Hidden Beauty
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Basket Twenty-One: Of Parties and Sleepovers
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Kuroi was happy. No, she was more than happy. She was ecstatic. Why, you wonder? Because, it is Saturday.
Saturday meant no school, no p-
"Kuroi?"
"Uh, yes, mom?" Kuroi looked up from her waffles, blinking at her mother.
"One of your friends from school called, and he wanted to invite you to some... celebration party or something." Kayate said, raising her eyebrow in questioning.
"... Oh, okay..."
"Here's his number, he said to call you back!" Kayate grabbed a piece of paper from the counter, and handed it to her daughter.
"Oh, okay..." Kuroi sulked as she took the piece of paper from her mom. She was planning to be a hermit in her room all day, maybe even play some basketball with her dad to take her mind off the recent days.
She finished eating her breakfast, and decided to go up to her room so she could call whoever dared call her. Who even calls at seven in the morning, on a Saturday? Not that she minded, since she had been sleeping at that time.
She dialed the number on her cell, and put the purple mobile device on her ear to listen to the ringing.
"Hello~?"
"Kise? How'd you get my number?" Kuroi demanded in a huff, falling down on her bed.
"... Uhh, I got it from Kasamatsu?"
"How'd Kasamatsu get it?"
"From Coach, I think."
"... How'd Coach get it?"
"..."
"... Okay. Enough of that. What did you mean celebr-"
"Oh! To celebrate our victory on Seika! I wanted to invite everyone over to my house! It's going to be like a sleepover thing."
"Sl-... Sleepover?" Kuroi paled, wondering just how her mother would react to her going to a sleep over with only guys.
"Uh-huh! Is that a problem?"
"... Uhh, sleepover. Me, girl. You, boy."
"Oh, right... Your mom wouldn't let you, then, right?"
"Yup."
"Hmm. Why don't you just tell her it's a girl's sleepover?"
"... But, you already called her; she knows you're a boy."
"Yasuhirocchi, you enjoy making things harder, don't you?"
"No, but I'm just saying..."
"Then just say that I'm the brother of the girl who wants you to sleepover!"
"... Fine, I'll try. Goodbye."
"Wait! Call me back and tell me ho-" Kuroi shook her head, hanging up on the model. She stared at her room for a moment, before heading back downstairs to find her mother.
"Mom," Kuroi called, walking into the living room. As expected, her mom was sitting on the couch, reading a book.
"Yes, honey?" Her mother questioned, eyes still glued to the book.
"Uhm, my friends want me to go to a sleepover today."
"You mean the boy who called this morning?" Kayate's voice was tense, as she put her book on her lap, turning to her daughter.
"Ye- uh, no. He is the brother of the girl who wants me to come... sleepover..." Kuroi chuckled awkwardly, wondering if her mother was gonna take the bait.
"... Fine, you'll be back tomorrow?"
"Yeah, some time." Kuroi nodded.
"Okay, just- call me when you get there."
"Alright." Kuroi nodded, quickly running back upstairs before her mother decided to change her mind. She closed the door to her room, and locked it. Kuroi tore the wig off, letting it fall to the floor in a pathetic lump. She jumped onto her bed, and reached for her cell which lay on the nightstand.
Kuroi dialed the number from the paper, and waited for Kise to pick up.
"Ya~su~hiro~cchi~!" Kuroi cringed at the way the model sang her name oh-so-casually.
"Hey, my mother said I can. But, she thinks that it's a 'girls' sleepover. So, if she randomly calls, just- uhh, pretend you're a girl. Or something..." Kuroi said lamely, rolling her eyes. 'I hate lying to her...' She thought, staring at the ceiling before turning her attention back to the blond on the other line.
"Okie dokie!" The model's reply made Kuroi roll her eyes for a second time.
"Yeah, so. When is this?"
"It's supposed to start at 1:00!"
"What are we even going to do? Do I need to bring money?"
"... Stuff. And nope! Everything's free!"
"... What do you mean 'stuff', and 'everything', Kise?" Kuroi narrowed her eyes suspiciously, glaring at one of her pillows as a substitute for Kise.
"... Come early!"
"Huh? Why?" Kuroi whined, forgetting her suspicion on the model. "Fine, but you owe me."
"Great! Here's my address and any other information you may need!"
