Warning: Pairing is AkaxFem!Kuroko

LONG OVERDUE UPDATE AHEAD:Hello! Is there someone here still reading this fic? I know I've been gone for a looooooooooong loooooooong time but now that I'm finally able to breathe a little bit easier, (adulting is hard, guys, trust me T_T) I can finally go back to what I love doing when I was younger and that's writing!It also helps that my significant other is into writing as well and encouraged me to continue doing this.Rest assured guys, I will be back. I will be rewriting this story. I'm not going to change everything, just a few points here and there.I won't abandon it again and I'll be making more stories about my OTP soon!

TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE OR JUST ONE PERSON WHO ARE/IS STILL READING THIS: I MISS YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOO MUUUCH! I've been really busy with my thesis, graduating, and then working to pay for our car but now that my responsibility has been completed, I can finally find some time to relax and live my life! It helps that my love for AkaxFem!Kuro has been rekindled as well. I guess they will always be my most precious OTP hihi

But without further ado, I give you the updated version of the first chapter of VFL!

Set in their high school days were Kuroko studies at Seirin and Akashi at Rakuzan. Kuroko was Akashi's former classmate and basketball club manager back in Teikou.

Disclaimer: If I own KuroBasu, I would make Sei-chan and Tet-chan as the main protagonists, Kagami can be discarded anytime.

'Talking' , 'thinking'

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1st Quarter: "I like girls with long hair"

Glancing at the wall clock in front of her, Kuroko Tetsumi sighed as she closed the book she was holding shut; it was the second novel that she finished today.

4:00 PM. Might as well pack her things and head home, her classes were dismissed early in the morning anyways. She thought about stopping by Maji's, her favourite fast food chain restaurant, on her way home to buy her holy grail of a drink.

Baby blue eyes scanned the vast library as she neatly placed the notepad inside her bag, finding very few students still studying despite the fact that it has been five hours since dismissal; even the library committee member in charge to supervise the library was nowhere to be found.

After making sure that she's all packed up, she made a move to stand but stopped when she felt a vibration. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she checked who sent her the message.

From: Akashi Seijuurou

Subject: Meet me.

Tetsumi, meet me at the park near your home at 5:00 PM.

-End-

Kuroko, after reading her former captain's message, was quite perplexed. Akashi Seijuurou might have changed both inside and out but he still somehow treats her the same way he did when they were still studying in Teikou. Even after her moving to Seirin, he still kept on sending her text messages even if it some of them are mundane, like how she should eat more and to stop drinking vanilla milkshakes, which she loves so much, but asking her to meet him was quite rare.

'I wonder what is so important that Akashi-kun would travel from Kyoto to here just to meet me.' Knowing that her former captain would not do something without a reason; she glanced at the clock which reads 4:05 PM. She still has the time to go at Maji's before meeting up with Akashi seeing as it is a mere 15-minute walk from her school to the park.

• • • •

Exiting Maji's with her favourite drink in hand, she wondered if a certain redhead would scold her for her addiction to it, the chances were 99 to 1, of course. Her reflection at the glass window in front of her, caught her attention and erased the ridiculous thoughts that ran in her mind. Picking up a strand of her hair, she noticed that it is longer now than she expected it to be. 'I should just cut it, it's not like...' catching herself lost in her thoughts yet again, Tetsumi shook her head and started walking to her destination.

• • • •

Upon arriving at their one-sidedly agreed upon location, she started searching for the one responsible for this impromptu meet-up right away, as she knows that, if he's still the same, he hates to be kept waiting.

Finally seeing the familiar mop of bloody red hair, Tetsumi approached the figure sitting in one of the benches beside the fountain located at the center of the park.

"Akashi-kun?" She silently berated herself for sounding so unsure, who else would it be after all.

The mop of red hair moved upwards to reveal heterochromatic eyes of ruby and gold. The owner of the said eyes slightly softened at the sight of the light blue haired girl.

"Hello Tetsumi, it has been a while." Akashi Seijuurou greeted.

"Ano, Akashi-ku-"

"Tetsumi, that's not how I told you to call me" He casually reprimanded her.

"I mean, Seijuurou-kun, what is the reason that you wanted to meet me here?" She actually wants to know why, although her former captain is always a welcomed presence, the foreboding feeling of what he is concocting in that brilliant mind of his overthrows that feeling.

"What if I simply wanted to see you? Do I not have the right to see you if there's no reason at all?" Seeing that Akashi is indeed a little bit offended at her accusation, she immediately explained what made her ask something like that fearing that she will make the redhead angry and an aggravated Akashi Seijuurou is not something that she's in the mood to handle right now.

"It isn't like Seijuurou-kun to trouble himself to come from Kyoto just to see me, that's all"

Akashi, ignoring what she said, motioned Kuroko to sit beside him. Taking the cold drink out of her hands, he took a sip before taking a deep breath.

Kuroko flinched, he will surely scold her.

"What did I say about drinking too much vanilla milkshakes? " Looking at the girl beside him or rather at her pouting lips, he reprimanded her yet again. It seems like leaving Kuroko to her own devices has turned her to be quite reckless.

The blunette, a bit disheartened by the loss of her favorite drink, immediately thought of an excuse, knowing that if she didn't stop him now, it will take a long time before he finishes his lecture about the harmful effects of drinking too much of that sweet drink has. "That was the first one that I bought today, Seijuurou-kun, and I still haven't drank much of it."

