Warning: Child abuse, violent drunks, suicide, and where would my story be without cussing? Also, my goal with this one was to rip your hearts out, so be careful~!

DISCLAIMER; I DON'T OWN SHIT.

Phantom Sixth Man. The Shadow of Seirin. The Worst Person Ever to play Hide-and-go seek with. Kuroko Tetsuya was called by many names yet few knew of them. Kuroko gained all these titles with his ability of misdirection, or at least, that was his cover for this condition.

Ever since Kuroko could remember, he had always been this way. There was nothing too strange or life-threatening, his parents would sometimes forget about him in the store, so what? It was completely normal in little Kuroko's mind. Everyone was forgotten sometime or another, Kuroko was just… more forgettable than most other people.

When Kuroko was just barely two, his parents dropped him off at his Grandmother's house in the city. Just for the weekend of course, they planned to return for him by Monday.

Soon it was Tuesday, Grandmother set down the phone after leaving her fifth message to her daughter's phone. Her worried frown was replaced by a small smile directed at the small child, tugging at her dress for attention. She patted his head, giving off an aura of suppressed worry.

Grandmother scooped him up her arms, and lulled him to sleep. Once she heard quiet snores, she set him in his crib and watched him sleep, before leaning on a window looking out onto the busy streets.

She gazed at the hustle and bustle of the city, transfixed by the bright lights. Grandmother was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the baby make unpleasant noises and sounds of uncomfortable fear.

'Oh? Must be a nightmare, poor child.' She grabbed the baby up with the blankets and began to sway, putting the baby back into a sense of safety. The baby smiled and snuggled into her touch, her heart melted.

"There, there. It will be alright. Let me chase away those nasty nightmares." She began to sing softly, if you weren't listening for it, you might have missed it. But the child heard every word. "Leaves from the vine, falling so slow, like tiny little shel- oh. I'm sorry, my child. Did I wake you?" (1)She noticed the infant's eyes blinking sleepily, and laughed softly. "Do not wake. All is well, there are no nightmare monsters. Grandmother chased them all away. Go back to sleep, my child."

"Gwamuver (Grandmother)?"

"Yes?" The small blue eyes were fully open now, gone was the weariness caused by sleep.

"When's Mommy 'n Daddy coming back?" Grandmother hesitated before answering.

"I don't know, Tetsuya, I don't know." She peered into the depths of his baby blue eyes, and saw tears beginning to well up.

"Why nwaut (not)? Wheur aur vey (Where are they)?" His already hard to understand baby's tongue was even harder to make out through his sniffling and tears. Grandmother could not decipher what he said, though try as she might. She closed her eyes and held the child closer.

"Do not worry. Everything shall be well. You'll see your parents soon, I promise. Now rest, my child. Let me finish my song. Ahem, leaves from the vine…" And with that the baby fell back into the darkness that sleep offered.

Grandmother was right about Kuroko seeing his parents soon, but not on the other part. He saw his parents a few days later, and all was not well.

His parents were in a coffin. He saw them again at their funeral.

Ever since then Tetsuya lived together with his Grandmother in her Toyko apartment. Though there was a bright side to this situation, his parents forgot about him a lot, but Grandmother hadn't forgotten him once since he arrived. Things were finally looking up for a change.

However, despite his Granny being the sweetest, most wonderful grandmother imaginable, she had already gone through the struggles of motherhood. And she was not ready for another round of it. She started drinking to ease her troubles, but it only made them worse.

At first it started with one drink on a late Friday night, then one or two every other night. Then two or three every other night. Soon it was every night and Kuroko could get no respite, she was a violent drunk and usually came home after drinking, drunker than what should be legal.

Kuroko used to be a talkative curious child, Grandmother changed all that. He used to love mystery, to explore, to talk and joke.

It was a late night and Grammy was still not back. Kuroko was three, and sprawled on the floor with a few crayons he picked up from the park. He had already drawn the outline and was now filling in the dress. His grammy had been coming home angry, and Tetsuya wanted to do something about that. He figured a drawing of her would make her smile.

At the thought of making Grammy smile, he smiled warmly to himself and sped up the coloring the red dress. Soon he moved onto her hair, a silvery blue represented by a generic blue. His coloring wasn't the best, but to Kuroko it was perfect.

'Grammy will love this! It looks just like her!' He held up the sheet of paper, looking at it admirably, undeniably proud of his work. His attention was thrown to the door when he heard the jangling of keys. 'That's Grammy!' He pushed himself onto his knees. He quickly grabbed the paper, and crayons in the other. He ran to the door.

He heard the keys drop, and a string of cusses, before the door finally began to open. Tetsuya stood right in front of the door blocking the old woman's way. She gazed down at the brat.

"Get outta the way." She kicked him, and he moved out of her path, and observed. It was not a strong kick, but it was enough to let Kuroko know if he did not move it would be a lot stronger.

She walked over to the couch and plopped down. She grabbed the remote, and began to watch the news. Kuroko stood still, suddenly a more hesitant to show Grammy the picture. He forced himself to slowly walk forward; he drew this for Grammy to make her happy! She quickly took notice of the child walking toward her.

"What do you want, you fucking brat?" He looked startled as if slapped, he quickened his pace and came to a stop in front of her.

"..I,uh, I drew you and, uh, here." He held out the picture, nervous of her reaction. She stared. Soon the shock wore off, and she ripped the picture out of his hands for closer inspection.

"What is this?" She asked in a small, threatening almost whisper. Kuroko answered, oblivious to her anger, taking it as happiness, he gained his confidence back.

"It's you Grammy! I wanted to make yo-"

"It's ME?! How THE FUCK does that look ANYTHING like me?" Kuroko stuttered under her anger. She looked the picture over and noticed the color of her hair. Blue, the same color as was her hair in her youth. "No. Scratch that don't even try to fucking answer! Did you have to fucking remind me of my shitty age?! That I'm old and going to go to hell soon? Is that it? Are you telling me to hurry up and die already? Huh, is that it?"

"No! I just- it was the closest col-"

"The closest color? THE CLOSEST COLOR?! It doesn't even look remotely the same! Are you fucking stupid or something?! What the hell, nevermind, what the hell is that?!" This time she began to rant about the dress, and shoes, and eyes, and then finally the entire ordeal. Kuroko barely able to stop himself from crying, looked into her eyes, as he finally burst.

"Grammy! I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE YOU HAPPY!"

"DON'T SHOUT AT ME YOU LITTLE SHIT. AND I AINT HAPPY, DO BETTER NEXT TIME. AND IT'S MISS KUROKO TO YOU." Kuroko stood there shocked and hurt.

"But Gramm-" She slapped him. Hard. He fell to the floor and rolled, holding the spot of pain. "Grammy?" She kicked him.

"What did you fucking say?" He looked down, and whispered in a tiny voice.

"Miss Kuroko."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you. Speak louder, you damn brat."

"Miss Kuroko!"

"Damn straight. And don't you forget it! Now, GET." He pushed himself up, and began to stumble towards his room.

As he neared the room, she kicked him once more for good measure. He fell once more. He couldn't get up this time. She yelled at him to get up, but the world was spinning. He felt something pound his back. He turned his head, and focused on the objects. His broken crayons. Tears welled up in his eyes. He dashed into his room, angry and hurt.

