Title: The Usual Birthday Troubles
Summary: It's Kuroko's birthday and he doesn't know that everyone knows it, especially the generation of miracles. But it would take one stubborn and determined 'tiger' to get them to come to Kuroko's surprise birthday party.
Author's notes: Hey guys! Last chapter up! Sorry for the wait, had exams and everything! Thanks for your amazing comments and support! One more KagaKuro fic to go like I promised in my profile XD
The Usual Birthday Troubles
"Chapter Dos"
by LDJE
Meanwhile, at Shuutoku…
A vein popped on Midorima's forehead as he looked at the two unexpected visitors by the gate. "And what…" He exhaled noisily, "are you two idiots doing here?" Behind him, Takao was blinking in surprise.
"Kagami and Kise?" Takao pointed at the two and then laughed, "Wow, this was a combi I never expected to see!"
"Usu." Kagami nodded his head.
"Midorimacchi!" Kise greeted enthusiastically, "We came to get you for Kurokocchi's surprise birthday party!"
"Eh? Kuroko's?" Midorima's partner said in surprise before he grinned. "Ah, so that's what the calendar thing was about!" He violently patted the four-eyed player on the back, "Aw, Shin-chan, why didn't you say so? Neh, I'm invited too, right? I can come too, right?"
"Of course! The more the merrier-ssu!" The model agreed and Kagami sweat dropped.
"Oi, you don't get to decide that yourself."
"Why not? I'm sure Seirin's coach would love to have Takao at the party! Actually I already sent Kasamatsu-senpai a message too. He said he'll see what he can do." The copycat said with a wide grin, "He even texted your captain and they're collaborating right now!"
"Ha?" Kagami asked. Midorima adjusted his glasses.
"Seeing as you already have enough people for that get together then I don't have to go. Takao can represent me. Also, give this to Kuroko later." The three-point expert extracted a neatly wrapped package, "It's his lucky item for next month." Then he looked away, "I-It's not like it's a present or anything."
The hawk-eyed man laughed, "Total tsundere."
Kise pouted, "You're not coming Midorimacchi? We're off to get Aominecchi and the others too. Kurokocchi would be happy to see us, I'm sure of it!"
"And what is the basis of your conclusion?" The green-haired basketball player frowned before he grabbed Kise's hand and gave the small package to him. "Kuroko didn't even invite us himself so I don't see why we're obligated to go."
"That's-" Kise began but then he was interrupted when Kagami took the small package and threw it at Midorima's head.
It hit the member of the Generation of Miracles, but thankfully Takao caught it before it fell to the ground, "Whoa!"
"It's a surprise party, airhead!" The Seirin ace said, annoyed. "Kuroko doesn't know anything about it, so I'm sorry if you won't be getting a VIP invite from the celebrant himself!"
Midorima turned to his rival with a frown, "Either way, you still don't have any proof that Kuroko would want us there."
"Damn it!" Kagami said as he grabbed the three-point shooter by the front of his uniform. Kise and Takao tried to calm the two down. "For a poker-faced bastard, you're such a drama queen! You're even worse than Kise!"
Takao laughed as Kise looked offended. "That's a mean thing to say Kagamicchi!"
"Kuroko doesn't know about the party but I'm sure that if he knew, he'd want you and the other bastards there with him!" The red-head said, "And if you ask another stupid question about how sure I am then let me tell you this, I'm his partner for a reason. We're friends outside of basketball too and I know the current Kuroko more than you do, so you better take my word for it."
Midorima blinked in surprise at that.
"Now, the problem lies with you. I know you want to go since you never exactly said no and you just kept spouting some stupid nonsense about how Kuroko doesn't want you there." Kagami exhaled and let go of the other finally, "So are you gonna man up and come with us or not?"
Takao jabbed the other on the side and said in exasperation, "Just go already, Shin-chan. Then you can finally loosen up at the party and have fun." He gave the small package to the other who accepted it hesitantly.
The four-eyed player looked at Kise who shrugged, "He's a persistent guy and besides, you want to go, don't you Midorimacchi?"
