Entry 2: Irregularities
Since the day Kuroko first found the letter, a week had passed and without fail, everything in the letter came true.
Yet, as true as they were, things were far from perfect.
Kuroko couldn't help but notice how little sense anything made.
First of all, Kuroko didn't own a diary and despite the claim of them being from the future, the some details contained were frighteningly accurate. Of course, there were a few curt and generic ones as well but more importantly, Kuroko knew his memory recall could not be that accurate.
There were two possibilities for this: perhaps in a parallel world, Kuroko did own a diary or, his future self did have amazing memory...which wasn't all that likely.
Kuroko creased his brows.
Although the latter sounded more likely, it also seemed equally absurd. He had too little information to work from.
Again, realizing it was a fruitless effort, he decided to flip to the last page of the letter—where there was a definite problem.
The contents of the letter only lasted a week.
Past that, there was nothing else contained within except for a blank page.
Although it was possible that the letters would come on a weekly basis, today was the last day its contents would prove to be useful. Regardless, as Kuroko took a bite out of his bento and glanced up at the sea of students roaming around in the cafeteria, it was clear that the day was already halfway over.
Would the letter come?
"Kuroko," Kuroko paused.
He tucked the letter away.
"Akashi-kun, everyone," Kuroko greeted as his red-haired captain strode towards him, followed by the rest of the Generation of Miracles.
Today you will eat lunch with the Generation of Miracles. As usual, Akashi-kun will be the one to find you.
Luckily, Kuroko made it just in time. Although he didn't have a clear reason why he would hide the letters from the Generation of Miracles, he didn't feel that there was a need for it to be shared, especially not with his all-knowing captain.
"Oh, Aka-chin found Kuro-chin first again!" A lumbering giant drawled as Akashi placidly took a seat beside Kuroko. He placed his mackeral lunch set on the table.
"That's a given. I'm the one who discovered Kuroko; I'll always be able to find him," Akashi refuted as he sipped on some tofu soup.
"Pfft! Akashi, as usual you can say such embarrassing stuff with a straight face," Aomine snorted while he took his seat across from his captain.
Akashi placed his cup on the table.
"Well it's true isn't it? That I will always be able to find Kuroko," Akashi blinked back at him.
Aomine looked surprised. "yeah but it's still kinda embarrassing to actually say that?" He attempted to justify, not even sure why he was.
His captain stared at him, unfazed. "Aomine. You should not be ashamed of what is right." He said in a tone similar to what Aomine would have heard from his lecturing Mother.
He was getting severely uncomfortable. "W-well I know that but-"
Can't he take a joke?!
"Akashi-kun's right Aomine-kun," Kuroko deadpanned.
Aomine gaped at the injustice. "Oi Tetsu are you siding with him?!" He demanded.
"...Yes if despite spending so much time with me, Aomine-kun still can't find me before Akashi-kun does," Kuroko deadpanned, striking a nerve as his partner flinched.
"O-oi!"
"Hmph, well not much could be expected from him in the first place-"
"Midorima-kun too," Kuroko silenced, causing their SG to cringe, as his soup spoon into his udon set, landing with a loud plop while bits of soup base splattered onto his uniform.
"Heh, serves you right Midorima," Aomine guffawed, knowing very well of what a clean freak the teen was.
A vein popped.
Aomine was untimely kicked in the shin. "OWW! Damn you Midorima!" Aomine cried, wincing in pain. The bespectacled male probably used at least half his strength as an athlete.
"Hmph, that was clearly brought upon yourself," Midorima declared, pushing up his glasses in a rather haughty manner.
Of course, his collar was instantly grabbed and like that, the two got into another one of their banters…again.
"Aka-chin~ Can I have that tamagoyaki?" Murasakibara comfortably asked, completely disregarding their scuffle and instead was hungrily eyeing the red-head's food.
Amidst the loud yelps and yells,the generous male nodded, "of course Murasakibara."
He nonchalantly picked up his chopsticks and pulled the delicious yellow plump of egg towards the giant.
