Chapter Text
Epilogue
After winning the Inter-High, it could be said that everything went back to normal. Even though Kuroko was no longer attending Seirin, he kept in touch with them still.
Summer holiday came around, and well, that meant it was time for yet another training camp this time for the Winter Cup. Seeing how her training had made his six regulars into monstrous beasts, Takeuchi this time, decided to make all his boys attend. Riko didn't mind either, and this time, the camp was a joint effort of the two teams. And by some strange occurrence, the two teams managed to run into Shutoku again. Nakatani was particularly happy for this, as watching the video of the semi-final; he knew just how terrible the two teams are.
And so, the three coaches made it their mission to kill off their teams for the Winter Championship. Kaijou and Seirin were now in a league of their own, Shutoku gaping in horror, knowing that they'd have to face Seirin in the matches for the teams to represent Tokyo, and then there's a possibility that they'd face Kaijou in the actual tournament. The boys had shivered at this. They decided to enjoy what little they could from now.
This sort of created a small bond between the three teams, Kagami always hounding Midorima for a one-on-one in which the shooter would deny (if Takao wasn't there). The captains would usually complain to each other about their first years, Kasamatsu only finding fault with Kise, saying that 'the blond can't keep his hands off Kuroko'.
The bond between Seirin and Kaijou strengthened even more, and many times in the camp, whenever they had matches, they would alternate between Kuroko and Kise to play on Seirin's team. In regards to that, the promise Kuroko had made with them, since it couldn't be done officially, they decided that they could always play the Miracles on a street ball court. That's how they decided to fulfill their promise.
As for Kuroko and Kise, well, their relationship blossomed even further, drawing them closer to each other than before. But, they had their quarrels and their fights, which pushed the Kaijou regulars to seek out Seirin for help. But when all was said and done, they had made up particularly fast (within two days), and strangely, it wasn't because Seirin and Kaijou had talked to either of them, it was because the two families almost killed off each other.
The months went by, Halloween came around. Since it was the season, Kuroko and Kise had work. They did a couple of shoots in a series of Halloween costumes, one instance, Kise was dressed as a Devil and Kuroko was an Angel. And since they had chemistry from day one, the Halloween shoot was a gigantic success.
It was then time for the Winter Cup to begin, and all the teams that entered were only thinking of two things: to win the championship and to beat Kaijou. Because of Inter-High, Kaijou had made themselves quite famous, as the team with the most unpredictable style of play. Seirin as well, they were starting to be known as the 'Dark Horse' and some were even calling them 'The Usurpers', thinking that they may take the title.
Since Kise couldn't make strategies like Kuroko, the boys had created a plan to continue fooling the other members and Takeuchi. Whenever they had a match, Kise would ask for the DVD to bring home to analyze, he would then give it to Kuroko and allow the boy to do what he has always done. The next day, it would seem like Kise was the one who still made up all those strategies. However, should things turn awry like in the Rakuzan match, Kuroko would be the one who suggests a new strategy, to 'give Ryou-kun a break and allow him to play'. And remembering the Rakuzan match, Takeuchi was completely fooled by the boys.
For Seirin, during their campaign, they ended meeting Kirisaki Daiichi, and upon hearing the story from Hyuuga about what happened to Kiyoshi, Kuroko revealed a side that no one has ever seen before. The boy was absolutely merciless in his analysis, and that day, he made sure to sit on Seirin's bench to give them instructions should anything go wrong. Kise had realized that Kuroko got his 'evil' side from his mother.
They then met Shutoku and managed to tie against them, Kuroko didn't help as he had Kaijou's opponent to analyze.
The other teams that had the miracles were also targeting Kaijou, neither of them really caring who they were matched up against if it wasn't the Blue Elites. It was in one of the rounds that Kaijou encountered Fukuda Shogo, the school which Haizaki currently attended. For that match, Kise was especially blood thirsty, and as always, putting his trust into Kuroko to watch his back, Kaijou demolished Fukuda Shogo, Kise crushing Haizaki with his copies of the miracles.
