AN: Hello readers! Thank you for checking out this story. It means a lot to me. While this isn't my first time writing in this fandom, I've got to admit that this will be my first time posting something as peculiar as this. My inspiration for this story is Troublesome Discoveriesby .Enadi; it is a KHR fic with the same concept but obviously different. I'm not trying to copy his story, rest assured, just an interesting concept I decided to emulate in Kuroko no Basuke. This might be slow-going but this is just an opening chapter. The rest would appear in the next one.
Pairings: Gen, mostly. If I ever decide on one, it will take a while.
Warning(s): Understand that this is sole from a male's point of view. So, any relevant discovery he makes about females, it's his own conclusion and opinion, not necessarily a fact about the opposite gender. So, please don't be too sensitive.
Disclaimer: I will never own Kuroko no Basuke.
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[Chapter One: Kuroko Tetsuka]
You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do
"You should take care of yourself too, Kuroko-sensei!" One of his students in kindergarten had told him earlier.
It was ironic. Now that he thought about it. That it was those words that he solely remembered as he laid on the ground under a very heavy metal contraption – a strong scent of something coppery, burning, and a little bit of asphalt – bleeding. His vision was blurry and would shift between darkening and too much brightness. He didn't dare move a muscle, knowing that even the smallest twitch sent pain, unlike anything he had known, coursing throughout his body.
Although, all he could hear by this point was some screeching static that grated on his ears and tiny voices that seemed so far away.
Kuroko tried to recall how he got into this position.
He had just finished his work at the kindergarten and had been on his way home after making certain that all the children had went home with their respective parents or guardians. He remembered stopping by a convenience store to buy some food since he was supposed to spend an all-nighter to finish some paperwork that he hadn't been able to do since Kagami and Aomine had seized his schedule last week. And he couldn't work when hungry.
Kuroko had been standing on the curb with several people, waiting for the cross-light to turn green. He recalled crossing the pedestrian with other people before a speeding vehicle, that was obviously out of control judging from its squealing tires, had gone straight to them. He had pushed some of the others away but he knew that he hadn't been the only one who had taken the impact of the hurtling car.
He wondered if he was the only one stuck at the bottom of said vehicle right now. He couldn't tell since just moving his eyes actually took a lot out of him.
Coughing and feeling the extremely painful jolt in his body to accompany it, Kuroko gurgled, feeling the glob of blood building in his throat as he processed that he wasn't actually breathing anymore. Huh, he hadn't even noticed. It was then that his body started to feel light and numbness took over. Kuroko contemplated that dying didn't sound so scary any longer if it wasn't painful as he had truly thought. Though, he had a lot of things that he wished that he could've done before this time came.
Through the blurry of colors, red flashed in his vision before everything went dark.
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When he became aware of his surroundings, he expected to hear any beeping from possible machines or even just the smell of the sterile atmosphere that was usually part of being in a hospital. In truth, he didn't expect that he'd survive. Kuroko was absolutely certain that he was going to die. So, he didn't anticipate to wake up again. Still, the air felt normal and there wasn't any noise save for the light breeze that tickled his ears. He didn't feel any pain but just a heavy fatigue born from drowsiness.
Blearily opening his eyes, he thought that he would be looking at a barren white ceiling but what greeted him was a familiar brown ceiling instead.
At first, he didn't register what he was actually staring at until he realized that it was the ceiling of his room, when he still used to live with his grandmother. How did he get here? No, that wasn't right, why was he here? Feeling dread pooling in his stomach, he carefully sat up and eyed his room. Unlike what he imagined, it wasn't the same as he had left it. To be precise, it was completely different from what he remembered of his room, either from his middle school and high school years, or even before college.
His precious bookshelf that reached from floor to ceiling still had books brimming but it was positioned near his bed instead, as if the person who had done so wanted to be able to reach a book from the bed any time. What was peculiar was that it also contained some trinkets – ranging from small keychains, odd stuff toys, or even just various accessories that he wasn't familiar with. His study table was located near the window and there were notebooks messily piled there, along with some pens and textbooks.
The baby blue walls were bare but the odd discoloration and patches gave him the impression that it was just recent. Oddly enough, there wasn't any basketball equipment, magazines, or even just some knick-knacks for decoration. It wasn't until his eyes landed on the dresser and the huge mirror attached to it that he realized what was so different. His room had been transformed into that of a girl's.
Even the Teikou Middle School uniform that was in a hanger by said dresser was different. Instead of neatly pressed pants and tie, he was currently staring at a flimsy dark ribbon by the light blue button-up polo and black pleated skirt trimmed in white.
Suddenly, the dread from earlier was making him sick.
