Summary: Hara is curious; Kuroko is patient. This was made for GreenLavender, who is also a fan of Hara/Kuroko.
We kept talking about HaraKuro in our private messages, so this wouldn't leave my head.
Word Count: 2,084
After winning Winter Cup, Seirin did what they did best, practice and work hard. Even Kiyoshi (now the team's manager after his knee surgery) was busy discussing future strategies with Riko. Next year was going to be just as tiring at this year, especially now they had earned the Winter Cup trophy and the title of number one team in Japan. Kagami and Kuroko were playing hard, not giving their seniors an edge of room to build moment or gain the lead from them. But it only lit a fire in Hyuuga and Izuki's eyes, who were only behind by fifteen points due to careful placement and well-executed threes. While Kiyoshi'ls absence from the court meant the loss of a great teammate, Seirin would prevail.
Riko whistled, signalling for practice to end and ordered everyone to the showers. She was mercifully ending it early, for it was Valentines Day. Tsuchida had a girlfriend waiting for him and she also wanted to let them know she appreciated how hard they were still playing despite Winter Cup being over. The teenage boys sighed in relief and grabbed a towel. As they dried themselves off, the door to the gymnasium opened. Everyone merely thought it was Tsuchida's girlfriend arriving early to greet him, until Satoshi looked up and glared at the unexpected guest. Coach Riko froze up as well, not pleased to see the power forward of Kirisaki Daiichi stroll into their basketball court, blowing a large bubble over his playful smile. The lavender-haired teen walked in with no hesitation, a box of white chocolate-vanilla truffles were in one hand, and the other hand casually hidden in the pocket of his school uniform. Hara scanned the room, paying no attention to everyone's stares as he tried to find his target. Once his eyes spotted Kagami Taiga, the bubblegum man only have to look down to see Kuroko Tetsuya. He grinned at the sight of Seirin's phantom, small forward, and sauntered toward the younger teen. The red-and-black, power forward flinched and moved closer to his best friend; he did not trust anyone in Kirisaki Daiichi, but Hara Kazuya was especially disgusting to him. He hated the big, disgusting grin and the way the elder player happily elbowed and stepped on toes to win.
"You, your name is Kuroko, right?" The Kirisaki Daiichi, varsity player asked. The transparent teen nodded. "I think I found out how your misdirection and vanishing drive works." Kuroko shrugged at the declaration. Momoi and Touou were able to understand the foundation of his style, so it would make sense that another team with geniuses like Hanamiya and Seto would find out eventually.
"Are you certain that you did?" Tetsuya asked, not really caring one way or another. The only question he had was why was Hara here? Surely it was not to brag about this feat.
"Yes, misdirection and the vanishing drive are both techniques that require distraction from the eyes." Hara pointed out. Kuroko nodded. "The reason you are able to use those moves so easily is because of your team. Since you team focuses on passing and high-speed, run-and-gun strategies, any rival team must also pay attention to a certain extent to your teammates. This split attention allows you to do these moves and is the explanation for your supposed phantom, sixth man powers that make you part of the Generation of Miracles." Kazuya finished. The bubblegum-loving teen was disappointed to see that the invisible man shook his head at the answer. The lavender-haired boy pouted and huffed, but quickly reverted back to his happy-go-lucky self and handed Kuroko the unopened chocolates.
"Why are you giving these to me?" The misdirection specialist asked. Hara sighed, but still kept that toothy smile on his face and rubbed the back of his head almost nervously.
"It's a reward for outsmarting me, because I will eventually find out how you do it. Next time you play my team, it will be rendered useless." The lavender-haired, power forward explained and blew another bubble. Before Kruoko could think to say words of thank you to Hara for the sweets, the Kirisaki Daiichi student walked away, headphones in his ears, and hands already reaching for the door.
*~...~*
The next time they cross paths with Hara is during the next semester, when the Kirisaki Daiichi student is a third year and Kuroko is in his second. It was after practice again, and the newest theory that he came up with for misdirection and the vanishing drive were so preposterous that the usually polite shadow stopped paying attention when the other mentioned aliens. When the lilac-haired, young man was finished speaking, the phantom of Seirin told the third year he was incorrect, and went to his locker to change. Kuroko honestly did not expect Hara to wait outside of the changing area for him. Did the Kirisaki Daiichi student have another treat to give?
"Come on, I'll treat you and Kagami to Maji Burger. It is pretty close by." Kazuya announced. The gluttonous, Seirin, power forward did not like the elder, but did not mind the offer of free food. "An elder should reward the young ones for being so smart, no?" Hara said, encouraging Kuroko to say yes.
"Are you sure? Kagami-kun can eat a lot." The teal-colored boy warned.
"Oy!" Kagami growled. The Kirisaki Daiichi student laughed.
"I'm a trust-fund baby, and the oldest boy in my family. Trust me, your friend can't eat fast enough to keep up with my parents' stocks. Now come on, I'm hungry too." The three left together swiftly after that. As they were walking, Taiga and Tetsuya noticed Kazuya typing notes and deleting several others on his cellphone. Everything was various notations and information on the ghostly boy and how his abilities might be possible. When they asked the High School senior why he was so motivated to find out, the bubblegum teen replied "I just want to; curiosity is one heck of a drug."
