A/N: Long chapters are getting longer... Hope you enjoy this one!

Candy Crash (Part 2)

"How on earth did you manage to find him, Tatsuya?" Kagami growled with obvious discontent as everyone gathered in front of the inn to prepare for running.

"I guess I was lucky?" Himuro smiled innocently. He patted his brother's shoulder. "Have fun running, Taiga."

"Muro-chin." a lazy voice called him out. Himuro turned around.

"What is it, Atsushi?"

"Thank me." the Yosen centre demanded.

"What for?"

"The candy."

"What cand–Oh, that one! Didn't I already thank you?"

Murasakibara shook his head and mumbled something, making Himuro tilt his head on the side.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you." the latter said apologetically.

Another mumble, but this time Himuro was able to catch the words "Scorpio" and "lucky item" and his face lit up in understanding.

"Oh! That's right. There were some people who came to you for that this morning, right? Though how did you know I'm a Scorpio?"

A shrug.

"Seriously, it amazes me how you can stand being with a guy who can hardly talk." Kagami sneered.

"Hah? You said something, shitty-eyebrows?" Murasakibara glared at Kagami threateningly.

"How the hell did you call me?"

"Alright, alright. Stop it, the both of you." Himuro walked in between the two boys. He turned to Kagami. "Taiga, don't provoke Atsushi." Then to Murasakibara. "And Atsushi, don't call him that, OK?"

Both aces grumpily nodded before deciding to ignore each other. Noticing it, Himuro let out a small sigh, but there was clear amusement painted on his face. He patted Murasakibara's hair.

"Thank you for the lucky item, Atsushi."

The whole scene hadn't gone unnoticed. Not far from them, a few high schoolers were staring incredulously at Himuro.

"Seriously, no matter how many times I see it, I just can't get how he manages to get Murasakibara to listen to him." Fukui shook his head.

"Yeah, remember the match earlier?" Moriyama reminded them.

"I'm not even sure who the scariest is: Himuro or Murasakibara." Hyuuga said.

"I agree." Takao nodded. "Anyway, that put aside, I guess we should get ready to run? Man, it's going to take two hours to run twenty kilometres. I hope it starts raining now. Maybe the coaches will cancel the thing if it does."

"Well, that's not impossible." Izuki looked upwards. The clouds were darker and more numerous now, concealing the sunrays and offering a respite to the smothering heat. "Let's just hope they won't have us run under the rain. What are we waiting for, by the way? If we have to run two hours, we'd better start now."

"The coaches seem to be talking about something." Miyaji joined the conversation. "Apparently not all of us have come back."

"Hmmm Kuroko's over there so that's not him." Hyuuga said.

"It's Aomine and Kise." Takao and Izuki said in unison before glancing at each other and grinning. Takao raised his hand to Izuki.

"High five for the Eagle Eye!" he said, grinning.

"And for the Hawk Eye!" Izuki returned the gesture.

"What are they, newly found bros are something?" Miyaji deadpanned.

"In any case, Aomine and Kise? What are those two doing?" Hyuuga frowned, looking at the Touou and Kaijou teams. They seemed to have no more clues on where their respective aces had vanished to, but no one looked really worried.

"There aren't any wolves in this forest anyway, right?" Moriyama inquired, to which Kasamatsu shrugged.

"When that idiot comes back, I'll freaking rub his face on the ground." the captain replied. "That'll teach him to be late."

"I think Kise better had been eaten by wolves rather than even thinking of coming back here." Moriyama whispered to Nakamura who nodded in approval.

"Aomine's probably fallen asleep somewhere, that bastard." Wakamatsu grunted. "Seriously, I hate him."

"I'm sorry I didn't keep an eye on him! I'm so sorry!" Sakurai inevitably apologized, bowing several times to his teammates. Wakamatsu hit him on the head.

"Stop that, seriously! You're as annoying as Aomine!" he snarled.

"I'm sorry for being alive!"

"There, there. Let's all calm down a bit now, shall we?" Imayoshi intervened. "I doubt nothing serious happened to those two, they're big boys."

"Yeah, they'll probably be back soon. They'd better be. I don't want to finish running late." Susa added.

Another ten minutes passed, during which most high schoolers were getting impatient, and the coaches had already agreed on having them start running instead of waiting any longer.

"I'll go look for Ki-chan and Dai-chan." Momoi offered.

"I'll go with you." Harasawa nodded.

"I think that won't be necessary." Riko said, pointing her finger at the entrance of the forest where two easily recognizable figures could be seen walking out, not hurrying in the least.

"About damn time." Kasamatsu muttered while some other players also expressed their annoyance.

"Is it me or does Kise look a bit... weird?" Takao cocked an eyebrow.

"Did they fight or something?" Izuki frowned. "Their clothes look kind of messy."

"I doubt it. But Kise does seem kinda strange." Kagami said. "Maybe he hurt himself or something, and Aomine helped him."

By now Momoi had strode to the pair and was lecturing them; Aomine was hardly listening, and Kise… well, Kise was merely staring at his feet, cheeks painted with visible pink.

"What were you two doing, seriously? The game ended half an hour ago!" the pink-haired girl scolded them.

"Gimme a break, Satsuki. We got lost." Aomine answered, not caring the least bit.

"As if I'd believe something like that! And why are your clothes damp?"

