I AM ON A ROLL THESE DAYS AHAHAH- /shot

but srsly. it feels great to be able to update in a steady pace =u=. i'm not sure how i'll fare in the next chappie tho lol

anyway guys, thanks so much for all the faves, follows and reviews I've got for this story so far! you guys are awesome for putting up with my crap ;;u;;

KuroBasu isn't mine. Feel free to point out any errors I made ouo.

Thanks in advance for reading!

Ogiwara turned restlessly under the thick covers of his blanket, shivering from the cold that still seemed to be able to reach him no matter how tightly he wrapped the sheet around himself.

Matron had pulled out all the spare heaters she'd stashed up somewhere to put in every bedroom so that they wouldn't freeze to death. Ogiwara's was no exception. The device was set up dead in centre of the room so that everyone got the same amount of warmth. Well, not everyone, actually. Ogiwara could hardly feel a thing, his spot being the top compartment of a double-decker bed. He rolled around for a good five minutes more before finally heaving a weary sigh and sitting up. He crept towards the edge of his bed, wary of overreaching and ending up falling face down on the floor. The room was completely dark except for the faint lighting from a nearby streetlight that seeped in through the faded curtains. Ogiwara's hands managed to find the side railings of his compartment and he held on before leaning his weight over, hanging his head upside down to peer at the curled form of his bunkmate beneath him.

"Hey, Tetsuya?" he called out in a loud whisper. He had a feeling the other boy too, was having trouble sleeping with the temperature. He was not one to always cope well with the cold. He received several seconds of silence before hearing a soft groan from below. Kuroko curled himself up a little tighter before turning over and parting his eyelids halfway, revealing a pair of blue eyes that were dimmed with sleep. Okay, maybe not so much trouble.

"Hmm?" He didn't even bother forming a proper question. He knitted his eyebrows slightly as he focused on Ogiwara's silhouette, working to adjust his sight to the dim illumination. "Shigehiro-kun?"

"I can't sleep," Ogiwara said flat out, not even giving a chance for Kuroko to wake himself up enough to ask. "It's too cold."

Kuroko stared at him, his expression blank. "And?"

"It'd be great if you let me get in there with you for the extra warmth."

There was another lapse of silence before Ogiwara heard the sound of shifting fabric. He could now faintly see Kuroko's figure in the lower bunk when he squinted, covered all the way to his ears with his blanket. The blue-haired boy had quietly moved a little further toward the inner side of his bunk, leaving some space just enough to fit Ogiwara if he kept his arms glued to his sides. Ogiwara felt a grin spread across his face as he hastily pulled his blanket off, gathered it in a bunch, and climbed down to the lower compartment with the agility worthy of a monkey. He happily wriggled into the slight space Kuroko had left for him, and proceeded to spread the sheet he brought with him over the both of them. It was a pretty snug fit and they had to share a pillow between them, but neither minded it much.

"..Can't sleep either?" Ogiwara turned his head over and whispered after a while of listening to the soft, shallow breathing of his companion. He noted that he'd yet to achieve the deep, rhythmic ones that usually signified slumber. Kuroko shook his head as a response, sending his already mussed up hair into even more disarray. Ogiwara was a little disappointed with the fact that he'd be missing the sight of his bedhair the next morning. Perhaps he should try waking up a little earlier for that. He abandoned the thought when he felt Kuroko turning flat on his back so that he too, was looking at the bottom side of the top bunk.

"Not really," Kuroko admitted in a barely audible voice, a distant look in his eyes. The slight knit had returned to his eyebrows, and it wasn't from annoyance this time.

"You worried about something?" Ogiwara asked, and Kuroko could only shrug lightly.

"Sort of," he said, exhaling a puff of air through his mouth. Ogiwara took a moment to analyze the hints the pale boy seemed to be giving out before asking again.

"Is it something Ryou told you?"

Kuroko burrowed his nose a little deeper under the edge of his blanket, hesitating to answer. When he finally did, it was because he remembered exactly just how persistent Ogiwara could be at times. There was no use trying to hide things from him. Besides, the raven was only caring for him like he always did. But Kuroko didn't want to infect him with his own anxiety, especially not during such ungodly hours at night when everyone should already be dead to the world.

