NEW FIC! Kurobasu: The Match Maker (Ao/Kise; Kaga/Kuro; Pg-15)
The Matchmaker
Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Rating: T/Pg-15
Genre: Romance/Humor/Drama
Pairing: Aomine/Kise; established Kagami/Kuroko
Summary: It's decided that Kuroko will be the matchmaker between a very whiny Kise and a very stubborn Aomine, much to Kagami's chagrin.
Disclaimer: Fujimaki Tadatoshi owns Kuroko no Basuke and its characters. Luna only borrows and plays with them for the sake of fun only. No profit is made from this story.
Warning: slight AU, shounen ai/yaoi, language, self-beta-ed (I hope I didn't make too many mistakes).
A/N: As what I promised you, this is a companion fic (or the sequel) of " Kissing Practice". Now we will focus on the Aomine/Kise part, though still with a LOT of Kaga/Kuro in the sidelines ^_^. Enjoy!
The Matchmaker
Part 1
"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko Tetsuya looked upward at Kagami Taiga's eyes while Kagami were looking down at his.
They were in the city park right then, in the middle of a street basket court inside it. Both were breathless after playing one-on-one as a part of their date routine, after officially going out a few weeks before.
The red haired teen was sitting next to the shocking-blue haired one, leaning his much larger body on the smaller, not releasing his gaze from Kuroko who looked at him with such tempting expression on his face.
Kagami only smirked, thinking that he knew what Kuroko wants with that kind of look. He didn't say it out loud though, as he leaned down slightly to Kuroko's face. It would be very great to feel those soft, pink lips, to quench his thirst for any contact with his boyfriend after holding back and being patient, careful not to disturb their training session. After all, they still thought their basketball was number one.
Kuroko seemed to think about the same thing as he slowly closed his eyes, waiting for Kagami's lips to descent upon his when suddenly-
"Kuroko-chiiiiiiiiiii!"
Someone's wailing ultimately caused Kagami and Kuroko to jolt up in a total surprise. Kagami lost his support and balance as he went down, face first, literally kissing the ground instead of Kuroko who turned to look at the source of the disturbance that had interrupted their precious moment.
A vein popped on Kagami's head even though he hadn't yet recovered from the embarrassing fall, because he knew the owner of that annoying whiny voice. If not, the way that person called Kuroko with the suffix '-chi' after his name, would have notified everyone who knew that guy personally.
"Kise-kun…" Kuroko's soft toneless voice announced the identity of the nuisance that had dared to disrupt their date.
A very handsome, tall, blond-haired boy called Kise Ryouta, one of the Generation of Miracle members, who worked part time job as a model, came running at Kuroko and Kagami in full speed while literally bawling like a child.
Kagami, despite the sudden urge to give the taller blond guy a smack on the back of his head for bothering Kuroko and him in the middle of their date, opted to roll away because he had learned from the past that getting in the way of Kise when he was about to hug Kuroko wouldn't end pretty for both of them.
Of course, since Kise never knew how to hold back, Kagami would receive a huger damage when he was smacked down to the ground (if he hadn't been, already. Since he was, he would get stomped) by that monstrous child-like hugging power.
Well, Kagami wasn't worried when Kuroko took that hug. He was used to it after all. Moreover, it wasn't like Kise did that with an ulterior motive. It was just how his personality is.
"Waaaaah! Kuroko-chiiiii!" Kise was still sobbing as he hugged Kuroko who just sighed deeply in defeat.
Kagami slowly woke up, clenching his trembling fist while glaring daggers at Kise's head. Really, he would kick the blonde's ass for real after this. He swore to god.
"Kise-kun… what happened?" Kuroko asked, tapping Kise's shoulder while the blond was still sniffling.
Kagami was surprised that Kise was really crying in tears. It seemed the situation was a bit more serious than his usual stupid reason for disturbing them.
"What should I do…? Aomine-chi hates meeeeee!" and Kise wailed again, louder this time. Kuroko sighed again, seeming to be troubled despite his lack of expression.
