Elliot: Okay so tbh I had the prologue written a while ago but I forgot to send it so here's the first chapter that I finished a few days ago! It spans from Kuroko's first day at Teikō to his first day at Seirin. Sorry if it's confusing but I didn't want it to take up more than a chapter. From the next chapter, we'll be going from his second year at Seirin. Hope you enjoy!

Teikō middle school was bigger than Kuroko had expected. He had been sick on the open day, so his parents had gone without him.

His father came back singing praises about the basketball team, and his mother about the academic records and teachers.

He walked through the campus with a book in hand. The campus map was hidden in the pages. He didn't want to approach anyone to ask them for help finding his way around, but he didn't want to get lost on the way to assembly or his first class.

He glanced towards the stalls advertising different clubs.

Basketball, basketball.

Nothing.

"Wait. What's that mean?"

Kuroko grimaced as his shoulder bumped with someone's. Neither of them had been paying attention – he had been looking somewhere else, and the other boy had been arguing with someone.

"Excuse me," Kuroko muttered before adjusting his bag strap and continuing through the crowd. He didn't pause to wait for a reaction. Reactions weren't good at the moment.

He dodged the book club as the person behind him carrying a phone book was asked to join. He wasn't noticed.

Crowds were gathered around two people as he walked – one a dark haired giant, and one a blonde model.

Kuroko stopped at a small break in the crowd and switched pages. He kept the map folded in the middle of the book, but he took another page out of his pocket.

It was small – torn out of a notebook, probably. His mother didn't exactly approve of Shigehiro.

The writing was scribbled and there was a tiny drawing of a basketball in the corner.

Let's do our best so we can get game time real soon to fulfil our promise!

"Basketball! Please join the basketball team!"

He looked up. The table was flocked with students. Slowly, he made his way over. He pretended to be interested in the manga club for a moment or two until the crowd died down a bit – he wasn't noticed.

When there were only two people left, he made his way over.

"Excuse me?" A grinning boy looked up. "Can I join?"

The boy's grin faltered as he looked at Kuroko. "Sorry, this is the boys' basketball team."

Kuroko tugged on the strap of his bag. His ears burned as he tried to ignore the other two signing up – he could feel their stares on him.

"Dyke," one of them muttered.

The other, red haired, didn't say anything.

"I am a boy," Kuroko finally mumbled. "My name's Kuroko Tetsuya."

The boy hesitated again before handing him a sign-up sheet. "Here you go. Try-outs are later today."

Kuroko nodded and pulled a pen out of his pocket. He always had a habit of carrying them there instead of his pencil case.

One of the first years scoffed and left the table. The red haired one stayed.

Kuroko's hand shook as he filled out the form. He lingered over his name for a second too long before scribbling out his name.

Kuroko Tetsuya.

His name was Kuroko Tetsuya.

His name was Kuroko Tetsuya.

He didn't see the red haired boy again until the end of the try-outs when the strings were being announced.

Of course, when they saw Kuroko lagging, the coach pulled him aside and asked if he really wanted to join the boys' team – maybe the girls' team would have been a better fit for him.

There were others that lagged behind even Kuroko, but he was the only one singled out.

He shook his head, gave a polite smile and said he was fine. Like he always did.

But he knew which string he was in before it was even announced.

"I'm announcing the test results!" The coach called, bringing everyone to a halt. "First, the third string. Line up in front of the third string coach when your name is called. Saito Nobou."

"Here!"

The boy beside Kuroko walked up towards the coach. He had laughed whenever Kuroko stumbled.

"Nakazawa Kazuhito."

"Here!"

"Fujita Hiromichi. Yuji Takagiku."

As the names were called out, Kuroko found himself hoping. He could see they were at the end of the list.

Maybe he did better than he thought.

Maybe he would get to the second string.

Maybe-

"Finally, Kuroko Tetsuya. That's all."

Nearly everyone was on the third string. He didn't know why he expected to be any higher.

No first years ever even made the first string, so the second string was the highest anyone had the chance of reaching. He wasn't that good.

He let out a breath and ran towards the third string line as the second string was called out.

"Kuroki Dai. Yagi Masao. That's all. Finally, the first string."

