A/N: First off, thanks for the 200+ followers and 50 reviewers.

Secondly, there seems to be a misunderstanding in terms of the pairings. This story isn't GoM x Kuroko, it's Kuroko x a yet to be known person. Which means, not all the GoM will like Kuroko in a romantic way.

Also, from hereon you'll be able to see how different I develop characters from the original anime. This means that some characters will have a whole new personality (although using their anime ones as the base) as the story goes on.

But anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 9

"I can wait for you. All you need to do is love me back."

"I love you."

Pregnant silence seemed to be filling up the vicinity. Kuroko seemed to be at loss at what to say, her eyes wide and her hand clenching the middle of her stomach. A soft breeze brushed over their heads, as a fair but awkward distance remained between the two. Aomine's face was flushed, as he slowly raised his hand up to the back of his neck.

"Ah, ah…" He grumbled, attempting to diminish the quiet atmosphere. "I'm sorry. I made this really awkward for you didn't I? Forget that I said that- yeah; we should go back, shouldn't we? Captain will shout at us if we are late for –" Aomine trudged forward, turning his back on the female, until Kuroko finally leapt towards the male and grabbed his wrist. The indigo-haired boy froze, his face still red from the confession. He didn't look back at Kuroko.

"I…" Her voice was trembling, low, and quiet. "I can't return your feelings… yet." She paused for a long time, as Aomine waited for her to continue. "If you can wait for me… then, I… I can love you back." Her heart was racing fast, faster than when she was running a few miles. Aomine turned around, only to notice the heavy blush on the girl's pale face.

Smirking, Aomine put his arm around her shoulder and wrapped her into an embrace. "I can wait." Kuroko remained silent. "Whatever your reason, I do understand I rushed a little over there. As long as you still have that small liking towards me… I can wait for as long as you desire."

Responding with a curt nod, Kuroko just clenched Aomine's shirt. The two then detached themselves from one another, as the female shyly held the latter's pinky. The ace just chuckled aloud, and then let go her hold and grasped her hand in whole. Kuroko didn't say a single thing as they went ahead.

The trees were shaking under the gust of wind that continued to blow fiercely. A small sound of grass crushing under weight echoed weakly throughout the forest, as a certain male ran three fingers through his gray hair, staring emptily at the tree trunks all around him. "Damn…" He punched the ground in defeat. "That hurts…" He was unsure whether the pain he was feeling was from his cracked knuckle that was spilling blood on the soil, or whether it was the violent throbs that was pulling on something in his chest that he didn't recognize.

"Hah…" He breathed loudly, wrapping his fingers around the wound. "This is so pathetic." He could always get a new girl. He could play with them, hang around with them; if he was lucky, and maybe get a dose of alcohol and-

Haizaki stopped thinking. It was useless. Getting a girl didn't make any difference to him – unless that girl was Kuroko Tetsuya. He didn't know what was wrong with him at all. What did he lack that Aomine possessed of? Personality? Physical ability? His passion for basketball? First impression? He didn't know. Haizaki heaved a heavy sigh as he stood up and headed back towards the meeting place.

~TLTS~

"Ryouta, get the call!"

"I'm flipping the omelet right now!"

"Tomo-chan, get it please?"

"Yes, yes…"

The Kise household was noisier than usual, despite the fact that it was a Tuesday morning – the day when all of them weren't supposed to be at home, because their dad was at work, and both sisters out with their managers for the upcoming movie they were supposed to act in. And of course, Kise setting out earlier than usual because of basketball practice.

The only reason they were still at home was because all of their alarm clocks broke down at the exact same time, resulting in mutual havoc between all the members of the house. The small area was shaking due to all the busy feet running around at the same time, Kanade tripping over her long dress wherever she went.

"I'm going to school!" Kise shouted as he literally threw his breakfast into his mouth and grabbed his bag. He could already hear some of the seniors scolding him for his indolent behavior, telling him to clean up the court after school… that's usually what happened to the two first years that were in first string. Murasakibara Atsushi and Haizaki Shogo, if Kise remembered correctly.

