And you thought you'd never see me again! (But honestly speaking, I'm surprised myself for updating this.) It's been way too long and I apologize greatly for making everyone wait but i've been so busy lately and lost a lot of motivation for this story that I kind of just put it off. Then, I got a review, asking me why I had discontinued, and I knew that I procrastinated too much. I was letting everyone down.
So here I finally am with the newest chapter, where there's going to be some KiKuro, so for those who ship this ship, Here's my present for you! But also remember that love isn't the main theme of this story. It's mostly going to be mentioned or implied, so please don't get the wrong idea!
I'm going to do my best uploading my other stories (especially Overseas and Make a Wish) but I've been have spurs of creativity here and there so I might end up writing another story completely. My brain does this and I don't know why.
Remember to check out my most recent story, Everything Will Be Okay, which is my third AoKaga story with as much angst as the other two, and my two MidoTaka stories, Limelight and The Icelandic Word for Goodbye. I'd very much appreciate a review for these :)
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and while I may not be able to upload constantly, please know that I will always, and I mean ALWAYS, give you guys a notification if I were to ever discontinue this story. Until then, however, no matter how sparse, i will upload a chapter eventually.
So, without further ado, here's the next chapter!
The stadium was boggling with crowds of die-hard fans awaiting the soon to be famous basketball match between Kaijo and Touou. Seirin made their way to their seats, though Kagami and Kuroko got seats a bit closer to the court.
'A match between Kise Ryouta and Aomine Daiki, huh?' Kagami pondered. He directed his attention to Kuroko. "Who do you think is going to win?" He asked and Kuroko was silent for a few seconds.
Then, "I do not know. This is the first time two Generation of Miracles are fighting against each other." Kagami's eyes widened. "But I am a little worried."
"Why?" Kagami questioned.
"Kise-kun started basketball in the first place because he had admired Aomine-kun's skills. They often played against each other back in middle school but not once did Kise-kun win."
Kagami sat there quiet, processing the information. He didn't know much about the Generation of Miracles, nor did he want to, to be honest, but if there was one thing he did know, it was that in admiring someone, they were forcefully keeping themselves from beating them. He looked at the empty arena where soon, Kaijo and Touou would spar against each other. He then compared the skills between Kise and Aomine through memory and bit his lip. If what Kuroko had said was true, then he could only wish Kaijo all the luck they could get.
Meanwhile, the team themselves was having a nervous crisis. The locker room was silent as everyone looked gloomy, even before the match began. The tension was thick as no matter how much the benchwarmers and the ever loud Hayakawa tried to cheer themselves up, the tension just wouldn't leave.
Kasamatsu was already at his wits end. He punched Hayakawa for being too loud, he kicked his failing womanizing friend, Moriyama, because he was too focused on a cute girl whose name no one knew, and he even threw a spare basketball at Kise's face because he had brought chocolates, which were given to him by one of his fans.
"Do you guys just not fucking concentrate?" Kasamatsu asked in anger, veins popping out at the corner of his forehead. Before anyone could answer him, however, their coach entered the room, the door shutting with a bang.
"It's going to be time soon." The coach said simply but with his horrendous tidied-up look, no one could feel the pressure from outside.
"Coach, please don't tell me you're trying to compete with Touou's handsome coach. You can't do it." Someone commented, to which everyone except Kasamatsu bursted out laughing. The stoic captain stood up and nudged Kise. The blond looked at him curiously.
"What's wrong, Kasamatsu-senpai?" He asked.
"Call me back in 5 minutes before the match starts." Kasamatsu answered and left, leaving the blond to realize that even his prideful captain was getting jittery as well.
For Kise — well, nervous was an understatement. He couldn't help but laugh bitterly. All those times back in middle school when he always asked for a one-on-one battle against Aomine was now coming back to haunt him. All those times he could never move a step forward, when he couldn't, for the sake of his life, be faster than the tanned prodigy when it came to dribbling and shooting. Kise's hands were trembling slightly but he clenched them as hard as he could. There was no way that he would be daunted so easily. He had changed the moment Kuroko Terumi waltzed back into his life and beat him. He was a changed man and he would show it.
Aomine's team was hazardous as well, but for the wrong reasons.
"Why, of all days, is he late?" Momoi asked in despair, her hand gripping her cellphone and her other hand massaging her forehead from the massive headache she was getting.
"Did you call him?" The coach asked, his leg shaking subtly, and she nodded.
"Six times, sir. He's just not picking up." Momoi replied with a grumble.
"Will someone just please go to his house and beat the living shit out of him?" Wakamatsu shouted in anger. He, like any angry person, hated Aomine with a passion for always being late and lax when it came to basketball. Not all could be a prodigy, and Wakamatsu knew that, but that didn't mean those special people could flaunt it like no tomorrow.
Just as Momoi was about to leave to do what Wakamatsu said, however, the locker room door opened and a powerful, ominous aura entered the scene. Aomine, sweating from his early warm up, walked inside, his smirk mocking as always but also filled with rarely seen determination.
The coach knew why Aomine was so fired up. Anyone who knew about the Generation of Miracles could tell. "It seems you've already finished your warm up." He said, to which Aomine just nodded at.
Momoi, however, wasn't satisfied with Aomine just yet. "Why do you always make us worry like that? And when are you going to pick up your phone!" She yelled.
"Kise's our opponent, right?" Aomine merely asked, ignoring Momoi's nagging. "I was looking forward to this the entire time. There's no way I'd be late to something like this."
"Aomine…kun?" Momoi hesitated to say because in an instant, the powerful aura that Aomine was emitting suddenly shifted gears and now felt more threatening and honestly, downright terrifying.
"He's one of the few players I can go all out against." Aomine finished, his voice trembling in excitement as his face featured an alarmingly beast-like smile.
"5 minutes before game time, Kasamatsu-senpai." Kise said as he found Kasamatsu sitting on one of the benches outside of the locker room. Kasamatsu, whose head had been lowered, slowly lifted as their eyes met. He sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, thanks. I'll be right there."
Kise looked at his captain and could easily see dread. "You know, you've been doing this an awful lot since the Inter High started." Kise commented and Kasamatsu shrugged.
"Last year," Kasamatsu started, "we thought we had our strongest line up yet. We had all the skills and potential to win the game. Do you know what happened?"
Kise thought about it for a second. "If I remember correctly, you guys lost in the preliminaries, didn't you?"
Kasamatsu hung his head. "Yeah. We lost because of me." At that, Kise's eyes widened significantly. "At such a crucial moment, when we were only a a point ahead, I made a miss pass and the opposing team turned the tables around immediately. Had I been more focused, more pressured, more determined to win, we definitely would have. The guilt was killing me to the point where I thought of quitting basketball entirely. And you know what the coach did?"