Midorima closed his hand around Kuroko's lucky item and looked away, "Fine."
Kise and Takao both grinned while Kagami sighed. "You're all too troublesome."
Kuroko stared at his phone in concentration. He was leaning against the windows outside of his classroom. Their teacher was absent and for some reason none of his teammates seemed to be around. Little did he know that Hyuga and Izuki were just by the corner, spying on him.
"Ah, he's really staring at his phone." Izuki said in worry. "Is he really that excited to end this day? Maybe he hates birthdays and we're making it worse by organizing a surprise party?"
"No, actually it looks like he's waiting for someone's text." Hyuga said as he adjusted his glasses.
"Haha, it can't be he's waiting for Kagami's text right?" Kiyoshi laughed behind them. The two turned abruptly and Izuki managed to cover Hyuga's mouth before he blurted out their founder's name.
"Kiyoshi!" Izuki whispered instead, "How long have you been there? And weren't you 'at your doctor's appointment'?" He did air quotes.
"Eh? What appointment? First you and then Kuroko, I told you I'm fine." The powerful center laughed and Hyuga face-palmed himself while Izuki sighed.
"I hope you didn't blow your cover, moron. Izuki meant that we thought you were doing the party errands with Koganei." The Seirin captain huffed.
"Ah, that. Mitobe took over after Koganei accidentally bought salt rather than sugar." Kiyoshi explained, "Baking a cake is so complicated."
"Idiot!" Hyuga hit the other on the head, "Are you trying to poison us?"
"Maa, Hyuga, salt can't kill people." The taller one said happily. "Anyway, why are you spying on Kuroko?"
"We're just worried about him. Everyone's busy on his birthday and we thought he might notice or be a little bit lonely." Hyuga explained as he looked at the bluenette. Said student was still staring at his phone in concentration.
"Maybe he's waiting for someone to greet him via text? I mean, there has to be other people who know it's his birthday right?" Izuki asked. "Like the Generation of Miracles?"
"Hm, but maybe it's more complicated than that?" Kiyoshi asked, "I mean, that's why Kagami is personally seeing to it that they get to the party right?"
The clutch shooter popped a vein, "For geniuses the Generation of Miracles are a bunch of idiots."
"Oh, happy birthday!" The three second years looked up in surprise. But to their disappointment the statement wasn't directed to the bluenette. There were a bunch of boys chatting by the side.
"Haha, you idiots, my birthday is tomorrow, not today." One of the boys laughed.
"Oh, then let's go out to Maji burger tomorrow then and since it's your birthday it'll be your treat!" His friend nudged him at the ribs.
"Hey!" But all three laughed at that and walked off. Kuroko watched them go before looking back at his phone and flipping it closed. He held his phone tightly before pocketing it and turning to go back into the classroom.
"Ah…" Kiyoshi said, expression sad. "That's not good."
"Tell me about it." Hyuga sighed, "I wish we could finish preparations soon. It's not good to leave Kuroko alone today of all days."
Izuki nodded with pursed lips, "This is the disadvantage of surprise parties. We can't even go up to him normally and greet him a happy birthday."
The three second years sighed before turning to leave.
"Ah, we've come to the most troublesome." Kise said as he looked up at the Touo school building. "Knowing Aominecchi, he's probably at the rooftop having an afternoon nap."
"And knowing Aomine," Midorima adjusted his glasses, on his left hand was his lucky item, a tennis ball. "He would stubbornly refuse to come with us."
"That's why I have a back-up plan." Kagami said as he took out his phone and scanned his inbox. He stopped on one contact and pressed call.
"Hello?"
"Momoi-sa-"
"Kagami-kun! How are you? Oh, are you already here? Wait, I'm still convincing this stupid ganguro to come with us. Dai-chan, it's Kagami-kun! Hurry and get up, we still have to go and get Akakun and Mukkun!" Kagami could hear Momoi shout at the other end of the phone.
