AN: Hello readers! Another new story. Actually, I wasn't planning on posting this. But a friend of mine from this fandom who had requested this insisted, despite that I still have other ongoing stories. I don't know if this idea has already been used but I'm going to try my hand on this. Another note is that I tried to be as accurate about this as possible but I still based it on the idea that this is still anime world, despite how I am making this with the real world in mind.

Don't expect this story to be fast-paced because it isn't. I'm taking my time in establishing everything into place.

Warning(s): A little OOC. And there are some OCs that I've used.

Pairing(s): None. I'm going to make this GEN.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke or Katekyo Hitman Reborn

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[Chapter One: Act of Will I]

Kuroko had actually forgotten that he had volunteered in the Student Teachers Association, or STA, during his first year.

It had been around the time when he had been planning to quit the basketball club until Aomine had talked him out of it. Though, for his part, he had never been called on. Until now, that was. He and the other third year volunteers were called in the discussion room just a few minutes ago. Now, they were merely waiting for Asahina Setsuna-sensei, the STA Head and Student Councillor, to commence the meeting.

He felt a little out of his depth here, not to mention extremely out of place as well. While the other students were chatting rather enthusiastically, eager about the issue as they obviously knew what it was about, Kuroko had absolutely no idea what he was actually here for.

A while ago, their homeroom teacher had called on specific names and if he hadn't been given a copy of his form, he wouldn't know why he was being called at all.

Teikou Junior High was known as the number one middle school in Tokyo. Whether for its academics or sports field, it always dominated the middle school circuit, especially with a strong-winning philosophy that taught students about how winning was everything and losing was not acceptable. Though, with its high standards and facility, it didn't come without a price. One could consider that it was a school for well-off people.

Kuroko had never told anyone, but he was certain that Akashi knew of it anyway, he had gotten into this school based on an academic scholarship. He just had to make sure that he maintained his grades and he didn't have to worry about how he would continue his study here. It helped that he was also a regular of the basketball club, even without a notable game record, and his life had been admittedly easier when it came to upholding the standards set for him.

Though, the board of directors had established an external school organization in order to better assimilate Teikou in the educational sphere. The Student Teachers Association (STA). Its main goal had been to assist students who had ambitions of teaching or desire to gain experience in this area. Another was because, as the number one institute of aptitude and learning in middle school, they had created the STA structure in order to offer assistance to outside schools that had problematic students when it came to academic matters. It was also a way of assessing other schools' curriculum compared to Teikou in order to improve the educational system of middle school of Japan.

This program and organization had actually been approved and supported by the Ministry of Education in Japan.

Students who were part of STA were volunteers and the school never made it a compulsory. Kuroko knew that there were at least a hundred volunteers from every grade. Of course, those who volunteered had to pass a certain criteria to qualify for the program. One was a high GPA or grade point average. He could still remember that students who had grades lower than 82 were not accepted. Then, there was the matter of subject specialization or general field of study. He had chosen the latter because he didn't see the reason to focus on certain aspects when learning could still branch out to other areas as well.

Another requirement was actually passing an interview and simulation. For his turn, it was actually Yurichiyo-senpai, the person who held the first rank amongst the third years at that time, who interviewed him. For the simulation, it was also her who had played the part of a student.

From what his senior had told him at that time, he passed with flying colours.

It was clear that the volunteers were carefully picked. Either due to the school's reputation or the STA really wanted only those who could actually perform the job to join. Kuroko had signed up because he had been certain that he would be kicked out of the basketball club. If it wasn't basketball, teaching was the closest second he had. After all, he enjoyed those times when he had to tutor Ogiwara whenever they visited each other's houses. And he knew that he didn't really mind helping others out who were facing difficulties in their studies.

But, he didn't quit the basketball club. And he was still part of STA, it seemed.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" An upbeat voice greeted as soon as the door to the discussion room opened.

Kuroko watched as Asahina-sensei bounced into the room with the principal, Souma Yoshinatsu, on her heels. He almost forgot how glaringly cheerful the redheaded Student Councillor was. She was almost as blindingly bright as Kise in that aspect. As a member of the faculty, she had her own quirk. She always liked to dress in elaborate kimonos whenever she was in school and the students always had their eyes on her whenever she was passing by.

