Kuroko is Love: The KnB Life

Only One Will Win

“Well,” Keiko said to herself. “This sucks.”

It had only been about two hours since the Yousen Basketball Team had returned from their loss at the Winter Cup. Most of the team had already left for the day, but Keiko, as one of the managers, decided to stay back and make sure everything was still in order. She was walking to her last stop, the gym, when she noticed that the lights were on.

The auburn haired girl increased her pace, uniform skirt swaying as she walked, to see who it was that was still here. When she reached the door, the first thing she noticed was that the cart of basketballs was out. Keiko was prepared to yell at the person, thinking it was one of the string players, but then she noticed who it was.

“Himuro-san?” the green-eyed girl questioned as the shooting guard was preparing to make a free throw. He stopped mid shot to see who was interrupting him.

“Hyuuga-san?” the black eyed teen said, tucking the ball into his side. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she shot back. “And I told you, you can call me Keiko. I know you’re more comfortable with being informal.”

Himuro gave her an easy smile. “Okay then Keiko.”

“You didn’t answer my question Himuro-san. What are you still doing here? Everyone has already gone home.”

“I just wanted to get some practice in.”

Keiko gave him a hard look through her glasses, “And that’s exactly why I’m still here: To make sure that the basketball idiots of our team don’t overwork themselves after tournament matches.”

Himuro had the decency to look sheepish.

“How about you help me put this stuff away,” she said gesturing to the basketballs. “And then you can tell me what’s really bothering you.”

All the black haired teen did was sigh.

“Good work today!” Keiko exclaimed, pressing a cold water bottle into her teammate’s hand.

“Thank you.”

“Now,” she said, plopping down onto the bench. “What is it that is really eating at you? The match?”

Himuro took a gulp from the water bottle and looked at the manager. “How is it that we’ve only known each other for less than a year and yet you can read me so well?”

“It’s a gift,” the auburn haired girl said dryly. “Stop avoiding the question.”

The shooting guard looked away, obscuring her view of his face, and said, “Before I moved back to Japan, I promised myself that I would beat Taiga no matter what the next time that we met.”

“Taiga…?” the girl questioned. “Kagami Taiga.”

“Oh! The knucklehead power forward from Seirin!”

Himuro let out a hollow laugh. “Yeah, that one…”

“How is it that you two know each other?”

“You could say that we are brothers,” he answered, still not looking at the manager sitting next to him.

“Brothers?” she said, shocked. “If that’s the case, then you two take sibling rivalries to a whole new level…”

“What do you mean?”

Keiko hesitated for a moment before saying, “Well, every time you looked at him, before and during the match, it seemed almost as if you…hated him.”

The admission surprised him to the point where he finally looked at her. A small smile worked its way onto his face.

“I didn’t know that you paid so much attention to me, Keiko.”

The short manager blushed and squeaked, “I pay attention to all of the players! It’s my job!”

“Haha! Sorry! I didn’t mean to fluster you.”

Keiko gave him a hard look, face still red, and coughed to try to compose herself. Once she had calmed herself down, she looked him in the eye and smiled.

“But, you know what?”

“Hm?” the player responded.

“I’m kinda glad we lost.”

Himuro was officially confused. Why would their manager be glad that they lost?

“I guess I should explain myself, huh?” the green-eyed girl said.

“That would be helpful.”

“Well, as I said before, every time you looked at Kagami, you seem angry and mad, but when the match was over, your eyes changed.”

“What do you mean?”

The manager looked down to her shoes and said, “Your eyes seemed lighted and, even though we lost, you seemed happier.”

She looked up to meet his eyes again. “You looked like a weight had been taken off your shoulders.”

All Himuro could do was stare at Keiko. How was this girl able to read him so well? Sure, they are in the same class and club, but they don’t interact with each other on a regular basis. He slowly began to give her a genuine smile and she seemed to relax instantly.

“Is something wrong Himuro-san?” Keiko asked.

“It wasn’t until you mentioned it,” he replied. “But, you’re right. I do feel a lot lighter.”

The auburn haired girl grinned and stood up, stretching her arms up in the air.

“Well,” she started. “It’s getting late and I should head home.”

Himuro was almost instantly on his feet and said, “If you can wait a few minutes, I can walk you home.”

Keiko blinked owlishly at the point guard. “Huh?!”

The black eyed boy smirked at her reaction. “Consider it a “thank you” for helping me out.”

“Um, okay,” the bespectacled girl replied slowly.

Himuro bent down and grabbed his sports bag that had been resting at his feet and made his way to the locker room. Before he disappeared through the doors, he turned and said one last thing to the manager.

“Oh and Keiko.”

“Yes?”