Chapter 1
Why do people work so hard in order to gain the approval of others? To what extent are they willing go? "Kagami-kun!" Kagami's thoughts faded away as he heard the light blue haired boy call his name. Kagami only slightly tilted his head, but he can see the boy staring at him intently. There was only silence for a brief moment until the boy decided to speak, "Kagami-kun, I've noticed that you haven't been very focused the pass few days…is there anything that's been bothering you lately?"
Kagami let out a sigh, "Kuroko…why are you even here with me? Didn't Kise want to hang out today?" Ya he was trying to avoid the question, but it was a valid question. He remembered the other day Kuroko had said that Kise wanted him to go over to his place to help him out with some stuff, but for some reason Kuroko followed him to Maji Burger.
Kuroko chuckled a bit, "hmm, I'm pretty sure Kise could wait another hour or two" Kagami looked at him thinking that Kise probably couldn't wait that long. The blonde was always asking for Kuroko, texting him stuff like how's Kuroko?, or has he eaten yet?. Kise always sounded like a worried boyfriend, but Kagami could never figure out why… Kuroko continued, once again interrupting his thoughts, "Besides, I really do feel like something's been bothering you. Ever since your father came back you've seemed a bit listless, I cant help but be a bit worried". Kagami was a bit surprised by what Kuroko had said because he was absolutely right. Ever since his father came back from America, he has been unreasonably restless.
Last night
Kagami sat in his room watching reruns of his favorite basketball games, jumping off his bed every now and then from the intensity it brought him. There may not be any trouble watching the games, but Kagami had a ton of homework that still needed to be done. Unfortunately all this work was long abandoned, resting on top of his desk that was later pushed aside because he kept bumping into it whenever he would jump out of his bed. After the game ended he flumped onto the bed "Ahhh man, I could watch that game over and-" he was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. He was confused on who could have entered his home, since he lived alone. Was it a burglar? Kagami slowly approached the door of his room, carefully creaked the door open and peaked out of the small opening. Kagami's eyes widened to see who had entered his home. There was a tall man with silky crimson hair that was combed back with only a few strands dangling onto his face. The man noticed him peaking through the door, and with a seemingly forceful smile and welcoming tone the man exclaimed, "Taiga! Don't just stand there, why don't you come and give your father a hug. It has been so long since we last met." Kagami only stared at him for a moment, but then exited his room and approached his father, who was still standing by the front door. His father was about 7in taller than he was, so he had to look up at him.
"…Welcome home dad" Kagami said in an unenthusiastic tone. Since Kagami didn't seem to want to intiate a hug, his father decided to do it himself and gave his son a very constricting hug. Without loosening his grip he began to bombard Kagami with questions, but Kagami wasn't listening too much to anything being asked of him, that is until one question caught his attention. "So how's school? You keepin' your grades up?" He could feel his father staring at him, waiting for an answer. Being the president of Kaga&co, his father was very strict about Kagami's grades. Ever since he was little, it was always about his grades. It didn't matter if he did something else amazingly well, if his grades were no good, then he was no good. Kagami felt a cold sweat beginning to trickle down his neck, remembering the unfinished homework he has sitting on the desk in his room. He felt his father's grip around him tighten; he was becoming impatient.
"…Hey, Taiga, why aren't you answering me?" his voice colder than it was before. Kagami wasn't sure how to respond. In all honesty, he wasn't doing very well in class. He would always fall asleep and just struggled with the material in general, but he obviously couldn't tell his dad that. So he just decided to play it safe, "School's fine, nothing really out of the ordinary". His father just stared at him, but he eventually let go of Kagami. "…Well if that's what you say then I guess it's ok. I'm going to head off to bed now, the flight to Japan is much longer than I remember". His father let out a light chuckle and walked towards his room while stretching his upper body, "goodnight" his father said in an amused tone before entering his room. Kagami just stood there for a while, pondering on his father's attitude. He didn't like it. His father spoke as if he didn't believe a word he said. "I shouldn't worry about it to much…but more importantly I should finish my homework…" Kagami muttered to himself. He entered his room, sat in front of his desk and started the math homework that was there. Well he wasn't really starting it; it was more like staring at it. "Find the area of the ellipse…the hell, how do you even do this?" He couldn't check his notes because he didn't have any; he was always asleep in class so he never had the time to write any. Becoming impatient, he just decided to look for the answers on the Internet and copy those down. After everything was done he immediately laid on his bed and fell fast asleep.
Kuroko stared at Kagami waiting for an answer. Kagami finally opened his mouth and responded "basketball practice has just been a bit tiring lately, that's all". Kuroko's eyes squinted a bit indicating that he didn't believe what Kagami had said, but the light blue haired boy decided not to pursue it any longer.
"…Well I think I better head off now. I think Kise has waited long enough" Kuroko said as he pointed at the phone showing the amount of text messages and missed calls.
"I told you he couldn't wait long. You better hurry to him before he gets a heart attack haha" Kuroko gave a faint smile, and waved goodbye as he left the burger joint. Kagami got up right after Kuroko left and threw away his trash before making his way home.
By the time Kagami arrived home it had already gotten pretty dark. He unlocked the door and walked into his home, taking his shoes off before entering the living room. His father was quietly sitting on the couch with a bottle of whiskey that was already half empty. His father didn't drink often, but when he did Kagami knew it wasn't a good sign. "I'm home," Kagami quietly muttered. There was no response. Kagami didn't like the way the atmosphere felt, so he quickly tried to go to his room, but he stopped when he heard the sound of someone getting up from the couch and approaching him. He turned around to see his father right in front of him. With slightly dazed eyes his father simply said, "You know Taiga, I don't like it when people lie to me". Kagami felt his heart sink, as he already knew what was coming next.
