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“Oi! They’re not the same pair! They’re different colors!” Aomine chastised like they were back in middle school before Kuroko’s friends bloomed with talent.
Kuroko hid his tiny smile and shrugged. “How Aomine-kun needs more than one pair is beyond me.”
“And how you can only have one pair is beyond me.” They navigated through the busy streets and toward the train station. “What happens if you have a tournament and your shoes fell apart? What then?”
“Then I’ll go buy another pair. My feet do not challenge the manufacturing business, so there is no need for me to stack up on multiple pairs.”
“Oi! Whose feet are you calling a challenge to the manufacturing business, you tiny excuse for a basketball player!”
Kuroko allowed himself a tiny grin and cut down a side alley, leading Aomine like an owner leading a puppy on a leash. He cherished every moment of it. They lived the closest to each other out of all the Teikou basketball players, and they walked home numerous times. If Kuroko closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that nothing happened, and he and Aomine were still friends, hanging out together on weekends and ordering hamburgers until they were stuffed—or at least he was stuffed. Aomine was never stuffed.
Even though they still lived close, they rarely hung out anymore, and in two days, Kuroko was starting Seirin High School and Aomine was off to Touou.
The dull ache in his chest worsened, and he almost missed the ominous growl that sounded just at the end of the alley. A formidable tiger, sleek and powerful, prowled forward, its teeth a visible threat, its paws large and heavy. A rich, alluring scent wafted about Kuroko, spinning his mind and forcing twin ears to pop up on either side of his head. His jeans suddenly felt so constrictive—in the front and back—as his bushy tail fought against the confines behind, and as his suddenly hard groin fought against the fly.
Before he started doing something embarrassing like panting or whining, a more familiar scent calmed him, and Aomine, all agile and fierce in his panther form, stepped in front of Kuroko, his tail wrapping about Kuroko’s waist as he did so. For protection or reassurance, Kuroko wasn’t sure, but he grabbed onto it to steady himself.
His ears refused to sink back into his head, though, and his tail flopped out the back of his jeans. Why was this tiger coming at them now? Was he in heat? Did he want to mate with Kuroko? Did he want to enjoy Aomine’s strength and aggressiveness?
The tiger’s scent. It changed Kuroko almost immediately, forced him unconsciously into submission, and though he loathed the thought of ever surrendering to an alpha, let alone doing it without a thought, he knew only one person who could elicit such a basic, carnal response from him.
“Kagami-kun?” he asked, breathless. He gripped Aomine’s tail even harder, his claws digging into the warm fur until Aomine let out a low hiss.
The tiger’s eyes snapped upward, no longer vicious, no longer hungry, and the person followed suit, shifting into a towering figure of sculpted muscle and unruly red hair. His fierce eyes returned, condemning Kuroko without speaking a word, but that only lasted until Aomine stood up, fully human again, his body still positioned in front of Kuroko for protection.
“Your smell…it’s gone…” Kagami sounded offended, sad, even. “It’s been covered…by his.”
Aomine accepted the scathing glare with his own narrowed eyes. “Tetsu, you know this bastard?”
Kuroko glanced sideways up at Aomine, the muscle wire-strung under his hands. “You—You covered my scent?”
Aomine glanced down at him, once, twice, trying not to take his attention off of Kagami for too long. “Well…yeah. Akashi, Kise—we all did. Don’t give me that look. It wasn’t for basketball, you dumbass. It was because you’re an Omega. We could smell it, and we wanted to protect you. Why do you think I found you today? You’re going to high school in two days without one of us to protect you.”
“I do not need Aomine-kun’s protection.”
“Really? Is that why I have holes in my tail now?” Aomine countered, turning halfway to face Kuroko. “Look, I just wanted to get my scent on you for your first day, so everyone at Seirin would know that you have an alpha—”
Kagami’s hand clamped down upon Kuroko’s shoulder, and he ignored Aomine’s vicious hiss as he stepped between them. “That’s not any of your concern. I’ll be at Seirin.”
