Title:The Present Future
By: Metamorcy
Rating:T
Pairing: AkashixKuroko
Summary: If there was one person that could control Akashi, even if it was almost unnoticeable, it was none other than the phantom player. Fluffish. Eventual Akashi X Kuroko
Disclaimer: Seriously? Don't own, just the idea
Beta'ed by WhiteAngel128 and saphire644
Chapter 1
Akashi had always prided himself as being the winner in everything he did, whether it was basketball, his school work or even when playing board games. He was the best, that was all that mattered to him. No one was allowed to toss him off his throne without him knowing and he refused such a thing to happen. He always made sure to be two to three steps ahead for planning, keeping everyone behind. It didn't matter who, from his professors to his own teammates in basketball, he was the one that was in front and winning.
But Kuroko…The phantom player that couldn't do much on his own, the one he had helped brought up, managed to break his pattern, his streak. It had been a miracle, nothing more than that, but it was enough to make Razuken lose to Seirin. Just by one shot, a shot by Kuroko of all people, a buzzer beater, had managed to tip the balance on the scoreboard. It was a shot he hadn't foretold, his emperor eye unable to predict, and that was his downfall.
He felt broken at his defeat, his form shattering and all that that made Akashi who he was had collapsed. His eyes had widened as he watched the basketball bounce on the ground, just moments after passing through the hoop. His body, still in shock, was not even aware of how the other group was cheering for their victory, the sounds around him drowning out into a ringing dullness. He didn't care for the fact that he could feel the droplets of sweat slowly tinkering its way down his face or even his ragged breathing. Nothing mattered at the moment. He didn't collapse, he didn't move, he just stood there like a statue as his mind tried to catch up on the events that had unfolded. His own teammates were staring in disbelief just like him, unable to understand, much less comprehend what had occurred. The thought of it being 'impossible' still echoed in their minds, unable to believe that they had been defeated by a pathetic group such as Seirin.
Kuroko stepped forward and away from his teammates, quiet like always, and peered over towards his ex-captain back in middle school. He stopped right beside Akashi, his blue eyes looking over the red-haired teen, and reached forward. Slowly, his fingers drifted towards the limp hand and grasped it lightly with his own sweaty palms, tugging Akashi's attention to turn to him. Those heterochromatic eyes snapped straight away, slightly unfocused as realization began to settle. The blue-haired teen remained still, not upset by anything, and tilted his head to the side. His short locks were sticking to his forehead, sweat keeping it stuck like glue, but he didn't mind. "Akashi-kun, it's okay," Those gold and red eyes widened, a flash of rage slipping through. Akashi opened his mouth to say something, something to retort to those cursed words, but Kuroko immediately cut him off without any hesitation. "I want you to play against us again sometime in the future, not to win or lose, but for fun. I want you to enjoy the next game we play together."
"Tetsuya…"
"We can't win everything in our life, sometimes we must lose in order to gain something greater."
"Tch." Akashi wanted to say something against that, but no words passed through his lips. Instead, he turned away and headed straight to the locker room, no longer wanting to be around his ex-teammate more than necessary. The redhead ignored the calls from behind, disappearing into the room where no one could see him any longer.
Kuroko observed from the same spot as the door closed behind Akashi's form, watching as it slammed shut, before turning away to his own group. His eyes turned towards Kagami, stepping closer. "He'll come around eventually. Akashi has never been one to remain down forever and he hates to lose. Next time we play against him, we better be prepared."
Kagami just grinned, wiping his forehead with a towel to clean the sweat. "No problem!"
It had taken almost a week before Akashi had allowed himself to slip back into school and into the basketball team as their captain. Everyone on the team had been disheartened by their lost, shaken up, and Akashi knew he had to whip everyone back into shape in order to take back their title. He wouldn't allow anyone to fall behind for any reason, but there were times when his mind drifted, unable to concentrate. No one mentioned it, understanding the reason as to why. Still, everyone continued to train in an effort to keep their captain happy and from lashing out. It was better to be safe than sorry after all.
"Ah, Akashi is still upset." Hayama pouted, continuing his training program, while keeping his voice down so that the redhead wouldn't hear.
"We all are," Mibuchi grumbled from the side as he followed forward. "But be quiet so that Captain doesn't hear you."
"Fine, fine."
As the rest of the team continued to practice, Akashi remained to the side with his arms folded across his chest. Though, he was concentrating on the group before him, his mind was still distracted no matter what he did. Everyone persisted on their routine to do what they could, but there was a slight deficient in their efforts, not able to bounce back just yet from their defeat. He, and everyone else, didn't even realize when the front door opened up and a shadow stepped into the room unnoticed. Everyone continued on like normal and the person walked across the waxed floors. No one saw him as he stopped right behind the captain, standing there silently as his blue eyes peered outward towards the other.
"Akashi-kun."
The redhead immediately flinched at that, his red and yellow eyes wide in surprise, clearly not expecting such a thing to occur. He spun around in shock, his short red hair twirling around, and peered straight over to the teen who dared to scare him, much less, sneak up on him. Normally, such a thing would never happen, his emperor eye was useful even outside of the court, but he hadn't been concentrating on his surroundings. That was his fault. No one else noticed what was going on, still focused on their own customary. This left the two members of the Generation of Miracles on their own, unheard by anyone else.
