Hey guys~! I don't have much to say this time, but thanks for being awesome, the reviews were really nice and they really made my day, I also never expected to have so many followers or favourites! You guys are great, so I hope you enjoy chapter eleven!
All the rights belong to, Tadatoshi Fujimaki.
Chapter Eleven, My Friends, (Part One)
'I'm just saying, if you're going to give someone an obnoxious nickname, then you should ask permission first.' Akashi was telling Kuroko.
'Like the way you ask for people's permission before using their first name?' Kuroko challenged.
It was a warm evening, and Kuroko and Akashi were sitting under the sakura tree. They had just finished their last class for the day and were taking a break before getting started on their homework.
'That's true,' Akashi agreed.
Kuroko smiled. It had been two days since Akashi's "trip" down the stairs, but he seemed to be alright now. At first he seemed twitchy, so Kuroko decided it be best to keep an eye on him.
'Well, Murasakibara-kun has always been... childish... and Kise-kun, well, he's just very... friendly.' Kuroko said, searching for the right words.
Akashi nodded. 'You guys seem close. But I can't help but wonder, how did you five become friends? You guys just seem so... different. Also... never mind...' Akahsi trailed off, not knowing how to ask the question burning in the back of his mind.
'What?' Kuroko asked confused.
'Well, I was wondering... did you and Daiki... really...' He trailed off again.
'Did we date? Yes, for a little while in our second year of middle school. I didn't think it was working out, so I broke it off.' The blank-faced boy explained.
Kuroko let that sink in for a few more minutes before continuing. 'Well, I guess it all goes back to our first year in middle school. None of us attended elementary school here. The school offers this thing to kids who are middle school level if they're good students and get good grades or are really good at sports, kind of like a university so to speak. I was... neither... but my grandfather worked here before he passed away and the school really liked him,' A sad look passed over his features 'So they made an exception. As you know, Kise-kun's mother is the Headmistress, so he got in, Midorima-kun has exceptionally good grades and his family's not hard for money either. Aomine-kun is very good at sports. And Murasakibara-kun is also really good at sports, but he also has pretty good grades. So we all got in for different reasons.'
Akashi nodded, he already knew that, because that's the reason why Nijimura left him. Nijimura Shuzo was the best in his grade, he was even on his way to being the best in the grade above him as well.
'Well, when we first met it was strange...' Kuroko said, staring up at the sky.
'Strange, how?' Akashi asked, confused.
'Well, let me explain...'
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Aomine Daiki,
It was pretty quiet when Kuroko Tetsuya arrived at his new school.
'Here we are, Tetsuya. This will be your new school from now on, what do you think?' The young boy's mother asked.
Tetsuya looked around, his expressionless face giving nothing away. 'It's nice, but are you sure that I'm smart enough to go to school here, mother?' He asked, the question had been on his mind since he heard that he had been accepted.
'Of course you are, you're a very smart boy, and don't you let anyone tell you different.' His mother said, crouching down to give her son a hug.
'It's not that people are telling me I'm stupid, it's just my grades that are.' He explained. His mother instantly picked up on the sadness in his voice. She was the only one he knew who could do that.
'You'll be fine, sweetie. The grades are just numbers, and maybe you struggle with grades but you're very smart in other ways.' She consoled.
'In other ways? There's no such thing as "being smart in other ways" people will still think I'm stupid. And I am.' Kuroko said, stomping his foot in frustration.
'Oh, yes there is. I know because you are, stop telling yourself that you aren't. I'm very proud of you and you should be too. It's not everyday that someone your age it invited to this kind of school. You should be happy.' She said, poking the small boy in the stomach.
He smiled weakly. 'The only reason I'm here is grandfather told them to let me come, they're not even going to notice me.'
'Kuroko Tetsuya, that is of enough of that! I know you're nervous, but stop telling yourself that you don't belong here. Your grandfather told them to invite you because he knew that you belonged here. You are a very smart and sweet boy. And if you're worried that they won't notice you, then all you have to do is make them notice. And as soon as they do, they'll have made the best discovery that they will ever make!' She said, squeezing her son's small shoulders.
