Rebound (Kagakuro)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kuroko

I found myself standing in front of Kagami's house the next day, hands trembling nervously by my side. I turned to look at Aomine and Kise for support, and they both gave me a thumbs-up.

I took a deep breath and walked up the little steps, careful not to trip. I was about to ring the doorbell when a voice startled me.

"Good morning there."

I turned around to meet a blonde American, who had glasses fixed on her hair. She smiled sweetly at me before placing the flower pot on the ground, then approached me with a hand extended.

"My name's Alex," She introduced while I shook her hand. "Short for Alexandra Garcia."

"Oh," I gulped, feeling slightly intimidated all of a sudden. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, as if my name rang a bell. I stood there awkwardly as I waited for her to say something. I turned around to check if the other boys were watching us, but turned out they already left.

"So you're the boy Taiga's been talking about," Alex voiced out her realisation. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kuroko Tetsuya. Come on, I'll give you something to drink while we talk."

I nodded my head and followed her into the house. I mumbled a soft 'Sorry for interrupting' before joining her in the familiar kitchen. Kagami was nowhere to be found, and I was getting a weird feeling about this lady.

Was she his new girlfriend?

Or an ex from America?

The thought of Kagami going back to his ex troubled me, and I couldn't help myself from biting me lip as I struggled not to break down. Unfortunately, Alex noticed how uncomfortable I was, so she placed a glass of water in front of me before sitting opposite of me.

"It's not what you think." She said to me, as if my thoughts were audible. My cheeks reddened a little and I tried to cover up my embarrassment by drinking the water she offered.

"I'm an old friend of Taiga," Alex explained. "Or more like an old coach. I used to train him and his best friend back in America."

My eyebrows were raised, but I remained quiet.

"Taiga and Tatsuya were still little when they approached me," She smiled at the memory. "And since then they were like little brothers to me. As their coach, I'm really proud to see what they've become. It makes me happy knowing my effort didn't go to waste."

"Kagami-kun's a great player," I finally said in a soft voice. "And a great partner."

Alex nodded. "He's told me about you being his shadow. I don't really know what that means, but I can really see that you mean a lot to him. Did something happened between the two of you?"

"Yes," I answered honestly. "But I don't want to blame him. I can't. It wasn't entirely his fault because I never knew my actions would affect him this much. I wasn't thinking of his feelings."

"It's not your fault also, Kuroko," The blonde lady smiled at me. "A relationship works in two ways, and that involves trust. You both need to trust each other in order to make the relationship work."

"Taiga didn't trust you enough," She continued. "That's why he acted the way he did. It's quite natural to behave that way when the jealousy comes to its highest level."

"I made him jealous?"

"Maybe you did. What happened before he got angry?" She questioned.

"We were in the hospital because a close friend of mine called. His team captain was going through a surgery."

"And?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"My ex was there also, and we were quite close. I guess that's what made Kagami-kun triggered."

Alex nodded in acknowledgement. "I see, so that's where it all started."

I nodded my head silently.

"You should realise that breaking up at this point is not an option," Alex said sternly and her friendly eyes was replaced with a worried one. "You both need to talk to each other and try to work things out. Arguments like this is normal in every relationship."

I nodded, again.

"And as for your ex..."

"We're okay now," I defended Aomine. "I was upset with him at first, but we managed to sort things out and now we're okay. We're just friends now."

Alex sighed and nodded her head. "That's wonderful, Kuroko. Not everyone can fix their past relationship's issue like that. They usually end up as strangers and never talking to each other again."

"Aomine-kun and I were partners back in middle school, and he was also one of my closest friend." I smiled.

"Ah, he's one of the Generation of Miracles also, innit?"

"Yes."

Sounds of footsteps could be heard coming down from stairs. My heartbeat increased suddenly and I flashed Alex a panicked look. She only chuckled before calling out for Kagami.

"Taiga, come here. Someone's here to see you."

"You left your clothes scattered on the ground again," The familiar voice grumbled. "Please clean them up if -"

His breath hitched when our eyes finally met, and he stood frozen by the kitchen door. I bit my lip nervously, while Alex got up, patted my head softly and whispered good luck to me.

"Kuroko..." His voice cracked.

I didn't wait for him to come towards me. Instead, I got down from the high stool and wrapped my arms around him. Tears streamed down my face as I cried silently, but I let out a sigh of relief when I felt Kagami hugging me back.

"I'm sorry," He apologised, head buried in my hair. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

I shook my head and pulled away a little so I could look him in the eyes.

"Don't apologise, Kagami-kun. It's not your fault."

"It is." His lips trembled, so I tip-toed and kissed him.

"It's not." I whispered.

"I'm sorry for acting so childishly," He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I shouldn't have done that. I was stupid."

"No," I frowned. "I made a mistake too."

Kagami shook his head.

"I was jealous. I shouldn't be jealous because I should've realised you wouldn't leave me like that. It's my fault."

"That's enough, Kagami-kun," I hugged him again. "We're okay now."

"I love you," He continued to sob. "I love you so much. I'm sorry."

"I love you too, Kagami-kun," I said sincerely. "Always."