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Chapter 2: We don't have to torture ourselves
When Kuroko saw Murasakibara staring soulfully at a small bakery on the corner of the street that was a block away from his home, he knew he wasn't going to be home on time. Sending a quick text to Ichigo, he moved over towards the tall teenage boy with a sigh. "Hello Mursakibara-kun." Kuroko greeted, making the tall teen jump slightly.
He looked down to see his former teammate. "Kuro-chin." He greeted perking up slightly.
"Do you want to go inside?" the shadow asked.
"I don't have any money." The teen answered with a pout.
Kuroko sighed internally. "Come on." Kuroko turned to go inside the shop.
"You're going to pay for me Kuro-chin?" Murasakibara asked, a happy expression coming across his face as he followed the shorter man.
Kuroko didn't answer as they entered, the bell on the door ringing. It was a quaint little shop with good reviews for their service and bake goods. It was new in town, only been around for 5 years now, but it quickly built a reputation with its unique creations.
There was a woman on the register; when they came in she looked up from where she was taking notes on paper. "Hello- Welcome- Tetsu-kun! Hi!" she greeted with cheerfully with a warm smile.
"Hello Auntie Orihime." Kuroko greeted with a smile as Orihime came around the counter to give him a bear hug… and suffocating him with her huge breasts.
"I've missed you!" she said snuggling into his hair.
He couldn't answer.
"You're killing him." Murasakibara said.
She gasped and pulled back to see her nephew's face as blue as his hair. "Tetsu-kun I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed mournfully.
"It's… alright." He wheezed. "Anyway I was wondering if your chief have any bake goods left over?" he asked like he just didn't get the breath knock out of him by boobs.
She had a thoughtful look, before it brightened. "As a matter of fact there is. It's a vanilla filled jelly bean cake. I also made a pie if you and you're friend would like to try." She said with a hopeful expression.
Kuroko winched internally. "…sure." He was rewarded with a huge smile and he could see why his uncle had a crush on her back in high school.
"Alright!" She closed the cash register before leading them in the back room where the kitchen was. "You never introduced your friend." She said looking up at the purple hair teen curiosity. Her nephew never brought friends over.
"This is Murasakibara-kun. A… friend from middle school." Kuroko introduced.
Murasakibara noticed the slight hesitation and felt a little hurt by it.
"Well nice to meet you Murasakibara-kun. I'm Tetsu-kun's Auntie Orihime Inoue. I'm finally glad I met a friend of Tetsu-kun."
The tall teen felt smug that he was the first friend that Kuro-chin introduced to a family friend.
They entered the Kitchen and Orihime went towards the fridge and took out first the cake that the chief made and then her own creation. Kuroko and Murasakibara could only stare. They didn't know what to make of… pie (muffin? Cupcake?). There was some green stuff sticking out like some kind of vegetation. And what in God's name was that yellow stuff? Mustard?
"Here you are! I hope you enjoy. There's both experiments of ours so they're not perfect." She said cutting a piece of each bake "good", putting it on a plate and handing it to them. She also gave them a fork. "Go ahead and try it."
Kuroko could already feel his taste buds dying as they sat down at the table for the people that worked in the back. He took his fork and got a piece of his Auntie's cake and ate it… and promptly died.
Meanwhile Murasakibara took a piece in his fork, scrutinize it before eating. "What-"
Kuroko stepped on his foot with all his might which wasn't much but it got the job done. The purple haired teen cut off as Kuroko shook his head with a look that said "say anything to hurt her and I'll torture you."
"-good of a pie."
She beamed a 1000 watt smile at the tall teen. "Really?! I'm glad you like it. I worked very hard to make it and I think it's one of my best."
If this was her best Murasakibara hated to see her at her worst.
The front bell rung as someone entered the shop.
"A customer. I'm going to go since none of my help is here yet." She said as she left the boys to go attend to the customer.
Once she was out of ear shot, Murasakibara looked at Kuroko in disbelief. "Kuro-chin is she trying to kill us?" he whined. If only.
"No. And whatever you do, don't show your discomfort in front of her." Kuroko said boring into his eyes.
The tall teen nodded silently. He could tell that Kuro-chin cares about his auntie.
"Now then let's wrap these up and get out of here before she comes back to stuff more things done our throats." The shorter teen said as he got up and went to the counter to get some foil paper and napkins to cover the food.
"We still got to eat these?!" the Yosen basketball player whined with a wide eye look.
