4 months? Really? How much of an inconsiderate person am I? (And did you guys like the April Fools joke? Sorry and I hope I redeemed myself with this chapter :))
So, a few updates before starting the story:
1. I have (finally) written a Haikyuu! fanfiction, so if you like the show and/or you're a hardcore KuroTsukki shipper like I am, don't forget to check that out. It's called High and it centers around drug abuse, so you have been warned.
I realize that I can also use the same plot to make it into a massive angsty AoKaga story (which I am infamous for), so if you would like to see this story into an AoKaga remake, mention it in the reviews and I'll get right to it!
2. I have recently been working on a Zombie AU story with MidoTaka as the main pairing. This story is going to a bit different from the others because this time, I'm going to be writing the entire story before publishing it. I'm going to be editing it like crazy, so I can't afford any mistakes. As you can see, I'm going to be updating less because of this story as well as stress from school, so please understand.
Also, please await the Zombie AU story when it comes out! It'd be of great help (and I'm not going to be disclosing any more information than this. Just know it revolves around MidoTaka and it has zombies)
So, without further ado, here's the next chapter!
(Note: this chapter has been edited)
A few answers for my lovely reviewers:
Dhea30: In the next 'two weeks' I wonder who will be next? Will it be Midorima? And who're gonna be on the team with Kuroko and Kagami at the match against the GoMs? I hope Himuro and Nijimura would be there!
A: You have guessed correctly, this chapter will focus on Midorima. As for the team, it's a surprise :) (also, I may or may not have forgotten and Himuro and Nijimura were in LA with them, so whoops. I'll add them in somehow)
~.~
Pauchalina: And about Undertale I can't imagine a meeting between Sans and the GoM, probably akashi would have a Bad Time jejeje. Oh! and the others characters! It would be awesome!
A: I'd like to believe that Emperor Eye Akashi is Chara while normal (middle school) Akashi is Frisk. Wouldn't that be a great crossover :) You'd get to choose if you want to be Emperor Eye or Normal Akashi and be able to either fight Sans or be best friends with him. Who would Sans resemble the most in KnB? WHO WOULD PAPYRUS RESEMBLE THE MOST?
Danny Joey Ketail: METTATON IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE TBH AHHH
A: bro, bro, bro... legs
Midorima felt the change from Kise the moment he got back to the summer house. He looked happier, was glowing even, and whatever movement he had, it always looked like he was floating. When Midorima saw that, he could't help but admit that he hated it. Everyone here was having the worst time they've ever had and Kise had the nerve to smile? Midorima didn't like it; he detested it even.
He knew something was wrong when Kise wasn't back in the summer house the moment Akashi dismissed them. Everybody else had gone home with Akashi's driver, even Murasakibara, who wanted to stay and buy more food from the cafeteria, but Kise hadn't been there. He wasn't home until late afternoon, when Aomine was back from an intense basketball play on his own. He was frustrated, Midorima knew, because it had been such a long time since he saw Aomine play alone in the basketball court behind Akashi's house so fiercely.
He decided to confront Kise when dinner was finished. Akashi wasn't there, taking and receiving calls from people Midorima had no interest in, Murasakibara was still asking for seconds (or sixes, Midorima guessed), and Aomine had already marked his spot on the sofa, watching TV and grumbling in annoyance when he found nothing but English.
"Kise." Midorima called out and Kise, who was still floating, turned around and Midorima felt a gush of air flowing through Kise's hair. He clicked his tongue in annoyance when Kise looked even happier than before. Curiosity peaked as well; he always knew Kise was easy to figure out but to have a personality change in such a short time was a mystery to him. Everyone here was asking for murder, so what happened to make Kise so happy?
"What's up, Midorimacchi? Is something the matter?" He asked in an easy-going voice.
Midorima glared. "I'm under the impression that instead of going back home, you stayed in school. I'm guessing you met Kuroko?"
Kise nodded, his smile growing impossibly big. "Yup, sure did." He didn't elaborate on it more, making Midorima even more irritated than before.
He pushed his glasses up as he tried to hide his bubbling anger. "I'm also guessing something happened during that event."
Kise's smile faded as confusion replaced his facial features. "Yeah. Midorimacchi, where are you going with this?" He asked with scrunched up eyebrows.
Midorima sighed angrily. "I'm asking you what happened." He finally said, feeling embarrassed that he showed such an unsightly image of himself soon after.
"Eh?" Kise blinked for a second. He then scratched the side of his head and the smile he had had throughout the entire time came back again. "I had a match with Kurokocchi."
Midorima said nothing for a second because he was still processing the words Kise had said. He had been there when Kuroko had confessed that he had hated basketball, to the point where he had almost committed something irreversible on himself. He had heard all the pain and suffering Kuroko had had because of them. He believed that Kuroko had quit, or at least refused to play so intensely.
He didn't want to admit it, but he hated the fact that the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko's teammates and friends, didn't help him at all, but it was his other friends who helped him throughout it all.
He felt jealousy and anger, both towards Kuroko's LA friends and Kise. He glared at the blond, who noticed the change in Midorima's manner and took a step forward to see what was wrong. The television in the other room turned off, there were no more clacking sounds of glass plates stacked up together, and the angered arguments turned into silent murmurs.
"Midorimacchi?" Kise asked. He tried to look at Midorima's face that was currently covered with emerald bangs. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Midorima said gruffly. Even he didn't know what was wrong, what he was feeling, why he was so goddamn angry. "Nothing's wrong."
"Hey, what's going on in there?" Aomine called out from the TV room.
"Nothing." Midorima repeated once more and walked away from Kise and his stupid, goddamn smile to his room. He closed it politely to lessen any suspicion but there was nothing more he waned to do but to slam it shut, hoping that the door would break and a visible crack would be shown.
He sat down on his bed, took off his glasses, and sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He was getting too irritated lately. He wondered if it was because of the environment he was in. He never wanted to come here, he still didn't know why he had agreed in the first place. It wasn't like Akashi ruled his entire life, so why did he let the red-haired emperor push him around like a rag doll? Wasn't he human? Didn't he have morals and rights? An opinion?
Akashi's fault. It was Akashi's fault.
