Hello! I didnt change much~ just added some spacing for easier reading and a couple words here and there
Please enjoy~
Dc: I don't own KnB :)
Kuroko Tetsuna dressed much slower than normal. She knew full well that her teammates wouldn't be waiting for her on the other side of those doors, not anymore. She looked down at her right hand, clenching and unclenching it, remembering how Aomine had shoved passed her the day they won the Winter Cup. "The only one that can beat me, is me"
The words echoed in her head and flowed through her body, leaving her trembling. She quickly shook her head, deciding she hated feeling this weak. She quickly grabbed her bag and headed home.
It was dawn when she started to walk, she wished she had left sooner…it would be dark by the time she got home and her siblings would worry. She sighed, she could almost hear them yelling now.
As she crossed the road, she thought of the GOM and how much they had changed in such a short amount of time. She closed her eyes and wished that she could help them be happy again, that there was a way for them all to love basketball again, and that they could all be friends again…. Kuroko, lost in her thoughts, was suddenly bathed in light. Her head snapped at the source…headlights. As the car crashed into her little body and she flew through the air, her mind unable to keep up with the speed of her external events, before she felt the unimaginable pain…she thought of the GOM and wondered who would save them when she died….
Akashi Seijiuro is absolute in his power. He controls everything in his life; his house, his school, his team, and even his friends. It was only logical to assume that he was also absolute in his dreams. From a young age, Akashi learned how to control his dreams, he never once had a nightmare, until tonight. He was sitting on the rooftop of Teiko, idly listening to the sound of the cicadas, when Tetsuna sat next to him. He smirked and said her name in recognition. Tetsuna merely nodded in response, tucking a hair behind her ear as she gazed into the distance. She had a worried look on her face, but Akashi didn't say anything. He noticed her shifting uncomfortably, but remained silent. They sat like that for a while…..until Akashi heard a soft crack. He looked down and saw the ground beneath Tetsuna's feet had cracked a little. There was another noise as the crack beneath her began to spider web. "It's dangerous, Tetsuna, come with me. We have to get off the roof" He demanded. Tetsuna looked into Akashi's eyes, her face as emotionless as ever.
"I can't" She whispered softly. The earth under her began to shake and the cracks became bigger….a hole slowly forming.
"Don't disobey me, Tetsuna. Come here" Akashi's calmed his voice but for some reason he was unable to move his body. He tried to reach out to her, for the first time, feeling extremely desperate. "Come to me, Tetsuna!" He barked his order. Tetsuna's gaze never left his….as the earth beneath her opened and swallowed her up.
Akashi woke up with a start. He put a hand over his heart…it was just a dream, no reason to get all worked up... He quickly grabbed his phone, attempting to call Tetsuna, when he caught a glance of big glowing red letters that read 3:45AM. He let out a soft curse…
Akashi shook his head, reminding himself that school would begin in a couple hours and he would just see her then…right? He sat up in his bed and ran a hand through his red locks, concentrating….when was the last time he saw Tetsuna anyway? He thought of all the classes he had with her…he was always seated near the front, while Tetsuna's assigned seats were always somewhere behind him…add in Tetsuna's extremely weak presence and not even Akashi could remember if he saw her. He then thought about basketball practice. Had Tetsuna been there? She was much smaller than everyone else on the team and when they ran it was easy to not see Tetsuna running amidst the crowd of athletes. The GOM often ate lunch together on the roof…but with the way things have been lately, they've all been doing their own thing…
A foreign feeling of panic surged through Akashi's body. No, he was being irrational. She had a low presence, that was all. There was no reason to be worried, this was a stupid silly dream. His sudden loss of control was what worried him, not the fact that Tetsuna was involved…right? He let out a heavy sigh and laid back down on his bed. This was stupid, he would talk to Tetsuna in the morning.
He couldn't find her. Why couldn't he find her? His emperor eyes scanned the campus in search of that sky blue hair. Where the hell was she? He cursed, not liking the panic that was itching up his body. He pulled out his phone and tried to call her – but once again he only got the voice mail. He shoved the phone into his pocket, his eyes lowering as if glaring at the campus itself. He had to find Daiki, Tetsuna was probably hanging out with Daiki. The two were best friends after all, it would be logical to assume they were together. Akashi made his way to the roof, not liking how his feet were forcing him to move faster. When he reached the roof he was almost out of breath. He approached the sleeping Daiki, delivering a swift kick to his stomach. "AGH, what the hell?" Aomine growled standing up. When blue eyes met the heterochromatic eyes of his captain, Aomine sighed, "You said you don't care if I come to practice as long as I win games…."
"I'm not here about that" Akashi said, lowering his eyes at Aomine's insolent tone.
"Oh…then what do you want?" Aomine asked with a yawn.
Akashi glared at him, "Have you seen Tetsuna lately?"
"Ah…Tetsu? Nah…I've been sleeping up here the last couple weeks during class…if she was here I didn't see her"
"When's the last time you talked to her?"
"I don't know…yesterday maybe?"
"Are you sure?"
"Nope." Aomine yawned again and laid back down. Akashi delivered another kick to the bluenettes stomach, forcing the man to stand again. "What?" Aomine growled.