Kuroko froze and turned. Everyone was staring at the coach.

"Did he just say first string?"

"He's kidding, right?"

"Well they let a dyke onto the team. Maybe this is another joke?"

"Aomine Daiki. Midorima Shintaro. Murasakibara Atsushi. Akashi Seijuro. That is all."

Kuroko turned to look at the four. Everyone else was still looking at the coach.

They had been amazing. Especially for first years.

He locked eyes with the red haired one. Akashi Seijuro. He recognised him from the stand.

But Akashi's eyes wafted over him after a second.

"Those on the third string, try to do better in the next placement test."

"Yes, sir!"

Extra practice.

He had been putting it in for the last week and a half and no one else had joined him.

He heard the door open and he stumbled to a halt, almost knocking over the cones he had set out to dribble around.

He recognised the boy that walked in from somewhere on the basketball team, but the other didn't acknowledge him. He just pulled off his hoodie and began stretching.

After a moment, Kuroko cleared his throat. "Uh... hello?" The boy turned, saw him, and screamed. He jumped back, and landed hard on the wooden floor. Kuroko hesitated before walking over to him. "Are you okay?" The boy didn't reply.

The appearance clicked. Dark, almost black, hair. Grey eyes – warm and sharp. Tanned skin.

Kuroko tilted his head. "Aomine-kun?"

Aomine stumbled up to his feet. "You're... you're Kuroko Tetsuya?" Kuroko nodded, and he relaxed. "Ah jeez... There've been rumours about a ghost in the gym recently so I just thought-"

Kuroko shook his head. "That must be me. I've been getting extra practice every day."

"Impressive." Aomine nodded, scanning him. "Not many are doing that. Even in the first string." He took the ball from Kuroko and bounced it a few times. He looked up at Kuroko and smiled. "Right. That's it."

Kuroko blinked. "What's it?"

Aomine threw up the ball and caught it with both hands. "I'll practice with you every day from now on. We'll try to play on the same court someday."

Kuroko hesitated. "Is... Is that okay?"

"Idiot," Aomine snorted, but his smile was kind. "It's not about whether it's okay or not. No one who plays basketball is really a bad guy."

Kuroko looked away. "That's not what I meant."

Aomine tilted his head, and then started laughing. "You mean those rumours about you being a girl? They wouldn't have let you on the team if you were one, right?" Kuroko stayed silent and Aomine's laughter died. "Wait, you're not a girl, are you?"

"No."

"Then what-?"

Kuroko reached up and pulled the neck of his shirt to the side. A skin toned binder sat under it, and it shirt was just baggy enough that when he pulled it, Aomine could see the strap and a bit of the body.

Aomine's eyes widened. "So you're a girl in disguise?"

"Idiot." Kuroko wasn't smiling. "I'm not a girl."

Aomine shrugged and threw the ball up, catching it again. "Then there's absolutely no problem."

"But-"

"You sound like you don't want me to practice with you with all of your arguing."

"No, I do." Kuroko released his shirt and the neck fell back into place. "But won't anyone give you trouble over it."

"Probably." Aomine's tone was flat. "But I really don't care. They're idiots. And no one would try to fight me anyway. If they did, I could kick their asses."

"Not third years."

Aomine snorted. "Please, of course I could. Look at this muscle." He flexed an arm, a cocky grin fixed on his face. When Kuroko didn't laugh, he dropped his arm. "Look, I don't really care what's going on between your legs or in your head. It's none of my business. But basketball's no fun if there's no one stronger than you, and the more people you help grow stronger, the more strong people in the world there are to play with you or against you. You see?"

"I..." Kuroko nodded. "I guess so."

Aomine held out his fist. Kuroko immediately tensed – instinct – but he just held it in mid-air. "Then let's get stronger together. Yeah?"

After a second, Kuroko finally returned his grin. "Yeah." He brought up his fist and knocked it against Aomine's. "Together."

"I'm going to be frank, Kuroko-kun," the coach sighed, "you staying on the team isn't really an option anymore." Kuroko's eyes widened. "I understand that you've been putting in extra practice, but even with that, your placement has fallen while everyone else has gotten better. Quitting the team isn't an order, of course. It's up to you to decide. But I don't think this is fair on anyone. If you want, I can put in a request for you to switch to the girls' team. They might be going at a better pace for you-"

Kuroko bowed, cutting him off, and left the teacher's office without saying a word.

