Hi, everyone! This is a little story that takes place in the universe of my other story, 'Meet Kuroko'. There was a part in that story where I decided to mention a bomb, and the idea kept bothering me. I decided to make a separate story about it, so here it is! It's so long…my god!
Anyway, this took place about three years before 'Meet Kuroko' started. It's at a time where the other Akashi has yet to appear, so yes. I guess that that's all you need to know for now.
…unless you want to hear about my life story.
Okay, so it all started when I was a fetus in my mother's belly and –
Something is bothering Kuroko, and they knew it.
How could they miss it?
Their sixth man's warm eyes were pooled with worry – his uninterested face contorted into something achingly similar to apprehension. He's been vanishing far more than usual too – often taking wrong turns and straying away from the group because his mind was too preoccupied with whatever it was preoccupied with. He never spared his friends a glance – not even minding the little squabbles between them
The kids decided not to pester their smallest member with questions, because they knew that he'd rather be left alone if he were wondering. They were worried, yes, so if Kuroko decides to spill it, they'll listen; wholeheartedly – without ridiculing nor questioning whatever he says. After all, that's exactly what the collected young boy would do if they were in his place. He was always the understanding, wise kind of friend. And for that, they adored him.
So when he finally stopped, stared at them and spilled the beans, none of them would've thought he'd say "don't look now, but that man sitting by the sushi stall in the food court just planted a bomb somewhere in this mall, and I have a pretty good idea where it is."
…X…
At first, everyone was too stunned to speak. Aomine was the first to break the ice by ruffling his shadow's blue hair, earning a glare in response.
"That was a good one, Tetsu! Didn't know that you had it in you to crack a joke! It was actually pretty funny!"
"I wasn't joking, Aomine-kun."
"What are you saying, Kurokocchi?" Kise didn't look serious at all. As he asked this, his thin lips tilted up. None of them took what Kuroko said seriously. Midorima was staring at the four, mentally calling them ignorant fools. Murasakibara was plopping another candy in his mouth, looking extremely bored.
Kuroko grudgingly ran his fingers through his hair, fixing what Aomine had tangled up, before looking them all in the eye. "I'm saying that right now, there's a bomb in this mall. It will explode in about two hours, so if you just help me out, we could still put a stop to it."
Another wave of silence ensured before Midorima let out a humungous sigh. "Why would you say that, Kuroko?"
The shooter was not dumb. (Believe it or not) none of them were. They all knew for a fact that Kuroko is no clown. They also knew that he was not the type to weave lies. They were also smart enough to consider his recent behavior. Maybe it was true. It sounded bizarre but it could be true!
What if there really was something that frightening standing beneath them? Despite the thin shred of doubt, they shivered.
"I heard him," Kuroko stated. "He said so through the phone."
"What?" Aomine was about to stomp over to the man Kuroko had pointed at until Midorima elbowed him. "Listen," he hissed.
"He was carrying this large suitcase earlier today. I thought it was strange, so he caught my eye. But when I saw him again this afternoon, he was empty-handed." He then looked at the Miracles. "It means that he left it somewhere, so it must contain a bomb."
"Um…Kurokocchi? That could hardly be called evidence," Kise whispered, chuckling nervously.
"Anyway, I stalked him."
"What?"
Kuroko ignored the strange look his four friends gave him. "I overheard him speaking to someone. He said that he expected the two million yen by tonight because he's finished his job. He also told the receiver that they better get out before six tonight or else."
"What did he say for you to assume that he left a bomb here?"
He turned to Midorima –blue eyes as dull as always. "I overheard him say 'I put the case with the bomb in that place you suggested'."
"Oh." Guess not everything about this case needed thorough deduction.
"So where is it?" Aomine asked, eyes wild. This isn't the first time they got involved in a crime, but this is the first big thing they participated in. The previous cases involved pick pocketing, where they pretty much left most of the work to the police. They've also stopped a few teenagers – on and off school – from killing themselves. On the off-days that they managed to convince their captain to participate (which wasn't really saying much because all those times, he'd merely dump his investigators to them), they'd solve some petty theft crimes. One time, they even helped a classmate who wanted to know who murdered her pet hamster. It was her dad.
