'Congratulations on the win, Tetsuya. We have much to speak about this weekend. See you on Saturday. – Seijuro-kun.'
"So tell me more about what happened after!"
"Please. I know you heard most of it." Kuroko had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the enthusiastic Hanamiya. The other was only ever attracted to drama and chaos. "Everyone in the stadium could probably hear Coach and Hyuuga-senpai shouting."
Riko and Hyuuga started the questioning even before the team could retreat back to the locker rooms. They were all in disbelief at first, then the focus shifted to Hanamiya not being someone Kuroko should be hanging out with.
"He tried to hurt you last year! He hurt Kiyoshi-senpai! Don't you remember that?"
"He has ulterior motives. You shouldn't be trusting him."
"Why do you even hang out with him? You're a good guy, Kuroko, you don't need to hang out with scum like him. You can hang out with us!"
Kuroko felt that he didn't need to explain himself and his friendship with Hanamiya to Seirin. In fact, it was difficult to actually describe their relationship. It was hard to define how they became friends and why two people who seemed so different in beliefs could be so similar behind their public façade.
Kuroko didn't think just anyone could understand how the relationship between he and Makoto worked and he knew he didn't need to justify it to anyone else.
"So even your rainbow mother hens know now?" Hanamiya was clearly amused and enjoying himself.
"I had to explain myself at least three times before Aomine-kun and Kise-kun could understand."
"What do you mean you're friends?"
"As in, you guys hang out?"
"As in, you hang out in your free time?"
"You play basketball together in your free time?"
"You exchange texts?!"
"How can someone like you hang out with Hanamiya Makoto? He's the spawn of the devil!"
Hanamiya let out an unrestrained roar of laughter. "Man I wished I could see their faces. It would have been so satisfying!"
It was quite satisfying actually. Kise babbled on and couldn't keep a straight thought because of the shock, while Aomine couldn't believe it and continued to trash talk Hanamiya which almost led to Kuroko blowing a fuse if not for Momoi's intervention. She scolded them for being so close minded and reminded them how 'pure and kind-hearted' Kuroko was that Kuroko was willing to give even the bad boy of Kirisaki Daiichi a chance. In the end, Kuroko was firm on the fact that no one should have a say over what sort of friends he was allowed to make. When they still continued to kick up a fuss, Kuroko brought on the 'Split of the Miracles' era topic and everyone fell silent after that.
However, the Miracles made sure to meet Kuroko more often to take up more of his spare time, thus reducing the amount of free time he could have to meet Hanamiya. For two weeks, Kuroko's time was monopolised by the Miracles and Seirin, who had obviously teamed up together to create a round-the-clock watch over their beloved blue-haired teammate.
In Kise's words, "Kuroko needs to be protected from Hanamiya's evil touch."
In Midorima's words, "Aquarius and Capricorns don't go well together."
In Aomine's words, "That shit needs to fuck off because Tetsu is ours!"
Round-the-clock watches meant that Kuroko hardly had any time for himself. Seirin made sure that there was someone hanging out with him all throughout the school hours. Hyuuga said it was for bonding purposes. Kuroko knew better. After training, the team would go out for dinner. If they didn't, Aomine would casually appear with Momoi, or Kise would turn up to treat him to a meal. Once, Midorima and Takao actually came by and said they wanted to do some school work with Kuroko. They didn't leave Maji until around 10pm.
Another time, Kise and Aomine crashed over at Kuroko's house when he said he had some plans late at night. Because the two made such a mess, Kuroko couldn't leave the house and had to cancel on the study night with Makoto.
Two weeks since then, Kuroko reached his limits.
"Why are you even confining yourself to their rules? Just tell them to fuck off and get the fuck over here." Hanamiya suggested.
Kuroko replied with a reprimand about Hanamiya's language but found himself sneaking out of his house at 12 am, taking the last bus to Hanamiya's house, and eventually staying over in Hanamiya's guest room. Now, here they were eating breakfast for the first time in a long time.
To make things clear, Kuroko did not sneak out to sleep over with his boyfriend. They were just friends, and Kuroko had missed the company of a level-headed human being. They had not spoken about that night but things between them hadn't changed at all so Kuroko believed that they were still friends and that was all.
No, they did not kiss again since then.
No, Kuroko did not want to kiss the other.
No.
"Do you prefer coffee or tea today?" Hanamiya asked while pouring himself a cup.
"Coffee, please."
"Two sugars, no milk, right?"
"Yes please."
"Great. Get it yourself."
Kuroko glared. Hanamiya smirked, and sat back down with just one cup of coffee. Whatever, it was free food any way.
"And you owe me a meal." Hanamiya added as if he had heard Kuroko's thoughts.
"Fine." Irritated but thankful, Kuroko poured himself a cup of coffee and sat back down to continue their conversation.
"Riko-senpai says she wants a rundown of what secrets I've shared with you, and what you have taught me."
"Mmm. And what did you tell her?"
"I told her that I didn't share any secrets with you and you didn't teach me anything." Kuroko observed everything on his own after all. And he figured out the three-pointer shooting method on his own with just a little help from Hanamiya which didn't really count as Makoto teaching him anything.
