A/N: Welcome to the rewrite! I finally built up enough steam to finish a chapter. Finally. Now, I feel like this fic has become less light-hearted and more detailed, but whatever. It will still be cute and heartwarming and all of that.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my idea.
キセキの幼稚園
Chapter 1, in which Kuroko makes friends
His name is Kuroko Tetsuya, and he currently is facing possibly the largest crisis in his five years of life.
"Listen to the teacher, okay? I'm sure my Tetsu-chan will make lots and lots of friends!" His mother pats his head reassuringly, and Kuroko nods, even though all he wants to do is to cling onto her and never let go.
"But it's all strangers..." Would there be bullies? Kuroko used to be picked on, at least, when people actually did notice him. His earlier time at his old kindergarten was pretty miserable, since he was left in the corner whenever playtime came around during his first days there. Nobody wanted to talk to him either, until Ogiwara-kun approached him.
"Well, you always should try first, right? I'm sure a nice kid will talk to you." His mother gives him another long look before lifting him up and hugging him close. It's always been just his mother and Kuroko, since his father left them when Kuroko was little, so maybe Kuroko is a little too dependent on his mother, but he really is uneasy about a new school.
Why can't he be more cheerful? Like Ogiwara-kun...Friendly, popular with classmates…
"Okay..." Kuroko knows that he shouldn't delay his mother though, and eventually relents. He'll just have to see what will happen.
"That's my good boy. Now, go with Mihara-sensei!" Ushering him along slightly, Kuroko's mother smiles at the woman waiting patiently, who grins at Kuroko.
"Hi, I'm Mihara-sensei. I'll be your teacher from now on, okay?" She has a ponytail and looks nice, not scary and strict like Kuroko heard about teachers. His cousin Ayane, who is two years older, always tells a lot of horror stories about her teachers and how strict and mean they are.
Kuroko never takes her seriously, but her words do leave an impression on him.
"Okay. Nice to meet you, Mihara-sensei," Kuroko nods obediently, and Mihara-sensei smiles, gently taking him by the hand and starting to walk down the hall.
But…
"W-Wait. Please," Kuroko blurts out, and Mihara-sensei gives him a knowing smile.
"What is it, Kuroko-kun?"
"Can I just say goodbye one more time?" Kuroko cranes his neck to look back at his mother, who looks on with exasperated amusement.
"Of course." Mihara-sensei smiles again. She really is understanding towards Kuroko's hesitation, and he is grateful for that.
"Bye, mom. I'll try to be brave." Kuroko waves, and his mother waves back.
"You can do it, Tetsu-chan."
Satisfied and newly assured, Kuroko turns around, prepared for whatever life will throw at him next.
No. Kuroko is not at all prepared for what life threw at him next.
"Please quiet down. Class, we have a new student today!" Mihara-sensei claps her hands, and the chattering children gradually calm down and return to their seats, all their rambunctiousness replaced by curiosity.
Why is it times like this that he is noticed? Why won't his low presence be useful when he needs it the most?
Kuroko does not receive any answers to his questions, and he reluctantly shuffled up to the front of the classroom, feeling multiple gazes on him, almost burning him with the intensity.
Uwaaa…I hate attention after all…
"His name is Kuroko Tetsuya, and I expect all of you to be friendly and nice to him. Please treat him like one of us, and I'm sure all of you will get along." Mihara-sensei is writing Kuroko's name on the chalkboard, and the little teal-haired boy is just about prepared to retreat to his seat when something worse happens.
"How about you introduce yourself, Kuroko-kun?"
"...!" At that instant, Kuroko wishes for nothing more than a big dark chasm to appear in the floor so that he could jump down and curl up where no one can see him. He doesn't want to talk in front of so many people…
...But he has to.
"Hi...I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, and it's nice to meet all of you. Please take care of me." He bows to be extra polite, and doesn't dare look at anyone. Stay low-key. That's what he's good at, right?
Not that it would be particularly effective when he's up in the center of the classroom.
