Chapter Text
“They’ve done it again! The whole world’s amazed by the talent of the Generation of Miracles, having won yet another gold medal for Japan in the International Aerial Competition. These teens have yet to lose their winning streak even up against the most experienced of fliers all around the wor-“
Riiiiing!
Kise reaches for his phone as he turns off the television, immediately scrambling up and towards the door as the voice screams through the line.
“ Kise Ryouta! You know perfectly well that today is one of the most important shoots you’ve had in the last couple of weeks, and yet, you’re already five minutes late!” His manager shrieks into his ear. “We can’t afford to have to revise your schedule yet again, especially since the photographer you’re working with after this one is extremely stubborn.”
“I know, I know, don’t worry about it, Hori-san! I’m almost there,” Kise reassures her, tugging on his shoes quickly and pulling in his wings to fit through the door. “By the way, my mom’s been talking about this incredible masseuse she found, do you want me to set up an appointment for you? You’ve been sounding super tense lately…”
“You and I both know I don’t have time for massages, especially while dealing with someone like you.” So cold, Kise thinks to himself. “What street are you on, so I can tell them approximately when you’ll- WAS THAT YOUR FRONT DOOR CLOSING, YOUNG MAN?! Don’t tell me you just left your house! Oh dear, I’m going to have to buy an especially expensive bottle of wine as an apology...”
Wincing as his white lie of “almost there” was busted, Kise hangs up on the ranting woman, ignoring the loud ringing that sounds out almost immediately after. He waves down a cab and reads out the address his manager had texted him for the driver before settling down in his seat.
His wings are tucked behind him, but the massive things still takes up a decent amount of space and thus, he has never been too comfortable in cars. Wings were supposed to be big, but his were especially so. They caught the attention of strangers on the street, even among the sea of dozens other wings. Pure white with a few select golden feathers, they were most mesmerizing under the sun when the light made them glow and their beauty is undeniable. People often asked in awe how he got golden feathers and he’d shrug, grin, and respond, “How’d I get golden hair?”
Kise knew that he, himself, was beautiful – there was a reason he was a model, but he understood that the selling point for his popularity were his wings. In a society where wings were treated as lifelong accessories, the beauty factor for them was most important.
The car comes to a stop and Kise almost gets ready to step outside of the cab when he realizes it was only a red light. He checks the time, huffing in impatience. Hori-san’s loud scolding could already be heard. He sighs longingly as another thought passed through his mind.
I wish I could fly; I’d get there so much faster.
There was a reason why wings were mostly only treated as accessories – the majority of the population couldn’t figure out how to make them work. Multiple scientists had conducted experiments observing flight in birds, but it just came down to the fact that human anatomy was different. After countless reckless people tried to fly and ended up taking their life not knowing how to land, losing control, etc., flying was determined dangerous and a crazy thing to attempt.
However, there were definitely those that have succeeded. Most of them were situated in America, but several others were sprinkled all across the world. They were all well known for having achieved what could only be a dream to everyone else, and every year, they would gather for races through the air in the International Aerial Competition. The most notable of fliers recently had risen from Japan, a group of teens given the title the Generation of Miracles. Because flying was a miracle, something unexplainable, so when asked how one master flying, they’d shrug, grin, and respond, “How does one master breathing?”
Kise spends the rest of the car ride thinking of the silhouettes he’d seen barrelling across the sky on the TV earlier, the cameraman struggling to follow their movements from the ground. Briefly, he wonders about how they’d learned, when they’d learned, and most importantly, what it felt like. He doesn’t have much time to ponder these things though, because soon enough, the car door to his right is flung open, manicured nails dig into his ear, and yank him out the vehicle.
“Ow, ow, Hori-saaaan, that hurts!” He whines, his wings fluttering in irritation. The infuriated woman in front of him doesn’t loosen her grip, her wings sticking out in anger and the ringing clicks of her heels sounding out as she marches towards the building, dragging Kise with her.
