Hey, guys, the author here. Just decided to expand this trial fic by actually doing chapter 1. I'm still partially undecided with this one, since I keep on reading better stories in this site... I feel so crushed already.

Anyways, we have here an unlikely commentator. Why don't you introduce yourself?

"Hello, everyone. Gray Fullbuster from the author's The Ice Mage's Assassin."

So, Gray-kun, what made you decide to tail me here in Kuroko no Basuke's page?

"I'm still upset that you begin to write another fic while still doing ours. Besides, another character actually invaded Chapter 19 of The Ice Mage's Assassin."

Well, I don't really know how Kuroko-kun managed to place himself there. *sighs* So, people, I present to you Chapter 1 of The Hitman!

Warning: Grammar errors, punctuation errors, spelling errors... err, any errors you see here is because of my little comprehension of the English language. Plus, I'm not beta-ed.

Disclaimer: Meh...

Chapter 1

[button click] Record start. Dated August 5, time 14:22.

[clears throat] Kagami Taiga here. Few weeks have passed since I got the position as on-site investigator for the agency. We're currently on a case about a high-ranking member of Hicenn Pharmaceuticals, a still-growing corporation responsible for the development of the paralysis darts, [pistol's slide locked into place] the non-lethal ammunition provided now to the police force of the whole country.

[some typing of computer keyboard] The now-known paralysis darts, as part of the study the Ministry of Defense, have gained positive results concerning the capture of criminals. [mouse slides then clicks] Because of the significant reduction of casualties, the government passed an executive mandate for the police force to change from metallic bullets to paralysis darts. [silence] Even we have taken the opportunity for change [pistol placed atop wooden table].

[yawns] Let's see… [papers crumple] Reo Mibuchi, chief operating officer of Hicenn Pharmaceuticals, shot by an assailant at August 3, 10:02 at the district mall [more paper crumple]. Turn outs to be participating in a convention concerning the other developments of the corporation. [hums] Bullet used is a paralysis dart, and from the measurement analyzed by Koganei-senpai, it appears to have been shot from a sniper rifle. Reo Mibuchi remains in the hospital, currently in a comatose state.

[plastic bullets fall on the table, rolls then stops] The dart used contained a lot more neurotoxin than recommended.

[sighs] This is definitely the work of that phantom hitman.

[button click]

Kagami Taiga yawned and did not bother to cover his mouth as he pushed the door out of his way. Rubbing the back of his head, he sent a questioning glance over their manager, who sat in front of a computer in a nearby desk table. However, it appeared that she was engrossed with whatever she worked on and did not even noticed Kagami's approach. The manager expertly reached for the pack of milk she was drinking and sipped from it with a straw. Instantly, a hand softly slammed over her work table.

"Coach, why––"

"Pppprrrrrffffftttttt!"

Kagami begrudgingly wiped off the milk that was sprayed on his face. "What's with that?" He asked silently, as he dabbed the liquid from his clothes with his spare handkerchief. While he removed the milk from his body, he just observed their general manager as she held her chest from the scare she experienced, breathing heavily as if she'd joined in a marathon.

"Stop doing that!" She yelled in annoyance, almost using the same milk to splash off the man away. "Stupid Bakagami!" She shouted again, separating the papers that had been sprinkled with the milk she splurted off. She wished none of those documents were really important, or she'd used Kagami's skin to replace those papers. As she did this, she sent a glare towards Kagami's direction and asked irately, "What do you want?"

"W-Well, coach," that time, Kagami looked at her apologetically, but he had doubts he'd be able to talk smoothly at her. "I'm still confused why I have to record the things I do about this case…" He removed his pupils away from her, avoiding direct eye contact. "Will you please damn tell me?" In his efforts to perfectly converse in a polite manner, Kagami actually slipped and made a negating combination of words.

"Haven't you been listening to what I have told you before?" Their general manager actually stood up from her seat and jabbed a finger on Kagami's chest, poking the tall man in an intensity that already pained the dark red-haired detective. "Seriously, Bakagami." She repeated in snarky manner, a mischievous single-worded adjective that fully described their new detective. She took her seat back, crossed her arms in front of her chest and sighed really, really hard. Here comes a man who loves solving crimes and not even know the importance of its other parts, she stated in her mind. Seriously, she could call Kagami as 'Detective Idiot' for his ignorance. "Information gathering is very important in our jobs, and there are a lot of sources that we should look into."

