Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"

This is an interesting poem that I thought up when I was making this fanfic. Consider the three lines up above, as that will be the most central theme in this chapter, which would play a huge impact in the story. The one who would make this important decision would be none other than...Midorima Shintarou. You thought it was Kuroko Tetsuya, right? Gotcha.

This takes place in Teiko's second year. I will try to keep this as realistic as possible. But one change in the story can change a lot in the future. Expect the unexpected. Consider this a "What if" story that's mostly centered on Midorima Shintarou...crazy, I know. Also, initially, I wanted to make an introduction and then move towards a high school setting, but I figure that would do the story injustice. So, I will now be covering the Teikou Middle School days too, so this will now be a multi-chapter fanfic.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I'm definitely ecstatic about this fanfic!

AU. They were incompatible, but somehow, they made it work. Midorima made a different decision in middle school and that made all the difference.

"All actions will be glossed over as long as we win our games."

"That is correct. For the Generation of Miracles, team play is nothing but a hindrance."

Midorima couldn't believe the words that came out of Akashi's mouth. The redhead's aura reminded him of the several encounters he had with the redhead, but this was potentially heading into the dangerous aspect. It wasn't much of a reach to say that Midorima feared Akashi, especially the current Akashi.

In fact, it was possible that out of every member here, Midorima was the most knowledgable about the current Akashi. It was clear that knowledge was essential for future endeavours, but this wasn't the case. For some reason, the sharpshooter felt like he was most likely the target of this Akashi's wrath.

Putting aside how dangerous Akashi was, there was still the matter of Akashi's comments. It was true that they must achieve victory, but he didn't agree with the fact that team play was an hindrance. In fact, Midorima loved having a prim and proper offence. Eliminating teamwork and offensive flow did not fall in that category. As well, there was no way the sharpshooter was going to resort to isolation. His game had no use in that type of offence, he wasn't a neanderthal like that Aomine.

Now that he thought about it more, what about Kuroko? His play revolved around team play and if the team was about to willingly discard teamwork, what would happen to the teal haired boy? The bespectacled teen knew that the two of them were incompatible, but he had a deep respect for his game.

Midorima knew that there were two paths that lay in front of him. Oha Asa made a prediction where Cancer had two choices, follow Sagittarius or befriend an Aquarius. In his case, he was either going to blindly follow Akashi's orders or he was going to befriend Kuroko. Both options seemed terrible. Blindly following Akashi's orders would bite him, as his ideals were drastically way too different. His first demand of discarding teamwork already made him feel uneasy, there was no telling what would happen in the future. As for Kuroko, they wouldn't work well together and he'll be damned if he had to spend time with Aomine along the way.

This choice was too difficult. If it had to be this way, he decided that fate and chance would choose for him. Taking out his wallet, he took out a coin. Heads would be for Akashi, while tails would be for Kuroko.

"Midorima-cchi, what are you doing?"

Ah, stupid Kise. For a moment, he treasured the silence, so he could organize his thoughts. Alas, it was short-lived. He looked at the blonde with an irritated scowl and asked, "What do you think I'm doing Kise?"

Kise blinked and looked at him with a weird look. He replied, "I have no idea."

Typical Kise. He had no idea that his fate was deciding by this coin toss. Heads would represent Akashi and tails would represent Kuroko.

And thus, he flipped the coin.

Tails.

Okay, Midorima took back that statement. He would rather follow Akashi, at the very least, they were more compatible and he was very knowledgable about the game of basketball and life in general. But the coin toss did decide tails, so it would only be fair to retry the coin toss. Yes, that would be it. Kise distracted him, it was only fair.

And thus, he flipped the coin again.

Tails.

One more time. He had to see if fate was truly choosing tails over heads.

Tails.

Once again, he flipped the coin.

Tails.

Maybe this coin was rigged. Midorima eyed the coin and looked at both sides of the coin. With his astute observation, he came to the conclusion that there was indeed a head and a tail side for this coin.

This was the last time. The green haired teen flipped the coin again.

Tails.

