You know what? Screw the canon, this will be AU because I can, with bits and pieces of the original run.

IMPORTANT: I ALSO MADE MY OWN ART FOR THIS STORY! Please check it out. ^_^ Link's on my profile.

Monday

Kuroko was waiting on the bus, reading another one of his mystery novels. It's been two days since his encounter with Kagami. He held his club application form in a slightly tight hold.

"Tetsuya, this is so not the time to be hesitating." He thought to himself. Looking out the window, he imagined how he would get along with this new team.

Flashes of bright smiles across the imaginary faces came into Kuroko's mind, making him look slightly more alive than he usually was. Would they like him? Would they accept him? Would they treat him fairly? So many questions filled his mind. He would like to be positive for once and believe there was still hope for him to get over the depressing memories he held inside his mind.

"You're not needed!"

"I don't remember how to catch your passes anymore."

"Practice is a bother."

"T-They're right… We're already good enough, so I don't see the point in practicing anymore…"

"I never loved you."

Kuroko closed his eyes, massaging his temple to ward off a probably in-coming headache. He never realized how damaged he was until that nightmare of a memory came back to him.

Finally stopping at Seirin High, he breathed in.

Just how nervous could he be? It's not like the coach will kill him, or anything. Kuroko was being pressured by the negative side of his thoughts. Koganei was his senior who told him that they were desperate in members(as if the flyer's position list wasn't proof enough) and surely, they'd still be willing to accept him.

Riko felt an imaginary tick mark on her face. She growled. "Looks like he really isn't going to show up." She grumbled through her teeth.

Koganei looked a bit disappointed, while Hyuga was raging with Riko. Kagami gave an uncaring look about the current situation and proceeded bouncing the ball and continuously shooting with the ones being clumsily passed by Furihata.

"Alright, let's continue with practice." Riko said in a commanding tone. "There's no point in waiting for a guy who can't show up."

"But I've been sitting here for five minutes."

Everything went silent. Riko shakily turned around, only to see a boy with blue eyes staring at her own. She gulped, before screaming in shock.

"W-When did you get here?!" Riko asked. Kuroko sighed. It's always like this. "Ever since you finished with the list."

Koganei suddenly lightened up, as if he just remembered something. "Ah! It's you." He said in a happy tone. "Glad you could make it!"

Kuroko nodded to acknowledge him, bowing. "It's nice to see you again, Koganei-sempai(1)."

Hyuga blinked at the revelation. "What? That's him?" He asked. Koganei grinned. "Yeah, he is."

They were all interrupted with another sound of shock.

"It's you!" Kagami said, surprised. Kuroko blinked, amusement filling his system. "Nice to see you, Kagami-kun."

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Izuki asked, interested in the situation.

Kagami stopped what he was doing and ran over to Kuroko. "You never told me you play basketball." He said.

Kuroko's eyes visibly narrowed, a slight glint of emotion present in them. Kagami was taken back, never having seen that side of him before.

"I'm sorry I didn't. But yes, I do." Kuroko replied monotonously.

"I'm sorry to ruin your little reunion, but I think it's best you introduce yourself." Riko interrupted, slightly getting pissed at being ignored. Kuroko then looked apologetic and immediately turned all his attention to the coach.

"My apologies. I am Kuroko Tetsuya, class 1-B,"

"You're in the same class as me?!" Kagami's unheard exclamations in the background.

"And I would like to take the position of the manager." Kuroko continued. Riko looked surprised. "Hm? Wouldn't you rather be a player?" She asked. Kuroko fell silent, and turned to her again. "I'd like to be a player as well, but I don't think I'd be brave enough to face them." He said quietly, not really meaning for anyone to hear him.

"What was that?" Riko asked, not catching him. Kuroko blinked and cleared his throat.

"I would like to become a player, but I-"

"Then what's the problem with that?" Hyuga started. "You can be a player-manager. That's allowed."

Riko nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right. That way, you can play and at the same time take the manager's post. So, would you like to take the position?" Riko asked once more. Kuroko, knowing he wouldn't really be able to argue back to a girl, sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity, coach." Kuroko said, handing over his club application form. Riko scanned the paper, eyes widening. Hyuga noticed the change, turning to his lov- coach. "Riko, what's wrong?"

Riko didn't reply. Instead, she faced Kuroko. "Take off your shirt."

Kuroko minded, but since it was an order, he complied. Riko analyzed his body's capabilities.

Riko's eyes narrowed. 'This guy…'

"Alright, practice resume! Kuroko-kun, here's the list of things you need to help me with." She said, handing over another clipboard to him. Kuroko took it, putting back his shirt on and reading the said list.

Hyuga went back to her. "What was wrong?"

Riko looked serious. "Kuroko Tetsuya is from Teiko."

Hyuga gasped in surprise.

Riko continued. "His body is below an average player's standard." She said. "But on his form, it says he used to be on the first string and one of the main players."

"Hey, you don't think…" Hyuga started.

"He might be a part of them." Riko said. "He might even be the sixth phantom man."

"The Generation of Miracles."

They didn't know Kagami was actually listening to their conversation.

Later...

Riko let out a lame laugh. "I've been waiting for you."

All freshman players were on the rooftop, looking quite confused, except for Kuroko who looked like he didn't really care for what was in store. In truth, he was actually a bit excited for it.

"…Are you stupid…?" Kagami muttered. Kuroko tilted his head slightly to the side. "A duel?"

Kagami sighed. "I forgot about it, but Monday…" He started lowly.

"The morning assembly starts in 5 minutes!" He exclaimed. Kagami took out his registration form. "Here! Just hurry up and take it!"

Riko gave a wry smirk. "Before that, I have something to tell you."

"…Huh?" The boys all murmured.

