Title: His Hatred is Mine
Summary: "Kuroko's anger is amazing, isn't it? He's such a goodie-two-shoes, but if you can gleefully push that preachy kid's buttons, he is almost murderous." Seirin was confused. Was the devious point guard describing the invisible man as amazing?
Word Count: 1,484 Words
Kuroko and Hanamiya have a hate-hate relationship that escalated after Winter Cup. The Uncrowned King was still bitter about the shadow being able to severe the strands of the spider web, and used every chance he could to rile up the Miracle that he was the reason Kiyoshi was leaving the team the Iron Heart the most. The back-and-forth between the passing and stealing specialists grew more intense as Makoto entered third year and Tetsuya in his second. Kagami and Seirin would try to support the small forward when these arguments break out, but the heated passion inflamed between the two prodigies seemed to make them blind to others around them. There was too much disgust in the filth and the preaching; the animosity between them threatened to explode. Seirin and Kirisaki Daiichi thought they chould predict the trajectory of the projectiles and shrapnel from the ticking bomb, but the suden disruption in the steady routine made both teams unsure of the plans they had drafted. It all started with Kuroko's anger shifting...
It was too quiet. The Seirin ace did not know what it was, but his rhythm on the court was off. Izuki, Hyuuga, and Mitobe could feel the disjointed flow of their gameplay. Kagami could barely experience the tingling sensation of the connection between the ball, himself, and his teammates, and that was the problem. The rising star could not feel the connection they always had to their ace; Kuroko was not passing the ball to Kagami. The former Teiko trump card was playing as gracefully and swiftly as he always did for the strong-bonded team, but all of his passes' courses were avoiding the power forward's range.
"Hey Kuroko," Taiga called out. "Are you okay? I haven't gotten any passes." The phantom player only narroed his pale-blue eyes at his light; Tetsuya's gaze made the red-and-black teen quiver in fear. Seirin's shadow turned away with the look of disgust and discontent on his face as he did so. Perhaps the cyan-colored boy was still angry about an argument he had with Hanamiya Makoto earlier that week. It would not be shocking to hear the Uncrowned King attack something so low, such as the light-and-shadow duo's dependence of each other. "Oy, Kurok-" But the icy glare he received shut the mouth of the second-year ace.
Everyone did their best to not say anything. Hyuuga had enough trust in the unnoticeable man that his anger was not petty and that this would be quieted soon. It was not until the end of practice when the taller of the ace-duo asked his partner why he was angry did they get some insight.
"Don't act ignorant, you know what you did Kagami-kun." All of Seirin - including the new freshmen - stared at the Japanese American and demanded answers from the power forward. Taiga held out open hands and shook his head. He had no idea what the invisible Miracle was talking about. In his carelessness, he might have offended Tetsuya in some way, but he could not think of anything he had done recently when he was with the shadow that could have been misinterpreted. The two were best friends and had gotten along like they had last year. Riko righed; she did not like the unpredictable situation. Before the Coach could scold the trmp card for his dismissive behavior, the transparent teen stormed out of the locker room. They called out to the cyan-haired man, and ran after him when he ignored them. As Kuroko made his way to the exit, everyone was anxious as to how the enraged and irritated boy would react to Hanamiya - predictably - standing by the doorway and confidently smirking at the inevitable encounter.
"So, what did Kiyoshi write about in his letter this week?" But the ghostly player just sauntered passed the bad boy, and stomped away after he slammed the door shut. The whole gymnasium and its occupants stopped moving. The usual tit-for-tat that the basketball prodigies spewed at each other was silenced. Makoto balled his hands into fists, and turned to the recent Winter Cup champions. "What the fuck did you do to him?"
"Uh, I'm not sure." Kagami blankly said; he was still surprised by the phantom's strange behavior. "He just said that he was mad at me and that I should-" The second-year was silenced by the rage in Hanamiya's eyes.
"Kuroko's anger is amazing, isn't it? He's such a goodie-two-shoes, but if you can gleefully push that preachy kid's buttons, he is almost murderous." Seirin was confused. Was the devious point guard describing the invisible man as amazing?
"I don't know if I would put it that way. Kuroko can be pretty scary when he is mad-"
"You will fix this by tomorrow or else you will be joining Kiyoshi in America." The Uncrowned King threatened. "His hatred is mine, and mine alone. If you steal what is mine, I will steal things you value the most too, like your health." When Makoto turned around and sauntered off, everyone was stunned into silence and immobilization once more... what was the villainous Uncrowned King and the martyr-like Generation of Miracle's true relationship and the meaning of their interactions?
The next day, Teiga could not discuss anything about the ill feelings Tetsuya had. The quiet boy was quietly sleeping at his desk and there were bags under his wide eyes. The power forward was deeply concerned but just as he was about to talk to Kuroko, the slender teen evaded Kagami's vision. It only further worried Kagami when he was asked to help Coach Riko to prepare the new recruits with the sandwich rush, and there was news of the shadow going to the infirmary of the school. Was the shadow sick? The light thought about the smaller boy for the rest of the day, and had completely forgotten about Hanamiya's threat yesterday. It was a genuine shock when the power forward was angrily shoved against the wall and tripped over his own feet in the fumble. The sound of cracked knunkles and five pairs of sneakers walking toward him alerted the ace that it was the Kirisaki Daiichi team. Oh right, the Uncrowned King was strangely upset that Kuroko was ignoring him and targeting his anger towards Kagami.
"Where's Kuroko?" Basketball'ls bad boy asked.
"I'm not sure asshole." The red-and-black teen spat.
"Did you kiss and make up?" Hanamiya dismissed the insult.
"He hasn'lt spoken to me all day."
"Wrong answer dumbass," The point guard of Kirisaki Daiichi sneered.
"Hanamiya, aren't you acting a little too seriously? I thought you hated that invisible brat?" Seto wondered.
"It isn't your concern." Makoto said and flipped his middle finger at the center player. Seirin's strongest player rolled his eyes and stood up. Before a fight could happen, a basketball was barreled through the space between the Uncrowned King and the teen that was considered a Miracle. The sphere spun and cut through the air at a high speed the same way Hanamiya experienced when it whizzed by him during their match in the Championship League. His breth hitched and his heart thumped violently and lively against his ribcage. Everyone turned to see Kuroko Tetsuya standing ten feet away from them. The hardened, blue-steel eyes locked onto Hanamiya, as if there was no one else in the Seirin courtyard except the two passing and stealing experts. The Kirisaki Daiichi team took a step back in awe and Kagami leaned back against the wall. The shorter, talented player stepped towards the bad boy with no desperation or fear. Unhinged, unrestrained, and raw dread and anger were flowering through both men, and they were ready for their usual clash once again. It brought a wide grin to Makoto's face and he licked his lips in anticipation.
"Kagami-kun, are you okay?" The shadow asked but did not take his eyes off of Kirisaki Daiichi's Captain and Coach.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Are you fine?"
"Yes, after Nigou's surgery went well, I realized that my anger with you was childish. As long as you are apologetic about it and promise to not do it again, I can easily forgive you." Taiga did not understand what wrong he had done, but nodded to appease the already-angry teen.
"Che, looks like Hanamiya's got his boyfriend's attention again..." Hara mumbled before blowing a bubble. The power forward of Seirin could not help but think there was validation in that statement after observing the bad boy and phantom continue to stare at each other with firey passion storming in their eyes.