Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke is written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki, published by Shueisha. Nothing belongs to me, but my fanfics and OCs are mine.

Possible Genres: Romance, Drama, Action, Shoujo, Crime, Girls with Guns…

Note to self: Chapter 28 was uploaded on January 12, 2014


"Talking"

'Thinking'

Texting


Chapter 28: Her Name's Nakano Makoto

A heavy and tired sigh escaped Seki's lips. She was walking back home for the day, which was Friday. It was a busy day because her classmates were excited about the Sports Festival that would take place next Saturday. They were so excited; their loud voices were hurting her head. Thus, she could not wait to head back home and sleep.

'Oh, I hadn't told anyone I was picked to be the next one to fight,' she realized. Often, none of the girls would ask until they were ready to be told about it. With a thought, Seki decided, 'I'll let them know which day the second round will start when I meet with them on Sunday.'

Beginning walking over a bridge, Seki flipped her phone open to see any missing text messages. She received one from Yamauchi and Koizumi. Checking Koizumi's message while she still walked forward, she read the text: If you see Kise-san, tell him not to come to where I work tomorrow.

Seki peered at the message. "…Why are you telling me this?" she whispered tiredly. Tomimura had Kise's number too. Unless Koizumi texted every girl about it or something. Seki deleted Koizumi's message and then went to Yamauchi's.

It read: Kagami-kun stopped calling me for a week now. Do you think he's just busy with basketball or…? Maybe he's bored of me.

"Oh, you silly dummy," Seki mumbled, replying back with the exact same words. He's just busy. Don't let it get to you. That was what she wrote altogether and sent it right away.

"Hey, hey."

Seki closed her phone and her eyes slowly turned to her right. A pair of legs was walking up on the railings of the bride. Seki lifted her eyes up to a girl wearing black and gray striped tights under a mini pink skirt. And she was wearing a simple black, tight T-shirt with a V-neck. When Seki's eyes lay on the girl's face, she knew who she was right away. And she recalled the same confident smirk from the picture her boss sent.

The girl grinned, walking with balance on the railings with her hands behind her back. Her hair was short and black, her eyes were blue-green. "I'm Maki," she introduced herself. "Sixteen years old and I have been a Blade for only a year. …What about you, Ms. Bullet?"

Silently looking away with her eyebrows raised, Seki mumbled, "Like I'm about to tell you…"

Maki snickered, "Wow, what a cold person."

'Why is she talking to me for?' Seki furrowed her eyebrows while pushing up her glasses. Either this girl wanted to mess with Seki's head, or simply was just naïve to confront her.

The girl jumped forward and landed with her back to Seki, who paused in her steps. Twirling around, Maki pointed up a finger. "Just answer me once," she beamed. "That's all I ask for."

With no hesitation, Seki's eyes became deadly and she slapped Maki's hand away. "Not interested," Seki walked around her, pushing her shoulder to hit Maki's shoulder. Seki merely did not wish to pretend to be friendly to an enemy. It was pointless to even exchange words.

"Aw, you're so boring," Maki laughed, waving her hand. Though Seki never looked back. "I hope you're worth fighting with. I hate uninteresting opponents."

Over the bridge, Seki finally left that area and marched her way back home still. 'She's not cute at all,' she rolled her eyes. Seki also hated boring foes and Maki only had one year of experience while Seki had three years. Seki believed she was unlucky to have to face that little girl for the second round.

Could life get any more disappointing?

\o~o/

Shortly that afternoon, Moto was jogging in her workout clothes. She wore dark blue sweats and a black T-shirt. Plugged in her ears were her white earphones, which connected to her mp3 player in her sweats' right pocket. The music she was listening to was pop and her smile would not leave her face. Down the sidewalk she jogged, passing people and houses.

Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail too, which always reminded her of Koizumi and Moto would always smile more. 'Koizumi-chan's so adorable!' Moto giggled with that thought.

After a while, Moto returned home and headed to her bedroom. Her parents were home, but she quietly made her way to her room to change and took a shower. Later, she jumped on her bed and begun to call Himuro. Dialing away, she pressed the phone to her ear while she lay on her stomach.

The other side then answered, "Hello, Moto-san?"

"Hi, Himuro-san!" she greeted happily. "How did your basketball team do?"

He chuckled and replied, "We did great. Atsushi was a bit more into it than before." In the background, it sounded like he was in the kitchen.

Moto grinned, "Oh really? He looks so lazy all the time though! But coming from you, I believe you!"

"And how was your day?"

"Ah haha," she smiled brightly, moving to lie on her back. Moto truly loved to have talks like this. It always felt good since she was the only girl in the house. Her two older brothers moved to live else where, so it was just Moto and her parents. "I'm having a great day just by talking to you!" she told Himuro honestly.

