This…did not go the way I planned it to. This was meant to be a quick, light hearted 5,000 word-at-max piece. Instead, my muses got SERIOUSLY carried away and took it in about 57 different directions before I managed to yank it back onto course. Some minor violence later on - not exactly graphic but better safe than sorry.

Hidden in The Spotlight

He spots the woman midway through practice. She's sitting on the edge of the stage, with long, dark blue hair tied up in a clip and an eyepatch carrying an odd skull mark. Her presence is odd, but not nearly as odd as the fact that she was staring right at him, and had been for the past five minutes.

Kuroko's misdirection has suffered over the last year. It's worthless against Touo, and with his increased abilities in driving and shooting, the time he can maintain it is starting to drop – too many people know about it and by the next tournament, everyone will have come up with a strategy to counter, or at least hinder him. But that doesn't explain why a woman he's never seen can track him on the court as easily as everyone else.

It's more than a little distracting, and eventually Seirin takes notice.

"Oi, Kuroko!" Kagami snaps, when his partner's pass is a little off. "What's up with you?"

The teen blinks. "Oh, sorry. Do you know who that woman is?"

He points at the stage, and Kagami follows the direction, only to frown in confusion."

"Eh? What woman?"

Kuroko jerks his head back. The woman is gone.

She'd been right in the centre – he'd taken his eyes off her for just a moment…there was no way she could have left without him noticing.

Yet a quick glance at the doors showed no one. As far as he could tell, she'd vanished into thin air.

The next day, she's there again, and this time Kuroko keeps his eyes on her, ignoring the coach and Kagami's questions. He refuses to let her leave his sight.

"Kuroko, what is so fascinating about the stage!" Riko hollers, when Kuroko fails to respond to any of her calls. The teen ignores her, instead walking towards his captive watcher.

"Who are you?"

She smiles. "Nobody special. Just someone who appreciates what you can do."

"Why are you watching me?"

The woman stands, and cocks her head in amusement. "I'm assessing you."

Kuroko frowns at that, and the woman clasps her hands. "You'll understand later."

"Uh…Kuroko, who are you talking to?"

Kagami's hand grabbed his shoulder, and Kuroko flinched, turning to look at him.

"The woman. She's back again."

His partner just stared at him, worry transparent on his face. Behind him, the Seirin didn't look much better.

"Kuroko…" Rika began. "There's no one there."

His eyes widened and turned back. Only to jump back when he realized she was only a few feet away. Her hand almost seemed to be glowing with an indigo aura as she patted his head and walked off.

"I'll see you soon Kuroko Tetsuya."

Kuroko was frozen, mindless of Kagami and the team's voices as she walked out the door.

She'd been right there. She'd had a conversation with him. Had been less than 2 feet away.

And nobody had seen her.

"Maybe you need to take a break man. Your mind's playing tricks on you."

Kuroko didn't answer, choosing to keep his eyes on the ground. After the mysterious woman (who had apparently been invisible to everyone but him) had disappeared, Kuroko hadn't really been able to focus. It had been one of the worst training sessions he'd ever been part of, and eventually Riko had benched him until the end since he hadn't been able to keep up. Kuroko insisted he was fine, but even now Kagami wasn't taking his eyes off him.

To be honest, he was a little grateful. Despite what people might think, he's aware that having so little presence is not normal. He's not the only one in the world, Mayuzumi was proof of that, but the sheer struggle people seem to have just remembering his existence has always been a little uncomfortable. Teiko had turned it into his strength, and he was grateful for what it had brought him, but there was still sometimes an underlying feeling that something was inherently wrong with him.

In Middle School, before Akashi turned it into a weapon, he used to have nightmares that one day he'd just vanish entirely. That even speaking wouldn't be enough to grab someone's attention. He'd just vanish completely, as if he'd never existed. That woman had brought all those feelings back.

Having his light's eyes focused on him and only him was a very calming security blanket.

Yet not enough to quash the heavy feeling in his heart when Kagami leaves his side at his front door, only to turn and see the very same woman at the end of the street.

This time, he chooses to ignore her, but bolts the door shut just in case.

In the morning, there's a card in the mail box. The front is embossed with a gold emblem consisting of bullets and clams. The back has only 2 lines in dark blue ink, one clearly a telephone number, while the other must be a name.

Chrome Dokuro

Kuroko doesn't see her at all after that, which should have been enough time to relax his paranoia, only he can't help but feel as if he's being watched 24-7. It's an awkward tingling in the front of his brain – this very unusual feeling of being under a spotlight he can't see.

He finally snaps when he realizes this feeling makes it impossible to use his misdirection at all. Teachers call on him in class, people get out of his way in the street, and in practice, the first years who are still supposed to be getting used to his presence have no problem stealing the ball.

She's done something to him, that's the only answer he can think of.

That night, after a frustrating practice, he picks up the card and calls the number. Nobody answers.

But less than 30 seconds later, it texts him a room number of a local hotel.

He's fundamentally aware that going to visit a woman in the middle of the night without telling anyone is profoundly stupid. He just doesn't care.

The reception is apparently expecting him as they hand over a key card with no fuss at all, and a few minutes later, he found himself opening the door of a penthouse suite. The windows are floor length, the furniture dripping quality, and the woman, Chrome Dokuro, was sitting on a couch, green tea freshly poured on the table in front of her.

She smiles at his arrival.

"Good evening Kuroko Tetsuya. Please have a seat."

She gestures to the sofa on the opposite side, and after a moment's hesitation, Kuroko complies. He doesn't however, touch the tea. There are limits to his trust.

Chrome sips on her own cup and watches him through her one good eye, and Kuroko is painfully reminded of Akashi when he's found something that really interests him.

"Why have you been following me?"

"You could say you and I are the same. We're both the type of person nobody notices."

"That's not an answer" Kuroko snaps back. Chrome winces but nods in agreement.

"My…organization has known about you for a while Kuroko Tetsuya" she says. "In my line of work, people with your…talents are often scouted when they begin to draw attention. We're became aware of you in Middle School, but I've only just been given permission to take a pupil. Of all the possible students, you are by far the most promising."

She looks him straight in the eye.

"My name is Chrome Dokuro, and I'm looking for an apprentice. I'd like to offer you the position."

"Apprentice?" he asks. "Of what?"

"I'm sure you can already guess" she replies. "You need help don't you? Your skill with misdirection is impressive, but everyone knows about it now. No matter what happens, there's a ceiling you can't break through as you are. I can show you how to rise above it."

"What do you want in return?"

She smiles. "For now? Your loyalty. You don't tell anyone about me, and in exchange, I'll show you the full potential of being someone nobody ever notices."

Kuroko is shaking his head, but not in decline. "Why me?"

He freezes as he hears another voice, not from in the room, but from within his mind, rich and velvety.

'Kufufufu…why not you?'

On the opposite couch, he hears a long suffering sigh.

"Mukuro-sama, you promised to stay out of this."

The presence seems more amused than chastised, but ebbs away Chrome starts to glow with an indigo light.

"My apologies" she says. "My…teacher has always been a little protective and hands on, but he's not wrong."

"What are you doing?" Kuroko asks, still staring at the light. "How are you doing that?"

It's focused on her hands, more specifically her ring, where the soft intangible light has focused into a flame. She follows his eyes and smiles.

"I'm activating my flames. Most of the population has them, but only a tiny handful can actually use them. There are several types, and all are harnessed through will and determination."

She focuses her attention back on Kuroko, and he freezes at the intensity.

"You and I possess mist flames, the construction type, held by those who understand illusions and misdirection. You've gotten far just by following your instincts, but there's a whole new world if you can learn to harness them properly."

She holds out her hand, and Kuroko can't help but lean forward as the flames focus in her palm, creating a small black ring box, open and revealing a heavy set ring with an indigo rock in the centre.

"Are you interested?"

That night, Kuroko heads home and looks up the term 'Vongola.'

It's a little awkward with the new ring on his finger, but he quickly learns to adjust.

Kagami isn't sure what's going on with Kuroko, but his partner's on fire.

Most of the second and third years have grown used to Kuroko's misdirection – it doesn't always work as long as it will in official games. But in the last 2 weeks, the blue haired teen's ability has been cranked up to eleven.

