Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Kuroko no Basket.

Summary: An unintended meeting with another kid named Akashi Seijuro turns Kagami's life upside down, especially since said acquaintance-turned-friend was a genius in his own right. While people whisper and stare in awe from afar at the prodigy, Kagami simply scoffs, not inching away from the intimidating attention. After all, red heads should stick together.

Note: While I'm sure many of you are waiting for another chapter for Standing up, I'm just as surprised as you that this incredibly unexpected idea came to light. Seriously, I have no clue how this story came about and only hope for the best.

Also, I'm going to attempt to put Akashi's father in a more sympathetic light in this fic. Not that I don't think he's a total bastard in the actual manga, but I'm just experimenting on his personality to try something new, since not much info is on the guy. This is just a warning for those who are in favor of Akashi father!bashing.

Chapter 1

[10 Years Old]

The well-wishers sobbed their eyes out in exaggerated manners. Taiga resisted the urge to fidget in his black tux as the eulogist droned on and on in an emotionless tone over the death of a woman Taiga never even knew. His father stood next to him imposingly solemn, his hand gently resting on Taiga's back to stop his movements.

For the hundredth time, Taiga wished he was anywhere but here. Standing in front of a grave of a person he had never even met before with weeping adults surrounding him was kind of a mood killer to the ten years old. It was incredibly unnerving to see so many people break down for a stranger, who was apparently an incredibly kind woman many had respected. While he did manage to feel sympathetic, he couldn't really connect to the loss personally.

The only reason why he was here in the first place and not back in America with Tatsuya and Alex was because of his father. His mother couldn't make it to the funeral due to an unexpected cold, so Taiga had to fill in her place to not make his businessman father look bad.

The logic behind it still escaped him but whatever. Grownups never made any sense.

After what felt like a few hours, the funeral finally came to a close, the body buried underground before the group of sympathizers approached the two sole grievers one by one. He and his father were just passing forward when Taiga heard some of the hushed whispers as they did.

"What is this going to do to the Akashi Company? The father's unsuitable to run it right now."

"How careless of them to allow this sickness to kill the wife off. They're rich aren't they? Why didn't they catch it sooner?"

"Wonder when Akashi-san is going to get married again. Wasn't like he cared about his wife anyway."

Taiga's lips twisted in disgust, incredulous over the snide comments.

How can these people talk about these kind of issues when they're barely three feet away from the mourning family members and in hearing distance? He shook his head at this. He'll never understand adult stupidity for the rest of his life.

He was snapped out of his irritated reverie when he felt himself being nudged forward by his father who gave him a stern look. Sighing at this, Taiga followed his also red headed father easily. No need to hold hands and all that crap about getting lost.

After navigating thoroughly around the bunch of rude supposed sympathizers and reaching the Akashis, Taiga wasn't surprised by the sight of the solemn, aristocratic looking man awaiting them.

No. It was the kid that was next to him with blazing red hair that was a brighter shade to his own that took him aback.

At the back of his mind, he wondered how in the world he could've missed him and blamed it on the height. The kid was a lot shorter than most kids he knew back in the states.

Taiga scrunched his split eyebrows together when he noticed that the kid wasn't crying, his composed expression not giving anything away. He was completely blank, emotionless. It was unnerving to watch. The only indication of emotion was the way the red head seemed to tense when they approached, as if readying himself for expected assault.

Thinking about the offensive passing undertones he just overheard, Taiga fiercely scowled.

Looking to his father as he stuck out his hand to the cold looking older Akashi, Taiga tried to roughly push down his growing temper over this whole damn situation.

It wasn't working.

"Kaito-san. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances." Kagami Shouta said. Akashi Kaito shook his hand in a firm grasp, not looking affected by the tone.

"Indeed."

Shouta sighed, glancing toward the picture of a smiling pretty woman with soft, crimson eyes before looking back at Kaito. Taiga caught the glint of respect in his father's eyes at that moment and straightened. His opinion for the deceased woman just went up a few notches; not many impressed his father.

