Hello everyone,

this is my first story, so please be gentle. =)

This story may be a little bit slow at the beginning, but if things go as planned it will pick up soon enough.

As I hate stories where characters are OOC I try to keep in character as much as possible (in Akashi's case this is rather difficult though, considering that we don't know all that much about him…)

While I normally avoid using any Japanese words in stories (it's seriously annoying to always read typical Japanese terms or even sentences in ENGLISH stories) I will add the usual suffixes to names as most characters in KuroBa have their own way of changing them.

WARNING: This story will be BL (Shounen Ai, Yaoi or whatever you call it), so don't read if you don't like.

Disclaimers: Unfortunately Kuroko no Basuke is not my property (though I do claim Akashi! . ) I don't own any rights and this story is not written for profit, just my own personal amusement.

Last but not least: while this is the first chapter, it felt more like two. I didn't feel like separating them however so I just posted whatever I have written till now in one go.

This story has not been beta-ed.

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- Chapter 1? -

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With a relieved sigh Kuroko sagged into one of the empty seats in the bus. He was beat and dead tired and his brain was just now catching up with everything that had been happening during the last three and a half weeks.

He wasn't really given the time to be nervous before, but now that it was over he had no energy left whatsoever and was surprised to find his hands shaking ever so slightly. And even though his facial expression didn't change at all, he was slightly paler than normally.

Three and a half weeks ago Kuroko had wanted to quit the basketball club, thinking whatever he did would be useless, especially in a school like Teiko. Of course the thought of quitting had hurt, he had wanted to play basketball since he was very young, but having to see the others making fun of him all the time and realising that he wasn't improving at all was making it clear to him.

Then suddenly he was pulled into the team, thanks to his first and best friend, Aomine, and the basketball club's captain, Akashi. He still didn't really understand it. All he knew was that Akashi said to join him for morning and evening training. Aomine, though not invited, had joined every single time for which Kuroko was honestly thankful. He didn't know how to deal with Akashi well, despite the other being nothing but polite to him.

His training soon showed results. Some of his happiest moments of his life had happened during those short three and a half weeks. He'd never forget when he first managed to get the ball to bypass Aomine on the second day of training, the smile on the others face, along with Akashi's satisfied grin and honest praise. He had almost cried that time and Aomine had teased him later on for it. Then he'd been asked to have a practice game with the regulars, in which his skill had been further honed.

Kuroko however hadn't calculated with their captain's order afterwards. "The next match is in three weeks. You'll play as a starting member during that match. Until then we'll continue our training every evening after the regular practice." Akashi's grin at that time had made him swallow all possible retorts of 'I'm not ready' or 'It's too soon.'

The following weeks had passed in a blur. He got used to all of them more or less, though Murasakibara had a knack for making him angry. Despite that he found himself fond of the tall boy. The only one he couldn't stand was Haisaki. The regular was way too arrogant and his behaviour towards others was something Kuroko couldn't stand. It irked him that someone like him would have so much talent in basketball.

Akashi himself alternated between playing and directing the games and after three weeks the captain said confidently that he was ready to play and had done even better than he had expected him to do.

Still today, on the game day itself, Kuroko had been beside himself due to nervousness. It was his first real game after all, and standing in the spotlight was not something he was used to, at all. He always was forgotten and he had gotten used to that. But then Aomine had pulled him onto the same field and he had to stand in front of over a hundred people. Of course he had wished for that, but right at that moment he had wondered if it wouldn't have been better to stay as a ghost instead of talking with the other back in the gym.

He was momentarily jostled from his memories when Akashi sat down beside him. The other stared at him for a moment but didn't say a word. It made Kuroko's stomach turn as at once he remembered how he had stood on the field, with all these tall and talented players, and how he had not been able to do a single thing for the first few minutes. Only after he had realised, that even though he was standing on the same field, it was like it always was. Not a single person noticed him. They all stared at the taller players, who fought to get the ball and score. After that his practice had kicked in and he was able to contribute to the game, still the first quarter had been more or less finished and he had had to sit out for the third one.

They had won, as usual for Teiko, but Kuroko couldn't help wondering if it wouldn't have been better to let someone else play instead of him. He couldn't even score.

"So what do you think, Tetsuya?" Akashi inquired after a few tense moments of silence. It was clear he was talking about the game.

"I'm sorry." Kuroko apologized quietly.

"Why are you apologizing?" Akashi fixed him with a stare.

"I couldn't play… as you wanted me too, even though you took all that time to teach me." Kuroko's eyebrow's furrowed, the only indication his face gave, that something was bothering him greatly.

A small smile graced the other's face as he looked at Kuroko. "You're wrong. You exceeded my expectations."

"… What do you mean?" He avoided looking into those red eyes.

"I actually estimated that you'd take longer, before you'd be able to play." Akashi explained amused at the changing expressions on Kuroko's face.

