Kuroko barely made it back home. By the time they were in the elevator to Kagami's floor, he was a breath away from passing out. Kagami grabbed him and pulled his arm over his shoulders, just as he had done at the end of that long, hard game what seemed years ago now. Kuroko slumped against his side, his eyes falling almost shut. He moved his feet when the elevator doors opened, but Kagami carried most of his weight.

Once they were inside the apartment, Kagami dropped their schoolbags from his shoulder and pulled off his jacket and shoes, then Kuroko's, letting Kuroko lean against the wall while he worked. Then he stood straight and pulled Kuroko's arm over his shoulder again to lead him further into the apartment. "Do you want food first, or a bath?"

"Sleep," Kuroko murmured, almost there already.

"Yeah, you can do that, too, but you need to get clean and eat, first." Kagami was firm on this point. If he was going to take care of Kuroko, he would do it right. "So which is it: bath or food?" Hopefully offering Kuroko at least a little choice would keep him from feeling too out of control.

"Not hungry. Don't cook for me."

"You have to eat. I promise you'll like it."

Kuroko sighed deeply, but gave in. "Bath first."

"All right."

This worked better, anyway. Kagami could cook while Kuroko was getting clean. He pulled the sleep-drunk Kuroko down the hall to the bath and set him down on the edge of the tub while he ran the water. "Do you need help getting undressed?"

"No." Kuroko was already struggling with his shirt. After watching for a couple of seconds, Kagami reached out and tugged the fabric away from his back, just to make sure it wouldn't scrape his welts as he pulled it off. Free of the shirt, Kuroko bent almost double to deal with his socks. He managed those easily enough, and Kagami felt a little better about leaving him alone in the bath.

He stood and moved toward the door, still keeping a wary eye on Kuroko. "Will you be all right from here?"

Kuroko nodded and waved his fingers toward the door. "Go cook."

Kagami paused in the doorway. "Call if you need help with anything."

"Okay."

He made it a step or two down the hallway, then turned back and stuck his head in the doorway again. "Don't fall asleep in the bath. If you think you're about to, yell and I'll come help you get out."

"Okay." Kuroko had managed to peel off his trousers, leaving him in only his boxers. He looked vaguely triumphant over the accomplishment.

His bruises didn't look any better than last night. Kagami stared for a second longer, then finally forced himself to leave, closing the door quietly behind him.

Kuroko did not drown in the bath. About fifteen minutes later, a quick dinner was set out, ready to eat, and Kagami was ready to go back and check on him. Before he made of it out of the kitchen, Kuroko emerged from the hallway. He was wearing Kagami's dad's terrycloth robe. It was acres too big for him, wrapped almost twice around his body and staying in place only thanks to the belt. Kuroko looked content, though, so Kagami didn't comment on it.

"I made ramen bowls with ham," he said, gesturing toward the table in the main room.

Kuroko's eyes lit up, just a spark, but it was still good to see. "Like in Ponyo?"

"That kids' movie?"

Kuroko nodded serenely, already making his way to the food.

Kagami wrinkled his nose and followed after him. "I didn't know they had ramen in that movie."

Kuroko was already sitting at the table, snapping his chopsticks open. Kagami sat opposite him and tugged his bowl closer to himself. Kuroko gave him a disappointed look. "You've never seen Ponyo?"

Kagami shook his head. They both folded their hands briefly over the food and declared their thanks, then dug in. Kuroko ate a few bites quickly, then slowed down to a crawl, as if he'd remembered suddenly that he didn't actually want to eat. He'd been charmed by the reminder of the movie, apparently, but now his weariness was overwhelming him again.

Kuroko blinked sadly at his bowl, his chopsticks hovering in the air, then looked to Kagami again. His eyes were enormous and liquid and blue. "I'm very sorry to hear that you've never seen Ponyo, Kagami-kun."

Kagami couldn't believe this was still going. He narrowed his eyes at Kuroko, busy shoveling noodles and ham into his mouth. "It's just a kids' movie," he mumbled.

Kuroko shook his head in gentle horror. "But it's Studio Ghibli. You should never skip a Studio Ghibli film."

"Sorry. I didn't know it was that important."

"It is."

