Me: Hi! This is my first ever Kuroko no Basuke fanfic, so I hope it won't be as disastrous as I initially expected, haha! I hope you guys like it~
Also, I don't know much about… a certain person's background, so I just made up his family background for him.
*Note: The first few chapters are all within the Teiko Arc.
Summary: It was a simple game to observers, but to the players, it was more than a game. It took a lot of things just for one to be able to say 'Checkmate', and she hoped she would be the first.
-.-.-.-.-
Chapter 1: The Meeting
The rain poured down heavily on the streets as a figure, wearing a jacket with its hood up, ran down the streets. The figure ran past a street, almost getting hit by a red car. Turning around, the figure bowed apologetically towards the ranting driver before running again.
The figure stopped at the gates of a large mansion. Panting, the figure pressed the doorbell, and the speaker beside the gate said, "Who is it?"
The figure picked up the phone beside the speaker and held it to his/her ear, replying in a soft, tired voice, "It's me, Aunt Reina."
"Mi-chan!" Reina exclaimed. "Hold on, I'll get Makoto."
The figure hummed in reply as he/she waited under the rain. After a few moments, the gates began to open by themselves, and the figure stepped inside, the gates closing behind him/her. The figure walked towards the front door of the mansion, knocking lightly on the door.
It opened after about three seconds, and a boy with a scowl on his face said, "The fuck are you doing here, Mizu?"
The figure pulled down the hood of the jacket, to reveal a girl with a tired look on her face, mostly covered by her black hair. "I'm sorry, but they…"
She didn't need to finish her sentence. The boy had made room for her, jerking his head towards the inside of the mansion.
"Well, go in, then."
The girl nodded and stepped inside. "I apologize for this sudden 'visit' of sorts."
The boy shrugged, closing the door. "Those shitheads are at it again, huh?"
The girl nodded again. "Yeah."
Her cousin, Makoto, sighed deeply, annoyed. It wouldn't be the first time that his little cousin had come here because of… that. "Go on to the dining hall, you little shit. You're just in time for dinner."
The girl managed a small smile and said, "Since when did you eat dinner with the family?"
"Who said I was eating with them, bitch?" Makoto scoffed. "Besides, she'd probably force me even more this time, since you're here."
The girl chuckled lightly, but said nothing in response.
The two cousins headed over to the large and extravagantly designed dining hall. It had carpeted floors, and red wallpapers for all the walls and the ceiling. A chandelier hung on the center of the ceiling, the lights shining brightly.
The dining table under the chandelier was decorated with a vase of flowers for its centerpiece, and had a white table cloth with a red colored runner. There were twelve chairs surrounding the dining table, five on each long side, and one on each short side.
On one of the chairs on the short sides sat a man with dark blue hair and to his left was a woman with black hair. The woman, upon seeing the two, stood up and went over to them, immediately hugging the slightly shivering girl.
"Oh, Mizuki!" she exclaimed, hugging the girl tightly. "I'm so sorry you had to hear them again."
"It's fine, Auntie, really." Mizuki, the girl, said in order to soothe her distressed aunt.
"Fine, my ass," Makoto scoffed under his breath, but Mizuki heard it, so she glared at him.
"Come eat dinner with all of us, won't you?" her aunt, Reina, said as she ushered the two to sit beside each other, with Makoto to his father's right and Mizuki beside Makoto, giving the latter the look.
Hesitantly, Mizuki sat down beside a silently grumbling Makoto.
Masaomi, Makoto's father, glanced at his niece and said, "It is not my place to ask, but as your uncle, I must, as I am concerned about your well-being. What were they arguing about now?"
Mizuki was hesitant to answer, but at her uncle's piercing glare, she hesitantly replied, "…about me."
Reina gasped at this, but Masaomi added, "What exactly about you?"
"I'm not sure." Mizuki said. "All I heard was a few curse words along with my name on it. It'll probably be fine tomorrow."
"Fuck that," Makoto said, earning a disapproving look from his mother.
"Makoto, really!" she sighed exasperatedly, not accepting of her son's… choice in language.
Ignoring his wife's scolding, Masaomi knew his son had a point. "Makoto's right. This has been going on for too long. Why not stay here in the meantime? I could notify Erika and Takeshi about this, if they ask."
"I wouldn't want to impose too much." Mizuki said shyly.
"Nonsense! You're family, Mi-chan." Reina said, gently smiling at her niece. "You're welcome to stay for as long as you want."
Mizuki smiled gratefully and said, "Thank you for the offer. I'll accept it, but please, may I work so that I can help with the expenses?"
Reina had wanted to refuse, but her niece could be as stubborn as her son so she obliged. "If you insist, dear."
"Thank you, Auntie." Mizuki said before facing her uncle. "I hope you don't mind, Uncle."
