As promised, here is the new story for KnB! It is called Overseas and I really hope you like it :)
So, I just came back after watching the last episode for the Teiko arc and my heart is in pieces, and I don't it'll ever rebuild again. Contrary to what the anime and manga have, the setting for my story is a bit different so please bear with me on this.
Also, I would suggest that you listen to Ghost by Hollywood Undead because it reminds me a lot of Kuroko and it is an epic song. There isn't really any relation, the song and the story, but I suggest you check it out :)
Additionally, I have made a poll for my A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words story so if you take several seconds in contributing would really help me out :)
And so, without further ado, here is the story!
That day, when it was raining outside and everyone was hyped up for the last match of the middle school year, he knew something terrible was going to happen. He had a feeling that this day, he would not be able to live with his friends any longer.
And he was right.
He didn't have this terrible feeling when he was forcibly taken out because of his head injury, nor when he asked Akashi to not take the finals lightly.
No. It was neither of those times.
It wasn't even when he forced himself to go out of the infirmary and check the TV that was broadcasting the match live. He saw the crushing defeat of Meiko. He saw the team grudgingly walk to the middle of the court to bow and say that they had a good match when it wasn't.
It was neither of those times.
It was when the camera zoomed in on the score 111-11 to Teiko, and it then zoomed to his childhood friend having his eyes widen and his fists clench.
He knew and his friend knew what Teiko had done to Meiko.
And that was when he knew that he would not be able to live longer.
"Where's Tetsu?" Aomine yelled at the nurse who was currently cowering at his intense gaze.
"I - I don't know. I went out for a second to get some new bandages and the next thing I know, he's gone. I'm sorry!" The nurse tried to calm the raging basketball player but to no use. The others were out looking for the phantom player as well.
Yes, they admitted that Kuroko was barely help to the team anymore, but that didn't mean they weren't still friends who worried for each other, even if they didn't really show it.
"Akashi, I can't find him anywhere." Midorima supplied as he ran towards Akashi, soaking wet from checking outside the stadium. Akashi, on the other hand, said nothing and stood still, but anyone who knew him as well as the Generation of Miracles did would notice the way his fists were clenching with unbearable strength.
Akashi was not angry. He was absolutely furious. Not so much because Kuroko was gone, but because he didn't know where he went. And Akashi knew everything.
"Aka-chin, can we go? He's not here." Murasakibara slurred though he seemed to be out of breath.
"Not until we find him." Akashi responded coldly.
"But we checked everywhere. He really isn't here." Murasakibara tried to persuade but Akashi wouldn't budge.
"Check one more time." He ordered and Murasakibara left it at that. Akashi was already on edge, and Murasakibara cared too much for his life to just waste it away here.
It was another hour after Kuroko went missing that Akashi finally called off the search. What Murasakibara had said before was right. Kuroko was gone and he was not seen in or out the stadium.
"We'll see him tomorrow at school, anyways. We can talk to him there." Kise said and the others nodded, Aomine especially since they were in the same class. Akashi just nodded without saying anything and he quickly dismissed the team.
The others, while walking away, all gulped simultaneously because they knew that if Akashi didn't know where Kuroko was, he would explode and kill anyone in his way.
And they would be his first victims.
The day after the final match, Kuroko was nowhere to be found. Aomine had kept a close eye to the doorway because he knew that Kuroko had a knack for entering like a ghost. A few minutes after the bell rang, signifying the start of first period, Aomine still had his eyes on the door and felt a horrible doubt surging into him. The teacher called on him and Aomine had no choice but to leave his eyes from the door.
The teacher started on attendance and he listened closely for the teacher to call Kuroko. When he did, there was no response. At that moment, the teacher's eyes brightened on a sort of revelation and left it at that. The teacher knew something about Kuroko that Aomine didn't. And that made him even more pissed off than he already was.
At lunch, he made sure to tell Akashi that no, Kuroko was not here today at school, and yes, he did have some information about him. His homeroom teacher knew something they all didn't. Kise went out to find out what the information was.
He came back with nothing.
"'It's something Kuroko-kun should tell you. If he didn't, then he must have had a good reason for it,' is what he said." Kise imitated perfectly, at the same time looking at Akashi with guarded eyes. Said person just got up and left the rooftop.
The others looked at each other for a second before following him out.
The next day, the teacher completely skipped over Kuroko's name, as if it was but a distant memory that there was person called Kuroko Tetsuya. No one even noticed except for the navy haired boy who seemed to glare at the teacher for 'forgetting' his friend's name. At lunch, he told Akashi how Kuroko's name was not called out and the red haired emperor ordered Midorima to go the teacher's lounge and check the attendance list for Aomine's class. When he came back, he had a slightly shocked face and relayed his experience.
"His name is gone. It's not on the paper anymore. Someone must have erased it and made a new attendance list because I couldn't find Kuroko's name anywhere. It's like he's just… gone."
Days passed since the Generation of Miracles saw the phantom player and every second made Akashi want to go on a killing spree. He was lost. Completely and utterly lost. Akashi Seijuuro was never lost. He refused to be. He would find Kuroko and he would do it with pride.
At least that was what he thought until graduation.
After reliving the same process of Aomine relaying information on the class and Akashi ordering each of the Generation of Miracles to try and obtain as much knowledge as they could, they started to get tired and slowly gave up on trying to find their sixth man player. Akashi, however, was not a person who just gave up.
He needed to have all the information in the world. That was what an Akashi did. So, the fact that he did not know such a small thing as Kuroko's location irked him to no end. He needed to gain this information or else he wouldn't be able to call himself the emperor. And he knew he was one.
Thankfully, for him at least, he noticed that Momoi, the retired manager of the Teiko basketball team, was getting a lot more distant than usual. Normally Aomine and Momoi - childhood friends - would go home together, despite any circumstance. However, it seemed like now, Momoi was making up all kinds of excuses to go home alone.
"The teacher told me I had cleanup duty. You can go first."
"I have to finish some work at school. It's going to take a while."
"Acchan is having boyfriend troubles. I need to help her out. Go without me."
"I just can't go with you today. I'm sorry."
And he noticed how puffy her eyes were every day. She was crying every night. Of course, it was very difficult to see because she had smeared makeup to hide the redness of her eyes, and it was very skillful how she put it on. No average person would have noticed it.
But Akashi was not an average person.
As graduation ended and the third years were leaving to celebrate, Akashi called up the Generation of Miracles and told them to meet up in the gym. He sent a special message to Aomine and told him to get a hold of Momoi, whether she liked it or not.
A few minutes after sending the message, Akashi could spot the team's eccentric hair colors and he smirked inside when he saw Aomine holding the pink-haired manager tightly. She seemed to be struggling terribly under his grasp, and she was hitting and scratching his arm everywhere.
"Let me go!" She screamed but Aomine didn't budge.
"Satsuki, stop fucking struggling!" Aomine, in turn, replied with a grunt. Momoi kicked him in the shin but he still kept walking. He would do anything as long as it meant that Akashi would not murder him.
"This is abuse! Abuse!" Momoi kept yelling and the others acted as if they didn't see or hear anything.
"Satsuki, stop!"
"Let me go, Aomine-kun! Let go!"
"That is enough, Satsuki." Akashi finally interrupted as they all walked up to him. Momoi hesitated before letting go of Aomine's arm. He sighed in relief, and in return, loosened his grip on the girl.
"Why did you want me to bring her, Akashi? You know how many bruises I got because of this?" Aomine complained but one look at Akashi made him shut his mouth.
"Let's talk in the gym, shall we?" He said and they all walked into the now lifeless gym. They remembered when everything was full of smiles and laughter.
Those days were now all gone.
"Surround Satsuki so she can't escape." Akashi ordered and the team immediately complied. With their enormous height and Murasakibara's defense stance, Momoi had no chance at all. She looked at Akashi with pleading eyes.
"What did I do?" Momoi asked with tears coming out of her eyes and Aomine hesitated.
"Oi, Satsuki, why are you crying? Stop." He tried to comfort awkwardly but Akashi cut him off.
"Do not interrupt, Daiki." Aomine clamped his mouth shut. Akashi then shifted his gaze to the crying girl.
"Satsuki, where is Tetsuya?" He asked simply and everyone's ears perked at the sound of Kuroko's name. Momoi's eyes widened.
"Wh-what are you talking about it?" She stuttered and Akashi knew it. Momoi knew where Kuroko was.
"I will not ask again, Satsuki. Where is he?" Momoi's mouth refused to budge. Akashi was losing his impatience terribly fast. Aomine and everyone else saw it. They all knew what was coming next if Momoi didn't speak up.