Midorima considered himself a calm, collected person. In most times, unless the person was actively trying to mock him, mainly Takao, although he got used to the joking, Midorima never once raised his voice nor screamed bloody murder. He was calculative, meticulous, and looking for other, more simple ways to solve the problem.
And yet here he was, unable to do any of that. His head was clouded, his mind was in disarray, and it was taking all his willpower not to go to Akashi and punch him until Midorima knocked some sense into him. Midorima wanted to tell him that he wanted to go home.
Akashi's fault. It was Akashi's fault.
But deep inside, Midorima knew that it wasn't only the environment, not only Akashi's doing that had him so irritated.
Midorima knew that he wasn't close to Kuroko as Aomine or Kise. He even agreed that he didn't get along with Kuroko as much as the others in general. He wanted to blame the two's horoscopes and the incompatibility between Aquarius and Cancer. Another part of himself wanted to blame Kuroko's surrounding friends who were too loud and messy for his taste.
But he could only blame himself for not helping Kuroko when the phantom man had needed it. They were both in the library committee, even after they all started going awry, when their friendship was slowly but surely falling apart. Kuroko was even more a shadow, he had remembered, and even though Midorima and Kuroko had been rearranging books side by side, Kuroko seemed to fade away on purpose and Midorima had let him. He had let Kuroko fall into depression when he could clearly see the demise.
Or, he wondered, could he? By then, could he even have taken notice of the phantom man?
Midorima didn't know why he felt so angry. He wasn't this kind of person, he wasn't supposed to be so hotheaded. And not only that, he and Kuroko weren't even the best of friends. So why was he so angered by the fact that Kuroko was happy here, playing basketball in LA with all his other friends? Why wasn't he depressed anymore?
And then it hit the green-haired student hard. Like a brick colliding at the back of his head and knocking him flat. He hadn't been there when his friend nonetheless was going through the worst time of his life. And here he was now, happy and shining with his other friends.
Other friends. He and the others were replaced with better people. Kuroko had given up on them and instead sought refuge in a group that was obviously more capable than they were. And that infuriated Midorima, the fact that he was replaced by people who weren't even worthy enough, who weren't even skilled enough.
He hated feeling inferior but being here and seeing the imaginary scenario of Kuroko smiling while passing the ball to someone other than one of the Generation of Miracles made him feel exactly like that.
He hated feeling so small.
Midorima entered the school for a second time with the help of Akashi's driver. He didn't really want to use Kamijou-san with his personal issues, but he really didn't want to enter the bus again where he would see Kuroko interacting with those worthless people, Kagami and Eddy. He told Akashi he needed the driver and Akashi, though raising an eyebrow in questioning, allowed it.
Kise took the bus, just like the last two days. He was the only one who went to the school while the others stayed at the summer house. The blond didn't even care that he had to wake up early to catch the bus; he always woke earlier than the alarm. He didn't care, even when Aomine was there, unable to sleep, and giving him such a glare that if looks could kill, Kise would've already been five feet under the ground.
Now, Midorima was standing in front of the school entrance, waiting for the morning bell to ring and forcing all the students to go to class. Once he entered, he saw two people lingering in the hallways, talking to each other in their seats and looking at him curiously.
He looked at them back. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" He asked in perfect, if not monotone, English and the two people, a woman and man, looked at each other with incredulous eyes before laughing.
"Yeah, because we're obviously going to class at the last day of school. It's a short day anyways, with classes only 45 minutes long. Why the hell would we go?" The man with the tips of his hair dyed green said with a smirk. The woman next to him snickered.
Midorima hid his anger at the blatant rudeness they were exhibiting. "Then why are you even at school if you're not even going to go to class?"
"Parents." The woman with blond hair wrapped in a loose bun said with a glare, but then sighed as she lifted her shoulders. "But I guess I needed to come here anyways. When school ends, we're all going to the beach." She punched the man and he smiled. He then looked at Midorima with curious eyes, as if he were trying to process a distant memory.
"Hey, do I know you from anywhere?" He asked and Midorima stiffened. Images of his first time in the school flashed before his mind.
He shook his head. "No, I don't think you do."
But there was already recognition in the man's eyes. The woman next to him also had the same idea. "You're one of the dudes who wrecked a locker, right? The girl who's in volleyball. Where's the psychopath?" The man asked, looking behind Midorima, obviously trying to find the 'psychopath'.
Midorima clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, the red-haired psychopath. He's made quite a name for himself, you know?"
"Akashi?" Midorima whispered to himself in shock. Was that what the people here called him? A psychopath?
"Is that his name? Akashi?" The woman said, emphasizing the 'k' unnecessarily. "Damn, I wanted to see the psycho one more time before school ended. Like, what was up with that anyways? You guys made a mess the first day you come here and then stopped coming entirely? You could've at least burned the school down while you were at it, make vacation come earlier."
"It was only two days we didn't come." Midorima said stiffly. He didn't even both addressing the other comment the woman said.
"You could've at least given an apology to the teachers and the girl whose locker you busted. Not that I like the teachers or anything, but they looked pretty spooked." The woman accused and the man slapped his knee.
"Alvarez couldn't even look at the color purple without screaming." He laughed.
"That's not something to laugh about." Midorima said, slightly horrified that they had scared an old lady that much. He made a mental note to go to the teacher and apologize formally for causing such a ruckus.
"That's what you say. You have no idea how much of a bitch she is." The man responded and Midorima looked at the man in front of him with wide eyes. Did he just call a teacher a bitch?
"Whatever. I guess it doesn't matter what happens since the psycho isn't even here today." The man shrugged.
"Doesn't the blond one stay here, though?" The woman asked, trying to remember the Japanese blond model.
The man clapped his hands. "Oh, yeah! He always waits in the first floor lounge until school finishes, doesn't he? Or he goes to the lockers… Tiger's locker, right?"
"Oh, yeah, Tiger's." The woman said dreamily and the man's eyes scrunched before snapping his fingers in front of her. She jumped slightly. "Hey, what was that for?"
"Don't dream about other guys when your boyfriend's right here." The man said with a pout and the woman laughed at the sight. It was making Midorima uncomfortable with the public display of affection.
"Aw, don't get so jealous, baby. Every girl and guy wants to get with Tiger's body at least once in their high school lives."
The man actually looked shocked. Midorima equally so. "No way."
