I sit there for a while, wondering how to get out of this predicament. I mean it's not that I'm in some uncomfortable position. Being nestled so comfortably between two very attractive males is pretty appealing, but I don't want to be caught in this position. I also don't want them catching each other like this, since it'll bring about yet another bout of frustration to the air. My stomach rumbles as a reminder that I need to eat, and these two boys will definitely eat more than both Kuroko and I combined. I squirm a little more and try to wriggle my way free from the two teens. It doesn't really work. In fact, I'd say it kinda backfires. I get bundled more tightly between the taller boys.
"K-Kuroko." I say with a strained tone of voice. "Help me." The sleepy bluenette opens ice colored eyes to stare at me lazily.
"No thanks." He replies, rolling to face away from me. I almost twitch in irritation.
"Kuro-"
"Shut up, Alex." Daiki groans. I resist the urge to smack the much taller player and the shorter boy by my feet. I sit in silence for a while longer, scowling, before I finally decide enough is enough.
"Everybody up!" I yell, squirming and bolting upright with a surge of angry energy. Kagami wakes with a start, hitting his head violently against the underside of the table and making empty takeout boxes fall into Daiki's face. Some leftover soy sauce drips onto his cheek, and Daiki wipes at it sleepily, groaning in discomfort. Kagami's head then slams into the floor as he releases a yell. His arm, which had previously been draped across my stomach, punches Daiki, who yells and hits his head on the table as well. I escape while I still have the opportunity, and barely manage to keep Kuroko from receiving a rather powerful kick to the head.
"Why is it so dangerous to wake up?" I groan mournfully, moving to pick up the takeout boxes and throw them away. As expected, not a single morsel of food has been spared, much to the dismay of my grumbling stomach. I sigh and toss away the boxes and wasted paper. When I come back, the two aces are glaring daggers at each other, sparks practically flying through the air.
"You always have to yell in the morning, huh?" Kuroko says with a sigh as I laugh at his atrocious bedhead.
"It's because you wouldn't help me." I groan in response. I get changed into my normal attire and yawn as I reemerge, watching the two players avoid each other. "Let's go get food. I'm hungry."
"I'm broke." Daiki grumbles. I check my wallet.
"I'm out. Cooking it is." I groan, pulling my hair into a ponytail. "Complain and I'll kick you off the balcony."
"You make a lot of threats for a kid who has trouble opening the cupboards." Kagami notes as I try to climb the counter in an effort to grab a measuring cup.
"Silence, Bakagami." I reply with irritation. "I didn't choose my shortness." Daiki snickers loudly behind me. "Oh, you got something to say, sassy pants?" Daiki glances away as he and Kagami stifle laughter. "Fine. I see how it is. None of you get my all-American secondary specialty!"
""But... I didn't do anything." Kuroko whines, retrieving the necessary ingredients I'll be using.
"Well... fine. You get some. Bakagami and Ahomine can go hunt for pigeons." I reply, giving the snickering duo the evil eye.
"You know you'll pretend to make extra and give me some anyway." Daiki says teasingly. I hit him with a spatula as roughly as possible.
"Maybe I'll spit in your food." I hiss, mixing my batter. "Besides, these aren't so great. Edible enough, I suppose. My burgers are a lot better compared to these." The batter is poured into the hot skillet, and I go on to work, frying up a flurry of pancakes. The smell of cinnamon and chocolate fills the apartment as I continue working, feeling my stomach grumble loudly.
I'm done quickly enough to avoid my legs hurting. "Daiki, you're on syrup duty. I have no idea where it went." I reply, plopping the hopefully adequate stack of breakfast on the table. "Kagami, I kind of assumed you eat about as much as Daiki, so hopefully it's enough. If you're still hungry, I'll make more."
