He was here again.
Where was "here"?
He didn't know. He never knew. It was just dark and oppressive.
He hated everything about it. He never had a choice, however, about coming here. It was always random and with different durations. The only constant was his eventual return.
It was weird, though. He hadn't been in here for months. Not since he started playing basketball. Since he met Kise.
He really hated this place. It was always the source of his nightmares. No matter how many times he faced them, he could never figure them out. What it all meant. It was just always these weird shadows, surrounding him. Like they were trying to talk to him, but he could never hear their voices. No matter how hard they tried, how fervently they seemed to scream, or how much he wanted to hear them.
Their voices never reached him.
He told Yuki about it once, about these nightmares. Since then, she always had a pretty good idea of when he had them. For the most part. He never told her that they were more common than he let on, though.
Still, as much as he hated this place, he realized things were different this time around. Don't misunderstand. He'd rather not be in here at all, but unlike previous times there were no shadows. There was no one trying to speak to him.
He was all alone. Just him and the darkness.
Honestly, he didn't know whether this was an improvement or not. True, he wasn't being surrounded by those creepy shadows, but the loneliness wasn't all that better either.
He really hated being alone.
Was something else going to happen? Were his nightmares going to take on a new form and haunt him even more?
He didn't exactly believe in any gods, but he still prayed for a miracle.
Except there wasn't one. Not in the conventional sense anyway.
For you see, something did happen. He just didn't know what it was.
At first, he thought the shadows were coming back just like they always did. Except there was only one, and it wasn't exactly a shadow. No. He could see someone, just not clearly. The person was hazy, almost see-through. Nevertheless, he still tried to make out the figure's appearance. He tried, but he failed.
He only saw…..a set of blue eyes?
Wait. Was this…?
"Would you look at that. You're not as gloomy as before. Did something good happen? Ah, what am I saying. Of course something good happened. No, more like spectacular."
That voice. It was distorted, but also…..familiar. What was this?
He didn't understand any of it.
"You're doing better than before, but it doesn't seem like we can still speak to one another."
What?
"Maybe that's for the best. You're leading a life of your own now. A new family. New friends. New bonds."
What?
"Hmm. What did they call it? Oh, yeah. Basketball, was it? It's a weird thing. You were able to find happiness through something like that. But I guess that's where we're really similar. We like the challenge, no matter where we go."
Speak more clearly!
"Perhaps you don't need me at all anymore. It might just be better to leave things as they are."
No!
"But I guess you wouldn't be satisfied with that. This was only supposed to be temporary until our mind settled, but we can keep going like this. For now. There might just be a new possibility there somewhere."
This wasn't an answer. This was…..frustration. But there was also hope mixed in there?
"Keep having fun, won't you? I'm enjoying this too."
This wasn't like before. He was still in the darkness. He still hated this place.
But for once, he was able to leave with a feeling of comfort.
How very unusual.
It was a bright new day, and Naruto wanted nothing more than to sleep it away. He had made a drastic transition from doing nothing all day to being ridiculously active. It wasn't good for his health. Surely what he needed was to return to his roots and be a lazy bum all day.
Yep, that's what he wanted. Peace and quiet. Not a single disturbance in his sanctuary.
Of course, that's not what he got.
"You can stop looking at me like that, Uzumakicchi. My feelings will be hurt otherwise."
Yes. What a shame that would be.
"Ah! I can totally tell what you're thinking! Even your thoughts are totally sarcastic!"
Of course they were.
"Then why are you here? If you didn't notice, we only have a week off. I was really looking forward to that."
It was almost a familiar scene. Kise had invited himself over to Naruto's house again, and the two boys found themselves in the kitchen. The only missing piece was Yuki.
It had been a couple of days since the party with the Generation of Miracles, and things were starting to calm down now that the Inter-High had finally come to a close.
It was still early in the day, and Naruto was cooking a late breakfast to fill himself up. It wasn't anything grand. Just some scrambled eggs and toast. He wasn't as good of a cook as Yuki was unfortunately. Still, he had learned a few things over the past several months. If he was being honest, he wanted to expand his culinary skills even further in the future. He found cooking to be very relaxing. He also couldn't always rely on Yuki, now could he.
…...wait, where was he again?
Oh yeah, a certain annoying model was currently bugging him.
Kise waved him off. "You can't fool me, Uzumakicchi. I know you're as bored as I am."
Not really. He had only just woken up. Seriously, Naruto would have stayed all day in bed if he had his way. If only Kise hadn't blasted his phone with all those texts and calls first thing in the morning.
'I should have just shut the damn thing off.'
But nope. He had actually answered, and here they were.
He had gotten soft.
They were now officially in the middle of their summer vacation. Well, what was left of it anyway. As said earlier, the Inter-High was fully behind them now. Well, Naruto's frustration with their loss was still present, but that was beside the point. And while that challenge may have concluded, there was still more to look forward to.
