(ENG) KUROKO NO BASKET ONESHOTS

AKASHI X TWIN SISTER READER - BROKEN HOME

"Wow! Thanks mum!" – Seijuro exclaims, super excited about his new basketball, sneakers and training suit.

"Do you like it? And what do you think, (Name)?"

"I like my new violin! Thanks!"

"Oh, I'm so glad! Soon you'll be starting primary school and now you have everything you need to join the clubs that you want!" – your mom says, showering you two with kisses. Your sixth birthday couldn't have gone better and you immediately start trying out the presents that you've just received.

You and your twin brother Seijuro have always been very close and despite the differences you're similar, both physically and temperamentally. You're children from a prestigious Japanese family and you've never missed a thing you needed for; or so it was before a severe disease took your mother away. You were not even in your third year of primary school and you had to experience such a deep suffering, worsened by your father: always a gruff and strict man, after the loss of his wife he had become even more stern and inflexible towards you. While your mother thought of you as angels incarnate and she had always respected your dreams, your passions and your freedom, when she passed away all those things suffered the same fate. It's not that your father didn't love you, but he couldn't tolerate the slightest slip-up: he wanted absolute perfection, an insuperable victory, top performances in each and every part of your life. A team of teachers, trainers and etiquette experts made you used to the strict rules of the upper-class, teaching you what it means to be members of the élite.

You and Seijuro have suffered a lot, but you've never stopped helping each other out: you've taken the blame for each other countless times, you've been undeservedly scolded and you've protected each other even when it meant receiving a sound slap. This situation went on for years. After elementary school you thought that your father's strictness would subside with the passing of time. But this hasn't happened, if anything, it has been quite the opposite: during middle school detentions have been harsher and reproaches more frequent; even getting 99 instead of 100 was a tragedy. But between you and Seijuro it was him, the male heir and the firstborn (even if only for a few minutes), who got the worst of it. In the long run this suffering changed him and the Seijuro you used to know gave way to an arrogant, bossy and sometimes despotic boy. The elegance, the sensibility, the meekness... they all vanished. You know the truth, you know that this happened so that he could not lose nor make mistakes, therefore you can't really blame him or hate him. But it is undeniable that the suffering caused by the sight of your bond getting colder and colder is deep: although you attend the same middle school and often see each other, you barely talk.

At the end of the third year of middle school Seijuro and Teiko managed to collect 300 victories out of 300 games.

"I make you my compliments, Seijuro. Under your guide the basketball team has never lost a match and the defeats inflicted on your rivals have always been crushing. That's my son, that's my heir. Take a cue from your brother, (Name): striving for perfection and reaching it shall be the one and only goal of your life."

"Yes, father. I will." – you say down-headed.

When the conversation is over you both head to your rooms, but a second before your fingers touch the door's handle you decide to turn around, break the silence and talk to your brother.

"Do you need anything, (Name)?" – he asks.

"I just want to talk. May I?"

Your brother stares for a while at his textbook laid open on the desk but then decides to let you in and you sit on the sofa next to him.

"I know that you're busy, therefore I'll go straight to the point without wasting your time: are you happy, Seijuro?"

"Of course I am. Our father praised me and my team won every match played in the last three years: I have no reason not to be satisfied."

"Don't you miss the moments that we experienced when we were little? We were so happy and light-hearted then, we could do whatever we wanted and we didn't suffer such pressure to be perfect."

"Our mother is dead, (Name). Things can't be the way they were."

"They can and should. I know that our father loves us and pushes us to become the best version of ourselves, but this method reduces our lives to a sequence of mechanical actions: waking up, eating, winning, going to bed. Waking up, eating, winning, going to bed."

"So? Do you prefer to live like a wastrel, a slacker, a loser? I thought you had higher aims, that you wanted to do something more with your life."

"Don't get me wrong, Seijuro: I didn't say that we shouldn't put in the effort or have ambitions. I'm just saying that our life shouldn't revolve entirely around them: I want to be someone as well, someone important and capable of making a difference to change the world for the better; but we can't do that if we forget who we are and we give up on our relationships with others."

"Better alone than in bad company, (Name). Other people don't work as much as we do and they're just burdens that hold us back if we can't correctly guide them."

"Not all are like this. Just think of Midorima, Kise, Kuroko... they worked really hard to improve their skills. But if you don't want to focus on them, focus on me: this mindset that our father imposed on us has deprived me of my twin brother, my other half with whom I've shared every moment ever since we were in mum's womb. Even though you're physically here you're slipping through my fingers more and more each day, and I don't want to lose you! I want to feel like your sister again, Seijuro! I want to smile and grow with you, just like mum had always wanted!"

You put all your feelings in these exclamations, trying to reach the deepest part of his heart. Silence invades the room: you've run out of words, while he is pronouncing some to himself. In his soul, a dialogue between his two sides.

"She's right. Listen to her."

"I can't, or I'll be weak again: a miserable boy without ambitions or a future."

"We were never weak. We were free, we were happy."

"Should I leave then? Should I disappear like I never existed and leave my place to you?"

"Yes, it's for our sake. But do not worry, I'll make sure not to forget the good things that I've learned while you were in charge."

"Promise me. And promise me that we shall never suffer like we used to anymore."

"I swear: our sister and I will be close again and nothing will ever undermine us."

"Farewell, Seijuro."

Suddenly your brother's face displays a couple of tears and the look in his wide eyes changes drastically: it's guilty, saddened... but sweet.

"(Nickname)..." – he whispers facing you.

You can't believe your ears: he called you the nickname he used to use before the "great change".

"Sei-chan?" – your stunned self whisper-yells.

Your brother nods and donates you a smile, the most beautiful that you've seen in the last couple of years: a smile that requires the strongest of hugs.

"Sei-chan!" – you scream, crying as well.

"I missed you, (Nickname). I missed you so much."

"It's the same for me! So, have you understood what I'm trying to tell you? Will everything go back to the way it was?"

"It will be even better."

Awwww the sweetness :3   

Song used in the title: Broken home - 5 seconds of summer