Author's Notes: I'm so incredibly sorry for the delayed update. A new semester started for me and wow, everything just piled up from the beginning. Anyways, a few of you were concerned that I had dropped this story. I would like to just say that despite the long gap between updates, I have no plans whatsoever to abandon my fics. So rest assure, this story will continue! And with that, here's the long awaited chapter. I hope this longer chapter makes up for the wait!

Disclaimer: All the awesome characters of Kuroko no Basket belong to Tadatoshi Fujimaki. I do not own or claim to own anything.


Chapter 8: Fall Album V - Back to School II


"Damn them!" Aomine slammed his fist into the nearby wall. "Who the hell do they think they are?"

"It was completely unacceptable," Midorima agreed with barely suppressed rage, "for them to show us up like that."

"And what's up with the way Kise acted?" Aomine demanded, still going on with his tirade. "Acting like he's on their side or something."

"It seems as if more than one person needs to have their loyalty tested," Midorima noted coolly, referring to a certain blue-haired photographer as well as Riko and Hyuuga, who had both left the classroom with Kise.

Akashi himself did not say a single thing throughout the entire time that Aomine and Midorima were ranting, but anybody could tell with a single glance just how displeased he was with the entire situation.

"I dunno." Murasakibara suddenly spoke up as he munched thoughtfully on a handful of crackers. "Do you think they might have a point?"

At this, Akashi scoffed. "Please, Atsushi. As if mere students can truly judge good modeling themselves. Most likely, they were just showing favoritism towards the two of them as fellow classmates."

Aomine was about to protest, saying how Kuroko, Kise, Riko, and Hyuuga wouldn't have been showing favoritism toward Kagami and Himuro over them, but one glance at Akashi's still livid eyes told him that it would be wise to keep his mouth shut.

"Okay, Aka-chin," Murasakibara said agreeably. "If you say so. But can we talk this over lunch? I'm getting hungry." He shook his now empty bag of crackers to emphasize his point.

For a moment, Aomine was sure that Akashi would snap at Murasakibara for his straightforwardness, but he was surprised when Akashi took a deep breath instead, as if to regain control over himself. Some of the anger thawed out from his eyes and a small wry smile settled on his lips. "I suppose you're right, Atsushi. There's no use discussing anything over an empty stomach."

"I saw the cafeteria over there earlier." Murasakibara said, bounding eagerly off to that direction. Aomine merely rolled his eyes. Trust Murasakibara to take the initiative only when food is involved.

The three members of the Generation of Miracles followed Murasakibara as he guided them down the hallway, then past a set of double doors that led into a bustling cafeteria teeming with rowdy students all hungry for food.

At the sight of the unruly crowd, Midorima wrinkled his nose. "You don't actually expect us to eat with them, do you?" He looked highly affronted at the thought of even entering the cafeteria.

Akashi has never one to take objections against his ideas well. "Unless you have a better idea, Shintaro, I suggest you bear with the current circumstances, less you wish to go hungry for the rest of the day."

That effectively shut Midorima up, but it still didn't stop him from throwing disdainful glares at the hordes of students around them. Aomine, too, braced himself as he stepped foot inside the cafeteria, expecting to be attacked by a crowd of fans as soon as they caught sight of them. To his immense surprise (and relief), none of the students spared even a single glance in their direction.

Most of the students, in fact, were gathered en masse around the serving counters. They all appeared to be yelling incomprehensible words at the lunch servers, shoving each other roughly out of the way as they all surged toward the front of the crowd. Curious, the Generation of Miracles went in for a closer look and it was only then that they finally realized what the students were screaming about.

"Give me four of those black Iberian pig sandwiches!"

"I want five...ouch! Iberian pig sandwiches, please!"

"Hey, out of my way, I was ordering first!"

"Ouch! You move, I was here first!"

"A black Iberi...aaah!"

"I would like to order! Hey, move!"

"Holy shit!" Aomine exclaimed as soon as he got over his shock. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I had no idea that high school students acted so...barbaric during lunch time." Midorima remarked derisively.

