Chapter 3

Loyalties 2

…

notes:

1. Playing with all the GoMs in this chapter J Enjoy a tsundere Midorima and a very OOC Aomine. J

2. And this is gonna be basketball centric too J I don't play, but I watch enough NBA to write it decently (I hope ^^; )

…

Midorima looked at his cellphone. It was a new one, Akashi had insisted he use the one he gave the whole team. Akashi was generous when it came to things that would bring the team close in terms of communication. Heck, even the funds for their team outings would come out of the redhead's pocket most of the time.

He flipped it open and the wallpaper was that of the Teiko team's. There was no reminder that he had ever gone to Shuutoku, and there was no reminder of Takao either.

Perhaps that was Akashi's intent all along in giving them all a new phone. Midorima shrugged. Nothing he could do about it, Akashi's will was absolute.

Briefly remembering their crushing defeat against Rakuzan at the end of the Winter cup last year, Midorima felt his heart twitch. It wasn't the feeling of defeat he remembered, it was Takao's grief stricken face.

He had to push that thought aside, Akashi would not appreciate any form of attachment to their past teams. He would not appreciate any form of deviation from his plans.

Since he had left Takao and Shuutoku, he had changed his address, changed his number, changed his email account and online accounts. As did the rest of the GoM members because it was what Akashi wanted, and no one dared go against what he wanted them to do.

The emperor's will is absolute.

Absolute enough that Midorima cast a sad glance towards the old man who sat on the side bleachers. He didn't even bother to find out his name. The man was Teiko high school basketball club's coach. But with Akashi back, he was nothing more than an ignored presence whose name didn't even matter. The same had happened to the coach back in Teiko middle school.

When Akashi was in charge, everyone stayed back, even the adults dared not oppose his absolute will.

Sad that a man of such an age and stature was reduced to silence and submission by a 15 year old boy.

"What are you thinking Midorin?"

Midorima calmly looked towards the hulking figure of Murasakibara and shook his head. "Feeling sorry for coach."

"Don't call him that, Akachin won't like it," he drawled as he bit down on one of the chips from his large snack bag. The taller male looked at Midorima and then tilted his snack pack towards the green haired teen.

"No thanks," Midorima said as he adjusted his glasses and tore his eyes from the sad old man sitting alone on the bleachers. "You know I don't eat anything until after training, my fingers get sticky or slippery because of what I eat."

"And that ruins your perfect shooting form, we know."

Midorima's body stiffened for a bit when he heard that voice. But he relaxed soon after. When had Akashi learned how to sneak up on people like Kuroko did?

Akashi's mismatched eyes studied Midorima for a moment. "You act as though I am a stranger Shintarou."

There was a moment of awkward silence at that statement. It wasn't a question Akashi had mentioned, it was a statement. After just one year, it seemed Akashi too felt the dynamic of his team change.

And for a tense few seconds only the sound of Murasakibara's munching could be heard between the three.

"You're acting like Kuroko, that's why," Midorima finally said as he turned around and looked at his team captain. "Akashi, you know I hate it when people sneak up on me."

"I do." Akashi said, and the tense atmosphere seemed to have abated somewhat.

Murasakibara tried to do his part in keeping the tension low by offering his snacks to Akashi too. And Akashi dipped his finger inside and took out a chip. "Thank you," he said curtly and Murasakibara mumbled "you're welcome" with his mouth still full of chips.

"But then again, you seem to be better at sensing Tetsuya now than you were back in middle school," Akashi pointed out and Midorima's eyes widened just slightly.

"Was that all part of your plan too?" Midorima wanted to know.

"Perhaps," Akashi said. "Though we can treat it as a …side effect." He smiled a little and looked at the basketball that lay motionless on the court floor. "Just imagine the possibilities if all of us could sense Kuroko fully on court."

"That was your plan all along then?"

Akash turned to Midorima, his smile still on his lips. "Just that? Of course not. If that was my only purpose then I should have just kicked Tetsuya out and kept all of you for Teiko."

Murasakibara was still silent as he listened. He was munching on his chips and looked disinterested in the conversation but the serious look in his eyes said otherwise.

"I had specific instructions for all of you didn't I?" Akashi asked softly. "And you know I never make any move on a whim." He smiled even wider and dusted the crumbs off his hand just as Aomine Kuroko and Kise entered the gym.

