DISCLAIMER: Of course, I do not own Love Live! or Kuroko no Basuke. Though, I do own this fanfic.

SUMMARY: Kagami Taiga is just back in Japan after being in America for a couple of years, and on his first day at Seirin High School, he's already set on making the basketball team. Maki Nishikino, a member of μ's, has had to move away from Otonokizaka High School, and more importantly, her school idol group. When these two redheads meet, will anyone be prepared for the storm that follows?

PAIRINGS: Kagami/Maki/Kuroko, Nozomi/Midorima/Umi, Eli/Kise. There will be more, I'm just not sure about it yet.

{The story starts off at the very beginning of Kuroko no Basuke.}


~ NISHIKINO MAKI ~


Maki tugged at the collar of the new uniform she was wearing whilst on her way to her new school, Seirin High. The uniform was a pretty tight fit for her, and her sour mood wasn't helping the cause.

See, it all started when Maki returned home from another day at Otonokizaka High School...

~ ~ FLASHBACK ~ ~

"Mom, I'm home!" Maki called out as soon as she entered the house.

Upon receiving no response, Maki closed the door behind her and set her school bag down in the hallway. While on her way to the living room, she heard her mother sobbing. At first, the sound was confusing; her mother never cried.

When she arrived at the living room, Maki found her mother with her head hanging low, bawling her eyes out as she clutched at a letter in her hands. The piece of paper was getting wet, and her mother's nails dug into the paper so much that they left indents and small holes in the sheet.

"Mom? Mom, what's wrong?"

Maki crouched down in front of her weeping mother. She could tell something really bad must have happened, otherwise her mother would never cry. Maybe it was something to do with her father? No, that couldn't be it. He hadn't contacted them after the split. Why would he do so now?

"Mom, please talk to me! What has upset you?" She asked.

Maki only received a hug of pity from her mother. She hugged back, patting her mother's back in the process. But something didn't feel right. Bit that feeling was ignored when her mother spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Maki." She told the younger Nishikino. "I'm so sorry, but we won't be able to stay here any longer."

"What do you mean?" Maki questioned, horrified.

"We have to move away. You'll be sent to a different school."

Maki's entire body went numb. Her nerves felt like they had shut down. Moving to a different school meant she would no longer be a member of μ's. And leaving the school idol group behind... well, that was a nightmare in itself.

"H...How? Why?"

"I don't know." Her mother choked out a sob. "This letter from your father just says that he fell into serious debt and can't pay the bills for this place any longer. Which means"

"We can't live here anymore." Maki finished.

There was a brief pause, before the older redhead nodded her head in shame.

"Yes."

~ ~ END OF FLASHBACK ~ ~

Maki shook her head, freeing herself of that memory.

In all honesty, she was lucky that her mother had been saving up the money she got from her job. Seirin High School was relatively new, and had only opened last year. And it wasn't just an all-girl school, like what Maki was used to. Boys attended the school as well.

Maki had no idea how to handle boys. Even the concept of interacting with males for probably the first time in forever was frightening.

Thankfully, when she reached the gates, Maki forgot her woes, later realising that since it was the day that all of the school's clubs were open for business, she'd start by joining one that required something more of her than just music.

Maybe sports might be nice. After all, just practicing to be an idol wasn't enough motivation for her to keep in shape. And to be honest, a change of scenery would be good for her. Finding something to take her mind off of what she left behind would help her move on, she assumed.

She looked around, her violet eyes scouring the area for any sign of a sports club that she could join.

Then she found one.

Basketball.

There were three guys handing out flyers for the basketball club nearby.

Mustering up whatever courage she had, Maki headed in their direction, and in no time, was standing directly in front of one of them.

His hair was jet black and smooth, and his eyes were steel grey, perhaps just a little bit lighter than black. He also looked older, too. He should have been a year older than Maki, at most.

"Um, excuse me?" Maki piped up nervously. A bead of sweat trickled down her cheek.

"Oh! Are you looking to join the basketball club?" He responded.

Maki nodded shyly, something she never thought she would do. Then again, there was always a first time for acting like Hanayo.

"Great!" He smiled. "We're a small but growing club. The members are all male, besides the coach. But the club isn't just for the guys. Because the basketball club is so small, the separate boys' and girls' clubs had to form into one club, which means that both boys and girls are part of the same basketball team. Though, unfortunately, we don't have enough girls to represent us in any ladies' basketball tournaments. In fact, I'm fairly certain you're the only female player we've had so far."

"Really?" Maki's cheeks grew red. With a shaky voice, she added, "So, uh... where am I supposed to sign up?"

"You can sign up at the table over there." He pointed at a table nearby.

Behind the table sat a boy and a girl. The girl had really short, brown hair, and was wearing the same uniform that Maki herself wore, except she also had a whistle hanging around her neck. The boy looked somewhat tall, maybe he was an upperclassman, and while he did have short brown hair and brown eyes, the only noticeable thing about him was that he wore glasses. Other than that, he looked just about average.

"Are you guys in the basketball club?"

