A/N: Hey. I think this is the fastest I've ever updated, even though this chapter is really short, I'm sorry. In response to xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx, I'm glad to see you've come over to the Kurobasu fandom from KHR, and your greeting hasn't changed =) Re:SinJaLove, Yeah I know this series got popular thanks to the yaoi fangirls but that wasn't why I heard of it nor why I discovered it, I was just bored XD As for whether I'm into yaoi, I don't even understand the chemistry behind most of the pairings (Akafuri and Aokaga, I mean please explain I don't get it XD) but if I wanted to write BL I could. I've awkwardly tried to do that for a friend who's a fan of KHR but it turned into some strange genderswap because I can't write a pairing I don't believe in. So I guess I'm not really that into yaoi, although if I had to ship anyone it would be Aomine and Kuroko.


"Well, if it isn't Teiko's sixth phantom player."

He inwardly flinched in six different ways when he heard that. He was trying not to lose his cool now, staring at this man who looked familiar yet Kuroko had no recollection of. The man had black hair cut to the length of his chin, strangely-shaped eyebrows and eyes that twinkled with malice. Don't even get Kuroko started on that suspicious smile.

"I'd heard that the Generation Of Miracles split up, but I didn't think you would split too." Kirisaki Daiichi's captain grins.

How did you know, is what Kuroko wants to ask, but instead his eyes form a dangerous edge at the mention of Aomine, and stares at the captain. "I'm not one of them."

"Is that so? Doesn't matter even if you were, genius means shit. Well, then welcome to the field of normal people." The other seniors that entered the gym with him visibly bristled.

"Oi, are you saying that you're accepting him onto the team, Hanamiya?! He's one of the worst even among those who didn't make the test!" A senior with spiky brown hair protested.

"Let's play a match, second-stringers against us." Hanamiya declared, setting down the ball he had been holding. "You'll join their team for this game." Kuroko was startled, but didn't show it as he nodded and walked towards the second-stringers who gaped at him in disbelief.

That regular who had protested didn't seem to give up."Oi, Hanamiya-" A guy with long black hair that obscured his eyes from view held him back by the shoulder and shook his head. "Don't. Hanamiya knows what he's doing." He said, but his gaze was slightly doubtful. 'Normal people, really…' Koutarou thought to himself. 'That's not at all what you think of yourself as.'

It seemed as though the second-stringers rather dreaded playing against the regulars, from the slight slump in their shoulders as they headed onto the court.

Kuroko thinks about asking them to try passing the ball to him, but decides against it. Even for a practice these guys are tense, and Kuroko would rather just do what he can at the first chance he has.


It's odd, the way the regulars move when they're blocking the second-stringers from scoring, and one was them was way too rough. "Hey Furuhashi, leave that for the courts!" and Kuroko doesn't even have time to question what that statement meant when one of the second-string players tossed the ball at him in sheer desperation.

Without needing a cue, he smacked the ball into the hands of the player standing under the hoop. He shot it out of pure reflex, even though his face showed that he hadn't yet caught up to what the heck just happened. The other players echoed his dumbstruck expression, except for the captain who had an ugly smirk on his face.

Kuroko didn't say anything, taking advantage of the seniors' surprise to jab the ball out of #7's hands, the player with blank dark eyes that shifted to Kuroko in shock.


Kuroko was very thankful the practice lasted only one quarter, as he could feel his stamina wane. He could already sense the ache in his arms from playing so vigorously after months of not playing basketball. The regulars won, by a narrow margin of three points, and three of the second-stringers had abrasions and sprains from the bruising maneuvers of the regulars.

"Well, so you guys get it now, right?" Hanamiya said within earshot. "It won't matter so much that Kentaro's so lazy anymore, because he can make the steals too."

The brown-haired senior, who later introduced himself as Hiroshi Yamazaki, begrudgingly nodded. The blonde senior's bubble popped, and 'Kentaro' just shrugged."Our web'll be complete."

With a sickening twist in his stomach, Kuroko realizes how achingly similar this all was to how Akashi got him accepted into Teiko's first string. 'I'll make this clear, if it weren't for this I wouldn't want you on the team.' But he reminds himself then, it's not like they actually know each other yet, and the team actually seemed to have good teamwork established, so this was alright. Maybe, he thinks, maybe we might become a close team one day. Kuroko watches the second-stringers slap each other on the backs in celebration, and for the first time since he stopped playing basketball he allowed himself to hope.

Even if the team was behaving suspiciously violent, like a Haizaki-epidemic had spread over them for a few instances during the match.

"So you're on first-string now, brat." But Kuroko was already out of sight. He didn't like the way the captain's tongue curled around his teeth as he said that, but he stepped up to bow to his new seniors.

"Kuroko Tetsuya. It's nice to meet you." The seniors jumped, they hadn't noticed him stepping away to return the ball to the rack. His gaze was piercing as he looked up at their shocked faces. "I'm not a brat."


Well, that's it. Sorry so manny mentions of Akashi but the latest chapters have been nothing but Akashi-angst.(Akashi-kun whyyyy) Thanks for the reviews ;D Not sure if updating this quickly will do any good, but I think you all deserved it for sending me 10 reviews within 24 hours, I nearly swiped the coffee mug off the table when I checked my inbox. Also here's a preview even though I don't do previews.

Next Chapter:

/"Tetsu-kun, you have to leave with me!" Momoi was uncharacteristically near-hysterics. "This team is no good!"/