I'm back; don't worry! Not dead yet!
Kuroko relaxed his body and Kagami let out a small yell.
"Jeez! Don't faint on me!"
"I did not," he answered tiredly, "just let me rest a bit."
He opened his eyes and saw Yuki running towards them. To his surprise, instead of looking scared or sad, Yuki seemed like he was ready to rip Takaya a new one.
"That bastard used me!" he screeched.
"Please, keep your language clean Yuki-kun."
"I don't care! He took advantage of me, and I was so stupid that he n-nearly killed you!"
His anger had begun to fade away and his eyes were beginning to turn wet. Kagami helped Kuroko up to his feet and Kuroko wiped away the start of tears from the corner of Yuki's eyes.
"I am fine. Calm down please. It is not becoming of a boy to cry," he said soothingly. Yuki sniffed and nodded.
"Much better."
"I'm sorry. I almost got Kuroko-nii hurt," he said miserably.
Kuroko smiled and pat the boy's head.
"I keep on telling you that I am fine."
Yuki nodded. He seemed to be contemplating something.
"That's it! Kuroko-nii is a really nice person, so Takaya-san can't treat him badly! I don't care if I'm tattling! I'm gonna go tell!"
Before Kuroko could even calm down Yuki, he ran off towards the field where the adults were helping to set up something.
"Ah, there is no point," he sighed.
"Kuroko?"
"Even if he tells, grandpa's word reigns supreme. Reya's relatives might object, but I doubt that Yuki-kun knows them well enough."
"If your grandpa hates you this much, why'd your aunt invite him?"
Kuroko looked at Kagami with just a hint of incredulity.
"He needs to walk my aunt down the aisle."
"What?"
"Nevermind. Kagami, the wedding is the day after tomorrow, alright. Tomorrow is simply for preparing clothes, hair, and such or to just relax in the area before the wedding. I will go over the schedule with you tonight."
"What are we going to do tomorrow then?"
"We can wander around."
"I guess. Maybe we can find a basketball court or something."
With plans for the night and tomorrow, they helped out with odds and ends, consoled Yuki and finally went back to the inn for dinner.
If Kagami's breakfast had raised any eyebrows, his dinner was causing jaws to drop. Kuroko didn't know whether Kagami was in a bad mood or anything, but he was eating even more than his usual after-practice quantity that Kuroko was familiar with.
"Oi, Kuroko! You need to eat more!"
Kuroko looked at his own plate, which was skimpy on meat and mainly vegetables. It was healthy, but probably not the best for building muscle. Even so, he didn't feel like eating more.
"I am fine."
"Seriously? You hardly eat anything, even after practice! You just get a vanilla shake!"
Kuroko's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over Kagami's mouth. By then though, it was too late. The words had been uttered.
"Tetsuya?"
Kuroko's face turned pallid despite his blank expression, and he turned to face his mom.
"Ah, mother, I know what you-"
"I told you to stop having so many vanilla shakes! Do you know how much sugar is in that shake? You're going to get diabetes and die young!" she lectured. A fierce tone crept into her voice.
It was the sound of pure rage.
Kuroko swallowed.
"Yes. I am sorry."
His father calmed down his mother with some light humor interwoven with implied pleas to spare Kuroko's life. Meanwhile, Kuroko looked into Kagami's eyes and glared. His slim fingers yanked on Kagami's necklace, forcing the larger boy down to Kuroko's height.
"You owe me a vanilla shake tomorrow," Kuroko whispered threateningly.
"What the hell?! Did you see your mom?! She's gonna pop a vein!"
"As long as you are quiet, I doubt there will be any incidents."
Kagami looked away with some guilt on his mind.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. One vanilla shake for our team's vanilla addict tomorrow."
"On your wallet."
"On my wallet," he added soberly.
Kuroko let go of Kagami's necklace, satisfied for the moment.
"Are we still going to look for a basketball court tomorrow though?"
"Of course."
Dinner came and went. Using the shower in their room was a bit slower than and not as relaxing as the baths, but it was too risky. Either way, the night was normal, and things had not escalated. Kuroko laid out his clothes for tomorrow and also pulled a small pile of papers from his bag.
"What's that?"
"The wedding schedule."
Kagami crawled over to where Kuroko was sitting, and took a seat.