He never referred to anyone by their title to him ever again unless specified by the person to do so. From then on everyone, even close friends were Miss or Mr. (2)

The next morning, Miss Tetsuya finally awoke with a nasty hangover.

"Uggh, I hate the sun. Why does it have to be so early? Goddamn it. Why did I drink so much? Oh, right. I wonder what's the brat up to?" She stumbled off the couch to his door. She almost slipped over something. She looked down, and saw a piece of paper. She lifted her foot up and saw a few broken crayons and a few ripped up pieces of paper.

She crouched and inspect the pieces of paper. She began to put the pieces together, trying to form a picture. She hadn't remembered much from last night, just some yelling, as usual… Miss Kuroko often felt guilty about her drunken anger that surfaced, yet did nothing to stop it. The picture was about coming together. So far she could make out a.. dress? And a shoes? The next pieces were quite easy to place. There were a few holes left in it, Miss Kuroko could still see the picture.

She sighed, and scrambled the scraps, not wanting to think about what she had done. She examined the area, a few broken crayons scattered about the area. She was NOT in the mood to deal with this. She looked at the too bright clock, and decided 12:40 was a good time for lunch.

She put together a turkey sandwich and ate slowly, recovering from her hangover and gaining common sense once more. Once she was done, she put the dishes away. She sent a look at the door, bit her lip, and made a sandwich for her grandson. He probably hadn't had lunch or breakfast.

Miss Kuroko was really beginning to regret her drinking problem. She hoped she hadn't hurt him too bad. She walked towards his door, once more. Miss Kuroko dropped to her knees, setting the plate down beside her.

She grabbed the paper and crayons and put them in her pocket. She walked over to the kitchen, located the tape, and pieced together the once broken pieces. She put them once more in her pockets. Miss Kuroko walked over to her grandson's door, and picked up the plate. She knocked on the door.

A timid blue head opened the door and looked up at her.

"Yes, Miss Kuroko?" She frowned to herself. Why had he suddenly started calling her so formally? There was no need to be so formal, they were family…Unless she did something last night.

"Hello, Tetsuya. Would you let me come in?" He nodded, and opened the door further. He backed away and sat on the bed. She walked in and sat in the chair for his desk, which was right beside the bed. She offered him the sandwich.

"Thank you, Miss Kuroko." He grabbed the sandwich out off the plate, and took a large bite, quickly stuffing his face. He looked at her expectantly when he noticed she was still in the room.

"Tetsuya…We need to talk. But first, you don't have to be so formal. We are family afterall…" She trailed off when she saw the determined shaking of his head. Left to right. Left to right. She sighed, it seemed like that wouldn't change any time soon. "Alright, fine then. Look. I'm sorry, Tetsuya. I know I did something last night, and I'm sorry." She took the patched up paper and crayons, and held them out. "Will you accept my apology?" He hesitated, but grabbed them nonetheless. "Do you forgive me?"

"Yes, Miss Kuroko." She nodded, accepting his reply.

"Okay, just remember I love you, my child." With that, she took the plate and left. Tetsuya was unsure of what to think. She said she was sorry, but it had happened so many times. It was never ending.

Ever since Kuroko came, it had added unexpected expenses to her bill. Her retirement account couldn't hold up for the both of them. She soon had to take up a job, leaving Kuroko home all day, then hitting the bar, and coming home late.

When Kuroko was with Mother and Father in the suburbs, he had tons of friends that lived all around him. Or at least he thought so. It had been so long, Tetsuya realized he had forgotten his old friends names and faces. Or how many there were. Or if he actually had any. He sometimes wondered if they never actually existed at all, or else they would come to play with him, right?

Every now and then he thought of Mother and Father, he tried to turn his thoughts away from the subject, as it would only make him sad, but there were days when he could not stop thinking about them. As days turned to months and months to years, his few precious memories of them began to fade. His mother's touch. His father's laugh. Little things at first, soon it was unbearable. The more he tried to remember, the more he forgot. Soon, it was his mother's face and his father's height. Their voices. Their features. Everything.

Soon he was five, left with nothing of his parents except his genes. He was a completely different child than when he first came to live with Miss Kuroko. Back then he was a soft, whiny child unable to take the softest of blows, now he was a toughened warrior. At least, that's what the five year old's view of himself was. Though it was true, Miss Kuroko's beatings gave him a tolerance to pain, and he was able to toughen up through the hard times, but a child was still a child, and children often don't know the full extent of the world.

On those constant days of no one to talk to, and nothing to do in the apartment, Tetsuya entertained himself, and worked up an active imagination. Though around once every month, Miss Kuroko would take the toddler out to the park, where the boy realized how much his social skills had plummeted since coming to Toyko. The other children often just ignored him, though the young Kuroko did not know that it was just his condition rearing its ugly head.

Sometimes Miss Kuroko would be responsible, and call a babysitter for the boy. The babysitter may not have cared much for the boy, but the babysitter taught the boy how to handle women, putting him through random scenarios about dealing with women.

As Kuroko had grown older, Miss Kuroko's drinking and violence had only become worse, but so did sober Miss Kuroko's guilt.

Kuroko was five, and sitting on the couch, waiting for Miss Tetsuya to return home. He stared out of the high window and let his imagination run wild. He snapped out of it when he heard the familiar jingling of keys, and the unlocking of a door. He turned his head over to the door, staring with wide eyes as the form of Miss Tetsuya.

She looked normal enough, but what really caught Tetsuya's attention was the object she was holding. A gun. He looked up to her face, tears were flowing down her cheeks.

She walked in and closed the door.

"Hey, Tetsuya." At this point, Tetsuya was scared shit-less like a deer caught in headlights. She sat down on the couch next to the small boy. She wrapped an arm around him, and frowned. Now that she noticed, he was far too skinny.

On the other hand, Tetsuya's head was spinning with thoughts. She didn't seem drunk, because she hasn't hit him yet. Why wasn't she drunk? She was always drunk. Why was she crying? He tried to remember his lessons from the babysitter, but his memories failed him.

"You're so skinny… You should eat more." Tetsuya had no idea what to say, often times Miss Kuroko would lash out at him for eating too much food, now she was telling him to eat more? It didn't make sense. "Take care of yourself, okay?" She seemed to expect an answer, Kuroko nodded dimly, not sure why. "Stay strong, for Grammy…" Kuroko was startled.

"Miss Kuroko, I'm sorry but-"

"No, my child, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all that I've put you through and all that I'm about to." She glanced at the gun, and closed her eyes. It was time. She lifted the gun up. Tetsuya's shot wide open when he realized what she was about to do.

"Miss Kuroko! No! You're just drunk! Put the gun down! Don-"

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya, but this is the end for me.." She smiled down at the child grasping at her arm, wishing for it to release him so he could stop the gun.

"Goodbye, my grandson." She pulled the trigger, and slumped forward. Kuroko stumbled out of her grasp and began to try and rouse her out of her 'sleep.'

