Yay another update
And I'm sure that some of you may have noticed but…
I have a nasty habit of starting new stories hehe
But I'll make sure not to abandon any of them any more
I promise that the last one I uploaded will be the last…
At least, long term stories, I didn't say anything about one/two/possibly…5 shots ^^
Well that's all I wanted to say
Now, We Start!
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me, and I do not belong to it, though sometimes I wished it ruled my life… haaa~ jk but seriously I don't own it
Chapter 6: Can't Be All Bad
The sempai had struggled through the game and they managed to scrape some last minute shots but they were still in vain when they final score came up. They had lost to their kouhai, 26 – 78. The gym was dead silent when the final buzzer had rung. No one wanted to say a single word with fear that they may insult either team if they did, therefore they all remained silent. Even the juniors felt a bit guilty, defeating their sempai with such a surprising and large point difference.
The referee then blew his whistle and called for both teams to line up. "Bow!" He exclaimed and they all did.
"Thanks for a good game." They all said in unison. When they were dismissed, neither team moved. They just stayed completely still, waiting for the other to either say something or leave first. Kaibara and Akashi both just stared at each other eye to eye. Akashi surely had nothing to say but the same couldn't be said for the captain.
Everyone just stared on in the awkward silence, waiting for someone to say a word, any word or even a noise. The silence was eating at them, and made them all nervous for they couldn't move or leave the gym without making noise. So they were all forced to stay and witness whatever happened next. The regulars were probably the worst off as they were all humiliated by the junior amateur players. Hibiki couldn't take the silence anymore and was about to say something when Kaibara finally did.
"It seems like your team had won. I guess you were right when you said that we were lacking in something and this game helped me realize what it was. It was my fault guys, I'm sorry I let you down." Kaibara apologized. Everyone in the gym let out a sigh of relief as the tight atmosphere was broken.
"No taichou, if anything, we were the ones who let you down." Shiba said to him.
"I still can't believe we lost this badly to a bunch of newly graduated grade school kids." Hibiki didn't sound as happy.
"If you don't like it, then you'll just have to train harder for it and request a rematch in the future with the new regulars." Mori said as he walked towards the boys.
"Hold on, you mean we can stay in the club?" Yoshida sounded relieved.
"But you all agreed that if you lost, you would walk." Akashi said to them again.
"But the coach just said..." Yoshida was getting confused.
"I'm aware of what the coach has said but that doesn't change the fact that we've had a deal. You lost so you will all walk… Of course I wouldn't be stupid enough to tell you guys to beat it out of the club. After all, we'll need people to help develop the first year newbies." Akashi brushed the subject off as he led the team into the locker rooms.
"Yokatta ne, captain?" Momoi walked over towards the group of boys who all just looked at her.
Kaibara shook his head as he looked at her. "No, I'll be handing over the title of captain to Akashi." He said, looking at the redhead. "It's obvious that he's more suited to be the leader of this club and he'll be able to bring up our school team's status." He said with a hint of admiration.
"But leaving all of this to the first years? Is that really a good thing? People will laugh at us when they find them playing in the next game in two days instead of us." Hibiki objected.
"And they still are a newly formed team." Yagami pitched as well.
"Yes but if we were able to make it to the semis then imagine what they'll accomplish." Yoshida sounded optimistic about this as well.
"And they'll understand why they're playing instead of us, when others do get to play them." Shiba also noted. "But it's true that they're still developing, even Akashi, but that kid'll find his way to improve them all."
"So enough talk on this, we'll let them deal with the big stuff and we'll focus on preparing others for the future." Kaibara announced.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(alright, imma have to do a huge time skip here cuz I'm sure that most of you wouldn't really wanna see the whole development thing, the training and the games that they obviously win and really wish that Kuroko was a part of the chapters more. So imma do it, just a few flashes here and there... kk ciao!)
Two months have passed and the team had gotten used to Akashi as the new team captain... well, as used as they'd be to a crazy, scary boy who isn't afraid to show his sadistic side. The newly formed regulars have gone to the games, surprising the spectators as well as the teams who've come for scouting. The opposing teams were shocked as they prepared for their sempai and not for this team of freshmen. A few coaches had gotten angry at Mori-kantoku but he brushed it off by asking if they were afraid of losing to a bunch of inexperienced freshmen.
Of course, they had to take on the challenge since that's how the male pride thing works. And of course, in the end, they were just played, manipulated and defeated. The teamwork had gotten a bit better as the boys had gotten used to each other's quirks and habits both on and off the court. Akashi even set up a few team outings after games just so that they'd talk and trust each other more.
Midorima had rarely missed shots now as he had gotten used to the trajectories, the weight of the ball and the pressure that came with three pointers. Haizaki had gotten a few less fouls for the various things he tries to attempt, though in some cases, this wasn't a very positive point. Murasakibara was eventually forced to play in the center more, rather than charging into enemy territory but this was just strategy in Akashi's eyes. Aomine had improved as an all-around player and his street basketball form was made certain to not be forgotten, once again commanded by the team captain, since he found it advantageous and intriguing as he wondered how far the boy could go with this certain style.
