So, here I am with another chapter!
Thank you all for following and favoriting this story (which I personally think to be mediocre)
I did upload another KnB story (AoKaga) called I See You so don't forget to check that one out :)
So, without further ado, here is the next chapter!
"Kagami, your eyes are more horrible than normal! What happened?" The captain commented as the freshmen met up with the seniors in front of Kaijo high. Kagami had no words to say except for a groan that escaped his mouth.
"Kagami-kun, did you not sleep yesterday?" Kuroko asked and Kagami glared at the smaller boy.
"Shut up. I got a little bit too excited." He said as he recalled not being able to sleep even though he was already lying in bed the entire time.
"What are you, a fifth grader before a field trip?" Kuroko commented bluntly and Kagami had the urge to crush the teal-haired boy's head. Seirin started to walk into the big school and before they got lost, they met Kise, who in fact, was running towards them.
"Hey!" He called out as he waved. Kagami shouted his name to get his attention but Kise ignored him and went directly to Kuroko.
"Kurokocchi! Ever since you turned me down, I've been crying all night. No girl ever rejected me, you know?" He said and started to fake cry.
"You sound very conceited, Kise-kun. Please stop. I know that that is sarcasm." Kuroko said without even looking at Kise and he just narrowed his eyes with a smirk. He then directed his attention to Kagami, who had been making a tantrum for the moment.
"You realize that even with Kurokocchi on your team, I will not hesitate to crush you with everything I have, right?" He said and Kagami smiled in excitement.
"Bring it on!" He said enthusiastically and Kise led them to the gym.
"You are becoming very hot-headed, Kagami-kun. Please calm down." Kuroko commented and Kagami wondered just how Kuroko knew that even without looking at him. Come to think of it, he didn't think he ever saw Kuroko looking straight at him.
They entered the gym and Riko was shocked to see that the gym was divided into two. A large man with an unshaven beard and a sweaty white shirt came to greet them.
"Nice to meet you." The man said and looked at his clipboard in a bored manner. "I'm the coach of the basketball club, Takuchi Genta. We'll be playing on only one side of the court, if you don't mind." He said and Riko felt her blood boiling.
"What do you mean?" She gritted out but the coach didn't even spare a glance at her.
"It's just like you see it. Today's practice match is only a warm up for our players but since the other non-players won't see something worth learning, I've decided to let them keep practicing. But don't think we're underestimating you or anything. We'll still put our regulars on the court. Please do not let us triple the score." He finished and left to tend to the non-players. Riko was so close to ripping the large man's head off and she wasn't alone on this idea.
Kagami clenched his fists as he realized that the Kaijo basketball team was only making fun of them and they were looked down upon like a waste of time. Kuroko, on the other hand, only stared forward impassively, ready to win.
Genta was checking to see if everyone was ready when he spotted Kise wearing his uniform. He approached with a skeptical look.
"Why are you putting on your uniform?" He asked and Kise looked shocked. "You're not playing." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Even though I said that regulars would be playing, your level is too high. We would end up winning by a landslide and that is hardly a warm up then for the others."
"But –" Kise started to say, still not comprehending and Genta sighed.
"It wouldn't even be a match if you were playing." He finally said and both teams, Seirin and Kaijo, felt like murdering the coach at this point. Kise looked at his teammates, begging them with his eyes to not kill him, and then ran to the Seirin team.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Kise started, trying his best to calm Riko down. "I'll still be on the bench, though! Just knock the guy off his pedestal and I'll be able to play!" He said before hurrying to apologize to his own team.
"We'll begin the match as soon as you guys warm up." Genta said and gestured for a player to guide them to the locker room. Riko, on the other hand, had another idea.
"Sir, I don't think we'll need to warm up." She commented as she narrowed her eyes at the large man. He looked shocked and confused at the words.
"I believe what our coach is trying to say is that we will not need a warm up because we will not hold back anything." Kuroko spoke up and Genta yelped slightly at the sight of Kuroko before glaring at the two high schoolers. Kise could only smirk.
The Seirin team did, in fact, warm up but they knew that they sent the message straight: they were not to be underestimated. The referee came and told the five members from each team to form a line but was confused when he could only see four in Seirin's side.
