Sorry for being this late with updating but I've been traveling for different reasons for the past two weeks (I've pretty much traveled at least 5000 kilo-meters and I barely get home). As an apology I tried to write as long chapter as I could, but I have to wake up early because I am off on the road in a couple of hours… again… and I want to sleep for a bit.
Half of the other chapter is already written on my notebook and I will try to update it in the next couple of days, hopefully I will manage before or on Wednesday.
I somehow feel like I am making some people a bit too much OOC but I hope you forgive me for that – This is fanfic, so I can't make it totally like the real deal.
My English is not perfect, it is my second language after all, so forgive me for the mistakes and try not to complain too much about it. – I don't have time to see if I have written thinks rightly but I hope I don't have many mistakes.
I hope you like it and review if you feel like it…
Chapter 9 – And it was supposed to be a carefree night
As they were making their way out, after slightly falling asleep in the locker room, Seirin decided it would be good to eat together as a celebration for winning the game.
Having wondered that eating outside would cost them too much, they decided that it would be best to eat in someone's home, to which Kagami stated that his home was actually close by, so they quickly brought the ingredients and then made their way to the apartment.
They were too surprised with Kagami's apartment and lost sight of Riko for just a bit, but it was enough for her to cook. At the beginning they were stunned that the hot pot looked normal and then Kuroko pulled out a banana from it, followed quickly by Kiyoshi who pulled out strawberry. Even though the hot pot was one of the strangest meals they had had all of them ended up trying it and somewhat liking it.
After eating, Kagami decided to go outside on the terrace to take some fresh air.
"Phew." He sighed out, finally fully relaxing after the match.
"Hello." Kuroko greeted right next to him and scaring him for the -who can count how many times.
"How long have you been there?!" Kagami asked surprised as he looked at Kuroko.
"A while." Tetsuya stated with a smile and Kagami shook his head and murmured quietly.
"Damn. I haven't felt that in a while."
"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko started and Kagami looked at him with wondering eyes. "Thank you for today."
"What? Where did that come from?" Kagami asked surprised and Kuroko looked out of the terrace and toward the road.
"I don't know." Tetsuya said and turned toward Taiga. "Finishing the match and having dinner with everyone. The thought just came to mind. I am really glad I met you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko stated with gentle and joyful voice while looking at Kagami with heartwarming smile and Kagami couldn't stop himself from smiling as well.
"I am very happy to have met you as well but if you keep saying stuff like this while looking like that, I can't promise that I won't kiss you without caring that the whole team is going to see us." Kagami said with devilish looking grin while Tetsuya blushed and quickly looked away and the two fell into a silence.
'I guess it's better to change the topic.' Kagami thought
"From tomorrow on we won't be able to be this carefree. The Winter Cup is just beginning but we've already laid almost all our cards in front of everyone. Our future battles will only get more difficult."
"It's not exactly all our cards. Though now everyone think they know all about my way of playing and what I am capable of but yet there is a lot they have not the slightest idea about. Who am I kidding…? Baka, there is a lot that everyone don't know about Seirin… and we will still grow stronger!" Kuroko declared and Kagami smiled and immediately agreeing and then both looked at the sky but their peaceful moment quickly come to an end as Tetsuya passed out and Taiga barely had time to catch him before he hit the ground. Kagami yelling out his name in worry and then he was about to ask someone to call ambulance when he noticed that everyone had fallen into the same condition as Kuroko and he had just enough time to have a glimpse of the proteins that answered his questions before he too fell to the ground.
It took them some time to wake up and then they all started gathering their belongings.
"Go to sleep as soon as you get home." Hyuuga suggested as he lifted his bag.
"I thought I was going to die." Izuki said as he passed Hyuuga while Riko was making herself look as little as possible in the corner of the room, feeling depressed by her own cooking skills.
"Kagami, let me use your bathroom." Koganei asked and Taiga quickly told him where to find it but Koganei still wronged the room and found a pretty much naked Blondie sleeping in Kagami's bed and he quickly made his way out of the room, looking like he was struck by a lightening.
"Hey. What's going on? What's all this noise about? Hm? Oh, Taiga you came back?" The Blondie asked as she made her way out of the room while putting a dress-preserver on.
"You!" Kagami exclaimed loudly but he was quickly shushed as she quickly yelled 'I missed you so much' and then kissed him, making everyone look at the two with wide eyes and blushing faces.
"Hey, who the hell are you guys?" She asked while looking at them.