"But… why… Why would you let me play if you don't expect me to be able to…?" Kuroko's expression of complete confusion was rewarded with a small chuckle.

"Wrong, I expect you to be able to play. But considering you never played in an official game and you're not used to play in front of spectators this situation was a big change for you. I had expected something like this."

Kuroko nodded slowly. "Aren't the other's mad at me for not playing my best?"

"No. I took the necessary preparations. We played as a four men team until you were looking for Daiki. That was the code, once you'd look for either me or Daiki we could pass the ball to you and the rest worked out just like always. I didn't really believe you'd do it within the first quarter though, which is the reason I made you sit out for the third one."

Kuroko could only stare at the other.

"So once again, what do you think, Tetsuya?"

The smile that graced the other's face was all the answer the redhead needed. Kuroko Tetsuya would definitely become a regular.

As soon as the bus started moving Kuroko fell asleep. Akashi chuckled ever so quietly as the blue haired boy's head rubbed against the window, causing his hair to stick up in different directions.

Aomine smiled as he watched the interaction between their captain and the newbie of the team. Akashi, while a good captain, didn't normally go out of his way to encourage other players much. He was grateful that he had done so for Kuroko. The blue haired boy was still too unsure, to go without encouragement. And while he certainly would also assure the other that he'd done well, it most likely would mean more coming from their captain.

Momoi squealed in excitement a few minutes later when she realised that their smallest player was fast asleep.

"Waaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiii… let me take a picture!" She grinned and took out her mobile.

"Satsuki" Akashi turned around with a smile on his face that made everyone freeze.

"Y-Yes?" She shivered. The smile on Akashi's face made her want to hide behind her childhood friend.

"Please be quiet." The girl could only nod and sit back down besides Aomine with the air their captain gave off.

"Oh and Daiki, make sure Kuroko gets home safely. He might be too exhausted to walk by himself.

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- Chapter 2? -

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"You should come to Maji Burgers with us today." Kuroko startled Akashi by suddenly appearing before him and springing this… order? at him.

Three months had passed since the first match Kuroko had played in. Meanwhile Kuroko had become a regular and his private training with Akashi had ended just two weeks ago. He could have stopped even earlier, but Akashi honestly didn't feel like it. He had gotten used to monopolizing Kuroko's time and had been very reluctant to let him go.

The phantom player was one of the very few individuals who could hold his interest. Kuroko was full of misleads for normal people, he was a mystery which made Akashi look at him for real. At first glance the boy seemed like a very shy and weak person who tried to hide and was too afraid to do something about his own situation. Had Kuroko honestly been like that, neither he nor Aomine or any of the other regulars would have spared the boy another glance.

In reality the boy wasn't shy, he was only silent. When he spoke however he was blunt and didn't add any flowery words to tone down his own opinion. Since he only spoke up, when someone asked him about his opinion or when he was annoyed, people quickly accepted this. Akashi usually liked seeing the blue haired boy's blunt side, it was highly amusing to him. Kuroko was strong, at least mentally and he did work on his body so he could admire that aspect to some degree. As for the hiding, that in itself was laughable. It wasn't as if Kuroko did anything to hide, he just lacked presence. Akashi was pretty sure that the smaller boy would have preferred an ordinary presence instead of his non-existent one.

Most members also believed that Kuroko lacked any emotions, which of course was wrong too. Akashi was rather happy with that though as he didn't mind being the only one who was able to read the boy, aside from Aomine that is. It was a bit annoying but the tanned boy was probably even better at reading Kuroko than he was. He wondered what Aomine thought about the boy. At least he was pretty concerned and protective of their newest regular.

It was also Aomine who had brought Kuroko's lack of self-esteem, when it came to basketball, to his attention. The plan, where they had given Kuroko the necessary time during his first match as well as the end of their private evening practice, had been a result of that. He could have extended the practice, no doubt, and Kuroko wouldn't have questioned him, but in the long run he would have believed that he wasn't good enough to be a regular again and that might have become a problem for the club, which was not acceptable.

"Akashi-kun looks like he could use some fun." Kuroko said after a minute of silence.

Akashi schooled his expression from the slight shock he had received at the phantom player's sudden appearance. Kuroko had gotten way too used to being noticed by Akashi all the time apparently. It didn't work too well if he was only paying half of his attention to his surroundings though.

"Are you ordering me?" Akashi asked with a pleasant smile.

Kuroko's lips turned upwards ever so slightly, his eyes becoming ever so warm. "No, it's a request."

He sighed.

The blue haired boy fixed him with a stare. "I think Akashi-kun could use a break… You have been getting more and more agitated lately. So maybe taking a break and spending time with Aomine-kun and me again would help."

He eyed the smaller boy before him and finally nodded. "Alright, I agree to your request."

Seeing the smile on Kuroko's face was probably worth putting off sorting through the first strings training menu.

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Please review! I am unfortunately the kind of writer that needs feedback, so please let me know what you think so far.

Any suggestions? Seen any mistakes?