A/N: I didn't mean for this story to be all dark and gloomy. I promise that there would be more moments of fluff mixed in with the angst. However, I've reached the end of my reserves so, I'll be uploading chapters once I'm done with them. Could be in a day or a week, who knows. You can follow the story to get updates on when new chapters are in!

CHAPTER 7

When they arrived in front the observation window that peered into Kuroko's room, Kagami did a double take and had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Wha- Bu- Huh?!" he sputtered, literally stepping back from the window in obvious bewilderment.

"That's my wife," Sousuke explained patiently, as if expecting Kagami's reaction. "Kuroko Haruka."

Sitting on a stool by Kuroko's bed was a woman who looked so much like him, it was uncanny. Save for the light brown eyes and the shoulder-length hair, Kagami felt like he was staring at mirror image.

Kagami's cheeks flushed red upon seeing Sousuke's knowing smile, and mentally kicked himself again. Just how many more times was he going to embarrass himself in front of Kuroko's parents?

While he usually didn't care about what people thought (and Alex's shamelessness had rubbed off more on him than he wanted to admit), these were Kuroko's parents. Kagami didn't understand why, but he felt a compulsion to make sure they liked him just as much as he liked being their son's friend.

"Here we go," Sousuke urged him towards the door, opening it for him. "After you, Kagami-kun."

Kagami pulled himself together and stepped in. Despite being completely visible to the outside, the inside of the room felt like another dimension to Kagami. The smell of antiseptic was stronger here, the sound of the monitors louder and beeping steadily with an almost hypnotic quality. As he entered, Kuroko's mother stood from her seat, putting aside the book she was reading before he arrived.

"You must be Kagami-kun?" She asked, voice soft like her husband's and son's, but with a curious sing-song quality that gave it a certain cheer. "Tetsuya told me so much about you." Now that she stood closer to him, Kagami finally caught on to the differences that set her apart Kuroko besides her being obviously female. She had a small mole beside her right eye, and though she still looked quite young, faint smile lines had appeared at the sides of her mouth and eyes. Those light brown eyes were warmed and twinkling with thinly veiled mischief as she looked him over, small lips curving into a sly smile. The way she studied him made Kagami squirm. It reminded him too much of a cat inspecting a new ball of yarn, wondering what she could do with her new toy.

Despite his apprehensions, Kagami respectfully bowed. There was still manners to be observed, after all. "It's an honor to meet you, ma'am."

Haruka looked visibly taken aback with the formality, and Kagami felt alarmed, wondering what he had done wrong this time. But before Kagami could figure it out and apologize, the sound of Haruka's laughter filled the room. It was a pleasant sound, evocative of breeze passing through wind chimes in the summer.

Did Kuroko sound like that when he laughed? Kagami realized that he had no idea.

"My, my, what a polite boy," Haruka mused after recovering. "That's not how my Tetsuya described you at all."

A sinking feeling formed in the pit of Kagami's stomach. "H-How did he describe me?"

Haruka frowned thoughtfully as if carefully considering his question, but Kagami would be a fool to miss the mirth in her eyes. "What was that dear? Didn't Tetsuya say something about a 'hungry tiger?'"

A-A hungry tiger? Kagami's jaw dropped. Beside him, Sousuke hummed in agreement. "Yes, dear. I believe the complete description was 'a hungry tiger who kept waking up to find most of his food stolen.' That was supposedly the most accurate description of Kagami-kun's general demeanor."

"Hmm, but he's nothing at all like a tiger, isn't he dear?" Haruka took another dainty step towards him, her movements lithe and graceful, as if she were dancing. Before Kagami could react, however, Haruka had already reached out while standing on her toes, and placed a hand on his head, petting him gently. "You're more like a lost kitten, aren't you, Kagami-chan?"

Kagami just stared at them in astonishment. The amused looks on Sousuke and Haruka's faces bore an eerie resemblance to the expression Kuroko had whenever he would chase Kagami around the court while carrying Nigou. That's it. The final nail in the coffin. If Kagami hadn't been convinced that these were truly Kuroko's parents before, he was now.

Haruka retracted her hand. "I apologize for teasing you too much, Kagami-kun," Haruka smiled at him at him as she retracted her hand, but Kagami searched her face for any sincere remorse and found none. Not that he expected any. Haruka looked far too pleased with herself after all. "It's just that Kuroko had mentioned that you had the most interesting expressions, and we felt compelled to see for ourselves now that you're here."

"Hey now," Sousuke protested against his wife, and turned to Kagami with hands up in a mollifying gesture. "This was definitely all Haruka's idea. I was obviously just forced into this scheme, Kagami-kun. Forgive me."

"Uh...yeah, sure…" Kagami sputtered, still reeling from the ambush. He had spent less than three minutes in Kuroko Haruka's presence and Kagami could already tell that this woman was more than he could handle. He could see where Kuroko had inherited most of his low-key sadism.

