And I am back from my absurdly long break! I hope you all like this chapter as we get to see some more action :)

Don't hesitate to give me prompt requests and if you have any questions you'd like me to answer for this story, don't be afraid and comment!

Oh, and completely unrelated to the story, but I have been completely obsessed with Undertale lately. If you don't know what it is, it's a video game is just absolutely beautiful and it's just so feels worthy and you should definitely play it. If you're like me and you have neither time nor money for the game, I suggest you watch a playthrough of it (CRYAOTIC HINT HINT)

Check out my recent story called Make a Wish, which follows Kise and a mute person whose secret intrigues the blond model greatly, and don't forget to review!

Ahem, so, without further ado, here is the next chapter!

A few answers for my lovely reviewers:

Azure Kuroyuki: "Akashi, your mind is so damn twisted. I like it, but he is also being a total jerk. What is up with the eye anyway?"

A: At least we can all agree that Akashi here is a complete jackass that needs to be stopped. But, as I said before in some AN, Akashi's having problems of his own. His eye is only a hint of what's really going on and won't be elaborated here but in a future chapter :)

~.~

MysteryAsia: "Hmm~ getting interesting. I wonder how Akashi will turn out in the end?"

A: Referring back to my previous answer, it definitely will be elaborated further once deeper into the plot but for the moment, I'll just say that it will turn out... Eh, I'd rather not say xD

~.~

Blue Ussain: "So a blonde Swedish guy named Felix. Intentional or no?"

HeavensLuminousArc: "Felix, Swedish, blond... Pewdiepie?"

A: OK, TO BE FAIR, I WROTE THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WHEN I WAS VERY TIRED AND I HAD PEWDIEPIE ON AND I COULDN'T THINK OF ANY OTHER DESCRIPTION FOR A OC CHARACTER I TRIED MY BEST. No, but legit, I was waiting for comments like these. I knew someone would point it out sooner or later and I was laughing the entire time I read comments like these. I was like, "Well, fuck, I knew I couldn't fool them" and then proceeded to watch more Pewdiepie videos. Now, I just have to figure out a way to put in Cryaotic and some Undertale characters in xD

Note

- Italicized words are words spoken in English

- Though it is summer vacation in Japan, let's just pretend that school is still in session in the States and won't be vacation until after (AKA when the plot demands it)

- Kuroko's school will be modeled after my own, as well as experiences I've had in real life, so I apologize in advance if the things I put aren't relevant in the States (I live in Mexico, by the way)

"Oi, Kise!" Aomine's voice rang out and Kise turned back to see Aomine and Murasakibara walking towards them. They somewhat seemed to look determined.

"Aominecchi, we're all here. Akashicchi wants to tell us something." Kise called back and soon the Generation of Miracles were reunited. The four all looked at each other discretely, all giving each other uncomfortable looks as Akashi was silent the entire time. Aomine nudged Kise from behind.

"What happened?" He whispered and Kise shook his head.

"A lot of things, Aominecchi. Kurokocchi, he…"

"Tetsu? What about him? You talked to him? What did he say?"

Once again, Kise shook his head in anguish. "I'll tell you later, but… It was really shocking. What he said… I never knew."

Aomine looked at Kise in confusion but before he could say anything else, Akashi started talking.

"We're going to have a basketball match two weeks from now. We will win and we will take Tetsuya back with us, understood?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say to that. Then,

"Muro-chin and I were thinking the same. I'll crush them." Murasakibara said simply as he shrugged and proceeded to open another bag of chips. Akashi nodded, satisfied, and looked at the others.

"Understood? We will beat Tetsuya, and beat them to the ground."

"Is that Kagami bastard playing, too?" Aomine asked, eyes flaring. Akashi smiled darkly and nodded.

"He's the one who brought it up in the first place. I'm sure you can beat him, Daiki."

Aomine gave an evil smile. "Oh, trust me. When I'm done with him, he won't be able to even touch a basketball ever again." Kise could only look away.

"Wait, but why two weeks from now? Let's just get it over with and take Tetsu back with us." Aomine suddenly said.

