Light and Shadow

Shadow of an Echo

Chapter Seven

Maps

Kagami was having the time of his life. Of course he had been startled at finding out every single one of the Generation of Miracles would be showing up to play, but once the shock had worn off he was ready to jump into it head first. Playing one at a time was exhilarating, all of them was nirvana.

It was him against Aomine again. Staring each other down as the tanned Touou player dribbled the ball, a familiar cocky smirk on his face that made Kagami's blood boil that much hotter. Almost faster than the eye could follow, Aomine surged forward without warning, his speed and agility unmatched. Well almost. Kagami was turned and keeping up with him the moment his mind caught up with the movement. Focused only on each other neither one of them saw anything on the sidelines. That was their downfall.

Kagami had managed to steal the ball from Aomine, turning the tide, the slightly taller ace pressuring him on the left. Out of the blue another person rushed into the game, with precision gained from long years of practice he captured the ball and shot within a heartbeat.

Kagami recognized the style before he looked at his face. Even through his shock anger started to creep in. He was yelling before he knew it, the typical calm response just doing more to irritate him.

Is it no wonder he was sulking on the bench when Akashi wouldn't let him play with the others?

Then he saw it. Kuroko playing with Akashi. The two smallest players in the group were dominating the field. He had a much better idea now why they didn't pair up in games, no one would ever stand a chance. Probably not lasting until the first quarter. He could only imagine how intimidating it would be to have both Kuroko and Akashi backing up Aomine or even Kise.

Kuroko hadn't been lying the other day, Akashi really couldn't compete with the others in terms of height, but he had omitted the fact Akashi didn't need to. He was a very deadly player as a point guard, it wasn't necessary for Akashi to be power forward for his talent to shine. The pair of them had the taller and broader Miracles tripping over themselves trying to catch up. It dawned on the watching players why it was Akashi that figured out what Kuroko could do, he had the same skill but was unable to disappear. By himself Akashi couldn't use misdirection, but he realized the potential inherent in the technique. What he saw in Kuroko was the ideal person to capitalize on his theory of invisible basketball based on passes and steals.

And now Kuroko had taken that one step further. Creating a style that either focused around himself disappearing, or on making the others vanish. More and more he focused on using his surprising presence to distract attention from the others. He had evolved into an extreme threat on the court, enough of a threat players would take their eyes off the ace just to mark his position. It was power in a whole new way.

Holy hell, it dawned on Kagami slowly there was a reason Kuroko had offered up a method to utilize both Midorima and Murasakibara's skills to their fullest potential. They would be playing against the trio of Akashi, Kuroko, and Kise with his brother as back up and Sakurai's rapidly improving shooting skills. Not to mention the threat of Izuki's eagle eye when it came time for Kuroko to sub out. More and more he recognized Kuroko's attempt to even the playing field for what it was. He was not handing them victory, he was giving them a fighting chance.

Kagami had always played his best when he was backed up against the wall. This could be just the kind of incentive he needed to grow even stronger. There was a moment of hesitation brought on by that thought though, Aomine, he had the same drive and it had nearly ripped him apart.

He would keep it in mind, but Kagami truly thought none of them were in danger of that anymore. Splitting up and distributing the extreme talent of the Miracles to different teams meant they would always have at least one match-up that would keep them on their toes, because just as Kagami wanted to get stronger he had no doubt the others would be doing the same thing.

Now he was back to playing against the Miracles, but now he had his brother beside him instead of opposing him. Kuroko may be the ultimate Shadow to his Lights, but that did not mean there weren't other duos almost as powerful. Himuro and Kagami had grown up on the court together since they were children. Aomine had clawed his way up the ladder alone, where the brothers had done it together. They knew each other's movements just as well as they did their own. Even Akashi had to recognize their skill, or at the very least their tenacity, they faced down the four Miracles left in the match without flinching.

They didn't win, Kagami expected that, but they weren't completely stopped. Points had been scored on all sides. That was what he called basketball. It just wasn't the same if you always won, or didn't have a chance in hell of winning. Right now the players were entering onto even ground, and the result would be staggering growth in the game they all loved.

"How long did it take you to learn that shot Tatsuya?" Akashi asked Himuro appraisingly, watching a Mirage Shot and facing it were two very different things.

"The shot itself only took a few weeks, but it was a couple months' worth of building up the reflexes to actually pull it off the way it's supposed to work," The Yosen ace explained.

