Warning: mentions of panic attacks
Third POV
Even though the crowds were erupting with applause, the roars fell upon deaf ears as (Y/N) kept staring blankly at the scoreboard with Koganei and Kagami helping her to stand up. The ibuprofen was wearing off a little bit, but the pain wasn't terrible. And the reality of everything had come to light. Seirin had lost to Aomine.
But that's not what cracked the girl's heart. Seeing Kuroko and the navy haired ace walk past each other without even sparing a glance, the phantom's light blue hair covering his eyes as he followed the second years to go and line up.
Keeping a steady hold on the triple threat, one could still tell that this was getting to Kagami just as much as it was for the former miracles. The red head grit his teeth while keeping the towel over his head. Their strongest weapon that had helped them to defeat strong opponents so far was a mere game when it came to facing Aomine.
Up in the stands, Midorima and Kise were kind of taken aback by the outcome of this game. Not only had Aomine completely destroyed Seirin, but their strongest player now had an injury that could take her out of the season for a long time. Frankly, the shooting guard had a feeling something like this would happen.
"Later, Kise," Midorima turned and began heading towards the exit.
"Just like that?! Doesn't this shock you even a little bit?! Honestly...and what about (Y/N)cchi? This could really put her out of the game," the blonde grumbled as he snapped back towards his former teammate.
It was almost as if he didn't care about how this had ended with that nonchalant tone he took, even with the sudden development of (Y/N)'s injury. Couldn't the guy show a little more emotion?
"Of course I'm worried about her, but honestly, rather than worrying about how I react, you should be more concerned about both her and Kuroko," Midorima started, pointing out the obvious towards the beginning of statement.
The green haired boy was not fond of showing his emotions around his other teammates, so he knew he seemed a little harsh when he just seemed to kind of brush off the whole ordeal like he had. But right now, and knowing the triple threat, Midorima knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything if he so desperately wanted to try. The pain from that day in middle school was a tough one to heal, and with her injury, that was going to make her even more vulnerable.
Kise simply didn't understand where his former green haired teammate was coming from. The blonde boy knew Midorima liked (Y/N) far more than any other human being, so it was strange that he didn't seem more worried. The shooting guard, seeing Kise's perplexed look, decided to explain.
"Kuroko's basketball was completely useless against Aomine. I'd say it was rather traumatizing for him. As for (Y/N), she probably wanted to unconsciously make amends with Aomine by winning this game. If you think about it, she's lost people very close to her before, so I can't even imagine what she's feeling right now along with having her injury. Additionally, Seirin is still a young team. Coming back from something like that won't be an easy task for them. We can only hope it won't affect their other two games."
The blonde could see Midorima's emerald eyes soften ever so slightly when he brought up the (h/c) haired girl. The shooting guard cared for her deeply, but he knew he wouldn't be able to comfort her now. Honestly, neither of them probably could. Hibiki hadn't answered his phone, most likely because he was still in the middle of his test, but this was going to come as a shock to him as well. And even if the twin knew his sister better than anyone, there was no telling by anyone how the girl was doing at that moment.
"If you get any updates on her condition, tell Hibiki to inform me. He should still have my number," Midorima told Kise before walking off.
The copycat didn't verbally answer, but he made note to do so. Looking back down to the court, Kise watched as Seirin began making their way off and back to their dressing room. Particularly, he kept his golden eyes on the hopping girl as Koganei and Kagami helped her to walk.
There was no telling what or how she was feeling now. Kise just wanted to rush down and give the poor girl a hug, but that wasn't going to do much for (Y/N). Taking out his phone as he began making his way out of building, the blonde copycat typed up a quick message and sent it to the triple threat's phone. Hopefully, it'd make her feel a little better.
Back with Seirin, as they made their way to the nurse's office to get (Y/N)'s injury checked out, the sound of footsteps approaching the white and red team from off to the side.
"Hachi!/HACHI!!" Two different volumes and tones of voices shouted out, echoing in the hallway that the team was in.
Catching their attention easily, the two boys that were holding (Y/N), including the triple threat, looked off to the side to see Masaru and Naoki hauling their butts over to their older cousin.
The louder of the two of them didn't want to make her team feel awkward as he caught his breath and trying to avoid their eyes, but (Y/N) smiled softly over at the two younger boys.
"You two gonna take me to see what the damage is?" She asked them.
Seirin could definitely tell they were twins now, judging by how they straightened up and nodded at precisely the same time. Letting out a small laugh through her nose, the (h/c) haired girl patted Koganei's and Kagami's shoulders as to let them know that they could leave helping her to walk to her cousins.
Quickly rushing into action, Naoki got ahold of the tall girl first, slowly easing her away from her teammates as Masaru hooked her arm around his neck. Adjusting to make sure she was comfortable, the grey haired twin peaked over at his brother with a bit of a suspicious expression.
"You gonna be able to even help her walk, Naoki? Maybe I should just do it," Masaru commented.
And now (Y/N)'s team was going to witness why exactly the other pair of twins in her and Riko's family went to different schools as the two girl cousins rolled their eyes simultaneously. Naoki was soon glaring over at his brother.
"I can help too! Just because I quit playing doesn't mean I'm weak," the pink haired boy snapped.
"Alright, whatever," Masaru shrugged.
"And this is why you two go to different schools...." (Y/N) sighed.
Hearing her say that made the younger twins realize that now was not the time to argue about anything. They could do that later. Right now, the triple threat needed some much requested pain relief and some diagnostics as to how they were going to treat her knee. Before they began making their way to nurse's office, the tall girl turned back to look at Seirin with a forced smile on her face.
"You guys go back to the locker room, I'll meet you there and fill you all in on what they say," she assured them.
