Again, thank you so, so much for your lovely reviews and comments. They mean a great deal to me. Generally I would try to respond, but my life has been very full lately, so I thought that the best thanks would be to just keep posting new chapters as quickly as possible.

Aomine couldn't stop thinking about how unfair it was. He spent most of Sunday morning moping around the apartment while his mom worked around him and Nigou nipped at his fingers, trying to get him to play. And of course his phone buzzed with several texts from Satsuki, wondering where he'd been yesterday, but he ignored those, too.

He kept feeling phantom pressure on his chest, light and trembling and slightly damp. Like Tetsu was pressing his face there again, wordlessly asking Aomine to comfort him. It had felt good to respond to that request, to be the rock and the bulwark that Tetsu needed. Now the sensation just made him uncomfortable because he wasn't there and he couldn't respond. He'd texted Kagami to ask when he could come over again, but Kagami said Tetsu's fever had gotten worse and he needed to rest.

And he just kept thinking about how massively unfair the entire situation was. Tetsu was just a kid when his father decided, for whatever reason (Aomine didn't completely buy the "mental illness" excuse), that he had the right to beat Tetsu up, to hurt him and tear him down. Tetsu was still just a kid now, really, though Aomine never liked reminders of how young they all were. Kids weren't supposed to have to worry about this stuff. Kids weren't supposed to be injured by their parents.

Aomine had known that child abuse existed before this, of course. But he'd never thought about it. He'd never been smacked in the face by just how horrible it was. It was all rather difficult to grasp, and it made him hurt in a way he'd never felt before.

His mind kept getting stuck on Tetsu's duffel bag. At some point during the day, Aomine had found himself at loose ends, and he'd wandered around Kagami's apartment and found the spare room—soon to become "Kuroko's Room" permanently and always, if Kagami's word was anything to go by. Aomine had looked around the room, saw how generic it was, the neutral furnishings, the decorations that looked like they'd been picked from whatever came first on a list.

And there against the wall was Tetsu's duffel bag. Some clothing items were scattered around it, and a pocket was open where Tetsu had removed the novel he was reading, but the bag was still mostly full. Tetsu had made no effort to unpack, to move his few belongings into the space that was now his. And yeah, he'd been kind of occupied, so it made sense that he hadn't bothered yet, but still.

It looked so...transient. So small and pitiful. All Tetsu had in the world was in that bag or on his back, and it wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

Tetsu was the victim in this affair. He was the innocent party, wronged by his father, by the forces arrayed against him, by society in general and the world at large, as far as Aomine was concerned. And yet he was the one who had lost everything.

Tetsu's father hadn't lost his home. He was still there, living comfortably in the place that he'd driven Tetsu away from with his cruelty and his abuse. He hadn't lost almost everything he owned. He hadn't lost anything, except a son who had never belonged to him in the first place, whom he did not value and did not deserve.

And so Aomine couldn't stop thinking about how unfair it was.

"Daiki!" his mom yelled from the entryway. "How many times have I told you not to leave your basketball here? It's in the way!"

Aomine considered ignoring her so he could continue his mope-fest, but it was his mom and he couldn't bring himself to be rude to her. Not after last night. He dragged himself to his feet and slumped his way to the entryway, Nigou prancing at his heels in hopes that they were going outside.

"Sorry, Ma," he said. He scooped up the basketball and several other of his possessions that he'd dumped by the door while she flittered around the space like a dusty bird, swiping her cloth at various surfaces.

She tsked at him, but ruffled his hair when he was bent over, bringing his head into easy reach. "You're such a forgetful boy, Daiki. Is it really so hard to just move your things?"

"No." He straightened with a sigh and stretched his shoulders. "I'm just a selfish jerk, sometimes."

"Now, that's not true. Who is that saying such mean things about my boy?"

"No one, Ma. Just me."

"Well, stop it," she scolded, chasing him out of the entryway with a slap on his back. "No one gets to say that about my Daiki."

He grinned reluctantly and started slouching down the hall toward his room. Then he paused, turned back, and leaned around the corner to look at her again. "Hey, Ma... Are you careful when you take your walks in the evening?"

She paused her everlasting dusting to look at him with bent eyebrows. "Well, yes? I suppose."

He nodded. "Okay. Just...continue to be careful. There are crazy drivers out there."

Her eyes softened. "Of course, Dai-chan. Don't you worry."

Aomine gave her a smile, then resumed his journey to his room. He dropped his things beside his bed and plopped down to sit, then leaned back on his hands and stared up at the ceiling. Nigou sniffed around for a few moments, disappointed that a trip outside had not materialized, then flopped over on top of his foot.

Aomine's parents were great. He never really stopped to think about how great they were. He should do that more often.

And he should be more careful about leaving his things lying around. It really wasn't that hard to move them to his room. It wasn't that hard...

Aomine sat up straight. There was something he could do. He could make things just a little less unfair.

Nigou got up and barked at him, sensing a change in the atmosphere. Aomine got out his phone and opened to the contacts list. He was going to need backup on this one. As much to hold him back as to help him in more direct ways, probably.

He paused suddenly, finger hovering over the contact button for the first person he'd chosen. Tetsu didn't want anyone to know about this. He hadn't even been able to tell Aomine directly, but had to have Kagami act as his interpreter. As far as Aomine knew, only the three of them were aware of the situation.

Well, whatever. Aomine could be vague about what was going on. The guy he was calling was going to jump at the chance to do this, no matter what he said. He jammed his thumb down on the call button, swift and reckless, before he could talk himself out of it.

Of course, the call was answered almost immediately.

"Aominecchi! This is a pleasant surprise!"

