swan_forest | Unrequited Love?

Kaijou and Seirin had just had their first practice match, which was shaping up to be a tradition of sorts. This time, Kaijou had gone to Seirin. The gym was nice, newer then Kaijou's but maybe not as big.

He was breathing heavily, but smiling broadly. It always felt good to play, even if it was just a practice match and they weren't going all out. After all, he wanted to keep some of his new tricks up his sleeves, just like he was sure Kagami and Kuroko were hiding some of their new tricks too. This year's match had ended in a draw. Better than last year's practice match, which had ended in Kaijou's loss by two points.

Just thinking about Kuroko made Kise look over to the Seirin team, focusing in on the smaller boy.

For awhile now Kise had realized that he had feelings for Kuroko. Kise had looked up to Kuroko for awhile, but it wasn't really until after the Winter Cup that Kise realized he was probably in love with Kuroko.

He took a towel that one of the first years offered him. "Thanks," he said absently. He scrubbed at his face, his thoughts racing. He had been thinking about Kuroko a lot lately, and seeing him only brought those thoughts back to the surface, only pushed aside when the game had begun. Now with the game over he couldn't focus. The warm glow in his chest that came whenever he thought about Kuroko was back with a vengeance.

The Kaijou team was gathering their things and getting ready to board the bus. He told the first year that he'd be along in a bit and began to head over to the Seirin team.

"Kurokocchi~" he called out. No time like the present, he thought. He didn't know if Kuroko would return his feelings, but he was hopeful. The time Kuroko had cheered him on while he went up against Haizaki stood out in his mind.

"Kurokocchi! You got a minute?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Kuroko would definitely punch him if he knew Kise's true thoughts.

"I suppose we'll have to see... there are a few promising newcomers for us, but we are still evaluating how they'll fit in."

"We've got strong new guys this year, but no one to start. Some of the benchwarmers are on the starting line now, but the starting line's third and second years right now."

Of course that was liable to change, but he didn't think so.

"Perhaps we can do two simultaneous games during our upcoming practice match to allow the newbies some time to shine."

While he personally didn't know what it was like to always be benched, several of his teammates did. It would be a nice exercise.

"You'd have to talk to Coach about that, but I don't have a problem with it."

Oh, that's a question!

"Aida-san graduated last year; who's the coach of your team now?"

"The school actually hired us a coach, but Riko-san still intends on visiting every so often to consult with him. I think she's having trouble letting go of us."

It was weird dropping his usual way of addressing her.

"That must be weird. I wonder how often she'll visit. She might plan on visiting often, but she probably hasn't considered how busy she'll be."

Still, changes all around. It was spring, the season of growth. And not all growth was comfortable. He wondered how the rest of the team was dealing with it. He couldn't imagine life without Takeuchi as the Kaijou coach.

But he'll have a new coach next year. Houston, LA, or wherever he ended up.

"I'm sure university will keep her very busy, so I've told her as much as well, but she insisted."

She was definitely being too hopeful!

"We certainly need to grow more comfortable at the idea that she won't be there to easily save us..."

Unrequited Love?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject