Dusk and Dawn

Disclaim: I do NOT own Kuroko no Basuke nor any of its characters, and I am not making this story for any kind of profits. This anime/manga belongs to its' original owners.

Warnings: bitter angst, romance, mentions of cheating, and cuteness ensured. You HAVE been warned!

Pairings: KagaKuro, past AoKuro, mentions of AoSaku

Testsu…..I lo-

Kuroko Testuya, first year at Seirin High School and member of the Basketball Club would be lying if he said that he had never thought of his former Light….Aomine Daiki who is also a first year at Touou High and just so happens to be the ace of his team just like how his current Light, Kagami Taiga is as well. What they had back at Teiko Middle School could be described as pure, innocent, fun, and full of untainted feelings. Sometimes, he thinks of those days very fondly….

He knew who the incredibly tan male was, everyone in their club knew who all of them were even before they become the monsters known as the Generation of Miracles. Only first years in middle school and the four of them were automatically put into the first string due to their prodigal skill in the sport. Murasakibara Atsushi with his ever increasing height can stop all kinds of opponents and has the most unbreakable defense. Midorima Shintarou with his impossibly accurate shots that come soaring in a never ending beautiful arch. Then when Kise Ryouta joined their group due to his ability to adapt as an all-rounder combined with his copycat skill made their opponents shudder in fear. Their captain, Akashi Seijirou has this fearsome ability to make anyone bow down to him and his calm leadership brought them victory many times over.

Then…...there was him

Aomine Daiki, the Ace of the Generation of Miracles…oh, how their rival schools shivered at the mere mention of his name. His play style was rough, all out-of-order, unpredictable, wild even, and mostly awe-inspiring to watch either from the sidelines or on the court itself. It sometimes made Kuroko feel at odds watching this person move across the court like a fast and flexible predator that became more uncontrollable as his passion for the game dwindled then grew less motivated to even try anymore. They were together as a couple since the day Aomine tried to convince him to stay in the club with the hidden message of: I want you here with me echoing within their youthful minds. Navy blue hair cropped short that made him younger than he actually is, dark tanned skin ironically paling under the fluorescent lights of the gymnasium, his sunshine like smile is not present of his face and is instead in this look of desperation, and equally navy blue and wide eyes had this wavering confidence along with some sadness swimming in a deep abyss. He was surprisingly the perfect picture of a guy who is extremely out of control of trying to keep his first new friend and love close by his side. He was also very annoyingly perfect in those days as well apparently when it comes to heartfelt, powerful words.

Oh, how quickly did he naively fall into such a love….

Their first months as lovers were shaky, despite what he seems on the outside, Aomine was the most awkward boyfriend in the history of boyfriends' ever. The ace literally trembled whenever they held hands, blush a maddening red to the tips of ears when Kuroko bluntly points this fact out, he freaking struggled even saying "I like you" to his face, and he got embarrassed easily when Kuroko calls him his boyfriend to their friends within the Generation of freaking Miracles. Their relationship was like the afternoon sun, cheery and full of life and then it had set into the eternal embers of what it once was that left Kuroko with such a horrific burn in his own heart. It stung hotter than putting your hand on the stove by accident, it scorched him to the point of eating him alive by its' own licking, unforgiving flames that reduced him to ashes in the sad end.

You were the sun to me, in my eyes

So pure, bright, and always brilliant

You are now tainted by your own darkness

The sun is setting as our love burnt out

And, it is forever dusk

Then, the inevitable happened when he bloomed as both a player and as a person. His speed was faster than ever, his dunks powerfully scream throughout the court, his presence was larger in their minds, his shots were more impossible to predict, and his form is simply intimidating in the face of any rival who can had no potential against the Ace of the GOM. The signs were so obvious from the start…the way he started skipping practice more often as the days lazily roll on by, the disinterest in playing one-on-one's with Kise as well to even speaking about not even showing up to tournaments at all. It made Kuroko angrier and a little bitter than he had ever felt in his entire life. Especially when the tanned male had said that spiteful mantra, in an equally hateful tone as well.

"The only one who can defeat me is me."