He stumbled out of the bed, unused to his newly acquired short skinny limbs, and refusing to acknowledge the checkered pajama dress that reached below his knees. Like a drunken person, he staggered on his feet, almost tripping on nothing on the carpeted floor, as he shakily reached the mirror.
Instead of seeing a taller teal haired man with shorter hair, or even a male the same age as a middle school student, what he was gazing at was a petite girl with shoulder-length teal hair, round face and doe-like blue eyes, dressed in a white and blue checkered pajama dress. If he wasn't in such a state of horror, he would've noted that this girl could've passed as his twin sister or how he would look like if he bothered on entering the likes of cross-dressing.
As it was, he was frozen stiff as his mind burned the image of his current self into memory.
He gasped but it came out as a squeak as he stumbled and fell back on his posterior, staring at the mirror with horror. Unable to process what he had just seen, he crawled his way to the mirror, reaching up in her knees, and watched as the reflection of the girl mirrored his shock and terror. Torturing himself further, he continued to stare. He blinked. She blinked. He stretched his cheeks as wide and painful as possible. She did the same.
With a shaking hand, he reached for a certain part of his body which would confirm his suspicion and current nightmare.
Unaware of it, his face reddened to that of a tomato as he realized that the most important part that made males, well, males, was missing. Nonexistent. As if burned, he instantly removed his hand from that private area as he stared at his hand in fear. He might not be that knowledgeable about the female anatomy but he had seen enough gravure magazines from Aomine to at least have an idea. He didn't even dare let his hand linger near his chest, afraid of what he'd discover.
Kuroko started hyperventilating as he vainly tried to calm down.
No, no, it wasn't working. His darkening vision only proved it as he felt the signs of fatigue creeping over.
He then welcomed the oblivion with open arms.
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Waking up a second time that day, this time on the carpeted floor, was not a happy experience.
Especially when Kuroko had expected that it was all a dream and he would be waking up in the hospital, not back to this nightmare coupled with an aching back. He was still dressed in his pajama dress and while it made it easier to move, it felt too awkward to him. So, as he shakily stood up on his feet, he forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation carefully. After all, he knew from personal experience that panicking would be no help at all.
Staring at his hands, they were smaller than anything than he was used to. It might've been because he'd been used to his larger ones that lifted squealing children in the air or the calloused ones that showed his hard work of playing basketball. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the mirror once again. The girl was staring back at him with the same deadpanned expression. While it would normally look blank on his face, the expression looked… tamer on this girl's face. Like a miniscule shift could give her away easily.
And that unnerved Kuroko.
Feeling his calm slipping, he instantly ran to the study table to find something more informative. He ignored the cute puppy stickers on the corner of the table and even the ribbons, hair ties, and hairpins piled up in a flowery container.
Rummaging through the girl's stuff told him three things. First, the name of the girl whose body he was currently inhabiting was Kuroko Tetsuka. It sounded close enough to his real name but he just couldn't feel it sinking in. Another was that he was currently in his second year. The notebooks and the textbooks said as much. Lastly, today was a weekday of a school semester. Which meant that he, no, the girl, was supposed to be in class today.
But, he really couldn't care about school at this moment because what could actually be worse than being stuck in a girl's body? Though, he shouldn't have tempted fate, now that he thought about it since it really had ways of messing with him.
So, that left getting out of this room for a more reliable and substantial information. Ones that couldn't be gathered by simply standing in the room.
What to do? What to do?
First, he needed to get changed. He didn't want to stay in this pajama dress any longer. Digging for something acceptable to wear in the dresser was a bit of a challenge because the first pieces of clothing to greet him were dresses in varying lengths, colors, and designs. Then there were the blouses and lacy fabrics, along with skirts and formal wears. The more normal ones, in his standards, were near the bottom of the pile and that mostly consisted of shorts, collared shirts, shirts, and hoodies.
He opted for the beige shorts and a yellow collared shirt.
Looking for clothes was easy. Stripping himself of the pajama dress in order to change was the real challenge.
Kuroko had no idea how long it had taken but he was pretty certain that it felt like hours before he even managed to put a shirt on. By the time he was putting on his shorts, his face was so warm and red, he wondered if he would faint from too much blood in the head.
While he wasn't outright panicking like most people were prone to do, he felt his calm dangerously slipping from his grasp the more he found himself more evidences that this wasn't normal. No matter how many times he willed it, this wasn't a dream and he was a girl. While most of his friends tended to treat him delicately as if he was as soft as the female gender from time to time, they never acted as if he was one like they did with Momoi and Riko.
Still, he didn't think that any of that justified his situation right now.
"This is really happening," He muttered anxiously, hearing a foreign voice that was definitely not a male's. "This is hell, isn't it?"
