Warning: Dark!Kuroko, Clever!Kagami content.

Uprising: 01

Even though already far away from Seirin High School's entrance, Kagami managed to send a lingering look back at the gate. There was a force that enticed him to mull over his last thoughts, a notion that discreetly told him that whatever would come next would forever change the course of his life.

He only grunted softly, so quietly that the faintest sign of his uncertainty remained hidden under his impassive face. Deep crimson orbs remained attracted at that far distance, yet his mind fluttered with words and images that normally confused a typical individual. Kagami was worried, yes, but his concerns had not yet solidified.

At least not in that that point of time.

Kagami Taiga pulled his head away and he resumed to walk with the seemingly procession of students deep inside the school. Today was the opening ceremony in Seirin. Kagami was hugely reluctant, but school was school, and it was the only way for him to soothe the desiccation that brimmed within him. Setting aside that Seirin was a newly established school, Kagami already concluded that basketball would always remain basketball in any place he chose to go. Name was a separate entity from fame – but the two would be inseparable once time ripened them.

The effort of the different clubs to promote their own did not faze Kagami even for a bit. He only strode forward, half-ignoring the enthusiastic streak that happened before his very eyes. Even in consideration, different people have their own ways of showing their confidence to others. It wasn't really uncommon for most people, especially for students. Kagami understood that, but he was simply too idle to grant them attention. Sometimes when one was already smart enough, that person tended to remain oblivious of the things around him. Perhaps, after all, being knowledgeable enough did not mean one must act as if he knew everything.

Maybe it was partly because of his height, but Kagami heard the faint call of the word 'basketball' that wafted atop the crowd of students. There were two or three of them voicing out, while handing some flyers to the students who passed by them. The redhead easily recognized them as members of the school's basketball team, as hinted by the contents of the posters they sent out. Kagami maneuvered through the crowd, dispersing them aside with his build. As soon as he reached one of them, he 'courteously' asked where to sign up for the club.

If normal people considered grabbing a student by the back his clothes and dragging him as if a taking out a stray cat, that was.

As soon as Kagami and his 'charge' reached the table where the students could sign up for the basketball club, the redhead immediately wrote the needed information on the paper. Words were exchanged. The conversation was short. Kagami only left them details with gaps, gaps that would be filled-up next time. Right now, Kagami's only purpose was to discover what type of basketball existed in Seirin.

Or was it?

. . . . . . . . .

He had been watching him since he made his entrance.

The tall one with the red hair was not easy to miss; after all, the burning crimson locks were enough to be spotted in a mile range. But, somehow, it was neither his physique nor the color of his hair that attracted his attention to the other teen. The redhead male gave out an aura that told him that he was unique, that he was different from all the others before him. He looked at him in the shadows.

His blue locks were grazed by the wind, letting them dance and flutter with its changing breeze. He could mildly ignore the students around him, as they ignored him in such a way that he appeared nonexistent at all. He would not mind that, for it had been that way for so many times now. He had not been interested by that much ever since he graduated from middle school, and the feeling inside him was both an old and a new experience. As he predicted, as he had outlined before, if there was the best time, then it would be the present moment.

His gaze did not weaken. His light azure orbs locked at the young man who had that strange red as his hair, entranced that the person he was looking for had seemingly came to him by chance. But could he consider that event as mere coincidence? It was a question that he easily answered in brief. No. He had willed it as soon as he left middle school. He had willed for it to happen. And because he had willed it so much, the world had listened to him and gave him this opportunity.

Perhaps the uprising could be done.

It must be done.

. . . . . . . . .

Kagami felt the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

Twisting his head behind him, he tried to look out for the source of the weird sensation that struck him. He knew that the seniors around talking to him now threw him weird glances, but he didn't mind them at least. A forbidding feeling had roused up his senses, as if telling him that something – someone – just lurked behind him, patiently waiting the right time to strike or whatever. Seeing none, Kagami glanced back at the senpais and listened to them.

