Hey guys, I am back and I am extremely sorry for the late update and this short-ass chapter. I was originally going to put the entire basketball match in here but when I saw how long it was getting and the overall atmosphere I had created before then, it just didn't seem right to cram it all in here and potentially overwhelm the bigger plot of the story.
This chapter is short, yes, but it finally delves into Akashi's perspective in all of this and what he's going through at the moment. Though I did talk about it in the last chapter, this chapter is more straightforward and not as poetic as last time. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this as much as the others and I promise, I really do promise, to update the next one as soon as possible.
Which reminds me, the next chapter will contain the basketball match, so please await that! Good news is, I have already started writing it, so hopefully, I can get it up by the end of September, and if that is too difficult, then at least by the first week of October.
Remember to check out my other stories (I recommend my most recent one, To the Ephemeral Ones, but I also recommend The Icelandic Word for Goodbye because there have been a lot of issues involving the LGBT community and if there any positivity I can give, it's with this story. So, if you feel victimized by what's been happening in the world or you need any kind of comfort, please give me a PM and I'll help any way I can)
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask them and I'll have your answer soon!
So, without further ado, here's the next chapter!
A few answers for my lovely reviewers:
Meiyo12: When are you planning to update A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words?
A: Oof, this is an awkward question to answer. So, I decided to take one step at a time and finish this one first before writing my other uncompleted stories. I realized that I was feeling really overwhelmed at the fact that I had so many stories to complete (which honestly isn't the first time - I still cringe at all my Maximum Ride stories that I had to delete because I could never finish them) so I'm not making the same mistake. I don't know when I'm going to update A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words but if I get a good idea for the next chapter, I will definitely update it as soon as I can.
~.~
masuchii: Oh my gosh... this story is TOO beautifully written :') It made my heart break and build up together again when Kise, Midorima, and Aomine(?) became buddies with Kuroko's new friends. Although, I wish that Kuroko will realize that Kise and Midorima are on his side, rather than Akashi's because it's killing me to see him grouping them together with Akashi :'( This story is DEFINITELY not boring at all, it makes me go on a roller-coaster :) It's just tearing me apart to see Kuroko group Midorima and Kise together with Akashi, like I've mentioned before. I hope there's a moment where Kuroko realizes that and mentions it to them :') I have high hopes for this story and look forward to your next update c:
A: Honestly, your words just flatter me :) Thank you so much for telling me this and reassuring me that I'm still doing ok. I'm still constantly trying to improve to make all of you proud and please keep rooting for Kuroko and his team. I hope I keep meeting your expectations (even if this chapter may be a let down to some) and thank you again for making me smile :)
~.~
TokusatsuLuv: This is truly very interesting to read; please update soon. teme akashi. He and aomine does not even deserve Kuroko after what they've done to him. I hope Kuroko does not accept the deal (growls angrily). And I hope Kagami and his team can win; props for Kise and Midorima who had changed for the better
A: Three cheers for Kise and Midorima!
Akashi recalled the first time he met the man named Kuroko Tetsuya.
He remembered that it was when he had just entered middle school and the famous Teiko basketball club announced its first, second, and third stringers. Maybe it was due to the tension that had accumulated before the results, or just the overall tiring day, but it was a rather quiet day. Everyone had left, even his first-stringer friends, and he was left to lock the door.
It was so silent that Akashi could hear is own heartbeat, and he relished in that for a while, but then he froze when he heard the familiar bouncing sound of a basketball hitting the polished wooden floor. He had been so sure that everyone had gone home by now, because the silence was there, and he had to wait several seconds to grasp that his mind was not playing tricks at him and he was most definitely hearing the sound of a ball hitting the floor.
Like any responsible person would do, he walked to where the sound was and tell the person that he was going to lock up soon. But when he arrived, the sound was gone and it was like the experience never happened. Akashi had stopped then, remembering the rumors that spread like wild-first about the third gymnasium, about a potential ghost that haunted the area, and was close to running away when he heard a very timid, shy voice.
"Are you locking up?" It asked and Akashi was truly starting to believe in these rumors because no matter where he looked, there was no person. Where in the world was the voice coming from?
And, as if the voice had read his mind, it answered his unvoiced question. "I'm standing right in front of you."
Akashi blinked in front of him and was startled to find a small boy with unruly teal-colored hair holding a basketball that was twice the size of his face.
