A/N - Thanks to a reviewer, I realised that I had posted my almost full story when I poster chapter 1. My apologies! If you could forget what you read in chapter 1, and re-read it again, it would be great - because I changed some elements in my story. Nothing major, but I think the new version is better. Sorry once again! And I hope you enjoy the story.

Kuroko had been tending to a hare that had been bitten by a fox in his animal hospital. The hare had barely managed to escape the fox, but its leg was wounded – a large chunk of flesh had been torn off its leg. Kuroko found it when he was making his way back to his cottage. Initially, Kuroko had the assumption that it had been injured by Aomine or Kise, but upon contemplation, such a small animal wouldn't be able to satisfy them – they wouldn't waste their energy chasing such small prey. Besides, the bite mark didn't look like it was caused by feline jaws – it looked more canine. Kuroko had healed its leg and brought it home to get it fed.

Just as Kuroko had set the plate of lettuce down for the hare to eat, he heard a soft meow from his door. Kuroko's head whipped around to see a cat's head peeking at him from the door.

"What do we have here?" Kuroko murmured to himself. He stood up and walked over towards the cat. He didn't see many domesticated cats in the forest. Wild cats, he had seen. This was perhaps the first domesticated cat to stop by his home.

The cat didn't seem to be afraid of Kuroko. Instead of shying away, it stepped out from its hiding place, revealing its full body. Apparently, it was a blue British Shorthair. It meowed again at Kuroko.

Upon observing the cat, Kuroko deduced it was not yet a fully grown adult. Yellow eyes gazed at him intensely.

Kuroko knelt down by the cat. "Are you hungry, neko-chan?" he asked, stroking the cat on its back.

The cat meowed in reply.

Kuroko laughed softly. "I take that as a yes." He picked up the kitten and brought it into his house. He placed the cat on the floor of his living room, right in front of Kise, who seemed to be stirring from his nap. "Kise-kun," Kuroko spoke softly, touching Kise's head gently. "Take care of this kitty for me, alright? I'm just going to prepare some fish for it."

Kise lifted his head where it was resting on his front paws, and raised an eyebrow at the cat. The cat stared back at him, expressionless. Kise leaned forward to sniff at the cat. The cat then licked Kise's nose.

As he was cutting up the fish for the kitten, Kuroko watched the cat and the leopard's interaction from the corner of his eye. Well, he didn't need to worry – they seemed to be getting along.

Just then, Aomine entered through the back door noisily, yawning as he made his way towards Kise. He nuzzled against the leopard's cheek before collapsing onto the ground beside Kise, resting his head on Kise's back.

Kise whined and tilted his head towards the cat. The black panther looked up at the feline and grunted. Kise whined again, and Aomine exhaled loudly. He laid his head back on Kise's body and closed his eyes, promptly falling asleep.

Kuroko hid a smile behind his hand. That Aomine could fall asleep so comfortably around a foreign creature in the cottage was certainly his way of accepting the cat.

Kuroko brought forward a bowl of raw fish slices and placed it in front of the kitten. Immediately, the cat dug into the fish, gulping it down hungrily.

"Excuse me?"

Kuroko's head shot up and he looked towards the front door which he had left ajar when he picked the cat up. A young man with blazing red hair was at the door.

"Oh, yes?" Kuroko quickly made his way to the entrance and opened the door wider. "Can I help you, sir?" As Kuroko peered into the man's face, he could see that the man had eyes that matched his red hair. He was also incredibly handsome, and Kuroko could feel his cheeks heat up.

"I… um, I'm looking for my cat," the man explained. "She got away from me when I was busy…" He looked flustered. "Well, she is a grey cat-"

"She's here," replied Kuroko. "She looked hungry, so I gave her some fish."

"Don't let her fake hungry look get to you," the man said. "She's a greedy little bugger."

"Well, she's here anyway," said Kuroko, stepping aside to let the red-haired man inside. "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya, by the way," he introduced himself with a bow.

