A/N: All the quotes in the beginning have a relationship with the chapter. The quote below describes the love of three characters toward Kuroko. Guess who?

Also, the final pairing for Kuroko is almost decided. It might be unexpected (or vice versa), but please stay tuned.

Chapter 3

"Love is complicated. It can transform into something more friendly, something more serious, or something more violent. Depends on the person, really."

"Shizuka, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, yes, I am. What's my lucky item again?"

"An idol fan, remember –"

"That I should be aware of new people to approach, yes, I got it."

"… Okay. Bye."

The line went dead, as Midorima continued to watch the zodiac forecast. The turns for Aries, his sister, and Cancer, for himself was already over, but as Midorima still had some time until he needed to head outside – he decided that it couldn't hurt to keep on watching.

"… And, for our second to last turn, Aquarius! Don't be discouraged by your smallest defeats – though they might seem major for the time being, they'll eventually prove themselves that they are nothing but minor issues for you to deal with. It's good to acquaint yourself with a Sagitt –"

The green head held up the remote and turned the TV off. "Why am I even…" Was I waiting for Aquarius to appear? No, that can't be it. Shaking his head in vexation, Midorima slung his bag over his shoulder and headed outside, closing the door with a click.

Soft footsteps were heard from behind the boy. "Shintaro, are you leaving?" He didn't turn back to see the old man in his white gown, his hair messy and tangled from a night of work. Midorima just pursed his lips and left the house, not daring to utter a word back. He could feel the empty gaze of his father fixated on the door, as if he could see right through it and look at Midorima. He ignored it, and went ahead to grab a taxi.

"To Teiko Middle School, please." The driver nodded compliantly as he stepped on the accelerator. The shooting guard turned on his phone and checked the time – he had thirty minutes left. He then proceeded to Oha-Asa's official homepage, and then scrolled down to Aquarius again, reading the rest of the forecast that he had consciously refused to watch.

'It's good to acquaint yourself with a Sagittarius for advice – but not right away. New meetings might cause negative impressions. Your lucky item for the day is a basketball. Have great day with Oha-Asa!'

Soon falling in deep thought, Midorima tried recalling all the signs of Sagittarius people he knew in Teiko. Akashi. The redhead's name popped up out of nowhere, as the spectacled male groaned in frustration. The taxi came to a stop, as Midorima woke himself from his trance and paid the driver, stepping out of the car afterwards. The school was always quiet in the morning, and that was almost the moment when Midorima was the most satisfied throughout the whole day – when he finally felt like he had arrived in his new haven.

Changing into his gym clothes in the locker room, the green-haired male stretched his arms and re-bandaged his fingers with much concentration and care. When he went to the court for the first string members, Nijimura was there, practice his new drives. The second and third years had just returned from their training the other day, and it was quite evident that their skills had been improved throughout the week.

"Hey, Midorima." The captain tossed the male a basketball.

'The lucky item for Aquarius is…'

"Good morning." Catching the ball, Midorima immediately got into his shooting form and shot a three-pointer, with Nijimura giving an impressed whistle.

As he did so, the door creaked open, morning sunlight shining into the gymnasium. Akashi, Aomine, and Momoi had arrived – or, rather, Momoi was pulling on Aomine's ear and dragging him inside, more like. More first string members followed behind them, and the gym soon got as noisy and rowdy as usual – it was the cue for Midorima's quiet morning to go offstage.

During the last five minutes of practice, Murasakibara entered, startling both the coach and Nijimura and everyone else in first string.

"Sorry I'm late." The habitual words spilled out of the giant. Nijimura ran to him up to him; in a quite delightful manner, if anyone had to add.

"You actually made it while practice was still in session." Patting his arm, the black-haired captain looked up. "What's gotten into you? An early bird?"

"Just," Murasakibara mumbled as he put his bag down, "family stuff. Will probably be late again tomorrow." Nijimura didn't look very enthusiastic about that, but let the latter go. Midorima shot a glance at the giant who simply grabbed a ball and started to dribble, a bored expression plastered on his face.