"It's about Daiki-kun," he said at last, and paused for a split second before deciding to add; "He's changed."

It was Ogiwara's turn to furrow his brow. "How so?" He sounded genuinely confused.

"He's a delinquent now."

"What?"

Ogiwara abruptly realized the rise in his voice volume and immediately clamped his mouth shut. He held his breath, waiting for his sleeping roommates to stir and start yelling at him for being so darn noisy in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the gentle snoring here and there barely even faltered, so it was safe for him to assume that he'd woken no one by accident.

"Seriously?" Ogiwara inquired again in a more hushed tone this time. Daiki's a delinquent? The fact shouldn't be that difficult for him to accept. The Daiki Ogiwara knew had always been rash and stupid and would do all kinds of things that would make anyone he knew line up to hit him upside the head. Ogiwara had always thought himself as a hot-headed person, but that guy was even more so. There'd been more than one case in which the rest of them had to hold him back from pummeling a person to death.

"Ryouta-kun said he's currently in suspension," Kuroko said, closing his eyes and heaving a sigh. It felt like there was an unsaid sentence, and Ogiwara was sure it was something like, "What am I going to do with him?"

"He's still a first-rate idiot, huh?" he muttered under his breath, surprised by the slight crack in his voice. He swallowed once and shifted his gaze to the side, admittedly afraid of Kuroko's answer to his next question. "So.. you're planning on doing something about it?"

"I don't know, Shigehiro-kun," Kuroko said, his expression positively a frown now. He sounded very, very tired. "I honestly don't know."

Sensing that the situation was about to make Kuroko too worked up to sleep, Ogiwara quickly attempted ending the discussion. He reached out his hand, and miraculously, he managed to find Kuroko's through a gap in his blanket wrap. He held the warm, slender fingers and gave them a reassuring squeeze like how he did many times before, letting the smile spread across his face as he did so. "Hey, no use thinking about all those now when you're already dead tired," he told him gently. "Might as well get some shut-eye now and leave the rest for tomorrow."

"I suppose," Kuroko breathed, and Ogiwara could physically feel the tension easing from the former's body. He turned his head slightly to face his companion, and a small smile graced his lips. "Thank you, Shigehiro-kun."

"Anytime." Ogiwara let out a soft laugh and shifted a little closer to the smaller boy. He leaned against the fluffiness of Kuroko's wrapped up form, savoring the little heat that they got to share between them, and a yawn escaped his lips. "Good night, Tetsuya."

"Mn." Kuroko sighed softly and closed his eyes once more, ever grateful for the existence of the boy beside him. "Good night, Shigehiro-kun."

And listening to the lulling sounds of snores and the soft electrical hum of the heater, he eventually succumbed to exhaustion, and drifted off.

xXx

Getting out of bed the next morning was hell.

It was so comfortably warm under the covers , Kuroko thought it'd take his life to part from it. He tried not to make too many sudden movements as he unwound himself from his blanket, mindful of the sleeping Ogiwara next to him. He poked his arm out to test the temperature and immediately caught his breath. Even with the heater on, it was cold. When he's out in the streets later, it'd surely be literally freezing. That thought didn't exactly increase Kuroko's willpower to leave his bed and get up.

When he finally did manage to pull away from the dreadfully tempting comfort of his bed and crept over Ogiwara who was snoring like nobody's business, Kuroko thought he'd be at least five minutes late. He figured being late would do him good. He could use some adrenaline pumping through his veins right about now. Anything to distract him from the fact that he was about to be embraced by the cruel arms of the winter temperature. Standing before the closed door of his room, Kuroko took a moment to steel his nerves before reaching for the handle, bracing himself for the blast of cold that would greet him as soon as he pulled the thick wooden panel from its frame.

He practically skipped through the hallway, his bare feet barely touching the wooden flooring as he headed to the bathroom. The door was locked when he got there, so he stood aside and waited, hugging his change of clothes close to himself. He silently prayed for the person inside to hurry up because despite his thoughts about how being late would be good for him, he was actually quite worried for it wasn't his boss that minded his tardiness, but the customers. Kuroko especially disliked those who seem to think that the delivery team were robots or something; always expecting them to deliver the newspaper issues exactly at a certain set time. He hated their inability to understand that the delivery team were only human and could only do their best to do their job properly.

