Day 17: Aomine's Gift and Mario Kart

Summary: Have you ever wondered what would happen if Akashi and Kuroko played Mario Kart? This is what would happen.

Neither Akashi nor Kuroko would consider themselves to be gamers.

Gamers in the sense that they played countless hours of video games, attempting to conquer relative quests in order to say that they completed the game and such. No it was something that didn't intrigue either of them, Kuroko preferring to indulge in a good novel while Akashi prefers strategy games such as chess and shogi.

So when Aomine gave the two of them a spare Nintendo Wii and 2 video games along with it as a present, they were rather reluctant.

At first, Akashi demanded that Aomine return his gift however Kuroko, being the more polite individual, insisted that they keep the system to be nice and appreciative of Aomine's gift.

Neither of them being experts on setting up a console system, Aomine offered to hook up the Wii to their plasma screen television, and taught them the basics on holding the controllers, how they could move the cursor with their hand, what each button did and so forth. To make matters even more interesting, he even gave the two of them Wii remote nunchuks, wheels and classic controllers so that they could play the games that Aomine gave them and then some.

So what exactly were those 2 game that Aomine gave the duo? Simple really: Wii Sports and Mario Kart Wii.

Even someone who doesn't like video games like Kuroko knows what Wii Sports is and just how popular it is. He's also heard a little bit regarding Mario Kart Wii and how Mario Kart in general is a very fun but competitive game so he has to admit that he is a tad interested in playing it for himself. Though he doesn't expect to be perfect at it since he hardly ever plays video games.

Akashi on the other hand feels that he was much better things to do than indulge in video games. He can't fathom how these gamers have the time on their hands to indulge in such games. He understands that playing video games does in fact help increase hand-eye coordination, but other than that, he finds them distracting. However after Kuroko convinced him, he'll let it slide and play these electronic contraptions for the time being, just to make Kuroko happy and let Aomine believe that he'd done a good deed.

The Wii is all hooked up and Aomine looks back at the duo, who were sitting next to each other on the nearby couch in triumph. Akashi adorning a bored and irritable expression while Kuroko deadpanned, staring at Aomine and not really doing much else.

"There, it's all set up! So what game do you wanna play?"

Akashi wanted to do something else, anything else and he was about to voice his opinion when Kuroko beat him to it.

"Akashi-kun and I would like to play Mario Kart," he answered. His lover look at Kuroko, opposed to such a decision but Kuroko remained firm, staring back at Akashi with a determined expression. The blue head was completely content with Akashi being opposed to even having this Wii in their house, but he would not stand for Akashi to state said opinions while Aomine was still in the room.

"Alright, then I'll put the game in and you two can start playing," Aomine replied as he opened up the game's case and inserted the disc into the Wii, allowing it to load before the two can start playing. Just then he got up and walked towards Kuroko and Akashi, handing Kuroko a pamphlet.

"Here are the instructions and everything else you need to know about playing the game."

Kuroko took them, smiling at his former light. "Thank you, Aomine-kun. And thank you for setting it up for us."

"It was my pleasure, Tetsu. As much as I would like to stay, I have to get to work early in the morning so I'll see you!" Aomine replied before leaving their living room towards the front door.

"Bye, Aomine-kun!" Kuroko called back, watching as Aomine waved him goodbye and closed the door. Not too long afterwards, as if a light was switched, Akashi began to speak.

"I'm not playing this, Kuroko."

"Yes you are, Akashi-kun," it was rather unlike Kuroko to defy his lover, but at the moment, he could only see Akashi as being rather childish.

"Kuroko, playing this would only be a waste of time," he added, crimson eyebrows furrowed and twitching slightly with irritability.

"Akashi-kun, you're being childish. Aomine-kun went out of his way to set this game up for us to play and we're going to play it. If you don't like it afterward, fine then I won't make you play it again but for now, you and I will be playing Mario Kart!"

Akashi's eyes widened in shock from his lovers response and frankly, Kuroko was shocked as well. It wasn't normal for him to sound so…nagging like a mother scolding her child or a wife scolding her immature husband. However, Kuroko wanted to give this a try and Aomine meant for the two of them to play this game together, not just Kuroko by himself.

