Hate to Love | Akakuro

Six

Three weeks went by quickly for Kuroko. The inter-high came and went just as fast. Teiko High School won, of course. The blunette didn't attend any of the games, well... except the final one.

Kuroko was proud of his friends. They fought their hardest and obtained the best reward of all. Victory.

The week Aomine and Kise were training, Kuroko was left alone. He didn't mind, though. He understood that they were busy and he didn't want to be a burden or interrupt their practice. The alone-time gave him peace at mind and some time to himself, anyways.

Akashi hadn't approached him or even acknowledged him the week of the inter-high, so that was a plus. Not to mention, Kuroko didn't have to help out the student council anymore either. Another plus!

Now though, Aomine and Kise were back and as boisterous as ever. The teal-head wasn't bothered, he enjoyed being alone, but hanging out with his friends was always better.

"Wah~ Aominecchi, I'm happy we won the Inter-high but I'm sad I had to miss spending my birthday with Kurokocchi~!" Kise weeps as he grips Kuroko tightly in an embrace. The power forward pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kise, let him go! He can't breathe!" The blunette was thankful for Aomine.

The blonde reluctantly releases the suffocating teen with a huff. "I'm sorry, Kurokocchi! I'm just so sad I couldn't hang out with you for so long! You were left all on your lonesome!"

"It's alright, Kise-kun. You were busy, I understand that. At least your efforts paid off. You guys won the Inter-high!" Kuroko smiled softly as he patted the blonde's head. "I'm proud of you!"

Kise felt tears brimming his eyes as he pulled Kuroko into another hug. "Ah~ Kurokocchi! You are so nice~! I've never been praised by you before~!"

The blunette laughed quietly in response. "How could I not Kise-kun? You guys fought hard, of course I'm proud." Kise just tightened his hold with another wail. Kuroko didn't stop him.

"We're glad you could make it to the game, Tetsu! It was nice having you cheer for us!" Aomine laughed heartily. "Your banner was amazing, too! 'Ever-victorious'! Got a nice ring to it!"

"I wanted to create something that would give you hope if you ever started feeling demoralized," Kuroko explained with a small smile. "I'm glad it helped."

Kise freed the blunette again before letting out a cheerful laugh. "Anything Kurokocchi makes is amazing! Naturally, that banner was stunning!" Kuroko nodded shyly.

"Also, thanks for the help on studyin', Tetsu! Now I can go back to skipping class and napping!" the navy-head exclaimed and he stretched his arms above his head with a yawn. Kise slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Aominecchi! You can't just stop getting good grades now that the inter-high is over! What about the National Sports meet and Winter cup!" the blonde announced. "You have to keep your gpa up if you wanna keep playing basketball!"

Aomine groaned and flopped onto his back. The trio was spending lunch on the roof this afternoon because Aomine didn't want to be bothered by any of the students who kept asking them about the inter-high. The attention was nice, but not nice enough to make him miss his lunch.

"Kise-kun is right, Aomine-kun. You have to keep attending class otherwise you might get kicked off the team, and no one wants that," Kuroko interjected as he took another bite of his bento. "However, you will need to find another tutor."