Chapter Text
falling in love with kuroko tetsuya, kise thinks, is easy.
quick.
unexpected, but almost like breathing.
inevitable, really.
he first meets kuroko in their second year – kise getting quite a shock when a sky-haired boy seemingly manifests out of nowhere as a mentor is being assigned to him.
and then, he gets another shock when it sinks in that this boy is his mentor: barely up until his chest, skin almost ghostly pale, and physique thin.
he doesn't look like an athlete in any way.
in fact, kise looks down and sees the boy's wrists – thinks that he looks so delicate he could break them if ryota holds onto them with his full strength.
plus, the guy barely has a presence – you can't blame him for doubting the assignment!
kise observes him for some time though, maybe kuroko's actually some badass three-point shooter or something.
but the first few weeks of training, he sees nothing but missed shots from the smaller boy that he sometimes voices his frustration out loud. aominecchi pays him no mind, though – doesn't correct him too. so does murasakibaracchi. and midorimacchi. akashicchi just looks at him, unblinking, with those piercing red-hued eyes of his and kise ends up running just to get away.
kuroko doesn't do anything too – just tells him that they're different.
so imagine his shock when they're assigned to a high-stakes game together, and he finds the ball suddenly in his hands once kuroko is there with him.
"can you lend me your strength?"
kuroko had asked him.
"i am a shadow. you are the light who will score."
and ah,
he figures,
maybe that's where it all started.
kuroko had looked at him with a faint smile – sunlight shining on him and looking beautiful – that ryota's heart had skipped a beat, left to only blink at the sight until the shrill whistle of the referee brought him out of his trance.
from that point on, kuroko-kun became kurokocchi – and kise fell for him.
if he had thought that he would get bored of basketball after some time and that he'd quit the club at some point during the semester, here he is running to club practice with the biggest smile on his face.
because he wants to see kurokocchi.
he has to surpass aominecchi.
(seeing kurokocchi look at aominecchi like that – work with him on the court and be so in sync – it sets off a pang in his heart.
he wants to be that,
wants to be kurokocchi's light.)
so he works hard and tries to get better every day, copies more and more techniques each practice session.
he sticks to kurokocchi as much as he can – wraps his arms around the lithe frame, presses his cheek against a pale and squishier one, nuzzles his nose on sky-blue locks – and asks whenever he feels he's gotten better:
"ne, ne, kurokocchi! do you think i can be your light now?"
kuroko stands still and isn't bothered by the skinship, doesn't reply to him either.
"please let go of me, kise-kun."
"wah, so mean!"
kise ryota is not kise ryota though if he does not pursue something he's found interest in – so as much as he attends every practice time with excitement, he doesn't stop his bright-eyed looks and wide smiles towards kurokocchi.
basketball is fun, he thinks.
if he could, he wouldn't want this moment to ever end.
<------------------------------>
but,
ah.
suddenly aominecchi has lost that spark in him, barely even smiles during their games nowadays. kise stumbles, one time, when he sees kurokocchi reaching out a fist to aomine only for it to remain unreturned – aomine running ahead without sparing a glance at kurokocchi.
midorimacchi barely hangs out with akashicchi these days, when they were inseparable during the start of second year (and first year, based on what the others said) – staying in a room by themselves before basketball practice just to play shogi, lunch times in the music room where kise can hear the piano and violin harmonizing, walking side by side a small distance away from the rest of them whenever they all head out together after practice. kise could swear he saw midorima smile the smallest bit at times whenever their captain was beside him – then, akashi would smile back and step closer to their vice captain.
now, akashi is becoming different – gaze and very presence more intimidating than before. cold and terrifying more frequently.
absolute,
like the twenty-point quota he proposed to keep them going so their wins were crushing defeats for their opponents.
kurokocchi, for all his usually-emotionless demeanor, looks at them with so much pain in his eyes sometimes.
then, third year comes and everything falls apart.