He couldn't actually tell if they were in awe or they just found her odd like he did.

Like now, she was garbed in a maroon furisode with golden flowers stitched into the sleeves with a brown silk obi to hold it up. As usual, she was waving that uchiwa fan around as well. For someone of the Japanese origin, she was quite tall at five feet and eleven inches. It didn't help that she wore okobo that only added a few inches to her already tall stature.

"As you all know, everyone in this room are volunteers of the STA program." She started straight to the point as she stood in front of them by the white board, grabbing a marker from the edge of the board, writing 'Student Teachers Association' and underlined it for emphasis. "Some of you volunteered since your first year while others have just joined. STA volunteers are usually called on during their third year in order to assimilate the soon-to-be student teachers with the subjects they might be teaching. No one forced you in this program and you all joined here of your own free will. Now that you are called for your own term, I am going to orient you about the Cultural Internship Function."

Kuroko blinked. Now, that actually explained why he was just called on today. He hadn't read the whole brochure when he had signed up.

Though, at the mention of the 'Cultural Internship Function', the excitement in the air seemed to heighten.

"Some of you may already have an idea about this," Asahina-sensei smiled at them almost motherly. "But, to clarify all matters, I'm going to elaborate on this event. The Cultural Internship Function is held every year for a duration of two months. I know you are excited because most of you get to travel outside of Tokyo, depending on where you are assigned. Each of you would be appointed to a middle school two weeks later on to tutor two to three students who are reported to be having difficulties in class and with a below average GPA."

At this, Kuroko froze.

Two months. A duration of two months. Aside from the classes he would miss, he would also fail to attend basketball practice. Something that he could already see Akashi being displeased about. But, on the other hand, he didn't actually get along with his teammates right now. Akashi had switched with the 'other Akashi', so to speak, and his friends were all being distant and intolerable with their conceited attitude with regards to basketball.

To his knowledge, it was now only Midorima and Akashi who regularly showed up at practice. Kise used to do so but he got held up by his modelling career. He couldn't exactly get a hold of Aomine right now and Murasakibara just didn't bother with it at all.

Still, two months was a long time. But… he already volunteered for this. And, maybe this was what he needed to escape the unbearable pressure that seemed to have been part of their club as of now.

"To make it simple, you will be acting as private tutors for two months. If you are ever assigned out of Tokyo or somewhere quite far from your residence, rest assured that the organization and the school have provided you and your will-be partner an apartment to stay, which is already fully accommodated and paid for, and an allowance of ¥100,000 for each month. It will be up to you on how you are going to manage your other necessities," The redheaded woman explained brightly, positively glowing.

The murmurs from earlier got louder at the prospect of living arrangements and allowance.

Though, Kuroko knew that there was a catch, aside from the obvious tutoring that they would be doing for those two months.

"But, aside from tutoring, you still have tasks that are expected from you out of this activity," Asahina-sensei picked up the marker again and wrote 'report'. "First of all, you would be required to make daily reports about the curriculum of the school you were assigned to, about the progress of the tutorial, and your relationship with your students. This is an absolute must. I expect at least an elaborate and accurate account on this one." Her hazel eyes narrowed at them as a hush seemed to have fallen.

She then wrote 'plan' below the 'report'.

"Second, a week before your tutorial would start, you are obliged to submit a lesson plan. Nothing too detailed, just a rundown of what you think would best suit your student and your schedule for the tutorials. And, don't worry about this part. You will be given profiles of your prospective students tomorrow. So, you better study them," She winked at them as she said this, writing 'class' below 'plan'. "And, last but not the least, you shouldn't be worried about the classes you would be missing. The STA has already gotten the approval of the schools that you're designated to. You will also be a temporary student of that school for the duration of two months,"

A hand was raised in the air.

"What about uniforms? Do we have to wear them?" A bespectacled brunette girl asked succinctly.

