pika318: I realised this a long time ago, but it's really difficult to write multi-chapter stories. It's like you have a few scenes planned out, but all the linking scenes to tie all these scenes together into a coherent chapter is so hard. No wonder I like writing one shots so much better haha. As I said before, this chapter will be covering the Nationals.

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

Chapter 10: Nationals

"Disrupting practice? I don't see how taking it easy after the official club hours will disrupt practice. If anything, your dumb lucky items are more likely to do that." Aomine retorted in response to another one of Midorima's lectures.

"What did you just say…"

"Didn't you hear it the first time? I said your lucky items are…"

"I didn't mean that literally, you idiot!"

"Huh?!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Momoi shouted helplessly as she ran up to try and stop yet another argument which erupted amongst the starting members.

As she was doing so, the other club members started to whisper amongst themselves.

"It was already quite bad, but now that the Captain's not here, it really gotten out of hand now."

"Hey, do you think we'll be alright for the Nationals?"

"I really don't know. Where is the coach anyway? If he's here, he would be able to settle it quite quickly."

"Didn't he go to settle some paperwork? Besides, it's after club hours, he doesn't even have to be here since we're supposed to be practicing on our own."

"Man, we're really doomed, aren't we?"

"I wish the Captain will come back soon."

Unlike the tense and uneasy atmosphere in the first string gym, the third gym was comparatively quiet. The only sounds which could be heard were the bouncing of one basketball as well as the squeaking of one pair of sneakers. The sounds were rhythmic and routine, as if the person practicing there was repeating the same movements over and over again. The only sound that was missing was the swishing of the basketball net as the ball enters the basket.

"Sigh…"

Kuroko let out yet another sigh as the basketball failed to make it into the basket once again. After months of practice, he still made no progress, and it was already less than one week to the Nationals. No matter how much he thought about it, there was no way he could make it in time now.

I'm not going to say that you can do it if you don't give up. But if you do give up, there'll be nothing left.

Kuroko paused as familiar words entered his mind then. Many times before, Aomine's words were his driving force, the force which spurred him to go on when he felt like throwing in the towel. Even now, he wanted to believe in those words, but it was increasingly getting difficult to do so. Every time he saw how Aomine acted now, he wondered if the words he said before still held any meaning.

See? You could do it if you tried. Well done.

Huh? Effort? Who needs anything like that?

Kuroko shook his head to rid himself of the distractions. There was no use thinking about it now. He couldn't turn back the clock, so all he can do now in the little time he had left is to move forward as much as he could.

Once again, the rhythmic sounds continued, late into the night.

All too soon, the rest of the week passed, and the Nationals was upon them.

"And Teikou Middle School advances to the Semi-Finals! The Generation of Miracles are as amazing as expected!"

"Damn it! I can't believe they're this strong even if their Captain isn't playing!"

Akashi pretended not to hear that comment from their opponents even as he breathed out slowly. Being unable to play so far, the only thing he could do now was to observe the match and change their tactics when he had to.

He hated to admit it to himself, but it was getting increasingly difficult to do even that.

Logically, given the strength of the current team, he should have an easy time doing so since the opponents would be unable to counter most strategies used against them. But the biggest problem lay not in the opponents, but in his own teammates. In the week he had stayed in hospital, the delicate control he held over the club seemed to be crumbling bit by bit, especially amongst the starters. Even now, it was difficult to get them to even follow any tactics given to them, they would seem to stick to the plan at first, but it will eventually fall apart as all of them started to follow their own ideas, which sometimes forced the coach to call a time out just to reprimand them.

It's only our overwhelming strength that's preventing us from losing points and losing the match.

He must have sighed, because Momoi was next to him in an instant.

"Akashi-kun, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Is that so? You look tired… maybe it's not a good idea to push yourself so hard after leaving the hospital, especially since you are still recovering…" Momoi said in concern as she glanced at the bandage still covering Akashi's left eye.

"It's just your imagination. You should go see if the others need anything." He said, dismissing her.

