Title : Regression
By: revenanttrickster
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi
A/N: Thank you to all my readers, you guys are awesome :D Thank you to all my reviewers: samijackson, LenXKagamine12234, kikigirl4321, BlueberryFridge, AnimeAngelChick, Kuroshiroryuu, Crossroader32, My Lunatic Crow, Pennilee, SinJaLOVE, sHirou, Kuro-Maggie, Guest, Anonymouse, Quetoa, ruhanasasunaru, NekoTama-1110, BrokenBlackCat, kiseki46, Shald120, newerher3. And to those who favorite and follow this story, thank you as well. I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!
Chapter 3: His light…
The ace and manager of Touou Academy basketball club were walking towards Seirin High School to pay a visit to their former phantom teammate. Well, more like the manager was dragging the ace along.
Aomine groaned. "C'mon Satsuki, do I really have to come along?"
"Mou, Dai-chan don't you want to see Tetsu-kun?" Momoi pouted at him.
"I'm fine with seeing Tetsu. What I don't want is to see that Bakagami's face," Aomine lazily added.
"It's fine, right? It's just for a short while after their practice we can invite Tetsu-kun to some GoriGori-kun popsicles with us, just like when we were in middle school."
At that thought, Aomine remembered the times when he ate GoriGori-kun with Kuroko after their basketball practice. The times when all the Generation of Miracles were having fun relaxing at the nearest convenience store after a grueling menu from Akashi. Those good times when he had fun playing basketball and when the Generation of Miracles was still considered a team. Before all of them, one by one, got stronger, relied in their own strength and their bonds shattered like a broken glass. Aomine forcefully kicked those depressing thoughts aside; he and Kuroko were all right now, there's no use dwelling on the past.
"Dai-chan, you okay?" Momoi worriedly asked. "You spaced out for a minute."
"I'm fine," Aomine assured the pink-haired girl.
They arrived at their destination and went to the direction of the school gym. On the way, they heard two girls talking animatedly and their conversation caught their interest.
"You're so lucky! You got to meet him and even had his autograph!" the first girl said in envy.
"I know! Kyaa! Kise-sama is so hot!" the second girl prattled.
Momoi watched them for a moment before turning to her childhood friend. "It looks like Ki-chan is here as well."
Aomine didn't say anything but braced himself at seeing the face of that hot-headed Kagami and hearing Kise's annoying babbles. On second thought, he should also prepare himself at Kuroko's habit of popping out of nowhere. Sometimes, he thought, Kuroko is doing that on purpose just to scare them.
They reached the gym and Momoi opened the doors and called her beloved's name in greeting, "Tetsu-kun!" They saw the Seirin team (plus Kise) huddling in a corner.
"Just do it Kagami or I'll double your menu," Riko whispered angrily at Seirin's ace. They were trying to hide Kuroko under the bench.
Kagami, who doesn't want to experience his coach's hellish menu, had no choice but to agree. "Fine."
Momoi tried to peek at what they were doing, "Um, what are you doing?"
"Nothing!" all of them said in unison.
Momoi and Aomine, of course, didn't believe them. Momoi could see that something was up even if they tried to act casual and normal. While Aomine got a feeling that something wasn't right and his instinct never failed him before so he knows that something was amiss.
Momoi tried to find her phantom crush, "Where's Tetsu-kun?"
"Kuroko is not here," Izuki answered the Touou manager.
"Eh? Why?"
"He left earlier," Kiyoshi excused.
'This feels like Déjà vu!' is what Seirin thought.
Momoi looked disappointed at not seeing her crush whereas Aomine examined them and his instinct told him that they were lying and trying to hide some secret. He flat-out told them what he thinks, "You're lying."
Everyone turned to Aomine in surprised.
"If what you're saying is true, then how come Kise is still here? He wouldn't stay if Tetsu wasn't around. Another is Kagami, he isn't complaining that I'm here like usual. He isn't even challenging me for some one-on-one match. And besides, Tetsu isn't the type to skip practice without a reasonable excuse. All of you are hiding something and I know it concerns Tetsu."
