Everything will escalate very quickly time-wise in this chapter. You might ask why is everything so fast? Why not go into more details? That is because; the first year of the Generation of Miracles and Kuroko is more like a very long introduction of this story. Therefore somewhere around the next chapter would be a transition of them moving into their second year, and that's where the actual story will begin.
Enjoy.
Chapter 6
"Every meeting, every conversation, every eye contact – nothing was a mere coincidence, but fate."
"…Haizaki-kun?"
Haizaki Shogo was having one of the most unreasonable moments of his life. Firstly, how cliché is it to just happen to meet the only female member of his basketball club in a mall? Not to mention, when he was catching her when she was about to fall, too. Secondly, he was holding a plastic bag filled with gravure magazines that happened to be on sale. Thirdly, he was wearing a shirt that said "I Love My Little Pony" with Rainbow Dash across the words.
Wow. Life was great.
Luckily, Kuroko seemed to care little about what his shirt said, or what he was holding. "Why are you here?" Haizaki asked, not delighted in the slightest that he had to meet her in the mall, out of all places.
"I came to look around with Aomine-kun and the others, but I lost track of them," she said glumly, fiddling with the strap of her purse. The gray-haired male tried to think of something suitable to say. He kind of sucked at talking to ordinary girls out of school, (though he loved lying about his age and playing around with hot high school chicks) especially to girls like Kuroko.
Getting pushed by someone walking by, Haizaki cursed under his breath and grabbed Kuroko by her wrist. A feeling of déjà vu swept over the female as the male forced them through the crowd to somewhere more unoccupied. He then let go and faced her again. "So," Reaching for the popsicle he bought earlier, he opened the wrapper and threw it in the nearest rubbish bin. "Basically, you don't know where to go." Kuroko nodded.
"Don't you have your phone?" Haizaki reminded, as the girl picked up her phone and opened it. The screen was pitch black, as a battery sign flashed in front of her eyes, blinking red. "Well, do you at least know where you guys were going to go? A coffee shop? Maybe a restaurant nearby?"
"We were just looking for a more deserted area." Kuroko responded, grateful that the gray-haired male was at least trying to help her out. "I am pretty sure the last time I was with them was right next to that jewelry shop…" Scanning the large and massively populated hall, the girl struggled to point out the exact location. "Over there."
Raising his chin a little to get a better look, Haizaki just rubbed his head and sighed. He bit off a portion of his popsicle, the sweet flavor spreading over his taste buds. It would've been quite an enjoyable experience if it weren't for this problem he was facing at the moment. "Let's start from there, then. Were there any particular plans that you guys had after going to that deserted wherever?" Kuroko tried to fumble through her memories, almost remembering.
"I do recall Momoi-san saying something about visiting a new ice cream shop that seemed to be a hit among the teenagers." It was vague, but it was something. Haizaki hummed and led her to the nearest map of the mall. He pointed his finger at the screen and slowly looked around, and clucked his tongue.
"Not really interested in damned ice cream shops. Tons of them are around here, too. We'll just have to go to each one, unless they change their plans and decide to find you. In which they probably would – so it might just be better to stay in one place. But looking around the mall is nice too." Not certain what to suggest, Haizaki blurted out some nonsense.
The teal-haired girl seemed conflicted on what to do. She never really got lost in such a place before – and with Haizaki, out of all people, sticking around with her. "I think we can just look around." Too late she realized she had casually used 'we', Kuroko quickly changed her sentence. "I will look around, I mean."
"It's fine." To her surprise, a friendly grunt was heard. "Not like I have anything to do when I get home." And it was true. All the boy received when he returned to his room was nagging from his mom, and then his brother asking if he purchased the gravure magazine he wanted. Spending time with Kuroko was definitely better than staying home like that.
They started out with going up to the second floor. The shopping mall was so enormous, that they simply had no alternative but to begin searching at very random areas. A great variety of people could be spotted as Kuroko took some time to glance around admirably. Bloggers that had come to take pictures of the hottest clothes or items, groups of female middle schoolers were giggling over some new album, and some sweating businessmen that looked vexed by the crowd; they could all be spotted. She had never really invested her time in attempting to study different people.
