"Oi Bakagami, where is kuroko?" the Seirin coach asked the red head teen who was practicing his shots.
"Huh, what?" clueless responded the Ace not progressing what the coach said.
"Don't you listen, I said where is Kuroko I haven't seen him today and it has been 20 minutes since practice started" Riko says to Kagami who only scratches his head trying to come up with an answer to her question but he himself does not know where kuroko is.
Usually the smaller teen is right next to him and when he yells "KUROKO" he's right next to him saying "Don't yell Kagami-kun, I've been here the whole time" making the taller teen jump from the sudden response.
"Erm, I don't really know where he is since I have not seen him today" responds the teen with certain he hasn't seen his friend today. "Really, well that's odd usually he would be around, probably he's not here I'll go take a look since you are useless" the coach turns around and walks toward the captain of the Seirin basketball club while the ace on the background say "oi".
" Hey Hyūga I am going out for a few minutes take care of a few things so watch over the team" the female coach says while walking off to find out whether kuroko really is absent. Is very rare for the teen to be absent so that is why she is taking the time to confirm her suspicions.
"Where is the coach headed" asks Koganei with a basketball in hand. Hyūga fixes his glasses that were slipping from the sweat. "I am not sure, she said she was going to take care of a few thing" he recalls. Koganei looks out the gym door before turning around to continue with his training.
"Now that you mention taking care of a few things, Hyūga haven't you notice that Kagami is all by himself today" Izuki points out to the lonely ace who is minding his own business. It's really rare seeing either one of the two alone, since they are always stuck together. "Probably that's what Riko meant by taking care of a few things" Kiyoshi who was standing within the both males speaks out analyzing things.
Meanwhile Riko walked toward Kuroko homeroom teacher who was standing with a book in hand reading something.
"Excuse me Sensei, can I ask you something" I walked towards the teacher who looked up from the book to see who had called. "Yes, how may I help you?" politely said the teacher reminding me of Kuroko's politeness. "Yes, I just wanted to confirm if Tetsuya Kuroko is here today" the teacher looks at the book and flips a few pages before stopping at one. "Kuroko Tetsuya, hmph" I try to look at the book but fail when the book is closed right in my face.
"No Tetsuya Kuroko is absent today, is that all" so it is true he is not in school. I wonder if he is sick or something came up, probably I'll have Kagami contact him later "No that's all sensei, thank you" with that the teacher walks away and I head back to the gym because god knows what they are doing after I disappear for a few minutes.
Walking inside the gym I see that everyone is doing their stuff so no busting today lucky them. "Okay, line up everyone" I yell loud enough for everyone to hear me. Without having to repeat myself everyone was in front of me panting and sweating. "Okay so Kuroko is not going to be with us today so Kagami find another partner to play with, we are going to play a quick match game with one another" Kagami murmurs something under his breath "What did you say Kagami?" I blow his spot and you can see him getting nervous before saying "Sorry it was nothing" even if hes a blockhead he understands by now he needs to respect.
Practice today went on by smooth even if it was hard without kuroko because he keeps Kagami in place. Hopefully he comes tomorrow and can get into a tenser schedule.
"Hey Kagami, come here for a second" I see the ace walking off and seeing him without Kuroko is really weird. "Yeah coach" he responds stopping a few steps away from me. "Listen, please contact kuroko and tell him about today's events okay" he smirks and says sure before running off. I am sure he will forget but it was worth the try, even if I can slam his head on the floor to make him remember things he is a good athlete and that's enough for now.
Next Day
"Hmph, it feels like I am forgetting something" something has been telling me that I have forgetting something important but I cannot remember what it is. Probably by the time I get to school I will remember what it is that I am forgetting.
"Here you go, enjoy" the cashier says handing me my breakfast. "Thanks" I pay and head out the door while eating. "Man training has gotten hard even if we won" the coach is really extreme and her training is crazy. I still wonder how "kuroko, shit I forgot" I quickly reach into my jacket and pull out my phone. "How could I have forgotten" looking through the contacts I reach kuroko and dial it.
Ring Ring Ring
"Come on pick up, dammit" usually kuroko does not answer his phone but he should know when to pick up. Yesterday I know he did not go to school since I did not notice him and for a while I have been able to spot him but it felt off somehow not having him there. "Hello" a voice pick up the phone but it rather sounds different. I recheck the number to see I am calling the correct number and I am.
"Yo Kuroko, where are you?" I ask. On the background I can hear barking and it sounds too familiar making my skin jump just by the thought.
"Please settle down Nigou" the voice asks the annoying dog to shut its mouth.
"Um sorry Kagami-kun but I won't be going to school today either, please tell the coach that I am sorry as well" he has the bad habit of apologizing so much it gets annoying.
"Yeah why aren't you going are you sick or something?" the line goes quiet and I wait for him to answer but nothing. Sometimes he acts really strange and I don't know what is going through his head. I really want to know what is happening sometimes so I can help him but he keeps everything to himself and it pisses me off, aren't I supposed to be your light and best friend?
"Hello, Kuroko you still there?" I ask again to make sure he didn't hang up or something. "Ah, sorry Kagami-kun, yes I have caught a small cold that's all" even at times like this he does not even contact me. I know he lives alone and there is nobody to help him when he gets sick so why not let someone know just in case something happens. "You're not lying to me kuroko" the line goes quiet again and this time I know for sure something is up.
"No I am not lying Kagami-kun, why would I?" his voice stays the same not changing the tone or nothing. He makes sure to keep things hidden and I learned this through this friendship. The first time he really opened up to us was when we were going to go against Rakuzan. It was the first time kuroko told us all something about himself, usually he would share a few things here and there but nothing major.
"Okay, I will trust you in this one. Now if you need anything just let me know okay" of course like a friend I would go help him so there is no need to him to be so distant with me.
"Yes, I will make sure to do that when I need you, goodbye Kagami-kun" without saying another word he hangs up. I put the phone in my pocket and continue walking towards the school not rethinking things.
Gym
"Morning" Kagami walks in with food in hand. The coach looks at the teen before smacking him on the back of the head.
"You are 5 minutes late, Kagami what were you doing?" he is the only one who has the guts to be late. Kuroko usually slips by since his low presence so his punishment is nothing compare to Kagami's.
"Eh why'd you hit me for, I know I was late but on the way here I remembered that I needed to call kuroko so I did" indeed he is stupid but now that I really pay close attention today Kagami is missing his shadow.
"Where is he then?" the coach asks with a book in hand ready to hit Kagami again if he was lying to her.
"He said he is sick and he is sorry for not coming today" he blurts out before the Riko can hit him.
"Really well then I guess when he comes back he will have to train extra hard" she smirks very evilly before assigning all of us to run 15 laps around the whole school.
Usually she would give us more but she seems to be in a good mood so it's better if nobody gets on her wrong side.
Kuroko House
"Come here, Nigou" I call out to the small dog whom comes running at me at full speed.
"Here is your food, enjoy" placing the small plate of food on the floor I walk off to the living room. Kagami had called me and when he did I was caught off guard not expecting him to do so.
"I am sorry Kagami-kun" I apologize to the room, I felt guilty for lying to him that I caught a cold but is not like I am ready to tell him the truth. Sure he is someone who I should trust but I just don't find the need to do so.
-Sigh-
"I wonder what they are doing right now?" looking at a piece of paper in hand Kuroko reads through the first lines before placing the letter back in the table not knowing what to do or think at the moment. Things just went from good too bad.