"The match is about to begin. Where is your fifth player?" The referee asked and Kuroko raised his hand, knowing that the referee and probably the other team could not even see him.
"I am right here." Kuroko said and everybody except Seirin either shouted or jumped back in surprise at the invisible player. Genta scoffed at the teal-haired person.
"Absolutely ridiculous. After that big talk, I thought they would at least put so decent players as regulars but they have that kid as one?" The coach said, annoyed.
"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, coach. But then again, you may be right when you say that Kurokocchi isn't a decent player." Kise warned as the whistle blew, starting the match. But it ended immediately when Kagami ended up breaking the old hoop with a powerful dunk after Kuroko stole the ball from the other team. Everyone gaped openly at the hoop that was now in Kagami's hand and Riko could not help but smirk at Genta who was now blubbering like a fish.
Kuroko moved silently to Kaijo's coach, grasping the concept of Kagami breaking the goal, and bowed formally.
"It seems we have broken the goal. Would you mind if we used the full court now?" Kuroko asked and Genta glared at the blue-haired boy before sighing angrily. He then proceeded to go to the other side of the court to tell the non-players to get out. Riko gave Genta an evil smile before patting Kuroko on the head and leaving to talk to the other players.
"Take that!" Kagami yelled in success as he raised his fist in the air. Kuroko, on the other hand, had no expression whatsoever but merely asked Kagami how much it would cost to rebuild the backboard. At that comment, Kagami's face fell and went into a momentary depression at the thought of money.
Genta, on the other side of the court, called in Kise with a very annoyed face. Kise sauntered over, already knowing what the coach would say.
The referee then began to resume the match and this time, Kise was the starting player. Riko's eyes widened in shock as she began to analyze the blonde Generation of Miracle. She knew he was an exceptional basketball player but she would have never thought that he would be a monster like this. At that moment, a rumbling came and there were thousands of girls surrounding the gym, all yelling Kise's name. Kise waved at them in a carefree manner and Hyuuga looked shocked at the audience.
"When did they come here?" He asked and the Kaijo captain, also known as Kasamatsu Yukio, sighed annoyingly.
"I'm sorry but we always get this. Every time that conceited model plays, word goes out and pretty much every girl in this school comes here to see it." He then ran over to Kise, who was still waving, and kicked him very hard in the back.
"Stop waving at the girls, Kise!" Kise flew back and painfully rubbed his aching back.
"That really hurt." He whined but shut up instantly when he saw Kasamatsu's intense glare.
"You know what's happening, right? It'd be awfully rude if we didn't return the favor." He whispered and Kise smiled slowly at what his senior was intending.
The match started and Kaijo quickly got the ball. Kasamatsu passed to Kise and the blonde then proceeded to dunk, just like Kagami had done a few moments back. He slammed it in the hoop with much more power than Kagami had used in the first dunk but when the hoop didn't break, Kise had no choice but to let go. He was then hit once more in the back by Kasamatsu.
"You idiot! You didn't break the hoop!" He scolded and Kise apologized promptly. Kagami's eyes widened as he realized that Kise's strength was much higher than his and then realized that Kise was looking at him.
"You know, I can't really do it with girls, but when it comes to basketball, I never forget to return a favor." He commented and Kagami glared at him as his rage seemed to escalate. The ball was passed once more and before anyone could react, Kuroko intercepted a pass and gave it to Kagami. Kise internally swore as he forgot just how powerful Kuroko was with the almost unstoppable passes.
Kasamatsu could only stare in awe and confusion on how the teal-haired boy could just disappear and reappear, just like that. However, he decided not to dwell upon it too much as he saw Kagami make another dunk. His head was in the game and even though it was practice match, he did not intend to lose.
The game kept going and although only three minutes had passed, the pace it was going at was intense and quick. Riko stared at the proceeding game with complete astonishment at the fact that the offenses were just too strong for the defenses to be doing their job. It was shot after shot and although Riko didn't want to admit it, if it weren't for Kagami and Kuroko, they would have never gotten this far.
