Author's Note:
Finally! Second chapter is done! I had to rewrite it a few times, because I wasn't entirely sure what to put there, but hopefully this final version is good enough! xD
Thank you for reading!
Enyoj!:)
Kuroko kept staring. He was unable to tear his eyes away from the man. He couldn't. He just couldn't. His arms stayed alongside his body, his hands gripped the fabric of his shorts so tight his knuckles were turning white. He couldn't believe it. Why him? Why now? The bluenette felt like he was drowning , sinking into the deepest part of the sea. His breath was nowhere to be found. All he could do was stare at the man he hoped to never see again.
''Kuroko? Is something wrong?'' asked Midorima. His observation skills were amazing, therefore noticing his friend's strange behavior was no problem for him. He didn't know what to think. Kuroko was always known for his stoic personality and now he seemed a bit off. And Midorima had no idea why.
"I'm sorry, Midorima-kun,''He exhaled trying to contol himself. He felt the exhaustion clung to him, tugging on his chest and making his breathing a bit labored. His fingers shook from gripping the fabric of his shorts for too long, too storng. Or so he believed. ''I spaced out for a bit."
''You sure you're okay, Tetsuya?'' Akashi whispered to Kuroko. Midorima wasn't the only one who noticed Kuroko's unusual behaviour. He was starting to get worried. Kuroko was always quiet so that wasn't that weird part, on the other hand that intense stiffness of his body, the way his eyes were widen, his labored breathing... something wasn't right. And Akashi was determined to find out what. By all means necessary.
''Very.'' was all Kuroko whispered. His eyes were still glued to the unknown man. Kuroko willed his hands to stop gripping his shorts and let out a deep breath. Calm down, you can deal with this. Kuroko commanded himself.
Akashi clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes. What is going on here?
Most of the people always thought that Akashi was cold and heartless, because of his specific attitude, but that wasn't true at all. Actually, Akashi was really protective of his friends. Especially of Kuroko. The redhead couldn't stand the simple idea of the bluenette being hurt or upset. It was driving Akashi insane.
The group that newly entered the court was consisted of five men. Four of them very average looking, dark hair and quite tall. However, the person who caught their attention was the man standing in front of them. He was taller than the rest of his gang, you could easily say he was a athlete. Broad shoulders, toned arms, and overall his bodybuild. He had black hair tied into a small ponytail and silver eyes. The man was wearing a black tank top and white shorts. With his hands put in pockets and a smirk on his face, he kept walking toward the Vorpal Swords while being followed by his companions.
''So what do you think? Wanna have a game with us? Hope you are not too afraid!'' the man laughed. His eyes found the phantom and the black haired man winked at him. It only made Kuroko flinch.
''Who are you?'' Kagami asked as he made his way to his team with Kise following right behind him. He didn't know why, but something seemed eerie. Just from the look of the unknown man, Kagami could easily say that he didn't like him.
''Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Hirokawa Katashi and these are my teammates. We heard a lot about you! You guys managed to beat the hell out of Jabberwock, right? Sooo, we thought you might be a decent opponents for us!'' Katashi declared.
None of them was suppried by this statement. It wouldn't be the first person who challenged them for a game. After winning against Jabberwock, this kind of thing used to happen from time to time.
''Well, I don't see why not! Get ready and warm up. We've already had some games so we are ready to play whenever you are ready.'' Aomine was the first one to speak. He gave them last look before he turned to his friends.
''Great! Just a minute!'' Katashi said as he and his teammates got ready to play.
The Vorpal Swords exchanged looks. Neither of them looked particularly happy about it. They usually didn't mind challengers, but there was something about this guy that bothered them.
''Is it just me or does anyone else here find that guy to be kind of strange?'' Kagami asked. He wasn't exactly whispering, but he made sure that the said man wasn't able to hear him. The others apart from Kurko nodded. The phantom player stayed almost still.
''It's not just you. I don't know why, but I don't like that guy. He somehow reminds me of Hanamiya Makoto. He looks dangerous and,'' Aomine joined the conversation, but stopped right away. ''Tetsu?...You okay?'' he asked with concern. He put his arm around his shadow's shoulders and pulled him closer to his body.
''Yeah, Kurokocchi! You looked really supprised when you saw that Katashi guy! You know him? Is he an acquaintance of yours?'' Kise asked, taking a place on the other side of Kuroko. When he didn't get any reasponse he grapped Kuroko's arm. Only then Kuroko seemed to regain his senses back. For a while the bluenette was lost in his own thoughts and didn't seem to listen to his team talking.
''Oh...I'm sorry, you were saying?''
''We were asking if you knew Katashi-san.'' Midorima answered his question carefully as not to startle him.
Kuroko looked at them for a while before answering. ''No. I have never met that man in my life.'' he claimed with his usual poker face.
The rest of them just fronwed. That was obviously a lie. Steb by step, all of them were starting to feel that there is something fishy about this whole thing. But before they were able to to confront him about it, they were interrupted by the sudden shout.
''Whenever you are ready! We are prepared!'' Katashi yelled at them.
''We'll be right there!'' Kagami yelled back looking quite annoyed. He went over to Kuroko and patted his head in comforting manner.
''We should go. Our opponent is waiting.'' Kuroko said as he slowly made his way towards the other team.
''Wait, Kuroko! You still haven't-''
''We don't have time for that now. We have opponents waiting.'' Kuroko told them without turning his face away from their new challengers. Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Kuroko glanced back to meet the unconvinced looks on his frined's faces and flashing him looks of concern, which he quickly dismissed with a reassuring smile that was believable enough for them to temporarily leave him alone.
