A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! Puncakegoddess, clarit, Raezthie, Killua17, Guest, deLovelyBones, and Akatsuki1210! :D

A/N 2: The class part is similar to the Magi anime/manga with a few changes. =) And I tried to add more fluff in this chapter! XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or Magi.

Chaper 9

The Room

Ogiwara paced nervously across the golden bricked stone on the floor as he waited for the meeting with the other Djinn to begin. Djinn having meetings every few years or so was common, but this wasn't a regular meeting. Ogiwara himself had called for it. After hearing Kuroko's talk with Midorima, he knew it was necessary, but even so it had taken him hours to finally decide to act upon his troubles.

His hesitance was because all meetings had to be attended by the head of the Djinn and although he liked the guy, he was very strict when it came to the order of things.

'No, it's necessary to help Kuroko.' He tried to convince himself. Even though Midorima had helped and averted too much damage, the fact was that Kuroko was suffering once again because of that King of Touou. He wanted those memories to stay buried, but once again that man had an affect on the boy even after his second chance at life...

"Hello Shigehiro-kun." Ogiwara stopped in his pacing when he heard the familiar kind voice of the old Djinn.

"Hey Takeda!" Ogiwara greeted.

"I heard you were the one in charge of the dungeon that Kuroko went into this time. And you allowed that guy to have some of your powers." Ogiwara grinned. He found out about it after having to leave when he rescued Kuroko and Kagami from that monster.

"Haha yes. He was interesting to say the least." Takeda said. Even if he didn't present his physical body until they reached the end of the dungeon, he had been watching everything and the red-head had definitely amused him with his perseverence to save the young Magi.

"Why haven't you made yourself known to him?" Ogiwara asked. Djinn could still communicate with their owners when they wanted to without being summoned. Just as Ogiwara had done during Kuroko's conversation.

"As much as I wish to, he has much to learn before he can fully wield the fire power."

"Hm. Is the new King that weak?" A voice came from behind them. Turning around they both saw the Djinn of Kaijo walking towards them. "If that's the case, why bother even allowing him to clear the dungeon?"

"You shouldn't judge people without knowing them, Takeuchi!" Ogiwara said. Kuroko had chosen Kagami to be his King, so he wouldn't let the man down his friends decisions.

"Yeah, yeah. Why isn't Katsunori here?" Takeuchi asked, seeing the man wasn't present.

"I didn't invite him..." Ogiwara said, frowning. That guys master had hurt his friend and he wasn't too happy to see him.

"That's no good, Shigehiro-kun." Takeda reprimanded lightly. "It's not Katsunori's fault everything happened."

"But, he should've helped Kuroko!" The orange-haired Djinn said stubbornly. He knew that, but he couldn't help his anger towards the whole group of people who had disregarded his friends feelings.

"You know he couldn't do that, Shigehiro." A man said to his right. He had black hair and stern gray eyes.

Ogiwara froze at the sound of the head Djinn's voice. He hadn't realized he was here before... Then again, the man was always quiet when not discussing things.

"Hey Nijimura." Ogiwara grinned at the head Djinn, who nodded in greeting.

"Why are we all here anyway?" Takeuchi asked, sitting down on the stairs in a bored way.

"It's about Kuroko..." Ogiwara started.

'The new Magi?' Takeuchi and Nijimura wondered. Had something happened?

"What do you mean?"

"He is... regaining his memories." He finished, causing the usually calm head Djinn to stare at him in shock.

"But, that's impossible..." Nijimura said, frowning at the news. For a Magi to remember their past was something unheard of...

"I heard it as well." Takeda said, remembering the words he heard through the doorway when his red-haired contractor was stading outside of it. He may be old, but Djinn's had naturally heightened senses, so even though a human couldn't hear the words between the two, he had. "He remembers things that didn't happen in this lifetime."

Nijimura frowned. This news was unsettling. He heard of only one occurance of this in the past and it hadn't led to good things... Humans dwelled on things of the past and for them to remember the Magi would cause trouble.

"Did you do something during the rebirthing process?" Takeuchi accused, turning his attention to the youngest in the room.

"I didn't do anything out of the ordinary." Ogiwara said, raising his hands in the air in a defensive way to block out the looks being send his way.

When he did this the teen saw Takeda look at his bare wrist and give him a knowing smile. Ogiwara quickly brought his arm down and hid it behind his back.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have allowed you to handle the duty with someone you were once close with, Shigehiro." Nijimura said. Everyone knew how friendly the orange-head was, but he was even more so when it involved the blue-haired Magi.

"Come now, Shuzo. It's not Shigehiro-kun's fault. The regeneration process went as it should. When I saw him in the dungeon the boy looked exactly as he had four years ago, so the Rukh extraction was indeed successful." Takeda provided.

Nijimura looked towards the elder Djinn, when he saw no signs of a lie he reluctantly accepted the information and sent Ogiwara an apologetic look. But even if it wasn't his fault, it still left the problems even more unresolved.

