It never failed to be interesting when your old team was around, let alone when their peacekeepers you weren't overly familiar with were nearby. While Takao was trying his hardest to stay in his element you understood somehow that he didn't know how to cope with everything all at once, perhaps because you were similar in that respect. When you arrived at the hospital the chatting calmed down a bit, and you learned that the fact the miracles were in town had something to do with some giant event that was supposedly going to happen in the summer, which left the third year captains a bit unsure how to feel. Kise and Momoi had talked about how Akashi had been strangely bitter the entire trip to this point which worried you a bit. Takao gracefully switched control of your wheelchair to Kise while he went to fill out the paperwork, Momoi tagged along in case he forgot anything.

Since there was little chance of the miracle pair acting up for now the seniors went to chat in the waiting room and get a drink from the vending machines leaving you alone with Kise. He walked with you into a quiet space, knowing you wouldn't want to attract attention especially if anyone recognized the model here, his popularity had grown again. When you were out of sight he sighed softly and you could hear the small sad smile in his voice, he really was a bad actor "Kurokocchi, how is it staying with Takaocchi? Is he doing a good job? Is it lonely?" You sighed softly, this you could handle "Kise-kun… Takao-kun isn't a bad person you know, I feel bad he volunteered to help me though…" You fiddled with the scarf you were wearing slowly unwinding it and bringing it into your lap. Before you could chide him over skipping practice he spoke again "You don't have to feel guilty Kurokocchi, it's not like he's being forced to do it. It is weird to take such good care of a rival team member, but Takaocchi values you that much to put himself on the line~ And he already takes care of Midorimacchi so it's nothing new right?" Your eyebrows knit together as you silently considered this, sensing progress Kise kept talking happily "Honestly Kurokocchi~ You go at your own pace, it's okay to lean on your friends~ We get lonely otherwise especially since you disappear so quickly, I would have volunteered to take you in if I had been around… But senpai might have killed me" You could hear his fake tears rolling "He doesn't trust me a whole bunch sometimes, even though I've been trying so hard lately… It's that senior mentality it's so cruel, how can I help them out when they try to protect me? It's like that… Except it's not a team, just one person ssu… But Takaocchi is your friend too right Kurokocchi? It's okay for him to look after you, if he does anything wrong we'll rescue you after all! Rely on us more Kurokocchi."

Honestly… Sometimes the model made your head spin, even when you didn't have an injury he was always like this he could talk and talk even if there was no response to what he was saying. In this case he both supported and seemed to feel threatened by Takao, it was similar to how it was when he tried to recruit you to join Kaijo after he played a one on one with Kagami… You frowned and tilted your head to look at Kise asking "Kise-kun… Why do you seem jealous…? This whole situation is a mess…" The model frowned despite knowing Kuroko couldn't see him you could feel the intensity of the stare as he said "Jealous? None of us want to leave you to someone else Kurokocchi. We aren't mature enough to just back down when you get hurt, after all you're one of our best friends and our greatest rival." Stunned was too weak a word to describe what you felt as you listened to Kise again he started monologuing again "Really Kurokocchi, you don't know how important you are to us. Even after you vanished back then we all still considered you a member of the team and you still had our respect for your dedication, and somehow even now you're dedicated to us… So we can't help but want to bring you back on our own. Call it our selfish desire, but you're not allowed to end like this Kurokocchi, nothing has ended. We haven't settled anything yet ssu!"

As he went to continue an unexpected harmony of a male and female voice chastised him in unison "Ki-chan! What are you even talking about?!" Momoi and Takao had returned from the front desk and had to search for the pair, with his eyes Takao was able to find them after they searched the couple waiting rooms. They picked up a couple drinks from the vending machines on their way. The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh a bit and Takao commented "Honestly it seems the more I hang around you guys I harmonize with you… Shin-chan is going to get jealous at this rate." He pressed a bottle into the shadow's hand "One sports drink, you have to stay hydrated Tecchan. It'll be a long day." Kise pouted as he took his drink from Momoi "I was just telling Kurokocchi the truth, even you feel that way Momocchi. Right?" Momoi blinked and pressed her fingers together around her canned coffee "Well, even I want Tetsu-kun to recover quickly, but I think he's in the best hands with Kazu-kun right now… After all I couldn't possibly wait on Tetsu-kun hand and foot so early in our relationship~ He'd get mad at me." Takao sighed exasperated shaking his head these two really were too much sometimes, well really all the time, but they weren't bad. Takao scratched his cheek while Kuroko took a drink of his sports drink, as he tried to figure out what to say a rather heavy arm pressed down on his shoulder and he almost lost his balance a lazy drawling voice sounded joining the group "So you were here, Satsuki why didn't you want me to come, you've been dragging me everywhere lately."

