Here is chapter 2! I hope you enjoy, and remember to leave a review!
~ TOUJOU NOZOMI ~
"I'm glad I managed to catch you around so early. Is there any particular reason you decided to be up at the crack of dawn?"
"Kagami and I go to practice basketball on a street court before and after school."
While helping out at the local shrine, Nozomi had encountered Maki coming to visit for today's success in her basketball practice. As far as Nozomi could tell, basketball was a new hobby for Maki. And the sport was clearly growing on the redhead. It wasn't everyday she got to see Maki in gym clothes, carrying a backpack full of water bottles and food for her and her new friend, Kagami.
But it was a nice change for Maki. It made Nozomi happy knowing that Maki was branching out, breaking out of her school idol shell.
"Has Umi talked to you about the song yet?" Nozomi asked her.
"No. We haven't spoken much recently. She's mostly busy with fitness training and the lyrics for new songs. Combine that with school and archery practice and it's almost impossible to get her to meet up without her saying she's already got her day planned out."
"I'm sure she'll come around eventually. She's just overworked at the moment. It's not her fault she can't come and see you."
"I know that much. And I would never even think of blaming Umi for something like that. All I want is for her to let someone help her out once in a while. She doesn't have to do everything on her own."
"I agree." Nozomi stated with a nod. "And it appears we're nearing the court you're meeting Kagami on. Tell him I said hi."
"I will." Maki nodded. "Oh, and Nozomi?"
"Yes?"
"Look after Umi for me, will you? Make sure she doesn't stress herself out too much." Maki requested.
"Sure. I was going to say the same thing to you about Kagami." Nozomi responded.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You'll know when the time comes."
With that, Nozomi left Maki at the court and carried on her way.
~ KAGAMI TAIGA ~
"A game? You can't play yet." Hyuga told him nonchalantly.
"W-Why?" Kagami questioned. "What is this, Captain? How am I not good enough?"
"You're still a trial member. You're not an official member yet."
"Huh?"
"Coach!"
Kagami slammed his hands on the Coach's desk, causing her to spit her drink out, covering his face. Kagami wiped it off with his sleeve, though.
"Coach, give me an official club membership form."
"What is it with today? You too?" Riko wiped her mouth of the spilt drink. "Next thing you know, Maki will be asking for an official club membership form as well."
"'Too'?" Kagami questioned.
"Kuroko came in here earlier, saying he wanted an official club membership form." She explained.
"That bastard." Kagami commented.
"Just how impatient are you rascals?" Riko rhetorically asked, folding her arms over her chest.
"What'd you call me?"
"Well, you both have potential, and we've got room on the bench, so we'd be happy to have you." She told him as she pulled a two forms out from under her desk. "Make sure to give one to Maki as well. She's a much better player than I would've predicted."
"Now I can play in a game, right?" Kagami asked.
"Hold it right there." Riko stopped him from walking out of the classroom. "I'll only accept your forms on Monday at 8:40, on the roof."
"What happened to you?" Kagami inspected Maki's sore – possibly even broken – fingers.
"I trapped my hand in a door." Maki replied, pouting as she turned her head away. Her cheeks were almost as red as her hair.
"I may be an idiot, but if there's one thing I know, it's that these don't look like the injuries you'd get from a door." Kagami deadpanned as he bandaged up each of her hands; fingers included. From what it looked like, her injuries would need time to recover.
A couple of days, at the very least.
Maki hesitated for a moment, before she sighed. "Fine. I was playing the piano in the music room. The fall board dropped on my hands because the wind outside managed to blow it down."
Even Kagami winced at that.
"What do you think I should do for now? I'm going to be useless until my hands recover."
"Why don't you practice your singing?" Kagami suggested. "You don't need your hands for that."
She tried to conceal a gasp, but failed. "You're not... interested to hear me sing, are you?" Maki questioned, appearing to be horrified at the suggestion.
"I-It was just an idea!" Kagami waved his hands in front of him in defence.
Maki averted her eyes. "So... do you think I'll be able to eat normally?"
"I wouldn't think so, but it would probably depend on how badly your injuries hurt when you try to use your hands. If you can't move your hands, I can be your hands for the day." Kagami offered without a second thought.
"Y...You're going to help me eat?" The other redhead questioned.
