A/N: Thank you for the review BlackAndWhiteRoseWolf!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.

Chapter 10

With Kagami

"I'll trust you with Tetsu for now, Kagami." Aomine was slightly impressed that the other wasn't all talk and had done what he wanted to do ever since he saw what happened to his former shadow on the court that day. He only spared the other Seirin members a glance before turning and walking away, Momoi trailing behind him, solemnly.

"We should be going as well, Kagami." Riko spoke up from behind him. "As soon as Kuroko comes back, I want you both to head home. It's too cold to be standing outside for so long."

"Yes, coach." replied Kagami, voice softer than usual. Riko gave him one last look before motioning for everyone to come with her, leaving Kagami to think.

'That Hanamiya bastard must be planning something...I knew that when he apologized before it was all lies, the smirk he sent me is proof of that. How can I get Kuroko away from him...'

"Hello, Kagami-kun." The red-head jumped back in fright.

"M-My heart...Stop that!" He waited for his heartbeat to return to normal before apologizing. "Look, I'm sorry Kuroko. I-I lost my cool there...I mean-"

"It's alright, Kagami-kun. Hanamiya-san seems fine, and you sound genuine. I don't approve of it, but the Kagami-kun I know wouldn't do something without a reason."

"So, uh...are we...good?" Kagami asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes." Kuroko held up his fist smiling a little when Kagami met the pale fist with his own. "But since Kagami-kun was being so childish, you owe me a milkshake later, and Nigou wants a hug." Kuroko lift the small dog towards Kagami with an innocent look on his face.

"EH?! Kuroko you-! Get that away from me!" The other Seirin members heard the scream from many blocks away, and could almost picture what happened.

'Poor Bakagami..'

After Nigou was done tormenting his masters friend, he barked and snuggled back into the warm jacket, panting happily. Kagami on the other had wasn't, slobber covered the left side of his face from the numerous licks the dog gave him.

As they walked on Kagami kept grumbling about "Stupid dogs" with a scowl on his face. Looking at the disgruntled teen, Kuroko couldn't help but let out a small, laugh. Kagami, who had never heard his friend laugh before, felt his face heat up, and he looked at the other. His baby blue hair was blowing slightly from the wind, the light from a nearby lamp-post made his pale skin shine almost

'Under the light...Kuroko looks like..an angel.' Kagami snapped out of his thoughts and looked away, as he saw the other turn towards him.

"Does Kagami-kun have my bag?"

"Huh, oh, yeah right here." He indicated the bag on his shoulder.

"I'm feeling...a little dizzy." He stated, calmly.

"Eh? Oh...oh!" He scrambles to get a pill out of the bag and handed it to Kuroko, who swallowed it.

"Thank you very much." Kagami noticed he still seemed a little disoriented, so he stopped the other from walking, and crouched in front of him. "What..are you doing, Kagami-kun..?" Kuroko looked down at the back of his partner.

"Y-You still feel dizzy, right? I'll give you a piggy back until you feel better." He choked the words out, sounding incredibly embarrassed. Kuroko didn't want to be a burden, but he was still very nauseous, so he hesitantly accepted the offer. "A-Alright, hang on tight." Kagami stood and was shocked by the lack of weight.

'I definitely need to force him to eat more...' He shook his head, and continued walking.

Next Day with Kuroko

Kuroko woke up that morning, feeling horrible. His face was flushed and throat was aching uncomfortably.

'Must have been colder than I thought, last night.' He was about to sigh, but ended up coughing. Almost immediately, he heard the sound of rushed footsteps before the door burst open.

"Are you okay, Kuroko?!" His temporary roommate was in the doorway in his pajama pants and a sleeveless shirt, looking panicked.

"I'm fine, Kagami-kun." Kuroko frowned at how weak his voice sounded, and Kagami who also heard it, rushed up to the boy and put a hand on his head.

"Ahh..You're burning up, Kuroko. Ho-Hold on while I call the doctor!"

"No Kagami-kun. It's just a cold." The bluenette protested, not wanting the bother the doctor over something so trivial.