Aomine was the first one to talk among them, as training ended and the bell for the morning assembly rang. "I don't think I've ever seen you in the morning, Murasakibara. Midorima and Akashi are always early so I see them more than necessary, but you –"

"You're taken care of by Momoi more than necessary as well." The greenhead corrected the position of his glasses as they walked back to the school building. Aomine was about make a comeback, when Midorima stopped in his footsteps as he saw teal hair, swaying back and forth in the dusty morning air, and Kuroko's thin, petite figure in the midst of the crowd of males that were briskly walking back. Then suddenly, a blonde-haired boy skipped toward her and jumped on her shoulders, clearly startling the latter. The two then busily chattered off about something, though it seemed to be the male who did most of the talking.

"Isn't that Kise Ryouta?" Momoi questioned in curiosity, "I never saw him interested in any girl before."

"None of our business, Satsuki. Geez, are you jealous or something?"

"Dai-chan!"

The five of them parted ways as they all headed to their first period classes – Kise and Murasakibara kept their distance from one another, although they were going the same way, as if not used to each other's presence. Midorima casually joined Kuroko, who greeted him first as usual. The said male grunted his response back, and then opened his mouth to tell her the daily forecast for Aquarius.

"Kuroko –" Abruptly, he stopped himself. Why do I feel obliged to telling her this, anyway? The words died in his throat, sinking deep inside him.

"Yes?" The girl turned back to look at him in the eye. Her light blue eyes seemed to pierce right through him, which intimidated the latter. He pulled up new words, keeping in the previous ones.

"No, nothing." Kuroko sent him a suspicious expression, but just gave him a dubious nod as she resumed to taking the notes on the whiteboard. I need to focus, Midorima said to himself in reprimanding mannerisms. I'm in class, and I cannot let this time go to waste.

Second, third, fourth, and fifth period went past with the Aquarius forecast replaying repeatedly inside his head, as if to say that he should be guilty for not informing the girl. It wasn't a particularly unlucky day for Aquarians; nothing could hurt for not telling her. However, something poked his mental thoughts: "Tell her."

Midorima came to a conclusion that he should probably ignore it.

~TLTS~

"Kuroko, the advisor was looking for you." One of the third string boys shouted at her, as the female raised her head and blinked, her expression clearly saying 'Me?' The informant rolled his eyes and threw his hand into the air. "Yes, you. He wants to meet you right away, so get moving."

Reluctant to follow the orders of a senior, Kuroko let her basketball drop to the floor. Then she glanced back at the rubbery material, feeling her luck drain from her body. She had a bad feeling about this meeting the advisor was calling for. Only the problematic club members were to have private meetings with advisor, anyways.

Her legs heavy with worry, Kuroko allowed herself to pass through the first string members that were practicing at the courts, holding practice games as they divided into teams. Aomine was benched at that time being, and spotted the female just in time she was halfway through the court. "Hey, Tetsu!" Deciding to transform her already masculine name into something even more boyish, the tanned male slapped her on the shoulder. "Why are you here? Thought you were in third string."

"I came to meet the advisor." Her voice was tight, and Aomine felt a pang of guilt as he caught sight of the female's anxious expression. Not knowing what to say or do, the tanned male just stuttered a little, and then stopped himself from talking as she silently excused herself and went ahead. His gaze fixed on her back, Aomine just stood there, until Akashi called him over back to the court to play the game, switching players.

Kuroko remained motionless at the doorstep to the basketball department's office. She glanced at her pale reflection on the silver doorknob and inhaled the moist air. It was oddly humid in the gym that day, and she had no idea why. Twisting open the knob, she mumbled a small greeting before she clicked the door close behind her. The advisor was there, sitting on his cushioned chair with files stacked on his desk, as well as disks.

