GUESS. WHO'S. BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—

*quickly dodges pitchforks*

W-W-WAIT! I come to you now to offer an apology for taking too long (*coughoverayearcough*)… and this (late) Christmas/New Year/Valentine's gift I have for you~! A 30,000-word chapter to make up for all those months!

Am I forgiven?

*dodges lit torches*

O-Okay, okay, sheesh! Well, the only quick explanation I can give you is that since the last update… my life completely got off-track. I, who used to be a 3rd Year Interior Design major, am now a 1st Year Literature major. Had to switch schools and work even harder than before. But I am happy. I may have gone to a depressed state for a while, but I'm happy now.

And I'm still not giving up on this story.

I mean, come on, Season 3's just started. Like hell am I discontinuing this! (And no, I'm not keeping up with the episodes of the new season. Waiting until it finishes, so no spoilers!)

So, onwards with my replies~! Want to tell you more, but I'd like to keep this brief. You guys have made me SO happy with your reviews last time that I had worked hard for this chapter. You all deserve this.

Replies:

Crystalbutterfly04: Not much of a fan myself, but I do appreciate K-Pop. :)

innocence-creator: Yes, unfortunately, Sakurai's really a fun person to tease. XD

Krinya: I'm glad you loved it~! :D Hope you didn't disturb everyone too much, though. XD

kuroshiro.19: Ohohoho, they'll have even more fun~ *gets shot*

Fallen and Forgotten: You sadist~ Ah, but I can't add AkaKuro here, 'cause my pairing for Akashi is different. :/ But Akashi and Kuroko are somewhat close, as will be revealed all in due time. :D

LZ: YES, AOMINE SHALL TICKLE SAKURAI. *w*

tempurayyy: Thank you for the compliment. :) And yes, I am in college. I didn't watch the 2nd season until it finished, though.

kitty tokyo uzumaki: Ta-da~! New chapter up!

Baked Soap: YES. YOU SHALL BE CONVERTED. SOMEDAY. NOT RIGHT NOW. BUT SOMEDAY. Aaaaaand, you're in luck 'cause this chapter's a huge one. :D

nani.94.98: Unfortunately, no AkaFuri yet, but stay tuned!

MizunashiFuyuko: *hugs* I love you, too~! And huehuehue, I shall be teasing you all with TakaMatsu come their childhood backstories~ 8D AND OF COURSE THEY SHALL SING VOCALOID. *v*

Johannat: Glad you're enjoying this story. :)

Risque Tendencies: My gosh, your reviews are the one of the few I enjoyed the most. Glad you liked those scenes! XD Yeah, Takao's fun to write. 8D Aaaaaaand, you'll finally get to read what really happened in that backstory between Kise and Kasamatsu~! :D

izzy1229anime: Glad you loved the humor. Hope it's still funny in your standards. :)

Andy Garcia: XD Yeah, decided to use the Japanese of "Generation of Miracles". XD

kikura: OF COURSE THERE SHALL BE AKAFURI! 8D

AoiShun: XD New chapter~! You may fangirl now. ;)

changedsonoahdoesntfindme: New chapter~! Glad you're enjoying it!

Nayabaybeex3: No, no. Hyuga = Ren, Imayoshi = Masato, Kuroko = Shinomiya, Sakurai = Syo, Takao = Otoya, Kasamatsu = Tokiya

LazyAuthoress: Yep, that's K-Pop. And thanks for the suggestion about Midorima and Kyudo. Still working it out. :)

Animalialuvscartoons: YOU SHIP AOSAKU. YES. LET'S FANGIRL TOGETHER. *v* Since I haven't watched Season 3 yet, I'm not familiar with Mibuchi yet. But maybe I'll consider AkaMibu someday. He IS one of the few Akashi interacts with. :)

Stel-Manie: Oh yeah, Kuroko will get jealous of Himuro. ;) And don't worry, the athletes' respective sports will be shown someday, once their punishment of one month is over.

uniquemangalover: UPDATED~! :D

Joe-John the Black Blonde: Glad you loved it~! New chapter now. And don't worry, I'm not dropping this. :D

Axile 'Vion' Raiz: Yes. Harass me. Lord knows I need hundreds of people kicking my ass just to update faster. =-=

She Who Wears The Tainted Halo: Harass away! My body is ready!

BeyondMyReach: Here's the new chapter. Hope you like it~!

mandy1324: New chapter~!

Toto Uzumaki: Yes, "pester" is the word. :D PESTER MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

yaoianimelover88: Yep, Akashi and Murasakibara will be paired off, as well. Care to guess with who? 8D

caffeinesugar18: Glad you loved it—and that you also look forward to my future KnB fics! I guess you've seen my profile already? XD

Sorariru: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU SHALL FANGIRL TO THAT SONG FOREVER! 8D

doggoneit: Of course I'm continuing this! Sakurai's so fun to write that I have to stop myself from writing about him and Aomine doing H!

AmberWarrior: A new chappie~! Enjoy

Flora Spread: Done! New update!

XxSakiHurahixX: Ta-da~!

FushojiKouhai: I know, I've disappeared for over a year. But this isn't dead yet!

AJ: Fortunately, you won't have to skin me alive. New chapter~! :D

youllbeinmyheart1997: Glad you loved it! And I hope the martial arts aspect of it is accurate enough that you won't complain about the details. PM me if you find some inconsistencies, okay? :)

AND TO MY BELOVED wierd yume:

Thank you so much for sticking by me. You've disappeared several times, and I keep worrying, but I promised that I would keep churning out chapters no matter what. Are you okay, by the way? If you're reading this, tell me so! Have I mentioned that I love you? (^w^)

Important Edits/Changes:

1) "Relax, the songs will be the ones we had learned during our spring break." – Originally, when I first posted this, it had been "during our summer vacation". But unfortunately, that was a mistake on my part because I forgot that the break between the end of the school year and the new one is the spring break for Japan, not summer vacation (I live in the Philippines and that break is summer for us, you see). Pointing this out 'cause I never notified the first readers about this change.

2) You've probably noticed my format of ["blahblahblah.", said blah]. I've now finally changed it after consulting several books, and now it's ["blaaaaaaaaah," said bleh]. Updated Ch. 1,2, and 3.

3) I've now limited the use of first names. Updated Ch. 1,2, and 3.

4) Kasamatsu Yukio's eyes are no longer deep blue in my fanfics. I've thoroughly assessed them after seeing Season 2, and have come to the conclusion that they are steel-blue. Updated Ch. 1,2, and 3.

3) Back in Chapter 3, I've said that Nigou's a Siberian husky. Now, I've made him out as an Alaskan malamute, permanently. The KnB community was confused about him, at one point, so yeah.

4) I won't be using "2nd Year" anymore. It'll be "Second Year" now, etc.

Notes before reading:

1) Here's a simple floor plan of the apartment complex and Kuroko's place that I did in Paint: (link in my profile, darn site messing it up here...)

2) You might find some of the characters to be a bit OOC… There's a good reason for that. You'll see.

3) Remember: Kasamatsu's no longer "deep blue-eyed boy" here.

4) WE OFFICIALLY NOW HAVE A NICKNAME FOR THIS FANFICTION. It's abbreviated to GHSR, or Gay High School Romance. :D

5) I have important announcements to make at the end of this chapter. Please read them.

DISCLAIMER: You'd think by now you'd realize that if I owned this wonderful piece of entertainment, they won't just be playing basketball, right? T_T

But alas, such cruel fate placed me into merely writing fan fiction. TT^TT

Previously...

"~I RAABU YUU, BAAAAAAABEEEEE~ ANDO IFU ITSU KUWAAITE ARURAA—"

"KISE, GET DOWN FROM THERE! AND WILL YOU STOP SINGING IN ENGLISH?!"

"... Why do I get the feeling that he's gonna drag us into something again...?"

"Tai, this is Goldilocks we're talking about. He always drags us into something when he's got that look in his eyes."

The Exaggeratedly Perilous Journey of a Gay High School Romance

Chapter 4: Kuroko no Matchmaking

Once upon a time, the relentless sound of the chiming doorbell suddenly assaulted Kuroko Tetsuya's poor ears one early Saturday morning. Needless to say, the blunette was irked.

He had been sleeping peacefully in his beloved bed and dreaming of wondrous things—a.k.a. milkshakes—when suddenly, the doorbell rang. At first, it was just a sudden alert of a visitor at the door for him—the sound just making the pale boy moan half-consciously underneath his blanket. But as minutes passed, the chiming got louder and faster, and suddenly, knocks on his front door could now be heard, as well. Even his beloved Nigou joined in and started barking at him. Tetsuya had ignored it all—preferring to block out the noises with his pillow and shift restlessly in his bed—until finally, he couldn't take it anymore. The pale teen sighed and got out onto the cold wooden floor. He groggily glanced at the digital clock on his bedside table while rubbing his eye.

6:08 am.

The blunette groaned softly and sleepily trudged his way towards the front door, Nigou excitedly following behind. Muttering inwardly about "fricking six in the morning", "raping his doorbell", and "what kind of an idiot would go and visit at this ungodly hour on a lovely Saturday?", the seemingly-harmless Kuroko Tetsuya finally reached the wooden entrance to his two-bedroom apartment without bumping into all of his furniture. Along the way, he concluded that the visitor was definitely not a friend of his. Everyone who had come to his place—meaning his friends—would always find out the fact that he—the mysterious member of Misdirection and ex-member of the Music Club—was always irritable in the morning when he lacked sleep. And yes, he definitely lacked sleep right now. After all, the blunette had diligently reviewed the songs and dance videos for their next show last night. Plus, his friends knew that he always slept late on weekends, just like every normal, not-busy human being—since their academy only holds optional club activities on Saturdays and not regular classes, like other schools in Japan. So in conclusion, the person on the other side of the door was definitely not a friend; the person on the other side of the door was an idiot.

Tetsuya had the sudden urge to jab someone's stomach.

Said urge became stronger as he stared at the shaking door. He could faintly hear the visitor's voice calling his name. At least, it seemed to be his name. Throwing a tired glance at the rambunctious pet on the floor next to him, the blunette opened the door.

There stood the unlikeliest group of young men he had never imagined visiting him so soon.

"Oh, Kurokocchi~! Good morning~!"

"See?! I told he was still sleeping!"

"Not anymore, thanks to this idiot."

"Seriously, Goldie, couldn't this have waited? It's fucking six o' clock on a Saturday morning."

Kuroko Tetsuya really wanted to jab someone's stomach now.

One hour ago...

Kise Ryouta—tennis prodigy of Kiseki no Sedai Academy, part-time model, and one of the most handsome bachelors in his school—happily rang the doorbell to his beloved friend Midorima Shintarou's large house. He stood at the gate, lightly swaying to ward off the early morning chill and humming as he waited for one of the Midorimas to greet him.

To others, it would probably be a bit odd to see such an energetic-looking young man patiently waiting outside at such an early hour, and not actually wearing a school uniform at that. But to those familiar with the blonde, they wouldn't even bat an eyelash at the demeanor, especially if they found out the reason as to why the model was there in the first place. Ryouta blushed at the memory of steel-blue eyes penetrating his entire soul and the spine-tingling laugh that had been directed at him yesterday. He was in love; that was pretty much it.

He was in love with Kasamatsu Yukio.

HE WAS IN LOVE WITH KASAMATSU YUKIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—

A-Ahem! M-Mustn't get carried away now! Focus, Ryouta! Focus!

The blonde stood rigidly for a few seconds, before...

KYAAAAAAAAAAA~! YUKIOCCHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~!

Ryouta happily squealed and hugged himself in giddiness. Oh, those wonderful eyes~! That gorgeous smile~! Those awesome moves~! And those taut muscles~! Oh, how generous of God to bestow this perfect creature unto him~!

And not to mention... he's so thoughtful and kind... added Ryouta further, reminiscing as to how the black-haired teen had been such a knight-in-shining-armor when they first met last year at his tennis match. The blonde then suddenly blushed a cute shade of pink at the memory. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~!" he squealed again, gushing heatedly about how amazing his Yukiocchi was and wriggling in delight. The few passers-by walking near him slightly jumped at the sound and all gave the blonde strange looks as roses and hearts suddenly floated around him—not that said blonde even noticed.

Suddenly, the front door of the house opened, revealing a middle-aged woman with short brown locks and a sweet demeanor. "Ah, Kise-kun~! Good morning!" welcomed the woman, opening the gate for the young man.

"Good morning, Auntie~!" replied Ryouta, bowing at the woman. "You're up early today~! I was expecting your son to be the one to answer," he commented, noticing how fully awake Midorima's mother looked.

"Well, of course! I had to make breakfast for my husband. He has a business trip somewhere far today, you see," responded Mrs. Midorima, smiling sweetly at the blonde model. "But what about you, dearie? Why so early? Do you and Shintarou have practice later?"

Ryouta grinned happily, remembering the reason as to why he was even here. He was about to relate his plans for today, when suddenly, the front door opened once again—this time, revealing a fully-dressed and irate Midorima Shintarou, panting and twitching in aggravation.

"Kise! You little—!" he started shouting, but suddenly held himself back and just hurriedly snatched the blonde's arm instead. He then turned to the brown-haired woman and stooped down to kiss her cheek. "We'll be going now, Mother. If you'll excuse us," he spat out irritably, glaring at the grinning tennis player.

"Oh, you're not going to have breakfast?" asked his mother, still smiling sweetly despite her son's unseemly manners at greeting a friend.

"Don't worry, we'll be eating somewhere else, right after I get my lucky item for today," said Shintarou pleasantly; a contrast to him squeezing hard on the blonde idiot's arm as a warning. Ryouta's grin, surprisingly, didn't falter in the slightest.

"Alright, then. Be careful, honey~! You, too, Kise-kun~!" replied Mrs. Midorima, waving at the two teens as she closed the gate after them.

"Bye, Auntie~!" shouted Ryouta back, waving animatedly. Once they had passed by a few houses, Midorima Shintarou finally snapped.

"Have you gone insane, Kise?! Do you even know what time it is right now?! Just because we've been suspended from our clubs and aren't required to attend practice today doesn't mean that you can just take away our precious time!"

Ryouta just smiled sweetly at his irate friend. "I know what you did last summer~."

A tense silence surrounded the two young men, regardless of the peaceful atmosphere of the brightening sky in the middle of the empty street. After several moments of eye-twitching and teeth-clenching, Shintarou finally let out a resigned sigh.

"May I ask: why are we friends again?" gritted the green-haired teen, massaging his right temple. His blonde companion flashed another bright smile.

"You've been asking that question a lot lately, Midorimacchi~."

"Yes, because I'm starting to wonder what ever happened to my sanity all those years ago when I helped you."

"Ah, but it's not my fault you agreed to be my best-est friend in the whole wide world~!"

"I swear to God, I am going to kill Himuro for teaching you how to blackmail..." muttered Shintarou lowly, reluctantly following his idiot of a best friend. Amongst their circle of friends consisting of himself, Kise, Aomine, Kagami, Kagami's surrogate brother, and the fricking Student Council President of Kiseki no Sedai Academy and his gargantuan lapdog, said fricking Student Council President was the more expected person of such blackmailing behavior—or well, at least, behavior that made his own friends scared for their lives. When Shintarou met Kise Ryouta, he wasn't anywhere near the blonde teen Shintarou was conversing with a while ago. But when Kise Ryouta met Himuro Tatsuya... well, let's just say Akashi Seijuurou was damn proud of the bouncing ball of sunshine now.

The friends I keep... grumbled Shintarou inwardly, sighing at his current predicament. All he knew of what their plans for today was that they—along with Aomine and Kagami—were going to visit someone this early in the morning. Kise hadn't said anything else in his call a few hours ago, other than that and the consequences of not coming—the blonde tennis player was surprisingly clever that way, which somehow explains him being in their batch's pilot section. Fortunately, Kise Ryouta only shows this conniving and manipulative side when he really wants something—something that he'll never attain by being his normal, rich, handsome, charming, and whiny self. And because of yesterday's revelations, Shintarou already had an inkling of what that "something" is. After all, Ryouta had already decided to use one of his most embarrassing secrets against him. Midorima Shintarou, of course, would never let it be known to others, as much as possible, so he had no choice but to accompany the annoying blonde. At least, he didn't have to pay for his lucky item today.

Aomine and Kagami, though, were not going to be happy.

And he was right, as several minutes later, after buying his lucky item—a Matryoshka doll—Aomine Daiki and Kagami Taiga were reluctantly strolling along behind them.

"Why the fuck did we have to come? You already having fucking Midorima with you," grumbled Daiki, his hands in his coat pocket as he kicked a random pebble away. "And who the hell would even wanna see your stupid face this early in the morning?"

"Aominecchi!" whined Ryouta, pouting indignantly at the dark-skinned blunette behind him. "You're my friends! You have to support me!"

"Yeah, but we weren't exactly expecting to support you this way, Kise," replied Taiga, massaging his neck tiredly as he yawned. "If you woke us all up at four a.m. and dragged us out in this cold weather just to serenade Kasamatsu on his balcony, then I swear to God, we're leaving you behind tied to a lamp post to get coffee."

Ryouta playfully smirked at the two. "Ah, but aren't you forgetting something~?"

Aomine glared heatedly at him with a vein twitching on his forehead, while Kagami just grimaced unpleasantly. "You'd better not waste our time, you bastard," snarled Daiki, wanting to get this over quickly. He still lacked so many hours of sleep.

"Great~! Follow me~!" Kise Ryouta then skipped away, energetically looking around for the right direction as his three sleep-deprived friends were left behind watching him. "He got you, too, didn't he?" asked Kagami, glancing at an exasperated Midorima massaging his temples. The green-haired archer could only sigh in aggravation. "Someday, I really am going to kill your brother."

"Yeaaaah, we really shouldn't have introduced Tsuya to Goldie," groaned Aomine as they once again followed the blonde into the rapidly-brightening streets. That determined look in the blonde's eyes was so obvious now.

Several more minutes of walking, the four teenage athletes of Kiseki no Sedai Academy finally found themselves standing in front of a large apartment complex. It was situated at a corner block, and next to a fenced lot filled with cultivated plants. What was strange, though, was that the building didn't look like the average apartment buildings in Japan. It seemed that there was an open space in the middle of the square-like building—from what Kise could see beyond the wrought-iron gates, anyway—and you couldn't see any of the apartment doors from the outside like how it was with the common apartment complex. It was quite homey, though—with its bricked walls and growing ivy—and the place stood out nicely from all the houses near it.

"Man, I still can't believe you're actually gonna visit Kasamatsu already," voiced Kagami, looking up at the windows.

Ryouta only laughed. "What? Silly Kagamicchi! We're not here to visit Yukiocchi~! He'll think I'm creepy if I do that right now!"

Behind him, his friends all inwardly refuted that he already was acting like a creep. But then Midorima realized something. "Wait, then if he's not the one we're visiting... then who on earth are we here for, Kise?!"

The blonde smiled excitedly at him. He turned back just in time to see an old lady come out of the gates with a broom. "Um, excuse me. Good morning, ma'am~!"

"Oh! Well, hello there, young man!" replied the woman as she bowed and smiled at Ryouta.

"Does someone named Kuroko Tetsuya live here, ma'am?" asked the blonde teen.

"Ah, Kuroko-kun? Why, yes! Are you friends of his?" she asked, peering at the other tall teens with Ryouta.

"Yes, we're just visiting him."

"Well, you're quite early, I must say! Ah, but go on ahead. Visitors are allowed to come inside the building, anyway," said the old lady, and pointed to the entrance. "You can take any of the staircases when you go in. He's on the second floor, in Room 2A."

"Thank you, ma'am~!" said Ryouta, and bowed again, along with the others. Leaving the woman to sweep in front of the building, the four ventured further inside the foreign-looking place. They couldn't help but marvel some more.

"Wow~!" gushed the blonde teen, head swiveling around as he gazed at the interior. There really was an open space in the middle of the building, like a patio of sorts. Looking up, they could now see the doors to every apartment. It was like a traditional Japanese mansion, with the apartments forming a square and an open space in the middle where sunlight could filter in. What was immediately noticeable was that there were small bridges in the middle, connecting the left and right side of the building on the second and third floor. Spotting the staircases the old lady was talking about, Ryouta skipped to the flight of steps on the right side and beckoned the other three to hurry.

"I never really imagined Kuroko to be living in a place like this, you know," remarked Aomine as they went up to the second floor. "But why are we visiting him? And how the hell did you find out where he lives?"

The blunette didn't receive an answer as they arrived on the second floor. Just like what was seen from below, there was a bridge in the middle—which was a good thing, since the gap between the two sides was large and crossing to the other side without the bridges would unnecessarily take too long. Ryouta looked around and noticed that the doors each had the usual name plaque for the tenants. "Over here!" he said as he spotted Room 2A.

"Not too loud, Kise!" whispered Midorima as they neared the apartment the blonde was in front of. "People are still sleeping, you know."

"Yeah, and we should be sleeping, but no. You just had to drag us all the way out here to visit Kuroko, of all people," drawled Aomine dully, leaning against the corridor's railing.

"Do we seriously have to do this, Kise?" asked Kagami, yawning beside his blue-haired best friend.

"Yes. Unless you want me to..." trailed off Ryouta knowingly, uncharacteristically smirking like a devil at the three teens. The other boys could only grunt in acquiescence.

Having settled that, the blonde turned back to the wooden door before him. He rechecked the door's number and read the name on the plaque below the doorbell.

Kuroko Tetsuya.

Yup, this was the place. Ryouta idly wondered why it specifically had only his name on it, but he can wonder about that later. Right now, it was time to initiate his plan. Honestly, Kise Ryouta was starting to feel nervous, but he had to do this. For his Yukiocchi!

Ryouta pressed the doorbell firmly, cheering himself for not faltering. And then he waited.

Only ten seconds had passed in silence and he rang the doorbell again, this time calling out to the pale blunette.

"Kurokocchi! Are you there? It's me, Kise~!"

"He's probably still sleeping, you know," said Kagami, watching the blonde ring the bell again.

"I agree. After all, today is not a school day for us, and the Glee Club won't be starting practice until Monday. There's no reason for him to be awake at this hour," added Midorima, adjusting his glasses.

"Why the hell do you have to do this so early, anyway? You have the entire weekend, Goldie," asked Aomine, starting to yawn.