Kagami couldn't help frowning slightly at that. What was it with everyone coming running to Kuroko while crying about that bastard Aomine Daiki hating them?
~Aomine x Kise~
Well, this actually had something to do with a thing that happened between Aomine and Kise a few weeks prior.
Aomine had kissed Kise on the lips. Twice. While screeching about something that Kise should stop being so goddamn clueless and start noticing the damn sign.
Kise had no idea what sign Aomine was talking about. Although, the fact that Aomine had kissed him at all was quite a shock for the blond haired model. Moreover, the dark skinned boy had shouted that he wanted to kiss him and it wasn't for a practice.
Why…? Kise absolutely didn't understand it. Kise always thought that Aomine had liked Kuroko as more than a friend since they were still in middle school. After all, the pair was inseparable partners and they were the closest with each other among the other GoM members.
Also… because Kise knew how Kuroko felt.
"So… what actually happened?" Kuroko asked again, seeming to be curious enough of why Kise suddenly came to him while crying like that.
Kise was silent for a moment, his mind playing that scene when Aomine was kissing him. He blushed slightly, feeling confusion and embarrassment well up in his chest.
"Aomine-chi… kissed me," Kise spoke lowly, and very quietly that only Kuroko who was still so close to him could hear him.
Kuroko widened his eyes for a split second before his expression was back to normal. Kise couldn't read Kuroko's expression, but he must have been surprised at some points.
Of course…
"I know that Kuroko-chi had a crush on Aomine-chi before knowing and getting together with Kagami-chi," Kise sniffled slightly, still in tears, but he had calmed down a little bit after hugging Kuroko for awhile.
It was very magical, how Kuroko always had that calming aura that could make Kise feel very comfortable and at ease despite the mess that had occurred in his life. He always found a solace in being close to Kuroko. It was as if he had a tranquilizer around his body.
Kise realized that Kagami looked like he was ready to pummel him to the ground for hogging his boyfriend to himself like that, in front of the red-head to boot. However, Kise could care less at the moment, because his situation with Aomine was in dire need of attention, more than Kagami's jealousy.
Though, Kuroko gave his boyfriend a look and Kagami just huffed, looking away.
"Yes, I did have a crush on Aomine-kun in middle school," Kuroko admitted and Kagami whipped his head back to look at Kuroko, widening his eyes in a total surprise as a response.
It seemed Kagami had suspected that at some points, but he was genuinely looking flabbergasted at the honest confession.
Kuroko looked upward at Kagami and they seemed to have a staring contest; or they were actually communicating with their eyes, Kise didn't know. But then, Kagami nodded, seeming to understand something, and then walked away while muttering "Gonna buy a drink."
Kise looked at Kagami's back confusedly and Kuroko gave the red-head a small smile. "Really, Kagami-kun is too nice," he said, somehow sounding so fond of the red head.
Kise teared up again, feeling very jealous. "Jeez…! Why… why do you always end up together with someone else, or like someone else instead of me, Kuroko-chi?"
Kuroko looked upward at Kise who was trying to dry his tears with his sleeve. The blond had skipped practice that day to come looking for the shocking-blue haired boy. He knew he would get punished by Kasamatsu-senpai later, but for god's sake, he couldn't take this strained relationship between him and Aomine since that kiss-incident day anymore.
It was too confusing for Kise. He really didn't get what was going on.
"Really, you are here because of Aomine-kun, right?" Kuroko directed the conversation to another way. He didn't seem to want to answer Kise's question. But he was right, so Kise didn't pry further.
"Aomine-chi was supposed to like Kuroko-chi as well," Kise said after the boy sat down more comfortably beside Kuroko and looked down on his lap. "I know because I've always watched the both of you together. You were like a pair matched in heaven. Despite how hard I was trying to make you look at me, Kuroko-chi, you'd never move your gaze from Aomine-chi," he continued slowly.
Kuroko was silent as he heard all the confession. Kise had never said all of them before, but now he needed Kuroko to hear it. He was serious when he said he liked Kuroko after all.