Aomine had especially wanted to face Kuroko once again, but more so, since he was informed that they had switched back, he wanted to see just how well Kise was in his body. Sadly, his wish never came true that year. For the quarter-finals, it was Kaijou versus Yosen, Seirin versus Touou.
Aomine didn't mind this, as he got to play Kagami, this time at full strength. And this was a match to remember. In the final quarter, the two aces had entered the zone, and what was even more, since Aomine got beaten before, he learned to trust his teammates more, and well, Kagami had always had that, so the two ended up unlocking the second door, and it left the crowd and those at homes in shock. But, Seirin won by a basket, and even though Kuroko isn't wearing their uniform anymore, that didn't stop him from helping out in their strategical warfare.
For the Kaijou versus Yosen match, it was one hell of a match. With Kuroko's crazy strategies, they maneuvered around them so much that Murasakibara had to move from under the net within the first half. They had gained a player named Himuro Tatsuya which pissed off Kuroko because his fakes were so perfect and he ruined some part of his plans. But, Kise was a beast, especially in the fourth quarter. His, Kuroko's and Kasamatsu's combination was lethal, savage to be exact. With the three of them able to pass around the ball, Moriyama and Nakamura made threes until their arms felt like jello.
For the semis, it was Kaijou versus Shutoku, Seirin versus Rakuzan. During the Kaijou versus Shutoku match, Midorima was nothing less than frightening, being that he played against 'Kuroko' and lost. And now, seeing him before his eyes made the green-haired shooter almost blind with revenge. His and Takao's combo was annoying, as even though the shooter was blocked, he'd jump without the ball and then bam! The ball suddenly appeared in his hands. Kaijou had applauded Takao for this feat, but they had left that after they kicked their ass. Yes, Shutoku lost, Kuroko's wacky strategies having them for a loop.
The Seirin versus Rakuzan match was amazing as well, but with the original Akashi back, added to that, he trusts in his teammates these days, made them a formidable foe for Seirin. At one point it had seemed to be a lost cause for them, as the Emperor's team had all gone into the zone. Kuroko had helped them with a plan and it was what had helped saved their hides. Since Kagami was the only one who could enter the zone, they'd have to save his zone for the fourth quarter. That said, Seirin had beaten Rakuzan by a hair. Thanks to Izuki performing one of Kuroko's crazy passes.
The finals between Seirin and Kaijou had the gymnasium rammed; almost all televisions around the country were tuned to the station that broadcasted Winter Cup live. From summer people wanted to see this showdown and their wish came through. But this match was something that most people deemed should go down in history.
Kaijou's antics throughout the match proved to everyone that they defied all laws of logic and reasoning, their formations and strategies driving Seirin up the wall, Kagami losing his temper many times throughout the match, Kuroko having to be the one to calm him down every time.
But that didn't mean Seirin didn't have any tricks up their sleeves. They too managed to throw a wrench in Kuroko's plans, but, how little they had known about the blue-haired teen. When that happened, a time-out was called, and Kuroko absolutely murdered them during that time, ripping them about and leaving nothing to chance. He was savage. He was diabolical. Kise and everyone else were glad that he was on their team, even though they were still fooled thinking that Kise was the one who made their strategies.
The match was high paced right throughout, the ball flying all over the place, the audience finding it hard to keep track. Hyuuga was unstoppable, as his training had intensified. While Midorima can shoot from anywhere on the court, he was the opposite, only being able to shoot from the three point line. But, no defender could block him. Even if they pushed and shoved, his shots always made it in. However, his clutch personality got even worse. Izuki's passes were lethal; Kiyoshi despite having a knee injury held his own under the net, Koganei had gotten better so too did Tsuchida and Mitobe. Kagami was a beast. The only person that took him on was Kise as the blond wanted to see just how well could he fare against the redhead while in his body.
Oh dear.
Their battle started from the third quarter, and back and forth the teams went. It shook the gymnasium, the war of the aces leaving everyone stunned. By the time the match entered the fourth quarter, people had to wonder if they were really watching a match between high school students. Kise, Kuroko and Kagami had all entered the zone, their teammates reaching into a pseudo-zone state as well. When the match ended (Kaijou won by a basket), the entire gym had let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. The match left them breathless, absolutely stunned.