"What part of I'm not going don't you understand, Satsuki? Ha? It's too troublesome and I don't care if it's Akashi's birthday or Tetsu's- I'm not going!" Aomine replied, even though he was farther from the phone than Momoi, his voice was still louder. The Seirin ace had to hold it away from his ear.
"That's so terrible Dai-chan! I even bought a gift for him and everything! After all that's happened the least we can do is show up and-" The pink-haired manager argued.
"Ah? That's so stupid! Just leave me alone already, you stupid hag. If you want to go to Tetsu's party then go, I don't want to." There was the sound of Aomine turning his back on the ex-Teiko manager.
Silence.
"AOMINE YOU IDIOT!" Kise and Midorima flinched when they heard the sound of Aomine being hit. The Touo ace let out a cry of pain. There was several seconds of scolding and shouting before Momoi finally left the rooftop, crying lightly.
"I'm really sorry Kagami-kun, even though it's Tetsu-kun's birthday." Momoi hiccupped lightly. "I-I'll stay behind and try to convince him. We'll get there before it's too late."
"Ah, no, it's fine. Sorry for troubling you. Can I ask for one more thing?" Kagami said as he placed the phone next to his ear once he deemed it safe enough.
"Ah, sure, what is it?"
"Can you give me that bastard's number?"
Kuroko closed his eyes as the wind lightly ruffled his hair. Lunch time was nearly over and today was quieter than normal. The teen was starting to hate it.
"Arre? What are you doing here by yourself, Kuroko?" The ex-Teiko player turned in surprise.
"Tsuchida-senpai, hello." He bowed politely in his senior's direction. "I was just finishing my lunch." Tsuchida raised an eyebrow when he saw the thermos in the freshman's hand.
"Ha? Did you only bring some soup for lunch?" The rebound expert said in worry, "Didn't you buy any sandwich or onigiri?"
"Soup is enough." The phantom player said simply before he turned back to looking at the sky. Tsuchida shifted uncomfortably.
"I think that there're still some sandwiches back at the cafeteria. If you want, I can treat you to some." He offered to the first year but as expected Kuroko just shook his head, not even bothering to look back.
"It's enough."
"Ah…" Tsuchida said and then he sighed, "Well, I'll see you at practice later. Bye, Kuroko."
The first year froze not saying anything at first. The second year paused, wondering if the other had anything else to say.
You know, Kuroko was surprised by the voice that suddenly spoke at the back of his head. A younger version of him and his childhood friend, Shige, flashed in his mind. Important things like birthdays, they should be said out loud. In his memory, Shige gave him a kind smile, You can't expect everyone to read your mind like me, Tetsu.
"Senpai," Kuroko turned and Tsuchida froze. "Actually today is…"
No way! Is he going to tell me it's his birthday? I should act surprised! Tsuchida thought, But at least I can greet him now!
"T-Today is…?" Tsuchida repeated slowly.
It's no fun celebrating a birthday alone, Tetsu.
Kuroko blinked, his throat closing up. In his pocket, his phone felt heavier than usual. Even Momoi hadn't texted him, but then again, they could all have forgotten.
Celebrating by myself, really isn't good. But- Kuroko closed his mouth and found that he could use his voice again, In the end, I couldn't do it. I'm sorry.
"Today is... a really quiet day." Kuroko said instead as he turned back to look at the sky.
Tsuchida sighed both in relief and disappointment, "Ah, it is, isn't it?" He shifted on his foot, "A-Anyway, I have to get going. See you!"
"Bye, senpai." Kuroko finally answered and behind him, he heard the door close and the sound of footsteps going down the stairs. The phantom player buried his face in his arms.
"Wha-" Kagami said in surprise when he and the other two Generation of Miracles stepped onto the platform. Eh? "EHH?"
"Close your mouth Kagami Taiga, the look on your face isn't becoming." Akashi Seijuro said patiently as he, Murasakibara, and Himuro greeted the three at the station.
"Hello again, little brother." Himuro greeted the red-head with a smile.
