Yay chapter 2! I'm really excited about this fic. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Comments are appreciated! Sorry it's a bit shorter this time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Akashi surveyed the bench, or rather, the first string members sitting on the bench before him, and sighed. Nijimura was out with the flu. Haizaki was no longer part of the team. Kise had a photo shoot that was running late (who even schedules photoshoots on school days?!). Sekiguchi twisted his ankle the day before and was supposed to be resting it, and Kubota was half asleep! That left him with himself, Midorima, Murasakibara, Aomine, and Kuroko for the first half of the game.

His eyes rested on their phantom sixth man, Kuroko. Even if he put Kuroko on the starting line-up, they could win this game easily. They didn't need to reserve him or anything this time and Kise should be back to take over before Kuroko ran out of steam. However, Kuroko was huddled in his spot as if he was cold despite wearing both his long sleeve shirt and warm-up jacket over his jersey. He hadn't mentioned being sick, but he certainly looked it. Akashi was hesitant to even put him on the court and he wouldn't if he had a choice, but he didn't. Well he did, but the half asleep Kubota was probably a worse choice than the sick looking phantom man if past experiences were anything to go by. Therefore, he didn't have a choice.

"Tetsuya, you're starting today." Akashi ordered.

Kuroko turned startled eyes towards his captain and nodded. He didn't feel up to playing, but orders were orders and he didn't want to disappoint. Especially not his captain. He had barely eaten all week though and the effects were sinking in despite having eaten 'lunch' that day (if a 200 calorie protein bar can even be considered such). Dizziness followed every sudden movement and couldn't seem to get warm no matter how much clothing he put on. As he removed the shirt and jacket covering his jersey, a shiver passed through him. He shouldn't be cold. No one else was cold. But he was. He wanted to curl up in his jacket again, but he noticed Akashi was eyeing him with a concerned look, so he breathed in and straightened his back preparing to tough it out.

Akashi watched, his concern growing with every second even as they stood across from their opponents. Maybe Kubota would have been a better choice after all. It wasn't that cold, but Kuroko was still shivering. Akashi wasn't the only one who noticed either.

Even though Kuroko felt terrible, he made all his passes and he thought he was hiding his discomfort pretty well till the other team called a time out. Momoi handed him his water bottle with a worried expression and Midorima kept glancing over at him.

After the third or fourth glance, Midorima finally spoke. "If you aren't feeling well, Kuroko, just tell Akashi. I'm sure we can wake Kubota up."

"Don't push yourself too hard Tetsu-kun." Momoi added.

Kuroko shook his head and took another swig of his water. He was fine. He didn't need their concern and he didn't want it. "I'm fine." He snapped perhaps a bit too harshly. It accomplished what he wanted though. Midorima was thrown off by the unusual forcefulness of the tealnettes tone but he just shrugged and went back to the court and even though Momoi looked like she wanted to say something, she held her tongue. Of course, Kuroko felt bad for being the cause of the sad gleam in the pinknette's eyes, but he wasn't going to apologize and risk opening the door for further conversation. Instead, he made his way back on to the court making an effort to not trip and hoping his crush hadn't seen or heard anything.

Of course, his crush was Akashi and Akashi was neither blind nor deaf. He heard and saw everything and it only convinced him further that something was up. He didn't know what, but Kuroko wasn't acting like Kuroko.

The first half ended at 48 to 31 with Teiko in the lead and Kuroko was replaced by Kise for the second half. The game ended with Teiko winning with a score of 89 to 64 and the team decided to go to Maji burger to celebrate.

Kuroko didn't want to go, but Akashi and Midorima kept giving him concerned looks and he didn't want them to think anything was wrong. Of course, maybe they just thought he shouldn't be coming because he was so fat and the last thing he needed was to be eating a damn burger. He decided they probably weren't thinking that, but he certainly was.

It wasn't like he was going to escape joining them without a good reason though, not with Kise and Momoi pouting and practically dragging him. Misdirection doesn't work very well when the people you are trying to hide from are physically touching you. Not even a real ghost could probably get away from the blond and pinknette if the latter two were determined enough. So he reluctantly resigned himself to go.

