Disclaimer: i do not own kuroko no basket or anything pertaining to it except this fan fiction.
Itai = ouch, it hurts, painful etc.
CHAPTER 4
One of his favorite past times was to observe the people around him. Slight twitch of a muscle and he can guess what the person was going to do next. Their facial expressions give away a lot of information and being well versed in the art of misdirection, it was easier to read the mood of the people as well. The easiest to spot was if a person was nervous or had something to say. They would do one of two things. One, they would keep checking out their surroundings or two they would stare at you until you point it out to them.
Kuroko calmly stared back at the guy sitting in front of him with his one visible eye as he slurped on his vanilla shake. First that guy had plopped himself into the seat in front of him without so much as a hint to acknowledge him; but that was okay since the poor guy probably didn't notice him not to mention he was used to this kind of behavior; but did he really have to resort to staring at him to make sure he wouldn't disappear like a ghost and that he wasn't seeing things? Also the huge pile of burgers on his tray were starting to make him nauseated, even more so as they quickly disappeared into the abyss known as Kagami's stomach.
He leaned back into his seat without removing eye contact, wondering silently when he will speak.
Kagami was curious about the guy who he was sharing a table with. Today in class he was sleeping because of how tired he was after going through the training of hell. It sent chills down his spine just thinking about it because the devil incarnate had said that they had only just begun. When he woke up, he found this guy staring at him before he returned to looking out the window. He recognized him as the guy who he saw from the rooftop a couple days ago. He looked around class and saw that no one paid any attention to him and simply ignored him. Next in P.E. boys were to play basketball while girls were to play volleyball. When they were changing their clothes he noticed that the boy had a quite a few scars on his body, not to mention his frame looked so weak. 'It looks like the kid has been bullied.' All throughout class he tried to keep his eyes on this boy; tried being the keyword. He was a bit surprised when the boy opted to sit out instead of playing but with that kind of stature Kagami could understand. It was better this way; the court was no place for weaklings. However when the game began, he, in his excitement forgot about the boy. So when he passed the ball with his full strength, it went straight towards the girls, because his teammates couldn't catch his pass, again. However everybody was left astonished as that boy was standing there with the ball in his hands looking as if catching Kagami's pass was no big deal.
Kagami frowned when he remembered that. He felt kind of insulted that even a weak boy was able to catch his pass although what had happened next left him a bit confused. His eyes shifted to land on the cup of vanilla shake, more specifically the hand holding it because there was a black wristband with what he was sure was a basketball embroidered onto it. He returned his gaze to look into the boy's eyes or eye. He couldn't see the other one because a fringe of hair was covering it. His eyes twitched slightly. 'Doesn't the hair bother him?' he thought, because he surely was bothered by it. Hell he even kept his own hair short! He leaned forward to ask, "What is your name? And are you interested in basketball because there's no way you would wear that," he said pointing to his wristband, "for no reason. Also I don't believe what happened in P.E. today was a fluke." He leaned back a bit proudly thinking he got him as he resumed eating.
Kuroko slurped on his shake more before he replied, "It's not polite to ask my name without giving out your own name first Kagami-kun."
Kagami suddenly choked on his bite before swallowing abruptly and he managed to get out, "What the hell? Why would you even say that when you already know my name! And hold on a minute, why do you know my name anyway?"
"The event that occurred before morning assembly is a bit hard to forget." Kuroko pointed out. Kagami had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. He coughed before asking for his name. "Kuroko Tetsuya, nice to make your acquaintance," Kuroko replied in a monotone which betrayed no emotions. 'This kid,' Kagami thought, 'is he testing my patience? That sounded like an automated response!' his eyes twitching furiously all the while, completely forgetting that Kuroko hadn't answered his other questions.
"How do you know about the Generation of Miracles?" Kuroko asked him because he remembered that Kagami had introduced himself as a returnee from America.
'So he could be interested in basketball if he knows about them too,' Kagami had more proof now to back up his theory. He thought back when he had asked the captain why the coach was being so stubborn and not letting them enter the club yet. He had explained about this group of middle school kids who were apparently prodigies in basketball and lead their team to dominate the middle school basketball and now having graduated, they were all in high school thus making the competition more extreme. The coach did not want students entering the club half-heartedly; she wanted them to show her real determination.
