That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 1)

第14Q

It was still raining. Yasu was at the entrance with a folding umbrella in her hand. After opening it, she walked out with it shielding her from the rain and looked for Midorima, whom she found was hanging up a call with someone before continuing to stare at the sky, letting himself get drenched from the rain.

Yasu let out a sigh. She knew Midorima was disappointed with himself after losing that match. Like Kise, it was his first defeat. Though he didn't show it, she knew he was deeply affected by it, especially when both the title "The Number One Shooter of the Generation of Miracles" and his infamous school known for being one of the Three Kings of Tokyo were placed on his shoulders, making him carry the burden. But most of all, he was alone, someone who refused to reach out whenever he needed help. Even back in middle school, he barely had friends and would always stay back to practise his shots by himself. Whenever she saw him back then, she felt lonely.

Midorima stared at the dark clouds as rain kept pouring until his gaze met with a white umbrella. Without even looking, he already knew who had joined him. "You'll get sick if you stay here." scolded the melodious voice he recognised from the start.

"You, too." he scoffed before shifting the umbrella to shield both of them from the rain, still refusing to look at her.

"Midorima." she called softly, knowing what was going through his mind. "It's okay to be disappointed, especially when you carry the pride of being one of the Generation of Miracles and a player for one of the Three Kings of Tokyo. But you can't mop around too long to the extent where you're standing under the rain and risk yourself of getting a cold, or even a fever, in worse case. Move on. Life's too short to even replay that episode in your mind forever. If you feel strongly about it, keep training not for anyone's sake, not even Shutoku's, but for yourself, because it is you who wants to become stronger.

"Also, you're doing it again. You're not reaching out to your teammates." Yasu noticed him slightly flinch when she caught him isolating himself from his teammates. "Like it or not, they are your teammates, and there's a reason for basketball to have a team of five. Otherwise, how are you going to win the game? Who are you going to share with the passion you have for basketball? How are you going to share the joy of winning the match with others? I know it sounds like I'm forcing you to play with them, but please, don't play alone. Don't go back to how you were back in Teiko."

It was silent between the two, with the exception of the pitter-patter of the rain around them. "Yasu." he murmured.

The said girl looked up but was caught off guard when he suddenly hugged her tight, like Kise had done back in Kaijo. She nearly dropped the umbrella, but was quick enough to grip the handle tightly, covering the both of them. 'Midorima?' she called silently. Suddenly, she felt drips of water on her shoulder, damping her sweater. Her eyes widened at this, knowing that the boy was crying, as he let out a quiet sniffle. She was fully aware that Midorima was never the one who openly showed his emotions, so all she did was place her free hand on his back, giving him some quiet time for him to let go of his frustration.

The both of them stood in the rain, with Yasu holding the umbrella over them, for some time until Midorima quickly pulled away, using his hand to push up his glasses, though she knew he was secretly wiping away the tears staining his cheeks. "Let's go back." she said to him, earning a nod before he held the umbrella over them and walked back with her. Once they had entered the building, Midorima folded back the umbrella and returned it to her. "I'll see you next time!"

"Yeah." he said with a nod as she took the white umbrella from him. "Yasu." The said girl stopped walking back to her team's locker room and turned around to look at him, who had his back facing her. "Thank you." She smiled, though he couldn't see it, and continued making her way towards where her teammates were.