There was another chuckle and a pause. "…Moto-san, before you're too deep…" he begun to say.

She giggled with her eyes closed, "Don't worry. We're friends. I know you got your eyes on Koizumi-chan." He was quiet and she rolled back on her stomach. "Hey, you wanna do a past life reading? …If you believe in past life anyway."

"…You read tarot cards?" he inquired, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yep!" she chirped, smiling widely. "But since it's just you and me, I can only read what we used to have together. Wanna try it out?"

"Why not?" he sounded very interested.

Moto's hand reached under her blanket and took out a black bag with white flowers designs on it. Setting her phone on speakerphone mode, she laid it next to her and took blue cards out of the bag. "Alrightly then," she grinned. "With your permission, I will ask what was our most recent encounter was like in our past life together."

"Fine with me."

\o~o/

"Okay then!" Moto's cheerful voice said.

Himuro smiled and arranged the dishes to the side and walked to the living room. The house was emptied and he was by himself. Sitting down, he questioned, "How come you didn't mention this at the mixer?"

"Eh?" she wondered. With a giggle, she replied, "It didn't cross my mind." He leaned back on the black sofa and waited for her. Soon her voice said, "Oh, our encounter was a short one… from the most recent past life we had together."

"Oh?"

Moto chuckled and stated, "The cards aren't saying anything about our genders, but we had a… hahahahaha!"

He blinked and wondered what was so funny. "Moto-san?"

"Ppttttt!" she held back. "Sorry! Um. Apparently, we had a one-night stand, Himuro-san. Weird! Hahahaha!" And awkward.

Himuro waited for her to be done laughing and when she lowered her voice, he inquired, "How about our previous life before that one?"

"Oh, let's see…" Noises were muffled and he heard her cards hitting against each other. "…Oooo. I might we may had a teacher-student relationship… and… hmmm. That's all. Sorry, my cards don't like revealing everything."

He nodded unconsciously. He felt eager about something. "…May I a different question?"

"Go ahead!"

"I was thinking if I asked for Koizumi-san's number, how would she react if I called her without her knowing?" he inquired. Again, Moto laughed and Himuro scratched his cheek. "I meant, can you do a reading for me on that one?" He did not mean it in that way though, it just slipped out because she was laughing so much.

Moto then remarked, "You're good-looking! You already have the confidence, but you're asking me to do a reading on that? You're so silly!" He let out a grunt and then smiled to himself. "Himuro-san, I don't think I have to ask the cards. I already know what would happen. Koizumi-chan would hang up on you and then come give me a beating!" She continued to sound cheerful.

"I see," he still smiled. "…She really doesn't like to talk to boys, huh?"

"Boo," Moto sounded depressed. "That's what it seems like. She's always been like that. And we're childhood friends too, though we were not that close…" There was a pause and she noted, "But I think she had a boy she seriously liked. Not sure what happened afterwards."

Himuro tiled his head to the side. "Do you think she had an bad experience with boys?" he queried.

"I would think so," Moto sounded serious. However, she giggled, "But it's nothing bad. Don't worry about it. We're all going to see each other again during summer vacation anyway. …And play Spin the Bottle!"

His eyes widened a bit, "…What?"

She snickered and repeated, "We're going to play Spin the Bottle. Sakai-chan told me, but don't tell anyone, okay?"

He sheepishly smiled, "Alright… but who else doesn't know?" He could never imagine how Murasakibara would react if he found out.

"Just the people from the first mixer," Moto replied happily. "Well, most of them. Tomimura-chan doesn't know."

"…And Taiga agreed to this?"

"Ohhhh, I don't know," she giggled again, enjoying herself so much. "I wasn't there for the first mixer. Haha!"

Himuro could not help but chuckle at her positive nature. Though, he wondered if she was ever saddened by anything. He did not want to ask a personal question and let it slide. They have only known each other not that long ago.

Suddenly she voiced, "Oh, mom's calling me to make dinner. I have to go!"

He smiled, "Alright then. Later."

"Yep, I'll call you next week again!"

"Yeah," he suspected. Moto had only called him once or twice a week. She may look the type to actually call every single second, but he realized she knew how to give people their space as well. After they both ended the call, he murmured, "Anyone who have her as a girlfriend would die happy." Probably.

\o~o/

Moto got up and placed her phone on her bed. She hurried toward her bedroom door, but then paused at a photo stand. With a small smile, she picked it up and her finger tapped on the photo gently.

It was a picture of a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes. The length of her hair overlapped her shoulders and her front bangs were above her eyebrows and the side bangs down to her cheeks. The girl in the picture wore white-buttoned long sleeves with a black sport wristband on her left forearm. The boyish grin on the girl's face brought small tears to Moto's eyes.

