Princess of Miracles (Kuroko no Basuke FanFic)

Midnight Party

“But aren’t you the one assuming that’s your limit?” - Kiyoshi Teppei

* * * *

Their goal for the next basketball tournament clear in their minds, the Seirin basketball team’s spirits were raised, and all of them had their hearts set on winning the Winter Cup championship. However, the absences of two of their freshmen starters nagged at the back of the minds of the second years.

Kagami, the second years could understand, since his legs are still injured. Tamaki, they could understand too, since her right wrist is still recovering from the injury that she had received during the Shutoku match. Though in her case, her absence is probably due to more of a psychological damage from the Touou match.

Hence, morale for the Seirin basketball team was simply terrible that week, and the appearance of a certain blonde at their gym didn’t make things any easier on the team.

“So…” A tick almost appeared on Hyuuga’s head. The bipolar Seirin captain had been on ‘clutch mode’ for the entirety of that week, even during school time, that all his classmates and even the freshmen were wary of crossing paths with the short tempered Seirin basketball captain. “What are you doing here, Kise Ryota?”

The blonde was currently dressed in his Kaijo High summer uniform, and he still looks as good as when Seirin had first met him all those months ago in this very same gym. Hyuuga is sure that even if Kise dressed himself in a garbage bag, he’ll still look like some kind of model.

The blonde didn’t have that trademark goofy grin on his face that makes him look like a child. Suffice to say, that look only appears on his face when he’s around his former teammates or Kaijo even. A rather serious look is now present on Kise’s face – a look that no one on Seirin had ever seen before, unless one counts the practice match that they had with Kaijo, and how Kise was driven to near desperation by Kagami and Tamaki’s combination play then.

“Tamacchi isn’t here?” Kise asked seriously, looking around the gym for any trace of the teal haired girl.

“No. She hasn’t been to practice for a week.” Izuki told Kise.

“Did something happen?” Kise asked bluntly, and Seirin blinked, confused. “I met her the other day when she went to the hospital for a quick check up.”

Kise neglected to mention the fact that the ‘check up’ is actually for her left hand. Aomine couldn’t get away for some reason, and thus, ‘against his will’, he was forced to ask Kise to stand in for him, much to the blonde’s delight. Any moment spent with the teal haired girl is like Paradise to the blonde.

“She didn’t seem happy.” Kise told Seirin. “She almost seems unenergetic. What happened?”

The Seirin team exchanged looks. They hadn’t seen their two freshmen starters for some time now ever since the Touou match. But there had been one practice when both of them were present, and the atmosphere then was stifling at best, though it mostly came from Kagami, and not Tamaki. The teal haired girl was mostly on the bench, since Riko refused to allow her to so much as touch a ball. But majority of the time when the rest of the team were taking a break, Tamaki mostly hid behind either Izuki, Hyuuga or Riko, depending on who was nearer. 

Kise huffed. “I won’t ask what had happened, since if it is anything serious, Tamacchi will tell me on her own time if she wants to,” he said. “But I don’t think that I have to say this, since from what I saw, you Seirin seems pretty protective over Tamacchi already.” 

As Tamaki is the only girl on the team, as a whole, Seirin is pretty over protective over her. One of them will always walk Tamaki home after training if it lasts well into the night, the same thing that they did for Riko. It is usually either Kagami or Izuki who walks Tamaki back.