Warnings: Child abuse, implied rape, blood, minor character death, language (cursing, homophobia, offensive), trauma
Disclaimer: I only own my plot and words. All characters, concepts, and ideas related to One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. All characters, concepts, and ideas related to Kuroko no Basuke belong to Tadatoshi Fujimaki.
*This story contains minor references to One Piece and to another fan fiction story I wrote. You do not need to have read either One Piece or the fan fiction story, It's Complicated, to understand this.
"The strongest of all warriors are these two－time and patience."
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Taiga is eight years old the first time he met them. The sun is beating down on the pavement, and he really wishes he had shoes. He's forced to walk on the grass if he doesn't want his feet to burn. Sweat beads on his brow, but it's pointless to wipe it away. It would come back. And god, he needs water. His throat is dry and scratchy. He stares at some kids playing a game in a fenced in area, dribbling a ball while they sprint around. They have so many water bottles, all lined up against the wire fence. They're all busy with whatever game they're playing, they wouldn't see him take a few sips of water.
Taiga shuffles onto the pavement with a hiss. His already burned feet shriek at him, but he's dying of thirst. He licks his lips and watched the five running around near the large pole before running over to grab one of the water bottles. He snatches one up and opens the top, taking a few swigs.
"Who are you?" Taiga yelps and drops the bottle, spilling the water all over the ground. He pales, freezing. "Ah, you dropped it." A shorter boy comes around him and picks up the now half-empty bottle. He screws the cap back on and looks at Taiga. "Are you thirsty?" Taiga can't bring himself to reply. He takes a step back, but bumps into something big.
"My water."
Taiga tips his head back. His blood runs cold. This kid is huge, way too huge, are his parents giants? Taiga doesn't know, but he doesn't want to find out. Even worse, he had been stealing and was caught in the act. He's going to get beaten up by these kids. He knows it. That's what happens when he messed up.
Taiga darts forward, but he doesn't get more than three steps before someone grabs his wrist. "Oi, hold on! You spilled his water! Apologize!"
A shiver runs down Taiga's spine. His lips tremble as he tries to form words. He keeps his eyes on the ground, on his bare feet that are burning. God, they hurt so bad. And it's hot, so so hot. His mouth is still dry, filled with sand. His heart is pounding, and the grip on his wrist tightens. The other boy says something louder, but everything is blending together. The last thing he hears is his heart pounding in his ears.
The sky is orange. The cicadas are too loud. Thousands of them sing, and Taiga wonders if they sing to the mandarin orange sky above as it slowly turns pink and purple.
Taiga's on the ground, and he has no idea where he is. People are talking around him, voices loud and boisterous. His head is on something soft. He groans and forces himself to sit up, already missing the soft surface.
"He's awake!"
"Hey, hey, are you ok? You passed out and everything! We thought you were dead!"
"No, that was just you."
Taiga jerks. There are five other kids surrounding him, all the colors of the rainbow. He blinks, taking in their eyes and their hair and the sweat that's glistening like jewels in the setting sunlight. They're not caked in layers of dirt like Taiga is, and their clothes aren't torn and worn. Taiga realizes they must be lucky. His heart aches, and guilt fills him from being in their presence, from bringing his bad luck to fortunate people. He has to leave before they're dragged down with him.
"'M fine," He looks away.
"But you passed out!"
"Here," Taiga looks up. The boy from earlier, the one who appeared out of nowhere, was holding a water bottle out to him. Taiga hadn't noticed him, and he gasps when the child appeared out of thin air. He doesn't seem surprised by Taiga's shock, and a small smile graces his lips. "Take it." Taiga blinks several times, brows furrowing.
"You're sure?" The boy nods again. The other five are silent, watching. Taiga snatches it out of his hands, opens the top, and brings it to his lips. It's heaven, not having to skimp out on it. A waterfall drowns the desert that lives in his throat, and he could cry from relief if he wasn't so focused on drinking every last drop. He gulps, not caring for the water running down his chin, until he has successfully sucked up every last drop of water. When the bottle's empty, he puts the bottle back in his lap, wishing there was more.
"Woah, that was so fast!" A blond haired boy is in his face, grinning. "Hey, hey, how'd you do that? Were you that thirsty? It wasn't even that hot today!"
"Yes it was, didn't you look at the weather today?" A green haired boy glares at the blond. The blond sticks his tongue out, which just makes the glare intensify.
"'Course not, I'm not a grandpa!"
"Don't call me a grandpa!"
"Ah, he's awake!" A pink haired girl runs over from the entrance to the enclosure. She's smiling. "Is he ok?"
"Yes," The blue haired boy who handed him the water replies. The girl smiles and her cheeks flush, then she directs her smile to Taiga, who sends an unsure smile back.
"Why don't you have shoes? Are you stupid?" Another blue haired boy, with darker skin and night blue eyes, drags his words out. Taiga scowls, but he doesn't know what to say. No one ever asks why he doesn't have shoes, or if he wants any. He just assumed some people had shoes, and some people didn't.
"Momo-chin, do you have snacks?" The too-large-for-life child with purple hair looks to the girl. She smiles and hands him the bag of pretzels she had been holding. "Thanks," He says as he rips it open. Taiga eyes the bag for a moment, and his stomach pokes him with pangs of pain. Instead, he looks away with a glare not meant to be directed at anyone.
"What's your name?" Taiga looks to the red haired boy standing behind everyone else. They all look to him, and then to Taiga. Taiga clutches the bottle tighter.
"Kagami."
"It's nice to meet you Kagami. I'm Akashi. But," His eyes get darker, serious. "Were you trying to steal from us?"
Taiga jolts.
"Akashi-kun, I think Kagami-kun was just thirsty," the paler blue haired boy stands. "You saw him drink my bottle of water."
Akashi hums, but Taiga knows the red haired boy doesn't trust him. Taiga stands. "Thank you for the water, but I should get going." He heads for the exit. There's shuffling behind him.
"Wait." Taiga freezes. It was that boy, Akashi, again. "To make up for spilling Atsushi's water, come back next week and play basketball with us."
Taiga doesn't know if he'll be in town, or able to move, but he nods. Then he runs, and he doesn't look back.
Taiga doesn't remember his parents. He's been with the intimidating men as long as he can remember. Sometimes when he dreams, he feels like he's being cradled in familiar arms, but he doesn't understand why. All he knows is that the name he has, Kagami Taiga, is the name his birth parents gave him. He won't forget it for as long as he lives.
He's with one of many groups of kids. He runs and causes distractions, that's what he's supposed to do. That's how they steal. When he doesn't do that, he helps bring back "goods", whatever it is Taiga doesn't know, back to the base and set it up. If he does anything wrong, or if he steals, he's beaten. Worst case scenario, he's beaten to death. In turn for doing tasks like this, he gets some food.
(It will be many long, painful years before Taiga realizes there's another way to get food, a way that won't involve so much pain. But right now, Taiga is eight years old, and this is all he knows.)
Today was one of those days. Taiga, with a few other children, is unloading a truck of box after box after box. There's hundreds of them. All of the boxes are cardboard, but it feels as though they weigh hundreds of pounds.
Taiga tries not to walk slow. If he walks slow, he gets a cane to the legs, or back, or head. Really, they can hit him anywhere.
A little girl falls over. Taiga almost stops to help her, but he's kicked by an adult with a terrifying voice. He scurries forward and hates himself for it. He can hear the cane, hear the girl scream, but Taiga is eight and he doesn't know how to protect anyone. He can't even protect himself.
Taiga savors it, the bread. He doesn't know how long it will last. He wishes he could eat more, but if he eats too much at once he'll get sick, and that's a waste of food. It's happened before, and he swore to himself he would never let it happen again. Still, he's never been given a whole loaf before. Normally he'll get an apple, maybe a few oranges, or if he's lucky some beef jerky. But he's never had bread before. God, it's so good, Taiga cries as he eats it, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. He's alone, sitting beneath one of many bridges surrounding their island city. It's dark out, the moon is high in the sky, and he's freezing, but he has food. He has bread, and he's never had bread before. He trembles and wails and scarfs down what he can and saves the rest for later, because Taiga doesn't know when this will happen again.
Two days later, Taiga watches them shoot the girl until she's dead. It's not the first time he's seen blood or death, and he holds back his tears and sobs of fear. It's easy now. He just has to bite the inside of his cheek and look away. However, nothing can hide the trembling, but as long as he keeps carrying boxes, as long as he isn't too slow, he won't die.
The day Taiga was told to meet those boys and the girl, led by the short child Akashi, it rains. Taiga doesn't care or mind. No matter the weather, he works. Rain, sun, snow, sleet, hail, hot, cold. It makes no difference. Sometimes, on really bad days, they give Taiga some worn out shoes. Those days are some of the best days of his life, even if he gets sick after.
Now, Taiga stands in the fenced in area Akashi told him to be at. It's early afternoon, and he thinks that's when he was there last. Taiga counts his few lucky stars that he can even count. He can't read anything except the numbers on bills and coins. He only knows that so he knows how many boxes he has to carry to get his rations for the day.
No one else is outside in the park. Taiga stands and waits, and waits, and waits. An hour, then two roll by, but he doesn't move. Eventually he's shivering. His cheeks are flushed and his skin is pale, and he doesn't understand. Where are the kids? They told him to meet him there, so where are they? His only good pair of clothes is soaked, and he wants to cry, but he doesn't.