"They don't seem to be around here." Haizaki decided that they were making no progress once the two were finished with the second floor. He stopped a passerby and questioned: "Excuse me, but have you seen a bunch of rainbow-haired guys somewhere?" Kuroko was rather shocked that the male could be polite when it was necessary. The passerby seemed humored by his description, but soon a memory seemed to surface.
"Yes, I remember very clearly, as a matter of fact. They appeared to be very anxious and nervous about something, though I am not sure what – I saw them around the café near the garden outside." Kuroko murmured her thanks before Haizaki could pull her through. The person was evidently startled by the sudden voice, but nodded anyway.
The male briskly made his way to the garden, as the automatic doors opened at a painfully slow rate. He saw a bunch of middle school girls squealing about something, and could already tell what had happened before they arrived. "Too late." Releasing her wrist, the male let out a heavy sigh. Kuroko was disappointed, but never showed it. "You know, looking around like this is actually pointless." Haizaki finally said. "Do you have a specific time when you need to get back home?"
"Oh," The female shook her head. "Not at all."
"Then why not just chill a little? They might be finding you, and it'd be just a never-ending cycle at this rate. And besides, I'm kinda of tired of looking around while holding this shit." He held up the plastic bag with the heavy magazine in it. It was for his brother (and himself, if he could ever get the chance of laying his hands on them) and apparently nicely coated gravure magazines could actually weigh a lot when held for long.
Wondering what had gotten into the male, Kuroko reluctantly agreed. "Sounds quite complacent and reasonable. I'm sorry to trouble you like this."
"At least you know it."
Haizaki didn't utter a single word about how he as the one who volunteered to help her, as they walked alongside each other.
~TLTS~
Meanwhile, the said rainbow-haired bunch was suffering.
"I can't believe we actually lost her."
"No, it is actually a very reasonable and a very much possible situation that we just never thought to consider."
"Same difference."
Aomine and Midorima were arguing on how sentences could be formatted along with the definitions of words. Akashi was trying to remember where they could've lost sight of her – and really, it was anywhere. Every one of them were expecting Kuroko to be following them nice and well – until Murasakibara finally pointed out that he really couldn't see her.
"How could we have not noticed that she was gone? I hate myself for it." Momoi ran a few fingers through her hair in regret. "And to think that none of us would figure that out until we were halfway here."
"Well, she was always quite invisible, after all. She might be doing well with someone to help her." Aomine shrugged, "It's Tetsu – I think she would've already figured some way out."
Giving him a reprimanding glance, Midorima cleared his throat. "You see, Aomine, just because she is 'quite invisible' still doesn't justify the reason of why we couldn't keep track of her. It is partially our responsibility for not noticing that she had vanished. Also, it is both likely that she is with someone or that she is not, because she would've called us if she could. Which, means that she is nowhere near 'finding her way out', but is actually just simply lost."
"Good job, you outsmarted me." The indigo-haired male rolled his eyes. "But really, where could she possibly be? We looked around the whole second floor and saw no one. Do you think she could've went down to the first floor again?"
"She's not even picking up her phone."
"Probably on silent or no battery."
A heavy sigh echoed simultaneously throughout the small vicinity where the group was standing pathetically. "So…" Momoi began, "I do imagine that Kuroko-chan can't be staying still in one corner of where we lost her. She's presumably searching for us too. But since we are all moving at the same time, the probability of us always going past each other is high."
"Are there any other solutions we can take part to?" Aomine questioned, his eyes crossed. "I don't like having to continue searching like this when there's something else we can do."
Akashi shook his head. "We could always request to make an announcement, but even I think that is when we have to reach for drastic measures –"
The redhead was forced to stop halfway when he bumped his shoulder into another person. A male with sunglasses and a mask (clearly suspicious) gave a muffled apology. "Sorry, I'm just really –" then he paused and stared at Akashi. "Wait, hello." He pulled the mask down to beneath his chin and greeted him. It was Kise Ryouta.
