A/N:Hi again. First off, I want to say that I'm very sorry. I've not updated for more than a week, and I will definitely be editing this chapter later. I could only find time to update this because I've decided to sleep 5 hours tonight, haha. I might not be updating much this month, because I'm preparing for nationals. I kinda have to ensure that I'm in the top 200, you see. So, I'm sorry and I hope you'll understand. To SinJaLOVE and xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx, I'll write a series of Akakuro drabbles and twoshots for you in November ;) I feel like I can do it, anyone would be converted to AkaKuro after reading The Winner Takes It All by readerofasaph. Thanks for all the reviews. I'll definitely finish this by mid-december. All 25 chapters of it. I apologise for any typos in advance, very sleep-deprived. Also, Momoi-feels.
It had been three days since then, and Kuroko Tetsuya was finally accepted into the club officially, along with five others.
"I'm sorry." He said as he looked up at the person he bumped into. "Yo, brat."
He bowed. "Good morning, Hanamiya-senpai." He retrieved the soft-cover book the other had dropped onto the floor. 'Observing the Human Motions', it read.
"I didn't know Hanamiya-senpai was into psychology." Hanamiya-senpai's lip curled back, the way it did when he was getting defensive. "I'm not." he replied, looking disinterested. "It's just something to pass the time. Everything else is boring anyway." Kuroko nodded. "Please tell me when you return that book to school, senpai. I would like to borrow it as well."
Hanamiya shrugged, which was as close to a sign of assent that Kuroko could expect. He'd glanced through the window while passing by the corridor later that day, and caught a glimpse of Hanamiya reading the book under the table. It wasn't a lie then, that Hanamiya-senpai was smart enough to ace tests without studying. Kuroko's results were not that bad in of itself, which is how he got a scholarship at Kirisaki Daiichi, a school with rather high fees. He supposed it was natural, seeing as the school was very obviously intended for children from well-to-do families. Seirin, the school he had originally chosen, didn't have a golf club, after all. Not that golf mattered. But Hanamiya-senpai was obviously genius on a different scale. It always turned out that way, didn't it. That geniuses would eventually tire of the things they were good at. At least Hanamiya-senpai wasn't going around calling others stupid. Which made him okay in Kuroko's book.
Lessons passed by normally, and then it was time for basketball practice. He'd been unexpectedly excited about it, the feeling of playing basketball again.
Their positions weren't announced yet, even though it was already obvious where Kuroko was going to be placed given Hanamiya-senpai's rather blatant statement the other day, and the senior hadn't arrived yet. There were very unpleased looks cast his way as he stepped up to train alongside the first-stringers. The five other first-years. Well, it was a given, since they were much better players than Kuroko if considered normally.
He'd only gotten to wipe the sweat off his forehead, when he heard a familiar squeal. "Hey, miss, wait!" A distressed student acting as her guide called. "Tetsu-kun!" Arms wrapped around him, crushing him into a soft chest. "Momoi-san." He greeted. "Please, you're crushing me." She loosened her hold, if only by a little. "Who's that?" "I don't know, but I want that junior to die somehow."
"Tetsu-kun, you have to leave with me!" Momoi was uncharacteristically near-hysterics. "This team is no good!"
Immediately murmurs of dissent erupted among the seniors in the gym. "Who're you calling 'no good'?"
"Just come with me for a bit." She dragged him out of the gym before he could even answer her. She let go of his hand when they were two blocks away from the gym, concealed by a hedge behind the slope of the academic building.
"Tetsu-kun," she began, gently. "You do know that every team which has played with Kirisaki Daiichi since last year has suffered an injury, right?"
He blinked. Twice. "No, I'm sorry to say I didn't know that." His eyes searched her face, the skin pinched between her furrowed pink brows. She was genuinely worried for him. Or about the school's team. He couldn't tell which. "The senpai have a tendency to be quite rough during matches, but… what you are implying Momoi-san, could it be.." Her lip scrunched. "Well, the captain of the team, you know him by now, right? Hanamiya Makoto, Year 2 PG, formerly known as one of the 'Uncrowned Generals', and nicknamed 'Bad Boy Hanamiya'." Kuroko nodded. "Yes, Hanamiya-senpai does seem to give off the impression that he is a bad person."
"Tetsu-kun, there is always basis to basketball nicknames. Hanamiya-san is so named because he is always smiling whenever the ace of a team is injured badly in a match. And there is always a casualty."
Kuroko's face grew dark. "I don't know, but if what you're saying is true, then I can't accept that. That is not basketball."
Relief washed over Momoi's worried expression. "I'm glad you understand, Tetsu-kun. Transfer to Toou with me? Our captain Imayoshi-san will accept you onto the team for sure. He values players that practice hard."
Kuroko slipped out of her grasp. "Don't take this badly, Momoi-san. It's not like I don't want to be with you in school, but… Toou's also where Aomine-kun is, is it not?" Momoi looked reluctant to answer, but nodded anyway.
"Then I can't come with you. I'm very sorry." Uh oh, she looked ready to turn on the waterworks. "So, it's truly because of Dai-chan, that you completely vanished before the end of the Middle-cup?" Her eyes were shiny.
"Please don't cry, Momoi-san." It would be the second time I've made you cry. He opted for telling the truth. "I won't deny that Aomine-kun is one of the reasons, yes."
"We-" She sniffled, "We started training yesterday, because orientation was a lot earlier for Toou, and Dai-chan was accepted for basketball. But-, but he's already skipping the practices." Kuroko fished out a packet of tissue from his backpocket. "And I'm not sure what I should tell the rest of the team, s-since he's not talking to me either." Oh. Oh. "Aomine-kun's being more bull-headed than he should be. You shouldn't have to worry this much about him, he's too irresponsible."
She blew into the tissue. "I know, right? I mean, Dai-chan's such an idiot, if I didn't have to keep an eye on him I would've followed you, Tetsu-kun."
"I'm honored, Momoi-san. But you have better grades, why would you follow me?" He was determined to ignore the elephant in the room. (That Momoi had romantic feelings for him.) "Because, i-it's Tetsu-kun," she said, like that explained everything, "And the others didn't want to talk to me anyway."
Kuroko felt a bit guilty. By all appearances, he'd not been the only one isolated after the Miracles had bloomed, and he'd effectively left Momoi-san alone by leaving the club and staying away even during graduation. "I'm not sure about Midorima-kun and the rest, but Kise-kun and Aomine-kun definitely care for you, Momoi-san." He reassured her. "And I still will." She wailed and latched onto him, turning the shoulder of his uniform damp. "They've just felt what it's like to lose the joy of playing basketball."
"Which is why I've decided. Just hang on, Momoi-san. I will do my best to defeat Aomine-kun, and hopefully the team will understand that there is more to basketball than victory, just as there has always been." He looked to her with conviction, and her tearful eyes brimming with hope just-.
"Really? You promise?" Momoi fished.
"I promise you." She nodded, and retracted her arms from his sides. She clasped her hands behind her back. "If it's Tetsu-kun, somehow I believe you can do it." She waved goodbye to him, and after insisting that he keep in contact she turned homeward. But he knew she was not telling the truth. Maybe she was lying to herself, clinging onto the small wisp of belief he provided. Because Kuroko knew she could see his digits, and he was nowhere near Aomine-kun after months of not having practiced. Not by a long shot.