Hi! :) Here's that sequel some of you asked for! And on White's Day too! I really had fun writing this, but um, please don't blame me for the OOCness. Especially for Akashi and the Crownless Generals. I don't really read the manga so I'm not too sure how the Crownless Generals act.
Oh, by the way, I changed my pen name from Latios963 to HeteroChromium.
Happy White Day! And please enjoy this story!
Chocolate Sweet
Clack!
The sound was followed by an immediate silence throughout the basketball courts of Rakuzan High School. All the players both on and off court froze as they watched the orange ball they practiced with regularly bounce off the hoop. Seeing a basketball bounce off the ring of the hoop wasn't a very strange sight, actually. The real shocker was the redhead standing near the hoop.
"Hey," Mibuchi Reo, the black-haired mother hen of the Rakuzan basketball club whispered to his fellow club member and Crownless General, Hayama Kotarou. "Isn't Sei-chan acting a bit weird today?"
"Yeah," Hayama agreed as the two watched as their captain missed another easy shot into the hoop. "Akashi-captain does seem pretty out of it. Maybe he's sleepy? It is pretty early. Or maybe he's just distracted."
"Maybe," Mibuchi concurred after taking a glance at Akashi's unseeing eyes and forlorn expression. "But Sei-chan never misses. that means whatever's distracting him must be pretty big for him to mess up such an easy shot."
"Well," the deep, voice that grumbled behind them startled Mibuchi and Hayama. They turned around to see their large and incredibly muscled centre, Nebuya Eikichi. "I bet anyone would feel upset not spending time with their boyfriend."
"In case you forgot, muscle gorilla," Hayama reminded, "Akashi-captain and Kuroko are no longer dating."
Nebuya just shrugged his shoulders while a contemplative glint was sparked in Mibuchi's eyes before he clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Oh! I know now!"
"Know what?" Hayama's eyebrows furrowed into a frown.
"Guess what day today is," Mibuchi smirked mischievously.
"14 March..." Hayama's voice trailed off as the penny dropped. "White Day!"
They had almost forgotten all about it. Although almost as hectic as its counterpart, Valentine's Day, in terms of gift preparation, it was not as chaotic as the day when almost every single girl in the school decided to confess to their crush. Akashi had forced them to come early for morning practice and since the basketball courts were situated quite far from the classrooms, they hadn't heard of any love confessions and gift exchange.
"So that's why he's so down!" Mibuchi grinned excitedly and the other two Crownless Generals sighed inwardly. The raven-haired male loved love stories and a dramatic one like Kuroko and Akashi's was right up his alley. "He misses Kuroko!"
"Please get back to training," the cold voice startled Hayama and Nebuya while jolting Mibuchi out of his fantasy. They turned to see their red-haired captain staring at them impassively. "I can hear you, and I think that your time could be put to better use by training than discussing my and Tetsuya's relationship." As he strode past them, they swore that they could hear a mutter of "Or at least, our past relationship."
[Line Break]
Akashi really didn't know what went wrong. They had been happy. So very happy together. They loved each other, Akashi was sure of that. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he loved Kuroko Tetsuya. And that Tetsuya loved him too.
What went wrong? Akashi thought, though he knew perfectly well how all those happy times went down the drain.
He hadn't meant to be so distant, to become so cold. Unknown to anyone, he had been struggling to keep the others in check and he had been under immense pressure in maintaining his control over the others. And he had became scared. So scared that his Tetsuya would leave him too. At that time, he had been so sure that his lover would eventually leave him, just like how he saw all his friends - Shintarou, Atsushi, even Daiki and Ryouta - leaving him, slowly, gradually, one by one.
So to save himself from the agony in the future, he had distanced himself from Kuroko, busying himself with winning and obtaining the idea of perfection. And now he knew that that was the worst thing he could have ever done. By doing that, he had driven his lover away from him. But instead of leaving in anger and fury, Kuroko had left in sadness and depression. Akashi could practically see the hurt in those usually well-guarded blue sapphires.
And seeing Kuroko hurt had hurt him too.
On Valentine's Day, Akashi had debated with himself whether he should greet Kuroko and send him a gift or not. His fingered kept hovering over the 'send' button, a well-composed text already written. But in the end, he couldn't find it in himself to do it. Kuroko had been hurt, by him. He had no right to see Kuroko, to beg for apology.
