Grad school might be taking up most of my time, but I certainly had a lot, a lot of fun writing this next bit of my story. I've slowly gotten more comfortable weaving certain characters into the fic.
I cannot thank everyone enough for the amount of praise I have gotten on this – with both the increase in favorites and follows – you guys are absolutely amazing, and I cannot thank you enough for those that have been here since the beginning, and those joining as we speak. You support is why this story keeps (slowly) being written.
But I also cannot thank my reviewers enough, specifically my latest two, Shiranai Atsune and IIChaosII. Your reviews brought such a smile to my face, seriously. To hear that Yuki is a realistic junior high student, as this concept is something I struggle with, is such a rewarding comment. I want her to be flawed, but likable. The cast of KnB is undoubtedly flawed, but they're likable, and that's something that I wanted to create myself.
As always, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, as I think it might actually be my longest one yet (What?!) and please, by all means, review, favorite and follow if you desire.
Disclaimer: {As per usual, I don't own Kuroko no Basuke. I just love the series so much that I wanted to insert more characters into it. Quote is from Dwayne Hickman, and I thought it was fitting.}
Chapter 12: You Like 'Em Bad?
"Children should enjoy the few years they have just being a kid." – Dwayne Hickman
"He ain't half-bad, I must say."
Yuki'd spaced out that night, staring off into the sky, arm resting against her forehead. She imagined what life was like for the stars as they voyaged across the dark sky.
"Yuki?"
Kimi had eclipsed her view, standing in front of where Yuki had been perched, looking a bit concerned with Yuki's behavior. She'd lowered herself to Yuki's level, the ghost of a grin on her face. "You weren't watching, I take it?"
Yuki had shaken her head, her dark hair barely visible as it moved with the motion. "I got to thinking."
"Mh-hmm." If the brunette wasn't having it, she hadn't elaborated beyond the slight frown growing on her lips. "Kid loves the sport, but I'm not sure how much it'll love him."
"So?"
"We got time."
"Meaning?"
"I'll work on it."
"Sorry."
It rings in her ears, as though someone whispers it repeatedly, but she knows there's no one home with that voice apologizing for deeds from the past. Yuki awakens from her sleep, tears adorning the corners of her eyes, but beyond the single word, she remembers nothing from Dream Land.
Truly, what comes after waking up will be the actual nightmare.
The school festival.
Yuki is a simple girl of habit. Her uniform unchanging, her hair always styled the same. She keeps her appearance basic, focusing on how much sleep she can maximize instead. However, today . . . Today, Yuki breaks her habit and varies the style of her hair, opting for a simple ponytail.
She wants to feel confident.
All she must do is go. Direct some poems. Look at a green-haired bean for a few hours and then leave.
It's the "getting there" part that's got her feeling frustrated.
"I can't decide if your face is just naturally stuck in that position, or if you absolutely despise your education, but I'm truly starting to wonder."
Yuki doesn't have to turn around to recognize that Kimi has decided to grace her with her presence this morning. She shrugs without looking at her father's friend. "If it isn't stuck yet, it'll probably cement itself in that way soon."
"That's what I'm thinking, too," Kimi admits, laughing lightly.
Yuki cracks a smile. "I have a busy day today," she adds a short while after. "School festival."
Kimi approaches Yuki slowly, and offers to adjust Yuki's hair tie. Her hair had been slowly coming out of the hair tie's hold as the two conversed. "I remember those days; such a treat seeing the whole school come together. My parents were always pushing me to work very hard on the various activities we came up with over the years."
Yuki can feel her hair being pulled tauter with each brush. "Which activity was your favorite?"
"Sports trivia. Easily one of the best activities your father and I came up with."
"Sounds slightly more exciting than poetry."
"I worry about you, I really do."
Yuki heard him before she saw him.
Him as in the Stampede Leader, Kise.
"Ehh?"
She valiantly attempts to stop her right eye from twitching but fails miserably as she looks up at the blond. Yuki barely graces him with a nod before walking faster on her way to class.