"But I don't know if Kurokocchi has any plans for today!" replied Kise, still ringing the doorbell. "I might miss him! I need to talk to him as soon as possible! Kurokocchi~!"

"Kise, it's only six o' clock," grated Midorima, glaring hard at the blonde's back as he caressed his Matryoshka doll. "Couldn't you at least give him a few more hours of precious sleep? Just because you deprived us of it doesn't mean you should deprive Kuroko of it, as well."

But Ryouta paid no heed and kept disturbing the peace with his excitement and impatience. A few more minutes later, in which Midorima and Kagami were already trying to stop him from waking other people up while Aomine was swearing at his goddamn luck, the door finally opened and revealed a placid-looking Kuroko Tetsuya wearing a light blue pajama set.

When the pale blunette kept quiet despite their bickering, they immediately shut their mouths as the awkward silence—a tell-tale sign of a dangerous atmosphere—made the four jocks realize that it was Kuroko himself who was emitting said dark vibes.

Kise's subconsciousness inwardly gulped in apprehension. The other three had all cursed him to hell.

Back to the present...

Tetsuya wanted a teensy amount of violence to be acted upon, but he withheld himself. It wouldn't do to let these brave men go with just a few jabs to the stomach, after all. Sweet, sweet revenge was so much more fulfilling.

On the other hand, the so-called "brave men" were silently quivering on their toes. They thought only Akashi could scare them this much—with the boy's relentless gaze and merciless scissors—but to see the phantom member of the school's Glee Club stare at them with his lifeless eyes and a frightening aura enveloping the pale teen... well, it was safe to say that he and Akashi would probably be the best of friends.

Usually, Kuroko would be so hard to notice even if the door opened—the few times they hung out together proving that it was hard to get used to the boy's presence. But he was definitely more noticeable now because of the atmosphere he was emitting.

That… or he was just sporting this ridiculous hairstyle that was so hard to not find funny.

Frankly, though, the four didn't know whether to be intimidated at the dark aura or laugh at the boy's gravity-defying hair.

They kept their mouths shut, just to be safe.

It was then that Nigou decided to make himself known. "Woof~!" barked the puppy excitedly, bounding out of the apartment and stopping right in front of Kagami.

Kagami swore his heart stopped.

"GYAAAAAAAAHHH! YOU HAVE A D-D-D-D-D-DOG?!" The large redhead scurried to get away from the little canine, but in the process, made himself topple dangerously over the railing.

"O-Oi! Bakagami!" yelled Aomine, quickly grabbing the redhead's coat to pull him back to safety. But that would mean that Kagami Taiga would have to face the dangerous dog, and so, the redhead backed away some more—forcing his dark-skinned best friend to pull him harder.

Meanwhile, Ryouta, Shintarou, and Tetsuya watched on as the two bickered about safety while the redhead's object of fear barked at him happily, not even realizing his effect on the basketball star of Kiseki no Sedai Academy. Nigou just found his scent fascinating, is all.

Kise and Midorima really didn't know whether to feel exasperated at Kagami's extreme phobia of dogs or feel pity towards him and his current situation. Suddenly, they saw Kuroko moving towards the two.

The pale blunette deftly picked up his excited puppy. And proceeded to shove Nigou in Kagami's face.

"K-K-KUROKO, YOU BASTARD! G-GET IT AWAY FROM MEEE!"

"Taiga, you idiot! Calm the fuck down! It ain't gonna bite ya!"

"LIKE HELL, AHOMINE!"

"JUST SHUT UP AND STOP MOVING! YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING DIE, DUMBASS!"

And through it all, Kuroko Tetsuya stood there with his usual poker face—a glint of amusement in those powder blue eyes—while holding Nigou up to a panicking Kagami Taiga's pale face. The little Alaskan malamute just barked some more.

"K-Kurokocchi..." stuttered Kise Ryouta nervously, shakily trying to reach out and stop the teen from doing anything else.

"At this rate, we'll be kicked out of the building for being too noisy and Kagami will die from a heart attack," remarked Midorima flatly, a single bead of sweat rolling down his cheek despite the cold weather.

"U-Um, Kurokocchi!" shouted Ryouta over the ensuing chaos. The blonde couldn't help squeaking in fear when Kuroko sharply turned to him with those frighteningly blank eyes.

"Yes, Kise-kun?" answered the small blunette, his voice hoarse but hard with promises of pain for the blonde tennis player. Ryouta pushed on despite his growing fear; Kagami's life depended on him now.

"U-Uh, c-can we talk i-inside?" he asked nervously, gulping in apprehension.

"... It's six o' clock, Kise-kun."

"A-Aha ha, yes and—"

"On a Saturday, Kise-kun."

"Y-Yes..."

Ryouta shivered in fright as Kuroko's aura grew more murderous by the minute. He really didn't think this through, did he? Then suddenly, the blunette hugged Nigou to his chest and walked back inside his apartment.

"Come in, then," said Tetsuya as he pushed the door wide open and pinned the four with a mysterious gaze. "I'm sure you have a good reason for waking me up at six o' clock on a Saturday morning."

Kagami, Aomine, Midorima, and Kise all stared in fear as the pale blunette retreated into the dim hallway that eerily looked like a lair of darkness. Kuroko's voice was monotonous as usual, but they swore they heard Akashi's voice somewhere in there.

"... I woke him up at a bad time, didn't I?" asked Ryouta after a minute of silence. Aomine was quick to retort. "Oh, ya think?"

The four hurriedly went inside the apartment after that—Kagami momentarily forgetting his fear of the puppy because of his newfound fear of a sleepy Kuroko.

Several moments later, they were now seated on a sofa opposite Kuroko Tetsuya himself and Nigou—a plain coffee table the only thing standing between them and the irate teen.

An awkward silence enveloped the living room as the four athletes kept fidgeting under the pale blunette's dull gaze. The windows were open, yet it was so hard to breath in the spacious apartment. No one dared to say anything; Kagami, Aomine, and Midorima were waiting for Kise to start since it was him who wanted to see Kuroko, while Ryouta himself was just too damn scared of the silent boy. The only noise you could hear was Nigou's excited pants and his tail wagging on the sofa.

Ryouta was sweating like crazy. They were practically in the lion's den right now—well, the den of an emotionless lion that doesn't really act like a lion, anyway. But still, they were on dangerous waters and Kise Ryouta would be lying if he said that he wasn't the least bit afraid of what Kuroko Tetsuya might do. Aomine Daiki, meanwhile, was trying to stay still. It felt so goddamn suffocating in there, and Kise not doing anything was starting to grate on his nerves. The least the idiot could do was to hurry it up so they could leave already! But as much as the dark-skinned soccer player wanted to yell at the blonde model, he held his tongue. He saw how murderous Kuroko looked—still looked. Like hell was he getting involved any further. Midorima Shintarou, on the other hand, was gripping his lucky item tightly. When Oha-Asa had stated that Cancers were going to discover something noteworthy about their acquaintances today, he hadn't exactly been expecting to face Kuroko Tetsuya's wrath head-on. Then again, this was noteworthy, at least. He'll never wake him up this early in the morning ever again, unless the matter was more important than what Kise Ryouta was about to present. Perhaps Shintarou should have bought Geminis' lucky item, as well.

All the while his friends were trying not to look at the pale teen sitting on another sofa before them, Kagami Taiga was trying to look at anywhere besides the scary animal with him. Even after years of therapy sessions, the redhead still couldn't get over his fear of dogs. It got to the point that even little lapdogs like Chihuahuas freaked him out.

Him.

A 190 cm. tall male with muscular abs and a hulking frame.

Taiga wanted to cry at his pathetic self, but that would just make him look even more pathetic. And so, he opted to look around his weird classmate's apartment instead.

The first thing he had noticed when they came inside the living room—even when he was scared shitless at Kuroko's scary blank face—was the shiny black piano in the corner. Maybe Kuroko plays? It wasn't too big, so from what Taiga knew of piano types, he was guessing that it was a baby grand. Kuroko must be loaded if he could actually afford something like that. Hell, it wasn't just the piano, anymore—the entire apartment seemed pretty huge for just one guy. Sure, the redhead hadn't seen the other rooms yet, but if a big instrument like that could fit in the living room without making it seem cramped, then it was damn spacious—and expensive. And the furniture—god, it was like he was in a penthouse or something. Plus, he could tell that it was just Kuroko living here even without the name plaque outside. Looking around, the place was homey but very organized and tidy, and there wasn't much unnecessary stuff around. If it weren't for the pictures and displays that brought color to the room, then maybe the entire place would be so monotonous like its owner. Taiga had been surprised to find that there were two sofas in the living room, and an eight-seater dining table near the kitchen. Kuroko didn't seem like the type to entertain many guests, but when Taiga remembered what Takao mentioned yesterday about them eating together most of the time, then the set-up didn't seem all that surprising anymore. The redhead idly wondered if the boy knew how to cook like him and Sakurai.

"Well, Kise-kun?"

The four athletes flinched in their seats—Ryouta looking more like he jumped—as Kuroko Tetsuya finally spoke after minutes of pained silence. "Y-Yes?!" yelped the blonde model nervously, cursing himself for being startled.

"What is your reason?" reminded Tetsuya, calmly petting Nigou on his lap as he kept staring expectantly at the part-time model.

"O-Oh! Ummm... Well, uh... B-Beautiful dog you have there~! W-What's his name, Kurokocchi~?"

"He's Tetsuya No. 2. We call him Nigou for short. But you didn't come all this way just to ask about my dog, did you?"

"Aha ha... W-Well, um..." When Ryouta had faltered yet again in the face of Kuroko's dark aura, Shintarou had now decided to prod the young man into hurrying it up by elbowing the blonde's side hard. "U-Um! You see, you're not the only one I was h-hoping to talk to today, so c-can we get Takaocchi and S-Sakuraicchi over...?"

Tetsuya stared at him some more—Kise sweating bullets yet again—until finally, the pale blunette broke eye contact and reached over for the telephone resting on the side table. A few seconds of button-pressing and silence later...

"Kazunari-kun, there are pedophiles who are in my apartment right now—"

"WHAT?!" chorused the four athletes; Aomine and Kagami jumping on their feet at the sudden accusation.

"—and I need you and Ryou-kun to save me. Please hurry." And immediately hanging up, Kuroko Tetsuya had just monotonously cried for help. The so-called "All-Stars" of Kiseki no Sedai Academy didn't know if they should be angry for being called old perverts or be amazed at the boy's toneless plea on the phone.

"Wha..." croaked out Kagami, blinking in confusion at the turn of events. "Why the hell..."

"TETSU-CHAAAAN!" The four tall males flinched in surprise as a muffled yell came from the front door. Then suddenly, the door banged open and in came a figure sliding into the hallway.

"TETSUYA, ARE YOU OKAY?! WHERE THE HELL ARE THOSE BASTAR—"

A messy-haired Takao Kazunari, in baggy pajamas, a loose shirt, and wielding a baseball bat, stopped short in the doorway to the living room as the sight of his beloved Tetsu-chan, Nigou, and the most eligible bachelors of their school all together and looking unharmed greeted his silvery-blue eyes.

He gaped at them, perplexed. The four athletes stared back.

"TETSUYA-SAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" shrieked another familiar voice to Aomine Daiki. And as expected, Sakurai Ryou came sliding in as well... with a fire extinguisher in hand. "DON'T WORRY! WE'RE GOING TO SAVE—"

He stopped screaming when he immediately saw the dark-skinned ace striker of their school looking at him strangely. "... you..." trailed off the brunette quietly, gaping at the four well-dressed teens in his best friend's apartment.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The six high-schoolers all blinked and gaped some more at the incredulity of the situation until finally, Kuroko Tetsuya spoke to the two newcomers.

"Good morning, Kazunari-kun, Ryou-kun," greeted the pale blunette, with an accompanying bark from Nigou.

"..."

"..."

"By the way, cute pajamas you have there, Ryou-kun."

In the span of three seconds, the four athletic visitors of Kuroko Tetsuya watched in wonder as Sakurai Ryou's face suddenly turned several bright shades of red, unconsciously dropping his weapon in the process as he squeaked in embarrassment.

Takao just kept blinking.

"So, let me get this straight..." drawled one Takao Kazunari irritably as he leaned back and rested his arms on the sofa's back. "You guys came all the way here, and woke us all up at six o' clock in the morning on a weekend, just so you could talk to us?"

The seven teens—comprised of Kise Ryouta, Aomine Daiki, Kagami Taiga, Midorima Shintarou, Kuroko Tetsuya, and now Takao Kazunari, and Sakurai Ryou—were now sitting in the living room of the phantom member of Misdirection. Just like before, the four jocks who came to visit were on one of the sofas, while Kuroko was seated on the opposite one with Nigou—but this time, Sakurai was now seated on his right, while Takao flanked his left. So now, after much chaos about the 'fake emergency call' from Kuroko, Kise and his friends were currently facing a blushing brunette and a pissed-off raven-haired teen who was staring at them unimpressed.

The intimidating aura grew stronger.

"Ummm... Yeah...?" offered Ryouta meekly.

Kazunari sighed in aggravation and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You do realize that you could've just called us, right? The telephone was invented for a reason."

"Ehe he he..." Beside the blonde, Aomine and Kagami rolled their eyes while Midorima massaged his temples. Kazunari just sighed again. He didn't think that he'd have to find Kise Ryouta so troublesome already. Glancing at his best friends, he found Tetsuya donning his usual blank face and Ryou fidgeting in his seat and still blushing. Looks like he had to deal with this one.

"Maaaaan... You better have a damn good reason for waking us at this ungodly hour, Kise," said the silvery-eyed teen, glaring sternly at the blonde model. Since the other three athletes refused to open their mouths and kept staring expectantly at Kise, it wasn't hard to realize that this was the blonde's idea. How he had managed to drag the other three out of their beds just to come here, Kazunari didn't know. All he knew was that he just wanted to get this over with, there was hell to pay after this, and he was feeling pretty cranky.

When Kise was about to reply, Kazunari quickly cut him off. "Oh, and don't even think about giving me that 'love at first sight' crap. That's total bullshit, I'll have you know."

"E-Eh?! Wait, y-you know?!" stuttered Ryouta, blushing faintly. Surprisingly, his friends sat a little straighter.

"Kise, don't get me wrong, but it's kinda obvious why you wanted to see us so badly."

"Yes. You're here for Yukio-kun," stated Kuroko bluntly.

"Eh?!" Sakurai stared at his friends in shock. "H-How?! Why?! W-W-When?!"

"Come on, Ryou-chan. Can you think of any other reason why someone we just met two days ago would want to personally talk to us at, again..." and Takao glared at Kise here. "Six o' clock on a frickin' Saturday morning?"

Frankly, the amber-eyed Ryouta didn't know if he should blush some more or sweat nervously at the murderous aura. Aomine, though, just whistled in appreciation. "Damn, you guys sure figured it out pretty fast." To which, Takao just shrugged.

"Uh, speaking of 'fast'... Can I just ask something?" voiced Kagami, meekly raising his hand. "How did you guys... get here so fast, anyway?"

Ryou's blush came back in full force as he remembered the events that unfolded just a few minutes ago. He tried not to catch a glimpse of what he was wearing—or rather, what was printed on what he was wearing. Tetsuya, his ever-supportive best friend, just patted his shoulder. The raven-haired Kazunari, on the other hand, crossed his legs as he answered the question. "Remember when we mentioned yesterday that we all kind of live together? Ryou-chan, Yuu-chan, and I have our own apartments here on the same floor."

"Well... that explains a lot," remarked the redhead.

"And speaking of which, you should be glad that Yuu-chan's not around, Kise," said Kazunari, gaining Ryouta's attention once again. "Since we don't have club practice yet, he's gone off to train at Kaijo an hour ago. Aaaand, you should also be glad that I hadn't called him when Ryou-chan and I rushed off to save Tecchan—not that there was much 'saving', anyway. He would've kicked your ass, you know!"

"And your heart."

"Tetsuya-san, that's mean!" whispered Ryou furiously to the pale blunette beside him. Kise couldn't help feeling a stab go through him with the comments. He really didn't think this through. He had only been lucky today. If something had gone wrong, then he would've probably kissed his chance to be with Yukiocchi goodbye. But Ryouta couldn't just sit still and do nothing back then! Yesterday, he had realized the greatest thing that ever happened to him: he had fallen in love with someone. Granted, it seemed too good to be true, but the blonde had all night in bed to contemplate things and rationalize his way through after coming down from his love-struck high when he came home. He argued so many angles, that it was possible he could now ace his Theorem and Postulates assignment. In the end, he never got any sleep, and come 4 a.m., he was struck with a brilliant idea and immediately called his friends.

The brilliant idea he had sounded kind of stupid right now.

"Well, Kise? What do you have to say for yourself?"

The blonde looked up at the silvery-eyed male, startled at the question. "E-Eh? ... W-Well, what else is there to say? I mean... you guys already know that I'm here for Yukiocchi, so..."

"Yeah, we do know, but we're still expecting you to admit it yourself and explain why you had to do all of this," answered Takao, massaging his neck. "Otherwise, Tecchan might kill you in your sleep."

"K-Kazunari-san! Don't joke like that!"

"He's not joking, Ryou-kun."

"..."

Ryouta gulped in nervousness. It was one thing to ring Kurokocchi's doorbell; it was another to lay his heart out for three total strangers to see. But he had to do this; otherwise he would never be able to courageously face Yukiocchi the next time they meet. That, and Kurokocchi really might kill him.

"Look..." sighed Kazunari, combing his black locks tiredly. "All I'm asking is for you not to preach about that 'love at first sight' bullshit."

"It's not bullshit!"

Everyone turned to the blonde, shocked at hearing him shout out angrily—let alone curse out loud. "Kise..." whispered Midorima quietly.

"And it's..." Ryouta ducked, his blonde fringe shielding the blush he had on. "... It's not love at first sight, either."

Ryou worriedly glanced at his friends. Tetsuya just glanced back while Kazunari stayed silent. Taking a huge breath, Kise Ryouta started his spiel.

"I... I came here because I had realized yesterday that I'm... attracted to your friend. I don't know what your views are about this kind of love and I don't know what you think of me so I came to talk to you. I got a little excited, though, and ended up... having to organize an early meeting. Either way, I'm very sorry for troubling you, but I want to ask just a little of your time."

When no one spoke, the blonde stood up and continued. "I... I l-like Kasamatsu Yukio and I would like to ask for your approval and your help in getting a date from him!" He bowed deeply at the three teens before him. "This may seem too forward coming from someone you just met, but I'm willing to prove myself to you! I've tried everything I could to discourage myself from these feelings, but I just can't help it! Please! I ask for your guidance! Please help me!"

When Ryouta had finished, everyone was still silent; even Nigou, who was just watching the blonde teen. Finally, after what seemed like hours but only seconds, Takao Kazunari spoke up. "Did you seriously have to ask us this? You could've just gone after him even without us saying anything, you know."

"Heh... well..." smiled Ryouta sheepishly at the silver blue-eyed male. "It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and I kinda thought it would be awesome to have you guys on my side..."

"Fine, fine," sighed Kazunari, stretching and hunching back to rest his arms on his knees. "Well, Tetsu-chan? Ryou-chan?"

"Although this issue concerns us, we really don't mind what you plan for Yukio-kun, Kise-kun," replied Tetsuya, scratching Nigou's ear. "It's not as if he's helpless."

"O-Oi," interrupted Kagami, staring hesitantly at the pale teen with his dog. "Don't talk like you don't care about your friend... and wait, what do you mean by 'not helpless'?! Kise's not gonna rape him or something! You think this idiot's even capable of that?!"

"Kagamicchi, you're not helping!" whined Ryouta to the redhead as he sat down.

"Kise-kun might not be, but he is at least capable of desiring for Yukio-kun."

"U-Uh..."

"Tetsuya-san!" chided the brown-haired Ryou, briefly frowning at his friend. "U-Um, Kise-san... like Tetsuya-san just said, we really don't mind if you like Yukio-san. And you really didn't need to ask us for permission..."

"Besides, you shouldn't be talking to us, Kise-kun." When the blonde only gave them a confused look, Kuroko and Sakurai quickly glanced at each other and turned to their raven-haired friend, who had been quiet the entire time.

Seeing as he became the center of attention this time, Takao only sighed and leaned back once more. "Right. First of all, we don't mind homosexual relationships. Second, we see you just like how any other student at our school sees you: a handsome part-time model and tennis jock, blah blah blah. Third, we still don't appreciate this impromptu 'meeting' of yours, but whatever. What's done is done."

"Now, let's get down to business." And here, for the first time ever, the usually-jovial Takao Kazunari pinned Kise Ryouta with a serious look. No more teasing smiles like yesterday, or deadly glares like their first meeting. The raven-haired teen didn't care if he was still in his PJs—he had to lay it down for the blonde now.

"First, let's get one thing straight here, okay? Yukio is my best friend." Hearing his crush's name made Ryouta tense. Takaocchi didn't say it like how he usually would. He didn't say his nickname for the steel blue-eyed boy that captured Ryouta's heart. He said his real name.

No doubt about it, Takao Kazunari was dead serious about this.

"Hell, he's not just my best friend," continued Kazunari. "He's my family, my brother, my sidekick—sometimes, my mother, even! I've known him since we were kids and we've been together through thick and thin. I'm closer to him than Tetsu-chan and Ryou-chan, and I know him more than his own family. And I've made it my job to personally see to it that he becomes happy in the end. He may not have a sob story like all the other people in the world, but I want him to be happy, just like what any other person would wish for their best friend."

"So tell me this, Kise: why the hell should I help you?"

Ryouta was shocked speechless. Takao was staring hard at him, looking unimpressed. Like he was judging his worth. The blonde tried to breathe steadily and come up with an answer. Why should he be helped? Why should he be deserving of Yukiocchi's time? He needed to prove himself to this person who treasures Yukiocchi unlike any other, and whom Yukiocchi probably treasured, as well. But Kagami beat him to it.

"Hey, don't say it like that! He came to see you guys and ask for your permission personally! Isn't that enough? I thought you guys didn't care what Kise did to Kasamatsu!" replied Taiga, defending the silent blonde.

"Correction: Tetsu-chan and Ryou-chan don't care about this. I do. Especially if you're going to involve Yukio. And besides, talking to us face-to-face isn't enough. I need to understand what is it you want in all of this and why it had to be my best friend, of all people," rebutted Kazunari, still donning a serious mask.

