Gunshots echo around the dark room, they don't even faze Tetsurou as he absently scrolls through his Twitter feed, barely taking in what he's looking at. He's having trouble focussing, he's restless. Tetsurou can be lazy, he can lie in bed, dozing in and out, until one in the afternoon, but it's Saturday and he needs to do something.
Tetsurou glances at Kenma, who is sitting at his desk, curled up in a misshapen ball, furiously working away at the PlayStation controller in his hands. On the monitor in front of him a disturbing, nuclear affected monster is attempting to end his character's life while Kenma expertly evades and assaults the beast with accurate sprays of bullets. Seriously, how many bullets can that thing take?
"You shouldn't sit like that, it's bad for your posture," Tetsurou comments, frowning at his best friend.
"You're one to talk," Kenma responds, not even turning away from the screen.
Lifting his head from where it's hanging over the end of Kenma's bed, feeling heavy from all the blood that's rushed to it, Tetsurou glances down at himself and sighs, conceding his point. Tetsurou drops his head back down, his neck aching with the effort of holding it up, and puts his phone down on the bed.
Tetsurou stares at the plain, white wall, considering, for the umpteenth time, things he hasn't been able to draw from his mind for the past thirty six hours.
The way Kei had looked at me…
Kei's hands, cold despite the extensive exercise he'd been doing, in his own. Slender fingers, longer than his own, curling automatically into his touch as Tetsurou focussed on massaging pain out of his overworked muscles. Then Kei looked at him, gold eyes holding more than their usual intensity, and something in Tetsurou's chest clenched… because he knew he'd crossed a line.
It was stupid, Tetsurou knows that; he was sitting too close, wearing nothing but shorts and still wet from the shower. He was just trying to help. Not only is Kei's physical condition important to the team, but Tetsurou actually cares about his future in the sport he clearly loves. He's too accustomed to Koutarou and Kenma's complete lack of attraction to him, too accustomed to being physically close to his friends without having to worry about crossing that line. Tetsurou has grown so close to Kei so quickly that he simply forgot that there's a line.
Yesterday, when they walked to and from school together, nothing seemed to be amiss. Kei was his usual snarky self, effortlessly retorting to Tetsurou's humour with clever quips. It makes Tetsurou think that he's worrying about nothing. He likes to think he has a firm hold on his ego but perhaps in this case he's seeing things that aren't there and thinking too highly of himself.
Still, if he's wrong, if Kei is attracted to him, it would be the worst thing to happen, to their friendship and to the team. Perhaps Tetsurou should test it, make sure he's right.
"I'm inviting Kei over," Tetsurou says, picking up his phone confidently, already knowing the answer to the question he didn't ask.
"Fine," Kenma says, an uncharacteristic excited lilt in his voice.
At Hitoka's birthday party, after the success of the masterplan, Tetsurou and Kei joined the others playing Mario Kart. Of course Kenma was beating everyone else and even the neighbours knew about it, thanks to Koutarou's whining. Then Kei casually accepted a Wii remote, sat down with a deceptively calm expression and beat Kenma on Rainbow Road. Needless to say everyone was stunned. Kenma, on the other hand, looked like Christmas had come early, he has finally found someone to compete with. And then he demanded a rematch. Which stunned everyone even more.
"You should invite Shouyou," Tetsurou says, a smirk curling his mouth as he types out a text to Kei.
[11:56] me
oi tsukki whatcha doin today
Kenma's response is hesitant and quiet. "He's probably busy."
"You don't know until you ask," he sing-songs.
"I'm not asking."
"Don't make me steal your phone and text him for you Ken. I will send lots of hearts and kissy faces along with the invite that will make you both blush."
Kenma groans but slowly reaches for his phone, while simultaneously fighting off a group of monsters, because he knows all too well that Tetsurou will follow through with the threat. Tetsurou's phone chimes and he smiles as he reads the message from Kei.
[11:57] tsukki
Nothing interesting that you can latch onto and invite yourself to. Why?
[11:57] me
wanna come over to ken's and hang with us?!
Tetsurou looks up – or, technically, at the angle he's lying on, down – at Kenma when his phone beeps. The glowing light of the screen illuminates Kenma's face and Tetsurou can clearly see the small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
"What'd he say?" Tetsurou questions and Kenma instantly drops the smile as he realises he's being watched.
"That his mom will drive him over in twenty minutes," he drawls, faking indifference, which is unbelievably transparent to Tetsurou who has known him practically all his life.
[11:59] tsukki
Fine. I'll leave in five minutes.
