Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Kuroko no Basuke.

CHAPTER 1: CAN I KEEP HIM?

Akiko yawned as she trudged down the empty corridors. She stopped in front of a door and slowly slid it open. The class looked up at the disruption. The teacher frowned. "Miss, you are late on you first day of school! What is your name?" She looked at him with half-lidded eyes.

Then she drawled, "…Daidai… Akiko."


"Late! On the first day of school! How irresponsible!" Akiko was being lectured by her new teacher in front of the class. Her chin laid in her hand as she stared dazedly out the window. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the bluenette sitting on her left also staring out the window. She had wanted to be at the window seat, but this was the closest open seat that she could get. "…and a girl- Daidai-san, are you listening to me?!"

"…Sure."

"You! Respect your elders!" She turned her head sharply and narrowed her eyes.

"Why should I? So you're older than me. Does that mean that you're more important than me? No. It just means that you're gonna die before me." His face turned red.

"Why you!" She turned her head before he could reprimand her. Her annoyed, auburn eyes met with amused, light blue. She raised an eyebrow at him. He looked taken aback- if his eyes widening by a millimeter signifies shock- but quickly regained his composure and turned away after giving a polite nod. She blinked then shrugged to herself.

'What a weird guy,' she thought. Little did she know that soon, she was going to encounter the strangest gang of basketball ball players with rainbow colored hair and the oddest hobbies she has ever seen.


AKIKO P.O.V

I'm hungry. Those were the first words that came to my mind as I wandered around town. I looked up to find that I was conveniently in front of a fast food restaurant. How lucky. I walked in and sat in a booth after getting my order.

"May I sit here? All the other booths are full." A voice pushed me out of my reverie. I glanced up at the voice, a French fry sticking out from my lips. I was surprised to find the bluenette from earlier.

"…Sure." He slid into the seat next to me. I briefly wondered why he hadn't just sat across from me, but soon disregarded the thought.

"My name is Kuroko Tetsuya," he introduced.

I held out my right hand and said, "Daidai Akiko." He looked confused for a second. I raised an eyebrow and grabbed the hand that wasn't holding his drink. "Nice to meet you." At his flabbergasted expression, I chuckled. "Japanese people don't really shake hands, do they? Sorry, if I surprised you. I lived in America for a few years and have gotten used to its culture." He nodded in understanding.

A clatter interrupted our conversation. We watched as the large, muscular redhead from our class sat across from us. He bit into his one of maybe a hundred hamburgers and chewed. He then turned his head. The bluenette nodded in acknowledgement. I held up a hand and waved. It seems that he hadn't known we were here because he began to choke. We patiently waited for him to get better.

"What the hell are you two doing here?!" he exclaimed.

"We were eating."

"Well, go away! I don't want anyone thinking we're friends."

"Rude, much?" I sneered. "We were here first. If anyone has to leave, it's you." He grudgingly shut up. "Name?" I asked.

"…Kagami Taiga."

"So Tetsuya, Taiga." I sighed at their expressions. "I told you. I was in America. We don't care too much for formalities. You guys can call me Akiko."

"You lived in America?"

"Yep. I heard a rumor that you did too." Kagami nodded. Kuroko sipped peacefully on his vanilla shake. My lips quirked up into a smile. How adorable. Kagami sighed.

"Here." He threw a burger at the bluenette who caught it before it hit his face. "I don't like guys who suck at basketball… but you deserve at least one of those."

"Thank you," he said with a smile. I looked back and forth between the two.

"You guys play basketball?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. The redhead looked like a basketball player with his build and all, but I was doubting how well Kuroko could play. But I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

"Yes, you should watch our practices sometime." I nodded.

"Will do." I was pretty curious as to how strong our team was.


THE NEXT DAY

I entered the gym as the sound of squeaking sneakers sliding across the gym greeted my ears. I looked around to find a girl with short, brown hair yelling at the boys who were running around in the courts. All activity stopped when I entered.


THIRD P.O.V.

The doors to the gym opened and everyone turned to look at the newcomer. The boys drooled. A girl with bright, orange hair and auburn eyes stood in front of them. She wasn't beautiful like the women in fashion magazines and didn't have a striking hourglass figure, but she was a different kind of attractive. She had that 'I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-I-still-look-this-good' kind of appearance. Her hair reached mid-back and her eyes were half-lidded as she regarded things with disinterest. Her eyes opened fully as her eyes roamed over to them. She lazily trudged over and raised her hand in greeting.