Aomine grimaced. "Look, can you just stop bitching about this and give him what he wants already? This isn't even your decision to make in the first place. You make it sound like Kise's some asshole!"

"Aomine!" scolded Midorima heatedly, glaring at the dark-skinned teen to shut up. Daiki wasn't about to let up, though.

"What? You expect me to be a saint and let this bastard talk smack about our Goldie? The hell does he know about Kise, anyway, huh? Yeah, sure, Kise knows nothing about your precious best friend, but so does Kasamatsu about ours! Isn't that the whole point of this? To get them on a date, so they'll get closer and Kise'll stop pestering us?"

At this, Kazunari chuckled—sounding somewhat dark when it reached the four jocks. "Ohhh... so you guys came here with him to get our approval, eh~?"

Shintarou coughed. "We're here for emotional support or some such thing..."

"Actually..." Kagami, Aomine, and Midorima all turned to Ryouta warily as he timidly spoke up in such a hesitant tone. "... I, uh, made you guys come with me in case they wanted a deal in exchange..."

The three stared at him in horror. "Oh, you cannot be serious," gritted out Shintarou, glaring at the blonde after realizing what Kise wanted from them.

"You fucking forced us to come here so you could sell us to these losers?!" shouted Daiki, standing up in rage—his demeanor completely shifting from caring about Kise to wanting to murder Kise. "Like hell! I'm done with this shit! You've wasted enough of our time!"

"I couldn't agree more," spat out his frowning green-haired friend, adjusting his glasses. When the two made to leave the room, Kise immediately broke out of his meek demeanor and narrowed his eyes for the first time since stepping inside Kuroko's apartment.

"Guys..." called out Taiga warningly as he glanced in apprehension at the serious-looking blonde.

"I'll tell Momocchi and Akashicchi."

With this one sentence, Aomine Daiki and Midorima Shintarou both sat down in less than five seconds—albeit grudgingly. "I swear I'm gonna kill you after this, Kise," growled the dark-skinned soccer player.

"My, my..." voiced Takao silkily, startling the four teens as they remembered that Kuroko, Sakurai, and Takao were still with them. "For you to forcibly stop your friends from walking out on you... You must really want our approval that badly, huh~? But what makes you think I'll approve even if you give me a deal~?"

Ryouta gulped as Takao predatorily smirked at him. They were back to this topic again. He reached for his earring and gently stroked it in deep thought. Of course he wanted their help that badly! Even if he approached Yukiocchi his own way, he probably wouldn't be able to get past the friendship stage. He needed to befriend the three teens before him, since they knew the blue-eyed boy the most. But the real reason why he came here was because he was... scared.

After all, how could he ever fall in love this fast, with only three meetings with Kasamatsu Yukio in his lifetime?

A part of Ryouta wanted to believe that this was destiny, but a larger and more logical part of him wanted to insist that he was living a fairy tale—that this was probably just a daydream and he would never be good enough for the mixed martial artist. He knew what he was capable of, but trying to get a date from Kasamatsu Yukio seemed too daunting of a task—so much so that his courage wavered. He came here to get people other than his friends who would be able to see him in another perspective and tell him if he had a chance or not.

With the way Takao was dealing with him, though, it seemed that Ryouta had no chances at all now... but it couldn't hurt to try. This was Yukiocchi, after all! The guy was probably his first real crush, so why not fight for his love? At this, the blonde model took a deep breath.

"Even without your approval, I'll still take my chances with Yukiocchi. I only came to you first because I wanted to see what you thought of me. You're his friends, so of course, your opinions matter."

"Yes, but still, why should we ever help you? Just because you're everything people claim you to be doesn't mean that you can be everything for Yukio, you know," retorted Kazunari, cocking his head to the side.

Ryouta didn't want to admit it, but that statement stung a bit. It was true—and partly one of the reasons why he came here and had to force his friends in accompanying him. Just because he was perfect in everyone else's eyes doesn't mean that he was the same when it came to Yukiocchi. One glance at the teen and Ryouta knew that Kasamatsu Yukio didn't look at people's images, but rather, what they reflect from within. He was the type to judge people based on their characters. Even though Ryouta himself knew what kind of a person he was, the pressure of wanting to know if Kasamatsu approved of him or not was seriously taking a toll on his confidence. Never had he felt so anxious about his identity. Kise was the charming and brilliant tennis player of Kiseki no Sedai Academy—one of the prodigies in his generation who was always expected to excel in whatever he was doing. But when it comes to Yukiocchi, he may as well be just another super-powered jock whom everybody adores...

Crap... thought Ryouta, curling his fists. Why am I so self-conscious about something that's not even tennis...? It's only been a while of knowing him, but already... I'm...

Sakurai Ryou watched with unease as the awkward silence loomed over their group. The brunette could feel it choking him, but he didn't want to interrupt this moment. The ball was in Kazunari-san's hand now—as always when it concerned his best friend. As of right now, Kise Ryouta's friends sitting beside him probably found Kazunari-san's behavior irritating—if not shocking, considering their impression of the raven-haired teen was probably that of an enthusiastic guy who would've immediately supported Kise. But it's not like Takao Kazunari was seriously being a jerk. Ryou knew he had his reasons; and those reasons weren't for him or Yukio-san... but for Kise-san.

The lanky brunette quirked his lips in fondness. Really... No matter what, Kazunari-san still cares more about others than himself, mused Ryou inwardly, glancing to his left at the black-haired teen in pajamas and lounging casually on the sofa—his sharp silvery eyes directed at the silent blonde before them.

Midorima Shintarou, on the other hand, was trying not to open his mouth. Kise—his self-proclaimed best friend—was being told off by some annoying idiot who was revered as a musical prince of sorts by the female populace of their school—a.k.a. Takao. Shintarou may not care about Kise all the time, but he was still a friend—albeit an annoying one—and Takao had no right to be rude about it while the young man was dreaming about love.

... Well, he may have some right since he knows Kasamatsu more than Kise, but still, the least he could do was to outright say his decision already rather than make Kise doubt himself. If Takao didn't want to help, then he should just say so. But no, the fool just had to keep asking and reminding Kise that it was probably a lost cause. Shintarou didn't want to be angry like Aomine and Kagami—their thoughts about the black-haired teen pretty obvious since the two kept glaring at Takao the whole time—but even he could see why their emotions were justified. Kasamatsu's silver-eyed best friend had a sharp tongue. Even though Takao hadn't exactly insulted any of them, his tone and way of talking was downright irritating. As if he already found Kise degrading and unworthy even though he hadn't done anything to prove himself yet. It wasn't anywhere near how those who dislike them talk to them, but it was enough to spurn the other three athletes' united wrath. The green-haired archer wanted to argue—rather, refute the silvery blue-eyed teen's statements to the point of shutting him up—for the blonde's sake, but this was Kise's own battle, not his. He could only hope that his other friends would—

"So why can't he be perfect for Kasamatsu? It's not as if Kasamatsu needs someone that perfect, anyway."

Shintarou and Ryou stared in shock and horror at the redheaded basketball player who spoke up.

Kagami, you idiot! Stop fanning the flames! screeched Midorima silently, resisting the urge to throw his wooden lucky item at Kagami.

He... He just stepped on a minefield... groaned Sakurai, silently praying for the redhead.

But instead of Takao redirecting his gaze onto Kagami like the two had envisioned, Kagami flinched as the deadly and piercing eyes of Kuroko Tetsuya met his deep red ones instead. The power forward gulped in unease. It was so blank that he felt like he was being zapped through by a laser... and seriously, that sentence made no sense at all! Taiga could feel his eyebrow twitching in anxiety, but he stood his ground. He may have insulted Kasamatsu, but he couldn't just let Kise be tossed around by these guys. When the blonde had blackmailed the three of them just to do this, Kagami already knew he was being serious about the Taekwondo kickboxer—much to their chagrin. And he's even letting Takao evaluate him harshly. Kise wasn't even trying to argue much about why he should be dating the black-haired teen. The situation really wasn't fair. He and the blonde model weren't that close, but he was a friend nonetheless; and what kind of a friend would he be if he didn't defend Kise's honor? To hell with the guy wanting to date another guy who happens to like kicking and punching people, Kagami Taiga was going to stick with Kise Ryouta on this one—even though the blonde would probably pester him with thanks to no end.

Hopefully, Aomine and Midorima would support Kise, too, despite their apparent annoyance at Kise's actions today. But Taiga was hoping more that his hotheaded best friend would just keep his mouth shut for the rest of the discussion. Lord knows Daiki says the worst things at times like this.

"So you think you can actually find someone perfect for you, Kagami-kun? My, my. How bold of you. What do you think, Nigou?"

... Or maybe he should've been the one to keep his mouth shut. Kagami gritted his teeth as Kuroko's blank gaze bore into him while the blunette slowly petted his dog. Was this kid with weak presence always this irritating? Then again, Kuroko might just still be suffering from lack of sleep. The murderous dark cloud of aura was back and eerily surrounding the pale teen. The redhead could see Sakurai shrinking in fear at the chilling atmosphere beside him. He wanted to snap back at the jab, but even he was struck with fear. Not because of the aura, mind you, but because Kuroko was staring pointedly at him while painstakingly caressing Nigou.

Damn. The guy was already threatening him with his mutt. But he couldn't just let the insult slide anymore. To hell with this creepy kid!

"O-Of course! Who the hell do you think I am?!"

"Bakagami-kun, the basketball idiot who only thinks about basketball."

"THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME?!"

Sakurai immediately jumped to his feet. "Aha ha ha ha, breakfast! T-That's right! Would you l-look at the time?! It's already seven! Let's have breakfast!" shrieked the brunette, halting Kagami and Kuroko's stand-off. "K-Kagami-san! Can you please help me in the kitchen?!" But before Taiga could say anything else, Ryou was already hauling him to his feet and pulling him towards the small kitchen in the apartment.

"Ah, w-wait—"

"D-Does anyone have reque—"

"I'll tell you, then."

Kagami and Sakurai paused and turned back to the living room. All eyes were on Kise as he stared at Takao once again. "I'll tell you... how we first met."

Kazunari silently stared back, before glancing at Tetsuya and Ryou. Kuroko gave him a nod, while Sakurai offered an encouraging smile. He turned back to the blonde model and released a sigh.

"Alright," he answered and nodded to Kise.

Ryouta took a deep breath and steadied himself. He was about to reveal what happened that time. The first time he encountered Kasamatsu Yukio. The memory was so long ago, but Ryouta felt like it was only just this week. He closed his eyes and recalled every single detail he could remember. There wasn't a lot, but there weren't any gaps, which means that he had subconsciously kept the memory of that night intact and treasured it—even though he never saw Yukiocchi again until several months later. This was proof on how much the mixed martial artist had influenced himself in a single night.

And how precious Ryouta regarded his kindness to him.

The blonde took another deep breath. This was gonna be a bit hard since now that Kise views him as his crush, the story's gonna sound so embarrassing—even to his ears.

Meanwhile, Ryou had pulled Taiga into the small kitchen as the blonde mentally prepared himself. The kitchen had an open breakfast counter where one could poke his head through and easily see the living room and so, the brunette ushered Kagami towards the other side of the space where the others won't notice them. Then, he proceeded to bow several times and apologize profusely in soft whispers.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! Please forgive me for my behavi—"

"Ah, no, no! It's okay!" whispered Taiga back, holding up his hands to placate the brunette as he watched in confusion. It was weird seeing Sakurai act like this again, since he was fine minutes ago—and yesterday, even. Moreover, his mumbling seem to get quicker and quicker.

"—but actually, I want to apologize more for Tetsuya-san! Please forgive him! I'm really so—"

"Sakurai!" whispered Taiga harshly, shaking the teen's shoulders. "Seriously, it's okay! Just... stop apologizing."

"S-Sorry..." squeaked Ryou, wearing a guilty expression. The redheaded basketball player snuck a peek at the living room and breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that the five boys sitting there didn't seem to mind them. "Alright, what do you need my help with?" asked Taiga, turning back to the brunette.

Sakurai snapped back in focus. "Ah! P-Please cook the rice, then." Kagami nodded and turned to the cabinets. Holy shit, this kitchen is gorgeous, he immediately thought as he marveled at the pristine condition of the area. Kuroko must be really loaded.

Once Kagami let him go to find the rice cooker, Ryou headed towards the fridge to collect some ingredients. "Um... Would you guys like some panca—TETSUYA-SAN, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY EGGS HERE AGAIN?!"

Tetsuya didn't miss a beat. "I am practicing on how to boil eggs."

"BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT! IN FACT, THAT'S THE ONLY COOKING SKILL YOU HAVE!"

From the living room, Kuroko Tetsuya slightly puffed his cheeks. "How conceited of you, Ryou-kun." Beside him, Takao was trying not to laugh. Midorima and Kise peeked behind and blinked at the absurd amount of egg cartons in Sakurai's arms. Kagami was snickering as he heard about Kuroko's lack of culinary abilities.

Ryou sighed tiredly and clutched his forehead as he set the cartons on the counter. "Guess we're having eggs, then..."

"Well, Kise?" Kise started at the sound of Takao's voice and turned back to the black-haired teen. He was wearing an expectant look. "Ah!" And at this, Kise Ryouta composed himself to start his story.

"Uh, well... I already mentioned that he treated me to some okonomiyaki back then, right?" When Takao nodded and so did Midorima, he took a deep breath and willed his heating cheeks to return to normal. "You see—"

A loud snore interrupted Ryouta, surprising the occupants of the living room and the kitchen. Everybody turned to Aomine Daiki, whose head had lolled back on the couch as he fell asleep—blissfully unaware of his friend about to give a heartfelt confession.

"Aominecchi!" whined Kise, annoyed at the soccer player's apparent indifference at his love woes. Midorima rubbed his temples and Kagami just rolled his eyes, while Kuroko asked Sakurai for a homemade vanilla milkshake and Sakurai blinked at the situation before exasperatedly reminding his best friend that he couldn't have milkshakes in the morning.

"Ahhh, just let him sleep," said Kazunari, waving off Aomine's behavior. "It's not like the world's gonna end if he doesn't hear this, and you can always tell him about it someday."

Kise sighed and nodded in agreement. He was so gonna pester Aominecchi about this. With clenched and nervous hands, the blonde gulped and finally threw aside his reservations on revealing the situation where he and Yukiocchi first met.

"Well... It all happened that day..."

Kise Ryouta couldn't breathe. The world suddenly seemed so overwhelming; the tennis court suddenly so sickly green. He had the strangest urge to hurl his racket onto the damn scoreboard, but he kept his grip tight. No matter what, he didn't want to destroy his precious equipment.

As the opposing team cheered victoriously, the audience and his own team kept quiet. And so did Ryouta, as he kept staring dazedly at the score.

Daiten vs. Kiseki no Sedai

Watari vs. Kise

4 - 5

6 - 5

7 - 6

He lost.

He lost.

The murmurs, whispers, cheers—the sounds all around him—all blurred together until Ryouta couldn't hear anything more than a buzzing noise. His vision turned dark and disorienting as he heaved heavily, struggling to calm his nerves. A part of him wanted to believe that this was only the effect of his fever—his damn fever that he wasn't supposed to have today, of all days—but a larger part of him knew what it really was.

It was defeat.

And it was damn bitter.

He tried not to look elsewhere. Everybody probably had the same disbelieving expression on their faces right now. And he was afraid of seeing that.

Yes, him. The greatest tennis player to ever walk the halls of Kiseki no Sedai Academy.

He vaguely heard the referee whistle for a handshake... vaguely heard his opponent say something to him... vaguely heard his teammates calling out to him...

It wasn't until the noises faded that he realized he was already leaving. He was running away.

From the court.

From the people.

From his teammates.

It had started with slow, unsteady steps... then a brisk walk... then a jog... until finally, a full-on sprint. To where, Kise had no idea. All he knew was that he had to get away from there. He had to escape this heavy and unpleasant feeling.

He could finally feel the sweat that had seeped into his shirt. The dry wind nipped at his arms and legs as he ran quickly through the field. It didn't help that his body was already overheated from both the strenuous match and his fever. But he could care less about all of that. Hell, he couldn't even feel any of that right now.

Painful. Everything was painful to him as of this moment.

The heat.

The numbness.

The grip on his racket.

The sound of the whistle signaling the end of his match.

The shocked silence.

The unfamiliar shouts of victory.

The whispers.

The sight of the scoreboard.

The burning feeling in his lungs.

The ache in his legs.

The stinging sensation in his eyes

Everything felt so torturously painful.

Ryouta gulped a shivering sob. He couldn't take it anymore. He hated this feeling. He hated losing.

He hated himself. It was all his fault.

With an enraged cry, the blonde forcefully chucked his racket aside, not bothering to see where it landed. All his fault. He didn't deserve to hold that thing after what happened today.

He ran faster than ever, streaks of tears marring his picture-perfect face.

Several minutes later, Kise Ryouta found himself locked up inside a toilet cubicle in an empty restroom, pathetically crying himself to sleep. Frankly, he hadn't really cared that he ran in and holed himself up in an isolated little building—in god-knows-what part of the forest the tennis court he ran away from was near—just to cry uncontrollably. Though an athletic genius, he was still entitled to be depressed over his first official defeat, after all.

Then again, he hadn't really been thinking straight when his match ended. He wanted to be alone, but he didn't want anyone to see him crying, so he tried finding somewhere secluded. When he saw the restroom, he didn't think twice anymore, for fear of being spotted. Sure, someone might come in any moment and hear him sniffling, but like hell was Kise going out there now.

He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to face the world—to face his teammates. It was all his fault. If only he had just let someone else take his place today for the tournament... If only he had rested properly so his fever would really go away...

Stupid. Stupid! Ryouta felt another onslaught of tears coming, but didn't bother holding back nor wiping his face. It was useless, anyway. He'd already been crying for the past few minutes, so why should he stop now? The blonde figured that since he was still sulking, he might as well cry everything out and wallow in self-pity. It wouldn't do for him to go out and face reality with this heavy sorrow in his heart, anyway. Especially once his friends and the entire school hears about what happened.

Aominecchi would probably tease him endlessly, while Momocchi would scold the soccer player and invite Kise to eat some ice cream. Kagamicchi and Himurocchi would definitely try to comfort him. Murasakibaracchi might just look blankly at him and offer him some snacks... hopefully. Akashicchi, on the other hand, will most probably look down on him despite his height and double his training—even though they're not in the same club, which would be downright scary.

But what Kise hated the most to imagine was what Midorimacchi's—his childhood friend's—reaction would be.

"H-He... ngh.. He'd probably say that... I-I-I'm!" And at this, Ryouta choked up, teary-eyed. "I'M A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING IDIOOOOOOOOOT!"

The young tennis player bawled out his eyes again and sobbed like a toddler. His fits earlier were so solemn, but thinking about how his best friend would see him now brought out the helpless child inside Kise. He could already hear the green-haired archer's condescending tone reprimanding him of being a burden to his team and not minding his own health. Ryouta sniffed and wiped himself with his shirt, whilst sitting atop the toilet seat with his knees huddled close to him. He felt sticky and grimy, and it didn't help that the restroom was a bit damp and stifling, despite the good ventilation. The blonde figured that he probably looked like a mess right now and this thought made him sob even more.

Suddenly, the door to the restroom creaked open and swiftly closed. Ryouta quietly gasped in surprise and froze in fear. He wasn't ready to be found yet. He ducked his head and partially buried his face onto his knees as he listened—mentally cursing his helpless little sniffs and hiccups. At this rate, he might as well announce his presence inside.

The person—or man, since this was the men's restroom, after all—casually walked further into the room. The blonde teen's heart sped. He was inside the last cubicle on the far end opposite the entrance. Maybe the stranger knew he was there and was going to investigate? Ryouta prayed fervently that he would be ignored and the man would go away. He prayed that whoever it was wasn't someone who knew him. He prayed that—

Bam!

"Ah, there you are."

Kise Ryouta shrieked in shock and panic, his arms flinging sideways to the walls to balance himself as he nearly toppled off the toilet seat in his surprise when the door flew open. W-What the hell?! He had locked the door, hadn't he?! But before Ryouta could voice out his worries about the man destroying a door lock, his amber eyes fell onto a sight he'd never thought he would see.

It was a person he'd never seen before. It was a stranger. The man who kicked the toilet door down was a total stranger.

Why was there a total stranger looking for him?

On impulse, his nervousness and fear came back as irritation, anger, and embarrassment.

"W-W-What the hell, man?! Don't you know what p-privacy is?! And c-couldn't you have just knocked?! I'm a little busy here, ya know! And why are you even looking for me, anyway?! W-Who are you?!"

The guy just quirked an eyebrow at him.

Well, so much for being defensive. Guess his outburst wasn't working well with the stuttering and slight whimpering—plus his tear-streaked face.

Before he could get past that thought, though, the guy suddenly sighed. "Come on. Get out," he said, and promptly tossed a small towel at Ryouta's face. "H-Huh?" voiced the blonde as he flung the cloth off his line of sight. But the guy was already gone. Ryouta heard something being set down on a surface and the sound of a zipper echoing inside the restroom.

The tennis player gulped in apprehension. There were a lot of gruesome possibilities playing in his mind right now, even though the stranger hadn't shown signs of having evil intentions towards him yet. You can never really be sure with people these days, after all. Ryouta's even more wary since he's a famous model around these parts.

"Are you going to get out on your own or do you want me to drag you out?" snapped the stranger's voice. Ryouta immediately stepped out of the cubicle on instinct. Damn Akashicchi for training him like that.

To his surprise, the guy was rummaging inside a sports bag on the counter.

His bag.

Ryouta looked at the towel on his hands.

His towel.

"T-T-This is mine! That's my bag! W-Why do you have them?! Who are you?!" demanded the blonde, taking a step back from the suspicious guy.

The guy turned to him with his stormy blue eyes. "I took it from your teammates," he shrugged as he answered, ignoring the last question.

"W-Why would you take it...? And hang on, why would they even hand it over to you?!" shrieked Ryouta, his fear rising. W-Who is this guy...?

"Well, they were already packing up, but you still weren't back. I figured that you wouldn't want them to come looking for you, so I just volunteered to find you and give you your stuff. Speaking of which, you should clean up."

