That night Kagami entered the hospital in the early morning hours, and despite how sore he was, he was determined to see the boy that'd been brought in earlier. Having changed into his jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt, he heads towards the reception desk to speak with the head nurse who was sitting there. It takes a few minutes before she can confirm who he's asking for, the man's name being revealed as Kuroko Tetsuya, and even then, she can't allow him to go see him just yet.
"I'm sorry, sir, but he's in bad condition. Doctor's are still checking up on him, it may be a few hours before he's allowed any visitors." She explains.
He nods, but instead of leaving, chooses to sit in the waiting room. It's not like heading home to an empty house was a thrilling idea to him, and he found that he wasn't hungry anymore; relaxing in the waiting room as he waited to be allowed to see Kuroko was the perfect way to waste time. Sliding down in the chair, he closes his eyes and begins to rest, gathering energy in case he's called back to the station on another call.
It was a few hours later that he realizes he's being shaken awake; letting out a loud yawn and stretching, the slightly frazzled looking nurse tells him about Kuroko's condition. He suffered minor burns, with a few bruises on his body, but would otherwise be fine. He was up in his room, still awake, and accepting visitors. Kagami thanks her for her time, straightening himself out as he stands and heads towards Kuroko's room. He stands outside for a few seconds, peering through the tiny window and seeing the small boy lying in the bed.
His dog had been given to one of the neighbors to be taken care of, after a small fight of course; the dog hadn't wanted to leave his owner.
The blue-haired boy seemed to be lost in thought, the sheets bunched up in his hand as he stared blankly at the wall. Kagami wondered how he would explain himself and his reasons for coming to check-up on him, but decided it was best to just run on impulse. He hadn't waited around for hours on end just to turn tail and not check to make sure Kuroko was really feeling alright. He'd just stay and chat for a few seconds, then leave him to rest, to be on with the rest of his day.
Which would definitely be filled with eating himself out of house and home and sleeping away his back pain.
"How're you feeling?" Kagami asked as he entered the room, gently closing the door behind him. Blue eyes scanned his face, looking him up and down curiously to see if it was anyone he knew. After deciding that this was a stranger, he covered himself protectively.
"I'm okay. Who are you?" It wasn't often that Kagami would meet someone who was as blunt and frank as Kuroko seemed to be, it was refreshing in an odd way.
"I was at the scene of the fire today. One of the firefighters, the one that pulled you out to be exact." Kuroko's eyes widened for a brief second before he returned to normal, his shoulders relaxing as he let down any defenses he put up against the potentially dangerous stranger. Seeming to trust him a bit more, Kagami steps deeper into the room, grabbing onto a stray chair and pulling it closer to Kuroko's bedside for him to sit in.
"Thank you for rescuing me." Kuroko bows his head, a small smile making its way to his face. Kagami had to admit that it was cute, probably one of the cutest smiles he'd ever seen, but he brushes the thoughts away. "I appreciate it."
"It was no problem, really. I just wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing before any other family got here and surrounded you."
"There's nothing to worry about when it comes to that. I don't have family."
"You don't have family that'll visit?"
"They don't live around here anymore." Kuroko looks up at Kagami. "You'll probably be my only visitor."
Well, that was pretty sad and pathetic. Kagami felt bad for him, knowing what it was like to be alone without having any parents around to support him, since he'd been alone in Japan since he was around 16. Even at young adulthood, it was still difficult to get along without at least a bit of help from parents; he wanted to get more in-depth but knew that pushing any further would be inappropriate of him. He was just a stranger, after all.
"After you get out, are you gonna live with one of your neighbors until you find a new place?" He felt a lot like he was playing twenty questions, though Kuroko didn't seem to be too uncomfortable with his questionings. In fact, if Kagami didn't know better, he would assume that Kuroko really was enjoying having some company instead of being alone in a hospital bed with no one to talk to.
"I'm... not sure where I'll live." The blank look is wiped from Kuroko's face and is instead replaced with a troubled one as he glances out of the window, not meeting Kagami's gaze as he had before. "My neighbors and I are neutral towards each other and they all have families. Asking to live with them would be very inconvenient..."
"I, well, shit..." Kagami runs his fingers through his hair. "I can ask my landlord if there's any places in my building that's open. It's not too expensive a place to live in. I-I mean only if you'd want me to."
"That would be helpful, thank you..."
"Kagami. I'm Kagami Taiga."
"Thank you, Kagami-kun. I appreciate your help."
After a few more minutes of idle chatter, Kagami took his leave. He felt bad about leaving Kuroko alone, but had promised to visit again tomorrow if he had time; Kuroko didn't have anyone else to visit him, after all, and spending evenings alone in the hospital could be depressing. Plus, he was going to check with his landlord if he could find Kuroko a place to live since his house had burnt down, so it wasn't like he was visiting again for no reason. He had every right to be worried about someone he'd just saved from a fire; he saw how easily a life could easily be ruined within minutes, leaving them high and dry and with nowhere to live and no one to turn to. It was just Kagami worrying about person, like any decent human being would.
He didn't understand why he was trying so hard to convince himself that it was just good intentions he had; that was all it was, right?