The question triggered an unexpected reaction from Kise: he blushed deeply while staring even more intensely at his feet. Noticing it, Aomine smirked and shrugged:

"We kinda dirtied our shirts, so we just cleaned them in the river a bit." But Momoi wasn't listening anymore, having shifted her attention to the Kaijou player. She covered his forehead with her hand:

"Ki-chan, what's wrong? Do you have a fever? You're all red! You shouldn't wear damp clothes like that, even if it's hot outs–"

Something wet fell on her nose, making her wince. The next second, several drops of rain were hitting the ground and it only took a minute for it to turn into a generous downpour, prompting everyone to quickly take shelter inside the inn. Outside, the sky had darkened considerably in the blink of an eye.

Riko pulled a face. "That wasn't in the plans. I'm pretty sure the weather forecast said there'd be no rain this week."

"It's not always accurate. Let's hope it cools down soon." Harasawa said. "Too bad there isn't a gymnasium for indoor training."

"We can make them run twice as much tomorrow, to make up for today." Masako suggested. "Though I suppose that would be a bit too much, even for them." she added, gazing at the crowd of players.

"If it were only light rain, running would still be doable." Riko muttered. At the very same moment, a flash of light accompanied by a loud rumble blinded everyone. "Damn storm."

"For now, let's wait and see if it stops raining." Momoi said, though she sounded unconvinced herself.

The weather was still the same after half an hour; the six coaches decreed that it was useless waiting any longer, and it was too dark anyway to consider going out. The announcement that the day was over was welcomed with a few cheers and whistles, though there were a few – Kagami, notably – who ranted about it. The drawback was that the players would have to prepare dinner themselves, and those who couldn't cook would have to wash the dishes.

"For once I managed to catch Kuroko, I don't even get to enjoy the whole lot of you running." Himuro sighed.

"That's cunning of you, Muro-chin." Murasakibara said, a cracker in his mouth. "What are you going to do now? There are still two hours before dinner."

"Before we have to prepare dinner, you mean. The hot baths, I guess."

"Hmmm then I'll go with you."

"Satsuki, a word if you please." There were only two people who called her by her first name, and since this voice didn't belong to Aomine...

"Hm? What is it?" the pink-haired girl asked.

"I'd like to know what Furihata Kouki's favourite dish is."

Momoi looked surprised for a second, then a knowing smile slowly drew on her lips.

"Let me check." she said, flipping through the pages of her self-made encyclopaedia. "Furihata... here. It's oyakodon."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Momoi grinned. "Good luck!"

A constant hubbub could be heard in the baths for men, like every evening. Fortunately enough, there were three large pools and the steamy place was therefore not too cramped. While some were simply lazing in the hot water, some others were floating in the middle of a pool, only to be sunk by a teammate, resulting in water being splashed and captains yelling to bring back some order.

The pool shared by Yosen and Rakuzan was unsurprisingly the quietest, and the presence of Akashi there was probably one of the reasons why. The latter was chest-deep into the water, arms crossed and back against the edge of the pool, eyes closed as if meditating. He didn't seem bothered by Hayama who was poking, nudging and patting Mayuzumi to make him react somehow, or by Mibuchi who was constantly teasing and playing with Nebuya in very ambiguous ways. On the other side of the pool, the Yosen players shared mitigated points of view at such open displays of male-bonding. Fukui obviously found the scene very amusing and was trying to tease Liu in the same way, but the small forward remained stoical and impassive, though a few twitches showed that he'd rather be left alone.

"Stop acting like an idiot!" Okamura ordered Fukui who grinned maliciously.

"Why? Does it bother you when I touch another guy like this?" he asked back, sliding a finger down Liu's cheek who glared at him:

"Could you please stop this now, senpai?"

"Oh come on, you're not fun. See, if I do this to Himuro..." He started reaching for his teammate's face but before his finger could even graze his skin, a hand surged out from nowhere and held Fukui's wrist tightly. Very tightly. And the shadow looming over him and hiding everything from his view belonged to none other than Murasakibara. Though he wasn't in the Zone, his eyes gleamed in an eerie way. By now Akashi had opened his eyes and was observing the scene with attention.

"Wow, cool down here! I was kidding." Fukui said, too used to Murasakibara's presence to be afraid.

"Atsushi, it's OK." Himuro intervened, resting a hand over Murasakibara's for the latter to release Fukui. "Besides, I don't really mind." he chuckled.

"Well, you should." Murasakibara mumbled almost inaudibly as he sat back next to Himuro, sulking.

"Atsushi." His first name was called again, but not by Himuro. Murasakibara raised bored eyes to Akashi. "Politeness requires you to apologize to the one you hurt." he merely said, making the purple-haired teen scowl even more, but the latter still turned to Fukui:

"Sorry." he muttered.

"I guess I should deem myself lucky to have the two only people who can tame Murasakibara here." Fukui grinned as Himuro patted the giant's head as a reward for apologizing.

"Oh by the way, I've wanted to ask you," Mibuchi suddenly addressed Himuro. "That ring you wear, I saw Kagami wearing the same. Are they perhaps engagement rings?" he asked with pointed interest.

Everyone in the pool but Akashi and Himuro pulled out funny expressions ranging from vague curiosity to utter surprise. Though strictly speaking, Murasakibara belonged more to the 'angry' category. Himuro laughed and shook his head:

"Not at all. I bought those rings for us when we were in the US, as a sign that we're brothers."