Out of nowhere, a really tall and tanned guy with red hair approached the other three guys handing out flyers. He almost acted as if Maki wasn't even there, though he did spare her a glance. In that moment, Maki swore her face must've gone the same colour as her hair.

Without a moment's hesitation, Maki made her way over to the table.

"Just a few more would be nice." The girl said.

"We couldn't even get ten." The guy in glasses groaned.

"We're just getting started. We're a new school."

"Um, excuse me?" Maki cut into the conversation. Both the girl and the guy looked up at her in surprise. "I heard this basketball club is open to girls as well. Can I join?"

"Well, you heard right! Welcome!" The girl said. She pushed a piece of paper forward. "My name's Riko; I'm the coach of Seirin's basketball team. And this is our captain, Hyuga. What's your name?"

"Maki. Maki Nishikino." Maki introduced herself as she filled out the form. Then she stopped at the reason why she wanted to play basketball. She scratched her head for a moment, before finally deciding to just make something up. She wouldn't be called on this in the future, would she?

I've made it my mission to be one of the most incredible basketball players.

"There." Maki pushed the form toward the coach.

She was about to leave when she found herself drawing a blank on where to go next. But, as luck would have it, that same tall, tanned guy with spiky red hair had appeared again. Only this time, he was holding one of the recruiters.

"Is this the basketball club?" He asked.

"Yeah." The coach nodded, more stunned by amazement than by fear. A shiver crawled up Maki's spine when he looked down at her. He took a seat in the chair positioned opposite Riko and Hyuga, dropping the recruiter on the table.

'Not him again,' Maki thought as she stood back.

"I want to join the basketball club." The male redhead declared.

"Wow, two already, huh?" Coach Riko remarked, looking thrilled as she glanced between Maki and the other redhead. "I'm sure you know, but our school only opened last year. Our seniors are only second years. So I'm sure someone of your build would probably quickly-"

"I don't care." He interrupted. "I'm going after I leave my name."

Maki eyed him closely as he filled out the form, and passed it back to the coach. She managed to find out his name was Kagami Taiga. Which was a start, at least.

"Huh? You don't have a reason for joining?" Coach Riko asked.

"Not really. Basketball's the same, no matter where you go in Japan."

As Kagami stood up and left the table, Maki decided to accompany him. He seemed interesting, if not scary. And they were in the same class together. She walked beside him without his noticing for a few seconds, before his eyes finally met hers again.

"Are you following me?" He asked bluntly.

"No," Maki averted her eyes. "I just thought you might know where to go first, since we're in the same class and all."

"Right." He sounded sceptical, but shrugged it off. "So, you joined the basketball club?"

"Yeah."

"What's your reason?"

"Mostly for a change of scenery. Basketball is one of very few sports I haven't actually had the chance to play much of." She half-lied. It wasn't a necessarily right answer, but then again, any answer was better than 'I just picked a sport at random'. "Other than that, I'm also hoping I get to become one of the strongest basketball players out there, I guess. Though, that thought's only a work in progress."

Okay, maybe that was a lie.

He regarded her for a moment, and Maki could feel his eyes on her. It wasn't anything creepy or perverted he was doing; she just felt uncomfortable around guys in general. Having gone to a all-girl school, it made sense that she would have forgotten what it was like to interact with males. Not that she knew enough to forget about. She had been living in her own world of classical and jazz music for a while, so she never really had time for others – boys included.

Friends were a rarity before she joined μ's.

"I hope that's not the reason you're nervous, then." Kagami stated.

Maki's eyes widened, and her cheeks burned. "No. I have no reason to be nervous over basketball." She turned her face away from him for a moment. "It's just the amount of boys here. It's something I'm going to have to get used to."

"Were you home-schooled?"

"No. I went to an all-girl school. Being a school only populated with girls, I'm pretty sure most of us forgot how to interact with guys that aren't our fathers."

"Oh."

After an awkward pause, Maki remembered something important.

"Oh, the name's Maki, by the way. Maki Nishikino."

"Kagami Taiga."


"Alright! Looks like all the first years are here!"

Basketball club had started, and Maki was really the only girl present besides the coach.

During the day, Maki had been getting to know more about Kagami, and Kagami had been learning more about her as well. He didn't seem to mind when she told him that she played the piano, practiced dancing regularly, and occasionally sang songs when she thought no one was around. In return, Kagami told her that he had been living in America for a couple of years, and that he had just come back to Japan to play basketball. Why? He didn't let on. But, he did say that he liked facing off against strong opponents when it came to basketball.

"Hey, isn't the manager cute?" One of the guys whispered.

"She's a second year, right?" His friend muttered back. "If only she were a little sexier..."

Captain Hyuga punched the two boys in the back of the head. They both doubled over in pain, holding the backs of their heads.

"Morons, you're wrong."

"What?"

Coach Riko stepped forward.

"I'm the basketball club coach, Aida Riko. Nice to meet you!"

"What?!"

"It's not him?" One of the boys pointed to the old man sat in a chair behind her, nearer to the wall.

"Oh, that's our advisor, Takeda-sensei." Riko clarified.