"Then please explain as to why he is getting his memories back." Nijimura asked.

"Rukh works in mysterious ways Shuzo. They are a force of their own, living souls of previously decease life forms. Something out of the ordinary was bound to happen." Takeda said.

"What do we do about it?" Takeuchi asked.

"Perhaps we should restart the process..." The black-haired Djinn muttered. It was too risky to allow this to go on.

Ogiwara froze at the suggestion, knowing what the man meant. Reverse everything and start over from scratch. If they did that, then the memories Kuroko had of Aomine and the others would disappear, but so would the ones of Kagami and the others he had meet. As much as he didn't want his friend to remember anything of the past, he knew how influential the red-head had been on him. He finally saw the blunette smile again, something he hadn't seen in a while. He couldn't let all that be ruined...

"It may be too late for that anyway." Takeda said. "Even if you do, it won't change the fact that the King's from Kuroko-kun's past will remember him. The blonde and green-haired leaders have been in contact with him."

Nijimura turned his attention to Takeuchi for confirmation on his part.

"Yeah, Kise knows." He muttered, remembering the constant babble the King had making since being dragged away from the blue-haired boy. It was annoying...

'They remember him as well..?' It couldn't get any worse than this...

"It seems that not only does the person in charge of Shutoku know about this, but he's also trying to make the boy remember more of his past." The gray-haired Djinn said.

'Great...' The black-haired Djinn thought. Not only does Genta's King know about his existence, but so does that Shutoku headmaster. Nijimura knew from past meetings he had attended with his own King and the green-haired man. He was persistent and craved for knowing the unknown. And if what Takeda said was true, then he would no doubt investigate further into a world he had no business looking into.

"This hasn't happened in all the years I've been in charge..." The man said with a sigh.

"Genta, if possible see what you can do from your end." Nijimura instructed. The Kaijo Djinn nodded and disappeared.

"Kenji, you just focus on your new King. There is much to do is there not?"

"Yes, he seems to have strength, but lacks experience." The older man said, smiling despite the words he had said. Even if the red-head was inexperienced, he saw something in him that could overcome that in time.

"W-What about me..?" Ogiwara asked hesitantly, receiving a cool gray eyed glance in his direction.

"You may continue looking after the Magi, Shigehiro. But, do not intervene more than necessary." Nijimura said. Ogiwara looked at him in confusion, wondering why he would allow him to do so after all the problems that had been cause supposedly by himself. "You have a bond with him, do you not?"

'How'd he know?!' The orange-haired Djinn shouted in his mind.

"Did you honestly think I didn't notice your missing bracelet..?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Well...no..." Ogiwara said smiling nervously and rubbing the back of his head.

"Although I do not approve of you doing something like that against protocol, I admire the fact you did so. If you had not, then things may have been worse." He commended the younger, who grinned. "I'll be awaiting any news you have so don't hesitate to call for a meeting again, alright?"

"I'll do my best!" He shouted loudly, making the man chuckle at his enthusiasm.

"Well, I must head back. Seijuro is calling." The black-haired Djinn bid farwell and teleported out of the room, leaving Takeda and Ogiwara alone.

'Why can't Kuroko just be in peace..?' Ogiwara thought sadly. He really deserved to be happy, and bad things just kept happening...

"Well, Shigehiro-kun. Maybe I'll see you again soon." Takeda said. They were after all both in charge of people who were of the same Kingdom, or rather soon to be Kingdom.

"Yeah." He then remembered what the older man had done for him at the beginning of the meeting. Even if the head Djinn had found out about it anyway, Takeda hadn't called him out when Ogiwara had unknowingly showed off his missing piece of jewelry. "And thanks for not telling Nijimura about what I did."

"You're welcome. At first in the dungeon I wondered why you would risk so much to give it to him. But after seeing the Magi I can see why." Takeda said, remembering the pure and caring young boy. It was obvious why someone would take a chance to make sure he was okay. "Just be sure to answer his call the next time." With that, the gray-haired man left.

Ogiwara frowned. He hadn't meant to ignore the bluenette's call, but at that time he didn't think Takeda had known about him giving Kuroko the bracelet and he didn't want to make his presence known in from of the elder Djinn...

With a sigh, the orange-head plopped down and the ground. He hoped Kuroko wouldn't remember anymore unpleasant memories... Then again, with Kagami around, Ogiwara had no doubt that even if the boy did, the red-head would do whatever he could to help him.

Shutoku Academy

"Alright, that should do it." Nakatani said to the group of people who were sitting or standing beside the infirmary bed.

Everyone in the room watched as the man took the empty vial away from Kiyoshi's mouth and stepped away. After two days of working on the cure for Kiyoshi, the potions teacher had finally been able to finish the liquid that would help their friend.

