Disclaimer and Warning: See Part 1

A/N: Yes, tora-chan83, you are AWESOME for beta-ing this story! Thanks a lot! As for readers, sorry for keeping you wait for too long! Your reviews and comments on the previous are amazing! Thank you very much and thanks for faving and alerting as well!

Now to the new chap! ENJOY!


Kiss Me Sweetly

Part 4


"What the—? You've got to be kidding me!" Aomine Daiki argued, scrunching up his face in disgust at the sight of the Ferris wheel. "I'm NOT going to ride a stupid, girly ride like—OW!"

Momoi elbowed the dark-skinned boy on his side before he could finish his offensive statement about the Ferris wheel. "Did I hear something?" She asked, smiling with a creepy look on her face.

The others, except Kuroko who set his deadpanned expression, stared at the two childhood friends awkwardly, beads of sweat rolling down their cheeks.

Aomine cursed loudly as he crouched down, nursing his painful side. "Damn you violent woman…!"

"Jeez, Aomine-chi, what's so girly about the Ferris wheel?" Kise asked scooting closer to Aomine before helping the taller boy stand, carefully tending to Aomine's abused organ as well.

"But it is! Besides, there's nothing interesting inside the stupid gondolas," Aomine whined.

"I heard any couple who kisses when the gondola reaches the top of the Ferris wheel will be granted happiness for life," Midorima said slowly, pushing up his glasses which somehow glinted strangely.

Takao immediately held Midorima's other hand and stared at him with sparkling eyes. "Let's ride it together then, Shin-chan! So our love will last for a lifetime!" He seemed to be very enthusiastic now. Well, it wasn't like he showed any sign against the Ferris wheel before, though.

"Huh… how many minutes does it take to ride it in one cycle?" Aomine suddenly looked very serious, seeming to forget his pain after Kise took care of it by caressing it gently.

"Five, maybe ten… I presume. This is quite big for a Ferris wheel. It is more like a giant Ferris," Kuroko said, apparently feeling the need to say something.

"Wow! Such great calculations, Tetsu-kun! You are so smart!" Momoi squealed at him happily.

"Heeh, then it's enough time to have a Ferris wheel sex—ARGH!"

Now it was Kise who punched Aomine on his gut, face flushing hard in total mortification.

"Damn it, Kise! What the hell was that for?!" Aomine yelled at the blond while holding his stomach, totally furious.

"You're too much! I can't believe you're thinking about something like that! I'm NOT riding the gondola with you!" Kise hissed in retaliation, pretty pissed off too. "I'm going with Momoi-chi!" then, thrusting his tongue out at Aomine, he grabbed Momoi's arm.

"Eh?!" Momoi was visibly surprised.

"Then let's trade pairs. I'll go with Kuroko," Midorima suggested as he grabbed Kuroko's hand.

Kuroko only blinked in surprise at that.

"Whaaaaat?! But I wanna ride with Shin-chan!" Takao protested at the sight of his Shin-chan pulling Kuroko.

"I wanna ride with Tetsu-kuuuuun!" Momoi wailed as Kise pulled her along with him as well.

However, before Aomine could yell out his complaint too, both Kise and Midorima had Momoi and Kuroko inside separate gondolas. A second later, they slammed the doors closed, leaving Aomine to pair with Takao to ride the last empty gondola.

The operator of the fun-ride could only stare open mouthed, sweating profoundly, at the very weird, and ridiculous sight the two made. The taller, dark-blue haired boy cursed with slang language from Mars while the shorter, darker haired one sighed dejectedly, before they also walked toward a gondola and entered it.

#

"Ki-chan… what the hell are you doing…?!" Momoi pouted at Kise with tears at the corner of her eyes, extremely upset and aggravated because she had really wanted to ride the vehicle with Kuroko.

"Sorry, Momoi-chi," Kise clasped both his hands in front of his face, having the decency to look guilty as he stared at her pleadingly. "But we need to talk… about Kuroko-chi's problem," he smiled ruefully then, a bead of sweat prickling out his cheek.

Momoi blinked back her tears. "Is that the sole reason you guys asked me to come?" She questioned, still pouting. Though, now she was accusing him of not caring about her at all

"Of course not! Well, we wanted you to look for the information, of course, but we indeed wanted to play with you as well… after all, it's really been awhile since we got to play outside together like this," Kise said looking sincere. But he was a model for a reason and Momoi couldn't help feeling rather skeptical.

