Chapter 14: Let's Celebrate!

Yea its been awhile. A LONG while. But like I said, this writer's block is really hard for me to counter. I was actually quite surprised to see some people continue to favorite my story. To those people, I commend you and thank you. To those who continue to read, I thank you for bearing with my lack of updates. AlsoI've got some IMPORTANT NEWS, so I kindly ask that you all read this.

I originally made this account and story because my cousin asked me to. Technically, she deserves credit for the plot of the story, I merely worked upon what she gave me.

That being said, I'm transferring rights to this account to her as well. But I WILL be finishing this story definitely. Also, I may pop in now and then two write a small story or one/two shot. So most likely, my cousin will continue to write her own stories as well.

"Kuroko-san! Congratulations!"

"Kuroko-san! Can you give me your autograph! That way, when you play globally and become famous, I can prove that I know you!"

"N-No fair! I want one too!"

By Monday it seemed that everyone in Seirin already knew about Kuroko's and Kagami's success, because Kuroko was crowded by multiple students upon entry. And it seemed that Kuroko couldn't even sneak by, since all students were on the lookout for him.

Had it not been for Kiyoshi who literally picked up Kuroko and put him on his back(much to his chagrin and embarrassment), he may not have even made it to class.

"…Thank you, Kiyoshi-senpai." Kuroko said quietly as Kiyoshi put down Kuroko in front of his classroom. Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he laughed.

"Heh heh, anytime! Although I'm sorry about having to take you in such an embarrassing way…Simply holding you up seemed kind of barbaric and it would have been difficult to just push you out of there." Kiyoshi apologized sheepishly, before putting on a comforting smile.

"So I'm assuming that Aida-san has told you about the party after school today?" Kiyoshi inquired at Kuroko, who smiled slightly at the thought. He nodded his head in anticipation. He had been looking forward to it since last night, when Riko Aida had sent a group message about it.

Word had traveled towards Seirin through Momoi, and Riko Aida had decided that the news called for celebration. Somehow, she was able to work with Akashi more or less (more like she brought up the idea and nodded nervously when he asked her to leave it to him), and reserved a fancy restaurant on the coast of Tokyo Bay for all of Seirin and GoM, alongside their respective teams and any guests. Akashi's father, in a surprising act of generosity that no one rejected, offered to pay for the expenses and had already spoken to the owner.

As far as Kuroko knew, he was to meet up with Seirin alongside Momoi after school ended. They would take the bus and arrive at the restaurant all together, meeting everyone else there.

"Nn. I am looking forward to it, Kiyoshi-san." Kuroko responded.

"I'd be surprised if anyone didn't! Although…..reserving a fancy bay restaurant seems kind of…overkill…seeing as how we're a bunch of teenagers celebrating at a formal 5-star restaurant…Well! I'm definitely not complaining! Anyway, I'll see you along with the others after school then!"

Kuroko waved to Kiyoshi and stood there until Kiyoshi turned around the corner. He then turned and entered the classroom before the bell rang, signaling the start of classes.

'Oof!'

*Clap clap clap*

*Clap clap clap*

Upon entering the classroom, Kuroko's vision went dark as his face was pressed in Momoi's chest. How he knew it was her, it was only explainable by the strawberry scent of her hair.

Looking up slightly from Momoi's chest while wrapping his arms around her waist, he looked around to see the whole classroom applauding him for, without a doubt, being invited to participate in the ICAA.

"Tetsu-kun has become so popular!" Momoi said as she looked Kuroko in the face and smiled. "I'm going to have to work extra hard to keep you to myself now!

Kuroko smiled at Momoi, and walked with her down the aisles of desks and reaching their own desks.

(5 minutes into the class)

"Now, the reason the final potential energy does not equal the initial is because the lost energy is transferred to kinetic energy and thermal….Momoi-san, although your grades are top-notch, I ask that you can at least try to look like you're listening to my lectures." Rurarukun-sensei asked with a sigh and a small smile on his face.

"Hahhhh~"

But it fell on deaf ears as Momoi heeded no attention to his words and simply stared at Kuroko, who was to the right of her, with dreamy eyes and smile and distant eyes.

While most of the class had already gotten used to it and had given up on either Momoi or Kuroko, there was still a fair share of people who were jealous, as could be seen by the dark aura that was still ever-present in the class and was directed at Kuroko.

Kuroko simply gave off a weary sigh and smiled slightly as class continued on.

Kuroko was currently rummaging through his small locker in the locker area that was located right in front of the school entrance. Although he was supposed to meet with the rest of the basketball team after class to head out towards the restaurant, he had mentioned that he needed to make a stop home before going; and so he had told them that he would be meeting them straight there. But he wouldn't be alone, oh no! Because once Momoi had heard, she made it her priority to go along with Kuroko every step of the way.