"Thanks..." Kuroi jotted his address down, as well as the other information he gave her. "Bye, Kise."
"Bye-bye, Yasu-" Kuroi hung up, once again cutting off her friend. She smirked, thinking of how the blond must be pouting at his phone. She shook her head, and looked at the clock. It was almost 12:00, so she should get all her things ready and leave soon. Her purple eyes studied the address for a moment, as she reached for her duffel bag. 'He doesn't actually live that far away from me. At least he's closer than the school is.' She sighed, and began to pack all her things she thought she would need.
Five minutes later, Kuroi stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her. She reached up to straighten her wig, but was shocked when she realized that she forgot to put her wig on. She quickly scrambled into her room, and found her wig on the floor where she had left it. She practically dived for it, and quickly put it on top of her head. Kuroi sighed as she fixed it so it looked presentable.
"Guess I'll be on my way."
OoOoO
Kuroi was pretty sure she had got off at the right stop. Since the neighborhood suddenly looked like a rich people area.
She scanned the area, and found the street sign. "Okay, I just need to go this way..." She murmured quietly, about to set out on her way. She turned on her heel, but collided with something- or someone.
"Ya- Yasuhiro!"
"Kasamatsu-sempai..." Kuroi blinked, tilting her head to look up at the third year. "What are you... Wait, how'd you notice me?" She huffed, crossing her arms.
"When I found out that you were a girl, I figured that it was you at the BBQ thing..." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head shyly.
"Oh." Kuroi nodded. "Uh, going to Kise's?"
"Yeah. It's this way."
"Cool." She nodded, and followed the Captain down the street. "I take it that this isn't the first time you've been to his place?"
"He's invited me a couple times." Kasamatsu said, twitching in annoyance. "More like whined at me to come. Something about curing his boredom."
"Ah, yeah." Kuroi nodded again, feeling the awkward atmosphere set in slowly. "So..." She trailed off, attempting to make conversation, which only failed in the end. She mentally smacked herself, but then remembered something. "I guess I never thanked you..."
"For what?" Kasamatsu gave her a quizzical expression.
"For saving me." Kuroi smiled. "I was being a real bitch to them; egging them on and all that. But, you pulled me from the situation, by doing a really awesome flying kick, I must say." She laughed, watching Kasamatsu's face turn from realization to embarrassment.
"You're welcome." He flushed. "I won't tolerate anyone hurting my friends." He said quite seriously, making Kuroi pause to stare at him.
She studied him for a moment, before she continued walking. "Is his house far?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Not really. It's just around the corner over there, only three houses down. You'll notice it right away. It's very..."
"Conspicuous?" Kuroi smirked.
"Yeah."
"Just as I thought. He said he even had a pool?"
"Mmhm."
"Interesting." Kuroi blinked. Soon, they rounded the corner, and right away her eyes were drawn to the outstanding house, which somehow looked more like a mansion. "I guess that's the type of place you live in when you're rich." She snorted, eyeing the model's house.
Kasamatsu nodded in agreement, and they both walked up. "Kasamatsu-sempai! Yasuhirocchi!" Both their heads turned and saw the blond running up, waving his hand frantically.
"You guys made it!" He grinned, coming to a stop in front of them. "Did you bring all the stuff you needed?" He asked, looking in between the two.
Kuroi nodded, and so did Kasamatsu. "What do you think, Kise?" He scoffed, crossing his arms.
"Okay! Let's go put your things in my room, then let's go!" Kise ushered them inside his marvelous house, and towards his bedroom.
"Go where?" Kuroi stared at him, clearly confused.
"To this awesome restaurant by the mall!"
".. You said I didn't need to bring any money, idiot!" Kuroi huffed, smacking Kise's arm.
"You don't, cause I'm paying for you!" Kise chuckled, rubbing his arm.
"What!" Kuroi gaped at him, before smacking his arm again.
"Ouch!" He pouted, "I just.. Wanted to treat Yasuhirocchi... An- Hey, I just noticed, you're wearing a wig..." His expression turned to one of awe, as he gently pulled at the strands.
Kuroi smacked his hand away, glaring at him. "Don't change the subject!"
"What were we talking about?" He blinked.
"... Nevermind." She sighed, tossing her bag on the floor. "I'm taking this stupid thing off." She motioned to the wig, making Kise pout even more.
"But, I like it."
