A/n: Enjoy and please review if you have any questions/comments!
To Save this Goddamn Town (2)
Taiga woke up in degrees. The first time he did, it was to a blinding light and shadows hovering around him. Voices, warped and muffled, seeped into the silent space.
How many more of these am I going to see today? If Akashi gets angry, don't expect my support, Kuroko.
Do not worry, Midorima-kun, I will speak to him. Please do what you can for Kagami-san. Is it very serious?
Hn, the wound is a clean one, but it needs cauterizing. Murasakibara! Do we still have the fire poker?
You traded it for Kerosuke remember, Mido-chin?
Damn, is there anything else?
Hmm, a nail filer, I think.
That'll work, bring it here!
Taiga went back to sleep.
The second time he woke up was much more coherent. Though his mind was still hazy and he couldn't quite recollect what had happened, he could register sounds correctly and the floating light above his head had reassembled into a glass lantern. Taiga blinked, his mouth feeling cotton-dry as a dull ache pulsed in his shoulder and side. He was on something soft and clean-smelling, a bed probably, but how did he…?
A face appeared over him.
"Kagami-san."
And like that, Taiga was awake.
"GYAAAHHHHH!"
Kuroko barely dodged a brutal head-butt to the nose as Taiga shot straight up. He yelped a second later, however, when spikes of pain erupted in his shoulder.
"Please stay still," Kuroko said, somewhat uselessly, as Taiga groaned and curled up, clinging to his shoulder.
"Wh-What the—how did—Kuroko?!"
Situated on a chair next to the bed, said young man waved.
"Yes, hello again. I apologize for ruining your dramatic death, Kagami-san. Your one-liner sounded very cool though."
Taiga gaped at him. Distantly, his mind processed that he was in a sparse, windowless room. Three bookcases lined with chipped and cracked jars were against one wall, while a wooden podium was pressed against the opposite one.
Sitting on it was a huge ceramic frog.
What.
The.
Fuck.
He was fully prepared to flip his shit when a deep voice suddenly came from the side.
"He better not have ripped the stitches already."
A very tall man stood at the door-less entrance He had glasses, a frown that looked stuck to his face, and hair as green as the freaking trees outside.
"No, everything is fine," Kuroko replied, perfectly blank, "Kagami-san is just easily startled."
Before Taiga could choke out a protest, the man rolled his eyes, walking over to the bed.
"More like you were trying to scare him."
Without any preamble or even making eye contact, he reached over and flipped up Taiga's shirt.
Taiga nearly shrieked. "HEY, WHA—!"
"No signs of infection so far," the green-haired guy said, letting go within half a second, as if he'd just touched a dead fish.
"The bandages need to be changed though. You can either handle the binding yourself or get Murasakibara to do it."
He looked at Taiga expectantly, as if he was suppose to have any idea who Murasakibara was. Or what in the blue fuck was happening at all for that matter.
Kuroko stirred next to him. "Please ask for Murasakibara-kun to come. I'm afraid Kagami-san has no preservation skills to speak of."
"That much is obvious enough," green-haired guy said, gave Taiga one last look like he had personally insulted him in some way, before turning around and walking out.
At this point, Taiga was quite ready to lay back down and pretend this was all one completely messed up dream. Kuroko had other plans.
"Please excuse Midorima-kun, his bedside manner needs some work," he said, "Oh, that would be the person who just lifted up your shirt. In any case, I am glad you are finally awake, Kagami-san. You have been asleep for quite some time. I was getting worried."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned to a small dresser next to the bed.
"I hope you will not think this too presumptuous, but I cleaned this up a bit for you," he said, pulling out a dark, red and white looking cloth, "It will probably need a few more washings, since we only have well water here, but the bloodstains are gone at least."
With care, he placed it on Taiga's lap, who stared at the bundle.
It was Tatsuya's jacket.
Taiga stared and stared. A terrible emptiness yawned open inside him.
It was too late now. He already knew that. Even if a voice in his head was still screaming for him to get up, to find the trail, to…to do something.
But what could he do? Tatsuya was gone. He was gone.
CRASH
Taiga's head whipped up and Kuroko's eyes slid to the doorway. There was the muffled thump of footsteps out in the hall, as if someone had stumbled. Then a figure was at the threshold.
"Taiga!"
Before he could even look properly, there were arms around him. Taiga gasped, the wind knocked out of him, as his injured shoulder hit the metal bed frame. The pain, however, didn't register at all. Raven hair tickled the edge of his cheek.
"Tatsuya?"
The arms tightened. "Yeah," a voice whispered, "It's me."
"I thought you were dead," he rasped.
Tatsuya chuckled, a strangely choked sound. "Same here."
He didn't elaborate, but at that point Taiga didn't care. A hand found its way to Tatsuya's sleeve, where it clenched tight, and he could feel his brother's heartbeat thrumming against his chest. For a moment, it was almost as if they were twelve again, with no one in the world but each other.
He had no idea how long they sat there, before Tatsuya finally pulled away.
"God, I sit with you for a whole day and of course you wake up the second I step out."
His brother sighed, a weary smile on his lips. He looked tired, worry lines clear on his usually smooth skin, but seemed otherwise unhurt. Taiga blinked in surprise. While he knew Tatsuya was more than capable of taking care of himself, there should've been at least some visible sign of how he'd escaped.
"What happened to you?" he asked, "You didn't have any weapons. And that was a V Unit."
Before Tatsuya could reply however, another voice spoke, "What an interesting name."
Both men jolted, with Taiga banging his shoulder again on the wall.
"OW! Goddamnit!"
"K-Kuroko-kun," Tatsuya stuttered, hand flying to chest, "I didn't realize you were here."
"Good evening, Himuro-san," Kuroko said, without a trace of blandness, "Forgive me for not calling you right away. I had to ask Midorima-kun to come check on his injuries."
"Oh, no, it's alright. He actually told me as I was walking back. Midorima-san really is very considerate, isn't he? Though he has trouble showing it."
"Yes, I am afraid his tsundereness is quite out of control."
They shared a polite laugh, as if they were nothing but the oldest of friends and Taiga didn't bother to hide his staring. While the relief at seeing his brother alive had put a momentary halt on things, he was swiftly returning to stunned disbelief.
"Hey, not to interrupt," he said, giving them a sardonic look, "But would someone mind telling me what the hell happened?"
"Ah, yes," Kuroko turned back to him, "This is Midorima-kun and Murasakibara-kun's shop. I brought you here after we were attacked."
And how does that explain anything at all? Taiga thought, incredulously taking in Kuroko's narrow shoulders and thin face. Up close, he seemed even smaller, the top of his head probably only reaching his collarbone when standing. It was hard to imagine a petite guy like this could fight off one of the Emperor's sentinels on his own.
Tatsuya squeezed his shoulder.
"Taiga, it's okay now. We're safe. Atsushi told me the sentinels don't come this far down the mountain."
"What? Who's Atsu—?"
"Mou, Muro-chin, you need to watch where you're going. It took me two days to make that salve."
In what was quickly becoming a routine occurrence, another silhouette was at the doorway. A huge one this time. Taiga didn't manage to catch more than a flash of violet and one enormous hand, before a freaking giant was strolling into the room.
"Ara, Kuro-chin you're here too?" The giant blinked languidly at the assembly. He had drooping violet eyes and a lazy drawl to his voice, while long purple locks hung in a mess over his face. Piles of white gauze and tape were cradled in his arms.
Kuroko nodded. "I have been here the whole time."
Simultaneously, Tatsuya chuckled, scratching his head. "Ah-haha, I'm sorry, Atsushi, I got so excited when I learned Taiga woke up, I guess I didn't watch where I was going. Did I cause any inconvenience?"
There was a bored shrug. "Not really. Just Mine-chin's gonna have to go hiking again for more ingredients."
"It isn't as if he went last time anyway," Kuroko said, somehow sounding even flatter than normal.
The giant just grunted, the "as-long-as-I-don't-have-to-do-it" nearly audible.
In no particular rush, he lumbered over to them and Taiga's jaw nearly hit the ground, because holy god, exactly how tall was this guy? He was practically a skyscraper up close.
"Hai~ Branchbrows," said the skyscraper, dumping the supplies directly onto the bed, "Hurry up and take off your shirt."
"…"
Taiga grabbed Tatsuya's arm.
"So filling me in right about now would be great, thanks."
As it turned out the purple skyscraper was Murasakibara Atsushi, one of the names Taiga had heard Kuroko and that Midorima guy toss around earlier. He was a chemist and medicine maker though the tank-like build and slightly stoned look gave zero indication of that, and also helped out Midorima with patients occasionally.
Together their shop was akin to a pseudo-clinic/pharmacy, which given the disease-ridden times, must have been pretty damn invaluable. It was probably what overrode Midorima and Murasakibara's assorted weirdness as well, which they seemed to be chock full of.