Kise shook his head as Kasamatsu laughed without joy. "He made me captain. He told me that all that guilt I was feeling was something that would make me a great captain. My resolve now is not to redeem myself from what happened year ago, but to win the Inter High. That's all."
Kise smiled tiredly. "Well then, I guess we all have our goals to achieve, no matter how high they may be."
"Do you also have a goal, Kise?"
Kise shrugged. "To beat Aominecchi. That's all I need to do. This is going to be my first win against him, after all." Kise turned his back from his captain and slowly started to walk away. Kasamatsu could see his great resolve and determination radiating.
"I'll win, even if it kills me."
A bell rung, signifying that the two teams would now meet in the court. Touou and Kaijo were both met with deafening roars from the crowds and Kise glanced at Aomine, who was smirking at him all the while. Kise shone a smirk back.
"I'm not going to lose, Aominecchi."
"My, don't you sound confident, Kise." Aomine immediately retorted. "Sorry to disappoint, but that's just not going to happen. When have you ever won against me?"
"There's a first time for everything. Somehow, my desire to win is stronger than ever. Ever since Kurokocchi won against us, I just couldn't wait to play more basketball."
"Right, you lost against Tetsu and that Kagami guy, didn't you? Isn't that enough proof to show how inferior you are to me?"
Kise chuckled, not even bothering to acknowledge Aomine's haughtiness. "Aren't you the one getting cocky now?"
"Well, it doesn't matter either way. I'll show you how much skill you're lacking compared to me. And I'm sure you've already noticed by now." Aomine pointed to the crowd and Kise looked to see Kagami's blazing red hair.
"Kagamicchi?" Aomine didn't fail to notice Kise's use of suffix to Kagami's name.
"Which means Tetsu's here as well."
Kise's eyes widened a fraction. "And what's that have to do with me?"
"Today, I'm going to show her." Aomine said, his eyes flaring. Kise looked, already knowing the answer.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm going to show her that she picked the wrong partner to be with." Kise understood the double meaning quickly.
The blond sighed and shook his head. "You really should get over it, Aominecchi. I mean, there's a reason why she broke up with you in the first place, you know?"
"She never broke up with me, bastard." Aomine grumbled but Kise gave him a look that made Aomine angrier. "What are you giving me that look for?"
"You guys were falling apart the moment you started to grow stronger. Now that I think about it, wasn't it you who rejected her first?"
"Shut up. You don't know anything that happened."
"I know enough to say that you fucked up. I doubt she's ever going to go back to you." Kise dropped the bomb and Aomine glared at him intensely, his fists clenching and unclenching, doing his best to press down his violent nature.
"So what?" Aomine started to say, trying to be as nonchalant as he could. "Do you think she's going to go for you, then?"
Kise smiled, which made Aomine doubt himself for a split second. "Who knows? Maybe after I win this match, I'll finally tell her how I feel. Unlike you, I still have a chance."
Aomine's eyes grew dark fast. Kise wondered if his provocation went a little too far. "Then I guess I can't let you win even more now. I'll crush you, Kise. I'll triple the score if I want to."
Kise's eyes also narrowed, throwing the worrying thought away immediately. He couldn't believe he was preoccupied with a douche like Aomine. "Don't you think you're underestimating me a little bit too much, Aominecchi?"
"Hey, line up already!" Kasamatsu suddenly shouted, breaking the accumulating tension between the two Generation of Miracles. With the two of them still glaring at each other, they ran to their spots at the center of the court and with a bow, the quarterfinal game between Kaijo and Touou finally began.
Kise couldn't help it. As he saw the basketball whizz pass him, right to Aomine's hand, and watched the tanned prodigy score another perfect shot, he couldn't help but remember how it all started. Back in middle school, when he had perfected every single sport given to him in P.E. class and was so bored that he had an eternal poker face on him every single school day.
Then, a basketball had hit him right behind his head and in more of shock than pain, he had sauntered up to the gym that was filled with noisy clamor and squeaking sounds. A tanned student, whose hair was dark blue and eyes shone like the ocean, had peeked outside and searched the area before finally landing his eyes on the blond.
"Sorry about that!" The student had said with a smile on his face. He was sweating massively, the perspiration gleaming against the sun, but even then, he looked like he could face the world. "Well, if it isn't Kise Ryouta!"
"Yeah, it's me. Will you watch where you're throwing this thing?" Kise had said in annoyance as he threw the ball at Aomine, who caught it with ease. Still smiling, he rubbed the back of his head and apologized. Someone called him ("Aomine, get your ass over here!") and the tanned student, now officially known as Aomine, said his goodbyes before quickly rushing back to the court.
Kise had looked inside the gym for a split second and saw various people running back and forth from one hoop to another. The orange ball, the center of attention, was getting tossed around carefully, and those on the court had both passionate and determined gleams.
'Now that I think about it, I've never done basketball before, had I?' Kise then thought to himself as his eyes followed Aomine, the man he had just been talking to. Then, instantaneously, he was entranced, mesmerized by Aomine's movements. Graceful, powerful, beautiful; all these words flew pass the blond as the tanned student scored a dunk shot with an air of flimsiness to him. And yet, within that carelessness, Kise found something in Aomine that he himself had been lacking: love.
His eyes had widened, his brain already calculating. That speed, that power, everything that matched the description of amazing fit into puzzle pieces and Kise found his hand twitching for some action.
He had asked himself, 'Can I replicate that? Can I replicate him?' And for once, he couldn't say yes to his own question. He had finally found it. He had finally found something, someone, who could potentially help him gain back the passion he had at the start of his first year, when everything was still so pure and Kise hadn't known his abilities to copy everything so perfectly.
Aomine had tilted his head when he felt presence looming behind him. "Still didn't leave? Did you need something?" He then asked Kise and the blond shook himself out of his stupor.
With gleaming eyes, ones that he didn't know he had inside him, he had asked, "Can I join the basketball club?"
Thinking back on it now, Kise realized how much he truly admired Aomine. He was the one person whom he could never copy, no matter how hard he tried. In terms of skills and ability, it was no wonder that Aomine was called the ace of the Generation of Miracles. Everything related to basketball, Aomine could do so easily. Kise had known in his middle school days that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to catch up to him, but at the time, he cherished it. There was finally something Kise couldn't do in just a few minutes; he finally had the chance to learn, just like everybody else.
He sighed mentally. Of course, now that he was in this situation, he wanted to curse his middle school self for not trying harder. Sure, in the spur of the moment, he loved being inferior for once, where he could finally try to exceed his limits in hopes of beating his admirable rival, but now, Kise could painfully see the lack of skill he had in comparison to the prodigy in front of him.
The ball was passed to him by Kasamatsu, and he began to dribble forward, as fast as he could, to try and get away from Aomine, the only defense he had, but quite easily, it was stolen from him and even with his legs moving quickly, there was no way he could catch up to the tanned player.
