I'm currently editing my older chapters again, there will be minimal changes, but please bear with me. I know what it feels like to see an update email but then it's not really an update... please forgive me. XD I just want to improve my story as a whole as much as possible. There MIGHT be significant changes here and there, but overall, it'll just be grammar and style issues. Thanks! Please warn me about Mary-Sue situations if it's getting dangerous. I dedicate this to SplashofSkye and Lia (animefan!) beforehand because they edited this for me the first time! Thanks thanks!

Chapter 1 - I am Fujidana Hazuki

Teikou Middle School.

An infamous school with more than 100 club members and boasting endless match games and championships. Yet, in that glorious history, there is a team that is known as the strongest of them all. A generation with five players that had talent only seen once in ten years.

They were known as the Generation of Miracles.

Yet, there was a strange rumor about the Generation of Miracles. Despite nobody knowing or remembering him, there was one more person that these proud geniuses acknowledged... the legendary phantom sixth player.

Their time together was over, but their legends were far from over. It began with the 6th of April, the day of the school entrance ceremony. Sakura petals were flying everywhere onto the crowds of students in Seirin High School. It had only been established for one short year, but the school was becoming impressively crowded with the addition of the nervous first years.

A girl gulped at the sardine-can like situation in the front of the school with apprehensive doom. She had hazel brown twintails that were bunched lower but still made her look strangely young despite her height of 167 cm.

Her name was Fujidana Hazuki.

"This is Seirin, huh?" she murmured.

Age 16 and on a mission of revenge, she had thought she would at least be able to get to the boy's basketball club table and declare a couple of thing.

But things were not looking so good. How was she possibly going to break into this parade of babbling students? The crowds were so packed that she would probably become a sandwich in five seconds flat.

A fate worse than sardines, she privately thought. She knew she had to try and get to the basketball recruiting table, but she was already completely lost among the sea of people after being swept in a few moments ago.

And that wasn't good. Hazuki was already getting very antsy, being in the midst of so many strangers.

"Carry on, carry on, carry on..." She muttered skittishly. But her mental strength was getting worse as more upperclassmen started hunting down on the freshmen.

"ARE YOU INTERESTED IN RUGBY!?" A second year roared.

"Did you ever play shogi?"

"If you're Japanese you should play baseball!"

"SWIMMING! It feels SUPER!"

"I can't move forward! Bring a snow-plow!" A guy shouted.

I wish, Hazuki thought mournfully. But it's Spring now, so I don't even have the excuse to try that.

"We haven't moved more than five meters in 10 minutes..." His friend wailed.

That's true, she thought. "Excuse me," She passed by them. It might be better to wait on the sidelines by the Sakura trees until the crowd died down a bit.

"...Oh... sure," The blond hair boy said. "Oh, cute."

"What? WHERE!?" His friend shook his head from side to side.

"Don't be so loud stupid. The one walking near the Sakura trees! See?! The one with the twintails."

His friend gave him a look as they were swept forwar by the crowd. "That's only because you like tsundere types from anime..."

"Hey! Just because almost all tsunderes have twintails doesn't mean that I like tsunderes!" He said.

Hazuki had already been far away from them when they began arguing. She sighed.

"You can do this," she talked to herself. "You had two dorayukis for breakfast. This is for Teppei. Think happy, anime thoughts."

She made a fistpump, much to the confusion of the other first years who were sitting next to her.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the sakura petals into the air like a snowstorm. Hazuki blinked her eyes at the sudden breeze, then caught a glimpse of light blue

A boy was walking within the crowds, calmly reading his novel. He was about the same height as she was with light blue hair and an even paler complexion.

Almost like a ghost, she thought in observance.

She watched him duck the flailing hands of seniors and their persistent attacks.

They can't see him...? she pondered with interest.

Hazuki spotted the boy walking towards a billboard.

What's he doing?

…

Oh.

There had been a large billboard near her with the locations of each club. She could have found the basketball team's recruiting table sooner.

Basketball club... basketball club, she searched. Right next to the baseball and the American football clubs. Okay.

She had to hurry and get there before the day ended.

Meanwhile at the basketball club recruiting table, a boy read the club's credential sheet.

"Write your name and student ID number here." Aida Riko pointed at the paper.

"Then... the middle school you came from and your goals...?" The newcomer asked.

"Ah, of course that one if arbitrary, so you can put anything you want."

That boy could be nice material for the basketball team, Riko drooled.

"Erm... one, two... ten people so far. Maybe we'd need a bit more..." she counted.

I wonder how the invitations are going... bring back promising guys, she thought.

A second later, a sobbing Koganei Shinji appeared.

"I brought back... a new student."

"Is the basketball club here?" Kagami Taiga towered over the table.

WHAA! Brought back... isn't that the other way around?! she tsukommied.

"Er, yeah!"

On top of that, it feels like a wild tiger is in front of my eyes, she glanced at him. Who is that guy?

"Well! I think you know already, but our school was barely opened last year." She gave him tea. "All the upperclassmen are just second years, so somebody with your build will immediately..."

"I don't care about that," Kagami interrupted. "Give me a paper. I'll just write my name and go back."

"Eh?" His middle school was in America?! So he trained in the best place!? America was the founding country of basketball after all.

Kagami Taiga-kun... no matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem like an average guy.

"Huh? You didn't write your goals?" she asked.

"...None in particular. After all, Japanese basketball is the same everywhere," Kagami said as he tossed his cup away.

"...?" Riko puzzled at his odd expression.

"S...SCARY! IS THAT REALLY A FRESHMAN!?" Koganei collapsed. Riko raised an eyebrow.