"That's all?" Hyuuga asked. He hadn't expected their friends condition to immediately change, but he thought that at least something would've happened to indicate that Kiyoshi was getting better. Even Kuroko couldn't see any difference in the mans Rukh after the man gave him that weird-looking liquid.

"Yes, as I said the other day, it will take time for the potion to work." Nakatani said. "All he needs now is rest for the next few weeks and the poison should be completely expelled from his body."

It was unbelievable that after all of these weeks of searching and trying to track down Hanamiya and his underlings for a cure had done nothing, but within such a short time the man had been able to create something to help him.

"Thank you." Izuki said. The rest of the group sent him appreciative looks.

"It's no problem at all." The man said. He looked at them all with a curious gaze before asking the question that was on his mind when he first diagnosed their friend. "If you don't mind me asking, why did Hanamiya do this to him?"

'How'd they know it was him..?' Had Takao told them about the slip-up Hyuuga made that day before the dinner? Riko could see Koganei about to open his mouth and motioned for him to keep quiet before speaking.

"Who said he did it..?" Riko asked suspiciously.

"It's obvious it was him." Midorima spoke up from his position near the doorway. "Just admit it."

"There's nothing to admi-." Hyuuga started, glaring at the man.

"There are only a few places that this type of plant comes from and Kirisaki is the one of them." Midorima said. "Moreover, the spell that was cast on him indicated that only Kuroko and one of the people who works under Hanamiya would have been capable of doing it. And since I'm fairly sure that Kuroko didn't, then that leaves the latter."

Seeing no way to deny the claims, Riko offered the bare minimum of what happened.

"We went to Kirisaki, Kiyoshi went to talk with Hanamiya and then he was like this."

"That's all..?" Green eyes narrowed at the brunette.

"Yes." Riko said, returning the look. Even to her the explanation sounded weak, but she refused to tell them about their business in Kirisaki unless it was completely necessary. And other than that, they still had no idea what had caused the man to hurt their friend besides being just plain wicked.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell us, right Shin-chan?" Takao said, trying to break the tense atmosphere between the two.

Midorima and Riko stayed silent, and a moment later both of them broke eye contact, dropping the argument.

"Anyway...We have good news for you Tet-chan." Said boy turned his attention away from the brown-haired man on the bed and towards Takao.

"Tahdah!" He said, holding up a piece of black clothing and handing it to the boy.

Kuroko looked at the object with confusion. What was it..?

"It's your robe!" Takao answered the unasked question when he didn't get the response he had been expecting.

Kuroko's eyes widened, finally realizing what the other meant. He looked back at the clothing with a small smile.

"Why does he need a robe..?" Kagami asked suspiciously. He had a bad feeling that he already knew the answer...

"He's going to take classes to learn magic." Midorima said.

The other members of the group looked at the bluenette in shock. Sure he had used magic on occasions, but he never seemed to care much for getting power. However, from the lack of surprise on the boys face when Midorima mentioned him taking classes, they could only assume that he had been aware of this before the Shutoku headmaster's announced it.

"You're taking classes, Kuroko?" Kagami asked, raising a brow.

"Yes, Midorima-san said I could." The bluenette responded.

"Good for you, Kuroko-kun." Riko said smiling and patting the boy's head. Mitobe smiled and nodded as well.

"Ahh! I wish I could use magic!" Koganei shouted. After seeing all those magicians yesterday, he had to admit he was a little jealous at what they could do...

"Come, you can get changed in your rooms. Then we can head down!" Takao said. "You can come too Kagami." He said, noticing the look the other was sending the blue-haired boy. Really, this new person amused him...

"I'll be going as well." Nakatani said. Now that his job was done, he had to get back to his classes too. They gave the man acknowledging nods and thankful glances once again and he left.

Kuroko looked hesitant about leaving the man in the room, and the brown-haired Fanalis noticed the looks he was sending to her ailing friend.

"Go ahead, we'll just be here." Riko assured. "Besides, I don't think Hyuuga will want to leave anyway."

Kuroko gave a small nod and bowed. The four of them exited the infirmary and went to the door across the hall. Once there, Midorima explained a few things.

"We placed you in Sixth Kodor because you have no experience with elemental magic." Midorima said. "And we informed your teacher about your late arrival."

"I'm sorry I caused Midorima-san and Takao-san so much trouble." The bluenette said. He didn't know so much preparation had to be done to get into classes...

"Haha, it's no problem, the robe is the old one you used to wear, so it was easy to get it. Besides, the new classes started a day ago, so there wasn't much of a difference."

Kuroko nodded, still feeing a little guilty though. Takao patted his head and pulled out a thin piece of rope.

"Tie this around your waist, okay Tet-chan?" The bluenette was a little smaller than he was when he first started taking classes.

"We'll wait outside." Takao said, smiling and exiting the room.

Midorima went to follow, but Kagami stopped him by placing a hand on the mans elbow, effectively stopping him from advancing. A green eyebrow rose in irritation as the man looked at the offending hand and then back to the owner of it.