Ryouta blinked in confusion. What? That still makes no sense. He looked at the other guy accusingly. "... You're lying."

The other arched an eyebrow. "No, really. You should clean up. You look like shit."

"No, I mean, you're lying about them giving you my stuff just like that!"

"Alright then," said the guy. He dug inside Kise's sports bag and took out a familiar black phone. "Call them."

Ryouta flinched in surprise at the suggestion. He stared hesitantly at his phone on the guy's hand.

He couldn't. Not after what happened today.

Strangely enough, the guy seemed to understand his inner turmoil. He put the phone back into the bag. "Well, whatever. Look, I'm doing this out of charity, so you should really just be glad I'm not robbing you or something."

"T-This... might be some elaborate plan or..."

"Whatever you say, pretty boy. Now are you gonna clean up or what?"

Ryouta didn't know what to do. This guy—now that he took a good long look, he realized that he was a teenager just like him—was ordering him around and had his belongings. The blonde could just make a run for it since he still finds the other one suspicious, but what would he benefit from that? He'd just find himself out in the open and he'd be wasting his energy for nothing but humiliation. Ryouta could still feel the exhaustion in his bones and the unusual warmth of his skin. Apparently, his fever's still around, too.

When he felt his towel being tugged, he jolted in surprise and stared at the other teen—who managed to swiftly close the distance between them. "W-What?"

"I said you should wash your face first. Come on." The stranger gently pushed Ryouta towards the sink and took the towel from him. It was only then that the blonde finally saw what a mess he really was.

Kise Ryouta stared back at his reflection in the mirror. His blonde locks were in disarray, his face was so pale and sweaty, and his eyes were watery and puffy. There really were faint streaks from his tears and his nose was all red from sniffing. The sight made Ryouta feel like crying again as he remembered why he was doing it in the first place, but when his eyes landed on the other teen rummaging in his bag again, his sorrow was replaced with self-consciousness. It wouldn't do to make a spectacle of himself here with this total stranger.

When he made no move to do anything, the guy looked back at him with those blue eyes of his. "Go on. Wouldn't want to go out like that, would you?"

Ryouta couldn't help but blush a little. This is kinda embarrassing...

Well, the guy had a point, anyway. He's gonna have to come out sooner or later, so he might as well clean up. Ryouta's logical side wanted to argue more that he can do whatever hell he wanted and it's none of the guy's business, but he didn't have the heart to say the words. There wasn't much fight left in him after that match.

That… and he couldn't really be rude to the guy who brought his stuff—whatever his intentions may be.

Ryouta turned on the faucet and started washing his face. There shouldn't be any evidence that he cried his heart out. The cold water felt wonderful, greatly relieving the heaviness he was feeling, if only for a moment. When he deemed his face acceptable enough to be normal, the other guy had readily handed the towel over to him.

"Here. Get changed." A bunch of clothes and a pair of shoes—that Ryouta recognized as the ones he had packed—were passed to the blonde as the towel was tucked away. Ryouta slightly blushed again. Why was this guy being so nice and considerate towards him? The blonde shook his head in defeat. He could think about that later. He turned away and started stripping to get it over with. As his dirty tennis uniform was cast aside one by one, the blonde teen started feeling better—and not just physically. It's funny how a change of clothes could do that.

Once Ryouta was done, the guy turned to him again. Huh... He hadn't been watching me change... His uniform was tucked away into the bag, as well, and the guy picked up a scarf from the counter. Suddenly, he pressed the back of his hand against Ryouta's neck.

Ryouta flinched in pain. He hadn't been expecting his neck to be so tender and sensitive, and the guy's hand was too cold. The guy narrowed his eyes. "Tch. So you're still sick, huh?"

"H-How did you...?" Ryouta never told anyone about what he was feeling today. He managed to lie through his teeth and convince his coach that he was fine and ready to play. After all, when they were starting, his fever had subsided by then and he had been sure that he would really be fine.

But he had been wrong.

"Do you still feel dizzy? Nauseous?" asked the other teen, starting to put the scarf on the blonde model.

"N-No..."

"Hungry, then?"

"Uh, y-yeah, I guess..."

"Good," smiled the guy as he finished wrapping the scarf around Ryouta's neck. "Let's have dinner, then."

Ryouta blinked at the guy's smile. "Huh?"

D-D-Did he just a-ask me out?!

"W-W-Why would I have dinner with you?!"

Ack! That's not what I wanted to say!

Ryouta cursed himself. How many times had he stuttered today? He was really out of sorts right now. In response to the blonde's outburst, the stranger flashed a smirk. "Because I'm taking your racket as a hostage."

Ryouta looked up in surprise to find the guy suddenly carrying his racket bag on his shoulder. "H-Hey! That's—!"

"You want it back? Then follow me."

"E-Eh?! No fair!" whined Ryouta, quickly trying to grab the bag. "And besides, my racket isn't even in the—" As he managed to hold it, he felt the familiar contour of his equipment inside. He gaped at the guy.

Suddenly, the bag was snatched and thrust upon his face. Ryouta yelped in pain as his forehead was poked. "H-How...?"

The guy rested the racket bag on his shoulder. "I was looking for you, remember? So I came across your racket on the grass while trying to find you."

Kise blinked in amazement. "Who... Who are you, really?"

The stranger smiled again as he handed Ryouta's sports bag over to him. "I'm the guy who's gonna take you out to dinner." And at this, the blonde tennis player couldn't help but blush once again.

They finally exited the restroom. As soon as he was out, Ryouta was hit with the—surprisingly—chilly wind. It was already mid-August and summer was upon them, yet the coldness of the approaching night made it seem like spring was still around. He tugged his scarf more securely around his neck. It wasn't that particularly cold, but he had a fever and he didn't want it to get worse. Thank god he had the sense to pack his scarf and long-sleeved shirt this morning. The blonde gazed at the setting sunset, realizing that the Inter-High match today had been over for some time now. So that's why we're having dinner... He tried not to think too much about how he wound up with the stranger forcing him to go outside.

The walk to the city was relatively silent, only footsteps and the faint buzzing of distant noises reaching the two teens' ears. Ryouta felt it a bit awkward to break the silence and start up a conversation—and besides, he couldn't even think of a proper topic for the two of them, anyway—so he decided to observe the other guy instead. He was a bit smaller than Kise, and had black spiky hair. But the main thing that had struck him when the toilet door opened was that the guy had a fierce expression. He looked pretty serious all the time—the only exceptions are when he had smiled and smirked at Ryouta.

And those eyes of his... Man, they were pretty intense. Compared to Ryouta's golden amber ones, his was a cold blue hue. Not too cold, though. More like, it can be hot and cold at the same time.

Kise Ryouta halted. Why was he pondering about the guy's eye color?

"Oi, you still coming? I have your precious racket, you know~," said the stranger in front of him in a sing-song voice. Ryouta slightly pouted at the teasing tone. "I can just buy another one and not follow you..." he retorted, glaring at the guy.

"Hmm, you can... but you won't," declared the black-haired guy. "You know why?"

At this, the blonde gave him a curious expression.

"Because you're not just some jock, Kise Ryouta, O Great First-Year Tennis Prodigy of Kiseki no Sedai Academy. You love your sport," he said, pointing towards Kise with the racket bag. "So you won't let a treasure like this be lost from you."

Ryouta could only stare. The guy was spot-on. Even though his racket was starting to show signs of abrasion, he still used it. It was his first and he loved the damn thing. But apparently, he hadn't loved it enough, seeing as he had eventually tossed it away a while ago.

Wait, did the guy just say his name and school?

"H-Hey, wait! You know who I am?"

"Nope. I asked your coach."

"O-Oh..." The blonde blinked at the quick reply, before hurriedly catching up to the spiky-haired teen.

A few minutes later, Kise now found himself seated inside a local restaurant with the stranger. Their order had just arrived, which consisted of okonomiyaki, a plate of gyoza, two bowls of tofu soup, and rice. "Itadakimasu," said the other and proceeded to mix the okonomiyaki.

Ryouta followed suit and reached for his chopsticks to start eating. It was still a bit awkward to talk, but it'll be more awkward to let the silence reign over them while having dinner, so the tennis player-slash-model decided to just go for it.

"Umm... You know, you really didn't have to... I mean, I'm... already grateful enough that you gave me my bag."

"You said you were hungry."

"W-Well, yeah, but I didn't exactly say it my—"

"Well, I wanted to do it, so just shut up and eat."

Ryouta kept quiet and took a bite of his okonomiyaki. So much for starting a conversation. It was kind of embarrassing for a total stranger—who still hasn't given his name yet, mind you—to treat him to a meal just because.

Was it out of pity? Because he had lost?

The sweet taste of okonomiyaki suddenly turned bitter in his tongue.

"Can't you just eat without thinking too much?" asked the black-haired guy so suddenly. Ryouta frowned at the statement. "Well, how can I eat normally in this kind of situation? I don't know who you are, you just suddenly forced me to come, and I don't even know what you're trying to do!"

A few of the customers glanced in their direction at Kise's outburst, making him regret raising his voice. But what was more concerning was that Ryouta had just inadvertently started a staring contest with the guy sitting in front of him. Warm amber clashed with steel blue—neither color wavering, until the blonde finally felt embarrassed at what he was trying to do. His companion stared at him some more before finally sighing.

"I was there watching your match, you know," he started. I knew it, thought the blonde, staying silent.

"I was just passing by today, but when I heard that they were having the Tennis Inter-High and the great Kiseki no Sedai was playing, I figured I might as well watch. And when I arrived, the next one was yours."

The tennis player looked down at his lap. Bitterness and shame swirled in his stomach as he recalled what happened.

"From the moment you started playing, I could already tell that there was something wrong with you. I've seen another match of yours back then during middle school, and I can honestly say that you were weaker today. Your movements were sluggish, you were always out of breath, and it seemed like you were forcing yourself to play."

Ryouta clenched his fists. It was true.

"You knew yourself that you weren't in top shape to begin with, yet you still participated. That was a reckless and stupid move, you idiot," reprimanded the black-haired teen, frowning at the blonde opposite him.

Kise Ryouta couldn't say anything and just bowed his head some more. It really had been reckless of him. Because of him...

"Because of your loss, your team has now been dropped from the preliminaries. You won't be participating in an official match this year anymore. Your Third-Year seniors won't be playing anymore! All because you couldn't let go of your damn pride as a 'prodigy'!"

The blonde bit his tongue as his vision started blurring. Yes, that was the harsh truth that Kise didn't want to admit. Because of his failure, he had cost their one chance at making it to the finals. It should have been a breeze for them. After all, this was his first year in the tennis team. They had great expectations from the revered genius that was Kise Ryouta. But they had hit a difficult obstacle today. Daiten High proved to be a tough opponent, as there were several new additions to their team. Even without Kise back then, Kiseki no Sedai barely got past Daiten. And so, they had been expecting the blonde to turn the tables when only one more win was needed to break the tie. That was how much confidence and trust his upperclassmen had in him.

But he blew his one chance. For the first time ever. He had wanted to be the one to play so badly. The one to bring home the victory for his team... He wanted it so badly that he neglected the warning bells in his head and kept playing. The others and Coach must've noticed his real state of health once the match started, but they couldn't have done anything about it by then. They can't switch him out like in team-play sports. After all, in tennis, you either stand alone on the court or with a partner.

He had been naïve. He thought he could actually do it. But this damn fever of his got in the way.

No... thought Ryouta, berating himself. It wasn't my fever... it was my own self that got in the way. I had been too cocky...

"But you know..."

Glassy amber orbs slowly looked up at the stranger. The other man flicked his eyes over to Ryouta and offered him a smile.

"I gotta admit... that determination of yours is pretty intense."

Ryouta blinked as heat crept up his cheeks.

"Even though you knew you might not win, you still kept fighting. You still kept moving. To be honest, I'm surprised you hadn't collapsed in exhaustion."

"And, uh... that's a good thing...?"

"It means that even though you had been reckless and stupid, you still tried to make up for it because you knew that your team had been depending on you. You didn't want to let them down." Black-Haired Guy gave another elusive smile. "Am I right?"

The blonde could only stare at the other in wonder.

"Now listen here." His companion fully gave his attention to Ryouta and put his chopsticks down. "If you think that tennis isn't a team sport, then you're wrong. You may be standing alone on that court, but outside it is a team cheering you on. Your team. So no, you're not alone, idiot. They depend on you the same way you depend on them. Got it?" He flicked the blonde's forehead for emphasis.

"Y-Yeah..." replied the tennis player meekly, rubbing his forehead. He still kept staring at the other teen in amazement, mulling the words over in his mind.

A team. He was part of a team.

... A team that may not want him back anymore, thanks to what he did...

The spiky-haired guy sighed, startling Ryouta out of his thoughts. "What is it this time?" asked the other, looking exasperated.

Embarrassed, Ryouta stared down at his lap again. "I... may not be a part of them anymore..."

"Can't you give them a little bit of credit, for once?"

Ryouta blinked as the guy pinned a blank stare on him. "E-Eh?"

His companion sighed once again. "When I asked for your bag, I asked them about you, too. I said that if they didn't want you around anymore, then they might as well say it to you themselves. But instead, they just gave me your stuff and told me to get your ass back in gear so you could train harder at the summer camp."

Ryouta gaped again. What? "S-So that means..."

"I think they're not that mad at you for messing up and lying to them."

He... He wasn't off the team...

"Whelp, just confirm it with them tomorrow. Though really, I doubt they'll just let you go without a punishment."

The blonde gulped in trepidation.

"But seriously, you're not in that much trouble. You may be a genius of sorts, but you still make mistakes like the rest of the world, you know. What matters is that you learn from them."

Ryouta nodded silently. After a pause, they continued eating—the model's heart feeling lighter than it had been moments ago. It was strange, but there was just something comforting about the guy he was with. The words he spoke, the way he talked... He came off as strict and no-nonsense, but at the same time, he was encouraging and compassionate—leaving Ryouta feeling uplifted and emboldened.

He was like a cool older brother or something.

When the food had been half-eaten, Ryouta finally decided to ask a few questions that had been bothering him from the start. "Um, about my stuff..."

"Hmm?" voiced the black-haired teen, sipping his tofu soup.

"... You said that you volunteered to find me... But how did you even get my team to give them to you willingly?" He hoped the other wouldn't suggest calling his teammates again.

"Ah." The guy took some more okonomiyaki before answering. "I'm acquainted with your coach, so he was okay with what I was going to do."

"Eh? Acquainted? How?"

"We're acquaintances," reiterated the guy, smiling slightly as he continued eating.

"Ehhhh..." whined Ryouta, a bit annoyed that the other wasn't going to answer him properly. He was definitely teasing him. The tennis player wondered—not for the first time—who this person really was. Even if he asked though, Black-Haired Guy might just keep on avoiding his questions. It seemed like he was really intent on hiding his identity from Kise, whatever his reasons were. But funnily enough, the blonde model was somewhat fine with it. Any other day, he might've pestered the guy a little more, but today, he wasn't going to bother trying. After everything that's happened and all the things his companion did for him, Ryouta didn't want to break the comfortable atmosphere that was starting to envelop them.

It was nice. It wasn't quite like how he would be around his own friends, but at the same time, the blonde considered the spiky-haired teen a good acquaintance of sorts.

Whelp, at least he wasn't a total stranger anymore.

"Then, uh..." Ryouta hesitated on his next question. It wasn't intrusive, but he felt a bit anxious to hear the other's answer. "Why... Why are you doing this?"

The black-haired guy looked up at him. It seemed like he understood what Ryouta was getting at.

"Why did you find me? Why did you help me? Why are you treating me to dinner?"

The other stayed silent as Ryouta finished. The blonde felt his cheeks warming up as he realized how weird he had sounded when he asked those questions. Like he was desperate or something.

"... You reminded me of someone."

Ryouta looked back at his companion and blinked at the statement. "Eh? H-How so?"

The guy hummed in thought as he took a bite of his gyoza. "When you were playing this afternoon, you were so determined that I couldn't help but remember that person. He had been in the same situation as you, actually. Well, not that he had been sick during his match, but that..."

At this, the teen lowered his eyes. "... He had lost. Bitterly. Wore the same look you had hours ago."

Ryouta's lips parted in surprise. The young man in front of him looked so forlorn.

"He wanted to win so badly that time... but in the end, sometimes will and determination isn't enough. Watching you back then, I keep remembering what happened with his own match. I couldn't help but feel sorry for you, especially when you ran away. He did the same thing."

Kise kept staring sadly at his companion. He didn't dwell much on the fact that he was right and the black-haired teen had pitied him. He was more concerned about the guy looking down for the first time since he met him a while ago.

"Fortunately, someone helped him—just like what I did to you. Everyone needs a pick-me-up every now and then, after all."

At this, Ryouta smiled at him appreciatively. He was so nice for someone he doesn't even know. A part of his mind argued that maybe he was just acting like this because of who Kise was, but another part cleverly countered that he wouldn't have been so pushy and domineering a while ago if being buddies with Ryouta was his goal.

When the guy noticed his brightening smile, he blinked in surprise. Was that a blush? "What are you smiling about? Come on, eat up!"

Ryouta chuckled and did as he was told. He felt even better after hearing that Black-Haired Guy's purpose was to actually cheer him up. A familiar bout of warmth crept up his cheeks as the thought dwelled on his mind.

After dinner, the two boys proceeded towards the train station as they chatted along the way. It was really strange, talking to the other about everything and nothing like they had been friends for a long time. Questions about the black-haired teen's identity kept popping up in Ryouta's mind, but he ignored them all. Kise couldn't believe it himself, but he was actually starting to like this little game they were playing. The other guy's name being kept a secret was something of a thrill to him—like finding out would break the spell between them and they couldn't go back to being two strangers on a magical night or something. And for some reason, he didn't want that, despite his curiosity.

The thought suddenly made his heart swell strangely. What was this feeling?

They boarded the train to Tokyo, and stood by the door inside the full car. "So you'll be getting off first, huh..." said the blonde teen as they left the station.

"Why the long face? Did you want me to walk you home or something?" quipped the spiky-haired one, raising his brow. His smirk grew as he watched the tennis player's face redden at the insinuation.

"N-No..." denied Ryouta, diverting his gaze to the view of the buildings they were passing by outside. Walking home together... his companion made it sound like something straight out of a shoujo manga.

"Ah, here." Kise's racket bag was finally handed over to him. "I'm releasing my hostage," declared his black-haired acquaintance, smiling at him.

"Ah, but first..." Ryouta tilted his head in curiosity as the other took the bag again. Suddenly, he was whacked on the head—but not too hard. "E-Eh?! What was that for?!" exclaimed the blonde indignantly as other passengers watched them in surprise.

"Don't be an idiot again," admonished the other teen to Ryouta. The model blinked at the words as he rubbed his head.

Ahhhh... He was talking about what happened at his match. Ryouta stood straight and gave him a serious look. "I can't really promise that... but I'll do my best to be a good kouhai."

The other nodded, looking satisfied at his reply. "And don't just throw this away on a whim!" he added, whacking Ryouta again. The blonde only chuckled and nodded.

"Well, this is my stop," said the black-haired teen. Ryouta started and was taken aback by how quickly they had arrived. He turned to see his companion already stepping off the train amidst the leaving crowd.

"I expect promising results next year. Oh, and good luck with your punishment," said the guy pleasantly, clapping his shoulder when they were the only ones left at the door. Ryouta groaned. "Don't remind me."

They parted as the familiar warning buzzer of the closing doors sounded off. "Right," replied the spiky-haired guy, handing back the racket bag.

Ryouta didn't know what it was at the time—maybe it was the lighting or something—but for some reason... time seemed to slow down as the other smiled at him and turned around to walk away.

"Good night, Kise," shouted the guy as he left, waving his hand without looking back.

Ryouta was left staring as the automatic doors closed with a hiss.

So... cool...

He dazedly took an empty seat when the train started moving again. That was it. The end. A night with a stranger whom had purposely cheered him up had finally ended. He stared down at the equipment in his hands and the sports bag by his feet.

"Ahhhhh!" he exclaimed, jumping up and startling the remaining passengers. "That was the perfect moment to ask for his name!" He groaned, slapped his forehead, and cursed his luck.

"The next day, I apologized to my teammates, started over, and well..." trailed off Kise Ryouta as he looked to the ceiling of Kuroko Tetsuya's apartment, "... I never saw him again. Until last Thursday."

The blonde tennis player finally finished his reminiscing, and the living room was left silent—save for the bustle in the kitchen. Ryouta sighed tiredly, leaning back against the sofa. He had finally shared his story to other people besides his sisters. He looked at the others in the room to gauge their reactions.

Midorimacchi was polishing his lucky item. Midorimacchiiiii! whined Kise indignantly as he accused him with teary eyes. He was his best friend, dammit! He should be paying attention, at least! But the green-haired teen didn't even bat an eyelash at the model's pout.

Ryouta turned to look at his other friend on the sofa. Unfortunately, Aomine Daiki was still asleep. Aominecchiiiiii...

He looked at Kuroko and saw the pale blunette petting Nigou. When Sakurai re-entered the living room, he asked for some milkshake once again. Ryouta chuckled wryly at the exasperated look on the brunette. Sakurai refused him again and flashed Ryouta a reassuring smile, then went back to the kitchen. He and Kagamicchi had probably been listening, as well.

Now the only one left was... Takaocchi. Ryouta found him sitting cross-legged on the sofa opposite them and had his eyes closed. It looked like he was dozing off, but Ryouta could hear a faint hum coming from the raven-haired teen. Sharp, silvery-blue eyes opened and gazed at Kise with an intensity different from the one he felt before he shared his story.

Ryouta vaguely felt Shintarou tense next to him.

"You really never saw him at school? Not even a feeling that you had glimpsed his face?" queried Takao, crossing his arms and looking contemplative.

"No, never," answered the blonde earnestly. "I think it's because I seriously devoted all my time on practice and modeling last year. And isn't it that the Glee Club was formed last year, too? Between the Dance Troupe and that, it would make sense that Yukiocchi wouldn't have any spare time, as well."

"Could be..." said Kazunari. "It sounds so impossible that you guys never saw each other again, though. But then again, Kagami and Aomine never noticing Tetsu-chan and Ryou-chan as their classmates had sounded impossible, too."

A cough from the kitchen could be heard.

