KnB || AkaKuro || KnB || AkaKuro || KnB || Red Queen || KnB || AkaKuro || KnB || AkaKuro || KnB
Title: Red Queen – Worthy of a King
Fandom: Kuroko no Basket
Me Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Tadatoshi Fujimaki. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Warnings: shounen-ai, self-blame/pity, mentioned/implied schizophrenia, Akashi needs a hug, fluff
Main Pairing: AkaKuro
Kuroko no Basket Characters: Kuroko Tetsuya, Akashi Seijuro, Nigou, Kagami Taiga, Hyuga Junpei, Kiyoshi Teppei, Izuki Shun, Aida Riko, Mitobe Rinnosuke, Koganei Shinji, Tsuchida Satoshi, Fukuda Hiroshi, Furihata Kouki, Kawahara Koichi
Summary: Seirin are reading a basketball magazine, stumbling over an article about Akashi Seijuro. The journalist asked the Red King if he had a queen. Now Seirin want to know who Akashi's Red Queen may be. They're stunned that Kuroko holds the answer. And even more so that Kuroko was too oblivious to understand the second meaning of being the Red Queen.
Red Queen
Worthy of a King
When Kuroko entered the room, the whole team was already sitting around a table. He was used to not being noticed upon entrance, but this time around, his team seemed really focused on whatever they were reading. Kuroko decided to take a peek through between Kagami's and Izuki's shoulders. On Kagami's side sat the other first years Fukuda, Furihata and Kawahara, while Mito, Koganei and Tsuchida were sitting on Izuki's side. Frowning slightly, Kuroko noticed the coach, Hyuga and Kiyoshi talking lowly in another corner of the room. It seemed while serious plans were being discussed, the rest of the team was goofing off with some magazine.
"What are you reading there?", asked Kuroko softly.
"Damn it, every time I think I got used to it...", muttered Kagami after a startled yelp.
"Ah, they had an interview with Rakuzan after the Winter Cup, kinda rubbing it in that their team lost...", started Koganei, frowning a little. "Not the nicest thing to do, I guess."
"We're reading the interview with Akashi-kun", added Fukuda.
"And now we're trying to figure out who the captain's girlfriend is", grinned Furihata.
"Girlfriend?", repeated Kuroko, sounding even a little bit surprised.
"Yeah!", nodded Kawahara wildly. "They've been asking here about his nickname, how he's occasionally called the 'Red King', if he ever found his 'Red Queen'. His answer was yes."
"I can't freaking believe that any sane girl would date that creep", muttered Kagami.
"I wonder what kind of girl that must be...", mused Tsuchida with a serious expression on his face.
After a certain look from Mitobe, Koganei nodded solemnly. "He's right, she must be... special."
Kagami cocked one eyebrow (still trying to get behind how Mitobe and Koganei communicated). "Special is one way of putting it, yeah... Imagine she's like him... Two psychopaths, united in..."
"Craziness?", supplied Izuki after a moment.
"I'm the Red Queen."
When the rest of the team suddenly fell silent – complete silence at that – even the coach, the captain and Kiyoshi turned toward them, frowning concerned. The trio stepped up to their gaping team. Whatever they were talking about seemed to have send them into shot.
"W—What do you mean?!", asked Kagami a little too loudly.
"Midorima-kun wasn't the only one from our team who enjoyed a calm, mind-challenging game once in a while. Akashi-kun and I often met up to play chess", replied Kuroko, his voice its usual monotone self. "The red king, it's where the name comes from. From chess. He told me back then that he associates all of us – the Generation of Miracles – with chess pieces. I asked him what piece he saw in me and he explained that the unpredictable way I pass over the court, the secret trump card of the team, it made me the red queen."
Kuroko grew more uncomfortable as everyone, including Hyuga, Kiyoshi and Aida, staring at him intensely. As though there was something they knew that he didn't. But he doubted that.
"Kuroko-kun, are you serious?", asked the coach sharply, all up in his personal space.
"It's about chess", nodded Kuroko cautiously, taking a step back.
"You can't be that dense", stated Hyuga seriously.
"Ano, excuse me?", asked Kuroko, tilting his head a little.
"The guy wasn't talking about some kind of strategy, he was answering the question if he found his queen!", exclaimed Koganei, waving his arms around a little.
"Why?", asked Kuroko confused. "I was his queen, on his chessboard. When we were a team."
"He is that dense...", muttered Furihata beneath his breath.
"A guy doesn't just call another guy his queen like that", grunted Kagami irritated.
"It's romantic, Kuroko-kun", added Aida, half amused and half tender.
