Hello Everyone! This is my very first time posting a fanfic. I've written a lot, but I've never really posted one before, so I'm a little nervous. The only person that has read this story, is my good friend, who's also my beta reader. I would like to thank you once again for your help! And to anyone who picks up this fic, I hope you'll enjoy it. I really enjoy writing it. It promises to be a long one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. It belongs to Tadoshi Fujimaki. This work is purely fan made. I do own my OC's.

This is a list of Japanese words I use in this chapter, along with the translation.

Domo: Hello
Sumimasen: Excuse me
Ite-e: Ow/ouch
Nani sore: What's that
Betsu ni: Nothing
Suman: 'scuse me
Otsukaresama deshita: Thank you for your hard work
Teme: You (in a very rude way)
Senpai/sempai: upperclassman, senior, or someone of a higher age
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu: Nice to meet you
Yakuza: Japanese mafia
Sensei: Teacher/doctor
Daho: Idiot
Kantoku: Coach
Baka: Idiot

Chapter 1

'This year's rookies could be awesome'

.

Club presentation. A morning full of bustle and chaos. Full of first year students being yanked left and right. A morning that would not be forgotten very soon.

Moving through the crowd while passing out flyers, the members of a certain basketball team, that had gotten pretty famous since its Winter Cup victory last year, were trying their hardest to get new recruits.

"Basketball club! Would you like to join?!" one of its members yelled. A boy, who seemed to have an uncanny resemblance to a cat.

"Join and win a fruit basket!"

"Izuki, that's seriously the lamest joke you've ever made," the cat boy remarked to his friend, a good-looking boy, with short, straight, black hair.

"You're right. Must be getting out of form."

When were you ever in form? the cat boy, Koganei Shinji, thought almost out loud. He sighed, then decided to focus his attention on his other friend. "Mitobe, make sure they hear you this year!" he said to his silent teammate, who only nodded and continued passing out flyers without making a sound. Koganei sighed again. Work had proven to be quite tiresome for him. Little did he knew, it was only getting started.

"Excuse me? Are you from the basketball club?"

"Yes! I am," Koganei said while turning around. He immediately came to face someone's chest. He had to tilt his head backwards to look the person in the eye. Koganei gulped. The boy was literally towering over him.

Elsewhere, at one of the presentation booths, Aida Riko let out a deep sigh. The 18-year-old female coach of Seirin's basketball team was having a bit of trouble containing her growing frustrations.

"Thank you for coming. We'll let you know," she said, with a fake smile, to the tenth girl who came dropping of a manager form. "What is up with all these girls?!" she yelled, once the last one was out of sight. "We've seen more girls volunteering to be manager than actual recruits!"

Frustrated, she started ruffling her short, brown hair, making it almost as messy as a certain someone's bed head. Though her neighbor had to admit, it actually looked kind of cute. Of course he would never say so out loud. Thus, he acted without any indication of these thoughts. Getting irritated himself was probably the best action to take. So being the diligent captain that he was, Hyuuga Junpei, acted befitting to the situation.

"What the hell are Koga and the others doing?" he asked to no one in particular.

"It is probably because of Kagami-kun," a voice unexpectedly said.

"Kyaaaaaaa!" Riko nearly had a heart attack.

"Kuroko?" Hyuuga asked, still clutching his chest. I'll never get used to this.

"Domo," the boy, with light blue hair and sky blue eyes, said in his familiar monotone voice. It seemed like he'd appeared out of nowhere. But Riko and Hyuuga knew, he'd probably been standing beside them for quite a while.

"What are you doing here? Weren't you with Kagami-kun recruiting new members?" Riko asked.

"Did something happen?" Hyuuga inquired further.

"Well..." Kuroko started.

.

"Would you like to join the basketball club?"

Silence.

"Sumimasen, are you interested in joining the ba-"

Already disappeared.

It was like he was talking to thin air. But giving up was no option for Kuroko Tetsuya.

"Pardon me, I'm from the-"

. . .

