Second Kuroko no Basket fanfic, very unusual pairing. I hope you all enjoy it, and that the love for this couple raise even if is just a little bit. Please leave comments, I'd love to know your opinions on it.
Chapter One: The transferred student
The trees of sakura that adorned the entrance to Rakuzan High School were blooming in a soft shade of pink, letting their petals fall over the new students as they walked in. Girls and boys walked in, white uniforms shining new. The older students walked around the entrance with flyers, trying to catch the attention of the sophomores into the variety of clubs. However, it was already widely known that the club that would get the more new members was the famous basketball club, in which there were already 3 Uncrowned Generals, and if the rumors were true, a member of the Generation of Miracles will join pretty soon. That's why they didn't have any desk on the entrance or any kind of flyers; they were pretty sure that whoever knew a bit of high school basketball, and was interested in joining, will know about them and search for them.
However, there was one boy that didn't knew about it. And he found himself unpleasantly surprised of not finding anyone, not even one person of the club, even though he search for them really hard… He had just came from North America, so he hardly knew anything about Japanese basketball, he hadn't hear not even once about the so called Generation of Miracles, not to mention the Uncrowned Generals. However the team of Rakuzan High should be good, he though, as they had recruited him, giving him the opportunity to enter such a remarkable school (which his grades could have never obtained) because of his abilities in basketball. That's why he found himself so confused, not finding anyone that belonged to the club.
After searching for a long while, he decided to ask around. He couldn't knew what amazed more people, if it was his outstanding height or the fact that he didn't knew about the basketball team. However, just thinking about the height, not to consider ability, he was sure he could be a regular with no trouble. Japanese basketball wasn't anything compared to American basketball, and he would probably be the best player around.
After asking a lot, incapable of fully read the signs on the doors and maps of the campus, he finally got to the club room. After asking a while to the freshmen that were around, he found out that he was supposed to fill an inscription paper and take it to the couch of the team after classes with the recruitment letter he got, before going to the gym.
Once he cleared up what he had to do, he took an inscription paper and walked down to the auditorium for the opening ceremony. It didn't took him that much time to locate it, since everyone was heading there.
It was huge, and as he noticed the number he had got on his letter, there was a place for everyone on the formation. After getting some troubles to find his place, he finally got to the front, and walking awkwardly between the people that was already on their places, he finally got to sit. They were all really small, and he stood out too much for his own liking, receiving all kind of looks from all the places around him. For what he could hear, it appeared like he looked too much like an American delinquent for the likes of most of the people…
However, as soon as the ceremony started everyone shut their mouths and stayed silent. After some introductions and the presentation of the hymns, the representative of freshmen students, with the highest score in all the entry exams (a full score of 100) was called to say a speech. He almost choked as he saw a boy of his same class, really small getting up to the call and walking, with the most arrogant expression, to the front of the auditorium.
So he was in the same class of the representative of all students, Akashi Seijuurou.
The red haired got in front of the microphone, and opened with elegant moves the white sheet in which his speech was written. Although he tried really hard to understand it, Kagami could only grasp the general meaning of the speech, since the representative used an unhuman amount of high-level words and difficult expressions, which seemed as nothing more than a way to presume his own knowledge. Even with that, the tone of his voice was perfect, making obvious the fact that it was not his first time giving a public speech and that he was talented for it.
Once he finished a round of applause surrounded him; an ovation to his words. Akashi gave a small bow to the audience, put the speech sheet back on his pocket, and walked back to his place, just in front of Kagami. It was going to be though being in the same class than the midget-perfect, Kagami thought as he buffed a bit.
**The watchdog and the Emperor**
Classes were tough… tougher than anything he had ever done before in his whole life. And it was just the first day. He snorted as he questioned himself… was it really worth it, being in such a big school. He could have just gotten into one of the endless little schools recently established in Tokyo, like that Seirin his father had suggested, instead of being there. Either way the basketball club shouldn't be really different from one to the other…
Thinking about that he remembered about the inscription paper. With his forehead against the table, Kagami searched inside his back for the sheet, and putting it before him, he started to fill it out. Name, previous school, reason to enter the basketball team, right, he had to take the recruitment letter to the coach. And he would probably be in the teachers room by then, he raised his head just enough to see the clock on the wall and confirm his thoughts. He was just in time.
He got up immediately, bag on his shoulder and paper on his hand, and ran toward the teacher's room. He had already walked all the way around the building in the morning, so he could more or less guess the location of the teacher's room. His long legs took him all the way from his classroom on the first building, to the teachers room almost at the end of the second, jumping over the stairs as they weren't there and scaring the girls as he passes besides them.