"Well, then, you should let me ride the Ferris wheel with Tetsu-kun!" Momoi still couldn't accept it, so Kise started to cry his crocodile tears.

"Momoi-chi…"

#

This was… a very unusual scene.

Kuroko couldn't stop staring at the still Midorima who sat on the seat across his own. He wasn't sure why Midorima suddenly suggested something like changing partners to ride the Ferris wheel. He thought this was supposed to be double… triple dates, so why didn't he ride with Takao instead?

Well, at least it was quiet inside the gondola. For some reason, Kuroko felt relaxed there in the comfortable silence. Kuroko could actually think peacefully like this since he couldn't before. Being dragged around and interrogated by Momoi was rather tiring since he had to be on his constant guard so he wouldn't slip.

However, in the end Kuroko couldn't help but tell the pink haired girl the main problem of his concern. She was a handful to deal with….

Kuroko averted his gaze from Midorima's calm features to the scenery outside the window of the gondola. He smiled slightly as he stared at the grayish sky. It wasn't dark yet, but he couldn't see the sun. The clouds hid it most of the time. The houses and people below looked about as small as ants. It was an amazing view in many ways.

I want to show Kagami-kun this view…—Kuroko couldn't help thinking. He must have showed something in his expression because Midorima then spoke.

"Are you having fun?"

Kuroko blinked, turning to face Midorima again. "Yes," he answered evenly.

"Good. Because Kise wouldn't shut up if this foolish date didn't work," Midorima took off his glasses before he cleaned the lens with his handkerchief.

Midorima had such long eyelashes. He looked pretty without the glasses. He was also very considerate despite not showing it much.

Kuroko smiled slightly at the thought. "Thank you for this. Midorima-kun is very nice," he said.

Midorima flinched slightly, looking rather uncomfortable somehow. "It's not like I wanted to. Everyone is very pushy about this, even that idiotic Aomine," he huffed.

"No, I meant about this changing pairs," Kuroko corrected. It seemed that Midorima had misunderstood.

"Oh? Why did you thank me for something like that?" Midorima raised his eyebrows, looking puzzled.

"Well, you must have seen how Momoi-san clings to me and drags me around. I figured that you felt pity towards me. Hence the changing pairs so I can take a breather," Kuroko glanced out the window again.

"You thought about it too far. It was just on a whim," Midorima objected. Putting his cleaned glasses back on, he looked away slightly.

Though, despite not admitting it, the hint of blush on his cheeks was enough to inform Kuroko that he had hit the bull's eye.

"But… really, the fact that all of you are so worried about me makes me feel very grateful," Kuroko said, closing his eyes. He could practically feel the warmth coming from the affection his friends had towards him.

"Then stop worrying Kise and the others," and me—which was left unsaid, but Kuroko could read between lines, anyway. "If you need to talk, we will hear it."

Kuroko smiled slightly and shook his head slowly. "Your sentiment is more than enough. Moreover, it is just a baseless worry anyway. I have to have more faith in that person regarding his relationship with Kagami-kun…" he whispered the last part to himself calmly. They spent the rest of ride in comfortable silence once again.

#

"This is very disheartening," Aomine groaned as he thumped his forehead on the glass window.

"Tell me about it," Takao rolled his eyes in boredom as well.

"Kise is getting violent lately," Aomine sighed in defeat.

"I believe that's your fault," Takao retorted evenly.

Aomine gave him a glare. "What about you? Have your and Midorima's relationship progressed somewhere?" he smirked, intending to embarrass the point guard.

"Shut up," Takao blushed slightly. "It's not like we don't want to, but Shin-chan is very awkward and he's so cautious as well," he ended, sounding whiny. It seemed Takao had decided to consult to Aomine.

Aomine stuck his pinky in one of his ears. "Midorima is such stick in the mud. You should take the initiative. Attack him," he dared.

"And risk getting kicked in the butt?" Takao narrowed his eyes accusingly at Aomine.

"Your relationship won't go anywhere if you don't take any chance and risk," the dark-skinned boy drawled, smirking again. "Once you show him what you're capable of, he'll surrender," His smirk widened at that.

Takao seemed to contemplate the idea before he huffed. "That might work, but… I'm not the attacker type here," he confessed.

Aomine sputtered at that. "Wha—you're not?" He was surprised. He had thought, with Takao's personality, that he was an attacker.

