Disclaimers: I do not own KuroBas

Warnings: Dark!Kuroko


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The Other Voice

Chapter Four

Respect

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4:50 PM.

It was only ten minutes until the final preliminary match between Shuutoku High and Seirin High. Both teams had exited their respective locker rooms, now leaving for the court. In Seirin's room, two teenagers were still there, their other teammates had already left. Only a few minutes ago both of them were sleeping, but now one of them was waking up the other.

"Kuroko, oi, Kuroko. Wake up, dammit, the upperclassmen have left already." Kagami Taiga said to his partner, Kuroko Tetsuya, who still had his eyes closed. The taller teen shook his shoulders, and finally an almost inaudible groan greeted him.

"Let's go," The red head said impatiently, his figure motioning to leave the room first. As his friend struggled to wake himself, Kagami stepped out of the room, closing the door with a thud.

Diregarding his previous act of being sleepy, Kuroko opened his eyes almost immediately. Getting up from the bench, he straightened his legs. Next he examined his hands, moving each fingers fluidly. He chuckled. It had been quite a long time since he got a hold on this body. Tetsuya had been quite a stubborn boy; never once he made a gap for him to slip in. But that match against Seiho seemed to tire him and thus gave him a chance when Tetsuya fell asleep.

Tick tock

The faint sound of clock ticking grew louder as silence consumed the room. He glanced at the said clock; ah, only a few minutes until the match begun.

Tick tock

It's time, he thought. Time for the weak to be devoured. For the untold grudge to be voiced. For the smiles of the opponents to be turned upside down. For Tetsuya to win. He could practically hear Tetsuya's soft breathing in his head, now sleeping inside their shared body. That's right. Tetsuya should rest. Because now he would take care of everything.

'Kuroko' exited the room, walking rather fast to catch up on his partner. The minute he caught up with Kagami, the latter immediately scolded him for taking so many time, then Kagami asked him,

"You're ready, Kuroko?"

He smiled darkly.

"Of course."

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The final round of Interhigh preliminaries finally began. The first few minutes were spent by both teams to decide who would take over the first quarter, and when Shuutoku finally earned their first point with courtesy of Midorima, Seirin surprised them with a quick comeback by Kuroko's court-cutting pass. With that tactic, Seirin seemed to have locked Midorima's movements and kept fighting to take over the first round. And every time Shuutoku tried to make a move, Kuroko always managed to slip in between their passes with his almost invisible presence.

However he knew it wasn't enough. Within any minute by now, Shuutoku would find a way to gain their power back. His passes wouldn't be enough. Besides...

He still had a word to prove.

His eyes found Midorima's form. The latter was still individualist as ever. He knew his co-operation with Kagami wouldn't prove anything about his team-play. Midorima said so himself right after he bragged about his successful team-work with Kagami. He needed something. A way to prove his beliefs.

Suddenly he saw a black-haired teen in front of him. It seemed like Takao had begun to mark him. He stayed silent as the other teen greeted him almost too cheerfully,

"So we finally faced each other, Shin-chan would say it's a fate."

Ah.

Found it

He smirked inwardly. If he were talking about team play, where's the better place to start other than the team itself?

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The moment Takao faced Kuroko Tetsuya directly, he knew it wouldn't be a friendly relationship. When coach Nakatani told him to mark number eleven from Seirin, he almost lost a grip to refrain himself from smiling so wide it would create questions from his teammates. It was purely personal after all. It was his own curiosity about 'Shin-chan's former teammate'. And apparently, rumor has it that this boy had some special skill; boy did that court-cutting pass surprise him along with his so-called 'misdirection' too.

But he wouldn't let a shorty like him to take over the spotlight easily like that. They even said something about 'Midorima has been shut down'.

He'd show them who should have been shut down.

"So we finally faced each other, huh." Takao began. "Shin-chan would say it's a fate. But I wouldn't argue with him about that. We do have a lot of things in common, don't we? We're both freshmen, we both have a strong guy as our partner – not that Shin-chan would admit that, though. He's a bit shy," – he chuckled – "And guess what? I'm sort of good a passing too. But maybe that's why I hate you. I really don't want to lose to you, you know?"

Of course it wouldn't be a friendly relationship; he just practically declared war to Kuroko's face! Takao internally laughed. Well, not that he planned to have a nice, cozy one from the start.

"…You're annoying."

He blinked.

"I don't like you too. You're too annoying and chatty." The light blue haired boy said, eyes narrowing. But then a small yet confident smirk molded on his lips. "But I don't want to lose either, especially to the likes of you."

That surprised and unexpectedly irked him. From what he had seen from their past interaction – and from what he heard from Midorima, Kuroko was a rigid person with blank expression, monotonous voice and a somewhat polite way of speaking. The person before him was not like that. It was almost the exact opposite.

