Disclaimer: Inuyasha & Kuroko's Basketball and their characters are properties of Rumiko Takahashi & Tadatoshi Fujimaki, Shogakukan, Sunrise, Shueisha, Production I.G., etc. Meaning, that I do not own them and I don't make any money out of this. This is written for pure fan entertainment and to the fans all around the world!
Pairing: Kuroko & Kagome; other characters: the Seirin team and Josei team.
Rating: K
Category: short fic, humor, general, crossover
Fiction note: There might be slight out of character. It really depends how you readers see it. ^^; This fic begins after Kuroko had found Nigou abandoned.
While Kuroko waited for their turn at the veterinarian, Nigou wanted to make friends with a cat in a box – and with the owner of the cat. From that moment, yet another interesting person entered into his life.
An Inuyasha & Kuroko's Basketball Short Fanfic
"Moment They Met, Thanks to Nigou"
Written by k-tiraam © 2016
When Kuroko found the puppy 'Nigou' and took him to his home, first thing he did was to ask his parents' permission to keep the puppy. Luck was on his side when his parents told him he could keep the puppy; as long as Kuroko promised to take care of him. Kuroko agreed to their request. The next day, while Kuroko was at school, his mother managed to get appointment to the vet and she told her son; it was better to have Nigou checked and chipped as soon as possible. However, the appointment was at the same time as Kuroko's basketball practice, which meant that he had to ask for a day-off from Riko-senpai. This was one thing that came before basketball for now. Like his mother pointed out, better safe than sorry – for the puppy's sake. Who knew if the puppy had diseases unknown to them?
A whistle rang out across the gym, singling the end of day's practice. "Great job, you guys! Time for clean up!"
The Seirin team was all gasping and sweating hard; some of them lied down on the floor, desperately gasping for air. The day's training almost killed them! They could barely move a muscle! They won't make for the next Inter-High!
"Um… coach?"
"Uwaah! Kuroko-kun! Don't do that!" Riko shouted him in fright.
"Can't help it, my presence is almost non-existence." Kuroko pointed out. "Anyway, may I have a day-off from tomorrow's practice?"
Riko took a hold of his head, squeezing it. "Ooh~? You want to skip the training? Do you realize that the next game right in the corner?"
"O-ow… it hurts, coach…"
"Care to tell me, why you want a day-off?" She was smiling maliciously, which was scaring Kuroko a lot.
"I g-got a vet's appointment for Nigou tomorrow…" Kuroko tried to escape from the coach's grip.
"Oh." She suddenly let go of him, to which Kuroko was grateful of, the malicious aura disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Why didn't you say so?"
"I tried." Kuroko rubbed his head. "Nigou needs a check-up. Only then he's welcome to live at my home." The said puppy barked next to him, tail wagging happily. (A bit far from them, Kagami flinched a little from the sound of the puppy's bark.)
Who could say 'no' to such cute puppy? Not Riko that was for sure. She might be hard-headed when it came to training the guys, but cute things such as puppies and kittens were her weakness. "Fine, you can skip a practice, since it's important to Nigou."
Kuroko bowed down. "Thank you, coach."
The next day, while the rest of the basketball team was training, Kuroko and Nigou were waiting for their turn at the vet. Nigou calmly sat on his lap, panting and didn't bark at all. The puppy looked at his surrounding, really curious of the place. Soon, he smelled something interesting coming from a box next to them and was leaning closer. Nigou whined a little because he couldn't see what was in the box.
"Nigou, shush." Kuroko tried to calm him down.
"What a cute puppy," said a young girl's voice. "What's his name?"
"Hm? His name is Nigou." Kuroko answered to her.
"'Nigou'? As in 'number two'?"
"Yes. My teammates claim that he and I look the same."
"Oh?" The young girl blinked, taking a good look at them, especially their eyes. "Ah, I see. Your eyes are the same."
A nod was Kuroko's answer for her. As Nigou sniffed at the box between Kuroko and the young girl, he heard a deep meow coming from the box. From the sound of it, Nigou titled his head in puzzle, whining in curiosity.
