The Color of Rain
Disclaimers: I do not own any piece of work deriving from the manga or anime adaptations of Kuroko no Basuke.
Two Lights
A siege of cardboard boxes towered over even the tallest of men next to the beige door of an apartment complex. Kagami glared at the multitude of boxes in dismay. It was enough trouble hoisting these up three flights of staircases, but now to have them to place them inside was another taxing objective.
Though Kuroko didn't sound particularly vexed when asking Kagami for assistance of moving his belongings just days before, the burgundy haired male wouldn't let his frail partner tackle this task alone. Kagami turned around, looking at the others with him who looked displeased. At least he was able to drag some others down with him.
"Well at least we're halfway there." Said Hyuuga who was airing out his red t-shirt from the sweat accumulating toward his torso. He pushed his glasses toward the bridge of his nose, now turning to lean over the stairwell to view the outside scenery. Compared to the harsh cold from almost a month before, the light breeze was paradise for him just as long as the sun was there to beam down at every crevice that it touched.
Clamors of footsteps ascending up the concrete staircase were heard shortly after. Both men turned, viewing Kiyoshi and Aomine who heaved a queen size mattress up toward the entrance. Just barely reaching over the mattress, the mop of Kuroko's unruly light hair was shown in passing. He made his way to the door to unlock it with his key and opened it fully to let the two proceed in.
The apartment was a fair size for Kuroko. There was the perfect balance of not having too much or too little space for himself and Nigou to live within. This particular apartment was recently refurbished with the walls repainted a soft cream color and was complete with newly wooden floorboards, much to Kuroko's liking. Within the entrance was the living room that was also had a balcony beyond the glass sliding door just up ahead to the fire escape. His living quarters had two bedrooms toward the hallway just to the left hand side of the living room, one in which he would use one for his study.
Kiyoshi blew out a sigh as himself and Aomine scrambled into the hallway to place the mattress within what would be Kuroko's room. The bronzed male pushed the mattress toward the ground, immediately falling over lazily on the firmness of the bed. He exhaled with his eyes focused on the ceiling of the room, bringing up the black piece of his sleeveless tank top to wipe his nose.
"You owe me ten teriyaki burgers for this later." Aomine drawled, sensing the shadow player by the doorway of the room. A soft chuckle was heard from Kuroko's lips and Aomine shifted his eyes to the other before him.
"I'll be sure to remember that, Aomine-kun." Kuroko answered in his all too well velvet voice. Aomine snorted, now sitting up to face him with a smirk across his sharp face.
The sound of boxes colliding to the ground turned Kuroko's attention over to the living room where Kiyoshi accidentally brushed his hand behind his head after dropping one parcel. The combination of Kiyoshi's light laughter and Hyuuga's bellowing shouts sent more chuckles escaping from his small lips. Aomine observed the light blue male's side profile keenly.
Aomine's smirk turned unconsciously made its way to a warm smile, still finding it hard to believe that they would be walking alongside together again within the same college. He made damn sure that he passed the entrance exams to ensure that he would be accepted—and to also surpass Kagami by a couple points.
In this moment, seeing the smile on Tetsu's face reminded Aomine that this wouldn't be like last time where he would wonder when would be the next time he would ever see his honest smile behind his usual inexpressive face. This time would be different. They would move on to collage together, to go Maji Burger after class, play basketball together—
Right. There was still that uncertainty within Kuroko of trying out for the college team.
Aomine stood up now with his smile shifting back into his usual stern demeanor. The bronzed male sauntered over to the doorway and placed his arm over Tetsu's shoulder to bring his attention back to him. "I'm going to bring some more stuff in. Could I have some water for when I get back up?" Kuroko nodded his head and headed toward the kitchen. Aomine waited for him to be out of sight before approaching Hyuuga who was recovering from his verbal lashing out toward Kiyoshi. "I'm going to get the box spring. Got a minute to help out, Hyuuga?"
Hyuuga adjusted his glasses before nodding his head. There was more to his request than it seemed, and Aomine made no effort to mask those intentions within his eyes.
Aomine made his way outside over to the box spring to find a good grip to hoist the item up off the ground. Their position was far away enough for no one else to hear their conversation. Aomine did not apologize for how blunt he was going to sound, but when he wanted something done, he would get straight to the point. "I want you to set up a practice match with Hajime's team before classes start up."
Hyuuga shot his head back startled by how easy he expected this request to be granted. As serious as Aomine was, Hyuuga couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You know how hard it is to try and accommodate them together, especially with the term starting up so soon?" Aomine didn't falter from his words, instead he narrowed his eyes sharply, letting the brown haired man know that he was just as serious as ever before.
"I need you to make this happen, Hyuuga."
Hyuuga immediately drew back his chortle and furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. He didn't particularly like the way Aomine easily expected for things to go his way, or on a personal level, how he spoke to him as a senior. "You're serious." He replied, bewildered. "Why are you so adamant about this?" Hyuuga questioned while rolling his head to the side, rather suspicious of his Aomine's intent.
Aomine released his grip from the box spring and shifted his eyes toward the entrance of Tetsu's apartment to make sure that no one was exiting before turning back to Hyuuga. "Tetsu wasn't scouted, and I want to make sure that they know the mistake they're making." The ace's tone was challenging, and he was confident that once they saw what Tetsu could accomplish, they wouldn't hesitate to see him for tryouts.
Hyuuga wasn't sure if he was more taken aback by Aomine's proposal or Kuroko's dilemma. His mind drew a blank, searching for what topic to bring up first before finally replying, "You do realize who you're testing, do you? Just because you were recruited by Hajime and coach Kotarou, doesn't mean that they're going to listen to what you want."
The navy haired male tilted his chin up, showing his senior that he wasn't fazed. "Don't you think he'll be interested to know that we want to make an early appearance?" Aomine asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. Aomine's jaw was firm; his indigo eyes were even more determined to have this practice match set in stone.
After a moment of staring at Aomine with calm deliberation, Hyuuga let out a sigh and turned to the box spring to find a secure spot to pick it up. "I wonder why Kuroko didn't tell us initially." Hyuuga murmured more so to himself. "I'll see what I can do."
Aomine smirked coolly, now assisting the shooting guard with the task before them.
Two hours have passed leaving the apartment livelier than it was before. Boxes were unpacked to fill the empty space of the wooden floorboards within the living room and kitchen. All the plates, silverware, and saucepans were divided respectively into their own individual cabinets of the kitchen. The living room was adorn with a deep chestnut wooden table just feet away from an elongated suede couch. The sliding glass door leading to the fire escape were draped with satin taupe curtains that kept the room in a much warmer tone.
