Thank you for reading this story.

TouMikasa : Yes, the phantom sixth man will finally make his appearance. Kuroko is on his way to get into the first string! It won't take long. Hehe, and many thanks for the interest you have for this fic! Means a lot to me!

Ritsu walked out of the music room and thanked her music teacher for her time. She contemplated the dusky sky through the windows. On the horizon, the sun went down and would disappear in a few minutes. She checked the hour on her phone and thought she still had time to pass by the sports shop to buy new volleyball gears. It was on her way, anyways.

Outside, she was welcomed by a cool breeze. Crossing the courtyard, she noticed the ligths on in the gymnasium usually used by her club. At this hour, the facility should have been emptied out by the basketball club third-string, and moreover, the volleyball club didn't hold a practice today, meainng there shouldn't be anyone inside. Unless it was a group of students who decided to practiced a bit longer.

Ritsu looked away without more curiosity, but as she felt another cold breeze blown on her face, she suddenly recalled the ghost rumours which Momoi talked her about days ago. She stopped on her track and looked suspiciously at the facility. She had nothing to lose by going take a look, except her time.

Driven by curiosity, Ritsu arrived near the place and kept her ears open at the door. She heard nothing aside the wind. But as soon as she grabbed the door handle to step inside, the sound of ball came out. She froze on the spot, a chill ran down her spine but she didn't stop half-way. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them, there would be someone inside.

"Asaka?"

That voice, it belonged to Aomine. She opened one eye and then exclaimed in relief. "Ah...Aomine-kun! It's just you!"

The navy-haired boy raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"You expected someone else?"

"No, you being there is just fine! It's good to see you!"

"Hey, you're okay, Asaka? You're making no sense."

"D-Don't mind it." She just said after composing her thoughts.

She couldn't tell him she was happy to have come upon him instead of a wandering ghost. He would laugh at her for believing these kind of things, and in those rumors circulating around school as well. Guess she was more gullible than she thought.

Aomine swept his sweat with his t-shirt, he was in the middle of practicing as it seemed. In all evidences, the rumours had surely spreaded because of him practicing very late. However, how did it even come out? It wasn't possible to mistake Aomine for a ghost.

"You're practicing alone?"

"Nope, I'm playing with this guy!" He grinned and showed with his thumb someone on his left. But Ritsu quirked an eyebrow.

"Er, I don't see anyone beside you."

"What?" He looked around. Seeing nobody besides him, he suddenly exclaimed in shock, "Wait! He was there just a minute ago! Oi, where did you go, Tetsu? Tetsu!"

Seeing him shouting the name of an unknown boy made her worry. There was just the two of them inside this gymnasium, she already checked it out.

"Aomine-kun...Did you hit your head when play—"

Out of nowhere, a basketball bounced heavily on the parquet and rolled at her feet. Ritsu gawked at the ball, wondering where it came from.

"Oops. It slipped my hands."

At her feet, there was a boy who came to pick up the ball. Coming out of nowhere.

"Waah!"

Her heart missed a beat. At this sudden apparition, Ritsu recoiled violently and banged into the door.

"What are you doing, Tetsu?" asked Aomine, the least surprised to see the mysterious boy. "Asaka's almost got a heart attack."

"It wasn't my intention. I went to pick up the ball while you were talking but I stumbled and the ball slipped my hands." explained the boy. Then he brought his attention on her and slightly bowed to apologize.

When he lifted his head up again and stared at her, Asaka got the impression she had seen him somewhere. Those blue eyes and those teal hair...

"Oh, yeah, that's Tetsu!" Aomine introduced him to her.

"Kuroko Tetsuya, it's nice to meet you." The teal-haired boy re-introduced himself in a more polite way.

"«Kuroko»?" Ritsu repeated as his name rang a bell. Like a flash in her mind, a wave of memories surged, and she came to recall the day she had come across him. "You were the ghost in the Haunted House at the school festival!"

"I was. You remembered?" Kuroko looked at her in disbelief.

"You saved us, Akashi-kun and me, in the Haunted House." She chuckled.

Impossible for her to forget that event. Akashi and her crossed the haunted house in the dark because of a defective flashlight and had to feel their way until they met Kuroko, who hadn't been much luckier than them. He got struck by a visitor and collapsed after bumping his head. Despite all, all's well that ends well.

"We even got to win the ultimate treasure. Thanks to you!" She added.

Kuroko had been their light and their luck among darkness. After this little adventure, she never had the chance to thank him for his help, not even ask his name. He just disappeared as he came. Unexpectedly.

