5 centimeters [Part One]

Kuroko groaned in frustration when his hand could not reach the book he wanted to read. The book was not popular, thus the librarian placed it in the top shelf. He clicked his tongue and deemed that it was time to get the stool from the librarian to get the book, when he saw a hand reaching for the book from behind him. The person took the book easily, and he turned his head to tell the person that he wanted the book too, when his eyes met with heterochromatic ones.

"Here, Tetsuya." Said Akashi Seijuurou as he handed the book to the speechless bluenette. "This book is the one you want, right?"

Kuroko nodded wordlessly, took the book from the other's hand, before he finally said, "Thank you, Akashi-kun."

"You're welcome, Tetsuya."

'It's just 5 centimeters.' Thought Kuroko bitterly. 'He is taller than me by just 5 centimeters. How could he get the book easily? It's not fair at all, Akashi-kun.'

"Are you free after this, Tetsuya?"

"Eh? Yeah, I do."

"Do you have any plan for this evening?"

"Yes, Akashi-kun. I want to go home quickly and read this book as fast as I can."

Akashi chuckled, amused by the eagerness in Kuroko's eyes. "Alright then, let's go home quickly."

Kuroko tilted his head in confusion. 'Eh? Does this mean that Akashi-kun is going to accompany me home?'

"Go tell the librarian that you want to borrow the book, Tetsuya. I'll be waiting outside."

'What? He really is going home with me?'

Akashi frowned slightly. "Don't just stare at me, Tetsuya. Hurry up and go tell the librarian."

"Ah, yes, Akashi-kun. Then, please wait for me."

A small smile made its way onto Akashi's face. "When you're done, I will be outside."

-.-

*ring ring*

Halfway through the way towards Kuroko's house, Akashi's phone had rung.

"Ah, it's from my chauffeur." Said Akashi after he had taken a glance at the displayed caller's name on the screen. He glanced at the boy beside him, silently hinted that he was going to answer the call. When the other only nodded in response, he slid the answer button and talked to the person in the other line.

While Akashi took the phone call, Kuroko let his mind wandered.

'It's about 10 centimeters.' Thought Kuroko as he stared at the distance between their hands. 'If I extend my hand for just 10 centimeters, I can grab his hand.'

He paused his trail of thoughts. 'And then what? Will he let me grab his hand all the way, until we reach my house? Will he pull away in disgust? Or will he deemed that I'm just being weird and think nothing of it?'

He glanced at the redhead and stared at the way the other's lips moved.

'How long is he going to take just to tell his chauffeur not to pick him up?'

Right at that moment, Akashi shifted his attention on him suddenly and stared back at him. Kuroko blushed – the redhead caught him staring red-handed.

Akashi said some more to the person in the other line before he ended the call.

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. Were you lonely?"

Kuroko blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, Akashi-kun?"

The redhead frowned. "You protested that I was taking a long time on the phone."

"Eh? But I didn't…"

"You did, Tetsuya."

'Ah. Did I voiced my thoughts aloud? How could I?' Kuroko was in a panic state, though nothing of it showed on his face.

"It wasn't a protest, Akashi-kun. I was merely wondering."

Akashi continued to stare at him, evident that he did not buy it. "It turned out that my father is the one who was going to pick me up. It took me quite a time to negotiate with him."

'I see.'

"Why would your father pick you up by himself, Akashi-kun?"

"He was planning to go straight to my mother's grave with me. It was more convenient since the school is also in the way."

"Eh? Is today your mother's death anniversary?"

"Yes."

"Is it far from here?"

"It's about 20 minutes on foot from your home."

"Are you going to visit her grave after this?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Then, can I accompany you?"

Akashi stared into cyan eyes, wondering as to why the other had offered to accompany him. When he could not find anything in those perfectly masked blank face, he finally asked the shorter boy. "Why would you want to accompany me?"

"… Should I not?"

"I recalled you said that you want to go home quickly so that you can read the book as fast as you can."

"Ah, well…" A light blush dusted the bluenette's pale cheek. "I can just read it later, right? Do you not want me to accompany you, Akashi-kun?"

The redhead smiled, and Kuroko's heart skipped a beat. "It would be my pleasure, Tetsuya."

'Twenty minutes more.' Thought Kuroko with a small smile – barely visible – on his face. 'I can spend another twenty minutes with Akashi-kun. Oh, and another twenty minutes on the way back.'