"Hey, Tetsuya. Taiga." The two nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm glad you came," Kuroko said politely. The other males quickly grabbed the two by the neck and dragged them over.

"How the hell do you guys know a girl like her?" Hyuuga hissed.

"We met her yesterday and invited her to watch our practice," Kuroko explained.

"Oh, are you interested in basketball?" Riko asked. Akiko shrugged.

"Yeah. I'm from America and basketball is big there. I like playing sports in general, so I thought I'd come to check it out."

"That's great. Come over here." She led Akiko over to the bleachers and took a seat next to her. "Our team is pretty good, so I'm hoping that we'll win the tournament this year." She nodded. Akiko leaned forward, her eyes sharp and alert, unlike when she had first entered the gym. Her eyes followed the figures on the court as they ran around. She was surprised. Kuroko was actually an extremely interesting player. She watched Hyuuga make a move to slam the ball out of Izuki's hands.

"The glasses guy will miss." Just as the words escaped Akiko's lips, Izuki dodged Hyuuga's hand. Riko's head snapped to look at the orange-haired girl.

"How did yo-?"

"I'm a strategist," she explained. "I've heard that you have the ability to see statistics just by looking at the player. Mind games have always been my kind of thing. My mind works like a computer. I gather data and store it in files, for lack of better words, so I'm able to predict how the player will act. I love to decipher things, whether it be puzzles, riddles, games, or even people. I have the desire to know everything there is to know. Tetsuya is going to pass the ball to the cat dude. I was able to predict that action just now by looking at muscle movements and eye contact." Riko watched the younger girl in awe at her explanation. Then she noticed something.

"You can see Kuroko-kun?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, you guys have a hard time finding him," she remembered, thinking back to the first day of school and how Kuroko had been forgotten during roll call.

"Well, my perception skills are better than the average person. Like I said, I have the desire to know everything, so I subconsciously scrutinize my surroundings and notice things normal people don't." Akiko looked back to watch the game, completely oblivious to the fact that a certain basketball coach's gears had started turning in her head.


A FEW DAYS LATER

I WILL MAKE YOU THE BEST PLAYER IN JAPAN.

Akiko snickered as she snapped a picture of the courtyard. She remembered that a certain bluenette had not said anything when the basketball team rookies were shouting their goals from the rooftop, so she had an inkling to who this "mystery person" that wrote that was. She glanced to the boy next to her. His eyes shifted over to her and he tilted his head questioningly. She pointed at the white smudge mark on his sleeve which he quickly wiped off. His eyes darted back to her and she placed a finger to her lips.

"Your secret is safe with me."


"Become our manager." The can of soda she had been drinking clattered and spilled on the gym floor as the female coach spoke.

"Huh?"

"I want you, Daidai Akiko, to become the manager and strategist of the Seirin basketball team," Riko clarified.

"…Huh?"

"I want you to become the damn manager! Answer 'yes' or answer 'no', 'cause I know that you aren't an idiot!"

"…Huh?" Akiko giggled nervously as Riko pulled out a paper fan and raised it menacingly to her head. "I-I'm just joking!" she exclaimed. Those things may be made of paper, but they hurt like hell when used in the right ways.

"So?" The team waited in anticipation for her answer.

"I don't want to," she said bluntly.

"Why?!"

"Too bothersome."

"Please, you've got to!"

"No."

"Akiko-san." Akiko looked up at the bluenette. "Please do us the honor of becoming our manager."

"Look, just because you say it politely… I'm… not gonna… give…" Her words trailed off as he stared at her with those wide, innocent, blue eyes. "I'm not…" His eyes seemed to get bigger. "I don't…" She began to get lost in those adorable orbs of sky blue. "…Fine, I'll become your stupid manager."

"Eh?! That easily?!"

"Just because Kuroko asked her?!"

"On one condition," she added.

"What?" Akiko grabbed Kuroko and stuffed his face into her chest, glomping him. "Can I please keep him?!"

"…EEEHHHH?!"


AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you liked it, FOLLOW, FAVORITE, and REVIEW! Looks like someone has a Kuroko-complex! Hope you guys are excited for the next chapter!

Preview for the next chapter:

"You're soooooooooooooooo cute!" Akiko exclaimed as she squeezed the bluenette in her arms.

"Akiko-san, please release me. I can't breathe."


"Who the heck are you?" Kise froze. This couldn't be happening. There was a girl, a teenage girl, that didn't know who he, Kise Ryouta was. There was only one explanation for this. The world must be ending.