Kagami

"My name's Kagami Taiga, and I came back from America just recently. Please treat me well, thanks." I bowed my head a little and earned a pat on the back from sensei.

"You can sit next to Kuroko behind there, Kagami-kun." He instructed with a polite smile plastered on his aged face. I nodded, then carefully made my way towards the back. Whispers and murmurs were heard but I tried my best to not let it bother me. They were probably talking about my height anyway.

I wanted to greet the quiet boy who was deeply staring into space. Something about him made me dislike him already. It was probably because of how dull he was.

"Nice to meet you, Kagami-kun," A rather friendly girl greeted me, and I can't help but gave her my best fake smile. "My name's Mayuka."

"Oh, right," I cleared my throat. "Nice meeting you, Mayuka-san."

She giggled a little before speaking again. "Do people ever tell you you're very tall? Do you like, play sports or something? Like basketball?"

"Yes, I do." I answered simply.

Mayuka-san continued to babble about a topic that I was clearly not interested in. Like the boy next to me, I was about to enter my own world until something caught my eyes.

The keychain on his bag. It looks familiar.

I frowned. No, it must be a coincidence. Anyone can have that keychain, right?

I planned to talk to that Kuroko guy when the bell rings, but when it did, I was instantly surrounded by the other students, bombarding me with questions that I was forced to answer.

"Wait, wait!" I interrupted. "I'm kinda busy right now. There's something I need to —"

That's when I realised Kuroko had disappeared. But how could that be? Wasn't he beside me the whole time?

I stood up, making the annoying students shriek in shock. I quickly apologise before running out of the class, searching for Kuroko. Unfortunately, though, I couldn't find him, and being a transferred student, I didn't know my way around the school yet.

I cursed under my breath, then tried walking back to the direction of my previous class. I couldn't really remember where was it, and I ended up in the music room.

"You can't do this to me, don't throw me away just like that." A weeping voice was heard and I couldn't help but to follow the sound. More sobs could be heard, and I was about to change my mind before Kuroko opened the sliding door, his face wet from tears and eyes red from all the crying.

"Kuroko?"

He shot me a glare before walking passed me. Damn, it was only an accident. I didn't peek on him on purpose. Plus, why was he crying in the first place?

I sighed heavily, then quietly followed him from behind and back to class.

Kuroko was silent the whole time, as if what happened before didn't happen at all. I frowned while spinning my pen. Who was the person he was talking to? It sounded like a break up to me.

I decided to write a small note and pass it to him. At first he made no attempt to take the note from me, then he sighed and reluctantly took it from my hand.

After reading my message to him, which was Are you okay? , he folded the piece of paper and slid it in between his book.

He gave me a look before nodding his head, the death glare from earlier was nowhere to be found. I raised my eyebrows in confusion, but decided to let it drop. What was going on with that boy was none of my business.

When the bell rang, everyone stood up and thanked sensei before leaving the classroom. I gave myself a pat on the back. First day was good so far. Nothing bad has happened yet and I hoped to keep it that way.

Kuroko disappeared again before I could have a chat with him. His silent disappearance was slowly starting to annoy me. Was he always like this?

I decided to hang around the basketball court near school. Doing some training actually helped me release stress, and it also kept my stamina on point. I threw the ball, scored, then got it back and threw it again. This process repeated until I caught sight of the familiar head of blue.

"Kuroko!" I called out to him.

He stopped in his tracks and turned his head to me. A look of panic filled his eyes, and I knew he was about to run away again. I managed to catch up to him though.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Kagami-kun." He nodded his head.

"About earlier," I rubbed a spot at the back of my neck. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation."

"It's okay."

The awkward tension was getting thicker, so I grabbed his hand and together we both walked back to the court. Letting go of his hand, I bent down and collected my ball.

"Do you play?" I asked him, and I got a 'No' in return.

I didn't believe him though. The key chain he had told me he played basketball. That key chain which someone also has.

"I don't believe you," I smirked and passed him the ball, which he caught swiftly. "Let's play."

Much to my surprise, he was really bad. Maybe my assumption was wrong. Maybe he was telling the truth.

"Wow," I laughed. "You're really bad."

Kuroko only stayed silent. He quietly walked to the side and sat on the bench. There it was, the look of despair was clear on his pale face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I decided to ask as I sat next to him. "You've been acting weird earlier, I noticed."

"Nothing's wrong," He whispered. "I just... I gave up playing basketball."

"What do you mean gave up?" I was confused. He said he didn't play basketball, no?

"Have you heard of the Generation of Miracles, Kagami-kun?" He asked, sad eyes staring into mine. I thought for a moment, then nodded my head. The Generation of Miracles was known as the best basketball team in Japan, and so far none of the other teams has beaten them yet. I made a vow to myself, saying one day I'll be better, good enough to beat them.

"I used to be a part of them," He admitted. "I was called the phantom sixth player."

I stared at him wide-eyed. He's not kidding, is he?

"You're the phantom sixth player?" I questioned in amazement. Kuroko nodded, then continued. "I was, but I quit the team last year."

"But why?"

Kuroko only gave me a weak smile. "Let's just say things happened, and my will to play faded."

I scoffed, then stood on my feet and faced him. I didn't know where the excitement came from, but I didn't want to let it go.

"Well, now that we're friends, you have to come with me. Let's join the basketball team, Kuroko! I'm not letting you give up."

His eyes widened a little. "We're friends, Kagami-kun?"

I blushed in embarrassment. Crap, I wasn't thinking.

"Shut up," I groaned. "Can't we? Can't we be friends?"

This was the first time I've seen Kuroko smile truly, which made me smile too. "Friends sound nice, though about the basketball team..."

"You're gonna join me, Kuroko, and we'll beat the Generation of Miracles and be number one in Japan!"

He frowned for a moment, and I was about to give him a punch on the shoulder before he spoke.

"That's an impossible mission," He sighed, then a big smile followed. "But okay, we'll do our best, and become first in Japan."

I grinned, then gave him a fist bump.