"But… why has it become like this? Aomine-chi suddenly kissed me out of blue, saying that I should get the sign… and moreover, he wouldn't explain anything to me. He rejected my every call, didn't reply my messages. I don't know how to deal with this anymore…!" Kise covered his face with the both of his palms, feeling very frustrated and distressed that he might lose his friendship with the dark-skinned boy.
Kise was very fond of Aomine after all. He was the reason why Kise started basketball. He adored his style and he liked him as a person too. Aomine was a very great guy. That's why it saddened Kise so much that he might not be able to be friends with him anymore.
Another silence fell on the court. It wasn't heavy, and Kise felt that he was calming down even more after getting all the aggravating thoughts out of his chest. Even though Kuroko hadn't said anything yet, knowing that he was there to hear about his problem really supported Kise's mental so much already.
"Kise-kun… are you done?" then Kuroko broke the comfortable quietness after a few minutes. Kise winced at the monotone voice. It seemed Kuroko was still mad that he had interrupted his date.
"Yes…" Kise whimpered, almost crying again. Kuroko was very nice and comforting, but he could be heartless too.
"Good, because I want you to listen to me carefully," Kuroko said again, surprising Kise a great deal that Kuroko was actually trying to give him some… advices?
"Eh?" Kise looked at Kuroko's eyes, a little baffled.
~Aomine x Kise~
Kagami took out his cell-phone and dialed a certain number he had gotten from Kuroko a few days prior.
"Save that number. We might need it in the future," Kuroko said in his blank look while offering a piece of paper to Kagami.
"Whose is this?" Kagami asked, raising his eyebrows while looking at the numbers on the paper wonderingly.
"It is Aomine-kun's," Kuroko replied evenly.
Kagami's eyebrows twitched at the mention of the dark-blue haired boy's name. "Why should I need his numbers, of all people…?" he grunted, scowling a bit at remembering their last encounter and how unpleasant it had went because he called Kagami a series names for idiots.
"Well, I just got a feeling that things will get complicated between Aomine-kun and Kise-kun," Kuroko answered, his big sky colored eyes seeming to glimmer slightly in concern, though it wasn't noticeable except for Kagami's eyes.
"What could possibly happen?" Kagami asked, rolling his eyes while huffing in a slight annoyance, but he took the paper and saved the number in his phone anyway.
"Aomine-kun has always been rather impulsive. Actually, he already called me last night, saying that he had done stupid things and he might have to avoid Kise-kun for the time being," Kuroko explained again.
Kagami raised his eyebrows again at that. "What did he do?"
"He wouldn't tell. Aomine-kun is stubborn, so he will definitely avoid Kise-kun from now on," Kuroko looked down at his shoes. "Really… why is he so stubborn?"
Kagami couldn't see Kuroko's face from that angle, but he must have been feeling worried. His boyfriend was a really good and caring guy after all. The red head smiled fondly at Kuroko, feeling slightly proud and really happy that Kagami had fallen in love with the right person. Kuroko was indeed amazing.
"But I didn't expect that Kuroko really had a crush on that guy before…" Kagami sighed slightly, while scratching the back of his neck.
But Kuroko said there was nothing between them, so that crush was just a simple crush, right?-Kagami was waiting for the other line to get picked up when he heard a 'click' sound and-
"Hello,"-Aomine's voice greeted the red head from the phone. "Who is this?"
"Ah, Aomine, it's Kagami Taiga," Kagami answered.
"Kagami?" Aomine sounded surprised. "Where the hell did you get my cell-phone number?"
"Kuroko gave it to me," Kagami said and heard a light curse from the phone. He completely knew how Aomine felt. After all, Kuroko gave his number to Kise as well without his permission. That model was sure as hell annoying when he texted him about ridiculous stuffs.
"So, what do you want?" Done cursing his ex-partner, Aomine asked, still sounding mighty annoyed.
"Come to the park in 10th block at Akihabara. I want you to see something," Kagami said to the point. Rather than explaining things he didn't really understand through the phone, he figured it would be easier to just show Aomine what happened.
