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Sorry for this late chapter! My mom and my brother were being assholes. I hate them both so much. Why did I get stuck with them, anyway? They both hate me, and they like blaming me for every shit they've done. Losers. Someday, I will stab their throats and I will regret nothing.
Enjoy the chapter!
IMPORTANT:
Should I add the suffixes? Or should the story remain the same, only allowing suffixes 'Kurokocchi', 'Kurocchin', and 'Tetsu-kun'?
Kasamatsu watched his junior fidget on the bench. Kise seemed uncomfortable with something, and Kasamatsu was very determined to figure out what was going on in his mind.
"Kise," Kasamatsu shook his younger companion's shoulders gently. When Kise snapped out of his what-seems-to-be depressed trance, the blonde gave him a fake, cheerful smile. "Ah! What is it, sempai?"
"You okay? You seem out of it…" Kise asked, putting his hand on Kise's forehead. Kise smiled smugly at his sempai and shrugged him off in a nice way. "My, my. Could it be? Sempai is worried about m-" He was cut off with a fist to the head.
"Ah-owww! That really hurts!" Kise whined, crocodile tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "But really, I'm fine! I was just thinking, that's all."
Kasamatsu eyed him suspiciously. "…The words 'Kise' and 'thinkng' are not meant to be put together in the same sentence."
"Sempai!" Kise whined hopelessly. Kasamatsu stared at Kise again, a gaze similar to how a father would look at his child when he is having a problem he can't face alone. Kasamatsu sighed.
"Look, when you're sure you're alright, go back and join the drills." Kasamatsu instructed. "If you keep saying you're fine and I find you sulking in a corner, I will kick your pretty boy face and suspend you from practice until you get your emotions straight."
Kise pouted. "I think I'd be dead before that happens…."
"How dare you talk back to your seniors like that?!" Another kick to the butt.
"Ow! Okay, okay! I'll stop!"
Kise watched his captain hesitantly resume his activity. He smiled. 'Kasamatsu-sempai has a weird way of showing that he cares.'
When his daydreaming stopped, his smile faded. He took out his phone, looking through the contacts.
'I hope my ears won't bleed after I tell what happened yesterday.' Kise hoped, gulping. When the other line finally picked up, a feminine voice could be heard.
[Hello! Momoi Satsuki speaking!]
"Momoicchi?" Kise answered casually.
[Ki-chan! What made you call?]
"Well… Remember when you said to us that even you couldn't find where Kurokocchi went?"
Both became silent.
[…What do you mean, Ki-chan?]
"Well… I…. kinda bumped into him yesterday and I know where he is!" Kise said the last part so fast, Momoi couldn't catch it.
[What? Speak like a normal human, Ki-chan.]
Kise sighed. "Momoicchi, I met Kurokocchi yesterday."
Silence…
[You WHAT?!]
'I knew it.' Kise thought with a grimace. His poor ear.
"Calm down, Momoicc-"
[You met Tetsu-kun and you never told me?!]
"Momoi!" Kise shouted frantically, as if feeling that someone might hear. This earned him odd looks from the others, which he just waved off and told it was his usual weirdness.
Momoi was stunned when she heard the seriousness in Kise's voice.
"…Sorry…"
[No, it's okay. I went overboard.]
"Momoicchi…Please don't tell Aominecchi about this, or to anyone."
[Eh? But why? I'm sure Daicchan will be happy to see Tetsu-kun!]
"Kurokocchi… When I met him, he seemed different. He was still polite and all, but his eyes…" Kise gulped. "It was like staring at a room filled with ice.."
[…Tetsu-kun…] Momoi sounded worried over the phone.
"We had a nice conversation before that." Kise said. "We caught up a bit, and his school was-"
Momoi made a panicked sound from the other side of the phone.
[Ki-chan, the line might not be safe… You know him.] Venom and fear could be felt through her words. Kise knew what she was talking about.
"You're right, Momoicchi." Kise said. "Let's talk later, okay?"
[…uh-huh.]
