AN: Nothing to say really :)

Oh, I guess- please forgive some of the incorrect details! It's been a while since I started reading KnB so somethings just slip my memory and in my current state, am too lazy to look them up~ ;)

(plus my grammar and spelling...they kind of suck oho)

Disclaimer: KnB is not owned by me...hehe that rhymed :)

As per tradition, the winning school hosted a celebration. A party, of sorts, to thank all the teams for their hardwork and to inspire good sportsmanship between the athletes. All players were mandated to attend. Normally, this would be an occasion the GOM dreaded – normally they wouldn't care to meet and greet with the people they would have typically beaten. But it wasn't a normal occasion – not only had they lost but they knew their sixth man would be there and they needed to see her again.

The GOM met up at the celebration and wandered the party in search of Tetsuna. It wasn't until they took their search outside of the Seiran gym that they found her, leaning against one of the gym's outer pillars.

She was wearing them same Seiran High hoodie, but instead of the long track pants, she wore the skirt to her uniform. It was then that the GOM noticed that her right leg was also made of shiny plastic.

She heard them approach and turned to face them. Kise acted first, he ran to her. He took her prosthetic hand and held it to his cheek, he turned to kiss it once before placing it back on his cheek, his large hand holding it there. His other hand touched the rest of her fake arm. "Kurokochi" He was all he could bring himself to say. She looked at them him with a sad smile. "You know, I thought you all hated me" She whispered, bringing her left hand up to gently urge Kise off of her. "I thought that you had heard that I had lost my arm and my leg. I thought that when you heard I would never play basketball again… you had thrown me away. I thought you all deemed me worthless….winning was all that mattered to you and if I couldn't help you win then you didn't need me at all. All those nights in the hospital, all I could think about was how you abandoned me" She looked down at her feet. "But you didn't know, did you?" She looked up at the GOM. "All this time, you had no idea what happened…right?"

"We thought you were dead" Akashi started. "You thought I was dead? Why would you think that?" Kuroko asked, cocking her head to the side. "We noticed you had stopped coming to practice. At first I just thought you were skipping. But when you didn't show up at all we went to your house and we couldn't find you or your family. Some gossiping housewives were hanging outside near your house…we talked to them and they told us you were in an accident and you were gone"

"We should have kept looking…but the news was so devastating – we just accepted it" Aomine walked towards her, "We were wrong, Tetsuna. We wronged you, Tetsu. We wronged you before you disappeared and after. We were so wrong….Can you forgive us?" He fell on one knee in front of her, bringing them to about the same eye height. He hung his head low, shaking. "I'm…"

Before he could finish, he felt a very painful chop to his head. He exclaimed in surprise and pain and stumbled backwards. He looked up to find Kuroko still holding her hand in the position she used to hit him. "Ahomine, do you think that if I still held a grudge after all this time I would have worked my butt off helping Seiran beat you? I wasn't angry at you for what you had done…I was afraid you had lost your way. But you all seem to be back now, normal….relatively speaking, of course."

Euphoria.

The wave of relief that hit the GOM crashed so hard, save Akashi, they burst into laughter.

Riko and Hyuuga watched from the door. Hyuuga smiled, "Ah, its good to see that they've made up." "Yeah, seems as though Kuroko-chan fulfilled her promise." "Yup!" Hyuuga stretched, a pleasant sound coming from his as his muscles tensed and relaxed, "It's going to be nice…finally having some peace"
Riko lifted an eyebrow at her friend, "Peace? Idiot, the war has just begun." Hyuuga froze, "B-but we just won…Kuroko and the Miragen made up. What's there left to fight about?" Riko motioned her head in the direction the group of teens celebrating for reasons of their own. He watched as they laughed and joked. He watched the way their touches lingered on Kuroko, the way their eyes shined with more than affection. "You…you can't mean…you can't be serious?!" Hyuuga practically screamed. "That's right." Riko smirked, "The battle has just begun"

Hyuuga wept, openly. So much for graduating peacefully...