Kuroko could practically hear Kagami's vein pop.

"Kuroko! If you can only be useless, then just go back to the booth!"

.

"... That's what happened."

"Why am I not surprised," Hyuuga said, shaking his head.

Riko sighed. "Oh," she then suddenly said, as if she remembered something. "By the way, Kuroko-kun. What did you mean by: 'It's probably because of Kagami-kun'?"

"Have you not heard? Ever since we won the Winter Cup, Kagami-kun has become very popular."

Riko sighed again.

"Why am I not surprised," Hyuuga commented for a second time. "Lucky bastard."

Whack!

"Ite-e! Nani sore Riko?!" Hyuuga asked while rubbing the back of his head. Apparently, Riko found it appropriate to whack Hyuuga on the head with her paper fan.

"Betsu ni," she answered, looking innocent.

Kuroko couldn't help but smile. Riko had been showing her jealous side often lately. Unfortunately, Hyuuga had no idea why.

"Still, I do hope Kagami-kun will bring some potential players, not just potential managers," Riko grumbled.

.

Somewhere inside the crowd of students, a loud sneeze echoed, followed by a quick and somewhat gruff 'suman'. A certain tall redhead, who had just been the topic of conversation, couldn't help grumbling as well. He was having a little bit of trouble finding new members. He literally scared away the last girl that came up to him. Dammit! What the hell's going on?! Since when did we become a girls basketball team huh?!

"Sumimasen?"

"What?!" Kagami yelled at the person who had tapped him on the shoulder. But when he turned around, he was surprised to see it was a boy.

Kagami noticed right away, this guy was the real deal. He was tall, about the same height as himself. Had a muscular build. But what stood out the most was his strong aura. This kid's strong. I can smell it. Though at the moment, he was staring at Kagami as if he'd gone wacky.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes! Of course I am. Sorry about that." He ran a hand through his hair, still feeling a little awkward. "You want to join the basketball club?" Please tell me you do? Please tell me you do?!

"That's right."

.

Meanwhile, everything went better at the booth. There were still lots of girls coming by to ask if they needed managers. But there were just as many boys wanting to join the team. The fact that Seirin gained so much fame through the Winter Cup, had really borne fruit.

"I think we have about... 18, 19, 20, 21 recruits now," Hyuuga said while counting the forms.

"That's a good amount. Things are going well," Riko responded. "Though I do hope the others will bring some promising one-"

"I brought back a new student," Koganei said in tears, while someone carried him with one arm, as if he were a sack of rice.

Brought back? Isn't it the other way around?! Wait a sec, why do I get the feeling this has happened before? Riko thought.

"Sumimasen. Are you with the basketball club?"

Riko and Hyuuga both looked up and became utterly speechless. The guy was huge, about two meters tall. And he had, to put it bluntly, the face of a thug. He had such an intimidating presence, it took Riko a while before she could answer. "Yyeah."

"I would like to join the club, if I may," the giant boy said while releasing Koganei, who immediately scurried away, to hide behind Hyuuga. The boy seemed a tad bit embarrassed by that, as if he only just realized he had carried Koganei all the way to the booth.

But, despite looking like a delinquent, he didn't seem to behave like one. The only one, who still appeared to be really scared, was Koganei. The huge boy wrote down his name and reason for joining. When he'd finished he stood up. Then gave a smile, that would probably scare away even the toughest of thugs. "Thank you for your time."

Riko gulped.

"Ssure," Hyuuga replied nervously. "Thank you for coming."

The boy nodded. Then, once more, gave a terrifying smile before he left. When he was out of sight, everyone could breathe again.

"He looks strong," a forgotten voice suddenly said.

Riko, Hyuuga and Koganei instantly jolted at the unexpected comment of someone they'd forgotten was still there. "Kuroko. I forgot. You're still here."

Right at that moment, Kagami came stumbling through the crowd. It'd gotten very cramped, and he almost fell flat on his face when he tried to wiggle himself free.

