"I shouldn't have lost track of time..." she muttered pitifully, mourning the fact that she'd have to walk home without an umbrella. They've even told her multiple times to grab hers, yet she simply waved them off and left.

Watching the rain pour down, she scowled. If there was anything that she'd have wanted to avoid, it was going home in the middle of a downpour with no umbrella over her head, nor any money for her to call a cab or something. It made her kind of wish to be some spoiled brat with a personal driver. Because walking home in the rain on the pavement next to the busy streets of Tokyo? Cars would definitely drive through a few puddles and leave her drenched. A curse was on the tip of her tongue before her thoughts came to a sudden halt. An idea popped up in her head, but it was a bad one. Too bad it was the only thing that would spare her from suffering a cold.

"I'm turning into a criminal," she grumbled as she snatched her duffel bag from next to her and ran to the nearest convenience store while shielding her head with the bag. The duffel bag was hers, so it wasn't part of the plan that made her view herself as a criminal. It was simply unfortunate that the weather hadn't taken mercy upon her today.

She had gone to the dance studio she'd been to since she was five years old. The studio itself was in a tall building, taking up a whole story with its four studios, toilet, entrance and changing rooms taking a lot of room. The owner, Sato Gorou, was a middle aged man that had always liked her, especially since she liked to drop by with a snack for his cat. Which undeniably did give her one little advantage over the rest that visited his dance studio. She had the permission to use the smallest studio room, about 15'x20' big. With nobody to disturb her while she simply relaxed by dancing.

It wasn't like she liked the solitude, but dancing was more of a hobby nowadays that she enjoyed with no disturbances.

She went to the studio twice a week for an hour and a half, but dropped by another two times for about five to ten minutes, sometimes catching up with her friends there. It had been over two years since she stopped going to the dance sessions with the choreographers working on a routine and then perfecting it. Her main courses had been hip hop and Latin dance. The latter had required a dance partner and he had been rather disappointed when she quit. Not quit-quit. She still danced, like she already mentioned, but it wasn't one of her main priorities anymore.

She had found something that made her heart-rate increase and cause adrenaline to run through every inch of her body. Dancing had helped her to better herself in the new sport, so she kept it as a hobby. And maybe because she was a tiny bit of sentimental.

Back to her plan. It'd start soon. She finally reached the convenience store, her hood over her head and the baggy cloth combined with her sweatpants gave her the appearance of a guy. She really didn't want to be recognized the next time she went to simply buy herself a drink. Nobody sent her second glances, for which she was grateful as she lingered by the door where a few umbrellas had been placed. Her attire would've definitely given some people a reason to look at her with suspicion, because who would be out and about so covered. Luckily the weather was the only thing that gave her a reason to be so covered. She'd have to steal one of the umbrellas and maybe be responsible for somebody catching a cold. Her guilty conscience reprimanded her and was close to stopping her before she steeled herself and started reaching towards one of the umbrellas.

Just as she was about to snatch one and dash back outside with the stolen object, a voice stopped her. "You can't steal someone's umbrella. You may avoid a cold, but somebody less fortunate won't."

Slowly, she straightened back to her full height and turned to look at the owner of the voice. At first, she didn't find him, but when she did, she was slightly weirded out by his presence alone. 'It's like he isn't here at all,' she thought as cold sweat tickled down the side of her face when she met his cyan orbs. His expression was mostly blank, but she could read the disapproval written over his pale face.

She sighed and resigned herself to the cold she'd most definitely suffer. If she'd been desperate enough, and less controlled as well as mean, she'd have taken the umbrella anyway and ran off, but the guy had simply been the last push in the right direction, to the right decision.

Dropping her hood, she met his gaze with her own before bowing slightly.

"I'm sorry." She straightened and almost enjoyed the slight surprise shown in his expression. He was almost a head shorter than her and it must've been her gender that surprised him. "I'd definitely never do it any other day, but high school starts in two days and if I get a cold, I'll definitely be down for the first few days." It still didn't change the fact that she had tried, she knew that. Then she gave him a grateful smile. "But thanks for stopping me. I guess that it's still better than feeling guilty and bad about stealing it." It could've been owned by an old fragile lady with grandchildren and the cold could've severely weakened her immune system, causing her to die from another illness altogether. Or she was simply thinking about it too much.

He continued to stare at her, and she couldn't read his expression, which made her rather antsy. Was he going to inform the shop-owner? She wasn't a bad person-

He nodded. "It'd be rude to let a girl walk home without an umbrella and all alone. Please wait here for me."

She was baffled at his indirect offer. Was it even an offer? He didn't even know her, much less where she lived! She could live in the opposite side of where he lived, yet he didn't even ask for her address to know if his offer wouldn't cause him too much trouble.

It was almost like he disappeared. 'Kind of like a ghost,' she thought with a sweatdrop. After waiting for a minute, he once again entered her vision and she guessed he'd have otherwise been invisible to untrained eyes. And she had concentrated on spotting his cyan-colored hair and pale complexion. She was really lucky to have crossed ways with him.

He came back with a small plastic bag in one of his hands and she watched as he picked up a dark gray umbrella and stepped out to open it. Then he turned to look at her. She dipped her head and complied, but the two quickly noted a small problem.

The difference in their height was making it increasingly hard for the bluenette to hold the umbrella high enough for her. She involuntary grinned at the minor complication and silently offered to take the handle. The deadpan she got in return for her obvious amusement about the situation only made her chuckle before he passed her the umbrella, still silent. "You know, I might live in the opposite direction of where you live. And walking around in such a weather for long just sucks and increases the chances of catching a cold yourself," she started.

