Chapter Text
Even with Kagami utilizing Zone from the beginning of the game on, Rakuzan was still proving to be a seemingly impossible opponent to defeat.
For one, that Mayuzumi guy was no joke. He could basically match Kuroko when it came to passing skill, not to mention that he was pretty skilled as a normal player. He had height, agility, natural skill, all of which were things that Kuroko lacked and had to make up for in other ways.
Fortunately though, as the game went on, the despair that had clouded the sleuth’s bondlink to Kuroko quickly morphed into something that had Kiyoshi and the others shocked, while it had Kagami giving a feral grin; Kuroko was pissed.
Jealous.
And the full force of his raging envy was directed towards the wannabe phantom man himself.
Kagami knew packmates could get territorial sometimes, especially when it came to sharing an alpha’s attention, but Kagami never imagined he’d see Kuroko get like this over his pride leader. Kagami was sure that Kuroko’s rational side didn’t see Mayuzumi as that big of a threat when it came to ‘stealing’ Akashi’s attention away. After all, despite the blatant comparisons that could be made between Rakuzan and the Teiko Pride, Akashi hadn’t bonded with any of them. He was only acting as their alpha without actually being one.
(Kagami briefly wondered if someone like Akashi was who Kuroko’s parents worried about. Someone who could take advantage of other shifters merely because of some seemingly supernatural ability).
Though that wasn’t to say Kuroko’s ermine saw it the same way that his rational side did. The wild animal within him probably felt threatened as hell, if Kuroko’s ticked off expression was any indication.
Kagami wasn’t gonna lie, it was pretty amazing seeing his usually resistant bondmate giving in to his instincts. A pissed off Kuroko was doing wonderful things for Kagami’s own drive too.
But there was something else that was off about this Mayuzumi guy that Kagami just couldn’t put his finger on. That is, until Kuroko used his amazing skills of observation and finally pointed it out to them; Akashi wasn’t the only one giving the rest of the Rakuzan team unvoiced messages. Mayuzumi was somehow establishing a communication link between himself and the Uncrowned Kings, feeding them info and getting them into the proper positions to receive and send plays without even opening his mouth. Kagami didn’t think that was possible for anyone besides Akashi to do.
“These genetic abnormalities are starting to be a real pain in my ass.” the Coach growled from her spot on the bench, gnawing on her pen.
“Have you noticed anything about them?” Kiyoshi asked their own resident shadow as he wiped the sweat from his neck with a towel.
“Number 5 seems to be unlike myself because he presumably couldn’t be used to establish a bond between the group,” Kuroko began, eyeing the court with rapt attention. Kagami hated how his partner had to come to that conclusion; that his alpha may have really tried to replace him. “but he’s unlike Akashi-kun because ultimately, the others don’t seem to be following his directions every time.” Kuroko concluded.
“You’re right.” Izuki confirmed, looking at the Rakuzan team as if in a new light. “Whenever Akashi seems to interfere, the rest of the team makes the play and they’re successful. But when that Number 5 pops up, it’s 50-50 whether they seem to follow through on his suggestions, if his occasionally pissed off expression is any indication.”
“Well then,” the Coach began, that evil glint suddenly having returned to her eyes. “our solution is simple then. We exploit that weakness and cut Akashi off as the main playmaker.”
“Simple?” the Captain parroted. “How the hell are we supposed to do that?”
It was Kiyoshi who answered this time. Though interestingly enough, he started off with an apology. “Sorry, Hyuuga. I know you said that you wanted to keep shifter dynamics out of play here, but…”
Hyuuga sighed, cutting the other teen off, looking resigned. “I know. It’s not really possible for this game. I get that now.” he answered, sounding genuine. He even went so far as to offer a helpless sort of smile. “You guys have been coordinating well with Furihata and Koganei both. If you want to sub me out for—”
“No.” the Coach quickly shot him down. “We still need your threes if we have any hope of winning this match.”
Admittedly, Hyuuga seemed minorly relieved.
“I wasn’t suggesting that either.” Kiyoshi started up again, offering Hyuuga a soft smile of his own, to which the bespectacled teen huffed dismissively at. “Akashi and Mayuzumi’s plays, they’re all coordinated without a bond and the absence of one is surely present, I bet.” Kiyoshi observed, before turning to his packmates. “Kagami, Furihata, you experienced Akashi’s alpha commands first hand and you weren’t in his pack. What was that like?”
“T-Terrible!” Furihata exclaimed, looking like the mere thought was about to send him into a panic again.
Kagami didn’t blame him. Not only did Furi have to confront the ex-Teiko Captain just before on the court, but he had to do it with the reminder of their first interaction and the memory of what he did to Kuroko’s friend still so fresh in his mind. Not to mention it was just a terrible feeling in general and Furihata’s second skin wasn’t even a larger predator like Kagami’s was. A presence forgein and intimidating to you trying to establish a connection that should only naturally exist because of preestablisbed trust felt awful to anyone, predator or prey. Akashi pushing his will onto you probably felt so terrible not because he usually used his alpha traits to knock you onto your ass, but because of that huge, gaping absence of trust, now that Kagami thought about it.
“It sucked.” Kagami instead chose to voice, in short.
Kiyoshi faced him with a knowing look, indicating that he probably got a good sense of Kagami’s real feelings (because of their established trust in each other, no doubt).
“Exactly.” Kiyoshi began once again, jerking his head in the direction of their opponents. “Imagine how a couple of strong shifters like those ‘Kings’ must feel after receiving commands like that all day? No...all season?”
Seirin’s own resident alpha could be a real genius sometimes.
The Coach seemed to agree, if her practically feral grin was any indication. “They’re probably frustrated. That can be used to our advantage.” she observed. “No doubt they’re close to their breaking point. And Mayuzumi-san’s annoyance with his teammates is pretty clear to see. He’s got nothing on you when it comes to emotional control, Kuroko-kun.”
“Thank you, Coach.” Kuroko merely responded, his pride flashing through momentarily, making Kagami and their other packmates share some knowing smiles. Kuroko’s ‘lack’ of emotions weren’t all that impressive when you shared a bond with him, after all. You could feel his anger more clearly than you could see it on that Mayuzumi guy’s face. (Granted, they were pretty fleeting emotional flare ups, but that just made them all the more potent).
“That brings me to my next point, actually.” Kiyoshi continued, apparently on top of the strategy game today. (Kagami briefly wondered if they could thank his new alpha instincts for that). “Speaking from experience, having your packmates out of your control or sights is pretty straining. After we bonded last night, it was so hard to go home. It was…” he cut himself off, looking embarrassed. “You get possessive.” he instead amended. “And I’m sure Akashi’s feeling the strain now, what with all his pride members being so close, yet so far. Not to mention his most unobtainable one being just a few feet away from him on the court.” he concluded, eyes falling to Kuroko.
The Coach was still smiling, looking far too pleased, what with how close this game was and just what it was Kiyoshi was suggesting.
“You wanna use Kuroko as bait?” Fukuda deciphered, even going so far as to raise a dubious brow.