Takao sighed and glanced at the tanned ace "I know you're a bit taller than me Ao-chan… But I really can't see that I'd make a comfortable leaning post?" The point guard joked calmly, he really was good at showing only what needed to be seen, he'd make a better actor than Kise with how much talent he had for that field. You felt your lips curl a bit as you sipped on the bottle to hide that reaction, it wasn't really a bad feeling to have your friends getting along this time after that mess before. You heard Momoi exhale quietly beside you, clearly she was relieved that the tension from the injury wasn't lingering between the two. Takao hadn't really done much damage, honestly just managing to bruise Aomine's cheek was impressive with the ganguro's build and natural physique he was built like a truck. After seeing that she smiled and shook her head "I figured you'd get bored being at a hospital Dai-chan, since you still sleep so much outside of practices. You're just like an old man." The snide comment from the pinkette earned a chuckle from both Takao and Kise who watched for Aomine's reaction. The bored looking ace merely picked at his ear like always as if he'd heard something annoying "Hn… You were worried about bringing me around this guy weren't you?" He leaned more on Takao, who at least was braced for it this time and didn't shift as much only sighed which made it obvious to you what happened after all that was typical Aomine back in the day he'd lean on you and you'd support him even if he was really heavy.

Kise was the one to comment on the situation, which surprised everyone, really it was turning out to be a surprising day one way or another "Aominecchi… Don't you think you're putting to much weight on Takaocchi? He is still holding a travel bag and you're pretty heavy ssu." Momoi giggle and Takao shrugged his free shoulder "I've supported heavier Ao-kun really isn't that overpowering like this somehow…" You finally chuckled a little which relaxed the trio of rainbow around you, and you could feel the collective smile. Aomine stared at you for a moment before turning to look at Takao, his face was too close leaning as he was, but it didn't bother him "Hn… you can still mouth off even with that lip? You're more cheeky than I gave you credit for hawk, no wonder you can deal with Midorima." Kise whined "Aominecchi can you really comment on the situation like that, Midorimacchi wouldn't be very happy hearing that. You're more difficult to handle." Takao couldn't resist laughing and shaking his head "You guys really are good friends aren't you, Shin-chan would get annoyed over your defence as well Ki-chan." Figuring out how to escape the hawk pressed his own unopened sports drink against the ace's face then ducked out from under his arm, stretching his spine when he did and you felt the tell tale pressure on the back of your chair, making you aware he was back to your side earning a soft chuckle from you as you hear Aomine complain it was cold as he took the bottle and looked at it.

Before anyone had time to really comment a female voice called out "Kuroko Tetsuya-kun?" Takao sighed softly and nodded "Well seems we'll be off for a bit, ready Tecchan?" You merely nodded and muttered "I'm curious to see what they have to say." As if they wanted to prevent anything from going wrong the captain pair walked over as Takao began guiding you to the hall to meet the nurse. Kasamatsu said "We'll look after them so they don't cause a fuss in the lobby, keep us updated Takao." Blinking the point guard smiled and nodded "If it's going to take a while I'll slip into the phone use areas and text you updates so you don't end up waiting too long. Thanks senpai." Imayoshi seemed to ruffle the hawk's hair as you heard a confused sound from him the fox-like senior said "Ya know, it's good that ya went to Shuutoku, with this personality ya woulda been eaten alive at one of our schools. It's such an endearin' personality ya have." Kasamatsu chuckled and audibly pat his shoulder before ruffling your hair "Go on, and don't worry so much. Both of you."