"Kuroko-kun, your seat will be in the third row near the window, next to Aomine-kun. Aomine-kun, please raise your hand."
And sure enough, a tanned boy sitting in the back raises his hand. Reluctantly, Kuroko begins to walk to his seat, feeling his classmates' eyes following him where he goes. Or maybe it's just his imagination, but Kuroko can't be too sure.
Quickly taking his seat, Kuroko hesitantly glances at his new neighbor…
...who catches his gaze and grins.
"Hey, I'm Aomine Daiki! Wanna be friends?" He grins widely and holds a hand out, surprising Kuroko a little.
"Uh..." Do people become friends so quickly?
"I'm not going to hurt you or anything. You look like a cool kid. So...friends?" Aomine says the same thing again, and Kuroko decides to trust him and agree. He does want a friend after all, and Aomine looks nice.
"Okay," Kuroko says before reaching a hand out to shake Aomine's, managing a small smile of his own.
Aomine tries to say something else, but the teacher claps her hands, silencing the class once more.
"We'll be drawing a picture of your family. When you're done, you can enjoy Free Time!"
A chorus of small cheers erupt at the last part, and Mihara-sensei begins to pass out paper and crayons, walking down between the rows of desks.
Maybe this new kindergarten isn't that bad, Kuroko thinks.
Kuroko and Aomine had been talking about basketball when the teal-haired boy sees someone sitting by the bookshelf, alone.
"Who is that?"
The boy has red hair, and Kuroko didn't see him earlier among the other kids. He probably was just too nervous to notice.
"Oh. Akashi Seijūrō. He's really smart, but doesn't talk to anyone. Thinks he's king of the Tulip Class. I wouldn't go near him if I were you. People say that he has a pair of scissors he uses to threaten other kids!" Aomine doesn't give Akashi another glance, and seems to dislike him, actually, but now Kuroko is becoming more and more curious.
"Aomine-kun, wait a minute, okay?" Mustering up all the bravery he has, Kuroko leaves his seat to go to the bookshelf.
"Tetsu? Wait, are you really?! Don't say I didn't warn you." Aomine stops calling after Kuroko, who slowly approaches the reading boy, unsure of what to say.
A closer glance shows Kuroko the contents of the book, which had a lot of kanji that he can't understand. Wow…
Staring at the boy—Akashi, isn't it?—and the book, Kuroko feels a little envious.
But why is Akashi all alone?
"Can you not look over my shoulder?" A quiet but clear voice stuns Kuroko as he slowly stares into the crimson eyes of Akashi, whose brows are slightly furrowed as he snaps the book shut.
"Sorry..." But Kuroko doesn't want to back down just yet. Instead of doing anything else, he just picks up an interesting looking book and sits down beside Akashi, starting to read, only a little aware of the gaze still on him.
Akashi normally considers himself as a person with a quite even temper, but that certainly isn't the case today.
His mind is still very much fixated on his father's ominous words yesterday.
Somehow, his father always is the bringer of bad news.
"Your mother's condition has worsened." That is all he says. His father stands as tall and stern as ever, not even seeming like he is noticing Akashi's distress, which is only somewhat visible now that he has a better control of his emotions.
"I understand, father."
And why is that boy sitting beside him? Did Akashi not make his mood clear enough? As stated earlier, Akashi is not feeling particularly charitable or kind.
"Could you just leave me alone?" His words come out stiff, not entirely angry but not very nice either. The boy, or Kuroko, seems to be stunned, not understanding that Akashi does not prefer company right now and wants him to leave.
"You looked alone...I thought that you would want someone to keep you company. I kind of want to be friends with you, so..."
"Friends are people who care about each other, Sei-kun. They help each other in times of need." His mother smiles, looking sickly but still happy.
"I don't really have friends...I think I won't ever have any." It is true. No one approaches him at kindergarten.
"Nonsense! You will make some when the time comes. My Sei-kun will definitely have good friends!"