"Satsuki, just hurry up and tell him." Aomine said, secretly begging her to tell him so that she wouldn't get hurt. Momoi, however, didn't say anything in return. Akashi's eyes narrowed significantly and Kise looked at the scene with worried eyes.
"Hey, Akashicchi, maybe she doesn't know. You never kn-"
"I told you not to interrupt." Akashi cut off with a cold voice. "Satsuki, I will give you three seconds."
"I don't know!" Momoi pleaded as she tried to look for an escape. She still couldn't see the exit.
"You know I do not like to be lied to, Satsuki. I know you know." Akashi said, almost close to exploding.
"I- I- " Momoi kept stuttering and Aomine couldn't take it anymore.
"Satsuki, just tell him!"
"I can't!" She cried out and at that moment, Akashi told ahold of her shoulders and started shaking her violently.
"I told you I am not a patient person, Satsuki. Tell me where he is!" Akashi thundered and Momoi started crying harder.
"I can't tell you! He told me not to tell you!"
"Tell me!"
"I can't!"
"Satsuki!" Akashi roared and without meaning to, he threw her to the ground. Aomine started running towards her to help her but Akashi stopped him at the last second. He walked slowly and crouched in front of Momoi.
"Satsuki. Where is Tetsuya?" He asked once more and this time, he got a response.
"He's… in Los Angeles." She hiccuped and the moment she said those words, her tears flowed more prominently than before.
Akashi stood up, satisfied with her answer, and walked towards the Generation of Miracles.
"You are all dismissed. I will call you all once more when the day comes. You will all come without objection, do you understand?" He said and they all nodded except for Aomine who was still looking at Momoi with helpless eyes.
"Daiki, do you understand?" Akashi asked and Aomine turned to look at the emperor.
"How could you?" He whispered.
"I did what I had to."
"You didn't have to go that far!" He yelled.
"Are you yelling at me, Daiki?" Akashi replied with his eyes narrowing.
"Why did you do this? Why are you so desperate to know Tetsu's location? What did Satsuki do to make her deserve this? Why is Tetsu so important to you? We completely forgot about him in these weeks!" Aomine shut his mouth when those words came out of his mouth. Everyone there looked guilty and Aomine looked like he wanted to rip his throat out. He just admitted something he never would have said in a million years.
But it was true.
During those few weeks, the Generation of Miracles had slowly slipped Kuroko from their minds. Aomine felt hurt the greatest when he realized that he forgot his best friend.
Akashi was silent before responding.
"If that is all you want to say, then I will be on my way. I will call all of you and you will all join me whether you like it or not. Do you understand?" Everyone excluding Aomine nodded once more. With one more look at the two childhood friends, Akashi nodded, as if satisfied with the result, and left the gym silently.
Aomine ran up to the still crying Momoi and shielded her from others' eyes. Momoi, leaned into Aomine and cried harder. Aomine could do nothing but to pat her back soothingly. And during the crying, Aomine could hear her murmurs of pain and hurt.
"He's going to hate me. Tetsu-kun is going to hate me, Dai-chan. What am I going to do?"
The Generation of Miracles all went their separate ways in high school. They had grown tired of weak opponents and decided that the five were the only capable opponents. They would all fight with their unmatchable strengths in the Inter-high and only the best would survive.
Naturally, the Generation of Miracles were all chosen to go to high elite schools; Kise with Kaijo, Midorima with Shuutoku, Aomine and Momoi with Touo, Murasakibara with Yosen, and finally, Akashi with Rakuzan.
Not surprisingly, they slowly started to forget about Akashi's words. They only remembered the promise they made with each other, a few days before graduation had even happened.
"We will eliminate anyone in our way and battle each other in the Inter-High. We will see who is the strongest then."
Midorima went down first by a dark horse of the Inter High but Aomine beat them soon afterward. Kise fell from the same hands. Murasakibara, Aomine, and Akashi did not play but Rakuzan was still the victor.
After that, summer vacation arrived and everyone was busy getting ready to win in the Winter Cup.
And then, everyone's phone rang with a message from the emperor himself.
'Meet me at the Teiko gym today at noon. Do not be late.'
The former teammates did not even bother being late. In fact, they all came 10 minutes early in hopes of avoiding any tardies. They all looked at each other with distant eyes and said quite little to each other while waiting for Akashi. No one would have guessed that they were all once best of friends.