"Have you been standing there this entire time?" Akashi asked and the boy nodded. "How come I didn't see you the first time?"
"Most people cannot. It is not something I can prevent. I just never had a strong presence to begin with." The boy answered and though his voice was monotone, Akashi could hear the sadness revolving around it. Akashi immediately felt the loneliness that the boy was feeling just by listening to a few of his words.
If that didn't scream pity, then Akashi didn't know what would.
"Is that so?" Akashi answered, not knowing what else to say. It was getting rather awkward, talking to a boy he could barely even see. "Have you always been like this?"
The boy nodded. "Yes, it would seem so."
"Doesn't it get lonely?" Akashi then asked, the words just coming out. How awfully rude of him.
Before he could apologize, however, the boy answered him. "Sometimes. But a friend of mine told me that I could easily counteract that by playing a sport and making friends there."
"Which is why you're playing basketball? To make friends?"
The boy nodded again. "Yes, and my friend loves basketball. We played in elementary school and when we went to different middle schools, we made a promise to meet again in the upcoming tournaments."
Akashi smiled because the boy's voice had lifted, just talking about this one friend who became the reason for his playing basketball. "Admirable. So, which string are you in?"
At that, the boy's head fell. "Third."
Akashi wrinkled his eyebrows in pity. "I'm sorry to hear that. Third-stringers barely get a chance to play." It was blunt but it was true. There was no use in giving the boy hope when he barely got into the club.
But the boy was determined. It shone in his eyes. "I'm not giving up, though."
Akashi's eyes widened. "You're not?"
The boy shook his head. "I will not. I made a promise that I will keep, so I will do whatever I can to achieve it."
"Is that why you're practicing all alone after hours? To get better?"
"Yes."
Akashi then smiled because this small, insignificant boy reminded him so much of himself, who strived to achieve every goal he possibly could, no matter how impossible. The boy reminded him of an innocence that Akashi strove to contain.
"Then, you will surely make it and achieve this promise you made."
"Do you think so?" The boy said as his head lifted to meet Akashi's eyes. Even in the darkness, Akashi could see how clear and bright those blue eyes were.
"I do. Keep up the good work." Akashi replied and for the first time, the boy smiled.
It honestly took Akashi's breath away because this boy was his innocence in human form. This boy was the kind of person people aspired to be, who didn't know the meaning of giving up and would desperately do everything he could to reach his goal.
It was so admirable that Akashi truly hoped the best for the boy's wellbeing. And he never wished that upon anyone because he, of all people, knew how cruel fate could be.
"It was nice talking to you, but I really do have to lock up now and I would rather not do that with someone still inside." Akashi then reluctantly said and the boy nodded, running to put the ball away. When he came back, they both left the gym and the boy said his farewells first.
"Thank you for the encouragement." The boy said before leaving and it took Akashi a moment to realize that he never caught the boy's name.
Thankfully, Aomine solved that for him a few days afterwards when he met the boy the same way he had (though apparently, there was more screaming involved), and soon enough, everything that Kuroko had wanted came true.
He got better at basketball, made it into first-string by developing a skill that Akashi had nudged him towards, and became open and kind enough to make plenty of friends.
Friends who were soon to be called the Generation of Miracles.
Akashi's head began to pulse as he let go of his coffee. He wasn't sure why he was dwelling on the past now, and quickly tried to get rid of it. But the thought process had already begun.
Why had he come all the way to the States? Was it really because he wanted to redeem himself from the terrible incident that occurred the day of middle school graduation, in which he went over the line and physically hurt a friend, a girl even? Did he really want to bring Kuroko back just to tell the others that he was truly absolute? Was he really going this far to prove to himself just how powerful he was?
The pulsing just kept growing stronger, and his eye began to vibrate in pain.
Just take a deep breath, Akashi told himself mentally, just take a deep breath.
There was more to the story, that much he knew. There was absolutely no way he would come all the way to the States and even drag the rest with him just for the sake of his proving how right he was about his absolute state. The action was too big severe for that one flimsy explanation.
Then why? Why did he come all the way here to confront the once small, tiny boy whom he had met in the third gymnasium in middle school?
Maybe you feel regret. The annoying voice inside his mind seemed to say and Akashi's eyes, which had been shut tightly, instantly bulged out.