Hanamiya snorted. "If only they knew how dark you are on the inside."
Kuroko decided to interpret that as a compliment to him being witty and creative.
They had just started on their toasts when a call came in for Kuroko.
Damn it, he thought he had more time.
"Fucking mother hens." Hanamiya cursed while Kuroko pulled out his phone to answer the call.
"Hello?"
"Oi! Tetsu! Where are you? I'm at your place but nobody's answering the door."
"I'm not home, Daiki-kun." Kuroko saw Hanamiya's eyes roll.
"Where are you?" Aomine's tone became serious and alert.
"Out."
"Where?"
"Why are you looking for me so early in the morning, Daiki-kun? Is there something you need?"
Hanamiya whispered a "He needs to fuck off and mind his own business, that's what."
"You're with that Hanamiya, aren't you?" Aomine growled.
"Tell him to fuck off." Hanamiya scooted closer to whisper again.
"Daiki. I think it's only my business who I choose to hang out with."
"Tetsu. He's dangerous."
"I can be dangerous too." Kuroko had to slap Hanamiya away when the older male choked on a laugh and landed on Kuroko's shoulder.
"I'm being serious Tetsu. Sei's coming over today. You know he won't approve of this."
"Then I will talk to him personally. I will see you later then, Daiki-kun." Kuroko sighed. His guard was down when Hanamiya suddenly stole his phone from him.
"Yeah, Daiki-chan, Tetsu-tan will see you later. Wait for your turn, he's mine now. Bye!" Hanamiya immediately hung up without even waiting for a reply from Aomine. Rude.
Kuroko was definitely going to face Aomine's wrath later. But that can wait. Now, it was time for breakfast and toast with Hanamiya.
"So have you read Murakami-san's review of the top ten literature books this year?"
"Oh where did you read that from?"
"There's a website with a transcript of the interview. Let me send you a link."
Down times like these with Makoto really did refuel Kuroko to face the turbulent comings and goings out there. It wasn't that he didn't like spending time with his other friends like his teammates from Seirin or the Miracles. He just appreciated chatting with Hanamiya because they got to talk about things outside of basketball and they had many similar interest in Literature and the Arts. With Seirin, there always seemed to be a proficiency gap between those who were his age and himself so the second years didn't really feel comfortable talking to him. With the third years, they often imposed a lot of their expectations on him and Kuroko felt he was always stretching to meet their image of him. With the Miracles, Kuroko felt it was always the extremes – like Kuroko could never ever reach them, or that they always needed to give extra care and slow down for him.
Perhaps it was easier just to say that with Makoto, he could be himself and not feel like he needed to meet any expectations. Like he could just do nothing and Makoto would be ok with that. Like Makoto truly understood and accepted him.
Makoto would probably say something like "I don't care who you are or whatever you want to do. You wanna stay or you wanna go it's up to you. I can't give a fuck. Don't expect me to coddle you because I don't expect anything from you as well."
His internal Hanamiya Makoto voice was really getting better.
In real life though:
"What time are you heading out?" Hanamiya tired to ask casually but Kuroko recognised a scheming Makoto when he saw it.
"We're meeting at 11." Kuroko replied warily.
Hanamiya checked his watch. "Alright. I can give you a lift. I need to pick up some things from the super mart." Hanamiya then moved to check the content of his fridge and Kuroko mentally forced himself not to react to what had happened that night after Kuroko himself had checked the fridge. "I need to stock up on some alcohol and finger food. The guys are coming over tonight."
Kuroko nodded and moved to pick up both plates and cups to wash at the sink. "Did you finally decide on your new bike?"
"Yeah I'll show her to you later. I finally found a dealer who could sell it at reasonable price." Hanamiya had a dreamy smile on his face. "But I've only got one helmet though so I guess if anyone's dying, it's gonna be you."
"Hmmm. I'll take my chances with the bus then." Kuroko shrugged.
"If you take the bus you'll need to leave in ten minutes." Hanamiya narrowed his eyes in challenge.
"Then I'll leave in ten minutes." Why was Hanamiya being so insistent?
"Fine." Hanamiya gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine I'll let you wear the helmet. You owe me one."
"No way. I'm fine with taking the bus."
"Fine. No charge. This one is for free."
There had to be a catch. Nothing was free between them. Kuroko narrowed his eyes at Hanamiya trying to find what Hanamiya's play was.
"I'll let you wear the helmet. In return, don't nag at me about safety or whatever shit."
Kuroko has never nagged. There had to be more...
"Fine. I accept." Kuroko replied warily. Hanamiya grinned.
"Good. Anyway, I got her at a great price because Seto's family has a contact and they sold her to me with insurance and all…"
They left Makoto's apartment 20 minutes before 11. Hanamiya's bike was black and sleek, and it totally complemented Makoto's bad boy image. Kuroko was handed a jacket and a helmet to wear, while Hanamiya just put a jacket on backwards without the helmet. Kuroko reminded himself not to nag, and that it was a short distance, and to kindly remind Makoto to get a second helmet at his earliest convenience.