Kuroko nodded, tears in his eyes. 'Okay, if you say so, but... why do you have to go...?'
She smiled warmly, 'I need to go home to take care of your grandmother. Can you imagine if your father tried to cook for her?'
Kuroko shuddered, 'I don't want father to cook for her.'
'Neither do I...' She hugged him again. 'Ready to have a look inside?'
'Mm-hm.' Kuroko said, nodding.
They had only gotten to the stairs when they heard another car door slam and a voice calling out. 'Daiki, Where are you going?! You don't even have your bag!'
Kuroko turned around to see a tanned boy who was wearing clothes too big for him, around Kuroko's own age running towards the steps. He stopped when the woman's voice called out again. 'Daiki! Get over here before I come over there!'
'Fine! I'm comin', don't come over!' He turned and ran back down and opened the back of the car and pulled out a bag.
'Okay! I have my bag! Can I go now?!' The tanned boy asked, fidgeting with his too large clothing.
'Yeah, whatever. Just give the Headmistress the paper I gave you. Can you do that? Or do you need me to come?' She asked from the front seat.
Kuroko, who had exceptional hearing could hear their conversation. And didn't understand why the boy's mother wasn't coming in with her son.
'I'm not stupid! I can give a piece of paper to one person! Geez mom, what do you think I am, useless?' The boy shot back.
'You could have fooled me. Now, do you have the damn paper?' The woman asked, rudely.
Kuroko could see the tanned boy's shoulders drop slightly before he replied, 'Yeah, I have the paper. I'll go give it to the Headmistress.'
'Fine, hurry up then!' She rolled up the window.
The boy looked as if he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He waved slightly and turned around, he walked towards the building, less bounce in his step than before.
He walked up the stairs and right into Kuroko, he gave him a forced smile. 'Hey, you new here too?'
Kuroko nodded. Not pointing out that he didn't say sorry.
'Oh, cool... well... I'm goin' in now, you comin'?' He asked, the fake smile fell off his face.
Kuroko looked up at his mom. 'Why don't the three of us go in together? My mother can take us to see the Headmistress.' He suggested, smiling slightly.
A look of relief flickered over the other boy's face. 'Okay, if you want.' He thought for a minute. 'I'm Aomine Daiki. Who are you?'
'I'm Kuroko Tetsuya.' He answered.
'Great. It's nice to meet ya.' Aomine said, cheerfully.
Kuroko's mom smiled at the two boys. She grabbed Kuroko's hand and said, 'Don't you think we should get going, sweetie?'
Kuroko nodded, then thought of something. He messaged for his mom to come down to eye level. She crouched down curiously.
'I don't want to upset you, mother, but do you think you could not hold my hand? I can tell that this guy's really cool and I don't want him to think I'm a baby.' Kuroko whispered.
She smiled, 'Oh yes. we wouldn't want that.'
'Oh, and one more thing. Can you lay off on the 'sweetie', for a bit?' He asked, completely serious.
She laughed, 'Of course.'
Kuroko nodded and turned back towards Aomine. 'Is that all you brought?' He asked indicating his single bag.
The tanned boy looked down and blushed slightly. 'Yeah, I don't have lots of money...' He looked Kuroko directly in the eye, daring him to say something.
'Neither do I, I only have like, five dollars.' Kuroko answered, misunderstanding what he meant.
Aomine stared at him for a minute before laughing, 'You're really funny, you know that, right?
Kuroko was confused. He looked up to see that his mom was laughing too.
'Why are you both laughing? It's not funny.' He said, defensively.
Aomine smiled, 'You seem pretty witty. I think I'm going to like you.'
'Witty? What does that mean?' Kuroko asked, looking up at his mother.
'It means smart or humourous.' She answered, giving her son a significant look.