"No excuses! He told me to call him if anything comes up. And this is an 'anything'! Wait here, I'll be back." Kuroko laid back in defeat, listening to his friend talking on the phone. When he heard the receiver being put back down, the door to the room opened again.

"Alright, he said he'd be here within the hour." Kagami sat on the floor beside him and looked uncertain. "Are you...hungry?"

'Who knew Kagami-kun had such a mother hen side to him.'

"I'm fine. Just...tired." At the disappointed look on the others face he reconsidered. "I'd appreciate it if you could get me a sweater, though."

"Sure." Kagami grinned then got up and went to his room to find the wanted item. "It's a bit big..." He gave the other the sweater. Not minding if it was big, as long as it kept him warm, he put it on. "Need anything else?"

"No, Thank you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko murmured, now that he was comfortable he found himself drifting off.

When he awoke, he saw Kagami talking with the doctor.

"Oh, seems sleeping beauty's awake." Dr. Nakamatsu joked, making said boy pout.

"Please, don't call me th-." His plea was interrupted by a coughing fit.

"Take it easy, you have a fever, 38.2 degrees Celsius. Kagami-kun told me that you were both outside last night in that cold weather. You should know better than to stay out in that weather!" He paused before putting on a serious face. "Unless..."

"Unless?" Kuroko asked.

"You wanted an excuse to see me, right? I'm so touched Kuroko-kun!"

"No." Kuroko deadpanned.

"Huh, would've sworn it was the reason...Anyway, I was going to call tomorrow to see if you could come in for your check-up, but since I'm here, why don't we handle that now?" He picked up his bag. "Would you give us a minute, Kagami-kun?"

"Uh..Sure, I'll be in the other room Kuroko."

"Now, shall I check your head?" When the boy agreed, the doctor proceeded to remove the bandages. When they were all off and he gentle touched the area that the injury had occurred, he nodded in approval.

"Alright, seems everything is healed." said. "You won't have to wear those anymore."

Kuroko sighed in relief, they were quite annoying and having to wrap them daily was kind of tedious especially with his now overheated head thanks to the fever.

"Thank you Nakamatsu-san."

"It's no problem, and besides, now I can pat my favorite patients head without worrying." Kuroko closed an eye and pouted as the doctor did as he said he would. Despite the doctor's professionalism and charming looks, he was like a big kid when you got to know him. And what made it worse, Kuroko is a very respectful person, so even if it annoyed him to no end, he would never jab someone older than him. The doctor knew this and took advantage of his kindness.

"So, your friend Kagami-kun told me that you've experienced a few dizzy spells and headaches since you left the hospital." The doctor saw Kuroko look away. "Ah, don't be like that, I personally asked him to tell me since we both know how stubborn you are. And it seems like it was the right decision seeing how you had no intention of telling me."

"They aren't too bad, so I saw no need to concern anyone." Nakamatsu sighed.

"Your friends seem to care a lot for you, Kuroko-kun. They wouldn't want you to keep things to yourself all the time." He was satisfied when the boy nodded in understanding. "Now, do you need anymore of the medications? Your injury may have healed but the effects of any brain trauma can be long-term."

"No thank you, I still have a lot left." Kuroko pointed to the bag beside the bed, he coughed and the doctor got back to the issue at hand.

"Be sure to take it easy. Sorry to say but, only bed rest until that fever is gone." sighing, Kuroko nodded. "I'd say a day's worth of rest. By tomorrow morning will get you back on your feet." Kuroko nodded, not feeling the strength to verbally confirm. Seeing this, Nakamatsu patted the boy's head one more time before getting up and exiting the room, telling the boy on the bed to feel better.

Drowsy, Kuroko listened to the muffled voices on the other side of the door, before falling asleep again.

"Hey, wake up Kuroko." Blinking sleepily, blue eyes opened and focused on the red eyes in front of him. "You have to eat something. You've been sleeping since noon, it's 8pm now."

He nodded slowly before sitting up weakly.

"Here, I made you chicken soup, It's american style so..let me know if you like it or not." Kuroko accepted the bowl with a small thank you and put the spoon to his mouth.

'It's a bit salty but..tastes pretty good..' Overall he enjoyed it.

