A/N: I forgot to tell you guys I have a mixtape for this on 8tracks! Link is on my profile now :D Enjoy the KagaTaka~
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Chapter Two
Probabilities
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"I think," Kagami pants, dribbling the basketball between his legs, trying to find an opening. "You're delusional." There! "There's no way–" he fakes right and drives for the hoop, dunking the ball with a satisfying creak of the scoreboard. "–he'll ever go out with me."
"I don't think you're even trying," Takao says, taking the ball and making a fast break for the other end of the court.
Kagami watches him go for an easy lay-up.
The height of Takao's jump gives him just the right distance to throw the ball in but there's a little too much force in his release. The ball skims around the metal ring, almost falling out at one point before finally falling into the net.
"And I think you're trying too hard," Kagami comments, crossing the court in large strides until he's five feet away from Takao.
Ball held against his chest, Takao passes to Kagami. Earth scatters from where the ball bounces off the court floor on its way to Kagami's hands. "How mean, Tai-chan." Takao wipes the sweat off his neck and face using the collar of his t-shirt. "You're supposed to compliment your partner on dates. Not criticize them."
"This isn't a date," Kagami huffs, palming the ball. He starts his next play with slow, measured dribbles.
"Have you ever been on a date?" Takao asks, getting into a defensive position.
"A few," Kagami admits, holding out an arm to block Takao as he charges over to the far-end.
"With Yosen's ace?"
Kagami skids to a halt, almost losing the ball to Takao's swipe. He quickly turns away, taking advantage of the other's limited reach and going for a three-pointer. The ball misses and Kagami pins Takao with a glare.
The shorter teen wears a smile with no remorse. "Oh, right, Yosen. Double aces. Pfft. My bad. Let me ask that again; did you–?"
"No, Takao, I did not go out with Tatsuya." Kagami grits out, getting the ball and throwing it to the other teen.
"But you wanted to," Takao fishes.
"No!" Kagami wishes he'd aimed the ball at Takao's head.
"Oh, so he wanted to." Takao starts dribbling as he pieces together the story.
"What does that have to do with me and Kuroko?" Kagami gets into the defensive with furrowed brows.
"Well at least you can admit that much," Takao muses. "It has to do with a lot because I'm trying to figure out what you're lacking."
"Me? Lacking?"
"Yep. Initiative to be exact." Takao tries to fake a shot and then run for it but Kagami blocks both attempts. "See all this focus you got? You just need to apply it to more pressing situations."
"I don't even know if he likes me," Kagami grumbles, hating how much he sounds like the lovefooled teen that he is.
"See, that's your problem." Takao passes the ball past Kagami, running around Seirin's ace and catching the ball. He makes for another basket but Kagami stops it with a steal. Takao stands back and adjusts his headband. "You don't like taking risks. You get too comfortable with a guy, put him in one category and keep him there. Think outside the box, Tai-chan."
Kagami twitches at the nickname but Takao refuses to call him anything else. "You sound just like Tatsuya," he mutters, making his shot.
"Well he got it right, I mean," Takao shrugs, a bit of a leer tugging at his lips. "He snatched up his Miracle, didn't he?" His smile grows at Kagami's pointed stare. "The rest of us lowly fools can only hope to be half the ikemen that he is."
"Why don't you take your own advice?" Kagami asks, passing the ball.
"As a matter of fact I do."
"And?"
"Shin-chan's not budging." Takao gets the ball spinning on the tip of his pointing finger. "I mean, I pick him up, cart him to and from school, I carry his lucky items around, and I stay after regular practice hours to practice even more with him. I think nothing less of a marriage proposal would get through to that man." The ball drops and Takao dribbles it, setting up a rhythmic pace. "Do you think I should ask for his hand in marriage?"
"You're in high school!" Kagami retorts, incredulous.
Takao shrugs. "Details."
Kagami shakes his head, "I don't even get what you see in that guy."
"Well, good," Takao replies. "Because if you truly got to know Shin-chan you'd want him, too. And I really don't need another Miracle to compete with."
"Speaking of, why aren't you with your better half?"
"Because he's busy with his online gaming," Takao says.
Kagami is confused. "Really? I never took him for that type."
"He isn't," Takao grudgingly admits. "But apparently there's Shogi Online now and Akashi needs decent competition."
