Hidden Beauty

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Basket Twenty-Four: Complications of Sorts

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"Stupid. I'm stupid, for actually thinking that I could pull this whole thing off..." Kuroi shook her head. She was beginning to feel more pissed off at herself than at Kira. 'It's okay. It's just till she's done with highschool. Because, then, she'll be out, since she's a third year.' She tried to make herself feel better, honestly, but it just wasn't working.

In her frustration and anger, Kuroi sped up her pace, continuing on with her laps. "Ahhh, mou." She groaned, kicking a nearby rock as she slowed down. She had just finished her fifteenth lap, which meant she was only half down.

Truth be told, Kuroi wasn't exactly feeling up to practicing right now. All she wanted to do was go home and sulk under her covers.

'I can't.' She argued inwardly, frowning as she stared at the dusty ground. 'I need to deal with my own problems. This is my fault, so I'll find a way to get out of it... I don't need anyone's help.' She nodded with a faint smile on her face as she finally made up her mind. Kuroi took off, eager to finish the last half of her laps so she could join the others at practice.

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Kuroi stepped through the doors, panting heavily as sweat freely dripped from her forehead. Due to her anger, she had accidentally pushed herself too hard, and ran way to fast, and now she was beginning to feel the effects of her mistake.

She looked up, almost tiredly, and noticed that everyone was sitting in one big circle type-thing. She cocked her head to the side, licking her lips before walking up.

"What are we all doing, sitting around?" She asked in a whisper, seating herself next to Ishio and some random boy she did not know.

"We're meditating." Ishio replied in his usual quiet calming voice.

"Seriously?"

Ishio nodded, closing his hazel eyes. Kuroi awkwardly stared at him, before looking at the others. They all had their eyes closed, and appeared to be in deep concentration. She slowly put her hands on her lap, and sighed before closing her eyes. Her poor attempt at meditation failed, and she eventually gave up when she realized that her thoughts were still on Kira, which only made her hidden anger flare.

Five minutes later, their Coach walked in, a basketball in his hand. "Nice of you to finally join us, Yasuhiro."

"Sorry, Coach." She bowed her head, standing up with the rest of the team.

"Alright, today, we'll be playing... Tag. Only, with my rules," Coach Takeuchi said, dribbling the ball a few times. He threw it in the air, and a boy with blond hair and silver eyes caught it with ease.

"Okay, Takeshi, you - are it. The purpose of the game is for the ones who do not have the ball, is to take the ball. And the person who is "it", must keep it away from everyone. Now, I will be timing whoever has the ball and whoever has it the ball the longest - wins." Everyone shared looks with each, grins glued to their faces. "Also, there is a bonus! Whoever manages to get points gets an extra ten seconds added to their time!"

"Start!" They all turned to Takeshi, and Kuroi could have sworn she saw a challenge rise in his eyes, before he took off, guarding the ball as if it was his very soul.

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Kuroi had been so lost after half an hour had passed. So many people had stolen the ball, only for it to be taken from them the next second. It was actually Kise, who had it for the longest. Two minutes and 14 seconds, before Kasamatsu managed to steal it away from him.

Kasamatsu now had it just over a minute, and Kuroi grinned. She was going to steal it from him.

Kasamatsu's back was to her, as she stayed out of the fray of eager males. Slowly, Kuroi crept towards Kasamatsu, who was too busy trying to keep the ball away from the others, as he began to make his way to the hoop.

'I see what you're planning, sempai.' She thought, eyes narrowing as she studied the movements of his muscles. A small smirk appeared on her face as she darted forward, just before his muscles tensed in a way just before he was about to make a jump for the hoop.

'A lay-up.' She predicted, reaching him just in time, she readied herself to jump and knock the ball out of his grasp. Only, the one thing she didn't count on was her shoelaces.

Kuroi let a girly yelp out as her left foot stepped down right on her undone shoelaces from her right shoe, and she felt her weight tip forward. It seemed almost in slow motion, as not only herself began to fall haphazardly, but also knocking Kasamatsu, mid-jump, down with her.

The two landed on the ground rather painfully, and Kuroi could only let a groan out, hearing the laughs and chuckles coming from her team mates.

