Everyone was happy to hit the showers, except me. Revenge sounded great, but that doesn't change the fact that I lost—to Kuroko. Somehow I'm glad it was him and not one of my other old teammates. Maybe it's because I respect him basketball more than the others'.

"Hey, Kise, you coming or what," Kasamatsu asked. I shook my head slowly. "Fine, but stop your crying already!"

He jabbed me in the side. I feel into the wall, clutching my side. I know he means well, but ow. My legs slowly buckled until I was sitting on the floor of the hallway. How did I lose? I lowered my head into my hands.

Doors opened to my right, and I quickly straightened up. About half of the Seirin team walked out of the locker room. No Kuroko. I really wanted to talk to him. "I'll just wait until he comes out," I said to myself. After a few minutes everyone had left except Kuroko and Kagami. I would have gone in, but I did not want to deal with the latter. I heard the doors open again.

"We'll be waiting outside deciding where to eat," Kagami called into the locker room.

I heard Kuroko's muffled response over the sound of the showers. He was always the last one to shower, but not by choice. The team would forget about him. Not being noticed may help during basketball games, but not in the real world.

Kagami's thudding footsteps echoed through the hall. I ducked into a doorway to avoid making eye contact. He passes me adjusting his bag strap and muttering under his breath about the Generation of Miracles. Soon his footsteps died out, and the door at the end of the hall opened and closed. He was gone.

I peeked my head into the locker room to make sure I hadn't miscounted. It was empty. I quickly went inside and slowly closed the door behind me. I followed the sound of the showers.

Kuroko had his back turned to the door. His face was in the full blast of the shower head The rest of him was trickling with hot water and soap subs. I'd seen this sight countless times in middle school—after games and practices—but somehow it was different now. As I looked at his pale skin slowly turning red under the scalding water, I felt like I was trespassing.

Instead of making my presence known, I froze. All I could do was stare at the sight before me; his hair sticking to his neck; his shoulder blades moving under his taught skin; his vertebrae poking out and coated in suds; his lower back dimples . . . My lips slowly parted as my gaze went further and further down his body. As they trailed back up, my breathing became heavy, my stomach was turning in knots, and I was feeling a disturbance below my waist. All sorts of thoughts started filling my head—both pure and impure.

Kuroko turned around to wash his back. I jumped behind the partition. Luckily, his eyes were clamped shut due to the water still dripping over them. I peeked back into the room and took in his front. Has his face always looked like that? Kuroko had just run his fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his face. I'd ever seen him like that. His usually soft features now seemed sharp and striking. Somehow his whole structure shifted to resemble that of Apollo.

Kuroko was now stunning. I wanted to shift my gaze further down, but my eyes were glued on his new-to-me face. His mouth was slightly parted and his eyes still shut. I desperately wanted to see how his bright-blue eyes compared to this version of him, but they stayed closed against the water pouring over them.

My eyes flicked away from his face to his hands that were lathering his chest. The bar of soap was slowly going over his soft, pink nipples. It slid over them easily, leaving a trail of suds behind. My eyes followed eagerly as Kuroko's hands then trailed down to his abdomen. It wasn't particularly chiseled or muscular, but somehow its flat, softness was extremely appealing. I wanted to be closer; to feel his stomach myself. His hands went down further and spread to the sides. They massaged the soap into his upper thighs. I couldn't help but center my focus between his hands at his crotch. I pulled my lower lip between my teeth, biting it softly. My mind went blank as I stared with wide eyes. The water was dripping off him with the suds following. I felt myself getting aroused at the sight.

Why is this so different than all the other times? I thought to myself. It never used to be like this. What changed? It feels so wrong to see him like this, but I like it! I ran out of the showers and through the locker room before he could see me. I didn't bother to close the door behind me. I ran down the hall and outside. My hands hit the water fountain hard.

The game was completely out of my mind. I couldn't focus on anything expect how Kuroko made me feel. I ran the cold water over my head to try and calm down. I was in my own world until I heard Midorima behind me.