Sighing Takao headed over to the nurse who was looking around, as she called Kuroko's name again she glanced at the ravenette behind you, which was obvious from how she gasped when you said "Yes… I'm Kuroko." Earning a chuckle from the point guard and the five from the waiting area who could still see you two. The nurse flushed and nodded "O-of course this way…." She clearly wasn't sure how to handle this situation and was really embarrassed. Takao murmured an explanation of her to you "She's a younger nurse, blonde hair a bit taller than Momo-chan. The type who wears pants instead of skirts Tecchan~" Given that you could guess she was more self conscious over the laughter from earlier and you could make a vague mental image given her footsteps and her uneasy fiddling with the file before speaking "You must be Takao-kun, right? Thank you for accompanying Kuroko-kun, we'll be doing a series of triage tests before you two get to meet with Dr. Johnson, it will be quite strenuous so having a guardian or friend is very helpful for the patient. That said Kuroko-kun, if you get too tired make sure to let us know we don't want to burden your body or mind too much while doing the testing."

Frowning you couldn't help wonder what tests could be that taxing to your mind and body, but you nodded and said "I will be fine." Takao smiled and nodded and commented "No worries~ Kuroko's grandmother was unable to attend so I was given permission to look after him and help out as needed. I'll make sure to let you know if anything happens, I'm very accustomed to Tecchan's natural state." He must have had a dazzling smile because the nurse stammered as she replied again "R-right… Well we're going to start with a basic triage, as we need to update your file Kuroko-kun. It will be a bit strange I'm sure where-" Takao smoothly cut her off and smiles "Ma'am, please rest assured. Even if Kuroko cannot see it won't be uncomfortable for him unless someone else makes it so. We've already provided his height, weight and medical history. That has not changed in a week's time which I can guarantee~ So that means the triage is probably blood pressure and taking a sample of blood as a preventative test no?" You tilted your head a bit glancing up at where the voice behind you had sounded, had he been researching the procedures to be prepared for anything? A man who does all that he can will not be betrayed… Was he living up to Midorima standards? It felt rather strange, like there was a hollow feeling in your chest and a fuzzy feeling in your head, was this all your fault causing so many problems and changes for the hawk… You sighed. The nurse froze for a moment and nodded "You're familiar with the process? Yes. We will be taking Kuroko-kun's vitals, then bringing you to the lab to draw blood. Our goal is to make sure that everything in his body is stable and the injury did not cause any other problems. The sample will be examined for any hidden diseases or other anomalies like chemical changes from the last recorded sample. Then we will be taking CaT scans and MRIs."

Sighing Takao carefully pushed your chair over a little bump murmuring that you were entering the triage room, and that down the hall from here was the lab where you'd probably have blood drawn. You nodded and listened as Takao talked, he had a slight annoyed chill in his voice which might be easy to miss if you didn't know him personally which was proven by the fact the nurse didn't notice it "Yes ma'am that was explained already. The hospital plans to do a full examination, the reason being Dr. Johnson is an exceptional doctor renowned for his work with neurology and brain trauma, which is why he agreed to take on Kuroko as a patient. However the hospital wants to ensure that this is not a false case before allowing the patient meet the doctor, which is why this ruse of various tests is being placed. A urine test was waived considering Kuroko is still a student. The blood test is just an annoying extra as he does not have to be drug tested. If we could begin ma'am it would be appreciated." You shivered slightly, tightening your grip on the sports drink in your lap, feeling the aggravation of Takao made you slightly happy for some reason, as you tried to ignore the slight feeling of guilt that was still bubbling over. As the wheelchair locked you unzipped your jacket carefully slipping off the left arm wrapping it inside the chair under your arm so it wouldn't get caught on anything if you moved.

Silence answered the hawk, as the nurse wheeled over the cart with the various tools. Takao commented quietly to you what she was doing under his breath so only you could hear, she occasionally gave instructions "Well Kuroko-kun I'm going to apply the blood pressure cuff, if you could lift your left arm slightly for me. I'll be putting a sensor on your right hand as well." The she wrapped the cold blue cuff around your arm and she clipped the heart monitor onto your right index finger, Takao caught your drink as it lost its balance he took your scarf as well putting them into the duffle bag for now so you didn't have to worry about losing them, you thanked him. Frowning a bit you felt the cuff fill with air, it really was uncomfortable, you heard the velcro losing its grip and felt a tingling in your fingertips from it being too tight. It loosened after a moment and she removed the sensors without a word. It seemed she was slightly offended by Takao's snide comment earlier, so she was the type to be easily standoffish, even being unable to see it your time observing people gave you a good understanding of this nurse before you. You guessed from her personality as soon as she left you two at the lab she would hand your file off to someone else so she didn't have to deal with your guardian again. Smiling a bit to yourself you nodded.