"That's Kerosuke," Murasakibara said suddenly and Taiga jumped, quickly averting his gaze from the large glass frog. Its size aside, the thing had the most unnerving, beady black eyes Taiga had ever seen and he swore it had been watching them since the beginning.
"I-I wasn't…uh…is…is that a decoration or something?"
"Kerosuke's never a decoration," Murasakibara said, distractedly unraveling some gauze, "Mido-chin keeps him here as a permanent lucky item."
As if that had made any sense at all, Kuroko looked up. "Oh, has Midorima-kun checked Oha Asa yet?"
"Uh-huh, Cancer is ranked eighth and Libra's at tenth."
Kuroko sighed, "This is why you need things like Kerosuke. Both of you are always at the bottom."
Murasakibara pouted. Actually pouted. There were many things Taiga thought he'd be forced to witness in his life. A seven feet tall man pouting like a child had not been one of them.
"It's not my fault," he said, "Mine-chin and Kise-chin are even lower than me."
Taiga glanced at Tatsuya, wondering if he was the only one baffled beyond words at the moment. To his relief, his brother looked just as confused.
"Oha Asa…is that the horoscope program they play on the radio?" Tatsuya inquired politely.
Kuroko and Murasakibara glanced at him, faint surprise flickering in their eyes.
"You know it?" Murasakibara was staring, "That's pretty amazing, Muro-chin. We thought Mido-chin was their only listener."
Taiga twitched at the nickname—as he'd been obnoxiously dubbed "Branchbrows" without another thought, the weird "chin" add-on seemed to signal familiarity for Murasakibara. Kind of weird seeing as they'd only just met a day ago.
Tatsuya didn't appear to mind though, laughing about how he had accidentally tuned in on Oha Asa once during a stakeout. Already, his brother seemed to be establishing some kind of odd rapport with the big guy, if the first name basis was any indication.
Had he started trusting them?
"Actually, you're probably the one who's amazing, Atsushi," his brother smiled, all dazzling teeth, "Having a shop at the base of Kiseki Mountain, I can't imagine the difficulties. Tell me, how do you really do it?"
Taiga almost smacked his forehead in realization. Of course Tatsuya was still suspicious. He wouldn't be Tatsuya otherwise.
Murasakibara simply blinked.
"Eh? What difficulties? We set up here because lots of herbs grow beyond the hill."
"But what about the sentinels? They're all over this mountain."
"I told you already, they don't come down this far."
"Yes, but you can't be certain that—"
"They don't."
All heads turned to Kuroko, who was watching Tatsuya carefully.
"The soil here is rich in iron which they are weak to, as I'm sure you already know," his voice was soft, but there was a hint of accusation within it, "You can rest assured, Himuro-san, they will not descend this far down. There is no need to interrogate us."
The smile dropped from Tatsuya's face like a hot coal. Suddenly, a frigid, strained silence had formed in the room as Tatsuya and Kuroko stared at each other and it occurred to Taiga that his brother might have wanted to ask these questions for some time now, but refrained until he'd regained consciousness.
He stayed quiet. The circumstances may have been strange he supposed, but Kuroko had saved his life when he hadn't owed him anything, when he could've very easily left him to die. Anyone with the Teikou wouldn't have done something like that. It wasn't the way things worked.
Or at least that's what his gut told him, but what did Taiga really know? He'd always been bad at the interrogation stuff—too quick to believe was what Captain Hyuuga had said, too quick to look for good in people.
Murasakibara snipped a bandage in half. "Muro-chin still doesn't trust us?"
His voice was very flat, almost bored, but it punctured the thick silence like a needle. Kuroko turned away as Tatsuya glanced at Murasakibara with something surprisingly akin to guilt.
"No, that's not it," he said genuinely, "I'm very grateful for everything you've done for Taiga and I. We would not have made it in the forest without your help. It's just…"
…how is any of this possible?
Tatsuya's brow furrowed and he looked like he was searching for any other words aside from those, but couldn't find them. Murasakibara ripped open a packet of antiseptic wipes, deliberately not looking at him. Taiga coughed.
"Kuroko, how the hell did you get away from that thing?" he said, changing the subject, "From what I remember, it didn't look eager to just let us go."
Kuroko, who had been studying his brother closely, looked up.
"Ah, yes, that," he said, "The formless one, or what you probably call a B65 correct?"
Taiga began to nod, before suddenly yelping as Murasakibara pressed the alcohol swab too hard into his wound.
"A what?" Murasakibara said, unfazed by how Taiga cursed him out.