"W-wait!" He's calling out to her now, she assumes he's forgotten her name as he doesn't call out to her by it, so she stops and ever-so-slowly cocks her head in his direction. His long legs easily close the gap between the two of them, so now she sees his features clearly. Daylight certainly helps.
He's attractive.
Shame. She feels ashamed of her thoughts; this boy caused her to get stomped on, and here she is, admiring his facial features. While shaking herself lightly, Yuki inquires about what Kise wants.
Kise smiles at her widely, his teeth brightly flashing. "I just wanted to walk to school with you!"
"Ah."
She can feel the pout before she sees it. He's looking at her with confusion swelling in his golden irises. "What do you mean by 'Ah,'?"
"I just thought you actually needed something, Kise-san." Yuki begins to walk away again, before calling out, "You don't need permission to walk with me."
He easily walks up beside her, seeming to switch his gaze from her face to the path in front of him occasionally. "Most girls practically beg to walk with me."
Yuki can't resist the snort that escapes her. "Thanks for sharing." She clears her throat to avoid laughing at him. "I guess I'm not like 'most' girls, Kise-san."
Kise looks at her, positively stupefied, but Yuki refuses to acknowledge his surprise. She decides to carry on the conversation and asks, "You want to join the basketball team?"
Kise nods eagerly, and all Yuki can think is that he's practically the embodiment of a golden retriever awaiting his treat.
"I'll put in a word for you, then."
The words surprise them both – Yuki because she's never been so forward with a stranger and Kise because he never expected the statement to come from her lips so willingly.
"You will?!" He's beaming.
She rolls her eyes. "Don't make me regret saying it, Kise-san."
"Oh, Morine-cchi! I am forever grateful!" He's starting to hop a bit in his excitement. She's so enraptured by his actions that she almost – almost – misses what he called her.
"Wait, wait, wait," she waves her hand at him, annoyed. "What did you just call me?"
Kise ignores her and starts to hop away from her faster.
"I can understand your annoyance in being here, but the festival hasn't even started yet."
"I'm not annoyed about the festival," Yuki grumbles out. "I'm annoyed about some blond-haired idiot."
"Again?"
She nods.
"The stampede?" Midorima looks at his lucky item pensively. "I don't remember Oha-Asa describing anything too bizarre for Sagittarians today."
Yuki forgot she was talking to a different kind of idiot and had to restrain herself from throwing his item – a tea pot – out of his hands. "I truly doubt that my fortune would be so specific as to detail a potential stampede, but no, Midorima-san, nothing of the sort has happened."
She sees him reposition the pot in his arms, cradling it, and fights off the impulse to throw it again. "A tea pot today?"
Midorima nods. "You would know if you checked."
"Yeah, I'll add that to my schedule. Pencil it in, right in between questioning my current reality and attempting to survive."
"You're rather bitter today."
"Write a poem about it; maybe I'll care more then."
Midorima takes a taped finger and pushes his glasses up. Before he can offer her what she imagines to be a rather saucy retort, Hirasawa seems to just appear in front of them.
Hirasawa. Yuki wants to groan; she'd be lying if she said she hadn't forgotten about her, but there she was, in the flesh. She can see the sadistic glint in her eyes through her glasses' lenses, and it instills a dark sense of dread in Yuki. Hirasawa looks between the two of them before uttering, "You two bicker very loudly when you want to – thought I would share."
Yuki winces. Hirasawa notices.
"Now, there wouldn't happen to be a problem today, right? On our very own, festival day?" Hirasawa lets the questions dangle in the air for a bit, relishing in Yuki's paling face. "That's what I thought. I couldn't imagine some of our brightest students in class acting out on such an important day."
Midorima coughs into his hand, which in turn breaks Yuki out of her trance. They both mutter an, "Of course," and then quietly watch as Hirasawa slowly walks away, unblinkingly.