The woman gave him a mischievous smirk. "Way. Have you never seen his body? How does a high school student even have that? It's insane."
"I've seen his body, and I can say I have a more smoking one than he does." The man tried to defend but he was putting up a very weak front.
The woman patted him on the shoulder pitifully. "Sure you do, baby. Sure you do."
Midorima cleared his throat so that the two people could realize he was still standing in front of them. They snapped back their heads to the foreigner and waited for him to continue.
"So, today is the last day?" He asked, still unable to shake off the uncomfortable feeling of listening to two people talking about someone's body. He felt like he was intruding or something.
"Yeah, before summer vacation, which I am so ready for." The woman said and sighed dreamily. "Do you think Tiger's going to the beach, too? That's, like, the only time he takes off his shirt, you know?"
The man gave her a grumpy look. "I heard from Tat that he and some of his friends are going to be playing basketball from the entire summer."
"Is Tat back?" The woman said with glee. "Where did he even go for the past few weeks?"
"Trip remember? I think he had to go back to Japan to figure something out with his parents. He came back yesterday."
"Why come back to LA when it's literally summer vacation? I would've just stayed there until school was back in session."
The man shrugged. "Said he wanted to get all the work he missed and work on it for the summer."
"Wow, that's dedication right there. I never would have done that."
Midorima couldn't help it. He snorted at the comment. It was more than obvious that the man would most likely not do any of his summer homework until the last day before school started once more. The two looked at him with judging eyes and Midorima immediately composed himself. "Sorry for interrupting, but I have one more question."
"Which would be?" The man with an eyebrow raised.
"When does the school end?"
"12:15. We have two hours left." At that moment, the bell rang, the two people Midorima were talking to stood up and left, giving Midorima one more look, and the hallways were immediately crowded with students rushing to their next class.
Midorima was just going to sit on one of the red chairs that thaw had sat on and wait until the hallways cleared out but then he saw a flash of red. His eyes followed the tall Japanese student laugh with the African-American person whom he had seen in the bus last time. They seemed to be talking about something extremely funny because both students were smiling widely with laughs every few seconds. Midorima searched for teal blue unconsciously. When he didn't find him, he sighed angrily and sat down onto the chairs.
Then, "Hey, aren't you one of the dudes who came here a few days ago?" A brown-eyed man who was a lot shorter than he was said as he stood in front of Midorima. He tried to remember if he had ever seen this man before but his memory failed him. He didn't look familiar to him at all.
"I don't know who you're talking about." Midorima said coldly. There were still students who were rushing to get to class. The bell hadn't rung.
"You know TK, right?" The student asked. Midorima's eyes widened slightly as he looked straight at the student. In the summer light, his brown hair looked hazel.
"His name is Kuroko Tetsuya." Midorima growled with his fists clenched. With a nickname like that, it truly felt like Kuroko was no longer one of them.
The man just shook his head. "Whatever. Point is, the psycho you were with has completely changed him. He was always reserved and we respected that but he's become even more of a recluse than before. Bring the psycho back and make him fix this." He said with anger lacing his tone, and Midorima's eyes narrowed. The bell finally rang. There was no one left except for him and the brown haired man.
"We did nothing wrong, nor did Akashi. Who even are you?"
The man also glared. He put his binder on the seat next to Midorima and crossed his arms. "Ben. Ben Jones. And I don't believe you for a second. It was because of you new guys that TK's been so off. He's barely speaking anymore and not even Tiger can do anything, and they're like two peas in a pod!" Midorima's eyes narrowed even further. How dare he? "Take responsibility for it." Ben finished but faltered slightly in his confidence stance when Midorima stood up from his seat. Ben couldn't believe it; he must have been even taller than Kagami himself, and Kagami was the tallest person he knew.
"Who is giving you the right to boss me around?" Midorima gazed downwards at the brown haired boy. Standing so closely to a person at least two heads taller than he, Ben couldn't help but feel so little. Still, he didn't give up the fight as he glared upwards into the Japanese's strange green eyes.
"I'm not bossing you around. I'm just saying that people who make a havoc of things should take responsibility for it. Haven't you ever heard of righting the wrong?"
Midorima had, but he wasn't going to admit it. "So, what? Did you really think you would have been able to order me around? Someone like you?"
"What you mean 'someone like me'?" Ben's nose flared. His fists clenched as he tried to control his anger, just as Felix had told me. Ben always did have an anger problem, and had even gone to anger management classes in free will. He knew he had a problem with controlling his emotions; it was taking all his willpower not to lash out.
Had Felix or Kagami been here, they surely would've been proud.
And yet, even Ben could tell that he was losing it. This person right in front of him was testing him, both him and his anger. He was purposely trying to lower Ben's self-esteem, and mocking him all the while.
"Didn't I make myself clear enough?" What was Midorima saying? When had he become such a monster? "I meant someone as worthless as you." No, this wasn't him. He was sounding like Akashi.
Ben, deep down, unconsciously, apologized to his teachers, his mentors, and his friends. He really couldn't do it, could he? He really couldn't take self-control. The word 'worthless' rung through the brown haired student and before he knew it, he was screaming.
"You fucking asshole! You wanna fucking go? I'll fucking rip you to pieces, you piece of shit!" With every curse word Ben flew out, Midorima was beginning to see how much of a monster he was. But his pride forced him to stop looking and to ignore it, and his pride whispered to strike the first blow and get it over with.
His hand raised upwards in an obvious attempt to strike the shorter boy down, but the upcoming fight never arrived.
"Midorimacchi?" A voice called out from afar and both people turned their heads to see a shocked, frozen blond at the end of the hallway. Some teachers had their head out to see what all the noise was about and they all glared at Kise, who wasn't paying attention.
He started forward soon after, and apologized to all the teachers sticking their heads out as he walked closer to where Midorima and Ben were.
"Kise, what are you doing here?" Midorima asked, slightly surprised as well. Then he remembered that Kise had come here for the past few days. Of course, he would be inside the school, and of course the ruckus they had just made would attract the blond's attention to here.
"I was just going to the lockers when I heard Ben shouting." Kise immediately turned his attention to the American student, who was still beet red from all the blood rushing to his face. Kise looked at him with concerned eyes. "What happened? Are you ok?" Midorima noted how Kise's English had improved significantly. It was almost as fluent as his.