“Not bait.” Kuroko spoke up, removing the towel from around his neck and securing the sweatband that the other first years had gifted him earlier. Apparently he knew just what it was that Kiyoshi was suggesting. “A provocation. I intended to do that to Mayuzumi anyway. I could try a similar tactic against Akashi-kun while I’m at it.”
“It’s ready then? Your new eye?” Izuki asked, catching what Kuroko was insinuating before anyone else did.
Kuroko nodded. “I believe so.”
The Coach was practically radiating excitement and for once Kagami agreed with her overzealousness. He was psyched to finally try this method out. To see Kuroko in action. The Coach placed her hands on her hips, looking anxious but full of pride, nonetheless. “Well then, go give them hell, boys!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Kagami didn’t really want to send Kuroko out there as like, a piece of meat for Akashi to essentially drool over, but he figured it was their best course of action right now. Kagami also didn’t really mind seeing Mayuzumi and Akashi put into place by his bondmate. In fact, he was quite looking forward to it.
Of course, they had to get through some hurdles first; namely Akashi’s big mouth and ginormous ego.
“You did me a favor, Tetsuya, by mending your bond with the others.” Akashi mouthed off as Seirin recovered from Akashi storming through them like a one man army. Even though it was the entire team he had knocked on their asses, Kagami included, Akashi’s sights were still entirely focused on Kuroko. “Had you even convinced Atsushi to join in on your little reunion, no amount of scents could mask you from me.”
“I didn’t think that they would.” Kuroko plainly answered, this time not letting Akashi’s words get to him. Unlike with Midorima, Kuroko didn’t feel the need to defend his reasoning for wanting to reestablish the Miracles’ bond. Instead, he kept the answer to himself and kept Akashi waiting and wanting as Seirin regrouped.
The other members of Rakuzan were just as troublesome as their captain, but Seirin was slowly but surely cutting them down. With Hyuuga taking on Mibuchi three-for-three and Kiyoshi muscling out Nebuya, that left the Hayama guy as a bit of a problem.
Kagami had gone against Aomine himself, so it wasn’t like speed was the issue here. It was more so Hayama’s insane bursts of power in terms of his drives and dribbling. That tiny dude was kinda freaky with his slitted pupils and pointed teeth. Honestly, it was almost like this guy was using his animal instincts to give himself a physical boost and not just a mental one…
And then the thought hit Kagami. What if that was what he was doing exactly?
Well, shit.
“Hm. That could be.” the Coach seemed inclined to agree once Kagami got the chance to share his theory. “Whenever you shifters start to lose your cool, your features turn all...animalistic. The extent of it seems to rely on how strongly you’re feeling. Hayama does appear to have that look about him, like he might be using just a fraction of his animal…I don’t know. Skills? What do you call it, anyways?”
“I dunno. ‘Instincts’ have always been my go-to.” Kagami shrugged, still not really over how much research the Coach must’ve done herself to come to these conclusions.
“Alright. ‘Instincts’ it is.” the Coach nodded. “But even still, your little bouts of animalistic rage never really last more than a few seconds, that is if you don’t end up shifting all the way into your second skin. If you’re thinking you can mimic Hayama in some way, you’re getting way too ahead of yourself, Bakagami!”
Kagami stiffened at the Coach calling him out so expertly, though he ought to have been used to it by now. “But there’s got to be a way to do it! …Ma’am. Number 7’s kept it up this whole game!”
“I’m well aware, but that doesn’t make what I said any less true. You’ve never kept up your heightened state for long, outside of the Zone, and you’ve already used up a lot of time there. I’ve been keeping track.” the Coach pointed out. “Hell, I didn’t think anyone could. The strain on your body aside, I thought it was hard enough just trying to keep your wild side in check? How could you not lose control and still look mostly human?” her eyes fell away from her clipboard then and over to Hayama, seeming frustrated. “I’ve never seen someone looking like him before. With his eyes and pointed teeth being the only thing cat-like about—”
The Coach then abruptly cut herself off, her eyes going wide before her head turned in the direction of one person in specific.
Koganei noticed the Coach’s gaze the same moment Kagami’s eyes landed on him. His eyes, his cat-like eyes, going slightly wide in confusion. “Huh? What? You guys say something?”
Oh damn, thought Kagami. Big-fat-freaking-DUH.
“Koganei-kun,” the Coach began, looking like she couldn’t believe she hadn’t made the connection before. “how is it that you…that you’re able to… How is it that you look like…well, like that?”
“Like what?” Koganei parroted back, tilting his head and everything as the Coach and Kagami faced him with disappointed stares and stunned silence. Until Koganei burst into laughter, his sharpened teeth highlighted as they caught the stadium lights. “I’m just kidding, you guys! Of course I know I look a little like a cat. I own mirrors, you know?”
The Coach growled (impressive, really, for a non-shifter). “Can you be serious? We’re in the middle of a pretty important game here, in case you forgot!” she yelled, whacking the still-laughing Koganei upside the head with her clipboard.
“Ow! Okay, sorry! Sorry!” Koganei cried, no longer laughing as he rubbed his smarting head.
“You’re constantly using your animal instincts aren’t you? Even off of the court.” Kagami asked, finally coming to the conclusion himself. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Koganei looking completely like a normal dude. Not as long as he’s known him. “How? How are you able to keep at it?”
Koganei frowned, this time not in pain, as Kagami sensed his confusion over the question. “I wouldn’t say it’s ‘keeping at it’. It’s more like I’m not stopping it? When I feel my instincts flaring, I don’t try to suppress them or anything. I just let them play out.”
The Coach’s gaze shifted between Kagami and Koganei. “Isn’t that dangerous?” she asked, both looking and sounding out of her depth.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so?” Koganei answered, sounding genuinely unsure. “Granted, I’m not an apex like you but, the way I see it, the way my whole family sees it in fact, is that your inner cat isn’t really a wild animal. It has the same memories as you, the same feelings. It’s lived the same life as you, just separately. But sometimes, it wants to experience things with you.
“That’s what instinct flare ups are, in my opinion. Just your inner cat wanting in on the action. They don’t want to take control, they just want to…to co-pilot, I guess? I’m honestly not sure. I don’t think I’ve ever really even tried to suppress my instincts before, so I can’t really offer you any advice in just not doing that. Just… do what feels natural, I guess?”
Feels natural...how was Kagami supposed to know what that felt like? He’s always kept his inner big cat on a tight leash, so to speak. Always trying to never let his emotions get the better of him and take it too far, something that Kagami was terrible at…
Although, he wasn’t all bad at it, now that he thought about it? Or rather, his inner tiger was kind of a wuss, wasn’t it? When he was attacked as a kid, that time with Hanamiya and again with Haizaki, Kagami’s tiger never took things too far. Hell, in Kagami’s opinion, it never took things far enough, if his lasting trauma and current scratching and bruising were any indications…
His inner cat has never really led him astray. It’s always done it’s best. Maybe now it was time that Kagami had a little—
‘Trust,’ Kuroko’s voice replayed in Kagami’s mind, from that night on the beach all those months ago. ‘I trust you, Kagami-kun,’ Kuroko had said. Those four little words made the seemingly impossible possible. It made Kagami’s traumatized tiger actually crave a bond again. Made it ready for one.
