[Kuroko's Basketball] The First Promise

So, put the dress back on.For Teiko.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Blackie felt that his right eyelid was very painful when he woke up, I couldn't help squinting my eyes before slowly opening them.The curtains fluttered with the surging wind, and the sound of the wind brought a little peace to the quiet room.He felt sore all over his body as if he was falling apart, and he wanted to move his numb right hand but found that someone was holding him.Looking along his arm, he saw the sleeping person lying on the bed.The dazzling yellow hair swayed slightly with his breath, Heizi watched for a while before his brain came to his senses.

Hands are wrapped in a soft touch.

Huang Lai held his hand very tightly. Heizi wanted to pull it out but was afraid of waking him up. He tried to pull it out twice but to no avail. He gave up and sat up slowly with his left arm propped on the bed. He was immediately supported by the other hand.

I don't know when Kise woke up, Heizi barely turned his sore neck to look, Kise smiled at him, slowly helped him sit up, and reached out to help Heizi straighten his right arm With gauze wrapped around his body, he asked for a while, "Is Xiao Heizi sleeping well? Is there any discomfort?"

"...I'm fine." Heizi looked down at Kise who was sitting on the edge of the bed and helping him carefully arrange the medicated gauze. When the latter raised his head, Heizi was slightly startled: "...Mr. What's wrong? There's bloodshot."

"Ah? Maybe it's because I didn't rest last night!" Huang Lai was stunned for a moment, laughed a little awkwardly, rubbed his hair, and lifted the quilt for him to avoid Heizi's gaze: "Little Heizi is hungry Not hungry? I haven’t eaten since last night... I asked my classmates to bring some cooked food, and I’ll heat it up later.”

Only then did Heizi realize that it was already dawn, and he remembered that Qingfeng seemed to be bandaging his wound before he fell asleep, and he didn't know what happened during that time.Hearing Kise's question, he realized that he was indeed hungry, so he said, "Then please trouble Kise-kun. Where's Aomine-kun?"

"He sent you back last night and went to Xiao Ziyuan's place." Kise's voice came from the kitchen.

"To Zi Yuan-kun?"

"Well, Xiao Heizi doesn't need to worry about that~ By the way, Xiaolujian went to the off-campus pharmacy to buy you external medicine, and he should be back in a while. There is no useful medicine at the school doctor, really..."

"Trouble everyone..."

"Haha, where is it, the little blackie is too polite~"

"Then, where is Akashi-kun..."

"Little Akashi~ He came here just now, but you haven't woken up yet. Ah~ Xiao Heizi, let's drink some hot soup first. It's been kept in the thermos, so it's a good time to drink it now!"

Heizi watched Huang Lai come out with a bowl with a smile, he could only suppress those doubts, and raised his hand to take the bowl of hot soup.

The temperature is transmitted to the palm through the porcelain bowl, which is very warm.Heizi lowered his eyelids, he didn't know if everyone knew what happened last night, and how they would react, but he didn't want to ask.

Huang Lai moved a chair to sit beside his bed, took the apples that had been washed earlier, and began to peel them slowly, while peeling, he said, "Is there any discomfort now, Xiao Heizi? Although it's all skin trauma, it's easy Infected."

"It's okay, it's just that some places still hurt a little."

The fruit knife cut into the apple with a "click", and the sweet and greasy apple juice overflowed from the cut.

Huang Lai frowned in a rare way, pulled a tissue to wipe off the juice stained on his fingertips, and looked up at Heizi: "Xiao Qingfeng said that those external medicines would hurt when rubbed on, so Xiao Heizi endured it... Xiaolujian Said he'd go get some ointment, and that ointment shouldn't hurt too much."

"Let everyone worry."

Heizi said in a low voice, over there Huang Lai had already peeled the apples, cut them into small pieces and put them on the plate, took a fork and handed a piece to Heizi's lips: "Little Heizi, if you don't want to drink soup, why don't you just eat some fruit?"

