Yellow

Chapter 2:

Hours after the lunchtime encounter, Kagami was slouched over his desk. Sifting through the pages of the report aimlessly, he tried his best not to lose his patience. Then there was a knock at the door, causing him to sit up excitedly as the young man from earlier stepped into the office. "Excuse me, I'm looking for a Detective Kagami?"

He waved from his desk and got up with the file in hand. "Kuroko, you made it! I was starting to think you wouldn't show up. Here, we can go talk somewhere private."

The shorter male gave a slight bow. "Sorry for taking so long. One of the children at the nursery's parent was late so we had to wait with him."

Nodding absent-mindedly, he couldn't imagine the young man he'd just met working in a nursery at all. Did he ever smile at the kids? So far, with the limited amount of time he'd spent with the other, he never really got to see a shift in expression on the young man's face. Did the kiddies even notice him standing around? Waving offhandedly, he shrugged. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's your job, right? Nothing you can do about it. Come on over this way, I think there's AC in that room over there."

Using an empty office, the two sat down. "Detective…"

Maybe it was because he'd been 'Americanized' but he just couldn't get used to all the formalities and honorifics they used in Japan. It made everything and everyone seem too distant and unapproachable - to him anyway. He preferred more casual settings. "Just Kagami or Taiga's fine. There's no need for formalities. I mean, I have no intention of calling you Kuroko-san or anything. It's too tedious."

"That's rather rude of you, Kagami-san-"

"Oi, did you even hear what I just said? Just Kagami's fine."

"Kagami-kun then."

Figuring that that was probably the best he was going to get, he shrugged in defeat. "Stubborn one, aren't you? Fine. Isn't that kind of weird though? You're like, how old? 22?"

"I'm 26 years old," was the deadpan response.

He did a double take, not believing his ears. "What? Seriously? You're the same age as me? How's that even possible? You're so…small and young looking." Hoping he didn't offend the other, he quickly changed the subject. "Uhh, so what'd you want to ask?"

The next answer was a little more hesitant. "I just wanted to make sure. Are you positive that it was really Kise-kun you found?"

"Well, we're still waiting on dentals to come back, but we've got the sketch and this." Kagami pulled out the bag with the hoop earring from the envelope and handed it over to Kuroko. "Does this look familiar to you?" He'd been studying it while waiting for the young man to drop by and noticed that although discoloured, a bit of the original colour could still be seen. "Lab reports say that it was made of sterling silver. But it looks like there might've been blue paint on it at one point. Does this piercing mean anything to you?"

With the plastic bag in his hand, Kuroko sat there, staring wordlessly at it. A minute later, he nodded weakly. "Yes. This earring means that Kise-kun really is dead."

Suddenly uncomfortable at the thought of maybe having made another man cry, he looked away sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, I probably should've broken the news in a nicer way. Do you need a moment? I could get you tissues and leave the room or something," he offered.

Alex didn't call him 'Mr. Sensitivity' for nothing.

Kuroko shook his head slowly, expression remaining carefully blank though he fumbled for words. "No, I'm alright. It's just that…I guess it's just never really crossed my mind that Kise-kun could…die. Even though he's been missing for so long now, I always expected to see him again. Can you tell me how it happened?"

Kagami thought about it for a moment before deciding that it'd be for the best that he share the information he had for lack of better things to say. "The cause of death hasn't been determined and we haven't established a motive for the crime yet but," he glanced over at the other, trying to figure out the best way to word it, "when we found him over at Zenpukuji Park…he was in the pond."

Light blue eyes blinked. "In the pond? I don't understand."

"We found him in the water. Someone had tied him to a boulder. But again, we haven't determined the cause of death yet so we don't know if he was alive when he went in…" He trailed off, mentally scolding himself for not having a nicer way to tell the other the truth. "I realize that it was a long time ago, but can you think of anyone who might've had it out for him?"

The smaller man shook his head. "No, not really. No one that immediately comes to mind anyway." Though his voice remained composed, Kagami could see by the other's eyes that the news had had a deep impact on him.

Holding a notebook in his hand, he looked over. "Do you think you could you tell me more about Kise?"

Kuroko gave a tight nod though his eyes remained trained on his shoes. "Yes, of course. Kise-kun - his full name's Kise Ryouta. You must not be from around here if you've never heard of him while growing up. He was a really well known model and basketball player. I met him in the second year of middle school. We were both on the basketball team at Teikou Middle. Our team was called the Generation of Miracles, but that was a really long time ago. I suspect most people don't remember anything about the Generation of Miracles anymore."