Kuroko had decided to go home early. She had an appointment with her physical therapist in the morning and she didn't want to oversleep. Normally, Kagami would have walked her home, but unfortunately for him the sempais in their cheer had grabbed Kagami to go drinking. Kagami didn't like leaving Kuroko's side. Not after she had told him what happened the last time she went home by herself at night. He was her light, her protector, he wasn't going to fail her…too many people had failed her in the past. But even with his determination and crazy gorilla strength, Kagami couldn't break away from the sempais. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or felt more afraid when he saw the GOM start to walk her home.

Kuroko was happy. So happy you could almost see the excitement in her face. She had kept her promise to Seiran and she had reconciled with her friends…she felt as though all was right with the world. She understood the GOM's need to see her home safely after what happened the last time they let her go off by herself, what she didn't understand was why Akashi held onto her hand. Since she told the GOM she was heading off early, Akashi had grabbed her hand and refused to let go. He had ignored her question and simply began to walk. "Maybe he's just being overprotective?" the thought made her smile, "its good to have friends"

While Akashi was rather proud of himself, the rest of the GOM looked on with envy. Why hadn't they thought to grab hold of her hand? As always Akashi was one step ahead…he always won. But Kuroko Tetsuna was one competition that they refused to let their old captain win.

The next morning, Kuroko locked her front door and was surprised to see none other than Aomine at her fence. "Ah, Aomine-kun…what're you doing here?" "I thought I'd get you breakfast and accompany you to your physical therapy session" Aomine held up a small white milkshake and smiled, knowing the young blunette wouldn't be able to resist. She crossed her fence and took the small beverage into her hand with a smile. "Thank you, Aomine-kun. But are you sure you want to come with me? Physical therapy is rather grueling…I don't know if you want to witness it" Her face was emotionless as always, but behind those big blue eyes, Aomine swore he saw concern. "Ah, I'll be O.K. I won't leave you when things get rough, not again" Kuroko had the ghost of a smile on her lips, "Thank you, Aomine-kun"

When they got to the PT clinic, Aomine and Kuroko were shown to a large, gym like room. There were a couple people in there already working with various physical therapists. Kuroko hadn't been joking when she said physical therapy was grueling. He winced as he watched some of the other patients crying out or falling. He wondered if Tetsu had gone through that stage as well…and if she was lonely. When Kuroko's physical therapist came, Aomine sat in a nearby chair and watched as the PT gently removed Tetsu's prosthetic arm and leg. "You seem to have some soreness and reddening" the PT said noticing how Kuroko had winced. "Yesterday was the Winter Cup for the basketball team I helped coach…I guess I got over zealous" The PT smiled, "Did you win?" Kuroko looked at her with a smile, "yes". The PT laughed, "that's good, but you have to go easy. Especially on your leg- I don't like how red its become. I'm going to write a prescription for some antibiotic, topical cream – only use it if your leg hurts a lot and become more red, O.K? I'll also get you a refill on your muscle relaxant cream" Kuroko nodded. "Now, are you ready for the hard part?" Kuroko gulped and nodded.

Aomine had never heard Tetsuna scream. He sat stunned as the PT helped Tetsuna stretch, that had seemed painful on its own. But then he watched as she was forced to lift weights with her stumps. The normally emotionless, stoic Kuroko Tetsuna had sweat and tears running down her face openly. The PT had offered to take breaks, but Kuroko shook her head. As Aomine sat there, he witnessed the strength, the raw determination of Kuroko Tetsuna.

Kuroko laid on the table, panting and exhausted. The PT had gone to get Kuroko her prescription, the second she had left, Aomine was next to Kuroko, holding her hand. "Argh…it hurts" Kuroko groaned, she gripped Aomine's hand. Aomine helped her sit up and leaned her against his chest, one hand holding her hand in a vice like grip, the other wrapping around her body, bring her close to him. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't understand how Tetsuna had gone through all of that. Sure, it hadn't been super long since the accident, but if she was in this much pain after all this time – what must she have been like right after it had happened? In that moment, Aomine felt like more of an ass than he had ever felt before. "Are you O.K, Tetsu?" He asked leaning his head against her's. "Ah, I'm fine. Somehow having Aomine-kun with me makes it easier" Aomine felt his heart leap, "Then…then whenever you have a session, I'll come with you" "Are you sure, Aomine-kun? You seemed pretty scared this time…" Aomine gulped, it was true, seeing Kuroko in so much pain had made his blood boil, "But now I know what to expect, I'll be fine" He felt her nod and felt her breath as she sighed, "Thank you, Aomine-kun"

