Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke.

Note: Hello everyone! And welcome to my first-posted story! This is exciting—it's been five or six years since I've written a story on here! But since getting into the KnB fandom, I have been motivated like crazy to write! I'm really excited, so I hope everything goes smoothly!

I was inspired to write this after watching "Wolf Children", Syfy's "Bitten", and "Wolf's Rain"—(great shows and movie by the way)—as well as rereading the Shiver Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater, and her new book, Sinner (great book series by the way). All in the span of a couple of weeks. I was in a real werewolf mood.

And if you haven't already guessed from my unintentional spoiler, this is a werewolf story. Pretty exciting, huh?

This is not a crossover with anything mentioned before (although Shiver and 'Wolf's Rain' were the ones that really inspired me to write this)—it's just sort of a compilation of ideas from each one. I came up with most of the mechanics on my own. After the first two chapters this will become a drabble series. I have many ideas for this story and I can't wait to get them out!

The time-line for this one in the KnB universe takes place between chapters 49-57 of the manga (and the corresponding episodes of the anime—which I have forgotten!) It will go along with what happens, just in an altered way.

The theme music I chose for this one is "Stray" by Steve Conte (also where I got the title)—it's also the opening theme for "Wolf's Rain". I absolutely love it and I thought it fit really well. You can find the song on YouTube if you want to listen to it.

No slash/yaoi. Be warned for slight cursing.

All mistakes are mine—unfortunately, I am beta-less…

Ok, enjoy!


Stray: Pt 1

Kuroko squirmed in his seat for the hundredth time that day. He sighed tiredly and tried to calm his shaking hands. He looked up at the clock on the wall and almost scowled at how slow time seemed to tick by. The end of the school day was literally minutes away, but he didn't think he could hold out for much longer.

They had practice after school, but Kuroko already texted Riko earlier to inform her he would not be there. This would honestly be the worst day for him to attend basketball practice. He would much rather avoid a catastrophic situation if he had to power to do so. So calling in sick was his best option.

His stomach churned violently again and he tried to hide a wince. He could barely hold it in anymore and it was becoming almost painful. He knew it could only get worse though. At this rate he will have to run home before he lost it completely.

It's been like this for weeks now—having to use all of his energy to hold it back. A couple of times he was able to do it on his own, but triggers kept hitting him left and right, forcing him into it and making it harder to deal with.

It's been like this for him…ever since Seirin's game against Tōō Academy in the Interhigh preliminaries. Ever since they lost their chance to make it to Nationals. The team was despondent. Kuroko more so than the others, but not too noticeable for them to worry (at least at first—annoyingly, they were starting to catch on).

Facing off against Aomine (his ex-partner, his ex-light, his ex-best friend…) and seeing such dead eyes and hearing such cold words…it brought back memories he'd tried so hard to bury. His heart had become heavy in his chest once more and it was like the summer after he quit basketball—quit Teikō —was haunting him all over again…

'Tetsu…This new school that you've found…Well, I'll make sure they lose all hope.'

'They will never want to see a basketball again after this.'

'Your basketball still works with mine the best.'

'Just give it up already, Tetsu!'

'The only one who can beat me, is me.'

'Tōō High School wins the first match! The score is 112 to 55!'

He couldn't do anything…he couldn't save Aomine from himself…he had failed…

He tried to listen to his coach, to his captain, to all his teammates as they encouraged, reassured…but all the stress, the hurt (old and new), and the utter helplessness (uselessness) just continued to pile up until Kuroko was to the point where he was—literally—ready to blow a gasket.

Not to mention…

Kuroko's attention was drawn from his staring contest with the clock to the redhead sitting in front of him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

The weeks following Interhigh involved more than just their loss. Kagami was affected just as much as Kuroko was—maybe not in the same way, but something had changed. And not just with Kagami himself, but between the two of them. His new Light was becoming distant with him and Kuroko was becoming concerned. They didn't speak to each other at all the week after the tournament. It's just been so hard for Kuroko to talk to him lately, and seeing as how the teal-haired boy is less likely to start a conversation most of the time, things remained awkward and stressed between them. Kagami wasn't in practice either due to his still-healing legs. When he returned the following week, though, things were still no better.