"You didn't write your goals?" The woman on the other side of the table asked. What her name was, Kagami still didn't know – perhaps he'd just meet her again when the basketball club would call for a meeting. His and her eyes met for a while and Kagami saw the slight unease he might had brought her with his stern look. He pushed it away from her and looked elsewhere. He didn't mean to appear brusque and intimidating, but it was just almost a waste of time to explain his side.

"None in particular," Kagami answered as he stood up from the chair. He crushed the now-emptied paper cup in his right hand. "After all, Japanese basketball, it's the same thing everywhere." He said. But in reality, his mind spoke a lot more different than his lips dictated. The feeling of foreboding had not left him since he had felt it. To him, it seemed that whatever worry that abounded him minutes before already began to coalesce into something identifiable.

He threw the cup behind him and he needed not to look back to know that he made a perfect shot into the bin.

The only question was what would happen next?

"I am Kuroko."

Riko Aida, the coach of Seirin Basketball Club, was obviously startled when the voice spoke up some inches away from her face. Nevertheless, her initial reaction was silence, but an inner sense of dread had teemed inside her. Even as her face twisted slowly into a different expression, Riko continued to stare at the teen that casually stood in front of her. With a blank set of eyes that looked directly at her, Riko was finally pushed away from her threshold of astonishment. As a sweat ran over her cheeks, the coach had no other choice but to scream.

Even Hyūga Junpei and Koganei Shinji were surprised with the sudden arrival. Following up Riko's startled cry, Hyūga immediately spoke up. "Wah, what?" His first words conveyed his shock. "Since when are you here?!"

"I was here since the beginning," Kuroko answered calmly, as opposed to the unruly reactions from the senpais. The teal-head noticed how everyone was surprised by his appearance, but his attention briefly settled upon one particular teen inside the gym. His pupils flicked to the side, but it was too fast that even the seniors did not even notice the switch of eye contact.

"Eh?" Koganei voiced his reaction as well. "Then that means this guy?! From the 'Generation of Miracles'!" He deduced, remembering the particular registration form that had almost been neglected back at the opening ceremony. He looked at Hyūga first, before he turned his full attention at Kuroko. At a single glance, Koganei did have an estranged thought about the teal-head. "He can't have been a regular…" He muttered.

Kagami did not miss the momentary look given to him. He did not need much thought to conclude that he seemed to have caught the interest of the shorter teen. Nevertheless, what drew him more than the fact that the other male suddenly appeared to them was the mesmerized remark about that 'Whatever of Miracles.' Was that person really that special? Kagami asked in thought, still observing how the seniors gave their attention to him. If he is someone special, then I need to know.

"Of course not," Kagami heard the captain remarked, pulling him out of his thoughts. Hyūga turned his head towards the shorter teen. "Right, Kuroko-kun?" He asked, wanting to confirm Koganei's supposition about Kuroko's membership to that famous group. With a smile, he waited for the teal-head's answer.

"I have played in matches," Kuroko responded.

"See, just what…" Hyūga only said, but his voice softened and droned out. From the small grin that designed his lips, it gradually straightened out then finally ended in a gaping countenance. "Eh…" He mumbled at first, seemingly at lost with the sudden declaration. "Eeehhh!"

The reaction only made Kagami more curious. Even though he had no idea about what they were referring to, Kagami had the slight idea that, whatever that was, Kuroko seemed to have come over from a very famous group – perhaps a basketball team, in particular. He continued to observe from the sides.

But he saw that the teen named Kuroko was looking back at him. He suddenly felt the air around him shifted, feeling that ghastly aura blanketing him. He was not much superstitious, but experiencing that same stuff that happened before made him wary. Similar to the cold, piercing sensation earlier that morning, Kagami seemed to have realized that person who kept an eye over him was one and the same. What was the reason why Kuroko observed him? What could be the reason why he had fixed his attention to Kagami. The redhead ignored the questions first.

