I will tell you now that Kuroko will most likely be OOC. You have been warned.
Today was the first day. Today was the first day of school, and Kuroko had mixed feelings about it. He was happy to try something new, and was glad he could play basketball his way again, but he couldn't shake this feeling of loneliness. Ever since the incident at Teiko, he was left alone again, but this time it was worse. A lot worse, actually. He was just starting to get over his original lonliness, but it returned with the force of a truck when the Generation of Miracles changed. Kuroko was on the verge of breaking at this point, and he wasn't sure if this new change would pull him away from the edge or shove him over it. He was anxious, to say the least. You can only be disappointed so much before you begin to lose hope. Kuroko's hope was not yet lost, and he was in no hurry to lose it. Of course, none of his inner turmoil showed on his face. He liked to think that his mask was invincible, and it would never break. He had to conceal everything, and he wasn't just about to let everything flow from him after being silent for so long. He would suffer through it, if only to keep his parents' wishes alive. He adjusted his black wristbands and continued reading as he walked.
He wasn't noticed at all, much to his comfort. He didn't want to attract any attention to himself. He hated having the attention placed on him with a passion. He had filled out a form for the basketball team on his way inside, and went to his first class. The day went smoothly for a long while, and he was in the gym for the basketball team in seemingly no time at all. He stood in line, glancing every now and then at a red haired man down the line. He reminded Kuroko of Aomine in a lot of ways, just paler and had red hair. They gave off the same vibes, but this man's was a bit more feral, like a wild tiger. He heard the coach call out a name, and the man replied. His name was Kagami Taiga. Kuroko nearly snorted when he heard his first name. Apparently his name went with his vibe, it sounded almost exactly like the English word 'tiger'. Now that he thinks about it, with a Japanese accent saying 'tiger' would sound like taiga to people who speak English.
Kuroko was brought out of his off-track musings as his name was called repeatedly. He walked right in front of the coach.
"Um, excuse me." he said in his usual emotionless tone, "I'm Kuroko." She just looked shocked for a moment before abruptly screaming. Kuroko suppressed the urge to sigh. I seemed like it would take a while before they were used to his lack of presence.
"What? How long have you been there?" asked the captain, looking shocked as well.
"I've been here the whole time." The coach still stayed quiet with a shocked look on her face. Two other guys walked up to them.
"What? This guy's part of the Generation of Miracles?" One of them said in a disbelieving tone, "He couldn't have been a regular."
"Of course not." The captain said to the other man, "Right Kuroko-kun?"
"I played in games."
"Right?" He hesitated for a moment before his expression changed. "What?"
"What!" the two other guys repeated in unison, disbelief clear on their faces. Kuroko glanced back to Kagami again, and he just looked confused. It was strange, Kuroko thought that most people knew what the Generation of Miracles was.
Kuroko was once again brought out of his thoughts when the coach told him to take off his shirt. He hesitated for a moment before complying. So long as he didn't have to take off his wrist bands. He removed his shirt and the coach studied him. Her face went from impassive to shocked in a mere few seconds.
Ah. Kuroko thought, she must've been expecting me to be more powerful since I'm from Teiko. I don't blame her, to be honest. Everyone else is really strong. Well, Aomine mostly when it comes to bodily strength. Everyone else is strong in their own ways. Kuroko snapped back to reality. He really needs to stop talking to himself. At least he didn't do it out loud, they would've thought he just escaped the mental ward. More like emotional hell, His mind oh so helpfully supplied. His mood dropped considerably at this thought. Again he didn't show his inner emotions, instead opting to hide behind his mask as he had for six years. It was becoming tiring, but he would have to suffer through it. The rest of practice went without a hitch, and Kuroko was free to go within the hour.
He was on his way home when he saw Kagami practicing. Stopping in his path, Kuroko went down to see. He stood for a good five minutes before Kagami noticed him. When he did, he missed his shot. Kuroko caught the stray ball as it flew towards him.
"When did you get here?" Kagami asked him slowly, his arms sagged in front of him.
"Nice to see you." The red head before him straightened before speaking again.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"What are you doing here by yourself?" Kuroko countered, tossing the ball back to Kagami.
"Nothing." He said as he caught the ball. "I'm not doing anything."
"Is that so?"
"I was in America until my second year in middle school."
What the hell? Kuroko thought, suppressing the urge to raise an eyebrow. Random backstory time? Hello. Kuroko said nothing, not betraying any emotion on his face.
"I've been appalled ever since I came back by how tow the standards are here. I'm not looking to play basketball for fun. I want to play a more serious game that really gets me going."
Define a 'more serious game.' Play a puppy for all I care. Or would that be charging the puppy with animal abuse? Whatever. Kuroko thought absently. Kuroko had figured out fairly recently that it was actually quite fun to say something like that sometimes, as long as it was in his mind. It was amusing in its own way, sort of like an outlet for some of his pent up emotions.
"I've heard all about you. I've heard all about the supposedly strong Generation of Miracles from our year. You were on that team, weren't you? I have a pretty good sense of how good the others are. People who can succeed small different from the rest."
Aaaand now he sniffs people. Wonderful. I actually wonder what I smell like to other people. Snow? Probably. Kuroko was once again brought from his thoughts as Kagami threw the ball back to him.
"But something's not right with you. The weak should smell weak, but you… You don't smell like anything. And your strength has no scent. Let me see. Show me… Show me just how good your Generation of Miracles really is.
"How fortunate." Kuroko said, aloud this time, "I've also been hoping to play against you. He took off his jacket. "One on one." Kagami smirked.
"You wanna go?"
So the match started. As he thought, the match didn't go at all in Kuroko's favor. Kuroko went into this match knowing full well he was definitely not going to win. Kuroko was the only one who benefitted from this match, in fact. The only reason Kuroko challenged the taller boy was so he could gauge his abilities. They were high, but no high enough. Drastically higher than Kuroko's own, but still not enough. He was nowhere near the Generation of Miracle's level. Kagami looked offended as Kuroko ran back over to him, ball in hand.
"You've got to be kidding me. Have you even been listening?" he roared, "How much do you have to overestimate your own abilities to think you can beat me?" He pointed a finger at Kuroko. "I can't believe how arrogantly you challenged me!" Kuroko didn't bat an eye.
"Are you serious? Of course you're stronger than me. I knew that before we started." Kagami grabbed the front of Kuroko's shirt pulling him closer in a menacing fashion.
"You want a fight? What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I wanted to see how good you are for myself." The taller male looked confused.
"What?" he said, releasing Kuroko from his grip before bringing a hand to his head.
"Um…" Kuroko mumbled, holding up the ball.
"Enough." Kagami put a hand in front of the ball. "I'm not interested in the weak." He walked away leaving Kuroko on the court. Picking up his discarded jacket and bag, he said," Let me tell you one last thing. You should quit basketball. However much you try to cover it up with nice words like effort, raw talent is a fact of life. You've got no talent for basketball." He turned to walk away, but Kuroko stopped him by speaking.
"I don't accept that." Kagami turned back around.
"What?" Kuroko walked back over to his own discarded bag and jacket.
"First of all, I love basketball. And I don't share your opinion." He turned to look at the larger male. "I don't care who's strong or who's weak.
"What did you say?"
"I'm not like you." Kuroko continued, completely disregarding the fact that Kagami had spoken. "I'm a shadow."
A/N: stopping this here because it's getting long and I'm getting tired. I will most likely update sometime tomorrow. If I don't, well… I will soon. This story is my first priority right now okay.