"Oh, it's good that someone had asked," Asahina-sensei sighed as she put the marker down. "Yes, as an STA volunteer and to establish your status for the Internship, you are required to wear your Teikou uniforms during school days, whether for class or simple tutorial lessons. But, for Saturday lessons, you are free to wear whatever you want and you have your day offs on Sundays," She answered as she took a folder from the principal who remained quiet even up to this point.

Kuroko's head was spinning. It was like he had volunteered for a full-time job from how they made it sound. But, he supposed to make the program successful and to monitor its progress, they needed the student teachers to actually do the evaluations.

Now, he watched with the rest as Asahina-sensei opened the folder and gazed through them.

"I will be now announcing your partners for this activity and they will be your roommates for those two months. The ladies don't have anything to worry about, this is strictly assigned with the same gender in mind to avoid complications," She was quick to assure when it seemed that the female students were going to put up a fight. "Once your name is called, I want you to come out through the back entrance of the room to get the pamphlets for the school that you are going to be assigned. With that, I'll start with Tsukino Iyo and Nanase Kana…"

Kuroko listened very carefully for his name. It seemed that it wasn't alphabetically ordered but merely called at random.

He didn't exactly realize just how many they were until he lost count of the students called on. He was starting to actually tune Asahina-sensei out until he finally heard his name.

"Kuroko Tetsuya and Ihara Shino," She continued through several names as more and more people got called.

When he finally stood up and looked at the wall clock by the back of the classroom, he was startled when he saw that they had been in the room for more than an hour already. Trudging to the back entrance, he saw a boy, whom he assumed to be waiting for him, standing there. He had short but messy black hair and amber eyes that was intently staring at everyone, evidently searching for him. Still, Kuroko noted with dismay that even the boy was taller than him by half a head. He was wearing his uniform in a neat and proper manner, and his posture was a bit stiff that it almost reminded Kuroko of Midorima.

"Are you Ihara Shino?" He asked politely and watched in amusement as the other yelped and stared at him with wide frightened eyes.

"Y-Yes," Ihara Shino stuttered but coughed to cover up his blunder. "I am. I presume that you are Kuroko Tetsuya," He nodded curtly, straightening, acting as if he already knew the answer but was just being equally polite about it.

"Hai," Kuroko nodded.

He watched the other sigh in relief.

"It means you're not a ghost, that's good," Ihara mumbled under his breath. "Well, let's get going and get our designated school. I can only imagine what kind of fools that we're going to be assigned to," He grumbled exasperatedly, more out of trepidation than actual annoyance.

When they got out of the discussion room, there was a booth right beside the doorway.

All they did was sign their names and they were each given a file containing the information about the school they would be temporarily attending two weeks later. Kuroko tilted his head as he read 'Namimori Middle School' which was located in Namimori outside of Tokyo. A small town near Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. It was a long way from Tokyo, not to mention, he had never been there as well.

Looking at Ihara's expression, the other boy was having the same thoughts as him.

"Well, might as well get this over with," Ihara suddenly sighed as he stood in front of Kuroko with a stern look. "Since you and I will be roommates for two months and all we're going to have in those months is each other, I'm going to properly introduce myself. My name is Ihara Shino from class 3-B. I'm actually pretty fine with anything as long as you're not a messy or loud roommate. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief of the Newspaper Guild. I'm allergic to seafood and I prefer sweets. Nice to meet you,"

What the odd thing about the introduction was, Kuroko noted, was that Ihara managed to say it all with a rather serious countenance. As if he was entrusting Kuroko his life.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya from class 3-A. I don't exactly have preferences when it comes to roommates but it would be preferable if you're not too loud or clingy. I'm a regular in the basketball club. I don't drink carbonated drinks and I favour any dessert as long as they're vanilla flavoured. Nice to meet you as well, Ihara-kun," Kuroko gave a small bow.

"Oh, I remember you now," Ihara's eyes suddenly turned calculating. "You're that phantom sixth man. Aikawa wrote an article about you but that captain of yours had it taken down before it was even published in the school newspaper," He frowned at this, obviously displeased.

"Akashi-kun did always like having his way," Kuroko couldn't help but admit exasperatedly.

