A/N: Hello! So basically while I'm gunning down some of the heavier chapters of my other fics I've been writing random oneshots to keep my mood up. This one has no strict pairing but is a family kiseki fic and has a hint of Aokise and Nijimura/Haizaki (don't know their pairing name…) Please R & R and tell me what you think! Also, there's room for one more shot to sequel this so tell me if you think I should write it!

xxx,

Eve Woods

Kise's head thudded as he slung on his basketball shorts. He was the last one in the locker room seeing as he had to stagger to practice, and the migraine he currently had made it difficult to keep his mind straight. Taking a shallow breath he took a few steps and slumped over a sink, running the cool water and splashing his face with it.

He didn't like going home—not even a few hours early if he could help it, and especially not if he was sick. It was…lonely there. His sisters were far away at college and only visited for a week in the summer, and his parents were in New York for work and would be for the next two years. Kise loved his family and admired their courage to reach for new opportunities, but having his own apartment…it was a bit much, especially for a middle school student.

So he would make it through basketball practice even if it killed him. He'd ace the short photoshoot afterwards and then go straight to bed when he got home, ignoring the silence that threatened to swallow him whole. If he got lucky, he'd feel better in the morning.

Besides, even if he didn't live alone he'd still want to do basketball. Sure he was new to the team—and new to the first string regulars—but it exhilarated him. It was the only thing he could actually put effort into and that made him care about it. A lot. And they all seemed like one big family: Midorima would be the stingy mom, of course, and Akashi the competitive and strict dad. Aomine could be the rebellious kid that goes out of his way to protect Kuroko, the weaker younger brother. Momoi would be the amazing and gorgeous older sister that made fun of Aomine and Murasakibara would be the youngest that Akashi favored and coddled.

Kise wasn't quite sure where he fit into that family. Maybe he didn't, a forever-awkward stepchild to an already close-knit clan of basketball nutheads. But even so, even if he were destined to never be their brother, their companion and rival, he would do his best to stay by their sides. Even if he never fit in, he loved them all unconditionally.

He rubbed a towel over his face and put on his best nothing's-wrong expression before sauntering out of the locker room. His head still throbbed but the cold water helped clear his mind, and he could think levelly.

"Kise!" Aomine barked from across the gym, looking as energetic and happy as ever, "don't tell me you plan on beating me today!"

Kise smiled weakly. He wanted to say that, yes, he did, but there was no way… "Haa! Maybe not today, Aominecchi."

Suddenly, he felt two very stern pairs of eyes on him. He winced and backtracked to loosen the suspicion of 'mom and dad'. "They made me do all the cleaning after class! I'm soooooo tired. Aominecchi, you should practice in my stead!" Kise flopped onto Aomine's shoulder and whined loudly, pouting as Kuroko rolled his eyes.

"Hell no! Do your own work!" Aomine snorted, ruffling Kise's hair and unintentionally jarring the blonde's vision. "Eh? Are you—"

"I'm fine," Kise interrupted, but no, he was not fine. His vision swam and he struggled to regain his balance. Maybe I should've slept in the locker room… "Just tired! You should—" It felt like his brain shorted out. His vision went black for a split second.

Large hands planted them firmly against his ribcage to keep him from collapsing. His vision darkened even more and he felt someone lower him to the ground, another hand pressing against his forehead.

"He has a low fever," Akashi confirmed. His voice floated around Kise, echoing. "Ryouta? Can you hear me?"

"Mm…" Kise tried to say something and his throat stuttered, dying as his mind faded to black.

"No, look," Akashi's calm voice was the first thing Kise heard, "we turn left here."

He was pressed against something warm—no; he was being carried by something warm. There was someone holding his hand and another person rubbing his back. Momoi was somewhere behind him; she sounded like she was talking on the phone.

"…head hurts," he whispered, nestling his face into what felt like the crook of someone's neck. He didn't care. His head felt cold and the neck was warm, so who was he to deny himself pain relief?

"Kise-kun?" Kuroko's soft worried voice hovered from his left and Kise realized that the bluenette was the one holding his hand. "Kise-kun, are you awake?"

"Mm-hmm," Kise mumbled, turning his head a little so he could open one eye. The sun still had at least another hour in the sky, so it was probably a little bit before practice ended.

"Thank goodness," Kuroko huffed, his breath ghosting the frigid air, and Kise was honestly surprised to realize how much the shadow was worried.

"Eh? He's awake?" Aomine's voice was behind him, so the ace must be the one rubbing Kise's back. Aomine reached his hand up and pushed Kise's bangs out of his face, eyeing him expectantly. "Damn, Kise, you're pretty sick. Your face is like really red."