"MISS KUROKO! NOO! MISS KUROKO! PLEASE WAKE UP MISS KUROKO! MISS KUROKO, YOU CAN'T BE DEAD! Please… I can't lose anyone else… PLEASE! WaKE UP!" He began shaking her, desperate for sign of life. She couldn't be dead! But her slowly cooling, unmoving, unresponsive body said otherwise. His voice began to get hoarse.

"Miss Kuroko, no… She's, she's dead." Realization began to sink in, and the tears began to flow. "Miss Kuroko, is dead. Dead. Miss Kuroko is not alive anymore? Buh, but! She can't be… But where's her pulse? WHERE'S HER PULSE? UWHAHAHAHAAHA! WAKE UP MISS KUROKO! WAKE UP!" He hugged the dead body, as he wore himself out, and eventually fell asleep.

He smiled in his sleep, because his dream was a happy one. One with Grammy and Mommy and Daddy all living together in Kuroko's old house. Everything was just fine. Kuroko couldn't be happier. He laughed and smiled and played with them and his old forgotten friends. He was just about to go down the slide, when he felt his body being moving. Confused, he scrunched his eyebrows, trying to assess the situation.

He felt himself being carried, bouncing up and down with each foot step, even with the carrier trying to keep the child still, as to not wake him. But wake he did. Confused as to who was carrying him, he slowly opened one eye, unused to the light, but not recognizing the face of the carrier.

It was an officer, a police officer to be specific. In fact, there were flashing lights all around.

"W-who are you?" The officer jumped a fraction, surprised by the child.

"Oh, you're awake. I'm Officer Yakata. And what might your name be?"

"I'm Kuroko T-tetsuya. Where's Miss K-Kuroko?" The officer blinked at that. Was Miss Kuroko the one he had found the boy hugging?

"I'm sorry, Kuroko, but I believe Miss Kuroko is.." The memories flooded through the boy, chilling him to the bone. He was surprised he was keeping it all together.

"Dead? Yes, I-I remember." The officer bit his lip, not quite sure of what to do.

"So.. uh, kid? Can you tell me what happened?" Kuroko nodded and began the tale.

"O-once upon a time, Miss Kuroko came home like usual. But t-today she had a g-gun. She sat on the couch with me, and then s-shot herself. I fell asleep. I woke up in your arms. T-The end." The officer sweat dropped at the bluntness of the situation.

"Well, is it okay if I take you to the station?" Kuroko nodded. "Then come with me." He put Kuroko in the back seat, and went to explain what he was doing to the other officers around the scene. The police had been called as soon as the gunshot was heard. There was police tape all around the area, they had suspected it was a suicide, but it was proven by the child. Still, they would need more time to asses the situation.

He dove over to the police station and let one of the more qualified officers to deal with the child before returning to the crime scene.

Now, there Kuroko was sitting alone and afraid in a foreign environment, being questioned by strange people in uniform. It was almost enough to make him cry. Almost.

"So Tetsuya, do you know if you have any other family members?" Kuroko shook his head. The questioner sighed. He looked at the kid's file once more. To Tetsuya, it seemed like all he could do; nod and shake his head to the questions. It was maddening.

The officer nodded and began to call someone. Kuroko could vaguely hear the conversation going on in the other room. It didn't feel real, none of this did.

".Yes, sir… no, we're tryin… We don't know why!... yes, sir. Can you please… Sir! There's no one els… Yes, I understand sir. Thank you." After a few fateful minutes, the officer finally hung up and began walking about the office, looking for a few papers that would decide Tetsuya's fate.

He walked over and addressed the boy.

"Hey, you're going to go live with your Grandfather now, okay? He's coming to pick you up now, and we'll get everything settled, just leave it to the adults." Kuroko nodded, slightly surprised at the thought of another Grandparent, he'd only known Miss Kuroko.

The officer on the other hand was spooked out by the child's calmness, the shock should have worn out by now. It was unnatural. The officer sighed, wishing the old man would hurry up, and get this kid out of his hair.

The Grandfather sighed. It had been three weeks since he picked up this kid, and nothing had changed. His ex-wife had really messed this kid up.

When he had first gotten the call, he was surprised to learn he had a grandson and that his daughter was dead. He was surprised that his daughter had hidden the child from him, he knew that they hadn't been on the best of terms, but still, it was a bit extreme. Then there was the whole matter of said daughter being dead, he hadn't spoken to them for years, but to think they were actually dead? That day had just been one surprise after another.

The child was an odd one. No doubt screwed up by his stupid ex. Apparently she had kept his last name, how selfish. Tetsuya never called him Grandfather, or Pops, or Grandpa, or anything really, just Mr. Kuroko. He flinched at physical contact. He stuttered. He tripped. He was unsure of himself in everyway. He had no friends. He rarely said anything without being prompted. It was just sad.

Mr. Kuroko was determined to fix his small grandson, and set him back on the right track. It wouldn't be easy though; the boy was an introvert and barely knew how to open up. He saw the boy staring into space on the couch, lost in his own world.

"Hey, kiddo. What's up?" The kid just turned his head, eyes glazed over, as if not really there. He replied in a small voice.

"Nothing." He sat down beside the boy, ignoring the flinch.

"Do you have any friends?" The boy shook his head. "No, huh? Must be lonely, it's not fun being all alone." The boy seemed conflicted, but nodded at the statement. Mr. Kuroko took interest at that. "Do you want friends?" The boy nodded. "Then why don't you have any? I'm sure if you opened up, you could be very popular."

"W-well, I used to have friends. I think. I c-can't really remember anymore. It was a really long t-t-time ago."

"I see. Well, how about this, I can help you make friends, but in order to do that, you have to interact with other people. Are you okay with that?" Even if it had only been three weeks, the boy had become accustomed to his presence and had slowly warmed up to him, not as scared to speak around or to him.

"Yeah, I-I guess so. But how do I make friends?" The old man considered the question for a moment. He remember how he made friends when he was a teenager, but it had been too long for him to remember how he made them as a five year old.

"There are lots of ways, but first you've gotta start acting normal. I know my ex really must have messed you up, but you won't make many friends the way you are now."

"Why not?" The boy was looking up at him with those large baby blue eyes that could melt anyone's heart. It broke the old man's heart to explain the ways of the world and crush some part of the child's innocence.

"Because people aren't always so nice. They'd tease you on your stutter, and your odd colored hair. And if you spend all your time staring off into space like you do and being quiet, they'd mark you as creepy, weird and never want to be your friend. I'm sorry kiddo, it's just the way of the world. But you can fix those things, I can get you some speech therapy if you're up to it. Thankfully your stutter ain't too bad, well whaddaya say?"

"…No. I w-won't do it. I-I won't fake my personality to make stupid friends! Who needs 'em anyway?!" The old man looked taken aback. The boy noticed his tone of voice with wide eyes, and quickly covered his mouth. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't m-mean t-to yell. P-please don't hit me."

"What are you talking about, kid? I won't hit you, sometimes it's good to let off some steam. I'm glad you told me what you really felt. But still, you sure you don't want some help with that stutter?"

"… T-t-thank you, I'll consider it."

"Thatta boy. Now what do you want for dinner? Anything you want." Within the week, Mr. Kuroko had signed the boy up for speech therapy lessons. It went well, and by the time he was six he was alomost completely cured. That was when they stopped the weekly lessons.

