A/N: Thank you for all the reviews – and all the people that added this story in their alert/favorite list! I was very surprised at the number of followers I had gotten from a single chapter.
And for my other story Color, that a few of you seem to be talking about, I am still waiting for my beta-reader to recover. The storyline for it is complete, though.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Each beginning of a chapter is told in a different character's perspective, and then returns to Kuroko's after a while. Just not to confuse any of you.
Chapter 2
"Today all Aquarius people might want to look out for Scorpios. Remember, Aquarius and Scorpio have the worst compatibility among the 12 zodiacs!"
Murasakibara Atsushi's mornings always started with something crashing on the floor. Whether it was a person, a vase of flowers, his box of snacks, or someone's scrambled eggs and ham – something was bound to fall and wake him up. At first, it was almost displeasing and infuriating, as this occurred during the weekends as well, in a consecutive manner.
That first experience was already eight years ago. He barely remembered anything about his life then.
"Where is Toshi-aniki?" The second oldest, Murasakibara Soji, now in his second year of college, spoke up. He was always home, except when he had classes.
"With his girlfriend. He didn't come back yesterday." Murasakibara Miyuki, the fourth oldest and also being the only female grunted as she cleaned up the sticky mess on the floor – it seemed like a batter of eggs and flour had spilled all over the carpet. She was now in her freshmen year in high school, and also had a boyfriend she had been dating for three months. When she spotted Murasakibara, she glared at him viciously. "Atsushi, clean this up. I need to make the batter again."
"But –" Murasakibara tried to protest, but knew better and grabbed a towel from the bathroom.
"Atsushi, can you bring my bento after school today? I'm staying with my friends for dinner. You know where it is, right?" Murasakibara Shibuki, the third oldest that was in his senior year of high school waved, as he slammed the front door close behind him, running late to school. Murasakibara threw the towel into the laundry, turning on the washing machine. He himself had to get prepared to go to school, but he had a load of housework to complete in the morning. Which, always seemed to make him tardy for every first period class.
No, I indeed do not know where it is. Murasakibara thought to himself to answer his brother's "question". It was really better not asked if he wasn't expecting a response. Miyuki was shouting something from the kitchen, but Murasakibara couldn't hear her. Soji was typing something up on his laptop with the TV on. How nice it would be if any of them bothered to care that he had school to attend; not to mention that first string had morning practice sessions. Thanks to other errands that contained him as soon as the sun was up, he never attended any of Teiko's morning activities. He could only be relieved that the school didn't take any points off for being late.
The veranda door was knocked to the side, as Miyuki screamed his name. "How many times do I need to tell you to get your freaking tall ass to the kitchen?!" exclaiming in anger, the female pulled on Murasakibara's collar, as the said male threw a wet washcloth to the side of the hangers. "Which one's better – strawberry icing or chocolate?" She shoved a bowl of pink icing and brown icing in front of his nose.
"Chocolate." Assuming it was for her boyfriend, Murasakibara mumbled his reply and walked back to the washing machine. School began in twenty minutes, and he couldn't even savor the sweet moment of brushing his teeth, much less taking a shower. Worse – his house was fifteen minutes away from Teiko, just by taking the bus.
Life sucked to its best, sometimes.
When he finished the laundry, he proceeded to wash the newly stacked dishes in the sink, while cleaning up his sister's mess (she had already left, claiming she was late to school; as if she knew.) at the same time. School had already begun, and Murasakibara was almost certain that at this rate, he wouldn't even be able to get to his second period class for the day.
If Cinderella from the fairytales was a male, the cast definitely had been inspired by him.
He walked briskly up to the bathroom that seven members of the family shared, grabbing his purple toothbrush. He then swung the wardrobe door to his right and threw his school uniform onto his bed. Rubbing his face and hair with water, not really caring whether the soap was properly cleansed or not, he grabbed a towel and put it over his head, as he buttoned his uniform shirt on. Teiko had an inconvenient uniform, considering that they had jackets and neckties and all.
Glancing at the clock with no rush (okay, maybe some) he took out a piece of bread from the toaster and headed out with his bag slung over his shoulders. The next bus didn't come in at least six minutes, and first period was almost over. Break lasted for ten minutes – if he was lucky, maybe he would be able to get ready for second period and make it in time.
As he got on the bus that was filling with people of varieties of jobs, attention focused on him. It was probably because of his height – all the members of his household were well known for being very tall.
"Murasakibara, you're late." Akashi had said menacingly when he spotted Murasakibara near the lockers on the second floor during break, while all the other students were enjoying their break. "Again." The redhead added in a painful manner.