The nurse put the equipment back after recording the information she needed "Alright, this way to the lab. After you are finished here one of the technicians will be by to pick you up to bring you to radiology." She turned on her heel and started walking, sighing Takao made sure you were settled before handing you the Pocari you had dropped unlocking the chair and following after her muttering "I call her out and she gets grumpy… Why is it females can be so difficult to deal with? Between this nurse and the rainbow I wonder what'll happen…. Once we get to the waiting area by radiology I'll text the senpai and update them like they asked since that's a free zone for phones." You nodded as he pushed you and a slight chilly breeze caused you to shiver making him slow down "Sorry Tecchan" You shook your head and murmured "It's just cold in here, don't apologize Takao-kun… I wonder if Kise-kun and Aomine-kun will go back to their teams? It seems this will take a while."

Scents of antiseptics and alcohol permeated the air as you got closer to the lab, causing your nose to twitch a couple times like a rabbit you could smell them more clearly since you lacked the ability to see them it was slightly nauseating. Takao frowned a bit as he noticed that and brought you over to the area near the door to sit so the scent of the heat hid the other scents well. The nurse had disappeared to hand off your file, so you were once again alone with Takao, he commented on how the empty room looked it really sounded like a simple room. You sipped your drink and asked after a while "Takao-kun… How much did you research for today?" You tilted your head earning a chuckle from the point guard, you could imagine him shaking his head holding his hands up in a shrug "Well I didn't want to come in not knowing anything… After all it'd be annoying if they tried to take advantage of you Tecchan… And after that mess with Akashi…. Well I needed to relax some how, so I did a lot of online research and reading… A lot of medical books seem to have been uploaded online free for students to use, I could practically feel the college students who used to buy them crying as I read them" He chuckled in answer. You felt a frown tug at your mouth, that meant that Takao hadn't gotten much sleep the past few days and was probably exhausted, no wonder Momoi had fussed over him, injuries don't heal if you don't sleep properly and care for them. Takao ruffled your hair and shook his head "Don't worry too much Tecchan I've been sleeping my sister doesn't give me hell for nothing~ Relax~" As you tried to come up with something to say you both froze before laughing a bit, a familiar talk show came on the radio in the back of the office. Oha Asa that familiar show, it really was strangely popular. Since it couldn't hurt you both listened as it listed off the horoscopes and you both frowned it was normal for it to go through the middle placed signs first… But as they rattled off, Scorpio and Aquarius both were not listed.. Which meant one of you was going to have good luck while the other was meant to have bad luck, unknowingly the two of you just sort of looked at each other… Such was always a fun thing… 'Aquarius is in first place, so long as you always have a sports drink with you everything will go your way. Scorpios however might want to keep your head down today, if you need to do anything be prepared for the slightest trouble, make sure to keep your lucky item a phone charger with you and you will be at least prepared to fend off the bad omens if you aren't careful all your secrets will be revealed today.'

Just as he was sighing he flinched, Takao glanced at the radio and shook his head "Honestly… Having played alongside Shin-chan so long I should have expected that.. Cancer was second huh, training camp must be going well then." Scratching his cheek he resecured the zipper on the duffle bag out of habit hearing the news he sighed "Well hopefully that means today is going to go well… And I get the feeling that means I get to rely on my phone a lot today?" You chuckled and nodded "Well you expected that already didn't you Takao-kun?" He laughed and nodded leaning his cheek against his hand "Well that's true, the rainbow crew is probably going to blow up my phone at some point; Then to keep in touch with the senpai and your grandmother later. And then for the hotel…. Everything relies on one stupid phone~ I've always been a social butterfly, but I don't know how popular guys do it. This is too much" He joked and then sighed, he might be outgoing but everyone had a limit to how many people they could handle at once normally. You tilted your head "Are you overwhelmed by everyone Takao-kun?" This was one of the times you couldn't get a read on him, after all this was a situation that proved you were different from one another; he could easily get crowded and noticed where you faded from the forefront of the problem… This was like misdirection overflow at it's finest, all the attention was being shielded by Takao he was like a radiant golden hawk being bathed in endless light, despite his role as a shadow player… It must be shocking? Probably? As you mulled it over a calming voice called out your name.

