Whats hidden behind the shadows

chapter 6

The rest of the week went pretty smoothly for Kuroko, he got a few questions about the bruise on his neck, but he told everyone that it was just a little misunderstanding with somebody. Akashi didn't buy it though, he had been keeping a really close eye on his phantom. Which was extremely difficult, he also did not get much further with his research. He did however, came with a plan for the training camp, he informed the rest about it the night before the training camp.

It was finally time for the training camp, but one problem, Kuroko overslept. There is no way he can make it in time by just walking, he ran to Saito's room and knocked desperately on the door.

A grumpy tired Saito opened the door, he lightened up a bit when he saw it was just his little brother, but he was still very tired.

"Hm? Tet-chan, what do you want?" He asked while rubbing his eyes.

"I overslept!" Kuroko said while out of breath.

"What? Fill me in a bit.." saito yawned

"I have the training camp I told you about in 20 minutes, there's no way I could catch the bus!" Kuroko said stressed.

Saito sighed and grabbed his keys "no need to worry, I'll bring ya"

"You're the best thank you so much! I owe you" kuroko said happily

And so the brothers drove on their way to Teikou middle school, blasting supermassive black hole cause its a great song, stopped for some coffee and then made it perfectly on time.

"Okay, you have everything?" Saito said while turning the music down. Kuroko nodded and then opened the door

"Hey, this is the first time i'm not gonna see you for a long time since you moved in the group" Saito said

"Hm, i guess so. Why? Will you miss me~?" Kuroko teased

Saito chuckled and ruffled his little brother's hair.

"I am actually, I mean who will I have midnight therapy sessions with now" Saito fake cried

Kuroko laughed and gave him a hug.

"I'll call you every night okay?" He reassured him

"Okay, but don't forget to have lots of fun!"

And so the brothers seperated, kuroko walked to the rest of the GoM with a warm smile.

"Who was that in the car, Tetsuya?" Akashi asked curiously, he witnessed the two boys saying goodbye "you seem pretty close"

Kuroko smiled "yeah we are, that was Saito, he's kind of like my big brother." Kuroko explained.

"That's nice, how did you two meet?" -akashi

Kuroko thought for a while "um he sat next to me at maji burger without noticing, and when I spoke he was super shocked, we talked for a while after that and found out we have a lot in common, and so we exchanged numbers and hung out a lot more" he lied through his teeth, but surprisingly Akashi believed him.

"Awww that's so cuuteee, why did you never tell us about him" kise whined

"Well you never asked.." kuroko said causing the rest to sigh.

(time skip)

After a long day of training, it was finally time for Akashi's plan. However he felt a bit uneasy, then Midorima walked up to him.

"Akashi may i have a word with you?" He asked seriously

"Yes of course."

"It's about your plan, with all due respect, I do not think it's the right way to do this."

"Oh? How so?"

"It's just- it feels kind of wrong. What goes on in Kuroko's life is his business, if he feels like he can tell us, he will. If your plan fails we will never gain his trust."

Akashi thought for a while.

"Okay then, inform the others that the plan won't be done. But remind them to keep a close eye on Kuroko, I still want to know if he is in danger or not, considering he walked in with a bruise last week." Akashi said as he walked away.

However, Akashi wasn't planning on doing nothing though..

kuroko decided to shower, while the rest of the GoM were outside, playing a game. Kuroko got out the shower, dressed and walked out, not expecting akashi to wait at the doorframe.

"Good evening Akashi-kun, do you need something?"

"Good evening Tetsuya. No I do not need anything, just wanted to spend some time with you."

Kuroko got a bit suspicious, but then he thought that akashi was also just a friend who wanted to talk with him, besides he did want to spend more time with him..

Kuroko blushed at the thought but kept his cool. "Sure, want to drink tea together? I was planning on making some anyway.."

"Yea, sounds nice"

And so the two sat down at the kitchen table, sipping on some hot tea. It was silent, but a comfortable silence.

"Shouldn't you be outside playing with the rest?" Kuroko questioned

"I could ask you the same thing, usually you stay after normal practice the longest"

Kuroko stayed silent and sipped on his tea.

"Everyone is kind of worried about you, you know?"

Kuroko stopped what he was doing. "Why?"

"You know why Tetsuya" akashi said a bit harsh "sorry. But you do know you can talk to us about anything, right..?" Akashi said gently

"I know.."

"Cause I think you don't know.. Tetsuya you know about my entire family situation, you comfort me and you helped me so much.. You can count on us too you know?"

Kuroko thought for a while. "I know Akashi-kun.. but right now my life is the best it's been in a while.. so do not worry." Kuroko tried to reassure him "i'm super grateful for you guys, I wouldn't want to burden you with my own personal problems"

"But you're not burdening us! We're your friends.. we want to know what you're struggling with so we can help you.. you can trust us that we'll never think of you as a burden.." akashi replied in a gentle tone.

Kuroko thought about what he said and smiled softly. "Thank you, I'll tell you if I need help.

Akashi wasn't quite satisfied with that since he knew Kuroko was way too stubborn to ask for help but at least Kuroko now knew he could do that.

Akashi smiled softly "movie?" He suggested. Kuroko and Akashi always watched movies together during camp, and during the movie the rest of the generation of miracles usually joined in for the snacks. After 3 camps it slowly became a regular thing.

Kuroko lit up "yes please." Kuroko was relieved that Akashi changed the subject