Chapter 1 – A New Beginning?

HEY! I'm really excited for this fanfic! I used to hate basketball and sport in general until I watched Kuroko no Basket which really caught my attention. Hot guys playing basketball is something I totally don't want to miss out on. My friend introduced me to this anime and I honestly loved it from start to finish. I went ahead and read the manga too and I fell in love with each character. Anyway enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoy this fanfic because I really hope you all would!

I have also written another KNB fanfic called 'A Game of Embers'. If there is anyone who is interested in a sort of fantasy world AU type story, please check it out! THANKS SO MUCH!

I DO NOT OWN KNB

"Tetsu! Where are you going?!"

The once loved deep voice called to her. She didn't turn to face him.

"Away…"

"What do you mean away? WE need you! Are you going to abandon the game? Are you going to abandoned us?!"

The voice pleaded to her. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying, the metallic tasting liquid ran down her chin.

"No, you abandoned me. And yes I am leaving the game, I am leaving basketball and never going back."

"Why? Why are you doing this Tetsu?! Please don't leave!"

She finally turned around, her sky blue hair rustled as the wind blew through it, tears streaming down her face as she faced the dark tanned boy that she once admired,

"I'm sorry, but I'm never going back…"

Then she turned and walked away.

~A year later~

"Come join the swimming club!"

"Please join the art club!"

Everywhere there was noise and honestly, Kuroko Tetsuya preferred the quiet. Engrossed in her book, she glides through the never ending stream of high school students. Not surprisingly no one bumped into her or noticed her walking passed. She was born like a ghost. Always there but never noticed. She closed her book as she heard three familiar syllables, 'Basketball'. Instantly drawn to the source of those syllables, she approaches a small table with two people sitting there, a small girl with short brown hair and a tall boy with black hair and glasses. The boy in glasses says something to the girl and receives a punch to the shoulder. They continue to squabble without noticing her.

She glanced at the form, her hand reaching for the pen but then she snatched her hand back to her side, turned and walked away. No, can't be tempted…I swore I wouldn't ever again. She disappeared into the crowd; two voices filled with surprise called out behind her as a very large, muscular redhead went passed her. She caught his expression; neutral, perhaps a slight grin on his face.

"Did you see that? He's huge!"

"I think we're going to have some great first years on our team!"

First year huh? She heard the bling of a message notification from her phone, she flipped it open and stared at the message

To Kuroko Tetsuya

From Ryota Kise

Kurokocchi! It's been so long! Why don't you ever reply to my messages or answer my calls? WAH! I'm so lonely! I miss Kurokocchi! Please call me! I want to talk to you!

She shoved her phone back into her pocket, a frown on her face. Doesn't that boy have anything better to do then text me 24/7? Sigh…typical Kise… She had made up her mind that she was going to move on with life and not look back at her past. She was going to make sure that what happened back at Teiko would never happen again and to accomplish that, she was not going to play ever again. Right now, she didn't want to see any of them. She didn't bother texting back.

Tetsuya entered the classroom, her seat at the very back and coincidentally behind that same redhead from earlier in the morning who plonked himself right in front of her. As he did so, the gush of air from that blew her long sky blue hair fluttered behind her. Gosh what a brute! Though, he would make a good player. Kinda reminds me of him…She sighed as the teacher came in and called out the roll.

"Kagami Taiga?"

"Here!"

So that was his name. Not only was his posture and personality like 'him' but his voice was deep and it was similar to a certain voice from long ago. Ahahaha…Taiga, funny…

"Kuroko Tetsuya?"

She snapped back into reality and called out 'here', although it seemed that her lack of presence was making it hard for the teacher and the rest of the class to notice her.

"Is he not here today? Honestly on the first day!"

She got up and walked to the table, again no one noticed her walk up to the table.

"Excuse me sensei, but I am here!"

The teacher jumped back as everyone stared at this blue haired girl.

"What? When has she been here?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya is a girl? I thought it was a boy?"

The teacher cleared her throat and smiled down at the girl,

"Sorry it seems I didn't notice you."

"No worries sensei, I get that a lot…"

She sat back down and everyone turned to face her. Their whispering and stares made her feel uncomfortable. The guy sitting in front of her didn't bother looking back, she was glad he didn't. She wasn't ready for conversation.

