Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke, or any copyright products, franchise and substances introduced in the story. Owning thanks to SugarLandBabyGirl for evoking the idea in the first place and Fox-chan for sending her approving thoughts. (´∀｀)

Edit 30/10/13: Al-right, after much drafting, re-drafting and mental plotting, I have decided the scrap the prologue and the previous idea. Just play along with me, eh? Also, there are quite a few massive changes within this chapter, which will be very important for the future so please re-read, mm? ༼ つ ◕◡◕ ༽つ

"Sudden summer rain,

Soaks the garden before dusk—

Cat licks early stars."

-Ruben O.

Chapter One: Humid

It was in the middle of one particular rainy season, when an outsider transferred to Teiko Middle.

"Nice to meet you, I am Murasaki Aoi."

She was nobody—your usual, domestic, high school student.

"I recently moved from Kyoto because of my mother's occupation—"

"You like sport?" A person from the back interrupted, swinging on his chair with a languid smile.

"Sport? No, not really."

Therefore she was nobody important to us.

"What about your interests?"

"My interests? Ah, I guess I like takoyaki—and perhaps painting, but my specialities are foreign languages, though I prefer nuclear physics over anything else."

Completely, utterly boring. We do not concern ourselves with ordinary outsiders. Our circle was absolute and we were the best of the best, the top of the league; that was final and it was absolute. She did not belong in our circle, so we did not seek her out.

And she was a trophy girl.

Her hair hanged in dark ringlets and her mouth was in a constant state of amusement. Her arms were skinny as a stick and her frame was too narrow for a contact sport like basketball. An utter trophy girl.

But her eyes were different. Your stare was instantly directed to her face—her eyes. They completely deviated from her complexion and glinted with the same shine you might find on a cursed stone. Her eyes were a dusty blue, an old leather book off the shelves.

But as her impassive stare drifted across the room, it was almost like they were shining.

No.

They were bloodysparkling with glee at Murasakibara Atsushi.

Humming. The cicadas never seemed to stop humming. It was start of the wet season—the beginning of June. The cicadas were so noisy you could hardly hear yourself think; the clothing stuck to your skin like a second layer of skin and half the school were soaking up the air-conditioned library.

But Aoi was feeling perfect.

Absolutely, utterly perfect.

The once harmless looking quirk of her mouth was suddenly replaced by a maniacal grin that stretched from ear to ear, lighting up all the way to her eyes. Plan A has successfully been placed in motion! It was finally perfect for once. There was improvisation in exactly the right areas to show her complete humanity and she emanated the right amount of elusive confidence.

However, Aoi had not yet sorted out her objectives. There were so many options, this was the crazy life, the city life—Tokyo was certainly far more interesting than traditionalist Kyoto.

But Rule Number One Hundred and Eleven of Godly Planning: Plan with Motive.

Hell yeah, Aoi liked Tokyo, but what to start first? Ah, maybe I should join a club—An icy glare from her chemistry partner snapped Aoi out of her thoughts.

Aoi flashed her partner a self-reassured smile. Right, focus on the experiment at hand. Flicking her hair back, Aoi leaned over the table and gingerly picked up the vial with a bubbling liquid. Mmm, Chemistry is an easy to understand subject if you simply follow the instructions. You are fantabulous at this. Don't fail. All right, find your happy place and add two hundred millilitres of copper sulphate solution—

"Murasaki Aoi! Look what you spilt, you stupid girl!"

"Aw fishsticks, I'm really sorry Hana-chan!"

"I already told you not to call me that! It's Natsume, NA-TSU-ME!"

"A-Ah, I'm really sorry Natsume-chan."

"-san! Natsume-SAN!"

"I mean, I'm really sorry Natsume-san! I will clean it up right away!"

"You stupid girl! This is copper sulphate! Don't touch it, it's poisonous!"

"O-kay, I'll um, I'll-"

"You will sit right there, Murasaki Aoi."