It had been raining this morning and it still was now. Kuroko had no desire to walk in the rain all the way back home, thus he had brought an umbrella and here he was now.

…At least he thought he did. Because at the moment, he was unable to find the umbrella that he was sure he had placed in his locker.

"Tetsu-kun!~"

Kuroko looked up from within his locker and spotted Momoi running towards him from the school halls, waving her left hand back and forth in greeting. She gave Kuroko no chance to respond to her greeting as she once again tackled Kuroko in yet another hug. Kuroko smiled for a second and reciprocated the gesture, before looking back through his locker.

"Hello Momoi-san. You seem quite happy." Kuroko half-heartedly greeted Momoi, as his attention was still set on the missing umbrella.

Momoi found herself blushing as she felt Kuroko's warm arms wrap themselves around her waist.

"Of course I'm happy! You'd never return my hugs back when we were in middle school! You were so cold!" Momoi pouted at Kuroko, but stopped when she realized that his attention is elsewhere.

"Tetsu-kun?" Momoi called out to Kuroko, poking his cheek.

"Hm? Oh forgive me, Momoi-san but for some odd reason…I can't find my umbrella. And I was sure that I…brought…it…."

Kuroko quietly trailed off as he looked at Momoi, who was avoiding eye contact with an adorable innocent face.

'She definitely took it….' Kuroko thought to himself as he sighed. She most definitely intended on sharing an umbrella with him on the way home in so she could hold on tight to his arm. Had there been two umbrellas, it would have most definitely made it difficult to cuddle or at least hug an arm.

And how did Kuroko know that all of this was going through Momoi's head? He knew-well he knew most likely it was this because…well it was Momoi. Her intentions when it came to Kuroko were crystal clear always.

"Oh!" Momoi made an attempt to seem surprised at Kuroko's statement. Her eyes widened and she placed her hands on her cheeks, as if in shock.

"You lost your umbrella? That's terrible, Tetsu-kun!"

'Not a very good liar either.' Kuroko thought to himself. He made a mental note of that, in case he needed to remember it for future references.

"Oh, but that's okay! It's fine because Tetsu-kun can just share with me!" Momoi exclaimed with a widespread smile and rosy cheeks as she raised her pink umbrella that match her hair, into view.

Kuroko found himself smiling as he quietly thanked Momoi for her 'generosity'. Even if he did have an umbrella, he most likely would've still accepted sharing an umbrella with his adorable girlfriend…no.

He DEFINITELY would've accepted after seeing that cute smile that she had sported. His willpower crumbled the second he saw the innocent cute smile that would've made any other man run and cuddle up to her. But he would never tell her that; no the last thing Kuroko needed was Momoi taking advantage of that weakness.

And so ten minutes later, he found himself carrying both their bags in one arm and the umbrella in the other and waking alongside Momoi in the rain, who had wrapped her arms around Kuroko's left, which was holding the umbrella.

"…You know, sometimes I think that Momoi-san can be quite sneaky sometimes." Kuroko said nonchalantly to Momoi, who stiffened suddenly. That was all that was needed to tell Kuroko the truth, and he found himself silently laughing to himself at her adorable, childish antics.

"What are you talking about, Tetsu-kun? Heheh…" Momoi laughed nervously as she began sweating slightly.

"Nothing much…just that I feel like Momoi may've hidden my umbrella to get to this situation." Kuroko nonchalantly said once more as he stared forward to avoid any implications of accusation. But he looked from the corner of his eyes to see her reaction.

He couldn't lie to himself, ever since their years in Teiko, Momoi's love-struck antics from the very beginning came off as amusing to him, even now, when they were officially a couple. Momoi was Momoi, no matter her status with him. And Momoi was a love-struck teenager who wasn't afraid to show affection, but blushed at any act of affection directed at her. He secretly enjoyed seeing her lose her composure when he showed any signs of affection.

And as if proving his point, Momoi currently found herself blushing and stuttering as she avoided eye-contact.

"Wh-What are you talking about Tetsu-kun! You're so funny; I would never do something like that! Heheh…." Momoi squirmed around as she tightened her grip on Kuroko's left arm.

Kuroko inwardly smile; Might as well tease her a little.

"…That's too bad. I would have found it very adorable if Momoi-san went through all that trouble jus to walk arm-in-arm like this." Kuroko said as he looked at her directly this time.

Momoi's face froze at the very second that Kuroko said adorable.

"Really?! Because actuall-" 'NO!'

'No! It's a trap! He's testing to see if I actually I did it! It's just a trick!' Momoi thought to herself.

"What? Would I really find it adorable? Well that depends….did Momoi-san hide my umbrella?" Kuroko asked lightheartedly. He put on a smile as he did so. The last thing he wanted to do was make Momoi feel like she was in trouble.

