A/N: This is just an idea I've toyed with and kept for quite sometime, but hadn't posted until now. :-} This story is something I'm writing on the sides, for variety's sake. Another guilty fic. XD As always, I'm writing my OTP KagaKuro~ with some of my other OTP side-pairings. :-D
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Stealth Kill

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Chapter 1: To Be a Shadow

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"The target is Kagami Taiga You will be perfect for this job."

Tetsuya idly thumbed the photo clipped to the profile document, gaze feathered through red hair and tan skin, broad shoulders uncovered by a black singlet. An sportsman's body. The scene behind the man was a gym courtyard. He eyed the profile data, and there it was, written there on bold: Kagami Taiga, Full Scholarship on Basketball in Seidai University. MVP player for Winter Cup Tournament. Interhigh Runner Up Champion. Kantou Tournament Champion.

Impressive, he thought to himself. Already, he found something of a common interest.

He frowned when his gaze went through the following statements: Recently injured in a street assault, dull force to the left forearm. The offender escaped the scene. Victim claims the offender was wearing a mask, sunglasses and a hooded jacket. Victim claims to have fought back and wounded the offender in self-defence.

Injury: Clean Bone fracture. Recovery Time: Two months. No side effects present after rehabilitation.

"A random street assault?" He uttered, brows furrowed. However, it was strange that someone would randomly choose a victim with physique like Kagami Taiga's. A rather foolish option.

His boss shook his head. "We initially thought so, but it appears the offender purposely picked body parts deemed as important to athletes. Kagami Taiga have reported, that he had avoided the first attack that was meant to hit his predominant hand. Would a random assault be so specific?"

Tetsuya clenched his jaw tightly, straightened his back, the document lowered and tucked over his lap.

"No."

Tetsuya answered, firmly.

His boss hummed, tapping a black pen on a vinyl folder over his desk, the master copy of the one Tetsuya was holding now.

"His parents think so, as well. They are, unfortunately, very busy and unable to conduct their own research and surveillance, that is where we come in. The clients hire us to watch over their son, not only that, but also to find out if someone planned for the assault. There is a concern that it may be related to their jobs, or it may simply be a case of jealously gone violent. You'll have three months to do this. Longer, if needed." He explained, gaze lowered. His hand flipped over the documents, writing something on an empty underlined space at the bottom of the page.

"The parents' jobs?"

"Kagami Taiga is the grandson of a politician, from his mother's side. His parents work abroad in America, they are quite unavailable at the moment. All three of the family members are very concerned. Kagami Taiga has a bright future for the profession he's aiming for, after all"

A politician's grandson and an aspiring sportsman. The job was rather large scale. "I understand, Akashi-san." Tetsuya nodded briefly, contemplated the idea, and opened his mouth again.

"Is there any special methods you would like me to apply?"

Akashi smiled, he reclined his back and outstretched a hand to pull the top drawer of his desk, fishing out a thin, yellow folder and pushing it towards Tetsuya. The latter gingerly accepted it, but didn't immediately flip it open, thumbing the file and placing it behind Kagami Taiga's profile data.

"You will work with Kise, under disguise. It shouldn't be hard for both of you to pretend to be university students. And, I want you to approach our target, preferably as friends, to hang out with him and follow him everywhere. Basically, be his shadow. But don't let him know who you are, his parents have specifically requested for this to be kept a secret. They don't want their son to have more worries after the rehabilitation."

"… Kise and I are 23 years old, Akashi-san. This is a tall order." Tetsuya said, remembering he had never attended a university before. He was a graduate from the National Police Academy. It was a vastly different lifestyle than that of common university student, it was less about partying and writing essays and more about crime investigating and gun firing. For practice, of course.

"I'm sure you'll make it. You and Kise have such youthful features, in fact, I think Kise would rather enjoy the attention from the female students. Besides, I'd like to see her again." A wide smile grew on the redhead's lips, chin dipped on to laced fingers that created a bridge over two propped elbows. One of the red eyes shifted to golden, flashing mischievously.

Tetsuya couldn't help the grimace forming on his own lips. "You have some bad hobby, Akashi-san. I'm sure this is a sexual harassment, I'll sue."

"What are friends for, Tetsuya? We've known each other for almost ten years. There's no need to be embarrassed." The Other Akashi replied him, shrugging his shoulders. Truly, his split personality issue just got worse every year, Kuroko secretly thought.