Kuroko saw the claws grow Aomine’s hands, ready to tear into Kagami. “Oh, really? And just who the fuck do you think you—”
“Aomine-kun, this is Kagami-kun.” Kuroko was proud when his voice didn’t waver. “He was to be my mate.”
“Yeah, I’m his—wait, was!” Kagami scratched the back of one Kuroko’s still showing ears. “Kuroko, our parents—”
“Arranged an agreement when we were children before you moved to America, at which time the contract became null and void.” He slapped Kagami’s hand away, though the ministrations felt so good, sending electrical pulse to his lower regions and swishing his tail.
Kagami noticed, his grin nothing short of pleased. “Yeah, my dad said he was going to—”
“My parents have not informed me of an amended agreement, and at this time, I do not see the purpose of continuing in our original one, seeing as your greeting was to rudely growl at a friend of mine and then use your unique scent to force me to submit.” He forced between Kagami and Aomine, pushing on both of their chests to make a path for himself. “Now, if you both will excuse me, I’m heading home.”
“Hey, Tetsu! Wait—”
Kuroko refused to turn. “No, Aomine-kun, I would not like your accompaniment as you have violated my body with your own scent for the last three years, and I would like to be rid of it for at least a day.”
“That’s not it, Tetsu—”
“The ears and tail are rather adorable, Kuroko, but are you sure you really want to show them to the world?”
Kuroko stopped at the absolute humor in Kagami’s voice and huffed, closing his eyes and focusing on his center. Nope. He could still feel the wind brushing through the fur on his ears and the low waistband of his jeans. Damn alpha pheromones.
He spun on his heel and swallowed his pride with a bow. “Kagami-kun, may I please borrow your jacket?”
“What!” Aomine’s teeth showed again. “Why do you want to borrow his jacket?”
“Because Kagami-kun’s has a hood and Aomine-kun’s does not.”
“Oh.”
Kagami shed it quickly, but instead of tossing it to him, he walked over, clearly violating Kuroko’s personal space, and draped the jacket about Kuroko’s shoulders. He looked absolutely pleased when he pulled up the hood and brushed his fingers across Kuroko’s white ears once more. Kuroko could practically feel the alpha pheromones all over the jacket, refusing to allow him to change or let any other alpha or beta even glance his way.
“I’ll call you tonight?” Kagami asked.
“Perhaps you should call Aomine-kun,” Kuroko offered. He could smell the competing pheromones all over his new shoes now. “I think you two have a lot in common.”
He disappeared into the crowded street.
*^*^*
Kagami turned to Aomine, a conceited look on his face. “You have no idea what you’ve lost, do you?”
“He’s too good for you.”
Kagami shrugged and leaned out the alley to watch Kuroko go, content to see his two-sizes-too-big hoodie upon that small frame. “Probably, but he’s mine. He always has been, and I’ll make him see it again.”
“Hm.” Aomine picked up his shoes bag and headed the other way down the alley. “We’ll see.”
*^*^*
Kuroko heard the surprised and overjoyed greetings from his parents, and Kuroko dropped his face into the novel he had been reading. Three showers later, two changes of clothes, and he could still smell Kagami’s alpha scent upon him. Worse, his ears and tail refused to disappear, probably because his body recognized the scent of his mate, and it craved more. So of course, Kagami and his overbearing scent were now standing in his doorway, looking all fit and attractive in a T-shirt, jeans, and a different hoodie, and of course, Kuroko wanted nothing to do with him.
His outrageous body, on the other hand…
“I apologize that Kagami-kun came all the way out here, but I do not wish to speak to you right now.”