'Just like in middle school, huh?' Kise thought bitterly. 'No matter what I do, I can't catch up to him.' The confession was distressing and it left a stinging taste inside his mouth. The truth hurt but it was still the truth. Aomine was too strong, too capable, too talented. It was one of the reasons why Kise had admired him in the first place. 'Wouldn't it be better to just give it to him? In the end, he's going to win, like always. I never really could beat him, could I?'
A buzz indicating a successful shot resonated in the stadium and Kise looked up to see that, surprisingly, Kaijou's score had gone up. He looked at the hoop and saw Kasamatsu holding his fist in the air in triumph and the blond realized that his captain had just scored a three pointer in such an awkward position. Immediately after, however, Kasamatsu sauntered up to him and kicked him from behind.
"What was that for, senpai?" Kise cried as he rubbed his back soothingly.
"What are you spacing out for, you idiot? Just follow me. I can keep this up forever, you know?" Kasamatsu declared and for a moment, Kise could see a golden shine radiating upon his captain. Kasamatsu hit him once more. "That doesn't that you can just let them pass you either, dumbass!"
"I'm sorry!" Kise shouted as he flew across the court. But when he straightened, he took a deep breath and the atmosphere around him changed for the better. Now was not the time to reflect on the past. He had plenty of time to do that afterwards. What he needed to do right now was to focus on the now, to focus on the obstacle in front of him.
As Aomine took the ball, Kise took his defense form and Aomine himself hesitated for a second. The change in Kise's face, the sudden aura glowing around him, and the flawless defense form he had, it was enough to make Aomine stand on his toes. Exactly the feeling he had been wanting to feel for some time now.
"So a reliable senpai is enough to get you out of a stump, huh?" Aomine asked as he looked for a way to escape Kise's perfect defense. "Looks like you're finally thinking of defeating me. Did losing to Tetsu make you have a change of heart? Never thought you would lean on weak people."
"I'm beginning to realize just what Kurokocchi is going for, and I agree. Her way of thinking is much better than the one we've had for a very long time. I've always had doubts on which basketball play is better, which is more worth it, and honestly, it was just making my brain all whacked up. But in the end, none of that matters, does it?"
"Hah?" Aomine tilted his head in confusion, not understanding.
"As long as I have clear goal to follow, I'll do what I can." Kise lifted his head slightly, meeting Aomine's eyes directly. The tanned player realized something right then: this was the first time Kise actually looked at him in the eye. He smirked. So finally, the blond was getting serious about the game, wasn't he?
"I will defeat you." Kise asserted and with a heated one-on-one battle, Kise came out victorious by stupendously blocking Aomine's dunk shot. The audience stood quiet for a second before roaring in surprise and excitement. That was the first time anyone could stop a shot like that, and that just made the crowd go even wilder.
"No bad." Aomine said as Kise walked pass him. Hands to his hips, he commented, "Never thought you could pull it off."
Kise huffed. "Who do you think played against you every day and lost every time? At this point, it's not a surprise that I can read you so predictably. I'm pretty much the one who knows you the best."
Aomine smirked. "I see."
"Kaijou's leading. The dude, I think his name was Moriyama or something like that, just threw the ball and got a three pointer. Damn his posture was weird but it still went in." Kagami narrated and Kuroko nodded.
"Thank you, Kagami-kun. However, this is not Aomine's full strength." Terumi noticed and Kagami froze.
"Are you serious? Kise already looks beat."
"Aomine-kun is the type that runs warm. You can say that he warms up in the first quarter but judging by the immense aura I am feeling from the court, I would say that it is about time that he gets 'serious.'"
And true to Kuroko's words, Aomine slowly but surely was becoming more serious and simultaneously, more powerful. The immense pressure and concentration while going against Kise was so great that Kagami himself could feel it loud and clear. Aomine's agility, power, and accuracy was going up by the second and Kise, no matter how well he could predict Aomine's movements, just couldn't catch up.
The damage was being done. Quickly, the points that Touou had lost in the first quarter was racked up in just a few minutes by the second. Kaijou was slowly losing its patience and the coach asked for a time out.
Kise took his seat in weariness and Kasamatsu could see how much he was sweating. If he was already tired out this much in the second quarter, he couldn't imagine what would happen in latter half.
"Coach." Kise called out and the team gathered around him. "I'd like to keep going like this."
"Are you sure, Kise? You look pretty tired." Kasamatsu tried to intervene but the resolve in Kise was flaming and Kasamatsu had no choice but to back down.
"Just a little bit more and I think I can do it." Kise mumbled, to himself mostly, but it was enough to get everyone's blood rushing.
The time out ended and the game started once more. Throughout, Terumi was silent, and Kagami could feel something weird.
"Kuroko, what's wrong?" He asked and while Terumi didn't give him an answer, Kagami realized that it had something to do with Kise and his prodigious skills.
As the game began, the ball was passed to Kise and Aomine marked him once more. The crowd eagerly awaited for another one-on-one battle between the two Generation of Miracles but at the last second, Kise passed to his teammate, surprising everyone, but mostly Aomine himself.
"Hey, what the hell was that? Giving up already?" Aomine asked with a mocking tone but Kise didn't answer him. Instead, he gave him a stoic look and walked away, making Aomine suspicious of his actions and the future course of events. But even then, he didn't care. He knew that Kise would never amass to his skills and that no matter what the blond did, Aomine would always surpass it.
With a sigh, he shrugged carelessly in front of Kise, and quickly broke the blond's defense. As he went in for another shot, he bumped into Kasamatsu, who was waiting for him under the hoop. A foul was called and after that, Kise's passion burned to such an extent that the audience was entranced by Kaijou's play. Most of time, it became a one-on-one between the two prodigies and even though Kise would always lose, he would stand back up in hopes of getting the next one.
Another dunk shot from Aomine and Kise was left behind, staring at Aomine's back. He couldn't help but think, 'Damn, he's so cool. He has such a unique play that no one, not even I, can imitate and while I know that that's why I joined the basketball team in the first place, I'm getting pretty desperate now. I need to do something, anything to try and copy him. I need to.'
But as Kise thought that, he mentally slapped himself in the face and laughed coldly. He knew from the very beginning why he couldn't copy Aomine. It was the matter of Kise's mentality.
'If I admire, I can't surpass.'
The audience grew silent as the Generation of Miracles faced each other in quiet contemplation. Kagami's eyes widened as he realized what Kise was thinking.
Terumi thought it as well. "It seems like Kise-kun has finally decided what to do."
'If I keep admiring, I know that deep down in my heart, no matter how much I want to win, there's always going to be a part of me that doesn't want to see Aominecchi losing.'
