#1 What is passion? [Knb fanfiction]

Chapter 23

Kuroko Tetsuya's POV

Aomine-kun... My head screamed his name and I wanted to pass the ball to him. Our eyes locked, I saw nothing behind those dark blue orbs which were once filled with passion. I turned away, directing the basketball to Kise-kun instead. I can't. I can't pass to my light.

He was no longer my light.

That one thought was enough to drown me. He had said it himself, that he didn't need me anymore. He had told me to break our accustomed coordination play. He said he was too strong, that we, the light and the shadow have become unbalanced.

Flashback

***

"Aomine-kun, why are you skipping practice." We were hanging out after school, each licking an popsicle.

"I'm too strong. No one can beat me anymore..." He mumbled sadly.

"Aomine-kun. You will find your rival someday." I told him firmly and his eyes lit up with hope. I smiled to reassure him even though part of me wasn't really convinced by myself but I chose to believe my statement. The next few days, he came to practice and I felt truly happy that he was still continuing to improve.

But... 

"What is this?..." I heard him mutter, his breathing unsteady, his voice full of despair. "What is this?..." I saw his knees wobbling, his eyes wide open, his body language reflecting his insecurity. "What is this?..." I felt his pain, his devastation, I knew that he was overwhelmed by fear. 

Fear of himself, of the monster he had become.

The opponents were all frozen, they had all given up. The hope igniting in their eyes when they came on court had died out. I heard what they said, "I'm going to quit basketball." I heard. My heart ached. 

No! Don't quit! Don't!

I felt mad, at a certain someone. My light. I was angry at him for making all these basketball lovers hate the sport but it's not his fault is it. Is it? 

Mizushima Ai's POV

"Mizu. There's a street basketball tournament, it's 2 vs 2. Wanna come?" Aomine-kun held out a flyer and I took it gratefully. "Sure." I smiled at him.

The tournament begun and Aomine-kun took off on his own. I followed and got into a receiving pose for several times but even though I was pretty sure he saw me, he never passed. It was as if I wasn't there, it was as if he thought he was playing alone. We won, he won the first match, the second match and all the matches all by himself. 

I did nothing.

At some point of that last match, I wanted to break down crying. I felt useless, unwanted and unneeded just like when I started basketball. When I started playing the sport, I had talent for it but because I was a girl, no one passed to me, everyone ignored me. I was in my elementary school basketball team for one year, all the others were boys and I was the only girl. To be truthful, I was also the best but because I was a girl, I was excluded. We lost, not a biggie but I learnt that I hated to feel useless. I absolutely hated it.

And now, I'm experiencing that feeling once again. But only this time, the difference between our abilities are huge. Aomine-kun was so much better than me. I couldn't even catch up to his speed.

At that point, a crack had already appeared in my heart.

***

Murasaki-kun... He... He became even more powerful, crashing into opponents like a tornado, blowing everyone out of his way. And then the day where he became like Aomine-kun came, he asked Akashi-kun for permission to skip practice and of course, the captain declined. Murasaki-kun glared at him, the giant who never once dared to defy the captain glared at him and suggested to use a match to decide. The first to get 5 points.

Murasaki-kun scored 4 points straight away, leaving Akashi-kun sitting on the floor. Then, a miracle had happened. But that 'miracle' turned for the worse. The other Akashi-kun had awakened, granting him the 'emperor eye'. His eyes became heterochromatic, one crimson, one gold. At first, I thought that this stronger Akashi-kun could maybe bring Aomine-kun and Murasaki-kun back to their original selves but his one sentence changed my mind.

"You can do anything you want as long as we win!" He announced after ankle breaking Murasaki-kun and winning their duel. I felt like I was stabbed in the heart. 

Midorima-kun changed too. His change wasn't as bad as the others but still bad. He still practiced every single day but he also cut off team play. Kise-kun, seeing that all the others changed must have had an impact on him mentally. He worked harder than ever and then finally also bloomed. His change didn't have an effect on his personality, just his thinking. He began to think that individual strength was more important than team play...

Just like that, I felt crushed. The only relief I had left was Kuroko-kun. 

I stayed to accompany Kuroko-kun and I somewhat felt glad that someone was still in the light, despite him having an identity of a shadow. 

But that didn't last very long, as each match was played, I felt like I've shrunk even more and I was sure that the day I was to perish in their minds would come by soon. My heart was also almost at it's limit. The day it shatters will be the end for me.