A/N: Hello, I wanted to make up for the long wait for the previous chapter which was really short. So here is the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

CHAPTER 13:

At some basketball court...

Huffing and panting, Takao glared at Kise and Aomine. He thought he would be free of them once he ended the conversation but no, they had to ignore his screams of protest and drag him down the streets all the way to some random basketball court.

He frowned and crossed his arms. Apparently his current state of delicateness and self-pity failed to show his lack of mood for playing. Well then, since they were so stubborn, Takao would be stubborn too. He was going to stand right there, at that very spot he was at right now, and not play at al-

A ball whizzing past his ear jolted him out of his reverie, and he glared at the offending person who had thrown it.

Aomine returned his glare with a stare of his own, clearly giving a silent order for him to play. Kise added noise to the persuasion, tugging Takao's shirt and shouting "Play, Takaocchi, play!"

This intense staring match with its annoying sound effects went on for a while. Takao wondered how long they would be standing there and how long was Kise able to keep up his shouting if no one gave in.

He was not going to give in. He was not.

The staring and shouting continued. It seemed as if the two would not give in either.

Those stubborn people!

The staring intensified, and the shouting got louder.

...I guess I'm not going to be left alone unless I play huh...

Sighing, Takao turned and ran to grab the ball, choosing to ignore the loud cheer and arrogant "hmpf" from Kise and Aomine respectively. He gave a half-hearted toss to Aomine, hoping that the pathetic display would deter them from playing.

The ball gave a few tiny bounces before rolling to a stop at Kise's feet.

Aomine exploded.

"What kind of shit attempt is this? You may be feeling sad and yes, it was my fault for all this but no one except us is going to care about you so show some gratitude, you little shit!" Aomine grabbed a fistful of Takao's uniform and shook him roughly, shaking off Kise's attempts to stop him.

Takao felt dizzy from all the shaking and tore himself away from Aomine, unable to take the harshness of Aomine's words.

It was simply terrific of Aomine to rub salt onto his wound. He was supposed to be grateful for this?

Fine, if they wanted him to be happy, he would give them what they want.

He shrugged off his gakuran and threw it on the ground. Faking a huge smile, Takao raced forward to steal the ball from Kise, stunning him in the process. He dribbled the ball towards the hoop, but was intercepted by a smirking Aomine. Takao could feel his competitive streak growing as Aomine ran off with the ball and aimed a throw at the hoop.

Despite the awkward angle of the throw, the ball went in.

Takao grimaced. He had almost forgotten who he was up against. Underestimating the Generation of Miracles would be a very bad decision.

Taking a deep breath, he charged forward.

After the game...

He had lost.

It was expected, but Takao couldn't help but feel sore about it. He was up against two of the Generation of Miracles for goodness sake! Takao knew his ability was nowhere near their standard. It was by sheer coincidence that he was able to even talk to them in the first place, let alone play them. He sighed.

If only Shin-chan was there to partner him. He might have stood a slightly better chance of going against them. Playing with Kise and Aomine didn't feel right. Sure, they were fun and presented a challenge to Takao, but Takao felt that something was lacking. Having grown accustomed to having Shin-chan as his partner, Takao felt that playing alone was... lonely. Takao clutched his necklace tightly.

There, he did it again, letting his mind fixate too much on Shin-chan.

Time to change the topic!

"Trying to cheer me up with basketball won't work if I keep getting thrashed by you two."

Kise and Aomine frowned. Takao had a point. The game had mostly consisted of Takao helplessly running around trying to stop them from scoring like mad. The dumbfounded realisation of the two was amusing to watch, and Takao chuckled, still fondling the single bead on his necklace.

Kise, curiosity now aroused, asked:

"Is that necklace important? You seem to love it a lot."

Takao's breath hitched and Kise panicked on seeing his downcast face.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I was just curious!"

"Shin-chan gave it to me. It's my lucky item."

Kise looked stunned at this piece of information and he opened his mouth to say something but Aomine cut in.

"That," he prodded the bead, "is evidence of Midorima's feelings for you. Don't put yourself so low, Midorima clearly treats you as someone special. Why, he never gives me any lucky items!" Aomine jokingly put on an outraged expression.

Takao felt his heart stirring and his hope was growing again.

Aomine isn't that bad of a guy after all...

"Thank you, I'm alright now," he smiled at the pair. "Really," he added as the pair continued to observe him cautiously.

"It's true! I'm all happy and stuff, knowing that Shin-chan feels something for me! So what's the plan now?" Takao asked. It was true; he did feel a little better now.

Kise and Aomine were silent. They were clueless as well, for they had not expected Takao to cheer up that quickly.

"Er... We... Think of ways to get you two together again! They say two heads are better than one, right? Our combined idea will definitely succeed!"

Takao resisted the urge to point out that there were actually three of them now. Kise was getting pumped up, his hands flailing around in his excitement, almost knocking into an unimpressed Aomine.

"And how do you suppose we do that? Midorima's angry, remember?"

That got Kise to quieten down, and he looked contemplative. The trio stood in silence for a long time before Aomine nudged Kise.

"How about him?"

The vague question confused Kise, who went "How about who?"

"That guy!" Aomine seemed irritated.

"Who's that guy?" Kise was confused and Aomine grew even more annoyed.

This manner of conversation went on for a while, seemingly similar to the previous staring contest. Takao yawned and checked the time. It was best to let the idiot couple sort things out themselves. And he didn't know who 'that guy' was anyway.

10 minutes passed, they were still beating around the bush. Takao tapped his foot impatiently.

20 minutes passed, nothing had progressed. Takao felt his irritation growing along with Aomine's.

30 minutes later, same random basketball court

"Akashi! It's Akashi! We should ask Akashi, you slow idiot! Akashi always knows what to do!" Aomine threw his hands up in exasperation.

Takao's eyes widened.

Akashi Seijuurou, the famed captain and point guard of the Generation of Miracles? The guy Takao had admired for ages and had always wanted to talk to? They wanted him to ask for advice from him?

Takao's heart beat faster and his eyes sparkled, scaring Kise and Aomine. He clasped his hands together eagerly and nodded his head vigorously to indicate his approval.

To get advice from his idol! This was a dream! It was all he could ever hope for (other than Shin-chan, of course)! And since he was Akashi Seijuurou, his advice was surely reliable!

Relieved at Takao's approval, Aomine grinned. Kise's worried look went unnoticed by the two.

"Alright, let's go find Akashi!"

A/N: Akashi is next! I don't know if what'll happen next is predictable or not but stay tuned~