"Tetsuya," Akashi muttered under his breath, quickly placing his regular expression back on. He gave a nod and continued to stand there, appearing as normal as possible. But it was hard considering the fact he had lost to the other. It was difficult to not feel anything about it. Still, the redhead knew he was a professional despite being so young and kept his emotions on a rail. "Why are you here?"
Kuroko blinked his eyes. "I came to visit."
"Visit?" Even Akashi raised an eyebrow up at that, confusion slowly making its evident way over him.
The blue-haired teen just stood there, still wearing his school uniform. If anything, Akashi could only guess that the other had left right after school and skipped practice to make it to his school. It would have made him twitch in annoyance, but he had to remind himself that despite being Kuroko's ex-captain, he couldn't really control the phantom player all that well, being beaten in a game was proof of that. It was then that Kuroko's presence started to make itself more known, other members of the team able to pick out the normally invisible person, and turned to stare. Most still didn't, however, and continued to work, wanting to avoid Akashi's wrath. Those that could see were curious as to why the 'enemy', the reason why they were training so hard, had come over.
Kuroko didn't pay any mind to them, didn't care, and kept his focus on the slightly taller teen. "Akashi-kun, can you go out with me?"
The basketball court instantaneously went still as shoes tried to stop and silence began to settle in. One person even tripped and skidded across the court. The redhead blinked once, twice, his eyes never straying from the other. "What?" Those blank blue eyes continued to stare, never wavering. Still, despite the odd question, Akashi kept his calm and unfolded his arms, looking over the other carefully. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, can you go shopping with me?"
"Ah," There was a slight twitch, unnoticed, and the shoulders went a little lax. "I see. So that's what you meant." Akashi raised a hand up to his forehead, feeling a slight headache coming on. He was reticent for a bit, thinking on his situation. It wouldn't hurt after all. There was no harm in following Kuroko's wishes, but there was still the question of why. "Why me though? We are on opposite teams. You could very well ask that coach of yours for help."
"Hmm," Kuroko tilted his head to the side and blinked. "But it wouldn't be Akashi-kun. You were always better at choosing certain gear out than others."
"That's true. Fine, I shall go along with your wishes. Practice should be finishing up soon so if you wait a little, we can walk there. And considering you probably took a train here, I'll give you a ride back later."
"Thank you." A slight twitch on Kuroko's lips revealed just how happy he was at that prospect and nodded his head, remaining by Akashi's side. The redhead turned his attention back towards everyone else and glared, his gaze darkening under his bangs. Almost immediately, everyone went back to practicing, trying to keep their attention off the pair towards the side. It was hard considering their presence despite Kuroko's misdirection. To some, it looked like their fearless captain was standing there besides a ghost, though the notion of that made some shiver.
'Didn't expect Akashi to actually agree to that request. How odd,' Mibuchi thought to himself as he continued to dash around the court, dribbling the basketball in one hand while dodging others. 'Well, Akashi has always been prideful.'
"Ah, Akashi-kun," Kuroko called out from the side, catching the captain's attention immediately. Those multi-colored eyes glanced over from the side, giving permission to continue on. "The one with the number eight jersey, he called you a short-tempered shorty while I was walking by."
The group paused at that, heads snapping their way to one of the three crownless generals and the most gluttonous, Nebuya. The dark-skinned teen was already sweating, flinching downward when he saw his captain's eyes glaring at him. He backed up, the ball falling to the floor out of fear and gulped. "T-That's not true. I-I would never say such a thing."
"Oh?" Akashi gave a sinister smirk, a dark aura surrounding him, and everyone except for Kuroko backed away. Even the coach, when he first stepped in, instantly took one back to get out of range. It was clear to anyone that pissing off their sadistic captain was a big no-no and only an idiot would do such a thing. "Your training routine has been tripled. However, since I have no time to oversee it, you better stay late today and tomorrow to make up for it. Missing or relaxing will prolong your punishment. And I'll be adding some…extra requirements for you as well. How does volunteering at a homeless feeding center sound?"
Nebuya just shakily nodded his head, fearing for his own life, and ran off to start before things escalated too far. With a sharp glare from Akashi's eyes, everyone else went back to work, leaving the gym in silence except the dribbling of the ball, the squeaks of shoes, and the sounds of breathing. The two members of the Generation of Miracles remained in the back, quietly watching in silence, neither of them speaking.
Mibuchi shook his head at the stupidity his teammate had shown, knowing that the punishment was Nebuya's own fault. His eyes glanced back at the phantom player and raised an eyebrow at the sight. Was Kuroko smiling? He narrowed his eyes to better examine, but didn't see anything all that different. The blue-haired teen looked the same as always, remaining still and almost like a ghost. 'Still, it's clear this Kuroko purposefully said those words. I'd hate to see those two team up on some poor individual. Though, is it me or did Kuroko just convince Akashi to punish Mibuchi?' Wiggling his nose, he shrugged his shoulders, not thinking much on the idea. He had practice to work on and he'd rather not be on the bad side of their already pissed off captain.
Well, hopefully this is a nice start. Let me know :)
