Kise was never one to mope around too much. It just wasn't his style. Whenever life kicked him hard, he always made sure to bounce back. It was simply the best way to solve your problems, is what he thought.
This time was different, though. This time, he couldn't just bounce back. Not after suffering his first defeat in a long time. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. He could still remember that moment, that single moment that marked his loss. It just kept flashing through his head over and over again. It had already been two days since the practice match, but that feeling wouldn't go away.
'Man, this is just a pain.'
Not even immersing himself in practice had changed his mood. Kise was really hoping that this wasn't permanent. He had a championship to win. Even if Kurokocchi had turned him down and consequently defeated him, Kise hadn't lost sight of that goal. He had a promise to keep with the others too, after all.
'There's also Kagamicchi to worry about now too.'
Seriously, things had gotten really complicated lately, hadn't they? At least it kept things interesting. Kise only wished he was in a better mood soon.
With all these thoughts flooding through his head, it was no surprise that Kise walked aimlessly on his way home after practice. He was only able to snap back to reality when he noticed that he was by the same street court he and Kuroko had spoken at just days prior. It was darker than that day, and there was no one playing street basketball this time. No jerkwads either.
Yes, jerkwads.
But there was one person playing basketball all by his lonesome. The person was also a blond, just like Kise, but his hair was messy and spiky. He was also shorter than Kise by a few inches. If Kise had to guess, he would say this blond was about Kuroko's height, maybe a bit taller. He also had some very distinct markings on his cheek that gave him a very animalistic appearance.
His moves drove that animal-like image home, as Kise bore witness to some very quick and agile movements from the unknown blond. The orange hoodie he wore did nothing to stop the teen from moving rather swiftly through the court, almost like he was playing an entire game in his head.
If Kise was being completely honest, it was like he was watching Aomine play. It just had that unorthodox feel to it.
It made Kise want to play basketball, a drive which he had lost for the past two days.
Dropping his bag by the entrance to the court, Kise walked up to the stranger while trying to contain his eagerness to play the guy.
"Hey there. You got some pretty interesting moves."
The unknown blond stopped mid-shot and turned to Kise, his face somewhat blank.
"Ah." The blond lowered his arms but kept his hold on the ball. "Thanks. I was just doing some practice runs. I saw some guys playing earlier, and I got curious."
"You mean you don't play for a team?"
"No, I don't. This is my first time holding a basketball too. The guys from earlier must have forgotten it. That's why I was sorta curious."
Kise had to stop himself from gaping at his fellow blond. "This is your first time playing, and you're already that good!?"
"Am I?" the blond chuckled somewhat sheepishly. "I have no reference for this kind of stuff. I was just doing what felt natural."
Kise eyed him before making up his mind. He took off his uniform jacket and tie and tossed them next to his bag.
"What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Kise turned to face the newcomer. "I want to face you in a one-on-one. See how good you really are."
"Well, I don't mind, but…...I really don't know any of the rules of this game."
Just that you had to get the ball in the basket.
"No worries. This isn't a legal match. It's just between us."
Kise was really interested to see if his suspicions were true, so there was no way he was going to let this moment pass.
The other blond just shrugged. "Alright then."
The two got into position, with Kise on defense and his new opponent with the ball. Kise's uniform wasn't the best thing to be wearing for something like this, but he wasn't going to let that slow him down.
The two teens eyed one another as the whiskered blond dribbled the ball in a calm manner. It was rather fitting, as it signified the calm before the storm as it were.
Then, it happened. Kise couldn't really describe with proper words what happened, just that the whiskered blond was suddenly on the move. It was almost like his whole body had been trained for speed. He blitzed right past Kise, who was unable to react until a second later. While that might have been bad for most players, Kise wasn't most players. He was still able to catch up to the whiskered blond, stopping him from going straight to the basket. This didn't deter the blond for too long, though, as less than a second later he was cutting back, dribbling the ball to his other hand to move in the opposite direction. Kise reacted accordingly and followed, sticking close to the blond. He wasn't going to let this guy score that easily.
It was exactly what the blond had wanted.
He did another cut, stepping back for the second time and showing off his quick reaction time in the process. Kise made to follow but found that he was slower to react this time. At least, a lot slower than the shorter blond. It showed Kise exactly what the blond had been going for, and that was to use his faster react time to put some distance between the two of them. It wasn't much, but it gave him the opening he needed to go for the point and get the dunk in.
Kise's eyes shined in admiration. "Holy…..that was amazing! You totally got past me, just like that!"
A part of him was annoyed at this, but another part of him was extremely excited. This guy…..he was good. He was the real deal. His movements were even better than Kagami's! To top it all of, his moves weren't that complex either. It was a pretty straightforward drive, but his speed was more than enough to make it work.