"Come to think about it, we've never asked you your name and I don't think I introduce myself too, so let's do it all over again. I'm Asaka Ritsu and it's nice to meet you again, Kuroko-kun!" chirped Ritsu.

Kuroko gave her a smile.

"So, what's bringing you here, Asaka? You forgot something?" enquired Aomine, breaking the light mood of their unexpected encounter.

"Um, something like that." She answered vaguely as she raised her nose to the ceiling and tapped her chin in reflection. She was a bit ashamed to have believed in those ghost rumours, even for a second. "But I've never thought I'd bump into you here."

The feeling of embarrassement passed, she lowered her gaze on the basketball that Kuroko was holding.

"That's where you're practicing lately. I heard from Momoi-chan not long ago that you're sneaking out of practice and wandered off somewhere. Everyone in your club seems to be wondering about your whereabouts."

Aomine sighed and rubbed the nape of neck. "It's not like I try to make a secret of it. There just isn't too many people here around this hour, it's easier to move around and I can try out a few new moves without being yelled at by Midorima and Murasakibara for messing around. Those two can't enjoy true basketball!"

In short, he found a haven of tranquility in this place. Well, the basketball club was the most popular in Teikō and attracted many athletes each year. As she heard from her seniors, there must be over an hundred of students registered in, and moreover, the basketball club had one tough training program to live up to its reputation. So when comparing the two atmostpheres, this place was surely different from the daily agitation and tumult of his club.

"At least, Tetsu knows what it is to play basketball! He usually practices here alone, so I simply join him. It's way more fun to play with him!"

And perhaps, there was floating less of this thick impression of competition in the air, here.

"Oh, right, you're in the basketball club too, Kuroko-kun?" Ritsu noted that piece of information.

He nodded. "In the third-string."

"Third-string?"

It happened for her to take a look at the third-string's practice when they were sharing the gymnasium. Yet, she barely remembered having seen his face once. Obviously, she couldn't remember all faces, and besides she didn't always have keep an eye on what happened on the other half of the gymnasium, but it was kind of strange to have never caught sight of him at least once. He couldn't be invisible.

Noticing her long stare on him, Kuroko tilted his head and asked, "Something is wrong?"

"...Ah, no. Just thought that the world is really small!" She said nervously.

Kuroko stared back at her, his expression was as flat as white sheet of paper. Yet, his blue eyes seemed to express more of him, through this faint glint shining inside. Then, without pressing the matter further, he turned to his basketball partner.

"Aomine-kun, we should stop for today."

"'Kay, let's call it a day! It's getting late, anyway." Aomine grinned. "Asaka, you're going home too?"

"I got some errands to do at the sports shop."

"I also have to stop by the bookstore."

"It's on the way to the station. Why don't we make the way together until then?" suggested the navy-haired boy.

"I don't mind." Kuroko replied.

"Better than being alone." Ritsu went along the suggestion. "I'll wait outside while you're getting changed."

The two boys went to the locker room and she went outside. A few minutes later, the light went off and Kuroko carefully locked the door behind him.

"I'll go put back the key to the staff room."

"We'll be at the gate, then!"

Quietly walking across the empty courtyard, their footsteps echoed on the cobblestone road.

"Kuroko-kun looks like a nice boy but a bit mysterious. I can't believe I failed to notice him. It's like he wasn't there at all."

"I still haven't gotten used to it yet." topped Aomine, crossing his arms behind his head.

"It's only recently that you met him, right?"

"Ah, by chance. We hit it off right away, though. He practices there almost every day after club and I stay behind with him."

"Kuroko must be strong to be your practice partner."

"More or less. But if you ask me, you have your chance against him."

"That's not very nice to Kuroko-kun." Ritsu disagreed, not believing it at all. "Third-string or not, he's a member of a famous baskeball club, he can't be that bad."

Even if Kuroko were to be new at basketball when he registered in the club in spring , he must have shown progresses and attained a level higher than an novice since then. After five months of training, anyone would be. Furthermore, it was the famous Teikō basketball club she was talking about. Training there was tough, and as a result, many dropped out after one or two months because of the difficulty and the pressure. So him being in the third-string and still there attested enough of his capacities, given how much things she heard about the basketball club from Momoi and Akashi.

"You said it!" Aomine snorted. "But I'm not joking about the small gap of level."

Ritsu tilted her head, still unconvinced. "Well, you know him better than me. That said, it's kind of surprising. You and him."

In fact, she would have never guessed that a simple and calm boy like him could be Aomine's new basketball partner. For a first impression, he looked kind of weak, physically speaking of course. He was rather thin and small, and so, far from corresponding to the image of well-built body of an athlete. He lacked muscles, as though he didn't do sports, which is not the case since he was doing basketball. Even Akashi, who had approximatively the same built as him, showed much more shapes...or maybe her view of his body was distorted due to that impressive aura of his.