"Kagami? What are you doing out here?"
Taiga turns around, teeth chattering, and sees the blond boy. He's standing in the entrance with the boy with night blue eyes. Taiga blinks slow and inhales a shuddering breath. The two boys stare at him, wide eyed and gaping.
Taiga blinks, and the two boys are rushing to him, pulling him under the umbrella with frantic hands.
"What do we do Kise?"
"I don't know! Where's the closest dry place?"
"How should I know?"
"You're always at the park!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Over there!"
Taiga's being dragged through the rain, but now he's not being poured on. He stares up at the fabric, eyes wide. He'd seen people using them, but he himself had never stood under one. He didn't know it was possible to avoid the rain so easily.
He's shoved onto a bench, and they're outside but he's not being rained on, and he's not under an umbrella. They're under some kind of overhanging ceiling. It doesn't really matter though, not with how Taiga shakes like an earthquake.
"Kise, go get some clothes!"
"Eh? Why me Aominecchi? You do it!"
"You live closer!"
"Fine! I'll be back!"
Kise storms away, and then he's running through the rain with the umbrella. Aomine stays with him, standing and staring at Taiga with a pinched expression.
"You're an idiot."
Taiga glares and then turns his head away. If he talks back, he'll get smacked. The boy sits down next to Taiga.
"I'm Aomine. You're Kagami, right?"
"Yeah."
"Why were you standing in the rain like an idiot?"
"I was waiting for you guys," Taiga turns to him, fuming because really, Akashi told him to meet them there. Aomine just stares at him. Taiga scowls and looks away.
"We didn't think you'd wait in the rain."
"Why?"
"Well...we can't play basketball in the rain?" It sounds like he's trying to think of an excuse.
(Years later, Taiga will realize he was the one who didn't understand anything. Likewise, so will Daiki, but right now both are too ignorant of each other, too young to understand that such different ways of life can even exist.)
"You guys could've come anyway!" Taiga coughs then, and shudders enough to move the bench. Aomine grumbles and turns his head away.
"You're so stupid."
"No, you're stupid, Ahomine!"
"What did you just call me, Bakagami?"
"You heard me!"
They bicker until Kise comes back with a warm pair of clothes. It's only been ten minutes, and they're glaring at each other like rivals who've known each other since they were born.
"Aominecchi, don't be so mean!"
"What? He started it!"
"No, you started it!"
Taiga freezes. He's been talking back this whole time. His body goes rigid, and his face pales even more. He'll be punished. He shakes, and tears start to well in his eyes.
"Aominecchi, you made him cry!"
"No I didn't! He's just a baby!"
"Aominecchi!"
"Fine! I'm sorry, Bakagami!" Aomine sticks his tongue out. Taiga smiles. The other two don't notice how it's forced, tense at the edges and paired with shaking lips. Kise turns to Taiga with a smile. Taiga's brain is on auto pilot, and he keeps the smile on despite the mental turmoil.
"I don't know if Aominecchi told you, but I'm Kise! Here, go change in the bathroom. You can have them, I don't need them anymore!"
Kise plops the plastic bag onto Taiga's lap. Taiga blinks his watery eyes and nods, dazed. He shuffles into the bathroom and closes the door behind him. He ignores the mirror and puts the bag on the ground. He strips himself free of the sopping wet clothes and lets them drop. He sighs in relief. His body is still cold, but with dry clothes he can start to warm up.
When Taiga exits the bathroom, wet clothes in the bag and dry clothes on his body, he's crying harder than before. Aomine and Kise had been arguing, but both looked shocked upon seeing Taiga's tears.
"Kagami, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
The clothes fit. It's so comfortable. They're dry, the long sleeves aren't too loose or too tight, and the fabric is so soft. He didn't know anything could be this soft. It's a dream, it has to be. And the pants and underwear, god, he's in heaven. He's dead, and Aomine and Kise must be angels, because there's no way this is real.
The other two give each other frantic looks, stammer over their words, until Taiga speaks up. "Thank you," He gasps between sobs. "Thank you so much! It's so warm. Thank you!"
(They'll understand one day, and be furious and frustrated and anguished. Today, they are confused and naive and innocent.)
For Taiga, the words "thank you" have always been complicated. He was told that it was necessary to say it each time he was given something.
When Taiga was punished for being too slow, when they beat him until he could barely walk, he said "thank you."
When they gave Taiga an apple, the only food he would have for two days (and they knew it), he said "thank you."
When Taiga is "taught a lesson" about how to cause a distraction, because he failed the last time (but it seemed like he was always failing, never able to get better, nothing pleased them), he said "thank you."
When Taiga said "thank you" to Kise and Aomine, it was the first genuine "thank you" he had ever said in his entire life.
Taiga gets back to his small camp that night. He's in an abandoned warehouse that's filled with other homeless adults and orphaned children who never made it to an orphanage. It's dry and filled with bats, but it's the best he can get right now.
Once back, he lays his clothes out on the ground to dry and strips out of Kise's clothes. He puts it into his backpack (stolen from a dumpster a year ago) as neatly as he can, because Taiga doesn't know how to fold clothes, he doesn't even know it's a thing people do. He takes out one of his large, worn shirts and a pair of sweatpants two times too long for him. He moves to his corner in the warehouse - it's crowded with other kids and teens and old people who all keep to themselves because on the streets, it's "survival of the fittest" in the most brutal of ways - which he snagged a few days ago and buries himself under the pile of blankets he had managed to accumulate over the years. It used to be his greatest treasure, but now he has clothes that fit him and they're comfortable, and he'll never get rid of them.
That week, one of the bosses gets really angry. Taiga doesn't know why. Sometimes, when the adults are talking about their goods or their deals, they start screaming and breaking things. Sometimes they take it out on the kids.
That day, Taiga was a little too close when the fight hit it's peak. Taiga was the kid beaten for no reason other than to vent anger.
The next day, Taiga remembers how much it hurts to work with bruised ribs.
Taiga finds them at that same fenced-in enclosure two weeks later. The sun is shining, and it's hot again, but it's not as hot. Taiga thinks he won't pass out. Probably.
He hobbles over to the fenced-in area and watches them play from the door.
"Hello, Kagami-kun."
"Wah!" Taiga spins to face the shorter blue haired boy, who's holding another orange ball in his hands. "Where did you come from?"
"I've been standing here since you got here."
"Kagami!"
"Oh, Bakagami's here."
Kagami scowls. "Hey, Ahomine."
The two glare at each other for a moment.
"Hello Kagami."
"Ah," Kagami turns. "Hi Akashi." He fidgets, unsure of what to do. Akashi's nose scrunches up.
"You didn't bring sneakers."
"Stupid!" Aomine sticks his tongue out at him.
"It's not safe to play without shoes, especially in this weather," The green haired boy stares at Taiga. Taiga can't help but feel judged, and he sends the green haired boy a scathing look. (More like a pout, but Taiga thinks he's far beyond pouting at this point in his life.)
"I don't even know how to play," Taiga thinks he says it quiet enough that they don't hear, but some of them start yelling loud enough that it feels like all of them are yelling.
"Kagami you can't play basketball?"
"But you gotta play it in gym right?"
"Kaga-chin's dumb."
Akashi, Midorima, and Kuroko don't say anything, but they all exchange a look that's missed by the other four.
"We'll teach him," Akashi speaks up. Excluding Taiga, they all look at him wide eyed. He stares at the taller boy, and Taiga stands straight under his gaze. Akashi smiles, soft and kind, a complete one hundred eighty degree turn from how he acted weeks ago. "It'll be fun."
By the end of the day, none of them care that Taiga is barefoot. They forget. Taiga's never had so much fun in his life.
Taiga tries to go there every weekend. There, he can play basketball. He learns everyone's names and quirks. He learns that Kuroko is like a ghost and has a knack for (and enjoys) scaring the living daylights out of people. He does it to Taiga multiple times each time they're together. Kuroko also loves vanilla milkshakes, whatever that is, and Taiga wishes he could go get them whenever Kuroko asks him to but Taiga has no money. He learns Akashi's dad is rich, that he's really smart, and he's super nice. Basketball is his escape, and the two boys bond over it. Akashi always wants to teach him shogi too, because he wants to see how Taiga would play, but Taiga refuses each time because he's never even heard of shogi. Midorima is the green haired boy. He's also super smart, and he's strict with himself and others (Akashi is more strict than Midorima, but Midorima talks more than Akashi, so Taiga doesn't notice). He always has a lucky item with him. He has faith in horoscopes for some reason, but Taiga likes to hear him talk about the daily horoscopes.
(Then Taiga realizes he doesn't know his own birthday. He never knew it was a thing, so he doesn't really care, but he has to lie and make them guess his birthday. He never knows if they get it right, and he feels ashamed for lying.)
Murasakibara is the boy who is impossibly tall and strong. Especially for someone who always eats sweets. He almost never offers to share, but once in awhile when Taiga's stomach sounds like an enraged tiger, he'll give Taiga part of his snack. Everyone always gapes when he does it except Taiga, who always stuffs his face as soon as he's given food. He learns that Kise is a child model and actor-in-training, and that the boy has a flair for the dramatic. He always has the best clothes and the best stories, and Taiga soaks it all up like a sponge. Aomine's passions involve playing basketball and catching beetles. Sometimes when it's too hot to play basketball, the two boys will chase beetles around the park. Aomine loves adventure, and Taiga loves to tag along.