Though he wasn't finish setting up everything to its entirety, simple decorations such as these were enough to satisfy Kuroko's tastes. He turned around to the other individuals behind him and bowed genuinely in appreciation. "Thank you for helping me with the move. I owe you all greatly."
"It's no problem at all, Kuroko." Kiyoshi kindly replied with a grand smile over his lips. Moments after, he fastened his eyes on the clock overhead on the kitchen and made his way toward the entrance of the apartment door to retrieve his shoes. "I did tell my grandparents I'd pay them a visit, so I think it's about time I head out." He fumbled through the pockets of his cargo shorts and pulled out his car keys. "Would you all want a ride home? It's on the way back." He offered to Kagami and Hyuuga who gladly accepted after all the running around they've already accomplished.
"You sure you got the rest of this, Kuroko?" Kagami asked, darting his eyes to the other boxes still encased with other items. The cerulean haired male nodded.
"You've all done more than enough for me today. I'm very grateful." Kuroko insisted, trailing his eyes toward the few boxes lying around the corner of the living room and kitchen. "The rest is all easy work."
As Kagami and Hyuuga began to get ready for their departure, Kiyoshi noticed one more individual being displaced and he turned searched around the room in uncertainty. "Aomine? Do you need a ride back home as well?"
A questionable hum was heard from the study, and Kiyoshi peered over to see a rather sullen Aomine exit the study with a hammer in one hand, and shaking his other hand in pain. Aomine furrowed his brow in annoyance looking at his hand and turned his eyes to Kiyoshi replying listlessly, "Thanks, but I'll be finishing up building this pain in the ass of a book shelf before heading out."
Starting out the door was Kagami and Kiyoshi, bidding the two of them farewell. Before exiting the apartment, Hyuuga turned his head to Aomine specifically, his face unyielding. "In three days' time, Aomine. I'll message you with more details soon." Knowing very well what that meant, Aomine nodded his head and watched as Hyuuga shut the door.
Aomine could feel Kuroko's gaze upon him, curious as to what this meant between the two. But he didn't offer to speak of it just yet. Instead, he looked back toward the hallway where the study was located and ushered for Kuroko to join him with the notion of his shoulder.
Kuroko was astounded on how much Aomine accomplished in such a timely manner. The mahogany bookcase was almost finished, with the size of the entire furnishing being taller than Aomine's own stature. Not a word was spoken between the two for minutes. The shadow player sat on the ground with legs crossed, keeping his eyes on Aomine's side profile as he felt around the case for a nail with one hand, keeping his eyes on the mark wanting to hammer shortly.
His fingertips were bruised red. There was no telling how many times the ace may have hit his hand with the hammer in disregard. Kuroko frowned slightly at this thought and began to move from his position on the ground. "I can do the rest, Aomine-kun. You've done too much already."
"It's not a big deal, I'm almost done anyway." Came Aomine steadily, now beginning to hammer the piece of wood holding the backboard together with the book shelf. Tetsu paused momentarily before sitting down once more.
Aomine was always well-known for his rigid manner toward others around him; his sharp eyes always half lidded in a stern appearance, with lips that seemed always firmly pressed together in an unwavering manner. Some may perceive him as very callous in the way he carried himself, but in fact, he was very content to be sharing this time he had with Tetsu, even if he was getting some minor injuries in the process.
"May I ask what you and Hyuuga-senpai were talking about earlier?" Inquired Kuroko as stood now to grab some tacs for the ace to avoid him digging for it blindly. Aomine blinked, still keeping his eyes on the work before him and took a nail from Tetsu's hand.
"Do you want to have a one-on-one in a bit, Tetsu?" Aomine asked, blatantly ignoring the question. Kuroko drew his head back slightly, curious as to his request. He waited to reply, still seeing the navy haired male hammering away at one last section of the backboard.
He didn't enjoy how others avoided the question at hand.
After another passing moment, Kuroko relaxed his shoulders in defeat, seeing that Aomine would not give him a reply. "We can play basketball." Answered Kuroko, and this was when Aomine finally stopped to face him with a smile over his lips. His indigo eyes held determination of something unknown to Tetsu.
"Get ready, I'm just about finished."
Kuroko held his glare over the taller of the two even as he turned away from his gaze. He's realized over these past few months that Aomine was full of surprises, and today will be no different to his thought. As he exit the study to his room to change, a loud yelp was heard from the study followed by a stream of low curses from Aomine. Kuroko shook his head with a small smile curling from the corner of his lips.
The daybreak greeted Aomine and Kuroko lightly as they were settled their bags on the bench of the basketball courts near the apartment complex. Though cooler winds dawned over those who greeted the outdoors, the sun was enough to kiss the warmth over their exteriors leaving the day to be perfect than months prior. The shadow player settled his basketball on the bench and adjusted the white tank top he wore before placing his sweatbands over each wrist. He now turned to Aomine who craned his neck to the side with his chin held high.
Aomine's eyes were full of strategy of what was to come shortly. He was the kind of guy who looked steadfast in the heat of the moment when it came to basketball. He never let his intensity betray his opponents before him, even with his crooked grin and indigo irises that seemed to constrict when faced with a new challenge presented to him.
He drew out his arm in full extension to the opposite shoulder and held it in full flexion with his other arm in a full stretch. Sweat already began to accumulate toward his temple from his short navy mane, and he fastened his eyes on Kuroko, now switching arms to stretch. "Let's go for five possessions. Ready, Tetsu?" He questioned, now airing out his lengthy black tank top of sweat leaving his abdomen.
With a nod of his head, Kuroko and Aomine made their way toward the center of the court. With sharp eyes looming over Kuroko, it was hard for him not to feel daunt toward the taller male. As soon as he began to dribble the ball beside him, Aomine hunched his shoulders, his arms hanging side by side, and he lowered his frame slightly with his head almost eye level to his partner before him.
Kuroko shrunk back slightly.
He felt a surge of intimidation course through his being. This was a feeling he hasn't felt since the first time they started practicing with each other back in middle school. The change was that there was nothing light hearted about the way Aomine's eyes batted at Kuroko. The firmness of his jaw didn't falter, and Aomine wore his mouth in a strict line. Kuroko was beginning to see that this was not going to be a normal one-on-one with the ace.