"I know that," Kagami just responded while he took the free seat placed in front of his manager's work area. "What I don't understand is why we have to include a record of our own actions," he told her, playing with his fingers a small dog keychain that adorned the table. "I mean, we should be focusing on the people involved in the crime!"

"When we accepted the task of investigating the crime, we have been included in it," the manager just said. "I believed that Kagami-kun and Izuki-kun have visited the scene of the crime many times," she took a brief glance at the huge calendar that already served as a cover for her worktable. "You even took the chance to visit Hicenn Pharmaceuticals," she pointed out, observing a particular date marked by a red pen. She looked back again at Kagami. "You've had lots of impressions, right?"

"Well, yeah," Kagami answered.

"We have records of your actions and observations about the crime because we need to look out for the details we usually miss." Kagami's manager explained to him. She rummaged through the drawer she just opened a pulled out a paper that had been penned in with various notations, especially on the sides. She placed it in front of Kagami. "Why do you think Koganei-kun, Mitobe-kun and I take an effort to analyze the records you bring in?"

Kagami stared hard at the paper. He saw it was a simple table with three columns, written in those three was about a single detail about the crime they were trying to solve. He looked quizzically at first, noticing that the three columns actually signified three different dates. It was Izuki-senpai's name that first caught his attention, which was repeated twice – it was written in the first two columns – while his name also appeared, in the third column.

"This is the gist of the recordings about how you thought regarding the scene of the crime," his manager continued to speak. "Of course, you and Izuki-kun have different perspective about things." She skimmed her hands to Izuki and Kagami's name, silently telling him the recording from different individuals. "Also, insights actually change daily even by a bit." She pointed out why Izuki's record appeared twice. "In this manner, we can have a subjective portion for our case, which can help us in solving the crime."

Kagami still had that flat expression, to which his manager already translated as 'I'm-not-getting-anything.' She just placed her hand on her temples, massaging her throbbing head. A headache actually descended to her in the form of Kagami Taiga. "Listen to this." His manager began. "Record from August 3, taped in the afternoon, both by Izuki-kun and Kagami-kun. Both detectives thought that the reason for the assailant to attack the victim was of personal cause and to create panic, which can serve as a diversion to manage an escape."

"Of course," Kagami remarked at that. "Basically, public crime execution gives an opportunity for escape." He pointed out. "When people are confused, they don't usually look for who did it but to where should they go to save themselves." He intelligently put. His manager whistled in slight amazement, saying that 'even Kagami-kun knows how to reason.'

"I can think too!" Kagami retorted at that.

"Well, that's your basic assumption." Kagami's manager only said. "However, we got another column from Izuki-kun's record for the following date." She cleared her throat. "August 4, time 16:35. He said he began to question his own conjecture. If the hitman only wanted to take down the victim, then why do it in public in the first place? Having done it covertly can actually reduce any chances of complications. Izuki-kun then assumed that there is another possible motive for it." The female paused for a while to find a particular notation she'd written herself in the paper. She smiled eagerly as she saw it. "What if the assailant didn't actually snipe the victim?"

Kagami looked surprised at that. But he remembered the bullet analysis given to him by Koganei-senpai. The paralysis dart used was too big even for a hand gun so it was assumed to have been shot from a long distance. Plus, witnesses have stated that they did not even see anyone approached the victim before he was shot. "But the evidences show that––"

"The evidences show that at first glance," Kagami's manager cut him off. "Hear this again. Izuki-kun thought and recorded that there is another probability that the assailant didn't just use the crowd as a diversion, but a cover as well."

That time, Kagami was clearly confused. "Is Izuki-senpai implying that Reo Mibuchi was shot face-to-face? At point blank?" The red-haired detective raised his doubts. "That seems to be impossible, if you ask me." He thumbed himself, so sure that such move was downright improbable.

"I had my doubts too, at first." The female manager interlaced her hands atop the desk after she placed the paper atop the table. "It's really incredible to do such stunt without being seen." She commented. "However, after your visit in Hicenn Pharmaceuticals yesterday, Izuki-kun actually minded to ask the company what are the stuff Reo Mibuchi brought for the convention." She then rotated her computer screen and faced it towards Kagami. "This is the list of the items the victim carried."