“Look…” Kagami rubbed the back of his neck before taking Kuroko’s desk chair and spinning it around to sit backwards. Strips darkened his skin, and his tail also popped out of the back of his jeans. It wasn’t that he was sexually charged, Kuroko could tell, but that he was trying to approach Kuroko on common ground. “I’m sorry, about how I approached you and Aomine earlier. It was wrong of me, but when I saw you with another alpha and smelled his scent on you, I got…frustrated. I didn’t want to leave for America, and when my parents said we were coming back—”
“Kagami-kun.” Kuroko’s tail wagged back and forth, and he had to grab it to stop its excitement. “We were children when our parents made that agreement. Best friends. There isn’t anything for you to get…frustrated about.”
“But…you’re my mate! Don’t you see that?” He reached out to ruffle Kuroko’s tail. “Your body sees that.”
Kuroko slapped his hand away. “My body apparently hasn’t smelled the scent of another alpha for quite some time.”
“Kuroko…Tetsuya…” Kagami scowled away, but his eyes perked up on something in the closet. He stood, picking up the round object and spinning it upon his finger. “You play basketball.”
A simple fact. Kuroko let out a quick sigh. “Yes.”
“You any good?”
“I played in games.”
“Come on. Let’s go play.”
“Kagami-kun, you’ll beat me, I’m sure, and in case you’ve forgotten…” He motioned toward his ears and tail.
“Oh, right.” He laughed and tried to spin the ball on his tail—and failed miserably. “Let’s watch a NBA game.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“We’re not friends anymore. We’re not mates. You should go home and start preparing for the first day of school.”
“Come on.” Kagami flopped down on his bed, elbows even with Kuroko’s thighs. “One game, and then I’ll go home.”
Kuroko stared at him with a wary glance. The mock pleading look, the bright grin, the comfortable closeness—so much of Kagami reminded him of Aomine, of his lost friends, but there was something else in that gaze, something completely wild and foolhardy. Kagami didn’t know what he was doing, only that he wanted to do it with Kuroko. And it didn’t matter what they did, as long as they did it together. Now.
Something cold and emotionless thawed in Kuroko at the simple thought of someone wanting to do something with him, even just play basketball or watch a game. And Kagami’s own tail thumped in anticipation before it bumped against Kuroko’s cheek.
“Well?”
“One game,” Kuroko relented, swatting it away. “You can download it on my iPad. I’ll be right back.”
“You’re not going to run away, are you?”
“To where? You’re in my apartment.”
“Just checking.”
Kuroko stopped by the door, turning away around, his tail brushing slowly against his backside. “Kagami-kun?”
“Hm?”
“…welcome back.”
He fled before his cheeks flushed purple.
He came back with a stack full of Maji Burgers and a vanilla milkshake, and Kuroko would be lying if he denied cocking his head to the side, checking out the tight jeans around Kagami’s backside. Thankfully, Kagami was looking embarrassed, caught going through Kuroko’s closet.
“You have six basketballs in here. Six! And I thought I was the only one who liked basketball this much.” He looked unbelievably excited, his tail hitting the bed post every few seconds. His eyes focused on the bag, and Kuroko shrugged.
“My mom went out for these. I hope Kagami-kun still enjoys hamburgers.”
It was ten minutes later, sitting against the bed together and pointing out the favorite plays and players when Kagami stopped in mid-bite and flipped off the top burger bun.
“What?”
“There’re no pickles on these burgers.” Kagami’s eyes looked big and soft, and Kuroko hit him on the shoulder. It wasn’t like he stopped the moon and the Earth for Kagami-kun. He simply remembered—
“Kagami-kun hates pickles,” he said as fact, followed by a sip of his shake.
Kagami’s smile was so achingly tender, that Kuroko had to hit him in the face with his tail.
They fell asleep during the third game with burger wrappers and vanilla shake cups littering the floor in front of the bed. Kuroko had allowed Kagami to play with his tail finally, brushing out the tiny knots that had formed, and then he allowed Kagami to scratch behind his ears once he fell into Kagami’s lap. They didn’t go any further than that, but the next morning, Kagami seemed content, now in complete tiger form, one arm draped across Kuroko’s center, his tail wrapped around Kuroko’s waist. Kuroko wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling this year at Seirin would be quite interesting.
