Summary:

5 times Kise noticed Kuroko and the time he was noticed back. Or the 5 times Kise fell for Kuroko and the time he realised Kuroko was there to catch him all along.

The Art of Perceptibility

Chapter 2: We Meet Again

Kise looked on with amusement as Kagami Taiga belligerently waved the broken basketball hoop in the air. The Seirin player's fierce energy reminded him of the old Aomine.

His captain's strong hand clasped his shoulder, "Get changed, coach's order."

A smug smile spread across the blonde's face as he complied.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"You're finally in," Kagami said, pleased.

Although he nodded in acknowledgement, Kise's attention was directed entirely towards the blunette, delighted that he would once again be sharing the court with Kuroko.

The Seirin captain gave Kise a brief lookover before saying admiringly, "You're way too intense for a model when you're on."

Pride swelled in Kise's chest at Kuroko's serious response, "He's not just putting on a show."

His reply was interrupted by the screaming and cheering from his fan club. Kise turned and waved cheerfully at them, glancing at Kuroko from the corner of his eye as he did so. He thought he saw a slight thinning of the smaller boy's lips and was about to take advantage of the situation when he was once again cut off – this time by a full force kick from Kasamatsu.

"Ow, senpai~!" he whined.

Chastised by the brief lecture he received, Kise turned his focus onto the practice math.

The first quarter was absolutely brutal.

Both teams went all out, demolishing the other's defence – it quickly became a shoot out. Yet through the tough plays, Kise couldn't help but beam internally at the shock and grudging admiration shown towards Kuroko by his current teammates. Simultaneously, he was quickly becoming aware of the mass of talent that was Kagami. Although Kise had managed to reply in turn to everyone of the redhead's challenges thus far, he was astonished to watch Kagami evolve through the game; running faster, dunking harder, jumping higher. Once again he experienced a strong sense of déjà vu. Kise could almost see the shadowed outline of a certain tanned teenager imprint beside Kagami.

He bit his lip, hard.

Irrational panic was welling inside Kise.

'Not again.'

"It's not fair! I want Kurokocchi to pass to me too!"

Kise was in full tantrum mode, clinging to the smaller boy and blinking large golden eyes down at him hoping to cajole Kuroko.

"Tch, get off him, Kise!"

A tanned arm shot out and bopped Kise on the head and proceeded to shove him forcefully off Kuroko.

"But…"

"Ryota."

Kise fell silent at his captain's voice.

"While Kuroko works well with all of us, it's when paired with Aomine that his skills are showcased in the best possible light," Midorima stated while adjusting his glasses in his annoying know-it-all way.

Kise was tempted to stick his tongue out at him.

"Hn. Kuro-chin and Mine-chin don't really get along in a lot of things, but when it comes to basketball, they're exactly alike."

"While Atsushi is not wrong, it's most likely because Aomine shines the brightest of us all, and in turn casts the deepest shadows."

His teammates continued their musings as they walked ahead towards the convenience store they regularly frequented. Kise hung back, watching the backs of the two boys whom had influenced him the most. Aomine had a casual arm slung around Kuroko's shoulder and must have been teasing the smaller boy as a tiny smile flirted at the corners of Kuroko's lips.

Kise's shoulders slumped. They looked so comfortable together, exchanging easy conversation. They had already forgotten about him. There had never been a space for him beside Kuroko's side.

He looked down at the pavement fighting back hot sting of tears. He clenched his fists, his fingernails biting into his palm painfully. If becoming a stronger player – a brighter light – would mean being closer to Kuroko, then he would do just that. He'd challenge Aomine everyday if he had to.

Kise would become the sun itself.

Resolved, he shook off his melancholy and plastered on a wide smile before bounding up to his friends.

Distracted as he was with memories, and the growing resentment of the effortless way Kagami worked Kuroko, Kise turned without thinking during a fast break from Kagami. Before he knew it his hand had slammed into the side of the phantom's head and Kuroko was falling.

Kise stood frozen in horror as Seirin rushed to their teammates side.

A pale blue eye gazed up at him in a daze, crimson blood streaking from underneath his fringe and obscuring his other eye.

The model watched with increasing worry as the female coach tended to Kuroko. His fidgeting was clearly irritating his captain but for once Kasamatsu just huffed and left him alone.

What was wrong with him?

Ever since that fateful game in second year middle school, Kise had not once lost track of Kuroko's presence. He played along with the shadow's games and let Kuroko sneak up on him and fake shock, but internally Kise was baffled that anyone who really knew the smaller boy could forget about his existence. To Kise, Kuroko was a blazing flame and the blonde a moth that was unerringly drawn towards him. He knew the moment the blunette would walk into a room and a part of his mind would remain focused on Kuroko no matter what other distractions may exist.

But now, he had hurt the male he adored with his careless actions.

The guilt and concern for Kuroko was like a heavy blanket that engulfed Kise. It wasn't until the phantom player returned to the court that he started out of his stupor.

Kagami assessed Kuroko with an intense gaze before nodding slightly and announcing, "Let's go."

Kise saw the way Kuroko's blank expression morphed into one of conviction which was compounded by the firm reply, "Yeah."

The model looked on enviously before shaking his head forcefully, trying to clear his mind. He had to focus, they were still in the middle of a game. Kise knew how seriously Kuroko took basketball and how much he valued dedication and concentration. He had let him down once already, Kise was determined to see this game through properly.

He lost.

He…lost.

Kise couldn't even remember the last time such a thing happened. Probably one of the one-on-one matches that used to be a constant but Aomine had eventually abandoned. He almost wanted to laugh a little hysterically. Of course it was Kuroko who had brought him down. Who else would have the audacity? The will?

Eventually Kise left the empty locker room of Kaijo and went in search of Kuroko. He found him leaving a nearby restaurant and the conversation that followed only expanded the bitter feeling that was gnawing at his heart.

Kuroko's confidence in Kagami was absolute.

The three-on-five street game was a brief but welcome balm to his hurt. Kise relished the opportunity to play one more time with Kuroko. He knew that such a time may not come again; they would be facing each other on opposite sides of the court in the future.

Laying on his bed that night, Kise couldn't help but chuckle fondly at the memory of Kuroko's stubborn pout in the face of the bullies. That was so typical of the pale boy – righeous to the very core. It was one of the qualities that had attracted the blonde in the first place.

Sighing the blonde flipped over onto his front, blindly reaching for his phone. Hesitating over the familiar contact he impulsively shot off a text. Staring unblinkingly at the phone, Kise willed it to buzz with the notification of a reply. A half hour passed before he buried his face into his pillow to muffle his defeated and frustrated scream.

In Tokyo, a light blue phone vibrated with an incoming message. It was unnoticed by the recipient who was slumped over in exhaustion and snoring lightly.

I hope you enjoyed that! As always, I would love it if you left a message on what you think. :)