He doesn't know what he's done, but Kuroko's learning how to control his misdirection, to the point where he's literally vanishing on the court. It's as if he's making sure he's only hard to spot when he wants to be, saving his limited capability for when it's actually utilized. The rest of the time he's on the court as obvious as when he's using overflow.

But at the same time, the teen's become distracted off the court. He all but vanishes after practice, and the few times Kagami's gone hunting for him on Sunday, he's already out the house and missing for the day.

Sure, now that they've managed to beat some sense into his former teammates, Kuroko's social calendar is probably a lot busier than it's been in a while, but still, Kagami's getting a little frustrated.

The coach is practically giddy when Kuroko manages to make a full 40-minute game without ever having to go off court, misdirection as useful as it was in the final quarter as it was in the first.

"I don't know what you're eating Kuroko, but I need to get everyone else on it!" she yells as everyone pats him on the back after the unprecedented endurance.

Kuroko just nods, wiping his face and heading for the changing room. This is normally the point where he disappears, but Kagami tries to stay on his heels, walking with him out the door.

"So what's been up with you lately? Barely see you for two weeks and you jump five levels in skill?"

"I've arranged for a tutor in misdirection. She's a very thorough teacher, and I haven't had much free time. The more I can learn, the sooner I can develop my skills."

As he speaks, he starts brushing one hand over the ring he's taken to wearing recently. It's a little big and flashy, not Kuroko's style at all. Kagami's asked about it before, but the teen's never given an answer other than 'it was a gift.'

"A tutor?" Kagami repeats. "What kind of tutor do you get for misdirection? A magician?"

Kuroko smiles. "I don't think she would appreciate that comparison."

"Oh I don't mind. It's a little flattering."

Kuroko flinches, and Kagami jerks back with a yell.

Damn, and he though Kuroko was hard to spot. How long had she been following them?

The woman at least looks amused at his reaction. Her hair is the same colour as Ahomine's, but with skin as pale as Kuroko's. She's wearing a simple but expensive looking suit, but Kagami's eyes are drawn to the eyepatch and its skull design. It's a strange choice for a woman.

She turns to look at his partner. "Do you need today off?"

Kuroko is already shaking his head. "No, I'm ready to go."

He turns to Kagami. "My apologies, but I can't afford to slack off with this training. Hopefully I will be able to spare some time soon."

The teen gives him a bow, and before Kagami can register what's happening, Kuroko and the woman have walked off, turning a corner and vanishing from his sight. Kagami just shakes his head and chases after them.

"Oi, Kuroko- "

He trails off as he reaches the corner, only to stare at an empty street.

Where the hell did they go?

"I'm very impressed Kuroko. You're a very fast learner."

Kuroko glances up from the basketball in his hands, which had been nothing more than indigo flames a few moments before. He stands up, giving the ball an experimental bounce, pleased when it imitates an actual ball perfectly.

"I can't take all the credit Ms Dokuro, your teaching is the reason I can progress the way I can."

From her position at the side, Chrome smiles. Whenever they weren't using her hotel room, she tended to take her student to street basketball courts to practice with his flames. She'd found that Kuroko was a complete natural at the evasive and mirage capabilities of the mist flame, but lacked the imagination to really master the constructive aspect. Taking him to the court and giving assignments based on his favourite sport seemed to help – three days ago creating an illusion that could pass for an actual object was impossible for him.

Still, he's having trouble actually keeping said object solid for any length of time.

"How about your misdirection?" she asks, as the ball hits the ground and collapses into soft mist once more. "Have my exercises helped?"

Kuroko nods, kneeling down and concentrating on the mist-lump, trying to reform it. "The techniques allow me to extend my misdirection for a full match, although I haven't tested it in an official one yet. I don't even require the ring."

Chrome chuckles. "Considering you've been subconsciously using your flames for misdirection for years, I'd be a little worried if you did need it. My biggest worry is that without your ring, you only have a limited amount of flames available to you – mist flames really need a conduit to be effective. Perhaps I'll get you one for your graduation…though I don't think a trident would suit you…"

She's trails off, eye looking distant as if remembering something fond. It's wistful enough to draw Kuroko's attention away from his mist-ball, standing and coming to sit next to her.

"I don't know if I've ever really thanked you for your help" he says. "And it doesn't seem like you're getting as much out of this as I am."

Chrome gives a sad smile. "Don't misunderstand me Kuroko. I do genuinely hope that you will one day choose to join the Vongola, but my Boss would never forgive me for forcing an innocent with dreams of his own. For now, at least I'm learning how to teach, so should you decline, I will know what to do to teach my real protégé."

She sounds so wistful, and Kuroko feels a stab of regret. He swallows it down though – at the end of the day he has never promised Chrome anything but his confidence, and the world she wishes to bring him into is one with dangerous strings.

His teacher had gone into the basics regarding the organization she was part of, not sugar coating the fact that it was in fact a criminal organisation, even if her boss was trying to change that. Kuroko's own research into Vongola hadn't really turned up much concrete, but what had become clear was a rather unnerving record of collateral damage and mysterious incidents. Not to mention the fact that Chrome was a master of becoming invisible, creating objects out of nothing, and tricking the mind. Fascinating skills…but not the type law-abiding citizens learned.

Kuroko is a little nervous to keep on learning more than he has, because Chrome appears to be a kind and sweet woman, but she's a master illusionist and a criminal. That said, it's getting harder and harder to remember the more he learns from her.

"You have a practice match coming up?"

"Yes, next week, with Kaijo."

Chrome looks delighted. "That would be the one with the blonde cloud? The copycat?"

Kuroko frowns. Kise has been called many things, but 'cloud' is a new one. He nods anyway.

"Excellent. I wouldn't normally suggest this, but practice games don't count towards tournaments, so I think we can stretch the rules a bit. It's time to see how far you can push your flames when you're using them constantly."

"What do you want me to do?" Kuroko asks, and his teacher smiles.

"First of all, you need to figure out how to wear your ring during a game…"

A week later, Kise is midway through their practice came, and getting seriously creeped out.

Seirin are clearly on top of their game right now. The third years have busted out a few new moves, and Kagami's prowling round the court like the wild animal he clearly is. That's all expected.

What wasn't expected, was when he watched Izuki perform a rather impressive slide and twist to get away from his guards…and Kise failed to copy it correctly.

He didn't understand. There wasn't anything fancy about the move – it certainly wasn't Generation of Miracle worthy, just a well put together way to break out. But despite having seen the move in full, his attempt to copy had him crashing to the ground.

The same thing happened when he tried to mimic Kagami's newest dunk, and Hyuuga's shots. Despite being in full view, something was knocking his vision off. Not badly enough that he was missing baskets or passes, but definitely interfering with his mimicking abilities.

On top of that, Kuroko's misdirection is going nuts. Kise knows he can't track the shorter teen most of the time, but by the third quarter his invisibility should be almost gone. Instead, it's exactly the opposite. When he's finally removed before the start of the fourth, it's because his stamina is depleted, and not because Kaijo can finally track him.

If Kuroko-chi had figured out how to make his misdirection effective for a whole game, that is going to be a problem come tournament time.

A rather horrible thought occurs to him when the teen sits down, scratching at one of his wrist bands (it looks a little lumpy, had Kuroko-chi taken to carrying a lucky charm?). Kuroko had managed to adapt his misdirection to affect his teammates before – has he figured out how to keep Kise from copying them too? If so, forget Kuroko's misdirection, he's going to have to figure out a way around that, and fast.

It almost feels like cheating.

No, Kuroko is honest enough to call a spade a spade. It was cheating, plain and simple.

Without the ring, he's technically not doing anything all that different from what he was before. He doesn't use any more flame than he'd already been using, just…making a point to focus those flames for when he actually needs them. Same technique, just a more cost effective strategy.

With the ring…he's terrifyingly dangerous on the court without even meaning to be. Chrome had framed it as an interesting challenge. Using the Mist to saturate the court during the Kaijou practice, keeping Kise from being able to replicate any moves, but without affecting his shooting or passing ability had been a lesson in endurance and precision, and he'd succeeded even beyond Chrome's expectations. At the end of the day Kise would be able to copy the moves in official matches, but he'd have to see everything they'd used again to pull it off.

And compared to what he could do if he really let his flames loose, this is nothing. Chrome is positively giddy with his progress by now – Kuroko's getting very close to mastering physical illusions. The minute he'd managed to create the fake Nigou well enough to confuse the original, all he could think about was using it on the court – creating a secondary Kuroko that could pass the ball while he was in full view. His copies don't last long, but they wouldn't have to. It only takes a second to pass a ball after all.