"By the way, I'd really like to know why he grabbed you by the neck and brought you back."

"That's..." Koganei fumbled for a moment but then spotted a registration paper. "Oh, you forgot to pick up a registration form."

"Eh? My bad... eh... Kuroko Tetsuya... WAIT HE'S COMING FROM TEIKOU'S BASKETBALL CLUB?!"

'"EHH?! That famous one?"

"ON top of that... if he's a first year now... HE WAS FROM THE GENERATION OF MIRACLES?! WAAAH! Why did I forget the face of such a golden egg?!"

"And the guy earlier was coming back from America..." Koganei gaped. "What's with the freshmen this year?!"

"Well it seems like this year might be the year!" Riko smiled. "Let's keep on hunting those freshmen down!"

"Roger," Koganei grinned weakly and stood up. "But I don't wanna be carried like that again."

He left, still somewhat shakened.

Hazuki finally made it to the basketball table. She spotted a girl with short brunette hair and brown eyes. This must be the coach that her brother had talked about. Hazuki made a fistpump. Go!

"Excuse me," Hazuki raised her hand like a person would in a classroom.

"Eh?" Riko said.

"My name is Fujidana... Hazuki. I―I would like to join the basketball club!"

"Eh?" Riko was slightly startled. Most people didn't want to join clubs to be managers.

"Well sure! My name is Aida Riko and I'm the coach for Seirin's basketball club," she said. "We don't have a manager yet so you're absolutely welcome..."

Oh jeez. One second into the conversation and it was going towards the opposite direction.

"No!"

"Eh?"

"I mean, sorry. I just mean..." Hazuki was getting so frazzled that she was losing her train of thought.

"Eh..." She zoned out for three seconds then snapped out of it. "I mean, I want to play in games."

"Ah?" Riko asked, stunned. "But this is a men's basketball team you know?"

She had expected that. Her statement, in many other schools, would have been an especially ridiculous statement. But with the recent opening of the school and the club... she had chance to press her point now to try to explain why she wanted to join the men's basketball team.

"Do you mind if I had talk to you privately now?" Hazuki asked.

"Well sure. None of the 2nd years will be back soon," Riko handed her a cup of tea. "Go ahead and sit down."

Hazuki heaved a sigh of relief. Her brother was right in that Seirin's coach was a reasonable person.

But here came the moment of truth. She didn't know whether the coach would be willing to listen to her ideals, or if it would backfire.

"Do you know... Kiyoshi Teppei?" she asked.

"Teppei? What, our Seirin basketball club founder?" Riko asked.

"Yes."

Riko was completely baffled now. Where was this going?

"I am, his sister."

Riko blinked. "But your last names..."

"Yes, they're different. Our parents were, I mean, are separated, and I have my mother's last name."

Hazuki handed the coach her ID papers which all freshmen had to give to the clubs. Riko quickly scanned the guardians section. Riko briefly remembered the papers of Teppei. It was the same.

She really has the same guardians that Teppei have. His grandparents.

The coach couldn't think of anything to say to that, but she really was intrigued now.

Teppei has never really mentioned much about his family besides the fact that he lives with his grandparents. That was rather strange. Come to think of it, I don't think any of us has been to his house or seen his family before.

And he had never mentioned a sister. Despite his friendly demeanor, he was surprisingly quiet about his life with family and before he came to Seirin.

She did say that she had her mother's last name, but why would she have their mother's last name if she lived in the same house as Teppei? Riko frowned.

Teppei really was a mysterious person, Riko decided. And now his sister comes out of nowhere who says that she wants to join the basketball. Of course something like this had to happen when he's in the hospital. But there's still some problems to address.

"Alright, Fujidana-san was it?"

She nodded.

"But we can't just let a girl join a basketball team... to begin with, women and men have different physical body structures, and it would be practically impossible for you to on court with all men," she explained as best as she could. "Even if Seirin doesn't have a women's basketball club."

"Coach, I have a goal that can only be achieved by being in the men's section for basketball," Hazuki's stance didn't change.
Can you hear me out at least please?"

This was interesting, she thought as she poured her tea. "Go on."

"My goal is to defeat The Crownless Generals."

Riko spat out the tea she had been pouring for herself. That had not been what she had expected. Hazuki offered a handkerchief.

"Sorry, sorry. But I didn't exactly expect that. I see. It really is a goal that can only be achieved in men's basketball..."

"So Aida-san, please let me join the men's basketball team as a player!"

Riko looked at Hazuki for about ten long seconds.

"Is it for revenge? On that ― guy?"

Hazuki flinched then kept quiet for a moment, "To some extent yes. But I have another goal besides that."

"What is it?"

Hazuki turned silent for a long moment, not sure how to put it in words.

"Well... you don't have to tell me yet, but the fact still stands that it's not easy for women to be accepted into the men's category for sports," the coach said. "The paperwork itself isn't that hard or long, but being an actual player means that you have to exceed the average male player, especially since you're on a court with the opposite gender."

Hazuki nodded, "So I need to prove myself."

"...Come with me to the Seirin gym. I think I'll test you personally before our actual meeting this afternoon."

"But what about our classes..." Hazuki twitched when she remembered that she would be going to a school class for the first time in years.

"Don't worry, since it's the first day of school, classes start later," Riko said as they walked towards the gym.

"Now Fujidana-san, you can show your basketball skills anyway you like," Riko explained as Hazuki changed into gym clothes in the girls changing rooms that only she used.

She's well prepared, Riko noted her sports gear. Gym shorts, light t-shirt, and a sports headband to get her bangs out of the way. And her hair's tied up. Well, that's a standard.

