This is going to be AU.
Kuroko goes unnoticed in Teiko Middle School, but at the same time, he was able to perfect his skills.
There are going to be some minor changes.
First off, Ogiwara and Chihiro won't exist in this Universe (The former to progress the plot and latter, because there's only enough room for one phantom and Akashi won't recognize his skills, seeing as he didn't have any experience with a certain phantom.)
In addition, there's only going to be one Akashi (None of the split personality. And it'll be the dominant Akashi, which prevails in ankle breaks and Emperor Eye.)
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy.
The Teikou Middle School basketball team has over 100 members. It has an immensely powerful team that brought three continuous victories in the championships. In that glorious history, there was a team labeled the strongest, a team with 5 geniuses coming once every ten years appeared in one generation.
They were given the name, "The Generation of Miracles".
...
But what people failed to realize was that there was another genius lurking within Teikou Middle School. A talent that was vastly overlooked. If he was on the team, he would've been the phantom sixth man. In essence, he was the rare gem that was hidden from plain sight.
This is the story of Kuroko Tetsuya.
The cold bitter truth really hurts. To a certain teal haired boy, he finally realized that his chances of making the Teikou basketball team was practically impossible. First, he wasn't as talented as the other rainbow-haired miracles. Kuroko couldn't shoot, dribble or dunk. The thought made him depressed, but that was the cards he was given in life.
Kuroko was about to continue his thoughts until he heard some commotion down at the court.
"Aomine-cchi, did you see my dunk!?" Kise happily asked. "It was so awesome, right?"
"Hmph, it's impressive Kise," Aomine answered before he smirked at the blonde, "But you haven't seen my dunk yet."
"Enough talk about dunks," Midorima interrupted into the conversation. "Threes are clearly better."
"They are not!" both Kise and Aomine yelled at the same time.
For some reason, the teal haired boy couldn't help but smile. They seemed like they had fun. Kuroko wished more than anything that he would be down there with those guys and play the basketball he would love so much. Unfortunately, he wasn't talented at all and he would just be a hindrance to them. They were all so amazing on the court and he was just so useless without a presence. It was pitiful, but it was the bitter truth.
Swish.
"Did you see that swish?"
"That was awesome! But yo, don't forget that dunk by Kise!"
Kuroko looked down at the court. They all had smiles planted on their faces. Within each member of the Generation of Miracles, there was a passion that was so exhilarating, it was almost blinding. It was so bright, the teal haired boy couldn't help but get swept up by their joy and love for the game.
At first, Kuroko went to support Teikou by going to one of their playoff games, but he instantly fell in love with how they played the game. Eventually, it morphed into a regular occurrence. He went to all their games and he knew how each Miracle played.
Sometimes, Kuroko wondered if could be a coach or a manager of some sorts. Even if playing basketball wasn't realistic, he wanted to still be involved with the sport.
Bzzz.
The game was now over. With a smile, Kuroko turned around and headed towards the exit. After watching that game, he was in the mood to practice his basketball skills.
Something was wrong. That was what Kuroko's gut feeling was screaming to him.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Aomine was scoring with ease, but what was this dreadful feeling that he had?
Swish. Swish. Swish.
"The only one that can beat me is me!" Aomine grunted, which the teal haired boy managed to pick up.
It was true that Teikou was crushing their opponent, but the teal haired boy didn't understand his words. Why was Aomine so arrogant? He was lucky to have so much skill and he had wonderful teammates. Being humble was important, since it showed how invested you are on the team and not just yourself. So why was Aomine emphasizing 'me' so much? And his play seemed to match with his words, as he was playing quite selfishly and continued to take contested shots, while ignoring his open teammates.
Kuroko shook his head. He couldn't bear to watch this. This was not the same basketball they played back then.