Holding his ground, Kuroko began in a crossover to his left hand side and blinked his eyes toward the right in order to attempt a fake. Aomine's eyes followed the ball and he saw recovered the ball easily from Tetsu with a swipe of his hand. Instantaneously, Aomine brushed by the shadow player and zipped over to his respective side of the court to shoot. Though a formless shot, he handled it with such grace that even Kuroko just amazed by him as always. Aomine retrieved the ball and turn to his partner, finally shooting him a smirk before tossing the ball firmly to him. "Again."
This continued for an hour, even after the five possessions that was easily overtaken by the genius being Aomine. Kuroko bent forward, panting lightly with his hands over his knees. Droplets of sweat fell from the tips of his unkempt cerulean hair and he finally straightened himself back up with one hand pushing back his bangs. Aomine stood in front of him, his chest heaving just lightly as he dribbled the ball laxly beside him. "Let's try this again, Tetsu." Aomine requested with a slip of a command trailing off toward the end.
Kuroko furrowed his brows at this. This felt like no one-on-one at all. Aomine had Kuroko reenact the same plays over and over again until he barely made it through Aomine's defenses. Though he hardly executed them, this meant a lot to the shadow player, especially going against the ace of the Generation of Miracles himself. One set of plays focused on efficient crossovers, the next was working once more on his shooting form. Though he appreciated the gesture, Aomine was not his coach by any means, and Tetsu was no longer going to beat around the bush regarding his unnamed motives.
"I will," He started in between breaths, wiping the sweat off his face before settling his gaze unto Aomine's orbs. "once you tell me what's the meaning of all this." Aomine stopped the rhythmic bouncing of the basketball and held it firmly to his side. He raised his eyebrows at Tetsu with his lips curving into a grin. "Does this have to do with your discussion with Hyuuga-senpai?" Kuroko pressed, his gaze unwavering from Aomine.
Aomine shook the strands of sweat from his short navy hair and turned away from his partner to prepare for a shot. "Yeah, you're right." Aomine replied laxly, now executing his shot. "We're having a practice match against Hajime's team, and you're playing too." As soon as it landed, slowly made his way over to retrieve the ball with his lips still curved into his sly grin. He could feel the way Kuroko's eyes widen from behind his back, and he quickly returned to face his partner up close to find he was still bewildered.
"I thought I told you I would consider it, Aomine-kun." Kuroko started crossly, not understanding why he wasn't upfront about this from the start, and how Aomine assumed that he would just waltz over to a game against a college team that didn't recruit him.
"Didn't look like you considered it to me, Tetsu." Somehow, Kuroko didn't like the way Aomine was so nonchalant about this. "Besides, you don't start your job until school starts, right? You're free on that day, ne?" Aomine continued as he made his way toward the bench to throw him his water bottle.
Kuroko pressed his lips together tightly, not taking a sip, no matter how parched he seemed in that moment. Aomine however was quick to almost finish his entire bottle and he sighed loudly after removing the bottle from his lips and turned heel to toss the bottle in the garbage. "It's not a big deal, Aomine-kun." Came Kuroko's reply very softly. Aomine came to a halt as soon as those words were stated. His lips lost that smirk held and was now replaced with a slight scowl.
"Not a big deal?"
Aomine whirled around in the midst of crushing his water bottle in hand. Tetsu was taken aback by how quick he was to stand just centimeters away from him. At that moment, Tetsu's jaw lost its firmness and he could see the deep crease of Aomine's brows contort rather harshly. "You're really going to stand here and tell me that it's 'not a big deal'? I know you, Tetsu, and I can see it in your eyes that you don't really mean that." His words were rigid with each syllable and he didn't dare tear away from his gaze down at Kuroko.
Kuroko stood rather stunned; unable to muster up words for any type of reply. After seconds of consideration, Aomine continued, but this time in a less strict tone as he released the heated tension flexing from his clenched hands. "I still stand by saying that I've never met someone who loves basketball as much as myself. I could see it clearly within your play today that it's a damn big deal."
"Aomine-kun…" Kuroko carefully stated, trying to find the right words to depict next. He looked toward the basketball lying beside their feet, and he frowned rather slightly, thinking about their practice just now. It was so hard just to keep up with everyone most of the time, and though his misdirection was rather remarkable, would that alone be enough? "There's a reason why he sought out you and Kagami-kun. I'm not like you two."
"There you go again with that shit." Aomine spat, shaking his head. He bent over to grasp the basketball within his lengthy hands. He took a moment to collect himself; not wanting to argue with his companion any further. "Well, so what that you're not like us?" Aomine started, stepping away from Kuroko and began to dribble the ball in place. "Your misdirection is a skill that none of us have."
Aomine turned his head back to Tetsu with every inch of exasperation no longer present in his face. He grinned baring white teeth with a sense of conviction present within his navy orbs as he locked his gaze into the cobalt's irises of Kuroko's. He clasped the ball in hand and threw in swiftly to the shadow player who caught it just as briskly as the ball came. "We're going to show them what you're made of." Aomine declared with no single shred of doubt slipping off his tongue.
Kuroko blinked in astonishment, feeling a sudden flow of anticipation running through him. It shouldn't be this easy for Aomine to ensnare him into his plans, but it was, and Kuroko accepted his proposal. He returned a smile and made his way back to the center of the court with Aomine before complying. "Yes, let's do it."
"Kuroko, we need to talk." Kagami stated slowly, closing the locker in front of him as he turned down to his shadow beside him. All heads suddenly turned, and the silence was pressed on a bit further until Hyuuga nodded his head, ushering with a thumb for everyone to continue on out to the courts without them.
Aomine stuck his chin up, watching how unsettled Kagami seemed when he and Kuroko exchanged glances toward each other. The way the burgundy haired male was, it was not surprising for him to feel the way he did. When Aomine called his rival regarding the news of the game, Kagami on the other end of the line couldn't muster up much to say. Aomine then registered that Kuroko didn't even tell him that he wasn't scouted, or considered not even try out for the team.
"They'll work it out, let's go to the court. No one's even there yet." Kiyoshi suggested to Aomine with a pat on his shoulder. Aomine, along with Sakurai, Kiyoshi and Hyuuga stepped out of the locker, leaving the two alone to speak.
Kagami leaned against the locker with arms crossed with his gaze now turned to the ground. This silence continued for another minute until he exhaled his breath. "Why didn't you tell me—" Kagami started abruptly, pinching his intense brows together. "Why didn't you tell us that you weren't scouted? Or even not even going to try out for the team at all?" By now, Kagami mustered enough courage to finally fasten his eyes on those cerulean eyes of Kuroko's.