Akashi nodded, "I thought that might be the case. The theory behind that shot is essentially straightforward, but those are often the hardest plays to get right. To make a simple shot effective it must be absolutely perfect." Adding a small extra jump to a release wasn't that difficult, the hard to achieve portion of the shot was the precision timing required to truly make the ball appear in a spot it wasn't.

Midorima surprisingly broke in, "If you think you could teach me how to do that, I will show you how to shoot the way I do."

"I have never attempted teaching, but I guess I could give it a try," Himuro responded slowly, a little caught off guard by the request. He never would have expected one of the Generation of Miracles to actually ask him to teach them.

"Hey, if you're going to show him, do the same with Sakurai would yah? He's good, needs a hand in believing it though." Aomine added on, only because his teammate was not in hearing distance.

"Which one of us were you talking to?" Himuro wasn't sure, since Midorima had offered to teach him in return.

Aomine shrugged tanned shoulders, "Both. Just show him something so he might quit that apologizing crap. I actually did try once or twice when I was bored, he didn't pick it up though. He's too smooth when he shoots to do what I can." Aomine's shots were based on speed and abrupt agile movements, he sunk them cleanly, but that didn't mean his shooting was smooth.

"Oi Ahomine, I'm surprised you didn't run him off screaming." Kagami broke in, not able to contain himself. "It's not like anyone else can shoot the way you do. Play against you yes, but that's not the same."

"Ah, Taiga, you do realize that sounded an awful lot like a compliment right?" His brother pointed out, only Kagami and possibly Murasakibara catching the playfulness in his tone and the spark of humor in his eyes.

"Take it as you will," Kagami copied Aomine from earlier and shrugged, with the other Ace still looking a little shocked at his comments. "I still say its suicide to try and learn from him."

"Well now, I wonder if you realize that isn't precisely true," Akashi was the one to speak next, and this time only Midorima caught his amusement. "Tetsuya learned his Phantom shot from Daiki, and Ryouta was able to learn his style but needs to build up more stamina to use it for longer."

"Kise is getting good," Aomine noted. "It was harder than it used to be to beat him. He only needed to last another five minutes. He got tired and made a rookie mistake without having enough time to recover."

"Coming from you Daiki, I wonder how Ryouta would react if he heard you?" Akashi pondered, spinning the ball on the tip of his finger nonchalantly to give himself something to do with his hands.

Aomine huffed, "Why do you think I said it when he couldn't hear me? He already acts like a frigging puppy. That would just make it worse."

"Aomine, if you really had a problem with it you would tell him off." Midorima tried to stop himself he really did, but in the end he just couldn't help but comment. Aomine had very explosive emotions, he would have went off on Kise had the hero worship routine rubbed him the wrong way.

Aomine remained stubbornly silent, that was until Kagami burst out laughing. "You do the same thing as Kuroko don't you? You let him get away with it."

"Oh shut up Bakagami. I meant what I said about the puppy thing, and even I wouldn't be cruel enough to kick a puppy." He grumbled, only making the Seirin Ace laugh harder.

"I think that's enough talking for now." Akashi broke in, "Time to change up players again, and I have a plan. Atsushi and Shintaro it's your turn to sit out a round, I want you to send out Kazunari and Yukio."

Murasakibara wandered over to the bleachers and his waiting bag of snacks leaving Midorima to pass Akashi's request to the two point guards.

Both of them looked a tad intimidated going out on the court without their respective Miracles playing after watching the previous matches. They made it out without faltering though, they had volunteered for this after all, and there were only two Miracles still on the court. Well those two were the most feared of the bunch, but hey it was better than having all six out with them.

"I have a challenge for you," Akashi presented as soon as the new players reached the little group. "I want to see what you can do without holding back. This goes for you too Taiga and Tatsuya. The challenge is this, I want the four of you to coordinate with each other to score ten points in the next twenty minutes. Only your opponents will be myself and Daiki."

Okay, even Aomine looked shocked at that one, he didn't expect Akashi to link up with him out of all the other options.

Akashi used the time they took to get over their shock to call to Kuroko, "Tetsuya please set a timer for twenty minutes." He waited long enough to see the Shadow reach for his phone to set an alarm before rounding everyone up to start the game.

Those sitting out were treated to one of the most intense games they had ever witnessed on a street ball court. Takao and Kasamatsu were doing everything they could to get the ball redirected to either Himuro or Kagami, but were thwarted the majority of the time by Akashi stealing it back, and those times they did manage to complete the pass their team's shot was blocked by Aomine. The Miracles were definitely outpacing them that was for sure, but they kept going.