"Utto, that would be the lab tech." Scooping up the bag and pushing the chair again Takao pushed you forward glancing behind him once to make sure he didn't drop anything before bringing you into the lab and leaning against the doorway. The tech smiled at the two of you and said "You're Kuroko-kun? I'm sorry for the trouble. I just need to take a couple tubes of blood okay? They want to do some preventative testing since you haven't had a lab in a while. It'll be a bit cold, alright? I've got to tie off your arm, then disinfect your arm then I'll insert the needle, you'll feel me change the bottle twice. Then I can patch you up okay?" You nodded, this technician was overly friendly and understood that although you couldn't see that didn't mean you were somehow suddenly stupid… He was kind it was reassuring after the incident with the nurse. He talked while he was prepping, explaining what he was setting up and any sudden sounds. Takao relaxed in the doorway and smiled at the lab tech, the relaxing atmosphere made him yawn slightly, reassuring Kuroko that the hawk indeed probably did not sleep last night or woke up early to shovel them out… The thought made you frown a bit and the tech thought it was from him tying the band "Ah, sorry. I know it's rather tight it'll be quick though Kuroko-kun." He apologetically wiped your arm and you blinked "Ah, no… sorry" Was all you could manage to reply, it wasn't the technicians fault at all, still your free fingers curled around the sports drink again feeling the needle enter your arm. It wasn't painful perse just uncomfortable, needles were never really pleasant. Just like he said you could feel the technician change the bottles as the little plastic tube tugged the needle a little bit each time it was moved. It didn't take long at all until the needle was removed the band was untied and a gauze pad was taped to your arm. The technician smiled and nodded "All set, I'd recommend drinking some of your sports drink to keep your electrolytes up, and maybe get a snack from the vending machine there if you have time. A rice treat or cereal would be recommended. I'll be back in just a moment to bring you to radiology." He got up and disposed of the needle and cleaned up before bringing the three bottles out the back door into the heart of the lab to be sent for testing.

Sighing Takao came back over to your side "How are you feeling Tecchan?" You nodded your head as an answer you didn't feel any differently, it was just a bit of blood. Did everyone need to worry so much? Honestly you were pretty sure you lost more blood in your practice match against Kaijo back then, that impact really hurt and at that point Kise hadn't hit you intentionally. You shivered imagining what would have happened if like Hanamiya, Kise had intended to injure you, at that moment you did feel yourself pale a bit even if it was unrealistic somehow it still caused you to feel instinctual fear. Sensing your change in demeanor Takao racked his brain for a moment before frowning and pressing down on your shoulder "Oi Tecchan… You're not thinking about how that wasn't much blood and that you lost more during your practice match right? Because if you're thinking about Ki-chan actually intentionally hurting you I think he'd actually start bawling again... I reaaaaally don't plan on kissing him again, please don't break him." The hawk mused, even his joke lost its edge in the face of his concern, and your fear distracted you from realizing he knew about a match from before you met. Takao poked your cheeks together with his index fingers making your cheeks puff up a bit to avoid being crushed and you slowly recovered yourself and gently swatted away his hand as you would with Murasakibara "Please don't do that Takao-kun." You were slightly annoyed as you frowned at him.

Takao chuckled and backed off "Yes, yes. As you wish Tecchan~" He started humming some tune to himself something about 'catal rhythm' it was a rather catchy tune, but you didn't realize that the point guard could actually sing. It was soft like a hum, but he was actually singing and he didn't sound bad. After about what you assumed to be half of the song the technician came back and grinned "Sorry for the wait Kuroko-kun, and Takao-kun. I'll show you the way to radiology then. If you'll follow me, we have to go back by triage since there are a few emergency patients being shuttled around in the back it's best not to get in the way of the ER; normally we'd be able to cut directly through." Leading back down the hallway to the door by the main lobby you were shepherded through another door to a very cold and long hallway which split off to a hall that led to emergency, an elevator hub and another hall that forked at the end by a wall of windows to a courtyard. As you commentated where you were and what was around you the technician stopped someone going to an elevator with a cart and took a thin blanket off setting it on Kuroko's lap "It gets cold in radiology, keep this blanket. You can leave it in your room later." You smiled and thanked the man as you resumed moving. It really was a long hallway like Takao described and it was indeed cold. Being by the windows you could feel a draft even if they were all sealed, you felt thankful for the blanket on your lap. Once you entered the double doors the technician smiled to Takao "You can bring Kuroko-kun into the waiting room to your right, I'll bring his file to the desk, someone will get you when they're prepared to do the tests. Good luck Kuroko-kun, Takao-kun." Without waiting for a reply he walked away Takao quickly thanked his retreating back and brought you into the slightly warmer waiting room.