"Ooh? That sounds cute. You must cherish it a lot, since you wear it even in the baths."

"I'm used to keeping it all the time on me, and even more after a little incident that happened during the Winter Cup." Himuro replied.

"An incident?"

"Let's say I acted a bit like an idiot at that time." Himuro said as he gazed at the pool next to him where the Seirin players were. "But it's fine now. I got back my little Taiga." he added with a soft smile.

A sudden splash was heard, and the next second Murasakibara was out of the pool, knotting a towel around his waist and visibly not happy.

"Atsushi?" Himuro frowned.

"Going back to the room." Murasakibara mumbled unhappily.

"What's with you all of a sudden?" Fukui inquired.

"Leave him be." Akashi said quietly.

Himuro let out a faint sigh, though his lips were still curled up in a smiled as he watched his ace's tall and perfectly-built figure walk away.

"I swear, that guy's a handful. Worse than a kid." Fukui complained, to which Mibuchi chuckled. "What?"

"Oh, I just find your cluelessness about others' feelings very cute." the effeminate man answered. "It's almost adorable."

"Reo-nee, can you stop hitting on every guy you see? It doesn't give you a good image." Hayama teased him, making Fukui freeze on the spot despite the water's high temperature.

"Just kidding~" Mibuchi winked at Fukui who didn't feel less reassured at all. "I think I already mentioned it, but I'm already interested in someone in my team." he added cheerfully.

"Reo, I believe our friends here had enough of hearing about your personal life." Akashi said composedly yet firmly.

"Aw, and I was getting to the good part." the shooting guard complained, pretending to be upset.

"So, what about Murasakibara?" Fukui asked again.

"Don't mind him. He probably just needs more sugar." Okamura shrugged. "I swear, that guy's a real weirdo."

"I guess I'll go check on him." Himuro said as he readied to exit the pool as well.

"Oh come on!" Fukui exclaimed, exasperated. "For once we actually get to lazy around here, you'd prefer going after him?"

But Himuro gave him an apologetic smile and excused himself from the party. As he headed out, he walked past the Seirin pool and what he saw made him smile ever so slightly. Had he been more devilish, he'd have probably teased Taiga a bit, but right now Atsushi was more important. He therefore left the baths, already looking forward to the little chat he would have with Kuroko tonight.

Meanwhile, in the aforementioned pool – also shared with Shuutoku High – the cause of Kagami's torment and Himuro's amusement – namely Kuroko – shifted a bit closer to his Light. It wasn't the first time they went to public baths together, but today Kagami felt more uncomfortable than usual, though he couldn't tell why. Kuroko was right next to him and conversing with the others very normally, but since the beginning Kagami had noticed that the space between them had progressively narrowed down to the point their arms almost touched. The pool was big enough, even with a dozen people in it, so why was he so close to him? He thanked the steam and the temperature for giving him an excuse to his flushed cheeks, without really getting why Kuroko's closeness bothered him so much.

"Kagami-kun, you look unwell. Is something the matter?" Kuroko suddenly turned to him, and the gesture made his shoulder brush Kagami's arm. The redhead nervously jumped sideways, earning a few curious looks.

"Are you upset that you didn't get to run?" Koganei joked.

"Such devotion to training is commendable." Takao nodded.

"As expected from a basketball idiot." Izuki added, making Kagami flare up.

"Hey, I'm not a basketball idiot! And I'm totally fine not having to run today." he retorted.

"But as a result, we have to make dinner ourselves today." Miyaji sighed.

"As long as we don't let Riko in charge, we should be fine." Kiyoshi said, getting vigorous nods of approval.

"Or Momoi." Midorima added. More nods.

"Do we know who's in charge of dinner?" Ootsubo inquired.

"I personally don't want to risk anyone's life so I'll stick to washing the dishes." Takao said.

"Mitobe, you'll make us something, right? You're a pro at cooking!" Koganei patted his friend's arm enthusiastically. The silent Seirin player nodded, smiling with modesty.

"I believe Kagami-kun could also take part. I would very much appreciate eating something made by you again." Kuroko stated, directing his large, oval eyes at Kagami who quickly looked away, embarrassed.

"I-I suppose I can do something, yeah." he answered, praying to all the gods that no one would notice his quickening pulse.

"My favourite food is vanilla shake."

That seemed to bring Kagami back to his usual state. "How the hell is that even food?!" he snapped. "At least pick something that you eat for a meal!"

"I sometimes have a vanilla shake for dinner."

"Honestly..." Kagami sighed.

"Can you make me kimchi?" Takao asked.

"Coffee jelly for me!" Izuki joined in.

"Ah then, I'll have some dorayaki." Kiyoshi said.

"I can settle with red bean soup." Midorima said.

"And–"

"Wait just a second here!" Kagami interrupted them, veins popping out. "This isn't a restaurant! And most likely the ingredients were already bought, so we'll have to do with what we have! If you want kimchi or whatever, just buy it on your own!"

"Bakagami, shut up! You're too loud." a well-known voice drawled in the pool farther behind him. "And while you're at it, make me some teriyaki burger for dinner."

Kagami turned round, pissed as ever. "Ahomine! You can die a hundred times before I make you anything!"

In the third pool, Aomine shrugged. "Guess I'll have to ask Sakurai then. You'll do that for me, right?" he asked the poor shooting guard who almost cowered into a corner of the pool.

"Yes, I will! I'm so sorry I didn't think about it before!"