But Momoi on the other hand, was in absolute turmoil mentally. She was stuck between taking her chance, believing his words and confessing OR…. sticking to things as it is. But looking at Kuroko's face told her all she needed to know. And what she knew was that her answer didn't matter…he already knew the answer.

"Mouuuuuuu~"

And so she remained where she was, hiding her face in Kuroko's arm and blushing hysterically.

Kuroko let out a quiet chuckle at the adorable scene in front of him. It was like watching an embarrassed child. For a woman who expressed her feelings so freely, Momoi was certainly prone to embarrassment, especially the romantic kind.

"Regardless of whether she would do it…Momoi-san is always being adorable, even when she's trying to be sneaky." Kuroko said as he laid his head on hers affectionately.

Perhaps he was imagining the smoke that was coming out of Momoi's ears, but he DEFINITELY felt that her head just got about 10-15 degrees hotter, all while hiding her face in his left arm.

"Mouu, since when was Tetsu-kun such a tease!" Momoi whined with a cherry red face as she raised her head and looked straight at the ground. She couldn't keep a straight face no matter how hard she tried. It was as if her face was instinctively trying to smile and her physical reluctance made it come out as a squiggly smile.

"Heh, sorry. But Momoi-san becomes too adorable when she is embarrassed." Kuroko said with a smile.

"Mou~ It's only because Tetsu-kun is always catching me off-guard!" Momoi defended herself as she detached herself from Kuroko and folded her arms in defiance.

Kuroko just stared.

Amazing…just amazing

Even when she was trying to be cold and defiant, she was still adorable to him.

"So are you saying it would be impossible to embarrass you this moment?" Kuroko raised his eyebrows challengingly.

Momoi lost her composure slightly. Honestly, even she doubted her ability to maintain her composure in front of him. But, refusing to back down, she simply stared at Kuroko, insinuating a challenge.

'Hmm…Shall I tell her how beautiful she is? No, that's too easy for her.' Kuroko thought to himself as they continued to walk.

'Shall I tell her that I want to cuddle with her? Or should I follow in her steps and cuddle and just act physically affectionate? No…that's just too weird for me. It would be too much anyway…Ah, I know.'

Kuroko stopped in front of Momoi, catching her off-guard. And at that moment, he leaned forward towards her and….

Kissed her directly on her left cheek.

For the first time in their whole relationship.

Everything seemed to have just stopped at that moment. Momoi simply stood there and looked at the ground with enlarged eyes, showing no reaction or movement at all.

"…Momoi-san?" Kuroko called out casually as he waved his hand in front of Momoi, who showed no response. Perhaps that was too much?

Suddenly, Momoi moved her left hand to feel the cheek that Kuroko had kissed.

And blushed blood red.

"Ah….Ah..AHHHHHHHH!" Momoi collapsed on her knees onto the pavement with her hands on both of her blushing cheeks.

"Ah….Ahhhh….our first kiss…..on my cheek…ahahhhhh" Momoi had swirls in her eyes.

…Yes. That was definitely too much, or at least too quick. Perhaps he should've given a warning.

And 5 minutes later, he was paying the price for his carelessness and teasing as he now had to help a partially-paralyzed teenage girl to his house, where hopefully she could recover.

"Hehe~"

"What's so funny, Momoi-san?" Kuroko asked Momoi, who was silently giggling to herself.

"Nn, nothing. I'm just so happy right now!" Momoi smiled as she clung onto Kuroko even tighter.

They were currently sitting on the bus, on their way to the restaurant. It had been like this since the second Momoi had regained consciousness after being kissed on the cheek. She was like a lovesick teenager with her fantasy prince.

Although Kuroko seemed to be in turmoil on whether he should be enjoying this or fearing for his life. The more immature side of him wanted to be happy that he could show off that he had such a beautiful girl smothering him. Yet the logical side of him told him to remain on the cautious side, seeing as how nearly every single man seemed to be boring drills into his back with envious glares.

Honestly, he should just get used to these kinds of reactions. It was going to become part of his daily life and to him it was totally worth it if he could spend more time with Momoi.

Getting off the bus, Kuroko could see the restaurant about 5 blocks away down the street. It was quite difficult to miss, seeing as how it was straight at down the road at the end of the street right in front of the bay. Not to mention the bright lights that shot out into the sky from the rooftop.

"Wahhh~ It's so pretty Tetsu-kun! C'mon, everyone's waiting for us!" Momoi laughed as she pulled on Kuroko's arm down the street. Kuroko let a small smile grace his face as he allowed himself to be pulled towards the fancy restaurant. Once they arrived in front of the restaurant, they were confronted by a large man in a bow & suit and with shades covering his eyes and his hands crossed in front of him, holding a clipboard (cliché fancy bouncer?)

"Sorry, but the restaurant's been wholly reserved for the night…unless you're on the list?" The man's voice was unsurprisingly rough and deep.

