Chapter 1

"We were like broken pieces of glass. We were from the same place, but we didn't fit together."

"Soccer club is open!"

"Hey you, how about joining the shogi club?"

"Are you a fan of baseball? C'mon, you're Japanese! You have to be into baseball!"

Sakura petals enclosing around the school's atmosphere, one girl slipped through the busy crowd, going completely unnoticed. A mystery novel in her hand, she looked up cautiously as she searched for the list of clubs and their specific locations.

Basketball…

"Hey, are you reading a book? How about joining the literature club?"

"This is a phonebook."

"Phone-book? Book? A phonebook is a proper book that we can totally go into- wait, why are you bringing a phonebook around?"

"It's the lucky item for the day. As a matter of fact, Oha-Asa stated that today was a good day for Cancers to start out something new and enterprising."

Basketball…

"Young Master, we could take you to the front gate, or possibly escort you inside –"

"I'm fine. I do not really want to stay under father's control, at school. Mind leaving me alone for now, if you would."

"V-very well, Young Master."

Where's basketball…

"Wow… just how tall are you?"

"What? Oh… I don't know…"

"Please, join the volleyball club!"

"No, maybe the football club?"

"Uh…"

There's soccer and baseball over there… where's basketball?

"Oh my gosh, Kise-kun?"

"Hello, all you wonderful beauties – Ah, wait stop pushing first, will you?"

"Autograph and a picture – no, I can't find my phone!"

Oh, here it is. Gymnasium 3…

"Dai-chan, I keep on telling you, you have to join the basketball club! Imagine how popular you'll become at Teiko! I know you best in terms of basketball – come on, I'll even join as a manager and help you!"

"I don't need it – whoa, sorry, are you okay?" The said male turned around as he felt something bump into his arm. The pinkette standing next to him frowned in confusion as she tilted her body sideways to see who it was.

"I don't see anyone, Dai-chan."

The male looked backward at the milling crowd. "Guess it was just me. Let's go."

Cracking open the gym door, the teal-haired girl shyly poked her head out, scanning the huge basketball court. She held her form in one hand, and approached the wooden table that was awkwardly placed in the middle of the gym. She quietly picked up a pen, the captain and the vice captain of the club not seeming to notice her as she did so. She put the pen down and put her form on top of the stack of papers, then left.

"Hey, Shu." The vice captain nudged the still male who was staring blankly at the to-be members who were arguing over the three pens at the table. "There's a new form. Aren't you going to check it?"

As if awakened from his trance, the captain shook his head and blinked thoughtlessly, as he grabbed the only neatly placed form on the stack. "Kuroko Tetsuya…he is from Raidou Grade School…"

"Uh, Shu?" The one called Shu glared at the latter, annoyed with the constant interruption the other was obliged to make. "It's not a 'he'. It's a 'she'." The captain gave the vice captain 'are-you-speaking-of-absurdity" look, as the latter pointed at the special note section. "See? It says: 'I am female. There were no rules that females couldn't join, so I signed up for the all-boys basketball club. Please take care of me.'"

"But Tetsuya is a boy's name."

"Names don't matter in the twenty-first century – there are boys named Haruka and Rin, for god's sake!"

Clucking his tongue in agreement, the captain shoved the paper to the side. "Odd – wouldn't we have noticed if we saw a girl leaving a form on the table?" He questioned, as the vice captain just shrugged without answer.

"Perhaps she came during the rush hour, and we didn't see her. Managers were signing up too, so we might've just not cared at the time."

The captain seemed convinced at that. "Possibly, yeah."

~TLTS~

"Welcome, all of you. I appreciate your passion for basketball, and being inclined to join the Teiko Basketball Club. Us, Teiko – being a school with a long history, we hold tests that will divide you up into different strings, varying from first to third strings. The better you are, the higher string you will get into. Do not worry even if you are placed in one of the lower strings – there is always a chance you can move on to upper strings." Sanada's, the coach, voice boomed throughout the whole gym.