Other Akashi chuckled, and Tetsuya learned he might have just voiced out his own thoughts.

"My older brother agrees with me, she is simply enticing. We both look forward to seeing her, do take pictures when Ryouta is finished, and send them to my phone. Unfortunately, we won't be able to leave the office at this time around. Paperworks to fill in you see — Atsushi and Daiki will be returning in two weeks. I've arranged some new jobs for the others as well." He gestured to a stack of documents that appeared more like a tower than a stack — exaggeration aside.

Tetsuya snorted. "I understand. President Akashi. I will excuse myself, now. Unless you have something else to add?" He said, the folders at his side in one hand and another hand was on the arm of the chair, about to stand up.

"Ah, don't leave yet. I still need to get over some things with you, I'm sure Kise could wait a while more." Akashi smiled politely, his eyes returned to both red eyes.

Tetsuya honestly preferred the older Akashi, at least he wouldn't openly try to tease him into blushing. The Other Akashi liked to play mind games too much. "Of course, Akashi-san." He said with a smile, lowering himself on the chair again.

"I've thought about the strategy. I've explained it to Kise already, because you were still on your previous job last week. It would be better if Kise join the Basketball club, and you, Kuroko, be the manager. Kagami Taiga spends most of his time in the gym, practicing. It's the most plausible excuse to the both of you, to approach him. As for your covers — I've had it arranged." He gestured to the yellow folder in Tetsuya's hold.

Tetsuya glanced over it, fingers tugged the folder from behind the navy blue one in front of it, then he flipped it open. A photo of a bespectacled long-haired girl with pale skin, blue eyes and similar coloured hair, greeted him. Her expression was blank and disinterested. Tetsuya remembered how annoyed he was when Kise took that photo of him. At first it was just for a job, the client had been a budding actress with stalker problems, Tetsuya had to dress up as her friend to accompany her through her busy schedule, until his partner at that time — Aomine, could bag in the stalker.

But apparently, everyone else — especially Akashi — had opinionated how much Tetsuya looked good in drag, and charted the disguise as part of his expertise. Since then he'd have to dress up in female disguise from time to time, because it was effective strategy, especially for female clients — no criminal would have thought the plain, unnoticeable girl next to their target would be a professional bodyguard.

It had actually elevated Tetsuya's own success rates to a higher ground, in no time, he gained several promotions and salary raise. He was now one of the top six private bodyguards in the firm. Even if he hadn't liked dressing like female, it was for the job — to protect their clients and he was a professional. But everyone just loved teasing him about it.

"You're not changing my name?" He said, noticing the alias was still written as Kuroko Tetsuya. Female. Age 20. Majoring in Literature. Literature? He supposed it was a sound choice.

Akashi shook his head. "There is no need. Nowadays, people have unisex names, it shouldn't be a problem. You may chart it up as something that have bothered you for a long time. Something to deepen your character's personality, make you relatable. Say it was because your father had wanted a son, instead of a daughter. It's sort of a complex for you."

" … just what kind of drama you have been watching, Akashi-san?"

Akashi laughed. It still bothered Tetsuya, the way the redhead laughed. It wasn't normal to be so elegant while laughing. "Anything to make people believe you, My Lady Tetsuya." He simply said.

Tetsuya cringed. "Please, just stop."

The redhead chuckled.

"I've prepared the papers for you and Kise. You'll be transfer students — next month is the new spring term, it's the perfect timing. You and Kise will pose as childhood friends, so it shouldn't be odd for you to spend a lot of time together. Your parents are good friends and have decided to move to the countryside, so you're living by yourselves. Your apartment is ten minutes walk to the university, you're sharing a flat together as housemates. No romantic entanglements, you're more like siblings, because you were raised together since childhood."

"That is an incredibly detailed background story, Akashi-san." Tetsuya said, impressed.

Akashi nodded, face scrunching in concentration. He seemed deeply serious. "Of course, should you wish for romance to start blooming between two childhood friends, only realising their feelings for each other after they start living together, I wouldn't object — "

"Alright. I think that's enough for now, Akashi-san." Tetsuya took back everything he said. This Akashi was just as bad as the other one.