"More like, your team's given too much privilege for being the 'Generation of Miracles'," Ihara rolled his eyes at this as he beckoned Kuroko to walk alongside him. "Don't worry, it's my job to know, especially since I'm the head of the Newspaper Guild. I understand that Teikou values winning above all else but that is just ridiculous. The administration is made up of fools who are too senile by spoiling the children," He shook his head at this.

Instead of being upset, Kuroko was curious about how amused he was by the reaction.

"You don't like them," He found himself commenting, fascinated.

In response to his remark, Ihara scoffed before scowling rather darkly.

"Well, I have a first year writer, Ito Saeko, who tried to have an interview with Midorima Shintarou. I don't know what he said but he sent one of my writers crying back to me. I just can't accept that," The dark haired boy declared strongly. "Not to mention, aside from the fact that it's our job to at least monitor the games, Akashi Seijuurou has been blocking the newspaper from getting actual feed from your team. And no feed means no article. No article means I'm the scapegoat for outraged basketball fans,"

"As much as I want to help, I can't. Akashi-kun listens to no one." Kuroko stated blankly, remembering his captain's current unstable condition.

"I know," Ihara grunted as he crossed his arms. "I just wanted to vent to someone who would understand. And you're the nearest human being who can understand my plight when it comes to your prideful captain," There was no anger or venom or criticism in his tone, it was just delivered matter-of-factly.

What an interesting person. And it was actually a bit refreshing to hear from an outsider's perspective. Not since most of the student body worshipped the Generation of Miracles.

"Well, I need to go back to the office to inform my colleagues about this," Ihara waved as he turned down an intersection. "It was nice meeting you, Kuroko, Aikawa was right. Out of all the members of the regulars, you're actually not quite half-bad," He remarked blandly as he walked off.

"It was actually nice to meet you," Kuroko murmured quietly as he stared at his would-be partner's back.

The STA orientation had gone better than he expected.

Now, the only thing left was to inform Akashi of this development. And it was a conversation that he was not looking forward to.

He hadn't actually told his captain of the situation yet during afternoon practice yesterday. But he noticed that the redhead was watching him more intently than usual. It was rather hard to shake off but he had survived somehow.

It was now lunch time and Kuroko had just gone back from the Guidance office and got the files of his would-be 'students' so to speak.

He had just briefly skimmed through the names. He had two prospect students. Two of them were in their second year but in different classes. Sawada Tsunayoshi and Kamiyama Takumi. He hadn't fully read their files yet as to what kind of academic assistance they would need. But, the school had recommended these two as one of their 'worst cases' so to speak. Kuroko didn't like generalizing people, especially when it came to intelligence, but he supposed that it would be his job to improve them enough to remove such despicable labels.

As of now, he was on his way to the office of the Newspaper Guild. He wanted to discuss this with Ihara. Mostly because he wanted to get another insight when it came to his impression on Namimori Middle School and because he also wanted to know what kind of students was assigned to the other.

When he finally reached it and was about to knock on the door, he flinched slightly when it was slammed open and was greeted by the annoyed face of Ihara Shino.

The said dark haired teen was now whirling around, shoulders taut with tension.

"Fix this mess in an instant!" Ihara yelled furiously as he jerkily motioned to what Kuroko assumed to be the mess. Looking over the other's shoulder, he cringed when he saw the paperwork littering the floor and the upturned furniture and tables. "Or, I swear to god, Aikawa, I'm going to murder someone in their sleep and you're going to be the one responsible for it. Who told you to bring those first years in our office in the first place?!" He demanded in a growl, obviously incensed.

"Funny story about that, Ihara…" Someone from within the office laughed uneasily.

"Do I look like I care, fool?" Ihara's fingers were now twitching by his side. "If this office isn't spotless by sundown, I'm banning those snacks for the rest of the year until you graduate," He threatened darkly before he turned around and stepped out, slamming the door close in his wake.

Kuroko vaguely heard someone wailing. He figured that it was the person Ihara had just threatened. He imagined the same reaction from Murasakibara if Akashi did ever propose that rule in their club.

"Ihara-kun can actually be quite frightening if he wanted to be," Kuroko found himself commenting rather blandly.

As expected, Ihara jumped. But he also screamed as well.