"I don't. It itches like hell." She twitched, and pulled the wig off, revealing her short messy locks.
"Lemme try it on!" Kise smiled radiantly, taking the wig from her hands.
"Kise!" She growled, trying to take it back.
Kasamatsu watched the two, and shook his head as soon as Kise put the wig on his head. "You look like an idiot with black hair." He puffed, hands on his hips.
"I second that!" Kuroi snatched the wig back, and shoved it inside her bag, where it would hopefully be safe.
Kise hopelessly stared at the bag, before his face lit up again. "Right let's go already~!" He sang, pushing the two out of his room.
"What about the others?" Kasamatsu demanded, "Shouldn't we at least wait for them?"
"No, they're meeting us there!" Kise gave them another push, until Kasamatsu threatened to punch him if he pushed him again.
"The things you tell a person." Kasamatsu shook his head, punching Kise's gut anyways, just for the heck of it, mostly. Kuroi agreed, and the three left for their walk.
"It only takes about fifteen minutes to walk there!" Kise said, as he literally began skipping down the sidewalk. Kasamatsu and Kuroi shared a deflated look.
"This is going to be a long walk." Kuroi muttered, trying to tune out Kise's version of 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road'.
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Shocked, Kuroi had found out that Kise had managed to book the entire restaurant just for all of them.
"Jeez, Kise." She elbowed him, rolling her eyes. "Did you really book the whole thing, just for your team mates?"
"Of course!" Kise nodded. "Anything for my friends!"
"Just how many of the team did you invite?" Kasamatsu winced, worried about how rowdy they'd all be.
"... Uhm... You, Yasuhirocchi, Moriyama, Kobori, Hayakawa, Shinya, Hotaka, Keisuke, Akio, umm... Chitose, I think. Also Eiichi, Genji, Hideki, Ishio, and Jiro!"
"Is it weird that I barely know half of them?" Kuroi asked, following Kise and Kasamatsu to their table. Kise had told them that they were about twenty minutes early, so they'd half to wait just a little longer.
"Maybe... But you already know Hotaka, and he's a first year, like us. Also there is Chitose, Hideki, and Jiro are all first years. Keisuke, Akio, Ishio, and Eiichi are second years, and Genji is a third year!" Kise grinned, giving her thumbs up.
Kuroi stuck her tongue out, and settled for looking out the window. A sudden cheery voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Hello~! Are you gentlemen ready to order?"
Kuroi smiled, happy that she was recognized as a boy. She gave it a second thought, figuring that she shouldn't be as happy as she is about the whole ordeal.
"Sorry, not yet. We're still waiting for the rest of our friends." Kise said, giving the waitress a coy smile. The waitress flushed, and nodded, the menus grasped tightly in her arms. She quickly walked away, and started giggling with the other waitresses.
"Calm down there, Casanova." Kuroi joked, shaking her head at the blond. Kise chuckled, giving an innocent shrug.
"What, I find it cute how girls giggle after a give them a devilish smile."
Kasamatsu only rolled his eyes, although he slowly edged away from the waitress.
"Makes me wonder... If my manly charms would work on Yasuhirocchi..." Kise grinned suddenly, staring intently at Kuroi's purple gaze.
"Uh, yeah, no." Kuroi smirked, watching Kise pout in rejection.
"You're no fun, Yasuhirocchi!" He frowned, crossing his arms. A loud 'whoop' startled him from his thoughts, and the trio turned to see a red haired boy and a silver haired boy walking up. The red haired boy had his hair slicked back, making him appear more formal than needed, and had stunning purple eyes. The silverette, who was just a couple inches taller, had his hair spiked out every which way, and had a black piercing on his right ear which matched his dark coal colored eyes.
"Ah, hey!" Kise grinned, waving the pair over. "Kuroi, this is Akio," Kise motioned to the red head, who nodded with a sly grin on his face, "And this is Keisuke!" Keisuke saluted Kuroi, a smug look on his face.
"Hey." Kuroi nodded in greeting, smiling at both of them.
"What's up," Akio grinned at Kuroi and Kasamatsu, before turning back to Kise. "We saw Genji-sempai with Eiichi and Ishio at the train station. They said that they were going to wait for the first years, and then they'll get here as soon as they can." Akio gave Kise the information that Genji had given him.