"Please understand this, Akashi-san. I am not having a romantic relationship with Kise-kun. We are not childhood friends. We are only co-workers on a job. Most importantly, I am a man." He reminded the redhead, emphasising each word of the last sentence.

"Ah, too bad. I'd love to see how it turns out." Akashi smiled.

Tetsuya sighed, then stood up.

"I think it's time for me to leave, now. Kise-kun is waiting for me. I will see you soon, President. Thank you for the briefing." He bowed politely.

Akashi smiled and waved to him from behind his desk, Tetsuya nodded once more, grabbed the door handle, and left. As he strode out of the President's office, down to the hallways — paused slightly to nod to his assistant — Tetsuya knew, in his mind, that next task would be the most excruciating.

—

A few days later, it was time to execute the plan.

In the morning, Tetsuya entered the elevator that opened just as he arrived at a timely manner. Out of all 20 floors, he pressed the fifth — and waited until the elevator gave out a ding to inform of his destination. Kuroko walked out, his cellphone buzzed in his pocket. He paused to fish out the phone and flipped it open, it was a text from Kise. The blonde was already waiting for him at the dressing room, and had kindly informed him, with assortments of various emojis and heart icons, of all the fashionable items he'd prepared to make Tetsuya more beautiful thanever before.

Tetsuya shivered involuntarily.

Greatly reluctant, but constantly reminded himself, the sooner he got everything done, the better. He remembered how last time, he had to sit for four long, painful hours just for Kise to be satisfied with his female disguise. That man should quit Bodyguarding to be a beauty expert or something, he was simply too good at makeup, hair dressing and even fashion styling. Kise used to want to be a model, if Tetsuya remembered right, but never did become one. Then he went to a beauty school after graduating highschool, how he ended up as a bodyguard was a whole other story on its own.

"Kurokocchi! Are you ready for your makeover?" Kise was practically gushing with excitement and joy, when Tetsuya arrived at the scene. His arms spread wide, golden eyes sparkling like a kid with a new toy. He was already dressed up as a regular university student — albeit the fashionable type.

Tetsuya was suddenly depressed.

He let Kise dragged him and pushed him down on a chair, a large three-set vanity mirrors with the edges riddled with lamps, blinded his sight for a few seconds. The dressing table was chock full of makeup and skincare products of various brands. Tetsuya almost chocked in the sweet smell of perfume and powdered makeup, combined. Kise was humming happily, inspecting his hair and face with his hands, practically groping around Tetsuya's head.

"Aah, you have such beautiful skin and hair, Kurokocchi! I'm always looking forward to dressing you up! Did you follow my advice and apply the moisturiser I gave you, everyday? It's a bestseller product. It'll make your skin smooth and plump, like a baby's butt." The blonde said, pinching Tetsuya's cheek as if making a point.

"Please, stop that, Kise-kun. It hurts." Tetsuya said, even more depressed. "And yes, since you have kindly given it to me, and remind me everyday that I must do it for the job. I have been using it everyday." Thankfully, the moisturiser was unscented, so Tetsuya felt less emasculated about it.

Kise was now stroking his cheeks, pleased with himself. "This skin texture is perfect for the makeup. You'll be so cute, Kurokocchi. I've prepared all the best stuff for you, courtesy of Akashicchi, of course. He gave me more budget this time." He gushed.

Why wasn't Tetsuya surprised? He felt like they were ganging up on him.

"Just… just get it over with, please, Kise-kun." And maybe while Kise was at it, cut his neck off too.

Kise happily obliged.

"Alright, let's get this started!" He exclaimed, rolling up his sweater sleeves.

Tetsuya had always been patient. It was one of his virtues. Out of all the six top bodyguards in this firm, Tetsuya was the calmest and the most hardworking. He didn't have much presence or intimidation like the others. But he was calm, calculated and he was known to get along with the clients he'd worked with, especially female clients, due to his gentle nature. He was praised often, for his professionalism.

That was why he endured and didn't complain nor rouse a racket when Kise told him to sit for six hours straight, as the blonde installed hair extensions to Tetsuya, because unlike wigs, hair extensions would not move around if Tetsuya was required to do something that needed wild bodily movements, during the disguise.

And then there was the two hours of makeup and nail grooming — which required Kise to call up some of his friends, who worked at beauty salons. Tetsuya had his limbs scrubbed off of filth and dead skin cells, his nails filed and shaped, painted with light blue nail polish and decorative white butterflies. He must admit the nails were cute, at least.