When Hirasawa finally offers Yuki reprieve, she mumbles, "I think I've witnessed the Devil in female form."
Midorima only clutches his tea pot harder.
Yuki's always been proud of her accomplishments. She likes to recognize that from an educational standpoint, she has been successful. She tries not to be too prideful, remembering her struggles, especially in her math classes.
Which is why she can't help but feel that something just – well, something just really isn't adding up.
The classroom is packed with students from the other classes, all wanting to write some poetry.
"I think she's truly sold her soul."
"Hn."
"I can't tell if you're agreeing with me or not, but I'm scared, Midorima-san."
"I gathered." Midorima places the tea pot delicately next to him before turning to look at Yuki. "We should have expected this kind of behavior from Hirasawa. She always wants our class to stand out."
Yuki pales again. "We're standing out all right." She shivers slightly, thinking about how large the crowd is in front of her. "I don't think I've ever read your poetry, Midorima-san. Can you even write well?"
He gives her one of the dirtiest looks she's ever seen. "I'll be taking my leave, then."
Yuki grabs his arm, spluttering out, "Whoa, whoa whoa! You can't leave me here, alone with all these students."
"I can."
"N-no, but that would be cruel."
He nods. "I think you've earned it."
"I take it back."
Midorima pushes his glasses up again, and Yuki can't help but wonder how the bridge of his nose feels after experiencing that same motion multiple times a day. "It's not like I've read your writing either."
Yuki blushes, feeling mortified at having called out her only pillar of confidence in this unfortunate situation she finds herself in. Rather than continue to bury herself deeper, Yuki grabs a stack of calligraphy paper from the desk and begins to pass it out to the students.
She loves poetry – reading it, writing it, listening to it – she really loves it. That's why the Pillow Book activity seemed so entertaining to her at the time; Yuki was ecstatic when it came to creative writing and figurative language, but her love of poetry never seemed to reach the hearts of the other students. So, Yuki was nervous – embarrassed to share with a group of her peers something that she loved so deeply.
She feels vulnerable.
Upon getting back to the front of the room, she sees Midorima just watching her, and she can't help but wonder what she's done to annoy him now. Yuki's thoughts are interrupted when Midorima begins speaking, telling the students which style they are going to work with first and the specific guidelines. She feels a bit silly taking on his usual role of just watching, but Yuki can't help but notice how he carries himself in front of an audience.
She really likes that about him. His calm demeanor. She sees how his green hair shines under the classroom lights, the curious shade of emerald green that it is.
She likes that, too.
Just as Yuki feels a genuine smile stretch across her face, she finds herself whisked away from the classroom and into the busy hallway. The hallways are riddled with students and teachers, with posters, with tables – the school is brimming with excitement and celebration.
However, it is not excitement that propels her along the bustling hallway; no, it is fear.
Haizaki.
He takes her to a quiet part of the school. How he managed to find a location of the building without people was beyond her, but Yuki refuses to question it for the sake of her wrist as he's been incessantly pulling her by it for at least five minutes.
Haizaki settles down and wolf whistles out to the vacated area. "Well, isn't this fun?"
"If it is, I've seemed to miss the entertainment value of you practically breaking my wrist."
The words are out before she can stop herself.
Haizaki just grins at Yuki, seeming very pleased with himself. "You've got a hell of a mouth on ya, you know that?"
She just stares at him, her eyes daring him to continue.
Haizaki holds his arms out wide, and calls out loudly, "Don't stop now! Let's hear what you've got to say!" His hair dances with his erratic movements, and all Yuki can think about is the fact that her upperclassman is quite possibly delusional.
Or a psychopath.
She's not truly sure yet, but the longer she's alone with him, the closer she'll be to finding out.
"I feel like you're directing the wrong question at me. Truly, it's what you have to say that makes more sense." Yuki pauses and reaches up to fiddle with her hair, only to remember that it's now tucked into a ponytail. "May it's time you tell me what I'm doing here."
"No special reason."
"I doubt that."