The expressionless blushed again. He stammered out a thank you. Blushing more when Aomine asked why he was thanking him. He was saved from answering because they arrived at the Headmistress's door.
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Kise Ryouta,
Kuroko's mother knocked, they waited a moment before a voice answered, 'Enter.' They walked in.
Kuroko and Aomine waited as Kuroko's mother introduced herself and both the boys, she talked about school and other boring stuff that Kuroko and Aomine didn't care about.
Finally after they were done, the Headmistress summoned a young boy who was sitting in the corner of the room.
'Ryouta, why don't you show Kuroko-san and these two boys where to go? Take them to the reception desk to get their key and then escort them to their rooms.' She spoke to him in a crisp voice.
'Of course, ma'am.' The blonde boy replied. He bowed towards the three people. 'I'm Kise Ryouta, if you'll follow me...' He led the way out of the room.
Kuroko frowned, he looked at Aomine. 'Wasn't that the Headmistress's name? Kise?'
Aomine nodded. 'I bet he's really uptight.'
He talked to Kuroko's mother the entire time, telling her about the food and the dorms. He assured her that the two boys would be very happy here.
'Kise-kun, do you go to school here?' She asked, kindly.
'Yes, ma'am, I'll be starting my first year of middle school this year.' He explained politely. 'I've been attending Teiko since elementary school. Though, there's no dorms for that age, so I lived at home with father. My mother would prefer if I stayed in the special dorm this year though, that way she could keep a better eye on me.'
'Special dorm?' Kuroko asked, sounding confused.
The blonde nodded. 'In the halls that lead to the dorms there's a staircase. It connects to what we call the "special dorms." It's where the teachers or occasionally the "special students" live. Special students are students like me, the one's who are related to the important staff. A.K.A. The Headmistress or master.' Kise explained.
'Oh,' Kuroko said, nodding. 'I guess that makes sense.'
Aomine thought for a minute. 'So, you get to have a special room all because your mom's important?' He asked, sounding confused.
'Yes, I have my own room in the special dorm...' Kise answered cautiously.
'Why? How are you gonna make any friends?' Aomine asked.
Kise smiled sadly. 'I'm sure that I'll make friends in class... and if not, my mother says friends will distract me anyways, so not to bother.'
Aomine looked at Kuroko. 'That's not fair.' He whispered.
Kuroko nodded.
'Alright, this will be your room.' The blonde said with a smile.
Kuroko looked at the door and down at his key. 'Who's room? Mine or Aomine-kun?'
The golden-eyed boy smiled again. 'My mother thought you two would like to share. So she switched the keys around so you could.'
Aomine's eye widened as he worked out what that meant. 'Yeah! We're roommates!' He stuck his fist out towards Kuroko.
Kuroko stared at the other boy's hand for a minute before looking up at his mother. A huge smile stretching across his face.
His mother smiled. She could tell that her son was going to have a much better time then he first thought.
The smallest boy brought his fist up to the other boy's and gave it a light tap.
Their smiles reflected each others. Kise watched, a sad, far away look in his eye.
Kuroko's mother hurried them into the room. She helped Kuroko unpack, she even helped Aomine. After getting them settled in, it was time to say goodbye.
'But mother, I'm going to miss you.' Kuroko said, a faint tint of emotion laced in his words.
'I'm going to miss you too. But, I know that you're going to love it here.' She said, pulling him into a hug.
'Can I call you?' He asked, tears sliding down his pale cheeks.
She wiped the tears of his cheeks. 'Of course, call me as often as you want.' She smiled and hugged Aomine, 'Take good care of Tetsuya. Can you do that for me?' She asked.
Aomine nodded, a blush on his face.
'Thank you, and goodbye, Aomine-kun. I hope you have lots of fun.' She hugged Kuroko one last time. 'Goodbye sweetie. I love you.'
'I love you too.' Kuroko replied.
After that, she was gone, the last thing Kuroko saw was his mother wiping tears off her beautiful face.
