Hey again!

So I was astounded by the reaction the first chapter got. Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and a HUGE shoutout to those who reviewed! (To the Guest who reviewed, you know who you are, and thanks to you too!)

Hope you enjoy the next chapter of It's Your Play Now!

And because I forgot last week, here's the Disclaimer: We own neither KnB or Haikyuu!

Miyagi, as it turned out, was almost five hours away on train. For Kuroko, who'd grown up in the strict confines of Tokyo, the distance seemed like an eternity. Still, he couldn't find the strength to be annoyed by the travel time. Instead, there was a strange sense of relief as the distance between himself and the Miracles grew by the kilometer.

It was lucky that he didn't believe in hoarding, because everything he owned had had to fit either into a suitcase or in a storage unit- and space in Japan was at a premium. Part of him had tried to reason that his parents wouldn't even notice the cost, but to him, there was no need for the expense. Not when he could just as easily donate the leftover furniture and invest in new pieces when he got to his new apartment.

Or, that had been the plan- Hinata, it seemed, had had other ideas.

"You really don't have to do this, Hinata-kun." Kuroko said, tripping slightly as his suitcase whacked his shins. "I could just as easily rent a hotel room until I find an apartment."

"Nope nope nope!" The oranget replied, skipping along and dragging him in his wake. "You're taking the spare room and that's it. And drop the -kun while you're at it. If you're staying with us, you don't have to be so formal."

"But-" He tried again, only to be interrupted once more. -Honestly, Hinata's lack of manners more than make up for however polite I am.-

"Look," Hinata said, turning and planting his hands on his hips. "Mom's really looking forward to having you over. Believe it or not, she's heard quite a bit about you, and you refused to visit over the summer."

Kuroko shifted a little bit. It wasn't like he had been trying to be rude, but Hinata had been travelling back and forth from Tokyo to Miyagi countless times to help his family move in. It hadn't made sense to Kuroko to impose while they were still trying to transition.

"Besides," Hinata continued, nodding in a satisfied way. "It's ridiculous to pay for a hotel room while you have a perfectly good, rent-free house right here!"

Kuroko sighed. Arguing with Hinata was like arguing with a brick wall, sometimes. This wasn't something worth fighting over, either. The less money he spent, the better he'd feel about moving without first notifying his parents.

"Fine, but I really do need to get an apartment closer to school." Kuroko warned. "Visiting a friend might be fine for a while, but it's not feasible long term."

Hinata waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever! As long as you promise to visit! Mom said you shouldn't be eating milkshakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"

Kuroko blinked at the matter-of-fact way Hinata had spoken, as if it were true just because of who had said it. The only person Kuroko had heard spoken of that way before was Akashi.

"What about you? Does she know you ate popsicles every day?" Kuroko asked.

Hinata blushed, looking away and striding forward. "O-of course she does, idiot!" The lie was perfectly evident in his stutter.

"You really shouldn't be calling me an idiot, Hinata-kun," Kuroko said, hiding his amusement under the guise of a reprimand. "I wasn't the one who almost failed his entrance exams."

Hinata spluttered and shook a fist at him, beginning a rant Kuroko only listened to with half an ear, amusement curling at the edges of his eyes.

-Honestly. Even getting Aomine riled up was never this fun.- His amusement died as quickly as milk curdling, turning sour in his stomach. The relief he felt at being far away from the Miracles was tainted by the notion that he might, in fact, just be running away.

Hinata, though, was more perceptive than people gave him credit for. The oranget flung an arm over Kuroko's shoulders, jolting him out of his darkening thoughts. "You're mean," He scoffed. "Now come on! The faster we get home the faster we get Mom's cooking!"

Kuroko blinked at the unfamiliar word Hinata had spoken with such ease.

Home.

He eyed the person at his side, studying the skip in his step and never ending chatter. Did Hinata realize what he had said? That he had, intentionally or not, added Kuroko into the we that made up Family?

Maybe, Kuroko thought, stopping as Hinata ran forward to meet the orange bundle running at him and spinning her in the air as an older woman stayed in the doorframe, laughing at the scene. Maybe I can have a home here.

The next couple of weeks were spent both finding and moving into a new apartment. Hinata's Mom had been shocked at the amount of stuff that he had brought, and hadn't even hesitated before throwing herself into the task of helping furnish his "new home".

Of course, that didn't stop her from inviting him over for regular meals or dragging him when he inevitably refused. That was how he had gotten here tonight, in fact, her using a "pre-school party" as an excuse to fix a veritable feast.

Finally, though, they had gotten to the point of this whole meeting -if there even was a purpose for the party besides food and playing games.-

"Turn for us, would you, Kuroko-san?" Hinata's Mom said from her chair, Natsu quickly taking up the chant.

"Yeah Ghost-nii-san! Turn, turn, turn!" She wiggled off her Mother's lap to demonstrate, whirling around in dizzying circles and giggling all the while.

Natsu had been cutely skeptical of him at first, poking and prodding him -'To see if he was real!' She had wailed when Hinata had snapped at her.- But she had seemingly gotten used to him after him showing up nearly every night for dinner.

Obediently, -He could see Natsu had learned how to do puppy dog eyes from her big brother, because she wielded them with deadly precision- Kuroko turned in a circle so they could see how his uniform fit.

"Not bad," Mayumi-san acknowledged, pulling it taught in a couple places. "Won't need any tailoring, at least. That's good." She grinned down at her energetic son, who was busy posing for Natsu, who was giggling.

