"Whoah," Yusuke said as the basketball veered completely off course. He jogged forward to get it. It seemed like the pass specialist was getting tired, since, from what Yusuke had seen thus far, his aim was usually unerringly accurate.
Still, Yusuke wasn't exactly surprised. People always said don't judge a book by its cover, but Yusuke doubted he was far off from his estimate about the skinny teenager, and it seemed like he was right.
Yusuke's eyes followed the orange striped ball that was rolling away, knowing he could use a little extra burst of speed to get it, but not wanting to appear too extraordinary. Although he doubted he could stand out much, with that bunch's rainbow hair.
Then again, amongst a bunch of teenagers with unnatural hair color, having normal colored hair would actually stand out more, wouldn't it?
Yusuke shook his head at the irony, before bringing his attention to the escaping basketball again. He had no intention of letting it roll out onto the road and meet its ultimate demise. Their game wasn't finished, after all.
The ball rolled to a stop with a light bump against someone's leg.
"Hey, can you pass me that?" Yusuke called out, and even before he finished his sentence, he could already tell from the familiar energy signatures that it was someone he knew. A several of someone, actually.
Yusuke raised his eyes from the basketball and as the other teenager bent down to pick it up, Yusuke found himself making eye contact with a familiar pair of dark eyes. Those eyes narrowed, not appearing happy at all to see him.
Yusuke scratched his head absentmindedly.
"Hey," Yusuke said to the hitman, who was sitting on the Vongola heir's shoulder. Yusuke's gaze went to the teenager as he passed the basketball to him. "Thanks, Tsuna."
Tsuna smiled at him. Yamamoto followed Tsuna's lead, and Gokudera copied Reborn.
Yusuke didn't know whether to sigh or laugh at their distinct reaction upon seeing him. He chose to laugh as he wiped droplets of sweat away from his forehead with the back of his hand, and slipped the basketball under his arm, between his side and elbow.
Reborn's eye flickered to him, not doubt trying to deduce what Yusuke had been up to. There was nothing to deduce, however. The answer was in the ball Yusuke was holding under his arm.
"You play basketball, Yusuke-san?" Tsuna asked, interest flickering in his eyes.
Yusuke turned his attention to him and in his peripheral vision, Yusuke noted Yamamoto seemed to perk up at the mention of a sport.
Yusuke shrugged. "Just occasionally," Yusuke answered, which may have been a little bit of an exaggeration. More like 'I've never played until today, but I heard about it and have seen it on TV.'
It wasn't like Yusuke was a recluse who lived on the mountains for years in insolation and therefore, didn't know a thing about the popular sport or anything, although Yusuke had lived on the mountain before. It was merely that he had never participated in school sports in the past, and after he became Spirit Detective, well… who had time to play basketball when there was a world to save?
Then after saving the world and Yusuke did have time, it just seemed awfully stupid to run around trying to throw a ball into a hoop after all those world saving excitement he had experienced.
Yusuke didn't think about the fact that there was also no one who would play with him anyway. He didn't want to go there at all.
"Oh," Tsuna said, in reply to Yusuke's answer.
There was a lull in their conversation. Before the silence could grow uncomfortable, Yamamoto spoke.
"Are you any good?" Yamamoto asked, and Tsuna let out a silent sigh of relief. Trust Yamamoto to break up any moments that were heading towards awkward.
Tsuna let his gaze drift towards Yusuke-san again, feeling worry well within him. He didn't know what happened or what Yusuke-san was thinking, only that one moment he was answering his question and the next… Yusuke-san didn't seem different at all, but it seemed to Tsuna that Yusuke-san grew plaintive and distinct.
Tsuna's hand twitched at his side. He wanted to do something to make Yusuke-san feel better, but he had no idea what.
"Figure it out with your Dying Will," Reborn ordered. His Leon-gun was already in hand.
Tsuna didn't even have the time to shout "Stop reading my mind, Reborn!" or even the more important "Don't shoot me!" before the bullet hit the center of his forehead.