"Would you like a snack or another sports drink Tecchan? There are vending machines here too." Takao asked as he backed you into a quiet spot away from the obvious noise of televisions in the corner. You shook your head, it wasn't normal for you to eat much during the day in the first place, so even though you just finished your drink you didn't really want another right away. Blinking Takao nodded "Got it, I'll throw the empty bottle out first and I'll get a couple to keep in the bag while I shoot a message to our senpai. I'll be right back." He ruffled your hair and slipped the bottle out of your hands gracefully and walked away his footfalls muffled by the carpet sounded a bit noisy as if he was trying to make sound to relax you, making you smirk slightly. It wasn't easy to be heard on a carpet, but the hawk was managing that took some skill you couldn't help but appreciate for some reason. You heard the bottle fall into the receptacle and swift typing on his cell phone.

Takao typed up a quick update 'Triage is taking a while. They're going through an endless cycle to make sure Tecchan is a good patient to meet their VIP. We finished with vitals and the blood lab, we're in radiology at the moment. He'll be having a CAT scan and an MRI for now. It'll be awhile before we make it into a room to meet the doctor, even though it's super quiet back here there are apparently a bunch of emergency patients getting shuttled around so hopefully that doesn't interfere with Tecchan's testing. I'll keep you updated Senpai.' and he sent it before walking over to the vending machines buying a couple more sports drinks and glancing at the snack machine. Scanning it there wasn't anything particularly appealing as expected, but Takao's eye caught a small vanilla cake thing and shrugged might as well put a couple in the bag in case either of you got hungry. Although Takao wasn't a huge fan of sweets now and then they weren't awful to have. Pulling out the treats and the drinks Takao walked back over to Kuroko putting one drink into your hands and opening the duffle bag tucking whatever else he bought inside. You sighed "Thank you Takao-kun." As you heard the bag zip back up there was a buzzing sound which made you tilt your head. "Is that the senpai getting back to you?" Takao hummed clipping the zippers together before pulling out his phone "Yup. They said since it's going to be a while they'll drag the rainbow back to practice and let Seirin know how you're doing as well. They said to take care, and for me to send them our hotel room info later in case someone is close by so they can check in, since we're only a pair of cocky freshmen." You could hear the laughter in Takao's voice, he wasn't used to being overly spoiled and even with Shuutoku the seniors around him were making up for that, so he couldn't help but laugh.

You nodded "Alright, we'll have to keep them updated still." As Takao agreed and put his phone away "We will have to, after all our seniors both friendly and competing are far to friendly. I wonder which teams will be in our hotel, I picked something that was reasonably close to here that wouldn't hassle us over being students checking in so there is probably at least one team there if I had to guess." Kuroko shook his head, he couldn't guess either, the whole gathering was somewhat unpresidented to begin with so predicting anything was nearly impossible. As you both mused over the possibilities a cheerful female voice cut across the room "Kuroko Tetsuya-kun?" Takao stretched and gestured to you before getting up again putting the duffle bag over his shoulder before pushing you forward, you were really starting to get tired of sitting…. You hoped that these scans wouldn't take long so you two could go back and stretch and do the work out routine you two started together. It would be good to alleviate these stiff muscles.