Kise looked at Aomine straight in the eye once more, as if to say that he wouldn't back down now. Or, more likely, that now, they would be standing on the same ground.
"I'll quit admiring you," Kise started to say and Aomine felt something weird in his heart, "so that I can copy Aomine-kun's style." And with the change of suffix, mind, and everlasting resolve burning in the court, the game ended with Touou in the lead.
Kise sighed as he felt the gentle breeze combing through his hair. He recalled what he told his seniors.
"At the very least, I'll be able to copy him by the second half of the third quarter." Kise said to his teammates as he sat on the bench, gulping down water. "If I mess up, then it might take me up to the fourth."
Kasamatsu looked at him with worried curiosity. He thought, 'that's means we'll pretty much be playing against Touou without him.'
"Mind if I go outside for a bit?" Kise asked and Kasamatsu agreed.
"Come back a few minutes before the game starts."
And now, Kise was here, leaning against the side of the bridge. He closed his eyes, willing his mind to bring up every technique and skill Aomine had shown him in the past few years they had been together, still smiling, still a team.
"One that cannot reach the impossible tends to expect from them instead. One who believes he can reach it tends to crash and burn in the end. Which category do you fit in, Kise-kun?" A voice from behind asked and Kise quickly turned around in surprise to see Terumi in the flesh, her long hair following the gentle breeze of the wind. Her sky blue hair complimenting the actual sky made her look ethereal and she looked more beautiful than he had ever pictured.
"Kurokocchi, hi. How did you know I was here?" He asked, feeling a bit awkward knowing that it was only the two of them.
"I have been training my feet to 'see' more now. I believe that I can now see the whole court."
"Wow, you've improved a lot. Back in middle school, you could only see just a few feet around you."
"I have changed." Terumi agreed and the two fell into silence, Kuroko feeling the same zephyr Kise was feeling, and the man doing his best not to fidget for he knew that Kuroko would immediately know.
"So, which category do you fit in, Kise-kun?" Terumi broke the silence by asking. Kise looked at her curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you the one who puts expectations on the impossible or do you crash and burn in front of it?"
Kise recalled what she had said. "Ah, well that's an extreme way of putting it, Kurokocchi."
"You decided to quit admiring Aomine-kun, didn't you?" Terumi asked perceptively and Kise looked at her dumbfounded.
"How did you know?"
"I could feel it. Even now, your intention to try and copy Aomine-kun is firm and radiating."
Kise leaned against the side of the bridge again, looking at the scenery calmly. "Yeah, well, it's not going to be easy, that's for sure. Aominecchi is such a big hurdle to try and overcome, you know?"
"He is the impossible." Terumi connected.
"He is." Kise agreed. "S,o you're pretty much asking me whether I'm never going to let go of admiring him or fail in the process? That's mean, Kurokocchi. It's like you don't believe in me at all." Kise said in a joking manner but it emotionally hurt. He thought that Terumi, of all people, would have a little bit of hope for him.
Terumi, however, rebuked his inner turmoil. "I said no such thing, Kise-kun. I merely asked what you thought. What do you think?"
Kise thought about it for a second. Then, "Well, do I have another option? I don't want to be in either, to be honest." Kise finally answered and he could see Terumi smiling a bit. He missed that smile greatly.
"What do you think, Kise-kun?" She repeated.
Kise thought about it once more. "Is Aominecchi really the impossible?"
Kuroko shrugged, secretly liking that kind of answer. "Maybe not. It depends on perspective, Kise-kun. Do you believe that Aomine-kun is the impossible?"
He shrugged. "Not really. I truly believe that I can copy him, now that I've given up on admiring him. What does that make me?" Kise asked with a smile and for once, even though Terumi couldn't see it, she returned the smile.
"It makes you a capable man, Kise-kun. I am proud of you." Terumi ended, making Kise blush and his heart going a little bit faster. Terumi turned her head towards the scenery and for a moment, Kise wished she had her eyesight so that they could see the same thing. "You should go back soon, Kise-kun. Your team must be worried." She finalized as she began walking away.
Before she could, however, Kise ran up to her and gave her a hug from behind. She, startled, stopped in her steps. "Kise-kun, what is wrong?" She asked, unintentionally grasping Kise's arm that was wrapped around her.
Kise was sure Terumi could hear and feel his rapid heartbeat and he knew himself how red he was, not from the summer heat. He lowered his head a bit, making his lips almost touch Terumi's ear, and quietly he asked, "If I win, will you hear me out?"
"Hear you out on what, Kise-kun?" She asked, not fazed by the sudden close contact.
"I have something I've been wanting to tell you for some time now. If I win, will you listen?" Kise asked, nervous and confident at the same time.
"I would listen to you anytime, Kise-kun. But I am curious." Terumi answered, making Kise release her and stand in front of her again.
"Curious about what? What I'm going to say?"
Terumi shook her head. "No, not that. It is just that, I just thought that you would say when you win, not if."
Kise smiled, rubbing the back of his neck at the sharpness of Kuroko's ears. "Well, I definitely intend to do whatever I can to win against Aominecchi, but honestly, I'm not so sure on what the outcome might be. Back in middle school, winning was a given because we were just too strong." Kise began walking away. "But now, not knowing the outcome honestly makes me feel better. It's a feeling that I don't really mind."
Terumi left behind, Kise began to enter the stadium. Out of habit, he waved to Terumi and when he realized that she could see him, he merely smiled. "Hope you'll cheer me on, Kurokocchi." He called out before going back inside.
"I will." She whispered back.
"No way. He's actually doing it?" Kagami asked in surprise at the spectacle bestowed upon him. Right there, in front of his eyes, was Kise, imitating one of Aomine's techniques on Touou's captain, Imayoshi. It wasn't as fast, duly noted by Momoi herself, but it was getting there and surprisingly so. Had it been counted in percentage, Kise was a bit over 50% until getting everything perfect.
But nevertheless, even with the incompleteness, there was still a chill that ran through Imayoshi the moment he got himself entangled into Kise's experiment.
"Wakamatsu, do you remember what I said to you the day Aomine came into our basketball team?" Imayoshi asked.
"Captain?" Wakamatsu asked in confusion.
"I thought of him as a very reliable player, especially when it came to games that were essential to win, but at the same time, I thought to myself, 'what if this man was my opponent?' Just thinking about it made me get the chills." Imayoshi hesitated for a second, making the pressure increase significantly. "And you know what? I just got the same chills."
Aomine stood there in shock for a moment, processing what had just happened. Kise was mumbling to himself, telling himself that he wasn't there yet, that he was still missing core agility and accuracy. The tanned player grinned at the thought of Kise finally achieving 100% on his imitation. At the same time, he also felt a chill that he didn't have at the first half of the game. Just what gave the blond such immense motivation?