He hopped on behind Hanamiya. If the musky smell of Hanamiya's jacket wasn't strong enough, Kuroko could now get a full whiff of it while tucked against Hanamiya's back. It was warm, and he had to hold himself back from rubbing his cheeks on the soft and warm material of Hanamiya's t-shirt. Thankfully, as soon as they exited the car park, the wind was so strong that Kuroko couldn't smell the intoxicati- ahem. Kuroko couldn't smell Hanamiya anymore.
His arms wrapped around Hanamiya's waist and it was no big deal. They were friends. They were guys. Just two guys riding a motorbike. Kuroko definitely wasn't thinking about how he was blocked from sneaking a hand under Makoto's shirt that night.
Kuroko gave some directions as they got closer to the court. As Makoto came to a stop and steadied the bike, the Miracles came out of the court to greet Kuroko.
Ah.
Right.
Kuroko forgot about this part. Now he understood why Makoto wanted to drive him over. Damn it.
First things first, Kuroko hopped off the bike and removed his helmet passing it to Makoto who did not get off the bike.
"Thanks for the ride."
"Your hair's a mess, silly." Makoto proceeded to groom Kuroko's hair. Kuroko glared. Hanamiya smiled so very sweetly.
"That's enough, Mako-tan." Kuroko continued to glare at Hanamiya but the other only stopped after he was satisfied with Kuroko's hair.
"There you go. Don't forget the jacket."
"Oh." Kuroko was glad for the warmth and wanted to keep the jacket with him, but finally noticed it was a Kirisaki Daiichi jacket. Ok. He should really get rid of Hanamiya as soon as possible because he could feel the fiery wrath of the Miracles burning from behind.
"You wanna hold on to it?" Hanamiya sounded serious and used a gentle tone but Kuroko could see the mischievous glint in his eyes. "You don't have to be shy, you look good in my jacket."
Kuroko scowled even harder and Makoto continued to smile. Quickly, Kuroko removed the jacket, folded it, and packed it back into the box behind the bike.
"The guys are coming over for drinks tonight." If you need me just drop me a call – went unsaid but Kuroko understood it that way. Hanamiya reached out a hand and tried to pull Kuroko's head closer but Kuroko quickly dodged it knowing that there were some things the Miracles would really kill for.
Seeing Hanamiya Makoto kiss him was one of them.
"I'll be fine. Go." Kuroko waved the other away before Hanamiya could cause any more chaos. As soon as he stepped away from the bike, Kise launched forward to pull Kuroko into a protective embrace while Murasakibara, who was chewing on a bun, stepped forward to body block Kuroko and Kise. If glares could kill, Aomine would have burned Hamaiya with the force of his glare. Momoi held on to the back of Aomine's Jersey, and Midorima used half of his body to block Aomine.
Akashi had a poisonous glint in his eyes and a grin that promised bodily-harm as he stepped forward to talk to Hanamiya. Kuroko feared for the worst.
"Hanamiya Makoto. May we speak?" Akashi's request sounded a hundred percent like a command and everyone who was used to following Akashi's absolute commands shivered.
Hanamiya snorted.
Everyone, even Kuroko, flinched.
"Nah I don't have time to talk." Mako-tan. Run. Please. "See you later, Tetsu-tan. Have fun with your little friends!" Makoto effortlessly waved Akashi MotherAbsolute Seijuro off, then quickly drove off after that. Kuroko prayed for his safety from this point on. That guy was a dead man walking.
There was silence while everyone processed the horror of what just happened.
"Akashi-kun. I apologise for his behaviour." Kuroko quickly added to try anything he could to keep his stupid friend alive.
"Sei-kun! Calm down!" Momoi didn't touch Akashi like she usually would with them, but tried to move nearer to assess the situation.
Akashi took a deep breath and plastered a smile onto his face. "I'm alright. We're all here today to enjoy each other's company so we shouldn't let anything ruin our day. We'll talk more about this later alright, Tetsuya?"
Damn it.
"What a fucker, right? Who's he calling little. He's a midget compared to us."Aomine cursed.
"I'm shorter than him, Daiki-kun. What are you trying to say?" Kuroko tried to spin around to face Aomine but Kise was holding him way too tight. "Ryouta-kun, please let go."
Instead, Kise squeezed him tighter and only after a few moments did the blond pass Kuroko directly into Akashi's arms.
"Hello Tetsuya. I've missed you. You've grown so much." Akashi's fondness resounded in his tone of voice. It's been such a long time since Akashi had given him a hug that Kuroko couldn't help but melt into it. "I want to hear everything from you."
"I'm sure they've told you everything already, Akashi-kun."
"That wasn't how you addressed me in our texts. Did I scare you, Tetsuya?" Akashi gave his head a scratch like Kuroko was a favourite puppy. He really was always weak to Akashi's rare affections. Kuroko's legs almost gave way but thankfully he managed to hold on to his pride.
"Seijuro-kun." Kuroko acknowledged and Akashi nodded, pleased. "It's great to see you. And you too of course, Atsushi-kun." Murasakibara gave Kuroko's hair an affectionate ruffle.