"Thank you for everything, Miss Kyreine. " The small six year old bowed, grateful for his therapist's help. The older woman smiled and rubbed his head.

"You're quite welcome, Tetsuya. Stay strong and don't stutter, I don't want to have to see you back in here."

"I won't." She crouched down and gave the boy one final hug.

"Good. Now your grandfather is waiting, goodbye Tetsuya." She squeezed him one last time, and gave him a small push towards the door. Kuroko walked towards the glass door, opening it slightly with one hand and paused.

"Goodbye Miss Kyreine." He flashed her a warm, rare smile and dashed out the door, running to his awaiting grandfather. She smiled, watching the boy go. He had come a long way since he had come into her office, a scared stuttering little child. She chuckled, and saw it was time for her next appointment. She jogged into her office, already late.

Later that week, Kuroko was bugging his grandfather.

"Listen, I know I promised, but I'm tired. Let's go tomorrow."

"Grandfather, just do it. Yesterday you said tomorrow, just do it. Stop putting it off. Don't let my dreams just be dreams." Grandfather looked into the monotone boy's eyes, watching him expectantly.

"Ehh. Can't you wait for school to start? It's only a few days off…"

"No. I wish to go to the park, and fulfill my dreams of having friends. You promised that you would take me as soon as I finished my therapy." Grandfather was irked, the kid was so calm and reasonable, and he had a point. But Grandfather really just wanted to lay on the couch today, not take his grandson to the park. He sighed, it would be good for the kid.

"Alright, alright. I'll take you to the park, but I am NOT interacting with any of the other parents."

"Thank you." The kid left to gather his stuff for the park. Grandfather huffed. He could practically hear the triumphant tone in the kid's controlled voice.

When they arrived at the park, he could hear the kid buzzing with excitement, looking out the window in anticipation at the other children playing tag or something of the like. When the car slowed to a stop, he hear the click of a seat belt. Grandfather looked back.

"Excited?"

"Very." Grandfather raised an eyebrow at that. Some emotion had leaked into his voice, but how could he help it? He was so excited, nervous, frightened, happy, that he could barely even see straight.

"Haha. I can tell. Anyways, here's the rules." Tetsuya straightened up to listen better, this was important. Grandfather began listing off the rules, holding up a finger for each number. "One: Don't talk to adult or teenage strangers. Two: If some shoves you, don't shove back. Just walk away, and if they still won't leave you alone, get an adult. If they don't stop after that, well, you have my permission to beat their butt. Three: Be nice. To everyone. Four: Don't break any rules. Okay, got it?" Tetsuya nodded his head. "Good, now go make some friends, ya little scamp!" With his dismissal, Tetsuya opened the door, and jumped out. He closed the door, and ran over to the other children.

Once he reached the others, he was unsure of what to do with himself. He stood in the center of children running around him, yet he did not know how to approach them. He looked back to his grandfather in the car. Grandfather gave him a quick thumbs up, and put rest to a few of Kuroko's insecurities. He breathed in deep, and exhaled. And began looking around for someone to talk to, with a renewed sense of courage.

He scouted out, a few girls walking around the playground talking, laughing, and such. They were odd, one even had pink hair! Maybe weird hair was normal here.

He looked at some of the boys playing tag. Many had black hair, but there was one blonde kid who attracted his attention. The kid was running around, happy as can be, not even caring that the person who was it, was just about to tag him. Kuroko looked on in anticipation as the kid was about to get tagged, but at the last minute, the blonde swerved his hips, and skipped out of the danger zone.

He noticed a few kids on the swings. One was being harassed by the other children! Kuroko walked closer to hear the conversation.

"Hey! Com'on! Get off the swing already! We wanna swing too!"

"Yeah! Plus who even brings their teddy bear to a playground? That's stupid!" He gained a better view of the child. He had green hair, and was holding a pink teddy bear. Something seemed to be wrong with his vision, as he was also squinting.

"I do. And it's not stupid! It's good luck!"

"If you want good luck so much, go get a uhh… what was it? It's like a leafy thing.."

"A four leaf clover?"

"Yeah, go pick one of those you ninny!" The green hair scoffed.

"No." One of the others got impatient, and began yelling.

"Just get off the swing already!" Kuroko decided to intervene. He placed a hand on the yeller's shoulder.

"Hey. You shouldn't yell at people like that. It's not nice. And you, green haired person, you should let them on the swing. Don't be a hog." All the attention was directed onto him, and he began to sweat under the limelight, wondering if he did something wrong.

"Tsk. Whatever. I was just gonna go to the monkey bars now anyways." The green head jumped off the swing, and walked over to the monkey bars. Kuroko made a swift exit, as not to be questioned. He followed at a distance to the bars.

At the bars, he noticed quite a scene going on. A few kids were acting out a play of sorts. They were fairly normal, but one kid was just a freak show. He was a few heads taller than all the other kids, and had purple hair. Kuroko wondered if weird hair colors were more common than he thought. The kid in the purple hair wasn't even trying to use the monkey bars. His hands were using the bars as they should be used, but he was tall enough to reach the ground. He was just walking on the ground acting as a boat (Kuroko guessed) for the play.

He turned around to see what else there was to see, and saw a large stretch of concrete, surrounded by a metal fence. There were lines painted on the concrete, and older people were running down and up the court, playing some sort of game.

'It must be a very hard game. They're sweating a lot… huh? Is that a kid…? He looks my age..' Kuroko looked closer toward the center of the men, and saw a very unusual boy. The kid excelled at whatever this game was, he was doing moves and techniques that Kuroko had no idea what to make of. He didn't even know it was possible for a kid to move like that. It was impressive.

The pink haired girl from earlier was making her way along the court and let herself in.

"Come on Aomine! My Mom said it's time for lunch!" The boy turned his attention to the girl.

"Hold on! I'm almost done!" He turned his attention back to the game, only to see the ball be dunked in his hoop, marking the final point. "Awwww, but I was so close! No fair! I want a rematch!"

"Aomine! No! Mom said! Let's go!"

"Wait! Just one mor-" The older kids cut in.

"Hey, you better go. You should listen to her Mom. And we're tired, we're not ready for another match. Come back later, when you're better."

"I will! Come on, Momoi!" They dashed out of the fence, and ran towards, where Kuroko assumed her mother to be waiting.

Seeing as there were no other kids in the area, Kuroko began to turn back towards the playground. But something stopped him, more specifically, a feeling. He felt someone's eyes on him. He turned around surveying the area.

His eyes locked onto a red haired kid with a 'better-than-you' attitude on a tricycle, just outside of the playground. Kuroko began to call out to the kid, but the other boy 'tch'ed and began to pedal away. Tetsuya stood where he was, dazed.

He was knocked out of his staring when something pushed him to the ground. For a moment the world spun, and Kuroko had no idea what was going on. When the spinning stopped, he found himself lying on the floor, pain on his right side, the side where he was lying on. He groaned and pushed himself off the floor.

A fast moving object pushed past him, and sent him tumbling back onto the ground. It hurt, but Kuroko was used to much more pain. He began to push himself up once more. This time he was successful. He managed to prop himself on his knees. But he could tell he wasn't out of danger yet.