Kuroko also noticed, almost immediately, when Kagami returned to practice the change in his play. It was like he had reverted back to the way he played when he first joined Seirin. Not selfishly—not like Aomine, not like the others—more like he was playing by himself. Alone. He wasn't relying on the others. On Kuroko. It was eating him up inside.

And then, Kiyoshi showed up. Kuroko knows that he should respect him because he is their senpai—and one of the founders of Seirin's basketball club—but they guy just rubbed him the wrong way. When he'd challenged Kagami for the ace position on the team, it only served to heat up tensions even more. It was like the Uncrowned King was trying to prove a point or something. And Kagami and Kuroko were at the center of that 'point'. The phantom player still remembered his first meeting with Kiyoshi…

'The sixth player is a specialist. Though…I haven't seen such an extreme specialist like you before. The only thing you have mastered so far is intimidation.'

'But…the one deciding if that's your limit, is you.'

…Yeah, he was definitely trying to prove a point.

Aside from that, things were still uneasy between Kagami and him and he had no idea how to go about understanding it—much less fixing it.

He wasn't as worried as he had been back at Teikō, though, as, one by one, all of his friends left him behind. Kagami wasn't like that, and Kuroko could garner some relief from that knowledge at least. Something was off between them, but Kagami had things to work through and Kuroko believed he should let his friend battle his demons in peace.

But Kuroko was battling his own demons and not having Kagami and the support he always provided was killing him. It was incredibly selfish of him to rely on Kagami in such a way, but he couldn't help it. Abandonment was all too ingrained in him to let these feelings wither and die. The shame was overpowered by need.

His train of thought only left him more depressed and his stomach lurched in response to his negative feelings. He swallowed hard and tried to push it down, but it wouldn't be long now and he was becoming increasingly uneasy.

Blessedly, the bell rang not seconds later and Kuroko sighed in relief. He gathered his things as quickly as he could and all but shot out door before any of his classmates even began to pack their things. He felt a bit guilty for not saying something to Kagami (again), but he was afraid if he opened his mouth he would vomit. Or scream. Either way, he just needed to get home.

If he got home, he could try to calm down some and avoid the whole process to begin with. Being hit with triggers so much lately meant his experience would most likely be very painful, and he hated going through it like that. If he could calm himself down and suppress the nauseating urges, he could do it on his own and it would involve significantly less torture. He'd been successful in accomplishing this routine for the past couple of weeks, but it was worse now. He just need to get home.

Thankfully no one stopped him as he made his way through the crowded school. It was during situations like this that he was grateful for his overwhelming lack of presence. He managed to make it outside without incident and walked at a brisk pace in the direction of his home, dreading the twenty minute walk. He just hoped he could hold off until he got there…

~KnB~

When Kagami walked into the gym and didn't see Kuroko, he was confused. At the end of class he'd turned around in his seat to put his things away and found the seat behind him empty. It was a little strange, but Kagami assumed he went ahead to practice and tried not to let it affect him much.

'I mean, we haven't spoken properly in weeks. It's no wonder he didn't wait on me,' he thought, a bit bitterly.

When he didn't see the boy in the hallway on his way to the gym, he assumed he would be in the locker room changing. When he wasn't in the locker room changing, Kagami assumed he would be in the gym, ready for practice. But he wasn't in the gym, and everyone had already shown up. He was the only one missing, which was extremely confusing. Kuroko was never one to miss practice, and he hadn't ever since he joined the basketball club. And Kagami had gotten pretty good at spotting the little freak, despite his near invisibility, so he knew he wasn't overlooking him. Things may be weird between them right now, they may not be speaking, (and he may be intentionally distancing himself from Kuroko), but he still tried to keep an eye out for the phantom player. That'll unfortunately never change.

He kept his eyes on the door, waiting for a familiar blue head to pop in, apologizing for being late, but it didn't happen and when Riko blew the whistle and signaled for practice to begin, he almost voiced his concern, but Kiyoshi beat him to it.

"Kuroko isn't here yet, Aida-chan."

Riko looked at him, irritated. "Don't call me Aida-chan, idiot! In this gym, my name is Coach! And I know he's not. He won't be. He texted me early to tell me he felt ill and that he wouldn't be attending practice today."