"Are you making him do this?" Kagami asked, eyes narrowing at the man in front of him. Was this what the man had talked about in the room yesterday behind his back? Tricked his friend into accepting lessons?

"No, Kuroko said he wanted to do this." Midorima said, receiving a shocked look from the red-head. "It's because of you afterall."

With that Midorima left, leaving Kagami standing there to process what he said.

'Kuroko's doing this because of me..?' Was it because of his failure during the dungeon that the boy felt the need to get stronger..? Maybe Kuroko realized his inability to protect them both..? He felt disappointment swell inside of him, remembering the many close calls they've had. It only made sense...

'No.' Kagami thought. Kuroko wasn't the type of person to look down on someone. He then remembered the lack of hesitance in the mans voice as he spoke the words and couldn't help but wonder if he was telling the truth about it being Kuroko's own decision.

"That guy..." Kagami grumbled shutting the door. With a sigh he turned around and froze at the sight that greeted him.

Kuroko was still in the same spot he was at before the two men left, but that was about the only thing that was the same. Gone was the usual attire the bluenette, giving Kagami a full view of the boys bare back and legs. Showing off his slender frame and flawless milky white skin. If he thought the boy was alluring before, seeing him like this was a whole other level...

"K-Kuroko!" Kagami stuttered. "What are you doing?!"

"Changing." Kuroko responded as he stopped his task of picking up the black robe on the ground and turned to face his friend.

Kagami's face turned multiple shades redder as the action gave him a view of Kuroko's smooth and flat stomach.

'Oh God...' He never noticed how slender the boy was... Sure when he picked the boy up many times before, he had felt it through his clothes, but feeling it and seeing it was a totally different thing...

"Are you okay, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko asked, seeing the redness of his friends face. Shaking his head to get the thoughts from his mind, Kagami tried to ignore the boys nakedness and hopefully get the boy to get dressed quicker...

"Yeah, I-I'm fine... J-Just cover yourself!" The red-head said.

The bluenette tilted his head to the side, not knowing what made the other say that. Kagami had done the same thing many times before. He looked down at himself and couldn't help but feel self-conscious all of a sudden. Sure, he had noticed the difference in their bodies before and it hadn't really bothered him, but he didn't know that Kagami would react to it this way. Was it because he didn't have the muscles that his friend had..? Was Kagami ashamed of his appearance..?

"Do I...look weird, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko asked, sadly.

'Huh? Look weird?' He couldn't believe Kuroko would even think that! If anything he was too captivating! His pale skin, the way his soft blue locks brush lightly against his slim shoulders and his lean waist...

'No...don't think of that...' He admonished himself. It then registered to him that he had yet to answer the boys question and he mentally scolded himself when he saw the sad blue eyes looking up at him.

"No, you don't look weird. It's just..." He scratched the back of his head. "I just don't want you to catch a cold is all..."

"Ah, yes." Kuroko accepted the answer with a relieved smile.

"J-Just put on the robe." Kagami said, looking away and focusing on something...anything besides the appealing boy in the room.

Kuroko nodded, bending down to pick up the clothing from the floor and doing as told. It was strange at first since he never wore a robe before, but after numerous attempts at finding which holes were for his arms and which was for the head, he finally got it on. Then attached the thing piece of rope that Takao had given him around his waist to make the robe fit better.

"F-Finished?" Kagami asked. He didn't think he could handle turning around and checking for himself...

"Yes." The bluenette confirmed.

Kagami was surprised to see that the robe actually didn't look that bad on him. Instead of looking sophisticated like Midorima's did on him, it looked rather cute, reaching a little past the bluenette's knees and the sleeves stopping a bit further than his elbows.

'Why does he look cute in anything..?' Kagami thought to himself. He was slightly worried about it since there seemed to be a lot of male students around here...

"You're sure you want to do this, Kuroko?" Kagami asked. He didn't want to leave the bluenette alone for hours at a time, especially after the events that happened yesterday at the exam and afterwards.

"Yes, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said resolutely. He promised himself to do this, even if he was a little hesitant to leave his friends side for so long...

Kagami nodded and tousled the boy's hair. He really was proud that he made a decision for himself for once, but couldn't help but feel a little saddened as well. A moment later a knock came from the other side of the door followed by Takao's voice.

"You both done in there?"

"Yeah." Kagami said as the bluenette placed the final piece of the uniform on, which was a wide brim with a slightly pointy top. The door opened and the black-haired man walked inside, stopping when he saw Kuroko.

"Aw! Tet-chan, you look so cute!" He exclaimed.

Kuroko pouted a little at being called cute. He wanted to be cool like Kagami and Midorima... But since the other said it in such a nice way, he settled for thanking the man.

"Thank you Takao-san." Kagami's eye twitched. He should've just said his thoughts... But now if he did then it'll just seem like he's copying the other...

"Where'd Midorima go..?" The red-head asked, not that he totally didn't mind the mans absence."Shin-chan left, but I'll take Tet-chan to his class. It's on the way to my own so it'll just be easier." He explained.

"Oh! Before I forget, Shin-chan told me to give you this." Kuroko looked confused as Takao held out a ring with some sort of red gem on it.

"What's that for..?" Kagami asked suspiciously before the blue-haired Magi could reach out for it.

"This is a Magoi Reverse Tool. When you wear it, the excessive magoi that magi's control will be limited so others will not be able to identify you as one."

"Why would he need that?

"This school caters to many different students from other cities and while most of them are trustworthy there are a few that would see what you are and try to gain your power. It's best to be safe than sorry. isn't it?"

Kuroko wasn't sure how he felt about the item, but trusting the other he slipped the ring onto his finger. Almost immediately he felt a surge of something emanate from it and the rukh that were usually surrounding him starting dissipating until they were lazily floating around a few feet away. It was a little strange not being surrounded by the lights anymore, but seeing them not too far way was comforting.

"Come, classes will start soon."

They both nodded and followed the man out of the room and down the halls. As they turned a corner there was the sound of running footsteps and then something that caused a certain red-haired teen to stop in his tracks.

"Hey! Eyebrows guy!" A loud voice shouted from behind them.

'Oh god... please don't be him...' He turned around and cursed when he saw the shaved head of the person approaching. Next to him was the other student with the blonde hair, who had been mostly quiet that day.

"Damn it..." He whispered to himself when he saw that it was indeed the same teens he and Kuroko saw before.

"You know Tsugawa, Kagami?" Takao asked, wondering when he had the time to meet someone since they had only been here for one day.

"He's just some annoying person who Kuroko bumped into the other day..." Kagami grumbled, sending a glare in the direction of the teen, who at that point had caught up.

"Hey, funny meeting you here." Tsugawa grinned at the annoyed looking red-head.

"Yeah..." The other student just smiled at the red-heads sarcasm, which went unnoticed by Tsugawa.

"Where's Kuroko?" The teen asked. For some reason the boy seemed attached to this person with the weird hair. He had stopped because he saw Kagami and expected to see the blue-haired boy with him.

"Hello Tsugawa-kun, Tanimura-kun." Kuroko said. They both jumped a little at the sudden voice.

'How did I miss him..?' Tsugawa had thought the reason he hadn't seen the bluenette before bumping into him the other night was because he had just exited a room or something. But, here he was in plain sight and even noticed.

"Hey Kuroko." He answered, still a little spooked. The teen then noticed the attire of the boy and grinned. "You're taking classes?"

"Yes, Midorima-san said I could." The bluenette replied.

"Awesome! What Kodor?" He asked.

"Sixth." Kuroko said.

"Wow! Same class too!" Tsugawa was glad to know someone who attended the same one as him, but shocked that someone with so much Rukh had only managed to get into the lowest class.

"I know why this moron got into Sixth, but why did you Kuroko-kun?" Tanimura asked. Kuroko was about to answer, but Tsugawa beat him to it with a complaint of his own.

"Yesterday I just wasn't prepared is all! I could've totally gotten into fourth Kodor too if I really tried!" Tsugawa shouted.

"Uh, huh." Came the unbelieving response.

"What...Kodor did Tanimura-kun get in?" Kuroko asked, pausing to remember the word.

"Fourth." The blonde answered, sending a superior smile at Tsugawa. "Unlike someone."

"I told you! It was just a mistake!" The shaved haired teen shouted in his defense.

"Sure, sure."

As the two were arguing Kuroko and Kagami noticed someone approaching them. He had dark-skin and black hair. But the thing that caught their attention the most was the sheer size of him.

'Tall...' Kuroko and Kagami stared with wide eyes at the giant person in front of them who, much to Kagami's annoyance, was taller than the red-head by many inches. Usually he was taller than most, only a few people outmatched him by an inch or two, but now seeing this guy, he knew how Kuroko felt about height differences...

Tanimura, noticing the astounded looks on their faces, turned around and saw his the person that caused them to make such an expression. With a short chuckle he introduced him.

"Oh Kuroko-kun, this is our other friend we mentioned. Papa Mbaye Siki. We just call him Papa for short though." Tanimura said. He put his hands on the bluenette's shoulders to get him to move closer. "Papa, this is Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Huh... This is the kid you both were talking about?" The dark-skinned teen asked, looking down at the blue-haired boy with an unimpressed look. "He doesn't look like much."

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you, Papa-kun." Kuroko said, snapping from his amazement at the sound of the teens voice. Kagami just glared at him for insulting the bluenette.

"Hm..." Papa narrowed his eyes and looked down. A few seconds later the teen bent down and picked up the bluenette, making Kagami immediately go into overprotective mode.

"What do you think you're doing, you bastard?!" Kagami yelled.

"He's too short. If I look down there too far my neck will hurt, so it's easier this way." Papa replied, making no move to lower the person in his hands.