Moto hugged the photo closely and rather not let go. "…Nakano-chan," she whispered, feeling nostalgic. 'I miss you. …We all miss you, actually.' Moto wanted to go back to those days where everyone was together, laughing and facing hardships together.

The only girl who never met Nakano was Yamauchi. However, Moto had a strong feeling Yamauchi would have been happy to have a chance to meet Nakano.

\o~o/

"Kasamatsu-senpai, when did you ever carry a picture of a girl?" Izuki stared at something in his hand.

In the dorm room, Kasamatsu was studying at his desk, only to look over his shoulder. He snapped and stumbled out of his chair and grabbed the picture from Izuki's hand, who was just standing over by Kasamatsu's bed. "Don't touch my stuff!" Kasamatsu uttered with a red face before turning away.

The room consisted two beds, two desks, and two dressers. Everything in the room was neat and clean. Even the wastebasket was emptied. "…Could it be?" Izuki rubbed his chin seriously. Kasamatsu flinched as his back faced the younger man. "You have a secret lover? You must really love her to sneak it without having me realize it." (A/N: trying to make a pun here. But I am not good at making puns.)

"Be quiet," Kamatsu had returned to his seat. "She's not a lover. Just a friend."

Izuki amble to him and leaned back against the wall. "Oh, really?" he blinked.

"…And she's dead," Kasamatsu hissed, hoping that would make Izuki go away.

However, Izuki was quiet and stared at him curiously, yet with sympathy. "…Sorry," Izuki murmured, lowering his eyes. "You two must have been close to each other for you to carry her picture around."

Kasamatsu hid the picture under a folder, trying to go back to studies. "Sure," he grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.

With a small smile, Izuki wondered about one thing. "…What's her name?" he inquired, making sure Kasamatsu was comfortable to open up a bit.

The upperclassman poked his pen into the notebook softly and let out a soft sigh. "Her name's Nakano Makoto…" he replied as his muscles felt tense. "She died back in late winter…" He heard about her death when he was attending Tokyo U and he was shocked back then. It affected his studies a bit because he actually liked her a little.

Izuki nodded, "Nakano Makoto… that's a good name. How old was she?"

"I'm done talking about this," Kasamatsu frowned up to him. "Go back and start studying."

"Alright, I'm going," Izuki rushed away. "Though, I wonder if Hanamiya Makoto knows Nakano Makoto, considering they both have the same first names."

"As if!" Kasamatsu grew a vein on his head.

With a soft chuckle, Izuki went over to his desk and spoke no more.

At peace again, or so Kasamatsu thought, he could not concentrate. He had to be reminded of Nakano. '…She would have turned nineteen this summer,' Kasamatsu leaned his chin in his palm. His eyes softened and he removed the folder to stare at her grin. She made a peace sign with her right hand too. 'You're always smiling… it's suffocating,' he wanted to tell her.

\o~o/

Tomimura was at the jewelry store yet again, touching the feathered necklace with the small silver chains. Fukui walked up to Tomimura and smiled, "Shall we head home now?"

"Hm," Tomimura nodded.

When they faced each other, Fukui's smile faded, "It's funny how no one wants ta buy the necklace yet." Tomimura merely nodded again and her eyes were glued to the feathered necklace. "Don't forget. We promised ta move on when someone buys it."

"…I know," Tomimura nodded again, lowering the sound of her voice. Her fingertips touched the white feather and she could not bring a smile on her face. "Nakano always loved feathers… I wonder if she became an angel with wings?"

Fukui chuckled to move to her side to wrap their arms together. "I bet she is," Fukui assured with a grin. "And she's lookin' after all of us, Tomimura-tan. Don't think too much, kay?"

"Yes, I will heed your advise," Tomimura now smiled to her, but weakly.

They both headed toward the store's exit and then walked outside. "Although, Koizumi-tan protects de necklace when she's workin' here," Fukui mentioned, touching her lips playfully. "I bet Koizumi-tan can't move on de most."

"…I think so too," Tomimura agreed while their arms were still locked together. With a pause, she inquired, "Fukui, have you already moved on?"

Without wavering, she answered, "Yep. I have. Cause I don't wanna drag on de past too long. Nakano-tan wouldn't be happy if every one of us still felt sad. …So dat's why I went ahead first." Her smile spread on her face and she winked to her friend. "I hope ya and de other girls will catch up soon."

Tomimura chuckled and closed her eyes. "Eventually, we will," she promised, leaning on against Fukui. "We'll all run and catch up to you."

"Good ta know," Fukui cuddled with her. "I'll be so happy when all of ya come back… and then we'll laugh together again. This time, with Yamauchi-tan."

With a firm nod, Tomimura leaned away. However, she felt things did not last long enough for her to be satisfied with. And that was simply life.


Thanks for reading!