Slamming the gym door open, Kise panted as he put his bag down nearby the wall. "I'm sorry I'm late –"

"Kise Ryouta-kun?" A feminine voice echoed behind him, as the blonde turned on his heels, only to see Momoi Satsuki, the manager that worked for the first string. "Great, I thought you weren't going to show up until the end of practice! Actually, Coach Shirogane decided to move you up to first string, based on your excellent skills displayed during the camp… you'll have a personal instructor for the first two weeks, too." They stopped as Momoi pushed the doors.

The tense vicinity of the first string made a chill go down Kise's spine. There was quite a significant difference between the first string and second string's practice's atmosphere. "This way." The pinkette led him towards the group of Generation of Miracles – those that inspired Kise to join the basketball club. And amongst them there was a familiar face of a girl he knew, Kuroko Tetsuya.

"Kurokocchi!" He jumped and wrapped his arms amicably around the female. Kuroko smiled as she whispered a greeting in the blonde's ear. "Kurokocchi, it's been such a long time! I felt so lonely because I couldn't talk to you during the camp, you know?"

"I wanted to talk to you too." Kuroko mumbled, wiggling out from Kise's embrace as she noticed the fiery eyes of the other Miracles, except Haizaki, who was just observing the whole scene wordlessly. It was rare sight for him to be even present at the court in the morning, anyway.

Momoi waited for a while, and then started talking again. "Well, it's great that you two already know each other! Kuroko-chan will be your personal instructor, Kise-kun, so you have to listen to her, okay? If you guys are friends, then that would definitely make everything flow more easily than I predicted." Kise grinned as he looked at Kuroko. He was one of the ones to witness (at least by what Kuroko told him during her visits) Kuroko's efforts just to make it to first string.

"Kurokocchi, then can I follow you around during practice?"

The female dribbled her basketball. "Yes, if you just don't slack off."

"So mean – I don't slack off, Kurokocchi!" He whined, as the other Generation of Miracles just silently listened to the two conversing in a much friendlier manner than they would've imagined.

Midorima grunted, opening his bottle of water. "What a feisty guy. I don't like him already." Muttering under his breath, the green head walked away with Murasakibara and Akashi by his side. Aomine was already off to play with the other members.

"He's a small forward, from what I heard." Akashi commented, "The same position as Haizaki."

"Heh… do you think he would be better than Zaki-chin?"

The vice captain glanced sideways, and then closed his eyes. "I see potential. For Haizaki… his skill is something we need to acknowledge – it's just his personality I cannot accept."

"We seem to share the same perspective on that particular matter." Midorima dribbled a ball forward and threw it into the hoop nearby. "Although he seems to have loosened up, for some reason. I am assuming that it is because he has feelings for Kuroko, but I honestly can't see Haizaki and Kuroko ending up with another at this point of time."

"That's because Kuro-chin has Mine-chin." Murasakibara mumbled. "I don't know if Mine-chin actually likes Kuro-chin more than Kuro-chin does, though…"

"What are you talking about? Obviously Aomine likes Kuroko more. You can just tell by how he looks at her, how he converses with her… Love is dripping from his eyes like hot chocolate." The green head said with much exasperation as he wiped the lens of his glasses and put them back on. Murasakibara looked skeptical, his eyes furrowed, as he didn't respond. Akashi was slight anxious about how the giant was responding to the whole situation – it wasn't right. Despite the fact that Murasakibara was all about intuition, it could be quite accurate at times.

Morning practice went by fast. School was boring, with the usual lectures and different textbook pages and worksheets. However, due to Coach Shirogane insisting that Kise had to get a taste of what an actual practice game was like, Akashi was forced to arrange a match with Komagi Junior High. It was supposed to be practice game only for second string, but simply to ensure Teiko's absolute victory; Kuroko and Kise were put in as substitute members of the game.

"Komagi, 2 points! Score, 38 to 41!"