"Do we have a manager?"

"Yes. That'd be me."

Maki knew that voice. She'd heard it too many times before.

And when the owner of that voice stood at the front, Maki's heart stopped.

It was Toudou Erena, the most mature member of A-RISE.

Wait...

A member of A-RISE was going to be Maki's manager?!

"The name's Toudou Erena. It's a pleasure."

"Anyway, now that you're acquainted with Takeda-sensei and our manager Erena," Riko continued after a pause. "I'll have you guys first..."

'What...?' Maki thought.

"Take off your shirts!" Riko ordered.

"Huh?" Maki tilted her head.

"What?!" The rest of the first years, save for Kagami and Maki themselves, shouted.

"Why?" Maki turned to Erena.

"That's the question that has the most answers now, isn't it?"


After much coaxing, Maki had finally taken off her shirt, as did the other first years. And now, Maki's torso felt cold, and she previously had to be held back by Erena in order for the coach to get a good look at the bodies of the players.

Maki stood with her arms by her sides, wearing only a jet-black crop top to cover up.

Maki herself was quite muscly. The fitness training she did with μ's helped to build her physique, and she did gain a bit of strength with it. No, she had not told Kagami about that. Not yet, anyway. From the questioning looks he was giving her, she was sure he would be asking about it soon. After all, with the faint 4-pack she had, Maki would no doubt be asked if singing and dancing was all she did.

"You, you're not very explosive, are you?" Riko rhetorically questioned one of the students she had stopped in front of. "I bet you can only do 50 side jumps in about 20 seconds, right? You'll need to do a little better for the basketball team."

With that, Riko continued on with her analysis. The player she had talked to was stood in shock.

"Seriously? She's right." He said.

"What do you mean?" Asked another one who was sporting a buzz-cut.

"How'd she know that just from looking at us?" A third inquired.

"Her dad's a sports trainer." Hyuga answered with a smile. "Collecting data and creating a training regimen. It's a skill she picked up from observing bodies and data every day at his workplace since she was a child. When she looks at your body, she sees all your physical abilities in numbers."

Riko stopped in front of Maki. "You're better than average, but you're also pretty stiff. Try some stretches whenever you have the chance."

Maki nodded in response, and Riko continued on.

However, Kagami was up next after Maki.

When Riko stopped in front of Kagami, her jaw almost dropped. Erena and Maki both noticed it, too.

"What?" Kagami questioned. It was clear how oblivious he was.

Maki covered her blushing red face with her hands.

'He's so attractive!' The thought repeated in Maki's mind.

"Coach, you're staring." Erena reminded Riko.

Riko snapped back to reality instantly, turning to Erena. "Sorry!"

"That was everyone, wasn't it?" Erena asked.

The coach laid her eyes on the paper clipped to her clipboard.

"Is Kuroko here?" Riko asked.

"Oh, you mean that kid from Teiko?" Erena questioned. She looked around the room, as did Riko, before she shrugged and said. "Can you see him, coach?"

"No."

"It looks like he's not here then." Erena stated with a sigh.

"Um, excuse me."

A boy with distinctive bright blue hair and sky blue eyes suddenly appeared beside Erena, his hand raised. From what Maki could see, he looked painfully plain. He also seemed like the quiet type as well. He was probably someone who would be more interested in a book than in an actual person.

"I'm Kuroko."

Erena's eyes widened and glistened with surprise. Pleasant surprise. Everyone's eyes were glued to Erena and Kuroko.

"What?! When did you get here?" She asked, shocked.

"I've been here the whole time." Kuroko lowered his hand. He was about the same height as Erena, if not just a bit shorter.

"What? This guy was a part of the Generation of Miracles?" The senior with a cat-like face, Koganei, questioned as he approached Kuroko. "He couldn't have been a regular, could he?" He asked the coach, who was stood speechless.

"Of course not. Right, Kuroko?" Hyuga responded in Riko's place.

"I played in games." Kuroko stated.

"Right?" Hyuga said, before realisation dawned on him. "What?"

Koganei averted his eyes awkwardly, before a shout echoed through the gymnasium.

"What?!"


The sun had fallen and night was here. Maki was practicing her basketball shooting with Kagami, who, after many times of begging him, was teaching her how to play the sport. She had got the fundamentals down already.

"See, the thing about you is that you have a height advantage." Maki stated as she hopped up and threw the ball into the net. She barely made the shot, as the ball had bounced off the board that the net was attached to, before it fell into the net. "Unlike me, you don't have to exert yourself when dunking the ball into the net. You're tall enough to reach the net just by jumping normally."

"Well, maybe you need to do some training that helps you gain some strength in your legs." Kagami suggested.

"I still don't think that would really help me."

"You're forgetting you have arms." Kagami reminded her. "I'm saying you need strength in your legs to jump higher than normal, but don't forget you can use your arms to reach up and slam the ball into the net. You don't dunk with your head."

"Right." Maki sighed. "You know, you could help me train."

Kagami picked up the ball, bouncing it a couple of times on the ground. "No can do."

