Title: Regression
By: revenanttrickster
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi
A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I'm really really sorry for the late update. T_T didn't know that my two weeks will extend to four weeks. :c I won't make excuses but know that I sincerely apologize for breaking my promise. Unfortunately, when I finished writing and editing this chapter I got sick. Talk about bad timing.
Anyway, thanks: gypsydancer529, Faliara, kh07gl, Myadorabletetsuya, jessyjasmine.7, BrokenBlackCat, newerher3, Kuroshiroryuu, Crossroader32, Ciel D'or Serendipite, Kichou, XxDeadSkiesxX, miki565, Nightmares Will Rule The World, x10TIMEx, Amywxue, Guest (1), Usagi323, Lascka, R3iga1004, Kuro-Inazumi, Finn Oxenstierna, Calico Neko, imKimTheWriter, Ayazanekokeke, teemo-kun, Somebody, nyoot, Guest (2), Ninaloveanime, UndergroundAkuma, Sakihinata, IcchanScissorsLover, Izzywing, PinkSugarDust, Guest (3) for those encouraging reviews! Rereading your reviews really motivated me whenever I feel lost and losing hope so thanks :D And for those who favorite and follow this story thank you as well. Seeing those notifications in my email everyday even though I haven't updated in a month made me happy. ^_^
And without further ado, here's chapter 9! XD
Chapter 9: Sweet Shopping
Little Kuroko glanced up and up at the purple haired center of Yosen beside him while holding the teen's right hand as they walk. They just left Momoi's house after the pink head and her mother smothered the little phantom with their bone-crushing hugs. Momoi even wanted to come along with them but the teal head boy refused, saying that he wants to spend time alone with his Murasaki nii-chan. Hearing little Kuroko's reason, the pink haired manager had no choice but to relent to his wishes and stayed home. Momoi then hugged the teal head boy to death for a few more minutes before finally said her goodbyes to them.
Currently, Murasakibara and little Kuroko were headed to a sweet bazaar where all kinds of pastries and confectionaries were being displayed and sold at a lower price. It was fortunate that when the teal head boy picked Murasakibara, he was already planning to go Tokyo to check the bazaar as well as to buy lots and lots of sweets and wouldn't have to travel to Akita where the purple head lives.
"Why does Murasaki nii-chan likes sweet stuff?" little Kuroko asked after finding out where they were headed.
"I don't particularly like sweets alone. I like all kinds of snacks just as long as they taste good."
"So what is Murasaki nii-chan's favorite snack?"
"Potato chips!" the purple head enthusiastically answered.
The teal head boy giggled at Murasakibara's response and enthusiasm. "Are we there yet Murasaki nii-chan?" he asked as he looked up at the purple head.
"We're close," Murasakibara responded. "I can see the banner from here."
Little Kuroko's cyan eyes squinted at the road ahead of them. "Are you sure Murasaki nii-chan? I can't see anything."
Suddenly, the purple head picked the little phantom up—much to the boy's surprise—and placed him on his shoulders. "Can you see it now Kuro-chin?"
After getting his bearings, the teal head boy finally looked up and saw a colorful banner displayed along with a lot of people crowding in that area. "Un! I see it!"
The two of them resumed their walking with little Kuroko on Murasakibara's shoulders until they reached the bazaar. Both of their eyes sparkled in awe when they saw the vibrant colors and scrumptious looking desserts all lined up for everyone to see. There were German pastries like baumkuchen, black forest cherry torte, welf pudding, and stollen; Italian's biscotti, cannoli, torta caprese and pizelle; Chinese's fa gao, mooncake, white sugar sponge cake and pineapple tarts; and of course the Japanese wagashi namely anmitsu, daifuku, manjuu and mochi and many more desserts for every person to buy.
The purple haired center tried a shop that was displaying different varieties of French pastries like éclair, croquembouche, mille-feuille, pain au chocolat, opera cake, custard tart, mousse and tons of other desserts which in turn made Murasakibara slightly drooling as he stared at it.
The attendant of the shop immediately noticed the purple haired teen and the cute teal head boy that he was carrying on his shoulders. "Good morning!" she chirpily greeted. "As you can see we're selling an array of French pastries. If you want we can give you a free sample."
"Free sample?" Murasakibara and little Kuroko both said in unison.
The attendant nodded, took a tray full of bite size pieces of some of the desserts displayed and offered it to them. The purple head took a classic lemon madeleine with brown butter for him and gave a teal head boy a vanilla flavored macaron. They both ate their dessert at the same time and then unexpectedly paused.
The attendant worriedly watched as her customers froze all of a sudden. She jumped in surprise when they without warning moaned loudly and their eyes twinkled brightly. "This is so good!" she heard both of them exclaimed. The attendant shakily smiled at them. "Are you going to purchase one, sir?"