Akashi was silent for a moment, thinking over what decision he could make about this. He could just blatantly refuse and put his foot down but that would lead to more arguments and tension and that was the last thing he wanted. Or he could suffer through playing a ridiculous video game with his beloved significant other playing alongside him and see whether or not he actually likes playing this at all. And even if the two of them hate it, at least they're trying out new things as a couple, something Kuroko and Akashi respectively enjoy doing.

So with that in mind, Akashi nods his head, going along with his lover's wishes.

"Alright I'll play, Kuroko. But only for one match," he replied, insisting on playing this for a short time but nonetheless, Kuroko was relieved.

"Thank you, Akashi-kun. Let's play!"

Akashi allowed Kuroko to take control over the 1st player Wii controller, watching in silence as Kuroko started up the Mario Kart game. The cursor moved over to the Multiplayer box in the game's home screen and he selected two players. Another screen appeared showing a yellow Wii Wheel in one box and an empty blue box on the other. There was a caption on the other side of the screen that told player two to click the A button on the Wii Wheel to continue.

"Akashi-kun, press the A button," Kuroko told his lover, watching as Akashi grabbed his respective Wii Wheel and clicking the A button on his remote. The screen made a ringing sound and the 2nd Wii Wheel appeared on the blue box. Kuroko clicked continue after that and 2 options appeared before them: Vs and Battle. Before the boxes were small clips of generic video game characters on bikes and karts driving through different stages. The VS appeared more like racetracks and Battles looked like a huge battlefield with players shooting turtle shells and banana peels at each other.

"So which one do you want to do, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko questioned his lover, unsure of which one he wanted to do.

Akashi only shrugged, wanting to get this over with and had no preference.

"Hmm I'm not sure. You can pick whichever one you want, Kuroko."

Kuroko humming in acknowledgement, he eyed the 2 boxes. The VS box appeared more like an actual, generic racing game minus the turtle shells and banana peels so he clicked on VS. A separate boxes appeared but Kuroko accidentally clicked a button on his Wii remote too quickly so he couldn't tell what he clicked. He thought he had seen the words Single and Team but he wasn't sure.

Next a list of a bunch of video game characters appeared on screen. Kuroko recognized a few of them such as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Bowser, but the rest of them he either didn't know their name or who they were at all. Kuroko just looked at Akashi in confusion but Akashi only eyed the TV screen, seemingly bored.

Silent, the couple picked their respective characters: Kuroko picking Luigi and Akashi picking Mario since neither of them had much knowledge of the other characters. After picking their characters, they were able to pick whichever karts or bikes they want but since this was their 1st time playing the game, they selected the standard karts.

"Hmm what's the difference between automatic and manual?" Kuroko questioned.

Akashi honestly had no idea if that question was directed to him or not. He's never played this game before nor did he think that he would ever play this game. So he had no use for looking up the game's mechanics.

"Why don't you check that pamphlet Aomine gave you?" Akashi asked.

Kuroko's eyes widened in realization. Oh yeah…he forgot about the pamphlet.

"Oh sure, I'll look it up."

The two of them spent a couple minutes reading into the pamphlet about the game's mechanics and what the heck automatic and manual even meant. However, the two of them were finally able to get the gist of what they were getting themselves into.

After analyzing the game's mechanics, the couple picked up their Wii Wheels and both decided to click on automatic. Immediately after, they were rewarded with a list of 24 courses they could choose from since two of the cups were still unavailable and needed to be unlocked 1st.

"I think the Mushroom Cup is the easiest cup so let's play those courses 1st until we get used to playing it," Kuroko mentioned, eyeing his lover to see if he agreed with that notion.

"If that's what you want, love, then its fine with me," he responded, causing Kuroko to blush slightly from the pet name.

After receiving that response from his lover, Kuroko went ahead and picked Luigi Circuit, since it was probably one of the easier courses and they were already to go!