"Despite how I usually act, I'm quite submissive, you know," Takao fiddled with the hem of his sweater, the one Midorima had bought him just this morning.

Aomine snorted. "Seriously? That's like bottom and bottom getting on each other. I wanna see," He laughed so hard that he almost doubled over.

Takao pouted at him. "Shin-chan is quite aggressive when he wants to!" he protested now.

"Yeah, right," Aomine rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You should really seduce him so he'll want to attack you, you know. If you only wait and do nothing, he'll never make a move. Since he's the type of a guy who won't even try to touch his lover before marriage," he huffed, sounding indignant.

"Well… that might be true…" Tako seemed to be deep in thought before a smile bloomed on his face. "I think I'll do that. Thanks for the tips, Aomine," he grinned at him now.

"Don't mention it," Aomine replied, satisfied with how things turned out.

"But you should really hold back on your exhibitionist urge. Kise is a model. He has a reputation to maintain," Takao added.

A vein of annoyance popped out on Aomine's temple. "Then he shouldn't date a guy if he's really worried about his reputation."

"That's not fair, Aomine. Kise took the risk of losing his job and popularity to date you. Being considerate of his situation is the least you can do for him, if you really love him as much as you claim to, that is," Takao said looking serious. Aomine was taken back slightly at the graveness of his tone. But then, Takao smiled again at him. "If you don't learn to compromise, Kise will get bored with you and dump you."

That wasn't funny at all. But, even Aomine had realized that only a few people could deal with his personality and stay around. Maybe for once he would actually listen to someone else's advice for good.

"Is that how you deal with Midorima's unique personality?" Aomine chuckled humorously.

"You can say that," Takao responded, grinning even more widely.

Surprisingly, Aomine could have decent conversation with Takao. He was a very easy person to talk with, and he had a good nature too. Suddenly Aomine understood why even the allegedly asexual Midorima would want to be with the Shuutoku point guard.

Kuroko was right. Midorima was in good hands.

#

Done with the ride, everyone once again gathered near the entrance of the amusement park. The sky was quite dark now and it was almost 5 p.m.

"Have we tried everything?" Kise looked at the map of the amusement park.

"I believe we have," Kuroko nodded.

"Well, wanna grab something to eat now?" Aomine looked hungry as he said that.

"Maji Burger?" Takao suggested.

"Ugh… not fast food again…!" Midorima visibly groaned.

"Why are you so against eating in a fast-food restaurant, Midorima-kun? Didn't we go to Maji Burger all the times after practice during middle school?" Momoi asked, looking confused.

"That's the reason. I'm sick of fast-food. Akashi always decided to go there whenever we ate together after practice," Midorima explained, his complexion was paler than usual as he showed his distaste.

"The vanilla shake there is delicious, though," Kuroko objected evenly, as if it could solve any problem.

"Well, sorry for not being a vanilla shake maniac like you are," Midorima huffed, looking annoyed.

"That's mean, Midorima-chi! Don't talk like that to Kuroko-chi!" Kise protested.

"Shut it, Kise. Your voice is too loud," Aomine grunted, looking irritated.

"Waaah! Aomine-chi, so meaaaaan!" Kise wailed much to everyone's annoyance.

"Why are all the GoM such eccentric guys…?" Takao sweat dropped as he inched slightly away from the crowd.

"Okay, now, hold your horses, guys," Momoi intervened before a fight broke out. Everyone immediately stopped their arguing and turned to face her. "Sheesh, boys…. Let's do this the old fashion way; play basketball to decide where to eat," she announced grinning.

Everyone immediately groaned.

"I'm too hungry… can't move…" Aomine mumbled lazily.

"I just want to go home," Kuroko sighed tiredly.

"I want to have some alone time with Shin-chan~" Takao smirked playfully before he latched himself onto Midorima's arm.

"I-idiot!" Midorima gave the dark haired teen a chop on his forehead, his face flushing slightly.

Momoi stared at them ridiculously.

"Come on, guys~ don't be such a kill joy," Kise pouted at them all. "I still want to have some fun~!"

In the end, they all walked out of the amusement park still arguing about what they would do next.


~Murasakibara x Himuro~


Kagami and Himuro just finished their late lunch. The sky was almost dark when they got out of Maji Burger.

They had talked a lot about things that happened when they were separated and now Himuro was joking about Kagami being too soft-hearted whenever he dealt with the GoM since they were all Kuroko's precious ex-teammates.