"K-Kuroko!" Ihara was now eyeing him as if he had just seen the most terrifying event of his life. "W-When the hell did you get here?" He demanded as soon as he straightened and got his composure back.

"Since you opened the door to your office," Kuroko answered with a tilt of his head. "Did I come at a bad time?" He asked politely, sensing that the other might not be in the mood to talk.

At this, Ihara blinked before sighing.

"No, not really," He grimaced. "It's just that Aikawa's being an idiot again," His eyes darkened at this as they walked along the corridors. "Not to be rude, but why are you looking for me?" Ihara asked straight to the point as he hastily approached the vending machine by the end of the hall.

Kuroko gestured to the folder in his hand, watching as Ihara bought two green teas.

The other just tossed the can to him as they sat down on the bench across from the machine.

"I just picked up the files of my eventual students from the Guidance Office," Kuroko revealed as he opened the folder and picked up two photos. The first was of a meek brunette boy with gravity-defying hair and round brown eyes. The other was of a rather tall and well-built boy with dark spiky hair and eyes, grinning toothily. "The first one is called Sawada Tsunayoshi and the second one is Kamiyama Takumi. They are both in their second years,"

"Well, I got mine this morning," Ihara answered with a content sigh as he took a sip of his tea. "Apparently, my students will be Yamamoto Takeshi and Fujishima Mei. The first one is in his second year while the other one is on her first. Though, the former is more sports-oriented and has earned low grades for poor academic performance while the other is a girl who refuses to talk and keeps failing her exams," By the time he was finished, he seemed to have developed a permanent twitch in his eyebrow.

Kuroko blinked at that before skimming over that part of the file as well.

"It seems that we have almost similar cases on our hands," Kuroko murmured as his eyes narrowed. "But, one of mine has a reputation bad enough to be ostracised by the whole school," He frowned at this, disliking that fact already.

"We got our hands full," Ihara murmured with a grimace.

"But what does Ihara-kun think of Namimori Middle School?" Kuroko asked bluntly as he closed the file.

Ihara raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do I think?" He repeated before he shrugged. "It seems to be normal but I can't actually judge it unless I get to see it for myself,"

Well, they seemed to be of the same opinion.

But they would also be disappointed that Namimori was far from normal.

When Kuroko had finally revealed his impromptu trip to his captain, it had been a week after it had been announced. He wasn't exactly certain himself on why he had stalled. But, judging from Akashi's glare, the redhead also knew of this fact. It would be his last day in school today, at least, official school day since the volunteers were excused a week before the Cultural Internship Function would be held and before they had to travel to their prospective schools, in his case, to Namimori.

But, his captain had insisted about him coming to practice this afternoon. He didn't exactly understand. He knew that Akashi was annoyed by what he did. And, as much as it pained him to admit, the redhead wouldn't really care that much if he skipped practice altogether as long as he played his best in matches. Not that Kuroko had ever skipped practice. But it was the undeniable truth that he had been ignoring for a while. It was only proven by the continued absences of Aomine and Murasakibara.

Not to mention, he would be spending the whole week with Ihara in order to prepare their travel arrangements. They had also agreed to negotiate on the necessities they would need in the shared apartment and some rules to ensure some kind of order. Actually, it was Ihara who had insisted. Kuroko was just quick to notice that the other was very responsible and that Ihara always liked planning ahead, though he also came off as a strict individual who was obsessed with discipline.

But, he guessed that it was fine since he had somehow acquired a friend outside of the basketball team. It was a surreal experience. Having someone to converse with who didn't always have basketball as the main subject of the conversation. While Kuroko held great love for the sport, his life didn't solely revolved around it and he had other interests outside of it as well.

One of the main issues of their temporary living arrangement was food. Who would cook?

To their relief, both of them knew how to cook (though Kuroko's skill was limited to basic dishes). Ihara had arranged a schedule of who would perform chores at specific days. Though, in order to have a compromise, they had to compare the schedule they had set up for their lesson plan.

But, it was merely temporary since both of them had to consider the sport club activities for their students who were involved. Kuroko was fine with it.