"I (pant) brought (pant) a student," he said while leaning against the booth. He was panting heavily, but despite that, he still had a proud smile on his face. "And he's (pant) strong."

"Great," Riko responded. "So where is he?"

Kagami turned around. At that moment, a boy about Kagami's height, broke free from the pack of students. Kagami sighed in relief, then turned back to Hyuuga and Riko. "Can I take a break? Uh please?"

Hyuuga and Riko looked at each other. "Sure," Hyuuga said, a faint smile on his face.

Kagami's expression instantly brightened. With a loud plop, he plunked down on the grass next to the booth. He stretched his legs, put his hands behind his head and lied down.

"Otsukaresama deshita," an all too familiar voice said, without warning. Although Kagami recognized the voice instantly, before he knew it he'd jerked up, a cold shiver running down his spine.

"Kuroko. You little runt."

"Is that how you talk to someone who is offering you a drink?" Kuroko said while dangling a Pocari above Kagami's head.

Kagami's eyes lit up. He immediately reached for the drink, but Kuroko had other plans.

"Say please," he said while holding the drink higher, just out of Kagami's reach.

"Teme!"

"Say please."

"...Puh please."

"I don't think I have ever heard of the word 'puh please'."

"Shut up."

Kuroko smiled. He hesitated, but gave the drink nonetheless.

"Kuroko-sempai?" a voice suddenly called.

Kuroko and Kagami looked up. It was the boy Kagami had brought. He was panting a little, his light auburn hair messy from the crowd. Despite this, you couldn't deny he had handsome features. An attractive face, with amber colored eyes and very long eyelashes, smooth skin and a strong jaw line. He was no Kise, but still appealing in his own way. And, while Riko was scanning him from head to toe, she had to admit the boy looked strong.

"Ono-kun?" Kuroko asked, surprised. Instantly all eyes were on him.

"Kuroko-kun do you know him?" Riko asked.

"Yes. He was one of the first string players at Teiko. His name is Ono Yuuta-kun."

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," the boy said politely.

"You were a first string player? Does that mean you played with them? You know, the Miracles?" Koganei asked, curious.

"I did," Ono answered. His reaction was short, abrupt, as if the entire question irked him. "Though I didn't become a starter till my third year."

"I have heard you won last year's nationals interschool tournament. Congratulations." Kuroko said with a small smile.

"Thank you," Ono answered politely, though his tone of voice never changed.
Uwaaah! Kuroko-sempai praised me! said his inner voice "Still, you can hardly compare it to your victory."

"Why ever would you think that?"

You defeated the Generation of Miracles! That's why! "I guess, Teiko winning at the nationals isn't that impressive. Winning is everything, so."

"You shouldn't brush off your victory because of that. A win's a win!" Kagami said straightforwardly. Kuroko smiled. Leave it to Kagami to bluntly state the truth.

Ono appeared a little startled by that, but quickly regained his composure and nodded affirmatively. Then he sat down and started to fill in the form. When he was done, he politely thanked everyone before he left.

"Nothing beats raw talent," Riko said dreamily. She was obviously still stuck in her scanning mode.

"Kuroko, how strong was he when you were in middle school?" Kagami asked.

"It is hard to say, since I graduated a year before him. So, I do not know how strong he has become. But during middle school, he was the only player that came close to the Miracles in strength and talent."

"You're kidding? No way."

"Way."

"That giant before him also looked quite strong," Hyuuga noted while adjusting his glasses. "This year's rookies could be awesome."

.

.

"Looks like all the first years are here!" Koganei said, excited.

Classes were done for the day, and everyone was in the gym for the very first practice of the school year. The group with rookies was large, at least 20, probably even more. Riko looked satisfied at the number of new recruits. They were all packed together, looking timidly at their surroundings.

"You know what's going to happen now, right?" Fukuda said to Furihata.

"Don't remind me," Furihata replied.