"Haha. Maybe you should put him down, Papa." Takao said. Papa frowned, but put the bluenette back to the floor. "And you should all be going right? Class begins any minute now."

Tsugawa froze at the reminder. Everyone knew how strict and harsh the Sixth Kodor teacher was. He had personally found out the other day when the man had threatened all of them. They had to get there now!

"Come on Kuroko! We have to go!"

"Eh?" Was all Kuroko could say as the overzealous teen grabbed his hand and practically dragged him with him towards the direction of the classroom.

"Oi!" Kagami shouted, making a move to rescue the bluenette, but before he could Takao stopped him.

"It's alright Kagami. Just let him go. Tsugawa may be a little... fired up, but he means well. He won't do anything bad to Tet-chan." Takao said.

"Well, we must be going as well, Tanimura, Papa." Takao said. He was in charge of the Fourth Kodor students. "Will you be able to find your way back, Kagami?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Kagami said. Takao smiled and with the other two students, headed down the corridor.

When they were completely out of sight, Kagami stood there debating whether to go after Kuroko or to trusting Takao's words. It was weird. Before he met Kuroko he had been on his own and yet now he had no idea to do. They traveled together for days before going to Seirin and other than that time in the dungeon he hadn't let the boy out of his sight for more than a minute or two.

'Maybe I should go check real quick...' The red-head was about to go, when he remembered the determined look on the bluenette's face. He didn't want to doubt him...

'No, he'll be fine...' He reassured himself. With one last look, Kagami turned around and headed back to where the others were.

"We made it!" Tsuwaga said in a relieved tone as he stopped in front of the doorway that belonged to the Sixth Kodor class with almost a minute to spare.

"Y-Yes, Tsu..gawa...-kun." The bluenette's voice spoke through panting breaths.

"Let's go, Kuroko!" He let go of the boys hand and went to enter the classroom before the teacher came.

Kuroko, who had been supporting his weight on the teen next to him, promptly fell to the floor. At the sound Tsugawa looked down and only now realized what he'd done.

"Oh god, sorry Kuroko!" He exclaimed, offering his hand to help him up.

"I-It's fine." Kuroko said, catching his breath. He hadn't expected the teen to be that fast... and he really wasn't used to all that running...

Tsugawa steered the two of them into the room an towards one of the empty tables in the room. As they walked, Kuroko noticed at least ten other people in the class, all wearing robes and carrying staffs.

When he sat down at the table, he thought back to his red-haired friend who Tsugawa had dragged him away from. Although he was excited to start classes, he hadn't been able to say bye to Kagami...

"Be careful, Kuroko. Our teacher seemed really strict on the first day." Tsugawa warned. The first day had only been an introduction day, so they hadn't really done anything besides talking, so he worried what they were going to do today...

A minute or two later a man with blonde hair walked into the room, who Kuroko immediately recognized to be one of the teachers that they had met the other day in the arena.

"Quiet!" The man shouted loudly, causing everyone in the room to jump and turn their attention towards him.

"Some of you are new, so I'll introduce myself." The blonde stopped to make sure everyone was paying attention. "I'm Miyaji Kiyoshi and I'll be your instructor for the rest of the month.

'He doesn't seem as bad as Tsugawa-kun said.' Kuroko thought. But, what the man said next made him realize that his friend had been pretty accurate.

"Now that that's over. I hope you are all prepared to be worked to the bone. I won't tolerate any slacking and if you do you can get the hell out of here."

"Y-You can't deny us teaching!" A girl said from her seat.

"Who said anything about denying you teaching? It'll be your own fault if you fail to meet my expectations."

"But that's no fair!" Another student shouted.

"You have no one to blame but yourselves for getting into this class. Hopefully by the end of the month you all will be decent enough to make it into Fifth if you're lucky."

"Th-There's no way he's serious...Right Kuroko?" Tsugawa asked him. Kuroko shrugged his shoulders, a gesture he had picked up from Kagami.

"Now get up all of you! We are going outside for some exercising." They all looked at the man as if he had two heads. This was a magic school, so why in the world were they going to work out..?

"Do. Not. Make. Me. Repeat. Myself." The man said, sending them all a look that had nothing but seriousness in it.

Fearing for their grades, and more importantly their lives, they all got up and followed their teacher outside.

'The arena?' The bluenette thought, seeing they were standing in the place where the students had taken their exams. Were they going to fight like Kagami had asked when Midorima had mentioned it? Even if he had promised to do it, he didn't think he could do it this soon...

"Alright, you brats." They all stood in attention at the way the man yelled. "Do you all know why you're hopeless at magic?"

"Because we have less skill than the other Kodors..?" A student asked, confusion in his voice. It was an obvious answer.

"Think about it. All magicians can use magoi and yet you weaklings could barely produce enough to make a simple fire spell." Miyaji looked at the group with calculating eyes. "So, what does that mean?"

"We need more practice with spells?" A girl offered.