Naruto still wanted to improve. He knew he could be better. He couldn't let himself become complacent. That said, the coach gave them some time off before they started practicing again. Rest was always important, and having some free time to enjoy their summer vacation would do everyone some good.
Or so he said.
That's why Naruto had been looking forward to sleeping in today, not waking up at this hour. Especially since Yuki wouldn't have nagged him for it.
"Jeez. You look miserable for someone in the prime of their life. Shouldn't you be planning a lovey summer date with Sugawaracchi? There are some things you can only enjoy in the summer!"
"I feel like you're misunderstanding something there." Naruto didn't have the energy to correct him, though. "Besides, if that's what you thought I was doing, why come bothering me anyway?"
"I thought she would need some help persuading you. You are rather stubborn."
Naruto twitched a little at this, but he pushed past it. It wasn't worth it.
"Well, you're way off. Yuki is out with her friends today."
If he wanted to be technical with it, Naruto would say he had given her the "day off." But as previously mentioned, he really didn't think of her as his maid. So when she told him about her plans for today, Naruto had just told her to have fun. She hadn't seen her friends in a few months now. She had been spending all her time with the basketball club, after all. He was sure the girl was looking forward to it. She more than deserved it.
Kise looked disappointed. "You're really not the romantic type are you, Uzumakicchi?"
Naruto felt like he should be insulted right about now.
"But that does make things easier!" Kise flashed him a grin. "I'm sure Sugawaracchi is going to be disappointed that she's going to miss this, but it can't be helped I guess."
What?
Fishing out a plate for his eggs and toast, Naruto said, "I knew you had an ulterior motive."
There was no way the model had come here for a simple visit.
Kise pouted. "Have more faith in me."
No.
And dammit, man, don't pout like that. It was disturbing.
"So? What do you want?"
"Nu-uh. It's what the public wants!"
What was he going on about now?
As Naruto sat down with his plate now full, Kise placed a certain magazine in between them. Naruto was able to recognize it almost instantly, a fact he was almost too ashamed to admit.
It was the magazine that Kise was currently working under, or something like that. Or was it the magazine his agency had a contract with?
'Ugh, who cares.'
It was too troublesome either way. And the only reason Naruto knew any of this was because his fellow blond had told him about it. Not to brag, mind you. Kise just had a motormouth like that.
"Why are you showing me this?"
Kise flipped to one of the pages. "Read and find out for yourself."
Naruto debated whether he should just ignore the whole thing and focus on his meal, but his curiosity got the better of him. So pushing his plate aside for now, he picked up the magazine and started to read the page Kise had flipped to.
It didn't take him long to finish. And as he read more and more of it, the darker his face got.
By the end of it, he dropped the magazine on the table and turned back to his food. Kise awaited eagerly for his response, his eyes brimming with hope and excitement. This was the moment of truth!
Naruto just had one thing to say as he took his first bite of his breakfast.
"No."
Kise almost screamed.
"What! Why not? This is going to be the main event for my album, you know!"
It was?
"What does that have to do with me?"
"You just read the article!"
Oh yeah.
Naruto's face was deadpanned. "How long have you been planning this?"
Kise looked away, seemingly doing his damnedest to appear innocent. It wasn't working.
"I don't know what you mean by 'planning.' I'm not a mastermind or anything! I just simply brought it up one day, and they thought it was a good idea. They said you had a 'rugged charm,' which would go well with my pristine looks. And I totally agree!"
Was that seriously supposed to make him agree to this? Wait, that wasn't the important part.
"You showed them a picture of me?"
"Well, I kind of had to!" Kise defended himself. "If you want the whole truth, this was going to be about the two best friends who, against all odds, won the Inter-High together! Defeating all kinds of nasty opponents and rising to the top! Beautiful, right? That was my plan anyway, but I guess getting to second place will have to do!"
Naruto didn't look any more excited than before.
"My answer is still no."
"Come on, Uzumakicchi! You gotta!" Kise almost leapt across the table. The only reason he didn't was because Naruto raised his hand to smack him just as he was about to jump and kept him in place. "They said it would totally sell! You totally have that 'bad boy' look down, you know!"
Again. Was that supposed to make him change his mind? And what the heck did he mean by "bad boy"?
"You know I'm right." Grinning, Kise stepped back and raised his hands to either side of Naruto's face. He looked like he was admiring a piece of art or something. Creepy.
"Isn't that how you got Sugawaracchi? Girls like her always go for the bad boy type. Makes them feel like they're living on the edge. It totally gives them an escape from their strict life."
Naruto didn't stop eating. "Yuki would slap you if she heard you say that about her."
"Only because I'm right."
Riiiiiiiight.
"So what do you say? You'll totally do this photoshoot with me, right?"
Wait, wait. He couldn't be serious. That was Kise's way of trying to convince him? Seriously?
This guy was an idiot. Well, not like Naruto didn't already know that.
