Sweet Jesus I'm updating at last ;fkahs;fkhasd;kfha;s
guys i'm really sorry that it's taking an increasingly long time for me to complete a new chapter ;;_;;. I'd personally like to speed up too but either school just refuses to leave me NOT tired, or I'd be having an insufferable block :I. I'm really, really sorry.
And yes, in case you're wondering, I've yet to ponder on the plot for the rest of the story eheheh /shot.
What is planning ugh.
at any rate, I'd like to thank all of you who are still following this despite everything f;kasdf;s THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS YOU'RE ALL ANGELS I SWEAR ;;A;;
All Kuroko got for himself was a simple cup of vanilla milkshake.
Kagami, on the other hand, bought about a trillion cheeseburgers.
Even Aomine - Aomine, who was also a growing teen standing at the same height with about the same build with the redhead - had to stare at his tray in disbelief. Seriously? Did the guy intend to build a mini pyramid of burgers? How the hell does he even gorge down that ridiculous amount of food? And there Aomine was thinking he was a pretty big eater with five burgers and two packets of fries on his tray. He'd been so wrong he wanted to cry.
"That all you're eating?" Kagami asked Kuroko once they'd settled down onto the seats by the window, sounding incredulous. Like he had the right to use that tone of voice. Kuroko took his time to take a big sip of shake and savor the taste before answering.
"This will be enough for me," he said, then proceeded to knit his eyebrows at the mound of burgers on the redhead's tray. "And is it really necessary for Kagami-kun to get that many?"
"Hm?" Kagami was already biting into a bun. "This'll barely last me until dinner tonight, trust me."
"What are you?" Aomine asked in mock horror, pointing a fry at him. But really. The guy must've had some insane metabolism rate to not be overweight despite consuming that much food.
"Just one hell of a hungry guy, I guess." Kagami only shrugged as a response.
Aomine said nothing more, choosing to peel the wrapping of his terayaki burger and start eating his fill. He figured he'd only give himself indigestion if he kept the conversation going on. So swallowing his pride, he shut up and focused on eating. Once he and the redhead had quieted down, silence befell the group - though not one that was uncomfortable. None of them were keen on choking to death or biting their tongue and all that. And it did feel pretty pleasant sitting peacefully together like that. Truth to be told, Kuroko honestly didn't think Kagami could've gotten along so well with his childhood friend. Sure, they acted as if they were constantly trying to provoke each other into an argument or a fight, but Kuroko guessed that was because both of them just weren't those sappy type of people. He was sure Momoi could see it too; how at ease Daiki looked even when casually hanging out with Kagami now. After everything that'd happened to him, Aomine usually took some time to warm up the slightest bit to a stranger. But with Kagami, all it took was a few hours, and many basketball matches.
He's seriously a basketball idiot, huh? Kuroko thought fondly to himself as he took another sip of the gloriously wonderful vanilla shake. He wasn't even sure why he loved the drink so much but that wasn't exactly the point. The point was that the Daiki he knew had yet to completely disappear, and that alone made him so utterly relieved and glad that it was all he could do to keep himself from smiling all over like a psycho. Kuroko's eyes shifted from the table to the person across him, who, happened to be the biggest eater Kuroko had met in his life besides one other person whom he was sure eats a lot more given how he used to be constantly chewing on something almost all the time. He watched as Kagami inhaled burger after burger, making it look as if there wasn't even a need to chew before swallowing. Kuroko had mixed feelings about seeing him eat so much. He wasn't exactly sure if he should feel amazed or confused or queasy. Eating so much was something he was sure he could and would never do in his life.
"You sure you're okay with just that, Tetsu-kun?" Momoi asked after a while once Kuroko had finished his drink and set the empty paper cup aside. Among the four gathered around the table, she was the only one with the normal amount of edibles on her tray. She didn't believe in starving to keep her weight in check. "I can treat you to something if you want, you know. I don't think that'll be enough to last you even for a few hours, let alone until you get back."