"I don't," he said. "So, shall we eat?"
They then began to dig into the food prepared by their chefs. There was so much to choose from – meat pies, salads, noodles, etc. There was some small talk as they ate, but there was an enjoyable and peaceful atmosphere at the house… something Mizuki hadn't experienced in quite a while.
As she ate, Makoto glanced at his cousin, who was feeling better compared to the state she was in a while ago. He clenched his fists lightly as he ate, his face unreadable, but he knew what to do. It was something he'd rather not tell anyone, but it had to be done.
-.-.-.-.-
"Worthless child—"
"—wasn't supposed to exist –"
"—a mistake"
Mizuki abruptly got up from her sleep, panting. It was a bad dream. It was a just a bad dream. At least, she was trying to convince herself that it was.
She took a look at her surroundings. Where was she again?
The room had dark purple colored walls and lavender colored curtains in front of an open window that let air inside. The floor was covered in fluffy black carpets. The furniture was all black. The bed she was in had dark purple bedsheets and pillow cases. This wasn't her room.
But then, she remembered. She had gone here yesterday, and yesterday's events shook her greatly.
"Damn them…" she muttered lightly, as she stood up and wore her uniform and got her bag.
-.-.-.-.-
Downstairs, she saw her uncle and aunt eating. "Good morning, Auntie, Uncle."
"Good morning, Mizuki," Reina said with a gentle smile on her face, ushering her niece to sit down and eat.
"Morning, Mizuki." Masaomi said.
Mizuki sat down and said 'Itadakimasu' before digging into her salad. "Where's Makoto?"
"He's in school already." Reina said with a smile. "Oh, that boy. He's so smart, but his language…"
Mizuki let out a small chuckle. "I wonder who he got that from, though."
Reina let out a fake exaggerated gasp. "Mizuki, you can't mean me!"
"I never said anything about you, Auntie." Mizuki said, as she finished her food. "Well, I've got to go now."
"Alright." Masaomi said.
"Good luck! It is your first day, after all! Stay safe! Be good!" Reina exclaimed after Mizuki, who was already heading out the door.
"I know, Auntie!"
-.-.-.-.-
{At Teiko Middle School…}
When Mizuki reached her classroom, she found all the students outside. Nearing the classmate closest to her in terms of distance, she asked, "What's going on?"
"Oh, Hinata-san," the girl said. "We're being called in by our rankings based on last year's exams. Oh, I wish I was smart enough to get third or second place, so I could be beside either Akashi-san or Midorima-san~"
Mizuki nodded, but felt weirded out by the girl. What was with the fangirling, anyways?
"Akashi Seijuuro."
A redhead in front of the line stepped inside, no surprise on his face.
"As expected of Akashi-san." "I know right. He's always first place." "He's so smart!" "I know!"
Akashi Seijuuro. She had heard of him back when she was still a new student at Teiko. He was good at everything. At first, Mizuki couldn't believe that he couldn't fail at anything, but from her experience as his classmate, it was true. He made it seem so effortless.
"Hinata Mizuki."
Mizuki then headed inside the classroom.
"Oh, I'm so jealous of her!" "I bet she cheated!"
Mizuki simply ignored them, just as Makoto had told her before.
Inside, she sat on the empty seat beside the genius redhead. She placed her bag to her left, and brought out a notebook. She started to write things down that could possibly help her cousin out in his games.
The redhead beside her didn't bother to glance at her, although, she couldn't care less. He was nothing but a classmate, after all.
When she had finished writing her notes on Makoto's previous game, she glanced to her right and saw Midorima Shintaro next to her.
Ah, the one who obsessed over horoscopes. This year will be quite interesting, I suppose.
"You."
She did not respond to whoever said that, until the voice said, "Hinata."
Looking to her right, she saw the green haired boy looking at her with a slight glare. "Does this mean that you beat me and tied with Akashi, or were you were tied with me and are only there because your last name, or perhaps, you actually beat me?"
Mizuki shrugged. "Who knows? Why don't you ask sensei? She could probably answer your question."
"What was your numerical average?" he asked, ignoring her.
"99.96%," Mizuki replied softly.
Midorima then had a tick mark on his face. "I see."
"Why? What was yours, Midorima-san?" Mizuki asked curiously.
"None of your business." Midorima said.
"Hmm…" Mizuki hummed and let it go.
-.-.-.-.-
A/N: Well, that's the end of it. Like it? Hate it? Love it? Do tell!
By the way, the story will really be kind of slow for now, since I'm going to try to build Mizuki's relationships with them haha!
P.S.: I know Makoto's a bad boy, but I totally forgot if he curses or not, so I just assumed that he did.
P.P.S.: If Mizu seems OP (lol) or like a Mary Sue, just say the word, k~