.
Chapter 7: When You Feel Alone
.
Although he had agreed to it, now that he was there Kuroko began to get worried about just how much protein Kagami ate every day.
"This is only slightly less meat than the time you cooked me breakfast."
"Eh?" Kagami looked up and listened over the sound of the sizzling on the frying pan. "Oh yeah. Well the vegetables take less time so for now why don't you just wash'm."
Kuroko shook his head with a confused sigh and turned to the sink which had a big back of mixed vegetables next to it.
"How much should I wash?"
"What do you mean how much? We're using all of it."
Kuroko felt himself shiver.
He took it back; Kagami simply ate way too much on a regular basis. Still he just went with it and began to prepare what he could.
"How can you afford to eat so much every day, do you have a job?"
"Nah, you're not the only one living off of your parents. Like I said, everything I have in this place came with the house, only got enough money for food and cleaning stuff. The basketballs and weights are gifts from American friends."
"I see…" Kuroko nodded, an image coming to his head of Kagami seeing his parents again only for them to realize he had turned into a glutton. No, he may have always been like this. Now he really wanted to know but it's not like he could ask his parents. Kuroko caught himself feeling something strange, something that made him smile. The thought that they would keep a strange friendship like this while being forbidden to see each other's family, for some reason it was kind of exciting. Although he could have sworn it reminded him of a story he's heard before.
….
"Kagami-kun, can I ask another favour of you?"
"What is it?" Kagami grumbled with his mouth full. His plate was once again mostly empty while Kuroko had taken a break from eating.
"Do you… mind if I stay at your house again?"
"Huh?" He frowned, looking up before he answered. "Are you sure? Your parents sound pretty strict, won't they notice?" Wait, the better answer probably would have been 'no way I fed you already now skat'.
That's probably what he would have said last week anyway.
"They are only strict about the things that they know others will see. As far as they know I have been in my room since I left school."
"And what about your school tomorrow? I'd imagine somewhere posh wouldn't be too keen on you coming in late."
"I can do a great phone voice. I got away with it last week I can do it again this week."
"Now that is something I would like to see." Kagami smirked.
There was no way the never-changing Kuroko could pull off different voices.
"I will get embarrassed if you watch."
"Really? I think you just can't do it."
"I can. Watch, I have an impression of the captain."
Kuroko blinked and Kagami was drawn in to see just what would happen. A miracle might just occur before his very eyes.
He leaned in close as Kuroko opened his mouth.
"Are you an idiot, Kagami."
"You just did it in your normal voice!" He spat, almost choking on his food.
"I have an impression of you too Kagami-kun." Kuroko blinked again. "Yes, I am an idiot. Sir."
"You little brat!" Kagami reached over the table in an instant and hit his palm onto Kuroko's forehead. He knocked him back and used the second to not have his face give away that he was about to laugh. "If you're going to do an impression, do it right."
"Show me how to do it right then, idiot-kun." Kuroko said as he rubbed his forehead, only to receive a flick on the ear.
"I'm not putting on a show for you, kid."
"I am not a kid." He frowned in an almost pouty way.
"Well I think you are a kid, kid."
Kuroko's gaze turned into a half glare as Kagami smirked victoriously. Just as the red-head thought he had won the match he blurted out a pained noise and fell to the floor, clutching his knee.
"You son of a…"
Kuroko put his foot back down from where he had heeled him in the shin.
"Sorry, my legs are too childish to not reach perfectly into your shin." He shrugged and was about to begin eating again when he was suddenly tackled to the floor.
"Well you know what big tough adults do to kids who don't behave right?"
"W-What…?" Kuroko frowned, a slight tint of stutter coming to him as he tried to not be intimidated by the larger male pinning him down.
"You do… THIS!"
In a flash his hands moved. The red-head moved fast and before Kuroko could stop him he found himself tensing up with a gasp. "O-Oi- sto-" He tried desperately to stop Kagami's tickling hands but could only do so much when he was desperately trying to stop himself from smiling or laughing. His shirt fell up to the perfect length to expose all of the worst spots that would make him flinch and twist as his body told him he needed to laugh. He covered his mouth with one hand and tried to push Kagami away with both feet and the other hand but the red-head's tickling skill was too powerful, and just as Kuroko came to the brink of being unable to hold back he took a great gasp and his leg went straight up with the force of a thousand tickled children.
All fell silent as the fearsome male was floored.
"G…uuuh…hhh…" Poor Kagami groaned as he held his precious broken jewels. "Whyyyyy…"
"Sorry, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said as he caught his breath, red faced from the effort. "This time I definitely am sorry. But you did deserve it."