"Kuroko. Tetsuya Kuroko and Satsuki Momoi?"

The man took a look at the list, his eyes that were hidden by his shades scrolling down the list.

"… I feel like we should've dressed more formal for this event…" Kuroko mumbled doubtingly as he looked at himself and Momoi. In all honesty, he agreed with Kiyoshi in that this was a bit too formal and overkill for a bunch of teenagers, regardless of what the occasion was.

He was currently wearing a simple set of black jeans, and a plain white shirt underneath a grey zippered hoodie that was half-zipped underneath his jacket, while Momoi was sporting her usual pink jacket with her zippered pink hoodie and skirt.

"It's fine! It's only between us friends, nobody fancy!" Momoi reassured him with a smile as the bouncer looked up from the list.

"….Yep, you're good to go. The party's being held on the second floor and please watch your step on the way upstairs." The bouncer stepped aside to let the two of them in.

"Oh! I'm also expecting two other people! Is that alright?" Momoi asked the bouncer.

"Are they on the list?" The bouncer questioned Momoi, who began twiddling her fingers.

"W-well…not exactly…come here!" Momoi ushered the bouncer to lower his head so she could whisper into his ear. In his head, Kuroko was wondering who Momoi could have been referring to. Didn't Midorima take care of the roster for the party?

"So is it alright if they come? You know their names now!" Momoi asked the bouncer hopefully. The bouncer rubbed the back of his head hesitantly.

"I'm not allowed to really let anyone in if they're not on the list, even if they're the guests of actual members…." The bouncer said apologetically.

Momoi clasped her hands together in front of her and looked up to the bouncer with watery eyes that threatened to release tears.

"Please~~ It's really important that they come to this party. It's supposed to be a party, and I'd hate to have this surprise ruined. I was really looking forward to it, and I'm sure the two guests were too! Please~ Can't you just make this exception for me? I'm sure everyone won't mind!" Momoi looked up to the bouncer with pleading eyes, her eyes actually getting glossy and her lips quivering. The bouncer instinctively blushed at the adorable scene right in front of her.

"O-O-Okay *cough*….I mean if everyone's gonna be okay with it, then I guess…" The bouncer regained his composure and shrugged. The smiling face that Momoi sported was enough to make him blush like an innocent 13-year old again/

"Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me! Neh, let's go upstairs and greet everyone!" Momoi said as she pulled Kuroko inside restaurant.

"P-please enjoy yourselves…" The bouncer mumbled, the blush still evident on his face.

The two teenagers made their way down the red-carpeted hall, with the staircase being near the end of the hallway.

"…What was that back there exactly?" Kuroko asked Momoi questioningly.

"Hm? Oh! It's something my mom taught me to do when dealing with boys!" Momoi said with a prideful smile.

"….That's quite a terrifying skill you've learned…" Kuroko said uncomfortably. Not to mention, add such a terrifying skill to such an adorable girl like Momoi and you can get yourself whatever you desire.

"Mouuu, don't make it sound like something so bad!" Momoi pouted, before smiling innocently at Tetsu, latching herself onto Kuroko's right arm.

"But of course, I wouldn't ever do something so deceitful to Tetsu-kun! Unless…you start playing difficult~~" Momoi said with a mischievous smile to Kuroko, who shook his head amusingly.

Pft. As if he could even say no to her in the first place for anything. She didn't seem to realize how she already had him wrapped around her finger. And so, the two ascended to the second floor.

…

…

THWACK

"Congratulations!"

….

THUD

"K-Kuroko and Momoi collapsed! Are you ok?!"

Upon entering the fancy restaurant, Kuroko was bombarded by a wave of confetti that was shot right into his face. Hence the causes for his sudden collapse backwards right onto Momoi, who had fallen as well.

"O-Oi! Are you two alright?!"

"Dammit Kise! What the hell were you thinking?! Shooting him smack in the face with the confetti launcher!"

"S-Sorry! I reacted kinda late and panicked! A-Are, you all right, Momocchi, Kurokocchi?!" Kise frantically asked a slightly dazed Kuroko, who got off of Momoi.

"Bleh…I-I'm ok…" Kuroko muttered as he spit out some confetti and got off of Momoi, helping her up afterwards.

He shook his head, slightly dazed and looked up to see a mass of people, all that he recognized from the Winter Cup. Alongside the GoM and Seirin, he saw the respective teams of each GoM player as well.

"It seems we were the last ones to arrive." Kuroko said to no one in particular.

"Hello everyone! We've arrived!" Momoi cheered as she waved at everyone in front of her emphatically, with her left arm reattached around Kuroko's.

"What took you guys so long?! I've been waiting forever to eat, I'm sta-ACK!" Kagami flinched as Riko Aida grinded the top of his head with her fist.

