A bit more angsty than the other chapters, and perhaps a darker take on Kagami's past than the manga warrants. I think it brings up a good question though. Would *you* let your middle schooler live on their own halfway across the world? (Ok I wouldn't, but this is just me.)

Chapter 5: The Third Tale - Kagami Taiga

It had taken Kagami a very long time to realize that his family was not what most would consider normal. In fact, it wasn't until they left Japan that he had begun to realize that most families had parents that spoke to each other above three sentences a day, took family pictures, slept in the same bedroom, didn't take off every weekend for 'business trips,' sat together for meals, and didn't rely on their seven-year-old child to prepare the meal in the first place. Although it took him a few more years to articulate the dysfunction in his parent's relationship, his eyes had been opened during his first parent-teacher conference when his mother, who had made it quite clear that she had taken valuable time off from work to attend, surprised Taiga's teacher by speaking English fluently.

But your son can barely speak English, his young, handsome teacher had exclaimed, with more honesty than tact.

His mother was unconcerned. Oh, can't he? We'll have to get him a tutor, then.

Taiga remembered the burning humiliation of barely being able to follow their conversation, yet he had remembered the odd look on his teacher's face even more. It was as if he had swallowed a lemon, and even at a young age he knew the lemon the teacher had swallowed was his mother. And when he remembered that his father was also fluent in English, he felt as if he had swallowed a lemon, too.

Opened eyes are terribly difficult to close. Especially when the mentioned tutor never materialized, and Taiga found himself in danger of failing third grade. If his teacher hadn't personally intervened, half learning Japanese in order to give Taiga a decent background in English, he would have never made it out of elementary school. As it was, it taught him a few important life lessons: that there was something terribly wrong with his family, although it was never to be spoken of. More importantly, if he wanted something, he had to do it all by himself.

He had met Tatsuya the next year, walking home to an empty house where all he could think of to do was to watch cooking shows on television - the one thing that improved his English that he enjoyed doing. He hadn't even noticed him until he had spoke up, in Japanese so natural that it made Taiga's heart tighten. Are you Japanese? I thought so! Come on, let's go play!

Taiga, with his stilted English, funny eyebrows and painful honesty had never been popular. Tatsuya, with his charmingly accented English, good looks and calm demeanor, was. Inexplicable as it was to Taiga, the boys bonded over basketball, and he worshipped the ground Tatsuya walked for giving him something to excel at beyond cooking. More than that, Tatsuya became the family he chose, and as an older brother figure quickly became the only person he loved.

That number had grown to two when they had stumbled across Alexandra Garcia, and after weeks of wearing her down, became her students. The woman was brash and confident and quite frankly terrifying, but she was also gifted, patient, and utterly open with her affections. The boys were like small flowers underneath her sun, and they had bloomed both on and off the court under her care. Now Taiga had people to think about and talk to, and to cook for when they invaded his empty home every other weekend. More importantly, he had people to care about, and his loneliness seemed to evaporate like the water he'd boil for Alex's favorite meals.

The confidence that he slowly learned on the court had begun to seep into his schooling, and his grades and his social life slowly improved. As long as he had Alex and Tatsuya, he felt that he could do anything. Life had finally become something to enjoy, rather than simply to withstand.

...

Taiga's skill on the court grew rapidly, and every game was a heady rush of excitement. His love of the game was such that he never cared when he lost, and it never occurred to him that Tatsuya felt any differently. Yet then had come their separation, ultimatum and the 100 game streak that would determine their bond. Unable to stomach the thought of losing Tatsuya as his older brother, he had thrown the penultimate game, and in doing so, seemingly lost his brother anyway. Take me seriously, Tatsuya had screamed, clutching Taiga's necklace, the twin of his own. I'll never forgive you if you don't! The next one will decide it all, Taiga - and if you win, I won't allow myself to be your brother anymore!

Reeling from the imminent loss of his best friend Taiga had stumbled home into an even greater upheaval. We're getting a divorce, his father calmly told him, sitting by his mother's side for the first time in Taiga's memory. I will be staying here, and your mother is moving to New York. We are both prepared to take you. Where would you like to live?