“Fifteen minutes late. Fifteen! You’ll be lucky if this company doesn’t spread word about you being a terrible model to work with,” she finally lets go and Kise takes a moment to pause and rub his aching ear, until Hori snaps her head back to glare at him. “Would you hurry up? Time is crucial with these shoots, especially since we have to rush to the next one!”
The blond gives her a look of apology (playing up his puppy eyes), before he gasps, “Ah, I haven’t even paid the driver yet!” They both look back to see a man pointing an accusing finger at them, screaming vulgarities. His manager sighs and pinches her nose bridge and Kise really does feel bad about how much she has to deal with on a daily basis.
“You go on ahead, 8th floor. I’ll go pay him,” she says, stalking off and leaving him to enter the building by himself.
When he arrives at the photoshoot, relieved voices greet him and he feeds them multiple apologies, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. A few charming smiles and jokes later, the issue of his tardiness is smoothed over and he’s seated in a chair while people get to work on his makeup and hair. Kise makes a mental note to tell Hori not to bother with the expensive wine.
---
The photoshoot ends up going perfectly and even though she didn’t say it, Kise knows Hori was proud of him. The one after that produces the same results and Kise is set free to do as he likes for the rest of the day with a reminder to watch his diet and get enough sleep.
Technically, he isn’t supposed to (and he is perfectly aware of this), but in the sweltering heat, Kise finds himself buying a popsicle on his way home. Once again, he’s struck with the thought: I wish I could fly. It must feel nice to glide with the wind coursing through his feathers and leave the busy city-life underneath him and surely it would do a better job at cooling him down than the sticky, melting treat in his hand.
His thoughts are interrupted as a group of girls recognize who he is and crowds around him, asking for pictures and autographs and if maybe he could give them a kiss on the cheek each and to please accept this chocolate they were attempting to shove into his arms, despite him trying his best to hold onto his popsicle.
What happens next is a blur, because Kise sees a flash of blue, feels a strong gust of wind, and he’s suddenly on his butt with chocolate littered around him and the popsicle no longer in his hand. The girls shriek and shove at each other to be the one to offer a hand to help him up, but Kise’s attention isn’t on them right now. He stares up at what the source of his fall had been and staring back at him is a guy with striking blue hair and tanned skin and, most importantly, on his back were a pair of jet black wings that hinted to be the same colour as his hair under the sun and he’s flying with them.
By now, people have stopped in their tracks to look up at the boy in awe and wonder, but the flier still hasn’t broken his eye contact with Kise and Kise suddenly realizes that the guy’s clutching onto his popsicle. He feels his face go into a pout, puffing out his cheeks. That popsicle had been a guilty treat for himself. It’d been ages since he had one and what made this guy think he could go around stealing other people’s food?!
The other smirks down at him and takes a bite with laughing eyes and in the next second, he’s zipping off before Kise could say a word. Kise contemplates shouting after him, but he finds himself speechless as he watches those dark wings move against the wind and stretch out to an incredible length, casting shadows on the road below. He’s struck with how the flier moves so gracefully and naturally like it took no effort, like his rightful place is in the sky and to say the least, it’s beautiful.
When he comes to his senses, he’s still on the ground and grins at his worried fans. He stands up, dusting himself off. He gives them what they asked, save for the kisses, and proceeds home with a pile of chocolates he will end up giving to his mother and sisters.
All the while, he thinks about the guy in the air and an image surfaces of two boys grinning side by side, identical medals hanging by their neck.
“Tune in at 6pm for an interview with the speedy duo Kagami Taiga and Aomine Daiki. Some say it’s like they fly at the speed of light!”
Aomine Daiki. Kise remembers now, the guy’s flying had already blown him away once just this morning in front of the television – he’d been the reason Kise was late. There’s the urge to fly again, but this time it’s different. It’s not a fleeting thought, as it had been in the past, a dream to never be acted upon, like when kids think about wanting to be rich and famous and own a fancy car. He knows attempting it is risky, he knows he already has a good life with a great career to lead him onto an even better life, but that pair of black wings sparks something in him. The desire to fly as the blue-haired, smirking popsicle thief had done is burning inside him and Kise feels it in every inch of his body and his own wings rustles in excitement.