"I'm sure you do," he barks out at her, a laugh seeming to want to work its way out of him. "You remind me of him, that's all."
"Of whom?"
"That Akashi prick."
Yuki's eyes widen in shock at hearing Akashi's name and the insult escape from Haizaki's mouth. When she sees the critical look in his eyes, Yuki realizes that Haizaki isn't playing around with her. "In what way?"
Haizaki runs his hand through his silver locks, taking his time in crafting his response. He's enjoying how in-control of the situation he truly is, as he sees Yuki's pale face watching him cautiously.
"You've both got that look like you're the ones with all the answers all the time. Not a care in the world about how things happen, so long as the end result's in your favor."
"For him, maybe," Yuki interrupts his train of thought. "Akashi's certainly the type to think of people as Shogi pieces, I imagine, but I don't fit that box you're trying to put me in."
Haizaki laughs at her. "You're really looking down on your upperclassmen now." He just shakes his head. "You even got that idiot, Nijimura, talking about you. That's all I ever hear is your name coming out of these guys' mouths." Haizaki walks up to her then, bending so that his eyes meet hers directly. "They can all say your name without worry, but when I do, it's a problem.
"Maybe that's why I brought you here. Maybe it's to piss off Akashi. I still haven't decided yet."
Yuki's feeling utterly perplexed by Haizaki's words. "If you've got a problem with people on the team, shouldn't you take it up with them? Why harass me?"
"This isn't harassment."
"Haizaki-san, this isn't the first time you've approached me maliciously."
"This ain't malicious."
"Well," Yuki drawls out slowly, mimicking his actions from earlier by stretching her arms out wide, "This isn't exactly nice."
She can see him changing tactics, and that scares her a bit. Yuki can't get a good reading from him, but she can tell that this unpredictability he has – while a strength in basketball games – is a detriment to her now. Haizaki finally asks her, "You saw how easy that was?"
She scrunches her brow, confused. "What was?"
"In a building full of people, and I still managed to take you away. Right out from under Midorima, even." Haizaki fills the space in front of Yuki, his face becoming the only thing she sees. "You understand what I'm saying?"
"I understand that you're threatening me, yes. I'm just not entirely sure that I'm the person you need to threaten."
"If it gets those guys riled up, then it's a win for me."
"What's it going to take for you to get away from me today?"
Haizaki grins at her, "Unlike last time, there's no Akashi to escort me away from you, ya mean?"
Yuki rolls her eyes, but nods at him, feeling rather drained from this entire situation.
"You're not going to tell Midorima you were with me, that's for sure." Haizaki licks his thumb briefly, seeming to think about what else he wants from Yuki. "And ya go on a date with me."
"Absolutely not."
She sees it – this darker, violent look in his eyes. She feels that fear again that she felt when he crushed her shoulder. He's aggressive and the last person she'd ever want to be alone with. Yuki'd even spend the day with Murasakibara, stocking up his sweets collection, before she ever went anywhere with Haizaki.
"I thought I made your purpose very clear in this conversation. You're going out with me when I want you to, non-negotiable."
She snaps. She can't take his attitude anymore. "Whatever you think this is," at this, Yuki gestures to herself and Haizaki, "It doesn't exist, and it won't exist because you're a creep. And to whatever you think is going on with the basketball team, that's not my problem either. If Akashi is talking about me – Nijimura – Midorima – whoever, that's their business, not mine.
"You're sick, Haizaki, and I mean that in the rudest way possible. Go bother some other girl that wants to be bothered by you – if there are any – and leave me alone."
Yuki turns to run away from him, wanting nothing more than to flee as quickly as possible from the current situation, when he grabs her wrist again. Basketball players and their ridiculous speed.
His execution is his subtlest yet, but for the first time in forever, Yuki genuinely feels as though her life is about to flash before her eyes. Haizaki doesn't turn her around to face him, and instead bends close to her ear – she can feel his lips lightly tickle the outer rim – before he says quietly, "This isn't over, Yuki."