She didn't meant ill by thinking like that, she just wondered how Kuroko and Aomine came to practice together. They were both opposites.

"Why's that?"

Aomine glanced at her quizzically. From her silence, he got a reply, nonetheless.

"Um...I won't tell you he has a great level in basketball, but that doesn't matter to me frankly." He lowered his arms and hauled his school bag over his right shoulder. "I can tell he's serious about basketball, you should see how much he's practicing every day. In spite of being in the third-string, Tetsu has nothing to be envious about the guys in the first-string. He can do as much as every one of us there and even more. He just needs to round out...his technique." Aomine paused, suddenly musing on what he just said, as if it sounded funny. "Ah, but I guess that won't happen anytime soon."

"As I listen to you, I honestly can't figure if Kuroko-kun is good or bad at basketball." She jested. "But you do look up to him."

"Of course, he's kind of impressive. There's no way a guy who does so much efforts can't become strong. On the other hand, I know he has to work his ass off if he wants to reach his goal of entering in the team. His level is still too low, but despite that, he doesn't give up and keeps trying on and on to go through what he decided."

Aomine truly believed in Kuroko to progress in basketball, and had hope that he'd make it to the first-string someday. For him, Kuroko simply needed time to progress and show his worth, and it didn't matter for him if it took him a month or a year to achieve in basketball. As long as he keeps trying, all doors won't shut and some might open to him one day.

"When I see him trying so hard, I can't resist the desire to play and do my best in basketball too! We both love basketball!"

Ritsu didn't expect less from Aomine. He likes the excitement and thrills in basketball, and only people who loves basketball as much as he does could bring him that joy. That's why he liked Kuroko. Not for his talent but for his love for the sport.

"Besides, when it comes to it, we do get along well! I've a hell of fun playing with him!"

As he spoke fondly of Kuroko, he slightly turned his head with a bright smile and said :

"I'd really like to hit the court with him one day! If there's someone who can make his way to the first-string, it's him!"

In that moment, his smile was simply beautiful. Ritsu was unsure of what makes it so sweet to her eyes, his very passion that drove him always further or his strong charisma that pushed one to move forward, perhaps was it both she saw in that smile. Just how far his love for basketball actually goes?

"I'm here."

A monotonous voice broke in next to the tanned boy.

"T-Tetsu?!" Aomine spun around and met the calm Kuroko near him. "That was quick! You teleported?"

"I don't have that kind of power, Aomine-kun. I met the janitor on the way and he told me to go home quick since it's late and that he'd put back the keys for me."

"Oh, I see..." Aomine then averted his eyes in a nervous way. "You heard what I just said?"

"Heard what?" Kuroko asked cluelessly.

"N-No, nevermind." The navy-haired boy stuttered, not sure if his partner had said the truth or not. "At least, make some noises to let us know you're near!"

"I was walking normally, I even hurried here. I think you should have heard me coming perfectly well."

Aomine exchanged a look with Ritsu, trying to get a confirmation that she didn't heard nothing as well.

"Your footsteps are too light! Stamp your feet on the ground and make it shake under you like Godzilla!" As he said that, Aomine stamped the ground several times as an exemple. "Like that, we'll hear you!"

Kuroko watched him do, then simply told him, "I can't do that, I'm a lightweight person."

The corner of Ritsu's lips twitched, on the verge of laughing. Was Kuroko doing it on purpose, those witty comments coming straight out of a comical skit? Or was it just spontaneous? She couldn't tell by his attitude. His expression was flat, just as his tone. A real enigma.

"Yeah, but that'd be really cool to see!"

Nonetheless, there was one thing she was certain after seeing them together : their strong bond.

Kuroko smiled gently at his basketball partner and Aomine was beaming.

A mellow music floated in the air, without a discordant note to break it soft rhythm. Not a noise, not not a word, not a breath, just the sound of piano filled the classroom and carried all into an ephemeral world of wonders. Ritsu played the last notes and stopped her hands above the keys. A fleeting silence followed and continued on and on. Hearing nothing, she brought her gaze on the sole person with her inside the room, Akashi. He was seating at a desk near the window side.

She didn't know what had driven him to come along her in the music room and listen to her, he merely said he had time to kill. And he sure had time to kill, his mind seemed elsewhere, looking off at a blank point in the sky. It also didn't seem like he noticed that the music stopped. Such a rare sight to see him so absent-minded.

