Not Just A Shadow

Phone Calls and Basketball

   There was a streetball tournament that seemed to be just starting. This would be a perfect time to practice. Making sure my presence was known, I pushed through the crowd, seeing a few familiar faces.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, and they turned to me smiling. It was Takao, Himuro, and surprisingly, Haizaki.

"Tetsuya?" Haizaki asked incredulously, while the rest looked at me gaping.

"Who, Kuroko you're style has changed a lot," Takao said with a smile.

"I thought you were still with Seirin?" Himuro asked and I winced at the name.

"Ahh, not quite. I left when they said they didn't want me on the team anymore. I'm joining Akashi-kun and the others at Seikou University." I said, unable to hide the brief look of hurt that crossed my face.

"Do you wanna join us for a game?" Haizaki asked after a moment and I smiled, nodding. "Kasamatsu was here as well, he went to go get something to drink. We'll wait for him and then sign up for a few games."

"Alright, it's nice to see you all again. It's been awhile." I said as we walked, trying to find Kasamatsu. The others agreed, but we were interrupted when my phone started ringing. I looked at the caller id and sighed, flipping it open.

"Hello?" I asked the person on the phone. I wondered why they would be calling me at this time. It must have been later in the day for them.

"Kuroko, what's up?" Kagami asked, "I got a text from the annoying blonde saying I should call you. Did something happen?" I frowned slightly.

"I'm guessing that's his way of telling me to explain. I left Seirin and am with Akashi-kun and the others. If you want to know more about what happened between them, ask them what amazing things they said about me behind my back Kagami-kun. I am in no mood to repeat what they said." I added with a hint of anger.

"Woah, ok. I'm guessing it must be bad if it made you leave. So what have you been up to with the rest of the miracles? Gotten any stronger?" He asked, and I could tell he was smiling on the other side of the phone.

"Actually Kagami-kun, I have. I only got here a few days ago, but I've been practicing extending the range of my phantom shot. I can now shoot from a little behind the three-point line. I've also been working on controlling my lack of presence. I can make people actually notice me so that's nice. But I tested it out earlier, and not even Akashi-kun noticed I had basically made myself disappear. And he always notices me." I smirked at the end when he laughed.

"That's good Kuroko, I can't wait to visit and see how much you've improved. Akashi and the others are going to be surprised next time they play with you, aren't they? Knowing you, you're probably going to surprise them."

"You know me too well Kagami-kun," I said with a laugh, effectively stunning the people walking beside me. "I have to go now, I'm playing streetball with a few friends." With an enthusiastic goodbye I hung up and slid my phone back in my pocket.

"Oh there you guys are, and I see Kuroko has managed to show u again. Kise told me you met up with them." Kasamatsu said with a smile.

"Come on, let's go play a game or two!" Takao cheered as he led us to sign up booth.

"Our first opponent looks tough. They've been on a winning streak this entire time. What do you say we give them a run for their money?" Himuro asked as we all cheered. Heading to the court, we waiting for the tip-off. The other team had gotten the ball, but almost instantly I finished my presence to almost nothing. I made sure to keep my presence up enough to where my team would notice me, but the other team didn't even realize I was there. I got the ball in my hands and calmly passed it back to Takao, who was waiting to take a shot. The first point was ours.

"Where did he come from? I didn't even see him!" I heard the crowd whispering and I smirked. The other team already looked outraged, so it should be easy. Once again I found myself with the ball, but since nobody else was open, I merely used the vanishing drive to get past my opponent and shot a phantom shot from behind the three-point line. My team cheered.

"Kuroko I thought you couldn't shoot from that far away? Have you been practicing that shot more?" Takao asked as I nodded.

"I wanted to get stronger, so while the others are at school I take the time to practice getting better," I told him as we waited for the ball to get back in play. To say we completely destroyed them would be an understatement. Between Takao's Hawkeye, and Haizaki's stealing ability, combined with my passes and shots, we were unstoppable. We tripled the teams score by the second quarter, and they couldn't score a single point for a sild quarter. In the end, the score was 100-15. It was fun to see that even though they knew they were going to lose they kept playing us anyway.

"That game was fun guys, but I need to get going. The others should be back from school by now and I still need to buy some things." I waved goodbye to them, and they smiled. Fistbumps were exchanged, as well as Haizaki's number being passed around. He had changed since I last saw him, and he seemed to genuinely enjoy playing basketball, instead of just doing it to hurt people.

"I'll see you around then Tetsuya," Haizaki called, as I slipped through the crowd, into the quiet streets of the city.

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Sorry this update was a little late, but now it's up! 994 words

To make it up to you I'm posing two in a row!