It felt like forever had passed when the sound of water flushing was finally heard. The door unlocked, and to Kuroko's mild astonishment, Kise stepped out, his blonde hair mussed up from sleep, his eyes still half closed. Kise had stayed the night because by the time dinner was over and all, it was pitch black outside and Matron wouldn't let him go out alone. Kise had insisted that he'd be alright at first, claiming that he'd called his manager to pick him up at the nearest bus stop - which, actually was not that near at all. He'd donned his coat and muffler and all and was prepared to journey out alone. Until he opened the door. The blast of cold that greeted him was enough to shut him up, make him quietly return inside, shed his winter wear and ask where he'd be sleeping for the night.

"Tetsucchi?" he said when he noticed the shorter boy standing just outside, sounding startled. "Why are you up so early?"

"Good morning, Ryouta-kun," Kuroko greeted, then tilted his head sideways slightly. "I could say the same to you."

"Toilet break," Kise said, stifling a yawn. He shivered. "Ugh, it's colddddd!"

"Indeed," Kuroko agreed, rubbing his arms. His dread of having to leave the house was steadily increasing.

"So why are you awake? You going somewhere?" Kise asked again, nodding at the clothes Kuroko carried in his arms. The latter nodded, moving towards the now vacant bathroom.

"I've got work to attend later," Kuroko said over his shoulder. When he saw Kise's raised eyebrows, he added, "It's a part-time delivery service."

"But its freezing out there." The blonde sounded incredulous.

"I'll be wearing extra clothes, so don't worry," Kuroko told him, though it felt more like he was trying to convince himself. Kise was still pretty flustered over the matter.

"But what if you fall sick or something?" he cried, practically waving his arms in agitation. "Can't you like, I don't know - take the whole winter off or something?"

"I can't afford to even if I want to." The right corner of Kuroko's lips was twitched upward in a wry smile. "I'll be okay, Ryouta-kun. I've been on this job for a while now. I'm used to braving the weather."

"But do you really have to?" Worry overflowed from Kise's voice. "I mean isn't there any other jobs that's easier on you?"

Kuroko only shook his head. "There isn't much people out there who'd hire a minor. My current one is the best I could ask for."

"Why do you need to work, anyway? Are you guys short on money or something?" Kise asked, genuinely concerned. Kuroko pursed his lips. Of course. Kise had left when Matron's financial complications aroused. He didn't know about what's going on yet.

"There are more children now compared to the time before you left, don't you think?" Kuroko pointed out, and Kise nodded thoughtfully. "Matron doesn't have enough to properly support all of them. So some of us are helping out."

"You mean you're not the only one?"

"Everyone above thirteen is working," Kuroko told him, abruptly realizing that he'd really be late if this conversation continued on. "Except for Shigehiro-kun - he helps take care of the house when the rest of us are out. Now please excuse me."

He closed the door before Kise could make his reply. Kuroko didn't mean to be rude or anything, but he really had no choice. He was afraid he might be the one who'd be unwilling to let the subject drop if they kept on talking any longer. Once he was alone, Kuroko quickly cleaned up and changed; pulling on an extra thick t-shirt and a long-sleeved turtleneck sweater on top. He then donned a pair of jeans that was a little too long, so he reached down and folded the edges before straightening and walking out.

Kise was nowhere in sight when he returned to the hallway. Kuroko didn't put much thought into that as he headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab his usual breakfast. He placed the slice of toast in his mouth, and without even stopping to finish it, he briskly made his way to the entryway to fetch his coat, muffler and cap. He had just finished wearing his longest pair of socks and was struggling with his sneakers when he heard a voice behind him.

"Be careful out there, Tetsucchi."

Kuroko paused and turned around, his gaze settling on the blonde teen that stood behind him. "I will, Ryouta-kun. Thank you."

Kise smiled, but there was a look in his eyes that Kuroko could not recognize. "I guess this is goodbye again; since I'll probably be gone by the time you're back."

"We'll still see each other," Kuroko stated simply, standing up. "So it's not goodbye."