"I was feeling generous. They'll need all the practice they can get. Not that the result will change." Akashi responded, shrugging. "For the time being, you may do whatever you want. We are in Los Angeles after all. Go to the beach and rest if you want. Take this time as vacation and enjoy yourselves. That is all." And before anyone could say anything, Akashi left without another word.

Midorima sighed deeply as he collapsed on the stairs behind him. Murasakibara merely left to the cafeteria to get more food. He finally mastered how to say his orders perfectly and he couldn't be happier.

"Oi, Kise." Aomine said and Kise looked at him with dread filling his eyes.

"Yeah?"

Aomine gestured to him to follow him. "Come on, we're talking about this. You're not avoiding the topic." And Kise, unable to escape, had no choice but to follow him.

When they got to an area secluded, Aomine turned to Kise and gave him a pointed look.

"What happened while you and Midorima were searching for Akashi?"

Kise rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we found him pretty easily. He was barging into another classroom again and made Kurokocchi come out. They talked for a bit and then we came back. That's all."

Aomine crossed his arms. "You're lying. You're not telling me everything."

"I told you everything that happened while me and Midorimacchi were there. What else do you need?" Kise sounded so tired.

Aomine wasn't buying. "What did they talk about? What was so shocking for you?"

Kise shook his head. "I don't want to relive it again."

Aomine took Kise by the shoulders and started shaking him. "I want to know! What did Tetsu say? Why don't you want to tell me?"

Kise tried to shake Aomine's hands off but to no use. He was also starting to get tired, tired of everything. Even though Kise and Kuroko weren't as great friends as him and Aomine, Kuroko was still his mentor and cherished friend, and to have heard that he hated basketball, how he was close to cutting his own life short, it just killed Kise.

"If you want to know, you can talk to him yourself. I, for one, am going to try and make things right." And just like that, as soon as Aomine got caught off guard by Kise's glare, he shook free and ran away. Aomine was going to chase after him but at that moment, the bell rang and soon enough, the hallways were crowded with students walking to their next class. Aomine soon lost sight of Kise and sighed while running a hand through his hair.

How could he go to Kuroko after all that happened to them? It was obvious they weren't friends anymore, not after what he had done to his partner, so it wouldn't be easy to get close to him, much less talk to him. There was also Kagami to deal with. They seemed like two peas in a pod, just like they were in middle school. There was no way he could possibly break them up.

But, of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

When school finally ended, Kise was still searching for Kuroko, or at least Kagami. After departing from Aomine, he spent his time looking for Kuroko, trying to find where he was at, but due to his lack of presence, in the end, Kise couldn't figure out any of the classes he had. He didn't want to go to Akashi for help because he was still very insecure about the red-head, and he definitely didn't want to meet up with the others. He knew what they were doing was wrong the moment Momoi was thrown to the ground, but like a coward, he did nothing and watched everything unfold into this mess. Now, Kuroko was probably blaming them for the chaos they've caused (which definitely was their fault), and Kise wanted nothing more but to apologize and at least try to reconcile again.

There wasn't a high chance of that happening, but that didn't mean he should give up. It looked impossible but he still wanted to try. He wanted to be friends with Kuroko again.

Students were walking in all kinds of directions, but luckily, Kise was able to figure out the flow of the hallways, he was able to easily pass through the crowd. He waited behind the corner and saw Kagami heading to the lockers were Kise was at. He was chatting with his friends, Eddy, Felix, another person he didn't know, and when Kise focused intensely, he found Kuroko in the flesh, also talking but still keeping his blank, poker face.

"So, we go into History and we wait for the teacher to come, right?" Kagami began and the others were listening intently. "It's like five minutes she doesn't come in, even after the bell rang and when she finally does, she looks absolutely horrible. Literally, green in the face. So, she walks in, looks at us, goes to board to write something, and then leaves."

Felix started laughing. "Just like that?"

Kagami began laughing, too, as well as Eddy, who was in the same class as him. "Just like that. Then, a few minutes later, a sub comes in, reads what the teacher had written on the board, and then completely ignores us. She just goes to her computer and starts playing country music. We all look at each other once and next thing you know, Alex takes out his Beats Speaker and the whole classroom turns into a dance party. And the sub didn't do a single thing."