"And here I thought you were nice." Maki commented, resting her hands on her hips. "Listen, I'll follow your training regimen. All I'm asking is that you let me train with you as often as I can. Does that really sound so bad?"

"It's not a bad idea. But, I'm not the best when it comes to working with others. I only do what's best for me, and me alone." Kagami declared. "You should try asking someone that's actually good at being a part of a team."

With that, Kagami hopped off the ground and cast the ball at the net. Something must've happened to Kagami in that moment, because the ball bounced off the edge of the net.

That boy, Kuroko, had appeared again as if from nowhere. He caught the ball in both of his hands.

"Hey. Kuroko, right?" Maki tilted her head as she greeted him.

"When did you get here?" Kagami asked him.

"Nice to see you." Kuroko said.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kagami inquired further.

"What are you two doing here by yourselves?" Kuroko threw the ball back at Kagami.

"Nothing. We're not doing anything." Kagami stated.

"Is that so?" Kuroko asked.

There was an awkward pause, before Kagami spoke up again. "I was in America until my second year of middle school. I've been appalled ever since I came back by how low the standards are."

"Hey!" Maki blurted in offense.

"I'm not looking to play basketball for fun. I want to play a more serious game that really gets me going."

Maki shifted on her feet in the cool night breeze. Trust Maki to think she would be safe wearing only her black t-shirt and her pink sweatpants.

"I heard all about you." Kagami carried on. "I've heard all about the supposedly strong Generation of Miracles from our year. You were on that team, weren't you? I have a pretty good sense of how good others are. People who can succeed smell different from the rest."

Kagami spun the ball on his index finger, before throwing it toward Kuroko. Maki, on the other hand, decided to stay out of this. Instead, the redhead picked up her pink jacket and put it on, as well as her black beanie.

As Kuroko caught the ball, Kagami was still talking.

"But something's not right with you. The weak should smell weak, but you... you don't smell like anything. And your strength has no scent."

Maki leaned against the fence, breathing a stressed sigh. She opened her backpack, fetching a bottle of water out of the cluster of extra clothes and calmly drinking from it.

"Let me see it." Kagami told Kuroko. Maki almost spat out her drink. "Show me just how good your Generation of Miracles really is!"

It was at that point that Maki swallowed the water, and also wiped her chin of the excess water that had dripped from her mouth.

"How fortunate." Kuroko replied calmly. "I was hoping to play against you too."

Kuroko unzipped his uniform jacket and threw it behind him, holding the ball under his arm.

"One-on-one."


The one-on-one game between Kagami and Kuroko had started. Maki, of course, was sat on the sidelines. Literally.

She wasn't even paying attention to what Kagami and Kuroko were doing. She had told them to tug out her earphones when the one-on-one was over, and plugged her earphones into her phone, before she checked the rating for μ's on the Love Live! app.

"567th place, huh?" Maki spoke aloud, unsure of how loud her voice was. "Guess my sudden leaving did cause a downfall. I wonder if they've found someone to replace me yet."

The ball suddenly bounced and landed in Maki's lap. The shorter redhead tugged out her earphones herself, and put both her phone and the earphones by her backpack.

"You think you could watch your aim?" Maki picked up the ball and tossed it at Kagami and Kuroko.

"Sorry!" Kuroko and Kagami apologised.

Satisfied with their apology, Maki picked up her phone and sat back down. She put the earphones back in her ears and started up one of Maki's favourite songs, 'Aishiteru Banzai'. It was unfortunate that Maki was on a basketball court and not in a music room, otherwise she could have played the song on the piano.

Maki shut her phone off, allowing the song to play whilst she saved a bit of battery power. During this time, she watched the one-on-one match between Kagami and Kuroko.

By now, Kagami had already made what he called was called a 'drive'. He rushed past Kuroko, with little to no room for the smaller boy to catch up. He dunked it in as if effortlessly, no matter how hard Kuroko tried to block it.

'Does Kuroko know he's at a height disadvantage?' Maki internally inquired, though kept her mouth shut.

Maki watched on, even after the song had ended, while Kagami was easily beating Kuroko at basketball. And it's not the height that mattered anymore; Maki had enough common sense to know when someone was really bad at something. And right now, Kuroko was the 'someone' and basketball was the 'something'.

She had to give the blue-haired boy some credit at least. At least he was trying.

Though, to be honest, it seemed that anyone would have to try their best if they were to go up against Kagami Taiga.

Eventually, Kagami seemed to realise that too.

Maki tugged out her earphones again and shoved them in the pockets of her sweatpants, along with her phone. Whilst Kuroko was busy chasing after the ball (which Kagami had smacked away just a second ago), Maki took the opportunity to speak to Kagami.

"Something's telling me he's not that much of a player." Maki spoke quietly. "I mean, I've only just started playing basketball, but he seems like he's never actually done any practice."

"He's so bad I could die." Kagami commented.

"I wouldn't go that far."

Kuroko came back holding the ball in both hands, looking up at Kagami innocently.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Kagami remarked. "Were you even listening? How much do you have to overestimate your own abilities to think that you could beat me? I can't believe how arrogantly you challenged me!"