Midorima knows something is wrong when Yuki reenters the classroom, but out of fear for Haizaki's wrath, she tells Midorima a lie – she was in the bathroom and wasn't feeling "well," thus why she's so pale. Nothing changes in his face, but she can see the way that Midorima fiddles with the tape on his hands.
He's displeased. Displeased, but he drops the issue with a huff. "Aomine-san and Momoi-san stopped by to see you."
She can't tell if it's because she was just threatened by Haizaki, or if it's the first time in a while that people sought her out with purely good intentions, but Yuki begins to tear up after hearing about her friends coming to her classroom. "Sorry . . ." She mumbles out, attempting to discreetly wipe at her eyes.
Midorima can barely register that she apologized, still absorbed with the fact that she's so emotional. She feels his gaze and waves him off. "I'm fine – just surprised is all," Yuki tells him, feigning confidence, but she knows he can see through her. "Seriously, I'll be fine."
Knowing she's too stubborn to talk beyond that point, Midorima informs her that Akashi requested his presence a little bit ago, and that he'll be going to see him. Before leaving the room, Midorima tells her that there was a piece of paper left for her on the desk.
Once he leaves, she opens it, unsure of what she'll find inside.
A poem certainly isn't the first thing on her mind.
Words are useless in a world of action
Or in the eyes of a hard-hearted girl
Yet here I am
Writing words
To the hardened heart
Asking, "Will it, will it,
Will it ever let these words in?"
She holds the letter a while longer, simply enjoying the words written, as some of her leftover tears drip onto the page. "Idiot," she whispers to the paper. "You could have told me you wrote the poem."
She runs into Kuroko a little while later. As in, she physically ran into him.
He's with a familiar cotton-candy haired pair, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't positively euphoric to have come across the three of them after her crazy day.
Yuki apologizes to Kuroko profusely, but she realizes after the first few bows that he's survived her attack without injury and stops bowing to cease from embarrassing herself further.
"Kiki-chan~!" Momoi practically screeches at her before giving her a hug. "You weren't in your classroom when the three of us stopped by earlier!"
"The three of you?"
Momoi nods her head at a rate Yuki deems unhealthy before she responds, "Yes! Didn't Midorin tell you? We all stopped by together."
Yuki twirls her ponytail, realizing why the bespectacled student most likely missed the third member of their party. "He probably didn't see that Kuroko-san was there. He only informed me that you and Aomine-san wanted to see me."
"Speakin' of seein' ya, why aren't you in your class right now?"
Yuki turns to Aomine, "Hirasawa-san wanted to take over for a bit. She left the hardest part for Midorima-san and I – "
"Yeah, before you flaked on him, I heard," Aomine's grinning at her now.
"Yes, yes, so I 'flaked' on him, came back to the room, and Hirasawa practically kicked me out of the room five minutes after I arrived. Especially after she saw all I was doing was reading a letter someone wrote me." Yuki dramatically bows before meeting Aomine's eyes again. "Happy?"
"Why did you leave Midorima-san alone, Morine-san?"
Kuroko's question prompts Aomine and Momoi to look at her as well.
Yuki swallows nervously. She knows that Kuroko is potentially the most observant human being she's ever met, and mentally kicks herself for assuming that he wouldn't call her out on her behavior. "Something came up."
Aomine starts laughing at her, patting Momoi's shoulder. "You ever peg her for a delinquent?"
"I am not a delinquent."
"Right," Aomine drawls out, "This is just the beginning; then you'll be sleeping in classes, and then skipping altogether."
Yuki rolled her eyes, "Takes one to know one." Even though she's satisfied with how easily Aomine managed to change the flow of the conversation, she knows that her face isn't conveying the same message. She just can't help but feel horrible about fibbing, but if Haizaki gets reprimanded again for his actions, he knows exactly who confessed.
She's not dealing with that. If he wants to be a belligerent idiot, she'll deal with it alone. She's been dealing with problematic situations by herself for many years – this isn't the first time, and it certainly won't be the last.