The other blond rubbed the back of his head. "Hahaha, well thanks. My physical prowess is the one thing I can take comfort in."
Physical prowess? That was an odd way to put it. Kise didn't dwell on that for long, though, as he placed his arm over the blond's shoulder.
"You said you didn't play for a team, right?"
Cue eyebrow raise. "Yeah. My school doesn't have one."
"Heh, then how would you like to come over to Kaijō High and change that?"
"What-? Are you offering me a spot on your team or something?"
"Of course! You're seriously good. The least you could do is give it a shot, right?"
"You say that, but…..."
"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!" Kise went for his stuff before asking him, "What's your name by the way?"
"Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
"Uzumaki, huh?" Kise nodded. "Uzumakicchi."
Naruto sweatdropped. "Uzumaki…..cchi?"
"Anyway, you totally need to come!" Kise pointed at him and winked. "We hold practice after school tomorrow. I'll pick you up if I have to. That's how determined I am."
"You don't have to go that far." Naruto sighed and finally relented. "If you're that serious about it, then fine. It's not like I have anything else going on in the afternoons."
Kise smirked. "Alright, it's decided then! A promise between you and me."
"Yeah, a promise….."
Naruto wasn't as enthusiastic, but whatever. He was still going to give this a shot, if only to see what came of it.
That, and he had promised.
The coach for the Kaijō High basketball team had noticed something of an oddity in his star player ever since the practice match with Seirin. He was confident his player could bounce back up from the defeat and hand Seirin a loss in the upcoming tournament. What he hadn't expected was for Kise to be all bubbly and excited the next day.
"Do I need to ask what's wrong with him?"
The team had gathered in the gym to start their practice for the day, including the first string. Kasamatsu, the captain, just shook his head.
"Your guess is as good as mine, coach. He's been talking nonsense all day."
"Ah!" Moriyama, the woman-finder expert, gasped in realization. "He must have found a girl so cute, that his brain has gone haywire!"
"At least take this seriously, dumbass!"
"The e(x)citement in Kise is (a)dmirable I s(a)y!" Hayakawa, the team's rebound guy, said with equal excitement.
The others still couldn't really understand him that much, but that was neither here nor there.
The coach sighed. "Whatever. As long as he's good to practice, then-"
"Wait a second, coach." Kise finally returned from his lala land to face his team. "Someone special is going to be joining us for practice today."
"Huh?" Kasamatsu frowned. "What are you talking about?"
If he invited one of his fangirls here, there would be hell to pay.
Kise puffed out his chest, looking proud. "I actually scouted someone for the team yesterday."
His proud look shattered as Kasamatsu delivered a swift kick to his back, knocking him down to the floor.
"What kind of bullshit is that!?"
Kobori, their final first string member and the straight man in their comedy routines, chuckled in light amusement. "I think you might break him if you hit him that hard."
That didn't matter right now!
The coach crossed his arms. "Kise, what are you talking about?"
But before the part-time model could explain, the doors to the gym were opened, and another certain blond took his first steps in. He was dressed in his school uniform, which consisted of a black blazer and pants, with an orange t-shirt underneath. If Kise had been paying attention, he would have realized his new friend had a certain affinity with the color orange.
"There he is! This is the guy I was talking to you about, coach!"
Just talking about is more like it.
Nevertheless, the coach and the rest of the first-string studied the blond as Kise started to drag him toward them.
"Hmm." Nakamura, who had been part of the first string before Kise had joined, didn't exactly look all that impressed by the newcomer. "Is Kise sure about this guy?"
Kasamatsu was thinking along the same lines too. What could this guy do that had impressed Kise so much to bring him here?
The coach studied Naruto for a few moments longer. "You say you want to play for this team?"
It was more like Kise had dragged him here, but Naruto wasn't about to say that.
"He'll totally blow you away, coach!" And Kise was still excited about the whole thing. Well, that was Kise. Always brimming with excitement when it came to basketball.
The coach still wasn't buying it. In his mind, this was a waste of time. But if he could get his ace more motivated, then so be it.
"Alright, fine. We'll test him. Have him-"
"Two-on-four."
The coach paused, as did the others. "Huh?"
Kise grinned. "Me and Uzumakicchi against the others. That should prove to you what I'm talking about, right?"
Moriyama twitched a little. "It feels like we're being underestimated here."
Kasamatsu had a tic mark over his head. "Yeah, really seems like it. These first-years have quite the ego on them, huh?"
"I-It's not like that, captain!" Kise said while trying to placate the older teen. "It's just the best way to show you what I mean!"
Naruto stood back, not really caring all that much about what was decided. He had no stake in this.