Kuroko stared from his seated position on the bench. The past few days of practicing for today's game, Kagami was not present until yesterday. Even with his presence, Kuroko could sense how short he was toward him before and after their play. "I was going to, Kagami-kun. I just didn't know the right time to say it." His voice sank toward the end, and Kagami clicked his tongue with half lidded eyes.
"So were you just going to leave me hanging there by myself? I remember clearly it was you who said I couldn't do this alone. I still want you to help me—to help all of us become the best in Japan." Kagami firmly pressed on, and by now, Kuroko averted his gaze, staring down at his closed hands over his knees. Of course he wanted that still, but high school and college basketball were two different worlds apart, and he wouldn't argue with fate.
He could feel Kagami pull away from the metal lockers and settle to the open space next to him on the bench. Another brief silence was formed between the two. Kuroko could see the shift of Kagami's legs as one hung loosely over the ground while the other was planted firmly. He could hear Kagami catch his breath, taking another moment before replying, "You're my best friend, baka. We're going to need you if we're going to be number one."
Azure eyes widen, and Kuroko turned to stare up at his partner who wore his teeth baring grin all too well. After a small chuckle, Kagami ruffled Kuroko's hair and stood up with his hands over his hips. Kuroko returned with a bright smile escaping his usual vacant face. "As you are as well, Kagami-kun. Thank you."
The maroon eyed male nodded his head in acknowledgement before leading the way out of the locker room.
The hallway separating the locker room from Tokyo University's basketball court was rather vast, and it reminded the two of the structure of the metropolitan gymnasium. Overwhelming anxiety and excitement grew within the shadow player all at once. This was a familiar feeling just like the first time he played in the first string game back in Teikō.
He sighed deeply, now wasn't the time to let his tension get the best of him. Toward one side of the full court, practice shots were being made by familiars of Kuroko while there were other unknown individuals huddled toward the bench, pulling out practice jerseys from a cardboard box planted beside the bench.
"Ah, Kagami-san!" A pleasant voice greeted, now breaking away from distributing the jerseys to each player.
Kuroko had no doubt that this individual was Hajime himself. He carried himself with great confidence; his head held high with a stride that bared no hesitation no matter who was in front of him. Long blond hair was tied into a low bun toward the back, leaving some wavy length hanging over to each side of his face. His height was that of Kagami's, but intimidation radiated off Hajime relatively greater than crimson's own animalistic aura. Uncovered from his white tank top was three-fourths of his left and right arm tattooed with well-known folklore demons read in various mythology textbooks Kuroko picked up years before. Hajime too, was a power forward for his respective team leaving his width a tad bit greater than Kagami and Aomine's own physique.
"As soon as Hyuuga-san informed me of playing a practice match, I had to get everyone together immediately for this." Hajime stated with his hands over his hips. His aquamarine irises lidded slightly with a bold grin over his face as he shook Kagami's hand firmly. His personality definitely didn't match his appearance, and Kuroko was slightly taken aback by this.
Kagami shot a smile back, releasing his hand before replying, "I can't wait to get started. You won't be disappointed."
Another body made their way into Hajime's greeting. He emulated Rakuzan's former center Nebuya, exceeding Hajime in both height and width. He scratched his corn rows in boredom, already tired of the conversation being held. Shifting his brown eyes around, he caught sight of Kuroko and jumped back slightly at his ghostly appearance. "Who are you?" His gruff voice questioned with an accent that showed his first language was picked up from elsewhere. This turned Hajime's attention the phantom player below.
Hajime seemed stunned for a brief moment, and he brushed the left side of his bangs behind his ear before extending his arm out for a handshake. "I apologize, I didn't even see you there. My name is Hajime Sougo."
"My name is Kuroko Tetsuya." Returned the phantom player as he accepted Hajime's strong handshake.
"Ah!" The larger man piped up, "weren't you the water boy of team Seirin? I don't really recognize you." Kagami lowered his eyes, this guy was definitely the epitome of the phrase, 'all brawn but no brains.'
"Kuroko has always been one of our starters." Kagami bluntly replied, sending the large man's head back slightly.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were here to play as well, Kuroko-san." Hajime stated slowly with his brows raised up and blinking down at the azure haired male.
The center of Hajime's team began to bellow in laughter, his head shooting up rather dramatically. He looked back down at Kuroko as if his mouth was on wrong and jeered, "You're saying that this guy is going up against us?"
"Is there a problem with that?" The husky voice of Aomine questioned from behind, and Kuroko felt heavy weight slouch over him, with a bronzed hand hanging over his shoulder laxly. The center lost his sense of facetious wit and withdrew mouth into closure at Aomine's harsh question. Kuroko glanced up at Aomine, who kept his glare at the opponent in front of him.
"Aomine Daiki." Introduced the navy haired male simply to the center before him. He presented his usual smirk over his narrow face as he still lingered over the shadow player's shoulder.
"Vince Anderson. I definitely know who you are." The center replied, now turning his eyes back down at Kuroko. "Why did you bring this scrub here? There's no way that this guy is playing." He snorted. By then, Hyuuga and the others entered the conversation, now with Aida and Momoi present as well behind the heated conversation at hand. Concern was obviously present within their features, but none chose to enter the fray just yet.
"To show you that your team forgot to recruit some more talent."
Anderson drew his head back in surprise and snorted while viewing how speechless Tetsu seemed to be under this pressure. "It's not up to you to decide who we recruit."
Aomine tilted his head to the side, his lips exposing a sly grin. His furrowed brows were enough to draw the player back slightly. "How about this," Aomine began boldly, nudging Kuroko's frame closer to him a bit too roughly. "Let Tetsu play, or you all can just count me out altogether." There was no sarcasm in his voice as that was said, and this sent the whole court into a brief silence.
Breaking the silence was Sakurai stepping closer to the two, apologizing tenfold for Aomine's actions. Beside him, Hyuuga stood with gritted teeth and was about to cut into the discussion. This definitely wasn't the first impression he'd imagine.
"You can't be serious about that…" The foreign player crossly spoke, only curling Aomine's grin wider than ever. Hajime raised his hand to his teammates shoulder, turning his brown eyes down toward the captain.