That’s what was at the center of Seirin’s bonds too, what was missing from his and Tatsuya’s, towards the end there; trust, Kagami’s learned, is the single biggest pillar of shifter life, apparently.
So then why couldn’t Kagami trust himself? His inner cat was him after all. Like Koganei said, it has the same memories, the same feelings, the same wants… Obviously, it must want this win just as much as Kagami himself did. And Kagami wanted it so desperately…
So he slackened his hold on his inner beast, gave it a bit more leeway, and something in him just seemed to settle. And distantly, he heard a word. Or rather, he felt one, right down in his bones. A feeling that felt like ‘finally.’
For a moment, he felt nearly out of control, but the feeling quickly fled and despite how hard and long he’s been playing thus far, he also felt reinvigorated. More on top of his game than he’s been in a long time.
Stopping Hayama was easy after that.
And Seirin’s other plans worked, eventually. Kuroko was able to shut down Mayuzumi, which rendered the wannabe phantom redundant by his own teammates. And the Kings’ frustration with Seirin and each other quickly cut off Rakuzan’s coordination and left them more vulnerable to Seirin’s plays. Kuroko also unleashed his Quasi-Emperor Eye, finally revealing the keys to stopping Akashi’s previously-seeming unstoppable plays. Kagami himself felt practically euphoric as Akashi’s composure finally started to visibly crumble.
“You’re too happy about this.” Kuroko chided, breaking Kagami out of his reverie.
“I can’t help it.” Kagami grinned, sharpened teeth audibly clacking together in his enthusiasm. “Seeing you toy with that psycho is like…the greatest thing.”
“Alright, keep it in your pants, first years.” Hyuuga’s voice shot out, making Kagami feel like he had a bucket of ice water dropped on him while his face simultaneously turned beet red.
“Regardless,” Kuroko started once more before Kagami could give his indignant reply, as composed as ever. His partner was looking over his shoulder, back at his old alpha, a foreboding feeling traveling through the sleuth’s bondlink. “I believe it’s working. Maybe a little too well...”
It was true that Akashi was making everyone a little…unsettled by his sudden demurity. Guy got way too quiet as the tides started to turn in Seirin’s favor. Though of course that just spelt trouble for them all.
Of course Akashi ended up going into the Zone, his trigger being giving up on the rest of his teammates entirely and fighting alone. Kagami supposed the bright side was that Kuroko and the other Miracles didn’t have to worry about Akashi potentially replacing them anymore…
Though to be honest, it sparked something in Kagami too, something animalistic and ugly, something he didn’t usually let come to the surface. His inner tiger had had enough of being knocked on his ass. Enough of his bondmate feeling used and discarded, yet still feeling an inexplicable longing for the lion shifter. The tiger was jealous and his pride was wounded. He sought an ass kicking and Kagami couldn’t help but agree.
So he did as Koganei suggested and let his instincts wash over him, even more so than he had before, trusting his inner cat to help him out with this; and help it did. The meshing of his tiger instincts and his Zone-heightened athletic ability allowed him to push his Zone to its limits.
And apparently cause another mental breakdown for Akashi.
This other Akashi - the original, Kagami supposed - was definitely outwardly more pleasant than the other (i.e. less blatantly disrespectful and psycho) but he was no less skilled when it came to basketball. Or mastering animal instincts at that, since he was able to bring all of his teammates into the Zone with him.
Life really wasn’t fair.
Seirin was exhausted but ever since that Number 5 seemed to talk some sense into their Captain, the rest of the shifters on Rakuzan had been coordinating to a level that was beyond comprehension. They gained a second wind while Seirin themselves were on their last leg.
Kuroko’s sour mood had dissipated with the arrival of the OG Akashi - as Kagami dubbed him - but that didn’t mean that he was any less serious about the current game. If anything, Kuroko seemed more wary than before, because now that the ex-Teiko captain had returned to himself, he was even more dangerous than before (see previous mention of bringing his whole-ass team into the Zone, for example). Not to mention worsening the yearning that the sleuth could sense Kuroko was trying desperately to smother.
As strongly as their own desire to win, the sleuth could feel it; the desperate desire welling up within their Shadow, because they could feel it in themselves too.
Kuroko was close. So close to achieving everything he set out to do since before even graduating middle school. Sure, he had gotten most of his former pride back and then some, but Kagami could feel the other primary want his partner had; Kuroko wanted to win. Not to prove to the Miracles he was better or worthy or whatever. He wanted to win for himself. For Seirin. For their sleuthmates and their non-shifter companions alike. For his pridemates. For all the people the Miracles had humiliated in the past.
But sometimes, wanting something desperately isn’t enough.
Kuroko was exhausted. Kiyoshi and the others on the court were exhausted. Even the reserve players on the bench who had given their all earlier in the game still hadn’t recovered enough to be able to continue. And even if they had, it wouldn’t have been enough. Nothing would have.
‘Would have’ being the key phrase here…
“GO FOR IT, KUROKO! DON’T GIVE UP!” rang throughout the silent, tense stadium like a gunshot. The sleuth members all jolted, not because of the loudness of the guttural shout, but because of the pure shock that shot through their bondlink. It was a tremendously physical sort of feeling.
A feeling that stemmed from Kuroko, because the person who had shouted, all the way from the top of the stadium was…
“O-Ogiwara-kun…?” Kuroko’s soft, actually trembling voice stuttered out, much to the shock of all present; not just because of the pure emotion in their phantom’s voice but because of who exactly he was addressing.
Kagami followed his partner’s gaze up to the top of the stadium stairs, where the lone cheerer stood.
Ogiwara looked rather unassuming, Kagami thought once he finally spotted him. Sun-tanned skin, chestnut brown hair. Kagami wasn’t quite sure what he had been picturing when he listened to Kuroko’s stories, but he supposes that the Miracles’ overall impressive imposing-ness sorta established this larger-than-life image in his mind.
But Ogiwara was kind of the opposite of them. He just looked like your average guy; so it was kinda shocking to Kagami how much more anger he felt for this guy than he did for any of the Miracles, Aomine and Akashi included.
What is he doing here? Why now? Get away. Get away. Get away.
Kagami was shocked at his own heavy feelings, so much so that he actually had to reign his inner beast back in a bit there, in the interest of not having a snarling tiger loose on the court. Kagami knew that he had a bit of resentment for the guy, but this was a little much. His tiger was angry. Damn cat got too territorial sometimes…
Even as Ogiwara surprisingly held up a basketball and the sleuth felt their ever-stoic teammate’s walls finally come crashing down as Kuroko’s shock, sadness, exhaustion, and joy finally overwhelmed him, Kagami was still slightly ticked off. Because sure this Ogiwara guy had good intentions showing up now (probably), but they were kinda in the middle of a very important game here and Tetsuya’s breath was hitching, he was beginning to cry, and even if they were tears of joy and relief, Kagami’s tiger screamed at him to ‘stop it, stop it, help him, his mate was crying, help him—
But then another shout broke Kagami from his wandering panic and had him reeling from a shock of a different kind.
“Dammit, Tetsu! Kagami! You guys won against us, didn’t you?!” shouted who had to be Aomine. But where even was…there.