"Thank you, Momoi-san, but I'll be alright," Kuroko assured because really, he'll be fine. He could even go on without food for a day or two if he needed to. It wasn't like he was deliberately not wanting to eat or anything; he just didn't feel hungry. He didn't see the point in making himself eat when there wasn't a need to.
"You probably won't," Momoi insisted before abruptly getting on her legs, scrunching up the wrapper of her finished burger with a determined expression on her face. "You're okay with a cheeseburger, right? Be right back."
She was gone before Kuroko could even react.
"She's always like that; deciding things on her own without caring how it'd make the people around her feel."
Kuroko turned to face the person who spoke, raising an eyebrow. Aomine had his gaze trained outside the window while he broodingly chewed on his food. If Kuroko had been spacing out, he wouldn't even have realized he'd said anything at all.
"Isn't that the reason why you still haven't gone overboard with your antics yet, Daiki-kun?" he said, folding his arms on the table and leaning forward to readjust his posture. Aomine did not say anything to deny that, instead choosing to glare at him in silent indignity. Kuroko calmly returned his stare, daring him to retaliate. The only reason Aomine was still hanging on was because of how headstrong of a girl Momoi was, that was something that couldn't be contradicted. It was the truth, and Aomine of all people should know that the best.
"You'll probably be in the streets doing drugs or something by now if it wasn't for her," Kagami agreed, his words partially muffled by the burger over his mouth. The boy in question sighed, raking his clean hand through his hair.
"I don't want to be told that by someone's who's halfway stuffing himself with enough food to feed a village in poverty," he muttered, almost wearily. Kagami didn't respond; either he didn't hear him, or he just couldn't be bothered to. It was probably the latter. Aomine heaved another sigh and rested his elbow on the table, idly chewing on a fry. Great. Now the whole world was antagonizing him.
Oh, wait. Not like that hadn't happened already. He tried not to mind his companion's words too much. Unlike the people he'd met in the past, what they said were true, as much as he hated to admit it. He'd been depending so much on his childhood friend without ever realizing it. Rather, it was more like he refused to realize it. Acknowledging that Momoi had played such a big role in his life equaled to acknowledging the fact that he'd placed so much burden on a single girl's shoulders. And that equaled to acknowledging the fact that he was one weakass jerk who couldn't even take care of his own behind.
"Here you go, Tetsu-kun."
Momoi's voice nearly startled Aomine out of his reverie with a jump, but the latter managed to keep his surprise in check. He tried hard to stop his raging heartbeat as he watched the girl place a neatly wrapped burger before Kuroko, taking in breaths just deep enough not to show.
"Thank you, Momoi-san," Kuroko said, looking up. "Though it wasn't necessary, really."
"Nonsense." Momoi waved her hand in dismissal, returning to her seat beside the pale boy. "It'll do you good to eat a little more."
"You won't grow if all you take for lunch is a vanilla shake." Aomine saw the chance and took it, and this time, it was Kuroko's turn to do the glaring. Height and growth were.. rather sensitive issues for him, you could say.
"I do eat normally on any other day, just so you know," he said, a tinge of sulkiness in his voice.
"Only then it's still less everybody else's portion," Aomine pointed out, reaching to unwrap his second last burger. "I've seen you eat, Tetsu. There's no use trying to lie."
"I'm not lying," Kuroko protested weakly, his mouth set into slight pout. Seeing that, Aomine tried hard to keep a straight face. He'd forgotten how amusing it was to tease him.
"Yes, but you're hiding the truth," he managed to say evenly, watching as the boy seated across him grudgingly unwrapped his food and take a bite.
"Kagami-kun's eating my fill for me, anyway," Kuroko muttered into his burger, and Kagami - who, somehow managed to catch his words - promptly choked at how ridiculous that statement had been.
"Seriously, Kuroko? Seriously?" he demanded incredulously. "That doesn't make any sense and you know it."