*^*^*
Kagami left mid-day after Kuroko’s ears and tail finally disappeared, but they made a promise to meet later in the day at a street court not far away. Kagami arrived early after a quick shower and a change of clothes, and after the ball bounced off the hoop, it was a seized by a towering player with purple hair and a center’s build. Behind him came four other players, including the one named “Aomine” from the day before.
“You’re not good enough for Tetsu.”
Kagami crossed his arms. “And yet he’s meeting me today to play, and the rest of you—the Generation of Miracles, right? What are you doing, other than ganging up on people with your obscenely bright hair?”
“We take any business with Tetsuya very seriously,” the red-haired one began, taking a measured step forward. Even Kagami could smell the alpha scent upon him, the one that dictated him as the leader of the Teikou Pack. “You will cease any further advances of him.”
“Or you’ll what?”
“I will crush you,” the purple alpha roared.
“Murasakibaracchi will, too. He’s good at that,” the blond-haired player, leaning against the gate, added. “And when he’s done, the rest of us will finish you off.”
“You do not stand a chance against us.” The green-haired fellow pushed up his glasses. “Today, tomorrow, you are nothing but a dim light compared to our brilliance.”
Kagami snorted. “Miracles happen once in a lifetime, don’t they? Your time has ended. Seirin will show you that this winter.”
The red-haired one seemed oddly pleased. “A challenge? Hm. I did not believe Kuroko would find another light to complement his darkness so quickly, if at all.”
Aomine snorted. “Now, waitaminute—”
“Sounds like we will have competition after all,” the green-haired one agreed, “but he has Kuroko, which will definitely tip the favor toward Seirin.”
“I will allow it.” The red-haired man smiled with a demonic grin. “It will only prove the victor’s claim ever more worthy.”
Dread grew heavy and thick in Kagami’s gut. “Claim? What claim?”
The blond-haired one stepped forward. “Whoever wins the Winter Cup, wins Kurokocchi as his mate.”
Kagami’s blood ran cold as he fisted his hands. “You—You sick bastards! You can’t win someone who doesn’t want to be won, and second—”
“And second, his parents already agreed to a contract with our families,” the red-haired one replied with nothing less than conceited pleasure. “Alphas excel not just in sexual matters but in all areas of society, but you already know that, don’t you, Kagami Taiga? So Tetsuya’s parents had no choice but to sign the agreement, no matter how much they wished not to.”
Kagami shook, with rage, with horror. An arranged marriage was one thing when the two parties agreed but a competition between alphas…? And to force Kuroko’s own parents to comply? What monsters stood before him?
The red-haired one would probably take that as a compliment.
“You may have Kuroko this season, Kagami,” the red-haired one continued. “You may do whatever you please with him, but unless you defeat us in the Winter Cup, this year will be all you have with him.”
“You don’t own Kuroko! You can’t make decisions in his life for him.”
The red-haired boy laughed like Kagami said something ridiculous, and then they left after that, all but Aomine who decided to prove his point, driving pass Kagami and scoring not once but five times before leaving with a haughty laugh, too.
Kuroko appeared not long later, a smile upon that innocent, radiant face, none-the-wiser that his entire future rested upon his and his team’s shoulders this year. Kagami decided then and there not to fight for Kuroko and win him like those monsters-masquerading-as-friends wanted. He wouldn’t even fight to win Kuroko’s heart because he wouldn’t survive if he lost, by battle or by choice, and if by some miracle he did win the heart but not the battle, then all he’d bring Kuroko would be an eternity of misery.
So instead, he resolved to fight for Kuroko’s freedom, and if afterwards Kuroko chose him...
Damnit.
Kagami cursed himself, his male pheromones unable to be suppressed as he surrendered his heart to the war like a sacrificial offering. He couldn’t go into this war half-hearted and hope to win; it was all or nothing.
After all, Kuroko came to the court wearing his hoodie.
The End