Riko sweatdropped. Thinking about it now, she really looks like Teppei.

The coach began using her analyzer eye. C-cups, she thought, eye involuntarily twitching. (At this moment, Hazuki felt a slight chill).

But overall, a pretty good muscle structure, especially for her age and gender, she observed more professionally. She especially has an interesting flexibility on the thighs... she must be the shorter yet speedy type of player. But she's also a lot taller than the average height for women... she's 167 cm.

As soon as they walked to the half-court line, Hazuki became alert, positioned in place.

Now concentrate on this trial, Fujidana Hazuki, she thought. Forget about classes until later. Remember what your aniki said? That catchphrase of ours...

"Start!" Riko blew her whistle.

WHOOSH!

The coach couldn't do anything blink as her pink whistle fell out of her mouth from the shock. What... was that?!

THAT... THAT INCREDIBLE SPEED!

Riko forced her head around to catch her next movements. She had expected her to be fast, but not this fast. But what came next was even more stunning.

Hazuki began to dribble in an odd leaning position. She then slanted in such a parallel position that Riko was afraid that she would fall. Hazuki then twisted to the opposite side as if she was dodging someone.

Crossover, fake, another elegant drive.

Hazuki then speeded to the finish.

SWISH.

The ball was elegantly scored with a layup.

Let's have fun of course, Hazuki thought. What you taught me.

"Coach?"

...Her speed is shocking. Being small and fast is a pretty common basketball type of player, but her speed is higher than even most male athletes. That makes up for her lack of strength compared to the guys.

But that unusual balance of hers is what amazes me the most... what an odd player. I've never seen a player having such a good sense of balance on the court and using such unique positions when playing.

Riko could not help smiling a bit even with her slight worry on this unexpected development.

This year's freshmen are really insane.

Someone from the Generation of Miracles, someone from America, trained in the best place. And now a girl player, and the sister of that guy... with a style she'd never seen before...

"Come after school to today's first practice. You've passed." Riko grinned.

Even with all her nerves, Hazuki could not help skipping somewhat down the hallway. The school hallway was thankfully quite empty, as most people were still in the club hunting grounds or in the school orientation.

She had passed. She actually got into the men's basketball team in a matter of minutes. Of course, she had been training for months, years, and preparing dedicatedly for this, but it surprised her that it had been approved with ease.

"Class 1-B, Seat 18. There it is."

However, Hazuki was not the first to get there. The pale ghost-like boy was there, reading his novel of some sort. He didn't acknowledge her and kept reading.

She stared at him for a few seconds. Huh... For some reason, Hazuki was somewhat mesmerized.

She had never seen such a person like this before.

High school is really different, Hazuki thought as she sat in her seat, which was right next to his. She sat in her seat for ten whole seconds with nothing but silence.

This would not do. Even if she had not gone to school in three years, she might as well start early and attempt to make conversation with people her age again. She made a fistpump and blew up her cheeks.

...But what kind of introduction should she even do?

The info way?

Hello nice to meet you, my name is Fujidana Hazuki, height: 167 cm, weight: 54 kg, type O blood, Birthday June 10th.

...

No, she shook her head. Too straight forward. It sounds like some sort of character bible. She made an L sign with her hand and put it under her chin thoughtfully like a detective. Then with the same hand she raised it in a robot fashion that made her seem like one of those machines that moved whenever you put a coin in it.

Aha! She thought What about the Naruto style-ttebayo?

Hmm... she pondered. My name is Fujidana Hazuki, I like Vocaloid songs and my family! I hate Hana―

She stopped and shook her head. Wow, she thought.

She couldn't reveal her intentions of joining the basketball team to some stranger she never met. If it got around to the basketball team, it could easily go to her brother who had a knack of figuring out things fast, which would get messy.

Oh forget it. Forget it all, she said. Let's just go with the legendary Kiyoshi family style.

"Um... excuse me..." she raised her hand.

He didn't respond. Was she not loud enough?

Alright then, she walked towards the seat in front of him, kneeled on the chair, and looked straight at him. Surprisingly though, he did not jump or yell in surprise when he looked up. He only gave a slightly surprised glance as he closed his book.

"My name is Ki― er, Fujidana Hazuki Fujidana as in Wisteria Arbor, and Hazuki as in Leaf Moon. Nice to meet you," She bowed (the best you can, while you are sitting in seiza on a school chair). She put her chin onto her propped hands and looked at him with interest.

"Hello, my name is Kuroko Tetsuya," he said. "Nice to meet you."

Kuroko was a little stunned at how his misdirection failed to hide him. Few people managed to find him, and even those close to him could sometimes miss him. He particularly noticeable or sociable to strangers, and he knew it.

A classroom with few people is definitely difficult to misdirect oneself, he thought.

He had certainly not been expecting anyone to notice him, and give such an... odd introduction (?) Well, it might have been a little strange, but definitely no less than the oddity he had experienced in Teiko.

Teiko... well, that was back in the old days, he thought, his eyes cloudy with memories.

It would be a new start in Seirin.

And it looks like that I'll have a nice... and interesting classmate in the first year of high school, he thought as he saw her skip back to her desk and unpack her school things as if nothing had happened.

After school, the new members began to escorted into Seirin's gym.

"Alright, everyone seems to be here. All the freshmen, come this way." Riko smiled.

Hmm, where's Teppei's sister? Riko looked around.

"Hey isn't that manager cute?" Furihata whispered.

"She's a second year right?" Another newcomer replied.

"That's true! If only she was a bit more sexy..."

"You're wrong morons!" Two punches swang from the captain, Hyuuga Junpei.