Kuroko kept quiet, averting his eyes as he chewed on the combination of bread, meat and vegetable. Truth to be told, he never really fancied eating fast food in the first place. His favorite were, of course, still Matron's cooking at home, but since Momoi had gone as far as treating him, Kuroko was afraid he was too polite to decline. She was just doing it for his sake, he knew. Even if he wasn't hungry, he should at least fill his stomach a bit. He was still growing. He needed the nutrients or else he'll end up as the shortest guy in the orphanage in the near future.
He didn't want that. He didn't want that at all.
"See? That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Momoi smiled happily at the sight of Kuroko chowing down with newfound vigor. She then slipped into a brief moment of silence, properly taking in the image of the boy next to her for the first time that day. She immediately noticed the signs of exhaustion; the bags under his eyes, the way his shoulders slumped slightly forward despite his efforts to keep his posture right. "But that aside, are you getting enough rest, Tetsu-kun?"
Kuroko stopped midway from taking another bite, his gaze flickering to glance at her sideways. "Enough for me to go on with everyday life," he answered, and Kagami snorted from across the table, earning himself some raised eyebrows at his direction.
"Barely enough would be more appropriate, don't you think?" the redhead blurted out blatantly, scrunching up the wrapper of his last burger and letting it fall back into his tray. Kuroko shot him a warning look which he pretended not to see.
"It's not good to push yourself too hard," Momoi chided at once, not at all doubting Kagami's words because the truth in them was obvious, really. "You should really take a break sometimes or else you'll collapse one day, Tetsu-kun."
"I can take care of myself," Kuroko assured, resisting the urge to break into a sigh. Why was everyone always so worried that he'll one day overdo things and let his health be affected? He wasn't that careless. He knew his limits. If he really was on the verge on fainting, he'd do something about it. There wasn't a need for his friends to be so darned concerned, jeez.
"Why do you need to use so much energy, anyway?" Aomine inquired, genuinely curious. "I mean, it's not like you're the only one old enough to help out in the orphanage."
"Well, my job is to wake up early in the morning and cycle around town, so there's that," Kuroko said after swallowing his last bite of food. "I'll be up and around all the way until night after that."
"You don't even take short breaks in the afternoons?" Momoi asked, sounding increasingly agitated. "Is it school activities?"
Kuroko shook his head, his hands moving to neatly fold the waxed paper into a tiny rectangle. "I have to help Matron out with the chores and take care of the younger ones after school. Shigehiro-kun is always there to help, so it actually isn't as bad as it sounds."
"Still," Momoi was reluctant to let the subject drop.
"I'm fine," Kuroko insisted, shooting the girl a look that told her that was final. He was alright, and that was that. His expression then softened when Momoi pursed her lips and glanced away, resembling a child who was about to burst into tears after being reprimanded. Kuroko reached out, and gently patted the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Momoi-san. I didn't mean to sound so harsh," he said softly, then allowing a small smile to grace his lips. "But thank you very much for worrying about me."
At that, Momoi promptly brightened up. It wasn't that she was simply easily swayed by his words (not completely, anyway) that she recovered so fast. It was because she was genuinely happy, overjoyed that the person seated beside her was still the Tetsu-kun she knew and left behind in the past. From the way he patted her head to the tone of voice he used to cheer her up. In many ways, he hadn't changed at all, and she was glad for that. There were some things that were better left as they were.
"Ah." Kuroko started after a short pause, twisting to reach into the pocket of his pants. He pulled out his ringing cellphone and flipped it open, checking to see who it was. "It's Matron."
"You better answer it then," Momoi said, moving to make way for Kuroko to step out. The latter nodded, standing up and shuffling his way through.
"Please excuse me for a moment."
He accepted the call as he headed for the exit of the lively restaurant. As soon as he stepped foot outside and away from the warmth of heaters, he once again was reminded of the fact that it was still winter and that it was still freezing. Kuroko tried to keep the cringe away from his voice as he spoke.