Midorima's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're telling me, that by calling us all back, right now at this moment, that we have surpassed our weaknesses?"

"I have confidence in my team," was all Akashi said as he took the ball on the floor and sent it flying towards Aomine, who caught it with one hand. "If you don't have the same confidence I do, then why don't we try it out?'

"Sounds like a practice game to me captain," Aomine grinned as they walked over. He, Kise, and Kuroko were just making their way into the gym. "Which team are we crushing this time?"

Kuroko had to hide the cringe he made when he heard that tone in Aomine's voice. He didn't like how… sadistic that tone sounded. Aomine was back, fully enjoying basketball and he was looking forward to crushing those teams one by one like he did back in middle school. That cringe did not go unnoticed by a certain redhead though.

"Are you scared Tetsuya?"

Kuroko shook his head as Akashi asked that question, making Aomine look at his partner with a light frown. "What's wrong Tetsu?"

"Nothing," Kuroko insisted as he took the ball from Aomine's hands. "Let's just play."

Aomine's frown deepened and he grabbed at Kuroko's arm. "It's not nothing."

"It is," Kuroko insisted and pulled his arm from Aomine's hold.

Aomine's frown just deepened some more and he once again reached for Kuroko but Akashi's hand on his forearm stilled his movement instantly. "He just needs time," Akashi said softly, his words meant for Aomine but his eyes focused on Kuroko.

"Che… he used to tell me everythin'," Aomine grumbled as he took a step back. He sounded like a best friend scorned or something, and it made Kise look at him worriedly.

"Akashicchi is right, he just needs time," Kise assured Aomine and Aomine sighed.

"Alright alright, stop ganging up on me already," Aomine sighed as he turned back to look at Akashi. "So which team?"

"No one, we're not having any practice games until the official opening of the Spring Games," Akashi said, making Aomine groan.

"But I'm itching for a game!" Aomine complained.

Kuroko's ear perked up a little, something that only Akashi noticed. They were not playing against anyone. And if Akashi were to bet on it, poker faced Midorima was also feeling the same relief that Kuroko was. They were so easy to read in the eyes of the Emperor.

"I know you are," Akashi said softly as Kuroko came back to join them. "We'll have two on threes for now, get everyone used to everyone else's rhythm."

With a wave of his hand, he had split the team in half, Midorima Aomine and Kuroko on one side, Kise and Murasakibara on the other side.

"Not fair, these two will just hog the ball," Midorima sighed at Akashi as he pointed at Aomine and Kuroko. "They always do, and Kuroko always just passes to Aomine."

"You sound jealous Midorimacchi…."

"Shut up Kise," Midorima grumbled as he fixed his glasses.

Akashi had already started walking away. For despite their hesitation and refusal of the current situation, they all knew better than to question him. They will cooperate, there was no other choice. That was how it worked and that is how it will always be for this team.

There was no tip off. Kuroko handed the ball to Aomine as Akashi blew on the whistle. Aomine's grin was back in full force, the grin that Kuroko knew so well. He loved playing basketball really, and again…that smile just reminded him of Kagami and he felt a familiar twitch in his heart.

"Oi concentrate on the game, think of him later," Aomine's voice snapped Kuroko out of his thoughts. And it seemed he knew perfectly well what, no, who Kuroko was thinking about at that very moment. Aomine had not dashed off, he was dribbling the ball beside Kuroko as he spoke.

Kuroko blushed a bit when hw realized that Aomine was pulling back just to make sure that Kuroko's head was in the game and nowhere else. "Yes…" he said softly. "Don't worry about me."

"Good, I don't want my partner daydreaming while we play," Aomine smirked, lifting his hand up to bump fists with Kuroko.

Kuroko returned it and the 6th man of the Teiko team focused his attention on the game. Kagami would always linger in his mind, but for now, he had a game to play.

Aomine dribbled the ball past the center line and he grinned when he saw the serious look on Kise's face as he came to block him. "Why so serious Ryota?" he grinned, teasingly as he took a step back and dribbled the ball between his legs.

"If I'm not serious, that would be an insult to you," Kise replied easily as he lowered his upper torso so he could guard Aomine better.

"True," Aomine grinned. "But I'm not the one you should be guarding." And with a quick sidestep, and a fake, he managed to send the ball towards Kuroko. Kise's eyes widened as the ball was passed. There was no doubt though, that it would be passed to Kuroko and the shadow would pass it back to his light. He just had to make sure he never lost sight of Aomine.