"Aomine-kun, that is not how we speak to others," Kuroko scolded as he whacked Aomine with his schoolbag.

"Well, it's true," Aomine grumbled sheepishly. "Just so you know, Momoi stole your phone. She's calling your manager; how the hell did you expect to be able to do a photoshoot like this? Dumbass."

"Where…?" Kise managed to ask, though his throat burned at the effort.

"We are going to your house," Akashi said as he and Midorima slowed their pace.

"Idiot, don't speak when you're sick! You'll hurt your throat!" Midorima wound up his arm to smack the idiot in the head but stopped at the last second when Kise flinched. Unsure of what to do, he turned it into an awkward petting, letting his bandaged fingers slide comfortingly through those silky blonde locks.

"Ah," Murasakibara rumbled; the source of Kise's transportation, "Mido-chin, your tsundere is showing."

"S-shut up!" Midorima snapped, but he kept petting Kise's head regardless. Kise leaned into the movement and smiled a little, thankful that it helped.

"Ah," Akashi paused and the rest of the group shuttered to a stop, "Kise, do you live in an apartment?"

"Huh?" Kise finally opened both his eyes, blearily blinking his vision into place. "Mm." He nodded, nestling closer into Murasakibara. It felt good to be close to someone that practically radiated heat. Murasakibara shifted Kise in the piggyback so that Kise's forehead was back in the crook of his neck again.

"I see. Daiki," Akashi turned to Aomine with a serious expression, "find his keys."

"Eeh~" Aomine complained, "fine, fine. Whatever." He began sifting through Kise's bag and must've found them if the jingle Kise picked up was anything to go by. They began trekking up the stairs to the third floor.

"Sorry you have to carry me," Kise whispered, throat on fire, half-hoping Murasakibara wouldn't hear him.

"Kise-chin's too light. Like a feather. Like Kuro-chin," Murasakibara replied childishly, his hands clutching the underside of Kise's thighs a little tighter. "Eat more."

"He can't, baka, he's a model. He's supposed to be skinny," Aomine put in, and Kise smiled. Truth be told modeling wasn't that simple—you had to be the perfect mix between skinny and muscular, and therefore actually had to eat a certain amount to retain the muscle mass. But he wouldn't expect Aomine to know that, and it was sweet that he'd even given that much thought into Kise and his job.

"Okay, Kise-kun! I cancelled your photoshoots of tonight and tomorrow, and also Sunday just to make sure you get rest. Your manager swore not to listen to you if you tried to convince her otherwise~" Momoi slipped Kise's phone into his hand and Kise held onto it for dear life. Goodness, Momoi could be terrifying.

"We're here," Akashi announced, unlocking the front door and searching for the light switch. Kise's eyelids fluttered shut to avoid the brightness, pushing his face deep into Murasakibara's neck and whining. "Alright, Ryouta, which bedroom—"

He stopped talking. Kise heard the front door click shut as they made their way into his apartment, suddenly feeling self-conscious. He had a few things lying around—his hamper of dirty cloths was still next to the couch, a few magazines spread along the coffee table, picture frames of his family and childhood friends—but even he had to admit, it was eerily clean. Like, photoshoot clean. He never spent any time in it so it never got dirty, and everything was bright and sunny and just plain Kise but it didn't actually look lived in.

"'S a little messy," he slurred. Midorima's hand left his hair; by the sounds of it the rest of the regulars were setting down their school bags and taking off their jackets.

"It's that door, Atsushi, you can set him down for now." Akashi said, but Kise could tell there was something strained in his voice. Disappointment flooded his veins—he hated it when people were tense with him. It meant they weren't getting along well. "Satsuki, thank you for your help. If you would, please inform Captain of what is happening."

"Of course! I'll talk with coach, too," she said. Kise heard the front door open and shut again as Murasakibara laid him down gently on his bed.

"Now," Akashi said, and Kise opened his eyes in surprise when Midorima started pulling the blankets over Kise's shoulders, "Ryouta. Be honest with me."

"I'm always honest with you," Kise put simply, earning a fond but sad smile from his vice-captain. Murasakibara left the three of them alone in the room, closing the door behind him at Midorima's stiff request. Kise felt like he was being very deliberately double-teamed by the two scariest people on the team.

"I know." Akashi nodded, "Ryouta, do you live alone?"

"Well—but my sisters are both at college and my mom is—"

"Answer the question," Akashi reprimanded.