Riko could only nod and hum before watching her cousins trudge off. She knew that smile was forced, and the brunette really wanted to make sure (Y/N) was really okay. This was a lot for her and the rest of the team to deal with all in one sitting.
In Touou's dressing room, the team was trying to rest after winning the game, though it was quite difficult with Wakamatsu's yelling. Imayoshi quickly took care of that as he scolded the second year while sitting beside Sakurai. Aomine had been rather quiet about the whole situation, which wasn't all that odd, but this was just a different kind of silence.
The navy blue haired ace kept his back to the rest of the team, that is, until people started talking.
"You know, I kinda thought they'd be tougher considering they beat Shutoku. Especially their #11, Kuroko, was it? By the end, it was like watching a baby play. Not only that, but the triple threat, (Y/N) Bashira. Man, I was expecting way more out of her. Maybe she's gone a little rusty, considering she fell after making that dunk. And they both had the nerve to be all uptight about it too. They should've just thrown in the towel sooner," one of the benchwarmers for Touou went on to say to another player, letting out a couple of laughs as he mocked the two Seirin miracles.
Something then snapped in Aomine as the boy made a quick movement from standing up to pinning to boy up against the lockers rather harshly by the collar of his shirt.
"For someone who just watched, you sure do talk a lot," the miracle ace growled as he glared down the benchwarmer.
"What are you doing, Aomine? Let the guy go," Wakamatsu quickly stepped in.
Not even bothering to argue, Aomine released the boy as he let out a couple of coughs. The navy blue haired boy soon shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked out of the changing room. That guy didn't know anything about either of his former teammates, especially (Y/N). The two of them may not have been on good terms at the moment, but Aomine was damn sure not going to let anyone bad mouth her. No way in hell, not when the guy didn't even know the pain she was going through right now.
As he made his way out the door, that was about the same time Masaru had returned from the nurse's office, the two boys passing by each other as the grey haired boy stood in the doorway, watching his teammate go off to God knows where.
Momoi and Coach Harasawa immediately perked up once they saw the boy, and judging by the solemn look on his face, things hadn't gone well.
"Well, how is she?" The coach questioned.
The pink haired girl was anxious to know as well, this was her best friend, and this was also possibly the most pain she'd ever seen (Y/N) in when it came to her knees. Curious and wanting to know about the girl's condition, the other Touou starters looked over to the grey haired boy as he shook his head. Not only was it bad, it was worse than what anyone had expected.
Back in Seirin's own locker room, it was clear that the team's loss beginning to get to them. Kagami, in particular, as he threw his fist into the blue locker beside him.
"Dammit!" The red head cursed under his breath.
The others didn't even bother to scold him, probably because they all had the same thoughts as the fiery hot-headed tiger. All they did was stay silent. Riko knew that the team was extremely tense from their sudden loss, but now wasn't the time for them to lose their drive just yet.
"Listen up, guys. We still have two more games to play against Meisei and Senshinkan. This isn't the time to be all in our feelings!" She instructed the boys.
That was much easier said than done. No one even went on to agree with the second year coach. Not even Hyuga. Silence engulfed the room once again, that is, until the sound of the door opening was heard by everyone. Turning their attention to the doorway, the team watched as (Y/N) pushed it open with one of the crutches she was now using to walk. Once again, the girl forced a smile as she crutched her way into the room.
"So, what'd they end up saying?" Riko asked the younger girl as some of the others stood up from their seats.
Taking a moment to make sure she was composed enough to talk, the triple threat formed a tight smile before letting out a sigh.
"Um...it's bad. Basically, they think that some of the plaque ruptured in my knee, which also caused me to strain my ACL. Again," she started, directing her gaze to the ground just so she wouldn't have to be met with her teammates' shocked and concerned expressions.
This was much worse than what anyone had ever imagined. What started out as thinking this was just a bad flare up turned out to be more of an injury that could put the triple threat's basketball career at stake. And (Y/N) knew that too, but it wasn't what she was concerned about at the moment. There was still one more piece of information she needed to relay to them.
"They called my sister and my doctor...and they're moving my surgery up to the Monday after next. Which means I'll be out of commission for a majority of the summer," the (h/c) haired girl revealed as she looked back up to everyone.
It was devastating news. This meant that even if Seirin was able to win their next two games, (Y/N) wouldn't be able to assist them on the court if the team came face to face with even more difficult opponents. Not saying anything else, the triple threat crutched her way over to Kuroko's bench, taking a seat right beside him as the others began getting ready for Seirin's next game. Once she had sat down, (Y/N) held her crutches in front of her, leaning her forehead on them, and closing her eyes.
The girl was trying so hard to keep it together for everyone. They still needed her support, even if she was on the bench. She had to stay strong, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. With most of the team now out of the room, that only left the Seirin trio. And Kagami wanted to get something off of his chest as he looked to the backs of the former miracles.
"Hey. Hear me out. I think this might be it for us," the red head suddenly told them.
(Y/N)'s eyes soon shot open once she heard her friend say that, but she stayed silent along with Kuroko and listened as the red headed ace continued on with his thoughts.
"If I'm being honest, I thought we could go way further. But now, I mean, just look at us. If we're gonna to go up against power on that level, I don't think teamwork's gonna cut it. We can't win like that."
That was all Kagami said before he made his way out of the room, leaving the two miracles alone. (Y/N)'s expression hadn't changed. Neither did Kuroko's. Those words sounded very familiar to someone the two of them knew very well, someone that they had just lost against. Aomine had said the same thing before he changed into the arrogant yet powerful player that he was now.
It was safe to say that this was affecting the two Seirin miracles way more than they were letting on. Kagami had to stay on the bench along with (Y/N) for the remainder of the games, and even though she had tried her best, the girl's cheers just weren't as enthusiastic as one would usually expect from her. Honestly, the girl looked drained of all of her energy.
