Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi

A/N: The story takes place after the Winter Cup and as for the winner, it's the reader's choice. Actually, it doesn't really matter who the winner is, I just want to clarify it for those who are curious.

OVERTURE

Kuroko Tetsuya, the phantom player and passing specialist of the Seirin basketball club, was idly looking out the window while his math teacher was droning on about his lesson. He watched as the incessant snow evanescently fall to the ground covering it in picturesque white scenery. It was now mid-January and the winter season was getting colder as the day goes by.

Kuroko turned to his teammate, partner and light, Kagami Taiga, who was sitting in front of him and continued to snore the class away. Their math teacher had already given up in making Kagami listen to his lecture and just let him be as long as the power forward passed his class no matter how abysmal his grade is.

Kuroko once again focused his attention in class and took some notes as his coach and captain asked him to at least helped Kagami in his studies by writing some notes that the dark red head could easily understand. It was a good thing that he was used to it as he helped Momoi in making some notes for Aomine when they were in middle school.

The class was almost over when an announcement suddenly came through the speaker, making Kagami woke up from his slumber.

"Kuroko Tetsuya from 1-B please report to the staff room immediately. I repeat, Kuroko Tetsuya from 1-B please report to the staff room immediately."

Kagami yawned as he stretched his arms above his head and then turned to the teal head behind him. "Why are they calling for you? Did you do something wrong?" he asked, clearly curious.

"I'm not like you Kagami-kun, I don't get in trouble," Kuroko calmly stated and started to put away his notes and books into his bag. "Although it must be important if they want to see me in the staff room."

Kagami's left eye twitched in annoyance at his shadow's previous statement but just left it at that. "Well, don't be late in practice. Just because Winter Cup is over doesn't mean that Coach won't double your training if you're late," he said as he slung his bag over his right shoulder and stood up from his seat.

Kuroko nodded. "Yes. Please tell Coach that I was called in the staff room in case they didn't hear the announcement."

"Okay."

[0]

Kuroko blinked his cerulean eyes in astonishment as he stared at his homeroom teacher, Fujiwara-sensei. "Pardon me but could you repeat what you just said Fujiwara-sensei?"

Fujiwara could see that the teal head was surprised and confused so he repeated what he just said. "Our school has an exchange program going on but instead of going to our sister school in America, the chosen student must go to five different schools across Japan that the administration picked for a week. And the selected student was you, Kuroko-kun."

"May I ask why I was picked?" Kuroko couldn't help but asked since it was strange for him to be chosen in this kind of program due to his weak presence.

"The principal randomly selected a student," Fujiwara said. Too random if you asked me, he silently added, considering that the principal just picked a name from my class roster since he was busy and didn't want to be disturbed. He eyed his student that was puzzlingly looking at him. "You could refuse if you want Kuroko-kun and besides we could just choose another student."

Kuroko was silent for a while before asking, "If I attend a different school for a week, does that mean that I'll have to leave my house?"

"Well, yes," Fujiwara said while rubbing the back of his neck. "But you don't have to worry about your accommodations since the school will take care of it so aside from your agreement we need your parent's permission, too."

"What about my club activities, Fujiwara-sensei?" Kuroko inquired, even though it was off-season it doesn't mean that he wants to slack off in his basketball training and moreover five weeks is too long for a break and he would missed the training that he usually undergo. Not to mention his coach will have his head if he didn't practice properly.

"I already talked with the coaches of the schools' basketball team and they agreed to let you train with them," Fujiwara explained, making the teal head breathed a sigh of relief.

"I accept it Fujiwara-sensei," Kuroko said after thinking it through.

"Are you sure Kuroko-kun?"

Kuroko nodded his head. "My parents won't mind and my grandmother was planning to go to my aunt in Okinawa anyway but was worried about me, this could give her a peace of mind and won't have to postpone her trip so it's fine."

"Okay then. Here," Fujiwara said and handed the teal haired student a folder. "Be sure to read that and let your parents or grandmother sign it. The schools that you will be attending are listed in there as well as the places where you'll be staying. You can give that to me tomorrow and if you ever change your mind just tell me, okay?"

"Yes, thank you Fujiwara-sensei," Kuroko said, bowing to his homeroom teacher and proceeded to leave the room.

"Oh, almost forgot Kuroko-kun," Fujiwara said, stopping his student from leaving. "I already told Takeda-sensei about this but I don't know if your coach has any idea or if Takeda-sensei told her about it. So, Kuroko-kun, can you please tell her your decision?"

"I understand. I'll tell Coach about the program," Kuroko relented and left the staff room.

While walking down the hallway towards the gym, Kuroko took a peek at the schools that he will be attending for the next five weeks and then abruptly froze on his tracks when he saw the list. This can't be, right?

[0]

"What?! An exchange program?!" both Riko and Hyuuga shouted at the same time in disbelief after Kuroko told them about what he and Fujiwara-sensei talked about.

"Another one? Our school is fairly new, right? So why do we have so many exchange programs?" Koganei asked incredulously.

Mitobe, who was beside him, didn't respond and just shrugged his shoulders, clueless.

Kiyoshi looked at the teal head considerately. "Did you accept it Kuroko?"

"Yes," Kuroko nodded. "But Fujiwara-sensei said I could still refuse if I change my mind."

Riko put her hands on her hips as she stared at the phantom player, worry clearly evident in her brown eyes. "Are your parents okay with it Kuroko-kun?"

"I think my parents will be fine with it," Kuroko said.

Riko sighed in defeat. "Fine, if that's what you really want I won't stop you."

