Summary: Akashi ordered the Generation of Miracles to separate, and head to different schools; Kuroko took it a step further, and went to a different continent. But now, he finally returns, and the Generation of Miracles is waiting.
A Step Further
Chapter 01
A boy was sitting at a table with an overhead umbrella outside a café. His hair and his eyes were an icy, light blue color and his skin was milky white. He was dressed in a plain, light blue t-shirt, a pair of dark-washed jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. His casual clothes allowed him to blend into the background even more. His right hand supported his chin while his left held a cup labeled "Maji Burgers." His eyes swept over the passerby with apathetic interest, matching the expressionless expression on his face, while he leisurely took sips from his cup.
Suddenly, another figure plopped onto the seat across of the boy. The boy took no notice and ignored the intruder.
"Tetsuya, you are very hard to locate," the intruder commented as an introduction.
The boy, Kuroko Tetsuya, finally turned around, and examined the intruder, even though he already knew the intruder's identity. The intruder had red hair and dichromatic eyes, the right red and the left yellowish orange. It was a peculiar and intimidating sight, to say the least, especially when they were staring at you, but Tetsuya didn't seem bothered at all.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was supposed to make myself easy to find." The boy's voice was full of sarcasm.
The red-haired boy shot him a dark look before asking, "How have you been?"
Tetsuya rolled his eyes, responding, "I'm sure you already know the answer to that, Akashi-san."
The red-haired boy, Akashi Seijūrō, nodded, as if he expected the answer. "How was America?"
"Please get to the point. Why are you here, Akashi-san?"
"Still as blunt as ever, I see." When Tetsuya didn't respond, Akashi continued, "Which high school are you attending?"
"Why would I answer that? So you could track me down or tell the others? Did you tell them I'm back too?" Tetsuya retorted with a small frown that was barely noticeable.
"No, I thought I would either let you tell them yourself or tell them myself when I have more information."
Tetsuya nodded and took a sip of his drink.
"So which high school?" Akashi repeated with a hint of impatience, his fingers tapping on the table.
"You'll just have to find out yourself, won't you?" There was a mischievous gleam in Tetsuya's eyes.
Akashi paused his tapping. "Are you disobeying me?"
Tetsuya smirked. "Am I?"
"What. High. School. Are. You. Attending?" Akashi emphasized each successive word with a little more force than the last.
"Find out yourself. Now bother me about something else." Tetsuya disregarded the threatening look Akashi sent him, and returned to people watching.
"You always were the troublesome one."
"You mean I'm the only one who ever stood up to you." Tetsuya sent his companion a smirk.
Akashi narrowed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned back against his seat.
"So how's the team?" Tetsuya spoke up after a moment of silence.
This time, it was Akashi who smirked. "So you do care about the rest of them. They will be happy to hear that."
A dark look was shot Akashi's way. "I never said I didn't, Akashi-san."
"Well, Daiki and Satsuki are going to Touou, Shintarou is going to Shuutoku. Ryouta is going to Kaijou. Atsushi is going to Yosen. I am going Rakuzan."
"So you really did split everyone up," Tetsuya bitterly remarked.
"It was part of our oath."
"You mean it was your command."
"They were willing; they understood," Akashi defended.
"Even if they weren't, you made sure they were."
"What are you implying, Tetsuya?" Akashi was emitting a cold and dangerous aura, causing the people nearby to shiver in fright, and inch away.
"You know exactly what I'm implying, and you know I'm right. Don't bother denying it."
"Not like you are that different, Tetsuya," Akashi pointed out.
Tetsuya's mouth drew into a tight line as his eyes darkened, but he stayed silent.
"Admit it, Tetsuya, the only reason you can defy me is because we are of the same species; I know you just as you know me.
After a grim silence, Tetsuya replied, "I've changed."
"Have you?" The doubt in Akashi's voice was obvious. Nobody can change from their original nature that much.
"Yes. Well, I haven't so much as changed as redirected my goal and attitude. Winning isn't everything anymore."
"Isn't it?"
"No, having fun is more important."
"And where did you learn this? America?" There was a twinge of mocking in his voice.
Silence.
"Tetsuya."
"No, not exactly," Tetsuya finally replied after another prolonged period of silence. "I learned it from watching you guys too."
"Us?" It was difficult to confuse Akashi, but Tetsuya was always an unpredictable enigma. He is not sure if there will ever be anyone on this earth who can understand the phantom sixth player.
"You guys weren't having fun anymore. Even if you were, you were having fun by causing other people pain, and that's just not right."
"Is that why you left? Because of us?" Although it was posed as a question, the two of them knew Akashi already knew the answer.
"Mmm. That and I started hating basketball. I couldn't keep hating something I loved—and still love—so much. So I had to rediscover my style of basketball and find myself again." The expression on Tetsuya's face was very morose and thoughtful. It was apparent he spent many hours pondering this subject.
"And did you find what you were looking for?"
Tetsuya nodded, and took another sip of his drink, quickly realizing it was empty.
Akashi hummed thoughtfully, absorbing what he just heard. When he saw the pout on Tetsuya's face upon realizing the lack of his drink, Akashi chuckled. "Still in love with vanilla milkshake, I see."
"I had a hard time finding vanilla milkshakes with the perfect sweetness in America, so I am just getting my fill." Seeing a nearby trash can, Kuroko aimed and threw, and to Akashi's astonishment, it went in.
Giving Kuroko an unreadable and evaluating look, Akashi got up, pushing his chair back. "Come on, Tetsuya, I will buy you another one."