Kuroko noticed a sensation of impending doom on his left side. He quickly spun around to face the threat.

That was a mistake. He opened his mouth in a silent scream. He cursed his voice for failing him at the worst moment. The fast moving foot collided with his nose.

"AH!"

"Huh? Did I hit som- oh shit! Hey hey hey, kid. Are you okay? Kid?" The owner of the foot began tending to the now almost crying child. Kuroko nodded, biting back tears. He held his nose, but whether his hands were wet from blood or snot, he could not tell.

"Owww..." He took his hands away from his face, and saw blood. The owner of the foot winced, and was identified by Kuroko as one of the teenagers playing on the court previously. The other teens were already racing away, not aware of the child they'd harmed.

"Ouch. I'm really, really sorry. Where's your mom?" Kuroko shook his head. "No mom? Uh, Dad, then?" Kuroko shook once more. The teen became panicked and started talking quicker and more panicked. "Babysitter? Grandmother? Grandfather? Guardian?" Kuroko shook his head at one of them, the teen couldn't tell which.

"Grandfather." Kuroko blinked, his voice sounded… off. Like his nose was clogged.

"Oh, where is he? I'll carry you to him." Tetsuya shook his head, not wanting to be a bother. "Come on. Please? I hurt you, it's the least I can do." Kuroko was persistent. He shakily up on his feet, using the bended over teen's shoulder as a supporter. "Look, I can't just leave you to walk back on your own. At least let me walk you back." Kuroko shook his head, and took a few steps. He swayed, but was stabled when the teen grabbed a hold of his hand.

The duo slowly walked to Tetsuya's Grandfather, led by the boy, making idle conversation along the way.

"It doesn't hurt too much, does it?"

"Not really." Once they reached the Grandfather, they chatted.

"Oh my-! Tetsuya, what happened?"

"This guy accidentally kicked me." The Grandfather turned his attention to the teen.

"And how might that have happened, hmm?"

"Ah, well, you see sir. I was running out of the court with my friends, and I must've kicked him on the way out. I swear it was accidental, sir. I didn't even know he was there until I ran into him. I'm extremely very sorry."

"…Alright. I won't press charges. For now. Thank you for bringing my grandson here. You may leave."

"Thank you, sir." The teen looked hesitant to go, but ran off all the same.

The Grandfather carried the protesting boy all the way to the car. He had assured the teenager he wouldn't press charges, but the teen was wary. The teen surveryed the play ground, and noticed his friends talking around a water fountain. He jogged over.

"Hey man, where'd you go?"

"Don't just 'hey man' me. What the fuck, guys? What the fuck? I accidentally hit a kid pretty damn hard, and none of you stuck around to help!" The group of teens looked at each other for a moment.

"Yamamato, there was no kid."

"What?! Of course there was! See, he and his grandfather are right over…" The teen turned around to point out the child and his caretaker, but saw none. "There? What? What the hell? Guys, you have to believe me! There was this kid and-"

"Let it go. The heat must have been messing with your head."

"No! I can prove it! See, there was his blood on my shoe!" The teen lifted his foot up for the rest to see. The sole was dirty, but only with dirt. There were no traces of blood.

"Yamamato. Let it go. The heat was getting to you. Maybe you should go inside and cool down. Here, have a drink." The teen speaking moved aside for Yamamato to drink.

"But- but- I know it was-"

"Let. It. Go." The teen mumbled a fine, and began to sip the water, still fuming in his thoughts.

"Better?" Yamamato looked away, and answered.

"Better. But I know what I saw.."

"Just let it go. You need to go inside." Yamamato calmed down, and allowed his friends to take him inside. Later, that evening when Yamamato returned home, and began taking off his shoes, he took the shoe he showed to the others first. And then the other. He held them in his hands, not sure if he had kicked the boy previously with them.

He sighed, and began to put them down next to the rest of the shoes. However, he fumbled them, and they fell awkwardly. One shoe up, the other down. The shoe with the sole facing up revealed something horrifying. On the sole was a faded blood streak. The boy's blood. Yamamato had been unsure because of his friends constant pressure, but this was proof. He looked at the shoe, and picked it up. He stared at it, the implications buzzing in his head.

It didn't last long, as his father walked in the door behind him.

"Hello son. How was your d- oh my. How in the world did that happen? Here, I'll take it. Your mother will have it back to you as soon as she's done washing it." His father slipped off his shoes, and walked inside, stealing away Yamamato's evidence.

Leaving the teen feeling lost and empty, soon he forgot why he was so down. He placed the other shoe where it belonged, and went about his day, forgetting about the odd blue haired boy.

Grandfather hopped into the car, and closed the door. He turned the car on, and pulled out of the parking lot. They began driving towards the hospital, as Kuroko tried to stop his bloody nose without causing too much pain.

"So, Tetsuya, want to tell me what really happened?"

"No."

"Tetsuya, please? I have to know what happened, so I can tell the doctor."

"..Fine. I was walking around the playground, and I went to check out this game some people were playing. And I saw this kid on a tricycle. And then I got pushed over twice, and then that stranger kicked me. And then we walked to you. That's it."

"Hmm. I doubt it was one purpose though. He said he didn't notice you… Were you hiding in a bush or something?"

"No. I was only looking at the kid on the tricycle."

"Was there anything special about this kid?"

"…He had red hair. He was too far away to see anything else."

"Oh." The car turned silent. Tetsuya was busy focusing on other things, to try and block out the pain, but was failing. Grandfather stared hard at the road, half focused on driving, half lost in his thoughts.

'This might be a sign of it… It hasn't shown up in anyone since him. I wonder…could this be-? No, I sincerely hope not. He's far too young.'

They arrived at the hospital, and though they had to wait a few hours, Tetsuya was finally taken in and looked at. X rays were taken. Thankfully, Tetsuya had not broken any bones, though his nose was fractured. The doctor gave the appropriate treatment for such a case. The doctor gave strict orders not to mess with the bandages, and sent the two on their way.

They walked back to the car holding hands. Grandfather glanced down at the boy, surprised he was showing such a soft side to him. He smiled, and rubbed the boy's head. He'd really come to get attached to Tetsuya, hadn't he? They reached the parking lot, Grandfather let out a low whistle at all of the cars. He stood on his tippy toes and began looking around for their vehicle. Once spotted, they moved to their destination.

Tetsuya opened his door and hopped in, closing it lightly behind him, barely making a sound. Grandfather opened his door as well, and paused. Had Tetsuya always been that quiet and unnoticeable? Thinking back on his memories, he concluded that Tetsuya had been, and he was just being paranoid. But still…

He thrust himself out of his thought and sat down in the driver's seat. He closed the door, buckled, and placed his hands on the steering wheel. He sighed deeply, and turned around in his seat to face Tetsuya.

"Tetsuya?"

"Yes, Grandfather?"

"If something's ever wrong, you'll tell me right?" Tetsuya tilted his head in confusion. Why wouldn't he?

"Of course, Grandfather." Grandfather nodded, seemingly accepting the response.

"Alright, just checking… Anyways, we best hit the road, it's getting late. The sun's almost down! We haven't had any dinner. Tetsuya, what would you like?" The boy tapped his mouth thoughtfully as he considered his options.