And Kuroko wasn't any better. In fact, it looked like he had gone into some sort of slump. His misdirection wasn't meeting his any of his targets, often becoming intercepted or going out of bounds. Those passes, the ones that had saved Seirin multiple times were gone. In the end, the white and red team had lost both games, ending their time in the Championship League.
The team had gone back to the locker room to change out of their uniforms and call it a day. (Y/N) had been surprisingly quiet the entire time. She had opted to stay in her shorts and t-shirt as she stayed sitting on the bench, keeping her gaze low. Thinking she just needed a minute, most of the team gave the girl pats on the head as they headed out just to leave her for a few minutes. Kuroko stayed behind and sat by his best friend in order to be some form of support.
But to (Y/N), she felt a lot more than just the effects of the loss.
"I'm sorry, Tetsu..." she suddenly let out.
The phantom looked up to the girl with a slightly shocked expression. He then noticed her shoulders moving rather prominently as she kept her head down.
"This is all my fault," she then whispered as she ran her hands through her now downed hair, her breathing becoming rather heavy.
Her mind was going a hundred miles an hour. From reuniting to Aomine to their loss of the games, (Y/N) kept going through different scenarios as to what she could've done to prevent all of this. Kuroko saw the girl's distressed expression as he noticed her trembling starting back up once again, though it wasn't as profound as it had been when she had taken her fall.
"(Y/N), this isn't anywhere near being your fault-"
"No, listen! It is my fault!" The (h/c) haired girl suddenly raised her voice as she stood up, shakily pointing at him.
Without using her crutches. In fact, the girl started limping to try and pace, but the phantom stood up to try and stop her from hurting herself once again. But it was clear that her mental state wasn't the best at all. In fact, Kuroko had noticed her breathing becoming rather heavy as her trembling continued.
"I could've played longer! If I had just watched my knee, we could've beaten him! And now...you and Taiga are fighting like how it was with you and Daiki. *inhale* *exhale* I should've seen this coming...*inhale* *exhale* if I hadn't taught Daiki anything, he wouldn't have ended up like this!" She ranted as put her hands in her hair once again, tears brimming her eyes, her hard and shallow breathing becoming worse.
Kuroko was absolutely heartbroken to see (Y/N) this distraught, and to hear her blaming herself for everything that had just happened, it couldn't be further from the truth. The light blue haired boy tried to try and calm her down by putting his hands on her shoulders. But, he soon saw her somewhat gasping for air as she put a hand on her chest.
"Tetsu...I can't breathe.." the triple threat gasped out as tears began rolling down her cheeks.
That scared the phantom, so much so that, the light blue haired boy soon took her hand and guided her to sit back down to try and catch her breath before reaching out to open the door of the locker room.
"Coach, can you come in here, please?" The light blue haired somewhat frantically called out before scooted closer to (Y/N), keeping his hand attached to hers as his arm went around her shoulders.
"Just keep holding my hand, okay?"
"I'm...trying."
The girl's gasping went on as Riko quickly came into the doorway. And the coach's eyes widened when she saw the condition her younger cousin was in.
"Hyuga, get in here," she turned and grabbed the captain's attention before rushing over to (Y/N), trying to stabilize her by gently grabbing her trembling shoulders.
"Okay, (Y/N), we're here, we're here," Riko tried to comfort the younger girl as Hyuga quickly entered to room as well.
However, it didn't seem to help as the girl's hard and shallow breathing continue. But she never let go of Kuroko's hand, squeezing it every once in a while. The captain went to work as he crouched down in front of the first year, rubbing her shoulders soothingly as Riko placed a hand on her younger cousin's chest, feeling the pounding drum once she had done so.
"Oh my gosh, your heart is going a thousand miles an hour. I think she's having a panic attack," the older girl said to the captain, trying her best to stay as calm as she could.
Nodding his head, Hyuga knew exactly what to do. The glasses wearing captain looked to the triple threat as she continued trying to catch her breath, keeping her eyes shut as her tears continued to flow.
"Kiddo, just listen to my voice, okay? We've got you. Keep squeezing Kuroko's hand, and just try to take some deep breaths and slow down," Hyuga tried to sooth her as he continued rubbing her shoulders.
It was the best that he could do for her now. Usually, she never freaked out like this and went downhill, but it seemed that the girl had bottled up way more than she could handle. None of them wanted to see the ball of sunshine in a state like this, it was just heartbreaking to see. Luckily, Hyuga's words seemed to be doing its job. (Y/N) was able to get in some deep breaths, her gasping soon ceasing.
Opening her eyes, the (h/c) haired girl was met with the captain's calm and soft gaze. Realizing and taking in what had just happened, more tears soon fell from the girl's eyes as she sniffled.
"I'm sorry.." she shakily apologized.
"Hey, don't you apologize. None of this is your fault, okay? We're here," Hyuga reminded her before guiding her head and letting her lay it on his shoulder while he rubbed her back soothing, letting her cry out all of her bottled up emotions.
Riko stayed close as well, stroking her cousin's long hair, feeling the younger girl hiccuping a couple of times. Kuroko, he just wanted to stay by his best friend's side. Wanting to take away her pain, and make her smile again. But right now, it was clear that everything had just become too overwhelming for her.
Waiting outside for the four missing members, Seirin felt like time had slowed down to an immense level. It was clear something was wrong considering all of the factors including Kuroko's call, as well as the captain and coach's suddenly panicked movements. Taking all of those into consideration, the team worried for their sole female player. They could tell that all of this was weighing on her heavily.
Seconds later, the door squeaked a little as it opened up a little more, revealing Riko followed by Kuroko carrying a pair of crutches, and finally, Hyuga with (Y/N) on his back, her uniform jacket over her head and shoulders.