"Kuroko's sick?" Koganei spoke up, concerned. Behind him, Fukuda, Furihata, and Kawahara all looked worried for their fellow freshman.

"He certainly looked it." Izuki said. Kagami and the others looked at him.

"Really? When did you see him?" Tsuchida asked.

"I passed him in the hallway on the way here." Besides Kagami, Izuki was one of the only ones who could see Kuroko most of the time—thanks to his eagle eye. "He was heading towards the entrance and he looked really pale—I mean, more than usual. He looked really sick."

Everyone looked concerned, even Riko. Kuroko was never one to get sick often. In fact, the passing-specialist never missed practice, even if he had the sniffles. He must be really sick to skip practice and go home.

Kagami felt a little guilty. He should have noticed something was wrong. He was with Kuroko all day, after all. But their current standing with one another was uncomfortable, and Kuroko hadn't spoken up and told him he wasn't feeling well...

…Which he wouldn't have done anyway. Kuroko never complained. And they weren't talking.

He should have paid closer attention. There was no excuse.

"Maybe he caught a bug or something?" Hyūga mused.

"I hope it's nothing serious." Kiyoshi said. The others nodded.

"He'll be fine, you idiots!" Riko scowled at them. "He just needs rest. He'll be good as new by tomorrow, I guarantee it. But for now, the rest of you have practice. So get your lazy butts in gear and show me some results!" She blew her whistle loudly and watched, satisfied, as they all scrambled to do as she said. "Not you, Kagami. I need to talk to you."

The redhead looked confused but allowed himself to be pulled aside. Riko looked stern, but not murderous, so it couldn't be that bad.

She sighed and looked up at him. "I don't know what is going on between you and Kuroko lately, but I think you should go check on him after practice." She said firmly. "You and I both know that the plague couldn't stop Kuroko from missing, so it must be bad. And he is more likely to talk to you, so you're the best person to go."

"Uh, sure thing, Coach." Honestly, he had already been thinking about going to check on Kuroko. He was worried too…

Riko wacked him the head with her clipboard. "Don't make it sound like I'm ordering you to go, Bakagami! You should want to go visit your sick friend!"

"Ouch! I know that!" He rubbed his head. "You didn't have to hit me!" He groused and Riko glared at him.

After that, Kagami went through practice as usual, but his thoughts never strayed far from a certain teal-haired shadow. He would go after practice and check on Kuroko. Make sure the idiot was taking care of himself and see if he needed anything.

It would set his mind at ease and maybe he could spend some time with his friend…

~KnB~

Kagami checked the address on the slip of paper once more before looking up at the house he stood in front of. Yep, he had the right place. He'd gotten Kuroko's address from Riko after practice ended. Surprisingly it had only been twenty minutes, in walking distance, away from the school, so it didn't take long for him to get there. He'd tried calling Kuroko's phone several times on the way over, but it went straight to voicemail each time.

He felt a twinge of guilt as he looked up at the unfamiliar house. He and Kuroko spent so much time together, they should at least know where the other lives. But their interactions were usually only limited to school, practice, games, and Maji Burger…

And lately, none of those things.

This distance thing was really killing him.

Maybe one day he could invite Kuroko over to his apartment to hang out or something (God knows they could both afford to be more sociable).

He went through the iron gate up to the front door and rang the bell. He rang again when no one answered. After ringing a third time, he assumed the bell wasn't working and knocked instead.

"Hey, Kuroko? You home? It's Kagami. Can I come in?" He called.

Still there was no answer. He knocked again. Silence.

Kagami was getting worried. What if Kuroko was so sick he fell and injured himself? Or what if he never made it home and was dying on the side of the road somewhere? Neither thought calmed his nerves.

He tried the door handle and was surprised when it gave way. An unlocked door boded unwell in his opinion.

Deciding to forgo courtesy, he pushed his way into the dark house.

"Kuroko? Are you here? I'm coming in, alright?" He called. He removed his shoes at the door and glanced around. There were no lights on and it was hard for him to see. It looked like no one was home.