Later that day she walked around the school, exploring when she heard the loud tweet of a whistle. Her curiosity powered her feet and mind as she walked towards the sound and arrived at the gym. Inside were the two people at the basketball table and she stood there and watched.

"Hey is that the manager? She's cute but if only she were bigger…"

The guy with the glasses smacked them in the back of the head. He must have been the captain of the team. The small brunette introduced herself,

"I'm the boys' basketball club coach, Aida Riko!"

Kuroko saw their jaws drop as they began to whisper to each other and muttered as they couldn't believe what she had just said. Indeed it is quite strange to have a student as the coach of the basketball team, much less a female.

"TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRTS!"

"WHY?!"

She never replied and yelled at them to hurry up. It made Kuroko laugh at the sight of all these guys at the mercy of a short but powerful girl. After they took their shirts off, revealing toned and healthy bodies, she went ahead and analysed their bodies. She looked at everyone's faces and there was a single question that they all had in their minds. How can she do that just by looking at us?

The guy with the glasses, somehow, read their minds as well as hers as he answered,

"Her dad is a sports trainer, ever since she was little, she helped her dad collect data and create training regimen. It's something she picked up from observing bodies and data every day at her dad's workplace."

When she got up to Kagami, she stopped and looked totally shocked. It wasn't hard to guess but his body was perfect. His muscles were very prominent and solid and his height made him a powerful player.

Hyuga stared at his coach who had began to drool at the sight of Kagami's muscles and stats. His jealousy began to rise as he called out to her,

"Um…coach?"

Riko snapped out of her trance and resumed with her training.

"Alright, let's have a practice game! I want to see your abilities!"

Then they began to play a short game, so Riko could assess their skills. Kagami was a force to be reckoned with. He was powerful, skilled and most of all, he seemed to really enjoy basketball. Watching him ran up and down the court; huffing and puffy, sweating and dunking, it was a pleasurable reminder of the thrill, the rush of basketball.

It made her heart ache a little. A time where her best friends danced on the court and celebrating at the end. She snapped back into reality when the ball came flying at her. Instinctively, she caught the ball. The familiar feel of the roughness of the ball brought back years of memories of her playing and she stared at it as images of her past rushed through her mind. Kagami went to retrieve the ball but he couldn't find it anywhere.

"Where the hell is it?"

This brought Kuroko back as she approached the redhead.

"Hello Kagami-kun. I believe this ball is yours?"

"Thanks."

Realising that the ball and someone had magically appeared in front of him, Kagami jumped back with a shout as Kuroko looked up at him.

"What the? Since when have you been here?"

She didn't reply as she threw the ball back and began to leave. When Kagami caught it, he stared at her with shocked eyes.

"You-"

He was interrupted by Riko,

"Oi Bakagami! What is taking you so long?"

Without even thinking, the monstrous boy grabbed Kuroko's wrist and dragged her inside.

"Hey! What are you do-"

"Hey Coach! I think she's here to play too!"

"What? Kagami! You can't just drag girls into the gym like that! Besides, how do you know that she wants to play? Can she even play?"

"I can just tell. I can smell it from her…"

This caused the whole court, including Kuroko, to scowl at Kagami,

"Ew! What the hell? Bad choice of words Kagami."

"WHAT?! NO! I didn't finish my sentence! What I was meant to say is that I can smell the rubber of the basketball on her. It's a type of smell you get if you play often!"

The other players continued to stare at him weirdly, like he was a very strange pervert. But nevertheless, Riko stared at this girl. She was very fit for someone her size, she seemed capable. Riko could tell that this girl had indeed played a form of sports but not recently. She could see that the muscle mass in her arms and legs were that of a basketball player; albeit a female one. Though it seemed that the girl was lacking, as if she hadn't been playing for a while…Riko knew that this was a boys' team and it was extremely rare if not impossible for girls to play on a boys' team.

Although Hyuga seemed to notice something about this girl and he stepped forward. She was undeniably cute, not as cute as Riko, but there was something else about her that he was intrigued about, it felt like he had seen her somewhere.

"Riko, let her play. I have a good feeling about her."

"Wait- but- no- fine…"

Tetsuya had sworn that she would never play again and this wasn't going to stop her from breaking that oath anytime soon. Although she felt the big urge to just grab the ball and play, but at the same time, she knew she had to pull back.

"I am sorry to disappoint you but I don't play basketball anymore."