"Alright then. First, we are going to go and simply get ourselves acquainted and find our seats. Then, there will be the usual people before the bride comes. Flower girls, etc. Then my aunt will walk down the aisle with my grandpa to where Reya-san is at the altar. From there are the usual vows, readings, and kiss. After that is the reception. We will now go through all the proper formalities and such. Auntie says something to welcome us, and then we go to the orchard and just have appetizers and introduce ourselves. Auntie and Reya-san will go around greeting people. Whatever happens Kagami, do not accept the alcohol."
Kagami had been listening quietly, but even he noticed this barb to his intelligence.
"I'm not stupid y'know."
"I am not teasing you. Some of the relatives are quite party animals. They might try to get you to have some."
"Avoid the crazy family members. Got it."
"Well, Auntie and Reya-san will have the first dance, then everyone else will join in I assume."
"I don't know how to dance, so I can't dance with you."
"Why would you even mention something like that?" Kuroko replied with an obvious twinge of pain in his voice.
"What? It's just that no one else will probably notice you."
"I will just assume that we are both wall-flowers then."
"Wall-flowers?"
"Flowers that cling to the walls. They are the people that do not really interact with others during social events. The people who 'cling to the walls.'"
"Oh."
"Then we all need to be seated. There will be toasts and speeches which are before dinner. After is cake, and then it is the special something that auntie mentioned."
"You sound scared."
"This is the bride who had condoms as wedding favors."
"Oh yeah."
They both sat there silently, mulling over the numerous possibilities that the bride-to-be had in store.
After a good few minutes of worry and fear, Kuroko called for lights out and they went to sleep. Even so, the two stayed awake for some time. After all, what strange, otherworldly ideas were inside the mind of Fumiko and Reya?
Kuroko and Kagami woke up the next morning feeling like absolute shit. Kagami's eyes were bloodshot. He looked like as if he had a game today instead of a relaxing day of rest. Kuroko simply sat up and felt each vertebra of his spine crack. He was sore after practice nights and when he woke up there were some creaky joints, but nothing ever like this. Stress and fear did not mix well it seemed. Kuroko looked at the clock and his expression turned matter-of-fact.
"It is eleven. The inn is no longer serving breakfast."
"What?!"
"We can eat brunch somewhere I hope."
They quickly washed and dressed before heading in the area. The place was a sort of tourist location, so it was well laid out for people to just explore and look around. It was also fairly pleasant to the eye and not completely rustic for where it was. First thing they did was go to a restaurant and get brunch. Kuroko was slightly disappointed that there were no vanilla shakes there, but after a few more minutes of walking a random coffee shop garnered his attention. He tugged on Kagami's sleeve.
"What?"
"Vanilla Frappuccino."
"Huh?"
Kuroko pointed to the coffee shop.
"Go and get me a vanilla Frappuccino."
"What happened to getting a shake?"
"Frappuccino's are not bad."
Kagami sighed and went into the shop with Kuroko into the shop. Kuroko sat down at a table and waited, while Kagami went up to the cashier to buy the drink. The cashier was a bit surprised at Kagami's order. She didn't expect someone as intimidating as Kagami to have a preference for something sweet.
"You like vanilla Frappuccinos?" she asked hesitantly.
Kagami groaned.
"No, I'm getting it for a f-friend."
"Friend? Weren't you alone?"
"No. He's sitting at that table by the door. If you're looking carefully enough, you'll see him."
The cashier glanced and didn't see a thing. Finally, she stared, and let out a gasp as she saw Kuroko.
"He was here the entire time?!"
"Er, yeah."
"O-oh."
She rang up the order and Kagami went to sit by Kuroko.
"Well, are you happy? You get your daily shot of vanilla you vanilla addict."
Kuroko nodded.
"Why does the cashier keep looking at us?"
"She didn't notice you until I pointed you out."
"I see. Do you really think there will be street courts here?"
"I dunno. Got to look around for them."
Kuroko took a small novel out of his bag and began from where he left off on the train. His bangs kept fluttering into his eyes and he kept brushing them out of the way. Kagami suddenly noticed, for some strange reason, that Kuroko was still extremely pale after all the practices they had had outside and including the work they just did yesterday.
"Don't you ever tan?"
Kuroko looked up from his book. He glanced at a pale hand and turned to Kagami.
"What do you mean?"
"You just stay super pale no matter what."
"I put on sunscreen."
"You do? No one on the team ever notices."