"If you want me to." Kagami defended as his cheeks dusted a light pink.
Her eyes widened, her violet irises sparkling like amethysts. "So you really are a nice person."
Kagami's face heated up and he looked away. "I...I am?"
"Just take the compliment." Maki's expression softened. "Besides, we should get going. I saw something on one of the bulletin boards that I thought you'd be interested to have a look at."
"I'm surprised you even thought of me at all." Kagami commented as he helped Maki stand, with Maki muttering something along the lines of "idiot" under her breath. Once she was on her feet, Kagami lifted her up and placed her on his shoulder.
"What are you—?"
"I'm trying to reduce the risk of your hands touching anything that could hurt them more."
"There's no need to—!"
"Maybe. But I want to." Kagami responded.
Maki sighed for a second time. "Alright then."
"Hold on to me and don't let go. I don't want to drop you."
"Got it.
"Here it is. This is what I was talking about." Maki pointed with her foot at a poster featuring last year's Seirin basketball team. It was a part of the Seirin Student Newspaper. "The 'Boys' Basketball Club, The Fighting Freshmen, Kanto Tournament Appearance' article."
"This is what you wanted me to see?" Kagami inquired as he looked it over. "He wasn't kidding."
"Yes, they're strong." Kuroko's voice piped up beside them.
Kagami and Maki both screamed.
"Why can't you show up normally?!" Both redheads shouted. "Stop coming out of nowhere!" They told him.
"Did you two rehearse that? That was perfectly synchronised." Kuroko remarked. "But you might want to keep it down." He pointed to the sign on the door closest to them, reading 'Library'.
Kagami grabbed Kuroko's head of blue hair. "Are you making fun of me? You're making fun of me, aren't you?"
"No." Kuroko responded calmly. Kagami released his hair. "That hurt." Kuroko commented.
'I don't believe it. How could anyone call and invisible guy like him the phantom sixth member?' Kagami racked his brain. 'How did that happen anyway? The rest of the Generation of Miracles all went on to play for strong schools. Why didn't he go with them?'
"By the way, I heard some ruckus coming from the music room earlier. Do you know what happened in there?" Kuroko asked.
"I had an accident involving a piano." Maki held up her bandaged hands. "My hands were hurt by the fall board."
"So that's why I heard a scream." Kuroko remarked. "Are you able to move your hands?"
"I can move my hands, but my fingers are too damaged to use." She dropped from Kagami's shoulder to let Kuroko inspect her broken hands.
"Would you like me to be your hands for the day?" He asked.
"U-Uh..." Maki averted her eyes, her face reddening. "K-Kagami already offered. But... thank you anyway." She struggled to say. Her shoulders tensed.
"I see." Kuroko replied. "That's alright, then."
* On Monday... *
Kagami, Kuroko, Maki, and the other first years had gathered on the rooftop with Riko at 8:40 AM. Over the week, Kagami and Kuroko had been taking turns looking after Maki. Today was Kuroko's turn.
"I've been waiting for you." Riko declared, her arms folded over her chest as she stared down the first years.
"Are you stupid?" Kagami questioned.
"Is this a duel?" Kuroko inquired.
"I forgot all about it, but on Mondays, the morning assembly is in five minutes." Kagami scratched the back of his head. He reached into his pocket and brought out the official club membership form, which looked like it had been scrunched up. "Hurry up and take it."
"Before that, I have something to tell you." Riko stated. "I made a promise when the captain asked me to be his coach last year. I promised to focus solely on pushing the team towards the national championship. If you don't think you're ready for that, there are other clubs better suited to you."
"What? Of course I'm—"
"I know you're strong." Riko interrupted Kagami. "But I need to know you have something more important. No matter how hard you practice, 'someday' and 'maybe' aren't good enough. I need to know you have ambitious goals and the will to accomplish them."
Riko aimed her arm at the students lined up for the morning assembly.
"Give me your year, class, and name. Announce your goals here and now. If you fail to achieve them, you'll come back up here, strip naked, and confess your feelings for the person you love."
The jaws of all the first years - besides Kuroko - dropped. Kagami even heard Maki gasp beside him.
"All the second years did it last year." Riko informed them.
"What? No one told me about this."
"I heard about it when they recruited me."
"But I didn't think they'd actually..."