"Hey, we're gonna take her home," the coach informed the team.
Worry only seem to set in once the rest of the boys heard the tall girl's quiet little sniffles, but the girl kept her head and face hidden from everyone. Kagami stood off to the side, but he had heard everything. Everything she had said, and it had made the tiger's heart hurt. He really should've chosen his words carefully, but he was so upset by the loss, and by the fact that he had let a guy that had hurt the girl he cared for so much beat him.
He had let his frustration show through a little more than what he should've.
"Is she okay?" Izuki broke the silence first, coming over and putting a hand on the girl's head, even if it was covered by her jacket.
He had a feeling that she had cracked under all of this, but the punster wanted to make sure the girl had some space so that she wouldn't go back downhill once again. Riko knew they were all worried for her cousin, but now wasn't a great time.
"Yeah, I'll give you guys some updates later," the coach stated.
And that was all that was said as the rest of the team watched the captain carry the distraught and fractured triple threat out of the building.
Timeskip
"Yeah, we got her to eat something. Kuroko's up in her room with her now," Riko spoke over the phone.
It was now early evening, and the two second years and lone first year had made it back to (Y/N)'s house, the atmosphere quickly picked up by her animals. To make sure she wouldn't become sick from this, the coach had got out some crackers just for her cousin to snack on. The tall girl maybe ate three and drank some water before Kuroko helped her up to her room to get some rest.
Knowing none of them would be able to stay with the triple threat because of their schedules, and not wanting her to be alone in any way, shape, or form, Riko had made some phone calls to (Y/N)'s older sister and her father.
"Aneko, I've never seen her get this bad before. I'm worried," the brunette expressed her concern for the triple threat.
"Yeah, I mean, the last time it was as bad as what you're saying, was when Mom died. And you know her, she bottles everything up to the point where it just gets to be too much. Even around us too," the oldest Bashira child explained over the other line.
Aneko had been rather shocked when Riko had called her that evening. Honestly, she was expecting a call from them to gush about how they had won the Championship League. But instead, it was a call to reveal that her little sister had taken a turn for the worse when it came to her emotional state. And the black haired girl had already received the call from the nurse to inform her about (Y/N)'s knee.
"Mmhmm, and we know she's not an anxious person, but I think seeing Aomine again mixed in with her injury just didn't help," the second year said as Hyuga stayed put and listened in on the conversation.
"I'm with you on that. And thank you guys so much for being there for her. I appreciate it and I know she does too. I'm gonna call Hayate and we'll be down to spend some time with her, hopefully, tonight."
Nodding over the phone once again, Riko and Aneko ended their conversation and phone call. As she put her phone back into her bag, the two second years looked to each other turning their gazes to the staircase that led up into (Y/N)'s bedroom.
Up in her room, the (h/c) haired girl was laying in her bed with Kuroko right at her side, sitting on a small chair he had pulled up. The light blue haired boy was holding her hand to try and bring some comfort to her. She hadn't really said much since they had got there, and she didn't even look up at any of them.
"Do you remember when you forgot about Nijimura's birthday and you began sleepwalking in class?" The phantom suddenly asked her.
Over the years of knowing her, Kuroko had come to the conclusion that whenever the girl was down and all blue, she loved to talk about good memories about anything. Hearing her friend ask that, made a small smile come to her face.
"I do remember that. And I called out our class president 'cause I didn't like her," (Y/N) responded as she made eye contact with Kuroko's own blue ones, letting out a small weak laugh in the process.
That was a funny memory to look back on, and her former captain had figured her out too when that little ordeal was finally over. While it put a smile on her face for a few moments, the tall girl soon lost it as she looked back down. Seeing that her smile fell, Kuroko caressed that back of (Y/N)'s hand as another tear came out of her eye. Keeping his hand interlocked with hers, the phantom took his knuckle and gently wiped it away.
He could tell that she was drained, emotionally and physically. Her eyes were bloodshot and her eyelids were red. The girl had lost her voice slightly from her panic attack from earlier. Honestly, she looked like a mess, in her eyes. Kuroko knew that all he could do is be with her until she didn't want him there anymore.
"Tetsu?" The light blue haired boy heard her say.
Humming to let her know that he had heard her, Kuroko silently waited a couple of seconds before she spoke once again.
"What about you and Taiga?" She suddenly asked.
Even if it wasn't good for her to be thinking and worrying about it right now, (Y/N) couldn't help but to be concerned for her friends, that's just how she was. Kuroko was, at first, taken back by the sudden question. But he knew that he couldn't let her worry anymore, so the boy put on a soft smile as he squeezed her hand gently.
"Don't worry about us. It'll all be okay, I promise," he told her.
All (Y/N) did was nod before hearing her phone ring. Sitting up and looking over to her nightstand, Kuroko went ahead and grabbed her phone and handed it to her. Holding her device out, the (h/c) haired girl saw that it was her father calling her. Pressing the green button, the triple threat held her phone up to her ear.
"Hi, sweetie," the (h/c) haired girl heard her father say over the line.
That was enough to bring some more tears to (Y/N)'s eyes as she sniffled a couple of times while still keeping ahold of Kuroko's hand.
"Hi, Dad..."
"I heard you've had quite the day, huh?"
The tall girl hummed in acknowledgment, in order to make sure she could still be able to talk through her tears. At moments like this, (Y/N) missed her father dearly. Even if she had a strong support system in Japan, nothing could replace the spot that a parent was supposed to fill. And her father knew that as well.
"I got Riko's call about what happened. And I'm sorry I can't be there with you, sweetie. But I want you to know something. You have been through hell and back and you still keep a smile on your face. I couldn't be prouder to call you my daughter. I know this might suck now, but you are a strong girl, (Y/N). Just thought you could use some words like that at a time like this," Akio praised his younger daughter.