Kuroko shrugged. "I think that it's in the bathroom. He was worried about the hiding spot, saying that it might be too silent. Civilians might hear the ticking."
"If that's the only clue of the hiding spot, it could be in so many places!" said Aomine.
"The parking lot, perhaps?" Murasakibara drawled.
Kuroko shook his head. "This mall doesn't have a parking lot, Murasakibara-kun."
"I knew that." He didn't.
"Any further clues for you to assume that it's in a bathroom?" Midorima inquired. The shadow nodded.
"The time interval between the time I saw him with and without the suitcase was approximately twenty minutes." He then took out a huge map of the mall and flattened it on a nearby table. A small portion was encircled. He risked a glance at his friends; they were speechless. "All of the places within the circle are the places that he could've gone to within the given time limit. I narrowed the places down, and saw that the bathrooms in Maji Burger are among the most silent and unoccupied places in the mall because it's always dirty. I should know."
Aomine, Murasakibara, Kise and Aomine nodded in understanding. Kuroko knew everything about Maji Burger because he'd always go there to get his daily dosage of vanilla milkshake.
They averted their attention back to the map as their smallest member continued. "I realized that this made perfect sense because when I first saw him without the case, his hands were wet and he had traces of Maji Burger's special sauce on his beard."
"Well done, Kurokocchi!"
"But if it were true, it's far too reckless. I won't participate." Although Midorima said this, Kuroko saw one corner of his lips tugging up. Murasakibara plopped the last candy into his mouth, crushed the wrapper and tossed it into the trash bin. "Heeeeh?" he lazily tilted his head, violet eyes betraying a hint of excitement. "It sounds tiring, but I'll do it."
"What about the criminal?" hissed Aomine, and they all discreetly turned to the man. He was standing up to leave, oblivious to the four pairs of eyes' glares. "The bastard is escaping. We should first beat 'im up and–"
"That wouldn't do, Aomine-kun," Kuroko cut him off. "We have no concrete evidence. Seeing and hearing wouldn't hold up in court. We need fingerprints, DNA, alibi, and the like."
"So we're just going to let him get away?"
"Yes."
"That isn't fair!" Kise cried.
"Try to remember how he looks. We'll get back at him later." Kuroko's eyes wavered to the man, who was now going down through the escalator, ready to leave the mall. "First we need to stop the bomb."
"Shouldn't we do something about the people first?" Kise murmured.
"I already tried informing the authorities. They wouldn't take me seriously."
That was not surprising, seeing that Kuroko was merely a fourteen-year-old middle school student. It didn't help that the authority's daughter also studied in Teiko, hence, knew about all of said school's awful ways. Kuroko's way of informing him wasn't very well-planned either, for the small boy literally popped out of nowhere and told his theory while the authority was still in a state of extreme shock.
"Kuro-chin…when did you do all this?"
"Didn't you know?" Blue eyes blinked in puzzlement. "I wasn't here the whole time."
…X…
The five boys awkwardly stood before the male's bathroom in Maji Burger. Some of the waiters stared in suspicion, because really – no one used the restaurant's unkempt bathroom. Aomine made the first move by swinging the door open, allowing his friends to enter, and then locking it from inside. Kise immediately covered his nose, making a noise like he was going to hurl.
"It stinks."
"Okay, everyone, let's all breathe in and–ow." Aomine smacked Kuroko on the head. "That hurt, Aomine-kun."
"Then don't tell us to do that with this god-awful smell. Now tell us where the bomb is so we can get out of here."
Kuroko stared at his friends. Then, much to their dismay, he shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we have to look for it."
The four miracles blinked before scanning the bathroom. It was dark and a moist. Algae adorned the grey walls, and the floor was pooled with unidentified liquid that was a murky rainbow of colors. The air was warm and a little sticky, and bugs, rats and cockroaches scattered the sinks. They couldn't see the cubicles yet, but they could smell its contents wafting in the air
Kise wasn't going to last long.
"Shall we get started?" Midorima said, pinching his nose. Reluctantly, the rest of the Miracles nodded. At that moment, the same thing crossed their minds: The man who planted the bomb was going to die a slow, agonizing death.
…X…
Five minutes later, Kise was dead.
…X…
"Hello! What are you kids up to?"
Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara and Kuroko glanced up at the doorway, where a portly balding man stood. He wore a nametag that was pinned into his white oxford shirt, which stretched through his stomach,
Manager, it says, and the four middle school kids gulped.
"We were looking for our friend's bag," Kuroko lied, keeping his eyes on the man.
"Really? You didn't have to make such a fuss, though. You're upsetting our customers." His voice was deep and steely. It reminded them of Hayashi-sensei.
…Okay, scratch that. Hayashi-sensei – also known as the evil sprite – was far scarier. They'd know how to deal with this man. Compared to old Hayashi, he almost seemed…cute.
"We're sorry," Kuroko said, standing up and bowing slightly. "It's just a little uncomfortable to be here, you see? My friends and I couldn't help but cry out in agony whenever we open a nasty cubicle filled with creepy crawlers. One of my friends is dying in his disgust, actually."
They all turned to Kise, who was slouched against the wall – the color gone from his face.
"But we'll try to keep quiet," he immediately added when he saw that the manager's brows were beginning to furrow. They can't afford to be kicked out now. Not when the price was the lives of many.
The manager looked around, scrutinizing the bathroom. The lids of the toilet bowls were removed, revealing webs and strings of moss. The sink's drain was also plugged out, allowing creatures to roam free. The kids were obviously lying through their teeth. They wouldn't find a bag in the places they were looking through. He turned to them, snarling.
"No one came in here today."
Their eyes widened.
"N-no one?" Aomine stuttered. The manager nodded. "My staff has never seen anyone enter the male's bathroom." He then smirked. "You're friend must've misdirected you."
Slowly, they all turned to Kuroko, half amazed by the irony, and half gaping in horror.
"I suggest you get out of here, or I'll have you pulled out myself." Those were the last things he said before turning around and walking out, banging the door behind him so most of the green flood splashed. Then, a chorus of cries erupted.
"Kuroko!"
"Please tell me that he was lying," Aomine blubbered. Kuroko shook his head. "He wasn't."
"I had to do stuff for nothing?" Murasakibara pouted.
Midorima frowned, his lips twitching in annoyance. "See, this is why I don't like you, Kuroko."
The shadow suddenly headed for the sink. They all watched in mild disgust and curiosity as he reached for the slimy handle and turned it on, revealing brown, muddy globs. "Yuck," was all Murasakibara could say.
"Something's been bothering me. The man's hands were wet, so he must've washed it. He couldn't have done that here with this kind of water. And the very fact that he didn't dry it meant that he was in a hurry. At first, I thought that it might be because he wanted to get away from the bomb, but if he's planned this ahead, he should've been calm. He didn't hide the bomb here. He hid it in a place where he had to leave in a hurry." Kuroko chanted monotonously. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "There was another bathroom here in Maji, right?"
They all thought for a while. Then, as a memory clicked, they flushed.
"Dang it," Midorima hissed, as Aomine quickly scuttled to Kise to wake him up.
…X…
The girl's bathroom was also grimy and empty, but it was nothing compared to the misery of the boy's bathroom. Metals were rusty, and the floor was flowing with unnamed liquid. However, the smell wasn't as grotesque. Unlike the male's bathroom, the stench wasn't as unbearable. There were also barely any bugs, so Kise decided that he could handle it.
"If I were to plant a bomb, where would I put it?" Murasakibara murmured. Kise tapped his chin in wonder. "In the toilet?"
"Only one way to find out." Aomine headed for one of the four cubicles. He opened the lid, and a spider crawled out. He was about to shriek but Kuroko had punched him at the back. "We can't let anyone know that we're here," he reminded the ace. "If we're found, we'll forever be labeled as perverts. Do you want to be called a pervert, Aomine-kun?"
"Um…guys?" They all turned to Kise, who had his head inside a cubicle. "You might want to come here…"
They squeezed in with him, bickering among themselves, until Kise politely asked them to shut up. Then, they heard it – the chilling sound of something ticking.
"My god…" Aomine gasped, his face pale beneath the tan. "Tetsu was right…"
"I can't believe it…" Even Midorima looked absolutely mortified.
Kise moved forward and opened the toilet's lid. It was empty. At this, their bloods ran cold.
"Let's get out of here," Murasakibara stated.
"I agree. Let's tell the authorities and get out of here," Midorima stated.