Well, it was decided. Midorima was going on the road least traveled, which kind of unnerved him. Kuroko was very unpredictable, so there was no telling what was going to happen. Hopefully, fate made the correct decision.

Kise looked at the green haired teen. Why was Midorima-cchi flipping the coin so many times? When Kise saw him flip the coin again, the blonde was beginning to think that most of his teammates had cracked.

It was truly sad, they were all his friends. Yes, friends. Before he played basketball, Kise didn't have many true friends at the time, since they all wanted to be friends with him for the glory and wealth. That only changed when he began to play basketball. At first, he was enamoured by Aomine-cchi's dunk and that was what made him join the club in the first place. Kise was caught off-guard by the immense amount of talent and joy that the tanned teen had for the game. It made a memorable first impression and at that instance, his boredom was relieved.

Kise progressed to climb up the ranks in basketball and along the way, he was given his precious mentor Kuroko-cchi! At first, he thought that the weak player was unworthy of being on the first string. After all, the frail boy couldn't do anything, but the blonde was proven wrong. His passes and misdirection changed the whole flow of the game, leaving Kise amazed at what he had just witnessed. His whole view changed on the teal haired boy that day, which only made him feel ecstatic that he was in such an amazing club.

Boredom vanished from his inner being. Basketball had became his passion, but it was more than that. He had five awesome teammates that he could call friends, even if Midorima-cchi would be the first to deny such claims. Still, he couldn't help, but feel that something was amiss.

First, Aomine-cchi began to ditch practice. The tanned teen never ditched basketball before, he loved the game too much to do such a thing! But Kise naturally thought he had a bad day, so the blonde gave him some time. It was only after a week that Kise realized Aomine-cchi was truly ditching practice, which he couldn't understand.

Everyone seemed to be getting better, so was Aomine-cchi ditching because he's too talented? And it seemed that he's not the only one who blossomed. Murasakibara-cchi got a lot better with his dominating power and Midorima-cchi's threes were so consistent, it was to the point of perfection. But it seemed that the Murasakibara-cchi wanted to follow Aomine-cchi's footsteps and ditch as well. Akashi-cchi wouldn't allow that, so they played one on one to resolve the issue.

Akashi-cchi was talented, but the blonde didn't expect him to actually beat Murasakibara-cchi. When the redhead was down four, it seemed like he snapped and he instantly got better. Akashi-cchi ankle broke Murasakibara-cchi and there was nothing the tall giant could do against the captain.

For some reason, Akashi-cchi looked different now. And now, Midorima-cchi was flipping a coin multiple times. It seemed like all his teammates changed, but Kise had a revelation, which scared and delighted him at the same time. He could be the next person to change.

"For what purpose do I need to practice."

"How could someone who can't do anything by himself understand this?"

"And who is that pass for?"

"The only one who can win against me...is myself."

"From that day, I haven't gotten a pass from you."

"I've...already forgotten even how to receive your passes."

Kuroko felt devastated, who knew Aomine would say such hurtful things to him? His whole body felt weak, it was like he was discarded by his light. Tears were falling down his face, and the rain only made him feel worse. Aomine was his first friend and he was his partner. But that bond was crumbling, he could see it from the tanned teen's hardened eyes. When would Aomine go back to being his cheerful, carefree self?

His thoughts were all plagued with Aomine, which only brought him pain to his heart. Kuroko sighed as he trudged himself to the gym. Even if Aomine wasn't himself, he couldn't let his teammates wait for him. Despite his arrogant attitude, they were still a team, right?

When Kuroko reached the gym, he was surprised to see the gym was dark. Maybe he had been out a lot longer than he thought.

"You're late," Akashi's voice called out as he walked towards the captain. "Looks like it was no good."

Akashi handed him a towel, as he mumbled, "Right."

"Then there's nothing we can do," Akashi stated with a stern look. "You should give up on Aomine."

Kuroko blinked. Did he hear Akashi correctly? Did he just say that the team and himself should give up on Aomine? That couldn't be right. It was at that moment, he looked up and saw Akashi with heterochromatic eyes.

"A plate can never be fully restored once it has a crack," Akashi continued. "But if it is still usable, what we have now will suffice."

"Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked. This didn't sound right, Akashi would never use such a tone and he would never refer to people as objects. A chill was sent down his spine, was this really Akashi?

"What are you talking about?" Akashi asked, but to Kuroko, it sounded sinister.

"No..." he looked at Akashi straight in the eye. "Who are you?"

"Of course I'm Seijuro Akashi," he placed a hand on himself and offered him a big smile. "Tetsuya."

Midorima heard the whole conversation that took place between Akashi and Kuroko. With the whole conversation that took place, he too was appalled that Akashi would refer to Aomine as a broken but usable plate. It was quite clear, this Akashi was different and his approach was radically different from the other Akashi.

"I'll see you later Tetsuya." Akashi waved goodbye with a smirk on his face as he left the gym.

Midorima was lucky that he hadn't been spotted by Akashi. Initially, he went to the gym, in order to converse with Kuroko. But then, he saw Akashi in the first-string gym, so he had quickly hid in the second gym, which was somewhat far from the whole scene. Fortunately, they were quite close to where he was situated that he managed to hear the whole conversation. The bespectacled teen wasn't one to hide, but when it came to this Akashi, he had every reason to do so.

With a quick look around, he noticed the gym was empty and Kuroko was staring at the ground with a somber expression. Now was the chance for him to talk to the smaller boy. But before he could move towards Kuroko, the boy suddenly crashed down.

"Kuroko!

Quickly, Midorima rushed towards Kuroko. It was clear that today's incident with Aomine and Akashi, along with the rain affected his mental and physical state.

When the green haired teen reached the smaller boy, Kuroko looked up at him. But there was something wrong. Instead of his usual and blank look, the boy looked at him with fear. This couldn't possibly be the case, right? Midorima had never seen the boy looked scared or had a face full of anguish, so this was quite unexpected. It was almost as if Kuroko predicted he was going to say something that would shatter him.

Thus, Midorima racked up his brain to say something that would comfort the phantom. Anything. He didn't know too well what happened with Aomine and Kuroko, so he wasn't going to talk about that.

"Kuroko," Midorima said slowly, looking around to see if Akashi was nearby. He would be dead if Akashi overheard his following statement. "I don't agree with Akashi's philosophies nanodayo."

It seemed those words had a positive effect on the boy, as he looked at Midorima with a relaxed but careful expression. At the very least, Kuroko stopped looking at him with distrustful and fearful eyes.

"That's good." Kuroko said with a small smile.

It's been a while, since he last spotted the phantom with a smile. In addition, the fact that Kuroko would smile was rare in itself. When he does sport a smile, they boy really did look a lot more angelic, not that he cared or anything.

"Let's go," Midorima stated, offering the teal boy a hand up. "I'll get you a vanilla milkshake. Don't get me wrong, it's only because I have this two for one coupon."

Kuroko took his hand and his eyes sparkled. It seemed the earlier incidents were momentarily forgotten by the phantom.

Midorima was glad that the phantom was back to his nornal self. As much as he hated to admit this, out of all the Generation of Miracles, only Kise, Kuroko and hinself were sane. Though, Kise was the odd case, where he would probably drive someone insane with his loud antics.

Akashi was a dangerous ruler that he had to avoid. Murasakibara was a ravenous beast that he could not get along with. Aomine was a prickly jerk that he did not want to associate with.

"Midorima."

Immediately, the sharpshooter jumped back in fright. Kuroko really needed to stop that!

"What?" Midorima asked with an irritated sigh. How careless was he? Associating with Kuroko would soon lead him to have a heart attack in the near distant future.

"Are we going?" Kuroko asked. It sounded neutral, but the sharpshooter noticed a twinkle in his eye.

"Let's go," Midorima answered, as he turned towards the exit.

The phantom thought about his whole team, as he drank his milkshake.

Aomine was long gone from his reach, he wouldn't listen to him. He was too far out, the light was unwilling to be supported by a shadow, since it had no opposition. It definitely stung, because Kuroko hadn't expected himself to be discarded by the tanned teen. Now, he was a shadow without a light.