Once off school grounds, he collapsed against a wall and started to cry.

When he finally stopped, he trudged towards the gym.

Aomine glanced at him. "I beat you here today." Kuroko didn't reply and Aomine's grin dropped. "What's wrong? Why are you still in uniform?"

"I'm quitting the team."

"What?" Aomine dropped the ball. "Why?"

Kuroko let out a shaky breath. "I love basketball, but I guess I can't be of any use to the team." He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Nobody's completely useless to the team." He looked up at Aomine again. "Even if you can't play in games." His eyes narrowed. "Someone who stays later than anyone else from any string to practice can't be completely useless."

Kuroko looked away. "But the coach-"

"I don't care what he said." Aomine glared through Kuroko. "I won't say you'll definitely make it if you don't give up, but if you do give up, there's nothing left."

"Ah, Daiki." Aomine and Kuroko looked up as the red headed vice-captain approached, a green haired boy in glasses behind him. Midorima, Kuroko recognised. "I haven't seen you around. Is this where you've been?"

Aomine nodded. "Yeah. Since the other gym's always crowded, the two of us always practice here until the campus closes."

"Two?" Akashi's eyes flittered to Kuroko. He didn't jump, or even look surprised like Midorima. But Kuroko knew he hadn't been noticed. He was never noticed.

"Kuroko Tetsuya," Akashi murmured. "I'm slightly intrigued." Midorima looked more surprised at that than Kuroko's presence. Akashi smiled. "I'm sorry, but could you come with me for a moment?"

Kuroko hesitated before nodding. "Sure." He followed Akashi out to the more used gym.

Regular practice was over, so it was empty.

Akashi picked up one of the balls out of the basket and threw it to him. Kuroko fumbled but caught it. "Can you try and score a point?"

Kuroko nodded. "A one-on-one or-?"

"No." Akashi watched. "Just try to score it."

Kuroko swallowed and walked over to the hoop. He took a breath, aimed, and threw the ball. It bounced on the rim and he ran to catch it.

"This is a first for me," Akashi admitted. "I've never seen anyone work this hard at sports and yet have their efforts go so unrewarded." Kuroko looked away. "Sorry, let me rephrase. Your motor skills aren't terrible. Your career and amount of practice is enough to call you a veteran. Yet you have absolutely no presence. It's... peculiar." He looked away. "Practice hard in any sport and one's presence will grow. It's bound to show. But you lack it altogether. This isn't a fault. More of an advantage. If you can work on it, it could be an enormous weapon for the team."

Kuroko shook his head. "Work on a lack of presence? Can I even do that?"

Akashi smiled and picked up his bag. "When you find out, come and see me."

Kuroko turned and watched him leave the gym. Had it just been his imagination, or had one of Akashi's eyes changed colour?

"Oi."

Kuroko looked up from his book. "Yes?"

"You bumped into me." The purple giant from string one. Murasakibara.

Kuroko looked at his book again. "No. I think you'll find that you bumped into me."

"Oh. Well you should watch where you're going anyway." Murasakibara tilted his head. "You're the girl on the basketball team, right?"

"I'm not a girl," Kuroko muttered.

Murasakibara blinked. "Oh, really? Sorry. You're in the third string, right?"

Kuroko nodded. "And you're in the first."

"Yeah, that's right. What are you reading?" Murasakibara grabbed his book and pulled it closer. "Misdirection? What's that?"

Kuroko reached up for the book, but he was below average height even for a Japanese national, and Murasakibara was far, far above average. "It's a trick. A lot of people use it in magic shows."

"Eh? You do magic?" Murasakibara looked down at him. There was a small smile on his face.

"No, sorry." Kuroko grabbed his book and pulled. Murasakibara released it too easily and he stumbled back.

"Oh. That's too bad." Murasakibara reached into his pocket and pulled out a lollipop. "Do you want to eat lunch together?"

After a beat, Kuroko nodded. "Sure."