The look in Kise's eyes did not change when he shrugged. "I guess so."

"See you again, Ryouta-kun." Kuroko was surprised by the lack of emotion in his chest. He thought he'd at least feel a little unwilling to part with Kise, since it's been such a long time since they last saw each other. But he felt nothing. No squeezes in his chest. No pain in his heart. Just a certain numbness. As if the winter cold had somehow managed to seep in all the way into his ribcage and froze everything there. "You take care too."

"See you again.. huh?" Kise echoed, averting his gaze. When he looked up again, Kuroko realized there were tears in his eyes. "Yeah. Thanks, Tetsucchi."

"You're welcome.' Kuroko smiled. He let himself be pulled into one last quick hug before moving towards the front door.

And with a final wave to his friend, he turned, and stepped outside.

…

Getting to work was another hell.

Despite wearing the thickest clothes he owned, Kuroko could still feel himself freezing to the core. He cycled as fast as he could; half to keep himself warm, half because he really was seven minutes late. He sped through the mostly empty streets, grateful to all the existing gods for the lack of vehicles in that point in time. He found himself glancing at his watch every single time he made a stop, feeling his heart pound harder at every passing second. Was he going to make it? Five minutes. The most amount of time he could afford to spare was five more minutes. More than that and he'll just have to brace himself for a bad morning.

By the time he arrived at the familiar building, he was panting heavily and his legs were shaky from exertion. It seemed impossible to sweat on winters, but Kuroko could feel his inner clothes slightly damp as he got off his bicycle and made his way inside. He pulled his cap off and roughly raked his fingers through his hair while walking, attempting to dry off the moisture that'd gathered there in his haste to reach the office. Kuroko glanced at the large clock hanging on the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. He'd only used up three minutes of his five-minute quota. But he still had to hurry. Late is still late.

"Kuroko-kun!"

Kuroko finished writing the last character of his name and looked up, turning toward the direction of the voice. His boss stood a little to his right, smiling with his usual jolliness. He motioned for the boy to follow him into his office, and bracing himself for the nagging he thought he was about to receive, Kuroko obliged, keeping his head hung low. But the chides never came. He watched in silence with raised eyebrows as the man bent under his table and reappeared several seconds later, holding a box in his hands.

"Disposable heat packs," he said as an answer to the adolescent's questioning look. "My wife's got something to do today and the hot water bottle's with her. So I got these instead."

Kuroko stared at the box without a word. Now that he thought of it, he remembered thinking of buying some of those for himself and the others to keep warm, but he never had the chance. It either always slipped his mind, or he'd forget to bring some extra money with him during his grocery shopping. Kuroko abruptly realized that perhaps he'd been a little too absentminded all this while.

"Thank you very much," he told his employer as the man placed a white packet that stuck to his shirt on his back. His boss handed him another one and he positioned it over his belly. Once he pulled his garments back on properly again, the chemicals in the packets reacted, and he soon felt warm and toasty and ready to take on any temperature the weather might decide to throw at him. It didn't seem possible, but the heat packs actually kept him warmer than the water bottle did.

"No problem!" The man grinned, patting him on the shoulder. "It's my job to make sure my boys don't die while working hard, eh?"

Kuroko laughed a little - mostly out of politeness - and let himself be steered back outside. He then hastily went on with the usual proceedings, and barely two minutes later, he was pedaling off again with the usual number of newspaper rolls secured to the back of his bike.

Kuroko wasn't sure if it was because of the clothes he wore this time or if the heat packs are just that effective, but for the first time in a long while during winter, he wasn't shivering. It was still cold, yes, but it wasn't to the point of unbearable like how it usually was. Even his breathing felt a little easier, though Kuroko was sure it was just him. He ran his tongue across his dry, chapped lips. He was still breathing in the same dry, cool air the season had to offer. Funny how much difference a little rise in surrounding temperature could change his views toward the situation.

His optimism, however, did not last. With an abundance of time for him to think alone, his worries the night before slowly crept their way back into his mind. Daiki. Kuroko hadn't heard nor called that name in a long, long while. To hear it again along with that piece of news, Kuroko surprisingly didn't even feel disappointed in him. Instead, he was exasperated because what the hell was he doing? He knew he'd always been troublemaker material from the start, but to actually be suspended from school? Just what was the bloody idiot thinking? Kuroko couldn't decide whether or not to wring his neck the next time he met him.

