When Kuroko woke up, two days after his first encounter with Aomine Daiki, he stared silently at the ceiling from his bed, letting out several slow, rattling breaths while thinking. He hadn't really considered calling Aomine, especially after seeing such a violent thing, Kuroko was even less positive about contacting the man. Meanwhile, the bluenette had done himself a favour and got a new phone - for free he'd like to say but he ended up having to pay a small fee (there was always a catch to bargains and deals).
Finally, the male got himself out of bed and contemplated what he could do with his Sunday afternoon. There was nothing left to do in the house and Kuroko decided to pick up his phone and give one of his closest and only friends a call. Momoi Satsuki. Hardly two rings in, a chirpy female voice answered the line with her usual: "Momoi speaking~"
"Momoi-san, this is Kuroko." said the male tonelessly, keeping the phone a foot away when Momoi shrieked with delight, shouting: "Tetsu!" At the top of her voice. Sighing, the bluenette reconsidered calling her. When she finally calmed down however, he spoke again.
"Are you free today?" Asked Kuroko as he started making his bed while holding the phone to his ear with a shoulder. On the other side of the receiver, Kuroko could her the moving of paper - Momoi was no-doubtedly checking her agenda.
"Ah, I have a spare hour or two at 3. I'm working otherwise Tetsu~" Hummed Momoi calmly. Kuroko checked the clock to the left of his door. It was only 11. There was nothing else to it.
"Yeah, that's fine." He said dryly.
"I'm really sorry, I've been really busy lately." Came Momoi's apologetic tone.
"What do you even do Momoi-san?" Asked the pale boy, frowning as he walked over to the bathroom to look at the state of his hair which of course, was as messy as ever after a good night's sleep. Even from his side of the line, Kuroko could tell that she laughed sheepishly at that.
"I wish I could tell you, but my contract states I'm not allowed to tell anyone. Not even my own parents. Not like they care anyway." The bluenette grimaced, that was Momoi's usual answer.
"Anyways, 3 it is. I'll see you then Tetsu-kun!" The line died and Kuroko put his phone down, taking a deep breath. He'd have to keep his cool around Momoi. The male turned his attention to his hair, attempting to flatten the tornado's damage. When he was satisfied enough with the results he showered, ate breakfast and sat down behind the TV - the usual.
Kuroko watched a film, despite not even knowing what it was about. Next to that he couldn't be bothered to watch so he just watch the figures move animatedly on the screen without paying proper attention. The fact of the matter was that Kuroko was, for once in his life, distracted. Something that never properly happened to him. On top of that, Kuroko knew all too well why he was so distracted. It was Aomine. Something about the male intrigued him despite scaring him. He had questions that needed answering. Kuroko had pinned Aomine's number to his fridge with an old magnet he found and he went over to look at it. The paper was close to falling apart at that point and Kuroko sighed. He couldn't call Aomine - he wouldn't. And yet still, Kuroko was bored out of his wits...Maybe Aomine wanted to hang out? That seemed like a crazy idea to him but, before he could stop himself, he had already grabbed his phone and was dialling the numbers carefully. The bluenette took one look at the number on his phone before taking another deep breath and pressing the green button, bring up the phone expectantly to his ear.
The phone rang five times, Kuroko counted them. The male was about to give up when someone finally picked up.
"Aomine, who's calling?" Kuroko tensed momentarily, unknowing of what to say. He had dialled the number without even knowing what to ask Aomine - maybe he was getting ahead of himself.
"Is this a prank?" He heard other voices on Aomine's side of the line and he gulped.
"Aomine-kun...It's Kuroko Tetsuya." Another silence followed Kuroko's words before Aomine burst out laughing. Kuroko had to (once again) keep the phone a foot away from him.
"Sorry Tetsu, You're so quiet, I didn't know it was you~" His tone was distinct again - just like Kuroko remembered.
"What can I do for you Tetsu?" Continued Aomine on his side, making Kuroko ponder. He knew the answer though.
"Aominecchi, Is that a girl on the line!?" Another loud voice on Aomine's side shrieked.
"Ki- Hey! Give that back! Oi, Kise!" The line momentarily went silent before a new voice answered, this one chirpy (reminding Kuroko of Momoi).
"This is Kise Ryouta, Aominecchi's best friend, who are you my lovely?~" Asked the male, his tone going seductive. Kuroko shivered slightly.
