Finally, the debut of The Mochi Factory!

A good evening to everyone! This is Jo-chan here; you would know me by my other pen-name 'Dreams of the Future'. The Mochi Factory is a little something my kid sis, 'A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover', and I are doing. Basically it's our collaborations. (ANYL is MIA at the moment with her math homework)

Anyway, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but somehow we turned it into a series with very short chapters.

And we'll talk more in the Author's Note later on.

ENJOY THE STORY, FOLKS!

Disclaimer: We do not own Kuroko no Basket and its franchise.

Blood is thicker than Water
Part One
"The beginning."

They were five when they first met.

Though they have been cousins, they have never met each other before, until that faithful day at the birthday party of a child of their parents' mutual acquaintance.

"Tetchan," The mother of the blue-haired boy smiled at her son, who held onto her as if his life depended on it. "This is your cousin, Sei-kun. Go and say hi."

The boy peeked from behind his mother's skirt, taking a glimpse of the other child before hiding his face again. Seeing that the blue-haired boy was not going to warm up to him anytime soon, the other boy took the initiative, walking closer to him. Feeling the red-haired boy come closer, the blue-haired boy looked up again, but did not hide his face.

"I'm Akashi Seijuurou!" The red-haired boy introduced himself, extending a hand. "Nice to meetcha!"

"I'm…" The blue-haired boy stuttered, trying his best to find the courage to even say his own name. He took a deep breath and gave a small smile. "I'm… Kuroko Tetsuya."

And before they knew it, they became the best of friends.

The two of them were polar opposites, not just in their appearances, but also in personality. One had a head of fiery red hair; the other icy blue. One was energetic, bubbly, outgoing; the other reserved, quiet, shy. One was always the center of the crowd; the other, practically invisible.

Yet they got along so well.

The two of them grew up together, and attended the same elementary school.

Along the way, Kuroko learnt that their mothers were sisters, but due to his father's work, he had been raised outside of Japan. Shortly after he turned five, his parents divorced, and his mother took him back with her to Japan.

Because of his mother's busy schedule, Kuroko and Akashi spend almost all their time after school together.

"Oi, Tetsu; that's where you were… you're reading again?"

"Yeah. Sei-kun, is that…?"

"A basketball. Never seen one before?"

"Papa has one at home, but I've never really played before… Sei-kun, you're playing basketball?"

"Yup! I joined the basketball club, but I'm still learning. Mama says I've got talent, too."

"That's good for you, Sei-kun."

"Speaking of which, Tetsu; it's strange that you haven't played basketball before. I mean, your papa used to play basketball, didn't he? My Mama told me he was really good at it."

'Well, I did try once… but I can't."

"Can't what?"

"Play basketball."

"How can you say that, Tetsu? You've only tried it once, after all."

"But… I can't even throw it near the hoop. Unlike Papa."

"Why don't you ask your Papa to teach you, then? Ah, I know! Let's go ask him together!"

They were both young boys at the ripe age of ten back then.

Kuroko had never once gave a single thought about playing basketball. He knew he was bad at it; and his father's expertise in the game only made the boy feel worse about his lack of skill. However, it was thanks to Akashi that he had fallen in love with the game.

Akashi would play basketball every other day with the other boys their age at the basketball courts near Kuroko's house. The other boy would sit by the edge of the courts, watching his cousin play; but would not touch the ball at all.

Kuroko loved watching Akashi play. He was so fast… much more than the others. Akashi was what most would call perfect. Every step, every move, every shot… it was flawless. Beautiful, even.

Even some of the teenagers, all of them middle schoolers, who had challenged him lost to him.

When it came to basketball, Akashi Seijuurou was what one would call a prodigy.

"Tetsu! Look out!"

Akashi's shout had snapped Kuroko from his thoughts as the orange ball came flying towards his direction. Moving as if it was on instinct, Kuroko swung his arm, touched the ball and almost immediately, sent it flying towards his cousin, who had caught it with mild surprise. In fact, everyone else on the court was surprised by the sudden movement.

What had just happened? Did the ball simply change its direction? It was supposed to hit Kuroko straight in the face, but…

Akashi was the first to break the silence.

"Tetsu… You…"

TO BE CONTINUED.

DOTF: By the way the genius who came up with this idea is ANYL. She was commenting how Akashi with his old hairstyle resembled Kuroko's. "They look like cousins," she said. And I was like "No they don't.", but somehow, this ended up being written by me.

ANYL: I thought you were posting this up on your original account. Meep.

DOTF: Hey; you said we could post it here. I asked and you agreed. Like, since this was YOUR idea and I wrote it and YOU beta-ed it. it counts as a collab.

ANYL: ... Okay, then lemme study. Meep. *vanishes behind a cape*

DOTF: ... LOL. By the way, this story will only have six chapters. No more, no less. So, see you next week!

ANYL: *runs back, kicking DOTF in the process*

DOTF: Uwaaah.

ANYL: Reminds me, Blood is red (Akashi) and Water is more crystal-blue (Kuroko). Coincidence much? :)

DOTF: ... OMG! I SO DID NOT NOTICE THAT! AND I WAS THE ONE WHO CAME UP WITH THAT TITLE IN THE FIRST PLACE!

ANYL: *baka-slaps* Don't over-exaggerate, you! *rolls away*