Kuroko followed suite to their distant actions, after all, with Midorima's almost narcissistic self-confidence and Aomine's wild and free impulsive instincts, the two clashed so often that stopping the two simply became a waste of effort.
"Ah, Kuroko lean down a bit," Akashi suddenly commanded.
Kuroko however, did not seem even slightly surprised. "Ah, like so?" He asked, leaning down as immediately, something whizzed above his the tuft of his hair. He stared at the flying object that had crashed into the wall—a lucky cat keychain.
Akashi slowly stood up, the eerie sound of a pushed out chair, causing all commotion to silence itself as he turned…to Aomine.
"Aomine." He said, voice ringing out with a domineering tone. "That's enough isn't it?"
The teen in questioned jumped. "Hah? Oi, why is it only me? Didn't Midorima als-"
"Aomine. Although Midorima is at fault for being easily provoked, regardless, you were the provocator. Is that not correct?"
He cringed. "But he-"
"Is that not correct?" Akashi pressed as Aomine felt that he was being grilled in a courtroom.
"W-well y-yeah."
"Then I don't believe Midorima has any reason to stop unless you do. Aomine, I suggest you take a seat." Akashi said as he returned to his own, acting as though nothing had occured.
Aomine sweatdropped. Why did it feel like he was talking to his mom every time he spoke to this guy?
"That's right Aomine. It's time to end your farce." Midorima haughtily remarked as he picked up his fallen charm and returned to the table.
He immediately scowled "Oi you-"
"Midorima. I didn't except you to be so childish." Akashi nonchalantly quipped.
Midorima choked.
Aomine immediately broke out into a grin.
"Oi, Tetsu!" He exclaimed, taking a seat beside Kuroko while his partner protested something about his maturity level.
Aomine shrugged it off as the rest of the regulars continued to dine with relative peace, Akashi Seijuro giving a curt glance at Kuroko's direction.
Since he saw it coming, Akashi knew when it was time to dodge the flung-away charm. However, when he instructed Kuroko to do so, his phantom's player's expression was as though he had preempted it.
How was that possible.
Silently, Akashi made a note on the oblivious Kuroko.
He was slightly preoccupied to notice. After all, he recalled, what happened next was going to be...
"Oh isn't this rare, that I see all four of you in the cafeteria for once," the low and somewhat aggravating drawl greeted as the four glanced up, Aomine immediately reviving, turning to the looming silver-haired figure before them.
Kuroko turned. Ah, it was right again.
Unexpectedly Haizaki will join you all today and again, he will take a piece of your lunch.
As if on cue, Haizaki picks out an octosausage from Kuroko's bento and downs it noisily.
"Oi, Haizaki, stop taking Tetsu's lunch," Aomine frowned disapprovingly.
Akashi stayed silent, he did not prefer to get involved with useless banters.
"I don't really mind," Kuroko blankly stated. Instead, he was secretly glad that he wouldn't have to eat as much.
" There's no problem then Daiki," Haizaki leered as he began to take more although once he touched Kuroko's tamagoyaki, a whiff of a frown flashed across Kuroko's face.
Hmm, he actually liked that one.
"Haizaki, you're skipping practice quite often lately," Midorima scolded, finishing the last of his udon.
"Pfft!" The whisky grey-haired teen chortled, "Shintaro, there's nothing interesting other Daiki's girlfriend there, why would I?" He scoffed.
"Oi, she's not my girlfriend and stop leering at Satsuki!" Aomine scowled, clearly not amused.
He didn't like where Haizaki's tone was going, and although they were on the same team, recently, Haizaki Shougo's demeanor had drastically changed from his usual, crude but light-hearted self.
It was now dark and arrogant.
"But Haizaki, you saw during last practice didn't you? That the new first-stringer has a similar style to yours." Midorima reminded.
Haizaki laughed. "Oi Shintaro, don't give me that, do you seriously think I'll have my position taken away?"
"But Kise-kun is quite talented," Kuroko quipped bluntly, causing Haizaki to slightly click his tongue, a frown obscuring his face.
"Oi Tetsuya, take my side for once won't you?" Haizaki prodded, leaning closer to him.
