Hidden Beauty
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Basket Twenty: Fated Battle
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After the fight with Kasamatsu, Kuroi had gone straight home, slamming her door to her room. She hadn't even come out for dinner, because she was still fuming. Not just at Kasamatsu, but also at herself.
She hated the way she acted, knew it was wrong of her to say such things, especially when Kasamatsu had been nothing but nice to her. In a way.
The next morning she asked her mother call in sick for her, simply because she didn't want to face him today.
Call her chicken, or a crybaby, but she honestly wasn't looking forward to talking to him.
Her mother had eventually agreed, knowing her daughter was not even sick, but decided to call in for her because she wanted to comfort her.
"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Kayate asked, voice soft through the door as she rested her hand on the handle, even though the door itself was locked.
"... Maybe..." Kuroi replied. After a moment of silence, she sighed and fixed her wig, knowing her mother wasn't going to leave her alone. She stood and opened the door, going back to her bed. She collapsed on it, burying her face in her warm pillows.
"So, what happened? Boy troubles?" Her mom laughed softly, rubbing Kuroi's back as she sat beside her.
"I guess you could say that..." Kuroi murmured after a moment, craning her neck so she could look at her mother. "But more like team mate troubles." She offered quietly, rolling on her side to make more room for her mother.
Kayate's soft eyes rested on her daughter, before closing them. "You're going to have to face him eventually, Kuroi. You can't play sick forever."
"I know..." Kuroi replied, pulling the covers over her head, enjoying the offered warmth. She closed her eyes, accustomed to the darkness in her small cocoon of blankets.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"Not really, but I will." Kuroi had been careful to explain her story. She had changed the parts about her crossdressing, and just stuck to telling her about being treated differently. Hopefully her mother wouldn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. She also shared her feelings about it all, and how she wanted it to be normal.
Her mom had told her stories of her childhood, and days of highscool, sharing her troubles as a teenager with her daughter.
The evening came faster than thought, and Kuroi had come out to eat with her parents before excusing herself to shower and then go to sleep. She was definitely not looking forward to going to school tomorrow.
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A knock at her door startled her from her troubled sleep. Kuroi shot up from her bed, stopping to fix her wig, before glancing around her room tiredly.
She quickly looked at the clock, body screaming for sleep. It was almost 7:00, and Kuroi had finally fallen asleep around 6:30. She was very tired, and felt like she was about to pass out no matter what.
"Kuroi, wake up! Breakfast is ready." Kayate said, voice muffled through the door.
Kuroi groaned, falling back onto her soft bed. "Ohh, mom. What day is it?" She whined, dreading the coming answer.
"It's Thursday. You said you have a game tomorrow, right? I assume you'll be longer at practice today, yes?" Her mother asked, huffing at her daughter's laziness.
"Yes..." Kuroi groaned out, falling out of her bed with a thump. Remembering she needed to talk to Kasamatsu and apologize to him.
"Now, hurry up then. I made a big breakfast for you. I don't want you to be late."
"Awhh, food." Kuroi whined again, not feeling up to anything at all. She wanted to stay home, stay away from Kise and Kasamatsu and the rest of the team, and most importantly stay away from Seika. She wasn't ready for the match tomorrow, but she knows she'll have to be, since there is no way that Kasamatsu or the Coach would change their minds.
Kuroi dejectedly got up from her bed, and fixed her wig again before heading downstairs and into the kitchen. She sat down, and ate her breakfast as slow as she could, before her mother rushed her out the door.
Kuroi half wanted to miss the train she usually took, but decided to man-up about it, and instead broke into a jog.
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The school day passed by quickly, even though Kuroi wanted it to be slower. Another loud yawn escaped her mouth, as she smacked her cheek in a poor attempt to wake herself. She groaned and grabbed her duffel bag and shoved her things inside before shuffling past her fellow classmates before making her way to the gym.
She briefly wondered if she was going to be kicked off the team as she entered the gym, slipping into the girls changing room carefully.
Kuroi changed quickly and came outside, only to almost get tackled to the ground. If it wasn't for the wall, she would be in greater pain by now.
"Yasuhirocchi! I thought you died! I missed you, you know! You don't understand how worried I was!" Kise huffed, glaring at Kuroi as he let her escape from his hug.
Kuroi awkwardly rubbed the back of her head, staring at the ground. "Yeah, sorry about ye- er, two days ago. Well, and yesterday..."
