Back to normal chapters now, past the half-way point of Great Expectations! The fanfic with a title ripped off of a book that has a story nothing like this one!

So without further adue, here is the basketball dumbs going back to being awkward and confused!

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Chapter 11: Concerning The Worlds Keeping Us Apart

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At such a young age, what were they to think of lust? Of love?

It was something they couldn't grasp, couldn't feel as a whole. And they clearly hated that.

With such young minds they could only touch, the sin of skin beneath the clothes only peeking its head as they kept to nightwear in the full moon.

Hand on hip, lip on lip, fingers gracing every goosebump.

Soft.

It was strange, but tempting. It made them want.

But, Kagami wasn't about to do something wrong. He let go of Kuroko's wrist and moved his lips away from under his chin.

In return the ghostly male sighed something of loss and exhaustion and slowly shuffled back enough to be able to sit up. He gulped silently and rubbed the skin that had felt the shock of intimacy just a moment ago, fixing up his ridden-up shirt with his other hand. His cheeks were burning and he couldn't deny that the feelings running through him were… appealing. Not to mention Kagami was looking like a grumpy puppy in front of him.

Kuroko showed a small smile and gave his sad tiger a subtle kiss on the nose.

"Sorry. It must be hard to guess what feels right."

"No, it's not that. I, I knew it would be kinda like this. Just…"

The red-head looked away. Kuroko wondered if it was because the tiger had felt warm in the crook of his neck.

It was dark in Kagami's room, they had decided to go straight to bed since by the time they got back it was already early morning. Predictably this led to them testing out how cuddly they could get now that their feelings were out in the open, which ultimately led to Kagami pushing the boundaries until they were in this position.

The sad tiger pouted and stayed as he was. He held himself in front of Kuroko's legs but looked at him almost impatiently as he waited for whatever the ghost would suggest next, whether they would just sleep or stay conscious in each other's company a little longer.

It wasn't until Kuroko had gathered himself that he realized the ghost had a peculiar expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Kagami asked.

He got Kuroko's attention and noticed the reluctant pause. Finally the smaller rested his back against the pillows, eyes down.

"I am slightly scared."

"What?" Kagami jolted. "What is it? Am I doing something weird?"

"Well, the pace you move is very intimate compared to what I expected."

"Ah, s-sorry, it's kinda normal to 'test the waters' like this back in the west…"

"Interesting, not something you mentioned before. But it's not that. If anything you look adorable trying to woo me like this."

"Oi!"

Kagami frowned at him and showed his teeth like a wild cat, Kuroko couldn't help but smile. Although that didn't last long, soon he went back to a hesitant look.

"I am afraid because I worry this is all an imagined feeling."

"What do you mean?"

Kuroko paused and thought for a second before raising his head.

"I will admit, at first you were an excuse for me to be selfish." Kagami's expression changed, but Kuroko continued. "I wanted to stay out more, do more of what I wasn't allowed. If I followed you as if I were a shadow then I could have that, and more." The ghost stared right at Kagami's shock, and for a second he looked regretful. "Doesn't it make sense that instead of falling for you I am instead just looking for some kind of freedom?"

His tone was lower, but Kuroko hid the changes in his face. Rather than a guilty look, or a sorry look, or any kind of reluctance at all, Kuroko's expression seemed blank as usual.

"…So," Kagami paused for longer than was comfortable, trying to sort the situation out in his head so that he could find the right words for it. "Basically, you're thinking: what if I'm your 'bad boy'."

"Yes."

This time Kagami was the one to look hesitant. He glanced upwards and straightened himself with a hum, but eventually just smirked at the other.

"Well then you would be the 'rich prince' fantasy." He laughed. "I aint no little princess but doesn't sound too bad to me. Anyway, as long as it feels right don't you think it's a bad idea to say it's not serious?"

"I… suppose so." Kuroko agreed, though he didn't sound very convinced.

"Right. So whatever happens, we'll deal with the problems as they come." Kagami grinned at him without a care in the world.