''Tetsuya is right. Let's settle this first and then we can figure out the rest. No worry. We will get to the bottom of this.'' Akashi reassured them as he followed the bluenette. The rest of them exchanged worried glances but none of them was willing to go against Akashi's words, they were still young and none of them felt like dying today.
The game started with Murasakibara and Midorima sitting on the bench. Midorima insisted on watching the game since he wanted to analyse the situation and their enemy. The green haired man quietly observed how things unfolded in front of him, with Murasakibara munching on the snacks beside him.
Their opponents weren't really strong to be honest. By the half-time there was almost duble point difference with Vorpal Swords in lead. The only forceful and strong player was Katashi. They could hear his teammates whisper to him from time to time things like 'What the hell were you thinking?' or 'Why did you pick them for a match? We stand no chance against them!'.
But they didn't pay much attention to it. After facing so many opponents in their lifes this kind of talk was to be expected. What caught their attention was the fact that Katashi had much more opportunities to go and score but insted of that he stayed near Kuroko. He wasn't talking to him or anything. He was just standing near him and kept his eyes on him. It didn't take an expert to see that it made Kuroko very uncomfortable but he did his best not to show it. However, the little flinches and unwanted moves away from Katashi were still there. Even Murasakibara, who tent to act a little laid-back and stoic, noticed it.
''Is there something wrong with Kuro-chin?'' the giant asked, putting his snacks away for a while.
''Undoubtedly. There must be some kind of connection between him and that Katashi guy. We just need to fingure out what kind of. But as we know Kuroko...it's not gonna be easy. When Kuroko doesn't want you to know something, he will make sure that you won't find out unless he wants you to,'' Midorima said as slightly bent down and rested his elbows on his knees. ''Not to mention that he can use his misdirection to get away if he feels like it so we shouldn't pressure him too much. It will just scare him.''
Half-time.
''Great job, Kuroko!'' Kagami said and ruffled his shadow's hair and then made his way towards their bench with the others to grap his bottle of water. The game wasn't so exhausting but they were still pretty parched. Kuroko just wantched his team with a smile.
''Enjoying yourself?'' a sudden voice asked behind him. Kuroko frowned and turned around to face Katashi. ''Heyy, no need for you to look at me like this!'' Katashi laughed, raising his hands in surrender.
''What do you want here?''
''Whaat? Can I just pay a visit to my old friend?'' Katashi asked as he took a step closer to Kuroko.
''We are not friends.'' Kuroko answered and clenched his fists. ''And after what you did to me, we will never be. So get lost.''
''Ohh that is a mean thing to say, Tsuya. After all that what we have been through. I've gotta say, it hurt me very much when you just ran off after that night.'' Katashi smirked. Kuroko only glared at him with more hate in his eyes.
Their little converstaion wasn't unnoticed by his friends. After realising their smallest mamber wasn't with them, they started to look around them and there they spotted Kuroko and Katashi. They didn't like what they were seeing. The atmoshere around them was heavy and uncomfortable.
''Hey! Do you want me to tell them? Your little long-held secret you have been trying to keep from them?'' Katashi asked. His voice was low and deep. He leaned closer to Kuroko.
''You wouldn't dare...'' Kuroko almost stopped breathing. They can't find out. Not now. Not like this.
''Hey, do you think they will hate you? Oooh maybe they will be disgusted! That would be fun, wouldn't it?''
''Stop it...''
''You have been trying to get you all together again and now? They will never want to see you again. Hahaha! That sounds great, dont you think so? You stupid little -'' he didn't even have the opportunity to finish his sentence when Kuroko's voice interrupted him.
''SHUT UP!'' Kuroko yelled from the bottom of his lungs. At this point he was breathing heavily, clenching his fists tightly. These thoughts terrified him. He knew he shouldn't believe it, he knew his friends. They would never do that to him...but he couldn't help himself. As much as he wanted, these thoughts weren't going away. They were there. His gaze was directed at his shoes, eyes wide.
Everyone looked startled at the sudden scream. They weren't used to Kuroko raising his voice like that. Especially if he was speaking with someone face to face. However, the thing that suprised them even more was the terror they could hear in the bluenette's voice. He sounded so scared, and they couldn't figure out why.
When he raised his head from the ground, he realised what he has just done. Everyone's attention was on him. Everyone's attention was on him. He saw his teammates looking at him with worry in their eyes. The bluenette knew he just dug his own grave. After this performance, there was no way they would believe him that nothing ever happened. They would make him tell them everything. He didn't want to lie to them, they meant too much for him. But he felt like he wasn't ready for telling them.
Terrified, he ran out of the court.
''Kurokocchi/Tetsu/Kuroko/Kuro-chin/Tetsuya!'' Everyone yelled. But he didn't care. He wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.
He ran without a specific destination. He just wanted to get away from there so badly right now. No matter what he did, he coulnd't shake this awlful feeling of shame and fear from his body. So he kept running, passing several trees along the way.
As soon as reached a tree, in what seemed like a sufficient distance from court, all the energy and adrenaline that helped his legs sustain his weight almost ran out as Kuroko slumped against the support that the tree offered. His arms flopped down and swayed at his side, while he was slowly going down to the ground. He was surrounded by many big trees and leafy bushes. Kuroko couldn't say why, but he felt safer in this limited space. He felt protected. It was like a barrier from the rest of the world. Nobody could hurt him here.
He took a long breath in.
It's okay It's okay It's okay I'm okay I'm okay..I'm..okay...am I?
He repeated these words in his mind over and over again as he slowly drew his knees up to his chest and his arms wrapping around them. It was interesting how he felt both numb and hurt at the same time. His mind was full of things that he couldn't escape from. He hid his face between his knees and shut his eyes, surrounding himself with darkness which he hoped would help him breakout from this awful nightmare.