"I'm glad everyone is here," Riko said to the first years. "I am Aida Riko, the coach of the boys basketball team. Now, I have only one thing to say before we start practice." She paused for a moment, taking in everyone's expressions. "Take of your shirts."

"Ehhhhhh?!" all freshman hollered in unison. "Our shirts? Why?!"

Riko gave a devious smile. Reluctant, all the first years took of their shirts and formed a line. Riko started scanning. Each of them looked astonished as she began to recite the things they still lacked.

"This is going to take a while," Kagami thought out loud while spinning a basketball on his index finger. "Ne, Kuroko, wanna shoot some hoops?" he asked his blue haired friend.

"I would love to," Kuroko answered eagerly.

When Riko used her analyzer's eye to scan Ono Yuuta, she was once again amazed by his high stats. But there was something else she noticed, now that she saw his muscles more clearly. "Have you been injured often during middle school?" she asked sternly.

"A little, I guess."

"Your muscles appear to have been overexerted a lot. You need to make sure not to overtrain yourself," her voice seemed softer while she said this, and you could hear a tad of worry in there too.

Right at that moment, Kuroko and Kagami did their signature alley-oop and instantly got everyone's attention. You could hear the oooh's and aaah's of the first years. Even Ono couldn't help himself from being impressed. Though Riko clearly was not being impressed.

"You two! Stop showing off! If you want to train that badly, you can run laps around the school!"

This silenced the two friends. They quickly shook their heads and joined their team mates.

Riko continued her scanning till she, last but not least, arrived at the giant boy who'd come to the booth this morning. His intimidating appearance made the boy next to him stand at least a meter away.

Riko started scanning the giant from head to toe. This seemed to make him feel a little uncomfortable. He nervously twiddled with the long, black locks of his V-shaped bangs. Despite this, his frightening appearance never changed. His dark, grey eyes still formed a permanent scowl on his face. His thin lips were firmly pressed together. Along with his square jaw and thick eyebrows, not to mention his height, he looked more like a member of the yakuza than a first year high school student. But despite his height and scary face, Riko didn't sense a very strong aura, like she had with Ono Yuuta. The tall boy's muscles were well-developed, but he was too stiff, and his agility and stamina were low.

"Your body's too stiff, and you probably are on the slow side when it comes to agility drills. We need to work on that. Also your stamina."

"C-"

"Hmm?"

"Ccute."

"Eh?"

"Cute!"

Riko could not comprehend what happened next. Before she knew it, she was lifted into the air and crushed in a bear hug. "Kyaaaaaaaa! Wha? What are you doing?!"

At that, the giant seemed to come back to earth. He looked absolutely horrified, when he realized what he had done. He quickly put Riko back on the ground with a stream of apologies leaving his mouth.

"I'm sorry! I'm sooo sorry! I didn't mean to hug you," he nearly groveled on the floor by now. "You see, I have a weakness for cute things. Whenever I see something cute, I just can't stop myself from wanting to hug it."

"Wait a sec, you think the coach is cute?" Koganei asked, astonished. And, as if a light bulb went on in his head, he realized why the giant boy had carried him to the booth this morning. He said the same thing about me before squeezing me to death. The cat boy shivered.

"Of course she is cute," the giant answered matter-of-factly. Every single guy couldn't believe their ears. "My former teammates said it was an embarrassing trait, and I should just act the way I look. I tried. But it's too hard to control." The boy sighed heavily. "I wish I could just be myself."

"Of course you can!" Riko said, with a voice that almost sounded too happy. "Everyone should be allowed to be themselves."

"She sure sounds happy doesn't she," Izuki commented.

"You don't have to worry. With us, you can be yourself." Riko gave the boy a comforting smile.

"Really?" he said with big puppy dog eyes. All of a sudden, he didn't look so scary anymore.

"Of course!" Riko said happily. And with this answer, the boy trapped Riko in another big bear hug.

"Okay, big guy. You can let go of our coach now," Hyuuga said, almost threateningly.

.

.

"What's up? How's the rehabilitation going?"