Akashi gave a gentle smile. "Come. Let's move to the court. We're still waiting for one last person to join us."
Kuroko looked around and met Midorima's eyes. "Oh, is Takao coming today?"
Midorima shook his head.
"Today is going to be fucking amazing, Tetsu." Kuroko's gaze moved to Aomine who had a pleased grin plastered onto his face, as if the previous encounter with Hanamiya was forgotten.
And Kuroko really did forget all about it the moment he heard that voice.
"Oi! Sorry for the wait everyone!"
No way.
Eyes wide in shock, Kuroko slowly turned to face the voice.
Grin beaming like the sun, Kagami Taiga strode onto the court as if he'd never left.
No. Way.
What was he doing here?!
Kuroko's heart hammered and his legs really wanted to give way. No way. This can't be real. A quick look at Akashi confirmed that his ex-captain was the one who arranged for Kagami to be here.
"Yo everyone! Missed me?"
Time stopped a little for Kuroko. Emotions and shivers and warmth flooded his crazily beating heart. Kagami was here. Kagami was here!
"Bakagami! You have a stupid accent now, you asshole!"
"Eh? Can't you have some manners, Ahomine? We literally just met after god knows how long and you're dropping insults already!"
"I think you got fat, Kagami-cchi."
"Well fuck you, Kise. These are muscles ok."
"America didn't seem to suit you, Kagami Taiga. Your face looks horrible."
"I didn't miss you at all, stupid Midorima. Oh, thanks for the invite and the tickets, Akashi. Yoooooo what's up Murasakibara! I heard from Tatsuo that you guys won after you got all serious! I look forward to playing you man. The guys in America are all built like you so it'll be great practice for me." Despite the taunts and teases, Kagami exchanged a hand clap and a chest bump with all the others. As if he never left. He was so at ease and casual and light-hearted and so here. So real.
Inwards, Kuroko was a mess. Outwardly, he kept a stoic facade.
How many weeks has it been? Somehow, Kuroko lost count but he was here now and it was stirring up every silly emotion in his bodyheadheart.
It was Akashi of all people who pushed Kuroko forward and into Kagami's warm arms for a hug. Kagami who smelt like food and sweat and laundry and home.
"Kuroko." Kagami's deep baritone resounded through Kuroko's bones as the taller male wrapped arms around him.
"Kagami." was all Kuroko could manage.
This was real. Kagami was here!
It became even more real when his head was suddenly pulled under Kagami's armpit and Kuroko was given a good noogie.
"You little shit! I heard that you shoot fucking threes now! Where was this when I was around last year?! We could have won all these losers with just the two of us!"
"You needed all the help you could get, seeing you were nowhere near their level so I had to hide all my talents away." Kuroko responded with his usual emotionless tone. "It's really your fault if you use your brain to think about it, Kagami-kun."
This led to more roughhousing between him and Kagami which was finally put to a stop when Momoi slapped the both of them over their heads.
"Come on, come on! We have a game to play and I haven't seen you guys play in ages!" Momoi quickly got everyone to settle down and Akashi directed them into teams.
"I want to see how well you guys have been playing together. Daiki, Kise, Tetsuya, and Shintaro will play against us three who aren't based in Tokyo."
"No way man. I wanna be on the same team as Kuroko. You aren't separating us today, Akashi." Kagami pulled Kuroko close, and rested an arm around the short male's shoulder.
It's times like these that made Kuroko's heart flutter so unnecessarily. Feeling a flush creep up his cheeks, he elbowed Kagami hard in the ribs.
"Ow! What the fuck, Kuroko!"
"If you're going to say these kinds of things, you'd better take responsibility."
"Har? Don't say it like that Kuroko what the fuck! It's me and you today, man! Afterall, I'm your light, aren't I? No one can beat us!"
Before Kuroko could internally combust, Akashi interjected. "Alright then. In that case, Tetsuya can play with Taiga and Daiki, while the rest of us play against them."
"Awww no fair! I wanna play as Tetsuya-cchi's light! Daiki-cchi always gets to play with him!" Kise whined but went to stand with Midorima anyway.
"Tetsu is mine." Aomine slung an arm around Kuroko. "You saw how he worked with me. I'm the most in tuned with him now."
"Since when, Ahomine? Kuroko still plays best when he's with me! And when did you guys all start calling each other so affectionately?" Kagami tried to push Aomine off Kuroko.
"We're way closer now." Aomine clung on to Kuroko more possessively and showed shark-teeth to Kagami. "I'd say we play so much better than he ever did with you."
"Oh you're on. Let's see who shines brighter, Aho." Kagami challenged, a spark igniting in his eyes. And then, the game was on.
If Kuroko felt set free just by playing alongside Aomine, playing with his two lights felt like a graceful, exhilarating dance that he knew all the steps to. It was a dance he had been taught since he first started playing. Each step was done without much thought, there was no resistance, each move showed how masterful he was.
He didn't need to limit himself like he did with his Seirin teammates. He could ignite pass harder, spin faster, bounce further, and flip the ball wherever he wanted to, and his lights would just explode into action. It didn't matter that Murasakibara and Midorima were defending. Akashi's calls remained ineffective and Kise hardly got any time with the ball.
