A/N: Thank you for the review, Maverick no Knight! Yeah, he's a big 'ol softie XD
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.
Chapter 11
With Hanamiya the next morning
Hanamiya found himself sitting in his bed. Ever since yesterday he hadn't been able to stop thinking about the Seirin brat. No...Not brat anymore. He didn't know how, or why, but ever since he met the blue-haired boy he felt things that he didn't feel before. It wasn't just his looks, but Hanamiya found himself falling for his personality as well. He liked how he didn't judge him from his looks like most did. Sure, he was stubborn and kind of pushy in his beliefs but, when he was around him it...just put him at ease.
Beep Beep Beep Bee-
Hanamiya shut off the alarm clock when it started to beep. He stepped out of his bed, and got ready to go out, grabbing his bag from the closet.
'Hopefully today's game will take my mind from him. Crushing people does tend to distract me from other problems.'
The black-haired teen continued his walk to the Kirisaki Daiichi gym to meet the others before they would head to the city basketball stadium for their match that day.
With Kuroko
Kuroko and Kagami were at their usual seats in Maji, Kuroko was staring at the burger the other had handed him with displeasure. He had already finished his shake and was full, but Kagami wouldn't take 'no thank you' for an answer.
"Come on Kuroko! You need to gain some weight."
"I'm perfectly fine the way I am, Kagami-kun." Kuroko frowned, a little hurt in his eyes.
"I-I didn't mean it like that...I'm just. I worry sometimes..." Seeing the others pleading look, Kuroko silently took a bite from the burger. The taller teen nodded in approval before going back to eating his own burgers.
"So, what is Kagami-kun doing today?"
"Eh, nothing much. Since coach is busy today and practice is cancelled..Maybe I'll just practice some basketball at the court. Want to join me?"
"Sorry, Kagami-kun. I have something to do later."
"Oh, ok." Kagami narrowed his eyes in thought. Kuroko, seeing that the other was distracted, easily escaped from the booth and walked out of the restaurant before Kagami could force him to tell where he was going and more importantly to get out of finishing that burger.
'I'm sorry, Kagami-kun. But it's your fault for trying to force feed me.' The bluenette apologized, when he heard his friend yelling at his sudden disappearance.
Kuroko headed towards the gym that the match was going to be held at. He loved playing in basketball games more, but that didn't mean he doesn't enjoy watching others play and after seeing the way his new friend played, there was no way he was going to miss an opportunity to see it again. When the gym came into view, the bluenette was surprised by the size of it. It wasn't almost the same size as when they played against Shutoku. When Hanamiya had said they had a match he assumed that it would be a small one, similar to the practice match with Kise.
'I can't wait to see Hanamiya-san play again.' From the few times he had met the other, from what he had seen the other day, he knew that this match was going to be interesting.
It took a while for him to find the layout of the building but when he did Kuroko decided to buy something to drink before taking a seat. He headed to the vending machines nearby.
'Pocari...Pocari...Ah, there it is.' He inserted the required money and pressed the button. When the drink dispensed, he reached to take it, only for someone else to grab it. Kuroko looked over, staring at the person beside him who probably thought the machine had somehow broke and had gave him a free drink.
"Um..Excuse me?" Kuroko spoke up when it looked like the man was getting ready to leave. At the sound of the voice, the man looked around. "I'm here."
"I'm sorry, kid. Didn't see you there. I thought it was weird that a random drink got dispensed...Here." The man handed the bottle back to Kuroko.
"Thank you very much..?" Trailing off in hope the other would give his name.
"Tsugawa Shou." The man had slightly graying hair and a kind smile.
"Thank you, Tsugawa-san. I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise." He gave the polite boy a smile. "So, you're here to watch the game too, huh?"
"Yes, someone I know is playing today."
"Ah, my son's playing as well. He's on the Seiho team. Tomoki Tsugawa."
'Tsugawa Tomoki...Ah.' He remembered the outspoken and happy Seiho forward that had the slightly shaven head.
"I remember Tsugawa-kun. We played against each other a while ago."
"Ooh, you must be that kid that my son kept talking about. I thought that you looked familiar. You're from Seirin, right?" Kuroko nodded. "I was watching the match, it was pretty close. That last play decided it all. Tomoki was whining about losing to one basket for such a long time."
"Yes, it was a close game." They both walked together to find a good seat to watch the match at and found four seats near the front row. Shou sat furthest from the aisle and Kuroko sat next to him, leaving two empty seats to his right.
"So, who do you know from Seiho? You're here to watch them right?"
"No, Hanamiya-san is on the Kirisaki Daiichi team." The man froze at those words.
'Didn't expect a nice kid like him to be a friend to those kind of people.' When he had found out that his sons coach had accepted a match with the violent team, he was extremely worried for him.
Kuroko, who noticed the change in the older man's attitude, was about to ask why when he heard people approaching.
