I am waiting for my friends at the exit of the station. Ryo is late as usual, well, not exactly late because I told him to get here half an hour early than the actual meeting time so he'll probably get here exactly on time. Ah, well done, me. Anyway, I have fifteen more minutes to kill so I text Kei, wondering what has gotten into her since she's ordinarily the one who's rushing me. Well, I guess she's dolling herself up to impress Kuroko.
"Hey, you're blocking the exit," a gruff voice echoes from the lower staircase.
"Ah, I'm sorry about tha-. Ah, you," my heart skips a beat at the sight of Aomine but I keep stern and begrudgingly move out of his way. He's alone; the sling of his bag carelessly tossed over his bare shoulder, he climbs up the staircase within a matter of seconds. Such an athlete; Ryo would've taken at least a minute. I wait for him to pass by but he stops right next to me and asks,
"Why are you here? You know this is where people come to play basketball, yeah? Were expecting me to show up?"
"You'll like that, won't you, but I'm here to see this Kuroko guy."
His grin strains for a moment, but he soon recovers his devilish kink; dropping a line to come see him later, and walks off to the courts. I wonder the reason behind that expression. Maybe Kei will know about his past with Kuroko, ah well. Speaking of that girl, where is she?
"[-]! I'm so sorry that I kept you waiting! I can't believe I overslept; I hardly had time to make myself presentable," Kei says between her short breaths, as well as cursing the days we slacked off our workouts. I give her a sympathetic pat and tell her she looks impressive for a person who barely made it on time. This lightens her mood and remembers the lack of presence of Ryo. Five minutes has gone by from our actual meeting time. Just when I was about to send him a text full of wrath, I spot him coming upstairs with heavy steps. Gosh, that guy, don't tell me he's still sulking about this situation. Can't he be happy for Kei, and be a friend for once? If not, just be there to prove why he deserves her more than Kuroko. He's always been easily discouraged when it came to girls who he truly cared about. Oh, so this must mean that Kei is not another possible conquest for him! I need to have a good talk with him later.
"Finally," I look down at him as I shake my head and pinch his weary face.
"Ouch! Why, [-], I'm only late for probably... thirty-five minutes? Okay, okay, I'm sorry."
Kei tries to correct him for being only "five" minutes late but I stop her from exposing my trick, and we follow the noise of the dribbling basketballs.
"Kei-san, I'm glad you made it. Oh, these must be your friends. Hello, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. It's nice to meet you two,"
Kuroko raises his hand for a handshake; Ryo reluctantly takes it, and I, while apologizing for Ryo's attitude, also shake his dainty hand; his hand is nothing like a basketball player's. Kei, already blushing at the sight of Kuroko, she introduces us and we are soon soundly settled on a bench. I look around, hoping to spot that bluehead; as though a lightning bolt struck my spine, I feel myself paralyze. Is that really the Aomine I know? He suavely webs through the guys without a single flaw or fluctuation, and then follows into a formless shooting of the ball in a split second; the sound of the goal heavily rings into the defeated opponents' ears. He is incredible. He's like a wild, black leopard, seamlessly bolting through the savannah; his eyes shine like a mischievous child's and his lips curl whenever he dunks the ball with both of his strong, tanned arms. I stare at him with eyes widened more than ever, witnessing the most gorgeous and daring basketball play. Breath-taken as I am, I reluctantly tear my eyes away from him hearing Ryo calling my name.
"Gosh, [-], are you listening? The game is about to start, but do you want me to get something since we'll be sitting here for a while?"
"Oh, sorry, I spaced out. Yeah, a ginger ale will be nice, thanks."
Ryo darts off to the nearest vending machine and soon comes back with three cold drinks. Kei and I thank him, and cheerfully wait for Kagami and Kuroko to set foot in the court. Kagami, a giant compared to Kuroko, neatly ties his shoes and begins to stretch. I notice that he is quite handsome when you're not taken aback by his oddly shaped brows.
"Kuroko, you ready?" Kagami calls out on his partner who's adjusting his wristbands.
"Yes, Kagami-kun. Let's begin."