"A cat?" Kuroko wondered.
"Yeah, my cat, Buyo. Brought him for his check-up. Frankly, I'm worried about his weight." To prove her concern, she turned the box for Kuroko and Nigou to see her over-weighted cat. "He's getting old and is a bit lazy, so he doesn't move much. Well, he does like to play, but most of the time he likes to take naps."
"He's big."
"Yeah." She sighed deeply.
Their conversation was interrupted by the receptionist. "Higurashi? Kagome Higurashi?"
"Ah! Here!" Kagome stood up, lifting up Buyo's box with her. "I better go now. It was nice talking with you…"
"Tetsuya Kuroko."
"Kuroko-kun." Kagome smiled. "I hope I'll see you and Nigou again." She waved and went to the veterinarian who was waiting for her.
Kuroko nodded as agreement, also hoping to see her again. As he watched her going further from him, he noticed her high school uniform. 'She goes the Seirin High as well? She must be in another class then.'
Indeed. Few days later, Kuroko came across with Kagome again, causing her heart to skip a beat in fright. How could he go unnoticed by her, Kagome didn't understand. Usually she was good detecting others' presences – thanks to her experience in the past.
"Ah, Kuroko-kun! I didn't know you go to Seirin High too."
"Doomo." Kuroko bowed down. "Yes, I also am a student here," said Kuroko, his face as expressionless as always. "I'm in classroom 1-B."
"Ah, no wonder. I'm in 1-C, right next to yours. Still, how come I haven't seen you before in the hallway?" Kagome wondered.
"I'm pretty much unnoticeable. And I play basketball." Kuroko pointed out as if was nothing for him.
"Unnoticeable? That's pretty harsh to say about yourself." Kagome frowned worriedly.
"It's okay. It does have its advances during the basketball games."
Kagome blinked. "How's so?"
"If you like, come see one of our games."
Kagome pondered for a moment. "It depends. I got my own club to attend too."
Just when Kuroko was about to ask about it, his bag let out a bark, which made Kagome blinked twice in puzzlement.
"Um, Kuroko-kun? Your bag…"
"Ah, I need to go out for a while. Otherwise, Nigou will be uncomfortable."
"Eh?!" Kagome exclaimed, but quickly quieted down. "You brought Nigou here?" She whispered.
Kuroko nodded. "I couldn't leave him at home. Besides, Nigou is our team's mascot."
"Ah, when you put it that way." Kagome mumbled thoughtfully, a bit amazed of Kuroko's bold decision. 'Still, how did he ever manage to bring a puppy into school?'
In the end, Kagome went out with Kuroko, to play 'fetch' with Nigou. The puppy barked joyfully the whole time they played with him. It was amazing that none of the teachers had found out there was a puppy within school area. Then again, Kuroko did mention that Nigou was a team mascot. Perhaps that made it easier to allow Nigou to be within school area.
"Kuroko-kun, how long had you had Nigou?" Kagome asked, scratching Nigou between his ears.
"Not long. I found him in the alley, abandoned."
"Abandoned? Aww, that's so awful!" Kagome took Nigou into her arms. "Who would do such a thing to a cutie like you~?" Kagome hugged Nigou closely, to which Nigou replied by licking beneath her chin.
"He likes you."
"I noticed." Kagome giggled. "Ah, if only I could get a playmate for Buyo. Maybe that would make him move more." She finally set the puppy free from her hugs to check out the watch. "The break-time is almost over. We better get back to our classes."
Kuroko nodded, frowning slightly which was hardly noticeable for Kagome. Kuroko took a hold of the puppy, placing him back inside Kuroko's school bag. Kagome cleaned her skirt of dirt while Kuroko placed the strap of his bag over his shoulder.
"So? Would you like see one of our games?" Kuroko returned to his question he asked earlier in the hallway.