"Alright…" Momoi replied, though her eyes were still filled with concern. Slowly, she turned away, directing her attention to the other members in the team.

Once Akashi made sure Momoi was kept busy, he turned to his left, only to catch the eyes of the coach. The coach didn't say anything, but tilted his head to a certain direction, an action which clearly meant "I need to talk to you, someplace else."

Standing up, Akashi walked up to the coach, and together, they went to the corridor, out of earshot of the other team members preparing to head back to their locker room in the opposite direction.

"What do you think of the match today?" The coach asked, once he was sure his surroundings were clear.

Akashi didn't answer immediately, trying to formulate a proper answer in his mind.

"It wasn't satisfactory, was it? I can tell by the look on your face." The coach added.

"Yes. We may have won, but there were mistakes made which could have been avoided, if they had been followed the game plans better." Akashi said.

"Which is why I'm proposing this. In order to avoid such mistakes in future, I'm putting you as one of the players tomorrow."

"What?" Akashi said, clearly surprised. After all, the coach had already expressed his reluctance in letting Akashi play with his eye injury.

"As for the reason, it's because you would have more control over them when you're in the court compared to on the bench. They'll be more attuned to listen to you that way. Besides, with you in this manner, perhaps the others will naturally become more considerate and not act on their own so as not to strain you."

Akashi almost laughed. Already, he could imagine the public's reaction to this action. Having a clearly injured person play was outrageous. Some people might even think it was an act of desperateness, or cruelty.

"You have been practicing, haven't you?"

"Of course." Injured eye or not, he couldn't just stay still when everyone was working hard. Shooting might still be difficult, but he could already pass and catch the basketball with hardly any mistakes.

"Then that's settled. I will inform the others later. Let's go back." The coach replied.

Akashi nodded and followed behind the coach, not even bothering to hide the small smile on his face.

When the others found out later, there were exclamations of surprise as well as protests. Some felt that the coach was being too much, asking an injured person to play.

"Are you questioning my judgement?" The coach said in response to the protests.

There was silence, no one dared to openly oppose the coach in this manner. Akashi decided this was the right time to speak.

"The coach and I have agreed this was the best for the team. If I am somehow unable to perform well tomorrow, the coach will substitute me with another player, but until then, I hope that everyone will be able to support me, as well as each other. Understand?"

Slowly, murmurs of agreement were heard. Akashi turned to his fellow starters. They either looked suspicious, worried or merely unconcerned.

But that didn't matter. Whether they liked it or not, he was going to make sure they listened tomorrow.

"Kuroko-cchi? Do you know that person?" Kise asked.

Kuroko turned to the direction which Kise indicated. Sure enough, there was someone on the other side of the court waving in their direction, generating much discussion on both sides.

"Ah, he's a friend." Kuroko said as he waved back shyly, which caused the other person to stop his waving, giving him a thumbs up and a mouthed 'Let's have a good match.'

"Oh… is that so? You're not going to expect us to go easy on them because of that right?"

"Of course not. We'll both play our best today." Kuroko answered.

Soon, at the referee's signal, the starting players from both teams went to line up on the court. Naturally, there were a lot of murmurs and exclamations from the audience when Akashi entered the court. The referee even went to the coach to confirm his decision. However, it was settled quickly and the announcer gently reminded the audience not to get too rowdy in case they disturbed the players too much.

"Let's have a good match!" Both teams shouted.

At the referee's whistle, the game started.

One hour later, it was over. It had been a close match at first, with the opponents unity putting pressure on the starting players of Teikou Middle School, but with Akashi's iron control, Teikou Middle School had emerged as the victor in the end, with their usual large point gap.

Back in the locker room, Kuroko was packing his belongings when he felt his phone vibrate. Taking it out and opening it, he found a message from his friend.

Msg received: It's been a long time since we've seen each other, or had a good chat. Will you be able to meet me outside? I'm at the south end of the Stadium, around Gate D.

Re: Okay. I'll see you there.