"I believe that," Akashi pointed toward a nearby sign. "Is the explanation you seek, Daiki." The others looked over to where Akashi had gestured. Near the front, a bright yellow sign screamed in attention-grabbing red letters: 'Today's Lunch Special: Black Iberian Pig Sandwiches 2800 yen each! A delectable sandwich with black Iberian pig cutlets, topped with caviar, foie gras, and truffles! Limited supply!'

"I don't get it," Aomine muttered. "All this for a sandwich? What's so good about it anyway?"

Before anyone else could answer, the four models heard a familiar voice call out, the loud voice discernible even in the midst of all the chaos. "Oi, Tatsuya! What day is today?" The Generation of Miracles were not surprised to see Kagami Taiga standing some ways away from them. His face was slack-jawed with surprise as he, too, stared incredulously at the still growing crowd.

"I believe that it's the 25th, Taiga," came Himuro's calm reply.

At Himuro's words, Kagami's eyes widened to impossible widths. "Shit!" he cursed suddenly and loudly. "I completely forgot! Tatsuya!" he shook his friend, who still looked as composed as ever. "Don't you know what today is?"

"A Tuesday?" Himuro stated, not really understanding Kagami's point.

"No! It's the only day of the month when the cafeteria sells those 'miracle' black Iberian pig sandwiches!" Kagami exclaimed. "And I forgot about it until now!" He pointed a shaking finger at the chaotic scene in front of him. "I almost forgot how crazy Japanese people can get over lunch," he muttered. "This..." he declared dramatically. "This is JAPANESE LUNCH TIME RUSH!"

Himuro smacked the redhead soundly round the head for that. "I already told you to stop doing that, Taiga."

"...My bad. I got a little excited over there."

"Well, with this, one thing is for sure," Akashi remarked wryly. "Never try to get in the way of a hungry teenager when they are after food."

"And you still expect us to eat lunch here after witnessing...this?" Midorima said with a huff.

Akashi merely raised one eyebrow. "Daiki?" He gestured toward the crowd.

Aomine sighed inwardly. He was afraid this was going to happen. "Alright, alright, I'm on it." He braced himself, about to charge headfirst into the crowd when all of a sudden, a hand came out of nowhere, grabbed the back of his shirt, and dragged him away from the cafeteria. "Hey!" he protested loudly. He saw that the other three were also being dragged away from the bustling cafeteria in a similar manner. The mysterious person ignored his protests as Aomine and his fellow models were dragged up a flight of stairs and past a heavy metal door. They were deposited only when they reached the secluded spot up in the school's rooftop.

"Okay, what gives?" Aomine demanded as he turned around to confront his 'kidnapper'.

Riko raised her eyebrows. "What gives? We just saved your butt out there! You should be thanking us!"

"Could you have tried rescuing us without resorting to such…crude tactics?" Midorima asked, dusting his jacket off.

"Sorry about that," Hyuuga, who had been Midorima's 'kidnapper', rubbed his head sheepishly. "We were told to get you out of there with any means possible."

"Yeah! I mean, public school cafeterias are pretty crazy, huh?" Kise's cheerful voice chirped in.

"Yes, the situation was proving to be quite hazardous," Kuroko spoke up from the side. "Also, we had already prepared lunch for you." He gestured toward the stack of bento boxes by his side.

"Ryouta!" The other four members of the Generation of Miracles looked surprised by their remaining member's appearance.

"And Tetsu?"

"Miss us?" Kise asked, shooting a bright smile and peace sign.

Aomine narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, grudge not yet forgotten. "Oh, so now you talk to us, huh?"

The smile faded from Kise's face. "I know you must be unhappy with me. But I meant what I said earlier, Aominecchi," he said quietly. "I don't take back anything."

Midorima narrowed his eyes. "Oh, do you really now? Since when have you been one to switch sides so quickly?"

Kise looked hurt by the accusation. "I would never betray the Generation of Miracles! It's just that-"

"Well, it sure didn't look that way, Ryouta," Akashi cut in.

"Really!" Kise insisted. "But it's just that this time around, I think that Kagamicchi and Himuroccchi were better because-"

"Oh, so you're good enough to give out advice all of a sudden?" Aomine demanded. "Just 'cuz you got acknowledged by them, you think you're better than us now, huh? And since when did you know so much about modeling?"