Instantly, Kuroko got up and followed Akashi obligingly, similar to how a puppy would when promised a treat.
To: Kise Ryouta, Aomine Daiki, Midorima Shintarou, Murashikibara Atsushi
From: Akashi Seijūrō
Subject: He Is Back.
Our sixth man is back in Japan.
The next day, Kuroko's phone was bombarded with messages.
Thanks a lot, Akashi-kun. Kuroko thought with irritation.
One common question asked was "Which high school are you attending?"
Kuroko did not bother replying, knowing his inbox will be even fuller if he replied.
Taking a step forward, he passed a pair of gate posts made of brick. On the left post, a vertical sign read "Seirin High School."
The school grounds had the occasional student wandering around, but it was mostly devoid of people since there was still an hour before school started.
The school year started three weeks ago, but since Kuroko had to finish up a basketball tournament, he was delayed and he informed the principal in advance accordingly.
Because it was first day of school for him, anyways—Kuroko decided to get to school earlier to explore the school and finish his transfer papers. Plus, he had a meeting with the principal.
Languidly walking towards the school building, his ear picked up a familiar sound. The dribbling of basketball, the squeaking of the shoes. Like a sailor hearing a siren's song, Kuroko was easily lured to the gymnasium near the school building.
Through the open door, which was the reason Kuroko could hear the siren's call, Kuroko saw what he assumed was the school's basketball team having a morning practice. Deciding he had a few minutes to spare, Kuroko leaned against the doorframe and observed the players' practice.
There were ten people in the gym, one of which was a girl, a second year by her uniform's appearance. Seeing no adult and hearing her orders to the team, Kuroko inferred she was the coach. He has heard about how even though the team was only composed of first-years with no team history, they were able to make it to Interhigh preliminaries' finals. The players that were practicing right now were better than average, with the red-haired one sticking out. Kuroko could tell there was a lot of raw potential in that boy and his physique was immensely greater than the average high school student, but it still wasn't Generation of Miracles standards, of course. The red-haired player can become a great offensive power with his brute strength and muscles, especially those leg muscles of his. However, they will have to work on that anger and defense power of his, and his emotion must not get the better of him in the middle of a match. Otherwise, he will be easily manipulated.
Observing the other players, Kuroko took note of the specialties each individual possessed. With a specialized training program, this could be a formidable team with the power to stand against each of the Miracle's team, maybe even overwhelm them. Nevertheless, at the level they are at right now, they would not even get past the three kings of Tokyo.
Realizing the time, Kuroko hastily left the gym and headed towards the principal's office once again. Upon entering the administration office, Kuroko approached the principal's secretary and bowed in greeting. "Good morning, I am Kuroko Tetsuya, and I am here for my meeting with the principal."
"Ah, good morning, Kuroko-san, was it? The principal is available right now, so you can just go ahead," the secretary said with a gentle smile after checking the calendar and agenda in front of her.
"Thank you." Kuroko proceeded to the door and knocked.
"Come in," a muffled voice instructed.
Kuroko quietly opened the door and slipped, gently closing the door behind him.
The principal looked up and searched for the student he was expecting, missing him completely.
"Akihara-kouchou, I am right here," Kuroko spoke up, startling the principal Kuroko was standing right in front of the principal's desk.
"Hehe, sorry, I didn't notice you, Kuroko-san," the principal apologized with a sheepish expression.
Kuroko nodded in acceptance. "It is alright. I am used to it."
"I have heard about your weak presence, but that was still quite a surprise." Seeing Kuroko standing next to the chair, the principal gestured toward the chair. "Please sit down, Kuroko-san."
Kuroko sat.
"So, let's get started then…"
Back in the gym, a girl, by the name of Aida Riko, blew her whistle and gathered everyone around her. "I have an announcement before I send you guys to the locker room.
"What is it, coach?" one of the guys questioned while wiping the sweat drenching his forehead.
"We are going to have a new member joining us this afternoon," Riko announced.
"A new member?" another guy echoed.
Riko nodded in affirmation. "He just came back from America, but he attended most of middle school in Japan. In fact, he attended Teikou Middle School. He was in America for a foreign exchange program or something like that."
"Teikou Middle School?! The one with the Generation of Miracles?!" the guy who was wiping his forehead exclaimed in disbelief.
"America?" Visible excitement was etched onto the red-haired guy's face.
The rest of the team rolled their eyes, thinking "Basketball idiot" in their head. The coach nodded her head at their questions.
"Did he play in the basketball team?"
"From what the principal told me, yes, he did. He also played basketball during the duration of his stay in America," the coach responded.
"He must be a formidable player then!" the red-haired player adamantly insisted.
"Calm yourself down, Kagami!" the coach scolded, slapping her clipboard against his head.
"Yes, coach," Kagami obeyed sullenly, soothing the impact of the clipboard.
"Well, that is all I wanted to say, go clean yourself up and change, don't be late for class!" the coach instructed with a warning tone toward the end.
"Yes, coach!" the team replied simultaneously, some giving her a mock salute before jogging towards the locker room.
Riko rolled her eyes at their foolish tactics.
[Notes]
"XX-kouchou" means "Principal XX."
A/N: I currently don't have any plans to continue this, so just pretend this is a one-shot even though it could definitely be a multi-chapter fic. If I continue this, it would be an AkashixKuroko pairing.
I am on Tumblr (kurochatchan), feel free to come say hi. It's a dump for my other fics and plotbunnies, it's multi-fandom, and I reblog or post other stuff occasionally.