Suddenly, Kuroko reached for the trashcan. He tilted it to the side, causing its contents to tumble down. Then, he reached in deep. Kise curled his lips, trying not to hurl. "F-find anything, Kurokocchi?" At that moment, the shadow's eyes widened, and his face paled. That was all they needed to see to know the answer. Slowly, he pulled his arm back, revealing a large, white handkerchief wrapping something hard and square.
He carefully placed it on the closed toilet bowl, unwrapped the item inside, and there it was – the ticking time bomb in all its explosive glory. The timer attached to the thing says that they still had a little over thirty minutes before it exploded.
"We need to defuse it," Aomine said.
"How?" Kise cried. "We don't have the tools!"
"Here." Midorima quickly reached into his bag and handed him a screwdriver. "Oha Asa has never failed me."
Aomine nodded in thanks before taking the tool. I will ask Midorima about this Oha Asa thing of his, should I live through this, he added to his mental to-do list. When he opened the bomb, however, the glimmer of hope regarding his survival died. Inside the bomb was a mess of red and blue wires, zigzagging and toppling each other. "Tetsu, you do know how to stop this, right?"
"No."
"Well, that's a pretty big flaw in your deduction," the ace said, face frozen. At that very moment, as if their minds have fused into one, they all instinctively came to one conclusion; it was the same conclusion they always reach when tied down to a dire situation.
Aomine flipped his phone open, dialed a number and brought it to his ear. The rest of his friends surrounded him, looking like lost children.
"Hello, Akashi,"
That's right. Should they reach a dead end, the Generation of Miracles always fond themselves crying for their captain's help.
…X…
Akashi scowled at the caller ID, pondering if he should answer it or not. He was busy, after all, filling up the paper work regarding their next basketball opponents. He was in no mood to be listening to more of his teammates' bickers. They were such children, in his eyes. In the end, however, he decided to answer the call in the off chance of it being an emergency.
He ended up being glad that he did.
"Hello, Akashi,"
"Yes?" His voice ended up spilling with boredom, and there was a pause on the other line. He could hear muffled whispers in his background, saying things like "how do we tell him!" and "I can't hear him, Aomine."
"A-Akashi, actually, we all need your help." There was another pause, and the captain was beginning to grow impatient. "Please be blunt, Aomine-kun. Tell me what you all want."
"Help us, Akashi! We found a bomb in the girl's bathroom and we don't know what to do with it!"
For a moment, it was eerily silent. Akashi had pursed his lip, not really sure about how he should reply to that. Then, he heard a slap from the other line, some shuffling, a few screeches, and them Midorima's voice.
"Sorry about that, Akashi," the shooter huffed. "What Aomine meant to say is we need you here to stop a bomb. We found it in the girl's bathroom and it will explode in about twenty minutes."
"That doesn't make any sense either, Midorima," Akashi snarled, his red eyes narrowing. There was another pause. Then, realizing that what they said was what they meant, he turned to the blank wall of his study – genuinely contemplating banging his head against it. His trail of thoughts, however, were interrupted by Kise's voice– soft and wavering compared to the other two Miracles. "A-Akashicchi? Please?"
"Fine."
Akashi rubbed his temple, deciding that questions could wait. "Tell me where you are. And while I'm on my way, I want you to follow a few instructions."
…X…
Kise once again entered the girl's bathroom, only this time, a man stood behind him. It was the manager, and he was most definitely not pleased to be seeing them again.
"I can't believe that I'm dealing with you lot when I should be managing my restaurant!"
"Now, now," Kise mustered the most realistic smile he could fake before turning to his friends. "When we prove to you that there really is a bomb in here, could you please help evacuate all of the people in this mall? The authorities will not listen to a bunch of fourteen-year-olds, you see?"
"Feh." The manager made his way to the cubicle, where the group of students standing in a semi-circle glared at whatever lay above the toilet bowl. The man obviously doubted the rising model's claims, and was merely following him to get it over with. His patience with them was beginning to grow thin, and Kuroko was worried that he would never be welcome to come for his milkshakes again.
Aomine gripped his phone, which was still in speaker mode.
"Akashi, are you sure about this?"
"It's a risk. It depends on the person you brought in. We still don't know how eligible that man is. I'm not there to see him for myself."