The game was still balanced with the offenses going strong and Kagami could not help but feel extremely hotheaded to what was going on. Kise smirked to himself as he imitated Kagami once more. Kuroko, noticing this, ran by to Hyuuga's side.
"Sempai, could we request a time out?" Kuroko asked and Hyuuga jumped slightly at the sudden contact with the invisible player.
"What do you mean?"
"My body cannot take this pace anymore." He answered simply and Hyuuga facepalmed internally.
"Are you serious? You're too weak, Kuroko!" Hyuuga commented.
"That is not all. If we keep letting Kagami-kun play like this, it will only get worse for us. His being hotheaded means that Kise-kun can imitate him much better. Soon enough, the balance will tip." Kuroko explained and Hyuuga realized that the teal-haired boy was right.
"Yeah, I guess so." Hyuuga agreed and turned around to see Riko talking to the judges. "The coach must be thinking the same thing." Kuroko nodded.
"Time out for Seirin!" One of the men shouted and the players from each team when to their designated spots. Riko examined the starting players and realized in shock that they were way too tired to be playing for only 5 minutes. Genta, on the other hand, was more than furious now.
"What is with this?" He yelled and the players all seemed to shrink. "How many points are you going to let them score? Defense, are you sleeping? Do you jobs correctly!" He scolded in complete rage and the players, all too afraid of their coach, yelled a wholehearted "Sir, yes sir!"
Kasamatsu decided to talk with Kise about the freshmen that were Kagami and Kuroko.
"I assume that you're taking care of number 10 well but what's with that invisible boy? He's not normal." He commented and Kise genuinely smiled.
"I know, right? Kurokocchi is absolutely amazing when it comes to –" His words were cut off with a gasp of pain. His senior just jabbed him on the side of his stomach and Kise proceeded to fake cry once more.
"Sempai, that hurts a lot!" He cried.
"Then why are you acting all jolly for, you idiot!" Kasamatsu shouted before sighing to relieve his stress.
"Don't worry, though. The balance will soon break." Kise said while smiling ominously. Back to Seirin's side, Riko and the others were deciding on what strategy to use.
"We have to stop Kise. I can't believe Kagami can't handle him." Riko said and Kagami gave a grunt of protest.
"You don't have to be so blunt about it! Besides, I can do it. I can take him." Kagami proceeded to protest but then was cut off by Kuroko.
"There may be a way out of this." Kuroko started to say and all eyes were on the boy. "You see, Kise-kun has a weakness." He finished and everyone jumped up to their feet.
"Why did you not say that before?" Riko asked in annoyance but Kuroko only shrugged.
"Well, it is not something to call a weakness. However, there is one more issue to be dealt with. I am very sorry but due to the high pace of this game, I am beginning to lose my efficiency already."
Kise began to explain Kuroko's weakness.
"Kurokocchi can't use misdirection for the whole 40 minutes. If you don't know what misdirection is, it's kind of like a magician using the sleight of hand to fool the audience. It's not magic or anything but the thing is, Kurokocchi is exceptional in turning attention away from… him." Kise hesitated to say, remembering at the last second that his senior did not know Kuroko's secret.
"I don't understand." Kasamatsu said, confused with the whole misdirection concept. Kise took a basketball and held it in front of Kasamatsu.
"Please look at me." Kise ordered and then threw the ball over his shoulder. Kasamatsu's eyes followed the ball and it was only after Kise started talking that he directed his attention back to the blonde.
"See? You weren't looking at me." The captain finally understood what Kise meant. "Kurokocchi uses this to his advantage and makes himself disappear. But then again, Kurokocchi was already hard to detect as it was. Kurokocchi's weakness is as follows: the more he uses this technique, the less effective it becomes."
When Riko heard the explanation from Kuroko's mouth, she locked her arm around his neck and proceeded to choke the teal-haired boy.
"What did you say such an important thing before?" She yelled in anger and Kuroko could only breathe out that nobody asked. Riko wanted to do nothing more than to drown the invisible player.
The whistle blew, ending the time out. Riko's face fell as she realized that she did nothing but almost choke the life out of Kuroko. The players all went to their stances and the high paced game began once more. The Kaijo regulars were beginning to score as well as block Kuroko's passes more often.
