Aka Manto
is a Japanese urban legend about a malicious spirit who haunts public and school toilets, and will ask you whether you want red paper or blue paper. If you chose red paper you will be skinned raw and blood to death, but if you chose blue paper your blood will be drained until your body turned blue, and if you're asking for a different color, you will be dragged to the otherworld.
by fancyshipper
Kuroko no Basuke © Fujimaki Tadatoshi
a gift fic for Clair
They had been talking about seven mysteries in school while waiting for their captain to join in when suddenly Kuroko had the urge to go to the toilet. Aomine stared at him with pity because of course no one would want to accompany the shadow to the toilet –to the darker part in the hall corner next to the locker room.
"I'm okay, Aomine-kun"
That was what Kuroko said in a slight disgust since it seemed like Aomine had taken him for being a coward. For God's sake, they're healthy teenager who wouldn't scream like a child just for witnessing a swayed white curtain in the window inside an empty class at dusk.
Kise wailed like a puppy before Kuroko walked away from the circle,"Are you sure, Kurokocchi?"
The turquoise marble stared blankly at Kise, in an even resentment vibe with the one he used at Aomine earlier,"Kise-kun, I'm not going to meet Hanako-san in the men's room"
Kise gyaaa-ed at the thought of Kuroko meeting the little ghost in the bathroom,"Noooo! Kurokocchi! Don't! Your chastity!"
"You're being ridiculous, Kise", Midorima shifted his glasses upward,"Hanako has nothing to do with someone's chastity"
Kuroko's eyes rolled in vain hope –just when he thought that maybe, just maybe, Midorima will be the sanest person between these idiots about the whole toilet-business. Kuroko's suspicion finally got the answer when he spotted a half-thick book within Midorima's possession –Cancer's lucky item for that day was a superstitious-related-book. No wonder that today, unusually out of character, their three-pointer was so eager to join Kise and Aomine's bickering about supernatural incidents happened in school.
"Can I just go to the toilet now?"
Kuroko was about to hand his bag to Aomine when he felt a firm grip on his shoulder. He turned back to see their captain stood there with a slight trait of irritation,"Let me carry your bag"
"Akashi-kun", Kuroko wholeheartedly handed his bag to the crimson haired teen, slightly repressing a smile since he sensed a sign of jealousy,"Are you done talking with the coach?"
"Yes", Akashi gripped tight on the given bag strap,"Now, Tetsuya, what are you waiting for?"
"Hurry up, Kuro-chin. I want to go buy umaibo", Murasakibara nudged on Kuroko's petite back with mouth nibbling on a half eaten jello. Afterall, they were planning to go to the convenience store together before reaching the station.
"Ah, yes", Kuroko ready to pivot himself towards the toilet direction but then he felt the end of his blazer being tugged.
"Kise-kun?" Kuroko's eyebrow upped in question, wanted to ignore the stabbing gazes from a certain person. Even without looking, Kuroko could tell that Akashi's nerve twitched twice hard as Kise approached him in a usual annoying proximity.
"Seriously Kurokocchi, I think you really need a company"
Kuroko sighed wearily. As much as he proud with the blond's capability as a copy cat, Kuroko wondered if Kise's stupidity ever had a limit.
"Are you still talking about the stupid idea of me losing chastity from-"
"Chastity?" a distinct voice cut off Kuroko's sentence immediately, Kuroko could see Akashi's face darkened,"What chastity are you talking about?"
"Ah, no, Akashi-kun", Kuroko faced his dearest person in slight panic, oh how he wished he could pick his words carefully,"Kise-kun is just-"
"This idiot said that the stupid ghost Hanako will steal Tetsu's virginity"
Midorima widened in dismay, lips stretched down to see Aomine's sneaky grin,"Wait, there was no talk about Kuroko's virginity at all!"
Kuroko wanted to dig a hole and bury himself alive when Midorima, Aomine, and Kise started their ridiculous talk about the possibility of someone, in this case Kuroko, getting raped in the bathroom (thank god they kinda paused and changed the topic about the thought of someone getting fucked by the ghost because Aomine's face was looked like he was ready to throw a dirty joke about orghostm). And Murasakibara was not helping at all when he cheered the crowd with the news of his chips being a delicious heaven miracle –though Kuroko very much aware that Murakasibara had never once being a help in the chaos between the idiot skittles.
Kuroko winced as he realized that Akashi stood there still with eyes narrowed to the end of the hall –as if hoping that his dichromatic eyes would strike a laser to disperse the darkness and turn the bathroom into ashes. Kuroko scooted closer to Akashi, hideously wanted to seek attention. Yet before Kuroko even able to say a word, Akashi turned his head suddenly to face Kuroko –who was taken aback by the motion- and tched.
"There's no helping it then", Akashi slightly lilted his chin,"I will accompany you to the toilet"
Kuroko gaped in exasperation –couldn't believe the fact that Akashi Seijurou was much of a pain when it came to jealousy. The imbeciles stopped arguing and upped one of their eyebrows as to see Akashi ready to walk away. Kuroko halted Akashi's step, facing their backs to the curious spectators since Kuroko decided to whisper.
"What are you doing Akashi-kun, you're being ridiculous"
"I dislike the idea of filthy ghost watching you naked, Tetsuya", Akashi's eyes blasted in annoyance,"The one who can see you naked is only m-"
"I'm not going to be naked, Akashi-kun! It's just taking a pee!"
