Chapter One:
Kise´s Beauty
It was their last practice before retiring. They all six were third years so soon they´ll leave the Teiko´s team and join High School. It meant that this was the last time Kuroko saw them all playing as a team. This fact didn´t make him plaintive. Actually, he saw no real team in front of him.
Kuroko was sitting on the bench and watched carefully his first victim, who was holding the ball at the moment.
´Oi, Aominechi! Decided your school yet? ´
´None of your business´, Aomine responded and stole the ball from Ryota Kise.
Kise´s eyes followed the Ace closely and then he tried to steal the ball back, failing.
Ryota Kise was the master of copying. He worked as a model, so he was good at adopting postures and moves from the others, except "miracles". His skill required self-awareness. Since Kise was a model, he put some attention to his appearance. He also had fangirls.
´I´ll play in Kaijo High´, Kise told everyone – in vain, because nobody wasn´t interested. ´Kuroko-chi, You´re gonna join me in there? ´
Kuroko turned his eyes to his hands. They looked different than before, stronger.
...
Teiko Middle School Basketball Team was now officially part of Kise´s great history. He threw his basketball bag over his shoulder and closed the locker. It felt strange. Over two years he had spent so much time in this hall that it felt like second home. Although, recently practices were anything but cozy.
´Hi, guys´, he started cheerfully, ´wanna go and buy some popsickles together? ´
Midorima straigtened his classes and said:
´Do what you want. ´
Just typical.
´Kise, are you five? ´ asked fed up Aomine and slammed his lockerdoor shut.
No, just one year older than last time we bought them.
´Too much effort´, Murasakibara mumbled, mouth full of chocolate.
Surprise!
Kise watched Akashi, who was too sophisticated to organize proper retiring ceremony for all of them.
´My apologies, Kise-kun´, Akashi said steadily, ´my driver is waiting and he doesn´t like popsicles.´
Not embarrassed anymore that you actually have a driver, huh?
Disappointed, Kise looked around, but his last hope, Kurokochi, was already gone.
Akashi was the first one to leave the locker room. Suddenly the air felt tighter than before. All four looked at their former captain´s back. He stopped at the doorstep and said, without turning his head:
´Decide which High School you´re going to apply. We´ll meet in a month in this gym. ´
Then he just left.
Kise already knew where he was going after Teiko, but the others haven´t said anything about their plans. They didn´t talk much about anything anymore. Secretly, Kise was hoping that even one of them would join him in Kaijo. He had been novice when he joined Teiko´s basketball team. Especially Kuroko and Aomine helped him with the rules and moves. It felt wrong that soon they´ld be opponents.
Aomine moved next.
´See ya!´ Kise yelled before he was gone. Aomine rised his hand. Murasakibara followed him, hands full of sweets.
´By-e."
This was so stupid.
They´ve played together almost three years and now everything was over, and those idiots just walked through the door without saying normal things like ´it was nice playing with you´ or ´thank you´ or ´let´s go to convenience store just for nostalgia´!
Kise looked at Midorima who was holding his other basketball shoe.
´Mido-chi… Is that your lucky item for today?´ asked Kise round-eyed, with ease. He wasn´t the only one feeling sad, after all.
But Midorima shook his head.
´No, I was going to burn my Teiko shoes… I´ll buy new ones for High School. Good night, Kise.´
Then Midorima walked away.
Kise was stunned. This definitely wasn´t the way he´d imagined his retiring from club. He took a deep breath and exit the locker room for the very last time. He didn´t cry but tears weren't far away.
It was already dark outside. The yard was empty except for a long girl who was standing near a fence. Kise had never seen her before. She looked a little pit older than he, maybe 17-year-old or so. The reason why Kise paid attention to her was that she´d big breasts and long blond hair.
Does a guy even need other reasons to stare a girl in the dark?
She wasn´t wearing school uniform but a shirt skirt and a pink sweater. And she was looking back at him.
´Hi, Kise-kun´, girl greeted and walked closer to him.
´Um, hi… Sorry but, do I know you? ´
Blonde smiled.
´I don´t think so… There´s so many of us who are fan of yours.´
Kise´s mood drop a little. Once again, he was facing one of the girls who liked him because he was a model.
´Nice dunk today´, blonde said, ´the one with both hands.´
Kise raised his brows.
´You saw it?´
Blonde nodded.
´I play basketball in high school… I was here just checking girls´ team but I happened to pass your hall and… yep, it was interesting. ´
She walked further and Kise followed her automatically. They headed away from the school.
´That was my last middle school practice´, Kise told her. ´Third year, so I´m moving on.´
´So I assumed´, girl said and smiled at him. ´Wanna escort me home? I live nearby.´
´Yeah, I can… It´s not save for a high school girl to walk among mid-schoolers all by herself.´
Blonde laughed.
´Um, can I ask your name?´
´You can call me Reiko.´
´Oh, you´re pretty casual, huh?´
This Reiko just smiled again and Kise looked at her breasts again. He smiled too.
After a while they turned on the alley Kise didn´t knew.
´So you´re a model? I heard some of your fans talking…´
For some reason, Kise blushed. This was abnormal for him. Maybe he felt awkward because Reiko was older than he.
´Yeah, I… My mom is a designer and she got me my first model job when I was seven…´
´Sounds fun´, Reiko said and walked faster.
´Is it too cold? ´ asked Kise. ´I can borrow my coat…´
´No, you don´t have to –´ Reiko resisted but Kise threw his coat over her shoulders.
Reiko looked sad for a moment, but then she smiled again.
´Thank you.´
They turned again to a dark small alley. There weren´t windows or any signs of life.
´Um, you know where we are?" asked Kise.
´Yea, this is a shortcut´, Reiko responded.
They took a couple more steps but then a loud voice stopped them.
´Well, well… Is it the pretty boy of Teiko?´
´I´m so sorry, Kise… But He owns me´, Reiko whispered quickly and ran next to the man in front of Kise.
Kise stared that man he knew. That pathetic man slammed Reiko´s ass and laughed.
´Haizaki´, Kise sayd shortly.
Tall and shirt haired Haizaki walked toward him. There were some other guys behind him.
This might be troublesome…
´Let me see if U´re handsome after I´ve played with you…´Haizaki sounded dangerous.
Kise withdrew, but Haizaki grabbed his shoulder and hit him into the face. He fell. Haizaki kicked him on the stomach.
Then all went dark.
Pain… pain…
When he woke up, he felt pain in his face, especially over his eyes. His head felt oddly light and cold. He opened his eyes. He was laying on the empty alley. He tried to sit up but his stomach hurt. His coat was on him again.
He gasped. Pain in his forehead felt strange. He rose his hand and felt out his wounds.
Then he realized: his eyebrows were gone.
And his hairs were gone too.
Tears poured down his face. He looked at his aching arm and saw scratch on it. Someone had slashed it on purpose. It was shape of number one.
He tried to stand up but it was too painful. He shouted.
Then he saw someone approaching. For a second he was afraid that Haizaki was coming back but then he saw light blue hair.
'Kuro-Kurokochi…´
´Kise! What –´ Kuroko yelled and leaned over him. ´I´ll call for help! ´
Kise cried.
After phonecall, Kuroko helped Kise sit up. Kise touched his bald head and leaned against Kuroko.
´Kurokochi… Don´t say how terrible I look´, Kise spluttered.
´Who did this to you?´ asked Kuroko and look terrified. ´Whose fault is this?´
´Haizaki´, Kise answered, ´oh, you haven´t met him, but he was in Teiko…´
Kuroko looked at him sharply. He looked somehow strange…
Kuroko´s eyes looked red in the dark.