First string…Kuroko clenched her fists together. A few people were whispering around her about how to get into first string, along with things like 'nobody gets into first string on their first try'.

"Hey, isn't that a girl?"

"Where? I don't see any girl except for those pretty managers over there."

"No, the one with teal hair. You know – the one with the short cut. Kinda bobby hair, short, and really thin."

"What? I really don't see anyone –"

Coach Sanada cleared his throat, as he blew his whistle to gather the divided attention of the students. "Well then, if there is nothing you have to say, then we'll start the tests. All of you, gather around the storage room over there!"

A loud roar of responses echoed around the court as the tests started. Kuroko usually passed most of them being either last place or third to last. She already saw herself in third string, right off the bat.

"Then, I'll announce the people in third string." Coach Sanada read off the names on the list with no hesitation whatsoever. Several groans were heard all around, as Kuroko pleaded within herself that she was at least in string. "…and Kuroko Tetsuya; third string, please gather around the right corner of this court." The girl sighed heavily inward, as she jogged with all the others that were named.

After the second string moved to the left corner of the court, all the members were certain that the grouping was over – until Coach Sanada flipped his clipboard over and took out another piece of paper. "And now, I will announce the ones who made it to first string."

Murmurs of disbelief hung in the air.

"What? I thought no one made it to first string on their first try!"

"Someone actually passed?"

The coach waited for the ruckus to calm, and then proceeded onto calling the names of those selected. "Akashi Seijuro, Murasakibara Atsushi, Midorima Shintaro, and Aomine Daiki – please gather at the center of the court."

Many pairs of eyes moved along with the footsteps of the four, as they came to stand with stoic expressions in the middle, between the second and third strings, while others stared at them in admiration.

"Proper club activities will begin tomorrow. Make yourselves prepared, and as for those four who passed first string; have a talk with Nijimura, our captain, and he will tell you whether you will be given a uniform for the starting lineup or not. You are all dismissed."

Kuroko heaved a sigh as she took out her phone, only to see that there was a new message in her inbox.

From: Shigehiro Ogiwara

To: Me

How was your first day of school? Made it into the basketball club? I made it into the starting lineup without much effort. You went to Teiko, right? That's a powerhouse! Any difficulties?

The petite female giggled, as she sat down on the wooden bench in front of the gym, her surroundings dark as her phone's screen illuminated due to it. She typed her response quickly.

From: Me

To: Ogiwara Shigehiro

Re:

It was fine – just that I got into the lowest string. As you know, my skills aren't the best. Teiko itself is really great though!

Just before she could slip her flip phone back into her bag, another message arrived. Ogiwara was always fast with responses, unlike her.

From: Ogiwara Shigehiro

To: Me

Re:

That's a little sad, but don't get discouraged! You'll make it soon enough!

She smiled, as she nodded and vowed to herself to make it to first string – or else there was no point in why she joined the all-boys basketball club, after all. She then glanced at the convenience store that she was standing next to, and decided to grab something for her dinner – maybe some instant ramen.

"Welcome – wait, who…" The blonde squinted his eyes as he stared at the auto door that opened – in which where nobody seemed to be there. For a moment he thought it was a ghost and freaked out, until he saw the girl that was filing through the shelves of cup ramen. "Oh." His face fell in relief. Kuroko put the can of vanilla milkshake and the pork stew ramen in front of the cashier.

She then tilted her head to the side, staring at the worker who looked extremely familiar. "Um…" The blonde in front of her blinked, as he clicked on the different buttons, then ripping the receipt from the machine.

"Is something on my face?" he asked her, as Kuroko shook her head.

"No, you just look very…familiar." The man laughed lightly with good mannerisms.

"Oh, that's because I work as a model. Name is Kise Ryouta – Oh, and I think we go to the same school, too! Teiko Middle School, am I right? I work part-time here – it's nice to meet you. What's your name?" He questioned, handing her purchases that were packed in a plastic bag to her.