"Oh stop complaining you idiot! It was you who was going off about waiting for Kuroko before even leaving for the restaurant!" Aida scolded Kagami as she rubbed her fist tenderly to ease the soreness. As strong as she was and as frequently as she did it, punching someone's head with a bare fist still has its backlashes.

"Well it seems we have everyone here now, don't we…what are you looking for Satsuki?" Akashi trailed off before directing everyone's attention at Momoi, who had detached herself from Kuroko and was looking through the crowd of teenagers composed of the GoM and their teams.

"Hmmm, I think we're still missing two people…" Momoi pouted as she failed to find her targets. Midorima's eyes widened in sudden shock at the revelation.

"I was the one responsible for list of members for the security out front, and I'm sure everyone is already here. Who could we be possibly missing?" Midorima suddenly walked straight up to Momoi's face and demanded an answer from her. It was bad enough that he was second to Akashi in grades, the last thing he wanted now was to be making such careless mistakes as messing up a roster list, especially in front of Akashi.

"N-Nobody you planned for." Momoi said uncomfortably as Midorima leaned away in relief.

"Mou…it was supposed to be a surprise too…" Momoi pouted. She had directly gotten in contact with the two mystery people herself, just so that they could attend this celebratory party.

"Mah, let's leave everything as it is for now and just enjoy the party finally!" Kise reassured everyone and made a run for the table of appetizers.

"Groan…" Kasamatsu groaned in embarrassment at his kouhai's immature behavior.

"…well guess it doesn't need to be said now but…let's chow down!"

The cheers that ensued afterwards made it clear that they had the same thoughts in mind.

Kuroko was currently outside of the dining room and was standing outside in a balcony with his arms resting on the railings.

"Neh neh Kurokocchi, are you already full?" Kise exited the second floor dining room through the side door and entered the balcony.

"No, I'm simply leaving space for the main course and dessert." Kuroko shook his head, before reverting his gaze back to the crowded streets below them. Kise joined him by the railing and stared into the dark blue sky. The two stood there in a comfortable silence, both soaking in the two different yet beautiful views: one of a starry sky that was illuminated by a full moon that cast a shadow, and another of the streets of Tokyo that were illuminated by the multiple streetlights and posters.

"…So it's really happening huh? We're going international….." Kise absentmindedly said to Kuroko, both refusing to remove their gazes. Kuroko said nothing as he stood there in silence.

"…Neh Kurokochhi. What made you change your mind huh?" Kise asked reluctantly.

"…I had a talk with Momoi-san and…she made me realize something."

"….And what's that?"

Kuroko stopped leaning on the railing and turned to face Kise.

"It's that I can't just wait for everything to go back to the way it was after only giving half the effort. I need to take the initiative and see it through to the end. And I can't do that if I'm too scared to take that risky step." Kuroko said with determination laced within his voice. Kise said nothing and remained silent for some time.

"…Neh Kurokocchi. Remember what I said back then about Kagamicchi after our first scrimmage?" When Kuroko made no attempt to deny, Kise continued.

"So let me ask you now, what will you do if everything just ends up repeating itself? What will you do if we all just break up again and decide that we can't ever be the way we were before as teammates?"

Kuroko stood there, contemplating on what his answer would be. He turned his left and watched Momoi through the glass doors of the balcony, watching her converse with Kagami and seemingly teasing him, as the red-head seemed uncomfortable and was blushing profusely while scratching the back of his head. Meanwhile, Tetsu-nigou was on one of the tables, eating out of Midorima's plate as the green-head was being distracted and annoyed by Takao. He turned his head to Riko Aida, who was scolding her team on whatever, and even Mitobe, who was silently sitting there and eating quietly.

"If that happens…this time it'll be different."

Kise raised an eyebrow at Kuroko, portraying his confusion.

"And just what would be so different that it would solve that problem?"

"This time…I won't be alone. I have people to support me and get me back up on my feet. I'll have people who'll push me to just try again. I'll have people to fill up that empty hole in my chest this time." Kuroko re-iterated as he kept his eyes on his fellow members of Seirin.

Kise smiled at Kuroko. "You've gotten yourself a nice bunch of friends besides us, neh Kurokocchi?"

Kuroko said nothing and just smiled as he watched Momoi suddenly pick up Tetsu-nigou and start smothering him, much to the husky's chagrin.

"Well!"

Kuroko's attention was brought back to Kise, who finally moved from his position and stretched his arms over his head.

"As great as Seirin is, I've got my own team that's just as great, if not better! And we're gonna prove that to you next year." Kise said with a determined smile on his face.

"...Nn. I'll be looking forward to it then." Kuroko said to Kise.

"Tetsu-kun! Ki-chan!" Momoi came outside with Nigou to join the two.

"Come inside, we have special guests and we have to greet them!" Momoi said as she pulled on Kuroko's arm and ushered Kise in as well.

