To: Kuroko Tetsuya
From: Mikaze Ai
Message: I also wish you luck, Mikaze-kun. I hope you don't have any trouble with Riko-san. If you have any practice games, you should notify me; granted I'm not busy with your work.
Ai looked thoughtfully at the text and closed the phone shut. School had just ended, and now he was back to basketball practice, much to his dismay. Before he could walk in, he received two text messages at once. He decided to look at the first one.
To: Kuroko Tetsuya
From: Akashi-kun
Message: Hello, Tetsuya. I do hope I'm not disrupting anything. I just wanted to inform you that Atsushi and I are in Tokyo again, and we all are meeting at the usual place and time. Don't be late.
'Who's Akashi..?' Ai questioned. He decided to ask the next time he contacts Kuroko. He opened the other one.
'Well think of the devil' he thought.
To: Kuroko Tetsuya
From: Mikaze Ai
Message: Sorry about the extra text message, but I forgot to inform you that my specialty is passing, not actually shooting. Also, after about 10 minutes or before, you have to act exhausted, since that is my time limit.
Ai stared quizzically at the phone. 'Passing? What does he mean by-' His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something against his head.
"Hey, Kuroko, are you going to just stand at the door like a door man?" a black haired teen, analyzed to be Izuki, snickered while also writing the joke down.
"I was about to walk in, but I got a text message," Ai explained, quickly changing it to the one from 'Akashi' in case he wanted to read it. Correct, Izuki skillfully snatched the phone from his hand and read it.
"Ehh? From Akashi, huh? I hope it's not during practice, because Riko will kill you, especially since you didn't finish the laps from this morning," Izuki said. "Well, let's go in before she actually kills us." The two of them walked in at the same time, then barely dodging a stray basketball now hurling through the open door. Ai looked from the ball to the direction it came from, and tried to analyze where it came from.
. . . Analyzing . . .
Complete
"It came from Furihata-kun," Ai muttered, staring in the boy's direction.
"How do you know?" Izuki asked, seemingly the only one that heard him.
"It came from his direction," Ai dead panned, now staring into Izuki's eyes. The two broke eye contact once the sound of a whistle resonated throughout the gym.
"Alright, enough gaping. We still have a long way to go if we want to win the Winter Cup," Riko commanded. The gym out burst into a series of 'Yes mam''s and 'Okay!'s. "We'll have a practice match; teams have already been chosen. Look at the board for more information. Meanwhile, Kuroko-kun," she said, looking towards the cyan haired teen. "Finish your laps from the morning." Ai nodded, and headed out, though sending a quick text to Kuroko in the process.
To: Mikaze Ai
From: Kuroko Tetsuya
Message: Thank you for the information, though I'm afraid I'm stuck with running laps the entire time. In any case, who is this 'Akashi-kun' and what time and place is the usual?
Kuroko's Side
To: Mikaze Ai
From: Kuroko Tetsuya
Message: Thank you for the information, though I'm afraid I'm stuck with running laps the entire time. In any case, who is this 'Akashi-kun' and what time and place is the usual?
'Oh he met Akashi-kun already?' Kuroko thought, going through the financial documents of QUARTET NIGHT. He picked up his phone and texted back.
To: Kuroko Tetsuya
From: Mikaze Ai
Message: Oh, you've met Akashi-kun? The place he's talking about is at Teikou, my middle school, near the sakura tree. The time is at 4:53. Akashi-kun doesn't like late people, so don't be late. Also, it wouldn't be wise to call him by his first name, so just stick with 'Akashi-kun'. There are also other people; Kise-kun, who would be the blond one, Aomine-kun, who would be the one with dark blue hair, Midorima-kun, who has green hair, Murasakibara-kun, who has purple hair, Momoi-san might also be there, and she has pink hair, and finally Akashi-kun has red hair.
"Oi, Ai," a voice called out from the bunk bed. "You've been on your phone a lot today," he speculated. Kuroko put down the phone, after sending it, and looked towards the stranger that addressed 'him'. He was a fairly short teen, height hidden by a navy fabricated hat, with blond hair and orange clips on his bangs. Kuroko recognized him as the subordinate 'Kurusu Syo'.
"Aren't you supposed to be practicing for the Uta Pri Awards?" Kuroko questioned, then going back to the computer.
"Today's a free day, didn't you know?" the stranger asked.
'Of course it is,' Kuroko thought, mentally sighing. "How was I supposed to know?" he questioned the latter.
"Well, You seem like you'd know everything, considering you always did," Syo argued. Kuroko just continued to type and look at the records.
"Can't know everything everyday," Kuroko said, ending the conversation there. "Besides, even if it's an off day, you could still be practicing," he rebutted, talking from experience. He was always lacking when it came to basketball, but he never gave up.
"You're talking a lot today," Syo said, getting off topic. "Are you alright?"
"What does my health have anything to do with this? According to my data, I'm fine." Kuroko seethed. Wait... 'According to my data'? Where did that come from? Kuroko furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation, but then saw the time. He stood up, and while he was walking towards the door, he heard Syo call out,
"Hey where are you going?" Kuroko turned around to face him.
"To a restaurant, maybe a cafe. Why, did you need something?" he asked. The latter looked away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"If that's all you're doing, maybe I can go with you?" Syo asked. Kuroko blinked, processing the new information. After a bit, he simply shrugged.
"Fine by me," he replied, though going back to retrieve the phone. As the two of them walked out of the dormitory, Kuroko managed to send Ai a message.
To: Kuroko Tetsuya
From: Mikaze Ai
Message: Good luck with Akashi-kun and the rest! If they try to kiss you, dodge them. Also, I might have caused a disturbance with your relationship with Kurusu-san. What do I do?
CRIES I AM ALIVE, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, I TRIED, I TRIED
Kuroko x Syo, I'm crying
Oh yeah, the meaning of the title is Kuroko was supposed to eat at 4 am, and Ai is supposed to be doing the practice match, but he's running laps instead.