It might not have been as effective as him actually being there in person to comfort his daughter, but he wanted to make sure that she knew how proud he was of her despite what had happened that day. (Y/N) really couldn't say anything without her voice cracking, but she could smile a little bit as her tears kept falling.
"Thanks, Dad."
"I love ya, Sunball," Akio told (Y/N), using a nickname she hadn't heard in a long time.
Responding with the same answer, (Y/N) hung up and set her phone down before wiping her tears with her free hand. Kuroko smiled a little bit, knowing her father's words had some impact on her mood. The (h/c) haired girl soon began dozing off afterwards, as if her mind was finally at peace from all of the events of that day. However, before she finally fell asleep, (Y/N) looked over to the phantom one more time with her eyes half open.
And the light blue haired boy knew that all his best friend wanted right now was a hug. Leaning over to reach the girl, the phantom then wrapped (Y/N) in a passionate embrace as she used one arm to latch onto Kuroko, gripping his white button up. The two miracles stayed like that for a few minutes before the triple threat pulled away before sinking down into her bed, closing her eyes as she finally fell asleep. And before he made his exit, Kuroko leaned down and pecked the girl's cheek, watching her peaceful expression for a few more moments before leaving her to sleep as he made his way down the stairs to meet up with his two upperclassmen.
Timeskip
The next morning, (Y/N) actually slept in for a little bit, which was a once in a blue moon type deal. But she needed it more than she thought. And her knee just ached, even if she hadn't moved all that much during the night. Boy, even if she didn't care for being in the hospital all that much, the girl was looking forward to her surgery to be done and over with.
Laying in her bed for a few more minutes, (Y/N) soon smelled the scent of some pancakes, as well as the sound of clanking dishes. Grabbing her phone from her nightstand, the girl saw that she had multiple messages from a plethora of people. But she didn't have the energy at that moment to answer anyone. And seeing the time to be around eight thirty in the morning, the tall girl didn't want to stay in bed all day. So, she carefully sat up in her bed and shook off her blankets, hanging her legs off the side, her right knee still firmly wrapped.
Using her good leg, the (h/c) haired girl stood up and grabbed her crutches that were set up against the wall before slowly making her way downstairs to see who was even in her house. Due to her experience with walking on crutches for quite some time, the triple threat was very good at maneuvering her way down the stairs without having to scoot down on her behind.
Once she had made it down, (Y/N) was a little surprised to see the (h/c) head of hair belonging her older brother, Hayate, sitting on the couch with her dogs, and Aneko making breakfast in the kitchen. The oldest Bashira son was the first to turn and look at the somewhat surprised look on his baby sister's face.
"Ah! Out of the way pups! Baby Sis needs a hug!" The 19-year old college freshman announced as he jumped up from the couch and jogged over to trap the triple threat in a loving bear hug, causing her to drop her crutches as she reciprocated the embrace.
Aneko threw her younger brother a look for his rowdiness as she wiped her hands on a towel before stepping out of the kitchen and towards the hugging siblings.
"We got Riko's call last night, so we rushed over right when we could," the black haired sister informed the younger one.
(Y/N) soon pulled away from her older brother while trying to reel in the fact that her older siblings had come from their homes to stay with her. However, there was also someone else that she was wondering about.
"What about Hibiki?" The triple threat questioned about her twin.
Geez, if he knew about all of this, (Y/N) knew he'd freak out, big time. Though there was a completely logical answer as to why the other Bashira twin was absent.
"Well, he had practice today. But he didn't want to go, so I had to shove his ass out the door to make sure Yukio didn't kill him," Hayate explained, still amazed as to how their little struggle hadn't woken up their sister.
"He'll be back later. But we all wanted to be here for you, no matter what," Aneko added, smiling to the younger sister.
Hearing and feeling the support of her family, (Y/N) was moved to tears once again, feeling her eyes beginning to water before her sister placed her hands on the younger teen's cheeks as the triple threat began crying again.
"Oh, honey, come here," Aneko cooed as she hugged the younger girl, giving her a kiss on her head while Hayate completed the group hug.
This was something the (h/c) haired girl needed more than she realized. She had to be reminded that she wasn't alone in this world, that she had people to lean on. And that included more than just her family.
Even the day after they had lost their game against Touou, the Seirin team was still required to come to school for their regular practice. Though that didn't sit well with anyone, especially when they were still feeling down and out. Koganei had the fear that the coach was going to make them do twice as many three-man drills. But Hyuga actually made the right call once the team had entered the gym.
"Three sets. Get going," Riko smiled happily, a sparkly aura around her.
Again, the captain called it as everyone freaked out, especially Koganei as comical tears fell from his eyes.
"Are you serious?! We just finished a game!"
"What are you making us do that for?!"
"Huh? Four?"
Riko wasn't letting off as she kept the smile on her face. In fact, triple the amount of drills sounded a lot better than quadruple that amount. No one dared argue as the second years as tried to act pumped to get to work.
"Alright! Practice!"
"Let's give it our all!"
"Yeah!"
After they had finished with their drills, Hyuga called everyone to gather around in a group huddle. Though there seemed to be a couple of people missing.
"Huh? Where's Kuroko? Is he skipping?" The second year captain questioned once he hadn't seen the phantom.
"I would never skip," the boy's voice suddenly stated, causing everyone to jump, like usual.
This time, Number Two was also here, taking a seat beside Kuroko. It had been a minute though since the phantom had given everyone a jump scare like that. It was refreshing to feel that sudden burst of excitement whenever Kuroko popped up out of nowhere. In fact, it was so refreshing, that once the boys had separated into teams for a little practice game, Koganei and Tsuchida quickly ganged up on the phantom as the cat faced second year threw his arm around the rebounder's shoulders.