"So that's the music I was hearing in English! What the hell, we were supposed to write an essay and we couldn't focus at all. When we tried to complain, Dixie just said to ignore it; that it was her 'favorite song' or some shit like that. Everyone failed!" A person next to Felix, a student was only slightly taller than Kuroko, complained as he hit Eddy.

"Ow! What the hell, Ben! What was that for?" Eddy whined and the person, Ben, glared at him jokingly.

"You should've said something! You were in the same class as Alex, weren't you?"

"And was so Tiger! Why aren't you hitting him?" Eddy exclaimed while pointing to Kagami.

Ben then glared at Kagami and slapped him, too. Kagami wasn't fazed in the least while Ben rubbed his hand. "Because, no matter what you do, it won't affect him in the slightest." Kagami merely laughed.

"Hey, at least you tried." Kagami responded heartily.

"I could hear also it, all the way in the second floor. We were also taking a test and we wanted to tell the teacher but she's as deaf as a mule. Thanks to you, we all failed." Kuroko added and Kagami ruffled his hair.

"Take it out on Alex, Tetsu. Not our fault. We just had fun."

"Oh, guys, are we going to stay after school? We still need to have our rematch. This time, I refuse to have Tiger and TK on the same team." Eddy suddenly brought up and the other looked at each other with pleasant looks on their faces. They all nodded in agreement.

"Last time you guys were in a team, you guys won by a landslide. It wasn't even a game anymore." Ben commented.

"Stop trying to split us apart!" Kagami joked as he wrapped his arm around Kuroko's shoulder. Kise's fists clenched at the sight of it.

"Is Sebastian coming, too? Wait, is he even here today?" Eddy asked as he looked around and Kagami smacked the back of his head. Eddy flew off, metaphorically that is.

"Will you stop hitting me?" Eddy shouted when he came back to his original spot.

"You're the idiot who didn't even know one of his friends wasn't here today. He told us he had to get is passport renewed." Kagami explained and Eddy got a dumb look on his face.

"Oh, no wonder there wasn't any puns thrown around today. Well, how are we going to play basketball if we're missing someone?"

Everyone shrugged. "Maybe someone could be the referee?" Ben suggested but Kuroko shook his head.

"April told me she could keep the score because she has to stay anyways for volleyball. We already have someone to referee." With everyone stumped and Kise, who was following half of what they were saying, took the chance to enter the conversation.

"Maybe I can help?" He said slowly, but clearly. The others looked surprised to see him while Kagami glared at him intensely and Kuroko merely widened his eyes in shock.

"Kise-kun, what are you doing here? Where is everybody else?" Kuroko asked in Japanese and Kise rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably.

"Ah, well, I got separated from the group. So, how about it? I can fill in for that missing person." Kise changed the subject immediately and before anyone could say anything, Kagami went in front of Kuroko in a protective manner.

"Where's the psychopath?" He asked harshly and Kise took a second to realize Kagami's talking about Akashi.

"You mean Akashicchi? I have no clue. Like I said, I got separated from the group. I have absolutely no idea where everyone is. It's probable that they all just left to go back to the summer house."

Kagami raised his eyebrow. "And why didn't you go with them?"

"I wanted to see Kurokocchi again!" Kise exclaimed and he tried to find a way around Kagami's protective stance. He failed miserably.

"The hell are you even saying? What's 'Kurokocchi'?"

Kuroko pushed Kagami out of the way. "That is just Kise-kun's way of saying names. He will always put the suffix -cchi to people he respects." Kuroko explained and Kise finally took the chance to glomp over him, just like the old days.

"Kurokocchi, I missed you so much!" Kise said cheerfully and Kuroko had to hit him on the head to get him off. The others, who definitely could not speak Japanese, just stood there, uncomfortable by the sudden intruder.

"You know, I'm really hating the fact that I'm not trilingual. Wait, scratch that. Let's make it bilingual since I'm failing Spanish like a boss." Eddy commented and approached Kise with a smile on his face.

"You're the one in the bus this morning, right? The one who waved while everyone just completely ignored this poor old man."

Kise smiled at him as well. "Yup, that's me. My name's Ryouta Kise."

"Edward Phillips, but everyone calls me Eddy."