Heizi bit down and chewed slowly, Huang Lai couldn't help but smile as he watched him eat the apple he had peeled.

Last night he bought dinner and waited for four or five hours, but Qingfeng appeared at the door holding a wounded man.He was startled in place at the time, and when he came back to his senses, he rushed over to see Heizi's wound but was afraid of hurting him. At that time, Heizi had already fallen asleep in Qingfeng's arms, and when he put him on the bed, Qingfeng just said, "Take care of me." Good Ah Zhe" and left in a hurry.Huang Lai watched Heizi by the bed all night, looking at the gauze wrapped around the man's body, he didn't even know how he got through this long night.

He regretted why he returned to the dormitory early instead of accompanying Heizi.But no amount of remorse can change the fact.

Huang Lai withdrew her thoughts, quietly watched Heizi eating the apple, fed him a few more dollars, got up to get a glass of warm water, handed it to Heizi to moisten his chapped lips, and smiled at him after a pause: " Is Little Heizi tired? Can you sleep a little longer? I will watch over you."

"Kise-kun, don't you have class today?"

"Well~ don't worry, little blackie can just rest. And I will change your medicine later."

Heizi didn't want to trouble the people around him, it was because of himself.He was trying to persuade Kise not to delay the class, but when he looked up, he saw the team uniform hanging in the closet diagonally opposite. The white coat with blue-gray stripes made his blue eyes widen instantly.

"That dress—"

Huang Lai followed his gaze and turned back with a smile in the next second:

"That's right, I was also taken aback when Akashi sent it over. Except for the team logo on the chest changed from Teiko to Dongda, everything else is exactly the same as the team uniform back then. I bet for sure." It was made by Akashi~ Do you want to try it on, Xiao Heizi? I just tried mine, and it felt a bit tight. Maybe Akashi just took his junior high school uniform and changed the team logo..."

Heizi stared straight at the jersey hanging quietly.Seeing his expression, Huang Lai couldn't help but smile, got up and walked over to take off the clothes, and then gently spread them into Heizi's arms.

The familiar clothing style came into view.Heizi suddenly felt heavy in his hand.

"Look, little Heizi, nothing has actually changed."

Kise lowered his eyelids, stroking the soft fabric with his hand.

"no."

Heizi spoke lightly, holding the flimsy team uniform, and suddenly smiled slightly after a while: "Actually...everyone has changed."

The dazzling NO.15 is slightly deformed because of the unevenly spread clothes, but it does not hinder the beauty.Heizi has always thought that Teiguang's jersey is the most beautiful, as if once he puts it on, there will be a huge motivation and courage to support him to go on.

They wore the same jersey as him and stood on the same field.

Holding the soft clothes tightly in his hands, Heizi really felt a lot of emotion in his heart.

Whether to continue the status quo or change depends entirely on whether you are really able-really qualified to wear this dress.

Kise looked at Heizi silently for a while, then said softly:

"Little Heizi, when Xiao Akashi just came here, he asked me to give you a few words."

Heizi looked up at him, his eyes beckoning him to continue talking.

"He said that the roster will not change, so you can prepare for next Monday's game."

Heizi continued to look into Kise's eyes, slightly stunned.

Kise laughed, reaching out to rub Heizi's blue hair.

"—Little Heizi, you are the starter."

"Although it is too much to let Xiao Heizi play with an injury, everyone hopes to play with Xiao Heizi."

"So, put this dress back on. For Teiko."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++ When Akashi pushed open the gate of the gymnasium, he heard the sound of dribbling, one by one, heavy and with a familiar rhythm.There are several chairs in the field, and the dribbler repeatedly runs back and forth around the chairs and dribbles past people. The lead plates tied to his ankles did not affect his due speed.

Standing at the door, Akashi watched for a while.The light tube above the head flickered, reflecting the shadow of the person in the field flickering.