"Aominecchi, stop picking on your teammates like that!" Kise scolded him, but it resulted in something the blonde teen didn't expect: Aomine swiftly shifted closer to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder; and as he spoke again, Kise could feel his breath on his cheek:

"Then do you want me to pick on you instead?" Aomined smirked as Kise's face turned bright red.

"A-Aominecchi..."

"Hm?"

"GET AWAY!" Kise suddenly shoved him aside with unsuspected strength before sinking himself deep into the water so that only the top half of his head was out. The bubbles that popped at the surface indicated that Kise had mumbled something, and a safe guess would be to assume it was something close to 'Aominecchi you idiot'.

Pretending that nothing happened, Imayoshi went on casually:

"They have a point though. Who's going to make the food?"

"I guess it'll be volunteering. If you don't cook, you wash the dishes. Fair enough." Kasamatsu replied.

"What will you do?"

"Hm? I guess I'm not too bad at making food myself." the Kaijou captain answered.

"Oh? Then you're better than our captain." Aomine intervened, poking Kise's head which was still half buried underwater. Then without any warning, he pushed the blonde's head down and released him, laughing at the newly found prank.

All naturally, Kise came out of the water utterly pissed.

"Aominecchi! That was dangerous! I could have swallowed water by accident and choke and die and–"

"I'd just have given you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation." Aomine shrugged, successfully turning Kise into the ripest tomato to have ever trod this land.

"Can you two stop acting like a couple already? That's disturbing." Moriyama commented.

"Who told you it's an act?" Aomine retorted with disdain. Several pairs of round eyes turned to him, then to Kise who now looked completely stunned.

"Hm, was it perhaps a joke?" Susa made a first attempt. Aomine snorted.

"I think Aomine isn't quite the kind of person who makes jokes." Imayoshi clarified the snort, but Kise jumped in, waving his arms in panic.

"O-Of course it's joke! Right, Aominecchi?"

"Hah? What the fuck are you spouting? Or is that your way of saying you wanna break up already? If it is, I'll freaking kill you." the tanned male snapped threateningly.

Kise's face turned pale. "I-I, huh, what? No! I mean, w-what...huh... Aaaah, damn it, Aominecchi!" At a loss for words, he sank himself once again – now entirely – underwater.

Aomine merely lay back against the pool, both elbows on the edge, not giving the least damn on the world.

It was how his relationship with Kise was made official to both their schools.

In the meantime and on a quite different note, the second pool wasn't less animated. Kagami was still trying to make clear that there was no way he was going to cook everyone's favourite food, though Kuroko's puppy eyes at some point almost made him flinch.

"That isn't very nice from you, Kagami-kun." the Phantom Player told him reproachfully. "You even addressed a death threat to Aomine-kun."

"I didn't!"

"Mitobe says to stop annoying Kagami, or he may try to poison us instead." Koganei said.

"I wouldn't do that either! OK, that's it. I'm out of it." Kagami snapped, standing up, but a small hand caught his arm.

"I am sorry, Kagami-kun. We teased you a bit too much. Please don't sulk and stay with us." Kuroko requested.

Ignoring the funny feeling in his arm, Kagami scowled and pursed his lips, hesitant.

"Kuroko's right, Kagami!" Kiyoshi grinned. "Let's have fun altogether!"

"... Fine. But we're not talking about cooking anymore." the Seirin power forward decreed.

"Then how about we talk about those girls in your bed?" Takao went on, but it was Midorima who silenced him:

"Takao, that's enough. Don't push your luck."

"Hm? You'll punish me if I do?" Takao smirked at the taller teen, moving closer to him and using that opportunity to stealthily slide his hand over Midorima's thigh. The gesture naturally made Midorima jump abruptly, earning himself a few questioning looks. Any movement to shove Takao away would raise suspicions and the promise of a painful death in his eyes didn't seem to be enough to discourage him, therefore he called forth all his willpower to breathe slower and bear with the demonic hand that roamed dangerously close to strategic places. He would kill him afterwards, far from prying eyes.

In the meantime and out of mercy for Kagami, topics of discussion had switched to more harmless ones, allowing everyone to finish the afternoon on a nice and relaxing note, until they were told it was time to start preparing food for dinner.

"Atsushi." Himuro called out softly, petting the purple hair of the figure lying next to h

im, back facing him.

No answer.

"Atsushi." Himuro called again.

A faint growl.

"That wasn't very nice of you, leaving everyone like that."

"Your fault."

Himuro sighed. "What did I do this time?"

"You talk too much about Kagami. It annoys me."

"About Taiga? Is that why you left the pool?"

No answer.

Himuro smiled, being used to this man child's whims. "Will you forgive me if I buy you some sweets once we're back home?"

"...For one week."

"Alrigh, for one week."

Murasakibara finally turned around, to meet with Himuro's smiling face, and somehow he felt his cheeks turn hotter than usual.

"Do you want to stay in the room until dinner?"

Murasakibara nodded. "It's raining outside anyway."

The menu was simple: rice with curry or grilled beef. Everyone was queuing to be served by Momoi or Riko – who was under close watch to make sure she didn't add anything funny to the plates. However, when Furihata's turn came, instead of asking him what he wanted, Momoi took a bowl on the table behind her and handed it to him with a broad grin:

"And a special dish for you!" she said.

"Huh? Why?" Furihata asked, confused.