"But what about practice?" Kagami, who was silent throughout Kuroko's explanation, finally asked.

"Fujiwara-sensei asked the other school's coaches beforehand for letting me join their basketball practice so it wouldn't be a problem," Kuroko answered.

"That's good to hear, right Coach?" Izuki said and turned to Riko, only to sweatdropped when he saw the brunette slyly grinning.

"Fufufu…this is a good chance," Riko said and grabbed Kuroko by his shoulders. "Kuroko-kun, be sure to memorize the other team's training menu and what methods they used in their practice, okay? This is a golden opportunity to know the other team's secrets!"

That's not the reason why he was there though, the freshman trio thought.

"What schools are you attending anyway?" Tsuchida asked before Riko could give the teal head any more ideas about spying the other school's basketball team.

Kuroko showed the folder that Fujiwara gave him. "It's in he—"he didn't get to finish his sentence when Hyuuga instantly took it from his hands.

"Let me see that!" Hyuuga said and skimmed the pages to check the names of the schools included in the program, only for his eyes to widen in surprise. "What the hell! You've got to be kidding me, right?"

The rest of the team (except for Kuroko and Kagami), who were crowding around their captain, was also in a state of shock as they stared at the folder Hyuuga was holding.

Kuroko sighed when he saw his teammates' reactions since he felt the same way when he found out which schools he'll be attending for the program for the next five weeks.

Kagami furrowed his brows in confusion at his teammates as he spun a ball with the tip of his finger. "Why? What's wrong?"

"This is a crazy line up!" Koganei said, still gaping at the paper in amazement. "Kaijou, Shuutoku, Touou, Yosen and then Rakuzan! All of these are the schools where the Generation of Miracles goes to!"

Kagami had his jaw wide open when he heard the schools that Koganei just mentioned and didn't even notice the ball the he dropped. "W-What?" he stuttered.

"Jeez, I know you and the Generation of Miracles are connected through basketball but to even be linked for something completely unrelated…" Hyuuga said and shook his head in bafflement, "…it's just like fate had bounded you to them or something."

"Please stop saying things like that Captain. It's disturbing," Kuroko deadpanned.

"The Generation of Miracles sure are close," Kiyoshi nonchalantly commented.

Kawahara turned to Riko. "What are we going to do Co—eepp!" only to cower in fear when he noticed that the brunette was chuckling maniacally. To this point, the rest of the team finally detected the evil aura that Riko was giving off and then shivered.

Riko ignored them and with a frightening sweet smile painting on her lips, she once again grasped Kuroko's shoulders and hard at that. "This isn't just an opportunity, it's a once in a lifetime chance! It's the only time to know the other team's training, especially the Generation of Miracles, up close and personal. Kuroko-kun, use everything you have in your arsenal, asked them, bribed them or even seduced them, I don't care! Just find out what it is!" Riko yelled, shaking the passing specialist's shoulders vigorously.

The three freshmen saw that Kuroko was close to passing out and tried to pacify the brunette. "C-Coach calm down! You're shaking Kuroko too hard!"

Riko paid no heed to them but did released Kuroko, much to his relief. "With this information, we could come up with a strategy to fight them in the next Inter-High and Winter Cup!"

Kagami just sweatdropped at his coach's enthusiasm before turning to his partner. "So Kise's school is up first, huh? Well, it's just 40 minutes away so if you ever get tired of Kise being clingy, just take the train," he reminded him.

Kuroko let out an amused smile. "I'll be sure to remember that Kagami-kun."

"When will the program start anyway Kuroko?" Fukuda asked.

"Fujiwara-sensei said that it'll start on Monday so that I'll have the rest of the week to prepare," Kuroko answered, it was Wednesday and have two days to take care of things in school before he leaves.

"I guess it's a good thing that those schools were chosen since you already know someone there and the other teams already know you so you won't have a hard time adjusting," Izuki said.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Izuki's right," Hyuuga said, nodding his head as he crossed his arms over his chest and disregard the point's guard complaint about his statement. "So if someone tried to give you any trouble just tell us Kuroko and we'll take care of it."

"Now, now don't be too violent Hyuuga," Kiyoshi said and patted Kuroko's head as he lightly chuckled. "I think what he's trying to say is that we're still a team even if we aren't together and we take care of each other so don't forget to rely on us if you ever need it, alright Kuroko?"

Kuroko looked up at Kiyoshi and then to the rest of the Seirin team, who were looking at him expectantly. "Yes," he said and smiled at them.

[0]

Just like he said to his teammates, Kuroko took the rest of the week preparing for his five-week long absence in Seirin High. Fujiwara-sensei helped him in making sure everything is going well concerning the program while Riko and the rest of the team lend a hand in taking care of Nigou considering he can't take his pet in the schools he'll be attending as well as the places where he will be staying.

As for his parents, they easily accepted his decision relating to his agreement for taking the program when he informed them about it. His grandmother was glad that he won't have to stay at the house all alone and that he has a secure place to stay while he was settling at the chosen schools.

All in all, Kuroko was now done with all the arrangements and just waiting for Monday to come around. He hasn't told Kise (or even the rest of the Generation of Miracles) about the program or that he was going to attend their school for a week. He also asked his teammates to not mention it if they bumped into them by accident.

Kuroko doesn't know what to feel in interacting with his former teammates in the same school. He just has a feeling that something will happen during this exchange program, unraveling into things out of his grasp and had no control over. He really hoped he was wrong because he likes his peaceful and normal life.

But as unpredictable fate is, one thing is for sure, it likes to stir up trouble.