Ritsu avoided to make any abrupt movements and observed him. Akashi was in deep thoughts, disconnected from the world through the music she played. Although she would like to assume his silence was due an appreciation of her music, she could see that he was concerned by a different matter. It wasn't just an intuition or a mere observation of the moment, Akashi was in that thoughtful state these past few days. She never tried to ask him what was on his mind, thinking of it as ordinary absences of mind, even if she was speaking of Akashi. And, even if she noted this curious attitude, it was subtle enough not to bring great attention from other people, so she wasn't much bothered by it. But seeing as he was behaving like this for quite awhile, a small part of her still remained curious.

Leaving Akashi alone, she peeked over her right shoulder at the sky behind her. Gray clouds veiled the scenery, while around forty minutes ago, the sun was still shining.

"Afraid that it'll rain on your way home? The sky is all covered now."

Snapping out of meditation, his lips parted opened and a glint in his eyes shone again.

"You finished?"

"About five minutes ago."

"My bad. I didn't intend to be so rude." He apologised, slightly shaking his head. "I was thinking about something."

"Is it about Aomine-kun?"

"Aomine?" Given his surprised tone, she was wrong.

"No, nevermind." She replied instantly. "I just notice lately that you seem bothered by something, so I've just thought it might be concerning Aomine because of the recent rumors. And don't take it bad but it's rare to catch you inattentive."

Akashi didn't dismiss the comment, he then stood up and stood by the windows, cheking the weather.

"I was thinking back of the Nationals."

Aside the fact that Akashi didn't try to avoid the subject, the object of his concerns was what surprised her the most. The Basketball Nationals, was he bothered by that title "Generation of Miracles", despite all he said? She remembered his grave look and his toughtful tone when she mentioned it to him.

"What about it?"

The question slipped her lips as her silent curiosity suddenly surged from within.

"Do you know why we are called the Generation of Miracles?"

"Because your team won all competitions with flying colors."

Or so she read in the magazine. In truth, she hardly believed in such great success in sports, and those doubts certainly rose from the fact she never saw the basketball team play in an official game or that she lacked knowledge in that field. Even so, as an athlete herself, she was sure that the world of competition couldn't be so one-sided, despite her ignorance of the basketball world. No matter how gifted they were, a game could be won easily but a whole tournament was another story.

"That's exact, we won." He confirmed, yet a subtle note in his tone dismissed it at the same time.

A pregnant silence pervaded the room. Then, a raindrop splashed on the window panes and broke the silence, before many others followed the next seconds.

"However, we weren't close to perfection either." continued Akashi as he watched the rain fell outside. "We encountered many difficult nay risky situations that could have cost us victory more than once, and they could have been avoided if we had had played differently."

So it was just as she thought about their victory. Nonetheless, she was mistaken about the matter of his concerns. He wasn't pressured by the title nor his club, what he was preoccupied about was the performances of his team and its future. What he could do to improve it in the best possible. Generation of Miracles or not.

"In other words, things could have been improved for your team?"

"More or less. Perfect games don't exist, we'll always face one or many obstacles in a match and, depending on the team, overcoming them is no easy task. A misjudgement or a mistake are all it takes to overturn a game. Admittedly luck was on our side so far, yet I'm not one to accept insouciantly such a reason as a viable ground for our team to evolve and be victorious next year."

Ritsu carefully listened to him, having nothing to add to his statement. True enough, Teikō was strong not to rely on fortune and all to win like a second-rate team would do. And yet, Akashi didn't completely reject it as a factor of their victory, which removed the invicibility aspect of their team in a way. Of course, saying that they were like any other teams would be an understatement, but she understood his point, nonetheless. The Teikō basketball team needed more than luck or random factors to grow as the Generation of Miracles, and that was talent.

"On that account, I'm thinking of a type of player that will be able to get us through those thorny situations and make a difference inside a game."

"Like a trump card."

Akashi acknowledged without another word.

"But do you think he exists? It almost sounds like a super-hero-like player who comes to the team rescue at a pinch. Not that the idea is bad, it's just that a single player cannot be the solution to all problems, and a team can't work that way."

"It's as you say, every game is different and requires a specific solution for each cases. It's practically impossible to predict in advance the developpment of a game. Which makes it difficult to find a guy who could easily make a big difference." He paused. "Or it probably explains why he doesn't exist yet."

Ritsu didn't grasp the last part. "What do you mean by yet?"

"Make it come to light."

"What?"

Upon hearing her reaction, Akashi shifted his attention on her as he explained himself.

"What makes a game unpredictable is the two teams facing each other, your opponents and your teammates. The tide of a game is mostly influenced because both teams tries to read the other's movements, and consequently the margin of error widens in that attempt because of a lack of information or a misreading of a situation."