I'm dying, Tsuna thought detachedly as he fell backwards. Gokudera and Yamamoto cried out his name in an identical worried tone, and Yusuke's gaze dropped to Tsuna in surprise. Yusuke-san… If I had known I would die today, I would have tried everything in my power to improve your mood.
Familiar warmth, something like fire, burst within Tsuna.
No! Tsuna thought fiercely. Tsuna's body shot up, and all his clothes except his boxer ripped from his person with that one movement. Tsuna could scarcely care. All he could concentrate on was that sudden tunnel vision of his. It made his choice so much easier. I will improve his mood!
"I will make Yusuke-san feel happier again with my Dying Will!" Tsuna shouted loudly.
Surprise flashed across everyone's face, not expecting Tsuna to go into Dying Will Mode for such a reason. Everyone except Reborn.
The surprise on Yusuke-san's face, stemmed from not expecting at all that someone would do something like that for him, only fuelled the fire within Tsuna's chest and forehead. His flame glowed.
"Do you want a massage?" Tsuna asked, jumping towards Yusuke-san to give him exactly that. Yusuke-san unconsciously shifted away from him. "Maybe wipe your sweat?"
"Hey-"
"Some water?" Tsuna rapid fired off.
"Tsuna," Yusuke called, but then Reborn spoke.
"Let him do it," Reborn said, eyes hidden by his tipped-down fedora. Tsuna continued to fuss over Yusuke. "That's his Dying Will."
"What-?" Yusuke said, but that was the exact moment Tsuna's exaggeratedly large, half-crazed eyes dropped to the basketball under Yusuke's arm.
"Win your game?" Tsuna asked.
Yusuke, for the first time in a very long time, was stunned to silence.
Tsuna in his Dying Will Mode took that as an agreement.
He snatched the basketball from Yusuke without waiting for a reply. "I'll win the basketball game for Yusuke-san with my Dying Will!"
Then he proceeded to rush towards the basketball courts. Gokudera followed after a glare towards Yusuke and a "Wait for me, Juudaime!" Yamamoto followed with a laugh and a "Tsuna is sure excited about this basketball game."
Yusuke sweat-dropped at the dust that was left to settle in the wake of their passing.
"Are they always like this?" Yusuke asked, turning towards Reborn.
Reborn hmmed. "You better go see the game before it ends," Reborn said, already ambling away. "It wouldn't last long."
Yusuke let out a laugh and speed walked until he was in front of Reborn.
"That's ridiculously childish," Reborn said, tipping his fedora back to glare at Urameshi. He did not appreciate the other man trying to overtake Reborn with his longer, adult strides.
Urameshi dropped down in front of Reborn, quelling his glare. "Get on," Urameshi said, gesturing to his shoulder. A faint smile lingered at the corner of Urameshi's lips. "It'll be too late otherwise."
Reborn instinctively sent a kick towards Urameshi's head for the insinuation that Reborn was slow and was surprised when Urameshi actually let it land. Urameshi let out a laugh. "Ouch."
Reborn settled on Urameshi's shoulder. "Go," Reborn commanded, hiding his surprise like the ride was completely within his plan.
Amusement filled Urameshi's voice. "Yes, yes, Your Majesty Berorn."
Reborn's lips twitched.
Xxx (A/N: If you don't know what is Kuroko no Basket, here is the time to scroll down to read a short summary) xxx
"Oi, what the fuck!" Aomine shouted when someone just whizzed past him. He hadn't even seen the guy coming!
Two other guys followed, one smiling cheerfully, the other with an annoyed glare.
"Hello," the cheerful guy greeted as he passed, while his companion said nothing.
"Wow," Kise breathed, turning back to look in the direction the three other teens had gone. "I don't think I could copy the first guy's speed. It's inhuman!"
Aomine let out a che. "You can't copy a lot of stuff, like me or Tetsu's invisibility."