"Like I said before," Riko continued. "I'm looking for something concrete and reasonably ambitious. You'll have to do better than 'play my first game' or 'do my best'."
Kagami grinned. Today was his lucky day!
"This'll be easy." He stated as he walked towards the edge of the roof. "This isn't even a test."
He hopped onto the railing and stabilised his balance instantly. And, after taking a deep breath, he shouted:
"Class 1-B, number 5, Kagami Taiga! I will defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best player in Japan!"
Kagami hopped down from the railing and walked back toward the group.
"Who's next?" Riko asked. "If you don't hurry up, the teachers will get here."
"Excuse me." One of them raised his hand. "Could I say I want a girlfriend?"
"Nope. What else do you have?"
The one with the buzz-cut raised his hand.
"I-I've got one."
He walked towards the edge of the roof like Kagami had done, but instead of jumping on the railing, he gripped the bar with his hands.
"Class 1-A, Kawahara Koichi, from Chuo Ward, Tokyo! I was a sickly kid, so I couldn't play sports! Things started to change for me in kindergarten..."
Kagami heard a groan from Maki beside him. When he looked over, he noticed Maki biting down on Kuroko's hand as she tried to move her fingers. Or, more accurately, she was trying to stretch each finger out, probably in hopes that she could get them to work again.
"I'll never forget the all-star game I saw at school in fifth grade! It was the first time I ever thought basketball was cool..."
Kuroko was comforting Maki as she bit into his hand, which was apparently the only thing preventing her from screaming out in pain. In all honesty, Kagami felt pretty jealous.
"I joined my school's basketball club in middle school, but I wasn't very good. I was always dragging my team down, and I was miserable. But..."
Riko kicked Koichi away from the edge of the roof before he could say any more.
"Next!"
"Um, I want a girlfriend." One of the other first years repeated.
"I said no already!"
The next of the first years went up.
"Class 1-D, Fukuda Hiroshi! I like helping others, so when I heard an upperclassman asking for help, I immediately offered my assistance!"
And the next one...
"Class 1-D, Furihata Koki! The girl I like said she would go out with me if I became the best at something! I joined the basketball team to become number one!"
"Kagami, can you help Maki while I do my speech?" Kuroko suddenly asked, turning to Kagami.
'Finally!' Kagami thought.
"Sure, what do you need me to do?" Kagami asked.
"Help her take her bandages off, and make sure her jaw is okay." Kuroko stated.
Kagami's happiness faltered. "Huh?"
"I have to go before assembly starts." Kuroko made his way over to Riko, carrying a megaphone in the hand that hadn't been bitten by Maki. "Excuse me." He said.
Riko looked at him in shock, as if she'd just realised he was present.
"I'm not good at speaking loudly, so could I use this?" Kuroko inquired, holding up the megaphone.
"Where did you get that?" Riko questioned. Though, honestly, everyone was just as confused. Even Kagami.
Kuroko approached the edge of the roof, overlooking the students below. But, as his luck was always as bad as his basketball shots, one of the teachers came through the doors just as he was about to make his announcement.
"Hey! The basketball club again?!"
"Crap, we were almost finished." Riko muttered.
All of the first years and Riko sat side-by-side on the roof floor, even while Kagami was still bandaging Maki's slowly healing hands. Apparently, although it had caused her and Kuroko pain, she had managed to move her fingers slightly. She even pushed them back into place, somehow. So, it was sure to speed up the healing process, Kagami assumed. He hoped all it would take was time, at the very least.
"I warned you last year. Didn't you say you'd never do this again? You should know what's right and wrong at your age!"
Kagami hung the bag of burgers 'to go' on Maki's shoulder.
"It's not too heavy, is it?" Kagami asked as he picked up his tray that held a pile of burgers.
"No. I should be fine." Maki responded with a smile. "Do you come here every day?"
"I come here as often as I can. I like the burgers." Kagami replied, nonchalant.
As both of them took a seat by the window, they dropped their bags on the floor again, careful with the burgers and drinks.
"I can't believe he got so mad over a little shouting." Kagami remarked, opening one of the burger wrappers.
"I didn't even finish, and I got in trouble too." Kuroko stated when Maki bit into her burger.
Kagami swallowed the bitten piece of his burger.
"You again? Maybe I should start going somewhere else."
