2The ball dribbled across the gym floor as Kuroko missed another one of his passes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. His blue eyes stared blankly at the ball before reverting to the floor once more.
"Oi, Kuroko! What's up with you today? You've been missing all of the passes." Hyuga said, jogging over as he fixed his glasses.
"Huh? Oh...sumimasen, I just haven't been... feeling well... today..." the short basketball player replied in his usual monotonous voice, barely looking up.
The taller frowned and motioned Kuroko towards the benches, "I think you should stay out for the rest of practice. Maybe rest up a bit."
"H-hai…" came the shaky reply as the bluenette walked slowly towards the benches.
When he was sure the other was out of earshot, Hyuga leaned towards Kagami, "I want you to make sure he's alright. You two leave practice early, I'll tell coach that Kuroko got sick and you decided to take him home." he whispered.
Kagami nodded and grabbed his bag, helping Kuroko with his since the boy seemed to be a bit shaky on his feet. The trembling worried him, thinking maybe Kuroko really was sick and had a fever, but shook it off and led him towards the locker rooms.
Once inside, Kagami closed the door so they would have a bit more privacy, before setting their bags down on one of the benches, "Alright, spill."
Kuroko froze for a second, his shoulders tense which Kagami caught, "Hey, come on. You've been acting weird all day. We deserve to know what's wrong with you so we can help you!"
"Am I useless?"
Kagami blinked, "Huh?"
The boy bit his lip, "Am I useless...Kagami-kun?"
"Where did that come from?" the dual red-head asked, watching as Kuroko sat down next to their bags. He followed his lead.
"During the Winter Cup...I felt so weak. I could barely help you guys, and you barely needed my help. I was only able to help you guys in the last game defeat Akashi-kun's Emperor Eye and get into Direct Drive Zone. I-I….I felt so useless, Kagami-kun. Now that my misdirection is wearing out...how will I help you all? I can't do anything other than pass and do one shot, yet even that was useless in the end! What good will it do me?! What good will I do you?! There is no reason for me to be here!" the poor boy was in hysterics, gripping his gym shorts as his voice got louder and louder with each and every sentence he spoke. Tears fell softly from his eyes, staining his cheeks before a strong yet gentle hand wiped them away.
The phantom sixth man looked up, finding gentle, caring red eyes looking into his own. The owner held a soft, genuine smile on their face, wiping away tears that escaped from the baby blue eyes of his partner.
"Kuroko, you're not useless. You've helped us through so many hardships and got us through some tough times. Sure, we may have lost our way a few times, drifted apart even, but that doesn't mean we care about you any less. You've always been important to us Kuroko, and you always will be. No matter what." the ace of Seirin spoke, smiling the whole time and stroking Kuroko's cheek with his thumb.
"B-but the matches between Tōō, Yosen and Rakuzan! I just slowed everyone down! How do you call that not useless?!" the boy shouted, trying to get out of the other's strong hold on his face.
Kagami gripped the other's waist, pulling him closer as he hugged him slowly as to not scare him; like a frightened animal, he thought, "Listen, Kuroko. We all make our mistakes. You're no different, whether you like it or not." the bluenette's eyes widened. "I've made mistakes in the past, Hyuga's made mistakes in the past, Izuki's made mistakes in the past, Koganei's made mistakes in the past. Everyone has made mistakes some point in their life. Hell, even coach and the Generation of Miracles have made mistakes before. You're no different."
"K-kagami-kun…"
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is," he tilted the other's face upwards, looking straight into his eyes. "Just because you make mistakes in life, just because you mess up, doesn't mean you're useless. We need you Kuroko. This team - us - wouldn't be alive without you on our team and by our side."
Kuroko watched the smile on his light's face grow bigger, bringing fresh tears to his eyes as he hugged Kagami tightly, sobbing into his chest mumbling a string of muffled 'thank you's' and 'im sorry.'
Kagami patted his head lightly, "You've got nothing to be sorry about Kuroko. It's not your fault."
After a few minutes the sobbing turned to quiet sniffles as Kuroko looked up at Kagami, wiping away tears, "Kagami-kun, can we get something to eat at Maji Burger?"
The redhead smiled, "Yeah Kuroko, we can."
~*Omake*~
"Aww, that was so sweet of you Kagami-kun~ And very poetic too."
"YOU WERE LISTENING THE WHOLE TIME?!"
Hey guys! I hope you liked my very first Kuroko no Basuke fanfic! It's my first attempt at writing it so I hope it isn't too crappy! (It's literally 3 in the morning as I'm writing this ._.)
Anyways~ I hope you all enjoyed and be on the lookout for more upcoming KnB as well as Assassination Classroom fanfics in the future~
R&R!
