A/N: Thank you guys for so much support! I tried to extend the length so I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke! Though it'd be nice...

A Fireman's Job

Chapter 2

Noxious fumes reduced his visibility to near zero. Clutching a handful of his collared shirt to his nose and mouth, Kuroko all but crawled through a hallway blooming with flowers of crimson. He averted his eyes from the sight of colored pictures blackening with soot and felt the first door on the right for any sign of heat. Feeling none, he burst into the classroom and scanned for any of his missing students.

As rapidly accumulating smoke rendered his sight useless, his ears strained to pick up the slightest whimper. He found none.

A strain of violent coughs rose from his constricted throat. Unable to support his weight, Kuroko slumped against the wall for support and blindly groped forward. His fingertips brushed against the corner of a glass case.

A fire extinguisher.

With renewed rigor, Kuroko took a step away from the wall and pulled back a clenched fist. Bracing himself for the impact, he punched through the glass. The droplets of blood rolling down white knuckles were dutifully ignored. Tremulous fingers gripped the neck of the extinguisher and with a jerk the apparatus revealed itself in its polished red glory.

A sharp intake of breath was sucked through clamped teeth as bits and pieces of splintered glass pierced his hand. Clumsily, Kuroko pulled the pin and rushed from the classroom and bounded to the next.

Empty.

The nerve-wracking process continued before he stood in front of his own door.

Now armed, he kicked down the classroom door without hesitation. When the it gave way, a curtain of gray smoke billowed out the entrance. Fire crackled and curled on the walls. Kuroko prayed that his kids weren't in this room as he pulled back the trigger and sprayed the inching flames.

By the time the entrance was cleared, tufts of dying smoke swarmed Kuroko. With both hands gripping the extinguisher, his mouth and nose were left vulnerable to the fumes. Blinking rapidly, he alternated between tearing up and coughing.

Amidst his dry-heaving, Kuroko discerned a faint whimper. Relying solely on his ears, Kuroko vaulted over to the left corner of the room.

Huddled in the corner and jammed between the cubbies was one of his students. Her entire body trembled in its curled form and the bottom half of her face was buried into her teddy bear's abdomen. Her eyes were screwed shut as she clutched a teddy bear for dear life.

Mindful of his lacerated hand, he pulled the girl into a fierce hug. Reflexively, she grabbed a handful of his shirt and stifled the tears threatening to spill by biting down on a lip.

"Kuroko-sensei," Her voice caught in her throat, "sorry… went to get Ken…got lost."

"It's okay." He hushed but immediately began coughing. Soon, the coughs turned to wheezing and Kuroko was forced to clutch his chest, willing the oxygen-deprived lungs to function. To his surprise, a small hand covered his tightly clenched fist. His heart contracted when he felt the petit appendage tremble.

"Kuroko…sensei…okay?" she inquired before breaking out into a fit of coughing herself.

His reply was cut off by an explosion. It must be the gas cylinders in the house exploding under the strong pressure of the heat. Panicking, he glanced at the extinguisher and touched its surface. It was still cool.

"Try not to talk." Gently, he tugged on her wrist. "Can you stand?"

She hesitantly nodded and struggled, however her body was uncooperative.

"I can't…" she looked to him, panicked, "Sensei!"

Kuroko put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You're fine. It's just shock."

"Shock..?" she echoed, fearfully.

"It'll go away but hold on."

Scooping the girl into his arms, Kuroko made an effort to stand. His legs felt like jelly and sweat flowed in miniature rivulets down his spine before sticking to his collared shirt. Gritting his teeth, he cursed his dearth of athletic ability. In the midst of his struggle, the extinguisher dropped with a clang and rolled to the side.

As classroom flooded with smoke and fire, the girl in his arms began to cough softly. He soon joined her.

Kicking down yet another door, Kagami felt desperation sink in. Windows cracked and splintered as flames engulfed the building. He didn't have to be a genius to know that the kindergarten was on its last legs.

If he didn't find that idiot in the next seven minutes, a rescue team would.

Lunging over a pile of debris, Kagami spotted white foam. Placing his hope in the trail, he found an opened door.

He squinted into the room, unfazed by the blazing heat.

His eyes zeroed in on the hunched figure leaning against the wall, carrying a bundle in his arms. Cutting through the thick veil of smoke, he raced over and placed a hand on the shoulder of the man.

Kuroko's eyes fluttered open, glancing at the gloved extremity. Craning his neck to look the owner, he saw an intense shade of amber behind a plastic visor. The man's lips moved but the sound of his heart clapping against his ribcage drowned out all sound.

His vision swam and soon two pairs of eyes split into three then four. A wave of dizziness caused him to stumble into the fireman's chest.

'He's not going to make it.' Kagami thought in horror before removing his respirator hand placing it on the suffocating man's pale face.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kuroko found it considerably easier to breathe. Cracking an eye open, he peered at the hand placing the respirator over his mouth.

A bloodied hand shoved the breathing apparatus away.

"What the fu-"

Kuroko limply held out the bundle in his arms. "Give it to her." He rasped.

Incredulously, Kagami took a second look at the lump. He reeled back in surprise when it moved. What turned out to be a bale of cloth was actually a small girl curled up into the guy's shirt.

He squinted at the girl—she looked fine compared to her sensei who had at some point began coughing up a lung. Kagami had to admire the effort the blue-haired man put into keeping the hacking discrete, though it didn't stop the fireman from shooting Kuroko a stern look.