Maybe he did annoy Kuroko that much.

Quickly, with a returned composure, he only grinned back in reply. "Now that's the spirit."

Takao immediately proved his skill, and did Kuroko's current expression satisfied him. Heh. It seemed like he had finally recognized the existence of his Eagle Eye.

Takao just blocked his seemly invisible pass, and he succeeded to repeat it twice. And by his self-proclaimed assistance, Midorima managed to steal a few three points for Shuutoku. While Takao smirked in satisfaction, he didn't see Kuroko's reaction to all chaos he just created for Seirin.

Kuroko was definitely not amused.

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At the beginning of the second half, Seirin finally decided to bench Kuroko Tetsuya. His invisible passes didn't work on Shuutoku thanks to Takao, and Midorima realized how angry the former was as he saw him sitting on the bench.

Honestly speaking, anger was not one of Kuroko's usual traits, so to see him in that particular condition actually surprised Midorima.

But he admitted he was satisfied. He knew from the very start that Takao could block Kuroko, and he had warned them earlier. But they finally understood the situation they were in right now. Seirin will lose and Shuutoku will win. He would finally prove it to Kuroko that team play couldn't get him anywhere near victory.

Until then he would shoot as many three points as he could, block every attack his opponent did, and he wouldn't stop until the score gap grew high until a comeback wasn't going to be possible in any way.

Suddenly a ball went to his hands, and immediately he went into his shooting position. Angling his arms, he aimed the goal which was located quite far from where he was standing. He straightened his bended knees, jumped, and prepared to throw the orange ball into where it belonged to. When he knew he wouldn't miss, he released the ball.

A flash of red suddenly flooded his vision.

It was Kagami. He appeared all of a sudden in front of him, trying to stop his shot. Thankfully it was left undisturbed, and another three points were added to the King of East's score. But Midorima couldn't help but notice that later on, Kagami's jumps were getting higher and higher.

And when Kagami's fingers finally scratched the ball he was about to shoot, Midorima almost choked. How did he reach such height? And his jumps – they were starting to be ridiculous!

Kagami did the jumps again repeatedly until he finally blocked Midorima's shot. Kagami grabbed the ball, and threw it away from the green head's hands. When Midorima turned to glare at him, Kagami only stared back at nothing in particular. But the fiery ambition in his eyes was visible and his thoughts were so loud in his head he thought they'd be audible to the others.

He wanted to be strong, stronger, and stronger. Even though Kuroko might not be able to help him – just like the current situation – he would still fight, and he's going to snatch the victory with his own hands.

The red head panted, wiping off the sweat off his forehead. He could feel it, the newly found strength in his legs. The new weapon he could use to defeat Midorima – to win against Shuutoku. He would be fine even though Kuroko was not with him. Even if he were alone, he would win – no,

He'd prove that he could win by his own.

(He didn't see Kuroko glaring at him murderously.)

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"Kagami, you're too worked up, cool your head off," Izuki said to the younger boy beside him. The third quarter just ended and by that time their muscles were starting to weaken. They were all panting, but Kagami looked out of breath. The way the redhead's shoulder heaved up and down more looked like someone who was angry and looking for a fight than someone who was fatigued from a sport.

Hyuuga sighed. "Yeah, you should have known it wasn't the time to attack, you should have passed - "

"So what if I didn't pass the ball?" Kagami murmured.

"Huh?"

"Look, the only one who's on par with Shuutoku is me. We don't need team play right now. We need me to score."

The members of Seirin basketball team reacted immediately. Most were scowling at their Ace's attitude. "What the hell Kagami - we don't have time to deal with you being selfish like this!"

The next thing happened so fast like a blur - Kuroko's fist met Kagami's face and when they realized it the latter was already on the ground.

Spontaneously Kagami tried to get up but a hand stopped him; gripping his shoulders tightly. He looked up only to stare right into Kuroko's angry eyes.

"Look what we have here... Are you playing superheroes, Kagami-kun?" He drawled. His voice brought chills to his teammates, and some of them noticed how Kuroko didn't use his usual polite way of talking anymore. "You think we could win just as long as we give it all to you? With you playing by yourself?"

Kagami jumped from the floor to Kuroko, he grabbed the boy's shirt by its collar, pulling him upwards by the act. "So what do you suggest, we play all nicely and work together? That's not gonna be enough! Are you okay with losing as long as everyone enjoys playing? HUH?!"

He could hear Kuroko sigh. "Okay… So team work isn't going to work. Alright, play by yourself then. I'll be watching." He said, releasing himself from Kagami's grip. Kuroko walked away from the redhead, but he turned once again glaring daggers at him, "But listen, if you ever win, don't you ever come to celebrate with us."

"W-What?!"