"Since I started actually caring about it!" Kise snapped back, unable to suppress his frustration at being unable to get through to his fellow models. A tense silence followed as Aomine and Kise glared balefully at each other.

"Lunch." Kuroko's quiet, but firm voice cut through the charged atmosphere like a knife. "Right now, it is time to eat. We can discuss this after eating." At Kuroko's prompting, the tense situation diffused slightly, enough for everyone to catch their breaths. Riko and Hyuuga sighed in relief and their shoulders relaxed slightly when they saw Kuroko begin to distribute the lunches.

"Sorry," Aomine muttered as he passed a bento box to Kise, "That was uncalled for."

"No, it was my fault for acting like a complete know-it-all," Kise said. Lunch proved to be a welcome distraction, but the tense atmosphere did not completely leave the rooftop yet. Everyone nibbled on their bentos in silence, unsure at how to broach the still-touchy subject at hand.

Akashi was the one who chose to take the plunge. "Tetsuya, do you truly mean what you said earlier about modeling not being just about talent?" His piercing eyes stared directly into Kuroko's own.

"Of course, Akashi-kun. I have said so before and now I will say it again: with enough hard work, anyone can be a model, but in order to be a truly top-rate model, you must be passionate about what you do. You have to be completely committed to it, to truly love modeling for what it is." Kuroko said with sincerity. "This innate passion for modeling is what differentiates a true model from a regular one and this really shows through in pictures."

A long silence followed Kuroko's words, but instead of immediately brushing off his words as they did last time, the Generation of Miracles silently mulled over what Kuroko had just said.

Aomine was loath to admit, but even he could see that Kuroko had a point. But even so, how could you side with them over me, Tetsu? he thought sullenly.

Something about Aomine's expression must have given away his thoughts because Kuroko said, "I did not choose Kagami-kun and Himuro-kun over you, Aomine-kun. But I like to think of myself as being an impartial judge when it comes to talent and Kagami-kun and Himuro-kun were undeniably better models this time around."

"So what do you want us to do, Tetsu?" Aomine said in frustration. "We won't know unless you tell us."

"If you deem that improvements are necessary, it would be beneficial to all of us if you were to point them out to us." Midorima said pointedly.

"Yes, I too am curious to hear your views, Tetsuya," Akashi said frankly.

Kuroko stared impassively at the Generation of Miracles, though a hint of sadness was visible in his soulful blue eyes. "Is it truly that difficult for all of you to just let go of yourselves and have fun with this?"

Aomine, as well as the rest of the Generation of Miracles, looked completely taken aback by this suggestion. "Have fun with this?" Akashi repeated incredulously. "Tetsuya, if you haven't noticed yet, this is an official photoshoot. There is no time for fun and games. "

"And that way of thinking is what is holding you back," Kuroko said. "You keep treating this like a 'job', but have you ever stopped to give some thought as to what the theme of this photoshoot is? The theme this time around is 'Back to School', which focuses on the carefree and youthful nature of teenagers. My job as the photographer is to capture that high school spirit at its best."

Kuroko's words were met with a round of silence. "So do you mean to say, Kuro-chin, that we should act however we want?" Murasakibara said.

"Yes, exactly that. I understand that coming from the modeling industry, all of you were saddled with extra responsibilities and obligations, and as a result, you had to grow up faster than the average teenager," Kuroko said quietly. "But I want you to remember that none of us—none of you—are adults yet. In the end, we are all still teenagers at heart and I want you to embrace that side of you. You don't need to put a façade for me," Kuroko continued softly. "Don't try to be someone you are not. Just be yourself. That is all I ever ask for in any model."

"Be yourself? Easier said than done." Aomine muttered. He, and the rest of the models, looked more than a little lost at Kuroko's words. Watching this, Riko suppressed a sigh. She was so used to seeing the models act like the confident, arrogant people they were that seeing them look so unsure was definitely a first.

Kise looked from Kuroko to his fellow models and back before he decided to take matters into his own hands. "What? You don't even know how to have fun anymore, Aominecchi?" he began teasingly. "You've gotten old!"

