Author here! Okay, I realised there are a few things I had to clear up...I should have thought of this before...damn. Anyway, this story is going to be set after Seirin's won the Winter Cup, but it's a sort of "what if" Kuroko and Aomine had not come to speaking terms even after Kuroko beat Aomine. The GoM won't appear in the first few chapters, but patience, my lovelies, for they will appear and be a huge part of it! With nothing else I can think of adding, please enjoy! ^.^

Years have passed since the event that cannot be mentioned occurred. It has become unutterable between the Generation of Miracles, so much so that the light and shadow of the team that were once inseparable no longer know why a glass wall had become erected between them, seemingly permanently separating them. As this wall is glass, there are times when both these people do not see the separation, but are reminded of it whenever they try to cross over to the other side. This is the outcome of their time spent in middle school as a team and nothing will change that, no matter how much the light and shadow wish to be reunited; after all, a shadow can only have one light.

The rain pattered softly all around Kuroko and the darkness of the night sky contrasted with the bright glimmering lights of the houses on the streets. A street lamp stood proudly next to him, causing the pavement underneath it to softly glow, it gently getting darker the further away one got from the street lamp; the water on the floor glimmered like coins as the light of the lamp hit it. The rain seeped through the grey hoodie Kuroko wore, causing the small, lean boy to shiver. He had wanted to take a walk, even though he knew it was going to rain and now he was dealing with the consequences. No doubt he'd catch a cold later on.

A full moon beamed down at him, bathing him in soft silver light and causing shadows to accentuate his face where it could not reach. Suddenly, a buzzing sound broke the tranquillity of the place, bringing Kuroko out of his thoughts. His phone vibrated in his jeans pocket; since it was still raining heavily, he looked around, noticing a bus stop with a shelter a few feet away. Jogging up to it, he took refuge from the rain and reached into his pocket to answer his phone that had not stopped ringing.

Checking the caller ID, he realised it was his mum; guessing she was calling to ask him to come home, he answered anyway. And he was right. The call lasted less than a minute and afterwards, because he was an obedient child, he immediately made his way home.

-/-/-/-

Upon reaching his house, Kuroko placed his key in the lock and opened the door. As soon as he closed the door behind him, his doting mother had come out of nowhere and bombarded him with questions and rambled on about how worried she was. A soft smile played on Kuroko's lips.

"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble, I just wanted to get some fresh air," he said in his monotonous voice. His mother sighed then told him to get changed out of his soaked clothes and Kuroko complied.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," she called up to him as he ascended the stairs. Kuroko made a noise of acknowledgement, and went straight into his room.

Kuroko's bedroom was quite large, with cream coloured walls and like his entire house, his room's floor was wooden and polished to perfection. A large window stood to the right, overlooking a regular-sized garden and a futon sat comfortably beside the wall opposite his door. A desk and computer were situated underneath the window and many books were strewn across the floor from the bookshelf that was beside the window. Four bean bags, each a different colour, gathered together in a corner beside the bookshelf; they'd be pulled out when he had friends over. In another corner was a simple, yet elegant wooden wardrobe with two long mirrors built into the doors of it, its colour matched the floor. A round, fluffy baby blue rug sat contentedly in the middle of the room.

Kuroko stripped off his wet clothes, having particular trouble with his jeans but managing to get them off nonetheless. He pulled out a bean bag, not taking into account the colour of it and brought it nearer to the centre of the room, then sat down, too tired to move, his clothes strewn across the floor. His elbows rested on his knees and his head rested in his hands, his gaze settling on a random part of a wall, but not registering it. Basketball practice was as tough as ever; it always ended in him collapsing and/or vomiting and today had been no different, even though everyone else was on Christmas break, their coach still wanted them to practice.