But he could not shake away the feeling that Kuroko was more than just he appeared. Kagami knew that all things would only end up in a confrontation, so there was no need to stall it. He approached the nearest first year and asked him about what Teikō and what the Generation of Miracles were all about. As he listened to the explanation, Kagami could not miss the pair of light blue orbs that continued to look at him from afar. It did not bother him much; rather he did want to have the teal-head's attention on him.

Kagami was not an idiot. Perhaps he did give out the impression, but he was not petty enough to complain. By asking the question about the Generation, Kagami was sure that he had drawn more of Kuroko's attention to himself. It was an indirect invitation, an invitation Kuroko would not turn down. Kagami still listened to the other freshmen, albeit half-heartedly, as he took cursory glances at the teal-haired teen. The more that Kagami heard of the Generation, the more that Kuroko's stare became heavier. He was even more curious because of the peculiar gaze upon. There had to be a reason.

And when Kagami had satisfied himself with the information, the redhead turned his head towards Kuroko's direction, but his expression empty. You're curious too, he mentally said but made sure he hid that message for himself. He pulled away and went nearer where the balls were placed.

And Kagami never needed an indication after that. In such a simple manner, he knew that Kuroko would be tailing him soon. In such a short time, he managed to discover something about the other teen. Like Kagami, Kuroko seemed to hide something far deeper than he showed. Like Kagami, Kuroko had a deeper ploy.

"You, what the hell are you hiding?" Kagami shot off the question, not unmindful of the brewing tension between them. The redhead glanced at Kuroko severely, gauging the shorter male, observing him from that short distance between them. On the other hand, Kuroko Tetsuya merely gave him a blank look, although there were little twitches that adorned the sides of his lips. Kagami half-ignored them, but kept it in his mind. There was no such thing as truly blank, empty. People could only conceal so much, but there would always be a limit. "The level of play in this country is too low,"

Kagami was not the one that gave out much introduction, but as long as point came with it, then perhaps it was alright for once in a while. "What I'm looking for is not playing basketball for fun." Kagami stated, voice fierce but not totally intimidating. "I want to play in matches that make my blood boil at full strength." He declared, although he partly expected a silent remark from the other teen. Kuroko still only focused on him, and the vague expression that lingered upon him slowly forming into smug appearance. Kagami's orbs narrowed at that, but he continued nonetheless.

"But I've heard a nice thing earlier. It seems like there are strong guys called the "Generation of Miracles" in the same year." He flatly stated, eyes directed at the teal-head. "You were in that team, right?" He asked as a question, still unsure if such claim was true. After all, he was assessing Kuroko at that point, looking for subtle signs, movements. But, even though how much he tried to raise a fair judgment, he could but only conclude that it was impossible for this guy to be part of such famed group – so as Kuroko's looks and stature said.

He was still uncertain, but during the first club meeting few hours ago, Kagami felt the similar aura that shrouded him that morning. It was the same uncomfortable feeling, the one that made his inner instinct shout loud in order to warn him. It was as if those stares were drilling holes behind him, eyes that observed him from afar. And when Kuroko suddenly appeared inside the gym, Kagami identified him as the source. However, there was something different in Kuroko during that first moment he had seen him; it was even the reason for the confrontation that happened right now.

The coach – Kagami was still surprised that their coach was a she – had their shirts removed and she looked at them with a calculating stare. It had been weird, he'd admit, but he kept silent. Nevertheless, the appearance of Kuroko had made the whole ordeal more peculiar, surprising most of the senpais inside.

With the declaration that he was in fact a regular and a member of the Generation of Miracles, Kagami's curiosity punted up, which lead him to inquire about this team. All the same, he used that opportunity to bait the attention of the enigmatic Kuroko Tetsuya.