"The captain told me about them." He suddenly had this wild grin on his face wondering how fun it would be to play against them. He was lost in thought again excitement permeating him as he apparently forgot about Kuroko. He had confidence that he can hold his own against them after all he wasn't someone normal either if he could stay alive after training under that woman. He was no push over even his class mates were having a really hard time playing with him or against him today. 'Wait! This Kuroko! He didn't answer my last question!'
"Hey! You still haven't told me why you did that today," he said, emphasizing on that.
Kuroko hadn't removed his gaze one bit as he continued to observe Kagami-kun. He was quite amusing, shifting through his emotions so quickly. First he was angry, then embarrassed, happy, then angry again. After hearing him ask that question he thought back to what had happened in P.E. today.
Flashback
Kuroko headed towards the changing room with the rest of the guys as the girls headed towards theirs. He stopped near the door as he saw Kagami changing. That guy had really built up his body fine. He would be an extremely strong player. He always had this thought whenever he would see him change. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed though not knowing why.
Kuroko after changing out of his clothes went with the rest of the class towards the gym. After a few light warm up exercises, the teacher pointed out the games they would play, girls volleyball and boys basketball. He really, really didn't want to play. He went to the teacher and asked in a soft voice if he could sit out because he wasn't feeling well. He was not lying, seeing everybody play basketball threw his emotions into turmoil. He started to remember his basketball days, the fun and excitement that coursed through his body, blood pounding hard as the heart pumped furiously and the sweat glistening on their bodies after a practice. He would always play, no matter what he never gave up. The strong determination that players had, the desire to win, he was remembering it all. Along with these memories came memories of his mother, his now dead mother, who loved basketball just as passionately. If he hadn't played basketball that day she would never have died. He was feeling very confused. He had decided that he hated basketball so why was he feeling left out when he saw the others playing. He believed he hated the feel of the ball, the squeaking of the basketball shoes and the swish of the net. He was angry now, angry at himself for even thinking about it. He got up, deciding that he should leave. He started walking towards the exit.
As he was passing by the girls his senses tingled and he suddenly turned around and caught a ball in his hands. He stared down to look at a basketball in his hands. He just stared forgetting those around him. There was a lot of strength behind the pass 'must be Kagami-kun who passed the ball.' He was having a hard time believing that he was actually holding the ball but what was strange was that he wasn't feeling repulsed to have it in his hands, after almost a whole year of not holding the ball properly he actually felt a bit of scandalized excitement. In horror he dropped the ball immediately. He then looked up to see everybody, even the girls staring at him.
Recalling that he was supposedly a weak person he softly said, "Itai," in his monotone voice as he looked at his hands before looking up.
Some of the students started laughing and some started to ask if he was okay. Remembering that his hands are supposed to hurt, he excused himself to go the restroom so he could dip his hands in water.
Flashback end
"I was startled, caught the ball and then dropped it when my hands hurt." Kuroko replied before putting the straw back into his mouth. He was wondering if Kagami-kun would buy that. But Kagami was no push over. He had expected something like this. So he grinned widely before he said, "but your hands weren't red at all, when you dropped the ball, I saw them."
"You have played basketball before right? There is no way you wouldn't have received damage unless you are used to it."
Kuroko really didn't want anyone to know about him and his middle school basketball career so he decided to answer indirectly, "Basketball's my mother's favorite game." He had underestimated Kagami's cognitive abilities.
'Ah ha! So he must have learned to play from her. I knew it. I knew he is a player but with a body like that of course he is underestimated! But he can't fool me.' Kagami had already forgotten that he too had considered him extremely weak, thus being fooled as well. It's convenient to keep selective memories.
When he looked back at him to ask which middle school he is from, kuroko had already disappeared.
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AN: sorry i know this chapter is really short! thank you all who have favorited and are following this story and a special thanks to all my reviewers! they make me so happy! i also get ideas on what to add to the story. so please review and tell me what you think!
And if any of you are naruto fans you should check out this story 'Holding Destiny With Your Own Two Hands' by MKofGod. i just absolutely love it! its an incredible time travelling fiction.
A little question for all my readers! how do you think Riko should find out that Kuroko is a basketball player too! Kagami is already getting really close but i want this to happen with a bang! if you know what i mean.
so please review!