Daiki takes a while to find the syrup, but I can't blame him since I didn't know where it was, either. Luckily, the container is new and unopened, so we don't have to worry about how old it is. It can't be that old anyway, since I ate pancakes last month and got drenched in syrup shortly afterward. It's a very long story, and it makes me laugh every time I think about it, but the long and short of it is that Daiki and I had a very competitive food fight that I lost since I started licking the syrup off whatever parts of me I could reach and forgot that throwing pancakes was still fair game. Good times, good times.
"No throwing syrup this time." I warn, narrowing my eyes playfully. Daiki snorts at the laughable comment and sits down clumsily, shaking the table as he grabs some sort of drink. I smile slightly and try to get the two similar players to get along with each other as time progresses.
"I'm really, really sorry if we got you in trouble." I say, walking with Kuroko and Kagami to their school so I can explain why they're so incredibly late. Daiki went to the arcade, and I agreed to meet him there sometime later, so he's a complete no-show. "I forgot how nice this campus looks. I so wish I coulda gone here."
"Why did you transfer on the second day anyway?" Kagami asks as we walk past the stream of students.
"Akashi transferred me. He apparently thought I should be on the Touou team. It's just as well, since Kuroko's playing style and mine are opposites." I reply, stretching my arms lazily. "Maaaan, I'm itching to play. I haven't been able to practice for a while now. I'm starting to get antsy."
"Can you play now?" Kuroko asks. I give the short shadow a wicked grin.
"Doc said I could play as long as I don't get injured. Since basketball is technically a no-contact sport he okayed it, although he was really unhappy doing so." I say with a grin. "I go back to practice tomorrow since I'm a little sore." Kagami's walking pretty far ahead of us, so we both have to hurry to catch up, jogging slightly so we don't fall too far behind him.
The gym here seems just as hopeful as it was the first time I walked in here. "Bakagami! Why didn't you show up to school? You, too, Kuroko!" There stands Aida Riko, coach extraordinaire, and a most terrifying sight. I enter hesitantly, several meters behind Kuroko.
"Sorry, Aida-san." I say politely. "They came to me for English tutoring last night, and we spent all last night and this morning working on it. They fell asleep in my living room, and my housemate and I didn't wake up until around noon." Aida's eyes soften somehow.
"Well, if it's for academics..." I bow apologetically.
"Sorry to inconvenience you." I say as my gaze drops to the floor. "It seemed really important, so..."
"Y-You don't have to bow! You aren't used to doing so anyway, aren't you?" Aida says with this strange, anxious voice. I straighten up.
"I've been here a while now. It doesn't bother me to bow to Japanese people when I have to." I reply smoothly. "If it were unnecessary or to someone I don't like, we would have issues." My eyes glide across the gym as I take note of the activity that buzzes about the gym. "Anyway, please don't blame Kuroko and Kagami. It's my fault that they didn't show up to class today."
"S-Sure." Aida says. Then something rockets to me with shocking speed. I barely manage to track it and catch it.
"You shouldn't throw things, Kagami." I say frostily, dribbling the ball absentmindedly. "I could've gotten hurt, you know."
"Gotten hurt my ass." Kagami says with irritation. "You played with them, right? Why don't we see how we measure up?"
"Hm? I came here to keep you out of trouble, not to play you." I say, passing the ball back to Kagami with more force than necessary. He stops the ball and rubs his hand. "Besides, I don't have my shoes or any clothes. If I had those, I would probably agree." Kuroko holds up an unusually familiar bag.
"Here." I blink with surprise before scowling.
"Why do you have my gym bag?"
"Kagami made me." I turn to the redhead.
"You're getting on my nerves, Bakagami. I haven't played for about a month, so you're really kinda irritating me. Do you have anything of equal value?" My lips curve into a bitter smirk. "I can't afford to play for free today. I owe Daiki a match on some arcade game."
"If I win, you play one on one with me for the next month." Kagami says. "You can decide what happens if I lose."