"We aren't allowed on the roof anymore." Kuroko informed them. "What will we do if we can't join the basketball team?"
"That won't happen." Kagami declared confidently.
He regarded Kuroko for a second, and in the next moment, he turned toward the smaller boy.
"By the way, why didn't you go to some big name school like the other five guys?" Kagami cut into the conversation. "You were good enough to be known as the phantom sixth man."
Kuroko resumed drinking his vanilla shake.
"Is there some reason you play basketball?" Kagami finally asked.
"My middle school's basketball team had one core principle: "Winning is everything.". Instead of teamwork, we pushed the individual talents of the Generation of Miracles to win. Nothing could beat us, but we weren't a team. The five of them approved, but I felt we lacked something important."
"So, what? Are you gonna beat the Generation of Miracles your own way?" Kagami inquired.
"That's what I was thinking." Kuroko answered.
"Seriously?" Kagami grinned, as it was the only thing he could do besides laughing out loud. Maki elbowed him in the abdomen.
"Your words and the coach's words really struck me. Now my biggest reason to play is to try and make you and our team the best in Japan."
"We're not gonna try." Kagami declared. "We're gonna be the best."
The next day, while everyone was in class, Maki and Kuroko had apparently decided to fulfil their plan to write their goals in large writing on the ground by the morning assembly area. Almost everyone in every class - Kagami included - was looking out of the windows of their classrooms to see the writing, which read:
WE WILL BE THE BEST IN JAPAN
- Maki Nishikino & Kuroko Tetsuya
Kagami, Kuroko, Hyuga, Furihata, Izuki, Koichi, and Koganei were all busy changing in the boys' changing rooms. Coach Riko had decided to let Maki play today, too, which was a plus for the first years, and for Maki herself. Kagami had checked Maki's hands on the way to school that morning – they were almost fully healed, if they weren't already. Not only that, but Kuroko had previously taken her to the hospital to get a check-up, and she had got her fingers readjusted slightly. All there was left to do was wait for the after-pain to wear off.
Koganei shut his locker while Kagami was still putting his shirt on.
"Huh? Is this..."
Kagami pulled his shirt down over his torso and turned around, finding that the cat-like upperclassman had picked up a basketball magazine titled Basketball Magazine Monthly.
"Didn't this issue come out when Kuroko was at Teiko?" Koganei inquired.
Hyuga and Kagami both shut their lockers and gathered around either side of Koganei. The redhead flipped through the pages, sparing no more than a second glance at all of the writing covering the pages. Instead, he focused on the players featured in their own articles.
"All the players are featured." Hyuga remarked.
"Kuroko..." Kagami flipped through more pages to try and find Kuroko's article. In the end, he didn't find one. "...doesn't have an article."
"Even though he was the sixth man." Koganei pointed out. "Didn't they come to interview you?"
"They did, but ended up forgetting about me." Kuroko informed them upon shutting his locker. "Besides, I'm nothing like the other five. They're true prodigies."
Just then, Hiroshi came sprinting through the door of the changing room, smiling.
"She's back! The coach is back!" He announced while he came to a halt. "We're gonna play a practice game."
Most of the boys – minus Kagami and Kuroko – gasped.
"I wonder who we're playing?" Hyuga asked, mostly to himself.
"Who knows? She was skipping for some reason, though." Hiroshi scratched the back of his head.
"She was skipping?!" Hyuga questioned, almost shouting in disbelief. Even Koganei and Izuki looked nervous. The captain turned to the team: "Be ready, everyone. If she's skipping, our next opponent's gonna be really tough."
~ AYASE ELI ~
"Come on, Eli! We'll be late to see one of Maki's basketball practices!" Honoka pulled Eli towards Seirin High School. The remaining eight members of μ's were all on their way to one of Maki's basketball practices, courtesy of Kotori's mother, the headmaster of Otonokizaka High School, letting them off school from lunchtime afterwards. That being said, they had also been granted entrance to Seirin High. Though, that was mostly because they were school idols. Seirin's headmaster had hoped it would help the popularity of the school rise.
"Honoka, calm down! We're not in any rush!" Eli tried to stop her hyperactive friend from going too far. "I'm sure Maki will still be in practice when we get there!"