Kasamatsu greeted both, before excusing himself to go to the washroom. Keisuke slide into his spot, staring intently at Kuroi. "Now that I get a better look, you do look quite feminine." He smirked, patting her ruffled hair.
Kuroi twitched, "Thanks." She struggled out, moving away from him till she was practically pressed up against the window. He only followed after her, smile playing on his lips.
He leaned close to her, "Watch out for Jiro. He's a real flirt." Keisuke whispered in her ear, making her blink.
"Uhh, thanks?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"No, the one who you should really watch out for is Keisuke. He likes twisting his words around." Akio chuckled, sitting next to Kise.
"Great." Kuroi gave a firm nod, annoyed smile on her face.
About twenty-four minutes later, the rest of the party-comers filed in, all loud and talkative. Kuroi blinked, and wondered if there was going to be enough room at the table they were at for all of them. They were all sitting at a long table, which probably seated eight on each side. If not, there was a similar table beside there's, so she guessed it was all good.
She learned that Jiro really was a flirt, with alluring deep blue eyes and dark brown hair. Genji also had dark brown hair, but with striking emerald green eyes.
Eiichi had golden wheat colored hair, with soft pale orange eyes.
Chitose, who looked like a shy boy, had silver hair much like Keisuke's, but it was tamed down and had reddish-brown eyes which darted around shyly.
Hideki had black hair like Kuroi's, but ocean blue eyes. Ishio had soft-looking curly brown locks and hazel eyes. He appeared to be the quiet type, who preferred to study everything or everyone.
She supposed that was why he was currenly staring at her from across the table. Kise had got up to get the waitress from before, and Ishio had casually taken his seat. Kuroi tilted her head, blinking awkwardly as he did the same thing, staring at her with his calculating hazel eyes. "You're Kuroi, right?"
"That is I." She nodded, suddenly feeling another gaze on her. She turned and looked at Chitose, who quickly looked away, poking his chopstick idly.
'I'm beginning to think these guys are all really weird.' She found herself thinking, smiling as she looked back down at her shiny white plate. Kise came back with the waitres- well, three waitresses, who were all blushing and giggling amongst themselves, making Kuroi roll her eyes.
"Innocent girls not your type?" She turned to look at Jiro, who had managed to squeeze himself between her and Keisuke, practically pushing the second year off his chair.
"I'm going to say no." Kuroi replied, turning away from the flirt. The waitresses passed menu's around and eventually got everyone's order, before they went to hand them in for the chef.
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The group of twelve students had finished with their food, and were eventually kicked out for being overly loud and rowdy by the owner himself. Hideki may or may have not broken the sink in the bathroom. (Kuroi believes he did.)
Either way, they were all on their way back to Kise's. Apparently, his parents were going out on a weekend trip, but they allowed him to throw a party with only a couple of his friends. Kuroi knew this was more than a couple.
Over dining (and food stealing), she had gotten to know some of her team mates quite well, and even became friends with them. Some more than others. She glared at Jiro, who only winked at her.
She also learned a few things along the way back to Kise's house. Like, Keisuke and Akio were actually step-brothers, and Chitose loved to study and read, and Genji was the strong silent type. Or maybe how Ishio was actually pretty clumsy, despite his calm nature.
All these awkwardly amazing boys, which were all on the basketball team. She learned that they all joined for some different reason, be it joining for a friend, a whim, love of the sport, she thought it was very interesting...
Kuroi sighed, actually feeling content as she spotted Kise's mansion of a house come in sight. 'Good, almost the-'
"Uwah!" She yelped, nearly losing her balance when she felt two arms wrap around her from the back. "Wh- what are you doing?" She squeaked, struggling to get out of the grip.
"Give me a piggy back, Kuroi!" Hideki whined, latching onto her back. "Please?" He begged, pouting as the others started laughing.
"No! You're heavy." She elbowed him, making him fall back dazedly.
"Fine, be like that." He huffed, crossing his arms as he fell into step with Chitose. Chitose stayed silent, just watching shyly.
At least half an hour later, they were all seated in one of Kise's living rooms. This one had a nice big fireplace, and warm comfy sofas. Kuroi sat on one of the three seated sofas, feeling content (and safe) in between Kise and Kasamatsu. Hopefully they wouldn't get up or anything for one of the others to steal their spot.