Even Momoi had gotten better at scouting other teams, finding their weak points, practice schedules, habits and future growth possibilities. Though, she has yet to figure out how to put this into action when predicting their future game patterns or when the best time is to set up a practice game with other schools.
Kuroko had watched as they all grew in their own basketball ways. They'd been his motivation to keep playing, despite being the only third stringer in the history of the Teiko-chuu basketball club. He had wished that he could play with them at least once, despite the fact that he'd instantly lose; a fact that he knew was one hundred percent. Even still, he had seen their practices and was amazed at how they've improved in the two months that they've been present in the club.
(A/N: alright so I heard that school starts in April in Japan and then I guess, going by the manga, the first season of basketball or maybe sports in general, are up to the beginning of summer vacation. (which I'm guessing is the end of June) So that would make them maybe in the month of May. Plus, I have no idea how many games they're playing so imma let you guys decide how many alright? Though if we go with a game per week or maybe two games per week, and they'd started around the end of April, then we'll be at... 9 games in total I think... I dunno, something like that, well let's get back...)
It was the end of practice and everyone was getting ready to leave the gym. Practice only lasted for maybe two hours maximum after school so it was still pretty early in whatever part of the afternoon they had left; making the time around 5 o'clock. (I'm not sure how school works exactly so imma make it Canadian time frame ^^) They didn't have to lock up the gyms since the janitors were present until late at night.
Kuroko had thought of staying after practice to train a bit more, but never really thought of doing it seriously. Though, he really didn't have anything better to do when he leaves practice and usually, he'd find himself playing in the courts near his house. So, he might as well stay for a while longer. Kuroko knew that others have stayed after hours as well but it was just to play in their own mini games then head out after a few rounds. He didn't think much of joining them since one: they never really notice him, therefore, don't exactly know him and two: he knew he lacked the skills to actually keep up let alone aid his team in a game.
"It might be best if I just go towards the third gym and play by myself." Kuroko mumbled to himself and headed off in that direction. He had taken a ball and his water bottle with him and then immediately started to bounce the ball around a bit. He training on his agility with the ball as well as his ball handling and dribbling.
He loved the feel of the ball in his hands, though he knew that he'd never score a basket with them. He tried to do a layup in practice earlier but he had failed to do so, a few times in a row. Some of the others had tried to show him where to throw the ball exactly on the backboard to assure that it would get in but he couldn't aim it very well. At other times, the ball just went up and then down, another attempt ended up with the ball going over the hoop and another, he had touched the spot that he was told to but that's all it was... a touch on the backboard then it fell.
"I think I need to put more power into the ball." He said to himself and looked at the hoop. He dribbled towards it and then tossed the ball into a layup but it just bounced off from underneath the ring. After a few attempts, he'd had enough for a while and just tossed the ball against the wall for a bit as he thought to himself. Eventually, instead of catching the ball, he got into this steady pace of him tapping the ball with his fingers, passing it towards the wall. Tap, hit, bounce, tap, hit, bounce, tap, hit, bounce... this continued until he had found it suitable to end it there for the day.
Kuroko had gone towards the gym after practice every single day after that. The first day that he'd decided to practice on his own was maybe a few days after the regulars vs. freshmen match and now a month had gone by in an instant. He'd even heard some of his teammates even commenting on some strange things happening in the third gym after hours. He knew that they wouldn't notice him, so he didn't make a big deal out of it, even when they started to make up a few points as well. He just continued on like that by himself until some curious boy had decided to wander inside after hearing said rumors.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(hey so now the time shall be in June... and let's say that Kuroko started practicing on his own in the beginning of May.)
Aomine had recently heard the strange rumors about what happens in the third gym when the day was over. Many people had told him that they'd seen it with their own eyes or have heard strange things when they walk by after practice.
One story was told by a boy who was walking with his friends after they'd finished their mini game after the regular practice. They'd all heard someone dribbling a basketball inside the gym and wondered if it was one of the court players, just playing for fun. They decided to check it out and see if they could join in on their practice when they had found no one inside; just a basketball bouncing on the floor by itself. Another one of his friends had said that they'd even heard the squeaking of the shoes and someone speaking quietly to themselves as well.
They'd gotten so freaked out that they'd reported this to the Kantoku but he reassured them, sternly, that there were never such rumors about the third gym before and warned them that it had better not be one of their pranks. They reassured that it was no joke and asked him to verify but when they checked, the gym looked as though it had never been used with nothing in sight.
Others have eventually witnessed these strange happenings and had eventually been caught onto by Momoi who told Aomine straight away, followed by others.
"I'll figure out what's going on with the third gym." Aomine said firmly to himself, determined to get to the bottom of this. Since he was young, he loved solving these sort of 'mysteries' as he'd called them and wouldn't believe a thing he's heard until he's experienced it with his own body, consciousness and eyes.