Ben wasn't listening. "You were just going to punch me, weren't you, you fucking bastard? I saw your hand. I know a fight when I see one."
Kise's eyes widened. "MIdorimacchi?" He asked. Midorima flinched subtly, just a slight flex in his shoulders. Kise had merely called out his name, and yet, the amount of guilt and humiliation that came with it affected Midorima greatly.
"Kise, leave." Midorima said, unable to think of anything else. He wasn't thinking at all, actually. He hadn't been since they came here.
Akashi's fault. It was Akashi's fault.
Kise squeezed himself between the two infuriated students. The dark look Midorima was giving him sent shivers down the model's spine. He decided to deal with his former teammate later. He saw the look on Ben's face and knew his new friend was a bigger priority.
Yesterday, Felix had given Kise a bit of background.
"He's had anger issues since he was a child. Could never keep himself in check, could never hold it in like everyone else. He would always explode at the smallest thing and he knew that. He knew it so well that he even went to anger management class by himself. His parents didn't want him to, but he did anyways because he wanted to fix his problem."
Kise was shocked at the news. "So that's why he looked so angry when we played that time." He gave the Swede a sheepish look.
He merely shrugged it off. "We're over it, it's fine. But, yeah. Ben and I are childhood friends, so I know a lot about him. He's gotten better, he really has. He doesn't lash out as much as he used to, doesn't have as many pet peeves as much as he did when he was a child, and he's truly doing his best to control his anger."
Kise had felt a terrible feeling pooling his gut. "But?"
Felix then sighed. "He has triggers."
"Triggers?"
"They're like pet peeves, but unlike pet peeves, which he can control most often times than not, he could never win against his triggers. He just loses control and becomes this wild animal thirsting for blood."
Kise had his eyes wide in shock. "Is it really that bad?"
"Sometimes it is. It gets really worrisome when he has a trigger and I'm not around. I'm pretty much the only person that can calm him down when he loses it. If I'm not there and something triggers his anger to the full extent, we don't know who might die."
"He can't really… Kill someone, can he?" Kise asked in a trembling voice.
Once again, Felix merely shrugged. "Last time he had a trigger and I wasn't there, he ended breaking the poor kid's leg and arm. He just loses his mind, I told you. He doesn't think because he can't. It's like his anger controls every aspect of his body."
"So, what do you normally do to calm him down?"
Felix hesitated then, and it looked like he was pondering whether to tell Kise or not. The blond could understand, though. They had just met literally a day ago, and it was not on the best terms as well.
Then, just when Kise had believed that he would be left in dark, Felix spoke. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be fair. Everyone else knows, so you should to." Kise was touched by those words. Though indirect, Felix had just said that the group considered the blond model as a friend. An actual friend.
Felix then sighed once more. He seemed to do that a lot, Kise noticed. "You have to remind him of his conscious, pretty much." At Kise's blank stare, Felix clarified. "He doesn't think, remember? He goes on instinct, like an animal or beast. You have to remind him that his anger doesn't control him."
"And how do I do that?"
Felix then smiled sincerely. That may have been the first time Kise saw such a look on the blond Swede in front of him. "Remind him of his happy place."
And so, here Kise was, putting his hands on Ben's shoulders and looking at him straight in the eye. He saw that Ben's eyes were distorted and a bit dilated, a clear sign of him not thinking straight at all.
When there was contact on his body, Ben immediately tried to retaliate but Kise's grip was too strong on him. He stayed in place as golden eyes stared at him intensely. Kise looked extremely serious, a look Midorima hadn't seen in a long time.
Then, he grinned big, just like in those two days and in middle school, and Ben's body relaxed slightly "Soon enough, we'll all be in the beach, hanging out with everyone until the sun sets, you know? We'll be playing beach volleyball, maybe even sand basketball, learn how to surf with Tiger's help, check out some good looking people, and drinking non-alcohol margaritas until the sun's gone and everyone's too tired to move. We'll all be together, just friends, and we're going to have the time of our lives."
Ben's body visibly slumped and his head fell. Kise still had his grip on his shoulders and he felt Ben trembling subtly. Kise was sure Midorima couldn't see.
"Friends?" Ben whispered and Kise nodded sincerely. Once, twice, even three times, just to let Ben Jones know that he had friends who deeply cared about him, not like when he was still in elementary school and he was isolated by his peers for his issues.
"He's traumatized as well, you know?" Felix added once he explained Ben's happy place. Kise looked at him with confused eyes.
"What happened?"
"He was rejected by everyone in elementary and middle school. No one could understand back then that Ben had a mental problem and they made him an outcast because of it. He never had any friends except me, and I couldn't be there for him 24/7. We were in different classes and every time I went to his classroom to eat together, he would, without doubt, be surrounded by his classmates and be pelted with whatever the kids had on their hands, whether it be rumpled papers or even their own lunch."
Kise saw the pain in Felix's eyes. He patted the Swede and both said nothing for a while. Then, Felix began to speak again. "He values friendship so much, Ryo. So much that he once told me that if I were to ever leave him, he would…" The pause was enough, even though Felix added something in the end. "I'd rather not say."
Kise had got it. Even now, as Ben kept repeating with a smile on his face the word 'friends', Kise got it. The excruciating pain of loneliness, the feeling of no one loving you, caring for you. Kise got it; not that he got it from personal experience (he was always surrounded by so many people) but through sympathy, through experience with someone close to him who had gone through the same thing.
"Come on, Ben. It's almost lunch time. Let's wait for everyone at the lockers." Kise suggested and Ben nodded weakly, still smiling. Kise shot Midorima a look that said 'don't go anywhere' and because Midorima had witnessed such an unbelievable scene, he just sat back down. Kise got that as him agreeing, and he ushered Ben to the lockers.
The bell rang, students flew out of the classrooms and to their respective lunch areas, and Midorima soon found lock of red hair popping out of a classroom again. He was still with the African-American, still smiling, still laughing, heading to the lockers were Kise and Ben were.
Midorima took this precious time blocking everything from his mind before Kise came to reassess what had just happened. Had he just provoked a mentally ill person? Had he really stooped so low as to intentionally mock the person and even get the motivation to start the fight? When had he become so… unlike himself? When did he become this monster?