The eight of them turned a corner and hurried through the gates. Honoka had let Eli go along the way, so the blonde was running on her own. Just as she reached the gates, she needed to take a breather. She was breathing heavily due to the excessive amount of running she'd had to do.
Eli was about to set off in a chase for the other seven members of μ's when she heard someone else stop beside her, having just reached the gates as well. She stood up straight and looked up at the man standing next to her.
"This is Seirin? New and pristine, just like I expected."
He looked above average height for a first year. A second or third year, maybe? His bright blonde hair was what made him stand out in the crowd, and his yellow irises held a glint of mischievousness within them. Not only that, but the grey suit he wore looked about a size too big, and he looked fairly professional. Maybe he had a part-time job or something?
Whatever. Eli had to get back to her friends. She couldn't spend any more time dawdling behind.
"Eli! Come on! Maki's just got on the basketball court! You'll miss the show!" Rin poked her head out of one of the gym doors.
"Sorry! I'll be right over!" Eli waved in dismissal.
With a sigh, Eli began her stroll toward the gym. During her walk, however, the blonde guy from earlier joined her.
"Your friend plays basketball?" He asked.
Eli stopped. "Apparently she does." She answered. "My name's Eli. Eli Ayase."
"You mean, like the ballerina?" He inquired happily.
"I am the ballerina. Or, was." Eli responded with a nod. "Why do you ask? Were you in the ballet dancing tournament few years ago?"
"No, no. I was a fan of your dancing. Even as a child, you had such elegance, such grace!" He performed a perfect ballerina twirl and raised his arm up to the sky. When he lowered his arm and stood normally again, he scratched the back of his head. "Oh, and my name's Kise Ryouta!"
"Like the model?"
"The one and only. And basketball player."
"Ah, so you play basketball too? Are you here to see Seirin's basketball team, like my friends and I are?" Eli inquired as she began walking again.
Kise nodded excitedly. "Well, I have this friend that's on the Seirin basketball team. I call him Kurokocchi!"
"I'm mostly here to see my friend, Maki. According to what my friends have told me, the basketball team here is co-ed, so Maki and the boys in the basketball club are together on one whole team."
"Really?"
"Yeah. And I'm pretty sure Nozomi told me about two of Maki's new friends, Kagami and Kuroko."
"So our friends are actually friends themselves, then!"
"I think so."
Eli opened the door of the gymnasium and let herself and Kise inside. She ignored Kise for a moment to go and join Nozomi.
"Sorry I'm late." Eli told her.
"I saw you and that model talking outside. It looked very friendly." Nozomi remarked with a sly smile.
"It was just a usual conversation." Eli sighed and averted her eyes, slightly embarrassed.
"Whatever you say."
"Guys, look!" Umi pointed to Maki, who had just performed what basketball players would refer to as a 'fadeaway shot', if Eli remembered correctly.
"That's two within the past minute." An upperclassman stated.
"First Kagami, now Maki." One of the other seniors commented.
"Gather 'round, everyone!" The coach ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!" The basketball team responded altogether.
Maki seemed to only spare one look at the other eight members of μ's, but the smaller redhead was shocked to see the group there. She looked to Erena, who appeared to be stifling a chuckle, as far as Eli saw.
"Erena, did you let them come here?" Maki asked, pointing toward the group, unamused.
"I did." Erena, the most mature member of the popular school idol group, A-RISE, nodded her head.
"I'm glad you finally noticed us." Umi remarked with a soft expression. "It's about time you did."
Eli tossed a towel at Maki. Maki hung the towel around her shoulders.
"You don't happen to have the lyrics with you, do you?" Maki turned to Umi.
"Actually, we all changed our minds. We're going to be singing one of your favourite songs, Aishiteru Banzai."
"So, I don't need to compose anything at all, then?" Maki tilted her head.
"Oh, you still need to compose something." Honoka told her. "All we need is a recording of you playing that song on your piano. You do have a piano, don't you?"
"Of course I have a piano!" Maki retorted. She breathed a deep sigh, and folded her arms over her chest. "Fine, I guess I can do that for you guys."
"Yay!" Honoka and Rin cheered.
"Maki, come on!"
"Sorry!"
~ NISHIKINO MAKI ~
"A practice game against Kaijo High School?!" Hyuga questioned in shock.