Kagami actually didn't really care about Aomine and Kise's relationship, but Kuroko cared a great deal and Kagami wanted to be a help for his boyfriend who tried to play cupid for the two of them, somehow.
It was indeed ridiculous and seriously, Kagami thought Kuroko was just being a busy body, but… if something like this happened to Takuya, he would want to help the older teen whom he regarded as his own brother find happiness with his beloved one as well.
That's why he called Aomine. The ace player of Touou needed to stop being stubborn and to see with his own eyes how Kise would deal with his one-sided confession. Kise might think that he didn't hear what the blond had said in the park earlier, but Kagami did. Aomine had kissed Kise, apparently, and the saphire eyed boy didn't explain why he did it.
"Really… you guys should get the clues yourself," Kagami hung up before Aomine could complain further, shaking his head at the GoM members' antics.
~Aomine x Kise~
Aomine Daiki was pissed. How dare that Bakagami hang up on him before he finished speaking…!
The tall, dark-skinned boy huffed in irritation while muttering obscenities about a certain red-haired buffoon while changing to his casual clothes. He looked at his cell-phone and saw so many unopened messages in his inbox, but he hadn't yet tried to read any of them
They were all from Kise after all.
…
…
"Ugh…" Aomine groaned. He thumped his forehead on his wooden wardrobe, feeling down so suddenly.
Aomine remembered about what had happened between him and Kise. He felt like an idiot for losing control like that. He was just very angry and pissed that Kagami had been so clueless and Kise was just like that red-haired bastard for not noticing his feelings.
"Kise is a moron, that's why…!" Aomine grunted, but then he felt even more idiotic for losing it because of that. He had waited for almost three years already. He had tried to be subtle about it too because he knew Kise liked Kuroko very much.
Aomine had decided that he would be okay to stay as friends with Kise if Kise still liked Kuroko, but then he suddenly attacked the blond like that… in public to boot! Seriously, what was he thinking?
Aomine hated feeling uncertain like this. However, he hated even more that he was kind of wary about how Kise would react to that kiss. He had expected a punch on the face at first, but Kise looked very shocked. He only had tried to contact Aomine after several days… but Aomine didn't want to hear his answer.
The dark skinned boy really hated that… he was sort of scared to know the answer.
What if Kise hates me now…?-though Aomine couldn't help feeling like that, so long as he didn't know the definite answer, he could still hope… somehow.
~Aomine x Kise~
Aomine then went to the park when he would meet Kagami. He arrived there half an hour later and Kagami was waiting in front of the park gates.
The red haired boy seemed to notice him coming. He raised his hand and "Yo," greeted Aomine slightly.
"So… what do you want to show me?" Aomine wasn't in the mood for chit-chatting right then. He wanted to get over with it quickly before he would continue with his 'Avoiding Kise Operation.'
"Come here and be quiet. You probably want to hear this," Kagami said, signaling Aomine to follow him to a more secluded area in the park.
Aomine frowned when he followed the red head. They were getting closer to the street-basket court in that park and Aomine was about to ask what they were doing when he saw a glimpse of golden-blond hair in the court.
Aomine immediately froze in his step before he stepped back several times to get away from there.
"What are you doing?" Kagami grabbed his arm and pulled him back forward.
"Wha-?! I should be the one asking you that!" Aomine shouted in undertone, feeling surprised and slightly affronted that he almost met Kise accidentally. "What are we doing here?!" he demanded an explanation from the red head.
"Listen, Kuroko is talking to Kise right now-," Kagami began, but Aomine got a sudden urge to interrupt him.
"You're spying your own boyfriend?!" Aomine made a face at Kagami who scowled at him.
"Don't interrupt people's speech, asshole," Kagami stepped on Aomine's toes and the dark-blue haired boy went rigid, trying not to yell at Kagami for his painful treatment to his foot. "Just see and hear it yourself. You really need to talk more so you can get to understand each other better," he said, pushing Aomine's back to move forward a few steps so at least they could catch Kuroko and Kise's words from their relatively hidden spot, despite Aomine's reluctance and struggle.