"Oh." Kagami tries to find other words of consolation but all he can come up with is, "That sucks."
"Yeah." Takao deflates, dribbles ceasing and he catches the ball. "You hungry?"
"When am I not?"
They pack up the ball and empty their water bottles. As they're leaving the court, they squabble over where to eat since there's a long avenue of food vendors around the corner but Kagami's craving Maji Burgers.
"You can't always eat Maji Burgers," Takao protests. "And I refuse to be dragged into your cholesterol-infested world."
"Because street food is a lot healthier." Kagami counters.
"Fine, fine, I can compromise." Takao pulls at the sleeve of Kagami's sweat-soaked shirt. "We pass through my store first and I'll get take out. Then we can go to Maji Burger."
"Fine by me."
"Fine."
"Fine."
Their gazes lock and they cough to cover up their snickers only to laugh even harder when their eyes meet for a second time. Busy with avoiding the other's eyes, they nearly collide with someone on the street if not for Takao's timely grip on Kagami's arm to halt him.
"Oh, hey, Kagami-kun and… Takao-kun."
They look up to find Kiyoshi smiling down on them.
"Ah, Senpai, hey." Kagami nods while Takao gives a quick bow in greeting beside him. "What are you doing out?"
"Just running some errands," Kiyoshi answers, holding up the shopping bag in his hand. "And you two? No, wait, don't tell me." He goes over their outfits and sweat-damp hair.
"Well, what else could we be doing?" Takao grins and it's a proof of how much time he'd been spending with the Shutoku player that Kagami catches the underlying innuendo. Takao's innocent smile remains static even as Kagami elbows him in the side.
"Not to be rude, but I figured you'd be with Kuroko-kun," Kiyoshi nods at Kagami. Turning to Takao, he adds. "And you're attached to the hip with Midorima-kun, aren't you?"
"Kuroko can't feel his legs."
"Shin-chan's enjoying himself in front of the computer."
A long meaningful second passes where Kiyoshi stares unblinkingly at them and Kagami mentally curses Takao and his contagious perverted mind.
"Because of yesterday's drills! Kuroko's – uh, just tired."
Takao's realization comes a split second after Kagami's outburst. "Gaming! Online gaming, you know? Ahaha." He fails to snuff out his giggling and resorts to hiding behind Kagami until they're manageable again.
"Well, it's good that you two are helping each other out during these trying times," Kiyoshi says wryly once Takao is able to face him. "Ah, don't let me stall you. I'll be on my way. See you Monday, Kagami-kun." He nods. "Takao-kun."
"Yeah, sure." Takao chirpily waves goodbye as Kiyoshi crosses the street.
"I am so dead," Kagami deadpans once his upperclassman is out of sight and hearing range.
"Why's that?" Takao asks perfunctorily as he browses the window display of the shop closest to them.
"Who knows what's going on in that guy's head?" Kagami stresses. "What if he makes assumptions?"
"People always make assumptions, there's nothing to do about that." Takao decides he doesn't like the shop's menu and moves to the next one, Kagami trailing after him.
"Well, yeah, but what if he thinks that we're…" Kagami makes vague hand gestures.
Takao straightens up and purses his lips. "I am highly offended that you wouldn't want to be mistaken as my boyfriend, Tai-chan." His hair does a little flip as he turns away, strolling towards the adjacent store. "Do you know how many confessions I get every week? How many I have to turn down?"
"You're no Kise Ryota, so I'm counting zero," Kagami answers, shoving his hands into his pockets as Takao looks at the next window's display.
"You wound me." Takao shoots Kagami a doe-eyed look. "I'll have you know Kise-chi thinks I have impeccable fashion sense!"
"How come he's Kise-chi and I'm Tai-chan?" Kagami demands.
"'Coz I already have a Ryou-chan; y'know, from Touou." Takao waves a hand in the air. "Now I've got a real question for you: are you out?"
"Well, Alex knows. And Tatsuya. And you." Kagami counts off a finger for each name, grimacing. "It's not like anyone's asking specifically."
Takao hums, finally finding something to eat by the fourth store. He calls out his order and turns to Kagami once more. "Kise-chi suspects you," he shares. "Then again, he does suspect everyone. He wants to play matchmaker for me and Shin-chan but, well…" Takao grins ruefully. "He's just too dere-dere for my tsun."