"Yours, on the other hand," She said, grabbing Hinata by his collar. "Will need quite a bit of work. Didn't we order a small for you as well?"

Hinata wiggled in her grip uncomfortably, trying and failing to find a position that didn't have his collar choking him. "Yeah, but it doesn't fit like Kuroko's does! I don't know why!"

Mayumi-san finally had mercy on him, but didn't let him go far, instead grabbing her sewing box from off the table where it had rested. "Well, I'm just going to have to tailor it for you. The jacket will only need to be taken in a bit, but those pants need hemmed desperately . . ." She trailed off, reaching down to roll up the bottom of Hinata's pants so they no longer dragged on the ground.

Natsu crawled into Kuroko's lap instantly as he sat down, quickly settling and tugging on his new suit. "Ghost-nii-san, can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Now, Natsu-chan," Mayumi scolded gently, voice slightly muffled by pins stuck in between her lips. "You can go to bed without one tonight, can't you?"

Natsu's eyes filled with tears as she wrinkled his uniform with her tiny fists. "B-but, but then the monsters will get me!"

Mayumi sighed, sliding another pin into place, Hinata shifting this way and that to see what she was doing. "Daddy should be home soon, why don't you wait for him?" She asked, but her tone suggested she already knew the answer to that question.

Natsu's bottom lip began to tremble, and Mayumi sighed again. She pulled the remaining pins out of her mouth, moving to get to her feet, but Kuroko was already standing, Natsu cradled on his hip.

"I'll read to her, Mayumi-san. Consider it a thank you for helping me this past week." Kuroko said, pulling a tissue out of his pocket so Natsu didn't wipe her face on his brand new uniform.

Mayumi-san paused and then chuckled, settling on the floor again. "No thanks, please, Kuroko-san." She said, aiming a bright smile at him. "I've always wanted another son!"

He couldn't move, couldn't form words, couldn't even respond as her smile dimmed and then spread into something more gentle but no less vibrant.

He couldn't help a twitch as Natsu pulled on his hair demandingly. "Bedtime story, nii-san, bedtime story!"

That jolted him out of his reverie. He turned away from the older woman, trying to stamp down an unfamiliar feeling clogging his throat. "And what story would that be?"

She perked up, starting a list that had Hinata spluttering behind him and Mayumi sighing, but Kuroko didn't even comment before nodding his assent. He only vaguely remembered a time when he was read bedtime stories- he couldn't remember who, only that it wasn't his mother or father.

There was the sound of a door opening and a male voice calling out, both mother and son replying enthusiastically. Smiling gently, he settled down.

Family definitely wasn't something Kuroko was familiar with- not with his parents always out on business trips- but he was learning more the longer he spent in the Hinata family's company.

No, he decided, laying Natsu on his lap and cracking open a well-worn book. I don't mind moving here too much at all.

It wasn't until he was standing in front of the school's gates that Kuroko realized he was nervous. He knew he shouldn't be- this wasn't Teiko, after all, and he was miles away from anyone he knew, with the exception of Hinata. Still, his fingers trembled slightly on his bag.

I'm fine, he tried to convince himself. There's no Miracles here- no danger. You want to be here.

He sighed, finally forcing himself through the doors and into the hallways. The familiar crush of people around him that he wove his way through served to orient himself, somewhat. He wasn't completely out of place here, wasn't the center of attention, wasn't whispered about like he feared. It was just people trying to get to class on time, slightly high off the new school year. Regular. Normal. No danger.

He breathed.

Kuroko and Hinata weren't in the same class.

He stared at the board sullenly, mindlessly moving his foot so it didn't get stepped on, and sighed. He should've expected it, really. Hinata's grades tended more towards "abysmal" to Kuroko's "average", so the split made sense. Still, he would've liked the safety of having someone he already knew in his class.

Instead, the only interaction the two had was in the morning as Hinata had rushed past his door and into his assigned room seconds before the tardy bell rang.

The rest of the morning proceeded much as he'd predicted, from having to force himself to be noticed so as not to get sat on as well as standing in front of the teacher so he didn't get marked absent.

The teacher called on him throughout the class, glaring as if blaming him for her inability to see him, and looking thoroughly disappointed when he could answer all her questions.

So it was with relief that he embraced the bell signalling lunch- so much that he forgot himself for a moment. Forgot that he was invisible. Forgot that he needed to check the walkways before going into them so he didn't get stepped on.

His head stung. If this is what forgetting does, I'm never doing it again, Kuroko thought with a moan. "Wha- what did I trip on?" The person who'd bowled him over asked quizzically.

"Me," Kuroko deadpanned, not bothering to move as the male jumped off him as if electrocuted.

"Ah!" Half the class joined in his exclamation. "When did you get there?!"

"I've been here the whole time. You rammed into me when you came in." He said, not able to hide a disgruntled tone of his voice. Was it really too much to ask for someone to be able to see him?

"A-ah. Sorry about that." The guy said, stumbling into an awkward bow.

Kuroko breathed slowly, straightening and brushing off his pants. There was no use getting upset over this- it happened everywhere he went. Not around Hinata, a voice said snidely, and he pushed it out of his mind. "Don't worry about it," he sighed, falling into a bow himself. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Kageyama Tobio," The new guy said, finishing the introductions with little fanfare. At the supposed end of the show, the class dispersed, whispering amongst themselves and shooting him suspicious glances.

Well, he thought, pulling out his lunch. At least no one can say my life is boring.

And that's a wrap!

Again, thanks to all those who favorited, followed, or reviewed this story!

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~Mikey and Raph