Snapping his phone shut, Kuroko picked up his things and found Akashi, who was near the door.

"I'm going to meet a friend, so I'll be going back on my own."

"I see. I'll inform the coach about it. Go have your talk." Akashi said. After what happened before the match, he clearly knew which friend Kuroko was talking about.

"Thank you." Kuroko said, and he left the locker room, barely noticed by anyone.

After that, Kuroko made his way to the agreed location. As the gate was the opposite direction from the nearest train station, not many people were in the vicinity. It wasn't long before he saw a figure with the familiar mop of black hair leaning at the railing, staring forward, looking at nothing in particular.

"It's been a while." Kuroko said, getting his friend's attention.

"Hey! You're here. Glad to see that you're looking well." His friend said cheerfully, though Kuroko noticed that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. It wasn't strange, considering what happened earlier.

"Are you alright?" Kuroko asked, out of concern for his friend.

The smile on his friend's face fell slightly, but the cheerful tone in his voice was still there when he answered,

"I wouldn't say that I'm totally fine. Of course I'm a little disheartened after the loss. But considering that this is the first time in a while that my school qualified for the Nationals, it's great that we were still able to make it to the semi-finals. And the coach wasn't too harsh on us since Teikou Middle School is a strong school, so I guess everything is okay for now."

"I see." Kuroko said.

His friend turned to him then, saying, still in that cheerful tone,

"What? Did you think I was so weak that I'll be upset and crying over the loss? "

"No, it's nothing like that…" Kuroko answered, flustered that his friend would think of him in that manner.

His friend laughed. "I was just joking, Kuroko. You don't have to take it so seriously. That point about you really hasn't changed one bit."

"Is that so…?" Kuroko asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Yep!" His friend confirmed energetically.

It was painful to watch. From his keen observation, Kuroko could instantly tell that his friend was simply putting up a strong front. He had tried to play along as much as he could, but the longer it went on, the harder it was to bear the pain.

"Are you sure you're really alright?" Kuroko asked again.

"Geez! Didn't I say I am fine already?" His friend replied, sounding a little annoyed, though there was still a smile on his face. Then his face turned serious, and he said,

"If there's anything I'm upset about, it would be the poor way your team mates are treating you."

Kuroko frowned a little at his friend's words.

"I do not understand what you mean."

"You should have noticed, right? The way your team mates were acting during the match." His friend prompted.

Kuroko ran his mind through the match earlier, but could not remember anything significant that his friend could have seen for him to act in this manner. During the match, everyone was acting as usual, no one actually said anything harsh to him, or did anything to hurt him physically.

"They were acting as usual. I do not know what you have seen, but they do not treat me poorly." Kuroko said, trying to clear the misunderstanding that his friend seemed to have formed.

"As usual? You're telling me that's the way they usually act?" His friend said, his voice containing a hint of disbelief.

"Yes." Kuroko answered, his frown deepening just a bit.

His friend looked at Kuroko a moment longer, and turned to face forward, his head slightly bowed like he was deep in thought. The silence stretched on, leaving Kuroko more and more confused as time passed.

"Is there anything wrong?" Kuroko finally asked.

His friend didn't react immediately, but slowly, he turned to face Kuroko again, and with the serious look still on his face, he asked,

"Kuroko, are you happy with your current team?"

Faced with the sudden question, Kuroko did not know how to answer at all. His friend continued to speak,

"To be more specific, are you happy playing basketball with your current team mates, especially those that were playing today?"

"Why are you asking this all of…" Kuroko started to ask, but he was interrupted by his friend's words.

"Just answer me, please." His friend said, pleading.

Kuroko thought back to his second year, the year where he received his regular uniform. He felt that he belonged, and they had so much fun together. At that time, he was happy he belonged to a team which made up the Generation of Miracles.

However, when all of them entered third year, something fundamental changed, everyone started getting stronger and little by little, they lost their passion for basketball, becoming more obsessed with victory. To him, the one who was left behind, the one who gradually lost their trust, he was becoming invisible once more, and it was painful to bear.