Aomine was far up in the stands, a lone figure standing tall surrounded by the rest of his seated team, but Kagami could see him, clear as day. He was also currently giving Kagami one of his best damn glares yet and…were those his ears and tail? He must’ve been really worked up… Kagami knew he and Aomine were similar. He wasn’t stupid. Their similarities were obvious, so he wondered if Aomine was feeling something similar to Kagami right now? Did this former bondmate of Kuroko’s irritate the panther as much as it did the tiger?
However Aomine’s snarling continuation sidetracked Kagami’s Miracles-Disliking-Ogiwara theory (as he quickly dubbed it). “If you can’t even defeat Rakuzan, I’ll go after your heads!”
Aomine was worried for his bondmate, that much was clear, but then, why shout Kagami’s name too?
Though the redhead struggled to come up with a realistic answer, Kagami couldn’t help but admit that a rather large part of him felt touched.
Maybe Himuro was right. Maybe Kagami could be too simple at times because it was kinda embarrassing how endeared he felt at the ever-prideful Aomine cheering for them.
But to Kagami and the rest of Seirin’s even greater surprise, the cheering didn’t just end at Aomine.
“Let me say that the same goes for us! Go and win, Seirin!” Kise chimed in from his spot on the sidelines, never one to be left out, if he could help it.
“Go, and defeat Akashi - and Rakuzan!” Midorima was then joining in from where he stood on the side with his team, causing the rest of Shutoku to openly gape at their teammate because this was so freakin’ out of character…
Swiftly, all distinction between individual cheerers was lost, as one after another, countless voices chimed in with their own cheers and rallying cries, shouting for Seirin to buck up! That they could do it! That they shouldn’t give up and Kagami… Kagami had never felt so…fulfilled in all his life. He felt high on the feelings that were welling up within his chest, the overwhelming sensation of support and encouragement crashing over him as he felt lost in a daze...
Well, actually, he had felt something similar to this before. A handful of times, during very specific moments in his life, with very specific people.
“Tetsuya,” Kagami began, gaining the attention of one such person. His bondmate looked to him with such a worn-out expression that Kagami felt his tiger inwardly growling in displeasure once again at his bondmate’s clear fatigue - of both the physical and emotional kind. But Kagami reeled it in for the time being. “People cheering for you really gives you power, doesn’t it…?” he noted for reasons unbeknownst to Kagami himself, the thought leaving his mouth with admittedly little thought.
“Yes.” was his partner’s short yet unquestionably resounding agreement, Kagami feeling Kuroko’s certainty over such a statement so strongly that he didn’t even have to look at him to trust that his word was true. Because he felt it.
He always felt this unyielding sense of trust whenever he partnered up with Tetsuya or the rest of the guys in the sleuth or even just the rest of the guys on the team. Because they all trusted each other, all relied on one another in their times of need, all leant on one another in times of strife. They were a familial unit in every sense of the word. There was no other group of people Kagami could’ve seen himself ever getting this far with; both in basketball and just life in general, honestly. How could he not have already peaked?
And then suddenly, it was as if a door had been opened to Kagami. A door guarded - no, manned by a suddenly distinct figure, who now allowed Kagami entry because he had found a solution; but that wasn’t right either. The figure hadn’t been guarding the door. No, they had been waiting for Kagami and now that he was here, the figure - and all the others standing behind him - were ready to go.
Kagami suddenly felt a renewed sense of energy. Not a second wind, or a third, or whatever, but a complete restoration because Kagami had finally figured it out. He wasn’t fighting with just his own energy now, or just had his own hopes riding on this game. He was fighting with the strength and support of every cheerer in the crowd. Of every team who didn’t make it this far. Of every teammate and bondmate on the bench and court alike, and each and every member of his pack, shifter or no.
Kagami turned to his team. He had one last idea. An idea that could’ve only worked at this exact, final moment, with these specific people, now that Kagami had finally opened his goddamn eyes.
“Can I get a minute?”
A minute turned out to be all that they needed, really. Not that his teammates were all that receptive to Kagami’s plan at first.
It was a simple plan, really. Rakuzan had been using their ‘genetic abnormalities’ to create a sort of fake bond between their team (prior to Akashi’s return to his old self).
Now he had pulled them all into the Zone, simply through his own power; and call Kagami an egomaniac, but he thinks he might be able to pull off something similar for Seirin in these final moments, now that he’s finally realized something fundamental.
Seirin not only had their own teammate with a ‘genetic abnormality,’ but a bond with the grand majority of the members on the court. And besides, Kagami thinks that even though Hyuuga wasn’t a shifter, maybe he could include him in on this plan too? If Kagami could just get them there. Which he believes he can, now that he’s realized something that Kuroko’s been trying to teach him all along.
Bonds and instincts served them well so far, but what would really put this plan to play would be their coordination and trust in each other. That’s it. Just plain trust.
(How was that for simple, Tatsuya?)
Kagami really felt like it could work. That he - they - could do it. He just had to get the rest of the team on-board.
“I appreciate your faith in me, Taiga-kun, but I don’t know if I could do something like that...” Kuroko was the first to voice his doubts, considering Kagami pointed him out as one of the key players of this plan.
“Sure you can.” Kiyoshi was the one to answer, oozing confidence (despite the fact that his leg muscles were visibly spasming). “You’re an alluring presence for shifters. Not to sound creepy, or anything.”
“Too late.” Hyuuga muttered.
“You’re the connecting factor for Seirin.” Izuki chimed in, much more helpfully. “If Akashi and that Number 5 are able to do that for their team without a bond, I bet you could. Oh. If you were an owl shifter,” he added with a thoughtful look on his face, “you’d be owl-luring.”
“I hate to admit it, but he’s right.” Hyuuga agreed. “Not about the stupid owl thing. That one was just lazy.” he amended.
The sleuth’s bondlink to Izuki rang of shame and betrayal.
“We’re not asking for something as crazy as what Rakuzan’s been pulling,” Hyuuga continued, facing their blue-haired teammate. “but maybe you being the…‘common link,’ or whatever you called it is enough for whatever scheme Kagami’s got up his sleeve.”
Poor Kuroko was feeling a little overwhelmed by all this attention, that much was clear. His defenses were still down from all that excitement just moments before. But the rest of the team was on-board, and Kagami could tell that Kuroko was too, despite his obvious self-doubt. But since he trusted his teammates so much, it didn’t matter if Kuroko didn’t believe in himself, because his teammates did that for him.
But really, in these last few moments before the buzzer, Kuroko didn’t really need to do anything different than he’s always done. Hell, the entirety of Seirin only had to play as they always have; with unyielding trust and dedication to both the game and each other.
And that’s just what they did.
Thanks to the Coach’s training, the team was able to successfully pull off the physical aspects of their final play and thanks to their common bondlink, they were able to take it to just the right level they needed in order to succeed.
Kagami couldn’t have imagined this final play going better. From Kuroko setting him up for the most beautiful shot he’s ever received to Kagami feeling as though he was walking on air. The entire team, shifter or not, had coordinated with each other to the point of it becoming thoughtless. The clang of the basket and the sound of his own screams as well as his teammates’ and the crowd were drowned out by the blaring bleating of the final buzzer and the burst of the confetti cannons.
