Hello everyone! Short update is short. I usually set my quota more than 3000 words, but in the end, I couldn't make it in this chapter... And hard as I tried, it seemed I can't squeeze any humor into this chapter. However, instead of humor, I increase something else in it. Lots of moe and hearts *wink*. Oh, and the GOM (except Kise) have made their debut in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket for it belongs to Fujimaka Tadatoshi.

Enjoy the story. R&R, plz!

Chapter 4: Sincere

At Teiko Middle School

Akashi was currently making his way to the rooftop, where he and his basketball club members was going to have lunch, hands holding his bento prepared by his fiancé. Truth be told, he had been looking forward to enjoying his lunch since Kuroko handed him his lunchbox in the morning. After tasting breakfast prepared by the bluenette, Akashi could say with some degree of certainty that Kuroko had received rigorous culinary training to achieve the level that could cause such a reaction from Akashi after eating his food. Of course, Akashi would never let it shown outside for the sake of his image but instead gave Kuroko his compliment on having made a delicious breakfast, and a praise from Akashi Seijourou meant acknowledgement.

Although he just met his fiancé for one day, surprise from the bluenette kept coming from this one to another. Moreover, the redhead had been having this strange feeling inside him, something akin to affection and protectiveness towards the bluenette despite having acquainted with him for more than one day. "Probably because I found him interesting…No, that reason can't explain my reaction to him last night. Puberty?"

"Aka-chin, are you OK? You seem concentrated", Murasakibara Atsuhi, who was following Akashi to the rooftop, asked while snacking a piece of waffle.

"Nothing, I'm just tired from a hectic night with my parents", Akashi lied, though it was the half-truth. His parents had done quite a number on his nerves, but fortunately, years of living with them made the redhead less susceptible to the endless migraine whenever he faced them.

Heaving a sigh, Akashi opened the door and was greeted with cool breeze and rays of afternoon sunlight. Midorima Shintarou, his shogi partner, was already there with his lucky item of the day, a stuffed panda. Aomine Daiki was late as always and Momoi Satsuki, their manager, was probably out fetching him. Therefore, the group of teenagers decided to wait for their two classmates to arrive to have lunch together.

-oOo-

Five minutes after Akashi had settled down with his lunchbox, Aomine arrived lazily with a fuming Momoi.

"We're back", the pink-haired girl said as she opened the entrance to the rooftop, "I hope we didn't make you wait for too long."

Aomine walked in and sat down lazily, Momoi follow suit.

"Seriously, Dai-chan. How come you always fall asleep during class? And after the class was dismissed, you didn't even bother to wake up for lunch by yourself and I had to stay behind to wake you up. I'm not your babysitter, you know", Momoi complained to her childhood friend while Midorima was shifting to make place for her.

"It's not my fault that History is boring and the fact the teacher is also boring doesn't help, either", Aomine retorted and lazily picked his left ear.

"Every subject is boring to you, Dai-chan", Momoi mumbled to herself and handed Aomine his bento, which the tan-skinned teen had asked her to keep in the morning.

"Guys, I will appreciate if you guys leave all that bickering to when we have finished our lunch. Right now, I'm hungry", Midorima intervened in the ongoing argument, his left index finger pushing up his glasses.

"Sorry, Midorin", Momoi blushed, realizing she was arguing in front of her classmates, "Now that we're all here, let's eat."

Akashi nodded, giving his approval and then, everyone started opening their bento and digging in the meal. Everyone, with the exception of Akashi, had their bentoes wrapped in the cloth with colors matching their names. Aomine with dark blue, Midorima with green (his cloth had panda pattern, courtesy of Oha-Asa), Murasakibara with purple and Momoi with pink. As for Akashi, his bento cloth was light blue, the colour resembling Kuroko's hair and eyes. And the purple-haired giant, being the one nearest to Akashi, somehow noticed this difference.

"Aka-chin bento looks different today. I thought your favorite color is red", Murasaki commented half-heartedly, his mouth stuffing with potato chips.

The rest of the group looked up from their lunch to take a brief glance of the redhead's lunch. Normally, Akashi would like to have his bento in bright red, which informed everybody that this was his property and they should keep their hand away from it. They remembered the redhead once mentioned that he had asked (read: ordered) his chef to always have the bento wrapped in red because it would make him more superior to others and it went well with his hair. So what crazy thing had got into the chef's head to have the gut to defy Akashi's order, the group, excluding Akashi, wondered.

"I just feel like having a change. One day with blue won't hurt much. You guys have problem with it?", Akashi smiled dangerously, which everyone took as "Further question and you die". The others suddenly felt sorry for the poor chef who would most likely be tortured to death for going against the redhead's wish. And little did they suspect that it could be someone else, namely Kuroko, who prepared Akashi's lunch.