With that, he ended the call.
Riko found herself staring at her youngest member. For some reason, the light-blue-haired boy looked visibly tense and tired. It made her worried. 'Did something happen?'
"Kuroko-kun!" She called to him, running towards his direction. She gave him her casual smile. "Did you get the medical supplies yesterday?" She asked. Kuroko thought for a moment, and faced her when he found his answer. "Yes, I have. The pack will arrive in a few moments."
'He's so polite.' Riko thought, almost unnerved. 'It's better than being badmouthed. At least he's more respectful. I guess I'm used to impolite morons that it surprises me there could be people like him.'
"How about the info? Did you record everything as instructed?" She asked again. Kuroko nodded, handing her his clipboard and her camcorder. "I made each data as detailed as possible and collected each video of their gameplay." He replied, showing off three CDs to prove his point. The coach blinked, and smiled proudly. "I guess I can really trust you with these kind of things." She said truthfully.
"Good! Now let's see the data you collected." She said, reading the written report Kuroko gave her. Everything was pretty detailed. Kuroko even wrote the habits and movements of the players, 'for future reference' was Kuroko's reply. Kaijo's training menu filled the next two pages . Everything from A to Z(metaphor) was recorded and when she checked the camcorder, she realized she could analyze the players' body capabilities just from the video itself. It was either that, or Riko was just exaggerating.
Riko felt a bead of sweat on her face with that. "T-This is quite overboard, Kuroko-kun."
Kuroko looked worried-the closest he could make to a worried face, at least. Boy this kid is expressionless.- "Did I do badly?"
Riko shook her head. "No! In fact, this is more than what we need!" Riko patted the boy's head, making his face become a little red from the motherly action. "Good job, Kuroko-kun!"
After fussing over the newfound ideas for a training regimen so happily, Riko calmed down and turned to her junior. "Kuroko-kun, you seemed quite down. "
"I did?" Kuroko repeated, although Riko could tell that his thoughts weren't too into the subject she started. Riko frowned at this.
"Yes, and I was wondering if something was bothering you." Riko said straightforwardly. Kuroko shook his head. "No. I didn't run into anyone."
"Kuroko-kun," Riko started seriously. "I never said anything about you running into someone."
He silenced himself.
"Coach, I promise you." Kuroko gave her a half-hearted smile. "Nothing is wrong. "
Riko sucked on her lips. She was planning on countering him, but declined her decision and just sighed. "Listen, Kuroko-kun." She breathed in. "If you ever need something, anything, you can come to me, or any of your teammates." She gave him a smile. "Just trust us!" She said.
Riko then walked towards the other members. "We're like a family now."
Kuroko stared at her, his heart feeling more lighter.
'We're like a family now!'
Kuroko found himself smiling as well.
It may have lifted some of his heartache, but of course, he is still troubled by his own thoughts.
Later…
The Seirin Team was in silence.
"…Kuroko got all this information in a day?" Hyuga tried to clarify once more, flipping each page of Kuroko's data unbelievingly.
Koganei sweat-dropped. "He's intense."
Kagami whistled in amusement. "Alright! With the data and our training menu, we'll beat their asses to the ground!"
"Kagami-kun, this is just a practice match."
"Practice matches and real matches are the same!"
"Kagamidiot."
"Hey!"
"Both of you shut up and keep walking! You're making people stare." Hyuga said commandingly, hitting both Kagami and Kuroko in the head.
"Sorry." Kuroko mumbled, nursing his poor aching head. Kagami clicked his tongue, earning a glare from his senior. "Apologizing, okay, okay! Sorry!"
As they got to the bus stop in silence, Kagami took the time to observe his partner. He noticed Kuroko's shoulders were slightly tense, and the slight furrow of his eyebrows made Kagami wonder what could possibly trouble Kuroko that he'd show even the littlest hint of uneasiness.
Kuroko took out a bottle from his bag, a disgusting green liquid was contained in it. Kuroko took in a large amount of the drink, or for lack of better words(In Kagami's mind), monstrosity in his throat. Kuroko noticed Kagami staring, and took this as an opportunity to tease him.