"Kagami..." Maki planted her face in her palm.

"Are you serious? Of course you're stronger than me. I knew that before we started." Kuroko told him.

Kagami grabbed Kuroko and pulled him up by his shirt. "You wanna fight? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Kagami!" Maki tapped the back of Kagami's knee with the tip of her shoe. His legs bent and he dropped Kuroko. How Maki had the courage to do that was anyone's guess, but then again, she was pretty tired and wanted to go home.

"What was that for?" Kagami shouted at her.

"That was for not calming down. It's already pretty dark; I'd assume some people are already asleep. Stop shouting." Maki scolded him after yawning. She turned to Kuroko afterwards. "Hear him out."

Kuroko nodded, a thankful gleam in his eye. He turned to Kagami: "I wanted to see how good you are for myself."

"What?" Kagami questioned.

Like Maki had done earlier, Kagami planted his face in the palm of his hand. Maki herself arched a brow.

After a brief awkward silence, Kuroko held up the ball slightly. "Um..."

"Enough." Kagami waved dismissively at Kuroko. "I'm not interested in the weak."

Kagami picked up his bag and uniform jacket, slinging both over either of his shoulders.

"Let me tell you one last thing." Kagami stated. "You should quit basketball. No matter how much you try to cover it up with words like 'effort', raw talent is a fact of life. You have no talent for basketball."

"I don't accept that." Kuroko calmly retorted when Kagami was just about to leave.

"What?"

"First of all, I love basketball. And also, I don't share your opinion. I don't care who's strong or who's weak."

"What did you say?"

"I'm not like you. I'm a shadow."


* The next day... *


Maki wasn't in a particularly good mood today. It wasn't just last night's events that had fried her brain, but also because she had forgotten to bring any clothes to do practice in. Though, thankfully, she did still keep a plain white button-up school shirt and skirt from the Otonokizaka High uniform. On top of that, her mother did stuff a black pair of shorts in with the uniform. She wasn't all out of luck.

The redhead herself was tying her hair back with a purple ribbon just as she walked into the gymnasium. Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"Is that all you're going to be wearing?" Riko asked.

"All of my clothes were being washed. The only thing I had left was a uniform from the previous school I went to." Maki lied. She had come up with that one and perfected it throughout the day. "Don't worry, I have shorts on underneath."

Riko nodded, as did Erena.

"Alright. Now that everyone's present, we're going to be having a practice match." Erena informed everyone just as Maki was putting on a small yellow tank top. Apparently, the yellow shirts were the team of first years, and the green shirts were the team of second years.

Kuroko had explained it to her.

"What, a mini-game?"

"I can't believe we're playing the upperclassmen already."

"Do you remember their record from last year they told us about during our first meeting? They went to the finals in just their first year."

"Are you serious?"

"That's not normal."

"Honestly, from what I've heard, I'll be lucky if anything's normal with basketball." Maki commented as she stretched her arms.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. It's always better to have stronger opponents than weaker ones." Kagami stated.

"Good luck pulling that one on the Generation of Miracles." Maki deadpanned.

With a growl, Kagami retorted: "Let's go."

All of the players got into position, with Maki standing beside Kuroko, and Kagami facing Mitobe in the center.

Riko blew the whistle and threw the ball into the air.

Both Kagami and Mitobe jumped at the same time, but Kagami had a height advantage. His hand connected with the ball easily, and he threw it to one of the other first years (that Maki still didn't know the name of). After a run, the first year jumped up and threw the ball to Kagami, who dunked it in the net as soon as he caught it.

Maki, on the other hand, hadn't even moved.

"That dunk was unbelievable."

"Amazing..."

"This is unbelievable." Hyuga stated.

The game continued like that for a while. Kagami was the top scorer. He claimed dunk after dunk after dunk.

The score was 11-08 for the first years.

"I can't believe the first years are this strong." Hyuga said.

"Kagami's doing it all by himself!" Koganei declared.

Eventually Kuroko had the ball. Maki didn't know when that had happened; she hadn't even noticed the kid in the game until just now.

Unfortunately, the ball was stolen from Kuroko just as he was going to pass to Maki.

"A steal!"

"It's him again!"

Maki caught up to Kuroko. "Please tell me there is one thing you're good at."

Kuroko looked at her. "Well, I can move around the court without notice."

"A stalker can move around a playground without notice." Maki retorted. "I'm gonna need something more hopeful than that."

"Passing is my forte." Kuroko gave in.

"Is that all?" Maki arched a brow.

"You'll see." Kuroko responded.

"Yeah, well, try not to keep me in suspense." Maki reminded him.

Maki sprinted off ahead when she noticed that the second years were closing in on the net. She overtook Kagami and – accidentally – spun on her left foot in a graceful manner (something she'd learned from Eli's ballerina style of dancing), before slamming both of her feet on the floor and jumping with all her power. Her hand connected with the ball just as Mitobe was about to score, and she knocked the ball out of his hand.

"So high!"

"Whoa, that spin!"

"So graceful..."

"Was she a ballerina or something?"