"OUCH!" They exclaimed

"I'm the Boys' Basketball s coach. Aida Riko," she said cheerfully. "Nice to meet you!"

"Eeeh!" All of them gaped.

It wasn't that guy?! they all thought in unison (The old guy in the corner).

"That's the advisor, Takeda-sensei," Hyuuga said, addressing their confusion, "He's just watching."

"Seriously?!" One of them asked.

"Wait, is that even allowed?" Another demanded.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Hazuki ran into the gym, panting.

It made absolutely no sense, she thought to herself. She had no problem finding the classroom, but she actually got lost on the way to the gym which was completely ironic. I really have the ability to get lost at unexpected times, Hazuki thought woefully. I think I was too excited this morning.

Then all of a sudden, guys all turned their heads in synchronization. Hazuki startled.

"Is that the manager?" The same freshman asked. "She's cute as well."

"Huh? Did you recruit us a manager this morning, Coach?" Koganei asked enthusiastically. "A cute, cuddly manager?"

"This is scary. The coach brought us a kawaii manager.*" Izuki had a gleam next to his eye with his usual pun.

Hyuuga twitched but gave a non-verbal nod of consent.

Riko gave them all a glare that plainly stated, If you keep going on like this, I will be armed with the paper fan.

Yes sir! They all shivered, much to the confusion of the 2nd years.

"Eh?" Hazuki asked.

"Ah, Fujidana-san. You made it!"

"Yes, Coach. I'm sorry, I got lost..."

"It's all right."

"Hello everyone," Hazuki bowed. "My name is Fujidana Hazuki." She said, pushing her nervousness down. At least it wasn't as crowded as this morning.

"Everyone, she's not going to be our manager," Riko announced to the 2nd years.

"Huh?" Koganei asked. "What do you mean?"

"What else could I mean? She's obviously going to play in matches!" Riko put her arm around Hazuki.

There was a long period of silence.

"EH?" Everyone chorused.

"WAIT A SECOND COACH!" Hyuuga demanded. "How does that work?!"

"Exactly what I said. She's going to play in matches," Riko huffed at their confusion.

Hazuki twitched as she felt all eyes on her. She knew that they were only curious, but that didn't mean it was fun.

It's the girl from class this morning, Kuroko thought.

A girl?! Seriously?! Kagami thought. Are they that desperate?

"Well, I suppose it's true that Seirin doesn't have a women's basketball team..." Tsuchida pointed out. "But still..."

"Don't worry you guys, I tested her this morning. Right?" Riko nodded at Hazuki. Hazuki nodded then startled a little.

Uh oh. I forgot to tell Riko to not tell anyone about not telling anyone about Teppei, she thought, staring off to the wall, frowning.

Being accepted as a real player would be difficult, and news would get to Kiyoshi easily, making her predicament more difficult than it could be.

She must be really good or special, if coach passed her to be on the men's basketball team... Hyuuga observed. Hold on a second... she kinda looks familiar...?

"Anyways thats settled," Riko said.

The 2nd years all looked slightly doubtfully at each other. Mitobe (in his motherly way), was already feeling nervous for the girl.

Hazuki knew that they weren't trying to be rude, and she could understand why. This type of thing was pretty strange in real life, and was only seen in TV shows, novels, or manga.

Like gender-bender situations in sports, love and all that, she thought, zoning off again. Except I'm actually going to be a player normally. Well you can't call it normal either. she thought, thinking over the mini paradox and making the oddest expressions without even knowing it.

What is she doing? All the students were baffled at her face that was cycling into thoughtful, troubled and then just plain odd and unreadable.

I'll have to prove myself, Hazuki thought. Because of my gender, I'll have to exceed expectations to be able to reach my goal, she remembered Riko's words.

"Now that's settled―" Riko said, clapping her hands. (Hazuki snapped back to reality).

How is that settled?! All the freshmen tsukkomied.

"Take off your shirts!"

"EHHHHHHH!" They yelled again. "WHYYYY?"

"Coach―" Hazuki interrupted. "Er, do I..."

The guys all turned to her in an instant. She instantly jumped. Um...

"I checked you this morning, so it's all good."

Most of the guys let out a sigh of disappointment.

Riko twitched. "Hormonal boys," she muttered, then started inspecting.

"You," she pointed at a first year. "Your instantaneous strength is weak. I guess you do around 50 steps for 20 seconds on the quick ladder training, right? If you want to play basketball you'll want to improve that."

"―Yes!" He stammered.

"You, your body is too stiff," she told another freshman. "Train your flexibility after getting out of the bath!"

"―Yes..." Another freshman uttered, stunned.

"As for you―" Riko continued.

"Are you kidding...? She's right!" Fukuda gaped.

"What the hell?!" Another gasped.

"Just by looking at your body?!"

"Her father is a sports trainer," Hyuuga explained. "He was already recording data in order to make training menus. She gained that skill after spending every day looking at muscles and data. By looking at someone's body, she sees all its abilities and stats."

Well that's not the only reason why she's the coach though... he thought wryly.

Wow, exactly as what aniki told me, Hazuki thought.

Hazuki caught of the eye of one of the guys in the back row. The guy in the front row misinterpreted her questioning glances and turned red.

Isn't that the guy I met this morning? She thought, briefly recalling his introduction.

She shuffled to the back, out of curiosity.

Meanwhile, Riko was stunned as she stared at Kagami Taiga.

"What?" He asked gruffly.

What in the world?! These numbers are by far above everyone else's... these aren't the stats of a boy in the first year of high school! On top of that, I can't even estimate his potential... this is... such raw talent! Riko began to drool at the potential of Kagami.