"A vanilla milkshake. I don't mind getting whatever you want for the rest."

"Hm, I get to chose the rest? Okay, there's this new burger place on this side of town. How about it? You up for burgers? I'm sure they have vanilla milkshakes." Tetsuya nodded, and returned to staring out the window. Grandfather turned the car on, and headed in the direction he remember this new Maji Burger place. He wasn't sure if the smaller Kuroko would like it, but it was worth a shot.

And it was! Luckily the restaurant had vanilla milkshakes, that Tetsuya instantly became infatuated with. It became Kuroko's new favorite restaurant, he requested going to Maji Burger time and time again. But not because of the unhealthy, mediocre burgers, but because of that vanilla milkshake. There was just something, different about this particular milkshake. Something that made it stand out to the boy, something alluring.

Years flew by, and the connection between Tetsuya and his Grandfather strengthened. But Tetsuya had yet to make any friends. When questioned by the Grandfather, he would reply that no one talked to him. When asked why, Tetsuya would say no one noticed him. It broke the Grandfather's heart, watching him grow up, confused and lost as to why no one would even speak to him.

Grandfather knew as to why, but he just couldn't break the news to the boy. It would crush Tetsuya. But Tetsuya had to know. It would impact him for the rest of his life. The signs began to show at age six, with the park incident. Grandfather was in denial for three years, but the signs kept getting more prominent and reappearing quicker and quicker.

Tetsuya was nine. He was the quiet kid that sat at the back of the class, that no one noticed except for a few acquaintances. Every now and then, a classmate would spot him for the first time. Recess was the time it would most often happen.

"Hey! Hey! Who are you?! Are you from another class? Only Miss Sato's students are supposed to be out here!" A snot nosed brat came running up to Kuroko, who sat on the swing, slowly rocking back and forth. He was startled but looked timidly at the child who had questioned him.

"Ah, no. I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. I'm your classmate." The brat jumped back a foot.

"What?! No, you aren't! I've never even seen you before! How can you be a classmate of mine?!"

"I, uh, I do-" The brat cut Kuroko off once more.

"Ahhh! You must be a ghost, right?! I have to tell everyone!" The boy ran off to tell his friends. Kuroko could hear distant yelling from his swing. He could faintly make out what they were saying.

"-at?! And you never told me?!"

"-ould we? You'd just be really annoying abo-" The wind picked up, and the swing began to sway in the breeze, creaking at the hinges, blocking and further traces of the conversation from Kuroko's ears. Shivering from the cutting wind, Tetsuya buried himself a little further inside his jacket. The bell was rung, and the student all followed back inside.

The next day during recess, Kuroko could be found walking around large puddles. Kuroko was at peace, minding his own business. He was in his own little world. Suddenly before he knew it, he was being tackled into the puddle.

The force knocked him down, forcing him to lie in the puddle. His offender was still on top of him, shouting boast after boast, such as, "AHAHAHAHA! I FINALLY CAUGHT A GHOST!" and "I'M BETTER THAN ALL THE GHOST BUSTERS COMBINED!" and last but not least, "I'VE CAPTURED YOU FOUL SPIRIT! BEGONE, BEGONE!". All of his very loud and very annoying boasts quickly attracted the attention of his teacher, and his fellow classmates.

The teacher ran over and ordered them to separate and get out of the puddle. She then forced the class to return inside, and called the Tetsuya's Grandfather and the Brat's mother to her office.

They didn't have to wait long, both guardians showed up quickly. The teacher wasted no time getting to the point.

"Do you know why I called your parents here, students? Hm?" Tetsuya timidly spoke up, fully aware of all eyes on him.

"Yes, ma'am. We both fell into the puddle, and you said not to go into the puddle." The teacher sighed.

"Close, but not quite. You and Mr. Yubishiri were fighting in the puddle and I had to separate you. I won't expel either of you, but I will suspend both of you until tomorrow. Miss Yubishiri, and Mr. Kuroko, is this acceptable?" They nodded, disappointed in their grand/children. "Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow, and I hope by then, you'll have learned your lesson." The teacher left the office, and the Kurokos followed her out the door.

Grandfather drove Tetsuya home. Upon arriving, Tetsuya took a long warm bath, and dried off with a large fluffy towel. Once he got dressed in dry clothes, he was given a hot chocolate, and a large blanket. Grandfather sat down beside the boy on the couch.

"Be careful not to spill it."

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I won't." Tetsuya took a long slurp, almost burning his tongue.

"So, Tetsuya, how'd you end up fighting with that Yubishiri kid?" Tetsuya gazed into his drink as he answered.

"I was walking around the puddles, and then he just ran up, and tackled me into the puddle and started shouting. It was very rude of him."

"Oh was it? Do you know what he was yelling?"

"I think he thought I was a ghost or something, and that he'd caught a ghost. But I'm not a ghost. Why would he think I was a ghost?" With his big, baby blue eyes, Tetsuya glanced up at his Grandfather, confused and partly hurt by the other boy's proclamations.

In the Grandfather's mind, the answer to the boy's question was being yelled over and over. Grandfather couldn't take it anymore. He had to tell the boy, but how to begin…?

He sighed and looked back into the boy's eyes.

"Look, Tetsuya, there's something I haven't told you yet…" Tetsuya tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Tetsuya, it's hard to tell you this, and it'll be hard to hear. Just try not to freak out by the end, okay?"

"Fine… But what is it you want to tell me?"

"You see, Tetsuya, our family has a curse. A very long time ago, an ancestor of ours was hated so much by an ikiryō that-" (3)

"Excuse me, what's an ikiryō?"

"Oh, living spirits. When the soul slips out of the body, usually just before death, a person's ikiryō can go around and manifest before loved ones, or take control of another's body, or even curse someone, like the ikiryō in the story did to our ancestor."

"What did our ancestor do? What kind of curse?"

"Hold on, I'm getting to that. I don't know the exact names, but let me tell the story from the beginning. Our ancestor had it all, fortune, a strong immune system, a strong body, and lots of friends and fame. So much fame. You see, he was a war hero, loved by all, and hated by his enemies. Long ago, during the war in which he became famous, our ancestor's enemy slipped in a spy amongst our ancestor's ranks. This spy was a heartless snake, and a crafty manipulator. The spy became close friends with our ancestor as he steadily rose in the chain of command.

"One day, the spy and our ancestor were sent out to the frontlines of the war together. The spy was forced to watch our ancestor kill the spy's real comrades, yet the spy did not reveal himself as a spy. He even took a few of his own soldiers' lives to stay undercover. The spy thought the frontlines would only be temporary, until he could go back and start retrieving information for his side. And he would have been called back to where the useful information was, but our ancestor was a demon on the battlefield. He wasn't just strong, he was strategic, and wiped out enemies quickly. With him out there, the other side never stood a chance. So they forced the spy and our ancestor to stay on the frontlines until the war was over.

"The war ended only a year after our ancestor was sent to the frontlines. Our ancestor and the spy were called back to the capitol. There was a huge party, and over the course of several months, our ancestor became the most well liked person in the entire nation. There wasn't a single person who didn't know his name. He lavishly lived in wealth and popularity. He was close to becoming the ruler of the country, but our ancestor refused, not wanting responsibility.