"Who the hell are you?!" The mist of them yelled out, except a certain blue haired boy who quickly left using the surprise of everyone so he couldn't be noticed… After all he didn't really wish to find out who was the person that kissed his supposed boyfriend, so familiarly.
"He could have said he had a girlfriend in America!" Tetsuya growled out as he moved his bag more comfortably on his shoulder and decided to try to take his mind off of his thoughts by spending his energy on running his way home… but he ended up reaching it faster than he wanted to, so he quickly went inside changed and then run off to the gym, Nigou following him there.
Back in Kagami's apartment everyone found out who was the strange Blondie, whose name was actually Alexandra Garcia and she was pretty much a kissing monster and Kagami's basketball teacher.
By the time Kagami notice Kuroko's absence they were already making their way to watch the basketball games and he could go and search for him.
While the team was watching the match and being once again amazed at Midorima's abilities, Kuroko stood on his knees in the gym, breathing hard while Nigou was looking somewhat worriedly.
"Shit! I am up to nowhere! I still miss most of my shots and after dunking just a couple of times I feel like I can't walk on my legs… As it is now I am nothing but an average player, what kind of a shitty trump card is that! I need to learn to at least shoot without missing, but I've been going nowhere with it for a while now!" Kuroko complained loudly but then his eyes widen and he shot up quickly, making the husky bark in surprise.
"There is certain someone who can help me! But that's if he agrees and doesn't beat my ass off." Tetsuya stated as he picked his phone from the bench he had left it on earlier and then called, quickly asking the person to meet him in a place, very close by the gym, in an hour time and smiled as the person agreed.
Back with the team Alex stole Kagami to train him a bit more, while the others headed home to review the data on Nakamiya South, who were their next opponents. It was while heading home that everyone noticed Kuroko's absence and Riko looked at her phone, remembering reading Kuroko's message right after the match had ended.
"Kuroko is probably currently with Aomine. He messaged me that he needed some help with his shooting and also stated that he counted Aomine as the best one in shooting." Riko explained and everyone looked at her surprised, except Kiyoshi, who had too received a message much like hers.
"It's plain to see he is the best, but…" Tsuchida started.
"We pretty much saw Kuroko shoot repeatedly and while he did have some missed shots… still why would he need help from Aomine?" Hyuuga wondered.
"We've stated many times that he is our trump card and that probably put weight on his shoulders and he more than luckily feels the need to be perfect, so he won't disappoint us when we end up needing him." Kiyoshi said and everyone's eyes widen, but he decided to say a bit more. "We've put a lot of weight on Kagami's shoulder, with him being Seirin's ace but currently we are putting even more on Kuroko… We really need to grow stronger and fast. We shouldn't count on those two for everything!" After those words were out of his mouth everyone fell into silence, each one of them thinking how to grow stronger in the little time they have.
With Kuroko
"Hello." Kuroko greeted Aomine who looked at him somewhat strangely.
"Don't gimme that. Why would you suddenly call me out here, Tetsu?" Aomine asked irritated and Kuroko smiled slightly.
"Let me be direct. Aomine-kun… help me with mastering my shooting… or something like that." Kuroko asked as he looked a bit nervous while Aomine's eyes widen.
"What?" he asked stunned.
"Umm… Come with me. I don't think the middle of the road is the best place to talk about this." Kuroko suggested and then turned around.
"You're the one who asked me to meet here!" Aomine growled out as he followed the smaller boy and looked surprised as Kuroko unlocked a gym and motioned for him to get inside. "Huh?"
"This is the place I train at… lately that is." Kuroko explained as they entered and Nigou quickly appeared and greeted them with a bark.
"That's Nigou, he won't bite you."
"He has your eyes!" Aomine stated surprised as he kneeled and caressed the dog.
"Hence the name – Tetsuya Nigou." Tetsuya said as he smiled while looking at the two.
"You know I am not a teacher… I probably won't be any good help… And it's wrong when you beat a guy one day to make him teach you how to shoot the next day!" Aomine complained as he fully set on the ground, moving so the dog was between his legs and continuing to stroke his fur. "I haven't slept since then."
"What?" Tetsuya asked as he noticed how tired the ace was looking.
"I went home, ate, took a bath and then I went to lie down. But I can't sleep. My body was exhausted, but even when I closed my eyes, I could still see the game. I had forgotten how that felt. My chest is tight, I feel nauseous like I am going to puke and my head is pounding. I kind of started missing it once I forgot how it felt, but now that I feel it again, I want it to be gone. It just sucks and nothing else. That was an awful night. But, it made me want to play basketball again as soon as possible."