As exhaustion settled in with the weight of his teammates piling on him, Kagami once again had trouble imagining how life could get much better than this.
But upon seeing his partner’s pride leader approaching the celebrating team, Kagami rethought this sentiment.
Akashi outstretched his hand, offering it to Kuroko. Despite how tired, how defeated and lost the former pride leader looked, a genuine smile still pulled at his lips. ‘Graceful’ was the word that came to Kagami’s mind. Gone was all of that arrogant pride. This person before them now was truly somebody else. “Well done. It’s your pack’s… No, your team’s win.”
When Kuroko flashed his former captain a blinding smile and took his outstretched hand, cradling it in both of his own, Kagami believes he saw something in Akashi’s stoic façade fracture again; and he couldn’t help but think that in this case, that was a good thing.
Kagami hoped that for Kuroko’s sake the former pridemates would be able to rekindle their bond someday, like Kuroko had already begun to with the others. Genuinely, Kagami hoped that he’d one day see a totally rekindled Teiko Pride, because wouldn’t that just be a sight to see? Kagami bets it’d feel just as good as this moment right now, as this win, because that’d just mean that there were more people out there who looked out for, who loved his bondmate too.
Seirin didn’t lose their high spirits when they had finally wandered out of the stadium on exhausted legs into the chilled winter air. When they stepped outside, they were swarmed by the various proud family members who had managed to make it to the game; from Koganei’s look-alike cat clan to Izuki’s beautiful three sisters (or was one of them his mother?) to Mitobe’s horde of tuckered out but awestruck younger siblings; and many more.
For a brief moment, Kagami wished that his own father could have made it out, but he knew he was watching the broadcasted event, wherever he was in the world.
(Besides, with his dad away, it meant he and Tetsuya could have the apartment to themselves and Kagami didn’t have to go through any more awkward boyfriend-to-family member introductions. At least for the time being).
After the families had taken more pictures than they probably even knew what to do with, everyone began to say their farewells for the night.
That is, until one parent protested.
“You guys fought like hell!” the Coach’s dad proclaimed, the compliment a strange deviation from his usually hard-ass demeanor they’ve been faced with all season. “And you’re young. You should be celebrating! Celebrating!” he repeated, as if for emphasis.
Crazily enough, his emphasized enthusiasm worked. The family members all agreed it was a wonderful idea and urged the team to go out and have some fun, trying to pass along some money before the Coach’s dad refused and insisted on spotting (much to the Coach’s shock herself).
And so the family members parted until just Seirin and their occasional mentor remained.
“Alright, everyone, drinks are on me!” the Coach’s dad declared, who seemed to just be drowning in enthusiasm tonight. Must be vicariously reliving the highs of his youth, or something…
“We’re all underaged!” the Coach herself was the one to point out, face tinged pink from more than just the cold, Kagami suspected.
“Well, hot chocolates then! Hot chocolates are drinks!” he quickly amended, never one to (purposefully) upset his beloved daughter.
They couldn’t see a problem with that plan, so Seirin readily agreed. In fact, they swiftly planned to get dinner as well, since the Coach’s dad was right; they deserved to celebrate and at this point, the adrenaline rush from the win and their families’ pride had woken everybody up enough for it.
Though the high from the adrenaline and earlier exhaustion did make them a little giggly and stumbly as they went outside into the freezing night air, as though they were indeed intoxicated. Their mirth was personified with the clouds of vapor leaving their mouths whenever they chatted or laughed. They were a noisy group.
Which is how they almost missed the person who called out to one of their own;
“Kuroko,” the teen called, not yelling but projecting his voice quite a bit. And thanks to his earlier display in the stadium, Kagami was able to guess that this guy probably had a very naturally boisterous voice to begin with, so that was saying something.
Kuroko turned to the speaker, confusion and anxiety managing to overpower his earlier joy from just moments before; which pissed Kagami offer even more, naturally.
“Ogiwara-kun.” Kuroko said, not really a question or a response, more so a statement.
Yeah, Kagami definitely had his gripes with this guy; and sensing the surprise and growing weariness within his other sleuthmates at this certain teen’s reappearance signaled to Kagami that he wasn’t the only one.
“Um, do you…got a second?” Ogiwara requested of their phantom, jamming his thumb in an unspecified direction behind him, indicating he wanted some semi-privacy.
“Sure.” Kuroko answered plainly, before turning to their team, a question on his lips.
The Coach didn’t even give him the chance to ask it though. “No problem, Kuroko-kun.” her smile getting unquestionably tighter when she looked to the outsider of their gathering.
“Do you want us to wait for you?” Kiyoshi asked with the soft smile he only seemed to reserve for his kouhai (and the sense of overprotectiveness that he reserved for his teammates and sleuthmates alike).
“Please. I’ll try not to take too long.” Kuroko offered, his tight grip on his bag betraying his projected okay-ish-ness with this impromptu meet up. Kagami felt his blood begin to boil.
Then there was a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll wait for you at the pavilion entrance, then.” Izuki said to Kuroko, though Kagami could feel the placating message his touch was trying to convey to the redhead himself; ‘give them a second,’ the eagle shifter wordlessly requested.
Of course Kagami would. He knew his partner could handle himself. He knows he’s dealt with other returned bondmates before. Granted, those were all strained, nearly broken bonds. Not ones that were completely severed, by the very guy who was standing right before them.
But above all, Kagami trusted his partner, so he turned to leave and wait (anxiously) with the rest of the team.
However, it turns out that all this inner debate for Kagami was moot.
“Taiga-kun,” Tetsuya called out once more, a little bit of uncertainty lacing his voice.
And like the well-trained animal that he was (but only for his partner) Kagami instantly stopped in his tracks, turning to his bondmate and hopefully not looking too expectant. If there was anything his partner wanted from him, anything he could do, he’d do it, his bondmate would only have to say the word, and was he actually going to—
With not only their team and Kagami’s attention on him, but Ogiwara’s as well, Kuroko seemed perhaps a little reserved. Shy, everyone flabbergastingly realized. “Would you mind waiting here with me?” Tetsuya requested, the color on his face - a lovely, soft pink - not just from the cold either, Kagami realized, inexplicably pleased to notice. His bondmate didn’t elaborate further than that, but he didn’t need to.
Internally, the tiger let out a triumphant roar and was bouncing from wall to wall in thrilled excitement. Outwardly, Kagami just said “Sure,” though his too-wide grin probably betrayed his faux calm - he definitely heard some snickers coming from the team’s direction. But who gave a damn, because Tetsuya asked him to stay!
The damned tiger was purring no doubt and it took everything in Kagami not to let his ears or tail pop out in his excitement and betray his bravado. Kuroko wanted Kagami to stick around as a reassuring presence as he dealt with a situation that made him weary. Kagami needed to seem cool, tough, and in-control. He had some posturing to do, both as a bondmate and a boyfriend.
With some final cautious, though supportive looks from their sleuthmates and teammates, Kagami was left in relative privacy with the two stoat shifters.