Akashi was the next person to change, although it was quite unexpected. Kuroko never knew Akashi had a second personality, but Midorima stated that he had seen the other Akashi in action and the behavior that he saw from the redhead confirmed that this was not the same Akashi he knew. Akashi was something he deeply respected, as he made sure the team was strong and insisted that they would use team play to beat their opponents. With the new Akashi in control, Kuroko felt unease gnawing at his heart.

Murasakibara was someone who almost always followed Akashi's orders. But the tall giant was getting stronger at a rapid rate and out of all of the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko had no idea if he had passion for basketball. He always had a disinterested look, so it wasn't too much of a surprise that he was following Aomine's footsteps. When Midorima told him that Murasakibara challenged Akashi to a one on one, the phantom wasn't surprised that the tall giant was in the lead by a huge margin. Akashi had all the fundamentals and he was excellent in a team game, but he wasn't the type of player to win on a one on one, especially against the powerful Murasakibara. But to find out that Akashi won, it gave chills to Kuroko.

"Akashi stated that team play was a hindrance and that we are all allowed to ditch practice, as long as we win our games," Midorima told him.

For the second time this day, Kuroko's heart broke. If team play wasn't needed, then was he even needed on the team? First, it was Aomine who discarded him. Now, it was Akashi. Well, the current Akashi. It comforted him somewhat to know that it wasn't the Akashi he knew that said such things, but even then, it still hurt. Murasakibara wouldn't care about his passes. It felt like everyone was drifting away from him. Could they even be called a team at this point?

As for practice, it hurts that everyone trampled the concept of hard work. Kuroko knew he wasn't talented, but he fought to get into the first string with many hours of practice. To see them not practice, because they had talent was not something he could comprehend.

There was a cough. Kuroko looked up to see Midorima who spoke, "Don't worry. I don't abide with these preposterous demands."

Kuroko was glad that not everyone changed. Maybe there was still hope. He was certain that Akashi, Murasakibara and Aomine had already fallen into the darkness. As a shadow, he couldn't do anything to get them out of the darkness. The only way to revert them back to normal was to find a blinding light. But at the very least, he could prevent Kise and Midorima from falling into the darkness. They both have passion for the game, even if Midorima doesn't explicitly show it.

Speaking about Midorima, he felt calm towards the sharpshooter. When the green haired shooter initially approached him, Kuroko almost expected him to be act arrogant or perhaps lecture him about how useless his actions were. Assuming only made him feel like a fool, as Midorima did neither of those things. It was also a surprise to hear that the sharpshooter did not agree with Akashi's orders. It comforted him, but was this just a phase? Aomine said the same thing about how he shouldn't quit basketball, because of his relentless work ethic. At this point, Aomine probably didn't care about the hard work or effort one placed in basketball, but just pure talent.

He needed to know more about Midorima. As much as hated to admit it, Midorima and himself hadn't spent that much time with each other. So, this was definitely unique in a way. Most of the time, he was around Aomine and Momoi, although sometimes, Kise tagged along.

Kuroko eyed him with a small, mischievous smile. "Prove it. Action speaks louder than words."

Great, Kuroko challenged him to prove his words. In actuality, Midorima didn't agree with Akashi's words, but he wasn't suicidal to rebel against him. As much as his pride hated to admit it, he was most likely to go with whatever Akashi was planning, even if he hated the concept behind it. But still, Midorima considered himself a man of his words, so he would have to say something to prove the validity of his claim.

"Of course. I will always practice on my game. I'm telling you, you will see me at practice each and every day nanodayo," Midorima answered as he pushed his glasses up. "What I find disagreeable is where Aomine and Murasakibara as they stand now. No matter the reason, not showing up just because you were told you didn't have to...The nerve of them, I find hard to comprehend in fact. I cannot behave amiably to those that refuse to do everything in their powers."

Of course, these were his true thoughts. He wasn't planning to ditch practice, even though those idiots already did. Though, he was certain that Kise would be the next buffoon to start ditching practice.

"Wow, that's a strong opinion. But what about teamwork?"

