Author Note - Yeah well, I really shouldn't be starting another story. But AkaKuro tortured me in my dreams and this thing came out.
What to expect - Arranged Marriage, Female Kuroko.
DISCLAIMER - I don't own Kuroko no Basuke.
Akashi Seijuurou's morning began like any other. He woke up at five and changed into his gymshorts, getting ready for his morning workout routine. After customizing his treadmill to his optimum speed, he began running.
Exactly after an hour and half, a maid came in to inform that breakfast would be served in half an hour, just enough time for him to shower and get dressed.
He went down for breakfast at exactly seven, and began browsing through the stock market updates for the day on his tablet, while his breakfast was being served.
His schedule for the day then arrived via e-mail, courtesy of his dependable secretary. As he was scrolling through the schedule, he received his first surprise for the day.
He had appointments only until 12.
Seijuurou frowned. He was confident that there was supposed to be a board meeting today, immediately after lunch. He was also perfectly sure his secretary could not have made such an amateur mistake.
Which meant only one thing.
His father was somehow involved.
He tried to control his emotions by sipping a cup of his coffee, but that only spurred his anger more, because some incompetent fool had added sugar of all things to his morning coffee. He had half a mind to fire all those who were present in his immediate vicinity, but he restrained himself. He would unleash all of this anger at his acquisition meeting.
Leaving his breakfast almost completely untouched, he walked toward his car. He was 23 years old. He could deal one meeting with his father.
"Seijuurou. I heard you successfully attained the Kawahada Corps today."
He politely inclined his head.
"You should have sought Yuzuki-san's advice. You're still young and-"
He tuned out the rest of his father's criticism, used to them for 23 years. He nodded at the appropriate places, making all the required noises.
Having finished his rant, Akashi Masaomi finally looked ready to talk about the matter at hand.
"Seijuurou, you're 23 now. I believe it's time you began looking for a bride."
Seijuurou looked at his father in surprise. His second surprise of the day. Of all the things he thought his father would talk about, marriage was the absolute last thing he expected it to be.
He knew he'd have to get married at some point, for his own well-being as well as for producing an heir to the Akashi line. He hadn't expected it to be quite so soon.
"Do you have someone in mind?"
This time Seijuurou was definitely baffled. He was finding these surprises extremely discomfiting. He supposed this was how normal people who were not hyperaware of everything felt and Seijuurou promptly decided he hated this…. helpless feeling.
"No. No one in particular."
His father looked surprised, and maybe even a bit disappointed. Had he expected Seijuurou to produce a beautiful girlfriend hidden somewhere ready to be brought to his father's notice, immediately after his father took up the topic of marriage? And where did his father think Seijuurou had the time to seduce random girls when he had been busy taking over the basketball world?
"Very well, then. I have arranged for an alliance beneficial to our family. You are to go meet the girl, today."
Seijuurou suppressed a sharp intake of breath. If the alliance had been arranged prior to this meeting, without his permission, why did his father inquire about any potential love interests?
"What if I had a girlfriend?" The question fell from his mouth before he could stop it, and he cursed himself mentally.
"That would not matter now, would it? Because you do not have one. It's unbecoming of you to ask such irrelevant questions, Seijuurou. I'm surprised at you."
Seijuurou nodded. He should have expected better than to get a straight answer from his father. "Please inform Kouki of all the details regarding the arrangement. I'll be in my study reviewing today's files."
His father nodded at him. "I'll send him the file. You're to be ready at 8 sharp."
After a final bow, the meeting concluded.
Seijuurou mused at the file.
Kuroko Tetsuna, age 23, a graduate of the liberal arts from Toudai. Her file was unremarkable - her grades were average, her hobbies were reading and handicrafts, she was currently a curator of some fancy museum Seijuurou couldn't be bothered to learn the name of.
All in all, she sounded boring.
He sighed. Maybe she would win him over with her sparkling wit and dazzling beauty. He involuntarily scoffed at the thought. His father had obviously considered only one criterion regarding Kuroko Tetsuna, and that was how much wealth she could bring.