They all stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, the only sound being the stream of patrons still steadily trickling out of the stadium. The group remained outside, underneath one of the walkway lights despite the freezing cold, Kuroko making unflinching eye contact with Ogiwara before the other teen looked to Kagami, who had probably been giving him quite the staredown.
Ogiwara’s eyes then seemed to light up in understanding. “Another bondmate, I see?” he observed, his nonchalant tone sounding suspiciously neutral. No doubt he figured out that they were bonded by picking up Kagami’s scent on his usually scentless ex-bondmate, now that the rest of the Seirin shifters had put some distance between them.
Kagami barely resisted the urge to growl at that phrasing (despite the fact that Ogiwara’s tone lacked no, well, undertone).
Kuroko merely nodded. “Yes. This is Kagami Taiga-kun. My bondmate and partner.”
“The American Returnee, right? I read about you in Basketball Monthly.” Ogiwara elaborated. He then gave them both a timid smile. “You guys work well together on the court.”
Though the praise seemed genuine to Kagami’s ears, something unmistakably prideful and territorial bubbled up within him. “We’re partners off of the court too.” Kagami furthered, throwing an arm around Tetsuya and everything, for good measure. Kagami could feel his partner eyeing him critically, but their bondlink told him that Kuroko didn’t mind the blatant posturing. Just this once.
Though it was a wasted effort, and not all that blatant apparently, because Ogiwara only blinked owlishly at them both.
“We’re dating.” Kuroko spelled it out for him.
Ogiwara blinked again and something like soft amusement colored the Seirin couple’s bondlink for a moment. Even in such a nerve-racking situation, Kagami’s bondmate could see some humor in all this.
“Please excuse my frankness, but I recall Ogiwara-kun being rather…ill-perceptive when we were younger.” Kuroko explained.
Ogiwara blushed, before hastily clearing his throat. It looked like the message had finally sunk in. “N-Nah, no... I’m happy you spelled it out for me. I’m still kinda slow-on-the-uptake, generally speaking…” he admitted, even sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, before looking back to his former bondmate with a rather remorseful, though sincere smile. “But wow. Dating. That’s new. Congrats. Seriously. On both the win and the nuptials.”
“‘Nuptials’ refers to marriage, Ogiwara-kun.” Kuroko plainly corrected.
Ogiwara snickered, though his blush deepened ever so slightly as he threw his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Heh, well, details…”
Kagami was a little thrown off by how...relaxed this conversation seemed. As though the two had fallen into old habits. That seemed right though. Not only were Kuroko and Ogiwara childhood friends, but former bondmates too. There were some things that weren’t lost to time or distance like that.
Though the ‘former’ part of their relationship still had its influence on this conversation. Kagami wasn’t dumb enough to think otherwise. Gone was Kuroko’s earlier intoxicating elation from their win. A nervous sort of energy was now flitting about in the pit of Kagami’s stomach, signaling to him Kuroko’s true, present anxiety; Kuroko didn’t really know what to say right now, that much was clear to Kagami.
Guess it was Kagami’s turn to perform those boyfriend duties he mentioned earlier.
“You sure caused a pretty big scene earlier.” Kagami decided to say, airing on the side of neutral politeness instead of hostility. Kuroko’s pleasant surprise signaled to Kagami that he had made the right choice forgoing whatever hostile comment he actually wanted to say. The tiger preened at his bondmate’s unvoiced praise.
“It was quite unexpected.” Kuroko chimed in. “I did not know you were back in Tokyo.”
Ogiwara rubbed the back of his neck again. It must’ve been a nervous tick (and Kagami kinda hated how he’s caught himself doing the same thing before). “For the time being anyway. I’m staying at Mochi’s right now. Ah, Mochida Satoru, I mean.”
“I believe we’ve met briefly.” Kuroko stated. “Though I was under the impression that he was your messenger.”
Ah, the guy who told Kuroko that Ogiwara had moved away. The guy who told him that Ogiwara ‘hadn’t given up on him,’ despite the fact that he severed their bond and didn’t have the decency to tell him why himself. That guy.
Ogiwara flinched. Even Kagami felt the sting from that one. “Ah, yeah…he’s a good guy. I came into town to see the game, actually. I don’t really keep up with basketball much these days, but Mochi keeps tabs on you for me.”
Kagami raised a brow. “‘Keeps tabs’?” he parroted, his tiger nearly letting out a little warning growl.
Ogiwara seemed to try to recover as quickly as possible. “Well, I mean he like updates me on the league and stuff. Neither of us knew what school you went to until that article came out a couple days ago. Then we saw you guys made it to the finals and he invited me over. To see it in person. To see you.”
Kagami felt Kuroko’s minor hostility chiseling away a little bit. “He sounds like a nice friend. I’m glad that you two managed to keep in touch.”
Oof. Nevermind.
“K-Kuroko,” Ogiwara began, voice laced with genuine regret. It seemed he was still able to pick up on Kuroko’s real meaning too. “I’m sorry. I-I… We moved after…after everything ‘cause of my mom, and I lost my phone so my number changed and Mochi was the one to track me down—”
“But my number didn’t change.” Kuroko quickly interjected, tone a bit louder and ringing with emotion. So much so that he seemed a little embarrassed by the outburst. He looked away, gripping his bag impossibly tighter. Kagami himself tightened his hold on his partner, giving him an encouraging squeeze. This was brutally awkward to watch, but hell if Kagami was going anywhere.
Kuroko sighed before continuing, eyes locked on the ground. “You could have tried calling. Or writing. Every letter and text I sent never went through so I thought you were ignoring me. I understood why, but I…” Kuroko stopped himself, looking up to Ogiwara with the best damn kicked-puppy eyes Kagami’s ever seen (and he’s pretty sure his bondmate didn’t even know that he was doing it, which made it all the more effective). “It wasn’t right, the way we left things. So I went to your school, but you were already gone.”
Ogiwara was grimacing, as if in physical pain. “I know. But I… Even if I was still there though…I don’t think I would have wanted to see you.” he quietly admitted.
Kagami bristled in rage, but it was Kuroko who did the calming down this time, removing Kagami’s arm from around his shoulder and instead locking onto it with his adjacent one. “I understand.” Kuroko said, addressing the comment to Ogiwara.
“No, that’s not—. I don’t think you do.” Ogiwara verbally stumbled. “Before that day, for a while, I was having…thoughts about our bond. Distance and time was only making things more difficult for us. But you seemed so happy with those Miracle guys. Every now and then I could feel it. You being happy because of them. Being happy with them. Without me… I was jealous. But I understood. The connection you had with them was different.”
Kuroko was itching to interject, Kagami could tell, but Ogiwara continued before he could get the chance, “Everything I always tried to do for you…scenting and bondlink feelings… I couldn’t do it. But they could do it so easily. I saw it clearly when you guys played together our second year.” he huffed before a weak, shaky smile pulled at his lips. “But then when I finally saw you again it was…it was amazing. Like no time had passed at all. I knew then that I was overthinking things.” he said, smile vanishing again, expression morphing into one of anger. Clearly though, it wasn’t directed at Kuroko, Kagami could tell that much. “So at the third year championship, when your pack leader suggested the severing, I told him to fuck off. Honestly, I did.”