#
"Listen, Kise-kun. You might have been right about my feelings, but you've gotten one thing wrong there," Kuroko responded to him after a brief silence befell the empty court except for them.
"Huh?" Kise turned to face Kuroko, slightly confused.
"I knew that Kise-kun liked me. I did notice you," Kuroko said. "Like you said, I just could not move my eyes from Aomine-kun… but that is because Aomine-kun did not see me like that," he explained.
"Eh?" Kise widened his eyes at that. "But… you two were very close…!" he protested a bit.
"We were just close friends," Kuroko said. "Although I liked him in that way, and he knew about it, he still treated me nicely. He was a simple guy, so I noticed immediately that he already had someone else in his mind," he continued slowly and carefully.
"Eh… Aomine-chi had a crush on someone else?" Kise dropped his jaw in shock.
"Yeah… and he still has that crush, though right now it has morphed into something deeper than a simple crush," Kuroko said cryptically and Kise was getting confused.
"But… I've… never noticed that…" Kise was very stunned then. He thought he knew Aomine because he always watched the dark-skinned boy together with Kuroko, but apparently, he wasn't observant enough to notice that particular thing.
"So… who was it?" Kise looked upward at Kuroko again, feeling very curious now.
Kuroko was silent, looking at Kise with his blank expression before sighing, looking away.
"Eh? Why do you look disappointed?" Kise asked, feeling that he had done something wrong after looking at Kuroko's defeated look.
#
Aomine Daiki was in verge of forgetting all his fear and jumping out to the court to at least kick Kise on the butt because he was so… so infuriatingly SLOW!
Luckily Kagami was there to stop the short tempered guy, or Aomine would really have done just that and worsened the situation.
"Calm down and let's hear it till the end," Kagami said, holding both Aomine's shoulders from behind and not letting him go despite Aomine's violent struggle.
"Really… you are an airhead too, Kise-kun…"
They heard Kuroko speak again while shaking his head slightly.
"Well, Aomine-kun noticed the guy before he even joined the basketball club," he said, looking aside, seeming to remember the past. "Aomine-kun was childish as well back then, because even though he was interested at first glance, he still needed reason to approach the guy directly," Kuroko showed a small smile, looking fond of the memory.
Aomine blushed slightly and Kagami snorted lightly. "I want to see the childish you, Aomine," he snickered after that and Aomine stomped one of his feet in retaliation. Kagami slapped his mouth shut before he could yelp too loudly.
Then the two of them bickered quietly while still listening to Kuroko and Kise's conversation with one ear.
"He was in the basketball club too in Teikou? Wait, Aomine-chi noticed him even before he joined basketball club?" Kise's eyes were wider than before, looking even more mystified.
"That is right. He purposely threw a ball at this guy's head just because he wanted to have any reason to greet him," Kuroko said again in that expressionless face of his, but there was a glint of amusement in his sky-blue eyes.
Kise was stone-cracked and Aomine blushed harder at that.
"Holy crap! He noticed something like that?!" Aomine almost shrieked in mortification, but of course he was still trying to be discreet because the humiliation of getting caught eavesdropping was too much for him.
Kagami was trying his best not to laugh at the very hilarious look Aomine was making, but he chuckled anyway.
"Shut up!" Aomine was getting more and more embarrassed by this second, his face in a dark shade of red, especially when he heard the red-head behind him snicker, totally laughing at him.
Really, Aomine knew that Kuroko was a very observant guy, but he had no idea that his observation skill went to that level. Seriously, he had never told him about that. How did he know that Aomine threw the ball on purpose anyway? Did he see? But that was impossible! Aomine was playing with some other guys and Kuroko was supposed to be away, helping the second string team that day!
"S-seriously…?" Kise asked again, his body trembling slightly. It seemed, after the mention of the 'purposely thrown ball', he got the clue and realized that the one Kuroko was talking about was… Kise himself.
"Well, if it alredy reached this point, Kise-kun must have realized, right?" Kuroko looked at Kise expectantly.
"Sorry. My… if it isn't the famous and popular Kise-kun!"