'No, I'll pass," Kuroko replied, "seeing as my tamagoyaki is gone."
Bemusement spread to his features. "Tamagoyaki? Are you seriously mad about that? Don't be so cheap Tetsuya," he coaxed although rather than coaxing, there was an aggravating tone in his voice, a teasing one filled with malice.
"Oi Haizaki, stop messing with Tetsu already, just hurry up and go, you're obviously not here to eat," Aomine sighed, finding him clearly tiring.
"Oh that's so cold Daiki, but…I'll take up your offer, I've got a date right now," he whistled, voice low to an almost predatory growl.
"Hah? How many times has it been already?" Aomine scoffed.
"Hey hey, don't be jealous now Daiki, besides you could probably get yourself laid pretty easily with Satsuki," Haizaki sniggered as he left the table, leaving Aomine with a disgusted frown.
"What the hell…" He scoffed before Kuroko glanced at him silently.
They all tolerated him because they knew him for quite a while and in a sense, established bonds with him. Moreover, because of Teiko's doctrine of winning is everything, there was no doubt Haizaki Shougo would stay on the team regardless.
He was strong after all, just like them.
Those with power stayed. That was all.
[-]
"AOMINECCHI! Why is someone like him on the team?!" Kise Ryouta demanded for the umpteenth time of the week as the first-stringers all crowded around the gym for their warm-up exercises.
"Oi, stop speaking badly of Tetsu already, and it's not like Tetsu isn't good, he's just on another level," Aomine replied simply, stretching his arms up in the air.
"Level -9000?!" Kise cried, clearly not satisfied.
Aomine shrugged, "well, in a sense you're right but still, Tetsu's amazing. Sooner or later you'll see but for now, get to work already," not bothering to defend or offend as he whacked the model in the back, prodding him forward while he himself walked over to the rest of the regulars.
"Ah Aominecchi! You said you'd play one-on-one with me today!" Kise protested.
"Hah? Like hell I can do that, the coach is gonna kill me if I skip today's menu," Aomine waved, stalking away without another thought.
Watching him leave, Kise sighed in dejection. Although he finally made it as a first-stringer, there was still a huge difference between him and the regulars apparently dubbed, "the Generation of Miracles."
They had different schedules and sometimes different gym times even that he barely got to play with Aomine since his promotion. He was currently his reason for playing after all, the tanned ace was what had gotten Kise into basketball in the first place. Since Kise could copy any move after seeing it once, to him Aomine was like a thunderstorm, an aberration of lightning that defied all of Kise's logic with his free-willed, impossible to mimic plays.
Out of possibly everyone in the world, he was the one Kise admired the most but conversely said, he was the one he wanted to defeat the most.
If he was going to stand next to him, there was only one thing to do.
A wonderfully near-seductive smirk spread across the model's lips.
He simply had to take that regular's jersey off one of their backs…and who to target first?
There was only one answer.
"Kise-kun?" A voice asked as a whiff of blue sprung up from his vision, his golden yellow irises trailing to a rather weak-looking youth clad in sports garb.
Obviously, he was going to aim for his spot, the "phantom 6th man".
….Wait wait wait!
"Ahh! When did you get here?!" Kise choked, the shock from the appearance of a blue-haired phantom finally settling in his brain.
"I was here quite a while ago Kise-kun. Anyways, the coach is calling us, Midorima-kun said we were to help the second-stringers with their game," Kuroko explained, expressionlessly motioning at the group of second-stringers by the door.
Kise blinked. "What?"
[-]
Kise-kun is quite an interesting person. Despite being constantly in the spotlight, he is still quite honest and will easily ask for your jersey if he manages to beat you. You will become a bit nostalgic, comparing it to the time when you first joined the group and no one acknowledged you but that's why you find it fun. You aren't bothered, in fact you are glad, to be able to prove your worth once more.
Kuroko released a short sigh as his eyes scanned across the basketball court, filled with players from the both Teiko and their opponents: Yasuoka.