After hair and makeup were finally finished, Kise was ecstatic with the result. Tetsuya was just sore from sitting, unmoved, for six hours.

The weave was straight, with big, soft curls at the ends, icy blue in colour like his natural hair. He had a straight fringe that was just above his eyebrows, delicately framing Tetsuya's face. It was quite long, running to his chest. Kise had applied natural makeup on him, put some false lashes to make Tetsuya's blue eyes appear bigger, more feminine. His eyebrows were reshaped. His lips were pink, in a gradient shade that darkened near the slit of his mouth. Peach coloured blush was applied to his cheeks, and made it look like Tetsuya was constantly flushing like an innocent maiden.

He begrudged this, but Tetsuya did look good.

His face was round and small to begin with, and his Adam's apple was never obvious. He had always been slim, could never build up too much muscles, or grow too tall. But to think he'd looked this good in makeup and girls' clothes. Either the gods had a twisted sense of humour, or Tetsuya picked the wrong gender while he was in his mother's womb. Not that he wanted to be a girl, however.

"My masterpiece." Kise breathed out as he put his hand on Tetsuya's shoulder, a hand over his mouth, tears welling up in his eyes.

Tetsuya wanted to groan in frustration, but he kept it inwardly. He had a reputation to uphold.

He entertained the idea of quitting his job — which he never did — when his legs were waxed off just so he could wear skirts, nearly screaming but succeeding in keeping it down. He didn't know how real girls could stand such torture routinely. Each time he did this, Tetsuya gained more and more respect for the female population.

Kise dressed him in a conservative white dress, with soft lace trimmings and puffy sleeves that went to his elbows (the type that softened the harsh curves of his shoulders), a billowing skirt that stopped just before his knees. There were ruffles at the front, divided into two lines accompanying a vertical row of transparent buttons, all the way until the waist. There was a delicate line over the waist to accentuate Tetsuya's nonexistent curves.

The fact that he was used to wearing corset and female undergarments with silicone paddings for fake chest, under the dress, to create curves on his masculine body, was depressing enough as it was. Not to mention, the awful, awful black platform shoes and the white knee-high socks with ruffled edges.

"You look so pretty, Kurokocchi. I can't believe you're not a girl." Kise said, staring at him with a strange look.

"Please, don't say anything." Tetsuya said. He brusquely pushed the taller man's mouth away, when the blonde started making kissy faces at him with his hands on Tetsuya's shoulders, about to lean in for a dip.

"Kise-kun, you will remember that I am a man, or I will be forced to remind you with my strength." He warned, fists already balled, one knee bent and the other slid backwards. Tetsuya had a blackbelt, and he wasn't afraid of using it.

Kise reeled back, rubbing his chin and lifting his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry sorry, Kurokocchi, I was just joking!" He grinned, apologetically. "But seriously, you are really pretty. I gotta take some pictures for Akashicchi and the others." Kise swiftly whipped up his iPhone and snapped pictures of Tetsuya, fully dressed with a skirt and posed in battle station mode.

Kise thumbed his phone, tapping his finger pads on the screen. "And … sent! To Murasakibaracchi and Aominecchi too, I don't think they'll receive it until they're back in the country, though."

This was just ridiculous.

"We should … get ready. We're moving into our new apartment today." Tetsuya reminded the blonde, sighing.

"Oh, I already sent the rest of your wardrobe to your new closet, Kurokocchi! Hand-picked by yours truly." Kise grinned, holding up two fingers in a peace sign. "We'll be housemates, yeah? Childhood friends… hmmm do you think we need nicknames?" He asked, crossing his arms, a finger tapping his chin.

"It is plausible reason, I suppose." Tetsuya found himself agreeing to it. They needed to discuss how they would address each other and act as their roles, it needed to be believable, since they knew this mission would go for quite long.

"Hmm, how about I call you Tet-chan, Kurokocchi?" The blonde suggested. "Or maybe, Tetsucchi? Like Aominecchi's Tetsu but with my own twist to it."

" … I will call you Kise-kun, Kise-kun." Tetsuya deadpanned.

Kise looked disappointed. "Aww, you're no fun, Tetsucchi."