Back to Akashi, he was taken aback when Murasakibara took notice of his different colored lunchbox. It was not that the red-haired teen underestimated the other but it was still out of the tall teen to spot the difference. Surprisingly, not until his friend mentioned him the different color did he realize his bento was not wrapped in his usual red cloth. And Akashi was not impressed. His mind had recently been filled with the thought of his fiancé that so many times he was distracted from the reality. And this must be fixed soon.

Silence fell upon the rooftop the moment the redhead opened the bento before Momoi erupted in loud high-pitch squeal.

"OH MY GOODNESS, Aka-chan. Your bento is sooo cuute!"

Momoi's eyes was sparkling and the background around her at this point was decorated with flowers and glitters; Aomine, Midorima and the usual indifferent Murasakibara were in awe of Akashi's lunch. Even Akashi was also taken by surprise when he saw the content of his bento. In his box were food that was usually seen prepared for student's lunch, which were rice balls, chicken karaage, fried wieners, salted salmon, salad and some slice of apples and oranges. Nevertheless, what caught the interest of the group was that Akashi's lunch looked not only delicious but also extremely adorable. Though "adorable" was not usually the word to describe lunch, they had to admit it was adorable. The rice balls were decorated to resemble smiling pandas: small pieces of black seaweed as their eyes, ears, nose, mouth and arms, two slices of sausage as their dimples, two seaweed arms were placed with a heart-shaped carrot in the middle, and the panda rice balls were placed among the salad, which gave the image of little cute panda sleeping in the bush (and Midorima nearly let himself drool at the sight of his lucky image of the day). Some fried wieners were cut to look like little octopuses while others were shaped like sakura petal with small slices of carrot as stigma. There were red ribbons with hearts at the knot wrapped around chicken karaage. The apples' skin were cut in the shape of a pointed V and slices of oranges looked as if they were glazed with honey. Besides salad and fruits, the bento also had some carrot discs, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, which were cut into star shapes to add more colors and vegetable to the bento. All of the food were arranged neatly inside the box, thus making the layouts looking even more tempting.

"Aka-chin, your bento looks yummy", Murasakibara commented, technically drooling at the sight of a cute bento.

"Just look at the panda rice balls. I don't think I'll ever have a heart to eat them if they look as cute as that", Momoi continued her fangirl squeal and more sparkles were sent out from her eyes.

"Not that I like it, but I gotta admit, your bento is cute", Midorima said, pushing his glass up to hide his blush. "The panda rice balls is a cute idea".

"Yeah… it's cute, but Akashi, I thought you were serious-looking bento type, not the one who enjoyed cutesy image. So what made you change you type of bento today?", Aomine inquired absently.

Upon hearing Aomine's question, everyone turned their head to give the blue-haired teen a disbelieving look.

"What? I can't make a comment?", Aomine was surprised at his friends' reaction.

"No, more like you can actually make a smart comment! I can't believe Ahomine of all people can realize such a thing!", Midorima said, earning a few nods from others.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU STUPID FROG?", Aomine yelled back at the greenette, ready to jump at the other's throat.

"Heh, Mido-chin has a point", Murasakibara said, sucking a lollipop.

"Admit it, Dai-chan. It comes as a surprise to everyone that you can actually draw a conclusion from observation. I guess eating tuna for lunch today really does brighten your usual dull mind".

"Satsuki… you …you", Aomine's face flushed with embarrassment and anger. If it hadn't been for the fact that Momoi was his childhood friend and a girl, he would have made a hole out of her face.

"All of you, stop arguing now".

Akashi's order had immediate effect as everyone stopped arguing at once. Letting out a sigh, he turned his gaze back to his bento. He had to admit, his bento looked really adorable, which was completely contrast to his normally cool serious demeanor. "Once again, Tetsuya caught me by surprise", the red-haired teen internally mused.

"This bento wasn't prepared by my chef so it's inevitable that it will look different from the one I usually brought with me", Akashi explained, hoping it would satisfy his friend's curiosity. However, it seemed they were still not satisfied with the redhead's answer and decided to give him an incredulous look, waiting for him to tell more about this strange occurrence. And of course, being a level-headed person, the teen decided to use his "persuasive skill" he had inherited from his mother to control the situation.

"So tell me, is there any thing wrong with me bringing a cute bento to school?", Akashi smiled evilly to his classmates, his tone promising impending doom for anyone who dare mock him.

It was something really wrong actually because Akashi Seijurou and cuteness didn't seem right together. Seriously, how should one react if the mighty Akashi turned out to be a closet otaku who secretly adored Hello Kitty and unicorns? The thought was kinda gay. It just seemed wrong, morally wrong, illegally wrong, sinfully wrong. Akashi and cuteness simply never co-existed and everyone firmly believed that they would hold on to that belief to the grave. And yet, today, out of the blue, he brought a really cute bento with him and seemed fine with it. Was the end of the world drawing near? Much as they wanted to answer it was wrong to Akashi, they were wise enough to keep that opinion to themselves.