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Keeping Kuroko's mother's request at heart, Aomine rarely left Kuroko's side. The two were so close that by the first day of classes, no student had seen them away from each other.
They were walking together one afternoon when they came across a strange sight. There was a older boy leaning towards a wall. Getting closer, Kuroko and Aomine saw a familiar tuft of blonde hair. They exchanged a fleeting glance before making their way over.
'Come on, Kise. You were the one who said you were tired of being alone.' The older boy was saying.
Kuroko gathered instantly that this boy was high school age.
'No, please, I didn't mean it like that. I... I'm not alone, and I really need to get going...' Kise said, slight desperation in his voice.
'It's alright, you'll barely feel a thing...' He said, pushing himself closer to the younger boy.
'Please! Stop!' Kise screamed.
Aomine threw his bag down and ran over. 'Hey! What's going on?!'
The older boy looked over his shoulder, annoyance flickering through his face. He plastered on a fake smile and said, 'Oh, nothing really, just talking to my friend here. You two should get going, you don't want to miss class...'
'He was screamin', I think you should let him go.' Aomine said, his hands clenching into fists.
Kuroko watched from afar, he shook his head. He knew that the older boy was much too big for Aomine. Looking around, he saw Kise's bag lying on the ground just a few inches away from the older boy.
He knew it was risky. And the older boy would see if anyone went for the bag. But he also knew that Kise probably had a phone, and another thing that he knew was that Kuroko Tetsuya wasn't just anyone.
So he made his decision. He walked quietly and slowly towards the bag, his lack of presence keeping him perfectly hidden.
'Listen kid, I'm getting tired of you, just run along before you get hurt.' The older boy said, failing to notice Kuroko.
'Not until you let him go! He was screamin'!' Aomine yelled.
'Don't interfere in things you don't understand. He'll enjoy it once we start, it's just getting there that he's scared of.' He said, a crazy glint in his eye.
Kise's eyes widened, he started to squirm. 'Let me go! Please! Just let me go!'
The boy clamped a hand over Kise's mouth. 'That's enough, be quiet now, Kise.'
Tears poured down Kise's face. He mumbled into the hand, begging to be let go.
A vein throbbed in Aomine's head, 'Let him go!' He yelled, furious.
'Kise-kun, is this your mother's number?' Kuroko asked, standing right next to Kise, showing him the phone.
Kise's eyes got if possible even bigger. He nodded his head.
The older boy looked down in surprise. 'Where the hell did you come from?!' He asked.
'I've been here the whole time. And unless you want Kise-kun's mother, who by the way is the Headmistress here at Teiko, to know what you're doing to her son, I would suggest that you let him go.' He said, his blank face giving nothing away.
'You don't really believe that I'm going to stand here and let that happen, do you?' The older boy asked, his voice snide, but he looked around uncomfortably.
'No, But you can't reach Aomine-kun.' He lifted the phone higher and threw it to his friend.
Aomine's perfect reflexes reacted, so even though Kuroko had a weak arm he sprung forward and caught it. 'Is it the one right here on top?' He asked, putting his finger to the call button.
Kuroko nodded.
The older boy thought for a moment before letting Kise go. 'Fuck, it had nothing to do with you. Why the hell did you have to interfere?!'
'Because, he's our friend.' The said in unison.
'Whatever, fuck you!' He knocked the phone out of Aomine's hand and ran inside.
Kise sank to his knees and cried in relief. 'Thank you, Oh my God, thank you so much!'
Kuroko and Aomine looked at each other, they both went down to their knees as well. They hugged Kise. All their shoulders shaking violently.
'But, why did you tell him we were friends?' Kise asked, after he had finally stopped crying.
Kuroko looked at Aomine, and back at Kise. 'Because we are now...' He stuck out his fist.
Aomine stuck his fist out as well, 'What do you say? Friends?'
More tears slid down Kise's face, he tapped both of their fists with his own. 'Friends,'
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That's all, sorry for springing a flashback on you like that. But, I hope you guys liked it, so tell me what you think!