"If I were you, I'd just trash the thing away." Susa advised him. "Unless you want to die."

Momoi puffed her cheeks. "That's mean! And I wasn't the one who cooked this!"

"Then who?" Furihata asked.

"It's a secret! Come on, just take it!"

"Hey it's unfair. Why is he the only one who gets to eat oyakodon? I want some too." Fukui protested.

"No complaining, or you don't get to eat anything at all!" Momoi answered, making the boy grunt.

In the Seirin corner of the table, Furihata asked:

"Kagami, is it you who made this?"

"Hm? Nope." the redhead replied, mouth full.

"Do you know who did?"

But Kagami shook his head. "All of us were busy making dinner for everyone, I didn't notice anyone preparing an oyakodon. How about you, Mitobe?"

The silent teen shook his head apologetically.

"Maybe someone prepared it beforehand." Koganei suggested. "But that's still strange."

"But it's delicious." Furihata commented. "And it's my favourite dish."

"Let's hope it's not poisoned." Izuki joked, but as Furihata turned pale, he added hurriedly: "Just kidding, just kidding!"

"Kagami-kun's cooking is still as good as ever." Kuroko said as he tasted the curry.

"Eh? It's nothing, and I wasn't the only one there." Kagami scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"I wish I could get to eat Kagami-kun's dishes more often."

"It's nothing, really. I'm sure your mom makes better stuff."

"That is beside the point, Kagami-kun." Kuroko sighed.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"What? Tell me."

"Nothing. Please forget what I said, Bakagami."

"What was the 'Bakagami' for?! What's with you, really..." Kagami scowled, but Kuroko remained silent. The power forward frowned. Well, whatever. Perhaps he should buy him a vanilla shake once back in Tokyo.

When Himuro slid the panel open, Kuroko was already in the room and talking to… a dog? Were pets even allowed here? He doubted it.

"Good evening, Kuroko." he greeted.

"Good evening, Himuro-san." Kuroko greeted back, shoving the dog back into his bag. Turning to Himuro, he added, pointing to the bag: "I would be very grateful if you could avoid mentioning this to anyone. Normally I leave him with the others, but last night he went to sleep next to Kagami-kun so tonight I have to take him with me."

Himuro smiled. "Poor Taiga. His aversion for dogs is legendary. Alright, I'll keep this a secret." he said, dropping his stuff next to his futon. A 'woof!' was heard, as if to thank him for keeping quiet. As he glanced back at the dog, Himuro frowned slightly; those eyes reminded him terribly of someone though he couldn't pinpoint who exactly. Then another glance at Kuroko made his brain click. "What's his name, by the way? Kuroko #2?" he joked.

"Actually, it's just #2." the blue-haired boy answered.

Himuro sweatdropped. "Seriously? Anyway, I'm getting changed here, I hope you don't mind."

"Please go ahead." Kuroko said, opening a magazine – borrowed from Kagami – as he always did every night.

"It seems like it hasn't stopped raining since this afternoon." Himuro commented as he stood by the window and undressed. The rain was battering loudly against the glass, blurring the landscape and making it impossible to distinguish anything outside. A bright flash of light blinded him, followed by a boisterous rumbling. "Let's hope it'll have cooled down by tomorrow."

"I was wondering something: is Kagami-kun afraid of thunder?" Kuroko asked.

"Taiga? No, not really. Though I do remember that time in the US when we were still kids; Taiga was at my place and we were playing video games when a storm broke out. The first lightning strike took him completely off guard and he literally jumped in my arms." the Yosen shooting guard narrated with an air of nonchalance, though his eyes were closely watching for Kuroko's reaction to his words.

He wasn't disappointed as the Phantom Player's ever placid face betrayed a faint yet completely noticeable twitch of the eyebrows.

"I see." Kuroko merely said, eyes not leaving his magazine. He wasn't given the opportunity to add anything more as a voice rose from the other side of the door:

"Muro-chin, I'm coming in." Without even waiting for an answer, Murasakibara opened the door. He was holding something in his hand.

"Anything wrong, Atsushi?" Himuro cocked an eyebrow as he finished slipping on a shirt.

"Here." the Yosen centre handed him the something which proved to be a can of soda.

"For me?"

Murasakibara nodded.

"Why, that is rare, but I appreciate it." Himuro smiled gently, taking the can. "Thank you."

"Good night." the latter mumbled before leaving.

"Good night, Atsushi."

When the door closed, Kuroko asked:

"Do you call everyone by their first name?" The question made Himuro chuckle.

"I'm often asked that here. The fact is, I'm pretty used to western habits and over there it's actually strange to call people by their last names. So back here it was a bit tough for me to switch back to Japanese customs. I try to stick to last names for people I'm not too close to. Would you like me to call you Tetsuya? It would put you on the same level as Taiga."

"…I don't mind."

"Then Tetsuya it is." Himuro answered, sitting down on the futon and opening the can with a pop. "Want some?"

"No, thank you."

"You know, I think you could try and call Taiga by his first name too. He would certainly appreciate it."

This time, Kuroko closed the magazine and looked at Himuro. The latter was displaying his usual poker face, making it quite hard for Kuroko to read through that mask of his. And it annoyed him mildly.

"You are very cunning, Himuro-san." he said expressionlessly. The shooting guard let out a short laugh.

"You're the second person to tell me that today. But I'm not sure I understand what you mean." he answered, visibly amused.