"I'm sorry for your loss." His father said curtly but not unkindly. His to-the-point but genuine nature seemed to ease Kaito a bit if the loosening of his shoulders beneath his suit said anything. It was barely there for a second, but there was a tiny flicker of wracked grief and regret in the man's eyes before it shuttered out into detachment again.

"Thank you."

Shouta nodded before patting Taiga's shoulder in an affectionate manner. Taiga resisted the urge to squirm under his touch, especially with the kid looking at the action with some unidentifiable emotion he couldn't figure out.

"This is my son Taiga. He lives with his mother in L.A. and decided to come." Taiga had to hold back his snort. 'Decided' his ass. "She caught the flu and couldn't come so he's taking her place."

Kaito nodded and looked down to the kid before gesturing to him. "This is my son Seijuro."

Seijuro smoothly bowed with a certain grace Taiga has never seen before in someone so young. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kagami-san and Kagami-san."

Taiga twitched at the surname. After living in America for years, it was weird to have such formality directed at him. His father must've sensed his discomfort because the man suddenly looked subtly amused for no apparent reason at all. Taiga resisted the urge to kick his leg.

Shouta smiled good naturedly, expression turning less sharp. "Ah, just call me Shouta-san. It'll be less confusing that way."

Seijuro blinked and nodded obligingly. The carefully polite mask didn't even falter.

"Of course." He agreed demurely.

Shouta jerked his head, smile never leaving. "Is it alright if I talk to your father in private? I have certain business with him that I need to discuss."

Taiga whipped his head around to stare at his old man, daring him silently. He was not planning on-

"You could hang out with my son in the meantime." A flicker of good humor that Taiga did not appreciate flashed in the man's scarlet eyes. "I'm sure both of you will get along very well."

Taiga opened his mouth, ready to retort that no, he did not want to hang around a creepy kid who was probably depressed about his mother's death but was cut off when the other red headed kid nodded in agreement. Looking towards the silent Kaito who hadn't expressed his opinion yet, he was startled to see the man look at him in an assessing way.

He instantly decided he didn't like it.

After a long moment, the man nodded.

Taiga internally resolved to embarrass his father the next time they were in public. And preferably wipe the damn smirk off his face as well.

-I-

They ended up in a nearby park close to the cemetery. Taiga idly wondered why anyone would geographically locate a park full of screaming children anywhere near a gloomy place like a graveyard, especially when there's a high chance said children could stumble upon the cemetery and create chaos in their wake if the mood hits them.

Then again, people ask why genocides and wars happen before satisfying themselves with the reasoning that human beings are idiots.

Whoever came up with this explanation first, Taiga agreed with it full heartedly.

Shifting his eyes to look at the calm red head who was sitting soundlessly on the swings next to him, he was at a complete loss as to what to say. Both had yet to utter a word to each other, the Akashi seemingly lost in thought and not paying attention to him at all. For the first time since they've met though, the shorter kid's body wasn't so tightly reigned and controlled, his shoulders looser and his feet absently kicking the ground, a sign he wasn't a robot.

But now that he had an up close and personal view of the Akashi, Taiga noticed the shadowed look on the child's face, pensive and faraway in a listless way. But somehow, he can almost feel something brittle in the countenance, as if something has cracked and awoken something that shouldn't have even been touched.

Out of everything Taiga has seen so far, that was what scared him the most.

While Taiga wasn't exactly the quiet, shy type, – quite the opposite really – he had no idea how to go about dealing with someone who recently lost someone. Placations and sympathy would probably be taken as pity to the Akashi's eyes, something that Taiga wanted to avoid. He himself would be pissed off if someone did that to him if he were in the other's shoes.

After five minutes of the tense atmosphere, Taiga figuratively threw in the towel.

Screw it. He's always charged headlong into things without thinking anyway so what the hell was the difference now? It's not like he was ever going to encounter the Akashi heir again, not unless his old man had any plans on dragging him back to Japan and even that chance was slim. Besides, it wasn't like Taiga would let him in the first place after the dick move the man pulled over him.