Then, it dawned on him as he whipped his head to the audience, to where Kagami and Kuroko were sitting, close enough so that Kagami could constantly whisper in her ear. Kagami noticed Aomine looking their way and gave him a glare but it was obvious that Aomine wasn't looking at the red-head. Instead, he looked directly at Terumi, who didn't know what was happening until Kagami whispered it to her. Then, she tilted her head to the right, as if to signify what was wrong and Aomine wanted to ask so badly whether she had met Kise during the break but knew he couldn't.
Instead, he let it go as the game restarted. During those times, Riko could see how Kise was improving quickly but was also being extremely careful when it came to practicing.
"He didn't have the time to try and copy the Generation of Miracles, much less the ace, during his free time. It's obvious that he's not going to get it the first time round, especially since he couldn't do it since middle school." She explained.
"So he's only imitating Aomine during fast-breaks?" Hyuuga added.
Riko nodded. "And when it's not Aomine-kun he's facing off against. It looks like until he's 100% sure that he has perfectly copied Aomine-kun, we won't get to see another showdown between them."
And Riko was right. Aomine glanced at Kise, easy surpassing one of Touou's teammates with the same set of technique he had used on Kise. He was getting anxious, not with fear that he was finally getting overwhelmed, but more with excitement and desperation. He didn't want to wait for Kise, especially with the game on the line. Even more, he knew where the sudden motivation and surge of passion came from.
'Tetsu.' Aomine thought bitterly as he glanced once more at the place where Kagami was at. He was still angry, not at her, but at himself for what happened in middle school. Had he been just a bit more selfless, a bit more caring, maybe the future would have been different for them. But he had to admit that Kise was right. They had broken up because of him, and now he was paying the price. Whatever happened during that break, it was enough for Kise to lose the doubts he was having about his own set of sills and was doing whatever he could to win, just so that he could finally work up the courage to confess to her.
Kise got ready to make another shot, in a pose just like Aomine's, but at the last second, Aomine jumped to block and the line of concentration Kise broke.
"If you're thinking for a second that I'm just going to let you practice without any difficulties, you're more of an idiot than I thought." Aomine sneered and Kise narrowed his eyes in anger and annoyance. With his concentration interrupted, it would be harder for him to get back into it. Even more so, the point difference was becoming overwhelming, with Kaijou losing by 15 points.
However, Kise's teammates were relentless, doing their best not to let any more points go to other side. Kasamatsu knew the burden Kise was holding on his back. He knew just how much pressure his junior was feeling, especially since everyone on the team was rooting for him to take Aomine on. He knew how much doubt and self-hatred Kise would be feeling if he didn't complete his preparation in time.
So, with the help of the others, they stopped Touou from making the point difference even bigger and Moriyama, the ever failing womanizer, ruffled Kise's hair as Kaijou scored a two-pointer.
"Senpai…" Kise trailed off, not knowing what to say but obviously touched.
"Don't worry about us, Kise." Moriyama started. "Just focus on your own stuff. And when we win, introduce me to some girls, will you?"
Kise couldn't help it. He smiled when Moriyama got kicked by Kasamatsu for saying something stupid and Hayakawa shouting at Kise to get him some girls as well, though it was very hard to understand.
A thought occurred to him. Lately, he was having much more fun in basketball than he ever had when he was in his third year of middle school. It was as though he was finally getting his love for basketball back, which he thought was impossible to do. Lately, he was beginning to feel that he understood just a bit what Kuroko had wanted to show him. What a 'team' really meant and more importantly, what he had to do now.
With a single glimpse at the teal-haired blind woman, Kise walked up slowly to Aomine, who looked at him with quiet curiosity. The ball passed to the blond, and in a split second, the two Generation of Miracles were finally up against each other, just like in the first half of the game. But this time, there was something different. The pressure and tension that the two were emanating was on a whole new level. And everyone could feel it.
"'The only one who can beat me is me,' huh?" Kise repeated Aomine's infamous quote and Aomine's, as well as everyone else's, eyes grew wide.
"Kise, you…"
"Then what would happen if your opponent is exactly that?"
A small but strong strike of bright yellow lightning flashed through Kise's golden eyes as both Kagami and Kuroko stood up in wild disbelief. Other people in the crowd seemed to do the same until almost everyone was up in their seats, trying to get a clear view of Kise Ryouta, Generation of Miracles' copy cat.
And in an instant, the blond got though Aomine for the first time, and even managed to make Aomine get a foul by doing the exact same thing he had gone through in the beginning of the match. With Aomine bumping into him, and the sound of the whistle making his ears ring, Kise threw the ball behind his back, just like Aomine had, and waited for the swish of the net to resonate and the crowd to go wild.
Aomine stood there, dumbfounded, shocked, absolutely frozen, as the referee held the number 4 towards his direction, signifying his fourth foul. But that wasn't what he was focusing at; his eyes followed the blond and his yellow lighting reflecting his golden eyes. He saw, with clenched fists, Kise giving him a look that could only mean that Aomine was being looked down upon and he was shaking his head, as if to say that he expected better from him.
One that cannot reach the impossible tends to expect from them instead.
Kise expected better. And now that the expectation could not be achieved, it was only a sure sign that Aomine was never the impossible in the first place. And both Kise and Aomine knew that. Aomine knew it so well that the anger welling up inside him just grew worse and he was close to bursting.
All those panicking faces around him — Momoi's, the coach's, even his own teammates' — they were all misjudging him. There was no way in hell he would remotely feel dejected from something that he shouldn't have been so surprised with. So just before Kise could make another shot by perfectly imitating what the tanned player would have done in that situation, Aomine shut him down completely, making Kise fall in the process.
"You thought I'd chicken out because I got my fourth foul? Don't make me laugh." Aomine said as he glared at the man below him. Kise started to get up slowly, waiting for Aomine to say more because they both knew he would.
"You know, out of everyone here, I can't stand you the most, Kise."
Kise gave him a side-glance, also giving him a smirk that reminded Aomine of a certain ash-haired man whom he had known in middle school before Kise had joined. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked with in a care-free tone.
"Kise, you bastard, how dare you worry about me?" Aomine growled in fury.
Kise's eyes narrowed. "I don't recall ever getting worried about you at all."
"Everyone, even Satsuki, is worried. This is just pissing me the hell off. If you've got that much time to doubt me, then come at me with everything you've got."
A silence overtook them before the buzzer rang, signifying the end of the third quarter. Kise got up and gave him another side glance before walking over to his teammates.
As he got to the benches, he couldn't help but give a driven smile. "Well then, if it would've ended with him not doing anything, I would've been very disappointed. The fourth quarter will surely end with a bang."