The clock that hanged at the end of the teacher's room, just beside the window and covering a nasty stain of coffee that no one knew where or how appeared there, showed that he still had five minutes to hand out both things to the coach, so he took a long breathe trying to compose himself before search for the man.
He hadn't seen him but once, and he wasn't sure he would be able to remember the features of the man, so he decided to ask around for indications. The teacher that answer his question was a woman on her thirties, elegantly dressed, and for what she said it seemed like she was going to be the mathematics teacher for his classroom, so he bowed respectfully before going to the place she pointed out. The last desk on the right.
Once he got there and saw the face of the man, he recognized him for the little interview he had before. It was the right person.
- Good mor-afternoon!- He corrected himself immediately- I'm Taiga Kagami. I was told by the senpai to give you the inscription sheet filled out and the recruitment letter.
- Oh, Kagami-kun… You really entered this school, I'm glad- The man smiled faintly before receiving both papers. He gave a trough look at them, from start to finish and finally he said back- Everything is in order. You'll be entering the third groups as all the first years, and if you improve your abilities you can get to the first group next year.
- Thank you very much- was the only thing he could say at the moment, slightly nervous. Even though, wasn't that too strict? He had been called out to be in the basketball club, so he thought he would be a regular right away…
- Well, let's go to the gym- The teacher said leaving both sheets on a folder in his desk before getting up
Kagami nodded and followed him, trying to think in a way of conveying his worries without sounding too much of an arrogant prick, but he couldn't find none. He simple continued to walk, following the steps of the man toward the gym. Maybe it was some Japanese thing, about letting the seniors play more and stuff like that. He shouldn't bother himself wondering about that if he could do nothing about it.
They got out of the building, and walked under a ceiling covered hall that apparently connected the center building with the gym. The sun that felt over his skin through the glass felt warm and tickled a little, he could see a lot of people going back to their places already and others going to their clubs. On the end of the hall there was another door, and once the coach opened with the back of his hand, he could see the gym.
It was a gigantic gym, totally renewed, and he got mesmerized by the look of the basketball boards that were suspended from the roof. He could finally understand why people said that covered courts had a tempting effect for street players, as he found himself watching everything in awe. It still shouldn't be as good as a covered court of USA, but it was really neat.
Once he could get his eyes out of the court and into the people that was there, he found a great amount of first year boys, all certainly smaller and thinner than himself. They didn't seemed as much of a match either, however, in the other side, where the senpai stood, he could felt the smell of worthy opponents… They were strong. As he got into the group of first years, his gesture became a smirk without him noticing it.
- Well, we have a lot of aspirants this year- The coach said walking toward the current members of the team
- Yes it seems like we do- he answered seriously.
- Most of you must be here because of the fame of this school- continued the coach in a low tone- and you should now that becoming a regular is not easy. You all have to give your best in order to even continue in the team
Everyone chanted a "yes sir" in such a way that Kagami though for a second, everyone but him had rehearsed it, for absurd that sounded. However he didn't felt as scared as most of the boys around him seemed to be. He was confident on his own abilities, and he felt like his destiny was on the first group, so he didn't felt the slightest taint of doubt with those words. There was only another boy that didn't seemed frightened or intimidated by those words, a small boy standing in the first row and Kagami found himself gazing at him as he wanted to measure his strength… too many people in the way to do it properly. However, what bothered him the most is that he felt like he already knew that red haired…
- You will be all be on the third group until we consider you are prepared to go to the second and eventually first. If you can't get out of the third group before the winter cup, you'll have to get out of the team…- the coach finished his speech by calling a name- Akashi Seijuurou, you'll be one of the starters.
- Yes- The little boy with red hair on the first row replied to the calling and walked toward the group of senpai, making Kagami's face distort in a mixture of both surprise and frustration.
A midget like that? In the first group? On the first day? After all that talking about giving the best and things not being easy? And nobody said anything? That boy must have some serious influence, because he couldn't believe that he was both the most intelligent boy on the whole first year group and a player so talented that he didn't needed to be on the third group like the rest of them. Something had to be a lie.
- That isn't fair!- He yelled out of the blue, making everyone look at him with both looks of fear and gazes of criticism, telling him "idiot" without any spoken words- Why is he on the first group? Isn't he a midget? Are you telling me a midget like that can play basketball? He is even smaller than the rest of the group!