"Hello?"
"Tetsuya-kun?" Matrons' voice sounded from the other side of the line, the worry obvious in her tone. "How's it going over there? Are you boys having lunch now? You didn't give me an update so I got worried and-"
"We were just having burgers together," Kuroko told her, attempting to calm her down. It wouldn't be too good for her to get overly worked up. And it was his fault for forgetting anyway. He'd been so caught up with the flow of events that it just slipped his mind. Oops. "I apologize for not calling."
Matron breathed a big sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I was worried for a second there that you'd be too preoccupied to even take a short break."
"We're doing fine here," Kuroko assured her, leaning against a wall. He inhaled, and let out a slow, long breath. "Even Daiki-kun."
He then proceeded to tell her everything; from Momoi's explanation on Aomine's situation to the amazing one-on-one matches between Kagami and the latter. He told her how much he thought Daiki had changed the first time they met again, and he told her how he'd eventually found out that that wasn't the case at all. He told her about how Daiki seemed to have given up on the one thing he loved with all with life, and how he'd ended up falling in love with it all over again. Because of Kagami. Because of the redhead's insistency that led them to playing again and again and again.
Kagami.
As he spoke on, Kuroko realized how much he owed Kagami for all he had done. Sure, he was the one who said that he was doing it purely for himself after losing in the first game, but still. If it wasn't for him, Kuroko's efforts would've gone nowhere even if he did manage to gather enough courage to travel alone. Aomine would still be in the dumps no matter how hard he tried to talk him.
Daiki would not have smiled so genuinely again.
Kuroko didn't mean to have relied so much on the redhead, but wow. Kagami had done so much. How was he going to return the favor? He could be his servant for his entire life and still feel indebted to him. Then came another realization. It had always been like this between the two of them. It was always one trying to return the other's favor. This sort of friendship.. was it really the stable sort? Was it right that they were helping each other out simply because they felt obligated to? The thought made Kuroko uncomfortable, and he decided to save the thinking for later. He'd have plenty of time to dwell on this later.
"It's great that you're all getting along well." There was a strange ring to Matron's voice when she spoke right after he stopped, one which Kuroko was unable to identify. Was it wistfulness? It sounded a little like that, but he couldn't be sure.
"I can pass the phone to Daiki-kun, if you want," Kuroko said, already heading towards the side of the restaurant where the window seats were. Through the thick, transparent glass, he could see his three companions busy being immersed in a conversation that seemed to include lots of laughs and blushing and indignant looks. Kuroko wondered how Matron did it; being able to guess the progress of their relationship so accurately despite only being able to hear it being described in his words.
"No, it's alright. Won't want to bother you children or anything," Matron replied, sounding not exactly that convincing. She had raised Daiki for some time too. Of course she'd want to know how he was getting on.
"Just hold on for a while. I'm calling him over." And ignoring Matron's string of protests, Kuroko reached out, and knocked on the glass, hoping he'd able to get the attention of any one of his friends inside. Fortunately, Aomine happened to glance out at that moment and noticed him. He raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Kuroko only motioned for him to go outside, pointing to the device in his hand. To his relief, Aomine got the message, and in less than a minute, he was next to him in the cold.
Kuroko passed him the phone. "Matron wants to have a word with you."
For once, Aomine looked truly nervous. "What should I say?" he asked in a whisper. Kuroko shrugged, like, figure that out yourself, before moving to re-enter the warm embrace of the indoors, leaving a bewildered Daiki staring after him. Whatever words they chose to exchange between them was not his business.
"Daiki-kun's speaking with Matron now," Kuroko explained in reply to his companions' curious looks as soon as he got back to his seat. He noticed that their trays were all cleared away, leaving the tabletop seem strangely empty after all the stuff they'd placed there. Momoi raised her eyebrows, glancing outside in unrestrained curiosity. Aomine was standing directly outside at the same spot as where Kuroko had left him, turned away with his back facing them.