"Ku- Kuroi..." Kuroi opened her eyes, wishing she didn't, as soon as she saw that she was nearly nose to nose with Kasamatsu. And, to make matters worse, she was on top of him.

"SEMPAI! I'M SORRY!" She cried, rolling off of him with some weird extreme speed, making the others only laugh harder. Kasamatsu waved his hand, as if accepting the apology, as he stood up slowly. His face was almost as red as a strawberry, and Kuroi couldn't help but start laughing as well.

"I got it!" They all stopped, and turned to Kise, who was holding the ball up victoriously, a sparkle in his golden yellow eyes. Kuroi shared a look with Kasamatsu.

"Coach didn't say anything about working together..." Kuroi began, a sly smile making its way to her face.

"Then let's get him." Kasamatsu finished, before taking off after the blond, who yelped and started running while awkwardly dribbling the ball to match his pace.

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Practice was now over, and Kuroi walked out of the girls' changing room cautiously, before making her way to the exit. For some reason, it left her in a good mood.

"Yasuhirocchi!" She stopped, and turned to look up at Kise, who came jogging out from the boys' locker room (of doom).

"What's up?" Kuroi asked, staring curiously at the blond. "Still not sad about being beat by a girl, are you?" She asked slyly, enjoying the small pout Kise gave her.

"N- No... But, I was wondering if you wanted to w-"

"Kuro-kun!" Both of their heads snapped in the direction of the doors. Kira stood there, hands on her hips, a small innocent smile on her face.

"Eh? Who's that?" Kise blinked, looking in between Kuroi and the girl.

"M- my... gi- gir-... friend!" Kuroi sputtered out, before running towards the pale blond haired girl. She grabbed her, and pulled out from the gym, and all the way outside.

Once they were far enough, Kuroi turned to her, glare on her face. "What are you doing?!" Kuroi hissed to her, frowning. 'Okay, good feeling is officially gone.' She thought.

"Uh, hello. Dating? Kinda the point." Kira rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to walk me home."

"No."

"... Okay, then. I guess I could just tell everyone your secret, and get the basketball team disba-"

"Okay! Okay... I'll walk you home." Kuroi muttered, giving into her demands. "Where do you live?" It came out more of a grumble, than what she had expected, but it seemed to pass by Kira.

"Oh, don't worry, sweetie. I live close by."

"Good." Kuroi muttered, as she started walking in the direction Kira started to.

"Oh, can you take my bag? It's heavy." Kira asked in a whine, holding her pink and red bag out to Kuroi.

"... Fin- Holy- What the hell is in here?" Kuroi demanded, pulling the bag on her free shoulder. Its weight was probably even heavier than her duffel bag.

"Oh, my volleyball equipment. If you didn't know, I'm on the Volleyball team."

"Good to know." Kuroi sighed.

About ten minutes later, they finally arrived at Kira's house. It was average sized, but at the same time, expensive looking.

'Figures.' Kuroi fought the urge to scoff or scowl, as she walked Kira up to her door. Kira turned to her, taking her bag with a stormy smile. "Thanks for walking me home, Kuro-kun." She said, almost too perfectly.

Kuroi nodded, trying her best to give a normal looking smile. "Y- You're welcome... honey." Kuroi replied, her heart practically stopping at the thought of referring to Kira as 'honey'.

She was about to turn and leave, to make her way back home, but Kira stopped her with a firm grip around her arm. Kuroi winced, wondering how the girl was stronger than she looked.

Kira pulled her forward, her face close to Kuroi's. Kuroi froze, her eyes widening as Kira pulled her even closer, noses nearly touching.

The girl in front of her snorted with laughter, pushing Kuroi away quickly. "Did you think I was really going to kiss you?" She whispered harshly, laughing loudly. "I don't make out with girls." She added in a hiss, before giving Kuroi a dark smile.

She turned on her heel, and unlocked the front door. She started laughing again as she entered her house, and slammed the door on Kuroi.

Kuroi listened to the hateful melody of Kira's laughter before it faded away, and she slowly turned around, making her way back towards the school in order to find her way to the train station. Now, she was officially pissed off.

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I just want to say, I finished reading my Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood book and chapter 56 was the shortest chapter I have ever read/seen before. Seriously. It's made up of 85 words. xD I just thought it was slightly awesome. And yeah, I counted.

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