"That's how we classify the sentinels," Tatsuya said, eager to cover up the previous awkwardness, "It's based on the serial codes we've seen on their necks. Each letter is always assigned to one of the five types, though who knows what they could stand for."
It was nearly imperceptible—a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of moment, but Taiga saw Murasakibara and Kuroko exchange glances.
"Well, that's certainly not something we've heard people call them before," Kuroko said, with a weird spark in his eye, almost resembling mirth. "It seems rather fitting though. Perhaps we should start using it too."
Murasakibara just grunted again. His large, shockingly deft hands were now binding Taiga's shoulder, having tossed the soiled bandages onto the dresser.
"B units are known for their speed," Tatsuya added, looking somewhat bewildered now, "To be able to get away from it and drag Taiga all the way here, you are something else, Kuroko-kun."
"Not at all," Kuroko said and gave Taiga a very solemn look that made his heart bounce. What was with this guy's eyes? They were too fucking blue.
"Really. I wasn't the one who moved him. Kagami-san weighs a literal ton."
Taiga's eyelid twitched. "Oi."
"What?" Tatsuya turned to Murasakibara, "Then Atsushi was it…?"
"Ah, no," Kuroko shook his head, "It wasn't Murasakibara-kun either. He had to help Midorima-kun with a few patients."
Taiga tilted his head, waiting for Kuroko to tell him who it actually was then.
CRASH
Both Taiga and Tatsuya jumped a near feet, the latter almost falling off his chair. Murasakibara's gaze rolled to the ceiling.
"Ara, I thought Mido-chin kicked them out."
Kuroko didn't even blink, "Perfect timing. We can get all the uncomfortable introductions out of the way right now."
They stared at him.
Distantly, from somewhere else in the house there was the sound of thudding footsteps and voices shouting all at once.
"Holy shit, Kise, what the fuck's your problem?! You nearly tore off my arm!"
"Oh stop being dramatic, Aominecchi! It's not my fault you were taking forever. How much did you think an old porn magazine was worth anyway?"
"How much—That was an exclusive edition of Mai-chan's April photoshoot! I could've gotten three bags of rice out of that snake-eyed bastard if you hadn't dragged me away!"
"I highly doubt Imayoshi-san would've given you even a grain of rice for that thing. And anyways, who cares? We have more important things to focus on!"
"What do you mean who ca—!"
"YOU TWO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Midorima's vaguely psychotic voice erupted, "I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME BACK UNTIL TOMORROW!"
"Maa, maa, calm down, Midorimacchi," the second voice rushed to soothe, "We went out and got our lucky items see? Here's the polka-dot lunchbox and Aominecchi's tiger keychain."
There was a beat of silence, before Midorima spoke again, suddenly subdued.
"Hn, alright. But you still can't sleep here tonight."
"What?!"the first voice snapped, "Bullshit! I spent an hour convincing Takao to give me this thing!"
"You procured this from Takao?" There was a pause. "Well in that case, you can sleep in the rain for all I care. Besides, the beds are taken."
At this, the second voice suddenly began squealing like a high school girl.
"Oh my god, oh my god, are they taken by who I think, Midorimacchi?! Oh god, what are they like? Do you think it'd be weird if I still asked for an autograph in this situation? I mean they can always give me a lock of hair or something instead if their hands are too injured. Or would that be weird too? Oh god, I should have brought Kasamatsucchi with me!"
"Christ, Kise, calm down. You're such a disgrace."
"You wouldn't understand, Aominecchi! I'm the one who wanted to meet them the most and once again all of you guys have managed to do it before me! How is that fair?"
"Che, whatever! It's not like I had a fucking choice,"the voice, this "Aominecchi" suddenly became stiff, almost cold and Taiga's eyes widened in confusion. He turned to Kuroko, who didn't meet his eyes.
Midorima made a disgusted noise. "Are you both incapable of keeping it down? Go to the kitchen before you break something else in here!"
There was more muttering and wailing protests, before it sounded like Midorima had forcefully pushed the other two out, since a door slammed a second later.
Silence reigned in the room.
"Alright," Kuroko stood up abruptly, "To the kitchen everyone. Murasakibara-kun, could I trouble you to make some dinner?"
"It's already done. Just let the pastry buns bake for another ten minutes," the giant said, taping down the last loose edge of Taiga's bandages. He glanced at Kuroko from the side, one half-lidded purple eye on him. "You shouldn't make a mess, Kuro-chin. It's annoying."
"Better now than later," Kuroko said simply and Taiga and Tatsuya looked at each other, because cryptic shit like that never meant anything good.