Jiro was talking about one of his many girlfriends, and somehow they ended up talking about past girlfriends and flings and such. Of course, Kuroi stayed out of it, and just settled for laughing or feeling pity for one of her newer friends.
Kise left, to Kuroi's dismay, and soon came back with pop and chips and other little things. As expected, one of the other had taken his spot, but, to Kuroi's luck, it was Chitose. He smiled at her, before he turned away to study the wall.
Kuroi blinked, and shrugged as she tried to tune out a different more... T rated story of Jiro's.
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Evening came sooner than expected, and Kuroi was beginning to get tired. Not just from the day she had with the others, but from the whole week, probably. Tired of all the training, and the game, and getting punched. At least her cheek was healed, and at least her mother hadn't noticed the small bruise which she simply covered with some make-up.
"Yasuhirocchi!" Kuroi turned to Kise, staring questioningly. "You tired?" He asked, smiling.
"Yeah, a little."
"I as well." Kobori said, giving a stretch. Moriyama yawned, and collapsed on the ground. "Me too," He huffed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"I think we all are a little tired." Genji stated, looking around the room. "I'm sorry about the mess everyone made." He paused, looking around the living room.
Empty bags and garbage littered the ground, while snacks and drinks were all misplaced throughout the room.
Kuroi smiled sheepishly. "Hey, I blame Hideki the most." She smirked, glancing at her fellow black haired team mate.
"I heard that, Kuroi!" Hideki called from his spot on the ground, staring up at the ceiling.
"Well, come on, we can't all just crash in the living room. To my room!" Kise called, pointing towards the stairs.
Kuroi slowly got up, and nearly crashed into Kasamatsu as she tried to maneuver her way up the stairs. "Sorry." She snorted, steadying herself.
Kasamatsu shook his head, smirking, "It's okay. You seem very tired." He stated, walking up the stairs.
"Yet you don't." Kuroi cocked her eyebrow, finding her way into Kise's room. She looked around, blinking. "Whoa." She finally took the time to look around his room, noticing that it was quite large. He even had his own bathroom.
At least there was lots of room for them.
"Kise, where can I sleep?" She groaned, staring at his large luxurious-looking bed. She glanced at the couple couches that were in a part of his room, a TV right against the wall.
"Mm, Yasuhirocchi could have the bed!" Kise grinned.
"Wha- seriously?" She gave him a blank stare. "But... Then I'll feel bad." She frowned, staring at the bed. Even though those pillows looked very comfortable. "Okay, I'll take it." She said after a moment, making Kise chuckle.
She dug through her bag for her pajama's, and quickly went into his bathroom when everyone else started to strip. 'I think they sometimes forget that I'm a girl.' She thought, twitching as she changed. Kuroi came out, wearing simple lilac shorts and a plain white t-shirt. She yawned, and deemed it safe when everyone finished changing, and came out. She stepped over the bodies, nearly tripping over Hayakawa, who moved around in his sleep.
Kuroi found herself wondering how Hayakawa managed to fall asleep so fast as her head hit the wonderfully soft pillow, staring at the soft golden blanket she was using.
"Goodnight, Kuroi." Her eyes snapped open, and peered off the bed, where she saw Kasamatsu laying in a sleeping bag, probably offered by Kise.
"Night, Yasuhirocchi." Kise chirped quietly, probably on the other side of Kasamatsu.
"Goodnight, Kasamatsu. Goodnight, Kise." She whispered back, laying her head back on one of Kise's many pillows.
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Sorry for the wait, my lovelies~ (and manlies) I hope this chapter entertained you as much as it did for me. xD And yey, some more minor characters probably never to be heard of again except for small minor parts - are introduced! My favorites are the step brothers, Keisuke and Akio. And Chitose! I may try and draw all of their smexy mug-shots. Maybe.
Anyone like any of the newly introduced?
OMGIt'sKawaii3: Pffff- Thanks for catching that! I meant Friday, instead of Tuesday. Thanks, again xD I fixed it. :3 *Takes half-eaten cookies* *u*b
Also, thanks for the idea; it was a good one to mesh with one of my own xD
Reimei-Jennoir: *fangirls with you* xDD I'm very happy to hear that! It means a lot to me, so thank you~ and that is another wonderful idea, which I shall be using next chapter! :D Thanks!
~Love me or Hate me~