Finally, Akashi arrived with something in his hand. Everyone looked at it curiously and Akashi handed each of them a piece of paper. Closely looking at it, they realized that it was plane tickets to Los Angeles. They all looked at Akashi with surprised eyes and Akashi nodded, as if answering their unasked question.
"The flight is a few days from now. I have already gotten approval from all of your parents. Pack what you need and I will meet you all again in the airport. Remember to tell your team that you will be gone for a month, at the very least. That is all. You are all dismissed." It was brief and short but the impact was great.
The Generation of Miracles were going to the States.
Just as Akashi left, Aomine raged a fit and was about to rip the ticket in pieces.
"Aominecchi, no! Akashicchi is going to kill you!" Kise yelled as he stopped him in just mere seconds. Midorima looked at the ticket with wide eyes, shocked that Akashi would just do this to them without any warning. Murasakibara had lost his grip of his chips during the meeting and was crouching down to pick them back up. He still had his bored expression on him, as if nothing entertained him anymore, but he was clenching the ticket very tightly. He was not expecting this at all.
Kise was still trying to calm down Aomine, but it looked like it wasn't working at all. However, unbeknownst to Kise and the others, Aomine wasn't mad because of Akashi's stunt.
He was furious because he had forgotten about Kuroko. Again.
"What kind of human am I?" He whispered to himself and cursed himself loudly.
"Do we really have to go?" Kise asked Midorima and he shrugged.
"If that is what Akashi proclaimed, then we must follow it." He answered but he sounded as if he were far away from this place.
"I can't speak english, though." Murasakibara said childishly and Midorima sighed.
"Let us hope that none of us speak it." He said and stared at the ticket once more. It looked so genuine and authentic. It was not a lie. They were all going.
One by one, they all left the gym, silent and confused. Aomine stayed in the place the longest, looking at the gym with sad eyes.
What happened to the innocence that they once had? Their friendship and their happiness? What happened to the unbreakable bond he and Kuroko once had?
He didn't even deserve to remember that bond. He was a horrible human being.
What would Kuroko think of him now?
The day came when they were all supposed to meet at the airport. In the last few days, the Generation of Miracles had to explain their situation to the captain and teammates.
Some were let off easy, like Aomine, who just expected Momoi to relay his situation to the team. Others, like Kise, Midorima, and Murasakibara, took a bit more time to explain, mostly because the captains and coaches all looked like they were going to murder them.
Kise was continuously hit by Kaijo's captain, Kasamatsu, several times before finally relenting and telling him to train continuously in the States. Midorima had a few hours of avoiding pineapples coming to his head before the captain, Otsubo, could calm his friend Miyaji down. They agreed that so long as Midorima did not forget to practice, they would be fine. Murasakibara was hit various times in the back with the coach's wooden stick for being such an idiot. His back was burning red by the time her anger declined and she made him promise that he would practice, no matter how boring it was for him. He muttered a yes before rubbing his back with a pout on his face.
Akashi, on the other hand, had given his second-in-command, Mibuchi Reo, a training regimen for the month away and everyone nearly cried when the paper was passed around. Even the muscle gorilla and the over energetic blond could not imagine how hard the month would be.
'Demon.' The Rakuzan team all thought as Akashi bid them a good training and left.
The Generation of Miracles all met in front of the airline, waiting for Akashi, and gained some unwanted attention, both from their unnatural hair colors and their strong auras. Their intimidating air increased immensely when Akashi finally joined them. The workers who tended to them almost all fainted and many of them bowed very formally whenever the Generation of Miracles walked around the airport. It didn't help that Murasakibara towered everyone and had a glare in his eyes.
When they were at security check, one of the people stopped the five and pointed towards Murasakibara.
"You can't bring food in there, sir. I'm afraid we're going to have to confiscate them." The person said as confidently as he could, though with the intensifying glare Murasakibara had, his voice cracked at the very end.
"Aka-chin, he wants to take my candy away." Murasakibara said to Akashi.
"Give the man the candy, Atsushi."
"But I'm eating it."
"Atsushi." Murasakibara looked like he wanted to cry as he gave the man his enormous amount of candy. Before going inside the metal bars, he stared at the man from his shoulder and he gulped loudly.
Midorima was the only one who had to get checked, mostly because his carry on had his lucky item for the day, a small hatchet, and though he protested, they had to take it away from him.
"Akashi, that's my lucky item!"
"Shintarou, even you should know that you cannot bring a hatchet to an airport."
"I would have never known. I've never been in one!" Midorima said, unintentionally inferring his hate for leaving Japan unnoticed.