Kise blinked, his eye suddenly brimmed with crocodile tears. "Wah! Aominecchi is so mean! Wait until I tell Kurokocchi!"
"Wha-What?!" Aomine spluttered. He hissed in annoyance. "Where the fuck is that Yusuke-guy anyway?! He took five minutes to fetch a goddamn ball?!"
"Aominecchi is cursing so much! Wah, my poor innocent ear!" Kise wailed, covering his ears to match his words.
Aomine snorted. "Innocent my ass."
Kise tugged on Aomine's arm.
"What?!" Aomine snapped, turning around to glare at Kise.
"Those guys from before! They're on our court!" Kise cried.
"Who fucking cares? Akashi is there. Let him deal with them," Aomine said, eyes scanning the other side of the park for the Yusuke-guy. "Ah, I see him."
"B-But Aominecchi!" Kise wailed, and Aomine rolled his eyes at Kise's theatrics. He always made a big deal out of nothing, so Aomine proceeded to ignore his teammate in favor of heading towards the Yusuke-guy.
The logic was simple.
The Yusuke-guy had the basketball. Without the basketball, Aomine cannot play the sport. Basketball was life. Hence, go to the Yusuke-guy with the basketball.
Kise's tug on Aomine's arm became insistent. "They just scored a point against us!"
Aomine ripped his arm out of Kise's grip with the force he spun around. "What?! What the fuck was fucking Midorima or Murasakibara doing?!"
Even out of hearing range, it seemed Aomine would not dare verbally criticize Akashi.
"They were all just sitting there resting!" Kise cried, shaking Aomine's arm. "And then the first guy that passed us suddenly slammed the basketball through our hoop!"
"We're going back," Aomine declared. He turned and ran towards the court in full speed without looking back.
The guy just scored a point against them. That would require an actual basketball. The presence of a basketball equaled a good game.
The game was so on!
"Wah! Wait for me, Aominecchi!"
Xxx
Akashi heard their approach before he had actually seen them. Actually, it was pretty hard not to hear them coming.
"I'll win the basketball game with my Dying Will!" someone shouted, and in the time it took Akashi to look up, a basketball was slammed through a hoop.
Their hoop.
Akashi's eyebrow twitched.
Someone just scored a point against them. Granted, whoever it was took them by surprise, but it was:
Completely. Unacceptable.
"Murasakibara, Midorima," Akashi called, standing up. He watched as another two teen appeared on the court, both praising the first for the good shot. Akashi's mood worsened. "Kuroko."
"Eh, even Kuro-chin?" Murasakibara asked, slowly standing up. He was still eating his snack.
Kuroko looked up weakly from where he sprawled on the bench. "Akashi-kun?" he asked.
Akashi made a split-second decision. "I expect you to join us as soon as you can," he said, already sauntering forward with Murasakibara and Midorima close behind.
"Understood," Kuroko intoned, sounding tired but not willing to defy.
The teens on the court looked towards them as they approached.
"Would you like a game?" Akashi asked, even as he bade his two teammates to go into position.
The leader – clad in only a boxer with a flame on his head – glanced towards Akashi for a second, before he moved.
Akashi, anticipating this, stepped forward and stamped. "Emperor Eye."
Xxx
"Holy fuck," Aomine uttered as he skidded to a stop.
Kise, who was right behind him, was unable to stop in time and crashed right into Aomine.
Aomine didn't even budge or turn around to yell at Kise.
"Aominecchi?" Kise said curiously, trying to peek over Aomine's shoulder. When that didn't work since Aomine was taller than Kise, Kise let out a huff and looked around Aomine. "What's…" wrong, Kise wanted to finish asking, except his voice just fled him as his eyes landed on the court.
It had taken approximately one and a half minute to return to the court. Kise expected Akashi to have pulverized their challengers by then, since Akashi wasn't known to be nice to those who challenge him in such an aggressive, overbearing manner.
Yet…
"Holy," Kise breathed, since that was the only way for him to verbalize his feelings. Was Akashi just having a one-on-one with a brown-haired kid who was shorter than him?