Akashi can only sigh, he knows too well that reasoning with Kuroko is a losing battle, "Anyways, how are you faring?"

Knowing exactly what he meant by that question; her reply came as rehearsed, "Seirin is a commendable school, despite of it being built only about two years ago, Seijuurou-kun, and our basketball team is quite strong too."

"Not stronger than Rakuzan, I believe. I keep telling you to transfer, Tetsumi. You know that schools like Seirin cannot bring out your true potential." Akashi intervened.

Already used to this talk, Kuroko replied with a "I cannot live in Kyoto, my family would not allow it."

She was answered with a hum and a slight nod of his head.

Not a single word was heard for about a minute.

"I've been reading Dazai Osamu's work lately. The latest one that I just finished earlier is titled No Longer Human."

Akashi glanced at her way, finding it rare for her to be a conversation starter.

"It was good?" She ended her impromptu sharing of knowledge as she's not receiving the reaction she expected.

"Was that a question?"

"It was not."

"What are you trying to do?"

"Now, that's a question."

The redhead choose silence over replying yet again.

"I'm trying to start a conversation."

"That's very rare of you, Tetsumi. Is there something wrong?" Bewildered at how weird she's acting right now, he has to ask.

"Something is wrong with Dazai-san, he's weird, his dream is to commit double suicide with a beautiful girl. He tried and failed numerous times though. He did finally succeed in doing it later on, with a widow named Yamazaki Tomie."

"Twentieth century Japanese authors are crazy, Tetsumi. It was an actual lesson in that advanced literature class you forced me to take with you."

"Hearing that from someone who threatened to cut someone with a pair of scissors is rather astounding."

"He defied me, you do know how much I despise that."

"Doesn't mean that you can go ahead and throw scissors at him." Kuroko quipped, recalling the time when a second-string player broke the rules and was caught smoking. He was kicked out of the team soon after but not before he was 'lectured' by the feared captain.

She doesn't have a clue on his whereabouts but the last thing she heard was that he turned over a new leaf.

"Still. Mind answering my question now?"

"I was told by Aida-san that starting a conversation will help me be more social and visible."

"But you don't need to be visible nor social, Tetsumi. Your strength lies with your misdirection. You honed this skill and made a name for yourself, now you're just throwing it away?"

"I'm not. I just thought that it might be good to stand out once in a while."

"I don't want you to stand out, I'll have more rivals if you did."

"Rivals?"

"You're really clueless. You attract more attention than you think."

"What part of me attracts attention? I'm basically invisible and boringly normal."

"Let me let you in on a secret. A lot of people liked you, and when I say a lot, I mean a whole lot."

"I never noticed." Kuroko clocked her head to the side. This could rather be an actual secret or the redhead's attempt at sick humor.

"Of course you wouldn't, I persuaded them not to approach you."

"Persuaded or scared them to death?" She is still not convinced but decided to go along with it anyways.

"I don't see any difference."

"You are beautiful, Tetsumi. Don't be insecure. And this is not an attempt at sick humor, by the way."

This time, it was Kuroko who didn't give him the satisfaction of a reply.

Akashi, knowing that she didn't believe him in any way, decided to simply take a strand of her light blue hair.

"Your hair is extremely long now." The redhead said, looking intently at her hair.

"Now, you're the one who's starting a conversation. How the tables have turned."

He stifled his laughter and gave her a warm yet almost imperceptible smile instead.

"I'm being serious, your hair is about 14 centimeters longer than it was before."

As she was so used to his uncanny way of saying things, she ignored the desire to ask how he measured it. "You said not to cut it since you prefer girls with long hair, did you not?"

"Yes I did, precisely why you grew your hair out right?" The redhead teased while fiddling with a few strands of her now waist length light blue hair.

Maintaining the deadpan look she's known for, Kuroko calmly replied, "I just didn't have the time to have it cut, I'll most likely do so later since it is starting to be a bit troublesome." 'Especially in the mornings' She would've added but is aware that he knows about it already.

She looked back at her companion only to see him looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Get rid of that foolish idea, you look better with long hair." The slightly annoyed tone alerted the blunette.

"You wouldn't think I'm 'pretty' otherwise?" She quoted.

"I'll always think you're beautiful, not pretty, but like I said, oblivious."

"You're just trying to get me to do something for you, Seijuurou-kun. I apologize but you are aware that flattery doesn't work with me."

"I'm not trying anything, I genuinely think that you're beautiful."

"I know how you are, Seijuurou-kun. You wouldn't do something without a deeper meaning."

"I'm hurt, Tetsumi. To think that is how low you think I am."

"You are always like this."

"The only thing I'm trying here is for you to believe that I'm not trying anything."

"You're trying to make me confuse with all the trying."

"Can we stop saying 'trying' now?"

"I'm trying to but you're the one who started it, Seijuurou-kun."

Akashi could only blink at the blunette in front of him, she can never fail to catch him off guard still. He stood up and held out a hand to the unblinking Kuroko.

"It's getting late, Tetsumi. Let's go, I'll walk you home."

• • • •

"Goodnight, Tetsumi, I'll see you again." With that parting words, the redhead drifted further and further away from her sight.

It was only after when the mop of red hair is nowhere to be found that Kuroko realized that she didn't get to know why he asked her to meet him in the first place.