Story Information

First, I don't own KnB.

Second, thank you very much for reading this story and for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I'm new to this so the response has been encouraging. Still, all mistakes are my own and I appreciate your patience with my experiment. This chapter and the next one will have Kuroko with other members of the GoM, so while Akashi's metaphorically benched for the moment, he's definitely coming back.

Third, just another warning that there's eventually going to be BL/yaoi content in this story and if that's not for you, I'd encourage you to read something else.

The Shadow Stratagem

Chapter 4

Kise hated days when he had P.E. class. Basketball practice was grueling enough on its own and there was no sympathy extended for already having exercised for an hour earlier in the day. It didn't help that he could easily outpace almost every person there no matter what activity they were doing for the day. He ended up being both bored and tired for something that seemed incredibly pointless. Today was no exception as he surveyed the arrangements underway for a joint-class dodgeball game. Honestly, could this get any more pathetic?

He was halfheartedly completing the warm-up stretches while looking around when Kise noted Murasakibara was leaning against a wall with an even less enthusiastic expression gracing his features. He was definitely someone that shared Kise's dislike for gym class and Kise made his way over to his teammate. They exchanged greetings before settling back to wait for team selections to begin; although both of them knew they'd be early picks. While lazily surveying the other students, Kise winced as he saw an extraordinarily uncoordinated guy trip over his own untied shoelace; the blonde remembered something he wanted to ask Murasakibara.

"Hey, Murasakibaracchi, do you have a crush on Momoicchi?"

The purple-haired teen paused in the middle of a truly impressive yawn to look at the blonde with confusion written plainly across his face. "Sacchin? Haven't needed to crush her yet, but she can be annoying sometimes."

Kise laughed at his teammate's misunderstanding. "No, not like you crush other players. Do you like her, as in, do you want to date her?"

"Date Sacchin? She's scary. And she doesn't like maibo." He stopped talking as if this was reason enough to discount a potential partner and Kise realized that for Murasakibara, it probably was.

"Oh, I just thought it was unusual for you to sit with her during the break yesterday. Did she have a new evaluation for you? I can tell you've improved over the last few weeks, so was she updating your statistics?"

"Huh? I was sitting with Kurochin. Sacchin was keeping him company. She said something about Akachin meeting with him after practice."

"Kurochin? You mean Kagamicchi's friend?"

Murasakibara nodded and Kise found himself honestly astounded. Why was that entirely unimpressive person garnering so much attention from people he admired? Before he could ask a follow up question the teacher called all the students over and began splitting them up into teams. As he'd expected, Kise was among the first picked, with Murasakibara immediately going to the other team. They exchanged glances and shrugged. It couldn't be helped and basketball loyalty only went so far, they were enemies on this court. The remaining students were quickly divided and the teacher cleared his throat and began to direct them.

"Okay, so now that we have our teams –" the teacher had just begun to issue instructions when he was politely interrupted, "Excuse me, but I don't have a team yet" and didn't that voice sound aggravatingly familiar for some reason?

"AH! Kuroko-kun! Why do you always do that?" the teacher's frustration was unquestionably a long-standing one. Kise surveyed the blue-haired teen that had moved up to stand next to their teacher with mounting dislike. This wasn't the first time his class had been paired with Kuroko's but he'd never noticed the other student before and he couldn't say he was pleased to see him now.

"I'm sorry. Which team would you like me to go to this time?"

The teacher sighed as both captains avoided his gaze. Even though only half of these students regularly had gym with Kuroko, he was notoriously bad at these things and the teacher understood why neither team wanted him. But, he thought philosophically, at least everyone's misery would be short-lived in this game since Kuroko-kun would undoubtedly be out early on. It wouldn't be anything like the nightmare swimming relay when Kuroko's limbs suddenly seemed to be made of lead and he kept almost drowning in the pool. Or the obstacle course where Kuroko had finished a full forty minutes after everyone else on his team. Or the archery lesson where…well, best not to dwell on such unpleasant memories.

It seemed he was taking too long to decide however as the two captains quickly played three rounds of rock-paper-scissors while he was thinking and he heard a triumphant crowing of "YOU get him!" followed by a series of groans from the team that had apparently lost. Kise smirked to see the shorter teen go to Murasakibara's side, but he was taken aback to see Murasakibara nod at the new arrival. Seriously? Murasakibara couldn't see what a liability Kuroko was going to be?

Kuroko collected the appropriate jersey and went over to his team without comment and the teacher had to give him this, Kuroko did always try very hard and he seemed impervious to the dismay with which his classmates received him.

"Alright, we'll begin playing momentarily. If you get hit, you're out. If you throw a ball but it is intercepted by the opposite team, you're out. You can catch a ball to prevent being out, but it has to be a clean catch; you can't drop it or trap it with your elbow or something like that. But mostly your strategy is to dodge the ball, thus the name of the game. Once you're out, line up along that mark and wait for a resurrection tag from a teammate that catches a ball; they can tag you back in. When the last member of a team is out the other team wins. Losing team does extra stamina drills." The teacher distributed three balls to each team and they got into position.