"Give me one good reason why I should go along with your stupid idea."
Kise beamed. That was easy!
"Because we're best friends!"
Duh!
Naruto was already walking away.
"You can show yourself out."
This time, Kise did leap towards him.
"Uzumakicchi! You can't abandon me in my hour of need!"
That sounded so gross.
"I already told them you were coming in today! My album depends on it!"
Kise was met with the dirtiest look Naruto could muster, but he still didn't back down. He was absolutely one hundred percent serious about this. It gave Naruto a headache just thinking about the whole thing.
"You're not letting this go, are you?"
What did he think?
Naruto fought back the urge to slam his head against the table.
As a wise man once said. This was going to be a drag.
While Naruto was suffering, in a different part of town Yuki was having a grand old time. How could she not? It was a beautiful day, if not a little bit too hot. But that couldn't be helped. It was still summer. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a good old smoothie. That, and the outdoor table she was sitting at was in the perfect spot for a nice breeze that blew every minute or so.
Yep, this wasn't bad at all.
"Wow, I've never been here before!"
Yuki looked at the beaming Momoi who sat next to her. It was sort of a surprise for her, to have the pink haired girl here that is. Not that it was bad. Not at all. The more the merrier!
"You're from Tokyo, right, Momoi-san?" Another voice spoke. It belonged to one of Yuki's friends from her former high school, before she and Naruto transferred over to Kaijō. Her name was Chiyo, and like Yuki she had short hair that just barely reached her shoulders. Unlike Yuki her hair was a dark brown, with a pair of soft caramel-colored eyes to match.
"I'm guessing you don't often come to Kanagawa?" This time it was the final member of their little group who spoke up. She too went to Yuki's old school. Her name was Erina. She, much like Momoi, had long hair that reached down to her back except that she kept hers tied in a ponytail. She had raven-colored hair, with dark eyes to go with it.
"I can't say I have," Momoi answered as she savored her smoothie. She got hers cherry flavored, which was her personal favorite. "And none of that '-san' nonsense. Just call me Satsuki. Any friend of Yucchan is a friend of mine."
Yuki felt a little embarrassed by this. Just like with Naruto, Momoi had taken to calling her by a personal nickname. "Yucchan." Yuki really didn't have a problem with this, and it was kind of cute. But still embarrassing.
"Oh my." Chiyo let out a dramatic sigh, acting as if she was about to collapse at any moment now. "Seems like our Yuki no longer needs us. She's all grown up now."
"Right." Erina nodded. "She got herself some big friends now. No time for humble people like us."
Yuki mumbled, "You don't have to go that far."
She really hated when they teased her like this.
"Big friends?" Momoi on the other hand was sort of confused. "I don't think I know what you mean."
Chiyo's eyebrow rose. "You don't have to be so modest, Momoi-san. We know all about you!"
Initially pouting at the "Momoi-san" part, the pink haired girl tapped her cheek as she hummed.
"You know about me…..?"
Chiyo and Erina sweatdropped a little. She really didn't know?
"You do know you were almost always in Basketball Monthly back in middle school, don't you?" Chiyo said slowly. Momoi was only a year younger than them, so they had heard all about the "beautiful female manager" from Teikō.
Well. Yuki hadn't, but she kept this to herself. She didn't want to seem rude.
It took Momoi a second longer to finally understand what they were getting at. She immediately became flustered and frantically waved her arms.
"Y-You read those articles? You know they were mostly exaggerations, right! They always make stuff up to make things more interesting!"
Funny.
"Honestly, I thought a lot of things were rumors too," Erina admitted. She then looked at Yuki. "But after seeing Uzumaki-kun and Aomine-kun play each other, I don't think they're rumors anymore."
Oh yeah. They had come to watch Naruto play, hadn't they? Yuki had sort of forgotten about that, why with the finals and everything.
"Ah, Aomine-kun is a lot more cooler than I thought." Chiyo was practically gushing now. "If I had known sooner, I would have watched more of his games. And there's also Kise-kun! He's not only athletic but also a model! I'm so jealous you got to meet them, Yuki!"
Ah. Right. Lucky.
"What do they call them again?" Erina tilted her head a little. "The Generation of Miracles…..right?"
"Yeah!" Chiyo almost jumped in excitement. "That's the one. They're definitely amazing."
"You guys….." Yuki was glad to see her friends again, but she didn't want to make Momoi uncomfortable with this kind of talk.
Momoi just shook her head with a small smile. "It's fine. You sort of get used to it after a while. After all, you're the same too. Right?"
She was?
"Ah!" Chiyo was again just barely able to contain herself as she pointed at Yuki. "Momoi-san is right! You totally kept Uzumaki-kun hidden from the rest of us!"
Hidden!?
Erina's smile was teasing. "Chiyo is right. You totally knew Uzumaki-kun was this good at basketball, didn't you? But you wanted to keep him to yourself. Devious move, Yuki."