The PT had come back with two bottles of ointment and a wheelchair. One bottle was for everyday use to ease the pain in her muscles, the other was for any pending infection. She advised that Kuroko spend about a week in a wheel chair as an extra precaution. Kuroko suddenly felt very grateful to have Aomine with her or else it would have been hell trying to get back home. After they had left the clinic, Kuroko offered to treat Aomine to Maji Burger for being so kind to her.

Aomine wheeled Kuroko into Maji burger and was suddenly distraught at finding the rest of the GOM there as well. "Kurokochi! What happened?!" Kise leapt from his seat the moment he saw her. His arms were around her in a second, before cupping her face and trying to find any other injuries. "Ah, I just had another physical therapy session. My doctor said I should keep off my leg for a week. That's all, Kise-kun. Don't worry" Satisfied with her answer and knowing she was alright, Akashi raised an eye brow at the Ganguro wheeling her to their table "And why is Daiki with you?"

"I offered to go with her, that's all." Aomine stated simply taking his seat, and smirking at the rest of the GOM. "If…if that's the case let me with you next time, Kurokochi!" Kise begged. "Ah. That's O.K, I think you would annoy me to death. Besides, Aomine-kun offered to accompany me." "SO MEAN, KUROKOCHI!" Kise cried. "I think it would be O.K for us to come as well, right?" Akashi asked, a devilish smile on his lips. Aomine shuttered, but Kuroko held her emotionless face. "That's O.K, Akashi-kun. I think too many people would disrupt the clinic" but before he could protest, "I'm going to get food now" "I'll help you Kurochi, I need more food" Atushi quickly stood up and wheeled Kuroko to the counter. Aomine sighed and held his head in his hands, "Its for the better that you don't come…I've never seen Tetsu so…" He winced and lowered his hands to watch Kuroko as she ordered her and his food. "It was rough…" he said simply. "If you can't handle it, Aomine, maybe someone more capable should accompany her" Midroma said, adjusting his glasses. Aomine glared at the green haired megane, "You weren't there…you didn't see her in all that pain…"

"You're paying for Aominchin's food, Kurochi?" "Ah, as a thank you for coming with me to my appointment" Kurko replied as they waited for their food to come out. "Ah, does that mean if I go with you next time you'll buy me food too?" Atushi asked cocking his head innocently. Kuroko smiled, "I think he was scarred from coming with me, I don't want you to go through that too" "Ah…but I want Kurochi to buy me food too…" "Then…tomorrow would you like to come with me to the opening of my sister's bakery? You'll have to pick me up and wheel me there, though." Atushi's eyes glistened, "It's a date, Kurochin!" He wrapped her in a hug. "But I didn't know your sister was opening up a bakery…or that you had a sister…" "Ah, yeah, her name is Tsumi. Why do you think I smell like vanilla all the time? It's because one-chan practices all the time at home"

"Does that mean Kurochi has lots of cakes and snacks at home?" "Normally, but one-chan has been busy with the opening, so she hasn't been home lately, or else she would have come with me to the clinic"
As Atushi and Kuroko made their way back to the table, "I don't know anything about your family, Kurochin…" he mumbled. "Could you tell me more?" "Ah, Tetsu's family? Now that you mention it I don't know anything about your family either…" "Ah! Are there more adorable little Kurokochis running around in this world?!" Kise asked excitedly. Kuroko raised an eyebrow, "Stay away from my family, pervert" Kise went into the corner, a dark cloud looming over his head and growing mushrooms. "You were saying, Kuroko?" Midroma said, deciding to completely ignore the brooding blonde. "Ah…I have two sister and two brothers." Kurko started, "My oldest sister, Tsumi-oneechan is 26 and the head of our house – she works very hard and is opening up a bakery. Next oldest is my brother, Toshi, is 20 and is going to Tokyo U to study English – he wants to become a professor. Then there's Terumi and Toki, they're twins and they're 18 now. Terumi wants to become a chef and Toki wants to become the master of a shrine." Kuroko hesitated to mention Toki's career path as the young Toki bounced around from interest to interest. "What about your parents?" Aomine asked, nonchalantly. "Ah, my mother died from an illness soon after I was born and my dad is some sort of photographer or writer exploring distant lands – he left soon after my mom died and never came back" She shrugged taking a sip from her milkshake – completely emotionless. "Ah…sorry" Aomine mumbled feeling very awkward. "It doesn't matter" Kuroko looked at the GOM with a smile on her face, "I'm happy"