"…yes," Kise answered meekly. Midorima sat next to Akashi, glaring at the blonde but reaching forward and resuming petting his head.

"I see." Akashi's voice was tight. Kise scrambled to turn the mood around.

"B-but it's ok!" He stuttered, "I've been sick before, so…"

"I see." Akashi repeated. His voice was almost deadly now, and even Midorima shifted slightly away from him.

"Kise!" Aomine slammed the door open and Kise was never happier to see the bluenette in his life, even if the noise made his head ring. Aomine noticed the flatscreen tv pushed up opposite the bed and grinned. "Awesome! Now we can watch the game that's on later!" Ignoring the blatant stare from Midorima and the observant, all-knowing gaze of Akashi, he stretched and walked over. Kise felt the covers shift as Aomine hopped into bed with him. Before either 'mom or dad' could reprimand them, Kuroko bustled in and opened the windows.

"It's too stuffy in here, Kise-kun," he scolded, "you should keep the windows open more often." Kise sat up to help him on instinct and Midorima let his hand fall back to his lap, but Aomine hooked an arm around Kise's hips and dragged him back down gently, leaving their limbs in a tangled heap and muttering, "don't get up, dumbass."

"Mido-chin," Murasakibara whined as he hovered in the doorway, "'m hungry." He held up an empty back of snacks to emphasize his point. Midorima scoffed.

"Make something yourself, I know you know how."

"Shintarou, Atsushi only knows how to make confections," Akashi reminded them.

"Yum! I bet you know how to make pecan turtles! They're so hard to get right~" Kise whined, struggling to move with Aomine splayed over him. Akashi tutted and checked Kise's fever with the back of his hand, pushing the blonde back into Aomine afterward.

"Mm-hmm," Murasakibara nodded the same time Midorima snapped, "don't eat sweets when you're sick, idiot!"

"Eeh? But they're so good!" Kise pouted, giving up on freedom and shifting so that he was more comfortable in Aomine's anaconda embrace. It felt good, he admitted, being surrounded by heat on all sides.

"If you have the ingredients…" Murasakibara shrugged as he addressed Kise, then turned to go and make them.

"Idiot! Don't you dare!" Midorima immediately strode after him, closing the door behind him as they left.

"Do you need anything, Kise-kun?" Kuroko asked quietly, joining Akashi at the side of the bed. Kise blinked up at him sleepily.

Honestly, he was shocked (and pleased) at their reactions. He expected them to call his parents or maybe a taxi to drop him off at his apartment…but instead they were taking care of him. That alone planted a seed of guilt in the pit of his stomach, but the pleasure he took in knowing that they were all so worried about him overshadowed it.

"Nope, I'm good. Thanks, Kurokocchi~"

Kuroko just smiled back at him.

When did I fall asleep? Kise wondered, opening his eyes slowly. His head felt lighter and clearer, and his vision didn't swim like it had hours ago. Warm arms were draped over his hips as someone spooned him from behind, puffs of breath hitting the back of his neck and sending shivers down his spine. There was weight near Kise's legs and when he looked down he saw Kuroko leaning against them as a pillow, eyes shut and expression peaceful.

Something bothered him though, a gravelly voice that murmured from somewhere in the living room. It sounded familiar, but Kise couldn't place it with the pillows muffling his ears.

He shifted slowly and carefully, making sure the mattress didn't move too much as he got out of bed. It took him a minute to get his balance back and once he did he glanced around: Midorima and Akashi were sleeping against the wall with Murasakibara splayed haphazardly at their feet; Aomine had been the one in the bed.

Wait…then who was in the living room? Kise frowned and opened the door silently, peeking around the corner curiously.

Ahh. Nijimura sat at the island in his kitchen, expression annoyed as he had Kise's planner spread out in front of him. He was on Kise's phone arguing with someone.

"Well," he was saying, "if he does that Tuesday then he gets all of Wednesday off." Kise recognized his manager screeching on the other side of the phone. "I don't know," Nijimura snapped, "prioritize!" With that, he hung up.

"Um…" Kise began uncertainly and Nijimura started.

"Oh, You're up. Good. You need to eat."

"But Nijimuracchi, it's the middle of the—"

"Eat."

"…okay," Kise sat down in the stool Nijimura pulled out for him and watched the captain pull out a bowl of miso and yakisoba.

"It's an odd combination, but apparently yakisoba is your lucky item. It's the only thing he'd make," Nijimura sighed, setting the food down in front of Kise before getting a cup of tea for himself. When he sat back down he gave Kise a piercing gaze. "You know, you don't have to keep pushing yourself. If you don't want to be alone just say so."