Kise spun the ball he'd been given in his hands as he waited for the signal for the game to begin. He didn't immediately see Kuroko but his shorter stature would afford him some protection in the early stages of the game. A sneer momentarily appeared on his face, he was especially glad Kuroko was on Murasakibara's team, he'd take extra care to get him out early on.

Once the whistle sounded it was all-out war. Few things got teenage boys more invigorated than a legitimate chance at physical combat and as everyone knew, dodgeball was just a sanctioned opportunity to throw something at someone else. The added incentive to avoid the stamina drills also lent a kind of crazed intensity to the players and raised the bloodlust to a near frenzied level.

Although he was disappointed he couldn't tag Kuroko out on his first strike, he did successfully catch someone else and knew it would only be a matter of time. Kise intercepted a ball from its trajectory toward his team and easily spun it back toward the other side; the initial thrower moved to the outside with a good-natured sigh along with his teammate that had been caught by the blonde's volley. Kise kept looking for the blue-haired nuisance and was surprised that he couldn't seem to find him in the crowd, but no matter, it was thinning out by the minute. He was astonished that Kuroko hadn't been hit yet but supposed everyone had to have a lucky day at some point.

When Kise caught another ball and finally saw Kuroko at the same time it was a magical moment for him and he added just a bit of extra force to the throw that he aimed at the smaller boy. He was subsequently astounded to see Kuroko meet his eyes as he tapped the ball back toward Kise. The ball hit his shoulder harder than he anticipated and Kuroko held his gaze for a moment as Kise saw a surprising flare of emotion in the other's usually stoic face. Kise hesitated but moved to the outside knowing he'd get tagged back in soon – the threat of losing made him a valuable asset in this game. Sure enough, when one of his teammates next caught a ball from the other side he was immediately tagged to re-enter.

After gaining custody of another ball he began systematically taking out the opposition; he refused to lose to someone like Kuroko. Where the hell did he keep disappearing to, anyway? Kise was having an unexpectedly difficult time keeping track of him, although he'd catch flashes of blue out of the corner of his eye only to have the other teen seem to vanish. The blonde felt his irritation rising and threw the ball forcefully at the opposition out of spite, aiming for where he'd just seen his current nemesis. Kuroko again surprised him by dodging the ball and he found himself receiving another glare from the smaller teen. Soon it was down to five on three, with Kise, his team's captain (who was on the fencing team), a member of the gymnastics team, a guy from the swim team, and another boy he didn't know too well but was fairly sure played baseball, versus Murasakibara, a guy from the volleyball team, and Kuroko. They no longer had the time to tag anyone back in because of the surprisingly intense pace with which balls were being hurtled back and forth – taking precious time to try to make it to the sides for reinforcements would certainly lead to being caught.

Murasakibara was beginning to look a little anxious. Kise knew he feared the penalty of additional drills but right now Kise had no mercy to spare. He couldn't have explained exactly why Kuroko pissed him off so much but this was most likely the only opportunity he was ever going to have to directly prove his superiority over the other teen. When the gymnast had to duck down from the desperate force of Murasakibara's throw Kise knew this needed to end quickly before someone actually got crushed. As that thought crossed his mind the baseball player managed to graze the volleyball player so it was now five on two. Kise couldn't have prevented the gleeful smile on his face even if he'd wanted to. Absolutely perfect.

At least, it should have been. But for some reason Kuroko was not only simply hanging in there, there was a burning ferocity in his eyes that left no doubt in Kise's mind the other male somehow intended to win this game. This was reaffirmed as he saw Kuroko deflect a ball straight to his team's side that took out the swimmer and then quickly pivoted to block a ball headed for Murasakibara and with barely a glance to determine his target, sent the ball spinning toward the gymnast who was too surprised to dodge. Just like that it was three on two and Kuroko's team was screaming their support for their surprisingly adept player. Murasakibara managed to get the baseball player and the game dropped to two on two, Kise and his captain, and Kuroko with Murasakibara.

The teacher's whistle screeched and they all paused to look at him. "This is too close to keep playing since you are now essentially one to one and we're not going to have a sudden death round. I'm going to call the game a tie and in the spirit of recognizing the hard work of both teams, neither of you has to do the stamina drills." Cheers went up from both sides at this news and the sheer relief that was mirrored on Murasakibara's and Kuroko's faces actually made Kise want to smile for a moment until he realized he hadn't really won with this decision. He was fuming with his own frustration and didn't immediately notice that Kuroko had moved to stand in front of him. When he became conscious of it he arched an eyebrow in silent question.

"Thank you for an interesting game, Kise-kun. I appreciate your competitive spirit; it would have been very difficult to beat you if we'd kept going." Kise's jaw dropped at the other's words but Kuroko wasn't finished and as he continued his voice held a clear warning. "However, if you ever specifically target me like that again, please be aware I won't hold back. No matter how unequal the strengths of the competitors might appear, you owe your opponents your respect. You are strong, but you'll eventually fail if you can't recognize that in others." Kuroko held his gaze for a long moment and it seemed he was going to say something else before he visibly changed his mind. Instead, Kuroko gave a slight bow and turned away from the dumbstruck teen who could only wonder what the hell this kid's problem was. It was just a game; he hadn't even used his full strength when he sent those balls at Kuroko after all. But still, Kise felt an unfamiliar sense of shame over his actions and he didn't like that the blue haired boy had caused it.

