𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟻

Kagami fidgeted in his seat. He hadn't seen Kuroko enter the classroom, but he heard the blue kid answer roll call, so he must have entered the class at some point.

This Kuroko was supposed to be the phantom sixth man? He didn't smell like anything. Kise smelled of growing power – nothing overwhelming yet, but his confidence was fitting for his skill level. The blond brat spent more time bragging about this scentless ghost than he did about himself. It was frustrating.

Not to mention, something was still bothering him after the kid walked away from Kise the day before.

'What's the point in playing a sport you don't even love? I'm not Murasakibara-kun. I can't play by myself as everyone else could.'

He couldn't keep track of the kid, he couldn't smell him, he couldn't understand him. Did he mean that the generation of miracles doesn't love basketball? Why else would they get so good at playing? Basketball isn't that complicated – you play because you like it, and you get good because you love it. You enjoy it because you play with friends. Then again, the kid heavily implied that the generation of miracles were players who would rather play alone.

Some people called him a basketball idiot and they'd be right, but playing basketball didn't need to be this complicated. He knows he's strong and his brief stint in middle school when he got back dampened his passion a bit, but the coach and second years were quick to remind him why he started playing.

He was going to win with this team. His past issues with Himuro hurt him from playing his best, but this was a new era for him. He was playing for Seirin and they were going to win together.

There were a lot of things he needed from this 'Tetsuya Kuroko'. This kid sat behind him from the start of the year, or so he assumed – the only people who noticed him were the teachers, so this kid knew that he had sworn to beat the generation of miracles for his entrance into the club. He wanted to know why the kid never said anything to him.

Better yet, why didn't the kid sign up for the basketball club? If he was so good that he had Kise singing his praises with every other breath, then the kid should have kept playing. He definitely didn't give up just because he was separated from his friends, otherwise, he wouldn't have left the blond alone in that hallway.

The coach and captain wanted to see if they could get the kid to talk about the miracles, maybe even join the team if he was as good as Kise said, but Kagami just wanted to play him one-on-one. He got a gauge from Kise, but the copycat was distracted with looking for this kid – maybe he could get a better read on their skill level if he played against their sixth man.

After a few hours, their teacher dismissed them for lunch and Kagami immediately twisted in his seat. Without giving himself time to process if Kuroko was actually there or not, Kagami laid his hand on the desk behind his, leaning over the open textbook the class had been reading from.

It took his senses a moment to catch up with him, his body still felt like it didn't sense the person behind him, but he could see him this time. Deep red met sky blue and he held back a brief shriek of surprise even though he had purposely turned to talk to this boy.

He didn't think past trying to corner this kid.

"Uh... Yo."

Kuroko's blank gaze stared back and Kagami wanted to squirm more. How does someone manage to have a face that blank? Did he have emotions?

"Hello, Kagami-kun. How can I help you?"

"You know my name?" That's kind of awkward. He didn't even know Kuroko existed until Kise crashed their practice.