I wasn't specifically trying to get all that information out of him, but well. "Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to make of your acquaintance." She grabbed the plastic bag and thanked him, checking the receipt before throwing it away. Muttering her farewell, she stepped out of the store, with Kise waving at her through the glass walls. She waved back nervously, and then progressed to walk on to her apartment.

Meanwhile, back at school, the one and only head coach Shirogane was examining four different individuals, the captain of the whole team, Nijimura Shuzou, standing next to him silently. Pacing around the same length of five steps back and forth, the man finally came to a stop. "Well then," he cleared his throat. "Even though you guys did show some outstanding skills back there at the test, we cannot put that into full accountability and put you on the starting lineup – especially when there are second and third years that put their effort for all this time. You will be placed as bench players for the time being."

"Yes, sir." An instantaneous response was given, as the coach cleared his throat to dismiss them. Nijimura then tapped the coach's shoulder to inform him of something, as if just been reminded.

"Um, coach? There is something I want to discuss with you, about the tests just now." Coach Shirogane glanced at the four that stood in their places uncomfortably. As if enjoying this unlikely sight, the man let them remain.

"What is it?"

Nijimura scanned past the pages in front of him. "Well…it seems like a girl entered our basketball club, and she was placed in third string – came in last place for almost everything. Wouldn't it be better to send her off the girl's basketball club?"

Coach Shirogane seemed startled. "A girl?" He then came to a pause. "She must have a reason to insist and join the all-boys one. Let her stay. It's not like there is any rule that bans girls from the club itself, after all."

"Understood, Coach."

Coach Shirogane gave a dismissive nod at the four first years. "You guys may leave. Shuzou, follow me – I have something to talk about with you concerning the match with Kurokami next week."

The voice of the coach and captain faded as they briskly walked past the dark corridor. Four of them just stood there, until Midorima Shintaro – a green-haired boy with a phonebook in his hand picked up his bag and got ready to leave. The others followed his example, each of them stepping out of the classroom. No greetings or farewells were shared, as none of them were much of the type to speak up and socialize.

"Dai-chan, I was waiting!" Momoi Satsuki, the new manager of the club jogged towards the tanned male, breathless. "Geez, what was taking you so long? I was forced to wait outside for so long – oh, I got a Pokari for you." She handed the energy drink to Aomine, as the male opened the cap and gulped the whole bottle down.

"Coach Shirogane called us and talked about stuff. Nothing important." Grumbling his response, the two headed home. Akashi had a car waiting for him in front of the gates, while Midorima and Murasakibara headed the same way back on foot. Not being able to hold through the awkward air, Murasakibara visited the convenience store, as Midorima went ahead.

Murasakibara's phone rang when he was done buying his ice cream. He ripped open a soda-flavored popsicle, and stuck it in his mouth as he reached for his cellphone. "Hello?"

"Atsushi, are you home yet?"

"No."

"Can you do the dishes today for me then?"

"But it's your turn today."

"Come on, just this time. You're not even that busy – I have a meeting with my girlfriend tonight at her apartment."

"I've been doing it for the past two weeks."

The line went dead, as Murasakibara glared at his phone. He muttered a few curses under his breath, as he bit off a large portion of his popsicle. "I can't believe him."

~TLTS~

After a few weeks, Kuroko Tetsuya found herself practicing in a rather friendly manner with all the other third string boys that had gotten used to her presence. They still couldn't spot her very well – but when they could locate her, they talked to her. She was treated like any other male on the team. Being one of the members with the lowest stamina and the least of skills, some still looked down on her; however, she could care less.

"Kuroko, can you pass the ball over there?" One of the players called her name, as she blinked at the basketball that came in contact with her foot. She quickly picked it up and threw it in their direction. "Thanks!" They ran off, as she was a second late to give them a nod. She dropped her head in slight disappointment, going to get another basketball from the racks.