"Oh, dear. Kagami-kun, please don't stare at me so lecherously like that."
"Shut up!" Kagami growled. "And what are you drinking? It looks disgusting!"
Kuroko blinked, and eyed his bottle. "From what I know, this is a product called 'Melon Sweets'." He frowned. "And I like it. Is there something wrong with it?"
Kagami sweat-dropped. 'Melon Sweets? Isn't that the ridiculously sweet drink that ranked 1st place in the Worst Tasting Beverages of All Time in Japan?'
"U-Um, Kuroko…" Izuki started. It looks like the others were listening to their conversation the whole time.
"Isn't that the terribly sweet, chemical filled drink?" He asked.
"Yes." Kuroko replied, continuing to drink from said beverage.
"Even though you know what that thing is made of?" Riko continued.
"It is."
"Even it's sickeningly filled with sugar?"
"Uh-huh!" Kuroko said with an uncharacteristic, cheerful voice. Creepy.
'...I never knew Kuroko was fond of sweet stuff.'
"I can't believe you'd be able to tolerate drinking that." Kagami exclaimed. "That shit's horrifyingly sweet, I'm surprised you can gulp half a bottle down without dying from diabetes!"
Kuroko huffed. "I don't think it's too sweet. It tastes just fine." He said emotionlessly.
"Are your taste buds broken?!"
'Strange.' Kuroko thought. 'Neither the taste of natural sweetness or artificial ones can satisfy me.' He thought.
'…But then, he broke through the barrier.' Kuroko thought solemnly.
"…Will it be the same, though?" Kuroko thought out loud.
"Huh? What are you saying?" Furihata asked, gaining the attention of the others to Kuroko. The teal-head straightened himself up, shaking his head. "Nothing, I was just thinking."
Riko frowned. 'This has been going on since morning.'
She knew she wouldn't be able to get answers out of him, so she silently wished for Kagami to figure out the problem.
(1)
"Well, we're here!" Riko said, in awe along with the rest of the teammates as they took in their environment. The gym was huge, and they saw the other club members of Kaijo practicing on the other court.
"Huh? We're practicing on a half-court?" Riko wondered. Coach Takeuchi eyed them, before approaching.
"You're here. Welcome." He said. "Which one of you is the coach?" He asked directly. Riko raised her arm. "That would be me!" She said proudly. Takeuchi looked surprised. "Huh?! You're not the manager?"
Riko felt a tick mark on her face. "No, but this guy is!" She brought Kuroko in front of her. "T-That's too sudden, coach."
Takeuchi stared.
"You see, he went for a little visit here yesterday." Riko said with a smile. Takeuchi then stared at Kuroko. 'That's strange. I didn't see him here yesterday…'
"Pardon me, but I'd like to know why we're only using the half of the court?"
Takeuchi didn't hesitate to tell her the answer. "There's not much to learn from this practice game." He said. "I don't want them to waste time, so I had them practice while this is going on."
"…They think we're weak." Izuki murmured.
Riko clicked her tongue. "Doesn't matter." She said. "We'll show them how wrong they are."
"Ah! Kurokocchi!" Kise was surprised and delighted to see him again. Kuroko's eyes fell low and he looked away.
Seirin watched the interaction between the two. "You know him, Kuroko?" Hyuga asked. Kuroko nodded. "…He's one of the Generation of Miracles. Kise Ryouta-kun."
At this point, they failed to notice Takeuchi go to his own team.
Kise frowned at him, but decided to ignore it and gave a smug, confident smirk to Seirin. "So you're the ones lucky enough to acquire Kurokocchi, huh?" He eyed them from top to bottom.
"Too bad." Kise said.
"Huh?" Kagami walked and stopped right in front of Kise's face. "You looking down on us, blondie?!"
"Blondie?!" Kise muttered depressingly, as if the word stabbed him on the head. He sighed, and only smiled.