Faced with the dragon at his back and the abyss below his feet, Taiga walked into the unknown with a frankness and surety that surprised even him. He had looked his father in the eye and said, I'm not picking either of you. I'm going back to Japan.

His parents had fought him on it, but he had held firm, and within three days they had given in. Truthfully, it was easier than he'd expected. He didn't even have to call upon Alex and her friend in social services to convince them that Taiga's living on his own was the best solution for all of them. And when he had convinced them things had moved so quickly - his father renting the apartment in his own name, transferring out of his middle school into an unknown Japanese one, saying goodbye to Alex, who had driven separately to the airport just so she could kiss him in front of his disapproving parents. There wasn't even time to say goodbye to Tatsuya, who had fallen ill with fever two night before.

It was only when he was seated in the plane that Taiga allowed himself to wonder if he was really making a new, healthier life for himself or if he was running away.

…

Expectations taste more bitter than you'd think, Alex had once said. After arriving in Japan, Taiga completely agreed with her. He had been a foreigner all his life, and so a part of him had believed he was coming home. But after all those years in America, home had apparently shifted. His native tongue felt heavy in his mouth, and he found himself thinking in English more often than not. Food - the non-basketball related compass of his existence - was suddenly something he didn't know how to prepare, and many of his favorite meals became impossible to recreate. Worst of all, he had forgotten just about all the kanji he had ever learned. He could read basics, but anything more in depth than a sign or an advertisement had him guessing on at least half the content.

He had gotten used to the size of L.A.; the mingling of different languages and the colors of people's skin; the smell of exotic foods and the open way of life. Japan seemed so small and homogenous in comparison, and Taiga found himself sticking out like a sore thumb. It didn't help that he was physically taller and stronger than nearly all the kids his age. He was once again the misfit, and by the time he graduated middle school there was no one he could call his friend. There was only thing he was sure of, and it was basketball...although even that was different in Japan!

And by the time he had lost all hope, he had met him. Kuroko. The quiet, unassuming boy who had looked up at him with those expressionless eyes and told him that he'd make him the best in Japan. Now, Taiga knew he was an idiot, but even he wasn't that dumb. No one just came up out of nowhere and attached themselves to a person like that, especially someone like him. Three days of class convinced Taiga of this. Kuroko was calm, smart, well-mannered and well-spoken, and in Taiga's mind, the epitome of the Japanese male. Why would he have any need for someone like Taiga, so awkward and brash and lumbering, completely out of place and unable to read most of the teacher's notes?

(Besides teasing the hell out of him, of course. The blank-faced bastard seemed to know just what to do to make him blow his stack, and Taiga spent whole class periods wondering whether there was some sort of manual for needling returnees, if this could technically be considered bullying, and if Kuroko actually enjoyed making him sputter like an idiot. What was he saying. Of course he did! Otherwise he wouldn't have written his resolve on the school's lawn! Taiga was fairly sure he was never getting over that. He was blushing now just remembering it.)

The answer came, however, when Kuroko unleashed his potential on the court, and they had fallen into each other's rhythm like pieces of a puzzle. That first practice Taiga had been practically vibrating with excitement, and it had taken all his strength not to blow his cool. Even playing with Tatsuya hadn't been like that - hell, he'd never suspected the sport could be played like that. And when the next practice had been just as good, and the next, the next, and the next after that even better, Taiga was so grateful he could hardly sleep at night.

Yet on the heels of that appreciation came that familiar insecurity. There was no way Kuroko actually liked him, it was just his capabilities on the court. Even if he did not mind his company, Kuroko would eventually leave him as well...just like his parents and Tatsuya. So Taiga had protected himself by wrapping his fears around him like a blanket, and when he had told Kuroko that cooperation wasn't everything after their devastating loss to Touou, he had recognized that crossroads for exactly what it was. He had failed Kuroko, and now Kuroko would go off and find a new light to support. Taiga certainly didn't blame him - by that point, even he could see Kuroko's resolve, and he could do nothing but respect it.