aomine stops attending practices, only turns up when they have a game and he destroys their opponents – even with no light in his eyes.
one day, kurokocchi heads out during practice to talk to aomine – and just when ryota wants to go after him, he feels a suffocating tension in the air that stops him in his tracks.
murasakibaracchi, he thinks, is the final straw. challenging akashi so he could skip practice – doubting their captain when there would be times (although few, and so, so short) that akashicchi's eyes would become softer, trying to keep them together.
those few moments are completely erased though, when akashicchi is backed into a corner during their one-on-one with a 4-0 score. and then something shifts, because it ends with akashicchi winning – left eye now a haunting golden shade.
(he pretends he doesn't feel midorimacchi freezing in his place beside him, eyes stuck on akashicchi.)
the generation of miracles truly shatters that day when their captain tells them that teamwork will only get in their way – winning is all that matters – so practice is no longer needed as long as they deliver during games.
practice ends right there and then.
kise changes back into his uniform and finds himself lingering by the entrance of the gym afterwards – sees midorimacchi standing there too. they don't talk, no words seemingly fitting in this situation. kurokocchi passes by them and enters – ryota can't even manage to call him because the light in his eyes is gone too, smile non-existent and not even noticing them in his distress.
midorima's eyes follow the phantom as he makes his way inside.
and maybe it's not right for them to stay outside and hear akashi and kurokocchi converse, but when their captain speaks, it's as if he knows he's talking to more than just kurokocchi.
"give up on daiki."
"... what are you talking about? no… who are you?"
kise's own words resound in his head.
"it's like he's a different person."
"i'm akashi seijuro, of course, tetsuya."
boku?
tetsuya?
midorimacchi turns and starts walking away, hands clenched tight into fists.
and maybe it hurts – knowing that before, it was so natural for all of them to go home together.
but now, it almost feels wrong to follow midorima.
it doesn't feel right as well to stay behind and wait for kurokocchi to exit the gym – kise has a feeling he's not wanted to be beside kuroko right now anyway.
so he heads out on his own after a few moments. and when he gets home drenched from the rain and closes the door behind him, he finds himself crouching down – back against the wooden surface of the door, forehead resting on his knees, and hands clutching onto his blonde strands.
he wonders where it all went wrong,
thinks about what they lost just to win.
<------------------------------>
this is wrong, he thinks, when they settle on a game among them of getting the highest number of points made.
but basketball was fun with the others – and if this is the only way he's going to feel that way once again, then he'll take what he can get.
after all, this is what they were told to do, right?
win.
but aominecchi quickly tires of it, and brings up a new game for them to play in the finals game.
"let's match the points."
"huh?"
"111-11. might be exciting."
midorimacchi, for a moment, looks like he wants to say something.
it disappears just as quick as it lasted.
akashicchi arrives just in time.
"ah, akashicchi! how's kurokocchi?"
"he's fine, but he won't be joining us for the next game."
there's a fleeting thought as to what kurokocchi would think – of their game, of him.
maybe he's bright enough now to be kurokocchi's light.
"what were you all talking about just now?"
"we're tired of seeing which one of us gets the most points."
"aominecchi proposed a new game."
kise looks at their captain just in time to see his amber eye glint in the light of the arena.
"tell me about this game."
<------------------------------>
teiko wins against meiko – 111-11 just like they agreed on.
he looks at the players of the other team – everyone of them has the same disheartened look as all their other opponents once they win.
there's one of them though, who catches his eye. he's looking at the scoreboard with wide, horrified eyes – fear when he shifts his gaze from the numbers to the generation of miracles.
this is wrong, it passes through again in his mind.
you all are monsters, in more ways than one.
but then again, if they were told to win, what's wrong with doing whatever they want as long as the result is just the same in the end?
to win, after all, is the purpose in playing basketball.
ryota brightens up for a second when he sees kurokocchi on the court, eyes stuck on the score and unmoving in his place.
the joy immediately crashes and burns when tears start streaming down kurokocchi's face.
