Teiko's basketball II: Second miracle

31: Herald

Chapter 31:

Herald

"Aominecchi! Play with me!"

"I'm not in the mood, idiot."

"Pwease?"

"Eh, what? Quit bothering me!"

"Pretty pwease?"

"Argh! Fine. But leave me alone after that."

"Yay!"

Kise smiled. He would definitely make it worth Aomine's time. He had been practicing real hard lately. His skills had been improving quite fast. Even the gom had to admit it. But still, Aomine was the one person he really wanted to imitate. His bold style of formless was just beautiful to watch. Today. Surely.

After practice, Aomine and Kise occupied one of the spare courts. Aomine began the one on one with offense. Kise watched him play carefully. Every time he tried imitating Aomine, Aomine managed to throw something new at him. But Kise had probably played with him hundreds of times as of now. He'd begun to recognize a faint pattern in the chaos of Aomine's play. He was aiming to imitate that today. And at first, it seemed to be working.

Kise could, to some extent counter Aomine's plays. He watched each move carefully and put himself in Aomine's shoes, thinking about the choices which were open for him. At the same time, he had to think of ways to counter Aomine's current attacks. It was extremely tiring for Kise. But on the other hand, he seemed to be pushing Aomine real hard.

Aomine panted. "Oi..... Are you really Kise?"

Kise jerked. "Aominecchi! What does it look like?"

"No. It's just that you don't seem too pathetic today...."

"Aominecchi's cruel!"

"Shut up! You're making my ears ring....."

The match continued. At one point, the scores were almost tied.

"Nae, Aominecchi... This looks like my lucky day." said Kise beaming. "I might get to beat you afterall!"

"Oh. Is it?"

They continued to play. Kise scored one more basket. This time the scores were really tied.

"Yay!" exclaimed Kise. He looked at Aomine to check his reaction. He expected Aomine to begin ranting. But to his utter surprise, Aomine looked calm. Kise blinked. He could see no expression on Aomine's face. Somehow it made Kise really uneasy.

They resumed play again. Aomine was on offense. Kise got into position. But this time, when Aomine came in, his play was entirely different.

He was fast. Really fast.

Kise could hardly react. Aomine crossed him easily and dunked. The hoop shuddered with the force of his dunk. Kise's instincts were screaming that something was terribly wrong. Aomine played like that for another five minutes. Then, his deathly calm subsided. Kise looked at him in concern. He was prespirating by the bucket.

"Aominecchi, can we call it off......"

Aomine simply nodded.

"Are you okay?" Another nod.

Kise stood there awkwardly. He didn't know what to do. He knew that Aomine would simply refuse whatever help he would offer. He bade goodbye and left.

As soon as Kise went out, Aomine collapsed in a corner. He ached all over. He found that he couldn't even move his body.

'Just what on earth is happening to me......'

*************

Kise met Kuroko in the corridor. Kuroko noticed Kise's expression.

"Kise-kun, is something wrong?"

Kise recounted everything that had happened. Kuroko was worried. It was so characteristic of Aomine to be so thick headed even when he was in need of help. He bade farewell to Kise and went to the court. He found Aomine slumped in a corner, just as Kise had described. He went and sat next to him.

"Yo...." said Aomine weakly. Kuroko realized the magnitude of the problem. Aomine couldn't even stand. He had probably spent all of his energy. Kuroko knew that he would refuse, point blank, if he offered help directly.

"Aomine-kun.... I was thinking of leaving. Will you accompany me home?"

But Aomine too realized Kuroko's plan. "Nah, Tetsu. I'm just fine. You can go ahead."

Kuroko decided to abandon his former approach. "You won't make it."

"That was blunt!"

"I'll take you home."

"No!"

"Aomine-kun...." said Kuroko in a serious tone. "If you don't rest today, somebody might tell coach tomorrow that you over-exerted yourself and are at risk of spraining your foot."

"Oi, why do I get the feeling that that 'someone' is you?"

"I don't know."

Aomine rubbed his forehead. He knew there was no way that he could really make it. Besides, Kuroko didn't look like he was going to budge.

"Fine just this once...."

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me......."

But Aomine couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. It was almost as if he had played the last five minutes in a trance. Like someone else was making the plays for him. And also, it had exerted his body to such an extent. But he did know one thing though. As of now, he had no control on it.