"Anymore? Did you used to play?"

Shit, I messed up. Everyone's attention was now on her and she didn't want to reveal her truth or identity to anyone so she gave the biggest white lie ever.

"Yes I did used to play, but because of an injury, I can't play anymore. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

She was on the brink of tears. Please don't tell me to play. Leave me alone. Everyone sighed as Kagami stared at her with disbelief in his eyes, he knew this girl could and would still play and he wasn't going to let her get away with it.

"Cut the crap,"

"Kagami-kun, if she doesn't want to play you can't force her to."

She bowed and turned to head back when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She looked at the message and sighed. This guy doesn't know when to give up.

To Kuroko Tetsuya

From Ryota Kise

Please reply. KUROKOCCHI! I'VE BEEN CRYING EVER SINCE YOU LEFT!

Tetsuya knew it. She knew his intentions and she wasn't going to give in.

I don't want to see any of you. Leave me alone.

She switched off her phone as she continued to watch the practice game between the seniors and the first years. This was the basketball she loved. This was the basketball she wanted to play. They were having so much fun and everyone was involved, from the coach to the players and the guys on the bench. She sighed and stared at everyone as she yearned to play again. She wanted to reach out and touch that ball but she knew, if she did, there was no going back. It had taken her so much effort to not play. She knew if she played, it would break her heart.

She wouldn't be able to bear the pain of her teammates leaving her, the isolation and betrayal. She never wanted to go through that again. A tear rolled down her eyes as her vision became blurry, a flash of a rainbow caught her eye before her vision cleared up and an orange mass came hurtling towards her.

"OI pipsqueak! Think fast!"

The ball was inches from her face but managed to catch it easily. Her past partner was more unpredictable than Kagami and his passes hurt like hell but she had gotten used to it. All those practices and games had built her endurance to those kinds of passes. Everyone stared at her in shock. They knew that his passes hurt like hell and that no ordinary person could catch it.

"What? What do you want?"

"Come over here and shoot."

"What?! Didn't I say I can't play anymore!"

"Shut up! I know you aren't injured. You heard what I said, now hurry up and shoot!"

"No! I'm leaving."

"Just get here and shoot already. I can tell you can, those fingers of yours, I can see that you've played."

She hesitated, her body too afraid to step onto the court. No…I don't want this pain. I hate basketball! Her body betrayed her mind as she got onto the court and to satisfy Kagami, she stood at the three point line and shot. The shot wasn't perfect but it went in anyway, one of the few times it ever does. She was an all-rounder when it came to basketball. She could shoot just not very well, but her expertise lies in her passes, blocks and steals. She was average, perhaps lower, but there was a certain skill that no one had except for her. She was a ghost, a shadow on the court and she could disappear, reappear anywhere on the court without her enemies ever noticing her there.

Everyone smiled at her.

"You shoot well for someone with an injury…"

"Ok, I lied. I don't play anymore because of personal reasons which I have no reason to tell you."

Kagami scoffed, he towered over her but she didn't flinch because she has seen more intimidating things than him. Besides, his height didn't match Murasakibara's giant proportions. If you weren't scared of Akashi, then you pretty much aren't scared of anything else, he had the aura to intimidate the bravest of men.

"Oi Kagami! Don't bully girls you idiot!"

Riko lunged at Kagami but was stopped by Hyuga who covered her mouth and dragged her back. Riko could tell that this girl was hurt. From occasionally glancing at her during the practice match, the pain in the girl's eyes were evident, she could have sworn she saw a tear roll down. Whatever it was, the poor girl must have been traumatised or at least hurt…maybe losing an important match in middle school, breaking up with her team….it was anyone's guess. But she didn't like the fact that Kagami was being a nosy brat and pushing the girl.

"Don't lie. I can tell from the look in your eyes that you miss it and you really want to play again. I saw you sitting there crying. So I'm giving you this option, play with us on the team or leave and never come back."

She glared at him and he dropped her. The intensity of that glare had shocked him and everyone else. Kuroko may seem small, delicate and even fragile but she was none of those. She was sharp like a blade and strong like titanium.

"How funny of you to say that. You're just a first year who hasn't even been accepted into the team yet and you think you have the authority to say that to me? Forget it, I'm going home."

