Chiiwasu minna!
Uggghhhh….
I feel so dead right now T-T
My schedule's been pretty messed up lately
Especially when school is factored into it all
But I'm back none the less and will try to update weekly
Depends on my spark of ideas and inspiration haha

Well I'm sure you wanna start reading
Sooo, We Start

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke… yeah this is how tired I am

Chapter 9: For When We Conquer

The trio from the regular court players had exited the gym and had gone in the direction towards the construction zone. They'd recently brought all the materials needed to start construction and have started on the base of the frame. "I think they're moving at a good pace." Akashi grinned as he looked around the sight to see the workers all focusing on blueprints and what not.

"Ahh..." Murasakibara showed little interest in the work. A sound then reached the tall boy's ears and he looked towards the third gym. "Someone's playing." He stated and opened a chip bag.

"It's after practice... I'm sure that there are a few members that stay a little later though I'm not sure whether they're from first or second string." Midorima informed.

"Well, shall we head over and see who it is?" Akashi grinned scarily and trailed over with the two boys following close behind. The three then took a look through the door and found Aomine speaking with another, though they didn't really catch a glimpse of anyone else. The only thing that spark in the conversation were the words 'Akashi' and 'lacking'. Akashi just narrowed his eyes and walked in on the pair.

"And who exactly is, as you say, lacking, Daiki?" The redhead saw the tanned boy visibly shiver and slowly turned around to face the trio in the doorway.

"A-A-Aka...shi." Aomine could feel buckets of sweat coming along as Kuroko just peeked from behind the other and looked at them. "You know I can explain!" Aomine tried to calm the captain before he tried anything on him. However, Akashi completely ignored him and fixed his gaze upon the boy behind him.

"Ah, well if it isn't Tetsuya. I haven't seen you for a long while." Akashi said to the pale boy.

"Domo, Akashi-kun." Kuroko greeted.

"Who is that, Aomine?" Midorima questioned, not knowing of the boy since this was their first meeting.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, pleased to meet you Midorima-kun." He introduced. Midorima seemed to be a little surprised that the other had known his name and asked why he did. "Of course, everyone in the basketball club should know of the 5 first years that beat out the sempai regulars after a few weeks upon entering school." Kuroko said as though it were a common fact.

"Ah, sou." Midorima just hid behind the glare of his glasses and turned his gaze away.

"Hmmm... I saw you before." Murasakibara leaned down towards Kuroko and ruffled his hair in the process.

"Please stop that, Murasakibara-kun." The pale boy swatted the hand away.

"But you're so easy to pick on." The tall boy then retreated his hand and stood tall again, still trying to remember when he'd seen him last.

"Weren't you the one the practically ran him over on the first day of school?" Aomine refreshed his memory. He remembered that Kuroko had mentioned it before and couldn't help but feel annoyed that that had happened before.

"Right. You're the chibi that I tripped over, ja, it's Kuro-chin." He finally realized. "Did you leave for three months then just came back?" He questioned.

"No, I was here the whole time." The boy said with his deadpan face. "I haven't heard that phrase in a long time." Aomine sweatdropped and turned back towards Akashi, who seemed to be pretty excited right now. He had no idea as to why Akashi would be this way but he really didn't want to find out what he had in mind either.

"So this is where you've been hiding, Aomine." Midorima said to the boy. "When we need to find you, you are always off somewhere else but who would have known that you were just next door. You better have not been slacking in your training or else we'll all suffer the consequences of your actions."

"I don't slack off here! I practice just as hard as in regular practice!" Aomine argued. "Isn't that right, Tetsu?" Kuroko decided to stay out of the conversation. "Tetsu!" Aomine just sighed disappointed that he didn't get backed up on his response.

"Well, I'm sure that your skill level hasn't dropped but if you practice with a person of lesser talent, then you wouldn't have improved at all." Midorima said. "What string are you from anyways?" He directed the question to Kuroko.

"Third string." The three boys then paused in shock for a moment.

"Was there a third string?" Midorima questioned Akashi.

"As far as I'm concerned, however, I left all the groupings and string placements to Kaibara and the other sempai." Akashi said. "So I'm only involved in training regiments and training the first stringers. Kaibara switches with Shiba and the others from time to time to deal with the large number of members."

"Ja, Kuro-chin is in third string?"

"Hai."

"And yet Aomine still hangs around him like they've been best friends since childhood." Midorima stated, finding the fact rather peculiar. Akashi just stood in silence as he observed the small boy. He knew that he'd seen something in Kuroko from the first time that he'd met him but it was the first time that he couldn't pinpoint ones abilities straight away. With Kuroko, he had to cross examine the information for a bit before he drew his conclusion.

"Daiki..." Aomine's attention was brought back to his captain. "would you three mind if you left me alone with Tetsuya for a while?" The three knew that it was their cue to leave. When Akashi asked a question like that, he always expected them to fulfill his request, even if they were just asked or if they minded. Aomine didn't feel comfortable with leaving Kuroko alone with his scary captain but there wasn't anything that he could do either.

So before he left, he told Kuroko to call him later though he didn't mention that the reason for it was to make sure that he came home alive. Kuroko just nodded as the other court players left alongside his friend and soon was left alone with the captain. "So Tetsuya, let's get straight to the point shall we? I wanna try something."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following day, Aomine had come to school earlier than anyone would have expected him to; even earlier than people had ever thought possible. Even he didn't like coming this early to school but today, he had a special reason. Last night, he had expected Kuroko to at least call him or send him some sort of message to tell him that he was alright but he had received none and that worried him. So he dragged himself to school hoping to run into the invisible boy.

After about 15 minutes of waiting, Aomine felt like giving up and going into the building until he was surprised from behind. "It's a surprise to see you here to so early, Aomine-kun."

"Ahh, Tetsu, it's even more of a surprise at how you can scare me so easily." Aomine tried to regulate his breathing. "Oh yeah, you're alright!" Aomine remembered why he had come so early.

"Yes, and I'm sorry for not contacting you last night. It seems that once I had arrived home, I fell asleep in the hallway, according to my mother."

"So you passed out when you got inside?"

"Hai, but I'm alright as you can see." The blue haired boy reassured.

"Yeah, that's good to know. So are you staying after practice today again?" Aomine asked him.

"Yes but Akashi requested that I train with him again." Kuroko explained.

"Train? He's training you?" Aomine was surprised by this fact. Akashi only did these sort of things only if it had some sort of benefit towards him.

"Sou desu." The other answered. The taller boy shuddered when he remembered his experiences with Akashi's training with the others before their big game with the former regulars.

"Are you sure you really want to do this, Tetsu?" Aomine voiced his concern.

"Akashi-kun offered and since he was nice enough to do so, I couldn't say no." Aomine didn't like the sound of that response but sighed to himself and decided to accept it.

"Well, just be careful and pace yourself, especially if you're really serious about this Tetsu. I don't want you getting hurt because of Akashi's training." Aomine was genuinely concerned because he felt like he barely survived through the process himself. "How long did he say he was going to train you? Did he tell you at all?"

"He said before next week, we'll be done with our sessions and on the following Monday, I'll have to go to the first gym instead of the third."

"Wha, already? He plans to train you like this for the next 3 days?" On this day, it was already Wednesday, so Aomine speculated that they'll be training till Friday.

"Are you sure you'll be okay until then?"

"Hai, but hopefully I will be able to meet Akashi-kun's expectations within the short period of time." Aomine caught the small hint of concern in the other's voice but didn't mention it. Instead he changed the subject and started to talk about what had happened to him after he'd left the other day.

During the next few days, Aomine then started to notice that Kuroko was getting more and more less talkative with him and Momoi. They even found it harder to notice him even when he was just sitting in the desk right next to them. Also, at the times when they did notice him, they found him sound asleep in the middle of class; however, the teacher didn't notice him at all. The tanned boy had to admit that he was a little jealous of Kuroko for this invisible ability that he has since he was able to nod off in class whenever he wanted but when he did, he was always scolded immediately by the teacher. It was even worse when he had first started practicing with Akashi at the beginning of the year.