What he had not expected was Kuroko to come chasing him down a week later, so desperately that he hadn't even planned what he'd wanted to say. So Taiga had made it easy for him: Why did you pick me? After a lifetime of his parents' evasions and lies, Kuroko's truth had been, while painful enough to make his throat clench, refreshing. In the back of his mind he had expected nothing less. There was simply the validation of having been right to protect himself, because otherwise the loss of Kuroko would have devastated him. So he had assured Kuroko that there was nothing to worry about, that he had knew it all along. (And he had. The only reason he felt even the slightest bit upset now was because this was the honesty he had craved all his life and it was coming from a boy who used it to put their basketball relationship on rocky ground.) Life would continue as usual, and he certainly wasn't going to switch schools or anything. They would just be teammates now. None of this light and shadow business that Taiga wasn't sure he understood in the first place, anyway.

Yet it appeared he had underestimated Kuroko once again. As soon as he had turned his back on his teammate Kuroko had come up with what was the second most amazing thing anyone had ever said to him, behind only Tatsuya's earnest assurances that brothers loved each other best. But I was wrong, Kagami-kun. You showed me that with your passion, and your determination, and your inability to give up. What's more, you never gave up on me, even when I'd given up on myself. Because of you, I'm not playing to defeat Teikou anymore. I am Seirin's Kuroko now. So if you'll forgive me, I will have to change our promise. I won't make you the number one in Japan. I will make our team the number one in Japan.

Taiga had never thought about his existence having an impact on other's, before. At least, not in a positive way. Faced with Kuroko's blazing resolve and perhaps even admiration, this was the best he'd felt since coming to Japan. It was potent enough for him to forget his caution, and he had smiled naturally, letting his guard down for the first time in over a year.

By the time they made their way back to their homes, he had even loosened up enough to jokingly asked if this meant Kuroko was done being his shadow. (Kuroko had looked up at him and the streetlights reflected in his eyes. Like stars, Taiga had thought, and had nearly tripped over his own feet in mortification.) Kuroko hadn't reacted to that, however. Of course not, Kagami-kun. I did not rescind that part of my promise, after all. Besides, I believe it is imperative that I remain at your side.

Taiga hadn't understood. But it's not me, now, it's our whole team. So why…?

Kagami-kun is so modest. Of course it is because he is still my light, no?

What could he possibly say to that? Flustered once again (Taiga would suspect that Kuroko was teasing him even now, except for the declaration that was still echoing inside his bones) he simply held out his fist to pound, in a gesture that meant far more that Kuroko would ever know. This wasn't simply an acknowledgement of their partnership, nor of Kuroko's resolve (both of which were weighty matters already). It was also a sign of Taiga's unspoken promise: regardless of his own fears, insecurities, and complete inability to retain the people he loved, he would try one more time. He would be Kuroko's partner, even if he felt he was unsuitable for the task. He would trust in Kuroko, even if it meant being betrayed (again) down the road….and even if - and right at that moment it didn't seem so far-fetched - he came to value Kuroko more than his shadow ever could in return.

…

Weeks passed, and just as his life had improved once Tatsuya befriended him, it happened again with Kuroko. Slowly but surely his Japanese improved, and he remembered more of the writing every day. Better still, now he had someone to talk to, eat lunch with, and wake him up in class before the teacher could draw on his face with chalk (again.) He wouldn't go so far as to call Kuroko a friend (at least out loud) but he was content, and the darkness that had closed in around him since his parent's divorce dissipated quickly, and in one of Taiga's less lucid moments, he wondered if Kuroko's shadow had somehow chased it away.

Most importantly, the team came together, completely unified and with a renewed determination after their loss to Touou. Taiga would never admit it (again, out loud) but he liked the team, with all its peculiarities and personality. And he certainly liked the basketball they played, with a reliance on the run-and-gun and Kuroko's and his plays. He just fit with them, not like he had with his American teams, but well enough to make Coach's challenging practices enjoyable.