Kuroko as he was now was way too powerful a support, and with his two lights there was no way anyone would get ahead of them. Aomine with his fist bumps, Kagami with his high-fives, Kuroko was in paradise.
"Pathetic." Makoto would say if he were here.
But that was really the last thing in Kuroko's mind right now. He took the effort to properly relish in being in the shadow once again.
He really, really loved playing with Kagami and Aomine.
"Mou that's enough. No one can beat Kuroko when he has two lights." Murasakibara whined.
"Atsushi is right. Aquarius is number one in rank today as well." Midorima added, already taking off his bib, ready to switch teams.
"Man, trashing you guys never gets old." Aomine grabbed a drink from Momoi. "But I want a challenge. Let's switch teams."
"I'm still sticking with Kuroko." Kagami was adamant. Kuroko felt his heart race and little tingles go down his neck. It seemed like his heart didn't get tired of racing when Kagami said stupid things like that.
"Alright then. Let's have Atsushi go over and Daiki join our team." Akashi directed and they followed.
"Ryou, you ready? We gotta beat the Baka." Aomine held his palm up towards Kise.
"Of course, Daiki." Kise slapped a palm onto Aomine's "Let's do this."
And just like that, game two, the two entered the zone.
"Fuck! That quickly?!" Kagami cursed. Kise and Aomine really did improve over the year.
Midorima scoffed. "Please, do you know how often those two practice together nowadays?" Midorima got into position. "Well, maybe I should rephrase that. Do you know how often we practice together?"
Midorima immediately fell into his roll of being the long-ranged support while playing with the two monsters that were Kise and Aomine. Midorima's ability to work together with people in the zone was obviously getting better. Akashi being Akashi could adapt and match the movements of the three team members who had synced up.
"Holy shit. Midorima as support is fucking scary. How did they get so synced up?! How much have they been playing together?!" Kagami was in awe as the three-point shooter managed to pass in a high arc, bypassing Murasakibara's defence, to Kise who had somehow appeared from somewhere to alley-oop the shot in. Midorima calculated how high Kise and Aomine could jump, and served the ball to them precisely.
"Focus, Kagami-kun. I know how to play against them. You just need to focus on getting into zone." Kuroko said before rushing off to defend. Kagami nodded, and all of a sudden with a burst of speed, Kagami went into the zone. Kuroko managed to use Kagami's sudden surge forward as a distraction to steal the ball from Aomine despite the other being in zone.
"Fuck! Damn it! Ryou, get on Kagami." Aomine called out in warning and started to move in tandem with the blond to defend Kagami. They really should have been watching Kuroko though.
Really. He knew how his lights played. He knew how his Miracles played.
A slight dodge and some dribbles brought him to the line where he managed to shoot a three over Akashi's head.
"Wow." It was Akashi's first time seeing his three-point shot after all.
"It's a totally ridiculous form, isn't it?" Midorima complained but was quick on the turn around. The sharpshooter tried to shoot from the opposite end but Kagami was quick to defend. Kuroko read the frown on Midorima's face and quickly signalled for Murasakibara to defend Aomine.
And just like he predicted, Midorima faked a pass to Aomine but tossed the ball without looking to Kise.
Too bad Kuroko had planned that and easily snatched the ball right before it reached Kise's hands.
"Wow." Akashi breathed out in awe once again. Two times in a single day? Akashi really had underestimated Kuroko's growth. "Tetsuya, your reading of the court is almost on par with mine."
"I really appreciate that compliment, Seijuro-kun." Without looking, Kuroko bounced a pass to Kagami who was already in motion and the redhead transformed the pass into a dunk easily.
"Ha! You guys need to try harder than that!" Kagami taunted and Akashi replied by falling into the zone.
With three of the other team's members in the zone, it went rather one sided after that.
Akashi called for Aomine to defend Kuroko while Kise supported him in his attack against Kagami. Kuroko could hardly keep up. He was used to matching his lights in the zone but Akashi in zone was way out of his league. Aomine defending him meant that he could hardly escape to support Kagami. Kagami, too, could barely keep up with Kise, but working with Murasakibara allowed them to block at least some of the plays.
"You're so reliant on Kuroko's shadow aren't you, Kagami-cchi. Remove him and we're on the same level." Kise taunted.
"Fuck off!" and Kagami did increase in speed and managed to score a basket. After that, Kise increased in speed to match Kagami as well and they were back to square one.
Kise really was a monster powerhouse who needed to be appreciated more.
"That guy should never have left you, Tetsu. I hope sees how useless he really is without your support." Aomine whispered to Kuroko while defending.
But… that wasn't what Kuroko wanted Kagami to feel. He never ever wants Kagami to feel useless. Kagami's light has always shone bright and the current situation had nothing to do with Kagami not shining bright enough.
Why should Kagami ever feel dull when they were on the same team and Kagami had all of Kuroko's support?
Kagami should never feel useless when playing with him.
Kuroko was the one who wasn't being a proper shadow.
Kuroko was the one dragging his light down.
And Kuroko was resolved to never, ever do that.