"Please, take a seat," Haruka invited, gesturing at the seat she had previously occupied. Before Kagami could turn her down, Haruka had already grabbed his arm and pulled him along. For such a small lady, she was surprisingly strong. "Don't mind me. It's my turn to eat breakfast anyway, so I'll be taking my leave. Please watch over Tetsuya in my place, okay?"

Kagami nodded, realizing it was futile to resist. "I...okay. Thank you, ma'am."

Haruka shook his head as she took hold of Kagami's hand, squeezing it gently. "No, thank you. You're the reason my Tetsuya is even here right now. I'll never forget that. You're a good kitty." She let go of him and gave him a well-meaning wink before ruffling his hair. She then turned to her husband. They looked at each other with quiet intensity, and as Haruka reached out to him, Sousuke took her hand with practiced ease, as if this was their default setting- her hand in his. They held this position for a breath, then unceremoniously let go, with Haruka leaving the room without another word. Kagami watched Sousuke's eyes follow her through the large glass window, until she was completely out of sight.

Kagami sighed, feeling an unexpected pang of jealousy. It's been a decade since his mother and father last looked at each other that way. Before the divorce. Before they moved to America.

Shaking off the gloom, Kagami redirected his attention to the main reason for his visit. However, now that he was there, Kagami did not know what to do next.

"You should talk to him," Sousuke suggested, while he preoccupied himself by fixing some of their belongings on a desk at the opposite side of the room. "The doctor said that he could hear us, even in that state. The anesthesia should have worn off by now."

Kagami hesitated. "But what am I supposed to say?"

Sousuke paused at what he was doing, and stepped over to where Kagami was seated. "Everything, son," he said simply, like that was the only explanation Kagami needed. He stepped back and made his way to the door. "I'm going to talk to his doctor for a while. That'll give you the privacy you need." Seeing the worry on Kagami's face, Sousuke threw him a reassuring smile. "I'll be right outside if anything happens."

And with that, Kagami was alone with Kuroko.

For a minute or two, Kagami just watched Kuroko sleep. He looked better than he did the other day. There was some color in his cheeks again, and the tubes in his mouth were gone, replaced by a simple face breather mask, like the one they slipped on him in the ambulance. He looked more peaceful and significantly less uncomfortable than the previous day.

"Hey, Kuroko," Kagami started, and from there the dam walls came crashing down.

Kagami talked and talked and talked. About everything, just as Sousuke had instructed. Every thought that crossed his mind since he found Kuroko in that dark alley. The emotions he felt. His difficulty falling asleep despite the soul-deep exhaustion that weighed down his bones. And the fear. The ever-present, oppressive fear that had dogged his every step, like a sordid shadow - The fear of losing his friend.

He'd been so caught up in expressing every single thought that crossed his mind the last two days, that Kagami missed out entirely on when a certain pair of blue eyes fluttered open, at first squinting at the stark white fluorescent light that illuminated the room, then growing larger as the redhead's face came into focus.

"K-Kagami-kun.." a soft, wheezy voice interrupted the deluge of words.

Kagami jaw dropped and he watched wordlessly as Kuroko blinked at him, lids still drooped and moving slowly. But unlike that other night, Kuroko's eyes were more focused, looking squarely at the other boy with surprise and concern.

"Kagami-kun," he repeated, his dry, chapped lips miraculously curving into a small smile. "You're quite...talkative today."

Kagami didn't mean to fall out of his chair and cause a commotion outside, but it happened anyway.

"Ah!" He yelped in surprise, attempting to take a step back but ultimately forgetting the important detail that he was in fact, seated, on a rather unstable chair. The sudden jolt of movement made his body topple backwards, and the resounding crash that followed brought Sousuke and several nurses and doctors rushing back into the room.

"Kagami-kun!" Sousuke worriedly called out, running over to the boy's side. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"K-Kuroko is…"

The older man snapped his head towards his son's direction, and the hand that was supporting Kagami on the floor suddenly fell limp in his shock.

"Tetsuya..?"

The boy on the bed stared at the older man blankly, then a frown creased his forehead. "Father?" he croaked, confusion growing on his pale face. "Why are- where am- "

Then, his blue eyes widened and began to roam around the room, taking stock of surroundings for the first time. "What…" he started, and began to struggle. The monitors started to beep with growing intensity. He was trying to move and sit up, but the restraints around his chest and waist to keep him immobile after the surgery kept him down. Kuroko obviously didn't like that. He began to struggle against them, making him sharply grimace in pain, and the monitors reflected the sudden stress in his system.

"Tetsuya," Sousuke quickly planted himself at the bedside, making sure that his son could see him. "Tetsuya," he repeated, words in a low hum, while a hand held onto Kuroko's, gripping it firmly. "I need you to look at me, Tetsuya. Just keep your eyes on me, and listen to my voice, okay? Tetsuya?"

Kagami didn't know what magic Sousuke was working, but it definitely worked. Kuroko kept his gaze on Sousuke's face alone as the man crouched protectively over his son, keeping everything else out of his line of sight. He stopped moving, and slowly, his breathing became more and more controlled. The beeping of the monitors became more muted as the parameters fell back to a more or less normal state. Sousuke was running his other hand through Kuroko's hair, and Kagami could see that he was whispering something into his son's ear. Whatever he said, it was enough, and the distressed look on Kuroko's face began to fade.

