"C'mon Kuroko! Faster!" Sekio yelled from in front of her. They were outside running up the hill behind behind the school. Tetsumi was fine the first time but after the second she was ready to pass out.
"I can't go...anymore." She said as she crawled on the ground. The other girls in front of her agreed. Sekio sighed and jogged back down towards her.
"You can go as long as you try. You wanted to be a cheerleader, right? You wanted to be there cheering on our team at the winter cup? Well, get up and prove the other girls that your worthy of the spot." She said grabbing Tetsumi's hand off of the ground and pulling her up. Tetsumi panted heavily but followed Sekio up the hill. The sun was glaring down angrily at her as it set her skin on fire. Each breathe she took, Tetsumi felt her lungs burn and her legs wobble.
"Yo, Kuroko!" She turned around to see Kagami running up the hill like it was nothing. The rest of the basketball team was behind him.
"Hello, Kagami-kun." She wheezed out. Kagami laughed at her.
"Our coach decided to join you all." He said. Kuroko stood there and watched the players run pass them. Some of them were already slowing down.
"Faster! The faster you get this done the faster you get to go home!" Riko said and the guys groaned.
"I think I'm done." Tetsumi said to Kagami.
"No way! I just got here! C'mon, I'll help you out." He pushed her forward causing her to stumble forward.
"What are you doing?" She asked confused.
"I know you joined the team because you wanted to see the other schools for whatever reason. But you won't be able to if you don't get up this hill!" Kagami pushed her again and Tetsumi started to walk. If she wanted to see Seika she would have to do her best to make the team. If she wanted to see the others she'll have to do this. Tetsumi knew she didn't have to join the team to go to the tournament but she would have to pay for each game. It'll be easier to just be on the team and get in for free.
"If I make it up, your carrying me down." She said as she pushed her legs to climb the hill. In her head all she thought about was Seika standing at the top of the hill. Unreachable but so close. I can do this. I'm not weak and vulnerable. I'm strong and reliable. She said in her head. Without knowing it, Tetsumi was pulling herself ahead of her squad and the others girls including Kagami were cheering her on. Seika was getting closer and Tetsumi beamed when she finally reached the top.
"See? I knew you could do it." Seika said but she was soon replaced with Sekio.
"You were right." Tetsumi panted out wiping the sweat from her forehead. Soon, Kagami was standing right beside her and was startled when she jumped on his back.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"I told you, you were going to carry me back down. Let's go the sun is burning me alive." Tetsumi said. Kagami rolled his eyes but started walking down the hill anyway.
"Alright, so where do you guys want to grab something to eat?" Sekio asked the group. After practice they decided to go get something to eat on their way home. Tetsumi was feeling better after drinking gallons of water and laying down for a few minutes. Her bones were aching but she figured it'll be even worse in the morning.
"We can try that fast food joint down the straight." Riko said and the others all agreed. Excellent, that means I get to get a milkshake. Tetsumi though to herself and put a little pep in her step. She decided that she deserved her sugary desert.
"I can already tell what you are going to get." Kagami said as Tetsumi practically skipped beside him.
"I'm sorry but I don't understand what your talking about." She said clearly knowing what he's talking about.
"As soon as she mentioned Maji you started walking faster. Either you really have to go the bathroom or you're craving a milkshake." Kagami replied. Tetsumi scoffed.
"Kagami-kun is clearly delusional. I just want to sit down." She said.
"Yeah, okay. We'll see about that." He said gently shoving her causing Tetsumi to stumble to the side.
"Please don't push me around. I'm only but so big." Tetsumi said rubbing her shoulder. That go really doesn't know his own strength some times.
"Welcome to Maji Burger! How can I serve you today?" The cashier said at the register. Tetsumi slyly took out her wallet while the others found a table.
"One regular vanillin shake please." She whispered not wanting Kagami to know that she was buying one.
He found out anyway since he was standing in line behind her.
"Kagami-kun, you can't go scaring people like that." Tetsumi said after she jumped in surprised.
"That means you were doing something you weren't supposed to." He said to her before ordering a huge pile of hamburgers.
"I brought magazines to show you girls. They have super cute hair styles that we should take a vote on. We just can't represent our school any kind of way at the Winter Cup." Sekio pulled out a hand full of magazines and passed them around the table. Tetsumi sipped her milkshake before eyeing the basketball team that sat in the other booth beside them joking around.
"Here, Kuroko. I saw one that was perfect for you in here." One of the girls handed her a magazine and Tetsumi almost choked on her shake on the fourth page. The others noticed and one of them gentle patted her back.
It was a photo of Kise in an attire that would make Tetsumi's grandmother roll over in her grave. Rest her soul. Tetsumi flipped to another page then another and found even more.
"Kise Ryouka: Angel in Dipped Red." The captions said. Even though Kise looked stunningly beautiful, these photos weren't something Tetsumi wanted to see someone she knew doing.
"Oi, what's with the face you're making?" Kagami asked from the other booth. Everyone had turned to look at her when she was coughing up a storm. He reached over the booth and tried to grab the magazine but Tetsumi started ripping out the pages of Kise and crumple them up.
"Hey! What's the matter?" Sekio asked her. Tetsumi shook her head and went to throw the crumpled magazine papers in the trash. It felt like things were getting worse when they got better.
What are you doing, Kise?