"All things seemed well for our ancestor. But then, the peace treaty negotiations had finally come to a close with the enemy. Our ancestor's nation could have easily wiped out the defeated enemy, but had decided to be merciful, and let it live with negotiations. I'm not sure of the exact terms, but I know one of the terms was for the defeated enemy to release all prisoners of war, and release all information of spies.

"The defeated enemy did such, and gave away all the spies' locations and info. The spies were to be executed. The Spy began to panic at this, he tried his best to manipulate the situation around his execution, but to no avail. He was captured along with all the other spies. Our ancestor was heartbroken that his friend was a spy, but condoned the execution nonetheless. All the spies were round up, and executed one by one in front of a public audience.

"The Spy was rounded up last, and thus put to execution last. His whole family was into the spying business. He watched his little brothers and sisters die in front of him. He watched their tears dry as their heads rolled to a stop, and something just broke inside of him.

"Before his execution, he was so consumed with rage and hate towards our ancestor, that his spirit slipped out of his body. He manifested in front of our ancestor, and cursed him. It was such a strong curse, it's still passed down every few generations through our family. Though it's not as common in our bloodline as it used to be. In fact, my own uncle had the curse. You are the next person to have the curse."

"But what is the curse?"

"Jeez, have some patience. The ikiryō of the spy wanted to take everything away from our ancestor, just as our ancestor had done to him. The curse stole away his healthy strong body, and cursed it with a sickly low potential of ever becoming what it once was. He stole away our ancestor's memories, and everyone around him's memories of our ancestor. He stole away our ancestor's charisma and presense. And slowly bit by bit, our ancestor began to vanish, without anyone noticing."

"Is that what's going to happen to me?"

"No, don't worry. It's been a very long time since that curse so the affects have died down, and aren't the same anymore. Let's see, I'll tell you what happened to my uncle, or your great uncle, though what happens to you might be slightly different."

"Grandfather."

"Alright, alright. I'll get on with it. My uncle had a very weak body from day one, similar to you. He was very forgettable, and had a low presence, such as yourself. Though, his presence didn't start to become forgettable and weak until he was much older than you. His started fading around age thirty, he started disappearing. At first it was barely noticeable, but by the time he was forty no one ever saw him again. My cousin said she was there with him, when he was last seen. She said, that slowly his body started to vanish, and dissolve into nothing. He is considered dead, but it's never been confirmed."

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. I saw some of the signs earlier, but I- I didn't want to believe it. I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner."

"So, I really only have ten years left?"

"Roughly, yes. But for how long have people been mistaking you as a ghost? Or being surprised at your appearance?"

"…Since I was six. At the park, remember? The kids didn't see me."

"Right. It's been three years since then… Tetsuya. I'm so sorry." Grandfather placed the finished hot chocolate mug on the ground, and wrapped his arms around the boy, now in shock.

"…Seven years… left." Tetsuya didn't even register the arms hugging him tightly. He was still trying to wrap his head around the concept, that he would be dead in seven years. Tetsuya felt like he should bawl out his eyes. He felt he should be crying and hugging back his grandfather.

But he didn't. He just felt numb. Staring at the wall, but not really looking. He couldn't bring himself to cry, he could barely even think as is.

"…Seven years." It felt like such a short time for him to have left to live. Tetsuya had already lived half his life, and hadn't done anything with it.

Grandfather released Tetsuya, and began to clean up.

"Here, I know you still need to digest all this. Please take it easy, and watch some television. I'll clean up your hot chocolate." Tetsuya nodded, and began to absently flip through the channels. Nothing was catching his attention. Tetsuya mused it must be all the cartoons weren't on when kids were at school.

Soon he reached the sports channels.

'…159…160…161…162…163- hmm?' He paused on channel 163 as something finally snatched his attention. On the screen was a group of ten men on a wooden court with an odd orange ball. Tetsuya couldn't place it, but the sport seemed familiar. Nevertheless it captivated Tetsuya's attention, snapping him out of his trance.

The ten men were pitted against each other in pairs. Kuroko could see the concentration of the players, their strong wills not to let the other win, and most of all, their love for the game. It was amazing. It was wonderful. It was awe-inspiring. It was oh so impressive. Tetsuya sat on the edge of his seat, gripping the blanket tightly, wondering who will win, and what next amazing move they'll somehow pull off. It truly was incredible.

Grandfather filled the cup with water and let it sit. He took care of the other dishes he had been washing when called to pick up Tetsuya. He placed the final dish carefully to dry. He then dried off his own hands, and walked back towards Tetsuya. Worried about the boy, after he had dropped that bomb, Grandfather checked the boy's face. He was taken aback, when instead of sadness and loss, he found a captivated child, eyes full of wonder and admiration.

Grandfather wondered what the boy could be looking at, he turned around and saw a basketball game on the television. 'Well, I'll be damned. I never knew he liked basketball. Maybe I could teach it to him? I've never played it before, how hard could it be to learn?' Grandfather decided he would, but then he was reminded of his age. 'Ow! Oh, damn this old body. I need to sit down.' He sat down next to Tetsuya, where he was before.

"Tetsuya?"

"..yeah? What is it?" The boy mumbled, eyes never leaving the tv.

"You like basketball?"

"What's that?"

"It's what they're playing on tv right now."

"Oh, yes then."

"I'm guessing you've never played. Hm… perhaps I could get you a ball of your own for your birthday.." Tetsuya turned to face the old man.

"Really? Thank you!" After he said this, he turned back to the tv.

"Ahaahaha! Maybe I can start taking you to a court?"

"Excuse me?"

"You play basketball on a court. You'll have to play on a public court until you can join a team in middle school. Sound good?"

"Sure." And so Tetsuya began to go to the court closest after school. It wasn't a very popular court, but Kuroko met some good friends, like Ogiwara. Though however close they maybe, Kuroko had decided never to tell anyone of his curse, scared they would only treat him like glass and look at him with pity.

Middle school rolled around, and Grandfather put Tetsuya in the best school money could buy. Grandfather had put much of Tetsuya's college savings into tuition, it wasn't like Tetsuya would be able to use it later.

Tetsuya was so excited and pumped to start using a real court! He was hoping he could make second string, but that was just wishful thinking. In the end, he landed on the third string at the bottom of the barrel. However Kuroko kept his chin up, happy just to be able to practice with others.

But when the suggestion of leaving the team came up to Kuroko, he resolved to work twice as hard, and stay after school to practice. He did, and it paid off. The starters on the first string finally noticed him, and they proposed for him to join the first string as well.

Akashi had wanted Kuroko to use his low presence as a weapon in basketball. And to do that Kuroko needed control over his presence. So he worked, he tried many different methods, and thought up countless ideas.

He could make his presence more by drawing attention to himself by doing something extraordinary, such as wearing his clothes odd, or painting his body purple. It was simple to do that, but it never lasted for too long. After passing him by, people still forgot about him.

He tried his hardest to make his presence less for basketball. It took him day in and day out brainstorming, but he finally found out how to make himself less. All Tetsuya had to do was draw people's attention somewhere else; he called it misdirection. It was dangerous, though. In his attempts of seeing how long he could last, he took it too far. At the moment, all Kuroko could safely stay in misdirection for was eight to ten minutes. That was his limit, before it got dangerous.