He shook his head. Down that road lay bad decisions. He'd have to actively use his flames, and he'd sworn to Chrome not to do that in official games. Not that she'd need to – Kuroko had learned his lesson well enough with the Generation of Miracles when it came to abusing one's skills. This had to stay off the court.

However…something about the match bothered him. His flames were only being used to affect Kise's copying, yet seemed to have an additional side effect regarding the blonde teen. The entire match, every time he tried to copy a move, his body seemed to coat itself in a purple flame – that quickly snuffed themselves out in contact with Kuroko's own.

And he's not the only one. It's only on the odd occasion, usually when facing off against Kise, but whenever Kagami pushes himself – not quite zone but something 'Miracle worthy' – his body burns as red as his hair.

Chrome must have known, because after the match, she sent him a text, listing weather conditions, colours and attributes. Storm was red and disintegration, which didn't mean much, but Cloud was purple…and known for reproduction.

When he gets home, he digs out one of the few videos he still has of the Generation of Miracles playing at Teiko. At first, the film looks the same as it always has, with five teenagers playing at a genius level.

Then he activates his ring, and forgets how to breath.

They're all leaking flames. Aomine is leaving yellow in his wake, Midorima's shots shine blue, and Murasakibara coats his territory in green. Kuroko himself is darting between his opponents, dripping with indigo while Kise cheers from the site in a coat of purple. From the centre, Akashi burns like an inferno, pulling in the colours and guiding them with his own orange warmth. As the match goes on, they seem to burn even stronger.

Chrome has already told him that his lack of presence was caused by his flames, leaking out in a way that doesn't happen often. Yet every single one of them is burning. Yellow for activation, blue for tranquillity, green for hardening, purple for reproduction, and orange for harmony. They'd all been using them without even realising it.

Flames affect people by their very nature – is that what caused their rift? The Generation of Miracles grew too strong, too quickly, was it the flames leaking from their bodies, giving them strength until they had too much and stagnated, unable to do anything but choke on the tinder?

Or is that just an excuse, something Kuroko can cling to on the days he thinks back and wonders if there wasn't something more he could have done?

At his next lesson, Chrome at least seems to think about the answer before replying.

"Flames are addictive" she admits. "Especially when you don't know you're using them. Flame users have a tendency to flock together, just because people who don't can feel something's different about them. Normally, if they flock under a sky, things work out – but if a rift appears and it can't be fixed properly..."

She doesn't need to finish. Kuroko already knows what happens. Rain can be tranquil, but also furious. The sun is life, but kills just as easily. The harmony of a sky can become disharmony in a second – such is the way of the weather.

People aren't any different.

"Is Vongola approaching any of the other Miracles?" Kuroko finally asks, because that's a question that's been on the tip of his tongue ever since he watched the video. If Kuroko, the most underwhelming of the group has caught their attention-

But Chrome shakes her head.

"We are aware of them, but at the moment there's no intention to bring them in" she admits. "Mist's are special, our powers have an impressively varied range, and need specialised training – on top of which, you're still just my student, with no obligation to join just yet. The other flames are a lot more limited in their skill set, and there are plenty of people in Vongola who need training more than a collection of athletes who are most likely heading to the pros."

Kuroko can admit he's a little relieved to hear it, and they move on.

Unfortunately, the more he learns, the more he's starting to realise the trap he's fallen into. It's been 2 months, and his skill has skyrocketed, both on and off the court. He knows most of the Miracles have watched Seirin's most recent games at the Interhigh, even if they didn't make it to the finals, and there's no doubt they're all going mad trying to figure out how Kuroko's managing to stay unnoticed – the basketball grapevine has told him that Shuutoko's Takao is losing sleep over it. It will be interesting to see how much Takao is affected by his new utilisation.

He briefly wonders if perhaps Takao's Hawk Eye is in fact caused by flames, but decides he doesn't actually want to know. It would actually be a comfort if it wasn't, and if Takao isn't effected the next time they play Shuutoko, regardless of how much harder it would make things. Kuroko doesn't want to be completely dependent on his flames – even the watered down version that comes from not using a ring.

The real problem is, since he's already accepted that the ring and its abilities have no place in competition, he's not really sure what place they do have in his life. Outside of basketball, there weren't much uses he could come up with for using his new skills. He could maybe create a copy of himself and skip class…but the teachers never noticed him anyway so it seemed a waste of energy, and there was very little he could create with his illusions where it wouldn't be less effort just to buy it.

Perhaps that's why Chrome joined Vongola. She had so much skill, the type of work she probably did would stretch her talents to their limits.

His frustration must have been becoming apparent, because come his next lesson, Chrome isn't in the hotel.

Instead, a man with an indigo ponytail and very odd taste in footwear is waiting for him, lounging on the sofa. However, when he turns his head to greet Kuroko, he freezes at the sight of heterochromatic eyes.

He has only ever seen eyes like that once, and it ended up causing the worst year of his life. Even with Akashi back to normal now, the scars from that time are still visible on the Generation of Miracles and their victims.

The first reaction is to step back, and the man chuckles – a sound he remembers from the first time he entered this room.

"Kufufufu…little Chrome really has picked a fascinating protégé. I always knew she had good taste."

Kuroko swallowed. "You are Mukuro, Chrome's teacher?"

'Mukuro' nods, rising from his seat and heading towards him.

"It's time you started thinking what you'll do with your newfound power. Chrome has come a long way, but she's being a little hesitant in closing the deal."

The man was all but looming over him, and Kuroko resisted the urge to back away. He did however, find himself rubbing the ring on his finger, hidden behind his back. Mukuro shouldn't have been able to see it, but the man just chuckled.

"Oh I assure you little shadow, as talented as you may be, you're several lifetimes too young to take me on."

Before Kuroko could react, Mukuro was suddenly behind him, slinging an arm around his shoulder and pushing him into the room.

"Now, a smart boy like you has certainly done some research, but you're not a hacker, so why don't I fill in anything you don't know?"

He manoeuvred Kuroko in front of the sofa he'd first sat on, before moving to the other couch, crossing his legs and treating it like a throne more than hotel furniture. Despite the distance, the glint in his eyes made it clear Kuroko was not free to leave until he'd heard what Mukuro had to say.

"I know Vongola is a mafia family" Kuroko began.

Mukuro nods. "Vongola is a criminal organization, that is true. However, if that was all it was, I would have possessed sweet little Sawada, burned it to the ground and razed half of Europe by now."

Kuroko was pretty good at reading people – he was 80% certain the man wasn't joking.

That…should probably unnerve him more than it did.

Mukuro was smiling now, looking a little wistful. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, the tenth boss was a civilian until he turned fourteen. He only ended up inheriting when all the other heirs died in tragic circumstances."

Kuroko frowned. "I don't understand. Why would he even have been considered?"

The man chuckled, clearly remembering something amusing. "The Vongola have very specific rules regarding inheritance. You must be related to the original founder, no exceptions. However, when the Primo retired, he left the family in the hands of his cousin and travelled to Japan. Sawada Tsunayoshi is from the original line, while the cousin's has since died out."

"That must have been a shock."

"Oh not as much as his teacher was, I assure you" Mukuro replied. "Believe me, you got lucky with my adorable Chrome. However, that is not the point. Sawada Tsunayoshi had no desire to be a mafia boss, and as such, he's changing how the system works. Less drugs and trafficking, more legitimate trade and crushing rival familia who deal in the first."

The grin gets wicked.

"I get first pick when those missions cross the desk. If there's anything better than watching a mob boss weep as his entire empire crumbles all around him I have yet to see it, and I've seen a lot. However, you can understand that such a stance has not been popular. Everyone's working overtime just to keep the man alive – never mind making headway in taking out his opponents."

Kuroko's hands clenched. "I don't want to be a criminal."

Mukuro sighs. "You do realise a good chunk of the Vongola empire is actually legitimate? A lot more will probably follow before you actually graduate."

"But not the section that require mist flames" Kuroko replies, and Mukuro smiles, nodding his head in surrender.

"No. As I'm sure you've already guessed, our gifts lie in other areas."

The door suddenly slammed open.

"Mukuro-sama!"