So Aoi sat right there.

Natsume Hana was an interesting girl—a different kind of interesting from the stoned boy with purple hair in the seat in front of her. And strangeness and Aoi went hand in hand. Growing up in a reclusive, golden neighbourhood in Kyoto, everyone knew each other. Outsiders were unwelcome and the rules were almost pathetically set in stone. The children were taught to become just like their parents, the parents were 'stick-up-their-ass' traditionalists and the stores, the streets—they were all identical.

Aoi wanted more than a rulebook life like that.

So she went and searched for more.

"What are you dozing off for? Quick, help me clean out the test tubes." Aoi jolted out of her reminiscence by Natsume's icy voice. She stared at her bony, out-stretch hand that was holding the dirtied test tubes and blinked.

Then her face split into a massive, toothy beam.

"What are grinning like an idiot for? Hurry up you stupid girl."

"Owie Hana-chan, I think you bruised my precious feel-ings."

"Hah, what feelings? You ain't got no 'precious feelings'—and I thought I told you not to call me that!"

"Ahaha, come on Hana-chan~."

"Murasaki!"

Thwack.

"Owie!"

But Aoi liked Natsume Hana.

The air con whirled away quietly in the cold classroom, and outside, the summer sun shone lazily. Her class was silent—not a whisper, just the way Aoi liked it. Only the occasional thump of a pencil thrown away and the agitated groan to find a rubber interrupted the solitude, no one to disturb her early completion of the set questions.

Mathematics was another subject Aoi liked. It was straightforward—remember the formulas and always be cautious was a mantra Aoi chanted in her head. It worked and she ranked highly because so. But there were always people who were better than the best, Aoi mused with a glint in her eyes, like that Midorima Shintaro guy. Apparently he placed second in the whole school, a remarkable feat for a first year kid. Oh and Akashi Seijuro or something. He placed first I believe. Ain't that annoying. And if I remember correctly, those ganguro girls claimed he has always been first. Psh, probably has professional level tutors or something.

Should've moved at the start of the year.

"Murasaki-chan, who are you staring at?" Aoi glanced at her friendly acquaintance next to her desk: Akagahara Kotori. Akagahara was a cute person. Doe-eyed and constantly smiling, Akagahara was bland to Aoi.

Always choose the option you will absolutely not regret.

Aoi smirked slyly, "No one interesting."

"Che, bullshit Murasaki. You've been staring a hole into the back Murasakibara-san's head for the whole of this class," Natsume Hana huffed from Aoi's other side, but seeing a complaint surface Aoi's wide eyes, Natsume cut in, "Just because you have finished the set questions, does not mean you can be bored enough to stare at Murasakibara's head. No one can be bored enough to stare a hole into his head."

Akagahara frowned, "I suppose so then."

Aoi blinked at Akagahara's accepting response and rubbed her nose, "Ah… What do you mean 'no one can be bored enough to stare a hole into his head'?"

Natsume sniffed. "You should just go and see the mock games. You'll understand after you've seen him play."

Aoi blinked. Hah? Mock games? She averted her eyes back to her textbook with a pout. "What mock games…?" She grumbled to Natsume. Mock games, bad memories.

"Ah? You didn't know? Murasakibara's in our school's basketball team."

Basketball, eh? I hate ball games, so annoying.

"And and— He's not just in our school's basketball team, he's part of the four first years who made it into first string almost immediately!" Akagahara grinned.

Oh okay, prodigy… eh?

"He is also the starting center," Natsume added with a bitter undertone.

Aoi sighed at Natsume's tone. "Fascinating," She muttered. Natsume rolled her eyes at Aoi's sudden disinterest, but when she looked over to Aoi again, her eyes had completely drifted away from this world.

Natsume frowned, that girl was planning something.