Kuroko just stared at him, not entirely sure how to give a genuine response.

"Right."

….

That was a few days ago now. It had been on his mind more than he wanted it to be.

"Hmm… boyfriend?"

Kagami hummed as he balanced the ball with his hand in front of his face, fighting against gravity. The other hand was being used as a pillow against the hard wooden bench. He made a face at his own words and twisted the ball idly.

"Partner… sounds kinda fancy."

He sighed and let the ball slip and hit his chest, bringing his hand down with it to keep it there.

"Friend…"

He paused.

He wished he hadn't thought of that.

What was he supposed to do? Even though he was supposed to be the one comfortable with things moving fast, everything had seemed to happen at once. Something about this didn't seem right. Even though that ghost was the one who was always blunt Kuroko seemed, kind of, apprehensive, about being too close.

Kagami groaned and got off his back to sit on the bench, followed up by him immediately bouncing the basketball as he tried to let out his frustration.

"Shouldn't I be talking about this with him? I mean he said it's fine to call it 'dating' but still. Ugh, I should have put it off a couple of years; we're both still in the first year and everything."

After what he had said it had turned out this was bugging him more than he realized. Kuroko talking about 'using him as an excuse' and 'just looking for freedom' didn't really help.

The school was pretty much empty now and Kagami didn't really feel like going home. Unlike before when he would just think of the ghost boy often, now he accepted that he just plain missed him. It even got to the point that everything seemed to remind him of that night a few days ago like it was an old nostalgia, even though they didn't exactly do anything extreme. Even the sun, ever falling beyond the stone-building horizon, reminded him of the day after when they went back to the beach to spend the day together again. He had been... happy.

"Kuroko…" The red-head caught the ball and let it rest.

How did he see him after that? How did Kuroko feel about him? Kagami wanted to know so badly it hurt.

"Ah, so you must be Kagami then!"

A soft yet cheery voice pierced through his train of thought. The red-head looked up to see a person he had never seen before.

About as tall as Kuroko, long pink hair that flowed in the breeze and shining pink eyes. She was wearing a uniform of some school but honestly it looked like it was about to lose a few buttons if not for the green hoodie she put over herself.

"W-Woah!"

Kagami flinched and had to jump back - he hadn't realized just how close they were until he looked at her… chest. He blushed and shook his head.

No- no, I shouldn't even be getting flustered! I've already enough relationship stuff to deal with!

He tried to force himself to be noble but he seemed to catch himself off guard. Thinking about having that kind of responsibility to Kuroko only made that unwelcome feeling creep back into his chest, and it showed on his face.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

The girl got even closer and Kagami looked up with another flinch back.

"Um, no- uh, you just surprised me."

"Oh sorry, I just got excited because I heard you talking about Tetsu-kun~"

"Tets…" Kagami frowned and blinked a couple of times.

"You know, Kuroko?"

"Eh? Oh! So you call- you know what, nevermind. Did, did you hear what I was just talking about?"

"Nope, I just heard you say his name and confirmed that you are indeed Kagami-kun."

"Uh, how do you…" Kagami started but then trailed off. "Could you be, one of his old friends?"

"Yup! Oh but he didn't tell me about you, I had to research you myself."

"R-Research me."

"Yessir."

The pink haired girl smiled brightly and twirled, finally walking back a bit to give Kagami some space. She seemed like she would be a bit spacy but she spoke with some kind of reassurance that gave her a knowledgeable aura. Not to mention every mention of 'Tetsu-kun' gave her a new abundance of confidence – she was like a performer that could trick any audience to do her bidding. Although she also seemed far too innocent for anything like that, at first sight at least.

Kagami shook his head and got his act together, frowning once more as he got back on track.

"In that case, who are you? And why were you looking for me?" Well that felt like a line out of an action movie, for a moment Kagami wondered if he'd gotten wrapped up in an illegal crime group thanks to his mysterious 'boyfriend'.