For the first time, with a spark in his eyes…
Kuroko stepped into the zone.
Woah.
So this was how it felt like.
Like everything didn't need a second thought.
Like everything just worked out.
He never felt this fast.
Everything slowed down around Kuroko.
He was used to everyone's speed while they were in zone. Being in zone himself, everyone seemed slow. He disappeared from Aomine's light so fluidly, and moved as if the whole court was engulfed in his shadow-zone. He easily stole the ball from Akashi motherabsolute Seijuro who was in the zone and directing a play at the moment.
Akashi's face explained the shock that everyone else was feeling.
"Is Kuroko in the fucking zone?!" Midorima cursed for the first time.
"Go go go go go go go." Kise nudged Aomine in the head because the Aho was stunned after seeing Kuroko's eyes light up with the zone-spark.
Kuroko didn't have the mind for any of that. The ball barely touched the tip of his fingers before he had it changing direction, out of sight, past Aomine and Kise, straight into Kagami's waiting palms inches away from the hoop.
He was moving so fast and easy. An exchanged look with Kagami brought a grin to his face and with a flick of his hand, he directed his teammates into the next play.
Before Kise could receive the ball from Midorima, Kuroko signalled for Murasakibara to step foward into half court to body block Akashi.
"We'll be playing in this half from now on. Nobody's getting out of my zone." Kuroko explained, and Murasakibara nodded, speechless since Kuroko got into zone.
In a flash, Kuroko stole the ball from Kise despite the other's quick footwork. Aomine came to defend him as well but it was easy to go lower than usual, disappear from sight, ignite a bounce pass to Kagami who had not faltered once since Kuroko got into the zone, and start preparing for the next turn over even before Kagami had scored.
Kuroko saw the grin on Kagami's face turn into a full blown smile.
Fuck. His light was so bright.
Kuroko felt his heart soar.
Only with Kagami could he imagine ever going into zone.
Akashi quickly read the situation. "Daiki, switch. You and Ryouta need to focus on defending Taiga. Tetsuya's zone was triggered by being unable to enable Taiga's light. He's going to continuously pass to Taiga so just watch over him. I'll take care of Tetsuya."
"Got it." The two replied dutifully, eyes still sparking with their will to win the game.
Kuroko looked forward at their opponents as Kagami pulled up next to him. Without looking, they exchanged high-fives, mind already in tandem on the next play.
Kagami called out to Murasakibara to defend while Kuroko met Akashi head on. He was going to pull out every trick he had. Kuroko really wanted to win this match.
Akashi started off with the ball and trying to get past Kuroko with his superior dribbling skills. Kuroko, used to playing point guard by now, kept up with the Rakuzan captain quite equally. When Akashi tried to pressure Kuroko, he felt his whole body just flow into position and his joints agreeing so well with him. In the zone, Kuroko could follow when Akashi feinted left then right and then left. He felt his body going lower and lower, his legs going into a familiar position automatically, so much so that when Akashi tried to use ankle break on him, Kuroko was able to trip the other up and steal the ball instead.
He had enough of ankle breaks to last a lifetime.
That was a lesson learnt the hard way.
An exchanged look with Kagami sent his light crossing the court and pulling his defender with him.
Sure, Kuroko could shoot a three now.
But he really wanted to show them whose light was the strongest.
"Murasakibara!" He called out and flicked his hand towards Kise. He quickly vanished past Midorima, and before Akashi could catch up, he passed a bounce towards Kagami without looking, trusting that Murasakibara had gotten rid of at least Kise.
All Kagami had to do was twist away from his defender to receive Kuroko's amazing pass.
Knowing Kagami wouldn't get past Aomine to shoot, Kuroko quickly moved to help.
Positioning behind Kagami, Kuroko didn't even need to send a signal when Kagami bounced the ball backwards into his hands, sending Aomine into confusion.
"Keep up! Focus on the people, not the passes!" Akashi shouted and stood in position to block Kuroko. But by then, Kuroko had gone low and disappeared from Akashi's sight once again causing Akashi to swear out loud.
A pass to Murasakibara to pull Akashi's attention away, then a pass back from Murasakibara allowed Kuroko to finally get to the three-point line. He breathed in, got into position, and was ready to shoot but Midorima jumped in to defend. A dark satisfaction brewed at finally being able to shoot a three-point over Midorima after how many times the reversed had happened between them.
"No way." Midorima swore, eyes determined.
"Phantom shot." Kuroko announced, knowing a gleeful smirk had appeared on his face.
He shot.
It went through Midorima's fingers.
It hit the backboard as usual. But rebounded much, much harder than usual.
"REBOUND!" Akashi commanded, a little too late.
Because, even before Kuroko got into position to shoot, Kagami was already flying towards the board, ready for Kuroko's assist, Aomine and Kise trailing a little behind.
Just like old times. Just like when they were in Seirin.
Just like when they were Light and Shadow.
Kagami slammed the ball through the hoops, hanging on for a few swings, before settling back down on earth.
"Fucking damn it." Aomine cursed as Momi called for an end to the game. Murasakibara picked Kuroko up and swung him around chirping in glee. As Kagami came over to hug his team mate, Murasakibara placed the smaller male back down pushed him towards Kagami.