But in an instant, Kuroko made a decision, one that had Aomine grinning and Kise cursing, and one very dumbfounded Midorima found the ball in his hands.

Midorima jumped, made a three point shot. It won't go in, he was sure of it. Why had Kuroko passed the ball to him? Even from afar, he could see the hulking form of Murasakibara, tall and imposing. No his ball would not go in, why hadn't Kuroko passed back to Aomine who had a better chance of breaking through Murasakibara's impenetrable defense?

And boy, did Kuroko's pass hurt. He would have to talk to Kuroko later on.

Midorima blinked as he came down from his three point shot, looking down at his hands. They were shaking from the force of Kuroko's pass, but….he had taken a pass from Kuroko. Something he had never done before. He looked up at Kuroko who had stopped just by his side. "I took your pass…" Midorima said softly.

"Hai," Kuroko nodded as he ignored the play that Aomine made behind them. He had taken Midorima's ball before it reached the net and sank it down in a two handed dunk, breaking Murasakibara's defense with an alley oop. Kuroko trusted Aomine to deliver and he didn't need to see it to know.

"But I never caught any of your passes before."

"But now you can," Kuroko smiled as he nodded at Midorima. "I think all of you can take my passes now."

"Oi…you didn't even see my dunk," Aomine grumbled as he jogged up to Kuroko and Midorima. "Nice pass Midorima."

"That wasn't meant to be a pass…."

"I know, but it was nice nonetheless," Aomine grinned. "We make a pretty good team, all of us. Akashi doesn't need to say what we learned during our one year apart, but we all turned better," he assured Midorima before turning back to Kuroko and bickering why Kuroko ignored his big opening score.

Midorima looked down at his hands again and they were still trembling from the impact of Kuroko's pass. Then he looked up, meeting Akashi's eyes even if the other was on the sidelines.

There was a knowing look in the other boy's eyes. He knew. This was what he had meant. They had all changed, not only improving on their personal weaknesses, but also changing their individual play styles.

"We have a lot to work on here…" Midorima sighed as he looked at Kuroko and Aomine still bickering, then his eyes went to look at Kise and Murasakibara discussing plays. "But the potential of this all…"

"Overwhelming isn't it?" Akashi asked as he walked up to Midorima.

"I didn't expect our play styles to change as well…"

Akashi crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the other four that remained on court. "You must have seen it too. We were invincible, no one could match up to us. But our plays were limited, the various plays I envisioned for this team was limited to the individualistic play styles everyone had."

"You know that if you just told us, we would have changed it."

Akashi shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. That would have made the play forced, and that would ultimately limit our potential as a team. It was something every one of you had to find out on your own. Back then Tetsuya was the only one who knew how to work with a team."

"So we owe it all to Kuroko?"

"Somehow, yes." Akashi smiled at Midorima and nodded. "He's the shadow that keeps Teiko's light bright. Daiki isn't the only one who relies on him."

…

"Here you go," Aomine said as he tossed the can of pocari to Kuroko.

"Sankyuu," Kuroko caught the can without even needing to look at it. He was tired, and was sweating profusely from practice. Akashi knew how to push them all to their limit and Kuroko had forgotten how it was to be pushed to his limit like this. Akashi's training regimen was focused on them individually. It was different for every one of them. He would let them go against each other but would give them specific instructions on what they could and couldn't do.

It wasn't as strenuous as running for kilometers. But when going against someone and you were restricted to doing only certain things, it was totally draining.

"Your shooting percentage has gone up," Aomine said softly, to encourage the panting Kuroko. Even he had never seen Kuroko THIS tired, even with Akashi's regimen.

"How high is it now?" Kuroko asked.

"8 of 10, soon that's gonna be 9 if you follow what Akashi says."

Kuroko threw the now empty can towards Aomine who caught it wth a grin. "What?" Aomine asked, feigning hurt even if he was grinning like a kid.

"I. will. Die. If Akashi continues making YOU guard me of all people," Kuroko said, mentioning the first three words pointedly. "And my specialty is passing, not shooting," he said with a small pout.

"You should believe in yourself a bit more you know," Aomine said, laughing as he patted Kuroko's back. "You specialized in passing before because your shooting skills weren't developed yet. But now, it's developed, you should continue making it better. Maybe Midorima could help you develop a long range shot?"