"Oh no, Aka-chan. It's just we are surprised, that's all", Momoi nervously smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, you bento looks so cute that we couldn't help but feel amazed by its cuteness", Aomine grinned sheepishly, hoping the redhead wouldn't explode in rage, "It must be made with lots of love and dedication to you".

Realization suddenly dawned on everyone upon Aomine's unconscious comment. Even Akashi seemed to think deeply about it. There was no deny that Akashi's bento reflected his family's wealth and in some ways, his superiority to other students and they eventually realized that after hanging out with him for nearly half a year. At first, Akashi's friends were surprised by the luxury and grandness of Akashi's packed lunch judging by the beautiful expensive-looking box and the number of dishes; however, as they became more familiar with the red-haired teen, they realized that luxurious as his lunch might be, it never failed to exude the air of seriousness and professionalism, almost to the point of coldness instead of warmth and love.

However, today was different. Childish as the bento might look, one thing was certain that the person who made it had spent a great deal of time and effort on it. One could feel the care and affection having been poured into the making of the bento from the shape and design of rice balls and bite-sized vegetable, the crispiness of the chicken, the shininess of the salmon and the freshness of the fruits. Moreover, the food looked absolutely mouth-watering. If it was also tasty, then this bento was definitely of high-quality and was made by a professional chef.

"Momoi-san was right. Eating tuna did increase Aomine's intelligence", Midorima commented, teasing tone clear in his words.

"Midorima, you bastard. It's none of your business to comment on my intelligence", Aomine gritted his teeth.

"Hey, Aka-chin. There's something stuck in your bento cloth."

Akashi looked down at the cloth and found a small blue card tucked in the fabric. He picked it up and saw there was something written neatly on it.

Hope you enjoy your bento, Akashi-kun.

And also, good luck with your studying at school.

Sincere,

Kuroko Tetsuya

"Really Tetsuya, how come you always manage to surprise me?", Akashi smiled.

Akashi felt a wave of warmth surging through his heart, compelling his mind to drift to the thought of his fiancé. Up til now, all the bentoes he brought to school were prepared by his private chef who he rarely interacted with. His parents were all busy with their respective works so from the very young age he was left in the care of his butlers and maids. Though his mother's cooking was good, especially her curry, it was not often that he got the chance to eat it. Therefore, he hardly understood the warmth of love from the dear ones and why people could be happy when being cared about. However, today, although they were just small actions: a home-made bento and a wishing card, they made him feel so contented. The mere thought of someone waiting at home and taking care of him with warmth and happiness that he had never felt before. And Kuroko and he just met yesterday.

Could it be fate?

Akashi couldn't help but let a small sincere smile decorate his lips. His fierce looks softened and was replaced with affection when he thought about his cute fiancé.

Meanwhile, Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara and Momoi were shivering in fear at their smiling friend. Akashi was smiling! "Was the end of the world truly drawing near?", they wondered in unison. Akashi smiling was absolutely beyond their comprehension. Not to mention the way his eyes shone with affection and the dreamy sigh he had unconsciously let out. Where was the Akashi Seijurou with his trademark smirk that brought on terror?

"Dai-chan, I'm scared", Momoi whispered to her childhood friend.

"You think I'm not scared? What the heck has happened to Akashi today?", Aomine responded silently.

"First the bento, and now this. The mere sight is terrifying enough that I don't want to know what is the reason behind it", Midorima contemplated.

"Aka-chin, are you really alright?", Murasakibara was worried that Akashi's parents might have screwed his head severely last night, which was true to some extent.

Snapping from his thought, Akashi turned towards his friends and responded nonchalantly, "Of course, nothing's wrong with me."

"But you are smiling, Aka-chin", the purple-haired teen continued, looking slightly on edge.

"But I always smile. I smile because I'm happy", the redhead stated as if it was the obvious truth.

But everyone could hardly fathom that answer of his. Akashi was known to be difficult to satisfy and being good enough to make him smile was totally impossible because the redhead tended to set up extremely high standard. So, what on Earth in the card could make Akashi Seijurou happy and smile?

Unfortunately, Akashi had put the card into his pocket before Murasakibara could even have a chance to glance at the content of the card. Of course, Akashi was aware of his friends' gaze at him and their curiosity about Kuroko's wishing card; however, he loved messing up with their head. Why not let them have their own speculation and be tortured by their curiosity? Besides, there was not a cat's chance in hell that he would ever tell them about his dear fiancé Tetsuya. After all, Tetsuya was his only.

"So, let's go back to our lunch, shall we?"

TBC

My pathetic attempt to write sweet scene... How I wish I could write better. Anyway, everyone, what do you think about my writing style? One of my friends complained it was too slow and lengthy. Do you think so? If so, please inform me so I will change to fit you taste.

Every constructive comment is appreciated :)!