Kagami quirked a half-smile at the look at Kuroko's face, fond and distant. A sleepy Kuroko was rather amusing, it turned out. His guard was slipping, letting out many more emotions and thoughts than usual.

Of course, the events of the day might also have contributed to that. Kuroko's breakdown in the gym had been thorough and devastating. It had been quite some time before he was able to gather himself, to pull together enough of his resources so that he could stand and move and face the world again, even for the trip home.

Kuroko's mask had cracked. It was disconcerting to see, for certain, but... It might also be an opportunity.

"Then you'll have to show me later," Kagami said. "We'll get all the Studio Ghibli films and watch them, and you can point out the important parts. Like ramen bowls with ham."

Kuroko smiled. It was small and sleepy and confused, but it was real. "We'll start with Ponyo, then."

"Sure." Kagami reached over and nudged Kuroko's bowl. "Now eat."

Kuroko dug in again, not as if he was hungry but as if he was too tired to resist Kagami's orders anymore. At least he ate some noodles and most of the ham and vegetables. Then he just sipped the broth, which was fine with Kagami. It was nourishing, and Kuroko was starting to develop a flush his cheeks, as if he was coming down with a fever.

Well, it wouldn't be surprising. Kuroko's body and mind had been under a huge amount of stress lately. Getting sick in that situation would only be natural. Kagami would keep an eye on him.

Eventually, Kuroko decided that he'd eaten enough. He set the bowl down with a final-sounding clink and looked at Kagami, his hands folded neatly in his lap. "May I please go to sleep now, Kagami-kun?"

Kagami's heart gave a tender little ache. Kuroko looked like a little kid like this, half-asleep and drowning in an adult's robe, his eyes large and his posture deliberately straight. It was hard to refuse him anything in this state. But if Kagami didn't take advantage of this opportunity now, he didn't know when it would come again.

"Soon, okay? There's something that I think we should talk about first."

Kuroko blinked, long and slow. Then he settled back on his heels and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Kagami drew a deep breath and braced himself. "We need to talk about what happened to you. And we need to talk about going to the police."

Kuroko froze. His eyes widened and widened. He didn't look sleepy anymore. "Kagami-kun..." His voice was choked. He looked...betrayed.

Kagami hated this. But someone had to be the bad guy, here. "I know you don't want to talk about it. I know your dad taught you to be silent, to be ashamed, to keep this a secret. But, Kuroko, that man needs to go to jail."

Kuroko's breath jerked to a stop. The flush on his cheeks looked even worse against his skin, suddenly milky pale. All of the contentment and pleasure of the bath and the meal had vanished as if they'd never been.

"Kagami-kun..." The words were a strangled whisper. "Please don't ask this of me. I can't...I can't do that to him."

Kagami wanted to tear out his hair. He had known that this would be hard, but this was much, much worse than he'd expected. "Kuroko..." He could hear the helplessness in his voice, too, the confusion and lack of direction. He was so far out of his depth here that he didn't even know where the surface was supposed to be.

"Kuroko." Kagami stood up and moved around the table so he could kneel by Kuroko's side. Kuroko dizzily turned to face him, falling onto his butt on the floor when he couldn't keep his balance. Kagami grabbed his shoulders, partly to hold him up and partly because he didn't know what else to do. "Kuroko, that man was beating you."

Kuroko watched him warily, though he made no move to escape Kagami's grip. "He had his reasons."

"They couldn't have been good ones. The way he... The way he..." Kagami choked on the words, himself. "Damn it, Kuroko, your back is chewed up. How many times? How many...how many nights did he take a strap to you, huh? How could he have possibly justified that to himself, and to you? And how many times did he punch you in the stomach as hard as he could for no reason at all, just because you were there and he was pissed? Damn it, Kuroko, you can't defend this man!"

"I'm not defending him." But Kuroko's gaze slipped away, unable to hold Kagami's stare. "I know...I know what he did was wrong. But... My father isn't well, Kagami-kun."

"That's not an excuse for what he did to you!"

"I'm not excusing him. I'm just saying..."

"You're trying to give a reason for something that is not reasonable, Kuroko. You're trying to convince me that he doesn't deserve to be punished for what he did, and that's a lie. It's a lie."