"Do you want me to buy you one Kuro-chin?" Murasakibara asked since he already decided to buy the madeleine he ate as well as the mille-feuille and custard tart.
"Is it okay Murasaki nii-chan? Isn't too expensive?" little Kuroko uncertainly asked, even though the desserts were discounted it was still a little pricey.
"It's okay~"
"If you say so Murasaki nii-chan," the teal head boy conceded. "Then, I want the vanilla and the seasonal chocolate macarons."
"We'll take the macarons, the madeleine, mille-feuille and the custard tart," the purple head ordered.
The attendant smiled. "Coming right up!" She took the chosen pastries to put them in boxes and proceeded to wrap them up with purple wrapper for the tall teen and a light blue wrapper for the little boy to match them up with her customer's hair color. After wrapping, she tied a cute white ribbon on the boxes and placed them inside a pale pink paper bag with the shop's logo on it. "Thank you and please come again," she said as she handed the paper bag to the purple head teen after paying.
After leaving the shop, Murasakibara and little Kuroko continued exploring the bazaar. They watched in admiration at the shops they passed by and bought some desserts they like in some shops that the teal head boy chose. The purple head noticed that the shop little Kuroko picked has the best pastries and some of them were cheap as well so he just let the little phantom decide on where they'll go next and followed his directions for their pastry hunt.
Unbeknownst to little Kuroko, he was unconsciously using his astute observational skills to pinpoint the shops where most people radiate happiness as they buy from the shop.
There was even a one time while they were buying an apple pie when the teal head boy smiled an endearing smile to the shopkeeper while thanking her. The shopkeeper almost swooned when she saw that smile and added a piece of apple strudel to their purchase for free.
Murasakibara thought of an idea at that time and after that instance instructed little Kuroko to smile at the attendants and shopkeepers (especially if they're girls), much to the little phantom's confusion but did as he was told. As it turns out, the teal head boy isn't as invisible as he thought he could be particularly when it came to adults. As a result, they got a lot of free desserts and were always offered a lot of discounts which made the purple head happy since he got to buy a lot of sweets for him and little Kuroko.
The both of them resumed their sightseeing when they noticed a shop that specializes in chocolate was doing a live demonstration of making a sachertorte, the king of chocolate pastry, and decided to observe it. They watched as the sponge cake was made and baked with Murasakibara sniffing the sweet aroma after it was finished, making the teal head boy chuckling at his action. The chocolatier even gave a spoonful of apricot jam to little Kuroko to taste that made him moaned in bliss. They oohed and ahhed as the chocolatier was tempering the chocolate glaze until it looked smooth and glistening and then quickly pouring it over the cake to spread and smoothed over the surface of it. They decided right there and then to buy one.
After watching the demonstration, the purple haired center's stomach grumbled loudly which made the little phantom giggled and so they agreed to eat lunch before continuing their exploration.
i.
As they were eating, little Kuroko decided to ask Murasakibara about his family. "What is your family like Murasaki nii-chan?"
"My family is big."
The teal head boy blinked. "Big? You mean as tall as Murasaki nii-chan?"
"No. I meant a have four siblings."
"Really? Is Murasaki nii-chan the youngest?"
The purple head nodded. "I have three older brothers and one older sister."
"Are your older brothers and sister as tall as you are Murasaki nii-chan?"
"My eldest brother is we got it from our father. But my other brothers and sister has an average height just like our mother."
Little Kuroko smiled. "It must be fun to have so many siblings."
"I guess," Murasakibara said as he shrugged. "Although my brothers and I always fight during dinner and our mother scolds us every time."
The teal head boy giggled. "I can see that happening. How about Murasaki nii-chan's sister?"
"I like my sister. She's my favorite sibling," the purple head disclosed, smiling. "She always gives me snacks."
"Will I meet them today?" little Kuroko asked.
Murasakibara shook his head. "Some of my cousins will stay at our house this weekend and our house isn't that big so it's a bit crowded and there's no more space."
"That's too bad," the teal head boy forlornly said. "I would have liked to meet Murasaki nii-chan's family."
"Sorry Kuro-chin," the purple head said as he ruffled little Kuroko's hair to comfort him. "Maybe next time…"
"Okay," little Kuroko said even though he was still slightly sad.
"Since Kuro-chin can't stay with me tonight, I have to tell your next caretaker to meet up with us later. Did you already pick who Kuro-chin?"
"Hmm…" the teal head boy pondered. "I pick Midorima nii-chan!"
Murasakibara was a little bit surprised at the little phantom's choice, nonetheless he accepted it. "I'll call Mido-chin later then."