It came right down to the wire. Himuro had the ball, driving towards the net, Aomine coming forward to pressure him, he smoothly jumped back a step to pass it into Kagami's waiting hands. Aomine's trajectory switched just as quickly, with Akashi coming in from the side now.

Backed into a corner he didn't see much of a choice, he leapt into the air intending to take a shot in the dark of making a three. Except as soon as he left the ground he realized Takao was open. Akashi was already moving before he'd even let go of the pass, but Takao didn't hold the ball for more than a second before it was in Kasamatsu's hands, the older player cleanly sinking a layup bringing their score to ten a few seconds before Kuroko's voice called time.

Akashi found himself a bit winded after that, and the others were worse off than him, "Time for another break." He decided, the others falling in behind him as he headed over to the watching players.

Too bad for Kagami that Aomine spotted something, "Hey Bakagami, nice playing." He called out before smacking his shoulder in what could have been an almost friendly gesture.

Only Kagami just barely kept from screaming in pain. "What the Hell was that for?" He growled, not realizing until that moment he had forgotten sunscreen and now sported a glowing red sunburn on the exposed portions of his shoulders and neck, with a bit going across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

"You should have known better Taiga," Himuro was laughing quietly at Kagami's misfortune. "How many times did that happen when we were growing up?" His brother got so caught up in playing he forgot just how bad he could burn on a bright day like it was, Kagami's red hair making him far more susceptible to the painful consequences.

"A lot," He responded huffily. "And I seem to remember it was you hitting me then!"

"I figured if the burn wasn't teaching you, then you needed a little more help to figure it out," Himuro responded calmly as they reached the others.

Both Kise and Kuroko winced when they saw Kagami, the Shadow immediately reaching for his bag and the sun cream he kept there for just such a case. More than one of the Miracles had trouble with sunburns, the ones with lighter hair burning more often causing their more immediate reactions.

Let's just say Kagami was not the first person to have a newly developed sunburn smacked. It almost seemed like a rite of passage, a painful one, but still a tradition. The only one to escape that little ritual was Akashi. He had forgotten once, and only once, in all the time they had known him. Akashi had burnt to a crisp, definitely worse than Kagami's current state. Their ex-captain easily burned the worst out of all of them, despite most people's assumption that it would be the shadow or copycat.

Kagami sat on a lower riser with his tank top pulled off, head in his hand out of disgruntlement as Kuroko sat on the next one up to spread the soothing lotion onto the parts of the burn he couldn't reach himself.

"It's happened to us a bunch of times Kagamicchi, don't be so upset about it," Kise piped up in commiseration. "It seems like I have to put sunscreen on every two hours if I don't want to look like a boiled lobster. My agent gets so cranky if that happens."

"You must give your agent fits then, how do they cover up the bruises?" Kasamatsu was honestly a bit curious about that. Kise played hard and he had the bumps to prove it.

"Make-up artists can do amazing things now, but a full on sunburn is hard even for them and anything they put on it to mask the color stings really bad." Kise answered with a surprising amount of seriousness. His job was definitely one place he at least attempted to act professional.

"Wait a second, you wear make-up?" That hadn't struck Aomine as a possibility until that moment.

"Yeah, I do, it's part of my job." Kise almost sounded resigned. "They don't usually do too much with me, the kind of photo-shoots I normally do call for a natural look. Though walking in with a bad sunburn or a bruise on my face or arms from being hit with a basketball will get me more than just a little powder and eyeliner."

"How long have you been modeling?" Takao asked curiously.

"Since before I started going to school, I had to ask for my schedule to be cut back so I could get to basketball practice." Kise responded happily, it was gratifying to actually have someone interested in what he did outside of a court that wasn't a fangirl trying to get close to him just because of his looks. "I got recruited because of my hair and eyes when I was very young, there is a really good market for people with unusual features; especially children. I was just lucky enough to stay in the business as I aged."

"How do you deal with all the fans hounding you?" Takao figured that had to get annoying at least occasionally. He knew if that was Midorima he would have made a very good attempt at hiding himself under a rock.

Kise shrugged, "You get used to it after a while, and it isn't that hard to smile wave and thank them. That's all most of them are after, simple acknowledgement."

"Then there are the creepy ones who practically stalk you," Aomine pointed out. "How many have we had to kick out of the gym because they wouldn't stop clinging to you when it was time to start practice?"

This time Kise outright shuddered, "Don't remind me. There will always be people who take the fan thing a little too far. It only got worse when we started getting featured in basketball magazines."

