling under the weather?" Koganei suggests as he absentmindedly takes a sip from his nearly empty bottle of water.
"Well, if that's how it is," Hyuga murmurs, still searching his bag for his bottle of water,"he should've gone home to rest- damn it. I think I left my water bottle inside the gym!"
"Oh, I'll come with you to get it!" Koganei grins, as he waves his now empty bottle in the air. "I need to refill mine anyways."
"Same here!"
"Me too, actually."
"This must be an empty water-bottleocqlypse!"
"Isn't that getting kind of old? I need to refill mine too by the way."
Soon everyone save Kuroko, Kagami, and Riko is heading into the gymnasium. Luckily for Kagami, his jumbo-sized water bottle is still half full.
As the last of the water-bottle refilling group disappears into the gymnasium, Kuroko returns to the bench, cellphone closed but still in tow. He, however, stops short as he notices Riko and Kagami are the only ones present on the bench.
"Where is everyone?" He questions slowly, as if he himself does not want the question to be answered.
"Oh," Riko jerks her thumb backwards in the direction of the gymnasium, "they're refilling their water bottles."
What comes next, Kagami and Riko never see coming.
"No..."
Kuroko whispers this singular word under his breath as the unreadable expression crosses his face for the third time. This time, the expression stays glued to his face and Kagami and Riko identify it immediately. The expression is one of utter horror and defeat.
"No."
"Kuroko, it's fine." Riko says slowly as she attempts to calm the bluenette down, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They're just getting a drink of water. Calm down."
"No." Kuroko repeats like a broken record. "You don't understand-
An ear-shattering boom rocks the area, its echo resembling that of an avalanche. A burst of hot air sweeps the three adolescent right off of their feet. When they manage to collect their bearings and pick themselves off of the ground, they find that they feel a wave of heat coming from the opposite direction of the sun. Its origins? The gymnasium.
The building is engulfed in flames. Smoke clouds the sky above it, devouring the bright blue sky like a monster.
There is a small pauses in thought and motion. No one moves. And then...
"Everyone is still inside!" Kagami shouts as he charges towards the gymnasium like an animal gone half mad.
"Bakagami, don't!" Riko shouts in all of the confusion, grabbing at his shirt through the blurry haze of tears that cloud her eyes.
The redhead prepares to rip himself away from the woman's grasp, but stops himself as he sees her tear-filled face. The dancing flames from the gymnasium just illuminate the tears even more.
"We need to get help!" Riko chokes out, somehow remaining levelheaded in the chaos.
But the smoke has already drawn the attention of the needed help and the blaring sirens of fire trucks soon resonate through the crackling air. White and red flashes of spiraling light, riding on top of elongated red and white vehicles, filter into the area . The colors pierce through the thick blackness of the smoke.
Red. White. Black.
Seiren colors.
Kagami rips his gaze away from Riko's tear-streaked face. His mind is a mess, and it takes every ounce of his willpower not to go charging into the flames like the men clad in fireproof uniforms do. Almost all of his teammates are trapped within the flames of the burning building. His heart wrenches in agony at the thought. He doesn't believe it. This can't be happening.
Suddenly, he feels his gaze being drawn forcefully towards the silent figure of Kuroko Tetsuya. However, as soon as he sees the expression on his friend's face, he immediately wishes that he could unsee it. There is no sadness on the phantom player's face as he stares blankly at the column of smoke that continues to rise out from the building. In fact, his expression is devoid of any and all emotion. It's as if he has been expecting this outcome, like he has seen it all before, like he is watching a movie that doesn't involve him.
.
In the distance, hidden from the eyes of the firemen and the remaining survivors, a single golden eye peers out from under the shroud of a dark hood and observes the scene. Beneath the observant eye, a smirk forms.
The smirking figure, clad in all back, absentmindedly twirls the green stem of a bright, yellow daffodil between his fingertips.
"It really is a tragedy."
Slivers of horizontal light slide through the blindfolds that hang in front of a small and square windowpane. The slivers reveal tiny particles of dust that lazily float about, undisturbed in the musty air.
A thin layer of dust has formed upon a red digital clock that rests on top of a wooden drawer. The clock blares bright green numbers and letters that go unnoticed by its owner who lays snoring beside the drawer on a flat white bed, blue covers pulled high.
5:59
6:00
The red clock jumps to life and shakes with a loud buzzing sound, rattling noisily against the surface of the drawer. Its owner stirs in bed before raising a hand and bringing it down hard on its button-covered surface. It immediately ceases its racket.
A pair of angry red eyes peak out from under the blue covers to glare at the clock, which is now slightly cracked, and now reads, 6:02 - August 23.
Throwing his covers off with an elephant-like yawn, Kagami Taiga starts his day.
A/N: And at last I have discovered that I am an unbelievable sadist. So, what do you think so far? Any opinions or comments? If so, I await your review!