After the last class ended, the rush to get home, catch the train, the bus, go to Maji Burgers, pick up girls, or run to club activities, was like a matter of life or death. But Aoi had nothing better to do. She could dawdle home to the penthouse her mother rented, pig out at a food chain, or go find a club to join. But going home wasn't urgent; she calculated she had two and a half hours to kill before the deadline.

Aw man, what to do, what to do?

Aoi paused just in front of the entrance to the lockers and her impassive eyes softened at the afternoon sky. It was such a gentle, lucid blue and the clouds were so soft and appeared to have floated right out of a watercolour painting.

So pretty.

Serendipity.

The corners of her thin lips quirked upwards.

"Murasaki."

A freezing cold voice suddenly struck her and Aoi almost dropped her phone, "Ah! Han-Natsume-san?"

Natsume Hana sniffed, sticking her nose up in the air and crossing her arms; she leaned against the shoe lockers, "If you really want to see Murasakibara Atsushi, then you should go to the basketball training this afternoon."

Aoi frowned, fiddling with her phone, "But isn't a bit soon, this is my first week…? Also, it's not Murasakibara—"

"You should go to the basketball training this afternoon." Natsume narrowed her charcoal eyes and said pointedly to Aoi.

Aoi rubbed her nose, unaffected, "But I don't even like basketball."

Their eyes met and each scrutinised the other for hidden motives. Aoi was confident, her blue eyes met arrogantly with Natsume's coal black eyes. She grimaced and broke away first, "Do what you want then."

Aoi's lips quirked up, but seeing that, her anger spiked and she attacked again, "Our school has a serious ethos of 'winning is absolutely everything', you know. The basketball team especially—I heard they were going for a championship this year and with the new set of regular first years, it's very likely they'll win."

"Ah, really?"

"Mm-hm."

"I see."

"You have nothing better to do."

"Right."

Natsume was either an extremely perspective girl, or she had Aoi figured out instantly. The latter did not sit well with Aoi, and thus, Natsume must be very perspective. Her had insistence struck a point—Aoi honestly had nothing better to do.

Pushing open the double doors of the first gymnasium, Aoi was greeted with the sour stench of sweat and familiar squeak squeak of runners on the polished floors. The room was vast, with golden floors and large windows that let sunlight stream in. Several baskets lined the walls and members were running around like ants. The wooden benches were empty, save for the untidy towels and what seemed like the captain.

The sports facilities are certainly better than Hamesaki Middle's.

"Ah,heads—!"

A basketball suddenly came whistling towards her at speeds of over one hundred kilometres an hour and Aoi shrieked, diving for cover. A whoosh of air rushed past her head and rammed into the wall. Aoi paled, "Radical," she blinked.

Within moments, someone jogged over and inquired with a smooth voice, "Are you alright?"

Aoi dusted herself whilst sighing, "Peachy, thank you."

"Are you looking for someone?"

She rubbed her nose and lifted her head.

Her soul nearly leapt out of her skin.

Aoi was confronted with a pair of wide and impassive eyes as sharp and vivid as frozen amber. She choked back a haggard breath; his irises were narrow and held a dark intensity that made her feel terribly stone cold—Nonetheless, they were as vibrant as poppies along Gallipoli and appeared to have been stolen right out of a painting.

Akashi Seijuro.

Aoi let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding and straightened her back, "Akashi Seijuro, Student Council President and vice-captain of this club, yes?"

"Yes." He nodded with impassive eyes.

Aoi smiled curtly, "Actually, I'm not looking for anyone much. I was wondering if you know Natsume Hana?"

"Natsume Hana? I suppose."

"Good, then this makes things easier. I transferred from Hamesaki Middle School in Kyoto recently, and after some comments from Natsume-chan, I thought to check out Teiko's number one most sought for aspect."

"Funny, I don't happen to remember Natsume-san liking this club much."

"I never implied she did. But why is that?"

Two wax figures conversing: Murasaki Aoi and Akashi Seijuro—one obviously was superior over the other. And the superior was constantly aware of everything the inferior was doing, and what she could offer, every little detail. The inferior one was smiling, lopsided like always, nothing special, nothing given away.