Akashi had a serene smile on his face hearing that making all the Miracles tense, "About that. To make this showcase successful we will be doing interviews for Basketball Monthly to get word out. Father is already arranging it. I expect you Ryouta to help everyone through the process. We will be doing posed shots instead of candid photos of us playing. We want this to be as enticing as we can get it, which means not relying on luck to get the right picture."

If anyone had looked at Midorima or Himuro in those moments they would have seen nearly identical looks of shock as both blanched at the thought of deliberately stepping in front of a camera.

"Akashi, are you sure that's the only way?" Midorima inquired levelly, despite the fact he still didn't have any color in his face.

"Yes Shintaro I'm sure," Akashi's tone was almost gentle, at least for him. "I know you won't like it, but it's for the best. It won't take long if everyone cooperates." As calmly as that was spoken, everyone present heard the underlying threat loud and clear.

"Is there anything more you know about the shoot?' Kise asked, definitely more serious than usual. That was nice to see, though from Kasamatsu and some of the others they knew it was possible but actually observing it was something different.

"One thing we already know about it is that we don't want to make the separation of us obvious. No one is to wear their team jerseys to take the photos, but you may wear your schools' colors." Akashi explained. "But we don't have to worry about it just yet. The topic you were discussing simply made for a good opportunity to warn everyone that it's going to happen so you can get used to the idea. The actual photo shoot won't occur until we are almost ready to start playing in real games."

"The warning is appreciated." Midorima admitted.

"I know," Akashi responded simply, "But we should get players on the court again. I would like Taiga, Tatsuya, and Daiki to sit this one out, and I'm taking myself out as well. To replace us I would like Atsushi, Tetsuya, Ryou, and Ryouta to step in." He decided. "Split up with Tetsuya, Ryouta, and Kazunari on one side, with Atsushi, Yukio, and Ryou on the other. There are no special requirements, just like earlier you have twenty minutes, but it is a straightforward competition to see who can get the most points."

Kise was the first to charge off the bench, the other five following his lead with Murasakibara the last out stifling a yawn.

The pep talk from earlier had Kise back to his usual enthusiastic self, and he rounded on his teammates, specifically Takao, "If you want me to I can play like Midorimacchi to make it easier for you to follow?" He offered.

"No, don't do that. I want you to play like yourself I'll keep up," Takao didn't want special treatment. "Just because you can copy Shin-chan doesn't mean you should, or any of them for that matter. Use whatever you find that works best for you, not just mimicking everything you see."

"Alright, I can do that." Kise assured with a near blindingly bright grin.

"Let's play well Kise-Kun, Takao-kun," Kuroko added as they lined up for the tip off.

Over on the bleachers the trained eyes of the other Miracles plus Kagami and Himuro were locked onto the court. "I like the teams you chose Akashi," Midorima approved, "One weighted towards defense with Murasakibara, and the other offense with Kise. This is going to be interesting."

"I thought so," Akashi was a little distracted in answering, as he was watching the movement on the court attentively, looking for the strengths of the players and where they had room for improvement. "Yukio is fast, you may want to work with him Daiki I can see his reflexes becoming much like yours. Kazunari is mine to teach. He has a good amount of skill, I can help him hone his gift even sharper. Tetsuya can help with that I believe. Also I like Daiki's suggestion from earlier, Ryou needs a little guidance. Lots of potential there but he's barely tapped into what could be possible for him, and he's by no means playing badly. Ryouta and Tetsuya are improving as well as I thought they would, but they do still need stamina training. Atsushi needs to practice more as usual, Ryouta should not have made that shot."

"You can tell all that in five minutes of watching?" Himuro asked curiously, hiding his immediate reaction of wanting to gape like a goldfish.

"Doesn't usually take so long, but there are more new players here than I normally evaluate at any given time," Akashi did answer the question fully, but he was still absorbed in the game. "My players though, I just have to update what I already know, makes it a bit easier."

"…So what about Tatsuya and me?" Kagami made himself ask, Akashi was still intimidating, but he wasn't as downright terrifying anymore. It was too good an opportunity to waste.

Akashi responded to him without pause, expecting the question to come sooner or later. "Your teamwork is very good, both of you play much better with a supporting person backing you up. For you Taiga that is Tetsuya, and Atsushi is yours Tatsuya. Though I believe you have already discovered that you need to increase individual skill to make your teamwork even more fluid.