"Yep. They won't disappoint us. We'll put plenty of first years on the court." Riko clarified in response.
"Disappoint us? They're way better than us." Koganei remarked.
"Are they really that good?" Maki shifted from one foot to the other. Somehow, she wasn't able to contain her excitement about the game against Kaijo. And from what it looked like, neither could Kagami.
"You seem thrilled." Kuroko commented.
"Am not!" Maki denied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"They're strong at the national level. They play at the Inter-High every year." Hyuga explained.
"And this year, Kaijo got their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryota." Riko informed them.
Out of the corner of Maki's eye, Eli had turned her head toward a guy with blond hair that stood at the other end of the practice hall.
"Sorry, I'm gonna need to borrow that." Maki told Furihata as she pointed to the Basketball Magazine Monthly magazine he held.
"Huh? Oh, sure." Furihata handed the magazine over to Maki.
Maki opened the magazine and flipped through the pages, making sure to eye every detail about the blond guy watching them. If her suspicions were correct, which they usually were, that guy was Kise Ryota. After flipping another few pages, she found him.
"He also works as a model," Eli suddenly spoke up beside Maki.
Maki's shoulders spiked in terror. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry. Anyway—"
"Kise Ryota is the guy you met just before you came in, right?" Maki deadpanned.
Eli sighed. "Yes. Yes he is."
"Good looking and good at basketball? That's brutal." Koganei commented.
"Are we still talking about Kise, or did the subject switch to Maki?" Kagami rhetorically asked.
"Did... you... did you just hit on me?" Maki questioned. Her face was as red as her hair.
Kagami seemed to realise what he said, because his face turned just as red and he scratched his cheek with his index finger. "Uh... it was supposed to be a compliment?"
"You two are just the cutest." Izuki commented.
"Idiot." Riko muttered.
Just then, the sounds of plenty of girls chatting could be heard from the other side of the court. Maki, Eli, and Riko were the first to look towards the noise. A line of girls had gathered by the doors, extending from Kise to the area outside. Eli almost fainted in shock.
"Huh?" Eli was stiff.
"What?" Maki tilted her head. "Where did they all come from?"
"What are all these people doing here?" Riko asked with a sigh.
"Uh, I didn't mean for this to happen." Maki heard Kise say.
"Hi, Eli!" Eli's little sister, Alisa, waved at Eli. She was also stood in line. Apparently, girls from other schools had followed Kise here. Maki knew that from seeing that Honoka's sister, Yukiho, was with her.
"Hey, Honoka!" Yukiho waved at the group.
"Alisa!" Eli screamed.
"Yukiho!" Honoka shouted.
"Do you mind telling me what your sisters are doing here?" Nico questioned.
"They must've followed either us or that guy—what did you say his name was?" Umi turned to Eli.
"Kise Ryota." Eli told her.
"It's good to see you again." Kuroko stated. When Maki looked at Kuroko, she found he was maintaining eye contact with Kise.
"Good to see you." Kise responded. He turned to Eli, then to Alisa, then to Eli again. "So, this is your sister?"
"Yeah." Eli replied. "Alisa, shouldn't you be at school?"
"Yukiho and I used our lunch break to follow you guys. We originally wanted to see Maki." Alisa explained.
"We changed our minds once we saw Kise." Yukiho added.
"Well..." Maki averted her eyes. Her self esteem had taken a hit. "It's good to know that our fans would decide to see a model more than us."
"Well, we do see you guys all the time anyway." Yukiho responded.
"I'm gonna kick his—"
"Maki!" Eli cut Maki off.
"Sorry, really. Um..." Kise scratched the back of his head, before looking down at his fans. "Could you wait five minutes please?"
All of the girls nodded and soon left the building. Though, Alisa and Yukiho stayed, much to Maki's disbelief. Maki herself was being comforted by Kagami and Kuroko whilst Honoka and Eli scolded their younger sisters for hurting her feelings, as well as the feelings of Nico, Umi, and Hanayo, who greatly despised the fact that they came second place to a model.
"There." Kise said as he hopped off the edge of the stage.
"What are you doing here?" Erena asked, tilting her head.
"When I heard our next opponent was Seirin, I remembered Kurokocchi went here, so I thought I'd come say hi." Kise answered with a smile. "We were best friends in middle school."