*~...~*
Seirin had gotten used to Hara's almost weekly drop-bys. So it was no surprise that when they got through Interhigh Preliminaries after a grueling match with Seiho, that the Kirisaki Daiichi student was waiting outside their designated, locker room. The bubblegum teen had two, sky-blue boxes with elegant, white ribbons tied around them to keep them sealed. It was probably another reward for Kuroko if Hara still had not figured out the principles behind the Seirin shadow's techniques. They allowed the lilac-colored teen inside, knowing now the Kirisaki Daiichi, third year was harmless outside of the basketball court. He waited until the entire team and their new, unfamiliar recruits entered before he slipped in. Due to their ease around the bubblegum teen's presence, all of the men immediately started undressing while Coach Riko had her back turned and wrote some notes down in her notebook. Hara meandered his way around the chatting players until he stood to the right side of the apparition-like boy. Kazuya was thankful to find that the more time he spent with the cyan-colored boy, meant that he could see Tetsuya easier. They casually greeted each other; Hara took the seat on the bench behind the male pale, as Kuroko continued to get undressed and into comfy clothes. The teen with weak presence had more muscle definition as compared to the first time they had met in the Winter Cup Preliminaries.
"Nice game," Hara commented. Kuroko mumbled a quiet "thanks" as he slipped his shorts down his thighs, past his legs, and onto the floor. They were so comfortable around each other that the Seirin, small forward continued to change at a slow pace, allowing the lavender-haired teen to observe through his bangs like a pervert watching through a one-way mirror. The bubblegum in his mouth felt dry, or maybe the only thing that could wet his appetite was the beautiful flesh that unapologetically filled his view. Eventually the cyan-colored man finished dressing, and asked hara what his hypothesis was this time. "I only have two more left, but I am confident that one of them is correct." The Kirisaki Daiichi player said to get Kuroko's full attention. "You try to take advantage of the biological mechanisms of the eye. The reason you are able to use misdirection and the vanishing drive is because you take advantage of the knowledge that eyes cannot process downward, diagonal motions that well. When you use the drive or try to advert someone's gaze off of you, you use your agility to accomplish this kind of motion to disappear from their sight. Add to that your weak presence and short structure that you naturaly have, and you are able to execute these things easily."
"Ah, so that is how I do it?" Kuroko asked.
"I don't know; you tell me." Hara smiled, even when the younger man shook his head at the idea. So his other theory was the correct one.
"Your other guess?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow. You should be celebrating your victory with cake." The bubblegum-loving, power forward dismissed. He opened the boxes containing pretty, Italian white cakes, and offered everyone on the team a piece. Aquamarine and Amethyst sad side by side, quietly eating the fluffy dessert, and sneaking Nigou a bite of their piece when they thought that the other teenager was not looking.
*~...~*
As Hara promised, he showed up to their practice the next day to tell Kuroko his last theory. How the other's weak presence allowed him to act as if he were not to have possession of the ball, and this kind of presence allows the rival team to act as if there are only nine players in the field rather than ten. This makes it harder for them to keep track of the phantom the more they focus on him, which is why the best way to counter Kuroko is by looking into the reflections Kuroko creates in their eyes. While his teammates may not actively see the sky-blue teen, at least when they had eye contact established, Kuroko knows they are alert enough to be able to retrieve his fast passes. As for the vanishing drive, it was a different type of misdirection. True, with Kuroko's weak presence and agility, diagonal, downward motions and driving forward would be good enough for the average player, but the completed one needs a player with strong or high presence like Kagami Taiga. Because strong players like the red-and-black teen had the second highest amount of presence on the court after the ball, usually an opponent must keep track of these kinds of players when they pass their vision even for a second in case Kuroko unexpectedly passes and makes plays with them. This diverts the attention off Kuroko long enough for the young boy to move in a way as if he disappears.
"Yes, everything you said was correct Hara-san." The transparent teen confirmed. Hara grinned. He felt victorious. "I am impressed that you found out about this just out of curiosity."
"Ha, well, that was not my only motivation. I also wanted to collect on my reward now." Kazuya beamed. Before the phantom, sixth man of the Generation of Miracles could say that he had no such thing for the Kirisaki Daiichi student, the lavender-haired teen scooped Tetsuya into his arms and planted a passionate kiss on those tempting, pale lips. The sky-blue teen held his breath and froze from the elder man's actions. All of Seirin gasped, not sure how to react to the familiar, power forward aggressively kissing their small forward. Hara pulled away and stared down at Kuroko, a glimpse of his dark, teal eyes was in view to the close, second year student. The bubblegum-loving teen set the shadow down so that his feet touched the floor again. Abruptly, as if nothing happened, the Kirisaki Daiichi, third year offered Tetsuya some vanilla gum.
"Sure," The smaller boy answered. He grabbed the collar of Kazuya's shirt; it surprised the older, High School teen. He snaked his tongue into Hara'ls mouth, skillfully coaxing the larger man's tongue to relinquish possession over the gum in his mouth and transferred it into his own. Kuroko withdrew from the taller man and let go of his grip on the uniform. He blew a bubble with the stolen gum and intertwined his left hand with the Kirisaki Daiichi student's right one.
"Ha! Not bad Kuroko, not bad at all..." Hara mused as he popped a new piece into his mouth.
Hope you liked it.