"Think harder. The last time you talked to her, for sure." Akashi emphasized, clicking the pair of scissors that seemed to magically appear in his hands.
"Uh….right….chill Akashi….last time I saw her…for sure…ah during the Winter Cup?"
"Not after?"
"What?"
"You didn't walk her home?"
"Did you?"
Akashi glared, "No, I didn't."
"Well, whatever. That's the last time I saw her, now leave me alone"
"That was almost a month ago, Daiki"
"Was it?" Aomine mumbled not paying attention.
"This is important, Daiki. Are you sure that's the last time you saw her?"
"Why do you care, why don't you ask her?" Aomine barked.
"Because, Daiki, I can't find her"
Aomine froze, his eyes looked at his captain skeptically, "What do you mean you can't find her?"
"I mean, when I think about it, the last time I saw her was during the Winter Cup – and I haven't seen or talked to her since" Aomine felt his heart beat painfully in his chest.
"What…What are you saying…"
"There's no need to worry, not yet….maybe someone else has seen her" Akashi sighed and turned to leave.
"I'm coming with you" Aomine quickly dusted off his uniform. Akashi didn't reply as the two walked down the stairs towards the library.
"Shintaro…" Akashi started, even he was shocked by the Betty Boop doll the stoic man was carrying.
"Akashi, hello…and Aomine"
"Yo…Have you seen Tetsu around?" Aomine asked, trying to keep his voice steady and even.
"Tch, I could never understand that one, why would I be hanging around her?" Midrioma adjusted his glasses, glaring at his teammates.
"I didn't ask if you were hanging out with her, I asked if you've seen her lately, you ass!" Daiki barked.
"This is important, Shintaro" Akashi said calmly, effectively shutting down the impending argument.
"Last time I saw her was during our last basketball game. She went to fist bump Aomine, but he shoved passed her" Midrioma kept his eyes locked on the tall ganguro.
"I didn't shove passed her" Aomine defended.
"Think what you want, I saw what I saw. Why are you asking anyway?"
"It seems Tetsuna might be missing"
"Missing? That idiot just has a low presence, if she doesn't want to be found, she won't be found"
"Believe what you wish, we will be asking the others, however" Akashi said curtly before turning. Midrioma lowered his eyes, she wasn't missing, right? As objectively pretty as the girl was, kidnapping was extremely improbable – she had no presence, no one would notice her.
But still… "wait, I'll come too….not that I care or anything, but I should prove Aomine wrong with her side of the story"
"Yeah, sure, baka tsundere!"
The three basketball players soon came upon Murasakibara, who was standing in front of the vending machines with his arms already full of snacks. He noticed his teammates approaching and greeted them with their respective nicknames. "Atushi, when's the last time you saw Tetsuna?" Murasakibara took a bite of his pockey, his eyes were half-lid and lazy.
"During practice?" he wondered turning his head ever so slightly, in thought.
"She wasn't at practice today, Atushi"
"Ah…is that so? Then I don't remember Akachin" he took another bite of his snack and hummed softly.
Atushi decided to join the search, as he had all the snacks he wanted and nothing better to do. Besides, he always liked Tetsuna. She always smelled like vanilla and readily had snacks for the giant. He hummed, satisfied with his snack haul, until he heard the annoying girls of fan girls.
"I'm sorry, pretty ladies, but I need to get going now…." Kise was cornered by fangirls.
"Ah, but Kise-kun, I wanted a picture with you!"
"You'll only look worse next to a beauty like him, back off!" The girls bickered loudly as Kise raised both hands, trying to calm the girls down.
"Ryouta…" All eyes landed on the captain, he glared at the girls, "leave" and without a pause, all the girls ran for the hills. "You seem pretty busy, Ryouta"
"It's the modeling thing, Akashichii! I've only started out, but the girls seem to recognize me" Kise pouted.
Akashi raised an eyebrow, "Pardon me if I sound completely uninterested, Ryouta, its only because I am"
"That's too mean, Akashichi! Anyways, its odd to see you all together. Ah! Where's Kurokochi!?" Kise smiled looking around the group for that sky blue mop.
"That's why we came here, you idiot. Have you seen her?"
"Eh? No, not lately"
"When's the last time?"
"Winter Cup" The Miragen said simultaneously.
"EH? How did you know I was gonna say that!"
"Because that's the last time any of us saw her" Akashi clenched his fists, fighting back the panic crawling over his skin.
"That can't be right! That was almost…"
"It was 3 weeks ago – Tetsuna has been missing for 3 weeks and we're only now realizing it" Akashi said darkly. "Come, we're going to the office"
"Ah, Kuroko Tetsuna? Sorry, but she's been pulled from Teiko."
"She's been what?" Akashi asked, trying to keep himself calm.
"Yeah, her guardian came by, pulled her from the school – didn't explain or leave a reason, but that kid is long gone" The teacher shrugged and pulled a file from his desk – "you're gonna ask for this anyway, right? Take it. It's her's". The Miragen bowed politely and followed their captain outside to look at the file. Akashi pulled out a small envelope, which was quickly taken by Aomine.