After he managed to be put on the first string, he began to experiment at home with his control. One day during a break, he thought it to be a good idea to try it for an hour instead.

One hour passed, and Kuroko hadn't noticed any difference. So Kuroko tried to keep it low for another, half way through the second hour he began to get hungry. He decided to see if he could keep it low enough that his Grandfather wouldn't notice him making a sandwich.

Tetsuya tip toed out of his room and closed the door quietly behind him. He went to the fridge and opened it slowly. Tetsuya stuck his head inside the fridge and began to look around for the ingredients needed for the sandwich.

Mr. Kuroko noticed the fridge creak open, but hadn't seen anyone open it. It was creepy. His first thoughts were ghosts, but he shook his head. He was a online certified exorcist because of that one time he was drunk off his ass. Ghosts knew better than to steal out of his fridge. His next thought was an intruder. He took his own plate, and began to patrol around the kitchen, but was soon stopped by an invisible… person?

Tetsuya still head in deep looking around for the lettuce, and was jostled around. He figured Grandfather must have bumped into him, and found out his charade. But the odd thing was, Grandfather didn't call out to him, he just started feeling Tetsuya's back.

"…a person?" When Tetsuya heard his Grandfather question him, he jerked out of the fridge. Mr. Kuroko, sensing a shift in the invisible form, jumped back.

"Grandfather, what are yo-? Grandfather! Grandfather!" Mr. Kuroko hadn't responded. Tetsuya doubted he even knew he was there. Tetsuya began to get afraid and worried. Maybe he had taken it too far. Did he make his Grandfather forget him forever? Panic began to well up in his throat. He quickly called off his misdirection, and threw himself at his Grandfather in a hug.

"Grandfather. Grandfather. It's me Tetsuya, don't you know me?"

"What the-? How in hell did you get in here?! Who are you-? Oh my god, Tetsuya." Here he stopped struggling and began to hug even tighter than Tetsuya was hugging him. "Tetsuya, I'm so sorry. I- I forgot, didn't I? I'm so sorry. I promise, I won't forget. Ever. Again. Tetsuya, I- how can you ever forgive me?"

"Just- don't forget me again, okay?"

"I promise." Grandfather soon got a tattoo of Tetsuya's name engraved onto his arm, promising never to forget. And Tetsuya, well, despite using the ability for basketball, he never went over ten minutes again. By the eight-minute mark, he would always begin to turn down the misdirection slowly, as if that was his real limit. It scared Tetsuya to think of what could happen if he stayed in misdirection for too long.

It was the third year of middle school. Kuroko was heart broken. The team and sport he risked his life for, that he had loved so much; he hated it. He hated it all. He cursed how stupid he was, to potentially speed up the curse all for a stupid sport he ended up hating.

But high school came around, and Kuroko found meaning in life and basketball again. But his smiles began to fade as his sixteenth birthday rolled around. It was sad really. Every laugh he shared with Seirin, he thought of how much longer he had left. He thought of how the others would react if he just started vanishing into thin air. He wondered that if at this moment he could be vanishing underneath his clothes.

He began to get very paranoid, but still trying to enjoy life to the fullest. He began to pick up a strange habit of patting himself down, double-checking nothing was missing. His teammates had noted it in passing, but gave no thought to it.

Soon it was six months into Kuroko's sixteenth year of life. Kuroko was getting oddly suspicious. Tetsuya knew he didn't have too much longer, so he began to fix his regrets. He had already been working on fixing them, but now Kuroko knew he had to do it at a much quicker pace.

He couldn't place it, but an unsetting sense of impending doom soon over took Tetsuya, and he hurried his fixing up. He could slowly feel his energy and life draining away to who knows where. But he held on tightly to his last life energy, if only to fix his mistakes.

Slowly at first, then quickly, the Generation of Miracles audacious attitude was resolved and replaced by a respectable friend and supporter of Kuroko, as Tetsuya beat them one by one at their own game.

Once the final game was won, Kuroko felt bliss alongside an utter sense of relief and happiness. All was well, and Kuroko's will finally began to slip away. The void took its chance, and began claiming the boy's body.

Tetsuya's senses were dampened as he gave into the calm, peaceful void. He was happy, to finally be going, after all, everything was finally resolved. Nothing was wrong. It was okay to dissolve into the void.

At first, he could faintly hear the calling out of someone's name… someone named Kuroko Tetsuya. But no, that wasn't him. He might've had a name at some point, but he couldn't care to remember. The voices soon stopped, and the boy was at peace.

Kuroko had collapsed onto the court, as soon as the first words were exchanged. It was odd and worrying. Everyone rushed over.

He was lying face down, and when Kagami ventured down to turn him over, and odd expression adorned his face. Some might call it joy, others might call it fear, but most would assume that Kuroko was completely mad, as tears were streaming down his face.

But what really caught everyone's attention was the limp pant legs.

"What the-?" Kagami noticed it, and pushed down on it, revealing nothing beneath. "Oh shit! Kuroko your leg!" He lifted his hand up, dreading to see what the warm, sticky sensation on his hand could be. He didn't look. He didn't need to. The others' exclamations of blood reached his ears well enough.

Kagami went to roll up a pant leg, to see the damage and what had happened.

It was a sound plan, but what Kagami didn't account for was the leg was rapidly receding, leaving more blood in its wake. The smell was a sulfuric sort of awful. Kagami panicked, and grabbed a hold of the upper thigh, which had not yet receded, in an attempt to keep it there.

He hands were soon clutching another bloodied section of the pants. Kuroko was leaving behind quite the puddle, Kagami was sure he was onto of it now.

Kagami rolled into shock. He sat there, grabbing the pant leg, useless as he watched his shadow disintegrate into nothingness. It took less than a minute for the entire ordeal to be over, yet it felt like an eternity.

The entire audience was traumatized for life, no matter what demon magic may be laid upon them, they would never forget what they had seen that day.

Mr. Kuroko had been in the audience watching the game, the very back row near the exits.

He watched expressionless as his grandson dissolved into the void. His whole world shattered. He had no meaning anymore. That was his last family. Gone. Just like that, in under a minute.

He slowly exited the building, not bothering to pick up his late grandson's clothes. He began to walk to his home, not paying attention to his surrounding.

He was hit by a bus, crossing the street. The aftermath was bloody and terrible, yet the death was swift. Mr. Kuroko exhaled his last breath, and finally, surrendered to the void.

THE END.

(1): So I don't own this song. You might recognize it, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Iroh sang it about his dead son.

(2): So since this IS in English, I'm writing it in ENGLISH and not trying to incorporate Japanese unless I have to. And the translation of –san is Miss or Mr. That's what I'll be using. Got a problem with it? Then just change it in your head.

(3): Ikiryō is a legit Japanese myth thing, okay? I found out about it courtesy of Wikipedia, so sorry if it's not accurate.

AN: So hey what did ya think? I tried my best to rip out your heart, I hope I did. So if this gets more than five reviews or 10 fav/follows then I will write up another chapter, and epilogue of sorts. If not, then no skin off my nose. Thanks for reading!

~Frosty