Aomine scowled, rising up to Kise's bait. "Who do you think you're calling old? We're all the same age!"

"Nu-uh! Aominecchi has become old!" Kise said firmly. "Because if you haven't, then you would have able to easily stop me if I tried to do this!" With a triumphant yell, he reached over to Aomine's bento box and snatched up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks before Aomine could even comprehend what had happened.

"Wha-?" Aomine looked confused at first, but recovered quickly. "Damn you, Kise! Give me back my food, you little thief!"

"Nope! You were too slow so it's mine now!"

"It seems that the horoscope wasn't wrong when it says that Gemini are easily excitable people," Midorima said, as he pulled a horoscope magazine from seemingly out of nowhere.

Akashi watched this scene with an amused expression. "Atsushi, I don't ever want to see you acting this childish," he commented, though anyone who knew Akashi well could tell that he didn't really mean what he said.

"Okay, Aka-chin," Murasakibara said as he readily devoured his third bento.

Meanwhile, Aomine and Kise were still quarrelling over the piece of stolen sushi. Aomine was reaching toward Kise, but the blond was blocking his attempts with one hand while his other hand held the chopsticks and the sushi far out of reach.

"Kise, give that back now, or I swear I'll-" Aomine growled.

"Or what, Aominecchi?" Kise asked with a teasing smile.

Aomine narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you asked for it." Before Kise could react, Aomine whipped his chopsticks toward Kise's own bento box and swiped two pieces of sushi with a triumphant smirk.

"Waah! No fair, Aominecchi!" Kise cried.

Aomine merely smirked wider. "That's what you get for trying to get the best of me!"

Click! The sudden flash of the camera caught everyone by surprise. Everyone immediately zeroed in on Kuroko, who held his camera in his hands.

"Hey, what gives?" Aomine exclaimed. "We weren't ready yet, Tetsu!"

"Why exactly are you taking candid photos of us, Tetsuya?" Akashi said.

"Because that was exactly what I wanted to see," Kuroko said as a small smile curved up his lips. "For the first time since this photoshoot started, I saw your true selves shine through."

"Our true selves?" Aomine echoed. He glanced down at Kise who threw him a slightly guilty smile. "Kise, you-"

Kise raised his hands in defense. "Well, Kurokocchi wanted to see our 'real' selves, so..."

"And you couldn't have given us some warning?"

"I was- waah! Why are you attacking me, Aominecchi? It was for the good- ahh! No, not my face! Anything but the face!"

"Daiki, don't strike Ryouta in the face. As a model, it would affect his standing if his face got damaged."

"...Akashicchi! You do care!"

"Instead, I suggest you aim for his more...vulnerable parts instead. It would hurt more too, don't you agree?"

"Hey, why is everyone against me? This isn't revenge for before, is it? If so, I'm sorr- owch! Ahh! Help!"

"...Hey, Mido-chin, if you aren't going to eat it, can I have that piece of fatty tuna?"

"...Only if you give me that piece of sausage in exchange. And that pink napkin by your side. According to my horoscope, pink is supposed to be my lucky color today."

Riko and Hyuuga watched the chaotic scene in of them with amusement and did little to try to restrain their chuckles. Kuroko peeked out from behind his camera lens as another small smile rested, unbidden, on his lips. Click!


Seisen Academy, Classroom 3A was suffering from a normal, boring Tuesday afternoon when all of a sudden, the door to their classroom was forcefully kicked open. All the students in the room gasped collectively when they saw five familiar models stroll in.

Fujisaki-sensei, a stern, middle-aged woman with a no-nonsense attitude when it came to rule-breaking, approached the strangers who had dared to interrupt her math lesson with a tight-lipped frown. "Excuse me, gentleman, but as you can see, we are in the middle of a class right now and unless you want me to call the principal, you will kindly show yourselves out."

The blond stepped forward from the group. "We're so terribly sorry to interrupt you in the middle of your lesson," he said with an easy smile. Upon closer observation of the blond, Fujisaki-sensei was surprised to see that he was incredibly handsome. She felt a low flush rise to her cheeks.