Tetsuya resisted the urge to facepalm at the absurd nickname — but he'd ruin the makeup and would have to reapply everything again. He shuddered to think of that.

Before they went down to the basement for Kise's car, Tetsuya went to his office to get some of the stuff he wanted to bring along with him. He picked up some documents about the client's schedules and details, some of his own private things, his cellphone then his laptop. Everyone at the firm was already used to his disguise, so they'd greet him along the way — some complimented him. Truthfully, nobody but those five would dare to make fun of Tetsuya openly — mostly because they were old friends. Akashi could do it because he was his boss.

He put everything he needed into a box, but realised he was missing some things. Then he remembered he'd left them in the video room. The skirt, the hair and the platform shoes made it difficult for him to move around with so much stuff, so he put the box on top of his desk and went to the video room, at the other side of the floor. There was nobody when he arrived, he looked around and found the CDs were just next to the LCD TV screen.

Tetsuya piled the plastic CD cases in his arms, fiddling with one of them in one hand. Across the paper cover was the title: Kagami Taiga's Winter Cup Matches. Tetsuya had been studying about their client for the necessity of learning his character, in order to approach him. For days, Tetsuya watched every single Basketball match Kagami played in since his first year of highschool, he learned of his signature moves, and watched his losses and wins. He also learned Kagami lived in America, before moving back to Japan for highschool.

He had grown to be quite a big fan of the boy. Each time Kagami played he just seemed to get better, stronger and more brilliant. It was truly a joy to watch him dunk the ball into the ring with so much power in it. Kagami Taiga was pure talent, blazing power and blindingly strong charisma. An opposite of Tetsuya. He actually could not wait to see how he played in the flesh. If he remembered correctly, Kagami Taiga should be able to play in official games again after rehabilitation. Tetsuya and Kise would make sure he stayed that way.

Tetsuya tightened his grip on the CD case. Tetsuya would make sure nobody could harm Kagami Taiga. Such a talent must not be wasted.

He went out of the video room, entered his office and dumped the CD cases into the box, and sealed the lid with adhesive tape. He lifted the box by the handle and strode out, heading for the elevator.

Kise was waiting for him by the car, a jeep lent to them by the firm, and the blonde helped him load the box at the back. Tetsuya sighed, it was honestly still hard for him to walk with these fashionable shoes girls wore. At least Kise didn't give him high heels. If Tetsuya had to wear something that wasn't as flat as the ground, he'd demand a salary raise. Even climbing into the jeep was a chore for him. Tetsuya buckled himself finally, after he managed to wriggle into the front passenger seat.

Kise was driving today. It was a twenty minutes ride to their new building. It was quite a well off neighbourhood, a residential area near the campus, presumably, there would be plenty of students living in the vicinity as well. The area was quite lively.

—

First day of campus was always the strangest, in Tetsuya's opinion.

There was an open house to promote the university and clubs activities. Decorations, attractions and booths stretched from the front gate all the way into the university's main roads. Kise had wanted to dress him more sexily ("No, Kise-kun, I don't actually have breasts, it won't work." Tetsuya had persuaded the blonde), but Tetsuya opted for a respectable stiff-collared, long-sleeved button up white shirt, brown sweater vest and plaid skirt that ran just before his knees. He discarded the awful platform shoes, but Kise insisted on a pair of creepers instead. At least they weren't as thick, and easier to move around in.

Tetsuya could never tell the difference between platform shoes and creepers; they looked the same to him. He didn't wear makeup as thick as the other day, that one was just a rare special occasion, when Tetsuya would let Kise go nuts with the makeup and the dress — it wasn't for everyday use. For now, he was dressed like a plain, normal twenty year old female student.

The university planted cherry blossoms along the main road of the campus area, which was nice, the pink petals fluttered about the open space. It was very pretty, but the crowd was noisy. Booths were set up along the road, members of various clubs passed up fliers and yelled aloud to gain attention of the new students, persuading them to join their clubs.

As they strode side by side — meanwhile avoided persistent club activists — he noticed the girls were staring at Kise dreamily, and glaring daggers at Tetsuya. The blonde smiled and winked at every single one of them.

Akashi was right. This job was perfect for Kise.

Usually he would be rather invisible right now, but apparently the jealously of the female mass overcame even his own naturally weak presence. For lack of better ideas, Tetsuya kept quiet and moved on. He had a job to do, and would rather focus on it.