He simply nodded and let her lead the way. "That is still better than letting a girl become sick and miss the first day of school."

"You're way too nice," she couldn't help but smile. He had to have a lot of friends that appreciated him. "I almost stole an umbrella and yet you're here helping me out," she continued with a frown.

"Actually, I do live in this direction. You aren't inconveniencing me in any way," he informed her and she hoped he wasn't lying for her sake. He had to be a mind reader because he gave her a look that made that train of thoughts stop right there.

"Are you starting high school too?" it probably wasn't the first thing to ask someone. One would probably go for the simple route of 'hi, my name is... and who're you?'. He nodded in reply. She grinned. "If I had to guess from location alone, is it by chance Seirin High?" the affirmative nod made her all the more happy. She'd already know somebody on her first day of classes. Nobody she knew had enrolled at Seirin, opting for either another school in Tokyo or choosing one in another prefecture altogether. Leaving her rather lost and alone, now that she actually gave it a second thought.

"Me too," she admitted and then introduced herself. "Anyway, my name is Teruya Akira, pleasure meeting you."

He bowed his head slightly before looking up at her and meeting her gaze with his own. "Kuroko Tetsuya, nice to meet you."

She smiled and then corrected her grip on her duffel bag to sling it over her shoulder. It wasn't like it was heavy, it just contained a sports bra, leggings, sweatpants, sneakers and a bottle of water. As well as a small towel and a headband to keep her hair from falling in her face if it manages to escape the ponytail. She saw his gaze travel to the bag for a second. "Ahh, I was in the dance studio before this. Do you like sports?"

She might as well take the chance to find out more about him, his character was already interesting. He nodded and she saw the hint of a smile before it disappeared. "Basketball," if she hadn't been waiting for a spark of passion in his voice, she'd have missed it. But the way he said it...

A grin took over her features and she turned to face him. "Seriously? Me too! I started in my last year of elementary, but it was so much fun it was shocking that dancing came second after a while of playing it. It's just that..."

She looked at him, hoping he'd understand. While dancing was about rhythm, timing and synchronization when it came to dancing as a group, basketball was different. You couldn't practice a routine for a game, because it was so unpredictable more times than not. And you also had to know your teammates for a better functioning team. She couldn't see basketball in any different light than a sport played as a part of a team, both individual as well as their combined skills important for success. And winning a match was definitely more thrilling than winning a dance tournament with a well-practiced routine.

"I understand," she saw another twitch of his lips. "Are you going to join the basketball club then?" It was slightly surprising that he was the one to ask, since she's been the one doing most of the talking.

She nodded before her eyes caught something. A car speeding down the road, and the two were walking at just the right pace that if they wouldn't stop, the car would definitely splash a lot of water on them, since a big puddle was forming ahead of them on the road. She moved to stop the bluenette by swinging her left arm, the one holding her duffel bag, in front of him. She used just enough force in the swing that the bag didn't hit his chest in any way, yet she was able to flex her arm to firmly stop him in his tracks. A second later, the car drove by and true to her predictions, the two would've been drenched from head to toe if she hadn't seen it coming. From that angle, the water would've probably even splayed into her face.

"Arigatou, Teruya-san." Kuroko thanked her and she smiled before they continued walking.

"No problem. After you were so kind to offer me your assistance, it'd have been pointless if we both got colds in the end." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught him nod in understanding. "But to answer your previous question, I had planned to join the female basketball team, but since it's still a rather new high school, there isn't a girls basketball club, so I changed my plans to become the boys basketball club's manager."

It was refreshing to see that he didn't doubt her.

That he wasn't questioning her why exactly basketball, or the usual comment about her gender. Most didn't, but it was clear that many refrained from saying that basketball was just for males.

She had a hunch that most of the doubtful souls refrained from saying anything because she was usually taller than them for half a head. Being 6'1'' usually had that effect on people in general. Her appearance was more intimidating that a usual girl's. On average, they were 5'4'' with either a petite body with an average muscle-built for their body, or curvaceous. Unfortunately, she wasn't petite, nor was she curvy. Of course one could clearly notice she was female by taking a second glance. Her face was enough of a giveaway, but wearing baggy clothes could hide her body built and a cap could do wonders in shadowing her face.

"I also plan on joining Seirin's basketball team," he told her and they finally reached her neighborhood. It was a ten minute walk from the dance studio. She came to a halt in front of a gate, the gate door slightly ajar. The very familiar two-story house radiated the warmth she was currently lacking because of the weather, yet very much yearned for it.

Turning to face him, she bowed as much as she could manage while holding her duffel bag and shielding them from the rain with Kuroko's umbrella. "I'm truly thankful, Kuroko-san." She really owed him something.

"It was nothing, Teruya-san. Have a nice day."

She handed him his umbrella and said her farewell before sprinting to the front door and quickly turning to check that he really hadn't been lying when he said he lived in the same direction. But her gaze found nothing and she glared at a tree growing in their front yard, hoping it'd go up in flames. He had slipped right through her fingers like sand, the sly ghost. Hopefully, she'd be in the same class as Kuroko, because it'd be easier to already know somebody and make friends. Or just stick with the pale boy and enjoy his tranquil barely-there presence.

Sighing, she fished out her keys and unlocked the door, peeking into the entrance of her home before stepping in and closing the door behind her. The house was still warm, so either the last one in the house had left shortly before her arrival, or somebody was still at home.

At least she was still dry and without a cold. And she also hoped Kuroko won't catch one either.

Author's Note:

So I hope Kuroko wasn't too OOC and that you like the way this story begins.

There's also fairly more to Akira than it appears for now. I'll also pair her up with someone, but you'll just have to wait and see.~