The time was now 6 pm and found the gym lights to be all on as he walked past the first. The reason why he had stayed so late today was because he'd been told by his teacher to stay later after school to make up an assignment and was later told by Akashi to make up for his loss of training by running extra laps after practice. He figured that if any day was good enough to verify this, it would be this day.
Now, Aomine had walked past the second gym and had the third plain in his sights. As he neared, he heard the familiar squeaks of basketball shoes and the dribbling of a basketball like the others had said. For some odd reason, the tanned boy was getting a bit excited by this feeling of experience as he walked closer towards the gym entrance. The door had been left open so as to let the air circulation flow throughout the gym and it was also perfect for him to sneak a peek inside.
He placed his hands on the door and took a deep breath before gazing into the gym. He snuck a peek from the side of the entrance and looked around for a bit, seeing only a water bottle on the bench beside a towel and a basketball bouncing its way towards him. He looked around but found no person and felt no presence in the gym. "I guess the rumors are true." Aomine felt a bit scared as he was about to pull away when he heard a voice.
"Ano..." Aomine froze behind the door as he looked for the source of the voice which he had verified to come from inside the third gym. "Would you please pass me that ball?" Aomine took another deep breath and hesitated to look around the door but he then gathered the courage to take a look inside the gym. But when he brought his head out from behind the edge of the door, he found himself staring face to face with a pale skinned, blue haired boy.
"Whaaaa!" Aomine screamed as he fell backwards. "It's the ghost haunting the third gym! Please don't hurt me!" He begged as the boy just looked at him then picked up the ball.
"There's no real ghost in this gym." He said with no noticable expressionin his voice, looking at Aomine with a deadpan expression.
"Huh?" Aomine looked up again and looked at him.
"You took too long so I came over and got the ball myself." He said and turned around to get back to his training. Aomine just looked at the boy curiously as he recognized him little by little until it had it him like a lightning bolt.
"Ah! Kuroko!" Aomine exclaimed while the boy just turned around to face him.
"Hai, Aomine-kun?" Kuroko just looked at him nonchalantly.
"Where have you been lately?" Aomine brightened up as he remembered the boy. "I haven't seen you around as much."
"I'm in your class." Kuroko's expression still hasn't changed though Aomine started to look a little sheepish by this point.
"Ah right..." He then cleared his throat as though he'd hoped that the air would get a little less awkward for him since Kuroko wasn't making it any better. "Well, sorry but with you and whatever's left of your presence, it's difficult to notice you. And I've been really busy with the basketball team... with the whole training and the games. But that doesn't really make it up does it?"
"..." Kuroko didn't say much of anything after that and just continued to dribble the ball.
"Hey, how about I practice with you for a bit? I haven't really seen you play before anyways, Satsuki never really speaks about you much either. But I guess that can't be helped since she was ordered by Akashi to investigate various places called 'enemy's territory'. Well, that's what he called it and says that she's the only one able to accomplish let alone do such a thing."
"Why would you play with me when you're a regular?" Kuroko looked at him in the eyes.
"Well, I don't mind playing with anybody I see, and just playing with the others gets boring anyways." Aomine gave the other a big smile.
"But I'm in the third string."
"I don't care what string you're in and I don't judge people by their positions either. If you love basketball then you can't be all bad right?"
"You talk too much." Kuroko just said and walked away with the ball.
"Hey! So does that mean I can stay?" Aomine ran after the boy as he started to ask about what he was up to lately.
"And don't talk to me like you haven't seen me since your college days." Kuroko just kept on brushing Aomine off until they eventually started to play together little by little.
Yessss, finished
And I had to end it there~
Shorter than normal yes but it's there
Well, maybe because I did the time skip and didn't want to get ahead of myself
But it's here! And please excuse the fact that I may have rushed this a bit
And for the fact that the middle time setting may be a little confusing
But just so we're clear, we're nearing the end of the tournament and we're in the month of June
Yes, kay bye! ^^
Owari desu~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
-Omake-
(I just love doing these... it gets really amusing after a while but it's a short one today, enjoy^^)
"Ano..." Aomine froze as he heard a voice call out to and looked around to find its source. "would you please pass me the ball?" Aomine then realized that the source was inside the gym. He hesitated as he leaned against the door then gathered his courage before looking over towards the other side.
"It's just your imagination... there's no such things as ghosts, there's no such thing." Aomine repeated to himself until he finally peered from around the edge and looked inside.
"Boo~" Kuroko said as he looked at Aomine, carrying a white sheet with two eye holes over his head. He was waving his arms over his head at the same time in order to make the ghost shape. Aomine just sweat dropped when he looked at him. He could imagine the deadpanned expression that Kuroko carried from underneath the sheet as he waved his arms to and fro.
"Tetsu! That's not how it's supposed to go!" Aomine exclaimed towards the boy.
"I'm the ghost that haunts the gym at night." Kuroko said in a monotone fashion.
"Cut it out, that's not funny! And your monotone doesn't make it any more scary!"