'We're getting used to it now.' Kasamatsu thought as he looked at the scoreboard. The gap was slowly increasing, with Kaijo in the lead.
Kise decided to slow down and have a talk with Kagami. Kuroko noticed that Kise was approaching Kagami and also went into their direction, not wanting to miss what they were about to discuss.
"Admit it, Kagami, you just won't be able to catch up now. You're 10 years too early to be challenging the Generation of Miracles. You can't beat us." Kise spoke and Kagami was silent for a moment before laughing out loud. Both Kise and Kuroko as well as the rest of the people in the court looked stunned.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't help myself. I'm just so happy right now. It's be a while since I've heard something like that. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand what you're saying right now but trust me, this was the usual speech back in the States." Kise's eyes widened at the sudden information.
"You went to the States? Really? That's so awesome!" Kise shouted in awe and Kasamatsu couldn't help but facepalm at how idiotic his kohai was. Kagami wasn't even listening to what Kise just said to him.
"You know, I jumped to the conclusion that basketball in Japan would be too dull and boring. But now, I realize how wrong I was. Life is all about challenges! What's fun if there aren't people like you to tell me stuff like this? And besides, I finally got what your weakness is." Kagami finished and Kise narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? And what is that?" He asked and suddenly, Kagami sauntered over to Kuroko's side and put his hand on Kuroko's head, much to the annoyance of the smaller boy.
"You can do anything as long as you can see it, right? Well, you're going to have some trouble imitating someone you can't see. No matter how good your imitation skills are, you're never going to be able to imitate Kuroko's basketball. In other words, he's your weakness!" He declared and Kise smirked darkly.
"Well then, bring it on."
The game resumed once more after a break and soon enough, they were in the third quarter. To the surprise of the other team, Seirin started to climb up. Their strategy was working perfectly as Kagami and Kuroko started to work together with an amazing cooperation. Even Kise had to acknowledge just how good they were together.
Hyuuga scored another three points and there were shouts of praise from the bench. They were now only at a three point difference and Kise stopped in his tracks as he realized just how small the point difference was.
Kise growled inhumanly and decided quickly to turn the game upside down by unleashing his true power but was stopped when his hand connected to a head. Kuroko, who was not able to predict Kise's fist, could not dodge it and with a gasp of pain, Kuroko fell to the ground.
A whistle blew and everyone was stunned to this what had happened. Kagami was the first to react, seeing as Kise was frozen in his place.
"Oi, Kuroko! Are you ok?" He asked in panic and he saw Kuroko painfully standing up. Every spectator saw blood staining his bangs and some of it was on the verge of dropping to the floor.
"I am –" Kuroko started to say but swayed and started falling to the ground again. Riko was a second early and caught the teal-haired boy before he crashed down to the floor.
"Kuroko-kun! Are you –"She stopped talking immediately when she brushed his bangs out of the way to see the damage. Kuroko's eyes were open, though blinking a lot, and Riko could finally see his eyes. She was shocked beyond comparison.
"I am alright, coach. I just feel very dizzy." Kuroko said weakly and Riko knew that Kuroko did not know that she just found out his secret.
"Kuroko-kun –" She started to say but then was pushed away by Kise. He gently put Kuroko's head on his lap and glared at Riko.
"You didn't see, did you?" He asked fiercely and Riko was frozen in place. This was the first time she ever saw the happy blonde this mad.
"I –" She wanted to say that she didn't but from the slight hesitation, she knew that lying was useless in this situation. "Yes." She said instead, dropping her head. "I saw." Kise growled but decided that there were more important things to deal with.
"Kurokocchi?" He asked quietly and Kuroko tilted her head slightly so that their faces were opposite to each other.
"Kise-kun?" Kuroko asked weakly while Riko called for a first aid kit.
"I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi. I'm so sorry." He mumbled in agony but he did not get an answer as Kuroko closed her eyes. It was just in time as well because Seirin had come to the rescue with a first aid kit. They told Kise to move before carrying Kuroko to the bench.