"If you didn't know," the blond continued with the same charming smile. "My friends here and I are models and this school was assigned to be the site of our photoshoot."

"I-Is that so?" Fujisaki-sensei stuttered.

"Yes, and being students ourselves, we understand that education and learning are very important to one's future, Ms..."

"It's F-Fujisaki," the blushing teacher managed to stammer out.

"Fujisaki-sensei!" The blond's smile widened to devastatingly blinding proportions. "A beautiful name to match a beautiful teacher." From behind, Aomine tried hard not to gag at Kise's cheesy lines. "I do hope that you will forgive us for interrupting, but we are here to show, and well, essentially teach your students a valuable lesson that they won't be forgetting anytime soon." At these words, he shot a challenging glance at Kagami and Himuro, who had straightened up as soon as they saw the Generation of Miracles walk into their classroom.

Kise turned back to Fujisaki-sensei and sealed the deal with a winning smile and wink. "So with your permission, I hope that we can start our demonstration now."

Fujisaki-sensei was all but a puddle now. "Of course," she agreed more than readily. "Whatever you want!"

As the Generation of Miracles walked past the desks of awestruck students, Midorima remarked snidely in an undertone, "Well, aren't you the ladies' man?"

"Trust Kise to work the charm even on an older woman," Aomine smirked.

"I did what had to be done!" Kise protested.

"Whatever you say..."

The Generation of Miracles, led by Akashi up front, stopped when they reached Kagami and Himuro's desks.

"What are you doing here?" Kagami demanded.

"Didn't you hear what Ryouta said earlier?" Akashi said coolly. "We are here to teach you all, and especially the two of you, an important lesson."

"And what would that be?" Himuro shot back.

Akashi raised his chin defiantly, looking every part the confident and fearless leader he was. "Don't ever underestimate the Generation of Miracles!"

At Akashi's bold declaration, excited whispers broke out amongst the other students. "Does this mean we're going to watch a rematch between the Generation of Miracles and Kagami-kun and Himuro-kun?"

"This is so exciting!"

"But the Generation of Miracles fell short last time, didn't they? What if they fail again this time?"

"Give them a chance!" Riko suddenly interjected sharply. She folded her arms across her chest when everyone turned to stare at her. "What? You shouldn't judge before you see anything!"

"Alright then, show us how much you improved in this short period of time. That is, if you've improved at all." Kagami leveled Aomine with a challenging stare.

Aomine met the challenge head-on with his own glare. "We'll show you alright. Prepare yourselves."

Akashi turned toward a group of girls who were staring up at him with starstruck eyes. "Excuse me, but if you don't mind lending us these desks for a short-"

"Yes!" The girls squealed loudly and left their desks before Akashi could even finish his sentence.

The Generation of Miracles settled into the now emptied desks. "Alright then," Akashi looked towards Kuroko. "Are you ready over there?" Kuroko nodded and raised his camera in confirmation. "Ryouta? Daiki? Shintaro? Atsushi?" Each member of the Generation of Miracles nodded as Akashi called out their name. "We're ready to go then."

Before they started, Aomine threw a side glance back at Kuroko. Despite Aomine's calm demeanor, Kuroko recognized the brief flash of hesitation in his eyes. Kuroko gave him a small nod. You can do it. I believe in you.

The small nod seemed to empower Aomine and a small smirk appeared on his lips. "What are we waiting for? Let's get started already, Akashi."

"Patience, Daiki." Akashi said, but a small smirk curved up his mouth all the same. "Very well, we shall begin in 3...2...1..."

As soon as Akashi finished counting down, each of the Generation of Miracles whipped out a practice workbook that they had prepared before. Kise glanced down at a problem, bit his lip, then proceeded to prod Midorima with his pencil. "Ne, ne, Midorimacchi, can you help me with this problem?"

Midorima lowered his own pencil with an exasperated sigh. "No," he said flatly. "Can't you see I'm busy with my own things?"

"Looking at your horoscope stuff doesn't count!" Kise said. "Now c'mon, I'm almost done with this page!"

Aomine snorted by Kise's side. "Don't bother others with your stupid questions, Kise."