Am I happy now? Of course not.

That was his answer.

But he could not tell his friend that.

To tell his friend this would be revealing his failures. Failing to get stronger with others, failing to keep Aomine interested in basketball, failing to learn how to shoot even with months of practice. Saying it out now would make it seem like everything was unsalvageable, like admitting defeat, and whatever was left of his pride would not allow that to happen.

"My current team is fine. I do not see what you are so upset about." Kuroko answered.

In response to his answer, his friend became more agitated.

"Can you really not see? Your current team, when they were playing, they're only thinking of themselves! They don't work together at all and worst of all, when you were playing, they didn't even acknowledge your presence! There were so many times when they could have passed to you to make for an easier play, but they didn't. It's like they are telling you that you're not needed on the team at all."

The words stung. His friend might have been criticising Aomine and the rest, but to Kuroko, it was as if his friend took a blade and stabbed him in the heart. Had his redundancy on the team increased so much that even someone who is playing against them for the first time noticed it?

"You should be speaking up to them about it, Kuroko. Basketball is a team sport. To see such an individualistic team like that being the number one team in the Middle School is really too much!"

"I think you're the one who's being too much. No matter how my team is like, we won, and that's it. You're just saying all this because you lost."

The words came out before Kuroko could stop himself. It was the result of the refusal to accept his current situation, and pride.

His friend froze, like he had just been slapped in the face. Realising what he had done, Kuroko opened his mouth, ready to apologise. But his friend spoke first,

"Oh? Is that what you really think? Well, as long as you're happy with it, then it's not my place to say anything." His tone was oddly detached.

"I…"

"I should go now, better not keep you too late since you have a match tomorrow. See ya." Saying this, his friend turned around and walked off hurriedly, giving Kuroko no chance to say anything at all. As he turned the corner, Kuroko could see his friend raising a hand to his face, wiping away the tears that had already started to flow.

But as if he had lead weights tied to his feet, he couldn't bring himself to chase after his friend. Even if he did, what could he say? Nothing he said now would be able to magically explain away the harsh words he had said earlier. And so he continued to stand there, staring at the ground.

I'm sorry.

After pressing the "Send" button, Kuroko collapsed backwards on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. After his friend left, he wasn't able to gather up any courage to chase after his friend to apologise. After that, when he was taking the train to get back home, he had took out his phone numerous times, intending to send a message to his friend, only to put it back into his bag in the end. It was only now, when he was about to go to bed, before he followed through with his thoughts. And even then, he could only write two words.

When did I become such a coward?

Kuroko thought, before drifting into a restless sleep.

"It is now the half time break! To everyone who has just stepped in, you are now watching the Final round of the National Middle School Basketball tournament! Currently, Teikou Middle School is in the lead at 93-42. Would Shinkaku Middle School be able to catch up in the second half? Please continue to watch this exciting match!"

In response to the enthusiastic commentary from the announcer, Kuroko could only sigh. How exciting could a match be when everyone could see that Teikou Middle School is dominating the whole match? Planning to go outside to get some fresh air, he walked through one of the many corridors in the stadium, unnoticed by most of his teammates. Those that did simply let him go. After all, Kuroko hadn't played in the first half of the match and didn't need to rest.

When he was about to step outside, he heard someone calling behind him.

"Hey!"

At first, Kuroko continued walking, thinking that the shout was for someone else. It wasn't until he heard another shout, followed by a hand on his shoulder, did he stop in his tracks, turning around to see who called him.

It was someone he didn't recognize.

"Do I know you?" Kuroko asked. The other person, just realizing that he might have scared Kuroko, quickly pulled his hand away.

"Ah, I'm sorry. My name is Soichi. And this is Ueda. We're from Ukiyoe Middle School. I was hoping you would recognize us, but I guess it's hard since we're not wearing our uniform."

Hearing that name, Kuroko instantly made a connection. Ukiyoe Middle School was the school who played against them in the semi-finals, also the school his friend is in.