"Aomine-kun…" Tetsuya whispered with a surprised voice as he looked at the taller blue head that was standing up from sitting on the ground.
"Oh, man. Talking about it made me want to play. I can't help myself, so I will play with you."
"Eh!" Kuroko exclaimed.
"I'm saying I'll teach you how to shoot." Aomine said as he put his hand on Tetsuya's head for a second and then went toward the center of the gym and picked up a ball.
'This felt like the old times… but this might not go well in the next couple of minutes!' Kuroko thought but part of his last thought escaped his mind and he accidently said it out loud. "I just ducked my own grave!"
"Huh?" Aomine asked then threw the ball at Tetsuya who caught it quickly. "Just here up and shoot! We don't have much time!"
"You see… uh…" Kuroko started and he spoon the ball in his hands.
"Tetsu!" Aomine started but was quickly shushed as Kuroko threw the ball and he was stunned as the ball actually went through the ring gracefully. "What?" he asked as he looked from the hook to Tetsuya and then back to the hook.
"It's not exactly that I can't make a point, but I still miss half of my shots…" Kuroko started but bit his lips slightly as Daiki glared at him.
"Since when can you shoot like that?!" Touou's ace growled out threateningly and Kuroko flinched.
"It's a long story…" Tetsuya started but stopped and Daiki growled out, feeling annoyed.
"I don't really have anything to do. Thanks to you and your team I don't have any matches soon, so feel free to spend as much time as you need to explain all this."
"My story kind of starts before the two of us even met…" Tetsuya said and sighed as Aomine set on one of the benches.
'This gym… really… I went and told my team everything here and now I am about to spell the same story all over again… I feel tired wording the same things time after time. How many more times do I need to explain everything all over again…? They still are some of my most painful memories and talking about it still feels like opening old wounds. I have spent so much time trying to forget it and then there is the worry of what kind of reaction would my story summon.' Kuroko thought as he too set on one bench that was close to Aomine but still further than an arm length.
AN- I will pretty much summarize his story again I thought about not writing it but it felt wrong with just writing – And then he told his tale… So if you don't feel like reading it again you can skip.
"Everything started back when I was just a child. Thanks to my father, who was a basketball player, I loved basketball before I even started school and when I found out that in elementary school there was a basketball team I immediately entered it. In no time I didn't just become a starter but I also become the ace that shouldered everyone's hopes. Then came to official matches and game after game I was pulling out stuns that children my age shouldn't have been capable of… and then came the match for the championship and we were facing Hanamiya Makoto and his team. They were falsely fouling us and we all started feeling like there was no chance of winning. I started feeling bad and blaming myself…
I just desperately wanted to win and then I surprised everyone as I entered the zone and from then on we were able to win but while I was lost in the game I hadn't played much mind to my body and the pain I was feeling… I remember collapsing right after winning and as I came to I was in the hospital with my mother obviously crying and my father looking more worried than ever before. They explained to me that while my left leg suffered a sprained ankle that would take some time to heal, I had also torn the meniscus in my right one, so I needed to start going trough treatment. My parents begged me to stop playing basketball and it was 6 months later that I stumbled into a court and it was then that I met Ogiwara-kun, the friend of mine that you beat at the end of our second year. Thanks to him I started playing again and I found that basketball was fun even if you didn't win. I simply started loving the sport even more.
Then Ogiwara-kun had to leave and we separated and I entered Teiko. You know most of the story from there on. It was when we lost to you that I felt the desperate need to have my old style back, so I went through some exams and after finding out that through growing up in the last year my tear had started to heal to the point that my leg is back to normal, I started re-learning my old style but I found it a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. Though I never thought I would have it back the moment I wanted it back, I didn't expect to have to start learning from zero." Kuroko explained, spending almost all of the time looking at the ground, but Nigou had quickly made his way next to him and he was caressing his hands through his soft fur, missing the look of surprise, astonishment and awe that passed through Aomine's face.
"Wow. That sure wasn't something I expected to hear but now you've got me even more exited to spend some time training with you. Though I am irritated that you weren't even playing seriously against us and we still lost… No one can beat me but me – that phrase sounds like a damn garbage now. I guess I am never using it again." Aomine stated as he got up went next to Kuroko who was looking at him with wide eyes and ruffled his hair, making it look the same way it did when he just got up from bed and laughed at the ridiculous way the bangs bristled.