"Well," thought Kagome, "as I said, it depends on what day your game is being held. Let me know the date and I will see if I'm free of archery practice."
"Ah, you practice archery?" Kuroko blinked in amazement, even though his face remained expressionless.
"Yeah, I began it when I was still in ninth grade." 'Though, I had no choice. It was either kill or be killed while hunting for the shards in feudal era.'
"I would like to see your archery someday, Higurashi-san."
Kagome smiled. "You're more than welcome to see it. If you can't come and see the actual tournaments, then perhaps during the Seirin's sport day."
"Okay." Kuroko nodded.
Whenever Kuroko had the chance between school and basketball tournaments, he kept meeting Kagome – along with Nigou who seemed to like the fellow female high school student. They met at the library, studying together and eventually, he managed to see Kagome practicing archery after school. The more they spent time together, the more they got to known of each other. In time, Kagome even learned to sense his lack of presence. (She was thankfully of it too; it saved her from being spooked by Kuroko's sudden appearance all the time.)
It was easy for Kuroko to sneak away from his teammates, after the practice, thanks to his lack of presence. But as the time passed by, his teammates began to learn how to notice whenever Kuroko was doing one of his disappearing acts. Also, they began to be a bit suspicious the way he kept sneaking away so quickly.
"Is it me, or have you notice how often Kuroko vanishes right after a game or a practice?" Hyuuga asked while changing from his team uniform.
"Huh? But isn't he," wondered Kagami as he turned to look at Kuroko's locker, shouting as he didn't see Kuroko there, "Gah! Where did he go to now?!"
Hyuuga frowned at red-haired player. "Dumbass! That's what I meant! Past these weeks, Kuroko hasn't been much around! Always sneaking away and not saying a word." The captain closed his locker. "And doesn't want us to know where he is heading to."
"Even after all the games and practices we have been gone through together, he still doesn't trust us?" Kogenai pouted.
"Then again, I wouldn't blame him. After meeting and playing against other Generation of Miracles, no wonder if Kuroko doesn't trust easily. It will take time." Izuki said.
"Or he just wanted to get out sooner. There's nothing so secretive about that." Kagami zipped his bag, ready to leave.
"Bakagami." Hyuuga scolded at him.
Now that his teammates mentioned about it, Kagami began to notice Kuroko's odd behaviour at the classroom as well. Whenever there was a lunch break or a recess, Kuroko vanished from the classroom. Not all the time, but occasionally yes. The returnee didn't want to admit in front of the team that he also was curious about where the phantom player always disappeared to.
Though today, Kuroko decided to stay within the classroom for lunch.
"Oi, Kuroko? Where did yah go yesterday after the practice?"
Kuroko took a sip of milk with vanilla taste. "Had to walk Nigou."
Kagami jolted slightly. "Yah could've told that before leaving."
"Also, I was meeting someone." The phantom player took a bite of his sandwich.
"Ah? Don't tell me it was Kise?"
Kuroko shook his head negatively. "Even though I'm in talking terms with Kise-kun, doesn't mean I'll hang around with him. He can be quite annoying."
"Cruel, man."
(Elsewhere a certain blonde model and a basketball player sneezed, wondering if he was getting a cold.)
Lunch time reached to its end and soon enough their teacher arrived into the class – not giving Kagami the second chance to ask more questions. When he did get the chance, by then Kuroko had made one of his famous disappearing acts on him yet again. The red haired returnee frowned in annoyance once realizing this. It was, as if, Kuroko had an ability to see the future to avoid the questions.
While Kagami was fuming about the situation, the said phantom player was already walking down the street, away from the school. Soon enough, he got a message from Kagome, which Kuroko opened and read:
Hi Kuroko-kun! Guess what? I got free time, meaning I can come see you play!
A brief smile appeared to his lips before replying to her:
Hello Kagome-san. That's great. We are playing for the Winter Cup. Of course, there are the preliminaries before the finals.