"It's your win, not ours." Kuroko drawled, sitting down on the bench. "You see, Kagami-kun, the Generation of Miracles don't celebrate together too, you know. There's nothing to celebrate. No team play. No togetherness. It's not even fun to them. What's to celebrate? Individualism? Selfishness? That's more likely. So I conclude that we don't need to celebrate together, it's your victory after all."

Upon seeing Kagami's dumb-struck expression, Kuroko only smirked.

"Keep playing by yourself, Kagami-kun. Don't forget to have fun."

Silence ensued upon them. Kagami was silent. Kuroko was satisfied. The other members were too shocked to say anything. The quietness went for a few moments longer until Koganei decided to stop it.

"W-well, it's not like we don't want to win, Kagami. But basketball is a team sport, right?"

Hyuuga tapped his shoulder. "You have anything else to say?"

Kagami was speechless, and he didn't even know why. Whether it was because Kuroko's sudden change of attitude or because how his words succeeded to corner him, he didn't know. But Kuroko was right. If he won, it wouldn't be Seirin's victory, but it's his victory. And when Kuroko told him to have fun – what fun could be achieved by playing by himself? What kind of victory was he thinking back then? A lonesome victory? No. He didn't want that. He wanted to win with Seirin – with Kuroko. How stupid he was when he thought he could win alone. He should have realized the moment he found out about his weapon - his jumps - he needed to utilize it properly by planning it with the team, not using it mindlessly by himself.

Kagami was immediately awakened from his stupor. He stuttered, guilt was clear in his voice. "Well, no… I-I'm sorry. Of course it'll be much better if we win this together."

Upon hearing those words out of his mouth, he could see Kuroko suddenly stared at him; the latter's previous expression of anger was gone. It was back to his usual one; blank. Kagami's mouth went open but he quickly closed it and glared at him. "What are you looking at?" He asked nervously, still a bit ashamed from earlier.

Kuroko turned away from him, walking over to the coach to say his desire to play in the last quarter. Kagami let out a quiet 'tsk' before went talking to Hyuuga to apologize for his behavior earlier, so he couldn't see Kuroko's amused expression towards him.

Kuroko smirked.

He started to understand Tetsuya's choice in his new light.

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"Kuroko-kun, have you found a way to stop Takao-kun?"

"Sort of. This pass is different from my usual, and I think now Kagami-kun can catch it."

"Really? I'll leave Takao-kun to you then."

Kuroko only nodded indifferently. When the referee announced the fourth quarter had begun, he went to his position, and soon he saw Takao heading to guard him. The moment Takao reached him, he whistled. "That's a good one, what you did to Kagami." He snickered. "But I think now I understand why Shin-chan respects you so much."

That perked Kuroko's attention. Midorima's respect...

"You really are something-" Takao started to blabber again.

"I see." Kuroko cut off his words, confusing him. Takao's eyebrow rose as he saw the shorter boy before him smiled at him almost sweetly – and when he felt chills creeping up his skin he decided to lean back. But Kuroko only leaned forward to him, the disturbing smile still on his face. His mouth opened and he spoke, words coming out as nothing more than a whisper -

"You want Midorima to acknowledge you, don't you?"

Takao's eyes grew wide.

"Ah, jackpot. I know precisely what you're thinking, Takao-kun. And now I finally know exactly why you hate me so much. It's because we're practically the same just like you said – but we're also different. Our difference is that Midorima actually respects me, but not you." Kuroko laughed, his tone low and heavily mocking him. Takao immediately snapped out of his stupor. No, he's wrong. Midorima didn't – Shin-chan didn't

He laughed, trying his best to cover his growing nervousness.

"What are you saying? Midorima respects me of course. He respects the whole team." He reasoned out. And he believed his own words. Of course that arrogant greenhead respected them! If he didn't, he wouldn't look cornered every time the captain threatened him. He wouldn't even let Takao rode the same vehicle with him. Midorima respected him. He –

"He only saw you as a mere tool." Kuroko said, seemingly to have read his mind. And after hearing those words Takao couldn't help but feel the sudden twist his stomach did. His mind blurred. No, Midorima is not like that.

"You're just a tool. A tool to defeat everyone else, a stepping stone for him to be the best. Come on now, Takao-kun, don't be naïve. Even though you only know him for a few months, we both know what he's like, right?"

Yes, Takao had started to understand Midorima's personality by now; he's weird, he has his own quirks with those horoscope and lucky item stuffs, he's crazy confident about his ridiculous three point shots and he –

"He's selfish, arrogant," – Kuroko then snickered – "He even told me that team play is useless. So why should he respect you? It doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Takao's mind was a mess. To be honest, he loathed Midorima. Damn, that guy is arrogant as hell, but he's very talented as well. Takao admitted that he envied the prodigy. But sometimes he only wanted his acknowledgement. He wanted Midorima to see him as his equal.