"Where do you usually eat?"

"I don't."

"That's no good." Murasakibara reached into his pocket again. "You need to eat." He pulled out a chocolate bar and held it out to Kuroko.

Kuroko shook his head. "I'm not very hungry though."

"You still gotta eat." Murasakibara tried to hand the chocolate to him. "Take it."

"I don't like chocolate."

"Huh?" Murasakibara blinked. "Who doesn't like chocolate?"

"Me."

"You're a bit weird." He put the chocolate bar back. "Do you have any lunch with you?" Kuroko nodded. "Then you should eat that."

"Okay. Where do you usually eat?"

Murasakibara shrugged. "The courtyard, I think?"

Kuroko nodded. "Okay. Do you want to go out there then?" He was beginning to grow a bit accustomed to Murasakibara's attitude. It was child-like, and he didn't seem to have much of an attention span. "Do you play games other than basketball?"

"Yeah." Murasakibara opened the lollipop. "I like video games. Do you have an Xbox?"

"No, but I have a PS3."

"I have one of those too." Murasakibara popped the lollipop into his mouth as they began walking. "What games do you play?" He mumbled around the sweet.

"I like Oblivion."

"Me too." He looked over at Kuroko. "What race did you pick?"

"Khajit. You?"

"Argonian. I don't like cats very much."

"I like dogs."

Murasakibara nodded. "Me too. Do you have one?"

"No. My mother says they're too expensive," Kuroko replied as they reached the courtyard.

Murasakibara plopped down in the middle of the yard. Kuroko hesitated before sitting down too. It was laundry day anyway, so hopefully his mother wouldn't mind if his pants got a bit dirty.

Murasakibara tilted his head. "Were you a girl?"

He was right about the taller boy's attention span. It was as absent as Kuroko's presence. "What do you mean?"

"Were you born a girl?"

Kuroko hesitated. "Biologically, yes. I never felt like one."

Murasakibara hummed. "I could never be a girl."

"Me neither."

"Yeah, you'd look uncomfortable in the girls' uniform." Murasakibara took the lollipop stick out of his mouth and threw it. It landed in the bin. "I like you as a boy."

Kuroko couldn't help but smile. "I like me as a boy too."

"Hey, Akashi! You have a visitor!"

Akashi looked up to see Kuroko peering into the gym from the door. "Thanks." He ran up towards him as the player than had called him disappeared back into training. "Well Kuroko. It's been three months. Have you found the answer?"

Straight to business. As always.

Kuroko nodded. "Yes."

"Then let's start the test." Akashi turned away.

"Uh..." Kuroko licked his lips. "If possible, could you look at it in a game?"

After a second, Akashi nodded. "I'll see what I can do." He made his way towards the team captain. "Nijimura-san. About what I mentioned a while back."

Nijimura looked up as Akashi approached with Kuroko trailing behind. "Oh. He's the one, huh?"

Akashi nodded. "He says he's ready. Could we arrange a practice match? Just a quarter."

Nijimura sighed but nodded. "Alright!" He called. "Line up! Practice match between second and third string! Second string, orange bibs. Third string, yellow bibs. Let's go!"

It only took a few minutes before the match began, and Kuroko was placed on the starting line. He waited a few minutes before beginning.

"Fujita-kun!" He redirected the ball coming at him towards Fujita. The other barely caught it, but he darted down the court and scored.

Kuroko could feel Akashi's gaze on him, and when he glanced at the vice-captain, he was mumbling something to Nijimura.

The second string seemed to be struggling to figure out how the third was suddenly five points ahead.

"Block Kuroko. She's doing something weird."

And yet they could never seem to keep track of him long enough to block the ball from reaching him. Even when they tried, Kuroko passed it back the way it had come.

"What is this?" Nijimura muttered to Akashi. "I'm surprised about the passes, but I keep losing him even though I'm trying to focus specifically on him."

"Misdirection." Akashi's eyes narrowed. Even he was struggling to watch Kuroko. "A technique to guide lines of sight often used in magic tricks. For instance, Kuroko uses gestures to guide people's sights to the ball or other players rather than himself. Coupled with his original lack of presence, he disappears from the court like a phantom."