It only took minutes for him to receive a reply, her saying that she would be there. Kuroko replied to her again, telling the time and place for their first Winter Cup preliminary against Josei. Kagome soon replied back that she would be there. With that, Kuroko continued his way home, smiling a little bit.
The day came for Seirin to play against Josei. Kagome arrived to the place a bit earlier and she had been anxiously waiting for the game to start. Sure, she had been at her little brother Souta's soccer games. However, this was a new experience for her; she hadn't seen one single basketball game before. So many people had come to see the game, as Kagome took notice of it while looking around. Most of them seemed to be Josei's supporters, because so few of them knew so little about the Seirin's team. At that very moment Kagome decided to cheer for Seirin, no matter what.
Soon enough, the crowd began to cheer as both teams arrived to the court. The judge beckoned both teams closer for a greeting. Then suddenly, one of Josei players looked depressed for some reason. Kagome couldn't understand why; however she didn't had to wonder about it long.
"She's not sexy at all!" The once depressed Josei player shouted out load, pointing at Seirin's coach. "Give back what you stole from me!"
The Seirin's players at court were shivering in fear, so were the remaining players on their bench, sitting close to the said coach. Riko looked calm for a moment, until she gestured a thumb across her throat and then down, saying "kill them".
Kagome had a deadpanned expression all over her face, also mad about what she just heard. Soon enough, she felt a blazing aura coming from Seirin's coach. If only looks could kill, the Josei player would've been killed in a mere second.
'I hope not all the basketball players aren't the same as that dummy.' Kagome thought, feeling annoyed. Now she was more motivated to cheer for Seirin. Kagome rose up, took a deep breathe, cupped her hands and…
"Do your best, Seirin! Show them what you're made of!"
Kagome's shout surprised the crowd; even the Seirin's players were surprised! They didn't know they had a supporter within the crowd. Well, except for Kuroko. He knew Kagome being here, but didn't realize she would cheer for them like this. The thought of Kagome cheering for them made the phantom player smile slightly, his eyes looking soft and yet determined.
"Oh? I didn't know we had a fan here?" Kiyoshi spoke out, as they took their places in court.
"Y-yeah, it surprised me too." Izuki said, puzzled about the same thing.
"Enough with the chatter! We can wonder about it after the game!" Hyuuga shouted out, reminding them that the game was about to begin.
This game was exciting! Kagome was drawn to it, unable to turn her eyes away from it. If she did look away for a second, she might miss something! One good example was the moment when she saw Seirin's player Kagami hit his head against the hoop. Was it even humanly possible to jump that high in the first place? His aura felt like human enough, perhaps diluted blood of a demon? Kagome shook her head. No. There were only humans here. Kuroko sure had interesting teammates. Kuroko himself was amazing player too; like he told her once, his lack of presence has its advances in the game. It was all about strategies, timing and team play.
'Still', sighed Kagome, thinking deeply with concern. 'They should think of something to cool down that hot-headed player of theirs.' Kagome bit on her lower lip, staring at the Seirin's red-haired player. She could see him steaming in frustration. It was as if Kuroko heard her request; he took a hold of his wristband, stretching it and then aiming at Kagami before he let it go. 'Uwaa, Kuroko-kun, I think you made things worse.'
Once Kagami's attention turned to Kuroko, Kagome noticed that his anger was cooling down just a tad bit. He still had an angry look over his face, though. Seconds passed by and whatever Kuroko was now telling to his teammate seemed to take a hold on Kagami – Kagome could feel Kagami's aura to cool down even more some. 'That's more like it, Kuroko-kun.'
Perhaps she thought so too soon, as she noticed Kagami continue on cursing, quietly, and his battle aura rising up again. Oh yes, what interesting teammates Kuroko had.
Then, the game was over, and Seirin won their first preliminary. Kagome felt so proud of them, and overjoyed! She applauded and cheered for them once the game was over. As the crowd were preparing themselves to leave, Kagome stayed behind, moving closer to the Seirin's bench. When she was above them, Kagome tried to catch the phantom player's attention by waving her hand. Well, that didn't work well.