Shut up, he told the voice. There it was again, trying to take over. There was, however, nothing to take over because he was handling the situation. There was no threat that could cause his failure. He did not need his other self.
Maybe you came here because he you merely wanted to apologize.
What is there to apologize for? He bitterly asked.
The last match.
Akashi's eyes opened even wider, as if that was possible.
You always wished the best for his wellbeing. You hoped for it, even thought you knew how cruel life would be.
Shut up. He began to scream. Shut up, shut up, shut up!
But that last match.
I'm telling you to shut up!
It was absolutely deplorable. What you did to his friend, who had been his inspiration to take up basketball in the first place. I'm beginning to wonder, did you really mean it? Did you really want the best for him? When you were the one who took everything away from him?
Shutupshutupshutupshutupshutup
"I'm sorry, I'm looking for someone and I don't know where he is." Akashi's head snapped up when he heard the familiar monotone voice. Kuroko came at his request, just as he should. Akashi still had control over his former teammate. He knew it.
Do you really?
"Tetsuya." Akashi called out and Kuroko thanked the Starbucks employer before coming to where he was.
"Akashi-kun." Kuroko replied as he sat down with no drink in his hand. Akashi would have to order one for him later.
"You must be wondering why I called you out." He began, getting straight to the point.
"I was. And a day before the match as well. Is there something you have to say?" Kuroko replied, his voice betraying nothing.
"Yes, yes I do."
"Then, what is it?" Kuroko then said, his eyes naturally going curious.
This was it. The last chance Akashi had to go the easy way out and end it before anything bad were to happen. "I'd like to make a bargain with you." He thus began. "You've known from the very beginning that Kagami's condition would never fully heal, have you not?"
Kuroko's eyes widened. Bingo. "How did you—"
"By the time this match ends, he will have overexerted himself and will potentially ruin his chances of succeeding as a basketball player in the future." Akashi cut off.
"You don't know that." Kuroko answered but his voice was trembling.
"But I do." Akashi persuaded, his voice as confident as ever. "You do not stand a chance against us, Tetsuya. But you and I both know that Kagami does not give up. Come to Japan with us now and I'll not only introduce him to a good doctor but also pay all of his fees so that he recovers completely. What do you say?"
"Akashi-kun…" Just a bit more.
"Do you not care for him? Do you not want him to succeed?"
"I do but…" Just a bit more.
"Then choose. Will you come with us now and help Kagami achieve his dreams or will you hinder them because of your own selfishness?"
It took a while for Kuroko to answer, but Akashi was sure that he would agree to his bargain. He had to because Akashi had used all of his weaknesses against him. Kuroko was never one to turn away from a friend, especially one he so apparently cherished.
He knew it was unfair and probably rough-played but he was getting desperate.
Why are you so desperate?
Finally, after an agony of waiting, Kuroko opened his mouth to answer. "I will have to refuse."
Akashi's confident smile disappeared in a flash. "Excuse me?"
"I cannot accept your offer, Akashi-kun. It is not right."
Akashi's eyes narrowed. "So you would throw away Kagami's future because of your selfishness?"
Kuroko's eyes flashed and Akashi knew the teal-haired man was beginning to grow angry. An angry Kuroko was never a good sign. "This is not about my selfishness, Akashi-kun. Yes, I being selfish in a way because I want to win and stay here, but this is not just my own desire. This is everybody's, especially Kagami-kun's. He has been practicing day-in and day-out to make up for lost time at the hospital. Even now, I can see the guilt in his eyes for making such a mistake in the first place, when no one blames him for it. He has done everything he possibly could to improve his skills, to truly shine and make sure that he would win because he cares about basketball. I can't take that away from him. He cares about the sport too much."
"Are you saying that we don't?" Akashi asked, his voice tittering off the edge.
If Kuroko realized it, he didn't mention it. "You do not." He bluntly answered. "You do not know a single thing about the sport."
"How dare you —"
"Just the mere fact that you would give me such a bargain says to me that you never understood anything about us in the first place. You know nothing of the sport, of Kagami-kun, of even me for that matter. So, please, stop trying to take the easy way out and face us head-on. That is the least you can after what you did to my friend."
Akashi's eyes widened. It was back. The voice. And it getting louder than ever.
"Your friend?" Akashi asked, but his voice was shaking.