Maki landed roughly, but didn't strain herself. Riko blew her whistle, and Maki broke into a run, ending up beside Kagami.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" He asked her.

"A friend of mine used to be a ballerina. She taught me some things, including what you just saw." Maki replied.

After that, the seniors were getting serious. Three of them – Koganei, Izuki, and Hyuga – all surrounded Kagami when he was in possession of the ball.

"Looks like they're pretty desperate to stop Kagami." Maki commented to herself.

"Miss Nishikino," Kuroko appeared beside her. "I have a plan."

"Call me Maki." Maki told him. "But go on."

"Kagami should pass the ball to you when he notices you. When he does, I need you to pass it to me. I'll pass towards Kagami and he can then score."

"Sounds good." Maki nodded.

Maki and Kuroko each broke into a sprint and went on their separate ways up the court. Maki waved her arms in the air, capturing Kagami's attention. Both Hyuga and Koganei looked at Maki, and Kagami took the opportunity to break past them and pass the ball to Maki.

As soon as the ball made contact with her hand, Maki performed another spin and passed the ball to Kuroko using only one hand.

"Go, Kagami!" She ordered the other redhead.

Kuroko's hand barely touched the ball, but when he did, he curved it around another second year and passed it in Kagami's direction.

As soon as Kagami caught it, he dunked it in.

Everyone was equally surprised. Not from Kagami, but from Kuroko's ability to pass. No one had even noticed him in the game until that point, besides Kagami and Maki. In fact, Maki was the only one who'd had any interaction with him at all throughout the practice match.

But it was not enough. Everyone was on guard. The seniors always found a way to cancel Maki and Kagami down, and with Kuroko's only hope being his passes, he found there was no one to pass to. Not only that, but he kept getting the ball stolen from him every time it came his way.

The score had suddenly rose to 15-31 for the second years.

"They're good."

"There's no way we can win."

"I've had enough."

Kagami grabbed one of the first years by the shirt and pulled him up.

"'Enough'? What the hell are you talking about?!" Kagami shouted at him.

"You wanna do the honours?" Maki asked Kuroko, pointing to the back of Kagami's knee.

Kuroko nodded and appeared behind Kagami, kneeing the taller boy in the back of the knee. Kagami dropped the first year when his knees bent.

"Please calm down." Kuroko told him.

"You bastard..." Kagami glared at Kuroko, and then at Maki.

"He's learning." Maki shrugged.

The three other first years freaked out.

"Looks like they're fighting." Koganei commented from the other side of the court. Izuki was watching Kagami shout at Kuroko and Maki. "What's wrong?" Koganei asked Izuki.

"Was he in the game?" Izuki asked, looking at Kuroko as Kagami tried to take a swing at him.

"Kuroko? I dunno."

After the first years had stopped fighting, and Kagami had calmed down, the game resumed. One of the other first years had the ball now. Kuroko was stood in front of him, off to the side a bit. Maki stood on the other side of him.

"Excuse me." Kuroko caught the first year's attention. "Could you pass me the ball?"

"What?" Was his reply.

As soon as they got into action, he did as was asked and passed the ball to Kuroko.

Kuroko jumped in front of Izuki and all of a sudden, the ball had gone over Izuki's head, onto the other side of the court. Maki immediately caught the ball and jumped, shooting it into the net.

"It went... what?" Hyuga was having trouble forming a sentence from the surprise turn of events. "How did that pass get through?"

Maki sent a thumbs-up at Kuroko, who flashed a brief and barely-there smile, and returned the gesture.

The one with the buzz-cut had the ball now. He was trying to shake Koganei off him, but the senior wasn't having it. His eyes landed on Maki, and she pointed to Kuroko, who was a few feet away from her. He passed the ball to Kuroko, who passed it to another first year using only one hand.

"Go for it! Shoot!" Maki told him.

The ball went in the net, and another point was scored by the first years.

The buzz-cut kid had the ball again, and began dribbling with it. The ball was passed to Kuroko, and it went past Kagami and under Hyuga's legs. Once the ball was back in the buzz-cut kid's possession again, he shot it into the net.

"They passed the ball and made a shot before we realised it!" Izuki remarked.

"What's going on?" Koganei asked.

"You wanna tell me what the hell's going on?" Kagami approached Maki.

"Kuroko's forte is passing." Maki informed him. "He's using his ability to help us win."

"Of all the things, that's what he's actually good at?" Kagami asked.

"He's not just good at it. He excels at passing. He's pulling off one-hand passes like it's second nature, and with no effort at all." Maki responded.

Kuroko was performing passes very quickly, and with one hand. Not many of them had noticed him beforehand. And eventually, the ball ended up in Kagami's possession.

Kagami shot the ball into the net while the seniors were still recovering.

The score was now 36-37. It was a one-point difference.

Koganei made a pass to Mitobe, but the buzz-cut kid knocked it away. Kuroko caught it with one hand and made a break for the net.

"Go, Kuroko!"

Kuroko hopped off the ground and threw the ball up, aimed at the net. It bounced off the rim, but Kagami was there to save the point – he caught the ball and dunked it in immediately after Kuroko's shot.