Akashi's fault. It was Akashi's fault.
Midorima decided not to dwell on it. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't.
Kise came back quickly and with one look from those golden eyes, Midorima followed the model out the school building and towards the back entrance of the school, where it was definitely quieter with less students roaming the area.
Kise stopped and turned around, eyes unreadable but stance rigid. Midorima pretended not to notice and the two were surrounded by silence for a few moments.
Midorima spoke first. "You brought me out here. Now what?" He was cold, as expected, but his tone was different from his usual one. Midorima couldn't put his finger on it.
Kise didn't know where to begin. He decided to go with the obvious. "What is wrong with you, Midorimacchi? You're not the person to just up and provoke someone like that!"
Midorima harrumphed as he turned is head away from Kise's judgmental look. "He was the one that started it. I merely took precautions and picked the best possible outcome. He was the one who took it the wrong way."
"Really? Because it doesn't seem that way." Kise ran his hand through his head. "You couldn't have known about Ben's condition, and I get that. Fine, it was an honest mistake. But Midorimacchi, I just don't understand what is wrong with you lately. You're asking weird questions, coming to this school when it was obvious you hated everything about it, and now you're picking fights with people you don't even know? When have you ever picked a fight?"
What Kise was saying was all true. Yet his pride whispered to Midorima to still conceal it, ignore it, and pretend the guilt was never there. He glared as hard as he could. "I don't know what you're talking about. If we're going to talk about stupid ideas, then I'd rather not hear it. If that is all, I'm leaving."
Midorima began to walk away, extremely sure that if he stayed any longer, he would have to face something he really didn't want to face. He would leave quickly, talk to Kuroko briefly, just like he planned on doing, and go back to the summer house where he wouldn't see any foreign people until the day of the match, which was still in over a week.
But then, his steps stopped abruptly, the crackling noises of the stepped on grass subsiding instantaneously. His eyes grew wide as he slowly turned around and saw Kise's regretful face. He looked regretful, but both knew Kise was relieved to have said it.
But he didn't believe his ears. He asked again. "What did you just say?"
The regretful smile on Kise's face never left his features as he repeated the statement again; the statement that made every fiber in Midorima's body scream a simple 'no'.
"You've become just like Akashicchi." (Kise isn't speaking English here. The italics is just for emphasis.)
"A match. I request a match." Kagami turned around as he felt something grip his shoulder. Midorima Shintarou, one of the Generation of Miracles with peculiar hair and eyes, was glaring intensely at him, the grip becoming stronger.
Kagami wasn't one to back down from the glare. "Hah, what are you suddenly going on about? Why are you even here?" He asked, clearly not happy to see him. It had only been two days since the five Japanese students came to LA, and it had already taken a toll on his best friend. Even now, in the corner of his eye, he saw Kuroko visibly shaken.
Even though they and Kise had come to terms with each other after Kuroko had finally shown him what the real meaning of basketball was, it didn't do anything to Kuroko's mental state. Kagami was seeing the Kuroko from when they had first met, reclusive, barely talking, and disappearing purposely to avoid any conversation. Kuroko was talking less and less, and Kagami was pissed because it had taken forever to get the phantom man to open up. And now, these foreigners were ruining all of his and everyone else's hard work.
It didn't help that this person standing right in front of him, towering over him (as if that were possible), had also caused Ben a great deal of pain. Felix had all informed the group what Ben had, and Kagami could never forgive someone who would intentionally trigger that.
"A match." Midorima repeated and by this time, everyone who was with them at the lockers were looking at them curiously, and some with guard. Felix had heard from Kise at lunch; he immediately moved his boy in front of Ben to cover the green-haired man from his friend's gaze. Thankfully, Ben wasn't paying attention.
"Why the hell would I agree to a match with you? After all you've done?" Kagami rejected with a cold voice and tried to shake off Midorima's grip but it just got stronger. Midorima wasn't relenting, that much Kagami could see.
"I request a match."
"I'm telling you I don't want to. School just finished, and we're going to celebrate by going to the beach. Now, let go, asshole."
"Kagami-kun." Kagami jumped and Midorima's eyes narrowed to where the voice was. He soon found Kuroko, when in the beginning, he couldn't.
"Don't worry, Tetsu. Let me just handle this bastard and we'll go." Kagami reassured but Kuroko was shaking his head.
"A match will be of no harm." Kuroko said surprisingly and even Midorima was a bit shocked at his words. Honestly, with all the damage the Generation of Miracles had done, he would have thought that Kuroko would back Kagami up. He didn't really think this method would work.
"What? Why?" Kagami asked in confusion and when Kuroko gave him a blank look, Kagami sighed and nodded. "Fine. Let me ask the rest." He turned to the others and mentally did a head count. Eddy, Felix, and Ben had all agreed to the party. He then also remembered Sebastian, who had returned to school, and he still had to get a response from his brother, Himuro Tatsuya, who wasn't actually his brother but definitely felt like one. He was sure Kise was going to join them; regarding the blond, Kagami was still iffy about but everyone else had accepted him, so he was going to go along with it for now.
"Guys, this guy here wants to have a match with us." Kagami said while pointing at Midorima, who had now let go of Kagami's shoulder and was standing up straight and confident.
The others looked at the Japanese and Ben finally caught the green hair. He pushed Felix away from him before Felix could do anything about it and glared. "If you think for a second that I'm going to be playing against this fucking ass, you're going to have to find someone else."
Midorima looked at him like he was just a speck of dust. Felix knew what was coming, so he grabbed Ben's arm and dragged him away before anything could turn worse. Inside, however, Felix was fuming as well.
While those two left, the others didn't look so hot on the plan. Eddy stepped up. "I don't know, Tiger. I mean, we had a whole day planned out ahead of us. It's only noon and we have until evening to full-start the summer vacation."
"I was really looking forward to those non-alcohol margaritas, you know?" Sebastian, a grey-haired, slightly smaller than Kagami, student said with a sheepish smile. He had a few piercings in his ears that Midorima couldn't help but look in detest and he even looked like the mischievous type.
"Please." Kuroko suddenly said and everyone directed their attention to the smallest of the group. It wasn't every day Kuroko voiced his opinion. "It could be a 20 minute game, just like we did with Kise."