Kagami felt the heat rising in his cheeks, too, though this was not fever. He didn't know how to get through to Kuroko on this; he didn't know what to say. All he could do was blurt the truth as he saw it as roughly and as bluntly as he had to. Kuroko would have been better off with carefully chosen words, with gentle persuasion, but those were not tools Kagami had at his disposal.

Kuroko was still not meeting his eyes. He leaned back as far as Kagami's grip would allow, dead weight in Kagami's hands. If Kagami let go of his shoulders, he would fall heavily onto his back, and it would hurt him badly. So Kagami held on, even though he knew he was holding too tight, even though he could see the wince crossing Kuroko's face as his fingers dug in, and Kagami hated that, he hated it. He never ever wanted to cause Kuroko pain, and that was what he was doing. But he couldn't stop.

"I heard the way he spoke to you, remember?" Kagami's voice was rising, now, frantic and inflamed. "I heard the names he called you, the way he called me an 'outsider.' He taught that you deserved what he did to you, and he taught you that no one could help. But that's not true. None of it is true. It was all lies. Please, please, Kuroko, believe me. I'm telling you the truth. He never did."

Kuroko's face was turned away in an effort to escape. His eyes squeezed shut and his face screwed up in a grimace. "You don't... You don't...understand..."

Kagami huffed out a breath. Finally, they were getting somewhere. "I know that. I know I don't understand. That's why I'm asking you to tell me. Make me understand what's going on, what's going through your head. Tell me what happened to you, and then we can move on from there. Please, Kuroko. Help me understand you."

Kuroko slumped. His head bowed down almost to his chest. And tears. There were more tears. It was almost unbelievable. They'd both thought that Kuroko must have exhausted all of his tears in that dreadful storm of a few hours ago.

"...All right," Kuroko said, almost inaudible. "I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything. Then you can decide...what you think is correct."

Kagami sat back, still holding his shoulders, though his grip was gentler now. He was almost dizzy with...something. It didn't feel like triumph, even though he'd won.

"But please..." Kuroko raised his head, slow and exhausted, to look at Kagami with his huge, childlike eyes, still streaming tears. "Please... Not tonight. I'm... I'm tired, Kagami-kun. I'm so tired."

"I know. I know." The words were barely above a whisper. Kagami pulled Kuroko forward by his shoulders and into another hug, this one brief and light, before pushing him back so he could look at him again. "Let me treat your back and give you more pain pills, all right? Then you can sleep. And we'll...we'll talk tomorrow."

Kuroko nodded, a slow bob of the head as if he just quit holding it up anymore, then lifted it again with all of his remaining strength. Kagami carefully hauled him to his feet and got him to the spare room, where he laid him out on the bed, face-down. He pulled back the robe, baring him to the waist. The welts were red and raw and awful, and he itched to do what he could to soothe them.

"I'll be right back with the gel and the medicine. Don't go anywhere."

Kuroko laughed. It was faint and bitter and small, but it was a laugh. Kagami halted in his tracks, his heart thumping and his eyes burning in his skull. He had wanted to hear Kuroko laugh, but not like this.

Kuroko turned his head and looked at Kagami, dragging his eyelids open by sheer force of will. His voice was a wisp carried on no more than a breath of air. "Go anywhere? Of course not. Did you know, Kagami-kun? Did you know why I refused your invitation to come home with you so many times?"

Kagami shook his head. His throat was dry, and his words had fled.

Kuroko smiled, but this did not seem bitter. It was small and hurt and weary, so weary, but it was a genuine smile. "It was because I knew... If I ever came here... I wouldn't want to leave. It would be...too near, and yet too far. Your kindness and generosity, your friendship... They were all I held on to in the darkest times, when my father was whipping me, when I wanted to die... And yet I was afraid...afraid to grab hold with both hands. And so I couldn't come. Because it was too much. And too little."

The burning in Kagami's eyes gave way to wetness, and then he was crying, too. "I...didn't know..." he choked out.

"Now you do." Kuroko turned his head to hide his face in his pillow again. "Hurry back, please. I won't go anywhere, but I don't like being alone."

Kagami hurried.