Rebound (Kagakuro)

Chapter Two

Kuroko

Joining another basketball club was out of my list, but seeing Kagami having the same passion as I did before, I couldn't help but to hope again. I smiled to myself, watching Kagami as he continued to imagine the possibilities of becoming the best in Japan.

"We'll win together, Kuroko," He grinned. "I'll make sure we win."

I smiled wider, but it only disappeared when I realised someone else had said the same thing. Thinking of how he turned out now made me frown. Kagami noticed, and he hit my head in annoyance.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop, because it's making you sad again."

"S-Sorry." I murmured.

The red-headed sighed worriedly then sat himself next to me.

"What's wrong? It's gotta do with basketball, isn't it?"

I stayed silent, then nodded my head. "Yeah."

Remembering the past was painful, so I decided not to think much about it. Kagami was here, dreaming about what seemed impossible yet possible at the same time. As a friend, I should be encouraging him, not worrying him about what happened a year ago.

"You can talk to me about it if you want to, but I'm pretty sure you don't," Kagami smiled a sad smile. "I don't care, though, whatever made you turn away from basketball is no longer there. I'm here, Kuroko, and I promise to make you love basketball again, without any regrets this time."

"Thank you, Kagami-kun." I grinned, which made his face turn red a little.

"No problem, now let's head home. It's getting late."

• • •

"Good morning, Kagami-kun." I greeted the red-headed boy, who was looking rather tired that morning.

"Uh, yeah, morning."

"Are you okay?"

A hint of red plastered across his features, and he quickly looked away. I smiled in amusement. He was embarrassed, I was sure.  Together we made our way to class and to our seats. We were getting looks from people, and it was slowly starting to bother me.

"You noticed the way people were looking at us?" Kagami huffed in annoyance. "They're giving me the creeps."

"I know," I simply answered. "People don't usually notice me, so this feeling is still strange to me. Plus, I never really had friends here."

Kagami laughed. "Wow, you're a total loner, aren't you?"

I only smiled in return.

"Say," He murmured, then his face turned red again. "About last night, it was an embarrassing thing to do, but I'll never forget our promise. The things I said kept me up all night, and I realised how stupid I sounded." I sneered in amusement, seeing how the redness on his face was increasing.

"It's okay, Kagami-kun," I replied. "Your words gave me hope. Maybe, just maybe, basketball could make me happy again. Plus, I missed it."

"You miss playing basketball?"

I nodded.

"Well, the sign-ups for clubs are going on tomorrow, why don't we join the basketball club together? It'll be fun!"

I liked how excited Kagami was. His eyes sparkled with excitement, and his grin was so wide I was worried he might hurt his cheeks. Even so, it made me happy.

"I'll think about —"

"No thinking. You're joining, for sure."

"Kagami-kun, you can't just decide —"

Just before I could finish my sentence, sensei walked into the class and we were all forced to take our seats. Kagami only shot me a look of victory, and I can't help but sigh.