This is based off episodes 53 and 62 of the anime. With my own spin of course :)

The Art of Perceptibility

Chapter 4: Ultimate

He could only watch helplessly as Haizaki slammed in yet another dunk.

Kise landed painfully on the wooden court and when he moved to push himself up, sharp shooting agony danced its way up his leg. He bit down hard on his lip to muffle the cry of pain that was fighting to get out.

Fuck.

"Impossible…"

"Kise is completely powerless against him?"

He could hear the incredulous voices of his teammates and he wished he could reassure them, but they were trailing seventeen points behind Fukuda High with only five minutes left in the game, and Kise couldn't see a way out of the mess they were in. He had run out of tricks, had nothing left to pull out of the proverbial hat. The stockpile of moves he had carefully and meticulously collected and perfected over the years was almost depleted.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Haizaki was standing over him taunting him with a far-off memory that Kise couldn't care less about. The model was busy trying to come up with a strategy. He had to get to the next round. He had vowed to Kuroko that they would play against each other in an official game and he'd be thrice damned before recanting a promise made to the other boy.

But how? What could he do?

Kise could feel himself sinking into the pit of despair and self-defeat when a strong, clear voice called out from the stands.

"I believe in you, Kise-kun!"

The blonde froze, his eyes widening.

'Kuro…ko…cchi?'

He whipped his head up to stare into the crowd, desperately searching for a head of bright blue hair. Kise's heart skipped a beat when he locked eyes with Kuroko, his breath escaping in a rush.

Blue eyes brimming with faith and assurance bore straight into his soul. Kise huffed a laugh as he felt strength flow back into his exhausted limbs and his chest felt full enough to burst open at any moment.

"Shogo-kun, I'll tell you this before I win."

Kise straightened up, the persistent angry throb pain of his ankle fading to a dull ache as he felt his concentration spiral inwards.

"You've totally got things wrong. Like about that girl…"

(It had never been a girl that had caused Kise so much grief and torment.)

"She just plastered herself all over me and started calling herself my girlfriend. To be honest, I was fed up with her."

(Fed up with the way she had been taking so much of his time and attention away from the person he adored.)

"She was so full of pride, and all she could do was brag about the status of 'dating a model'."

(He would never do that. Kise smiled wryly. In fact, he would probably refuse to date him because he was a model who constantly attracted attention and stares wherever he went.)

Kise's voice hardened, "Just because you managed to peel off one girl that flocked over based on looks, don't get carried away."

With that, the Kaijo team breathed a collective sigh of relief. Their ace was back. They wanted to show Kise that their belief in him was unwavering and so immediately passed to him.

Kise took a deep breath and stared down at the ball in his hands.

There was an air of anticipation in the stadium now.

A harsh voice cut through the tension, "You're nothing but a scrap with nothing good left, Ryota!"

Suddenly, anger buzzed at the edge of his vision. Kise was sick and tired of this failure of a 'miracle' parading around like he was somehow better than his Teiko teammates. This dreadlock loser knew nothing of the trials they had gone through, the backbreaking practices that went well into the night, the sacrifices that they had all made (the ultimate sacrifice of friendship) in order to come as far as they had.

Kise smiled mockingly, "Who is?"

It was time to settle this once and for all. He was going to show this silly little upstart exactly what being a member of the Generation of Miracles was about.

"Our styles are completely different," he declared.

As he bent his knees and raised his arms in the familiar graceful motion that Kise had seen again and again during practice in middle school, he leaped into the air and basked in the utter shock painted on Haizaki's face.

"Wha…"

Kise smirked as he watched the ball sink directly through the centre of the hoop. The force of the cheers that rang through the air threatened to bring down the stadium.

Haizaki's shock soon morphed into anger.

Kise couldn't help but taunt him further, "Girls, titles…if you want them, you can have as many of them as you want. But I have a promise to keep that is more important than any of that."

Every inch of his being burned with intense resolve, "I will make sure to get there…"

Looking directly into the cold, furious eyes of Haizaki, Kise roared, "So don't you get in my way!"

With that, Kise proceeded with an aggressive offensive and demolished the opponent's defence with unpredictable switches between vastly different styles and managed to nullify the point difference in a heartbeat.

"Shogo-kun, you said something earlier like 'I thought I'd grab the seat of the Generation of Miracles'?" He asked mockingly with faux concern, "How are you feeling now?"

In retrospect, he had probably taken it a tad too far. The next thing Kise knew, Haizaki had trampled his injured foot and was running off with the ball. Gritting his teeth, Kise pushed through the pain and leapt, slamming the ball from Haizaki's hands.

"I thought I told you," he growled, "Don't you get in my way! The winner is not you! It's me!"

Following that declaration the blonde steamrolled past the rest of the Fukuda players and made the final dunk of the match.

Kise's teammates cheers and hugs rained down around him but he only had one thought in mind. Turning, he released a heavy breath and with it, the tension and strain of using the Perfect Copy. He grinned triumphantly up into the stands and raised a victorious fist.

The answering smile was tinged with pride and excited anticipation.

'I made it Kurokocchi. We're going to be playing on the same court soon.'

The buzzer sounded.

The game was over.

Once again Kaijo had lost to Seirin.

Kise stood silent amongst the cheers of both the crowd and their opponents and let the bitter sting of disappointment sink in. Looking enviously across at the pair who had come to stand in front of him, Kise forced a grin.

"It was a total loss…" he extended a hand in congratulations and exchanged brief words with Kagami.

"Kise-kun," a quiet voice spoke up, "You really were strong."

But not strong enough.

Kise looked down at Kuroko seriously, before heaving a sigh and pouting, "In the past, I'd totally brag about it after hearing that, but now I can only think you're being sarcastic."

The blonde allowed himself to relish in the brief contact as he and Kuroko clasped hands before turning away to hide the tears that were welling up.

Up until the first year of middle school, Kise had been an average boy, never really having stood out. He had been smart, but not the smartest, fast but not the fastest, funny but not the funniest, kind but not the kindest…It had only been after he hit puberty that he had achieved first place in something – being deemed the most attractive male in the school.

Kise would give that up in a heartbeat if it meant he could firmly situate himself in Kuroko's good opinion and affections. Just as that depressing thought crossed his mind he caught the tail end of Kuroko and Kagami's exchange, "He is the best player…Kise-kun of Kaijo."

Kise went stock-still.

'B-best?'

Had he heard that right?

'Kurokocchi thinks I'm the…best?'