Kagami shakes his head, he still doesn't understand a lot of Japanese expressions but the matchmaking part is enough for him to get the gist of it. Kise the matchmaker spells a lot like trouble.
"Kise-chi gets along fine with Kuroko, though," Takao starts, paying for his food as they resume walking. "I can maybe let slip something about a certain Tai-chan and…"
"God, no," Kagami scowls. "The last thing I want is for everyone and their mother to know about my desperate non-affair with my shadow." When Takao's snickers turn into full-blown laughter, Kagami just rolls his eyes, bumping shoulders with the shorter teen. "Ah, shut up."
"Lights and shadows," Takao huffs, blowing on a steaming piece of takoyaki before he bites into it. "Guess we'll have to see which set is better, huh? You'll have to forgive me if I'm partial to my team."
"Only a couple more games until we meet at the Semis…" Kagami grins down at Takao. "I won't accept heartache as an excuse if you don't bring your A-game."
Takao returns his smile. "You can count on it."
••••••••••••
Shutoku reigns as the InterHigh champion, generously paying back Rakuzan for their defeat in their last match-up. Third place is taken by the Blue Elites, much to Himuro's chagrin as Yosen's captain; he vows revenge in his final Winter Cup and Murasakibara starts wearing his hair in a ponytail most practice days.
The shrill sound of a whistle cuts through the air, jolting the teens loading their luggage into the bus.
"Hurry up," Riko urged the team, insistently tapping one foot on the ground. "We've got a lot of training to do if we want to show our faces with dignity at the Winter Cup this year." They were so close to victory but whatever growth they had was apparently doubled by the other teams; Touou's especially, with their fifteen-point lead in the semifinals. This is her last chance to hold the championship title with the team she had helped create and like hell that she'd graduate with anything less than a first place trophy on display.
"Kagami, stop texting and help load the bags," Hyuga shouts, weak morning sunlight glinting dangerously off his glasses.
"Sorry, Captain!" Kagami hastily shoves his phone into his pockets, hauling the remaining four bags to the bus' luggage compartment in one go. His pocket vibrates but with Hyuga still in sight and seething, Kagami deems it best to wait until the ride has started before reading his new message. Hoping to get out of his Captain's wrath, Kagami ducks into the bus while Kiyoshi gleefully pats the top of Hyuga's head and tells him not to be so grumpy this early in the morning.
Aida Kagetora gives them his usual warning about disrespecting his beloved daughter, brandishing his gun at the cowering first years and Kagami not-so-fondly remembers the time when he'd been at the end of that barrel. They pile into the bus with the freshmen taking the seat farthest from the coach.
Izuki does a headcount to ensure that they're all there only to stop when he finds they're one person short. "Um." He narrows his eyes, trying to make sure he counted correctly, turning to Riko, he whispers, "Coach, Kuroko isn't here."
"Check the seat beside Kagami," Riko says, busily looking for her notebook where she records the team's training regimen, she knows she packed it in here somewhere. It'd be no good to go to camp without it. "If he's not there, ask Kagami."
Shaking his head, Izuki walks over to where Kagami is leaning across the aisle, conversing with Furihata.
"Okay, my bad," Kagami is saying as Izuki approaches. "I may have misplaced your CD the other day." He remembers Takao going through his music collection the last time he was over. Damn kid should learn to put things back where they belong.
"Do you at least remember where you left it?" Kawahara asks, headphones resting around his neck, muffled j-rock music blaring.
"It's probably in my other bag at home. I'll get it back to you after training camp." Kagami punctuates that promise with a grin. He makes a mental note to ask Takao about the CD.
"Oh, you better," Furihata gripes. His frown disappears upon noticing a fourth party to the conversation. "Izuki-senpai."
"Has any of you seen Kuroko? We're about to leave." Though Izuki is asking the question to the second years en masse, his eyes are focused on Kagami.
It must've been comical to an outsider, the way his peers automatically turn to him for an answer. Kagami lifts himself up with a knee on his seat, searching the bus for his partner. "He's not here," he concludes, lips pulled down in concern.
"Go look for him, then." Riko jerks her head in the door's direction, training journal in hand. "We don't want to be late."
Kagami has long-since learned to follow the coach's orders without question, disobedience (or even mere grumbling) will only get him extra drills. He excuses himself and heads out the door, racking his brain for where he'd last seen Kuroko when he bumps into someone on his way out the doors.
