Gray Skies (Kuroko no Basket)

Bridges Built or Burned & ANNOUNCEMENT

(Author's Note: Hi, everyone! It has been such a long time, since I last updated. My gosh. Thank you for sticking to this story for those of you who are here! As I remind you literally every chapter, I haven't given up on this story! I also appreciate the love you guys have shown this story because this has been one of the longest things I have ever written so far. It's definitely a journey as I have grown up writing this. Gray Skies would honestly not be here without you guys.

Just a heads up, I did notice that in most anime the characters message through email, so I wrote in that the texts are coming by email. The industry circle, like Momoi and others, is communicating by both phone number and email.

Also, I have another announcement to make at the end of this chapter for whoever is staying on for the ride. With that said, I give you the next chapter. :))

Chapter Ten

(Friday)

~Gray Skies~

Ryou made his way to the second-years' classroom, his hands buried in his pockets. Eye bags weighed down his face behind his golden hair with how little sleep he was getting. The lunch he scarfed down churned in his stomach. Every fiber of his being told him he was being an insolent little shit for daring to bother his senpai, but he had to at least check if Kuroko had shown up for school. It wasn't just for his sake, but also for his team. And his brother, he supposed, but mostly his friends.

The golden-haired boy thought himself to be pretty observant when it came to Kuroko in the short beginning of the term. That he could owe substantially to his brother's borderline unhealthy obsession with the shadow. But if Kuroko was playing hide and seek with them, he didn't know if he'd stand much of a chance. However, he was somewhat confident that he'd be able to locate him if they stood in the same room.

He found himself in front of the door leading to Kuroko and Kagami's classroom, hesitating to knock. This had to be the most stressful lunch break of the entire term. The anxiety of second-year eyes scrutinizing him had the hair on the back of his neck standing at ninety-degree angles. Any kind of confidence he could muster up left him. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this, but he couldn't just leave the situation alone. He couldn't for Kuroko, and he couldn't for Daisuke. He knew how much this meant to him. They only had a few days left.

The younger Kise found himself cursing Midorima Shin and all his otaku nonsense for this, but with all the power vested in him by the bonds of friendship, he opened the door and walked in.

"Hello, I'm looking for Kuroko-senpai."

A student at the front of the classroom looked confused. "Was there a Kuroko-san in our class?"

"No idea," the girl next to him said.

The blond found himself shrinking into himself as he scanned the room. No Kagami and no Kuroko either.

"Is Kagami-senpai still out too?"

"Oh, yeah, Kagami. He was out with a fever yesterday, but he showed up today, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he rushed out as soon as the bell rang."

"Thank you!" Ryou said with a bow.

He ran out of the room, hoping to catch his senpai. Where did Kagami usually go? As far as he knew, he always hit the cafeteria right when the bell rang, then ate lunch with Kuroko in the classroom. That wasn't happening now obviously, but where else would he be?

Weaving his way through the crowded hallways, Ryou did his best to catch up to the tall redhead. He scanned the cafeteria. Finding nothing he was looking for, he rushed up to the roof. It wasn't uncommon to find Kagami napping up there. Occasionally, he'd find Kuroko there too, so his chances were pretty high that he'd find either one of the two.