Yosh, new chapter ;) It's getting interesting now.
Btw. I'm still looking for a beta reader for this story, since I'm literally through almost all KnB beta readers, and couldn't find one who was actually still active ._. So if anyone is interested or knows someone, please PM me ^^°
Enjoy the chapter, hope you like it^^
Half an hour had already past and still no one could find even the slightest of hints to where Kuroko might be. Neither on the street courts, nor any other store nearby. None had seen him and it was getting darker by the minute.
Damn! It was hard enough to search for someone in a big city, but looking for someone whose presence was almost non existent, well, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Where on earth could he be?
.
Meanwhile in the gym of Seirin high.
Riko was pacing up and down frequently, thinking, with her brows furrowed deep.
She couldn't imagine why Kuroko would go off somewhere like that without telling at least Kagami about it. Even his phone has been turned off, so every call was quite useless. Well, maybe not 'off', but she couldn't reach him, that's for sure.
Restlessness had cought her very body and her pacing got more and more irregular as she glanced towards the clock on the wall and to the door every other minute, as if she hoped to see the bluenette randomly standing there with his blunt look, as he mostly does. But no. The more she hoped, the more she got frustrated with him not being there.
A sudden vibration in her pocket caught her off guard and she jerked right out of her thoughts immediately. She could barely stifle a scream of surprise.
It was her phone buzzing. Was it Kuroko? Calling her, to tell her he was fine? That their worrying was unnecessary?
Oh, if she could get her hands on him right now she would tear his head right off for making her worry like this. He really got some nerves.
She fidgeted with the device for a few seconds until she looked on the lit up display.
„A mail?" she unconsciously said out loud, more than just a little bit confused. But something bothered her as soon as she saw the address. It was from Kuroko alright...but the subject was kinda disturbing for her.
„Dare to win?" Riko frowned, both curious and irritated, but nevertheless she opened it, despite the weird feeling she got. Kuroko actually had some kind of dark humor at times...but she couldn't imagine he would even write something so...provoking just as a joke.
Her frown deepened when she saw that a Video had been added to the mail and without a second of hesitation, she started it...
...and turned pale as a ghost almost immediately, regretting everything she had thought negatively about Kuroko seconds ago…
.
Just a few minutes after Riko had phoned her team to come back asap, the first one arrived back at the gym.
Hyuga seemed confused, as he jogged over to their coach, but stopped when he noticed her trembling body. His heart skipped a beat, seeing her that way. Riko wasn't someone who got scared so easily. Hell, she was terrifying on her own sometimes. So whatever had her so distressed, it must've been something really bad. And with that thought, Hyuga turned pale himself, the worst cases crossing his mind.
„What happened? Is Kuroko okay? Did someone found him?" he sounded tense and when he was finally standing next to their coach, she shook her head silently, not looking at the taller boy. „Wait until the others are here." Riko finally managed to say, her gaze still fixed on the ground as if she was too focused to compose herself, than to look up.
One after another kept arriving at the gym, all of them tensed up when they saw Riko, until the whole team was gathered around her.
„So, what's the matter? Where's Kuroko?" Kagami's frustration about the whole situation was more than obvious and since he had to stop looking for his shadow, it got worse. He was like a restless wild tiger, tensed up to a level of stressed anticipation that it made everyone around him nervous.
Riko glared at him, silencing him almost immediately. After that, she took a deep breath to calm herself down for what she had to tell them...or more precise, show them.
„I've got a massage from Kuroko's phone." she stated in a weird mixture of unease and calmness, but it produced the desired effect.
The team gulped simultaneously, as they all seemed to realise what she meant with her statement. She hadn't mentioned 'from Kuroko', but rather 'from Kuroko's phone'. Which only could mean the worst case if she was so concerned right now. The atmosphere grew colder instantly.
„What's it say?" Kagami voiced, what the whole team wasn't daring to ask in that moment, dreading the answer.
„It's a video with the subject 'Dare to win'."
With that, Riko opened the mail on her large phone screen again and waited, until the others had gathered behind her to take a better look at it. After that, she pressed play.
Within the first second after the video started, every color drained out of the viewers faces as they saw a bloody and beaten up young teen, tied to an old wooden chair in the middle of a dusty, half lit room. His baby-blue head was leaning slightly against his chest, so his bangs covered most of his face. He seemed to be unconscious or at least close to it, but his breathing was ragged, unsteady and he was trembling all over.
„Kuroko!" Kagami gasped, disbelieve in his voice. This wasn't real, right?
It was a joke! It had to be! Or a nightmare! Something other then reality!
„W-what is this?" Koganei suddenly blurted out, shocked beyond any imagination, as he covered his mouth with both hands.
All of them were too petrified, too scared to really comprehend what was happening now.
Suddenly, from the right corner of the camera, a shadow emerged, hooded and covered in dark garment with a frightening clowns mask to hide his face. He lifted his left, gloved hand in the direction of the camera with a heavy looking, golden, brass knuckle clutched in it. He seemed way to sure of himself, but on the other hand, it was damn intimidating to see the whole szenario.
„Do you still dare to win?" the dark and raspy voice of the hooded figure sent shivers down the viewers spines, as he began to speak. It sounded malicious, devious and to their disgust, he seemed to enjoy the whole situation to the fullest.
With one swift move, the man clawed his fingers into Kuroko's usually silky soft hair and jerked the teens head up forcefully. Kuroko gasped in pain and whimpered quietly, as his head was forced into an uncomfortable angle to his left side. He tried his best, not to give that stranger the satisfaction of showing his pain.