Blue eyes, wide with surprise, draws Kagami out of his stupor and into action. He makes a grab for his teammate, an instinct to protect overriding everything else. In his haste, he loses balance. Gravity pulls him down but honed reflexes get his free hand grabbing the nearest post for support.
There's a gasp and a gust of wind that ruffles his bangs into his eyes. Kuroko blinks, looking up at Kagami who's holding him to his chest. So that's why it's so warm, he muses, gauging their position and finding himself amazed at the steep incline to which they're hanging by the bus entrance. The tips of his shoes are barely touching the edge of the first step.
"Damn it, Kuroko, don't just show up like that," Kagami complains, brows pulled together as he stares down at the guy.
"I thought it was time to leave," Kuroko replies in a leveled tone, fists curling into themselves to resist holding on to the collar of Kagami's varsity jacket - because who knows if he can stop himself from going further if he gives in to that.
"Yeah and I was looking for you." Kagami realizes too late how redundant his statement is. He blinks down at Kuroko, willing the blush of his embarrassment to disappear. "Well, now you're here."
"And you idiots are blocking the doorway." There's something lethal in the calm tone Hyuga uses. Or maybe it's the way he looms over them, shadows over his eyes. Behind him, Kiyoshi looks a bit too amused by the events.
Kagami and Kuroko hastily disentangle themselves, shuffling to their seats under the knowing (and humored) looks of their teammates.
Sheesh, Kagami grimaces as he takes the window seat and his phone buzzes again. He decidedly ignores the new message as Hyuga steps up front and pins him with a Look.
Seirin's captain does a final check of the bus passengers. Once assured that they have everything, Hyuga sits down and the bus starts moving. It's going to be some two hours until they reach their camp so he replaces his glasses with an eye mask, shouting for the team to quiet down before he settles in.
Furihata and Kawahara plug in their headsets, nodding along to rhythms that only they can hear, behind them sits Fukuda who's tapping his pen on a pocket Sudoku book. The first years in the back row are hunched over their portable game consoles, muttering curses and challenges under their breath. Up front Riko is cheerfully discussing the seventh level of Dante's Inferno – also known as their new training schedule – with Kiyoshi who's nodding appreciatively (not like he has a choice). Behind them are the other third years who, left to their own devices, are pulling pranks on their sleep-deprived Captain.
With everyone else's attention diverted, Kagami pulls out his phone and finds two new messages.
From: Takao
Subject: Re: You are officially my lucky charm!
:: Don't be like that! :P We won it for Tokyo, so in a way, it was your win, too~
::Oh I know! I'll give you a thank-you-for-watching-us-wipe-Rakuzan's-asses kiss at camp! We're already on the way. You?
Kagami rolls his eyes but he's grinning by the time he sends his reply. His expression is enough to pique Kuroko's interest.
"Kagami-kun is enviable," Kuroko says. "Managing a social life in addition to school and basketball."
"What are you talking about?" is Kagami's defensive reply, holding his phone face-down.
"I'm not going to read your messages," Kuroko points out, a little annoyed that Kagami thinks that of him. "That would be rude. And I'm not prying."
But the pout Kuroko unconsciously wears tells Kagami how infinitely curious he is. A part of Kagami is thrilled at what this might mean but he squashes it down in favor of being objective. "It's just Takao," he informs the other teen. There's no reason to hide it, after all. "He won't shut up about their win yesterday."
Kuroko nods. "I see." When the phone buzzes again, he adds, "We should give them a proper congratulation when we meet at the training camp."
They're a little late in scheduling because their first years had a lot of things to build on before Riko's father deemed them capable of surviving his daughter's exhaustive regimen. One benefit of that was being able to watch final matches of the Interhigh and gauging for themselves what they need to prepare for in the upcoming Winter Cup.
Kagami smiles at the memory of Shutoku's performance at the finals, he got so riled up just watching that he had to blow off steam at the nearest street court for a couple of hours following the game. The thought of playing practice games with the reigning champions is enough to get him heated up. He grins at Kuroko. "You just read my mind."
Kuroko silently wishes that he could do just that when Kagami turns his attention back to his phone, eyes crinkling in humor that Kuroko isn't allowed to share. He wonders what they could be talking about, who and why. His own phone is silent in his bag.