Kuroko blinked a couple of times. Romantic? Surely, Akashi had always had a soft spot for Kuroko, he was aware of that. But it was friendship. Compared to their taller and more trained comrades, the two had been rather small and not too muscular. Surely Kuroko had the shorter end of that stick by far, but still. They had always gotten along very well. Even though Midorima and Akashi often played together, Midorima's deep-seated belief in fate and luck had always irked Akashi in a way. Aomine and Kise were simply too loud for Akashi. And Murasakibara was not concentrating enough for Akashi's taste. So the calm, silent Kuroko was appreciated company. That didn't mean that Akashi had romantic feelings for him, did it?
/break\
Akashi Seijuro was sitting in a park, with the view of a lake. He was holding a red king piece in his hand, turning it around thoughtfully. Ever since those vultures had interviewed him and his team last week, he had spend an awful lot of time reminiscing. They had made a great show of pointing out how Rakuzan had lost for the first time, against a newbie team on top of that.
Like he didn't know that, like it didn't torment him already.
He knew that Seirin had won because they were the better team. He knew they had won fairly.
He was even grateful for it. If they hadn't won, he wouldn't be... himself again. Breaking the protective walls of the other Akashi, being free once again after having been buried in his own mind for too long. All thanks to him. Out of the Generation of Miracles, it had been the shadow who took the Winter Cup. Out of those strong players, the ones who had given up their love for the game, it had been the one whose heart beat in the rhythm of a trippling basketball. Out of the five known as the monster players, it had been the sixth, it had been their angel.
A small smile found its way onto Akashi's lips at that thought. Tetsuya had always been special. Had always been different. He had known it the day Daiki had first introduced them. He had known that Tetsuya was different from them, but hid a talent and something even far greater. His heart. His kind and loving heart. Not just loving basketball, but also loving them.
Even when the Generation of Miracles had turned their back on him, he had never given up on them. He had fought hard to bring them back their love for the game. He had never abandoned them the way they had abandoned him. Even after everything they had done, even after everything Seijuro had done. The game against Meiko High. Against Tetsuya's friend.
It had been out of spite and anger and jealousy. How dare this little, useless player who couldn't even hold himself against Teiko dared to be so important to his Tetsuya?! Something evil inside of him had desired to destroy this boy, to show Tetsuya that the only one who deserved those little smiles and that eagerness was Seijuro himself. No one else. No one else deserved Tetsuya.
When Teiko's team had parted, they had known they'd face each other on the Winter Cup.
It was about more than just comparing strength, it was about being the best. Tetsuya only deserved the best – and Seijuro had been set on being that. On winning the Winter Cup, showing Tetsuya that his way of basketball was wrong and that Seijuro was not just superior, but more so that he was worthy of Tetsuya. That had been the plan. Beating all of the other Miracles and then claiming Tetsuya, along with the trophy. Convincing him that Akashi was the best – the best for him.
For that, Akashi had needed a strong team. If anyone had noticed that really, the only team-member from Teiko that he had tried to replace had been Tetsuya? The only one he truly needed at his side, on his team. Mayuzumi had the low presence and he was a good player, but he wasn't Tetsuya. Seijuro had thought, hoped really, that it would be enough. It wasn't, of course it wasn't, Seijuro had made that one mistake he had thought he would never make – he underestimated Kuroko Tetsuya.
And now he had lost it all and gained it all back at the same time.
His team was a real team now, they worked together. There were things the team couldn't truly forgive him for just yet, but they were getting closer, even on a personal level. He was having fun playing basketball again. He was free again, free of his protective other self that had kept hims 'weaker' one locked away for so long now. He even had the other Miracles again – the seven of them met up sometimes to talk and laugh, they were friends once more.
But what he had lost was his right to claim Tetsuya. He had failed the bluenette, more so than the other Miracles, more so than his new time. He knew he had broken something inside of Tetsuya back when they had faced off Meiko, back when he had first told Tetsuya that his way of basketball wasn't the right way. Tetsuya came along whenever the Miracles met, they were friends once more, but Akashi was aware that there was no way Tetsuya could ever fully forgive him. Not even Tetsuya's heart should be that kind. But even on the down-chances that he could, Akashi had no right to anymore. He had lost. He wasn't superior. He wasn't worthy.
Putting the red king down, he scanned the board for the red queen, in wistful memory. But it wasn't there. He frowned confused. When he had sat down, he had set the game. Every piece of it.
"Wraff!"
Akashi was startled at the sudden barking sound and looked up. On the other side of the table sat a... dog. Blinking a couple of times, he started into those eerily familiar, ice-blue eyes. The husky pup was wagging his tail, staring at him curiously. Looking past the dog, Akashi noticed that the pup was seated on a boy's lap. The same ice-blue eyes started at Akashi once more.