"Today's the day."
"We'll stop you, Kuroko."
Blinking a couple of times, the light blue haired boy didn't remark. Instead, he showed off his skills on the court, his misdirecting seemingly on point unlike it was the day before. As Riko watched on, she laughed a little bit as she listened to the little squabble between Koganei and Tsuchida, the two second years arguing over who had declared they'd stop Kuroko.
Hearing the door open behind her, the brunette girl turned and expected to see Kagami, even though he had been ordered by the doctors to take two weeks off in order to heal properly. So she was genuinely surprised to see (Y/N) crutching her way in wearing a t-shirt with a pair of shorts and some sandals adorning her feet. Her new accessory was her black medical knee brace that she always had ever since her disease became a problem.
"Hey, I wasn't expecting to see you," Riko said to the girl in a surprised tone of voice as she watched the younger girl let out a smile.
"Well, I wanted to get out of the house, so I came here," the tall girl smiled as she stood beside her older cousin, leaning more on her crutches.
The brunette second year was glad that (Y/N) seemed to be a little better, but one could tell she was still rather tired than usual. She could tell by her (e/c) gaze as it watched the boys on the court. It looked more dull than bright.
"So, how're you feeling today?" Riko asked the triple threat.
Now, (Y/N) knew she didn't have to hide anything, even though her habit of doing so still had a strong hold over her. Letting out a sigh through her nose, the (h/c) haired girl gave a little side smile as she turned towards Riko.
"I'm okay. Kitty kind of went a little overboard with trying to get me to relax. Big time spa day," the triple threat admitted before holding out one of her hands and then pointed down to her feet.
Looking down, Riko recognized the intricate and beautiful work done by Aneko on (Y/N)'s nails, both fingers and toes.
"Ooh, those are cute," the brunette let out as she grabbed the taller girl's hand to get a better look at the navy blue finger acrylic nails as well as the black polish on her toenails decorated with daisies.
"Right? I've been meaning to paint them, but I've never had time. The three of us need to take a spa day."
"Agreed."
Laughing along with each other, the two girls then turned their attention back to the practice game. Honestly, Riko was surprised that the boys were as lively as they were, especially after the loss of their games yesterday. They seemed to be acting like their old selves, even Kuroko seemed to be doing better. Though the optimism came a little too soon as the two girls watched the phantom try and misdirect the ball, but he only ended up missing the pass completely.
Right, of course he wasn't better. Seirin had put everything they had into the Touou game, and it still didn't do much. Now that the girls watched them more, they could both tell that none of the boys were really into the practice game that they were playing. Well then, the second year coach was just going to have to give them some motivation.
After another basket was scored, Riko blew her whistle.
"Gather round!"
Doing as she was told, the boys made their way over to huddle around the coach and the triple threat, the tall girl waving to some of the boys who hadn't seen her enter the gym.
"Alright. You all made a promise when you first joined the team, do you remember?" The coach asked the crowd.
And everyone quickly paled once they heard Riko bring up that subject. Clearly, she was referring to them all shouting out their goals on the roof of the school, and if they didn't fulfill that goal, Seirin was going to see some stark naked basketball players.
"Really?"
"That again?"
"Trust me, you don't wanna lose the next one. Know why? This winter's going to be real chilly," the brunette second year revealed in a somewhat cryptic message.
But some of the players knew what she was referring to, especially (Y/N), being as that her family had always competed in this certain competition for generations. Some of the first years, they were still a bit lost.
"Winter?" Kawahara repeated with a slight fear taking over his tone.
"That's right. The summer inter-high is where the best high school is determined, as you know. Then, there's the winter championship. That's the biggest and last title to determine the year's strongest team. AKA: the Winter Cup. That's where we're gonna put it all on the line," Riko explained.
So that was the last chance for team to take their chance at winning it all. They had to, or else....
"She's really gonna leave us butt naked out in the cold," Hyuga dreaded as he peeked back at the sparkly and happy coach while (Y/N) just stood there with her crutches and sweat-dropped at her cousin.
This was going to be tough for sure, especially when they all knew that this championship was right at the same level as the Inter-High, maybe even tougher, considering there were many other top schools that would be competing for that top spot. And Seirin had already gotten a taste of what type of competitors would be participating in the Winter Cup. While some of the boys dreaded the new challenge that was facing them, Riko then remembered something rather important.
"Oh, that reminds me, Hyuga. Teppei should be coming home soon. Just so you know."
"He is?!" (Y/N) then smiled excitedly as she clapped her hands together while keeping her crutches tucked under her armpits.
There was the bright triple threat. Though Hyuga didn't seem as excited as the tall girl was when he had heard the familiar name.
"What? Seriously?"
"Oh boy. That sure changes things. Should be fun."
"Uh, excuse me? Who is this 'Teppei'?" Furihata then asked for the rest of the first years, hearing the second years comment amongst themselves.
"Oh yeah, that's right. Other than (Y/N), the first years haven't had a chance to meet him. He's #7, our ace," Izuki explained.
Once they had gone over a few more training drills, the boys had gone back to the locker room in order to change and rest up. Though, the punster seemed to notice something was off with one of the first years in particular.
"I'm worried, though. Is Kagami going to be okay?" The punster asked.
The red head hadn't shown up to practice that day, and he hadn't really been keeping contact all that well. There was no telling how he had been taking all of this, especially when it came to him not being able to play for two weeks.
"He's resting right now. But I told him to come watch us practice when he had a chance."
Though he hadn't really shown up at all, not even with the offers. And it sure as hell pissed Hyuga off as a large, red tick mark appeared on his forehead. Soon, fire seemed to engulf the captain as he gripped his t-shirt.