"COACH!" Hyuuga demanded. "How long are you going to daydream!"

"Sorry! So er..." Riko blinked.

"You've already seen everyone right? That guy was the last."

"Ah, really? Huh?" Riko frowned at her clipboard with the registration sheet. "Is Kuroko-kun here?"

"Ah! That's right!" Koganei said. "The guy from Teiko Middle School―"

"EH!?" Fukuda exclaimed.

"Teiko, you mean that Teiko!?" Hyuuga exclaimed.

"Kuroko! Is Kuroko-kun here!?" she asked.

Hmm? If such a great guy was here, I think I would have noticed him immediately... Riko thought.

"I guess he taking the day off today. Well then, let's start practice!"

"Um coach?" Hazuki said.

"Yes?"

"Kuroko is right there," Hazuki pointed at him who was right next to her.

She noticed me again, Kuroko thought in surprise, dropping his poker face.

"Yes, I am Kuroko." He raised his hand.

"―KYAAAAAAA!?" Riko shrieked.

"Wah, what? Wooh!" Hyuuga yelled.

"Since when were you there?"

"Since the beginning," Hazuki and Kuroko said in unison. Then they looked at each other, a little surprised now.

"Seriously?! How did you see him?!" The captain demanded.

"But wasn't he always there?" Hazuki asked. "He's not a ghost, even though that would be really interesting."

I didn't notice him in front of my eyes...?! Just now, did he say he was Kuroko?! It's like... he's invisible!? Riko stared. "Then that means this guy is from the Generation of Miracles?!"

"He can't have been a regular..." A first year muttered.

"Of course not. Right Kuroko-kun?" Hyuuga said.

"...? I have played in matches though." Kuroko stated.

"See just what... huh?"

"Eh?" Riko asked.

"Eh?" Hyuuga asked.

"EHHH!?" The freshman and second years chorused.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Hyuuga yelled.

"Wait! Take off your shirt!" Riko yelled.

"Eh?" Kuroko asked.

The coach stared in shock at the stats.

What in the world is this guy...?! Kagami thought. What is the Generation of Miracles and Teiko Middle School?

After school, Hazuki slurped her chocolate milkshake at Maji Burger. Teppei had told her a nice shortcut from the back of school, making this detour something she decided to do from now on.

The first day's practice was more of the basics, and an explanation of what to expect. She didn't have much of a chance to show her potential to be accepted.

"I'll make it tomorrow," she said. Hazuki looked around for a place to sit, then spotted the ghostly blue hair again.

"Excuse me," she said. "May I sit here?"

Kuroko blinked, "Yes, of course."

Hazuki was relieved. At least she was sitting with someone instead of walking home during traffic hour.

Kuroko blinked. One time may have been a coincidence, but for someone to spot him a second time when they had just met him was extremely strange.

He sipped his vanilla milkshake, beginning to be lost in his mental fog bank.

A few minutes later, Kagami carried a small mountain of burgers from the counter, looking for a seat. Astonished diners stared at his tray, but looked away quickly to avoid his eyes.

The Generation of Miracles, Kagami thought. If it's these guys then maybe...

Kagami sighed and then sat down at one of the tables, completely unaware of Hazuki and Kuroko. He munched on his first burger then blinked when his eyes met with them.

"GWOH!?" Kagami choked on his burger.

"Hello. You are still growing up, right?" Kuroko looked at his mountain of burgers.

"Hello," Hazuki stared at his burgers. Even Teppei didn't eat that much. Well, at least usually.

"Where from... wait, what are you doing here?" Kagami demanded.

"Well, I was sitting there from the beginning just watching people," Kuroko said calmly. "And Fujidana-san joined me."

This guy was from the best of Japan?! Kagami thought. Wait?! Watching people!?"

"Aren't you Kagami-kun?" Hazuki asked. "Aren't all three of us in the same class?"

"EHHH!? Seriously?!" Kagami exclaimed.

Hazuki nodded, "Kuroko-kun sits behind you and I sit besides Kuroko."

"How in the world am I supposed to know that?!"

"Well we are in your class, wouldn't you notice we're your classmates?" Kuroko asked.

"Shut― shut up!" Kagami stuttered.

" Anyways, tag along with me for a bit, once I'm done eating that," Kagami gobbled his next burger.

"..." Kuroko and Hazuki looked at each other.

Meanwhile, Aida Riko was frowning in puzzlement looking at her sketched data charts of Kuroko.

...What does that mean? What kind of guy is he? Riko thought to herself as she walked home. His abilities are way too low! All his abilities are below average. On top of that he's already at the peak of his growth... he looks nothing like a regular of the strongest team of Japan!

...What in the world?!... she thought.

After Kagami had finished his burgers, they had all gone to a close public basketball court. Kagami took out a basketball from his schoolbag and began spinning it on his finger.

"...You. What the hell are you hiding?" Kagami demanded.

Kuroko looked back with mild curiosity and confusion.

"I was in America until the second year of middle school," Kagami began. I was really shocked when I came back to Japan... the level is just too low. What I'm looking for is not playing basketball for fun. I want to play in matches that make my blood boil at full strength."

Hazuki stood on the sidelines silently but raised an eyebrow. That kinda sounded contradictory. But it also almost sounded similar to her brother's ideals, if he didn't talk about the not fun part.

"But I've heard a nice thing earlier. It seems like there are strong guys called the 'Generation of Miracles' in the same year as us," Kagami said. "You were on that team, right? I can guess the strength of an opponent to some extent too. Strong guys have a peculiar smell on them." Kagami threw the basketball to Kuroko.