As he sat in the booth with Kise, Momoi, and Midorima, he silently hoped Akashi and Aomine would forget to order him anything since he didn't give them his order. His hopes were crushed when Aomine set a tray down in front of him.

"Yo. I got your usual since you forgot to give me your order." Aomine shrugged.

Kuroko nodded and turned his attention to the food on his tray. He had barely eaten all week, so maybe it wouldn't be a big deal. It was just a small burger and fries with a vanilla milkshake. He used to eat it all the time.

I used to be fatter too….I still am fat….he thought to himself.

He must have been staring at his tray longer than he thought because he could feel multiple pairs of eyes on him. When he looked up, he realized everyone had stopped in the middle of eating their meals and was looking at him with worried expressions. Their gaze made him feel uncomfortable and he shifted in his seat trying to think of something to say, but Aomine beat him to it.

"Oi, Tetsu…aren't you going to eat?" Aomine nodded towards the untouched meal.

Kuroko tensed briefly and pushed his tray a few inches away while shaking his head. "I'm not hungry."

"You're not hungry." Akashi repeated with obvious disbelief evident in his words as he narrowed his eyes skeptically. Even if Kuroko did have a small appetite, the boy just played two quarters of a game and the only thing Akashi had seen him eat beforehand was a protein bar at lunch. There was no way the tealnette wasn't hungry.

No one else looked like they believed their sixth member either and finally Kise broke the uncomfortable growing silence. "Not even for a milkshake? Are you sick Kurokocchi?"

Kuroko flinched. He was getting tired of hearing that question, of the others asking him if he was sick or if he was okay, and he couldn't stop the frustration leaking into his voice as he shouted he was fine. The table instantly became quiet again since no one knew what to say, not even their leader who always seemed to be a step ahead of everyone.

Akashi was clearly worried, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He was as stunned as everyone else and could only watch as Kuroko suddenly grabbed his belongings and fled.

After several minutes passed, Momoi, who had been staring at the door Kuroko left through, turned back to the others. "What's going on with Tetsu-kun?" She asked shakily.

Akashi shook his head. "I don't know." He whispered.

"I don't know either." Midorima replied and pushed his glassed up further on his nose.

"Same…" Aomine and Kise admitted in unison.

Akashi inhaled deeply and let out an audible sigh. "Let's just keep an eye on him for now."

Kuroko ran as far as he could before slowing to a walk. When he got to his apartment, he threw the door open and slammed it shut in anger. He went straight to the bedroom and buried his face in the pillow on his bed.

Why was he acting like this? Why was he feeling like this? His friends were just concerned about him and he yelled at them. They didn't deserve that. What if they hated him now? What if Akashi…..

With a groan he pulled the pillow out from under his face and threw it against the wall as if that would somehow help. It didn't. Tears started pouring down his face without his consent and he buried his head against the comforter groaning in frustration.

This wasn't like him. It wasn't like him to get mad. It wasn't like him to let others see his anger when he did get mad. It certainly wasn't like him to get so worked up over nothing and be so emotional. He wasn't used to this and he didn't understand it. He felt like a child having a temper tantrum. At least no one was home. At least his parents rarely ever returned, now that he was old enough to care for himself, and he wouldn't have to worry about them barging in and asking questions he couldn't answer. He didn't really want to think about them though. What would they think if they saw their failure of a child in such a state? He didn't want to know. They would probably hate him too.

He was a failure. A failure of a son. A failure of a friend. A failure of a basketball player. A failure of a phantom. A failure of a human being.

He groaned again and desperately tried to halt his thoughts and calm himself. It worked a little better this time and the tears stopped falling at least, but only because the day had finally drained him of all his energy. His whole body felt heavy and begged for sleep and he was inclined to give in.

Kuroko got to his feet with a great deal of effort and changed his clothes. Since he had already showered at the gym after the match, he didn't need to worry about that. Even though it was still light out, the tealnette pulled back the covers on his bed and crawled in.

Kuroko kept his phone off over the weekend. Most of the two days was spent sleeping. He didn't eat a single bite. Maybe things would get better when he wasn't so disgusting.

He just needed to become a better phantom. Everything would be okay then. He just had keep pushing himself, for his team, for Akashi, and for himself.