Kise leaned down a bit to whisper to him. "Tetsucchi, do you think the Basketball club is doing a booth too? Let's check it out."

Tetsuya nodded. "It should be here somewhere, according to the the Open House map." He rummaged his skirt pocket and brandished a folded flier, he carefully peeled it apart, inspecting the map and its very small letters. "From here, it should be… turn to that corner. The sport clubs' booths should be somewhere near the gym."

It was difficult to manoeuvre themselves through a throng of aggressive club activists, hyperactive new students and confused highschool students. Tetsuya was almost dragged away by the current of the crowd — because he wasn't exactly tall and big — Kise even had to put a hand around his waist so he wouldn't get lost — it was humiliating. Not a good first day for Tetsuya.

They eventually reached the sports clubs booth area, it was farther than they'd expected, off the main road where most of the food booths and noisy attractions were. They went past booths of volley ball club, baseball club, tennis club, swimming club and other sport clubs. Seidai University was well known to be specialised in sports studies, they had extensive facilities to accommodate a variety of sports fields. The facilities were at a national level, to be offered full scholarship by the university was quite the achievement, Tetsuya thought to himself.

His gaze browsed around, and unlike before he spotted a lot of students with sufficient built, many were aspiring sportsmen and athletes, he concluded. Despite hidden by their jackets, they were all quite tall and broad-shouldered. Tetsuya looked around until he saw a familiar head of red, sitting behind a booth at the very end of the line. He felt admiration-tinged excitement bubbling up within him when he spotted Kagami Taiga.

It looked like he was watching over the booth, his back reclined to a chair that looked too small for his large body, arms crossed over his chest and face sullen. There were several people around him, fellow club members, he assumed. Because they were handing out fliers and shouting calls to join the Basketball club. Kagami didn't look he wanted to participate with the effort.

He tugged Kise's sleeve and pulled him down until they were ear-and-mouth level. "Kise-kun, I found the Basketball club booth. The target is there." He pointed at the barely visible booth at the end of the line.

The blonde's face hardened and he looked over to Tetsuya, both nodded. "Alright, let's go Tetsucchi."

They approached the booth. The were five people in total, three behind the table and the other two worked the crowd. The other two were busy explaining things to interested students, so they turned their attention to the rest. There was a short-haired girl Tetsuya assumed to be the manager, a young man with a hard expression and there was Kagami Taiga, playing with his phone disinterestedly.

Kise gave his best smile that usually made girls swoon, as he stepped closer to the booth. "Hello, is this the Basketball club? I'd like to apply." He told them cheerfully, Tetsuya stood by a little behind him, Kise's form blocked the sight of the redhead from this angle.

The short-haired girl looked up, the other boy next to her inspected Kise, eyebrows furrowing deeply. Tetsuya couldn't see how Kagami Taiga reacted.

The girl smiled and handed a registration paper she took from the pile in front of her. "Sure! Welcome! Sign your name and your details here. Are you two new students?" She asked, glancing over to Tetsuya and smiling at him.

"We're transferring here from Kanagawa, actually. We'll be here from this term onwards, pleased to meet you! I'm Kise Ryouta, this is my childhood friend, — come closer, Tetsucchi! She's rather shy." Kise grinned, waved his hand to Tetsuya, gesturing him to come closer. Tetsuya acted reluctant as was his intended character, then stepped closer, Kise's arm went to his back in a welcoming gesture.

When he emerged into full view, from the corners of his eyes, he saw Kagami Taiga had looked up from his phone. Tetsuya cleared his throat and softened his voice when he spoke.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Kuroko." He bowed politely.

"I'm Aida Riko, welcome to our campus." Riko introduced herself, then gestured to the gentlemen on her right.

The other boy nodded briefly at Kise and Tetsuya. "This is Kasamatsu Yukio, our Team Captain — and the redhead idiot over there is our Ace, Kagami Taiga. Oi, Kagami! Stop playing that stupid phone and say hello!" She abruptly changed her behaviour, viciously snapping at the redhead annoyedly.