"Hello, Akashi-kun. I'm surprised to see you here."
Not even remotely as surprised as Akashi was, that much was for sure. There, opposite him, sat no other but Tetsuya himself, one arm securely wrapped around Nigou, who was comfortably cuddled onto the boy's lap. Tetsuya was wearing a white hoodie, the hood pulled back, but askew so it revealed a tempting sliver of Tetsuya's pale collarbone and shoulder on one side.
"I'm also surprised to see you here, Tetsuya", replied Akashi after a too long moment of staring.
"I... felt like it, I guess...", shrugged Tetsuya, his eyes roaming the park. "And Nigou demanded to be walked, so I thought the park would be nice. But... it's not very close-by for you."
"I was feeling nostalgic, you could say", whispered Akashi, finger tapping on top of the king piece.
This was the park where Tetsuya and Seijuro usually went after training to play chess. Ever since that blasted reporter had asked Akashi about his queen, he had been coming over, regardless of how long the train-ride was. He came at least every second day, like sitting here would be capable of turning back time, back to a time when it had just been them, sitting here and playing chess.
"Same as me then", said Tetsuya, with the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
Akashi loved those smiles. He was aware that after the game between Meiko and Teiko, maybe even weeks beforehand, those smiles had died down more and more. Where Tetsuya used to smile more often during practices or when the team had hung out together, he too had changed when the Miracles had. Where they had grown bored, borderline cruel and narcissistic, he had... become sad. And Akashi couldn't help but blame himself entirely for that. He had told Tetsuya his basketball would fail, he had encouraged the team where he should have been the one leading them to be a team instead of slowly falling apart and breaking the one, pure thing they had. Their shadow.
"When we're both here, why don't we play some?", asked Tetsuya.
With a soft thump did the red queen find her place on the chessboard again, next to the red king. Pale, long fingers were holding onto the piece as Tetsuya put her down. So that was where she had been. Akashi blinked and stared down at the figurine.
"I... Yes, that would be lovely", agreed Akashi as he gathered himself.
It was the first time since they had attended Teiko that Seijuro and Tetsuya were alone. Akashi found himself equally eager and terrified. He still expected Tetsuya to be angry at him, maybe to shout – not that Kuroko was the kind of person who would shout, but after everything Akashi had done, he would deserve it, he would deserve to be the one to push Kuroko too far and make him snap. Snap at him. He wasn't expecting to just fall back into old patterns.
They played until the sky turned a soft rosy-red, with the golden sun sinking. They had talked too, about their teams, how they were doing. About the other Miracles a little – how proud Akashi was that Murasakibara had found a good friend who could watch out for him, how much Kise's clinginess annoyed Kuroko even though he also found it a little endearing, how Aomine and Kagami apparently met on a regular base to fight out who was the 'brighter light', what kind of ridiculous item of the day Midorima had been carrying around the last time they saw him. It was nearly like back in the old days, only that both had grown so much – emotionally speaking at least, Tetsuya was still his short, adorable self. Not that Seijuro was that much taller.
"Checkmate", stated Tetsuya, sounding a little surprised and proud at that.
He took Akashi's queen and found himself cornering the redhead's king. It was so unlike Akashi to lose like that. He had been more than distracted throughout the whole game. Which was also very unlike Akashi. Kuroko took the chess piece and held it in his open palm, staring at it thoughtful.
"You used to call me that, sometimes", whispered Kuroko, tilting his head. "All of us. Midorima-kun the bishop, Murasakibara-kun the rook, Aomine-kun the knight, Kise-kun the pawn..."
"I remember", confirmed Akashi with a short nod.
"You the king and I, your queen", continued Kuroko, not minding Akashi's input.
A rare blush found its way onto Akashi's cheeks at Kuroko's phrasing. "Is there a point to this?"
"Your queen", repeated Kuroko and looked up, unabashed as he locked eyes with Akashi. "I always thought it was in reference to the game, yet... my team told me it could mean more than that."
"What are you... asking, Tetsuya?", questioned Akashi, growing more uncomfortable.
"Does it mean something more?", asked Tetsuya, unblinking, bright eyes staring uncomfortably intensely at Akashi. "Coach says it's... romantic. I'm aware that it can stand in a romantic context too, I'm not as oblivious as my team seems to believe. But this doesn't, does it? You would have told me sooner if you'd harbor any such feelings for me... right?"
Despite himself and the situation, Akashi had to laugh at Kuroko's typical bluntness. "Others would stutter around about such things, but with you it's always... straight to the point."