"So what?"
At that time, Aomine was trying his best to act casual despite what he had done. He thought Kise's slightly blushing face was very cute. Well, he was probably annoyed, but… when Kise passed that orange ball back, Aomine was extraordinarily happy and a little bit giddy.
Aomine knew that the blond would stick around the gym for awhile, so he did his best in that play to pique Kise's interest and to amaze him. And, he was successful.
"Could I… could I join the basketball club?"
Kise's astonished and excited expression that day was imprinted so strongly in Aomine's mine.
"You meant, Aomine-chi… has liked me since... the first time I met him?" Kise seemed to be shocked. His usually warm honey-colored eyes were very wide, and his body was still slightly shaking, his face sweating bullets.
Aomine looked down, feeling the dread of rejection seeing that reaction.
"But… Aomine-chi… only looked at Kuroko-chi…" Kise whispered, still it was loud enough for Aomine to hear it. "Every time I saw the both of you… he only paid attention to you…."
"That is… just because you did not see him when he was looking at you," Kuroko said and Kise jerked in a surprise. "When you were not looking, he followed your every move," he continued. "I was there after all, so I know."
Kise looked at Kuroko with glassy eyes again and Kuroko set a rather solemn look.
Aomine looked away, covering his mouth slightly with the back of his hand and Kagami gave Kuroko a sympathetic gaze as well.
"I know very well that Tetsu probably liked me as more than a friend that time… but I wasn't sure," Aomine said slowly, to no one in particular, but Kagami seemed to decide to listen to him anyway. "Because… we were still just kids… and we probably mistook our feeling for something else…. That's the reason why I didn't say anything to Kise as well… in case our feeling changed… I didn't want to ruin our team cooperation by adding too much drama in it."
"So, you were waiting…" Kagami spoke slowly after ten seconds of silence.
For three years… I'm always waiting….
"But my feeling for Kise hasn't changed. No, it has changed, but… it's just getting stronger and more unbearable…!"
"Aah, jeez! As I expected, Aomine-chi is so cool!" Kise shouted breathlessly after their one-on-one session, where Kise always challenged him after practice in the afternoon.
"Why are you so happy?" Aomine was trying his best not to blush at the compliment.
"Well… it's fun playing with you, Aomine-chi! One day I'll surpass you for real!"
Aomine opened his eyes again and looked forward. He was always waiting. He was waiting for him to catch up. So then… maybe, when they were equal….
"But… but then… then I have… done something very terrible to Aomine-chi…!" Kise covered his face again, looking very remorseful and dejected. "Every time… I only look at Kuroko-chi… with what kind of face does he see me…?"
Kise was crying again and this time, his cry was very heartbreaking. Aomine clenched his fists. He wanted to go there and to comfort the blond… that it wasn't Kise's fault, that it was Aomine's own stupidity. He had never wanted to make Kise feel so guilty like that.
However, he couldn't move his legs. Even though Kagami wasn't holding him back, Aomine just couldn't go there. He had no confidence that he could make Kise feel better.
Kuroko sighed slightly, looking upward at the clear blue sky with that indifferent look on his face. "Are you sure you were looking at me?" he suddenly asked, surprising Kise and Aomine as well, again.
"Eh…?" Kise looked upward at Kuroko, his eyes still teary.
Tetsu…?-Aomine also looked at Kuroko ins a slight confusion.
"Well… I cannot really believe that Kise-kun had always been looking at me," Kuroko said again.
"W-wait! Kuroko-chi, that's just mean! I do always look at you!" Kise protested.
"Then… why couldn't you find me when I was not with Aomine-kun?" Kuroko asked, turning his slightly hollow gaze at Kise and Kise widened his eyes at that look.
Aomine widened his eyes too and Kagami seemed to be very taken aback as well because he froze.
"When I disappeared from Teiko… you guys could not find me, right? If you really saw me as me, Kise-kun… you would realize that I was still there," Kuroko said again, looking away from Kise now. "You only saw me… when I was around Aomine-kun, correct?" then he turned to face the blond again who had set a mortified expression now. "That is… because you saw me as Aomine-kun's shadow."