"Momocchi~" Kise whined. "We were having such a nice moment! Can't we just greet 'em later?" Kise complained

"Nope nope nope! You need to greet them now! Come on, Tetsu-kun!" Momoi urged Kuroko

Upon entering, Kuroko's attention was directed straight towards a blob of blue hair in the distance. There's only one person he knows besides himself with that kind of hair. And if that person was who Kuroko though they were, then that means…

"Ku-chan!~"

"….K-Kaa-san?"

Kuroko Natsumi was a late 30s woman who had gotten married straight out of college to her high school lover at the young age of 21. And if there was one word to describe how she was as a mother, it would be…

A doter.

The second she had seen the bright blue eyes her adorable baby angel had inherited from her husband, she had fallen in love for the second time in her life.

It was a surprise in itself that Kuroko was even related to Natsumi in anyway, seeing as how they had nearly no physical traits in common. Unlike Kuroko, Natsumi was a woman with near-black hair, an optimistic personality that could rival Momoi's and dark brown eyes. Not to mention it seems Natsume too could not help but put on a doting personality that screamed joy in the presence of her husband Masaharu Kuroko and son.

Now let's move back a bit to when the couple entered.

~10 minutes ago~

"Um…excuse me?" Natsume reached up and tapped on Kagami's shoulder from behind. Kagami turned around from his conversation with Momoi, whose eyes widened as she saw who tapped on Kagami's shoulder. The moment she saw, Momoi ran to find Kuroko.

"Eh? O-Oh, hello?" Kagami asked confused. Who was this random woman? Was she a guest of one of the other team's?

"Hello! My husband and I are looking for my son and his team. I was hoping you could direct us to the Seirin team?" Natsume asked hopefully. Kagami puffed his chest in pride at the sound of his team name.

"That would be us! But….your husband….isn't here?" Kagami said unsurely. All he saw was the woman in front of him by himself…wait a minute.

'Is this…..deja vu?'

"Ano, that would be me?"

Kagami jumped slightly as a voice popped out of nowhere right behind him, sending a shiver up his spine.

'I-It couldn't be' Kagami thought to himself as he turned around slowly to find…

A blue-haired man with brilliantly blue eyes and a stoic look upon his face.

'…Yes, they're definitely his parents.'

"Y-You wouldn't happen to be the parents of-

"Ku-chan!~"

"..K-Kaa-san?"

Kuroko suddenly appeared out of nowhere, dumbfounded and simply stood there as Natsume ran up to him and tackled him in a death hug.

"…of Ku-chan?" Kagami left off with the end of his sentence after being cut off. He understood that the boy's last name was Kuroko, so 'Ku-chan' was a cute nickname…but who calls their son by their last name?

"Ahhhh~ I haven't hugged my baby in years!" Natsume said as she hugged Kuroko tightly to herself, nuzzling her face into his hair.

"Kaa-san, you hugged me last week too." Kuroko said with a small smile as he wrapped his arms around his mother's waist.

"Mou~~ That was last week! Soooooo long ago! My poor baby is being neglected by us; I wish our jobs wouldn't make this so difficult!" Natsume whined as she kissed Kuroko's forehead.

"But our boy's all grown up now isn't he, playing internationally now, neh Tetsu?" Masaharu said with a small smile as he patted a part of Kuroko's hair that wasn't covered by Natsume's cheek.

"W-What is kaa-san and tou-san doing here?" Kuroko asked as he was released from his mother's arms and welcomed into his father's.

"Satsuki-chan here came to us, urging us to come to this event and gave us your two tickets to come with you and watch you play. And speaking of Satsuki-chan…" Natsume said with a pout.

"How come you didn't tell us about you going out with Satsuki-chan? Is my baby becoming a rebel?" Natsume teased Kuroko, ruffling his hair.

"If it wasn't for Satsuki-san here, we probably wouldn't have received those tickets to watch you play overseas." Masaharu reminded Kuroko.

"Sorry, it seemed to have slipped my mind…wait…a-are you two the ones that Momoi-san gave those free tickets to? What about your jobs?" Kuroko asked in disbelief. His parents were going to accompany him overseas to watch him play? And where was this free-time going to come from?

"Our little boy is more important that our job. It's not every day that our angel is going to be playing internationally; our jobs can wait till then." Masaharu said with a smile, to which Kuroko gave a full-blown smile that showed all his teeth.

"Ahhh Ku-chan is so adorable when he's smiling~" Natsume said as she failed to restraint herself and assaulted her son with another hug, rubbing her cheeks with his.

"Kuroko seems so happy right now, I don't think he was this happy even after winning the Winter Cup." Hyuga said with a small smile on his face.

*FLASH

Hyuga turned his head and raised an eyebrow questioningly at Riko Aida, who was taking a picture of the Kuroko family, who were still in one big family hug with Tetsuya in the middle.

"What? It's insanely adorable!" Aida defended herself as she put the camera back in her bag.

"Eto…just out of curiosity, how come you call him 'Ku-chan'? I've never seen a parent refer to their son by a nickname based…off… their last name." Kiyoshi asked curiously. He trailed off as he noticed Kuroko shaking his head slightly.

Kuroko lowered his head to hide the small blush on his face as Natsume's eyes lit up.

"Ohhh I can't help but smile every time I think about this!" Natsume squealed.

"Tetsu was obsessed with peek-a-boo as a baby." Masaharu said with a small smile on his face as he ruffled Tetsuya's head, which was still lowered to cover his blush.

"It was sooooo adorable! He would always go and say 'KuKu….Jaaaa~" Natsume said as she imitated a peek-a-boo.

"So she started calling him KuKu-chan and it shortened down to Ku-chan over time." Masaharu explained and chuckled as he heard Tetsuya mutter about how embarrassing this was.

"Ahhh Ku-chan was SO adorable as a baby! I even have a huge collage of videos and pictures of Ku-chan when he was a baby, back at home!" Natsume said as she squealed.

"P-Please show me that collage as soon as possible!" Momoi said as stars grew in her eyes and she squealed alongside Natsume. Kuroko only groaned again in embarrassment.

"We're lucky Tetsu was such a good boy always. It amazes me that he didn't turn out spoiled after all the doting and spoiling we put him through." Masaharu said aloud to no one in particular and simply shook his head in amusement at his wife, who was still squealing alongside his son's girlfriend.

"So you're going to be coming along to watch us play right? I hope we get along well then." Kiyoshi said formally to Masaharu, who responded with a 'likewise' as the two shook hands.

At the sound of rolling carts, the mass of people's attention was drawn to the end of the hall, where the catering doors opened and plates filled with steaming cuisine was brought in to the dining room.

"Well now that we've gotten the formalities done with, let's finally dig in! I'm starvAGH!" Kagami cut off

"Shut up, you moron!" Aida scolded and blushed as the other teams chuckled at Kagami's childishness.

"Hahhh that food was SO good!" Kagami said as he yawned and stretched outside the restaurant.

"Not like we would know, seeing as how you ate almost ¾ out of it…." Riko Aida muttered as she sighed annoyingly. Kagami said nothing and mumbled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Have either of you gotten in contact with the G.M. of the representative teams yet?" Hyuga off-handedly asked both Kuroko and Kagami. Noticing the faltering in Kagami's stance, Hyuga deemed it important to ask Kagami about what he knows later on as it seemed Kuroko had something to say.

"Nn. The G.M. of Japan's team, Nichikawa-san said that we'd begin practice this Saturday as a matter of fact, at a private gym not too far from here." Kuroko replied.

"I see. And just what are you so uncomfortable about, Kagami-kun?" Riko Aida growled as Kagami faltered once more.

"Well…I talked to some guy named Michael. And he said that they had some awesome facility in the United States for us to practice in…" Kagami trailed off slowly.

"And?" Koganei asked curiously, seeing as how Kagami still had something to say.

"Well…Michael is our coach, and he wanted to start practice as soon as possible so…" Kagami muttered.

…

"…When's the flight?" Riko Aida sighed annoyingly as she rubbed her forehead.

"…Next Sunday…."

And that meant Kagami would be unable to participate in the Spring Cup that was to take place in May, 5 months from now.

"And that means you're gonna be unable to play in the Spring Cup of course." Riko Aida muttered.

"Well it's not that bad actually. I'm assuming Kuroko isn't gonna be able to participate either since he's got his hands full with practice for the ICAA. But the same applies to the rest of the G.O.M as well, so we've still got a chance to win the Spring Cup." Hyuga reassured the three.

"Yeah, you got that right." Riko Aida said as she placed her hand on Kuroko's shoulder. "But…"

"It's like I said. This year's batch of players are just really gutsy, going off and doing .want." Aida's eye twitched in irritation.

"S-Senpai, t-that…hurts…" Kuroko cringed as Aida's grip on his shoulder tightened and tightened.

"Mah, give the two of 'em a break. It's not every day that they're gonna have this kind of opportunity. Besides, it'd be even more embarrassing if they get their asses handed to 'em on live TV." Hyuga reasoned to Aida, who reluctantly released her grip on Kuroko's shoulder.

"Ku-chan~~ Time to go~~" Natsume called out to her son from the side of their car as she waved her hands in the air.

"Well, guess you gotta go. See you later, Ku-chan~~" Aida teased Kuroko, who lowered his head in embarrassment and muttered a 'good-bye' as he jogged towards his parents. "….I'm gonna miss those two idiots."

"Well on the bright side, at least Kuroko won't be too far. We can always visit him and vice versa. Besides…" Kiyoshi put an arm on Riko Aida's shoulder comfortingly. "We have a responsibility to support the two of them in these times, when they need us."