Even more surprising was Akashi didn't get pass the other guy's defense yet.
And that was the truth. Every time Akashi made a small movement, the other kid would react and vice versa. If Kise didn't know better, he would say the other shorty was reading Akashi's move.
But it's not possible! Kise shouted in his head. Akashi was superhuman enough with his uncanny ability to predict people's movement and now it appeared that someone else can also do that? Someone who can read Akashi Seijuro?!
Kise felt like he went into an alternative universe while he wasn't paying attention.
As it was, he also didn't notice the other two that joined them.
Xxx
Reborn narrowed his eyes at the scene before him. This was an unusual turn of event.
Normally when in Dying Will Mode, Tsuna would move in a frenzied manner, partly because of his time limit of five minutes and partly because he just had so much energy from his removed physical limitations that he just had to move.
But right now, despite Reborn knew the five minutes weren't up yet – although it was quickly approaching – Tsuna wasn't moving.
Or rather, Reborn thought, his gaze landing on Tsuna's opponent, he is prevented from moving.
Spikey red hair and heterochromatic, calculating eyes.
Reborn's mind instantly latched on those eyes. He knew there was a famiglia that prided themselves for those eyes. They came with an ability similar to Vongola's Hyper Intuition. The ability enabled people who possessed those eyes to read others with uncanny accuracy. They were called…
"Emperor Eyes," Reborn muttered. "The Akashi Family."
The blond-haired kid beside Urameshi glanced over at Reborn in surprise. "Eh, you know Akashi?"
Reborn quickly glanced over the teen. Pretty face, athletic, probably middle schooler, model. Reborn recognized his face from some of the magazines Tsuna's female classmates sighed over.
Most likely one of Akashi's Family member, as well as the dark-blue haired kid beside him.
Reborn gave a noncommittal hm.
The blond-haired kid and Urameshi gave Reborn a curious look, but he ignored them.
The model turned back towards the game after a moment. "That kid's pretty good," he said. "Normally Akashicchi would have breeze right pass him by now."
"His name is Tsuna," Urameshi said. "He's… special, you could say."
Reborn could see the corner of Urameshi's lips twitching.
"Eh, you know him, Yusuke-san," the model said in surprise. "No wonder he's so good!"
Urameshi laughed. "I didn't train him, you know?"
The teen gave Urameshi a skeptical, teasing look. "You said you didn't really know how to play either," he pointed out, "but you kept up with us when Aominecchi, Kurokocchi and I went against you."
Reborn's eyes flicked over to Urameshi briefly. From the way the model had said it, it seemed like that was a pretty big accomplishment. Reborn flipped through his internal database briefly to find out why.
Ah, the Akashi Family's heir went to a school named Teiko, which was known for its basketball prowess. Reborn, as well as the Akashi themselves, wouldn't expect anything less than captaincy for their heir, meaning the teenagers present were Teiko's first string.
Of course. Now Reborn recalled he had heard something of this. This bunch of middle schoolers was known to be so skilled in basketball that they were named Generations of Miracles in the basketball circle. They had led Teiko to two years of championships already, and it was anticipated that this year would be the third.
"Barely," Urameshi said with a laugh in reply. "I barely kept up with you guys."
Reborn absentmindedly wondered if that was modesty or the truth.
In his peripheral vision, Reborn saw that Tsuna finally made a move. No doubt it was because he sensed time was running out.
It was a mistake, however, because Akashi saw it coming. Akashi moved forward to intercept Tsuna, and Tsuna was stopped.
The basketball, however, was not in his hand.
"Midorima," Akashi called out, knowing it was too late for him to act now, and a green-haired boy moved, almost stealing the ball from Gokudera's hand.
"Baseball freak!" Gokudera shouted, passing the ball to Yamamoto. "You better not miss!"
Yamamoto grinned as he caught the basketball, and a familiar look that only appeared when he held a baseball in his hand slipped on his face. His eyes narrowed, and he dribbled forward.