Kuroko snapped his head towards the sound. Chrome was storming in, looking madder than he'd ever seen her.

"Kuroko is my student Mukuro" Chrome snaps at the man, who hasn't moved from his position. "I said I would handle this."

"Kufufufu, yes you did. However, I was getting impatient. You have told him that the more you teach him, the less option he actually has?"

Chrome bit her lip, and Kuroko stared in confusion as Mukuro glared at her.

"I didn't think so. Especially since I just got back from a meeting with Sawada…who apparently has no idea you'd taken on a student."

The woman went pale at that, and Mukuro stood.

"Not to worry, I didn't spill your little secret. But decisions are going to have to be made by both of you, sooner, rather than later."

Kuroko could only watch as the man strode past her, fading into nothing as the indigo mist pooled around him.

"Kuroko, you have the day off" Chrome whispered. "Please leave now."

The next day, Chrome had moved out of the hotel, leaving only an envelope addressed for Italy and a request that he send the ring back with it. Kuroko handed in his key, and found himself walking out the door in a daze.

There had been almost no warning – Mukuro must have panicked Chrome into finishing his apprenticeship. It's strange to think that she won't be in his life anymore.

He rubs the ring on his finger, and thinks of the envelope now in his bag. Without it, he won't be able to perform the illusions Chrome had taught him, just his misdirection. She had joked about getting him a different conduit, but it appears that is no longer on the table. That's probably for the best – he'd already admitted to himself that his future had no place for such a skillset.

His hand reaches to pull it off his finger, and hesitates.

Surely he doesn't have to send it right away…international post takes a while, a few additional days won't be noticed. Just a little more experimenting, before he says goodbye for good.

He holds his hand up, and watches the flames converse on the stone. In his head, he pictures the streetball court that is normally abandoned this time of day.

In front of the hotel, surrounded by people, nobody notices when the blue haired boy vanishes into indigo mist.

This is a very limited window of opportunity. Chrome, and by extension 'Vongola' expect him to return the ring. A ring that is only meant for mafia hands. If Kuroko keeps it, he might as well send an invitation to induct him in the envelope.

That's the last thing he wants, so he has to figure out exactly how long he can hold onto the ring before they get suspicious. A few days would be good, a week probably the maximum…maybe two if he's willing to take a risk.

He thanks whatever deity that's listening that if Chrome had to quit, she did it during the interim between the Interhigh and the Winter Cup. It means he doesn't have any official matches to worry about, and he can spend every second outside of practice and school going through the list of experiments and possibilities he'd come up with. On day three, he even starts skipping the classes he's relatively certain he can pass – spending the time on the school roof where nobody can find him. He justifies it by reminding himself that the ring is only his for a few days more.

By the time a week is up though, the hesitation to remove the ring is even worse, and he grits his teeth and shoves the envelope in a drawer.

Nobody can ever say Kuroko isn't a risk taker. One more week – then he'll send it back. It'll be fine.

He continues to think that, right up until he opened his front door Sunday morning and nearly tripped over the red head currently camped out on it.

"Kagami?"

The teen's head jerked up, and he scrambled to his feet.

"Finally! Morning, Kuroko."

Kuroko just stared at him. The ace of Seirin was smiling, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Kagami, what were you doing?"

The smile vanishes, and Kagami scowls.

"I don't know, maybe just doing whatever it takes to make sure you haven't completely vanished into thin air? If you didn't come to practice and answer role call in homeroom, I'd half think you'd transferred out!"

Kuroko flinches, and Kagami sighs.

"…I've just been worried, okay?" Kagami admits. "You've been acting…weird, ever since that woman showed up."

Kuroko frowned at him.

"I- "

"No, seriously Kuroko, weird" Kagami interrupts. "Don't get me wrong, love what you're doing on the court – not a clue how you're doing it, but so long as it's not drugs I don't really care. But you're more a ghost in real life now than ever!"

Kuroko flinched. "I know I have been busy…"

"Oh come on Kuroko, there's busy, and there's busy" Kagami argues. "Even when we were training ourselves halfway to death for the Winter Cup we at least managed to see each other between classes. Any second you're not in class – and don't think I haven't noticed you've actually been skipping way more than normal - or practice, you're just gone."

He can feel his friend glaring at him, and can't quite bring himself to meet his eyes. Kagami is a good friend, and Kuroko hasn't respected that.

He's halfway into the bow before he even realises what he's doing.

"I am sorry Kagami" he says, a little caught off guard that he actually means it. "You do deserve an explanation."

The red head looked a little flustered. "Well, yeah. Seriously, what is that woman teaching you?"

Kuroko sighs.

"Actually, Chrome isn't teaching me anymore. She had to leave suddenly, and expects me to return her teaching tools as soon as possible. I was trying to get as much practice with them as I could before sending them away."

Kagami's eyes widen, and his shoulders relax.

"Oh. Oh…okay, I guess I can understand that. But seriously, you couldn't have told me this earlier? I was this close to calling Ahomine and getting him to tag team you if I missed you today."

Kuroko doesn't quite mask the chuckle that idea provides, and pushes the ring further into his pocket.

"You're right, and although I don't have much time left, perhaps I should take a break" Kuroko muses. "Are you free today?"

Kagami grins, and Kuroko lets the taller boy's words wash over him, catching him up on the background gossip he hasn't been around to hear.

It's not entirely a lie, the only real falsity is that the ring and its abilities aren't basketball related. He doesn't really have time to spare a whole day with Kagami, but he's not going to insult his best friend by trying to create a copy.

Besides, if it had gotten so bad Kagami was considering calling Aomine, a break was probably in Kuroko's best interest. He could practice most of next week now that Kagami had a decent explanation.

As it happens, Kuroko's choice in the matter came to a head the very next day. Midway through practice, the Seirin basketball team found the doors to their gym smashing open to reveal the entire baseball team – all of them looking as if they'd just seen god himself.

"Kuroko Tetsuya!" the captain hollered, eyes flying round the gym. The basketball team tense up in confusion, but the boy yelps when Kuroko taps him on the shoulder, revealing his presence.

"Kuroko, How the hell do you know THE Yamamoto Takeshi?" he gasps, and one of the players sighs in pleasure at the name.

Kuroko can only blink in confusion. "…I don't?"

At least, he doesn't think he does.

"Who is he?"

This is clearly the wrong answer, and Kuroko can only assume that this 'Yamamoto' is to Baseball what Aomine is to Basketball, because the entire team takes a step back in shock. The captain looks like Kuroko just told him the sky is green and lampposts are edible.

"Who is he?" he repeats. "Who IS HE? He's only one of the best pitchers to come out of Japan in the last decade! Rumours say he was getting scouted by the majors before he even finished Middle School!"

"Not to mention his batting ability!" another one yells back. "I was at one of his games – I swear, that ball didn't stop till it hit China!"

"Oh, I know him!" Koganei pipes up – apparently the only member of Seirin who followed a sport that wasn't basketball. "He's good, but has weird taste in career choices."

The entire baseball team looks depressed at that, only to perk up when laughter hits the gym.

"Yeah" says the new arrival, once he's finished laughing. "I guess they would be weird to other people."

The man who walks in reminds Kuroko of Aomine – tall, thin and muscular, with tanned skin and dark hair. There's a scar on his chin, and he's wearing a suit with the air of someone who really wished he wasn't. His smile is soft, but his eyes are sharp and focused. Rather terrifyingly, they focus on Kuroko far too easily.

"…He smells strong" Kagami whispers in the distance, but Kuroko ignores it, eyes focused on the man's hands.

There's no mistaking it – that's a flame ring on his finger, in a style not dissimilar to Chrome's.

His time's run out.

"Yamamoto-sama!" the entire baseball team gasps, pointing as one to Kuroko. "We found him for you!"

The man laughs again, though his eyes don't leave Kuroko.

"Yeah, I owe you all. Why don't you all go back to the pitch, and once I'm finished here I'll throw some balls?"

The entire team looked as if he'd just offered them a billion yen a piece, and rushed out the door in a hoard, screaming like Kise's fangirls.

More than one member of the basketball team shuddered.

Once they were gone, Yamamoto returned his attention to Kuroko.

"I'm here on behalf of Chrome" he admitted, walking towards her. "She meant to come herself, but she's been busy."

Kagami splutters when the man ropes an arm around Kuroko's shoulder, grinning in Hyuuga and Riko's direction.