"Seems about equal." I say, taking my bag and leaving to change. When I return, all my hair is up except for my overgrown bangs. "I'll warn you, though. I'm not going to be beaten by a boy who can't spell particularly correctly." I glance to Kuroko. "A two bobby problem?" Kuroko smiles.
"I would give him three or four, Hai-chan. I wouldn't want you to underestimate him. Are you sure you should be playing? You're still recovering..." I give the small blue-haired boy a chilled look.
"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, Kuroko." I reply icily. I launch right into reading Kagami. "He's still not up to par with Daiki, but he'll do for today." I relent in putting in four bobby pins to keep my bangs back and lace up my shoes carefully. "You work with jumps, right? As great as that is for you and Daiki, I don't play the height game. Half court or full court, Kagami Taiga?"
"Don't matter to me." Kagami says, moving toward the center of the court.
"I haven't met such an excited person in a long time." I say, striding behind him purposefully. "Let's go full court. Hell, you can even have teams if you want. My blood is boiling with excitement." My lips widen in a larger, slightly terrifying grin. "I definitely won't lose to you now."
The game starts without warning as Kagami tries to breeze past me. Luckily, my short height comes into play. I duck out of his line of sight, steal the ball, and race toward the opposite side of the court, fending off Kagami with relative ease. I give a jump, and even though Kagami soon rises higher than I can, I drop to the earth faster than he can and shoot from the opposite direction. "Yours." I pass him the bouncing ball.
Kagami gives me a grin, his eyes narrowed. "I'll definitely beat you." My observation skills go into overdrive as I assess and manipulate, stealing and faking, running and chasing. Four jumps.
"It's clear what your limit is." I say flatly as I dribble and break away from Kagami. "You'll need to have more endurance if you want to beat either of us in this game." I manage a painful dunk. My chest is starting to ache from breathing hard, and sweat is dripping down the sides of my face. Bakagami isn't any better, to be honest.
"You think you can beat me? I refuse to lose to someone shorter than Kuroko!" Kagami declares loudly. I steal the ball from him and make him chase me. I eventually win our game to 21 at the score of 21-10.
Red eyes, staring at me widely with an expression I detest most in this world. "Don't look at me like that." I say with irritation. "You wanted a game, so I gave you one. Daiki would've taken this to another level since he's been waiting longer than I have."
Red eyes, staring at me with that clouded gaze. "Kagami..." Red eyes are narrowing in frustration. "You have a nice look in your eyes. I hope we play you formally." Red eyes are looking ashamed. I don't know what to do. "Kagami..." What do I do? I know I'll act impulsively, without thinking, and of course, I'll do something stupid. I kneel in front of him. "Look at me."
Red eyes staring at me with intensity I've never seen before; he doesn't move from his position on the bench. "That was probably my favorite game of one on one. Games with Daiki are like I have to keep up or eat dust, or like I have to beat him or I won't be good enough anymore. They're always desperate, hopeless, endless games that neither of us every win because we always hurt ourselves one way or another.
"Sometimes it's because he accidentally shoves me too hard, or because I'll trip him by accident and he'll fall and we'll stop. We always end up hurting each other. This game with you was much more fun. I didn't have to think that if I lose I'll end up being left behind, or that you might somehow magically rebreak my ribs or make me run so hard my legs collapse. I played the game this time because it was so much fun to see someone who loves playing. I don't want anyone to take that from you, okay? I don't think I've ever seen someone so passionate about basketball like you since Daiki walked away from games and Akashi snapped."
Red eyes are widening and staring at me with shock. "I never played this game because it's fun. I wish I'd gotten into the game because I love it. Instead, I did something stupid and played basketball to get back at the coaches that used me, and the teammates that left me when I took injuries for them. I got tired of having to dictate everyone's every move so they could get all the victories they expected. I did something stupid and joined Teiko's team so I could finally be the worst at something and have to push myself once more.