The game ended all too soon, and despite it only taking fifteen minutes, the score ended at 25-31 to the third string.

"Did you know all along it would end like this?" Nijimura asked.

Akashi looked away, smiling. "You give me far too much credit." He looked back at Kuroko to see him out of breath, but tense – still ready to play. "No. This goes far beyond my expectations."

The coach's eyes were narrowed as Kuroko ran towards them. "I'm afraid your position in third string can't be changed, Kuroko-kun."

Akashi's eyes snapped up, cold and hard. "Why not?"

The coach sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Your parents have informed me of your situation," he admitted, looking at Kuroko, "but the fact still remains that you are not a boy. You have been allowed on the boys' team and are already struggling with training. First string requires a lot more physical ability. Physical ability that you don't have. We're not making you quit but-"

"But you're going to force him to stay in the third string when his abilities would greatly benefit the team?" Akashi finished.

Kuroko looked away when the coach sighed. "It's not as simple as that."

"Akashi-san, leave it. It's fine," Kuroko mumbled.

"No, actually. It's not."

Kuroko blinked in surprise and looked up at him.

Akashi's arms folded. "Kuroko is a good player, as he has just demonstrated. The third string has never gotten more than ten points off the second string before, and they've never won before. Now, they won by seven points."

"In a one quarter practice game," the coach reminded him.

"Just like the ones they used to play." Akashi's eyes narrowed. There – did his eyes change again? "Kuroko is registered as a boy. He has a boy's name. He uses male pronouns. He wears the boys' uniform, uses the boys' bathroom, and changes in the boys' changing room. He is a part of the Teikō basketball team. He used to be on third string and he is now on first string."

"You don't get to make that decision."

"I do." Nijimura cut in. "And I believe Kuroko would be a perfect addition to the team."

"She's-"

"He has just proven his ability after nearly a full year of practicing until campus closes every evening." Akashi raised an eyebrow. "Now, unless you want us to go to the principal, I believe we should rule in favour of democracy. We both feel Kuroko should be a part of the team."

After a moment, the coach scowled. "Go talk to the school sports coordinator, Kuroko-kun. He should be in the teacher's office."

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Kuroko to find him and fill him in on everything.

After a minute of paperwork, the co-ordinator smiled up at Kuroko. "Congratulations, Kuroko-kun. From today, you're first string. You saw a chance, and you made it yours."

Kuroko nodded, a huge grin on his face. "Thank you, sir."

"Excuse me?" A voice called before the co-ordinator could reply. Kuroko stepped back as a girl with pink hair pulled into a braid walked up. He recognised her – she helped out with basketball a lot. Momo? Momoi? Momoi. "Is Kuroko-kun here?"

"Oh. That's me." Kuroko stepped forward again. Momoi turned, her gaze fixing on him. After a second she jumped back. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Sorry, I didn't see you."

Kuroko nodded. "It's okay. I get that a lot."

Momoi let out a shaky breath and relaxed. "The first string team wanted me to bring you to practice."

Kuroko's smile returned and he nodded. They bowed to the co-ordinator, and he followed Momoi out of the office towards the gym.

When they reached it, she pushed the door open. "I brought Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Thanks!" Nijimura called as Kuroko stepped into the gym.

Aomine looked up, standing out of a stretch. "Tetsu! You finally got here!"

Akashi turned and gave him a smile – not like his usual polite one, but not warm either. "Hey, we've been waiting for you." His smile grew and he held out his hand. "Welcome to the first string of the Teikō basketball team." Kuroko took a breath as his glanced around. No one wasn't looking at him. "Take a look, and engrave this into your mind." Akashi's eyes narrowed. "From now on, you only have one mission. To win."

"Ne, they really need to clean this locker room," Kise sighed. It was his first day on string one.

He understood that being on the first string didn't change anything. It wasn't all spotlights and stars – just like modelling. But he couldn't help but feel disappointed when the locker room smelled even worse after practice.

"I know, right?" Aomine yawned. "But student council got the school a new piano instead."

"Why?" Kise rolled his eyes.

"Because the music class needed one and the showers in here still work." Akashi spoke from behind, making them both jump. "Now get inside and stop complaining." He pushed past them.