"TK, why are you so intent on having a match with him?" Ben said from behind, Felix just a step behind. Kuroko looked at his brown-haired friend for a second. His eyes were lit up with fire from the absolute disgust of even the mere idea of breathing the same air as Midorima. Kuroko wondered just where things had gone wrong, where he had gone wrong.
"Please." Was the only explanation he could give and the desperation was visible enough for even Eddy, the oblivious one, to figure out immediately. They all sighed, unable to say no to such a plead from their most cherished friend, and nodded.
"Fine, just for TK." Eddy said as he gave the phantom man a tired smile.
"I always hated when you sacked those baby blue eyes on me, TK. Not fair, not fair at all." Sebastian commented and Kagami pushed him jokingly.
"Yes, because you obviously don't do the same with your own blue eyes." Kagami said while rolling his eyes. Sebastian smiled like a cat.
Felix sighed and refused to smile but still agreed. Then, they all looked at Ben, who was hesitant in his movements. He was about to say no, he really was, but as he saw Kuroko's blank blue eyes staring into the depths of his soul, he just couldn't say the word.
Instead, "If you think for a second that I'm going to play a game with this ass, I refuse… I don't mind waiting, though." Ben reluctantly said and Kagami punched him on the shoulder, Sebastian ruffled his hair, and for once, Kuroko gave him a small smile. It physically hurt Midorima to see such emotion coming from Kuroko.
"Hey, why are you guys still here? I was waiting forever for you to come out!" Someone suddenly shouted from across the hallway and they all saw Kise, the blond beauty, running towards them with sweating pouring down his neck. When he saw Midorima, he hesitated in his steps.
"Midorimacchi?" Kise asked, scared. Midorima said nothing, merely glared. They hadn't talked after what Kise had said. Midorima didn't think he was going to any time soon.
"Sorry, Ryo. We were sorting something out. This guy here says he wants a match, so we're going to the gym. Want to join?" Eddy explained and Kise looked taken aback. In hindsight, Kise should've expected Midorima to ask. He did the same thing, after all.
"Sure, of course. But how would we divide the teams?" Kise said and the group stared at one another. Ben wasn't going to be part of the match, Kuroko and Kagami obviously needed to be in the same team because they had already been through this with Kise, and there was an odd number, meaning that one of them couldn't play and would have to keep score instead.
Before another person could volunteer, Kise raised his hand. "I'll keep the score board."
The others, especially Midorima, looked at him in confusion. "I thought you'd be the first to play with Tetsu." Kagami commented in Japanese surprisingly. Kise shrugged and looked at the teal-haired student next to him.
He smiled. "Well, it'd be too lopsided. Besides, I think we all know what Kurokocchi's planning on doing." He nudged Kuroko and he gave him a grateful look. He then turned back to the rest of the people, who were all lost in the Japanese language.
"So, I'll keep the scoreboard. How are you going to split the teams?" Kise got back to the topic, and everyone looked at each other unsurely. By this time, every other student in the school was gone, ready to prepare for the long summer in LA.
"I guess we can have Felix, TK, and Tiger in one team, and me, Sebastian, and uh… What's your name again?" Eddy asked awkwardly and Midorima clicked his tongue.
"Shintarou Midorima."
"Jesus christ, that's a hard name. Mind if we just call you Shin?" Eddy asked in a good-natured way and Kagami snickered in the background at Midorima's facial expression. Honestly, he was starting to get reminded of Takao and his incessant annoyance.
"I -" Midorima was going to disagree but Kagami hit him on the back hard. Midorima staggered for a second, unable to say anything more from shock than pain, and looked at the red haired with wide eyes.
"I think that's a perfect nickname for him. Let's go to the gym and finish this." Kagami quickly ended the discussion and everyone headed towards the gym. This time, the ones lagging behind were Kise, Midorima, Kagami, and Kuroko. They said nothing for a while, just listening to the chatter up ahead.
Then, "Why did you come back, Midorima-kun?" Midorima had to hide a wince as he heard the accusation in Kuroko's voice.
"I wanted to finish this once and for all. I am sick and tired of this place and nothing would make me happier than to go back. Unfortunately, Akashi," Midorima's face twisted into disgust, which everyone was able to notice, "won't do that until you come back with us."
"So?" Kuroko asked in monotone. Midorima hated that.
"Make a deal with me. If I win this match, you will come with us back to Japan immediately."
"Hey, what the fuck are you say?" Kagami shouted and the ones in front stopped to see why Kagami had suddenly yelled. He gave them a sheepish smile and gestured at them to keep going. While they were still uncertain, they began to walk again.
Kagami turned back to Midorima and hissed, "What the fuck do you think you're doing, trying to take Tetsu away from us?"
"He was never yours to begin with. Stay out of it." Midorima hissed back. He then turned to Kuroko, who was silent throughout the ordeal. Before he could open his mouth, Kise interrupted.
"Midorimacchi, wait a second. Don't you think you're going a bit too far? We're going to have the match in two weeks, so I don't think we need to -"
When it was clear that Midorima was not listening - or refusing to listen - Kise couldn't help but looked extremely hurt. Midorima pretended not to see.
"It is alright, Kise-kun. I accept." Kuroko said after a moment's silence. The instantaneous reaction of Kagami was enough to make the whole group stop again.
"Tetsu, are you out of your mind?" Kagami screamed but Kuroko didn't look fazed like the others. Instead, he gave his partner a level-headed look and Kagami calmed down slightly.
"Do you believe we will not win against Midorima-kun?" Kuroko asked simply and Kagami froze. He then bit his lip before smacking his cheeks with his hands hard. The sound resonated throughout the empty hallway and made most of the people jump.
"Right, sorry, Tetsu. I'm the idiot for even remotely thinking that we wouldn't be able to do it." Kagami answered, ignoring his stinging cheeks.
"Ok, now I really need to know what's going on back there." Eddy commented as he put his hands on his hips. He gave Kagami and pointed look, which Kagami returned with a huge smile.
"Nothing, dude. Just clearing my head."
Felix scoffed. "I don't believe you for a second, but thanks for trying." And then it was back to walking.
When they finally arrived to the gym, all except Midorima and Kise began to set up for the game, such as lowering the basket hoops and bringing out the basketball. Kise stood there awkwardly next to Midorima, unsure of how to begin a conversation.