Kuroko replayed the main events of today in his mind, smiling at the memories of playing basketball with his friends; it took him back to the days in Teiko, before their team has become so warped and set on winning, when basketball used to be about having fun and enjoying yourself. And then it had changed, once Akashi had changed; once everyone else had nurtured their talents greatly. They had stopped relying on him, including his former light. The day he had gone to see Aomine when he'd left basketball practice, like today, it had been raining; the sky grey and overcast. Kuroko had tried to reason with him, but was met with words that pierced his heart instead. Even now he felt the clenching, vice-like grip those words had had on him; it had not disappeared in the slightest. However, what had happened afterwards was what had hurt Kuroko even more; it was as if a thick, opaque screen had been erected in his brain in order to stop him from reliving that event, but even thinking about that brought tears to his eyes; however he fought them back, remembering that all had not been lost. Yes, he suffered for a while, but he decided that if that was the case, he'd suffer a thousand folds, if it meant he would have found Kagami and his current team again. He was happy now, even though there were unresolved issues, wounds that had not sealed; he was still happy. Due to his team. Due to Kagami. They had never let him down, not once and he knew they never would; he knew they would play to the best of their abilities, they would never give up until the end, but most importantly, they would always love basketball as much as he did. Truly, he was glad to be a part of Seirin's basketball team and to have become Kagami's shadow. Especially Kagami's shadow. Kagami knew him better than anyone else; he'd always restored his determination and will when he was on the brink of giving up; he made sure Kuroko knew he could always rely on him. Always. And he had yet to let him down and Kuroko knew he wouldn't. Kagami had pulled him out of despair many times and it was always due to him he was able to think rationally and devise a plan when his team needed one. Whenever he and his team needed him, Kaga-

"Tetsuya! Dinner's ready!" He heard his mother shout from downstairs. Startled, Kuroko's head shot up; it was only then that he wondered how long he had been sitting like this, in just his underwear. Rustling his hair with his hands, Kuroko got up; throwing on a loose-fitted white shirt and a pair of comfortable light blue trousers, then went downstairs.

The comforting scent of rice mingled with curry wafted through the air and reached Kuroko's nostrils, immediately causing his stomach to grumble, reminding him of his hungry he was. Kuroko quickened his pace and took his place at the set dinner table, his mother and father seated there already. Having already had his food, Nigou sat by Kuroko's feet, nipping his trousers affectionately. Kuroko smiled softly down at him, the small puppy looking up with unhidden affection in his eyes.

"Tetsuya, how is basketball practice?" His father questioned, his voice sounding quieter and more strained than usual. Kuroko turned his gaze to the reserved, yet kind eyes of his father, his expression as blank as Kuroko's normally was. However, Kuroko couldn't tell if he'd imagined it or not, but he was quite sure he saw a flash of pain in his father's eyes, before it was replaced by an expressionless mask once again. It had happened so quickly that Kuroko decided he truly had imagined it.

"It's going well; thank you for asking," Kuroko replied. A small, satisfied smile grazed the man's face.

"I'm glad," he simply said.

And with that, the three family members tucked into their food; small outbursts of conversation occurring throughout their meal, the strange behaviour and expression of his father forgotten. However, what remained on Kuroko's mind was what he'd been thinking about earlier.

If Kuroko had to say, he would say that Kagami was the reason he was able to keep looking forward; he pulled him along and made him believe everything would be okay, even though it had really been him that had said all those bold statements to Kagami. He only realised now that Kagami was the one that had been able to make him to let go of the past he shared with the Generation of Miracles. And it was then that Kuroko realised exactly how significant Kagami was to him and how he had to convey that to him, even though the red haired boy would just be confused out of his mind. Kuroko decided he'd find a way to portray how he felt to Kagami once he'd returned from America; he had gone back to spend the holidays with his family, much to the anger of their coach, however, she understood Kagami hadn't seen them in a while, so she had let him off. Kuroko would definitely think of something before Kagami came back.

Suddenly, a plate shattered on the floor. Immediately turning towards the sound, Kuroko had just enough time to see his father falling off his chair. Reacting instantly, Kuroko managed to catch his father's upper half before it hit the ground. He now knelt on the floor with his father in his arms, his eyes wide with horror, hearing his father wheezing and gasping for air.

"Anata!" His mother exclaimed in fear, rushing to where the two men were, whilst calling him over and over again. Kuroko could only stare with widened, terror-stricken eyes at the weakened man in his arms.

Snapping out of it, he turned to his mother.

"Mum, please call an ambulance," he stated, his voice unable to convey the panic he felt. Tear-filled eyes looked up at him and nodded, the woman swiftly getting up, despite her shaking legs. Kuroko heard snippets of the phone call, but did not let himself relax. He swiftly put his father in the recovery position, unsure as to whether that would do anything. "Dad, please stay awake, don't slip into unconsciousness; stay with me, with mum."

Kuroko murmured words of encouragement, hoping the ambulance would reach them before his father passed out.