It took him a moment, but Kuroko eventually softly admitted. “I believe you.” The reassurance was more than this guy deserved, if you asked Kagami.
Ogiwara smiled ruefully before his expression turned back into one of grim regret. Of raging hurt. “But after they…after they did that to my team, I decided to go through with it. I couldn’t face you, Kuroko. That game—No. That sick trick they pulled, even though I knew it wasn’t right, it… It was like it was all the proof that I ever needed that I wasn’t good enough. Not when it came to basketball and not when it came to being your bondmate.”
“But that’s not something you should have decided for yourself.” Kuroko chimed in again, tone unquestionably upset. “A bond is a two-way street, Ogiwara-kun. A dear friend of mine told me that once when I was worrying about whether or not I took advantage of both him and you.
“I don’t pretend to understand why bonding is the way it is with me.” Kuroko continued, brows furrowed. “But I think that the formation of our bond was something that we both wanted, even if we didn’t know what it was exactly at the time. I know that I wanted a bond, in any case. A connection with another person.”
“I did too.” Ogiwara confirmed, brows scrunched up in confused astonishment, as though he couldn’t believe Kuroko thought otherwise.
Kuroko smiled, his lips pulled tight; a bittersweet look if Kagami’s ever seen one. “I’m glad. But since bond formations are a two-way street, then I believe their breakings should be as well.” he elaborated, his look becoming steely once more. “You should have spoken to me. Deciding for yourself that we shouldn’t have a bond anymore and severing it without consulting me was selfish. Not to mention cruel.”
Suddenly, Kuroko released Kagami’s arm, stepping forward, towards Ogiwara. Kagami let him go, despite his tiger inwardly protesting. Kuroko’s eyes were still downcast, but his expression was still cold and steely, a big change from his usual wide-eyed passiveness. “After that game, I not only had to mourn you, but all my other bondmates as well.” Kuroko said, placing a hand to his chest as a secondhand feeling of indescribable loss and sadness welled up within Kagami’s own. “We were all breaking apart, Ogiwara-kun, and I just wanted you to reassure me like you always did, with a smile. But instead, you casted me aside. Just like they did.” he tacked on in a whisper-soft voice, as though for maximum impact.
A raging success, since Ogiwara looked truly mortified; but also like something he had long suspected was finally confirmed. “I…I didn’t know that things were so rough for you guys. I really, I really did think I was making the best choice for you when I decided to—”
“But you don’t get to choose for me, Ogiwara-kun!” Kuroko actually shouted.
Kagami and Ogiwara both stared at Kuroko, stunned.
Kuroko cleared his throat, which sounded quite scratchy (which made sense, since Kagami’s pretty sure he heard his partner screaming at the top of his lungs after the confetti cannons went off. Not to mention the hour-long story he told last night).
Kuroko continued, in a much milder tone, “If you were having doubts about our bond, if you were thinking about breaking it, you should have spoken to me about it. I’m not saying I could have changed your mind, but we at least could have come to a decision together. I’m also not claiming to not understand your reasoning. Honestly, our bond was different, as you said. The emotional connection and scents didn’t come easy to us, if at all, which I don’t think is really a problem with just you. No one had ever been able to pick up my scent before, my own family included. Until Aomine-kun.” he revealed, looking wistful.
That was honestly news to Kagami. Aomine was really the first, first person to scent Kuroko? No wonder Kuroko felt so strongly about the bastard.
“The moment he and I bonded, something felt…different.” Kuroko went on. “Like things clicked into place easily. The feeling only grew stronger when I bonded with the others; and with Taiga-kun of course.” Kuroko added, causing Kagami to blush at the fact that his boyfriend was so considerate that he didn’t even give Kagami the chance to overthink that comment.
Ogiwara looked resigned, eyes unquestionably sad as he stared at Kuroko. “You think we shouldn’t have bonded.” he stated, more so than asked.
“I didn’t say that.” Kuroko said, voice sad. Confused. “Our bonding was accidental. It was…something that I did that caused it to form in the first place. But I never regretted it, even after all that happened during third year. Even after I felt the strain during second year, even after you moved away at the end of elementary school… I never regretted our bond, I knew it made the both of us happy, for a time.
“But I did regret the fact that I gave you no choice in the matter of bonding in the first place; which is why the fact that you decided to break our bond on your own was so hurtful to me. But I, I understood. A part of me thought that,” Kuroko paused, letting out a soft breath; a laugh without humor. “I thought that we were even. Hypocritical of me, I know.”
“It’s not, Te—. Kuroko.” Ogiwara assured, not catching himself quickly enough. “I meant it when I said that I was jealous, that not being good at all that normal bondmate stuff bugged me. Especially since it came so easily to your other guys... But those were my issues. I let them get in my head and I…” he trailed, pausing as he looked to Kagami and oh. Kagami thinks he understands something a little bit clearer now.
“I lost you because of it.” Ogiwara concluded as he looked back to Kuroko, voice nearly a whisper. “I know it doesn’t mean much, but all I can say now is I’m sorry. That’s why I came here tonight. To root for you and to say I’m sorry. I’m not looking for your forgiveness, but I know that what I did wasn’t right. Hell, you never have to see me again but I—”
Kuroko huffed, cutting Ogiwara off again. “You’re making decisions for me again.”
Ogiwara stopped, looking absolutely baffled.
“My address and phone number are the same.” Kuroko continued, avoiding eye contact once more as he turned away from the other slightly, back towards Kagami (as it should be, thought the damn cat, annoyingly). “I have to be going now, I’m keeping our team waiting, but… You haven’t lost me yet. I don’t think you can.” he admitted, voice sounding utterly small as he finally looked up again. “You’ll always be my first bondmate, Shige-kun. My first friend. Our parents always said we had our whole lives ahead of us… And we do, so, I’d like to still have you in mine, if that’s something you’d like too?”
“O-Of course.” Ogiwara instantly said, eyes shining. “Y-Yeah, of course I—Yes. Please. I want that too.” he said, before he added in a trembling voice, “Of c-course I do. Tet-chan.”
Something in Tetsuya seemed to tremble at that name, despite the fact that he was the first one to break out the cutesy nicknames. But Kuroko didn’t let the powerful emotional flare up get to him too much, besides the fact that his breath momentarily hitched and his eyes were suspiciously twinkly as he smiled at the ground again.
Ogiwara did a much worse job of hiding his emotional overload, loudly sniffling as he furiously scrubbed at his eyes. “What’s your number again? I wasn’t lying when I said that I lost it.” he requested, already digging into his pocket and pulling out his phone, a bright, kinda mesmerizing smile pulling at his reddened face.
As a feeling of content and relief flooded Kagami through his bondlink, he couldn’t help but watch Kuroko in awe as his partner typed his number into Ogiwara’s phone.
Kuroko’s feelings about Ogiwara weighed heavily on him for months, close to a year. Yet still he handled this so goddamn well. He was so self-aware, of both others and himself, Kagami concluded, which made him so wonderful to be around. But it also led to him keeping a lot of things to himself, since he seemed to think that self-awareness meant he could handle his problems on his own.
