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

CHAPTER 2: TETSUYA-KUN

"Kuroko-kun…" Sayaka cowered behind Kuroko as girls crowded around them.

"Oh my god! She's so cute!"

"Look at how she's hiding behind his back!"

Her grip on Kuroko's shirt tightened and tears sprung in her eyes. She had been walking to class with Kuroko when a group of girls had approached and surrounded them. "Excuse me. I think you're making Shiromi-san uncomfortable," Kuroko pointed out, "and we're going to be late for class."

"Oh, shoot! He's right!" A girl said and they hurried away.

"…Thank you, Kuroko-kun." She gave him a shy smile and he nodded. Then the two made their way to class.


"A mini-game?! I can't believe we're playing against the upperclassmen already…" Kagami smirked.

"Isn't it more fun to play against strong opponents? Let's go." Riko smiled.

'I wonder just how far these freshman can go. I hope Sayaka will be okay.' She blew the whistle and the ball was thrown in the air. Kagami and Mitobe jumped. Kagami slammed his hand against it to bring it to the freshman team's side.

Kagami shot dunk after dunk as the freshman trio cheered. Sayaka narrowed her eyes. "Whoa! Kagami's not letting the upperclassmen even touch the ball!"

"But he's not letting any of his teammates touch the ball either," Sayaka growled. The other freshmen's' eyes widened. Kuroko glanced at her, concerned.

"Look! They're double teaming Kagami when he isn't even holding the ball! They don't intend to let him make any shots!"

The 2nd years made a comeback and the score was soon 15-31, 2nd years leading. "There was no way we could've won anyway. We should just give up…"

"Give up?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kagami was silenced when Kuroko proceeded to kick the back of his knees. Kagami turned to the bluenette menacingly. "You…!"

"Please calm down," he said politely.

"What are you-?!"

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Sayaka hissed. "This is basketball. We play as a team. Now, quit hogging the ball and pass to us, Bakagami!" The court went silent. She glared at the other guys. "Well? Are we going to keep playing or not?!"

Suddenly, the score began to change once more. Kuroko revealed something called Misdirection. Misdirection is a technique that moves people's attention towards not the user, but his teammates. Then he is able to steal the ball and pass it without being noticed. The ball was passed to Sayaka. Her eyes darted back and forth as she watched the upperclassmen run towards her. She ran.

"Wha-? Where did she go?" Hyuuga exclaimed.

His question was answered as he heard Izuki yell, "She's at the basket!" They turned. Sayaka threw the ball in the air and it fell swiftly in the net.

"How did she…?" Riko smirked.

The game continued with the freshmen slowly closing the gap between the scores. Kuroko shot the ball… only for it to hit the rim of the basket and hop off. The freshmen groaned. Kagami leaped forward and slammed the ball into the basket a second before the buzzer went off.

"You've got to make the basket… idiot."


"I can't believe the freshmen actually beat us…"

"What was that technique that Sayaka used?" Koganei asked. Riko smiled brightly.

"That was something called 'Ghost Path'. It's a technique that requires you to be able to see through people's weaknesses. You know how I come from a family of trainers, right? So it's natural for Saya to be able to see through weaknesses too. Also, she's able to go in people's 'blind spots'."

"Blind spots?"

"Everyone has a blind spot. No one has a 360 degree vision of everything. So Saya runs through her opponent's blind spots which makes it seem like she's invisible."

"A phantom and a ghost… Seriously…" Hyuuga sighed. Kagami dropped a hand on Sayaka's head.

"And what was up with the personality change?" Riko giggled as Sayaka blushed.

"Saya is a little bipolar. She gets really hot-blooded when she's on the courts."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Kagami-kun," she apologized shyly. Kuroko smiled at her.

"It just proves that you're passionate about basketball." She returned his smile with a small one of her own.


"I'll walk you home," Kuroko offered. Sayaka turned red.

"N-no, you don't have to do that."

"I insist." Kagami scoffed.

"Like you could protect her is she gets mugged. I'll come with you guys. My house is in that direction anyway." The three were walking in silence when Kuroko spoke up.

"Why did you start playing basketball, Shiromi-san?" Sayaka smiled nostalgically, though there seemed to be a slight sadness to it.

"…My brother taught me. I was really reluctant to learn at first."


FLASHBACK

"Hey, Saya! Come play basketball with me!" A little girl with ivory pigtails rolled her eyes.

"But I'm playing with my dolls!" she whined.

"This'll be more fun, I promise!"

"…Fine."

"I don't know if this is a good idea…"

"It'll be fun!"

"Tsubasa, I don't even know how to play basketball!"

"I'll teach you!"

3 YEARS LATER

"Ha! I won again!" Sayaka stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"Gosh, Saya! You've gotten stronger again!" She smiled brightly at him.

END OF FLASHBACK


"How old is your brother?" She was quiet for a few seconds before answering.

"He should be 17 years old if I remember correctly."

"My apartment is here. Kuroko, you think you can take her the rest of the way?" At the bluenette's nod, Kagami entered his apartment complex. Sayaka nervously rubbed her arms and bit her lip. She gasped when Kuroko grabbed her hand.

"E-eh?"

"You looked scared," he explained simply. She bowed her head, hoping desperately that her hair covered her blush.

"Oh, this is my house." They stopped in front of a large two-story house. "T-thank you for walking me home." He nodded and was about to leave. For some reason, something compelled her to reach out and quickly grab onto his sleeve. He turned and tilted his head questioningly. "U-uhm…" she stuttered. "…C-can I call you by your first name?!" Kuroko blinked. Sayaka felt her cheeks start to burn. "I-I'm sorry. Please f-forget everything I just sai-"

"Sure," he cut her off.

"Huh?"

"You can call me by my first name," he repeated.

"O-okay, T-Tetsuya-kun…" He nodded at her.

"Good-bye, Shiromi-san."

"No!" she yelled. "I-I mean… you can call me Sayaka too…" Kuroko smiled slightly at her bowed head.

"Alright, Sayaka-san," he said gently. Her face was scarlet as she listened to her name roll off his tongue.

She opened the door and yelled, "Good night, Tetsuya-kun!" before entering and promptly slamming the door shut after her. Sayaka had her back against the door and took a deep breath. Then a large, goofy grin spread over her face.

"Saya?" Riko called.

"What?"

"Did something good happen?" Sayaka blushed.

"S-something like that." Then she walked to her room.

'I wonder what happened,' Riko thought. 'It's been forever since I've seen her smile like that.'


THE NEXT DAY

"T-Tetsuya-kun!" The girls had hearts in their eyes as they watched Sayaka practically skip over to the said bluenette.

"Oi, oi, since when has Sayaka been calling Kuroko by his first name?" Hyuuga asked. Kagami shrugged. "When I was walking with them yesterday, she was calling him 'Kuroko-kun'." Riko smiled.

"I'm glad that Saya is starting to open up again."


AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you liked it, FOLLOW, FAVORITE, and REVIEW! I think that Kise will be showing up in the next chapter or two, so stay tuned!