As stated in the summary, I was inspired by the Kuroko no Basket Anon Meme on tumblr to write this one. Though I doubt that this fills the prompt.

I'm still working on my psychology paper, but this was something that I left half-written, so I added in stuff + an omake.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAKAO! (it's tomorrow for those who don't know)

Let's get this started so I can go back to doing my work. (and listen to that Shinsengumi drama CD by Suzuki Tatsuhisa)

And if you like this, do drop a little review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket and its franchise.

Notes:

All the children are referred to by their first names, while the adults by their last names.

Pairings are supposed to be one-sided on the kid's side. Unless you imagine otherwise.

The name of the Kindergarten sounds random because it is.

"Let go, Daikicchi!"

"That's my line, Ryouta! Let go of Tetsu!"

"Kurokocchi is mine! Daikicchi should acknowledge that!"

"Both of you; stop it. I can't walk if you keep clinging onto my legs."

"But Kurokocchi…!"

"It's not my fault! Ryouta started it!"

Midorima Shintarou gave a loud sigh as he tried to focus on his picture book.

It was a typical morning at Strawberry Kindergarten, a small institute run by a group of five teachers.

"Kurokocchi is going to be my bride!"

"No, Tetsu is going to be mine!"

"You're wrong about that, Dai-chan! Tetsu-kun will be my husband!"

"You wish, Satsuki."

"Kuroko! I need your help to fetch the first-aid kit! Shinij-kun fell down again!"

"I'm coming, Kiyoshi-san."

"Tatsuya-sensei! Let's play ball!"

"Later, Taiga-kun. No, Atsushi! You're not supposed to eat that until snack time!"

"But I'm hungry…"

Shintarou shut the book he was reading. How could he focus with all this noise?

He turned his direction towards the far end of the room, where the last of the teachers was talking to a boy with red hair.

"Seijuurou-kun, can you put down those scissors? They can be quite dangerous, you know?"

"But I don't want to."

"Please?"

"I don't want to."

"I wonder how Mibuchi-sensei handles you sometimes. If only he was here today."

"Reo has nothing to do with this. And sensei? "

"Yes?"

"Your head's held too high."

"It can't be helped. When you're much older, you'll definitely be taller than me. I'm sure of it."

"That's not what I am trying to tell you, sensei."

Takao Kazunari.

Shintarou had always admired him.

No, it's not even to the point of admiration anymore. It was past that.

Being a quiet child, he had always preferred to sit by himself, away from the rest of the students. But this teacher had approached him, with a big smile plastered onto his face, asking why he was on his own.

Being the shy little boy he was, he turned his head away as to hide his face.

Most people would just leave him alone after that, but this teacher didn't give up.

Day after day, he would talk to him, with that same bright smile on his face.

At first he was just curious, wondering why the teacher had bothered to speak to someone like him.

After a while, he got used to Takao being around him. He grew fond of him.

Little Shintarou had a crush on his teacher.

He got the feeling that many children, like him, have their first crushes on their kindergarten teachers.

Ryouta and Daiki were a prime example, literally clinging onto Kuroko-sensei every chance they get and declaring that they wanted him for their brides. Satsuki was no better. Sometimes, even Taiga would join in the fuss, and the teal-haired teacher could do nothing but to sigh at his unexpected popularity with the children.

Fortunately, he possessed a weak presence, which got him out of many a troublesome situation.

The rest of the teachers, Kiyoshi-sensei and Himuro-sensei (and Mibuchi-sensei who wasn't here today), had their own fair share of fans as well. They seemed to not mind the daily occurrence, brushing it aside as they continued with their duties.

Takao, on the other end, would tease the youngest teacher of the group to no end.

At that moment, Shintarou continued to watch, with mild jealousy, the dark-haired teacher was still attempting to rid little Seijuurou of the pair of the scissors.

Frowning, he stood up.

No one noticed the little head of green hair leaving the room.

"Oh, I give up," Takao sighed, raising his hands in exasperation. "Oi, Kuroko, think you can convince him?"

"I'm a little busy right now," The teal-haired teacher shot his co-worker an annoyed look, not amused that he had four noisy children by his feet that were demanding for his complete attention.

"Himuro?"

"If you're looking for Muro-chin-sensei, he's in the kitchen."

"Kiyoshi-san?" He turned towards his employer, hoping that he could do something about it. He was getting desperate.

"Just leave him be. Children should have their freedom after all."

"But that doesn't mean we should let him run about holding something that dangerous! What if he gets hurt? How are we going to answer to his parents?"

Kiyoshi gave a laugh. He bent down next to the boy.

"Seijuurou-kun, do you think you could put those down? They are dangerous, and we don't want you to get hurt. Please?"