"kuro… kocchi…"
a firm grip on his wrist stops him from going to the cyan-haired boy, mismatched eyes boring onto him.
"let him be, ryota."
he shakes his head,
"just a second, akashicchi."
he walks slowly to kurokocchi, gently raises a hand to hold onto him – then flinches when kuroko jerks away from the touch, hugs himself like he's trying to get as far away as possible from kise.
ryota's hand is frozen mid-air, a tear unknowingly running down his cheek.
monster.
<------------------------------>
midorimacchi and him are the only ones left consistently going to practice.
since their game against meiko, he hasn't even seen kurokocchi again.
"do you know why, midorimacchi?"
"sei- akashi has told me that kuroko has quit the team."
he pretends that sentence didn't shake his world just now.
"quit… why?"
"he did not say anything."
midorimacchi closes the door of his locker, turns away as he's ready to leave.
"akashicchi still talks to you, huh?"
"... he did just to tell me that."
he doesn't talk to me – not like before, goes unsaid.
midorima has left him alone, and the silence in the room lets his mind wander.
kurokocchi… quit.
the guy who loved basketball – enough to work his way from third string to first – quit.
he has to push away the image of kuroko – already small, but making himself smaller as he cried – that tries to sear itself onto the back of his mind.
it wouldn't be a surprise if he, rather, if they were the reason as to why kurokocchi quit the team.
he closes his eyes and clenches his jaw, touches his forehead to the cool metal of his locker.
kise vows to himself to make it up to kuroko.
<------------------------------>
it wasn't easy to look for kurokocchi, especially when he didn't even know if kuroko actually quit basketball – or just the team back then.
akashi had been the one to say though, that kuroko would take part in their promise – and the former teiko captain may have changed somehow, but akashicchi's always been eerily right about well… everything.
so when he started in kaijo, ryota, for a few days, had looked into a lot of high schools in tokyo just to try and find him – to no avail.
it's hard to look for someone who dropped off of the face of the earth and cut communications with him.
you'd think there would be news somewhere out there about the phantom sixth man of teiko's basketball team, but there was absolutely nothing.
he just started thinking that it was a hopeless case when kaijo receives an invitation for a practice match with seirin.
oha asa or some other shit that midorimacchi believes in was probably acting up at that time because kise's heart was pounding hard in his chest at the news from their coach.
so he personally asked for seirin's line up,
and could almost burn a hole in the paper of the list of members that was handed to him.
kuroko tetsuya was unmistakenly written there.
i found you, he thought.
he couldn't have been more excited for the day of the practice game, so he headed there a day earlier and looked around the school grounds – could practically hear his heartbeat when he found himself standing in front of the basketball gym.
ryota had failed to think of how much exposure he'd gotten as a model though, so when he went inside the gym, there was a whole crowd of fans following after him.
there are dozens of girls around him, the whole seirin basketball team is looking at him – but his eyes zero in on sky-colored hair and eyes.
his heart skips a beat.
the light is back in kurokocchi's light sapphire orbs.
kise, for a moment, wonders why kuroko went to seirin when there are better school around for him – stronger basketball teams he could be a part of. but looking at him now – determined look in his eyes and slight smile back on his lips – he realizes there's something special with this team.
suddenly, a ball comes rushing towards him and he acts just in time to stop it from hitting him.
kagami taiga, he introduces himself.
tall, red hair and eyes, and absolute excitement in his face when he sees ryota – challenging him to a one-on-one. kise thinks this guy's a whole lot like aominecchi – if only he didn't lose interest in basketball.
is this what kurokocchi went here for? a new light?
he copies the dunk that kagami did just moments ago, more than slightly disappointed when the red-haired couldn't even stop him.
this? he chose kagami over any one of them over him to be his light?
he schools the disappointment into a smile, turns towards kuroko and holds out a hand to him.