The green-haired kid, Midorima, was trying to grab the ball back, but Gokudera was blocking the way. "You won't get pass me," Gokudera declared, eyes filled with determination.
Likewise, the perception that the Vongola Family and the Akashi Family passed down to their heirs was now enabling one to prevent the other from moving forward once again. They were stuck in a stagnant.
Yamamoto stopped and bent his knees. The purple-haired boy in front of the hoop narrowed his eyes.
The flame on Tsuna's head went out.
Yamamoto made the motion to shoot. The purple-haired kid readied himself to jump. Akashi turned around.
"Murasakibara, don't," Akashi called, instantly seeing through Yamamoto's fake. The purple-haired kid, Murasakibara, immediately stopped.
Yamamoto paused.
The world held its breath.
The basketball slipped off Yamamoto's hand.
Reborn inwardly sighed.
"What the fuck, baseball freak!" Gokudera shouted, rage filling his face. There was no time limit to the impromptu game, but it was apparent who had just won.
"Hahaha," Yamamoto laughed, turning around. "My bad, my bad. I'm not used to holding a basketball. Man, I never realized a basketball is so much bigger a baseball."
"You can tell with one look!" Gokudera yelled, ignoring his previous opponent in favor of storming towards Yamamoto.
"Maa, maa," Yamamoto said. "It wasn't on purpose. I just forgot I was holding a basketball and tried to throw it like a baseball."
The people in the surrounding's jaw dropped. The vein on Gokudera's forehead throbbed.
"You fucking idiot!" Gokudera shouted. "How could you forget?"
Someone laughed.
Reborn jumped onto the ground as the person he was sitting on shook.
Everyone stared at Urameshi, and he grinned back at them. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized, not appearing apologetic at all. The grin on his face widened. "Go on. Don't mind me."
Then he took one look at the dumbfounded looks on the people around him, and he cracked up again.
"Holy fuck," Urameshi said as he continued to laugh, to the point where he was crouching down on the floor, clenching his stomach as his body shook with mirth.
"You've fucking gone insane, haven't you?" Gokudera asked with an incredulous laugh. Any anger he previously had evaporated.
Yamamoto grinned. "It was a good game, wasn't it, Tsuna?"
Tsuna nodded, gazing at Urameshi with a soft, tired smile. "It was."
"Sorry I made us lose," Yamamoto said. "My bad. It won't happen again, I promise."
Tsuna shook his head. "Like you said, it was a good game, Yamamoto."
Besides, Reborn could almost hear Tsuna thinking, Yusuke-san's smiling again.
Reborn shook his head slightly. Tsuna still wore everything on his face.
The dark-skinned boy next to model boy stepped up. "Hey," he said, a wide grin spreading across his face. Reborn recognized the look on the teen's face. It was the predatory look of someone ready for a fight. Or in this case, a game. "Play against me," he said directly to Tsuna and his family. "In fact, all of you. Come at me."
"No fair, Aominecchi!" the model cried, running up to the boy Reborn assumed was called Aomine. The '-cchi' part was most likely tagged on as a personalized way to call someone. A nickname of some sort, Reborn supposed. "I wanted to challenge them." He turned towards Tsuna.
"Hey," he said cheerily, beaming at them with his model smile. A hint of darkness lurked in his otherwise bright, yellow eyes and his smile, too, turned predatory. "Wanna get your revenge?"
"Why you-!" Gokudera exclaimed, marching forward. "Who the fuck are you?"
The model smiled prettily. "Kise Ryouta," he introduced professionally, sparkling in Gokudera's direction. Too bad Gokudera was not at all impressed. "I'm the teammate of the group that you lost to," he continued rather antagonistically, gesturing to the court with the same charming smile.
This one has rather much like a double persona, doesn't he, Reborn thought. Absentmindedly, he wondered which one was his true self, and how it came about. After all, while people within the Mafia may develop a double persona, everyday middle schooler usually had no reason to.