"Oi~! Kuroko-kun~!" Kagome called out for him, waving once more.
The whole team heard her shout, and they were both shocked and awestruck of the fact that someone called out for Kuroko! But then they realized; she could see him?!
Kuroko blinked twice, wondering about his teammates' reaction for a second – and then he turned his attention at Kagome. "Hello, Kagome-san. I'm glad you made it here to see the game."
Kagome smiled widely. "Of course! I did promise to come and see you play! You were amazing, Kuroko-kun! All of you were! Congratulations!"
Kuroko smiled at her, nodding. Many thoughts ran through and through within Seirin's players' minds; Kuroko was smiling?! Who was she? What was her connection with Kuroko? How could she see Kuroko in the first place?!
Riko was the first one to recover from the shock, stepping forward. "Thank you for the support. That was you, at the beginning, who shouted out, right?"
"Yeah, that was me." Kagome nodded, still kept on smiling. "I've to admit that I was annoyed about what that Josei player shouted out. No girl should hear such a thing from anyone." Kagome grumbled, looking annoyed from the memory of it. But then she showed thumbs up at the players. "Good job on defending your coach by winning the game."
Riko's eyes turned all starry in awe; at last there was someone who understood her!
"Um, Kagome-san, can you wait for a while? It shouldn't take us long to be ready to leave here," said Kuroko.
"Yes, I can wait," said Kagome, "I'll wait for you outside, okay?" Kagome waved at them. "See you soon!"
Kuroko waved back at her; his teammates were still in shock of what just happened before them! Kuroko drank some of his water, and then gathered his stuff for departure.
"K-Kuroko!" Kogenai shouted, taking a hold of pale blue haired player's shoulders. "Who is she? How do you know her?!"
"That's Kagome Higurashi from 1-C class."
"Eh?! She's from Seirin High School too?!" Now it was Hyuuga's turn.
"Yes." Kuroko confirmed.
"Um, Kuroko? She is your… girlfriend?" Kiyoshi asked, after gotten over the shock about the fact that Kuroko knew her – other than the pink-haired girl from the Touou Academy.
Silence. Absolute silence was the only reply they got. No wonder, Kuroko made one of his disappearance acts once again.
"Aah?! Kuroko!" The Seirin players shouted out loud together – both in shock and anger. Yet again, he had managed to slip away from them.
"Oh? It didn't take you so long to get here, Kuroko-kun." Kagome blinked in amazement, seeing him coming out already.
"Yes. I wanted to talk to you before the team comes here." Kuroko said. Behind his expressionless face, he was actually feeling a bit nervous of what he was about to say.
"Ah? O-okay, what you wanted to talk about?"
Kuroko inhaled deeply, trying to exhale his nervousness out of his body. Suddenly he stared right into her eyes, now making Kagome all nervous. She could feel her face turn slightly red from such courageous stare.
"I like you."
Kagome blinked in shock; not sure if she heard right.
"I like basketball as well. But I also like you, Kagome-san."
Her face was turning really red. It had been a while since she had heard such confession. At least Kuroko didn't blur it out like Kouga did in the past; claiming her as his woman to the world. Still, the way Kuroko said was straightforward, not stuttering whatsoever – it came from his heart. It was kind of refreshing to hear such confession. It made her heart to skip a beat. Then again, her heart had been trying to tell her something, since the day they became friends. Perhaps her heart was trying to tell her to let go of the past and welcome the present and future. To take part of Kuroko's world of basketball.
"Kagome-san?"
'Ah, he's waiting patiently for me to say something. He really is nothing like the men from my past.' A tiny tear dropped from the corner her eye, which she wiped away quickly. "Sorry, your confession came to me by surprise." Kagome shyly giggled. "Then again, it's so much like you to ask like that."
Kuroko titled his head in puzzle.
Kagome sighed, gathering her thoughts. "Lot of things has happened to me in the past, and hopefully, I get enough courage to tell you about them. Until then, please, give me time – while we're dating." Her face felt red-hot by now.