"You had promised me," Kuroko began and he was beginning to shake as well because his sorrow was welling up, "that you would not look down on them. That, in my absence, you would take that battle seriously and regardless of the score, you would still play as hard as you could. But you didn't. Instead, you played them and fixed the score to make the humiliation all the more bitter."
The last match.
"Why, Akashi-kun? Why?"
It was absolutely deplorable.
"I— I—" Akashi tried to say but the voice in his head was just getting in the way.
What you did to his friend, who had been his inspiration to take up basketball in the first place.
"I had lost myself when I realized what you had done. I blamed myself entirely for the match but I couldn't even get the chance to apologize to him because he had transferred away, too afraid to look at me in the eye. He was afraid, Akashi-kun, to look at me because I had the same look as you did. I always had the feeling that we would end up separated but I never knew it could lead to actually hate basketball. To actually vomit at the sight of it."
I'm beginning to wonder, did you really mean it?
"To the point where I wanted to die because I had no one again."
Did you really want the best for him?
"Why would you do such a thing to make me hate you?"
When you were the one who took everything away from him?
"Enough!" Akashi bellowed, his hands slamming onto the table in front of them, a cacophonous sound that attracted the attention of everyone in the room. Even Kuroko looked taken aback, his back hitting the chair involuntarily, and his sky-blue eyes trembling quietly.
Akashi breathed hard, his mind in complete shatters. The voice in his head was too loud and it was preventing him from thinking at all. His vision blurred and he found that he didn't know where he was anymore. All he knew was that he was in States, but he didn't even know why.
Why did he come here?
Why did he come for Kuroko?
Maybe because you wanted to apologize.
Apologize for fixing the score.
For playing his one and only true friend like a ragged doll that would surely be thrown to the trash.
Apologize for leaving him alone.
For making him feel the one emotion you promised yourself you would never allow him to feel.
Apologize for being a bad friend.
Who ended up showing him the cruel you promised never to make him feel and preventing him from getting the best for his wellbeing.
"Enough." Akashi whispered, "I've had enough." The confidence was drowned out in an instant and his eyes grew tired. His whole being began to slump, almost as if he had been wring dry. He didn't have the energy to talk anymore. He didn't have the energy to look anymore.
Look where?
He didn't know.
He just didn't know.
"Akashi-kun?" Kuroko hesitantly asked, his hand reaching forward to touch Akashi on the shoulder. Completely unlike himself, Akashi flinched away and grabbed his pulsing head.
"Just… enough. If you cannot understand my reasoning for doing this, then I have nothing else left to say to you. We'll finish this tomorrow at the match. That is all." Akashi concluded as he unstably began to stand and walk away.
But Kuroko wasn't done with him just yet. He, too, stood up, his hand slamming onto the poor coffee table.
"What is your reasoning for doing this, then? For all of this?"
Akashi stopped in his steps but didn't respond as he just left.
Now that he thought about it, the word didn't wasn't the right word. It was more that he couldn't. He couldn't respond to Kuroko's question.
Why?
Because he just didn't know himself.
The big day was finally here, and it was intense even before the sun came out. Kagami, like the child he was, couldn't sleep an inch as he spent the entire night imagining what kind of plays he would use against the Generation of Miracles.
The others, however, was just like the red-head as they, too, couldn't sleep. So when Himuro suddenly called the team out early in the morning, they were all grateful because their bodies were too jittery for them to even try to close their eyes.
"Morning. Did everyone sleep well?" Himuro started off as they'll gathered in the small basketball court right next to Kagami's house. Everyone, he noticed, was already geared up and ready to go and he chuckled once he saw Kagami, whose eye bags were the most prominent out of all of them.
Kagami glared at him as he scoffed in response. "Is that supposed to be joke?"
Himuro shrugged as he chuckled. "Who knows?"
Eddy wasn't having it either. "Why'd you suddenly call us out like this?" He asked, getting straight to the point and the joking atmosphere disappeared in a flash.
"I've been trying to get intel for the last couple of weeks with Atsushi on the Generation of Miracles. I know I could've just asked TK all of you were busy training and I thought it would be better to get information from the source itself."
"Wait, Sushi? You talked with sushi?" Sebastian cut off and the rest snickered at the unintended joke. Kuroko and Himuro were not amused as the smaller of the two respectfully punched Sebastian in the gut.
