The updates for this story will be unspecified because my motivation resembles a roller coaster. Take that as you will.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko No Basuke

Text within "" - Speech

Italic Text - Thoughts

Note: The names in this fanfic are structured with the given name first like in anglophone countries. This is how it was done in the wiki, so I'm doing it that way as well.

Chapter 6: First Game

The tip-off was a beautiful sight that seemed to last for an eternity, the two bodies of the players seemingly hovering in place as their hands arced out toward the ball. Yet in reality, it lasted only a second, with Yoshino reaching the ball as expected and tapping it back toward the blue team's side of the court. The next second, Akira grabbed the ball before it could fall before dribbling it in his right hand as both Yoshino and Minako ran down the court, followed by Koji and Teruo. Meanwhile, Mamoru stood across from him, waiting for Akira to make the first move.

Yet Akira stood there, unmoving save for his right hand, which kept the ball in play.

I'm finally here. It's just me... and my opponent

The feeling was intoxicating. He wanted to stay in that feeling forever but he soon came to his senses upon realizing there was no point in being in a game if he didn't play. So with a smirk thrown at his friend, Akira bounced the ball to his other hand before tearing past Mamoru's right side, bringing the ball up toward the yellow team's hoop.

Yet even as he closed the distance, Mamoru was right on his tail, following him up the court. As Akira was dribbling the ball, it was much easier for the other player to catch up in short order, and Akira was forced to stop his drive as Mamoru stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

Stepping forward, Akira faced his opponent with his left side, allowing his right hand to dribble the ball out of reach of Mamoru, giving him some time to think.

Mamoru had stopped him right outside the three-point line, but at his current level, Akira knew that the chances of him making a shot over Mamoru were basically zero, especially from so far out. So instead of trying to go up for a three immediately, he glanced around the court, taking in the situation.

Yoshino was just inside the three-point line in front of the left wing, guarded by Teruo. The opposing player was doing a half-decent job of it as well, and he was positioned firmly between Akira's teammate and Akira himself. It would be difficult to get a pass through to him despite Yoshino's greater height as an overhead pass would be too difficult to catch at their current level of play.

Meanwhile, Minako was guarded by Koji, and the pair were close to the hoop, just to the right of the paint. Koji wasn't nearly as good on the defensive end as Teruo was, however it still seemed that getting a pass through would be hard.

As his options were felled one by one, Akira frowned slightly, turning his attention back to Mamoru in front of him. The other player's attention was split between the ball and the person he was defending, with his gaze flickering up to meet Akira's eyes before flickering down every few seconds. It was clear that the defender was concentrated, his brow furrowed and when Akira did meet his gaze, he was taken aback by a brief flash of something in his opponent's eyes, a spark of intensity that looked out of place on the five-year-old's face.

Still, regardless of all that he still had to make a play. Standing unmoving while dribbling the pall passively was not how he wanted to spend his time on the court. So despite his disadvantages, Akira tensed, bringing the ball into his hands before pulling his upper body back and taking a shot at the hoop.

For a second the ball floated through the air, carving a path without resistance towards the general direction of the rim before it fell down to the earth, taking Akira's hopes with it.

"Yellow Ball."

Instructor Ikeda's words brought Akira back to earth as he let out a small sigh before waving off his teammate's looks.

"Sorry. I'll do better next time."

Gritting his teeth, Akira turned to play defence, the play running through his team as he did. He had failed. It wasn't a great feeling. He could have done better, should have done better even. He could have anticipated Mamoru's play or just kept better track of the yellow team's players or-

"Give the ball to me next time."

"What?"

Akira turned his head as the unexpected statement took his focus away from his failure. As he did, Minako's gaze bore down on him with an intensity that almost matched the flash that Mamoru had displayed on his face a few moments ago.

"I said to give the ball to me next time. I'll shake off Koji."

"...Alright sure."

As Minako nodded at his response and ran off, Akira silently went over the play again in his head, putting Minako's request to the back of his mind. Yet he didn't have much more time to contemplate as seconds later, Instructor Ikeda handed the ball to Teruo, who inbounded the ball to Mamoru.

After getting into position, Akira's eyes followed the ball as Mamoru took it down the court to his end before he turned to his teammates.

"I'll take Mamoru."

Minako nodded at Akira at the statement while Yoshino simply shrugged.

"I'll take Teruo then."

Minako's gaze turned contemplative before her eyes sharpened back into that same intense gaze.

"I guess that leaves Koji for me."

Having formed a plan, or at least the barest structure of one, the three moved to guard their respective marks.

And when Mamoru passed the half-court line, Akira moved forward to intercept him, blocking his way and preventing him from getting closer to the net.

Mamoru stopped in his tracks, dribbling the ball while he faced Akira down a few feet behind the three-point line.

Again Akira was struck by the look in his opponent's eyes, a burning intensity that same intensity that flashed across his eyes, partly hidden by a look of excitement and joy. With an ever-present smile, he starred down Akira, a dare and a challenge in one, as he stood in place, ball dribbling in one hand away from Akira.

It was that motion that broke Akira out of his brief trance, causing him to raise an eyebrow in Mamoru's direction.

Is he seriously copying me?

The yellow team's player was using the exact same stance and movement that Akira had used in the previous possession, the left side of his body facing the defender with the ball on his right side, out of Akira's reach.

Akira smirked at the sight.

If he thinks he can beat me by copying me, he's dead wrong

After all, Akira had failed to get his team a point in the previous possession and now the only difference was that the sides were switched.

The two stood there, Mamoru glancing around behind Akira, while the blue team player kept his eyes on both Mamoru and the ball. The seconds dragged on with both players caught in a standstill, but it wasn't long until Mamoru became clearly impatient, eyes darting around the court faster than before.

And as Akira tensed up, Mamoru made his move, taking a step to the right with his left foot before taking off in that direction, running with the ball dribbling in his hand towards the right wing just outside of the three-point line.

Akira followed less than a second later, pivoting on his left foot to chase Mamoru down. Yet as Akira was about to catch up to Mamoru right outside of the three-point line, the yellow team players stopped, grabbing the ball with both hands before throwing the ball, right past Akira's outstretched hand.

As the ball flew past him, Akira also stopped, planting a foot down hard on the ground to stop his forward momentum before swerving in place, turning his head in the direction the ball had gone.

And just as he turned, Koji grabbed the ball in mid-air while running, Minako a second behind him, before he made a run directly towards the net for an open layup.

Akira's eyes flicked across the court as he tried to locate Yoshino, only for his eyes to fall as he saw Yoshino guarding Teruo on the left wing outside of the three-point line, way too far out to intercept Koji's drive.

Upon seeing Yoshino's location, Akira started to move, intending on getting between Koji and the net, but by then it was far too late. Koji had received the ball at the free throw line, and the ball was up in the air before he even had a chance of getting into reach of the smaller player.

The ball arced through the air for a moment, and as Akira traced its path through the air, it hit the backboard, bouncing off of the edge of the white square behind the net before hitting the hoop with a sound that reverberated throughout the court.

By the next moment, the ball had bounced back up, and as it fell through the net, Akira turned back to Mamoru, still standing outside the three-point line. As a slight frown rippled across Akira's face, a satisfied smile bloomed across Mamoru's.

Akira's face fell even further at the sight before he let out a small sigh to rebalance himself.

"Two points for yellow, blue ball."

And as the yellow team celebrated, gushing about how cool that play had been, Akira turned his attention to his team a bit hesitant.

The first two possessions of the game had been... demoralizing to say the least, especially as it was the first actual game any of them had ever played.

So when Akira looked at his teammates, he was surprised to find something different than what he had been expecting, while Yoshino did look a bit down, Minako still had the same intense gaze in her eyes as she looked directly at him, waiting for something.

After a second Akira understood what she wanted and nodded in her direction, causing her to nod back before she turned her attention away from him.

How is she so focused? We just lost the first two possessions... though I suppose that is my fault. I could have tried to go around Mamoru or tried to pass to someone else, what was I thinking going up for a three? I knew it would miss. And I should have played better defence as well, Koji only got the ball because I didn't react to Mamoru's drive fast enough. I should be better than this, what's the point of having all these years of life experience if I'm going to fail anyways?

He stood there for a moment, lost in his thoughts, hands clenched before he broke out of it, a dazed look in his eyes.

Why am I so focused on winning? This is my first basketball game ever, I should be giving it my all and having fun, that was the whole point of... well all of this! I'll get better as I grow older, who cares who wins this practice game? It's not like there are any stakes here in the first place. I should just be happy I get to play in an actual game.

