Necessary terms/words to know:
Mafia: Divided into families/crew, but all is under control of 1 boss.
Positions in a mafia (authority-wise): Head commander (Aka: Boss), Underboss, Consigliere (Aka:Personal advisor), Caporegime (Aka: Head of a family/crew), Assistants of each family, Foot soldiers
Setting: Present day Tokyo, Japan.
I
"Even if a thousand nights imprison me,
Even if logic won't let this love come true,
I'll convey them to you."
- Cherry Blossoms on Two Moonlit Nights
"Akashi-san..."
"Can you repeat what I just said?"
"You asked me that twice already."
"You weren't listening, so it was worth repeating."
Akashi slumped against the limousine's exquisite leather seat before clucking her tongue, evidently vexed by the stoic man. The redhead looked out of the window, watching the buildings in the area flashed by as the car moved at an inhuman speed. That wasn't surprising though, considering that her driver's some sort of an evil demon. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself down, Akashi regained enough patience to answer.
"So, according to you, I'm going to live with you as your lover."
He nodded, turning his gaze away from the road. The teal head then picked up a pile of papers on the nearby seat, throwing them backwards. With unbelievable accuracy, the documents landed perfectly on Akashi's lap. The girl frowned, immediately relating the papers' motion to Midorima's three pointers. Akashi redirected her attention to the document's cover page, only to see the title that read:
'Rules for everyone in the Household: Strictly followed'
The redhead sighed.
"...follow every rule there is"
Kuroko subtly nodded before grabbing something from the seat next to him once again.
Jeez, Akashi thought. How did he managed to put everything on such tiny space?
He then brought the object up before waving it around.
It was a black colored purse.
"...and all of this happened because of some unknown debts my family owed you."
The teal head turned to Akashi before giving another nod of approval, his face completely devoid of emotion.
Akashi popped a vein.
"And you expect me to believe you!?" she groaned, squeezing her eyes closed as she buried her face in her lap, feeling utterly defeated. It was unlike Akashi to lose control of her emotions, but the whole idea of her parents owing someone money, especially to this no-presence-shadow-man, seemed totally ludicrous.
If only everything that happened so far was just a horrible dream, and things would simply return to normal when she opened her eyes...
As if that would happen.
The same distinct smell of fresh mint still lingered in the air, and when she peaked out from between her fingers, the first thing that came into sight was the brown color of the driver's leather seat.
Of course nothing had changed.
The demonic driver's baby-blue eyes danced worriedly on the rear-view mirror of the limousine, purposely looking for Akashi's heterochromatic ones after noticing that the redhead at the back became silent all of the sudden. For a long moment, their piercing gazes were held; neither of them willing to say anything or even move on their seat. The limousine did an abrupt U-Turn around the neatly-decorated garden inside of what, Akashi assumed, was a residential mansion. The capturing sight of the man's cobalt eyes were forcefully removed as Akashi swayed on her seat, quickly grabbing a hold of the door to keep herself from falling. The long silence in the car was getting real uncomfortable, and just when Akashi thought that the bluenett probably won't answer her previous question, the calm reply came.
"In a way, yes" The limousine plunged into the deserted parking lot, the engine giving its final roar before it was turned off. The teal head opened the door and left, beckoning Akashi to follow him. The redhead watched him for a minute, deciding if she even wanted to follow what she was told to do. It wasn't like she had a choice, though. Escaping when you didn't even know where you are seemed like a stupid idea. Sighing in defeat, Akashi stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her before running after the man, who was walking way ahead of her.
"Wait," she said, out of breath from trying to to catch up with him. Akashi pulled the man back by his sleeves, tugging on it demandingly to prevent him from walking away. "Isn't it a little unfair for you to know every, well, a lot of things and I have no idea what's going on, kidnapper-san?"
"It's Kuroko, Akashi-san," the man stopped midway and turned to Akashi "Kuroko Tetsuya."
"Hmph," the girl slowly let go of the piece of cloth in her hand. "Satisfying enough, I guess. Maybe I should say, my first impression of you was real nice," Akashi leaned closer to the man. "But you can make up for it."
"This is bad. I'm lost again," the bluenett interrupted as he despondently turned his head in another direction before walking off, leaving Akashi's statement hanging in the air.
"Come on in, Akashi-san."