If he ever did get to meet him.

He pulled his brakes upon reaching a traffic light, placing one leg on the ground to steady himself. Since he was at a four-way junction and there were two more turns to wait for, Kuroko took the chance to remove his hands from the handles and stuff them under his coat, placing them over the heating packet on his belly. An unintentional sigh of contentment escaped his lips as he slowly got to feel his fingers again. Despite everything that's going on, having to actually feel warm really cheered him up, though he wasn't very sure how that worked. At any rate, he made a mental note to himself to add a few boxes of heat packs to the shopping list when he got back. Those stuff were great.

His thoughts of his childhood friend returned as soon as Kuroko lost his distraction. He might be mad at him for being so darned reckless, but he was also dead worried about him. What happened to push him to become a delinquent of sorts? He was hot tempered and all, but when left alone, he was usually too lethargic to even move. During his years in the orphanage, he'd just lie around all day until Matron or Riko decide to get him to do things by literally kicking his ass. He shouldn't even be bothered to be involved in this sort of things. He shouldn't.

Or at least Kuroko thought he shouldn't. So what could've happened? Was he not enjoying his new life that much? Were the people in his current school trying to pick on him? Was he doing it for attention? Was he trying to protect a friend? There were so many possibilities, and as noble as some as them were, Kuroko still couldn't see the necessity for him to result to violence. What exactly was wrong?

Kuroko wasn't going to deny having the urge to go see the guy right there and then to have a nice, long talk with him. He'd hear him out and try his best to soothe him. Ask him to stop being so reckless. But a sliver of doubt lingered at the edges of his thoughts. Would he still listen to him? He'd always been a needlessly stubborn guy and there was no telling if that trait of his had gotten any worse. Even if Kuroko were to talk to him about it, would he listen? Kuroko didn't know, and that agitated him to no end.

He just didn't know anymore.

xXx

"Hey, Kuroko..?"

Kagami had to wave his hand before the pale boy's eyes to finally pull him out of his thoughts. Kuroko blinked a few times in temporary confusion before completely returning to reality. Kagami stared at him, his eyebrows slightly knitted.

"You okay there?" he asked, almost tentatively. "You've been spacing out a lot today."

"I'm fine," Kuroko replied, his voice still the usual monotone. He fixed his gaze on a spot on the table. "I'm just.. thinking about something."

Kagami was quiet for a moment, his scarlet eyes averted as he contemplated on whether or not to say anything else. The words popped into this head, and without thinking it over, he blurted out; "I'm sure it'll be okay, whatever it is."

"Huh?" Kuroko looked up, blinking in slight confusion. Kagami felt himself abruptly blushing in self-consciousness. Okay, maybe what he said was a little too cheesy.

"T-That's just how things are, right?" Kagami worked to refrain from stammering like a girl in a high school confession. "They'll turn out in the end, somehow or another. So try not to worry about it too much."

It took a while, but it finally dawned the shorter boy that the redhead was actually trying to cheer him up. Kuroko found it ironic, more than anything. He was being assured by a person who's about to snap due to exam stress; who's current predicament was so much more urgent than his own. Even with all the effort they'd put into the tutoring sessions, even if Kuroko's question predictions were mostly spot on, Kagami would just be barely able to pass. That was all he needed, really. He only needed to pass. But to barely scrape through, it was dangerous. He could still lose marks from careless mistakes and the like. No, barely passing was just too risky.

"Thank you, Kagami-kun," Kuroko told him with a soft smile before moving to stand up. "Excuse me for a moment."

He hurried off and returned barely a minute later, holding something in his hands. When Kuroko uncurled his fingers as he held the item out to him, Kagami realized it was a pencil; the wooden, traditional hexagonal type and not a mechanical one. The numbers one to six were written on each side at the blunt end, and a single phrase was written along the length of the first side. Kagami couldn't really make out what it said thanks to the tiny writing and complicated kanji.

"It's a rolling pencil," Kuroko explained as Kagami studied it in his hands. "It'll help when you're doing multiple choice questions."

