Hello everyone! I'm back again, this time with a short chapter! I hope you're all doing well!

Thanks to Althea Ricks Sorilla (Thank you! And I am continuing this story, don't worry!), irislxi (Thank you so much! I hope all the other Miracles have that same feeling to you!) and LetTheWorldHonorTheFallen (I'm glad you enjoyed! And just to answer here, the mother hen of the GoM is definitely Akashi from all the information we canonly have about him, haha.) for reviewing, all 27 followers, 22 favorites and 1,301 readers!

Like I said before, this chapter is short, cause it's a Seirin focused episode and I cut all that stuff out. Almost skipped it entirely, but then we got THAT scene at the end. You'll know it when you see it. I had fun writing that scene.

Anyways, please enjoy!

Chapter 6: Don't Underestimate Us

The next day following the practice game with Kaijo, Kuroko found himself utterly and completely exhausted. He was grateful he hadn't gotten sick this time (going against the other Miracles in middle school always ended with Kuroko throwing up as Kise and Momoi tended to him), but the exhaustion was an old familiar friend. Even the soreness in his hands and arms (unfamiliar as a three-on-three game could never cause this much soreness, not when he had other Miracles supporting him and the games were never serious) was a gentle reminder of what he had done, of who he had faced.

Of course, it also helped that now that his bond with Kise had reforged, he could feel Kise's emotions at all times, and the copycat's determination and excitement for Inter-High (to play Kuroko again and face the other Miracles as well) was a warm glow within his mind, like a nightlight on a dark night.

But, of course, he couldn't fully recuperate that easily. He'd probably be extremely tired for quite some time, and sore for some days, but there was no time to take a break.

Especially not when Riko decided the first years had to buy some limited special bread from the cafeteria. That had seemed like a nightmare, though actually easy for Kuroko to accomplish, and the bread had been good, but why it was so important to inspire such a crowd was beyond Kuroko. But Kuroko did it, cause even just mentioning a triple in training gave him flashbacks to Akashi's demon smile (nobody ever forgets Akashi's demon smile...it haunts you for years. Momoi had once told Kuroko that Aomine still suffered occasional nightmares of that smile). Their regular training was perfectly fine with Kuroko, thank you.

And then, after that, they began training for the preliminaries for Inter-High.

Their first opponent, Shinkyo Academy, had a foreign exchange student, whom Kuroko had nicknamed "Dad", that caused everyone in Seirin, but Kuroko to worry. He was, after all, 2 meters tall. Though he was still shorter than Murasakibara, meaning Kuroko wasn't scared of him at all, that didn't mean he wouldn't be a difficult opponent.

But Kuroko had played against Murasakibara before in three-on-three games and he'd won those with Aomine and Kise at his side. Not even Akashi helped Midorima and Murasakibara win. So if Kuroko had to carry Seirin through this game to win, then he would. He'd be the perfect shadow and they would win, he'd make sure of it.

He owed Midorima a match, after all, and he couldn't disappoint the sharpshooter.

When the day of the game arrived, after Dad finally showed up, the captain of Shinkyo spoke to Hyuuga as he collected the ball he lost.

"By the way, did you guys really beat Kaijo?" The captain questioned.

"It was just a practice game." Hyuuga deflected.

"I see. I guess the Generation of Miracles isn't as strong as we thought." The captain smirked.

Kuroko's hands tightened almost imperceptibly on the ball in his hands. He could feel Kise's confusion, probably wondering just why he was angry, but Kuroko couldn't reassure his soulmate right now. (At that moment, he was grateful his five other bonds were blocked...he didn't want to know how the others would react to his anger. They'd either be extremely concerned, which would eventually lead to them being angry at whoever pissed off Kuroko, or they'd be smug as hell, knowing anyone who pissed off Kuroko always, always regretted it in the end).

"The Generation of Miracles lost?" Dad asked. "They brought me here to beat them. I'm disappointed they're so weak."

Kuroko's anger was boiling under his skin then as Dad walked away from his captain and Hyuuga. Nobody talked about the Generation of Miracles like that, nobody. They were undefeated, they were monsters, they were Miracles. And they would lose to nobody, but each other. Nobody. And this foreign exchange nobody had the audacity to speak like that? He had no idea who he was messing with, and Kuroko would make sure he knew that well.

Kise's concern suddenly shifted to understanding and then pride and amusement. Kuroko had no doubt the copycat was laughing wherever he was, probably at practice meaning he was probably going to get kicked if he was distracted.

