I do not own any of the characters from Kuroko no Basket. All rights belong to the original creators.

School had ended early for Kise and, because of this, practice had been post poned to the next day. Without basket ball practice, Kise had a lot of free time that he wasn't quite sure what to do with. So he decided to visit his best friend, who went to a different school. Like Kise's, Kuroko's school had also ended the day early, but the basketball team was not taking the day off. When Kise reached Seirin's gym, he saw the team practicing hard. He paused for a moment, watching from the doorway. His golden eyes scanned over the court, looking for his blue-haired friend. Kise smiled gently when he finally located him. Kuroko was by Kagami's side, which was normal. The two were pretty much inseparable as a light with its shadow during a game. It actually made Kise a bit jealous. If only he could spend as much time with Kuroko as Kagami did. Kise followed Kuroko's movements with his eyes. The other teen was panting heavily as he intercepted pass after pass. Kise found himself unable to look away. Seeing Kuroko like this mesmerized him...and he knew why he was so mesmerized; he liked Kuroko. For weeks now, Kise had come to terms with his feelings about the blunette. He had come to think of Kuroko as more than just a friend. Kuroko made him feel happy in a way very few things did. A small smile crossed Kise's lips. Maybe today would be the day that he could finally tell Kuroko how he felt about it. It always made Kise nervous when he thought about confessing. He didn't even know if Kuroko was gay or not. Kuroko ran across the court and, for a brief second, Kise caught his gaze.

Kuroko blinked his blue eyes in surprise and slowed his pace. "Kise-kun-" His words were caught off when one of his team mates passed him the ball but, since he wasn't paying attention, the ball hit him in the side of his head. Kuroko stumbled and fell backwards, a dazed look on his face as if he didn't know what hit him.

"Ah! Kurokocchi!" Kise's eyes widened and he ran onto the court without a second thought. Kagami and the others had stopped their practice game and were standing around Kuroko. Kise didn't stop until he was right in front to the blue-haired male. "I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi." Kise apologized quickly. He hadn't meant to distract Kuroko in the middle of their game. "I didn't mean to startle you by coming here." Kise held his hand out to Kuroko, who took it, and helped him up to his feet.

"It's alright." Kuroko said calmly, rubbing the side of his head. To Kise's relief, it didn't look like Kuroko was bleeding. Though, he wouldn't be surprised if Kuroko had a nasty looking bruise there by the end of the day. "It was my fault for not paying attention."

"Actually," A tall male with short, black hair and glasses stepped forwards. Kise recognized him as Seirin's 3-pointer and team captain, Hyuga. Hyuga adjusted his glasses and sent a pointed look at Kagami as he continued. "Technically, it's Kagami's fault for passing to you while you were looking away."

"O-oi, Hyuga!" Kagami stuttered, caught off guard. He looked over at Kuroko, embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his head. "S-sorry..."

Kuroko slowly shook his head. "It's alright, Kagami-kun." He looked over at Kise, who sent him an apologetic smile. "I wasn't expecting you today, Kise-kun."

"Well, I got out of school early today, so I thought I would come over and say hi." Kise explained, rubbing the back of his head. That had been the original plan, but it hadn't turned out so well in the end. If he had known this was going to happen, Kise would have just gone home.

Hyuga knelt down and picked up the basketball. "Kuroko, go ahead an take the rest of the day off." Before Kuroko could explain, Hyuga had already turned his attention to the others. "The rest of you, back to practice. No slacking off."

Kise sweat dropped, finding that Hyuga was just as strict as he had heard him to be. Looking over at Kuroko, Kise couldn't help the smile that came to his lips. He had an idea. "Hey, Kurokocchi, I'll walk you home, okay? Uh, I mean, only if you want to..." He asked, hating how that last part made him sound like an idiot.

"Alright..." Kuroko responded simply, surprising him. Kise had to use all his will power to keep himself from grinning like a complete idiot. His excitement grew as Kuroko said goodbye to his teamates and retrieved his bag. Kuroko looked over at him. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Kise said, smiling gently. Together, they left the school and started walking towards Kuroko's home. They walked in awkward silence, neither of them attempting to start a conversation. Kise desperately wanted to say something, anything to break the unsettling silence. 'I should tell him'. The thought absently made its way into Kise's head. What was the worst thing that could happen if he finally admitted how he felt? At least he wouldn't have to keep hiding his feelings. Even if Kuroko shot him down, there was still a good chance that Kuroko would let them still be friends. He might not lose him completely if Kuroko didn't feel the same way. Taking a deep breathe, Kise tried to build up all the courage he could. "Hey, Kurokocchi, there's something I need to tell you..."

Kuroko turned his cerulean gaze towards him, his gaze making Kise even more nervous. "What is it?"

"Well, I..." Kise started, rubbing the back of his head. This was it. If he managed to say the words, nothing would ever be the same. "I really li-"

"Tetsuya?" A male voice said, cutting Kise off. Standing before them was a handsome teen, looking around his age. The teen had short, red hair and intense, discolored eyes. His gaze seemed to be fixed on Kuroko, his eyes full of surprise.

"Akashi-kun..." Kuroko said as the teen, Akashi, walked over to them and stopped in front of the bluenette.

"It's been a while, Tetsuya." Akashi said with a polite smile. His gaze fell on Kise, who instinctively tensed slightly. Something didn't feel right about the other...and it set him on edge. "And who is this?"

"This is Kise-kun." Kuroko introduced when Kise didn't make a move to introduce himself. He looked at Kise. "Kise-kun, this is Akashi-kun. He's a friend of mine from my old school."

Kise's lips formed a tight-lipped smile and he made himself hold his hand out to Akashi. "Nice to meet you..."

Akashi turned his attention to Kuroko, seeming to ignore Kise's hand. "I should be going, but maybe I will see you around, Tetsuya. You as well, Kise-kun." Without another word, Akashi walked past them. Kise shivered when the other passed by him, an unpleasant chill running down his spine. Why was it that the red-haired teen had such an foreboding air around him?

"Kise-kun?"

It took Kise a second to realize that Kuroko had been trying to get his attention. He rubbed the back of his head and looked at the other with a smile he really didn't feel. "Uh, yeah? Sorry, I kind of spaced out..."

"I was asking, what were you trying to say earlier?" Kuroko asked, likely meaning Kise's attempted confession before Akashi had interrupted them.

"Um, it was nothing important..." Kise said, all the courage he had built up before gone with the encounter with Akashi. "It really wasn't. I even forgot what I was about to say." He added quickly when he saw Kuroko still watching him, his eyes filled with doubt. "Um, let's keep going. It's really getting late." Try as he might, Kise still couldn't get rid of that eerie feeling. The feeling that his time with Kuroko was short lived...and the feeling caused a sense of dread to fall over him. He felt that, with the appearance of Akashi, things just got a little more complicated.

More chapters to come in the future. Comment your thoughts about my story. Positive feedback welcomed.