"Ah, Kuroko-kun." He acknowledged her presence after a few seconds of empty staring. "Please sit down." Pulling out a wooden stool from underneath his desk, the advisor quickly typed something before facing her again. "So," The man started, his slightly paunchy figure more visible than before. "I wanted to talk to you about… uh… some suggestions I might be able to make for you." He seemed to be picking his words out very carefully.

He exhaled a large breath that scented of cigar. "I am aware of the fact that your passion for basketball or something rather personal might've drawn you to joining the basketball club for boys. I am not against that of course, if that's your decision. However, in Teiko as you know, the members are divided into strings; and, if you aren't in any higher ones, or at least hold a top ten place in your string, it is rather challenging for you to make any results."

Expecting this conversation would occur any day or the other, Kuroko braced herself for the upcoming comments.

The advisor continued. "In your case right now, at this rate it would be difficult for you to even participate in any games at all, much less be chosen for second string. As you might know, if you want to have any information to write in your college applications at all, it would be beneficial if you have records from middle school and high school. I just wanted to advise you to move to the girl's basketball club, rather than staying here. The decision is completely up to you, of course; but, I wanted to help you."

The female knew she couldn't do that. There was no point in her making a promise with Ogiwara at all if she did so. "I'll stay." She muttered under her breath, as the advisor put on a troubled look.

"…well, if that's what you want. You may go now." He seemed to be inwardly shaking his head in disappointment as Kuroko departed from the room. The girl sighed as she closed the door and looked at the slightly dark hallway that was painted orange, with the view outside.

"Hey, Tetsuya." Kuroko crinkled her nose at the recognizable voice. "How are you doing?" Haizaki leaned down to look at her disgusted face. "Come on, do you still have a grudge against me for 'attacking' you last time?"

The girl simply passed on a look of suspicion, until she finally felt like she had to say something after a few seconds. "No, but I've received several warnings that I have to avoid you as much as possible." Haizaki pretended to be hurt, as he patted her shoulder and shoved past, making way for himself. Kuroko just stood there for a while, as if trying process what happened back in the office.

He was advising me to quit the club. She moved a strand of her hair from the front of her eyes. Am I really that hopeless at this sport? Her inner self seemed to be talking right back at the thoughtless question asked, answering: "Yes, you are pretty much hopeless at it."

"… Kuroko-san…was it?"

A rather high-pitched, light yet masculine voice spoke to her. Kuroko looked up and the first thing that she noticed was the dark shade of red; or, more like magenta. Her vision seemed blurry for a second, and then cleared to present an unknown male that was clearly examining her head to toe. When she had forgotten to answer, he started off with something else. "Sorry, did I say your name wrong? I wasn't quite listening to what Aomine had been saying to me during practice."

Finally being able to process the situation, Kuroko stumbled over her words. "N-no, it is Kuroko. I was daydreaming for a while; I apologize. It's just…" She tried to find the correct words, navigating through her jumble of vocabulary, "..unusual that anyone notices me."

"Well, yes – your presence is very low in comparison to others. You aren't at fault for that, and I don't think it's actually a bad thing." Reaching his hand out to her for a handshake, he introduced himself smoothly. "My name is Akashi Seijuro. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kuroko…"

"It's Tetsuya. Kuroko Tetsuya." She grasped his hand and sent him an awkward smile. It was quite weird that any middle schooler – a male, too – would be prone to such formalities. Nobody shook hands nowadays. Akashi didn't question her name that was accustomed for boys, just like Haizaki didn't interrogate her further about anything on their first encounter.

Silence engulfed the hallway, as Akashi cleared his throat. As if finally recognizing where she had just stepped out of, he pretended to be surprised. "And I am wondering why you are coming from the advisor's office? You don't seem like the troublemaker type, as far as my data on you spreads, unlike Haizaki."

"Um," Several sentences all came up for an explanation at once, that they all got caught up in her throat. "Just things about joining the female's basketball club instead of staying here." She didn't want to go into the details of it – as a matter of fact, she felt quite uncomfortable sharing anything with Akashi at all. He had an unapproachable aura behind his chivalrous behavior.