He stole a quick glance towards his companion. 'I'm happy I can spend a lot of time with Akashi-kun today.'

-.-

It was unspoken agreement among the Generation of Miracles to spend their lunch break on the rooftop. It was not because they do not want to associate with those who are not in their circles, but mostly because they cannot keep the conversations going with the others. Their interactions with the others are very limited. Kise only interact with his fans, Aomine with perverts who are like him, Midorima with the other class reps, Murasakibara with the girls in the home economic club, while Kuroko with no one – since no one other than GoM notices him. Akashi Seijuurou can interact with those who have powers normally – he can keep the conversations going between them, but not with those who have lesser power than he does. He just has this intimidating aura that will scare those who have nothing to offer to him.

Since it was an unspoken agreement, they did not have any obligation to tell the others if they cannot come to the rooftop. It was purely coincidental that that day, only Akashi and Kuroko who could spend their lunch break on the rooftop. Akashi knew that Midorima had a meeting with the other class reps while Murasakibara went to bake cookies with the girls from home economic club since he was in the same class with the purple head and the tsundere. He did not know why Kise and Aomine could not come, though he has some speculations about it.

'Ryouta is probably caught by his fans while Daiki most likely is discussing about some vulgar things with his classmate.'

To prove that his assumptions were right, Akashi asked Kuroko. "Tetsuya, where is Ryouta and Daiki?"

Kuroko swallowed the food in his mouth before answered, "Kise-kun is with his fans, and Aomine-kun is discussing Mai-chan's latest photobook with Sakura-kun."

"I see." Akashi nodded, satisfied with himself for always being right.

After their little conversations, they spent their break quietly, focusing on eating their lunch, until Akashi broke the quiet spell and stole a rolled egg from Kuroko's bento box.

Upon noticing that one of his rolled eggs was taken, Kuroko could only stare at the redhead in disbelief.

"What is it, Tetsuya?" asked Akashi like nothing was wrong after he ate his friend's food innocently.

"You just stole my rolled egg." Said Kuroko accusingly with a monotone voice.

"Yes, I did."

'Why?' Kuroko was about to say, but Akashi answered his question even before he could voice it out.

"It's too quiet without them. I figured that I should do something to make you talk."

Again, Kuroko's eyes widen in disbelief. "And you decided to steal my food to make me talk?"

Akashi shrugged. "It worked."

Kuroko pouted. "I don't think that's a good enough reason to steal people's food, Akashi-kun."

The redhead chuckled. "I guess." He picked up a fried shrimp from his own bento box and put it into Kuroko's. "There. Are we even now?"

Kuroko took a bite of the fried shrimp, and then said, "I guess."

He was about to finish the given fried shrimp when he noticed that Akashi's hand moved towards his face. He jolted in surprise when Akashi brushed his finger lightly on his face. He glanced at the redhead and saw that the captain just licked something that had been on his face.

"There was a rice on your face, Tetsuya."

Kuroko blushed. "I – I see."

Akashi observed the other for a minute before he asked, "Your face is red, Tetsuya. Do you have a fever?" He moved closer to the bluenette, wanting to check the other's temperature. However, when his hand was about to touch the other's forehead, Kuroko jerked away in response. Akashi stilled his hand; he understood that the bluenette was uncomfortable. Therefore, he withdrew his hand, and continued his lunch without saying anything else.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere had become awkward. There was only the soft sound of the wind between them and nothing else once again.

The phantom boy sighed internally. 'Now I've done it. I was so nervous after I saw Akashi-kun licked the rice on my face nonchalantly like that. I was shaken, that's why I overreacted when his hand moved closer to my face again.'

Even though Kuroko had always wanted to spend some time alone with Akashi, at that time he only wanted the lunch break to be over quickly. 'What should I do now? It really is quiet and awkward without Kise-kun or Aomine-kun.'

He glanced at the redhead, and he noticed that the distance between them was wider than before. It seemed that Akashi had moved slightly away after Kuroko had rejected his touch.

Sadness and regret washed over him as he stared at the distance between their knees. 'It's about 80 centimeters. Probably. Well, more or less.' He wanted to scoot closer to his friend, but he could not, since he was the reason the redhead had made some distance between them.

'Ah, the sun hit my shoulder.' Thought Kuroko as he glanced at the redhead once again. 'I can move closer to him, right? I can just blame the sun.'

"Tetsuya, why don't you move closer? Isn't it hot over there?" Offered Akashi suddenly.