The flames crackled and popped as they gained in intensity. Alarmed, Kagami looked to the ceiling at the sound of creaking.

Deciding to pick up the pace, he held out his hands. "Give me the girl."

Kuroko made no motion to refuse, so Kagami moved forward to take the load. He grunted when the girl clutched harder onto the fabric of Kuroko's shirt. Attempting to burrow deeper into the cloth, she wiggled around.

"No!"

Her stubbornness was tantamount to Kagami's frustration. He was trying to save their hides from a very fiery and unpleasant death, goddammnit.

"Atsuko-chan," Kuroko decided to interrupt the clashing of wills and wriggling. He swallowed and pushed aside a second wave of dizziness.

A black puff of hair uncovered itself to face the speaker.

"You're a big girl." Kuroko stated simply.

The curled ball stiffened. Dark brown eyes timidly peered over at Kagami's outstretched hands before looking up to Kuroko in confirmation. Kuroko gave a weak nod.

Reluctantly, Atsuko began untangling herself from her sensei's shirt. Kagami scooped the small form up in his arms and placed the respirator over her small mouth; she didn't struggle.

Kagami scrutinized Kuroko for a moment, contemplating whether he should hoist the smaller man up and run. Kuroko stared back.

"Go. I'll follow you."

Nodding, the fireman adjusted the added weight, securing the 5-year-old. He exited the room and peered behind him. Kuroko dutifully trailed after the pair.

The searing heat made it difficult to breathe. His lungs screamed in protest to the thinning oxygen while his heart palpitated in a crazed frenzy. Each breath brought in more acrid smoke than air.

Thoughts whirled and contorted in his head.

You're a big girl.

The words sounded familiar. A fuzzy memory began to form, tugging at the edges of his muddled thought.

You're a big girl.

"I'm a big boy!"

The five-year olds heated gaze met with a gentle smile. Placing both hands on his hips, Kuroko's student let out an indignant huff.

"I can go to the bathroom By. My. Self." He punctuated each word with a tone of finality and finished off strongly with a scowl that instantly disappeared as fingers laced through his hair.

Kuroko patted the boys head, ruffling the soft locks affectionately.

"H-hey! Don't treat me like a kid." He snapped. The boy puffed out his chest but stayed still nonetheless.

"Ahhh,"Kuroko sighed with a frown. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl with short brown hair take a hesitant step forward, stuffed teddy bear in tow. Her brows scrunched together in concern. Feeling a bit mischievous, he winked to her before his cover was blown. Now his partner in crime, the girl beamed a dazzling smile while zipping her lips and waddled over to a pillowed corner to play with her companion.

"Sensei's so sad." Kuroko drawled light-heartedly. The boy's ears perked up at his words. "People will think that sensei didn't teach Daichi-kun any manners."

Whipping around to face the man, Daichi sputtered.

"T-that's not true! Sensei…sensei is…" he trailed off, ears turning a shade of pink. The small boy balled his fists and choked out, "very kind and nice and way better than kaasan who makes me eat stupid vegetables and...!"

A twinkling chuckle interrupted his flustered rant. His head snapped up at the offender, his face sporting a mixture of mortification and bashfulness. Flushing scarlet, he floundered about for a moment. Retorts died on his lips and for once the entire room retained silence.

"Vegetables are good for you." Kuroko admonished, while covering his mouth to hide his amusement.

Daichi looked like he had been slapped on the cheek.

"They are NOT!" he whined while zipping out of the room. Blinking, Kuroko admired his speed.

Peeking out from the open door, Daichi screamed "Don't you DARE follow me until you think about what you've done you… you BETRAYER!"

Fuming, he moved to slam the door shut but hesitated. Furrowing his brows in deep thought, he decided to slide the screen shut.

Feeling the scrutinizing eyes of his kids, Kuroko let out a soft sigh and made an effort to shake his head disapprovingly. He kept his smile hidden. So the boy did have manners.

He still had time to follow the boy.

Gazing at the letters "Kagami" imprinted onto the back of the fireman's helmet, Kuroko felt reassured.

'Take care of her Kagami-san.' Kuroko thought before turning around.

The bathroom was down the crumbling hallway.

Drawing in a deep breath, Kuroko took in the smoke. The smell of melting paint and smoldering penetrated his chest, clinging to the cavity in an attempt of suffocation. Smoke and heat curled around his lungs, constricting the already limited air flow. Pain raced through his throat. Despite the perspiration coating his form, his tongue shriveled at the lack of water.

But now he had no time for those frivolous thoughts.

His blood raced through his tremulous body. No emotion registered on his face; his thoughts of worry and panic dissolved into an unshakable resolve.

Daichi was waiting for him and he refused to be late.

Determination transformed into energy urging him to push forward. He willed strength into his legs and glared into the tunnel of flames. He broke out into a run.

Behind him, Kagami Taiga rushed out the front of the building, cradling Atsuko in his arms. After placing the girl into the hands of the paramedics, he turned back to check Kuroko.

Instead, he witnessed a huge piece of debris fall, obstructing the entrance.

A/N: Well, there it is, though I'm not completely satisfied with the interactions between Kuroko and his kids. I have no idea how 4/5 year-olds act, so if they seem out of place, I apologize. I'm open to any criticisms or opinions for future chapters. Once again thank you guys for the support and hope you guys enjoyed it!