There were still a handful of awkward moments, however, and they tended to settle around girls. It seemed to be the hot topic in the locker room after practice, between the moans of pain and friendly bickering. Taiga only half listened, distracted by practice, Kuroko's terrible physical endurance, and the effort involved in keeping his partner from collapsing onto the floor. Yet as the year went on their comments began to penetrate, and Taiga was forced to realize he was even more different than he'd thought when faced with his team's open appreciations on the fairer sex...and his own indifference. (She is so cute! I'm going to confess tomorrow, just see if I don't! And, I want a girlfriend, Mitobeeeeee! And, I can't keep my eyes off of her - just look at how soft her hair is, and how big her eyes. I wish she was single… And, don't you think Coach is cute with longer hair, Hyuuga? Oh, look. You're blushing! And, think of how nice it would be to hold her. She'd just fit right in your arms, so small and fragile…)

Taiga didn't get it, and luckily no one questioned him about it. He was the heralded basketball idiot of their team, after all, and no one expected him to think about that kind of thing. But at the end of a practice only a week or so before their summer training camp, Taiga had looked down at his shadow and realized that Kuroko was all of those things. He had the big, blue eyes; soft hair; slim musculature, and was the perfect height to fold into his embrace. His expressions (when he showed them) were cute, his small sigh of delight after the first sip of his vanilla shakes was even cuter, and when Taiga imagined Kuroko sitting in his lap with one of his coy little half smiles (inspired by Fukuda's monologue on the imagined delights of such a position) his heart started pounding in his chest. He had to fight down the urge to reach out and touch his partner, to see if his skin was as soft as it looked, and how his muscles felt underneath, and to see if he'd like touching him even better than simply thinking about it…

Taiga walked home from practice in a daze, forgoing even the usual Maji burger visit. He was not a great thinker, but he knew that this merited his best attention. Finding men handsome - his third grade teacher, for example - was one thing, but desiring someone he was close to was another. Especially someone Japanese. He had grown up seeing men holding hands with other men while grocery shopping, and women kissing their girlfriends on the street corner, so it didn't bother him very much to realize that he was homosexual. What did bother him that he was attracted to the one person in the world he considered his friend. Kuroko, for all his eccentricities (and he had them, the knucklehead, even though he pretended to be the most normal of his friends) would not react well to being the object of Taiga's affections. He would likely turn tail and run if he knew how Taiga know thought of him (small and handsome and perfect, even though he's not really small or handsome or perfect at all, but he is to me goddamnit) no matter how flamboyant Kise was, nor how emotionally dependent he'd been on Aomine. And even if he didn't run? Even if he didn't mind that his light was beginning to wonder what kissing was like and if doing it with him would ease the embers in his belly or stoke them even higher? That, Taiga suspected, was an even scarier alternative. Taiga had very little experience with emotional successes, after all. All he knew were endings and failures.

...

(He decides to say nothing; biting his tongue and playing up his American awkwardness, hoping that nothing ever changed. He fails once, although it hurts no one but him. It's the first night of training camp, and the echoes of his anger at having seen Aomine buy Kuroko a drink from the vending machine slowly drive him mad, making sleep pretty much impossible. He looks over to his side to watch Kuroko sleeping peacefully, and the desire to claim his shadow swells up and floods his common sense. After an embarrassingly long amount of time spent determining that no one else is awake except for him, he rolls over to his side and scooches forward until he is inches away from Kuroko's sleeping face. I am such a freaking creeper, he thinks, before he leans in and brushes his lips against Kuroko's cheekbone.

Kuroko doesn't wake, and no one saw. Still, Taiga smiles like an idiot the whole next day, even though he can't look Kuroko in the eye.)

The only noticeable cloud on the horizon is when he learns Tatsuya had come back to Japan as well. He would be hurt that Tatsuya hadn't told him, but as he hadn't told him that he was leaving in the first place, he knows he has no right to be angry. He brazens through their initial meeting with a smile and his English, and can't help but notice that Tatsuya does the same. Then he sees Murasakibara behind him, and knows he has been replaced. (At this point, he's unsurprised to realize that Kuroko knows Tatsuya's new friend as well, as it seems pretty obvious that every single member of Teikou was some kind of wizard, and it's only natural that they'd all convene at some point or another. Like they were in some sort of manga or something. Taiga just doesn't get Japan.)