"Would you actually allow me to call Kagami-kun by his first name?"

Before Himuro could answer, a voice was heard again on the other side of the door:

"Muro-chin." Murasakibara stepped in uninvited, not caring the least bit about interrupting the conversation.

"What is it this time, Atsushi?" his teammate inquired with a patience that was known only to him.

"I thought you may be hungry." Murasakibara handed him what clearly looked like a small bag of potato chips.

"Thank you for your concern." Himuro took the bag and patted his ace's hair. "Try to get some sleep now for tomorrow, OK?"

"Hnnn, fine."

The door closed again, and Himuro let out a sigh, but the smile on his lips indicated that it wasn't a sigh of annoyance.

"Did you get along with Atsushi during middle school, Tetsuya?" he inquired.

Kuroko pondered for a second before answering: "I consider Murasakibara-kun a friend, but I was never able to agree with his view of basketball."

"I know all too well what you mean. He has incredible talent, and yet he demonstrates no passion. Though I believe he has changed since the Winter Cup."

"Indeed he has."

"Back to the topic at hand, I don't have any right to forbid you to call Taiga by his first name. He's the only one who can decide. But if it's you, I'm certain he will allow it."

"I see." Kuroko replied quietly, plunging back into his magazine. At least he tried too, but Himuro wasn't fooled so easily; he was treated with an extremely rare sight: Kuroko blushing, though very, very lightly, but unmistakably so. A mischievous smile graced the corners of Himuro's lips. He was going to have a little bit of fun.

"I have noticed it for the past few matches Seirin played, but the bond you share with Taiga is particularly strong, even for teammates." he said casually.

"... I made a promise to Kagami-kun to make him Japan's number one player, as his Shadow. It is for that purpose that we train together so much."

"Why did you choose him?"

"The first time I saw him play, it reminded me of my former teammates in Teikou. I was disappointed by them, but I thought I could try again with Kagami-kun."

"What if he disappointed you as well?"

"Do you not trust your own brother?" Kuroko asked back, but Himuro shook his head with a smile.

"I didn't mean it like that. But at the beginning, you had no idea how Taiga could turn out. What prompted you to try?"

"It is simple, really. Seirin has no potential to form a team of Generation of Miracles." As Himuro cocked an eyebrow, Kuroko went on: "When I first arrived at Seirin, I noticed that everyone there was good at basketball, but not excessively so. That is why I was certain that they could not disappoint me the same way Teikou did."

"They disappointed you because they were too good. You really are an interesting one, Tetsuya." Himuro chuckled. "But you wish for Taiga to become even better than the Generation of Miracles, as your team's ace."

"I do."

"Then all your hard work is just to fulfil your promise of making him Japan's number one player?"

"I believe that is what I said earlier."

"Which means that once you achieve your goal, you won't have anything to do with Taiga anymore?"

For a lapse of a second, Kuroko looked troubled by the question and narrowed his eyes.

"I am not certain I understand your point."

Himuro tilted his head on the side and gave a mysterious smile, his fingers suddenly playing with the ring he had deliberately let hanging outside his shirt in a clearly visible way.

"Simply that once Taiga becomes Japan's number one player, you won't have any reason to stick around him like you do now." he said.

There was a second of silence.

Everyone who knew Kuroko a bit would say that the teen was ordinarily the quiet, composed and even type of person. Only a restricted circle of people had had the opportunity to see Kuroko let that trademark composure of his fall, and Himuro was soon going to be part of that circle.

"Himuro-san." Kuroko said calmly, though one could sense definite coldness in his voice. "I consider Kagami-kun a fellow teammate, but also a dear friend. I believe it is a good reason enough to stick around him, as you say."

"A dear friend? Is that all he is to you?" Himuro pried, still smiling in a way which Kuroko found very uncomfortable.

"Are you perhaps implying something, Himuro-san?"

"Perhaps."

"Muro-chiiin." came a now very familiar voice from the door, followed by the faint rattle of wood against wood.

"Atsushi, I thought you would be asleep by now." Himuro said as he stood up and walked to the door. This time, Murasakibara handed him a small bag of candies.

"What's with you today?" Himuro asked gently. "I thought you didn't like sharing your food with anyone." In fact, he was certain that in his entire life, Murasakibara had never given so much food to one person within a single day.

"I thought you may be hungry." the purple-haired teen answered very unconvincingly.

"Atsushi…" Himuro held out his hand as if to take the sweets, but instead he reached for Murasakibara's cheek and did something quite unexpected: standing on the tip of his toes, he prompted Murasakibara to lean down and claimed his lips with his own.

It was a light, chaste kiss, almost innocent like a child's kiss, but long and sensual enough to leave no doubt as for its meaning. Even Atsushi should get it.

He did. When Himuro pulled back, the taller teen was uncharacteristically flushed, eyes completely avoiding Himuro and lips pursed as if to keep the kiss to himself. He looked incredibly and unconventionally adorable, Himuro thought as he petted Murasakibara's hair.

"I have a few things I'd like to discuss with Tetsuya tonight, so be a good boy and go back to your room. I promise tomorrow I'll come back too." he said.

Murasakibara's mind was most likely still confused with the what, the how, the why and the who, for it took him several seconds to register Himuro's words. He made a vague attempt at what seemed to be a nod, and got ready to leave, but as he did so, Himuro pulled him into another kiss before wishing him good night.