Kagami took the time to scan through the objects and mentally observed that those were the common stuff a businessman would bring in any outdoor meetings or any convention. He glanced at the rightmost portion of the list and saw that it appeared to be a checklist. It seemed that every listed item had been accounted for – none was actually missing. He just sighed, deciding that it didn't actually bring any help to his confused head. "Err…" He just droned confusedly.

"Stupid Bakagami," the manager only repeated the endearing term for the red-haired detective. "Of course Izuki-kun realized that there is one important item that isn't listed here." She said as she placed the computer monitor back to its original orientation. "Do you recognize what?" She threw her question to Kagami.

"N-No," Kagami honestly answered, his mind still cluttered by a torrent of confusion since he began with that recording that afternoon.

"Knew it," his manager only said, scratching on a paper a single line beside the word 'idiot'. Beneath it was another word: 'actually intelligent.' Thirty points idiot, seven points actually intelligent, she just thought. "Izuki-kun had asked for another 'roll call' of items, only to find out that Reo Mibuchi is actually missing an item he owned." She finally revealed, which seemed to have excite Kagami. "The victim had actually lost his company ID."

"Eh…" Kagami unconsciously voiced out, before he made another much intellectual reaction. "Hah? An ID?" He remarked disbelievingly. "He could just have leave it in his home… it's nothing that big!"

"You really have forgotten about it?" His manager shouted in reply. "Can't you remember that the people in Hicenn use their IDs as personal key cards to get in and out of the corporation?!" She pointed out again, now putting her fingers against Kagami's cheeks, prodding and prodding at them repeatedly. "Izuki-kun theorized that it's not a simple hitman assault; the actual motive of the assailant is to do theft!" She told Kagami and finally ended her attack against the detective's cheeks.

Kagami's reddened cheeks almost rivaled his hair in color. As he massaged them in pain, Kagami then understood the situation. "So we need to do something about it then," he commented.

"Just why do you think I was so busy earlier, before you startled me?" His manager snapped back. "I was being contacted by Hyūga-kun about it. Both he and Izuki-kun had returned to Hicenn Pharmaceuticals to ask about the details of the missing ID."

"What?!" Kagami barked aloud as he stood from his seat. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, coach?!"

"Because you dazed and disturbed me with your poor concern, Bakagami-kun!" His manager, in the name of Riko Aida, yelled back in pure vexation.

After being scolded and told that he wouldn't be following both his Hyūga-senpai and Izuki-senpai, anymore, since Hicenn Pharmaceuticals was located in another city, and since Coach Riko could not afford to lose some on-site investigators that day, Kagami Taiga was left to remain at their district to await further instructions. It aggravated the red-haired detective, since he'd be missing some detective work again. If Riko Aida wasn't just so plain scary, he knew he would have just jumped off to the next bus and accompanied his two senpais in their work. That was not the real situation, though; his coach apparently held a demon's trident at her hand and drove him to cower in fear.

He shivered upon his thoughts.

Of course, the other thing that bothered his mind was the case that they tracked. He'd actually used a dictionary back at the agency in order to find the word he thought off for Izuki-senpai's assumption, and it turned out to be 'preposterous.' A deep word, for a fact, but it was rather a more respectful way of wording his reservation to his senior's supposition. Don't mistake; Kagami Taiga had deep respect for his senpais. But, in his straightforward mind, logic couldn't simply agree with that.

A hitman shooting a gun head-on against his victim, he revisited the idea, the hell with that?! And he simply shook it off as just another theory in order to solve their crime. At least, the good news was that they were forming a lot more ideas about the case.

Nonetheless, the only appalling thing for Kagami was the company ID that went missing. Now, as his coach presented him earlier, it was really assumed that Reo Mibuchi did bring his ID wherever he went. It was backed-up by informal interviews from the business staff. It was company protocol to have every employee hold their IDs as if clinging on to their own lives, and as the COO, the victim was presumed to follow this decorum into the dot. That had actually made the 'thievery' thing much more appealing, although he was still hesitant as to the manner how Reo Mibuchi was brought down.

A single beep from his pocket pulled him away from his thoughts. Kagami flipped open his phone and saw that a message registered in his inbox. He opened it right away. "Sender, Hyūga-senpai," he read the message in a soft voice, "heard from Riko that you totally blew her day," – Kagami cringed at that –, "just want to remind you that you need to damn respect your senpai or I'll gently place you in a buzz saw and graciously detach your head from your neck." Kagami could practically feel the 'clutch' personality being emitted from his own phone. "Damn kouhais not respecting their senpais at this time and age." He trembled at that. "Have a good day, Detective Idiotaiga Bakagami," the red-haired detective ended reading with a silent bout of frustration.