Kuroko was also very secretive when asked about what he was training. Momoi guessed that Akashi had put him up to it so due to this speculation, they stopped pestering him about it. But that didn't mean that their curiosity was satisfied at all. They were practically dying to know what the two boys were doing; even the rest of the team had grown an interest as to who the boy, that Akashi had personally started training, was. But just like everyone else, they'd have to wait for Monday, the date that Akashi had invited him to come over towards their gym.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Finally the day that everyone had been looking forward to, had come. It was the day that they would meet this mystery boy that their captain had taken an interest in. Aomine knew said boy already but he also knew that he had little to no skill for the sport.

"I hope Kuroko-kun will be alright." Momoi said to her childhood friend.

"Well, he seemed alright during last week, didn't he?" Aomine said to her. She just nodded but that didn't ease her worries.

"Ne," Haizaki then walked over towards the pair and put his arms around their shoulders. "so you guys know who this Kuroko kid is?" He grinned tauntingly as he looked at the pair.

"Ah, he's in our homeroom class." Momoi said tsundere like but in actuality, really didn't like the boy.

"So is he any good? What sorta traits does he have? Is he strong?" Murasakibara crashed the conversation.

"Well, he's alright, but he's not as strong as people make him out to be." Aomine said thinking about it for a moment.

"I still can't believe that Akashi let the other strings' come and watch today's practice. All because of this fuss about some boy no one knows." Midorima said irritably.

"Just hold your lucky item and shut your mouth." Aomine snapped. Midorima just narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. The boys could then hear the chatter coming from the balconies as the one hundred members all started to talk amongst themselves about Kuroko. Just then Akashi had entered the gym and was immediately followed by a boy just a bit shorter than himself with sky blue hair. The pair looked like they contrasted with each other but if their looks weren't enough, then their personalities were enough to suffice.

"That's the kid that Akashi had an interest in?" Haizaki looked disappointed.

"Maa~ Kuro-chin, glad to see you survived. Though I thought you would've died by now." Murasakibara announced. The green haired boy just kept his comments to himself.

"So are you really ready for this?" Aomine asked the small boy.

"Hai." Kuroko just said, seemingly confident.

"Alright everyone gather, practice is starting!" Akashi exclaimed, his voice echoing in the gym. All the first stringers and run towards their captain and stood in front of him. "So today, all first stringers who aren't on the bench sit out. You will all observe with the second stringers." There were murmurs in the group of boys but no one complained. They all then made their way towards the bleachers and sat alongside their club mates.

"Now the rest of you..." Akashi started but then saw a hand in the air. "Makoto, you have a question?" Akashi eyed the previous basketball regular. (note: Makoto is Hibiki's first name and is the OC that guarded Haizaki in their match in earlier chapters. Previous regular.) Everyone was surprised by his action but didn't utter a word about it since the second year had a tendency to snap at anyone no matter who they were.

"So what's the deal with this person you brought in?" Hibiki questioned, not understanding the situation really.

"Well, he's Kuroko Tetsuya and he will be joining us in the first string gym from now on." Akashi explained to them.

"Well then he should at least have the decency to show up on time." His tone was slightly annoyed and he could hear a round of murmurs coming from around the gym. The four current basketball regulars just looked at the people oddly as they couldn't understand what the big deal was.

"What are they talking about? Did they not see him walk in with Akashi?" Midorima questioned, seeing as the situation was very strange.

"Are you guys blind? It's no wonder why you lost your spot as the team regulars after all." Haizaki taunted as Hibiki sneered at the first year. However, he didn't say anything mostly due to the fact that the boys around him were holding him back and tried to prevent him and Haizaki from starting another fight. Momoi just rolled her eyes at the pair. There really was nothing stopping them from getting at each other's necks but if she thought about it, they were boys after all.

"Maa, I can't find Kuro-chin anywhere either." Murasakibara sighed as he looked over everyone's heads trying to spy the blue haired boy.

"That's impossible, we all saw him." Midorima said and looked around to find the boy as well but was surprised that he was nowhere in sight. "W-where has he gone to?" Midorima was stunned for a moment.

"The kid's like a ghost." Haizaki said nonchalantly but was also curious about the situation.

"A-ano..." They all heard a small voice and looked towards the front where Akashi was standing. "I'm right here." Kuroko said as he lifted his right hand in the air halfway so as to draw attention to himself.