"come join us, let's play basketball together again. i seriously respect you, kurokocchi – it's a waste of your talent to stay here. what do you say?"
kuroko looks at his outstretched hand, blinks,
"i'm honored to hear you say that,"
bows,
"but i must respectfully decline your offer."
the smile slides off his face.
"that doesn't make any sense! besides, this isn't like you. winning was everything – why didn't you go somewhere better?"
kuroko looks almost sadly at that, tilts his head up so he could look at him – determination in his eyes.
"i've changed my way of thinking since then. more importantly, i made a promise to kagami-kun: i told him that we would beat the generation of miracles together."
he narrows his eyes,
"it really isn't like you to joke around like that."
he nearly glares at kagami when he hears him laugh from behind to agree with kuroko – but has enough restraint in him to close his eyes and breathe in deep, lets out the hint of annoyance he was feeling into a sigh.
"anyways, kurokocchi! i'll see you guys tomorrow for the practice game!"
kise heads back out of the gym, the hand he has in his pocket unknowingly clenched into a fist.
there's a slight pain in his heart from the thought of kuroko rejecting him earlier – and that he's really found a new light in kagami when kise has been wanting to be that for so long.
but if it's kurokocchi's decision…
he decides to let it go,
wait and see how deserving kagami taiga is to hold that title.
<------------------------------>
very much, is the answer to that:
kagami taiga is the new light to the shadow that is kuroko tetsuya.
there's a sudden wetness streaking down his cheeks as he looks at the scoreboard – raises a hand to wipe it off and realizes that he's crying.
only then does it sink in that he has lost.
even after kasamatsu-senpai has hit him and looked at him weird for crying after losing in a practice match, the heaviness of the new feeling doesn't leave – so he heads out back to avoid everyone.
he's washing his face because of how warm it feels from all the crying when-
"gemini's horoscope predicted terrible luck for you today, but i did not think you would actually lose."
midorima shintaro's viridian eyes are locked onto him from behind his glasses – talks to him like that when they haven't seen each other for months now.
"you came to watch, midorimacchi?"
"either way, it was an unfortunate game – even a monkey could have managed those dunks. it's no wonder fate didn't choose your side."
he outright pouts at teiko's former vice captain.
geez, we haven't seen each other for months and this is what he first says.
"i haven't seen you since middle school. it's good to see you again, and…"
he rests his arm on the cool surface of the sink,
"you haven't stopped taping your fingers, huh? anyway, who cares if i dunk as long as it goes in."
"that's why you're no good. getting the ball in from up close is easy, but shooting it from far away has true value. didn't anyone tell you that 'man proposes, god disposes'? optimal effort is what makes you worthy of fate's grace."
a light green towel is thrown at him from seemingly nowhere,
"i always do my best, and i always have oha asa's lucky item with me."
again from out of nowhere, a toy frog as green as midorimacchi's hair is held in his left hand.
"today's lucky item is a toy frog by the way – that's why my shots never miss."
he stares at the green frog cradled by taped fingers, blinks at it blankly when he can't find anything to say.
"... shouldn't you be talking to kurokocchi instead of me?"
"there's no need, b blood types don't get along with a blood types. i not only acknowledge his style, i also respect it – but i cannot accept his decision to attend a school like seirin."
ah, midorimacchi's a real softy inside, huh.
"i simply came today as we will be playing them in the division preliminaries – but honestly, they're not good enough."
he looks at midorima as he looks away.
"we've only played against them today, but there's something different with seirin. i don't think anyone could call them 'not good enough'. besides, kurokocchi chose them, so there must be something right there – maybe we just can't see it."
emerald-hued eyes stare at him again – looking as if midorimacchi's ready to say something again – but he beats him to it first:
"have you talked to akashicchi since then?"
midorima's eyes widen before they narrow at him,
"why do you assume i would have talked to akashi?"
"you guys were close in middle school, right?"
"perhaps. you have clearly seen how he distanced himself from everyone back then though, why should i reach out to him?"
