My first time with this pair, I'm kinda excited. Don't know how long it's gonna be, we shall see. In the meantime, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do now own Kuroko No Basuke or any of the characters.

XXXX

He watched the red-stripped ball pass through the grey net, mentally cheering and clenching his fist in triumph for his score. Ever since the previous week, he had been practicing his three-pointers outside the main practice non-stop. Why? Well, because he had this dream about the old days and matches with that bastard Midorima, whose miraculous three-pointers and know-it-all attitude pissed him all the way off, so bad that he had to let off some steam.

The ball bounced a couple of times after it landed on the basketball court, however, the russet eyes were staring up at the cloudless sky. Ah, the past... Taiga wouldn't change one thing from it, because whatever happened back then, every single person he came to know or fight against, made him who he was. From the Coach, Captain and all the sempais, to his opponents, stronger or weaker than him. Especially his best friend, Kuroko Tetsuya.

Taiga had never told the short blunet how important he really was, but for some reason, he was certain the sneaky bastard knew it. Kuroko always knew. He could read people better than these people knew themselves. That was certainly a very good thing for basketball games - after all, Kuroko just being Kuroko and doing these sick passes was insane, plus, it had won them many matches - a tad annoying in real life, but it certainly helped him learn more about himself.

He missed his comrade. Fuck, he missed all of his comrades, even the Coach, Aida Riko, the crazy bitch. But life was life and after they all graduated, they had to go their separate ways. Kuroko stayed in Japan to become a writer while Kagami went back to America, pursuing basketball professionally. They stayed in touch, e-mails, short phone calls but that was all. Besides, none of them were very emotional or showed their true feelings, so it was fine the way it was.

As for his future career; okay, did you really expect something else? What else would he do? He wasn't a smart brainer, he wasn't interested in anything else whatsoever, so the only choice he had was to be what he had always wanted to be; the best basketball player.

Hey, don't hate the dreamer, hate the dream. That had been Taiga's dream since he could remember himself. As a matter of fact, he had earned himself a scholarship in a sports academy and was currently working his way to the top, playing in matches, hoping for a bunch of interesting proposals someday.

Don't get him wrong, making a living wasn't really the first thing in his is mind; so far, he just wanted to play. He wanted to play with stronger people. He wanted the thrill, the doubt for the win, the chance of having the trophy stolen away, just like he had experienced when Seirin lost from Touou.

An amused chuckle left his lips, his long fingers ruffling his fiery hair. Of all the Generation of Miracles, his greatest rival, his favorite one to play against had to be Aomine. Aomine Daiki. The Ace. Taiga had fought against all of them, Midorima, Kise, Akashi, Murasakibara and he respected them all to the fullest but Aomine... Aomine was above them. He was at a whole other level.

Playing with Aomine was like... having sex. It was primal; rough; tiring; exhausting; exhilarating... The list could go on but you get the point, right?

"Damn," he cussed under his breath, making his way to the neglected basket ball. He hadn't met someone quite like Aomine in America, and he had played in countless matches. Yes, there were a heap of talented people here and there, people that made his life difficult during games, yet Aomine was still better than all of them. Well, the sensation Taiga remembered from playing with the man was entirely different.

He grasped the ball with both hands and stared at it intensely, as if it held all the answers to his problems. No, he wouldn't go back to Japan. Not yet anyway. Why? He was fucking broke, that was why. University students were always broke, why would he be an exception? Yes, his dad was a rich ass mofo but he had promised he wouldn't give Taiga a dime, unless it was of a vital necessity.

"You have to work my son," the tall redhead had said sternly, "Nobody's life is supposed to be easy, why should yours be?"

Thanks old man, Taiga thought acidly, dragging his feet back to his dorm. Well, he shouldn't be complaining though; he had a small job at a gym, from which he earned all the money he needed, especially for food, since his friends from the team never treated him because of his superhuman appetite. What? He couldn't help it. He loved food and he was kinda greedy too. Worst combination, but old habits die hard.

