The Curse Of The Extraordinary

Aomine Daiki, the free-spirited player of basketball, the person who loved the sport more than anything else, he was a person whose life revolved around the game of basketball.

Aomine was so gifted in the sport that he loved that when those two factors combined, pushed him to greater heights.

Aomine didn't learn how to play basketball, he figured how to play it on his own, in essence, he was a pioneer, who without any guidance, learned how to play the sport and became an era-defining talent.

As he learned how to play it on his own, he made mistakes, and he learned from them. Aomine was never spoon-feed anything when it came to basketball.

Through countless trials and error, he shed any resemblance of standard form and attained a style that helped him move as he wished to.

He had the X-factor, which made him different from his equally talented teammates.

But because everything came so easily to Aomine that a problem arose.

In the process of catching up to a greater challenge in the form of Kageyama Shun, he trained harder than he ever had, and in that hard work, he forgot to look behind.

When he looked back, it was already too late.

For the sake of catching up to one person, he had ruined the enjoyment that he felt every day he played.

His daily practice in the club became so boring and unchallenging that he started to dread going to the gym.

If one were to argue, then they would say that Aomine had four equally talented people he could play against in his club.

They would be correct but, then things were never that simple.

Murasakibara Atsushi was unmotivated and didn't like to move much, he stayed in the low post to defend his area, that wasn't what Aomine wanted. Even he had difficulty scoring against him the few times they played, there was no rush in playing against Murasakibara.

Murasakibara: "Basketball is so bothersome. I just want to eat sweets."

Midorima Shintaro liked to shoot off the catch, he wouldn't go against Aomine when he could run away to a free-spot and get the ball to score.

Midorima: "Why would I duke it out with you, when I can score three-points at a time from far away."

Akashi Seijuro was the point guard, whose bread and butter was to manage plays, he too wasn't what Aomine was looking for.

Akashi: "I have to lead the game far away from the basket. I am not an offensive point guard like Kageyama Shun."

Then there was Kise Ryota, his rising teammate. Aomine would have been satisfied with him if the was stronger, but Kise was too green for Aomine. To date, Kise hadn't been able to score a single point on Aomine on any occasion.

Kise: "Aomine-cchi! Come on one more time. I will definitely score on you this time."

Plus, duking it out in practice was not fun as it was in a real game. No one went all-out in practice.

Aomine looked forward to playing against Kageyama Shun every day, but that wait made his days in the club practicing more painful and numbing.

If you wondered why Shun wasn't feeling such emotions, it was because Aomine and Shun played the game differently.

Shun played the game as a point guard and experienced joy when he was able to delegate his teammates on the court. That was also the reason why Shun hated playing against Teiko.

Shun had said the following words to Kise during their first meeting.

Shun: "As a point guard, I hate playing against Teiko. If I had been interested in being a forward or even a shooting guard, then I would have loved to play against you guys, but as a point guard, where my teammates are overwhelmed against you guys, I hate playing against Teiko from the bottom of my heart."

Shun wasn't that much invested in scoring, even though he led his team and the opponent team in points scored every single match. Shun was more interested in support, and that is why he never got bored while playing basketball.

On the other hand, Aomine wanted a rival that would stick to him all the time during a game, a player that was similar to him and hindered him every single time he tried to move.

But the reality was far from that.

His teammates didn't come out of their areas, and Aomine remained unopposed on the court.

Aomine was so bored that he came to his current state.

Aomine: "The more I try, the more basketball becomes boring to me. Basketball is just a game, after all. From now on, I will stop playing seriously."

He indeed became less active on the court, but not to the point that anybody noticed something was wrong.

To others, he was still as dominant as ever.

Aomine was still hanging on to the hope that Shun would light the fire inside of him that burned when he still enjoyed basketball.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Satsuki looked at the team practicing from the sidelines.

She didn't know why, but she felt something change in the club.

She looked at the regulars and saw them practicing as they did every day.

She turned towards Aomine.

Aomine still played against many guys as he did every day, but recently the smile on his face had been missing.

Satsuki: 'I can't remember the last time Aomine smiled in the club while playing.'

She turned towards Murasakibara and saw him standing near the post, blocking all attempts to score.

Satsuki: 'Mu-kun looks the same, but I wonder if it is just me or he looks even less motivated from before.'

She sighed and turned her sight to Midorima.

Satsuki: "Ever since Midorin started to shoot from far away, he has been talking less to others and keeps training silently."

Satsuki's mood went up slightly when she saw Kise behaving like he usually did.

Kise: "Aomine-cchi, let's have a one-on-one!"

Satsuki looked at Aomine sighing, as he had given up on refusing Kise.

Aomine: "Don't cry when you lose."

Kise laughed as he declared.

Kise: "I am going to win today!"

Satsuki giggled as she looked at their interaction.

She also smiled when she saw Kuroko being yelled at by Nijimura, who was lecturing Kuroko on not missing open layups.

Satsuki's smile faded away when she saw Akashi talking with the head coach.

Satsuki: 'Akashi-kun also has been quiet these days.'

Satsuki wondered what was in store for the team, as she could sense stormy times in the future.