And with bang, the las quarter, and ultimately the game, did. The match was definitely even, with both Kaijou and Touou scoring from either side. It was like watching the same person fight for both teams and no matter how many times Aomine scored with a different technique, Kise would always be there to score back with the same move. Each movement, each step, and even each breath Kise made was more and more like Aomine's and though it was thrilling to watch, it was also getting tiring. For 9 minutes straight, the flow just wouldn't change.
But right then, with a bit of a fumble from Touou, the ball went to Kise and Kaijou finally had a chance to overturn the game and win once and for all. With barely a few minutes on the clock, the two Generation of Miracles began another showdown.
Aomine had to think. If Kise were like him, where would he go, left or right? It was confusing, even for him, because Aomine never thought when it came to playing, so when Kise didn't go where Aomine thought he would, when Kise actually decided to just make a free form shot, Aomine cursed for thinking in the first place and immediately jumped after him, barely giving Kise any time to shoot.
But just then, Kise ducked, making it obvious that the free form shot was a feint and was getting ready to pass it to Kasamatsu, an action Kise would have never done in the past.
Kasamatsu was ready for it. he was ready to receive the ball and make a three-pointer to give them more of an advantage in the last few seconds of match. He was ready to win against Touou and move on to the next round.
But as Kise moved his arm to the back to make the pass, Aomine intercepted easily, letting the ball go loose and Kaijou missing its chance of making a comeback.
"You were do a real fine job copying me." Aomine commented while Kise just stood there, unmoving, uncomprehending. "You were doing good until that last pass. You must've momentarily forgotten because of all that outside influence, haven't you?"
"What?" Kise asked in a whisper, barely audible.
"I never rely on anyone except for myself. That was the one flaw you had that made you lose your chance of turning it around." Aomine concluded before leaving Kise to his deprecating thoughts. He was going down a spiral of darkness, wondering, just wondering, where he had gone wrong. Now, Kaijou would never be able to catch up. And it was his fault.
"The match isn't over yet, dumbass!" Kasamatsu screamed from behind, grabbing Kise's head and squeezing it hard. Kise shouted, more from shock than pain, and turned around to see his teammates giving him a thumbs up, telling him that it was ok.
And that they still had a chance.
So, Kise relied on that. He relied on his teammates to make his confidence grow and his power increase. He decided that, for once, Aomine was wrong. There was nothing wrong with depending on your teammates, your comrades, your family.
Just as Aomine was about to make a finishing shot, just before the buzzer rang, Kise ran up to him using Aomine's speed and jumped high with just enough time to hold the ball away from the hoop.
"Don't you dare impose your values on me just because we lost this match. If anything, blame on the fact that I was just wasn't strong enough!" Kise yelled but Aomine wasn't daunted.
Instead, he sneered. "Don't talk to me as if you've already won!" And with a finally push, Aomine overcame Kise's strength and powerfully made the finishing dunk before the ending buzzer sounded.
The stadium filled with cheers for Touou's victory, a score of 110 to 98, but for Kaijou, they could hear nothing.
Kise stayed on the ground, processing the outcome. So, they had lost. Kise had lost against Aomine again. When the referee called out to the players to stand and bow, Kise tried to get up but realized that there was something wrong with his ankle. He had felt it when he had finally perfected his imitation skills but ignored it because it wasn't the most important thing to worry about. But now that he couldn't even stand properly on his own, he found himself hating so much.
Hating his own weakness, hating his own ability, and hating how doubtful he was about himself and the team for the entire game. It was his fault they lost, wasn't it?
Disgraceful. That was the only word Kise could think of as he punched the floor with the remaining strength he had. It echoed through the cheering crowd, making enough noise to let the teal-haired spectator lift her head in surprise and then furrow her eyebrows in sadness.
Kise's hand trembled and he was close to tears. He couldn't think straight, the sweat beading down his entire body chilling to make him freeze. Aomine merely stared, stared at the hand placed on the floor, stared at the body that was shaking so subtly, stared as Kasamatsu, the most reliable player in Kaijou, lent out a hand for Kise to grab.
"Senpai…" Kise trailed off as he saw the hand.
"Can you stand?" Kasamatsu asked, genuine worry gleaming through his steely gray eyes.
"I… I…" Kise tried to say but the words just wouldn't come out.
"I know. It's frustrating, but you did well, Kise. You made us proud." Kasamatsu finished off instead, helping him up and letting Kise lean against him as they wobbled to the center of the court. Kise was tired, so tired of being so strong in such a long while. He was so tired and anguished that no matter what he did, his tears just kept falling to the ground.
"Not all is lost. We still have the Winter Cup to make them pay." Kasamatsu encouraged and though Kise didn't answer, it was enough to help him stand a little be taller. With a last bow, the two teams fell apart to their respective rooms and just like a captain should, Kasamatsu bellowed his last encouraging words before Kaijou's basketball team disbanded to pack up.
A little while later, as Kise and the rest of the members got ready to leave, he noticed that said captain wasn't there with them.
"Senpai," he said to Moriyama, "shouldn't we wait for Kasamatsu-senpai?"
"Leave him alone." Was the only advice given and it was then that Kise realized what Moriyama meant. He closed his eyes and for some reason, he could hear Kasamatsu's agonizing screams from behind the locker rooms. He could hear everyone falling apart.
But now was not the time to get stuck in the past. They had to move forward, regardless of the outcome. If they had time to get upset, they could use that time wisely and keep pushing forward, even if it were only for one step.
Terumi got up the moment the teams left the court. "I will go first." She remarked and Kagami, though he was a little surprised by the sudden action, knew what she was going to do and let her go.
"Ok, you sure you can go by yourself?" He asked and she nodded.
"Please tell the team that I had some business to take care of." She said and Kagami nodded as he pushed her slightly.
"I got it. Just do what you have to." And with that, Terumi left, leaving Kagami's eyes to follow after her even though he lost her a few seconds soon after.
The meeting was unexpected. Kise had decided to wait just a little bit longer, to see if he would be able to meet with Kasamatsu. But then, he determined that maybe Moriyama was right; he should just leave his captain be. It was already enough that he himself was feeling immense guilt and sorrow from today's match; he wouldn't be any help to someone who was carrying all that burden, not just from the present but from the past as well.
So, he left the stadium only to find himself crashing into the one person he didn't want to see.
"Aominecchi?" Kise remarked in surprise as he balanced himself at the last second. Aomine titled his head towards his direction, a lazy glance bestowed upon the blond.
"Sup?" He answered apathetically.
Kise couldn't help but show his distaste. "I thought you had already left."
"I was just going to until you rudely bumped into me."
"As sarcastic as always, aren't you?" Kise commented and an awkward silence filled the scene.
Aomine took a second to look at Kise, who seemed to be doing better than when they were on court. He could walk by himself now, which was reassuring, but he could see that Kise was putting most of his weight on his uninjured ankle. Just as Aomine was about to break the silence, to uncharacteristically ask if he was ok, the door behind them opened loudly enough for both of them to turn around.