Still, Ihara was actually pleasant to be around, even with his short temper. It seemed that they were both fans of mystery novels but Ihara was also an expert in martial arts. Though, Kuroko had only seen the other's brand of brutality when a delinquent had torn the school newspaper into shreds right in front of Ihara.

To most people, Ihara was the most ideal person. Kind, strong, responsible. But Kuroko had discovered shortly that the Editor-in-Chief of the Newspaper Guild was naive and had his moments of air-headedness. Even more than Momoi and Kise combined.

So, he found himself actually looking forward to the Internship function next week.

But, standing now in front of his teammates, it seemed that they had a different idea. Especially with Kise and Momoi clinging to his arms and wailing and asking him to 'don't leave them'. Aomine just scowled but he sat down on the bench and sent a rather displeased glare towards Kuroko. Midorima didn't even look at him but Kuroko got the impression that the verdant haired teen wasn't happy about something either. Murasakibara and Akashi appeared to be the only ones unaffected, however.

"Explain yourself, Tetsuya," Akashi demanded, his now heterochromatic eyes gleaming ominously.

Kuroko stared at the redhead. He had already told him about the Internship. It was as if Akashi was deliberately putting Kuroko on the spot. Which wasn't actually that far from the truth, now that he thought about it.

So, he might as well go along with it to appease his captain and faced his teammates.

"Starting tomorrow, I won't be attending school," He announced, ignoring the wide eyes – varying shades of pink, blue, green, and gold – as he continued. "And for the next two months a week later on. I've been called on to participate at the Cultural Internship Function for the STA which will take two months. I've been a volunteer in that organization since first year and I can't refused something that I have willingly registered for,"

"But, what about the games?" Midorima inquired tersely, eyes narrowed. "The matches would be starting a month later," He reminded briefly.

"It would seem that you would have to play without me for the mean time," Kuroko answered apologetically, feeling guilty at leaving his teammates behind despite the current distant relationship of their team. "But if I'm not mistaken, I'll be back by the time the official tournament will be commenced and I will play then," As much as it hurt to think about it, they would do extremely fine even without his help.

"B-But Tetsu-kun!" Momoi wailed as she looked at him imploringly. "Do you really have to go to this Internship? Couldn't you just refuse?" She pleaded as her eyes teared up.

Kuroko sighed as he patted her head.

"I volunteered for this so I have to take responsibility, Momoi-san," He explained as gently as he could. "I just can't back out on it,"

The pink haired girl nodded but still looked upset.

Well, he couldn't always please everyone.

"So Kurokocchi's really leaving?" Kise questioned forlornly, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Didn't I just say that, Kise-kun?" Kuroko remarked rather blandly. "At least, I won't have to deal with you for two months," He was just joking, honestly, but the blonde teared up and sniffled, crying.

"Waah! Kurokocchi's so mean!" He cried, crouching down to sulk.

Kuroko barely refrained from rolling his eyes.

Though, their attention shifted to Aomine when he stood up and stretched with a yawn. He looked disgruntled and generally disinterested. Kuroko was slightly upset that his (former?) light didn't even appear to be the slightest bit concerned.

"Well, if that's it then I'm going," Aomine grumbled. "And it's not like Tetsu's not coming back, right?" At this, his dark blue eyes intently met Kuroko's powder blue ones so suddenly that the teal haired teen flinched.

For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

Then, he smiled, albeit weakly.

"Hai," He confirmed determinedly as he sealed it with a nod towards the other. He watched as Aomine nodded back, satisfied, before sauntering out of the gym. He couldn't believe how that simple reaffirmation had made him so happy. For a moment, even if it was just a brief glimpse, he had seen the warmth of the Aomine he had befriended.

"What the–" Momoi suddenly jerked as she stared after the other. "I'm sorry about him, Tetsu-kun. He's just being annoying as usual," She apologized, grimacing before moving to go after her childhood friend. "I'll call you later!" She waved over her shoulder before running out of the gym as well.

"Well, Kuro-chin, tell me what their food tastes like from where you are supposed to go," Murasakibara suddenly drawled as he chewed on his potato chips. "I'm actually quite jealous. I want to travel too," He complained childishly.