This guy… He was so much like him and she didn't like it one bit. It recalled a bad memory. But he was also very different in the way that he actually loved basketball. She hadn't met him for long but she could feel his love for it emanating from his body. She could tell he wasn't the type of lose hope that easily. She tightened her fist in frustration as she fought herself. One half was begging her to play again. It knew she yearned for it and it knew she was very tempted to say yes. The other half told her that it would mean accepting Akashi's order to play again and she would never take orders from anyone like that again.

Then Tetsuya turned and ran out the gym. She could hear the others yell at Kagami for scaring her off and cries of pain as he most likely got hit by Riko. She grasped her heart as her head pounded with frustration. Damn it! It was hard, so very hard for her to resist and run out of the gym. Her hand was throbbing at the familiarity of the ball against her palm, her fingertips, and her body.

When she got home, she instantly burst into tears. All her emotions suddenly poured out of her body and she was so torn between playing and resisting. All this hurt from what happened the year before. She was so happy until her team began to fall apart, there was no more fun or emotion when playing with them. Winning was no longer an achievement, it was just a chore.

A quiet bling from her phone caught her attention.

From Kise Ryota

Kurokocchi, where are you? Are you home right now? Do you mind if I come over?

She didn't want to talk to him.

She then rewinded to that afternoon when she saw Kagami and the others play. It was warm, friendly and welcoming. Unlike Teiko, everyone was having so much fun, everyone supported each other and it was all about team effort. She thought, maybe the only way to end this pain and hurt, is to start fresh. She still remembered the painful pass that Kagami had thrown at her, it hurt but it felt exhilarating. It got her heart pumping. This is what she played basketball for. It was time to man up and stop being such a sulk.

Kuroko Tetsuya, I hope you know what you are doing. If you do this, you are accepting that bastard's challenge and you fall under his influence again. But it's about time that they snap back into reality and realise that they're not the only ones who can rule the court. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve and proceeded to talk to Kagami. It wasn't the end of practice yet so if she hurried back to the gym at Seirin, she would still be able to make it. She quickly raced out her door, ran for her life to Seirin. She ran like her life depended on this decision. In a record of 10 minutes, she reached Seirin and to her luck, they had just started to pack up.

"Excuse me!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs.

No one noticed. Figures…

She walked up to Riko and tapped on her shoulder,

"Excuse me, Um..Riko-san?"

"Heh? ARGH! When did you get here? Or rather why are you back here?"

That caught the attention of everyone else.

"I know this may sound selfish and completely contradictory to what I said before but I would like to join the team! Please…I want to play again. I want to run around the court and win with you guys. I miss basketball, so please let me join."

Riko was taken aback by the red faced, panting and crying girl who stood before her. Moments seemed to pass by as Riko stared in shock at the blunette standing before her. Whatever made this girl change her mind? But if she came from Teiko and played regularly with the GOM then there is no issue with letting her join. This year really has some crazy first years.

"Fine! But my training is tough, it's not really made for girls."

"it's fine I can take it. I've had worse, so please let me join!"

Kagami smiled, he knew that he was right. She really did want to play again, it was just a matter of time before she succumbed to the temptation and she really did fall for it.

A person who likes basketball this much can't be a bad person. The thought made Kuroko smile but it was masked by a passive expression as she turned to the team while Riko welcomed her.

"Okay, sure. There's nothing in the rules that said a girl can't play on a boys' team. Welcome to the team, Kuroko-san…"

"Thank you Riko-san."

"Hah I told you so!"

Kuroko grinned at Kagami.

"I guess I could thank you for that but I won't because you made me cry."

A blush flashed across his face as he quietly apologised, feeling pretty guilty for that which only made her laugh. The team were amazed. They had seen several different parts of her character. When she first arrived, she was a passive almost blank faced girl, then she was sad and depressed, then angry and finally she was happy. The seniors couldn't help but feel that this year was their year. With interesting new members like these guys, this year was never going to be boring. Kuroko knew that this was the best choice she had made. She was going to prove to the Generation of Miracles what real basketball was and no one, including herself could stop her.

End of chapter 1

So? How was it? I know that it's quite similar to some KNB fanfics you have read but they inspired me to write KNB. I loved the way they wrote them and I wanted to write something that would make you guys happy and really enjoy it. I didn't steal their work if that's what you are wondering but I got ideas from them! Anyway I thought since I enjoyed this so much, I'll write and update many chapters for you all!

SO I look forward to seeing you guys!