Kasamatsu had to sigh and give Naruto one final glance. "If you say so. Just don't end up regretting it later."
Kise started to grin again.
"Don't worry, captain. I won't."
The others in the team were whispering among themselves as they watched how the first string got themselves ready for another practice match, only this one was more bizarre than the last one.
Naruto, who had come prepared and was now in slacks and a t-shirt, stood on one side of the court with Kise while the rest of the first string stood on the other side.
"Is this really fair?" Naruto wondered. "Or does this happen all the time in basketball?"
"I don't think it would ever happen in a real match." Kise thought about it and then shrugged. "But this is just for practice, so we can be more loose with the rules."
Is that so? That's good to know.
The coach stood on the sidelines, watching everything with a keen eye. He still didn't buy that this Uzumaki Naruto person was anything special, but it was still worth keeping an eye for. If the Seirin match had taught him anything, it was to be more cautious of the unexpected.
The ball was tossed over to Kise and Naruto, the former grabbing it.
The four in the first string got into defensive positions as Naruto and Kise started to move forward. It was Kasamatsu who went for Kise first, applying pressure to the ace of the team.
Kise was very much having fun. "I think this is the first time I'm really going out against you, captain."
"Shut up already and play." Kasamatsu just wanted to see what Kise saw in this new guy.
Kise didn't reply, choosing instead to let Naruto's skills speak for the blond.
Speaking of the Uzumaki, he was ever so slowly moving closer to the basket as Hayakawa marked him. Moriyama and Kobori were underneath the post, looking ready for anything.
It came for them quickly as Kise managed to pull off a fake against their captain, who was right on Kise's heel. He wasn't going to let Kise have a chance to score a shot. Except that wasn't Kise's intention at all.
The model threw a pass to Naruto right before he got past the three point line. Naruto caught the ball with ease, and Hayakawa glared at him.
"Br(i)ng it! I won't (l)et you g(e)t past me!"
Naruto didn't really understand the slur in his speech, but he decided to ignore it in favor of driving past the taller teen.
It was here that the coach started to see the first glimpse of what Kise was talking about, for Naruto was able to dribble past Hayakawa before the brown-haired teen knew what was happening.
'That speed…..he's even faster than Kise…...!'
Having gotten past Hayakawa, two more obstacles stood in between Naruto and the basket: Moriyama and Kobori. The two teens were shocked by Naruto's speed, but that wasn't going to stop them from defending the hoop.
Naruto didn't mind this. It was the first time he was facing opposition like this, and he welcomed it. It had been a while since he had been able to have this much fun.
The Uzumaki went for the jump straight away, surprising everyone else further.
'A lane-up!?' If the coach had been able to keep the shock from his face before, he couldn't do it now.
Moriyama and Kobori jumped together as they made to block the shot. Except the opposite happened, with Naruto dunking the shot right through them.
The two defenders were shocked further by this as they came falling down to the floor of the court, both on their asses and gaping up at the blond who had been able to score right through them.
"W-What the hell?" Kasamatsu was just as surprised. This Uzumaki Naruto wasn't tall, nor did he look to have the muscles of someone who could do something like this. And yet, it had just happened. He had made a dunk right through two defenders and made it look easy.
Again, what the hell?
Even Kise felt more surprise rush him. He knew Naruto had speed, but power too?
What a deadly combo.
Naruto looked at the two fallen boys and lent them a hand each, his face apologetic.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to put in that much strength. Handling the ball is still a bit difficult for me."
He wasn't known for restraint, after all.
Kobori and Moriyama accepted the gesture.
"Don't worry about it," Kobori said, smiling a bit. "You're good. Looks like we were the ones underestimating you."
Moriyama was on the same boat. "Yeah, really surprised us there."
"Heh, it's all good. I don't exactly radiate power."
Not anymore.
Kise gave Kasamatsu a smirk. "See? Didn't I tell you he was good?"
Even if he was right, the way he said it still annoyed Kasamatsu.
The coach was more focused on this interesting turn of events for them, silently wondering if this was a sign from the gods of what's to come.
'No, I'm getting ahead of myself. There is still a lot do before that.'
As he thought this, the rest of the team started to gather around Naruto, all of them congratulating him. Kise was at the very center of this, slinging his arm around the Uzumaki again and laughing.
It was a chance meeting, but one that would have very strong implications for the future.
I honestly did this on a whim. I've had this idea for a while, and I finally decided to put it on paper. Or computer. I have no idea if I'll continue it or not. I guess if enough people like it, I will.
I didn't put any details of Naruto's life in this verse since I didn't think there was any need. This is only the prologue, which I don't even know if I'll continue. So yeah. I had no real reason to add further details.
Hopefully I got the terminology right.
Anyway, thoughts are appreciated.