(They learn Taiga is reckless and brave and a coward all at once. He loves to laugh and eat, and he never wears shoes. They don't realize what that means for years.)
Their peace, their healthy competition and rowdy days, lasts until the end of the summer.
"That boy is dangerous."
"He looks like a street rat."
"What if he's trying to steal from those other kids?"
"Should we call the police?"
"It might be safer that way. What if he's a pickpocket?"
"Probably. He's filthy! He doesn't even have shoes."
"His parents are probably addicts."
"He probably is too, he's so thin…"
Taiga knows the two women are talking about him, and he knows it's time to leave. He looks down at his smallest-but-still-too-large shirt that's covered in mud and dirt and sighs. The other boys are staring, shocked at what they just heard, because those women are a bit too loud when the boys are taking their five minute break.
"Call the police?" Kise's brows are furrowed. "But you're just a kid!"
Even Akashi, Midorima, and Kuroko look confused. Taiga stands with a frown and tries to think of something to say, but he can't think of anything.
"This is where you've been running off to, huh, Kagami."
It's loud, clear, and sends a chill down his spine. He drops the water bottle upon recognizing the voice. His fingers shake. His friends are looking behind him. He doesn't want them to see, doesn't want them to know he's dirty, but it's too late. He turns around and stares like a deer in the headlights at the man standing on the path. The women who had been talking about calling the police scamper away, whispering frantically and pulling out their phones as soon as they run out of sight. The man stares at Taiga. Taiga's shaking so bad, he can't stand still. His mouth is opening and closing. His eyes are burning, but he can't cry. He wants to though. He's probably going to die tonight. He was hiding kids, hiding friends. Taiga's not allowed to be friends with the lucky ones. He's dead. He'll die tonight.
"Kagami-kun, what's wrong?" It's Kuroko, but the man's eyes are boring into him. Taiga swallows, but the lump doesn't go away. The pit in his stomach is too big.
"I...I gotta go."
He trips over nothing on his way to the door. He has to hold the fence to keep from falling to his face. He can feel the man, the master's eyes burning a hole in the side of his head. Taiga stumbles his way over, keeping his eyes on the ground. When he's within arm's reach of the man, he stops.
"Making friends, Kagami?"
Taiga gulps and nods. Lying would bring more pain. His eyes are on the ground, on the grass between his toes and the ants in the dirt. No one is around except his friends, and they are silent. The man's shadow moves, and Taiga squeezes his eyes shut, biting his lip.
Taiga ends up on the ground, cradling his cheek. It had been a punch. His eyes water. It'll bruise, he knows it. However, this is only a prelude to tonight.
"What are you doing to Kagami-kun?"
Taiga's head whips around. Kuroko is standing there, eyes locked with the adult. Fear grips Taiga's heart like a vice when the man glares and reaches behind his back. Taiga scrambles to his feet.
"Stop! No! Please don't!" Taiga stands up, holds his hands up before the shorter boy. He hears the others running over now. "Stay back!" The footsteps stop. He's shaking. The man meets his eyes, and Taiga watches him put back the gun the other children didn't know he had. The man reaches out and grabs one of his arms, and Taiga lets him drag him away from the other children. He turns his head around, glances back and shoots them a quick smile that he knows isn't genuine, but it's better than leaving them standing there.
Taiga doesn't die, and he's lucky. But for one month, he can't walk. If he can't walk, he can't work. If he can't work, he won't get food.
He's curled up on his pile of blankets in an abandoned apartment. There are a few other people there, all older than him. They take turns giving him what little food they have. Taiga has to crawl outside to go to the bathroom in the back alley, because the toilet in the house is broken. At night he huddles up in the corner of the living room and tries to imagine another life. He tries to imagine spending each day with his friends, playing basketball under the sun, and cries himself to sleep.
It's winter the next time he sees those boys again. Snow falls and it's quiet, gentle, everything Taiga wishes his life could be.
He can walk again, and he's wandering alone outside in the dark right now because demons haunt his dreams and he's too scared to sleep. He runs from police officers because he doesn't know they can help him, he only knows what he was taught and he was taught to run from police officers. So each time he sees one, he runs.
He ends up in that park, standing in the middle of the court. He wants to play basketball, but he can't. He's learned a bit about the game, and he now knows that the boys won't come out to play basketball in the snow. Taiga shivers.
This is the last time he'll step foot on this court for a long time.
Taiga bends down and curls into a ball, dragging his fingers through the thin layer of snow on the ground to draw nonsense shapes around his feet. He can't feel his toes, even wrapped in fabric. One older kid had taught him how to do it, how to wrap his feet for maximum protection. Taiga steals for a living, but he always feels bad, feels like it's wrong, so he can't bring himself to lift a pair of shoes from a store. This will have to do.
"Kagami-kun?"
Taiga turns his head and sees Kuroko. The blue haired boy is taller than Taiga remembers, and he's standing there with Aomine and Kise. Taiga blinks, and wonders why this is the second time this has happened.
"Hi."
"Kagamicchi!" Kise runs forward and envelops him with his arms. It's warm. He's crying, but why is Kise crying? Then Kuroko is there, also hugging Taiga, and Taiga is so confused. His heart aches but he doesn't know why. All he knows is that soon he's crying, wailing. Aomine joins in on the hug. It's still snowing, and Taiga wonders why he feels so warm.
They're under the overhanging again, sitting on the bench like they did months ago. The three of them watch the snowfall, blanketing the world in silence. Their eyes are red and they're sniffling, huddled together for warmth.
(One day, they'll tell Taiga it was to keep him warm. He was in shorts and a ratty, long sleeved shirt with rags on his feet, but they were dressed in jeans and winter boots and jackets, mittens and scarves and hats. It was the second time the boys realized life isn't fair.)
"Kagami-kun, was that man your father?"
Taiga knows what Kuroko is talking about. He shakes his head.
"Why'd he punch you? He shouldn't have done that." He watches Kuroko's hands clench into fists. Kise takes one in his own, tries to soothe the tension, but it doesn't work. Taiga looks away.
"Because I was bad."
"That doesn't mean he can punch you." His voice is firm for a child. Taiga looks over, and is surprised to see Kuroko so angry, but something in his head tells him that Kuroko isn't mad at him.
"Come back with us."
Taiga turns to Aomine. His lips are in a tight line, and he's looking at Taiga, pleading with him. Taiga's weighed down by the words rooted in his mind, weighed down by the idea that escape is futile.
"I can't."
"Why not Kagamicchi?" Kise stands up, stands in front of Taiga, and he looks like he's going to cry again. "Why would your parents let him punch you? Why don't you have clothes? Why are you so thin? It's scary, Kagamicchi! It's scary." Tears dribble down his face. Taiga doesn't know what to say. He doesn't think he's thin, for one thing. He has a bit of stomach fat. Out of all of the unlucky ones, Taiga was allowed to be lucky in one way that the others weren't. Then, he registers the other things Kise said. Parents. The word echoes in his mind. His brows furrow and he looks at the ground.
"I don't have any parents." He squirms on the bench. He looks at his hands, opens and closes them. They're scarred.
"Kagami," Taiga turns to Aomine. The boy is giving him a fierce stare, and Taiga wants to shrink beneath it. "Come home with us."
Taiga's eyes widen. He hadn't expected them to push the topic.
Kise gasps and jumps forward. "Yeah, Kagamicchi! My parents can be your parents! We can be brothers! Man, I've never had a brother, only sisters, this will be awesome!"
Taiga blinks and feels his chest lighten. Aomine grins, and Kuroko takes his hand.
"Yeah, and then my dad can arrest the guy who punched you!"
The weight that settles on his heart is huge. It's five tons more than the idea that escape is futile. Taiga's smile is gone and replaced with a thin line. He stands and steps a few feet away, letting go of Kuroko's hand with a gentleness he doesn't feel.
"Your dad is a policeman?"
"Yeah!" Aomine is grinning. Neither him or Kise notice how Taiga's shoulders stiffen. Kuroko stares at Taiga, concern radiating off of him like he's the sun. Taiga's mouth opens and closes, opens and closes. His lips tremble and he inhales a sharp breath.
"I'm sorry."
Taiga runs. Aomine and Kise scream behind him, and he can hear them chasing him over the pounding of his heart. The snow blurs his vision, even though it's only a gentle flurry. He runs and runs down the brick path, panting. A car honks nearby, and Taiga runs in the direction of the street. City lights burn his eyes, and the people are too loud. He darts for the intersection. The cross walk light is on, five more seconds, and he sprints. He crosses the street with not a second to spare, stops, and turns around. The cars start moving. Aomine is standing there, screaming his name, cheeks flushed. Taiga swears he can see the other boy cry.
Taiga turns around and runs.
Taiga moves from one end of Grandline City to the next, from South Blue to North Blue. In North Blue, no one speaks Japanese or Chinese or Vietnamese, and he's forced to used his limited English to get by. He meets a boy named Tatsuya, a little larger and stronger and older than he is, who's been in North Blue longer. He speaks English and Japanese without awkward pauses and bad accents. He teaches Taiga English, and the two try to work together whenever possible. They huddle together to sleep on nights they think their toes will freeze off, and they hold each other's hand after they're punished. They laugh at little jokes and play in the abandoned buildings that haunt the streets.
