MiRACLE (KnB Fanfic)

28.

"You guys really got meaner now," Aomine sighs. "Fine. I'll just tell mom."

"Hah! I'm already on it!" Haizaki snorts, pointing proudly at his phone as he sent a longass message to Mommy in denial. "Beat that, you ganguro!"

"Wha-- no fair!" Aomine whines, whipping out his phone and furiously typing something, "don't listen to him Saka! He's an asshole!"

Kuroko and Midorima stare blankly at them.

"Did they just very casually, naturally, call Aisaka their mom?" Midorima asks.

"I think we ought to stop questioning it, Midorima-kun," Kuroko says, "I think it's their coping mechanism because he's not physically around."

Strangely enough, they began to get along with Haizaki after Aisaka left. The gray-haired boy had really begun to like messing around with Aomine now, though Haizaki's a little more on the violent side of things.

They've recently begun engaging in the tattletale game, so they've been in their best behaviour to everyone but each other. Apparently, it was Nijimura's idea.

(A very smart idea, it's Aisaka approved.)

"Ah, Kise-kun," Kuroko speaks up suddenly, noticing the blond-haired boy a little further out, "the equipment room is the other way."

And Kise evidently makes a displeased face. "Uhh, before we get to that... can I have a different mentor?"

Aomine chucks a ball at his head. "I told you to listen to him," he chuckles, exasperated. He turns away from his quarrel with Haizaki to Kise. "Don't be rude, he's still your senior in a way, you know?"

"But I don't wanna! He's weaker than me! Is he really a starter? He sucks!"

"I'm telling ya, he doesn't suck!"

"In what way? Did he do anything cool in today's practice??"

"Well uh... no! But still!"

They banter back and forth, and Kuroko holds a phone before him, recording the strangely humorous scene so he can send it to I'm-Not-A-Fairy. He'll probably caption it Aomine-kun is fighting for my honour, I'm touched, with a tearful kaomoji.

(He wonders how many messages Aisaka gets in a day, with all of them trying to keep him updated all over the place like this.)

"Just deal with it, Kise," Haizaki tells the kid, arm slinging over the boy's shoulders as he laughs, "I hated my mentor too!"

"Huh? You had a mentor too?!" Kise gawks.

"Yeah! He's not here anymore, but I spent a whole month trying to one-up him, y'know?" Haizaki says, like he's proud of it, "you'll get used to it. If you rise up quickly, he'll be relieved of mentor duties anyways and you'll be free."

Kise stops to give Haizaki a curious look. A former first-string member who isn't here anymore... maybe a third year? No... Haizaki's number is eight. That can only mean...