"Eh?" Kise choked on his soup. Nijimura shot him an unimpressed look.

"They're almost as thick-headed as you sometimes," he said plainly, "and they're bad at saying what they think so they won't understand why you made yourself go to practice. But they care about you; I doubt they'd say no if you asked someone to accompany you home."

"But…that's such a hassle," Kise replied nervously, his eyes drifting everywhere but Nijimura's face. The captain seemed irked by that, gripping Kise's jaw with his free hand and forcing eye contact.

"Look at people when you talk to them," he ordered, letting go. Kise obeyed and kept eye contact, though he could feel heat creeping into his ears. "It's not a hassle. These are the harshest people you will ever meet. If they didn't want to they'd say so, and if they don't," Nijimura gave him a meaningful look, "I will. What happened today was unacceptable."

"I'm sorry, next time I'll—"

"I'm not talking about you getting sick," Nijimura interrupted harshly, "I'm talking about the fact that you didn't feel like you could tell us about it. Trust us to help you. We're a team, Kise, we take care of our own. Don't hold things in around us. Say what you really think."

"I just…I feel—" Kise paused and Nijimura nodded for him to continue, the look in his sharp grey eyes softening, "I feel…out of place. You're all like one big family. I feel like the only place I have in it is on the court." Tears welled up in Kise's eyes and Nijimura sighed.

"Finish your soup." He ordered, and Kise gulped the rest of it down in seconds. "Okay, now come on." He stood up and led Kise back over to the bedroom, swinging open the door and resting a hand on Kise's shoulder. "Have you ever seen Akashi sleep on the floor?"

"…no," Kise admitted.

"That's because he doesn't. He's doing it because he wants to make sure you're okay. Does Murasakibara listen to anyone?"

"…no."

"Yet there's a tray of pecan turtles in your kitchen. He wants you to feel better Kise. Do you need me to go on?"

Kise was full out crying now, shaking his head as he tucked himself into Nijimura's chest. The captain made a small noise of surprise and let his arms wrap around Kise's lithe frame, holding him close and resting his chin on the top of Kise's head.

"Let us take care of you, Kise." He murmured, and Kise felt an overwhelming sense of being protected.

"…okay," Kise smiled.

One week later

"Kise has been working a lot better with the others than he had been," Shirogane observed as he and Nijimura overlooked Kiseki's training, "I imagine you have something to do with that." They sat on a bench in front of the stands on the second floor level of the gym, gazing down at the court.

"Not really," Nijimura said, scratching the back of his head.

"Liar," Haizaki muttered, coughing a little. He sat on the edge of the bench with a dark grey hoodie on, covering his snow white hair.

"Here," Nijimura sighed and handed Haizaki a cough drop. His hand lingered, and he paused as if deciding on something before reaching up and pulling the hood off.

"Hey!" Haizaki snapped, tugging it back on and glaring, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Nijimura just snorted, going back to the clipboard on his lap and jotting down a few notes.

"So," Nijimura turned to the coach and began a long conversation on new training programs. Haizaki tuned them out and stared down at the players on the floor.

He missed it, damn it. He missed receiving Akashi's perfect passes and the liberation of playing against Aomine. He ached to once again spar with Murasakibara, finding new and creative ways to get past the literal human wall, or watch the graceful arc of Midorima's shots. He missed Kuroko's inhuman passes and Momoi's constant tips and pointers.

It wasn't a surprise, because of this, that he noted the subtle differences in playing. Even from a distance he could tell Aomine was distracted. He kept glancing over his shoulder, pivoting a certain way, gravitating over to…Kise? Hmm.

"Oi," He turned to Nijimura, one slender finger pointing down to the court. Nijimura glanced over at him, annoyed at the interruption.

"What is it?" He asked finally, when he realized that Haizaki was talking about basketball and not something irrelevant.

"…" Then again, it would be so fun to mess with the duo...and interesting to see how far he could push them along. Maybe if he played nice with Kise Aomine would get jealous. He smirked, "never mind."

He could practically see the suspicion in Nijimura's eyes ignite, the captain grabbing Haizaki's wrist when he got up to leave. "No, it's not nothing. Tell me," he ordered.

"Nice try, but you're not my captain anymore~" Haizaki grinned and twisted his wrist out of Nijimura's grip, ignoring the way his skin tingled where their hands had touched. Maybe he could make Nijimura jealous with Kise, too, and kill two birds with one stone.

Oh yeah, he grinned outwardly, eyes trained on the court as he made his way back down to the floor level. This is gonna be fun.