"He might be hurt, but he's got some balls not to show up. I'm gonna kill him," The captain growled as the other three first years coward away from him in order to avoid his wrath.
"Hey, Kuroko. You and (Y/N) are in his class, right? Either of you two know anything?" Koganei asked the phantom as he closed up his locker with Number Two sitting and waiting patiently for him.
Surely the other two first years knew something about the tiger's condition, both mentally and physically. But Kuroko didn't have much of an answer as he faced the second year.
"Nothing. Neither of us have had a chance to speak with him."
That answer only seemed to irritate Hyuga even more as he went over to the phantom, his fists clenched as if he were preparing to punch someone.
"You could've at least asked him something!" The captain shouted.
"I'm sorry. But recently, talking to Kagami has been a little difficult. Even (Y/N) hasn't been able to speak with him. Good work, everyone."
And with that, the light blue haired boy, along with the little pooch made their way out the locker room, and disappeared without saying another word. Now even though Kuroko was fairly a monotone type person, but some could tell that something was bothering the boy. Not only that, but everyone could tell something was bothering (Y/N) too, she just didn't seem as bright as she usually was. The only time she had shown through once again was when the coach had mentioned this Teppei person.
Back in the gym, the (h/c) haired girl was now sitting on a chair that Kuroko had brought out for her as she watched her best friend dribble a basketball from the free throw line with the little pup sitting at her side on the ground. The two of them had been in silence as they both listened to the rhythmic sound of the phantom's dribbling.
"Hey, (Y/N)?" The soft spoken boy suddenly called out to the girl.
"Hm?" She hummed.
Dribbling the ball a couple more times, Kuroko then caught it before looking over to the (h/c) haired girl as she tilted her head to the side slightly.
"The 'Teppei' person that Coach mentioned earlier, could you tell me what he's like?"
Caught off guard by his sudden question, (Y/N) then perked up a little bit as she leaned forward in her knees.
"How to describe Teppei, huh?" She started, looking off to the side to try and come up with even the right statements to describe her dear friend.
And while she thought, the triple threat couldn't help but to smile softly when she thought of the ace of Seirin. All of the good memories that they had together.
"Teppei is weird, but weird like me. He's also..." she trailed off for a second, putting her hands together as she looked up in thought in order to find the right words to use for the next part of her statement.
"He's really good at calming me down before I completely freak out like I did after we lost, again, I am so sorry you had to see that, but he's a great guy. You'll like him," she smiled as she finished her sentence.
Nodding at her words, Kuroko took that into consideration as he shot from the free throw line, the ball just missing short as it hit the rim and rolled off into the dark with Number Two chasing after it and barking. That is, until the triple threat could make out a figure in the shadows as a large hand stopped the rolling ball.
"C'mere," a deep voice suddenly came out as it cooed to the puppy.
Kuroko soon turned around as Number Two barked happily before rolling over to get a loving belly rub. Recognizing the shape of the figure instantly once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, (Y/N) smiled as she grabbed her crutches and stood up from her chair.
"Now who's a good boy? Yes you are. He sort of looks like you, don't you think?" The mysterious boy asked Kuroko before grabbing the basketball beside him, letting out a few laughs in the process.
"So the rumors are true. You're not much good at anything besides passing."
Kuroko didn't take the comment too well as he slightly glared at the stranger. (Y/N) mentally slapped her forehead at his choice of words. The guy meant well, but come on.
"But so what? Who cares? Personally, I like the way you play ball," the taller boy commented before tossing the ball back to the light blue haired boy.
"You're not doing it wrong, you're just inexperienced, that's all. Want some candy?" He offered to Kuroko innocently before standing up, putting his hand into the bag of goodies he had brought along with him.
"I don't know you," The light blue haired boy responsibly answered while (Y/N) snorted as she let out a small laugh from behind him.
"What did you say your name was?"
Chewing the piece of candy in his mouth, the mysterious boy soon came into the came into the light, his chocolate brown hair and matching eyes becoming apparent in his features, as well as his height. He was probably just a smidge taller than Kagami was.
"Teppei Kiyoshi," he finally answered.
Once Kuroko had realized who this was, (Y/N) was unable to hold back her excitement as she quickly crutched her way to her best friend's side, a big smile etched into her features. The tall 6'4 soon recognized the girl as he let out a surprised laugh.
"Hey, Teddy!" He greeted her as she crutched her way over to him.
"Hi!" She returned the gesture before holding one arm up as Kiyoshi wrapped his large ones around her figure, her one arm going around his neck.
The triple threat hadn't seen the ace and center in quite some time, not since the year beforehand. And she hadn't been able to see him when everything went down back at Teiko either, so this hug was well worth the wait. Kuroko stayed back as he watched the two, taking note of his friend's new nickname. He could only assume it was because she loved hugs so much, it was fitting.
Pulling away, (Y/N) grabbed her other crutch and watched as the taller boy's face went from one of happiness to concern in an instance.
"Whoa, what happened to your leg?" Kiyoshi asked her as he looked down at her knee brace.
The (h/c) haired girl soon sweat-dropped at the second year's airheaded-ness, letting out a perplexed look.
"Teppei, you know about my knees."
"Oh yeah."
Letting out a laugh as she shook her head, (Y/N) then turned back towards Kuroko, nodding her head over towards the tallest out of the three, signaling that he should talk to him.
"So, uh...can I help you with something?" The phantom got the strength to ask.
The triple threat soon stood back a little as she got prepared to listen to Kuroko's first ever Teppei Kiyoshi's inspirational speech.
"You're an interesting one. Basketball is about generalists. Or rather, it's a sport for those who can do everything. Put loosely, as long as you've got five scorers who can pass the ball, you should be A-OK. However, it doesn't always work, which is why you have certain positions. And some teams will have a specialist as their sixth man. But, I've never seen a specialist as extreme as you. Specializing so thoroughly in one thing is extraordinary," Kiyoshi monologued before running back towards the three point line, putting out his hands.