Sighing in unison the two of you faced forward, and Takao chuckled hearing your sigh join his "No worries Tecchan, this shouldn't take long." The nurse waited for you two to come over before greeting you "Please follow me, we're going to start with the CT scan. Kuroko-kun you're not wheelchair bound entirely right, it's for convenience correct?" When you nodded assent the nurse smiled "I'm glad to hear that, it makes things much easier as we won't need to get a PCA to come out, regulations and such can be a thorn when dealing with tests like these. However we want to be sure each patient is entirely safe" She glanced at Takao and smiled "You must be the notorious Takao-kun, you don't seem as ruthless as the first nurse made you out to be. She must have unleashed her barbed tongue, honestly that girl can be a bit careless in front of gorgeous people and the two of you probably unnerved her." Your eyebrows lifted in curious surprise, that wasn't exactly something you were sure how to respond to, you hoped that Takao's wit could manage this one. The hawk blinked a few times and chuckled not disappointing your expectations "Well I suppose I stopped trying to deal with glib tongue as well~ She was looking down on Kuroko, which isn't exactly ideal treatment for anyone especially someone who is amazingly observant as my friend. So when she tried to cut corners I guess I got defensive. I am nicknamed after a bird of prey after all I don't always play nice" He glossed over the appearance comment with a smile that elicited a giggle from the nurse who shook her head and commented "Honestly, you're too much. Once you reach college you're going to have scandal after scandal with that persona of yours."

That uncomfortable conversation ended with a door opening she smiled and gestured you two in "Takao-kun could you help Kuroko-kun lay down on the metal table with his head on the pillow? I'm going to prep the machine, when you're done please move the wheelchair to the back corner with the glass shield, you'll be standing with me there as well. It may be faint, but a CT scan still elicits some radiation. Anything metal needs to be removed, so piercings or zip up jackets." Nodding Takao sighed, describing the room to Tecchan as he wheeled the chair over and stopped "We're closer to the wall than the table, since I know you're dying to stretch a bit Tecchan." You heard him put down the duffle bag and then felt the light weight of the blanket leave your lap and you offered the sports drink to him which he took setting them both down with the bag and he then knelt and flipped up the foot rests which you had removed your feet from. When he was done he tapped your hand gently and you carefully got up removing the other side of your jacket carefully, it stung a little bending the arm with the gauze, as if he noticed that Takao helped you and took your jacket. Hearing the light swish you assumed he tossed it onto the back of the wheelchair. Blinking Takao realized "You won't want to keep your phone or wallet in your pocket Tecchan if you have either I'll hold onto them until we finish the scans." You realized that you had actually kept both in your pocket out of habit and nodded pulling them out, handing them to where his voice sounded from. Takao chuckled and took them "Old habits die hard, it's a good thing." After Takao took the two items and put them in his own pocket he took your hand and walked you along the open floor for a moment before guiding you to the table. "Alright Tecchan the table is around hip height for you, if you reach out to your right you should feel it." Obediently you reached out your free right hand and groped the air for a moment before finding the table a bit lower than your hip. It was solid steel and ice cold, you shivered as you released Takao's hand and sat down Takao nodded "It's freezing. We'll warm you right up after this is done. Alright swing your legs up to the right and scoot over to the center a bit" You followed his instructions and felt his hand gently touch the back of your head as if he were handling glass, without needing the accompanying words you gave a slight nod before leaning back against his hand to lay down, he guided you to the pillow and made sure you didn't risk hitting your head again.

Watching the two of you the nurse that neither of you were paying attention to whistled softly and murmured to herself 'I wish my boyfriend was as caring as Kuroko's… That's some devotion.' Although it was quiet and neither of them were supposed to hear it, they both did. Takao flushed red and his gentle smile turned slightly embarrassed, while you pretended not to hear it. Takao chuckled as your head settled into the pillow "Alright Tecchan, keep your arms in… This one is going to be weird, the machine moves along the table and it'll feel like you're going through a tunnel. Keep your eyes closed so the light doesn't hurt kay?" You nodded wondering if that was embarrassment you heard in Takao's voice, if it was that was rare, though you didn't notice it was becoming more common the more you were together. Carefully you closed your eyes and crossed your arms over your stomach as Takao walked to the corner of the room where the technician was waiting with a teasing smile.