"Kuroko?" He called again. He felt along the wall for a light switch. Right when his hand landed on it, a familiar sound had him freezing in panic. He switched on the light as fast as he could, but before he could attempt to run, a black and white blur launched itself at him, and he shrieked—(like a little girl, unfortunately)—tripping over his shoes and falling in a heap near the door.

"N-Nigou! You little bastard!" Kagami yelled.

Said little creature of menace was currently attempting to crawl into Kagami's lap, tongue lolling and tail wagging happily. The redhead flinched back as Nigou barked again and tried to lick him.

"Q-q-q-quit it! Get away!" Kagami tried to push the dog away from him with one of his shoes like a lion tamer pushes a lion back with a chair. To anyone else, it was a hilarious sight.

He had managed to push the beast back and get to his feet when Kuroko materialized in the hall.

"Kagami-kun?"

Kagami nearly jumped out of his skin as he noticed Kuroko standing in front of him. He placed a hand on his chest. All this stress was killing him. "Dammit, Kuroko! Do you do that on purpose or something? It's seriously not funny! It's never been funny!" He complained. He'd honestly forgotten how that felt.

Kuroko just looked at him.

"Kagami-kun?" The smaller boy asked again, softly. He looked confused and out of it.

Kagami frowned. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about barging in and all. No one answered, and the door was unlocked, so I thought…"

"What are you doing here, Kagami-kun?"

Kagami's frown deepened. Kuroko sounded more blunt than usual. Almost curt. He didn't know if he should be offended or not.

But as he looked closer, he saw that the boy was really pale and he was sweating profusely, his teal hair plastered to his forehead. He was swaying on his feet and it looked like a light breeze could knock him over at any moment. His blank eyes were extremely unfocused and were looking at Kagami with slight alarm—which was more emotion than he's seen in a while from Kuroko. He also hadn't changed out of his school uniform and it was slightly wrinkled.

"Man, you look like shit." Kagami blurted. He blanched. "Uh, sorry! I mean, you just look really sick. Coach said you were sick and Izuki-senpai saw you in the hall after school and said you looked pretty bad. I just wanted to come check on you. Make sure you were doing alright."

Kuroko frowned. "That wasn't necessary. I'm fine."

Kagami looked him up and down again and glared when he swayed even more on his feet. "Yeah, you look fine." He said sarcastically.

Kuroko shook his head. "No really, I am. I just need some rest. You shouldn't have come all this way."

"It wasn't that far, honestly—"

"I know, but you shouldn't be here." Kuroko interrupted him sharply. Kagami eyes widened in confusion. (What…what does he mean?)

Kuroko cringed. "I…I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get sick, too. I would feel better if you'd leave." He amended quickly.

Kagami inwardly sighed in relief. Of course…Kuroko always thought of others before himself. There was no need for him to worry about their friendship like he just did.

He scoffed. "Please. I don't get sick that easily. I'm as fit as an ox! A little cold can't defeat me!" He pounded his chest and grinned.

The grin dropped, though, as Kuroko's blank eyes narrowed and the redhead noted he looked more frantic than before.

"P-please, Kagami-kun? The team can't afford for both of us to be sick. I-I'll be better by tomorrow."

"Yeah, but—" Kuroko interrupted him again.

"I appreciate you coming by, though. Thank you." He bowed to him politely before walking forward. "Here, let me show you…" Before he could get past Kagami his legs suddenly gave out and he would have hit the floor if the redhead hadn't caught him.

"Idiot! Obviously you're not fine!" Kagami reprimanded as he cradled the smaller boy. Kuroko groaned in response.

The redhead sighed in annoyance. "Alright, come on. Let's get you off the floor and into bed. You need rest." He shifted the boy into his arms and grunted as he stood, cradling Kuroko bridal-style. He was surprised by how light the shadow was.

Kagami did his best to ignore the barking creature that was scurrying around his feet and made his way down the hall into the only room with the door open. It was a bedroom and the redhead assumed it was Kuroko's—the basketball posters on the wall and the basketball gear on the floor were a dead giveaway. He walked across the room to the bed and deposited his burden on the sheets. Kuroko groaned again and curled in on himself slightly, panting raggedly. Kagami watched worriedly as he started shivering and reached over to pull a throw over him.