"Oh god, every time someone calls you Edward I can only think of the dude from Twilight." Ben snickered from behind and Eddy smacked his head. He then turned back to Kise.

"So, you play basketball? You asked if you could join us, right?" Kise nodded excitedly and Eddy wrapped an arm around him, surprising Kise for a second. "I like this guy, definitely better than the other guys we've seen. Come on, let's go before April kills us for being late."

Kise did a little happy dance in his mind as he began to follow the group. Kuroko slowed down and soon, the two were at the back. Kagami was about to join in but soon decided that this was Kuroko's past life and he should be the one to handle it, not him. He no right in meddling into something like this, even if he didn't trust the strangers yet.

"Kise-kun, why are you here?" was the first thing Kuroko asked him. Kise couldn't even get his cheerful tone back when he heard it. He knew it was an accusing tone.

"I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi. We had no idea Akashicchi would go this far as to come to LA to see you. I didn't know he would make such a ruckus here. We just wanted you to come back."

"Why are you all so insistent on my coming back? What did I do to suddenly get your attention? To be honest, I believed that you would all forget about me sooner or later. How could you not forget me? Everyone does in the end." Kuroko said and Kise noted the saddening look. He bit his lip when he realized he was one of the people who did forget about him.

"I'm sorry, Kurokocchi. I forgot about you for some time." Kise said truthfully and Kuroko looked at him with blank eyes. Kise couldn't take the look anymore and quickly turned away. There was a small silence before Kuroko broke it.

"I knew it." He murmured in his breath but Kise could hear it. He suddenly wanted to go back instead of having this basketball match with Kuroko.

"I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi. I'm so sorry." Kise repeated and Kuroko sighed.

"it is ok, Kise-kun. I have gotten used to it."

"But you shouldn't." Kise insisted. He decided to change the topic. "You've made great friends, Kurokocchi. They all seem really nice."

"They are." Kuroko said simply but with the small smile on his face, Kise saw just how LA had impacted him. He saw just how much Kuroko changed for the better. He began to hate Akashi for dragging all of them into this mess.

"How did you all meet?" He then asked and Kuroko reminisced.

"I came to this school a few weeks after the new school year started. We have advocacies in the morning so I was assigned the same advocacy as Kagami-kun."

"Advocacies? What're those?" Kise asked in confusion.

"It is like when we had those morning talks from the teacher before class started. The small morning assemblies where he took attendance and gave us the plans for the day? It is the same as that but it lasts about 20 minutes for us. We normally do our homework or just rest before actual class begins." Kuroko explained and Kise nodded in understanding.

"So you were in the same advocacy as Kagami-kun?"

Kuroko nodded. "But of course, no one could see me until I spoke. Then, when I introduced myself as Japanese, the counselor who was with me at the time pointed at Kagami-kun, telling me he was also Japanese. He became my guide for the day and we learned about each other very quickly in a small amount of time. Before I knew it, I was part of his friend group." Kuroko said and his soft smile grew bigger. Kise's heart hurt.

He wanted to ask more about his life in the US, but they arrived at the gym, which was just as big as, or even bigger than, Teiko's and Kaijou's gym. A girl with sweats and a tightly wrapped ponytail waved at them.

"You guys are late." The girl commented with her arms crossed once they walked over to her and Felix laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry, April. We needed to find a replacement for Sebastian. Luckily, we did." Felix explained as he gestured to Kise. April scrutinized him for a second and suddenly gasped.

She then sauntered up to him and pointed to him. "Wait! You're friends with the dude who busted my locker, aren't you? Tell him April said 'fuck you', will you? I spent ages moving my stuff to another locker!"

Kise made the connection quickly that the locker Akashi had dented was hers. He put his hands in front of his and clasped them as he bowed. "I'm sorry for my friend's actions! He didn't mean to do that!" He replied and April harrumphed.

"Ugh, I can never get mad a hot people." She commented after a few seconds or so and walked back to where she was.

"Hey, are you saying that I'm not hot?" Felix said, jokingly offended, and April hit him on the shoulder.

"Obviously, or else I would never get mad at you." Felix's face unintentionally saddened and Eddy patted him on the back.

"Welcome to the unrequited love group, my friend."

Felix pushed him back with a blush on his face. "I do not like her."

