Chapter Text
xxiii: failure
canon divergence.
He found Kise sitting by the steps of the gym, still in his jersey. The basketball bag next to him didn’t look any emptier, and Kasamatsu doubted he’d even taken one step into the locker room yet.
Kise spoke first. “I lost,” he said, but it sounded jagged and raw and something Kasamatsu wouldn’t have anything to say back to. “I lost and--”
“Your leg,” Kasamatsu said, kneeling beside him. “How is it?” He wasn’t normally one for hopping topics, but Kise looked so goddamn sad and that was weird, especially since Kise was normally so--
“It’s okay,” Kise lied; Kasamatsu had seen him struggling to pull himself up; Kasamatsu had seen him shudder before each step. “It was a lot worse during the game, but I think I can play on it.”
“You’re not playing on it.” Standing up, Kasamatsu moved to sit beside him.
Kise whipped around, eyes wide. “But we have another game tomorrow! What are we going to--”
“We have another game tomorrow. We. The team.” He wasn’t good with babying people, wasn’t good with pep talks, wasn’t what Kise wanted or needed. “Have a little faith in us, yeah?” Kasamatsu nudged Kise’s arm gently.
Kise nodded slowly, eyes downcast. “I--”
He didn’t like that, not one bit. Seeing Kise angry was upsetting, but seeing Kise sad was worse. It didn’t help that he didn’t have the words to make things right. “We lost,” Kasamatu said. “It happens. It wasn’t your fault.”
Kise nodded, and in that small moment, Kasamatsu swore he was looking at someone different from the cocky asshole who swaggered into the Kaijou gym in a suit.
“We lost,” Kise repeated. “But we’ll win next time.”
He took it back. Maybe it was just a trick of the light. “Alright,” Kasamatsu said, standing back up again. He was trying to bite back a smile, but something told him he hadn’t succeeded. Offering Kise his hand, Kasamatsu smacked him gently in the arm with the other. “But first, get around to those extra laps. The rest of the team’s been going wild looking for you.”