"So.. I'm just supposed to roll it?" Kagami hoped this wasn't one of the 'emergency measures' Kuroko had mentioned earlier. He had absolutely no luck in this kind of things.

"Yes." Kuroko didn't sound like he was going to offer anything else. "An old friend gave this to me a while ago as a 'last resort', as he'd put it. I've only tried it out a few times myself and I know it doesn't look like much, but it works."

"..Okayyy." Kagami reluctantly slipped the stationery into his pencil case for safe keeping. "Thanks, I guess."

Kuroko nodded, and Kagami silently went back to work. Everything felt almost too normal to Kagami, as if there was still a long way to go until his exams start and not a little over two days. It felt like just another day of tutoring; him doing the things he was assigned to while sitting across his blue-haired tutor. The atmosphere, the mood - everything felt familiar now. Kagami felt surprisingly calm for someone who's probably about to shed tears before a set of paper in about a couple of days' time. He figured he'd just crossed his own stress limit or something. He'd probably gotten so used to the pressure that he simply couldn't feel it anymore.

"I don't care if you're going to freeze to death on the way home tonight, but you are joining us for dinner."

Kagami paused from stuffing his things into his bag and tilted his head toward the voice, an eyebrow raised. His lesson was over. "Hah?"

"Matron's orders," Ogiwara told him, pointing his thumb over his shoulder and at the kitchen. "It's your final lesson with Tetsuya, right? So probably be the last time you'll have dinner with us too." He heaved a soft sigh and crossed his arms. A crooked smile made its way to his lips. "Or at least the last time in a long while. But anyway, Matron insists you stay and eat first before you leave."

Kagami wasn't sure what happened, but the thought of having to part from Matron's delicious cooking suddenly made his heart sting. Apparently, four days was all it took for him to grow so dangerously attached to everything in the orphanage. He realized he was actually going to miss it a lot when he left. The noise of the rowdy orphans, the warmth of having so many people around, the feeling of being spoiled by someone - everything suddenly seemed so precious. His first experiences of being accepted and treated like family; they were now like treasures to him, something he'd hold close to his heart. Kagami firmly reminded himself to thank every single one of them later before he goes on his way. He owes them too much.

He owes them for helping to take away his feelings of loneliness, even for a while.

There was no feeling of finality even during dinner. Everyone was loud and lively as usual; and Kagami was glad. If they made everything seem as if it was really his last, Kagami was honestly afraid he'd end up losing half his manliness by the time he leaves to go home. He forced himself to push the thoughts out of his mind as he dug in with everyone else, determined not to let his own stupid nostalgia ruin his appetite. His stomach agreed, urging him to eat more and quench his growing hunger. Matron's food really were something.

The moment was great when it lasted. Kagami soon found himself standing before his tutor and the matron of the house, bowing low.

"Thank you very much for everything," he said with all the sincerity he could muster. It wasn't hard. He really was grateful for everything they'd done for him.

"It was a pleasure to have you here, Kagami-kun," Matron told him once he'd straightened up, a warm, motherly smile spread across her features. She reached out, and held both his hands in hers. "Best of luck for your exams, okay?"

"Y-Yes!" Kagami nodded with fervor, and the lady's eyes brightened just a little more.

"Spend the weekend well, Kagami-kun," Kuroko told him as they trudged to the entryway together. "It won't hurt to do a little more revision while you still can." He paused for a moment, and Kagami turned to look at him, wondering what was with the moment of hesitance.

"And I'm sorry I can't help you any more than this," Kuroko finally said, his gaze flickered sideways. Kagami couldn't help snorting at the ridicule.

"Idiot," he deadpanned, flicking a finger across the smaller boy's forehead. Kuroko winced from the sudden assault. "You've done plenty already. I can't thank you enough."

Kagami finished putting on his shoes, and stood up, readjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder. "Well then. I'll see you guys around," he said, heading to the front door.

"Do your best, Kagami-kun," Kuroko spoke up again just before he stepped outside into the darkness. "Don't let our efforts go to waste."

Kagami glanced over his shoulder, and smiled. "I won't," he promised.

And he disappeared with a click from the closed door.

/whispers its not over he's coming back byee