Everyone gaped at him in disbelief. 'He's too perceptive!'
Even Momoi was stunned at Aomine's detailed observation. 'Since when did Dai-chan get so smart?'
Kise sighed and turned to Kuroko's current teammates. "Maybe we should tell them. It's Aominecchi and Momocchi, you can trust them."
Everyone in Seirin was pondering about it when they heard Momoi suddenly gasped. They set their sights on Momoi whose eyes were widening in shock and a slack-jawed Aomine who was staring at something behind them. They spun around and spotted little Kuroko hugging Kagami's leg.
"I found Kagami-kun!" Kuroko happily announced. He thought they were playing hide-and-seek.
"Te-Te-Te-Te-Tetsu-kun?!" Momoi spluttered still gawking at the teal head kid.
Kuroko looked up at the pink-haired lady who called him in another nickname. As he was raised with good manners he greeted her politely, "Hello."
Momoi felt a warmth feeling rushing through her and her heart start beating faster. She couldn't get a hold of herself and rushed to the innocent boy to give him a bone crushing hug. "Kyaa! So cute!" Momoi gushed. Everybody (except for Aomine, who is still frozen in shock) doesn't know whom to envious about, Kuroko whose face was buried in Momoi's ample chest, or Momoi who was hugging the adorable phantom to death.
Worried for Kuroko, Kagami tried to tell Momoi to let him go, "Don't hug him too tight! You're suffocating him!"
Momoi ignore him and just held the boy tighter. "Tetsu-kun!"
Meanwhile, Aomine who finally snap out of his shock, pointed at the teal head boy. "Who the hell is that?! Is that Tetsu?!"
Kise tried to placate him. "Relax Aominecchi. That really is Kurokocchi but there's a reason for this."
"How the hell did Tetsu turn into a kid?!"
"Uh…about that…" Kise tried to say, he looked at the Seirin team for help.
Riko explained, once again, about the candies Kiyoshi brought and its effect. Aomine couldn't believe it at first, but even he had to accept it when a living proof is right there in front of him. He watched little Kuroko who was being fought over.
Momoi grabbed Kuroko's left arm. "Tetsu-kun is mine!"
"He's not yours! And you're hurting him!" Kagami grasped Kuroko's right arm.
Kise waved his arms at both of them. "Give me Kurokocchi! I want to hug him!"
Meanwhile, little Kuroko was having hard time appeasing them, his Momoi nee-chan (she introduced herself while fawning over him) was pulling his left arm hard and Kagami-kun was pulling the other one. Even his Kise nii-chan joined in and tried to take him from both of them. He doesn't like to see them quarreling and his arms were starting to get hurt, too. So he did what an ordinary kid like him will do in this situation, he cried. "Waah!"
All of them jumped when they Kuroko started to cry and loudly at that. Momoi and Kagami immediately let go of his arms and asked him what's wrong and Kise tried to cheer him up. However, Kuroko only cried louder because they were talking at the same time and he couldn't understand what they were saying.
Aomine heave a sigh. "Oi, look what you three did? You made Tetsu cry."
The aforementioned three was indignant at Aomine's accusation and tried to defend themselves.
When Kuroko heard another unfamiliar voice, he stopped crying and stared up at the tanned teen that was ignoring the accused three people's excuses. Aomine felt that someone was watching him and looked down at little Kuroko. Their gazes interlocked for a while and none of them blinked. At the same time, Seirin and the other two visitors watched in bated breath at the staring contest between the ace and phantom of the Generation of Miracles. Each of them thought that Kuroko may have recognized Aomine considering he was Kuroko's best friend and former light when they were in Teikou.
This was not the case though, little Kuroko was fascinated at the tall tanned-skin teen in front of him for this is the first time he met one. He pointed at him and said the word in which he thought the teen was. "Ganguro."
They all froze at Kuroko's word.
…
…
Seirin along with Momoi tried to hide their giggles since they don't want to face the wrath of the ace of Touou Academy. While Kagami and Kise had no qualms about it and laughed their hearts out.