Ben soon joined in on the conversation. "Sure, buddy ,just keep telling yourself that."

April wasn't listening and talked once more. "Now, are we playing or not? Volleyball starts in an hour or so and I need to meet up with my team soon. Just like last time, 20 minutes of just free style basketball with a five minute break?" April asked and everyone nodded.

"How are we going to divide the teams? Like last time?" Ben asked and Eddy immediately declined.

"Thanks, but I'd rather have a chance at winning the game. If we're going to divide the people, I'm going with Tiger and TK. That or split them apart."

Kagami laughed. "I get the feeling you guys are just scared of our partnership."

Ben gave him a pointed look. "I thought that was kind of obvious."

Everyone nodded, even April. "Dude, sorry to burst your bubble, but you and TK are unstoppable when you're together. Your synchronized basketball is not even worthy to be varsity, it's more like watching the NBAs or something." April complimented and Kagami couldn't help but give them all a big smile.

"That's just how awesome me and Tetsu are, right?" Kuroko nodded with a smile on his face as well. Kise hated that moment.

"Let's have the teams like this: Me, Tiger, and Felix VS the new kid, TK, and Eddy. Everyone ok?" Ben suggested but, to everyone's surprise, Kuroko interfered.

"I would rather have me and Tiger in the same team."

"Really, TK? After what happened last time? I am not doing that again." Felix recollected but Kuroko shook his head.

"Kise is a very talented basketball player. It won't end up like last time, I promise." The others looked at each other uncertainly but finally nodded.

"Fine, then we'll have Eddy, you, and Tiger on one team and the rest on the other, ok?" With one look, everyone agreed.

"Kurokocchi, why did you suddenly change it? I wanted to play with you again." Kise whined as he approached Kuroko but he stopped the golden haired student at the last second.

"Kise-kun, let me ask you something. Do you still think everything is about winning?"

Kise, caught off guard by the sudden question, nodded uncertainly. "Isn't it obvious? We have to win if we want to get ahead in life, right?"

"But do you believe that you can win, even without anyone's help?"

Kise laughed at the absurdity, making Kuroko's eyes narrow darkly. "Why would I need anyone's help? The only time my team helped me was when I battled Aominecchi in the Interhigh, and it was obvious they couldn't do anything. So, I just played alone." He put his hands on his hips as he shook his head at the memory. "I still lost but it was Aominecchi, so I let it go. I never could beat him, even in middle school, and we all got stronger anyways. It would have been a miracle if I did beat Touou."

Kuroko was silent for a moment. "So, you would still play alone if given the chance?"

"Kurokocchi, I'm going to play alone even now. The team I'm with - I think their names were Ben and Felix? It's obvious I'm way stronger than they, so why should I rely on them?"

Kise looked at Kuroko for a split second and froze at the look Kuroko was giving him. It was not a pleasant look at all. If anything, it looked like Kuroko wanted to murder him.

"K-Kurokocchi?" Kise asked hesitantly but Kuroko said nothing, The teal-haired student, with his fists clenched, merely said a "Is that so?" and left it at that. Kise wondered if he said anything wrong but shook the feeling off. Right now, he had a match to focus on.

Everyone took their places and April stood in the middle of the court with the basketball on her hand. Kagami stepped up confidently but Kuroko pulled his back for a second.
"Kagami-kun, do not underestimate Kise-kun. He is stronger than you think."

Kagami looked at him weirdly. "You know I never look down on anyone, what's wrong with you today, Tetsu? What do you know about him?"

Before Kuroko could say anything, April called him and the duo saw Kise waiting for them with a smug look on his face.

"Hurry up, Kagami-kun! We're going to be here all day if you keep stalling!" There was an arrogant tone laced in his words and Kagami detected that immediately. This wasn't the same Kise he saw when he intruded. It was as if there was a personality change in him.

"Oi, are you already certain that you're going to beat us?"

"Maybe." Kise answered simply but it was obvious that he was overconfident. Ben and Felix looked very uncomfortable with the situation.

"Be careful, Kise-kun. Do not look down on Kagami-kun. He is very skilled in basketball, just as much as the Generation of Miracles." Kuroko warned and Kise shook it off.

