Kagami let out a long breath as he walked back into the apartment. He shut the door, slumping against it. He knew it would be stressful to talk to the coach, he just didn't think it would be so hard. It certainly was easier to keep going when Aomine was standing beside him. He just didn't want to Aomine to do anything to jeopardize his future. Though he did wish he had Aomine's strong arms around him right now. But Aomine was still at practice.

He straightened up, heading to the kitchen. He wasn't hungry, but cooking was something that just helped him clear his head. Kagami figured that he could have something ready by the time Aomine got back, Aomine would like that.

It felt like Kagami was alone for so long. He hadn't realized how long practices were until he wasn't at them. He wondered if it was something he could get back into. The coach seemed to want him to stay, and it was still his dream. Be a pro player in the NBA alongside Aomine. Maybe they'd both be there someday, or maybe just Aomine would be. Kagami knew Aomine would get scouted, he was the best player on the team. Kagami always did what he could to keep up with Aomine, but sometimes he knew it wasn't enough.

Right now, Kagami just wanted to hide. Disappear from everyone. He didn't want to face the looks he knew he'd get, or deal with the whispers behind his back, the speculation, the mocking laughter, the swear words flung at his face. He hated all of it. He couldn't stop anyone from judging him, but he still wanted to disappear.

A water drop splashed into the pan he was standing over. He brought a hand up to his eyes, realizing that he was crying. Kagami didn't want to give in to being weak, but he didn't know how he could stay strong. He knew that the idea of someone like him angered a lot of people. And he just couldn't deal with that.

[AN: sorry for another short update, I just wanted to get a lot out there today. Just felt like it. And if you're wondering about those last two sentences in this update, I'd like you to know that are people who genuinely feel this way about this subgenre. It saddens me to say it, but people still hate just because they don't like it and can't leave those who do like it to their own devices. I'll stop going on about this for now, I just am so tired of people being assholes about this.]