"No! It's because you all lack physical strength!" He shouted. "Using magic burdens the body. So, in order to make you all overcome that, you will do as I say until I deem you all ready."

"W-What? You're going to have us do physical training for the whole class until the next exam?!" Tsugawa shouted, unbelieving.

"If it takes that long for you all to get to my standards, then yes." Came the unimpressed reply.

Kuroko watched as the group of students started shouting arguments at the nonsense they were being told. He didn't know what 'physical training' was but from the reactions he supposed that it wasn't good and could only assume that whatever it was it didn't have to do with casting spells. He had to admit that he was a little saddened by the fact he couldn't learn magic yet...

Miyaji waited calmly as they rioted and looked at them with indifferent eyes. From this outburst, he had no doubt that they'd all fail within a few days... His gaze then landed on only boy who wasn't complaining or doing much of anything at all. Raising a brow at the blue-haired boy he realized who it was.

'Hm, the Magi...' Miyaji thought, sending an unimpressed look at the blue-haired boy. Midorima claimed he had been with the Seirin group when they went to watch the exams, but he hadn't noticed him. And even though the green-haired man had mentioned how the boy looked, he never expected him to be this weak... He'd be lucky to make it past the first day. Too bad.

"Be quiet!" When they shut their mouths, he continued. "Now, I'm feeling very lenient today. So, this first exercise will be easy."

"Thank God..." Someone sighed in relief, the others nodding in agreement. They thought this was going to be some kind of boot camp with the reputation the teacher had...

"Run twenty laps around the whole school."

'Eh?! That's lenient?!' Tsugawa shouted in his mind, looking at the bluenette to see his reaction. Seeing no reaction, he assumed the boy was confident he'd be able to do it, but then he remembered how much Kuroko had struggled when they had simply ran from one end of the school to another... 'Is he going to be okay..?'

"Th-That's too much!" A slightly overweight student said. When he agreed to coming to this school, he thought this would be totally different! Others shared his complaint, but Miyaji simply didn't care.

"Now, unless you want me to fail you right here and now, I suggest you do as I said." Seeing none of them start, Kuroko because he had no idea what to do and the others because they refused to, he glared at them. "You have a maximum of six hours. Starting now." With that he walked crossed his arms and gave them an expectant stare.

It was then they realized that he was being serious.

'I'm not going to lose!' Tsugawa thought determinedly.

"Only twenty laps?! I can do fifty! Let's go, Kuroko." Tsugawa said, looking to see if the boy was following him before turning back around and jogging. "See you failures later!"

"Hey! Wait for us!" Some shouted, jogging to catch up with the two.

'Easy peasy' Tsugawa thought, not effected by the run thus far. Just as he thought this, several students whizzed past them and took the lead.

'Ah! They're going fast!' He was about to suggest that they run faster to catch up with them, but when he looked over he knew that the bluenette couldn't. They were only halfway through the first lap it was just as he thought, Kuroko was definitely having difficulty. But at this rate, they wouldn't finish before everyone. Just passing would be okay for anyone, but Tsugawa was incredibly competitive... and the thought of not winning really bothered him. However he didn't feel right leaving the kid...

"I-It's okay, Tsugawa-kun." Kuroko said. He knew he was slowing his friend down and didn't want to be a burden.

"Are you sure..?"

He nodded and gave him the best smile he could manage. Tsugawa looked at him skeptically, but reluctantly gave in.

"Alright...Just remember that you can do it!" Tsugawa sped up, sending one last worried look at the boy before going ahead and eventually disappearing from Kuroko's view.

If Tsugawa believed in him, then he'd try!

A few minutes later he finished the mark of two laps. But, he was definitely feeling the effect of the running and he was beginning to doubt if he really could finish all twenty... Still he continued, in hopes of getting through this and getting stronger.

On the fifth lap, he knew that he could not...

'C-Can't.' Kuroko thought. Not only was he having trouble breathing after all the running, but his legs felt all wobbly and his whole body was sore...

Too distracted in his concentration to move forward, the boy accidentally stumbled over a rock and fell to the dirt ground. Kuroko defeatedly stayed where he was gasping to intake air. He couldn't move...When Midorima told him it wouldn't be easy, he really meant it... Maybe he had no talent for magic... Maybe he should just give up...

As he thought about that, his mind flashed to Kagami. How much effort his friend had put into helping him since they met. How he went to so many troubles to make sure he was okay. He wanted to return all of those favors for him... But, he was so tired...

'N-No, have to do this, for Kagami-kun!' Kuroko said resolutely, struggling to stand up. When he was fully standing, albeit on shaky legs, Kuroko trekked forward, purposefully. He was going to complete this, so Kagami would be pleased at him!

Five hours... It had been five since Kuroko left for his classes and Riko plus the other members of Seirin were getting irritated.

