A/N: Completely AU setting. Not basketball related at all. I hope I finish this chapter story. Pray for me. P.S. It is NOT sad, there IS happy ending.

By the light of million stars

Chapter one

The clock was ticking away as three figures rushed towards the ship. They bumped into people, dragging suitcases behind them. The taller male tried to make the way for the two others that were following him in step. It was 5:45 and the chimney of the ship gave loud scream.

"Come on hurry! We're going to be late!"
"Aominecchi, slow down!"
"We have fifteen more minutes, we will manage."

The taller, darker male ignored them and finally found the way onto the street. He could see the stairs for climbing aboard and he heaved a sigh.

"Who said the ship is leaving at 7!?" Aomine hissed picking up additional case from the blond and heading towards the boarding location.
"That would be you, Aomine-kun."
Aomine grumbled out something along 'fuck you Tetsu' lines, making his friends hold back a snort.

"Don't worry Aominecchi, we are on time," the blond said as he handed over the rest of the luggage to the tall sailor that awaited next to the boarding stairs. Kuroko did the same and joined the pair that already got on the ship.

"It's nice that we managed to get tickets for the cruise."
"Yes, thanks to Kise-kun."
The blond smiled, stretching hands above his head: "I'm glad that me camping on the site paid off with tickets."
"Where are our cabins? Did you reserved them too?"
Kise nodded and pulled out the keys he got from the sailor. "I got us all separate room. They only had those. But they are on the upper deck and next to each other so there won't be problem." Aomine and Kuroko took the keys and pocketed them, before turning to look at people below them.

"It's weird how fast this trip turned out to be," Kuroko muttered, leaning on the railing.
"Yes, but I ain't complaining," Aomine drawled. "I get to be free and laze off for days. I don't really give a damn when or where."
"Aominecchi is so laid back, ha-ha."

They all chuckled and at that moment, the stairs beneath them were pulled up by two sailors and connected safely to the side of the ship. The chimney gave another loud yell, making three friends jump in surprise as it suddenly started moving.

"Let's go to the front of the ship! It should be the best view."

They moved away from the railing and headed towards the head of the ship, slipping through the throng of people that were still waving to their family and friends. Men, women, children of all age- everyone was packed on the ship and it seemed as if more could fit.

They arrived at the front of the vessel, and Aomine couldn't help but grin childishly and lean over the rails to watch the metal edge of the ship cut the waves.
"Aominecchi be careful! That's dangerous, you could slip!"
Kuroko smiled at them before turning to watch the brilliant glint of the Sun on the water surface. The weather was very peaceful and aside from being disturbed by the ship, the sea was too.

"I feel accomplished, you know," Kise suddenly said, drawing attention of the others. He just shrugged towards Aomine and turned to look at Kuroko: "I managed to pull Kurokocchi out of his stuffy office."

Aomine snorted in approval, while the other boy sighed. That was... partly true. He liked his job, and he never thought that his office was stuffy and closeted. Maybe it was to someone like Kise who had free and open nature and couldn't handle sitting inside longer than needed. But he did agree with him to some point- he vacation was overdue. His body and his mind was crying for rest and that was the only reason why he accepted to go with them on this cruise.

"We should go to our cabins and rest before the dinner," Kise suggested and the others accepted it. It was starting to get cold here on the open sea and Kuroko longed to get his hands on the sweater.
"The dinner is at seven, right?" Aomine inquired and got a nod from the blond.
"Enough time to shower and rest before heading downstairs. I heard there are all types of meals to order."
"I want some burgers."
"BURGERS?!" Kise expected everything but this is...
"Aomine-kun, you are really dumb sometimes."
"HEY FUCK YOU TETSU!"

=v=

Kuroko sighed as he stepped out of the shower. He scrubbed his pale blue hair avidly with a towel, drying it before pulling on the button up shirt and simple, black jeans. He tried to comb his hair but it refused so the comb was tossed in the sink with disdainful look on Kuroko's face. He really hated that comb.