- Well, you don't know about the Generation of Miracles, so is not surprising that you feel this way- the coach attempted to intervene in his favor, but his words had already made effect on the other red haired
- You should know your place- He said looking directly at him with his hetero-chromic eyes
- And what is that, midget?- He asked really angry, walking through the crowd to get in front of the boy, looking at him from his superior height
- With the pariahs- He replied slowly- Your head is too high…
- From your height it must look that way- He continued to stir the fire-
- Well then, I shall show you the place you belong to- He replied in a calm tone of voice that didn't matched the fire on his eyes- I defy you to a one-on-one
- You, midget? Against me?- Kagami buffed overconfident
- When I win, you shall go to the third group and obey the orders you get- He said taking off his jacket
- You seem pretty confident. If I win you have to give me your place as regular- He said doing the same thing
- That has no possibility of happening, but I shall play your little game and accept your terms- He normally talked the same way he did on the speech, with elegant forms and difficult words…Kagami got a bit of trouble following him at first
The coach didn't even bother trying to stop them, he just gave the order to one of the former players to bring a ball to the game. There were some half-length courts on the sides that would probably be enough for them to have their little duel, and it would probably finish in a second. Once the ball got there, Akashi took it and walked toward one of the side courts, standing inside the three-point area as Kagami stayed outside.
- The first in score wins. Is that good for you?- He asked as both a confirmation and a taunt
- Just one? This will be easy- Kagami laughed and prepared to attack
With a simple movement Akashi gave the ball to Kagami and waited for his attempt to make a point. The tiger didn't waste not even a second, running toward him with all his might, being stopped by the faultless defense of the smaller player and his impressive aura, which had been covered until the moment… In the second Kagami planned to move to a side, Akashi took the ball of his hand and broke his attempt of attack. Once he got the control over the ball, he walked calmly to the outside of the three-point line.
Kagami felt the cold sweat soaking his body and a chill going up his back, as he prepared to defend. He hadn't expected the boy to be that fast and have that amount of ability, but in the defense he wasn't going to lose; he had the height and he was now warned.
A smirk formed in the lips of the emperor as he walked toward him, with the same calm he had walked to the outside. The offense that this action meant for the other red haired was enough to make him jump into a desperate defense, which broke in the space of a second. He couldn't even see what the other had done… he just fell to the ground as the red haired walked toward the ring…and scored. Without him being able to do anything.
As he stayed on sitting on the ground, his red eyes lost in an unspecific point of the gym, Akashi walked back to his side, looking at him from his now dominant position, in the same way Kagami had probably looked him before.
- Do you now comprehend the difference there is between us? - The coldness of his eyes could have broken the spirit of most of the players that were there; only the imposing strength of his aura was already freaking them out. However, the red haired didn't reacted the way Akashi (or any of the presents) expected him to
- That was awesome- His red eyes sparkled and his gesture had transformed into a beautiful smile- Let's play again!
- Do you not apprehend the fact that you cannot win?- He asked confused by the reaction of the other boy
- It's better that way! - He got up in a jump- Is more exciting if I can't win!
- What nonsenses are that?- Akashi spoke, getting more and more confused
- Nonsense?- Kagami asked back thinking for a moment- Either way, is more fun this way
- Hahahaha, this guy is unbelievable- One of the senpai started to laugh frenetically at the words of the boy.
- Ei-chan, is rude to laugh that much- The black haired that attempted to stop him wasn't very good hiding the fact that he was actually at the edge of bursting into laugh too.
- Well, he'll have the hell of a good time here if he enjoys being beaten- Eikichi continued to laugh for a moment, before calming down
Akashi however stayed silent, looking at Kagami with a puzzled expression, trying to understand what he wanted to say with that words, more even, trying to figure out if his smile was a perfectly rehearsed smile…
- Will you play another one-on-one with me…please?- The taller asked trying to talk in a more polite way
- I do not have any interest in playing with you again- Akashi said frowning a little bit, as he didn't found the logic in the reasoning of the boy
- Eh? Why not? Please, play again with me!- He insisted making the smaller feel a bit awkward
- He won't play with someone as weak as you- The boy that had laughed at him before said in a joking tone- Third-group boy
- Is that so?- Kagami didn't seemed offended by the words of the man, apparently too focused in his desire of playing with the previous captain of the Generation of Miracles to put attention to anything else- That's too bad. Well then, thank you for playing with me today. If you ever want to practice with me I'll be glad to play with you!
Saying that he bowed a bit and came back to the crowd, completely obedient to all the orders he was given from there on. He even shouted with the rest of the boys and participated with all his strength in the training they imposed to him, even though most of it was basic and most probably boring for him. It was maybe because he had really recognized the ability of the leader… which didn't actually make the group feel less awkward about the sudden change. Akashi even more than the rest. It was the first time that someone reacted with such a simple innocence toward him and it been a while since such a candid smile was given to him. Such a weird boy, just like a wolf or a dog… he would pay attention to him in the future.