Kagami thinks that he was finally wearing him down when it came to that false sentiment, though; and Kagami was glad, because it was always a real treat to see Kuroko speak freely, to know that he felt comfortable enough to share his unbiased opinion with you. Once again, Kagami felt utterly special because of Kuroko, because his bondmate trusted him enough to witness this intimate, personal moment between the two ex-bondmates.
Ogiwara and Kuroko said their goodbyes, the other teen even offering one to Kagami, along with the promise to play a little one-on-one someday; and just like that, the unforeseen, stressful part to their evening had concluded. As the bonded pair made their way to find their team, Kagami couldn’t shake off his disbelief.
“I can’t believe you.” he said, gaining Kuroko’s confused attention. “For months you listen to me bitch and moan about my problems with Tatsuya - which I still haven’t totally resolved - and you go and mend things with your ex like 5 minutes after seeing him again.”
Kuroko was both amused and flattered, Kagami could tell. “I wouldn’t call things mended. I think there’s still a lot to discuss. But it’s a start.” he said, Kagami noticing him taking the previously-unknown number that had just texted him a greeting - with an excessive amount of exclamation marks - and using it to update the contact saved as ‘Ogiwara’. After doing so, Kuroko flipped the phone closed and tucked it away into his pocket. “Honestly, I don’t know if things between the two of us will ever go back to the way they were, but just having him as a friend again would be very nice.”
“I feel that way too, about Alex and Tatsuya.” Kagami admitted, a bittersweet feeling coming to him. He didn’t know if they’d ever all be bonded again, but just being in each other’s lives again was enough. At least for right now.
But there was one thing that Kagami did know for certain. He looked back to Kuroko. “But you don’t feel that way about the rest of the Pride Parade?”
Kuroko gave him a dubious look. “Is that what you’re calling them now?”
Kagami couldn’t help his grin - or the initial comment - despite the serious mood. “I’m workshopping. Why? Not a fan?”
“No, I just think you could do better.” Kuroko said, an amused smile pulling at his lips. “But to answer your original question, no. I don’t know how things between Ogiwara-kun and I will play out, but when it comes to my pridemates, I… I know that I want to be close to them again.” he admitted, Kagami able to tell that Kuroko even felt a little guilty over it. So he worked swiftly to squash that insecurity.
Kagami grabbed onto his partner’s head, in that way he so loathed. Or rather, used to loathe. “Well, good thing you’re more than halfway there then. Four down, two to go.” he grinned as he ruffled his bondmate’s hair.
Kuroko rolled his eyes before shooing Kagami’s hand away. “You make it sound so simple.”
“Hey, you’re the one whose record is 4-and-0 right now.” Kagami laughed. Which reminded him. “So, how about it? Any plans to try to hash things out with Murasakibara or Akashi tonight?” he asked.
Murasakibara was a finicky one - guy could be more tsundere than Midorima at times - but Akashi seemed like he was close to breaking when Kuroko was freaking cradling his hand on the court before. Kuroko would probably be 5-and-0 if he went for it now.
“No, not tonight.” Kuroko said though, his tiredness finally creeping back into his scratchy voice (Kagami was gonna have to get him some tea or something, pronto). “There’ll be a time and a place for that.” Kuroko continued, looking back up to Kagami. “Tonight I just want to be with the team. With you.”
Kagami blushed, despite how regularly he heard Kuroko say mushy crap and his own earlier sentiments about how much he liked his partner’s embarrassing honesty. “You’re still spending the night then?” Kagami instead asked.
“Yes, my bag is quite heavier than usual because of it.” Kuroko complained mildly.
Though Kagami knew he was just shooting the shit, he still plucked Kuroko’s bag from off his shoulder and slung it over his own, before the other could even protest. “Well, we’ll count that as a win for my record then.”
“And what exactly is your record against?” Kuroko asked, though he sounded very much like he didn’t really wanna know.
“Against those rainbow bastards, of course.” Kagami said. He was man enough to admit it, at this point; he still had his own little streak of jealousy when it came to those Miracles.
Kuroko sighed, actually stopping in his tracks, Kagami of course stopping with him (maybe he went a little too far with the teasing this time? Not that it wasn’t also the truth),
“I wish you would stop comparing yourself to the others.” Kuroko said, even going so far as to cross his arms (probably due to the chill in the air as much as it was due to his annoyance). “They’re special to me, yes, but you’re something they could never be.”
Kagami felt more than soothed, since his partner’s voice just had that kind of effect on him, but his curiosity was piqued. He grabbed the straps to both his and Kuroko’s bags with one arm and dangled them more comfortably behind his back. “Yeah? And what’s that?”
Suddenly, Kuroko promptly placed both of his hands upon Kagami’s cheeks and the redhead instinctually drew himself down to be closer in reach, bags carelessly dropping to the ground as he entered his favorite trance.
Kuroko’s calloused palms were rough and cold against the sensitive skin of Kagami’s too-hot face, but their proximity and his partner’s gentle smile brought to Kagami a sensation that couldn’t even be considered close to physical touch. It was something that hit him deep, that struck his core with a sense of overwhelming fondness and a feeling of belonging. A feeling of belonging not to someone, but with someone.
“You’re Taiga-kun. And that makes you the most special of all.” Tetsuya said, as though it were the greatest compliment one could receive. And what do you know, Kagami thought as he leaned in and pressed his lips to the corner of his partner’s mouth, who hummed contently; Kagami fully believed in that earnest sentiment himself, because his bondmate had never lied to him before, so why would he start now?
Their teammates’ groaned, feigned disgust ripped the couple from the intimate moment, both of them realizing far too late that the rest of Seirin had decided to catch up to them themselves. But that was hardly a problem (despite Kagami’s raging blush) because soon enough the jokes and cat-calls stopped and the team was off to celebrate their well-earned win.
Their more-than-lively dinner (seriously, they were nearly kicked out of the restaurant, for their noise levels and for Kagami nearly eating the owners out of house and home) was followed by Kuroko following through with his promise and spending the night at Kagami’s again (the first of many sleepovers, hopefully). By the time they stumbled through the door, it was well past midnight, and their energy levels had never been so low.
Still, Taiga felt something like excited euphoria as he and Tetsuya fell into bed together, the both of them too exhausted to do anything other than knockout.
Their limbs were entangled, their scents still slightly tinged with sweat from their hasty showers in the locker room, and their muscles were sorer than they’ve ever been in all their lives; and despite knowing that the fatigue would only worsen come the morning, Taiga was still more content than he’s ever been in all his life. In fact, he was looking forward to the morning, despite all the aches and pains that were sure to come, because he’d be waking up with his partner by his side.
His partner who put his all into everything he loved. Which wasn’t only limited to basketball, Taiga concluded as he felt Tetsuya’s arms tighten around him, even as his soft, sleepy breaths warmed Taiga’s chest.
In the few fleeting moments before Taiga’s consciousness finally gave out, he couldn’t help but revel in the moment, in his life right now. A championship under his belt, a beautiful bondmate under his covers, pressed up against him…
Yeah, right now, Taiga sure thinks that he’s peaked. Though he was quite looking forward to Tetsuya proving him wrong in that regard, as he always did. After all, they did have the rest of their lives ahead of them.
And Taiga couldn’t wait.