One day Tatsuya, who has almost no qualms about stealing, comes back to their blanket fort with two rings in hand. He kneels down next to Taiga, battered from being attacked by one of their master's dogs (for the first and last time, but the impact of the attack clings to him like a leech), who sniffles.
"From now on, we're brothers!" Tatsuya grins wide and Taiga, despite the pain, can't help but smile back. Tatsuya puts the silver ring on Taiga's finger, because Taiga trembles too much to put it on himself. Tatsuya puts his on and settles down next to Taiga. He puts his hand in Taiga's hair and pats his head. The younger boy leans into him and yawn. Taiga falls asleep right there while Tatsuya looks through the hole in the roof to the distant stars above.
"Tatsuya, can you read?"
"Can I read?"
"Yeah!"
"You're so stupid Taiga, of course I can read."
"Oh…"
"Can't you?"
"No…"
"...I can teach you if you want."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but I can only read English."
"Aw, but I suck at English!"
"Hahaha, I know, but that's all I know!"
"...fine! Please teach me how to read English, sensei!"
"Don't call me sensei, stupid!"
"You can play basketball too?"
"Yeah, I played in elementary school before all of this happened."
"Let's play together!"
"You play too?"
"Yeah, my friends in South Blue taught me!"
"Hmm...we can play, but I want to show you an amazing player first! Her name is Alex, and watching her play is the best!"
"She should be our basketball master."
"Wanna ask?"
They both know they'll get in trouble for befriending someone who is lucky. They don't care.
"Tatsuya, do you think one day we could live with Alex? Like, like a family?"
"A family?"
"Yeah, a family!"
"...that sounds nice."
"I know right? We could play basketball all day!"
"Pftt, Taiga, is basketball all you ever think of?"
"We only get to play on Saturday's!"
"I know...we'll play more one day."
The masters take an interest in Taiga, one that's sinister in far too many ways. Tatsuya notices long before Taiga, and never leaves the boys side. They run drugs together, unload goods together, and steal together until one day, the masters decide Tatsuya's meddling will stop then and there.
"No! Stop it! Please!" Tatsuya reaches for Taiga, who's being dragged down a hall lit by blinding lights. It's long and ominous and Tatsuya knows what's about to happen to the boy who he thinks is only ten years old. Tatsuya pulls and yanks and screams and shouts, but Taiga still disappears down that hall.
"Taiga, do you want some food?"
"..."
"C'mon Taiga, it's yummy. It's chocolate."
"..."
"Taiga, please, you should eat."
"..."
"Taiga, please, talk to me."
"...hug?"
"Taiga…I'm so sorry…"
Taiga wakes up with nightmares every night, and each time Tatsuya holds him until he stops trembling and whimpering and seeing monsters that aren't there. Tatsuya wants to escape, wants Taiga to escape, but there's nowhere to go. The gangs know their faces, so running is futile. They'd be back within a day. Tatsuya's stolen too much, and he remembers his parents always used to say thieves go to prison, so he can't go to the police. They won't help street scum like him. He wants them to help Taiga, but he doesn't know what to do. Tatsuya cries and clutches Taiga close and wishes that Alex didn't have to move away for her job (in the future he'll learn that the gangs forced her to move) because Tatsuya has no answers for his questions and he's lost.
A week passes. They don't run, but they try to hide, and all too quickly they're found and brought back. They expect a beating, that's what makes the most sense since it's always what happens. Maybe they'll be killed. Whichever one happens, they'll be together through it.
Neither happens.
Hands hold them apart as Tatsuya is dragged away. Taiga screams for him, but they made Tatsuya drink something strange and now he can barely blink. Taiga tries to rip away from the hands, but there's too many. They're too strong. There are dogs growling and snarling and biting at his ankles, forcing him into a corner until Tatsuya is long gone, and Taiga is a child and he can't fight back alone.
That night, Taiga falls asleep, clutching the ring close.
Three summers come and go. Taiga plays street basketball every night. The stars are his only guide on the courts where he plays with a ball Alex gave him long ago. It's worn and only inflated because some of the other players offer to inflate it when they see it deflating. The ring dangles around his neck on a chain he found on the ground two summers ago. He still doesn't own shoes, but at night it's cool and his feet won't burn.
He dribbles the ball, darts around the court, and shoots. A three pointer. The ball sinks, and Taiga grins. The thirteen year old runs to the ball and bends to pick it up. A sharp pain jabs at his back, and he's brought to his knees. He gasps for air like a fish out of water. The ball rolls and thunks against the wire fence. Taiga's hands twitch and his body shakes. The beatings are getting worse, and Taiga wonders how much time he has left.
Taiga learned to hate years ago. He hates the old men who stare at him like he's a piece of meat. He hates the young men who treat him like he's an animal in a zoo. He glares beneath his bangs, because it's all he can do unless he wants to be treated even worse. He glares and lets his fingernails grow long, and he bites extra hard because in the heat of the moment, he uses it to fight back, to try and kill and run. It never works though, and he ends up with more bruises than he can count.
Taiga holds back a young boy named Ace, another unlucky kid with freckles who's far too young to be here, as they watch a four children die. It's brutal, like all the other deaths he's seen, but for some reason watching this freckled child become a rabbit in the face of a lion makes his blood boil. The much younger boy screams and sobs against his hand, and Taiga can't help but feel guilty, even though he knows this will keep the younger child alive.
Blood pools on the floor, and Taiga feels pity for but a moment. You can't feel pity for long. Then the master is there, yanking Ace forward, and Taiga feels dread pool in his gut, thick and red and dangerous.
Taiga has to stop this.
He remembers what Daiki said about having a policeman for a father. Maybe, just maybe, he can help. It's a desperate thought, but Taiga is willing to die if he goes out fighting destiny.
Taiga runs, and he's thankful for all of the running and jumping he's been forced to do before. Running for miles, from North Blue to South Blue, is easy. He jumps off walls to leap over barricades, he jumps over trash cans and puddles and animals who scamper away too slow at the sound of his feet. The men chasing him fall behind one by one like dominoes.
Taiga wishes he had Ace, wishes he could escape with Ace, but he's not strong enough to protect them both. He wasn't strong enough to protect Tatsuya. He's not strong enough to protect himself. All he can do is run, try to outrun destiny .
A gunshot rings in the air. Taiga gasps as he falls. The pain is sharp and dull, too much all at once. Then they're on him. Ripping and tearing, shoving and pulling, breaking him from the inside out.
They leave Taiga for death to collect, but Taiga is too stubborn to die. He shoves away death's greedy fingers and crawls. He crawls through the dirt and mud and forces himself to his feet. It's winter, and he's freezing, and god he really wished he had shoes. Maybe he'll get shoes after this. And long pants. He wipes at his thighs, covered in blood and mud and other things, and decides that he needs long pants for sure.
He limps and limps and limps, staggering beneath the lights in the dark alley, then realizes where he is. He sees the park that he abandoned years ago. He sees the familiar signs of Kanji and Hanzi and Hangul and Tagalog and so many other languages he never learned to understand but he recognizes them all, and his heart screams and sobs and burns with a warm fire that lights hope in his soul. His heart tightens upon seeing the white beyond the darkness he's in, and he forces himself forward.
It's dark out. Two in the morning, maybe. He bets no one is awake. He can't see the stars in the sky because of the pollution, but he can see the moon. One car drives down a street on the opposite side of the park. Taiga heaves himself forward with a hack. He pushes and pushes and pushes. The park is there.
He crosses the street slow, and each step hurts like needles. The light changes from red to green, but there are no cars to rush him. He makes his way toward the snow-covered grass, panting. The asphalt sends cold chills up his spine. He steps onto the brick sidewalk, trips, stumbles, and falls against the iron rod fence surrounding the park. Taiga groans and coughs. It's wet and stings. His mouth tastes bitter, like iron, and he wipes at the liquid that trickles down his chin.
Using the iron rods of the fence, Taiga drags himself to the entrance. His knees knock together, and he wants to fall, but he holds himself up. There's a glimmer of hope in his soul, and he prays that one of his old friends will be there. A larger part of him wants to squash this hope, wants him to lie down and give up because really, why would they be out wandering at two in the morning, but Taiga refuses to give in.
Taiga steps through the entrance, steps under the iron arch that welcomes all to the park. He pushes off the fence. He makes it several steps and falls to his knees, then forces himself up. It's a struggle to make his knees move. He limps, because his left calf has been shot and it's going numb. He'll probably die, but he has to make it to that court. He just has to.
The path to the court is winding, long, serpentine, and Taiga is dizzy. He wants to fall over, but he sees the court in the near distance. He drags his left leg through the snow, because it stops responding eventually. He's so tired. His breath puffs before him, crystals that slip through his fingers and disappear into the night. He's almost there. The pounding in his head is joined by a ringing. The edges of his vision are turning black. Just a few more steps. His heart's on fire, it'll give out soon, he's sure of it.
Taiga stands in the center of the court, a trail of blood behind him. He falls to his butt and then his back, spreads his arms out and stares at the sky. He thinks of Tatsuya and Alex, of Aomine and Kise and Kuroko, Akashi and Murasakibara and Midorima and Momoi. He chokes on a sob. He wanted to play basketball with them.
