The first to see him was Aomine.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqxP9qNEjF
He was in his second year at Teikou. His raw talent was unmatched, his instinct feral. The world was starting to bore him.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylOMPz2Uz9
Then one day, at practice, something changed.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTKyeR1bu9
Aomine reached out to catch a pass, only to find it redirected mid-air—perfectly, impossibly, as if the ball had been tipped by invisible fingers.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFjfQkHocq
He turned. No one was there.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlbu6aWnbE
"Yo," a voice said, quiet, cold.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuMPghW3eL
Aomine's eyes widened.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmQ3XBGfj9
Floating behind the coach, halfway in shadow, was a pale boy. Hair like sky, eyes like ice. He didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCUf3mjBiJ
No one else reacted. They just kept playing.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GfSgSJvnw
"You saw me," the boy said, with the hint of a smile. "Interesting."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8j6HeGxken
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcuSNcKXGk
They later called him The Phantom Sixth Man, but his real name—if it could still be called that—was Kuroko Tetsuya.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSBV2ObpKd
He had died three years before the Miracle Generation's rise. A promising player, overlooked, quiet, loyal. He had collapsed on the court one winter day. Heart failure, they said. Too much pressure. Not enough notice.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQ7vj48h1w
His ghost remained.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPVuERDFG3
He had loved basketball too much to leave.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5VBTHt8YL
But there were rules to his existence. Rules even the dead must follow.
1. He could only be seen by those who had reached a certain threshold of talent.
2. He could only touch the ball.
3. He could only interact—physically and mentally—with those destined to be great: the Miracles.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4YrI41P6m
He could not scream. He could not cry. He could not touch the ground or open a door. He could only pass.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKc7fm5f4D
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDj4Cc2w7s
Aomine told no one. At first, he thought he was going insane.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tXocdxi1R
But Kuroko kept showing up—tipping rebounds in his direction, stealing unnoticed passes, redirecting the game subtly, perfectly.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAyH5os1A4
"You're not crazy," Kuroko said during an empty gym session. "You're just good enough to see."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WTTO2lePH
Aomine stared at him. "Why me?"
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYqYwjkXYr
"Because you were the first who didn't need me," Kuroko said simply. "And the first who might."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8xkK0MiDw
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMTTqsv4F0
By the time Akashi saw him, he wasn't surprised.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MOCD4GxXQ
Akashi had always known the world was more than flesh and physics. His own blood whispered secrets. His eyes saw too much.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRLyQI4D0u
"You're the ghost," Akashi said. "The one they talk about. The hidden hand."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWLDw4za0Q
"I'm here for the game," Kuroko said. "Not for you."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGEzbL20Nr
Akashi smiled. "Everything is for me."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfAr1nI1rr
Still, he allowed it. Welcomed it, even.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnCZUk02rT
"Stay," Akashi said, turning away. "If you're going to haunt us, at least make us invincible."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TSwhvPDUK
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIWm6gOj7C
And so Kuroko played.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6AnAYCwI6
He hovered at the edges. His passes were myths. When a ball went astray, it curved just right. When a player jumped too far, the ball arrived mid-air as if summoned by fate.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRYPrc0GOz
No one on the opposing teams ever saw him.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaAp8qtXRD
They only saw the ball move as if on its own. Heard the creak of the floor where no one stood. Felt the chill of breath on their neck when they tried to drive past Akashi.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6h4OmcPXjo
They called it intuition. Or fate. Or divine punishment.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUgG7A2HzN
But it was Kuroko.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7VsTHOAA6
He was the sixth miracle—but only for those who deserved to see him.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLY1v5xh5cK
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyY1Zz7dEF
"Why do you do it?" Kise asked once. He was crying.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseAKwLDPzf
They'd won another match. Easily. Kise had seen him for the first time that week. His skills had finally caught up. "Why help us? Why stay?"