Now, this was the tough and sensitive topic. Midorima was hoping that his speech about practice would be enough to suffice. Well, he might as well be honest to the teal haired boy. "Like I said before, I believe that team play is essential. But I won't be able to do anything about teamwork. Akashi is the captain and the point guard. If he abandons teamwork, what exactly am I supposed to do? There's nothing to be done, as much as I hate to admit it."

Kuroko looked down, but something was definitely wrong this time. Small droplets of water were slipping down his cheek. "It hurts that we're going to play the game the wrong way. Why? And why am I no longer needed? It hurts. It really hurts to see our team drifting apart."

For once, Midorima couldn't speak. He couldn't. Never in his wildest life would he expect the stoic boy sitting in front of him to actually cry. It definitely made him uncomfortable, since he was never caught in a scenario where someone was crying. He had no idea what to do, but he knew had to say something.

In the next second, something clicked. Kuroko stated that he was no longer needed? Then, does that mean Aomine was giving up on his shadow? While Midorima told him about the events of what happened in the gym, the sharpshooter didn't know what happened between Aomine and Kuroko. He was certain the issue wasn't resolved and they had a disagreement, but there seemed to be a huge incident that had occurred between the two a few hours ago.

Midorima coughed once to get the attention of the phantom. Kuroko looked up with pained eyes, but there were a lot of feelings that the teal haired boy had on his face. He looked hurt, sad and somehow, hopeful? It was almost as if the phantom was hoping that Midorima would say something to make him feel better. Now, that was a lot more pressure.

"Don't get me wrong, I believe in teamwork. The main issue is Akashi. Or better yet, this Akashi. If we can somehow bring back our Akashi, we can resolve the issue about teamwork," Midorima suggested, which seemed to brighten Kuroko's day. Huh, he never knew Kuroko's eyes could shine so brightly. It was like he was a star in the sky, but alas he still had to continue. "Although, that won't fix those idiots Aomine and Murasakibara, at the very least, we bring back some semblance of our team back."

"Midorima, have anyone told you that you're a genius?"

Yes, people told him that he was a genius. The most striking feature about himself was his intellect. Classmates, teachers and even his parents awed about his intelligence. Still, he shouldn't feel glad to receive such a compliment, it was natural after all.

"Well, it's a logical conclusion to come up with." Midorima answered.

Though this was the time for him to know what happened between Aomine and Kuroko. It was obvious that it affected the teal haired boy, but he was curious as to what happened between the two.

"So, what happened with Aomine today?" the sharpshooter asked.

The phantom hesitated for a moment before he sighed. "Aomine just told me that I was weak and he himself was so mighty that he forgot how to catch my passes."

Midorima gasped. Did Aomine just give up on his shadow? For some reason, he couldn't grasp why Aomine would do such a thing. Aomine and Kuroko got along the best, on the court and off the court.

"Why would he say such a thing?" Midorima asked, with clenched fists underneath the table. Did Aomine know how lucky he was? He was given a shadow that would support him through the downs and the highs.

Midorima had always considered Aomine's and Kuroko's team play to be annoying, because it was just so mesmerizing. They each moved in perfect rythem according to the other. Aomine pissed a lot of people by flaunting and bragging about his chemisty with Kuroko. So, why would he do such a thing?

One thing for sure, if Aomine wanted to rid his shadow and light duo with Kuroko, he had no problem taking over the role of a light. Although, he definitely won't start dunking like Kise, Aomine and Murasakibara.

"If you don't have a light, I have no problem being the light to your shadow nanodayo." Midorima stated, looking away.

Once again, the phantom smiled. "Thanks, that means a lot to me. I'll be in your care."

Then, Kuroko offered him a fist bump as he sipped on his vanilla milkshake. Midorima stared at it for a second. This was the signature fist bump that solidified the bond between the shadow and the light. He was giddy with excitement. He knew he shouldn't be happy, since it came from Aomine's expense, but it wasn't his fault that Aomine was an idiot.

Midorima bumped Kuroko's fist. It all felt too fast, almost as if it was a dream. He was now the light to Kuroko's shadow. If someone was to tell him that he would be Kuroko's light a month ago, he would've scoffed at that person.