After two days of rest and recuperation, Heizi's physical strength has gradually recovered, and the wound on his body will not hurt too much.Because he is a good boy, he took his medicine and changed it on time, and he recovered quickly, but the OK bandage on his forehead and the gauze on his right arm have not been removed yet.But as far as the current state is concerned, it should not affect tomorrow's game.

The sound of panting echoed in the empty arena. Every time Heizi completed ten back and forth runs, he would stop to wipe off his sweat, take a deep breath, and continue training.

When he was in Teiko, Akashi had also seen him train so hard. He practiced passing and stealing the ball without rest at night alone. Sleeping things are put in the back of my mind.Because his physical fitness is not as good as others, he needs to put in more efforts than those people. Perhaps his efforts cannot shorten the gap with others, but he never gave up.This is one of the things Akashi appreciates about him.

Perhaps it was because of practicing for too long, when Heizi staggered suddenly when he was running back and forth, he immediately supported the chair next to him out of instinct, but the ball fell out of his hand, bounced a few times and slowly rolled to Akashi's feet.

Akashi bent down to pick it up, and Kuroko turned around to see the person coming, but he didn't look too surprised, as usual, he didn't have much expression.

"Are you nervous?" Akashi held the basketball in one hand and looked at the man who was panting heavily: "Tomorrow's league game."

"Why did Akashi-kun ask me to be the starter?" Kuroko pursed his lips and said the question that had always existed: "The starting point guard should obviously be Akashi-kun."

Akashi raised his lips and said nothing, bent slightly and slowly dribbled the ball.

Seeing Akashi's actions, Kuroko couldn't help being stunned.

"Come and break my ball." Akashi was dribbling the ball, with a smile on his lips: "—Isn't there a lack of a partner?"

Hearing this, Heizi's eyes became slightly sharper.

He didn't care that Akashi's answer was off topic.Because he was designated as the starter for tomorrow, he was destined to suffer from insomnia the night before.With a stiff body, rigid movements, and unfamiliar hand feel, he couldn't find the state he should have on the court, let alone the pleasure brought by dribbling. The only thing he had was invisible pressure, which crushed him little by little. he.

To be honest, he didn't want to be a starter.Although he longed to play with everyone in his heart, he was too afraid of repeating the same mistakes, and because of him, the generation of miracles suffered undeserved failures.

He would rather not touch basketball, and he doesn't want his teammates to lose.

The watch "dididi" remembered that it was twelve o'clock in the middle of the night.

Not allowing Kuroko to think about it, Akashi has already rushed over with the ball.During the Teiguang period, Akashi's speed was the fastest, Kuroko didn't even see all his actions clearly before he was in front of him, but because he was familiar with Akashi's dribbling routine, Kuroko instinctively With his right foot moving across the crossbar, his hand cut directly to steal the ball, Akashi squinted his eyes slightly, and hooked the ball sideways to pass Kuroko's defense with his left wrist turned outward.It seemed that it only happened within two seconds, but Akashi made three different ways to surpass others.

Kuroko looked at the air in front of him and listened to the sound of Akashi's dribble behind him, suddenly felt that the gap between himself and Akashi was getting bigger and bigger.

Facing Akashi's extraordinary ability, he was helpless.

"Come again."

Akashi dribbled the ball and walked back to Kuroko, with a steady tone:

"Don't look at me, keep your eyes on the ball."

For the second pass, Kuroko let himself down, stared at the ball in Akashi's hand without moving, his eyes moved up and down with the ball, Akashi did not change his surpassing tricks, and dribbled the ball under his crotch again , Kuroko no longer moved his position, and at the moment the ball bounced, he relied on his height to move forward and lower his center of gravity, stepping away and cutting under the ball to break it directly. At the next moment of the ball, he waved his hand to directly control the changing trajectory of the ball. In order to maintain his balance, Kuroko could not continue to exert force to steal the ball. Akashi turned the basketball again and passed Kuroko smoothly.