Kise whirled around with an indignant expression. "But you're not even trying, Aominecchi!" He was referring to how Aomine currently sat completely at ease on his chair, with his hands tucked behind his head and his long legs propped up on the desk in front of him.

"Nope," Aomine drawled off-handedly, as he reached into his pockets to pull out a pair of earphones.

"So you don't know how to do it either, Aominecchi!" Kise said triumphantly.

"Would the two of you quiet down?" Midorima hissed, gesturing to the tiny radio set he had somehow managed to set up. "I'm trying to listen to the horoscope here!"

"Are the three of you still not finished?" Akashi asked. He raised a dubious eyebrow at the blank workbooks he saw. "Really now, these are all just basic calculations."

"You don't need to rub it in, Akashicchi!" Kise pulled a kicked puppy expression.

"Aka-chin's just naturally smart like that." Murasakibara nodded as he munched on several sticks of pocky from a box he pulled out.

Akashi gave a wry smile. "Well, you never know until you try, Atsushi."

Murasakibara nodded absentmindedly. "I'll trust what Aka-chin says then. Want a pocky?"

"Hey, I want one too, Murasakibaracchi!" Kise exclaimed.

As the Generation of Miracles interacted naturally with one another, Kuroko snapped picture after another.

"Aren't there interactions absolutely adorable?" a female student all but gushed.

"They react so naturally to each other!" another said. "I never thought I would see this side to the Generation of Miracles."

"It's really refreshing to see them act like this. I mean, it kinda makes them a lot more approachable than before, right?"

"Yeah, that's true!"

Kagami grudgingly admitted that there was a large improvement from what he saw last time. This time around, all their smiles, expressions, and gestures were completely genuine and completely them, and that lent the added dimension that the Generation of Miracles were previously so lacking in their modeling before.

"Let's admit this, Taiga," Himuro's soft voice spoke up from beside him. He gestured to the cheers and laughter of their fellow classmates. "This round goes to them."

Kagami made a dissatisfied 'tsk'-ing sound before he turned to look at Kuroko, who was completely focused on his task at hand. "That Kuroko really is a miracle worker, huh."

Himuro gave a thin smile. "That certainly goes without saying."

Riko and Hyuuga were silently observing the photoshoot from the side. "Well, it's far from being perfect, but I'd say that it's a big step forward considering it's them we're talking about." Riko noted.

Hyuuga nodded. "This whole thing actually turned out to be a pretty good experience."

Riko nodded in agreement. An unfamiliar sense of pride welled up in Riko's chest as she watched the photoshoot commence. You've done well, Kuroko-kun. You've done really well.


As the photoshoot wrapped up and the school day finally came to an end, Kuroko, alone, approached a curious Kagami and Himuro as the Generation of Miracles were busy gathering their things in order.

"Hey, if it isn't Kuroko!" Kagami grinned. "So what's up?"

"Is there something we can help you with, Kuroko-san?" Himuro asked politely.

The two part-time models were shocked when the blue-haired photographer suddenly bowed low in front of them. "I would like to thank you for all of your patience in dealing with this photoshoot." Kuroko said. "You weren't originally scheduled to do this, yet somehow you still got rounded up into this whole mess."

Himuro shook his head. "Oh no. It was our pleasure, Kuroko-san."

"Yeah, we were glad to do it!" Kagami grinned widely. "Besides, gave me the chance to wipe the floor with those arrogant Generation of Miracles."

"Taiga!" Himuro chastised.

"It's quite alright, Himuro-san." Kuroko said. "The reason why the Generation of Miracles were able to exhibit some of their underlying potential at the end was mostly due to their fiercely competitive streak with you. So I must thank you for bringing that out from them."

"Like I said earlier, the pleasure was all ours," Himuro said.

"I still need to express my thanks to you though." Kuroko reached into his bag and pulled out a CD. "Please accept this as a small token of my appreciation."

Kagami accepted the CD with a puzzled look. "These are?"

"Enclosed on that CD are the pictures that I took of the two of you when you had your impromptu photoshoot," Kuroko explained. "I do apologize for taking your pictures without your permission, but-"

"Pictures of us?" Kagami turned a bewildered face to Kuroko. "That you took?"