Despite his low voice, the rain barely covered it and seemed to emphaze each of his words full of solemnity. No wonder Akashi had his mind elsewhere these past days, the reflection he gave on that matter was rather consequent and well-reasoned. It wasn't a simple idea that surfaced in his mind one day and that would be casted away the next day.

"But this margin of error can be narrowed. What a player should know best inside a game is his own team. Good communication and trust are the keys to victory, seeing as they reduce the number of your team mistakes and leave only small openings to exploit. The sole problem is that the team bond ought to be strong for it to work perfectly."

Akashi wasn't wrong at all. Reading one's own team allowed less errors of judgement and can be easier for a player to grasp and play efficiently. But then, as he said, it depended on the team.

"What you want is someone who can read your team and act solely in that way...?"

"A player that only the Teikō basketball team can need."

Akashi confirmed in his words.

"Our team has its flaws, mainly concerning cohesion."

Ritsu tilted her head, something escaped her grasp.

"Why do you need a specific player to strengthen your teamwork? Isn't it a problem you should resolve with members of your own team? I might speak of something I don't exactly know, but you all are doing a teamsport like basketball not to just play all on your own."

He considered her questions, then took his attention back outside.

"We are, yet I can't bind the others to a full teamwork strategy, it'd be nothing but a waste of their talent. Our team can only be more efficient this way."

"Sounds to me, you're taking the easy way, Akashi-kun."

"Do you see another alternative?" Akashi asked without casting a glance at her.

Ritsu slightly frowned. Of course she wouldn't have one. There was a limit to her insight, it was too specific for her to give a smart answer. She more or less understood Akashi's intentions, the need of a powerful team was different from an average one. Sometimes teamwork was more of an obstacle than a miracle solution. But would his team really grow stronger like this?

"Prioritizing teamwork over their individual skills can't work for our team. Be it Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara or Haizaki, they have no shortcomings to compensate in others nor do they have ones that must be compensated by others."

Meaning their individual skills were suffisant enough not to rely on people to achieve victory, concluded Ritsu to herself..

"We're past the level where teamwork exists to support one another."

"What is it for, then?"

The piercing glance she got from him made her anxious.

"To win."

She could have joked about it but nothing in his tone made her laugh. In that moment, she had the impression of speaking with another person. It went beyond his attitude, was she disappointed by his answer or by being aware of the fact that their vision of a team was not the same, to the point she couldn't wholly accept that it was Akashi himself who said so.

He made it sound like teamwork was a mere and necessary tool to achieve victory, while for her, it went beyond the bound of a group working together. Well, Akashi never hid his predisposition to victory. He liked to win, that was a fact. In spite finding this character trait rather interesting and cute in him, there were times when she had an uncanny feeling about him. He felt distant.

"In order to win, an athlete has to know how to grasp victory by his own means. The same goes for a team, its members work together to increase their chance of victory, not because they have to rely on someone to win."

Outside, the rain sounded to intensify as he walked up to her. Heavily. He stopped near her who was sat down on the piano stool and stared her down. She couldn't explain this feeling of intimidation on the moment she crossed his gaze. Her whole being seemed trapped by his eyes. It didn't last yet she couldn't have imaginated it either. What was this lingering impression?

"Each member of our team can manage on their own. That is Teikō's way."

She gulped. "...Still and all, you're not giving up on teamwork."

Akashi raised his eyebrows.

"As skilled as we are, I think teamwork is most needed in our case. The full potential of a player can only be released when the game conditions work for him, and only a team can create such perfect and optimal conditions. It'd be foolish of me to give up on it."

For victory's sake. Somehow, those words resonated less coldly now. His vision of a team may be a lot more pragmatic than hers, but Akashi knew the true value of a team.

"The day we stop playing as a team, we'll certainly lose. However, that is not my intention."

Ritsu averted her eyes and smiled in relief.

"It sounds much like you, Akashi-kun."

Her gaze fell on the music scores. Just skimming through the notes, a sprightly melody started playing in her head. Perfect to get rid of the heavy mood.

"Mind if I ask you something since you're there?"

"What is it?"

"Will you play piano for me?"

His eyes slightly widened in surprise. Guess he was expecting another question.

"You can play piano and violin, if I remember. It's a good occasion to hear you, I'm rather interested in the sound of your music. Besides, we won't be able to go home anytime soon."

Watching the rainy scenery, Akashi concluded the same.

"Have a title in mind?" He asked.

"Anything is fine. As long as you can make the rain stop."

His chuckle echoed sweetly in this room filled with the sound of rain. And then, music floated in the air.