The sweaty clothes were off and in the laundry bag as soon as he was inside the small room, his final destination being the shower. It was pretty convenient to have his own room and not share with other weirdos. Taiga didn't like sharing his personal space very much; he wasn't picky or prissy, he just preferred having shit roll his own way. Hey, no hard feelings here please. He didn't have time for drama.

While lathered his hair with a random shampoo he had bought one day in a hurry, Taiga's mind kept on reminiscing. About his match with Kise, with Midorima and Akashi... Fuck, even Murasakibara. Where were these people after all these three years? The redhead had received a bunch of mails from the ever popular Kise Ryouta, who had moved on with his modeling career, but the others... Well, Midorima pissed him off and Akashi was... Akashi. About Murasakibara, he heard every once in a while from Tatsuya, who by the way had chose the same field and joined the same university too. They were on the same team too.

Well, with Tatsuya, things had gotten back to normal. Kinda. The brunet was still jealous of his talent, although he didn't show it, yet he tried hard to improve and challenged Taiga for matches, just like the old days. It was fun. Considering how very few friends Taiga had outside his team, Tatsuya had to be his best buddy.

Watching the white foam disappear as it reached the drain, Kagami's thoughts strayed back to his rival. What was Aomine doing? Did he still play basketball? Was he taking shit professionally?

There was a reason for these questions to start jumping off his head all of a sudden; the two of them had met the night before Taiga's departure to America. Aomine had texted him that he wanted a final match and of course, the redhead went running. They played for hours, they played until none of them could stand. Aomine won of course. He always won in one-on-one battles.

"What you plan on doing from now on?", Kagami had asked after a long while of silence. They laid down on their backs, side-by-side and staring at the night sky, trying to catch their breaths.

Aomine didn't reply right away. He never replied to the questions he didn't know the answer and even though Taiga knew that, it still pissed him off. "C'mon man," he snapped, "Don'chu have dreams, for fuck's sake?"

"Dreams?", the blunet drawled with that gruff voice of his, "Hmm, I don't think I have those."

That was a shocking revelation for Taiga. He had always thought Aomine having the same dreams with him, aka becoming a pro. "Don't you wanna play basketball for the rest of your life?"

The blue-haired man sighed and sat up, shaking his head. "It's not like that," he said quietly, "I will keep playing but not as a pro. I don't like that. For me, professionalism kills the sport."

Taiga was utterly confused, so it came out like he was pissed off. "Huh? Are you stupid?!", he asked, sitting up to look at his rival, "It's basketball! It doesn't die!"

Aomine craned his neck and russet met deep blue. His face was slack, as if bored but there was an intense glint shining in those depths but Taiga couldn't really identify what it was. Worry? Anger? Longing? What?

Ah, Aomine was always so unreadable when it came to things outside basketball. In Taiga's memory, the blunet had muttered something like "Good luck with your studies," and then stood up and left. The redhead stayed there, frozen, staring at the broad, retreating back in confusion. What the hell?

It still bugged him. It still annoyed the fuck out of him. Taiga didn't want them to part like this. Okay, he hadn't expected something like an overdramatic confession of emotions, or "Boys power! Yay!", let alone exchanging bracelets of friendship but...

Taiga shook his head as he stepped out of the shower. What did I expect?, he mused as he covered his body with a towel. Aomine was always like that; a mystery.

But why was he thinking about the man to begin with? Okay, he looked up to him but he didn't have a crush on him or anything... Well, that was partially a lie. He admired Aomine as a player yet he had always found him somewhat... Attractive. Like, c'mon; 6"3 tall, blue hair, matching blue eyes, dark, smooth skin, all muscle. Not disgusting, steroid-like muscle but everything on that gorgeous body was defined. Once, Kagami had seen Aomine shirtless, he had stood there, staring like a pervert but to this day, he still didn't feel bad at all.

He looked at his own body in the mirror, his pecs, the six - almost eight - pack, the Adonis lines and everything and sighed. Yes, he looked damn good and he knew it. But Aomine was still better. He had a different allure... And that long neck of his. Fuck, that neck did strange things to Taiga. Not that he was a homo or something because he had fucked around with a bunch of girls and he liked it, so... Well, so he figured initially but the more he listened to his thoughts, the more worried he became.