While Kise was filling up his registration form, Tetsuya glanced over to redhead, a similar excitement nudging at him. Finally, he got to meet Kagami in the flesh —

Kagami was staring at Tetsuya, hard. His red eyes widened, lips parted. His back was no longer reclined, now half-bent, his body lifted from the seat slightly in an odd posture as if he was about to jump off. The phone was tightly gripped, hanging by his side. He had an odd look on his face, as if surprised at something. Tetsuya immediately brought a hand to his face. Did something give his identity away?

"Um, excuse me, is there something on my face? You're staring." Tetsuya asked, wishing he had a mirror for immediate convenience.

Unexpectedly, Kagami Taiga flushed furiously.

He reeled back, face red, arms gesturing wildly as if Tetsuya would suddenly turn into a beast and tear at him. "Uh, I — um, no, I mean there's nothing wrong! You're just — just so cute, so I just — the fuck am I saying?" He blabbered almost incoherently, slipping into english and too fast for Tetsuya to comprehend his words.

"Aaand done! Here's the form." Around the same time, Kise was done filling up the form and declared the completion loudly.

"Hm? What's going on?" The blonde looked around, oblivious. The girl, Riko and Captain Kasamatsu were staring at the blushing redhead, blank looks on their faces.

"Uh, yes. Thank you. Tryout is today at 5 P.M., if you're not busy?" Riko finally turned to Kise again, accepting the form and putting it to another pile in a box.

"Sure, me and Tetsucchi are just looking around the campus. You know, checking out the new place so we won't get lost on the first day?" The blonde laughed good-naturedly. "We'll be here until evening, you don't mind waiting, do you Tetsucchi?" Kise turned to him, his face was close to Tetsuya's.

"No, Kise-kun. That sounds great. I'll wait for you during the tryout."

Kagami Taiga's expression turned hard, he stood up and slammed the table, palms spread over the clothed surface, glaring at the blonde. Kise jumped at the sudden noise, whipping his head to the redhead, blinking confusedly. "A — are you two dating!?" Kagami barked the question, voice harsh, his back hulked threateningly.

Kise squeaked and jumped one step backwards. "N — no! We're not! We're just childhood friends and housemates!" He exclaimed, arms crossed over his face protectively.

Tetsuya looked at him, incredulous, how could Kise call himself a professional bodyguard if he got intimidated by a college student so easily?

Kagami's expression visibly softened. "Oh."

His body relaxed, arms withdrawn and hung on his sides, awkwardly standing in place. His face was red, gaze glancing at Tetsuya and off to the horizon, then at Tetsuya again. "Okay, then. Sorry, I yelled." He said, tone muted, a hand scratching the back of his head.

Riko and Kasamatsu once again stared at the redhead, quietly.

The girl turned to them again, expression bemused, then she cleared her throat. "Um, okay … would you like a tour to the gym? Usually it's for new students, but you count, I think. So you'll know where to go to for the tryout — Koganei! Come here!" She shouted at the two members who were handing out fliers.

Another black-haired boy stuck his head up from the crowd at the call, he slipped out of the throng and ran towards them, panting, a stack of papers in his arms. His face reminded Tetsuya of a kitten, for some reasons.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's up, Riko? Hm? New students?" He stood close, in between Kise and Tetsuya, whipping his head at either of them at a time.

"Your shift's almost done. Hyuuga should replace you by now — if he can just answer his phone. He's been gone to the restroom for too long." Riko pulled out her phone and furrowed her eyebrows, maybe there was no new messages on the screen. She turned to Koganei again. "Koganei, show them to the gym. This is Kise and Kuroko, Kise's going for the tryout."

"Roger!" Koganei straightened his posture and saluted. He whipped around to Tetsuya and Kise, grinning widely. "Hello! I'm Koganei Shinji, third year in Social studies. Nice too meet ya!"

"Kise Ryouta, second year, just transferred here this Spring." Kise returned the sentiment with a wide grin.

"Kuroko Tetsuya, same as Kise-kun. I will be studying here, starting this term. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Tetsuya bowed politely.

Koganei stared at Tetsuya, his gaze went up and down curiously, a hand cupped his chin. "Whoa, you have a boyish name but you're really cute!" He declared loudly, a light blush scattered on his cheeks.

Tetsuya acted shy. "Thank you, Koganei-senpai."

It apparently had a huge effect on the boy.

"Oooh, being called Senpai by a cute girl feels good! Yosh, I'll show you around! Follow me!" Koganei gushed, bouncing happily.

