Hey, Mom,

You'll never guess what happened

today. I forgot my own birthday.

Yup, you heard-or rather, read that

right. Can you believe it? Don't worry,

I'm not developing memory loss. I've

just been really busy trying to get my house

paid off, you know?

At least my neighbors remembered. Taiga.

Earlier that day

The day was Friday, and the date was August 2nd. Kagami was eager to get outside and relish in the fresh air. Not only that, but now that it was August, larger fish, as well as sharks, had become much more abundant. With this frame of mind, Kagami was able to put into perspective just how fast he'd be able to repay his home loan, if he were to catch as many of these sea creatures as possible.

"I think I have everything..." he spoke to himself, checking his tackle box for the third time over. Kagami had just about stepped through the front door, when there were three swift knocks on it. Upon opening, Kagami had been greeted by both a high-pitched squeal and a pair of deeply disinterested eyes. "Kise? Midorima?"

"Kagamicchi!" Kise yipped. "Aren't you excited-ssu?!"

Confused, Kagami mounted his fishing pole over his shoulder and asked, "About what? Fishing? Well, yeah, I guess I'm kind of excited."

"That's not what he meant, nanoda-" Midorima had begun to say, but Kise quickly cut him off.

"Oh, I see!" Kise smiled. "Well then, we'll be going now! Catch you later, Kagamicchi! Haha, get it? It's a pun on fishing!" Grabbing a hold of Midorima's hand, he pulled the tiny frog off to somewhere unknown.

"Wait, Kise-hey!" Midorima complained, trying to fight off the all-too-anxious pup. "Don't pull me so forcefully, nanodayo!"

'Well, that was...odd. Hm. Whatever,' Kagami mused, and with a shrug of his shoulders, he collected up the rest of his fishing equipment and headed for the beach. Upon his arrival, he immediately noticed something that wasn't quite right...at all.

Laying limply, and presumably lifeless, on the sandy shoreline of the beach was a seagull. It wasn't like any of the seagulls that Kagami had known from back in Los Angeles; no, this seagull was much bigger. Kagami couldn't really tell from where he was standing, but this bird appeared to be about the same size as someone like Pelly, or even Pete, the delivery pelican whom he had met on more than one occasion. Curious, Kagami cautiously made his way over to where the seagull laid.

Upon further inspection, Kagami was relieved to see that the gull wasn't dead, but merely unconscious. "Um..." he said aloud, wondering if the creature could hear him. "Hello?" He received a snore in response. "Hello?" Kagami elongated. At this, the seagull's eyelids began to flutter, and just a moment later, he'd nearly given Kagami a heart attack when his eyes suddenly popped open.

"Eh-?! Where am I? What is this place?" the seagull asked, gaining his balance and propping himself up onto his feet.

"Uh, you're in Kiseki Village," Kagami answered. It wasn't until he had seen the gull's apparent confusion that he began to wonder. "Did you fall asleep here, or did you seriously just wash up onto the shore like this."

Knocking some water out of his ear, the seagull said, "I'm pretty sure it's the second one. The last thing I remember, I was traveling to a distant land that is famous for their Hollywood movie productions. That wouldn't be here, would it?"

Shaking his head no, Kagami said, "No, that's not here at all. The place you're thinking of is America, more specifically, Los Angeles." Rubbing the back of his neck a tad bashfully, he added, "I grew up there, so I would know."

"How interesting!" the seagull exclaimed. "I must journey there at once! Oh, but...I've lost my boat."

Kagami felt bad for the traveling bird, however, it wasn't too long before he came up with an idea. Pointing up to the cliffside, he said, "You know, if you climb this cliff and head north all the way to the edge of town, there's a train station. I'm sure it would be a lot less risky than having to travel by boat, anyways."

The gull held his wing up as if to protest Kagami's idea. "I thank you for your amiable offer, but my heart is at sea. It is where I need to be in order to feel like my adventures have been fulfilled."

'Ah, so this guy is on an adventure of his own,' Kagami thought, afterward verbalizing, "I totally get where you're coming from. I'm on a personal adventure, too."

"Is there anything more thrilling?" the seagull inquired. "Anything more thrilling than the world of the unknown?"

Kagami shook his head to this. "Absolutely not."

"Thank you for stopping by!" Mabel, the kindly hedgehog, smiled. "Please come again, Kagami!"

Just about pushing open the door to their quaint clothing shop, Kagami smiled back at her and waved his hand. "I'll be sure to. Thank you for taking the extra time to make clothes that fit my, erm, you know...my size."

"It's our pleasure!" Mabel giggled, before turning her attention over to her sister, Sabel. "Isn't it, sis?"

Avidly working her sewing machine, Sabel, a well-reserved seamstress, had barely given a nod of recognition at her sister's words. Truthfully, it had shocked Kagami that she had even muttered a gentle, "Yes..." in response.

"Well, I'll be off now," Kagami said, a small bell clinking over the top of the door to announce his exit.

Slinging the bags containing his purchases over his shoulder, Kagami exhaled a lengthy breath. He even kicked a few rocks along his way, watched them roll, then once he was close enough, kicked them again. During his walk, it had dawned on him that he was having trouble shaking the thought that he was forgetting something terribly important. 'It's not like there's any town events today,' he mused. 'If there were, Pelly would have announced it. I'm probably just over thinking things again. But then again...why did Kise and Midorima show up at my doorstep this morning?'