"kurokocchi disappeared back then too, but you don't see me giving up on him."
"i fail to see the connection."
midorima looks at him pointedly – almost challengingly.
"the connection is that you like aka-"
"midorima, you bastard! you left me right in the middle of traffic! do you know how embarrassing that is?!"
ryota looks behind midorima and sees someone in shutoku uniform pedaling a… rickshaw?
he'd feel embarrassed too if he was stuck in traffic with that.
midorima's not looking at him anymore – turned towards the raven-haired guy too – but then-
"we will beat seirin in the inter-high. so you may as well give up on your 'revenge' as early as now."
it's almost shocking how easily he spots baby blue-colored hair from afar when seirin starts leaving, but midorimacchi's words suddenly have him wanting to talk to kurokocchi about something – after he gets the last word in, being kise ryota and all.
"nah, i won't give up – so don't give up on akashicchi too, midorimacchi!"
<------------------------------>
kaijo lost against touou, and ryota doesn't know how to feel about it.
he knows that among the generation of miracles, he was the weakest one – and since every attempt at a one-on-one against aominecchi resulted to a loss for him, then he should have expected this to happen, right?
yeah, maybe he should have, but there's this voice that never disappeared from the back of his mind that he wanted to win against teiko's ace – not just to be stronger, but also because it was to be his light.
(even if he knows kurokocchi's got a new light now, it doesn't hurt to hope. he's been wanting this for almost three years now, let him owe it to his self-esteem.)
so he gave it his all in their game – relied on his teammates and even learned how to copy aomine in a way – but they still ended up losing.
… he did everything he could… right? he couldn't even get up from the floor after the match – left scrambling and trying to stand up on his own because of how much he overexerted himself in his desperate attempt for them to win – and kasamatsu-senpai had to help him up.
he thinks, that this was what kurokocchi was missing during their time in teiko – teamwork – and that really, there was something more to just winning the game. but it doesn't hurt less when he's learned from his mistakes – learned from the past – but aomine still beat him, beat them.
he goes to the park before he went back home, let out a few tears until he was left just staring ahead. his eyes feel icky from the dried tears that had run down his cheeks, and he just knows his eyes are still puffy – but he can't find it in himself to fix his face.
he just prays that no fan will see him like this.
he's miserable and wallowing in his despair when there's a sudden weight on his shoulder – and when he moves his head to see, he's greeted by the color of the skies on a perfect sunny day.
"... kurokocchi?"
kuroko settles more from his position beside him, and ryota can feel his weight on his arm when kurokocchi leans on him – feels the shifting when the smaller boy moves his head so he can peek up at kise.
"was kise-kun expecting someone else?"
"what- n-no! but i wasn't expecting kurokocchi to be here!"
"mmn. i followed kise-kun here when i saw him looking sad. kise-kun passed by where our bus dropped us off but you didn't notice me."
kuroko moved his head back so they're both looking at the basketball court ahead of them.
"... sorry, kurokocchi."
"kise-kun always sees me even if i try my best to use my lack of presence to disappear."
he feels a tear escape his eye, drop off from his cheek to fall onto kuroko's hair.
kurokocchi must feel it because he moves his head to look at kise.
"i was crying because of our loss against aominecchi today. sorry i-"
the warmth beside him is suddenly gone, but then there are hands holding onto his – smaller than his, soft but with a few calluses from how hard he hits the ball for his passes, and unexpectedly warm.
kuroko is standing up before him – and he finds it adorable that even with him sitting, the difference in height is still not too much.
"kise-kun shouldn't feel bad for crying. you did very well today with your team, and you were very strong."
he looks up at kurokocchi – sees big blue eyes staring at him with so much determination.
his lip quirks up in an attempt to smile, softly squeezes kuroko's small hands.
"i'm still not strong enough, though. aominecchi beat me."