"Oh, you're…" The point guard mumbled, recognizing the blonde. "Kise…Ryouta, was it? What's with the disguise?"
Putting the mask back on, the blonde laughed. "I was supposed to be here for a fashion show, but then they cancelled it because one of our main models couldn't arrive. Funny, isn't it? But apparently no one could replace her so we just went on with it. And then I was surrounded by a swarm of fans, so I was just avoiding them."
Midorima thought it was a pretty clumsy disguise, but never voiced his opinion aloud. Kise, deciding that it would be better to be in a quieter place, signaled for them to the side of the shop they were standing next to. "So, what's your reason for wandering around here? It's not exactly a smart idea to just stand here, with this place being the crowded and humongous mall that it is."
"We're actually looking for someone." Midorima cleared his throat. "Her name is Kuroko Tetsuya. We lost her around here."
Kise seemed startled. "Kurokocchi? She's here?"
"You know each other?" Aomine frowned, though it was a rather expected response. He had already known that Kise and Kuroko had some odd sort of connection. He didn't know how he knew, though.
Looking delighted, the model replied, "Of course I know her – we're great friends! She usually visits where I work after her club is done – oh, so you guys must be her club…uh, club mates? Should've known that. But you've lost her? That's quite disastrous, especially at a gigantic mall like this…" Chattering off for a while, the blonde finally arrived at the main point.
"Did you happen to see her anywhere?" Momoi asked, and Kise went through his memories.
"No, I don't recall…I was too busy trying to deal with the fans and all, see. And Kurokocchi herself has very low presence, so even if I did go past her I might've not recognized her."
Midorima nodded – it was an understatement. Kuroko could've been wandering right in front of their eyes and they wouldn't have noticed her. However, being the colorful bunch, it was quite difficult to miss the group themselves – surely Kuroko would've noticed them if they ever passed by.
"We can always ask the mall staff." Kise suggested, "I have some connections with the manager. Maybe we can ask him if access to the security cameras are available?"
Momentarily, the group had forgotten that the blonde in front of them was a model, and therefore was socially connected with people because of his job and status. Surely, it was pretty handy at times like this. They followed Kise's lead, up the emergency staircase and into the VIP hallway where there was close to nobody at all.
"Akihiko-san?" Kise called out. "Are you in there?" He opened the door to the staff room – the manager's office. A man named Akihiko stood up from his place and grinned.
"Ah, Kise! What's the problem here now? Rare for you to visit me." Then he turned to face the teenagers behind him. "That's quite a bunch you are with. Models?"
The blonde laughed. "No. They're looking for someone, and is wondering if they can look at the security cameras."
Akihiko frowned. "Why not use something excellent called an announcement?"
"Oh, come on – it's pretty cool to use your personal screen." Kise begged, as the man just shrugged. He stuck his cigarette into his mouth and swirled around his chair, turning on the screen and projector as the many cameras were displayed. The boys scanned the screen, along with Momoi tried to locate the female.
"Is that Haizaki?" Aomine scowled, as he pointed at the gray haired male. "Wait, Tetsu is with him." The others leaned in to get a closer look. "They're near that coffee shop we just passed." Murasakibara opened the door and walked out, probably not thinking much and going to find them. No one stopped the male, as they continued to ponder on why the teal-haired female was hanging around the abrasive basketball player.
Akihiko shrugged and turned off the screen. "Not good to use this thing too much. Your tall friend already set out. Going with him or not?" The bunch glanced at one another and simply thanked the elder male and briskly headed out. The VIP hallway that Kise could use proved to be extremely helpful, as they had access to shortcuts to different floors and shops.
Murasakibara was conversing with Haizaki and Kuroko when they had arrived. As usual, the purple head contained a placid expression – seemingly unbothered of why the gray-haired male was present, or even why Kuroko was with him at all. Akashi was the first one to speak up. "Kuroko?"
The female was swept with relief to meet her group of friends again. Haizaki looked pretty displeased, but just went along with it. Wearing an 'I Love My Little Pony' shirt wasn't exactly helping him with the encounter, but Haizaki could deal with it. The redhead just continued. "We're glad you're okay, but…" He gave Haizaki a questioning look, but didn't say anything else.