"But you're weird," he continued. "Even though you should reek of weakness... you don't smell like anything at all. Your strength is odorless. I want to see for myself. You, from the 'Generation of Miracles,' I want to know what kind of guy you are."

"...What a coincidence," Kuroko said. "I was thinking of playing against you as well. A one-on-one." Kuroko threw off his Gakuran jacket.

However, less than a minute later, Kagami dunked.

Wait... "Hah!?" Kagami said.

He... He... He's desperately weak! Even with that body size, there are guys who became first-class players thanks to their skills, he thought. But that guy... his dribbles and shoots are those of an amateur. He's got nothing redeeming. He's not even worth playing against!

Hazuki observed this situation. To the average passerby, it may have seemed obvious that Kuroko was insanely weak, but with her intuition, she doubted Kuroko was the type to lie on being a first string member in Teiko. She also thought there could possibly be more to this ―

― After all, she had seen first-hand her brother had faced the Generation of Miracles' strength directly.

"Don't mess with ME!" Kagami yelled. "Did you hear what I said?! You're overestimating yourself if you think you can win against me like that!"

"Of course not," Kuroko replied calmly. "Isn't it obvious that Kagami-kun is the strongest?"

"Are you picking a fight...? WHAT'S YOUR GOAL!?" Angry tick marks spurted on Kagami's face.

"I wanted to see Kagami-kun's strength directly. Ah, and your dunks too."

Geez, what the hell am I doing... Kagami facepalmed. He's just weak to the point that he doesn't smell like anything at all. I feel like an idiot...

"Errr..."

"It's alright already."

"I'm not interested in weak guys. I'll give you one last advice. And that goes to you too," Kagami looked at Hazuki.

"It's better if both of you give up on basketball. No matter what kind of beautiful things you can say about effort, it's an undeniable fact that you need talent in our society."

Kagami then turned to Kuroko. "You. Have no talent for basketball." He spinned the ball on his fingertip.

So basically he's saying that I'm weak without even trying to play against me, Hazuki thought.

"I have to say no to that." Kuroko said.

Kagami raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"To begin with, I love basketball. On top of that―"

Hazuki launched forward and slapped the ball away from Kagami.

"Wha―"

She dribbled in patience and stared intensely at Kagami, obviously waiting for him to come. Then she nonchalantly waved her hand in a motion. Come.

Tick marks appeared on his head again.

"Are YOU trying to pick a fight?!" He charged.

"Why would I?" Hazuki asked, a little puzzled at his strange Japanese, but then concentrated.

She fell to the left. It was so sudden and quick that Kagami startled. Was she fainting?

"Oi―" he put a hand up.

Hazuki whipped to the right, sped into a turnaround and put herself in a shooting position.

What the hell?

Kagami quickly went back to guard and jumped. She's fast, but that won't cut it!

But Hazuki just ran past him and sped down the court. Wha―

She leaped, scoring a perfect lapup.

The ball bounced in place and she picked up, dusting the grit off from it.

She picked up her school bag, "See you tomorrow," she waved at the two boys.

"Bye Kuroko-kun." Hazuki looked into his ghostly blue eyes. There was no hint of what he thinking, but she hoped her message got through.

To not give up no matter who you are. But of course, Kuroko Tetsuya already knew this.

Kagami frowned but did feel a bit humbled. "What a weird guy. Wait. She took my basketball! Come back bastard!"

Kuroko gave Kagami a curious glance as he chased after her. "Why would you call her that?"

The next day of school was a cloudy one. By afternoon, it was heavily pouring outside the Seirin gym.

"We still have time in our training, but we can't go outside for conditioning... what should we do coach?" Hyuuga asked.

I wanted to see the the strength of the freshmen... Riko thought. "This might be a good opportunity."

"Let's have a 5 VS 5 Mini-game with the freshmen against the 2nd years!" She announced.

"A match against the Senpais, that means...!" Kawahara gasped.

"Do you remember what they told us when we joined the club?" Another boy remembered. "Their result for last year... Last year, with only freshmen, they made it until the final league!"

A lot of that included aniki, Hazuki remembered. His teammates were very good as well... until they met that person, she thought a little darkly.

"Seriously?!" Another freshman gaped.

"..."

"That's completely out of the ordinary..."

...Well, then I wonder, how good our rookies are? Riko grinned, whistle in hand. And especially Fujidana, and how she'll be on the court with a team.

Kagami was fired up at the thought of the game. He fist pumped with both his hands.

"It's not the time to be scared. Of course it's better if the opponent is strong rather than weak, right?! Let's go!" Kagami shouted.

Kagami, Kuroko and Hazuki were one of the freshmen on the starting line. Some of the boys still gave her doubtful looks though.

"TIPOFF!" Riko shouted.

Kagami immediately knocked the ball in the freshmen's possession.

"WOOOH!" A sideline freshman shouted.

Less than a minute later, Kagami dunked in the basket.

"WAAH! WHAT WAS THAT DUNK!" a first year gasped."AWESOME!"

It's more than I could have ever imagined, the coach grinned. With that yet unpolished sense of play and destructive power, we could go far with him!

"Hey that's insane..." Hyuuga muttered. His firepower is seriously that of a monster!

"The freshmen are in the lead!?"

"But well, Kagami is the only one scoring!"

Not for long, Hazuki thought. He's not going to take away my only chance.

WHAP!

Hazuki whipped away the ball from Koganei and raced down the court.

"Whoa! That girl stole the ball!" A commentator gaped.

"She's fast!" Another nodded.