"ah…so…your sister is opening up a bakery, huh? Is that why you like vanilla so much?" Kise asked coming out of his corner. Kuroko thought for a moment, "When I was little, when I was sad Tsumi-oneechan would give me something vanilla flavored things to cheer me up…so I suppose you could say that, yeah." "When is your sister opening her bakery?" Akashi asked, not liking how he hadn't gotten a word in edgewise. "Ah tomorrow, actually…Atushi-kun and I are planning on going together….would you like to come as well?" Akashi eyes Atushi carefully, who was suddenly interested in the ceiling and was pouting at it. "I would like that" Akashi responded with a smile, earning a soft smile from Kuroko as well. "Count me in!" Kise cheered. "I don't have anything better to do, besides my Lucky Item for tomorrow is a strawberry vanilla cake." Midroma muttered. "Then, I'm going as well!" Aomine smiled. "Ara, Daiki, I do believe you have make up classes tomorrow." Akashi smirked. "What?" Aomine turned to his old captain, shivering. "You've missed too many classes, Daiki, if you don't go to your makeup class tomorrow – they'll kick you off the basketball team…" Aomine's eyes widened, "Bullshit! You cant be serious?! How the hell do you know that?!" "The question is, how do you not?" Akashi smirked, triumphantly. Aomine banged his head against the table. "It's O.K, Aomine-kun. We can save you something if you would like…" Kuroko cocked her head to the side slightly, looking up at Aomine with her big blue eyes.

. "That's O.K, Tetsu. Maybe we can have a make up date?" He winked at her. "Ah! Don't think you can just monopolize Kurokochi like that! I want to have a date with her too!" "Please do not speak as though I am not here, Kise-kun" Kuroko chastised taking a sip of her milkshake. "Why do you have to tease me so much, Kurokochi!" Kise whined bringing Kurokochi into a tight hug. Kuroko sighed and gently tousled Kise's hair, "I apologize, Kise-kun…I suppose I just missed teasing you the time we spent apart." Kise's eyes went wide and he tightened his hug and cried out. This went on for less than a minute when a pair of rather sharp scissors whizzed in between them. "You're clinging too much to Tetsuna, Ryouta" "That was dangerous, Akashichi! You could have hit Kurokochi!" Kise cried waggingly an accusing finger at their former captain. "Do you doubt my accuracy, Ryouta?" Akashi smiled. "O-of course not, Akashichi…ah..ha…ha" Kise immediately retreated. "Well then….can someone wheel me home? I think I would like to get some rest" "I'll do it, Tetsuya" Akashi said as he stood. "…on my own" Akashi growled before anyone could tag along. "Thank you, Akashi-kun" Kuroko said, enjoying how the wind blew her hair. "It's my pleasure, Tetsuna" Akashi smiled. He liked seeing her like this and he so sorely missed the moments when they were alone together. These moments were rare, even in their Teiko days. He had missed her…and their reunion had been…more overwhelming than he thought it would be. He didn't think there would be a reunion. When he had heard the supposed news that Tetsuya was dead, he broke down. He felt as though his insides had been ripped from him…

