Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke

The Pastry Predicament

Chapter 2

It didn't take long for Murasakibara to pick up on the fact something was going on, even if he didn't know exactly what it was. The usually laid back center grew annoyed when it seemed everyone was keeping a secret from him, but what truly put him out was the sudden cessation of their post-practice ice cream excursions. This was a ritual of particular importance to Murasakibara, and he was suspicious that suddenly everyone was too busy. Finally, after a week of everyone evading him after practice, he decided it was necessary to get a more direct explanation.

"Kuro-chin, why can't we get popsicles today?" His plaintive question would have tugged at the heartstrings of even someone less fond of the purple-haired athlete than Kuroko was, but this was in the service of the greater good, so Kuroko steeled his resolve.

"I'm sorry Murasakibara-kun, but for the next few weeks I have to go home directly after practice to help my parents. They've decided my grandmother should come to live with us and we have to get the house ready."

"Oh. Okay, Kuro-chin. What about you, Mido-chin?"

"I already told you, Murasakibara, I don't have time for such foolishness. I'm in the middle of a demanding research project and I can't lose the time."

Murasakibara took that in for a moment and decided it was a reasonable excuse. But then he turned to Kise and Aomine, "Kise-chin? Mine-chin? What about you?"

"Sorry Murasakibaracchi! I have a modelling job scheduled!"

"Can't. I, uh, have…remedial classes." Each of the conspirators shot a warning look at Aomine; it wasn't that farfetched that the power forward would need those classes, but it was stretching the limits of credulity to think he would actually attend them.

Thankfully, Murasakibara was more preoccupied with the immediate issue than any deep thinking. "Study hard, Mine-chin." His anxious gaze located Momoi, "Sa-chin?" and the pink haired manager bit her lip regretfully.

"Sorry Mukkun, I have a lot of committee meeting work for a while."

Murasakibara frowned as he heard yet another denial. He didn't bother to ask Akashi. He knew their captain could rarely join the group anyway with all of the demands on his time. So without further comment he lumbered away, but they could all see his disappointment.

Once he was out of earshot, Midorima sighed heavily. "Can't we just tell him we're working on a surprise for him? That was unexpectedly…difficult…to get through."

Aomine quickly vetoed that idea, "You can't tell someone about a surprise if you still want it to be a surprise, Midorima."

Still, they all understood Midorima's feelings on the matter. It reinforced their resolve to pull off their plans to both repay Murasakibara for all of the work he'd put into treats for them, and also to make up for the next few weeks of semi-isolation.

Sugimoto noted their increased determination that evening and wondered at its cause, but honestly they needed every ounce of incentive they could muster if they had any hope at all. The past week had not gone particularly well. He didn't understand how these supposedly coordinated people became all thumbs in the kitchen, but he couldn't deny they were trying very hard indeed. His eye was still twitching, though, when he surveyed their results.

"If each of you had to guess where you went wrong, what would you say?" He asked this somewhat rhetorically, but they answered anyway.

"Obviously the materials are inferior. We need better quality ingredients." Midorima's stuffy answer was swiftly delivered, but he didn't make eye contact with anyone else, leading them all to believe he knew perfectly well there was nothing wrong with their ingredients.

"Tch, this is like school. The formulas are too much work to keep track of." Aomine's response was not particularly surprising.

"I think I misread the measurements again" Kise's pronouncement sounded miserable- he'd clearly wanted to redeem his performance from last time.

"I may have overmixed it." Momoi's rock hard pastry could be explained by overmixing, but it looked like she'd slightly scorched it as well.

Kuroko just shrugged. "I don't know. I thought I did everything right." They contemplated Kuroko's mysterious-looking attempt and agreed it was unknown as to what exactly had gone wrong. It was likely more than one part had been inadvertently disrupted.

With some trepidation they looked at Akashi. He raised an eyebrow before pointing to his effort, "Mine came out just fine, thank you very much." It did look like Akashi's was perfect and the others felt a twinge of envy.

Sugimoto shook his head and took a knife to slice it, the center was obviously underdone. "It needed a little longer to cook."

Everyone looked a little dejected before their instructor finally spoke again. "I think it was a mistake to attempt to have all of you gain mastery with the whole thing. Since it is a group present anyway, maybe we should focus on each of you taking on single aspects that will be combined anyway."

There was a contemplative silence as they all thought about that for a moment. Akashi finally took the lead, "We will not be defeated by dessert. We can handle the challenge. But, in the interests of shall we say…time management…your suggestion has merit."

If a few giggles were heard in the wake of Akashi's rather regal pronouncement then it was understandable. Even Sugimoto had to fight a smile before outlining teams and tasks to make the whole endeavor more manageable. He'd been taking careful note of their personalities and their relative strengths to determine what type of activities would best suit them.

Momoi was diplomatically moved away from direct preparations for the moment and was instead put in charge of gathering ingredients and coordinating cooking times. She would also assist the others as needed and frankly, they were all relieved that Sugimoto had recognized it was the necessary measure. She looked excited because in her mind, this also meant she got to be in charge.

Akashi was moved to all the candy-making preparations. Sugimoto realized that Akashi's calmly exacting nature would be well-suited to gaging the necessary temperatures and handling the fickle sugar crystals. And needless to say his unflinching gaze would not miss the miniscule tell-tale signs between each of the stages between soft threads to hard crack – it would require the patient determination of a strategist and Akashi was eminently suited to such a task.

Kise, who had a notable flair for artistry and the dramatic, was put in charge of decorations like frosting, sauces, and sparkly garnishes. He would coordinate with Momoi on final constructions and ensuring that all of their hard work was displayed to best advantage. The bouncy blond seemed capable enough of making frosting, although their teacher noted with some disapproval that a good portion of what Kise made seemed to mysteriously vanish.

Aomine, with his raw physicality and minimal patience, was not particularly suited to most skills needed in a patisserie. But there was one particular aspect that Sugimoto felt the boy would both enjoy and excel – and so Aomine found himself pulverizing various fruits into the needed consistencies for other parts of the project, and alternating it with kneading and rolling out assorted chilled doughs. As Sugimoto watched him, he rather thought that when they got to the brûlée portion, Aomine might even be trusted with the torch. Possibly.

Midorima's logically inclined mind found itself applied to the task of carefully whisking eggs, cream, and sugar with various ingredients to make an array of custards and fillings. He had the appearance of a scientist as he cautiously whisked, observed, and tested temperatures and consistencies.

And as for Kuroko, the pastry chef had immediately understood that Kuroko's steady presence would make him ideally suited for the painstaking task of whipping egg whites into a seemingly endless array of meringues. The foamy mixtures were being used to lighten other concoctions as well as destined to form cookies and casings. The phantom's strong wrist muscles were put to the test but he persevered anyway.

At the end of the evening's session they had a halfway decent attempt at their goal. It would most likely take the remaining two weeks to perfect their individual portions, but they all felt immeasurably relieved to see even this small modicum of progress.

They were also exhausted, although none of them would admit to it. Kuroko fell asleep on the train, but Aomine shook him awake at their stop. They all shook their heads and chuckled at the ridiculous damage his hair had taken from the brief nap and Momoi handed over a comb so Kuroko could fix it.

As they bid one another farewell, they didn't notice a familiar tall, lavender-haired person watching the laughing group in disbelief, nor did they see the hurt flash through his eyes or the dejected stance he took upon recognizing the excuses they had told him earlier in the day were not true.

If they had, they may well have spoiled the surprise early to reassure their friend all was well. But instead, they went their separate ways, unaware that their plans were being so drastically misunderstood.