"Stop with the name-calling, damnit!" He quickly covered his mouth shut after he cursed aloud, as he looked suspiciously at his phone. He would not take the chance for the phone to send his words towards their chief investigator. Only heaven knew what could happen to him if his senpai 'work' on him in his clutch time. He tried to get rid of the fearful thought inside his head.

Now his trail of thoughts concerning their case had been officially ended by that fearsome message from his senpai, the agency's chief investigator, Hyūga Junpei. Kagami's mind, from the excited state upon discerning a progress, literally jumped down to an apathetic status that made left him feeling lazy. It was already 16:00 in his phone, making that almost an hour since he was kicked out by a fuming general manager. He had really nothing else to do that time, though he really itched to join in the inquiry in Hicenn.

However, he was quick to remind himself that Hyūga-senpai would probably (voluntarily) lose some of his self-control and blast himself off towards the 'disrespectful' kohai, an impression that quickly killed off Kagami's eagerness to work on the crime that day. Nevertheless, with those quirks, Kagami was then fully able to preserve his weird view of his fellow detectives – frightening and just plain bizarre. Perhaps it was Izuki-senpai who stood out to be the most normal of all of them, but then again he'd recall his unending pun streak, which gave Kagami an instant migraine when hearing them.

Just as he sighed, his stomach protested in hunger.

Luckily, Kagami was walking towards the direction of his preferred fast food restaurant. Maji Burgers didn't really stand out as the best among its competitors, but Kagami had formed an utmost respect for its quick service and its serving's ability to keep his stomach shut once in a while – at the least fifteen servings of a burger in Maji was more sufficient in comparison to the same number of orders he had in other restaurants. He ordered a mountain of burgers that was stuffed into his tray and sat on a vacant seat near the window.

Finally unwrapping his first burger in a single swipe, Kagami managed to bite off half of it in his first mouthful. He was staring through the window pane, ignoring his own reflection, and silently pondering about the things that happened that day. The first thing that came into his mind was that he was already eating a share of dinner, and yet it was still early in the afternoon. Shrugging it off and settling it with an 'I'll just take half of the order later' decision, Kagami slowly noticed another reflection that sat opposite of his own.

He instantly placed his pupils in the periphery, looking at the said seat. When he realized that there was indeed a person next to him, Kagami shoved the rest his burger into his mouth and gulped it almost like a fluid.

"Domo," the person greeted him.

"Where'd you come from?" Kagami asked in accusing manner, ticked off the sudden appearance of this character. "What are you doing?"

His light-blue locks swayed upon his movement. "I was sitting here first." He only said with his tone flat. The man was outwardly a lot shorter than Kagami and much frailer-looking. "I like this place's vanilla shakes." He injected, to which Kagami could not discern if he was being pleasant or it already had an unnoticeable teasing remark with. The other man held a blank stare. He caught the straw with his lips and sipped from his cup.

Kagami only replied with a smug look, adding a derisive expression to his lips. "Go somewhere else." He said almost belligerently.

"I don't want to." The other one perked up, but his face remained emotionless.

"If someone sees us," Kagami started to reason out, looking at the faces of random people inside the burger stand, "they'll think we're friends!"

"This is my usual hangout." The other man replied.

Kagami looked at him disbelievingly. He had the urged to stand up, but it remained as an impulse since he decided that there was nothing wrong sitting with the other one. With a small frown, Kagami picked up one of his burgers and unceremoniously threw it the other. "Here," he said as fair warning, although the light blue-haired one caught it with precision. "So what caused you to come here, Kuroko?" He asked him, curious that he was in that fast food restaurant as well.

"I've got nothing to do." Kuroko responded. He fixed an emotionless stare towards Kagami and the latter quickly noticed it as soon, making him flinch with the sudden gape. The shorter man's gazes were apparently distracting. As a detective, looking into those eyes was like diving into the deep blue ocean; it happened to be unfathomable so it caught him unaware what to expect. Plus, Kuroko's unreadable expression made Kagami conscious, especially that his expertise required him to be mindful of other people's appearances and gestures.