So without further or due, he swiveled his head toward the boy's direction and blurted out the first question that came to mind.

"So what was your mom like?"

Well that certainly caught the other red head's attention. The Akashi snapped out of whatever state of reverie he had been in and sharply turned to look at him with intense, scarlet eyes. Taiga took the heat of the gaze stubbornly and without apology, simply waiting. He was curious about the woman who held his dad's attention and everyone else's.

And who knows? Maybe it'll help. Taiga was sure he heard somewhere that talking it out helped people get over their grief.

There was a long, tense pause of silence that practically loomed over the two children. Figuring that he wasn't going to talk, Taiga looked down and idly kicked the ground.

"My mom is really tough." He started. He stopped, waiting for the red head to say something. When he didn't, he continued. "She works a lot like dad and she's a terrible cook." He made a face, remembering all too well of her many failed cooking attempts. "Usually, I make the meals in the house for mom and sometimes dad when he's not on his business trips." Besides, she's too tired most of the times whenever she comes home, so it's not like she would have the time to cook, whether she's good at it or not. "Sometimes, we go out and eat burgers and have ice cream too if we have the time."

He scratched the back of his ear awkwardly and slanted his eyes to the side. The kid was staring at him, still quiet but looking as if he's actually listening to his blathering. Taiga's eyes darted toward the ground again and he plowed right to the heart of the matter.

"I don't know what it feels like to lose someone. And I don't know if you were close to your mom." He looked up, wanting to make sure that the other kid would understand what he was about to say next. He remembered how solemn and how in control the Akashi looked when they met, and how awfully lonely he seemed even now.

"But I do know that I would feel really lost if either of my parents die. So, uh, I just want you to know that it's okay to be sad or angry." He smiled wryly. "I sure as well would be. I probably would've socked those bastards in the face before the funeral even started if I were you."

Much to Taiga's satisfaction, a glimmer of life lighted the kid's eyes at his words. The hidden darkness abated if only a little bit and he felt inexplicably proud of the fact he did that. If Taiga hadn't been paying close attention at that moment, he would've missed the slight twitch at the end of the kid's mouth.

"I was tempted to." The kids' voice was smooth and soft and warm, a sense of power that Taiga could smell a mile away making him involuntarily grin.

"Heh, yeah. Grown ups can be so stupid."

Taiga counted it as a victory when a small but real smile grew on the shorter kid's face, his countenance thawing.

"They can be." He agreed. His smile fell a little at his next words. "Especially when all they want is the Akashi inheritance. Most of the people here are actually my cousins and relatives."

Taiga's eyes widened at that, outrage making him scowl as savagely as a ten year old could be allowed to.

"The hell? That's messed up! What kind of family does that?"

"My family, if I must remind you." His current acquaintance reminded him sardonically.

Taiga scoffed, throwing his head back as he did so.

"Punching them seems more and more like a good idea right about now…" he muttered. The Akashi blinked at this, startled.

"Why would you do such a thing? This is not your concern." He questioned with some puzzlement.

Taiga turned to him incredulously, taking offense. "Because it's wrong. What other reason is there?"

To Taiga's bewilderment, the Akashi actually looked taken aback, as if he never expected such a response. At the back of his mind, Taiga wondered when was the last time someone ever openly defended the kid who was his age yet was a lot more mature and guarded than him.

The thought made Taiga want to strangle those idiots and maybe the kid's father for throwing his son to the wolves to fend for himself. Slowly, a picture was starting to form about the kid's lifestyle, and Taiga wasn't liking it one bit.

Pondering over this newfound revelation, a solution came to him in the simplest form and he nodded to himself resolutely in agreement with himself.

He jumped off the swing set. Seijuro merely raised an eyebrow at his sudden action.

Taiga turned around to face him with a ready smirk, determination gleaming in his scarlet eyes.

"So, do you have a basketball anywhere by any chance?"

-II-

Shouta was just done with the world.

It had been an 11 hour flight from Los Angeles to Japan, and he hardly had been able to sleep on the flight unlike his son Taiga who had been bored out of his mind and was knocked out the entire way there, thank small miracles.