"Kuroko Tetsuya and I'm not a girl…" Kuroko said with a straight face. Kise on the other side fell dead silent and turned to Aomine who was still trying to get his phone back. With his mouth agape he suddenly said: "Aominecchi...I had no idea you swung that way…" Kuroko heard it and he suddenly had to suppress his laughter by covering his mouth as he heard Aomine shout on the other side.
"Like hell dude, he's just a friend. Leave us alone!" Kise sighed and handed back the phone.
"Sorry bout that Tets-" Aomine paused as he heard Kuroko on the other side. The teal haired could no longer maintain his laughter and quiet snorts protruded from his side of the line.
"Uh...Tetsu, you okay?" Heard Kuroko coming from Aomine. The boy composed himself and replied.
"Yeah, I'm alright. That was funny."
"It really wasn't. Kise is an annoying son-of-a-bitch…Anyway, what were you going to say?"
"I was wondering whether you wanted to hang out maybe...I'm just bored out of my wits and I don't know what to do." The brief moment of distraction on Aomine's side had given the bluenette enough time to think about what to say. Aomine chuckled silently but answered fairly quickly.
"Yeah sure, sounds like fun." Kuroko smiled silently. Maybe Aomine wasn't that bad.
"Ah, I do have to work at 3 again though...I'm on a bit of a tight schedule" Added the male apologetically.
"That's fine, where shall we meet?" Asked Kuroko, getting up and walking into his room to choose his clothes for that day.
"I can meet you in front of that burger place we went the other day." Said Aomine calmly and Kuroko nodded - realising moments later that Aomine wouldn't be able to see.
"Okay, I'll be there in 30 minutes." Said the light-haired calmly before smiling again.
"See ya Tetsu~" Aomine hung up first and Kuroko looked at the number still open on his phone and tapped to save it under the name Aomine Daiki.
29 minutes later, Kuroko arrived at the agreed destination. Aomine wasn't there yet and Kuroko took a seat on a low wall placed just beside the entrance to the burger tent while he looked down at his phone as Momoi sent him a text:
Sorry Tetsu-kun! I have to meet someone while we're out. He claimed he was gonna be in the city today so do you mind if we go look for him? I'm really sorry! 3
Kuroko sighed and texted back, saying it was fine and looked up to see someone standing before him: tall and well built, iconic and similar to a professional basketball player.
"Aomine-kun." Kuroko smiled vaguely and the tall man before him grinned and brought his hand down to ruffle Kuroko's hair.
"Yo! Been waiting long?" Kuroko shook his head, still smiling and got up from his sitting position.
"Got anywhere you wanna go?" Aomine asked Kuroko as he started walking down the more crowded shopping streets.
"Not particularly…" muttered Kuroko quietly making Aomine laugh and nod his head.
"Alright, I got an idea then." Only then did Kuroko notice the basketball in Aomine's hand.
"Basketball?" Asked Kuroko tentatively.
"I've never played before though…" Murmured the male with a frown, earning another laugh from Aomine.
"No need to worry, I'll teach you the basics. Let's go. There's a street court nearby." Grinned Aomine and started walking a little faster, his legs taking far longer strides than Kuroko could keep up with.
Standing on the middle of the court, Aomine motioned for Kuroko to stand opposite him. When the bluenette did so, his eyes widened. One second Aomine had been before him and the next, he was gone. Kuroko was barely able to turn around before he heard the swish of the net. The boy stared in amazement at Aomine who flew through the air like a bird, his face alight with excitement. Turning back to Kuroko, he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Aomine dribbled the ball back to the centre where Kuroko still stood. Without warning, the taller male threw Kuroko the ball. Kuroko reached out but missed and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he went to pick up the ball while Aomine returned to the centre.
"Okay, where to start. Do you know the rules of basketball?" Kuroko thought for a seconds. He'd seen plenty of basketball games flash by. Therefore he started muttering about dribbling and passing and how to score points. Aomine slapped his back.
"I see you got that part covered." Grinned the male as he pointed to the ball.
"Why don't we start with shooting. Newbies always find that the most interesting." Aomine pushed Kuroko forward until he was nearly under the hoop. Scattering, Kuroko took a couple of steps back and aimed, concentrating on the hoop intensely.
"Ah, well. No one succeeds on their first try Tetsu! Give it another shot." Aomine approached Kuroko and watched how he took the shot.
More than an hour later, Aomine had taught Kuroko the exact way to most effectively shoot from the distance he'd chosen and Aomine watched closely as Kuroko missed shot after shot.