His vision is going black. Despite the pounding and ringing, he thinks he hears familiar voices. He thinks he feels hands, gentle yet frantic on his broken body. He thinks he sees a rainbow.
Taiga forgets the world.
When Taiga wakes up, he's in something so soft he thinks he's dead. The white ceiling doesn't help. He blinks and tries to turn his head, but he whimpers. It hurts, his head is pounding, There's a yell, and he winces because it's so loud, but then there's a face above him, a face he thought he would never see again. Night blue eyes stare at him, and then a head of blue cotton candy pops into his sight. Taiga inhales sharp. A hand holds his, and he squeezes it. There's something on his face, but he doesn't mind. Not when there's a hand in his hair, smoothing down the wild locks.
Taiga is half asleep, but he hears them talking. Every single Saturday, they day they had met up all those years ago, his old friends would sneak out at night and try to find him. Taiga falls asleep, and forgets what he heard the next time he wakes up.
Aomine and Kuroko are allowed to stay with him during his questioning. There are two police officers in the room, a trainee and a veteran. Aomine's father is the veteran officer. The young man named Logan is the trainee. Aomine's father says that Logan won't speak, just take notes. Taiga doesn't have to respond if he doesn't want to. Taiga is shaking, but he nods. Aomine's hand tightens around his, and Kuroko shuffles closer. Taiga wishes he could sit up.
"Who hurt you?"
Taiga lips his trembling lips, eyes darting this way and that before landing on the blankets covering his legs. "Chasers."
"Chasers?"
"Yeah."
"What do 'chasers' do?"
Taiga's fingers twitch, and a machine beeps. "Hunt traitors."
Aomine's father blinks twilight blue eyes at him. "Why were they chasing you?"
Taiga fidgets and frowns. "'M a traitor."
Logan frowns and says nothing, Aomine's father leans forward a bit. "Why do you think you're a traitor?"
Taiga remembers blood and tears. He remembers running and jumping. He remembers large hands holding him down. Hot breath tickles the back of his neck, and he convulses. He has to force himself to remember that the man is not there as officer Aomine tries to calm him down. Taiga doesn't realize he broke out into a sweat until a bead dribbles down his nose.
"I hate them," His voice cuts into their frantic voices. His vision blurs and his eyes water, and he hates that he's crying, but he can't help it. "I don't wanna live like that anymore," He chokes on his breath. "In a cage."
"Were you in a cage?"
Taiga hesitates, shakes his head no, nods yes, then shrugs. "You can't run, you can't hide."
Aomine lets Taiga squeeze his hand.
"Why did you escape?"
Taiga thinks of Tatsuya, of the ring dangling from his neck. He thinks of blood pooling on the ground, of a young boy wailing from confusion and terror. "Because it needs to stop." Taiga lifts his head, stares into officer Aomine's eyes. "I have to save them!"
Officer Aomine reaches out, hand gentle on Taiga's cheek. "For now, you've done more than enough. You can rest easy now."
Taiga breaks.
Two months pass by at an agonizing pace. The sun rises and sets, the moon waxes and wanes, and it's so mundane in the hospital. But Taiga has a bed, and clothes, and he's warm, he can eat, so he doesn't complain.
When Taiga leaves the hospital, he stays with Kise. Kise's house is huge, and the blond is ecstatic to invite Taiga into his home, going on and on about getting to have a brother and how it's just the two of them because his sisters, their sisters, are in college or they have jobs, and they're going to have a blast together.
They all know his whole name now, Kagami Taiga, and they switch between using Kagami and Taiga based on their mood and their place. It's proper manners in Japanese culture, and Taiga is conflicted because he grew up speaking Japanese but learned few of the cultural quirks, and he's been speaking English for the past few years. He lets them switch between his first and last name, and he does the same out of respect.
"And this is our room Taiga!" Kise, no it's Ryouta because they're on a first name basis now, drags him into the bedroom. It's large. The walls are covered in posters of models and basketball players and singers and Taiga is overwhelmed by the number and size of them all. The carpet is soft beneath his toes, warm and fuzzy and he didn't know anything could feel like this before. There's a basketball on the floor by the bed, clothes by the closet, and Taiga can't help but feel comfortable. "Look over there Kagamicchi!" Ryouta points to a wall, the wall behind their two beds. Taiga's eyes widen. He steps closer. "They're photos of all of us!"
Ryouta and Tetsuya eating popsicles outside of a convenience store. Tetsuya and Seijuurou standing stiff as boards singing karaoke while Daiki and Ryouta try to force them into outrageous hats. Shintarou and a lucky item. Daiki chasing Momoi with a beetle. Atsushi sharing a snack with Seijuurou. Tetsuya putting a popsicle down Daiki's back. Atsushi lifting Ryouta. Shintarou yelling at Daiki, who's shoving a lewd magazine in his face with an impish grin. Momoi hugging Tetsuya. All of them and Taiga together in a poorly aimed selfie when they were younger. All of them in the hospital, a photograph taken by Daiki's father.
Taiga grins and turns to Ryouta. The blond is smirking, but it's kind and playful, not cruel. Taiga decides to tease. "You're light enough for Atsushi to pick up?"
"Shut up Kagamicchi!"
He can't breathe. There's pressure on his throat, in his lungs, it's dark, and he can't breathe. Taiga gasps and struggles. Something is on him. He flails and kicks and whimpers escape his throat. He's on something soft and soon, he falls to the floor with a thud. Taiga whines, high pitched, and tears sting his eyes like arrows. His legs are trapped and he claws and thrashes and he's shaking with each cry and then the light is on. He's still hyperventilating, and he kicks back at the things on his legs until his back is against the wall. He whines, but then there's a familiar face in front of him. Kise. Ryouta.
"It's okay, Taiga, it's alright, look at me Taiga. Look, see, it's Ryouta, you're safe here, alright?" Ryouta rips the blankets off of Taiga's legs and then puts his hands on Taiga's tear-stained cheeks. Taiga hiccups, eyes darting. He can't stop shivering. Ryouta frowns, his brows furrow, and he bites his lower lip. He reaches to the side, and Taiga jolts because he can't see Ryouta's hand and he knows it's stupid because this is Ryouta and Ryouta won't hurt him. Ryouta sends him a small smile and brings a glass of water to Taiga's hands. Taiga can't hold it well, he's shaking too much, so Ryouta helps him take a few tentative sips. Then he sits and waits, talks about school and tells Taiga stories about their friends until Taiga is calm but exhausted. Ryouta helps him into bed, but as he goes to his own, Taiga grips his hand. Taiga flushes, feels inexplicably vulnerable, but Ryouta only smiles and slips into bed with him after turning off the light. He says nothing in the morning, and tells no one about what had transpired, and Taiga tries to figure out how to say thank you.
(It happens many more times. Each time, Ryouta helps. Each time, Taiga thanks him before passing out.)
"Your lucky item of the day is a no. 5 pencil," Shintarou hands him the pencil. Taiga stares at it and then grins.
"Is yours a stuffed frog?"
"Yes."
Taiga snickers.
"What are you doing, Kagami-kun?"
"Gah! Kuroko, when did you get there?"
"I've been here all along, Kagami-kun."
"Geh...wanna join?" Taiga holds out a marker. His fingers are covered in black ink, much like Daiki's face. Tetsuya smiles and takes it.
"Should I draw flowers?"
Sometimes, Taiga is jittery. He doesn't know why, but he now he feels like there are ants in his pants and he can't stand still. He's with Shintarou and Atsushi, and they're waiting outside of a convenience store while the others buy the popsicles inside. Taiga switches from jumping up and down in place, to rolling from heel to toe, all the while shaking from an anticipation for something that won't come.
"Kaga-chin, here," Taiga looks to Atsushi, who's holding his phone out for the other boy. "I pulled up that game." Taiga's eyes glimmer and he nods.
"Thanks," he takes the phone and sees the game. He licks his lips, still shaking, but he can stand still now as his fingers tap over the screen in fast motions. He's focused on the game, and his breathing slows. He barely notices it when something soft lands on his head. But then Taiga blinks and pauses the game, looking up with furrowed brows. Shintarou is standing there, adjusting his glasses.
"Your lucky item today is a hat with a cat face."
Taiga blinks, decides not to question where and when Shintarou found the hat, then smiles, "Thanks," and turns back to the game. He's not shivering anymore, and after ages the others come out of the store holding all of the requested snacks and popsicles, laughing at some joke Daiki made.
"Why is this game so hard?"
"It's not that hard, Kagami-kun."
"Watch and learn, you can do it."
"But Akashi, it makes no sense!"
"Taiga, it's not that hard."
"But you're one of the best players in the city!"
"So?"
"So how am I supposed to beat you?"
"You can't. No one can."
"I'm gonna kick your ass."
Taiga's in the park with Seijuurou and Tetsuya, and he feels shame floods his veins when he can't pass by the dog that's tied up to a bench, wagging his tail and staring at Taiga with big, round, brown eyes. Taiga takes several steps back, lips pressed together.
"Kagami-kun, what's wrong?" Tetsuya asks as a few kids run by. The dog sits and barks and Taiga jolts a bit.