Ah, I really, really want to fly.
---
At the same time on a rooftop of some random building, Aomine lounges on his back, gnawing at the popsicle stick in his mouth. He grunts in annoyance and flips on his side when he hears heavy footsteps landing beside him and the loud voice accompanying it.
“Ahomine! You said you wanted a race and all of sudden, you’re swooping down and knocking some kid on his ass and why the fuck did you even bother stealing a half eaten popsicle?”
“He had a bunch of girls after his dick, it annoyed me,” Aomine drawls in response, flicking the popsicle stick at Kagami’s face, watching in amusement as the redhead flushed deeper in anger. “Chill, it’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal when we’re worldwide celebrities and you might earn the reputation of being a thief bullying random people on the streets,” Kagami grumbles, plopping down beside his friend. “You know Momoi will flip her shit if that happens, and probably a few of the other guys too.”
“Tch,” Aomine clicks his tongue and shuts his eyes, curling his wings around to block the sun from his face. Kagami, having known this guy for years, understands that as: “shut up about whatever it is you’re saying ‘cause I don’t give a damn and also I want to sleep”. Or something along those lines. And so, he leaves Aomine alone, mumbling something about paying Kuroko a visit.
After a while, Aomine peeks open one eye just to make sure Kagami’s really gone before trying to settle into a more comfortable position. Something keeps poking him in the back and he pulls it out from under him to find the abandoned popsicle stick. He shoves it in his pocket and lays back down. The crazy girls were only part of the reason for his choice in victim and the other part had been the dude’s wings. It’s not like he doesn’t know whom he stole the popsicle from. He’s seen that exact pair of wings in many magazine covers before and Aomine’s not that cut off from recent media to not know about the country’s “Golden Boy”, Kise Ryouta.
It’s just that seeing the shimmering golden feathers matched with the strands of hair on Kise’s head was a completely different sight in person and he’d just wanted to take a closer look. The popsicle had only been a bonus.
---
It’s the weekend. It’s also the first time Hori’s offered Kise a day-off in a long while, so he abandons the stack of homework on his desk and answers Kasamatsu’s invite to coffee with a: （ﾉ´д｀）Sorry, Kasamatsu-senpai, I’m busy today, but I’ll make it up to you I promise!!!! d=(´▽｀)=b
He pockets his phone and dashes out the door before his mom can ask any questions and his sisters stop him for fashion advice. His destination is a secluded park where he knows he can be alone, close enough to his home that he could walk. Kise gets there in no time and lets his bag fall to the ground as he heads for an area less crowded with trees.
He’d come to this park with only one motive in mind and that was to learn to fly. He stands there nervously for a few seconds, taking deep breaths and testing out his wings, taking comfort in the fact that he was a quick learner. Spreading out his wings, Kise replays Aomine’s movements in his head. He stayed up late the night prior to study countless videos of the International Aerial Competition champion. His eyes narrow in concentration and his wings flap slowly, hesitantly, the wind created rustling through the grass. He feels himself lift off the ground and he isn’t ready for it. He loses concentration, his arms and legs flailing and his wings still in panic and he pitches backwards, falling to the ground.
He stays on his back for a couple of minutes, regaining the breath that’d gotten knocked out of him. When he rises and dusts himself off, Kise finds himself smiling from ear to ear because yes, he aches and yes, it’s hard, but the challenge is fun and he can only imagine what it would feel like when he masters it.
Kise stays in the park until the sun sets and his stomach growls in protest. Bruises and cuts are littered across his body, something his manager won’t let him hear the end about when she finds out but he’ll cry that he at least protected his face.
Atop a tree, hidden among leaves, navy eyes shine with interest, following Kise as he gathers his stuff and makes his way home. Aomine scoffs at how the blond was practically radiating with happiness, but he understands the high that comes with flying. And yeah, as much as he hates to admit it, it was a little heart warming to watch the guy try so hard and succeed. Though the best parts had to be Kise’s face when he would realize he was dropping out of the air, Aomine snickers, twirling a wooden popsicle stick between long fingers. Well, show’s over, he flies down from the tree. Time to go back to a shrieking Satsuki.