"kise-kun doesn't need to win against aomine-kun so he can be strong – or enough. you have always been bright for me."
kise blinks, mind going blank so he has to pull kuroko closer with his arms – lean his forehead against kurokocchi so he can hide his face.
he feels tears threatening to flow once again.
"... ne, kurokocchi. do you know that i always wanted to be your light? that's why i want to win against aominecchi – because i have to prove that i can be strong enough for you. so hearing you say that just now, i…"
his voice becomes shaky, tears once again making their way down his cheeks. kurokocchi lifts his hands to settle on his nape, before running through his blonde strands and mussing them up.
"i don't want kise-kun to be my light."
he freezes, feels his heart shatter a bit.
but then-
then, hands are framing his face so he looks up.
kuroko is looking at him so softly, thumbs slowly stroking his cheeks.
"the people i choose to be my light… i'm always looking at their back – they are always ahead of me. i don't want that with kise-kun. kise-kun is bright and warm like the sun, and i want to feel that beside me. i want to hold his hand. i don't want to be just his shadow."
he blinks,
"e-eh?"
kuroko pouts at him.
oh, he's too cute.
"kise-kun should say something. i'm confessing to him and all he can say is 'eh'."
"c-confessing?!"
kurokocchi squeezes his cheeks and pulls.
"ow ow ow, kurokocchi-"
"kise-kun has liked me since middle school, yes? then he should be happy i am saying all this."
"wait, ok, kurokocchi."
he holds onto small hands, pulls them away from his face, then stands up so he's towering over kuroko.
"i've been in love with you since middle school – you can't just take my moment away like this!"
pale blue eyes narrow at him,
"if i waited for kise-kun, then we will never get together."
"n-nuh-uh! i planned to confess to kurokocchi!"
"really? since when? and at what point in time were you going to execute your plan?"
"i was desperately looking for you at the start of high school because i wasn't giving up on you – give me some credit, kurokocchi. and as to when i planned to confess, well uh… someday?"
"... someday?"
"i-i wanted it to be romantic!"
kuroko blankly stares at him, before letting go of his hands then wrapping his arms around kise so they're flushed against each other – kuroko's fluffy hair just tickling his chin.
"kise-kun is a hopeless idiot…"
"wha- hey!"
"luckily, i love him."
ryota's chin starts trembling, sight becoming blurry. he sniffles as he hugs kurokocchi,
then sobs out loud.
"k-kise-kun?"
when he doesn't stop, kuroko stands up to the tips of his toes and reaches up a hand to settle on the back of his head – settles back down on his heels as he pulls kise along until he's hunched over, forehead resting on kuroko's shoulder.
kuroko rests his cheek on ryota's blonde hair.
"did i make kise-kun sad?"
he shakes his head and breathes in deep to try and clear his clogged nose from all the crying,
"n-no. kurok-kocchi actually made me rea~lly-y ha-appy."
kise tightens his hold around kuroko – straightens a bit when his back starts to ache.
kuroko lifts himself up to his toes a bit so he could follow ryota.
"kise-kun shouldn't hold this position for too long. your back would become sore if you do."
he readjusts himself so his arms are wrapped loosely around the shorter boy – stood up to his full height so kuroko has to put his chin on kise's chest as he looks up at him.
the thought of he's so beautiful is much too overwhelming that ryota finds his hands moving to frame kurokocchi's face, feels the warmth of his cheeks seeping into his palms.
"kurokocchi made me so happy because i never thought the day would come that he would be mine. i thought that when i would confess to you, you would reject me. and then i'd just have to learn how to live with that fact – but at least i tried. i never knew that kurokocchi would be the one to even make the first move."
his hand shifts so his fingers could brush away kuroko's blue strands from his forehead – leaving his forehead exposed – before moving back to its place of perfectly fitting against a pale cheek.
kise hears kurokocchi breathe in as quietly as he could when he leans down for a second to kiss his forehead.
kuroko's eyes close when he feels ryota's lips press softly against his skin.