"Honestly, I understand that Akashi Seijuurou is capable of being the GoM's captain, but that absolute loyalty those members have towards him is already at a disturbing level," Kagami grunted, seeming to remember his meeting with the shorter red haired teen.

"I haven't yet met Akashi-kun in person. But Atsushi seems to be very fond of him…" Himuro and Kagami were about to cross the street when he noticed a very tall guy sitting on a bench just at the side of the restaurant entrance.

Himuro blinked as he recognized the violet colored hair and that bored expression of a certain center. "Atsushi?"

"What?" Kagami seemed to have heard him and turned around to look as well. "Murasakibara?"

Murasakibara looked upward slightly to meet Himuro's eyes. He looked rather… distracted, somehow. "Muro-chin…" His breath turned white puff and the older teen reacted at that.

"You…!" Himuro immediately approached the younger boy. "What are you doing in a place like this with light clothes? It's winter for god's sake!" He immediately touched Murasakibara's cheeks with his palms. They were as cold as ice. "Oh, jeez…! Your body is so cold…! What if you get sick?" He was upset now.

"Muro-chin…" Murasakibara started, about to say something, but Himuro cut him off.

"Not now! We should warm you up first. Taiga, can we go home now?" Himuro turned to face Kagami who looked rather bewildered at the turn of events.

"Oh, alright…" Kagami responded to him in surprise.

However, for some reason Murasakibara looked displeased. He caught Himuro's wrist and stopped his movement, and looked at Himuro with a slightly pleading and desperate look.

"What, Atsushi?" Himuro faced Murasakibara again, puzzled.

"Muro-chin, don't…" Murasakibara spoke slowly.

"Don't what?" Himuro was confused now. He wasn't making any sense.

"Don't… your home isn't with him…!" Murasakibara said, tightening his hold on Himuro's wrist, bordering into clenching.

"Ow, At-Atsushi…?" Of course, Himuro felt the pain.

"Come home with me…" Then Murasakibara pulled Himuro closer, surprising Himuro when his face was suddenly very close to Murasakibara's.

"Atsu—?!" Himuro widened his eyes as Murasakibara leaned up and then closed the small distance between their lips with a kiss.

Kagami made a very funny squeaking sound on the background, seeming to be in shock. But Himuro couldn't really point out how absurd the redhead must have looked as well, because his brain stopped functioning at Murasakibara's sudden surprising action.

No, it wasn't like Himuro had never been kissed before. Of course he had, more than once, and not just by girls but guys as well back in the States. But this… this was Murasakibara Atsushi. He was supposed to be just a friend, an overgrown child who never thought about anything past snacks and lazing around.

Then why is he kissing me now?—Himuro was utterly perplexed as he felt the surprisingly warm kiss on his mouth despite the cold state of his body. His lips were full and rather soft albeit a little dry. Moreover, Murasakibara's kiss wasn't a chaste kiss. He was using his tongue, damn it! Since when has Atsushi learned to kiss like—?!

Himuro's train of thought was cut again at a particularly distracting swipe of Murasakibara's tongue on his lower lip and he gasped. A wrong move really, because then he opened his mouth, making Murasakibara think that it was okay to plunge his hot slick organ into his mouth. Immediately, a sweet flavor exploded on his taste buds at the invasion.

"Nnh…!" Himuro couldn't help closing his eyes and moaning as he felt that tongue on his own, licking inside him, curling and coaxing Himuro's tongue to move together with his in a sensual dance.

Himuro still couldn't move his hands because Murasakibara had established a vice grip on his wrists, so pushing the taller boy away was out of options. He couldn't pull back as well. In short, he was completely trapped without any way to escape. Worse, he was being kissed so hard and deeply such that he was unable to do anything except to stop resisting.

Himuro couldn't help but go lax and accept the kiss like a man. Well, it felt exceptional anyway.

Himuro gasped again, feeling the burning of his lungs craving for air, but Murasakibara didn't let go of the kiss. Himuro was panting now, but part of his lips was still connected with Murasakibara's. He even bit his lower lip lightly, the sensation a little bit too overwhelming.

"Nnh…hah… ah, w-wait…! Atsu—ah!" Himuro was –god knew why- getting into it, his knees buckling and body feeling hot and bothered, as the kiss seemed to morph into something else. Something more… intimate. He felt little bites, licks and nips from the corner of his lips, to his jaw, down to his neck, here and there, and—

Oh god. This was crazy. What was he doing? No, what were they doing? But Himuro couldn't think properly with those assaults on his sensitive spots.