"You expected my arrival," Kuroko responded, seemingly undaunted with Kagami's words. The statements held meaning, but Kuroko was more focused about the fact that teen in front of him seemed oddly prepared, as if eager for this encounter. Kagami was wordless, but Kuroko well understood that the redhead was more than just he appeared. Kuroko felt the rising tension too, but he was rather exhilarated by it. "Perhaps you have noticed that I was observing you from afar, Kagami-kun," Kuroko supposed, but it was already far from question. He understood well – Kagami did try to get his attention when he probed about the Generation back inside the gym.

"I don't need to have something special to feel that I'm being stared upon," Kagami answered, his words safely put. He appeared hostile at first glance, but he was in fact canny. In reality, he may have initially thought about the unlikelihood of Kuroko's affiliation to Teikō, but the teal-head's observation quickly changed his mind. If Kuroko was aware that Kagami did presume his arrival in that vacant basketball court, then he was far more calculating than the redhead supposed. "I wondered about it for some time. I just thought that it might have been you."

"So Kagami-kun is actually a person who does not judge one from mere appearance alone," Kuroko said, but his tone actually sounded that he already gave an instant deliberation of Kagami's personality. However, there were no hints of mockery in his face. Just a plain statement.

"Perhaps," Kagami chose to answer unclearly. He'd not want to make an impression, not that early. "But maybe because I don't simply look down at people who I haven't played yet," Kagami admitted. And it was the truth. "Or maybe I'm just underestimating myself right now," the redhead said.

Kuroko frowned. Kagami flinched. The words were unintended but it seemed that the teal-head took the wrong meaning. Kagami was sometimes vulnerable in making unconscious remarks, and he just fired one against the teen who he was doubtful of. Nonetheless, Kagami steeled himself and prepared to hear a reply. The grimace that designed the teal-head's face was not lifted the time when Kuroko responded. "Or perhaps you just guessed wrongly," Kuroko added, tone sounding displeased. The teal-head teen stood silent after that, temporarily stopping the exchange of words. Kagami only regarded him with a serious countenance – serious but with no hints of sarcasm.

"I do know you'd come," Kagami tried to veer from the awkward silence. "I can guess the strength of an opponent to some extent," he said at first. "It's like strong guys have a peculiar smell about them." The redhead narrowed his eyes a little bit. "But you're weird." Kagami said. "You don't smell like anything at all. Your strength is odorless." He described. "But I want to see for myself," Kagami threw the ball he held to Kuroko. "You, from the "Generation of Miracles, what kind of guy you are," He challenged the shorter teen.

"So it is not a coincidence, after all." Kuroko said as he pressed his hands against the ball. "I was thinking of playing against you, but it seemed you planned it that way as well." Kuroko unbuttoned the jet-black long sleeved shirt that served as their uniform and threw it away from him. He dribbled the ball on his right hand and looked straight at Kagami's eyes. "A one-on-one," the teal-head announced. Kuroko moved to the sides, still wary of the redhead. "Kagami-kun, let me tell you things before we begin." Kuroko spoke as he kept the ball on his hands.

"You can tell while we play," Kagami said, eyes focused both upon Kuroko and the ball. "Just make sure that you're not going to be distracted with your own words," the redhead remarked, making Kuroko smile slyly. Kagami observed the grin, the second one since their encounter.

"I am far from distraction," Kuroko said amusedly. "Tell me, Kagami-kun, for what purpose do you intend this game for?" The teal-head asked as he tried for a drive, but he quickly stopped when Kagami easily guarded against his movement. Kuroko transferred the ball to his left hand, dribbling it far away from Kagami.

"I want to know how powerful this 'Generation' that all of you fawn about," Kagami answered, extending his hands to the side to widen his defense. "I want to play someone who could challenge me with strength and skill." He stated, making Kuroko smile again.

"Straightforward," Kuroko answered back, as he spun and made a fake move, which made Kagami's guard weaken. Nevertheless, the redhead recovered and followed Kuroko, barely snatching the ball away from the teen. Kuroko only looked amusedly at the display, as he was forced to remain passive, with the ball in his hand.