However, against the doctrine of Teiko, the scores on the scoreboard had a 15 point gap in the 3rd quarter and Teiko was currently lagging behind. Turning to Kise who was furiously attempting to break away from the double-teaming placed against him, Kuroko knew well that they were in the red zone. Even if Kise was a first-stringer and had a definite talent for basketball, he was lacking in experience, unable to think of a way to break through Yasuoka's tight guard.
Silently, he raised his hand.
"Teiko, member change!" hollered the referee as the phantom strode onto the court, towards a dumbfounded Kise.
In such a dire situation, him being on the court seemed to be the problem!
"Eh, Kuroko-kun why are y—"
"Kise-kun, please keep your eyes on the ball. We're a bit behind so make sure to keep up with me," Kuroko instructed, cutting off the confused model.
"Eh?" Kise gaped, not sure of how to process this.
A confident smile spread to his "personal" trainer's usually expressionless face. "I am a shadow so Kise-kun, this time you'll be my light. Play as you usually do and I guarantee that we will win." He stated simply as the whistle was blown and finally…the true "tip off" began.
Swish! The ball danced down the court, reappearing and disappearing at the blink of an eye as all members of the gym, including Kise stared aghast at the phantom ball.
"What?! Where is it coming from?!"
"Shoot!"
The spectators and players alike screamed as Kise slammed in ball after ball, utterly confused by what was happening.
Kise at this point however, knew. With his monstrous ability to analyze he realized quite quickly that the "phantom" ball was all caused by Kuroko, befitting for the name of the "Generation of Miracle's Phantom 6th Man." A smile cracked through the model's lips, now understanding why Aomine spoke so highly of him. With his natural lack of presence and small stature, he truly was a phantom, utilizing misdirection to steal and pass the ball at will!
"Okay! We're gonna win this!" Kise exclaimed, finally firing up…before instantly, he was kneed.
"OWW!" Kise practically screamed, body instinctively ducking to the ground.
Yet in that instant, he felt the swift and light swoop of a basketball sweep up against the nape of his neck and watch in horror as the big round entity whizzed past his head, slamming itself hard against the wall.
He winced at the sight, completely forgetting that he was kneed to the floor.
"Tch we missed, damn that first-stringer," Kise suddenly caught one of Yasuoka's players hiss causing the blond to narrow his eyes in distaste.
"Kise-kun, don't mind them, I'm glad you're all right," A sudden light voice spoke as Kise glanced up, meeting the deep azure irises of his trainer who promptly outstretched his hand.
Kise blinked, subconciously taking ahold of it. "Ah! You're the one that kneed me?!" Kise cried, recalling how the sensation felt strangely familiar.
Surprisingly he found his expressionless trainer scratch the side of cheek, hinting slight sheepishness as he muttered, "Ah I'm sorry but that was the only way I could make you duck in time."
Kise gaped, shocked that Kuroko somehow knew. Wait a minute did part of his "misdirection" technique include predicting the future?! Okay, there went his plans to copy it. "No I'm grateful, I don't think I would be alive if I got hit with that!" Kise beamed, completely concealing his inner thoughts.
His trained breathed a silent sight of relief before suddenly, a frown split into Kuroko's halcyon expression. His brows slightly knitted. "That wasn't very good of them and I don't think I'll forgive them for that." He muttered, voice barely audible as a strange yet somewhat murderous aura dripped from his figure.
Kise froze. Suddenly he was sweating bullets. "K-kuroko-kun?"
At the sound of his voice, Kuroko paused. He turned away from his reverie, azure meeting gold and with a perfectly flat yet murderous gaze, he muttered, "Kise-kun, can you stand? I think I'm going to go even harder on them now," tone darkening with every word until he literally turned into a "shadow".
Kise sweatdropped.
[-]
Stretching his arms up towards the sky, Kise Ryouta heaved out a yawn.
Finally, he was back at Teiko.
Although Kuroko already disappeared somewhere the moment they returned, Kise couldn't help but feel that he had just experienced something incredible, especially about that teamwork Kuroko had spoken to him about before the match.
Even though Kuroko knew that his place as a shadow wasn't flashy or spectacular as anyone else's, the fact that Kuroko continued down that path, for the sake of the team awestruck Kise. Being a person who basically had everything, Kise found that his sacrificial style was one of the most honorable he had ever seen.