"Settle down there." Hajime suggested coolly, now turning his attention back to Aomine and Kuroko who was at a loss for words so it seemed. "I'm very interested in this. Let me get you a jersey, Kuroko-san." Hajime smiled at how insistent Aomine was about this individual, and he turned to grab a practice jersey for the azure haired male.
Lining up toward the opposing side of the court was a team consisting of every individual from their study night all except for Hyuuga.
"Smooth move, hot shot." Kagami seethed over to Aomine's direction during mid-stretch of his hamstrings. Aomine blinked over to him with a scoff, placing both hands over his hips, then over to the frail skinned shadow player beside him.
Aomine's sharp eyelids lost a little harshness as he saw the nerves through Kuroko's façade presented. "That Vince guy started it. Besides, he doesn't know who he's dealing with. Tetsu has the greatest strength out of all of us right now." Curious, Kuroko, along with their teammates stared at Aomine quizzically. Over all the eyes staring at Aomine, his indigo irises were reserved only over Kuroko's. Tetsu flushed slightly, trying to conceal it with brushing his bangs back over his head. "You have two lights as your partners now."
At that moment, all anxiety built inside from Kuroko vanished. Each of his teammates gave him small words of encouragement. All the last minute training they've focused on was all for this play, and the shadow player felt that he will make their heads turn as soon as he started on the court. "I've never felt more ready than I do right now." Kuroko stated with no waver in his voice.
"Give it your best, Kuroko." Hyuuga encouraged, passing their team and filling in as the last starter for the opponent's team. The shooting guard nodded to them with a smirk. He knew each one of them would deliver an exceptional game for Hajime.
Kagami let out a chortle, and lined up with everyone at the center of the line. Raising a clenched hand, each member gave a firm fist bump to each other before Kagami stepped forward for the tip off. Hajime followed suit, his verdant orbs gleaming with excitement. Momoi held the basketball in hand, bending at the knees to prepare to throw it up.
"Brace yourselves." She informed. Seconds passed, and as soon as Aida sounded off the opening whistle, both men leaped off the wooden floorboards with Kagami being the successful of the two to swat the orange ball to his respective team. Hajime smirked, indeed very curious to how this was going to play out.
Sakurai clutched the ball firmly in hand and proceeded to their basket, stopping abruptly at the three point line. Through the wave of his long bangs swishing through his vision, he saw the hoop clearly and released the ball with Hyuuga just seconds ahead to knock the ball from his fingertips. Sakurai gasped, stunned by the exceptional recovery. Hyuuga shot Sakurai a smirk before landing to return to the other side of the court.
Dribbling the ball gracefully through the court was now Hajime. The light heartedness shone in his eyes disappeared, leaving his sharp eyes emitting a dangerous glare to those opposing his play. Hyuuga has warned the others of his fierce tenacity, but this didn't mean that Aomine or Kagami wouldn't double guard him. Hajime came at a halt with his eyes shifting between the two. The opposing pair were just as equally unyielding as the captain with no smirk on their face as shown before the game started. As soon as Hajime started with a crossover, both of their hands shot out in full guard.
"Let's see how I can get out of this one." Challanged Hajime in a low voice, before his eyes fastened to Kagami on his right hand side. As Hajime dribbled the ball to his right hand, impulse told Kagami to bolt for a steal. Just as a flash of lightning, Hajime Sougo switched levels of speed and drew the ball back to his left hand to fake Kagami out his line of fire before bouncing the ball between Aomine's legs to quarter turn out of his guard.
Aomine swore that he wouldn't let him pass his guard, especially within the start of the game. And here it happened, all too quickly in fact. The navy haired male spun around with constricting pupils as he darted toward Hajime fiercely.
Almost reaching the net, he saw the Iron Heart Kiyoshi more than ready to make up for the guard that was just broken through. Pausing at this next obstacle, the blond haired man bounced the ball over the court before attempting to grasp it within both hands.
In that moment, there was an odd presence behind Hajime Sougo.
He felt a tip of one's finger reach toward the ball, almost enough to ruin his entire play. Hajime barely recovered himself before turning around briefly to see cobalt eyes marked over his own. The captain leapt for the shot with no preparation hitting Kiyoshi's attention until it was all too late. With the swish of the basketball landing past the net, Hajime now turned to face Kuroko with questioning eyes. How did I not notice him amongst the other two around me? Hajime pushed back strands of hair behind his head and let out a chuckle.
He was very curious about the phantom player's abilities. As soon as squeaks of multiple shoes were heard, Hajime started to turn with a nod of acknowledgement. "Let's see what you've got."
Even though Hajime was already turned, Kuroko nodded his head with determination and started toward the others ahead. Kagami wiped off some sweat already accumulated over his forehead before turning down to his shadow. "Hyuuga wasn't kidding when he said he's on the same level as the Generation of Miracles. Or even greater than that…"
"Keep your mouth hanging open like that and a bug is going to fly in." Aomine sneered to Kagami as he kept his gaze locked toward the blond ace of their opposing team. "No one said this was going to be an easy win." The burgundy haired male snorted at his snide remark, replacing it immediately with a smirk toward Hajime as well.
"Challenges such as this is what makes it all even more exciting." Kuroko added, turning both power forward players to their shadow between them. The will of perseverance burned through Kuroko's oval orbs and Aomine fastened his eyes to him in wonder as they stopped before the next play resumed. Tetsu's attitude completely changed from how hesitant he was before to the determination now coursing through his veins. Aomine loved it.
"Let's go!" Kiyoshi called out now commencing the next play as he threw the ball to Kagami to start. Kagami began making his way to the other side of the court, exchanging glances between Aomine, Kuroko, Kiyoshi, and Sakurai with a grin before locking eyes with their obstacle straight ahead. That obstacle being Hajime Sougo who awaited their play.
The fourth quarter almost drew to a close when Aida whistled for the final time out. All players made their way to her. Drenched in sweat. Panting heavily. This practice match had much more intensity than their game against team Jabberwock. With each player lining up, the most exasperated out of all of them and bent over with hands over his knees was Kuroko. Aida's eyes shifted in worry, knowing all too well that he was indeed at his limit.
"If only we had bench players, I would've subbed you halfway through to rest…" She murmured with her hand clutched to her whistle.
"No." Managed Kuroko through heavy pants, now looking up with furrowed brows. Through strands of azure hair over his face, Aida could see his will in his orbs not falter, and he slowly straightened up, running his hand through his unruly hair. "I'm not finished yet." He turned over to the scoreboard reading the red artificial flash of numbers of eighty-one to eighty-five in favor of their opposing team.