"What?" Haizaki grunted. "She was lost, so I tagged along with her. Take care of your companions a little more, if you don't like her hanging around with me that much." He pushed the female towards them aggressively, his actions rather unreasonably abrasive.
A string of high tension in the air, the group just stared at Haizaki for a while as Kuroko tried to interpret the situation while looking back and forth. The female wasn't slow or imperceptive – she first put her hand on Akashi's arm, and smiled when the redhead turned to look at her. "Let's go home now. It's getting late."
Kise then whined quietly in the corner. "Kurokocchi, talk to me a little more, will you? Did you even notice me?"
The girl blinked. "Oh, hi."
"…" Kise turned away in silence. "I am ignored aren't I…I'm being ignored…"
Haizaki rolled his eyes. "I'm leaving. Have fun." Hissing the last word, the male picked up his plastic bag of magazines and departed the mall.
"Well, then. Let's go back too."
~TLTS~
It was about the end through summer break. While everyone was doing their homework, projects, and preparing for short vacations to the beach…
"SHIBUKI, WERE YOU THE ONE THAT TOLD ON TO MOM?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"SOJI –"
"I wasn't here the whole day yesterday. Couldn't have been me."
"MIYUKI, I TRUSTED YOU –"
A loud shriek echoed throughout the house. "I'm late, late, late, fucking late – Atsushi, put the pan on the stove and cook those, 'kay? And no, why the heck would I tell on mom about your one-night stands? Seriously, I can't believe that you're…" Slam! Before she could even finish her sentence, Miyuki closed the door and rushed out to see her boyfriend.
"I'm what? Then Atsushi, it must be you, right?" His index finger pointed at the tall purple head that just stared back blankly.
"I –"
"I was certain it would be you. You're mother's pet – well, no Shibuki is. But still, since you gave me all that hard time, you take over my morning and afternoon chores for the rest of the week. Geez, I couldn't go to my usual club just because of cleaning off the cake icing stained on that stupid sink. Oh, and don't forget the breakfast and all the dinner meals you need to prepare. Well, I'm leaving to meet Miwa. She's been nagging me yesterday about our unfinished session so…" He rambled on, tightening the end of his tie as he casually left the house.
Shibuki munched on some chips. "Atsushi, go get some more." Sticking out the crumb-filled bowl to Murasakibara's face, the guy didn't look away from the screen of his laptop. Casually grabbing the white and sticky bowl from his brother, Murasakibara refilled it with chips – onion and sour cream flavor. As he set it on the desk, the latter sat down.
"Another essay?"
"Nah, just a video game." Tapping on his keyboard madly, the brother grunted. Murasakibara sucked up a sharp breath and massaged his temples. Soji was whistling as he slumped down on his separate indigo couch as he watched a Korean drama.
Flipping the tap upward, Murasakibara washed the platters and pots that were lying around the sink in a giant pile. No one cleaned it up unless he did. Nobody even took care of the house, or bothered to simply sweep the floor at least once. It was always Murasakibara's job to do such tedious chores, ever since he was young.
That's right, Murasakibara Atsushi that had nothing to do did everything.
Murasakibara Toshi, the first and oldest was the messy old troublemaker – but a math and science prodigy. His aimed profession was to become an industrial engineer, and he was planning to get his Master's degree abroad, after graduating Tokyo University that he was currently attending. He had a wonderful and bright future ahead of him, and had nothing to worry, even after their parents finding out about his constant one-night stands.
Then there was Murasakibara Soji and Shibuki, aiming to be entertainers just like their parents. It was a simple task just to be acknowledged by the companies, very simply because of the fact that they were from the Murasakibara household – the family that worked as singers, entertainers, or actors for generations.
Murasakibara Miyuki was good at singing, and was planning to become an idol. She was pretty popular among her classmates and at school, and had self-confidence in what she wanted to become – and was even offered a job at a famous agency.