"Shit! I thought I was faster than him! What the hell how did Kagami up his speed all of a sudden in the middle of the match!?" Kise whined from the other side of the court.
"Holy shit Tetsu was amazing. What a slippery little shit." Aomine cursed.
"Urgh. I hate it when people shoot threes over me." Midorima complained
"You do it all the time to everyone else, Mido-chin." Murasakibara came over and hung off Midorima's shoulder.
"Yeah, but it still sucks. Feels like karma."
"Wow." Akashi started, still impressed. "Now I can see how your teams all lost to Seirin. Tetsuya has improved so much."
"Didn't he! You should have seen his last match. He tripped Hanamiya Makoto up just like he did to you just now when you tried to use Ankle Break on him." Kise gushed.
"You should have seen Shin-kun's face when Tetsu-kun shot his first three over his head." Momoi continued gushing next to Kise. "He looked so handsome like a hero after he scored that buzzer-beater."
"I'm still waiting for him to dunk though. He can't dunk over me anytime and I would think it'll be totally worth it." Aomine nodded, eyes closed and imagining the scene.
"You pervert! Is this one of those 'sit on my face' things?!" Kise shot Aomine a disgusted look. "How can you defile Tetsuya-cchi like that!?"
"Sei-kun! These guys keep having perverted thoughts about Tetsu-kun!" Momoi complained.
"Oi! Don't point at me, woman! I don't belong to the same category as them!" Midoima complained while Aomine and Kise started shouting over each other to voice out who was more perverted.
Akashi wasn't amused and had a familiar death smile on his face. "So, who do I need to murder for defiling my Tetsuya?"
"Wait wait wait! Not me! It was Ryou! He groped Tetsu!"
"Hey! Fuck you! You were the one who kept touching him all the time! You slept with him!"
"HAR?! I did not!"
"I have a photo! Let me show you, Seijuro-cchi!"
"Aww, Kuro-chin looks so cute here! He's almost edible."
"No way. You're not joining them in perving over Tetsuya. Don't stand too close to them, Atsushi, you'll contract their pervertness." Midorima tugged his purple-haired team mate further away from the comotion.
"You're being crazy, Shin! And no, that does not count as sleeping together! We just fell asleep on a couch together! Don't listen to them, Sei!" Aomine pulled at his hair in frustration.
"Well then you better start explaining yourself, Daiki." Akashi's tone threatened all sorts of pain. So Aomine quickly got to explaining.
While they continued to banter with each other, Kuroko and Kagami were just coming down from their high. Exchanging looks, they smiled and gave each other their usual high-five.
"God, you're amazing. I definitely still play my best when I'm with you, Kuroko." Kagami smiled so brightly, sweat dripping down his face and neck, looking like he just had the best match in his life.
"That was my first time. I believe Kagami-kun finally brought me all the way there. I could never have done it with anyone else except for Kagami-kun." Kuroko's whole body was still feeling light. It was an experience he would never forget.
"Oi, you can't just say such things, you idiot! Hahaha you make it sound like we had sex or something!"
Kuroko's face burned but his smile still wouldn't leave his face. Stepping forward, he pulled Kagami into a hug.
"I really missed you, Kagami-kun." It was warm. His heart was warm. Kuroko's heart continued to beat fast but he really couldn't hold back the flirting now that Kagami was back. He knew he needed to take action. He knew he needed to do something before Kagami left to places unreachable again. "I really missed you so much."
"Hey, I missed you too man. It isn't the same playing without your passes." Kagami gave his back a few pats. "You've been doing alright, right? I heard that Seirin struggled for a while and you've stepped into point guard position."
"We couldn't recover after you left the team." Kuroko said with a dead-panned tone. "You really must take responsibility for breaking all our hearts and leaving me to pick up all the pieces, Kagami-kun."
"Damn it. Only you will ever say things like that." Kagami pulled him in for another head noogie. "You're doing fine, Kuroko. You're amazing. You even brought home the win this year!"
"Then perhaps you should reward me, Kagami-kun." Kuroko dislodged himself from Kagami's rough grasp and stood in front of the taller male and looked directly into his eyes.
"Hahaha are you being serious, Kuroko? Alright. How would you like to be rewarded?" Kagami smiled softly, playing along with him.
"Hmmm…" Kuroko pondered with a small smile. Maybe he should ask Kagami to come back. That would be quite impossible huh?
Should he ask for a kiss?
Would that be too forward?
This year was about taking chances, right?
Ok. He was going to do this.
"Alright, Kagami-kun, I have decided on my reward." Kuroko used a deeper, sensual voice, and stepped a little closer to Kagami, remembering the tutorial he had previously. He moved his right hand up slowly to hold on to Kagami's left bicep.
"Oh? What is it?" Kagami looked down into his eyes, gaze curious at what Kuroko was trying to accomplish.
Heat. Kuroko could feel Kagami's body heat. His heart was hamming out of his chest and he would be surprised if Kagami couldn't feel it through their jerseys. Slowly, he moved his other hand, slowly inching upwards towards Kagami's handsome face for a caress…
"Taiga! Did I miss it?" a lady's voice cut through the warm atmosphere.