"That's totally not what happened!"
They were just making stuff up now!
"Oh, oh!" Momoi wanted to jump in too. "You're not wrong. Just the other day, I got this cool picture of-!"
"No more!" Yuki glared at the three girls. Or tried to. Kinda hard to do when you were blushing this hard. "We don't need to talk about that. Right?"
Right.
Chiyo was loving this. "You're still so easily flustered."
Yuki focused her "glare" on her. "I thought those days were behind us."
"Nope."
Great.
"Well, it's better than before," Erina said after a moment's silence. "At least we know for sure you aren't crazy."
Crazy?
Momoi felt like she was out of the loop on this one. "What do you mean?"
Chiyo and Erina shared a look before glancing Yuki's way. It might have been months since Naruto was at their school, but they knew that this was a sensitive topic. They didn't want to say anything that was out of line.
Sensing her friends' hesitation, Yuki sighed softly. She was going to be the one to explain this one.
"Naruto-kun didn't have…..the best of reputations at our old school."
Which was putting it mildly.
At first, Momoi was surprised to hear this. But then she thought about it some more. She could confidently say that Naruto and Aomine were pretty similar, so it wasn't hard for her to see Naruto in a more…..frightening light, as it were.
"He was….kind of scary," Chiyo said after another small pause, trying to choose her words carefully. "He got into a lot of fights. Brutal ones. It was always hard to figure out where his head was at."
Erina nodded. "Everyone was scared of him. Well….our Yuki was the exception. Somehow, she was able to get close to him."
Yuki frowned. "You make it sound like I did something special."
She hadn't. She didn't think she had anyway. Their circumstances had just pushed them together.
"We're not talking about that." Chiyo sighed. "We already know about your job, Yuki. But it's not just that. There was something else going on there."
"You guys definitely had something," Erina added while nodding. "It was hard for us to admit it, since we didn't want to see you get hurt. But I guess it worked for the best."
Moping a little, Yuki picked up her smoothie with a sour look. "I think you guys are being kind of insensitive right now."
They were painting Naruto to be some kind of monster, which he wasn't. She still had no idea why everyone had reacted like that. To begin with, he had never started any of those fights. Those damn troublemakers always found him. And he was already brash to begin with, so that was a recipe for disaster.
Chiyo looked down at her hands. "You're not wrong there either. We judged him too quickly. I'm sure he hates us now."
She wouldn't fault him if he did. Neither would Erina.
Momoi didn't know what to say. It felt like the conversation had taken a turn for the worst. However, it did help her understand that Naruto and Yuki were carrying their own problems, just like she and the Generation of Miracles.
But that negative feeling disappeared when Yuki beamed.
"Don't worry. He doesn't hate you."
Of that, she was certain.
Erina eyed her friend with a wary look. "You're just saying to try and make us feel better, aren't you?"
"No." Why would she do that? "I never liked the way you two looked at him either. But I also realize Naruto-kun isn't the best when it comes to this kind of stuff." By that, she meant expressing himself. He was getting better now, and it made her happy. But back then, that wasn't the case. How did that saying go? Oh, right. Communication was a two-way street. People had judged him too quickly, but he hadn't done anything about it either.
Yuki understood why of course. At that point in his life, Naruto had practically closed his heart off to everyone but Kaga-sama. Yuki had been no different to him.
After all, their first meeting was anything but pleasant.
"You remember everything I taught you, correct?"
"Yes, father."
"It's very important that you do. You know who your charge is. Failure is not to be tolerated. Understand?"
Yuki had been hearing this constantly for the past week or so. Even now, as she followed her father through the halls of the busy hospital, she was still hearing it. Like it would make a difference at this point. If she wasn't ready now, then she never would be.
She wasn't going to say this, though. She respected her father too much for that.
"Father, I understand. Truly. I've been preparing for this my whole life, remember?"
Eiji gave her a quick glance, his face stern as usual. "Not always. I'm sure you know what I mean."
Yuki fell silent. She knew what her father was talking about. The incident that rocked the entirely family. Some believed that Kaga Michiko would never recover from it. Not that anyone could fault her for it. Losing her husband and son like that….it was enough to break just about anyone. And from what litle Yuki had seen, it had definitely broken the woman.
All that changed recently. Or so her father told her. Yuki didn't have much inside information on the subject since she wasn't close to the woman. The rest of the staff had been talking about it for the past couple of days now. The mansion was practically abuzz with rumors about what was going to happen.
Well, details aside, Yuki was once again being thrust into the role she had been preparing for ever since she was born. Only now, it was a bit different. For a while now Yuki had been getting ready to serve someone much younger than her. Michiko's biological son had been rather young, after all.
Now, it looks like her new master was going to be around her age. That was basically all the information Yuki had on him…..and that it was a he. Her father wouldn't share anything beyond that.