Seeing what he was doing, Kuroko quickly and instinctively passed the ball to the boy, who caught it successfully. The phantom had been paying close attention to the words Kiyoshi was speaking as well, taking in every little detail as the two first years watched the center and ace crouch down as he began dribbling.
"But, are you not the one who's assuming that's your limit?" Kiyoshi asked as he ran up before jumping into the air to make a layup.
Though it didn't quite make it in, showing the the second year had gone a little rusty as all three watched the ball bounce out of bounds. But his words were what meant to Kuroko. Because he had never thought of it like that before.
"You know, it's cool that you view yourself so objectively. And it's impressive that you can put that into the way you play. But, you may be taking it too far. We're still only high schoolers. You should try believing in your own potential just a little bit more," Kiyoshi preached to the choir.
Kuroko was too stunned to speak, a typical reaction from one who had never heard the center's inspirational TED talks. Though, sometimes the second year was a bit too bashful.
"Look at me. Now I'm babbling. Well, guess I'll see you next week, Kuroko," the brown haired boy told the phantom, waving to him over his shoulder.
Though as he began to walk away, (Y/N) spotted something.
"Teppei, you're gonna step-"
But the girl was cut off by the sound of crunching as she let out a sigh once she and Kuroko saw that Kiyoshi had stepped directly onto his bag of candy, the tall boy quickly panicking.
"Aw man! I just bought these..."
Yep, Kiyoshi hadn't changed one bit. And he had given Kuroko a lot to think about after his talk. Honestly, (Y/N) knew he had a lot of potential to go beyond just passing. The way that they could get to that conclusion, though, would be the tricky part.
While it was refreshing to see the old center once again, Riko had still recommended that (Y/N) take a few days off just to have to herself without having to worry about her team. Especially considering that the day of her surgery would be here before anyone knew it.
So, even though she was hesitant, the tall girl took her cousin's advice and stayed home to spend some quality time with her family. Even if it included Hibiki fretting over her every second of the day.
And luckily for her, (Y/N) was able to do exercises to help with her knee so that she could slowly ease off her crutches. A couple of days later, the girl was soon limping around her house with just her knee brace, though she was still taking it easy.
On the last day that she wanted to take off, the triple threat decided to get out of the house and exercise both her knee and her mental health. Getting up rather early that morning, (Y/N) came down the stairs with some of her running clothes on before walking over and grabbing some sneakers from a closet near the front door.
"Where are you going?" Hibiki asked her as he and Hayate sat on her couch working on some assignments for school.
"Just gonna go take a walk on some of trails near here. There's no steep areas, so I think it'll be good for my knee. Plus, I need some new surroundings," the older twin explained as she tied her shoes before standing back up.
"Well, just be careful. You never know if there'll be any weird areas. Or if anyone creepy is walking them," Aneko piped up as she came out of the bathroom, the older sister scrubbing on a charcoal facing mask with her short hair being held back by a fuzzy headband.
"I second that," Hayate agreed.
(Y/N) knew where her siblings were coming from, but she wasn't worried. The triple threat had walked and run on those trails a thousand times. She knew it like the back of her hand. But just to please her family, she agreed with their statements.
"I know. And I won't be long. Maybe forty-five minutes. I'll be back!"
Closing the door behind her, (Y/N) soon broke out into a light jog, watching the houses she passed before reaching a more secluded and forested area of the neighborhood, signs posting to signal the start of the trail, as well as a map. Not that she needed it. Smiling to herself, the (h/c) haired girl began her little walk, listening to the birds, as well as any other animals in the area.
This was truly calming and peaceful for her. The triple threat could really just get lost in her thoughts over here. It was her happy place. Continuing to smile, (Y/N) spun around to make sure she could take in all of the beauty around her.
Unbeknownst to her, however, there was someone else out here as well.
And the tall girl suddenly felt that presence too, feeling like someone was watching her. The birds had stopped chirping too. Strange, she never felt this way on the trail before. Her mind was telling her that she wasn't the only one out here, and that she should probably just cut her walk short.
But as she turned around to head back down, (Y/N) was met with someone blocking her path. Standing about twenty feet away from her was a boy who was probably around six feet tall. He had his head down, and he was wearing all black clothing, a t-shirt and some pants. And in his grasp was a leash that was attached to a rather large canine. A large growling canine, baring it's teeth at the girl.
The triple threat knew this wasn't an ordinary hiker, and immediately felt tense once the boy picked up his head to look up at her.
"Well, well, who would've thought I'd meet the infamous Triple Threat of the Generation of Miracles out here. What luck for me," he finally spoke.
He had, what the girl likes to call, crazy eyes, his hair was messy and black. But he had the physique of an average basketball player. The smile on his face just screamed a whole bunch of red flags to (Y/N). His voice had a sinister edge to it as well.
But he looked familiar to her as the two continued to stare each other down.
"Uh...can I help you?" The (h/c) haired girl was finally able to ask.
Maybe he was just lost, or he was a fan? Honestly, she didn't know at this point. Once he had looked back at her, and with the dog letting out and deep bark, (Y/N) knew that her option was none of the above as she tensed up even more.
"Actually, you already did in the past. In the last game we played against each other, you completely wiped the floor with me, the so-called God of Despair, Tatsuo Okami!" He shouted out, the crazed psycho smile on his face.
With her eyes widening, (Y/N) now knew who this was. And it seemed like he had only grown more crazy since the last time she had seen him, though it was only one time on the court. As he let out psycho cackle, Tatsuo turned back towards the now on guard triple threat.
"And let's just say, I'm here to return the favor, (Y/N) Bashira."