At first Kuroko didn't understand what she just told him. Seconds ticked away, until he recalled what she said last; while we're dating. Then he realized it. "D-did that mean that…?"
Kagome nodded. "I also like you, Kuroko-kun. And I would like get to know you better." She looked away from his eyes for a moment, feeling shy.
Kuroko nodded also wanting to know more about her – and perhaps more about her mysterious past. Like she requested, all he needed to do was to wait. In time, she would tell. "U-um, you can call me 'Tetsuya', if you like, Kagome-san." Kuroko smiled bashfully.
"Sure, Tetsuya-kun."
At that moment, Kagome heard a tiny bark from Kuroko's bag, surprising her. 'Wha? Is that?' "Tetsuya-kun," asked Kagome, feeling a sweat dropping by her temple, "you wouldn't happen to have Nigou in your bag, would you?"
To reply her question, Kuroko opened his bag and Nigou popped his head out of it – panting and having his tongue stuck out. He barked happily when he saw Kagome. "I couldn't leave him by himself at home."
"I don't think it's a good idea to bring a puppy to the games either." Kagome sighed, taking the tiny puppy out of the bag and scratching him behind the ears. Then she heard a camera go off; it was Kuroko who took a photo of her and Nigou. "Ah, Tetsuya-kun?"
"You looked cute with our baby."
"Eh?!" Kagome blushed in embarrassment. Well, Nigou kinda was a 'baby'. That was beside the point; they had barely begun dating and now Kuroko was talking about babies. Well, not actually human babies, but still. It was a bit embarrassing for her to hear him calling Nigou as their baby.
"Kagome-san? Could you do one more favour for me?"
"Eh? What is it, Tetsuya-kun?"
"I rarely do this, but let's take a picture together." Kuroko came close to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"Oh? Yeah, sure." Kagome leaned closer to him. "After all this time I've gotten known of you, you usually dodged when I tried to take a photo of you and Nigou at school."
"Well, I felt like taking a photo now. Ready?"
Kagome nodded, holding up Nigou so he could be in a picture too. With that, Kuroko took a photo with all three of them together, smiling; Kuroko showing a small smile, while Kagome smiled modestly at the camera. After taking the photo, Kuroko checked it out, nodded in approval and then he began to write a text. Before Kagome could ask what he was doing, Kuroko had already sent the message forward.
"Tetsuya-kun? What was that for?"
"Just sending a text to someone. Nothing more."
Kagome stared at him doubtfully, not believing his words, but she let it be for now. In time, she would find out. Besides, Kagome glanced over her shoulder, noticing the rest of the Seirin team approaching them already. She wondered what sort of reactions they would've, once Kuroko told about their relationship.
To whom Kuroko sent his message, was none other than Kise himself.
"Oh? A message from Kurokocchi? This is rare! I wonder what it's about?" The blonde basketball player opened the message. First thing he saw was a picture of Kuroko with a girl holding a puppy. Below it, it read "my girlfriend and our puppy".
During their junior high, Kise once teased Kuroko for not to be able to get any girls' interests – other than Momoi's. Kuroko might've not showed it back then, but he was a bit peeved about it. But now, things had changed.
Minutes ticked away, before the message became clearer to the copy-cat player.
"Eh?! Kurokocchi got a girlfriend?!"
As for the Seirin team; they had the same reaction as Kise. It amazed them how often Kuroko managed to surprise them all – all the time.
End of story.
First draft: September the 23rd – 24th, 2016
Author's note: Hi everybody! Long time no see. I'm sorry about that. Even though I have mentioned that I got some ideas for next fics, I came face to face with a small writer's block. Ugh, so hate it when that happens. At least it was a small one this time. I did have very long writer's block before I began to write Kagome-crossovers.
I would like to thank you all for your patience while waiting for this – or any new short fics. I'll try my best to bring you more fics. Also thank you for the favourites, reviews and follows so far. They really cheered me up. n_n See you next time!