"So," she begins, trying to see more energetic than she previously was, "Let's go explore this festival some more, yeah?"
Momoi's happiness is infectious, Yuki thinks quietly, as she is dragged through the throng of students. The bubbly girl is so excited to have her female compatriot with her, so much so that Yuki wonders what on earth Aomine and Kuroko were doing to push her to this point.
Yuki feels some of her worries slowly fall away and she lets herself breathe more easily. She can't help but imagine what Kimi would say if she heard that Yuki didn't make the most of the festival, so she does her best to appear lively in Momoi's company – not that it is difficult to do so with someone that shines as brightly as Momoi does.
She tries not to look at Kuroko – at least not in his eyes. He's seen what she's like at her lower points, and she's trying not to bring them back to that day anytime soon.
Yuki is strong.
At least that's what she tells herself.
The four of them pause in their festivities when they see a group far larger than their own blocking the hallway.
"Hah?" Aomine calls out impolitely. He scratches the back of his head in a frustrated manner before locking eyes with Momoi. "What's the holdup?"
Yuki rolls her eyes, feeling rather perturbed herself. "Why're you asking Momo-chan when you're the tallest one here, Blue? Are you admitting you can't see above the crowd?"
Aomine shoves at her shoulder a bit, seeming to enjoy seeing how easy it is to move Yuki, before looking out into the hallway again. "Looks like some blond guy?"
Yuki wants to respond to his statement that sounds more like a question in an annoyed fashion, but just as she starts to comment, said blond guy seems to appear in front of them.
"Kise-san?!"
"Morine-cchi!"
In his eagerness, Kise grabs Yuki and practically whisks her away down the hall, Aomine yelping out a, "Get back here!" before he and Momoi follow them.
"Kise-san! Let go of me, you brat!" If she wanted to throw a rock at him that time with Midorima, Yuki now wants nothing more than to kick him. "Seriously! It hurts!"
Kise looks down at her arm before releasing her. "Sorry, sorry, Morine-cchi! Got caught up in the moment." His blond hair frames his face messily, as he looks at her apologetically. "The girls were starting to go crazy and I needed a break."
"Ah, yes. Mr. Popularity."
He smiles at her coyly. "I told you."
Yuki smiles in return, then brushes her hair out of her bangs as she can just feel how mussed up her hair has gotten. "Why'd you grab me though?"
A blush. "I, uh, I'm still not familiar with the layout of the school yet and didn't want to go somewhere I was unfamiliar with."
"The logic in that statement . . . I'm genuinely surprised."
"Muuu, Morine-cchi! Why are you so mean?" Kise whines out, but his voice slowly tapers off in its intensity as the pair hears Aomine and Momoi arrive.
"Oi, oi, oi, you blockhead," Aomine starts with Yuki, giving her a dirty look. "Where do you get off on –"
"Don't 'Oi, oi, oi,' me. What took you so long to catch up? Aren't you the ace of the team?"
Aomine splutters out a series of aggravated noises while Yuki giggles at him. The two resort to a staring match not too long after Yuki ceases in her laughter.
As the two face off, the blue of Aomine's eyes seeming to darken the longer they stare at each other.
They're all pleased to have evaded the rampaging group of girls, having found a slightly less bustling hallway in the building. Effortlessly, Momoi initiates a conversation with Kise.
"So, you're Kise Ryouta!" He nods at Momoi, giving her a bright smile. "Oh! I've heard a lot about you from the other students. You're the talk of the school right now! I'm Momoi Satsuki, and the tall one over there is Aomine Daiki." As she looks around, Momoi realizes that the three of them seemed to have "misplaced" their fourth group member. She mumbles out, "And Kuroko-kun should be around here somewhere . . ."
"I'm right here."
Yuki and Aomine pause in their staring to look behind Aomine. Aomine smiles at his friend. "Heh, how long you been there, Tetsu?"