Kise stared after him. "Akashi's scary..."

"No kidding." Aomine shook his head. "You get used to him though. C'mon." He led the way into the changing room.

A few people were already in the showers, and coming out of them. Kise pulled off his shirt and dumped it on a bench. "So we practice three times a week?"

"Except coming up to qualifiers," Aomine confirmed. "We'll be practicing for three hours every day starting sometime next month."

"What? That's insane," Kise grumbled, pulling down his pants.

"It's not that bad," spoke a voice next to him. "You just need to get used to it."

Kise blinked and turned, then flung himself behind Aomine. "What the hell?"

Kuroko tilted his head, hand on the towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was flat against his head, still saturated with water, and he looked out of breath from trying to pull his binder on in a shower stall. "What is it?"

"Why are you in here and not the girls' changing room?" Kise asked, his voice shaking. He still – thankfully – had his boxers on.

The changing room had fallen silent aside from the sound of water gushing from showers.

Aomine knocked Kise away from him. "Tetsu's here 'cause he's a boy, on the boys' team, and this is a boys' changing room," he replied, turning to glare at Kise.

Kise hesitated, eyes flicking towards Kuroko. "But-" His eyes ran down to Kuroko's binder.

Kuroko didn't seem phased. "Kise-kun. My eyes are up here."

Kise's eyes snapped away from him altogether. "I-I-I thought you were a girl."

Kuroko shrugged and pulled a t-shirt over his head. "It happens." He didn't seem bothered, though Aomine still glared at Kise.

The blonde grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, despite his boxers, and made his way back over to Kuroko once people began ignoring them again.

"Ne, Kuroko?" Kuroko looked up at him. Kise hesitated. "Do... Do you... y'know... have a-"

"Do you have a penis?" Kuroko shot back, looking away.

Kise's eyes widened. "What? Why would you ask something like that?"

"You were asking him. Why shouldn't he ask you?" Aomine glared over at him.

Kise hesitated. "I... I guess..."

Kuroko pulled on a pair of boxers and jeans without disrupting his towel. Then he pulled off the towel and folded it into his bag. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He picked up his bag and walked out of the room, leaving Aomine and Kise to bicker.

None of the team noticed Haizaki follow him out.

Kuroko himself didn't notice. Not until the other shoved him up against the wall by the burner.

He looked up at Haizaki. "Can I help you?"

"You're a freak. You know that?" Haizaki snarled. Spittle flew out of his mouth and landed on Kuroko's face.

Kuroko grimaced. "Please let go of me," he requested in a monotone voice.

He had found that monotone voices tended to irritate people enough that they were too irritated to bother trying to irritate him anymore. But that seemed to be only in his friend circle of Aomine, Murasakibara, and Momoi, for Haizaki shoved him to the ground and grabbed his bag off his shoulder.

"You shouldn't have ever been allowed on the boys' team."

"Give that back, Haizaki-san." Kuroko climbed to his feet and extended his hand for his bag.

Haizaki's eye twitched. "You want it? Go fucking catch, bitch." He flung the bag into the rubbish incinerator. Kuroko's eyes widened.

Phone. Books. Notes. His uniform. Everything was in that bag.

"What are you waiting for?" Haizaki grabbed his shoulders and shoved him towards the incinerator. "I said go fetch!"

Kuroko yelled as he hit the hot metal, but a pair of arms caught him and hauled him away before he could fall in.

"Tetsu, are you okay?"

His head was spinning.

"Back the fuck off, Kise. You don't want to get into this on your first day."

"You back off and leave Kuroko alone! He hasn't done anything to you!"

A snort. "It doesn't even deserve a name."

"Say that again." Kise. He recognised the flash of blonde and the silver glint of his earing. "I dare you."

"I said-"

"What's going on here?"

The new voice silenced everyone. Kuroko slowly looked up to see Akashi standing at the corner, eyes narrowed into a dark glare.

No. Not Akashi. Kuroko knew he wasn't imagining it now. The red haired boy had one amber eye and one crimson.

"Nothing," Haizaki muttered.

"Nothing my ass! He burned Kurokocchi's bag and tried to push him into the incinerator!" Kise roared.

The vice-captain's gaze flickered between them, and over to Kuroko. His eyes flickered back to their normal crimson colour – both of them.

"We were just messing," Haizaki sighed. "These two got dramatic. As usual."

"Kuroko?" Akashi raised an eyebrow. Kuroko looked away. "Haizaki, you'll pay for Kuroko's replacement books, uniform, bag, and anything else that was inside it."

"What? That's bullshit – you can't make me do that!"

The second Akashi looked away from Kuroko, his heterochromatic eyes were back. "You're right. If you want, we can go to the captain, coach, co-ordinator, and principal and you could be expelled for burning another student's property, and the police could be called for attempted murder."

"I didn't try to fucking murder him."

"Really?" Akashi almost looked amused. "That's not what I'm hearing. And it's not what the police will hear either." After a moment, Haizaki growled and stormed off. "If he doesn't repay you, just let me know."

"It's fine." Kuroko clambered up to his feet, and Aomine caught him.

"Tetsu, your arm's burnt."

"Hang on." Kise reached into his bag. "My mom makes me carry around a medical kit. I think I have some anti-inflammatory cream or something..."

Akashi didn't take his eyes off Kuroko. "If he doesn't repay you," he repeated, his eyes not changing back to normal, "just let me know."

Kuroko swallowed. Why wasn't anyone else noticing this? "I will."

Slowly, Akashi nodded. "Good."

Just like at Teikō, the basketball team try-outs took place on the first day of high school at Seirin.

Kuroko found himself close to the back again. As usual, he couldn't see over the people gathered there. He had grown since starting hormone blockers and testosterone, but overall, his family had a history of being short, and they weren't going to change that.

In front of him, one of the first years nudged another and pointed to the girl standing in the middle of the gym talking to one of the current team members. "Hey, isn't the manager cute?"

"Yeah, she's a second year, right?" The other sighed. "If only she was a little sexier."

Kuroko glanced at the girl. She wore a whistle, but carried a clipboard. Maybe she collected game data on all players like Momoi had?

Kuroko looked back at the boys' as the team captain whacked the back of their heads. "Stop gossiping. You're wrong anyway."

The girl walked over to the group of first years and grinned. "I'm the boys' basketball team coach. Aida Riko. It's nice to meet you."

A small smile crossed Kuroko's face. Good. They deserved all of the shock present on their faces.

One of the boys pointed at the elderly man in the corner. "It's not him?"

Riko glanced back and chuckled. "No, this is our advisor. Takeda-sensei.

"Seriously?"

"You've got to be kidding!"

Riko's smile only grew. "Now that you're acquainted with Takeda-sensei, I'll have all of you take off your shirts."

No one moved. "What? Why?"

"Do it, or you can leave my gymnasium." Riko's smile became a smirk. "In a line. Now."

Slowly, everyone complied. Kuroko stood at the end, leaving his shirt on. Maybe he could say something when she reached him or something. Excluding him, only eight people had tried out.

And Riko went along examining all of them

"You're not very explosive. Your limit seems to be about fifty side jumps in twenty seconds. You'll need to do better for the basketball team. And you – you're too stiff. Do some stretches after you bathe. And work on core muslces."

"How does she know this?" A boy near Kuroko hissed.

The captain chuckled. "Her dad's a sports trainer. Collecting data and organising a training regimen is a skill she's picked up through observation of bodies and data at his workplace every day as a child. When she looks at your bodies, all she can say is your physical ability displayed in numbers."

Kuroko tensed as Riko stopped, but she wasn't staring at him. The boy next to him.

Red hair – tall, broad, and muscles. Narrow, dark eyes and tanned skin.

"What?" His scowl deepened as he looked at Riko.

"Coach! What are you looking at?" The captain called.

Riko looked down at her clipboard. "Right, uh..."

"You looked at all of them. Kagami's the last one."

Ah. Kagami Taiga. The boy that had signed up at the same time as Kuroko.

"Really?" Riko frowned at her clipboard and looked around. "Is Kuroko here?"

Kuroko hesitated.

"Oh, that kid from Teikō?"

Riko sighed. "Looks like he's not here. Alright, let's start practice!"