"Hajime-kun is definitely giving us a run for our money." Seirin's former coach noted, thinking back to how fast the captain caught up to the motions of Kuroko's misdirection even with his teammates unable to fully process his basketball yet. Moves such as the ignite pass were only successful a several times before he caught on to the trick. The same instance fell when using the vanishing drive, though Hajime seemed impressed, the tactic alone wasn't enough. Throughout this last quarter, Hajime has kept his mark over Tetsu.
Hajime's green eyes only perceived that he was out of options, but Kuroko saw it as his one last opportunity to make him realize he was absolutely wrong.
Kiyoshi gave a hearty pat to Kuroko's back from behind and shifted his eyes to the board as well. "Our last trump card is your misdirection overflow. This is our one and only shot." Kiyoshi spoke with overflowing confidence now turning down to the phantom player below.
Kuroko's gaze shifted over to the other side of the court, his cerulean eyes meeting with the aquamarine eyes of Hajime who held his gaze over him. Hajime stood tall, with a smirk that never betrayed his confidence, and eyes that demanded for him to continue his fight.
Aida's wry features faded into an assured smile. "We're relying on you now, Kuroko-kun." She announced, sending her hand in for a cheer before being dismissed back to the court. Aida and Momoi sat back down within the bench and watched the men contently.
"Somehow, I feel like Tetsu-kun will really turn their heads around." Momoi spoke with content. Aida Riko smiled in return, crossing one leg over her thigh as she stared over to a particular trio up ahead.
Aida could see Aomine's hands lift in a clenched fist down to Kuroko's left hand side. The exchange was reciprocated between the two followed by the closed right hand of Kuroko's exchanging fist bumps with Kagami. Riko's smile grew wider, fond of the outcome of their teamwork together, and replied contently, "With those three together, I know for a fact they'll be able to do it."
The whistle sounded off to commence the rest of the game. Immediately the ball was in possession of Kagami Taiga who wasted no time to bolt off toward to the other side of the court. He brushed by their buzzed cut point guard with a fake before Hyuuga rushed forward, closing the distance toward him along with another member of their team. Drawing to a pause, this was no time to try and calculate how to evade their advances.
Sakurai waved both arms frantically, now leaving Kagami to pass to the shooting guard. Sakurai immediately turned to settle the play. Sensing Hyuuga recovering from behind, Sakurai leapt for the shot. There was no prep, or even a chance of succession. Luckily, a three point shot wasn't his intention at all. Toward the basket, Aomine was seen running to finish off the play. Suddenly the chestnut eyes of Sakurai's were seen shrink wrapped in doubt, as Hajime swatted the ball from Aomine's reach for an alley-oop.
"Defense! Don't let them make this shot!" Aomine snarled landing on the ground to rush back. The free ball almost landed in the hands of the opposing team's point guard when a light toned hand stole the ball. Kuroko immediately drew the ball over to Kagami who was now guarded by Hajime who was insanely quick to return.
A flash of blue appeared through Hajime's blind spot.
Fixing his gaze back to the burgundy haired male, he was nowhere to be seen. Verdant eyes constricted and he immediately whirled around to find the Kagami already advancing to the basket, ending the play with a meteor jam. Anderson stood stunned by the play along with all the others besides Hyuuga who shot them a smirk.
Hajime's eyes were fixed on Kuroko briefly, studying the exhausted azure haired male in shock. Clearly there was more to him than he'd ever realize, and he let out a laugh, turning everyone's attention toward him. "That was something else." Hajime stated bewildered at his new tactic. The man turned his head to the timer reading less than two minutes and he narrowed her verdant orbs. He was quite surprised that these individuals fresh from high school were this close. If Kuroko wasn't playing, could they have gotten this far at all? "Well let's wrap this up, shall we?"
All tension from before had led to this very moment here. Right now, a three pointer would need to be secured in order for this win to take place. The struggle of gaining solid ground between both teams was eminent as there were two consecutive steals within the last play. The first steal took place with a vanishing drive performed by Kagami, but was unfortunately stolen by their point guard.
Making their way more than halfway through the court, he was guarded by both Sakurai as well as Hyuuga. Seeing this as the only single opportunity to strike, Sakurai made the second steal, now driving the ball back toward their basket.
"Don't let them deliver!" Now shouted Hajime. This was the first instance where his composure faltered slightly. Momoi and Satsuki now stood from the bench, anxious on the final seconds left on the timer. Sakurai was immediately double teamed by Hyuuga as well as another player. Cursing inwardly, he darted his eyes frantically around and caught sight of Kuroko who was not at all guarded.
Once the ball was thrown, Kuroko caught it with the little strength he had left. Now turning around, a pair of green eyes locked with his own. Overhead stood Hajime in full guard with his lips pressed in a firm line. There was nothing friendly about his change in attitude. Kuroko caught his breath, finding that the rest of his teammates were caught within each opponents guard.
The shadow player pressed his lips together firmly, now readying for a phantom shot. Hajime grinned, knowing that the chances of getting passed him were slim at his level of fatigue. The leap of faith took place, and to the captain's shock, the ball indeed seemed to have vanished over his hand continue onward to the basket. Kuroko's eyes faltered at the trajectory of ball, knowing all too well that it was not going to make it through the basket.
This was merely an act of desperation.
Kiyoshi gritted his teeth as Anderson overpowered the center greatly. The foreign player grinned widely, readying his arm to smack the ball away.
"Not a fucking chance!"
Aomine leapt through the air viciously, now clamping the ball with his long fingertips and loomed over the center with a grin as he slammed the ball within the basket. Once planted on the ground, the final buzzer sounded off. The sounds of pants were heard through the entire court, and the navy haired male turned around to face the individuals behind him. Especially Hajime.
The captain's lips parted slightly as he looked toward the scoreboard. They ended in a tie. These individuals just leaving high school had their team end the entire game in a tie. His eyes shifted to Kuroko who knelt at the knees catching his breath. There was definitely more to this player than it seemed. Darting his eyes past him, he could see Aomine with his hands over his hips with a light grin over his face.
All players stood lined up at the center of the court, and as soon as they thanked their opposing sides for the opportunity of playing, footsteps were heard from the entrance of the gymnasium making their way over to their direction.
The man was ages older than all of the other males drawn toward the center, his hair was fashioned in a crew cut with a pronounced stern expression resting over the features of his face. He was no taller than Sakurai, but the strides he took made him much bigger than his appearance actually shown. "That was quite a game you all played. I barely made it for the beginning of the second half, but I could tell that everyone gave it their best." He stated in a gruff voice.