Suddenly, Kagami's gaze was pulled away from his.
"Jess? You're finally here! Did you get lost?"
"Yeah, I got off a station too early and had to walk all the way here! I managed to find it in the end though! Sorry I missed your game, darling. Are you guys still continuing?"
Kagami's heat disappeared. Kuroko couldn't even turn around to look at her. Kagami's arm slid through his grasp and his voice drifted further.
What?
What…?
Darling?
Who…?
"Nah. I think we've had enough for today. It was amazing oh my god I'll tell you everything later! I told you about these guys being the top players in Japan but holy shit they've become so much better! Let me introduce you to them. Hey, everyone! Come let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Jessica!"
"Nice to meet you all! Sorry, I can't speak much Japanese. Taiga can translate for me though!"
"Nah we'll just bitch about you behind your back and you'll never know."
"You're such an asshole!"
"Come on, I'm just teasing. Here, this is Akashi, Murasakibara, Midorima, Aomine, Kise, and Momoi. Where's… Oi! Kuroko! Get your ass here! There's someone you need to meet!"
What?
What was going on?
Did Kagami say girlfriend?
It felt like something deep in his chest was hurting. There was an empty void around his stomach. His eyes felt itchy. His head felt heavy.
Who was that?
What was going on?
"So that's Kuroko. We were on the same team and we play super awesomely together."
"The shadow guy?"
"Yeah! Him! Holy shit he played so well just now. Oi! Kuroko what's wrong with you? Get over here!"
"Is he alright?"
Kuroko was jerked back into awareness by an arm around his shoulder.
"I guess Tetsuya is just really tired. The game was really intense. Please excuse him." Akashi's voice came from next to him.
"Oi, Tetsu, are you alright?" Aomine whispered into his ear from the other side and gave his arm a little shake. "What's wrong?"
"Tetsu-kun?" Momoi's worried voice joined in.
"Tetsuya. Breathe. Say goodbye first." Akashi commanded.
He couldn't.
"Breathe."
Kuroko breathed, and put on his best Hanamiya-fake-façade.
"Oh? Kagami-kun you didn't tell us you had a girlfriend! Didn't think anyone would want to be burdened with you talking about basketball 24/7." He forced out a grin on his face. He heard Kise whisper a 'what the fuck?' at his behaviour.
"Har? Jess is awesome like that. She gets me and doesn't mind my basketball obsession man. You guys need to all find yourself someone like her." Kagami's smile looked like it would be stuck on his face permanently. The girl that had hooked arms with Kagami was about the same height as Kuroko, brown-haired, slim but voluptuous, and honestly beautiful. She had the same vibe as Alex and looked like she fit so perfectly with Kagami.
She looked perfect with Kagami.
Kuroko gave her a smile. "Nice to meet you, Jessica-san. But please excuse us. We're going to head off now."
She returned the smile so innocently. "Oh sure! Rest well! It was nice to meet you guys! Sorry that I missed the action!"
Kuroko nodded and turned to look at Kagami. "Goodbye, Kagami."
"I'll catch you again, Kuroko! I'm staying here for the rest of the week. Let's find a time to meet up again!"
"Mmn. Sure." Replied Kuroko and he gave his bow, before turning away with Akashi's arms still around him. As soon as they were a block away, Kuroko shrugged off Akashi's arm. It was cold. It was heavy.
He felt betrayed.
"You knew." He couldn't even look at Akashi.
"I did."
"And you didn't tell me."
Akashi did not reply.
"You knew. You knew he was my light. You knew that he had her. And you invited him and her here. And you didn't tell me."
"You needed to see it for yourself. You needed that to get over him." Akashi was adamant.
"Why?! Why did I need to get over him?"
"Because he has left. And you have us now."
Fuck.
Fucking Akashi Seijuro and his fucking power plays.
"It's different." Kuroko forced out.
"He held your feelings. He isn't around anymore. You needed to get over him. This was the best way." Akashi continued to fucking justify.
"You still could have fucking warned me, couldn't you, Akashi-kun. I was so close. I almost…" Kuroko really wanted to punch the other. Fuck. He had almost kissed Kagami. What would have happened?
Kagami would have been so fucking disgusted with him.
"What's going on?" Kise asked. "Tetsuya-cchi, calm down."
Momoi held onto his arm while Aomine held him around the waist in support.
"Seijuro. Please explain what's going on." Midorima stood facing Akashi, confrontational. Akashi continued to look at Kuroko as if he fucking expected Kuroko to give in.
Fuck. He just couldn't. He couldn't deal with this now.
Kuroko shrugged Aomine's arm off, and gently dislodged Momoi's hand.
"Tetsu. What's going on?" Aomine and Momoi both looked hurt and confused.
"Tetsuya." Akashi sounded almost like he was pleading.
Kuroko continued to glare at Akashi. "You all should ask Akashi what he has done. I need to go. I need some space."
"Tetsu?!"
"Tetsu-kun!"
Kuroko ran.