After School (Kuroko no Basket Fanfic)

Romeo Dreams | Chapter 1 | Kasamatsu

Romeo Dreams | Chapter 1 | Kasamatsu

"Senpai! I like you!"

Those words shot through my heart like a bullet. For the first time in my life those words were directed at me, and not at Kise who was usually at my side. Now that it is actually happening to me I have no idea what to do.

Just a few minutes ago I was sitting in class, eating lunch with Kise, when this girl barged into the classroom, begging to speak with me outside. She had two friends behind her who gave me desperate looks; though I had no idea this is what would happen when they called me over. We both walked outside of the school building, and then she said those words as if there were no greater truth in the world.

"Please accept these!" She holds out a wrapped bag. I assume that some sort of sugary product is inside that she herself made. That is usually the way girls do things. I know just from watching Kise day after day.

I study the girl's expression. She's scared, and it probably took all of her courage to come and tell me this outright. There's no way I couldn't admire her for that. Still, I have to tell her the truth. "I'm sorry." I shrug my hands into my pockets. "I have my heart set on someone else."

She pulls her arms back, clutching the bag to her chest. "I understand. I'm sorry for bothering you!" She dashes away, and I highly doubt I will ever see her again.

Just like I normally do I walk back into the school building and back to my classroom, sitting in the back of the room where my lunch is laid out on the desk. I slide into my seat, picking up my chopsticks once more.

Kise's eyes are full of anticipation. "So?"

I eat a small omelet, giving him a normal look back. "So?"

He stares at me, gripping the edge of his seat. He always sits backwards at lunch so that we can talk to each other. "Senpai, what'd you tell her?!"

"I simply told her no." There was no point in lying to him.

"What?! Seriously?!" Kise sighs, leaning his hand against his cheek as he watches me with a confused expression. "But she was super cute..."

"Really? I didn't notice." It was the god's honest truth. I didn't even give her a second glance. I probably couldn't even recognize her by anything but her voice.

"You're so cruel!" As always, this idiot was causing a ruckus. He steals one of my omelets and I let him this time.

I roll my eyes, looking up at him afterwards. "Why am I cruel? I told her the truth..."

"You didn't give her a chance. You didn't even look at her." He gives me a sad look. "That's the first girl that's ever shown romantic interest in you and you just turn her down flat without a second thought... If you keep that up you'll spend the rest of your life alone, Senpai."

"Shut up." I scoff. "Unlike you I don't need a girl to be happy with my life."

He frowns. "Senpai, why are you so mean?"

Instinctively the back of my hand hits the top of his head. "Shut up. I'll say yes to the right person."

"Right person...?" Kise chuckles to himself. "Ah, the golden princess from your dreams?"

"If you're going to laugh about it I should never have told you!" I begin to storm out of the classroom, wanting nothing more than to get away from Kise.

I've had the same dream on and off for the past two years. In my dream I'm gazing into the distance of some fantasy sunset, and in the distance, standing on top of a small hill, is a beautiful maiden with long, golden locks. Ever since then I've waited for her, deeming her my true love. One day Kise persisted I tell him who I love, and in an annoyed manner I told him the story.

He chases after my like always, trying to calm me down. "Relax, Senpai. I'm sure your lucky someone is out there, but I'm not sure you'll ever see a golden Juliet... Perhaps you should set your sights lower? It's like seeing Romeo go after Sleeping Beauty: it's just not your fairy tale..."

"And who the hell do you think I should go for?!" My voice rises, and I turn to glare at him.

He shrugs. "Just someone who understands you, Senpai. Someone who respects you..."

"I know that! Like I would-"

I break off as I stare down at his hands, just noticing the magazine he has plastered to his side. He follows my gaze and lifts it up. "What? It's just the monthly magazine I appear in..."

I hold out my hand. It looks so familiar for some reason. "I know. Just let me see it."

Kise grins, handing it over. He flips his hair in a way that is just downright obnoxious. "So you're finally interested in seeing my work, huh? Do you want me to start giving you copies?"

"Like hell!" I snatch the magazine from his hands. "It's just I've seen this before..."

Kise crosses over to my side, looking down at the pages. "Yeah, this is the one I tried to show you right after I first joined the basketball team." He chuckles. "You wanted nothing to do with it, but I showed you page after page anyway."

I roll my eyes, turning page after page. "Yeah, I remember... I wanted to-"

My entire body freezes as I open to the next page. Could it really be her?

"Wanted to what, Senpai?" Kise leans in a bit closer, studying the page.

My entire mind is mesmerized. There, on the page, is a maiden with beautiful golden locks who is staring into the sun. She is on a grassy plain, a bright smile on her face, though most of her face is obscured by the sun. However, unlike in my dreams, she's wearing a silver earring on one of her ears. This is definitely her. So this is where her image came from?

I reach out my finger, tapping the page. "Who is this woman?" No matter how much I study the page I do not see a name. "There's no name..."

"Don't you realize what section in the magazine you're in, Senpai?" Kise sighs beside me.

I turn back a few pages, and read the title of the article. "Kise Ryouta: Freedom and Beauty..." My eyes open wide as I point to the picture of the woman with the golden locks. "THIS IS YOU?!"

"Naturally." He grins. "For some reason my mother couldn't get over how good I looked in a dress, so I promised her one photo shoot. After it all I burned the dress and cut my hair, never wanting to have to go through it again..." He raises a hand dramatically to his chest. "Stuff like that hurts a guy's dignity, though it did increase my fan base..."

Angrily I clutch the magazine in my hands and hit Kise with it. "Give it back! Give back what you stole from me!"

He steps back, holding out his hands. "What are you talking about?!"

I hit him again and he backs up to the wall, where my interrogation begins. "You can't be her! You can't be the woman from my dreams! Give her back right now!"

His eyes open wide in realization. "So... You fell in love with a picture of me, thinking I was some sort of princess?"

I hit him again. "Never! That can't be the girl from my dreams! You can't be!"

He reaches up a hand to catch my next strike, and I am overly aware that his fingers are wrapping themselves over mine. I expected him to laugh, to make fun, but he shows me the same smile as my dream girl did in that picture. How could I have not known all along?!

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Senpai." He strokes the bottom of my chin with his hand. "But I'm more of a Romeo."