[Kise's POV]
"Teiko! Member change!" The referee shouted as I jogged towards the bench.
"Nice dunk, Kise-kun." She complimented and gave me a drink when I reached the bench.
"Arigatou, Hana-cchi." I thanked her and got the drink. I smiled at the compliment.
She's Hanagasaku Kagachie. Cousin of Momoicchi. Long Magenta haired, orange eyes, same height as Momoicchi and my closest friend. (That is a girl) She's been in the basketball club longer than me and also helps Momoicchi in gathering datas and projections. Goody two-shoes and so cheerful. I call her Hana-cchi instead of her whole last name which is quite a mouthful.
" IKEEE, TEIKO!" she was excitedly shouting and jumping up and down. I chuckled a bit at her extreme cheering.
"Hana-cchi, calm down. You're getting carried away again." I pulled the hem of her shirt a little as indication to calm her.
"Demo I have to cheer for the team! " she whined but at least, took my advice and sat beside me. Nonetheless, she cheered again only this time, she was cheering and waving her hands up.
"You're like our personal cheering squad."
She grinned at me cheekily, "Well, except for you. You have your own cheering squads right there." She pointed at some direction that I followed with my sight.
"Ehhh?! BRING BACK KISE-KUN! PLAY-PLAY, KISE-KUN!~"
"KISE-KUN! KISE-KUN! FIGHT!~"
"GO, GO, KISE-KUN!~"
"FIGHT, FIGHT, KISE-KUN! UWAAAA!~~WE LOVE YOU! ~~"
I sweat dropped at the screams of my cheering fans. 'She does have a point. '
"Teiko, time out!" the referee shouted and our teammates started to walk here.
"Ah, That was sugoi, Aomine-kun! Here, have a drink!" Hanacchi immediately went to him and gave him a drink which he accepted.
I looked away and my stomach lurched.
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["Ah, That was sugoi, Kise-kun! Here, have a drink!"]
Damn. I missed that line.
.
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"Sankyu, Hana." Aominecchi uttered and after drinking it, gave it back.
"Anytime!" she smiled and cheerfully got the drink.
The buzzer finally signaled for us to continue. I stood and jogged towards the court when,
"Ganbatte, Aomine-kun!" she shouted and flashed him her brightest smile.
I stopped for a moment and bit my lip, 'If we had a different scenario…
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.
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'would I be the one to receive that sweetest goodluck? '
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Suddenly, someone smacked me on the head hard.
"Ow! Kurokocchi! You didn't have to hit me that hard!"
"You should focus on the game. You're spacing out.."
I sighed, getting the meaning behind that smack and focused again on the game.
[Flashback…]
She was absent for 3 days and I was pretty busy the next week. It was after two weeks that I saw her again, back to her normal self and cheering like she used to. It was actually hard to approach her. It was awkward because of the recent confession she did. But I was shocked when she approached me while I was doing some stretching exercises,
"Anou…K-Kise-kun? I-I'll help you with that." She was nervous and the way she said was more like a question.
It was hard for me how to respond, "S-Sure." And let her push me on the back as I stretched on the floor.
"Kise-kun…" she was whispering, probably too shy, but I kept my mouth shut to let her continue.
"I know this will be awkward because of the….c-con-confession…but I don't want our…friendship to end…" she was having a hard time but her effort made me smile a little.
"I-I understand if it's not like before…but I just want us to stay…" Hanacchi trailed off.
"Hai. We can stay as friends." I looked at her, offering a friendly smile.
Hanacchi smiled in relief and smiled back, "Arigatou, Kise-kun."
Renewing our friendship was quite awkward at first and neither of us talks in a carefree way the way we used to. Starting with 'Hi's and 'Hello's but time by time, we started to open up to each other and we started to go home together since our streets are the same and our houses are quite near each other. It was not a problem to my girlfriend that time because she goes home earlier than I am. In 3 months time, we were back to our normal self again and hanging out with the whole team again.
I won't deny that despite the 'confession' she made before, I was still close to her. No, We became closer. I don't pretty much remember how but I know that she has been my partner in crime in every prank we're trying to pull and even got…well…we actually experienced Akashicchi's wrath before. Being brainy got her off the hook and left me being tortured by Akashicchi the whole afternoon. -_-
The only one who, most of the time but sometimes still get surprised, feel Kurokocchi's presence. Her devilish training menus earned her respect from among the team but her cheerful personality earned her the string of closeness to the team. She was the team's little sister. Besides all these, she's also emitting a 'charm' that attracted most of the stringers to participate: Kindness, gentleness and her uplifting smile. I already have two older sisters but, I swear, I wouldn't mind having her as a sister. I've always wished for a baby sister before because I was always the one my sisters antagonize when I was young. Making me wear girly clothes and act like a girl. TT_TT
"Ja, Satsuki-chan." She bid last and ran towards where I was standing.
We walked for a while, joking around and talking about the next magazine I'll shoot by next week.
I suddenly remembered something, "You're cousins with Momoicchi, right?" I asked in curiosity.
"Yup. Why did you suddenly ask?"
"Nehh….So…You're childhood friends with Aominecchi?"
"Ah… H-hai." She looked down and stuttered. She stopped from walking.
Wait…stuttered?
"Wait a minute. Is there something wrong?" looking at her, I raised an eyebrow.
'Why is it I feel like…I'll hear something bad?'
"Kise-kun…I think…" she trailed off, unsure and uncertain of what to say. After some minutes of recovery, she looked up to me and breathed in determination.
"I think I like Aomine-kun already." Hanacchi was flustered and her eyes were shining with…what do you call it?...Admiration.
My eyes widened, "Oh…" I was too shocked to say anything, speechless even.…
I feel so nauseated and feel my heart suddenly twist into a sickly knot. 'Where does this sting I'm feeling right now coming from?' I didn't know what to say.
"I see." I muttered in monotone. I honestly don't know how to react, "Since when? I-I mean, how?" I didn't know why those words came out of my mouth unconsciously.
"I..He's been my childhood friend like Satsuki-chan. After you..um..rejected me, I-I tried to lose myself into…" she was embarrassed but continued, "Basketball. Instead, I started to hate it because…" looking at me, not sure if she should continue.
"It's alright, Hanacchi." It came out more of a whisper. Everything inside me was the exact opposite, though.
"Well…but Aomine-kun..somehow..he helped me. His passion for basketball was…Amazing. I suddenly realized that I was starting to admire him. But this time, it's not like the admiration I felt when we were young. He was the first one to teach me basketball before, together with Satsuki-chan, after all. It was more like... "
I was afraid of the next word she'll say. I was desperately trying to tune out the next word she'll say. My mind was brave enough but I can't say the same for my heart. 'Please don't.' I was begging but everything I heard was all crystal clear to my ears…
"I was falling for him…unconsciously."
Everything changed that day. Somehow, my view of her as a sister was suddenly changed. I feel…defeated. I feel lost.
All I know is…
I'll never feel the same again.
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So you…already have chosen another road already, huh? Was I too late to realize my mistake?