"Tatsuya, you have skill with trick shots. You can manage similar deceptions as Tetsuya, focus on learning more of those. Shintaro can help you with that, his method could be altered to better suite your own style and give you an advantage. Also Daiki might be able to show you a few things. The more tricks you learn the better, and I suspect you will pick it up quickly with how sharp your reflexes have become already.

"Taiga, you have nearly maxed out your range in the air. You have encountered the need to use a variety of different shots to increase the threat of your jumps, and that will only become more important as time passes to help you extend the limits of your talent. I suggest you observe all the training sessions given by and for the shooting guards, also pay attention to the point guards like myself. Extend your mastery of the court to both the air and the ground, it will make you harder to predict, and like Daiki proves that is one thing that can only help a power forward." He had been keeping close tabs on both of them long before this, their potential catching his eye.

They had managed to sync up with two of the more dangerous of his players. Kuroko had always been a dark horse of sorts, but to be his Light to the fullest extent took an exceptional amount of effort. Also once a player learned of Murasakibara's skill on offense they were typically too intimidated to actually be any use to him in a game. He was intimidating enough just on defense when he wasn't really trying.

"So why twenty minutes for all the challenges?" That was actually Aomine, fifteen he could understand because that was the length of a basketball quarter, twenty just didn't fit.

"Simple. I warned everyone before we started that I was already going to be working on endurance." Akashi responded as the match in front of them was drawing to a close. "Just lasting one quarter is not enough, you encounter a more challenging team and you will run out of energy before it is over. If you can last that extra five minutes in practice that will make you all the more powerful in the shorter amount of time in an actual game. You said it yourself earlier that Ryouta only needed to last a few minutes longer, this is to give all of you that little bit of extra time."

"Speaking of all of us, what are people thinking about doing for food?" Kagami couldn't help it, he was starving after expending so much energy on the court.

"Something fast would be good for those of us that need to catch trains," Himuro pointed out.

"You assume everyone wants to come?" Midorima wasn't sure if he felt irritated for the assumption or gratitude at being automatically included in future plans.

"I'm willing to bet all of us are hungry, and we are already in a group, might as well grab something to eat together." Kagami responded logically as the game came to an end in front of them.

"If we do that we should call ahead," Himuro warned seriously, "If you have ever seen Taiga or Atsushi eat you should know they can keep up with each other."

"Hey!" Kagami immediately objected. "I may eat a lot, but you do too! You can almost match me if you feel like it."

Himuro's cheeks turned a bit pink. "I never said I didn't."

Midorima stepped in before the brothers could embarrass each other further, "That idea of calling ahead is a good one should everyone agree to this. Aomine and Kise can eat a lot too."

"I do, but Kise doesn't usually eat a ton of grease." Aomine reminded, not bothered by what Midorima said. It was true after all.

"Not normally no," Midorima agreed, "But he's been playing hard, we all have, it would be best to order extra."

"Did I hear you guys talking about food?" Kise asked hopefully.

"Yeah," The Seirin power forward answered, "Just figuring out where to go and who's coming. Tatsuya had a point in suggesting something fast, and that we should call ahead. I was the one to guess everyone would probably want to eat and we may as well go together."

"Sounds like Maji then, I wouldn't object to that." Kise approved, "Anyone have a problem with it?"

No one objected making Himuro ask, "Does anyone have the number so we can call in the order?"

Before Himuro had even finished speaking Kagami was reaching for his little used cellphone. "How much should I order?"

"Some are going to eat a lot more than others, I suggest averaging it out to at least five burgers and an order of fries for each of us." Midorima had witnessed the majority of them eating at one time or another, especially those he had observed directly after playing, they would definitely need a large order. "Drinks we can leave to order once we get there."

Akashi interrupted before Kagami could make the call, "Do not include me. I will join you at the restaurant, but I do not eat fast food. I would like to spend more time with my team though."

Kagami shrugged, "If you say so, but there should be enough for you to have some if you change your mind."

Akashi raised an eyebrow imperiously, "Not likely, I have yet to eat any of it, and I doubt I will start now."

Kagami looked truly startled, "Wait a second, you've never had it? Not even once?" Both Kagami and his brother just barely managed to keep from looking at Akashi like he was an alien. Aomine didn't even try to avoid that response, but the other Miracles didn't look surprised.

"No, I haven't, hamburgers are too unhealthy when slathered with grease and dredged in salt. I have been on a very strict diet to optimize performance since I was a child, father didn't want me to be any less than what was possible to achieve." Akashi explained.

"Oh, so it's your father's rule?" It was starting to make a little more sense to the Seirin player, but he was still having some trouble wrapping his head around it.