"I said, get lost." Akashi's tone is starting to take on a dangerous sound that he himself doesn't like, along with the rather informal and rude way he just spoke, and he tries to glare at Kuroko to show that he doesn't want the boy here.
"...!" That seems to do the job effectively, and Kuroko retreats. However, he's still looking at Akashi in that strange way…
Shaking his head, Akashi opens the book again and goes back to reading Kokoro by Natsume Soseki, and he is reaching the end.
Sensei is going to commit suicide...
Kuroko doesn't think that Akashi meant to be mean.
He did scare Kuroko for a second, with the sudden viciousness of his voice and the anger in his eyes, but maybe he's unhappy about something?
"See, Tetsu? I told you that he'd be like that." Aomine's voice is concerned but Kuroko shakes his head to say that it's fine.
"I think he's just lonely."
"You're really weird, Tetsu. In a good way, of course. One moment, you're still nervous about the new kindergarten, but now you're off befriending people, huh?" Aomine teases Kuroko and laughs, with Kuroko feeling embarrassed.
His fear of the new school turned out to be more temporary than anything in the end...
"Wait...a classmate glared at you and told you to get lost?!" Kuroko's mother seems horrified, leaving the little boy struggling to take back his words.
"No! Well, yes...but Akashi-kun didn't mean it." It sounds really weak, but Kuroko really thinks so. Akashi-kun seemed more...sad than rude, so he didn't mind.
"I will call his parents immediately. Let's see...the class directory is there." His mother doesn't listen to him, however, and immediately whips out her mobile to call Akashi's parents.
"Tetsu-chan, go to the kitchen and eat your dessert, okay? Mommy has to make a phone call." His mother's face grows a little angry at the end, and Kuroko, unable to defy his mother, reluctantly heads to the kitchen.
I hope Akashi-kun won't be mad...Sorry, Akashi-kun.
"What is this that I've been informed of? You glared at a classmate and told him to, I state here verbatim, 'get lost'?"
Akashi barely conceals his flinch, but he still stands up straight and looks his father in the eye as he is taught.
"I did the wrong thing and I will improve my behavior next time." It's the standard response, since his father makes it very clear that "sorry" is never to be uttered. An Akashi does not apologize, and a promise of improving next time is much more acceptable, his father always says.
"You have been very careless with our public image, and you are to go to your room now and reflect upon what you did. There will be no basketball for this week, understand? And I will see to it that you apologize." His father is raising his eyebrows and frowning again…(No wonder he has those wrinkles at such an early age, Akashi privately thinks.)
"Father...are you going to accompany me to the kindergarten?" Akashi tries to hide what must be a horrified look from appearing on his face. His father personally attending to his matters? That's certainly...rare.
"Also, We will be visiting your mother at the hospital this Saturday," His father finishes. What Akashi feels this time is sheer joy, but he tries to control that also. Poker face, poker face...
He would be seeing his mother again. Despite the loss of his free time, which he uses to play his favorite sport, basketball, he would get to see his mother!
"Yes, father," Akashi says with much more cheer than before, and he excuses himself quickly, not feeling the least bit unhappy as he heads to his room.
"Seijūrō." His father calls his name suddenly, and Akashi turns, a little surprised and curious.
"Yes, father?"
"If you have...any problems, I would encourage you to discuss them with me," his father says awkwardly, clearing his throat, which confuses Akashi greatly as he stares at the man.
What?
"...Sure?" A little unsettled by his father's words, Akashi hurries his pace as he heads for his room.
A/N #2: I'm not going to make Akashi's father a totally unsympathetic character this time. He's not a great parent at all, but still cares.
Kokoro by Natsume Soseki is about a young man who befriends an older man he calls Sensei. Eventually, Sensei commits suicide. There won't be anything that extreme happening to our chibi protagonists here though, so don't worry if that line about suicide was worrying.
I guess the entirety of the Miragen are a bit too mature for 5-year-olds, but Kindergarten AU is more fun and gives me more liberty with the story.
URRGH. I deleted some chapters by accident before I copied the content! I do have the files in word or something, I think.
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