When Kise arrives home, his mother pulls him into a hug before swiftly slapping him on the back of his head.
“Ouch, I’m already aching everywhere else!” He whimpers and his mom frowns, having long been immune to his kicked puppy antics.
“That’s what you get for coming home at this hour! And why are you covered in dirt? Are these bruises, Ryouta, you’re a model...”
He doesn’t hear his mom’s fussing – it’s in one ear and out the other - because he remembers the big news he has to share with her. “Mom, guess what?” He clings onto his mother’s arm excitedly, eager to reveal his newly found ability. “I can fly!”
Seconds pass like hours as Kise’s mom stares at him before shaking her head. She orders him to go take a bath and sleep and if he still thinks that in the morning, then he’d better be ready to prove it to her. She gives him another light slap in the head for attempting something so dangerous.
He does as he’s told and in the morning, with his sisters present due to curiosity, he experiences the thrilling, exhilarating, electrifying and irreplaceable feeling of flight again. His mother cries and his sisters suffocates him in hugs.
“You’re a miracle, Ryouta.”
He grins and helps her dry her eyes.
---
A knock comes the following day when he’s about to head to school and he opens the door to reveal a busty girl with coral hair and beside her a less-endowed brunette.
“I’m Momoi Satsuki,” she says, as if Kise doesn’t already know that.
“Aida Riko,” the other girl pipes up. He knows that too.
“Kise Ryouta,” he shakes each of their hands. “Come in!”
They excuse themselves and as he leads them to the living room, pink eyes roam over to the bag he’d set down at the entrance.
“I’m sorry, were you about to go to class?” Momoi asks worriedly, “Should we come back at a later time?”
He shakes his head and sends her a reassuring smile. “Missing one day won’t do any harm,” It’s actually a blessing because the pile of homework he’d received was ditched in favour of stocking up knowledge about flying.
“Well, if what we came here for today goes as planned, you won’t have to go back to school ever again,” Aida adds on, peaking Kise’s curiosity.
“Can you tell me what exactly you came here for then? Ah… I mean, it’s not every day two representatives for the Generation of Miracles arrive at my front door, y’know,” he laughs.
“We heard from a source that you could fly, Kise-san,” the tone in Momoi’s voice completely changes the atmosphere of the room into a serious one.
“To get straight to the point, what we’re asking here is for you to join our team for competing in the International Aerial Competition,” Aida’s staring Kise down, as well as Momoi and he feels himself stop breathing and his voice catches in his throat and his mind is turning gears so fast to try and process what they’d just asked of him.
“Yes! I’d be honoured!” He manages out, eyes shining. The two girls look amused at his excitement.
“It’s not that fast, of course,” Momoi says, getting up from the couch. “We need to see if everyone else agrees to recruiting you. Contrary to what everybody thinks, it’s not only the Miracles that can fly in Japan. We’ve had a certain flier join us before, who ended up causing too many problems and he was kicked out.”
“Haizaki Shougo, right?” Kise’d studied some of his races. His style was rough and though he was fast, it looked choppy and violent, unlike Aomine’s.
Momoi nods, looking a little uncomfortable when the name’s mentioned and Aida swiftly switches the subject.
“Also, we’d need a guardian to agree, since you are underage. But first, let’s go check if you get along with everyone!”
Before he knows it, he’s in a limo heading to the training grounds of the Generation of Miracles – Japan’s famous fliers. Aside from seeing them on television and that chance encounter with Aomine involving the popsicle, he’s never seen them and despite Kise’s undeniable people skills, his palms still clam up as he wonders exactly what type of people they are.
---
The first building they enter upon arrival is easily one of the smaller ones at the training grounds. Inside, it looks almost like a doctor’s office with clean floors and walls and minimal decoration. There are medical supplies lying around on counters and stored in cabinets, but what stands out the most is the guy sitting on a stool in the middle of the room, hunched over and shirtless with his wings spread out. They’re black with red streaks, matching his fiery hair and unruly eyebrows.
