Kuroko knew he was late for practice, but he didn't expect the meet up with the Generation of Miracles to take this long. He was the one who asked for them to take this picture, to commemorate their meeting together. Even though they'd never play together again, he wanted to get one final picture of them together as a group. Satsuki was all too willing to agree to it while a few were reluctant, but in the end, the photo was taken and it was one of the best memories he had.

He wasn't planning on coming up with an excuse for his tardiness; he figured the send off for Kiyoshi would've lasted longer. The voices of Hyuga and Riko stirred him from his thoughts and he could see their irritated expressions at his absence. Still, despite knowing he was going to get an earful, he took his time getting to the locker room. He was silently grateful it was empty, not wanting to be around anyone else at the moment. The conversation with his previous light, Aomine Daiki, rung through his head.

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' You know Tetsu, if we had met Kagami in middle school, I have no doubts he would've become one of us and played on our team.'

Kuroko stared with indifference, though an internal battle warred in his brain. As much as he wanted to deny his words, a part of him knew he wasn't lying. He, along with the rest of the miracles, had misjudged the young man known as Kagami Taiga. He was as guilty as the others for doubting his strength and determination. It was one of the things that drew him towards the boy.

And yet, if he hadn't had that talk with Hyuga-senpai, he would've lost his light again.

'I know. When I first met him, I felt that pull we had back then. But, I'm very happy Kagami-kun didn't play with us. I think... it was supposed to happen this way.'

Silence enveloped them, both teens in deep thought. Aomine broke the silence first. 'You never did tell any of us why you chose to go to Seirin instead of one of the elite schools. Did you know he would be there?'

"No. the truth is... I didn't know what to expect. When we were in our last year at Teiko, I'd seen Seirin play. One of their members dropped their student I.D. and I wanted to give it back. Momoi-san was adamant about us leaving to catch up with the rest of you, but there was a small part of me that said to stay. We ended up watching the match they were in, and I didn't know what to think. The way they played, it reminded me so much of how we used to before everything changed. I wanted to be on that team so much, because how they interacted with each other was so different from us. Even though they lost, they treated each other like family, and they used each other's strengths to play together. I was tired of being on a team that only played to win, without really playing as a team. It was after watching them play I had decided to join their school. I wanted to be on a team that loved playing the sport because they enjoyed it, not because they wanted to win.'

Scratching his head, Aomine didn't know what to say. He knew their team used to play together because they enjoyed basketball. But then as they all started to grow, so did their beliefs and everything just went downhill. Still, Tetsu was the only one to not change and tried to keep them all together. He felt like a fool for doubting his skills.

'Regardless, when I met Kagami-kun, I was shocked at how much he resembled you. He hated playing with weak players and he always loved any challenge that came to face him. Both of you loved basketball so much, when I saw how he played, it felt like I was back in Teiko before everything changed. I saw his determination and I decided to be his shadow, and to help make him the best player in Japan. Part of me was a bit selfish for using him to show my point, but I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I wasn't as talented as the rest of you, but I knew I worked well with others. Akashi was right; my talent does surpass yours, but it's only effective if I have others with me.'

'Yeah but, you got lucky. You realized what your talent was and how to effectively use it. The rest of our talents are ones we can use on our own. Even though yours requires other people, that's what makes it unique and only yours. No one else can use your talents, Tetsu, not even Kise. Ours can easily be copied but yours is the only one that's can't be. Anyway, aren't you gonna be late for practice? I don't think your coach and captain will be pleased to know one of their star players is late. Besides, Satsuki will be mad at me for being late again.'

He gave a small smile at his old friend, trying to stifle the laughter bubbling in his throat. 'Some things will never change.'

'Tetsu...'

Said man turned his head to his friend, his eyes hinting at curiosity, 'Make sure you guys get stronger. I won't hold back the next time we see each other.'

A ghost of a smile formed on his lips, 'I wouldn't expect less from Aomine-kun. We will win, I promise.'

Silently, he turned his gaze from his old light, fully knowing he was wearing his signature smirk and began walking to his school.

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Sighing, he was happy to tape the picture in his locker, the only physical memory he has of his old team. He wanted to keep it in his heart, locked away from the rest of the world. Only he would be allowed to see this side of them, the old team Teiko.

"Kuroko?"

The sound of his light's voice shook him from his thoughts as he closed his locker door, noting he was dragging out the lecture he would soon get from his captain and coach. He couldn't help the small smile on his face, as usual his team decided to send Kagami to come fetch him. Either they thought it was faster for Kagami to find him or they didn't want to do it themselves, Kuroko didn't know, but he was glad to have him alone, even if it was only for a few minutes.

"I'm right here Kagami-kun."

Jumping at his voice, Kagami frowned, "Jesus Kuroko! You love giving people heart attacks don't you?"

He blinked, "But I was right in front of you."

Trying to hide the blush rising to his face from embarrassment, Kagami coughed into his hand, "Right... Anyways, we better go. Coach seemed really ticked you were gone and I'd rather not get punished for taking too long to find you."

"Gomen, I didn't think Momoi-san would've taken so long with the photo."

"Did you think of an excuse good enough for the coach?"

"I don't think any excuse would be good enough for her at this point. I'm just going to endure what she throws at me."

Kagami shrugged, before heading towards the hallway.

"Kagami-kun."

He paused mid-step, turning his head to look at his shadow. His eyes widen in shock at Kuroko, who looked at him with a smiling face. He blinked, only to be face to face with light blue eyes and he felt breathless. Though his eyes held a neutral colour, he knew Kuroko was happy, for what reason Kagami didn't know, but he chose to remain silent instead of opening his mouth and embarrassing himself further.

"Thank you."

Scratching the side of his head, he wasn't sure what his shadow was thanking him for, but it must have been important if he looked that happy.

"Er...You're welcome?"

Shaking his head, Kuroko could feel the confusion from his light but chose to ignore it. He knew Kagami would understand soon enough and chose to let him ponder the reasons he'd thanked him. Deciding it was time to face their team, Kuroko boldly reached for his hand, wrapping it with his before pulling the confused man behind him.

"Let's go, Kagami-kun."

"Eh? Ah.. Sure..."

He could hear Aomine's words ring in his head, but he felt himself smiling bigger when Kagami's hand gripped his tighter. Eventually Kagami would question why they were holding hands, but for right now, both were content walking together, and facing the wrath of their team together.