Hajime nodded, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I couldn't agree more, Coach Kotarou." Came his reply as he fastened his eyes over to each player before falling over Kuroko. A shuffle of feet were heard by Anderson who now glared over at the shadow player as well.
"I apologize for what I said before." He expressed in a soft murmur now shifting his eyes between Aomine and Kuroko. Finally composing himself from the pounding of his chest, Kuroko held out his hand for a handshake to which Anderson accepted.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity to play." Kuroko replied and bowed his head with all sincerity. Aomine also shook hands with the center, expressing that there were no hard feelings for what took place before the game even started.
After the team bowed to each other before dismissal, the coach pulled Hajime to the side to speak privately. Everyone went to their respective benches for a brief close out by Momoi and Riko before making their way to the locker room. Turning around, Kuroko noticed the exchanges of glances made by Coach Kotarou as well as Hajime. A nod of the older man's head was visible and Hajime made his way over to their direction undoing the low bun from his hair and letting fall past his shoulders.
"Kuroko Tetsuya." Hajime started, with his hands over his hips as he stopped in front of his opposing team. Each one ceased their chatter to see where this conversation was going. "You're a very interesting guy. I'd like to see you at tryouts." The request was stated proudly with a grin. Hajime raised his hand toward Kuroko for a firm handshake. The words took moments for the shorter male to process. Oval eyes beamed with delight and he wasted not another second to return the gratitude.
"Thank you so much, captain." Kuroko let out with a slight hitch in his voice before bowing his head to the senior before him. He didn't know if he was just exhausted or just overjoyed internally; either way, this all felt as a dream to the azure haired male. After straightening his posture, Hajime gave a brief nod to the others beside the players beside Kuroko.
"Thank you for the game, Hyuuga-san. I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon." Hajime closed out, now turning heel to return to his respective team.
A brief silence was noted before everyone bombarded Kuroko with praise whether it was a nudge to the side or a hearty ruffle of the hair. Within this moment, everything they worked for in so little time had paid off. Kuroko pulled away from the nudges and exchanges and turned to everyone's grinning face.
Out of character of his normal poised behavior, Kuroko flashed a rare smile; with oval cerulean eyes lidded in satisfaction, his teeth shown through his slight lips. This was a rare sight for anyone to ever witness, but here Kuroko was, momentarily ignoring the fatigue latching his body and overjoyed by the offer presented to him.
Aomine's grin faltered slightly; mesmerized by the uncommon feature boring over Kuroko's expression. His shadow was exceptional with his play today. All his strength, sweat, and entire being was laid out over the basketball court. There was no doubt that Kuroko had a rather unique style of basketball. His shear willpower to never falter made up for his lack of skill set compared to everyone in his team. In the brink of inevitable loss, Kuroko never gave up hope on the courts; and Aomine continued to admire that trait about the phantom player.
Cobalt eyes suddenly flashed toward Aomine's navy orbs, and Kuroko let out a laugh as he nodded his head to the ace with gratitude. From the squint of Testu's eyes, to the small heaves of his chest with every light laugh exhaled, Aomine Daiki refused to let himself forget such an expression from the shadow.
The metal clamps of various lockers being shut were echoed through the room as the males begin to make their exit out. Kagami threw on his flannel over his white shirt before hoisting his bag over his shoulder. Stepping out with Sakurai and their seniors, he held the door momentarily to call out to the others inside. "We're going to check out the campus for a bit. Hurry up and give us a call so we can get something to eat."
"Yeah, yeah, we hear you." Came an idle reply from Aomine over the sound of shower water falling before him. Hearing the door close, he raked a hand over his navy short hair to remove the lather of conditioner.
God, was he drained.
Aomine let out a deep sigh before grabbing his soap to give a quick scrub over his body. A small chuckle was emitted through the opening space of the lockers up ahead.
"I can absolutely sympathize, Aomine-kun." Kuroko also breathed out reluctantly, and Aomine let out a snort.
"I can already tell that practice is going to be troublesome with Hajime telling us what to do." Aomine added, already grimacing at the thought of the long, grueling practices awaiting them. He turned the knob off and reached for his towel hanging over a metal latch next to the shower. Silence filled the locker just briefly with only the sounds of clothing being outfitted by Tetsu.
"That was quite a reckless bluff you taunted them with earlier." The shorter male stated softly, but just enough for Aomine to hear over the empty space of the room separating the two. Aomine ruffled the towel through his head before proceeding on with the rest of his frame.
"What do you mean?"
"You said you wouldn't even consider joining the basketball team if they didn't let me play. What if they still didn't permit it?" Questioned Kuroko carefully. Aomine snorted at his explanation and began to change.
"It wasn't a bluff, Tetsu. They were bound to see your style sooner or later." He spoke with overwhelming confidence. Aomine shifted his eyes to the opening beyond the showering quarters only to view Kuroko in the midst of dragging up his jeans over his legs. He turned his head away immediately, feeling a sense of taboo for catching that glimpse.
A thoughtful hum was heard through Kuroko before replying, "Well then, thank you for considering me, Aomine-kun." This wasn't the first time that Aomine has betted his sacrifice for Tetsu. The shadow recalled their first game shared together on the courts and how the ace pleaded for their coach to have Kuroko remain within the game. Kuroko sighed at the memory. Right. Reckless was the perfect word to describe Aomine Daiki.
Aomine secured the latch of his belt over his dark denim jeans upon his waist before rummaging through his bag to retrieve his tank top. He opened his mouth to speak, no audible formation of words were heard due to him finding the right words to describe his reasoning. "I think of this as a second chance, so to say. I'm not going to throw all of it away this time." His voice was husky, but so sincere toward his partner just up ahead. The sounds of changing had stopped and Aomine drew his head up from his bag to see the turn of Tetsu's torso toward Aomine's direction.
His arms were dove into a striped shirt seemingly about to place it over his upper body. Through the distance between the two in the locker room, Aomine caught the shorter male's genuine smile. He could tell by Kuroko's azure eyes that he was thankful for his kind words without having to physically state them. After moments of their brief exchange, Kuroko turned back to slip on his shirt overhead.
Aomine kept his eyes on him, dropping his own shirt he had in hand. Straightening up his posture, he observed his partner from his backside, viewing the shifts of his rear deltoids as he drew the shirt over his head. Navy irises narrowed in slight, taking in how fair his skin seemed to look within his orbs. The taller male carefully made his way over to his partner in long strides.