"Taiga, shouldn't you be calling the restaurant? They are probably going to need as much time as they can get to finish such a huge order." Himuro sensed his brother's impending doom if he continued to press Akashi so he attempted to distract him.

Kagami visibly shook himself out of his shock, and dialed the number.

A little over half an hour later the group of players reached the restaurant. Four large trays of food were waiting for them, and as they divided the cost among themselves the workers stared at them with wide eyes, both from the extreme amount of food being handed over and the fact some of them recognized the Generation of Miracles players and were not prepared to see every single one of them at the same time.

They had to pull a few tables together to make room for all of them, the restaurant allowing it since they had bought so much. One side had Murasakibara, Kasamatsu, Takao, Midorima, and Kagami in that order, the other had Himuro, Sakurai, Kise, Aomine, and Kuroko. Akashi had pulled a chair to the head of the table in front of Kagami and Kuroko.

Covered by the chatter going on Kuroko turned to Akashi, "Try this Akashi-kun," He offered, sliding his cup of vanilla shake over to the point guard.

"What is it?" He looked at the cup suspiciously, not making any move to take it.

"It's a milkshake, a lot of vitamins and a little protein, go ahead," Kuroko knew the only way to get him to take a sip would be to explain the health benefits while leaving out the parts about sugar and calories.

Looking around a moment to make sure everyone was sufficiently distracted, he finally reached out to pick up the cup and took a short sip.

Much like Kuroko, Akashi hid his reactions the best he could normally. This time he couldn't stop the widened eyes as he immediately took another longer drink.

"You like it?" Kuroko was doing everything but laugh at the reaction, earning himself a glare. Akashi knew how to read the shadow well enough to know what was going through his head in that moment.

"It's passable," He responded calmly, sliding the cup back to Kuroko before he could potentially embarrass himself further.

"You can have it if you want, I can get another." Kuroko offered, still amused but doing a better job of covering it up.

"No, that's all right." Akashi replied a bit too quickly to be considered completely composed.

"Hey, Akashi, catch." Without thinking about it Akashi reflexively caught the object Kagami had tossed to him, looking down at his hand to discover a wrapped hamburger. "One isn't going to kill you." Kagami explained, he may have eavesdropped on his conversation with Kuroko, and figured this slightly mellowed out version of the feared player might be persuaded into doing something human for once.

Akashi looked slowly between the hamburger and Kagami, then glanced out of the corner of his eye at Kuroko who made a small shooing gesture with his hand telling him to go ahead and do it.

He unwrapped the unfamiliar to him food almost cautiously, after picking it up he actually hesitated a moment before taking a small bite, more like a nibble really but no one would be suicidal enough to refer to anything Akashi did so childishly.

By now everyone had noticed what was going on between the people at the head of the table and were curious to see the Captain's reaction. To their amusement Akashi had barely swallowed the first bite before taking another, and another after that just as quickly; the amounts getting progressively larger as he ate.

Kagami was grinning like the cat that caught the canary, a look mirrored on Kise and Aomine's faces, the Seirin ace grabbed Akashi's attention again. "I knew you would like it."

To their surprise all he did was look up and glare before going back to eating neatly but quickly.

"Akashicchi, you might not want to eat much more than that one," Kise decided to warn him when he was finishing off the last bite. "If you aren't used to this kind of food it can make you sick if you eat too much or too quickly. I have to be careful too." He had been cautiously pacing himself while they ate. His diet wasn't quite as strict as Akashi's but his job and basketball demanded he take care of himself and look his best.

Akashi managed to keep the regretful look off his face, but Kuroko was able to tell that was exactly what he was feeling. "You can have more of this Akashi-kun, it won't cause as bad of a reaction." Kuroko slid his cup back over to Akashi, he was another one who didn't tolerate grease well, his vanilla shakes were his guilty pleasure of choice.

Wisely no one commented as the shadow and red king passed the cup back and forth between them, while lively conversation broke out again. The mixture of laughter, talk, and near friendly insults –that last one mostly the fault of Kagami, Kise, and Aomine- made for a fun ending to a day of playing basketball together.

Both Kuroko and Akashi had identical smiles of pleasure on their faces at seeing how far their old team had come in healing while including the new additions into their ranks seamlessly. They weren't an exclusive club anymore, when Kagami and Kuroko had shattered their world to bits it was simply to make room for this kind of playful comradery. Basketball was fun again because of the people they were playing with and for them their was no better gift.