"Uh, ah, well, it's just, I, uh, I don't, um, like dogs." Taiga somehow manages to say it, all the while locking eyes with the dog. It's one of his tamer fears. He's faced many a trained, vicious dog in his childhood. They don't send him into panic attacks when he sees them now, but passing by them is nearly impossible.
Seijuurou and Tetsuya blink at each other and then Tetsuya is by Taiga's side, pushing him forward while Seijuurou distracts the dog, who's now in the shade of the tree behind the bench drinking water from a bowl. Tetsuya says, "Kagami-kun, you need to walk yourself. You're too large for me to push without you walking. Kagami-kun, are you listening to me? Kagami-kun, I'm weak, you know this very well, please walk," and Taiga can't help but laugh, even if it's a laugh tinged by nerves.
The dog barks when someone walks out of the nearest restroom and calls the dog's name, and Taiga jolts, but Tetsuya keeps pushing until they're far from the dog and at the basketball court. There, Taiga can relax, and he grumbles out a "thank you" to his two friends. Tetsuya teases hin a bit. Taiga's annoyed, but he doesn't mind too much, not now.
"Oh what, the ace can't get over the fact that he lost a one-on-one for the first time?"
"Shut up!"
"Then stop pouting!"
"I'll beat your ass!"
"Not before I shoot this basket!"
"You asshole, get back here!"
Satsuki really, really likes shopping. So much that she goes every weekend. She always browses for hours until she finds exactly what she wants. The only reason she has the money to go shopping every weekend is because she babysits five nights a week for four different families. She never wants to go alone though, no, she'll drag all of them with her.
They're not all reluctant though. Ryouta loves shopping as much as Satsuki, he is an up-and-coming model after all, and the two are constantly admiring the newest fashion trends. They're the best-dressed in school according to Tetsuya, and Taiga doesn't doubt it one bit. Shintarou has no qualms about going, mostly because he needs to buy his lucky items as dictated by Oha Asa. Taiga doesn't understand how he has room for all of the lucky items he's bought, but Shintarou never fails to have the lucky item by his side.
Taiga doesn't know why she doesn't stop there, but she proceeds to get all of them to go. She'll bribe Atsushi out of his house with snacks and candy and buys him food when he's hungry while they're out. Seijuurou only goes because he thinks it's amusing to watch them all shop, and he likes to analyze their thought processes. Taiga knows he also finds it fun if the fond look in his eyes is any indication, but Taiga doesn't tell them out of fear of getting stabbed. Sometimes Seijuurou acts a little strange, and the epitome of that is the scissors incident where he almost stabbed Daiki and Taiga for being loud when he was irritated. Taiga loves Seijuurou, but damn if he's not intimidated by the shorter red head.
Tetsuya is easy enough to drag along. Satsuki will drag him out of the house, and Tetsuya is pathetically weak so any resistance he puts up is futile. Taiga wonders when he'll get "guns" one day. He hopes he does, because Tetsuya has this annoying habit of standing up to people who can and will beat him up, and they won't always be there to save him.
Daiki...Daiki is the most reluctant to go. Satsuki always picks Taiga and Ryouta up first because it's on the way to Daiki's house. Watching Satsuki get Daiki, one of the laziest people Taiga knows, out of bed cannot be described in one work. Every time, without fail, Taiga watches as she drags the larger, muscular boy off the bed with his covers and pillows. Each time, he lands with a loud "thwack" and groans, and she complains that he's heavy. Taiga wonders how strong Satsuki is to drag Daiki out of bed every Sunday, and he figures she must be a monster because Daiki is by no means little. Then, he watches her almost rip the Mai-chan magazines to shreds when Daiki still refuses to get up, and Taiga laughs each time Daiki chases her around the room. When she puts the magazines in her backpack and threatens to burn them at home if Daiki isn't ready to leave in ten minutes, Daiki always choses to get ready instead of let her burn his precious Mai-chan. She never asks Taiga and Ryouta to help, and in fact told Taiga not to offer help the first time she did this with Taiga there (Taiga wonders if she's secretly a sadist), so they always watch and by the end are out of breath from laughing.
They're in the middle of their mall trip right now and Satsuki decided today she would cling to Taiga's arm. Typically she clings to Tetsuya's arm, sometimes Daiki's or Ryouta's, but she's never clung to Taiga's arm. Taiga doesn't really know what to do except let her lead him around the mall.
"What do you think, Tai-chan?" She's standing, tilted to the side with her hands behind her back, a huge smile on her face. She's trying on a new outfit, and she had put Taiga in a chair so he could tell her what he thought.
Taiga has absolutely no idea about what's fashionable or not.
"It, uh, it looks good?"
"Tai-chan! You have to be positive!"
"It makes your boobs look even bigger," Daiki says from next to Taiga. Taiga snorts, face flushed at Daiki's bluntness. Satsuki flushes, rips off her shoe, and throws it at Daiki. It hits him in the face and he curses.
"Dai-chan, you're so mean!"
"Shut up! You asked me to tell you what I thought!"
"No, I asked Tai-chan!"
"But you dragged me in here too!"
"So Tai-chan wouldn't be alone!"
"You never care about me being alone when you drag me in here."
"Because you don't care Dai-chan." Satsuki huffs and turns, walking back into the changing room. Taiga's trying to say something but can't seem to form words. Next to him, Daiki is seething.
"Aominecchi, that was mean you know."
Ryouta comes out of the men's dressing room. He doesn't even ask their opinion, and Taiga assumes it's because Ryouta looks good in anything and he doesn't need much help when trying on clothes. Aomine sneers.
"I just want my Mai-chan back," Aomine crosses his arms. Ryouta sighs and looks at Daiki, hand on his hip like a disapproving mother.
"You're such a pervert, Aominecchi."
"Shut up! I don't wanna hear that from a womanizer!"
Taiga laughs, because what else can he do?
"You cannot have my luck pencil!"
"But I'm going to fail this test Midorimacchi!"
"Then you should study!"
"I did!"
"Then you played video games for three hours."
"Kagamicchi!"
"Goodbye Kise."
"Wait, Midorimacchi, save me!"
Taiga is at Daiki's house when a storm knocks out the power. The two are alone that night. Daiki's father had the night shift and his mother had driven to East Blue one hour ago because something had popped up with Daiki's grandmother.
Normally, Taiga is okay with the dark. Ryouta had bought a soft night light and put it in their room, but even then he could manage without it as long as the city lights didn't turn off. Now though, the entire block was dark, thunder crashed, rain poured, and Taiga's nerves were in overdrive. He's a jittering mess, curled up on the couch with a blanket while Daiki searches for flashlights and snacks so they can pass the time. Taiga doesn't have a phone, and he doesn't want one just yet when sudden, jarring noises can make his fight-or-flight instincts run haywire. So he's sitting on the couch without light, eyes closed, hoping Daiki is quick.
The couch shifts and then Daiki is next to him, holding a mountain of snacks, a flashlight, and another blanket. Daiki puts the food and flashlight on the table to wrap himself in the blanket and then shuffles closer to Taiga. Daiki reaches out for the flashlight to turn it on and directs the light at the ceiling. Thunder crashes and lightning strikes and Taiga flinches. Daiki pulls him closer, makes him lay down on his lap, and Taiga sighs. He sighs again, exasperated this time, when he watches Daiki pull out a magazine of Mai-chan from the pile of snacks. Daiki snickers and opens it with a hum. Taiga rolls his eyes and shuts his eyes. Daiki's hand is in his hair, scratching the red locks with gentle fingers, and even though a storm is raging outside and it's still dark, Taiga falls asleep.
"This is huge."
"I know. It's delicious."
"How did you find this place?"
"I was bored and hungry."
"Are you always hungry?"
"Yeah. Kaga-chin, you are too."
"Wnmpf cmm hrr nnn nshh wmm?"
"Kaga-chin speak normally."
"Wanna come here next week?"
"I come here every day."
It's midnight, and it's cold. The autumn air is crisp and sharp. Taiga inhales. He's fourteen. He was born on the second day of August fourteen years ago. Shintarou said he was a Leo, but Taiga didn't understand what it meant, except that being a Leo affects his Oha Asa predictions.
Taiga was an only child, the would-have-been oldest child to a young couple who was murdered in their apartment twelve years ago. Taiga has no other living relatives. It's old news, he learned this while in the hospital, but sometimes the knowledge grates his nerves.
The basketball pounds on the ground, a dull repetitive thunk that soothes his soul. Taiga runs around on the court, passing the ball between his hands, and shoots. The ball sinks, and he sprints to catch it. He dribbles to the other net, imagines obstacles, and shoots. It bounces off the rim. Taiga goes for the rebound, but it's pushed out of his way. Taiga's eyes land on Daiki, who's smirking.
"What's wrong? Getting timid, Taiga?"
Daiki dribbles around Taiga's block, feints left and moves right, and then the two boys are running down the court. Daiki tosses and gets the basket.
They play for an hour until it's even darker, even harder to see as clouds roll beneath the moon at a snail's pace. They lay on the ground on their backs, covered in sweat. They pant, and Taiga smacks his lips together out of thirst.
"Why'd you call me out?" Daiki asks, using the sheer force of his abdomen to sit up. For a fourteen year old, he's strong. Taiga huffs.
"I wanted to play basketball, Ahomine."
Daiki gives him a scowl and shoves his legs with his foot. "It's hard to see at night Bakagami."