"Sorry, but I need to borrow him for just a moment" he says. "We'll be back soon."

Before anyone can protest, Yamamoto Takeshi has guided Kuroko off the court, and towards the changing rooms. Once the door is closed, Yamamoto releases him, still smiling, but not quite as brightly.

"Sorry about that" he apologies. "But this really isn't a conversation to have in public."

He's fiddling with the door handle behind his back. Kuroko is pretty certain that he's making sure it won't open without his say so, though how he doesn't know.

"You're here for the ring" he replies. There's no point in beating around the bush.

Yamamoto nods. "Chrome never actually meant to leave it with you. They're too powerful to leave in the hands of civilians. When she realised you hadn't sent it back, she called me."

"Why you?" Kuroko asks, and Yamamoto looks a little bit embarrassed.

"I'm not really sure, but I think I was the only one currently in the country she could trust who could get to Tokyo without raising suspicion or property damage."

"I don't understand" Kuroko replies. "Aren't you a baseball player? How can you be part of the mafia?"

The man shrugs. "I love baseball, and I love Tsuna" he says. "It's not that complicated when you think of it like that."

Kuroko frowns, and opens his mouth-

"Don't" Yamamoto interrupts. "We both know you don't actually care. You're just trying to buy time."

The shadow winces. He's not entirely wrong…

"…Do I have to give it up?"

He kind of wants to hit himself at how needy he sounds. This is ridiculous – he knows full well that what he can do with the ring is something that he'll never need in the future, but he can't quite bring himself to give it up now that he knows what he could do. Yamamoto just looks at him with sympathy.

"I'm sorry kid" he says. "But rules are rules. I need to get that ring back to headquarters before Tsuna finds out what happened to it. Because if he finds out, he is going to have a really bad day, and it's kind of my goal in life to keep them to a minimum. He has enough on his plate, especially right now."

Kuroko however, doesn't move. Instead, he focuses on Yamamoto – a man clearly not happy in a suit, who has callouses on his hands that aren't from a bat, and a scar on his chin that didn't come from a ball. A baseball player, and a criminal.

"…What is it like?" Kuroko finally asks. "Being Vongola?"

Because he'd never asked Chrome that. The woman had always seemed happy when she spoke about her 'family,' but it was all she spoke about outside of flames. It had been clear from the start that without Vongola, Chrome didn't really have a purpose in this world.

This man, Yamamoto Takeshi, did.

He didn't seem happy at the question though. "It's different" he finally admits. "I had to make a lot of compromises, one's I didn't think I'd have to until it was too late. There's a lot of bad days, but a lot of really good ones too. We're making a difference, even if it's a really slow one. Not everyone can say that."

Kuroko bit his lip.

"If I…wanted to the keep the ring" he says, face flushing as he finally admits what's been whispering in the back of his head since Chrome disappeared. "How…involved would I have to be?"

There's a groan, and when he looks up, Yamamoto has slapped a hand on his face, looking more than a little frustrated.

"Chrome, I swear if this is why you asked me…"

"Yamamoto?" Kuroko asks, and the hand drops, the man suddenly look a lot older.

He sighs before answering.

"Look, I love my life" he admits. "It's not exactly where I thought I'd be when I was your age, but I wouldn't change it for the world. That said, I know my boss wishes I wasn't wearing this ring, because he still thinks I was tricked or damned into something I chose willingly."

He looks wistful at that. "Tsuna…Tsuna's the kind of guy people would follow into Hell, because he'd do everything in his power to stop you. He'll bear every burden himself rather than ask for help, and it's the family's job to make sure he doesn't get crushed under that weight. If he thought he could convince us to walk away from it all, he'd spend every waking moment doing just that."

He looks up, eyes boring into Kuroko's with an almost terrifying amount of desperation.

"So please, please don't tell me that the next time I see my best friend, I have to tell him that Vongola has dragged a seventeen-year-old basketball player into this life. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, things that have hurt him without me ever meaning to – please don't make me add that to the list."

Kuroko looks away, and with painful hesitancy, heads for his locker. Yamamoto smiles in relief when he pulls out the ring, and hands it over without complaint. The man immediately places it in a box pulled from his jacket, and it vanishes back into the fabric.

"Thank you" he says, a genuine smile on his face.

Kuroko can't blame the team for being overwhelmingly curious when Yamamoto leaves. He manages to keep it vague, letting Kagami take over when he admits that Yamamoto is a friend of the woman who had been tutoring him. Considering how much he'd improved and how often he'd vanished, there really isn't that much suspicion that a professional athlete might know someone who could teach misdirection on Kuroko's level.

Kagami, remembering how obsessed Kuroko had been with getting training before this very event happened, sticks to him like glue to cheer him up. Kuroko is grateful – even offering to pay for half of Kagami's Maji Burger bill when the two stop there on the way home. He thinks he'll be happy to finally have free time to spend with his light again.

It's dark when they finally make to his home, and he says goodbye to Kagami at his door. Once inside and in the safety of his room, he pulls the ring from his jacket pocket.

He hadn't been certain he'd be able to pull it off. There were only a few moments between finding the ring and handing it over, but Kuroko was the master of misdirection. All he had to do was create a replica of the ring – it would fade into nothing in less than 24 hours, his level still wasn't capable of creating long term physical illusions, but so long as nobody opened the box, nobody would notice.

It's the perfect solution. Vongola think they have the ring, and believe Kuroko has walked away. But he still has the ring, and no longer has to spend every spare moment he has trying to enjoy it – it's his.

He gets one month to enjoy his freedom.

Chrome doesn't call, Mukuro never appears, and a professional baseball player doesn't show up at Seirin, no matter how much the team now follows Kuroko in the hopes that he can somehow call him back. Kuroko can go to school, practice, hang out with Kagami and the others, and concentrate on making it to the Winter Cup knowing he has all the time in the world to play with the ring he's taken to wearing round his neck.

A week before the Winter Cup begins, Kuroko leaves school to find a text from Chrome's number on his phone. It lists the same hotel room, and one simple word.

'COME.'

His shoulders droop. He should have known Chrome would eventually realise he hasn't returned the ring. At least it's her and not Mukuro. He might even be able to convince her to let him keep it.

When he walks to the hotel, he finds the key card waiting for him, and makes his way to the room.

Only Chrome isn't there. Neither is Mukuro, or even Yamamoto.

Instead, he has a brief moment to register the door locking behind him before something slams into his body, sending him crashing to the floor. Before he can recover, the assailant has grabbed his uniform jacket, and yanked him up, shoving him towards the couch. He collapses, and moments later, a leg is on down his chest, and something metal is pinning down his neck.

Where Mukuro had been taunting and dangerous in an almost seductive way, this man was danger personified. Short black hair and sharp eyes, thin frame wrapped in a suit and multiple purple rings on his fingers. On the table, he'd set down a tonfa, the other clearly on his neck.

"I am Hibari Kyoya" the man tells him. "And you herbivore, are a thief. Did you really think nobody would notice it was gone?"

"I-" Kuroko chokes out, hands instinctively going towards the weapon, only to find Hibari's spare hand grabbing his right wrist, applying incredible pressure and causing Kuroko to freeze.

"I despise illusionists" Hibari explains. "But I dislike rule breakers even more. Sawada Tsunayoshi cannot afford such disrespect right now."

His other hand is wrapped tight around Kuroko's wrist, applying terrifying pressure.

"Perhaps I should break it" Hibari muses, glancing at his hand. "Chrome told me you were a basketball player? You refuse to return something of importance, we take something of importance."

Kuroko can't stop the gasp as the pressure increases and he realises the man is completely serious.

"You should consider yourself lucky herbivore" the man continues. "Had Yamamoto Takeshi learned of your deception, it would have been his responsibility. I will just break the bones; he'd remove the limb. He wouldn't want to, but he'd do it, to protect him."

Kuroko can't move, pinned down by the killing intent holding him down and what the man is saying.

It's a nightmare, one of his own making.

The Winter Cup is just about to start. He can't lose his hand right now – he'll do anything.

Apparently, it shows in his face, because the pressure reduces, and Hibari pulls back.

"You have one chance to save your wrist" he warns. "Chrome is on a mission, and requires aid. There is a car outside – the driver will take you to her destination, and you will assist her."

His eyes narrow.