"Shintarou, do you have a problem?" Akashi asked, noting the indirect insult. Midorima was quiet before shaking his head. "Then let us keep moving."
It was a very tiring experience, and they were not even on the airplane yet. Kise was marred by fangirls who noticed him right away and Aomine was crowded by gangs who thought Aomine was in an enemy gang. Thankfully, Murasakibara helped Kise by carrying him up and out of reach from the girls, and Akashi made every person surrounding Aomine fall to the ground with just a touch on the shoulder.
"Know your place."
Even in the airplane, they had problems. For one, Midorima had never been on an airplane and not having his lucky item made him even more nervous than before. It didn't really help that he was sitting next to Akashi. He kept jittering and moving in his seat, feeling uncomfortably hot. Aomine was shifting in his seat for the same reason, though he didn't really show it in his face as Midorima did. Kise and Akashi looked calm and collected, since both had experience in airplanes. Murasakibara had a hard time adjusting in his seat because even the business class seat was too small for him. He kept hitting his head on the roof and when he tried to lower his seat, a stewardess would always come in and readjust it for him, telling him that he couldn't do that yet since the airplane was still not in the air.
"Hey, Akashi, how long is the flight?" Aomine asked as he tried to pull the seatbelt away from him.
"About 11 hours." Akashi answered calmly. Aomine, Midorima, and Murasakibara all looked at him with wide eyes.
"That long?" Midorima tried to say as nonchalantly as he could but he had a shrill tone, making it difficult for him to look calm.
"I suggest you all work on your English. Even you, Ryouta."
"Eh? But English is my best subject!" Kise answered incredulously.
"From all the worst ones, maybe."Aomine muttered and Kise hit him on the head.
"Shut up, Aominecchi! You're the one to talk!" Kise said and they both started bickering. Akashi shook his head in dismay.
"Shintarou, I hope you have done your part in this."
"Naturally."
"Atsushi, after we can take off our seat belts, you will switch seats with Shintarou and you will have personal lesson on English from me, do you understand?" He asked and Murasakibara nodded, still trying to get comfortable.
"You too, Daiki." At his name, Aomine stopped arguing with Kise and looked at Akashi with surprise. Then, he went back to the window.
"Shit. I'm fucked." He muttered to himself and Kise snickered next to him.
"Ryouta, although you say you have confidence, I doubt you know slangs and the colloquial language in Los Angeles." Akashi then said and Kise slumped in his seat soon after.
"They don't teach us that at school. Why should I know them?" Kise said in an annoyed tone and Akashi passed him an iPad with videos of American TV shows.
"Begin learning, Ryouta." He said and Kise sighed in defeat before starting the first episode of Finding Carter.
"Akashi, what are we going to do when he see Kuroko?" Midorima suddenly asked, forgetting all about his nervousness. Akashi looked slowly at Midorima, making him sweat.
"We will bring him back to Japan, of course. What else?" He answered simply.
"And if he doesn't want to come back?"
"Then we will have to make him come back." Midorima became silent at his response and wondered just Akashi had become this deranged. Was it when he threw Momoi to the ground in middle school, or way before that?
He had no clue.
The airplane finally started to take off and the three inexperienced students gripped the handles tightly in fear. Akashi looked at the window boredly and Kise was too focused on memorizing the slangs that were being used to notice the airplane moving.
The airplane flew off high and when the speaker came that they could now use electronic devices and take off their seat belts, the four Miracles all realized that this is finally happening.
They were finally going to the States.
No going back now.
So, how was it? Good, bad, meh? I personally really like this story, mostly because I relate most of the drabbles that will be here to my own experiences.
Yes, I think I may have portrayed Akashi a bit more horrible that I intended, but I feel like that goes well with the story. For those who were angry at Akashi when he did that Momoi, I agree with you completely and he is a complete douchebag for doing so.
Did anyone else love the Aomine/Momoi bro (childhood) mance? I know I did. They are so cute, not so much as a couple but as really tight childhood friends, and I don't think that gets portrayed enough for it.
I don't really want to have any ships or pairings in this story because it mainly focuses on trust and friendship, so I'm sorry if you wanted it.
Seirin is, sadly, not going to make an important appearance in this story since Kuroko didn't join them but they will appear in snippets. Where Kagami is renders a surprise :)
So, review and tell me what you think and please await the next update!
Peace,
FlyAndDontLookBack