[A/N: This chapter takes place a week from the previous chapter. The day is the 21st of April.]

I was sitting at Maji's Burger. My beats on my head playing, "Please Don't Go" by Joel Adams. The sad music helped calm my nerves, or at least try to. But try as I might, I couldn't ignore the clenching and unclenching of my stomach. I was so nervous. I hated disappointing people. But my friends, based on how Kise-kun had acted, and those other men, they think I've been gone for a really long time, and they've just started healing.

How will they react when they figure out that I don't know who they are? I guess, I haven't really returned to them. I may be Kuroko Tetsuya, but I'm not their Kuroko Tetsuya. Really, I'm more like a stranger. I hold the same name, but I have a different "soul." A different person in me.

I was internally panicking. I was not ready to confront my old friends. What should I say? "Oh yeah, I just took a little vacation in America, sorry for not telling you." or something? I mean, I know that I don't have a criminal record from Japan, so either I was as good as evading the law enforcement as I am now, or I was a really law-abiding citizen. I think it's more of the latter, based on how I felt terrible, like, influenza terrible when I stole my first loaf of bread. So how will my old friends react to my new life? Of running on the streets, stealing and street-fighting left and right?

My old friends, whoever they may be, don't know what hardships I've been through. They don't know what made me go like this. How can they possibly except me for who I am? How can they possibly understand that I am this way because acting like this is the only way to survive? Can they understand that?

[A/N: Sorry for the REALLY short chapter, but I just wanted to show what Kuroko was worrying about, but he's not going to be the main protagonist of this section in the story! Tell me what you think about The Blue Phoenix!]