Chapter 1: The tall boy and the phantom

Even as a small child; Murasakibara Atsushi had always been tall for his age. He didn't have a lot of friends growing up not until he reached middle school.

Throughout middle school and high school, he was feared for how tall he was, but in kindergarten he was mocked for height.

Back then he wasn't the only one who had trouble making friends.

Kuroko Tetsuya was the new kid in town and starting his first day at his new school.

The blue haired boy hadn't fit in well at his old school due to his deadpanned attitude and straightforward personality. His only friend was outside of school and last time Kuroko checked, Ogiwara didn't attend the school that he was transferring to.

Kuroko sometimes wished that he could turn into the shadow that he was often called, appearing whenever there was life.

Ah, what a peaceful life that'd be.

Unfortunately, Kuroko was standing at the front of the room, patiently waiting while the teacher gathered the attention of the other children.

"Now settle down, class. Today, we have a nice student." She smiled down reassuringly at Kuroko. "Please introduce yourself."

Kuroko pursed his lips, of all the times for his presence to be noticed.

"Hello, my name's Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you all." He said with a polite bow.

The other kids, however, paid no attention to him and continued on with their own conversations.

There was at least one person who bothered to listen.

Murasakibara sat at the table in the back, cheek resting against his palm. Violet eyes were studying the new boy, carefully. The new boy looked so fragile with a very small build and fairly pale skin. His hair was a shade of light blue that was styled to the left with a pair of baby blue eyes.

Murasakibara furrowed his brow, trying to recall what the blue haired boy his name was.

'Ah~ I remember now. He said his name was Kuroko Tetsuya, I wonder if we'll become friends." He thought eagerly.

Baby blue eyes scanned around looking for an available place to sit and landed on the empty seat next to Murasakibara.

"Can I sit next to him?" Kuroko asked, pointing towards him.

The teacher looked a little startled. This was the first time anyone asked to sit with Murasakibara.

"Um...sure, go right ahe-" Before she could even finish her sentence, Kuroko was already making his way to the back table.

His eyes widened in surprise as he watched Kuroko make his way over to the table. He was going to have someone sitting right next to him! As Kuroko approached the table, a pale finger pointed to the chair directly next to the violet eyed boy.

"Excuse me, but would it be alright if I sat next to you?" He asked politely.

Murasakibara paled a little but nodded in response, watching as the boy sat down, turning to face him.

"Um...why did you want to sit next to me?"

The bluenette blinked.

"This table had enough space and you're the only one who was paying attention."

A faint blush spread across the taller boy's cheeks.

"I'm Murasakibara Atsushi, nice to meet you Kurochin."

He blinked again.

"That's the first time I've had a nickname that I liked." Kuroko said, facing remaining expressionless.

But Murasakibara could hear the delight in his voice. As the two struck up a conversation, unaware of the sea students staring at the pair in awe.

From that day on, the duo was known as the tall boy and the phantom.