Kuroko snapped the lights on, revealing a dark, old Japanese-styled townhouse. The entire room was made of wood, from the clean, shiny parquet floor, to the classic oak partition that separated the living room and the bedrooms, to the mahogany picture frame on the counter. A small set of stairs were squeezed in on the right, considering the space of the room and the fact that the townhouse probably had many floors. Despite how stuffy and ancient-looking the place actually was, the things in it were noticeably expensive. Still, the first words that spilled out of Akashi's mouth said otherwise.
"It looks shabby from the outside, but the inside doesn't disappoint either. How am I supposed to live in this tiny space?"
"You're mean, Akashi-san."
"I know."
"Mafias can't have easy-spotted houses, Akashi-san, or else we'll be in trouble."
"Now you're saying that you're in the mafia? What the hell?"
Kuroko didn't answer.
The redhead irritably slipped off her shoes, switching to wear the plain straw slippers provided on the floor. Akashi was about to reach into her backpack when she suddenly realized that she hadn't brought it. Luckily, the tealhead was kind enough and gave her ten minutes to collect her stuff, clothes and all, before dragging her outside the house and into the limousine.
"Where's my luggage?"
"Upstairs, first room to the right. Other's rooms, including mine, are on the third."
"Other's?"
The tealhead tiredly glanced at her, raking his long, slender fingers through his blue hair. "Apparently, I'm not the only one here; some of my assistants and associates are here as well. There's a bathroom inside your room so that you won't have to share it with us, and also, the second floor's cleared. Just, don't enter other rooms without permission. All books and entertainments are down here on the first floor, so there won't be other reasons for you to go elsewhere." Kuroko took a deep breath, looking as if he just gave a speech in front of the whole country. Speaking wasn't his specialty in the first place, oppositely, it was probably his worst subject.
"I believe that basic toiletries are already prepared for you, so I don't think it's necessary to go outside too. Besides, the door's locked from the inside… Where are you going?"
Akashi grabbed the doorknob, attempting to break the lock by brute force. No avail.
"Buy girls' private things. Besides, I need fresh air, it's too stuffy in here."
"What things, to be specific?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"Security problems, Akashi-san. You might plan to escape."
"Pads. Happy now?"
There was silence. Then a blank look on Kuroko's face.
"I never knew that you were that hopeless. Do you need me to spell it for you, Kuroko-san? It's P-A-D-S, thank god."
"I'll call someone to buy that for-"
"Will not do. I need to buy them myself."
The tealhead sighed, bringing up something that looked like a mini-intercom before pushing some buttons that looked random to Akashi. The call was picked up on the third ring; the ruffling sound of the blanket was heard, followed by a lazy groan of a male.
"I'm sleeping. Call someone else, Kuroko."
"Nope. I need you to bring this lady out to buy p-"
Akashi shot him a glare.
"I mean, girls' private things…"
Even with Kuroko's annoying calls plus loud knocks against his door, the Akashi's 'assistant' took the total of thirty minutes to shower, change, clean his room, and finally descend down the stairs. Akashi had already finished her tour around the townhouse three times, and just when she was closely inspecting the bookshelves, a person's footsteps was heard.
God, he was scary.
The young man was wearing a black, striped suit that was accompanied by a sleek, midnight blue dotted tie. Beneath his coat was a white shirt with emerald stripes, transparent enough to reveal his broad, muscular chest. Every little detail was cut to precision, from his bold shoulders to the gentle lines on his waist, and also his leather shoes that fitted him perfectly.
And he's got red eyes and toned, bright hair. Like her, just a little darker.
It wasn't quite right to say that he's a man, as you could still see the childish features decorating his face. He must be, at most, only a few years older than her, maybe even the same. Are guys her age dressed in tuxedos and looked this matured these days?
"Stop staring, whoever you are that's standing over there. You're annoying me."
In a split second, a red scissor spiraled across the room, and it was just his sharp, wild reflexes that made the man able to dodge that. The sharp object only managed to graze the right side of his cheek.
"What the f-"
"Only those who served me are allowed to speak to me in that manner," Akashi pushed the desk aside, making way for herself as she walked closer to the man, who slowly pulled away. The girl forcefully grabbed his shoulder. "I don't allow anyone who opposes me to look down on me or talk to me like that." A simple downward hand movement from Akashi and he fell onto his knees, crashing onto the cold, hardwood floor.