"Please listen more carefully, Sebastian. This might potentially help us gain the upper hand." Kuroko said seriously, and by the glint of his eye, no one wanted to go into angry Kuroko territory.
"Sorry, sorry. Who did you talk to again?" Sebastian asked, the serious atmosphere back again.
Himuro sighed but kept going. "The very tall, purple-haired one." Everyone nodded, immediately knowing who he was talking about. "By now, I'm assuming that everyone knows three fifths of their so-called power, right?"
Ben summarized for them. "Ryo has the power to copy any move he sees, Shin can shoot full range three shots and from what Tiger has told us, Dai is just a super human. But we know how to deal with them. Ryo can't copy a buzzer beater and Shin has his own limits that we can easily push. Tiger's been improving so much that he can deal with Dai." Kagami nodded furiously at the last bit.
Himuro, satisfied with the answer, took over. "Right, but that means we still have to deal with the last two, who we didn't get a chance to play yet. Atsushi, the purple haired guy, is crazy good at defense. He barely steps out of the three point range zone, so that means that he can block both three pointers and two pointers."
Ben's eyes always popped out. "Then how are we going to compete against that?"
At that, Kuroko spoke up. "I believe I have something to defeat that aspect of him. I've seen first-hand what he can do, and I've been working on something that may potentially help us."
Kagami, who had heard snippets from Alex, ruffled Kuroko's hair. "I believe in him. We got this." Kuroko couldn't help but give a small smile, which everyone saw and returned.
"So that just leaves us the psychopath." Eddy brought up with a grim look on his face. Everyone else grew uncertain, which was understandable because no one knew what his skill was and everyone could tell from just looking at him that he was the captain.
Even Himuro looked grim as he began explaining. "He would be the most troublesome." Everyone clenched their fists, ready to hear the worst. Himuro continued.
"According to Atsushi, he has the power to look into the future."
There was a brief silence as everyone took in Himuro's words. But not a moment later did everyone except him and Kuroko burst out laughing.
"Oh my god, I did not expect you to say that, Tat! My stomach, it's officially killing me!" Sebastian exclaimed, Eddy joining in as they both leaned on each other for support.
"Please tell me that was a joke to dispel the tension. Please!" Ben said in his fits of laughter and even Felix couldn't contain himself as he laughed as well.
Kagami was practically rolling on the ground.
Kuroko couldn't take it. They were obviously not taking this seriously enough, and they didn't know the extent of Akashi's power. He kicked Kagami, making him stop rolling and raised his voice so that everyone would hear this.
"This is no laughing matter. I have seen it. What Tat just said is true. Akashi truly has the power to see the future." Kuroko said and instantly, the laughter dissipated as everyone composed themselves. No one talked for a while before Eddy broke it.
"You're kidding me, right? He can't really be psychic. There's no such thing." The others nodded in agreement.
"I wish I weren't, I truly do." Kuroko lamented. "But it is true. Rather than saying that he can see the future, he can accurately predict what the opponent will do because his eyes are immensely perceptible to small movements. Every pivot, step and hesitation we do, he will see in slow-motion and will be able to tell where the ball will go next and inevitably, what our plan will be. It will be extremely hard to combat against that. Even I don't know what to do to counteract that."
"No way…" Ben said as his voice began to quiver. "No one should be able to do that. There's absolutely no way."
Himuro took over, his face severe. "Unfortunately, it's true. Atsushi even commented that when they had a one-on-one in middle school, he won by using the ability, and like I said before, Atsushi has crazy defense. With a height difference like that, you'd think that Atsushi would win immediately, but that obviously wasn't the case."
"So, what do we do?" Eddy asked. "How can we win against that?"
Himuro looked at Kuroko to see if he had any ideas, but Kuroko seemed reluctant to open his mouth. There was something troubling him, Himuro could tell, but he wasn't going to force anything out of him.
Instead, "This is just speculation but I believe that the only way we beat that is to beat him first."
"Excuse me, what? Please say words we can understand." Sebastian said in frustration.
"What I mean is, there's something special about this psychopath, as everyone seems to call him — which isn't very nice, by the way." Himuro commented with a frown. The others shrugged in response.