"'M sorry." Murasakibara couldn't promise that it wouldn't happen again, because it probably would. Knowing this himself, Akashi heaved a sigh, shaking his head. "I don't know what's going on, but Nijimura-san had told me pass on another warning. Of course, you wouldn't be kicked off the team, but you might need to do the cleaning duties with third string members."
More cleaning. Great.
"Oh." As he closed his locker, Murasakibara thought through his schedule today. He wasn't sure if Shibuki would be happy if he were to be late for the bento.
"I don't know what's going on, but there must be a reasonable cause for your tardiness. What time do you wake up? I think you are fully aware of the fact that morning practice starts at seven."
"I wake up at 6."
"No reason to be late then. What's the matter?" Akashi tilted his head to the side in bewilderment. Noticing the change in Murasakibara's aura to what was close to somewhat being uncomfortable about the interrogation, the said male just stepped back. "I won't question you further if you feel bothered. But I cannot promise you that there wouldn't be consequences that will follow after this."
Passing on a reluctant nod, Murasakibara headed forth to his next class as the bell rang.
~TLTS~
"Kuroko." Midorima Shintaro, Kuroko Tetsuya's lab partner spoke up after exactly seven minutes of silence while they were writing up their draft. He fumbled through his things and took out a box of karaage (fried chicken). Kuroko glanced at the moist plastic box that was already fogged up in the inside. "It's your lucky item."
"Oh." Of course. She rolled her eyes mentally; reprimanding herself for thinking that Midorima was giving her something for lunch. Midorima was in her homeroom so they had several chances to chat time to time, and occasionally Midorima would pass on her lucky item for the day, as well as a warning to be followed.
As he glanced at the tube of translucent liquid in front of him, he jotted something down on his pad of paper. Then fixing his glasses, he looked at her straight in the eye and started to talk. "The luck for Aquarius isn't terrible today, but it would be good to look out for Scorpios. Don't get acquainted with them at all if possible. Scorpios and Aquarius people have the worst compatibility among the zodiacs, after all."
"I see." Her parents were both Scorpios. No wonder. "Thank you. Can I eat this if I never get to use it?" Midorima shrugged, as if he could care less – in which he probably could to the fullest. She carefully placed the box in the corner of her bag, and stood up from her desk as she heard the bell signaling for the end of school ring. Well, more like the bell that signaled for the start of practice.
"Okay, where the f –" Kuroko jumped, startled, as she heard Nijimura looking to be at the verge of exploding, his face red with anger. He took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of sweat and rubber, and then exhaled all his emotions back. "Where," He started again, this time at a much more calming rate. "Is Murasakibara?" Murasakibara, as almost every member of the basketball club of Teiko was aware of, was one of the troublesome members their captain was forced to deal with because of their lack of attendance.
The other one was…Hai…something… Coming to a final decision that it wasn't any of her business, Kuroko turned on her heels, as Aomine shouted something from across the court, which instantly made the female stop dribbling her ball. "Captain, it seems like Murasakibara is gonna come back around the next twenty minutes or so. He says he has something to deliver." Their eyes met coincidentally, and Aomine flashed her a smile. Kuroko gave one back.
"Deliver my ass." Nijimura looked ready to rip someone's head off.
"That sounds a bit hard, Shu." The vice captain snickered as he proceeded to make a dirty pun, earning a punch to the face.
Then suddenly the gym door creaked open, revealing a gray-haired male who was reading a gravure magazine, as he entered the court without looking where he was going, seeming absorbed into the image of a naked woman. Nijimura quietly approached him like a predator sneaking up to its delicious prey. Then he snatched the magazine away from the boy's hands, as the male glared up at him and got ready to shout an insult at the captain. However, Nijimura simply kicked him in the stomach, sending him off to the ground. "Someone get that idiot and carry him to the locker rooms and make him change. I don't have time for him."
A few second string members dragged the male by the arms, as Kuroko finally remembered the name of the gangster-like troublemaker of the club. "Haizaki Shogo." A certain voice claimed in sync with her thoughts, a large hand rubbing the top of her head. "He's an annoying one." Aomine answered, and then added on. "It's good not to talk to him, for your benefits. He's moving on to first string today, but honestly, I don't like him."
"Oh." Slowly removing his hand from her head, Kuroko bounced the basketball up and down.
Spinning his own on his index finger, Aomine smirked. "You staying today, too?" Kuroko nodded vigorously, as the tanned basketball player laughed. "Okay, I'll practice with you. Ah…wait, Satsuki needs help with something." Clucking his tongue, Aomine slapped his forehead. "Maybe tomorrow, then?" He suggested, as the latter just gave him a nod of agreement. "Great. I'll be here tomorrow with you then."