A beat of silence passes, then Taiga curls on his side, not looking at the other young teen.
"Have they found that kid yet?"
Daiki blinks.
"Why don't you ask my dad yourself?"
"I don't wanna go to your house."
"Why, 'cause we just got a German Shepherd?"
"Yeah!"
"I don't get why you hate dogs so much, they're awesome."
Taiga thinks about the dogs that bite on command, turns over, and punches Daiki in the gut. Daiki wheezes and glares, smacks Taiga over the head, and grumbles. "You're just an idiot with four eyebrows."
"I don't have four eyebrows."
"Keep telling yourself that, Bakagami."
They fall silent after Taiga mumbles some curses at him. Taiga sits up, then forces himself to his feet. His hands are shoved in the pocket of his pullover sweatshirt. He stands rooted to the spot. Daiki scowls.
"They haven't found him yet."
Taiga nods. There's a searing in his gut, and he wants to go back, wants to save those kids he left behind, because he somehow saved his own ass and no one else's, but Taiga's a coward. He's a coward, and he can't help the sobs that wrack his frame. Daiki stands and lets Taiga bury his face in the crook of his neck, lets Taiga hide from the world for just a little bit.
Shintarou's mother is a psychologist and she diagnoses Taiga with a plethora of mental illnesses two days after he called Daiki to play basketball at midnight. It had been seven months coming, and Taiga doesn't know how to feel. The one that sticks out the most is PTSD. He has yet to muster the courage to try and go to school, firstly because he can't read, and secondly because there are too many instances someone can sneak up on him and send him into a panic attack. It's happened before, multiple times, even when he was still on the streets, and each time he's left confused. He doesn't know who he is, where he is, or who the people with him are. It destroys his nerves and he's not ready, not yet.
Sometimes though, he goes to their basketball practices after hours and watches them. They all play club basketball on the same team, but play on separate high school teams. School basketball season is approaching, and his rainbow-haired friends are always in the gym, practicing with each other and occasionally others to get better. They want to be faster, they want to shoot with accuracy, they want to be the best. Overall, they want to have fun. But as autumn turns to winter, Taiga has to remind them all the time that winning isn't everything. He thinks their coaches, their mentality is wrong. Taiga will toss a ball at their face, or outshoot them in a one-on-one, or beat them running or jumping, or overpower them to bring them back to reality. And each time they're angry, they cuss him out, and sometimes that drives Taiga into a wall. He retreats, regresses, and comes back to himself with hands on his shoulders and tears on his cheeks, but he thinks that as long as his friends don't fall into a pit, it's worth it.
The only one he doesn't worry about getting a competitive streak is Tetsuya, who thinks like Taiga in that winning isn't everything. Taiga can't beat the monsters alone all the time, so Tetsuya helps him with his freakish ability to disappear and reappear like he's some kind of living ghost, and it works out. They get closer, and Tetsuya becomes braver. He calls the others out when they're wrong, when they're jerks, when they're inconsiderate. Sometimes Taiga calls him stupid for it, but others he can't help but think Tetsuya is the bravest idiot he knows.
They can't prevent their friends downward spiral like this forever. It gets worse, and drastic measure must be taken to save their friendship.
"Tetsuya, are you alright?"
"Yes, Taiga. Why do you ask?"
"You've been...tired."
"...I am tired, Taiga."
"..."
"I don't want to lose them. Satsuki, she cried the other day."
"..."
"I don't know what to do, Taiga."
"...I have an idea."
Taiga feels like he can understand Seijuurou to an extent. He knows that, when he's watching one of their practices in winter with a camera in hand because Shintarou is adamant on watching himself play to get better, Seijuurou wants to play basketball with his friends and win with his friends. He wants to be the best, because he grew up being told that anything but the best is unacceptable. They had talked in the past before about Seijuurou's home, and Taiga wonders it's possible to have a house and parents yet still have so much pain. But still, Seijuurou is in pain, all of Taiga's friends are in pain, and Taiga has to stop it.
Taiga can tell that Seijuurou will lose to Atsushi. He feels like that'll be bad, because the two are such good friends. Atsushi doesn't mind following Seijuurou, who though is short in stature has the personality of a lion. However, Atsushi is physically stronger, and for that reason (amongst others), he doesn't want to listen to Seijuurou. Seijuurou won't be the best, and Taiga can't help but think he'll lose more than a basketball game if he does lose.
A few minutes pass. Sneakers squeak on the floor and the ball thuds each time it bounces. The atmosphere is tense, and Taiga knows Seijuurou is about to lose. Whenever they all play on that court in the park, no matter what team Seijuurou is on, he never loses. He has the best grades, is number one in the class, and he never loses. So when Atsushi and Seijuurou are tied, he throws a ball straight at Atsushi's face. Then at Seijuurou's face for good measure.
The balls fall to the ground and bounce, and everyone is silent and staring at Taiga. His face is hot and he's tense and shaking and he is angry because his friends shouldn't be fighting. Even if not all of them are there at that moment, they shouldn't be fighting.
"Competition is supposed to be fun, it's not supposed to destroy your friendship!"
Shintarou is staring at Taiga wide-eyed, and Satsuki looks like she's about to cry.
("Taiga, I'm worried."
"About what?"
"Dai-chan, and Tetsu-kun...all of them…"
"Is this about their club team?"
"Yeah. Everyone wants them to win. They're being pitted against each other, in club basketball and when their school teams face each other, but it's not fair. They just want to have fun. Winning is fun, but this is too much...")
"I thought you guys wanted to have fun!"
The first time Daiki says "The only one who can beat me is me," Taiga kicks him in the ass, challenges him to a one-on-one, and beats him. It's rare that Taiga ever can beat him in a one-on-one, but he put everything he had into this. He couldn't let them fall deeper.
"Ryouta, why do you want to be like Aomine-kun?"
"Shut up!"
"You don't."
"Shut up, Kuroko!"
"Not until you talk."
"About what Kuroko?"
"Why you haven't been yourself."
Taiga watches the two with his mouth closed. They're in the park, and Ryouta starts crying, and Taiga is in awe at how easily Tetsuya can bring Ryouta back to reality.
Taiga's meddling effectively ends their struggles as he tears down their insecurities one by one and rips them to shreds. Frustration, pain, fear, it's all nothing in the face of the boy with naturally two-colored hair and ferocious eyebrows. He calls Tetsuya the bravest idiot he knows, but Tetsuya calls him a dumb, noble sap.
It's the dead of winter, and snow is on the ground, but they're at a convenience store buying a box of popsicles after practice because they are starving. Taiga and Atsushi buy a box to share, because they can eat too much.
They're sitting outside on a bench, chatting and laughing and cursing at each other when they bicker, when Taiga hears a familiar voice say "Atsushi."
"Ah, Muro-chin."
Taiga looks up. He gapes, and the popsicle in his mouth falls. He hasn't noticed him yet.
"Tatsuya?"
Tatsuya turns and their eyes meet. Tatsuya's eyes are so wide, the exact same color that Taiga remembers, the stunning gray-black that always smiled when Taiga did. Atsushi shifts.
"Do you guys know each other?" It's Ryouta who asks, grin wide and oblivious.
Taiga cries and flings himself at Tatsuya. They're about the same height now. They're not deathly thin. Taiga sobs into his shoulder and Tatsuya clutches his back in a vice grip. His neck is wet, but he doesn't care. His shirt and pants are stained from the popsicle he dropped, but he doesn't care.
Alex hugs him and buries her face in his hair, and Taiga can't help but think that everything will be ok as he wails, back with the two people who he missed, back with the two people who thought he was dead.
On weekdays he sleeps at Alex's house, and on weekends he sleeps at Ryouta's house, because Ryouta's family already adopted him. He decides to just have two families, and they let him. He brings Tatsuya to watch basketball games, and learns that the older is still playing, is on a high school basketball team with Atsushi. They play each other one-on-one sometimes, and Tatsuya is so good, it's hard to beat him, just as when they were kids. But Taiga tries and tries and tries, and they try their best to keep the competition friendly, because the last thing they need is to lose each other again.
They were holding hands.
The sun is warm, the breeze is cool, and Taiga decides he loves spring. Daiki and Taiga's hands were interlocked, loose yet tight because they wouldn't let go. Taiga's face feels warm, and a glance out of the corner of his eye tells him that Daiki is flushed and embarrassed but not letting go. They're sitting on the basketball court in that park as the sun goes down. Ryouta and Tetsuya are facing off against Seijuurou and Shintarou at one basket. Tatsuya and Atsushi are shooting baskets at the other, waiting to play the winner of the match.
"What's this?"
Taiga looks to his left, to the entrance, and sees a boy their age stalk in. The hairs on the back of his head flare and he feels like this boy is dangerous. Tatsuya might feel the same thing, he does tense, but he looks unsure. Daiki's grip becomes stronger, harder, and Taiga knows his gut feeling is right.
The black haired boy turns to them and sneers.
"What are you doing here, Shougo?"
Taiga sees Atsushi frown, shoulders slump, and he shuffles. Taiga's lips twitch.
"What do you think? I saw you guys out here and thought I would come join the fun."
"You should leave, Haizaki-kun."
"Hah? Since when did I ever take orders from you, Te-tsu-ya?"
"Haizaki," Daiki stands, their hands separate, and Taiga moves to his feet. "Leave."