Then what about me? He thought, turning the tap off. He took a moment to stare at the carefree siblings he had, and just stretched his arms and went up to his room. Oh right, the pan… He looked back at the kitchen, and then noticed how quiet the house was. Momentarily pausing on the narrow steps to turn back, Murasakibara blinked very leisurely, that to others it might have looked like they were watching a clip in slow motion. Was the house always this quiet?
Then noticing how he unconsciously worded his thoughts, the purple head sighed. "I don't call it 'our' house, do I… Oh well."
Just like that, summer was ending.
"The Generation of Miracles."
A few months later, this title started to float around the sports industry. The Generation of Miracles – the basketball prodigies that all played for Teiko Junior High, the most perfect lineup ever to be made in middle school basketball history. However, there was also a rumor about the phantom sixth man, the player that was rarely mentioned, but one that had also accompanied the news of the Generation of Miracles.
'The Generation of Miracles are continuing to present their inhuman strength at national tournaments and their previous Inter High matches. There is simply no rival school that can stand against them – truly, they can be called the players close to perfect in Teiko Junior High at the moment.' The article read. Beneath featured five players – Akashi Seijuro, Midorima Shintaro, Aomine Daiki, Murasakibara Atsushi, and Haizaki Shogo. (A/N: Albeit replaced by Kise later on, Haizaki was also considered one of the GoM once.)
"Funny how they never mention Kuroko." Midorima commented, closing the magazine in his hand. He usually only purchased magazines for the reason of the extra horoscope sections at the very end, but he could only be attracted to the useless sports magazine because of the fact that there was his photo stuck right in front. The shop owner seemed bewildered, recognizing his face, but didn't say anything.
Biting a piece of the popsicle off, Aomine grumbled. "Tetsu doesn't really have any presence – or none at all, to be honest. It's no wonder she is rarely mentioned. And besides, it's not like she plays in every single match like we do."
"Kind of bothers me to have Haizaki on the lineup as well, but it was the captain's decision so it can't be helped, I suppose." Akashi mumbled disparagingly. He had never approved the arrival of Haizaki in first string, much less bring grouped under the flamboyant title with him. Kuroko didn't really seem to mind whatever she was called – she wouldn't have batted an eyebrow even if she was called the Black Senseless Passer, or if she was never mentioned at all. She was perfectly fine with the phantom sixth man.
"Well, I am sorry that you don't like me."
The gray-haired male came along, dribbling a basketball from the corner. He was chewing on a piece of pink bubblegum, blowing a large bubble that eventually popped on his face. "But really, I didn't want to be grouped on the same prodigy level as you guys." He said bitterly. "I'm not a prodigy, nor a genius. Just a fucking player that can steal moves…" He stepped in front of Akashi and leaned down to meet him eye-to-eye. "…Isn't that what you think, Mr. Point Guard?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Lifting his chin up in the very slightest, Akashi smirked. "I was simply trying to make a point that there could possibly better players out there. Better than you, that is."
"Better than me? You make me laugh." Haizaki's voice was triumphant. "I am irreplaceable, Akashi. I am a vital part for this system to work. Don't you get it? You guys don't see the problems that will occur if I leave this team. The labyrinth that will fold upon you guys will be harsh, and filled with thorns and spikes. I am essential for this lineup to function."
Murasakibara swept his bangs backward, and then glanced at Haizaki, all the while drawling out a,"That's not true." The gray-haired male frowned at the purple head. "Nothing is irreplaceable, Zaki-chin. It's a matter of whether you think you need a replacement or not. People can always be replaced, even more often that a part of a machine."
"What makes you say that?" Haizaki grunted. "I am fully aware of what will happen if I leave. You guys don't understand what Nijimura said a few months ago, do you?" The other four members of the Generation of Miracles scowled at him. Haizaki took a step forward in a belligerent manner. "To protect that girl. To stay by her side. It's because one day, you'll all abandon her."
"No, we won't." Aomine said firmly. "And you aren't necessary here."
Haizaki shrugged. "You'll see what I mean. Whether I am right or wrong, we can see then."
This was the beginning of the silent bet of the Generation of Miracles and Haizaki Shogo – a bet about who will remain at Kuroko Tetsuya's side until the very end.
"Because, I like her too."