"I see." The redhead glanced at the female again, this time trying to predict what had actually occurred. Matching the puzzle pieces wasn't very challenging, as Akashi could kind of read the situation. He didn't inquire about the matter further, though. "Well, I have something to discuss about with the head coach. It'd be great if we can meet again sometime. First string and third string don't meet each other often, after all."

"I guess that's true." Clutching at her own wrist a little, Kuroko smiled and slowly moved forward past Akashi. "Well then, have a nice day." She dismissed herself from the scene – only because she found it rather difficult to associate herself with the boy with the red hair. Akashi just stared at her disappearing back, and then stepped into the basketball department.

Kuroko used the back door just to avoid Aomine. She wasn't entirely sure whether she just wanted to escape from the situation of talking to Aomine, or talking to anyone, for that matter. Letting out a rather heavy sigh, Kuroko proceeded to the locker rooms, as practice was almost over anyway. Considering her low presence, barely anyone would even notice that she had disappeared.

Grabbing her bag from her assigned locker (locker qualities actually varied from low to high, depending on what string you were in) which was old and had random parts where the metal cover was caved in, making it look like it had went through a severe earthquake. She didn't bother to even close her locker, too occupied with her own small worries.

"Are you leaving already?"

For the first time ever since she'd joined the Teiko basketball club, she heard a feminine voice from behind – presumably calling her, as no one else seemed to be present in the hallway.

"Practice is almost over anyway." Her voice was low and silent, so Momoi had to lip-read cautiously. "It wouldn't really matter if I miss out the last ten minutes."

"I suppose it wouldn't, but –" The pinkette then abruptly stopped herself. "Wait, are you the Kuroko Tetsuya?" Lunging forward, Momoi grasped Kuroko's shoulders and shook her lightly back and forth. The teal-haired girl's eyes narrowed at the reaction.

"I believe I am the only Kuroko in the club, yes." She nodded. "How can I help you?"

Momoi jumped up and down excitedly, still grasping Kuroko's hand between hers. "I heard so much about you from Dai-chan! He said you were rather hard to spot, so no matter how many times I tried searching for you in the third string gym I couldn't find you, you see – oh, and Akashi-kun also told me about you the other day. He said he was interested in bringing you to the first string gym!"

Too much information was being transferred to her brain at once, that Kuroko couldn't progress everything of what Momoi was saying at once. "Um," she started, "That sounds new to me."

"Midorin talks about you from time to time, too. I don't think I ever heard Mukkun say anything about you, but…you are becoming quite the topic to talk about among the first string members."

"Is that so?" Kuroko whispered softly, not sure how to feel about such a thing. Momoi then glanced at her watch and gasped in realization.

"Sorry, Kuroko-chan, I need to go now. We can talk later though, you know, just two girls together! See you tomorrow!" She rushed toward the first string gym just like that, as Kuroko mumbled her farewell less energetically than the latter. See you tomorrow…eh. She stretched her arms and stepped out of the third string gym, getting ready to head back home. She thought about paying Kise a visit, but soon dismissed the thought – she was tired, and she needed rest.

Just when she was about to exit the school gates, someone grabbed her wrist. "Hey, Tetsu!" It was Aomine's gruff voice; a friendly tone that she was used to. "Aren't you going to practice with me today?"

"Sorry," She murmured under her breath. "I was thinking about calling it for a break today."

"But why?" Aomine examined her head to toe, trying to read the situation. He didn't want to be forceful, but he wanted to be of some support nonetheless. The thing that Aomine didn't know about girls, was that not all of them liked nosy boys that asked about everything. Kuroko was one of them.

The female uncomfortably shifted where she was, refusing to speak. However, she also couldn't escape the grasp of Aomine, which led to a very awkward position between herself and the tanned male in front of her. "Um," She glanced down at Aomine's hand that was still clasping on her wrist. Aomine realized this, but ignored it.

"Daiki, don't molest her."