His ears perked at the name, happy for the chance to lighten the mood with talk of basketball. "The Generation of Miracles? Oh, that's where I heard his name from. When I was in middle school and high school, I used to follow basketball here while I was in America. He was pretty much a sports prodigy, wasn't he? Wait, does that mean you were in the Generation of Miracles as well?" He thought hard for a moment. "Oh! I think I might've read your name once in an article actually. No offense, but I can't see you playing basketball at all."

The shorter male shook his head. "It's alright. The reporters rarely noticed me, that's probably why I was never featured. I didn't really have an official position either. I was the ace's shadow."

"Huh? Is that even a real position? Did you make that title up in your head just now?"

"You're very honest with your words, aren't you, Kagami-kun?"

He was ready to mutter an unhappy apology but stopped when he spotted a small smile on Kuroko's lips. The atmosphere in the room lightened. "So even you can make that kind of expression, huh? Hey, later, if you want, let's have a match. There's a court nearby. I played through middle and high school and the police academy so I bet I'd be able to take you on. I've always wanted to play against the Generation of Miracles." In fact, he barely managed to graduate from the academy because even though he knew how terrible he was at pretty much every academic subject available, he still went out and played instead of studying.

"Sure. I still play every now and then myself. Anyway," Kuroko continued, "Kise-kun probably had a lot of natural enemies actually that I think about it. He was the person who had everything, looks, a well paying job, and endless talent in sports. A golden boy if you will. He wasn't very good at studying but I imagine that a lot of people were envious of him. I can't think of anyone who would act on it though."

"I take it he was a nice guy then? Likeable?"

A nod. "Yes, he was very popular with both men and women. Kise-kun was a really cheerful person and was nice to everyone. He was kind of like a dog - especially the people he acknowledged. He was always running around adding 'cchi' to people's names. Even in high school, he always visited me at Seirin. You could hear his 'Kurokocchi, Kurokocchi' from miles away. He was a really loud guy - and too trusting. Even in middle school, we used to reprimand him for giving is phone number to fans and stalkers."

Raising a brow, Kagami asked incredulously, "Stalkers? Really?"

There was fondness in his voice as Kuroko spoke, "Yes, he had a few stalkers, but they were usually crazy but harmless fans. The only time something bad happened was when they stole his clothes from the changing room during practice. It's because Kise-kun was too carefree about everything. From what I remember, he got punished by Akashi-kun for being so careless."

"Do you remember anything about the day he went missing?"

Blue eyes looked upwards in thought. "The night he went missing…that was the night the Winter Cup Tournament ended. There was a big formal dinner party and all the participating teams were invited to attend. It ended around 8 or 9 from what I remember."

Kagami continued jotting down notes in his notebook. "And Kise was there? Did he act any differently that night?"

Kuroko shook his head. "No, he was loud and cheery as always. He wore a really expensive suit that he got from one of his modelling jobs and spent the night talking and exchanging numbers with the players from other schools. I don't think he ever stopped socializing with people until the party ended, but that's pretty normal for Kise-kun. After the party ended, we all went our separate ways and that was the last time I ever saw Kise-kun."

Dipping his head in acknowledgement, he urged the other to continue. "When'd you find out he was missing?"

"I found out later that night when I got a call from Aomine-kun. Kise-kun was staying over at his place that night. Apparently he'd left a note saying that he'd be right back. And naturally, Aomine-kun assumed he went to the convenience store to buy something. But then after a couple hours, Kise-kun didn't return so we started looking around for him. We, or everyone we could gather on such short notice, spent the whole night looking for him. And by the next day, word had gotten out to the police and the press. There were so many people looking for him but we never found him. We never heard from him again after that night."

After he finished writing down notes for himself, he glanced over at the other. "Aomine…sounds familiar. Isn't that the guy on the national team?"

"Yes, that's the same one."

"Wow, so you're actually connected to some pretty well known people, aren't you?" Scribbling the name down, Kagami tapped his pen against his cheek out of habit. "After I inform the family, do you think it'd it be worthwhile to look into the other Generation of Miracles members? And his old teammates of course."

Kuroko dipped his head. "It'd probably be useful. Everyone was there for the tournament so we all saw each other quite often around that time. One of them, or maybe their teammates might've seen Kise-kun after the banquet that night. We didn't really keep in touch after high school. Actually, after middle school, Kise-kun was the only one who really tried to stay in touch with everyone. I could easily get their contact information for you if you'd like though. Actually, would you mind if I came with you?"