"Thank you Kagami-kun. It's delicious." Kagami grinned, and Kuroko couldn't help but pat his head at his childish display. "Allow me to do the dishes..." Kuroko offered, attempting to get up.

"What?! No! You're sick. Just relax, I'll handle it."

"But, you already went through the trouble of making this meal..." The pale teen nodded reluctantly and laid back down. He was about to close his eyes once more when he felt a hand ruffling his hair. He opened an eye in annoyance, receiving a grin in response.

"That's for patting my head before." The red-head left before the other could remark. Shaking his head, Kuroko sighed before falling asleep.

Morning after with Hanamiya

"Geez, Hanamiya. Your nose looks worse than yesterday!" The bubble gum blowing teen exclaimed when their captain entered the gym for daily morning practice. He thought back to when that red-head was about to punch him during their match, and was glad that the smaller of Seirin's freshman duo had stopped him. "Looks painful.."

"Shut up, Kazuya." He was not in the mood. When he woke up this morning, his face was practically throbbing non stop.

"Hey, Hanamiya." Kentarou greeted as he walked in, late as usual. He froze when he saw his nose before cracking up. "Hahaha, what in the world's wrong with your nose?! I'm sorry, I greeted you wrong. Hi Rudolf!" Hanamiya was fed up with his taunting and punched the other.

"There, now we are twins, moron."

"Ow! God, you can't take a joke..." Kentarou mumbled, heading towards the locker room to change.

Hanamiya motioned for everyone to start practicing for the upcoming match. One person would act the role of the referee, while the others would play a game, gently elbowing each other at the right moments as to not be detected, if they were caught the referee would blow the whistle and that person would have to run laps. Sometime during the drills, someone walked up to Hanamiya and spoke to him, making all the members paused, wondering who would have the guts to stop practicing enough to talk.

"Good afternoon, Hanamiya-san." Everyone in the gym stopped and looked around for the voice, seeing no one they started to panic.

"G-Ghost..?" Hiroshi looked around wildly.

"N-No way! Ghosts don't exist! Right...?" Kazuya asked.

"I'm not a ghost. I'm right here." They looked next to Hanamiya and saw a light blue haired boy.

"When'd you get here?!"

"Not long ago." Kuroko stated vaguely.

"Hey, aren't you..?" Hanamiya sent a look his way, he stopped talking.

"This is Kuroko, everyone. And yes, he's from Seirin, the team we played against." He gave the other a kind smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Good afternoon, Kazuya-san." He bowed to the group, who by now were in shock. Not only had this boy appeared out of nowhere, but their captain was acting strange also.

"So, what brings you here, Kuroko?"

"I wanted to make sure everything was alright. Is your nose in any pain?" The bluenette looked at the others slightly reddened nose in worry.

'He really came all the way here...To make sure I was okay? Was this kid real?'

"It's fine now, just a little sore." Hanamiya saw relief in the others eyes, puzzling him once again.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your practice." Misinterpreting the others silence as a sign of annoyance.

"It's fine. Would you like to see our amazing moves?" Hanamiya asked, mimicking the tone that those basketball loving idiots used. The Daiichi members had no idea what to make of their captain at this point and just stayed silent.

"If it's alright with everyone." He looked at their faces, unsure. Hanamiya simply ushered him over to the benches before heading back on the court. He motioned for everyone to come.

"Spider Web only. Anyone who uses the other method will be punished." Hanamiya ordered quietly when Kuroko was seated on the benches. All but Kazuya looked at him in surprise and confusion, but nodded anyway. When they finished showing off their technique, Kuroko was extremely impressed.

'Wow, Hanamiya-san must be really smart to be able to predict where the passes will go before they even throw it...I want to play against him.' Kuroko was fidgeting on the bench, restless and wanting to play.

"Alright, practice over. Meet here same time tomorrow." Hanamiya dismissed everyone and walked back over to the bluenette. "How was it?"

"Hanamiya-san is very brilliant. I enjoyed it." He smiled.

"Is that so..?" He studied the boy before him.