As the pale student took deep breaths and moved his hair out of his face Kagami sobbed for his temporarily lost manhood.
….
After recovering (and a small revenge) battle the two passed their time casually until it was about time to hit the hay.
Kuroko went exploring through the house to find most of it to be empty space, including another bedroom. After stepping inside he found that it was completely empty apart from a family picture on the side-table. He deduced that this must have been the room Kagami's father was meant to have if he had moved here with his son.
Kuroko decided not to tell Kagami he'd been here. He would sleep on the couch tonight.
Meanwhile Kagami shuffled through some sports magazines that he had spent some spare cash on, laying on the couch without a care in the world. It was only when Kuroko started bringing all the dishes they had used to the kitchen that he looked at the time.
"Last time I was here I think I fell asleep on the couch." Kuroko pointed out as he began to fill the sink with hot water.
"Yeah you did, first time I had to put out the extra blanket for someone."
"You didn't have to put me to bed."
"And let you whine about having a bad neck from falling asleep sitting up in the morning? Yeah right." Kagami shook his head and went to get the extra blanket and pillow.
"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko watched from the kitchen as he paused from cleaning up the plates. After observing for a bit a soft smile returned to his lips. "You are surprisingly caring."
That caught the red-head off guard. He glanced to the ghost with an expression that tested if he had heard that right then looked away, covering his cheeks with his hand even though the other couldn't see his blush.
"What are you talking about?! I-It's just the thing you gotta do, ya know? Shut up and get back to cleaning or we'll be here all night!" Kagami shook his head vigorously and started sorting out the make-shift couch-bed in an awkward, aggravated fashion.
Kuroko watched on with a smile, then softly laughed a quiet laugh before he got back to the dishes.
….
A seemingly empty room with the sound of a ticking clock at night was new to him. When he opened his eyes he didn't see silk sheets or a well organised vanity, instead there was a TV and a wooden floor. When he curled up there was air, not more bed, and when he turned it felt as though there was a wall in front of him. It wasn't… bad. More like, it was cold. While he prided himself on being very adaptable he had to admit this was a definite new experience. No matter how many excuses he made Kuroko couldn't avoid it.
He couldn't sleep.
Overtired and exhausted, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked over to the light up clock on one of the boxes underneath the TV. It was already past midnight, how long had he been tossing and turning?
Water – maybe a drink would help him.
Ah, where was the nearest tap? His head was so fuzzy; maybe he should just ask Kagami.
Without thinking Kuroko dragged himself out from under the covers and rubbed his eyes. He could already feel that his hair was everywhere. After he had gathered himself he slowly got up and wandered around the couch, his sight fading from blurry to dark as he struggled to keep his eyes open. It didn't help that his steps were uneven and he almost bumped into the wall looking for the right direction.
Where was his room again? This door? Yeah, he could see the moonlight seep under the doorway.
Kuroko slowly opened the door that he vaguely remembered to lead to Kagami's bedroom and drifted in, eyes trailing the dark silhouettes that filled it. It was very different at night, eerily silent save for the slight snore that broke through the red-head's breathing every so often. That stereotypically annoying noise was a strange comfort in Kuroko's sleepy state. His eyes trailed to the bed and the mound that lay in it. Kagami looked very comfortable lying there, so picturesque. If Kuroko wasn't so unnoticeable he would be afraid of disturbing him from his perfect slumber. The peace was clear on the red-head's face, a new look for him.
Kagami, where is the tap? He asked in his head, unconsciously trying not to stumble over his own two feet as he walked over to the bed. Now to actually ask him.
Tapping him would probably be easiest, so as Kuroko leaned over he pressed one hand on the bed and tried to reach for his friend with the other.
"Ah…"
He stopped, eyes drooping to his balancing hand.
The bed felt… strangely warm.
Underneath his fingertips he could feel a warm comfort that he hadn't felt in a very long time It called to him to come to dreamland at last. He moved his hand about a bit and then shuffled it under the covers. The comfortable feeling took away his thoughts of what he had actually come here to do as he felt more of the bed before him. Muttering something along the lines of "excuse me", he moved himself slyly under the sheets and got comfortable in this new, much larger bed.
He was right, it was really warm. The world of sleep seemed so much closer in here.
….
From that point on the world continued to turn as slowly as ever, absolute silence ruling over as the night time began to pass on its own.
The two slept close in the warmth.