"Tetsu?"
Aomine ignores Yuki's surprise at the nickname.
Kuroko shrugs his shoulders or at least that's what Yuki assumes he was doing as she sees a slight raise and lowering of his upper body. "I was right behind Morine-san the entire time."
"The entire time . . ." The other four quietly echo Kuroko's response before sweatdropping.
After a brief pause, Momoi finishes her introductions to Kise by offering him Kuroko's name. Kise looks at the group kindly, probably also happy to have some reprieve after being hounded by a large portion of the female student body.
"Wow, Morine-cchi! You have such exciting friends." Kise looks at her expectantly, and Yuki can't help but wonder why he's trying to earn her favor.
"The hell did you just call her?"
Yuki wants to laugh at Aomine's reaction because she's been wondering the same thing – in a less crude way – for a good time now.
"Morine-cchi."
Aomine responds with a, "Yeah, I heard that already."
"Kise-san," Yuki enters the conversation before Aomine can continue. "I think what we're all getting at is, why?"
Kise shrugs, "Does it bother you?"
"It bothers me."
Yuki kicks Aomine in the shin, causing him to wince, even though she, too, feels the pain reverberating through her foot. "Oh, I apologize, Aomine-san. My foot slipped. I must have just happened to forget that your name was also 'Morine' then?"
Aomine grumbles something at her incoherently before looking away.
Yuki looks back at Kise. "I don't mind, I suppose."
Another brilliant smile her way. Yuki considers investing in sunglasses.
Looking towards the other three, Yuki opts to change the current topic of conversation – anything to get it off her for a long while. "So, Kise-san wants to join the basketball team."
Momoi claps her hands together, a smile adorning her face. "A new member?! How exciting!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Yuki can see Aomine gauging Kise differently from how he had been a bit ago. "Position?"
After flashing Momoi an appreciative smile, Kise shrugs in response to Aomine's question. "Not sure, but I actually saw the two of you," he points to Kuroko and Aomine, "playing in the gym a couple days ago and felt inspired."
"Inspired." Yuki can actually feel the sarcasm rolling off Aomine.
"Hey, hey. Stop it."
"Come on," Aomine says, turning Yuki towards him. "Tetsu and I actually love basketball. That's all we think about –"
"Vanilla milkshakes, too," Kuroko cuts in softly.
"Yeah, yeah," Aomine waves at him. "Point is, we're playin' the sport because we like it."
"Maybe Kise-san will really like it, too." Yuki gives Kise as hopeful a look as she can manage. "You wouldn't mind playing with these two, would you?"
"Oi!"
Kise and Yuki completely ignore Aomine, while Momoi gives Yuki a thumbs up. Yuki looks over at Kuroko, asking him, "What do you think? You think you could get this guy to like basketball?"
Kuroko observes the scene for a bit longer: Aomine on the cusp of losing his mind, Momoi being positively euphoric at the prospect of a new friend, Kise being exuberantly hopeful and Yuki . . . being Yuki. Cold, calculating, but also quietly willing to assist others. He can't help but wonder what Yuki's motives are behind this decision, but he doesn't see a problem with it.
Yet at least.
"I don't see why not."
Momoi seems to sparkle at Yuki. "And just like that, another member has been successfully added to the Ki-Club!"
"Ne, Kiki-chan?"
"Yeah, Momo-chan?"
"What position were you thinking?"
"For Kise-san?"
The five of them had traversed over to the gym, seeing some of the clubs participate in small activities. Some members of the basketball club, Nijimura included, were there as well, prompting the three boys to visit their upperclassman. Yuki and Momoi went over to the bleachers, wanting to take a break from walking around for most of the day.
Yuki sighed, thinking about Kise. "Keeping in mind that I've never seen him play, I still think I want him to be a small forward."
"That wouldn't have anything to do with Haizaki-san, would it?"
Yuki couldn't restrain herself from flinching. She forgets how perceptive Momoi is. "Maybe."