Imagine her surprise when her father told her to meet him at the hospital after school.
What was going on?
Eiji could hear the questions forming inside his daughter's head. She was a curious one, just like her mother.
"I know what you want to ask, and you'll know soon enough. Just….be careful. Okay?"
Be careful?
Yuki was taken aback by this. "What do you mean, father? Is there something to be worried about?"
A part of her already knew the answer to this. They were in a hospital, after all.
Eiji sighed. "It's not an easy situation to explain. Kaga-sama has been rather vague on all the details." Which was frustrating. "Just know that she has decided to adopt a boy into the family."
Yuki figured as much. The woman hadn't taken a new lover or anything and was far from pregnant. But still. Why was that worrisome? More importantly.
"Why did you wait until now to tell me that, father?"
It was terrible timing in her opinion.
Father and daughter came to a stop in front of one of the private rooms. It was not surprising. Yuki knew Michiko wouldn't spare any expense for her new son.
"I didn't want to scare you. The situation is….delicate. This is a very unique circumstance."
"I think telling me now only makes it worse."
It was making Yuki start to have doubts. Just what unique circumstance was her father referring to?
"I was trying to think of the best way to approach you with this, but I couldn't think of anything." And for that, Eiji was sorry. "There really isn't a good way to put this," Eiji said after a moment's pause, "so here it is. Apparently this boy has amnesia."
It was a bit of a wild tale, in Yuki's mind. This boy, who could only remember his name, was found in the gardens of the mansion battered and on the brink of death.
This has been several months ago. Yuki was astonished that such a fact had been kept from her. She found some consolidation in the fact that her father had only been recently told of the boy's existence, so it wasn't only her that had been slapped in the face by this revelation. Apart from the gardener and a couple of maids, who had been the ones to find the boy in the first place, no one knew that this boy was being kept here.
All by Michiko's orders.
Things were changing, however. Why? Because the boy was now awake and fully able to move. Yuki was told that physical therapy had been a slow grind, but he had gotten there. And Michiko had been there with him every step of the way.
It was touching, really. Or so Yuki thought. Eiji didn't share her opinion. To him, the boy had a dangerous aura that kept him on edge. The fact that was he was practically giving his daughter to such a person….well, let's just say he was not fully on board with this.
It was out of his control, though. Michiko had made her decision, and Eiji would follow it. It was the least he could do.
It was only after receiving this information that Yuki was allowed to step into the room. She felt it was still inconsiderate to only be told about this right before she was to meet her new boss, but there was nothing she could do about it.
What's done is done.
"-I don't see the point of this."
"The point is that you have to do it. You hear me? It's for your future!"
"That doesn't sound very convincing."
"Why do you have to be so stubborn? Are all teenagers like this? Looks like I'm going to have to be tough."
"Ugh, you don't have to say it like that."
"Don't sass me."
Well then. It looks like they walked into the middle of another conversation. It was more lighthearted than Yuki had been expecting, all things considered.
'And Kaga-sama looks so…..happy.'
The last time Yuki had seen the woman, she had been the very definition of depressed. But now…..it was the complete opposite! She was well dressed, upbeat, and jovial. Yuki felt like she was looking at a different person.
Or was it more accurate to say that she was looking at the person Michiko always was?
"Good afternoon, Kaga-sama." Eiji bowed in respect. "I apologize for our interruption."
"Don't worry about it." Michiko turned to them with a smile. "We were just finishing ourselves. Isn't that right, Naruto?"
Uzumaki Naruto. Yuki's eyes finally shifted to the boy who was to be her master from this day on. He was not what she had had been expecting. He wasn't in a hospital gown but was already dressed in regular clothing. His features were more….bombastic than she had imagined.
And were those birthmarks on his cheeks? What?
But as she finished examining his features, her eyes finally met his. And quite frankly, her heart stopped beating for a second. Not out of some "love at first sight" reaction. No.
It was a more terrifying experience.
Those eyes of his…they were dark. It was almost like she was staring at a dark ocean, devoid of any sort of life and ready to swallow her whole. It almost made her shiver. It was only her years of training that allowed her to keep her composure.
She was sure she was sweating a little, though.
But just as quickly as they were there, those petrifying eyes vanished as they switched their attention back to Michiko. Okay, they didn't vanish entirely, but Yuki did see some light enter them. It confused her at first, but it didn't take her long to understand what was going on here.
"Who is she?" Naruto's voice was dismissive, which kind of irked her. It was almost enough to make Yuki forget those scary eyes of his.
Michiko flicked him on the forehead. "Don't take that tone. You know who she is."
Oh good, she had told him about her. That made things easier.
She hoped.
"So you were serious about that." Rubbing his forehead, Naruto looked annoyed. "I'm not a little kid. I don't need someone babysitting me."
"It's a precaution." Michiko crossed her arms. "I'm not going to send you out into the world without some help. And as much as I hate to say this, I can't always be there to help you. I can't keep ignoring my other responsibilities."