Fate seemed to choose which path the two would take in the morning when it chose which one would wake up first, perhaps if it had chosen the other then this story would have taken a different turn.
"…Hm…?"
Kuroko took a long moment as his eyes slowly opened to early morning sun. He felt just a little dizzy and dry-throated, probably the reason why he woke up this early. His head rolled to the side where he saw the alarm clock through squinted eyes. It was 5:something in the morning, he had only slept for 5 hours but for some reason he felt refreshed.
But… this wasn't the place he had gone to bed, was it?
After looking around with lazy eyes he confirmed it: this was Kagami's room. This meant… He lulled his head the other way and flinched when he saw the red-head so close to him. An unfamiliar heat travelled to his cheeks but he kept his nerves down – or so he convinced himself. He stayed and stared for a long moment, processing how he should feel about this, but in the end he couldn't decide on one emotion. So instead he turned on his side towards him and stared a moment longer to admire Kagami's sleeping face.
Ah, this part of him is kinda cool too.
Kuroko let go of a silent sigh as his eye lids began to lower again. Kagami really was… warm…
All of a sudden it struck him, a stray memory rushing through his heart.
Kuroko's eyelids flung open and he was faced with Kagami's sleeping face again, though this time the sight sent a shiver of fear through him. "Ka…" He muttered to himself, trying to find why he felt this way now of all times. Could it be, could this 'something new' really hold such consequences? Kuroko bit his lip and tried to ignore it, thinking that it was just his blonde friend's words getting to him. He tried to cast out the thoughts of what his parents might do if they found out. Not just to him, right now he feared for Kagami's future as well. "Sorry…" He whispered, shifting out from under the covers.
He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. He wanted to get rid of this feeling, go back to the time just a moment ago when doubt wasn't an issue, but right now he just had to get away.
….
"Where…" Kagami blinked, staring at the empty room.
Well it was his own living room so it wasn't empty, but…
"Where did the bastard go?"
He ran a hand through his hair with a huff.
Kuroko wasn't anywhere. No sign of him in any of the rooms, even his stuff had vanished.
It wasn't like he wanted to baby sit the guy more, but after all they talked about yesterday it was a little concerning. Also, weren't they going to get ready together this morning? Kagami wanted to punch himself for thinking about that as though it were something he was looking forward to.
No matter how he searched for a trace of the smaller guy the only thing he convinced himself of was that Kuroko really was a ghost.
"Jeez, whatever. I'll see him next week anyway." He sighed and turned back to the kitchen to get some much needed food.
From that point on Kagami spent his day like any other.
Just as bored as ever, just as restless as ever, just as bad at school as ever. That's what it would appear, but today it wasn't him being restless or bored, more like preoccupied. It was a weird feeling that he couldn't get rid of. His thoughts would drift with the wind and his attention would always waver whenever he saw something he could relate to basketball. Now this wasn't exactly a new thing, but now for some reason every train of thought lead to the issues bothering him. What Kise had said, what Kuroko had said, what the ghost kid's issues really meant. It was annoying, but, he was starting to think that maybe there was more meaning behind those blank expressions of his. This shouldn't have bothered him as much as it was but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't chase away the thought that he was worried about Kuroko.
From this train of thought he even decided to take a trip to the street court where they had first met after school. Of course he took a basketball and told himself he was just there for practice but a little part of him wanted someone specific to show up so that he could get the answers he wanted.
"Hyarrgh-!" With a strong lay up he tested his strength and dunked the ball straight into the hoop.
It fell through smoothly, loosing velocity from travelling through the net to land gently enough on the gravel ground below. As Kagami landed he took a breath and wiped away the sweat, remembering what his coach had said about his jumping. Maybe it was a skill like Kuroko and Kise? Maybe, and maybe that was something they could have in common.
"Agh, come on." He shook his head and grabbed the ball again.
That was enough, there was no way he could see him until next week so there was no point in thinking about him all over again. If he could just play basketball all day he would be happy.
He turned the ball around in his hands, too distracted to hear the rattling on the near chain fence. However the voice caught his attention instantly.
"It's nice to see you again, Taiga."
The voice that spoke in the language he knew better than anyone else around here, there was only one person that could be standing there.
"Tatsuya?"
Kagami stared, wide-eyed, at his brother who offered a calm and confident smile.
.
Chapter 7 End
.
So now the ever ghostly Kuroko has left yet another impression on the young tiger, and once again disappeared without a trace, spooky! Thank you all for your continued support in reading this far!
Next chapter continues with a new challenger, how this will effect the story will be shown only with patience!
