Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke

A/N: Akashi hasn't changed to the Bokushi personality in this timeline, so he's using surnames. Also, I did not manage my time wisely so this story will not be complete for Murasakibara's birthday, however I did get to post a chapter by the appropriate day (Happy Birthday Mukkun!). It's all about the small victories sometimes.

Still, I hope you like this chapter and the conclusion next time :)

The Pastry Predicament

Chapter 3

Kise was the first to notice something was wrong with Murasakibara as they were in the same class. When the blonde went to greet his classmate the next day, the taller teen only mumbled a reply and didn't even ask Kise if he had any sweets with him as was his customary routine.

"Murasakibaracchi? Is everything okay?"

He just shrugged in response but didn't look at Kise and the small forward became worried at this exceedingly unusual behavior. However he didn't have a chance to investigate further as their class began. He tried to talk with his teammate off and on throughout the morning but Murasakibara refused to engage with him. Kise sent a group text to the others with his concerns and received replies with various levels of concern. The one he took the most seriously was from their captain.

"Stop pestering him. We'll address it after practice. For now pay attention to your classes, you were dangerously close to academic sanctions last term." Kise deflated at this last but obediently turned toward the teacher and at least for a few moments listened to the lecture. Soon his thoughts wandered however, as even the implied warning from Akashi couldn't discipline the blonde's distracted brain.

At lunch Murasakibara got up and left the classroom without speaking to Kise – a departure from their usual routine. Kise started to go after him but remembered Akashi's text from earlier and reluctantly decided not to. But he felt an unfamiliar sense of gloom take hold of him and wondered how to fix it. He didn't come up with any particularly bright ideas by the time Murasakibara returned for their next lesson. It would seem he had no choice but to wait until after practice after all.

During practice, it was obvious that Murasakibara's mind was elsewhere – while never noted for full enthusiasm toward practice, he was usually at least dutiful – today he was barely going through the motions. At the end he tried to just disappear but was stopped by Akashi who motioned for him to sit on the bleachers. They all understood they were waiting for everyone else to leave before broaching the issue and their respective temperaments meant they each handled this differently. Aomine and Kise got into a brief scuffle as they played an impromptu one-on-one game; Midorima watched them with faint disapproval in his eyes. Kuroko had taken out a book and was quietly reading. Momoi reviewed the work everyone had done to ensure all was taken care of before they finally left. Akashi merely stood patiently as he waited for the right moment.

As the silence drew out and Murasakibara continued to avoid looking up, Akashi did something quite unexpected. He sat on the floor. Now it was true he lowered himself with an elegant motion that would have done justice to the finest dancer imaginable, but it was still an unprecedented occurrence. He seemed perfectly at ease and Murasakibara was forced to look at his captain from surprise if nothing else. There was patience, concern, and a keen intelligence in Akashi's red eyes that spoke to his willingness to investigate this issue to the best of his ability and they all knew it. His change in posture signaled all of them that the conversation was about to start and everyone gathered closer to participate.

"Murasakibara, you seem out of sorts today. What is wrong?" Akashi's voice lacked judgment; it promised that no matter how large or small the problem might really be, he was prepared to address it.

When Murasakibara finally replied, the hurt he had been carrying was starkly evident, "I saw all of you at the train station last night. You lied to me."

There was a horrified pause and more than one of them felt a rising panic – they hadn't gone over a cover story as they'd thought they were safe. They deferred to Akashi to handle it and everyone waited anxiously to hear his answer.

The redhead did not look panicked or guilty, his expression was perfectly neutral. He tilted his head just a fraction of a degree and took in the expression on the purple haired player's face. It seemed an eternity before he responded but he eventually did and it came as a shock to all of them to hear his reply.

"Yes, we did lie to you. Why do you think we would do that?"

Confused purple eyes clouded with doubt for a moment. "I did something wrong? You don't like me anymore?"

