Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke, the cover image, The Da Vinci Code, or Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.

School was over for the day, and Kuroko was heading towards the first string gym of Teikou Middle School. He was a bit late from talking to his teacher after class. Everybody else was most likely already in the gym and had finished changing.

Upon opening and entering the building, its double doors creaked as he swung it outwards and walked in. Instantly, Kuroko felt intense pressure radiating towards him. No one seemed to notice his presence, though, as they started their warm ups and never looked up.

He glanced around and found heterochromatic eyes at the other side of the court staring right back at him, its figure unmoving. Those eyes slowly traveled downwards, stopping at his shoes, and then followed its languid trail back up to the light bluenette's eyes.

Kuroko thought nothing of it and quickly made his way to the locker room to change, feeling a certain someone's eyes boring into his back. When he walked into the changing room, the pressure dissipated.

A few minutes later, and the phantom felt the same intense pressure as before once he stepped out of the changing area. Again, he looked around and spotted a certain redhead keeping his gaze right at Kuroko. He also noticed that the redhead had not moved from his spot at all.

It unnerved him how he kept staring with a blank expression at Kuroko. Not once did his gaze at the light bluenette waver as the captain slowly made a bee line towards the phantom, people and objects parting like the Red Sea.

As the redhead stopped a few feet in front of him, Kuroko waited until he spoke first.

"Tetsuya."

"Akashi-kun."

He stared silently at Kuroko for a few more moments before speaking.

"Why don't I help you stretch?" he suggested.

The shorter one paused before responding.

"Alright."

Without further words, Akashi turned and walked towards an empty space on the court, not checking to see if the other would follow. Once he had made it to where the taller of the two went, he nodded his head at the floor, signaling for Kuroko to go first.

He understood immediately and sat down in front of Akashi with his back facing him, spreading his legs on opposite sides of himself. The captain placed his hands flat on the shorter one's back and pushed slowly forward.

The light bluenette was busy stretching, extending his arms in front of himself, until he jolted in shock. Akashi had moved one of his hands upwards, tickling the back of small boy's neck with his fingers.

"Akashi-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"You're touching my neck," he blandly stated.

"My apologies."

He moved his hand back down to where the other had been, in the middle of his back. Kuroko started to stretch again, until Akashi's other hand moved. It traveled down his spine slowly, sending another jolt of surprise through Kuroko.

"Akashi-kun?"

"Yes?"

Your hand is on my butt," he bluntly remarked.

"Ah. My bad."

Again, the redhead moved his hand back up to where it had originally been.

After a few, thankfully uneventful, minutes, Kuroko was done and it was the other's turn to stretch. It seems like no one had noticed the redhead manhandling the poor little phantom. Akashi's warm-up went without any mishaps, unlike Kuroko's. Three more minutes passed and they were both done and ready to train.

Kuroko murmured a polite "thank you" with a short bow towards the redhead and quickly went to leave.

"Tetsuya."

The taller one spoke up before the other could take a single step away.

"Yes?"

"Shall I help you with your training?" he helpfully asked.

Not wanting to be "accidentally" molested again, Kuroko declined.

"No, thank you, Akashi-kun."

"Hmm."

And the captain left without another word. Not bothering to look where the redhead had went off to, Kuroko decided to forgo the training exercise and walked over to a basketball bin to pick up a ball. Once he was near the free-throw line, however, the light bluenette felt the same exact pressure from when he first entered the gym. Taking a subtle glance around the room, he saw Akashi, yet again, staring right back at him with a clipboard in hand, scribbling who-knows-what onto it. Trying to ignore the sudden uncomfortableness, Kuroko began to practice.

As each minute ticked by, the pressure increased immensely. Kuroko's aim was beginning to get worse, hitting the people around him right in the face.

"Gah! Kurokocchiiii!"

"Geez, Tetsu!"

"Ah. Sorry, Kise-kun and Aomine-kun."

He could feel the captain's eyes roaming all over Kuroko's body. He felt them traveling from one body part to the next. First, his neck. Next, his back. Then, his bottom. It would take a few long moments to look at each part before moving to the next, and the cycle would start all over again. Occasionally, those eyes would take a few detours and examine a head, arm, or leg.

Suddenly, the pressure began to build up dramatically as if...

"Tetsuya, why don't I help you?"

He snuck up right behind Kuroko, giving the poor boy a mini heart attack. The redhead didn't wait for an answer and proceeded to place himself flush against the shorter one's back and placed both hands on the ones holding the basketball.

His face was right next to the other's, so as he spoke, the puffs of air glided into the shorter boy's ears, involuntarily making him shiver but he still kept his impassive look.

"Now, aim a bit above the net and bend your knees."

As he said those instructions, Akashi bent his own knees and held the ball up, keeping the other's hands captive between the ball and the capture's hands. Because they were so close together, Kuroko's own knees bent against the ones behind him.

"Now, jump and release."

The redhead jumped with the phantom and they both released the ball. The orange object landed through the net with a gentle swoosh.

Kuroko removed himself from the captain, turned around to face him, and bowed while thanking the other and rubbing his abused ear.

"No problem, Tetsuya," he smirked victoriously, as if touching him was his main goal.

Again, the redhead left and went back to where he originally was standing, at the other end of the court.

Kuroko ran after his ball and continued his practice while trying his best not to explode under the heterochromatic's gaze.

After school practice had finally ended. Kuroko ran to the locker room to grab his bag and fled the building without so much as a "goodbye" or changing out of his unusually very sweaty clothes.