"While you're currently quite obviously stalling", pointed Kuroko out. "You don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable with it. I just thought I should mention it. Have a good night, Akashi-kun."
He put the red queen down and stood, putting Nigou down so the dog could run around between his legs. Akashi followed after a moment. He may not be worthy anymore, but he still wasn't a coward.
"Wait, Tetsuya", called Akashi out as he caught up with the other boy.
Kuroko smiled to himself as he halted. Nigou too stopped and tilted his head confused, looking up at his human questioningly. The duo stood there until Akashi appeared next to them.
"Yes, Akashi-kun?", asked Kuroko, sounding as though he had no idea what Akashi could want.
"It... Your over-analyzing coach is right", sighed Akashi as they fell into step with each other. "I do have romantic feelings for you, Tetsuya. I'm in love with you."
Kuroko tried not to stumble at that. He had been anticipating this since this morning – well, not for tonight, but for the next time he'd meet Akashi, somewhere around next week or so maybe. After replaying every interaction with Akashi, his behavior toward Kuroko compared to that toward others. It seemed more intimate, more at ease. Not as alarmingly obvious as Kise, but still there.
"Why have you never told me?", wanted the bluenette to know.
"I... always have to be the best and when our team slowly fell apart and I realized how much you meant to me, there was this plan forming in my mind. Only the best is good enough for you, Tetsuya. I had to prove to myself that I was worthy of you. I wanted to win the Winter Cup, to defy all members of the Generation of Miracles. To show you that I was the best, that I am superior and that I deserve to be the red king to your red queen", explained Akashi. "But... I failed..."
"And you deemed yourself unfit?", questioned Kuroko, before he huffed slightly. "That is very presumptuous and arrogant, even by your standards, Akashi-kun."
"What?", asked Akashi confused and turned to look at the smaller male.
"That you think you're the one fit to judge who I am allowed to date", stated Kuroko.
"I didn't mean it like that-", started Akashi, growing a little frustrated.
"But it's what you did. You didn't even give me the choice to decide for myself if I'd want to date you, you just decided that you had to prove yourself, then you decided that you weren't fit. You didn't ask for my opinion at all, not once", replied Kuroko and bend down to pick Nigou up.
He placed the pup in his hood, where the sleepy husky more than willingly curled together, though his eyes were trained on Akashi, watching curiously. If it wouldn't sound so insane, Akashi would nearly call the dog's glare accusingly. Like even Nigou disapproved of Akashi's actions.
"I'm sorry, I didn't-", started Akashi, trying to find a way to defend himself.
"You better be", interrupted Kuroko, sounding so serious, it made Akashi flinch. "Thanks to you and your stubbornness, I lost months of a potential relationship. You better make up for that."
Akashi opened his mouth to say something, but Kuroko tugged on his hand and pulled him down so their lips met in a soft kiss. Vanilla. Tetsuya tasted like vanilla. His warm lips were so soft and a little reluctant against Akashi's, even though he had been the one to initiate the kiss. To assure Tetsuya, Akashi wrapped his arms around the bluenette's waist, pulling him flush against his chest.
"You deserve the best", whispered Akashi with a frown when they parted. "I hurt you. I-"
"One of you hurt me. The other has always been kind and sweet to me", interrupted Kuroko, looking up at Akashi with half-lid, kind eyes. "I thought the overly possessive and sadistic one had left after the Winter Cup. I did everything to bring you back. Back to me. So stay. With me."
It felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders as Tetsuya wrapped his arms tightly around Seijuro, pulling him into a tender, loving and comforting hug. Seijuro's fingers clawed into the fabric of Tetsuya's hoodie, holding onto the smaller male for dear life. He couldn't believe this. Couldn't believe to what lengths Tetsuya had gone for him, that Tetsuya would forgive him and want him. Resting his chin on Kuroko's shoulder, he buried his nose in the soft, blue hair.
"I love you, Tetsuya", whispered Akashi softly. "I promise, I won't let the other one hurt you again."
"I know", murmured Tetsuya, resting his cheek against Akashi's chest. "I forgave you long ago, Seijuro-kun. I hope you can forgive yourself too, one day. I want to help you doing so."
The moment would have been perfect, if not for Nigou licking square over Akashi's face right then.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: So, it took me a little longer to finish this one up. Two down, eight more to go - Kise, Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara, Himuro, Kagami, Ogiwara, Imayoshi. Tetsu-chan just has too many seme at his beck and call... Not sure which one of those will be the next, but first I want to write a HimuTakaKuro Halloween fic, so don't be confused if my next KnB story won't be off the list~ ;)
Also, this is kind of inspired by a fanart I saw once, where all the Miragen were dressed as chess-pieces.