"maybe kise-kun didn't know, but i've always thought of you differently from the others. i always saw you in a different light – thought of you in a more precious way – because i was your mentor. so when one day i found myself thinking of you in the sense of being in love with you and even looking forward to being close with you, it just felt so natural to do so."
he looks at kuroko's baby blue eyes staring so intently at him, and he smiles.
"... like breathing, right?"
"yes, as natural as that. i'm sorry though that i did not know how to show you how – maybe that's a reason why kise-kun thought otherwise."
"it's okay, kurokocchi. even if you act the way you always did, that's more than enough for me – just as long as i can call you my boyfriend now."
he sees a faint pink dusting kuroko's cheeks at his words, and he finds himself grinning wide. kuroko averts his eyes from the too-bright of a sight, and because of the sudden wave of shyness he feels.
"y-yes. but kise-kun has to understand that being his boyfriend does not mean i will go easy on him when we play against kaijo again."
kise laughs,
"of course!"
<------------------------------>
when kaijo plays against seirin for the winter cup, kuroko did indeed give it his all until the very end.
ryota cried again because of how much he wanted to lead kaijo to victory, but he couldn't find it in himself to linger on that feeling when he's still so proud of kurokocchi making it so far.
he's on the balcony of the second floor of the arena as everyone is waiting for the final match of rakuzan against seirin – leaning back on the metal of the railing and looking up at the sky – when the door opens, and a familiar warmth settles beside him.
kuroko rests his head on ryota's shoulder once again.
kise presses his cheek to the sky blue tresses.
"congratulations again for winning against us, kurokocchi."
"thank you, kise-kun."
"next time, we'll definitely win. i'll practice more and more until i'm better than how i am right now."
"of course. i am excited to see kise-kun grow more too. after all, kise-kun really is the best."
he rubs his cheek softly against kuroko's soft strands when he feels a smaller hand make its way to hold onto his – and he takes the first step to interlace their fingers together.
kuroko doesn't talk for a few moments, and kise follows because he knows the phantom has something on his mind.
"i'm nervous, kise-kun."
"... because rakuzan is your next opponent?"
"yes, and that would mean going up against akashi-kun."
"i know you can do it. if there's anyone who could beat rakuzan, it would be you guys."
he gently squeezes kuroko's fingers,
"if there's anyone who could beat akashicchi, it would be you. kurokocchi is the only one who could make the generation of miracles see that his basketball is better than just blindly winning."
kuroko stays silent for a few moments.
"did… did you know that there are two of akashi-kun?"
he makes a sound of confusion.
"two of him? i know he changed from how he was before, but i'm not so sure of there being two of him."
"it's true, akashi-kun told me himself. there is one who truly loves basketball, but there is also another who prioritizes victory above all others. i want to bring back the akashi-kun who loves basketball, but that would mean defeating the akashi-kun who is in charge now – and i honestly do not know how we will be able to win against this one."
he moves his head to look down at kuroko, and kurokocchi moves from his place to look up at him in return.
"don't worry too much about it, kurokocchi. i know you guys will find a way. one day, we will be able to play basketball together again – all of us – and it will be because kurokocchi was able to save us from ourselves."
he presses his lips against kuroko's forehead when he sees the smaller boy's lips start to quirk up in a semblance of a smile.
"thank you very much… ryota-kun."
his brain short-wires.
"... we haven't gone out on a proper date, have we?"
kuroko shakes his head.
"then, if you win against rakuzan, we'll go on a date tomorrow,"
and just to spite kurokocchi, he waits a few seconds, then tries,
"... tetsuyacchi."
tetsuya's eyes widen, ears turning red so quickly that he couldn't hide it even when he buried his face against kise's shoulder in an attempt to hide it.
"ah… ryota-kun is really the best."
he laughs loudly and coos at tetsuya as he hugs him tightly.
<------------------------------>
needless to say, they do go out on a date the next day.