"Where are you assigned to, Tetsuya?" Akashi put in, eyes ordering him to confess or he wouldn't like the consequences.

"To Namimori Middle School," Kuroko answered monotonously. "It's in Gifu Prefecture," He added.

"Eeeeehh?" Kise suddenly burst in. "That's too far Kurokocchi!" He whined, obviously dismayed.

"It is quite far," Midorima agreed as he pushed his glasses up with his taped fingers. "Though, while I hope you have a safe journey, what did your parents say about this? Even for an event, two months is still rather long," He remarked sternly.

"They agreed with the condition that I inform them of how I am doing every day," Kuroko revealed. "And okaa-san had promised to visit me there every Sunday."

Well, he didn't know how the other students had persuaded their parents into agreeing to the trip but his own parents were rather easy-going people as long as you make your demands reasonable. And Kuroko could be perfectly reasonable when needed.

"That is understandable," Akashi nodded with approval. "I would also like you to call me every end of the week. You have to continue training regardless of location. I won't have you slacking off and burdening the team by the time you join back. So, I would like to be informed of your progress and what you are doing to keep yourself conditioned," The redhead ordered as he crossed his arms.

"Of course, Akashi-kun," Kuroko readily agreed.

Having this conversation with his friends, it made Kuroko realized that he might have needed this all along. It wasn't quite concern but the way they made up some fuss warmed him. It reminded him of old times.

And, that, despite the current rift between them, they had once been a team.

His parents had seen him off at the Tokyo Train Station on early Sunday morning, the day that the volunteers were designated to travel to their respective schools. He had met Ihara along the way who had also come with his parents and they had boarded the train on the way to Nagoya Station. He didn't know about the other but he had slept through the trip of three hours. By the time they had arrived, Ihara was impatiently waking him up so they could instantly get on the train to Gifu Station.

According to the arrangements made by the school's Travel and Transportation Office, a private vehicle from the STA would be expecting them there and would drive them directly to their temporary residence in Namimori.

Kuroko was carrying a large suitcase that contained his uniform, textbooks, clothes and some of the basic necessities that he had required himself. Though, he was also dwarfed by the large backpack on his back containing another set of clothes and some of his gadgets like his laptop, charger, headphones, and his father had even insisted on letting him bring some of his novels so he would have something to do on his past time.

Ihara basically had the same amount of baggage, saved for the fact that he was also carrying a large plastic bag full of sweet snacks like pocky, cream puffs, hard caramels, vanilla squares, Kitkat bars and even choco balls. It was the first time Kuroko had seen someone with such fondness for snacks that wasn't Murasakibara, albeit only the sweet ones.

The trip to Gifu station only took forty minutes this time and Kuroko had spent that time discussing with Ihara about their expectations when temporarily living in a town they had never been to before.

To his delight, Ihara had even given him a box of vanilla-flavoured pocky as they conversed.

When they arrived, they obviously didn't expect the amount of people in the station as they got swept by the crowd. Thankfully, they didn't get separated but Kuroko was already tired and Ihara's patience was thinning fast.

Kuroko was annoyed that they had to wait for about twenty minutes before the vehicle from the STA arrived.

The man was quick to recognize Ihara but he had been shocked out of his wits when Kuroko had made his presence known. He supposed that it served as a little revenge for the time that they were kept waiting. He was a muscular man with smooth black hair named Enomoto Noboru, apparently, he was a teacher from Namimori Middle School. Interesting fact was that he was the coach of the school's basketball team and he also taught PE.

The teal haired teen refrained from revealing that he was a regular in his school's basketball club, still too much aware of the Generation of Miracles' reputation in the middle school basketball circle.

This time, it was Ihara who had slept through the trip and the drive took one and a half hour.

And Enomoto hadn't stopped talking either about his team, the school, his class, or certain students that he was or wasn't fond of. Kuroko had actually tuned him out as he merely stared at the window throughout the trip.

By the time they had arrived in the town, it was already noon. Kuroko marvelled at the peaceful ambiance and, despite being a small town, Namimori didn't exactly looked that different from Tokyo with the same urban setting of buildings and highways, only with lots of greenery and not including the lack of traffic and bustle back in their city.