Heizi gave the ground a little support so he didn't fall down.

He bent slightly and shook his right hand.Just now his fingertips touched the spinning basketball.It was as if the tingling sensation after an electric shock gradually released some energy from his physical strength.

He suddenly had an urge to break Akashi's basketball, wanting to prove himself.

"Not enough speed and balance."

Regardless of Kuroko's mood, Akashi directly pointed out his main flaw. He bent down and started dribbling again: "Go on."

Kuroko gritted his back teeth. When Akashi broke through, the toes of one foot were facing the front. At the moment Akashi swayed to the right, he reversed and intercepted the opponent's dribble to his left hand.Guessing the direction of the dribble was completely correct, and when Akashi switched between his left and right hands, Kuroko directly slapped the ball with his palm and slapped the ball away.After Akashi's ball path was forced to change, he was not in a hurry. He just switched back quickly, and the non-dribbler blocked the ball one second before Kuroko reached for it. The ball was successful.

Holding his knees and lowering his head to pant a few times, Heizi bit his lower lip.

He just, did break Akashi's ball, although only for a split second.

The blood in his body gradually began to surge, and he bit his back teeth.

"Take off the lead plates on your feet." Akashi walked over with the basketball in his arms, looking at the man who had lost most of his physical strength.

He didn't know how long Heizi had been training in the gymnasium, but it seemed that it was definitely two hours later. To be honest, it was really rare to be able to maintain a high concentration of steals after this kind of high-intensity weight-bearing training.

Akashi raised his lips imperceptibly.

"Go back and rest." Gently raising his arm and throwing the ball into the hoop not far away, Akashi looked at Kuroko: "There is still a game tomorrow."

Kuroko was stunned for a moment, unable to react when Akashi was about to go back: "...But I haven't broken Akashi-kun's ball yet."

"There's no need." Akashi picked up the jacket thrown on the coach chair and put it on, and looked back at him: "—or, Tetsu also wants to continue to break my ball?"

"Yes, I want to break Akashi-kun's ball." Kuroko pursed his lips: "Although I know that my current strength is not enough to break it...but I want to try again."

Akashi chuckled without saying a word, took out a bottle of water from the cardboard box under the seat and threw it into Heizi's arms.

There is indeed no need to continue the ball.In the first three balls, he had already seen the awakening of something hidden in Heizi's body.It is inevitable that the fourth ball will be broken.All he has to do is to stimulate the suppressed ability in Heizi, but he must not activate all of them.

He didn't want Heizi to rely entirely on his help.This kid needs to break through himself. If he helps him too much, it will stop him.

Three goals are enough for him to face tomorrow's opponent.

Seeing that Akashi didn't speak, Kuroko's expression was slightly dignified, and he changed the subject after a while: "Why did Akashi-kun suddenly want to come to the gymnasium so late?"

"I like."

"..."

Akashi took out a bunch of keys from his coat pocket, raised his head and said to Heizi:

"Keep the mood of wanting to beat me, and fight hard for tomorrow's game."

What Heizi lacks most now is a target.Just like the reason why he agreed to help Vulcan become number one in Japan at the beginning, he needs a goal to turn pressure into motivation.

Kuroko didn't dare to think about what would happen if the team lost again because of him, just like Seirin did back then.

Just because he was afraid, he didn't want to lose even more, and he wanted to win even more.

What he lacks is a word of affirmation from others before the game.

Heizi clenched his left fist slightly.

"--Yes."

"Tetsuya, you will win. My judgment has never been wrong." Akashi raised his lips slightly, but his bright red pupils were not as full of hostility as before: "Your denial of yourself is a challenge to my authority."

Putting on his clothes, Akashi walked towards Kuroko who was standing there, raised his hand and patted him on the waist, and said in a low voice: "—Let's surprise them tomorrow, Tetsuya."

Let them have a look, the sixth man of illusion taught by [Harmony] by him alone.

It will not be a battle, but a grand carnival.