"I made a promise when the captain asked me to be the coach last year." Riko said. "I promised tofocus solely on pushing the team to the national championship."

"If you think you can't do that, then there are other clubs suited for you." She added with a confident look.

Kagami gave an 'are-you-kidding-me' look. "Huh? Of course I'm-"

"I know you're strong." Riko said fiercely. "But I want you to know there's something more important."

Kuroko stared at her. This ought to be interesting.

"No matter how hard you're practicing, 'someday' and 'maybe' isn't enough." Riko said.

"I need to know you have ambitious goals and the will to accomplish them."

Kuroko's eyes slightly widened at her statement. It made him compare his days from Teiko to now. Teiko always won, sure, but it wasn't like they were motivated to do so. They didn't really have any goals aside from winning, and they even manage to break their opponents because they weren't taking them seriously.

But Seirin…

Riko pointed down below her. "Give me your year, name, and goal! I want you to announce your goals right here, right now!"

She then gave an almost evil smile. "If you fail to achieve them because of your weak will, you will strip naked and confess your feelings to the girl you love."

While the other first years cowered in fear for the threat, Kagami gave a deadpanned 'huh'.

Kuroko looked emotionless, even though the inside of him was swirling with emotions. Confess, huh? He remembered those few moments with Akashi, when he still had both eyes filled with love for him and him only.

All of the sudden, a sharp feeling of getting cut in the heart came to him, making him flinch slightly.

"All the second years did it last year." Riko said, earning amused looks from the other first years. "Huh? No one told me about this." Furihata stated. Kawahara said something about having heard of it before.

After a series of wild stupidity on the rooftop, Kuroko didn't get to say anything and got in trouble as well.

(A:N/:Timeskip; AU VERSE: The mini game took place right after this, so Kuroko got to show what he was capable of.)
-
-

"Thank you very much!"

Ah, there he goes again.

Kagami ordered thirty burgers, going back to his usual spot in the diner. He sat down on the chair, looking a bit pissed. "I can't believe he got mad over a little shouting."

He took a bite into his burger, and heard a familiar voice reply to him.

"I didn't get the chance to speak, and even got in trouble, too." Kuroko said, taking a sip from his drink.

Kagami made a shocked sound, gulping down his food. "You again?! I should probably start going elsewhere." He mumbled.

"Come to think of it, weren't you from some big shot school?" He asked after noticing the silence between them. Kuroko looked up at him.

"You were good enough to become part of them, as the sixth Phantom man."

Kuroko's grip on his drink tightened, almost crushing it. Kagami noticed the change immediately and continued observing the boy.

"…That's what they thought, as well." Kuroko said, hands slightly shaking. "All they wanted was to win. Nothing could beat us…. But we weren't a team." He explained.

"…More like 'I was not part of it'." Kuroko said. "I wasn't part of their team at all…" He bit his lower lip, making things awkward for Kagami.

"…I was too scared to face the truth." Kuroko said absent-mindedly. "They treated me like I was just a toy they could discard whenever they wanted." He started weakly. Kagami looked shocked. "Hey, that's not how a team should work!" He said, feeling sympathy and anger for Kuroko.

"He replaced me." Kuroko said in an emotionless tone, staring at Kagami weakly. Kagami's eyes shook, he has never seen Kuroko like this before. He might have met him for a while only, but that was enough to see how much he could show any emotion.

"I'm the old model." Kuroko said. "He is the newer model."

Kuroko could feel like he was breaking, although his face betrayed any emotion. "…I was too soft to be part of their lives."

"I could never beat them. I'll never-"

Kagami stood up. "Hey, what kind of thought is that?" He asked, determination lacing his tone. Kuroko looked up at him. "If anything, it sounded to me like you were desperately trying to keep up but they just wouldn't budge."

The other stayed silent.

"Don't say that you can't beat them." Kagami said. "You can. You have a new team, right?" Kagami asked rhetorically. "Trust us."

Kuroko looked down…

After the moments in the diner, both of them walked silently.

Kuroko was first to break the silence. "…Kagami-kun, do you like basketball?" He asked calmly. Kagami eyed him. "Huh? What question is that?" He grinned. "I want to be the best, I want to beat those assholes for doing that shit to their teammate,"

"Language, Kagami-kun."

"And I want to surpass my master, as well. Of course I love it."

Kuroko smiled gently. "…Is that so?"

How much this Kagami reminded him of Aomine.

"…You know, Kagami-kun, a shadow can't exist without a light." Kagami gave him a curious look. Kuroko looked at him again.

"And I am that shadow." Kuroko said, smile fading. "I live behind the light. I'm the support." Kuroko stopped walking. Kagami followed his movements and stopped as well.

Kuroko then looked hopeful. "So Kagami-kun…"

"Can you be my light?" He asked.

Kagami blinked at him before grinning. "Interesting." He said giddily.

"Sure I will." Kagami agreed, showing his fist to Kuroko. Said boy looked curiously at him.

Kagami gave him a whole-hearted smile. "Let's be partners!"

Kuroko, for once, felt happiness ooze from his heart. He smiled, giving back a fist to Kagami's. He had a thankful look on his usually emotionless face.

"Right."
-

And then they got hit by a truck.

Lol, quick again~

No, I have decided that Kuroko's relationship with Kagami in this story is PLATONIC. Meaning: Nuuu, they hav the relationship of brothers they are not all romance and crap

but!

i ship it too, sadly they will not be the pairing of this story.

Brotherly! KagaKuro

Anywayss, please tell me of any grammatical errors. I'll gladly change it back!

Thanks again to EVERYONE who reviewed, followed, and favorite-d this story!

Please tell me of any ideas that comes to your mind. I'd be glad to know what was coursing in your minds as you read.

Soo…. Yeah.

Thanks! Read and review!"