"Well, the academy grounds is pretty huge," said Sakurai, joining them as he handed a glass to Kuroko. "You frequent the sports facilities outside, while Yukio-san is always in the clubroom. Considering the fact that you never knew him to be a Kiseki no Sedai student, I guess it really would make sense."

"Ryou-kun, why milk?" piped in Kuroko monotonously, wearing a thin white moustache.

Kise and Takao snorted in laughter as Sakurai sighed exasperated. "Because you can't have vanilla milkshake in the morning, Tetsuya-san!" he reiterated tiredly.

"Oh, come on, Ryou-chan, I'm sure he can—"

Ryou lifted a foot and harshly stomped on Kazunari's own innocent foot that happened to be near him. "No, he cannot, Kazunari-san."

Kise cringed as Takao tearfully kept his mouth shut and nursed his injured limb. "W-Well, you do have a point there, Sakuraicchi. Our school's really big." He glanced to find Kuroko dutifully drinking his milk.

After a moment of sipping—on Kuroko's part—and foot-massaging—on Takao's part—Sakurai got up and headed back to the kitchen. But before he left the teens in the living room, he cocked his head towards his raven-haired friend. "Well? Are you satisfied now?" he asked Takao, the question confusing both Kise and Midorima who were watching them.

Takao crossed his arms and looked constipated.

Sakurai sighed and left the room. "I think it's about time you gave Kise-san your answer," called out the brunette. Hearing that, the blonde tennis player looked back at Takao in surprise. He had almost forgotten why he told them his story in the first place. Suddenly, he felt a hand clasp his shoulder gently. He glanced and found Midorima staring at Takao, as well.

The kind gesture made Kise want to hug the living daylights out of the green-haired teen, but he withheld himself. It would shatter his friend's pride, after all.

"Hmmmnnnghhh..." The raven-haired teen before them groaned with eyes shut—as if he was concentrating so hard, then silver-blue eyes suddenly opened and stared at Ryouta with scrutiny.

The blonde couldn't really properly describe the look Takaocchi was sporting. It was like he was trying hard not to... smile?

"Ohhhhhhhh—OF COURSE I'LL HELP YOU, YOU IDIOT~!"

Ryouta flinched as the previously-serious male suddenly leapt from his seat, jumped over the coffee table, and smothered Ryouta in his embrace—in a single bound. Needless to say, Kise Ryouta and Midorima Shintarou were both left gawking.

"I MEAN, COME ON, KISE! YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH MY STUPID BEST FRIEND~! OF COURSE I'LL HELP~! I'LL FINALLY GET TO BE A MATCHMAKER! AHHHH, TO THINK THAT YOUR FIRST MEETING WAS THAT ROMANTIC~! AND THEN YOU MEET AGAIN?! KYAAAAAAAA, THE ROMAAAAAAANCE~! AH, BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HE DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR NUMBER! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! HOW STUPID CAN HE GET?!"

Ryouta stared wide-eyed, wondering who the hell this gushing raven-haired guy shaking him was and what happened to the teen glaring at him a while ago. He could see hearts, flowers, and sparkles floating behind him.

"You'll have to excuse him, Kise-san. Kazunari-san's a hopeless romantic," quipped Sakurai, setting up the dining table.

"Oh, shut up, Ryou-chan. You read shoujo manga, too."

"I-I do not!"

"Well, anyway..." Takao playfully ruffled Kise's blonde locks, and gave him the first bright grin of the day since the six o' clock fiasco a while ago. "I'm glad we're finally done with that. Lord knows I've been trying not to twirl you around the room for the past few minutes."

"H-Huh?" squeaked out Ryouta in embarrassment, blinking.

"The interrogation! Everything!" replied Kazunari, sweeping his arms for emphasis. "I know I was acting like a prick moments before, but..." And here, he smiled fondly at the blonde teen, making Kise blink some more. "... trust me, man. It was for a good reason."

"Wha... What do you mean?" asked Ryouta confusedly.

"Well, everyone always sees you as this happy-go-lucky guy who seems a bit loose. The only time you're ever really serious is when tennis is involved, from what I heard," grinned the silvery-eyed teen.

"Soooooo, I talked that way on purpose to see how you would handle things. And man, you should've seen yourself!" he continued, gripping Ryouta's shoulders in excitement, "It was like you were on a tennis match, Kise! It was pretty intense, I tell ya! I had a hard time not laughing in joy 'cause I finally found someone perfect for Yuu-chan~!"

"R-Really...?" I looked so serious...? Well, I mean—I know that I had been trying to be serious from the start, but honestly, I was feeling more nervous... thought the blonde.

"See?! You didn't even realize that you were in the zone when we were talking about your Prince Charming~! This just proves how much you really care about him~!"

"O-Ohhh..." And at this, Ryouta couldn't help blushing again.

"Besides, it wasn't like I was really against you in the first place," added Kazunari, waving off his previous attitude. "I just wanted to make you realize how genuine your feelings really are... since it sounded like you were a bit unsure of yourself," he said, smiling knowingly at the blonde tennis player.

"You n-noticed...?" mumbled said blonde.

"Of course I picked up on that! I mean, why would you come here in the first place if you were so confident in getting Yuu-chan?"

Takaocchi had a point. His confidence had been wavering. Sure, he could've just winged it, but knowing that he may have allies in Kasamatsu Yukio's friends gave him a good reason to visit them and win them over. The more support he had, the better he could be in trying to befriend Yukiocchi.

"So long story, short: I did that to help you," declared Kazunari, patting Ryouta's shoulder. And to give myself closure, too, he added inwardly. The raven-haired teen watched as a myriad of emotions crossed Kise's face. Happiness, embarrassment, excitement... all of these for Yukio. A faint smile tugged at Kazunari's lips. When he had started to realize that the blonde teen was falling in love with Yuu-chan, he hadn't been too sure if it was the right time. But now... he was definitely sure. It was finally time to let go and start a new chapter in both his and Yukio's life.

A tiny prick of pain was felt inside, but Kazunari didn't mind it. He had gotten over that ages ago. Right now, the person meant for his best friend was right in front of him and he'd be damned if he fucked this up. Like hell was that happening.

"Tha... Thank you, Takaocchi..." said Kise earnestly, the relief and joy in his voice immediately warming Kazunari's heart and erasing the pain he had felt.

"Well, I'm still not happy about you waking us all up," he said, giving an unamused look, "But don't worry, man. We've got your back."

"Great. Can we eat now?"

Everyone was startled to find Aomine awake and stretching on the sofa. "A-Aominecchi?! How long have you been awake?!"

"You missed the best part, man!" quipped Takao.

"That's what you get for sleeping late," scolded Midorima, who's finally gotten over Takao's gushing a while ago.

"Not my fault Kuroko has a damn good couch," retorted the navy blue-haired teen, yawning.

"Ryou-kun picked it for me," replied Kuroko behind his glass of milk, pale eyes sparkling with mirth.

"I didn't just 'pick it for you', I had to buy it for you when you accidentally set the last one on fire," mumbled Sakurai, rubbing his temple in exasperation. He was heard loud and clear, though, so needless to say, he and Kuroko got a few shocked looks.

"Uh... Breakfast is ready?" said Kagami apprehensively, having heard the conversation. At the announcement, the boys quickly moved to the large dining area of Kuroko's apartment and sat down—all of them in better spirits than they were in an hour ago. Who knew that discussing about a love confession could actually work up an appetite?

Once they finishing saying grace, everyone—save Kagami and Sakurai—turned to marvel at the feast laid before the table. Despite the abnormal amount of eggs stored in Kuroko's fridge, there were still some non-egg dishes prepared. As they passed the bowls of food around, Sakurai mentioned having to go back to his own apartment for his groceries while Kise had just started his story. Kuroko and Takao both thought it typical of the brunette. He was always about eating healthy and stuff. There were vegetable-stuffed omelets, chicken soup, steaming hot rice, and a bowl of spinach salad, to name a few. What surprised the guests of the apartment, though, was that non-traditional Japanese food had also been served on the table—and in heaping amounts. Two large platters filled with delicious pancakes, a basket of toasted bread, and two plates of poached eggs were the main attraction of the meal.

"I hope you guys don't mind a foreign-styled breakfast..." said Sakurai apprehensively.

"No, not at all! Kagamicchi whips up these kinds of food, too," replied Kise eagerly.

"I told you, they'll happily eat anything good," added Kagami, pouring syrup on his mountain of pancakes. It seemed like he and Aomine were competing with their pile of food.

"You two made all of these while Kise was telling us his story?" asked Takao incredulously, still blinking at the huge feast. "I mean, I know you guys are good at this, but..."

"I didn't take that long, did I?" queried said blonde wide-eyed, trying a stuffed omelet. At the first bite, he looked at it in wonder and bit again.

"Nah. I guess we just finished fast 'cause we're used to cooking," answered Kagami, "Though honestly, I've never used so many eggs in my life before..."

Sakurai chuckled sheepishly. "Well, when you have that one friend who buys too much of it, you're gonna have to do something about it sooner or later."

"Are you two mocking my egg-boiling skills again?"

Everyone flinched in shock at the monotonous voice. The petite owner of said voice was sitting next to Sakurai and was opposite Kagami. Finishing his glass of milk, he forcefully sliced his poached egg while staring into the redhead's soul with his bluish and blank eyes. "I can assure you that I'm better at boiling eggs than you, Kagami-kun." Then, an audible chomp sounded off from the pale blunette as he started eating.

Kagami fought the urge to laugh out loud. He really didn't know if the sight before him was intended to be intimidating or just plain silly. But apparently, Kuroko meant serious business... even though his hair was still that ridiculous bedhead. Seriously, why does it still look like that?

"Alright, Tetsuya-san, we get it. Hard-boiled eggs are your specialty," interrupted Sakurai, offering the spinach salad to everyone. "Kazunari-san, stop laughing and eat."

Taking a portion of the offered salad, Midorima Shintarou watched as everyone interacted with each other over the food. Kise sat at the head of the table, with him and Takao on either side. Sakurai and Kuroko were sitting along with Takao while he sat next to Aomine and Kagami—the two already on their second servings. The green-haired teen had to admit: the meal was quite delicious. It wasn't a traditional Japanese breakfast, but everything was well-balanced for the first meal of the day. It seemed that Sakurai had quickly learned to make large servings whenever Aomine and Kagami are involved, as well. Kagami probably helped him with that. As the archer ate in silence, he waited for the real talk to start.

Takao had already agreed to help Kise, and now, the only thing left was for him to talk about how he was going to do that. Honestly, the silver-eyed teen had really thrown him off back then. One minute, he was acting so uncharacteristically stuck-up; now he was back to being the talkative guy annoying everyone. Takao Kazunari was strange, indeed. Though he couldn't exactly fault the other for being pissed off at Kise waking them up, he still really couldn't understand why he had to act like that. The teen had reasoned that he wanted to bring out Kise's genuine feelings about the matter—and in a way, Shintarou had to admit that it actually worked quite well—but what he couldn't understand was why Takao was so passionate about this that he had to go to the trouble to do that.

Was he and Kasamatsu really that close? He did mention that they had been friends since childhood. Shintarou always saw them comfortably bantering about like how Kagami and Aomine were, so he guessed that was a sign of their friendship. But for him to thoroughly assess Kise and his feelings? He hadn't really expected the silvery-eyed boy to do that.

It seems there was more to the boisterous young man than meets the eye.

"So you never really found out who he was, huh?" started Takao after several moments.

"I asked my teammates but they had no idea, and Coach wouldn't spill," replied Kise. Kazunari hummed in thought.

"Yuu-chan probably told him to keep it a secret. He's mysterious like that," he said, rolling his eyes at the weirdness of his best friend. "But whatever. Not like it's gonna save him now~!" And at this, the raven-haired teen cackled evilly.

To which Ryou and Tetsuya exasperatedly shook their heads at.

"Now..." started Kazunari again, "Yuu-chan's gonna be a tough one. He sees himself as this badass macho man or something, and most of the time, weird stuff don't usually faze him."

"Which is partly your doing," quipped Ryou without missing a beat.

"Yeah, yeah. But!" Kazunari lifted his finger and grinned. "He's not immune to embarrassingly corny stuff. He avoids them, but he gets affected by them, too—big time."

"So all you have to do," he pointed at the blonde tennis player sitting to his left, "is to just keep hanging out with him. Get to know him as a friend for now. After all, like they say: 'Lovers were friends at first', right? It'll be easier for you since Yuu-chan will come to like your presence."

Kise mulled the words over. "It is the best thing to do right now. He won't like it if I suddenly come on too strong."

"He definitely won't like it. You'll be lucky if you can get away with just a black-eye," agreed Takao. "Remember what happened yesterday at Kaijo? Because you overwhelmed him too much, he resorted to punching you—just to get you to shut up."

Kagami and Aomine snorted in amusement, while Kise turned pink at the memory. "But~!" countered the raven-haired. "That means that he's at least comfortable being himself with you now! He had been standing awkwardly next to you when we all met, hadn't he?"

"'Cause Kise was being a romantic airhead that time," answered Aomine, refilling his plate with pancakes. "No offense, but you gotta admit that was kind of your fault," said Kazunari. The others nodded along with him.

Ryouta blushed even more at his blunders. "Okay, okay, I get it! So, what do I have to do now?"

"Just befriend him, Kise-kun. And you need to go at it slow and steady," replied Kuroko. "Yukio-kun is not much of a sociable person, so don't expect him to be open to your advances when you're just starting; but once he considers you as a friend, he'll be more accepting." Nigou barked along as he stood up on hind legs beside Kise's chair, whining at the blonde teen.

"But... do you think he'll be fine with my... f-feelings...?" asked Ryouta anxiously, hesitantly scratching the puppy's head and giving him some toast. The biggest problem he was thinking about was how Yukiocchi will react if he learns that a guy has a crush on him. Looking at the steely blue-eyed boy, he didn't look like the type to entertain that kind of thing...

"Well... he'll at least be taken aback, but I don't think he'll be that surprised," said Takao, cutting off Kise's worried musings. "I mean, with how you acted towards him the past two days, I think he kind of understands that you like him to some degree. He's not that oblivious."

Ryouta sighed in relief at that. At least—

"And besides, when I came out to him, he was okay with it; so I guess that means he won't be too bothered finding out that you like him."

Ryouta froze.

Midorima, Aomine, and Kagami snapped their heads up towards the raven-haired teen—their plates momentarily forgotten.

"Y...Y-You're..." stuttered Ryouta, staring wide-eyed at Takao.

"You're gay?!" exclaimed Aomine in incredulity, beating Ryouta.

A moment of awkward silence, then...

Kazunari burst in laughter, clutching his stomach. "Oh... Oh god... Ha ha! Y-You should've s-seen your faces! BWA HA HA HA!"

The four athletes continued to gawk at him in silence. Sakurai just gave them an apologetic smile while Kuroko continued eating.

"Oh god ha ha..." chuckled Kazunari after a while. "Yeah... ha ha... I'm gay. Is there a problem with that?" he quickly changed his demeanor and said it in a challenging tone, looking at them haughtily.

"N... No..." choked Kise, blinking slowly, "N-Not really..."

"Wasn't expecting me to like men, huh?"

"More like we just weren't expecting you to reveal it to us," corrected Kagami uncomfortably, "and this early, to boot."

"Well, I had to inform you guys sooner or later," grinned Takao, "and no, I don't like any of you and I won't grope you or something. I have standards, at the very least."

"We're eternally grateful," quipped Midorima sardonically, going back to eating. "Is this why you're alright with Kise liking Kasamatsu?" asked Aomine, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep," answered Kazunari confidently. "Gotta support a fellow brother, right?"

"A-Ah! I-I'm not—!"

"Relax, relax. I know," placated the raven-haired teen. "You just happen to like Yuu-chan in that way, but you're not attracted to other guys. It's not too hard to figure out."

"So Kise-kun is... 'Yukio-sexual'?" piped up Kuroko with his blank blue eyes.

"E-Eh?!"

"You guys aren't seriously going to give it a name, are you?" asked Sakurai, groaning.

"U-Uh..."

"Yes! He is 'Yukio-sexual'! But I think 'Kasamatsu-sexual' sounds better. What do you think, Tecchan?"

All the while, Ryouta blinked at the boy on his right in wonder. He didn't know if he should intervene on their heated discussion of what to call his crush, but a more pressing thought process—the one that made him freeze up a while ago—was registering on his mind once again.

Takao was gay. He was best friends with Kasamatsu Yukio—Ryouta's crush.

Takao likes guys. Kasamatsu Yukio is a guy.

Ryouta's eyes immediately turned downcast as he looked at his plate.

"Relax, Kise. I'm not a rival."

Ryouta started at the words, and looked up to see Takao smiling warmly at him. "Yukio's a great guy, but if I was that serious about him, we would've been dating ages ago and I wouldn't be here right now. He's cute and all, but I prefer someone a bit taller."

Hearing that, the blonde's chest felt a little bit lighter. The silvery-eyed teen had a point. There's really no reason for him to think so badly about Takao. His mind stubbornly argued that there still was, considering Takao's preferences and his relationship with Yukiocchi, but Kise vehemently ignored that and firmly decided that he would trust his newfound friend.

After all, that's what friends do.

"But anyway, going back to Yuu-chan," continued Takao, after seeing Ryouta's relieved disposition. "You just really have to befriend him. Of course, that being the case, I can't reveal anything about him. 'Cause, you know, not only will that defeat the whole purpose of this but he'll also find us suspicious. Wouldn't want him finding out what we're up to, right?"

Ryouta nodded, understanding the situation. Even though he asked for help, he was still going to have to do everything on his own through hard work.

"But... I can at least impart some, uh, not-so-suspicious things to know about him," added Takao with a mischievous wink to Kise.

The blonde perked up at that. "Like what?" he asked and leaned closer, excited to learn something new about the steely blue-eyed boy.

"Well," started Takao, drinking some juice. "Yuu-chan likes mango ice cream. Actually... he likes anything in mango flavor. Mango fruit shake, mango yogurt, mango juice, mango tarts... When it comes to the real fruit, though, he's very picky 'cause he only likes the sweet kind."

The blonde tennis player nodded, then—realizing that he might forget—quickly took out his phone and jotted the information down.

"He's a gamer, too," continued the raven-haired teen. "Both of us are—online and console. Don't be surprised if you see a shelf full of games in his room." At the mention of Kasamatsu's room, Ryouta turned slightly pink at the insinuations and got redder when Takao wiggled his eyebrows at him.

Sakurai elbowed him on the side. "Yukio-san also likes to jog early in the morning and at night. He switches his routine a lot," interjected the brunette.

"Are you encouraging Kise to stalk him?" taunted Kazunari.

"N-No, I'm helping him! There's a difference!"

"Sooo... you're helping him stalk Yuu-chan."

"NO! Kazunari-san, you know what I mean!"

Ryouta stared at the words in his phone and mused about the info he got as Takao teased Sakurai some more. Yukiocchi likes mangoes, games, and jogging... Well, it was a start. At least they don't sound that suspicious. He could just stay silent about him knowing beforehand and the black-haired teen would never find out. Of course, that requires the blonde to not be so forward in his advances.

Ryouta cheered himself on under his breath and nodded absentmindedly. Unbeknownst to him, Takao stole a glance at him and smiled.

"So that's it? You guys are just gonna give Kise information about Kasamatsu?" asked Kagami, still eating.

"Nope, that's not all," answered Kazunari. "We'll also help you set up dates. Lords knows how taxing it is to convince Yuu-chan to go on a date, so you'll need us. Plus, if things go wrong, at least you've got back-up."

"You're going to spy on them?" interjected Midorima, raising a brow.

"Correction: we are going to spy on them," said Kazunari, donning a wide grin—to which the three other athletes started to protest against. "Of course, we won't always do that," he immediately placated, "In fact, there's really no need to do that every time they go out. We'll probably just do it for the first few dates and make sure everything's going okay."

They grumbled and complained a bit, but didn't put up much of a fuss at the plan. They might get even worse jobs to do for this so-called "matchmaking gig".

Kazunari grinned in anticipation. He couldn't wait to start planning all the dates with Kise. Yuu-chan won't stand a chance against them. "Ah! But Kise!" he suddenly remembered. "We can't just do this for free, you know~."

Kise's eyes widened as he immediately understood what the raven-haired teen was getting at. He glanced nervously at his friends.

"What do you mean by that...?" asked Aomine cautiously, getting increasingly worried as Takao kept grinning.

"Well, you are gonna take Yuu-chan's time with us for a while. The least you could do is to compensate us in some way..."

Aomine, Kagami, and Midorima immediately made to stand, but Takao beat Kise in stopping them.

"We're not asking you to be our slaves! We just want your help!" clarified Kazunari quickly, hoping they would reconsider. The three looked at him in confusion. "Help in what?" asked Ryou, also confused.

The silver blue-eyed teen pointed at the redhead and the navy blue-haired teen. "I want you two to tutor Tetsu-chan and Ryou-chan. No, scratch that; I need you to."

"Eh?!" squawked Sakurai in surprise. Even Kuroko looked up, blinking. Perturbed, Kazunari pointed a thumb at them. "They're failing so bad at PE, it's not funny anymore. They barely passed last year, you know."

The two in question surreptitiously glanced elsewhere—the brunette, with heated cheeks. "I'll say," muttered Aomine, assessing Kuroko and Sakurai's lanky frames as they sat back down again. It was obvious they weren't good in sports.

"Since Yuu-chan will be busy hanging out with Kise, they won't have anyone good enough to help them. And you guys couldn't be more perfect for the job!" At the mention of being "good enough" and "perfect", Kagami and Aomine couldn't help but puff out their chests in pride. Midorima just shook his head at the display and went back to eating. Takao was practically outright manipulating them with flattery and the two didn't even notice.

"So, I'd like you two to tutor my friends here in basketball and soccer. Tetsuya more so. Ryou's at least decent enough to play basketball."

"Do you really have to mention that, Kazunari-san?" grumbled Ryou, trying not to grimace at his lack of skill. Tetsuya drank another glass of milk, pretending to ignore the fact that he was being insulted with his current abilities and wanted to jab someone's stomach.

"So what do you say?" asked Takao, waving away Ryou's complaints. When the two athletes only glanced at each other in reluctance, Kise Ryouta decided to make himself known once again.

