The gym was cold. Always colder than it should’ve been.
They said it was the floor, the air vents, the open windows. But those who’d played long enough knew better. Those who’d felt it knew it wasn’t the building.
It was him.
The sixth man of the Miracle Generation.
Kuroko Tetsuya.
Only those five prodigies—Aomine, Akashi, Midorima, Kise, and Murasakibara—could see the truth. Not the truth in stats or championships, but in shadow and silence.
Because Kuroko was no longer alive.
He had died two years ago.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5msmIoKgC4
And somehow, never left the court.
They never spoke of it publicly. Never acknowledged the rumors. Teiko’s legendary sixth man was listed as “injured, retired.” His photo was gone from the team wall. His name, scratched off the roster. Even the coach refused to talk about him anymore.
But during games, the ball would sometimes shift mid-air, unnaturally. Passes that shouldn’t have been possible landed clean. Defenses fell apart like paper. And five elite players would walk off the court—not celebrating, but pale, quiet, and shaken.
Only they knew: Kuroko still played.
The accident wasn’t something they liked to remember.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3b5ggeOJwp
They'd been training for the Nationals—one last scrimmage at Teiko. Just six of them. No refs, no coaches. Akashi had demanded intensity. Aomine had brought fire. Kuroko, as always, had played quietly, seamlessly.
And then it happened.
A loose ball.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17CMnP2K8R
A charge.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SZRmuzryO
A fall.
The thud was sickening.
He didn’t scream. Just… hit the floor. Hard.
By the time they realized something was wrong, his eyes were already unfocused. The ball rolled slowly out of bounds.
None of them ever forgot that sound.
The first time they saw him again was weeks later.
Practice.
The gym was closed. But the five returned, trying to train without their sixth man. Aomine threw a pass—no one was there to catch it.
But the ball curved.
Bent in mid-air.
And landed squarely in Kise’s hands.
They froze.
A shadow stood near the arc. Not fully visible. Not fully there.
Kuroko.
He looked the same. Stillness in form. Ice in his gaze.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdmOVtvbcy
But something had changed.
His body flickered like static. His feet never made a sound. And when Midorima tried to talk to him—he didn’t answer.
He couldn’t.
Only on the court could he exist. Only during the game could he move. The ball was his anchor. The five—his only connection.
They tested it. Off court—no trace. They placed the ball on a table—he couldn’t touch it. But in play? He was everywhere.
No audience could see him. Only the Miracle Generation could feel his presence. Every pass he made was impossibly precise. Every movement, perfectly timed. He never spoke. Never smiled.
He haunted the game.
And they played with the weight of his ghost on their shoulders.
Years passed. They separated. Different schools, different paths. But the truth followed them.
Each time they stepped on the court and the game grew serious, they’d feel it again—that unnatural cold. That subtle pull. That pass that came from nowhere.
Kuroko had not left them.
No matter how hard they tried.
Some dealt with it by honoring him. Midorima refused to play unless his team lit incense before matches. Kise wore a blank wristband in his memory.
Others... ignored it.
Aomine stopped smiling during games. His joy turned to obsession. He needed to win, because losing would mean Kuroko had died for nothing.
And Akashi?
He changed completely. The one who had once demanded victory at all costs now played with restraint. Dignity. Almost… reverence.
Because he remembered the look on Kuroko’s face when he died.
It wasn't pain.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkwPS9IDOd
It was disappointment.
The final game was never supposed to happen.
An invitation-only tournament. One last match, honoring Teiko’s golden age. All five Miracle players, reunited—on opposing teams.
Tension crackled through the arena.
But as the whistle blew, everyone felt it—the sudden drop in temperature. The ball shivered in the ref’s hands. Players glanced around nervously.
They didn’t see him.
But the five did.
He was there.
Mid-court.
Wearing that old Teiko jersey.
Kuroko.
He didn’t pick a side.
He didn’t need to.
He flowed between them—assisting no one, challenging all. The game twisted around him. Passes intercepted by unseen hands. Layups blocked by invisible force. Each Miracle player, one by one, felt his silent judgment.
Kise missed an open dunk.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexPpi1dOOJ
Aomine tripped mid-crossover.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaF2X3H12O
Murasakibara fumbled a rebound.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRa9X0ghtP
Midorima’s perfect shot curved out.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeldray56dR
Akashi… hesitated.
And in that hesitation, he saw it—Kuroko, right in front of him. Eyes calm. No rage. No sadness.
Just a question.
"Why did you let me fade?"
Time slowed. The crowd roared. But the five weren’t listening.
They moved as one now. Passed together. Played as they once had. With him.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to.
He made one final assist—a full-court pass, faster than human reflex. Akashi caught it mid-air and landed the final shot.
Buzzer.
Silence.
The crowd exploded. But the court remained still.
Only five players stood now.
Where he had been—nothing but a ball, resting gently at the three-point line.
They never saw him again.
But every time they played, they left a space for him. A breath. A pause. A phantom lane.
Kuroko Tetsuya—the boy who passed the spotlight, who never needed applause, who gave everything to the game...
...still plays.
Not as a man.
Not as a memory.
But as a legend.
A ghost forever bound to the court, where only the best can feel him.
And only the worthy… can carry him forward.
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