On their reunion, Akashi had cried…cried. He never cried, most of all in public. But the moment his eyes met her's, the moment he realized Tetsuna was real, flesh and blood, alive…the wave of relief was almost unbearable. He wasn't going to leave her side…not again, not ever. "You're being very quiet, Akashi-kun" Kuroko's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Ah, I apologize" "I don't mind the silence…but you seem worried…" He couldn't help but smile, she knew he was worried, she hadn't even been looking at him and she knew. He pulled the wheel chair over to a nearby park and stopped under the shade. They quietly watched as the children and families walked and played in the park. Kuroko smiled at them before turning her eyes to Akashi. He noticed her looking at him so he knelt down in front of her. "I missed you" He said, taking her hands in his. "Akashi-kun…" "I missed you..." he repeated. "I thought you were gone, for good. I should have looked into it. I should have fought harder for you. I'm an Akashi, I am absolute…I am supposed to be…" Kuroko smiled and gently banged her head against Akashi's. "Its O.K, I understand…I missed you too" Akashi looked up. The way the sunlight peaked through the leaves of the trees and landed on her, the way the shade made her eyes seem to glow…it was breathtaking. He wanted to kiss her, he felt himself lift his head towards hers, but he forced himself to stop. He didn't deserve it, he knew he didn't. He had to make amends first. Sure, she said she had forgiven him, but it wasn't enough. He had to rebuild the bond he had broken long before the accident, he had to get to a place where he could forgive himself before he could properly confess. "That's good to hear, Tetsuya." They continued their journey back to the Kuroko home. "Do you really not want me to come to your physical therapy session?" He asked, trying to be nonchalant. "Ah" Kuroko started, trying to collect her thoughts. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable" "Aomine looks at me weird" She started. Akashi raised an eyebrow. "I can't seem to put my finger on it, but I've noticed him staring at me strangely. I think it might be because he saw me during my session. It's rough, Akashi-kun. I don't know if everyone would be O.K with seeing me like that. He looked like he was going to throw up"

Akashi stayed silent. He always knew what to say and he always knew what to do…except when it came to Kuroko Tetsuna. She was a break from the pattern, she was an enigma, a variable he was unable to control. It was one of the reasons he loved her, but at times like this he hated it. He hated not knowing how to help her. It wasn't his place to tell her the only reason she noticed Aomine looking at her differently was because he loved her or that it would indeed, be devastating to see her suffer through the trial that was physical therapy. He wasn't a fool. The moment he got home after the party he had researched what a double amputee would have to go through in PT. He wanted to be prepared, he was going to go to her next session, but that damn Daiki had ruined everything by getting to her first. And the idiot made her sad, made her feel uncomfortable. He would pay for that.

Akashi pulled up to the Kuroko home. He glanced around and found some very familiar looking ladies gossiping about a block up the street. He smiled, they would pay, pay more than he had made anyone pay before. Akashi wheeled her to her front door when it burst open. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!" A tall girl with the same sky blue eyes as Tetsuna flung the door open. She had long black hair that she was attempting to tie into a large messy bun. "Ah, Tetsuna, welcome home! I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to your appointment. I'm really swamped for tomorrow…how was it? Why are you in a wheel chair?" "It was fine… she gave me some ointments to put on my arm and leg. Said I had to be in a wheel chair all week to ease the pressure off a little" "Oh…thank god" The tall woman bent down and gently kissed Tetsuna's forehead. "I'm so glad you're O.K, now, who the hell are you?" She asked facing Akashi with a severity in her eyes he had never seen in sky blue eyes before. "This is my friend, Akashi Seijuro" "Ah, one of the Miragen, huh?" "It's nice to meet you. You must be Tsumi-san." Akashi took a shallow, polite bow. ""Ah, I'm sure. Sorry, I can't say the same though. I don't really like you all that much, in fact, I'd say I hate you. There's some sample cakes in the fridge, Tetsuna, have as much as you want" Akashi was stunned, was it just in the Kuroko bloodline to shock him? Tetsuna and Akashi watched as Tsumi ran down the street in the direction he assumed was her bakery. "Sorry about that" He heard Tetsuna sigh, "she's very protective and….blunt" Akashi took a deep breath through his nose…another obstacle…great. He looked down Tetsuna, who was staring up at him with those impossibly blue eyes…it would be totally worth it…all those obstacles would be totally worth it if those sky blue eyes would only look at him. "Want some cake, Akashi-kun?" She tilted her head at him and he smiled. "Cake sounds good"