Smoking a cigarette, he swatted away the guilty thought of Azumi ever finding out. She never approved of his smoking habits, stern and nonsensical in a way only a headstrong businesswoman could. God how he loved her.

But right now, it was a special occasion. This was Akashi Miyuki they were talking about. He remembered how they became good friends in college, her charming him with her sweet and kind disposition that was rare in its genuinity. They had been friends for years, her badgering him to marry Azumi and him congratulating her for surprisingly marrying stony, deadpan Akashi Kaito who never stopped being formal to him, despite their many meetings together. Though the pair seemed mismatched to him, he could see how Miyuki was able to pull Kaito out of his shell a bit, always trying to get him to socialize.

He remembered chuckling to himself whenever she set upon those attempts. It was always amusing to see Kaito awkwardly try to start small talk with his wife's enthusiastic encouragement (he was only ever comfortable conversing when it was about the company, easy confidence rolling off of him whenever he explained some new campaign or idea he has) and looking like a dawdling, clumsy duck who was out of his element while doing so. He was never good at expressing himself, always looking at life through statistics and logic and oblivious whenever it came to people's emotional states.

Which brought back to the conversation at hand...

"So, how are you doing Kaito? And don't give me that bullshit that you're doing fine." Shouta said easily, formality dropping altogether in the presence of someone who he considered a friend. He was never so close to the Akashi due to the company head's busy schedule, but Miyuki had always made sure they had time. He ignored the sense of loss in his chest and waited for the Akashi to answer.

They were in the study hall of the mansion, well away from the stick-up-their-asses so-called family members who were even more emotionally constipated than Kaito. Shouta had to grit his teeth many times when he heard the snide comments and had felt a fierce sense of pride when he noticed his son doing the same. He had almost been tempted to praise the kid for it.

Kaito was rigidly standing by the picture frames, where one held the laughing portrait of Miyuki hugging her son, a bright warm smile lighting up her pale features. To anyone else, he looked like he was only critically analyzing the picture as if it was museum art piece.

Shouta, however, could see the wracking guilt and desperate loss one would see in a child in his slightly hunched shoulders and crossed arms that was trying to hold the man together.

Kaito shifted his stance and looked to him.

"Tired."

Shouta resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Typical.

"Care to elaborate a bit?" he said sarcastically.

"Is there anything more to say?" Kaito snapped, eyes hard. "I just lost my wife Shouta-san. And after this event, I have enough of 'I'm sorrys' to last a lifetime."

Shouta felt guilt at the sharp reprimand but felt hope at the subtle fire that was leaping in the man's eyes. Kaito's stubborn temper blazing was better than the emptiness he was succumbing to. "Well knowing you, if someone doesn't push you now you're just going to shut yourself up again like a damn hermit and that's the last thing anyone needs."

"Who? The vultures on my front lawn?" Kaito bit out. Shouta shook his head at this.

"Your son. He needs you right now, can't you see that?"

At this, all the worked up fire seemed to deplete at those words. Kaito once again looking forlorn and uncharacteristically terrified, an emotion Shouta has never seen from the man before.

"He doesn't need me Shouta," the man said softly, shocking the red head with the cut off suffix. Not in a million years did Shouta ever thought Kaito was capable of being informal. "he needs my wife. I'm not, I'm not good with kids, not like her. I don't," at this, he barked out a laugh, sounding slightly hysterical while doing so. "I have no idea what to do. How am I supposed to do this? How...?"

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Shouta rushed out, taking a wary step forward as one of his oldest friends had a mental breakdown right in front of him. "Hey, I'm not going to let you do this alone, okay? We'll get through this."

He didn't know when he suddenly decided that 'you' would change to 'we' but he didn't take back his words. They both lost Miyuki and Shouta would be damned before he let the family break apart when she's gone. At these words, Kaito seemed to calm down considerably, his breathing becoming steady and his eyes no longer as wild as before. A silence cloaked over the room until Shouta cleared his throat awkwardly at the suddenly quiet atmosphere.