Kuroko blinked in surprise. He wondered how the redhead knew exactly what he had thought.

'Did I voice out my thoughts again?'

He observed the other's calm face for a few seconds before he deemed that he did not carelessly voice out his thought again. Sighing in relief, he replied with, "Yes, Akashi-kun."

-.-

Kuroko walked towards the bench tiredly. The training today was especially hard. The coach demanded them to focus on their shooting ability to develop it. It was a hard task for him since he could only shoot with a phantom shoot while the other could shoot with much more different styles.

He grabbed his water bottle and drank from it quite desperately before he wiped his sweat with the white towel he had brought from home. The club's manager, Momoi Satsuki, who sat beside him, did not seem to notice his presence since she was absorbed in calculating the data she had from today's practice.

'She looks quite serious.'

Curiosity killed the cat. He leaned over to her slightly to peek into the clutched board in her arms. He saw the number of shoots the first string players had shoot today, and a small smile made its way onto his lips. 'Of course the first place is Midorima-kun. Let's see… the second place should be Aomine-kun, right?'

He peeked once again and scanned the data she had to see if he was right. Turned out he was not.

'What? The second place is Akashi-kun. He had shot 119 shoots in just one hour!'

Right at that moment, he heard the sound of the smooth swish of the hoop as the ball entered the ring, followed by the coach's whistle, and he noticed that Akashi had just made his 120's shot of the day. He looked over to the redhead, and noticed that the other was panting hard.

'He is really pushing himself today. Why?'

He looked over to his own count of shoots. He only managed to shoot twenty times today.

'It's like Akashi-kun is drifting far away from me.' A sadness washed over him suddenly. 'Like how he did in middle school.'

-.-

Akashi closed his locker as he heaved a long sigh. Everyone had gone home long ago, and he was the only one left in the clubroom. He put the data Momoi had given him before she went home into a folder; and then he grabbed his bag and left the room. He locked the door and walked to the school gate, surprised when he saw a blue-sky haired boy waiting for him right in front of the gate.

"Hey, Tetsuya." He greeted the other with a small smile as he stopped in front of the smaller teen. "Are you waiting for me?"

Kuroko nodded wordlessly without looking at the redhead.

"Then, shall we go home?"

Kuroko nodded once again without saying anything.

Akashi frowned slightly. 'Well he is quiet, but not this quiet. He should at least look at me.'

"Is something bothering you, Tetsuya?"

This time, the bluenette shook his head before he looked up and stared back at him.

At that time, Akashi did not expect that the other would threw his question right back at him. "Is something bothering you, Akashi-kun?"

Heterochromatic eyes widened for a second. Akashi let out a soft chuckle. 'Tetsuya, you always exceed my expectation.'

Instead of answering the question, the redhead replied with, "Let's stop at Maji Burger on the way home."

"… Only if you treat me one serving of large vanilla milkshakes."

Again, the redhead chuckled out of amusement. "Sure, Tetsuya. I'll even buy you large french fries as bonus."

"No, Akashi-kun. Vanilla milkshakes is enough for me."

-.-

Kuroko stared at the large serving of french fries in front of him with a foul mood.

"Stop staring, Tetsuya. Start eating." Said Akashi as he put down his own tray of food.

The bluenette shifted his gaze to the redhead who sat in front of him and pouted. "I told you that vanilla milkshakes is enough, Akashi-kun."

"You should eat dinner, Tetsuya."

"I will when I get home."

"I know you never eat dinner, Tetsuya."

"… I do… sometimes." Muttered Kuroko in his self-defense.

"You mean, rarely."

Kuroko pouted once again. He grabbed the vanilla milkshakes and drank it, refusing to touch the offending french fries in front of him.

Akashi exhaled a long sigh. 'I knew he would be like this.' He took one of the french fries, held it in front of Kuroko, and said, "Fine, Tetsuya, I'll feed you. Now, say aahh…"

Kuroko's pale face tinted with a refreshing red. "I – I can eat it myself!" said the bluenette as he turned away his head to hide the blush on his face.

"Are you sure you don't want me to feed you, Tetsuya?" asked Akashi as he moved the french fries teasingly.

"…" The bluenette peeked at the redhead before he bit the french fries reluctantly.

"Good boy." Said Akashi with a satisfied smile.

Kuroko's heart skipped a bit at the smile, and his blush deepened. 'That is not fair, Akashi-kun.'