"Lower your head."
It was quite surprising.
Ten years in the mafia, trained by his parents ever since he was six, moving to Japan when he was nine, mastering Judo when he was eleven, and yet, he had never met anyone with such an aura.
He was known, too. Quite a lot, actually. He was a top-notch assistant to the mafia boss at a very young age, and all of his acquaintances would know that he was tenacious, reckless, even undefeatable.
The mafia world was brutal, and it would swallow every single weak people whole. That's why he must be strong.
When the mafia boss died, his trusted right hand man's only son took his place, since he didn't have any children, and the redhead was bound to serve the new boss. Unlike the other bosses, this fledgling appeared very small to the cruel world, and he was quiet and reserved. The redhead hated weak people, and this young boy absolutely seemed like one.
But then, time proved that he was wrong.
When the first attack from the other gangs came, both boys were around 14, one with a lot of fighting experience and the other devoid of any. His tealheaded boss's only weapon was an arrow, and he looked like he hadn't use one before.
Still, when the enemy attacked, the boy, with his wobbly hands, managed to shoot the sharp object.
It hit the opposing man right on his chest.
Then everything had changed.
The redhead's hatred towards the boy suddenly turned into admiration, and in a short time, he had accepted the mysterious boss as a friend. Even though they were close to each other, he only knew a tiny part of him. The young boy's actions and thoughts never failed to surprise him, and it looked like there was a lot more things that he had not yet known.
Like what he did this time.
His dear boss had asked him to bring a girl he had never saw before out to shopping out of the blue. And somehow, before he even knew it, he was already crumpled on the floor.
He was tenacious, reckless, even undefeatable. How did he allowed himself to be pushed down by a mere little girl? His parents would fly from America to Japan to kill him personally if they'd known.
The redhead swore that he heard Kuroko chuckled, and he angrily turned towards the boy.
"Oi, Kuroko, who is she?"
"Oh? This lady?" he walked over, offering the redhead a hand, which he greatly accepted. "My lover. Her name's Akashi Seiko, Kagami-kun. She appeared to be quite irrational at times-" Kuroko dodged a scissor that was flying in his direction. "-so you might not want to anger her."
The redhead, 'Kagami', almost chocked on his own spit. "What? Are you secretly a sadist, Kuroko? Who would want this bit- I mean, girl as a lover?"
Akashi gave him a death stare that read 'I will kill you if you say anything further' at that.
"I'll explain things later, Kagami-kun," Kuroko said, gesturing both of them to the front door. "For now, could you take this lady out first? I think she would appreciate that."
After letting Kagami pay everything she bought ("My money's with Kuroko-san!"said Akashi), they started their journey back. For the first time in her life, Akashi lost count of the time. Ever since she was kidnapped by the tealhead, she completely forgot the dates. Akashi just randomly assumed it was the beginning of a new day, though, since the town was eerily quiet and the sun was just rising, lightly illuminating the sky with red and orange shades.
There was an awkward silence between them as Kagami walked the girl to the back from nearest convenient store. Apparently, the nearest store in the area was a kilometer away, taking both fifteen minutes to reach, and although Akashi wanted to complain badly, she decided that it was better to keep her mouth shut.
The redhead glanced at the other individual and suddenly spoke up, almost making Kagami jump in surprise.
"Where are we?"
Kagami averted his gaze to the ground before mumbling his reply. He wasn't in the mood to talk, really, especially after Akashi's warm greetings.
"Somewhere in Tokyo," the man gloomily replied, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his suit. The air felt uncomfortable dry and cold. "Not downtown, though."
Akashi puffed her cheeks, glaring at the taller man. "Nice answer."
Standing in front of the townhouse, Kagami looked around, probably making sure that there's no one suspicious in the area, before bringing up a set of keys. He shoved the correct one into its place, turning the doorknob open and quickly closing the door after them. The man then walked elsewhere, leaving her alone at the entrance.
Akashi placed the items she bought on the floor before glancing up to the old clock on the wall, which read 6:01. She had many plans, initially, on how she should further investigate the townhouse, but made her final decision to head to the dining room. Her stomach was already growling in protest after lacking its usual dinner last night.
The redhead expected the room to be quite, as she thought that no one was probably up at this hour, but received something completely different.