"Oh holy mother fu—! Hold it right there!" Kagami's mortified screech followed by a strong grab and a pull to part Murasakibara and Himuro from each other interrupted the act and finally, the hot sexy connection was severed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in public?!" The redhead was still yelling, looking very red in the face.

Murasakibara threw Kagami an annoyed glare while Himuro was still trying to sort his shallow hard breaths. He could still feel the tingling on his lips, the sweet taste in his mouth, and he must have been blushing because his face still felt very hot.

What just happened?—Now that Himuro's senses were coming back, he was befuddled as hell.

"Sheesh! Look around first before doing something like that so suddenly!" Kagami seemed to be fuming out of embarrassment, of course, because he had to witness such a heated event. Hell, even Himuro was quite shocked at this.

Murasakibara seemed to ignore Kagami completely, much to Kagami's chagrin. He kept staring at Himuro with a deep somber expression. "Muro-chin…" He called him softly with his deep voice, sounding almost pleading.

Himuro flinched slightly and took a step back, looking at Murasakibara rather warily. He was still confused; his feelings were completely messed up. He didn't understand why he was suddenly french-kissed like that by Murasakibara, worse, right in front of Kagami… and a LOT of passersby who stopped just to gawk in shock at the sight.

Murasakibara seemed to take the silence and Himuro's look as something very negative because he looked down immediately, looking dejected. He slowly stood up before turning around.

"Atsu—" Himuro jerked, wanting to call him, but his voice was suddenly caught in his throat. He couldn't move as Murasakibara walked away even though he wanted to stop him.

Kagami, upon watching everything that had just transpired, scratched his head curtly. Letting out a deep sigh, his face took on very surprised and confused expression. "Oh dear…" But he seemed to understand that this was a serious problem.


~Murasakibara x Himuro~


Kuroko and the gang decided to split up because he insisted that he was very tired and would like to go home quickly to rest, despite Kise's whining and Aomine's protests. Midorima just huffed and Takao offered to escort him if he wanted.

Momoi volunteered immediately, of course, but she was ultimately held down by Aomine and Kise, who were each holding an arm because they needed to speak with her.

"I will be fine by myself," Kuroko said with a small smile, amused by the sight of Kise and Aomine clinging onto Momoi like children to their mother. It was an endearing sight. He felt rather bad for Momoi, though.

"Don't take any detours," Midorima reminded.

Kuroko wanted to retort that he was not a child, but decided against it since it wasn't worth the effort. "See you guys some other time," He waved as he turned around and walked away, leaving the group.

It was evening now. The sky was completely dark and the wind blew rather strongly. It was very cold. Kuroko wondered if it would snow soon. He puffed his breath out on his hands, wanting to feel the slight warmth. He was easily cold after all. He wished Kagami was there. Then, the bigger taller redhead could warm him up with his body heat.

Kagami always had higher a body temperature. Kuroko remembered how warm it was inside Kagami's embrace. Suddenly he felt very lonely as the cold enveloped him. "I miss Kagami-kun…" He sighed deeply.

I want to see him. Maybe I will stop by his place before going home. But, about Himuro-san—

As Kuroko turned at the junction of the road, he didn't pay attention to his front and he bumped into someone. "Oh, I am sorry," Kuroko stepped back and bowed slightly before he looked upward at the man he had bumped into. He blinked in surprise as Murasakibara's blank face greeted him.

"Murasakibara-kun?" Kuroko called out unsure. Of course he immediately knew something was amiss at Murasakibara's look. Surely, he was quiet and often looking disinterested, but his vacant expression at that moment was weird.

Moreover, Murasakibara wasn't holding any bags of snacks and he wasn't eating as well. It was alarming. "Murasakibara-kun? Are you okay?" Kuroko asked, trying to attract the taller boy's attention.

A few seconds after calling and pulling at Murasakibara's sleeve, the violet haired boy seemed to notice his presence for the first time. "Oh… Kuro-chin…"

Then something unbelievable happened. A bead of tears dropped from the corner of Murasakibara's right eye, before another and another, soon leading to tears continuously dropping from both eyes.

Kuroko widened his eyes slightly in surprise at that. Why is he crying?—He could only stare dumbly at the purple haired boy. After all, Kuroko had never seen Murasakibara cry. Well, once, when Seirin defeated Yousen at Winter Cup, but he wouldn't dream of seeing Murasakibara cry in everyday life.