Kise bit his bottom lip. He knew his teammates from the second string. Albeit that they were supposed to be handling the match fairly well, it wasn't easy because the other team was using rough play that was a 'bit' overboard, and also that the referee wasn't exactly paying attention to it at all. "Kurokocchi, are practice games always like this?"

"No… Komagi Junior High is never put as the first string's opponents, due to the fact that they aren't fair players." The female replied, as the scoreboards changed, Komagi being in the lead by almost a 20-point gap. The second string's coach blew his whistle and asked for an exchange of members, subbing out two of the second string players and changing them with Kuroko and Kise.

"What, it's just a blondie!"

"I think I saw that guy on my sister's magazine. She is damn crazy for him."

"Is the other one over there a girl?"

Laughter erupted in the court, as Teiko players exchanged expressions of discomfort. Kise growled, but Kuroko nudged him and said, "Concentrate, Kise-kun. Our goal here today is to help you learn and gain experience from this match, after all."

"I get it, I get it." The whistle blew again, and the ball flew into the air. The center of Teiko was the one to grab it first, flying into the air and passing it to Kuroko. The female hit the ball with terrifying strength towards halfway across the court where Kise was. The blonde's eyes widened with surprise – he did hear from the seniors on first string that Kuroko's hidden potential was something to take note of, but it was first time to actually witness it in real life.

Catching that ball as he barely caught it with both hands, Kise dribbled it past three defenders and swiftly threw the ball into the basket. The pace continued just like that, Kuroko passing, and the male scoring almost every single time. It was almost as if Aomine was on court – Kise's style was attempting to be free and undefined, just like Aomine's. Maybe that was why Kuroko felt comfortable even though she had never played with the blonde before; he was just like duplicate of Aomine Daiki.

"Score, 83 to 81! It's Teiko's victory!"

Kise's legs gave in as the male sunk down to the rubbery floor. Kuroko looked pretty exhausted from the entire running session – it wasn't like she was exactly the best when it came to stamina, anyway. Her body was at its limit for the day. Getting back nearly 40 points all at once wasn't a simple task, after all. Kise, for one thing, was still considered a beginner in basketball.

"Good job today, Kise-kun. Coach Shirogane will be super proud." Kuroko beamed happily, as Kise laughed, scratching the back of his head. He was grateful that the female was praising him in such a way – he was still an amateur compared to her usual partner, Aomine, after all. He wasn't certain whether they were really partners, but everyone seemed to call them the Light and the Shadow. The Light was Aomine, and the Shadow was Kuroko; although, to Kise it seemed like the exact opposite.

When they got back to school, it was already pretty dark. Aomine and Murasakibara were waiting in front of the school gates, Aomine waving his hand as he saw Kuroko. The girl quickened her pace a little when she caught sight of this, and then soon Aomine wrapped one arm around her neck. Kise clucked his tongue, as he took his time. I see what kind of relationship they have. "What's going on?"

"Mine-chin insisted that we needed to celebrate the fact that Kise-kun moved to first string." Murasakibara grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular. "I just wanted to go home with Aka-chin. He even offered a ride."

Aomine elbowed Murasakibara. "Don't be like that. Say, what about we have a party or something?"

"At this time of the day?" Kise glanced at his watch.

"The more the merrier, isn't it?" Kuroko nodded, as they all started walking.

"So…" Kise twitched. "What's this?"

"What do you mean, what's this?" Aomine slurped. "It's ice cream."

"A party at a convenience store? Nothing is making any sense here –"

"It's cheap. It's convenient. They have food. Why not?" Murasakibara scowled, as if he found it unfathomable of why Kise was having such a difficult time that they were partying at a convenience store. Not to mention, that he wasn't even willing to party in the first place.

Kise sighed. "And you're even buying it with my money."

"You're a model. You should earn a lot." The indigo-haired male shrugged, and Kise winced. Very well, his pay did increase, but that didn't mean they were done paying back the debt. They still had a few million yen remaining to pay back, which was precisely the reason why Kise felt so drained from spending his precious money on ice cream that he didn't find necessary.