"That's why I hate the weak!" Kagami shouted at Kuroko. "You have to make the shot, dumbass!"


The evening was relatively peaceful. Maki and Kagami had walked from school to a place called Maji Burger. Kagami had ordered a tray carrying a small pile of burgers, while Maki got the drinks. Maki hoped some of the burgers were for her.

"Thank you very much!" Said the woman at the counter.

Kagami and Maki sat down in a booth, side-by-side. Kagami was next to the window.

The both of them dropped their bags on the floor, under the table, and began to eat the burgers. Well, Maki was, but stopped once she noticed that Kuroko was sitting across from them.

"Oh, hey, Kuroko." Maki said. Kagami almost choked on his burger.

"Hello, Miss Nishikino." Kuroko greeted her.

"Kuroko, please, just call me Maki. No need to be so formal." Maki told him.

"I thought it was customary to be formal towards the rich." Kuroko plainly stated.

"I only come from a rich family that owns a few resorts for holidays. It's not like I am rich, myself. And besides, it's only me and my mother. Formalities don't matter to us."

After Kagami managed to swallow the bitten part of his burger, he stared at Kuroko in disbelief. "Where'd you come from? What are you doing?"

"I was sitting here first. I like this place's vanilla shakes." Kuroko answered him.

"Go somewhere else." Kagami said.

"Kagami, he was here first. We just didn't notice him sitting there." Maki reminded him.

"And I don't want to." Kuroko added.

"If someone sees us, they'll think we're friends." Kagami stated, looking around.

"If someone sees us, they'll think I'm dating one of you." Maki countered.

"Are you so well-known that that assumption would cause a problem for you?" Kuroko asked.

"Kind of, yeah." Maki nodded.

"Is it because you come from a rich family?"

"No. It's because I used to be a school idol." Maki informed them.

"What's a school idol?" Kagami asked.

"Have you ever heard of idols?" Maki inquired. Both Kagami and Kuroko nodded. "School idols are basically idols that represent a school. Some school idols go on to become professional idols after they've left school, while some school idols stay true to the name and retire from being an idol. A good example of a school idol would be our basketball manager, Toudou Erena. She's a member of the popular UTX school idol group, A-RISE." She explained.

"So which school did you represent?" Kuroko asked.

"Otonokizaka High. It's an all-girl private school that was about to be shut down a while back due to not enough students enrolling. There were nine of us. Our name was μ's."

"As in the stuff for your hair?"

"No, that's mousse. μ's as in Muse, the nine goddesses of music. Hence why there were nine of us."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I was the one who composed all of the songs for the group. One of the second years, Umi Sonoda, was in charge of the lyrics and our fitness regime. Her friend and another second year, Kotori Minami, was the one who designed the outfits. Eli Ayase, a former ballerina and school council president, helped us with our dance routines."

"Who were the other five?" Kagami inquired.

Just then, the five girls that Maki hadn't mentioned all walked through the door, appearing as if they were looking for something.

"Those are the other five." Maki told him. Kagami and Kuroko both looked at the other five members of μ's. Honoka Kousaka, Nozomi Toujou, Hanayo Koizumi, Nico Shazawa, and Rin Hoshizora.

Nozomi was the first to make eye contact with Maki, and immediately pointed at the redhead when she did.

"There she is."

Maki gasped and pulled her legs up when Honoka, Rin, Hanayo, and Nico all ran towards her.

"Maki, it's so good to see you!" Hanayo was the first to say.

"How'd you know I was here?" Maki asked them.

"Erena from A-RISE told us to look for a big, tanned guy with red hair, and wherever he was would be where we'd find you." Rin answered.

"Guess I'm glad you sat by the window then." Maki deadpanned at Kagami. "Guys, this is Kagami and Kuroko. Kagami, Kuroko, these are Honoka, Rin, Hanayo, Nico, and Nozomi."

"Hello." Kuroko stated.

"Good evening." Nozomi greeted.

"So is it true you've joined the basketball team?" Honoka immediately started with the questions.

"Yes."

"Is there a school idol club at Seirin?"

"Not that I know of."

"I heard that the school's only been open for a year. Is that true?"

"Yes. The only upperclassmen we have are second years."

"Is it a public school?"

"Yes, but it's not that popular yet."

"Just one more question!"

"I think you've learned enough for today."

"Is it true that Erena from A-RISE is really the basketball club manager?"

"Yes. Now are you done?"

Honoka nodded.

"So why were you guys looking for me?" Maki inquired.

"We wanted to know if you'll be coming back to Otonokizaka."

"Huh?" Maki arched a brow.

"You are coming back, aren't you?" Nozomi asked, making squeezing motions with her hands.

Maki covered her chest with her hands. "I... I don't know." She looked down. "The only reason I moved here was because my dad fell into debt and couldn't pay the bills to keep the mansion. We were lucky that my grandmother – on my mother's side – still owned the Nishikino estate, and allowed me and my mother to stay with her."

"Please don't tell me you're going to Seirin because your grandmother owns the estate."