Kuroko swallowed and stepped forward. "Uh, excuse me." Riko froze. "I'm Kuroko."

Slowly, Riko's hand lowered – sharp, jerky movements – and a shriek escaped her mouth.

Everyone was staring at either him or Riko.

"When did he get here?" The captain hissed.

Riko was still staring at him, eyes wide and face pale.

"This guy's seriously part of the Generation of Miracles?" Another first year scoffed. Kuroko glanced at him. "He couldn't have been a regular, right?"

Kuroko shrugged. "I've played in games." He looked away and his eyes ended up on Kagami. He was the only one that didn't look impressed.

Riko cleared her throat. "You'll need to take off your shirt."

Kuroko hesitated. "I-"

"Unless you want to leave."

After a moment, Kuroko nodded and pulled his t-shirt up over his head. He left his binder on.

A few people exchanged glances, but when Riko said nothing, neither did they. Her eyes only widened when she finished looking Kuroko up and down.

He knew what she was seeing. Ridiculously low numbers, and yet he had played in games. He held her gaze, only for a moment. She was the first to break it.

"Alright. Shirts back on – let's start practice."

Kuroko saw Kagami enter the fast food restaurant – saw him order literally twenty or more burgers, saw him walk closer. And yet Kagami never saw him.

Even as he sat at Kuroko's table.

Kuroko slowly took a sip of his milkshake as Kagami unwrapped a burger. He looked out the window as he took a bite, and his gaze wandered to Kuroko.

They stalled for a second, and he choked on the burger in his mouth.

"Hello."

Kagami swallowed his burger hard and coughed. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was sitting here first." Kuroko took another sip. "I like their vanilla shakes."

Kagami shook his head and looked away. "Go somewhere else."

Kuroko blinked. "I don't want to."

Kagami leaned closer. "Yeah? Well if someone sees us, they'll think we're friends and I don't want that."

Kuroko frowned. "No. I usually come here. I'm not leaving."

Kagami huffed. He picked up a burger despite not finishing his current burger, and threw it at Kuroko. Kuroko barely caught it. "I don't like guys who suck at basketball, but after the game today, you've earned yourself one of those."

Kuroko looked back up at him. "Thanks." There was a small smile on his face. He unwrapped the burger. "Are you really going to eat all of those by yourself?"

Kagami snorted and finished the first burger in practically a swallow. "Watch me." He was done before Kuroko finished his milkshake.

"You're just like Aomine," Kuroko mumbled as they left the restaurant.

Kagami hummed. "Just how strong is the Generation of Miracles?" He glanced down at Kuroko. "If I played them now, what would happen?"

Kuroko finished his milkshake. "You'd be destroyed. Instantly."

Kagami glared at him. "Do you need to say it like that?"

Kuroko dropped his milkshake carton into a bin. "All five have each gone on to play for their own schools. One of those schools will stand at the top." They paused at traffic lights, waiting for them to turn green.

Kagami couldn't help it. He started laughing. "Good." Kuroko glanced at him. "That's the kind of thing that pushes me." His eyes narrowed. "I'm going to defeat them all and become the best player in Japan."

"I don't think that's possible," Kuroko admitted.

"Hey!" Kagami snapped.

Kuroko shrugged. "I don't know if you have a hidden talent or not, but you wouldn't be able to reach their feet as you are now." The light turned green and Kuroko half-jogged to the other side of the street while Kagami walked. "You can't do it alone." He looked up as Kagami joined him. "I'm a shadow. But the stronger the light, the darker the shadow, and the brighter the light seems." Kagami's eyes were wide. "I'll be the shadow for your light and make you the best player in Japan." He hesitated. "If you'll allow it."

Kagami's grin slowly returned. "I don't care what the fuck you identify as. Do what you want. If you want to be my shadow or whatever, do it."

Kuroko smiled – bigger than usual. His neutral expressions were growing easier to hold, but Kagami was the first person since Aomine and Kise to say something like that.

"Thank you. I'll do my best."

Elliot: Hope you guys enjoyed! From now on it's going to be Kuroko's second year at Seirin. Please vote and review. See you next time, Murdering Majestors!