Author's Note: Since several people asked and he won on the polls, I decided to try to do a 2-3 chapters mini-series on Kuroko with an OC. Forewarning that he may veer OOC since I'm trying to force romantic development in a super short story. Also trying to incorporate information from the character bible (that he likes gentle girls) in a more subtle, backwards kind of way. Hopefully you enjoy it! Updates will be a bit more sporadic than they are with my other stories.

EDIT: Added more conversation on Kuroko's part per suggestion. Going off my perspective that I don't think he would be very talkative with Asami until he gets more comfortable with her. But hopefully this accommodates his character better. Thanks!

One

It is difficult to hold back the tears in the face of a broken heart. She tries to grit her teeth and bear it, hands clenched into tight fists at her side. Breaking up is the worst part of any relationship, and although this one has been particularly short, the pain overwhelms her. Is this first love?

As she shuffles out of the courtyard – with the intention of heading back to class – she finds herself running straight into something that sends her reeling backwards. Yet just before she ends up flat on the ground, a hand catches her by the wrist and steadies her.

"Be careful," a voice whispers, albeit with such an even tone that it does not even sound as though he is scolding her.

Asami blinks slowly as she recognizes the light blue hair. Her surprise registers gradually and it takes a moment for her to notice that his fingertips have lingered against her skin, at which point she yanks her arm away from him. "Yeah," she mumbles unappreciatively as she regards him with a critical eye. "Um... are you lost?"

"Lost?" he echoes back flatly, as though it does not even seem a question but more as though he is mimicking her.

Only a second later she realizes that he is, in fact, wearing their school uniform. "Oh," she remarks blankly, "I was wrong. So you do go to this school after all." So the familiarity she feels with his unique hair color is not completely off base. Why, then, is she unable to conjure a name in her mind to match it? Moreover, how did she not notice him standing in the middle of her path?

"You are crying..."

Those words jolts her back to reality and she stares at him quizzically for a moment. Then she realizes that something warm is trickling down the length of her cheeks. Asami lifts her trembling fingers to dab at the salty tears that have wriggled out of the corner of her eyes. "H-huh? That's strange... why am I... all of a sudden...?"

The boy just stares at her with an empty expression. His eyes briefly avert as he slowly digs into his pockets. His lips curve down slightly as he produces a napkin. "Will this work?" He holds it out toward her.

The dark-haired girl bobs her head slightly as she accepts it from him and tries hurriedly to cover the tracks of her silent crying. "You can't tell anyone you saw," she says hurriedly. "They will think that I am being stupid or something."

"Okay."

She pauses to look at him quizzically. Is he some kind of robot? The way he replies almost automatically without any indicative trace of emotion in his voice makes him seem aloof. Yet despite seeming bland at first glance, he is at least kind enough to provide her with... a napkin.

"It's not what you think!" Asami declares suddenly, almost forcefully. "I'm not crying because you bumped into me or something silly like that. I have a reason to be crying! It's a good reason! It's not silly at all!"

He blinks slowly, that blank expression never changing as he just stares at her. "I don't think it sounds silly."

Asami regards him with a look of surprise that she quickly swallows back as her expression sours. "More importantly, why are you here anyways?"

Slowly the boy lowers his gaze. Asami follows to see a trash bag in his hand. It leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, if only because she is being accusatory in the face of a legitimate excuse. And while she points the finger at him, he seems to shrug off all of her words.

"I should apologize, I guess," she admits reluctantly. "But first, what's your name?"

"Kuroko," he mutters quietly. "Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Well, I'm sorry, Tetsuya-kun." Having delivered her apology, she takes a slight bow. By the time she lifts herself up to face him again, she notices that he has already disappeared. A brief glance at her surroundings reveals nothing. Almost like smoke, he has simply vanished. That thought is a little disconcerting but she brushes it off.

While she has no intention of running into that phantom ever again, it is only a short few days later when she encounters him next. Although the circumstances this time are radically different.

"What a pain," Asami grumbles under her breath, twisting her grip on the handle of the baseball bat that is propped against her shoulder. The side of her face stings fiercely and she can only guess that it is the result of a well-aimed punch that came too quick for her to dodge. Although she is admittedly walking away with minimal injuries in comparison to her opponents.

"You are bleeding."

She nearly jumps to hear that remark coming from just beside her. Almost instinctually she swings her bat in the direction of the voice, stopping only just before the metal object collides with the side of the boy's head. Blue hair, she thinks bitterly the moment she recognizes him. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she bellows.

"I was standing here the whole time."

Her brows furrow in disbelief. Is he trying to mock her or...? "Whatever," Asami finally breathes out irritably, dismissing the situation altogether.

Unaffected by her unkempt appearance – sullied uniform and disheveled hair – he reaches into his pocket and produces a band-aid which he passes over toward her. His expression never changes the entire time. He remains utterly impassive. Yet the gesture itself seems to hint at some inner kindness.

And for the first time, she feels her heart thump as she reaches to take the band-aid. It causes Asami to freeze. What is this feeling? Her focus grows a little hazy. Is it because she was pummeled in the head so many times during the fight?

As though recognizing that she is too distracted to tend to her own wound, the person known as Tetsuya mindfully applies the bandage himself. The feel of his fingertips against her skin, however brief the contact, is surprisingly cool.

"W-What are you...?!"

His eyes meet hers for a moment before he lowers his gaze and starts to leave.