Running toward the first string members, Aomine disappeared into the crowd. Kuroko continued to practice her shoots, passes, and dribbling skills with her teammates – though in her opinion, she wasn't improving in the slightest, and could only be depressed. Kneeling down a bit as she felt a little breathless, droplets of her sweat fell to the wooden floor of the court. Her fingers were bandaged because blisters were appearing from her daily increased practice, and her feet hurt from hours of training. And yet, she didn't seem get any better.
"Practice is over!" Coach Sanada announced after forty minutes of the repetition of the same menu. Kuroko stayed over cleaning up the court. Someone else joined her though – a tall, purple-haired male who had the same length of hair as she did. It was Murasakibara Atsushi – the Tardy Member. He looked quite resentful as he picked up five basketballs at the same time, kicking one along to the racks.
"Um, hello." She greeted after the male was done putting the balls into the racks with her. "Thanks for helping." He eyed her for a while, and then simply shrugged as he clicked the rack shut.
"It's not like I intended to. Captain told me it was the punishment for being late everyday." He picked up his bag, and he didn't bother to change back to his school uniform, stepping out in his gym clothes. Kuroko already knew who the male was, of course, so she just nodded and sent him off. Murasakibara remembered the fact that he had forgotten to ask her who she was, just after he was out of the school gates.
She kicked the basketball that was leftover in the corner saved for her, and moved along the white baseline, trying not to look at the ball as she dribbled it. She failed to make her shoot in, but she was becoming successful with her dribbles.
"Who is the annoying bitch that's practicing now?" A lewd voice echoed throughout the court, sending a chill up Kuroko's spine. She dropped the basketball in her hands as it rolled off to the side of the second court, far way from her vision, as she unconsciously clutched the hem of her shorts. From the shadows appeared Haizaki Shogo now changed back into his uniform, his tie loose and a few buttons of his shirt undone. "What, a girl?" Frowning in confusion, Haizaki walked towards Kuroko.
"Um." The female gulped, as Haizaki examined her, grasping her shoulder and not letting her go. "What are you doing?"
"Wondering what the fuck are you doing here, obviously." Irritated with his harsh usage of words, Kuroko gripped Haizaki's wrist and pushed it off her shoulder. He raised his left brow. "I don't dislike rebellious women." Certain that she had to stay away from this man, just like Aomine had told her, Kuroko let out a frustrated sigh and went to retrieve her bag from the corner of the court, picking up the basketball and throwing it back up to the metal racks.
"Hey, that's cold. I don't think we even know each other." Haizaki stopped her, blocking her path. She proceeded to ignoring him for her own good (just like Aomine had informed her), as she opened her bag – and then spotted her plastic box of karaage. She took it out and stared, betting on the fact that it must be cold – but surprisingly, the bottom of the box was still lukewarm.
Just before she could open the lid, a giant hand snatched it away from her own. Haizaki opened the lid and threw one into his mouth. "Not smoking hot, but this works." He chewed on the meat, as Kuroko decided that that was why the food was her lucky item for the day. Wishing on her so-called luck, Kuroko tip-toed out and headed towards the locker rooms. When she seemed quite close enough, Haizaki slammed her body toward the wall nearby, as she grimaced in pain.
"You know," He began, "A lot of things can happen here, especially when one boy and one girl is in the same area." The male licked his lips, as Kuroko gave him a disgusted scowl.
"Thank you for being the perfect example." She shot back meaningfully, as Haizaki laughed, releasing the grip on her wrist. He threw the plastic box into the recycle bin, and wiped the oil off on his pants, as if he could care less about the grease.
"You're a funny one. Your name?"
Kuroko didn't feel the slightest bit comfortable notifying this stranger with her name, but told him anyway – not wanting to converse further with the male. "Kuroko. Kuroko Tetsuya." Haizaki seemed to care less about her boyish first name, as he walked off.
"Then, Tetsuya," He turned to glance at her, though not stopping. "I'm Haizaki Shogo. Thanks for the chicken. Oh, and remember my warning." Kuroko's shoulder ached, where Haizaki slammed her into the wall – as if to remind her of what he tried to do. She narrowed her eyes at the vanishing back of the male, and then went to change.
~TLTS~
"That must've been annoying."
Beep-
"Well… he was rude. But that's about it."
Beep-
"What's his name again? And here's your ramen and milkshake, as usual. You eating here again?" Kise asked, handing her receipt, getting ready to hand her the boiled water if she were to eat at the store.