Kasamatsu and the other seniors looked at the scene unravel before sighing tiredly.
"I guess that's the end of the freshmen duo. I must admit, this is not what I would have wanted to happen but at least now, the score difference will only grow to our favor." He said and Kise walked back to them sulkily.
"I hurt Kurokocchi. I hurt her." He mumbled and Kasamatsu was confused for a second. Did Kise just say 'her'? He then discarded the notion because it seemed like Kise was in a critical condition.
"It's going to be fine, Kise. Just focus on the game." Kasamatsu said and Kise nodded gloomily.
At the benches, Riko and the other finished patching Kuroko up.
"What should we do?" One of the freshmen asked in worry but Riko was still looking at Kuroko. She just found out his secret. She just found out why Kuroko never looked straight at her and why he always covered his eyes with his bangs. She just found out that Kuroko was blind. That information enough was tiring to process.
Thankfully, Hyuuga came to the rescue and laid down orders. Kagami looked skeptical but Hyuuga just smiled at him, telling him to stop being a moron and believe in his seniors more. Izuki told the captain easily that his clutch side was showing and reassured Kagami that it would be alright as whenever the captain portrayed his real emotions, he wouldn't miss too many shots.
"Just defend like a madman, Kagami!" Izuki concluded before running off to his stance. Kagami looked at Riko and Kuroko and wondered why Kise had asked the coach if she saw it or not. What exactly did the coach see to make Kise like that? He was so confused but decided to put that aside for the moment.
There was a game he had to focus on.
On the benches were Kuroko was laying, Furihata eyed Kuroko's feet curiously. He pondered on whether to inform the coach or not and realizing that she might have his head if he didn't say anything, he went up to her.
"Uh coach. I'm not sure if this is relevant or not, but there's something strange with Kuroko-kun." Furihata said nervously and Riko turned to him in panic.
"What happened? Is Kuroko-kun okay? Did he wake up?" She asked hurriedly and Furihata shook his head.
"He's still sleeping. It's just that I've noticed Kuroko-kun doesn't wear shoes."
"What?" Riko asked, even more confused now.
"You can see it for yourself." Furihata answered and motioned her to go to Kuroko, who was still on the bench, unmoving. Riko walked up to the blind boy and went to his feet immediately. It was then that Riko realized what Furihata meant.
He was, in fact, wearing shoes but the soles of the shoes were missing. He was practically barefoot as it was. His feet were technically black as all kinds of dirt filled it. Riko's eyes widened as she finally understood how a blind person like Kuroko could be able to walk without support much less play basketball so expertly and become a regular with the Generation of Miracles.
He sensed the movements and vibrations that the other players were giving out, whether it was from his own teammates or others. Everything clicked so well now as she figured out the core of his playing and she could feel tears coming out of her eyes. Here Kuroko was, blind and weak, but was still one of the strongest people she had ever seen in her entire life, and she had seen a lot. He never even bothered to make his disability a weakness and instead made it into an advantage, a complete strength. She had never been so glad to have met Kuroko then and there.
The game kept going, with all the players from each team going full on. However, without Kuroko passing, the score seemed to increase to Kaijo's favor. Riko bit her lip as she saw another basket made by the Kaijo captain.
"I would expect no less from one of the national's team but this is hard beyond comparison." One of the freshmen noted and the other nodded as well.
"Because of the high pace that they started with, no one in our team has the strength to go into overtime, much less make a complex strategy to win. If only we had Kuroko-kun to play…" She trailed off, thinking of the possible ways to use Kuroko but surely that would never happen as he was still unconscious. Or so she thought.
"Understood." A voice rang out softly and Riko whipped her head back to see Kuroko standing up and swaying a bit. Riko's eyes widened and went over to Kuroko's side.
"Good morning." Kuroko said as he bowed formally. "I will be going then." He then said and started towards the court when Riko stopped him by pushing him back. Then she remembered that Kuroko was blind and stepped away from him.
"Ah, Kuroko-kun, wait!" Riko stuttered and Kuroko's face changed slightly.
"Coach?" He asked with a knowing tone, as if he knew something.