They were about to take off, when Tetsuya felt a press on his shoulder. He glanced back and found Kagami was hulking behind him, a hand held his shoulder. From this angle and with his height, the redhead looked as if he was about to assault Tetsuya. On instinct, Tetsuya flinched, slapping the hand away a bit too hard. Kagami looked shocked, his hand hovered in mid-air.

"Oh shit — sorry! I didn't mean to be creepy or anything!" The redhead flustered and paled, babbling on apologising.

Tetsuya and Kise stared at him, the latter's expression turned oddly enlightened.

"No… it's alright. I was just surprised. It was on reflex."

The redhead sighed in relief and regained his composure quickly. "I mean, I just wanna join you guys — um, touring, that is. I'm not good at watching the booth … " He nervously looked over his shoulders at Riko, who seemed annoyed, but gave him an approval with a nod. Kasamatsu looked amused.

Tetsuya observed, fascinated, when the redhead grinned, his fist pumping on his sides.

He turned to Tetsuya, grinning shyly. "Uh yeah, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Kagami Taiga, second year. I major in Sports Nutrition. I'm a Power Forward in the team." He said, thrusting his hand towards him.

Tetsuya tentatively took his hand, the redhead jumped when their hands touched. "Kuroko Tetsuya, second year. Pleased to meet you, I hope we'll get along." He gave his best smile, tilting his head to one side for a greater effect.

The redhead blushed. "Th — that's a nice name. Um, Kuroko. Can I call you Kuroko?" He asked, a hand brushed over the hair near his temples.

"Of course, Kagami-kun."

The redhead grin grew wider, eyes turned into slits.

"Right! Can I, uh, walk next to you?" Kagami asked, looking nervous.

"I don't mind." Tetsuya said.

While Koganei and Kise were chatting away about the campus, Tetsuya walked side by side with Kagami, and talked about Basketball. They had a lot of common interest when it came to the sport, Tetsuya had always been a fan since childhood and Kagami knew a lot about American NBA games, the conversation was very engaging. When Tetsuya told the redhead that he had watched his games many times and that Tetsuya was a fan, the redhead had flushed as deep as his hair colour, and thanked Tetsuya shyly.

Tetsuya had thought Kagami Taiga would be more difficult to handle, being a star player and grandson of a politician, but he was such a sweet, nice kid. The way he smiled as they chatted was endearing. He took an immediate liking to Kagami, as a person.

The gym itself was near the booth area, there were a total of five buildings for sports activities alone. Koganei showed them to the one they used for Basketball practice, Gym Five, it was currently empty but would be occupied later for the tryouts. Tetsuya had stared, mesmerised, at the interior of the building, it was big and well maintained, they had audience seats on the second floor for practice matches with other universities.

"Do you like it?" Kagami had asked, looking at Tetsuya instead of the gym interior. He was used to it, Tetsuya was sure. Kise and Koganei were fooling around with the Basketballs on the other side of the room.

"Yes. It's very impressive, Kagami-kun. I'd love to watch you play here." Tetsuya had sincerely said, smiling at the redhead. The latter had grinned and blushed adorably.

The tour ended a while later, Koganei and Kagami were called by Riko to help out with some things, presumably about the booth again. Kagami had looked dispirited when he had to leave, he asked if he'd see Tetsuya again later. Tetsuya had been surprised but flattered, they had gotten along so well, he was sure they could become good friends. Not only because of his job, but also because Tetsuya genuinely liked Kagami Taiga as a person, and as a Basketball player. He'd said yes, and the redhead looked pleased.

Tetsuya and Kise were still at the entrance of Gym Five, when the college kids left the scene, Kagami had waved to him and Tetsuya waved back. When Tetsuya got to know the redhead, he was really friendly. He was unaware that Kise had been staring at Tetsuya and Kagami all the while, with a knowing smile spread over his features.

Tetsuya looked back at him, his gaze narrowed in suspicion. The blonde only ever displayed such a look when he had a bad idea he was about to perform — like the first time Kise decided to dress up Tetsuya in drag, and turned his career upside down.

"You know, Tetsucchi, I could be wrong, but uh," He started, grinning wickedly. "I could've sworn the target has a pretty bad crush on you."

Tetsuya nearly tripped over his creepers.

—

TBC.

—

A/N: I really don't know how I'm going with this. xD