Tetsurou mentally fist pumps. He can hopefully quash his conceited fear that Kei is attracted to him and he's managed to get Kenma to invite Shouyou over. Today is going to be a good day.
Kenma stills and his eyes grow unfocussed. His character stops and the monster he'd been carefully careening for the past twenty minutes kills him, brutally. Tetsurou frowns as his best friend's eyes widen and he slowly turns in his spinning chair.
"It's Saturday…"
It's not possible for Tetsurou to frown deeper so his lips pucker in confusion. "Yes… And?"
"The house is a mess!" Kenma skitters from his chair and out the room like a terrified cat and Tetsurou stares after him for a surprised moment before bursting into laughter. Kenma cleans on Sundays. "Kuro, stop cackling like a hyena and help me!"
Still laughing, Tetsurou rolls backwards off the bed and strolls out into the living room that's attached to the kitchen. Kenma's house isn't very big, less than half the size of Tetsurou's, with only Kenma and his dad living here. Kenma's father works two jobs to keep them financially stable. Tetsurou admires Mr. Kozume and has known him almost all his life, it's just unfortunate that he can't be around more.
"It's really not that bad Ken," Tetsurou asserts, attempting to reassure his friend. It really isn't, with Kenma mostly holing up in his room and his dad rarely home, the house is always neat. Nonetheless Tetsurou helps him tidy up, doing frivolous things like straightening cushions and putting away clean dishes from the dishwasher.
"This is your fault," Kenma mumbles as he bustles past.
"Oh come on, this is just like the clothes thing when we went to Sparkles' birthday party, and how did that turn out?"
They still haven't openly spoken about Kenma's crush on Shouyou, Kenma continues to shut down any conversation Tetsurou starts about it. It's not surprising, Tetsurou can tell Kenma is uncomfortable about it and likely doesn't have many answers anyway.
Kenma's jaw tightens and he stops, leaning against the counter. "Fine."
"Right! It went fine," Tetsurou affirms. "Shrimpy barely noticed what you were wearing, he was simply excited to see you."
Kenma's shoulders relax, slumping into their usual terrible posture and, of course, in that moment the doorbell rings. Kenma flinches, eyes wide again.
"Relax, it's just Tsukki."
Tetsurou pats Kenma's shoulder as he makes his way to the front door. Lost in the amusement of Kenma's freak out, Tetsurou had forgotten about his possible problem with Kei. He freezes at the door, hand hovering at the handle.
Tetsurou swallows hard. What if Kei is attracted to him? What will he do then? It's not like it's something Kei can control, though he'd likely argue different. He's stubborn and guarded, he'd probably take it in his stride, even if it hurt… But how could Tetsurou live with that? Knowing that he's hurting his close friend. He couldn't, but he'd have to because—
Get your head out of your ass, Tetsurou scolds himself. He probably isn't attracted to you at all.
Not allowing himself another moment to think, Tetsurou pulls the door open, Kei's standing on the other side his hand raised to ring the doorbell again and scowling. He's wearing blue jeans and his black Chucks, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his red and gold Nekodani sweat jacket.
Kei's eyes drop to Tetsurou's chest, an amused smile curling his mouth. "Really? Grumpy cat?"
"Grumpy cat is the best! The two of you have a lot in common," Tetsurou grins but it wavers, that didn't come out the way he meant. "You know, all scowl-y and angry at the world."
Said scowl makes its way onto Kei's face. "What took you so long anyway?"
"Uh, I may have over stepped my line of scheming and set Kenma on edge a bit…" Tetsurou chuckles, scratching the back of his head as he makes way for Kei to enter, closing the door behind him.
Kei sighs. "What did you do now?"
"I told him to invite the Shrimp over and he did."
"Haven't you played matchmaker enough?"
"But Ken will never act on his feelings!"
"Did you ever think that maybe that's okay?"
"No, because now four of my friends, who had been pining over each other, for far too long, are together and happy. Kou and Keiji are gross and in love and Sparkles and Freckles finally kissed and went out on a date last night. I'd say my track record speaks for itself," Tetsurou states smugly.
"Whatever, it's your funeral."
With that Kei walks further into the house, comfortable here after a few more study sessions with Kenma.
Tetsurou watches after him; Kei doesn't seem any different, in fact if anyone is acting oddly it's Tetsurou. That's simply his concern for the situation but, most importantly, Kei seems fine, acting as indifferent and annoyed towards him as always. Tetsurou's definitely just reading too much into it. A tension, he didn't realise he was holding onto, dissipates and Tetsurou relaxes, grinning broadly as he follows after Kei.