Had she been continuing to neglect the company to focus on Naruto? This too wouldn't surprise Yuki, but it wasn't a good thing. While the board that ran the company alongside Michiko would love nothing more than to completely take over, Yuki doubted it was going to happen. She didn't have the fully story, but Yuki knew the company was something Michiko and her late husband had put a lot of effort into maintaining. It was probably the only reason why Michiko hadn't handed the company over to the board, even when she had been at her lowest.
It was the legacy of the man she had loved.
"I can't believe there are actually maids here," Naruto said under his breath.
Yuki's eyebrow twitched a little. What the heck was that supposed to mean?
"But fine, whatever." He looked at her again, but to Yuki it was as if he was looking right past her. Like she almost didn't exist to him. "If it's what you want, I guess I don't have a choice."
This was all Yuki needed to understand one simple fact.
Uzumaki Naruto did not acknowledge her.
That was how she and Naruto had first met. By all accounts it was not a good first meeting, and anyone could be forgiven for thinking that their relationship would never have progressed beyond that of an employee and her boss.
Things were never simple, though. At the end of the day, she was glad where things had ended up, even if it had been sort of a long road to get here.
Coming out of her thoughts, Yuki focused back on her friends who were waiting for her to collect her thoughts.
"Like I was saying, don't worry. He's rough around the edges, but he's not one to hold a grudge." Not about this anyway. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to ask him yourself."
Chiyo and Erina felt like Yuki was keeping some details to herself, but they would admit to feeling relieved that they had a chance to fix their mistake.
"Wait, does that mean we can come and see Kaijō practice!?" Chiyo squealed at the thought. "Kasamatsu-kun is also in your team, isn't he? He's been in Basketball Monthly several times too!"
To get the chance to meet not just Kise but also the cool point guard Kasamatsu. It was like a dream come true!
Erina placed her hand on her cheek as she swooned. "It feels like I'm dreaming."
Yuki sweatdropped. Having met Kasamatsu, she couldn't really share in their fantasies. Not that the captain wasn't cool. But well…..when he had a hard time just looking at her, some of that "coolness" factor kinda went away.
Momoi patted Yuki on the back with an understanding look.
"You'll get used to it."
She had spent the better part of middle school in similar shoes, after all.
Yuki's shoulders sagged at this, while Chiyo and Erina were celebrating.
"You don't say….."
What a drag.
Naruto felt like he had just stepped into hell. And this was no exaggeration. Okay, it kind of was.
But still. This was hell.
"Oho, so you've come at last! Welcome, welcome! We've been eager to meet you!"
"Kise-kun's best friend, huh. And you're both basketball players?"
"You definitely have a different aura, despite sharing similar features. This is getting exciting!"
A second after stepping into the studio where the photoshoot was to take place, Naruto was surrounded by a horde of people he had never met before.
Why were there so many people here!?
'And why are you just standing there, Kise!?'
If looks could kill, Kise would be a pile of ash on the floor. But the model just smiled in return. He was going to enjoy this.
"Alright, alright. That's enough, everybody. We need to start getting ready."
It was the main photographer who came to Naruto's rescue, but only after a few minutes of watching him squirm.
This place sucked.
Thankfully, the others got the memo and left Naruto alone for the time being. At least until he and Kise got ready.
This is where the second problem came in.
Naruto looked at the clothes he was now wearing with disdain.
"What…..is this crap?"
Gone were his comfortable shorts and hoodie. Now he was in a cardigan sweater with jeans. The sweater wasn't the worst part, though. It was the damn fedora.
"Uzumakicchi, you look stylish!" And of course Kise was fully on board with the outfit.
Naruto almost cursed him out but grimaced when he saw what Kise was in. A blue scarf with a full on business jacket and jeans. And did he have hair pins!?
A bubble of depression fell over the whiskered blond. "I don't get fashion."
How the heck was this supposed to represent summer in any way?
"Ah." Understanding what Naruto was trying to say, Kise explained. "These shots won't be included under the same section as the others. It's more like an interview than anything else. You know, to spice things up."
This was spicing things up?
Naruto didn't get it. "I seriously don't understand how you can do this on a regular basis and still be sane."
It was pure torture.
Kise laughed. "It's pretty fun, trust me. I'm sure you'll get used to it."
Naruto highly doubted that. But he was already here, so there was no backing out of it. Besides, in a weird way, this was his way of paying Kise back for everything he had done…..as embarrassing as that was to admit. Naruto wasn't blind. If Kise hadn't been there at that park that night, if they hadn't met, Naruto doubted he would be having this much fun and excitement.
For that reason, he could stomach something like this.
'I still wanna punch him.'
Well. Some things never changed.
"Oh? So this is the one you were speaking of."
Naruto almost flinched when a new voice entered their conversation. He expected to be surrounded by another mob, but thankfully that didn't happen.