"She tried and failed."

Aoi narrowed her eyes.

And Akashi understood.

"Then I suppose you expect the same result from me."

"Who knows?"

"Mm, then how is test going to work?"

"Test? I don't recall saying this was anything of that sort."

"No test?"

"No test."

"Where is the captain?"

"Nijimura-san is currently busy." You haven't proven anything yet.

"I see," Aoi smiled, now she understood. "Then please excuse me whilst I watch."

"Very well then." And Akashi returned to his seat in the front row.

Aoi's shoulders slumped, she hadn't even realised how rigid she was throughout the whole conversation. What was up with that aura around him? She sighed. You sure wouldn't expect such a conversation from a first year, just like me.

In politics, maybe.

But this isn't a political conference.

Aoi rubbed her nose and narrowed her eyes. Her gaze zoned in on Akashi. Even with her confidence wilting under his dictatorship aura, she wanted to continue this mind game. So Aoi walked over to him.

She tried and failed.

Aoi never pegged Natsume for a quitter.

But then again, she's only known Natsume for three days.

"Are the regulars here?"

"No they are not."

"And this is the second string?"

"First string actually."

"Really? Doesn't the vice-captain supervise the second string with the coach?"

Akashi hmphed, gaze drifting down the clipboard. He ignored her question, "What do you think of the play so far?"

Mm, the play so far? How long has it been since the last time I went to America? Aoi sighed and raised a lazy eyebrow at the court in front.

She immediately sat up.

Dick butts.

Blond with green bid, far end court, excellent outside shooter, shooting guard material. Opposing team's brunette is making all those goal-achieving passes, however. Wow, this is really good. The tall guy defending in the middle court with yellow bid is surprising fast. Wow was that a floater shot—!

"It's alright, I have seen better." Okay, that wasn't really the truth and it wasn't a complete lie either. Aoi had seen better: The NBA.

"Ridiculous." Akashi stared at Aoi like he knew the things from her mouth were only half-truths five out of ten times.

She shrugged under a cloak of passivity.

Akashi Seijuro was a scarily perspective person.

"Your father is Murasaki Hideki, yes?"

Aoi thinned her lips, "Yes he is."

Akashi shot her that knowing look, "A liberal politician of Kyoto?"

"Right." She narrowed her eyes and continued to watch the ongoing matches. It was time and the play was visibly slowing down. Noticing, the coach got up with his clipboard and blew the whistle. He strode over to the middle of the room and motioned for everyone to gather.

Akashi stood up, "Why don't we have a match, Murasaki Aoi?"

"Sorry?" Aoi frowned, "A match?"

"Do you play shogi?"

"Once, I guess. When was I little."

"And do you know what they say about shogi?"

"I know of it, but nonetheless, isn't it more for your benefit than mine?"

"Yes, you will lose. But regardless of the outcome, you're seeking entertainment and this will suffice."

Akashi Seijuro is pretty confident in his victory, Aoi frowned. But "always choose the option you will absolutely not regret".

"It won't take too much time either."

Time…Ah, why does that remind me of something—Aoi paled and her face fell into a look of absolute horror. "Akashi-san, what's the time?"

"Twenty past four," He replied without checking.

Aoi sat back on the seat with a sigh, "That's alright then." She glanced at Akashi from the corner of her eyes, "I have to leave before five thirty."

"Curfew?"

"Hah!" She let out a bark of laughter, "No, nothing like that." And she gave no more information out.

"Very well, you will meet me in the club room. Do you know where that is?"

"One hundred and twelve-A, right?"

"One hundred and fourteen." He corrected.

"Right." Aoi nodded, picking up her bag and exiting swiftly with pricking nerves running down her spine.

The daylight was fading and Aoi wanted to get this match thing over and done with. She had a goal to accomplish after all.

/End Humid.