"You know we don't get along well?"

Aomine laughed again and ruffled Kuroko's hair. "You made me teach you to shoot, something you never asked me before, what makes Midorima any different? And during the earlier game, you two worked well together too…Maybe you just don't' want to ask? You have your own pride too you know," he teased Kuroko.

Kuroko sighed and shook his head. "But Midorima and I really don't get along…we have totally different ideas when it comes to basketball."

"Didn't we have different takes on bastketball too?" Aomine asked as he crouched down and took another can to drink for himself.

"We do, but we manage. We're too different that we don't clash." Kuroko sighed and looked at Aomine. "But if you say so, I can try asking Midorima if he has some pointers for me too."

"Good," Aomine grinned. "You're a force to be reckoned with you know? You have the potential to become better than all of us someday."

"Stop making stuff up," Kuroko pouted again. "I'll never be better than you or the others. You especially."

Aomine wrapped his arm around his partner and pulled him close. "You're the only person I know who has pride yet has no self confidence in his own skills, you know that?"

"You tell me that every time…"

"Because it's true," Aomine sighed as he saw Akashi and Midorima walk towards the vending machine where he and Kuroko were. "Great timing," he said as he raised his arm, waving it. "Akashi! Midorima!" he called to them and he could see Akashi's attention turn to him and Kuroko. Midorima was as poker faced as ever, regarding them both with steady eyes.

"What do you want Daiki?" Akashi asked, as he and Midorima walked towards where Aomine and Kuroko were seated.

Aomine grinned at him and Kuroko tried to disappear behind Aomine as much as he could. He really didn't want to ask Midorima for advise, they weren't on the best of terms after all.

"I wanted to ask Midorima if he has any suggestions for Kuroko's shooting? Maybe we can stretch his shooting range with Midorima's help."

Akashi peeked behind Aomine and raised his eyebrow. "Tetsuya doesn't seem ecstatic about it…." he noted.

"If you want to learn then come," Midorima suddenly said, much to Akashi and Aomine's amusement and Kuroko's shock. Midorima was calling him to practice? This has never happened before, because Midorima refused to teach anyone during their middle school days.

Midorima grabbed some Pocari for himself and then turned on his heel to walk, already assuming that Kuroko was following behind him.

But Kuroko seemed to be rooted in place, so Aomine gave Kuroko's back a not so gentle nudge that forced the shorter male to stumble forwards. "Aomine!" Kuroko cried out in surprise as he was forced forward, making him face plant into the pavement.

Aomine just laughed and raised his arms in mock surrender and Kuroko followed after Midorima with a glare towards Aomine that even had Aomine Daiki shivering a bit.

"You don't mind having Shintarou teach your shadow?"

Aomine raised an eyebrow as he was asked that question and he turned to Akashi, shrugging. "Of course not. You assigned him to me when he was first put into the first bracket during Middle school and not once has he asked me to teach him anything. I'm happy that his pride has lowered down a little bit for him to ask me for help with his shooting."

"And now he's asking Shintarou."

"He doesn't want Midorima to teach him, I needed to give him an extra push," Aomine corrected Akashi.

"You really don't mind?"

"I pushed him, I wouldn't if I minded right?" Aomine chuckled as he got up and smirked at Akashi. "Tetsu's potential is way above ours, he has a natural gift that we could only dream of possessing. If I hold him back so he will continue to be my shadow, that's just me being selfish."

"But isn't that what you are?"

"Akashi…. You're mean," Aomine grumbled. "I'm not THAT selfish you know. Besides, you know how important Tetsu is to me, I won't let him wallow as a shadow forever."

Akashi nodded and turned to look at Midorima and Kuroko entering the courts. Everything was really changing, and the possibilities for them all was endless. And among them, Kuroko had the most potential to become even better.

…

Author's notes:

I know by now everyone sounds like a drone to whatever Queen bee Akashi wants to say but that's how I imagine the Teiko dynamics to be ^^ and Queen bee has a nice ring to it haha.

I know Aomine is VERY ooc here, but this is the Aomine I imagined during his time with the GoM in Middle school. I imagine him to be fun, supportive, and very much friendly and helpful when it comes to basketball for his team. But an absolute terror when it comes to other teams, thus he's excited to crush any new team that goes against themJ