They saw no one for a brief second before a voice out of nowhere asked, "Kise-kun, are you alright?" It took both of the Generation of Miracles a few seconds to process that there was a voice floating around with no body but as soon as they concentrated on that one point and saw none other than Kuroko Terumi standing in front of the blond, they jumped in surprise and shock.
"Kurokocchi, what are you doing here?" Kise asked in bewilderment, just before Aomine could ask the same.
"I was just looking for you Kise-kun." She answered, agitating the blond, and she soon bowed towards Aomine.
"Hello, Aomine-kun." She greeted and Aomine rubbed the back of his neck.
"Hey, Tetsu." He answered awkwardly and the atmosphere around the three thickened in awkwardness.
"Ah, shouldn't you be getting home, Kurokocchi?" Kise asked to break the terrible silence and Kuroko nodded.
"I should. Would you like to accompany me, Kise-kun?" She asked innocently but it was enough to shock both males.
Kise couldn't make a coherent sentence. "I — what?"
If Terumi noticed the flabbergasted speech, she didn't show it. "Kagami-kun already left and I am a bit unfamiliar with this path. And you had something you wanted to talk to me about, did you not?" Terumi answered, unfazed, but Kise's face just kept getting redder.
Aomine was not impressed. "Oi, Kise, what do you mean you have something to talk about with her?"
"None of your business, Aominecchi." Kise berated far too quickly before going back to Terumi. "Yeah, sure, Kurokocchi. Let's go." He said before Terumi could reveal any more to the tanned man. But Aomine wasn't going to let Kise off so easily.
With a swift grab to the shoulder, he pinned Kise to his spot. "Oi, what do you think you're doing, going with Tetsu just the two of you?"
Kise shook off Aomine's hand and gave him a glare. "She asked me to join her."
"Well, I'm going too then."
"Aomine-kun, there is no need." Terumi interrupted before Kise could say anything.
Aomine looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Kise-kun and I have to talk about something that does not have to involve you, Aomine-kun. I apologize for being so blunt but I would like it if you gave us some privacy."
"But —"
"Besides, your team won, did it not?"
Aomine didn't know where she was going with this. "Yeah, so?"
"Why are you not celebrating with them?" She asked, tilting her head slightly upward so that he could see parts of her milky blue eyes. For a split second, he could still remember their time in middle school, at the top of the monkey bars, laughing and enjoying their lives which had been blended together by chance and faith.
"Because I don't have to." Aomine answered truthfully, still confused.
Though it was hard to detect, the two could both feel Terumi's darkening aura. "I see." She said simply before bowing to Aomine once more. "We shall take our leave then. Goodbye, Aomine-kun." And before Aomine could say anything else, Kuroko and Kise left without another word.
Aomine merely stood there, jolted. What shocked him the most was not how bluntly Kuroko had rejected his offer to walk her home (though it was still a major part of it), but the goodbye she left him before leaving. Though it may have been insignificant to her, it felt like a thousand daggers to the heart for him. It sounded as though she was trying to cut all ties with Aomine, even after everything they had gone through together in the past.
It was almost as though she was telling him that it would be better if they never saw each other again, regardless of any relationship they might have had, both in the past and now, in the present.
Aomine stood there as he watched the two shadows disappear in the night sky and another minute later, he bellowed in hurt and anger. What was he lacking so much that Terumi wanted to cut all ties with him?
What was he lacking that made her hate him so much?
The walk to Terumi's home was quiet. Inside, however, was a different story. As soon as they got to the porch of her house, where they could vaguely here yelps from her excited dog, Nigou, Kise got ready to bid her farewell and maybe escape the embarrassment he was going to feel if he were to talk to her later on. But sadly, Terumi stopped him and asked if he could spare some time for a cup of tea as a thanks for his accompanying her to her house. He could never refuse her offer.
So inside they went and while he played with Nigou, Terumi got the tea ready. They settled onto the couch and began drinking, an awkward but somewhat tranquil silence filling the room. Then, out of nowhere, Terumi touched Kise's hand.
There was shock of electricity going through the blond's body as Terumi started fiddling with his hand. His brain circuits were cut short, rendering him speechless for a few seconds before finally asking, "Kurokocchi, what are you doing?"
"Maybe it was the other hand." He heard Kuroko mumbling to herself. She then lifted her head. "Kise-kun, which hand did you use to punch the court floor?"
That was a question he didn't expect to hear. "Eh? Um, it was my right."
"May I touch it?" She asked and Kise gave her his answer by putting his shaking hand in her palm. She began to caress gingerly, as if he were glass, and when she felt small bumps emanating from his knuckles, she quickly stood up to get a first aid kit.
"Ah, wait, Kurokocchi! It's not so bad, I don't need —" Kise's protests were for naught, however, because she immediately came back and began to treat his injured hand.
"What about your ankle, Kise-kun? Does that still hurt as well?"
"Well…" He began to say, trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or not. He didn't really want Kuroko fussing over him but at the same time, it was heavenly to see such a beautiful woman treating him. In the end, however, he didn't need to say anything because she was already down on her knees, carefully touching his ankle.
"I felt your weight shifting towards one side while we were walking, Kise-kun. We must treat it well. You wouldn't want this injury to hinder you later while playing basketball, right?"
"Well, yeah, but it's alright, Kurokocchi, really!" Kise tried to say once more but the more Terumi treated his ankle with her angelic touch, the less he wanted to complain.
As she started putting on ointment, she broke the silence. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about, Kise-kun?"
"What do you mean?" He asked, not thinking and only admiring her nursing skills.
"Back at the stadium. You asked me if I could hear you out after the match. What was it?"
Kise's eyes widened at the sudden realization. He had completely forgotten what he had told Terumi back then. Now, with his face redder than ever, he began stuttering. "Ah, it's nothing. Besides, I told you that you could hear me out if I won. But I didn't, so —"
"Kise-kun." Terumi cut off with such a serious tone that Kise immediately shut his mouth. "It sounded like it was something really important. Will you really not tell me?"
She began to wrap his ankle with a bandage. Kise didn't know what to say so they stayed quiet until she was done. Soon after, she stood up and sat next to him, close enough so that Kise could smell water lilies from her hair.
He was getting intoxicated by her everything. "Kurokocchi, I— I really don't know how to say this. I just — This is a bit harder than I expected." He tried to laugh it off but it sounded too forced.
"If it is that difficult, then you do not have to tell me. I apologize for trying to force it out of you." Kuroko said with a small bow.
Kise flailed. "No, you don't have to apologize. It's just that, I thought that if I won today, then I'd have more courage to say it. But since I didn't, I'm feeling a lot more doubt than before. I really don't know what to say."