Momoi couldn't handle this and she patted his shoulder gently in reassurance. While none of the others were speaking yet as they trusted Akashi to successfully navigate these potentially hazardous waters, they still wanted to let Murasakibara know there were mitigating circumstances and so appreciated Momoi's gesture.

Akashi continued his questioning almost absently, "And if we didn't like you, would we be interested in knowing why you seemed different?"

The center shrugged. "Yes, if it affected basketball."

For the first time Akashi showed displeasure and his voice had a noticeable thread of steel, "Basketball is of course a priority, however we don't have to care about each other to perform well. Try again."

Kuroko felt a sense of unease at these words but he didn't know why. He filed it away to consider later.

Murasakibara mumbled his answer and despite their close proximity, they had trouble deciphering what he said. Rather than force him to repeat it immediately, Akashi held out his hand toward Kise in a signal for the basketball and the blond passed it to him with an efficient, graceful movement.

Akashi was not one to fidget or waste motion, so when he began playing with the ball by gently tossing it back and forth in his hands, they all knew there was a purpose to the activity. In a strange way, the simple action became almost hypnotic and several eyes were unconsciously compelled to follow the ball's trajectory as it was expertly caught and released between his left and right hands.

Without warning, Akashi threw the ball at Aomine without even glancing his way, and Aomine caught it instinctively but looked surprised.

The redhead's gaze stayed focused on Murasakibara who continued to look confused even as Akashi began speaking again. "I have complete faith that all of you will perform to my expectations no matter the circumstances – that's why I needn't look at Aomine for him to already be aware enough to catch a pass from me. So what does this mean for my earlier question?"

Murasakibara scowled, he felt he was being tricked but he didn't know why. He hated when Akashi got like this and the redhead would make them puzzle out the answers on their own. "I don't know."

"It means we care about you, Murasakibara-kun. And that while we lied to you, it isn't because we don't like you." Kuroko's quiet interruption drew all of their eyes his way. "It is true we all want success in basketball, but this is more than that."

Akashi nodded approvingly and then looked back at Murasakibara, "Which means we just need you to have faith, Murasakibara. We didn't deceive you for spite."

He still looked troubled and Aomine got impatient with his lack of understanding, "Murasakibara, think about why we'd keep something from you around this time of year. Your birthday is coming up, you idiot."

Murasakibara's look of astonishment rivaled only Akashi's of disapproval, but slowly, a tentative ray of hope shone in the purple eyes that had held such sadness moments before.

Kise nodded "Although we weren't supposed to say anything at all" and here he darted an accusing look at Aomine, "it is still a surprise in effect!"

Midorima sighed and pushed up his glasses. "Then if we're done with this touching moment, can we get back to our preparations?"

There were a few smiles and while the moment was still a little awkward, they all managed to gather enough presence of mind to depart after reassuring Murasakibara again and headed off to continue practicing their surprise.

Unfortunately, as the days moved forward, their preparations were not going well. Perhaps it was simple exhaustion from all the competing demands on their time, or maybe they'd chosen too ambitious a project, or it could just be their talents didn't lend themselves to the world of dessert.

Well, to be completely fair, they had all made remarkable improvement from the first week, even Momoi had been allowed to try again and once she'd managed to produce a fair custard – but she had been unable to replicate it. It seemed to be the pattern for each of them; they would make some progress only to immediately backslide. Sugimoto looked ready to cry; he was feeling increasingly anxious about the looming deadline for his students to master their respective projects.

The conspirators were feeling the strain themselves and after a few sharp remarks were exchanged, Akashi realized an intervention was needed. He looked around at them all and saw the strain that was clearly manifesting from their hectic schedules and self-inflicted pressure to conquer a complex set of skills.

He clapped his hands lightly to gain everyone's attention and issued his decision, "It seems we need a break. We still have a week but perhaps this pace is too draining. So let's take tomorrow off and start fresh again after that."