“Hey,” He greets them and looks up, immediately focusing his gaze on Kise. “Who’s that?”
“Kagami-kun, please refrain from being rude,” a voice sounds from behind Kagami, shocking Kise because the other person is completely covered by Kagami’s naturally giant size and large wingspan.
“I wasn’t! I just asked who he was!” The redhead splutters, turning around to glare at whoever’s behind him. Kise manages to catch a glimpse of fluffy blue hair before the figure steps to the side to reveal matching wide eyes.
“And please don’t move either, I don’t want to accidentally pluck out one of your feathers. Also, I find it very unusual you can’t recognize Kise Ryouta.”
“You know I don’t pay attention to that crap…”
Momoi coughs politely and cuts in, “as Tetsu-kun already mentioned, this is Kise. And currently, he’s a possible recruit.”
“Kuroko Tetsuya,” the smaller guy walks forward to shake Kise’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too!” Kise chirps, giving Kuroko a once-over. Briefly, he wonders how this guy can possibly be working with the Generation of Miracles, because he’s never come across his name in his research and overall, Kuroko just seems… underwhelming.
Kagami rises from his stool and the height difference between him and Kuroko is even more obvious now. “Kagami Taiga,” they shake hands and Kagami looks away with tinted cheeks. “S-sorry if I was being rude earlier.” Kise almost wants to giggle because this guy is getting embarrassed about apologizing and it’s pretty cute. He feels his shoulders relax, because maybe the Generation of Miracles really aren’t intimidating in the slightest.
“This building is like… the medic center – I suppose you could call it that,” Aida says, once the introductions are out of the way. “Kuroko here is one of our two specialists that reside here.”
“Two?” Kise asks, looking around for the other.
“I would be the second,” a young man enters from a door in the back, with brown hair and gentle eyes and a pair of extremely long coffee wings. “Kiyoshi Teppei, pleasure to meet you!” Kise returns the sentiment.
“Any problems, Kuroko?” Kiyoshi turns to his partner, who shakes his head.
“Nothing to be concerned with. Kagami-kun is in top shape.”
“Kuroko was just checking over the condition of Kagami’s wings – they’re very fragile things,” Kiyoshi explains to Kise, and he swears his smile seems a little sad. “Especially around the area where the wing connects, the tissue and bone are easily damaged. If you were to join us, you’d have to visit here atleast once a week for a check-up. Kagami here just seems to be in here more often than he needs to be…” He chuckles as Kagami’s face flushes.
“Oi, I’m just trying to be cautious!”
“Kagami-kun is never very cautious about things.”
Kiyoshi claps his hands together. “Right! So I think Riko and Momoi have much more to show you, so…”
“Mhm, this is only our first stop,” Momoi nods in agreement and starts to walk out with Aida. “Thank you, Kiyoshi, Tetsu-kun!”
“Anytime! See you around, Kise!” Kiyoshi smiles after them and Kise waves to the three as he follows the two ladies out.
As they’re walking, a silence falls over them before Aida breaks it.
“Kiyoshi used to fly for Japan in the I.A.C.” she says.
Kise makes a sound of disbelief. “Eh?! Really? But he’s still so young… Why’d he stop?”
“It’s not a surprise you didn’t notice… He’s better at hiding it now. One of his wings is immobile.” Kise glances over at Aida and notices her staring at the ground as she walks. Momoi looks at her sympathetically. “He didn’t want to burden anyone, so he didn’t mention it until everyone suspected an injury. By then, it was too late to do much about it. That’s why he does what he does now; he wants to prevent what happened to him from happening to anyone else.”
Kise doesn’t know what to say to that. He moves to comfort Aida, but he catches Momoi’s eye as she shakes her head at him. He lets his arms hang back at his sides and the silence envelop them once again – despite the fact that some part of him is still bursting in excitement at the idea of where he is. Kise realizes everyone here has a story and that he wants to learn them all. He’s starting to think what he’ll enjoy most at this place – aside from flying – will be the people.
(Of course, he hasn’t met everyone yet).