"You're friends with Manabe, right? The one he was waving to yesterday?" Ueda asked.

"…Yes." Kuroko answered, with some hesitation. After what had happened, could they still be considered friends?

"If you are his friend, then you have to help us talk Manabe out of his stupid decision!" Soichi suddenly said, his voice slightly raised, and his tone urgent.

"What do you mean?"

"Soichi, calm down. You're just going to make things more confusing." Ueda said before turning to Kuroko, saying,

"I know that you have a match going on now, but you have to hear us out. I don't know what happened after our match yesterday, but this morning, our coach suddenly received a call from Manabe, and he said that he was going to quit the club. Never mind that it was his last semester or that he only had to stay for another three months or so before we graduate to prepare for exams, he just suddenly said that he wanted to quit the club, and basketball altogether."

Kuroko widened his eyes at the news. Soichi continued, this time in a much calmer voice,

"After we found out from the coach, we tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen at all. After a while, he just stopped picking up our calls. Which is why we need your help. Manabe won't expect that we would be able to talk to you, so he probably won't ignore your call, that's what we think."

For a while, Kuroko was silent as his mind rushed to process the information he just heard. His friend had decided to quit basketball. Why? Was it because of their conversation yesterday?

What have I done?

After Kuroko had sent the message last night, his friend had not answered at all. Was this supposed to be his answer?

"We're… I…" Kuroko started to say, stuttering a little as he tried to find the right words. Facing him were Soichi's and Ueda's anxious faces. He could lie to them and say that he would try, but his conscious would not allow him to do so. In an attempt to protect his own pride, he had already hurt his friend. It would help no one if he told a white lie here.

"I tried contacting him yesterday, but he hasn't replied me at all."

"Oh…" Soichi said, disappointment clear on his face. Ueda spoke,

"After you finish your match, can you try to contact him again? Someone has to talk sense into him, so we need all the help we can get."

"I'll try." Kuroko said, simply out of politeness. In his heart, he already knew that he wouldn't succeed.

"Thanks, then we'll take our leave. Good luck for your match." Ueda said, before leaving, pulling Soichi with him.

Kuroko watched their retreating backs, then slowly turned back to the direction of the locker room. With the sudden revelation of his friend's decision, Kuroko felt many things, guilt, confusion, and sadness. No matter how Kuroko looked at the matter, his words have caused his friend to quit the sport which he loved so much.

Concentrate on the second half of the match, you can worry about this later. Your duty to the team comes first.

The rational part of Kuroko's mind said. But it was difficult to follow. He had done something unforgivable to his friend. How could he just forget about it all and concentrate on the Finals now that he knew the consequences of his actions?

Victory is the most important thing.

Once again, the coach's words surfaced in his mind. How many times had he heard that in his time in the club? It was repeated like a doctrine, instilling in them the strong thirst for victory.

How important could victory be if it cost him one of his best friends?

Slowly but surely, seeds of doubt were planted in Kuroko's heart.

Half an hour later, when the referee's whistle blew to signal the end of the match, what happened only served to increase the doubt Kuroko felt.

In the second half of the game, he hadn't been called out to play at all.

It was like they were telling him, 'You aren't needed anymore.'

If he could no longer play basketball with his friend, what was the point in continuing?

If he really wasn't needed, what was the point in staying?

If he could no longer feel happy even after they had won the Nationals, that would mean he no longer liked basketball, doesn't it?

Then there was no need to continue playing basketball, or staying in the club.

And so Kuroko disappeared, not even appearing for the closing ceremony.

pika318: I tried my best writing this, but it was so difficult . This was the best I can do to tidy up the thoughts in my mind while trying to think of what was the "incident" that happened during the Nationals after the manga revealed that Kuroko had a childhood friend who he did something unforgivable to. Fujimaki might prove me wrong very soon though.

Next chapter will also be the last chapter for Rise and Fall. After that I'm planning to write a two-shot where the GOM attempt to repair their friendship.