"That's a foolish thing to say, Aomine." Midorima appeared from behind, as Kise jumped and freaked out. "You should pay him back later."

"Why are you here, anyway?" Kise grunted, as Midorima held up a small cat figurine.

"I came to purchase my lucky item for the month."

When Kise turned back, Murasakibara was coming out with another box of snacks, and with Momoi musing over the fact that Kuroko had given her an ice cream stick with the "Chosen" symbol on it – saying that she will cherish it. The blonde sighed, and then stared at the friendly atmosphere. Kise never really had friends in his life. Could he call everyone here his friends? He bit the tip of his ice cream off and munched on it.

Oh well.

"Shogo, you fucking left my magazine in the closet, didn't you?"

"You should thank me for putting that thing in the closet – or else mom would've found out."

The agitated former swung the closet open and tossed out all the pieces of clothing (that weren't his, as a matter of fact) and tucked his gravure magazine into his arms and plopped down on the bed. Haizaki Shogo grunted, but reluctantly made space for his brother to fit. His brother, Hasaya, had a separate room, but he always came over to Haizaki's because his room was way too messy.

Hasaya munched on a chocolate chip cookie, the crumbs spilling all over the sheets. "Shogo, aren't you going to get a new girlfriend?" Choking on the air, Haizaki coughed as he ripped the bed sheets out and threw out the crumbs on the floor.

"I am getting a- a what?"

Hasaya scratched his dark, ash-gray hair. "You know," He turned on the television and switched the channel to a random comedy show. "You always used to talk about having these hot chicks as your girlfriends… big boobs, nice hips, thin legs… but for the past year, you haven't been saying anything of the sort."

Haizaki remained silent at the commentary. Coming to think about it, he had never realized the fact that he had been more distant from the topic of girls from his brother. The only time the two ever got along was when they were conversing about hot models, or when they were reading a gravure magazine together. Of course, Haizaki still bought the magazines and everything, but he wasn't as interested as he used to be.

"Well?" Hasaya inquired. "Found a new girl?"

The fleeting image of Kuroko Tetsuya flashed across his trail of thoughts, as well as the awkward night at the camp, and the other personal times of the male himself drowning in the haze of the female. But then the scene of the windy night kept on replaying painfully at the same time, his head going blank as a sandstorm swept through to forcefully erase everything.

"I can't return your feelings… yet."

Haizaki looked up at the ceiling and groaned. "No."

"No, my ass." Hasaya rolled his eyes and snorted. "Well, I can't force you." He stood up and exited the room, and Haizaki assumed that he was going out to meet his friends. The male took a cautious glance at the clock that was hanging in a rather odd fashion on the wall. It was seven in the afternoon – not that late. He grabbed his indigo sweater and changed into his khaki shorts that came to his knees.

When he went down the stairs, his mom was in the kitchen, cutting up some cabbages for whatever reason. "Shogo, where are you going?"

"Just going out a for a walk."

She frowned, puzzled. "A walk? Since when were you such a civilized lad, huh?"

"I need to cool off, okay?" Haizaki rubbed the back of his neck furiously in frustration. "And just because I get Cs and Ds on my report card doesn't mean I'm uncivilized."

His mom rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips. "So you finally realized that your head wasn't attached to your neck. Do what you want, but come back before nine, got it? And also, did you tell Hasaya to clean up his room? That lad's room is so disorganized, that I'd be so worried if he brings a girlfriend for the night and they won't have enough space on the bed to do stuff."

"Out of all things you can worry about a messy room, you are worrying over that? Jesus Christ, mom." Haizaki pulled his sneakers on and departed the house. It was still around May – the weather was cool at night for a mere walk. The male could consider all the options he had at that moment – call up a random high school girl he knew and hang out, or go to the convenience store and just hang around and read gravure magazines.