Midorima said nothing, not even looking at the blond, and saw that Kagami and Kuroko were beginning to talk. He strained to hear what they were saying but to no use.
"So, what's this dickhead's power?" Kagami asked as he brought out the scoreboard.
Kuroko look focused. "Midorima-kun is a shooting guard. He has never once missed a shot."
Kagami's eyes widened. In basketball, the probability of the ball going inside the net was only about 60%, maybe even less. The amount of dedication and practice the person must go through to get even remotely close to 80% was impossible to do. Was Kuroko really saying that Midorima Shintarou had a probability of 100% to get the ball inside the basket?
"You're kidding."
"I am not."
"No one has that kind of ability. No one can really shoot that well and have it always go in."
"Kagami-kun, you forget that Midorima-kun is one of the Generation of Miracles. They are blessed with great talent, just like you and your jumping strength."
"But no one can shoot without missing at least one!"
Before Kuroko could refute him, as well as adding one more important information about the green-haired shooting guard, Eddy called them to the middle, where everyone was waiting. They all glanced at one another, mostly eyeing Midorima and his haughty expression, and Kise held the ball.
"Ready?" He asked and the six people on the court nodded. Ben crossed his arms and silently watched.
Kise threw the ball in the air and Kagami caught it before Midorima could. Midorima was surprised at the high jump Kagami could do, but focused on the match, knowing a slight mistake would cost him the game, and ultimate his freedom. Kagami passed it Felix, who then passed it back to Kagami when he was back on the ground. Quickly surpassing Midorima and Sebastian, he jumped for the net and easily scored 2 points. Everyone gave him a quick pat on the back before resuming the game. Sebastian took the ball from the corner and passed it to Eddy, who then dribbled slightly before giving it to Midorima, who was in the center line. He made no move whatsoever, not even when Eddy gestured at him to pass it to him; he just took the ball and before Kagami could go and block, Midorima had already thrown the ball and slowly, the ball came straight down into the basket.
The gym was silent as everyone except for two began to process what had just happened. What they had just seen was unbelievable; the uninvited Japanese had shot from the center line, even farther away than the three-point line, and with an impossibly high arch, the ball accurately fell down through the net.
A few seconds passed before clamors spread.
"What the fuck was that?"
"Did he really just shoot from the center line and actually got it in?"
"What is up with that arch? How the fuck did he score with that kind of arch?"
"Kagami-kun." Kagami fell out of his stupor when he heard Kuroko passing by. He quickly looked to see Kuroko running to the ball, which was under the net. "Please start running." Kagami nodded as he rushed to the end of the court, where their basket was at. Kise blew his whistle, already used to such a sight, and the game resumed. Kuroko took the ball and Midorima got ready to block Felix, who was closest to him.
Kuroko was supposed to pass to the blond haired Swede; at least, that was what Midorima had thought. Instead, the phantom man began to rotate his body quickly with the ball in his hand, and before Midorima could understand what was going to happen, Kuroko let go of the ball and, like a canon, sliced through the court and right into Kagami's hand.
The red head, who was waiting on the other side of the court, scored another two points, bringing them to a 4, compared to Midorima's 3. Another rush of noise swept the gym. They all swarmed Kuroko in awe and surprise.
"What the fuck was that?"
"Did the ball just passed the entire court? TK, what the fuck? When could you do something like that? Do that with me next time!"
"What is up with you Japanese people, getting all the cool powers for basketball?"
Midorima interrupted the compliment-fest as he glared down on Kuroko. He responded back with a blank look.
"Kuroko…" Midorima growled, angry that he was so caught off-guard.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to win, Midorima-kun. I like being here. You cannot make me leave." Kuroko answered back and Midorima felt a slight stab inside him. He harrumphed to hide the hurt before going back to the center line. He would have to be more careful from now on, if he wanted to win against Kuroko and finally go back to Japan.
Akashi's fault. It was Akashi's fault.
The match was even-leveled, although Sebastian and Eddy were getting immensely frustrated with Midorima's in-cooperation to work together. When Kise witnessed this, he couldn't help but wince at his own personal experience. Had he always been that arrogant?
Midorima was slowly clawing up points, making precise calculations on when to shoot his impossibly long but accurate three-pointers. Kagami was also getting frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't block those Sebastian finally called for a time out, almost 7 minutes into the game, Kagami went to Kuroko for advice.
"How do you even block that kind of shot? It's too fucking high! That arc is not for basketball!" Kagami complained as Kuroko took a sip of water from his water bottle. He then looked at Kagami as if he were an idiot (but then again, that could've just been his imagination and didn't actually see the small eye roll Kuroko did), and it took several seconds for Kagami to understand.
He smacked himself on he head. "Right, I can just keep jumping until I can catch up to that bastard." He looked at the other team, where Eddy was trying to get Midorima to cooperate with them, but to no avail. "I admit, those shots are incredible. Who would've thought that he could shoot from the center line and actually make it in?"
"Kagami-kun, I told you before. Midorima-kun never misses a shot. Not even when he's in the center line. That is his specialty. However, we are lucky that that is his limit to where he can shoot. He never shoots if he knows that there might be even a slight possibility of not getting it in."
Kise's eyes widened at Kuroko's words. Of course he wouldn't know, Kuroko was in LA the entire time everyone else was evolving. "Kurokocchi, wait, you -"
Ben nudged Kise and he realized that the time out was over. Kuroko gave him a curious look but ran back to the court. Kise bit his lip in nervousness as the game started once more. Eddy sighed and Kagami patted his back.
"No luck?" Kagami asked and Eddy rubbed the back of his neck from the stress.
"Didn't even bother to listen."
Slowly, as the second quarter started, Kagami's team began to lead. Eddy and Sebastian were close to giving up on trying to get Midorima to pass the ball to them, and slowly, Midorima was getting desperate. He needed to win.
So, he finally decided to use his trump card. He knew he would get tired immediately, but Kagami was catching up to his shots and soon enough, he would be able to go par in par with Midorima, something the green-head refused to have. Midorima distinguished Kagami's talent the moment they jumped at the start of the game. The red head just kept going higher and higher, to the point where Midorima was actually feeling threatened.