"Guys, please...?" he pleaded, "They're going to help me with Yukiocchi, so I at least need to pay them back. Kurokocchi and Sakuraicchi look like they really need your help, and you guys are the best tutors they could get. This is a great opportunity! Look, I'm not even gonna force you now! Just please? Do this for me?" Here, he put on his best begging look.

Ignoring him, the two best friends glanced at each other again and gave Midorima one, too. "Soooo, this isn't blackmail and we get to call this a favor that you owe us?" asked Kagami, looking skeptical.

Kise paused from doing his look... and nodded decisively.

"And you owe each of us?" added Aomine, looking unamused.

Kise looked down... and nodded again.

"On our own terms?" pressed Midorima further, looking condescending.

Kise gulped a bit... but finally nodded gravely. At his acquiescence, the three all broke into their own signature predatory smirks. The blonde gulped again. They were definitely going to make him suffer.

"Alright. You got yourself a deal," said Aomine to Takao. "We'll teach those two while you help Goldie with his love life."

"Great! Hear that, Ryou-chan? You have a master to teach you now!"

"I don't know if I should hit you for rubbing it in or hug you for getting us help..."

"You do the hugging, Ryou-kun. I'll do the hitting."

"But wait, what about Midorima?" queried Kagami, managing to save Takao from Kuroko's jab. "What's he gonna do for you? It can't just be us."

At the question, Shintarou paused from eating. When Aomine and Kagami had been propositioned, he had been secretly glad that he hadn't been drafted into tutoring Kuroko and Sakurai. It was bad enough that he was suspended from the Archery Club and had to work for the Glee Club. But seeing as how he was the only one left with nothing to do, it really wouldn't be fair—even though Shintarou wanted to say, "to hell with fairness".

"He'll hang out with me."

The green-haired teen suddenly looked at Takao with astonishment. Did he just hear that right...?

"What?! You're not even gonna make him do anything?!" complained Aomine.

"Well, no one here needs archery lessons," retorted Takao. "Besides, I'll be the only one left not benefiting from this deal, and I say he hangs out with me." He turned to Shintarou. "You're always with Kise, right?"

The archer grimaced. "Unfortunately," he answered, ignoring his best friend's whine.

"Well, since Kise will be with Yuu-chan for a while and these guys will be with these two, you and I won't have anyone to walk home with, right? Why don't we start from there?"

Midorima blinked. That was true... but it wasn't as if he would be so lonely without his three idiot friends. He'd like to go home without Kise babbling his ears off and Kagami and Aomine not inadvertently getting him into trouble for once, thank you very much. And he'd really rather not stick around the annoying Takao Kazunari, to be honest.

"Come on, Shin-chan... It'll be so lonely..." whined Takao petulantly. Shintarou immediately frowned. He hadn't heard the other call him that ridiculous pet name for a while now. Yes, definitely annoying; just like Kise.

"Please, Midorimacchi?" joined said blonde, now giving him the puppy-dog eyes, as well. "I'll owe you one if you do this..."

Then again, he'll be able to have revenge on Kise for this ridiculous fiasco if he does so...

Shintarou sighed. Well, it was something, at least. "Fine," he gritted out. At Kise and Takao's triumphant cries, he couldn't help but think of how bad "hanging out" with the silver-eyed member of Misdirection could be.

Would be, corrected Shintarou inwardly, already dreading next week's arrival.

Having finally settled Midorima's part of the bargain, Kagami—who had been silently contemplating on when he'll teach Kuroko and Sakurai—suddenly remembered a question that came to him this morning when they all gathered here. "By the way, how did you know where Kuroko lives?" he asked Kise, going for his fourth round against Aomine.

"Ah, Momocchi helped me," answered Ryouta, remembering the pink-haired girl's excitement when he related his plans to her—despite it being so early in the morning. "She only gave me Kurokocchi's address and just told me that Kurokocchi will handle the rest if I tell him my plans."

At this, Takao paused and wondered a bit. "... Well, I guess that makes sense that she knows Tecchan's address," he grinned. "She does have a little crush on him, after all."

Aomine Daiki hastily gulped before he could cough and gawked at the pale blunette. "What?! Wait, so you're 'Tetsu-kun'?!" The other athletes stared at Kuroko in surprise.

"Yes," nodded Tetsuya, familiar with Momoi's nickname for him. Daiki gawked some more, looking incredulous at discovering that the teen opposite Taiga was the same guy Satsuki had been gushing about to him as her "beloved".

"... Man, I thought you would be more..." trailed off Aomine, blinking at Kuroko and wondering what Satsuki found so interesting about him. "... Well, more."

A tense silence befell the dining room as Kuroko Tetsuya stared at the soccer player with his blank eyes. Everyone awkwardly stopped eating as they could literally feel the room freezing up. When the pale blunette's eyes started glinting in what could only be described as murderous, Sakurai Ryou immediately broke free from the silence.

"A-Aomine-san, would you like some bread?! Here!" he shouted in panic, shoving the dark-skinned teen the basket of toasts. Aomine, who had been feeling scared a while ago—but won't admit it—at Kuroko's eyes, suddenly jolted in surprise as he was handed the basket by a skittish brunette.

"T-Tetsuya-san, would you like some milkshake?!" asked Ryou, praying to God that his ruse would work. Fortunately enough, God heard him and his best friend snapped out of his murderous musings almost immediately.

"Yes. Vanilla, please," answered Tetsuya, his voice monotonous to the others but Takao and Sakurai heard the familiar eagerness in it. The brunette hurriedly went to set up the blender, lest the blunette relive the urge to hit someone again. He prayed some more that Aomine-san would have the decency to keep quiet after that. Of course he couldn't fault the other for not knowing beforehand, though. He, Kazunari-san, and Yukio-san went through the same thing, too, when they became friends with Tetsuya-san. One should always remember that the teen was irritable when he lacks sleep, and glancing at the clock in the kitchen—which read 7:58—Ryou confirmed that it really was still too early for Tetsuya-san on their day-off. Ahhhh, and here I was telling him that he couldn't drink milkshakes right now...

Meanwhile, the others back at the dining table all ate in silence once again. No one really knew how to relieve the tension still lingering around—even though Kuroko was already back to normal and avidly watching Sakurai in the kitchen. Aomine was feeling awkward the most.

Finally deciding on a safe topic, Kazunari cleared his throat to get their attention. "Hey, Kise. Shin-chan, uh, said that you give people these nicknames 'cause you respect them, right?" At the blonde tennis player's upbeat nod, he further asked, "Then what made you respect us and give us nicknames? We've only met recently, you know..."

"Yeah, now that you mention it... why did you, Kise?" joined Kagami, relaxing a bit. "I don't think I've ever seen you do that to people you just met."

Kise chuckled at the questions. "That's because they quickly impressed me!"

"How?" asked Aomine, feeling brave enough to speak up.

"Well, for Takaocchi... because you called Midorimacchi 'Shin-chan'~!" grinned Ryouta. Takao burst into laughter as Midorima glared at the blonde. "You're joking," he snapped.

"No, really! Think about it. No one's ever tried that with you, Midorimacchi! You have to admit; Takaocchi's got guts," answered Kise confidently.

"Why, thank you, Kise," replied Takao amusedly. Midorima just grunted and stabbed his pancakes, while gripping his Matryoshka doll for inner peace.

"For Kurokocchi..." Kise continued, "... because you scared Kagamicchi~!"

"What?!" exclaimed said redhead.

"That was on purpose," quipped Kuroko, scratching Nigou's ear. Before Kagami could react again, Kise added, "And because his low presence is kinda cool! I've never met anyone like Kurokocchi~!"

"Thank you, Kise-kun."

"And Ryou-chan?" asked Kazunari eagerly—though, to be honest, he already had an inkling as to what it would be, seeing Kise's widening grin.

"And for Sakuraicchi... because you kissed Aominecchi~!"

Ryou almost tripped on his own feet when he heard that. He gripped the table and shakily put down Tetsuya's vanilla milkshake in front of the blue-haired teen as the other said his thanks. "K-Kise-san..." he stuttered, softly whining at the memory of last Thursday's cafeteria fumble. Even Aomine-san was looking all ready to strangle the blonde for bringing it up.

The others only snickered. When they settled down, Kuroko pushed his empty glass away and stood up, excusing himself.

"Wha—You finished it already?!" gawked Kagami, staring at the glass full of milkshake a while ago. Sakurai hadn't even continued eating yet!

"Get used to it. It's his drug. He only eats a little, but he can drink a lot of that," joked Takao, watching Tetsuya and Nigou move to the piano in the corner. The others followed suit as the petite blunette sat down in front of the instrument and stretched his arms and fingers.

Ryou and Kazunari smiled as Tetsuya started his warm-up scales on the piano—the rich tones filling the apartment's atmosphere. It seemed he was now feeling awake enough to play for them. They both chuckled as they noticed that the four athletes with them were staring at Kuroko in wonder.

"Yuu-chan mentioned yesterday that Imayoshi-senpai and Tetsu-chan were originally from the Music Club, remember?" As the four looked back at him in surprise, he explained further. He nodded at the blunette. "Tetsuya plays the piano. He always does this when we eat here at his apartment. It's both for practice and for exercise," he chuckled.

The others turned back to watching Kuroko on the piano. His dog was wagging his tail as he sat next to the stool. Taiga couldn't help but smile wryly. So the baby grand wasn't just for decoration, after all. The way the teen pressed the keys and effortlessly glided his fingers along them really said a lot about his skill with the instrument. Hell, he made it look so easy.

"Wow..." said Kise softly, "He's really good..."

"And that's not even a song yet," gloated Kazunari excitedly. "He's practically a prodigy. Been playing since he was in—what, kindergarten?"

Ryou nodded at his question and smiled fondly at the blunette. "Yes. He was always expressive when it came to the piano." At the memory of kindergarten and Tetsuya-san, Ryou felt a small pang in his chest. The brunette suddenly remembered what that time meant for the two of them, but he held his smile back from drooping. No... He promised to himself. He promised Tetsuya-san. Remembering that still hurts, but he couldn't falter here now.

Not here where strangers could see him. Not when they were all marveling at Tetsuya-san's abilities. If she was here, she would already be scolding Ryou for looking sad when Tetsuya was playing the piano.

At the thought, the pain in his chest throbbed some more, and he could feel his throat tightening, but he gulped it all back. He thanked the heavens everyone was busy watching his best friend. He slowly took a deep breath and looked at Tetsuya again. It really still hurt, but he couldn't show his friend that it still did—not when he knew that he was probably still in pain, too.

Ryou clenched his jaw and smiled. He couldn't falter. This was for Tetsuya-san.

The blunette ended his scales and stretched his fingers again—this time, massaging his neck as well. "Ooh, this one's gonna be a song now," grinned Kazunari. "Prepare to be amazed."

As soon as the raven-haired teen said that, Tetsuya's fingers immediately flew to the keys. At first, it was just a few simple chords that were being repeated, then suddenly... The four athletes' eyes all simultaneously widened as he glided his fingers into a perfect quick glissando and the beat changed into something faster than what he had been playing a while ago. They watched in awe as Kuroko's arms, hands, and body moved to a beautiful rhythm.

Takao was right. It was amazing.

Kazunari and Ryou returned to eating, letting Tetsuya's playing float into the background. It was obvious that they were already used to this kind of scenario. Kuroko's visitors, on the other hand, couldn't ignore the blunette sitting on the piano. There was just something so mesmerizing about the music that they couldn't turn away. Kagami took a sip of his coffee and kept watching. For someone so quiet and unnoticeable most of the time, Kuroko sure seemed the opposite when playing the piano. It wasn't just his skill, anymore, or even the beautiful song he was playing right now. The pale blunette's entire aura—his smell, Kagami realized—was overflowing with peace and happiness. It seemed like... he was having fun.

Taiga always had this strange way of assessing people ever since he was a kid. His sense of smell was pretty sharp, so for as long as he could remember, he had subconsciously attributed scents to others and their auras. Like, with Daiki, he smelled of grass and dirt—and the redhead attributed it to him being really outdoorsy and fun-loving when they had first met because it was so strong. When he met Kise, he smelled a bouquet of flowers on him and immediately concluded that he was probably really charming or something, and with Midorima, he smelled of antiseptic and other cleaners—which made Taiga assume that he was very meticulous. Midorima and Akashi said that what he had was some form of synesthesia. True enough, his uncanny ability with scents had always managed to be spot-on. Even now, with Kuroko...

The basketball player hummed in thought. Kuroko... smelled of vanilla.

Of course, that was because he liked vanilla milkshakes, but funnily enough, the scent of vanilla really suited the blunette. When Kagami first met him, he didn't even smell anything on him—the idea weirding him out since that meant that Kuroko's aura was so weak, he was practically scentless. As they met again, though, he could find traces of vanilla essence on him. Now, as Kuroko was wholeheartedly playing a song for them, the scent was practically wafting along his nose. It wasn't irritating; quite the opposite, actually. It made the redhead relax in his chair as he listened to the pale blue-haired teen's music. It was just there, lingering around—as if it meant that Kuroko was visible.

Kagami blinked at the connection. Actually... maybe that was why he could smell it so clearly. Because Kuroko wasn't doing his disappearing act right now, he could easily smell the scent of vanilla. It could explain as to why he'd always get startled whenever the smaller teen popped out of nowhere. The redhead's unique eyebrows furrowed in thought. He wasn't really sure about that theory... but maybe he could test it. He was gonna tutor Kuroko in basketball, anyway, so the perfect opportunity was there.

His ears perked up as the beat slowed and the chords lessened. It sounded like the song's refrain. Taiga glanced around the table to find his friends still enchanted by the music. "You said he was a prodigy...?" he asked Takao quietly, going back to eating, but slower this time. He didn't want to ruin the atmosphere of the apartment right now.

"Yep," answered the raven-haired teen proudly. "Too bad you never heard of him before. He was the star of the Music Club, you know—as weird as that sounds for him."

"Seriously?" voiced the redhead in astonishment, raising a brow. Sure, Kuroko's playing was really amazing, but he figured that with the Music Club's allegedly high standards, they would have other prodigies like the blunette in their midst. Like, those who were easy to notice and stood out nicely, that is.

"Oh, yeah. He's a real genius in music. Because he was such a big deal to his old club, they kinda hate us for taking him away, actually. Though technically, Tecchan left on his own," explained Takao. "Well, at least they couldn't do anything about the decision. It was the Student Council that finalized everything and supported us, so the Performing Arts clubs couldn't really make a fuss when the list of new members was approved and we were finally transferred."

Taiga wasn't the only one who perked up at the mention of the academy's almighty Student Council. "They were the ones who had petitioned for the Glee Club, I take it?" asked Midorima, turning to Takao.

Takao nodded with a smirk. "It was the perfect chance to shut up those pompous jerks fighting over the school events last year. No one could oppose the Student Council President's direct order, after all. Of course, they have all the more reason to hate our little club now, but like hell are we going down just like that. Someday, we won't be guest performers anymore," said the raven-haired teen with such conviction, it made Kagami suddenly look forward to that day. He hoped so. The Glee Club was actually pretty cool—even though he was temporarily working under them as punishment.

Kuroko finally finished his piece and garnered impressed applause from his small audience the moment the last note stopped. Nigou barked along in excitement and the blunette stretched again before starting another song.

"So what's next for you guys today?" asked Ryou as he closed the utensil drawer shut. After finishing breakfast, he and Kagami were the dishwashers while the other four cleaned the table. Kuroko just kept playing in the background.

"Well, it's about 8:35 now. Probably go home or hang out somewhere. Maybe jog around," answered Kagami, wiping his hands dry.

The brunette cocked his head in confusion. "Eh? But today's Club Day for our school. Don't you guys have practi—oh... right... you're suspended from your clubs..."

"Yeah..." trailed off Kagami awkwardly. Ryou knew that despite it not being reminded all the time, Kagami and his friends were painfully aware of the fact that they weren't allowed to play their sports inside the school. It must be really hard for them, missing practices and all…

"Even if we weren't, though, we're still not required to attend, anyway," interjected Midorima. "The clubs are setting up their booths today for next week's club promotions and recruitment, so there's no practice for our teams."

"Ah, right. I forgot about that," smiled Ryou sheepishly. Only a handful of students from every club were allowed to enter the campus today for that.

"What about you guys? Gonna set up for the Glee Club?" asked Kise.

"We're not supposed to, remember?" answered Kazunari. He smiled mirthlessly. "Well, more like we're not allowed."

Kise blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

"We're technically just a subgroup of the Performing Arts clubs," said the raven-haired teen as he stretched on the sofa. "Since we're pretty new, we can only get their old members. Did Hyuga-senpai never mention that?"

"Ah, now that I remember, he actually did…" voiced the blonde. Understanding the situation, he frowned. "Man, you guys have it tough."

"Yep. We're pretty much excluded from the club bazaar," shrugged Takao.

"That's really not fair, though," said Kagami, crossing his arms.

"True, but as if that's going to stop us from being an official club." Everyone's eyes widened as they saw that it was Sakurai who said the words. "Ha ha, that's the spirit~!" laughed Takao, draping an arm over the brunette's shoulders in approval.

"Well, I guess we better get going," said Kise, standing up. "Thanks for the breakfast, Sakuraicchi."

"No problem. Feel free to drop by anytime. I'll make something for you guys," beamed Ryou, smiling further as Aomine and Kagami seemed to perk up at his words.

"Yeah, but don't drop by at six o'clock again, hm?" smiled Kazunari at Kise threateningly—to which the blonde earnestly nodded his head at. The four athletes had moved to the entrance to collect their shoes and coats, when Takao remembered something. "Oh, wait! Kise, let's exchange numbers."

After doing so, they decided to do it with everyone else, as well—for convenience during Kise and Kasamatsu's future dates. Aomine excused himself to the bathroom as they discussed what would happen next week.

"Okay, come by early on Monday," instructed Takao. "We'll let you walk with Yuu-chan to school alone," he grinned.

"Eh?! H-He won't mind..?" asked Kise, unsure.

"I dunno. But he definitely won't be able to do anything about it," laughed the raven-haired teen. Ryou just sighed at what was to come on Monday. Would they even be able to give a good excuse as to why Yukio-san was left with Kise-san?

Finally getting their belongings, the three waited at the corridor outside Kuroko's apartment for Aomine.

"Hey, Ryou-chan, I just remembered something," said Kazunari softly, watching the three visitors from the open hallway as they chatted with Kuroko about the architecture of the complex.

"Hm?" asked Ryou nonchalantly as he held Nigou in his arms.

"Last Thursday, you kissed Aomine."

"K-Kazu—!"

"Why were you in the cafeteria in the first place?" Takao suddenly cut him off, glancing at him with a strange glint in his silvery-blue eyes.

Ryou stood rigid as he stared back. He smiled confusedly. "To get food, remem—"

"You brought a packed lunch that day," refuted Kazunari easily, still expressionlessly staring at the brunette.

"Ah, Kise-san!" called Ryou suddenly. He moved towards them, handing Nigou over to his owner. "We should get you all signed up at the lobby downstairs. Visitor rules, you see."

"Ohhh, okay then," replied Kise. "But we should wait for Aominecchi."

"I'm sure he'll be out soon. You three go on ahead," added Kuroko. "But first, Kise-kun..." As the pale-haired teen moved towards the blonde tennis player, Kise cocked his head in confusion. Then a hand jabbed his stomach.

Midorima and Kagami stared in shock as Kise reaching a trembling hand for the railing. "That's for pounding at my door this morning," explained Kuroko monotonously, sounding creepily vindicated as his dog barked on his other arm. "Y-Yukiocchi... taught you well..." choked out Ryouta, nursing his abdomen—with Sakurai panicking, offering an ice pack and chastising Kuroko. Apparently, the blunette still hadn't forgiven him for this morning's fiasco.

Watching the three leave the floor with Ryou in tow, Tetsuya joined Kazunari inside. He glanced at his silent friend leaning on the wall before pointing out the obvious. "He changed the subject," said Tetsuya simply. Kazunari nodded curtly, eyes staring off into space. "That means he's hiding something," confirmed the blunette, putting Nigou down.

"Now what, I wonder, would our dear Ryou-chan ever hide about being in the cafeteria that day?" asked Kazunari, pushing off the wall and walking further into the living room. Tetsuya knew that he was being rhetorical. There were only a severely limited number of reasons as to why their best friend would keep a secret. The blunette's eyes darkened as he finally understood what Kazunari was trying to say.

"You think…?"

"Yeah, I do," confirmed the raven-haired teen promptly, plopping down on the sofa. "And thinking about it happening again is making my blood boil."

Tetsuya joined him in sitting down, keeping quiet as the other raged silently next to him. "… He has his reasons for not saying anything," he defended of Ryou.

"Try telling that to Yukio," countered Kazunari. At that moment, a door squeaked and out came Aomine from the bathroom. It directly led out to the living room, so the two teens immediately saw the soccer player.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked.

"Downstairs. Hurry, they might leave you," joked Takao. As the dark-skinned teen left the apartment, Kuroko turned to Takao with a glint in his eyes. "The bathroom isn't soundproof."

Kazunari grinned devilishly. "I know."

"You're scheming again. What are you up to?"

Kazunari stared out the balcony on the far side of the room, still smiling. "Why don't you take a guess?"

Tetsuya sighed as he lifted Nigou up on his lap. "Aomine-kun?" he reiterated. His friend's smile grew even brighter. "Why not?"

Daiki found the rest of the others at the entrance of the apartment complex, chatting with an old man. Along with them was Sakurai Ryou, the current thing plaguing Daiki's thoughts right now. It wasn't as if he thought about the other obsessively, though. He just couldn't shake off what he'd heard from the bathroom a while ago. It had been hard trying to look like he hadn't eavesdropped on Kuroko and Takao's conversation. But how could he ignore it? The navy blue-haired teen just heard an interesting thing about Sakurai.

Well, okay, it hadn't exactly been an entire thing—more like just a hint and implication about something—but it made Daiki curious. Very curious. Sakurai was hiding his reasons for being in the cafeteria that time. Why? Maybe it was something embarrassing? But why did Takao sound so angry about it? Daiki halted as he realized what he was thinking about.

Why was he pondering about this? It wasn't any of his business, and he could care less about what Sakurai does. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered what happened last Thursday—and frankly, he'd really rather not go there again. He shook his head and continued walking.