"This is….a letter of resignation from the basketball team!"
Atushi dropped his snacks, "Kurochin quit the team?"
"No way! Kurokochi loves basketball more than anyone! Why would she quit?!" Kise yelled moving to stand behind Aomine to look at the letter.
"It's dated for the day of the Winter Cup…" Aomine touched turned the letter over in his hands.
"She must have turned it in afterwards…" Midrioma added
"Wait, did you know, Akashi?!" Aomine turned to their captain.
"No, I was not informed of this…probably because Tetsuna was taken out of Teiko the day after – it must not have seemed relevant"
"Bullshit! This is Tetsu we're talking about!"
"I didn't say I thought it was irrelevant, Daiki, I said it must have seemed that way to the school"
Daiki bit his tongue, thoughts running a mile a minute – there was so much he had to ask Tetsuna. But first, they had to find her. "Does that file have an address?"
"Already memorized it, let's go"
The GOM ran through the streets, following closely behind their captain. When they finally reached Tetsuna's address, they ran into a group of gossiping house wives standing by the fence outside the house. "Ah, hello, is this the Kuroko residence?" Akashi asked, composing himself.
"Ah…yes, who are you?" One of the ladies asked, a smile on her face.
"We're friends of Kuroko Tetsuna, we've been looking all over for her" Aomine said wiping his sweat. The ladies exchanged glances.
"Could it be you haven't heard?" The second woman gasped, covering her mouth.
"Haven't heard what? Are you sure this is the right place? It looks abandoned" Kise said taking a look at the house – it was obvious no one was living there in a while.
"Ah, that's because it is. That night….that night the Kuroko family packed up all their things and left…too many memories I guess"
"that night? What night?" Aomine asked
"The night Tetsuna was hit by that car! How could you not have heard?"
"The poor girl…they say she never even saw it coming!"
"She was a kind thing, that Tetsuna…it's such a shame…"
After a while of silence, the ladies decided to move along. The darkness rising in the GOM's faces was not something they could or wanted to deal with. "It's a lie!" Aomine yelled suddenly, he charged for the house banging on the door as hard as he could. "Tetsu! Tetsu! It's me! Open the door! Open the goddamn door! Tetsu" He kept banging, eyes wide as tears began to flow down his face. "Tetsu! Please! Open the door!" He roared, banging on the door until it was dented and his fists were bleeding. "Open it!" He screamed as loud as he could.
Kise fell to his knees, a twisted smile on his lips, "this is a joke right?" he mumbled, tears flowing down his face. "some sort of…weird…cruel…joke…Kurokochi is gonna come out any second and bonk me on the head right? She's gonna come out and hit me and call me an idiot for believing this joke right?" He placed his hands on the ground, "please come out Kurokochi…please show yourself….you're gonna come out if I…keep calling for you…right? Kurokochi!" He screamed, his body shaking.
Murasakibara looked around, "Kurochin isn't gone. She can't be gone. She's just little" He walked around the yard, looking through the bushes. "Come out, Kurochin. I'll get you snacks" He called out. "Kurochin, come out. This isn't funny….Kurochin…where are you? Kurochin? You're not gone, Kurochin. Who's gonna take naps with me if you're gone? Who am I gonna share vanilla snacks with if you're gone? Who's height am I gonna tease if you're….gone...?" Murasakibara hunched over looking at the ground as his tears began to flow. Suddenly, his large body seemed too big for him and he fell onto his knees. "Kurochin…who's gonna go to the snack shop with me if you're gone?" He mumbled.
Midrioma wracked his brain. "Have care with the things you love, or you might lose them forever" "Keep an eye out for the little things" "Be vigilant – don't lose sight of what's important" All those Ohsaa fortune telling…he had thought they were referencing his school or his basketball….but they were all warning him of this. He felt like the wind got knocked out of him. He turned to lean on the fence of the Kuroko home…he thought of her and how she had probably walked passed this fence on her last day, and he couldn't help but cry.
This was wrong. Akashi was absolute, he never lost control – of anything. This was wrong, there was a mistake, there had to be. Tetsuna couldn't be dead – he hadn't…they hadn't….she had barely lived…this was wrong. It was impossible. It couldn't be…Akashi closed his eyes – fighting with every shred of strength he had left to keep the tears at bay. He had failed her. A captain was supposed to look after his players….no…it was more than that…they were friends…he should have looked after her because Tetsuna regarded him as one of her treasured friends…and to him…she was…she was….. 'Is that what the dream was about? Were you trying to tell me goodbye, Tetsuna?' He thought before sending a punch through the fence. The Miragen fell silent. Akashi turned and began to walk away.
"Where are you going, Akachin?" Murasakibara called from the yard.
"Home"
"What are we gonna do, Akashichi?" Kise whispered.
"We….we are going to honor her…we failed her in life…but we can honor her in death. We'll go to our respective schools…..and we'll fight…we'll fight for her"
"We…we can't just go to the same place? Why do we have to separate…we….we've been through a lot together…" Kise mumbled.
"We deserve punishment…separating the GOM…that will be the start"