Kise was holding his stomach while laughing. "A-Aominecchi *laughs* ganguro *laughs*"
"HAHAHA! Even Kuroko knows you're a ganguro Aomine!" Kagami double up in laughter and patted Kuroko on the head for a job well done.
Aomine was so pissed and grabbed Kuroko's head hard. "You damn brat…" Aomine threateningly said, his dark blue eyes flashed.
'Wait, is he on the zone?!' everybody thought when they saw Aomine's eyes.
All of a sudden, Momoi kicked Aomine's back hard. Aomine abruptly let go of Kuroko's head and rubbed his aching back. "That hurt! What the hell was that for Satsuki?!" he whirled at his pink-haired childhood friend.
Momoi, with her hands on her hips, reprimanded him. "Dai-chan you idiot! You were hurting Tetsu-kun!"
"He said I was a ganguro!"
"Well, you are!"
"No, I am not!"
"Stop denying it," Kagami butted in at the bickering pair.
Aomine spun towards Kagami, "Stay out of this Bakagami!"
Kagami's vein popped and took a threatening step closer to Aomine. "What did you just say Ahoumine?!"
"I said mind your own business Bakagami!"
"If it concerns Kuroko, it is my business Ahoumine!"
"What are you talking about? You're not a good partner to Tetsu! You're light is too dim, you idiot!"
"Huh? Says the guy who left him! And we beaten you fair and square, you moron!"
"Basketball junkie!"
"Ganguro!"
Having enough of their stupid argument, Riko and Momoi whacked their respective aces upside the head.
"Ow!" both boys clutched their throbbing heads.
"Stop arguing! And don't say bad words in front of a kid," Riko scolded them.
"That's right. Both of you are being bad influences to the innocent Kurokocchi," Kise throw in. He was carrying Kuroko and rubbed his cheeks on top of his head. He got little Kuroko all to himself since everyone's attention was on the two squabbling aces.
"Please stop fighting."
Each and every one of them turned to Kuroko who spoke.
Kuroko was looking between Kagami and Aomine. "I don't like anyone fighting. Fighting is bad, okay Kagami-kun and…um…" he took a peek up at Aomine, silently asking for his name.
Aomine sighed. "It's Aomine. Aomine Daiki."
"Aomine nii-chan!" Kuroko beamed at him. Kuroko was so happy for he got to meet another nii-chan.
Aomine quickly averted his eyes from Kuroko's dazzling smile and struggled to fight an urge to blush. 'I didn't know Tetsu could be this cute!'
Oblivious to the blue-haired inner turmoil, Kuroko held out his arms to Aomine. Aomine was confused at the kid's action and asked Kagami, "What does he want?"
"He wants to be carried by you," Kagami replied.
Aomine was hesitant, he's not really good at handling kids and they don't like him either because they think he's scary. On the other hand, Kuroko wasn't normal whether he's older or younger so he gave in to the teal-head's request and picked him up. "This is what you want, right?"
"Un!" Kuroko smiled at him before burying his face at the hollow of his neck.
Aomine look intently at the kid in his arms, also known as, his former shadow. He still couldn't believe that the cute little kid he was carrying was Kuroko. "Hey, he's going back to normal, right?"
"Yeah, we're going to ask the old lady who sold those candies to Kiyoshi on how to reverse the candy's effect," Hyuuga answered.
"You mean the candy shop near Kiyoshi-san's house?" Momoi inquired.
"As expected from the manager of the Generation of Miracles, that's exactly right," Kiyoshi affirmed.
"Yeah, we were just going to change and leave but then both of you showed up. Geez, all of you Generation of Miracles are like mushrooms popping out of nowhere," Kagami pointed out.
"Don't be like that Kagamicchi. It's just a coincidence," Kise justified.
"Coincidence? I don't think so. Who's next, Midorima?" Kagami guessed.
"I heard my name."
Everyone spun towards the owner's voice in astonishment.
"Midorima (Midorimacchi/Midorin)!"
… Are a bunch of idiots.
Next Chapter: Lucky Items...
Notes:
GoriGori Kun Popsicle - The blue soda-flavored popsicle the GOM ate together in middle school. The original snack is called "GariGari Kun Soda."