"My name is Satsuki Momoi, and I wanted to find Tetsu before the dance." Momoi smiled her brightest smile and it seemed the light around her shined with good feeling.

"Kuroko's going to a dance?"

"Yup!"

"Why don't you just go to his school?"

"I'm not allowed, security is super tight. Besides I really wanna see him casually, it's probably going to be the one where Tetsu-kun and I get engaged."

The atmosphere dropped to a subzero temperature.

"You and…" Kagami's eyes widened as he slowly straightened up.

"And Kuroko." Momoi giggled and rolled her eyes, like the only problem was that Kagami couldn't figure out who it was already.

She said it again. So easily.

"You are, you're joking right?"

"Hm? Oh right it would look kinda weird to you. Yeah, our parents want us to hurry up with that kind of stuff 'just in case' you know? Something about us being loose canons, keeping close ties, making sure we don't get with 'the wrong type of person', you know. That's why I wanted to find Tetsu before the dance so we wouldn't have just awkwardness all night."

"You…" Kagami was startled, stumbling as he stood up. He had to physically stop himself from grabbing her. "W-Wait a- just how old is Kuroko? No- more importantly, why the hell is it you two getting married?!"

Momoi jumped back, eyes wide. Kagami realized he had yelled at her.

"I'm… sorry?"

"N-No…" Kagami shook his head and tried to get himself back in place. "I, umm, I'm just, very confused right now. Didn't mean to, shout."

"Uhuh… well it's just how things go between our families. It's not like he proposed or anything, romance doesn't really come into wealth or status." Momoi huffed nonchalantly, noticing Kagami's reaction to that sentence on the sly. She continued with a look that said 'I will only tell the truth, whether I like it or not'. "It's just a good thing that we like each other! Imagine what it would be like if we hated each other~" Momoi sorted out her hair, too busy swooning over the fantasy Kuroko in her head to realize the heaviness of the silence between them.

The realization of just how little he knew was crushing Kagami, but it also made him realize why he was feeling so uncomfortable.

"Oi."

"Hm?"

She looked over to see Kagami with a blankly serious expression on his face.

"That dance party thing, where is it?"

"It's at Tetsu's house."

"When?"

"Saturday. Why?"

Kagami didn't answer.

Instead he grabbed the basketball and tossed it back into the open shed before turning back to the pink haired girl. The look in his eyes held back a cold that would freeze her in place.

"Tell me more about Tetsuya."

….

Anyone who looked at them would assume they were a couple, but that's just the effect Momoi had on people. While Kagami kept his hands shoved in his pockets walking along like some wannabe thug, the pink haired girl chatted along with a spring in her step.

"A… winner stick?"

"Yup!" Momoi cheered and then sunk her face into her hands as she swayed with a maiden's aura. "You give it in and get a free ice-pop, and he just gave it up like it was nothing. Ah he's so mysterious, but he really is kind after all. I still remember it like it was yesterday."

Kagami made a face as he watched the pink haired admirer swoon. He hoped there wasn't something even more troublesome he didn't know about Kuroko's love life.

"Alright but, you said before that he was always like that until the end. What end?"

"Oh yeah. Well it wasn't all that long ago now that I think about it, less than a year definitely." Momoi's expression lost its peppiness and instead she sighed with some kind of sadness. "Tetsu was always kind, hard working, happy. Even when he didn't look like it there was some kind of light in his eyes that just gave you confidence. Being around him made you believe that you would never hit the ground. I bet you've seen it, especially if you play with him in games."

Kagami didn't say anything, but the way he looked away told that he had.

Momoi smiled.

"I guess you wouldn't know anything different since he's gotten back on his feet. But, at that time he wasn't the Kuroko you know."

"What happened?"

"It's… hard to define it." She looked away with a lack of confidence. "Some things happened; everyone became less of themselves one after another. I think Tetsu was hit the hardest since he had to watch everyone change while still trying so hard."

"What about you?"