Izuki speeded up and tried to block her. Hazuki immediately leaned parallel, like she was fainting. What? Izuki thought.

Then she flexed her legs up in the opposite direction and twisted around him.

As expected of flexibility like those, Riko scanned her legs to make sure. Girls have more flexibility in their legs than guys but hers is more than above average And her sense of balance especially helps her in those fakes! Fujidana-san's odd skill really is something... it has a lot of potential.

Hazuki shot near the foul line and scored.

The bystanders looked in awe. Hazuki was keeping up perfectly with the other guys, no... she was even faster in returning to the opposite side of the court!

Well, she isn't bad, I admit, Kagami thought grudgingly, remembering yesterday's session on the court. He still felt doubtful about her joining the team because it still wasn't normal, but she could hold her own as far as she could see.

Her moves are a little like Alex's sometimes when she got serious, he recalled his old master. But more than that...

THIS CAN'T HELP GETTING ON MY NERVES! Kagami glowered at Kuroko.

Bam! Izuki stole the ball from Kuroko easily.

"The ball was stolen from this guy again?" One of the freshmen criticized.

"Focus!" Another yelled.

Compared to the big things he said, he's just a shitty player... Kagami glared. Guys who talk big despite being small fries...

"―IRRITATE ME THE MOST!" Kagami jumped and blocked.

"So high!" A freshman yelled. "They can't stop Kagami at all!"

"We can't let it go that way," Hyuuga grinned. "I think it's about time we calm you down!"

Tsuchida, Koganei and Izuki zoned on him.

"THREE GUYS?!"

Kagami narrowed his eyes and kept the ball closer.

"IF THEY GO THAT FAR, KAGAMI, ON TOP OF THAT―"

"Even when he doesn't have the ball there's still two guys on him!" A freshman said. "They're not letting him touch the ball at all! "The captain's also guarding Fujidana, the other scorer!"

Now this'll be harder, Hazuki thought, half-laughing and grimacing. The captain that aniki acknowledges... and he was certainly an excellent player the last time I saw him.

Hyuuga flinched in surprise... this girl really looks like someone I know. Agh! Focus!

But even a few minutes later, the second years continued to score and steal balls from Kagami. Hazuki managed to score a couple of times which prevented the score from looking too ugly, but the gap was still widening.

20-31.

"They're really strong after all..." Fukuda groaned.

"There was no way from them to win from the start," Kawahara moaned from the sidelines.

"It's enough already―" Furihata muttered.

"ENOUGH ALREADY?! WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THAT?!" Kagami grabbed Furihata's shirt.

"Please calm down," Kuroko kneed Kagami's legs so he buckled.

ACK! The freshmen trio gaped.

Well, Hazuki thought.

"You bastard..." Kagami growled.

"Seems like there's a dispute," Izuki said.

The freshmen trio tried pulling Kagami back with all their might while Kagami was trying his best to beat up Kuroko.

"Um, you might want to calm down―" Hazuki suggested, pressing his forehead backwards with both hands, causing the opposite effect.

"LET ME GO GET THAT BAS―"

"Kuroko... now that I think about it he was there too..." Riko sweatdropped. "Even I, the referee completely forgot about him at some point..."

...

Hmm?! Her whistle fell out of her mouth in shock. Huh? Seriously, since when?! ...It can't be...

"Excuse me, could you pass me the ball?" Kuroko asked Fukuda.

"Hah?" he asked.

"Do your best! Still 3 minutes!" Kawahara yelled.

But it's not like you'll be able to do anything even if you get it? Fukuda thought in bewilderment as he passed. At least don't lose it...

What is that uncomfortable feeling? Could it be... something unthinkable is about to happen?!

WHOOSH!

The ball slipped to Furihata's hands in in a second.

"Eh? Ah!" He scored a basket.

"...Eh... wha..." A freshman gaped.

"It's in?! How did he get that pass through just now?!" Hyuuga said.

Kuroko-kun, Hazuki thought, in slight bewilderment yet understanding. I see...

WHOOSH. Kuroko passed invisibly to Fujidana, gaining another two points.

"How the hell does he do that?" Kawahara demanded. "Before you notice it, the pass goes through and we score!"

He's making use of his lack of presence to relay passes?! Riko observed. On top of that, the time he keeps the all is extremely short! ...Then it can't be that this guy... he's already hard to notice from the beginning and he becomes even more invisible!?

"Misdirection," she said.

He's using that magic like technique to fool the senses of the opponent, she thought. Using misdirection, he leads the opponent to think not about him, but another player will get the ball.

In other words rather than saying he is invisible during matches, you can say he's encouraging the opponent to focus on other players than him! she thought.

This is Kuroko's... Kagami gaped.

The former regular from Teiko Middle School who specialized in circulating passes without being seen...! I knew the rumor, but I didn't think he actually existed. Riko stared at the game, stunned. The sixth phantom member of the Generation of Miracles!

The ball shot into Hazuki's hands.

Damn... we're focusing too much on Kuroko's passes! Hyuuga thought.

"Fujidana!" Kagami yelled.

Her basket shot in perfectly.

"Waah! I can't believe it!" A freshman gaped. "One point of difference!?"

"Damn, each one of them would be bothersome on their own," Hyuuga wiped away his sweat wearily. With Kagami and Fujidana coordinating with Kuroko, we have no way to stop these attacks.

"Tch!" Izuki said and threw the ball blindly.

"IDIOT!" Hyuuga yelled.

Kuroko stole the ball immediately and dashed down the court.

"WHOOH!" A freshman whooped. "GO KUROKO!"

"WIN―" Furihata yelled.

The ball bounced off the rim.

