The day of the game Kise was petrified to learn that he wouldn't be playing. If he didn't play it would be as good as losing. He's not sure what Kuroko said to get Kagami to break the hoop so the coach would take them seriously, but he did.

Though it just made it all the more devastating when he lost. Crying was inevitable; he could only imagine what Akashi had planned for him. He could tell the rest of the team was trying to cheer him up, even Kasamatsu gave him a few words of encouragement in his weird form of insulting him and giving him a kick to the butt.

"Come on it's not like you went all out. No one does their best during a practice game." Moriyama had said. "If we were to really try, we would of destroyed them, but you never show your enemy all of your tricks in the first match."

"W-what?!" Kise was in a state of shock.

"Don't tell me that was your best?" Kasamatsu was giving him the look he normally gets before he's kicked.

Though, right now Kise didn't care about that. None of them did their best for this game. He know they didn't lose "on purpose" but the fact that they could have saved him...

"N-no of course not." He lied. Kasamatsu could probably tell. "I'm gonna head home."

"Are you sure your alright?" Kasamatsu asked. He looked concern. Kise gave his best smile as he reassured him, but the captain didn't buy it.

"Let me finish changing we can walk together."

Kise didn't argue.

Kasamatsu gave him a small pep-talk in the first two minutes of the walk, after that he didn't appear to have anything to say. Kise could say he was grateful for the presence though.

They passed Akashi during their walk. The smaller boy didn't approach them, but he did glare their general direction. Kasamatsu didn't notice.

"If you ever need anything just call me." Kasamatsu said right before he left.

TBC...