Frowning, Kuroko turned towards the owner of the voice. It was Haizaki Shogo, his arms crossed in front of his chest, throwing both of them a prideful smirk. Then as if he remembered something, he clucked his tongue and let his arms rest next to his sides. "Akashi is calling for her. Apparently he had discussed something with the head coach, and debated on whether to make a change to her string – I wasn't listening."

"Change of strings?" Kuroko's eyes fluttered open in surprise. A transition from third to first was never made in Teiko history, if she had kept the records properly memorized. "But…I was advised to quit the team."

"You were what now?" Aomine growled roughly, as he slowly let go of her throbbing wrist. Haizaki pulled Kuroko to his side as soon as he did so. "Hey, Haizaki." He threw a menacing glare, only to receive a triumphant snort.

"I don't need you tagging along, Daiki. I only need her right now." Kuroko slipped out of Haizaki's arms, waiting for him to finish conversing with Aomine. She was utterly stunned by what she had just been informed by the gray-haired male (he wasn't exactly trustworthy, but he didn't seem to be lying about it, either) – more like it surprised her that Akashi actually possessed any authority over the decisions that the team made. There were looming rumors about the coach taking care of him in particular for some unknown reason, but she never knew that it was to the point that he could participate in club decisions.

Aomine just grunted as he trailed behind them, not able to say anything in response as Haizaki kept his distance with both of them. Their short journey to the main office was done in silence, and Haizaki soon took his leave as soon as they arrived in front of the metal door. "I'm going." He patted Kuroko on the head. "I told you it's good not to be alone with a guy here." Whispering the last part in her ear, he walked off down the hallway, earning a suspicious glance from Aomine.

"Come in." The head coach, Shirogane, signaled for Kuroko to enter his office. Aomine was forced to stay outside, due to Nijimura, who was accompanying the head coach at the time, telling him that it was a private matter that members do not need to know about.

"So," Shirogane started talking, taking off his spectacles as he looked up from his sheet of papers, "I believe you had to talk with our current advisor about your presence right now in the all-boy's basketball club." Kuroko nodded, though not exactly feeling very fond about the stated fact.

"How did you feel when you heard about that?"

The female blinked, clueless at the unexpected situation. "Well," She decided to give herself a head start. "I felt quite depressed, sir. I…was thinking if I really was that much of a hindrance to Teiko's basketball team, as I was never exactly talented at this particular sport."

Coach Shirogane seemed to reconsider his questions before asking another one. "Then what made you want to join this club?"

"My friend from elementary school had promised me that he would be in the finals for the Inter-High tournaments for middle school. I really wanted to play with him, so I vowed to myself that if there weren't any restrictions for a girl joining the club, then I would definitely make it to the finals and compete with him. But…" She trailed off, as if expecting the coach to make out the rest of her empty sentence. The head coach, being the wise man he was, seemed to understand what was going on with quick analyzing skills.

He heaved a sigh, and then sent Kuroko a serious expression. "Just a few minutes ago, Akashi Seijuro, a member of the first string had told be his personal opinion on you and your skills – and also the talent you have with basketball."

Akashi? Kuroko had no idea why Akashi would ever care about how she did in the club as a member.

"He had claimed that he could see the potential in you – even as a member of the starting lineup." Nijimura's wavering expression was evident, even to Kuroko as he stood behind the coach also hearing all of this. "Though of course, you would participate as a very special member – something we like to call a "Sixth Man". He says your true skill lies in supporting others, rather than playing to stand out than other characters. By what he said – no, I can actually see it myself right now, that you have very low presence."

Kuroko didn't know where this conversation was about to lead. The whole conversation itself was barely making any sense to her.

"A week from now, I will test you to see if you are really worthy of being on first string. Akashi will instruct you further with your training, as he seems to have more extensive knowledge on this particular topic, more so than I do."

"A test, sir?" she repeated, to what he then nodded.

"Kuroko Tetsuya, are you capable of becoming the sixth man of Teiko?"