Kise blinked, and shrugged. "I don't think it's me you should be apologizing too." He added after a moment.
Kuroi nodded, yawning for the umpteenth time that day as she searched the gym for their Captain. "Where is he, anyways? I haven't seen him anywhere."
"Eh? I don't know, I think I saw him while I was on my here, but not in the change room."
"I'm not going to have to go on an epic journey to search for him, like some stupid girly romantic comedy, am I?" Kuroi replied jokingly, giggling at Kise's face.
"Gosh, I hope not." He said, sounding unsure. "That'd be scary." Kise chuckled, shaking his head.
"Today seems very... melodramatic." Kuroi sighed after a second.
"I know what you me- hey, there's Kasamatsu-sempai!" Kise pointed towards the gym doors. Kuroi turned to look, and lo and behold, Kasamatsu was walking in, holding probably over forty jump ropes.
Kuroi jogged over, smiling as Kasamatsu backed in with some minor difficulty. "Here, lemme help you with that." Kuroi offered, making her voice deeper than normal as she grabbed some from the pile in Kasamatsu's arms.
"Thank y- Kuroi!" Kasamatsu gaped, staring at her in awe.
Kuroi nearly dropped the jump ropes she was taking, and blinked in surprise. "That's actually the first time you've called me by my first name, I think." She noted, regaining her balance as she followed after Kasamatsu.
"O- oh, is it? Sorry." Kasamatsu replied, his cheeks darkening as he put the plastic jump ropes down on the ground in a neat little pile. Kuroi did the same, pushing her short bangs from her eyes as she gave a little stretch.
"Sempai, can I talk to you after practice? It's really important." Kuroi asked, giving the third year a smile.
Kasamatsu seemed hesitant for a split second, but nodded a moment after, "Sure." He nodded, gathering everyone up so they could begin their exercises.
After half an hour of doing different exercises, Kuroi sighed heavily. She rubbed her forehead, not liking the way her head began to spin.
She stifled a yawn, and slowly went to her assigned spot. They were going to be playing mini-games, much like how they had during her first week of being on the team.
Kuroi shook her head, but immediately stopped a moment after. 'Okay. Not a good idea.' She thought, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She swallowed, and one of the second years called tip off.
The game seemed to progress slowly, but it easily could have just been Kuroi. She didn't know, with the way her head was spinning.
Kuroi turned around, her eyes struggling to find the ball. She would have reacted faster, if it weren't for the sudden shout that startled her from her thoughts.
The last thing she saw was the orange basketball, coming straight at her.
Kise's attempt to warn Kuroi flew over her head, and he watched in shock as the ball hit the center of the forehead. He watched as she swayed on her feet, before she fell to the ground as if she was dead weight. "Yasuhirocchi!" Kise shouted, running over to her.
It hadn't had been him that had hit her, he didn't exactly see who, either. He was just on the other side, playing in his game, when he turned around to happen to see the scene play out.
He crouched beside the fallen girl. "Kuroi!" He called, touching her forehead where a small red spot was.
Kasamatsu jogged up, a worried look on his face. "What happened?" He asked, looking from Kuroi to Kise.
"The ball hit her, and she just fainted..." Kise explained, standing up slowly.
"It shouldn't have been that hard." Kasamatsu shook his head. "Not enough to make her faint." He concluded, motioning for Kise to help pull her up.
"I'll take her-"
"No, I got it. I'm the Captain here, you just continue with practice." Kasamatsu awkwardly picked her up, finding that she wasn't all that heavy.
He carefully carried her down the hallway and towards the nurse's office. His eyes landed on her pail face, frowning when he noticed that she was sweating too much. With what they were doing, it was barely even tiring.
That only raised more questions about the strange girl.
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Kuroi groaned, her hand immediately finding its way to her face. She scrubbed at her eyes, and yawned.
"You're awake."
Kuroi jolted, sitting up swiftly. The action hurt her head, but other than that she was fine. She stared at Kasamatsu, who was looking out the window.
He turned his gaze back to her, giving her a once over.
"Why am I... ?" Kuroi finally took notice of her surroundings, realizing that she was in the schools infirmary.
"Oh, some idiot thought it would be a good idea to throw a ball at your face." Kasamatsu said, looking pissed off.