Kise blinked in surprise while Midorima adjusted his glasses, "Akashicchi and Murasakibaracchi too? Wah! How did you know we were coming?"
"I texted them of course." Midorima said seriously, "I thought it would waste less of our time if I told Akashi what we were planning. He would text Murasakibara to get ready and when we arrive we could leave right away. The trip to from Tokyo and back takes too long for my taste."
"Smart decision as always, Shintaro." Akashi said in approval.
"Whoa! As expected of Midorimacchi! How smart!" Kise clapped in awe. "Anyway, we should hurry and get our tickets. Kasamatsu-senpai just texted me that the preparations are almost finished."
"Hm," Murasakibara swallowed the food in his mouth, "Arre? Mine-chin's not here?"
"Of course, Daiki's too hard-headed to come, like I expected. But then Satsuki is more hard-headed than him so we'll see at the end of the night if he won't come." The Rakuzan captain said, "Anyway, we already have our tickets, you three go get yours as well."
"Roger-ssu!" Kise said as he dragged Midorimacchi to the line and Kagami followed. Himuro offered to accompany them.
"I didn't expect you to be coming too, Tatsuya." The Seirin ace said to the Yosen ace who chuckled.
"Akashi-kun was worried that Atsushi would get lost if he tried to get back on his own, so I'm more like a chaperone actually." Himuro said with his usual smile. "And you? I wasn't expecting you to come all this way to get your two rivals for your new partner's birthday."
"It just happened." Kagami grumbled, "Besides, I was getting tired of seeing that ugly, depressed look on Kuroko's face."
"Oh? That's an interesting way of putting it." His acting older brother said, "You're still a softie, Taiga."
The red head sputtered, "Wha- I'm not!"
Himuro laughed again, "But I'm thankful you picked him, Taiga. It's because of him that we're still brothers right?"
"Picked," Kagami scoffed as he gripped the ring around his neck, "More like he forced himself on me. Suddenly saying stupid stuff about being a shadow and making me best in Japan." He grumbled.
"Eh, Kuroko-kun's pretty determined." The older of the two said, "Be sure to take good care of him, Taiga."
Kagami blinked at Himuro be for looking forward and saying, "Ah."
"Sorry guys, but it seems like practice has been canceled." Izuki said to the first years after he caught up to them on their way to the gym. "Hyuga went to properly accompany Kiyoshi to his check-up and Coach had to attend to some family issues. Koganei's still not finished with the errand so Mitobe's helping him. Tsuchida and I are on library duty."
"Ah, that's too bad senpai. I guess we're all going home early today." Kawahara shrugged.
"Well, at least we can go to Maji burger now." Fukuda bumped his shoulders with Kuroko who gave them a small smile. Izuki smiled at the trio before running off with a wave.
"We'll treat you this time, Kuroko!" Kawahara said as he led the way to the fast food they all frequented. "What do you want?"
"No, it's fine, actually I was planning to treat all of you-" Kuroko began to say but then Fukuda interrupted.
"No, no, let us do it! Think of it as an early pre- urgh!" Furihata hit Fukuda on the back.
"Ah, sorry, there was a bug on your back."
"Furihata, you-"
Ping!
All three phones of the trio freshmen beeped at the same time.
"Oh no," Kawahara sighed as he looked at anywhere but at Kuroko, trying to seem natural. "It seems like something came up."
"I'm sorry Kuroko but it seems like my mom needs help with something-" Fukuda started to ramble.
"You guys too, huh? I actually have to go pick up my sister from school." Furihata turned to the phantom basketball player who was looking at them with a carefully blank face. "Sorry, Kuroko, can you go ahead? I'm sure we won't take long and we'll just meet you there."
"Ah, I'm sure what my mom needs is nothing serious." Fukuda laughed uncertainly and Kawahara nodded, "Mine too."
"It's fine." Kuroko said but to him, his voice sounded far away. "We can just go tomorrow, it's no big deal."
"Ah no, just go now and wait for us there." Kawahara insisted and the two other freshmen nodded.
"Okay." Kuroko said blankly and the trio nodded before running off.
"I can't believe Koganei-senpai's bad timing!" Fukuda whispered to his friends as they ran to the direction of a nearby store. "He actually forgot to buy presents!"
"Actually, we forgot to buy presents for Kuroko too." Kawahara said sheepishly.
"Ah! Now that you mention it-"
"That's not important," Furihata sighed, "Do you think Kuroko will meet us there?"
"Eh? But he said he would, didn't he?"
"Yeah but-" Furihata looked back, "I'm not so sure he would."
"Somehow," Riko sweat dropped as she entered Maji Burger, "There are more people than I expected."
"Ah, Seirin's coach." Kasamatsu waved the woman over. "Sorry about this, that Kise just started sending out random invitations and well," The Kaijo captain sighed, "I guess this is the result."
Riko tried to hold back a sigh as she looked around at the reserved fast food joint. Takao was waving at Izuki who had just come in.
"Hey there Eagle-eyed man! The celebrant isn't here yet, I see. Don't worry about Shin-chan, I just texted him and he said they're on their way but they got delayed a bit, that's why they're late." Midorima's partner said with a grin.
"Only you and Midorima are coming?" Izuki asked in surprise.
"Eh, the seniors didn't want to impose. I mean look, the whole Kaijo team is here, plus the whole Seirin team, and then the Generation of Miracles- we didn't want you to feed a whole lot of mouths." Takao shrugged, "Besides, the seniors asked me to buy Kuroko a gift for them as a sorry for not being able to make it."
"Ah well, next time tell them they're welcome." Izuki said as he looked around. Thanks to Kaijo chipping in they managed to reserve the whole fast food joint for the party.
"The cake's finally done and the food and drinks are set out." Hyuga sighed in relief. "Now we're just waiting for Kuroko and the freshmen who are still buying his presents."
"Hm, Kuroko sure is taking his time, isn't he? I didn't think the walk to Maji burger was that long." Kiyoshi said.
"I hope nothing happened." Koganei said when he and Mitobe came out of the kitchen.
Riko looked out of the window, "I hope so too."
Ah, maybe it was too much… Kuroko thought as he walked down the street opposite Maji Burger. Maybe I asked for too much on my birthday, that's why it's turned out like this.
The freshman flipped his phone open and began to type out a text to Furihata and the others.
Gomenasai, but I'm not feeling so well. I don't think I'll be able to meet you at Maji Burger.
Kuroko pressed 'send' as his bangs covered his eyes. "In the end, I wasn't able to tell anyone at all."
"Tell anyone what?" The phantom player jumped in surprise and turned abruptly. Blue eyes widened when he caught sight of Kagami wearing the Seirin school uniform with his Seirin basketball jacket on top. His duffel was slung over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrow towards his partner, "Are you hiding something again, Kuroko? You really have to learn that not everyone can read your mind, you know. That's why important things have to be said out loud or no one would understand."
You know, important things like birthdays, they should be said out loud. You can't expect everyone to read your mind like me, Tetsu.
"Ah," Kuroko blinked, eyes wide. There was silence as he looked at Kagami's face before starting hesitantly, "Kagami-kun…"
Kagami looked at him patiently, "Yeah?"
The phantom player looked down hesitating again before breathing in deeply, "Yesterday, I asked you to hang out with me because I didn't want to celebrate by myself today. My parents couldn't make it and I wasn't sure if my old teammates would remember…" He took in another deep breath and gripped the hem of his shirt tightly. "…Would remember that today was my- my birthday."
There was silence as Kuroko continued to look at the ground in discomfort.
"I know." The bluenette looked up, surprised, into the grinning face of Kagami. "You've kept everybody waiting long enough, idiot." He extended a hand to the still surprised Kuroko. "Let's go."
"Oi, will everything turn out okay?" Fukuda asked worriedly when he realized that even after their errand, Kuroko was still not here.