"Whaa-" The team was taken aback and jumped a bit when they suddenly found the missing boy.

"H-how did..."

"W-when did..." Aomine just smirked at their surprised expressions. Since he had been hanging out with Kuroko for a while, he was used to the ghostly presence.

"I was here the entire time. I just walked in with Akashi-kun not so long ago." He explained as the entire team flashbacked to that moment.

"I don't remember him at all." They all came to the same thought and just stared, jaw dropped.

"Tetsuya is a special case." Akashi said, putting an arm around the boy. "So as I've said before, he'll be joining us from now on." The redhead repeated.

"But for what reason are the other stringers watching today instead of practicing on their own?" Another ex-regular, third year Shiba, questioned this time.

"There's always a reason behind my decisions, however it is not my obligation to explain my reasons to you. Nonetheless, you'll all soon come to understand my decisions eventually." That was all Akashi had to say on the subject and immediately dropped it. Shiba wasn't really satisfied with the response but he dropped it as well.

"Hmm... this is interesting. I can't wait to break him in." Haizaki grinned as he eyed the boy. Aomine just glared at him but didn't comment.

"So what are we going to do now, Akashi?" Aomine asked, trying to push forward from this little meeting.

"I'm glad you asked Daiki, I was thinking that we should have a little test so that you all may see Tetsuya's value while he gets acquainted to playing with the first stringers as well." Akashi said as he looked at the bench warmers. "You three." Akashi pointed at three players who all straightened up as he looked at them.

"You will be playing on a team with Daiki and Tetsuya. Meanwhile, you five will play against them." Akashi pointed towards Yoshida, Hibiki and three others. Hibiki didn't have any complaints and Yoshida was as easygoing as ever but the other three just looked a bit scared to be facing Aomine in a match. The other other three were just as scared since they didn't want to be a hindrance towards him either, despite being older than the first year pair. Plus, they weren't even sure if Kuroko could keep up with them since he looked like he had little to no stamina.

"Now, everyone else, on the sides and observe carefully. I want to hear your opinions afterwards." Akashi said as though he already knew what they were going to say later on.

"Ne Tetsu, are you sure you're alright with all of this?" Aomine asked him.

"Hai, Aomine-kun. Just please keep your eye on the ball and be aware at all times. I know you space out easily." Kuroko said at Aomine's expense.

"What was that? You trying to pick a fight?" Aomine felt a vein pop in his forehead.

"No, I'm merely making sure that you are prepared for what will happen in this game." Kuroko looked at him, not changing his expression one little bit.

"If you have time to worry about me, then worry more about yourself. We're up against first stringers after all." Aomine huffed and stormed off to get the jump ball. Kuroko watched him walk off then turned towards his other teammates to ask something of them.

Aomine focused on the ball as he waited for it to reach its maximum peak before he could reach after it. Surprisingly, he was doing the jump ball against Hibiki. It wasn't that he was much shorter than himself, it's just that there was a taller person that had more of an advantage. Though it didn't bother him one bit and just focused his mind on getting the ball.

The coach was acting as referee for the game. Akashi had mentioned it to him before about bringing in a new player for first string but the coach wanted to see the boy's skills for himself before making his decision. He knew that Akashi would bring him in regardless if he really wanted to the kid in the team, but it felt nice to have his opinion heard since he didn't expect Akashi to listen to him that much. Snapping out of his thoughts, he threw the ball in the air and watched as the boys jumped for it. Luckily, Aomine was the one that had won the battle and immediately tossed it towards a teammate.

The other caught it and then looked around after remembering what the new boy had asked of him and the other two. 'Would you three please pass me the ball whenever you are able to?' He asked the favor as they all exchanged glances with each other. They all had agreed without really knowing what to expect but with the look of the boy physically, it was almost impossible to comply with the request. So they just passed it amongst each other until they got it to Aomine who slammed it in the basket.

"Yatta! Sasuga Aomine!" The boys exclaimed as they greeted the boy.

"Let's go. Defense!" Aomine exclaimed as they ran back towards their basket.