"It's impossible to go, no matter what!" Riko said, hoping to let the moment pass. However, Kuroko still had that knowing face and she knew that he didn't want to let it pass at all.
"Coach… You know, don't you?" He asked, but it sounded as if it were a statement instead. Riko bit her lip and looked at the ground guiltily.
"I'm sorry Kuroko-kun. I know." She said, not daring to look at Kuroko anymore. After a moment's silence, Kuroko answered.
"It is alright." Riko sighed in relief. "Please do not tell anyone else, coach. I want to tell them myself at the right time." He then added and Riko nodded and remembered that he couldn't see her, making her blush in guilt.
"Of course, Kuroko-kun. Your secret is safe with me."
"Well then, I'll be going." He said and started to move and Riko smacked herself in the forehead before stopping Kuroko.
"Where do you think you're going?" She screeched and Kuroko tilted his head.
"I am going to the match."
"No you're not. You're injured. You can't play."
"But the coach wanted me to play, no?" He inquired.
"It was a wish! It was a big what if!"
"Then I will be going."
"Kuroko-kun…" Riko warned but Kuroko was stubborn.
"You wanted me to play so I will play. I also made a promise to Kagami-kun that I would make him number in Japan. If I were to fulfill the promise, I would have to win this one as well." He explained and Riko gave a big sigh before nodding.
"Fine. But the moment I see you swaying or in any sign of danger, I am subbing you out immediately. Do you understand?" She warned and Kuroko nodded. He then walked out to save the team.
The game suddenly went up to Seirin's favor as Kuroko's passing was effective again. As he was not playing for 20 minutes, the players had discarded his skills in their minds and now they were paying a price for it. The game was soon tied up and Genta was sweating like mad. Riko, on the other hand, paid close attention to Kuroko's playing. It was hard, she had to admit, to keep track on someone who was practically invisible but when she finally got the hang of it, she noticed the little things that made Kuroko so different from the others.
For one, he never stroke first and only waited. She the small twitch from under his hair would mean that he was listening intently and from Riko theorized, Kuroko could pinpoint to where the ball was going with the wind that followed a pass. In summary, Kuroko listened to the wind and could intercept passes.
Another difference Riko noted was how his feet were firmly standing on the ground. Because an athlete would needed to run quickly for the ball, he would have to keep his feet light like a feather. Kuroko, however, had a stance that was completely different to that notion. She then remembered the missing soles in his shoes and realized that since he needed to feel the vibrations the players were making, he would have to firmly stand his ground to feel them accurately. Riko looked at Kuroko in amazement but had to stop when Kise scored a point by easily passing through Kuroko and Kagami.
"I won't lose. Not even to Kurokocchi." Kise said in a dark aura and even Kise's own teammates looked terrified. However, that did nothing to Seirin's fighting spirit as the last 4 minutes became the same high-paced at it was in the beginning. Both schools scored with the defense being able to do nothing about it. He last 10 seconds were madness as Seirin just didn't have enough stamina to keep going.
"Just don't defend! Attack!" Riko shouted and Hyuuga tried to block Kasamatsu's shots but he was just too tired to jump. Kagami knew what was happening and jumped to block his shot. Hyuuga then caught the ball and passed it to Kagami, whom Kuroko was tailing. Kise tried to block Kagami as Kise knew that Kuroko was not the problem but was proven wrong when Kagami passed to Kuroko.
Kise looked extremely shocked. 'Kurokocchi can't shoot! She can't even see the hoop!' He thought in desperation as Kuroko threw ball high enough to go in level with the hoop. However, just as Kise and everyone expected, the ball did not go in and Kaijo seemed happy that they would go to overtime and win the practice match. However, what they did not expect at all was Kagami waiting for the perfect time to jump and make an alley-oop.
Kasamatsu was the first one to understand what was going on and yelled to Kise what they were planning. Kise, on the other hand, had already known what was going on and ran to where Kagami was and jumped at the same time Kagami did. Kise smirked internally that he would just knock the ball out of his hand but when he saw that he was starting to see Kagami grow smaller and smaller, he finally realized that he was falling and Kagami was still going up.