'Kagamicchi! Aren't you excited-ssu?!'

"Excited..." Kagami sighed. "Now I'm really beginning to wonder what he meant by that." Readjusting his bags and looking up the road, he was just about able to spot out Kise's house in the distance. "I should go ask him. It's gonna bug me all day, if I don't."

Knocking lightly on Kise's front door, Kagami waited a few moments before calling out to him. "Kise? Are you in there? You're home, right?" When no response was granted, he tried knocking again.

"Shhh!" was what Kagami could hear from beyond the other side of the door, along with the sound of muffled giggling.

'Huh? What's going on?' Suddenly, the door flew open and Kagami was whisked inside without a moment to spare.

The room was dark and the curtains had been drawn shut. Even though it was clearly by Kise's paw that he had been dragged inside, Kagami knew that they were not alone. He could sense more than two presences, and when the light flipped on, he saw that he was right.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday-" and then an array of the different names Kagami had been called by each.

Mouth agape, he stuttered, "Uh, uh, uh..."

"Only a fool would forget his own day of birth, nanodayo," Midorima scoffed, pushing up his glasses.

"Midorimacchi! That's rude-ssu!" Kise whined. "Kagamicchi has been really busy lately! He probably has a lot on his mind!"

"Tch, I agree with Midorima," Aomine snickered. "Only a true idiot would forget their birthday."

Mindlessly watching as the three began to quarrel, Kagami found that he was still very much speechless. 'My birthday...? Today...is my birthday? That's what I've been forgetting? How could I...how could I be so...so...'

"Stupid..." Kagami muttered, coaxing the unwarranted attention of the trio. Without warning, he burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Kagamicchi...?" Kise questioned worriedly. "Did...did something happen? What's so funny?"

"You didn't give him anything weird to eat, did you, Kise?" Aomine asked.

"I didn't! He's doing it all on his own!"

Waving his hand to dismiss the both of them, Kagami attempted to explain what was going through his mind, but it was an effortless struggle. He was laughing just too dang hard. Minutes later, he was finally able to catch his breath and speak coherent words. "I...I am stupid! I'm as stupid as can be! One-hundred percent stupid!"

"Hah! See? So he agrees!" Aomine howled, triumphantly digging his claws into Kise's tail.

"Hey, hey!" Kise barked, swatting the wolf away from him.

Feeding a hand through his hair, Kagami breathed a sigh of humility and shook his head. "Geez, I can't believe it. My own birthday...what a joke."

Once free from Aomine's grasp, Kise smiled sheepishly and stepped closer to Kagami. "You know, it's kind of a good thing that you forgot. It's made your surprise party all the more exciting, hasn't it?"

Nodding down at the perky little pup, Kagami said, "It has," before fitting his hands into his hips and asking, "And just how did you plan this all on your own? And so quickly, too!"

"I wasn't alone-ssu! Aominecchi and Midorimacchi were eager to help me!" Kise cheered.

"We were not!" Aomine and Midorima denied in unison, though it was clear from their rosy complexions that they were spewing fibs.

Unable to wipe the smile from his lips, Kagami chuckled and pat all three of their heads. The gesture had been mostly out of gratitude, but he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy being the tallest resident in Kiseki, either. "Thank you, guys. Really...thanks."

Kagami's party lasted for a good three hours. They shared stories, ate cake, and exchanged presents. Kagami received an kiwi stool from Kise, a mini dharma from Midorima, and a pair of hipster glasses from Aomine. By the time they had all parted ways, Kagami was more exhausted than he had been in a very long time. Oh, but exhaustion was a small price to pay for having one of the best nights ever. 'Living here...' he thought, as he began to unlock his door, '...is nice.'

Just as he was about to enter his home, Kagami heard the distinct sound of large, flapping wings, followed by Pete calling his name. "Kagami!" he shouted from above. "I'm so glad I caught you in time!"

"Pete," Kagami acknowledged, watching as the delivery pelican made his swift landing. "What brings you out here so late? I thought your delivery rounds ended at five."

"They did and they do, but this is a special delivery. I was told by Pelly, who was told by the sender, to get it to you right away. So! Here you are."

"Thanks..." Kagami said, receiving the letter with care.

"It's ma' pleasure."

After Pete had flown away, Kagami stepped into his house and locked the door behind him. He set his presents from Kise, Midorima, and Aomine aside in order to place his focus on this mystery letter of his. 'Could it be from Murasakibara?' he wondered. 'Or maybe Akashi?' But both those alternatives were quickly deemed to be wrong. In absolute and utter shock, Kagami read the letter not once, not twice, but three times before he expelled a soft, "Wow..." and rested the dainty piece of lined stationary down on his desk.

Dear Kagami-kun,

I know we have not been formally introduced

to one another as of yet, but I felt that it would

be incredibly rude of me to not send you a letter

on your birthday. Please accept this mere

token of 500 bells as my way of congratulating

you on your coming of age.

Kuroko.

Hi there! Chappy here! :D

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Things are really starting to get interesting with Kuroko, huh? ;D

Thank you very much for taking the time to read!

- Chappy