"That's hilarious, Kurokocchi. But really, let's get this over with."

Kuroko's eyes narrowed at the comment, which Kise didn't catch. "Tiger!" He then called out and Kagami jumped at the sudden voice.

"What's up?" He answered back and everyone except Kise stiffened when they saw Kuroko's darkening look.

"Win," was all he said and April cleared her voice awkwardly.

"Um, so let's start?" Kise and Kagami got ready to jump and April shot the ball up through the air. Kise was pretty confident that he would get it but his eyes widened when Kagami went further up and smacked the ball to his side. Eddy caught it and dribbled a bit before shooting towards Kagami, who was waving to him.

When he did, however, he encountered Kise and and his red eyes narrowed.

"You're skilled, aren't you? You're not an amateur when it comes to basketball." Kagami deduced quickly and Kise shrugged nonchalantly with a menacing glare. His competitive streak was back.

"I guess you can say that." Kise said with an arrogant grin on his face.

"You know, Tetsu told me I shouldn't underestimate you. So, I won't. I'll beat you." He declared before juking Kise and making an impressive dunk.

"Show off!"

"Cocky bastard!"

"Your ego's showing!"

"Stop flexing your non-existent muscles!"

"And your balls, too!"

Comments were heard from the background and Kagami merely laughed.

"You're all just jealous of my wonderful basketball skills!" He called back and Ben took the ball and passed it to Kise. He gave both Kagami and Kuroko a smug smile before taking the ball and, while completely ignoring Felix, who was at the other side of the court waiting for him to pass the ball, merely dunk over him in the same manner as Kagami had but with much more force.

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they processed what had just happened. Kagami stood there, dumbfounded, while Kuroko merely narrowed his eyes once more.

"This is what I wanted to talk to you about, Kagami-kun."

"He just - He - He just did the same thing I did, didn't he?" Kagami stuttered.

Kuroko nodded seriously. "That is Kise-kun's specialty. The Generation of Miracles are five basketball prodigies who have special abilities with them. For Kise-kun, he can mimic anything he sees perfectly, even if he has only seen it once. He, like the rest, look down on any opponent. We need to win, Kagami-kun." Kuroko explained and Kagami's eyes flared with determination.

He ruffled Kuroko's hair and called over Eddy, who, like other spectators, was still looking at Kise with a shocked look.

"I get you loud and clear! We just have to kick this arrogant dickhead off his pedestal, right? With you and me on the same team, we'll be sure to win!" And with the two duo of shadow and light both ready to fight, the match began once more.

Kagami soon realized why Kuroko had such a dark look on his face when Kise became something he was not. Throughout the match, Kise only seemed to be working by himself, completely ignoring his teammates. When the first quarter, which was only 10 minutes, ended, The scoreboard showed Kise's team winning by 8 points. Kagami growled as he took a sip of his own water. Kuroko still wasn't ready to start cooperating with him, and though he respected that, he still wanted to kick Kise's ass.

Felix and Ben walked up to Kuroko. Kise didn't mind as he just kept drinking water.

"Dude, what is up that kid? He's doing everything by himself." Ben complained while Felix nodded from behind. Kuroko sighed.

"I'm sorry. I believed that Kise had changed when I saw him again. Now I realize just how wrong I was. He was like this in middle school, too. They all were."

"They? Are you talking about the rest of the weird kids?" Felix asked and Kuroko nodded.

"They are very good at playing basketball, so much that they were dubbed the Generation of Miracles because of their skills. But, they got arrogant and believed that no one could beat them." Kuroko explained and Ben huffed.

"That doesn't mean you should play basketball alone! It's called team play for a reason!" Ben exploded and Eddy had to calm him down. April came over to them as well.

"TK, when are you going to kick his ass?" She asked with her arms crossed and Kuroko raised his eyebrow.

"I thought referees couldn't take sides."

"I wasn't going to, but as a member who plays a cooperation sport, this is just annoying the crap out of me. It's basketball, not a one man show! Put him in his place with your freaky combination thing!" April exasperated and Kuroko saw the looks on everyone face.

Then, he stood up and walked over to Kagami. Kise followed the motion with a curious look on his face.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked and Kuroko merely curled his fingers into a fist. Kagami gave him a big smile before punching it with his own.