"Oh? That'd be a lot of help. And not that I'm complaining, but why do you want to tag along?"

"The Generation of Miracles…I'd like to see how everyone's doing. That, and other than Kise-kun, they don't open up very quickly to strangers so I might be able to help you out. Please, I'd like to find out what happened to Kise-kun as well."

A little surprised by the determination in those light blue eyes, Kagami mentally thought the situation through. On the one hand, he'd come in handy since he appeared to be well connected to a number of people who could help. But on the other, there was the fact that he was a suspect in the case since there was always the off chance that he was actually the perpetrator, being a friend to the victim and all. Not to mention how guardedly blank he always kept his expression made him look suspicious. However, despite his expressionless face, the smaller male had very honest eyes.

He decided to trust them.

Shrugging, the detective took out his phone from his pocket. "Sounds fine to me. Is there a law against bringing civilians into cases? Maybe I should ask Alex. Ah, whatever, I guess I could bring you along as an adviser or something. Just make sure you don't get in the way, okay? Here, let's exchange numbers. Then at least we'll be able to contact one another." In the back of his mind, he wondered if this was how it felt to exchange numbers with a girl. Glancing over at the smaller man, he reached out and ruffled the other's hair. "Come on, I think you've had enough depressing talk for one day. Let's go see about that basketball match. I bet there's a ball around here somewhere."

Blank blue eyes looked over at him and handed his phone back. "You're surprisingly kind, aren't you, Kagami-kun? I think Kise-kun would've liked you. I bet he would've called you 'Kagamicchi' and messaged you until you got sick of him."

Kagami made a face at that. "Kagamicchi? He'd seriously call me that with a straight face? I don't know if I would've liked him that much. A model and a basketball player? He sounds too…dazzling for me."

"I think you would've, or you would've learnt to tolerate him. You get used to the radiance and sparkles after awhile. As a basketball player, it's very hard not to respect him. Kise-kun always tried his hardest and wasn't all about winning like other players. Even though he only played for 2 years, he really loved basketball."

"You're making me wish I'd met him now. It sounds like he would've been fun to play against-aside from the nicknames." There was a long pause between the two. Finally getting up, he blinked. "Oh, one more thing before we have our match. Can you help me find a good picture of Kise? I'll need one for the file." He figured it was easier asking Kuroko than the boy's parents.

Perfectly seriously, Kuroko replied, "If it's a good photo you want, you should get one of Kise-kun crying. He had a very nice crying face."

"What!? Don't say something like that with such a serious face, you sadist!"

Once outside in the court, he smirked and tossed the other the ball. "Let's see what you've got, Kuroko. I definitely won't go easy on you."

"Alright."

Within a moment, Kuroko was making his towards the hoop. He hadn't expected the other to move so quickly. "Wha-" Before he could even get the word out of his mouth, the shorter male was going for a layup already.

And missed.

"…oops."

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Oops!? Oi, Kuroko, are you joking me? Stop screwing around! I thought you were supposed to be good at basketball! Are you sure you were in the Generation of Miracles!? How'd you miss an unguarded layup!?"

"Kagami-kun, please stop yelling so loudly, people are staring…"

The next day was a stressful day. Not only did he have to break the news to the victim's parents, but he had to ask them to keep the death of their son to themselves as well. After having updated Alex on the case and defending Kuroko's right to assist him on the case, they'd decided that with such a high-profile victim, it was best to keep everything on the down low for as long as possible. Following that stressful ordeal, he ended up spending a couple hours at the library - a place he rarely went. Hiding in a study room, he went through old newspaper articles and magazines. Most of the headings and information was about the same with the exception of a couple rumoured elopements.

"Top model Kise Ryouta missing!"

"Model and basketball player Kise Ryouta kidnapped?"

"Kise Ryouta disappeared into thin air after tournament banquet!"

The basketball magazines kept him busy for a while. Kagami learnt not only more about the victim, but also familiarized himself with the basketball players and teams that took part in the tournament. "Kaijou High, was it? Let's see, he had the ability to see people's techniques and copy them? Sounds impressive. Why does he always seem to get centerfolds? These magazines are for guys, aren't they? Why's he so ridiculously photogenic?" Flipping through the magazine, he snorted. "As expected, nothing on Kuroko. Did that guy really play basketball?"