Furihata flipped his phone closed and smiled, "It's okay, I already texted Kagami before we got here. If anyone could handle Kuroko, it's him." Akashi, who was off to the side with the rest of the Generation of Miracles, raised his eyebrows at what he heard.
"Guys! I see Kuroko!" Moriyama from Kaijo said, "Quick! Everyone get down!" Everyone did as they were told as they heard Kagami and Kuroko opening the door.
"You're too slow, geez!" Kagami grumbled as he pulled Kuroko inside.
"It's not my fault Kagami-kun is inhumanly fast." Kuroko answered in his usual deadpan. And then he paused, "Ah, Murasakibara-kun why are you hiding behind the register?"
Everyone hiding turned to look and sweat dropped. They didn't know how Kuroko could still call that hiding. The Yosen giant was kneeling behind the counter but his face could still be seen despite the fact that he was already bending.
"Ah, I got found out." Murasakibara said as he stood up. The staff looked up in awe at his height.
Kuroko blinked, beside him Kagami had face-palmed himself, "What's happening?"
Well I guess it's now or never. Riko gave everyone the signal.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUROKO!" Everyone yelled and jumped out as Kasamatsu pulled on the confetti and Hyuga tugged down a banner that said 'Happy Happy Birthday Kuroko Tetsuya'.
Blue eyes widened as Kuroko took in the people cheering at him. He nearly jumped at the sudden yells. "This is-?"
"We're sorry we've been too busy to greet you properly, Kuroko." Koganei said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "We had to organize a party for you on the spot, so yeah."
"Koganei-senpai, the errands?" The phantom player asked, surprised.
"Those were birthday errands." Riko corrected, "Though Mitobe had to help him out most of the time."
"Hey! It's not my fault the sugar and salt looked the same!" Koganei huffed as Mitobe chuckled silently.
"And the doctor thing wasn't true. That's why I was confused when you kept asking about that." Kiyoshi laughed as Hyuga sweat dropped.
"Daho."
"Everyone…" Kuroko said as he looked around. The Kaijo team gave him a thumbs-up and came up to greet him while patting him on the back enthusiastically.
Midorima sighed but then something caught his sight at the corner of his eyes. Without thinking about it, he made his way outside.
"Shin-chan?" Takao turned to look behind him just in time to see his teammate take the exit. Akashi noticed and he motioned for Murasakibara to grab Kise who yelped in shock.
"Oi." Two figures turned at the call that came from Midorima.
"Midorin!" Momoi said enthusiastically, "Aka-kun, Mukkun, and Ki-chan! See? I told you they'd all be here, Dai-chan! Now get in there and greet Tetsu-kun properly!" The manager huffed at her childhood friend.
"This is so stupid, if they're all here then what do you need me for?" Aomine said as he began to walk away.
"Dai-chan! Dai-chan get back here!" Momoi called out but the Touo ace continued to ignore her.
Midorima adjusted his glasses, "I guess it's time to put my lucky item to use."
Cancers, Virgos are incredibly hard-headed today. If you want to be heard, use your lucky item to get through to him!
With a form that would have placed professional baseball players to shame, the three-point expert twisted his body and threw the tennis ball right at Aomine's head.
"Ack!" Aomine fell forward at the sudden impact, landing face-first onto the pavement.
"Whoa! Nice hit Midorimacchi!" Kise gave the other a thumbs-up.
"Hmph." Midorima said as he adjusted his glasses.
"D-Dai-chan, are you okay?" Momoi was trying hard not to laugh and be sympathetic as she offered her hand.
Aomine turned to give Midorima a glare, "Midorima, you bastard-"
"Eh?" The Generation of Miracles and Momoi were startled. "Midorima-kun, Akashi-kun, Murasakibara-kun, Kise-kun, Momoi-san and…" Everyone looked at the Kuroko who looked stunned he stepped out of the restaurant. He had been drawn by the scene outside and did misdirection to escape the others inside. "Aomine-kun. You're all…?"
"Tetsu-kun!" The pink-haired manager greeted, getting over her shock. "Happy birthday! Are you surprised?" Momoi jumped excitedly as she rushed to the bluenette to give him a hug.