As time went on, each of the Generation of Miracle got better, thus becoming a prodigy in their own aspect of the game. Akashi could easily ankle break anyone, Midorima could shoot deep threes, Kise could copy any move he saw, Aomine continued to score baskets and Murasakibara could score with overwhelming power. They were all strong, but there was one aspect they were lacking. Teamwork. All of them didn't play as a team and even worse, they failed to respect their opponents and basketball in general. Opponents fought with their hearts out, it was cruel to simply play with the score and competing with each other for the most points.
It was also at this moment that Kuroko had an epiphany. If he were to choose a skill in basketball to specialize in, it was going to be passing. This was a fruitful reminder of why passing and teamwork was the most important aspect in basketball. Not victory. Teiko instilled the belief that victory was everything, but Kuroko disagreed with that belief. He saw how victory changed them. He saw!
And thus, each and every day, Kuroko practiced passing. Of course, there wasn't anyone to pass to, so he just envisioned passing to the a small area on the wall or a certain area on the blackboard. At first, the idea seemed a little dumb and it did make him depressed since he was out there passing to himself, but he knew that he couldn't stop passing.
For once, the results actually showed. While shooting and dribbling was extremely difficult for him, passing came naturally to him. It also helped that he knew that he had to play this way. He was the complete opposite of the Generation of Miracles. While they were strong, athletic, arrogant and lacked teamwork, Kuroko was weak, humble and believed that teamwork was essential. Thus, he continued to practice passing in the third gym. Even though he knew that nobody was on the receiving end of his passes, the teal haired boy felt certain that his style of play could change a team's culture in the future. And so, he continued to practice each day vigorously, to the point where his palm and knuckles were bleeding. It was worth it, as he continuously got better in passing. After two months, Kuroko had became a passing specialist.
Still, that wasn't everything. During one trip to a book store, a book caught his eye. It was about the intricacies of misdirection and magic tricks. The book sounded very interesting, so he decided to buy the book. It turned out to be the best decision in his life. Inside the book was amazing tricks and illusions, which caught his attention so much, he was practically hooked on reading the book. At one point, he even contemplated using these tricks into his real life. And luckily, he did. By using misdirection, he was easily able to avoid the glances sent his way. Additionally, with his low presence, it almost felt like he became a phantom. At this point, Kuroko wondered how it would be if he applied misdirection in basketball. He was giddy with excitement, until it all call came crashing down with a sad realization.
He wasn't on the basketball team. Sure, thing string counted, but he never really played on games. The thing string was more like a recreational basketball players, since there wasn't any supervision and there wasn't any training. The school forgot about them, probably treating them as the worst players in basketball. The real challenge starts at the second string, but being in third string was basically a trap. Once you fall into a trap, you can't get out. And this was currently Kuroko's predicament. He was stuck in third string and there wasn't anything he could do to move up in basketball.
Depressing thoughts aside, Kuroko loved the game of basketball. And so, he continued to practice with vigour and determination.
This was too much. Kuroko always watched Teikou play, but watching them play now was like a stab in the heart. This wasn't the correct way to play basketball. For once, he was actually rooting for the other team. They fought extremely hard, even though they were getting blown out and best of all, they fought as a team.
But then, the worst thing he ever saw happened. Murasakibara scored on his own basket, which Akashi nodded in approval. At this point, Kuroko wanted to wipe all those egotistic smirks off their face. That play should never happen in basketball. Never. Scoring on your own basket was a sign of disrespect to the opponent and Kuroko knew that even with Meiko's willpower, they couldn't survive this. All fighting spirit was gone from that team, as they sagged their shoulders and cried.
Bzzz.
The game was over, but Kuroko felt terrible. Even though he didn't play the game, he himself was part of Teikou. He was partially responsible, even though the concept of his sounded dumb. Kuroko knew about their passion for the game, but he couldn't do anything, but watch as their passion for the game of basketball turned dark and sinister. Instead of a light that inspired people, they were a group of monsters that emanated darkness and brought others down to their knees.
It was like they turned from angels into devils.
On that day, Kuroko vowed that he was going to beat the Generation of Miracles with his team-oriented style of play.
That's the first chapter. I hoped you guys liked it!
Review as any feedback would be heavily appreciated and would inspire me to write more!