The residences were close-knit and the community in general was well-kept and clean.

Enomoto had driven them around quite a bit before he eventually dropped them off at their temporary living quarters. It was a large apartment building that was said to be near the school and their place was on the third floor. The man didn't bother with formalities and introductions and merely gave them the files for their assignments and an envelope for their monthly allowance before abruptly leaving, stating that he had to check in with the school principal for their arrival.

Now, Kuroko wasn't expecting anything special but the fully-furnished and large apartment slightly stunned him. It made him realize that the STA were really making the life of the student teachers comfortable, especially with the two-month stay.

To his relief, there were two bedrooms.

He and Ihara had spent the rest of the afternoon settling in and familiarizing themselves with the apartment. They had a living room that was adjacent to the kitchen area and dining table which was separated by the counter. There was also a television located in the living room and the kitchen had the necessary utensils they would need. Checking the refrigerator, Kuroko noted that it was fully stocked and deduced that the first week supply was already provided by the STA. They also had a landline and Kuroko resolved to instantly inform his parents about this.

Though, Ihara was quick to demand that they study their assignments first so Kuroko resigned himself to a long discussion. They had been given a set of directions from their apartment where certain key locations were to be found. Like Namimori Middle School, the police station, the hospital, the library, the market, the nearest convenience store, the park, the mall, the town shrine, and even the Laundromat.

Another was a reminder of what time they were needed in school tomorrow and whom to look for. Then, there were application forms that they needed to fill up in order to make their temporary transfer in Namimori Middle school official. Another set of forms were from the STA that appeared to be some sort of contract of commitment to their students.

Kuroko had no idea that the process was this tedious.

"So, did you finish filling up your forms?" Ihara questioned curtly, arms crossed over his chest.

"Hai," Kuroko answered blankly, starting to get used to Ihara's obsession for order.

The dark haired teen raised an eyebrow at his monosyllabic reply. Honestly, Kuroko just thought that Ihara was taking this too seriously. The other boy always made it seem like they were entering a battle of some sort. Always planning ahead, triple-checking everything, and even fussing over him.

"That's good," Ihara nodded his head sternly as he stood up. "Now, since you're obviously exhausted, I'll make dinner tonight," He declared as he padded over the kitchen area.

Kuroko watched his roommate get to work.

Now that he thought about it, he did feel drowsy. The teal haired teen leaned his head on the back of the couch and decided that he would only rest his eyes. Though, he couldn't deny that he was actually excited for tomorrow. He would get to meet new people and get to observe a new environment. Still, he also thought somewhat exasperatedly that Ihara was starting to sound like his guardian of sorts. He had actually expected more resistance considering that Ihara couldn't seem to stand lazy people.

Not that he was lazy. He had actually anticipated being ordered around. Not this.

Before he was even aware of it, he succumbed to the clutches of sleep, fatigue creeping in.

From afar, observing with his handy green binoculars, a baby smirked.

"So, that's Dame-Tsuna's new tutor," He remarked curiously. "How interesting," He stated with apparent glee as the binoculars in his hands transformed back into a green lizard that climbed on top of his fedora hat.

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AN: Well, I don't know where Namimori is actually located so I made its location in Gifu up. From what I had in mind, it's actually a small town in Japan so I had it located here. Another is that, in this story, Teikou Junior High is more high-standard and elite than how it was portrayed in the KnB, at least for middle school since we have Rakuzan for high school.

As for the characters of Kamiyama and Enomoto, they are canon characters from KHR. I just gave them first names to give them more depth.

While for Ihara, take a guess from whose character I based him from. Same for Fujishima Mei who will be later introduced.

For the timeline, I'm not fully aware of how things went in KHR, but I'll try to be as accurate as possible. In KHR, this is after the Daily Life Arc and before Kokuyo Arc. For KnB, this is before the games will start on their third year but some of the things had already started, such as the rift. But Kuroko doesn't feel too much distant from the GoM yet because the Nationals (Meikou vs Teikou) hadn't occured yet.

So, well, tell me what you think and leave a review. And for me to know if I have to continue this by knowing if it was well-received.

Thank you for reading this story.