I guess I will literally just have to walk around for a while… He grumbled, and set out towards the busy streets. Businessmen in their suits, and teenagers with their own little groupies were hanging around the intersections. The male unconsciously wondered if the Generation of Miracles hung around like this during their free time, after practice. Then he realized how stupid he was – I'm a part of the Generation of Miracles. What am I talking about?

A certain blonde male whooshed before his eyes. Kise Ryouta – running for the same position as Haizaki was on the team, and aiming to be on starting lineup as well. It would be a matter of time before he caught up with Haizaki's skill level, and eventually surpass him. The gray-haired male knew that from the deepest pits of his darkness; that he merely look like a pawn on the board, compared to Kise who'll be the shining knight of Teiko.

He was going to be replaced.

Haizaki chuckled in exasperation. If it was him a year ago, he would be fuming in pride and anger, muttering things like Kise would take more than a hundred years to ever catch up to his level, and that he was far more talented than the blonde… anything that was in the boundary of something like that. It fucking sucked, but Haizaki knew the truth. In everything that he would commit himself to in life, it would be taken away by someone else. It was just everything that he lacked that allowed him to be defeated so easily.

In terms of studying, there would always be a few billion people better than him. Sports was the probably the only category of the possibilities he was successful at, and even that one achievement, will be replaced with someone else. He didn't even know what he wanted to do in the future – his brother, Hasaya, would inherit his father's small company, unless he decided to do something else; unlike Haizaki, the older was actually intelligent. He received accolades from competitions that recognized his ability.

Even in terms of love, Haizaki had no place to stand.

I have to forget her. He blankly thought. It was simply comical for a guy like me to like such a bland girl like her. I would even go as far to say that she is too much for me. Someone like her deserves a guy that would treat her better, will be able to express their feelings, and care… Haizaki Shogo couldn't do anything to Kuroko Tetsuya, compared to Aomine Daiki.

He was her Light, and she was his Light, too. No Shadow existed between the two of them.

Lost in his trail of thoughts, Haizaki crossed the road with an empty look. He looked at his watch – it was around eight. He never realized that he had been just walking around for an hour. "I should return home…" Clucking his tongue, Haizaki noticed that he had strayed pretty far from his house. Putting his hands in his pockets, the male quickened his pace and went back, the only idea of having to forget the female stuck in his head.

"… Haizaki?"

The said male froze as his name echoed repeatedly in the dark. He recognized that gruff, uninterested voice – pretty similar to his own, if he had to say – but slightly more tenacious and wild. Haizaki turned on his heels with his plastered with the usual scowl. There he was, Aomine Daiki, a basketball firmly held between his sides and arm. "Hey, Daiki."

"What're you doing over here?" The tanned male was obviously not fond of his existence – but Haizaki didn't exactly like the latter, either.

"I live around here. What, never saw a Teiko student strolling around the area?"

Aomine shrugged, and then eyed the male for a while. "You were putting on a pretty serious expression there before. Are you finally concerned about what'll happen to your future?"

"Oh, fuck – sure I am." Haizaki laughed, trying his best to conceal his nervousness. "You look pretty tense yourself. I know you hate me, but you don't need to be so… public about it, you know? You're hurting my feelings."

"That's good, because then I am achieving my goal for the day." Aomine smirked, and there was deathly silence between the two males for a while. "Say, are you still… do you feel the same way about Tetsu?"

Of course I do, you bastard. Haizaki's inner self bashed, but the male just twitched a little and gave the latter a small, bitter grin. "I have no idea of what you're talking about. I got a new chick long ago. It was a transient liking – I'm not up to anything that's one-sided, anyway."

Aomine seemed dubious about the grand statement he made, but eventually relaxed his tense shoulders. "Well, good. Less competition for me."

The two didn't even bid farewell to one another and went their own separate ways. Haizaki walked in silence, and stared up at the night sky. There were no stars – everything was a gray haze.

"I can freaking wait too, you know." He muttered distastefully, as if waiting for a response longingly.

Of course, no one did.