Little Kuroko nodded and took a sip form his iced tea. His azure eyes wandered around and caught the paper bags placed in another chair next to them and some that were on the ground. "Murasaki nii-chan, um, don't you think we bought too many pastries?"
"Nope~" the purple head nonchalantly answered as he continued to eat his lunch.
"But don't you have a budget Murasaki nii-chan?"
"Don't worry Kuro-chin. Aka-chin gave me some money for today."
"Aka-chin?" the teal head boy asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Akashi," Murasakibara specified.
"You mean Sei-nii?" little Kuroko said, obviously astounded. "But why would Sei-nii give Murasaki nii-chan some money?"
"Aka-chin knew that it was my turn today and asked me where were going. I told him that we'll go to a sweet bazaar and then he gave me some money so that we could buy anything we want especially Kuro-chin."
"Was that okay? Isn't it an inconvenience to Se-nii?"
The purple head shrugged his shoulders. "Aka-chin said so and I just follow Aka-chin."
Despite the fact that the teal head boy was worried, he left it at that and resumed eating his lunch. "Are you and Sei-nii friends, Murasaki nii-chan?"
Murasakibara nodded. "We went to the same middle school. Just like Mido-chin, Kise-chin, Sacchin and Mine-chin."
In spite of the nicknames, little Kuroko knew who the purple head were talking about. "Really Murasaki nii-chan?"
"Yeah, all of us were in the basketball club."
The little phantom's cerulean eyes glittered in wonder. "That's so cool! All of you must be very close."
"Not really," Murasakibara said. "Mido-chin and I always argue and then there's Kise-chin and Mine-chin who were squabbling every time. And the only one who always stopped those fight was…"
Little Kuroko stared curiously at the purple haired teen when he trailed off. "Who Murasaki nii-chan?"
"Nothing~" Murasakibara responded and drank his iced tea. "Are you done Kuro-chin?"
"Un!"
"Then let's go. I saw a shop that sells delicious looking donuts near here."
ii.
The center and mini version of the phantom sixth man of the Generation of Miracles continued making their way throughout the bazaar, taking some samples of luscious desserts, buying mouthwatering pastries and just casually wandered around the area. At some point, Murasakibara called Midorima to meet up at a park near the bazaar since it was the green head's turn to take care of little Kuroko.
While walking, the teal head boy noticed a shop that people seems to be ignoring and guided Murasakibara there as he was curious.
They stopped in front of the shop that sells traditional Japanese confectionaries. Little Kuroko stepped closer to shop's window and ogled at one of the desserts displayed there.
"There's no one here Kuro-chin," the purple head noted when he didn't saw anyone managing the shop. "Maybe it's closed."
"I'm sorry but we're closed for the moment," said a voice from behind them.
They both turned around and found a young woman, who was smiling at them apologetically, wearing a pink kimono with sakura patterns adorning it and her black hair tied neatly in a bun.
The teal head boy's inquisitiveness got the better of him and asked the young woman. "Why are you closed onee-san?"
"Unfortunately, we encountered a little bit of a problem," the shopkeeper said. "But we're currently working on it. I'm sorry if we can't entertain you right now."
"…Oh," little Kuroko said, clearly disappointed and stared longingly at some of the wagashi that were displayed there.
The shopkeeper noticed his dejected face and wants to comfort him but doesn't know how.
"It's okay Kuro-chin," Murasakibara said as he patted the teal head boy's head. "There are some shops we haven't seen yet. Let's just look there."
Little Kuroko looked hesitant. "…But I want that one." He pointed at the namagashi that he was staring. The namagashi that he was pointing at was shaped into a sakura with a deep red as its color.
Seeing the stricken look the boy was making, the shopkeeper sighed in defeat and crouched down on the boy's level. "Do you really want the namagashi?" she asked.
The little phantom slowly nodded his head.
The shopkeeper smiled. "Okay then, you can have it."
"Really onee-san?" little Kuroko asked, gazing hopefully at the young woman.
"Of course!" She smiled and straightened up. "Why don't the both of you come in? You can wait inside while I take care of your purchase." She opened the door to the shop and both the purple and teal head went inside.
"Um, onee-san?" little Kuroko tentatively spoke, trying to catch the shopkeeper's attention.
The young woman turned to the boy, who was sitting in one of the tables with his guardian across form him. "What is it?"
"Can I, um, choose the color of the wrapper?"
"Of course," the shopkeeper said as she smiled obligingly at the boy. "What color do you want?"
"Red and black," the teal head boy answered.
"Red and black? That's an odd combination," the young woman mused. "Are you sure little boy?"
Little Kuroko nodded. "Un!"
The shopkeeper had no choice but acquiesce to the boy's request especially when she saw his eager face. "Okay then."
As the young woman was busy with preparing their chosen dessert, Murasakibara turned to the teal head boy. "Kuro-chin, are you going to give the namagashi to Aka-chin?" he asked.
"How did you know it's for Sei-nii, Murasaki nii-chan?"
"The red wrapper."
Little Kuroko smiled. "Well, Sei-nii was the reason we got to buy a lot of sweets today. That's why I decided to buy Sei-nii a pastry as a thank you for today," he explained and looked up at the purple haired teen. "Do you think he'll like what I picked?"
Murasakibara ruffled the little phantom's teal locks. "Don't worry. I'm sure Aka-chin will like it. Kuro-chin gave it to him after all."
Little Kuroko beamed at the purple head's words but suddenly frowned. "I don't know how to give it to him though."
"I'll take care of it Kuro-chin," Murasakibara said, alleviating the teal head boy's worries. "I know how to give it to Aka-chin."
"Really?" little Kuroko asked, his cerulean eyes sparkling in hope. "Thank you Murasaki nii-chan!"
The shopkeeper—who obviously heard their conversation—arrived at their table. "Here you go," she said as she placed the namagashi on the table.
The purple head and the little phantom stared at the box of namagashi that was now covered in crimson and black stripes of wrapper and tied with a bright blue ribbon.
Little Kuroko gave the young woman a bright smile. "Thank you onee-san!"
"You're welcome," the shopkeeper said as she smiled back and was slightly blushing at the cute smile the teal head boy had given her. "I hope the person that you're giving it to will like it."
"I hope so too."
After paying for the dessert and with little Kuroko waving goodbye to the shopkeeper as they left, he and the purple haired teen took a last stroll through the bazaar before going to a nearby park to meet up with Midorima.
iii.
"Midorima nii-chan!" the mini phantom sixth man of the Generation of Miracles shouted as he waved at the green haired teen who was sitting on a bench waiting for them.
"Kuroko," Midorima greeted as he stood up and looked at his purple haired former teammate. "Murasakibara."
"Did you wait long Midorima nii-chan?" little Kuroko asked.
"No. I just arrived."
The purple head looked at his watch on his wrist to check the time. "I have to go Kuro-chin."
The teal head boy looked disheartened. "Already?"
"I still have to travel to Akita."
"I see," little Kuroko said. "I had fun today Murasaki nii-chan!"
"Me, too~" Murasakibara agreed and ruffled the little phantom's head. He turned to the green haired shooting guard and handed him a couple of paper bags that he was carrying. "Here, Kuro-chin's pastries."
Midorima stared incredulously at the amount of paper bags that were given to him. "All of this?"
The purple head ignored his former teammate and gave little Kuroko a small paper bag. "And this is for Kuro-chin, it's a present."
The teal head boy took the offered bag. "You didn't have to Murasaki nii-chan. I didn't prepare anything for you."
"It's fine and besides I want to give Kuro-chin a present."
"Thank you Murasaki nii-chan," the little phantom as he smiled sweetly at the teen which Murasakibara returned.
"Don't you have a train to catch Murasakibara?" Midorima interrupted his former teammate's moment.
"Oh, yeah," the purple head said, who clearly forgot about it.
The green head exasperatingly sighed at this.
"I'll go ahead then. Bye Kuro-chin~ Bye Mido-chin~"
Little Kuroko waved at Murasakibara in goodbye. "Bye Murasaki nii-chan! Take care!"
The purple haired teen waved back before leaving the park and made his way to the train station.
Midorima glanced at the paper bags he was holding and then at the teal head boy beside him. "Kuroko, don't you think you and Murasakibara bought too much dessert?"
Little Kuroko smiled at the green head. "It's okay because I'm going to share it with Midorima nii-chan's family," he said. "That's okay, right?"
"It's fine," Midorima said as he pushed his glasses at the bridge of his nose. "My family would like it."
"I can't wait to meet your family Midorima nii-chan," the teal head boy said as he took the green haired teen's left hand.
"Let's go home then."
"Un!"
"And I'm going to teach you about Oha-Asa."
"Eh? But Kagami-kun, Aomine nii-chan, Kise nii-chan, Momoi nee-chan and even Murasaki nii-chan said that if Midorima nii-chan said that, I have to refuse."
Midorima's left eye twitched in annoyance. Those guys! he silently fumed. "Don't listen to them. It's for your own good."
"What is Oha-Asa anyway, Midorima nii-chan?"
"I'll tell you later."
And on that note, the green head and little Kuroko left the park and walked home towards the former's house hand in hand with the latter animatedly telling his adventure in the bazaar to Midorima.
Next Chapter: Amusement Park Surprise
A/N: And yes, there will be a surprise. fufufu Look forward to it!