Finally Inter-High will begin. This is not the actual match, and there will be lots of AoKuro in this story. Read and Review~

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket

Chapter 3: Inter-High

"All the regulars gather!" Imayoshi shouted, gathering all the regulars of Touou expect for Aomine who is still skipping practice.

"Ara? Where's Aomine?"

"He went off somewhere. Or more like, he's skipping practice again."

"He's incorrigible. Hey Sakurai..."

"Huh? Oh yes! Sorry!"

"What?"

" I could've stopped him since I'm in his class, but I couldn't, so I..."

"Oh, It okay. Don't worry about..."

"I'm really sorry I'm alive!"

"Eh!? You're sorry you're alive?"

"Sorry, sorry! I'm sorry I'm so weak. I should've just been born a bug."

"Weak? Bug?"

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Enough already. It's actually a little annoying."

"Sorry, sorry! I'm sorry that I'm annoying."

"Sakurai-kun."

"Hai!?" Sakurai asked, a little surprised that Kuroko called out to him.

"If you're sorry that you could've have stopped him since you are in the same class as him, doesn't that mean I'm also at fault since I'm also in the same class as him."

"I didn't mean it that way..."

"If that's so then stop apologizing."

"HAI!"

" Kya,Tetsu-kun is so cool! Even captain couldn't stop him from apologizing." Momoi squealed, hugging Kuroko.

"Momoi-san, I can't breathe."

"Enough already! I've gathered all of you here to inform you about the Inter-High."

"Hai!" All the regulars answered in unison, while Momoi pass them a list.

"The Inter-High preliminaries will start as a tournament in two weeks time. Tokyo has blocks A through D. The winner of each block goes to play in the championship league and the top three teams will participate in the Inter-High. From now on, all of you will follow a different training menu set by Momoi. As for Aomine, Kuroko, I'll count of you to inform him. Now return to your training."

At the rooftop

"Aomine-kun"

"Wah! Tetsu, don't scare me like that! Since when have you been here?"

"Since a while ago."

"Really, I've been with you for three years and still haven't got used to your misdirection. So, why are you here?"

"Captain told me to inform you that the Inter-High preliminaries will start in two weeks."

"Is that all? Now just leave me alone."

"But basketball club has started. It's very important that you attend."

"Training is just useless, so I don't have to..." before Aomine could finish his sentence, Kuroko gave Aomine a ignite pass on the side.

"Ouch! What was that for, Tetsu? That hurt!"

"It's your own fault. Aomine-kun,..."

"What!? How is it my fault!?" Aomine asked, a little irritated over what Kuroko did to him.

"I like your style of basketball the most and I want to continue playing with you."

"Tetsu." Aomine said, lowering his tone.

" You're the one who's an idiot. So just be stop bothering me and go away."

"Aomine-ku..."

"ShUt up. Go away."

"I'M NOT GOING AWAY!" Kuroko shouted, which surprised Aomine since he rarely raise his voice.

"I'm never going away. Because I'm your partner."

Upon hearing that, Aomine's eyes opened wide and hugged Kuroko. "Tetsu, why can't you understand? For me, basketball is always boring now. The more I win, the more boring it gets."

Kuroko leaned forward and hugged Aomine back. "Don't worry. I'm certain that basketball will be fun for you again. ...Okay. So are we going to practice then?"

"Mm."

Practice

"I've come back with Aomine-kun." Kuroko announced, while walking in together to the gym with Aomine.

"Ah Kuroko, I'm surprised that you actually managed to bring him back."

"Aomine-kun, can you go and get changed first? I will wait for you to practice together. I also have something to discuss with captain first."

"Hnn, okay." Aomine, stared at Imayoshi for a while before doing what Kuroko said.

"Captain. Me bringing Aomine-kun to practice today is only temporary."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, the Aomine-kun now hates basketball. I only managed to convince him for now but if this continues, he'll never return to who he is back then."

"Then what should we do?"

"Lose. I know saying this is unfair for the team but that's the only way to get his love for basketball back. What he is lacking now is to find a rival of equal standing to him. He is lacking of challenge now. But I only have one year to do this. After that, I'll never be able to play basketball with him again."

"So where can we find that person? And what do you mean by one year?"

"I don't know. All I can do is wait for that person to appear. Akashi-kun and I made a bet. If I failed to bring him back in one year, I'll have to transfer to Rakuzan and must never contact Aomine-kun again, let alone play basketball with him."

"Akashi as in the captain of the Generation of Miracles?"

"Hai. And I hope that captain can help me in this matter. Also, please don't let anyone know this, especially Momoi-san. She will surely tell Aomine-kun about it and I do not want the team to worry about anything else especially before the Inter-High."

"I understand. But can I ask you one last question?"

"What is it?"

"Why are you doing all this for Aomine? Even to the extend where you may not even play with him again. You could've just stay by his side quietly. At least you can still maintain your current relationship."

"It's because I'm his partner I have to do this. I am a shadow. If he continue his play now, I will be no use of him." and because I love him.

"I see, promise I will not tell anyone about this."

"Thank you captain." Kuroko gave his rare smile, making Imayoshi blush.

Done! Next week Inter-High will start. Look forward to it, kay? It may take a little longer since I've never written about a match before but I won't let you wait for more than three days.

~KuroMickey~