They spent the first few minutes in silence, staring into each other's eyes without breaking contact. It was when Akashi had finished his burger did he finally talked.

"I might have to go to England for university."

Kuroko dropped the french fries in his hand. His eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

Akashi lowered his gaze, breaking the eye contact between them. "I might have to leave one month or two months after we third-years have to retire from all of club activity."

"But it's… a month from now…"

"Yes."

"… Why?"

The redhead heaved a long sigh. "I think you already know the answer, Tetsuya."

"Is it your father's order?"

"Yes, it is." He paused for a moment, hesitating whether he should tell the bluenette about all the details. "He already talked about it with our homeroom teacher, and Hyuuga-sensei was more than supported it."

"But why England? There are many good universities here, too."

"Yeah, there are."

"Is it final? Do you really have to go?"

"Yes." Responded Akashi with a bitter smile.

An uncomfortable silence wafted between them.

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko called suddenly. "Please look at me."

The redhead heaved a short sigh before his heterochromatic eyes met once again with the baby blue orbs.

"Stay here, Akashi-kun." Said Kuroko with a blank face, though his eyes were pleading. "Stay here with me."

"… Tetsuya, you know that I cannot – "

"Promise me, Akashi-kun."

The red emperor did not respond anything for a few moments, and Kuroko almost gave up hope. But then, the redhead said, "Then, let's live together throughout our university days."

Kuroko's eyes widened. His face was flushed red. What his captain said sounded very much like a proposal to him. He did not want to have any more hope than he already have, but he could not help but be lured in by those words. "Um… sure, Akashi-kun."

And for the first time in that day, Akashi showed him a real smile, and the phantom's heart skipped a beat at the beautiful display in front of him. "Alright, it's a promise then, Tetsuya."

The bluenette nodded. He practically was radiating happiness. "It's a promise, Akashi-kun."

"Now, finish your food and let's go home, Tetsuya."

-.-

A few weeks had gone by since their little promise with no accident, though Kuroko could not say that he passed those days with ease. He was afraid that Akashi's father still would not let his son enter local university. He was more than sure that Akashi could get full scholarship in Tokyo University, but he knew that his friend's father was not easy to please, and it might not be enough to change his mind.

His anxiety finally reached its peak when the redhead announced that he could not attend club activity for a week. The red emperor appointed Midorima as the vice-captain to take over his duty, and after the short announcement, he was gone out of the first-string gym. The bluenette wanted to confront Akashi, to ask why he could not attend club activity, but Midorima did not let him go out of the gym without finishing his training regime first.

Kuroko was pissed as hell. That day, Kuroko intentionally broke the greenhead's lucky item of the day for the first time in the years they had been friends, leaving the vice-captain fell into a state of shock.

"Aahh! Kurokocchi! Look, Midorimacchi is crying! You made him cry!"

"I'm not crying – nanodayo."

"Ah, now you've done it, Tetsu. Midorima will haunt you for days."

"I'm not dead, you stupid ganguro – nodayo!"

"Crushing his lucky item is the same as crushing his heart, Kuro-chin."

Kuroko heaved a long sigh, he had calmed down a little after breaking the greenhead's poor lucky item. "… Sorry, Midorima-kun." Said the bluenette with no expression at all on his face.

The tsundere glared at him, clearly not accepting his words of apology. "Look Kuroko, I don't know what your problem is with Akashi, but he was the one who told me not to let you go anywhere close to him for a few days."

"Eh? Why? Hey, why, Midorimacchi?"

"What, so you're Akashi's bodyguard now?"

"It's only Kuro-chin, right? I can still come close to Aka-chin, right?"

"I doubt that you can keep up with his request, Midorima-kun. I have misdirection. You will lose sight of me in no time."

Midorima sighed as he pushed up his glasses. "I don't mean it like that. He only told me to make sure that you won't follow him to England, Kuroko."

"What? England?" the Generation of Miracles' eyes widened as they said the words in unison, save the phantom man who had become quiet instead.

"Is Akashicchi planning to go to England?"

"He should be already in the airport by now." Answered Midorima smoothly.

"That damn rich bastard. How dare he abandon the club for a vacation?"

"It was not a vacation – nodayo. He has to go there to finish some business."

"Eh… I hope Aka-chin will bring me some snacks from there…"

"What business?" asked Kuroko with a strained voice. "Is he applying for a university there?"