Taiga mostly tries not to think about it. He does great until the Winter Cup and Seirin defeats Yousen in the quarter finals, and then Tatsuya begins crying in public on Murasakibara, of all people. Out it all comes - Tatsuya's insecurity on his lack of godlike talent, and how he can't stand when his new friend squanders it. Had that been why Tatsuya had pushed him away? Or had it been because Taiga had always been a threat to his superiority on the court? He doesn't know, and at this point, it's not his main priority. He's much more concerned with celebrating with his team, and throwing a nonchalant arm around Kuroko's shoulders when it looks as if his shadow will fall.

Yet he's happy enough when Tatsuya apologizes the next day. Tatsuya was his first friend and his older brother figure, and there's no coming back from that. Although he's now no longer the most important person in his life, it means a lot to him that Tatsuya had missed him too and that their friendship is restored. So much so that a couple months later, when Tatsuya comes down to Tokyo to spend a weekend with him, he reveals that he's in lo- has feelings for Kuroko.

(Tatsuya's eyebrows went halfway to his hairline, and Taiga is privately sure he will never look that surprised again. So much for his pokerface, he thinks, before Tatsuya starts sputtering in English. What? Kuroko? What? You're gay? Jesus, Taiga, couldn't you pick someone with solid form?

He's not a ghost, Tatsu-nii, Taiga informed him tiredly. And Alex doesn't need to know. Neither does anyone else. Swear to me that you won't tell anyone. Swear it on our rings.

Tatsuya brushed his ever-present bangs out of his eye just so he could verify his friend's sincerity, and Taiga knew he was in trouble if even Tatsuya didn't believe him. I swear, I swear. But I'm still having a hard time with this, Tai. Are you sure? With him? Ugh. Alex is going to have a field day with this. Well. On the plus side, if he ever breaks your heart, I can just have Atsushi sit on him.

Not helping, Tatsu-nii...)

Unfortunately, Tatsuya took Taiga's chastisement to heart. Within a week he had come up with three distinct plans for Taiga to woo Kuroko, and after another two weeks of his constant nagging, Taiga broke down and agreed to implement the least invasive of the plans. Tatsuya would call every day when Seirin's stars were together, and Taiga would see how Kuroko reacted. That was it. Just to test the waters. Nothing more, nothing less.

Four days in and Taiga was faced with an unfamiliar quandary, however. He'd known Kuroko long enough to know that Tatsuya's calls annoyed him. One day more and it was confirmed: Kuroko was upset. Whether it was with jealousy or from the repeated annoyance of having their extra practices interrupted Taiga couldn't tell, but that there was a possibility of his being jealous tied Taiga's stomach in knots. Yet it was from anxiety as well as hope. On an emotional level, Taiga still didn't know what to do with love. Tatsuya's apology and renewed friendship helped, but Taiga had never been in love before, and with his diminished emotional esteem negative feedback would be crippling. So instead of confronting Kuroko and asking about the reason why he was (obviously) avoiding Taiga, he had asked during practice, where it would be impossible for things to progress, for bad or for good. He had backed down even further when Kuroko's explanation had been completely reasonable...and Kiyoshi had waggled his eyebrows at him.

I'm just too afraid to lose him, he admitted to Tatsuya the next day over the phone. What if he leaves me? What if he looks at me like they did? (And there is no explanation needed for they. Tatsuya and Alex have long hated Taiga's parents, to the point where Tatsuya's father, the most genial, kind-hearted man in L.A., refuses to return Mr. Kagami's nods on the street.)

You're an idiot, Tatsuya sighs, and Taiga can practically see him roll his eyes. First of all, your parents have nothing to do with this. They are assholes. Your ghost is not. And before you tell me you'll have nothing left if he leaves - which he won't - I will remind you that even I came back to you, and I am a prickly son of a preacher man. This is ignoring the rest of the entire goddamn generation of miracles - even Atsushi - who inexplicably like you as well. Alex and the rest of your own team go without saying. You are not alone, Taiga. And you never will be again, no matter what happens with Kuroko.