"I won't let you take the first quarter so easily." Hibiki glared and tossed the ball towards Shiba who then threw it to another member quickly and made a three pointer. This had continued for a while as Aomine kept on getting most of the points and the other team kept on matching him. However, slowly, Aomine's team seemed to be lagging behind slightly due to the double team placed on Aomine.

"Che, we have to pick up the pace a little." Aomine said to the other members as the quarter ended.

"Alright, 2 minute break!" Akashi announced. "And then we'll start on the last quarter of the game." He added surprising both teams.

"Wait, this game'll be two quarters only?" Hibiki asked.

"That's what I said." Akashi answered. Aomine then sighed as he tried to think of a strategy. He knew the guys were good players but they weren't up to speed with him or the two previous regular members. He also wasn't very good at dropping his level to account for the others and let them flow with the game either.

"We got this." He heard Hibiki say as he caught the boy's smirk planted on his face.

"Aomine seems to be a bit troubled." Haizaki grinned as well, enjoying the sight of his teammate squirm a little. He knew of the ace's competitiveness and, speaking for the team, they each didn't like losing, especially with the high possibility that they could win.

"He seems to be playing by himself, despite his interaction and plays with the others. His mind seems to be fixated in trying to catch up." Midorima stated.

"That didn't make sense, Mido-chin." Murasakibara said with little interest.

"Well it seems that things will get interesting pretty soon." Akashi said to the others. They all then sat in silence and watched once again as the teams went back towards the court.

"Alright, let's just try our best." Aomine said to the other members.

"Aomine-kun." Kuroko then stood in front of the tanned boy who was about to pass the ball.

"Ahhhh, Tetsu." Aomine froze, shocked for a moment.

"I forgot he was on the team." One of the boys confessed to his friends.

"W-was he always playing?"

"Akashi put him in the team, so he should have been there."

"Then why didn't he do anything?"

"I forgot the squirt was there." Hibiki sweatdropped as he noticed the sky haired boy.

"But, I never noticed either." Shiba was wide eyed, surprising Hibiki. He'd never seen his sempai like that unless he was under complete shock. "I always notice every player but I forgot he was even playing in the game."

"That guy's not normal." A player said behind the pair to the other boys

"That's freaky isn't it?"

"I guess that's the reason why we were able to double team Aomine huh?"

"Someone call the Supernatural Club!"

"T-Tetsu, s-saa, let's get started." Aomine recovered and watched as Kuroko walked over towards his teammates. They then remembered the request made at the beginning of the game. After exchanging glances one more time, they went into game mode. Aomine saw that everyone was in position and passed the ball.

The boy had caught it then somehow spotted a speck of blue in the crowd of boys. He dribbled then passed it towards him but somehow, the ball had ended up in the hands of his friend under the net. "S-shoot!" He exclaimed towards the stunned boy who then took the shot.

"H-how..." The one who made the shot questioned.

"Forget it, just get back." Aomine said, although, he couldn't get that pass out of his mind either. The ball was clearly headed in a different direction but had somehow ended up under the net. "What was that?"

This time, a boy from the other team had the ball and they were all in a man to man guard. He paused to see who he could pass to as another was in front of him and trying to block his view. After a few moments, he then noticed that he wasn't even dribbling the ball anymore, turned and found that the ball was somehow stolen. "W-when did..."

Everyone in the stands couldn't comprehend what exactly was happening as the ball was being moved around without them knowing how. "Akashi, what's going on?" a voice called out to him and found the ex-captain, Kaibara Tomoki, beside him.

"Whatever do you mean, Tomoki?" Akashi's eyes were challenging.

"I mean, what's the deal with this game all of a sudden."

"Just watch carefully and you may be able to see what's really happening." The other first years listened in the other conversation and then looked at the game, interested in the secret behind the travelling ball. The ball was handled by Aomine who looked around to seek out someone whom he can pass to. He then spotted Kuroko who seemed to be free and tossed it towards him. He then broke through expecting a return pass but saw that the ball was already in the basket.

"T-Tetsu?" Aomine then realized vaguely what was happening. A few snap shots then raced through his mind as he caught a glimpse of the boy's pass.

"I see." Midorima stated, eyeing the sky haired boy. "He's making tap passes."