Aomine winced and held the phone away from his ear at the voice blasting through the speaker. "Hello, Kise," he grumbled. Why had he thought this was a good idea again?

Right, for Tetsu. Aomine would put up with a lot for Tetsu's sake.

"What are you doing on this fine day?" Kise asked. "You want to play some one-on-one?" Excitement surged in his voice. He would no doubt cross half of Tokyo to play one-on-one with Aomine.

It wasn't a bad idea, really. Might help Aomine blow off steam. But first things first.

"Maybe later. I need your help with something."

"Oh."

Aomine could almost hear Kise pulling himself together, responding to the serious tone in Aomine's voice. The light-hearted pretty boy vanished in an instant, replaced with the intense sportsman who fought Aomine at his own level. When Kise spoke again, his voice was solid and sincere.

"What do you need, Aominecchi? I'm glad to help you, whatever it is."

Aomine blew out a breath. "Well, it's not for me. It's for Tetsu."

"Kurokocchi?" Kise's voice became even sharper. "What happened to Kurokocchi? Is something wrong?"

Aomine paused for a moment, the words jamming up in his throat. He had to close his eyes, overwhelmed by just how much was wrong here. He couldn't share it right now. He needed to get Kise's help without betraying Tetsu's confidence. "Tetsu...can't stay at his old home anymore. He's moving in with Kagami. But he left a lot of his things behind, and I want to go get them for him."

"Oh." Kise's voice lightened. "Well...that's odd. But of course I'm happy to come! When? What's the address?"

"I'll text you. And...do you know anyone on your team who might be willing to help out?" The more big, athletic basketball players they had along, the better.

"I'll ask!" Kise said cheerfully. "I'm sure I have some senpai who are bored today."

"Great. I'll see you there."

Aomine disconnected the call and went back to the contacts list. He hesitated to touch the next call button for a while longer. He was just...so...annoying. Even worse than Kise in some ways, just in the complete opposite direction.

He finally hit the button and put the phone to his ear. This time the phone rang a couple of times, but it picked up soon enough. Aomine heard fumbling on the other line, breathing, a voice in the distance.

His eyebrows bent in confusion. "Midorima? Is that you?"

"Nope!" The gleeful voice got further away, then came in again. "Who's this?"

Ah, that was Midorima's voice in the background. He was growling at whoever had the phone to give it back to him. The guy on the phone laughed and refused, and there were noises like he was holding it above his head to keep it out of Midorima's reach.

Of course that wouldn't work, though. Midorima was a tall bastard. More fumbling noises, loud enough that Aomine held the phone away from his ear and scowled at it in confusion. This was giving him a headache. Then a rush of air, and Midorima's voice came on.

"Hello?" He sounded as deadpan as ever, despite the shenanigans that had just been going on.

"Midorima, it's Aomine."

Midorima grunted. "I can read a caller ID. Unlike my idiot teammate." There was a distinct Hey! in the background.

Aomine rubbed his temple. Definitely getting a headache. "I'll get to the point. Are you free to help me out with something today?"

Brief silence. "This is unusual."

"I know. You're in Tokyo, so you're convenient. Sorry to bother you. But it's for Tetsu."

"Mm." The silence was shorter this time. "What is it?"

Aomine gave him the same vague explanation he'd given Kise. He could tell that Midorima was a lot more suspicious and wary. But he agreed readily enough, and volunteered his teammate, Takao, without being asked.

And without asking him. Takao made noises in the background in protest, but quieted down when Midorima turned away from the phone for a second and said, "It's for Kuroko."

"Oh," Takao's voice came through clearly, suddenly serious. "Of course, then."

Aomine raised his eyebrows. He hadn't realized that Tetsu had made such an impression on random members of other teams. Maybe this Takao was special in some way.

Had to be, if he was willingly hanging out with Midorima on their day off.

"Text me the details," Midorima said, and he disconnected before Aomine agreed.

Aomine went back to the contact list. Murasakibara was too far away, and Akashi... No way. Akashi would figure it out immediately, and things would get far, far too complicated. And forget Satsuki. She was not intimidating, for one thing, and she would just keep bothering Aomine until he cracked, and then she would cry. A lot. Aomine didn't want to deal with that.

Of his current teammates, the only one he really liked at all was Ryou. The guy was a good cook and he put up with Aomine stealing from him all the time. But Aomine didn't think he would do well on this task. Aomine did not want anyone apologizing to Kuroko's father. Ever. For any reason.

Imayoshi, on the other hand... He was by far the most wicked-looking basketball player Aomine had ever met. And he would probably consider coming along just for the fun of it. Aomine decided to text him about it, make it clear that he needed to scare a horrible person for the good of society. If Imayoshi refused, no big deal. He probably wouldn't, though, not with a description like that.

Aomine paused at the contact for Kagami. He didn't think it was a good idea to tell Kagami what he was doing. He would want to come, but he needed to stay with Tetsu, for one thing, and for another, Aomine wasn't sure he would go along with it. Kagami had been really protective about Tetsu's privacy, and he would definitely think that Aomine had invited too many people. He might try to call it off.

Maybe not. Maybe he would think it was just as good an idea as Aomine did. But better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?

Aomine was pretty sure that there were at least a couple of Seirin members who would be good to have along, but he didn't have their contact info. Satsuki probably did, because her database was terrifying, but he'd already decided not to bring her into this. So that brought it to Aomine, Midorima, Takao, Kise, whoever Kise convinced to come, and probably Imayoshi.

It might be enough. Now he just had to pick a time that Kuroko's dad was sure to be home. Because there was no point to any of this if he wasn't.