"Haizaki Shogo. And yes, I'll eat here today." Kuroko smiled kindly at her friend. Kise excitedly pulled another chair to the counter, placing it next to him as he picked up Kuroko's bag and put it next to him. Kise and Kuroko had become great friends, and sometimes even talked at school, though being in different classes. Pouring steaming hot water into the bowl of instant ramen, Kise closed the lid again and placed wooden chopsticks on top.
"I like it when Kurokocchi decides to stay. Keeps me company." Kise said, as he waited with her for the noodles to be cooked. The male didn't really have many friends, as he worked as a model part-time and missed out on regular school days a lot, and then came to the convenience store afterward during the late evening.
Kuroko also found the male reassuring, after the intense practice menus and her personal training session after school. She liked to spend her time at the convenience store as she talked about her day with Kise, who never got to experience average school life of middle schoolers. Kuroko was the one who fulfilled the small amount of happiness in him. They were almost like friends with benefits. Almost.
Lifting the plastic lid of the ramen, Kuroko broke the wooden chopsticks in half and started to eat. "So, Kurokocchi," Kise had the tendency to add the suffix of '-cchi' at the end of people's names of whom he respected. "Anything else that made your day interesting?"
Slipping the pieces of curly noodles into her mouth, Kuroko fell in deep thought. "Well…" She started after she finished chewing. Then she remembered her encounter with Murasakibara. "Kise-kun, do you know someone called Murasakibara Atsushi in our grade?"
"Murasakibara Atsushi? Yeah, he's in my homeroom. Always late to first period or doesn't come to it all, that guy. I feel sorry for him – the other day he was forced to stay in class and write essays from prompts and everything. Why?"
"Oh." Kuroko finally understood why the male never showed up to morning practice. If he didn't come to first period at all, there was no way that he could make it to school by seven. "Nothing, I just met him today. He's a member of the club too." She took another bite of the noodles, careful not to spill the soup all over her uniform.
Kise took out an ice cream from the freezer and opened the wrap. Apparently the owner was kind enough to allow the male to eat whatever he wanted, as long as it didn't cross the line. He licked on the edge, as Kuroko threw the bowl in the bin and stood up. "Leaving already?" He asked, sounding slightly disappointed.
"Sorry, I have a lot of homework today." Kuroko said in an apologetic manner, as Kise nodded understandingly. They muttered their good byes, as the teal-haired girl walked back home. The blonde's hand slowly descended, and then soon dropped near his waist. He scratched the back of his head, and simply sat back down on the stool. A message arrived from his sister.
From: Kise Tomoyo
To: Me
Ryouta, I'll put your dinner in the fridge. Dad isn't coming back until next week, so I think we'll have to skip some meals, to pay for this month's rent, if that's okay with you. I love you, Ryouta! :D
Kise turned off his phone as he ran his fingers through his hair, gritting his teeth a little. It came back. The usual expression he made when nobody was around, and he could finally be himself. Slumping down backward on the door of the storage room, the blonde waited for Yuuya, the next person in line to switch with him.
As if on cue with his thoughts, a black-haired male entered the store, panting – obviously, he had been running all the way. Kise quickly stood back up and plastered his bright smile on his face again. "Yuuya-san!" He took off his apron and greeted the older man.
"Hey, Kise. Sorry I'm late – I had a report to hand in to my professor. Anything I need to do?"
"No – oh, maybe take out the bento boxes that are out of date?"
"Gotcha."
With that, Kise stepped away, picking his bag up from the stool and exiting the store. When he was halfway there to the bus station, he stopped abruptly in his steps, struck with realization. "Damn it…" He cursed himself under his breath. "I forgot my notebook… I wonder if there's someone left right now?" His watch pointed 8:30 P.M, as the blonde rushed back to Teiko. School gates didn't close until 9.
"Where did I leave it? I took it out of my locker, and then I rested on the benches near the gym to – oh." He ran towards the gym, glad that the security guard hadn't locked any of the gates to anywhere. His notebook was on the wooden bench right in front of the basketball court, perfectly fine where it was. "Great. Just great." Speaking with half-sarcasm, Kise laughed emptily. He dusted off the cover, and put it back into his bag.
And that was when he heard a few murmurs coming from the gym, approaching him as time passed.
"Like I said, wouldn't it be more beneficial if we changed the curriculum into schedule A, like we talked about previously during the meeting, Coach?"
"No, then that'll take out more that a third of what is supposed to be included in the menu. We can't have that happening."
"But time-wise, that'll be a more intelligent decision for the members of the club and for the staff."
One seemed to be a middle-aged man, while the other sounded like a high schooler, with the deep voice and all. Kise just stood there for a while in amusement as he saw the lights turn off. The said coach then caught an eye of him – it was Mr. Shirogane, the homeroom teacher for the third years. Kise of course never knew that he worked as a Coach in school, too. "Well, that's rare." He came closer toward Kise. "I don't see a lot of students loitering around the school at this time."