A moment of silence fell around them for a few moments until Kise broke it. "Eh? Akashicchi is leaving us? Moreover, he already decided his university?!"

"University, huh… I haven't thought about it at all." Commented Murasakibara with his usual lazy tone.

"You guys are loser! I have already decided about where to go after high school!" said Aomine with a smug smirk on his face. "I'm gonna join the police academy!"

"Eh? Police academy? That's so cool, Aominecchi!"

"Of course! You're no way near my cool self, Kise!"

While his friends were fooling around instead of training, Kuroko slipped away from them and went to the clubroom unnoticeably. He opened his locker and grabbed his phone. He dialed the redhead's number immediately, hoping that the other has not boarded yet.

His hope was crushed when he heard the operator greeted him with, "The number cannot be reached now. Please hang up and try again later."

He tried dialing the number again, but he still got the same answer from the operator. After the nth attempt, he finally closed his phone dejectedly.

'Here I am trying to shorten the gap between us, but looks like fate only brings us farther.'

He let his body slid down to the floor, feeling tired all of a sudden. "Don't go away, Akashi-kun…"

-.-

Kuroko rolled on his bed uncomfortably for a few times. It was already past midnight, and he really should sleep, but he was not feeling the least bit sleepy. No matter what, he could not seem to free his mind out of a certain redhead.

'I know I should trust Akashi-kun… but…'

He let out a heavy sigh.

'What is he doing all the way to England? I wonder if he is asleep yet – but oh, the time is different over there, right?'

He jolted in surprise when his phone ringed shortly, indicating that he just got a new mail.

'Is that Akashi-kun?'

He reached for his phone, unlocked it, and a small smile appeared on his face. 'It is Akashi-kun.'

From: Akashi-kun

Message: Believe in me, Tetsuya.

'Ah, of course he knows that I'm feeling insecure.' Thought Kuroko as he typed up a reply. 'And his timing is perfect as usual.'

To: Akashi-kun

Message: Okay, Akashi-kun.

The smile has not gone from his face when his phone chimed again for the second time that night.

From: Akashi-kun

Message: I'm looking forward to living together with you, Tetsuya.

An adorable blush spread on his pale cheek as he read the message from the redhead again and again until he – finally – fell asleep with a dork smile on his lips.

-.-

In the week when Akashi was in England, Kuroko could not gather his will to play well in club activity. His famous phantom shot often bounced out of the ring, his pass had become sloppy, and Nigou whined at him constantly because he forgot to feed the dog all the time.

Right before it was time for the third-years to retire and focus completely on passing the university exams, the red emperor came back. He showed up right in the middle of the club activity out of nowhere, gathered all of the students from the first-string to third-strings, and passed the captain's crown he had been holding for three years to the capable second-year Nijimura Shuuzo.

The redhead called all of the third-years to the front and said, "Now, it is time for us to retire." He shifted his gaze to Nijimura, "I'm leaving my team to you, captain."

"Yes!" answered the raven-haired teen as he bowed shortly.

They ended the club practice early that day to eat together as a farewell party for the third-years – courtesy of the new captain.

-.-

It was almost nine when the party had ended. The first and the second years had gone home long ago, leaving behind only a few of them. Some of the third years had gone too, but the Generation of Miracles stayed behind, even after the others had gone home.

They sat in a table for six, leaving no room for the others to join in on their conversations. Kuroko, of course, sat beside the red emperor – he had wanted to ask many things to the redhead, but he could not find the right time to ask. The GoM spent a lot of time talking and fooling around, knowing that they could not meet in club activities anymore. They knew that comes tomorrow, they will be busy with exams preparations, like it or not. They had planned to go on until at least ten o'clock, but Murasakibara's phone had rang an hour before – his mother was worried about him and ordered him to go home straight away. Therefore, they deemed that it was indeed a good time to end the party and go home.

"See you next week, everyone!" said Kise in a cheerful voice.

"Yeah, see you," said Aomine as he waved his hand towards the group before leaving with Kise towards the station.

"Then, I'll go home too…" Murasakibara glanced at the greenhead beside him. "Let's go, Mido-chin."

Midorima glanced at the purple-haired man, nodded shortly, and then said to the remaining members of the GoM, "We'll be leaving, Akashi, Kuroko."

"Aa. Be careful on your way home."

"Take care, Midorima-kun, Murasakibara-kun."

They watched until the two had disappeared from their sights before they made their own way home.