Aomine covered his mouth, very shaken at that.
"Kuroko…!" Kagami looked totally worried now.
"That… that kind of thing…!" Aomine wanted to protest hard. He wanted to deny that. Kuroko was always sacrificing himself for the sake of the team, yes, but he had never thought that… by himself, Kuroko really was invisible that people couldn't even notice him if he wasn't around anyone…!
"Don't… don't say that, Kuroko-chi… I… towards you… really…!" Kise stuttered seemingly unable to react to that very cruel fact.
Kuroko smiled again slightly, softening his expression. "Being together with all of you at that time was very fun," the shocking-blue haired boy said then. "I was glad that I could meet all of you," he continued. "But, Kise-kun, you need to realize the truth. I care about all of you, so I know. The one who Kise-kun looked all that time in Teikou… is not Kuroko Tetsuya, but Kuroko the shadow of Aomine. Kise-kun adores Aomine-kun very much, right? You might not realize it because you are such an airheaded idiot-"
"Kuroko-chi! That's really mean!" Kise seemed to be offended by the insult.
"-but Kise-kun must have had a crush on Aomine-kun at that time. A big one to boot. However, part of your consciousness tried to stop that feeling because you felt inferior to him. You had never beaten him in one-on-one playing basketball, so you thought you were not qualified to like him that way. Still, because your heart yearned for him so much, you shifted that feeling to something closest to him. And at that time… I was the one around him the most," Kuroko explained again.
"Ah…!" Kise looked shocked again.
"And… the other part of it is probably… because you feel afraid…" Kuroko spoke again more quietly. "After all, you saw Aomine-kun and me as an item… but at the end of our tournament… you saw it, didn't you?"
"The one who can beat me is me alone."
Aomine widened his eyes at that, an imaginary spike stabbing his heart that his chest hurt very badly. Kise didn't seem to look better. His face paled severely as he seemed to remember the same thing.
"At that time, when Aomine-kun decided to move forward… leaving our team-play, leaving me behind… Kise-kun must have seen the fall out too, right? Then… it is possible that Kise-kun… does not want to feel what I felt back then."
That's why he…
"Kise-kun… is unable to recognize Kise-kun's own feeling towards Aomine-kun because you are afraid of getting left behind," Kuroko said again, seeming to be very understanding about everything.
Kise didn't say anything, no. He was unable to say anything. The impact of Kuroko's words, coupled by the force of his own realization must have shut his brain down.
It wasn't just Kise who felt that way, because Aomine staggered himself, his legs feeling weak so suddenly. His body seemed to be losing his strength and if it wasn't for Kagami who immediately caught him and supported him from behind, he must have collapsed onto the ground.
"Aomine," Kagami held him strongly, pushing the dark-blue haired boy to stand straight again. "That might be the case, but now… Kise has caught up to you, hasn't he?" he said, slapping Aomine's back. "Go get him and make sure you say what you want him to know!" then he pushed the still numb Aomine to get out from their hiding place.
Aomine didn't realize what happened until he caught Kuroko's gaze on him and he wanted to run away again, still… seeing Kise sit on the ground unmoving, Aomine didn't have the heart to let him be.
Kuroko smiled slightly as he hugged Kise for a moment before he whispered something in Kise's ear, something that Aomine couldn't hear. He let go of Kise after that and stood before he walked towards Aomine's direction.
"I will let you handle the rest, Aomine-kun," Kuroko said as he passed Aomine, not stopping, not looking back.
Aomine took a deep breath and then walked towards Kise who was slowly turning his head and then looking upward, meeting Aomine's sapphire colored eyes with his teary honey colored ones.
"A-… Aomine-chi…"
End of The Match Maker Part 1
Tbc…
A/N: Uhm… this is supposed to be humorous, but at the beginning of the end, the conversation turned slightly depressing. Forgive me for that. Well, this is part one of the two shots story that I promised you guys after making Kissing Practice. Part 2 will come out after I heard what you think about this one *grins*
Part 2