But it was okay even if he was gay. Or at least bi. He was in America, not Japan so that kind of shit was more tolerated.

Anyway, that was the past and he wouldn't see Aomine unless he went back to Japan, something that was out of his plans for the next three years. He had some work to do here, get himself in a nice team after he graduated, maybe get signed by NBA but that was top challenge, and then he would to back. To see his friends basically, maybe Kise too who had been pestering his ass non-stop to come back for a sentimental reunion with the other Generation of Miracles and Kurokocchi.

Nope. That wasn't something he looked forward to. These people made Kagami's head explode.

They all had their own version of insanity. But they were good people... Kinda... In a twisted and very peculiar way, deep-deep inside of them...

Aomine was the most normal out of the bunch, though. Okay, he had his severe case of Ore-sama syndrome every once in a while, but he was a good kid. He had a kind soul deep inside, a soul that cared for Kuroko, for that pink-haired girl that followed him around and had a strange crush on Kuroko, even for the rest of the noisy bunch... Why was he thinking about Aomine again?

Taiga frowned to himself as he put on his clothes. There was another matter he should worry about, not Aomine.

He had received an urgent call from his coach, the tall, imposing brunet with the heavy German accent, who answered to the name Garreth. The man had barked a few orders about Kagami's extra with protein diet, then growled at the redhead to meet him at his office.

What did he want?, Kagami wondered to himself while he out on some clean clothes.

Five minutes later, Taiga was on the road. The campus was big but he had been there the past two-three years so he was accustomed to it. Coach's office wasn't too hard to find either, therefore he was in the area soon. Just as he had expected, Coach was seated on his desk, reading a huge pile of papers, his curly hair all over the place, his stubble grown.

"Coach," Taiga cleared his throat, "You asked to see me?"

"Hn," the other grunted, not lifting his head off the papers. Taiga waited a few moments, moments that soon turned to minutes of silence as he waited for the brass man to speak. Before these minutes turned into hours though, the redhead dared to disturb the short-tempered man once more.

"Coach," he spoke again, "Why did you call me here?"

The raven head with the curly hair snapped up and Taiga nearly choked on his saliva at the death glare he received. Albeit Coach Garreth wasn't as scary as Coach Aida, he had this piercing black eyes that could kill a person, if looks alone could kill.

"Tiger," he barked Taiga's nickname, "Don't get ahead o'yerself."

The redhead swallowed nervously. "Sorry."

"Anyway," the brunet grunted again, his eyes back on the printed paper before him, "News to ya; you stayin' with another person. Your dorm."

"What?!", the redhead exclaimed in shock. What the hell was that supposed to mean? And he hadn't heard anything about it either! Was Coach playin with him? "Since when?!"

The brunet sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Since now," he said in exasperation and stood up from his chair, walking around the desk just to tap Taiga friendly at the shoulder. "Ya better show him around and shit like that. He's a newbie here."

Taiga was confused. "Is he joining the basketball team?", he asked.

Coach nodded and squeezed the redhead's shoulder before he let it go. "Yup. He's a talent I've never seen before. Our scout had been pestering him for two years now and finally he said yes."

"Is he from around here?", Kagami dared to ask. The taller man shook his head.

"No," he grunted, "He's from Japan." At the widening of Taiga's eyes, the brunet continued, "You know the language right? S'why I put him wit'chu."

There was a small nudge at the back of Kagami's head, a very, very ominous alert. A talent Coach had never seen before? Trying to recruit two years now? He swallowed, his stomach twirling in the discomfort of this dark premonition he had.

"May I ask," he croaked and cleared his throat, "May I ask what's his name?"

The coach pursed his lips to a thin line, tapping his chin in consideration. "Uuh," he rumbled with his deep voice, "I ain't good with Japanese names... But I think he listens to something like..."

Like? Like what? Taiga was about to shit himself from the anticipation. "Oh," the brunet exclaimed with no interest after a while, meeting Taiga's eyes all over again and the redhead knew that his life, as he was used to it by now, was going to change.

"Aomine Daiki."

Yup. Hello change.

XXXX

Thanks for reading,

Queen.