To Kise's astonishment, Terumi placed her hand on top of Kise's injured one. She then lifted her head high enough so that her bangs parted and he could clearly see her eyes. Even more, he could see Kuroko smiling at him. And it was like he was showering in magnificent golden rays.
"Kise-kun, you have accomplished the impossible by finally imitating Aomine-kun, the ace of the Generation of Miracles. You, who, in the beginning, had decided that trying to copy any of the Miracles would only lead to failure, ended up copying one of the most difficult people on Earth. What is there to doubt?" When Kise said nothing in return, she continued. "You were able to copy Aomine-kun because you finally had the skills to do so. You cannot copy anyone whose skill surpasses you, and today, you ended up standing on the same ground with the same person you thought you could never stand next to. And I am so proud of you for achieving that, Kise-kun. You are an amazing person and you should never doubt yourself otherwise."
Terumi's words were like crashing waves of the ocean. It was beckoning to Kise, who looked towards the sunset and quickly got entranced by the back and forth movement of those incredible waves. It was calling to him, telling him to move forward, one step, two step, three step until he was finally one with the waves. He moved forward until one of them crashed upon him, and even then, he survived with a smile on his face.
"I like you, Kurokocchi." Kise finally confessed with a smile on his face. The hand that was caressing Kise's hand hesitated as Terumi's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?" She asked, unable to comprehend what Kise had just said. And it was to be expected. Kise knew that this would be her answer. Even back then, when they were in Teiko, she had never expressed any kind of love towards any of the Generation of Miracles except for Aomine and maybe even Akashi. So it was to be expected that she would surprised. Nevertheless, it still hurt.
But even with the pain, Kise smiled and clarified. "I like you, Kurokocchi. I like you a lot. Not as a friend, but more than that. I've liked you ever since middle school." He explained and the hand that was on top of his slowly detached itself. It moved to her side and was left there limply. She was already covering her eyes with her bangs and looked even more dejected than he, which shouldn't have made any sense.
Kise probed. "What about you, Kurokocchi? What do you think of me?"
She was silent for various seconds, which were agonizingly long for Kise. But, to his wonder, Terumi scooted closer to him and the hands that were limp beside her came back to life as they lifted forward and landed on his cheeks.
Kise stayed frozen and quietly, Terumi asked, "Would it be ok if I touched your face? I would like to know what you look like."
Kise's mind flashed back to middle school, when Aomine had barged into the gym one day, looking happier than he had ever been. When they had probed him for answers, he had proudly declared that his face was one of the first faces Terumi had touched in hopes of getting an idea of what he looked like. And when they had asked him for more detail, he relayed that she only did that to people she trusted and that now, Aomine had been one of them.
He simply nodded for an answer, not trusting his voice, and because her hands were already on his cheeks, she got the sign clearly and began to lightly touch every aspect that his face had. And during those times, Kise forgot to breath.
Then, "Kise-kun, I think you are one of the most ambitious, determined people I have ever met. Even in times of hardships, you always impressed me with your amazing skills as an imitator. Even more, you never gave up, even after losing constantly to Aomine-kun. I truly admire your strength and capability when it comes to basketball, but also in general. You are a one of a kind person that I was honored to meet, and even now, I am extremely flattered that you like me. You, a well known model and famous basketball player, liking me when you could have anyone in the world is practically unheard of. Thank you for liking me, my faults and all.
"But I am sorry. I cannot return your feelings." Terumi finished as her hands fell from his face and stayed there. She was done touching; she finally knew what he looked like. And while his heart felt bitter and empty, he couldn't help but still love her.
"What did you think of my face?" Kise asked instead of addressing the elephant in the room.
Terumi smiled softly. "You must be very handsome, Kise-kun. It is no wonder you are a model. All of your features are so well defined and well placed. It would make anyone fall for you."
"Except you, it seems." Kise couldn't help but say and Terumi hesitated. When Kise saw that, he ruffled her hair. "Hey, don't take it too harshly. It's ok, Kurokocchi. Thank you for being honest with me."
"I am sorry, Kise-kun."
Kise smiled ever so softly. "It's ok. Besides, I'm glad."
At that, Terumi lifted her head in confusion. "You are?" She asked, uncomprehending.
Kise laughed. "Yeah, it means that you didn't decide to judge me based on my reputation and looks."
"I still do not truly know what you look like, Kise-kun. Only an inkling."
"And that's ok. But you know my line of work and all the rumors about me. And even then, you never did fall into the trap of liking me for my reputation only. And I want to thank you for that."
Terumi realized just how deprived of love Kise was. Ever since he was discovered, or maybe even before that, everyone judged him based on his looks and ability, not for his personality, his quicks and flaws. And now, here she was, rejecting him and having him thank her for giving him what he desired: honesty.
Kise began to stand, his ankle feeling a lot better and a big part of the burden being lifted. His heart was still bitter but for some reason, he was feeling happier than ever, much like Aomine after knowing that he had been one of the few people Terumi ever trusted.
The two walked to the door where they would finally bid farewell, but before they could, Kise hugged her one more time.
"I'm not going to give up on you, Kurokocchi. I'm going to do my best, ok?" Kise said, his voice a bit muffled by her hair. Before she could give him an answer, he detached himself and gave her a small peck on the forehead. He smiled at her once more, ruffled her hair, and opened the door the leave.
"Thanks for healing me, Kurokocchi! I feel better already!" He called out with his usual bubbly personality, and ran away, leaving Terumi to touch the place where he had kissed her and shake her head with a minuscule smile on her face.
"Ever the same with you, isn't it, Kise-kun?" She mumbled to herself before finally shutting the door and marking this day as another day passed.
How was it? Good, bad, meh? Tell me in the review!
Was a bit too boring? I did my best to condense the Kaijou/Touou match by taking out a lot of things but I'm not too sure. There were so many important elements in the manga that I wanted to incorporate through writing but I'm not sure how it turned out in the end. I put some extra spots here and there, but please tell me what you thought so I can do my bes tin the later chapters.
Other than that, how was the KiKuro scene? I'm sure many wanted a kiss or at least an acceptance of the confession, but like i said before, this isn't going to be focusing on love only. Since this is Kuroko's story, and I have something planned for her, I don't want her to date anyone just yet. Sorry Kise, but she ain't choosing you (let the disappointed sighs commence)
Next chapter will finally introduce my personal favorite Generation of Miracles, Murasakibara Atsushi (and don't ask me why I like him. I don't seem to know myself). Of course, there will be other elements, but I want to progress the story more so that it focuses on Kuroko and an incident that happened to her in the past, so hopefully, I'll be able to do that.
Thanks for reading and please await my next update (no matter how long it might take)
Peace,
FlyAndDontLookBack