He stood there in silence for a moment before crossing over to where several others were playing an impromptu game of basketball. The teacher had let them have the rest of the period for individual activity in lieu of the drills and Kise felt just shaken enough to retreat to the comfort of a sport he knew so well. His eyes searched the gym and he saw Kuroko was stopped by a few of their classmates, presumably receiving thanks and acknowledgments of his contribution to this unexpected reprieve. Kise noticed the teen seemed uncomfortable being the focus of their attention and was unsurprised when he managed to break away. He was very much surprised, however, when Kuroko elected to walk laps rather than take advantage of his lack of presence to avoid further activity, and was even further outdone when the eternally lazy Murasakibara joined him! What could they possibly have to talk about? Kuroko seemed like an uptight little nobody to Kise, what did Murasakibara find so fascinating about him?

"Kurochin. Kurochin. Can I walk with you?" Murasakibara's voice reached Kuroko as he was aimlessly walking the indoor track. The blue haired boy looked up as his dodgeball teammate fell into stride next to him, his long limbs could have easily outpaced Kuroko's speed but he had no motive for such exertion. Kuroko nodded his assent to the tall teen's request and the pair continued walking.

"You didn't want to play basketball with Kise, Murasakibara-kun?"

"No. I play enough basketball at practice and with games." His tone hinted at something Kuroko couldn't quite place.

"Don't you like basketball, Murasakibara-kun?" Kuroko inwardly frowned as he unintentionally borrowed Akashi's words from the previous afternoon.

"I'm good at it. But I don't like it. I don't like any sports really."

Although Kuroko would have liked to probe further, he was uneasy about delving into the private affairs of someone he didn't know particularly well. Besides, it seemed the basketball player had another conversational gambit in mind anyway.

"Kurochin, did you really punch Akachin yesterday?"

Well. That was unexpected. He glanced over at Murasakibara, who didn't seem especially concerned by the possibility that he had done such a thing. He sighed but admitted, "Yes, I did. It was not what I should have done; my temper got the better of me. Did he tell you about it?"

Murasakibara shook his head. "Not really. I saw his bruise this morning. When I asked him about it, Akachin just laughed and said he was careless during a one-on-one with you. But that's not damage from a basketball."

"I didn't control my reactions. He made me mad, but I know better." Murasakibara nodded and they continued their laps in silence for several minutes before the purple-haired male spoke again.

"I want Kurochin and Akachin to be friends."

Kuroko whipped his head around to stare at Murasakibara. "Huh? Where is that coming from, Murasakibara-kun?"

"Not too many people could get away with punching Akachin. I think even fewer can make him laugh. I don't think it's so easy to provoke you, either. Maybe both of you need that."

"While I agree that he probably needs at the very least a metaphorical punch every now and again, I'm not sure violence and provocation are a solid foundation for a friendship, Murasakibara-kun. And I didn't make him laugh, you did."

"Mm. Maybe. But I think Akachin had you come by practice yesterday to show you he valued your ideas. He already respects you, Kurochin. I like you, too. It'd mean I could see you more if the two of you got along."

Kuroko didn't immediately reply as he mulled this over. He knew Murasakibara wouldn't mind, even from their limited encounters so far Kuroko recognized the other male was comfortable with extended periods of quiet. He didn't know how much stock he'd really put in Murasakibara's interpretation of events so far, but he did know one thing, he'd unexpectedly found himself liking this person. The two maintained a companionable silence until finally he offered, "Murasakibara-kun, let me be direct. Akashi-kun unsettles me. I don't know if we can be friends. But I do like you, too."

Kuroko had cause to immediately question the wisdom of his statement as the purple-haired teen took the opportunity to ruffle his hair. "Please don't do that, Murasakibara-kun. You'll make me angry." To which the giant guffawed in response, because really, wasn't that the most adorable damn thing ever? But he did stop because Kurochin's face was kind of scary right then. Not that he was going to admit to that, ever.

Kise's eyes narrowed as he took in the two people walking. He'd found himself looking over at them periodically during his game, he hardly needed to devote his full attention at this level of play, but this turn of events felt threatening. He didn't like Murasakibara's choice to hang out with the smaller teen and seeing him act affectionately toward Kuroko when Kise was still smarting from Kuroko's earlier pointed criticism put him on edge.

So he needed to recognize the strengths of others to win, huh? Not bad advice, in its way. Well then, what he needed was more information about his newly-minted enemy. Kise would never be heralded as the most academically-inclined member of the Generation of Miracles, but he possessed a ruthless streak that could put him on par with Akashi when he was sufficiently motivated. And as he heard Murasakibara's laugh, he felt that just possibly, he could consider himself motivated to take down this annoyingly uptight little interloper.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. For Kise, it indicated the start of an entirely new game. And he was going to win.