Himuro rolled his eyes but understood why they didn't want to change it. He continued explaining. "I wouldn't necessarily call his condition bipolar but it seems to me that he has two split personalities and the more sadistic side has taken control. Atsushi said it was triggered due to immense stress — the fear of losing — and his ability appeared right when the switch happened, so my guess is that —"
"We switch him back and make him lose that power." Kagami concluded for him, though he sounded annoyed when he did. Himuro understood why. Even after practicing for so hard, there were still some things that he couldn't match up to just yet. Kagami acknowledged the fact that he probably couldn't win against Akashi in a one-on-one because the difference in skill was just too high.
That in itself showed how much Kagami had grown.
"Do you think it's possible? That we can change him during the match?" Felix asked uncertainly and everyone looked at Kuroko for that certainty.
Said person grew fidgety, which made the group worry.
Kagami put his hand on Kuroko's shoulder and the teal-haired man looked up at him in shock. Kagami gave him a big smile. "There's nothing to worry about, Tetsu. We got this, remember?"
Kuroko mentally thanked Kagami for giving him the support and decided that the conversation he had with Akashi yesterday was important enough for everyone to know.
So he told them everything.
The first thing that happened, which Kuroko had expected completely, was Kagami's rage against Akashi for trying to bribe Kuroko into giving up on the match. With a string of colorful vocabulary coming out of his mouth, it took several minutes for the group to calm him down.
When they did, they moved on to the next topic in line: Akashi's breakdown.
"So, you're telling me that he just screamed 'Enough!' and left?" Felix recapped and Kuroko nodded somberly.
"It seems to me that his personality from before the one-on-one match is still there and is even trying to take over. He seemed to be battling himself in his mind."
"So, he's already been weakened?" Ben cautiously brought up.
Kuroko shook his head. "I'm not sure. But regardless, he will be a tough opponent, as with the rest. We might have become good friends with some of the Generation of Miracles, but that doesn't mean they'll go easy on us."
"Nor do we want them to." Kagami cut in, surprising everyone. He put his arm on top of Kuroko's head like a shoulder rest and grinned like this was no big deal. Everyone seemed to get their spirits up just by looking at that.
"If we want to win, we want to win fair and square. No looking down on them or thinking that they'll give us the easy way out. I want all of us to go all out, no exception."
"But your legs, Tiger." Eddy brought up in horror, as if the thought had never occurred to them before, and Kagami's smile faltered. "If what the discussion TK had yesterday is true, then you shouldn't overexert yourself. What if you can't play basketball after this? What's going to happen to you?"
The rest looked at Kagami with sad eyes, waiting for his answer. Kagami himself seemed to be contemplating what he should.
"Maybe you should sit some of the quarters, just so that you can rest. I can't bear to see you not play the sport, Tiger. You're just too good at it." Ben suggested but they could tell that he wasn't convincing himself.
"No, I have to play. My pride was what led me to this, all of this, and I want to make it right. I know my own condition and kind of knew as I left the hospital that I would have to be more careful than usual. I get it, I really do. But I want to play as much as I can, and show them how much I've grown. I can't just give this match up for a future that we're not even sure is going to happen. And if it does, then I'll figure out a way to get back on my feet."
No one answered to him. They all looked at each other with doubt smeared on their faces, worried and scared.
But then Kuroko came to the rescue. "Then promise me. Promise all of us."
Kagami looked at Kuroko with determined eyes. "What?"
"That you will rest when it is absolutely necessary. That when you feel something wrong, anything wrong, you will stop participating in the match and rest. Promise us. Please"
Kagami fell silent as he looked at his teammates, those whom he had been playing with from the moment high school had started. They had gone through thick and thin, trekked rocky mountains and swam great seas (both literally and metaphorically), and now they had come to this. He never could imagine a life without basketball, and he didn't want to think about it now.
So, with a blinding smile, he answered, "I will."
And from there on, the team became one and eagerly awaited for the bell to ring and the time to come for their long awaited match against the Generation of Miracles.
Something was wrong.
They could all sense it as they saw Akashi moving to get his equipment. The Generation of Miracles followed his lead but grew wary every time their leader swayed or grabbed his head in pain. They looked with worried eyes as Akashi failed to instruct them and give them a game plan. Akashi always had a game plan, even if it was just a simple 'win'.
But now, he was silent.
Empty.
Kise looked with concern as Akashi left the living room to go back to his own room and get something he had apparently forgotten. He moved towards Midorima, who seemed equally troubled.
