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BANDS OF black AND blue
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22 : matching blow for blow
It's strange, because he has never thought of Kuroko to be a rival that he would be able to directly compete against - never really thought of the other as a rival at all.
They had been, for the past three years, best friends and teammates and classmates and they had wanted the same thing (victory for Teikou) and had loved the same thing (basketball) and had even ended up hating the same thing (basketball).
This is why it comes as a surprise when the teenage coach of Seirin - in what their coach assumes is a desperate bid for victory though Aomine knows the other school better than that, knows Kuroko better than that - decides to have Kuroko mark him.
Put frankly, the other is still as slow and unstable on the court as he was as a freshman at Teikou; his moves are difficult to read, yes, but that is because he never plans them and, as a result, ends up confusing even his own teammates. And all the same, they are able to understand him, pass for pass, and Kagami is shouting for victory, still jumping all the while and Aomine sneers because Kuroko is a shadow - he still believes - and as a shadow, he is only as good as his Light.
And then Kuroko manages to steal the ball, and suddenly, he's the one with a smile on his lips - incomprehensible as always and Aomine doesn't have time be surprised because his reflexes are screaming at him to chase after the ball and what are you doing running so slowly? and so he does.
"I know Aomine-kun the best as well," Kuroko notes, even as Aomine can see his pale skin bruising because of the blow he just gave the other. This is true as well, but he has never thought of it like this - never thought of Kuroko to be like this. And then he's forced back onto the court (seconds haven't even passed) and he watches as Kuroko's captain makes a three-pointer and suddenly, the difference in their scores are gone and Kuroko is smiling all the while.
He growls; this is the first time - since he's played on the court, not counting that miserable match the team had against Rakuzan - that Touou has fallen behind the opponent team. The real problem is that he has been playing seriously, that he's been using every muscle and nerve and not-at-all-controlled reflex to score every possible point and still, it's apparently not enough.
The ball passes from hand to hand; he curls his lips again, some out-of-practice smile, before forcing himself to concentrate, to push his bones and tendons to the limit - he has to win this, he has to win this, the game as no meaning unless he wins (vaguely, he can remember Kuroko - though this was the Kuroko of Teikou - saying something to this extent) so he forces his legs to go faster than before, knocking the ball out of Kagami's hands, sprinting to throw it in the other direction and -
Somewhere in the midst of this madness, he remembers this is what basketball felt like before: this is what it felt like to love. It's godawful to lose, and still the game holds more meaning to him than it has held for years, especially because the difference was a result of skill. All the same, Aomine is forced to recognize for the first time in his life, from the end results of this game, that it's just as fun playing against Kuroko as it is playing with him. It's an alien realization, to say the least.