A smile such as that couldn't be ignored by Aomine. Though he didn't imagine what he was about to do to take place in a locker room, he just couldn't hold back from Tetsu any longer than he has for the few past months. This was an opportunity that Aomine was sure as hell going to take.
Closing the locker before him, Kuroko was ready to turn around when a bronzed hand landed gently over the metal locker beside his head. Tetsu blinked in surprise, now turning his head finding that Aomine was too close to see. And that he was indeed shirtless. His managed to turn the rest of his figure around to look up at the tanned man's eyes. Indigo irises were firm over Kuroko's with a slight softness overtaking the creases of his eyebrows.
Kuroko froze in place.
The pace of his heart was racing as Aomine's other hand cupped his cheek; strands of azure hair caught in between various callouses of Aomine's palm. Kuroko found his lips unconsciously parted slightly, and he glanced down at Aomine's figure before back to his eyes in fluster. He could feel his cool breath lingering over his skin as the taller male closed the distance between the two.
It was all happening again.
Aomine's breath trailed over Kuroko's lips with subtle hesitance before touching his lips over his own ever so gently. Kuroko gasped lightly, feeling those lips graze over his own momentarily. With eyes shut, Aomine barely turned Kuroko's head to secure his lips over the slight ones of Kuroko's. The kiss was soft, and gentle over his lips. Tetsu could feel his face burning red. After a passing moment that felt like ages, Aomine withdrew from his kiss, pressing his forehead over his partner as his hand went from Kuroko's cheek to the back of his head.
Soft breaths were heard from the taller of the two, and he opened his mouth to speak. "I need you to do me a favor, Tetsu." Aomine whispered, brushing his fingertips through Kuroko's hair in turn, making the light skin of Kuroko's shiver. Kuroko opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn't manage to find his voice to speak, let alone breathe. Aomine continued, his hand now trailing down to his neck. "I want to be with you, Tetsu. Please tell me you want the same."
Aomine could see the quiver in Tetsu's lips. His body, rigid as stone with his arms side by side. He assumed for this to be Kuroko's first kiss. Aomine drew his hand back up to the locks of unruly azure hair as he patiently waited for a reply.
"You…" Kuroko's voice trailed off softly and he took in a small gulp before continuing. "You could've worded it a bit more romantically, Aomine-kun." Hesitantly, Kuroko drew up one arm and placed it firmly over Aomine's broad chest while the other gripped over his shoulder with nervous tension. "But looking past that, I would also like that as well." Those words were almost inaudible as he averted the taller of the two's gaze. Aomine let out a chuckle, enjoying how bashful Kuroko was in this moment.
Roughly pressing both bodies up against the crisp metal lockers, Aomine withdrew his free arm from the side of the locker and placed it underneath Tetsu's chin to force his gaze upon him. His cheeks blossomed crimson, with eyes that were curious but also willing to give in to the ace. Aomine once again closed the distance, now feeling Tetsu unconsciously rise to his toes to meet him for the kiss.
Kuroko closed his eyes, losing inhibition continue to fight his nerves. Both noses bumped against each other softly. The exchange was so awkward, so innocent, and a smile crept toward the corner of Aomine's lips before he secured his chin firmly with his fingertips to steal Tetsu's lips within his own.
Aomine breath grew thicker through each kiss. He withdrew his hand from Kuroko's chin and placed it over Tetsu's waist as he lifted his shirt up to trace his hand over his abdomen and oblique. Aomine crept the mouth of his partner's open and explored his tongue through his mouth gently. A jolt was felt through the smaller male, but Aomine continued mapping out the inside crevices between each kiss. Hesitantly, Kuroko returned this notion, brushing his own tongue over Aomine's.
The taller of the two groaned in return of the exchange and brushed Tetsu's hair behind his forehead before biting his lower lip to draw him closer. Kuroko shuddered, his hands tightening on Aomine's solid figure. Both hands manage to trail up to Aomine's vast shoulders as the bronzed male continued; stealing Kuroko's breath away with each demanding kiss.
Kuroko's head was spinning.
He was sure that Aomine figured that this was the first time that he's ever had this kind of contact. Aomine was so strong from the way he held the smaller male against the locker, to how he directed each kiss, to the way he explored each muscle of his waist with his large hand. He was—
The vibration of Kuroko's phone sounded off on the metal bench next to the two. Kuroko slowly withdrew from Aomine's further advances and glanced over to his phone to read Kagami's name on the caller ID. "Ah…" Kuroko started breathlessly, feeling Aomine's lips kissing his cheek before moving down to his jaw line. "I'm sure Kagami-kun is waiting on us with the others." Kuroko managed let out with a shudder, releasing a soft exhale from the way Aomine delivered each kiss.
A low hum emitted through the taller male as he drew back with his forehead resting against Tetsu's own once more. "That guy sure knows how to spoil things." Aomine murmured softly before withdrawing his head to stare down at his partner. Kuroko blinked in slight embarrassment as he released Aomine's shoulders slowly. "Your face is unbelievably red. "Aomine commented slyly with a smirk, dodging a fist Tetsu brought forth before turning to put on his black tank top and grab the rest of his belongings.
Kuroko was at a loss for words at the moment, still stunned by everything that just occurred. As the smaller male reached the doorway, he felt Aomine's hand tenderly over his shoulder, and Kuroko turned to face him with his lips still pursed from his embarrassment. Aomine flashed him a grin before opening the door for his shadow. "You were amazing today, Tetsu."
Kuroko felt his own face's heat rise once again, but managed a small smile to his partner. "As you were as well."
Making their way out of the corridors of the locker room, Aomine could the vacant face of Tetsu's marked red. He snickered before ruffling the azure mop of hair of Tetsu's hair to draw his attention away from how timid he felt within this moment. Oval eyes blinked up to him before returning a shove and Aomine closed both arms into a light head lock as he raked his hand through the other's head before Kuroko attempted to push him off.
At this very moment, their bond was now something greater than what they had back in Teikō. Their intimate moment just shared minutes ago made sure of that change between both light and shadow.
Note: Wow, I didn't realize how insane writing out a basketball scene truly is. I told myself that I wouldn't make this chapter so lengthy, but it didn't work out that way obviously. Exams are coming up so the next chapter may be delayed for a bit until that purgatory is over. Again, thank you so much for the read!