"I'm Akashi Seijuurou, it's nice to meet you," said Akashi, bowing in return. He stepped in, and when he caught sight of Aomine and Kise, he took a step back in shock. "Whoa, are those a black panther and a leopard?"

"Huh?" Kuroko's eyes glanced at the two large cats in his living room. Kise had gone back to sleep, being extremely comfortable now that his mate's head was resting upon him. So much time had passed, Kuroko had become accustomed to Aomine and Kise's presence in his life that he had forgotten that it was generally a strange thing to be keeping such creatures as pets. "Oh… yes. The black panther's name is Aomine and the leopard's name is Kise. They're mates. They escaped from a zoo, and after I rescued Kise-kun from a hunter's trap, they kind of refused to leave."

Akashi chuckled. "They must like you a lot then," he commented.

Kuroko grinned. "I've become rather attached to them myself," he said.

Akashi then caught sight of the cat that was gobbling fish down like there was no tomorrow. He made his way towards his cat and positioned himself over her. "Tama," Akashi said exasperatedly, glaring down at Tama. "You're going to become obese if you keep eating like this," he scolded the feline.

Tama looked up at Akashi, meowed once, and resumed eating the fish.

"What am I going to do with you…" Akashi muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

"Since Tama has made herself comfortable, why don't you do so too, Akashi-san?" Kuroko asked. He had poured a cup of green tea for Akashi and was holding up the cup for him to take.

Akashi's eyes widened before his expression softened. "Akashi-san is my father," he said. "I'd rather not be referred to as 'Akashi-san'." He took the cup of tea from Kuroko and thanked him.

"Hm, I feel a little rude, though… since we're meeting for the first time and all that…" said Kuroko thoughtfully. "So, then can I call you 'Akashi-kun'?"

"That would be great," replied Akashi, smiling.

"Please have a seat," Kuroko invited Akashi, gesturing towards the two-seater couch. "By the way, how did you know that Tama would come into the forest?"

Akashi sat down and took a sip of his tea. "Well, it was the only logical place Tama would go. You see… I live nearby – I have actually just moved into my grandfather's house by the edge of the forest – I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a while," he said. "I work as an author, and I have just started my sabbatical. I'll be living in my grandfather's house for the period of my sabbatical."

"Sabbatical?" inquired Kuroko. "Isn't that a long period of leave that old people take?"

Akashi laughed. "Well, usually. But not anymore in recent times," he said. "But I do feel like I've been writing for ages – I have been an author since my high school days after all. Which means that I have been writing for almost fifteen years. So you can say that this is a well-deserved break."

Kuroko nodded.

"But still…" Akashi mused. "I didn't quite expect to find anyone here, much less a person living in the forest," he commented.

Kuroko started. How would he explain that he had moved into the woods to cut off human contact because he was an immortal being? He hoped Akashi could not hear his heart hammering in his chest. "Er… I like the solitude," replied Kuroko.

"I see…"

"So… you say you've moved into your grandfather's house? Does that mean you're living with him now?" Kuroko asked.

"No… my grandfather died before I was born," said Akashi. "He left the house to my father, who left it to me when he passed away last month."

Kuroko looked down. "I'm sorry," he said.

Akashi smiled warmly. "Don't be," he told Kuroko. "I'm used to my father being absent from my life anyway – my mother died when I was a young boy, leaving me with no siblings, and my father would be so engrossed with his work that he barely spent any time with me. So I was left in the care of the servants he hired."

"It must have been very lonely for you," Kuroko remarked.

"Well, it was when I was younger," replied Akashi. "But I've gotten used to it. Besides, I made some good friends in school, so it wasn't too bad," he added.

"That's wonderful."

"How about you, Kuroko?"

"Huh?"

"What about your family?"

"Ah, my family," Kuroko muttered. "I'm an only child. And they left this world a long time ago," he said.

Akashi's expression brightened. "So we're somewhat alike!"

Kuroko laughed lightly. "Yes, I guess you could say that."