Ｌｉｇｈｔ - 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮

four - celebratory dinner

At the awards ceremony, the top four teams were allowed onto the court. Kaijo was in fourth place, Shutoku in third, Rakuzan in second, and of course, Seirin in first. Kaijo went first to recieve their medals, and Kise waved subtly at Sasaki, who returned the gesture with a soft smile. Then Shutoku was given their medals for third place, and Midorima made sure to exchange a nod with his lover when he was moving back to allow the others to go. It was then Rakuzan's turn was given their second place medals, and finally, Seirin took center stage.

"As the winners of the Winter Cup, we present to you this trophy and these medals. Congratulations on your victory," The organiser smiled before turning to address the crowd. "I present to you, the four top teams in Japan! Kaijo High School, Shutoku High School, Rakuzan High School, and our champions, Seirin High School!"

"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOO!" The stadium went up in cheers and claps as the four teams stood for everyone to see, proud that their hard work had finally paid off in the end. However, many knew that this tournament was not the end, but a new beginning.

The third years may have been graduating, but their love of basketball would not fade. If fate permitted it, they would meet again on the court once more in the distant future. As for the others, the next season would soon be upon them, and it would be time to fight by playing the game they all love once again.

"Let's go celebrate!" Riko exclaimed as they headed out of the stadium, causing several of the upperclassmen to deadpan at her.

"We're broke, you know."

"Oh don't be like that!" The coach scoffed, scooting over to a certain azurette and slinging an arm around him with a cheeky grin. "I'm sure our dear Sasaki-kun wouldn't mind footing the bill~ isn't that right?"

"Actually," Sasaki smiled humorlessly. "I promised my boyfriends that I would go out with them tonight, so no can do."

"Whaaaat?" Riko frowned.

"Come on Sasaki, we're your teammates! You can see your boyfriends tomorrow, let's celebrate as a team!" Koganei interjected, then added, "You don't have to pay if you don't want to, I'm sure we can cover one meal."

"Right, don't try and ditch us just because you want to be stingy, daho!" Hyuuga agreed, and Sasaki's smile tightened further. Kagami was about to speak up, but Sasaki beat him to it.

"I'm not being stingy, I just don't want to be around you guys anymore than I have to," He said, and instantly a chill went down all of Seirin's spine.

"Uh, that's not funny, Sasaki," Izuki tried to chuckle it off, but Mitobe put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Sasaki was more than serious.

"I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I guess now is fine," Sasaki handed Riko a sheet of paper, which had been signed by both him and the faculty advisor. It was the Club Membership Withdrawal form. "I'm resigning from the basketball club."

"W-what--"

"Hayate," Midorima addressed as he, Akashi and Kise came out of the venue right behind where the Seirin team and their newest ex-member had gathered. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," He beamed, jogging over to them. "Just taking care of some things. Where's Daiki?"

"I've been here the whole time," Aomine mocked, causing the azurette to jump as the ace wrapped his arms around him. "Damn, that really scared ya?" The ace grinned with a laugh. Sasaki pouted as he struggled out of his boyfriend's hold.

"Yeah, I didn't sense you at all! Have you been taking lessons from Kuroko or something?!"

"Ahaha, no way, I just wanted to mess with you," He nuzzled his cheek, making the azurette huff but stop struggling. "So," The ace glanced at his friends. "We ready to bounce?"

"Yes, let's go," Akashi confirmed, glancing at the gaping players of Seirin that still hadn't managed to gain their bearings. "See you again, Seirin," The Rakuzan captain inclined his head as he led the miracle troop away. As they passed them, Akashi's eyes passed over Kuroko's slouching form, and then two blazing red eyes.

Kagami was in the back of the Seirin pack in brooding silence, looking like a beast just waiting to be unleashed. Akashi felt on guard for an instant before shaking his head and turning his attention to in front of him. There was no way the redhead knew what they were planning. He wouldn't have been standing still if he had. Must've just been mad that he would no longer have Hayate around, Akashi decided, and let the thought drift from his mind.

From there, the troop of miracles headed to the restaurant that the young master had picked out for them, going to one of the back rooms that was reserved for larger parties so that they could have more privacy. "Nice choice, Seiji," Sasaki complimented as he sat in the chair, squished between Kise and Aomine, both of whom looked to want to engulf the azurette for themselves from how close they had scooted their own chairs to his.

"I'm glad you approve," Akashi hummed on the other side of the table. The seating arrangement had been made based on the results of the Winter Cup; the lower ranking significant others got to sit next to Sasaki and the two higher ranking players had to sit on the other side of the table. Not that they minded, Midorima seemed quite pleased to be faced directly by Sasaki. Akashi didn't mind either; dining face to face felt better to him since all he had to do was look straight and there the love of his life would be.

"Ayacchi," Kise suddenly addressed, causing Sasaki to glance at him from the menu with a quizzical hum. "Did you really quit the basketball team?"

"Yeah," He nodded slightly, looking bittersweetly down at his track jacket and pants. "I'm going to turn in my stuff tomorrow, and then I'm going to transfer to another school. I'm not sure if I'm going to join their basketball team, though, and I'm not sure even what school I'm going to end up at, but I just had enough of how everyone at Seirin was treating me," He explained, causing the mood to somber out. He noticed this instantly, making him panic slightly. "Oh no, I didn't mean to go down in the dumps like that, I, uh--"

"It's fine, Hayate," Akashi assured him. "But you've given me an idea," He tilted his head. "If you're transferring, why don't I tranfer as well? That way we can spend every day together instead of the rare occasions I can spare time to come down from Kyoto."

"I mean, it's up to you, but," Sasaki looked unsure. "Don't you really mesh well with your team? I don't want to be the reason you leave them behind. And it's not like we never see each other.."

"I don't think mesh is the right word," Akashi's eyes went from heterochromic to dark pink. "We work well together because they respect me and do as I say; I don't believe there are any particular feelings other than that. Rest assured that I would never regret leaving Rakuzan for you."

"If Akashi's transferring, I'm coming too," Aomine grumbled as he twisted his pinkie in his ear.

"I'll go wherever Ayacchi goes," Kise beamed as he grasped his lover's hand. "I can come with you, right?"

"Ryouta.." Sasaki trailed off.

"Kaijo is like a disfunctional family, but even family has to go their separate ways. I want to be with you," The blonde squeezed Sasaki's hand with a determined expression. "Always."

"I would like to join you as well," Midorima pushed up his glasses, causing the light to catch the lenses and making them flash dramatically. "You were considering some schools in Miyagi, correct?"

"...I'm very concerned on how you know that."

"I'm your significant other, Hayate," Midorima reminded him with an ever so slightly exasperated expression. "Of course I would know that you looked up high schools in Miyagi prefecture."

"Normal boyfriends wouldn't know that."

"I never said I was normal, Hayate."

"...Yeah, guess not," Sasaki exhaled with a shake of his head before smiling at his boyfriends. "Alright then, guess we're all transferring to somewhere in Miyagi!"

[Want more without the wait? Several more chapters are already published on my Patreon page, so look for them under the Light Side Story subscription! Link is on my profile~]