"Alright my boy," Sousuke whispered more audibly as he pulled back a little. "My dear son. Don't worry, you're safe now. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

Kuroko gave him another weak smile. "What...happened?"

"You don't remember anything?" Kagami blurted out after picking himself up from the floor.

Kuroko's frown deepened, as if trying to access memories that were supposed to be there but weren't. "Just...a hand. Grabbing my head...then...something sharp and shiny in the dark...I…" He paused for a moment and grew absolutely still, with eyes transfixed on the opposite wall, a cloudy, almost glazed over quality to them. Both Kagami and Sousuke held their breath, and even the doctor and nurses in the room didn't say a word, with all of them just watching.

Then Kuroko blinked, dispelling the trance, and he looked at Kagami and Sousuke, as if seeing them for the first time.

"Kagami-kun?" He looked bewildered. He then turned to Sousuke, looking once again surprised. "Father? Why are you...here?"

Kagami felt like someone had dropped a bucket of ice water over him in the dead of winter. Something was wrong.

"Tetsuya," Sousuke started, trying to keep his voice calm though Kagami could hear the distress bleeding through. "I just told you, remember? You're in the hospital. You had an accident after the Winter Cup championships. Your mom and I are watching over you."

An accident? Kagami wanted to scoff. There was nothing 'accidental' about what happened.

Kuroko looked down at himself and then started to struggle against his restraints again, Sousuke's previous magic undone. It was like Kuroko's mind had rebooted completely and erased the last sixty seconds from existence. "Tetsuya!" Sousuke called out to him helplessly. This time, the doctor and nurse intervened. They helped hold him down, while the doctor injected something into one of Kuroko's IV lines. Pretty soon he stopped struggling, and his eyes dropped until they were completely shut. Kuroko's chest began to rise and fall at a regular pattern again, and the monitors' alarmed beeping abated.

"I gave him a sedative," the doctor explained.

"What just happened?" Sousuke inquired, a grim expression on his face as his grip on Kuroko's hand tightened. The doctor looked at him sympathetically. "Due to his concussion, this type of memory loss is an expected side effect. He'll have a hard time remembering recent past events, and even new events might quickly escape him. It should only be temporary, lasting for another day or two but until he can stay awake without running amok, we'll have to keep on sedating him to avoid self-injury or reopening of his wound. I'm sorry."

Sousuke only nodded this time, eyes not leaving his son's face.

"But please, continue talking to him," the doctor added. "And when he wakes up again, be patient with him and just ride along the episodes. He'll start retaining more and more information as he goes, and by then, we hope that he'll stop trying to move unnecessarily. Right now, he's obviously just frightened by this unknown situation. You can help him, by giving him as much reassurance as you can."

"Thank you, sir," Kagami spoke on behalf of him and Sousuke, with the latter still not saying another word. The doctor and nurses bowed back in return and left.

Kagami pushed the chair behind Sousuke, inviting him to sit down. Once they were alone in the room, the older man collapsed on the chair, deflated, though still not letting go of his son's hand. He had raised his other hand over his eyes, concealing most of his expression. Kagami stood at the foot of the bed, unsure of what to do or say. He could see that Sousuke was shaken by what had just transpired, but Kagami had no idea how to comfort his own peers, least of all a grown adult male.

"Kagami-kun, may I ask for a small favor?"

Kagami hastily straightened. "Yes, of course!" He replied, perhaps a bit too eagerly.

"Such a kind young man," Sousuke whispered, but his hand remained on his face. "Can you get me a bottle of water from a vending machine please? I realized we'd ran out and I wasn't able to tell my wife to buy some more. My wallet's on the table."

"No need! I'll cover it!" Kagami offered, already making his way to the door.

"Thank you, Kagami-kun."

Kagami only nodded before leaving the room. As he marched past the big glass window, however, he caught sight of the tears flowing down Sousuke's cheeks.

A/N: Well, this was shorter than the recent chapters. Not that I'm running out of juice, but it just felt right to end it at that part.

I had some fun writing Kuroko's parents. I guess I just wanted to break off from the common narrative that someone as introverted as Kuroko should have come from a broken family or some sort of childhood trauma. It's a trope I've seen in several other stories in this particular genre, so I'd like to deliver another perspective: Kuroko is Kuroko not because he was abused or he lost a parent in a terrible childhood accident. Kuroko is Kuroko just because that's how he'd been raised, by equally timid parents who loved him in their own quiet way, even if they're not always home. Just because a household is not ringing with laughter all the time, doesn't mean it wasn't a happy one.

Besides, if you watched the end credits of episode 51 onwards, there were a lot of pictures from Kuroko's childhood and it looked like a pretty happy one! So writing Kuroko's parents this way feels more canon actually.

Thank you for those who reviewed! I've corrected the stuff you pointed out, and I hope to see you again in the next chapters!