When the door closed behind him, he settled back on his futon, very aware of the pair of blue eyes following him.

"I'm sorry, I must have shocked you." he apologized.

"It is fine." Kuroko answered. "I didn't know you and Murasakibara-kun were together."

"In fact, we weren't." Himuro confessed. "I did this to make sure he wouldn't interrupt us anymore tonight." he joked before adding: "More seriously, I just thought it was more than time he stopped acting so half-baked towards me."

The Seirin player was under the impression that those words were somehow addressed to him, but it was probably only his imagination.

"Should I keep this a secret?" he asked.

"Do as you wish. I don't particularly plan to hide it or anything."

"It was very daring of you. What would have you done if Murasakibara-kun had reacted badly?"

"A common fear," Himuro admitted with a nod, "and an understandable one. But it shouldn't keep you from expressing your feelings. In my case, I know Atsushi well enough to be certain that he'd accept my feelings."

"I see."

"What about you, Tetsuya?" To Kuroko's questioning look, Himuro sighed: "I'm asking you if it is that fear you mentioned that prevents you from talking to Taiga."

"I do talk to Kagami-kun."

"You know it's not what I mean."

"Please do clarify."

"You like him, don't you?" Himuro asked bluntly, and no hint of a smile could be seen on his face.

"I believe that is none of your business."

"It is when it involves my little brother. I think I was clear enough yesterday when I said I'd kill anyone who'd dare touch him."

Kuroko fell silent for a moment before answering: "Himuro-san, whatever your point is, I would very much appreciate it if we could speak about something else. I dislike our current conversation."

The Yosen player gazed at him for a few seconds and burst out laughing. He ruffled Kuroko's hair, much to the latter's annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. It seems like I've teased you a bit too much. Forgive me. It's just that I've always found it amusing to play the role of an overprotective brother. Especially when it comes to Taiga." he said, still chuckling.

"This... was unexpected." Kuroko answered, though nothing in his expression betrayed his surprise.

"I'm sorry." Himuro apologized again. "In any case, I just want you to know that if you don't tell Taiga properly, he won't get it. He's too clueless."

"I know. But I'm fine with how things are."

"You're a good little liar." Himuro ruffled Kuroko's hair again. "But you know, as I said earlier, the fear of being rejected shouldn't prevent you from expressing your feelings."

"I do not recall ever admitting to such a fear." Kuroko retorted, mildly annoyed.

"Of course not, but it doesn't change the fact that you feel it, unconsciously or not."

"..."

Himuro lay down on the side, supporting his head with one hand. "I talk a lot with Taiga, be it through the phone or via text messages. I suppose you won't be surprised if I tell you that he mainly talks about basketball."

"That is indeed hardly surprising."

"What you probably ignore is that he mentions you a lot as well, as his fellow teammate and Shadow. But being the idiot he is, I'm sure he managed to convince himself that it's all you are to him; a teammate and his Shadow." Himuro let out a small sigh. "Tetsuya, you're the smarter of the two; don't wait for him to make the first step, or you may very well wait forever."

Kuroko didn't say anything for a while, merely gazing absently at the magazine between his hands. Then:

"Himuro-san."

"Yes?"

"Everything you have just told me is based on the assumption I like Kagami-kun."

"Indeed."

"Unless I am mistaken, not once have I admitted to such a thing."

Himuro seemed to find those words particularly amusing. "Then what? Will you deny it?"

"... I will not, but I'd like to know how you knew about it."

"Well, it's certainly true you've never been obvious about it. Call it a natural gift?"

"That is one frightening gift."

"Very useful, in fact. Especially to tease people like you. I suppose I could have nagged Takao and Midorima or Aomine and Kise as well, but I guess you beat me to it."

"Perhaps you could try with Akashi-kun and Furihata-kun."

"Akashi?" Himuro laughed. "No thank you, I still value my life. But I have to admit that until now, I still have doubts about them. I mean, the last person I expect Akashi to have his eyes on is Furihata, no offence to your teammate. Does Furihata even know?"

"I am certain he isn't aware of it. He seems irrationally terrified by Akashi-kun."

"I would say it's quite rational, actually..." Himuro sweatdropped.

"Himuro-san."

"Yes?"

"Do you think it rational to have your eyes on Murasakibara-kun?"

Himuro cocked an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden question?"

"I am simply pondering about your sense of rationality."

"Oh please, any sane person would be utterly terrified by a guy with psychotic eyes, who claims to be an emperor and can probably make the best NBA players kneel at his feet and cry."

"Any sane person would carefully avoid a 208 cm-tall guy built on muscles mainly who can probably smash your skull with a single hand." Kuroko replied equally. It made Himuro laugh again.

"Alright, point taken. But you know, most of the time Atsushi is just more like a big baby. I find the contrast quite cute, though I suppose it must look strange to other people." Himuro lay back on the futon and yawned.

"Perhaps we should go to sleep." Kuroko suggested.

"That'd be a good idea, indeed. That is, if that storm would allow us to get some sleep. The noise is annoying."

As if to match his words, lightning struck, making Himuro sigh.

"I shall turn off the light then." Kuroko said.

"Please do. Good night, Tetsuya."

"Good night, Himuro-san."

Unaware of the previous events, a silhouette watched the very same lightning strike that had made Himuro sigh. He was standing in the empty and hardly lit corridor, arms crossed and elbows resting on the edge of the window. At least he believed the corridor was empty. Too captivated by the sight of the storm raging outside, he completely failed to hear the light footsteps getting nearer, until a voice called out his name:

"Kouki, what are you doing here this late?"