"Hey! Mizuki, Shun, there are three seats right here!" A man called behind him, gesturing towards the seats next to Kuroko. A woman and a little boy, around ten years old, walked towards the man.
'Huh..three..?' Shou questioned. 'There's only two...'
Shou's confusion was answered when the little boy came running and jumped onto the seat that the bluenette was seated on, elbowing the bluenette in the stomach in the process. He winced, knowing that with the amount of forced the kid had jumped onto him with, had most definitely hurt.
"Ow." The boys' parents noticed the blue-haired teen for the first time, and hurriedly told their son to get off the poor boy. When the kid was off, Kuroko rubbed his aching stomach.
"We are so sorry! We didn't see you there. Say sorry Shun!" The woman said, flustered.
"Sorry, onii-chan." Shou was surprised when the boy next to him simply shrugged the incident off and gave the kid a small smile before patting him on the head and telling him it was fine. The little boy smiled, glad he was forgiven, before following after his parents to find another seat.
"You're used to that, aren't you?" Pale blue locks shook as the owner nodded.
"Yes, it's been this way my whole life." The boy said, taking a sip from his drink. Shou shook his head.
"I don't see how a kind kid like you can be friends with someone on that team." Shou said quietly to himself, but Kuroko heard it and raised an eyebrow in confusion. The stadium got quiet as the lights in the audience dimmed, and the court lights glowed brighter.
"The match between Kirisaki Daiichi and Seiho will now begin!" A voice said over the loud speaker. The players from both teams walked onto the court, Daiichi in their black and teal and Seiho in white and gray. Kuroko looked for Hanamiya and frowned when he saw him standing in a somewhat bored posture, with a somewhat mocking grin on his face. The referee threw the ball into the air and the game started.
By the time the first quarter ended Kuroko was confused beyond belief. Not only did Hanamiya look completely uninterested in the game, but his teammates had definitely caused injury to some of Seiho's players. As Kuroko observed the game he noticed how Daiichi carefully planned each blow, with such accuracy that they wouldn't be seen by the referee, meaning that they didn't do this for only this match, they obviously practiced this purposefully.
'This...What is this..? Why isn't Hanamiya-san using his normal strategy..?' Kuroko stared wide-eyed as Hanamiya himself sent an elbow to Tsugawa's side, causing the other to gasp in pain and drop the ball. 'This isn't basketball...'
When the start of the fourth quarter began, almost all of Seiho's players were barely standing, bruises on their legs, and arms. Kuroko had never felt so appalled in his whole life. He looked at the face of the teen he had met, the one who had smiled and greeted him normally. As he looked at him, he saw no trace of that teen there on the court, only a person who used such a wonderful sport to hurt others, and if the sadistic grin on the others face was anything to tell, he did all those things for...fun...?
When the match ended, the score was 98 to 31...Shou excused himself to hurry to his bruised son, leaving Kuroko there, staring at the court. The blue-haired teen didn't know what to make of what he had seen. He had never met anyone who would use these means to win.
'If this is how they play then...When we played against them, they must have...' Kuroko eyes widened in realization. The reason for Kagami to punch Hanamiya the other day, and the disgusted and angry looks he saw his teammates give the black-haired teen. 'Did Hanamiya and his team, hurt everyone during the match? Then, all he said to me and the way he's been acting towards me...was it all fake?'
Kuroko saw Hanamiya and everyone leave, probably to go to the locker rooms. He stood up, and headed out of the seating section made his way towards the exit and waited. He had to know why. Why was the other doing all of this?
With Hanamiya
"The looks on their faces!" Hanamiya laughed, remembering the despair and hopelessness in their eyes.
"God Hanamiya, you're such a sadist." Furuhashi commented as he changed out of his jersey.
"You have to admit that their expressions, especially that talkative bald brat's, were kind of hilarious." Kazuya agreed, popping his bubble.
"Yeah, he was talking so high and mighty about his seniors and how strong they were. They were such weaklings, we didn't even have to use the web." Hiroshi added.
"Those types of people are always weaklings. But it does make it more fun to destroy them." Hanamiya's smirk widened, sinisterly at those words, before he heard the snoring. "Oi! Wake up, Kentarou." Hanamiya slammed his foot beside the others head, effectively snapping him out of his dreaming state.
"What this time?" He asked, yawning and sitting up.
"It's time to go." He threw the others bag at him before grabbing his own. All the Kirisaki members walked out of the locker room and down the hallway that led to the exit.
"Hanamiya-san..May I...speak to you for a minute?" He looked to his right, where the soft voice had spoken from. When he saw it was Kuroko, he smiled and was about to greet him when he saw the look on the boys face. The others looked at the blunette, wondering what he wanted with their captain.
"What do you want, shrimp?" Hiroshi asked.
"Please, do not call me short." He said in response.