"Do you usually notice everything I do?"
"True."
The discussion turned idly to other mundane topics. They weren't talking about the most interesting things ever, but they were comfortable in each other's presence and enjoyed themselves.
The drink came and Kagami went to get it. As he walked back the cashier seemed to look at him oddly.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I just thought you two looked like a nice couple."
Kagami's mind went blank. It really did. It was as if someone had grabbed an eraser and wiped his head clean. For a few seconds, he was only capable of single-syllable replies.
"Huh?"
The cashier immediately realized her mistake and apologized profusely. Kagami said nothing and left her to her ramblings as he went back to the table and gave the drink.
"We should go then," Kuroko said.
Kagami nodded and the two of them left the café.
"Oh no! I scared them off!" the girl wailed.
Kagami kept his eyes out for any basketball courts as Kuroko sipped his drink. Eventually, he realized there weren't any so far.
"Does that stuff even taste good?"
"Yes."
Kuroko kept sipping his drink and Kagami kept his eyes peeled for any courts as they walked.
"Oh, can we stop here?"
Kuroko had stopped in front of a small drugstore.
"Huh? Why here?"
Kuroko pointed at his bangs.
"I just realized as I was reading. I think that I should get a clip for these."
"If it bothers you so much during reading, why not during basketball?"
"Mm… In basketball there are no little words to read."
Kagami let out an annoyed sigh.
"Dammit, you're like some needy little girl."
"That sounds more like Kise."
"Eh, true."
They went and bought the clip, but this time Kuroko asked if there were any street courts nearby. The cashier kindly told the two of them that there were some just ten minutes down the road. Even better was that the courts were used a lot. They could definitely find some people to play. Kagami smiled widely and bumped fists with Kuroko.
"C'mon! Let's go!" he yelled, dragging Kuroko away. Kuroko had barely anytime to hastily give a 'thank you' before being whisked away. He desperately drank down his vanilla Frappuccino and finished just in time as they arrived at the courts. What they saw was quite ugly though. Takaya and his little horde were brutally defeating another team there and wouldn't give back the people's basketball. Others tried their best to ignore the conflict, but some were actively yelling at Takaya. He ignored them and continued gloating.
"Oh! If it isn't the thing! Why are you here?"
"Kagami and I wanted to play some basketball. We do not like you here bothering people."
"My bad! I forgot that the thing plays basketball on his team! You're so weak that I bet you're useless. How did you even become a regular in the first place?"
Kagami's temper flared and he restrained himself.
"Shut up you asshole," he said, his voice dangerously quiet.
"Hey, look, the thing's friend is saying something."
"You don't know a thing about how Kuroko plays."
It was one thing to assault Kuroko, but if you insulted Kuroko's playing style, the whole team took it personally. After all, Seirin was team based, and to insult a part of the team was to insult the whole.
"Really?" Takaya sneered. "Why don't I go on a one-on-one with you? To see who's better? Kuroko is useless anyway."
"No. Do a two-on-two. Kuroko's playing with me."
"Fine."
Kuroko sighed and dropped his bag and put his empty cup on the ground.
"Why must you go deciding things without asking me?"
"Should I say sorry?"
"No. This will be fun."
The match started, and Kagami promptly slammed the ball from Takaya's hands. He dribbled around Takaya and his friend to pull off a psychologically jarring dunk. Kuroko had vanished and afterwards seemed to only appear to steal the ball from them and pass to Kagami. Only a few minutes in it was clear who the winners were. Takaya bit his lip and snarled. He wanted to bring in more players to go against the two, but he knew that would only make him seem petty. Either way, his pride was going to take a blow. It was time to minimize damage now, nothing else.
He called the other over.
"We're out!" he yelled as he stormed out.
"Hey! Takaya-san!"
The young man turned around sharply.
"What?"
"You know Kuroko was in the Generation of Miracles, right?" Kagami rubbed in gleefully.
The name was widespread and even if you had never faced off against the schools personally, the title had a sort of mythical power looming over it. It practically oozed off the feeling that you shouldn't mess with them.
Takaya's face contorted into some grotesque expression, and this time he left the courts for good. Kagami lifted up a fist and Kuroko returned the gesture with a fist bump. They did this among the cheers and hollers from the other players in the courts.
Today was a good day.
OK! End of this chapter! I have no idea if there is such thing as a two-on-two… Sorry if the term's made up.