Without thinking, she catches him by the wrist which gives him at least momentary pause. Long enough for her to sputter off her reason for delaying him. "Y-you didn't wait for me to introduce myself last time, you know. It's only polite after you introduce yourself to let the other person do the same."

Although he does not give a verbal response, he seems to stare at her blankly as though waiting.

"Ahem," she gives a cough before saying, "My name is Asami. Yamamoto Asami."

"Yamamoto-san," he echoes in recognition.

"No! You... you can call me Asami. I don't mind."

His head tilts as though he does not understand why she is encouraging him to call her more familiarly. Certainly there appears no outward reason for it. The two are barely acquainted. To begin with, she did not even know that he attended the same school. Nor does she even now know what class or year he is in.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" The girl frowns at him. "You are a first year too, right? There's no reason for us to be so formal then."

Perhaps deeming that it is not worth the effort of arguing, he just gives her a nod, "Yes."

"This time, too. Don't say anything to any teachers, 'kay? It's not as bad as it looks." Although as she says that, she presses a finger to the side of her busted lip, only to pull it away and notice a splotch of blood on the pad of her thumb.

"You should go the nurse's office," he points out matter-of-factly.

That is about as much as she has ever really heard him say. "What are you talking about?" she barks back almost immediately. "If I go there, they will know I got into another fight again. Do you really want me to get suspended?"

"So you did get into a fight," he deduces with a nod.

"Why are you saying that like you are surprised? Well, I mean... it's not really a secret. I don't have the best personality." She gives him a self-deprecating grin.

He blinks slowly as though contemplating those words before muttering, "You don't seem like a bad person, Yamamoto-san."

For a long moment she just stares at him as though dumbfounded. Then finally she lets loose a laugh before reaching up to ruffle the hair on the top of his head. "You're pretty cute, Tetsuya-kun. I like you." She gives a decisive nod to punctuate that declaration.

He, in turn, gently pushes her hand away from his head and smooths his hair back down with his fingers. One stubborn strand seems to evade his attempts, however, and sticks up at an odd angle.

"Say, are you in any sports clubs?" The moment the question leaves her mouth, she doubts herself. How can he be? In consideration of the other guys at their school, he is somewhat short and does not appear particularly muscular. So she clears her throat and clarifies, "Or any clubs, really."

"Basketball. I'm in the basketball club."

Her brows furrow, head tilting with an accompany look of suspicion. "Are you trying to make fun of me since I actually thought you might be involved with a sports club?"

He blinks several times before shaking his head.

"Wait, so you really are on the basketball team? Bench warmer?"

"No, I play regularly."

"There's no way," she says in a voice just above a whisper. Yet the look on his face does not seem at all deceitful. Is he not lying to impress her? But it seems as though he is being honest. Asami sighs, "Okay, then you should have practice after school, right?"

He nods.

"Then I'll come watch you." At that she gives him a big grin with a thumbs up. "Don't worry. You won't even notice that I'm there. I just want to come watch. That's okay, right?"

The silence that she is met with in turn she simply decides to take as a 'yes'. They part ways at that point and after school she makes good on her promise. Trying to be as discreet as possible, she tiptoes into the gym and keeps herself to the shadows so as not to be disruptive.

Asami presses her back against the wall and watches silently. At first she thinks she has been deceived, since she does not spot him. It takes a few minutes before she catches sight of that blue hair streaking across the court. And she wonders how she could have missed him in the beginning. At once he is eye catching and simultaneously unnoticeable in that he usually goes completely undetected.

The more she watches him, the more she can feel an aching in her chest that she has never felt before. Strange, she thinks, because this is a sensation she did not even experience when she had a boyfriend. Not to this degree... Why? Why does she feel so...?

All of a sudden she feels something bump against her feet and only belatedly does she realize that it is a basketball that has strayed from the court. Without thinking, she stoops down to pick it up, but as she is standing, she finds herself at eye level with Tetsuya who seems out of breath and covered in perspiration. Yet in the back of her mind, she wonders how accidental it is for him to suddenly lose the basketball and for it to come in her direction.

"Here," she says, holding it out toward him.

"You came."

Those two words startle her. He was expecting her? Does that mean... he was hoping she would come? Her heart is pounding furiously for some reason and she finds her grip loosening on the basketball. And then at that exact moment, his fingertips brush against her hands as he reaches to grab it. Almost immediately she jumps back in surprise, flinging the round object from her hands.

It bounces against the floor and rolls a short distance away. Both of their gazes seem to follow after it until she takes a sharp inhale and peers back at his face. He does not seem angry or irritated – rather, that expression of his is blank as ever.

"S-sorry." It is unusual for her to apologize, and she knows it. At almost the same moment they both reach to grab for it and yet again, her hand bumps against his. While she freezes, he finishes reaching for the ball before turning to look at her.

"Yamamoto-san?"

She looks at him in surprise but tries to hide it behind a nervous smile. Why is she sweating so bad? Her palms feel almost clammy as she curls her fingers into tight fists that she hides behind her back.

"Your face is red. Fever?" he mumbles to himself. He holds the basketball against his side and reaches over toward her with his other hand. It comes within inches of her forehead before she instinctively grasps his wrist to keep him from touching her.

"I-I have... have to go home. Really bad. There's... studying. Homework. Things to do. Bye, Tetsuya-kun!" Hastily she peels herself away and speeds out of there as fast as her legs will carry her, but the whole time it seems as though her heart is about to beat right out of her chest. Why? What's wrong with her? That guy seems really weak – has she fallen for him, of all people?