"Umm, I don't think I changed. I guess I got a little depressed, whenever I went to the basketball club all it was always such a bad atmosphere."

"Wait so this is just in the basketball club?"

"Right, I guess I should explain from the start." She smiled apologetically and took a breath. Time to bring back some unwanted memories.

"You know about the old team he used to be in, right? Well at the start it was just like any other team, and then slowly everyone started to change one by one. Everyone got good, really good, better than anyone else. The miracles, that used to be a team, turned into a team of one-man teams. Tetsu-kun had his talent from the start and he couldn't exactly improve much on being the invisible man, so as everyone changed into different people he had to just take it being powerless. Obviously he didn't, if he wasn't so helpful then the everyone would have disbanded ages before that. But, he couldn't help for long. Eventually everyone surpassed him and they didn't need him anymore. His friends left him behind in the one thing he loved most of all. It was so suffocating; no-one trusted anyone with anything. When he finally gave up all he could do was trail along behind them, until finally it all broke apart. After that, every time I saw him he was still just a little broken. He didn't have a reason to continue in basketball anymore, so I think he was trying to live his life without it."

Kagami listened with an unchanging expression, watching Momoi who also had a much more deflated look than usual. For a moment he thought he could see pain in her eyes.

"Trying to live without basketball…" Kagami looked away and clenched his fist. "He really must've hated it all."

"I think so." She agreed. "I think maybe he grew to hate those closest to him as well. Maybe even himself..." Momoi's voice was a little soft, not in a good way. But then she tried to smile again. "Sorry, you should really hear this from Tetsu-kun, I can only tell you what I saw from the side lines. It must be much more difficult to live through it…"

"Don't worry, I will." Kagami almost looked like he was snarling. Oh he would ask about this alright, he was going to find out everything after all the things this girl had told him.

Poor Momoi was actually a bit intimidated. Of course considering the people she hung out with she managed to shake that off quickly enough.

"You know, come to think of it…" He looked back to see her smiling at him again, this time both soft and bright. "He's on your team now right? You really must have been something, the last time I saw him he was so much happier."

"Y-You think so?"

"I'm sure! I walked home with him recently and he was so talkative for once, especially about your team."

"Huh. I, guess that's good news." He shrugged, just a little relieved. "Wait a sec, we played against Kise before, wasn't he one of your old guys?"

"Oh yeah, Tetsu told me about that."

"I wouldn't fit him with what you just told me at all. Come to think about it, he wanted Kuroko to join his team!"

"Well, Kise was always more cheery than most, even when he changed. Tetsu-kun's not the only one who's got his spirit back up, it seems as though Kise-kun has found a team all of his own. I guess he is starting to miss the old times when they used to all be friends too."

Momoi gave a fond smile but Kagami wasn't quite sure he got all of this. It sounded like trouble, and he knew trouble. Either way he also knew he shouldn't press just in case his brain melted, so instead he tried to act calm and cool.

"Did… Kuroko say anything about me then?"

"Hm?"

"When you spoke to him."

"Oh, uhh, well he mentioned you were the one he met first."

"Anything else?"

Momoi hummed as she thought for a long moment before bouncing into a smile.

"He said you were an idiot~!"

Kagami froze up with a "Hng-" and tried to hide his pain.

"Is that, so…" He faced away and grit his teeth.

"Yeah, it was something like 'Bakagami is the biggest idiot out of the group, but he plays well and that is enough'."

"Is that so…" Kagami grit his teeth more to the point of chipping thanks to his sharp teeth.

What the hell, not talking about me at all! And introducing me to your friends as just some idiot, you're the idiot! 'That is enough', did you go out with everyone on your basketball team? Am I just some basketball monkey to you? Son of a b-

"Sooo is that everything you want to know about Tetsu-kun?"

"Eh?" Kagami blinked back out of his thoughts and tried to act like he wasn't having half a meltdown. "Uh, no not really. I-I mean, yes it is, there's not really much more I can ask…"

"Alrighty, if you see him tell him to come find me before Saturday okay~?"