Yet before Taiga could make the decision on his own, Tatsuya up and made it for him. The thing at the party happened, and Taiga wasn't sure whether he'd rather kill Tatsuya or kiss him again. Although the means were a little disturbing (Taiga never wanted to know how Tatsuya's kissing expertise was earned) the ends put all his indecision to rest. According to Murasakibara (Tatsuya's accomplice) Kuroko had been furious. So much so that when Taiga had returned from his bedroom and had a chance to glance up from the throng of his amazed friends, he was still radiating hate. At the time, he had been more than a little frazzled, as he'd had no idea his older brother figure was about to slip his tongue into his mouth. Yet even in that state of mind Kuroko's glower had sent a spike of hope through him...and then he saw the man at Kuroko's side. Midorima. Kuroko's least favorite miracle. Perhaps the shooting guard had said something to him, and that was the cause of Kuroko's ire?

That matter was laid to rest a couple of days later, when Takao called him, out of the blue. He nattered on about some party he was going to have, and then proceeded directly into outlining this plan he was implementing. Taiga only half listened, putting the phone on speakerphone as he manically cleaned his apartment. Clutter had always drove him spare, and there was something soothing in the act of putting things back to rights. It was something he could control, at any rate, and since he couldn't just arrive at Kuroko's doorstep and force him to talk to him again, he would take what he could get.

He had just absentmindedly agreed with something Takao had just said, when his response pierced through his cleaning daze. You agree then, Kagami? You should be decent at this by now, especially with your recent experience. I'll lock you in the guest room, and then you two can get it on!

Taiga eyes slid sideways, eyeing the phone like it was a small breed of dog. His mind belatedly made connections. What?

Oh for the love of - Kagami, pay attention. The point of S.P.E.P. is this: to lock you and Kuroko in a room, so you two can...resolve matters, if you know what I mean.

Taiga had begun to hyperventilate. No, I don't know what- jesus, Takao! What the fuck are you talking about?! Oh god. He had the hawkeye. He knew.

Perhaps Takao had trained the hawkeye to read minds, as he continue with: Please. I know. Hawkeye, remember? I saw that look you shot Kuroko, and I saw Murasakibara wince before Himuro moved to kiss you. I wasn't sure if you were in on it-

I wasn't, Kagami informed him miserably, seeing his long-kept secret slip through his fingers. I really, really wasn't.

As I suspected. Well, let's just say I'm in the know, now. And I'm feeling charitable. I am also a hell of a lot more subtle than Himuro, apparently. Anyway, here's your chance to make things right with Kuroko. Are you going to take it?

After Kuroko's apology and several days of careful thought, he had. He then proceeded to fuck everything up six ways from Sunday, and-

His phone rang, interrupting his train of thought. Hadn't he turned his phone off? Jesus, couldn't he do anything right? Taiga lunged forward and grabbed it, but it was only Takao. Wait. Why would Takao be calling him now?

Maybe it was about Kuroko-

Taiga answered somewhat breathlessly. "Hello?"

"Kagami! Did you call Akashi?"

Taiga took the phone away from his ear to look at it in confusion. "What? No, of course not. Why?"

"He's here! In my home! Oh god. It must have been Kuroko. Oh shit." He hung up without saying goodbye, and Taiga frowned. Akashi hadn't been crazy for quite a while now, but the threat of him regressing was ever present. Additionally, matters had always been strained between him and Takao. Kuroko had said it was something about the identity of Midorima's true master, but Taiga had learned to think twice whenever Kuroko said something disparaging about Midorima. Still, Akashi turning up in the middle of the night to a party he wasn't invited to wasn't good, was it?

Taiga paled. He wouldn't do something drastic...would he?

…

…

…

…

...

After writing this, I realize I have no freaking clue when Kagami actually came to America, nor when he left Japan in the first place. I am only about 3% sure I even know how old the characters actually are, at this point. Facts fall out of my head like it's a fricking sieve, I suppose. Once again, please forgive my mistakes. Else I shall weep.

...

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