"Murasakibara-kun…" Kuroko reached up to Murasakibara's face to swipe the tears with his pointer finger.

Murasakibara blinked slightly, seeming to be surprised. He tilted his head up before he moved to dry his own tears with the hem of his sleeve. "Huh?" He looked slightly confused after that.

"What's wrong?" Kuroko was rather worried even though his lack of expression didn't show it.

"I…" Murasakibara paused, seeming to think over what he wanted to say, but the wind blew rather strongly soon after, causing Murasakibara to sneeze.

"Oh, you must be cold…" Kuroko noticed how light Murasakibara's attire was despite the long sleeves.

"Now that you mention it…" Murasakibara held his own body and shivered lightly.

"Let's go somewhere to warm you up. You will catch a cold like this," Kuroko reasoned. He grabbed Murasakibara's hand and pulled the taller boy to the nearest store he could find in the area.

Luckily, there was a tea house just nearby. They immediately went inside and the waitress welcomed them with a cheery greeting and a nice smile.

"Welcome, Mr. Customers. Table for two?" she inquired politely.

"Yes. The warmest table, please." Kuroko was rather surprised that the waitress could spot him immediately. It was rather rare occurrence since he was usually very unnoticeable. Maybe it was because he stood closely to Murasakibara. As much as he hated to admit it, the difference in their heights was too striking.

"Please follow me then," she said, then guiding Kuroko and Murasakibara to their table.

Kuroko glanced at Murasakibara inconspicuously after they sat down at the table. The taller boy was stroking his arms beyond the sleeves. His body was still noticeably shivering, but it was slightly better than before and he wasn't as pale. There was the remnant of the tears at the corner of his amethyst eyes, but he wasn't crying anymore.

Kuroko still couldn't believe that Murasakibara had cried. Moreover, he looked very worried at that moment. With the absence of his snacks, what could possibly happen? What was he thinking at this moment? Of course Kuroko was very curious, but he didn't want to be pushy and force the other boy to speak if he didn't want to.

Kuroko sighed as he ordered a cup of hot green tea for himself and a cup of warm milk tea for Murasakibara since the boy didn't seem too keen about ordering for himself. The waitress left them immediately after noting their orders.

Then, there was silence between Kuroko and Murasakibara. Kuroko kept his even stare at the taller boy, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. Murasakibara just kept silent while looking at the table-cloth as if it was a very interesting object. Though, his blank look was an indication that he was thinking about something.

"Do you want to order sweets too, Murasakibara-kun?" Kuroko began. It was a test to see if there was really something wrong with Murasakibara.

Of course, Murasakibara didn't hear that the first time. Kuroko had to repeat the question three times and add a pull to Murasakibara's sleeve, which was on the table, to gain his attention. The purple haired teen blinked slightly before he looked back at Kuroko's eyes. "Oh, sorry… Kuro-chin," he finally responded, looking rather sheepish.

"That is okay. I am just confused and rather surprised that Murasakibara-kun does not have any snacks with him." Kuroko replied evenly, not even offended that the taller boy practically ignored his presence moments ago. "Did something happen?" he continued asking, causing Murasakibara to look down again, this time on his lap.

"I… have made Muro-chin angry," Murasakibara said slowly, his eyes forlorn and he looked very miserable when he said that, just like a sad child.

Kuroko tilted his head aside, rather confused. "Himuro-san?" He thought Himuro was spending time with Kagami.

Murasakibara nodded. "I… kissed Muro-chin."

Kuroko's right eye twitched slightly at that, surprised, very surprised. "Huh?"

"But… Muro-chin didn't like it, probably. He looked mad after that…"

"Wait, wait a moment," Kuroko stopped Murasakibara's sulky ramble while raising his hand. "When did this happen?"

Murasakibara tilted his head slightly, thinking, before he answered "Just now."

"…"

"…"

"In Kagami-kun's apartment?" Kuroko couldn't help asking after a long silence because it didn't make any sense. Himuro was supposedly with Kagami the whole day in Kagami's apartment to bond after all.

Murasakibara shook his head lightly. "Outside Maji Burger… ah, but Kagami was there as well. He looked like he was kinda freaking out after that."

Well, I can imagine that—Kuroko mused silently. So they went out to eat, huh? I thought Kagami-kun would cook something for him.