"It's going great!" Kiyoshi gave Hyuuga a big thumbs up, which looked abnormally slow on the webcam.

"Sensei said I'll probably be back for the Winter Cup."

"Whoa! Wait a minute. You're not thinking of actually playing?"

Seeing Hyuuga's concerned face, Kiyoshi couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry, I'm not going to play-"

"Who said I was worried?" Hyuuga mumbled, and Kiyoshi's smile grew even bigger.

"I just want to be there when my team wins the Winter Cup. I mean, you guys are going to win right?"

"Daho!" Hyuuga said in his Hyuuga way. "Of course we are. And Inter High as well."

Hyuuga showed him a confident smile. Suddenly Kiyoshi realized how much he missed his friend. How much he missed everyone. I got to get better. Soon.

"I think we got some promising new recruits," Hyuuga continued.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But we'll see how many of them will stay after tomorrow."

"Why? What's tomorrow?"

"Daho! Tomorrow's Monday!"

"Right, of course...So...?"

Hyuuga sighed heavily. "First Monday of the month? Morning assembly? Ring any bells?"

"Yeahhhhaaa... No."

He wanted to whack him. He wanted to whack Kiyoshi on the head so hard. It's just impossible to do through a webcam. So Hyuuga had to make do with a face palm. "Unbelievable. You're the one who came up with it!"

"I did?"

Kiyoshi thought hard, trying to remember. Hyuuga could actually see him cracking his brain. It looked kind of endearing. Of course he would never admit that. He sighed. "Man. You can be such a space cade-"

"Ahh!" Kiyoshi suddenly called out.

"The penny finally dropped?"

"We're going to do that again this year?"

"Of course!" Hyuuga said with determination. "It's tradition."

.

.

It was early Monday morning. Students were lined up in front of the school. It was still quite chilly for the time of the year. Kuroko shivered when a cold breeze blew past him.

He could hear someone, who was clearly out of breath, getting closer. Kuroko turned around and saw it was his light, Kagami Taiga. He had obviously been running.

"Ha. Ha. Made. It," he said while catching his breath.

"You are late."

"And your bed hair (pant) is as bad as ever." Kagami ruffled Kuroko's hair fondly.

"Please stop that."

"What? I'm tidying your hair," Kagami said jokingly.

Kuroko tried to push Kagami's hand away, but he wouldn't budge. "Please stop that." Kuroko pushed harder.

"Alright, alright. Wait, one last strand."

All of a sudden, they heard someone shout at the top of his lungs. It was from a great distance away, but everyone was still able to hear him clearly.

"Class 1-B, seat 8, Ono Yuuta! I will defeat the 'Generation of Miracles' and become the nr. 1 in Japan!"

"Geh! They're doing that again this year?" Kagami said, stunned.

"He said the exact same thing you did last year. Even the class and seat number are identical."

"Okay, how the hell do you know that? I don't frickin' remember my seat number from last year."

"I am a very observant person."

"Huh?"

"Remembering something like that is easy peasy for me."

"Wha? Easy peasy? You talk weird Kuroko!"

"And by saying something, that would normally not be in my vocabulary, I triggered a reaction from you. It is all in the art of observation."

"Argh! Just shut up. It's too early for this."

Kuroko sighed. Then smiled. A small, soft, tender smile.

More shouting came. One boy even said he joined to win a fruit basket. But surprisingly, most of the boys said something along the lines of going to the nationals. Perhaps it was because Seirin won last year, that it didn't seem like such a pipe dream anymore.

A lot of the teachers were squirming around. A few already ran for the school door. It wouldn't take long before they reached the rooftop. It was now or never.

"Class 1-B, seat 9, Matsuda Kenji! I vow to become as strong a center as Kiyoshi Teppei!" It was the giant of a boy that had hugged Riko during her 'body scan'.

"Well what do you know... Kiyoshi, you got yourself a student," Hyuuga said and he chuckled lightly. "Too bad you aren't here."