As it turned out, the break proved to be a wise move, but for unexpected reasons. Inexplicably, most of them ended up studying about their respective projects. Cooking websites, video tutorials, relatives, and other resources were all consulted for hints, tips, and bits of inherited wisdom. And each of them found a new strategy. When they returned and suddenly showed much stronger results with more reliable consistency, Sugimoto asked what was different.

None of them could precisely put it into words, but they'd managed to translate the precise and technical jargon of the confectionary world into a language they more readily understood. Akashi just offered, "I think we managed to regroup." And it was all the explanation they needed.

Finally, painstakingly and with the greatest possible care, they managed to pull off their design. It didn't come without a cost, though. Kuroko had not only strained his wrist so that he was excused from basketball practice, but he'd also received a small but significant burn from trying to make caramel. Momoi had a burn on her wrist as well, and Midorima had had to sacrifice a lucky item after Kise accidentally bumped into him at one point.

Still, it was finished and in time for Murasakibara's birthday. It would require bringing him to the pastry kitchen but they didn't think he would particularly mind. So after school on the purple haired teen's birthday, Akashi had graciously permitted them to skip basketball practice for the occasion, they traipsed over to the kitchen that had proven such a battleground for the past few weeks to surprise their teammate and friend.

At first, when they showed him what they had made, Murasakibara didn't say anything and there was a tense moment when their subconscious fears that he wouldn't like it might be realized, but then Momoi noticed he was looking amazed, not repulsed, and she smiled in relief. They all noticed it and relaxed.

They turned to survey what they had labored so hard to make. In honor of Murasakibara's interest in physics and astronomy, they'd created an artistic replica of the solar system from various forms of cake, candy, and pastry. The primary difference was that where blue would be used, they'd substituted purple – and the sun, at the center, had been done in the fiery reds and purples that one would see at sunset.

But the precise attention to detail in tracing out the distinct features of each planet was more than clear. Sugimoto had honestly not believed they would be able to do it and had been ready to broach an easier project just in case, but they had risen to the occasion. The planets had been arranged on a huge fluffy meringue cake that had taken Kuroko several dozen tries to master before finally getting the texture dense enough to support the structure but soft enough to slice, shape, and eventually eat. It had been tinted a light violet and scattered with silver sprinkles and frosted cookies to suggest stars.

The delicate sugar spheres that formed some of the planets and Saturn's rings had been Akashi's responsibility. Aomine's pastry dough and fruit fillings were inside some of them, and others had been used to raise the planets around the meringue to give the appearance of floating. Midorima's contribution found home in the remaining planets and his custards layered in between some of the cake layers also formed edible glue.

Momoi and Kise had meticulously affixed sprinkles, fondant, glazes, and edible foil where needed for decoration and support. They'd also finally managed to pull off some small batches of cookies that found placement on Kuroko's meringue but their primary concentration had been on achieving level, stable structures and ensuring the piece as a whole looked presentable.

It was with some regret that they started to attack their present to serve it, but in the end they had a great time showing Murasakibara the pieces they'd particularly worked on and he sincerely thanked them all. Murasakibara was well aware this had not been something they'd idly thrown together, and inside he secretly felt relief that their reassurance from the past week had proved to be true – they hadn't been avoiding him for anything he'd done wrong. It was an occasion of mirth, relief, and true affection for all of them.

Perhaps they should have been surprised by how quickly their labors were decimated, but Murasakibara's prodigious appetite notwithstanding, the gathering had a party feel to it and they all indulged more than they might otherwise. The sugar spike they endured as a result, however, sent them to a streetball court immediately afterwards and in the evening's dimming light, they played freely and without restraint – teasing, laughing, and enjoying one another's company and the celebration of their own skill. For today, they had no reason to suspect there would be any partings among them or that their friendship would soon unravel. They had only the cool evening breeze and their shared contentment.

Momoi captured the moment in a photo that she gave to each of them. It would become a day they all secretly held precious in their memories, though there was no mention of it after that. There were days ahead that would belie the current scene, but today was simply a celebration of Murasakibara's birthday and that was enough for them all.