It was only a single person. A young woman, probably only a couple of years older than him and Kise. She too was a blonde, with long straight hair that looked a little too perfect. And…..for some reason, she reminded Naruto of someone. He could already tell she was a loud one, if that made any sense. She was in a simple white summer dress, but she still made it stand out.
'Yuki could still wear it better.'
Damn right.
"Big Sis!" Wait what? "What are you doing here?"
Naruto had to do a double take. This was Kise's sister?
'I should have known.'
He really should have.
"I thought I told you to call me Naoko-chan. It's cuter that way."
Naoko-chan? That's all Naruto needed to understand that Kise's sister was just as tacky as he was. Did it run in the family?
"And you know why I'm here." The now named Naoko winked at the two boys. "I wasn't going to miss this. It's the first time you're doing a photo album with someone else. It's a big moment!"
It was?
Kise shook his head. "You're always doing stuff without consulting me."
"And who are you to talk, huh?" Kise yelped as she started to tug on his ear. "Besides, aren't you being rude to your amazing sister right now? At least introduce me to your friend."
So she was the one in control of their relationship. Got it.
Sulking a little, Kise gestured to Naruto who was still trying to take all of this in. "I already told you about him. He's Uzumakicchi. Uzumakicchi, this is my older sister. She's the one who got me into modeling in the first place."
So she was the true final boss.
"Hmm." She started to pace around him, her eyes examining him closely.
'They're definitely siblings.' That's all Naruto could think.
"Alright." Seemingly satisfied, she came to a stop. "You pass. There is definite talent here. You'll do well today. I'm sure of it."
This was a test?
"If you want, I could sign you up with a friend of mine." Naoko leaned in closer. "You have a certain charm that will match well with him. He could show off those animalistic features you got there better than anyone."
There was no need to think about his answer.
"No thanks." Naruto took a few steps back. He needed his space. "I'm only here today because this idiot begged me to. I have no interest in modeling."
"Shame." She certainly didn't sound like it. "I guess that just means we're gonna have to make the best of today."
Wait, what?
As Naoko snapped her fingers, Naruto felt a certain doom wash over him.
This was going to be a very long day.
By the time our blond was able to taste freedom again, the sun was already setting. Yep, he had lost an entire day at this place.
And he was exhausted.
"I feel more tired than after finishing a match."
Next to him, Kise was the exact opposite. He was full of energy.
"What are you talking about? Today went well. You didn't have a problem answering any question."
That's only because the questions were easy. There had been no need to lie, especially with his intentions in the upcoming Winter Cup.
They were going to get first place.
"I didn't think we were going to be this late, though." Kise took out his phone and whistled when he saw the time. "Wanna grab some food?"
Naruto shrugged. He had no problem with that. He was pretty famished. Other than breakfast, he hadn't eaten anything today.
"Sugawaracchi hasn't called you?"
"No. She's probably still busy."
Naruto didn't know much about her friends, but in the few times he had interacted with them he noticed just how hyperactive they could be.
"Too bad," Kise said. "We could have-"
As he spoke, he and Naruto happened to pass by an ice cream shop. Neither gave the place a second glance as they weren't interested in desserts right now. They weren't planning to stop at all, but when they saw a couple of familiar faces exiting the place, they had to.
Those faces were none other than Midorima and Takao, after all.
"-enough already!" Midorima was complaining about something. No surprise there. "I can't believe you can stomach that garbage."
Takao didn't let Midorima's words get to him, or the giant pile of ice cream he was carrying.
"Stop being a stick in the mud, Shin-chan. We have a rare day off. Tomorrow we have to get back to practice. You gotta unwind even a little, ya know?"
"H'mph. How you can relax with this filth is something I can't understand, in fact. And another thing-"
Just like with Naruto and Kise, Midorima and Takao froze in place when they noticed the other pair. They could almost hear a ping dropping.
Unsurprisingly, it was Takao who broke the silence first. "Ah, it's Uzumaki-senpai and Kise! Fancy running into you two out here!"
Naruto silently cursed. Kise's modeling studio was based in Tokyo, so while the odds were low he should have anticipated running into either Midorima or Aomine today.
But just how bad was his luck for that to actually happen?
'No, wait. Now that I think about it...'
Could this actually be a good thing?
Kise was more preoccupied with all the ice cream Takao was carrying. "Ah, Takao. Um. Are you sure you can carry that?"
That little cone looked like it could break at any second.
Takao snickered. "It's no problem at all. I'll be done with it in a sec."
Kise believed that.
"So this is how you two are spending your day off."
"Not quite." Takao gestured to Midorima. "I had to drag him out here. Otherwise, he would have spent the whole day practicing again."
There was nothing wrong with being committed, but there was a point when you needed to relax too.
Kise understood where Takao was coming from, to a degree. At least about the "dragging him out here" part. After all, he had a similar problem with Naruto.