Then he moved onto the fashion magazines and celebrity gossip, which, much to his surprise, provided him with more information than he'd expected. There was a paparazzi photo of him leaving the banquet with a group of people, all dressed in their best. And one of the people in the photograph, he recognized as Aomine Daiki, the now professional player and the youngest player ever admitted into Japan's national team. Looking closely, he gave a start when he noticed Kuroko in the photo. More than anything, he looked more like a faint outline compared to the other people in the photo. "I guess he really was there. So this was the last photo taken of Kise, hmm? Everyone in this photo looks so striking…except Kuroko, he really is a shadow. He looks so out of place with all these people."

Putting aside that magazine to photocopy later, he began flipping through other ones. "More centerfolds, really? Just how many interviews do people need from him? Good looking, popular, athletic and fashionable? Isn't that a little excessive for one person? Talk about making others feel inadequate…"

In his pocket, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Kuroko telling him that he was off work and had the contact information for his old teammates. Kagami smiled to himself. "He's actually serious about helping me solve this, isn't he?" Closing the magazines and grabbing the photocopies he'd made, he got up and left, making his way to Maji Burger, the place where he'd first met Kuroko. "I guess this kid's got his good points as well."

At their rendezvous point, he ordered his usual meal, found a seat and sat down. He was half way through his third burger when Kuroko suddenly appeared in the seat across from him with a milkshake in his hand. "Hello, Kagami-kun."

Kagami let out a loud yelp, dropping his burger in the process.

"Damn it, Kuroko! Don't just pop up out of nowhere like that! Ah-you made me drop my burger!"

Unfazed, the other merely took a sip of his drink. "I was waiting for you to notice me but you never did so I had to speak up. Did you have a productive day today?"

Rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh, the redhead nodded. "Yeah, I did actually. I managed to get a hold of his 'Missing Persons' file earlier. Then I broke the news to his parents and convinced them to keep it to themselves for now while we investigate. The media hasn't caught wind of anything yet so we're hoping to use this to our advantage. Oh, what did you think about the elopement rumours the magazines were spewing? Was that possible at all?"

The other shook his head. "No, Kise-kun wasn't the kind of person to quietly elope. He would've been noticed no matter where he went. And besides, he had no need to elope."

"Hmm, I guess I'll take your word for it." Taking out the photocopies he'd made from the library, Kagami showed his temporary partner the photo from the banquet. "So apparently this was the last photo taken of him. They all look like celebrities here. And it took a while to notice, but look, you're in it too."

Kuroko studied the photo and nodded. "This was after the banquet when we were on our way home. This person here's Momoi-san, she's the national team's manager now. She's been moving up in the basketball world with Aomine-kun ever since they were little. She's also the person who provided me with all the contact information for the Generation of Miracles, she used to be our manager back at Teikou."

Eager to meet someone as well known in the basketball world as Aomine, he asked the other hopefully, "Are they in Tokyo right now?"

"Unfortunately, no. But Momoi-san told me that there'd be a break soon so she'll give me a call when they're back in town."

"Did you tell her about Kise?"

The smaller male shook his head. "No, I just told her that I wanted to meet up with them because of something important. For now though, if you want to meet members of the Generation of Miracles, your best chance would be Midorima-kun. Apparently he's working as a doctor at Tokyo University Hospital now."

Looking up in thought, he tried to remember which one that was. "Midorima, Midorima, Midorima…oh, he was the shooting guard, right?"

"That's right. I was actually thinking yesterday after our match - you're really good at basketball, aren't you, Kagami-kun? I was thinking that if you'd been at Seirin for high school, I would've made you my light and helped you become the best in Japan. I think it would've been fun."

Kagami raised a brow at the statement. "I don't really understand what you mean by that. I mean, it sounds like a lot of fun, if I'd been here for high school and all. But after yesterday, I'm not convinced that you ever actually played basketball. So how could you've helped me?"

Kuroko shrugged. "I'll show you what I mean next time then. As long as we play on the same team."

A smirk graced his lips as he stuffed the rest of his burger into his mouth. "Oh? Sounds interesting. I'll be looking forward to it. But for now, let's go meet this Midorima guy."

"Kagami-kun, please don't speak with your mouth full."

Nya~

Next chapter up! Who killed Kise Ryouta? I'm partially going by the fanbook in regards to future occupations for the Generation of Miracles, but only partially...like, Kagami's not a fireman and Aomine's not a policeman, etc.. Anyways, so they're meeting Midorin next! My brain's dead so I actually don't have that much to say here. I love sadist!Kuroko and deadpan!Kuroko. He doesn't seem like the type to cry over sad news, especially older sad news, does he? Aside from that, it's a very beautiful day/week to be stuck inside doing work...sigh...with the amount of stuff I have to do, I hope I'll be able to post another chapter up next week. Anyhoo, enjoy!