"Not any more than anyone else." Kuroko remarked, completely deadpan.
"You're so mean!" Kise wiped the tears that streamed down his face.
Maki flipped through the pages of the basketball magazine she still held in her hands. Kagami was letting her lean against his side, but she almost fell when she ended up on Kise's article. Thankfully, Kagami caught her and held her up.
"Kise Ryota." Maki read aloud. "Though he only started basketball in his second year of middle school, his exceptional physical abilities and instincts got him on the Teiko team as a regular in a heartbeat."
Furihata peered over Maki's shoulder to read the next part: "While he has less experience than the other four, he's a rapidly improving all-rounder."
"Since your second year?" Hyuga asked.
Maki was too busy reading Kise's article to notice that Kagami lightly leaned her on Furihata and disappeared. Furihata kept Maki held up as much as he could, often complaining to Erena that Maki wasn't that light.
"That article exaggerated quite a bit." Kise scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad to be called part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm the worst of the bunch. They bullied me and Kurokocchi for it all the time."
"That never happened to me." Kuroko commented.
"What? It was just me?" Kise cried again.
All of a sudden, Maki was snapped out of her sulk by the basket ball being thrown with quite a bit of speed. Kise stopped it with only one hand, but dropped it because it hurt his palm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Kise questioned.
"Kagami!" Hyuga and Riko exclaimed in synchronisation.
"Sorry for interrupting your little reunion, but don't tell me you came all the way here just to greet us." Kagami smirked.
"He's a real masochist if I've ever seen one." Maki commented to Kuroko, motioning to Kagami.
"Why don't you play with me a little, pretty boy?" Kagami motioned to Kise for him to come closer.
"What? I don't know if I'm ready." Kise responded. He placed his finger to his chin, as if contemplating it for a moment. "Fine, let's do it. I have to thank you for that display."
"Five yen says the model beats Maki's boyfriend." Nico stated.
"Only five yen?" Honoka questioned.
"Fine. Ten yen." Nico declared.
"I'm in." Maki replied.
"Unbelievable." Riko sighed.
"This could be bad." Kuroko commented.
"Huh?"
Kise had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. The group had gathered around in a semicircle, watching Kagami and Kise's one-one-one match. Kise was bouncing the basket ball for a couple of seconds, and Kagami was defending. It was obvious that Kagami was expecting a lot. But maybe he'd expected a bit too little with Kise.
Maki could only watch as Kise's eyes led Kagami to his left, allowing Kise to slip past him on his right. Kagami chased Kise as the model advanced toward where the hoop pole stood. Maki realised it a second later: Kise was copying the move Kagami had used against Izuki earlier on.
Kise led Kagami around in a circle, switching the opposite way when Kagami caught up, before he jumped up in front of the net. Kagami jumped too, aiming to stop the blond Generation of Miracles member from scoring a dunk. But his hand colliding with the ball at the last second did nothing to stop Kise.
The ball went through the hoop. Kagami was thrown backwards and landed on his rear.
Maki's jaw was left hanging wide open, as was Eli's. Kagami, too, looked shocked beyond Maki's belief.
As soon as Kise landed, he and Kagami locked eyes for a brief moment.
"This is the Generation of Miracles. Kuroko, your friend's way too good." Koichi told the baby-blue haired boy standing beside him.
"I don't know that person." Kuroko said.
"Huh?" Eli turned to Kuroko.
"To be honest, I may have underestimated him until just now. It's only been a few months since I left them, but the Generation of Miracles has improved far more quickly than I expected." Kuroko informed them.
"I don't know about this." Kise sighed as he scratched the back of his head. Kagami arched one of his split eyebrows. "After something so disappointing, I can't just leave now." His voice echoed around the gymnasium.
Then, he suddenly spun on his heel and began walking towards the team.
"Give us Kurokocchi."
Everyone else simply gasped in surprise. Maki, after helping Kagami up, had to have Kagami's hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming in frustration. This guy had some nerve—!
Kise was unaware of Maki's protests as he approached Kuroko. While Kagami was trying to calm Maki down and get her to stop trying to reach for Kise, the blond stood in front of Kuroko, trying to bargain with him.
"Come join us. Let's play basketball together again." Kise told Kuroko. Kuroko, however, wasn't fazed. "I seriously respect you, Kurokocchi. It's a waste of your talents to stay here. What do you say?"
