Disclaimer: I got the idea for this fan fiction after watching Kuroko no Basket, and reading the manga Deadlock. Sadly I don't own any of those things. It's tragic really.

Warnings: male/male, Nonconsensual sex, violence, and language. Please don't flame. You have been warned.

How High

Fate and Luck

"I should have never tossed that knife in that sewer drain." Kagami whispered to no one in particular. It didn't matter, Kuroko decided, and he told him so. It didn't matter what he did, should have did, or what he didn't do. Everyone Kuroko met in prison was aggrieved by something. There was always something the authorities got wrong. There was always something they claimed you did when you didn't, or some evidence that was fabricated. Not that it mattered. None of that mattered.

What mattered was they had got you.

"Do you regret it?" Kuroko whispered back softly. He didn't think Kagami had heard him until his hard eyes locked onto his own.

"No. I don't."

Kagami Taiga was big enough, and had a look that said don't-fucking-mess-with-me that he didn't have any problems with the other inmates. When prison shit when down, as prison shit always did, Kagami avoided it. Kuroko and developed a peculiar relationship with the taller man. Kuroko didn't interact the other inmates. He just hid within Kagami's shadow. He always one step behind Kagami, so most of the time he went unnoticed. He was invisible, and he preferred it that way. Kagami didn't seem to mind his cellmate was tailing him and so they served their sentences as quietly as possible.

Keep your head down. Do your time. Get out alive. Kuroko figured if he just hanged in there, someday they would have to let him out. One day his prison cell will open, and he would walk out of there a free man. It was his distant beam of hope, but with each passing day, it became harder and harder to focus on.

"The first thing I'm going to do when I get out is take a bath then make a real meal." said Kagami.

"And then you'll live happily ever after?" whispered Midorima. Midorima didn't even look at Kagami when he spoke to him. It was forbidden for inmates to communicate while working in the prison shop. Those who were caught were either beaten or put in solitary confinement. That day they were assembling wooden stools, which was slightly more interesting than folding paper bags.

"Happiness is not something ready made," said Kuroko "it comes from your own actions."

"That sounds familiar."

"It's a quote by the Dalai Lama."

"What the fuck is a Dalai Lama?" asked Shogo Haizaki. Haizaki was tall, muscular man with messy dark hair he pulled back in cornrows. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Kuroko did not care for him. The only reason he even interacted with him because his assigned seat was next to his on the assemble line.

"That bitch thought she could walk out on me," ranted Haizaki again. Kuroko sighed. Everyday it was the same tirade. "Was I suppose to let her disrespect me like that? Was I?" Haizaki asked Kuroko furiously. If Haizaki ever got out of prison, he would kill that poor girl.

"I had to put that skank in her place."

"You sure showed her." Midorima whispered sarcastically. Haizaki bristled at his taunting tone.

"Screw you White-Collar!"

That outburst caught the guards' attention. "Quiet down you scum or we will silence you permanently!" The voice was harsh, whip-like. Two of the guards approached Haizaki, their batons draw. Haizaki didn't back down. He stood up and faced the guards.

"Get back to work now!"

"Stand down, Haizaki." Kuroko whispered harshly. The entire prison assembly line was frozen. All eyes where on Haizaki. Kuroko looked for fear in his eyes and saw not a speck-only rage.

"Fuck you!" Haizaki took the first swing, and then there was a fury of screams and limbs. Haizaki was beaten relentlessly with police batons until he hit the concrete ground with sickening thud. It didn't end there. One of the guards stomped on his chest repeatedly until he coughed up blood. Kuroko couldn't bare to watch. He clenched his eyes shut, but he could still hear Haizaki's ragged gasps, the cracking of his ribs.

Please God make it stop.

"Prisoner eleven open your eyes. Look at me!" Kuroko obeyed. He stared into the guard's cold amber eyes. His face displayed no emotion.

The guard smiled. "Let this be a lesson to all of you," he warned. " I don't want to hear a word out of any of your mouths." He pointed his bloodstained baton at the horrified crowd. "You don't have a voice." His smile widened, but there was no warmth to it. He spit on Haizaki's lifeless body.

"Bring this piece of shit to the infirmary. If he lives, lock him up in isolation for a month." He said and then marched out of workshop.

The assemble line continued to labor. Haizaki's pool of blood ignored.

" Stubborn fool," Kagami whispered when the guards were out of earshot.

"That was cruel, Midorima." Kuroko said.

"He deserved it," Midorima said quietly, screwing together the legs of the stool, and passing to the Kuroko, who bolted it tight. "I'm not a kind man, Kuroko." Midorima's said. His voice seemed small and distant."Do you regret it?" Kuroko asked him.

"The only thing I regret is not having my lucky item that day," he said.

Kagami sighed, "Seriously, how can someone as brilliant as you be so obsessed with zodiac-signs and horoscopes?"

" I got away with embezzlement and money laundering for years. The one-day I didn't have my lucky item my secretary forgot her paperwork in a taxi."

"Its just a coincidence." Kagami said sternly.

"It was fate," Midorima said back confidently. He looked at Kagami then, his green eyes softened. "My luck finally ran out."

They had a fifteen-minute break in the prison courtyard before heading back into the workshop. Kuroko didn't feel like talking to anyone, not that he said much anyway. He sat down exhausted, resting his back against the concrete. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the world. His eyes snapped open when he felt a soft touch brushing his bangs away from his eyes. Kagami hand was calloused and hideously strong, but his touch was cool.

"Are you alright? You look sick."

Kuroko couldn't explain what he was feeling. He looked helplessly at Kagami. Something felt wrong. A fear was growing inside of him. Kuroko felt like he was being watched. Maybe he was being more paranoid than usual, but in prison paranoia was very useful skill for survival. Kuroko had been extremely distant, more shadowy than usually. He didn't realize his distance was causing his friend to worry.

" I only have one more year left." Kuroko said, because he felt like he should say something.

Kagami studied Kuroko silently with his ruby eyes.

"I'll miss you, Tetsu."

Kuroko's eyes met his. It was the first time he ever used his first name.

"I'll-" Kuroko's words died in his throat. One of the inmates was staring at him. Kuroko never seen this man before, and that lingering gaze made him feel troubled. There was something strange about his eyes. One of them was darker than the other.


Thanks for reading peeps. If you like my story, please leave a review. I need a lot of feedback to keep this story moving alone. I've only introduced five characters so far, one of them was the prison guard. Guess who? I still haven't decided on what crimes the other characters will be jailed for. Kise and Murasakibara are the toughest for me to decide. Hmmmm…. Maybe Murasakibara should rob a candy store? If you have any ideas, feel free to post them in the review or message me. I haven't decided on the pairings yet either. Gah! I am so indecisive.