'Ah, I think I can ask him now?' thought Kuroko inwardly. He stole a glance at the redhead, but again, he found himself cannot ask the questions. He was too scared of hearing the answers. Although the redhead asked him to believe him, he could not truly put his trust, because he knew that Akashi's father was a tough egg to crack.

'What did you do in England for a week, Akashi-kun?' the bluenette stole a glance again, and his heart skipped a beat when his gaze met with heterochromatic eyes. The redhead threw him a knowing smile, but he did not say anything until they reached the bluenette's house.

Once Kuroko caught sight of his house, he felt a sadness washed over him all of a sudden. He wanted to spend more time with Akashi. So once they arrived in front of his gate, he unlocked it slowly, wondering why Akashi was silent all the way home. He stepped behind the gate, closed it, and said, "Then, see you next week, Akashi-kun."

"Yes, Tetsuya."

A few seconds had passed, but neither of them made any move to leave the other.

"Go inside, Tetsuya." The redhead chided softly.

"No, you should go first, Akashi-kun." Replied the bluenette stubbornly.

"… Tetsuya." Akashi called the phantom's name before he chuckled – and oh, how Kuroko loved that sound. "You have been stealing glances at me all this time." The redhead leaned closer to the bluenette. "Got something on your mind?"

'T – too close!' thought Kuroko as he wondered about the gap between their face. "O – Of course I have, Akashi-kun."

"Then why don't you talk to me about it?"

"…" The phantom man hesitated for a few seconds. He got a lot of question jumbled up in his mind. "You're going to stay here, right, Akashi-kun?"

The redhead smiled. "Yes, Tetsuya."

He heaved a sigh of relief. "Then, what did you do in England, Akashi-kun?"

"Ah, I was there to assist a small branch of my father's company."

"Huh? Your father sent you there?"

"Yes, in a way. Since the old manager had passed away, the income from that branch had declined, therefore I proposed a new business plan to my father, and he told me to bring back results. If it works, I can go to the university here. "

"Will it work?"

"We'll have to see in a month."

"If it doesn't work then what will you do, Akashi-kun? You will have to go to the university there."

The red emperor chuckled. "It will work, Tetsuya."

Kuroko frowned slightly. "That's why I'm saying if it doesn't work, Akashi-kun."

"There's no way it won't work. I'm absolute."

'Ah, of course. I knew that he will say that.' Thought Kuroko bitterly. There is no doubt that he was still worried about the matter, but he knew that the redhead is a genius. 'Oh well, maybe it could work.'

"Do you have to go there again, Akashi-kun?"

"No, I don't have to. I just have to wait for the results here. In the meantime, I will continue my work here."

The bluenette tilted his head to the side, confused entirely. "Your work?"

"Aa. I have been working as business consultant since our first year in Rakuzan. However, many people will look down on me if they knew that I am still in high school, so I set it up online. That way I won't have to meet my clients."

'Ah, so that's why he's overly confident that his plan will work.' Thought Kuroko as he stared at the red emperor before him with an amazed look on his eyes. 'Then I have no choice but to put my full trust in him.'

"Then which university do you want to go to, Akashi-kun?"

"I'm planning to get full scholarship from Tokyo University." The redhead paused briefly. "You have to get in too, Tetsuya. I will train you."

Kuroko paled. He has average grade, there was no way someone with his grade can get in Tokyo University. "Uhm, I don't think I can get in, Akashi-kun. My grade is average."

"Did you not hear me, Tetsuya? I said that I will train you." Akashi smiled warmly despite the cold words he threw at his teammate. "You will get in surely."

'Oh, god, no.'

"Now get inside, Tetsuya. Rest early. I will start tutoring you from tomorrow on."

"You mean: you will turn my life into hell from tomorrow on." Muttered the phantom boy with a quiet voice.

"What was that, Tetsuya?"

"I said yes, Akashi-kun."

Akashi smirked playfully. "Good, Tetsuya."

They both knew that the redhead obviously heard what the bluenette had muttered before.

-.-

After the last lesson had ended and the school bell had rang, Kuroko gathered his things and made an escape to the front gate as fast as he can. He really did not want to spend his remaining months as a high-schooler cooped up in the library, studying things he didn't care about. But please, don't misunderstand him. He did not hate studying; he just could not see the point why people have to study hard. Sure, he wanted to further his study into popular university, but he certainly did not want to get into Tokyo University. Why, you ask? Because the competition there is unbelievably high, and he would not be able to stand the stress. The stresses he got from playing basketball in middle school and high school were more than enough, thank you very much.