"That's why weak guys annoy me the most. SCORE PROPERLY IDIOT!" Kagami dunked while Kuroko gave a small smile.

"THE FRESHMEN WON!?"

"Haha! Those guys..." Hyuuga said then trailed off. Well... as allies, they'll be reliable...

After the game at Maji Burger, Kagami ordered his mountain of burgers again. When he went back to the table he sat at yesterday he sweatdropped.

The invisible guy and the girl player on their team was sitting there again.

"...Why are you there again..." He said.

"You are the one who came to sit at our table," Kuroko pointed out. "And it's because I like the vanilla shake here."

"And I like the chocolate shake," she said.

"Go sit somewhere else," Kagami said.

"No," Kuroko said.

Hazuki looked at with curiosity.

"Don't think we're friends now―" Kagami said.

Closet tsundere? Hazuki thought.

"Like I said we were the first ones to sit here..." Kuroko pointed out.

Tick marks popped on Kagami's face again and he grumbled some more.

Kagami picked up two of his burgers and tossed them towards Kuroko and Hazuki.

"Here. I'm, er sorry about the other time, when I underestimated you," He told Hazuki.

"Oh... that?" Hazuki asked. She put her elbows on the table and stared at Kagami thoughtfully.

"Wha... what?" He asked.

"Well, that was slightly unexpected..." She said. A definite closet tsundere.

"Give me my burger back!"

"I'm kidding," She chuckled. "Thank you very much..."

Right... Kagami thought. A bit of a weirdo when she talks and when she plays basketball. Well, I was taught basketball by a woman so I shouldn't have said that.

He remembered the times back in America where Alex was. She could be really terrifying though and he hoped Hazuki wasn't the same.

And at least I apologized, he thought.

"Well... this is for you because," He gestured at Kuroko. "I'm not interested in weak guys. But I'll acknowledge you're worth one piece of all that."

"...Thank you," he said.

Hazuki smiled.

"What?" Kagami demanded, embarrassed.

"... Hrm? Nothing."

"How strong is the Generation of Miracles?" Kagami asked while they were leaving.

Kuroko looked at him curiously.

"Say, if I was to go against them right now, what would happen?" Kagami asked.

"...You would be instantly killed." Kuroko drank his vanilla milkshake.

Never spoken in a truer way, Hazuki thought, sipped the last bits of her chocolate milkshake, recalling some of the things Kiyoshi had told her. And what she had seen.

"Can you say that in a different way?" Kagami grumbled.

"On top of that, the five geniuses have all joined different veteran schools this year. There is no mistaking that one of them will be standing at the top," Kuroko said.

"...Hahahaha! Nice! I'm burning! I've decided! I'll take all these guys down and become the number one in Japan!" He declared.

"I think it's impossible," Kuroko said bluntly.

"OI!" Kagami protested.

"I don't know about the potential of your abilities, but with your current level, you can't hold a candle to any of them. It's impossible... alone," Kuroko said. "I have decided as well."

"I am a supporting actor, a shadow. But... a shadow will become darker if the light is stronger. And it will make the white of the light stand out. As the shadow of the main actor, I will make you the light, the number one in Japan."

"HA! Nice words―" Kagami began.

"STOP!" Hazuki declared.

Hazuki raised her hand while sipping her shake, like she was about to take an oath right in between the two boys.

"What the hell did you stop us for?!" Kagami demanded.

"Sorry. I mean, it was going nicely and dramatic (just like a manga scene), but..."

"And why are you drinking your shake while talking?!" Kagami tsukommied.

Hazuki stopped drinking. "Sorry. I was preoccupied by an important thought that's been on my mind since yesterday that can't wait."

"Hah?" Kagami asked.

"That's not what I was talking about," Hazuki interrupted. "Remember yesterday, Kagami-kun?"

"So what about yesterday?" Kagami asked.

"You said that you didn't play basketball for fun, right?" Hazuki said.

"...Right?" Kagami frowned.

"Then why are you even playing basketball if you don't have fun? It just didn't make sense to me," Hazuki put her hand in an L-shape, cupping her chin.

"...What?!"

"I hate to say it, but it's been on my mind all day," Hazuki looked at Kagami seriously, surprising the both of them with her change of atmosphere. "Why do you play basketball if you don't like it?"

What's with this change of pace? Kagami thought, twitching. What's with this weirdo who won't go along with the moment?

"I just want to play a more serious game that really gets me going..." Kagami began.

"WELL, then why didn't you say so?"

"HAH?"

"It's just been on my mind because it didn't make sense," she pondered aloud. "Doing something that you're talented at, but not enjoying yourself... your words have been stuck in my mind for the entire day. Well, it's a relief to know that you love basketball at least."

And it's good to know that you're serious about doing something in the club Teppei created, she huffed.

"...What?" Kagami was irritated and baffled at the change of pace. And being a bakagami, he didn't really process what she said.

"..." Kuroko looked with unblinking but thoughtful eyes.

"Sorry for ignoring you Kuroko-kun," Hazuki said, surprising him for the fourth time since their first meeting. "But what I was also going to say was, I've decided too."

"I'll work with you guys together, and we'll become No. 1," she smiled.

They looked at her for a moment with no doubt in the meaning of her words.

Kagami snorted, "Just do what you want."

"I will. How about you Kuroko-kun?" She asked.

Kuroko blinked. "I will do my best."

Hazuki held her hand out in a fist and smiled.

Kagami snorted as he held out his fist and Kuroko gave a rare smile.

It would take more than a few months, but their time on the stage would come. And with it, the legend of Seirin High's basketball team began.