It was strange, that no one cheered or hollered or screamed, the two teams were just too amazing that the crowd had kept quiet to take it in properly. Even the miracles who watched the match were rendered speechless at the two. Demons, they had concluded. Yes, that was a strangely befitting title.
And so, Kaijou became Winter Cup champions, and thus going down in high school basketball history as one of the few teams that managed to claim both Inter-High and Winter Cup of the same year. The Blues cheered and rejoiced, Takeuchi tore up. The third years ― Kasamatsu, Moriyama and Kobori broke down seeing that in their final year of Kaijou they took both championships. Kise had embraced Kuroko in such a suffocating hug, Kuroko didn't mind, he was used to it.
Seirin sulked a little, but congratulated the Blues, and after the whole medal ceremony, the two teams continued with their antics, the referees and match officials just let them be, knowing that these two teams had a screw loose (especially Kaijou).
Of course, winning the Winter Cup meant that journalists were hounding them for information and interviews. But as usual, the only one they talked to was Reiko of Basketball Monthly, otherwise known as Kise's big sister. She extracted information from them and when she was satisfied, she left a bouncing ball of energy while Kaijou looked like they've been sucked dry. Afterwards, Seirin, Kaijou along with the rest of the miracles and their partners went out to eat, and it was then that the miracles (except Aomine and Momoi) learnt of Kuroko and Kise's relationship.
Midorima's glasses shattered, Murasakibara choked on a maibou, and Akashi seemed to be lost. As for their teams and partners, they simply congratulated the two. They then got another shocker, and this one made them incapacitated for several minutes. They had spotted the ring dangling from a chain around Kuroko's neck and so out of curiosity, Akashi had asked about it. When Kuroko had jokingly replied stating that it was his engagement ring that 'Ryou-chan' had bought for him, they nearly died.
Well, curiosity always kills the cat.
When Christmas came around, the two models once more worked on a shoot for the holidays, this time it was more fun than the previous. Kise was Santa while Kuroko was an elf. In one photo, the two were seen riding a sleigh; the background was the Winter sky, indicating that they were flying. The reindeers weren't shown, but it showed Kise holding the reins while Kuroko pointed directly in front of him, both had on grins on their faces. Yet another themed shoot ended up a success.
When Basketball Monthly had published their issue on Kaijou, it raised Kise and Kuroko's popularity, males in Kaijou envying them even more and so on. Many schools had given them offers for transfers and such, but neither boy would budge. The Seirin players faced the same thing, Hyuuga and Kagami more so than the others.
And so, Kuroko and Kise's remaining two years of high school carried on normally, minus their horde of fangirls that they face every day, the retirement of their Senpai…from their first year with Kasamatsu and the others, to their second year with Hayakawa, Nakamura, Shinohara and Matsumoto.
In their third year, they were made captain and vice ― Kise was the captain and Kuroko was his vice; two reasons for that, Takeuchi believing that Kise was the one who was making all those strategies and well Kuroko was savage in that aspect too.
It was also in their final year that they had gone out with a bang, managing to win the two championships again. This time, it was both Kuroko and Kise that worked on their strategies and formation as spending time with Kuroko over the years had made him adopt some of the boy's thinking. Their formations and plans were far crazier this time around; leaving everyone they played wondering about Kuroko and Kise's sanity (Basketball Monthly had highlighted them as the brains behind Kaijou's crazy antics). Even Seirin were at a loss when they had encountered them.
Kuroko's promise with Seirin was also fulfilled that year, as they had all gathered at a street court in Tokyo and had a match. It was extremely tough, playing against the Miracles, worse Kise can copy them so it felt like playing against ten of them at once. But nevertheless, Seirin and Kuroko were determined bastards, and they managed to pull through barely, just barely to win.
And so, their continued on peacefully, even into their college lives, although they didn't play basketball for their respective schools, they made street ball teams and participated in those competitions. Well, that's another story.