"You know, Kiki-chan, you can talk to any of the coaches, or even Nijimura-senpai, if you're so worried about him. I'm sure they'd be willing to work with you to deal with him."
"And what if I told you I just picked a random position?"
"I think you'd be lying." Momoi could see the gears turning in Yuki and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you if you need me, okay?"
Yuki offered Momoi a small smile, "Thank you, Momo-chan. Seriously, thank you." She patted Momoi's hand lightly. "I'm okay; I promise."
The two girls here footsteps approach as they see their very own upperclassman, Nijimura, walk up to where they were seated. "Now, Morine-san," he drawls out to her, a scheming look dawning in his eyes. She knows she should feel nervous, but all she can think about is how nice his hair looks and how pleasantly average the coloring is. She's been surrounded by such brightly haired individuals for too long.
He continues with, "Care to explain to me why our very own ace came to me, so exasperated, about some new player wanting to join our team."
"Sounds like you have an idea of what's going on already."
"Oh, does it now?"
Yuki nods energetically and then slowly turns so that she is facing the exit doors to the gym. "Would you listen to that? Sounds like Hirasawa-san is calling for me to go back to the classroom?"
"Heh, you wish," Nijimura gives Momoi a crafty smile. "You hear anything?"
"Nope!"
"Momo-chan!" Yuki calls out, realizing she's lost the battle.
"So, what's the deal?"
Yuki sighs loudly, pulling at her shirt's collar in annoyance. "I thought Kise Ryouta would be a good option for our team."
"What position?"
"Small forward," Momoi intervenes. "Kiki-chan thinks he would do well."
Nijimura continues to switch his gaze from one girl to the other before crossing his arms. "Haizaki's position?" He stares at Yuki pointedly before whistling at her. "Well, don't let him hear that one."
"Didn't plan on it."
"I'll let the coaches know, then. Run it by them." Nijimura nods to himself, seeming to think about what he'll tell the coaches. "But, but, but before I do that, Morine-san?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sure they'll want to hear your take on this Kise kid, so you better come up with a better explanation for them than what you gave me, yeah?"
She smiles at him, her teeth showing a bit. "Of course."
As he walks away, Yuki inquires, more so to the universe than to anyone in particular, "Why is he so good-looking?"
Momoi giggles wildly, causing Yuki to blush a rather vibrant shade of red. "Why are you laughing so loudly, Momo-chan?"
"I can't believe it took Nijimura-senpai to hear you say something like that." She continues to giggle but the intensity of her laughter has subsided.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Enjoy it because that's the last time I'll say something like that aloud."
"Oh, come now, Kiki-chan!" Momoi bounces over, closer to Yuki than she was previously. She whispers quietly now, as though the two are going to start sharing dark secrets. "Do you like our senpai?"
"I think he's attractive. I'm not allowed to admit that I think he's attractive?"
"You are, you are! But that's not what I asked you."
Yuki rolls her eyes. "I like him as a person."
"Fantastic!" Momoi nods cheerily. "But do you like our senpai?" Yuki can read between the lines quite well on that question. The emphasis on the verb something she deems unnecessary.
"I barely know him!"
"Most of us barely know our crushes."
Yuki squints at her friend, feeling as though Momoi shared something personal with her in that line. "Oh, really? Perhaps, this concept pertains to your feelings towards a certain Kuroko-san?"
For the first time in forever, Yuki sees Momoi squirm in her seat, a blush a brighter pink than her hair spreading across her cheeks. "That's not fair, Kiki-chan!"
Yuki grins triumphantly.
A/N: I have no idea why Haizaki has become such an early-stage antagonist. When I originally planned this story, Akashi was supposed to play a large role in these initial chapters, but Haizaki has truly blossomed into this position.
Midorima actually does write Yuki that poem, which was something I toyed with for a bit while writing, but I thought it worked well for the way in which their relationship has developed.
Kise is still a struggle for me, which might be why I included him multiple times in this chapter.