So, he's going to play that game with him now…..well, it's not like their relationship was anywhere near the high it used to be back in those afternoon sun, blue skies stage in time. That was the peak of their roller coaster love that came mercilessly crashing down into a terrible hell fire. The sun was setting on what used to be Aomine and Kuroko against the world with only their basketball plays to lead them victory over and over again in a never ending, vicious cycle. It was perfect…it was a magnificent beauty that seemed so dreamlike to be considered real anymore. The plan to be winners with each other seemed like such a distant promise that happened in some other timeline, some different life altogether. Sometimes, Kuroko Tetsuya wonders what life would have been like if he had met Kagami first and had never known Aomine at all. If anyone had asked him what was his biggest regret in life, he would hesitate at first…..but, he would say that meeting Aomine was one big colossal, world changing mistake just waiting to happen when they first saw each other. Yeah, it sounds pretty harsh to think something like that about his former Light…but, it is his honest feelings about his Teiko days.

"Aomine-Kun, who was that?"

"Uh….no one you need to know about Tesu."

Liar…..

He saw them….together like they belong there, as if they had known each other for years. It was them against the world and Kuroko was put into the sidelines forced to watch his first love be with some other guy. All he remembers about that boy was his shaggy brown hair, worry laced honey-brown irises, and he seemed to apologize for everything he could think of. How could HE do something like this to him? What happened to what they promised each together back when they first played together? He was supposed to Aomine's significant other, not this random person that came out of nowhere that stole his Light away from him in such an unforgiving way. Then again, they painted this pretty, perfect picture as partners…but, there was always something missing when you look at the finished artwork. The colors harmonized in this lovely whirl of strokes, it was neat and precise, the painting seemed so wonderful, the work itself looked unrealistically beautiful from the outside, and it was simply perfect like their so called "partnership" they have.

That picture they made together looked nice altogether, yet it desperately lacked passion and love. It was dull, boring, mundane, and didn't seem to yell out for your attention. Just like the setting sun within their souls and hearts; what a cold, detached way to look at ones' own love story. What Aomine and that guy seems like it is in the wake of the rising sun compared to their burning ashes of what was once considered meant to be for the both them. Behind small smiles was a bitter, sickening feeling clenching Kuroko's heart and he hated it more than anything else. They are quite the pair….Aomine and Kuroko, Light and Shadow, somehow thinking such a thing in the midst of his mind makes him scoff at the irritating sorrow dwelling within his chest cavity.

"Aomine-Kun, it's over…"

"Tetsu! Wait, why?!"

"What's his name?"

"…Sakurai Ryou"

"Then, I wish you happiness with Sakurai-Kun, Aomine-Kun."

"Testu, I lo-!"

"Goodbye, Aomine-Kun…"

The heartbreak in his heart is pretty darn obvious to Kuroko after being scorned by his own first love. A brand new love, without his own realization, came in the form of a returnee from America by the name of Kagami Taiga. To him, Kagami reminds him incredibly strongly of the old Aomine and that fact makes him somewhat bitter. They are more or less…one and the same when it comes to mannerisms and the way they treat Kuroko. They both shared a love for basketball, they are pretty much hopeless when it comes to anything that doesn't involve the sport, and they have the purest, most angelic smiles that anyone had seen on a person. No…...Kagami is much more different from his old Light; they are rather subtle and you have to be pretty much extremely observant to notice the slight differences. The crimson haired male is much more protective of his team than any player he has ever met in his life, he seems to understand Kuroko much better than Aomine could, his passion to basketball is always unwavering, they tend to match up better than he used to with his old Light, Kagami was there for him when it counted, he is doing his all to take down the Generation of Miracles with his Shadow, and he doesn't show any kind of signs of being tainted like how Aomine once did back in the old days.

"I'll be with you to defeat all those guys, no matter how long it takes! I am your Light after all!"