Kuroko wouldn't admit the truth behind the saying of love is blind if he had never fall in love with his own captain. His jealousy was no match for the world and Kuroko could only fall in defeat when Akashi told him so. The fact that Kuroko was still unable to avoid Kise's love attack had been the topic of their little dispute now and then –oh also don't forget the thing about him and Aomine as perfect partner of shadow and light. For the few months they had been dating in secrecy, Kuroko started to unveil Akashi's hidden personality and accepted his indirect way of showing affection, but still, this stupid thing about being jealous over a ghost was not one thing that Kuroko could comprehend.
Kuroko sighed in defeat as he pushed back Akashi to the confused circle,"I will just go alone and I will not take more than five minutes"
"Kurokocchi-!"
The helpless yelp from the blond ignited a glare from the phantom player,"Shut your exaggeration, Kise-kun"
"Tetsuya"
A firm call from the captain reminded Kuroko that he had yet to be able to calm the storm. Kuroko rolled his eyes, tired,"I will use the stall instead of the urinary if that will help"
Kuroko couldn't think anymore when he heard a relieved sigh coming from the group –wondered whether this team was really worth to be entitled as generation of miracles or not. After seeing an assured nod from Akashi, Kuroko excused himself and walked fast to his long awaited destination.
The hall was dark but Kuroko paid no heed. He just wanted to finish the task and back to the group –he wouldn't want to be scolded by a suspicious Akashi for taking way too much time inside and the blabber Murasakibara with chips all over his mouth. Kuroko entered the men's bathroom and to amuse his curiosity, he took the last stall in line.
The light in the bathroom lit up brighter than the hall and it dismissed Kuroko's worry. He wouldn't want to blindly look for water tap when he needed to be quick, didn't he?
Rattle.
Being observant as he was, Kuroko's ears perked as he finished his job. He pushed the metal handle to flush the pit and ready to go out when he caught a slight whimper from outside. And then it dawned on him.
The one he needed to worry wasn't Hanako-san, but his own team mates!
"Hey you over there~"
Kuroko accidentally bumped his head to the wall as he heard the high pitched sound from the stall besides his. He could imagine Aomine pinching his nose and covering his mouth as the tanned player holding his sneaky laugh.
Oh God just how much insanity you put into their heads. Kuroko took a breath before calmly answered,"Who are you?"
There was a suppressed sound of fabric and distant ruckus –in which Kuroko assumed that his stupid partner was surprised to think that Kuroko wouldn't answer his prank.
"This is Aka Manto~"
Kuroko frowned. This was his first time hearing a superstitious being introducing themselves with their famous term. Aka manto, Kuroko recalled the legend about malicious spirit who haunts the toilet by asking people about paper.
"Ah, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you, Aka Manto-san"
There was a dispersed squeal –an obvious sign of Kise Ryouta's presence. As to indulge his teammates act, Kuroko stayed longer in the bathroom. He could assume that there were only Aomine and Kise in the other stall. If Murasakibara ever stepped inside the bathroom, Kuroko would recognize the chewing noises from the titan and there was no way Midorima would want to join in the madness, so they both might be outside the bathroom –or the place when they promised to wait him. As for Akashi, Kuroko was pretty sure that the captain would also be here inside the bathroom without letting out any noises –making sure that Aomine and Kise wouldn't do anything stupid and dangerous towards their precious phantom player, towards his lover.
"Do you want red paper or blue paper~?"
Kuroko slightly smiled and wanted to reply it with the right answer to the riddle when suddenly-
"Or yellow paper~?"
Kuroko bit his lower lips to muffle a laugh. There was a sound of something being hit and Kuroko could see the rage on Aomine's face from the voice. That was certainly Kise trying to add things up. Kuroko never heard of Aka Manto asking yellow paper and the last question one hundred percent sure was Kise's choked voice.
Realizing that Akashi was probably there paying attention to their little play, Kuroko decided to answer it with a little bit of flirtatious tone,"Can I have the red paper, Aka Manto-san?"
As Kuroko replied it with firm answer, he could feel a proud trace in the air –must be Akashi, the red guy. At the same time, Kuroko could hear Aomine and Kise get out from the other stall with soundless bickering. Kuroko then smiled to himself, noting that later time he must demand a present from his lover –choosing red, choosing him, in a ghost riddle with his life at stake sounded heroic after all.
Kuroko was about to end his stay in the stall when suddenly there was another voice graced his ears in which Kuroko couldn't recall the owner.
"Do you want red paper or blue paper?"
It wasn't a high pitched fake sound. Kuroko tried the possibility of Akashi trying to mess with his head after Aomine and Kise left the bathroom but of course it wasn't Akashi –since Kuroko already knew that the redhead had already left the bathroom minutes ago together with Aomine and Kise, judging from the noises and distant steps.
The voice just now sent a chill to his spine. The eerie feeling and his goosebumps wasn't helping at all. Kuroko tried to open the door but it didn't even budge after he unlocked it. Kuroko's head ran in slight panic. His hands were shaking, trying to pry open the door again to no avail.
Kuroko breathed out. Thinking. And then the question came again.
"Do you want red paper or blue paper?"
Kuroko closed his eyes for awhile –acting as calm as ever. Hands were ready in the door knob. As an entity of bookworm and the ever knowledgeable he was, Kuroko knew the exact answer for the riddle, in which this time he was really betting on his life. This time there was just no way Kuroko would answer the riddle with the same answer like before –or he would likely end up dead in a pool of blood. Red blood.
Author's Note:
I'm a failure at writing suspense and a total fool for making an attempt at gag fanfiction. Still, I want to make a certain someone happy for this fict. This is for you Clair (twitter: rakuzan_ and tumblr: redpoem) -though I'm pretty sure that this piece is not to your liking (lol your taste is as high as heaven) but nevertheless, thankyou for willing to cope up with me after what we've gone through!