The first day of school was never a great experience for Kuroko. Due to his lack of presence, Kuroko always had to personally tell the teacher he was there so they wouldn't mark him absent. And most of the time, his classmates would usually overlook him.
This first day of school was much different this time around however. With everything that happened so far, Kuroko was still in awe with what was happening to him. So far, he established a couple things:
He Somehow travelled back in time 3 Years ago
Nobody that he knew before the jump recognizes him
Although everything is the same, his actions can change things (Kuroko discovered this when he met with Nijimura)
Kuroko didn't really pay attention to what was happening in class. What he did do however was decide what to do with what was happening to him.
"If everything's the same besides me, it means that after school today, the basketball club will hold a tryout, and all the members of the GOM will make the first string. They haven't awakened their talent yet, so they shouldn't be monsters just yet, but they will be…. Eventually
Kuroko continued to think about his situation. The school day was over before he noticed. He was still in deep thought, but his body once again moved without his conscious thought. Before he knew it, he was in front of the doors to the basketball tryout. That's when he saw them. Akashi, Aomine, Murasakibara, Midorima, and even Haizaki. Kuroko was like a deer caught in headlights. Kuroko decided he hadn't had the strength to face his old friends just yet, but right as he was about to turn around, he heard something that would prevent him from going.
"THERE YOU ARE!"
The gym turned quiet while Kuroko turned around, everyone wanting to find who was yelling.
"I KNEW YOU WOULD COME"
It was Nijimura, he almost ran into Kuroko but just barely stopped in front of him.
"Hey there my number one fan, I knew you would be coming. You are a little late but don't worry about that. Your senpai made sure we wouldn't start without you."
Kuroko didn't know what to say, he thought about trying to say it was all a misunderstanding before a piece of paper fell out of his bag.
"Ah, I have seen you already filled out your form, that's probably why you are late, you had to get everything ready so you would be set to play and practice right when you arrived."
Kuroko knew he didn't fill out the form, so how was his name on it? Kuroko broke out of his chain of thought with Nijimura yelling once again.
"COACH, THIS IS THE GUY WE HAD TO WAIT FOR. WE CAN START NOW!"
The coach swiftly made his way over to the pair while everybody else continued to stare at them.
"Nijimura, please for the love of everything, stop yelling."
Nijimura quickly bowed and apologized
"Sorry about that Coach, but here was the guy I was talking about, I am just excited about him joining us, HE'S MY NUMBER ONE FAN, and I can't disappoint him now" Nijimura said
"Hm, so you're the one who Nijimura was excited about. I can't really see why though, there doesn't seem anything special about you…"
Kuroko felt as if an imaginary anvil fell on his head, now he knew that he didn't look like much (That's what made his misdirection possible) but it still hurt to hear out loud.
"Well, today is all about finding out who has potential and skills and who doesn't, I hope you manage to surprise me, but be warned, Our Motto here is 100 Battles, 100 Victrories. So if you are not intent on following through please leave. My name Naoto Sanada, but you will address me as Sir, Coach, or Coach Sanada."
And just like that, the coach turned around and yelled
"IF YOU ALL HAVE TIME TO STARE LIKE THAT I GUESS YOU ARE DONE WARMING UP, WE SHALL GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY"
The rest of the gym started moving again and senior student helped organize the kids into different groups/area's
"NIJIMURA, GET OVER HERE, WE ARE ABOUT TO START"
Nijimura nervously rubbed the back of his head and looked sheepishly at Kuroko
"Sorry about that, the Coach may seem tough but he has really good intentions, I swear. I hope you make it into the second string. Break a leg."
Nijimura ran off to help the Coach with everything, while Kuroko stood there like a statue. He would have left, but after Nijimura made everyone wait for him, he couldn't just leave. So… There was only one option.
Kuroko quickly went to the change room and deposited his bag and changed clothes there. Once he stepped out of the room, he was directed to go into the group of first years and started on some basic drills. Kuroko thought he knew how this was going to go, but he was wrong, very wrong.
The first time Kruoko did the drills, he could barely stand after each one of them, this time however, he didn't find them nearly as difficult. He wasn't dead last in finishing his drills like usually, in fact. He was part of the people that finished first.
Kuroko did a quick look around while waiting for the stragglers to finish and saw Nijimura give a quick thumbs up, Kuroko returned the gesture and decided to see how well he would do.
No matter what drills were assigned, Kuroko managed just fine, whether Wind sprints, Push ups, Sit ups. He wasn't last. They continued on to drills with a basketball. These drills Kuroko actually excelled at, ball handling and passing where all things Kuroko mastered before he time traveled, it was like le-learning to ride a bike. All the muscle memory was there, he just had to get going. Probably the most spectacular thing that changed however was his shooting. Kuroko almost could never make a shoot before Aomine taught him how to use his Phantom Shot, and even then, it didn't have 100% accuracy.
This time however, He could make lay-ups no problem, He could even make normal two point shoots at a decent rate. After an hour of more drills and everything. Every first year was on the ground, either crying or just trying to recover. Kuroko was part of the second group, but oddly enough was very satisfied with what he accomplished.
"Thank you all for participating and here is what everyone is waiting for: Here are the results" Coach Sanada told everybody. It was just like the first time "
Coach Sanada started out with the third string first. Everything was going exactly the same way it went the first time, except for one major difference, Kuroko wasn't on the list.
Kuroko was shocked, he was always last due to his lack of stamina, but it seemed like that curse had been lifted. Instead, he was put into the second string. The GOM, Haizaki, and a few other second and Third years were put in the first string as well.
As everyone was leaving, he heard people mumbling of how unheard it was first years getting into the first string. He almost laughed at that.
"If you think they are good now, watch out for them in a year or two"
Kuroko was just about to leave as well before his plans were interrupted once again
"So I heard my number one fan made it into the Second string, congratulations, I knew you could do it, I wish you could join those other first years in First string, but I believe you can make it there eventually, especially with your awesome Senpai to help you. Anyways, I can't wait to see you next practice."
Nijimura left Kuroko alone and both went their own ways.
Kuroko on his way home, recalled what happened with him earlier and he knew he had to make a plan, and he had to make one soon.
Author's Note: Sorry about not posting last week. I was celebrating Thanksgiving and I lost track of time. I will probably try to post another chapter this week to make up for it, but no promises ;). The reason why Kise wasn't there was because I am pretty sure he only showed up during the second year. Nijimura was also not really in the story, so I am kinda making up how he acts right now. I know he eventually has to leave for family health reasons, but that is later.
Stay Safe and I look forward to any comments!