"So… why did you kiss Himuro-san, Murasakibara-kun?" Kuroko raised another question. He was curious of Murasakibara's motive after all.

Murasakibara looked down. "I don't know."

This wasn't helping at all. "How could you not know?"

"I just…" Murasakibara's expression turned rather sour, "-don't like… that Muro-chin looks so happy with Kagami…"

Jealousy? "Did you follow Himuro-san here from Akita?" Kuroko didn't blame Himuro from getting angry if Murasakibara stalked him. But it wasn't like Murasakibara at all to do such troublesome things. Maybe he was smitten with Himuro?

"No. I originally came here to stock my snacks, but… I missed Muro-chin, so I walked around to find him and I saw him with Kagami in Maji Burger. I… suddenly felt upset when I saw them together like that… and I didn't know why. I just feel that… I want to be the one who makes Muro-chin smile and laugh so happily like that…"

It was the first time Kuroko heard so many words from Murasakibara in a conversation. This must have been very big. Maybe the 'smitten' theory wasn't far off.

"Murasakibara-kun… do you like Himuro-san?" There was no point in beating around the bush. Kuroko just wanted to make sure that it was what he thought it was.

Murasakibara positively nodded in answer.

"More than everyone else?" Kuroko asked further.

Murasakibara paused slightly before he nodded again.

"More than Akashi-kun?"

This time, Murasakibara looked hesitant, but in the end he nodded after much consideration.

"Well, who would have thought?" Kuroko sighed with a small smile. Murasakibara was like a child most of the time outside the court, but… he could fall in love too.

Murasakibara still looked rather puzzled at Kuroko's words, so the teal blue haired boy touched his hand and said it bluntly, "Murasakibara-kun is in love with Himuro-san."

"In… love?" Murasakibara tilted his head aside, looking mildly surprised.

"Yes," Kuroko nodded. "You want to monopolize Himuro-san for yourself, right?"

Murasakibara seemed to think seriously at that and he immediately nodded. "Un."

"Then you should tell him that before kissing him, or else he won't understand it." Kuroko advised.

"Is that why he got mad?" Now Murasakibara looked worried.

"Maybe, but… I believe he must have been more surprised than anything. I do not think Himuro-san is a close-minded person. I think he will forgive you if you apologize properly." Kuroko smiled again, reassuringly this time.

For a moment, Murasakibara looked relieved before a loud rumbling sound was heard. "Ah… now I'm hungry," the purple haired teen put his forefinger on his lips. "I want snacks…"

Kuroko almost chuckled at the child-like expression his friend had. That was more like the Murasakibara Atsushi he had always known.


~Murasakibara x Himuro~


About the same time, Kagami and Himuro were on their way to Kagami's apartment.

"I didn't know you and Murasakibara are like that." Kagami spoke slowly breaking the very uncomfortable silence between them.

Himuro still looked rather shocked from earlier, so he didn't say anything at first as they walked home. But he thought Himuro told him he wasn't dating anyone at the moment. So really, Kagami was curious as hell about what had just happened at Maji Burger.

"We aren't," was Himuro's low reply. He had yet to look back at Kagami at all, during the walk.

"Err… but he kissed you. This is Murasakibara, so he must like you very much," Kagami noted.

"That's a given. I like Atsushi too," came another low reply, but there was also a hint of confusion in his tone.

"No, it's not 'like' suki (1), you know. It's 'love' suki," Kagami pushed.

Now Himuro stopped walking, so Kagami stopped as well. He turned to face Kagami with an incredulous expression on his face. "Then it should be ai (2) and not suki. What is wrong with Japanese language?" He shook his head after that, looking exasperated.

"Why are we even debating about this?" Kagami's head hurt slightly.

"You are the one who brought it up," Himuro said shooting him a glare.

"Right, my bad… but really, even I know he loves you, Tatsuya," Kagami sighed.

"I'm more concerned about the fact that he knew how to kiss like that," Himuro sighed deeply as well. "And he is such a child too…"

"You are pretty surprised at this turn of event," Kagami noted again.

"Of course I am surprised. I didn't believe that he thought about stuff like 'like' and 'love' and such. His brain was supposed to be filled with snacks and sweets after all," Himuro scratched the back of his neck, looking rather uncomfortable.

"But you aren't repulsed by the kiss," Kagami stated.

Himuro looked another way with a hint of a blush on his pale cheeks.

"Really? You like him that way as well?" Kagami asked dryly.