In the kitchen Kenma is scrubbing at the bench and doesn't even look up when they enter. Tetsurou watches Kei's gold eyes float around the room as he nonchalantly says, "Hey Kenma."
"Hi Kei."
Tetsurou sighs heavily, shaking his head at Kenma's lack of response. He thought maybe Kei could distract him by drawing out his competitive gamer spirit. Kei seems as unfazed as ever though. Tetsurou frowns as he walks over to the television and starts setting something up. Tilting his head and folding his arms, Tetsurou simply stands there, watching curiously to see what Kei is doing. He's definitely up to something.
Turning on the television and console, Kei sits back casually on the couch with a controller in his hand. Tetsurou glances at Kenma, but he still hasn't noticed, if this is Kei's plan then it isn't—
There is a sound of a plane propeller, a monkey and children laughing, apparently this combination makes Kenma's head snap up. Then a chime of a xylophone jingles musically and the monkey makes some more noise. Kenma dumps the washcloth he's using on the bench and walks over to the television to pick up the second controller before dumping himself in his favourite armchair.
Tetsurou frowns in confusion. Sure, video games generally get Kenma's attention, but these are special stressful circumstances. What's so special about this game that drew Kenma's attention? And how did Kei know it would work?
Sitting down on the couch beside Kei, Tetsurou sees the different creatures in vehicles come out for their introductions. He's played this game with Kenma before, and when he recognises the monkey that is introduced last he knows its Diddy Kong Racing.
"Can I play?" Tetsurou asks.
"No," Kei and Kenma answer dryly and in unison.
"What? Why not?"
Kei turns to him and says, completely deadpan, "You'll only ruin it."
"You're terrible at racing games," Kenma adds, not glancing away from the screen.
"Wow, you guys are savage. And rude."
Kenma sighs. "You can play when Shouyou gets here. It's even then."
Tetsurou grumbles half-heartedly but he doesn't mind, Kenma used Shouyou's name without even flinching. Kei calmed him. A soft smile curls Tetsurou's lips as he sits back on the couch and watches them race. He's so happy Kenma has found someone to game with, it's his main hobby after all. Sure he plays and enjoys basketball, but Kenma's passion will always be gaming. Kenma's shy about it too, he usually hates talking about it, knowing that people won't understand him, but Kei does.
"Why do you always play the title character?" Kenma questions, grimacing at Kei's choice of Diddy Kong.
"The title character is always better," Kei says, smirking, and Kenma huffs a laugh. "I would ask why you're playing a cat but you probably just inherited Tetsurou's obsession."
"More like he stole it from me."
"Dude I'm right here, and that is not what happened," Tetsurou interjects. "We both started liking cats at the same time, it was pure coincidence. Who doesn't like cats?"
"Me," Kei answers, amusement clear in his eyes.
Tetsurou gasps dramatically. "You liar! You love Tux, just admit it already!"
His nose scrunches. "It's a cat, what's there to like."
"Aw, come on now, don't be like that Tsukki. I bet he sleeps in your bed and is all warm and soft and you love it. He purrs and sits in your lap and you pet him and you adore him. Tux loves you and you love him back!"
"Yeah, right," Kei scoffs, but his smile completely gives him away.
Tetsurou shoves him playfully. "Such a terrible liar."
"I'm trying to concentrate on the game Tetsurou," Kei grumbles.
He's about to tease him some more when he feels Kenma's eyes on him. Tetsurou gazes over to see Kenma glancing at them every now and then, his concentration divided between them and the game. Tetsurou frowns and goes to ask what's wrong, when the doorbell chimes.
"I'll get it," Tetsurou offers, rising from the couch and throwing a cushion at Kei as he goes.
What he does know about the minimal developments between Kenma and Shouyou is exactly that, not much has developed between them. Which is okay because unlike his other friends they've only known each other for a month. He does know that they message each other fairly regularly and talk a lot between their shared lunch and at basketball practice.
Shouyou's face visibly falls when Tetsurou opens the door, which only makes him laugh. The short boy then gets adorably angry, his cheeks puffing out.
"What's so funny?" he demands.
"Nothing, nothing," Tetsurou sing-songs, moving to let Shouyou in. Tetsurou likes the short boisterous kid, his energy is good for the team, good for Kenma, and he's easy to get along with. Unless you're Kei. They don't exactly get along. Perhaps this can be another goal of the day, bridging the gap between Kei and Shouyou. "How you doing Shrimpy?"
"Good! I played some ball last night with my neighbours, I've known them since elementary school. They're pretty good, you know, for not playing on a team," Shouyou rambles, ever distracted when talking about basketball, he doesn't even notice when they've entered the living room with the two gamers. Although, they don't notice either. "I was trying this thing Kou taught me and I think I've finally managed to pull it off!"