Needless to say, Furihata jumped, quickly turning his head to the newcomer, and his blood froze. In front of him was none other than the Emperor, gazing at him with those heterochromatic eyes of his.

"I-I-I was just, uh, just watching the storm, I-I swear I wasn't doing anything suspicious! I'll go back to my room immediately!"

But Akashi merely raised an eyebrow. "The storm? Do you enjoy storms?"

"Ah... yes, I do." Furihata lowered his eyes, plainly aware that he must sound like a weirdo. While most people disliked storms, he actually loved them, though he would never tell the reason out loud; that would make him sound ridiculously pompous. But he liked the sight of the downpour on deserted and unanimated landscapes, and the brightness of thunder that illuminated his eyes every time lightning would sear the dark sky, and the sound of the storm roaring without care as if to say it was currently the master of the world. Storms were powerful, imposing, uncontrollable and majestic.

They reminded him of Akashi Seijuurou. Yes, he was exactly like storms, Furihata thought.

Unlike him, who was as normal, plain and unnoticeable as could be.

"You're not afraid of them, then?" Akashi interrupted his thoughts.

"N-No, I think they're very beautiful to watch."

It was where the comparison stopped. The big difference between storms and Akashi was that Furihata was very much afraid of the latter. And he didn't find him beautiful to watch. Maybe. Fragments of memories flashed through his mind, memories of games where Akashi played, dominating the court, ruling the game and bending to no one. Furihata shook his head mentally, not quite understanding the sudden and brief fascination he bore to the Rakuzan captain.

"That's a pity, then." the latter deplored.

"Why so?" Furihata asked carefully, slightly confused. He gulped when Akashi stepped closer to him, an eerie smile on his lips.

"You don't have to know that yet." he merely answered, which only served to increase Furihata's confusion.

Both teens stood there in awkward silence for several seconds until Furihata couldn't stand it anymore:

"Th-Then I'll go back to my room now. I'm sorry for disturbing you." he said with a short bow. However, as he was about to walk back, Akashi spoke again:

"Do you know how to play shogi?"

Taken off guard by the unexpected question, the Seirin point guard could only stare at Akashi for a second before shaking his head.

"Is that so. Too bad then."

"I-I learnt how to play chess, though." What had prompted him to say so, he had no idea, but for a split second, he had felt like he didn't want to disappoint Akashi. That seemed to work, for the latter showed clear interest.

"Chess? Then would you have a game with me?"

"N-now? With you?" Furihata asked dumbly.

"I'll understand if you'd rather go back to your room and rest. It is pretty late, after all."

"No, I mean... I'm sure I wouldn't be much of a challenge to you. Maybe you should ask someone else to–"

"I'm asking you, Kouki."

The use of his first name and the firm tone made him shiver again. Even without looking, he could feel Akashi's piercing gaze on him, and it only made him all the more nervous. What had he done to deserve this? He originally just wanted to enjoy some nice storm-gazing, and now was challenged to a chess match from none other than Akashi? Well, at least the game would end quickly, he thought bitterly.

"F-fine." he finally answered.

"Then let us go to the common room downstairs. It should be empty and there is a chess board there."

Surprisingly enough, the game wasn't wrapped up so quickly as Furihata believed. He found himself being so taken in that he almost forgot who it was he was facing. It was exactly like during a basketball match; if necessary, he was perfectly able to give it his all. In the end it was still his loss; he sighed as Akashi announced the checkmate. The outcome had been clear from the start.

"Kouki." Furihata raised his head to Akashi. "It was a good game." Akashi said.

"Please don't tease me. I'm a horrible player." Furihata sighed again.

"You are not. Actually you're quite talented. I had fun."

Perhaps Akashi was right, Furihata thought for a moment. He had often played chess against his father and his father's friends, and had always been told that, despite not being exceptionally extraordinary, he was still a tough match. His lack of self-confidence had always made him believe that those were mere words of kindness. But today, even Akashi had acknowledged him.

"Thank you." he murmured, genuinely pleased.

At that moment, he was graced with an unexpected sight: Akashi smiling. Oh, barely, but still visible and not one of those smiles which made chills run down your spine; no, it was a gentle smile, one which Furihata had never witnessed on Akashi.

"We should get some rest now." Akashi said as he stood up.

"Ah, yes, we should." Furihata answered, for lack of having anything else to say.

They walked silently back upstairs and reached the Seirin room first. When Furihata bowed, he heard Akashi say:

"Today was a good day. I got to learn three things about you." When Furihata raised confused eyes at him, he went on: "First, you like storms. Second, you are a good chess player. Third, you like oyakodon."

That said, Akashi left to his own room, leaving a befuddled Furihata behind him. It was only after a few seconds that the latter registered that there was something wrong in the count. Third... oyakodon? How did Akashi know that? He had only mentioned it to his teammates. And then an incredibly crazy idea crossed his mind. Could it be... the oyakodon he had had for lunch... but no, there was no way the great Akashi Seijuurou would actually cook something for him. Especially for him.

Right?

That night, Furihata wasn't able to dismiss the memory of Akashi's smile, or the taste of the oyakodon.

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That's all for now! Thank you for still following this! I'm always happy to see you guys like the story :]