"I wonder what they're talking about?" Momoi mused aloud before perking up a little later, a thought popping up. She felt ashamed that she was only going to ask this after so long, but hey. Better late than never, right? She averted her attention back inside to the boy beside her. "Which reminds me. How's she doing these days? Matron, I mean."
"Same as ever, I guess," Kuroko answered, leaning against the back of his chair and turning to meet the girl's eyes. "She's still the same strong, reliable woman she was all those years ago. But she's also getting old, and the problems that arose these few years exhausted her quite badly both physically and emotionally. It's better now with the older ones helping out."
"Is it financial problems?" Momoi guessed, and Kuroko nodded silently. "Now that I think of it, you did mention that your job was to wake up earlier than everyone else."
"I meant it literally," Kuroko said, then unintentionally letting out a yawn. "I work part-time as a paperboy."
Momoi's expression made it obvious that this was news even to her. "Since when?"
"Around three years ago."
She then proceeded to silently stare at him, her eyes wide and her eyebrows arched high. He'd been pushing himself every day for so long already? Momoi knew better than anyone else about her Tetsu-kun's iron will, but wow. It could've have been easy on a frail, thinly eleven-year old boy to rush all around town while dragging hundreds of newspapers with him. The fact that he still had yet to quit and find another job was enough of a reason to make Momoi not regret spending all her life admiring the boy named Kuroko Tetsuya. She and Aomine weren't the only ones who had to face countless hurdles in life during their years away from the orphanage. In his own way, Kuroko had been trying just as hard.
"Must've been tough."
The one who spoke was not Momoi, but Kagami. Kuroko's gaze flickered to the redhead, the look in his face impossible to read. Honestly, he'd been so silent all along that Kuroko didn't expect him to make any comments at all.
"It was," Kuroko admitted, his voice softening by a fraction. He was used to it now, but when he first started working, there had been more than one occasion when he'd wanted to just give up and rely on the others for a just little longer. He couldn't do it, couldn't bear to push himself to his breaking point. He was worried that his body wouldn't be able to take the stress and would just stop functioning one day if he kept on straining it. He wasn't forced to work and he still hadn't reached the age requirement to help support the family back then, so he had a choice.
And he chose to ignore all doubts concerning himself, and shoulder the responsibility to help Matron. He'd decided that his own wellbeing didn't matter as long as he could be of help, as long as he could play his part in lightening the burden of the lady who raised him. So what if he collapsed? So what if he had to bear a little stress? All that didn't matter, didn't have to matter. The comfort of his family came first in his priority list.
"Ah, welcome back, Dai-chan," Momoi's voice broke the silence that befell them. Instinctively, the other two turned to see Aomine returning to their table. When he passed his phone back to him, Kuroko blinked. Was it just him, or Daiki seemed to be slightly more withdrawn now compared to how he was before? And then there were his eyes. It was hard to notice since it was only at the corners, but Kuroko happened to see it when the boy in question averted his eyes away.
They were tinged red.
As if knowing that Kuroko had noticed, Aomine shot the shorter boy a glare, as if saying 'I'll kill you if you say anything."
"Dude, you crying?"
Aomine's glare was instantly redirected to Kagami - who, was so blunt about it that Kuroko fought back the urge to pull him aside and talk to him about the importance of delicacy in life. Despite his tough exterior, Aomine was actually a pretty sensitive guy - especially when it came to his pride as a man.
"The wind outside just stung my eyes," Aomine said with finality, and no more questions were asked. Kuroko couldn't help wondering to himself what Matron had said to him to actually leave him - him, the Aomine Daiki - on the verge of tears. He figured it probably didn't take much to do that. Sometimes, nostalgia could melt even the coldest of hearts. All Matron needed to do was to say a few right words and that was it. Heck, even the sound of her voice was probably enough. His heart would constrict, the memories would come flooding into his mind. The forgotten yearning for the past would just come crashing back, and the tears would just well up on their own, whether he liked it or not. It was not something he should be ashamed of, Kuroko wanted to tell him that. It wasn't something he could help.