But if so, why was he still standing outside Seirin? Oh right, right after lessons - they ended early since the teachers all had a meeting and thus, there wasn't any basketball practice either - he had been ambushed and dragged along by his teammates to Tokyo. They had claimed to wanting to check up on something. Who knew that something was Seirin, the school where his love attended.
Akashi knew it was a mistake to leave the picture of Kuroko and himself in the locker room, especially since he had such nosy teammates, but he couldn't bring himself not to. He carried that photo everywhere. To remind himself of the happiness he once felt. Of the only person he had ever wanted - ever needed - in his arms.
Akashi sighed as he was left outside the indoor courts of Seirin's basketball club, with the Crownless Generals taking off in another direction to explore the school. Checking his watch, Akashi saw that the time was about six in the evening. Practice should be sending soon.
And despite his mind screaming a loud 'No!', his body found a hidden corner to watch the people coming and going in and out of the door. Despite his mind telling him that it was a bad idea, reminding him why Kuroko might not be happy to see him, Akashi's body still longed for Kuroko.
He only had to wait for another twenty minutes before the club door opened and a stream of people exited from it. Any normal person would feel intimidated by the task of finding Kuroko amongst the crowd, but Akashi remained calm. Unlike others, Akashi could easily see his beloved Tetsuya.
Catching sight of a tuff of cotton-candy blue, Akashi turned his head to watch as his ex-boyfriend walked out the door. And he couldn't help it that his hands immediately balled up into fists when he saw his beloved's companion.
Kagami Taiga. Akashi had heard of him before, from the members of the Generation of Miracles. And the one thing that stood out from their description of him was that he and Kuroko was rather close. And Akashi hated that.
Standing up to make himself know, Akashi followed Kuroko out the school before calling out, "Tetsuya."
Kuroko stopped, freezing when he heard that voice. He turned around slowly to see his previous captain. Blinking, he patted Kagami's shoulder and told him that he wouldn't be going home with him today. The dark-redhead cast a wary glance at Akashi before shrugging nonchalantly and saying 'okay'.
Now it was just Akashi and Kuroko at the entrance of the school. Kuroko's senpais had all gone off already and there was no one left in the area, leaving a very awkward silence between the red and blueheads.
"How are you, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked, eyes anywhere but on Akashi as he tried to get the interaction over with.
"I'm just missing Tetsuya."
Kuroko's head jerked up in surprised, only to come face to face with Akashi and staring straight into serious red and gold eyes. He gulped before averting his gaze again, much to Akashi's frustration.
The captain of Rakuzan took a step forward towards Kuroko, saying, "Tetsuya. I missed you. Do you miss me?"
Akashi watched as Kuroko's pale cheeks heated up in embarrassment. "I-I... I guess I missed Akashi-kun as well."
Akashi smiled tenderly before asking once again. "Then, please Tetsuya, tell me. Do you still love me? Because I love you."
Kuroko's eyes widened as he finally looked up and held Akashi's gaze. He took a step back before Akashi reached out and grabbed his wrist, pleading, "Please, Tetsuya. Please give me another chance. I can see it in your eyes. I can see how much you still love me. Now look into my eyes. Can you see how much I miss you?"
Kuroko stiffened up before relaxing. "Yes... I can see that very much, Akashi-kun."
"Then please," Akashi wrapped his arms around Kuroko. "Please let me love you once more. Please, can you spare me one more chance?"
Kuroko took a deep, shaky breath as he returned the embrace, winding his arms tightly around Akashi's torso. He felt that familiar warmth, that familiar skin. And he was reminded of how much he missed touching it. With a few tears leaking out from his eyes, he murmured, "Okay, Akashi-kun."
And Akashi knew. He knew that they would be okay. Because he saw that Kuroko had never stopped loving him. And he knew that he had never stooped loving his darling Tetsuya. He had him in his arms once more, and he wasn't going to blow his chances. Not again.
"I love you, Tetsuya, forever and always."
"I love Akashi-kun too, from the very depths of my heart."
And it's done! Please let me know what you think by reviewing! Thanks!
Happy White Day everyone,
HeteroChromium