Once out of the bathroom, Kuroko dropped on the bed and looked around. His suitcases were in the corner of the room, closed. He had pulled out stuff he will need today- there was no bigger need for him to unpack everything.

Kuroko got up and walked over to the window, sitting down on the chair next to it- the Sun was slowly setting down, casting red stripes over peaceful sea. Having his chin leaned on palm of his hand, Kuroko found that the small swaying of the ship was calming him down, and if he were in bed, he would be fast asleep.

But his stomach wouldn't let him that. Contrary to his build, Kuroko didn't eat like a bird and there were times when he felt he could eat heaps of food. It wasn't his fault he was on the lean side. He wasn't completely skinny, but compared to his friends, he seemed like a stick figure.

He pulled out a notebook from his bag that was on the table and let his eyes run over the notes. He loved being journalist, even if he didn't initially planned to be that. He wanted to teach literature at one high school, but one of his works got published and he got dragged in the writing waters.

He didn't consider himself particularly talented. In fact, he was more blunt and straightforward than any other writer he encountered, sometimes even lacking that finesse every journalist has. He didn't write with colors of rainbows or twisted his own words. He wrote how it is and it was different from the others. And that drew attention to him, some criticized him, some loved his writing.

His friends would be mad if they knew he brought his notepad with him on the cruise where he should be resting from the work, not work even more. But it was stronger than him, and Kuroko promised himself that he will write only when the hand is really forcing him. He had long days ahead of him to spend in many way, so writing should fall in second plan.

Once he was done looking over the notes, he returned the notebook in the bag and stood up. It was fifteen minutes to seven and he should head downstairs for dinner. He grabbed long, white, button up jumper and pulled it on. He'd rather not catch cold on the cruise and spend days in the cabin.

He stepped outside and took in a deep breath- the fresh air and sea filled his senses, making him close his eyes and stretch. But he shouldn't be doing this- he needs to meet up with Aomine and Kise so he locked his cabin and headed towards the dining hall.

=v=

"These people are making me feel underdressed."
"That's because you ARE underdressed, Aominecchi. You are in sweat pants for God's sake."

Kuroko turned attention from his friends to the people that were entering and exiting the dining hall. Ladies in long gowns, men in suits with ties, some loaded with jewelry, some with heavy fur. And then there were some that just had simple suits, shirts and pants- like Kise and Kuroko himself. And then there was Aomine that came in sweatpants, sweatshirt and sneakers. He was grumbling behind his pile of Mexican food, the spiciness of it ridding him from his ability to speak normally.

"Well, if we ignore the wanna-be-high-class, some of these people are really handsome. Like that guy over there."
Kuroko looked over to where Kise was nodding and he had to admit- the guy was quite handsome even if his face was obscured with long bangs. The jacket he's wearing suited his tan and his whole posture, as he talked to one of the sailors, screamed of self confidence.

"American?" Aomine mumbled over the food. Kise scrunched his nose at him before digging into his prawns. "How should I know? I just said he's nicely dressed."

Kuroko didn't say anything- he was already on his desert. The other two were slow due to constant bickering for no reason. They always argued and poked each other so he wasn't overly worried for them. Instead, he focused on his tiramisu. Kise and himself had a bite of Italian food while Aomine decided he wanted something spicy. And by the looks of it- he was regretting it. Kuroko could almost imagine steam blowing out of his ears like in a cartoon.

"Is the cake any good?"
"It is very good, Kise-kun. You should take a piece."
"I GIVE UP."

Kuroko and Kise turned to look at Aomine who sat slouched in his seat, only half of his food eaten. A smirk crawled on Kise's face. "Can't handle the hotness, Aominecchi?"
"Shut up, idiot. Just how much peppers did they put in there!?"
"I believe they put just enough," Kuroko said, finishing off his cake.
"Stop looking so smug, Tetsu."
"I am not smug."