"I have a different intention," Kuroko first declared. He was midway between the three-point line and the basket. Even with Kagami's defense, Kuroko raised the ball with his right hand, supported by his left. Kagami perked up and raised both of his hand together. Nonetheless, his guard faltered when he was overtaken with surprise – the ball suddenly vanished from Kuroko's hands. It took him a second to recover, but the shock felt like a lifetime for him. Kagami glared down against the opponent, only to realize that Kuroko had disappeared as well. Kagami spun, and was overwhelmed when Kuroko made his first score.

Kagami could not believe his eyes. It was almost unreal, but it happened before him. So it was the proof of the skill of the Generation of Miracles. Kagami Taiga was beyond shock; he never expected such skill to have existed and be used against him. The ball seemed to have stopped in midair as Kagami watched it, his eyes wide in surprise. Kuroko only watched him in that trance, seemingly enjoying the expression on Kagami's face.

As the net made a swishing sound and as the ball bounced from the cemented court, Kuroko only smiled at Kagami, not too much to be considered a grin but not too little as a show of humility. Kuroko Tetsuya was clearly amused that time. "I am here to find that person who will crush the people I want to see defeated." Kuroko said as he crouched to pick up the ball. He slowly approached Kagami. The redhead was silent as the surprise from the show coursed through him. "I am here to see if you are that one, Kagami-kun."

. . . . . . . . .

Kagami understood. He was not the one who underestimated others or gave out a lashing judgment to people, but he certainly learned one thing from the game. He looked at Kuroko with confusion and surprise, making the teal-head look back at him condescendingly. The game was not really short, but the outcome had made a different impression. Kagami knelt in front of the ring, while Kuroko stood by the courtside. The ball lay beside Kagami, seemingly yelling jeers and taunts against the redhead. Kagami Taiga's eyes were wide.

Kagami was crushed him by a wide margin. 11-21 – Kuroko lead the score.

"I am not going to pity you," Kuroko began to spoke, face hard. Kagami slowly raised his head towards the teal-head, amazement and shock still coating his visage. "But it tells me that you are not yet at your best, Kagami-kun," Kuroko added. "Tell me, does it frustrate you that you have lost to someone like me?" Kuroko asked. But Kagami remained silent, as the teal-head expected. He felt that Kagami's will wavered a bit, but he knew it would not falter. "How does it feel?" He repeated.

"It's frustrating," Kagami answered, pounding his fist against the pavement. He lost. It was total lost. He felt so—

"I understand what you feel, Kagami-kun." Kuroko suddenly said, making Kagami flinch at his words. "However, knowing that you are truthfully at lost with the result but yet understanding how you feel tells me that you are not the one who gives up so easily." The teal-head remarked. "I do not need someone who looks so far away from the present. I do not need someone who soars so high." Kuroko slowly approached Kagami and looked down at him.

"One of the most important traits of a person who succeeds is never giving up," Kuroko told the redhead. "Kagami-kun, I need someone who will not give up." He added. "I need someone who does not falter, one who does not shrink from strong opponents. I need someone who can stand up against the odds." Kuroko continued to say.

"What are you trying to say, Kuroko?" Kagami was truly dumbfounded. Suddenly, Kuroko blurted out things he did not understand.

"Just let me give you a message, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said and paused for some seconds after. The teal-head seemed that he was running words inside his head, but his impassive look made him really unreadable. "Tomorrow, if you are to succeed, you are going to defeat one of the Generation of Miracles." Kuroko announced. "And if you do succeed, I am going to promise you the future, Kagami-kun."

And then Kuroko Tetsuya left.

Kagami was still surprised, even now that he remained alone in the courtside. The cold of the night was not able to cool his body down; sweat ran all over his skin. Even as ominous as Kuroko did sound, Kagami felt a little tug in his chest that told him that there was something grand going to happen tomorrow.

But another thing was for sure. He thought earlier that morning that what could happen next would change the course of his life.

It seemed he was correct.

- Chapter end -