"You'll have to try it out in the practice game tomorrow, but make sure you rest up until then okay?"
Shouyou grins brilliantly. "Yes Captain!"
The sunshine beaming out of him seems to finally catch Kenma's attention, he even pauses the game.
"Kenma!" Shouyou practically deafens Tetsurou with his enthusiasm and a small smile curls Kenma's mouth.
"Hello Shouyou."
After beaming at Kenma for what feels like an eternity – Kenma blushing under the intensity of it – Shouyou turns his attention to an expressionless Kei. The kid is practically growling.
"Bean pole."
"Short round."
Okay, so maybe bridging the gap between them is a little optimistic. As the two new members of the team, both likely to be starting games on court, they're incredibly competitive with each other. Kei makes jokes about Shouyou's height and always complains about how loud he is, which, of course, infuriates Shouyou and makes him equally as rude. Its equal parts annoying and hilarious. Whether or not they can shut down the feud while playing a game will have to be tested at tomorrow practice game.
Tetsurou claps his hands together, drawing everyone's attention. "What are we playing? Do you have snacks Ken?"
"Um," Kenma scratches his cheek. "N-Not really."
Money is always a touchy subject around Kenma, the Kozume's struggle sometimes. Tetsurou actually hates bringing up anything even remotely to do with it and always offers to pay for things for Kenma, even when he complains.
"I'll just make a quick snack run. I'll be right back," Tetsurou says quickly, Kei following after him when he leaves.
"I'm coming with you."
"Excellent thinking, we leave them alone and let them bond," he whispers conspiratorially when they get to the front door.
Kei clicks his tongue. "I'm not in on your stupid match-making scheme, idiot."
Tetsurou chuckles, unlocking his car and getting in. "Sure, sure. So you just want to spend as little time with the Shrimp as possible then. You know, you really need to stop teasing him. You're going to have to play with each other, in important games, working together."
"I am aware," Kei drawls, gazing out his windows as they drive. He always does that when they're discussing that makes him uncomfortable. "It's not just me. And he's annoying as fuck."
"You put up with Kou."
"Barely," he says, and Tetsurou can see the smile at the corner of his mouth.
Kei keeps everything close to his chest, he doesn't like people knowing how he truly feels about things, even people he trusts like Tadashi. To say Kei intrigues Tetsurou is an understatement. For as long as Tetsurou can remember he's been good at reading people. But Kei… Kei's a mystery. The wall he's built up around himself is dense and fortified by layers of indifference and snark. It makes him remarkably cool, but it also isolates him.
He may never admit it, but Tetsurou can see that Kei truly appreciates the company of his teammates. Keiji, Morisuke and Kenma particularly. He even seems to find Koutarou and Lev amusing, often teasing them playfully. And Kei seems to genuinely enjoy working with Tetsurou, they work well together.
"What are we getting? I'm surprised you even allow 'snacks'," Kei remarks as they enter the closest supermarket. It's midday on a Saturday and it's bustling with families doing their weekly shop and teenagers doing exactly what they're doing.
"Only for special occasions and nothing too high in sugar," Tetsurou explains as they make their way down the aisles, grabbing some chips and soda. He continues quickly before he gets called 'dad'. "Don't change the subject, we were talking about you and the Shrimp. It's really petty, both of you just need to get over it and be teammates."
"Not going to happen," Kei deadpans.
Shaking his head and grinning broadly, Tetsurou slings his arm around Kei's shoulders, stumbling down the candy aisle together. "So hard to get along with Tsukki."
"Well, well, well~, if it isn't my arch nemesis," a voice chimes from behind them.
His smile instantly drops and a horrible chill runs down his spine. Even over the noise in the busy supermarket Tetsurou knows the awful trill of that voice and the irritating person it belongs to. Turning – his arm still around Kei – he's met with a smug smile and fluffed up, chocolate brown hair. The cocky head tilt and the way his hand is set on his hip – just his general existence really – makes Tetsurou want to slap him.
"Tooru," Tetsurou grinds the name through his teeth like it will make it less foul to say. "What a terrible surprise. What moron helped you escape your keeper?"
Tetsurou knows why the Captain of Seijou's basketball team is here, to play Nekodani in a practice game tomorrow. The odds of them running into one another like this though are slim. Seijou must be staying in a hotel nearby.
"Still haven't tamed that disgusting animal on your head I see. Have you heard of a hairbrush?"
"That one never gets old."
"Who's your boyfriend?" Tooru questions, eyes glinting with mischief and hair bouncing as he nods at Kei.
Tetsurou's worried that question will make Kei uncomfortable, as it's intended to, but of course it takes a lot more than that to unsettle Kei. With an exasperated eye roll he shrugs out from under Tetsurou's arm.
"This is our new shooting guard, Tsukk—"
"Kei Tsukishima," he interrupts.
Tooru's perceptive brown eyes roam over Kei's tall frame, slowly moving from the toes of his chucks and up to his blond head, discerning. Most of this is for show, Tooru is nothing if not dramatic, a showman, but he's also an excellent strategist and will use any and all information he can get to defeat an opponent. Kei will certainly prove difficult for Seijou to handle, a team that specialises in in-and-under basketball, relying heavily on inside plays mostly from their power forward, Hajime.
"He's pretty, much too pretty for you Tets—"
"Hey, fucktruck, you get your…" Hajime trails off as he rounds the corner, his dark eyes landing on Tetsurou. "Oh, hey Tetsu."
"You're so mean Haji, why would you call me that?" Tooru complains, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Mm, sorry, Makki was calling you it earlier and it kinda stuck," Hajime explains, not sounding apologetic at all.
"Well, unstick it. And you're interrupting our confrontation."
Hajime raises an unimpressed eyebrow at his best friend. "There is literally no need for a 'confrontation'; our schools are incredibly friendly, hence the practice game. You two idiots are the only ones who stoop to this stupid grudge. So stop embarrassing me."
Ever level-headed and reasonable, Hajime always calms… Well, everyone. Even Tetsurou sees no way to argue against him. Hajime's an extremely friendly guy; he's easy to get along with, a fierce competitor and kind to a fault. It's impossible not to like him.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one," Kei mumbles. It catches Tooru's attention and he grins again after pouting at his vice-captain.
"Meet Tetsurou's little protégé, Kei."
Hajime eyes Kei curiously, completely lacking Tooru's slyness. "'Little' is not the word I'd use. Nice to meet you," he nods, a friendly smile curling his mouth. "I'm Hajime. Sorry about Tooru, he's just a dickhead, ignore him."
Kei nods in turn. "Haven't paid attention to a word he's said. And nice to meet you too, I've watched you play, you're a very talented."
"Speaking of protégé's," Tetsurou interrupts, ignoring their exchange in favour of contemplating a way to destroy his nemesis. "I hear you lost yours Tooru. So sad. He was doing so well too, I hear you were quite attached and that the separation was difficult for you."
Tooru's top lip curls almost imperceptibly, his jaw clenched even as he smiles rather convincingly. Too bad Tetsurou's too observant to not notice those small twitches. The Captain clearly isn't happy about the situation and knowing how close they were – or perhaps even still are – it's understandable.
"It's true, my little Tobio abandoned me," Tooru laments, overly dramatic to mask his real hurt. "He was well on his way to live up to my supreme point guard legacy too. The only saving grace is that he's moved to your state and is sure to create some problems for Nekodani at the State Championship. I may not even get to see you at Nationals this year."
By the time he's finished he's grinning broadly because he knows he's won this round. Tetsurou's eyes are wide as he processes the bombshell that's been dropped.
They played Tobio Kageyama last year in the practice game and, as a mere freshman, he almost single-handedly destroyed Nekodani's second string. As a point guard he was never going to steal Tooru's place but he certainly was well on his way. Tetsurou would even go so far as to say that Tobio would eventually surpass Tooru with the sheer genius of his ability, but Tooru would never admit that, even if he was the kids mentor.
Tetsurou manages to compose himself. "Where'd the genius kid go?"
"Karasuno," Tooru says the word slowly, mockingly.
Kei flinches beside him. "Karasuno already have a skilled point guard."
Tooru sniggers. "That's right, you're from Karasuno! I remember you now. Well, your little point guard friend will be a benchwarmer from now on. Honestly, I wish our State Championships didn't line up so I could come see Tobio conquer Nekodani."
"Why are you doing this now?" Hajime grunts with annoyance.
"Yeah right! I'll have you know that our team is a million times better this year and we'll smash right through your stupid little protégé," Tetsurou sneers. He knows he's being juvenile but there is just something about Tooru that pisses him off. "And then go on to destroy Seijou at Nationals!"
"What are you a child?" Kei drawls.
"You wish!" Tooru spits back. "Seijou is twice the team Nekodani will ever be."
Hajime sighs. "I'm leaving."
"I'm coming with you," Kei says quickly, following after him.
"No! Haji, don't leave me here alone with this brute!" Tooru whines, his voice nothing but playful.
"You're free to leave of your own damn accord, fucktruck."
"Tsukki!" Tetsurou calls out.
"I'll wait by the car."
Tetsurou watches after them, grinning as he hears Kei ask Hajime 'are they always like that?' He's proud of Kei's ability to remain unaffected by Tooru's shit-stirring. Nekodani's previous shooting guard had a tendency to allow opponents provocation to get to him; Kei's ability to remain calm will truly be an asset.
It's quiet though… Too quiet. Tetsurou feels Tooru's eyes on him, watching him carefully, before turning to meet his scrutinising gaze.
"You were lucky to get Kei," Tooru comments, his voice lower, falling into their serious Captain talk as soon as the audience is gone. As much as they like to argue, they've known each other a while and can fall into an easy rhythm of sincere conversation. "Nekodani were in need of a decent shooting guard."
"You know him?" Tetsurou asks, but already knows the answer. Tooru knows everyone worthy of knowing, which is truly a testament to Kei's ability – Tooru has high standards.
"He has one of the most natural shooting forms I've ever seen," he says, holding his arms above his head like he's shooting a hoop. His brown eyes drop to Tetsurou, a smirk curling his lips. "You seem rather close with him already… You really would make a handsome couple."
Tetsurou rolls his eyes. "You know I'm as straight, Tooru."
His eyes narrow. "I know you think you're all introspective and that you're comfortable with yourself Tetsurou, but we're always changing. I don't think it's possible for any of us to truly know ourselves. Sometimes, when something changes in us, we're so blind to it that we're the last ones to realise. And sometimes we realise too late…" Tooru's voice, filled with bitterness, trails off and his hand curls into a fist. Tetsurou frowns. "Sometimes we don't know what we want until it's already gone."
"…The kid?"
A rueful smile stretches Tooru's mouth. "Tobio."
"Does your girlfriend know?"
"Nope. Only recently figured it out myself."
"Does he know?"
Tooru shakes his head. "No. And he never will."
"You could—"
"No Tetsurou. It's too late. You'll meet Karasuno at the State Championship and see what I'm talking about."
Tetsurou sucks is a breath. Tooru can annoy the ever living fuck out of him sometimes, but he's such a strong person that it's difficult seeing him this distraught, this lost. It's unnerving. Upsetting.
"Sorry."
A chuckle bubbles up Tooru's throat and he tilts his head impishly, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he winks. "Life goes on. See you tomorrow Tetsurou! Better bring you're A game."
Tooru pats him on the shoulder before walking away, or rather swaggering away. The boy walks with all the confidence in the world, it's annoying how arrogant he can seem, but Tetsurou knows it's all for show. Just like his silliness. It keeps people guessing and no one will ever know what to expect from him.
The question is, why did he disclose this information to Tetsurou? Tooru seemed to think it was important for Tetsurou to know. Which doesn't make sense. What would a situation like that have to do with Tetsurou? There is nothing in his life that even comes remotely close to it. Or perhaps he simply wanted an uninvolved third party to talk to about it.
Shaking himself from his contemplation Tetsurou grabs some candy at random and makes his way back out to the car. Kei's leaning against the passenger side door, long limbs folded casually and gazing out at nothing in particular, seemingly lost in thought. He narrows his eyes on Kei, 'pretty', Tooru had said. Is he really? Tetsurou doesn't really know, he hasn't thought about it.
Kei looks up at him as he approaches, an amused smirk curling his lips. "So, you were saying something about being 'really petty'?"
"Shut up."
Arriving at school on a Sunday is always an odd feeling, not that it happens often. The grounds are utterly deserted, free of the writhing masses of teenagers. The modern architecture of the buildings is easier to appreciate, the rendered Nekodani-red walls, the angular design and the professional black and white finish. This is Tetsurou's fourth year here and yet Nekodani still has an incredibly intimidating front.
He pulls into the gym's parking lot where Keishin's car is already parked, even though Tetsurou's fairly early. Seijou won't arrive until eleven in the morning but the Nekodani team are arriving at ten to warm up and get the team prepared for the practice game. As team Coach and Captain they have a responsibility to be here even earlier.
"Shit, your hair looks even worse than usual," Keishin comments as Tetsurou enters his office, sports duffle over his shoulder. "What'd you do? Get out the wrong side of the bed?"
Tetsurou doesn't even have the energy to be annoyed, he does groan though. "It's Sunday, the day of rest. I'm not supposed to be awake at this hellish hour, Keish. What are you doing to me?"
Keishin raises an eyebrow. "It's nine thirty."
"My point still stands."
"Well, I guess it's a good thing you're not playing today. Maybe this will cheer you up."
Keishin spins around on his office chair and walks over to a cardboard box. Tetsurou is too lost in his internal lamenting about not being in bed to even consider what's in the box that could possibly cheer him up. Then his sleep heavy eyes widen as he sees the swish of bright red material. Walking over with a broad grin, Keishin holds the jersey up.
Tetsurou reaches out to reverently touch the soft, slippery material, tracing the large number one on the back, 'KUROO' printed above it in white and trimmed with gold. He's worn the Nekodani basketball uniform many times before, but this is something special, this is something he's extraordinarily proud of.
"What, did you forget we're giving out uniforms today? The players have to wear them for the practice game, remember?"
"Sunday," Tetsurou responds simply, his eyes still on the jersey.
"Right," Keishin laughs and hands the jersey over.
"Morning Keish!" Tadashi greets, beaming as he enters the sizable office. Not that Tetsurou notices, he's too busy petting his precious jersey.
"Hey Dashi, the hell are you so peppy about?" Keishin questions and glances behind the smiling boy. "And where's Toka?"
Tadashi scratches his cheek awkwardly. "Ah, sorry, she said she's going to be late. It's okay, I can do inventory check on the uniforms by myself."
"I'll help," Tetsurou offers. Keishin leaves the office to open up the courts and get the equipment ready while Tetsurou dumps his bag on the ground. Tadashi smiles brightly and thanks him sincerely, seeming much more cheerful than usual. Tetsurou knows exactly why. "So the date went well then?" he asks, shit-eating grin in place.
The pen Tadashi's holding slips in his fingers and he juggles it until he successfully recaptures it. He blushes deeply, darkening his freckled face. It's sweet that even the mere mention of it makes him react like this, a happy smile curling his lips uncontrolled at the memory.
"Y-Yes, it went… It went really well," he says quietly, smiling distractedly down at the papers in front of him. Tetsurou wants to grill him about it, to get all the details of their undoubtedly adorable date, but with the way Tadashi's smiling to himself Tetsurou feels like he'd be intruding on something special and private. It's for them and them alone.
"That's great Freckles, I'm glad," is all Tetsurou says and then he notices Tadashi's lack of concentration on the paperwork. "Here, I'll do that, you go through the jerseys."
Tadashi hands over the player sheets and pen, apologising, but Tetsurou merely shrugs it off. They go through each player's uniforms – two sets of red and one of white each – starting with Tetsurou's going up. Tadashi meticulously checks for defects in the uniforms, making sure they got what they ordered. When they reach Kei's information sheet though Tetsurou just stops, his eyes widening on the birth date beside his name.
"Tetsu?"
"Tsukki's birthday is next week!" Tetsurou blurts, disbelieving. As he glances up at Tadashi and sees the uncomfortable grimace on his face he knows it's true. "What the hell? Why didn't he tell us?"
"Tsukki doesn't want anyone to know, he doesn't want to celebrate his birthday," Tadashi explains quickly, his voice small and sad as he lowers his head. "I-I don't know why. I mean, he was never overly fond of the attention it brought but he still used to at least begrudgingly celebrate it with his family and friends… Maybe it's because of—what happened."
"What happened?"
"N-No, I can't—That's not for me to tell. Or, well, what little I know of it isn't for me to tell," Tadashi stutters, panicked.
Tetsurou shakes his head. He didn't mean to ask, it was just reflex. The fact that Kei lives with his brother, the scar on his head that he'd been too quick to cover and the way he acts around some topics makes it obvious that something horrible happened to him. Hitoka had mentioned Kei having a bad year last year, but Kei seems too well adjusted and unaffected for it to be that recent… but he's so guarded, the wall he's constructed around himself makes it impossible to tell.
"I know, sorry."
"Just please don't tell plan anything for him, I don't—I don't think he could…"
"Handle it. I know," Tetsurou smiles reassuringly. "It's okay Freckles, I won't tell anyone."
As the topic clearly upsets Tadashi – Tetsurou isn't too fond of it either, even if he's curious – Tetsurou starts talking about meeting Tooru in the supermarket. And of course the retelling of their antics brings a smile to Tadashi's face.
Tetsurou prefers to see his friends that way, smiling.
It's easy to promise to keep Kei's birthday a secret. If it affects Kei so much that Tadashi worries about it then it's serious. As much as he likes to push people, Tetsurou would never intentionally do anything to make Kei upset. He wants to know though, he will never not be curious about Kei's past. He wants to know what happened to make such a great person become so withdrawn. On rare occasions Tetsurou has glimpsed hints of just how much Kei struggles and it makes his gut twist.
By the time they finish sorting through the Nekodani basketball uniforms most of the team has already arrived. With the cardboard boxes in their arms Tetsurou and Tadashi make their way to the main court where they'll hand them out. The team is assembled, the last few members coming in to stand with the group before Keishin, Tetsurou and Tadashi. Of course it's Kei and Kenma, strolling in, indifferent to the fact that they're five minutes late.
"Okay team, listen up," Keishin starts, hushing them quickly. "Today are the Seijou practice games. For the first string game the starting line-up will be Keiji, Lev, Shouyou, Tora and Kei but—"
"Aww!" Koutarou whines loudly and Tetsurou chuckles because he was expecting it.
"Koutarou, you already knew you weren't going to be playing," Keiji states flatly.
"Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it!"
Keishin rolls his eyes but continues. "I want Kenma on the bench as Keiji's relief in the second half."
The plan of today's practice game is to test two players specifically, Shouyou and Kei. For Shouyou they need to know how his mentality holds up in a real game, if he can weather the opponent's pressure and taunts since he's often quick to lose his temper. And for Kei, since they already know he can shoot under pressure and is always composed, they're testing his ability to function as Keiji's assist in making plays. Over recent weeks Tetsurou, Keiji and Kei have been working on game play during practice and it's clear they work well together. Whether that translates in-game is the question. Also Lev, to a lesser extent, is being tested for his ability to replace Tetsurou in next year's team, and as a possible benched reserve in the upcoming tournament.
None of this is said out loud of course, but they all know it. They know their skills are being assessed. That's what practice games are for. Even the second string game.
"And for those two games you're going to need those Nekodani uniforms that you got so meticulously measured for," Keishin says, half turning to Tadashi to take the first jersey. It's a fairly ceremonial event so the team straightens and listens attentively. "Obviously, the number one jersey goes to your Captain, Tetsurou Kuroo."
Tetsurou moves around to shake Keishin's hand as the Coach almost blushes attempting to say something inspirational about leading the team. Chuckling, Tetsurou takes the jersey from him. His jersey. Number one of Nekodani. Captain of Nekodani.
Keiji is next, accepting the number two straight-faced as Koutarou hoots. Morisuke gets three, smiling gleefully, he'll be leading the second string this year with Nokuyuki, who gets number eight. Four, the aces number, goes to a very vocally pleased Koutarou. Kenma is number five, Taketora is number six, Akinori is number seven and Lev is number nine, all of them possible reserves for the first string. Shouyou receives his number ten with wide-eyed awe that Tetsurou doesn't understand. Kei's called next, getting a firm handshake from Keishin and the number eleven jersey.
Once they all receive their jerseys the team noisily makes their way into the locker rooms. There is a cheerful camaraderie bubbling around the team as they change into their red, white and gold Nekodani uniforms. The only discord is between Shouyou and Kei, where the shorter of the two is teasing the taller about being a higher number. Usually Kei isn't susceptible to such things, but even as he rolls his eyes at the redhead's flimsy taunts Tetsurou can see the strain in his careful mask of composure.
When the locker room has cleared out a bit Tetsurou stops Kei as he's about to leave. The uniform, red as the jacket he'd been wearing yesterday, suits him. The gold trimmings at the collar, around the sleeves and down the sides matching his eyes and hair and the deep, flushed red a beautiful contrast to the exposed fair skin of his arms and neck.
"You're not nervous are you?" Tetsurou asks, noticing the way Kei has been chewing at his lips while at the meeting and getting changed. "It's just a practice game Tsukki."
Gold eyes narrow on him. "When my position on the team is being decided, it's not 'just' anything."
Tetsurou's taken back by the power of his words; the hunger to play and to prove himself. When he first met Kei, Tetsurou had been unsure of the boy's spirit, making his way through the trials at try-outs and only doing the bare minimum. But as they've trained together the past five weeks Kei has been focussed and determined. Even if Kei is nervous Tetsurou knows he'll perform well, just like he did in that first game they played against each other.
This is the best answer Kei could have given. Tetsurou isn't worried about him.
"I'm glad you understand the importance of it," Tetsurou says, grinning. "Don't worry about what the Shrimp says. I chose that number for you myself, it is two of my number after all."
The intensity of Kei's expression falls and turns into surprise as he blinks at Tetsurou.
Kei swallows hard, and sounds sincere when he quietly says, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Tetsurou pats him on his exposed shoulder, his pale skin cool under the heat of Tetsurou's hand. "Come on, I need you to destroy my nemesis' team for me."
In response Kei only rolls his eyes as Tetsurou slings an arms over his shoulders and they make their way out.