"I-I wasn't exactly loitering, I just came to find my notebook. I forgot it on the bench." Kise stuttered nervously, as he glanced at the other middle schooler – he recognized him, but wasn't certain of his name. Coach Shirogane scanned him head to toe, and then grinned, putting his hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"You have the eyes of a good basketball player." Puzzled by the Coach's words, Kise forced a small chuckle.
"I am thankful for your compliment, sir, but I'm not exactly that interested in any particular sport…and besides," The Coach lowered his hand and scowled. "…I have part-time jobs that I do after school until eight. I can't join a club." The older man seemed mystified, as Kise technically was still only around thirteen – how busy could a middle schooler that age be? But coming to a conclusion that it must be something personal, the senior did not question further.
"Very well." He grinned. "But you can always try out next year, or the next season." Nijimura and the coach walked away with that, as Kise just stood there, staring at the two and their backs in disappointment. He wanted to join a club too – whether he was interested in the whole matter itself or not. He needed something else to occupy himself with other than part-time jobs.
But of course, Kise knew better than anyone – that that was impossible. He didn't have time for clubs.
"I guess I should go home now."
~TLTS~
Seasons were changing, from spring to early summer – as the second and third years went to their training camps with the coaches, first years were given their freedom to train as freely as they wanted, under the provision of their advisor. Only during this period of time, first to third string members all shared a single court to practice, as in the end, there were only first years present.
Kuroko found herself fascinated at how the first string members made their shoots go in perfectly, some even doing dunks and alley-oops. She could hardly believe that they were the same age as her. The negative thing about fusing all the first to third string members in one court was that there weren't enough hoops to practice – and the flow naturally let the first string members get advantage of most of the facilities, while second and third string practiced without them.
"I hate those first years." She could hear third year members of the second string who stayed behind mumble, as they glared threateningly at Midorima and the others that were using five hoops all to themselves. A few murmurs came in response instantaneously, as if they were prepared for the gossip to happen. Kuroko just stepped aside as she practiced her passing techniques, bouncing the ball back and forth at the wall as she ran.
Meanwhile with the first string, the four first years were together, taking a quick five-minute break – which gave third string members a chance to practice their shots. Murasakibara spoke up, as he caught sight of Akashi staring intently at something. "Aka-chin, who are you looking at?" The other three focused their attention on the redhead, as it was quite rare to catch Akashi being captivated by someone.
"No," Akashi paused, closing his bottle of water, "Is that the girl Nijimura-san was talking about with the coach?" He pointed at Kuroko, who was practicing in the far-off corner, barely spotted by anyone. It was already challenging to find her with the bare human eye – it was even trickier to do so when she was so silent most of the time, without much illuminating presence.
"Oh, yes." Midorima responded with a vigorous nod. "She's in my homeroom. Pretty pleasant, though not as energetic." Aomine wanted to boast his acquaintanceship with the female, but kept his arising urge down; since, he wanted to keep it private as well. Akashi on the other hand, seemed fascinated with Kuroko. "According to what the rumors seem to say however, her skills aren't very exceptional."
Furrowing his eyebrows, the point guard simply yanked the wet towel around his neck off as he progressed forward towards the court to resume to his practice. Then after a while, he continued. "If those are what the rumors say," Managing to dunk into the high hoop, Akashi landed on the ground. "I'll choose to believe otherwise."
"Why, you sense potential in her?"
A new voice entered the stage, which turned out to be Haizaki Shogo that had simply arrived near the bench to grab a drink. Wiping cold sweat off his forehead, the male's gray hair swayed with much confidence. "I honestly think she'd be better off being my girlfriend." Aomine rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"She deserves someone much better than you." Haizaki sent the tanned male a venomous expression, as he grunted and tossed the plastic bottle carelessly toward the wooden wall of the gym. Akashi gave him a threatening scowl, then glanced at where Kuroko had been previously practicing – only to see she had disappeared.
"Hn." He turned and closed his eyes, recalling her teal hair and strikingly pale skin, as well as her thin body. She was difficult to notice, but had imprinted a firm image once spotted.
A hand came in contact with his shoulder. "Aka-chin, you're acting a little weird." The indigo-haired male said in his usual deep voice. "Are you in love with Kuroko or something?" He said teasingly. "Love at first sight, too."
"No," Akashi retorted immediately, slightly disappointing the latter as he hit his hand off. He finally saw her again near the racks, talking to the taller third string members excitedly, in a surprisingly enterprising manner.
Kuroko, huh.