"Alright, well, now that we got that over with." This earned a solid glare from the Akashi which Shouta promptly ignored. "Let's talk about what you're going to do after the funeral." Knowing Kaito, it was best to formulate a plan that could add some structure to his currently toppled life.

Kaito faltered at first and then slowly started to explain how this was going to affect the media (Akashi Corporation was a big name and the news of Miyuki's death was bound to show up on the covers, especially with how many social events and community services she has attended over the years), how other businesses would react, what Miyuki's Will left behind (Kaito had been entirely stiff throughout that part of the conversation, face carefully composed), and so on. It was only until they hit the subject of Seijuro did things start to go downhill.

"No Kaito. You can't book up Seijuro's schedule even more. That's a terrible idea." Shouta argued, flabbergasted.

"The work will distract Seijuro from the current loss of his mother. It's better this way to keep him busy." Kaito insisted.

Shouta actually groaned and dropped his head to his hands, exasperated and a bit horrified. Suddenly, he was very glad he had pushed this particular issue into the conversation. Who knew what the poor kid would've gone through if he hadn't.

From the many conversations Shouta remembered he had with Miyuki, she had always been worried over how Kaito overworked Seijuro, him honestly not seeing how hard it was on the youth since Kaito himself had gone through the same strict childhood when he was younger.

Kaito had been adamant over how it would help Seijuro in the long run, though he did bend toward Miyuki's whims from time to time when she stomped her foot on the issue. Since Kaito had the emotional capacity of a teaspoon, Miyuki usually handled Seijuro with more care while Kaito would fumble over his efforts and decide to show it by giving the child the best education money can offer, schedule on the clock in a structural way. He didn't seem to understand that Seijuro was only a child and needed some time to himself.

"Look, he's a kid who lost his mom. What he needs is support from you and others who care for him. He needs friends, people who he can relax with. Otherwise, he's going to break from the pressure from all this work you're laying on him. Hell, even I would crash from all those expectations on me."

"Do you think Miyuki hasn't tried?" Kaito snapped.

Shouta looked questioningly at Kaito at this. Kaito sighed.

"We tried to get him to talk to other kids and such, but none of it has worked. Seijuro is a genius. Other children are intimidated and jealous of him. In school, most kids avoid him due to the fact he's too smart for them to understand. He doesn't know how to make friends, and I refuse to have him subjugated to children who can't understand him-"

"Sir!" someone suddenly interrupted him, one of the servants bursting into the room before flushing when she saw Shouta. "I-I'm sorry to interrupt sir! Please forgive me!" she blubbered, mortified. Kaito's previously relaxed stance disappeared in a flash, replaced with the impeccably dressed businessman persona he portrayed.

"What is it?" he commanded. The servant quaked under the presence of her boss and stuttered out her words.

"M-Master Seijuro seems to have d-disappeared along with Kagami-kun."

At these words, both parents immediately tensed and shared a look with each other before marching out of the room, single-mindedly resolute in finding their sons.

-III-

It took fifteen minutes for the adults to find the children at the basketball court at the back of the mansion, Shouta's son's voice loud and impossible to ignore.

"Holy crap! You're seriously good at this!" he sounded absolutely giddy at this fact, grinning from ear to ear as if he won the lottery. Seijuro smiled – smiled, when was the last time he saw him do that? – and looked pleased by the compliment.

"Thank you. You are very good yourself." Seijuro praised, something that Kaito could tell Seijuro meant. Taiga whooped, face clammy from sweat and out of his black suit jacket with his collar sleeves rolled up. Seijuro was the same way.

Both looked like they were having the time of their lives.

Next to him, Shouta grinned and slyly quipped out in an innocent tone, "Not good with other kids, huh?"

"Shut up." There was a thoughtful pause. "Do you think you can bring Taiga-kun again some other time?"

"Hell yeah."

And with that, the story of Taiga and Seijuro's friendship began, the agreement between two businessmen solidifying it.

I seriously hope people will like this. I have many plans on this plot. Please review on the way out!