"Fail to do this, contact the police, or run, and I will find you, take your wrist, and bite you to death."

Kuroko has no idea what that last part means, and even less desire to find out. He gives a jerky nod in acceptance.

"I…understand…"

Hibari smirks, and releases his neck.

"Good. She is on the thirty fifth floor. Now go herbivore."

The car drops him off outside a skyscraper, the name of the company foreign and unfamiliar to Kuroko.

"What do I have to do?"

The driver glances at him, and Kuroko only just registers that pompadour that looks so out of place in the car.

"That's for you to figure out" the driver tells him, before getting out and opening the door. "You know where to go, just remember – if you get caught and we have to come for you? It won't be a rescue."

There's an entire novel hidden in that sentence, and Kuroko can only nod, hesitantly stepping out of the car. Once he's clear, the driver gets back in and drives off, leaving him standing outside a building, with only a floor number to go by. He doesn't even know what he's supposed to do.

His heart is pounding, blood rushing through his system, but he squares his shoulders and tries to relax.

'You're overthinking this' he whispers to himself. 'Just think of it as a basketball game. You know where your teammate is – you just need to get to them without the opposing team seeing you. Just a basketball game.'

It helps. The panic abates, not vanishing entirely but reducing enough to be manageable, and Kuroko thinks back to every lesson Chrome ever gave him about utilising his misdirection, and walks straight in.

In the lobby, nobody bats an eye at his presence. Nobody spots him slipping through the security check unnoticed, or sees him step into the lift. He doesn't dare press the button for the floor, but after five minutes, someone else enters his lift and heads for thirty five.

He walks behind them for the first few metres, before noticing the security guards and breaking off.

They're all patrolling, checking every single person that comes their way. Their eyes are sharp, and a glance at the doors shows each one is electronically locked – no matter how hard he is to spot, they will see him if he tries to enter.

At least, if he enters normally.

He turns a corner, and focuses on his flame, wrapping himself in an illusion of the woman he'd followed to the floor and seen get cleared. This isn't something he's practiced often, but he's got enough of a handle that he can manage a few minutes.

After that, he focuses on the flame, stretching it out. With active flames, it's a lot easier to track other flame users in your vicinity. It'll be harder since they have the same type, but if Chrome has used her flames recently, Kuroko will be able to track them.

She has, and by the feel of things, his teacher is hiding several doors down. He follows the trail to the necessary room, and finds himself conjuring up a key pass to get in. This is a little trickier – he ends up wrapping the illusion around his student ID to give it some strength, but manages to fool the device into opening.

The room is clearly an office, and when he walks in and drops the illusion, Chrome materialises from the side. Her side has been wrapped in duct tape, a makeshift bandage if the red stain in the cloth is any indication, and in her hand, she holds the ruined remains of what appears to be a trident.

"I am sorry Kuroko" Chrome says. "I had no choice. When I realised you'd kept the ring, I told the boss I had it. Mukuro has the Vongola ring right now – he wouldn't have sent me if he'd known I was without. I contacted Hibari for aid, and he insisted on knowing why. I never thought he'd track you down."

"What happened?" he asks, and Chrome looks embarrassed.

"This company is mafia owned. It's one of their main money laundering facilities, but it's hard to prove. My job was just to get into the building and attach the necessary bugs for us to hack inside, but they hired a Mist to keep just that from happening.

She's moved towards the desk, and Kuroko's eyes widen as he takes in the man knocked unconscious (at least, he hopes is just unconscious – it's hard to tell from this angle).

"I managed to subdue him, but he broke my trident in the process" Chrome explains. "I'm not like you – my flames don't leak, they're a lot more controlled these days – most of them go to helping my…condition. Without a conduit- "

"You couldn't get out without attracting attention" Kuroko finishes. "And the fight already caused a disturbance – there are security guards everywhere."

Chrome nods. "I had just enough left to hide myself and him so long as I stayed still, but not enough to move. If I'd had the ring, I'd have been fine, it was foolish of me not to make sure I had another one."

She glances at his finger. "Do you think you can make both of us invisible? Normally I could do it, but with this injury, I don't have a lot of spare power. I'd rather keep it for an emergency."

Kuroko frowns. He's not entirely sure – he's never tried to use his natural gift on someone else, even with the ring.

Still, she's injured, and he had very little trouble getting in.

"Invisibility might be hard, but I could make you someone else?" he finally says. Chrome nods.

"That would be acceptable."

He focuses on the woman he'd been earlier, and when certain it was good enough to hold even with Chrome stumbling, they headed out.

Kuroko remains behind Chrome as much as possible, trying to maintain the illusion and keep the guard's attention off of them. It seems to work – they make it to the lift, and Chrome slumps against the wall when the doors finally close.

"Press for the basement" she tells him. "There's a car park for the VIP's – our getaway is located there. Also, fill this car with people – we don't want people getting on."

Kuroko obeys, although he doesn't have a lot of time to think of people, and the lift ends up being filled with an awful lot of his teachers and a few of the older senpai in suits. The ruse works, with the lift stopping 3 times but resulting in no new passengers.

They finally reach the basement, and Kuroko helps Chrome out, lifting an arm around his shoulders and helping support her.

"It's the black car on the far side of the lot" she tells him. "It's a camera blind spot."

"But not in fact, a person blind spot."

Chrome collapses to the ground, dragging Kuroko with her as a shot rings out throughout the room. They both turn to see one of the guards panting heavily. Behind him, they can see the emergency stairwell door slamming shut.

"You're Grecio aren't you?" Chrome says, eyes narrowed. "I thought it was weird that Viscotti was here alone."

The man laughs, and Kuroko notices a red ring burning on his finger.

"I knew watching the security footage would finally pay off" he snarls. "That little crowd stunt fooled the civvies but I'm little bit smarter than that."

"Clearly not, if you chose not to let us go" Chrome warns, her hand wrapping around Kuroko's, and the man just laughs again.

"Vongola trash – you think you're so much better than the rest of us don't you?"

He smirks. "Guess what, put a bullet in the brain and you'll be just the same as every other dead guy. Dead."

The man aims his gun, and Kuroko can all but see the next five seconds. He doesn't have the skill to avoid the shot.

He forgets that he's not the only Mist user here.

Suddenly, the gun is yanked from the man's hand by a giant tentacle, and he barely registers the act before it wraps around his arms, pulling him upwards. Two more follow, wrapping around his body and growing thorns – they're not tentacles, but plant stalks – Kuroko can see the buds starting to bloom at the tips as the man begins to scream.

He turns to Chrome, whose eyes are focused on her opponent. He's never seen the resemblance to Mukuro until now – but Chrome's expression would not look out of place on the mans. On his finger, his ring is burning, Chrome channelling her own flames through it.

The plants suddenly tighten, and the screams taper off as Kuroko hears the sound of bones – multiple bones – shattering. A moment later, the plants disintegrate, and the body crashes to the ground, alive but crippled. A tiny little vine uncurls itself from the man's hand, and slithers over to Chrome, dropping the storm ring in her hand.

Kuroko is frozen. Chrome is not, and she guides him to the car, and to freedom.

Fifteen minutes later, she's letting him out of the car just a stone's throw from his neighbourhood, and gives him a sad smile.

"I'm so sorry Kuroko" she tells him, before stepping back and driving off.

A moment later, Kuroko realises she hasn't taken back the ring.

He couldn't bring himself to go home, and found himself stumbling towards his favourite street court. There's even a ball left behind, abandoned probably due to its shabby state. He grabbed the chain link for support, but found himself slumping against it anyway, eyes returning to the ring on his finger.

She hadn't taken it. Hadn't even suggested taking it. What does that mean?

No, he's not stupid. He'd just watched his teacher all but kill a man with the very skills she'd taught him and walk off without a glimmer of remorse. He knows full well what it means.

It's stupid, but his flames burn as if to reject those thoughts, and start building around the court. Compared to how much he'd struggled to begin with, these illusions come easily. The streetball court becomes an indoor area, full of lights. It takes almost no effort to summon up two full teams, though he keeps the faces vague for his own sanity as he tosses in the real ball. He watches the game, seeing it unfold with almost no input from himself. It's a full scale illusion, with background, movement and interaction with a physical object, and Kuroko's barely concentrating.

God, he needs to get rid of this ring. It can't be too late to get out. It just can't.

"…Kuroko?"