Upon nearing his friends, the brunette Glee Club member met him halfway and beckoned him to the counter at the side. "Please sign here, Aomine-san. When you visit again, you just have to leave an I.D. to Haru-san," gestured Sakurai to the old man with Kise and the other two outside the gates. As Daiki followed the instructions, he noticed that Sakurai was back to normal. Normal in the sense that he's not apologizing and shit, that is. 'Guess it's because there's nothing awkward between us anymore. Much.

When he finished, he looked up and saw the brunette staring at him. Sakurai flinched in shock and immediately bowed. "I-I'm sorry!"

Well, so much for that.

"The hell are you apologizing for?" Daiki asked, looking mightily confused. He hadn't done anything wrong, right? Honestly, this guy was so weird. No wonder he and Kuroko were best friends.

"N-Nothing… I just noticed that your bandage…" At the mention of it, Aomine's hand flew to his cheek to check if it was falling off. "Ah, no. This one." Sakurai reached out and lightly peeled the little adhesive off, then re-applied it. "You should replace this one. It's a bit wet."

Daiki couldn't say anything back. Sakurai had touched the side of his neck. He touched it and wasn't even afraid that Daiki would snap at him. Seriously, what is wrong with this guy? One minute he's being sorry for something and looking frightened, then the next he's being normal and brave, even advising him about the bandage. Maybe it was just Daiki, though. He still couldn't say anything even after realizing all of that. He was practically frozen on the spot.

"… Aomine-san?" Hearing his name, the soccer player quickly snapped to attention. Sakurai now looked hesitant, his brown eyes darting from him to the men outside. "Um, sorry… I just suddenly—"

"It's fine," interrupted Daiki, wincing inwardly for sounding choked. "Thanks."

Sakurai nodded meekly at him, offering a small smile. Daiki's dark blue eyes quickly turned to the gates, blinking away the appealing image, and he moved to join his friends.

"Ah, Aominecchi~!" welcomed Kise. "This is Haru-san. He's the landlord here, along with his wife, Mio-san. She's the old lady we met this morning."

"Nice to meet you, young man," bowed the old man named Haru. "I hope you'll visit your friends here again at Hiyokoroshi-kan."

"Hiyokoroshi?" queried Aomine, looking up from his bow.

"It's the building's name," answered Midorima, pushing up his glasses.

"Good morning, Haru-san~!" Everyone looked up to find Takao and Kuroko at a balcony just above the gates.

"Wait, that's Kuroko's apartment right there?!" exclaimed Kagami incredulously. He wasn't the only one surprised.

"See you on Monday, okay?" said Takao to Kise, grinning excitedly. Kise nodded enthusiastically. Two days from now… He would get to see Yukiocchi again!

"Ryou-kun, come back. You might go home with them," piped up Kuroko emotionlessly, his eyes sparkling in mirth again. The brunette in question just smiled forcedly, a small twitch in his eyebrow. Tetsuya-san, you…

At last, the four unexpected visitors of Takao, Kuroko, and Sakurai finally waved goodbye and walked towards the main street. "I wonder how long Yukio-kun will fall in love with Kise-kun…" said Tetsuya, watching the athletes go.

"Well, I guess it'll depend on how much Kise will be able to knock him off his… feet…"

Tetsuya turned to Kazunari when the other strangely fell silent. "Kazunari-kun?"

"…"

"Are you worried that he'll have to knock him off literally?"

"Oh, god, I just—Wait!" Takao shouted down the street, hoping that the four hadn't gotten so far yet. "KISE, WAIT!" Hearing the yell, the aforementioned blonde whirled in surprise, watching his new friend disappear from the balcony on the second floor. Ryou had to take a step back when his raven-haired best friend ran past him and down the stairs. What was going on?

Takao finally slowed down as he caught up with the athletes outside. "Takaocchi?" asked Kise worriedly.

"I.. want you to…" panted Kazunari, hands on his knees. "… try something on my…" He looked up and grinned mischievously. "… idiot of a best friend."

Somewhere inside Kaijo Mixed Martial Arts School, a loud sneeze echoed around the thick walls.

"Ah! Senpai sneezed again!" exclaimed Hayakawa.

"Seriously, that's like the hundredth time today, Kasamatsu. Are you sure you're not coming down with a cold?" asked Moriyama, stopping from his stretching to watch his fellow fighter.

"Hell if I know," grumbled Yukio, rubbing his nose in annoyance.

Kasamatsu now knew that he didn't get a cold. But he was starting to wonder if he should get his eyes checked or something, because standing just outside the gates of Hiyokoroshi-kan was none other than Kise Ryouta himself. Maybe all that sneezing had given him hallucinations? But no, that would be ridiculous. And it wouldn't explain why Kise was beaming at him like that. The weird flowery background was making an appearance again.

Goddammit… It's Monday morning, for Christ's sake. Do I really have to deal with this?

The answer came in the form of a text message that he received just a few minutes ago from his dastardly best friend named Takao Kazunari. Apparently, he, Tetsuya, and Ryou—who had also left him some messages—all had to leave early for school—for some weird reason. It wasn't as if they always went to school together. There were times when one or two would be missing. But all three? Yukio narrowed his steel-blue eyes at the text on his phone. Very suspicious… considering that even the conniving Kazunari himself was gone.

The black-haired teen sighed. Oh well. Can't do anything about it now.

"What are you doing here, Kise?" he asked bluntly, getting straight to the point. The blonde started at his address, but looked like he expected the question. "Aha ha… Well, I had to take a detour to school and I passed by. I saw Kurokocchi leaving the building and he asked me to wait for you so you wouldn't walk alone today. Are Takaocchi and Sakuraicchi not with you?"

Yukio blinked at the explanation. It seemed a bit strange… but then again, Kise always did seem a bit strange to him. Well, technically, he's more of just Yukio's opposite personality-wise rather than strange. The blonde tennis player kept glancing around and looking at him so much that Yukio wondered if he was actually lying and the teen was finally stalking him. But even the notion sounded too strange for School Heartthrob Kise Ryouta and so, Yukio just had to resign to getting it over with. Maybe spending some time with the other wouldn't be so bad. They did it once and it didn't feel too awkward, as far as he could remember—considering that they had been strangers to each other that time.

"No… They had to leave early for something. So… you're gonna walk with me?"

"I-If… you don't mind?" replied Kise timidly. It was weird seeing the guy act like that.

"Yeah… I guess. Let's go." At his invitation, Kise's amber-colored eyes sparkled to life and the blonde quickly skipped to fall into step with him. Yukio had to mentally slap himself to not stare too much.

"Did Tetsuya say where he was going?" he asked instead, looking ahead.

"Ah, the pet shop, I think," answered Kise. He glanced at the houses they were passing by. For some reason, he didn't seem interested enough to continue the conversation. Or maybe it was because he couldn't think of anything else to say?

"You didn't have to listen to him, though. I would've been fine on my own."

"Maybe… But I wanted to…" replied Kise, trailing off. He looked down at the asphalt-covered ground. "Yu... Yukio-san."

Yukio almost tripped on his own two feet.

Somewhere in the distance, a whoop of joy echoed, but was missed by Yukio trying to find his bearings and silence the strange rhythm of his heart.

Takao Kazunari, leaning against a lamp post, was trying to muffle his laughter as the five other boys with him kept watching Kasamatsu and Kise. "Yes, it worked!" he choked as he controlled himself, joining the others in looking back at the two.

"I don't see how Kise using a normal moniker instead of the nickname he gave to Kasamatsu is going to help the situation," said Midorima, looking confused and annoyed that he had to come along on this nonsense.

"Oh, Shin-chan…" lamented Takao mockingly, shaking his head for effect. "Let me explain, then. Kise's been calling him 'Yukiocchi', right? So back there, Yuu-chan had been expecting to be called that way. But theeeeen," grinned Kazunari devilishly, watching his best friend look surprised. "Kise called him normally, like how Ryou-chan would. Kise had thrown him for a loop! And if my prediction is right, then that means Yuu-chan will find the name change weird. He'll probably ask Kise to call him that nickname again or use something else, just so that he won't feel bothered. But now what happened is going to stick with him, and he won't be able to forget it."

The raven-haired teen smirked. "He'll keep thinking about Kise because of it."

Silence enveloped their group once Takao finished explaining. Aomine blinked in incredulity. "That… actually makes sense."

Sakurai sighed exasperatedly at Takao. "Leave it to Kazunari-san to know these things."

Back to the two lovebirds in question, Kise Ryouta was trying not to blush. Yukiocchi was right there with him—and they were all alone. Well, alone next to each other, that is. He knew that his best friends and new friends were tailing them. But honestly, being there right now felt like a dream. His heart wouldn't stop hammering against his ribcage. Walking with Kasamatsu like this made him remember that summer night when they first met so vividly, that he couldn't help smiling giddily. And now, he had fulfilled Takaocchi's request. Gosh, he didn't think it would be this hard and embarrassing to call the Taekwondo kickboxer his name.

Kasamatsu Yukio, on the other hand, was trying to breathe normally. Because, nope, he did not just stumble hearing that name from Kise, of all people. And nope, his heart did not just skip a beat or some shit. He was just disturbed, is all. Disturbed that Kise wasn't calling him that cutesy nickname. Disturbed that he reacted so strongly to it. Disturbed that he was finding it all disturbing.

"Y-Yukio-san…?" The black-haired teen whirled at Kise in surprise and embarrassment.

"W-What? Why are you calling me that?" he returned.

"E-Eh? Is it too weird?" said the blonde, sounding unsure. "Weird" was one way to say it. Yukio would rather say that it's very off-putting. He cursed his heartbeat spiking up again.

"Not exactly…" he trailed off, looking at anywhere besides the guy with him.

"Well, how about Ka… 'Kasamatsu-san' instead?" offered Kise, looking at him shyly. Yukio pondered over it, ignoring the odd feeling inside him. It wasn't too weird… Hell, it was his surname that almost everyone else uses for him.

"Well… okay… Why are you calling me differently now, though?" asked Yukio, genuinely confused and thrown aback by everything that transpired in the last few minutes.

"Ah, well…" How should Ryouta say it? "I thought that maybe you didn't like the nickname… And well, it is kinda rude to call you that right off the bat when you think about it." Yukio only nodded in agreement. He seriously didn't know what to say to that.

They continued walking in silence. The academy wasn't too far from their neighborhood, so Yukio always found himself enjoying a leisurely stroll whenever he wasn't hurrying. But right now, he didn't know if he could enjoy the sights and the silence when the atmosphere between him and Kise felt awkward. He sighed and took a deep breath. Since they were alone, he might as well address the thing that had been plaguing him since he and Kise were officially introduced.

"... Sorry I forgot about you."

Ryouta looked up in surprise. "E-Eh?"

"Last week. I didn't realize who you were. That we met before. I remember doing something like that, but I completely forgot that it was you I helped," explained Kasamatsu, now staring at him with clear, steel-blue eyes. Ryouta gulped slowly at the sight before he could reply.

"Oh... I-It's okay," he replied, starting to feel another blush coming on.

"But still... a year went by," insisted the black-haired teen, looking disgruntled.

"Yeah, but we only met once," assured Ryouta, smiling at him.

"Yeah..." trailed off Yukio. "In fact, how did you even remember me for so long?"

"W-Well, technically, I kinda forgot about you, too... but when I got a good look at you last week, I finally remembered!" he said truthfully.

Yukio chuckled. Ryouta felt his cheeks heating up at the sound. Was this the first time he had heard such a nice sound?

"So… I guess you'll want to know about my side of the story?" offered Yukio, scratching his neck. The blonde blinked, before smiling and nodding. It was a good start.

Behind them, their friends all clamored behind the last building they had passed. Takao smirked at Midorima. "Told ya it would work."

Ryouta could safely say that he was making considerable progress. From their walk this morning to the lunch break at the rooftop thanks to Sakuraicchi, he and Kasamatsu had now come to a comfortable companionship. He could say that it was better than what he expected. The black-haired teen was smiling and laughing openly at him now—albeit polite and a bit reserved; not like how Kasamatsu was with Takao.

Of course it would be. He and Takaocchi are best friends. You two are just starting out, he berated mentally to himself. And he made sure to berate his thoughts about Takao and Kasamatsu in that way, too. Sure, the silvery-eyed teen liked men and he was pretty close with Ryouta's crush, but it didn't mean that Ryouta had to worry about anything. Takao himself said so and the blonde was going to take his word for it. Besides, the guy was helping him win Yukiocchi over. Why would he do that if there was something between them?

Kasamatsu-san! It's Kasamatsu-san now! It was a bit weird calling the blue-eyed boy that, but he had to admit that Takaocchi's ploy worked. Kasamatsu had been surprised about it. He didn't think the other would care about him not being called "Yukiocchi" anymore. But now, there's an even bigger problem that Ryouta was currently facing. Every time he would try to say the name, he couldn't avoid stuttering it. Gosh, he'd never had this problem before. It was embarrassing to say to Kasamatsu. He's learned how to be charming to people because of his part-time model career, but for some reason, saying his crush's surname made him blush and all giddy.

"Kise-kun? Kise-kun!" called Tsuchida, trying to get the giggling blonde's attention. It obviously failed as the air around said blonde suddenly started to faintly glow with flowers.

"What the hell is wrong with him now?" asked Hyuga, blinking at the teen's sudden descent into being Kiyoshi-like.

Kagami scratched the back of his head as his friend kept spacing out. "Ah, he's just being… himself."

"Kise-kun, hey," tried Tsuchida again, patting Kise's shoulder this time. Finally, the teen snapped out of his reverie and looked at his upperclassman in embarrassment. "Ah! S-Sorry, Senpai! Was there something you needed?"

"Can you help put away all the instruments? We need to clean up the dance floor 'cause they'll be practicing soon."

"Oh! Okay then!"

It was dismissal time now; the time for club activities when it was Monday to Friday. As expected of Kise and his friends in accordance with their punishment, they were now to report to the Glee Club room and take part in the members' duties everyday—for a month. And even after April, they were still supposed to help out as the production team. Ryouta didn't know if they can manage it with their busy schedules as varsity players, though. They're lucky right now because they weren't required to attend their own clubs, but once their suspensions are lifted, their comeback training would definitely eat up all their spare time. Kagami and Aomine would most definitely use the court and the field for as long as they could. Kise himself would surely practice until closing time comes. And Midorima may not look like it, but the archer would rigorously make up for the time lost.

Despite all this, though, Kise was still looking forward to his job here at the Glee Club. Hyuga-senpai had already posted the schedule of activities at the bulletin board near the door, and the performers had a lot of concerts and shows to do this year. As the bespectacled club president said to them a while ago, this was the time for them to truly assert their existence and worth as a Performing Arts club. Ryouta knew that the road ahead would be very exhausting, but also knew it would be worth the trouble. Seeing Kasamatsu perform out there… it was enough to energize the blonde.

"Kise-kun seems to be in high spirits, ne?" mused Koganei to Fukuda and Kawahara as they all cleared the floor of the wayward instruments.

"I hope he won't be high-ding what it is from us," replied Izuki.

"Somebody please kick Izuki's ass for me," quickly retorted Hyuga without looking up from the papers he was reading.

"Alright! Time to be fabulous~!"

The current occupants of the clubroom all turned to Takao, Kuroko, Sakurai, Kasamatsu, and Imayoshi as they entered the premises—already dressed for dance practice. Midorima and Furihata followed after them, with the green-haired teen carrying a stack of papers and the brunette carrying a cardboard box.

"Here are the photocopies of the other song sheets," said Midorima, putting the stack down on a nearby table. "The Student Council also gave us a few costume pieces and props to reuse," he continued, gesturing to the box as Furihata left it near the table.

"They're not even gonna let you guys use new stuff?" asked Kagami, checking out the contents of said box.

"We get new stuff if it's not available from all the used items. They just wanna recycle those that are still in good condition to save money," reasoned Hyuga, checking the stack of photocopies. "The only demeaning thing about it, though, is that all these came from the Big Three."

The "Big Three", as the athletes came to learn a while ago, was the Music Club, the Drama Club, and the Dance Troupe. The Glee Club doesn't openly resent them, as they had concluded with Kasamatsu last Friday, but the members do find them a bit troublesome concerning their club's exposure to the spotlight.

"Nothing you can do about it. As much as the Student Council is trying to support you, the only way to get equal treatment is to earn your own funds and show 'em what you're made of."

Aomine and his friends' jaws gaped in surprise as Koga-sensei entered the room. The teacher who had given them their punishment and who was seriously un-fucking-touchable within the academy's faculty… was right here, visiting. Their backs quickly straightened in apprehension.

"Ko… Koga-sensei!"

"Ah, Koganei-sensei," greeted Hyuga and Imayoshi respectfully.

Kagami and Aomine both furrowed their eyebrows. "... K-'Koganei'...?"

"Where's Shinji?" asked the strict-looking teacher.

"'Shinji'...?"

"Oh, Uncle! What is it?" responded the teen in question—who happened to be their Koganei-senpai.

"'UNCLE'?!"

"What, you didn't know that 'Koga-sensei' is short for 'Koganei-sensei'?" asked Takao in hushed tones, but the incredulity in his voice seeped through.

"I think we just forgot…" said Kise honestly, still staring wide-eyed at their mathematics teacher as he casually interacted with their drummer upperclassman. It was just too surreal. The man they all knew as one of the most intimidating teachers in their school was actually related to the friendly Koganei-senpai. Hell, they didn't even look alike.

"Senpai's dad is Sensei's older brother," explained Takao, sensing their distress at the revelation. "I think he got the nickname even before Senpai came to study here, so I guess it's kind of handy. But Kiyoshi-senpai calls him 'Koga' sometimes."

After finishing his talk with his nephew, the dark brown-haired man turned to address Kise and the other three. "I see you've been adjusting well. Behaving, I hope?" he asked Hyuga with a questioning side-glance that promised a lot of pain if he didn't hear what he wanted to hear.

"As well as they should be," answered the club president, looking a bit proud. Koga smirked triumphantly, humming in approval. He turned to the four again, relishing their nervous faces. "Good to hear that. I don't want you idiots causing any trouble for my students."

"'Your'…?" Why "your"? Weren't they Koga-sensei's students, as well? Then Midorima's eyes widened. "You're the Glee Club's advisor, sir?"

Aomine and Kagami—and now Kise, too—exclaimed their surprise once again.

"Of course I am. Why did you think I assigned you here, of all clubs?" retorted Koga, looking annoyed.

"Ah, because you needed the staff?" said Kagami in realization.

"Exactly. Besides, it was the perfect opportunity to make you suffer. You boneheads needed to meet real nerds."

The way he said it made the four chuckle nervously, but inwardly question his logic. The members of the Glee Club, though, just coughed awkwardly. Typical how their advisor would inflict sadistic hell upon his "disliked" students by leaving them with his "favorite" students. None argued, though; not even his own nephew.

"Alright, I need to be somewhere. I'll check in every day, though—and Hyuga, don't forget your weekly reports. Behave, boys," said Koga firmly, before leaving the clubroom. Aomine and his friends were left staring at the door, wondering if what they saw had been real.

"Alright, everyone move out of the dance floor. We're starting practice," shouted Hyuga authoritatively, snapping them out of their stupor. The members of Misdirection gathered in the middle of the room, while everyone else sat at the stairs leading to the doors, facing them as their mock audience.

"Think we can finish all of these within two months?" Kasamatsu asked to his best friend, flipping the music sheets in his hands and reviewing the way Korean sounded.

"Well, we only need to do six, so yeah, I guess we can—"

"Eight."

The room became silent with Imayoshi's comment. Takao and Kasamatsu slowly looked at their vice-president in horror. "What?"

"We have to do eight songs," repeated the wavy-haired senior more elaborately, pushing back his glasses.

"You said 'six'," accused Kazunari, staring hard at Hyuga. The bespectacled teen could only sigh. "Yes, well, now it's going to be eight."

Silence greeted them again. "Was it Aida-senpai's idea?" asked Kuroko, looking emotionless as ever—but one could hear the apprehension in his voice.

"No."

"Momoi-san?" offered Sakurai worriedly.

"The fans requested the songs," answered Imayoshi. "And our… promoters… thought it best to cater to our fans."

"… So it was their idea."

Junpei sighed. "Yeah, pretty much." The confirmation elicited pained groans of varying degrees from the four other Misdirection boys—which their seniors already expected.

"Is it really that bad?" whispered Kagami to his Tsuchida-senpai. "They've got until June, right?"

"Yes, but they'll be singing Korean songs. They won't have to learn the language, but it's still hard to pronounce. Our language is a bit clipped and rougher than theirs," explained Tsuchida, pitying his fellow members. "I guess it kinda helps that they've practiced before, during spring break, but that hadn't been enough for them to finish two songs with choreography. They'll have to make every practice count now."

"Man… I didn't think that singing and dancing would be that hard," commented Kise softly.

"It wouldn't be if they're not taking it seriously," joined in Koganei. "But they are. They genuinely want the audience to enjoy the show they'll be putting on."

"Thank goodness they have Kasamatsu and Takao, though, huh?" chimed in Izuki; Mitobe silently nodding in agreement. "There won't be much of a problem in the choreography."

"Ah, but don't forget Kuroko-kun," said Tsuchida. "He's the one who works the magic."

At that, Kagami frowned in confusion. Magic? What magic? As far as he knew, Kuroko was either a back-up singer or just a second voice. It didn't look like the pale-haired teen had the leading role.

"Right. Form a circle," instructed Hyuga. "Kuroko, if you would do us the honor?" Kagami blinked at the words. Wait, seriously?

"Ahhh, I'm getting nervous. I feel like I'll mess up the lyrics," confessed Sakurai, looking antsy as he fiddled with his song sheet.

"Just don't mind it and continue singing, Ryou-kun," placated Kuroko, wheeling in an electric keyboard in front of them.

"I'll admit I am, too, but I'm really more excited, though," said Takao. "Our songs are so fun~!"

"And painstakingly hard," grumbled Kasamatsu.

"Ready?" asked Kuroko. "Vocalizing first." The blunette pressed a low key on the piano. The five boys perfectly hit the note. Then another key; another perfect note. This went on for a few minutes, until they've gone back to the first key thrice.

"Alright, first on the list is 'Dream Girl'. Let's try the song now?" asked Hyuga, turning to Kuroko for advice. The blunette nodded and pushed the keyboard to the side. "Kawahara-kun," he called, signaling the teen on the audio panel to start the music.