At that very moment, they heard a loud yell of an overgrown man screaming, "OH MY GOD! THE HECK IS THAT?" He fell back, turned around, and stood up to run – his eyes wild.
"Murasakibara, Aomine, hold him down before he escapes," Akashi ordered from the other line. The two dived for the manager before he could leave the bathroom, just as they were told. Obeying Akashi's orders was just too ingrained in them – it eventually became instinct.
"Tie him down," the captain snarled from the other end, clicking his tongue in disappointment. "That useless buffoon can cause nothing but trouble. If he runs out screaming about a bomb, people will panic."
"But Akashicchi," Kise said, holding the phone which Aomine had shoved into his hands when he sprinted to tackle the manager, "we don't have any ro–"
"Here," Midorima said, handing him a freaking three meter rope! Where he got it, we will never know.
"What the heck, Midorimacchi?"
"My lucky item is a toolbox," he clarified. "It has a lot of handy stuff." He then dug out a duct tape from the toolbox within his bag. "Just in case you want to shut his mouth too."
Kuroko nodded from the background, strongly supportive of taping the manager's mouth. The man was tied to another cubicle, where he tried to muffle out cries and yells – so much that his clammy face was beginning to grow red.
…X…
A few more minutes passed in agonizing silence. The ticking of the bomb was beginning to grow louder, and the manager's struggle was beginning to diminish. Bickers have stopped because no one was in the mood for that anymore. Kuroko glanced at the bomb's clock, and he felt dread pulling him down. Only three minutes left. My god, why were they even still there? Oh yeah, they were waiting for Akashi to arrive. It's only been about sixteen minutes, though, since they first told him about their dire situation. He wasn't late or anything, but time seemed to slow down, especially since they were standing before a ticking time bomb, in a gross bathroom, with three-hundred seconds left of their life.
Speak of the devil and he will come. The bathroom door swung open, and there stood one Seijuro Akashi. He didn't spend a second dwindling in the doorway. He quickly scurried to the cubicle where his teammates clumped together like freezing penguins – not minding the tied up manager who was once again crying muffled screams.
The Miracles made way for him, their eyes leading him to the toilet lid where the bomb lay. He huffed a heavy sigh, lifting a pair of scissors that glinted against the fluorescent light. Slowly and carefully, he reached for a blue wire, which was entangled beneath the mess of the rest of its kind. To the others, it looked like their captain just grabbed one at random, but after seeing his expression, that didn't seem to be the case.
Akashi scrutinized it carefully before snipping it off. His teammates visibly flinched.
"Are you doubting me?" he asked, never averting his eyes from the wires.
"You can do it, right, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko said.
"Did you call me over to detonate a bomb?"
He heard them gulp. "No. We trust you."
Then, it was extremely silent – the only sound being snipping noises. Eventually, Kise snuck a glance at the timer, and his blood ran cold.
Ten seconds left.
Akashi's hands began working lightning fast – rearranging reds, snipping wires, scrutinizing blues and so on.
Five seconds left.
Was Akashi sweating? God no…did he look scared for a moment?"
Two seconds left.
BLEEP
The timer stopped at that very second, and Akashi fell to his knees. It was probably the first and only time he's shown a hint of exasperation, but the Miracles were too stunned to take note of this. They all fell down too, legs giving in. They didn't care anymore about the liquid spilled across the floor. They were far too relieved to mind something so trivial. About half minute passed with just them catching their breaths before Aomine stood up, eyes gleaming.
"WE DID IT!"
"Kurokocchi, you're a genius!" Kise cried, tackling the unsuspecting boy to the ground. Kuroko cringed, suddenly concerned about the floor's dirt. "You're making me dirty, Kise-kun," but Kise didn't mind what he said and just snuggled his face into their phantom's hair.
Midorima then stood up, his butt wet. "Thanks, Akashi," he said, the smallest of smiles ghosting over his features. Kise pulled his head away from Kuroko's head then also turned to the captain. The first thing he did their eyes met was beam. "You're a very nice person, Akashicchi!"
"Yeah," Murasakibara agreed. "Very nice."
Kuroko sat up then turned to the redhead. "Your coming really saved us. We're glad to have you as our captain."