"There. Now, just relax. I'm gonna go make you some tea. I'll be back in a bit, so don't move. Got it?" Kagami ordered. Kuroko only shivered in response. He took that as a 'yes' and left the room, leaving the lights off and closing the door. Once in the hall, Nigou jumped around his feet excitedly and he tried to shoo the damn mutt away. He soon gave up though, deciding to put up with the thing for now, and set out to find the kitchen instead.

~KnB~

'This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening.'

The thought kept repeating in Kuroko's head like desperate mantra and it refused to cease.

He didn't really know how it had come to this. The last thing he remembered was getting home and collapsing on his bed. He'd managed to hold things off until he got there and had attempted to calm himself down. He must have zoned out for a few hours because the next thing he knew, he heard shouting outside his bedroom door and went out to find Kagami wrestling with his Nigou.

Any other time it would have been hilarious. But under the circumstances it was more alarming.

'Kagami-kun was not supposed to be here. Why was he here!?'

In truth, it wasn't really the fear of people finding out about his condition that had him so anxious…Ok, maybe it was a little (a lot). But if Kuroko had ever decided to actually tell his friends about it, he would have planned to do it as gently as possible. This was not what he considered ideal circumstances to have Kamagi, of all people, find out about it. And he'd never told anyone besides those who are like him, and half the time they didn't even need a verbal confirmation. There was a reason his kind normally kept their existence a secret from the rest of the world. Normal people just couldn't handle it half the time.

He was afraid of being seen as…different(a monster.) So he was nervous and upset about what was most likely to happen soon.

And it was Kagami-kun, after all. His extreme case of cynophobia—that bordered on ridiculous—did not give Kuroko much hope that things would go well.

He grit his teeth hard as another wave of spasms rocked his body and he closed his eyes tight, trying to hold it back. Before Kagami had shown up, he had almost managed to calm down enough to shift on his own. But now his anxiety was back full force and there was no way he could do it on his own now. Which meant it would be forced on him and it would be way more painful. And a scary sight to see.

With that last thought, determination filled him and Kuroko managed to push his aching body up and swing his legs off the bed. Getting Kagami to leave before had failed, so his only hope was to lock the door and pray the redhead didn't try to break it down. He stood up on shaking legs and, hoping they wouldn't give out on him again, tried to make his way to the door.

Of course his luck had been terrible so far, so it shouldn't have surprised him when his body gave up on holding back and huge spasm sent him to the floor writhing in pain.

And unfortunately, Kagami chose that moment to open the door.

"I got the tea. What do you want in…Hey, are you alright!?" The redhead asked in alarm when he saw Kuroko sprawled on the floor. He hurriedly put the tray of tea down on the desk and went to his friend. He wanted to reach out and touch him but thought better of it after seeing the pain the smaller boy was in.

"Kuroko! Hey, tell me what's wrong! What's going on?"

Kuroko squinted up at him from the ball he had curled in. "Ka…gami…kun," he said weakly. His vocal cords could barely form the words, already beginning to change. "P…please l-leave."

Kagami scowled. "Like hell I will! Something's really wrong with you, idiot! I'm calling 911." He pulled out his phone, then he remembered. "I mean, 119!"

Kuroko's insides shifted dangerously. He tried to speak. "N…no…Ka…ga—" He cut off and his eyes snapped open.

Too late.

~KnB~

Kagami dropped his phone in shock when Kuroko began to scream. It was a sound he had never heard before come from the boy's mouth. It was slightly muffled by Kuroko smashing his face into the carpet, but it was still nothing short of unsettling. Nigou whined and cowered beside him.

The screams stopped as suddenly as they started and Kuroko began choking and gasping—like he was having trouble breathing.

"K-Kuroko!?" Kagami reached out frantically to help, but then quickly drew his hand back in shock.

What happened next he couldn't comprehend…

He watched, frozen in horrified silence, as the form of his friend began to change in front of him. So many things happened at once—Kuroko's body convulsed and began to contort (the sound of bones snapping very evident) and deform into a shape that was clearly not human. His clothing strained terribly under the abuse until it finally began to rip in places to allow for room. His mouth twisted and started growing outward from his face, becoming longer, more narrow. His ears became pointed and grew out as well. His fingers started shrinking inwards into his hand and black claws sprouted where his fingernails once were. His blue hair had turned a ghastly white and…something (Hair? Fur?) of the same color was sprouting all over his skin until he was covered. The choking and short screams had long turned into growls and whines.