"Kuroko-kun I'm going to start the machine alright. Stay still it will be a bit loud, try not to jump." She hit the button then she asked Takao softly so you couldn't hear "Are the two of you dating? You two have this sort of amazing atmosphere between you, I don't even know what to call it, it's like unconditional trust or something. No one else even matters, I thought that Miya was kidding, but even Shuu the lab tech said the same thing." Takao's face burned red as he shook his head swallowing, self deprecatingly he murmured back "No we're not together, Tecchan would never notice me like that. He's got bigger things to worry about." That didn't stop his ears from burning or his eyes from turning gentle and glancing over to the table where the shadow laid he murmured "I dunno if I'll even get to tell him at this rate…" The tech blinked and pat his shoulder "Don't give up kid, you'll never know if you don't try."

The whirr of the machine was a bit overwhelming as you were told, but it didn't startle you as you expected it. You could feel the light shining on your skin, no wonder Takao warned you to close your eyes it was a weird feeling. The machine moved over your body a couple times from your head to your chest and back before moving back to the end of the table. As the sound stopped you heard the nurse telling Takao not to give up and he responded with a very warm quiet voice "I'll never give up… I've managed this long, I'll tell him one day, one way or another." You were curious what they were talking about but when a ping sounded from the corner you knew the conversation ended there. The nurse nodded "Alright I'll send these over to the doctor first, then why don't we all walk down to the MRI room. It's not far but will give Kuroko-kun a chance to stretch out some more. If you put your things in the wheelchair I'll push it down for you." She said with a smile as Takao's face burned brighter, despite his embarrassment his voice hid it well as he chuckled "Appreciate it ma'am, that would be amazing."

Obediently he loaded the duffle bag, blanket and sports drink into the chair. Thinking about it he tucked Kuroko's wallet and phone into his pants pocket and crossed over to you. You were laying there, recovering from the dizzying noise, but you appreciated that you wouldn't have to get wheeled down a short hallway this time. To keep his promise the hawk shrugged off his sweater and after he helped you up he put it over your shoulders. It was rather large on you where he was a bit taller and more muscular, but it was warm from him keeping it on this whole time it was comforting. You put your arms in the sleeves for now, to stay warm and he chuckled "Orange isn't really your color, good thing you didn't come to Shuutoku to flashy for you." The point guard teased but you ignored it, feeling the warmth he was giving you. After a moment he took one of your hands and lightly tugged just slowly pacing around with you to get your blood flowing while you waited for the nurse to finish what she was doing. She sent the file and cleaned the table and changed the pillow case before apologizing for the wait and leading to the door. She wheeled the chair over with care and opened the door. "This way then boys."

Takao lightly squeezed your hand as he led the way out carefully, your fingers twined with his as you followed him, he kept you close to his side while you walked linked together. Standing close to his side you didn't worry about crashing into anything even though you weren't familiar with the area, Takao was hypervigilant and always stopped you whenever you were about to walk into things whenever you went out together. It felt nice and relaxing to walk for a while since you'd been sitting since you left this morning, sighing softly you felt the tension in your shoulders relax away a bit. The nurse opened a door ahead of you guys. Your footsteps slowed as you mimicked Takao more accurately as he guided you to the room. The nurse was already setting up the machine, the room was practically identical but the machine was a bit more intimidating looking. As the hawk walked you over to the machine he described it, it was similar to the other one except white and more plastic looking than the other one which was very metallic and robot looking. You frowned at the mental image you got, it was hard to picture, since you never needed an MRI or CAT before you didn't actually have a baseline image for the machines. Sighing softly you nodded and after the nurse was ready Takao led you to the table again, you handed him his hoodie back before sitting down. The table was a bit higher, so when you sat your feet didn't quite touch the floor which was an odd feeling. Once again Takao lowered you to the pillow with a feather's touch, this time however he lightly brushed your hair away from your forehead pausing for a moment near the bruise before flitting away. "Just like the other one you're going to go through a bright and noisy tunnel. Arms in eyes closed alright Tecchan? We can have a snack in the next waiting room."

You could hear a sort of brotherly concern in his tone as he said that, perhaps because the tests were mentally taxing, or maybe just because it was cold but you ended up wanting a bit more of that warmth… Quite a weird feeling you couldn't describe, was it because you didn't have siblings? You felt his hand leave your hair and heard him walk over to the nurse's section so she could start the machine. You closed your eyes and tucked your arms in a bit more tightly, squeezing in that strange unnamed feeling while you waited for the scans to end.