He freezes, flames dying and illusions vanishing as he turned to see Kagami, staring at him in astonishment. His eyes dart between him and the court that had moments ago been somewhere else entirely.

"What…what the hell was that?"

Kuroko looks down at the ring, and his shoulders sag.

"My deal with the devil" he admits, and his head slumps into his arms.

He knows he shouldn't involve Kagami. Kuroko's let himself get pulled in too far as it is, but…he needs to tell someone.

"Kagami, can we talk?"

Crouched on the ground of the street court, it all finally came out. Chrome, the ring, flames, the theft and threat of retaliation. By the end, Kuroko can't stop the tears, can't stop thinking just how stupid he'd been to let it get this far. He knew what Chrome was, what Vongola was, and he hadn't run away. Kagami clearly doesn't know how to handle it, and pulls Kuroko into a hug if only to do something.

"Hey, hey calm down" he begs. "You're gonna get through this, okay?"

Kuroko won't meet his eyes, focusing instead on his hands clenched in Kagami's shirt. For the life of him, he can't remember doing that.

"I think it's too late Kagami" he sobs. "I poked the dragon and it burned me. They know how to control me now, and I let them do it."

Perhaps it would have been better to let them break his wrist. He's saved himself for Seirin's Winter Season, but his future might very well belong to Vongola. He's not sure they can let him go now.

"Hey, you don't know that" Kagami insists. "Your teacher, you said so long as her boss doesn't know- "

"But she's not the only one Kagami" Kuroko argues. "And you didn't see him. He won't keep secrets – if the boss of Vongola doesn't know about me yet, he will soon enough."

And there's not really much Kagami can say in wake of that.

For the next two days, the ring remains in his pocket. He doesn't want to carry it, but he doesn't dare risk being caught without it. Kagami is escorting him to and from school – point blank refusing to let the boy out of his site. It would be frustrating if it wasn't the only thing keeping Kuroko from having panic attacks.

Everything finally comes to its end at practice, when Furihata walks in slightly late, looking a little confused.

"Kuroko? There's a man waiting for you outside. Says he's with Vongola? Is that a university or something?"

The blue haired boy dropped the ball in his hands, face paling. Kagami was at his back in moments.

"Damn, didn't think they'd be here so soon" he mutters. "I got your back though."

"Oi, Kuroko you okay?" Hyuuga asks. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Kuroko shakes his head. "No, don't worry. I just wasn't expecting them to come."

"Hey, you want me to get rid of them?" Kagami offers. "Just say the word and I'll send them packing."

His shadow however, just shakes his head. He wouldn't dare risk what they might do to the other boy if Kuroko tries to resist.

He's had two days to gather his thoughts, and prepare for the worst. He needs to see this through.

"No, there's no point in avoiding this. I'll go see him. Alone, Kagami."

The larger teen grimaced, having already started to follow.

"Kuroko- "

"I will be fine Kagami. I promise."

The red head grimaces, but holds back.

"Fine, but if you're not back in five minutes, I'm coming out."

Kuroko nods, and heads to whatever fate is waiting.

When he walks out the gym, the man he finds waiting is not Mukuro, Yamamoto or Hibari. He's only a few inches taller than Kuroko, with his hair fluffed up to give him height he doesn't have. Surprisingly thin and unassuming, the only thing to suggest 'mafia' is the suit the man wears – he's spent enough time around Akashi and Kise to know expensive when he sees it – and the ring on his finger.

The man looks up as he walks out the door, and smiles.

"Kuroko Tetsuya? My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi."

The shadow stops, foot stepping back on instinct.

This is the man Chrome swore loyalty to? A man an ace like Yamamoto will all but beg for? The man that can corral monsters like Mukuro and Hibari?

…Somehow, Kuroko thought he'd be taller. He has a feeling Akashi would be offended.

At his reaction, the man held up his hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Can we talk?"

Behind him, he could hear Kagami and the rest of Seirin inching towards the door, trying to listen in, and he nods.

"Yes, but somewhere less crowded."

Sawada Tsunayoshi smiles, eyes flickering to the gym. Apparently the mafia boss can hear the team too. He starts walking away from the gym, Kuroko following. Once they've managed to get far enough away that the team won't be able to hear without actually following, Sawada sighs.

"Please understand, I only learned of your existence yesterday. Chrome said she wanted a student, but I had no idea she'd already found one. I think she was trying to protect you. You wouldn't need to join Vongola if Vongola didn't know you existed."

"But Mukuro found out" Kuroko replied, and Sawada sighed.

"Chrome has never really been able to say no to him. Once she returned to Italy, he kept her busy so she couldn't come back and get the ring. He knows Mists – he knew full well you'd never give up that ring willingly, and this happened. It's not been a good few days."

The man runs a hand through his hair, and for the first time, Kuroko realises he looks tired. Yamamoto's pleading eyes echo in his head, and he feels overwhelmingly guilty.

Sawada doesn't seem to notice, still speaking about his male Mist.

"I'm not actually sure what Mukuro's plan was here" he admits. "One of these days, I'll figure out why he does what he does. I would have thought having another powerful mist in Vongola was the last thing he wanted."

"Really?" Kuroko asks, and Sawada shrugs.

"Mukuro is my Mist Guardian, but he shares the title with Chrome, who he trained personally. He also trained Fran, who is one of the most powerful Mists in the Varia. Simply put, the most powerful Mists in Vongola are loyal as much to him, as they are to me."

"Perhaps he thought loyalty to Chrome would be enough" Kuroko mused.

"Perhaps" Sawada agrees.

"Sawada-san- "

"Tsuna, please. Almost nobody calls me Sawada."

Kuroko is wary of the familiarity, but there's something about the man that makes him accept it. "Tsuna, Chrome was never dishonest with me. She made it clear that if I didn't choose to join Vongola, I would have to give up the ring. Yamamoto all but begged me to walk away, but at the end of the day, I was selfish, and didn't want to give it up. I thought I could find a balance."

Tsuna smiles in understand. "Power is a tricky thing. It's hard to give up, once you've had a taste of it."

Kuroko gives a jerky nod. For the first time, he actually understands why the Generation of Miracles managed to break down so easily. Power and strength is a drug that isn't easily rejected – he's almost ashamed at how easy it was to go along with it.

But he knows what he has to do now. He just isn't sure if he's left it too late.

"I do not want to join the Vongola."

It's said in a rush, pulling out the ring and holding it out to the man in front of him. If he doesn't do this now, temptation will start gnawing at him again, and it'll be even harder to get out. Sawada Tsunayoshi however, just stares at him with sympathy.

"I swear it's the real one" Kuroko continues, suddenly aware that the man might think he's pulling the same trick twice. Tsuna just shrugs.

"Oh, I know" he says. "My intuition's pretty good at this sort of thing. However, you do know that you succeeded with your induction right? It was a choice between your limb or Chrome. Accepting that mission meant accepting Vongola. You're already part of my family. And once a mafia family says you're in, there's no getting out."

Kuroko's eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat.

No…

Tsuna however, just sighs, his eyes slightly glazed as if thinking back, before plucking the ring from Kuroko's hand.

"However, given that I am doing everything in my power to remove Vongola from the mafia, I think I can grant that request. If nothing else, Yamamoto might stop looking as if he killed my puppy."

Kuroko releases a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, although Tsuna is watching him with some unhappiness.

"Understand this though, nobody in Vongola will agree with me on this, and that means I have to convince them to leave you alone, so it comes with some provisos. You still can't tell anyone about your lessons, or what you learned while Chrome was here. You also can't tell them of Yamamoto or Hibari's allegiance. I might not care, but there are still plenty in the family who believe strongly in Omerta. If you're not family, I can't keep you safe. As it is, I should probably be sealing your flames – they'll attract the wrong sort of attention, but considering your entire basketball team ran roughshod over Tokyo the last couple of years, you can get some leniency. Tell them about it, and that'll change"

The shadow can only nod. To be honest, the requests are more than fair. Essentially keep his mouth shut and his future belongs to him.

But…

"K-Kagami" he starts, and Tsuna's eyes narrow, the air around them growing thick.

"I know" he replies, and before Kuroko can even figure out how, continues.

"So you'd better make it clear that those rules apply to him as well."

Kuroko nods in relief, and the tension vanishes. Tsuna gives one last smile, and pulls out a card from his pocket.