Everything felt surreal. He was Kuroko's light and that was something he would not take for granted. Unlike the idiotic Aomine, he would strive to be the perfect light and treasure his unique shadow.

Aomine felt bored. Basketball no longer made him excited. All he ever wanted was a worthy and strong opponent, someone who would make his blood filled with adrenaline.

Achoo! Achoo!

Was Aomine catching a cold? That was weird. He was fine just moments ago. Maybe the rain really did get to him.

"What happened between you and Tetsu-kun?" his childhood friend Momoi asked with her hands on her hips.

Aomine knew she was irritated, her facial feature and her posture gave that away. But he didn't really care what she thought, especially since today was the day that he realized there truly was nobody that was better than him. There was no need for a shadow, because he was powerful enough himself.

"Leave me alone, Satsuki."

Why was he so irritated? He felt like something big was taking place today, but that was not likely.

Oh well, it was probably nothing.

Snap!

Did he have a dazed expression on his face? Why did Kuroko take a picture of him?

"Kuroko." Midorima growled out. He had a feeling that the picture would be humiliating.

Kuroko showed him the picture. "It's not everyday you see Midorima drink a vanilla milkshake."

That's it? Granted, the picture of him wasn't bad, but Kuroko took a picture, because he was sipping on a vanilla milkshake?

Now that Midorima thought about it, the sharpshooter didn't eat sweets, so a vanilla milkshake was out of the question. But the shake was pretty good, so he could see why the phantom was addicted on vanilla milkshakes. Though it would be in Kuroko's best interest to stop such an unhealthy drinking habit. Sure, it wasn't as bad as alcohol, but unnecessary sugar was too extraneous, especially to an athlete.

Nonetheless, he would consider this as an exception, as this vanilla milkshake would be essential to cheering up Kuroko and besides, he had a two for one coupon. It would be considered wasteful if he threw out the extra milkshake and there was no way Kuroko would be having two of these sweet shakes on the same day. So, his body might as well take the hit for the vanilla milkshake. He would just have to burn off the calories later today tomorrow.

Oh well, at least Kuroko was back to his normal, stoic self.

"Midorima, I'm going to order another vanilla milkshake," Kuroko said and then he instantly vanished in front of him.

Two vanilla milkshakes in one day!? Midorima would make sure to fix that habit very soon.

Today was really such an eventful day. He had gotten closer to the sixth man and he didn't the phantom's presence.

Oha Asa presented him with two options but he was glad that he chose this option. It was different, but in a good way. At the very least, he shouldn't be able to face Akashi's wrath any time soon, especially if they managed to bring the original Akashi back.

Yet, Midorima wondered what would've happened if he took the other option? Would he just accept the captain's terms and ignore their prized sixth man? That would be precisely the case. Oh well, there was no way to know.

Kuroko was walking to his home. Today was an odd day. The day started off terribly, but by the end of today's events, he knew there was still hope for the future.

Who would've knew that Midorima would be his new light? He knew that this was injustice to Aomine, but it was clear that he no longer treasured their bond or him. Sometimes, Kuroko felt like Aomine was looking at him with irritation.

Their bond was severed, but at least he was still needed. He didn't expect Midorima to be his light though.

In fact, Midorima proposed that they would try to revert the current Akashi back to the original Akashi. It would be tough and not everything would be resolved, especially his relationship with Aomine.

But at the very least, there was hope. And that was all Kuroko could ask for.

Kuroko took out his phone and searched up today's horoscopes. The phantom didn't believe in such claims, but he was curious as to what his horoscope was. After all, Midorima was enamoured with Oha Asa. When he reached the page, he found out that Aquarius would have a terrible day and their lucky item of the day was a Cancer.

That was a very spot on prediction, but the fact that Midorima used himself as a lucky item for Kuroko meant a lot. Not to mention, he was there when he was emotionally drained from Akashi and Aomine.

It was official. Midorima was his new light.

That's the first chapter! Thanks for reading! Please review, as any feedback would help inspire me to continue writing.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Anyways, thanks for reading!