Hello and Happy belated New Year! So sorry for the delay, but anywaaay, here's the new chapter~ enjoy! :3

Kuroko jumped a little when Takao barges in their house. His face is unusually pale, and Kagami also didn't say a word. Moreover, Midorima is not there with them. He takes Kagami's trembling hand and put him on the sofa.

"Where's Midorima-kun?" Kuroko asks, raising his eyebrows.

"He-he's still there, with three other dogs. It's big and oh my god! They're going to eat Shin-chan! But I thought it's a man, not dogs. I swear, I felt human presence, but there's no one!" Takao blabbers, while Kuroko still tries his best to understand the circumstances.

"Take it easy, Takao-kun. Please tell me what is happening,"

"I'm sorry, please take care of Kagami. I need to get back there fast. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling I missed something. Please call Akashi-san, I-I'm going back to that place," was Takao's last word before he disappears from the front door.

"What's going on, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko asks again. Kagami is

"I haven't seen dogs that big before, they scared me. Damn, after Takao said that, I just realized I shouldn't left Midorima alone," Kagami sighs heavily.

"It's not your fault, Kagami-kun. We're your bodyguard after all, and we're the one who should protect you. Midorima-kun's action was right. He thought about your safety, and ordered Takao-kun to escorts you here. It's a basic protocol from Akashi-kun," Kuroko's voice somehow able to calm the redhead down.

"All the screaming and running makes me hungry. You want something, Kuroko? I'll make some for the others and Takao," Kagami leaps to the kitchen.

"Thank you very much, Kagami-kun, I'll have whatever you're having," Kuroko said as he dials Akashi's number.

Kuroko glimpses over the kitchen. Kagami is still humming and chopping some carrots and potatoes for dinner. He can't hide his worries and Kagami should never know about it.

Akashi might be busy, but he never turns his phone off in any occasion. Kise suddenly had to be a substitute model for perfume commercial. Aomine's teacher changes his schedule for remedial test earlier this afternoon and haven't back since then. Midorima is still shopping for groceries and just in the very moment, the small market decided to give free sample for every snacks and cakes.

The teal headed teen narrowed his eyebrows. This is too much for today, even the dog incident feels too well planned for a coincidence. At least Kagami is fine, and he's here. But to think something bad would probably happens to Midorima and Takao, his head suddenly hurts.

"Kuroko? You're more quite than the usual, what's up?" Kagami asks, the kitchen is now filled with curry scent.

"Nothing is wrong, Kagami-kun. I'm just thinking about tomorrow's math quiz. Mr. Kimura was mad because you didn't finish any of his homework. Maybe you should give it a try and put some effort in it? Oh, look at the time. It's almost night time, maybe I should take a bath and eat," Kuroko's mind works fast, thinking any reason to distract Kagami from worrying about him.

"Now you're scaring me. I know you're still thinking about Midorima and Takao. I'm worried as hell too, but hey, you're not an ordinary high schooler. You're a freaking bodyguard! I bet both of them will be fine, so are the others. Don't you think so?" Kagami smiles.

"You're right, Kagami-kun. But I'm not kidding about the math test, and how pissed-off Mr. Kimura was," Kuroko back on his usual poker face.

"Oh crap! I still have physics and English homework for this week!" Kagami runs to living room, fetching notebooks.

"I don't think that's the answer, Kagami-kun. Please check it again. I thought you're from America, why you can't answer such simple question?" Kuroko checks on Kagami's homework, but constantly peeking at the clock. It's almost 8 PM, but not one word from the others.

"Hrgh… I'm not good at written English. Nah, I'm not good at tests and shit," Kagami scratches his head for the hundredth time.

"You'll fail for tomorrow's test if you're don't work hard. And the teachers won't appreciate that,"

"Thank you for your words of encouragement, Kuroko, I needed it," Kagami sneers, but immediately regrets his decision.

"So you're waiting for some encouragement? Why didn't you say so, Kagami-kun? I can talk about how disappointed Akashi-kun will be if he knows you can't even finish your homework,"

"With your attitude, I'm surprised you still have friends, Kuroko,"

"Of course, Kagami-kun. People may not like the truth, but in the end, someone will finally know that my word means no harm,"

"You're starting to irritate me. You sound exactly like my old man. How old are you? Forty?"

"I'm turning forty-five this year, Kagami-kun. We may look like this, but we're much older than our look," Kuroko stares at Kagami with his usual calm face.

"What the fuck… you're serious? Why didn't you tell me that? I-I thought you're only sixteen, uh… so-sorry… uh, sir," Kagami stutters and blushes. He never thought they're much older than him.

Kuroko only nods, but seconds later he turns his head away from the blushing redhead. Soon, Kuroko's chuckle fills the room.

"I'm sorry, but it really is fun teasing you, Kagami-kun. We're not that old, and yes, we're all sixteen years old," Kuroko can't hold his laugh, while Kagami's face still red.

"YOU BASTARD! GAAAHH!" Kagami covers his face. He fell for that pathetic joke? The only thing he's grateful for is they're not with Aomine or Kise. He can't imagine how the duo will tease him for this.

"Now now, Kagami-kun. Your homework won't finish if you're only using your hand to cover your face,"

"And whose fault is this? You punk," Kagami grumbles before back on doing his homework, and the room feels so disturbingly quiet.

"You know," Kagami breaks the silence, "we can stop doing this and go search for them instead,"

"No, Kagami-kun. It's the standard protocol of safety. Akashi-kun wants us to go in group, with at least two person to protect you,"

"Screw that! It's not a standard protocol or any shit. I just want to search for my friends, that's what I need right now. Now, are you going with me or will you just want to wait for their body being delivered here?" Kagami stands, walk across the room and puts on his jacket.