"I'm sure it was an accident." Kuroi chuckled, touching the bruise on her forehead gently. "I'm fine."
"Well, you kind of hit your head on the ground to. But the nurse said that you don't have a concussion or anything, and that you should be fine."
"See? All good..." She trailed off, staring at the white sheet on top of her. "Well, except... for us."
Kasamatsu looked at her, and nodded slowly. "Speaking of which, I-"
"I wanted to say-"
They both looked at each other, Kuroi smiling at Kasamatsu flushed face. "S- Sorry, you could go." He stuttered out, rubbing the back of his neck apologetically.
Kuroi nodded, wetting her lips before she spoke, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted the way that I did, and I shouldn't have said those things. I- I know you care, which is way I also wanted to... thank you." She smiled.
Kasamatsu looked at her, surprised. He quickly shook his head, cheeks only darkening. "Yo- you don't need to apologize, or thank me. I- I'm equally at fault, and shouldn't have yelled at you so harshly." He admitted, raising his hands in defeat. "And I do care... a lot. I don't know why, but... You make me fe-"
The door burst open, revealing a sweaty looking Kise, along with Moriyama, Kobori, Hayakawa, and Shinya.
Kuroi jumped from the sudden loud noise, and frowned as she looked back at Kasamatsu. "What were you..." She trailed off; deciding that now wasn't exactly the best time.
"Idiots! Did you finish practice?" Kasamatsu glared, fist clenching.
"Yes, Kasamatsu-sempai! We came to see how Yasuhirocchi is doing!" Kise huffed out, panting.
"Did you run all the way here, Kise?" Kuroi giggled, shaking her head at the blond.
"Yea- no..." Kise pouted, shaking his head in denial.
"He did." Kobori said in all honesty.
"He totally did." Moriyama nodded seriously, cracking a smile a second later.
Kuroi laughed, enjoying how Kise bowed his head in defeat. "It's only 'cause I care!" He puffed his chest out, as if he was a heroic being.
"Yeah, I know. But, you didn't have to drag everyone else along."
"We all wanted to know if you were okay. I'm pretty sure it was one of the first years who accidentally hit you, by the way." Kobori's smile faltered, his thoughts drifting back to the incident.
"Thanks." Kuroi grinned.
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The next day came sooner than expected for not only Kuroi, but everyone on the team.
School breezed by, and soon enough they were at Seika High, getting ready for the match. Kuroi was sitting on the bench, beside Kise. She closed her eyes as she sucked in a deep breath.
"I think I'm going to be sick." She murmured suddenly, eyes snapping open.
"Just don't get sick on me!" Kise wailed, cringing away from her. Kuroi gave him a look, before shaking her head.
"Never mind." She whispered, shaking her hands almost impatiently. "My heart beat won't slow down." She groaned, patting her chest. "Calm down." She told herself, frowning.
"Will both teams line up!" Kuroi looked up, and quickly turned to look at Kise. Kise smiled at her, before he stood up from the bench to join Kasamatsu, Hayakawa, and Kobori on court. Kuroi took another deep breath, slowly letting it out as she followed after him.
She stared at the opposite team, hoping that they would not recognize her.
Kuroi wasn't exactly friends with any of the boys, but she did come around to visit and watch their games a lot, much like in her middle school days. She also talked to them a lot.
"Bow!" Kuroi bowed, and soon went into position. Her calculating purple eyes landed on the captain and also Point Guard, Daichi Fuji. She watched his posture lower, his honey orbs focused intently on Kasamatsu.
'Good. So he's still the same. My information won't be too far off.' Kuroi thought, wetting her lips as her eyes shifted to the next guy; Haruna Satou, the Shooting Guard. Next was the Center, Izumi Matsuo. Followed by his twin brother; Itsuki Matsuo, who was the Small Forward. The last one, Power Forward, happened to be the guy who hated Kuroi's guts; Jun Sasaki.
Kuroi felt extremely pissed off just by looking at him. Her eyes quickly darted back to the ball as the ref. threw it in the air, calling Tip Off.
Daichi easily hit the ball towards Itsuki. The blue eyed twin took it with ease, dribbling as he searched the area. Kuroi smirked, watching his arm tense as his eyes gazed towards the right. Just as Izumi became open.
She slipped past Haruna, reaching her hand out just as Itsuki attempted to bounce pass to Izumi. She intercepted the pass, and put her arm out to block Haruna who came up behind her, trying to steal the ball.
Sure, she was good at steals, but so was Haruna. His hand managed to snake past her, knocking the ball out of her grasp. She scowled, and blocked him from retrieving it. Luckily, Kise was there to save the ball, his eyes narrowing in concentration.
He easily darted past the defense, and dunked the ball in, scoring their first points.
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"I knew I was forgetting something!" Kuroi scowled, giving her bag another search before pushing it away with a huff. "I'll be right back; I'm going to get something to drink." She said, getting up.
"Be quick, we only have five minutes left!" Kasamatsu shouted after her, smacking Kise when he tried to follow, much like a puppy.
"I will!" Kuroi replied, before disappearing out of the Seika High's gym. At least she knew her surroundings, since she had used to go here.
Kuroi only hoped that she didn't run into any of the girls from her previous team, knowing that they would notice her if they ran into each other.
She made her way towards the nearest vending machine. Her eyes searched the choices, before inserting the money. Her sports drink dropped to the bottom, and she bent down to take it from the machine. Just as she turned, a random boy out of nowhere appeared right in front of her, knocking her backwards.
Kuroi caught herself before she fell, and glared at the taller boy. "Excuse me; I need to get back to the game." She huffed, making sure to lower her voice a couple pitches. She tried to pass the few boys, but the first one pushed her back against the machine quite roughly.
"See what I mean? These guys think that they are all that." The boy sneered, the others closing it all with deep frowns and scowls on their faces.
Kuroi sighed, looking at the ground. "I don't have time for this..." She muttered, making one of the boys smack her head.
"Speak up, dipshit!" He hissed, grabbing Kuroi's jersey.
"Don't you assholes have anything better to do than pick on sweet and innocent gi- uh, boys?" Kuroi rolled her eyes, partly at them, but mostly at her mistake.
"Hm? What was that, girly boy?"
Kuroi snorted, shaking her head, "If only you knew." She said, grabbing the boys hand to move them off of her.
"Wrong move, bastard." The guy hissed, slamming her against the vending machine, making it rattle in protest. Kuroi glared, but couldn't help the sinking feeling that settled in her stomach.
One of the others came to hold her down, as a different one came up to her, his fingers curling into a fist. He swung it down hard, making contact with her cheek.
Kuroi flinched into the punch, moaning from the pain. "You know," She growled out. "I knew I've seen you somewhere. You four are the third stringers on the team..." She chewed her bottom lip, knowing that she was making it worse. "You have no talent, so you decide to take it out on those who do, just not your own team." She taunted them, smirking in amusement at how their faces changed.
"You bitch! I'll kill yo-" Kuroi flinched, ready for another hit. She opened her eyes when she heard a yelp of pain, and saw the boy on the ground, Kasamatsu standing beside him with a murderous glare on his face.
"No one hurts my team mates." He whispered, turning his glare to the other boys, who all flinched away from the Captain.
"Sempai-"
"Let's go, Kuro." Kasamatsu said, grabbing Kuroi gently to pull her with him. Once they were out of sight of the four boys, Kasamatsu stopped to look at her face.
"You're hurt..." He growled out.
"Yeah, well, I brought it upon myself, mostly. But it was just punch, I'm fine." She grinned. "Now, let's go play!" She yanked the third year back into the gym, wanting to get back to the game so she could get out of there.
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The game ended, Kaijou winning with 92 - 47. Kuroi couldn't help but feel proud of Seika; they had matured (if only a little) since when she first knew them.
Kuroi let a long groan out, leaning against Kise for support. "God, I knew something was going to happen. I swear, this school is cursed." She mumbled, glaring back at her old school. She kicked dirt at it, before turning her attention to her cheek. It was lightly bruised, and only hurt whenever she poked it.
"Aren't you glad you got it over with?" Kise laughed, resting his arm on her shoulder since she was shorter than him.
"Yes and no." She replied, sticking her tongue out at the model. "I'd rather have not come here, since it's not safe." She motioned to her cheek, touching the bruise a second later. "Ouch."
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Thanks again to Reimei-Jennoir and OMGIt'sKawaii3 for the lovely idea's! They complete this story~ xDD
Kasamatsu, why do you have to be so epic?
This is quite the long chapter, which I feel happy about. Especially since it's chapter twenty. HAHA!
~Love me or Hate me~