Ever since the red-head had come back to the infirmary he had been moving constantly. Be it the anxious way his leg moved up and down as he sat in the chair. Or the many times his eyes would travel to the doorway in hopes of seeing the familiar blue hair of Kuroko's.

They had been able to ignore it for a while, but doing this for hours was getting a bit more than annoying. Especially to the glasses wearing bandit who at that moment, could no longer contain his annoyance.

"That's it! Go sleep or something Kagami!" Hyuuga said.

"I'm not tired." Kagami uttered. He couldn't possibly sleep without knowing if Kuroko was okay or not!

"Just lay down then." Riko suggested. She knew the two got along, but she hadn't expected the red-head to be so dedicated. It was both touching and exasperating. Plus, it wasn't healthy to stress so much.

"Yeah, maybe you should. It'll take your mind off of it at the very least." Izuki said. Mitobe nodded.

"Who knows, maybe he's already done with classes and waiting for you!" Koganei said, trying to cheer him up.

Kagami sighed and reluctantly complied. Getting up from his spot he headed for the door and towards his room.

'Calm down...' He inwardly scolded himself. Kuroko was fine and learning magic and here he was sulking... How was he going to last a whole month of this..?

Reaching his destination he was about to grab the door knob, the wooden door opened on its own. When it fully opened Kagami saw Takao standing there.

"What are you doing here, Takao?"

"Oh, I was just dropping off Tet-chan."

"Dropping him off..?" What did he mean by that?!

"Well... you see... Miyaji may have gone a little overboard with his training..." Takao stated, letting out a nervous laugh as the red-head stare intensified.

He quickly went into the room to see what the man meant by 'overboard' and when he did he stopped in his tracks.

The bluenette was laying on the bed sound asleep. That in itself was weird, seeing as the boy had never gone to sleep without him being present. But what made Kagami's blood boil was the dirt and bruises that were littering his friends pale skin.

"What the hell did he do to him?!" Kagami shouted, hurrying to the bedside to check if the bluenette was okay.

"Well, the Sixth Kodor students had to run laps around the school..."

"You made him run laps?!" Kagami shouted. It was no wonder the boy was in this shape. While traveling he noticed how much stamina the boy lacked when they had to run from one of the monsters he was assigned to slay. And for these people who had known him previously to make him do this was unacceptable!

"Not me, Miyaji did!" The black-haired man said. If it had been any other teacher, they may have gone easy on the boy, but the blonde was a relatively new teacher, so he hadn't been around when Kuroko had stopped by with Aomine. "He's a bit... high-strung when it comes to training..."

The red-head just stayed quiet, glaring at the marks on his friends skin.

"How many laps..?"

"Twenty around the school..." He replied.

Even though he was appalled by the amount of running they made the bluenette do, he couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for his friend at the information. Kuroko was truly strong.

"Shin-chan told him not to go easy on him, but I'm sure he didn't mean that much..." Takao said. He was also angry with the blonde teacher for pushing Kuroko this much, but deep down he knew it was necessary in order for the boy to get better at magic. He had proved his methods to be true when a Sixth Kodor student had advanced to Third in the span of a month. It truly shocked all the teachers.

The two of them went silent for a few minutes before Takao spoke.

"Well, I'll be going then." Takao announced. When he saw the hadn't heard him because he was too occupied stroking the sleeping boys hair, he shook his head and smiled. The feelings the red-head had for Kuroko were so apparent. He quietly exited to the room, not wanting to disrupt the two.

Kagami sat there for almost an hour, just staring at Kuroko before noticing that Takao had left. Shrugging, he went to trying to clear off as much dirts as possible from the boys cheeks and hair.

When most was gone, he saw how dark it was outside and decided to sleep. He looked at his own bed then back to Kuroko and decided he didn't want to leave the bluenette alone. Blushing a little the red-head went to the other side of the bed and settled down on it. After all, Kuroko had done it to him, right?

After not being able to fall asleep for half an hour, Kagami groaned and sat up. Something didn't feel the same... He felt awkward just laying here on his back. Maybe on his side..? He laid back down with his back to Kuroko. No... something was still different.

Rolling over, Kagami faced the bluenette's back and stiffly lay there, not knowing what to do with his hands. What was he doing wrong?! He was sure that the last time they slept together he had such a good sleep... Looking at Kuroko and remembering how he woke up the other day, he experimentally wrapped his arms around the bluenette's waist, being mindful of the boys obvious soreness, and instantly felt the right-ness of the position.

Comfortable, Kagami closed his eyes and only moments later, fell asleep. Not noticing the way the still asleep boy's face changed from a troubled frown and into a serene smile upon the contact.

A/N 3: I don't know why, but I kind of laughed when I tried to picture Takeuchi as a Djinn... XD Also, I'd really appreciate any feedback on whether or not I should add a time-skip to the next chapter. I'm leaning more towards doing it than not, but I'd like to make sure that not too many people are against it first. Thanks if you do put your opinion! And I'll try to have the next chapter out soon. Someone might appear =)