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0K8jcc2O8X
Kuroko hovered in the air, silent.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PxIjZTQj8
"I want to see beautiful basketball," he said eventually. "As long as I can. As long as you shine."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAaiyW8aUA
Kise swallowed. "But you can't play."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyAyu00yq7
"I am playing," Kuroko said.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9zzDvSopr
Kise never asked again.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAlMLzzLXk
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSo7EgjS6aO
But not all things shine forever.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3yEtbUc4u
The more the Miracles grew, the darker they became.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQslpcTreD
Aomine stopped smiling. Midorima grew distant. Murasakibara crushed players for fun. Kise became a shadow of perfection, too fast to enjoy. And Akashi—
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZITdw8TCZc
Akashi broke.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VKz1pksI9
Kuroko watched it all. Power corrupts, they say. And absolute talent?
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAQk93B8hZ
It warps.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzzIVn6F8G
He tried to guide them. Tried to anchor them with his presence. Tried to remind them that basketball was a team sport.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKvoHrtuAR
But he was just a ghost.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27UYNAa52R
He couldn't yell.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoDvadDQ5X
He couldn't stop the fighting.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcSAE6rRjs
And worst of all, he could no longer touch them.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uExNC6BQF
The stronger they became, the less they needed him. And with that lack of need, his connection faded.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7nRlD5ALG
One by one, they lost the ability to see him.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluzUIKHPTr
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGg0BbTQarW
It was Akashi who severed the last thread.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9G7sFqmTV
"You're obsolete," he said to the empty court.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbRkKAchrF
He knew Kuroko was still there—hovering, hoping.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85aALrP0KL
But Akashi didn't want to share the game anymore. He didn't want a phantom. He wanted control.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqbMasOv94
"You are dismissed."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGerWgjCGri
And with that, Kuroko faded.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLV2qm22p9i
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcAd40TyG5
He wandered, disembodied, for months.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jd58Uy0UF
No one could see him now. He couldn't touch the ball. The last connections were gone.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhHvmganGq
Until...
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBne4yJd14k
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqlcyfA072
A new team. Seirin.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5BFbrFje8
A boy with fire in his hair and rage in his blood.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqdZtArEyB
Kagami Taiga.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxaPKuCUYU
He was raw. Wild. Incomplete.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiCW6qtpyg
But the potential—oh, the potential blazed like a beacon.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZZK5nnvH7
Kuroko hovered near him, cautious. Hoping.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaY1g5ifOn
And one day, in an empty gym, Kagami shot. Missed.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVn7PP2xZV5
The ball bounced—just slightly—to the side.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBzHikaCKx
Straight into his hands.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC8b8mO4H9
"...What the hell?" Kagami whispered, staring at the ball.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LSzRtYWrF
Kuroko blinked. His hand was glowing faintly. The connection...
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCr7e75OuoQ
"Hi," he said.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhlVfUTAim
Kagami dropped the ball and screamed.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDW3kNmxmzw
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVuBQctGn6
It took weeks to convince him Kuroko wasn't a demon.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFYA1qRfkD
"But you're a ghost!"
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxHhtFz1zN
"Technically, yes."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKIu3TrLFi
"And you want to play basketball?"
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyyDdtanlm
"Yes."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHzUIt58MH
"That's INSANE."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFymw26pGwW
"...Are you going to dunk or not?"
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyLrtWvig4
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKP9Wd7zx9
Together, they forged a bond. And with that bond, Kuroko began to rematerialize.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPz5UzAxYo1
Not completely—not to the world. But on the court, he mattered again.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIZxEnCDjc
He could touch the ball. He could direct the flow.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUbE2LrUFu
And slowly, other players began to feel his presence.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtydguHDT5M
Opponents began to mutter again about haunted passes. Whispered legends of a Phantom Sixth Man rose from the ashes.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q1iyLqNRg
The Miracles began to hear rumors.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkbe5XGK7a
And one by one, they saw him again.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdySkYVBlT
Not a ghost anymore.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzrLF4CcdZ
Not quite a boy.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRtgnzHhIH
Something new.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNbQnOCKRp
Something that didn't belong to them anymore.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNunSpxr0tf
⸻
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WD7oNEkHt
In the final match, when Seirin faced Rakuzan, Akashi stepped onto the court.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFm8zyhrv25
He looked across the gym.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRJvaQtIA2
And for the first time in years, he saw a pale boy standing behind Kagami. Hair like sky. Eyes like ice.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrFv6hsmGQ
"You," he said, low. "You came back."
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sqzRTu8Zj
"I never left," Kuroko replied. "You just stopped seeing."
ns216.73.216.25da2