"Hey, Takao-kun," The light blue head said in a sing-song voice. "So you finally realized how useless you are to Midorima? Or perhaps to the whole team?"

Flabbergasted, he sputtered, "What the hell – I'm not useless! Fine, maybe Midorima doesn't recognize me yet, but at least my teammates need me. They need me to fight you!"

"Oh I forgot… You have that hawk-eye, huh? That's why they still need you." Kuroko drawled as his fingers rubbed his chin, seemingly in deep thought. Suddenly his aquamarine eyes grew wide and he snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

Spontaneously Takao moved back, trying to distance himself from Kuroko – but he got his arm gripped tightly, and Kuroko whispered in his ear,

"What if I pierce your eyes? Will you be useless by then?"

He froze. But before he could visibly react to Kuroko's words he heard another laugh.

"I'm just kidding!" At that moment, the ball passed right in front of them and Kuroko immediately jumped to pass it to his teammate. And all the while, Takao was frozen to his toes. But when he was out of his stupor, his condition didn't get any better.

After that Takao's play was nothing but mess; his passes missed, he couldn't detect Kuroko's location anymore, hell, he couldn't even use his hawk-eye properly. When Otsubo – who was oblivious to Kuroko's dirty trick to him – came up to scold him and threat him for subtitution, Takao could only beg for one more chance.

"I'll get that invisible boy, captain. Please." He pleaded, and finally Otsubo agreed. But his captain warned, if he failed once more, he'd be kicked out of the court. Takao gulped at the threat. Despite that, he was determined. He won't fall for Kuroko's words, not again. However when he faced Kuroko once again, he felt his determination waned. He dribbled the basketball warily, eyeing the light blue haired boy before him who suddenly smiled again.

"Yo, Takao-kun. Did your coach tell you and your teammates to leave the offense all to Midorima?" He chuckled. "Look at you and your team… Struggling to pass the ball to him, and all you can do is to defend."

Takao gritted his teeth angrily and in his peripheral vision he could see his upperclassmen's unamused expressions, but Kuroko kept on mocking him.

"Do me a favor, ask your upperclassmen, or your captain perhaps. How does it feel, leaving everything to one prodigious freshman?"

Oh how Takao wanted to hit him in the face. Kuroko knew nothing of their team. He didn't know how heavy it was to leave everything to Midorima. Deep down, none of them wanted to agree with their coach's decision. They are the King of East, damn it. They have their pride, and they wouldn't accept to be called that name for nothing. But now they had to leave the offense all to one single genius freshman. Takao might not understand the seniors' feelings; but he had a glimpse of how their pride was crushed under that decision.

And now, without understanding any of it, a boy from a no-name school suddenly appeared and mocked them like it was a funny joke. Maybe it was to him. But it was a humiliation for Shuutoku. He felt humiliated.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"…Shut up."

You know nothing about us

"Hm?"

"SHUT UP!" And he charged, the ball still in his hands. He continued on dribbling it before a thump and a loud screeching of a whistle stopped him.

"Charging! White number ten!"

His eyes widened and he realized that he just pushed Kuroko to the ground. The latter got up from the floor, dusting off his jersey slightly before turning to look at him. Once again, Takao shivered upon catching his dark gaze. And when he was about to accuse him, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was his captain again.

"Takao, you're out."

He blinked. "What - ?"

"Shuutoku member substitution!" He saw as one of the second-years was already standing up from the bench, getting ready to replace him in the court. Panicked, he shouted at his captain.

"Otsubo-san please, you still need me and I can still play. Please. I-I was angered and-"

"Cool off your head first, Takao. You can't keep playing in that condition."

As Takao was forcefully dragged out from the court, from afar, Midorima stared at the scene incredulously.

Takao…made a foul?


A/N: Phew. Finally made it. Overall, I'm not very proud of this chapter - it felt rushed, especially at the end, but I really like some of the parts in here. Dark!Kuroko is fun to write, I swear (insert evil laughter here). But well, what a cliffhanger, huh? Hehe. Actually, I planned to write the whole match in one chapter, but I think I've reached my limit. So, be patient for a little, okay?:)

AND OH DEAR WE FINALLY REACH 100+ FOLLOWERS! I can't thank you guys enough omg

Oh and I received an AMAZING fanart from the lovely Higanbana, please check it out! thebasketballidiots. tumblr post/ 90945634949/ (THIS IS MY FIRST TIME IN RECEIVING FANARTS YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM)

Replies to anon:

NoImagination: Of course Seirin will be involved in helping Kuroko. Although I'm not quite sure about the GoM... Btw I don't if you realize it but all this time we've been pronouncing MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) as MTD which is wrong. /face palms/

Crackers xx