"Wah –" She yelled aloud (though because her voice was still quiet, it didn't really make a difference) as she bumped into someone's broad chest. "I'm so sorry, I didn't watch where I was going. Are you –"

"Are you alright?" A low captivating voice spoke, rough bandaged hands on her shoulder as he pulled her back into place. Kuroko looked up and immediately recognized one of the rising stars in the first string – the three-pointer shooting guard, Midorima Shintaro. He grabbed a basketball from the tall racks, and handed one to her. "I guess you needed this."

"Oh, thank you." Kuroko smiled. "Midorima-kun," she added, supposing it would be of greater honor if she put his name at the very end. The male frowned, puzzled at the fact that she seemed to know about him.

"Did we meet somewhere?"

The girl laughed, almost close to exasperation rather than humor. "Everyone knows about you, Midorima-kun." She threw the basketball slightly in the air, ready to walk away to continue with her practice.

"It isn't really polite to leave you without knowing your name when you know mine. What's your name and zodiac?"

Why zodiac? "Kuroko Tetsuya…I'm an Aquarius."

"Oh." He paused, as he fixed the bandages on his hand. "Aquarius has the worst luck for the month. I don't have your lucky item with me since I am a Cancer, but…it will be good to be aware of Virgos approaching you nearby. Especially males, if I have to add."

Not very sure of where she was supposed to start, Kuroko just bit her bottom lip. "Um, thanks for the warning." Midorima gave her a nod and trudged away towards the opposite side of the court to talk to the head coach of the Third String.

Virgos? She thought for a while, but her parents weren't Virgos, or any of her classmates that she had befriended. Oh well. How accurate can zodiacs be, anyway?

Of course, then Kuroko didn't know how accurate Midorima's daily zodiac foretellings could possible be, which was why she had soon erased his warning from her mind, carelessly dropping leftover basketballs all over the court as she cleaned up after the other third string members. It was definitely frustrating work, as Kuroko somehow always ended up receiving the job. She had continuously vowed that she would reprimand her teammates for not completing their own tasks, but could never muster the courage to do so.

"Whew…" She exhaled a short breath of exhaustion, flapping her shirt back and forth as her hand hit her chest, trying to get pumps of air to hit her face. Then the last basketball that was remaining in the court grabbed her eye. Her primal instinct was to clean it up and throw it to the last section of the racks above her head – but then she decided otherwise. Living alone surely was an advantage at times – her parents couldn't keep her inside like before.

Dribbling the ball forward, she ran in zigzag formations, keeping her balance. Then, she got into an awkward shooting form, throwing the ball upwards; it helplessly hit the backboard and fell right in front of her foot. She was terrible at shooting. Of course, she was quite adequately as terrible at other moves like blocking and passing, but shooting was definitely the worst.

That's alright, she nodded, attempting to cheer herself up. I'll just practice more from here on.

Oddly enough, as if to knock a message into Kuroko, the girl had experienced many small encounters with Virgos that brought her to minor accidents for the following weeks, until the very end of the month. Sometimes being male, sometimes being female – though mostly male. The thought had crept the teal-haired female out, but she convinced herself that it was just her being a conscious idiot.

Like she had done for quite a while, Kuroko remained after practice until dawn, when nobody had remained – not even anyone from the first string. Though she was slowly losing hope for first string, she had some certainty that if she worked on it, she could proceed onto second. Caressing her own hair, twirling the short strand in her hands, she leaned back on the gym wall and sighed heavily once again.

"Practice, practice…" Whispering to herself, she picked up the wall and threw it upward once again. Her aim might've gotten better, but still; she had only made six goals in throughout the whole month she had been working on. It was still an improvement, as she barely got one in before, but still quite a forlorn result, if she had to add.