"A-Ah," Kuroko said and then choked, "Momoi-san, I can't breathe."
"Ah, gomen!"
"You can sound a little less surprised, Tetsuya. We came because we wanted to celebrate your birthday with you." Akashi said as he crossed his arms. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"Ah, I apologize." Kuroko said as he looked at his former teammates. "I saw Murasakibara-kun earlier but I thought he got lost like always. I actually thought everyone forgot about today."
There was silence.
"No way," Kise said shaking his head as he looked to the side, "How could we ever forget our precious teammate's birthday?"
The phantom player blinked in surprise at those words. "Kise-kun…" Then he looked at everyone's expression, blue eyes softening, "Everyone…"
Midorima adjusted his glasses as he extracted something from his pocket, "Here. It's your lucky item for next month."
Kuroko accepted it, "Midorima-kun…"
"Ah! We're giving presents now?" Murasakibara said thoughtfully as he extracted a bag of sweets from his pocket. "Here Kuro-chin, these are all my favorite vanilla-flavored candies."
"Thank you." Kuroko said but then he turned to Akashi when the former captain lightly patted his shoulder. Said redhead extended his own package.
"This isn't anything new. Actually, it's our middle school jersey, the one you left behind after the championship." Akashi said as he gave a paper bag to the bluenette. Kuroko peeked in and saw a carefully pressed and folded jersey. "I had it resized and washed so it would look new. You don't have to wear it. It's just a reminder to everyone that forgot that you were a part of the Generation of Miracles too."
Blue eyes widened at that, "That-"
"You're one of us, Tetsuya. I'm sorry if we ever forgot that." The ex-Teiko captain said quietly.
Momoi smiled softly at the scene. She and Kise exchanged looks and took out their own presents.
"Here Tetsu-kun/Kurokocchi." Kise and Momoi said at the same time.
"That's from me and Dai-chan," The pink-haired girl said happily, "We got it the other day, it's new basketball shoes for you. It should fit perfectly."
"I got you an autographed picture of me, so that whenever you want to see me you can- ack!" Midorima had hit Kise with another one of his lucky items (he had three tennis balls in his pocket). "I'm kidding! Just kidding! It's one of those rare, limited edition, mangas you liked! Geez, Midorimacchi, you didn't have to hit me so hard!"
"Quit whining." The three point shooter said. Kise sighed and Kuroko couldn't help but smile in amusement. Aomine had turned away with a small 'hmph'. Inside Maji burger the noises continued to grow.
The Generation of Miracles turned to the restaurant, momentarily having forgotten that a party was being celebrated in honor of their friend.
"You have to get back to your party, Testuya." Akashi finally said to the phantom player, "After all, everyone went to the trouble of preparing it for you. You should have fun." The he added as he looked at Murasakibara, "Atsushi, Tatsuya, and I have to get back home and it'll still be a long trip."
"You're leaving already?" Momoi asked in disappointment.
"We're leaving too Satsuki." Aomine said as he began to walk away.
"Eh? Dai-chan? But we just got here!" The only female in the group ran after her childhood friend. "Wait!"
Kuroko watched the Touo ace walking away. Breathing in slowly he said, "Aomine-kun." The tanned ace paused. "Thank you for the gift and for coming today. Momoi-san too."
There was silence again and Akashi sighed, "Daiki." He said in an admonishing tone.
Aomine grunted and raised a hand, "Ah, I get it." He grumbled and then he looked back sideways, "Tetsu, happy birthday."
Blue eyes widened as a strong wind blew, almost covering the whispered words. Even Momoi looked stunned for a moment before smiling and hooking her arm around Aomine's. "Saa, let's go Dai-chan. You still owe me an outing!"
"Oi! Don't get too close!"
"Mou, Dai-chan!"
The phantom player was shaken out of his daze when a huge hand ruffled his hair. Murasakibara. He was about to swap away the hand in annoyance but then he sighed and decided to let it slide. He looked up at Murasakibara who was looking down at him.
