Kiseki Kids

Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Character(s): Kise Ryota, Kuroko Tetsuya
Story Summary: Kise gets lost while finding his friend's house, but he finds help in the form of a kind stranger.

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

#3 Lost Puppy

Ryouta tried, really tried to toughen up.

It had been a long time since he came to this part of neighborhood, having been busy with the modeling work his parents put him into. And now that his long break period had arrived, he couldn't wait to visit his classmate and friend, only to get himself lost in the process.

Maybe he should have brought along his parents, but he was eight now; he should try to become independent, like any adult would. Sadly, he had been walking in circles for some time and everything looked the same.

Losing hope, his eyes started to well up. No, he shouldn't cry. But he just wanted to get out of there and find his friend.

"Are you all right?" a soft voice asked.

Ryouta turned to see a pale teenager standing next to him, looking impassive. His heart leapt, making him take many steps away from the stranger.

Was he a ghost?!

"Ah, I apologize for startling you," the stranger said, noting how shocked the child was. He put his hands on his knees and crouched a bit. "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. What's yours?"

The blonde boy blinked at him, still hesitant. Never talk to strangers, his mother would say to him. Looking back up, he saw those gentle blue eyes. Well, the man did introduce himself so he wouldn't count as a stranger, right?

"R-Ryouta…" he muttered.

"Well, Ryouta-kun, are you lost?" Tetsuya asked.

Ryouta nodded and answered, "I'm looking for my friend's house but I can't seem to find it."

"Then why don't we look together? Does your friend have a name?"

"Aominecchi."

"I guess we wouldn't be having any problems. I know where your friend's house is."

The boy perked up. "R-Really?"

"Really," Tetsuya replied, offering his hand to the boy.

Honey-colored eyes stared at the hand and then at Tetsuya. Was it really okay to trust him?

"Don't worry. We'll find your friend," Tetsuya added, a smile gracing his face.

Ryouta, finally putting his trust to this stranger…to this Tetsuya, taking the pale hand with his small one. The first thing he felt was warmth. Somehow, it soothed his fears away.

"Let's go."

.

.

.

.

.

"Ryouta? Tetsu?" Daiki welcomed the two of them with a confused look on his face. "You know each other?"

"Oh, I met Ryouta-kun who was lost on my way back," Tetsuya answered, then turned to the blonde boy. "You found your friend's house. Isn't it great?"

Ryouta nodded, head low and refusing to meet Tetsuya's eyes.

"All right. Have fun." And with that, Tetsuya left.

Noticing his friend's silence, Daiki thought it was weird. Usually, Ryouta would be bursting with energy to the point of annoyance.

"Ryouta."

No response.

Daiki chose the most effective approach: shouting next to the ear. "Ryouta!"

"Wah!" Ryouta finally looked up, his face bright red in color.

Seeing the expression on the other boy's face, Daiki burst out in laughter. "You look like a tomato!"

"I'm not!" Ryouta whined.

"Yes you do!"

"No, I'm not!"

The two of them argued back and forth. Though one thought remained in his mind: Why was his face red in the first place?

That's the question Ryouta wouldn't know until he was old enough.