"You ready?" The red-head asked and Kuroko nodded.

"I am."

April then blew her whistle and the five minute break was over. Ben and Felix went over to Kise and asked him to give them the ball some time. Kise merely raised his eyebrow and shook his head.

"I can beat them on my own." He commented before walking away. Felix had a very difficult time preventing Ben from murdering the blond.

April gave Eddy, who was at the edge of the court, the ball and he passed it to Kagami, who was immediately stopped by Kise. His red eyes flared as Kise blocked his every move.

"You're a complete dickhead, you know that? Basketball isn't a one man play."

Kise merely smirked. "Say that when you beat me. Haven't you seen the score?"

Kagami growled and his eye twitched. "You fucker."

"Tiger, calm down!" Eddy called out and Kagami snapped out of his anger and saw a glimpse of teal hair. He smiled at Kise before passing the ball to an empty space. Kise was just about to comment on his stupidity when the ball suddenly launched itself to where Eddy was, which was below the net, and Kagami's team scored two points.

Ben started laughing. "There it is. The freaky ghost move. Misdirection or whatever TK called it." Felix couldn't help but smile at Kise's dumbfounded face.

Kagami ran over to Kuroko and the two high-fived each other.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Kagami hooted and Kuroko readjusted his old sweatband. He then looked over to Kise with an unreadable look.

"I haven't seen that move in long time. Kurokocchi…" Kise growled.

"The match is only beginning to start, Kise-kun. We will win." Kuroko said.

And slowly, as if by magic, the score changed in favor of Kuroko's team. No matter how much Kise tried to catch up, he could never predict where Kuroko was at. No wonder Kuroko didn't want to use his misdirection in the beginning. This was only a 20 minute match with no substitution. Had he used it since the beginning, the effectiveness would have only lessened by the second quarter. It didn't help that Kagami and Eddy were very apt in basketball as well.

That, however, didn't faze Kise in the least. They were still no match for a Generation of Miracle like him. They were good but they weren't prodigies.

His golden eyes gleamed and his skills got more profound and serious. He copied everything Kagami and Eddy did and the score was neck and neck. Felix and Ben were close to ripping Kise apart and soon asked for a time out. April happily gave it to them. Kids huffed at them but said nothing. He was slowly beginning to get tired, especially after copying some of Kagami's and Eddy's moves, which definitely felt more advanced.

"TK, I swear you better beat that asshole!" Ben shouted in annoyance once they got off the court. Felix just nodded but anyone could see that he was pissed as well. And Felix almost never got pissed.

"Calm down, dude." Eddy tried to say but Ben wasn't listening.

"I hate these kinds of people, you know? Those people who think they can just stomp on other people because he thinks he's all that? Gah, I hate it! I hate it so much!"

Kagami then stood from the bench and Ben immediately quieted at the solemn look Kagami had on his face. Then, when everyone else expected the worst coming, he gave them all a big smile.

"Well, at least we know how to beat him!"

Everyone gave him a confused look. "You know?" April asked and Kagami nodded.

"Tetsu, you know too, right? You've seen it before."

Kuroko nodded. "As a person who has played with Kise before, he has one weakness. We can use that to our advantage. And it's a good thing, too. My misdirection is losing its effectiveness but we only have two minutes left. Tiger, you can do it, right?"

Kagami grinned. "Obviously."

Everyone else looked confused out of their minds. "Um, mind filling us in?" Felix asked.

"That bastard is good a copying, right?" The others nodded. "We'll just have to do something that he can't copy at all!" Kagami explained. He looked at the scoreboard and saw that they team was only a few points ahead of Kise's. Then he smiled at the luck they had.

"We need to use Tetsu to our fullest. His technique is the one thing the dickhead can't copy at all. He doesn't have the qualities for it. We'll use that and when the time comes, I'll make the finishing blow. The asshole needs to know what losing feels like once and for all."

April then blew her whistle and with only two minutes remaining, Kagami and Kuroko focused completely on their synchronization, and even Kise was surprised at the skillful cooperation the two had. It could have even matched Aomine's and Kuroko's when they were in middle school.