All the while, Kagami watched, unable to look away.

After what seemed like an eternity, the transformation was completed and the…thingcreature—(whatever)—lay completely still in front of him. The only sound in the room was Kagami's heavy breathing, Nigou's quiet whimpering, and the huffing of the thing across from him…

…Which began to move again.

Kagami yelped and scooted as fast as he could towards the door, hoping he could escape before the thing could attack him. He couldn't make out what it was exactly because of the dim lighting, but he could see, when it lifted its head, a pair of very familiar blue eyes staring back at him.

~KnB~

The transformation had finally completed itself and Kuroko sighed in relief, becoming still where he lay and panting from the exertion and pain. It was always horrible to go through the shift like this. He very much preferred to shift on his own, where the smooth melting of one form to another was more natural and painless. This just left him exhausted and sick.

He shifted his body slightly, trying to get rid of the aches and pains and feeling uncomfortable in his now ill-fitting clothes (which, great—now he's ruined another one of his uniforms—just great) when he heard a short cry. He lifted his head, startled, and saw Kagami looking back at him with unrestrained fear. His stomach dropped in dismay.

This is not how he wanted anyone to find out about him being a…werewolf. He had planned to take that secret to the grave—but unfortunately, that was impossible now. And now, Kagami was staring at him like he was a monster. His heart pricked at the thought.

In a perfect world, he would shift back immediately and smooth things over as fast as he could. But because he's been holding in so many negative emotions lately (his damn triggers) and because he was forced into the change, it would be a while before he could be human again. That didn't help in this situation.

He had to do something, though. He had to show Kagami that he wouldn't hurt him, that he was still Kuroko. He was still himself. He was still his friend…

Gently, he began to pick himself up off the floor, shaking the torn clothing from his body once he was standing on all fours. By now, Nigou had come out from behind Kagami and was happily bouncing around him, barking and nipping at his paws, completely over his fear now that Kuroko was just like him. It was always like that with the pup.

He looked up and saw that Kagami was now frantically trying to open the door from his position on the floor. The hand reaching for the door was shaking uncontrollably—and so was the rest of him.

Kuroko felt extremely guilty now. He whined, flattening his ears and lowing his head, hoping to make himself look less frightening, and stepped forward a bit. Maybe if he showed that he didn't mean any harm, Kagami would calm down.

It did not work.

Kagami, at the sound of his whine, shrieked in terror and with a speed that was surprising, bodily pressed himself against the door, watching him with wide eyes.

Kuroko stopped. He whined again, but it elicited the same response.

This was not working. He was at a loss for what to do. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to fix this?

Suddenly, the light from a passing car on the street lit up the room, exposing everything in a yellowish glow—including Kuroko.

At this point, Kuroko could only guess (very accurately) that seeing a huge, white wolf standing in the middle of the room is what made Kagami finally lose it.

One minute, he was staring at Kuroko in open-mouthed horror, unable to even form a scream—the next, he was lying on the floor, eyes rolled into the back of his head, completely gone to the world.

Kuroko sweat-dropped as he stared at the redhead passed out on his floor and sighed. He sat down on his haunches and whined in dismay at his misfortune. Nigou chose that moment to come over and nuzzle him on his side cutely, but that did little to cheer him up right then.

'Now what?'


Note: Well, that is the end of the first chapter of this story. It feels so good to be writing again after all these years! And 11 pages and 4833 words at that—not too shabby if I do say so myself! Anyways, there wasn't much of wolf-Kuroko in this chapter, but there will be plenty of him in the next chapter, along with some much-needed explanations and angst galore (We all love angst, don't we?) I just needed to set things up in this chapter. Sorry for being vague, but it was necessary. If it was a bit slow, I do apologize. It's just how I wrote it—I had no control whatsoever.

I don't mind if you don't review, but I would like to hear from my readers—it's exciting! And it will motivate me to write another chapter! I will also accept favorites or alerts—as long as I know people like it and its getting read, it doesn't matter to me!