𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟼

Takao wasn't commonly known as a patient man. He'd certainly amazed their senpai by even trying to stick around Shin-chan after they ran into each other. However, there was a length that his stubborn patience could go to and Midorima was starting to push it.

In the week between the meeting and the start of the Inter-High, the green miracle remained mute in response to questions.

'If the late-night practice isn't your best, then what is?'

'What makes the phantom so important that you're starting to take basketball seriously now?'

'Did this mean you never took me seriously?'

'What is your best?'

Nothing. No matter where he asked or how serious he was, Midorima would not answer. He always remained stubbornly stoic. Takao knew he was uncharacteristically talkative at the Kaijo-Seirin practice match, but this was even less response than Takao expected.

So, Takao decided to take things into his own hands.

He went to Seirin's games, snickering each time he caught his frowning teammate, but kept a decent enough distance to form his own meddling plans.

*

Meanwhile, Kuroko was reaching the end of his own patience.

In the time since Kasamatsu had saved the retired player from running into Momoi and Kise, the two Teiko graduates had essentially dedicated themselves to hunting him down. They waited at the school gates, they hung around his regular train station, and they loitered at Maji Burger. He even barely missed being caught by them at his own home, where his grandmother asked if their parents knew they had come to visit.

He'd gotten some respite in class, the basketball team left him alone as they started to prepare for the Inter-High. Kagami didn't try to get into his space but offered small waves and acknowledgments after he did his daily double-take to confirm the low-presence boy was actually there.

Kuroko even began to consider Kagami might not have been bluffing when he wrote that letter. He'd gotten so used to mind games, between his own specialty and Akashi, and Kise's involvement had set him on edge.

The basketball team wouldn't have known who he was or even that he existed if Kise had not made such a big fuss. If Kise had not forced their hand.

He was still scared. He knew what he was to the generation of miracles – a tool. A means to an end. Their gateway to power that was beyond their reach before he had met them. Kise had more than enough time to manipulate them into the same frame of mind. It did not matter that he had once considered the older teen his student, his protégé. His friend.

He watched from the roof, the library windows, and the shade of the trees, as Kise and Momoi took turns coaching Seirin in the ways of Teiko. Saw them mold this team, which was fresh and innocent, into the grueling pace that their middle school had demanded of their most bare-bones players.

He worried some of them would drop. Teiko's reputation preceded them even before the Generation of Miracles had joined their ranks. They specialized in forming athletic stars and educational powerhouses. Seirin's students were not Teiko material.

He did not need to live through a second Teiko. He had turned down his admission to Rakuzan for a reason. It didn't matter where they were, anything that came close to the victory doctrine was spoiled. He'd spent enough time wondering what victory was to determine it wasn't worth the cost he had paid.

So, he continued to avoid the basketball team. It wasn't like they would last long in the circuit. It should have been flattering that Kise seemed to think Seirin might have had a sliver of hope if he was playing, but the fact remained that Aomine and Midorima were in the Tokyo district. They were going to lose, with or without him, and there was no point in getting his hopes up that maybe Seirin could be something different than the failure that he was.