The crossfire continued and it was followed by a laughter. They had their disagreements, but Kuroko knew that neither of them meant any harm. He knew them for years, way before he started working as journalist. So their daily arguments is a normal thing. What wouldn't be normal is them not quarreling during the day.

"I'm going to go and take a walk on the deck."
"Alright. We will join you once we eat."
"We will bring drinks," Aomine added as he pulled back the plate that he pushed away just a minute ago. He's still hungry and no spice will keep him away from food.

Nodding to them and picking up his sweater, Kuroko headed towards the deck. He pulled on the garment because the wind had picked up a little. He crossed his arms as he walked slowly, quietly, taking in the scenery of clear, night sky littered with stars and bright full moon. He was sure that the lights wouldn't be needed to light up the deck- that's how bright it was.

He reached the head of the ship. There wasn't anyone around- people were probably still at the dinner. The thought of feeling content crossed his mind as he leaned on the railing. There wasn't anything he could complain about at this moment. He wouldn't describe this feeling as 'happy' though. Peaceful and relaxed- maybe.

He frowned- was that a dolphin swimming alongside the ship. Tilting his head curiously, he leaned forward a bit, trying to see better. A small smile slipped on his face as he realized that yes, those were dolphins.

In a moment, that seemed faster than a second, his whole world turned around and his ears were filled with a yell: "DON'T DO IT! WHATEVER IT IS, IT IS NOT WORTH IT!"

He was tugged away from the railing and almost lifted from the ground. His head was spinning, ears ringing and senses overloaded by warmth of the hug he just received. Kuroko was so confused and disoriented that he couldn't make a coherent sentence even if his life depended on it.

"W..What?"
"I said it's not worth it!"
"What is ... not worth it?"
"Killing yourself! Whatever troubles you is not worth losing your life over it!"

It was then that it dawned on Kuroko what happened. He was staring up at this tall guy with wide eyes, leaning fully onto him and the guy didn't seem to want to let him go because... because he thought Kuroko wanted to jump in the sea!

"I.. I—" the journalist tried to find the words to explain the situation he suddenly found himself in, but the words seemed to be stuck in the back of his throat.
"It's alright! Whatever's going on it will pass and everything will be okay!"

The tall guy was still going off in explanation why he shouldn't kill himself. Maybe it was because of the sea, slight swaying, even the closeness of the other's body against his, but for the first time in his life, Kuroko was at lack of what to say.
The red panicked eyes stared into his, expecting some kind of answer and the murmur of people somewhere in the distance managed to snap Kuroko back into reality. He pushed away from the other, but didn't break the locked gaze they held.

"I wasn't trying to jump. I thought I saw dolphins swimming next to ship. I wanted to see them."

The red color, as red as sailor's eyes (Kuroko just NOW noted that the guy was wearing full sailor uniform) colored the taller guy's face. Completely. Kuroko's own face had a bit of rosy color but not the amount the other had.

"But- But I- - but you—I THOUGHT- -Oh dear God.."

Finally realizing what he did, the sailor buried his face in his hands, letting out a heavy sigh. He seemed relieved and embarrassed to hell and back at the same time.

"I- I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-! I-!"
"It's alright. I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine."
"Yes, good, I.. I need to return to my post! I.. Once again I'm sorry!" With a short bow, the sailor dashed away, leaving Kuroko to stare after him in wonder.

He still doesn't know what happened. Or how it happened. Or why it happened. But it did, and it completely blew his mind away. He didn't even notice Kise and Aomine finding him and talking something about some purple giant hogging all the desert. His mind was too preoccupied by the hands that gripped him so hard and hauled him in one swift move away from the railing. It felt surreal, as if his mind was playing tricks on him.

And when he went to bed later, he was wrong. The sway of the ship did nothing to help him fall asleep, no matter how much he was exhausted. His mind was overloaded of the pictures of that sailor and when Kuroko finally managed to fall asleep, it was almost morning.

To Be Continued...