But it was clear as day now, what their teammate already had been through and it shocked them to the core to see him suffer like that.
There was a deep gash on Kuroko's lower lip that was still bleeding and a bloody bruise on his left forehead where the red fluid had dyed his hairline and bangs in a dirty purple color. Another cut was just above his right eye that was still bleeding as well. His nose seemed to be broken quit a bit and even without seeing all of Kuroko's body, Riko and the others were sure that under his clothing where even more bruises.
„It's simple." the mischievous voice continued and snapped the lot out of their fixating trance on their friend.
„Lose your next game, an he'll be fine." he paused, increasing his grip on Kuroko's hair a bit more that made the teen flinch.
„Win, and..." he shoved his left hand with the brass knuckles into the bluenette's face, stopping just a few inches away from his eye. Kuroko watched the already bloodstained metal in sheer dread, trying to wiggle himself out of the titan grip on his hair, but it failed miserably. It was obvious how scared the boy really was. None of them had ever seen so much fear in their friends eyes, and if they were honest, they never wanted to see it in the first place.
„I think you know what I mean." the hooded man continued with his dark voice, shaking the viewers out of their frozen state of shock.
No one had to see that guys face for that, but everyone could tell that he was smiling madly.
„And if this wasn't clear. If you cancel the match or ask the cops for help, he'll die in an instant." the man almost growled and leaned slightly towards the camera to make his point clear. The clowns mask helped a lot, too.
Suddenly, Kuroko seemed to have noticed the loosened grip of his tormentor and with a surprisingly loud yelp, the phantom player janked his head free, a few strands of blue hair ripped out, and shouted directly into the camera. His eyes glistened with a determination no one would've thought he still possessed after that hell of a torture.
„Don't worry about me! Fight them! Win the-!" he was cut off painfully, as the golden brass knuckles collided with the left side of his face, cutting another bleeding gash into his pale and already bruised skin. Kuroko screamed in pain and agony, which he seemed trying to stifle down, but failed.
„You son of a-!" They saw the man already taking another swing, ready to punch the blue head again...
...but the display turned black. The video was over.
The silence that consumed everything afterwards was almost crushing. No one dared to speak up, too disturbed, too shocked to even react to anything in that moment. Breathing became hard for everyone as they finally realized the severity of the situation they were in. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. How could it?
Kagami was the first who released is breath, not knowing he was holding it at all.
„That can't be true, right?" he chuckled desperately nervous, as if he was still thinking...hoping, it was all just a dumb joke. But his whole body was shaking in disbelief. He knew this was real. His friend has been kidnapped...and had been tortured...still was. That…
He couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe he failed his best friend. He failed to protect him, to help him. Damn, he should've gone with him into the bookstore, then none of this would've happened! He screwed up!
„Damn it!" Kagami growled desperatley, teeth gnashing. He pressed the palm of his hand onto his eyes, to cover the overwhelming and crushing feeling of loss and self loathing, for not being able to do anything right now.
„Denying won't help us now." Riko said, almost calm, watching her team closely. She knew they were shocked to the core, hell, she was still trembling all over and she couldn't do anything about it. She just saw him a few hours ago and now he was at the mercy of that psychopath? How the hell could she even process that?
The whole situation sank in forcefully into one after the other but there was still disbelieve in the air of what they had just witnessed.
Their teammate, their phantom, their friend...he was held hostage...and for what? A match? Why in the world would anybody do this?
Right now, it was too much for them to process, to comprehend completely.
„What do we do now? The match is in two days." Itzuki looked around after he gained some self controll again, obviously hoping for any suggestions on that matter.
„That leaves us with one whole day to find him!" Kagami's forcefully strong voice shook the other teammates finally out of their stupor.
„He's right. But what can we do? We don't know who kidnapped him, or where he even is."
„We've no clue how to find him, but we really need to hurry this up, guys."
„Hyuga is right. Kuroko has a strong will, but he can't last much longer, if this continues." Riko frowned to think. As far as she could tell by the looks of Kuroko in the video, he still seemed to manage the situation quite well, everything considered. He still had hope and determination in his eyes and he wouldn't give up that easily.
Yes, the teen had a strong will to keep fighting, but at some point, everyone breaks, no matter how strong willed they were. And there was still the fact, that Kuroko was indeed mentally strong, but not physically. How long could his body keep up with the torture he went through? It was a race against time.
But on the other hand...
They were in a pinch. All of them loved basketball and being forced to lose against Kirisaki Daiichi High after they won the Winter Cup against Rakuzan last year, infront of literally everyone. It would ruin them forever, especially since this was the last year for the upperclassmen Hyuga, Itzuki, Mitobe, Koganei and Tsuchida.
But they couldn't risk losing a friends life for that.
„Coach..." the surprisingly soft tone of Kagami almost startled Riko. He seemed unsure of how to voice his thoughts, but nevertheless continued. „Can you mail me the video?" he paused for a moment. „Please?"
Riko surveyed the redhead skeptical, but the stern look on their ace's face was convincing enough for her and she nodded. If he asked about it, he would probably have some sort of plan..or maybe not. Kagami wasn't actually the type of guy who really thought things through. But if it came to Kuroko, Riko was sure that the redhead would do everything he could to save his partner.
After she send him the video onto his phone, Kagami turned on his heels with a: „I'll be right back. Wait for me." and vanished out of the gym.
Hope you enjoyed it so far ;) Next chapter will be coming up soon. I'm trying to upload at least once every week.
Reviews are very welcome.
Daylight