As Kagami went in for the dunk, Midorima was waiting for him, ready to pounce. Due to the advantage of Midorima's height, being a full 5cm taller, he took the ball from Kagami, and as both fell down, Midorima was the first to recover.
Kagami and the others, even Kuroko, watched with wide eyes and Midorima didn't begin to dribble to the center line for another shot. They watched as his body molded into that of his perfect shooting form and even though he was at the end of the court, opposite to the basket, Midorima still prepared to shoot. And everyone watched, whether from surprise or dread or both, as the green-haired prodigy shot the ball at an immensely high arch and slowly, ever so slowly, the ball finally fell straight into the net, earning Midorima's team another three points.
The gym was silenced once more. This time, not even words of complete shock could come out of the students' mouths.
Then, "I will win, Kuroko." Midorima said simply and Kise blew the whistle to keep the game going. He was scared for Kuroko's team. Midorima Shintarou had finally revealed his trump card: his endless shooting range.
The shock was overwhelming, to say the least, but once the shock was over, Kagami was more than determined to stop Midorima and his seemingly impossible shots. He looked for possible solutions, outcomes, and with a little help from his partner and shadow, he smiled.
With his still growing jumping power, little by little, he began to close the gap between MIdorima's shoots and Kagami's hand, which went higher and higher.
Midorima didn't even know until it happened. The ball, as he shot it, was slightly touched by Kagami's finger and the ball, unlike the other times he shot, hit the rim a few times before going in. Felix was the first to comment on it.
"That was amazing, Tiger. With a bit more, you can block him." The unwavering trust and confidence of Felix was enough to set Kagami riling. Soon enough, with just a little bit more, he was finally able to stop Midorima's shooting.
"You always took longer as you were farther away from the basket. Anyone could catch up at this point." Kagami commented as he passed Midorima. The prodigy swallowed a lump in his throat as he got ready to defend.
And from there, it all went down hill for the green-haired, overly prideful, Japanese student.
It was too much to handle; he didn't have Takao and his precise passing nor did he have a lessened pride to work with others. The other team, on the other hand, were like cogs beautifully working with each other to make each pass, shot, and score work to their favor. Their smooth transitions felt like the rotating cogs to make the machine work, and Midorima could see right before his eyes; Kuroko was smiling as he sent another pass to Kagami Taiga.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up, and finally, the whistle rang and the score was 68 to 66 in favor of Kuroko's team. Everyone, regardless of which team they were in, cheered for the freak duo, and Midorima was left alone as he processed the score.
Kise walked up to him with his hands behind his back, still awkward but determined to make things work again. He cautiously approached the reticent man. "Are you ok, Midorimacchi?"
There was no word from him again, and Kise hated the pain in his chest. Was Midorima really never going to talk to him again?
The blond tried to reach out to the shooting guard but he immediately shook it off. Instead of staying in the gym, he fled to where Kise and he had been at lunch. He didn't know what this flooding emotion was but it was enough to make several tears leak out. He quickly wiped them away but as they left, others replaced them, and soon enough, Midorima couldn't stop crying.
He was glad he ran away from the scene before anyone could see him unable to contain himself. He was not himself, he was not who he thought he was. He was not strong enough to win a game, much less bring Kuroko back. Could it be that had he relied on the two teammates he had, he would have had a better chance of winning?
Midorima froze as his tears halted in place. Was that what Kuroko truly wanted in the end? Was that why Kuroko wanted to play a match against him? Was Kuroko trying to help him all this time?
The small voice in his head repeating the words 'Akashi's fault' grew smaller and smaller until it was no longer there. Instead, there was another voice replacing it, telling him to take responsibility, to right the wrong.
"You ok?" A voice called out from behind and Midorima didn't have to turn around to recognize that it was Ben, of all people.
"What do you want?" Midorima asked hoarsely, trying his best not to let his voice crack.
"I wanted to see how you were doing. You just suddenly ran out, you know? TK's really worried." Ben said without moving from his spot. He couldn't see Midorima crying, and maybe Ben knew but respected that Midorima didn't want anyone seeing him. Suddenly, memories flashed of the incident earlier in the day and Midorima felt tremendous guilt that before, his pride had refused to let him feel.
"I'm ok."
"Really? Because it doesn't seem that way to me. Did you honestly think you could've won without anyone's help? Did you honestly think that you could win with your skill alone?" Ben asked but there was no accusation in his voice, only curiosity.
Midorima was silent for a second, Then, he answered. "I did. i believed all those things, but I was wrong in the end." There, he had finally swallowed his pride.
Ben must've sensed that as well because he moved from his spot, slowing going closer to Midorima, hit him on the back once without looking at his face.
"Good, because I would've kicked your ass if you still didn't get that. Come back to the gym when you're ready. We'll be waiting for you."
Midorima was confused. "Why would you wait for me? Just go and do whatever you were planning on doing. Didn't I interrupt your day?"
Ben shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Just hurry up. Felix might not seem like it, but he actually gets really impatient. We wouldn't him to be grumpier than he actually is, you know?" When Midorima said nothing in return, Ben began to walk away. His hands were on his head and he was feeling more refreshed than he had ever been.
And when he heard a small yet powerful, "I'm sorry for what I did," from the prideful Midorima Shintarou, Ben felt like he was on top of the world.
"Just hurry up. You never tried LA style non-alcoholic margaritas, right?"
Later on that day, Midorima sat next to Kise with his non-alcoholic margarita, occasionally contributing to the story Kise was telling about the one time Kuroko stopped a robbery from happening.
It was no longer Akashi's fault. He was his and his alone, and now, he was taking responsibility for it. He was finally righting the wrong.
So, what did you guys think? Good, bad, meh? Tell me in the reviews!
Did I make Midorima a bit too OC? If I did, I'm sorry. I really didn't know where I was going with this; the story just took me here, I swear. Other than that, we are finally done with Midorima. Guess who might be next? :)
Please tell me if you would like to see a KnB remake of my Haikyuu story because that story is one of my all time favorites and it's not really getting any love. (I'd also like to see the story in an AoKaga perspective). Also, like I said before, please await my other story (and no, I'm not even going to say the title of the story, but it'll fit perfectly with it)
Also, thanks for enjoying that beautiful April Fools joke :) I'm sorry if I angered any of you
Peace,
FlyAndDontLookBack