Being the sole heir of a variety of international ventures was going to be extremely beneficial to whoever married her, because Tetsuna-chan did not show the slightest bit of inclination towards business.
Seijuurou stared contemplatively at the empty spot where her picture was supposed to be. He supposed he could not be so negative without even giving her a chance. Marrying her would be a favorable situation, as even though Seijuurou had the wits and resources to expand his company to international levels; it would be a long and painstaking process. That was obviously what his father had in mind, as he had arranged a meeting with this otherwise average girl.
She had nothing else in her favor to be an Akashi, but perhaps that's why Seijuurou wanted to give her a chance.
He was slightly curious about how their meeting would go. He would obviously try to make her feel comfortable, but he had very little patience for small talk. He wondered how the girl would fare against him for more than an hour.
He sighed again as he stared at his watch. She was late. Another strike against her already unremarkable personality. He rubbed his forehead, trying to quell an oncoming headache. This girl was getting on his nerves, and he hadn't even met her.
"Sorry I'm late, Akashi-san. I had a flat tire."
He looked up, perfectly ready to chastise her for keeping him waiting for half an hour, when he met eyes the most beautiful shade of blue he'd ever seen.
He took in Kuroko Tetsuna's appearance. Long pale blue hair, the exact shade of her eyes, pale skin, petite, but surprisingly feminine. She was unremarkable in every way except for her eyes. And her hair, he thought quietly, as he took in its length. He wondered if it would be soft to touch.
He stood up and gave her a practiced smile. "That's alright, Kuroko-san. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Akashi Seijuurou."
She bowed slightly. "Likewise, Akashi-san."
He noted that she did not return his smile.
They both sat down and he flashed her another charming smile. "I'm sorry to hear about your flat tire, Kuroko-san, but you could have called me. I would have sent you a chauffeur."
Kuroko Tetsuna stared at him with those beautiful eyes, betraying not a single hint of emotion. "That's quite alright, Akashi-san."
Seijuurou raised an eyebrow, but did not comment further. "Tetsuna, I- oh, forgive me for being a bit presumptuous, but may I call you that?"
It was a test. He usually caught people off guard with those 'Can I call you by your first name?' questions. He wondered how this impassive girl in front of him would react.
"Isn't that a bit too forward, Akashi-san?"
Answering a question with a question, huh? That was rather clever of her.
"Uh-yes," he stuttered slightly, to give off the expression of being shy, uncertain. Women usually loved that. "But I suppose, since we're to be engaged to be married, I thought…" he trailed off, looking at her through his lashes.
Her eyes hardened imperceptibly. He smirked inwardly. This girl was so much fun.
"I do not believe the engagement has been finalized, Akashi-san."
Check.
She hated him. Or this engagement. Or she had a lover. Or perhaps, he thought, giving her another of his patented smiles, it was a mixture of the three.
"Ah, my mistake. I'm sorry for being so forward, Kuroko-san."
Tetsuna nodded at him. She looked like she was steeling herself to tell him something. He was tempted to put her out of her misery by telling her not to waste her breath that he already knew what she was going to say, but a part of him wanted to hear it from her.
"Akashi-san, I would like to request a favor of you. I know we've just met, but," she hesitated, looking nervous.
He waved a hand at her, motioning for her to continue.
"I'd like you to reject me."
Seijuurou smiled serenely at her. "And pray tell me, why should I do that Kuroko-san?"
Tetsuna looked outraged. Or as outraged as she could, with her impassive façade. Oh yes, it was all a façade, for her eyes conveyed what her face and lips would not. He knew he was right in thinking those eyes beautiful. They looked a thousand times more beautiful when she was righteously angry.
He supposed righteous anger was what was going on in Kuroko Tetsuna's mind. But a part of him hoped it was not. Because righteous anger against your evil fiancé ("Soon to be", Tetsuna would have said, he thought smirking inwardly) was, just too predictable. He expected more from Tetsuna.