It didn't take long for the game to start, with the race officially beginning thanks to the signal from the video game character that looked like a smiling cloud, the two of them began their race alongside 10 other computer players. Their arms were moving side to side as if steering an actual steering wheel in a car. Kuroko had a face of determination as his racer moved up the ranks from last place to 8th and then to 4th thanks to the turtle shells and various banana peels that the clueless computer characters were running into.

Akashi however was a different story, he too was moving swiftly across the ranks, eventually getting to 3rd place without much trouble thanks to the incompetent computer players. A smirk hid across his face, this game was way too easy. He was a 1st time player and he was easily beating out these computers like their candy. It was just way too simple for him.

By their 2nd lap, Akashi was in 2nd place and Kuroko was creeping ahead in 4th. Just then, Akashi ended up getting a red turtle shell, which he without hesitation threw at directly towards the 1st place computer racer who was only a tad ahead of him. The computer falling over in flips and fumbles, Akashi easily raced ahead of it, reaching 1st place for the 1st time in this game. Kuroko in turn, while mostly concentrated on the status of his player, couldn't help but steal a glance at Akashi's screen to see his ranking, proud that his lover was doing so well at their 1st time. However, the jealousy that he was perfecting this match like he perfected everything else in his life was slowly getting at the phantom. The darker, sinister side of Kuroko desperately wanted to win, to show Akashi that he wasn't perfect and that he too could defeat him in something that wasn't basketball.

Their 3rd and final lap was here, Kuroko finally managing to get 2nd place but Akashi was in 1st still, racing through the course with little to no struggle. Akashi was smoothly coasting through the final lap, having little to no troubles completing ½ of the lap while Kuroko trailed a bit behind him. He had little capability to catch up to Akashi since the only the items he seemed able to get were fake POW blocks and banana peels.

It wasn't until Akashi neared the speed boosters near the end of the course where things got interesting. Suddenly out of nowhere, a blue, flying turtle shell appeared out of nowhere and flew above Akashi's kart. Akashi in turn was confused, not seeing this blue shell appear before and the couple only skimmed through the items list so he didn't remember what it did.

"What the-?"

And then it happened. The blue, flying turtle shell collided into Akashi's kart in a massive blue explosion. His kart flipped over too many times to count and there was nothing Akashi could do about it. The redhead was stunned by what just happened, his jaw actually dropped, something he's never done before and his crimson eyes grew huge from the shock.

To make matters worse, Kuroko raced past him and hit the speed boosters, plowing through them with marvelous speed and taking 1st place from Akashi's hands. Akashi in turn, tried to speed up, but a red shell appeared out of nowhere, probably thrown by a random computer and it hit Akashi before he had the chance to pick up full speed and hit the speed boosters, his kart flipping over and his eyes twitched in irritation as a bunch of computers raced past him while he was still recovering.

Eventually, Akashi made it to the finish line, but ended up in 8th place whereas Kuroko got 1st place, making it only the 2nd time ever that Kuroko managed to defeat Akashi in something. He smiled in triumph, while Akashi was trying to compose himself, his mind trying to absorb what just happened.

"It looks like I beat you, Akashi-kun," Kuroko remarked, baby blue eyes glancing towards his lover, who was silent and still like a surprised statue.

Glancing at the leader-board that appeared on-screen, Kuroko noticed the face of Luigi along with the name Player 1 appear on the top of the leader-board, while the Mario face and Player 2 appeared near the bottom of the leader-board in 8th place.

"Well I guess there' always next time, Akashi-kun. Unless you don't want to play this game anymore-"

"We're playing again," Akashi commanded, his tone dark and his eyes clouded with repressed irritation. Kuroko only sighed. He couldn't blame Akashi for reacting that way. He's so used to winning that he sees winning as if it was the same as breathing, so of course the reaction would be quite shocking. But still, Kuroko is happy that his lover wants to play again, as only a few minutes ago he wanted to get rid of it.

"Whatever you say, Akashi-kun."

And so begins Akashi and Kuroko's tradition of attempting to destroy each other while playing Mario Kart.

Notes: I haven't played the newest version of Mario Kart yet so I based this off of Mario Kart Wii so I apologize for that.

Otherwise, reviews, critique and so forth are welcomed and appreciated! :)