With a smile on his face, Kise stared at the blue, blue sky. Before, it had always reminded him of Aomine but now, Kuroko was all that was on his mind. It was an amazing day. Kise hadn't felt so inspired in ages…but he knew what would make it the best day: playing against Aomine.
"Um, Midorimacchi! Do you know where Aominecchi went?" Kise asked, walking up to the verdant youth busying himself with shooting.
Midorima instantly choked upon his words, causing the ball the fly out of his hands, hitting the rim of the hoop before bouncing away.
"...! My perfect shooting record..." Midorima gaped before he whipped around, shooting dagger-like glares at the blond. "Oi, Kise who gave you permission to add a "cchi" to my name?" Midorima demanded darkly.
"Why not? Like I said, I'm adding it on since I respect you, anyways we're in the same year~" Kise grinned. "But anyways, do you know where Aominecchi went?" Kise urged a second time like an excited puppy.
Midorima sighed. Sadly, he was already quite used to people never bothering to listen to him ever since he joined the basketball team. The rest of the Generation of Miracles were all way too willful for their own good.
"Aomine went to the 4th string gym," he answered with lassitude. Well, clearly bothering to reason with the blond seemed to be a waste of time so getting it over with seemed to be the best plan.
"Oh really? Thanks Midorimacchi!" Kise beamed and instantly dashed off.
"Oi, stop calling me that!" Midorima hollered out of impulse.
"No can do~" Kise grinned, instantly leaving the gym.
As he thought, the Generation of Miracles were all fascinating people, especially since despite reprimanding him with such conviction, Midorima Shintarou had a frilly ribbon tied to his training uniform. It took all of Kise's efforts to stop him stomach muscles from imploding, doubling over with laughter at the sight.
Kise released a slight laugh. Hmm, when was the last time he had this much fun?
Nearing the 4th gym, Kise heard Aomine's low and rough chuckle resound outside of the opened gym door.
He decided to take a peek.
"Aominec-"
Kise froze.
It was as if he had entered God's domain.
"Oww Tetsu that hurts! What kind of pass was that?!" Aomine demanded, throwing the ball back at a placid boy with powder blue hair.
"Well, if anyone could catch it easily then it would be troublesome wouldn't it?" Kise heard the boy retort.
"What good is it gonna do if I can't either?!"
It was a simple scene of two friends laughing, one that Kise had seen many times before.
But...that smile on Aomine's face, that hint of joy hidden behind the usually expressionless Kuroko's eyes... he felt as if they were in their own world, in a world no one else could enter—in God's domain.
He didn't fit anywhere.
Yet instead of feeling despondent, a smirk wormed its way up his pretty face as he backed away from the gym door, slinking down towards the ground.
Getting along with others was something he did well, obtaining what he wanted was also something he did well.
But, as expected of both Aomine and Kuroko. They were the two things he finally wasn't able to obtain. Aomine's style, Kuroko's misdirection, he doubted he would ever be able to copy either any time soon but along with that, the friendship the two shared…he doubted he would ever be able to step in.
However, he didn't feel hurt in fact, that to him was what made it fun. The moves he couldn't copy, the people he couldn't touch, ever since he joined the basketball team, he had always felt these uncertainties, these irregularities, and the excitement that came along. To him who thought he had everything, it was as if his world had opened up, colors of powder blue and navy blue dyeing it in beautiful arrays.
Really, he never felt so alive.
He stared at the dusk-ridden sky, a beautiful smile dancing in his gorgeous sunlit yellow eyes.
"Ahh, I'm glad I joined basketball." He smirked before retreating back to the school building.
Preview:
An Inkling of Tears-The next day, there is no letter. Kuroko finds this all so strange yet after many encounters that occur in the day, Kuroko eventually figures out the trick. The next day...he finds something absolutely shocking in his shoebox and suddenly, the gears of fate truly begin to turn as the boy finds himself on a path to which he can no longer look back. How can he? Especially after seeing that.
Reviews are greatly appreciated!