"What?" Kagami retorted, clearly bemused of Kuroko staring at him like that.

"You were reprimanded by your coach again, isn't it, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko supposed and Kagami's reaction had beckoned the paler male that he was correct. To Kagami's side, however, Kuroko's way of stating that did not appear to him as a question, but an observation of some sorts. Was it so obvious in my face? Kagami almost did a facepalm, ashamed that the other male had found it so easily.

"It really proves me that you are part of the Generation of Mercenaries," Kagami instead commented, bringing the topic away from himself. He then sent Kuroko an inquisitive glance, although he was still quite unsure if the other one had seen it as an indication that he want to ask the question; Kuroko's face was still impassive. "Why don't you join them again?" He fired off his query.

Kuroko sipped once more before he held his face up and looked at Kagami. "You know my condition, Kagami-kun." He started. "I don't really want things to be more complicated as it is right now." He said; his face still perfectly expressionless. This made Kagami more wary, since he was getting less and less with Kuroko being too stiff with his countenance. "Besides, they are already more than capable and I do not need to stand by them anymore." He added.

Kagami merely grunted at that. "I think you're better than them… All of those bastards sound so full of themselves." He hissed, but not really conveying anger. More or less, it was just to signify his annoyance over them. "Makes me want to crush them," he remarked.

Kuroko was just silent at that. He replaced the straw in his lips and drank his milkshake again. Of course, Kagami held a rebuking twist on his lips, not really satisfied with Kuroko's subtlety, especially with words. As long as Kuroko remained an enigma towards him, Kagami wouldn't take his eyes off him. Generation or not, Kuroko was still a figure to be reckoned with.

After Kagami had magically absorbed all of the burgers into his system, he bade Kuroko to walk with him back the agency.

"I know we are not required to guard you personally, but the Coach doesn't really like it that you walk by yourself." Kagami chided Kuroko faintly.

"I understand. I am sorry for imposing myself into you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko answered back very respectfully.

Kagami only regarded him by looking at the sides of his eyes, before he turned forward and concentrated in their path ahead. The duo fell into silence, something that did not bother Kagami. The red-haired detective had really nothing much to say to Kuroko. He did want to talk about the case they were handling, but it was against procedure and, besides, he already had some uncertainties towards Kuroko. It was only one-sided though, since the latter acted as if he did not mind at all.

When they stopped before crossing a street and waited for the pedestrian light to signal a go, Kagami was startled when Kuroko suddenly spoke to him without any warning.

"The entire world is a stage and everyone is actor for their own part." He began. "For every actor, there is one who acts as a support, a shadow. But a shadow will become darker if the light is stronger and it will make the light stand out." Kuroko paused for a while and turned a decisive stare at Kagami. "As a main actor, you are bound to have a shadow to your light, someone that will make you number one. Just wait for the right time, Kagami-kun."

[button clicks] Unofficial record start. Dated August 5, time 22:38

[sighs] Kagami Taiga again. Hell, I don't know what pushed me to do this recording at night. To top it off, this is not a formal one [pauses, then inhales], just something to clear my head off. And no way will I give this to Coach; she might think I'm nuts or something. [tapping sounds]. The night with the agency ended up pretty normally, I guess. When Hyūga-senpai and Izuki-senpai returned from Hicenn, I'm so sure the first thing Hyūga-senpai wanted to do was to bore a hole at my head or something [soft laughter].

[tongue click] If not for Kuroko, perhaps senpai might have continued on with his plan. [silence] According to them, Hicenn Pharmaceuticals managed to disable Reo Mibuchi's ID across their system. They said being a COO, his ID can virtually access anything within the corporation. [grunts] Lucky them the agency's quickly noticed about the ID.

[hums] Still, I'm still pretty uptight with Kuroko. Sure, Seirin Detective Agency has volunteered to house Kuroko temporarily, after he has been involved with the hitman cases. Even though it's been weeks since we had him, I can't still place my full… uhh [silence, then a long sigh].

Anyways, I hope to resolve this crime as soon, and get on with that phantom hitman.

[button clicks]

- End of Chapter -

"Wait-wait-wait... I've read the epilogue - that should be a 'prolouge' though, if I can correct you - and I know that this Kuroko or whoever is it is supposed to be the hitman."

Don't sweat it up too much, Gray-kun. Perhaps we've just misread that first part. So, minna-san, what'ya think? :)