- With fascinating speed… I got two reviews on the same day I published this story, which is a new record for me! With all due respect, here's chapter 2!

Chapter 2: Does He Actually Care?

Once the short school day ended, Kuroko went home solo today, for Akashi had to do some errands on his own.

He had said that he would be back by 6.

Stopping at a light, his phone vibrated. He took it out of his bag and glanced at the caller ID. It read "Kagami Taiga." He looked at the text message he had sent him:

'Yo, Kuroko. Haven't talked wit while since I've been busy. Meet u at Maji, I already ordered ur milshake, with extra vanilla.'

The blunette smiled to himself as he crossed the street quickly and jogged at a medium pace, thinking about what the tiger would possibly want to talk about.

When he arrived at the entrance of Maji, he spotted the back of Kagami's head at a corner table on the left side of the restaurant, bobbing back and forth. "Misdirection, activate," the blue head whispered to himself, suddenly turning invisible.

Kuroko swiftly walked through the aisles and finally sat at the table where his friend was waiting and began indulging in his milkshake. "Thanks for your consideration, Kagami-kun."

The tall redhead automatically stopped chewing and forced himself to swallow, which resulted him in pounding his chest, apparently choking. "KUROKO! When the fuck did you get here?!" he demanded.

"Just a few minutes ago; why do you ask?" He smiled.

"Please… please don't scare me like that. I beg you."

Kuroko slowly nodded, setting down his milkshake. "So, why did you call me here? It's sort of rare nowadays, knowing that your father is being hospitalized…" He left his sentence unfinished, afraid that it might unbalance the atmosphere surrounding them."

"Yeah," Kagami continued, slumping in his seat. He looked out the window and stared at the people walking by.

"The doctor said that he probably might not be able to walk on two feet ever again. The only chance left is if the special surgery goes according to plan. If it doesn't… he might die for all we know." A tear escaped from his eye and he didn't even bother to wipe it off.

Kuroko lowered his head and then gained the courage to speak about something else. "Can I tell you about something? I don't want this conversation to make you feel bad."

"Sure; what's up?"

"Well, first off, it's about him."

The latter arched a brow. "Him? Who's him– oh, you mean Akashi?"

The teal headed boy shifted in his seat and crossed his arms. "Yes. I'm starting to think that even though we do love each other, he's starting to not care about what nor how I feel."

"What do ya mean by that?" Kagami asked, going back to eating his burger again.

"For example, this morning before school we had… forced sex. I've never liked that, and I never will. I only do it with him when I'm in the mood, but when he starts to touch my body without my proper consent, I just have to go along with it."

An awkward silence passed until Kagami cleared his throat. "I'm telling you, you should stop dating that bastard. I've always felt a bad presence since the first day I met him."

"But I can't just let him go."

"Why not?"

"Because I love him!" the latter shouted a bit too loud, causing some people to look at him. He blushed and sank down in his seat.

The redhead sighed with a hint of defeat as he got up and picked up his bag. "Well, there's nothing I can say to go against that. But remember, I'm always here to help you with your life, shorty. Always. Let's walk home together; that bastard might be waiting for you."

"Sho… Shorty?! I'm not that small!"

The pallid boy rolled his eyes as they exited, taking the milkshake with him. As the sun began setting, the pair of teenagers talked about random stuff on their way home, like how all the four Yu-Gi-Oh series were better than Pokemon and Kaijudo combined.

When they arrived at Kuroko's house, the blunette stood on his tiptoes and gave Kagami a hug, his heart pounding like mad.

"Thanks for today," he said. "You always know how to make me feel better. You're like my personal magic charm, you know."

The tiger blushed lightly and scratched his cheek in embarrassment, turning his head away. "Y-You're welcome… see you t-tomorrow, then."

The latter ran to the door and they both waved goodbye to each other. He entered, taking his shoes off. Luckily, the teen didn't have much homework except for math and ELA review questions due to most of the teachers going to a teachers' meeting in Osaka.

Besides that, he flew up to the bedroom and changed into his home clothes that were in his drawer, which was strange because Akashi would usually lay them out for him on the bed.

'Weird… he's still not here yet? Where did he go at this time?'

He went back downstairs to the kitchen, finding a letter on the microwave written by Akashi. It read:

'I need to go to Kyoto for a few hours to pick up some stuff from my mother. Be back by tomorrow afternoon. Not to worry, I've notified all the teachers already about my upcoming absence, so be a good boy, Tetsuya. Eat well.

Love, Akashi.'

Kuroko tossed the letter in the trash and began to cook the rice and between the intermission, did his homework diligently. He felt his eyes getting watery, and he let his tears fall on the table. He sniffed and walked to the bathroom slowly, looking at himself in the mirror.

He indeed looked very cute and appealing on the outside, but on the inside, he was dealing with love.

A great and sex-like love, but a love that made him feel… depressed.

Yay, two chapters down! Some KagaKuro going on, eh? Anyways, see you later this week or next week! RnR! :-D