"I wonder what happened yesterday to make Akashicchi like this." Kise brought up in a whisper and Midorima nodded slightly.
"What do you think happened when he met up with Kurokocchi?" Kise asked nervously.
"Everything we possibly feared and more." Midorima replied, his eyes constantly darting to Akashi's room.
"But to impact him like this? And today's the match. What does this mean?" Kise asked but Midorima had no words.
But Aomine did. "It means we do what we normally do, dumbass."
"Aominecchi?" Kise questioned but Aomine refused to meet his eyes.
"We destroy them. I don't care what happened yesterday when he met up with Tetsu but that doesn't mean our goal has changed. It never has. We're still going to win this and Tetsu's gonna come back with us. That's all."
"But it doesn't feel that way." Kise urged sadly. "After everything we've been through these months, I can't picture Kurokocchi leaving this place." Aomine was about to retort but Kise didn't give him a chance to.
The blond merely sighed, running his hand through his hair in distress. "Whatever the case is, Akashicchi isn't like himself. It's like something in him has just completely changed. Do we even know what Akashicchi even wants anymore?"
"Did any of us really know what he wanted?" Midorima pitched in. "I don't think even he knows himself."
"I don't understand what's going on." Murasakibara, who had been quiet this entire time, suddenly said. "Aka-chin isn't himself and none of you guys are thinking about the match."
"When have we ever thought about a match? We just kept winning, so there was nothing to think about, that's all." Aomine said without much of a flare but Murasakibara shook his head in disagreement.
"But this is an important match because Kuro-chin is without us. All of this started because of Kuro-chin and we've all had a taste of this life. I don't think any of us actually want to win anymore. I like this place now, and Kuro-chin obviously likes it, too. What does that mean for us?"
Kise nodded, Murasakibara's confusion easily matchable with his own. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"We win." Everyone whipped their heads up where they saw Akashi Seijuuro, the self-proclaimed king. His stance screamed power as he glared down at them with his fierce heterochromatic eyes. His hands gripped the handle of the stairs, his back proud and tall. He was back to his old self, as if the pain was never there.
"That is all."
But was he truly?
The school gym rippled as thousands of people rushed to get the best seat they possibly could for the basketball match that would be remembered for years to come. It was April's idea to make this into a public match, so she had broadcasted it everywhere, from mass texts to the actual school radio that everyone listened to. Rumors and news spread like wildfire in the area, the word interesting enough to make even the tourists come out and see what all the fuss was about.
By the time the two teams made their way into the court, the gym was almost like a stadium, with people packed and signs everywhere, rooting for Kagami's team. Neither team paid notice, however, as they all began to get into their game mode.
April, who had somehow become their unofficial manager, gave each of them a bottle of water and crouched down to look at them head on.
"You guys got this, ok? We'll win." She said with a determined smile on her face and everyone smiled back, the encouragement enough to get their blood even more riling. They soon huddled to talk about their game plan and mental preparation.
On the opposite side, however, no one was even talking. It was bizarre to see a basketball team with no joy or spirit, and it was like seem this so called team was just a group of individual who were just thrown into the mix, just because.
Audience members began to whisper amongst each other, to discuss which team would win, but when the first buzzer rang, they all quieted down and watched in amazement as both teams started warming up.
And when the second buzzer rang to signify the actual start of the game, the gym roared, its atmosphere matching that of the NBAs.
Kagami had everyone huddle once more and took a deep breath.
"Guys," he started and everyone listened with great resolve, "Let's win this."
And just like that, the match of the century began.
So, how was it? Good, bad, meh? Please tell me in the reviews!
Again, I am so sorry for the short chapter, but I'll definitely make up for it in the next one, where everything will wrap up. I can't believe we're already at the end. I never thought I would actually get to this point, but I'm glad I stuck with it till the end. I really love writing this story and I'm so happy that a lot of you share that love with me.
I really hope you guys understand Akashi's situation a bit better, and gives you a bit of perspective on how he was when they first arrived to LA to meet Kuroko. He's broken, confused, and in a complete mess, and that will, obviously, impact his performance later on. I'm not saying any more, but yeah! Please hype yourself by then!
Thank you so much for reading and I'll (very very hopefully) see you guys soon!
Peace,
FlyAndDontLookBack