"Well, it doesn't matter now." Kise said, approaching his dear Kurokocchi. "Hand him over to us."
"Huh?!" The whole Seirin team practically shouted, Kuroko looked surprised.
"Why would we do that?" Riko looked angry. "Kuroko-kun is not an item to be given to you whenever you want!" She said seriously.
"You show your limits easily." Kise said confidently. "It would make anyone see that you're not capable of utilizing his skills. You don't deserve him." Kise's eyes showed a dim glow.
"He was ours in the first place, and I don't see any wrong in taking back what is rightfully ours."
Kuroko clenched his teeth at this remark. 'Even if I was thrown away like garbage, they still think I'm their possession.' He clenched his fists. 'You disgust me sometimes.'
"What are you saying?!" Kagami exclaimed. "Kuroko isn't some toy to be thrown away and re-acquire whenever you so damn please!" He closed in on Kise's face.
Hyuga stepped up. "He belongs to no one, but we're pretty sure he'd not choose some arrogant bastards over his teammates."
"T-That's right!" Furihata piped up. "W-Why would he come with you a-a-and what's with the way you're talking about him?" He reminded everyone of a shaken Chihuahua, but his action was appreciated regardless.
"If this is how the Generation of Miracles treated him, then I'm not surprised why he moved to our school." Izuki said calmly.
Kise glared at the group. 'They talk as if they're his friends!' He closed his fists. 'We were the ones he always depended on!' he wanted to scream at them, but felt like it was wrong.
'Then again, we did treat him like shit.' He thought grimly. 'I guess they're right with that.'
Kuroko showed no reaction to what is happening, but deep inside, he felt touched to hear his coach and his team fight for him. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he stepped up.
"Kise-kun." He said. Everyone halted.
"I don't know what might be wrong with you," He said calmly, eyes slowly looking up to Kise's own. "But I must respectfully decline your offer."
"But Kurokocchi!" Kise whined. "Can't you see? Anyone can tell they can't hone your true potential!" He tried to convince him to no avail. "Let's be a team together, Kurokocchi!" He said. "I want to make it up to you, as well." He whispered, eyes shining with pure regret. Kuroko didn't feel his remorse. To Kuroko, it was still empty.
"Enough with this." Takeuchi interrupted their drama. "We have not much time, so I suggest we start now."
"Kise, show them to the locker rooms." The coach commanded to him, and then left.
"Please focus on your own matters, Kise-kun." Kuroko said, his team already walking out. "We will be fine on our own."
Kagami stopped, looking at the blond with smug eyes.
"So you're one of those GoM people, huh?" Kagami grinned. He turned back to his direction, eyes not wavering away from the model.
"Show me what you got, pretty boy."
SO SORRY FOR THIS LATE CHAPTER! D:
I encountered some crappy family problems last night, so I'm sorry!
(1): I came up with this, and I'm surprised it was almost exactly the same as the one in the TOOOOOOOOT
*keep reading! I will tell you where this idea is similar from!*
I have to admit, I'm a bit wary of why I received only 6 revs in the last chapter, but it's okay! XD I just want to release my ideas to everyone! So thank you! And then there's a small appearance of Momoi-chan! *scheming*
I'd like to thank your words of encouragement! I love you guys so much, we haven't even met in person. *Cries disgustingly* You guys are the best! Thank you so much!
And a little thank you gift for everyone: (Everything should be in my profile, under the words "Thank You Gifts'" !)
Go to my profile! If you like Midorima being adorable, Takao trolling, and cats,
then that is the best video for you!
If you like AkaKuro, look at my profile! There's… Unexplainable yaoi in this though, so beware! Ehehe… Make sure you're wearing headphones. Don't worry! The song is good, but the pics are, err, you know where I'm at in this.
If you like DEATH NOTE and CRACK, go to my profile! Trust me, you will like this. XD
I have like: 4 of them lol
Also! I found a manga based on Coward Montblanc. Hopefully, it might have you get what the song meant! *the meaning in this story is different, tho* It's on me profile desu!