Because, what more explanation could there be? Even if he was a fan of mystery and the supernatural, he knew that this type of sorcery didn't exist. Things like these that he only usually watched or read didn't exist in real life and this can't be happening.
Air. He needed air. Some air to breathe. Breathing sounded good.
Walking to the door, he gently turned the doorknob and currently wasn't in the right state of mind to find it odd on why his room was locked. He just staggered into the hallway and, while the place certainly felt familiar, he was certain that it wasn't the same.
"Oh, Tetsuka-chan?" A warm voice called out from behind her. "You finally decided to come out of your room?"
He turned around in surprise as he stared at the smiling figure of his grandmother. His eyes widened as he remembered that the last time he saw her had been during her funeral at the end of his second year in high school. Still, to see her standing there, smiling that familiar smile that would always light up his day, was a bit too overwhelming. Suddenly, he didn't care if he was currently in a girl's body. He just reacted.
Though, a little part of him wondered if it was part of being a girl when he tackled the old woman in an embrace instead. Like a normal girl would do.
"Obaa-san," He croaked out pathetically in his girlish voice, sounding feeble.
"Why don't you eat first? I prepared some soup and fried tofu." The old woman patted her back comfortingly, chuckling a little as he practically clung to her. "It will make you feel better, I promise," She continued as Kuroko felt a wrinkled hand comb through his teal locks affectionately.
His tear ducts burst and Kuroko was sobbing before his mind could properly catch up with his actions.
Though, he blamed the emotional breakdown on the female hormones.
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When they went to the dining area, Kuroko discovered that it was already late afternoon.
Still, for some reason, he felt incredibly hungry. He was kind of surprised as he tried to contain himself from simply inhaling his food. Not only did it feel like he was starving for days, this monstrous appetite was starting to scare him. Even that time he had pulled three days to finish some report during college, only taking water to sustain himself, he might've felt the strong gnawing hunger but his strictly small appetite prevented him from eating too much of anything, even if his friends almost decided to force-feed him.
At most, all could finish by this age was two bowls of rice. But it had been surprising when he discovered that his 'seconds' had already been his sixth bowl. It wasn't until his grandmother had pointed it out that he even noticed at all. Was this why girls were always conscious about their weight? Because they had this kind of itching hunger always following them around? No wonder Momoi was always sensitive about the subject of dieting.
"I hope things are finally good, Tetsuka-chan," His grandmother suddenly started, a concerned frown on her face. "You've been in your room for three days. And you missed school three times too. Is it something I should be worried about?" She inquired kindly.
Although he inwardly winced at the 'Tetsuka-chan' part, old habits die hard.
"Everything is fine, obaa-san," He responded quietly as he drank some water. "I just had some epiphany. And I… needed some time for myself. I apologize for needlessly worrying you," He bowed his head in a show of sincere apology.
Or, as fine as it could get when one discovered that they're currently trapped in a female's body. He thought to himself wryly, having had something to eat had done a lot of wonders to his self-control once again. This is either dimension hopping or time-travel gone horribly wrong. And I can't also forget the fact that I'm supposed to be dead. Where's a vanilla milkshake when you needed one? I must admit that this is starting to be frustrating.
"I'm happy to hear that," The old woman clapped her hands in glee. "So, are you ready to attend school tomorrow then?"
Kuroko hesitated.
But, then again, he needed answers. And in order to do that, he needed to know everything about this world. Or timeline. Or whatever this might be.
"H-Hai," He answered softly and winced at how wrong his voice sounded just then.
"Tell me about the Literature Club when you get home tomorrow," She reminded him, a thoughtful gaze directed at him. "I'm just glad that you finally decided to join a club. It was one of the reasons why I was troubled. You haven't been part of one during your first year. I told you many times that clubs will help you in making friends," His grandmother chided him almost good-naturedly with a huge touch of exasperation.
Suddenly, he felt chills creeping down his spine.
"Well, get some rest then, I'll go clean this up," The woman shooed him as she gracefully stood up despite her old age, and waved him off despite his protests to help. "Tetsuka-chan–" He flinched. "–I'm just glad that you're doing well. Just think of it as a reward for allaying this old lady's worries," She insisted as she gently guided him out of the kitchen and dining area, a cheerful rhythm in her movements that reminded him of hot summers and cool watermelons spent with her during childhood.
He. Was. Not. Going. To. Cry.
Curse these female hormones for corrupting him.
"Then, I'll gratefully take my rest," He bowed once again as he smiled at the wave he received from her.
When she was out of sight, the smile instantly vanished. As he started to walk back to his room, he processed her earlier words, halted and paled instantly as he realized the implications. Suddenly, the situation just got complicated. And extremely worse.
Did his grandmother just imply that he wasn't part of the basketball club?
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TBC.
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