'How is this possible? I remember clearly that I jumped the same time he did. But why is he still going up?' Kise thought in shock as Kagami almost reached the hoop.
"Sorry blondie but there's one more thing you can't copy at all." Kagami said. "And that's a buzzer beater!" He yelled as he slammed the ball in the hoop, half a second before the buzzer went off, signaling the end of the match. The score was 100-98 in Seirin's favor and Kagami yelled out a prideful shout before everyone in the team yelled with him.
Kise, who was in the middle of court, began processing the fact that he had lost. Tears started to come out and he looked shocked. He tried to make it stop but it unwillingly came out. At that moment, he was hit by the captain who glared at him softly.
"What are you crying for, idiot? You're making me real annoyed, you know?" He commented and Kise smiled, knowing the implication that there still many matches left to win.
The referee blew his whistle and made everyone line up.
"With the score of 100 to 98, Seirin wins!" He yelled and everyone bowed, making sure to thank the match.
Once the players had changed out of their uniforms, they all met outside the gym. Genta was fuming with such fury that there was actual steam coming out of his ears and Riko, on the other hand, was smiling with flowers popping from behind her.
Kasamatsu held out his hand and shook it with Hyuuga's.
"Since we're in different districts, the next time we play, it will be in the Inter-High tournament." Kasamatsu said and Hyuuga nodded.
"Of course. Besides, we don't want to confess to our crushes naked just yet." Hyuuga replied and while Kasamatsu tilted his head in confusion, the others just smiled nervously.
"Where's Kise?" One of the players from Kaijo asked to one another.
"Probably hiding his face." The other replied while shrugging. Kuroko decided to leave Kise alone for the time being. It must have been hard for him, since this was the first time since they got out of middle school he lost a basketball match. He deserved it, though.
One down, four to go.
Water poured out from the sink and Kise felt refresh while at the same time, he felt so filthy and tired. He turned off the water and some the coldness seeped through his shirt.
"They predicted that Gemini would be getting the worst luck today but to think you would actually lose…" A familiar voice said and Kise snapped out of his sulking to find himself looking at a green-haired boy with a plushie frog in his taped left hand.
"I'm guessing you came to watch the match." Kise stated while the green haired boy said nothing but just kept staring at him.
"We haven't seen each other since middle school, huh?" Kise asked. "It has been a while, Midorimacchi." He kept saying and then glanced at boy's fingers. "I see you still tape your fingers."
"Of course I do, idiot. Having perfect nails and fingers ensure that the ball goes in every time. And Oha-Asa never fails to remind me of my lucky item." The green-haired boy said smugly, holding up the flog plushie for proof. Kise looked at his former teammate in utter confusion. He never really understood what that was all about.
"Well, whoever won, it was a very unpleasant thing to watch." He changed the topic and Kise flinched. He knew that the ace shooter saw what had happened.
"You saw what happened, didn't you Midorimacchi?" Kise said and at that moment, Midorima threw a fist at him and it hit Kise's face. Kise flew back, more in shock than in pain, and looked at Midorima with wide eyes.
"How dare you hurt Kuroko to the point where blood come out from her head? Do you want her to go to the hospital and worry her mother even more than she does now?" Midorima demanded angrily and Kise had no words. He knew what he done wrong.
"I didn't know she was standing right behind me. I didn't know she would get hit." Kise tried to explain but was cut off when Midorima grabbed his shirt.
"You do not deserve to make an excuse. Do you realize what will happen when word goes out to the rest of the Generation of Miracles? Do you realize what will happen to you when Akashi finds out?" Midorima growled and Kise shivered in fear.
"I didn't mean to!" He desperately said but then fell silent as he sounded like he wasn't the bad guy when he was. Midorima saw this and let go of his shirt.
"What you did was unforgivable. Never let it happen again." He said and Kise nodded. Midorima then left, still fuming. Kise could only punch a nearby wall in frustration and guilt.
Since this chapter was a bit longer than usual, I won't be able to upload next Sunday as I need to write more chapters instead.
Remember to check out my other KnB stories!
Review please :)
Peace,
FlyAndDontLookBack