Mallorie wasn't mad.

Oh no, she wasn't.

She was pissed.

She shut the door behind her with more force than what necessary and stormed up all the way to her room, ignoring the calls of her mother after her. Slammed the door to her room and flopped down the bed, burning holes into the ceiling with her intense glaring. She had come home early from practice, asking the coach if she could go just a few moments after Kuroko excused himself. Riko had agreed, still looking slightly shaken up about the whole event that transpired.

However, despite the shock and horror she had felt at Kuroko's words, Mallorie felt absolutely livid right after he left. Why was he so adamant at refusing help? Why couldn't he see that pursuing the issue was better than letting it build up over time? Why couldn't he see the effort she placed into helping him?

Pressing her pillow against her face, she let out a frustrated scream.

"Stupid Tsuya! Just let me help you will ya?!"

"Someone seems to be having a tantrum."

Mallorie immediately sat up from her bed, locking eyes with her mother who was leaning against the open doorway.

"Mom!" she squeaked. "Uh... what are you doing here...?"

Alexa Strauss chuckled and walked over beside her daughter.

"What, am I not allowed inside your room?'

"What do you mean? Of course you're allowed to- you'd kill me otherwise." Mallorie said quickly while muttering the last bit under her breath, not looking at her mother.

The blonde let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, you know me so well." Then her gaze settled upon her daughter.

"So, what's bothering you?"

Mallorie suppressed a surprised flinch but couldn't hide a slight grimance. "Well, it's actually not a big deal-"

"It's about Tetsuya, isn't it?"

Mallorie's abrupt frozen state was all Alexa needed. The blonde's eyes softened and she rested her hand on the other's back, rubbing circles for comfort.

"Do you want to tell me what happened? I'm here to listen." Mallorie detected a hint of concern in her mother's tone, and while she usually hated asking for help from others, her mother was an exception. She relaxed her tense shoulders and leaned into her mother's touch. She breathed in deep and started to speak.

"It's just...It's hard." Mallorie looked down, suddenly finding her fingers very interesting. "Back in America, I said I would do my best to help Tsuya and even promised Dad I would fix their relationship, but I never expected..." She sighs. "I never expected it to be this hard."

Alexa hummed thoughtfully. "You know, it's only been a week ever since you guys met again."

Mallorie winced, untangling herself from her mother's half embrace and made a frustrated noise while carding a hand through her hair. "That's just the thing, it's only been a week, but then I feel like it's impossible to get anywhere at this point. I've been dropping subtle hints and those didn't work. I tried to confront him directly earlier but it didn't turn out well..." She dropped her hand with a sigh.

"I just wish I knew what to do."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Get to know him then."

"What?"

Alexa eyes met her daughter's confused ones. "If you're finding it hard to help him, then why don't you get to know him again?"

Mallorie was speechless, staring up at her mother in a wide-eyed fashion.

Of course it made sense! It was so simple, how come she hadn't thought about it sooner?

A blinding smile broke out on Mallorie's face and Alexa barely had time to brace herself before she was tackled by her daughter all of a sudden.

"Thank you Mom!" And then she was out in a flash.

Alexa blinked, then chuckled to herself as she smoothed out the wrinkles that had formed on her dress.

-**O**-

Riiiiiiiiiing... riiiiiiiiiiiing...

"Hello?"

"Ah, Kise?"

"Kagamicchi~! How rare of you to call me! What's up?"

"Gah, you're annoying as usual." the red-head grumbled.

"How mean! Besides, at least I wasn't the one who called- Ah, now that I think about it you never start a call... Is something wrong?"

Kagami resisted the urge to curse at the one talking on the other end of his phone. That damn Kuroko, making him do things he doesn't like...

Kagami's voice was strained as he replied, "I think... I think we may need your help."

"..."

"... Eh?"

"Argh, don't make me repeat dammit!"

"No, but- like- why would y- out of all the- WHAT?"

"Just get your Miracle asses here and help us out ya hear me?!" Kagami yelled into his phone and promptly hung up. He sighed as he slumped against his couch, massaging his temples as he feels a headache coming.

"God, Kuroko... what is happening to you?"

His mind flashes back to the confrontation that occurred earlier. He's never seen Kuroko snap at a girl before, he knows his friend is too much of a gentleman as evidenced by their previous encounters with women. Which is why it was definitely a shock- not just to him, but to the entire team- when Kuroko's voice started to drip with venom. The only time he's heard that tone of voice from him was during their match against Kirisaki Daiichi.

But, Kagami thought, there was something else, now that he thought about it. Something hidden beneath the cold voice he heard this afternoon. Something he probably wouldn't have noticed without knowing Kuroko so well.

Something... very lonely.

Kagami narrowed his eyes at the thought. He was going to get to the bottom of this, and to do so, he was going to need the help of Kuroko's other friends, even if it was a bit of a blow on his pride. He couldn't just leave Kuroko alone to fix his problems when it looked like he was struggling. He was a man of his word, and when he said that Kuroko was family, he meant it.

Looking to the picture frame mounted on top of the dining table to the right, he thought: yep, all this would be worth it in the end. As his eyes traced the figures of his upperclassmen to his batchmates and finally, to Kuroko, his eyes lit up with determination. He sat up straight, setting his gaze forward.

Never was he going to leave anyone else behind, not anymore.