"Are you telling me you agree with this? You're an educated man, Akashi-san, do you really expect me to believe you have no objections with this?"
Seijuurou took in her faintly flushed cheeks and flashing eyes. So it was righteous indignation. How disappointing. This girl was so uninteresting he could cry. He decided to cut to the chase.
"Kuroko-san, as you are very much aware, I'm a busy man. You claim you are uninterested in the marriage, but are not willing to provide valid reasons. Tell me, are you even making sense to yourself?"
Tetsuna looked up at him. "I want to marry for love."
This girl was such a walking cliché. He wanted to shake her, tell her there was no love in this cold, cruel world. Not the kind she was looking for anyway. She was so unbelievably naïve. Well, not that it mattered to him anyway.
"Yes, that's all very well, Kuroko-san," her eyes narrowed at his dismissive tone, "but," he looked at her carefully, "I still don't understand why I should be the one doing the rejecting."
Tetsuna looked expressionless, but he could sense that she was ruffled, somehow.
"It's only polite, Akashi-san. You're of a higher social station than our family, so it would be highly disrespectful of me to do that."
She was lying. Her words made sense, but she was hiding something. He was interested in figuring out the truth, but not particularly so. If she so badly wanted to get out of this marriage, he would only be glad to provide an exit. He didn't want to be tied down to someone who didn't want to be with him.
"Alright then, Kuroko-san," she noticeably relaxed, and he suppressed a stab of irritation (Was he that undesirable? Or perhaps she was into women?), "I'll talk to my father about this."
He removed his shoes, coat, and stepped into the foyer, without bothering to announce his presence. It wasn't like there was anyone (other than the servants) to welcome him home.
He had a sudden, fleeting image of Tetsuna welcoming him home and he quashed the thought with surprising annoyance.
So caught up was he in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice his father come down.
"Ah Seijuurou, you're back. Come, come, I've good news."
Seijuurou looked at his father with mild surprise. His father was in a good mood. His father's good moods were rare to come by, and even rarely witnessed by him. He could probably count in one hand, the amount of times his father had been in a good mood since his mother's death.
He followed his father silently to the living room.
"I have just completed the final talks regarding your engagement-"
That was his third surprise. He supposed surprise was not quite the word, shocked would be more like it. The fact that he was an Akashi was the only reason he maintained his composure. The intensity of his anger surprised him; he hadn't realized he felt so strongly about this matter.
However, that was to be expected after all, it was his entire life they were talking about here. He had been happy (even though he hadn't realized it at the time) to be given a choice regarding the choosing of his life partner. To be suddenly wrested of even that- his anger was an extremely reasonable response.
That anger would change nothing though, for his father would not see reason. As a matter of fact, he was still talking. He forced himself to keep listening.
His father was talking about weddings, invitations, and formal announcements and Seijuurou couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand to be in the same room as him, not when he seemed actually pleased about something Seijuurou had done. Not when Seijuurou himself wanted nothing to do with this.
He excused himself, and his father still looking ecstatic (he never looked that way when he brought trophy upon trophy home, he never looked that way when he stood first in his university entrance exams, never when the whole world praised him for becoming the youngest ever CEO in Japan, never when -) waved him off.
He went to his room. After staring at nothing in particular for a while, he decided it was enough moping for a situation of this caliber.
He picked up the file that catalogued Kuroko Tetsuna's entire life history. Turning to the personal information page, he memorized the ten digits. He then threw the file across the room, where it lay strewing its contents on the floor- his first display of anger since his father's announcement.
He then picked up his phone and dialed her number.
She picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?" Hearing her voice only infuriated him further at his helpless situation.
"Hello Tetsuna, it's me, Akashi Seijuurou."
Author Notes - I am working on my other fics. I'm stuck in certain places, and switching fandoms isn't good for my muse. Rest assured, I will update as soon as my uncertainty about the plot is resolved in Alexithymia.