Kuroko turned to give him an impassive stare. "Just because we don't want to hurt her feelings doesn't mean we have to torture ourselves further. Besides her chief is a really good baker." With that said Kuroko dumped the two pieces of cake the baker made into Murasakibara's bag and a piece for himself before walking out the kitchen.
The tall teen followed after him, after he took a piece of the jelly filled cake and took a bite… and another. They walked back in front of the store to see a family of four, buying a huge birthday cake that was already pre-ordered.
Orihime turned to them. "You're leaving Tetsu-kun and Murasakibara-kun?" Orihime asked.
"Yes. We both need to get home." Kuroko answered, scaring the living daylights out of the family.
"When did he get there?!" the mother yelled in shock.
"I was here the entire time." Kuroko answered dryly.
"A ghost." One of the children whispered staring at Kuroko in awe and fear.
"Orihime sighed, shooting the family an unreadable look but they didn't notice. 'How can they not see Tetsu-kun? He sticks out more than blend in.' she thought. (Orihime you need your eyes checked). "Tell Ichigo-kun hello for me. And it was nice meeting you Murasakibara-kun." She said with a smile directed at them before returning to her customers.
They said their good byes and left the shop.
"You can do whatever you want with Auntie's cake. It's a good rat killer and roach killer. Whatever works for you."
Murasakibara knew Kuro-chin could be ruthless, but outright calling it a rodent killer… savage. "Kay." The tall teen answered.
"Well this is where we part ways. Good bye Murasakibara-kun." Kuroko started walking away.
"Wait Kuro-chin. Let's walk home together." The Yosen player suggested.
"No. Your house is in the opposite direction." Kuroko said.
The tall teen pouted as he watched the phantom player disappeared into the crowd… of three.
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Kuroko finally got home after stopping at a nearby trash can and throwing away Orihime's cake. (No offense Auntie). "I'm home." He called out in his normal voice as he took off his shoes.
Ichigo popped his head from the kitchen to the living room. "Welcome back. What took you so long? The food got cold."
Kuroko walked over towards his uncle. "I went to visit Auntie Orihime. She made a pie." He answered.
A green look came across Ichigo's face.
Kuroko couldn't help but inwardly smirk.
"I don't want to know." The orange haired man murmured as he went back into the kitchen to reheat the food. He nor Kuroko was much of a cook, but Ichigo could put something together that was edible. A lot of times when both was busy, Yuzu would cook their meals for them.
Kuroko set down his school bag before following him into the kitchen to help.
"So how was school?" Ichigo asked.
"It was fine." Kuroko answered.
Silence.
"Practice?" the doctor asked.
"Fine as well." The phantom answered dutifully.
Silence again expect for the microwave. Ichigo wasn't much of a talker, but he made an effort for people he cared about, especially Tetsu. He would never admit though his nephew probably suspected, that he found him… adorable. He was so short and fragile looking that it hit Ichigo's protective buttons.
After the food was heated, they sat down to eat. "There's a game coming up soon." Kuroko said after a while.
"I know. I wrote down all of your games on my schedule." Ichigo reminded him. "I'm free that day so you'll see me there. Probably Orihime will tag along bringing Uryu and Chad." He said with fondness.
"Uncle Uryu's back?" Kuroko answered.
Uryu was a well renowned international fashion designer for female clothes, so he travels the world a lot and barely stays in one place.
"Yeah that bastard's back." Ichigo said with a roll of his eyes.
Kuroko smiled softly. He never really understood where their rivalry started, but it was highly entertaining to watch them argue over the littlest thing.
"I heard that he wanted to start designing male clothes. God help the male models." Ichigo said with a shudder, remembering the clothes Uryu made for him. No thank you.
"By the way Uncle would you help me practice my misdirection?" Kuroko asked as he cleared the table.
The doctor shrugged. "Sure. Just don't make it easy."
The phantom sighed internally. If only his uncle wasn't such an odd ball. He's the only person, excluding his other family that could see him when he's using his misdirection. His senses were eerily. Kuroko never understood but he made for a great practice partner.
After he finished washing the dishes, he made sure to disappear from his Uncle's presence and misdirected into the living room. For a few seconds Kuroko almost believed that he did it.
"Nice try Tetsu, but you're still to visible." Ichigo said from behind actually scaring the phantom.
Kuroko turned to his Uncle, a pout on his lips.
The expression was so cute that Ichigo couldn't resist rubbing his hair, even though Kuroko hated it. "Next time okay. The orange haired man walked off towards the clinic which was attached to their house as Kuroko watched him, thinking how the heck did his Uncle see him?
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To be continued….
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