"Maki, we'll get to kick his ass in the practice match against Kaijo, don't waste all your energy now." Kagami was trying to compromise. Maki was pulled back again and spun around. Kagami was holding her very close to him. Her face was pretty much digging into his black shirt. "Listen, I'll make you dinner tonight, for all the hell you've been through today. Just promise me that you will stop throwing a fit."
Maki nodded shyly into Kagami's shirt. The moment was ruined by Nozomi's, Nico's, and Honoka's phone cameras sounding like a photo had been taken on each of their phones. Maki turned and glared at them over her shoulder.
"Delete the photos." The female redhead said menacingly. Honoka did just that, fearful of Maki's wrath. Nico and Nozomi pretended to delete it, but unbeknownst to Maki, the photos of her and Kagami were still saved in their phones.
"I am honoured to hear you say that." Kuroko piped up in response to Kise's earlier question. "I must respectfully decline your offer." He bowed.
"That doesn't make any sense." Kise replied, more shocked than Maki had seen him be today. "Besides, this isn't like you. Winning was everything. Why didn't you go somewhere better?"
"My thinking has changed since then. More importantly, I made a promise to Kagami and Maki." Kuroko declared to his ex-teammate. "I told them we'd beat you, the Generation of Miracles."
"It really isn't like you to joke around like that."
Kagami chuckled when he appeared behind Kise. It was only then that Maki had realised Kagami wasn't holding her anymore.
"What are you doing? I was gonna say that, Kuroko." Kagami triumphantly told the smaller boy.
"I still have no sense of humour." Kuroko commented back to Kise's remark.
"We're serious."
**END OF CHAPTER EXTRA**
"You know, you really didn't have to go so far with this dinner thing." Maki remarked as Kagami handed her a tray that carried a plate of curry and rice. "In all honesty, I was expecting something less like a stay-at-home date."
Kagami sat down beside her and opened the bag of 'to go' burgers from Maji Burger. Maki had ordered them for him before she came to Kagami's apartment. Why? She didn't want to be the only one receiving food. And besides, it served as great fuel for Kagami. She'd call it a win-win.
"I could say the same about you. You didn't have to go through all the trouble getting me these burgers." Kagami responded, digging out five burgers that were still wrapped up and warm.
Maki rolled her eyes. Instead of responding to Kagami, she dug into the curry, mixing it with the rice a bit. Needless to say, it was delicious. Better than Nico's cooking, she had to admit to herself. In no time at all, Maki had eaten the entire meal.
"You liked it?" Kagami arched a brow.
"I loved it." Maki smiled gleefully at him.
After putting away the tray and empty plate, Maki sat back down with Kagami. Something was bothering her, though.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask," Maki started, looking around the room. "Why do you live alone? Isn't there anyone who lives here with you?"
"My parents decided to keep me here in Japan when my father had to return to America for his job." Kagami informed her. "I learned to look after myself. And since I have no siblings, I live here on my own."
"Doesn't it ever get lonely?" Maki questioned.
"Of course. But I like the peace and quiet, so I don't really mind." Kagami leaned back on the sofa.
Without thinking, Maki laid her head on Kagami's shoulder. Her eyes widened when she realised what she was doing, but Kagami pulled her closer. They stayed like that for what felt like a solid minute.
Maki's face was burning when she finally mustered the courage to gaze up at Kagami. His face was almost as red as his hair, too. But that didn't stop their faces from inching closer.
And closer.
And closer.
In the next moment, their lips were connected.
I hope you all loved this chapter just as much as you did the last one!
I hope no one minds about the whole Kagami X Maki thing. It's not gonna cause a major problem in this fanfic, but it will spark some future things. Also, I'm making a change to the whole pairing thing. From now on, the pairings are:
~ Kagami X Maki {KagaMaki}
~ Kise X Eli {Keli}
~ Aomine X Umi {Aomi}
~ Midorima X Nozomi {Slight MidoNozo}
~ Kuroko X Alisa {Slight Kurolisa}
There may be some more pairings in the future, for Akashi, Murasakibara, and maybe a few other characters. But for now, these are who will be together for the most part, even if it's only slightly.
Now that that's out of the way, please enjoy the next chapter!