"Akashi-kun will be very upset if you fail another math tests," Kuroko sighs and walk behind Kagami.

Considering the possibility, they choose to search Aomine first. The school's corridor is quiet and dark, very usual considering it's already past ten.

"Kagami-kun, do you think there's still someone in here?" Kuroko asks, his voice echoes. They're glancing through each classroom, hoping Aomine would be there.

"Knowing that idiot, maybe he's still doing his remedial tests," Kagami snickers while Kuroko shakes his head.

"Said a man who took two and a half hour to finish one of his homework,"

"I didn't ask for your comeback!"

"No signs of Aomine-kun or any teachers, should we go back?" Kuroko said, after they walked around the school for about half an hour.

"Yeah, maybe they're already home," Kagami yawns, maybe searching for their friend is not a good idea after all.

They were at the first floor's corridor when Kuroko asks, "Kagami-kun? Is it just me or do I feel like being watched?"

"Maybe it's just you, people are getting tired of your shit, because you're keep showing sneakily behind them and they decided to take a revenge on you now," Kagami answers, but his instinct tingles. It's giving him a warning sign.

"Kagami-kun, I believe there's a man walking behind us. We should hurry," Kuroko starts to pace his walking, grabbing Kagami's hand with him.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Kagami tries to look back. His eyes caught a shadow of a man indeed, and that's enough to make him pulling Kuroko's hand and runs.

"You finally believed me. I'm so glad," Kuroko pants, trying to keep up on the same pace as Kagami. They both start running, but it's not enough to shrug off the man.

"Now's not the perfect time to argue, is it? And by the way, why don't you pull out your gun or something, shoot him on the knee to make him slower! I swear we won't make it to the gate!" It's just a few meters from the school gate, but the chaser doesn't intend to slow down.

Kuroko suddenly turns his back, facing himself with the shadow. Kagami also stops and look back. He's facing strong light coming from the rooftop, making their mysterious chaser looks like a big shadow with no face.

Kuroko quickly took out a small revolver from his jacket and aims. Very soon after, he pulls the trigger and a loud bang came from his gun. Kagami gasps as he sees the smoke.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?" Kagami screams his lungs out once he's sure there is no one chasing them. They stop at a small park, Kuroko who clearly annoyed with Kagami's voice drags him further into the bushes and crouches. After making sure they are far enough from the lamps light, Kuroko lets out a tired sigh.

"Please don't yell, Kagami-kun. People might be startled. I do believe you asked me to pull out my gun, so it's not my fault if I can't shoot,"

Kagami grits his teeth, "But we almost get KILLED! Because your aiming sucks!" A nerve pops on his forehead, but it doesn't affect Kuroko even one bit. The smaller man even has time to check his phone.

"Do you MIND? I'm talking here,"

"No, you were screaming and I couldn't consider that as talking, Kagami-kun. By the way, Akashi-kun texted me back," Kuroko puts his phone back to his pocket.

"Oh. So the others are back now? A little help won't hurt, we kinda need someone who can shoot and defend us," Kagami scoffs.

"I'll just tell Akashi-kun our location. We should postpone our search until tomorrow, it's too dark and too dangerous, after all," Kuroko hugs his knees, a yawn escapes his tiny mouth.

"Damn, that man was scary, huh? Ugh, I'll have horrible dream tonight,"

"Then, please ask Aomine-kun to accompany you. He's been waiting for that opportunity,"

Kagami sits quietly beside Kuroko and glances at the smaller boy. He opens his mouth and closes it again, still searching for words.

"You… you're uh… pretty close to Aomine," Kagami could feel his voice crack.

"Is that a question or a statement, Kagami-kun?"

Kagami can't find a perfect reason to answer Kuroko. He's feeling weird every time someone mention Aomine's name. "Uh, never mind. Where's Akashi, by the way?"

"About that…" Kuroko pauses, "I believe Akashi-kun will be a little late. He said the situation is a little dangerous now, and he's planning something,"

"And what should it be? We don't have all day, you know. We still need to search for the others,"

Kuroko opens his mouth to answer, but nothing came from his mouth. Kagami wants to ask what's wrong, but he could hear leafs rustling and felt a sudden thump from behind him. He knows something's up after Kuroko's eyes widens, his gaze fixed to something behind Kagami. Before he could even react, a strong grip drags Kagami's hand by force, separating him and Kuroko with lightning speed.

Kagami was sure he's not the easiest target. Sure, he never learns self-defense or anything. But his sturdy figure and harsh attitude makes people think twice before messing with him. Sure, there were few professional hit men targeting him, but they never had enough guts to grab his hand, not to mention forcing him to run WITH them. This is absurd. And Kagami is too tired to drains his energy struggling with the stranger. They're running toward the industrial part of the town, and even if he screams, no one will notice. He tries to free his hand from the man, but no luck.

In between their footsteps, Kagami decides to take a closer look at this stranger. To be honest, he can't see any clue but the man's enormous hand and height. This man must be at least two meter, he thought. Nothing seems unusual about his appearance, because the man is currently wearing a black overall, and a black bandana to cover his hair and face.

They're running through a dark street, and right before turning to a dim lighted parking lot, Kagami notices something. This man smells like cake, a freshly baked cake to be exact. And from the man's pocket, he could see something. That 'something' looks like a wrapper of some snack. He licks his dry lips and gathers his courage to open his mouth.

"Umm… Murasakibara?" Kagami asks, voice not louder than a whisper.

Soooo… what will happen next? ;3

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