Well, though, truth to be told, the true reason was not that at all. He knew that if Akashi were the one teaching him, it would be no question that even someone with an average grade like him would be accepted. He almost agreed to the idea, and he was eager to study together with his crush, but he did not like the idea of going to the same university as the redhead. Why, you ask? Because he had spent, six years watching the redhead getting confession from all kind of girls. Sure, the redhead had never accepted those confessions, but someday, someday, he would accept one of it.

'Of course. The red emperor will not be single forever. He will have to take a queen for him. For his people. For the future.' Thought Kuroko as a sarcastic smile played on his lips for a second. 'Now I'm being poetic.'

He had had enough. He could not watch the redhead going further away from him.

Now, he started doubting that he can live together with the redhead. He thought that maybe, maybe, living together with the redhead would only bring pain to him.

Upon passing the shoe lockers, he started glancing around, looking for a certain red. He sprinted to the gate, thinking that once he was outside the gate, he could blend into the crowds better and the redhead would not be able to find him.

'Sweet, I don't see Akashi-kun anywhere.' Thought Kuroko with a victorious smile on his lips as he passed the front gate and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wouldn't drop my guard so easily if I were you, Tetsuya."

The bluenette jolted in surprise. He turned away and saw the red emperor stood a few steps behind him. 'When did he get here?' thought Kuroko irritably. 'Why didn't I see him?'

"Tell me, how does it feel, Tetsuya, when you thought that you had win when in reality you just lost?"

Kuroko narrowed his eyes. "That's… mean, Akashi-kun. You're being a big meanie."

Akashi chuckled. "Yes, I am. Despite that, you still fell for me."

The phantom boy blushed bright red. "I – I hate you, Akashi-kun!"

"Yes, yes, I love you too. Now, let's get going, shall we?"

-.-

"Tetsuya."

Akashi called the bluenette in front of him, but the bluenette did not respond.

"Tetsuya."

He tried again, but still, no respond.

'He stopped talking to me after we had entered the library.' Akashi frowned in distaste.

He let out a soft sigh and got up from his seat. He crossed the table and approached the bluenette – hoping for a respond all the while – until he stood right in front of the bluenette. He was a bit angry when he still did not get any respond, but of course, he had a backup plan. He always had.

He extended his hand, reaching for the bluenette's chin, and forced the slightly smaller man to look up to him.

The bluenette gasped softly, and only god knows how much Akashi appreciated that sound, before he averted his gaze and slapped his hand away. "What are you doing, Akashi-kun?"

"Tetsuya, do you not want to get into Tokyo Uni?"

The redhead had to wait for an awful lot of time just to hear the answer. "… Of course I do, Akashi-kun."

'I see. So the problem doesn't lie in the choice of college I chose.'

"Then, do you not want to get into the same university as me?"

"… I don't."

"Enlighten me."

Kuroko bit his lip. "Actually Akashi-kun, I don't think that I can also live with you."

The red emperor took a deep breath. "We made a promise that we will be living together once we enter college."

"Then please revoke the promise."

Kuroko lifted his head and finally looked at him in the eye. Too bad that what he said next was not something the redhead had hoped. "After all, you can't force an unwilling person to live together with you, can you?

Akashi smiled an eerie smile. "That's nice of you Tetsuya, saying something like that after all of my efforts to change my father's mind." His eyes stung, and he felt that he could break down in tears any moment now.

Not wanting anyone to see him cry – well, it's not like he couldn't suppressed his urge to cry just because his heart had tightened painfully – he left the library without saying anything more to the bluenette.

He had had enough.

-.-

To be continued…

A/N: It's sad, right? I know. They hurt each other after all. This is not supposed to end like this. I'm sorry. I was planning to make a oneshot, but it was too much to be (just) a oneshot, so I will make it into twoshot. Or threeshot. Or wait, maybe two is enough.

I was thinking to make a fluffy AkaKuro story when I wrote the beginning, and honestly I DON'T KNOW WHY THERE IS SO MUCH ANGST IN THE END for fuck's sake. And the theme supposed to be 'distance'. I almost praised myself for always turning fluffy idea into angst story. What the hell.

Well anyway, leave me a comment please so that I know that anyone actually read this awful story. It's like some kind of motivation for me to finish this story. I'm sorry, I'm too much for a rookie ff writer. Sorry.