Kise had to admit, he was getting desperate. He was only a few points behind but with the timer going down, he was close to losing. The only time he lost was with Aomine, but that was an exception. He could never beat the ace in the first place, what made him think he could beat him at Interhigh?

This, however, was different. He was playing against Kuroko, a player that needed support to be useful. He was never going to be like them.

At the last second, Kise made an impressive dunk and he was sure he was going to win now, with only about 10 seconds remaining on the clock, but Eddy flung the basketball to where Kuroko was, and Kise's eyes widened when he pushed the ball to accelerate.

"Ignite pass?" Kise murmured under his breath. The only people who could catch that were the five Generation of Miracles. There was no way anyone here would able to do it. They weren't skilled enough.

But his perception shattered into pieces as Kagami caught it easily and went for the dunk. Kise ran over to him as fast as he could and jumped to block it the same time Kagami jumped to dunk.

Kise was confident he could block and secure his victory, but then, his confidence faded when he saw himself falling down and Kagami going up even further, even though he and Kagami had jumped at the same time. His eyes widened in complete shock.

"You can never copy a Buzzer Beater!" Kagami yelled as he dunked the ball over him just before the timer buzzed, signaling the end of the match.

April turned over the numbers to show 58-56 in favor of Kuroko and Kagami's team. She then announced their team as the winner and everyone except Kise all gathered around the duo, and while leaving Kise alone, they all cheered.

"Fuck yeah, that was awesome! Tiger, you've earned my respect once again!" Eddy shouted in glee and Ben patted him on the shoulder excitedly.

"They don't call you the Wild Tiger for nothing, Tiger! That buzzer beater was hella good! One of the best I've seen yet!" Ben commented and Kagami laughed while ruffling Kuroko's hair.

"Hey, if it weren't this little guy, I never would've been able to pull it off!"

"Who are you calling little?" Kuroko said in annoyance but still was able to smile as well.

Kise, now alone in the court, looked at the scoreboard in disbelief. Then, his senses came back to him as he heard laughter and saw Kuroko being surrounded by his friends, all ruffling his hair and patting him on the back.

Before he knew it, he began to cry.

April was the one who saw it first, who felt a bit bad for leaving Kise alone. She bit her lip and nudged Felix on the shoulder. His face fell as soon as he saw Kise.

"Guys." He said in a whisper and the others grew silent when they saw Kise crying. No one knew what to do as they all had mixed feelings about the blond, but then, Kuroko got out of their friend circle and walked up to Kise.

Kise's head shot up when he felt something patting him on the back.

"K-Kurokocchi?" He whispered and Kuroko now saw him as a pitiful puppy.

"Kise-kun, do not cry. It is not the end of the world if you lose a match."

"I - I don't know what went wrong. I was so sure I was stronger than all of you." Kise stuttered as he tried to wipe away his tears. Kuroko didn't feel angry anymore.

Before he could say the answer, Kagami came over and smacked Kise on the back. He lost his balance and jumped a bit forward before regaining it.

"Ow, what was that for?" Kise said and Kagami crossed his arms.

"What went wrong was that you weren't relying on your teammates and you just played by yourself. I told you before, didn't I? Basketball is not a one man sport. It never will be."

And it was then that Kise finally understood Kuroko. He finally understood why Kuroko left, why Kuroko didn't want to see them here, why Kuroko was happy in the States with his friends. Kise couldn't help but cry more.

"I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know." He blubbered and Kuroko patted him on the back more.

"It is alright, Kise-kun. You've learned your lesson. I'm happy with just that." And everyone on the court smiled softly when Kise hugged Kuroko and Kuroko hugged him back.

So, what did you guys think? Good, bad, meh? Tell me in the reviews below!

I think I really like Kise's progress here. I mean, this story is all about the GoM turning from complete dickheads into the lovable people we know today 3 I think I really liked the personality change Kise went through before and during the match and I always wanted Kise to be the spotlight for once :)

But who knows? That's just my opinion. Tell me what you guys thought about the chapter itself!

That's it for me and I'll see you in the next one! (WATCH UNDERTALE AND PLEASE LET US FANGIRL ABOUT IT I'M TOO OBSESSED AND I DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO TALK TO ABOUT IT)

Peace,

FlyAndDontLookBack