Kuroko nodded. "Yes. As I was explaining-"

"Awesome!" Kagami exclaimed. "Hey, Tatsuya, we had our pictures taken! By Kuro! The one and only Kuro took pictures of our modeling!"

Himuro sighed. "Yes, Taiga, I heard you quite clearly in the first place." He turned back to Kuroko with a smile. "I can't thank you enough for the pictures, Kuroko-san. I have no doubt that the pictures look amazing."

"Hey," Kagami's voice suddenly turned uncharacteristically serious. "Why don't you come be our photographer instead, Kuroko? I'm being completely serious here. You're just wasting your time with the Generation of Miracles."

Kuroko gave a slight smile. "As much fun as it was being your photographer for that brief period of time and as much as I would like to witness your continued growth, I would still have to politely decline your offer, Kagami-kun. You see, there's still a job that I have to do."

"I understand completely, Kuroko-san," Himuro said.

"Fine, you don't have to say anymore," Kagami grumbled. "Even I understand. But man, I don't know how you deal with those stubborn idiots."

"Says the stubborn idiot himself," Himuro chided lightly. "But I do wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, Kuroko-san. Please feel free to call upon us again if you ever require our assistance."

"Thank you very much." Kuroko bowed. "I will keep that in mind."

"Yeah, well, if anyone, it's you who can get through those thick skulls of theirs." Kagami said, crossing his arms.

Kuroko bowed again. "I thank you for your confidence in me. I will try my best not to disappoint you."

"Well, until we meet again, then Kuroko-san." Himuro said.

"Yes, until then."


Later back at the office of Teikou Modeling Agency, Riko confronted Kuroko directly when she marched into his workspace with a knowing look in her eyes. "Good job planning this whole thing out, Kuroko-kun."

Kuroko blinked innocently. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Riko-san."

"Of course you don't." Riko grinned cheekily. "Don't think I didn't see those files from Seisen Academy on your desk earlier. Who would have thought that innocent little Kuroko-kun was actually such a sly schemer?"

Kuroko had his expression schooled in his perfected poker face. "Were they? I didn't even notice."

Riko shook her head. "You purposefully chose the same school that Kagami and Himuro attended, knowing fully well that an encounter between them and the Generation of Miracles would lead to an inevitable confrontation. Then you took advantage of that confrontation and used Kagami and Himuro to teach Akashi-kun and the others a lesson they won't be forgetting anytime soon. Am I correct, or am I correct, Kuroko-kun?"

Kuroko cocked his head. "I honestly have no idea what you are talking about, Riko-san."

Riko just shook her head again. "You may be good, Kuroko-kun, but you're not good enough to hide it from me!" She smirked smugly as she headed for the door. "But still, good job this time around, Kuroko-kun. I really believe that they have started to understand a little more after this encounter." She wagged a playful finger at him. "That doesn't mean you can slack off though, okay? There's still a lot of work to be done after all!" And with that, Riko left almost as suddenly as she had appeared.

Kuroko looked at #2, who cocked its head and stared back at its master. Kuroko blinked, before a small smirk settled on his lips. "Well, it was as Hyuuga-kun said. The whole thing turned out to be a good experience after all."


Author's Notes: Wahaha, Kuroko you little schemer! Scheming!Kuroko was so fun to write, as was fanboy!Kagami and wooing!Kise. And to those of you who got the "THIS IS JAPANESE LUNCH TIME RUSH!" reference, kudos to you. Haha, I really couldn't help myself, considering how big it was in the anime. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, look up episode 6 of the KuroBasu anime. I guarantee that you'll crack up laughing as hard as I did.

Anyways, please note that at this point in time, the GoM have only begun to acknowledge that they do need to change their way of modeling. This does not mean that they have completely recovered their passion for modeling—no, far from it. It is only now have they come to the realization that something is wrong with their modeling, so with the exception of Kise, they have not yet found the 'answer' to their overcoming their weakness. Just wanted to clarify this for those of you who might feel that the story is moving too fast.

Well, that wraps up photoshoot #2: Back to School. So how did you all like it? Please leave me with your thoughts, comments, and/or questions! Thank you!

-Bird of Dreams