"S-shut up! He's just my type, okay? It doesn't mean I 'love' him like that," Himuro denied half-heartedly. "And he's a good kisser too. Who would have imagined that?"

"Maybe you've already fall for him too. You just don't realize it," Kagami told him as he resumed his walk. Himuro followed him with a protest.

"It was just a kiss, Taiga. I kissed some people in the past too, and it wasn't love," Himuro insisted.

"I think it is love enough that you let a guy kiss you," Kagami disagreed.

Himuro looked annoyed and before Kagami knew what he was up to, he had stopped in front of Kagami and grabbed his collar, pulling him down for a kiss on the lips.

Kagami immediately blanched and turned several shades of blue before he pushed Himuro away. He made a puking sound while crouching on the ground.

"That's RUDE!" Himuro yelled, sounding very irritated.

"What the freaking hell was that for, Tatsuya!?" Kagami screeched in shock after he was done with the puking act.

"What's your problem?! Alex kisses you all the time and you're okay with it!" Himuro protested.

"That's different and you know why!" Kagami retaliated more loudly. "Sheesh… that's what it feels like when you are kissed by a guy you don't love. It's repulsing," the redhead huffed.

"Huh? Is that so? But I'm fine kissing you," Himuro said, seeming to be rather confused.

"That's because you are too open-minded," Kagami scratched his head again curtly. Somehow, this turned out to be more problematic and he didn't like complications at all. "Moreover, kissing Tatsuya is like kissing my own brother. That's even more wrong in so many levels," he continued.

"Still… being kissed by someone you really like will feel different than kissing generally, right?" Himuro asked, seeming to think about it deeply. "Maybe I have to kiss Atsushi again to feel it. Since I was more surprised than anything when he suddenly kissed me earlier," he mumbled out loud. Kagami wished he had been deaf because it was very embarrassing to listen to, and he didn't need to hear about Himuro's love-life.

"Well, I need to find Atsushi then," Himuro suddenly decided.

"Bring a sweater and a coat along. It's exceptionally cold tonight. Murasakibara is wearing light clothes right now, right?" Kagami suggested.

"Yes, that will be great. Taiga is as caring as ever, huh?" Himuro teased.

"Oh, shut up," Kagami punched Himuro's arm lightly in embarrassment as they arrive back to Kagami's apartment.

Kagami immediately fetched his sweater and coat since his size was the closest one to Murasakibara's, handing them to Himuro before the dark haired teen went out again. He watched Himuro as the older teen took his cell-phone and dialed some numbers, probably Murasakibara's, to pinpoint his location before he walked away to find the big baby.

Kagami sighed deeply as he closed his door once again. He entered his living room and immediately noticed Himuro's bag on the couch. It was open.

Sheesh, Tatsuya can be careless sometimes—Kagami approached the bag, intending to close it when something inside it caught his eyes. It was an envelope. The envelope itself wasn't something special, but the logo printed on the header piqued Kagami's interest.

It was a Tokyo's International Hospital logo.

Why is Tatsuya holding an envelope from a hospital?

Then a memory flashed inside Kagami's head.

"The reason is bigger than what I mentioned, indeed, but it isn't that kind of reason. It is more… personal, you see…"

"Tatsuya…?" Suddenly Kagami felt rather worried. He wasn't bright, but if that cryptic explanation was combined with that envelope… He could only conjure up one thing out of it. Was it a health issue?

Of course, going through someone else things without their permission was unethical, but Kagami was too worried to care about it, so he took the envelope (it was open anyway) and looked at the letter inside.

It was some kind of test result or something. Kagami couldn't really understand the content, but something definitely caught his attention. BIG TIME.

Kagami widened his eyes. "EEEEEEEEEEH?!" He screeched in shock at the revelation.

End of Part 4

Tbc…


Additional Notes:

1.Suki: like, love, platonic love

2.Ai: love, romantic love

A/N: Yes. I am an evil cliff-hanger writer. Deal with it. #shot

Sorry about that, guys. It turns out to be 5 shots instead of four. I'm sorry. I just want to make things as clear and as careful as I can. This story will lead directly to the next of the mini-series with Akashi in it, so there will be something-like-cliff-hanger-end in next chapter. I hope you're okay with it. But the focus of this story will still resolve Mura/Himu problem, so don't worry about unfinished business *grins*.

So, what do you think of this chapter? As always, con-crit will be expected! XD