But it also gave Kuroko a feeling of validation and he was even more confident in his actions.

Miracles were the highest level of all basketball players in Japan. They were not to be underestimated. They did not lose.

Purposefully, Kuroko stepped into Dad's path. For a moment, the foreign exchange nobody didn't spot him. Not until he looked down...and picked Kuroko up under his arms.

"No, little boy. Children shouldn't be on the court." Dad said, no doubt thinking his voice was kind and gentle. But to Kuroko, it was patronizing and mocking. Luckily for Dad, before Kuroko could speak, a breeze lifted his shirt, revealing his jersey. "You're a player?"

Finally, Dad put Kuroko back down. Kuroko remained silent, his anger stewing under his skin and burning brightly in his heart.

He could practically hear Kise cheering him on mentally.

And, compared to Kise, this game would not be as difficult. After all, Dad was not a Miracle. He may be tall, but he could not compare to even one of them, to even Kuroko.

The Generation of Miracles do not lose. You shall soon see the strength of even just one. And you will never forget it, I will make sure of it.

"They lost to a child like him?" Dad scoffed as he walked away. "Are all the Generation of Miracles children?"

You are very lucky, Dad, that I am your opponent and not Akashi-kun. Kuroko thought. Akashi would absolutely destroy Dad and Kuroko couldn't say that Dad would've come out the other side alright.

Of course, Dad most certainly deserved it, but Kuroko was not in the habit of wishing harm on people.

Not even his own team, who were currently collapsed on the gym floor, they were laughing so hard at Kuroko's misfortune of being picked up.

"Honestly, I'm starting to get annoyed." Kuroko stated, perfectly picturing Kise and Aomine yelling "understatement!" as he spoke. If they had been there...he missed them, even with Kise returned to where he belonged.

"You don't like to lose, do you?" Kagami asked as the rest of Seirin straightened up, obviously thrown by Kuroko's uncharacteristic anger (not uncharacteristic at all, but none of them knew him well enough yet to know just what triggered Kuroko's anger yet).

Was it not obvious considering the middle school I attended and the team I am part of, Kagami-kun? Kuroko thought, feeling slightly exasperated. He was not allowed to lose, why would he like it?

"I guess we'd better show Dad why he shouldn't piss off kids." Kagami grinned as they all removed their shirt, revealing their jerseys.

And the first quarter began exactly as Kuroko predicted it would.

Shinkyo seemed to rely entirely on Dad for offense and defense, meaning that Kagami's training with Mitobe was paying off exceptionally well, allowing Seirin to throw Dad's aim off, almost completely shutting down his offense.

But then...then came the moment where Kuroko got to be the one to shock Dad, to show him just how much he underestimated a Miracle.

As soon as Kagami passed Dad, Kuroko was in front of him, right as Izuki passed the ball.

Kuroko could see the happiness in Dad's expression as the ball seemingly headed straight towards him. And that made the moment Kuroko suddenly appeared and passed the ball out of his reach and to Kagami all the sweeter. Shocking an opponent had never felt so good as when they had doubted Kuroko and his other pieces.

"This kid might give you some trouble." Kagami proudly declared as he descended back to the ground.

"Could you please stop calling me a child?" Kuroko requested. He did not want to be forced to continuously punish Kagami if he continued to not listen.

But still...this game was only just beginning. And Dad would come out of it regretting talking down about the Generation of Miracles, as well as their phantom sixth man.

Kuroko would make certain of it.

And there we are! That scene at the end was very fun to write simply because the narrative NEVER shows Kuroko's POV in canon. We never hear his thoughts and the closest we get is him telling the Teiko flashback. So exploring just how protective I imagine Kuroko to be over the GoM, especially when ignorant people like 'Dad' talk about them like this.

Plus I also accept the head canon that every member of the GoM would cut a bitch if any of their members were threatened, including Kuroko and Momoi. Honestly, Haizaki got off easy with just Aomine punching him. I have no doubt Akashi would cut him and ruin his life at the same time while the rest of the GoM quietly plan to completely destroy him and Aomine continues to beat him up. Murasakibara would happily crush him.

ANYWAY! Tangent over, sorry. In any case, the upcoming chapters, similar to this one, will feature mentions of Kise through his bond with Kuroko even if he's not in the episode and eventually we'll get new POVs as we add Miracles in. Cause gotta show this relationship being equal on all fronts.

I don't know when I'll update next, but I'll keep working! It took two nights for me to be able to post this, so as soon as I can work it shouldn't take long. Let me know what you think! Bye!