Hip-hop beats started playing through the built-in speakers of the studio and the performers bopped their heads to get a feel of the rhythm. Kuroko held his hands in the air, both pointer fingers out. Immediately, the lyrics came and he swayed them down, beginning his conducting.

"Eodiseobuteo sijakdwaenneunji geuge jungyohan ge anya," started Takao enthusiastically, reading his sheet. "Jigeum nae nunen neomu wanbyeokhan ne moseumman boineun geol"

"Hoesaek bit i sesange ne ipsulman burkge bitna," he continued with little effort. "Ibeul matchuryeodeon geu sungan"

"Tto kkumeseo kkaene-e," sang everyone in unison.

"Ajikdo ne eolguri ireoke saengsaenghande," followed Kasamatsu, not letting Takao's voice outshine his. "Jabatdeon sonui ongiga ireoke ttaseuhande" It was interesting to hear Japanese people talk in another language. The boys were only singing it, but it still looked fascinating. Kise wondered how they could pronounce the L sound so right.

"Bamimyeon naege dagawa achimi doemyeon sarajyeo," sang Takao this time. "Maeil ireoke ttokgachi neoreul bonael sun eomneunde"

"Baby~," crooned everyone harmoniously.

"modu kkumin geol aljiman," replied Takao, grinning.

"Baby~"

"o jebal nal tteonaji mara," answered Kasamatsu, smirking as they got to the chorus.

"Dream girl~"

"sone japhil deut japhiji annneun"

Holy crap, this song was really upbeat. Takao was right; it was fun. Kise wasn't the only bopping his head along with the swaying movements of Misdirection.

"Dream girl~"

"maeil bam ireoke neol gidaryeo"

"Dream girl~ "

"dalkomhi sarangeul soksagigo"

"Achimi doemyeon sarajil dream girl~!"

Now they did something surprising. Kasamatsu and Takao both threw their sheet music away… and started strutting towards the center of the circle. The raven-haired teen beckoned his best friend to come nearer, and suddenly, they had a mini dance-off that surprised their newer audience—it ending with the same choreography and them both going back to the circle.

And now everyone else threw their papers away.

When the chorus rolled, each member took a turn in dancing at the center for a while—Kasamatsu and Takao still leading the song, while the others filled the second voices. Seriously, how could they still sing and now dance so easily without getting tired? Even the conducting Kuroko now joined the battle.

Then suddenly, they started slowly turning to Ryouta and the others. Kasamatsu preceded them, leading the bridge of the song while the rest continued dancing in unity.

"Neo eomneun haruga duryeowo," sang the blue-eyed Kasamatsu.

"naeirimyeon tto itgetjiman," sang his teammates in the background, doing poses for each syllable.

"Aetage butjababwado," and here, Kise swore their eyes met for a second. "amureon yaksok eobsi neon nae gyeoteul tteonaaaaaaaaa!"

Ryouta's eyes widened. Yukiocchi… had just belted a note. Perfectly. I think my hair just stood up…

"Geudae nunbit geudae ipsul boneun neukkim you're so beautiful," rapped Hyuga, taking the center stage and earning a few surprised looks. "Han sungando nege nuneul ttel su eobseo"

They slowly formed a pyramid arrangement as Hyuga continued his part. Kasamatsu disappeared somewhere at the back.

"Geu eotteon pyohyeondo neohanteneun ppael su eobseo
Meoributeo balkkeutkkaji geudaen one and only girl
Hanabuteo baekkkaji budeureopge daehaji
Geudaega nal taekhaneun nare i sesangeun stop!
You're my world"

Suddenly, the apple of Ryouta's eye flipped forward and expertly landed on his feet just as the chorus started.

And they were really dancing now. There were a few times when Kise thought Kasamatsu was looking at him. Most of the time, he found Takao winking at him… and Midorima—to the archer's chagrin. But Kasamatsu… there was just something about his demeanor while performing…

Ryouta's amber orbs blinked as it locked gazes with steel-blue ones. Then Kasamatsu smiled at him.

"Bami gipeumyeon chajaol dream girl~!"

Silence filled the dance studio once the song finished, but Kise didn't let it last as he immediately got to his feet and gave a hearty round of applause. It didn't even register in his mind that he was doing it—he just couldn't contain his amazement at their performance anymore. Surprisingly, though, he hadn't been the only one to express that sentiment. His friends—Kagami Taiga, Aomine Daiki, and Midorima Shintarou themselves—were also applauding Misdirection.

"I told you they'll leave an impression on you." The occupants of the room looked up to find Aida Riko and Momoi Satsuki entering.

"Coach? But isn't the team practicing right now?" pointed Kagami out.

"Relax, they'll be fine without me for a while. Or else," threatened Riko sweetly, sending chills down most of the guys' spines. They weren't going to be at the end of her wrath, but they still had to bless those poor souls who would.

"Looks like you're doing just fine, too," said Momoi to the six boys on the dance floor.

"Yeah, because doing K-Pop is such a piece of cake," replied Takao sarcastically, glaring at the two girls. Said girls didn't even apologize for what Misdirection was supposed to go through. Riko just nodded approvingly of their practice, while Momoi gave them an excited thumbs-up.

"Even if it wasn't a different language, though, we'd still have to work hard at it," said their Imayoshi-senpai, cleaning his glasses. "Remember that from now on, we can't settle for just second-best. We need to give it all we've got—otherwise, we have no right to be the Glee Club."

Everyone, including the temporary production staff and the Music Club representatives, looked in awe at the vice-president's words. Hyuga chuckled lightly and shook his head. Leave it to his second-in-command to be the fountain of wisdom in these trying times. Even though most of the time, he's the one scaring them into working.

"Right. You heard the guy. No slacking off," reiterated the club president. "So Kuroko, how did we do?"

Said pale blue-haired teen picked up the paper he discarded on the floor and dusted it. "Horribly, Senpai," he replied monotonously.

"Eh?!" exclaimed his friends.

"Kazunari-kun, you were slightly off-key when you started and you mispronounced several words. Yukio-kun, your tempo was different a few times. Imayoshi-senpai, you missed some notes in the back vocals. Hyuga-senpai, your rap wasn't as loud as it should be. And Ryou-kun, you were running out of breath."

"You forgot a few dance moves yourself," muttered Kasamatsu, looking furtively away. Takao grinned as he did the same. Kuroko just lightly slapped the black-haired teen's arm, silently telling him to not interrupt.

Their audience watched with mild amusement as the phantom member of the team then began chastising his teammates about the correct way of singing the song. Kagami blinked in amazement as said teammates didn't even argue or complain—they listened to him seriously. When they started their practice, Kuroko had acted as the conductor, leading them into the rhythm and signalling when it was their part. Was that what Tsuchida-senpai was talking about? Kuroko working the "magic"?

"Has Kuroko always been doing this?" he asked of his upperclassmen. Izuki nodded, gesturing to the group as they all studied their music sheets. "Since Kuroko and Imayoshi were from the Music Club, they're in charge of teaching everyone about it."

"Why not Imayoshi-senpai, though?"

Furihata, the spiky-hair brunette from what Kagami calls the "Representative Trio" in his mind, sat down next to him on the stairs. "Well, Senpai was a singer back at the Music Club, too, but Kuroko's better as a conductor," he explained, smiling as he and the redheaded basketball player watched Misdirection. "Back then, Kuroko would be assigned that job when he wasn't going to play the piano. He understands how music works, so they always let him lead us in playing."

Oh, right, Kuroko's a prodigy, remembered Taiga. Now the whole thing makes sense.

"So you guys play instruments in the Music Club, too?" asked Kise, turning to Furihata.

"Yeah. You can only become a member if you're a musician or a singer."

"And if you've won in any music competition," added Fukuda, the tallest of the trio with short black hair. "The three of us had to band together just to be able to get 3rd place in a local contest when we were in middle school."

"It doesn't look like you play all the time, though," commented Kise, confused.

"Yeah…" trailed off Furihata dolefully. "There are a lot more skilled musicians in the club, so we're usually just back-up or running errands for them." Kagami elbowed Kise, giving him a reprimanding look for the insensitive comment he gave. It was already obvious that the three weren't needed much in their club. But before Kise could say sorry, the brunette grinned at them excitedly.

"But we're glad the Glee Club needs us," he said. "Even just as staff members, it's kind of exciting to know that we'll be involved so much."

Ryouta inwardly sighed in relief, seeing that the teens didn't look insulted at what he said. "Why do you play, by the way? Is it your dream to be musicians someday?"

"Ah, well…" Furihata lightly blushed. "A girl I had a crush on back then used to play the violin. I thought, maybe if I learned, it would get me closer to her."

"My mom is a cellist, and I inherited her love of it," answered Fukuda, looking blissful as he stared into space.

"Someone I idolized back in elementary inspired me to learn—"

And here, everyone else chuckled quietly as Kawahara, the last of the three with semi-shaven hair, dramatically droned on his tale of how learning the flute had been his salvation. On the other side of the audience, Midorima and Aomine sat silently, watching the Glee Club.

"Aaaah, I miss the field," muttered Aomine, yawning and stretching back as he lounged in his seat.

"If you behave, you won't have to wait for more than a month," quipped Midorima, fixing the bandages on his fingers. Daiki rolled his eyes at the typical response. He and Midorima had never gotten past this kind of relationship, and they sure as hell won't start now. But it was nice to have a rational mind among their group of friends. Lord knows they'll get into all kinds of trouble without it.

But again, like hell would Aomine admit that.

"Meh. I guess this isn't so bad." When the green-haired teen glanced at him questioningly, he jerked his chin towards the circle of boys in the middle of the room. "At least we've got some form of entertainment." The archer only scoffed and shook his head.

Daiki's dark blue eyes travelled towards the aforementioned group. Sakurai was next to Kuroko, trying to get the pronunciation of a Korean word right. He clicked his tongue as he realized that he was thinking about the brunette again. Damn Takao and Kuroko. He seriously couldn't get that conversation out of his head. He was getting more and more curious about it, actually. But he won't snoop around. He and Sakurai have nothing else in common but the fact that they're right here, in the Glee Club's headquarters. And that's just that. If he tries to know more, that accidental-kiss thing last week would definitely come back to haunt him again.

"Alright, everyone, from the top!" said Kuroko, clapping his hands to get their attention. The boys of Misdirection took their places as the music starts playing again, and their audience braced themselves for another round of wonder.

Ryouta fiddled with his earring as he walked with Kasamatsu. They were left together again—courtesy of Takaocchi, whom he was now seriously adoring as a friend, as the other helped in distracting Ryouta's fans for him—and the other teen hadn't said anything much about them walking home this time. The blonde was a bit nervous about the atmosphere around them. They had been passing by buildings, stores, and people, yet Kasamatsu had still kept silent—leaving Ryouta to wonder if he was actually angry at him for something or if he's finally caught on what Ryouta's intentions were.

The blonde gulped a bit in apprehension.

It was about 5:30 p.m. now. The Glee Club had only reviewed the songs they were to perform the whole time, so they hadn't gone home so late yet. Maybe tomorrow, they would. Ryouta watched as the orange streaks of the sunset painted everything it touched into ethereal pictures. He was pretty sure this kind of scene was usually in shoujo mangas, and it didn't help that they were alone right now. Well, okay, it's kind of helping, but this is a bit awkward, thought Ryouta, blushing at what he was imagining.

Suddenly, the teen in front of him stopped walking. "I know what you're trying to do," he said, not turning to Kise. The tennis player's heart sped up—in trepidation or excitement, he didn't know.

"K-Kasamatsu-san…?"

The teen in question finally turned to him. "Why do you really want to call me that?"

Ryouta looked down at the ground, gripping his bag. He should be honest with the guy. "I want to earn your respect, since you earned mine."

"But I do respect you, Kise." Ryouta's heart leapt at the words. He looked at the black-haired teen in surprise. "Ever since I saw your match that day and spent that night with you, I've respected you. But something tells me that you want more than my respect…" said Kasamatsu seriously—his steel-blue eyes entrancing Ryouta's amber-gold ones.

The chirps of birds and the distant sounds of the city became the background music as they both fell silent. They had stopped at a familiar, but deserted, playground that was near to where Hiyokoroshi Apartment Complex's neighborhood was. Ryouta had recognized it because the basketball court where Kagami frequented was also nearby. Now, this… This was definitely like something out of a shoujo manga.

"You… wanna be my lover, don't you?" said Kasamatsu finally.

Ryouta immediately reddened and spluttered. "E-EH?! NO! I-I—!"

But he forcefully held himself back. Was this… a trick question? Kasamatsu looked dead serious, though… But he couldn't just confess now! If he did it right now, he'll definitely lose his chances! "Lovers were friends at first", is what Takaocchi said. He needed to take it slow and steady. Amber orbs steeled into an almost-golden shade and the blonde took a deep breath before speaking.

"No… I want to be friends with you." Kasamatsu regarded him silently as he continued. "That night… I wouldn't have been the same if you hadn't done that. I have a lot to thank for, because of you. And someday, I want to repay your kindness," he ended, blushing lightly at the implications of the words. But rather than shy away, Kise stared back at the black-haired teen, smiling brightly for him. Yes, he could take it slow. It would be painful and frustrating at times, but at least Kasamatsu won't push him away. One step at a time, and Ryouta would be able to be closer to the blue-eyed teen.

Besides, he wasn't going to be alone in this. He had his new friends to support him along the way.

Kasamatsu sighed and smirked. "You haven't asked me if you could be my friend, though, you know?"

Ryouta, seeing the teasing glint in the steel-blue eyes that reminded him of Takao Kazunari, put his hands on his hips in mock indignation. "That's because you'll probably turn me down, Kasamatsu-san!" He was right to have done so, as the kickboxer immediately laughed afterwards, pleading guilty.

"Don't call me that, though," said Kasamatsu, changing the subject as he sobered up. Ryouta frowned, trying to ignore the pinprick he felt inside. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because it sounds weird, coming from you."

Ryouta prodded further in confusion, vehemently ignoring the pain he was starting to feel at being rejected. "Well, what else am I supposed to call you? 'Yukio-san'?"

"No. That sounds even weirder," answered the other immediately. He turned to where they were supposed to go, not looking at the blonde. "Just call me… 'Yukiocchi' again or something."

Amber eyes widened and Ryouta couldn't stop himself from gasping. He felt his heart spike up erratically. Shit… this guy…

Yukio yelped as his arm was hugged and he tried to stamp down the heat in his cheeks when Kise turned to him, glowing and blushing in happiness. "Okay~!" exclaimed the blonde, obviously pleased with his answer. He tried not to reflexively kick or punch him—and that was such a chore.

"Ha ha, let's go, then, Yukiocchi~!" said Kise, dragging him along with excitement and joy at being able to say that name again. "I can't believe I get to be friends with someone so cool, though~!"

Yukio gave in to the urge and kicked the blonde's side in sheer embarrassment. "S-Shut up! Do you seriously have to be that happy?!" But the tennis player-slash-model only laughed good-naturedly, rubbing his hip. He jogged after Kasamatsu as the teen looked away; cursing the warmth he was feeling on his face and cursing the whole damn lighting from the setting sun on Kise's handsome face. It was making his stomach flip weirdly.

Somewhere between the trees of the playground, their friends were hiding and watching them. Takao Kazunari was currently shaking his fists in utter joy, squealing quietly at the adorableness the two lovebirds were displaying. Midorima was frowning at the raven-haired teen, while Sakurai was chuckling lightly.

"Why did he let Kise call him that again?" asked Aomine, genuinely confused at the events.

"Because he couldn't imagine Kise-kun calling him anything else," answered Kuroko, sipping a cup of vanilla milkshake. "He tried to, but he realized that those sounded too intimate coming from Kise-kun."

"Why are we following them again?" interjected Kagami exasperatedly, munching on a burger and holding a plastic bag full of burgers.

Takao suddenly stopped in his fangirling and swiftly clung to the tree as he observed Kasamatsu and Kise leaving the playground. "Because we're matchmaking them, that's why."

Aomine and Kagami groaned as Midorima pinched the bridge of his nose.

Los Angeles, America

In a dimly-lit room of a high-rise condominium unit, the sounds of keys being tapped faintly came from a desk directly next to a window. Long fingers—elegant but manly—flew on the keyboard as its owner silently muttered what he wanted to type. The weak light of the laptop casted shadows on the small room and on the owner's face—barely lighting the dark hair of said owner. Suddenly, a familiar beep sounded off and a notification bubble popped on the side of the glowing screen. Olive green eyes quickly read what was on it, and after giving a confused hum, the owner of the laptop clicked the notification. A black screen appeared, along with a smaller screen that mirrored the face of the one in the room. A second later, a familiar face showed up and smiled serenely.

"Good morning, Tatsuya," greeted the person—or male teenager, rather. The one named Tatsuya quickly glanced at the digital clock on his monitor. 2:48 a.m., it read. Tatsuya smiled, seeing that he was right about the time once again. Of course he would be.

"Good evening, Akashi-kun," greeted Tatsuya back, remembering the time difference correctly and easily slipping into Japanese. "Was there something you needed?"

The teen on the screen politely chuckled. "Straight to business, I see."

Tatsuya shrugged. "We've already chatted yesterday. So unless you have news that I needed to hear, this video call would be a bit uncharacteristic of you, wouldn't it?"

An amused smiled formed on the lips of his friend. "Yes. It would. You are correct, Tatsuya. I do have news for you."

The dark-haired teen silently waited for him to continue. If it was serious, he shouldn't interrupt. And knowing what time it was right now meant that it really was serious. Akashi usually called in the afternoon here. It may have just been a coincidence since Tatsuya was still up at this hour, but still, he could've waited.

"Atsushi," called Akashi, glancing to his right. "Tell Tatsuya what it is."

A large head of long purple locks popped up from the side of the screen—the bored-looking face chewing something. The one named Atsushi swallowed before replying to Tatsuya. "Hi, Muro-chin. Kaga-chin and Mine-chin got suspended from their clubs. Kise-chin and Mido-chin, too," said Atsushi disinterestedly, before eating a potato chip and leaving the screen to Akashi.

Akashi stared back at Tatsuya as he propped his chin on top of his interlocked hands.

Himuro Tatsuya stared blankly at the monitor… before his serene features turned furious.

"Oh, they did not."

To be continued…

I actually churned out a 30K-word chapter. And still no major kissing involved. What.

Seriously, this is too fucking long. But I guess this compensates for me being away for so long…

Okay, I won't give too much end notes this time, but still:

1) Yeah, them being sleepy is what I was talking about in being OOC. Hope it was at least justified.

2) Synesthesia - a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. I figured that this could be a good reasoning behind Kagami's sense of smell.

3) My god, I can't believe I actually made a real pun worthy of Izuki. I can't even.

4) Koga-sensei was actually an accident on my part. When I was thinking of names for a teacher that wasn't similar to all the coaches in KnB, I suddenly thought of "Koga" and found it good enough. Unfortunately, I had belatedly realized that Koganei was also nicknamed "Koga". Since I couldn't change the name without some people noticing, I decided to use the closeness of their names to my advantage. Come a few brainstorming and daydreaming sessions later, and I finally dubbed Koga-sensei Koganei's paternal uncle. I think you're gonna like what I have in store for him. :D

5) I swear, if I could just show you guys the dance routine I had envisioned, instead of writing it lamely… =-=

6) HUEHUEHUEHUEHUE. MUCH FORESHADOWING. SUCH TEASE.

Featured Music in the Chapter:

1) Piano piece Kuroko played (the real song, not the warm-up) - Migikata no Chou (Butterfly on Your Right Shoulder) piano version by marasy8: (link in profile)

2) Misdirection K-Pop 1st practice - Dream Girl by SHINee: (link in profile)

Remember to listen to these~!

Now for the…

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1) I'd really, really, really like to revise and refine Chapter 1. Kagami was too OOC there and there were some plot holes that nagged at me. But I didn't want to change it if you guys actually like what I wrote back there… So, I decided to make a poll about it, which can be found on my profile. The poll will last a week from now and whichever vote wins is what I do, of course. But seriously, Chapter 1 is mocking me with his OOC-ness. OTL

UPDATE! Due to the results of my poll, which was 1 for whatever I want and 2 for letting me rewrite, I have now put up a new version of Chapter 1! Thanks, guys! I love you so much. Now I can rest easy. =w=

2) Speaking of profiles, this one's a major announcement: I will now be changing my username here in the site~! I've decided that it's time for a fresh start and a new username—one that really fits me more than The Second Hand of Time—will be good for me. I'm not much known in the fanfiction side, anyway. Most people who've even heard of me probably just read my reviews of fanfics, so the transition won't be really hard. This thing is going to happen no matter what and I'm just giving you guys a heads-up. Three days from now, I'll change my name—AND finally put up my social media links. I figured it was high time for you to immediately hear of my writing progress, and since PMs here can't help me much, we'll now have Facebook and Twitter for that. I've had an alternate account in FB for some time now and have made an update page for my writings recently. Twitter, on the other hand, is really new territory for me. Keep in mind that these are for updates, but most of the time, I'll share fun stuff I'll discover with you guys.

I'll post the links here and on my profile once I've revamped my identity, so stay tuned, okay? :)

UPDATE! I am officially Araminthe Ispwitch now! My social media accounts, Twitter and Facebook, can be found in my newly-revamped profile. Hope to hear from you guys soon~! :D

3) I've also had a poll in my profile that's been around for a while. Haven't garnered much attention 'cause I forgot to mention it, but it's about our couples here and their potential group outings/dates. :3

Now, guys, I know that I update really slowly, but seriously, this story isn't going to be dropped. JUST NAG ME, DAMMIT. YOU'LL GET TO DO SO ON SOCIAL MEDIA NOW, TOO. Really, don't worry. I'm not going to discontinue this. It'll take a while, but I WILL finish this someday. And I hope you'll be there, with me, every step of the way. :)

So, as always, please review for the love of God and let me hear what you think! Cookies for you! Other than that, thank you to the lovelies who had faved and followed this story~!

For the next chapter: Will Kise make Yukiocchi fall in love with him? Will Takao literally make Yuu-chan fall if he proves too stubborn? What about that startling cliffhanger with the Skype call thingie? Is the authoress ever going to write a lemon scene?!

Til next time, folks~! \(OuO)/