"Thank you," Akashi smiled, before slitting his eyes. "But all that praising isn't going to save you from explaining."
"He's not very nice." The giant immediately took back his words.
"I miss Hayashi-sensei," Kise cried.
Kuroko blinked and opened his mouth to tell their tale, but his light beat him to it.
"It all started when Kuroko said that the man sitting by the sushi stall in the food court just planted a bomb somewhere in the mall," Aomine started.
Just like that, they spilled the events, sputtering nonsense every now and then but overall – with Kuroko's frequent interruptions – giving a decent flow of events. He made sure that they told everything – down to the smallest details regarding his observations and deductions. He even included how he knew that the bomb was supposed to be inside a trashcan. He suspected it was there because hiding it there made perfect sense; the man had washed his hands despite his hurry, after all. Throughout their story, Akashi kept on nodding – offering them his full attention. He'd squint every now and then when they described the bomber, keeping these in mind should they run into him.
When they were done, Akashi sighed. "Do you have a plastic bag, Midorima?"
"No," he replied. "But I have gloves."
"Please," Akashi said, and Midorima reached into his toolbox. "I'm going to ask my investigators to look into this. We'll be finding who did this; don't fret." He slipped the gloves on, picked up the dead bomb, wrapped it around the handkerchief and turned for the door.
"I'll be going ahead, then."
"Wait, Akashicchi!" Kise cried, stopping the captain dead in his tracks. "Let's all eat together, at least! I don't want such a productive day to go to waste without any celebration!"
A few seconds passed just staring at their captain's back before he finally turned around – expression unreadable. "Okay."
…X…
The event that followed dinner was one of those rare nights where the stars shone bright. The six middle school kids decided to spend their time in the park to keep it from going to waste, and there they found themselves scattered on the grass – all of them looking up. None of them spoke, which was unusual, but peaceful nonetheless. Kuroko especially liked this. It gave him time to think, which is something he found himself doing more often nowadays.
In fact, it was because of that thinking that they ended up stopping a bomb that day – not that anyone knew of this. People in the mall moved on with their lives, not knowing that their years had been hanging by a thin thread; not knowing that they were saved by unnamed heroes. Kuroko wondered if he was meant to be in the shadows forever. Again, no one has noticed what he's done. This time, though, he dragged his friends along with him. Were they seething? Did they want the world to know the good that they've done? Are his bland, uninteresting ways unconsciously pissing them of?
They were rising basketball stars, for goodness sake! Of course they'd want to shine!
"Tetsu." Kuroko's dull face showed a hint of surprise – baby blue eyes growing slightly when Aomine flopped onto his belly to ruffle his hair. "You just stopped a bomb. That long face is the last thing you should be pulling."
"Is something bothering you, Kurokocchi?" Kise asked, turning to him with a dazzling gleam.
Midorima, Akashi and Murasakibara just stared at the sky, looking very content. Kuroko saw no uneasiness in them. They were perfectly fine, if not a little hooked. By the small smile in their faces, Kuroko somehow deduced that this wasn't the last case that they were going to get involved in.
"No," he finally whispered, looking at each of his companion, realizing for the first time how precious they've become over the years. Sure, they had their flaws – Murasakibara, Midorima, Aomine, Kise and even Akashi – but when the going gets tough, they're always there for each other. They were a team. And they are like the family that he's never had. "Everything is great."
A few days later, the bombers were captured, just as Akashi had promised. The man in the food court's name was Kenji. The person he was speaking with was Chia. Chia had a huge grudge against the mall because she fell from one of the elevators, crashed into a toy store and had to pay for the damage.
…and that is how I stumbled into fanfiction.
Okay, anyways…YES! THIS 5K LITTLE MONSTER IS DONE! GONE! FOREVER OUT OF MY SYSTEM! My god, this is probably the longest thing I've written my whole life. Anyway, I do hope that the story wasn't too…redundant or boring. You guys are free to give constructive criticism if you want. Oh, and if you want to see what happens years after this…oneshot? Ficlet? You can try reading 'Meet Kuroko.' It's written with Momoi as the protagonist, though. Being the only female (besides Riko and Taiga's teacher) and all. I still find it difficult to write a fic with a male as its protagonist.
Enough of my babbling. See you!