"I really don't know what the problem is…" Admitted Aomine sheepishly as he frowned.
"Your form is spot on and your aim is good but...You just keep missing. Ah, it's agitating to watch." Aomine pulled at his hair, sighing deeply. Kuroko bowed his head slightly.
"Sorry...I guess shooting isn't my strong point." That comment made Aomine look up with new hope. "You're right! Maybe passing is more your thing...Ah, if we only had one more player...Maybe next time." Aomine said as he checked his watch.
"It's already 10 to three." Grumbled the man as he walked over and put his jumper from earlier back on. Kuroko held the ball in his hands cluelessly and tilted his head. Aomine looked back and flashed a smile.
"Keep it, that way you can practice if you feel like it." Stated the taller male as he crouched down to tie his shoelaces.
A female voice suddenly called through the air and both Aomine and Kuroko looked up.
"Dai!" Kuroko was astonished to see Momoi Satsuki. She wore skinny jeans and a leather jacket which was much too large for her. Her pink locks were tied up into a high ponytail.
"You're on duty now." She motioned over her shoulder back at something Kuroko couldn't see. Aomine stiffened but sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. Got it. Well, catch ya later Tetsu." Aomine smiled at Kuroko who stared at both the others with wide eyes.
Momoi looked around Aomine and her eyes widened.
"Tetsu-kun?" She asked confused.
"You know Dai-chan?"
"You know Satsuki?" Both Aomine and Momoi stared at Kuroko bewildered and Kuroko blinked once or twice.
"Yeah, Momoi-san and I are friends."
"Ah, that explains it. Satsuki mentioned she was meeting a friend at 3. I had no idea it was you though." Chuckling lightly, Aomine turned back.
"Well, gotta get going." Aomine yawned and stretched his arms before walking off, leaving a confused Momoi and an even more befuddled Kuroko.
"Tetsu-kun, how do you Dai-chan?" Asked Momoi once she regained herself and Aomine was out of sight. Kuroko turned to her and told her all about what had happened on Thursday night, including the incident with Hanamiya and that he believed it was Aomine who saved him.
"Ahahah!" Momoi laughed nervously.
"Don't be silly Tetsu-kun, Aomine isn't that cool, I'm telling you." Kuroko frowned at Momoi's expression and sighed, giving up.
"You said you need to see someone." Muttered Kuroko.
"Mhm, yeah! From the info I gathered, you might know him. It's a guy called Mayuzumi Chihiro."
Kuroko did know Mayuzumi - in fact, they often rivalled each other in skill at their job. Both Kuroko and Mayuzumi were technical geniuses with little presence and were therefore often overlooked. According to resources that actually managed to cover the two, Mayuzumi was always portrayed as the smarter one but that was only because people noticed him only slightly more. There was only a close notch between Kuroko and Mayuzumi though and in the end, Kuroko was most likely to do his job better because Mayuzumi often got distracted.
"Ah, that's good. Do you know if he works today?" Asked Momoi cheerfully as she took Kuroko's arm in a link. Kuroko nodded slowly as he thought. Mayuzumi was a hard worker so he even went to work on Sundays.
"Let's go then~" Said Momoi as the two of them set off.
"Kuroko, what a surprise to see you here on a Sunday. Come to make some extra hours?" Mayuzumi looked up from his laptop screen and at Kuroko. The bluenette had left Momoi to wander about his office. In response to Mayuzumi's question, Kuroko shook his head.
"I have someone that wants to talk to you." Said Kuroko sternly as he motioned for Momoi. The female walked up to them and bowed to Mayuzumi.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Momoi Satsuki. You're Mayuzumi Chihiro correct?" Mayuzumi nodded slowly and Momoi clapped her hands together, afterwards reaching inside of her large leather jacket.
"This is what I'm here for. My boss would like to employ you." Momoi pulled out a letter and handed it to Mayuzumi with a vague smile. Mayuzumi's slender fingers took the paper and he stared at the wax crest on the back of it, his mouth agape.
"But this is-" Momoi interrupted him with a sinister expression as she whispered to him.
Kuroko watched them dazedly, realising that he hadn't heard what Momoi had whispered. He frowned softly as he watched Mayuzumi eyes the letter again before nodding and stashing it away into his bag.
"The pay is good." Momoi smiled and turned to Kuroko once again.
"Let's go, Tetsu-kun!" smiled Momoi as she grabbed his arm. But before they left, Kuroko heard Mayuzumi say something.
"Akashi Seijuurou…"