After Matsuda had finished shouting his goal, the teachers came and immediately stopped the commotion.

"I doubt everyone got their chance," Kuroko said.

"They could always borrow some chalk from the baseball team and write down their goal in the school yard," Kagami responded.

Kuroko laughed. "They could..."

.

.

"So, these are the guys that stayed huh?" Izuki said, while observing the group of freshman packed together. "It's not even half of what came in."

"What are you saying? Daho!" Hyuuga retorted. "It's better this way. At least we know these guys are serious about becoming number one."

"Alright everyone! It's time for the warming up!" Riko yelled while clapping in her hands. And the rigorous training began.

Even if they were serious about becoming number one in Japan, the first years sure as hell weren't ready for this training. The only one who was able to keep up was Ono Yuuta. Of course that wasn't a surprise, since he was used to the training regimen from Teiko. After an hour of sweating they were finally able to take a break. Of course the warming up was just the beginning.

"Kantoku? Are we going to do a mini-game?" Hyuuga asked Riko while she was looking over her training schedule.

"Hmm? Yes we are. Why? You have something in mind?"

"Well..."

.

"Eh? We're not going to play against the senpai?" one of the freshman asked Riko after she explained what she had planned.

"Nope. The first years will play a game against each other. The second and third years will be your audience. So split up into two teams, and make sure the positions are equally divided."

This came as a relief to most of the rookies. Though some of them were a tad bit disappointed. Ono in particular looked very unhappy. "But I wanted to play against Kagami-senpai," he mumbled under his breath.

Riko blew her whistle. "Everyone, let's round up for the tip-off!"

"Kantoku. How can you expect me to jump ball against a two meter tall center? That isn't fair," Sawamura, a center at least twenty centimeter shorter than Matsuda Kenji, declared.

"Uhm, I'm actually 1.98 me-"

"Because it's the rules, baka!" another boy shouted from the circle.

"No it's not!" Sawamura shouted back. "I've seen plenty of guys that weren't a center-"

"Jeez. I'll do it," Ono said, annoyed, and walked to the middle of the court. "Will that be a problem?"

The question seemed to be directed more toward Riko than Sawamura, but he already answered for himself. "Not for me," he said, and he quickly walked to the circle of boys.

"Just so you know, I can't stand weaklings. So don't expect a pass from me," Ono said in a condescending tone.

"What'd you say?!"

"Let it go Sawamura," his neighbor said to him.

Sawamura clicked his tongue. "Jerk. Just because he's from Teiko, he thinks he's all that," he said in a low voice.

"So much for team spirit," Koganei commented from the sidelines.

Kuroko frowned.

"That's going to haunt them."

"Izuki shut up."

"Still, that Ono guy's got some attitude," Kagami added.

"You're one to talk."

"Shall we start the tip-off?" Riko said, smiling, though everyone could hear the threat in her voice. Immediately all freshman froze to the spot, too frightened to even move. Riko blew her whistle and threw the ball into the air.

Before Matsuda could even react, Ono had jumped.

"He's jumping already?" Kawahara asked, surprised.

Right after Ono had jumped Matsuda followed. They were only a few centimeters away from each other, but Ono got the ball first. He slapped it to the right. Sawamura caught it.

"I thought you weren't going to pass to me," he said, looking smug.

"Shut up!"

"Hyuuga. That timing just now..." Izuki said, taken aback.

"Yeah. At first I thought he jumped too soon, but if he hadn't, the tip-off would have been Matsuda's. Ono took advantage of Matsuda's slower reflexes and timed it perfectly."

Suddenly, the sound of a ball being dunked could be heard. It was Ono scoring the first points.

"He's going all out from the get-go, huh?"

It instantly became clearly visible who the superior player was in this game. Most of the boys didn't even try to compete against Ono. Only Matsuda was willing, and since Ono was the only one close to his height, they were each other's mark. It was tough for Matsuda to keep up with Ono's speed and agility. And, although he had the advantage in strength, scoring against Ono proved to be hard. But the most difficult job was stopping Ono from scoring. Matsuda tried, but Ono would always find a way around him to score. Soon the score became 21-11.