"One last thing, and only because Reborn will kill me if don't. If you ever change your mind, or need…fire-related help, call this number. Just remember, you won't get the option to walk away twice. So don't call unless you're certain."

The card is similar to the one he still has for Chrome, only embossed with metallic orange. He holds it the way one would a priceless artefact, and falls into a deep bow.

"Thank you, for understanding Sawada Tsunayoshi."

There's a sadness to the man's expression, but when he realises Kuroko's picking up on it, ducks his head.

"Ah, you remind me a lot of myself Kuroko" he admits. "When I was your age, I would have given anything to walk away. I could never understand why everyone around me – who actually had that as a viable option – chose to stay. It's nice to know I was able to spare someone."

Kuroko stares at the man's regretful expression and smiles despite himself. He thinks he can understand why left – the wistfulness that Chrome radiated, the respect that Mukuro tried to hide, the determination on Yamamoto's face, even the focus that Hibari had radiated – maybe if he'd met Sawada Tsunayoshi before Chrome, his answer would have been different.

Perhaps that's the real reason Chrome didn't tell Tsuna about him. Kuroko is a shadow, who exists to support the light. He might not play basketball, but Sawada Tsunayoshi is most decidedly a light. How much choice can you really have when faced with a light (sky, his flames whisper) as strong as this?

There's commotion behind them, and Kuroko already knows Kagami is storming over. Tsuna seems aware of it too, and mutters something about storms and overprotectiveness, but Kuroko doesn't quite catch it.

"I think I'll take my leave now Kuroko" he tells him, giving a short bow. "Due to this visit, I have to go visit a carnivore and 'convince' him he doesn't need to come to Tokyo and finish what he started. I'd also delete Chrome's number, for your own safety."

He doesn't wait for the reply, choosing to turn and head for the exit. In the distance, Kuroko can see a man waiting at the gate with silver hair and a cigarette in his mouth. He doesn't get much time to study him though, as Kuroko is at his back with a hand on his shoulder.

"How'd it go?" he asks, a tense concern rippling through the words. Kuroko looks up, and his face has Kagami breaking into a relieved grin.

It's the eve of the Winter Cup, and for some inexplicable reason, every team with a miracle had somehow descended on the same okonomiyaki restaurant. Midorima keeps glaring at Takao whenever the teen reaches for the cooking utensils, while Aomine and Kise stare in abject disbelief as Kagami and Muraskibara compete for the title of 'Who Can Empty Out the Restaurant's Storeroom the Quickest?' Himuro has started a betting pool – odds are currently favouring Kagami. Nebuya tried to keep up, but threw in the towel pretty early on and still hasn't returned from the bathroom. Akashi, quite wisely, is avoiding this entire debacle, and has somehow corralled the majority of Seirin's former first and second years into a conversation (the teen is still somewhat embarrassed at his other self's actions, and Kuroko may have suggested that he build on the goodwill his former captain achieved at Kuroko's birthday).

Meanwhile, near the bar, Hayama is all but on the ground laughing, while Izuki stares at him in equal parts shock and wonderment. Hyuuga (unusually), has ignored whatever pun his friend came with because he's too busy arguing with Mibuchi and a first year from Touo (from the hand gestures and company, Kuroko is going to assume the argument is regarding 3 point shots).

Normally, with everyone else occupied, Kuroko would be in the company on Momoi, but she's dragged Riko and Rakuzan's new first year manager into a corner booth and the three of them are deep in a conversation requiring some very odd hand movements and writing on napkins.

Knowing the two girls, it could be anything from the most impressive rookies of the year to what local bakery is offering the best icing to sponge cake ratio. Still, he's glad they're getting along – they have a lot in common and being on opposing teams shouldn't dissuade them from making a friend of the same gender. If nothing else, the Rakuzan manager seems to be having a blast.

Regardless, Kuroko's happy to step back, take a seat at the quieter end of the bar and just watch his friends enjoy each other's company. Tomorrow they'll all be rivals and competitors again, but it wasn't all that long ago that Kuroko would have thought a moment like this would be impossible, and he wants to savour it as much as he can.

"You know, I used to hate happy endings."

For a moment, Kuroko remains perfectly still, before slowly turning his head and glaring at his new companion. Mukuro returns the expression with a smirk.

"Tsuna released me from any obligations" Kuroko warned him. Mukuro only smirked.

"Yes…his naivety still manages to astound me sometimes. You'll be back."

Kuroko glares at him. "No, I will not."

"Oh, so you threw out the card?"

Kuroko flinches, hand twitching for his wallet where it's hidden behind his rail pass.

The man barks in laughter, and looks at him with pity.

"I didn't think so. Oh, I forgot how adorable it is when it's your first time. Trust me little mist, it might not be tomorrow, but one day, you're going to take that card, call that number and walk willingly into Sawada's loving grasp no matter how hard he tries to push you away. And you won't regret it for a second."

"Chrome nearly killed a man in front of me" Kuroko hisses at him.

"A man who was going to kill you" Mukuro argues back. "Even a jury would be hard pressed to find her fully at fault with that."

Kuroko turns away, and gets ready to leave.

"Do you really think it was just your playing style that attracted Chrome?" Mukuro continues, freezing Kuroko in his chair. "I assure you, as impressive as you were, there were other candidates. But none of them had the backbone you do. When you see something wrong, you interfere, regardless of size, numbers or legality. Most people grow out of that thinking before they even hit puberty, and realise that the real world doesn't work that way."

The man gives him a vicious smirk and raises his glass. "One day, you're going to find yourself in a situation where the law doesn't match your set-in-stone morals, and you'll have a choice. Be a pathetically normal human and accept it, or do what you've always done, and find a way to get the solution you want. I already know which one I'm putting money on."

The glass is raised higher in a mocking toast before Mukuro downs the lot. Kuroko can only look at him in confusion.

"Why?" he finally asks. "Sawada said that every Mist worth their salt in Vongola is loyal to you. I'm not. Why would you try so hard to bring me in?"

Mukuro smiled, but not the sharp and smug one Kuroko had gotten to know. It was softer, and a little bit sad.

"Because one day, Sawada Tsunayoshi is going to need a Mist that is completely in his corner" Mukuro replied. "As much as I've come to respect the man, that's not a role I can ever play, and there's too much of me in Chrome to leave it in her hands."

He stared at Kuroko, who was slightly taken aback at the reply.

"You however, have more honour than the two of us combined. Right now, the mafia is all but at war with Vongola – Sawada Tsunayoshi needs people who see shades of grey just to survive - but when he finally achieves his dream of a fully legitimate Vongola, he'll need someone like you. A Mist that understands his dream, that wants it as much as he does, and hasn't stained himself in order to get there."

"Oi, Kuroko!"

The teen only just stops himself from looking away, and Mukuro laughs.

"Kufufufufu…quick learner aren't you? I promise, this is the last time I'll visit. Next time, you'll come to us."

He rubs the ring on his finger, and his eyes close as he gives one last grin.

"Until then, Kuroko Tetsuya."

A hand clamps on Kuroko's shoulder, and the teen is forced to look away. Kagami is staring at him with no loss of worry. Not too far behind the redhead, Murasakibara is slumped across the table, with Kise patting his shoulder while Himuro counts his winnings (judging from the expression on Aomine's face and the wallet being shoved back into his pocket, he backed the wrong horse). He smiles, and is relieved when Kagami's shoulders loosen.

"You okay Kuroko?"

He nods. Beside him, Mukuro's presence has vanished, and he has no doubt that if he turned back, the man would be gone. Which is exactly how he wants it.

"Yes Kagami. I was just lost in thought. Let's get back to everyone."

Kagami grins, slinging an arm around his shoulder and pulling him back. He ends up wedged in between Muraskibara and Kagami, and allows the purple haired teen to slump over him as Kagami descends on his thirtieth course, listening to Aomine, Kise and Himuro start a discussion regarding just where 'Bakagami' puts it all. There's laughter, and yelling, and a snap of 'Takao!' from the other table followed the sound of food hitting something other than a hotplate, and Kuroko quite honestly can't think of anywhere he'd rather be.

Mukuro might not be wrong. The fact that he hasn't thrown out the card is proof of that, but for now, this is his family, and their biggest problems involve basketballs and restaurant bills. They're not changing the world – they are Kuroko's world.

And Kuroko wouldn't have it any other way.

END