With his priorities rearranged, Akira let a faint smile cross his face even as he felt that the issue hadn't quite gone away.

Still, he didn't have much time to think about it any longer as Yoshino inbounded the ball to him before running down the court toward the yellow end.

This time Akira played at a slower pace, walking with the ball dribbling in his right hand down the court where Mamoru waited for him.

Just as he did last time, Akira stopped right in front of his opponent, staring him down. His eyes narrowed. This wouldn't be a repeat of last time. He would make sure of it.

First, he stepped forward to the right, angling his body to make it look like he was planning on going that way before he bounced the ball off the ground to his left hand, swinging his entire body to the left as he did.

It wasn't the best fake, and neither was it perfectly executed, however, Mamoru fell for it all the same, beginning to run to the right before realizing what Akira had done. Yet by then, it was already too late as Akira managed to get around the side of Mamoru even as the other player halted his momentum and turned to chase Akira down.

A smile grew on Akira's face as he took the ball past the three-point line, only to fade as Teruo stepped in front of him, killing his drive and stopping him in place.

Damn it, should I take the shot?

Akira looked up at the net, closer than it had been during his previous attempt. He could make it from where he was now, but it would be difficult, especially if Teruo tried to block his shot. Yet with Mamoru closing in behind, he had to do something quickly before the ball was stolen from him. Thoughts ran through his head in rapid succession, all competing with each other for his attention. Some said to take the shot, others said to create space for a better one, and more told him that Mamoru wasn't going to wait forever for him to make a choice.

A choice... I have to make a choice now! What do I- no I have to do something now, anything! Come on brain, work! We're down by two, I need to equalize before they run away with the score. Anything, anything at all-

A flash of blue broke him out of his thoughts. His mind went silent as his eyes widened before returning to normal in a fraction of a second.

Of course... why didn't I remember?

Akira let out a small laugh as his worries were resolved.

I really got to stop thinking of this game like it's running. After all...

Akira threw the ball and watched as it was grabbed before it flew into the air, right off the backboard and into the hoop. Minako turned as the ball went in, a satisfied grin on her face as she raised a thumbs up at Akira.

I'm not alone out here.

(~)

Following those two points scored by Minako, the game progressed evenly. One side would manage a layup and the other side would return the favour. There were very few actual shots made during the game as neither side was confident in actually landing a shot, though both Akira and Mamoru tried their luck a few times to only limited success. Both teams showed hints of talent and Akira even managed to score four points as the game went on.

It was intense, it was tiring but it was also fun. Both sides played as a team, and even though by the end Akira was exhausted, he was still smiling. Even as his body yelled at him, he was perhaps happier than he had ever been in his new life.

Yet all good things come to an end and after thirty minutes, the game eventually did as well as Instructor Ikeda called time and the score ended 10-8 in favour of the blue team.

Of course, Akira used the opportunity to rub the loss into Mamoru's face as much as possible. Considering what Mamoru had pulled on him during the first two possessions, Akira felt that it was justified.

Mamoru didn't seem too troubled by the loss though and remained impervious to Akira's jabs, claiming that he only wanted to play against him again soon.

Akira didn't have much to say after that. After all, he knew the feeling of wanting to play all too well.

Following the end of the match, Instructor Ikeda ran them through a few more drills before the class time finally elapsed.

When the day finally came to an end, Akira walked out of the front doors of the sports center with his dad at his side.

"So did you have fun today?"

"...Yea. I did. It was... nice."

"Good. Now, let's go home, wouldn't want to worry your mom now would we?"

"Yea. Let's go home."

The pair got into the car and as the sound of the engine starting filled the air, Akira kept looking at the sports center even as the car began to move.

It's strange, I just left and I'm going to be back in a week... yet I'm already missing it.

Yet as the car finally left the sports center behind, Akira broke out of his daze. Slowly, as he reoriented himself, a small smile began to grace his face. Perhaps it was only natural that he already missed playing on that court. The energy, the adrenaline, the constant back and forth.

The joy and maybe even the despair.

There was a lot to miss.

Maybe this whole new life thing isn't so bad after all.

AN: So ends the first "arc" if you can call it that of the fanfic. Took a while to get here but that time skip I mentioned is finally happening. I don't think I'll be jumping straight to middle school but I'll have to see where I want to go with this story. Anyways thanks for reading, the next chapter doesn't have a set date as always, it may take a month or it may take a year who knows?