"Matsuda! Come here for a sec," one of his teammates called out to him.

"What's up?"

.

Riko blew her whistle. Matsuda's team was on offense. They managed to score, but it was straight back to defense. Ono had the ball and was dribbling to the basket. He was almost at the 3-point line. In that moment, Matsuda and a teammate partnered up.

"They're double-teaming Ono!" Furihata shouted.

"Guess they really want to keep him from scoring," Fukuda remarked.

"What's he going to do?"

"Best course of action would be to pass the ball."

"Oi, Kuroko. What do you think?" Kagami asked his shadow. "You know him best."

Kuroko frowned. Before he could reply, the question was already answered for him.

The moment the double team started, Ono began to move. He made a turn around to the left. His back was now toward the basket with Matsuda breathing in his neck. The other opponent in front of him. Ono took a step to the left while doing a head fake. Both defenders responded. With this, he did another turn around to the right followed by a jump shot and scored. Matsuda and his teammate weren't fast enough to block in time.

"Eh?! A three-pointer? He can shoot three-pointers?" Koganei said, astonished.

"I thought he was a small forward," Izuki said. "He's done nothing but 'slashing' up till now."

"He must be one of those players than," Hyuuga remarked. "A player who can play both forward and shooting guard. A swingman."

.

.

"Are you sure you can play basketball after eating so many burgers? Will you not get a stomach ache from it?"

"What are you talking about? I only ate about ten burgers. I normally eat twenty or so. I'll be fine. See," the redhead said while hopping around. "I can move easily. Lots of energy left."

Kuroko chuckled. He would never be able to understand Kagami's amazing appetite. He smiled at the idea that Kagami actually counts his burgers.

They were nearing the streetball court. From time to time, the two of them would go and shoot some hoops, after their visit at Maji. There was a streetball court just around the corner, and the closer they got, the better they could hear it: the distinct sound of a ball being dribbled.

"I think someone is already using the court," Kuroko said.

And their hunch was confirmed when they saw a girl, about their age, playing ball. She seemed to be alone. Kuroko and Kagami watched for a while. They soon came to realize she was no ordinary player. She was very fast and agile, and every move she made seemed effortless.

"This chick's good," Kagami remarked.

Kuroko nodded. "The way she plays... It kind of reminds me of Aomine-kun."

They walked around the fence to the entrance of the court and went inside to get a better look. By then, the girl made a behind-the-back, over-her-head shot. It hit the rim, made a spin, and then bounced off the basket toward Kagami. He picked it up. The girl, wanting to do the same, suddenly noticed the two boys.

Seeing her from up close all of a sudden, Kagami noticed she was rather tall for a Japanese girl. Around the same height as Kuroko, if he had to guess. But at the same time, that wasn't particularly tall for a basketball player. Also, despite the darkness, he could still see she was quite pretty. Not cute, but attractive nonetheless.

She was eyeing Kagami from head to toe, making him feel very uncomfortable. He wanted to try and start a conversation, or at least say something, but the girl beat him to it.

"You look pretty strong. How about a one-on-one?"

"Huh?"

"You play basketball right? Do you wanna go for some one-on-one?"

It took Kagami a moment to digest what the girl had asked, but soon a confident smile spread across his face.

"Sure," he said while bouncing the ball back to the girl.

Author's Note: Well, that was chapter one. If you've read it till the end, I'm very happy. I understand that having three new characters introduced in the first chapter is a lot. When I started writing my fic, I realized early on that I needed to introduce OC's. New teammates and new players for the other teams and stuff. It was a lot of work. Sigh. But don't get me wrong. I like OC's. I like it when fan writers write something of themselves into their story. And despite all the new, I tried to make this first chap a bit nostalgic, with the club presentation, the first practice and the shouting from the school rooftop and stuff. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it. I will post the second chapter in about a week or two. Please review!