With his eyebrow twitching, Midorima placed a hand on his glasses. "To think I would see you two. This really isn't my lucky day, in fact."
Damn that Oha Asa horoscope. Cancer was ranked the lowest today, but Midorima had hoped having his lucky item would balance things out. And yet, he had the misfortune of running into two of his rivals at a time like this.
"Hah." Naruto smirked. "Don't look so frustrated, Midorima. I know not playing in the Inter-High sucks, but you gotta relax."
Kise sweatdropped. 'I think you're the frustrated one here, Uzumakicchi.'
"What did you say?" Almost scowling, Midorima glared at the blond. "And what about you? After all your boasting, you went and lost to Akashi. And before I had the chance to defeat you. Such a waste."
He had hit Naruto's weak point, and he knew it.
"That was nothing!" Naruto growled. "I might have lost this time, but it'll be different this winter. Of course, you're more than welcomed to challenge me too. If you think you can handle it."
"That's my line, in fact!"
"You two." Takao looked exasperated. These two just could not get along, could they? Even at the party, they had glared at one another constantly. Takao was sure the only one Naruto might dislike more was Murasakibara.
"T'ch, whatever. I hate saying this, but this might actually be a good thing." Naruto's words caused the other three to look at him with obvious surprise. This was a sudden one-eighty. "I've been thinking about this for the past couple of days, and seeing you now gave me the perfect idea."
Kise was a bit hesitant to ask. "What are you talking about, Uzumakicchi?" He hadn't heard anything about this before.
He wasn't going to do anything crazy, was he? Ah hell, why did Kise need to ask. Of course he was!
"It's simple." Naruto didn't want to admit it to Midorima of all people, but it couldn't be helped. "I need to get better. I like to think I'm able to move freely on the court, but that's not exactly true." Akashi pinpointing his moves in the finals was all the evidence he needed. "You know what I'm talking about. I need to work on my outside plays."
He needed to perfect his shooting form.
Takao was a bit stunned. 'Where is this coming from?'
He never would have expected this kind of development.
"I need to learn to contain my power, even if just a bit." Naruto locked eyes with Midorima. "That's where you come in."
Midorima didn't need to be a mind reader for him to understand what Naruto was getting at.
"You want me to train you?"
"So bold." Having a few moments to process what he was hearing, Takao started to snicker again. He just couldn't help it. First, Naruto insulted Midorima, Then he turned around and was now asking to be trained by him.
The confidence on this guy.
Midorima saw it in a different light. It was like Naruto was putting his pride aside. They were probably too stubborn to admit it, but that's where Naruto and Midorima were very similar. They were both very prideful.
"I'll probably never be as good as you, but if it helps us to even score one more point….."
Then Naruto was going to take it.
But why Midorima? After all, someone like Aomine could probably give him better pointers since their play was similar. But Naruto wasn't looking for more unorthodox plays. He had those in the bag. No, what he needed was the opposite of that. To be blunt, his instincts had carried him this far. Now, he just needed to combine his instincts with technique. Once he had both, he could create something stronger.
And Midorima was the perfect choice for that. First of all, Naruto acknowledged Midorima's strength. Unlike Aomine, he didn't let it run wild. No, he instead focused it. That was the secret behind those three's of his. Being able to shoot from anywhere on the court required that kind of power. And like Naruto already said, he probably couldn't hone it to the same extent as Midorima. But if he could get close…..if he could shoot three's just enough for it to be a threat to his opponents, his options on the court would be limitless.
He would be truly unpredictable.
"Or are you too scared to do it?"
Was he trying to provoke Midorima now?
'He's all over the place!' Takao almost couldn't keep up.
And he was loving it!
Midorima saw the cheap provocation of course, and he didn't care for it. But this unexpected request…..he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested. In that moment, he also saw a possibility for himself. For you see, he had also been thinking of ways he needed to improve for the upcoming winter.
Was this the spark he needed?
"Very well."
It was Midorima's turn to stun Kise and Takao.
"I accept your challenge." Wait, this was a challenge!? "But don't think I'll be going easy on you, in fact."
Naruto grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it."
"Wait a second!" Kise had to jump in between the two. "You can't just carry on like I'm not here!"
"Huh?" Naruto picked his ear. "Oh right. You were here. I almost forgot."
"Don't say that! You're gonna make me cry!" Kise then turned to Midorima. "And Midorimacchi! Since when were you nice enough to accept a request like this!?"
"What did you just say!?"
Just what was Kise's image of him anyway!?
"I don't get it, but whatever!" Kise gave them a thumbs up. "I gotta join you two! I can't be the one that's left out of something like this."
""No, you're not.""
For once, Naruto and Midorima were in agreement. And it was to bully Kise.
Wonderful.
"You two aren't being fair!"
Takao was left snickering by this. He still didn't know what had happened, but he did know one thing.
This winter was going to be very interesting.