Just when it looked like Gokudera would resort to his fist or dynamite, Kise suddenly cried out.
"Wah!" Kise called, stumbling forward. It took Reborn a whole second to see why. "Kurokocchi!"
"Kise-kun, stop being rude," someone intoned softly from behind Kise. All of a sudden, a person seemed to materialize out of thin air. Reborn, Urameshi, Akashi and Tsuna didn't start in surprise, but the rest of the teenagers did.
"Kuroko!" Akashi's Family called out. It seemed like the phantom boy was a teammate of theirs.
Reborn looked critically over Kuroko, noting he seemed rather weak. He didn't show the signs of having any supernatural abilities as well. His lack of presence was inborn then.
Well, this is getting more interesting, Reborn thought. He wondered if he could recruit the boy.
The feeling of a glare brought Reborn out of his thoughts. He traced it back to a pair of heterochromatic eyes.
Reborn returned the look easily and was even more intrigued when the teen didn't flinch away. Interesting.
Their eye contact was suddenly broken by a body in their way.
"Yusuke," Reborn said as the other stood up. The grin was still on his face, although there was a knowing glint in his eyes as well as he looked from Akashi to Reborn.
Urameshi clucked his tongue. "Try not to kill each other, 'kay," Urameshi said. He didn't give Reborn or Akashi a chance to reply before he ambled towards the group gathered around Tsuna.
"Hey, Kuroko, you feeling better?" Yusuke called out.
The group unconsciously parted to let Yusuke through. Kuroko's blue eyes drifted to Yusuke, and he nodded.
"I'm feeling better, Yusuke-san," he replied. "Thank you for asking."
Yusuke hummed and carefully, he placed a hand on Kuroko's head and ruffled his hair. There was something amusing about how Kuroko's teammates instantly bristled.
Yusuke dropped his hand and just when the Generation of Miracles began to relax, Yusuke leaned forward so he was at Kuroko's height. "You have a good team," Yusuke whispered directly into Kuroko's ear, too low for anyone else to hear. He could feel Kuroko's eyes widen ever slightly in surprise and with hidden sorrow. "So don't worry too much and enjoy life, 'kay?"
"Yusuke-san…" Kuroko murmured, face still expressionless while his eyes were full of feelings and inner turmoil. Yusuke wondered how his teammates never saw any of that. "I-"
Someone roughly yanked Yusuke back, and another instantly pulled Kuroko away from Yusuke. Yusuke fought against the instinctive reflex to react. "Get away from him, you creep," Aomine shouted, glaring at him.
Murasakibara wrapped his protective arms around Kuroko, normally bored eyes now outright fierce. Kise fluttered between wanting to go to his Kurokocchi and probably giving this 'creep' a piece of his mind.
"Yusuke-san, Kurokocchi is cute, but you can't do something like that," Kise said, reproaching and somewhat joking. His eyes, however, were deadly serious.
Midorima was standing beside Kuroko with his arms crossed, a hand pushing his glasses up. "Please respect Kuroko's personal space, Yusuke-san," Midorima said. His glasses glinted the unspoken or else…
Akashi stood a little apart from them all, watching all that happen with analytic look.
It was Kuroko who ended the standoff.
"Murasakibara-kun," he said, voice rather deadpanned. "Please don't hover over me like this."
"But Kuro-chin is cute," the tall teenager said, slouching to rest his chin on top of Kuroko's head. "You're very comfy."
Kuroko sighed. "I don't understand why all of you must insist that I'm cute," Kuroko voiced. "Please don't, Kise-kun," he sighed when it looked like the model was about to protest. "Aomine-kun," Kuroko said, turning towards the dark-skinned boy. "Please let go of Yusuke-san."
"But he was whispering in your ear like a creep!" Aomine protested, despite loosening his grip on Yusuke's arm. "Can I at least get in a punch?"
"You won't be able to, lover boy," Yusuke said with a laugh, slipping his arm out of Aomine's hold. Aomine turned to glare at him.