"Ah, it's almost 2...I'm going to be late." Kuroko said, when he noticed the clock hanging on the gym wall said it was 1:35.

"Late for what?"

"Practice. Since the doctor said I was okay now, I'm allowed to join in."

"Ah..." The black-haired teen couldn't help but frown at the relief he felt when he found out that Kuroko's injury was finally healed.

"Would Hanamiya-san like to go with me to practice?"

'Well, since those brats teammates already know that I've been in contact with him already, I should start acting the part of a "reformed person".'

The two of them walked together towards Seirin's gym. Kuroko noticed his new friends change in mood and spoke up.

"Is everything okay, Hanamiya-san?"

"Huh? I'm fine. Why?"

"It's..just that when you smile, it doesn't always reach your eyes. You shouldn't force yourself to feel things that you don't want to."

'Damnit! This brat has better observational skills than I gave him credit for.'

"You sure are blunt...aren't you?"

"My friend, Kise-kun is just like you, using fake smiles to cover up his emotions. I just don't see the reason for it. How would anyone be truly happy if they have to hide their feelings from the people they care about all the time? ...Besides, aren't the smiles you receive from friends most meaningful when it comes from the heart?" Kuroko finished off with a small, but genuine smile on his face. Hanamiya felt his breath hitch at the sight.

'This kid...he's too innocent for his own good. Does he always say such straight-forward and embarrassing things?!' Hanamiya felt his resolve wavering yet again that day. 'Should I really be using him for my revenge... the more I talk to him, the more I have to question why I'm doing all of this.'

"I guess you're right..." Kuroko, satisfied that he agreed with him, decided to let the matter drop and they continued in a comfortable silence.

By the time they arrived, Kuroko had no doubt that he was late. Normally he would've snuck into the game and stated that he'd always been there, but with Hanamiya entering with him, there was no chance of using that excuse.

"I'm sorry for being late." The practicing players looked up and were about to scold their team member for being late, when they saw the teen with him.

"What are YOU doing here?" Kagami asked, grabbing the ball he just dunked before walking over. Hanamiya only raised an eyebrow.

"Kuroko asked me if I wanted to come, so I said yes. Right, Kuroko?" He nodded, confirming his claims. The red-head gritted his teeth. "Look, I'm not here to cause trouble alright? Just get to practicing." He admitted, partly to not ruin anything he planned for and the other because he remembered the punch from the other day...

"You can sit here, Hanamiya-san." He led him over to the bleachers, a few seats away from where Riko and her father were. Then he went to go get changed. When he left, the temperature in the room dropped many degrees, as the upperclassmen approached the Daiichi member.

"What is it that you're up to Hanamiya?" Kiyoshi asked, face serious. He knew the other longer than most of them and he had a feeling he was up to no good this time.

"After the match, I felt horrible, alright? And Kuroko, he makes me feel...better." Hanamiya came up with the lie, only realizing afterwards just how truthful he'd been. Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes at him before smiling.

"Alright, Hanamiya but if you do anything to hurt him...I won't forgive you. Got it?"

"Che, whatever." As Kuroko exited the locker room, everyone went back onto the court. Getting into a game starting position, with the freshman wearing yellow, upperclassmen, blue.

Hanamiya watched Kuroko play, playing against him and watching him were two entirely different things. He moved so gracefully on the court, something you don't expect from such a sport. Every time the ball came his way, he would twist his body in just the right angles to pass toward the player who had the most success to score. He couldn't believe how he did all of this within a split second. Another thing that he noticed, was the milky skin he got a glimpse of every time the baggy shirt he was wearing got lifted up when the blunette hit the ball. The look in those normally expressionless blue eyes intensified when he was on the court. All in all, Hanamiya was definitely impressed by the short basketball player. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he looked breathtaking.

'No..If I keep thinking this way...' He looked towards the other players on the court, glaring. 'Yes, this was about them. He had to put his feelings aside and focus on the main goal.'

He looked at the blue-haired boy who was heading in his direction, before looking away.

'Focus...'

A/N: Hmm...XD Not completely happy with this chapter. I might re-write it later. Let me know if I should? Any suggestions are appreciated. =)