"Let's play for a bit then we will go home, get some needed sleep and meet as soon as we wake up, Tetsu." Aomine suggested and Tetsuya smiled and quickly got up from the bench.
The next day, at the end of their training, Satsuki came to look at them and her eyes widen like dinner plates while her mouth hand wide open. She couldn't believe her eyes for a second, who could have thought Tetsuya could drive Aomine in the zone all by himself and still somehow manage to at least slightly keep up with him but then her eyes widen even more when Kuroko started being able to somehow stop every shot of Daiki's and he even pulled a phantom kind of shot
"You're pretty much ready to beat anyone's ass." Aomine announced as he set in the middle of the gym, breathing hard.
"I am more than worried with facing Rakuzan and Akashi-kun. I am not sure if I could win against him, even if I somehow outgrow my fear of entering the zone again. I have not the slightest idea as to what is his second ability, but is he starts losing it will get opened the same way his first came to and then all hell will break loose on Seirin." Tetsuya mused and then he reached out his hand to Aomine who quickly took it and got up.
"That's a scary thought, but you should know his team is full of very powerful players." Daiki said as the two of them made their way to the still stunned Momoi and then the three of them went out of the gym.
"Your match tomorrow is going to be easier than the one you had against us… want to train after it, Tetsu?" Aomine asked as he scratched his neck and Tetsuya smiled teasingly.
"Seems like you like pending time with me…"
"I like playing with you and the spending time part comes like addiction to it…Though I don't like the part that after the first two hour I started to mostly lose to you, but while it's slightly annoying, it makes me want to play more with you…" Daiki stated with a smile and both Momoi and Kuroko looked at him surprised, but soon the three of them parted.
The time of the match quickly came and Kuroko had a bit of a hard time running away from Kagami. They hadn't cleared anything out and Tetsuya spend too much trying not to think about it and now the idea of talking to Kagami made him somehow feel very bad and sad, so he decided to play the role of the antelope that run away from the tiger as long as possible. Though that seemed to work well it ended when the game started.
'I thought that at least one of us would be part of the starters…' Kuroko thought as Kagami set right next to him and he tried his best not to look at the red head.
"I feel like we really need some alone time to talk." Kagami whispered after sensing the strange vibe coming from Kuroko while he was around him.
"After the game…" Tetsuya whispered back and sighed as Kagami nodded and then they quickly forgot about the strange feeling between them as somehow their sempai-s were referring badly against their opponents.
"Coach. I think you should call a time out." Kuroko suggested as he looked at Aida, who agreed.
"Seirin High, time out." The referee called out.
At the end of the time out each and every member of Seirin had a reddish handprint on their face and somehow from there on the team started getting better and they won the game, successfully advancing to the third game.
Faster than anyone else in the team Kuroko and Kagami took their bags and left, making their way to a nearby park and set on one of the benches.
"So… why have you been avoiding me?" Kagami asked gently as he looked at Kuroko who looked away from him.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend back in America?" Kuroko quietly and nervously asked and Kagami's eyes widen.
"What? Wait… just when did you leave that night?" Kagami exclaimed as he got up and kneeled in front of Tetsuya, who closed his eyes.
"Right after she kissed you…" he answered and Taiga snarled lightly.
"I should have noticed! Sorry. She is my basketball tutor, but she has an addiction to kissing people. Other than me being her student there isn't any connections between us. Ask anyone from the team, 'cause Alex actually kissed even our coach, though you better not ask her." Kagami quickly explained and Kuroko's eyes widen at the last part of information and the two of them found themselves laughing.
"You know, you're the one that was yelling at me for the unreasonable jealousy. I love you, Tetsuya. I don't have and neither do I want anyone but you." Taiga said as he hugged Tetsuya who immediately hugged him back and murmured 'I love you, too.' And 'Sorry.' While burring his head in Kagami's neck.
"Now I really want to take you home with me… but she is totally going to be there and screw everything. Damn." Kagami complained as he moved them, so he was seated on the bench while Tetsuya was sitting on his lap, but then Kuroko hit him lightly on the head while murmuring 'Pervert' at him. "Only for you." Kagami said and smirked as Kuroko hid his face, but he could still notice the red color merry his face.
They stood like that for a while but then the coldness of the winter started hitting them and they went to buy themselves some hot cocoa and after drinking them they went home.
Though this chapter isn't who knows how interesting I will try to make the next one better...
See ya.