"… Okay. Only because you said please."

The boy willingly handed his scissors over, and Kiyoshi took them with a smile and a word of thanks.

"That was all it took?!" Takao exclaimed, shocked.

"It's a million years too early for you to beat Kiyoshi-san," Kuroko stated bluntly as he tried to peel Daiki off his back.

Takao sighed in defeat.

He then looked around the room, looking for a head of green hair. He frowned when he failed to it.

"Shin-chan?"

"What is it, Takao-san?"

"Shin-chan isn't here. I saw him earlier, but he seems to have disappeared."

XXX

It was in the music room that Takao managed to find the boy, a few minutes later.

It was the soft tune of the piano had led him to the room, where he saw the boy playing with a blissful expression on his face.

"Shin-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Ah! S-Sensei! I…"

"You want to play the piano, didn't you?"

The boy nodded.

"Well, it's fine with us, but do let one of us know before you disappear, okay? If you don't, we would be worried sick."

"I… I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. As long as you don't do it again."

"I'm sorry…"

"Ahh! You can stop apologizing already! You're going to make me feel bad."

"O-Okay…"

"Anyway, what song were you playing earlier?"

"Twinkle twinkle little star!"

"Oh! That's awesome! I bet you can play lots of other songs too, since Shin-chan is so smart!"

"T-That's not true…"

"Don't be so shy about it! I think being able to play the piano well is something to be proud of!"

"Can sensei play the piano too?"

"I can't, but I can play some other instruments. I love music."

"What is sensei's favourite song, then?"

"Hmm… That's a tough question. There's a lot of songs that I like. What about Shin-chan? What's your favourite song?"

"I don't have a favourite… B-But…"

"But?"

"I-I like anything that Sensei sings during song-time."

Takao felt his face heat up, turning it away to hide the big grin that was about to creep onto it.

Who knew that this kid was good at flattering?

"Sensei?" Shintarou cocked his head to the side, confused by the gesture.

"It's nothing. Shall we return to where everyone else is? It's almost snack time." He held out his hand to the boy. "We're having dorayaki today. Shin-chan loves the red-bean paste in them, don't you?"

The boy nodded his head, a bright smile on his face.

He took his teacher's hand, and the two walked back to the play area.

"S-Sensei?"

"Yes, Shin-chan?"

Takao looked down towards the boy, wearing his usual smile.

From Shintarou's point of view, he seemed to be a little too dazzling.

He wanted to look away, but his eyes remained fixated on the face in front of him.

"Sensei, I… I…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I-It's nothing!"

Sensei, I like you.

He won't say it now, but there will always be another time.

Right?

-OMAKE-

"Sensei?"

"What is it, Shin-chan?"

"H-Here! I drew something for you!"

The boy handed him a piece of paper with a drawing on it.

"It's nice, Shin-chan… is this a… basketball?"

"N-No! I-It's Sensei."

"w-Wow… I didn't notice it! But why are you drawing this for me?"

"A-About that… H-Happy birthday!"

"Aww, thanks, Shin-chan… Whoa, wait; how did you know that it's my birthday?!"

"I heard from Kiyoshi-sensei."

"Ah."

"Do you… not like it?"

"How can I dislike it? Shin-chan drew it for me!"

"How old is Sensei this year?"

"O-Old?"

"Ahaha… you mean how young he is, right?"

"Kiyoshi-san, it's not good to tease people."

"My bad."

"By the way, Taiga-kun scraped his knee again."

"I'll be right there."

"Atsushi! How many times must I tell you not to eat those before snack time?"

"But I'm hungry!"

"Just bear with it for a little longer."

"Muro-chin-sensei's a meanie!"

"Kurokocchi! Daikicchi bullied me!"

"It's not my fault, Tetsu!"

"They're so noisy," Takao sighed as he turned back to the boy in front of him. He was shocked to see him in tears. "E-Eh? Shin-chan…?"

"I-I'm sorry, Sensei… that I called you old…"

"It's okay, Shin-chan! I'm not angry, so please don't cry!"

"R-Really?"

"Shin-chan is so cute, how can I be angry you?"

"Sensei…"

"That's a good boy," Takao took his handkerchief out of his pocket, gently wiping the tears of his face.

"Isn't that just sweet?" Mibuchi crooned as he watched them from afar. "Since when have they gotten so close?"

"Looks like our Kazu finally got someone with a crush on him," Kiyoshi beamed. "Unlike a certain someone here who's popular with the kids."

"There's nothing to be jealous about, you know," Kuroko sighed. "And would someone get Daiki-kun off me?"

"Muffins!"

"Atsushi, get back here!"