"Actually, it was the school closest to my grandmother's mansion." Maki informed them.

"So, really, your stay at Seirin is indefinite." Hanayo simplified.

"Seems that way."

"Yeah, well, make sure you come back before the winter festival for Love Live! is announced." Nico scolded her. "We need you, Maki. We can't win Love Live! without you."

"What do you mean?" Maki questioned.

"There are always two Love Live! festivals each year. One in the winter, one in the summer. The winter one is going to be the last one of the school year, and the last one that Nozomi, Eli, and Nico can participate in as school idols." Hanayo explained. "In other words, this will be the last Love Live! for the third years. That's why, even if we don't win the summer one, we still have to win the winter one."

"I... I see."

"We don't mean to pressure you. It's just that the summer festival will be really important to the third years." Hanayo tried to comfort her.

"No, it's okay. I get that it would mean a lot to you to win." Maki smiled. "I'll see what I can do for μ's, but that doesn't mean I can leave the Seirin basketball club behind, either."

All five of the other girls smiled.

"By the way, where are Eli, Kotori, and Umi?" Maki asked.

"Eli's preparing a dance routine, Kotori's designing some new outfits, and Umi's preparing a new fitness regime." Honoka replied. "Speaking of which, that reminds me! Do you think you could compose another song for us?"

"Is it for this summer's Love Live!?" Maki inquired.

"Actually, we were thinking of doing a song for your indefinite leave." Nozomi answered.

"You want me to compose a song about me?" Maki tilted her head.

"Essentially, yes." Honoka scratched the back of her head.

Maki sighed. "Alright. Give me Umi's lyrics and I'll see what I can do."

"Awesome! Thank you so much!" Honoka hugged Maki.

"By the way, do you think we can come to see your basketball practices?" Nozomi asked.

"You'll have to take that up with Erena. That's not my call."

"Okay then. We'll get out of your hair now."

"We'll see you later!" Nico pulled Honoka off of Maki and left with Hanayo, Rin, and Nozomi.

"Well, that was eventful." Kagami finally remarked after all was peaceful again inside Maji Burger.

"What were we saying?" Kuroko asked.

"You were talking about people seeing us and thinking you were friends with Kuroko." Maki deadpanned.

"Eh." Kagami sat back in his chair with a calm smile. He picked up a burger an lightly tossed it toward Kuroko, who caught it in both hands. "In any case, I don't really like guys who suck at basketball, but you've earned yourself one of those."

"Thanks." Kuroko smiled back.


"So, just how strong is the Generation of Miracles?" Kagami inquired later, after the trio had finished their business at Maji Burger and left the place. Now, Maki, Kagami, and Kuroko were walking down the street. Both Kagami and Kuroko had been curious about the mansion that Maki's grandmother owned. "If I played them now, how would I do?" Kagami asked Kuroko.

"You'd be destroyed instantly." Kuroko stated.

"Do you have to put it like that?" Kagami retorted.

"The five prodigies have each gone on to play for their own schools. One of those schools will stand at the top."

Kagami chuckled as they stopped at a crossing. "That's great."

"What?" Maki arched a brow.

"That's the kind of thing that lights a fire in me." Kagami said.

'All of us get our kicks, Kagami.' Was what ran through Maki's head.

"I've decided. I'll crush all of them and become the best player in Japan." Kagami declared afterwards.

"Are you sure you're not the one overestimating your abilities? The only thing you're good at so far is jumping and dunking." Maki commented as she bit into one of the burgers she ordered 'to go' from Maji Burger.

"Also, I don't think that's possible." Kuroko agreed with Maki.

"Hey!" Kagami angrily retorted.

"I don't know if you have a hidden talent or not, but you wouldn't even be able to reach their feet as you are now." Kuroko calmly responded as they all crossed the road. "You can't do it alone."

"Kuroko's right. You're an idiot if you think you'll be able to pull something like that off on your own." Maki pointed out.

"Besides, I've also decided." Kuroko told them. Maki and Kagami both looked at Kuroko expectantly. "I'm a shadow. But the stronger the light, the darker the shadow, and the more it accentuates the light. I will be the shadow to your light and make you the best player in Japan."

"Look who's talking." Kagami responded with a chuckle. "Do whatever you want."

"I'll do my best."


I hope you all liked this first chapter!

Note 1: In case you're wondering why this chapter is so long, it's because the chapters will be set in order of the episodes of the KnB series. However, some of the episodes will be compiled into one chapter. Though, this should only happen with the episodes where a basketball match is taking place (such as the Seirin VS Kaijo match, or the Seirin VS Shuutoku match, etc).

Note 2: If you have any questions for me at the end of each chapter, leave a review and I'll answer them at the end of the next chapter. Or, if you do not want me to show your question in the next chapter, you can ask me in a Private Message, and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Note 3: If anyone has any ideas for pairings, they will be appreciated, and even credited if they make it into the story. As far as this fanfic goes, there is no limit on the people you can ship the characters with. I also love crack ships.

That should be all for now. Please leave a review and I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter!