I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any of it's characters but I wish I did, pic by Kuro-Arisu on DeviantArt

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Chapter 1: Respect

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Right now all Kuroko wanted was a perfect rhythm.

He wanted to watch that rhythm stop for that moment when it flies through the air and hits the net, hearing laughter and chatter from both winners and losers. This kind of ball was… a lot calmer.

Still, it was what his parents wanted. 'It is about time you dragged in some fine young ladies', they said. It was bad enough that they were pressuring him to get engaged to a long-time friend of his - not to mention that even the pink haired maiden wasn't fully on board despite her infatuation with him.

"Thank you very much. It is my pleasure."

Kuroko's well practiced forced smile was smooth as always as he waved to two young ladies in fine dresses who waved back before giggling to each other and moving along.

For a moment he enjoyed the isolation. Then he opened his eyes to see all the people he didn't know walk around his parent's hall. They would chuckle at stories and hide their laughter at gossip, drinking fine (bitter and tasteless) wine and dance beautiful (dull and uncomfortable) dances. It was pretty much the same as staring at the chandelier, at least when he did that he could have an excuse to cover his eyes. And ears.

"I heard that all their jewellery is actually fake."

"No!"

"Yes! They went to a specialist to have it out of glass."

"Even the-"

"Shh- Not so loud!"

Who cared about that anyway? Whether it's glass or diamond, it all shines the same.

He sighed.

The tux was way too tight; his mother said it would be better to show off his 'athlete's figure'. All it showed was what his parents knew about athletes.

Kuroko had to stop himself from huffing when he reminded himself about sports.

The entire event was made for him by his parents just to hurry up his life. How irritating. Still it's not like they kept an eye on him, even they wouldn't notice if he slipped out - another use for that skill of his. So with one last check of who might be looking, he walked casually to the curtains at the front and slipped into the shadows, out the door in mere moments. Making sure he wasn't sporrted, he made his way down the steps and into the front garden. Once his seclusion was confirmed he took off everything he had, the whole suit. Thank fate he had put those fancy clothes on after his casual clothes, an hour earlier he was calling it a fatal mistake while trying to get some air under his shirt. But now it was much easier to breath – and he wasn't naked, always a plus.

Kuroko folded the clothes and hid them under the same bush he usually did, then with a tug on his baggy white shirt he smiled for real and went off on his way.

It was dark out and the other large houses on the street had most of their lights off – no doubt at his parent's party – but he wasn't staying in this safe neighbourhood. Where shall he go tonight? Maybe for the first time in way too long he could find somewhere to play basketball.

….

"You think you're so smart huh?!"

The cold brick was less than welcoming on the back of Kagami's head as he was slammed against the wall, two hands on his shirt collar and three unhappy guys crowding him. The literal red-head grit his teeth as though he were growling at them, only to groan out as he felt a knee dig hard into his gut. "Gargh!" Needless to say he went limp, not a good start.

"You think just because you cheat in basket ball that you are better than us, huh?!"

Kagami growled and wiped the spit off his face. Then he grinned.

"You got somethin' to say dumbshit?"

"Heh, damn right." He growled. "I don't need to cheat when all I have to deal with is two wimps and a turtle."

"Oooooooo-" The two either side of the one grabbing Kagami's collar made the typical 'burn' noise, the centre one (who was wearing a turtle neck and beanie combo so he was just asking for it) grit his teeth in return.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?"

Kagami couldn't hold back his reaction when there was another hit in the same place, this time much harder by the guy with the bubble gum ball. "Bastard…" He choked, gasping his breath as he grabbed the guy's wrists. He was prepared for a brawl but in the end it was three against one, just as he he ripped the hands off him there a strong punch connected right to his cheek and his head snapped the other direction. He spluttered, feeling blood rush to his jaw and lips before another punch hit him straight in the stomach.

Kicks, punches, no matter how much the red-head tried when he would block or attack he would be caught off guard immediately. He had no choice but to take it, only keeping his pride by barely holding back sounds of pain. Hanamiya just stood back with a smirk, feeling achievement for the beating going on in front of him. It turned to a grin as he saw Kagami start to lose the will to stand. After he ordered the other two to stop it didn't take a second for the red-head to slide down the wall. "Tch, pathetic. Whimper like a cub for us." He laughed and stepped back, his friends following suit as they all gave a creepy smirk. "All that talk and barely a bite, next time don't be such a disappointment."

Kagami made a grunting noise of inhuman level and looked up through a bruised eye at the three turning tail, so proud of themselves like they didn't lose a three on one match.

"You bastards, don't you dare leave before I-" He hissed at them but couldn't finish, coughing up his lungs as they left him alone in the street court.

He slid from his sitting position and grunted as his torso landed on the cold gravel floor. He gave a moment to gather himself together and silently punch the ground until eventually enough time had passed for him to quell his rage. Finally, he sighed and closed his eyes, just listening to the silence as his body got a hold of its beaten state. Aah, so damn embarrassing, lying here feeling sorry for himself like this.

Slowly, he got up with a groan and stumbled away to find somewhere that people wouldn't pass by to watch the black and blue weirdo hit his dumb head against a wall.

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Chapter 1: End

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Thank you for giving this a chance~ This is just a small taster, promise that future chapters will be much more eventful!

Jebus I never expected this to hit 50,000 words, maybe I went a bit overboard :S But let me tell you that it's not massives of rambling, I'm proud of this story and my heart into every chapter, so I hope you've enjoyed this taster and will look forward to any reviews - good or bad. See you guys next chapter~