"You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up later." Hanamiya said, dismissing everyone. They took one last look at the two before leaving.
"Hey, Kuroko. What are yo-." He started when they were alone.
"I saw, Hanamiya-san..." Those endless blue eyes looked up at him with determination.
"Saw what..?" He asked, but he knew. The fact that the other was here meant that he had seen the match. Saw how they played.
'Why did he come..? He said he had practice.' Hanamiya's resentment must have shown on his face because the other answered as if reading his mind.
"Riko-san was busy today and cancelled practice. I wanted to see Hanamiya-san play...Why Hanamiya-san? Why would you do those things?"
'Looks like I can't pretend anymore. He's ruining all of my plans again! Why can't he just stay out of things.'
"You want to know? Basketball is a boring sport, the only way to spice it up a bit is to destroy the hope of people who work so hard at it! I don't care about winning or losing. I just relish in those despaired faces of my opponents!" The smaller teen stared up into the sadistic looking face, with wide eyes that went from astonishment to...sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Hanamiya-san. But I can't accept that answer." Kuroko responded, bluntly.
"Huh?" The taller teen stared at the other as if he had two heads.
"If what you said were true, that you think basketball was boring, then why would you play it at all? The fact that you put so much effort into trying to make your team succeed, and practicing everyday, shows how much you care for the sport." Kuroko paused. "The other day, when I saw you all practicing, I saw the determination in your eyes, and how you were trying to get your team to improve." Hanamiya glared at the other, hiding his surprise, but the bluenette saw the slight hesitation.
"Don't be so full of yourself. All I did for you was part of my plan to get revenge on you all and crush your hopes. You're nothing but a weakling who can't do anything himself. If it weren't for your teammates no one would ever notice someone like you. No one would want help from someone as pathetic and weak like you, so why don't you leave me alone, can't you see how much of a burden you are?!"
By the time Hanamiya finished, he was breathing hard. It took him a while to realize what he had just done. He looked into those blue eyes. The ones he had come to love looking into. The ones that had looked at him in adoration just the other day. They were full of tears. He had done it..Those trusting blue eyes were filled will sorrow, and it was him that caused it.
'So why..? Why do I not feel any triumph? Not even a little. If anything, I only feel regret.' He could do nothing but stare as the bluenette ran off.
'No...Wait, I didn't mean it.' He didn't get a chance to say the words that were on his mind as he stared, the small form getting smaller and smaller the farther away it went. 'Why did I let this happen? Now that I think about it...the reason is so petty and childish. Just to payback a few people over what? Basketball?'
'No ones ever thought about me that way. Why did I hurt the one person that made me feel anything besides loathing?' Hanamiya was snapped out of his thoughts by a rough punch. He looked up, expecting to see red hair and eyes glaring down at him. But there wasn't, he only saw gray hair and piercing green eyes.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" Kazuya said. Hanamiya was shocked, his teammate never showed his face to anyone, usually hiding behind his hair. With the hair out of his face, he was receiving a full forced glare that put even Kagami to shame. "Are you really going to let something effect you for that long?! Stop pushing people away, just because someone else did it doesn't mean that everyone is out to betray you!"
"You are the pathetic one, Hanamiya. I tried for so long to help you get over it. After that match, I knew that if that kid was alright, he could help you return to your usual self." The gray-haired teen looked at the other in disgust. "But what did you do? Not only did you dismiss him, you also said unforgivable things."
"If you want to hold grudges for your whole life then go ahead. I'm done trying to help someone who won't bother to help himself." He walked away, not sparing another glance at the other, who was still on the ground.
With Kagami
Kagami moodily dribbled the ball in his hand, to him he was pouting but in reality it looked like a scary glare.
'That Kuroko! Ditching me like that!'
Seeing how late it was, he decided to head back home and wait for said boy. When he entered the apartment, he noticed that Kuroko's shoes were at the door.
'He must be here already. Wait til I give him a piece of my mind!'
As soon as Kagami walked farther into his apartment, he knew something was wrong. At the feeling he immediately strode across the living room and pushed open the door leading to the guest room that was Kuroko's for the time being.
He looked inside the dark room, wondering why Kuroko didn't turn on the lights. He saw a silhouette on the bed and sighed in relief.
'He's fine.' He was about to head out when something caught his eye. Kuroko was also a neat person, but his bag was thrown haphazardly on the floor and a bottle of his pills were spilled all over the floor. He started to head over to the bed, he reached and put a hand on Kuroko's shoulder lightly.
"You alright, Kuroko?" When the boy didn't respond, the red-head shook a little harder. "Oi, Kuroko! Wake up!" Kagami was getting worried by the way the bluenette's body moved lifelessly as he shook him. "K-Kuroko..?"
Turning his friend over, he knew that he had to call the doctor.
A/N: No, it's not suicide. XD