"We'll see you next time, Kuro-chin." He said just as Himuro came out of the restaurant.
"I got your text, shall we go?" Himuro smiled and then he turned to Kuroko. "Happy Birthday, Kuroko-kun." He said in English.
"Thank you." Kuroko replied in kind.
"Until next time Akashicchi, Murasakibaracchi!" Kise said to the two.
"It was nice seeing you again, Ryouta, Shintarou, and especially you, Tetsuya." Akashi said to his former teammates. "Let's go." He said as he walked to the direction of the station.
Midorima nodded his head in acknowledgment at the ex-captain before going inside to stop Takao from whatever he was planning.
"Saa, shall we go back inside, Kurokocchi?"Kise said with a smile as he extended his hand.
"I'm sorry," Kuroko began to say to Kise's confusion, "But before we go inside, I have one question."
The model blinked before laughing, "You don't have to be so formal about it. Sure, ask away."
"I don't think you all came of your own free will, is that correct?" The Generation of Miracles' sixth man asked. Kise nodded, "Then everyone in Seirin-"
"Ah, no. Seirin was busy enough with your party to have the time to get us together. Actually, I think he called this a 'solo mission' and from what I heard he suggested it himself." Kise chuckled, "It's pretty amazing actually, he even got Aominecchi to come in the end, although I don't know how."
"He?"
"Kagamicchi, of course!"
"Hmph." Aomine huffed as he crossed his arms.
"Dai-chan, are you cold?" Momoi asked curiously.
"No, just annoyed. That idiot has guts." The Touo ace said as a vein popped on his forehead.
"That idiot?" The manager tilted her head, "Are you talking about Kise-kun?"
"Nah."
"Mou, Dai-chan, stop being so vague!"
In Aomine's pocket, a certain message was yet to be deleted from his inbox, a message from a certain red-haired Seirin ace.
You're a coward. If you don't come, I'll tell Kuroko that it was you who told me it was his birthday.
"Che." Aomine said but then he smirked, "That moron. He better be a good partner to him."
"Kagami…" Kuroko turned to look into the fast food joint where a certain light was devouring about fifty burgers. "…kun?"
"Yeah!" Kise smiled. "He said that he was tired of seeing that depressed look on your face. He even told Himuro-senpai that he'd take care of you! Kagamicchi is so sweet! He's like a knight in shining armor! You should have seen how he convinced Midorimacchi to come here. He even scolded me saying that 'you're letting the past destroy Kuroko's birthday'!"
The shadow's mouth opened and closed, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, Kise didn't seem to notice.
"And even after traveling so far to get all of us together, he still decided to get you a gift! He was in a hurry to get back but he made us stop by at a store to get- Ah, but he'll give it to you later, so I can't tell you, it'll ruin the surprise-" The model turned to his mentor but then paused, eyes wide. "Kurokocchi? Eh?" Then Kise panicked, "Eh? Why is your face so red? Are you getting sick? Kurokocchi!"
Kuroko shook his head, looking through his bangs and at his partner. Kagami paused from his eating and met Kuroko's gaze as though he sensed it. Blue eyes widened as the light gave him a thumbs up with a bright grin.
Oh.
The phantom player covered the flushed lower half of his face as Kise continued to ask him if he was alright.
This looked like the start of something troublesome.
FIN
Author's notes: Does this have a sequel? YES. Will there be KagaKuro? YES. Are you putting it up soon? It's actually at 28 pages right now and I don't like uploading fics that aren't finished so I guess I won't be uploading it any time soon. I just wanted to post this for Kuroko's birthday that's all. But I'll give you a sneak summary.
Next: The Generation of Miracles aren't just geniuses in basketball, but in love as well? Matchmakers!GoM
Extra note: Momoi was actually waiting up for midnight to send Kuroko a birthday message. But then she fell asleep and dreamed she already sent the message (yes that happens) and the next day she was disappointed that Kuroko didn't reply but was happy since she 'thought' she greeted him first.
Anyway, thank you for reading!