"Aomine-kun, please," Kuroko said, and any defiance in Aomine slowly evaporated. "Yusuke-san didn't do anything," he continued, looking at Yusuke with an inscrutable look. His gaze flickered back to Aomine after another moment. "Aomine-kun."
"What?" Aomine snapped, looking much like a peevish child.
"Would you like a game?" Kuroko asked. Aomine noticeably perked up.
A subtle smile played at Kuroko's lips as he turned back to Tsuna. "Would you like to play another game against us?" Kuroko asked.
"But I'm not-" Tsuna started instinctually. He paused to look at Gokudera, who looked like he very much wanted revenge, and Yamamoto, who had a grin spread across his face in anticipation of a rematch. The refusal on the tip of his tongue deflated. "Um…" Tsuna said, turning back to Kuroko. "I'm not very good, but alright?"
"From what I've seen, you're more than good," Kuroko said, still emotionless yet somehow getting across his sincerity with his blunt statement.
Tsuna flushed in face of it. "I…"
Reborn suddenly came out of nowhere and kicked Tsuna in the head, knocking Tsuna down. Kuroko blinked politely, as though it was somehow daily occurrence.
"He accepts the game," Reborn said to Kuroko, stepping on Tsuna a few more times more than necessary. "But he has to rest a bit first. His friends will play against you for now."
Kuroko nodded. "I understand. I also lack the stamina to play for an extended period of time," Kuroko said, looking down at his pale arm. He sounded so melancholy but also resigned at the knowledge of the extent of his physical abilities.
"Kise, Aomine," Akashi said, finally stepping in. "Play against them."
Eagerness flashed across the two teenagers' face, with an underlying of something darker. A mix of happiness and pain flashed across Kuroko's eyes at the sight.
"We'll crush them," Aomine promised with a grin, bouncing on the balls on his feet.
"We'll crush you," Gokudera growled, glowering at Aomine.
"Maa, maa, let's have a good game," Yamamoto said with a smile and all the sportsmanship in the world. His eyes sharpened. "But like my friend said, we're not weak."
"Che," Gokudera said. "Who's your friend?"
"Maa, maa, don't be like that, Gokudera," Yamamoto said in an easygoing manner, not even bothered by Gokudera's denial of their friendship.
"Wait!" Kise called out dramatically. "I didn't get to say my line yet!"
Yamamoto and Gokudera paused for a total of two second, before they resumed to arguing between themselves.
Kise sobbed rather dramatically beside Aomine. Aomine observed the one-sided argument Gokudera was supporting all by himself with interest. "You're like Midorima, aren't cha?" Aomine said to him, pointing towards his green-haired teammate with a jab of his thumb.
"Whatcha talking about, Aominecchi?" Kise asked curiously, pausing in his fake sobs.
"They're both tsundere," Aomined pointed out rather bluntly.
Midorima and Gokudera both spluttered. "Aomine, I'm not a tsundere!" Midorima hissed.
"Yeah, yeah," Aomine said carelessly, digging his pinky in his ear.
"Aomine-!" Midorima said, but Akashi cut in.
"Aomine, Kise, go start the game," Akashi said. His gaze drifted to Yamamoto and Gokudera, and looked at them rather pointedly.
"What?" Gokudera said defiantly, meeting Akashi's eyes.
A hand tugged at Gokudera's shirt.
"Gokudera, I thought you wanted to play," Tsuna said, ending the conflict before it could start.
"Of course, Juu-"
Yusuke bumped right into Gokudera, arms out to drape one arm on Gokuder's shoulder and the other on Yamamoto's. "C'mon," he said, steering them towards the court. "I also want to play."
He paused to look back at Akashi.
Akashi remained silent before a few second, before he nodded. "Midorima," he said.
Midorima nodded and headed towards the court, fixing the bandages on his fingers as he went.
"Well, this will be fun," Yusuke said as Gokudera shrugged his arm off his shoulder.