"Nani, Mido-chin?" The tall giant asked.

"It's him isn't it, Akashi." The green haired boy looked towards his captain.

"So he's somehow diverting attention away from himself and is making people focus on the ball." Haizaki added to the explanation.

"That's correct. Tetsuya always had little presence so instead of fighting this oddity; I made it into something he could use on the court." Akashi was proud of his discovery. "A fine weapon isn't it?"

"I don't understand but Kuro-chin is really good."

Slowly, everyone else started to understand the passes being made and were amazed that they could get through the defense so swiftly and flawlessly. "I can't believe you learned all this in less than a week." Aomine said to Kuroko though he didn't really get a response back but he didn't mind. He knew that Kuroko didn't like being the center of attention much so he figured that this would be a little too overwhelming for him.

The game ended with Aomine's team's win but nobody was upset about it. However, something that almost everyone noticed was that the teamwork that they had with each other had increased when Kuroko started to play. It seemed like with him playing, they all meshed well with each other and played better, almost as if he were trying to push out the best in them.

"I suppose it'll be more interesting from here on out." Midorima crossed his arms and looked at the newly admitted member of the first string.

"Ne, Aka-chin, is Kuro-chin going to be a starter?"

"I trained him to make sure that he'd make it to the middle school championships. It would be a good place for the debut of our new player. It will make them remember us indefinitely and will set the stage for when we conquer the winter tournament." Akashi said ominously.

Again, I'm sorry I was awol for weeks now
But I said that I wouldn't abandon stories anymore
So you don't have to worry about that
If I say that the story's going to end,
Then that's when it ends
But the thing is that I have midterms coming up already
So it's tough to keep up with the writing
Demo Ganbarimasu~ ^^
Please excuse any bad mistakes that are made
Owari desu~

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

-Omake Corner-

Omake #1
Everyone turned to see a redhead had entered the gym and everyone hushed as he entered. The first year regulars all turned towards their captain and looked at him. "Ne Akashi, are we starting soon or what? And where's that new brat that I've been hearing about." They all heard Hibiki question the boy. They all sweatdropped as they heard him demand the answers. If there was one person on the team who wasn't afraid of death, it would have been the former small forward player.

Hibiki then looked down at the redhead, wide eyed and remained silent for a while. The first year group had looked over their sempai's shoulder and looked down at their captain to find that it wasn't the person who they thought it was.

"Ano, could you p-please t-tell me w-where I can find t-the A-Art Room?" the redhead, asked. As it turns out, it wasn't Akashi after all and was some other redheaded first year who was just looking for directions. It seemed that he got nervous that it had gotten so quiet once he entered the gym and then got questioned right after.

Hibiki just scrunched his face in annoyance. "Get out of here, we're trying to do a scene!" He exclaimed as the boy just darted out of the gym in terror. The poor boy was the outlet for the second year's anger.

"Hibi-chin just broke the fourth wall." Murasakibara stated.

"You stupid, purple giant, you just did the same." Haizaki said.

"Stop talking about it, you're making it worse!" Aomine exclaimed.

"Cut the scene-" Momoi said before getting cut off...

(yes, I know it's random -.-' please forgive me hehehe)

. . . . . . .

Omake #2
"Are they all blind?!" Haizaki said skeptically as he had noticed the boy when Akashi had entered the gym. "I guess it isn't much of a mystery as to how they lost their spots as regulars."

Hibiki looked like he was going to say something after the insult but was cut off by another voice. "Actually," Kuroko said, cutting off the argument that was about to start. "they're right. I didn't come through the gym doors with Akashi-kun." He said.

"But Tetsu, we all saw you behind Akashi when you guys entered the gym." Aomine said.

"Iya, I came late. Akashi-kun had come by himself and I snuck in from a side door to avoid meeting Akashi-kun outside. I didn't want him to scold me for being late on the first day I practice in the first string gym."

"Show up on time! And why were you late, you were at school this entire time!" Aomine exclaimed and looked towards the boy to find that he'd disappeared. "Don't disappear when people are talking to you!"

Hope you enjoyed that
My apology gift
But it's not much really
I apologize again
Sumimasen deshita!