For some odd reason, when Kagami went along with his plan to take down the GOM….that familiar, annoying feeling came floating back to the surface. He can't, he cannot take the risk to go after someone who is so crazily similar to his ex. It'll hurt the both of them in the end in the devastating apocalyptic, ash covered euphoria that is nowhere near to the nirvana that he longed to be in. The piece of Heaven that was once promised to him, but he was never brought there with the person he thought was the "one". The icy blue haired boy will not put on those accursed rose colored glasses and let his heart take another harsh, merciless hit of reality. He refuses to loose himself into love like he did back in Teiko Middle School and with Aomine. Kuroko sometimes to forget that the feeling of love always surprises a person, no matter what.

The tears felt so cool against his heated skin after the four quarter, forty minute game that they had just played with Touou at Interhigh. They lost….to them, Seirin was crushingly defeated by the one school he desired above all else to beat. He trembled in utter sadness and self-hatred for letting his former lover's words affect him after they lost. Not only did he lose to Aomine freaking Daiki of all people, but he also lost to that guy once more. That fact alone reminding him once more of his scorned love, made him relentlessly cry out of bittersweet heartbreak even harder than his seniors and fellow teammates at that game. What a humiliating, embarrassing way to be knocked down by the very person you wanted to defeat more than anything else in the world. The swelling of that disgusting feeling rose within him once more of his picture-perfect, setting sun relationship that he no longer has because he lost the person he loved most to his own ego.

Kuroko sometimes thinks of Kagami, his brand new Light and how he was always there for him. The sweet brute held him tightly the night after their saddening defeat and told him he will always be by his side as his partner no matter the challenges they will face. Red eyes blazed as he promised that they will pay that "Ahomine" back in kind at Winter Cup and get their revenge then win. Then, there are times when he thinks about how he changed from the past he had in Teiko to the new future he has with Seirin. Kuroko, for the first time of what seemed like forever, smiled fondly at the harsh and affectionate tone his crimson haired partner used to tell him that they will defeat all the members of the Generation of Miracles despite how impossible the goal is. Kagami confessed to him the next day, but had roughly told him that he could take all the time he needs to answer him back. Then, another picture was painted at that very moment. It was so messy and out of the lines, yet seemed so inviting and warming at the same time. The strokes are crazy, wild and the colors don't even look right with each other. The finished work was not beautiful nor perfect, but it was full of passion and the love he had always wanted. Then, he slowly realized the feeling he had for the longest time and never noticed due to his former relationship with the arrogant, all powerful and mighty Ace of Touou.

He's in love with the one and only, Kagami Taiga…

He loved Aomine first, but it had always been Kagami that he not only relies on...but, loves him even more deeply than ever before. After spending so much time in the scorches of what used to be a "match made in Heaven" like partnership, he finally saw the rising of the dawn on his heart. Kuroko can at last see the bright, pure light he wanted to see again….but, it is with a brand new love that makes him feel more elated than he ever felt before. That disgusting, bitter feeling that used to clench his heart hurtfully is no longer grasping it and he is now free to be with the once he was meant to be with. Sometimes, he thanks Aomine mentally for how everything happened because he wouldn't have this warm, comforting love Kagami gives him. After Winter Cup, he forgave Aomine and his new lover in Sakurai then moved on to be with his new Light. They intertwine their hands as they walk home from Maji Burger, Kagami's face is hilariously more crimson than his own hair as Kuroko tells him that he likes him, the basketball idiot kisses him on the cheek when no one is looking, and Kuroko uncharacteristically blushes because "Bakagami" was being unfair again which earned him a sputtering America returnee.

"I…..I-I-I….I l-love you, Kuroko."

"I…love Kagami-Kun as well."

"Shut up! You're so embarrassing!"

"That's the pot calling the kettle black, Kagami-Kun."

"W-whatever!"

Despite after everything that has ever happened to the blue haired boy, Aomine is the dusk of his first official love and Kagami is the dawn of their true love that will never abandon him.

You are the sun to me, my light

It rises from the horizon, a brand new day

I start anew by being by your side

Your love for me has revived me from ashes

And, it is now always dawn

THE END!

Alex: Thank you for reading Dusk and Dawn! That's it for today, don't forget to join the Peep Army today! Don't forget to review and like this story or check out my other works. Fluff up your feathers for my next story. Bye bye!