Fandom: Kuroko no Basket
Rating: T
Pairing: Aomine Daiki x Kise Ryouta (AoKi); hints of other pairings later
Warning: Boy/Boy. Chances of OOC. OCs. Spoilers for those who are not caught up in the manga. Does not follow the manga exactly (since Haizaki does not get punched by Aomine... yet haha). Grammatical and spelling mistakes. Un-beta'd. Mediocre. (But give it a shot?)
Word Count: 1260 words
A/N: I don't know if I will end up finishing this, but I just love AoKi too much. Currently writing a 10k+ fanfic on AoKi but I can't seem to write it at the moment, so I guess I start a new fanfic. So the story is set during the Winter Cup, after Kise has his match with Haizaki. This chapter is immensely shorter than the others, since I expect roughly about 3-4k per chapter? Aside from this one because it's the first haha. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket. Clearly belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi. However, this plot is my own and all supporting characters that are not shown in the anime/manga are mine.
Dedication: To my lovely readers and AoKi fans out there. Just adding more to the fandom! :)

Summary: Kise's threatened by Haizaki, who will take everything away from him. After he loses what he thinks is everything, he finds himself in the darkness, alone. Then there is Aomine, but can he save Kise from losing anything else?

Protect Me: Chapter 01
AzaleaLura

He suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

Oh how he wanted someone to hold him, to be his wall of support; how he wished he had not left his teammates and followed them back to the hotel; how he wished Kasamatsu had offered to stay with him. But no, Kise Ryouta had to force himself to smile, to show his teammates that he was alright, that he just wanted to take a moment's rest before heading back to the hotel. Of course, Kasamatsu looked concerned, with his eyebrows furrowed downwards as he hesitantly disappeared from Kise's line of vision.

He was just leaving the locker room when he came across him. Haizaki Shougo. He was fully aware that the individual in front of him hated him for their personalities were far too similar; they both had the ability to copy – or in Haizaki's case, literally steal the move, immobilizing the player to use it again. Haizaki enjoyed torturing Kise, making his middle school life at Teikou difficult on the basketball team. Fortunately, their captain had foreseen Kise of surpassing Haizaki, and kicked the latter off the team so the two never bonded too strongly. However, Haizaki held a certain grudge towards a blond copycat.

His murderous eyes, the anger and frustration of losing, the fact that Kise had surpassed him in skill—he wanted him dead. Kise was completely sure of that, but he still offered him a small smile, despite the fact that the huge sting of pain in his left leg was caused by the man right in front of him.

Attempting to leave, he limped around the male, but yelped once he felt someone firmly grasp his wrist. He knew who it was and mentally prayed that if he just kept quiet, let the man rant and curse and spout vulgar words at him; he could make it back to the hotel in one piece.

Nothing ever went as Kise planned though; not the Inter-High championship, not the injury from the previous match, and definitely not what he expected Haizaki to do.

"Ryouta, do you know why I hate you?"

Of course he knew. But it wasn't his fault that he left the club; he could have worked harder to surpass Kise, and gain back his title as a "Generations of Miracle" player. It wasn't his fault for having a similar technique to his; he didn't want to have anything in common with this temperamental individual. It wasn't his fault for Haizaki's loss; Kise and his teammates worked damn hard to win that match!

He kept quiet, knowing full well that Haizaki had a huge advantage now. His leg made it impossible to run away or even protect himself if he said anything to anger Haizaki even more than he already had.

Haizaki tightened his grip around Kise's wrist, causing the blond to wince at the strength. Why didn't he have the energy to snatch his wrist free from his grasp? His wrist was not injured like his leg, but then again, he knew that even if he freed his wrist, Haizaki would just reach for it again.

Kise bit down on his lower lip, mentally calling himself pathetic and weak and helpless. What did Haizaki want with him anyway!?

"Well, I see you're awfully quiet, Ryouta. What happened to the confidence from before? Is it because your little posse isn't here to watch over your back?"

Before Kise had a chance to reply, to argue that his confidence from the court was different – that he was only focused on beating Haizaki; he didn't want to do anything else, but of course the other male just liked to use Kise as his output source for anger, he noticed Haizaki's expression shift from a smirk to a scowl.

That expression alone caused Kise to bite back his words, stopping himself from daring to face and argue against this man. Really, he just wanted to get this over and done with and leave, return back to the hotel; where he could feel the air enter through his system; where it would be warm, peaceful, and safe; where he would be surrounded by his team and away from him.

"Fucking pretty boy. You think you're so perfect because you always win, don't you? So damn perfect that everyone loves you—everyone wants to be your friend." Haizaki neared closer, and Kise could feel his breath against his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

Kise closed his eyes. Why was he always in messes like this? Where people would blame him for their mistakes when he hadn't done anything in particular? It was just a game.

"You don't know how it feels to have something taken away from you, do you?"

That was when Kise opened his eyes, his honey-brown orbs widened in fear and shock as he forced himself to look at Haizaki in the eye. The male smirked, knowing full well that he had captured Kise's attention, that he had something to hold against him, and finally – finally – things would be under his control.

"So it's true."

Kise didn't need to mutter another word, even though he really wanted to; he wanted to give Haizaki a piece of his mind, tell him that if dare hurt his teammates, his friends, he would pay. Before he had the chance to even open his mouth, Haizaki stepped back, his hands in his pockets as he rocked back and forth, "Guess there's always a first."

As Haizaki turned away from Kise, the blond finally found the strength to move again, finally had the ability to inhale oxygen into his lungs, and called out to Haizaki. The hallways were empty, not a single soul lingered aside from Haizaki and Kise. His voice echoed along the empty halls, knowing that Haizaki had heard them; heard him asking what he was going to do, what his intentions were, but the male disappeared from his vision before ever receiving a response.

Suddenly he felt cold, to the point where he was shivering uncontrollably. His hands shook with fear, just like back in the Inter-High, when had lost his match with Aomine; he could feel the tears stream down his cheeks. His heart, his mind, everything, feared for Haizaki. He had put a strong act in front of his team, in front of the audience, even in front of Haizaki during the match, but now, now he felt that strength vanish from his system and what replaced it was fear.

Fear that Haizaki would stick with his threat; that he would show Kise what it was like to lose something dearest to him.

Dearest to him...

He cringed, holding his stomach tightly, as he sunk down to the floor, covering his eyes with his hands to prevent anyone from seeing him crying. The chance of someone passing by was slim, extremely slim, but still, Kise was worried. He didn't want anyone to ask him what was wrong; he didn't want anyone knowing of his and Haizaki's meeting.

But deep down, he feared for the safety of his team, of his friends, of his hobbies, of his family—everything he ever cherished; he was scared for it all.

If only he had just gone home with the team, if only he had asked Kasamatsu to stick with him, if only he let Haizaki win this one goddamn time.

If only I never existed...

Kise let out a whimper, feeling a stream of tears leave his eyes and trail down his cheeks.

Why did this always happen to him?