"Kuroko could probably go on for hours about all the mistakes I made, and how I was always angry and I never wanted to play. I was an absolutely horrible teammate to have, and I'm ashamed of that. I regret joining basketball every time I think of all those things I did because of my anger and my poor sportsmanship and my lack of skill and my poor determination.
"I don't know how you got into basketball. I don't know if you struggled, or if it was easy for you. I don't know if you always played this game, or if you picked it up recently like Kise. I don't know if this game has always been fun for you, and I don't know if you've ever thought of quitting, like I always did. What I do know, though, is that you have fun now. The way you play basketball reminds me of Daiki when he loved to play. There was always this huge smile, this brightness in his eyes. Daiki is only like me in the sense that he got tired of being good at something. He hasn't faced good opposition for so long that Daiki can no longer remember what it's like to play desperately, like I end up doing. He doesn't know how it feels to struggle to win, or what it's like to give something your all."
Red eyes are bright and alive and eager to compete. "I don't know you at all, Kagami. I know your written English sucks, and I know your teammates like you. I know Kuroko has faith in your abilities, and I know that you're loudmouthed and easily irritated and hotheaded. At the same time, Kagami, I think I know you very well. Playing with you is enough to tell me that you've practically poured your heart and soul into playing basketball. You're sincere and honest and maybe a little too easy to read, but you've got a lot of potential that I'd absolutely love to see in a game. You're somehow rough and gentle at the same time, and you're insanely stubborn when you refuse to give up."
Red eyes are smirking with cocky confidence. "Don't think I'll let you beat me so easily just because of one game of one on one, Heights." For some reason, finally hearing my last name spoken fully sends me over the moon with joy. My chest feels unusually warm and fuzzy, a most un-Alex-like sensation. "We're going to beat you at Inter High, and you can just watch us take first place." I stand toe to toe with the tall ace, grinning up at his nearly arrogant, slightly childish happiness. I resist the urge to hug him.
"Don't say things like that easily, Kagami." I say with a grin. "I might just hold ya to it and get my hopes up."
"I'll guarantee it for you, if you want." He says with an equally wide grin. "Since I lost, you better tell me what you want before I challenge you again." I pause for a few minutes, thinking and pacing thoughtfully as Kagami eyes me. "What should I ask from you? Can't be easy, otherwise it'll be too boring. Need something interesting..." My eyes widen as I realize that my answer is right before my eyes. I switch to English instantly.
"Taiga Kagami, are you sure you want to know what I want?" The redhead gives me a predatory smile.
"I lost, didn't I? Besides, I got a feeling this'll be good." He replies. I grin.
"I have two things I want you to do. If you want to beat us, you need more practice. I'll play one on one with you, but not because I'm pitying you. I like playing you. You give me something to look forward to." The redhead nods, narrowing his eyes as Aida looks at us with a frown marring her brow.
"What's the second part?" I grin and whisper in Kagami's ear, watching as his eyes widen and a smirk cuts across his face. "Oh? I thought that was already decided."
"Do your best." I say with a grin. "I can play you on Saturdays. Give me your phone." The redhead looks at me suspiciously before handing it over. Japanese phones are the weirdest things ever. I mean it in the nicest way possible, but I hate flip phones. They just make me angry since I don't see the purpose in wasting all that energy just to answer a call. I type in my number under my name, writing it in English since katakana is annoying and I like the way the letters look. I send a fast text to myself, close the phone, and give it back.
"Aida-san, tell me if you play Kirisaki Daiichi." I say with narrowed eyes. "We just played them recently. I'd like to see how they play once more." Kuroko looks a little startled.
"Are they the ones responsible for...?" I nod my head.
"That Hanamiya sent me straight to the hospital afterward." I say with a rather pissed expression. "He's the only reason I haven't been playing recently, and it totally pisses me off just thinking about it." I turn back to Kagami. "I gotta go since Daiki's waiting. Don't disappoint me, okay?" I give the taller boy a grin, say goodbye to Kuroko, and leave. I'm counting on you.