Creak –

"Huh?" She dropped the basketball as she heard the door open behind her. Someone shrieked in a high-pitched voice; though it definitely wasn't female. Silently moving her footsteps towards the entrance, she approached the shivering shadow. "Uh, who –"

"OH MY GOD, I'M SO SORRY- THIS IS WHY PEOPLE SAY YOU NEED A RELIGION, HUH? OH JESUS CHRIST, IF YOU HAVE MERCY WILL YOU PLEASE –"

"Um, I'm no Jesus, but I can call the ambulance if you're having some problems…" Kuroko leaned in toward the male who had stopped shaking after exactly two seconds, as if translating a foreign language he understood into Japanese. Then as if he could comprehend what she had just told him, he slowly turned his head in her direction. Momentarily he didn't seem to even notice that she was there, until he yelped when he located her figure.

"Oh." Was the first thing he had decided to say. Kuroko came to a decision that that was a good place to begin for someone to start speaking. "Uh…" Even better. "Sorry, was our gym another realm to heaven or something?"

"… Pardon?"

The tanned male seemed as equally confuddled as she was. "Wait, so you're human, aren't you?"

"I'm often ignored by others, but the last time I checked, yes, I am most definitely human to flesh." Giving him a reassuring nod, Kuroko realized that she had recognized the male, now that he looked more composed than before, and not screaming his head off about Jesus. "And I believe you are Aomine-kun?"

The latter blinked once, then twice. "Wow, Sherlock Holmes?"

Kuroko herself enjoyed that series. Chuckling in delight, Kuroko shook her head in fake denial. "I truly wished I was, Aomine-kun. But no, I'm just an average student enrolling here in Teiko, just like you. You don't know me because I'm in third string, but I tried out at the same time as you, so I'm bound to recognize you."

Fazed, Aomine scanned her from head to toe. Then, grinning, he reached out his hand. "Well, proper introductions might be necessary right now. You know me already – what's your name?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Tetsuya? Isn't that a boy's name – oh, so you're the one that joined as a female in the all-boy's basketball club!"

"My parents wanted me to accomplish tasks that males could do, just as well being a female." She explained, which was the true reason why her parents decided to present her with such a masculine name.

Aomine then finally glanced at the basketball that was in her hand. "Wow, you're practicing until this late? None of even the first string members do that – you must be pretty amazing." He clucked his tongue, impressed. Kuroko forced a strained smile onto her lips, trying to hide her disappointment; Aomine's skills were so far greater than hers, after all. They were just incomparable.

"Well, you see…" She bit her bottom lip. "I am practicing, but I'm really not getting any better. I finished last place during the tryouts, and I think that I must be really bad at this nowadays." Fiddling with the fresh blisters on her fingers, she dribbled the basketball on the rubbery court. The tanned male laughed aloud, as he stole the ball from her. "Wait, what are you –"

"No one is really that good at first." He threw the basketball towards the net, which then missed. "See? I'm not that great either. I didn't practice for a long time, you know…because of personal reasons. You can make it too." Of course, I'm not telling her that I missed that shot on purpose… Aomine thought inwardly, but felt proud as he saw Kuroko smile happily.

That was their first encounter – the original Shadow and Light.

But there was something that nobody knew, except for the Aomine in the future, and, eventually, four other males – that Kuroko Tetsuya was and always will be the Light, and they were her Shadow.

She was their Light.

End of Chapter.

A/N: I always wanted to try out a story like this. So here it is. This story is divided into two compartments, which would be two separate stories – one being the story of them in middle school, and one being when they enter their freshmen year of high school, where the anime progresses. I am going to follow in chronological order for this to make more sense to all of you.

The final pairing of this story is still undecided, as I only finished planning the end of the first book, which is this one. Of course, the final result wouldn't be revealed, so you'll have to keep reading!

If you have any questions then please leave it in the reviews. Criticism is welcomed, and maybe some helpful comments to follow it!

Also, thanks to my beta-reader, Melodie Kane for editing this story – she might leave weird messages time to time.

Until my next update,

Meiko