"Yeah, sure."

As Kagami gathered his thoughts and shook his head, Momoi waved a perky wave and turned to cross the road. Only then did he realize there was one more thing he had to know.

"Wait a sec."

She stopped in surprise, turning back to see a more hesitant red-head.

"Do you… Do you care at all about being engaged to Kuroko?"

Momoi paused, wide eyed at the other. Then she smiled.

"I really do like Tetsu-kun. But… I don't know about marrying him." She shrugged a little and looked to the sky with a melancholy expression. "There are plenty of people I've never met yet that I could fall in love with even more. There is only one person as wonderful as him, so I guess I should be thankful our parents chose us to be together."

"But, don't you have a problem with it? Your parents shouldn't choose that kind of stuff for you."

She laughed with a little disbelief.

"Now I see why Tetsu chose you guys, you're nothing like the people we're used to. Even Aomine isn't so, hmm, dumb?"

"Oi, that's enough..." Kagami felt like he was going to cry or if he took anymore hits to his ego.

"Haha no that's not the right word, it's like a good kind of dumb~"

"I give up…"

"Sorry sorry~ I'm wrong~" Momoi continued to laugh while Kagami continued to cry over his pride. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, then gave him a sad smile. "You should talk to Kuroko more; he won't tell me how he really feels about the whole thing. I think it would be good if he could share some of his pain for once with the people that make him happy. He has a problem expressing himself, you know?"

With that Momoi smiled and waved once more, then turned and walked off her own way in the dimming sunlight. Kagami stared at her, watching for as long as he could keep the silence before turning and heading down the few streets left to his own home.

Problems expressing himself was kind of obvious, but talking to her definitely did not clear up the problems Kagami was making for himself. In fact in terms of the 'does Kuroko think of me as a boyfriend or nah' situation, it pretty much destroyed all humble hope of the expectations he had.

Why did everything have to be so unclear with Kuroko? Why did he have to assume his feelings? If he didn't have anything to lose he would easily just straight out ask Kuroko how he really felt about him. That's what he told himself, but really he knew there wasn't anything holding him back except his own fear that he wouldn't get the best answer. Don't get him wrong, after all he just heard he found a new respect for the guy, and right now all he wanted to do was hold Kuroko in his arms and tell him he was too good for what happened to him, but the fact that Kuroko didn't even show the slightest regret to him just made him wonder if Kuroko really cared about anything.

As he came into the building and opened his apartment with a sigh Kagami wondered what the hell he was going to do about these feelings, and what he was going to do about the 'dance' on Saturday. Was it some fancy event? Was it some kind of secret mafia mixer? His brain hurt from all this speculation and thinking.

Kagami groaned like a little kid being told to do chores and tossed his keys on the table, ready to collapse onto the couch when he noticed the note his keys landed beside.

'Dear Kagami-kun,

I found your spare key last time I was here and took it without your permission,
now I am napping in your room. Please do not wake me as I did not get much
sleep last night. Also, in case you're thinking of trying anything, I brought Nigou
with me who likes sleeping next to my stomach.

Kuroko.'

Kagami clutched the piece of paper, a smirk of the pissed off nature curling his lips. His gaze only darkened as he looked over to his room which now had an aura to it that made him shiver in the worst way.

Son of a bitch, why can't you at least act a little ashamed!?

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Chapter 11 End

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Yet another character has appeared, this time claiming that Kuroko's romantic life with Kagami might be short lived?! Bet you lovely people forgot about that part didn't you ;)

To summarize since it's been a while, Kagami's in first-serious-relationship turmoil spoiled even more by the fact that the only indication Kuroko feels the same way is 'It didnt feel wrong', must be rough :P
What will Kagami do with this new information? What can he do? And, what most of you are probably annoyed at me for, how does Kuroko feel about all this?

You'll have to find this out in the next chapter, when Kagami takes a step in what he hopes is the right direction!