"Anyway, are you guys done?" Momoi was wise enough to change the topic before the mood between them could deteriorate. She stood up, casting her gaze on her companions one by one."We should go if we are. Won't want to disrupt people's business by hogging the table when we're not using it."
"Momoi-san's right," Kuroko agreed. He too, got on his feet. There were better places to hang out at than in a restaurant during lunch hour. It wouldn't be fair both to the staff and the other customers who were waiting for empty seats. "We should leave if we've finished eating." He looked at Kagami and raised an eyebrow for confirmation. "Have we?"
Kagami leaned back, grinned, and patted his stomach in satisfaction. "Yep."
"We're going to the street court down the road, right, Dai-chan?" Momoi asked as she slipped out of her seat and stood aside to make way for Kuroko. "Since school's probably already locked up and all."
Aomine was spacing out so badly that Kagami had to elbow him at the ribs to bring him back to his senses.
He winced, then blinked as if coming out of a trance. "H-Huh?"
"She asked if we're going to the street court nearby to continue our game," Kagami deadpanned, but he did not comment on his lack of attention. Kagami might be dense enough to sink in mercury, but even he could read the atmosphere, eventually. Aomine was human too, no matter how much of a douchebag he was or how good he was at basketball. He wasn't spared from feeling emotions. Kagami was pretty sure he would be reduced to an emotional mess too if he were to suddenly hear the voice of someone precious to him again after many, many years of being separated. Aomine needed the space and time to regain his composure.
"Yeah. Sure." Aomine's response was none the more attentive, but his companions left it as that. They gathered their things, and after making sure they'd left nothing important behind, the four headed to the exit, weaving their way through the crowd. There were so many people around them, it was actually beginning to feel difficult to breathe. So this is how it is in city restaurants during the busy period, Kuroko thought to himself as he tried his best not to lose sight of his friends while he pushed his way through by using the flow of the crowd to his advantage. His efforts were in vain, however, when he ended up being the only one standing outside, the other three nowhere to be seen.
Kuroko pulled his coat on as he looked around, attempting to figure out if he was the only one who'd successfully exited first or if the others just went back inside looking for him after realizing that he was missing. Really, he could've just given one of them a call, but since they'd end up outside again either way, he decided not to waste any phone credit on that. Adjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder, he stood to one side in order not to block the road (not that many will realize banging onto him, anyway), and watched the people going in and out of the place, happily chatting among their friends or family. Oddly, the scene before him gave off a peaceful feeling, despite all the noise. It would be really eerie if this sea of people were to be completely silent.
What caught Kuroko's attention was a particularly loud and cheery voice, calling a name that reminded him of an old friend. Out of curiosity, he craned his neck to look for the owner of the voice, half wondering if such a coincidence actually existed. If that person really was here of all places, of all times.
And then he saw him, the bespectacled teen that towered over a majority of the crowd; his green hair making him stand out even more than he already did. At his side was a shorter teen with black hair, and apparently he was the one with the obnoxious voice. Oh. So it really was him. Kuroko couldn't help feeling a little amused by the fact that he of all people had actually managed to find a friend he was comfortable around enough with to hang out together like that.
As Kuroko contemplated on whether or not to head over to greet him, the raven glanced toward his direction by pure chance, and - to his surprise - saw him.
"Hey, Shin-chan," the boy said, abruptly stopping in his tracks and reaching out to grab at the sleeve of his taller companion to halt him as well. "That guy's staring at you. Someone you know?"
"Even if he or she is, Takao, there isn't a need for you to raise your voi-" The green-haired teen turned to chide his companion, and promptly trailed off as soon as he realized who the latter meant. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared in disbelief, and his mouth went slightly agape. What was he doing here?
Kuroko raised a hand and waved. Might as well do it properly now that they'd noticed each other.
"Hello, Shintarou-kun."