"Why?" Haizaki smirks then sneers. "So that you fags can-"
Daiki's fist lashes out. Taiga gapes, watching as Haizaki hits the wire fence. His nose is bleeding and he's glaring. Daiki's fist trembles. Haizaki spits at his feet and leaves. Daiki turns to Taiga, brows furrowed and nostrils flared. Taiga nods before he even finishes asking "One-on-one?"
The July sun beats down. Taiga can see the waves of heat along the asphalt, distorting it until it looks like water covers the ground. He's panting, cheeks warm and forehead covered in sweat. He tips back the water bottle in his hand to gulp down large sips. He's on a run because he found out how soothing it is to run without running from something or someone. He's taking a quick break. He's a half hour from Ryouta's, at the peer of the "New World" as some of his friends call it. On the beach below, people are screaming with laughter and swimming. Taiga wants to learn how to swim, and he wonders if this is the summer that he'll do it.
"So this is what happened to their favorite boy toy."
Taiga flinches and whips his head to the right. One of the men who used to beat him on a daily basis stands there, leaning on the wooden railing. Taiga steps back, fingers tight around the bottle. His heart is pounding. He gulps.
"You know, once they find out you're alive, they're going to come after you."
Taiga stares. He knows that if they come after him, they'll find Tatsuya and Alex and all of the friends he was forced to abandon all those years ago because of the messed up values and ideas the masters instilled in him. Taiga snarls. The plastic bottle crinkles in his fingers.
"Oh, touchy touchy, you're not afraid to stand up for yourself now. That's no good," The man turns to him with a twinkle in his eyes. "You're supposed to be submissive."
Taiga decks the man. He falls to the wooden floor with a cackle. Taiga stands there, torso heaving with each breath he takes. The man smirks. People are staring at them, Taiga can feel the eyes on his back. The man sits up. "You would've been an excellent 'master' if you hadn't run away."
Taiga leaps on him and punches him again. Then again. And again. People scream, and hands are on him, pulling him away while the other man cackles. Pressure builds in Taiga's eyes and his knuckles are hot and wet. Taiga screams, he doesn't know if he says anything, but it's loud and filled with every ounce of repressed emotion he has in his body, heart, and soul. He breaks out of the grip and attacks the man again, but the man doesn't fight back. He smirks and sneers and whispers words to damage Taiga even more. He rips off all the bandaids Taiga had put on his scars and tears off the scabs and Taiga is ten again, fighting futilely against the large hands that hold him down and laugh when he wails.
The hands pull him off, and he doesn't struggle this time. He's shaking, falling into oblivion, and the man is cackling, being held far away while he screams expletives and verbal abuse that has the strangers covering his mouth, shouting for the police because no one knows what just happened. All they know is that the one who had been throwing the punches has a dead look in his eyes. Someone holds Taiga close, and he can only stare at the man who just undid more than a year of hard work in five minutes.
Although he's larger, Taiga is curled into Tetsuya's side like a young child. He texted Tetsuya first, because he thought Tetsuya wouldn't overwhelm him, which was the last thing he needs. Guilt pools in his gut, but Taiga knows the last thing he needs is loud screaming and rage-filled eyes directed at an unknown enemy.
Tetsuya had brought Taiga to his house, where they're now curled up in his room on his bed. Tetsuya runs his fingers through Taiga's hair and is silent except for an occasional hum. His other hand is running over his back, making patterns and shapes with no purpose other than to soothe. Taiga knows that Tetsuya is upset, had seen it when he picked him up from the police station when he clenched his fists, but Tetsuya understands Taiga's need for silence and he doesn't speak.
Taiga passes out like that, and then wakes up to soft voices muffled behind a closed door. There's a night light plugged in, and Taiga is thankful because it's just bright enough that he can see. He doesn't think he can deal with pitch black darkness right now.
Taiga sits up and turns his head to the door. There are multiple voices speaking, and he can pick each one out with ease. Daiki's voice is a whisper filled with seething rage. Tetsuya's is even, protective. Tatsuya's is quiet but dark. He doesn't know if anyone else is here, but he hopes no one else is. He doesn't know how many people he can handle right now.
Taiga stands and steps up to the door, cracking it open enough that they can see him through the open door. It's only the three of them, and their mouths snap shut upon seeing him. Taiga gulps, and his heart clenches at their stares, but then Tatsuya is hugging him and Taiga clutches him back, hands shaking from an anxious dread that won't go away.
Taiga doesn't think he'll ever be healed. Not completely. It's cliche to think, but he knows that he'll have scars that won't ever fade, physically and mentally. Tatsuya is in the same boat, and sometimes the two go to therapy together. They've been through alot, together and separate. It doesn't matter who suffered longer or worse, they don't care about that. All they care about is healing, and sometimes it's best to do that together.
Sometimes when Taiga sleeps over, Tatsuya has night terrors. They're not as frequent as Taiga's, but they're still there. When he does, Taiga clutches Tatsuya close until the monsters disappear and whispers comforts to him, reminds him of their now mundane lives, which are so normal they're spectacular. When Taiga has night terrors, Tatsuya holds him close and nuzzles his head, tells him stories about school and Alex and anything else he can think of. The brothers are broken, but they have each other back, and they don't plan on losing each other ever again.
Daiki kisses him. It's a peck, short and quick. Taiga is baffled, cheeks warm and he assumes he's blushing just as bad or worse than Daiki is. Daiki is staring right at his eyes though, and Taiga gulps because those night blue eyes are too gorgeous, too overwhelming. Some leaves are blown down the street, and the air is cold enough their breath puffs in each other's faces, but the moon is huge and shining down on them. Taiga hadn't thought much of his surroundings, but now he's so aware of everything because Daiki just kissed him and it's Taiga's first kiss that's not forced and he never thought kissing could make his stomach flutter in such a pleasant way.
They had just watched a varsity-level basketball game. They had cheered the loudest, ate the most, and were the most obnoxious people in the gym, but they couldn't help it. Basketball was their drug, and watching amazing players together got them on an inexplicable high. Now though, they were alone at the bus stop and Daiki just kissed him. Taiga had been a bit nervous, narrowing his eyes into the dark and muttering about dogs and beasts disguised as men while a fine tremor ran down his spine. Daiki's arm around his shoulder had calmed him, and then they were so close, and they were alone, and Daiki kissed him. Him. Taiga, the boy who still had so many problems that he couldn't yet attend school. Taiga, the boy who was a broken mess. Taiga, the boy who was by no means a virgin, whereas Daiki (as much as he loved Mai-chan) was as pure as raw sugar.
"Go out with me, Bakagami." Taiga blinks, because Daiki is flushing even more, fidgeting even though his arm is still around Taiga's shoulder, and Taiga laughs because he looks adorable like this. Daiki tenses, but then Taiga pecks his lips.
"You're so bad at this for someone who loves Mai-chan so much, Ahomine."
Daiki flushes and glares, but it's a glare of embarrassment, not of rage. "Shut up!" And Taiga is laughing now, so loud people across the street stare. He only stops because Daiki kisses him. Taiga thinks it's the perfect way to be told "shut up".
"Kagami-kun," Daiki's father speaks up. Taiga, Ryouta, Tetsuya, Satsuki, and Daiki are eating dinner at Daiki's house. It's spring, and they're eating hot pot even though the weather is warm because all of them love hot pot, and Daiki's dad doesn't care as long as they finish it before Daiki's mother sees. Taiga looks up from his third serving, chewing on a mouthful of food, and grunts. Daiki snorts, which makes Satsuki and Tetsuya smile, which causes Ryouta to grin with mischief in his eyes. "Do you remember the boy you told me about?"
Taiga blinks and swallows. He licks his lips, shoulders hunching. He remembers all too well. "Ace?" Daiki's father nods. "What about him?"
Daiki's father stares at him from the kitchen doorway for a few seconds, and dread begins to flood Taiga's veins, but then Daiki's father says "We found him," and all of Taiga's fears are washed away by a wave. Taiga inhales, and Daiki's father smiles. He disappears into the kitchen for a moment, then comes back out with a photograph in hand and he brings it to Taiga. Taiga's eyes widen.
"It's the only photo we could get of them, they're still nervous, but Logan wanted you to see this. He's taken them in. They're in East Blue now."
Taiga's eyes scan the photograph, picking out every detail he can. Ace is older, deathly skinny like Taiga once was, but he looks healthier. He's holding a young blond boy's hand, and the younger boy is pulling on Ace's hand with a huge grin on his face, pointing to the camera, which Ace is oblivious to. There's a teenager standing next to Ace, and he looks disgruntled and annoyed. The baby in his arms is mid-squirm, mouth open wide and large eyes directed at the camera. It's posed, and they're inside of an apartment, and Ace has nice clothes and he's wearing socks. Taiga's vision blurs, and then he's hunched over, crying with a smile on his face. There's still a long struggle ahead for all of them. However, at this moment, Taiga shoves all the guilt about not being able to save the others to the back of his mind and decides that he's going to relish this. He relishes the fact that they're going to be okay. He relishes in the fact that they have a chance, a right, to live in this world and to be happy.
"Hope is the only thing stronger than fear."
Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
A/N: This turned out a lot longer than I thought it would, but oh well! It was super fun to write, and I hope you guys all enjoyed reading it too. Thank you for reading! :)