The usually quiet room was filled with lively conversations and the plain wooden table was covered by a colorful table cloth. On top of the neatly woven material was what you could describe as a perfect breakfast- salty butter spread on top of the the toasts, which were crisply baked, accompanied by a few poached eggs and sausage patty, a bowl of fresh-looking salad topped with roasted bacon, and pancakes garnished with strawberry and cherry piling on top of each other on a fancy plate.
The breakfast was, seemingly, finished halfway; some of the people sitting there was already drinking their preferred beverages, most of it was coffee.
Kuroko, who was sitting at the head of the table, turned and gave Akashi a nod. The action caused others to redirect their attention to her as well, and the room was suddenly quiet.
"Alright," the tealhead said, and in a split second, everyone's attention was already back to him. "I believe that this lady here needed a little introduction from each of you, if it won't trouble you too much."
The man that owned the first seat abruptly stood up, waving cheerfully at Akashi, who was standing at the entrance. The guy was wearing a suit, though it wasn't surprising, since everyone in the room was wearing the same thing- except the fact that his tie had a clown pattern, filled with multi-color dots. He had long, black hair, and some messy strands were covering his forehead, making him looked a little creepy from her angle.
The thought was quickly swept away when the guy piped up, his sparkling, puppy-like eyes focused on her.
"Akashi-chan, was it? I heard a little about you from Kuro-chan earlier! I, uh, work here as an assistant of the Shutoku family, I guess? I'm Takao Kazunari, but I'm fine with you just calling me Kazu!" he bowed, giving Akashi a wide smirk. "You look pretty cute, actually, maybe you are one of the tsunderes, and I hope you are, because this place doesn't really have one and I love them, like I love Shin-"
"Didn't anyone tell you that you shouldn't reveal too much?," the redhead that sat beside him, sipping his coffee, elbowed him from the side. The younger boy winced and started complaining about how the redhead was too 'strict'.
But Akashi didn't quite care about that.
Shin..?
He couldn't mean...
Is it who I'm thinking it was...?
But there are many 'Shins' in this country, aren't there?
While Akashi's thoughts were running rapidly in her head, an annoyed voice from her 'assistant' this morning interrupted it all.
"Well, I think you already know me, but," he lowered his head apologetically. "I'm Kagami. Kagami Taiga. Kuroko's assistant, or you could also say, a personal consigliere."
"We're missing a lot of people today," the tealhead said calmly, placing the cup of what looked like creamy, milky drink to her before standing up. "Momoi-san just went out. Others, I think, will be introduced later."
Kuroko walked to Akashi, stopping when he was few meters away from her, before bending forward, one hand on his heart.
It was the deepest, most formal and sincere bow she had ever received in her life. After a few seconds, the man looked up, his alluring baby blue eyes boring into her heterochromatic ones once again.
"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, Head Commander. It's a pleasure to meet you, and..."
"Welcome to the mafia, Akashi-san."
A/N:
After a few gazillion years, I finally updated.
I'm really sorry! I was having a writer's block for so long, and I promise I will return with another chapter in a few weeks. This story will be the main one that I'm going to update the most often now. I have the entire plot down, but still, it's still not really fixed!
Leaving that aside, I must say that I was over-the-moon happy, since I never got that much followers/reviews for a chapter before! Arigatou!
Thank you to all my reviewers, and here's the reply:
-Guest: I'm really glad you like it! Please stay tuned, thank you!
-Arudachan: We already called him Sei-chan from the beginning, did we? He (or she?) is always ABSOLUTELY cute (According to Leo)! Thanks for the review!
-NKloveNK: I'm huge fan of Fem!akashi x Kuroko, and I'm kind of surprised others shared a liking to the ship too (It was rare. Rare things are great). Anyways, here's a new chapter, and I hope you like it!
-Guest: *floats up to the sky because of the compliment.* Thank you!
-Rinfantasy: No matter what gender Akashi is (that sounded wrong), she would still be matched up with Kuroko LOL. They're a perfect pair after all...*smiles*. Thank you for the review!
-Meiko Atsushi: ...because you're him, of course. Thanks (*coughs*) for the review (*coughs*)
Criticisms, comments, and suggestions are always welcomed! Please leave one on your way out if it won't trouble you! They're really helpful, and they made me update faster too:D Thanks again.
Until next time,
~Sorako