Aida said nothing, and eventually the group split their separate ways, departing towards their respective homes.

"Neh Tetsu-kun, who else do you think is gonna be there?"

Currently, Momoi and Kuroko were on the bus towards the Enkawa Gym near the edge of Tokyo. Kuroko had received an email notifying him that practice was to start as soon as possible.

Albeit not showing it, Kuroko was slightly anxious to find out who their coach was for Japan's representative team. His anxiety was relieved when he found it Kagetora was to be the coach for them. If anyone could put the members of the G.o.M in their place, it would definitely be him. That man did NOT take any disrespect lightly.

Now why was Momoi going with Kuroko to his practice? Because regardless of how tough he was, Kagetora still could not resist the innocent face Momoi had given him when she pleaded to come and watch them practice, saying it was her job to watch over the G.o.M.

"Besides the G.o.M, there are quite a number of people who could potentially be recruited. Though I doubt it'll be any surprise anyone we don't know." Kuroko responded and smiled at Momoi, who was resting her head on his right shoulder as they sat side-by-side.

"Well what about the college Japanese representative teams? I heard they're reaaaaally big and serious."

"Hopefully, we can all get along well then." Kuroko responded with a smile as Momoi rested her head on Kuroko's right shoulder.

~10 minutes later~

"Wahhh! This gym is soooo big!" Momoi exclaimed as she tilted her head up high. Just how many floors did this gym have?

"Apparently, practice for every event in the ICAA will be held here for Japan's representative team." Kuroko said as he showed no sign of awe or shock at the grand size of the gym. He merely walked up to the entrance doors and slid his mailed membership card through the slot, opening the doors in the process.

"Oi Tetsu! Satsuki! The two of you are late!"

Upon entering into a separate gymnasium that was reserved for them, Kuroko and Momoi found that the rest of the members of the G.o.M were already there, excluding Murasakibara. Currently, Aomine was relaxing on the benches of the bleacher near Akashi and Kise, who were stretching on the floor. Meanwhile, Midorima had already begun shooting around, pulling up from 50 feet.

"Practice doesn't officially start for another 15 minutes, Aomine-kun." Kuroko said as he put his bag down. "Also, we would've been here earlier, but Momoi-san overslept."

"Mou~ 6:45 is too early to have practice! I need my sleep you know!" Momoi whined and yawned, as if to show her drowsiness.

Akashi raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Are you still calling her that, Tetsuya? How can you call yourself her boyfriend if you continue to such formalities?"

Aomine snorted. "Last time he tried calling her Satsuki, he actually completely blushed bright red like a tomato. Besides, it's weird to hear Tetsu call anyone by their first name Aomine's former statement seemed to catch everyone by surprise, as the rest of the G.o.M halted whatever they were and stared at Kuroko, who turned his back to them.

"…I didn't think Tetsuya was actually capable of showing that much emotion." Akashi smirked teasingly. Midorima simply turned back with a 'hmph' and went back to shooting. Kise on the other hand; his eyes took on a twinkle as he got up from stretching and ran to Kuroko.

"Neh, is that true Kurokocchi? Can you try calling her by her name again? Please~~~" Kise urged Kuroko, who avoided his puppy eyes uncomfortably.

Momoi latched herself onto Kuroko's neck and giggled. "You should've seen it. Tetsu-kun was sooo cute!" She squealed as she rubbed her into Kuroko's shoulder.

"Sigh* I come in, and this is what I see?" Kagetora sighed as he walked into the gym tiringly.

"Mornin', Aidachhi!" Kise waved emphatically at Kagetora, even though he was practically 7 feet away.

"….What? *Sigh* Whatever. And where's the purple-haired brat?"

"I texted Atsushi and he has yet to respond." Akashi answered Kagetora.

Kagetora sighed once more. "Figures…Well he'll come up eventually. The rest of the junior team should be arriving momentarily as well. Apparently, one of them knows you pretty well and wouldn't stop talking about how excited he was to see you, Kuroko."

"Me?" Kuroko pointed at himself questioningly, as if mishearing the question.

Kagetora shrugged. "Well, you'll see who it is when everyone else arrives. For now, just now that we're gonna start with a 5 minute jog once everyone arrives."

At the sound of footsteps behind him, Kagetora turned around to welcome the next member.

"Ah look, he's already here."

"Yo! Morning Kagetora-san…..Ah! Kuroko!"

At the sound of his name being called, Kuroko turned his head towards the entrance. His eyes widened and he stiffened at who it was.

"…Ogiwara-kun?"

I apologize if this chapter wasn't well made. I haven't found the proper motivation, so please bear with me. And just a heads-up. The players I chose to participate besides the GoM; these are players based on my personal preferences, not based on skills and such. So until the next chapter!